Yesterday we met up with a friend of my brother's, who showed us all over the Brixton area of South London- the local markets were amazing and full of incredible looking fresh fish and meats. It was great to see the local areas of London where tourists don't usually end up. We had dinner in the markets and then headed to a couple local bars and saw a bit of live music. It was a great evening, and really a great chance to get outside the normal tourists areas.
We're pretty exhausted at this point, so we're taking it really easy- today we saw Despicable Me in 3D (which came out when I was studying for the bar and completely oblivious to everything else in the US).
Tomorrow is our LAST DAY here- we fly back across the pond on Tuesday (leaving London at 12:00 PM- 5 AM KC time....arriving in KC at 11PM KC time...connecting to IAD and ATL....that is going to be brutal). We're planning on spending it catching high tea at Kensington Palace and then heading over to Brick Lane for shopping and Indian food. I can't believe it's over- and at the same time I feel like we've been traveling for much longer than 6 weeks. We're really looking forward to getting back to the states and sleeping in our own bed again after visiting our family and friends in KC (25 uncomfortable cheap hostel/hotel beds between times sleeping in our own...but who's counting).
For now, time to sleep in one of the last .... goodnight!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
London Bridge is not, in fact, falling down.
We've spent the last couple days sleeping late and relaxing- as well as fitting in the new Harry Potter movie on opening day! The 'cinema' was in the Camden Market area, and was actually in a refurbished old theater, complete with a stage and curtains. We had (assigned) seats in the balcony area, which were good, except that we wished the screen was a bit bigger (we were expecting an Imax size screen- the theater was certainly big enough- but instead it was more standard movie theater sized). In any case, it was really good and an excellent setup for the final movie- without any spoilers, Matt says it was the 'Empire Strikes Back' version of Harry Potter. I am not really quite sure what that means, but hey, maybe it tells you something.
We also went to Vinopolis, a 'wine museum,' right next to the still standing London Bridge (again, not falling down. American nursery rhymes have a lot to learn.). Actually a really fun time which was more learning through tasting than traditional museum experiences. We got tasting tickets for around 12 things, including wine, champagne, whisky, beer, absinthe, gin and rum. I think we spent around 3 hours there - with me writing detailed notes about each wine in the flavor journals they gave us, and Matt mostly standing around waiting for me to get done so we could get the next samples! Also, other people apparently don't particularly like whisky, so we got several extra taste tickets for free by the end.
We visited the British Museum as well, which was a really impressive collection of artifacts from a huge array of cultures all over the world. Probably most amazing to see was the Rosetta stone, which allowed scholars to finally translate the Egyptian hieroglyphics they had been studying. We also saw ax-heads from 400,000 years ago. That's not a typo. That's insane. 400,000 years old.
As my paid internet time is quickly running out, I will wrap this up by saying that we are continuing to have a really great time. We're headed to Brixton this evening to meet up with a friend of my brother's, and have only a couple days left here to enjoy, only 3 more nights of weird beds (though Sunday and Monday I think we are staying in a better hotel- tonight is the very last of the bunk bed hostels...hooray!!!).
Will try to take some more photos to post, but not that much interesting to take photos of when you are mostly just hanging out and relaxing!!! Till then, cheerio!
We also went to Vinopolis, a 'wine museum,' right next to the still standing London Bridge (again, not falling down. American nursery rhymes have a lot to learn.). Actually a really fun time which was more learning through tasting than traditional museum experiences. We got tasting tickets for around 12 things, including wine, champagne, whisky, beer, absinthe, gin and rum. I think we spent around 3 hours there - with me writing detailed notes about each wine in the flavor journals they gave us, and Matt mostly standing around waiting for me to get done so we could get the next samples! Also, other people apparently don't particularly like whisky, so we got several extra taste tickets for free by the end.
We visited the British Museum as well, which was a really impressive collection of artifacts from a huge array of cultures all over the world. Probably most amazing to see was the Rosetta stone, which allowed scholars to finally translate the Egyptian hieroglyphics they had been studying. We also saw ax-heads from 400,000 years ago. That's not a typo. That's insane. 400,000 years old.
As my paid internet time is quickly running out, I will wrap this up by saying that we are continuing to have a really great time. We're headed to Brixton this evening to meet up with a friend of my brother's, and have only a couple days left here to enjoy, only 3 more nights of weird beds (though Sunday and Monday I think we are staying in a better hotel- tonight is the very last of the bunk bed hostels...hooray!!!).
Will try to take some more photos to post, but not that much interesting to take photos of when you are mostly just hanging out and relaxing!!! Till then, cheerio!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
It's Raining in London and We Couldn't be Happier
yes....vacation. That's what this week in London is all about- relaxing and doing what we feel like, instead of trying to see tons of sights. Today we took that to heart and slept in much later than usual (past 11!!!). We then headed directly to buy tickets for Harry Potter, which comes out here on Friday, a few days earlier than in the US. While we paid through the nose for tickets (20 pounds each...around $30), it is in an IMAX theater and should be really great. We then shopped in Camden Market, headed to a couple hours in the London National Gallery where we saw works by everyone from Michaelangelo to Picasso, and rounded out the night with a trip to "Gordon's Wine Bar," which incredibly dates to the 1400's. Overall a super-relaxing day.
The talk of the town is the engagement of Kate and Will- and I must admit, I got a bit teary-eyed when reading the extensive coverage in the papers here (I spent about an hour today pouring over the coverage in the London Times at a coffee shop). Perhaps because parts of their story seem to parallel a couple dear to us (they've been dating 7 years (earning her the awful nickname "Waity Katie"), met as Freshmen in college, are exactly our age, and getting married next year....) I'm quite excited to get to attend at least one of these historic weddings ;)
It is a little silly to talk about Will marrying an "Average" girl Kate, when her parents are millionaires, but even so its a great story that really most of us girls, whether we admit it or not, dreamed of when we were small children...becomming a real life princess. (Disney gave us this idea, its not our fault!) Amazing. And in any case, great entertainment for the rest of us who will look forward to every wedding detail! And, considering the already breathless coverage of the engagement, it's hard to image that the excitement will decrease as more details come to light.
While we are hiding out from the cold rain in the hotel the rest of the evening (it is actually colder here then it was on top of the Alps...), hope you all are staying warm (and dry!) in the mid-November weather!
The talk of the town is the engagement of Kate and Will- and I must admit, I got a bit teary-eyed when reading the extensive coverage in the papers here (I spent about an hour today pouring over the coverage in the London Times at a coffee shop). Perhaps because parts of their story seem to parallel a couple dear to us (they've been dating 7 years (earning her the awful nickname "Waity Katie"), met as Freshmen in college, are exactly our age, and getting married next year....) I'm quite excited to get to attend at least one of these historic weddings ;)
It is a little silly to talk about Will marrying an "Average" girl Kate, when her parents are millionaires, but even so its a great story that really most of us girls, whether we admit it or not, dreamed of when we were small children...becomming a real life princess. (Disney gave us this idea, its not our fault!) Amazing. And in any case, great entertainment for the rest of us who will look forward to every wedding detail! And, considering the already breathless coverage of the engagement, it's hard to image that the excitement will decrease as more details come to light.
While we are hiding out from the cold rain in the hotel the rest of the evening (it is actually colder here then it was on top of the Alps...), hope you all are staying warm (and dry!) in the mid-November weather!
Monday, November 15, 2010
City of Lights
(Tonight's post is written by guest blogger, bon vivant, and man-about-town Matt)
Bon soir from Gay Paree. So here's what went down so far:
The Arc de Triomphe
Champs-Elysees
Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame
Latin Quarter (that's Classical Latin, not Taco Latin)
Lots of Rain
Exceptional Food and Wine
Katie and I are truly enjoying the Parisian "cafe culture," and its associated laid-back lifestyle. So much so that we spent an extra night here.
As the trip winds down, we find ourselves looking back to take stock: Did we see all we wanted to see and did we have enough fun? I believe we did. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't long ago that I had never left Missouri, and now here I am blogging from Paris. We have scaled the Alps and bathed in Hungarian hotsprings. We have drank French Wine and Czech beer, and everything in between. Katie tasted Irish whiskey and Matt ate a kidney on his lamb chop. We have tried new things,made new friends, and strengthened our marriage. More than anything, we have had FUN, and isnt that the point?
Some random thoughts for your brains to chew:
- We are flat-out tired of touring. Luckily, we did a whirlwind tour of London when we first got here, so this last week in London will be pretty chill.
- Four Roses Bourbon. I have never heard of it before, but in places that have more than one American Whiskey (ie, something other than Jack), this is the most common option, and it seems to be priced like a top-shelf product. Tastes pretty ok, as far as I'm concerned.
- We had always heard that DC was designed to "feel" like Paris with its avenues and shorter buildings, but we didnt really get a sense of that until we saw Paris from above on the Eiffel Tower. From that vantage point, you can really see the similarities between the two cities, such as the traffic circles and resulting funny shaped blocks and buildings.
- In Europe, we have seen many beggars who have (and emphasize) severe physical deformaties, such as backward knees and club feet. In the US, it seems the worst you see is an amputation here and there. Maybe because malformed babies get better care in America? Or is it hidden due to pride?
- Concept cars. There are a few dealerships along the Champs-Elysees that showcase futuristic concept cars that will likely never be for sale. Why spend the money making these cars, for that matter, the money to rent the prime real estate to house them?
- The Eiffel Tower is MUCH taller than the Washington Monument. Just in case you were wondering. (katie's note: Matt wasn't sure when first arriving....he has some trouble with "perspective.")
- What happened to Crepes in the US to make them all terrible? I blame the schools.
- Europeans eat peanut butter-flavored things, eg. crisps (chips), but we can't find a jar of the stuff at all.
- We run into other backpackers that claim to roll into cities with no idea where they are spending the night. In our experience, even waiting til two nights before means you will either pay through your teeth or have to stay WELL away from everything. Maybe there is a special "I'm a dumb person" pass?
We'll always have Paris....but now on to London...
Bon soir from Gay Paree. So here's what went down so far:
The Arc de Triomphe
Champs-Elysees
Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame
Latin Quarter (that's Classical Latin, not Taco Latin)
Lots of Rain
Exceptional Food and Wine
Katie and I are truly enjoying the Parisian "cafe culture," and its associated laid-back lifestyle. So much so that we spent an extra night here.
As the trip winds down, we find ourselves looking back to take stock: Did we see all we wanted to see and did we have enough fun? I believe we did. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't long ago that I had never left Missouri, and now here I am blogging from Paris. We have scaled the Alps and bathed in Hungarian hotsprings. We have drank French Wine and Czech beer, and everything in between. Katie tasted Irish whiskey and Matt ate a kidney on his lamb chop. We have tried new things,made new friends, and strengthened our marriage. More than anything, we have had FUN, and isnt that the point?
Some random thoughts for your brains to chew:
- We are flat-out tired of touring. Luckily, we did a whirlwind tour of London when we first got here, so this last week in London will be pretty chill.
- Four Roses Bourbon. I have never heard of it before, but in places that have more than one American Whiskey (ie, something other than Jack), this is the most common option, and it seems to be priced like a top-shelf product. Tastes pretty ok, as far as I'm concerned.
- We had always heard that DC was designed to "feel" like Paris with its avenues and shorter buildings, but we didnt really get a sense of that until we saw Paris from above on the Eiffel Tower. From that vantage point, you can really see the similarities between the two cities, such as the traffic circles and resulting funny shaped blocks and buildings.
- In Europe, we have seen many beggars who have (and emphasize) severe physical deformaties, such as backward knees and club feet. In the US, it seems the worst you see is an amputation here and there. Maybe because malformed babies get better care in America? Or is it hidden due to pride?
- Concept cars. There are a few dealerships along the Champs-Elysees that showcase futuristic concept cars that will likely never be for sale. Why spend the money making these cars, for that matter, the money to rent the prime real estate to house them?
- The Eiffel Tower is MUCH taller than the Washington Monument. Just in case you were wondering. (katie's note: Matt wasn't sure when first arriving....he has some trouble with "perspective.")
- What happened to Crepes in the US to make them all terrible? I blame the schools.
- Europeans eat peanut butter-flavored things, eg. crisps (chips), but we can't find a jar of the stuff at all.
- We run into other backpackers that claim to roll into cities with no idea where they are spending the night. In our experience, even waiting til two nights before means you will either pay through your teeth or have to stay WELL away from everything. Maybe there is a special "I'm a dumb person" pass?
We'll always have Paris....but now on to London...
Saturday, November 13, 2010
From a town of 100 to the City of Lights
From Interlocken we headed into the Alps to stay one night in Gimmelwald, a tiny town of 100 that doesn't even have a grocery store- though there is a cheese stand in a 200 year old hut. We arrived in Gimmelwald via a gondola to Murren, the "big town" where the grocery store (which closes at noon) and a resturant are located. We enjoyed a beautiful walk down to Gimmelwald (with all our luggage- for those of you wondering why we have backpacks instead of a rolling suitcase, this is why). About an inch of snow had fallen the night before, but the path was (mostly) clear, allowing for the perfect mix of fresh snow beauty and sure(ish) footing. As you can imagine, in a town of 100 during the offseason, there is not much of anything to do but sit back and enjoy the incredible beauty of the mountains around you. The alps are stunning in their cliff-like beauty- unlike the Rocky Mountains in the US, these peaks are truly jagged spears soaring up 13,000 feet into the clear blue sky.
It was actually a blessing to have everything closed in Gimmelwald (not that there is much to do there anyway during high season other than ski), because it forced/enabled everyone staying in the hostel, about 10 of us, to really get to know each other and hang out. We played a very fun card game that is a take-off of Uno, in which added rules include slapping your hand on the table or your head when certain cards are played and the ability to play totally out of turn where you have matching cards. It was one of those really excellent and unexpected nights, where everyone just gets along and has a great time together. While we had hoped to find this in other hostels along the way we really haven't so far, but are very happy to finally have had the experience.
In addition, we were lucky to have beautiful clear weather on the day we arrived, because the next day the clouds had moved back in, blocking the gorgeous views. Instead of heading up to the very top of Jungfrau (the highest peak in the area) when the views weren't there, we decided to head back to civilization- and 10 hours after leaving our town of 100, we rolled into Paris.
Concerned that we were headed to Paris with nowhere to stay on a Friday night, we sprinted to find an internet cafe near the train station in Bassel during our hour connection. Luckily we happened upon one within about 10 minutes of leaving the station, and were able to find a small hotel that had availablility (though indeed many of the places listed on hostels.com did not have rooms for the night- including where we were originally going to stay when we planned to arrive a few days later). While further contemplation of the hotel's location at first lead to concern as the metro stop it is close to is in fact the very end of one of the metro lines (Port de Orleans on the Left Bank), when we arrived at last we were quite excited to see that it is a bustling area with many resturants nearby, and without the inflated tourist prices of the area near the major sights.
After sleeping in (at last! a private, quiet room with a REAL bed and our own private bathroom! Haven't seen that in quite a while...) we spent the day touring the Louve and then dining with the Pariseans. We brunched on crepes filled with eggs while sipping our coffees. We unwound after the Louve tour with a Spanish Sangria and tapas. We dropped in on Harry's New York Bar, a former hangout of Hemmingway. And we ended back in our little neighborhood near the hotel with a fantastic 3 course truly french meal, starting with smooth and rich foie gras, then a seabass with mixed vegetables (Matt of course went for red meat and had a roasted lambchop served with a kidney...we think....it was yummy regardless), and finishing with chocolate profiteroles and vanilla ice cream (plus two excellent cappucinos to top it all off). A very memorable Parisean meal without the memorable tourist price tag!
Tomorrow hopefully the weather will clear up (maybe?), and we'll head to the Eiffel tower and the walk along the Champs-Elysees.
A few random thoughts on guided tour of the Louve to leave you with:
-Sometimes on a trip like this you encounter new information about something fairly common that you didn't realize before. For me today I found out (yes this will seem really stupid if you know this): Crystal is made out of stone, not glass. The beautiful pieces in the museums have been carved to hide their imperfections naturally occurring- therefore the plainest crystal in the museum is actually generally the most priceless, as it is made from the most perfect piece of rock. I have no idea why I thought that crystal was just made from regular glass that was then etched (perhaps because I assume most of it sold for home use is in fact made that way), but am glad to have been enlightened.
- I.M. Pei really is a fantastic architect- we saw his work in Berlin at a muesum there, and of course his most famous today - the glass pyramid at the Louve. It is hard to imagine what these galleries looked like before his additions, as they seem to bring the entire space together and create a sense of natural drama and lightness to the buildings.
- As we have traveled, we have now several times noticed the same sculpture in multiple locations. "Sphere within a Sphere" was in the Vatican and also at Trinity College in Dublin. Today we saw a few statutes that we saw also at the National Mueum in Rome. And we learned the difference between a "copy" and a "replica." A replica is by the original artist or their protige- a copy is by a random other artist who has nothing to do with the original. Most of the "Greek" statues around Europe are actually very old Roman copies of the older originals.
