Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
Obviously, the little situation in Budapest set me back on my timeline just a bit but fortunately for me I hadn't purchased my bus tickets before hand. Throughout this traveling adventure I have re-affirmed the fact that I really work best when I have a plan. Spontaneity is all well and good but I really like to have a general idea, a game plan of sorts... it totally aids in my peace of mind. I am now a master of economical European travel, whether it is by train, plane or bus, I have it down and can for you all the major websites, those available in English and those you have to blindly attempt to translate. If anyone is up for a bit of Euro adventure and needs some assistance, I am your gal! haha!
The bottom line was that I only had one full day in Prague. This was a bit sad, I had heard so much of the beauty of this city. It is the only one to escape WWII nearly unscathed! Quite an impressive feat! I guess it pays to have old history... ohh and to know the right people!
When I arrived in Prague it was evening time and I had been on a bus (albeit a comfy one) for the better part of the day. I only had USD (thanks to Casey for the money transfer) so had to make massive deposit on hostel room until money changers opened in the morning! That evening I met some really great people here and had awesome chats about natural healing, energy work, meditation and other topics not usually discussed in a youth hostel...fantastic and really refreshing! The next morning before embarking on another guided walking tour of the city I stopped by an electronic shop to purchase batteries for the camera lent to me by the Nagy family. I am not sure what happened exactly but when the man in the camera store was putting the new batteries in the camera he broke the small clip that held the battery door closed... really? My third camera on this trip! WTF next stop disposable! After the guided tour I took out my camera frustrations by walking consistently for the next 5 hours. I am pretty sure that I covered the majority of Prague in one day. Conclusion: great palace, lovely churches (big surprise), absolutely fantastic architecture, rad history and wayyyy too many tourists. It was a bit difficult to see what your average Czech citizen living in Prague would do on a daily basis if it were not for all the damn tourists! Honestly, I would love to go back again when I didn't feel like I had to do speed sight seeing... Next time! Woo hoo!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Buda and Pest, Hungary
Budapest, HUNGARY
ohhh Budapest... Budapest, Budapest, Budapest...A girl I met in Vienna had recommended that I stay in a guesthouse when I came to Budapest. She gave me the name and the contact information and said it was a lovely, clean apartment owned by a sweet older lady and her daughter. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it was only 8 Euro/night! What a deal! I met Helena (the appropriately named owner of Helena's Guesthouse) at the train station when I arrived in Budapest. She was the darn sweetest thing to ever walk the streets of Budapest and was giving me hugs, kisses on the cheeks and a discounted stay by the time we were to the train station steps. Within the hour I was settled into my pre-schooler sized foam mattress nestled atop a bed of press board boxes. Helena's daughter had even done my laundry so naturally, I was loving Budapest. The weather wasn't perfect but I managed to spend several hours walking around the Buda side exploring the city and getting a feel for a post-communist country. Day 2 in Budapest I went on a walking tour of the city and learned loads about what it was like to live during communist rule from someone who actually experienced it. As expected, we visited all the desirable sites (bridges, castles, lucky statues that required rubbing) on both the Buda and the Pest sides of the city. I had a lovely time and even made friends with the tour guides. After the tour we decided to go to a local hang out spot where we had agreed to meet up with a few other folks from the tour. A great time was had by all until I realized that my purse had managed to walk off without me. I was clearly upset to have lost damn near everything thing important that I had with me (passport, wallet, all cash, jewelery, travelers cheques, phone, credit cards, IDs, ipod, brand new camera [only 3.5 weeks old] and ALL - yes, every single one - of my pictures from the last month of traveling!). But my body is safe and I am healthy and have learned from that silly mistake. I know better than to travel with all my important documents in one bag but since I was staying in that guesthouse there wasn't anywhere safe for me to lock my possessions so I figured they would be safest with me. Well, it turned out not to be so safe in a crowded park... I am obviously so sad about this but I have to keep thinking about the positive. Live and learn. After all it was only stuff and stuff can be replaced. And I will always have the memories and experiences from this trip!
I am so fortunate to have met the Nagy's! Gabor (my tour guide) and his sweet wife Aggie were so kind and generous to me by allowing me to stay with them in their home until I could get things sorted out. I spent six nights on their couch, waking each morning at 7 AM to sweet little Lily's face in mine. Lily was my little dolly! She is the Nagy's 2 year old daughter whom I adore. I was able to play with Miss Lilyana to my heart's content and possibly to her mother's relief because they also had a brand new 3 week old baby girl at home! Needless to say it was a busy little flat. I hope that one day I am able to repay their kindness! Everyday, Aggie made me breakfast of fruit, local pastries, wonderful teas, veggies... you name it. Then Gabor and I would either ride bikes or the scooter into town where we would split ways. He would give the morning Budapest tour and I be off to do whatever errand I made up for my penniless self such as contending with the US embassy to get a new passport, wonder through the parks, scrutinizing any individual who looked like he or she could have been the thief, or window shopping for the delicious local foods and incredibly cheap clothes... Around 1 PM each day I would wonder over to the Pest side, up the massive hill (I consider any hill to be massive if there is the option to take some sort of trolley to the top) and meet the tour group in the castle. Gabor had a deal with one of the local restaurants that if he brought a bunch of tourists from the tour into their joint to eat then the tour guides would eat for free! For that week I was a "potential tour guide in training!" This was awesome because it gave me an opportunity to eat some serious Hungarian food at a cost that wasn't a burden to my missing wallet. Throughout the course of the week I was able to get to know the Nagy's better and to really get a taste of what it is like to live in a post-communist country. They call it this because the nation still has so many issues and hasn't fully achieved what is necessary for it to be called a true democracy.
Finally, the day before I planned to leave, my sweet brother Casey was able to wire money to me. Let me tell you, Western Union has got a darn good thing going and are making bank by just moving around numbers!!! My final day, I decided to treat myself and experience one of the Turkish bath houses that are so famous in Budapest! Oh my, what an awesome adventure! I chose to got to the bathhouse with several immense outdoor pools (all of varying temps) and nearly countless indoor pools, tubs, saunas (dry, wet and aroma) ranging in temperature from effin freezing (16 degrees Celsius) to what I was certain to be just under boiling! I spent the day running around this place in a bathing suit teasing/testing/torturing my body as I cooked in the hottest of all hot saunas then immediately sat in the ice bin until I was in danger of frost bite then did it all over again!!!
ohhh Budapest... Budapest, Budapest, Budapest...A girl I met in Vienna had recommended that I stay in a guesthouse when I came to Budapest. She gave me the name and the contact information and said it was a lovely, clean apartment owned by a sweet older lady and her daughter. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it was only 8 Euro/night! What a deal! I met Helena (the appropriately named owner of Helena's Guesthouse) at the train station when I arrived in Budapest. She was the darn sweetest thing to ever walk the streets of Budapest and was giving me hugs, kisses on the cheeks and a discounted stay by the time we were to the train station steps. Within the hour I was settled into my pre-schooler sized foam mattress nestled atop a bed of press board boxes. Helena's daughter had even done my laundry so naturally, I was loving Budapest. The weather wasn't perfect but I managed to spend several hours walking around the Buda side exploring the city and getting a feel for a post-communist country. Day 2 in Budapest I went on a walking tour of the city and learned loads about what it was like to live during communist rule from someone who actually experienced it. As expected, we visited all the desirable sites (bridges, castles, lucky statues that required rubbing) on both the Buda and the Pest sides of the city. I had a lovely time and even made friends with the tour guides. After the tour we decided to go to a local hang out spot where we had agreed to meet up with a few other folks from the tour. A great time was had by all until I realized that my purse had managed to walk off without me. I was clearly upset to have lost damn near everything thing important that I had with me (passport, wallet, all cash, jewelery, travelers cheques, phone, credit cards, IDs, ipod, brand new camera [only 3.5 weeks old] and ALL - yes, every single one - of my pictures from the last month of traveling!). But my body is safe and I am healthy and have learned from that silly mistake. I know better than to travel with all my important documents in one bag but since I was staying in that guesthouse there wasn't anywhere safe for me to lock my possessions so I figured they would be safest with me. Well, it turned out not to be so safe in a crowded park... I am obviously so sad about this but I have to keep thinking about the positive. Live and learn. After all it was only stuff and stuff can be replaced. And I will always have the memories and experiences from this trip!
I am so fortunate to have met the Nagy's! Gabor (my tour guide) and his sweet wife Aggie were so kind and generous to me by allowing me to stay with them in their home until I could get things sorted out. I spent six nights on their couch, waking each morning at 7 AM to sweet little Lily's face in mine. Lily was my little dolly! She is the Nagy's 2 year old daughter whom I adore. I was able to play with Miss Lilyana to my heart's content and possibly to her mother's relief because they also had a brand new 3 week old baby girl at home! Needless to say it was a busy little flat. I hope that one day I am able to repay their kindness! Everyday, Aggie made me breakfast of fruit, local pastries, wonderful teas, veggies... you name it. Then Gabor and I would either ride bikes or the scooter into town where we would split ways. He would give the morning Budapest tour and I be off to do whatever errand I made up for my penniless self such as contending with the US embassy to get a new passport, wonder through the parks, scrutinizing any individual who looked like he or she could have been the thief, or window shopping for the delicious local foods and incredibly cheap clothes... Around 1 PM each day I would wonder over to the Pest side, up the massive hill (I consider any hill to be massive if there is the option to take some sort of trolley to the top) and meet the tour group in the castle. Gabor had a deal with one of the local restaurants that if he brought a bunch of tourists from the tour into their joint to eat then the tour guides would eat for free! For that week I was a "potential tour guide in training!" This was awesome because it gave me an opportunity to eat some serious Hungarian food at a cost that wasn't a burden to my missing wallet. Throughout the course of the week I was able to get to know the Nagy's better and to really get a taste of what it is like to live in a post-communist country. They call it this because the nation still has so many issues and hasn't fully achieved what is necessary for it to be called a true democracy.
