Rob’s European Vacation 2009

So I have finally arrived back in Vacaville and it’s now 2 in the morning and jet lag has officially hit me.  I’m wide awake and exhausted at the same time…oh the pain of having to go to Europe for a month! haha

So my trip wrapped up with a quick stay in London.  I caught the 7 am bus (4 Euro) from Rome’s main train station to Ciampino airport and caught a RyanAir flight to Stansted in London.  From there I took a 10 pound coach to my hostel.  The hostel was nice enough and I got ready and everything packed up so when I got up at 5 am I wouldn’t make too much noise.

The following morning my great trip back started.  It was quite an ordeal.  I ended up loosing my Oyster card going from one Underground station to another and didn’t see an attendant so I kind of just barged through when some guy went in.  Well the guy that went in was actually the attendant and I didn’t know until I saw him with a walkie talkie cuz he was dressed all normal with a normal jacket on and everything.  He preceded to yell at me and I had to literally ask him what he was saying like five times cuz his accent was so thick, lol.  Then he yelled at me and said I was on CCTV and was a “criminal”.  I was in such a rush to get to the Paddington station to catch the Heathrow Express that I said, “That’s ok, I’m leaving the country anyways.” hahaha.

So I got to Heathrow, through customs and security and of course my flight ended up leaving an hour late.  I finally get on the plane and we take off, a full 10 hour flight to Houston.  I slept a little here and there but nothing of substance.  The food was delicious though!  Pot roast, mashed potatoes, chocolate crunch bars with caramel, ham and mozzarella sandwiches, etc.  I don’t know what it is about Continental but I love their food, lol.

So after a long 10 hours and watching two movies (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Day the Earth Stood Still) , a couple TV shows (Friends, the Office, The New Adventures of Old Christine, etc.) and actually playing Centipede, we landed  in Houston.  I had a 90 minute layover and grabbed my first fast food in a while…Wendy’s.  YUM.  Then I got on my next flight and took off for another 4 hour flight to SFO.

Finally I landed in California…which had me thinking I should have written on here the day before that I was “Goin back to Cali, Cali, Cali…” But of course I missed the boat on my LL Cool J reference.  So anyways I landed, got my bag and hopped on Bart.  Called my awesome mom and she picked me up from the Concord station.  Ok, just so you can all know how awesome my mom is, she packed a lunch for me because she didn’t know if they fed us or not!  How sweet is that?!  My mom rocks!  I love you mom!

So I finally got home at about 8pm.  And that’s after I woke up at 9pm PST the night before.  So literally from the time I woke up to get ready to go, to the time I got home was 23 hours.  Can you say, OUCH.

First thing I noticed when I got home though..my “tiny” apartment appeared HUGE to me.  It’s funny how small it seemed before and how big it seems now. I guess having no personal space for a month can change your views on that.  Besides that it was just nice to be home..but quiet!  I so got used to other people being around…but I’m not complaining, this is awesome.

Finally a conclusion of my adventures, here are some things I learned on my trip:

• I am minuscule when it comes to this planet.  I am one among billions.  Yet what I do affects others, as what they do affects me.  Be good, waste not and be happy.  Life is good.
• Not only am I minuscule in respect to this planet, but so are my problems.
• Traveling alone has it’s advantages and it’s disadvantages.  I didn’t mind it overall, however I’d prefer to share it with someone next time.
• If I go for more than two weeks in the future, I’m buying a cell phone and SIM card.  I hated not having normal communication with family and friends.
• The United States needs public transportation.  We are far too reliant on cars.  And speaking of which, I almost exclusively saw tiny hatchbacks except in parts of Germany where I saw a ton of BMW’s.
• Americans should be taught two languages from grade school on.  I feel like an idiot that I don’t know a second language as fluently as most Euros do.
• Changing currencies sucks.  You loose money everytime.
• The next time I go, I’m going to less places but staying longer and seeing more.  I think my trip was very rushed and I spent a lot of time on trains.  Yet at the same time I saw a ton of things that I’m extremely grateful for…
• Future places to go: Barcelona, Versailles, Neuschwanstein, Murren

Finally, I’d like to thank each and everyone of you for coming here and reading my thoughts on places and seeing the pictures.  I kept this journal as much for you as for myself…to remember all the little details and experiences.  I immensely enjoyed this trip and will remember it for the rest of my life.  Thank you and happy trails!