- We have not encountered any of the famed rude Paris attitude. Everyone actually seems very nice- perhaps the main problem is when Americans visit during the middle of the summer when everyone is just grumpy anyway? Or maybe it is because we preface every interaction with the few French words we learned from our guidebook- Parlez-vous English?, Merci, Si-vous-plait, Bonjour, Bon Soir. (Do you speak English, Thanks, Please, Hello, Goodbye/Goodnight).
Bon Soir!
It was actually a blessing to have everything closed in Gimmelwald (not that there is much to do there anyway during high season other than ski), because it forced/enabled everyone staying in the hostel, about 10 of us, to really get to know each other and hang out. We played a very fun card game that is a take-off of Uno, in which added rules include slapping your hand on the table or your head when certain cards are played and the ability to play totally out of turn where you have matching cards. It was one of those really excellent and unexpected nights, where everyone just gets along and has a great time together. While we had hoped to find this in other hostels along the way we really haven't so far, but are very happy to finally have had the experience.
In addition, we were lucky to have beautiful clear weather on the day we arrived, because the next day the clouds had moved back in, blocking the gorgeous views. Instead of heading up to the very top of Jungfrau (the highest peak in the area) when the views weren't there, we decided to head back to civilization- and 10 hours after leaving our town of 100, we rolled into Paris.
Concerned that we were headed to Paris with nowhere to stay on a Friday night, we sprinted to find an internet cafe near the train station in Bassel during our hour connection. Luckily we happened upon one within about 10 minutes of leaving the station, and were able to find a small hotel that had availablility (though indeed many of the places listed on hostels.com did not have rooms for the night- including where we were originally going to stay when we planned to arrive a few days later). While further contemplation of the hotel's location at first lead to concern as the metro stop it is close to is in fact the very end of one of the metro lines (Port de Orleans on the Left Bank), when we arrived at last we were quite excited to see that it is a bustling area with many resturants nearby, and without the inflated tourist prices of the area near the major sights.
After sleeping in (at last! a private, quiet room with a REAL bed and our own private bathroom! Haven't seen that in quite a while...) we spent the day touring the Louve and then dining with the Pariseans. We brunched on crepes filled with eggs while sipping our coffees. We unwound after the Louve tour with a Spanish Sangria and tapas. We dropped in on Harry's New York Bar, a former hangout of Hemmingway. And we ended back in our little neighborhood near the hotel with a fantastic 3 course truly french meal, starting with smooth and rich foie gras, then a seabass with mixed vegetables (Matt of course went for red meat and had a roasted lambchop served with a kidney...we think....it was yummy regardless), and finishing with chocolate profiteroles and vanilla ice cream (plus two excellent cappucinos to top it all off). A very memorable Parisean meal without the memorable tourist price tag!
Tomorrow hopefully the weather will clear up (maybe?), and we'll head to the Eiffel tower and the walk along the Champs-Elysees.
A few random thoughts on guided tour of the Louve to leave you with:
-Sometimes on a trip like this you encounter new information about something fairly common that you didn't realize before. For me today I found out (yes this will seem really stupid if you know this): Crystal is made out of stone, not glass. The beautiful pieces in the museums have been carved to hide their imperfections naturally occurring- therefore the plainest crystal in the museum is actually generally the most priceless, as it is made from the most perfect piece of rock. I have no idea why I thought that crystal was just made from regular glass that was then etched (perhaps because I assume most of it sold for home use is in fact made that way), but am glad to have been enlightened.
- I.M. Pei really is a fantastic architect- we saw his work in Berlin at a muesum there, and of course his most famous today - the glass pyramid at the Louve. It is hard to imagine what these galleries looked like before his additions, as they seem to bring the entire space together and create a sense of natural drama and lightness to the buildings.
- As we have traveled, we have now several times noticed the same sculpture in multiple locations. "Sphere within a Sphere" was in the Vatican and also at Trinity College in Dublin. Today we saw a few statutes that we saw also at the National Mueum in Rome. And we learned the difference between a "copy" and a "replica." A replica is by the original artist or their protige- a copy is by a random other artist who has nothing to do with the original. Most of the "Greek" statues around Europe are actually very old Roman copies of the older originals.
- We have not encountered any of the famed rude Paris attitude. Everyone actually seems very nice- perhaps the main problem is when Americans visit during the middle of the summer when everyone is just grumpy anyway? Or maybe it is because we preface every interaction with the few French words we learned from our guidebook- Parlez-vous English?, Merci, Si-vous-plait, Bonjour, Bon Soir. (Do you speak English, Thanks, Please, Hello, Goodbye/Goodnight).
Bon Soir!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
No such thing as a Late Lunch
<< I regret to inform you that Europe is Closed. Please come back when it is not between seasons. Thank you for your consideration. With affection, Switzerland.>> (They don't use apostrophes here.)
Today we hung around Interlocken- and learned that a late lunch does not exist here. If you don't eat by 1:00, hope you didn't want any lunch, because everything is closed except McDonalds and they are charging $11 for a BigMac. Not including fries or a drink.
So, we skipped lunch and headed to the ice rink, where I attempted to teach Matt to skate. He did very well for his first time, but more practice is needed for such advanced skills as turning and stopping (or even really going straight). We still had a very entertaining time- as I spent most of it giggling in stitches! (The 3-13 year olds playing hockey didn't help either- they were staring at us as if they had never seen an adult who didn't know how to skate...which they probably hadn't...)
Not much going on here- everything is closed because we are splitting the summer season and winter season. I recommend that no one come to Interlocken during this time period, because really all there is to do is the indoor ice rink. But a down day is okay (especially for those who need to do laundry). Tomorrow we head up the mountain to Gimmelwald, which should be beautiful and may result in better photos. On the other hand, probably no internet for a couple days, so prepare for radio silence :)
Things we are missing right now, 4 weeks in, with 2 to go:
- Sandwiches. Europe apparently doesn't believe in the American concept of a sub sandwich with lots of toppings. Good luck ordering one, they will be very confused (and really just won't make it).
- Eggs. Maybe you can find them hard-boiled, but never scrambled or over easy to Matt's great lament.
- Personal space/somewhere to live. Moving every 1-2 nights gets a bit exhausting after a while.... and closely related:
- A real bed. Haven't seen one in a long time, even when we book private rooms, often there are just 2 twin beds pushed together, or a mattress much too short for us, or just extremely hard.
- A kitchen stocked with staples. I am really missing cooking and "normal" home-cooked meals.
- And, most of all, our friends and family. I got several really nice emails and texts the last few days from you all, and that really makes me feel happy and loved even though I'm so far away- but makes me miss you even more. We're really looking forward to Thanksgiving!!! Give each other a big hug for me until I see you soon!
Today we hung around Interlocken- and learned that a late lunch does not exist here. If you don't eat by 1:00, hope you didn't want any lunch, because everything is closed except McDonalds and they are charging $11 for a BigMac. Not including fries or a drink.
So, we skipped lunch and headed to the ice rink, where I attempted to teach Matt to skate. He did very well for his first time, but more practice is needed for such advanced skills as turning and stopping (or even really going straight). We still had a very entertaining time- as I spent most of it giggling in stitches! (The 3-13 year olds playing hockey didn't help either- they were staring at us as if they had never seen an adult who didn't know how to skate...which they probably hadn't...)
Not much going on here- everything is closed because we are splitting the summer season and winter season. I recommend that no one come to Interlocken during this time period, because really all there is to do is the indoor ice rink. But a down day is okay (especially for those who need to do laundry). Tomorrow we head up the mountain to Gimmelwald, which should be beautiful and may result in better photos. On the other hand, probably no internet for a couple days, so prepare for radio silence :)
Things we are missing right now, 4 weeks in, with 2 to go:
- Sandwiches. Europe apparently doesn't believe in the American concept of a sub sandwich with lots of toppings. Good luck ordering one, they will be very confused (and really just won't make it).
- Eggs. Maybe you can find them hard-boiled, but never scrambled or over easy to Matt's great lament.
- Personal space/somewhere to live. Moving every 1-2 nights gets a bit exhausting after a while.... and closely related:
- A real bed. Haven't seen one in a long time, even when we book private rooms, often there are just 2 twin beds pushed together, or a mattress much too short for us, or just extremely hard.
- A kitchen stocked with staples. I am really missing cooking and "normal" home-cooked meals.
- And, most of all, our friends and family. I got several really nice emails and texts the last few days from you all, and that really makes me feel happy and loved even though I'm so far away- but makes me miss you even more. We're really looking forward to Thanksgiving!!! Give each other a big hug for me until I see you soon!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Old Man and the Sea - Cinque Terre
From Rome, we headed to the coast to see Cinque Terre ("five towns"). These small villages are connected by a series of hikes along the ocean and mountains. While I could write all about our hike, its better for you to just go look at the photos (a picture is worth 1,000 words after all). Especially since all we did was hike and eat seafood pasta (NOM NOM NOM....) Just a few comments to go along with the photos:
- My definition of "hike along a path" is more or less stroll along a nice sidewalky type of path, up and down hills, but expecting guardrails where it gets close to cliff edges. The first hike we went on was listed as one of the hardest, but it was where we were starting from, so we figured no big deal. It turns out that their definition of hike is more like "be a mountain goat for an hour and a half." There were many, many parts where a misplaced step was all that was between you and a 150 meter (300 feet?) plunge off the side of a cliff onto the rocks below. Scary. But beautiful (and hard to capture on camera...)
-Some people, when seeing a waterspout on the way to an ocean get-away might think, "gee, the water might be a bit chopped up." My brain did not process this. But yes, as you can see in the photos, it was incredible. We thought it was choppy the first day. The second day, we saw waves that were consistently 8-10 feet high, winds that were sustained 48 km/hr (I looked it up), and the waves when breaking spraying up to 100 feet in the air. All of this was really hard to capture in pictures, but compare the first day to the second day in our little harbour. Even the locals were impressed by the storm surge, which apparently happens 2-3 times every winter.
-We are now in Interlaken, Switzerland. We arrived at night (it took us 10 hours including a 4 hour train lay-over in Milan), so have not yet seen the Alps which are towering over us. Should have some good photos soon!!!
- My definition of "hike along a path" is more or less stroll along a nice sidewalky type of path, up and down hills, but expecting guardrails where it gets close to cliff edges. The first hike we went on was listed as one of the hardest, but it was where we were starting from, so we figured no big deal. It turns out that their definition of hike is more like "be a mountain goat for an hour and a half." There were many, many parts where a misplaced step was all that was between you and a 150 meter (300 feet?) plunge off the side of a cliff onto the rocks below. Scary. But beautiful (and hard to capture on camera...)
-Some people, when seeing a waterspout on the way to an ocean get-away might think, "gee, the water might be a bit chopped up." My brain did not process this. But yes, as you can see in the photos, it was incredible. We thought it was choppy the first day. The second day, we saw waves that were consistently 8-10 feet high, winds that were sustained 48 km/hr (I looked it up), and the waves when breaking spraying up to 100 feet in the air. All of this was really hard to capture in pictures, but compare the first day to the second day in our little harbour. Even the locals were impressed by the storm surge, which apparently happens 2-3 times every winter.
-We are now in Interlaken, Switzerland. We arrived at night (it took us 10 hours including a 4 hour train lay-over in Milan), so have not yet seen the Alps which are towering over us. Should have some good photos soon!!!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
...do as the Romans do
(apologies for formatting. cut and paste from Notepad into internet browser.... but at 3 euros for 30 minutes ($5) I am trying to do this quickly!)
Leaving Munich at 9:00 PM, we rode all night in a full 6 person cabin (3 bunks high), with the train continually shaking us awake. Finally, it was morning- the sun blasting into our train window, and with bleary eyes I looked out and saw Italy, with unbelievable views of rolling hills covered in grape vines. The colors were different than anything we had seen so far in the trip- everything was in "Italian Color" with a vague sun-bleaching effect. It was beautiful, warm, and sunny- giving Italy an immediate place in my heart before we even stepped off the train.
Arriving around 9:30 AM, we dropped our bags at the hostel and set out to see Rome. We headed directly to the Vatican, where we joined a tour group to see the Vatican Museums. Taken through the public rooms was a beautiful art tour, with detailed explanations of the most important pieces and rooms. Learning about the personalities of Michaelangelo and Raphael, the two most important artists of the Vatican, and their competitiveness in outdoing each other gave life to the art that would not have been there otherwise. Seeing the roof of the Sistine Chapel frescos evolve from the first learning of the Fresco technique by Michaelangelo to his mastery of it by the end allowed us to better understand the differences between the panels.
Also within the Sistine Chapel is the Last Judgement, a fresco taking up one entire wall, a depiction of some going to heaven and others to hell with angels guiding the way. One particularly bothersome bishop (who insisted that Michaelangelo cover up the nudity in the painting) is shown in the bottom, darkest corner of hell, with a snake wrapped around his body biting the private parts he insisted on Michaelangelo's covering. (The Pope apparently tired of the bickering ignored the Bishops complaints and let it stand).
The Raphael rooms beautiful as well, with extraordinary detail in his depictions of ancient life in interesting scenes, though much of this work was done by his staff instead of by himself (in contrast to Michaelangelo's largely independent work).
We then headed up the 320 steps to the top of St. Peter's Basilica (apparently when faced with a tower to climb we must climb it). The view of Rome was beautiful, though the way up was quite exhausting and included walking along ever increasingly slanted walls which seemed to be closing in on us).
Exhausted, we headed back to the hostel for a nap- though I will say I have rarely more wished for an elevator than when we needed to carry our luggage from the basement up to the 4th floor after walking for 6 hours on no sleep...
We were happy to grab a nice dinner at a resturant near the hostel recommended by Rick Steve's book (more about that in a moment- look for the misc. section at the end of the post). The Italian pasta (stuffed with pears and truffles) lived up to every expectation I could have had, as did the homemade gelato for dessert.
The next day we walked the Roman Forum following Rick Steve's guide. It was incredible to see how large ancient Rome was, and the incredible construction they did 2000 years ago. Walking the same path as Caesar Agustus did along the ruins gave us a real sense of the history of this great city. We visited the "original" Capitol Hill. Seeing the burial spot of Julius Caesar (where a small temple was built) was amazing, especially as it is just across the ancient square from the first Senate- an enormous building that is still standing mostly intact from its construction in AD 283. But compared to the columns remaning from the Temple of Saturn (497 BC), it seems new.
But the most poingnat moment of the self guided tour is the end, when looking at the Column of Phocas (AD 608), given to Rome to commemmorate the Pantheon's becomming a Christian Church. As the guide describes, it was the "symbolic last nail in ancient Rome's coffin." An amazing moment to consider the history of a once great city, still impressive even in Ruins.
We then toured the National Museum of Rome, which contained a great amount of original art still in excellent condition from 2000 years ago, as well as what must have been the art world's first copies- statues that ancient Romans had made based on much older and already famous Greek art.
After a much needed nap, we followed the nighttime Rome walk (Rick Steves again), in which we saw the beautiful Trevi fountain (and a couple getting engaged). The Trevi fountai was completed in 1762 (keep in mind the American Declaration of Independence was not until 1776), and is enormous- 24 water spouts from which Rome's aqueducts pour out a flood of water, lit up at night and surrounded by a couple hundred tourists. We even threw a coin over our shoulders- 1 each, to assure our return to Rome. We also walked by several other plazas, all teeming with people enjoying the beautiful night weather. We shared a "world famous" tartufo at Tre Scalini (death by chocolate ice cream truffle of sorts). We marveled at the sixth century BC Egyptian Obelisk, taken to Rome as a trophy by Augustus after defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It makes one wonder how such a large column could have not only gotten to Rome by survived all these years. We had a fantastic dinner at another Rick Steves recommendation, and then headed back to recharge for the final day of Rome...
On the third day, we had two booked tours to enjoy- the Colleseum and the Scavi Necropolis under the Vatican.
First, to the Colleseum... a brand new tour with limited size (about 20 people) of areas that have never before been open to the public- and are now still only open to people who book tours far enough in advance to grab the limited spots. We were first taken to the area under the Colleseum, where we saw the staging area used to prepare the animals and stage sets for lifting via wenches through trap doors to the stage. You can imagine the chaos of hundreds of slaves working, pulling levers and tugging ropes, with yelled instructions being echoed through the underground area, among the caged lions and other exotic animals (who had not eaten in days to insure their hunger), as well as the dead bodies being dragged out, with blood and sand falling through cracks of the stage above...one imagines it was chaotic and exciting...and smelly!
We then entered the level of the stage, where the Gladiators fought. Walking out there, imaging the 70,000 people in audience waiting to see you fight for your life... it was an electric feeling. (And actually a good amount of the time the Gladiators were not actually killed- it was quite expensive to replace them and many made it the 5 years of their contract to be freed and very well paid for their service- reviered like American football players today.)
