Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Hello from Munich!
I'm writing from our new hostel as we patiently wait for the rain to stop. The place seems nice so far - clean, a kitchen, friendly enough staff - non-free internet is the big drawback, but we'll live. I can always use the signal from down the street, right?
Our mission tonight is to drink 1-liter beers in a Bavarian beer hall. There's one very cliché and touristy one downtown, which is exactly where we're headed. There are a few more normal ones we'll check out as well. Beer the size of your head! Woo!
Our mission tonight is to drink 1-liter beers in a Bavarian beer hall. There's one very cliché and touristy one downtown, which is exactly where we're headed. There are a few more normal ones we'll check out as well. Beer the size of your head! Woo!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Hello from Salzburg 2
So we are getting ready to leave Salzburg right now and take the train to Munich. Salzburg has been a very realxing portion of the trip, which is just what we needed right now. It is a fairly small city nestled between some large hills. The old city is mainly beautiful, baroqe-style buildings. It really sells itself on Mozart and the Sound of Music. At some points in the city, it is possible to pick out recogniable parts from the movie. I have hummed ´´How do you solve a problem like Maria?´´ more than once! There are actually 4 hour long tours that show all the pertinant sound of music places, but they are a little pricey. Perhaps if they also provided clothes made of out curtains, it would be a better deal.
We got on in Sunday evening and walked around the city and along the river Salzach. It is gorgeous with the river, hills and the Alps in the distance.
On Monday, we went to the old city and then hiked up to the fortress, which had some nice views but the tour cost too much and so we turned around and went back to the old city. In the center, in a pretty touristy area, there is a large chess board (about 15 ft by 15 ft) and the pieces weighed about 5 pounds each. Dave was able to play a pretty serious chess game (1.5 hour long), but sadly he did not win. However, at the end of the game, the crowd applauded! After that, we went for another nice hike in the hills above the city. There are many remains of fortifications and a lovely monastery up there. Also, fabulous views of the the beggining of the Alps, which just rise up out of nothing. Foothills are just non-existant!
Today we hiked in the hills on the opposite side of the river. Again, beautiful views and overall a very relaxing two days.
Now onto Munich....
We got on in Sunday evening and walked around the city and along the river Salzach. It is gorgeous with the river, hills and the Alps in the distance.
On Monday, we went to the old city and then hiked up to the fortress, which had some nice views but the tour cost too much and so we turned around and went back to the old city. In the center, in a pretty touristy area, there is a large chess board (about 15 ft by 15 ft) and the pieces weighed about 5 pounds each. Dave was able to play a pretty serious chess game (1.5 hour long), but sadly he did not win. However, at the end of the game, the crowd applauded! After that, we went for another nice hike in the hills above the city. There are many remains of fortifications and a lovely monastery up there. Also, fabulous views of the the beggining of the Alps, which just rise up out of nothing. Foothills are just non-existant!
Today we hiked in the hills on the opposite side of the river. Again, beautiful views and overall a very relaxing two days.
Now onto Munich....
Hello from Salzburg!
Did you know that German keyboards (it turns out they speak German here in Austria) switch the Y and Z keys? I need a dollar every time I've typed 'Salyburg' the last few days...
So I last wrote in Prague? It's a very beautiful city, but is very, very stuffed with tourists. It's tough to decide how to feel about that - we went there to see the old city, and we're not going to tour the outskirts just to see how 'real Praguers' live. So...if they want to stuff their downtown with souvenier shops and 'Czech Me Out' T-Shirts, so be it.
Despite all that it was nice. I've never seen so many statues. The centerpiece is the Charles Bridge, built in 1300-something across the Vltava river, covered with statues of saints and martyrs (often both). Ironically, jazz is very popular there, and we saw a few good shows in our nights there.
Next was Vienna, which had much more of a big-city feel than expected...really more than any city we've seen so far (except London, of course). For some reason I was completely unable to get a feel for the roads around the city and kept getting lost - they keep changing names and going off at random angles. Also, they have 'Zip Bike' there! I've always wanted to see this in the US...you pick up a bike at a station (at most Metro stops) and can drop it off anywhere else. The first hour is FREE, then onlz y 1 Euro/hour after. We used them to get all over the place. The bikes are a little rough, especially over the cobblestones, but it beat walking. Also, I had a personal connection to the city - my paternal grandparents were both from Vienna, so I found the neighborhood where (we think) they used to live. It was neat to be there 70+ years after they left.
After Vienna we took a train across Austria to Salzburg. Alicia will fill everyone in on the city below...
Oh! We've finalized our plans for the rest of the trip, and they've changed! We were planning to go from Salzburg to Munich to Venice, then fly to Dublin. Instead, we're going from Munich to PARIS, then a bus to London and a ferry to Dublin...saves on those outrageous airline prices, plus get to see more than we would in the air. I'm pretty excited for Paris. Plus, I'll get to see Venice some other time in my life...maybe with a hotel room and everything.