This morning on Day 3, I got up and had four things I had to see before my stay in Rome was done.  1. The Forum, 2. The Mouth of Truth, 3. the AS Roma store and 4. Castle di Angello.  Consider the mission accomplished.  I headed out this morning and got to the Forum…the seat of power for ancient Rome.  I again listened to my Rick Steves audioguide (man that guy saved me a ton of money) and checked out the sites.  The tomb of Julius Cesear was there, the old Senate building and all of Capitol and Paletine Hills….sooo amazing.  You’re literally walking on thousands and thousands of years of history.  I walked around for a few hours and then headed out to make my way to the Boca Della Vitras or the Mouth of Truth.  I remember the carving from the movie Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and had to see it.  While I was in line waiting for my turn to take a picture, I noticed there was a guy there taking everyone’s pictures for a 50 euro cent donation.  So I donated and got two great pictures!  It’s so rare for me to be in a picture on this trip that I’m stoked that I not only got into a picture but also it was a really good one of me! yay. After the Mouth, I made my way up the Via Corso to hit up the AS Roma store to get some memorabilia from my favorite football team in the city they play in!  I was soo looking forward to getting some tshirts and maybe even a jersey.  But once I got there, I was amazed at the prices.  Just for a little old tshirt it was 40 Euros.  That’s over 50 USD for a tshirt!!  A jersey was 90 euros!  that’s just insane prices….and people were buying stuff right and left.  I did see some baby clothes (they had everything for a baby) and wanted to grab something for my future son, but I figured that was a little weird, especially for a guy, lol.  So I took off and headed for my last stop, the Castle of the Angel next to the Vatican.

The Castle isn’t that special inside…but it looks amazing from the outside and the roof.  You can get a grand view of Rome from the roof and of course it has an amazing history too, from Hadrian’s tomb to a fortress and a prison it has an interesting past.  After the Castle I decided to go see the inside of SPB again and I’m glad I did because today the sun was shining and you could see the rays of sun coming in from the dome which reminds you of God looking in.  Of course God wasn’t there the day before because it was overcast but hey, whatever…everyone needs a day off right?  So I took a whole bunch of pictures inside and headed for the cupola.

So I was told by my roommate Carly that I should climb the dome of SPB and check out the view from there.  For five euros, I did just that…and climbed some 551 steps!  It was tough for a bit but really not anything as bad as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.  For some reason that dome REALLY killed me…but it may have something to do with being so much more in shape now than I was then since this is at the end of my trip and I’ve been walking miles and miles everyday for the past month?  Anyways I got to the top and wow..views galore of Rome, Vatican City and beyond.  I didn’t realize but Vatican City has some really pretty gardens in the back that are immaculately groomed.  I took some pictures and headed back down.  As I headed down I slipped on the slippery marble stairs and caught myself with my arm over the railing.  But thanks to my klutziness I got a nasty bruise now on my inner tricep, hot!  I took off from the Vatican and knew this would be my last chance to see the most of Rome so I made one big sweep through the city.  I started off going across the Tiber to see the Piazza Navona, then off to the Pantheon and the Trevi.  After the Trevi I headed back to the Spanish Steps.  I sat there for a bit and then headed for the Metro back to the Termini.  I headed back to my hostel and began to pack for my flight tomorrow.  I gotta get up early and catch a bus at 7 to get to Ciampino airport by 8.  Since RyanAir likes you to be super early, I gotta make sure I’m there nice and early to get checked in and make sure there’s no problems.  So I’m gonna finish up my packing but in the meantime, here are my pics from the last two days…again THANKS FOR READING!!

Day 2 in Rome started out good.  I was the first one to wake up so I grabbed my stuff and took a shower.  After the shower I packed up all my things and headed out for the day.  First up, the Vatican.

The Vatican Museums are huge.  Not what you’d think considering it’s supposed to be the center of Christendom and everything.  There’s a lot of pagan statues and stuff from really all over the place.  There is also tons of something else…PEOPLE.  It was INCREDIBLY crowded and I just hate crowds like that.  I hate being in them and just want to get out.  So I actually zoomed through most of the Vatican museums in about 2 hours…which is short considering my roommate went at the same time I did and she left seven hours later!!  So I zoomed through and made my way to the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel, the Pope’s personal chapel and the place where they elect the new popes…I’ve heard that people were underwhelmed by it and how small it was but man oh man, it was amazing.  There are frescoes from floor to ceiling and of course the famous ones by Michalengo including the finger of God giving the spark of live to man.  Regardless of your religous beliefs, this work of art is the defining piece of work by one man.  Amazing…I stood there with my head upwards for about an hour, awestruck at the magnificance of Michalengo’s work.