Finally, the day before I planned to leave, my sweet brother Casey was able to wire money to me. Let me tell you, Western Union has got a darn good thing going and are making bank by just moving around numbers!!! My final day, I decided to treat myself and experience one of the Turkish bath houses that are so famous in Budapest! Oh my, what an awesome adventure! I chose to got to the bathhouse with several immense outdoor pools (all of varying temps) and nearly countless indoor pools, tubs, saunas (dry, wet and aroma) ranging in temperature from effin freezing (16 degrees Celsius) to what I was certain to be just under boiling! I spent the day running around this place in a bathing suit teasing/testing/torturing my body as I cooked in the hottest of all hot saunas then immediately sat in the ice bin until I was in danger of frost bite then did it all over again!!!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Vienna Some More...
I forgot to mention that I also attended the famous Vienna Opera! You can buy standing room tickets for something like 5 Euros and you actually get pretty decent seats! I started chatting with a girl while waiting in line and she turned out to be a young aspiring opera singer!!! It was awesome because she helped guide me through the opera house, which seats were best, what to do and where to do and then took about 100 pictures of me attending the opera! It was such an awesome night! I highly recommend the cheap opera seats (or floor space)if anyone visits Vienna!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Vienna, AUSTRIA
Vienna, AUSTRIA
Lovely, beautiful, gorgeous... all of those descriptors and more. The first night I stayed in a hostel located up in the hills by the Vienna forest with the ultimate view of entire city. On par with my standard routine I took myself on one of Rick Steve's self-guided walking tours to get an idea of the city. When I left on this journey I put Jack (my hand held GPS device) in a drawer and left him at home for safe keeping. Over the past several months I have really honed my sense of direction and become quite a proficient map reader BUT I guess all those skills were lost when I arrived in Vienna because despite which way I turned the map I was lost as all hell. I suppose I wasn't doing a good job of looking cool as I paraded my self back and forth along the same streets several times over with my map pulled out in front of my face. After watching the spectacle, which was me, a local man asked if he could help. I was apparently in the complete wrong direction... sad, because I really pride myself on my excellent map skills... well, this is a pride that until now I kept to myself... He was kind enough to shed a bit of light on my where abouts and to point out a few of the standard tourist site before sending me on my way. Somehow the tours from locals are so much better than Rick Steve's. Eh, go figure! The next couple days were spent walking all over this beautiful city, taking pictures, window shopping and exploring the numerous churches... All-in-all a lovely time.
Ohh but how could I forget to mention the hostel experience!!?! I was so excited to stay in this place called Strawberry Hostel because there were no bunk beds in the rooms! How could this be that the prices were affordable, there were only 4 to a room, bathrooms were in the rooms AND there were no bunk beds? I know, I know... a 26 year-old girl should never be sleeping in a bunk bed with 3 strangers in the room but that is the way they roll here in Europe... or that is the way I have been rolling since my travel partner left... But really, it isn't usually bad. I am pretty selective when it comes to hostels but there are times when you have to make sacrifices in the name of travel... it is all for the experience! ha! Ok, back to the bunk bed-less room. I was so excited about it until I got in there and realized that instead of bunk beds they had just set two twin beds right next to each other. I mean literally RIGHT next to each other. You would be lucky if you could manage to get a piece of paper between the two beds! The first night I was mildly ok with the jumbo bed because my bed buddy was some gal I had made friends with earlier and she was a pretty quiet and still sleeper. But when she left that morning I made sure to push that bed a good foot and a half away from mine! Thankfully I did because some random, slightly strange dude came to take her place the next night... ohhh weird! From now on I am ok with the bunk bed sitch because I know that no one can roll over and accidentally share it with me!
Lovely, beautiful, gorgeous... all of those descriptors and more. The first night I stayed in a hostel located up in the hills by the Vienna forest with the ultimate view of entire city. On par with my standard routine I took myself on one of Rick Steve's self-guided walking tours to get an idea of the city. When I left on this journey I put Jack (my hand held GPS device) in a drawer and left him at home for safe keeping. Over the past several months I have really honed my sense of direction and become quite a proficient map reader BUT I guess all those skills were lost when I arrived in Vienna because despite which way I turned the map I was lost as all hell. I suppose I wasn't doing a good job of looking cool as I paraded my self back and forth along the same streets several times over with my map pulled out in front of my face. After watching the spectacle, which was me, a local man asked if he could help. I was apparently in the complete wrong direction... sad, because I really pride myself on my excellent map skills... well, this is a pride that until now I kept to myself... He was kind enough to shed a bit of light on my where abouts and to point out a few of the standard tourist site before sending me on my way. Somehow the tours from locals are so much better than Rick Steve's. Eh, go figure! The next couple days were spent walking all over this beautiful city, taking pictures, window shopping and exploring the numerous churches... All-in-all a lovely time.
Ohh but how could I forget to mention the hostel experience!!?! I was so excited to stay in this place called Strawberry Hostel because there were no bunk beds in the rooms! How could this be that the prices were affordable, there were only 4 to a room, bathrooms were in the rooms AND there were no bunk beds? I know, I know... a 26 year-old girl should never be sleeping in a bunk bed with 3 strangers in the room but that is the way they roll here in Europe... or that is the way I have been rolling since my travel partner left... But really, it isn't usually bad. I am pretty selective when it comes to hostels but there are times when you have to make sacrifices in the name of travel... it is all for the experience! ha! Ok, back to the bunk bed-less room. I was so excited about it until I got in there and realized that instead of bunk beds they had just set two twin beds right next to each other. I mean literally RIGHT next to each other. You would be lucky if you could manage to get a piece of paper between the two beds! The first night I was mildly ok with the jumbo bed because my bed buddy was some gal I had made friends with earlier and she was a pretty quiet and still sleeper. But when she left that morning I made sure to push that bed a good foot and a half away from mine! Thankfully I did because some random, slightly strange dude came to take her place the next night... ohhh weird! From now on I am ok with the bunk bed sitch because I know that no one can roll over and accidentally share it with me!
Munich, GERMANY
Munich, GERMANY
Munich is totally one of my favorite cities in Germany... actually, it IS my favorite German city! Frankfurt really doesn't have much to offer, it is just a standard city and Berlin, albeit lovely, freshly rebuilt and full of a history that cannot be compared to anywhere else in the world it is over run with tourists. Munich gives you a chance to feel like a modern German. It is easy to get lost in the history but at the same time you have the opportunity to marvel in the real modern attractions of everyday life. I was so very comfortable in this city. Ehhh the underground wasn't exactly the easiest to navigate but after a couple rides it was easy to get the hang of it. In general, I opt to walk as opposed to taking the public transportation primarily because you are able to see soooo much more than when stuck on a crowded bus or in a dark underground tunnel.
Day 1 in Munich I went on a "free" walking tour of the city and met 2 other American girls. The tour was great and led us through all the major historical sites (both beautiful and tragic)of the city. We were paraded past the recently rebuilt churches, Parliament houses in an attempt to show us the heart of Bavaria. Most individuals from Munich are Bavarian first and German second... I think many San Franciscans can relate to that same sentiment. Holy moley, there was so much to see and even more to learn. Despite years of European history classes, watching the History Channel and reading books that speak of the events that took place in Europe over the ohh I don't know the past couple thousand years, I don't think any of it made it all seem as real as it was while I walked the streets and imagined what it was like for those living in these places throughout the ages. America has an incredible history but it is a story told without aid of substantial ancient architecture; this is one of the draws of exploring Europe's history.
As things ramped up to WWII, the people of Munich knew that their city was going to be toast so they went around photographing, drawing and documenting the physical details of the city so they would be able to rebuild it when the time came. It was a darn good thing that someone did all that because the city was pretty much flattened during the war. But in the last several decades the city has been restored to its former glory. Every last detail had been documented and was thus included in the rebuild. A pretty awesome feat if you ask me! I am not going to go into details about all the places we visited, just know that I pretty much saw it all, even the church that they claim to !
The next morning the girls and I agreed to meet back at the Glockenspiel (the bell tower in the New Town Hall building complete with life-sized figurines who dance and reenact historical Bavarian scenes) so we could travel together to visit the Concentration Camp Memorial of Dachau. Each of us had previously visited at least one genocide memorial site and knew the importance of having a like-minded person with you during the visit. It was an undeniably intense experience that brought to life the horrors committed during the 12 years of Nazi rule.
I was staying in a hostel just across the street from the main train station, thus it was a pretty popular place for young travelers. I bonded with the only girl in my room over the obnoxious teeth grinding and snoring symphony created by the three boys in our room. She and a few pals from Ireland were doing a bit of traveling around Europe. That night they were going to pay a visit to the most famous beer hall in the world, conveniently located in the heart of Munich's old town, the Hofbräuhaus. Naturally, I accepted the offer to drink beer only offered in one litre increments. This was hands down one of the most fun nights! After we had our fill of watching the bar maids carry around literally 10 1-litre steins of beer at one time we ventured to a new place called the Atomic Club where we danced our hearts out while listening to classic but not over played tunes from the 50s and 60s.