So I last wrote in Prague? It's a very beautiful city, but is very, very stuffed with tourists. It's tough to decide how to feel about that - we went there to see the old city, and we're not going to tour the outskirts just to see how 'real Praguers' live. So...if they want to stuff their downtown with souvenier shops and 'Czech Me Out' T-Shirts, so be it.
Despite all that it was nice. I've never seen so many statues. The centerpiece is the Charles Bridge, built in 1300-something across the Vltava river, covered with statues of saints and martyrs (often both). Ironically, jazz is very popular there, and we saw a few good shows in our nights there.
Next was Vienna, which had much more of a big-city feel than expected...really more than any city we've seen so far (except London, of course). For some reason I was completely unable to get a feel for the roads around the city and kept getting lost - they keep changing names and going off at random angles. Also, they have 'Zip Bike' there! I've always wanted to see this in the US...you pick up a bike at a station (at most Metro stops) and can drop it off anywhere else. The first hour is FREE, then onlz y 1 Euro/hour after. We used them to get all over the place. The bikes are a little rough, especially over the cobblestones, but it beat walking. Also, I had a personal connection to the city - my paternal grandparents were both from Vienna, so I found the neighborhood where (we think) they used to live. It was neat to be there 70+ years after they left.
After Vienna we took a train across Austria to Salzburg. Alicia will fill everyone in on the city below...
Oh! We've finalized our plans for the rest of the trip, and they've changed! We were planning to go from Salzburg to Munich to Venice, then fly to Dublin. Instead, we're going from Munich to PARIS, then a bus to London and a ferry to Dublin...saves on those outrageous airline prices, plus get to see more than we would in the air. I'm pretty excited for Paris. Plus, I'll get to see Venice some other time in my life...maybe with a hotel room and everything.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Hello from the train!
I'm writing this while on the train from Berlin to Prague. Ever since we passed Dresden, we've been in the middle of a narrow river valley between green hills, which sometimes rise into cliffs. There are little towns along the way, with houses by the river and up on the hills. It's like a postcard. We're almost to Prague, and the valley has opened up a bit - much wider and flatter, but still beautiful. I've only heard good things about Prague, so I'm pretty excited. We have a room reserved for tonight, but we'll have to figure out the rest later. If the hostel is nice we'll try to extend our stay there. If it's a party hostel or a bit out of town (like Berlin) we may look elsewhere. The freedom is fun but a bit tiring!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Hello from Berlin
Despite my failure to get some more pictures up here, I'm trying to be good and write at least once per city.
So, now we're in Berlin. It's a very strange city...you can tell that it's had a tough time for the last 70 years or so. One thing that was surprising is that East Berlin is the place to be. Turns out that West Berlin was all residential areas of the city, and despite having all the freedom, East Berlin had all the downtown areas, including important buildings, places and monuments (despite all the Communism). I had expected mostly rubble, but it's actually quite nice in most parts we've seen...I guess you can build a lot in 17 years.
We've spent a lot of time here just touring around, seeing the sights. They do a good in Germany of keeping around reminders of what the country did during WWII. In addition to museums and monuments, there are a few buildings that were bombed during the war that they've left in the same condition...kind of powerful when you see it all.
Anyway, we're heading South to Prague tomorrow afternoon - it will be our first non-overnight trip so far...I look forward to not sleeping on the train.
So, now we're in Berlin. It's a very strange city...you can tell that it's had a tough time for the last 70 years or so. One thing that was surprising is that East Berlin is the place to be. Turns out that West Berlin was all residential areas of the city, and despite having all the freedom, East Berlin had all the downtown areas, including important buildings, places and monuments (despite all the Communism). I had expected mostly rubble, but it's actually quite nice in most parts we've seen...I guess you can build a lot in 17 years.
We've spent a lot of time here just touring around, seeing the sights. They do a good in Germany of keeping around reminders of what the country did during WWII. In addition to museums and monuments, there are a few buildings that were bombed during the war that they've left in the same condition...kind of powerful when you see it all.
Anyway, we're heading South to Prague tomorrow afternoon - it will be our first non-overnight trip so far...I look forward to not sleeping on the train.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Hello from Amsterdam
It's been a while since the last update so rather than dump everything here I'll give some highlights, and fill in the details later if I get the chance.
Dublin was a fun city, but after 3 days we felt ready to move on. We saw the bars, the museums, Guiness Brewery and Trinity College and other assorted sights. They really love James Joyce here. We ended up booking a bus/ferry/bus trip from Dublin to London. The ferry trip was about 4 hours long and left at about 10:00 PM...the ship was huge but had nowhere to sleep and French teenagers were making a racket all night long so we couldn't really fall asleep in the chairs. Fortunately the bus ride was 8 hours long and we both slept for almost all of it.