After the Sistine I snaked my way around to the the Vatican’s crypts.  I saw where many of the pope’s were buried, including Pope John Paul II and the original Pope, Peter!!  Very cool and Peter’s crypt is extremely ornate.  Very beautiful.

After the crypts I headed up into St. Peter’s Basilica.   The center of Catholicism.  The seat of the Pope.   AMAZING.  I don’t think you can truly appreciate SPB unless you’ve been there.  It is so gorgeous inside.  It was built to show the glory of Catholicism versus the Protestants and wow, it really impresses.  I walked around and took an audioguide from Rick Steves for about an hour.  As I was leaving my camera battery died on me and I decided to hit up the hostel and charge the battery since I’m a photographer and have to take pics of all the places I go!  So I went back and started charging the battery and decided the best way to make use of the time would be…to watch LOST!!!  haha.  I love that show so much.  I still haven’t finished the final episode but wow oh wow..was it good so far! (oh crap, I just finished it!!!  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

So anyways after the camera battery charged, I went back out to the Colosseum and was going to go to the Forum but it was closed.  So I decided to go back to the Pantheon and the Trevi.  I love the Trevi so much. I took some more pictures and got some more gelato and headed back to the hostel for a good nights rest.

So the day started off in Sorento and I was determined not to rush soo much on this morning since I only had about three hours of train travel ahead of me.  I ate my breakfast and grabbed my gear and headed for the Circumvesuvius train.  I just missed a train and hung out for about half an hour until the next one to Naples came.  On the train ride I struck up a conversation with an older couple from Sweden.  They were so nice and lovely and we had a great conversation (in English of course).  They were so cute together too..whenever I see older cute couples it really makes me wish I’m that way with my future wife when we’re in our fifties and sixties.

So anyways I got to dodgy (that’s my new favorite English english word) Naples and made my way to the ticket counter to get my reservation for the train to Rome.  That’s the one thing that sucks about Italy is that every train requires a reservation which costs money on top of your Eurail pass that you paid up the roof for.  Oh well, comes with the territory right?  So I got to the ticket counter and of course the next train doesn’t leave for an hour…oh wait that train is delayed so the next one is an hour and a half away but its also an express train and gets you there in only an hour for a 20 euro reservation…SOLD!  Btw, I LOVE Eurostar Italia…free newspaper, free soda and candy.  Seriously a sugar-holics favorite deal!

Anyways I got to Rome at 2 and hiked the four blocks from the Termini to my hostel.  The hostel is weird because the guys that run it, also run a internet point and laundromat combined right next door.  So I checked in…at a laundromat with computers on one wall.  Weird…almost like a pet grooming place and a coffee shop together…it just doesn’t sound right.  So anyways I checked in and they took me up to my room.  It’s basically an old apartment that they’ve put four beds into every room.  One toilet and one shower in the same WC for about 12 people = not good!  I’ve been in better places but I’ve also been in worse…and its only for three nights so I can live.

So after I put my stuff down I headed out on the town.  I took the bus in front of the train station and got dropped off and made my way to Campo di Fiori.  It’s a little square that was having a flower market and was enjoying its siesta still.  So I headed off for my grand Roman walk and made my way to Piazza Navona and Bernini’s Four Rivers fountain and an Egyptian Obelisk.  First of all, there are a crap load of Egyptian obelisks here in Rome, all stolen from Egypt during Rome’s heydays, some 2000 years ago!  So the fountain was awesome.  Rick Steves said you should try this “tortufo” from the Scalini restaurant for a chocolate treat.  Being the supreme chocoholic that I am, I tried it out.  Man was it good!  It was a mix of dark and rich chocolate and was kind of a gelato and truffle mixed together.  Awesome!