We then headed up to the top of the Colleseum, where we had a great view of Rome, as well as seeing it from the persepctive of a spectator. Clearly, there was no bad seat in the house. A random fact that I didn't know before the visit is that before the Colleseum was used for the Gladiator battles we know it as, they used it to stage great "naval battles" in which they flooded the area and brought in naval ships, which then reinacted the great naval victories over Roman enemys. Very hard to imagine today, but an impressive engineering feat at the least.
We then headed to the Vatican (and specifically St. Peter's Basillica) for our Necropolis tour. This was a tour I requested tickets for about two months ago, and was thrilled to be able to get as the tours only allow around 12 people each and are not an easy ticket to score...because it is incredible. Excavations underneath the Vatican to find St. Peter's original burial location were begun around 1930, and were done at night, in secret, by only 4 workers, over a 10 year period (if you are wondering why- think of the Euroean political climate at the time and who wanted all the art....) To describe what they found (and therefore what we saw), it makes the most sense to start at the beginning of the history of how church came to be located where it did. Originally, the area was used as a "Roman circus," which is where chariot races were held. Around year 26 AD, Peter (one of the apostles) was martyerd in the middle of the racetrack. His followers,very poor early Christians, removed his body to the area behind the racetrack where they buried it, covering it by 6 simple stones. Eventually other people (the rich pagans) began burying bodies there around year 150, and bulding large mauseleums to honor their dead. around year 200 a small additional grave marker was added to the site of Peter's grave, to ensure it was not lost among the large mauseleums. However, when Constantine became the first Christian emporer, he decided to build a church in the area, and surrounded Peter's burial site with large granite slabs so it would not be lost. He then bashed in the tops of the mauseleums and filled them with dirt, flattening the entire area, and then began to build. After this church eventually burned down, it was replaced, and then replaced again eventually around 1500 by St. Peter's Basilica. Therefore, when the excavations began under St. Peter's, they found these perfectly preserved mauseleums- the dirt having protected the frescoes on the walls and the beautiful sarcofagi from the 2000 years of history. Therefore, now when you go on this tour, you are walking along the original street level of Rome with the Mauselums on either side of you- imagining that instead of looking up and seeing the roof (which is really the bottom of St. Peter's basilica), you would see sky. Before the area was opened to tourists in the 1980s, the last people to walk the road were almost 2000 years ago. Absolutely incredible.
And, in case you are wondering- they think they did find Peter's original burial location, almost exactly where they were expecting it, as the alters continued to be built over the years of different churches at exactly the same spot. 6 simple stones marked an area in which many other bodies had been buried- but none appeared to be the right age or gender to be Peter. Then a few feet away they found a "cave" of sorts, with bones inside with a few strands of cloth of purple and gold- the sort that would only be used by someone of great importance. On the outside of the cave were markings translated to mean "Peter is here," along with many other prayers to Peter. The bones there did match the correct information they have about Peter (age, gender, and the fact that his feet were missing- consistent with being martyered by hanging upside down- they would have cut him down at the ankles). We saw this area and the markings on the wall, as well as a bit of bone visible through the darkness. Whether they are really the bones of Peter or not will never be known (even as stated by our tour guide), but it was an incredible end to the tour, a walk back in 2000 years of history.
Today, we are headed on the train to Cinque Terre, a much needed break from touring (our feet and knees are greatful).
Some random bits of things from the last few days outside the overall narrative:
-AS I AM WRITING THIS ON THE TRAIN TO CINQUE TERRE, I JUST SAW MY FIRST WATER SPOUT/TORNADO!!! Its off in the distance but it was clearly touching the ground as we could see the dirt/moisture coming up and blowing around in a clear funnel cloud to the ground. Didn't think I had to come from Kansas to Italy to see a tornado, but so be it.)
-The obelisk in the center of St. Peter's square is 4000 years old and Egyptian. Which means it was made 2000 years before Christianity existed. Which means that the center of the Catholic church seems like a strange place for it...though they have added a cross on the top.
-When St. Peter's was built, marble was in short supply. So they took it from the Colleseum. Apparently no one thought in the 1500s that anyone cared.
-Italian pasta...really, really good. Or maybe we just never go to nice enough American Italian resturants??
-Seriously, how did these 4000 year old obelisks get across the ocean over 2000 years ago in one piece????
-Drinking beer (or wine or whatever) by water is just more enjoyable than not by water, as we noted while enjoying a beer next to Trevi fountain. Here is our theory on why (someone should probably write their thesis on this): we know that taste and flavor is actually impacted by all 5 senses, as was demonstrated during the Bols tour in Amsterdaam. Therefore, when you drink by water, the refreshment is increased by seeing water, smelling water, and hearing water (at least if by a large fountain or the ocean). So instead of only 2 senses being engaged in the refreshment (smell and taste), all 5 are totally zoned in to the liquid refreshment.
-Hearing that what you are looking at is from a year in the "tens" (like this is from around year 26 AD) is really insane and hard to wrap your mind around.
-There are two guidebooks that have been absolutely invaluable on this trip. First, Rick Steve's- the information is at a level of detail you don't get elsewhere. Something like Let's Go or Lonely Planet just doesn't seem to have the same amount of information and are overly focused on places to stay and bars to go to. Maybe these are better in Latin America, but for European sights, the Rick Steves books are just unbeatable. The resturant recommendations have also not failed us yet- the dinner we had on a beautiful quiet square in Rome overlooking a fountain was excellent, which he stated was his favorite place for outdoor dining in Rome. So thanks to my brother for those. The other book that has been extremely helpful is the Europe by Train, given to us by our good friends Z&M in DC. This book has told us how to get places when it is not otherwise obvious, and seems to pick up where Rick Steves sometimes leaves off. With the combination of these books (and the internet for last minute details that can't be included in these books), all the information you could need is easy to find.
-The weather in Rome was perfect- 70 degrees and sunny. Happily trade crappy weather in Berlin for the amazing weather in Rome.
-Off-season is a great time to travel to Rome. We only waited in 1 line (though this is in part because I booked a tour of the Colleseum- where we skipped past around 500 people trying to buy tickets), and that 1 line was just 25 minutes to buy the ticket up to the cuppola at the top of St. Peters. This is in contrast to the rumored 2-3 hour lines in the summer. Plus it's much nicer to walk all day if it's not 90 degrees :)
-A tip that you can apply in the US- or wherever you might be on vacation- if you want to find real homemade ice cream, made from scratch, look at the bananna flavor. If it is yellow, it's from a mix. If it's a gray-ish light yellow, it's probably homemade. We used this trick and yes, it made a difference in the taste (with the homemade being much better).
Leaving Munich at 9:00 PM, we rode all night in a full 6 person cabin (3 bunks high), with the train continually shaking us awake. Finally, it was morning- the sun blasting into our train window, and with bleary eyes I looked out and saw Italy, with unbelievable views of rolling hills covered in grape vines. The colors were different than anything we had seen so far in the trip- everything was in "Italian Color" with a vague sun-bleaching effect. It was beautiful, warm, and sunny- giving Italy an immediate place in my heart before we even stepped off the train.
Arriving around 9:30 AM, we dropped our bags at the hostel and set out to see Rome. We headed directly to the Vatican, where we joined a tour group to see the Vatican Museums. Taken through the public rooms was a beautiful art tour, with detailed explanations of the most important pieces and rooms. Learning about the personalities of Michaelangelo and Raphael, the two most important artists of the Vatican, and their competitiveness in outdoing each other gave life to the art that would not have been there otherwise. Seeing the roof of the Sistine Chapel frescos evolve from the first learning of the Fresco technique by Michaelangelo to his mastery of it by the end allowed us to better understand the differences between the panels.
Also within the Sistine Chapel is the Last Judgement, a fresco taking up one entire wall, a depiction of some going to heaven and others to hell with angels guiding the way. One particularly bothersome bishop (who insisted that Michaelangelo cover up the nudity in the painting) is shown in the bottom, darkest corner of hell, with a snake wrapped around his body biting the private parts he insisted on Michaelangelo's covering. (The Pope apparently tired of the bickering ignored the Bishops complaints and let it stand).
The Raphael rooms beautiful as well, with extraordinary detail in his depictions of ancient life in interesting scenes, though much of this work was done by his staff instead of by himself (in contrast to Michaelangelo's largely independent work).
We then headed up the 320 steps to the top of St. Peter's Basilica (apparently when faced with a tower to climb we must climb it). The view of Rome was beautiful, though the way up was quite exhausting and included walking along ever increasingly slanted walls which seemed to be closing in on us).
Exhausted, we headed back to the hostel for a nap- though I will say I have rarely more wished for an elevator than when we needed to carry our luggage from the basement up to the 4th floor after walking for 6 hours on no sleep...
We were happy to grab a nice dinner at a resturant near the hostel recommended by Rick Steve's book (more about that in a moment- look for the misc. section at the end of the post). The Italian pasta (stuffed with pears and truffles) lived up to every expectation I could have had, as did the homemade gelato for dessert.
The next day we walked the Roman Forum following Rick Steve's guide. It was incredible to see how large ancient Rome was, and the incredible construction they did 2000 years ago. Walking the same path as Caesar Agustus did along the ruins gave us a real sense of the history of this great city. We visited the "original" Capitol Hill. Seeing the burial spot of Julius Caesar (where a small temple was built) was amazing, especially as it is just across the ancient square from the first Senate- an enormous building that is still standing mostly intact from its construction in AD 283. But compared to the columns remaning from the Temple of Saturn (497 BC), it seems new.
But the most poingnat moment of the self guided tour is the end, when looking at the Column of Phocas (AD 608), given to Rome to commemmorate the Pantheon's becomming a Christian Church. As the guide describes, it was the "symbolic last nail in ancient Rome's coffin." An amazing moment to consider the history of a once great city, still impressive even in Ruins.
We then toured the National Museum of Rome, which contained a great amount of original art still in excellent condition from 2000 years ago, as well as what must have been the art world's first copies- statues that ancient Romans had made based on much older and already famous Greek art.
After a much needed nap, we followed the nighttime Rome walk (Rick Steves again), in which we saw the beautiful Trevi fountain (and a couple getting engaged). The Trevi fountai was completed in 1762 (keep in mind the American Declaration of Independence was not until 1776), and is enormous- 24 water spouts from which Rome's aqueducts pour out a flood of water, lit up at night and surrounded by a couple hundred tourists. We even threw a coin over our shoulders- 1 each, to assure our return to Rome. We also walked by several other plazas, all teeming with people enjoying the beautiful night weather. We shared a "world famous" tartufo at Tre Scalini (death by chocolate ice cream truffle of sorts). We marveled at the sixth century BC Egyptian Obelisk, taken to Rome as a trophy by Augustus after defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It makes one wonder how such a large column could have not only gotten to Rome by survived all these years. We had a fantastic dinner at another Rick Steves recommendation, and then headed back to recharge for the final day of Rome...
On the third day, we had two booked tours to enjoy- the Colleseum and the Scavi Necropolis under the Vatican.
First, to the Colleseum... a brand new tour with limited size (about 20 people) of areas that have never before been open to the public- and are now still only open to people who book tours far enough in advance to grab the limited spots. We were first taken to the area under the Colleseum, where we saw the staging area used to prepare the animals and stage sets for lifting via wenches through trap doors to the stage. You can imagine the chaos of hundreds of slaves working, pulling levers and tugging ropes, with yelled instructions being echoed through the underground area, among the caged lions and other exotic animals (who had not eaten in days to insure their hunger), as well as the dead bodies being dragged out, with blood and sand falling through cracks of the stage above...one imagines it was chaotic and exciting...and smelly!
We then entered the level of the stage, where the Gladiators fought. Walking out there, imaging the 70,000 people in audience waiting to see you fight for your life... it was an electric feeling. (And actually a good amount of the time the Gladiators were not actually killed- it was quite expensive to replace them and many made it the 5 years of their contract to be freed and very well paid for their service- reviered like American football players today.)
We then headed up to the top of the Colleseum, where we had a great view of Rome, as well as seeing it from the persepctive of a spectator. Clearly, there was no bad seat in the house. A random fact that I didn't know before the visit is that before the Colleseum was used for the Gladiator battles we know it as, they used it to stage great "naval battles" in which they flooded the area and brought in naval ships, which then reinacted the great naval victories over Roman enemys. Very hard to imagine today, but an impressive engineering feat at the least.
We then headed to the Vatican (and specifically St. Peter's Basillica) for our Necropolis tour. This was a tour I requested tickets for about two months ago, and was thrilled to be able to get as the tours only allow around 12 people each and are not an easy ticket to score...because it is incredible. Excavations underneath the Vatican to find St. Peter's original burial location were begun around 1930, and were done at night, in secret, by only 4 workers, over a 10 year period (if you are wondering why- think of the Euroean political climate at the time and who wanted all the art....) To describe what they found (and therefore what we saw), it makes the most sense to start at the beginning of the history of how church came to be located where it did. Originally, the area was used as a "Roman circus," which is where chariot races were held. Around year 26 AD, Peter (one of the apostles) was martyerd in the middle of the racetrack. His followers,very poor early Christians, removed his body to the area behind the racetrack where they buried it, covering it by 6 simple stones. Eventually other people (the rich pagans) began burying bodies there around year 150, and bulding large mauseleums to honor their dead. around year 200 a small additional grave marker was added to the site of Peter's grave, to ensure it was not lost among the large mauseleums. However, when Constantine became the first Christian emporer, he decided to build a church in the area, and surrounded Peter's burial site with large granite slabs so it would not be lost. He then bashed in the tops of the mauseleums and filled them with dirt, flattening the entire area, and then began to build. After this church eventually burned down, it was replaced, and then replaced again eventually around 1500 by St. Peter's Basilica. Therefore, when the excavations began under St. Peter's, they found these perfectly preserved mauseleums- the dirt having protected the frescoes on the walls and the beautiful sarcofagi from the 2000 years of history. Therefore, now when you go on this tour, you are walking along the original street level of Rome with the Mauselums on either side of you- imagining that instead of looking up and seeing the roof (which is really the bottom of St. Peter's basilica), you would see sky. Before the area was opened to tourists in the 1980s, the last people to walk the road were almost 2000 years ago. Absolutely incredible.
And, in case you are wondering- they think they did find Peter's original burial location, almost exactly where they were expecting it, as the alters continued to be built over the years of different churches at exactly the same spot. 6 simple stones marked an area in which many other bodies had been buried- but none appeared to be the right age or gender to be Peter. Then a few feet away they found a "cave" of sorts, with bones inside with a few strands of cloth of purple and gold- the sort that would only be used by someone of great importance. On the outside of the cave were markings translated to mean "Peter is here," along with many other prayers to Peter. The bones there did match the correct information they have about Peter (age, gender, and the fact that his feet were missing- consistent with being martyered by hanging upside down- they would have cut him down at the ankles). We saw this area and the markings on the wall, as well as a bit of bone visible through the darkness. Whether they are really the bones of Peter or not will never be known (even as stated by our tour guide), but it was an incredible end to the tour, a walk back in 2000 years of history.
Today, we are headed on the train to Cinque Terre, a much needed break from touring (our feet and knees are greatful).
Some random bits of things from the last few days outside the overall narrative:
-AS I AM WRITING THIS ON THE TRAIN TO CINQUE TERRE, I JUST SAW MY FIRST WATER SPOUT/TORNADO!!! Its off in the distance but it was clearly touching the ground as we could see the dirt/moisture coming up and blowing around in a clear funnel cloud to the ground. Didn't think I had to come from Kansas to Italy to see a tornado, but so be it.)
-The obelisk in the center of St. Peter's square is 4000 years old and Egyptian. Which means it was made 2000 years before Christianity existed. Which means that the center of the Catholic church seems like a strange place for it...though they have added a cross on the top.
-When St. Peter's was built, marble was in short supply. So they took it from the Colleseum. Apparently no one thought in the 1500s that anyone cared.
-Italian pasta...really, really good. Or maybe we just never go to nice enough American Italian resturants??
-Seriously, how did these 4000 year old obelisks get across the ocean over 2000 years ago in one piece????
-Drinking beer (or wine or whatever) by water is just more enjoyable than not by water, as we noted while enjoying a beer next to Trevi fountain. Here is our theory on why (someone should probably write their thesis on this): we know that taste and flavor is actually impacted by all 5 senses, as was demonstrated during the Bols tour in Amsterdaam. Therefore, when you drink by water, the refreshment is increased by seeing water, smelling water, and hearing water (at least if by a large fountain or the ocean). So instead of only 2 senses being engaged in the refreshment (smell and taste), all 5 are totally zoned in to the liquid refreshment.
-Hearing that what you are looking at is from a year in the "tens" (like this is from around year 26 AD) is really insane and hard to wrap your mind around.