No trip to Munich is complete without seeing the inspiration for Disney's Sleepy Beauty's castle. Nestled in the alps of the town of Fussen is the Neuschwanstein Castle and what a beauty she is! If there really is a land set for fairy tales, this is it! From the castle you look out over myriad lakes (one of which was the inspiration for Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake), brilliant green rolling hills, and lush forests where you expect to see Robin Hood popping out at any minute. They say that King Ludwig II was a nutcase and was bankrupting the city by building this castle. Unfortunately, this FAIRYtale king met a tragic end when he "committed suicide" in one of the local lakes... Truthfully, he was the Michael Jackson of the 19th century - a guy with a bunch of cash on hand who wasn't ready to grow up. Sadly, Ludwig's advisers didn't like that he was spending so much dough on making the castle a wonderland tribute to Wagner's operas so they had some doc tell him that he was certifiably insane and they may have even had a hand in his tragic death... An interesting story, if you ask me.
Munich is totally one of my favorite cities in Germany... actually, it IS my favorite German city! Frankfurt really doesn't have much to offer, it is just a standard city and Berlin, albeit lovely, freshly rebuilt and full of a history that cannot be compared to anywhere else in the world it is over run with tourists. Munich gives you a chance to feel like a modern German. It is easy to get lost in the history but at the same time you have the opportunity to marvel in the real modern attractions of everyday life. I was so very comfortable in this city. Ehhh the underground wasn't exactly the easiest to navigate but after a couple rides it was easy to get the hang of it. In general, I opt to walk as opposed to taking the public transportation primarily because you are able to see soooo much more than when stuck on a crowded bus or in a dark underground tunnel.
Day 1 in Munich I went on a "free" walking tour of the city and met 2 other American girls. The tour was great and led us through all the major historical sites (both beautiful and tragic)of the city. We were paraded past the recently rebuilt churches, Parliament houses in an attempt to show us the heart of Bavaria. Most individuals from Munich are Bavarian first and German second... I think many San Franciscans can relate to that same sentiment. Holy moley, there was so much to see and even more to learn. Despite years of European history classes, watching the History Channel and reading books that speak of the events that took place in Europe over the ohh I don't know the past couple thousand years, I don't think any of it made it all seem as real as it was while I walked the streets and imagined what it was like for those living in these places throughout the ages. America has an incredible history but it is a story told without aid of substantial ancient architecture; this is one of the draws of exploring Europe's history.
As things ramped up to WWII, the people of Munich knew that their city was going to be toast so they went around photographing, drawing and documenting the physical details of the city so they would be able to rebuild it when the time came. It was a darn good thing that someone did all that because the city was pretty much flattened during the war. But in the last several decades the city has been restored to its former glory. Every last detail had been documented and was thus included in the rebuild. A pretty awesome feat if you ask me! I am not going to go into details about all the places we visited, just know that I pretty much saw it all, even the church that they claim to !
The next morning the girls and I agreed to meet back at the Glockenspiel (the bell tower in the New Town Hall building complete with life-sized figurines who dance and reenact historical Bavarian scenes) so we could travel together to visit the Concentration Camp Memorial of Dachau. Each of us had previously visited at least one genocide memorial site and knew the importance of having a like-minded person with you during the visit. It was an undeniably intense experience that brought to life the horrors committed during the 12 years of Nazi rule.
I was staying in a hostel just across the street from the main train station, thus it was a pretty popular place for young travelers. I bonded with the only girl in my room over the obnoxious teeth grinding and snoring symphony created by the three boys in our room. She and a few pals from Ireland were doing a bit of traveling around Europe. That night they were going to pay a visit to the most famous beer hall in the world, conveniently located in the heart of Munich's old town, the Hofbräuhaus. Naturally, I accepted the offer to drink beer only offered in one litre increments. This was hands down one of the most fun nights! After we had our fill of watching the bar maids carry around literally 10 1-litre steins of beer at one time we ventured to a new place called the Atomic Club where we danced our hearts out while listening to classic but not over played tunes from the 50s and 60s.
No trip to Munich is complete without seeing the inspiration for Disney's Sleepy Beauty's castle. Nestled in the alps of the town of Fussen is the Neuschwanstein Castle and what a beauty she is! If there really is a land set for fairy tales, this is it! From the castle you look out over myriad lakes (one of which was the inspiration for Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake), brilliant green rolling hills, and lush forests where you expect to see Robin Hood popping out at any minute. They say that King Ludwig II was a nutcase and was bankrupting the city by building this castle. Unfortunately, this FAIRYtale king met a tragic end when he "committed suicide" in one of the local lakes... Truthfully, he was the Michael Jackson of the 19th century - a guy with a bunch of cash on hand who wasn't ready to grow up. Sadly, Ludwig's advisers didn't like that he was spending so much dough on making the castle a wonderland tribute to Wagner's operas so they had some doc tell him that he was certifiably insane and they may have even had a hand in his tragic death... An interesting story, if you ask me.
Frankfurt, GERMANY
Frankfurt, GERMANY
I was in Frankfurt about 10 years ago but that was a quick minute ago and things were a bit different then. Krista will attest to the fact that we had a blast but really, we were 16 and were much more interested in shopping, hanging out and makeup than we were in the history, architecture and true culture of Germany. This was my second chance at Frankfurt. Upon my arrival I learned that there was a massive festival down by the river "Main." I had loads of fun taking in all the sites and sound, fantastic foods and literally hundreds of different bands playing up and down the river side. The next day I took my standard walk around the city and visited and photographed all "must see" sites outlined by good ol' Rick and Lonely Planet. There really wasn't anything terribly outstanding aside from the beautiful architecture of the Opera house, the Rat House (the Parliament building), some gorgeous churches and other old buildings now converted to modern restaurants and other places of business. In the evening my new found friends from the hostel and I sampled some local cuisine, the apple wine that locals raved about (one sampling was more than enough for me... I supposed it might have been different if I had ever developed a taste for some of the finer flavors of this world, like say week old garbage juice...) and had a grand old time in the crowded bar of our hostel that over looked the lovely street below complete with late night Chinese food restaurants and about 15 strip clubs... Keep it classy, Frankfurt...
I was in Frankfurt about 10 years ago but that was a quick minute ago and things were a bit different then. Krista will attest to the fact that we had a blast but really, we were 16 and were much more interested in shopping, hanging out and makeup than we were in the history, architecture and true culture of Germany. This was my second chance at Frankfurt. Upon my arrival I learned that there was a massive festival down by the river "Main." I had loads of fun taking in all the sites and sound, fantastic foods and literally hundreds of different bands playing up and down the river side. The next day I took my standard walk around the city and visited and photographed all "must see" sites outlined by good ol' Rick and Lonely Planet. There really wasn't anything terribly outstanding aside from the beautiful architecture of the Opera house, the Rat House (the Parliament building), some gorgeous churches and other old buildings now converted to modern restaurants and other places of business. In the evening my new found friends from the hostel and I sampled some local cuisine, the apple wine that locals raved about (one sampling was more than enough for me... I supposed it might have been different if I had ever developed a taste for some of the finer flavors of this world, like say week old garbage juice...) and had a grand old time in the crowded bar of our hostel that over looked the lovely street below complete with late night Chinese food restaurants and about 15 strip clubs... Keep it classy, Frankfurt...
Trier, GERMANY
Trier, GERMANY
Bright and early I was on my last hike through the hilly city of Luxembourg's capital on my way to the train station. Now, if you know me, you know that I love to exercise. But it isn't exactly my ideal workout to shower, get ready then strap on my backpack (yes, Clayton, I know it is too big... I learned...) then climb up the most massive hill (people leaving the hostel generally take a tram so they don't have to proceed on a nearly technical climb with all their crap) and walk a couple miles through the city to the train station. My plan was to hike the hill and grab the bus that would take me to the train station in about 15 minutes. Surprise the buses only run 4 times daily on Sunday, not every 15 minutes like they do the other 6 days of the week... But hey, it's a beautiful day and I have a healthy body so why not just walk there... after all the train isn't going to come get me at the hostel. So there I am sweating away, admiring the serenity of a quiet city on a Sunday morning when a mini van rolls past me and then stops abruptly. Should I be nervous? As I near the vehicle a woman asks if I am heading to the train station. Obviously, I am. She says that she is going there as well because it is the only place in the city that is open on a Sunday and she wants to buy some croissants for her family. Immediately, my stranger danger kicks in. Is she a masher, trying to kidnap me? Is the minivan full of children's toys all a ploy to make her appear sweet and innocent and get me to come willingly? As I look up at the next mountainous hill looming in front of me sweat runs in my eyes and I suddenly find myself buckling my seat belt in the mini van. It turns out she was just a really nice lady offering a sweaty traveler a little assistance. We ended up having a great conversation and I even made the early train!
After a short trip (it is located only six miles from the Luxembourg border) on the train I arrived in Germany's oldest city, Trier! Woo hoo more Roman ruins! Once again, I forgot that I was traveling on a Sunday and everything was closed... live and learn. I managed to find the area of most interest to foreigners and even at the early hour of 10 AM the vendors were busy slinging ice cream cones and ?? German fries?? The quaint market square (Hauptmarkt) is filled with fruit stands, flowers, painted facades, and fountains and loads of tourists eating crap wayyyy to early in the morning. The map I picked up at the TI had all the info I needed for my short visit. I managed to see the Porta Nigra, a second century Roman city gate that was eventually saved from destruction when a monk turned it into a church...