After the tortufo, I headed down the alleyways and through “village Roma”.  I turned a corner and BAM..there it was, the Pantheon.  It’s gorgeous and better in person than I ever anticipated.  I love history and the history this place has is immense.  I popped out my Ipod and started up my audioguide from Rick Steves on the Pantheon and hung out there for about an hour.  The perfect oculus of the dome and Savoy kings buried there really make it a special place.  Not to mention that it was built during the time of Hadrian!  Also did you know, that the Pantheon is the only Roman structure that has been in continuous use throughout the ages?!  So cool…

After the Pantheon I headed around some more corners and was star-struck yet again…the TREVI!!  Magnifico!  Bravo!  What an accomplishment.  The fountain is truly a work of art and by far my favorite thing about Rome.  I hope my future wife isn’t reading this right now because someday I want to come back to Rome and propose to her at night in front of the Trevi because I think it’s just that romantic and that amazing.  I hung out there for a bit and then continued on…

Rick Steves suggests some pretty good gelato places to me before in Venice so when he suggests another, I always hit it up.  Once again I wasn’t disappointed and was treated to some exquisite gelato from Giolotti’s.  I truly think that the closest I’ve ever had to a spiritual revelation on this trip is when I had my first lick of gelato everyday, lol.  I love the stuff just that much.

After the gelato, I made my way to the Piazza di Spagna or the Spanish Steps.  What a great way to people watch.  I again hung out there on the steps and watched the crowds come and go.  There’s a great view of some really glitzzy shops too.  After that I walked up to Piazza del Poppola for a while and back down to the Steps.  It was getting dark by now (at 9pm) so I headed back to the Trevi to see it at night.  I truly think this is when the Trevi shines.  The water is so blue and so pretty..even with the throngs vying for a spot to take a picture and throw a coin in….

After another stint at the Trevi I decided to walk back to the hostel.  On the way I made my way past the Victorio Emmanuele II memorial in all it’s grandeur and then I saw it..The Colosseum at night.  So beautiful and it’s been four years since I last saw it.  I missed the grand arena…I walked up to it and hung out for a bit taking some pictures.  Then I headed back.  I gotta say, I missed Rome and I’m glad I am back.

Sorrento is beautiful but all of Italy is really bella chaos.  The way people drive and the mass of mopeds zooming up and down streets is crazy.  I have always loved Italy though…and always will.

So I arrived in Sorrento after another crazy nine hours of trains.  I think the next time I plan a European holiday I’ll plan a bit better and stay longer than two nights somewhere after travelling for so long.  It’s funny how sitting on a train and changing trains takes it out of you, but it sure does.

So I got to Sorrento, and wow is this hostel awesome!  It’s basically a hotel with bunk beds instead of a king sized bed in it.  The place is brand new, tile and fancy decorations everywhere.  Seriously it rates up there as one of the nicest places I’ve stayed and at 30 USD a night, it’s a good deal too.

So I went to Pompeii today and thanks to some advice from my hostel roommate and Kristy, I decided to grab a tourguide instead of the audioguide which I heard was a huge waste of money.  For ten euro I got an Italian that had been giving tours for 50 years (or so he said) and actually was quite good.  For two hours he took us all around, showed us the baths, the main shopping areas, the areas of ill repute and some of the design of the city.  First off, Pompeii is HUGE.  MASSIVE even.  25000 people used to live there and it was big.  It took me 30 minutes at a brisk walk to walk from one end to the other so imagine how big it actually was…

The site itself is awesome.  Some really well preserved  “mummies” with their bones still in them since the plaster was poured in to form their shapes, some great mosaics that say things like “HAVE” which means welcome and another one of a dog that acts as a warning saying, “Beware of dog”, lol.  Great stuff…and they also had the baths open and had recently recreated the famous mosaic of Alexander the Great on the original floor it was found on.  Amazing site and I highly suggest taking a tour guide!!

After Pompeii I was pretty sun beat and tired.  I took the train back to the hostel and on the way I grabbed some bread and proscuitto and some cookies and made myself a little lunch.  After lunch I got really tired and ended up taking a bit of a nap and even after I woke up I was still just wasted.  I didn’t want to waste too much time though and just as the sun started to get low I grabbed another quick train to Sorrento harbor and took some great shots of the harbor and the Bay of Naples.  It’s amazing how big Vesuvius looms over Naples and the area and how at any moment it could blow again.  This whole area would be devestated if it did though!

So I just repacked my bag and got all my stuff ready for my trip back to Roma tomorrow.  About three hours of trains which is actually a light day, lol.  I’m looking forward to being in my second to last place and to know that on Sunday I’m flying back to London and then back to SFO on Monday.  I’ve quite enjoyed my time in Europe but I’m ready to be home too.  It’s really hit me this week that I’m ready for it.