-There are two guidebooks that have been absolutely invaluable on this trip. First, Rick Steve's- the information is at a level of detail you don't get elsewhere. Something like Let's Go or Lonely Planet just doesn't seem to have the same amount of information and are overly focused on places to stay and bars to go to. Maybe these are better in Latin America, but for European sights, the Rick Steves books are just unbeatable. The resturant recommendations have also not failed us yet- the dinner we had on a beautiful quiet square in Rome overlooking a fountain was excellent, which he stated was his favorite place for outdoor dining in Rome. So thanks to my brother for those. The other book that has been extremely helpful is the Europe by Train, given to us by our good friends Z&M in DC. This book has told us how to get places when it is not otherwise obvious, and seems to pick up where Rick Steves sometimes leaves off. With the combination of these books (and the internet for last minute details that can't be included in these books), all the information you could need is easy to find.
-The weather in Rome was perfect- 70 degrees and sunny. Happily trade crappy weather in Berlin for the amazing weather in Rome.
-Off-season is a great time to travel to Rome. We only waited in 1 line (though this is in part because I booked a tour of the Colleseum- where we skipped past around 500 people trying to buy tickets), and that 1 line was just 25 minutes to buy the ticket up to the cuppola at the top of St. Peters. This is in contrast to the rumored 2-3 hour lines in the summer. Plus it's much nicer to walk all day if it's not 90 degrees :)
-A tip that you can apply in the US- or wherever you might be on vacation- if you want to find real homemade ice cream, made from scratch, look at the bananna flavor. If it is yellow, it's from a mix. If it's a gray-ish light yellow, it's probably homemade. We used this trick and yes, it made a difference in the taste (with the homemade being much better).
Friday, November 5, 2010
When in Rome...
When in Rome...there is apparently not enough time to write a blog or upload photos. The past 72 hours have been crazy, leaving Munich on the night train, arriving in Rome to beautiful weather, and hitting the ground at a sprint. We've done the Vatican museums, including the Sistine Chapel and Raphael Rooms, and climbing to the top of the 320 stairs up the cupola to view the city, then the Forum Walk (where we saw buildings from 2000 years ago...), the National Museum of Rome, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Four rivers fountain, and more. Tomorrow is the big hits day of the Colleseum tour and the Scavi tour. Sunday we head to Cinque Terres- I'll draft a real blog post of what we've been up to on the train on the way there and hopefully upload Sunday night. :)
Needless to say, its been Bellissimo!
Needless to say, its been Bellissimo!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Neuschwanstein Castle!
Today we went, by the skin of our teeth, to visit Neuschwanstein castle on the edge of the Alps. It was one of those days where you think you planned well, and end up barely making the connections all day, but ends up okay in the end. But drives home the point that no amount of planning makes up for the inability to speak or read the language.
We decided to not take the tour from the hostel so that we could go at our own pace, and headed off to the train station to catch the direct train. But, upon arriving at the train station, we learned that the direct train wasn't running due to construction. Therefore we jumped on the bus with about a minute to spare, ended up changing trains twice, and then caught the bus to the base of the mountain where tickets were sold. As we walked up to the booth, there were only 18 tickets remaining for the last English tour of the day (this was 2 hours before the tour was to start), and right before we stepped up to order, the sign flashed up that it was SOLD OUT (when 18 had been listed just before)!!! We rushed up and ordered, and it seemed to be no problem, so it ended up okay, but quite stressful! From this experience, had we known it would take an extra hour due to the rail construction, wish we had just done the structured tour, but it worked out in the end. We couldn't take photos of the inside of the castle, but as you can see the outside was beautiful- photos taken from Mary's Bridge (there is a photo of that too, high above a waterfall)!
Yesterday we toured Dauchau, which was very moving and worthwhile- but no photos there (even though other people were taking photos, to me this is not an appropriate place to take photos to share...) After that we needed some beers and headed to Hofbrau House, where we sat with some very nice travelers from Mexico- which gave me a great chance to practice my Spanish!!
Some random bits of oddness to share before I wrap up:
- Today we encountered many, many rude people. First there was the lady who shoved me in the back 3 times as I waited in line for the bathroom and then pushed by me racing in. Apparently it couldn't wait....though maybe "excuse me" is better than shoving someone repeatedly.... Then there was the train ticket checker who, when checking our tickets, I asked if the train was going all the way to Munich. He very angrily yelled the response with large angry hand gestures that no, it was not and we had to change trains. This would be understandable reaction except that all signs said we were going all the way to Munich.... Then there was the fact that on this very heavily touristed section of railway that was under construction had NO signs in English, NO announcements in English, and really no communication that could be understood unless you spoke German. This really didn't make sense to me since 75% of the people around us ALSO did not speak German...which brings me to point 2.
- People seem to think Matt and I know what is going on. Even the Germans ask me (in German) for directions. It takes quite a bit of convincing to explain I don't speak German and cannot help them if they don't speak English. This morning a German man came all the way to the back of the bus where we were sitting, bypassing many people who probably did speak German, and asked me directly (in German) something I can only assume related to directions. Later in the day on the train back, after I asked the conducter about the connection, no less than 5 different people came to talk to me about how to get back to Munich....really a strange experience.
-Our suite-mate last night slept from 4 PM to 9 AM. Impressive. (and maybe longer than that).
-People here really don't do "lines"- they like to run and push you out of the way even when you are clearly standing in line. And no one (but me) seems to notice/care. A very different culture...
-When trying to use our credit card for breakfast (to go) this morning, we were told the machine was broken. When we said we were out of cash and apologized and turned to leave (leaving behind the pastrys which we had not touched and they could easily put back), the response became, well, maybe its not broken. Let me check. Suddenly, as if by magic, the credit card machine comes out from under the counter and it works just fine....
Tomorrow is unplanned as of yet, but I am sure the scenery won't match up to today's trip to the edge of the alps :)
We decided to not take the tour from the hostel so that we could go at our own pace, and headed off to the train station to catch the direct train. But, upon arriving at the train station, we learned that the direct train wasn't running due to construction. Therefore we jumped on the bus with about a minute to spare, ended up changing trains twice, and then caught the bus to the base of the mountain where tickets were sold. As we walked up to the booth, there were only 18 tickets remaining for the last English tour of the day (this was 2 hours before the tour was to start), and right before we stepped up to order, the sign flashed up that it was SOLD OUT (when 18 had been listed just before)!!! We rushed up and ordered, and it seemed to be no problem, so it ended up okay, but quite stressful! From this experience, had we known it would take an extra hour due to the rail construction, wish we had just done the structured tour, but it worked out in the end. We couldn't take photos of the inside of the castle, but as you can see the outside was beautiful- photos taken from Mary's Bridge (there is a photo of that too, high above a waterfall)!
Yesterday we toured Dauchau, which was very moving and worthwhile- but no photos there (even though other people were taking photos, to me this is not an appropriate place to take photos to share...) After that we needed some beers and headed to Hofbrau House, where we sat with some very nice travelers from Mexico- which gave me a great chance to practice my Spanish!!
Some random bits of oddness to share before I wrap up:
- Today we encountered many, many rude people. First there was the lady who shoved me in the back 3 times as I waited in line for the bathroom and then pushed by me racing in. Apparently it couldn't wait....though maybe "excuse me" is better than shoving someone repeatedly.... Then there was the train ticket checker who, when checking our tickets, I asked if the train was going all the way to Munich. He very angrily yelled the response with large angry hand gestures that no, it was not and we had to change trains. This would be understandable reaction except that all signs said we were going all the way to Munich.... Then there was the fact that on this very heavily touristed section of railway that was under construction had NO signs in English, NO announcements in English, and really no communication that could be understood unless you spoke German. This really didn't make sense to me since 75% of the people around us ALSO did not speak German...which brings me to point 2.
- People seem to think Matt and I know what is going on. Even the Germans ask me (in German) for directions. It takes quite a bit of convincing to explain I don't speak German and cannot help them if they don't speak English. This morning a German man came all the way to the back of the bus where we were sitting, bypassing many people who probably did speak German, and asked me directly (in German) something I can only assume related to directions. Later in the day on the train back, after I asked the conducter about the connection, no less than 5 different people came to talk to me about how to get back to Munich....really a strange experience.
-Our suite-mate last night slept from 4 PM to 9 AM. Impressive. (and maybe longer than that).
-People here really don't do "lines"- they like to run and push you out of the way even when you are clearly standing in line. And no one (but me) seems to notice/care. A very different culture...
-When trying to use our credit card for breakfast (to go) this morning, we were told the machine was broken. When we said we were out of cash and apologized and turned to leave (leaving behind the pastrys which we had not touched and they could easily put back), the response became, well, maybe its not broken. Let me check. Suddenly, as if by magic, the credit card machine comes out from under the counter and it works just fine....
Tomorrow is unplanned as of yet, but I am sure the scenery won't match up to today's trip to the edge of the alps :)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Prost! Chinese Beergarden Munich English Gardens
Hello readers!
I left you in Budapest, the Easternmost point of our journey, and the halfway point of the trip timeline. After the day at the baths, we toured "Buda" (Budapest is actually 2 seperate cities), where we got to see some great castle-goodness. There are some good photos up, you can see the incredible blue sky in some- but the polluted haze in others. Overall, Budapest was "nice place to visit, but I wouldn't wanna live there." However, a couple interesting cultural phenomenos there:
1- traffic goes really, really fast, until it approaches where you are waiting near the crosswalk. Cars then (even taxis!!) slam on their brakes and patiently wait for you to cross. Unlike everywhere else, where the crosswalks are generally ignored (including the US).
2- The Budapest train station was the first time I really felt uncomfortable since getting to Europe. Many, many people harassing you immediately upon steppiing out of your train asking if you want a taxi (no!) and constantly being told to double check your change because people will rip you off everywhere.
3- The speedo lives on in the baths of Budapest, especially on the 85 - 90 year old men.
4- Budapest metro trains come every 3 minutes or less all day long. And they go extremely fast, as do the escalators. Maybe the reason that DC metro is always screwed up by people jumping in at the last minute is that people know it could be 15 minutes to the next train...
Overall, Budapest was a good time, but not as great as Prague or Vienna (which were admittedly very hard acts to follow).
We left Budapest for Munich via the night train.... and we made it to Munich at 6 AM, when it was still pitch black outside. You can see a photo of the 3 high bunks on each side in the photostream, but generally, not a good night sleep. Between the rocking of the train (a problem if you are a side sleeper as it constantly pushes you over) and the slight g-forces on your head as you hurtle around corners, as well as the very real threat that someone might try to steal your stuff, not sure there was any point in having a bed. But, luckily our bunkmates were very cool young people, and there were only 4 of us in the 6 bunks.
However, after a nap on the hostel couch (could't check in until 1:00), we rallied and headed out! As you can see from the photos, it was a really beautiful day outside- the trees are putting on their full fall performance here, and the weather was PERFECT (blue skies for most of the day and about 60-65 degrees). The photos from today have comments- look for the river surfing, the glockenspieling, and the beer drinking! Probably one of the greatest days of the vacation so far- especially since we caught a 3 hour afternoon nap in the hostel dorms!!
We have 4 nights here in Munich, and then will head to ROME! Very excited about this week :) Lots of people here celebrating Halloweeen, though we aren't dressing up (big parties seem to be tonight- tons of people out- especially because the time change here is overnight tonight!)
Happy Halloween from Munich!
*Note: I know that I am putting up a lot of photos, but you have no idea how many I'm not putting up. It takes me about an hour to go through them every time I upload to find the best ones to put up, so hopefully you are enjoying them. I love the comments on the photos and on the blog and in my emails, so keep them coming!!!
I left you in Budapest, the Easternmost point of our journey, and the halfway point of the trip timeline. After the day at the baths, we toured "Buda" (Budapest is actually 2 seperate cities), where we got to see some great castle-goodness. There are some good photos up, you can see the incredible blue sky in some- but the polluted haze in others. Overall, Budapest was "nice place to visit, but I wouldn't wanna live there." However, a couple interesting cultural phenomenos there:
1- traffic goes really, really fast, until it approaches where you are waiting near the crosswalk. Cars then (even taxis!!) slam on their brakes and patiently wait for you to cross. Unlike everywhere else, where the crosswalks are generally ignored (including the US).
2- The Budapest train station was the first time I really felt uncomfortable since getting to Europe. Many, many people harassing you immediately upon steppiing out of your train asking if you want a taxi (no!) and constantly being told to double check your change because people will rip you off everywhere.
3- The speedo lives on in the baths of Budapest, especially on the 85 - 90 year old men.
4- Budapest metro trains come every 3 minutes or less all day long. And they go extremely fast, as do the escalators. Maybe the reason that DC metro is always screwed up by people jumping in at the last minute is that people know it could be 15 minutes to the next train...
Overall, Budapest was a good time, but not as great as Prague or Vienna (which were admittedly very hard acts to follow).
We left Budapest for Munich via the night train.... and we made it to Munich at 6 AM, when it was still pitch black outside. You can see a photo of the 3 high bunks on each side in the photostream, but generally, not a good night sleep. Between the rocking of the train (a problem if you are a side sleeper as it constantly pushes you over) and the slight g-forces on your head as you hurtle around corners, as well as the very real threat that someone might try to steal your stuff, not sure there was any point in having a bed. But, luckily our bunkmates were very cool young people, and there were only 4 of us in the 6 bunks.
However, after a nap on the hostel couch (could't check in until 1:00), we rallied and headed out! As you can see from the photos, it was a really beautiful day outside- the trees are putting on their full fall performance here, and the weather was PERFECT (blue skies for most of the day and about 60-65 degrees). The photos from today have comments- look for the river surfing, the glockenspieling, and the beer drinking! Probably one of the greatest days of the vacation so far- especially since we caught a 3 hour afternoon nap in the hostel dorms!!
We have 4 nights here in Munich, and then will head to ROME! Very excited about this week :) Lots of people here celebrating Halloweeen, though we aren't dressing up (big parties seem to be tonight- tons of people out- especially because the time change here is overnight tonight!)
Happy Halloween from Munich!
*Note: I know that I am putting up a lot of photos, but you have no idea how many I'm not putting up. It takes me about an hour to go through them every time I upload to find the best ones to put up, so hopefully you are enjoying them. I love the comments on the photos and on the blog and in my emails, so keep them coming!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
a Hungarian Hot Bath
Well, instead of hitting the normal beautiful churches and castle district, today we decided to hang out like someone who actually lives in Budapest! This means that we wandered through the shopping district where I picked up a pretty wrap, looked at the buildings along the river and across into the castle district, and then we headed for the Hot Springs Baths. Where we stayed for 3.5 hours. It was AWESOME. There were probably 10 different steam rooms and saunas- some with aromatherapy, some with changing color lights, and some with just lots and lots of heat. Then there were the indoor pools- varying in temperature from around 20 celsius to 40, some with lots of minerals for skin softening (though smelling slightly of sulfer as they are heated from the underground springs).
And then we discovered...the outside pools! There were 3, of varying warm temperatures, where we spent most of the afternoon. The air was cold (yes, it is late October), but the water had wonderful steam blowing off from the hot springs. A lazy river, a hot tub, and many places where bubbles poured in. I think this is the most relaxed we've been all vacation.
No internet at the apartment we are staying in *which is huge* so keeping this brief and no photos for now. But if you want to check out the baths we were at today, visit http://szechenyibath.com/ where you can see how fab it was.
Tomorrow we spend the day in Budapest and then take night train to Munich, so maybe no post tomorrow either, but think we will have internet in Munich. Till then!
And then we discovered...the outside pools! There were 3, of varying warm temperatures, where we spent most of the afternoon. The air was cold (yes, it is late October), but the water had wonderful steam blowing off from the hot springs. A lazy river, a hot tub, and many places where bubbles poured in. I think this is the most relaxed we've been all vacation.
No internet at the apartment we are staying in *which is huge* so keeping this brief and no photos for now. But if you want to check out the baths we were at today, visit http://szechenyibath.com/ where you can see how fab it was.
Tomorrow we spend the day in Budapest and then take night train to Munich, so maybe no post tomorrow either, but think we will have internet in Munich. Till then!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
In Memoriam
Matt's Grandfather passed away last night. Remember someone special in your life today and enjoy some beautiful photos of Vienna wine country- we took a bus to the top of the hill and then walked downwards for 3 hours- taking time to stop for wine and photos along the way. It was beautiful.
Monday, October 25, 2010
In which we partied with machine guns, Napoleon, and baby Mozart
In case you were worried that last night's ballet made us too soft (oh! the arms and legs made such elegant lines!), we started today with classic rock, beer, and military equipment. Yep, we stumbled upon a large military expo in the middle of Vienna. See the photos :)
After this fun distraction, we headed into the Imperial Palace, where we saw beautiful jewels and "an original piece of the cross" upon which Jesus was crucified and the "spear of longinus" which pierced Christ's side. The reason I put this in quotes is that it was in a case in a room that had many other cases in it. I think if anyone (including the Catholic church) believed this to be a real piece, it would probably have its own section devoted to it. Strange to see these claimed artifacts in a room with other random things... But interesting regardless. When we looked at the crown jewels, it was hard to view them for what they really were, and appreciate thier beauty (and longevity- some from over 500 years ago when Vienna was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire). Mainly, it looked like American costume jewelery worn by children. It was hard to remember this was REAL gold and REAL gemstones, not just glass and plastic. But, really, it was quite pretty.