In London we took the Tube to my brother's dorm towards the East End (he's doing a year at the LSE). He was a very good host and tour guide. He toured us around the city on foot, recommended some restaurants and shows, and showed us a generally good time. Plus, he cooked for us. London is absolutely enormous (8 million people or so) but the amazing thing is how consistently packed the city is with people and places. There's no well defined 'down town' area, just miles and miles of stuff to do and see. We saw the Tate Modern museum, the British Museum (full of things they stole from around the world during the Empire), Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc, etc. It was the opposite of Dublin - after 4 days we felt like we had seen absolutely nothing....that's the general memory I'll have from London - it's sooo big.
Leaving London, it turned out that either a flight or a train to Paris was prohibitively expensive (at least when booking last-minute like we geniuses did). But - another train/ferry/train combo into AMSTERDAM was quite a deal, including a cabin on the ship! So, that ride was overnight as well, and much more enjoyable.
We're in Amsterdam now, and it's my favorite so far (I've abstained from some of the city's more unique attractions, so, no, that's not why). It's not as big or overwhelming as London, but it's absolutely stunning. The whole city is ringed with canals, which are clean (take that, Venice!) In addition to water taxis, they're filled with permanent houseboats where people live. The city is fairly compact, so we've been able to cover a lot of it in two days of walking.
If you know me and Amsterdam, you'd agree that the best part is the biking. EVERYONE BIKES EVERYWHERE. They don't just have bike lanes, but individual paths for the bikes and almost every street. Plus, they basically have the right of way, so no need to deal with agressive drivers (no one wears a helmet either, we notices). The most impressive thing are the bike racks. They're everywhere, and filled with hundreds or thousands of bikes. The central train station has a 3-storied BICYCLE parking garage. I love it. Interestingly, almost all the bikes are the same design (a sort of hybrid/womens' thing) and they're all in terrible shape. Bike theft is huge here, so I guess no one wants to draw attention.
Anyway, we leave on Thursday night on an overnight train to Berlin. It's been a little stressful peicing together our trip as we go, but it's fun to not know where we'll go after Berlin (probably Vienna).
Pictures coming soon, hopefully.
Dublin was a fun city, but after 3 days we felt ready to move on. We saw the bars, the museums, Guiness Brewery and Trinity College and other assorted sights. They really love James Joyce here. We ended up booking a bus/ferry/bus trip from Dublin to London. The ferry trip was about 4 hours long and left at about 10:00 PM...the ship was huge but had nowhere to sleep and French teenagers were making a racket all night long so we couldn't really fall asleep in the chairs. Fortunately the bus ride was 8 hours long and we both slept for almost all of it.
In London we took the Tube to my brother's dorm towards the East End (he's doing a year at the LSE). He was a very good host and tour guide. He toured us around the city on foot, recommended some restaurants and shows, and showed us a generally good time. Plus, he cooked for us. London is absolutely enormous (8 million people or so) but the amazing thing is how consistently packed the city is with people and places. There's no well defined 'down town' area, just miles and miles of stuff to do and see. We saw the Tate Modern museum, the British Museum (full of things they stole from around the world during the Empire), Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc, etc. It was the opposite of Dublin - after 4 days we felt like we had seen absolutely nothing....that's the general memory I'll have from London - it's sooo big.
Leaving London, it turned out that either a flight or a train to Paris was prohibitively expensive (at least when booking last-minute like we geniuses did). But - another train/ferry/train combo into AMSTERDAM was quite a deal, including a cabin on the ship! So, that ride was overnight as well, and much more enjoyable.
We're in Amsterdam now, and it's my favorite so far (I've abstained from some of the city's more unique attractions, so, no, that's not why). It's not as big or overwhelming as London, but it's absolutely stunning. The whole city is ringed with canals, which are clean (take that, Venice!) In addition to water taxis, they're filled with permanent houseboats where people live. The city is fairly compact, so we've been able to cover a lot of it in two days of walking.
If you know me and Amsterdam, you'd agree that the best part is the biking. EVERYONE BIKES EVERYWHERE. They don't just have bike lanes, but individual paths for the bikes and almost every street. Plus, they basically have the right of way, so no need to deal with agressive drivers (no one wears a helmet either, we notices). The most impressive thing are the bike racks. They're everywhere, and filled with hundreds or thousands of bikes. The central train station has a 3-storied BICYCLE parking garage. I love it. Interestingly, almost all the bikes are the same design (a sort of hybrid/womens' thing) and they're all in terrible shape. Bike theft is huge here, so I guess no one wants to draw attention.
Anyway, we leave on Thursday night on an overnight train to Berlin. It's been a little stressful peicing together our trip as we go, but it's fun to not know where we'll go after Berlin (probably Vienna).
Pictures coming soon, hopefully.
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