Cinque Terre…what more can you say but amazing, wonderful, beautiful, awe-inspiring…

I loved this area so much four years ago that I knew I wanted to come back and in good weather so I can do all the hiking I didn’t get to do before.  Iam so glad I did!  I had a great time there, even if my hostel was a bit out of the way and it took me six trains to get there!

So my trip to Cinque Terre started out a bit off.  I was supposed to catch the early train at seven thirty out of Interlaken so that I could get the fastest connections and all that jazz to Cinque Terre.  Well I woke up one minute before the train was supposed to leave!  Ooops.  Lol…well that was too damn early anyways!  I’m on vaction for crying out loud!

So I woke up, ate breakfast and took my time.  I left and grabbed the nine thirty train out of Interlaken and like I said, had six trains to get to La Spezia.  I also had a two hour layover in Domodossola which is this dinky town right over the border in Italy.  I walked around for a bit and went into the local grocery store to grab something.  Ended up with some Coke Zero (it’s crack and I blame it all on my coworker Lisa!) and some crackers.  That ended up being pretty much the only thing besides breakfast I’d eat that day.  No wonder I’m losing weight like crazy.  So far I’ve had to tighten up my belt by one belt hole.  Anyways…back to the trains.  I ended up in La Spezia just in time to catch the last bus to the hostel which was in a town called Biassa, high up in the hills above La Spezia.  That was the last bus for the day too which means you’re probably stuck up there all night.  I got to the hostel and met some other people there and watched Something About Mary with them.  Then we all headed to our rooms and I ended up catching up Survivor that I had downloaded in Munich and Switzerland..lol.

The next day I got up and got the bus down to Riomaggorie.  We all waited there for the trains and that’s where I learned there was a major rail strike the day before.  Thankfully I didn’t get too delayed but that’s probably why it took so long the day before.  So we hopped on the train and headed to Montorosso. We all got off and because a couple of them were just going to chill out for the day I said my goodbyes and took off for the trail.  The hike between all five towns is about six miles long with varying degrees of difficulty.  I choose to take the hard part first and I’m glad I did because it was only getting hotter and by the time I got to Vernazza, I was sweaty and beat.

In Vernazza I took a bit of time and relaxed, enjoyed the views, had some pizza and gelato (I LOVE GELATO) and continued on my trek.  By the time I was done with all five towns, I was exhausted, but I was also accomplished and happy that I got to see some of the most beautiful area and be in the Italian sun for a few hours.  I just love love love this area!

So I caught up with some of my hostelmates again and we hung out for a bit before the bus took us back to Biassa.  Once there I grabbed a quick shower and got all the salt off of me.  Then I settled down for the night and easily had a good nights rest.

I already miss Cinque Terre.  I’ll be back I’m sure, how could I not!

So I woke up today still coughing from this horrible cold.  Now going on eleven days.  This thing won’t leave me alone.

Anyways i got up, got a quick shower and grabbed some breakfast.  What is it about Europeans and their Nutella?  They love the stuff!  Every morning I have Nutella and some strawberry jam, yum, but it still seems wrong to eat chocolate for breakfast…

So I headed out to check out Interlaken.  It’s a nice little town on this river inbetween these two lakes.  The best part is the amazing views all around you.  GIANT mountains and woods are all around you..and even a glimpse of Jungfrau, the tallest peak in all of Europe.  I was thinking of going up there until I found out it was 165 Swiss Franks which is just about 150 USD!!!  To take a train to a mountain!!  No thanks.

I did walk all over town though and got some lunch.  I headed back to the train station, Interlaken Ost, got a ticket to Lauterbrunnen for about 11 Swiss francs.  Rode the train which takes about half an hour and then started to walk up the Lauterbrunnen valley.  I knew I wanted to hit up the Trummelbach Falls which Chad highly suggested and looked awesome but I just didn’t want to take the bus.  For a couple of reasons, it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside, mid 70s…high clouds but still sunny. Waterfall after waterfall!  Snowcapped mountains, glaciers…mountain meadows…cows with cow bells…JUST AWESOME.  So I hiked my way up to Trummelbach Falls which took about an hour and went into the Falls.

So the falls are actually carved into the mountain and inside of it…there’s 10 of them and the sound and the water are just beautiful.  The force of the water to carve away at the mountain and the sound was awesome.  Soo cool and I’m so glad I checked it out!