However, the highlight of the day was Schonbrunn Palace, a bit outside Vienna. The historical significance of this was incredible- any fan of the Tudors would have loved it (you know who you are- though I've never seen it). It was formerly the home of Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, was used by 6 year old Mozart to perform and entertain, and was used as the meeting point for Kennedy and Kruschev. The rooms were decorated in beautiful "Rococo" style- not that I knew what that was before today. Overall it was really stunning and the host to incredible history, and the home of the Hapsburgs for many generations (the rulers of Austria and its former empires. Incredible for one building to be the home/host to so many historical figures who have reached almost legendary status. While we weren't allowed to take any photos inside, if you are curious you can visit http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/
We also managed to cook dinner tonight- a win for the pocketbooks and tummys :)
Tomorrow if the weather clears up a bit, we will head out to "wine country"- if not, we will enjoy just hanging out downtown Vienna in coffeshops! Enjoy the photos (and check out the view from our Prague hostel private balcony!)
After this fun distraction, we headed into the Imperial Palace, where we saw beautiful jewels and "an original piece of the cross" upon which Jesus was crucified and the "spear of longinus" which pierced Christ's side. The reason I put this in quotes is that it was in a case in a room that had many other cases in it. I think if anyone (including the Catholic church) believed this to be a real piece, it would probably have its own section devoted to it. Strange to see these claimed artifacts in a room with other random things... But interesting regardless. When we looked at the crown jewels, it was hard to view them for what they really were, and appreciate thier beauty (and longevity- some from over 500 years ago when Vienna was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire). Mainly, it looked like American costume jewelery worn by children. It was hard to remember this was REAL gold and REAL gemstones, not just glass and plastic. But, really, it was quite pretty.
However, the highlight of the day was Schonbrunn Palace, a bit outside Vienna. The historical significance of this was incredible- any fan of the Tudors would have loved it (you know who you are- though I've never seen it). It was formerly the home of Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, was used by 6 year old Mozart to perform and entertain, and was used as the meeting point for Kennedy and Kruschev. The rooms were decorated in beautiful "Rococo" style- not that I knew what that was before today. Overall it was really stunning and the host to incredible history, and the home of the Hapsburgs for many generations (the rulers of Austria and its former empires. Incredible for one building to be the home/host to so many historical figures who have reached almost legendary status. While we weren't allowed to take any photos inside, if you are curious you can visit http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/
We also managed to cook dinner tonight- a win for the pocketbooks and tummys :)
Tomorrow if the weather clears up a bit, we will head out to "wine country"- if not, we will enjoy just hanging out downtown Vienna in coffeshops! Enjoy the photos (and check out the view from our Prague hostel private balcony!)
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Hills are Alive...with the sound of protests...
October 24
Vienna, you are memorable already, and yet I have only been here a few hours.
- When we arrived and got to the street where our hostel is, the building looks from the outside for all intents and purposes to be abandoned during large reconstruction. Yet, there is a buzzer with the name of our hostel.... wandering inside the building, it doesn't look any more occupied, but follow the signs upstairs into yet another empty hallway with a door at the end. There, another buzzer...which instead of leading someone to come out to let us in, brings us a voice that tells us to go inside and our keys are on the beds A and A (???). Okayyy.... We open the door to find an amazing hidden hostel, very new, and that our beds are essentially up in a loft that feels like a small child's treehouse... All very, very odd, but quite cute and even though we have yet to meet someone who works here, it seems to be a good place.
-We went to the Opera House this evening for 4 euro standing room only tickets. It turned out to be a premiere of a new ballet, Juwelen der Neuen Welt. We were lucky to get tickets, as all regular seats were sold out. The sound of an orchestra tuning up always brings butterflys for me, and as the curtain went up a gasp throughout the audience at the intense beauty- the costumes were like a watercolor painting brought to life of a ballet school. We had intended to leave the ballet early, but it was so beautiful that we stayed throughout.
-Leaving the ballet we walked back to the U-bahn directly into a very large student protest about government cutbacks to student loans (or something along those lines). There was a large video screen set up which appeared to be showing the national Austrian news, which was going back and forth between a political roundtable and shots of the protest. So we were apparently on the Austrian news tonight! (at least in the background).
I never really got around to writing a real blog about Prague- hopefully you enjoyed the photos- but here are a few random thoughts about Prague, Europe, and life in general:
-We finally got to see an American movie!!! I had been really wanting to go to one, and succeeded in finding Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in English in Prague. Some odd things about seeing a movie in Prague: 1) You have assigned seats in the theater (just like in a performing arts theater). 2) You can purchase bacon-chedder flavored popcorn (and should. It was yummy). 3) You can buy a beer at the theater for under $2.
- Shops close very early here- some grocercy stores close as early as 7 PM....I guess you are SOL if you forgot an ingredient....
-Dog poop is an international problem (we have avoided stepping in any, but it seems to be everywhere around Europe even though there are free little baggies everywhere....)
-Tourists in DC are utterly incompetent at riding the metro. Constantly bags and arms are thrown between the doors to keep them from closing...but they don't actually reopen like elevator doors and can lead to whole cars being unloaded. Tourists across Europe seem to avoid this idiodic behavior...maybe because they know that safety standards are just not that high and there is a fair chance their arm will just get cut off... (just kidding...probably....). Anyway, I am left wondering why we can figure out the subway systems internationally in languages we don't speak, but American tourists are left looking totally lost. Is this a failure of DC signage or just that we are public transit pros (or, is everyone just this stupid in the US??)?
- Much of Europe looks exactly like the American midwest. Except there are wind farms everywhere. Also, how long does a wind turbine need to be operational before it makes enough power to pay for what it took to put it up?
-Riding on trains is far superior to airplanes. I do not mind these 5 hour rides, they are comfortable, and very relaxing. You can buy a beer on board for only a couple bucks and just sit back and relax. In many ways it ends up feeling similar to an afternoon on the beach, as you just sit back, put your feet up, and watch the world go rolling by.
-They sell potato chips in an amazing array of flavors here. Have I just not been paying attention in the US?
- Communists and Nazis build really ugly buildings.
-There are WWII memorials everywhere here. The presence of history of WWII is just so much more present, and many citys are still rebuilding. In the US, WWII feels very far away- we've had Vietnam, Korea, multiple mideast wars, etc. Here, WWII feels like it was only yesterday.
-In some places, WWII (and the Communist results across the continent) really was almost yesterday. Prague is a great example- it was 1989 before the Czek Republic had their "Velvet Revolution" and took back the government (it is called the Velvet Revolution because the power changed without bloodshed...).
-Except, Prague's government didn't really change without bloodshed. The students took to the streets in protest, jangling their keys, in record numbers just before the change after a student was beaten to death during the protests a few days before. But as it turns out, it wasn't a student- it was a setup by the secret police to incite the students to action, and they apparently beat to death one of their own (secret policemen). All this according to our tour guide.... I'm sure Wikipedia can confirm?
-The reason Prague is so historic is sinister - Hitler really liked it so he protected it. He thought it was the Jewel of Europe. But he also intended to create a museum there commemorating the extinct Jewish race (which is why there are so many Jewish artifacts there- he sent everything there to be warehoused until after the war).
-Is the liberal attitude in Europe in part a backlash against Communism and government control? Could this be why beer drinking in the streets is allowed- because people don't want the government telling them what to do?
- Have continued to enjoy street food- Prague had some amazing sausages in the central square being smoked over wood fires, and here in Vienna have already enjoyed chestnuts. Only bad (or just not great) street food is so far in Berlin- Currywurst- essentially a hot dog cut up with ketchup sprinkled with curry powder. Avoid.
-So far Matt says that top 2 cities are Berlin and Prague. He thinks people should not waste their time in London. I think London was especially painful only because we were super jetlagged- will be interesting to see what its like the second time through. Assuming the Paris strikes end eventually and we get to go on our planned route....won't be a problem for another couple weeks.
-Finally, Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!
Vienna, you are memorable already, and yet I have only been here a few hours.
- When we arrived and got to the street where our hostel is, the building looks from the outside for all intents and purposes to be abandoned during large reconstruction. Yet, there is a buzzer with the name of our hostel.... wandering inside the building, it doesn't look any more occupied, but follow the signs upstairs into yet another empty hallway with a door at the end. There, another buzzer...which instead of leading someone to come out to let us in, brings us a voice that tells us to go inside and our keys are on the beds A and A (???). Okayyy.... We open the door to find an amazing hidden hostel, very new, and that our beds are essentially up in a loft that feels like a small child's treehouse... All very, very odd, but quite cute and even though we have yet to meet someone who works here, it seems to be a good place.
-We went to the Opera House this evening for 4 euro standing room only tickets. It turned out to be a premiere of a new ballet, Juwelen der Neuen Welt. We were lucky to get tickets, as all regular seats were sold out. The sound of an orchestra tuning up always brings butterflys for me, and as the curtain went up a gasp throughout the audience at the intense beauty- the costumes were like a watercolor painting brought to life of a ballet school. We had intended to leave the ballet early, but it was so beautiful that we stayed throughout.
-Leaving the ballet we walked back to the U-bahn directly into a very large student protest about government cutbacks to student loans (or something along those lines). There was a large video screen set up which appeared to be showing the national Austrian news, which was going back and forth between a political roundtable and shots of the protest. So we were apparently on the Austrian news tonight! (at least in the background).
I never really got around to writing a real blog about Prague- hopefully you enjoyed the photos- but here are a few random thoughts about Prague, Europe, and life in general:
-We finally got to see an American movie!!! I had been really wanting to go to one, and succeeded in finding Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in English in Prague. Some odd things about seeing a movie in Prague: 1) You have assigned seats in the theater (just like in a performing arts theater). 2) You can purchase bacon-chedder flavored popcorn (and should. It was yummy). 3) You can buy a beer at the theater for under $2.
- Shops close very early here- some grocercy stores close as early as 7 PM....I guess you are SOL if you forgot an ingredient....
-Dog poop is an international problem (we have avoided stepping in any, but it seems to be everywhere around Europe even though there are free little baggies everywhere....)
-Tourists in DC are utterly incompetent at riding the metro. Constantly bags and arms are thrown between the doors to keep them from closing...but they don't actually reopen like elevator doors and can lead to whole cars being unloaded. Tourists across Europe seem to avoid this idiodic behavior...maybe because they know that safety standards are just not that high and there is a fair chance their arm will just get cut off... (just kidding...probably....). Anyway, I am left wondering why we can figure out the subway systems internationally in languages we don't speak, but American tourists are left looking totally lost. Is this a failure of DC signage or just that we are public transit pros (or, is everyone just this stupid in the US??)?
- Much of Europe looks exactly like the American midwest. Except there are wind farms everywhere. Also, how long does a wind turbine need to be operational before it makes enough power to pay for what it took to put it up?
-Riding on trains is far superior to airplanes. I do not mind these 5 hour rides, they are comfortable, and very relaxing. You can buy a beer on board for only a couple bucks and just sit back and relax. In many ways it ends up feeling similar to an afternoon on the beach, as you just sit back, put your feet up, and watch the world go rolling by.
-They sell potato chips in an amazing array of flavors here. Have I just not been paying attention in the US?
- Communists and Nazis build really ugly buildings.
-There are WWII memorials everywhere here. The presence of history of WWII is just so much more present, and many citys are still rebuilding. In the US, WWII feels very far away- we've had Vietnam, Korea, multiple mideast wars, etc. Here, WWII feels like it was only yesterday.
-In some places, WWII (and the Communist results across the continent) really was almost yesterday. Prague is a great example- it was 1989 before the Czek Republic had their "Velvet Revolution" and took back the government (it is called the Velvet Revolution because the power changed without bloodshed...).
-Except, Prague's government didn't really change without bloodshed. The students took to the streets in protest, jangling their keys, in record numbers just before the change after a student was beaten to death during the protests a few days before. But as it turns out, it wasn't a student- it was a setup by the secret police to incite the students to action, and they apparently beat to death one of their own (secret policemen). All this according to our tour guide.... I'm sure Wikipedia can confirm?
-The reason Prague is so historic is sinister - Hitler really liked it so he protected it. He thought it was the Jewel of Europe. But he also intended to create a museum there commemorating the extinct Jewish race (which is why there are so many Jewish artifacts there- he sent everything there to be warehoused until after the war).
-Is the liberal attitude in Europe in part a backlash against Communism and government control? Could this be why beer drinking in the streets is allowed- because people don't want the government telling them what to do?
- Have continued to enjoy street food- Prague had some amazing sausages in the central square being smoked over wood fires, and here in Vienna have already enjoyed chestnuts. Only bad (or just not great) street food is so far in Berlin- Currywurst- essentially a hot dog cut up with ketchup sprinkled with curry powder. Avoid.
-So far Matt says that top 2 cities are Berlin and Prague. He thinks people should not waste their time in London. I think London was especially painful only because we were super jetlagged- will be interesting to see what its like the second time through. Assuming the Paris strikes end eventually and we get to go on our planned route....won't be a problem for another couple weeks.
-Finally, Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Prague All Day Tour Photos
too tired from 6+ hours of walking around Prague (did city tour and castle tour) to write a long blog, and will just say that if the main Americans that the rest of the world meets are American students on tour, no wonder everyone hates us and thinks we are very stupid.... (3 very annoying 20 year old girls were on the tours with us). More older Americans (defined as post-college) need to tour...
Anyway, go look at the photos instead! It was an awesome sunny (cold) day, and we had a great time- tomorrow is major off-touring relaxing day of nothing!!
Anyway, go look at the photos instead! It was an awesome sunny (cold) day, and we had a great time- tomorrow is major off-touring relaxing day of nothing!!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Czech In Time
Yes, made it to Prague, Czech Republic (forgive the czech in time pun). The train ride here from Berlin- in a word, beautiful. The train tracks followed the river in a valley for several hours, which swept upwards into large hills (small mountains?) covered in stunning black rock walls and trees with changing leaves. There were even a couple castles along the way.
We're staying in a great B&B/Hostel here, that I think is actually larger than our condo (yeah I know, it's not hard to beat that), with high ceilings and a full kitchen. Very nice though not much furniture :) (see the photo).
We ate traditional Czech food tonight- I had beef goulash (think beef stew but spicy, with dumplings on the side to soak up the sauce) and Matt ordered a crazy beef with cream sauce and whipped cream and rasberry jam (also with dumplings). This sounds insane, but was really good - and who knew that your dinner could also be your dessert???
We also got to wander around after dark, across the "royal road" and toward Prague castle- it looks beautiful, though I'm not sure my photos reflect it- I didn't have my tripod along so it was hard to take good shots. But you can get an idea, and better photos tomorrow.
That's all for now, more (daytime) photos tomorrow :)
We're staying in a great B&B/Hostel here, that I think is actually larger than our condo (yeah I know, it's not hard to beat that), with high ceilings and a full kitchen. Very nice though not much furniture :) (see the photo).
We ate traditional Czech food tonight- I had beef goulash (think beef stew but spicy, with dumplings on the side to soak up the sauce) and Matt ordered a crazy beef with cream sauce and whipped cream and rasberry jam (also with dumplings). This sounds insane, but was really good - and who knew that your dinner could also be your dessert???
We also got to wander around after dark, across the "royal road" and toward Prague castle- it looks beautiful, though I'm not sure my photos reflect it- I didn't have my tripod along so it was hard to take good shots. But you can get an idea, and better photos tomorrow.
That's all for now, more (daytime) photos tomorrow :)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Berlin Touring October 19 and 20th
Between the cold (near freezing in the 30s) and the rain and the walking, Berlin has exhausted me too much for a "good" (aka "organized") post. But, we've been having a very good time.
Monday night we ended up going on an "Alternative 666 Anti-Pub Crawl." Which ended up meaning, "we're just like any other pub crawl but go to cooler bars." Which was good by us :) The most interesting was called Dr. Pong, which was a small dive bar in which a ping pong table was in the middle, which essentially everyone played at once in a round-robin sudden death elimination format - as in, the person in front of you hits the ball, gets out of the way, and you try to return the next ball. Not so easy, but pretty fun/funny.
We also were entertained by going to an absinthe bar, a "goth" bar, and a "hippie" bar- as well as the entertainment provided by some Danish boys doing eyeball shots of vodka and snorting salt before tequillia shots (WHAT???). Overall a fun night, and a good way to see the "real" (?) Berlin.
(As a side note from Matt: Interesting cultural touchstone: Yelling "America" in a certain tone of voice will always (on pub crawl) get the response, "F!!k Yeah!" from at least 3 dudes no matter their nationality. If you haven't seen Team America, you have no idea what this is about, and that's okay.)