I think I saw about 12 other churches in the small downtown area; amongst them was the Trier Cathedral
and the Basicilla of Constantine. Being that it was Sunday and all, I decided to stop in and visit a church. When I arrived the service had already started but was in German so it wasn't like I was up for understanding much of it anyway. I just like to get a little taster of religious services from other places in the world. As things were wrapping up I saw a lady with an older man and as usual, I made up a story about their lives. The elderly man was the middle-aged woman's father and they were just attending their weekly services together. Not that I am a middle-aged German woman or that you are an elderly, mumbling German man, Dad, but seeing the family together made me miss mine. Moving on I decided to sample a treat from my first German bakery (which was an ordeal trying to order from someone who didn't know a lick of English and all I can say is "Danke" and "Guten Morgen" in German). In order to relax from the stressful pastry ordering session I took a walk along the Moselle river. Eh, it is big, but not terribly impressive and not wonderfully clean either but it is marked with ruins of ancient toll bridges... interesting. After not too much longer I had had my fill of Trier and was back on the train. Next stop Frankfurt, Germany!
Bright and early I was on my last hike through the hilly city of Luxembourg's capital on my way to the train station. Now, if you know me, you know that I love to exercise. But it isn't exactly my ideal workout to shower, get ready then strap on my backpack (yes, Clayton, I know it is too big... I learned...) then climb up the most massive hill (people leaving the hostel generally take a tram so they don't have to proceed on a nearly technical climb with all their crap) and walk a couple miles through the city to the train station. My plan was to hike the hill and grab the bus that would take me to the train station in about 15 minutes. Surprise the buses only run 4 times daily on Sunday, not every 15 minutes like they do the other 6 days of the week... But hey, it's a beautiful day and I have a healthy body so why not just walk there... after all the train isn't going to come get me at the hostel. So there I am sweating away, admiring the serenity of a quiet city on a Sunday morning when a mini van rolls past me and then stops abruptly. Should I be nervous? As I near the vehicle a woman asks if I am heading to the train station. Obviously, I am. She says that she is going there as well because it is the only place in the city that is open on a Sunday and she wants to buy some croissants for her family. Immediately, my stranger danger kicks in. Is she a masher, trying to kidnap me? Is the minivan full of children's toys all a ploy to make her appear sweet and innocent and get me to come willingly? As I look up at the next mountainous hill looming in front of me sweat runs in my eyes and I suddenly find myself buckling my seat belt in the mini van. It turns out she was just a really nice lady offering a sweaty traveler a little assistance. We ended up having a great conversation and I even made the early train!
After a short trip (it is located only six miles from the Luxembourg border) on the train I arrived in Germany's oldest city, Trier! Woo hoo more Roman ruins! Once again, I forgot that I was traveling on a Sunday and everything was closed... live and learn. I managed to find the area of most interest to foreigners and even at the early hour of 10 AM the vendors were busy slinging ice cream cones and ?? German fries?? The quaint market square (Hauptmarkt) is filled with fruit stands, flowers, painted facades, and fountains and loads of tourists eating crap wayyyy to early in the morning. The map I picked up at the TI had all the info I needed for my short visit. I managed to see the Porta Nigra, a second century Roman city gate that was eventually saved from destruction when a monk turned it into a church...
I think I saw about 12 other churches in the small downtown area; amongst them was the Trier Cathedral
and the Basicilla of Constantine. Being that it was Sunday and all, I decided to stop in and visit a church. When I arrived the service had already started but was in German so it wasn't like I was up for understanding much of it anyway. I just like to get a little taster of religious services from other places in the world. As things were wrapping up I saw a lady with an older man and as usual, I made up a story about their lives. The elderly man was the middle-aged woman's father and they were just attending their weekly services together. Not that I am a middle-aged German woman or that you are an elderly, mumbling German man, Dad, but seeing the family together made me miss mine. Moving on I decided to sample a treat from my first German bakery (which was an ordeal trying to order from someone who didn't know a lick of English and all I can say is "Danke" and "Guten Morgen" in German). In order to relax from the stressful pastry ordering session I took a walk along the Moselle river. Eh, it is big, but not terribly impressive and not wonderfully clean either but it is marked with ruins of ancient toll bridges... interesting. After not too much longer I had had my fill of Trier and was back on the train. Next stop Frankfurt, Germany!
Luxembourg City, LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg City, LUXEMBOURG
Wow! What a beauty! The tiny capital city of Luxembourg held my heart within five minutes of being off the train. The lush green hills adorn with remnants of castle walls sucked me in. Within moments I was deep in fantasy land! My first day I spent several hours walking up and down the hills of this breathtaking city. It is clearly a wealthy city, what with all the banking opportunities here (the banking system is somewhat similar to that of the Swiss - so despite the "crisis" things are still rocking here in Lux). This was basically a dream come true to me - there were loads of healthy and vegetarian places to eat, about a million picture-postcard-perfect photo oops and if you wanted to get from one place to the next you had to walk up at least one beastly hill.
One evening I found a quaint little pub complete with a few local old men and poor lighting; it was perfect! I settled myself at the bar ordered up the local beer and wrote in my journal for the next hour or so. Eventually I was questioned about my writing and someone asked if I was writing a book. Naturally, I said yes and again answered affirmatively when questioned if I had ever been published...oops... so I chatted with my new found friends for a while but eventually my honestly got the best of me and I clarified that it was only my journal and that I wasn't actually a novelist but really a traveler from the states. The common bond of once living in the city where I left my heart, introduced me to a new pal. He was at the pub celebrating his girlfriend's 40th birthday. The small party and I chatted it up for a while and then Anna (birthday girl) invited me to a dinner party at their place the next night. I had such a great time!! It was refreshing to have an opportunity to talk with someone other than a traveler in the hostel. We dined on local foods prepared fresh by Anna herself and talked into the wee hours about politics (American and European), what it is like to be ruled by a constitutional monarch (the Grand Duke), religion, family and more. Oh and we may have had a glass or two of champagne because Anna is from France so we had the real stuff! :)
After several days, I was finally able to tear myself away from the Luxembourg City so I could explore more of the country side. Now, in general this country isn't considered cheap but public transportation is dirty cheap. One can purchase a ticket for 1.50 Euro (currently about $3 US) and can travel by bus or train to any place in the country. Keep in mind that Luxembourg is smaller than Rhode Island so you don't have far to go but really $3!!! Yes, please!
I decided to visit the highly recommended city of Vianden. Again, a city built in, on, on top and below the hills. When I arrived the sun was just beginning to set so I grabbed my map and headed off to find the hostel. I asked a local shop owner if he could help me point me in the direction of the hostel and he just laughed when I showed him the address. He took a step back to look at my with all my bags... My massive backpack on my back and then another over stuffed day-pack on my front - yeah, I looked like a pack mule but what do you want from a girl who is traveling for 4 months straight? I only have the essentials with me... well, I guess the heels aren't "essentials" but everything else is! Anyway, he was laughing because the hostel was located about 1 mile up the largest hill in sight... Well, that was that and I soon found myself cruising up the mountain being cheered along the way by random restaurant patrons... I guess I was a site to me seen...
The next morning I adventured to the Vianden castle,
visited the Victor Hugo House/Museum, and finally took the chairlift up to a truly breath taking view of the village below.
Unfortunately, the weather hadn't been "ideal" all day and now with the storm having actually rolled in I found myself to be the only one "brave" or maybe that was stupid enough to ride the chairlift up into the clouds that threatened to become a full on thunder and lightning storm. I took about 1000 pictures just in case these were to be my last moments but soon found myself on the top of the hill with a beautiful view! Totally worth it. However, in an effort of self preservation, I decided to jog down the trail that led me back to the hostel as opposed to taking the lift back down the mountain. After a lovely day I bid the town of Vianden, adieu and was back on my way to Luxembourg where I visited several museums one of which was the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM) with some of the coolest, moving installations I have seen in a loooongggg time!
The next day I ventured to explore the District of Grevenmacher. I went on a private tour of the Bernard-Massard cellar and had a free sampling of their beautiful sparkling wines. I walked along the river side for a bit and then decided to test out my sweet new camera and my developing skills with a visit to the exotic butterfly garden. The hot house was just that and was full of the most beautiful butterflies from the tropical regions of the world.
After I had enough of the hot house, I wanted to get back to Lux City so I set out to find the bus... hummm... there were no bus stops in this part of Grevenmacher so I figured I could just re-trace my steps along the bus path that took me to the wine cellar... nope. That isn't the way it works... truthfully, I still have no clue how it works. I saw the bus and the same driver that dropped me off (there were only 3 people on the bus and I was clearly the only foreigner so I knew he would remember me) I tried to wave him down and he just pointed that I should meet him when he turned... or at least that is what I thought he meant... I don't know that I have ever run that fast in my life... phew, yes, albeit sweaty but I made the bus!
Wow! What a beauty! The tiny capital city of Luxembourg held my heart within five minutes of being off the train. The lush green hills adorn with remnants of castle walls sucked me in. Within moments I was deep in fantasy land! My first day I spent several hours walking up and down the hills of this breathtaking city. It is clearly a wealthy city, what with all the banking opportunities here (the banking system is somewhat similar to that of the Swiss - so despite the "crisis" things are still rocking here in Lux). This was basically a dream come true to me - there were loads of healthy and vegetarian places to eat, about a million picture-postcard-perfect photo oops and if you wanted to get from one place to the next you had to walk up at least one beastly hill.