After the falls I walked back down to Lauterbrannen and got the train back to Interlaken.  As I was exiting the train station it started to sprinkle so I busted out my rain jacket and put on my rain sleeve over my camera bag and good thing I did!!  The sprinkling gave way to almost hurricane force winds as I walked the ten minutes to the hostel.  The winds were so strong that all the people at the restaurants were running out because their signs and table clothes were flying all over the place.  Then the wind turned to rain…HARD RAIN.  I was glad to only be a few minutes from my hostel but in the ten minutes it took me to walk there I was SOAKED..well my shorts were soaked.  I got in, hung up my jacket and grabbed a hot chocolate.  I think this will call it a night…Switzerland is beautiful though.  I have totally fallen in love with the Berner Oberland area and hope to someday come back.  The mountains remind me of Tahoe and the valley reminds me of Yosemite..all combined.  Simply awesome.

Enjoy the pics…

So I woke up early (my hostel roommates went to bed at 5 so waking up at 9 is really early!) and got ready.  Had some breakfast and checked out.  I left my big bag with my laptop stuffed in it locked up at the hostel and took off to go on my Dachau tour.

For 19 Euros, transportation and a guide are provided for our trip.  Dachau is about 20 minutes outside of Munich and again Matt was my tourguide.  I really am impressed by the guy’s knowledge of the 3rd Reich and his perspectives on things.  I guess he impressed a few other people too because about four of us returned from the day before to take his tour again!

So we got to Dachau and got off the bus.  The memorial site is very…incognito from the outside.  There is a sign but you’d never know what laid behind those trees if you didn’t walk down the pebble strewn walkway.  Matt was really good and gave us a very in-depth story on the causes of the camp, how it wasn’t originally used for Jews and Russians and how people from all over the continent were interned there.  Great overview…

So we entered the camp and passed by the famous phrase, “Arbeit Mach Frei”.  Work will set you free.  For some this was the case at Dachau but for many many others, this wasn’t.  For those unfortunate souls, they either lost their lives there at Dachau or were shipped off to places like Auschwitz.  Officially around 32,000 people lost their lives at Dachau but as we were told, in the last years of the war, Jewish and Russian prisoners were rarely documented upon their arrival or extermination.  Therefore there really is no real way to know how many people perished at the hands of the Nazis.

The museum itself was great, original buildings still survive and it went into great detail to show why the Nazis came to power and were supported.  Then it dealt with the way the prisoners were treated and the punishments they went through.  Brutal stuff.

I think the most poingnant and surreal moment for me was the crematorium and outside the crematorium.  Outside and behind the building was a special burial place where they disposed of the ashes of 11,000 plus bodies that were burned.  And just behind that was the camp’s fence, still scared from the bullet holes where they used to line up the prisioners and just shoot them on the spot.  There was even a section labeled “Pistol range” where they would use the prisoners as targets for shooting.  Disgusting.  Inside the crematorium, they have the actual ovens lined up.  The sad thing was that there were actually two crematoriums, because the first one wasn’t big enough to deal with all the bodies that needed to be burned.  Sick.

Also in the same building as the crematorium was the Shower room.  It was surreal walking inside of that room, the celing was low and the spot where the shower heads were was just empty above it, no pipes or nothing.  A true rouse to get people to think they were getting a rare shower instead of meeting their maker.  Soo sad.

I left Dachau just thinking about how surreal it all was that so much torture and sadness occurred on what would have been a beautiful peace of land.  It reminds me of what a horrible race of individuals we are and how, no matter how hard it seems, we should be nicer to each other.  Every little nice thing we may do, goes a long way to making all of us a better people.

After we got back to Munich I grabbed my bag from the hostel and grabbed a train to go to Zurich.  From Zurich I grabbed another train to Bern and then finally another train to Interlaken.  I arrived in Interlaken at about midnight…settled down and hit the sack.  Big day of hiking the next day!

I love Germany!  So efficient, so easy and so beautiful.

Ok, to be completely honest this was about three days ago and it’s getting kind of fuzzy.  So I arrived in Munich and got to my place which was just around the corner from the main train station, super easy to get to.  After I got to my place the first night I went down to the main square in Munich called Marianplatz and saw the world famous Glockenspiel.  By the way the Glockenspiel was rated the second most overrated tourist attraction in all of Europe after Prague’s Astronomical Clock.  At least the Glockenspiel was a tad more entertaining.  It’s basically a giant Coo-coo clock.  The bells ring and it plays a tune, some guys dance around twice and then the jousters hit each other with the Bavarian always wining.  Then some other guys dance around to ward off the plague.  The spiel and the building it is in looks hundreds of years old, but amazingly it is only about 100 years old.  And it survived all the bombing in WW2.