The next day we went on a 4 hour city tour with a guide, which was great. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie (too strange to make up: the posing guards now by the checkpoint gate are actually strippers- both male and female- and for 10 euro they will actually give you a lapdance there in the middle of the street), the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (controversial due to its narrow scope), Hitler's underground bunker area (now under a nondescript parking lot) where he committed suicide and then was cremated in a pit nextdoor, Lustgarten (where Nazi marches frequently occured), various segments of the Berlin Wall, and the square of the 1933 book burning (20,000 books were burned- now there is an underground room of empty bookshelves as a memorial at the spot that you can see through the plexiglass area of sidewalk).
One extremely random item of interest is that the Berlin government has numbered with nailed signs each tree in the entire city. Because Germans apparently REALLY like counting. There are 210,000 if you're interested.
After the tour ended, we dragged our soaking wet, freezing selves to the Reichstag (the German parliament building). We got a nice view of the city from the top, but unfortunatly the very top dome was closed for cleaning (you can see a photo of this in the photostream- it was really cool architecture).
Don't worry though- when we finally got home, we had some comfort food at a place called "White Trash Fast Food" (actually a very large resturant with pretty good food), and then availed ourselves of some rum-spiked hot chocolate.
Today, the 20th, we toured the German history museum most of the day- it went from around 2000 BC to the present. It was quite interesting, and since I never took European history, filled in some major knoweldge gaps, especially related to how WWII evolved.
We spent the rest of the evening in a German shopping area (Alexanderplatz).
On our minds tonight is Matt's father's father, who was diagnosed with untreatable lung cancer yesterday. If you are of the praying persuasion, please send extras his way.
Tomorrow we head to Prague, which should be a pretty journey as the leaves are beginning to change here. They are not on the Euro, so perhaps everyday things will be even cheaper than they are here in Berlin (which is much cheaper than anywhere else we've been), though since Prague is once again more of a tourist town, maybe not. Have enjoyed Berlin, but ready to head onward to a place perhaps more accostomed to American tourists who don't speak the language -everyone here assumes we are German and speaks to us in German- and then are highly disappointed when we reveal we are, in fact, not. But, at least we apparently don't look like American tourists!
Monday night we ended up going on an "Alternative 666 Anti-Pub Crawl." Which ended up meaning, "we're just like any other pub crawl but go to cooler bars." Which was good by us :) The most interesting was called Dr. Pong, which was a small dive bar in which a ping pong table was in the middle, which essentially everyone played at once in a round-robin sudden death elimination format - as in, the person in front of you hits the ball, gets out of the way, and you try to return the next ball. Not so easy, but pretty fun/funny.
We also were entertained by going to an absinthe bar, a "goth" bar, and a "hippie" bar- as well as the entertainment provided by some Danish boys doing eyeball shots of vodka and snorting salt before tequillia shots (WHAT???). Overall a fun night, and a good way to see the "real" (?) Berlin.
(As a side note from Matt: Interesting cultural touchstone: Yelling "America" in a certain tone of voice will always (on pub crawl) get the response, "F!!k Yeah!" from at least 3 dudes no matter their nationality. If you haven't seen Team America, you have no idea what this is about, and that's okay.)
The next day we went on a 4 hour city tour with a guide, which was great. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie (too strange to make up: the posing guards now by the checkpoint gate are actually strippers- both male and female- and for 10 euro they will actually give you a lapdance there in the middle of the street), the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (controversial due to its narrow scope), Hitler's underground bunker area (now under a nondescript parking lot) where he committed suicide and then was cremated in a pit nextdoor, Lustgarten (where Nazi marches frequently occured), various segments of the Berlin Wall, and the square of the 1933 book burning (20,000 books were burned- now there is an underground room of empty bookshelves as a memorial at the spot that you can see through the plexiglass area of sidewalk).
One extremely random item of interest is that the Berlin government has numbered with nailed signs each tree in the entire city. Because Germans apparently REALLY like counting. There are 210,000 if you're interested.
After the tour ended, we dragged our soaking wet, freezing selves to the Reichstag (the German parliament building). We got a nice view of the city from the top, but unfortunatly the very top dome was closed for cleaning (you can see a photo of this in the photostream- it was really cool architecture).
Don't worry though- when we finally got home, we had some comfort food at a place called "White Trash Fast Food" (actually a very large resturant with pretty good food), and then availed ourselves of some rum-spiked hot chocolate.
Today, the 20th, we toured the German history museum most of the day- it went from around 2000 BC to the present. It was quite interesting, and since I never took European history, filled in some major knoweldge gaps, especially related to how WWII evolved.
We spent the rest of the evening in a German shopping area (Alexanderplatz).
On our minds tonight is Matt's father's father, who was diagnosed with untreatable lung cancer yesterday. If you are of the praying persuasion, please send extras his way.
Tomorrow we head to Prague, which should be a pretty journey as the leaves are beginning to change here. They are not on the Euro, so perhaps everyday things will be even cheaper than they are here in Berlin (which is much cheaper than anywhere else we've been), though since Prague is once again more of a tourist town, maybe not. Have enjoyed Berlin, but ready to head onward to a place perhaps more accostomed to American tourists who don't speak the language -everyone here assumes we are German and speaks to us in German- and then are highly disappointed when we reveal we are, in fact, not. But, at least we apparently don't look like American tourists!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Made it to Berlin!!
This city is HUGE! And there is no English (combined with the first time we have encountered people working in the tourist industry, including at the ticket counter in train station) making it very overwhelming. Tomorrow we are going on a city tour, and probably to a few museums.
Randomly, train strikes are going on throughout France and Belgium. This made our 6 hour train ride very full, though still better than flying, because everyone had to change plans to leave Amsterdaam to either of those locations, which are major destinations from there. In any case, we have been quite lucky to not get stuck anywhere without public transit yet, as there were also strikes in London the day before we arrived. Hope to stay on the right side of this luck.... :)
Also the z and y are in the opposite places on the keyboard making it verz annozing to type.... so thats it for now!!!
Randomly, train strikes are going on throughout France and Belgium. This made our 6 hour train ride very full, though still better than flying, because everyone had to change plans to leave Amsterdaam to either of those locations, which are major destinations from there. In any case, we have been quite lucky to not get stuck anywhere without public transit yet, as there were also strikes in London the day before we arrived. Hope to stay on the right side of this luck.... :)
Also the z and y are in the opposite places on the keyboard making it verz annozing to type.... so thats it for now!!!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Amsterdam- in which we ate raw herring (on purpose)
After our big pub crawl, we have taken the rest of the time in Amsterdam to relax and enjoy the city and being on vacation.
The one additional real "tourist" thing we did was the Bols headquarters tour. Bols makes all kinds of different liquors including "Geniver" (which they invented and still make today, was the precurser to Gin), and were once part of the West India Trading company- the largest company in the world for quite a long time. In addition to learning those facts, this was a great tour that really let you play- as you will see in the photos, they have a whole room set up with each of their flavors of liquor where you can smell each scent. They also have a "taste experience" where you are given a flavor strip and watch a video for 30 seconds, which shows all kinds of different fruits- it's not until the fruits finish flashing that you can successfully identify the flavor as vanilla (thus indicating the very strong link between sight and taste). At the end of the tour, we got to sample the products- always the best part. ;)
To continue the taste adventure as we left the tour I got a type of street food you probably only find in Amsterdam- a raw herring sandwich. Served on bread, with pickles and onions. Sounds terrible, but was actually very good- I managed to get Matt to try a bite, and even he said it was much better than he expected.
Today we finally got to rent bikes, as the rain stopped! We took a quick ferry across to Northern Amsterdam and rode for a couple hours through parks, along canals, dikes, and a windmill. It was a beautiful ride, and even stopped in the middle for a mini-picnic, and played on a very small footbridge over a creek (see the photos- I think this was probably intended as playground equipment for kids, but we enjoyed it too!)
We sampled an Indonesian feast for dinner, called a "rijsttafel" (rice table), which included 10 different small plates of vegetables, eggs, fish, shrimp, chicken and beef- it was well worth the splurge- there is a photo of this as well :)
Early tomorrow morning we head to Berlin on a 6 hour train ride, so auf wiedersehen for now!
Don't forget that you can get to the photos by clicking any photo posted- it will take you to a page where you can click to see the rest of the photostream. The blog is now set so that you can comment without logging into anything (I think) so comment away if you want!
The one additional real "tourist" thing we did was the Bols headquarters tour. Bols makes all kinds of different liquors including "Geniver" (which they invented and still make today, was the precurser to Gin), and were once part of the West India Trading company- the largest company in the world for quite a long time. In addition to learning those facts, this was a great tour that really let you play- as you will see in the photos, they have a whole room set up with each of their flavors of liquor where you can smell each scent. They also have a "taste experience" where you are given a flavor strip and watch a video for 30 seconds, which shows all kinds of different fruits- it's not until the fruits finish flashing that you can successfully identify the flavor as vanilla (thus indicating the very strong link between sight and taste). At the end of the tour, we got to sample the products- always the best part. ;)
To continue the taste adventure as we left the tour I got a type of street food you probably only find in Amsterdam- a raw herring sandwich. Served on bread, with pickles and onions. Sounds terrible, but was actually very good- I managed to get Matt to try a bite, and even he said it was much better than he expected.
Today we finally got to rent bikes, as the rain stopped! We took a quick ferry across to Northern Amsterdam and rode for a couple hours through parks, along canals, dikes, and a windmill. It was a beautiful ride, and even stopped in the middle for a mini-picnic, and played on a very small footbridge over a creek (see the photos- I think this was probably intended as playground equipment for kids, but we enjoyed it too!)
We sampled an Indonesian feast for dinner, called a "rijsttafel" (rice table), which included 10 different small plates of vegetables, eggs, fish, shrimp, chicken and beef- it was well worth the splurge- there is a photo of this as well :)
Early tomorrow morning we head to Berlin on a 6 hour train ride, so auf wiedersehen for now!
Don't forget that you can get to the photos by clicking any photo posted- it will take you to a page where you can click to see the rest of the photostream. The blog is now set so that you can comment without logging into anything (I think) so comment away if you want!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Hello from Amsterdam!
Just a quick post today, as we are off to see a museum or two this afternoon. We are staying in a great B&B here in Amsterdam- our room is huge, with a high ceiling and in suite bathroom - a really nice break from bunk beds in shared rooms, and in a great location just outside of the red light district. In fact, there are some very friendly (though barely dressed) ladies in the windows just next door!!! There is also an exceptionally high number of "coffeeshops" with their immediately recognizable smoke blowing down the street. Truly though where we are staying is a great area and good walking distance to all the museums and whatnot.
Yesterday we toured the Anne Frank house, which was incredibly moving and sad. The space they hid in was actually quite a bit bigger than I had always imagined, and really interesting to see. The foundation that runs the house has also taken on the mission of looking forward to end discrimination around the world, which I think is a great way to continue the message.
To shake off a bit of the gloomy depression of the house, we then went on a pub crawl tour through the red light district! We met some hilarious Irish boys from Belfast who kept us in stitches the whole evening- everytime we would get seperated for a few minutes, and one saw us again, they would shout "AMERICANSSS!!!!" and come running up with big hugs (they had been drinking since noon....and this was around 10 PM). Anyway, it was good fun.
Not many photos to post yet because it was raining all day, but it looks sunny out so maybe some better ones later or tomorrow.
Proost!
Yesterday we toured the Anne Frank house, which was incredibly moving and sad. The space they hid in was actually quite a bit bigger than I had always imagined, and really interesting to see. The foundation that runs the house has also taken on the mission of looking forward to end discrimination around the world, which I think is a great way to continue the message.
To shake off a bit of the gloomy depression of the house, we then went on a pub crawl tour through the red light district! We met some hilarious Irish boys from Belfast who kept us in stitches the whole evening- everytime we would get seperated for a few minutes, and one saw us again, they would shout "AMERICANSSS!!!!" and come running up with big hugs (they had been drinking since noon....and this was around 10 PM). Anyway, it was good fun.
Not many photos to post yet because it was raining all day, but it looks sunny out so maybe some better ones later or tomorrow.
Proost!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Giant naked man!!!
October 14, Brugge (this is how they spell it themselves. You know it better as Bruges.)
Taken together, the Mannekin Pis in Brussels, the mermaid spraying water from her nipples in Brugge, and the giant inflatable naked man across the square, can only mean one thing: Belgium loves naked people. However, it is much too cold to test this out ourselves! hahaha... :) In case you are wondering about the giant inflatable man, it is apparently a self portrait, which is part of kicking off a few months of cultural events here. It is pretty funny to walk into a 500 year old square and see full frontal parade sized balloon nudity, so at the very least it is drawing attention to the festival and making some Americans giggle.
What we did instead was what I have deemed the "Brugge Stairmaster." 366 steps up to the top of the Tower in market square (as depicted in the movie, In Bruges). From there, a bell tower around 500 years old, you have a beautiful panoramic view of the city, as you can see in the photos. But don't worry- in order to build up energy for such a feat of strength and endurance, we first had french fries with sweet and spicy sauce on the square. Apparently french fries are the item of secondary fame in Belgium (next to its waffles). They were good- but so are most fresh french fries- these in particular were made from fresh potatoes which probably contributes.
As if 366 very tightly wound steep stairs made for much smaller feet from 500 years ago weren't enough, we also toured the De Halve Mann brewery and walked its over 200 steps. (For those keeping track, that's around 500+ stairs for today- 1000 if you count back down, which as they are extremely narrow for much smaller feet, quite trecherous both directions). De Halve Maan is the last remaining brewery here in Brugge, from the original 36(!!!). It was actually a very interesting tour- we saw the mash happening (that's the stage where the grains are mixed with hot water to extract the sugars before yeast is added), and the whole place smelled like an amazing bakery. In addition, because the brewery is now in its 6th generation of family ownership, the original brewing equipment from the mid-1800s was still present in addition to the newer machinery. It was an interesting look at not only old brewing techniques, but new as well.
We also took a lovely boat tour of the city through the canals- it was beautiful, and really amazing to see the architecture at work to make these canals work. Incredible to think of stepping out your kitchen door directly into the river, with nothing in between. There was also a large group of swans enjoying the day, though it was a bit cold and misty for us. (I did wear long underwear for the first time in my adult life- perhaps not the best choice on a day we did 500 stairs....but they kept me happily warm the rest of the day).
If this doesn't seem like enough for one day, we also saw the Michaelangelo Maddonna and Child marble sculpture in a beautiful cathedral, said to be the only Michaelangelo to have left Italy during his lifetime. It was beautiful and intricate- the Maddonna was amazingly lifelike (for marble), and overall I found the experience to be (suprisingly) moving.
Overall, a very busy day- and yet we still had time for a 2 hour nap :) (this should give you an idea how very small the city is!)
Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam! Should be an excellent contrast to Brugge... but a few random thoughts to leave you with:
- We had Chinese for dinner here, and realized that in Europe (based on the 2 we have been in), they don't even bother putting out the chopsticks. Funny how this has developed as an American custom to reflect the Chinese culture but is not bothered with here!!!
- Interesting brewery observation- at this point, basically no breweries do their own malting anymore, though they used to. This is done by allowing the grains to germinate, and then heating to whatever the approrpriate roasting temperature is for the particular brew being made. One possible advance to the "microbrew revolution" could be taking on this process again at a brewery level- though it is very hard, hot work (think giant room-sized oven in which a person must occasionally enter to turn the grains- though I am sure the industrial centers that do this now must have it mechanized).
- Funny story from the airport the other day in Dublin- someone was looking at a Guinness keychain/bottle opener with a small button on the side. Thinking it was a flashlight, the button was pushed a few times. Confused why no light was coming out, held it up to their eye- at which point flame shot out! Not only did this almost singe the eyebrows, but also cannot believe they are selling lighters in airports past security....
-Last night after dinner we ducked into a small bar with a nice smoldering fireplace, where I had my first hot red wine with lemon, sugar, and cloves (they call it hot wine here- I am not sure if it is any different than Mulled Wine...will let you know when we get to Germany?)
-Belgium beer is awesome (so many varieties and all so deeply flavorful). Belgium waffles are heavenly (so light and fluffy and sweet). Belgium chocolate is breathtaking (so rich and smooth). Belgium fries are lovely (so salty crisp and fresh). But what we cannot report on is Mulles and Frites- Mussels and Fries- only because something we can get in DC and Baltimore for under $10 is just not worth 20 euro a plate here (approximately $30).
-What I get for trying to wear clean clothing- we did the laundry yesterday, and as you can see in one of the photos, something bad must have been left in the wash by the last person, because my brown pants are now covered in white waxy material that won't come out even after 2 washes and trying to razor it off. Not happy....down to 2 pairs of pants until Thanksgiving- will see if I can pick up some new ones in Berlin.