One evening I found a quaint little pub complete with a few local old men and poor lighting; it was perfect! I settled myself at the bar ordered up the local beer and wrote in my journal for the next hour or so. Eventually I was questioned about my writing and someone asked if I was writing a book. Naturally, I said yes and again answered affirmatively when questioned if I had ever been published...oops... so I chatted with my new found friends for a while but eventually my honestly got the best of me and I clarified that it was only my journal and that I wasn't actually a novelist but really a traveler from the states. The common bond of once living in the city where I left my heart, introduced me to a new pal. He was at the pub celebrating his girlfriend's 40th birthday. The small party and I chatted it up for a while and then Anna (birthday girl) invited me to a dinner party at their place the next night. I had such a great time!! It was refreshing to have an opportunity to talk with someone other than a traveler in the hostel. We dined on local foods prepared fresh by Anna herself and talked into the wee hours about politics (American and European), what it is like to be ruled by a constitutional monarch (the Grand Duke), religion, family and more. Oh and we may have had a glass or two of champagne because Anna is from France so we had the real stuff! :)
After several days, I was finally able to tear myself away from the Luxembourg City so I could explore more of the country side. Now, in general this country isn't considered cheap but public transportation is dirty cheap. One can purchase a ticket for 1.50 Euro (currently about $3 US) and can travel by bus or train to any place in the country. Keep in mind that Luxembourg is smaller than Rhode Island so you don't have far to go but really $3!!! Yes, please!
I decided to visit the highly recommended city of Vianden. Again, a city built in, on, on top and below the hills. When I arrived the sun was just beginning to set so I grabbed my map and headed off to find the hostel. I asked a local shop owner if he could help me point me in the direction of the hostel and he just laughed when I showed him the address. He took a step back to look at my with all my bags... My massive backpack on my back and then another over stuffed day-pack on my front - yeah, I looked like a pack mule but what do you want from a girl who is traveling for 4 months straight? I only have the essentials with me... well, I guess the heels aren't "essentials" but everything else is! Anyway, he was laughing because the hostel was located about 1 mile up the largest hill in sight... Well, that was that and I soon found myself cruising up the mountain being cheered along the way by random restaurant patrons... I guess I was a site to me seen...
The next morning I adventured to the Vianden castle,
visited the Victor Hugo House/Museum, and finally took the chairlift up to a truly breath taking view of the village below.
Unfortunately, the weather hadn't been "ideal" all day and now with the storm having actually rolled in I found myself to be the only one "brave" or maybe that was stupid enough to ride the chairlift up into the clouds that threatened to become a full on thunder and lightning storm. I took about 1000 pictures just in case these were to be my last moments but soon found myself on the top of the hill with a beautiful view! Totally worth it. However, in an effort of self preservation, I decided to jog down the trail that led me back to the hostel as opposed to taking the lift back down the mountain. After a lovely day I bid the town of Vianden, adieu and was back on my way to Luxembourg where I visited several museums one of which was the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM) with some of the coolest, moving installations I have seen in a loooongggg time!
The next day I ventured to explore the District of Grevenmacher. I went on a private tour of the Bernard-Massard cellar and had a free sampling of their beautiful sparkling wines. I walked along the river side for a bit and then decided to test out my sweet new camera and my developing skills with a visit to the exotic butterfly garden. The hot house was just that and was full of the most beautiful butterflies from the tropical regions of the world.
After I had enough of the hot house, I wanted to get back to Lux City so I set out to find the bus... hummm... there were no bus stops in this part of Grevenmacher so I figured I could just re-trace my steps along the bus path that took me to the wine cellar... nope. That isn't the way it works... truthfully, I still have no clue how it works. I saw the bus and the same driver that dropped me off (there were only 3 people on the bus and I was clearly the only foreigner so I knew he would remember me) I tried to wave him down and he just pointed that I should meet him when he turned... or at least that is what I thought he meant... I don't know that I have ever run that fast in my life... phew, yes, albeit sweaty but I made the bus!
Brussles, BELGIUM
From Paris I took a train to the lovely city of Brussels in Belgium. Apparently it is a fantastic idea to take the earliest train imaginable on a Sunday morning because all the rest of the city is still asleep leaving you with an entire cabin on the train all to yourself! Not that I had much to do by myself in the car but I made sure to spread out my stuff all over the place in order to get the most of this once in a lifetime experience.
Brussels, BELGIUM
Arriving bright and early in Brussels I was greeted with silence... there was no one around...ohh right, it was a Sunday... I suppose all the Europeans go into hiding on Sundays because they are no where to be found in the cities because everything is closed. As usual, I forgot that I was traveling on a Sunday and that the whole of the world outside of the US closes down on Sundays. This is a fact that I wouldn't mind if I were living my day to day life here in Europe. It would provide time to spend with the family and a chance to escape from the constant bombardment of our everyday commercialism. But the thing is that I do not LIVE here in Europe so the fact that EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday is a pain in the neck because my days are numbered!!! Fortunately, I am not the only one who realizes that tourists can get testy about keeping to a schedule and that you can make a killing if you are willing to open your shop for tourists on a Sunday while everyone else is closed. After a fair amount of wondering I managed to find the "touristy area" complete with about a billion tourists. It was so odd to wonder five to ten minutes from the deserted outdoor shopping mall and find myself on a street where every square inch was taken up by restaurants touting "authentic local flavors," souvenir shops and a waffle or chocolate shop on every street corner. Of course I went on my standard walking tour of the city, led by my pals "Rick Steve's" & "Lonely Planet" (each of these guide books weights about 9 lbs and for some reason I think I need 2 of them!!). Along my way I ran into a sweet gal whom I had met earlier that morning in my hostel and we made plans to meet up later on and get some dinner. Linda had spent nearly a week in Brussels and had quite a bit of wisdom to impart regarding the town and what to see during my visit. All-in-all, I had a darn good time in Brussels. In short, I saw the palace (yes, currently still in use), ate a bit or maybe more than a bit of Belgium chocolate, sampled a couple Belgium beers, ate a touristy Belgium waffle, a serving of fries or two and tried to balance it all out my doing about 8 to 10 hours of walking through the city each day... One of the coolest things I did was to go to the Salvador Dali exhibit. It was wonderful, I really love his work and enjoyed the opportunity to see several original, complete collections. I was planning to go to Bruges after Brussels but the weather had changed from the beautiful clear skies when I arrived to a constant downpour on my last day sooooo I decided that riding a bike along the soggy beach outside of Bruges might not be the most fun thing I could do with my time so I headed off to the tiny country of Luxembourg!
Side note: it is a good idea to wear sturdy shoes when walking on soaking wet cobble stones in the rain - sandals prove to be quite slippery and you may find yourself a bit embarrassed because you eat it every 5th step...
Brussels, BELGIUM
Arriving bright and early in Brussels I was greeted with silence... there was no one around...ohh right, it was a Sunday... I suppose all the Europeans go into hiding on Sundays because they are no where to be found in the cities because everything is closed. As usual, I forgot that I was traveling on a Sunday and that the whole of the world outside of the US closes down on Sundays. This is a fact that I wouldn't mind if I were living my day to day life here in Europe. It would provide time to spend with the family and a chance to escape from the constant bombardment of our everyday commercialism. But the thing is that I do not LIVE here in Europe so the fact that EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday is a pain in the neck because my days are numbered!!! Fortunately, I am not the only one who realizes that tourists can get testy about keeping to a schedule and that you can make a killing if you are willing to open your shop for tourists on a Sunday while everyone else is closed. After a fair amount of wondering I managed to find the "touristy area" complete with about a billion tourists. It was so odd to wonder five to ten minutes from the deserted outdoor shopping mall and find myself on a street where every square inch was taken up by restaurants touting "authentic local flavors," souvenir shops and a waffle or chocolate shop on every street corner. Of course I went on my standard walking tour of the city, led by my pals "Rick Steve's" & "Lonely Planet" (each of these guide books weights about 9 lbs and for some reason I think I need 2 of them!!). Along my way I ran into a sweet gal whom I had met earlier that morning in my hostel and we made plans to meet up later on and get some dinner. Linda had spent nearly a week in Brussels and had quite a bit of wisdom to impart regarding the town and what to see during my visit. All-in-all, I had a darn good time in Brussels. In short, I saw the palace (yes, currently still in use), ate a bit or maybe more than a bit of Belgium chocolate, sampled a couple Belgium beers, ate a touristy Belgium waffle, a serving of fries or two and tried to balance it all out my doing about 8 to 10 hours of walking through the city each day... One of the coolest things I did was to go to the Salvador Dali exhibit. It was wonderful, I really love his work and enjoyed the opportunity to see several original, complete collections. I was planning to go to Bruges after Brussels but the weather had changed from the beautiful clear skies when I arrived to a constant downpour on my last day sooooo I decided that riding a bike along the soggy beach outside of Bruges might not be the most fun thing I could do with my time so I headed off to the tiny country of Luxembourg!