After touring the Marianplatz I walked around this huge outdoor market area with tons of fruits and other wares available for sale.  My favorite being the beer (bier) and sausages.  For about three dollars you could get a sausage in a little french roll that was soooo good.  I always look for the longest lines in which the locals are in because those are usually the best places and the place I got my sausage from had a line about five minutes long…so worth it though!

So the next day I went to go to the Dachau tour however not many people showed up for it so they canceled it.  I was bummed out but decided to take the “free” tour instead.  The tours work on tips only so I usually only spend about 5 euros however the guide we got was a guy from SF, who went to Chico and knew more about history then anybody I have ever met.  Matt was badass.  He went all into the history of Munich, the association and buildup of the Nazi’s in the area and some really cool local stories and tales.  I loved it.  I gave him a 15 euro tip because he was just THAT good.  Also he was going on the Dachau tour the next day so I decided to show up for that one as well.

So after the free tour I went back to my place and just chilled that night and ended up watching the Chelsea and Barcelona football match.  What a good game but wtf was up with the officiating?!  It was HORRIBLE.  Anyways Barcelona had a lucky break and ended up tying the match allowing them to go to the finals.  Poor Chelsea…

Here are some of the pics I took during my time in Munich…and a few funny pics too!

My second day in Prague started off better the one before.  I slept in till 9:30 and got ready to hit the town. One minor hiccup happened though, I went to get some socks and found out I had no clean ones!  I took about fifteen minutes and washed my socks in the sink with the All detergent I had and wrung them out.  Flip flops it was…

So I went out on the town at about 11 and walked around Old Towne and across the Charles Bridge and up to the castle on the hill.  Very pretty area and very very old.  There was a church up in the castle area dating back from the 1200s that was amazing in its gothic-ness.  I took several shots of it in different exposures so that I can make some really cool HDR shots when I get back to the States.

After that I went back across the bridge to Old Towne to hit up the walking tour and ran into two Brits from my hostel I had met the night before.  We all struck out and saw some really cool sites, learned a ton about Czech history and had an overall good time.  After the tour we all went back to the hostel to rest up before going out later on the pub crawl…

So after I rested up for a bit, I headed back to the Old Towne Square and met up with Lisa and Laura again and started out on the pub crawl.  It was about 15 dollars to go on it and they supplied with you with free drinks for an hour and a free shot for the other three bars you went to.  Well let’s just say that I didn’t drink that much, especially given my “performance” at the Kings game but I still managed to spread out 1 beer, two shots of Absinthe (awful!), one shot of Lemon something and two more shots of some other stuff that I had no clue what it was but it was pretty good.  The crawl ended up at this underground club which was pretty awesome but…it seems like everyone in Prague smokes and my clothes are reeking with cigarette smell right about now.  Must.do.wash.!

Oh and one more thing, going through Prague’s very narrow, very confusing and crooked old towne at 2 in the morning and being buzzed…yeah that’s not the most fun I’ve had on my trip! Haha.  I still got back ok and hit the sack because I had to get up early and catch the train to Munich.

Munich is actually where I’m on my way to right now as I write this.  Ahh back in Western Europe…

I liked parts of Prague but I couldn’t help not liking it either.  And things weren’t that cheap..yeah they were cheaper than the rest of Europe but not by terribly much.  I am glad I went though, and that I got to experience the history and vibe of the new Prague.

So some things I’ve noticed on my trip:
-Never say fanny in England or to anyone from England.  Fanny is the same as our “C” word.
-Adiddas is only prounced the way we say it in America.  The rest of the world calls them Audee-das.  We say A-D-das but they say the A as in Ahh!
-Europeans are Converse Chuck Taylor’s crazy!!  I see them everyone, on young and old.  And when I went to Prague I looked at a shoe store to see how much they were selling them for and even in the cheapest country in Europe, they were going for $75 USD!!!  Seventy five bucks for some Chucks!  Crazy..

Ok they’re 60 Euros here in Munich…which makes them 80 USD!

Oh and I forgot my travel towel in the bathroom in Prague!!  Booo