-This is getting expensive, did not plan on having to pay for basically every single thing we do. But, we are headed away from the SUPER touristy places, and towards more "real" cities where there will be cheaper food and maybe more free museums.
-Please forgive the massive number of photos- I am doing my best to only post the best ones, but on a small netbook it is hard to see sometimes, and it takes FOREVER to go through them all...
-Please also forgive misspellings- the spell check integrated here thinks that I have misspelled everything because it is calibrated to Dutch and not English, and I haven't figured out how to tell it otherwise as we travel (it was fine in Dublin and London, so clearly its pulling based on ISP).
Taken together, the Mannekin Pis in Brussels, the mermaid spraying water from her nipples in Brugge, and the giant inflatable naked man across the square, can only mean one thing: Belgium loves naked people. However, it is much too cold to test this out ourselves! hahaha... :) In case you are wondering about the giant inflatable man, it is apparently a self portrait, which is part of kicking off a few months of cultural events here. It is pretty funny to walk into a 500 year old square and see full frontal parade sized balloon nudity, so at the very least it is drawing attention to the festival and making some Americans giggle.
What we did instead was what I have deemed the "Brugge Stairmaster." 366 steps up to the top of the Tower in market square (as depicted in the movie, In Bruges). From there, a bell tower around 500 years old, you have a beautiful panoramic view of the city, as you can see in the photos. But don't worry- in order to build up energy for such a feat of strength and endurance, we first had french fries with sweet and spicy sauce on the square. Apparently french fries are the item of secondary fame in Belgium (next to its waffles). They were good- but so are most fresh french fries- these in particular were made from fresh potatoes which probably contributes.
As if 366 very tightly wound steep stairs made for much smaller feet from 500 years ago weren't enough, we also toured the De Halve Mann brewery and walked its over 200 steps. (For those keeping track, that's around 500+ stairs for today- 1000 if you count back down, which as they are extremely narrow for much smaller feet, quite trecherous both directions). De Halve Maan is the last remaining brewery here in Brugge, from the original 36(!!!). It was actually a very interesting tour- we saw the mash happening (that's the stage where the grains are mixed with hot water to extract the sugars before yeast is added), and the whole place smelled like an amazing bakery. In addition, because the brewery is now in its 6th generation of family ownership, the original brewing equipment from the mid-1800s was still present in addition to the newer machinery. It was an interesting look at not only old brewing techniques, but new as well.
We also took a lovely boat tour of the city through the canals- it was beautiful, and really amazing to see the architecture at work to make these canals work. Incredible to think of stepping out your kitchen door directly into the river, with nothing in between. There was also a large group of swans enjoying the day, though it was a bit cold and misty for us. (I did wear long underwear for the first time in my adult life- perhaps not the best choice on a day we did 500 stairs....but they kept me happily warm the rest of the day).
If this doesn't seem like enough for one day, we also saw the Michaelangelo Maddonna and Child marble sculpture in a beautiful cathedral, said to be the only Michaelangelo to have left Italy during his lifetime. It was beautiful and intricate- the Maddonna was amazingly lifelike (for marble), and overall I found the experience to be (suprisingly) moving.
Overall, a very busy day- and yet we still had time for a 2 hour nap :) (this should give you an idea how very small the city is!)
Tomorrow we head to Amsterdam! Should be an excellent contrast to Brugge... but a few random thoughts to leave you with:
- We had Chinese for dinner here, and realized that in Europe (based on the 2 we have been in), they don't even bother putting out the chopsticks. Funny how this has developed as an American custom to reflect the Chinese culture but is not bothered with here!!!
- Interesting brewery observation- at this point, basically no breweries do their own malting anymore, though they used to. This is done by allowing the grains to germinate, and then heating to whatever the approrpriate roasting temperature is for the particular brew being made. One possible advance to the "microbrew revolution" could be taking on this process again at a brewery level- though it is very hard, hot work (think giant room-sized oven in which a person must occasionally enter to turn the grains- though I am sure the industrial centers that do this now must have it mechanized).
- Funny story from the airport the other day in Dublin- someone was looking at a Guinness keychain/bottle opener with a small button on the side. Thinking it was a flashlight, the button was pushed a few times. Confused why no light was coming out, held it up to their eye- at which point flame shot out! Not only did this almost singe the eyebrows, but also cannot believe they are selling lighters in airports past security....
-Last night after dinner we ducked into a small bar with a nice smoldering fireplace, where I had my first hot red wine with lemon, sugar, and cloves (they call it hot wine here- I am not sure if it is any different than Mulled Wine...will let you know when we get to Germany?)
-Belgium beer is awesome (so many varieties and all so deeply flavorful). Belgium waffles are heavenly (so light and fluffy and sweet). Belgium chocolate is breathtaking (so rich and smooth). Belgium fries are lovely (so salty crisp and fresh). But what we cannot report on is Mulles and Frites- Mussels and Fries- only because something we can get in DC and Baltimore for under $10 is just not worth 20 euro a plate here (approximately $30).
-What I get for trying to wear clean clothing- we did the laundry yesterday, and as you can see in one of the photos, something bad must have been left in the wash by the last person, because my brown pants are now covered in white waxy material that won't come out even after 2 washes and trying to razor it off. Not happy....down to 2 pairs of pants until Thanksgiving- will see if I can pick up some new ones in Berlin.
-This is getting expensive, did not plan on having to pay for basically every single thing we do. But, we are headed away from the SUPER touristy places, and towards more "real" cities where there will be cheaper food and maybe more free museums.
-Please forgive the massive number of photos- I am doing my best to only post the best ones, but on a small netbook it is hard to see sometimes, and it takes FOREVER to go through them all...
-Please also forgive misspellings- the spell check integrated here thinks that I have misspelled everything because it is calibrated to Dutch and not English, and I haven't figured out how to tell it otherwise as we travel (it was fine in Dublin and London, so clearly its pulling based on ISP).
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pee, waffle, and a flag.
October 12- Dublin to Brussels
We flew from Dublin to Brussels via Aer Lingus, which had the same sales strategy as Ryan air- pretty funny to see, and wonder if all European airlines do this or if it is just the discount flights? The flight was okay, though we were delayed about an hour after we were onboard because of some problem with the water pressure on board- they expected it to take 2-3 minutes to fix....60 minutes later we took off! But, we got there safely, so can't really complain. Matt was a little extra miserable on the flight though, as he has gotten a mild cold- the pressure changes on the sinuses are never fun when you are congested. But he's hanging tough and doesn't seem to be very impacted overall.
When we were at last in central Brussels, after taking a quick train from the airport, it was already pushing 10:00 PM- and thinking the last check-in at the already paid for hostel was 10:30, we were on the fly out of the train station. With no map. And no real directions to where we needed to be, other than knowing it was south and behind a mall. But, taking a guess that South from the North train station must be toward the "center" sign (all in German and French), we headed out into the night. And miraculously stumbled upon the mall we were trying to find within 15 minutes of walking blindly south. And happend to immediately take the right turn to find the "back" of the mall, arriving in a panic at the hostel as it was pushing 10:30. Finding it, we hurried inside- where we learned that check in was 24 hours. :) In any case, once again, blind luck and a little bit of information coaligned to get us where we needed to be!
We then set out to find dinner, and stumbled upon a bar that was still serving dinner (now post 11 PM), but only Spaghetti.(As it happened, this bar was called The Raven- a callback to a DC haunt.) Just happy to have found somewhere open, we ordered 2 bowls, and were shocked when they came out- the two biggest bowls of spaghetti either of us have ever seen! As hungry as we were, only made it through about 1/2 of either (though it was very good).
We then headed back to the hostel, which was not too bad- in room sink, and 2 beds each built into the wall (like a dorm).
Oct 13: Brussels to Brugge
We wandered around Brussels for a few hours, including seeing the Mannequin Pis (a small statue of a peeing boy), which is the biggest "tourist attraction" in Brussels (funny for a city of over a million people). As you will see in the photos, quite a large tourist industry has captured its popularity, and there are replicas all over, in all sizes. the only real disappointment is that the little boy was not in costume today- generally he wears different costumes changed frequently, but I suppose the upside is we saw him as intended originally :)
We also went to the Belgium Beer Museum, which is in the middle of Grand Place (the big square with beautiful buildings from late 1600s). This was pretty interesting, as it covered a variety of beers that are made only in Belgium, including Gueuze, Lambic and Kriek, which all use spontaneous fermentation (much like American sourdough). We also learned that there are actually only 6 Trappist monestarys in the world, 5 of which are here in Belgium (though there are many more "abby beers", which are just generally associated with churches and not brewed by the actual monks themselves). It was good fun, and ended with a included beer. I had the Kriek, which tasted quite a bit like American cough syrup... but hey, it's traditional!
We then caught a train to Brugge, which we are in now- doing laundry, drinking a beer, and updating this blog in the hostel all at the same time- quite productive :) Haven't seen the city at all yet, but have all day tomorrow and it is quite small, plus we will venture out after the much needed laundry finishes!
Some random thoughts for you:
-Regardless of the bad Kriek, the other Belgium beers we have had are quite good. Love the Whitbeer (White Beer- eg, Leffe Blonde, which many of you have had in the US).
-We lost another hour, so now we are 7 hours ahead of DC.
-On the way to the airport in Dublin, we met Andy's Irish twin- very similar hilarious sense of humor, kept doing goofy voices from all over the world, and never shut up for one second of the ride :)
-Matt shaved his travel beard. He no longer looks like a hobo. Back to 17 year old instead.
-One funny contrast that is already nice about Belgium compared to UK or Ireland, the sinks here seem to all have adjustable temperatures- I am sure this relates more than anything to the age the faucets were installed (or reinstalled), but its nice to be able to wash your hands again without either scalding them (so hot the mirror immediately fogs up) or freezing them. Another random note about the plumbing, because I know it is your top topic of interest, all the toilets have dual flushing modes- big and small. Nice way to save water, and something I've only seen once in the US (at a friend's house that was very recently built in DC). Wonder if this will catch on?
-People in Brussels drink beer while doing their morning (okay, 11:30) crosswords! Love it.
-it's getting cold here.
-Have been enjoying more international food- had shwarma for lunch, and the best waffle ever for breakfast from a street vendor. The waffle was very sweet, with sugar inside somehow, so you didn't need syrup or anything additional and could easily eat it while walking down the street. (We took a couple photos of tourist waffles covered in toppings but didn't try one...yet).
-This is the first time I have ever been unable to read anything on a menu. A bit intimidating...luckily many of them have photos so you can sort of point and smile. The waiters are used to tourists, so even if they don't speak any English and you speak no French or German, you can end up with something yummy!
Laundry is calling, and dinner soon- hopefully cute photos of Brugge tomorrow!
We flew from Dublin to Brussels via Aer Lingus, which had the same sales strategy as Ryan air- pretty funny to see, and wonder if all European airlines do this or if it is just the discount flights? The flight was okay, though we were delayed about an hour after we were onboard because of some problem with the water pressure on board- they expected it to take 2-3 minutes to fix....60 minutes later we took off! But, we got there safely, so can't really complain. Matt was a little extra miserable on the flight though, as he has gotten a mild cold- the pressure changes on the sinuses are never fun when you are congested. But he's hanging tough and doesn't seem to be very impacted overall.
When we were at last in central Brussels, after taking a quick train from the airport, it was already pushing 10:00 PM- and thinking the last check-in at the already paid for hostel was 10:30, we were on the fly out of the train station. With no map. And no real directions to where we needed to be, other than knowing it was south and behind a mall. But, taking a guess that South from the North train station must be toward the "center" sign (all in German and French), we headed out into the night. And miraculously stumbled upon the mall we were trying to find within 15 minutes of walking blindly south. And happend to immediately take the right turn to find the "back" of the mall, arriving in a panic at the hostel as it was pushing 10:30. Finding it, we hurried inside- where we learned that check in was 24 hours. :) In any case, once again, blind luck and a little bit of information coaligned to get us where we needed to be!
We then set out to find dinner, and stumbled upon a bar that was still serving dinner (now post 11 PM), but only Spaghetti.(As it happened, this bar was called The Raven- a callback to a DC haunt.) Just happy to have found somewhere open, we ordered 2 bowls, and were shocked when they came out- the two biggest bowls of spaghetti either of us have ever seen! As hungry as we were, only made it through about 1/2 of either (though it was very good).
We then headed back to the hostel, which was not too bad- in room sink, and 2 beds each built into the wall (like a dorm).
Oct 13: Brussels to Brugge
We wandered around Brussels for a few hours, including seeing the Mannequin Pis (a small statue of a peeing boy), which is the biggest "tourist attraction" in Brussels (funny for a city of over a million people). As you will see in the photos, quite a large tourist industry has captured its popularity, and there are replicas all over, in all sizes. the only real disappointment is that the little boy was not in costume today- generally he wears different costumes changed frequently, but I suppose the upside is we saw him as intended originally :)
We also went to the Belgium Beer Museum, which is in the middle of Grand Place (the big square with beautiful buildings from late 1600s). This was pretty interesting, as it covered a variety of beers that are made only in Belgium, including Gueuze, Lambic and Kriek, which all use spontaneous fermentation (much like American sourdough). We also learned that there are actually only 6 Trappist monestarys in the world, 5 of which are here in Belgium (though there are many more "abby beers", which are just generally associated with churches and not brewed by the actual monks themselves). It was good fun, and ended with a included beer. I had the Kriek, which tasted quite a bit like American cough syrup... but hey, it's traditional!
We then caught a train to Brugge, which we are in now- doing laundry, drinking a beer, and updating this blog in the hostel all at the same time- quite productive :) Haven't seen the city at all yet, but have all day tomorrow and it is quite small, plus we will venture out after the much needed laundry finishes!
Some random thoughts for you:
-Regardless of the bad Kriek, the other Belgium beers we have had are quite good. Love the Whitbeer (White Beer- eg, Leffe Blonde, which many of you have had in the US).
-We lost another hour, so now we are 7 hours ahead of DC.
-On the way to the airport in Dublin, we met Andy's Irish twin- very similar hilarious sense of humor, kept doing goofy voices from all over the world, and never shut up for one second of the ride :)
-Matt shaved his travel beard. He no longer looks like a hobo. Back to 17 year old instead.
-One funny contrast that is already nice about Belgium compared to UK or Ireland, the sinks here seem to all have adjustable temperatures- I am sure this relates more than anything to the age the faucets were installed (or reinstalled), but its nice to be able to wash your hands again without either scalding them (so hot the mirror immediately fogs up) or freezing them. Another random note about the plumbing, because I know it is your top topic of interest, all the toilets have dual flushing modes- big and small. Nice way to save water, and something I've only seen once in the US (at a friend's house that was very recently built in DC). Wonder if this will catch on?
-People in Brussels drink beer while doing their morning (okay, 11:30) crosswords! Love it.
-it's getting cold here.
-Have been enjoying more international food- had shwarma for lunch, and the best waffle ever for breakfast from a street vendor. The waffle was very sweet, with sugar inside somehow, so you didn't need syrup or anything additional and could easily eat it while walking down the street. (We took a couple photos of tourist waffles covered in toppings but didn't try one...yet).
-This is the first time I have ever been unable to read anything on a menu. A bit intimidating...luckily many of them have photos so you can sort of point and smile. The waiters are used to tourists, so even if they don't speak any English and you speak no French or German, you can end up with something yummy!
Laundry is calling, and dinner soon- hopefully cute photos of Brugge tomorrow!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Go see the photos.
But read the blog below for details on what you are looking at. The pictures are amazing (not due to my skill, the scenery is just stunning).
Dingle October 9-11
Hello readers, sorry to have left you hanging, but had no Internet at the B&B.
We left Dublin for Dingle on the morning of October 9, taking a tram to the train, to another train, to a bus, and ending with a walk up a country road. While it may not be the easiest place in Ireland to get to, it was worth every minute. As you will see in the photos, the scenery was beautiful the entire route- a sea of green in as many shades as there are blues in the ocean. Passing cows and sheep and wildflowers with "mountains" in the background (they just aren't very tall). Eventually on the bus adding the ocean to the set, and it could not have been more beautiful. I don't think we will have better scenery for the rest of the trip, though the Swiss alps and Cinque Terre Italy may compete.
At the bus station in Tra Lee we met Thomas, a native of Norway living in Geneva for the past 30 years, with a strong French accent. Dingle is quite a small town, so as you will see in the rest of the post, we ran into him several times!
The B&B we stayed at, O'Shea's, was up a small road called Conner's Pass- no sidewalks, and posted speed limit of 80 km/hr (so the few cars the went by did so very rapidly!). A bit scary, but we got to pet a beautiful friendly horse who came right up to the gate as we went by. The sheep and goats didn't even notice us. As you can see in the photos, our window looked out onto fields, with the little Dingle town in the background, mountains to the sides, and the ocean in the distance. Beautiful and quiet, perfect for a couple days away to relax. Dingle itself is very quiet as well- apparently this is very much the off-season, and much was closed. The town is painted in pastels, and echoes small American beach towns.