Side note: it is a good idea to wear sturdy shoes when walking on soaking wet cobble stones in the rain - sandals prove to be quite slippery and you may find yourself a bit embarrassed because you eat it every 5th step...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The City of Lights
Paris, FRANCE
I LOVE Paris!!!! love love love it! As of now it is my fav city that I have visited (after San Francisco, of course). The history, the architecture, people, food and obvi shopping are for lack of a better word incredible. It wasn't to terribly difficult to navigate around the city; I was actually a little shocked that it wasn't massive. The also have a very efficient and clean metro system that makes travel even easier! I guess I'll just have to learn French!!! I loved it here so much that I stayed several days after Ashley left to go back home to San Jose, which, by the way made me rather sad. I miss my perfect traveling buddy. For the first day after she left I walked around Paris with a bit of an empty feeling in my heart... I would tell our inside jokes to myself and mentally point out silly things we would have talked about... somehow, it just isn't the same without ya, Ash! :) Proud of you! haha!
After several days of exploring the sites and sounds of this beautiful city of lights I finally decided to leave and thankfully, with the help of a travel agent I was able to find semi affordable train tickets to Belgium and Luxembourg. It was the best 5 Euros I have spent! Prior to stumbling into the travel agent office I spent 4 of the most frustrating hours trying to navigate French websites attempting to find a way out of Paris without having to sell my soul...
A day or so before I was scheduled to leave I met some pals at my hostel and one gave me his museum pass!!! What a guy, what a guy! Thanks to this lovely little gift I decided to do some power site-seeing with another friend I met in the hostel. We somehow managed to devour the D'Orsay Museum with it's spectacular exhibit of the opera house, the series of temporary exhibit of small, moderately disturbing drawings featuring men with the heads of chickens and other foul committing murder and other sinister acts...and other permanent exhibits. After that we made our way to the SHOAH Jewish Memorial Museum, which had tighter security than LAX (yah hard to imagine...) and finally the Picasso Museum! I loved it!!!! We had a great time trying to interpret the art and an even better time watching people mistake the mirrored walls for unexplored hallways. After all that, there was still a bit of daylight left so we decided to book it across town to see Pere LaChaise Cemetery to catch a glimpse of Jim Morrison's grave. Despite all the sprinting, we made it to the cemetery just in time for them to close the gates as they kicked out the final patrons.
My last day in Paris!! What more could a sleeping girl ask for but a plastic bag symphony from the other travelers in my hostel room as they packed their belongings to leave at 4 AM? Really, people?!?! Today I took the baguette that was provided for breakfast and made myself some french toast!! Apparently it isn't so French because there isn't a stinkin' joint in the city that serves the stuff!!! I also went on a MASSIVE adventure to literally 6 different electronic superstores scattered across Paris in search of the perfect new camera! I may have mentioned it before or I may have avoided the sad subject but my camera met a tragic end on our first day in Tuscany as I set it up to take a picture of our homemade meal crafted by jenny, Ashley and yours truly! I guess houses that have been built on the tops of hills can get a bit breezy when you open all the windows and doors... I set the timer for ten seconds and at the count of 4 my poor, little camera had already developed an entirely too close relationship with the hard tiled floor... All heartache set aside, I was able to purchase a fab new camera under the direction of my two at-home camera gurus. She was a beauty! Canon SX200IS phew I <3 her! Amongst other sites and sounds I was able to make it to the cemetery and see Oscar Wilde's grave as well as Jim Morrison's and several other graves of prominent individuals. Generally I have a peaceful and comforting feeling when I visit cemeteries but this was fairly overrun with tourists, which left it feeling like a component of Disneyland... not exactly the reverent atmosphere I was expecting... but then again, I too was a tourist contributing to the hustle and bustle.
I LOVE Paris!!!! love love love it! As of now it is my fav city that I have visited (after San Francisco, of course). The history, the architecture, people, food and obvi shopping are for lack of a better word incredible. It wasn't to terribly difficult to navigate around the city; I was actually a little shocked that it wasn't massive. The also have a very efficient and clean metro system that makes travel even easier! I guess I'll just have to learn French!!! I loved it here so much that I stayed several days after Ashley left to go back home to San Jose, which, by the way made me rather sad. I miss my perfect traveling buddy. For the first day after she left I walked around Paris with a bit of an empty feeling in my heart... I would tell our inside jokes to myself and mentally point out silly things we would have talked about... somehow, it just isn't the same without ya, Ash! :) Proud of you! haha!
After several days of exploring the sites and sounds of this beautiful city of lights I finally decided to leave and thankfully, with the help of a travel agent I was able to find semi affordable train tickets to Belgium and Luxembourg. It was the best 5 Euros I have spent! Prior to stumbling into the travel agent office I spent 4 of the most frustrating hours trying to navigate French websites attempting to find a way out of Paris without having to sell my soul...
A day or so before I was scheduled to leave I met some pals at my hostel and one gave me his museum pass!!! What a guy, what a guy! Thanks to this lovely little gift I decided to do some power site-seeing with another friend I met in the hostel. We somehow managed to devour the D'Orsay Museum with it's spectacular exhibit of the opera house, the series of temporary exhibit of small, moderately disturbing drawings featuring men with the heads of chickens and other foul committing murder and other sinister acts...and other permanent exhibits. After that we made our way to the SHOAH Jewish Memorial Museum, which had tighter security than LAX (yah hard to imagine...) and finally the Picasso Museum! I loved it!!!! We had a great time trying to interpret the art and an even better time watching people mistake the mirrored walls for unexplored hallways. After all that, there was still a bit of daylight left so we decided to book it across town to see Pere LaChaise Cemetery to catch a glimpse of Jim Morrison's grave. Despite all the sprinting, we made it to the cemetery just in time for them to close the gates as they kicked out the final patrons.
My last day in Paris!! What more could a sleeping girl ask for but a plastic bag symphony from the other travelers in my hostel room as they packed their belongings to leave at 4 AM? Really, people?!?! Today I took the baguette that was provided for breakfast and made myself some french toast!! Apparently it isn't so French because there isn't a stinkin' joint in the city that serves the stuff!!! I also went on a MASSIVE adventure to literally 6 different electronic superstores scattered across Paris in search of the perfect new camera! I may have mentioned it before or I may have avoided the sad subject but my camera met a tragic end on our first day in Tuscany as I set it up to take a picture of our homemade meal crafted by jenny, Ashley and yours truly! I guess houses that have been built on the tops of hills can get a bit breezy when you open all the windows and doors... I set the timer for ten seconds and at the count of 4 my poor, little camera had already developed an entirely too close relationship with the hard tiled floor... All heartache set aside, I was able to purchase a fab new camera under the direction of my two at-home camera gurus. She was a beauty! Canon SX200IS phew I <3 her! Amongst other sites and sounds I was able to make it to the cemetery and see Oscar Wilde's grave as well as Jim Morrison's and several other graves of prominent individuals. Generally I have a peaceful and comforting feeling when I visit cemeteries but this was fairly overrun with tourists, which left it feeling like a component of Disneyland... not exactly the reverent atmosphere I was expecting... but then again, I too was a tourist contributing to the hustle and bustle.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Blog It Up!!!
Alright, perchance you have noticed that I have been slacking on my blogging... Well, here it is, the condensed version of the past month or so of my life, my incredible adventure in Europe. Obviously, there is so much more to the stories that I have listed and will continue to write about but this is just a little taster. If you want more then you will just have to come with me on my next adventure when I go to South America or I suppose that I can just show you some pics and tell you more stories when I get home on October 20th!!! Yay I will be back in San Francisco for Halloween! I just couldn't miss it! Europeans aren't too big on this fantastic holiday so I decided to come home a few days early so I could dress up and celebrate one of my fav over-commercialized American sugar driven holidays! As of now this is my potential costume: Halloween Hat
I am currently in Poland and have a bit to say about it but am currently going back to where I left off on my last post in France and will update in an out-of-order fashion... Sorry, for you listing logically minded folks but try to use the creative side of your mind and I will try my best to make the timeline make sense :)
Wroclaw, POLAND
I know that I have said it before but I LOVE it here! Hands down this is one of my very most favorite parts of ths trip! Josie and her family (the Kriegers) have made me feel so at home that I am starting to believe that I am Polish. First of all, let's talk about the food! OMG, Holy Smokes, Heavens to Betsy! I am damn near eating my heart out here! I may have to roll myself home after my time in Poland. Point A) The Soups- Beet soup is now my favorite, and there are umpteen different bean soups to fall in love with, sauerkraut soups and about a billion other vegetarian soups that I would be content to eat every day from now until forever! B) The bread - Northern Europeans have it going on when it comes to bread products! The French have their white baguettes, which may smell wonderful when a fresh roll is plucked from a warm oven. But the things are basically devoid of any nutrients and serve as not much more than a tummy filler when served with some jam and a vat of steaming instant coffee, as we found to be quite common in most of France (mind you that poor breakfast rituals are my only criticism of France and their cuisine). Anyway, as I said before, German bakers have it dialed down in regards to whole-grain delicious fresh breads! I am not entirely certain as to the origin of these healthy-ish breads but northern and eastern countries seem to also follow the whole-grain trend. YUM! C) What better to top your bread than CHEESE! Yes, Please!!! Mother of Pearl, I thought I had good cheese while I was in France but Josie has introduced me to a new world full of myriad cheeses to accompany our morning meals! My recent favorite is what she calls "white cheese." It is a mildly, sweet cheese that looks like a cross of ricotta and cottage cheese without the water. One can eat white cheese with a bit of jam or take it in a more savory route and add fresh herbs and radishes. WOW. Love it! Really the list goes on but I will leave it there for now...
When I arrived in Wroclaw, Josie and her Mama met me at the train station with a bouquet of beautiful roses and warm hugs. I was such a happy girl after a long train ride from Berlin. That afternoon Josie's Dad and I ate a FEAST of traditional Polish foods that included the ever present soup, followed by amazing pierogi and finished with tasty Polish potato pancakes called latkas. Everyday the Kriegers show me more of the beauty of Poland and each day I am falling more in love with this place! Over the weekend we went on an adventure to Krakow and took a tour of the beautiful old city. More beautiful castles, churches galore, a handful of synagogues that are used as nothing more than tourist attractions since the second world war devastating impact on the Polish Jewish population. We spent the night in Wieliczka (just outside of Krakow) and the next morning went on one of the best adventures to date! Wieliczka Salt Mines are an UNESCO world heritage site that have been worked for 900 years. I was amazed at the beauty of this mine! The tour takes you down 135 meters through a series of enormous caverns complete with various sculptures and one of the raddest churches that I have seen! Click here to see the chapel that serves as a hot spot for weddings and still hosts weekly services on Sunday! Saturday night Jos, mama Krieger and I went to a beautiful local park here in Wroclaw (pronounced: Vraswav - I was waaaaaayyyy off when I was pronouncing it phonetically) and saw the Wroclaw fountain that was built in honour of the 20th anniversary of the first free elections in post-war Poland! What a way to celebrate the end of communism! Let's have a light and water show! Seriously though, it was so cool! I know that the Bellagio has an impressive water show but this was even cooler with fire, pretty lights, animated projections, lasers and other fancy visuals! Despite the fact that I was fairly certain it would start snowing any minute, I had a fab time! Yesterday, we went to the Krieger's country cottage house in the village of Laki (pronounced Wonki). The weather was beautiful!!!! We had a chance to relax, walk around the yard, pond and through the forest. Josie and I ate veggies fresh from the garden and gathered wild hazelnuts from around the yard as her Dad fished in the pond! As an appropriate end to our stay in Laki we had a beautiful meal freshly prepared with loving hands! Wow, I am getting cheesy... but really I am having the best time and feel so at home with this sweet family. After we got back to Wroclaw, Josie and I went to see Inglourious Basterds at the local theatre... ummm interesting flick... thankfully not as bloody as most Tarantino flims but then again scalping isn't exactly an appetizing ordeal either... eh, it is worth watching but probably only once. Ok. There it is! My life, my trip, my adventure! Obvi I haven't included all details but from here on out I plan to be better at keeping up with this thing. As you know I have about 3 weeks left and only 3 more countries before I return home. All in all I will have visited 17 countries in 5 months and have learned so much. This is a lifetime adventure for sure!
Poland Continued
Today I tried broad beans for the first time. In Polish they are called bob (pronounced: boob hehe) and they are delicious!!!! They are the perfect high fiber snack to help with my current diet that is insanely high in the opposite of high fiber cheese... I love bob! And I love Bob as in Dad! ha :)
I am currently in Poland and have a bit to say about it but am currently going back to where I left off on my last post in France and will update in an out-of-order fashion... Sorry, for you listing logically minded folks but try to use the creative side of your mind and I will try my best to make the timeline make sense :)
Wroclaw, POLAND
I know that I have said it before but I LOVE it here! Hands down this is one of my very most favorite parts of ths trip! Josie and her family (the Kriegers) have made me feel so at home that I am starting to believe that I am Polish. First of all, let's talk about the food! OMG, Holy Smokes, Heavens to Betsy! I am damn near eating my heart out here! I may have to roll myself home after my time in Poland. Point A) The Soups- Beet soup is now my favorite, and there are umpteen different bean soups to fall in love with, sauerkraut soups and about a billion other vegetarian soups that I would be content to eat every day from now until forever! B) The bread - Northern Europeans have it going on when it comes to bread products! The French have their white baguettes, which may smell wonderful when a fresh roll is plucked from a warm oven. But the things are basically devoid of any nutrients and serve as not much more than a tummy filler when served with some jam and a vat of steaming instant coffee, as we found to be quite common in most of France (mind you that poor breakfast rituals are my only criticism of France and their cuisine). Anyway, as I said before, German bakers have it dialed down in regards to whole-grain delicious fresh breads! I am not entirely certain as to the origin of these healthy-ish breads but northern and eastern countries seem to also follow the whole-grain trend. YUM! C) What better to top your bread than CHEESE! Yes, Please!!! Mother of Pearl, I thought I had good cheese while I was in France but Josie has introduced me to a new world full of myriad cheeses to accompany our morning meals! My recent favorite is what she calls "white cheese." It is a mildly, sweet cheese that looks like a cross of ricotta and cottage cheese without the water. One can eat white cheese with a bit of jam or take it in a more savory route and add fresh herbs and radishes. WOW. Love it! Really the list goes on but I will leave it there for now...
When I arrived in Wroclaw, Josie and her Mama met me at the train station with a bouquet of beautiful roses and warm hugs. I was such a happy girl after a long train ride from Berlin. That afternoon Josie's Dad and I ate a FEAST of traditional Polish foods that included the ever present soup, followed by amazing pierogi and finished with tasty Polish potato pancakes called latkas. Everyday the Kriegers show me more of the beauty of Poland and each day I am falling more in love with this place! Over the weekend we went on an adventure to Krakow and took a tour of the beautiful old city. More beautiful castles, churches galore, a handful of synagogues that are used as nothing more than tourist attractions since the second world war devastating impact on the Polish Jewish population. We spent the night in Wieliczka (just outside of Krakow) and the next morning went on one of the best adventures to date! Wieliczka Salt Mines are an UNESCO world heritage site that have been worked for 900 years. I was amazed at the beauty of this mine! The tour takes you down 135 meters through a series of enormous caverns complete with various sculptures and one of the raddest churches that I have seen! Click here to see the chapel that serves as a hot spot for weddings and still hosts weekly services on Sunday! Saturday night Jos, mama Krieger and I went to a beautiful local park here in Wroclaw (pronounced: Vraswav - I was waaaaaayyyy off when I was pronouncing it phonetically) and saw the Wroclaw fountain that was built in honour of the 20th anniversary of the first free elections in post-war Poland! What a way to celebrate the end of communism! Let's have a light and water show! Seriously though, it was so cool! I know that the Bellagio has an impressive water show but this was even cooler with fire, pretty lights, animated projections, lasers and other fancy visuals! Despite the fact that I was fairly certain it would start snowing any minute, I had a fab time! Yesterday, we went to the Krieger's country cottage house in the village of Laki (pronounced Wonki). The weather was beautiful!!!! We had a chance to relax, walk around the yard, pond and through the forest. Josie and I ate veggies fresh from the garden and gathered wild hazelnuts from around the yard as her Dad fished in the pond! As an appropriate end to our stay in Laki we had a beautiful meal freshly prepared with loving hands! Wow, I am getting cheesy... but really I am having the best time and feel so at home with this sweet family. After we got back to Wroclaw, Josie and I went to see Inglourious Basterds at the local theatre... ummm interesting flick... thankfully not as bloody as most Tarantino flims but then again scalping isn't exactly an appetizing ordeal either... eh, it is worth watching but probably only once. Ok. There it is! My life, my trip, my adventure! Obvi I haven't included all details but from here on out I plan to be better at keeping up with this thing. As you know I have about 3 weeks left and only 3 more countries before I return home. All in all I will have visited 17 countries in 5 months and have learned so much. This is a lifetime adventure for sure!
Poland Continued
Today I tried broad beans for the first time. In Polish they are called bob (pronounced: boob hehe) and they are delicious!!!! They are the perfect high fiber snack to help with my current diet that is insanely high in the opposite of high fiber cheese... I love bob! And I love Bob as in Dad! ha :)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Not a fan of French keyboards
I'm in the south of France these days soaking up the beauty of Monaco and near by cities. let me tell you that Grace Kelly knew what she was doing when she became the princess of Monaco. Holy smokes, it is beeeeeautiful here!!! Ash and I met some silly new friends while staying at a hostel in Cap D'ail (next to Monaco) and spent the next 4 days hiking, drinking wine, exploring (even went to a perfume museum in Grasse), visiting Monaco, swimming, cliff jumping and obvi eating delicious food!!! internet is spendy and the keyboard looks like someone dropped it and all the keys fell off then a three year old replaced them in a totally irrational order. Because of this my post is short but later will tell of our awesome train rides, the random fancy hotel in Marseille and our new adventure as we begin to explore Provence. We are currently looking for a place to rent bikes and go wine tasting! btw if u r reading this u should email me and let me know what is going on in ur world. <3
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Holy Cannoli
My time in Italy is nearing an end... Sad but it was incredible while it lasted. Ash and I left Jenny and her friend Chris after a few museum rounds in Florence. Firenze was charming, romantic, classy, full of food (esp. gelato - Florence is the birthplace of this bit of mana) and excellent shopping (obvi had to buy an Italian leather wallet). A mini miracle occurred while we were here; there I was just minding my own business the checking out the intertubes when Melinda Collins began chatting with me. Low and behold she was in Firenze as well!! What a treat! She and Emily met up with us for the next day and a half! (For those who don't know, Mel and I will be traveling together in about a month so this was a total chance encounter. After two nights of staying in a dorm-style hostel in a room with 16 girls that smelled like hot foot all night - really actually worse than a tent eagle scouts... we were done with Florence and ready for Venice. We took a cheap train that left Florence at 4 AM with no plans on where to stay. After trucking around in the heat of the mainland just outside Venice we found a super sweet, rad, totally modern HOTEL (yes, actual nice hotel, not hostel)- it has only been open 2 weeks so we were able to get a rocking deal and have a clean and totally private place to rest our tired heads. Now if it smells like hot foot then I know who is to blame! Venice was quaint and really quite lovely. St. Mark's was even better than I had imagined and equally as covered with flying rats. For the life of me I cannot understand why a person would hold out their arms and allow those foul beings (pun intended) to perch on their perfectly clean skin!?!?!? Nasty! Whilst exploring Venice we decided to take a tip from our lovely tour guide, Rick Steve. Anyone know him? He said to not bother trying to follow a map around Venice but to just amble about the various alleys, dark corridors, bridges and other alluring components that make up the hay maze of Venice because you can't really get lost, it's an island after all. In total, I think we spent about 15 hours meandering the streets of Venice, convincing ourselves and each other that we had "totally been here," and "I for sure know where we are now." We eventually made it home and are sad to leave but need a break from the blisters on our feet from all the walking so we are headed to Monaco tomorrow morn with fresh produce, a bit of Baileys in our coffee and perhaps a baguette to pass the time.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Greece and Italy
It has been a red hot minute since I attempted to tell ya'll what has been going on and right now it is rather late and I am sleepy so this is a rough summary of the past few weeks.