In the evening we went to a pub to take in traditional Irish music (flute and guitar and fiddle/violin), where we again ran into Thomas. We shared stories over Guinness (which wasn't quite as good as it was at the factory in Dublin), and as they say here in Gaelic, the "Craick" (pronounced crack, meaning hearty conversation) was entertaining. (And don't worry, we took a cab home up the road at night- a $4 Euro 5 minute journey well worth it).
The next day, October 10, we found that so much of the town is shut down that no tours were running (it was a Sunday) except for the tour into the harbour to see the local dolphin 'Fungie'! Finding the $18 euro per person cost to go see a dolphin not smart enough to live in warm water, we passed on the tour. We were also unable to rent bicycles as the shops closed on the weekend in off season, so we ended up calling a taxi to take us to Slea Head. As we were waiting on the taxi, Thomas wandered up and was excited to come along. The timing was perfect and it was nice to have another companion for conversation as well as splitting the $36 Euro ride. The taxi driver gave us an excellent overview of the area and its history before dropping us off. As it turned out, we were glad to not have been able to rent the bicycles- getting out of town would have been somewhat trecherous.
We were dropped off at the 'Clochain' or Beehive Forts, which were built around 2000 BC- that's around 4000 years ago! Apparently they were resettled around 500 BC, which were the current buildings. These had the appearance of an igloo made of rock. They were much bigger than we had expected, and had multiple rooms connecting to each other.
We then continued to walk along the coast, where we had stunning views of Slea Head, the westernmost point of Europe (they say "The next parish is Boston"), where the waves constantly crashed into jagged black rock cliffs. I tried to narrow down my photos of this, but still ended up posting quite a few in an attempt to capture the power of the area. We followed the road for a couple hours to where there was a small sandy beach- as you can see, we went ankle deep in the freezing water- where a couple brave/stupid surfers wore wetsuits, seemingly not noticing the cold. The cab then came to pick us back up, and we headed back to Dingle. From the beach we had beautiful views of the Great Blasket Islands, uninhabited since 1950s. These are now an ecological preserve that boats run tours around during the summer.
A few more random thoughts, as I am currently in an Internet cafe and trying to keep the minutes down:
-Matt travels like Puddy (from Seinfeld), he needs his sit and stare time. Watching this as I glance up from my book (finished the new Jack Reacher- excellent) is pretty entertaining.
-The first night in Dingle we went to a small Chinese place run by a very nice man from Hong Kong- what I had was very good (it was beef and mushrooms and came out in a sizzling bowl not too different from the way fajitas are served in the US), but Matt ordered the General Tso's chicken- an American Chinese dish that was not very good here... the next night he ordered chicken nuggets and french fries.... and before we left Dublin he had chicken wings... I must work on convincing him to get outside the American fried chicken box :)
-We finally got the classic English/Irish breakfast at our B&B, and it was fantastic- egg over medium, "bacon" (more like pan fried thick ham), sausages, pan grilled tomatoes, fresh fruit, cereal, coffee, juice, toast, and cheeses. One does not need a lunch after a breakfast like this.
-After our walking tour we popped into the grocery store to get lunch- ended up at the deli counter. Have never ordered a roasted ham hock before. Thought it was mostly bone and we ordered 2 (they were around $1 each so I figured that to be that cheap there must not be much meat on them). Ummm....yeah. Ham hocks are big and very meaty as it turned out. Ended up having to throw basically a full one away.
-The pubs here keep the lights on very bright. This was a strange contrast to the typical American pub where you can only read the menu by your cell phone light.
-We washed some socks in the sink, thinking they would be dry by the next morning. Wrong. It is very humid here...and now we are travelling back to Dublin with a sack of wet socks... Ooops!
-In my "tourist things I like to look at calculus from my last post, I realized there is something I like even more than architecture- nature. The cliffs going into the sea with black rocks with rolling green mountains covered in sheep could keep me entertained all day long.
-Here the mountain grazing is called "commonage" which means anyone can use the land for their sheep. In order to keep track of which sheep is yours easily (without checking their barcode, which they also have), the farmers paint them funny bright neon colors on their backs. This is quite entertaining to see a field of sheep with neon pink wool.
-Guinness has branded every product with their logo, but we thought of a new one for them since they seem to brand everything already- a home pregnancy test which, if negative, could read "Negative, enjoy a Guinness!" If positive, "9 months to next Guinness!" I think people would buy this!
-Why people would pay $18 Euro each to go see Fungie the dolphin is beyond my comprehension...
-The signs here are in Gaelic and English, and say things like Ionad Chnoc Bhreanainn (The Great Blasket Centre). Glad the English is present...
-Irish accents here are much thicker and harder to understand than in Dublin, but most are used to dealing with tourists and can get their point across eventually.
-Dingle is such a small town that there are no street addresses, only street names. This makes it a little challenging to find things when you have first arrived in town...
-As we went to the westernmost point of Europe yesterday, we must be headed East now- touch down in Brussels tomorrow evening. Very much looking forward to not having any more planes to catch, and can travel at whatever intervals we please :) Next post will probably be from there!
We left Dublin for Dingle on the morning of October 9, taking a tram to the train, to another train, to a bus, and ending with a walk up a country road. While it may not be the easiest place in Ireland to get to, it was worth every minute. As you will see in the photos, the scenery was beautiful the entire route- a sea of green in as many shades as there are blues in the ocean. Passing cows and sheep and wildflowers with "mountains" in the background (they just aren't very tall). Eventually on the bus adding the ocean to the set, and it could not have been more beautiful. I don't think we will have better scenery for the rest of the trip, though the Swiss alps and Cinque Terre Italy may compete.
At the bus station in Tra Lee we met Thomas, a native of Norway living in Geneva for the past 30 years, with a strong French accent. Dingle is quite a small town, so as you will see in the rest of the post, we ran into him several times!
The B&B we stayed at, O'Shea's, was up a small road called Conner's Pass- no sidewalks, and posted speed limit of 80 km/hr (so the few cars the went by did so very rapidly!). A bit scary, but we got to pet a beautiful friendly horse who came right up to the gate as we went by. The sheep and goats didn't even notice us. As you can see in the photos, our window looked out onto fields, with the little Dingle town in the background, mountains to the sides, and the ocean in the distance. Beautiful and quiet, perfect for a couple days away to relax. Dingle itself is very quiet as well- apparently this is very much the off-season, and much was closed. The town is painted in pastels, and echoes small American beach towns.
In the evening we went to a pub to take in traditional Irish music (flute and guitar and fiddle/violin), where we again ran into Thomas. We shared stories over Guinness (which wasn't quite as good as it was at the factory in Dublin), and as they say here in Gaelic, the "Craick" (pronounced crack, meaning hearty conversation) was entertaining. (And don't worry, we took a cab home up the road at night- a $4 Euro 5 minute journey well worth it).
The next day, October 10, we found that so much of the town is shut down that no tours were running (it was a Sunday) except for the tour into the harbour to see the local dolphin 'Fungie'! Finding the $18 euro per person cost to go see a dolphin not smart enough to live in warm water, we passed on the tour. We were also unable to rent bicycles as the shops closed on the weekend in off season, so we ended up calling a taxi to take us to Slea Head. As we were waiting on the taxi, Thomas wandered up and was excited to come along. The timing was perfect and it was nice to have another companion for conversation as well as splitting the $36 Euro ride. The taxi driver gave us an excellent overview of the area and its history before dropping us off. As it turned out, we were glad to not have been able to rent the bicycles- getting out of town would have been somewhat trecherous.
We were dropped off at the 'Clochain' or Beehive Forts, which were built around 2000 BC- that's around 4000 years ago! Apparently they were resettled around 500 BC, which were the current buildings. These had the appearance of an igloo made of rock. They were much bigger than we had expected, and had multiple rooms connecting to each other.
We then continued to walk along the coast, where we had stunning views of Slea Head, the westernmost point of Europe (they say "The next parish is Boston"), where the waves constantly crashed into jagged black rock cliffs. I tried to narrow down my photos of this, but still ended up posting quite a few in an attempt to capture the power of the area. We followed the road for a couple hours to where there was a small sandy beach- as you can see, we went ankle deep in the freezing water- where a couple brave/stupid surfers wore wetsuits, seemingly not noticing the cold. The cab then came to pick us back up, and we headed back to Dingle. From the beach we had beautiful views of the Great Blasket Islands, uninhabited since 1950s. These are now an ecological preserve that boats run tours around during the summer.
A few more random thoughts, as I am currently in an Internet cafe and trying to keep the minutes down:
-Matt travels like Puddy (from Seinfeld), he needs his sit and stare time. Watching this as I glance up from my book (finished the new Jack Reacher- excellent) is pretty entertaining.
-The first night in Dingle we went to a small Chinese place run by a very nice man from Hong Kong- what I had was very good (it was beef and mushrooms and came out in a sizzling bowl not too different from the way fajitas are served in the US), but Matt ordered the General Tso's chicken- an American Chinese dish that was not very good here... the next night he ordered chicken nuggets and french fries.... and before we left Dublin he had chicken wings... I must work on convincing him to get outside the American fried chicken box :)
-We finally got the classic English/Irish breakfast at our B&B, and it was fantastic- egg over medium, "bacon" (more like pan fried thick ham), sausages, pan grilled tomatoes, fresh fruit, cereal, coffee, juice, toast, and cheeses. One does not need a lunch after a breakfast like this.
-After our walking tour we popped into the grocery store to get lunch- ended up at the deli counter. Have never ordered a roasted ham hock before. Thought it was mostly bone and we ordered 2 (they were around $1 each so I figured that to be that cheap there must not be much meat on them). Ummm....yeah. Ham hocks are big and very meaty as it turned out. Ended up having to throw basically a full one away.
-The pubs here keep the lights on very bright. This was a strange contrast to the typical American pub where you can only read the menu by your cell phone light.
-We washed some socks in the sink, thinking they would be dry by the next morning. Wrong. It is very humid here...and now we are travelling back to Dublin with a sack of wet socks... Ooops!
-In my "tourist things I like to look at calculus from my last post, I realized there is something I like even more than architecture- nature. The cliffs going into the sea with black rocks with rolling green mountains covered in sheep could keep me entertained all day long.
-Here the mountain grazing is called "commonage" which means anyone can use the land for their sheep. In order to keep track of which sheep is yours easily (without checking their barcode, which they also have), the farmers paint them funny bright neon colors on their backs. This is quite entertaining to see a field of sheep with neon pink wool.
-Guinness has branded every product with their logo, but we thought of a new one for them since they seem to brand everything already- a home pregnancy test which, if negative, could read "Negative, enjoy a Guinness!" If positive, "9 months to next Guinness!" I think people would buy this!
-Why people would pay $18 Euro each to go see Fungie the dolphin is beyond my comprehension...
-The signs here are in Gaelic and English, and say things like Ionad Chnoc Bhreanainn (The Great Blasket Centre). Glad the English is present...
-Irish accents here are much thicker and harder to understand than in Dublin, but most are used to dealing with tourists and can get their point across eventually.
-Dingle is such a small town that there are no street addresses, only street names. This makes it a little challenging to find things when you have first arrived in town...
-As we went to the westernmost point of Europe yesterday, we must be headed East now- touch down in Brussels tomorrow evening. Very much looking forward to not having any more planes to catch, and can travel at whatever intervals we please :) Next post will probably be from there!
Friday, October 8, 2010
All Universities look the same?
October 8, Dublin
Today just a quick post of things I jotted down during the day, as it's about time to head to a pub for a pint :)
We visited Trinity College today to see the Book of Kells, one of the top attractions in Dublin- an illustrated book of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John from around 800 AD. It was pretty interesting as an exhibit, as there were many quotes from the transcribers (or other transcribers around the same time) discussing the process of writing. Some quotes were celebrating the process of creation, while others were mourning the crushing work of it (which one imagines was pretty difficult work, calligraphy by candlelight). I thought this was an interesting contrast, and something that has persisted even to today's writing process even by computer! Visiting Trinity College was also entertaining as it looks just like the American colleges- large white marble buildings and open greenspaces. The difference being that Trinity is 500 years old, while somewhere like Mizzou is only around 170. Apparently the American college architects are taking their cues from the old European universities. Also interesting- It was a cardinal sin for Catholics to attend Trinity until the 1960s, when the ban was lifted. One might have thought education not to be a cardinal sin wherever it was obtained, but hey, telling people to not go to school somewhere is clearly the most pressing issue of the day.
While we enjoyed the exhibit, it was a good contrast to the great museums we have free in the US- paying $9 Euro each for the exhibit seemed particularly expensive compared to the Library of Congress free exhibits!
Another observation as we walked around town is that there are many markers that say things like "nearby was the site of an old stone that marked the port for 800 years." We really don't have these type of notes in the US, because nothing is nearly that old and most noteworthy sites still have some remnants of whatever was there in the first place!
A couple funny things from yesterday that I forgot about in my lack of sleep (finally got caught up last night- we slept for close to 12 hours). When I was making Matt look at historic things before the Guinness tour, he observed that I actually looked like a Guinness- had on dark pants, a slightly lighter sweater, and my blonde(ish) hair- apparently to his Guinness starved mind this looked like the fade of the beer as it settles before drinking! :) Also, my brand new $20 sunglasses I picked up the day we left DC already broke- one of the earpieces broke in half while we were sitting at a cafe...must now acquire more...
We also went to a couple free museums today- saw works by Carvaggio and his contemporaries at the National Gallery and then also visited the National History and Archeology Museum, which I found much more interesting (including the mummified human remains from sacrificial sites 2000 years ago...pretty amazing though disturbing). This series of museums today cast a bit of light on the type of touring we like to do- architecture is more interesting to us than human history museums which are more interesting than art galleries (even the funny little Finnish black and white contemporary film gallery we popped our heads into playing strange cartoons made of altered photographs- somewhat dark and creepy...).
Tomorrow we head to Dingle, and not sure what the Internet situation will be there, but I am sure to have some great photos to upload when I can. Don't forget to click the photo to the side to see the photos from today, though there are only a few since much of the day was spent in museums where no photography was allowed!
Hope you enjoy, and now off to a pub :)
Today just a quick post of things I jotted down during the day, as it's about time to head to a pub for a pint :)
We visited Trinity College today to see the Book of Kells, one of the top attractions in Dublin- an illustrated book of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John from around 800 AD. It was pretty interesting as an exhibit, as there were many quotes from the transcribers (or other transcribers around the same time) discussing the process of writing. Some quotes were celebrating the process of creation, while others were mourning the crushing work of it (which one imagines was pretty difficult work, calligraphy by candlelight). I thought this was an interesting contrast, and something that has persisted even to today's writing process even by computer! Visiting Trinity College was also entertaining as it looks just like the American colleges- large white marble buildings and open greenspaces. The difference being that Trinity is 500 years old, while somewhere like Mizzou is only around 170. Apparently the American college architects are taking their cues from the old European universities. Also interesting- It was a cardinal sin for Catholics to attend Trinity until the 1960s, when the ban was lifted. One might have thought education not to be a cardinal sin wherever it was obtained, but hey, telling people to not go to school somewhere is clearly the most pressing issue of the day.
While we enjoyed the exhibit, it was a good contrast to the great museums we have free in the US- paying $9 Euro each for the exhibit seemed particularly expensive compared to the Library of Congress free exhibits!
Another observation as we walked around town is that there are many markers that say things like "nearby was the site of an old stone that marked the port for 800 years." We really don't have these type of notes in the US, because nothing is nearly that old and most noteworthy sites still have some remnants of whatever was there in the first place!
A couple funny things from yesterday that I forgot about in my lack of sleep (finally got caught up last night- we slept for close to 12 hours). When I was making Matt look at historic things before the Guinness tour, he observed that I actually looked like a Guinness- had on dark pants, a slightly lighter sweater, and my blonde(ish) hair- apparently to his Guinness starved mind this looked like the fade of the beer as it settles before drinking! :) Also, my brand new $20 sunglasses I picked up the day we left DC already broke- one of the earpieces broke in half while we were sitting at a cafe...must now acquire more...
We also went to a couple free museums today- saw works by Carvaggio and his contemporaries at the National Gallery and then also visited the National History and Archeology Museum, which I found much more interesting (including the mummified human remains from sacrificial sites 2000 years ago...pretty amazing though disturbing). This series of museums today cast a bit of light on the type of touring we like to do- architecture is more interesting to us than human history museums which are more interesting than art galleries (even the funny little Finnish black and white contemporary film gallery we popped our heads into playing strange cartoons made of altered photographs- somewhat dark and creepy...).
Tomorrow we head to Dingle, and not sure what the Internet situation will be there, but I am sure to have some great photos to upload when I can. Don't forget to click the photo to the side to see the photos from today, though there are only a few since much of the day was spent in museums where no photography was allowed!
Hope you enjoy, and now off to a pub :)
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