After 2 days of travel home from Africa I had 4 short days to get ready for Europe. In short, I tried to cram too much into too little time. I got to fancy Europe with a bunch of gross, dirty-backpacking clothes that I took to Africa and have been feeling fairly grungy ever since my arrival. I have been traveling with Ms. Ashley and we make a flippin' awesome team. We like to hike and run (morning runs and walks are part of our regular routine) eat healthy food and explore. Oh and we like wine too.
Our first stop was Athens where we hit all the major tourist spots (yes, we saw all the old rocks) then we took an overnight ferry with 1209834720897 nineteen-year olds who were wasted and yelling until the wee hours of the morn (but really, who was the dumb one for thinking they could sleep on the deck of an extra slow ferry?). We spent 5 days on the black beaches of Santorini, exploring ancient ruins, sampling local Greek food and trying to get accustomed to the lifestyle of going out at midnight and staying out until the sun rose over the water. I guess we aren't as young as we used to be because we could only hold out for about 1.5 nights of this silly sauce. We stayed in the most charming location owned by a lovely Greek couple who we loved. After Santorini we hopped on another ferry to the isle of Paros for 3 wonderful days. We had a quaint three story apartment all to ourselves (a bit excessive but why not?). Then back to Athens for another day/night before we nearly missed our flight to Rome.
Jenny met up with us in Rome where we stayed in the MOST incredible apartment owned and rented out by an old Italian lady who didn't know a lick of English. Our location couldn't have been better; we were right across from the Vatican. If you walked out of our beautiful apartment complex you were facing the Vatican wall (it didn't hurt that one of the best gelato places was right next to our front door). We saw the sights of Rome and all with very little tourist traffic. We pretty much had the perfect days in Rome... ahh, I am falling in love with Italy... Chinque Terre followed and WOW was this amazing! It is a series of 5 hilltop villages who are obsessed with recycling, growing organic produce in the tiered fields on their vast hills and keeping track of all the tourists who choose to hike the trails between the 5 villages. Most of the towns are very over-crowded with foreigners but we stayed in a tiny village whose primary population exceeded the age of 70. I loved it! And the food - be still my heart! Fresh seafood and organic fresh veggies - not to mention there are some pretty tasty wines one can purchase for about 3 Euro. Now that fits into the budget nicely. :) We were sad to leave our tiny paradise but jumped on a sweaty train to Florence where we did a tiny bit of shopping, scoped out the hostel we'd use when we returned in a week then picked up our sweet rental car. We have been driving the damn cutest little crayon box of a car called a Fiat, Panda. It is the colour of soft butter, or wait better yet, the colour of half-melted lemon gelato. Whatever, it is flipping cute and feels about the same as driving a Matchbox car. By far the best part of the trip began the minute we opened the door to our charming little villa on a hilltop peaking out between the vineyards in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. We were so fortunate to have Jenny's family friend allow us to come stay in their beautiful home for the past 5 most perfect days. We have morning runs, afternoons at the pool, cook healthy dinners of fish and produce from the farmer's market and drink wine and wine and wine while we watch the sunset from our porch. We also have had several day trips, one to Pisa (yes, the tower is still leaning and yes, we took plenty of stupid pics of us appearing to push it over- ha ha ha lame I know but we are still tourists...). Oh speaking of pictures, the first night we were in Tuscany I set up my camera to take a sweet shot of us 3 ladies and our masterpiece of dinner when a mighty gust of wind blew my perfectly (or no so perfectly) perched camera off the table onto the soft brick floor. Yah, you may have guessed that the camera didn't fare so well... I am REALLY sorry, Dad. At least for now I have Ash and Jenny to take pics while I figure out what to do about replacing my camera for the rest of my journey. Given that we are in wine country it would only be fitting that we did a bit of tasting while in the area. We have had the opportunity to make a few friends and had a couple private tastings and tours of the facilities which have been awesome.
Tomorrow I may cry as we pile in the Panda and leave this place that truly became our home... I think I will have to watch Under the Tuscan Sun or something when I get home... yah probably not. It is late and I have to get some rest because tomorrow we are going back to Florence!
After 2 days of travel home from Africa I had 4 short days to get ready for Europe. In short, I tried to cram too much into too little time. I got to fancy Europe with a bunch of gross, dirty-backpacking clothes that I took to Africa and have been feeling fairly grungy ever since my arrival. I have been traveling with Ms. Ashley and we make a flippin' awesome team. We like to hike and run (morning runs and walks are part of our regular routine) eat healthy food and explore. Oh and we like wine too.
Our first stop was Athens where we hit all the major tourist spots (yes, we saw all the old rocks) then we took an overnight ferry with 1209834720897 nineteen-year olds who were wasted and yelling until the wee hours of the morn (but really, who was the dumb one for thinking they could sleep on the deck of an extra slow ferry?). We spent 5 days on the black beaches of Santorini, exploring ancient ruins, sampling local Greek food and trying to get accustomed to the lifestyle of going out at midnight and staying out until the sun rose over the water. I guess we aren't as young as we used to be because we could only hold out for about 1.5 nights of this silly sauce. We stayed in the most charming location owned by a lovely Greek couple who we loved. After Santorini we hopped on another ferry to the isle of Paros for 3 wonderful days. We had a quaint three story apartment all to ourselves (a bit excessive but why not?). Then back to Athens for another day/night before we nearly missed our flight to Rome.
Jenny met up with us in Rome where we stayed in the MOST incredible apartment owned and rented out by an old Italian lady who didn't know a lick of English. Our location couldn't have been better; we were right across from the Vatican. If you walked out of our beautiful apartment complex you were facing the Vatican wall (it didn't hurt that one of the best gelato places was right next to our front door). We saw the sights of Rome and all with very little tourist traffic. We pretty much had the perfect days in Rome... ahh, I am falling in love with Italy... Chinque Terre followed and WOW was this amazing! It is a series of 5 hilltop villages who are obsessed with recycling, growing organic produce in the tiered fields on their vast hills and keeping track of all the tourists who choose to hike the trails between the 5 villages. Most of the towns are very over-crowded with foreigners but we stayed in a tiny village whose primary population exceeded the age of 70. I loved it! And the food - be still my heart! Fresh seafood and organic fresh veggies - not to mention there are some pretty tasty wines one can purchase for about 3 Euro. Now that fits into the budget nicely. :) We were sad to leave our tiny paradise but jumped on a sweaty train to Florence where we did a tiny bit of shopping, scoped out the hostel we'd use when we returned in a week then picked up our sweet rental car. We have been driving the damn cutest little crayon box of a car called a Fiat, Panda. It is the colour of soft butter, or wait better yet, the colour of half-melted lemon gelato. Whatever, it is flipping cute and feels about the same as driving a Matchbox car. By far the best part of the trip began the minute we opened the door to our charming little villa on a hilltop peaking out between the vineyards in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. We were so fortunate to have Jenny's family friend allow us to come stay in their beautiful home for the past 5 most perfect days. We have morning runs, afternoons at the pool, cook healthy dinners of fish and produce from the farmer's market and drink wine and wine and wine while we watch the sunset from our porch. We also have had several day trips, one to Pisa (yes, the tower is still leaning and yes, we took plenty of stupid pics of us appearing to push it over- ha ha ha lame I know but we are still tourists...). Oh speaking of pictures, the first night we were in Tuscany I set up my camera to take a sweet shot of us 3 ladies and our masterpiece of dinner when a mighty gust of wind blew my perfectly (or no so perfectly) perched camera off the table onto the soft brick floor. Yah, you may have guessed that the camera didn't fare so well... I am REALLY sorry, Dad. At least for now I have Ash and Jenny to take pics while I figure out what to do about replacing my camera for the rest of my journey. Given that we are in wine country it would only be fitting that we did a bit of tasting while in the area. We have had the opportunity to make a few friends and had a couple private tastings and tours of the facilities which have been awesome.
Tomorrow I may cry as we pile in the Panda and leave this place that truly became our home... I think I will have to watch Under the Tuscan Sun or something when I get home... yah probably not. It is late and I have to get some rest because tomorrow we are going back to Florence!
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