Hello and Bon Jour! I know it has been an awfully long time since either of us have written but lately we just haven't been in the writing mode. I decided to get over it and enlighten you with what we have been up to...for the past couple of days. Kari is writing as I speak, about the rest of Italy and Nice but I feel like covering Paris because, well, je t'aime Paris.
Yesterday morning we had just finished up three relaxing days in the South of France (crazy, I know) and we were ready to make the five and a half hour trek to Paris, on the extremey fast TGV train. Now, normally Kari and I are very good with getting reservations when we need to because although we have a RailPass, we still need to reserve our seats and pay a fee (boo) in countries like Italy and France. But in Nice we decided to save time and just get it right before we left....not a very smart idea. We got to the station late, waited in line and with 3 minutes to spare found out that the train was full for that day. And the next. We then did something very out of character for us- we hopped on anyway. After freaking out for about an hour of our trip we realized that although we knew there was no room, we weren't exactly breaking the law because we had already paid for the passes. We decided to play dumb and guess what, it worked! We sat in the dining car for most of the trip and when the conductor checked our tickets he simply told us that we had to pay a fee: Kati and Kari-1, TGV-0. The only glitch was that I was the ass who didn't have any money. But instead of getting redlighted (thrown to our death from the moving train) the guy said "Welcome to France" and only charged us for one ticket. Kati and Kari-2, TGV-0. It was such a relief to finally arrive in Paris and on time!
As you know, Kari and I have been mostly just been interacting with each other for the past 3 and a half weeks (which we haven't minded in the least) but we decided to change it up a bit. My brother, Jesse, decided to come to travel to Paris and Amsterdam on a whim last week and so this is how Kari and I found ourselves on top of the Eiffel Tower with Jesse and our family friends, Mikkel and John. It kind of blows my mind that we could just meet up like this so the whole night was rather surreal. Neither Kari nor I have been able to climb the Tower in the past, so it was great to be able to do that this time around. One of my favorite silent movies is 'Paris Qui Dort' which was made in 1925 by Rene Clair and is about a group of people who find themselves alone in a city full of sleeping people. Part of it takes place on the top of the Eiffel Tower, so it was fun to be able to see it from my own point of view. After this we all went to the Latin Quarter, where I lived last summer, and ate on Rue Pot de Fer, where I was a frequent visitor. Once again, Kari and I got to bed relatively early because we were planning on taking on Paris in one day, which, suprisingly, we did.
Today we woke up with a plan and the determination to go along with it. We grabbed a couple of croissants, bought our metro daypasses and headed over to Pere Lachaise. This cemetary is, I think, Paris' largest and houses the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison, among numerous others. It's a very peaceful place and it was beautiful on such a sunny day (80 degrees!). We wandered for a while and then kept going. We stopped at Gare du Nord for train reservations, we were not going to make the same mistake as we did in Nice, and then walked to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. We had our little Amelie moment and took in the view. We have seen so many chapels and climbed so many monuments that at this point we prefer spending our time outside and wandering around the sights, rather than going in them. We then had lunch near the Dali Museum and then took the metro to Musee D'Orsay. For some reason the museum was free today, something about a strike, so Kari and I managed to see the paintings of Manet, Monet, Millet, Corot, Ingres and more, all for free! We weren't able to see all of the impressionists on the top floor because we got there too late but we plan on doing the Louvre tomorrow morning and will see enough art to last us a for a while ('Pam, your art was the prettiest art of all the art'- Roy from The Office; sorry, that was just a little something special for Kari).
After D'Orsay we walked over to Jardin du Luxembourg and chilled out for a good while because frankly our legs were about to fall off... I'm talking literally. We have been walking so much and, as I said before, climbing everything so we are definitely getting ready to do what we do best- vegging out and watching movies/tv 24/7...well, no, don't worry parents we do mobilize at home, but def not as much as we have been. Face it, we may never be this active again and I am okay with that. So is Kari. Anyways, Luxembourg is gorgeous on a nice day, it reminds me of a smaller Versailles- well-groomed lawns and large ponds with fountains. We got the energy to move again when the hunger pangs started and I took Kari by my old apartment building, on Rue Amyot and then to the infamous Marmais, my kabob spot on Rue Mouffetard. We both got doner sandwiches with chicken and fries, and I even talked to the same guys that were there last year (they remembered me!). We then went to Notre Dame and walked along the Seine at sunset, obviously holding hands...tres romantique! So tomorrow's the Louvre and then Amsterdam, and right now is a shower and then bed. Kari and I say bon soir to all of you and we will be able to talk to you, literally, in four days!
*Pictures to come!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Classy girls pee in the Mediterranean.
I know that we have a bit to catch up on, but I am on a horrible French keyboard where the letters are all out of place so this may be brief. Last you heard from us, we were enjoying the hills of Tuscany that were pretty, despite being a taaaad bit isolated. Well, our last day there was spent in Florence, and it was actually nice to be back to our old routine of sightseeing. The weather was supposed to be horrible but God decided to like us and it didn't rain too much. We climbed to the top of the Duomo, 463 steps, and the sun came out to give us a good view of the city. Florence is pretty and very walkable (unlike Paris which has killed my legs; they have given up at this point). We checked out a couple of museums, because what is Florence is famous for?? It's art! So we saw Michaelangelo's David and The Birth of Venus, both of which we stood in line for a good deal of time. But it's ok, we had modern technology on our side and watched episodes of The Office on Kati's iPod while we waited. Our last night in Tuscany was very entertaining as we decided to stay up all night (we had to leave at 6am anyway). This was Kati's idea, one that she claims was a joke in the first place and I'm sure later regretted joking about [she fell asleep anyways]. Somehow the guys who worked at the hostel (the Vandy ones) agreed to stay up with us (stupid on their part) and we played cards, watched X-Men 3 and bad Italian television. When the sun started to rise and the rooster started to crow (no joke), we finished packing and hiked, yes, hiked, the 2 kilometers to the bus stop, at 6am, with our huge framepacks. You should have seen us, because that officially made us backpackers. The bus ride (which began very disheartened, because it drove back through the 2km we had just hiked) ended up being very pretty as the mountains we stayed in turned into rolling hills. We went through the smaller Tuscan towns like Vinci (Leonardo's birthplace), and it was very nice in the early morning sun.
So we ended up in Nice! A new language that we can both understand!!! We stayed at Villa Saint Exupery which used to be a monastery. We took the tram up a hill where we could've called the hostel to pick us up, but we decided to walk ourselves. From this experience we learned to not be independent and take all the free handouts we can get, because we ended up hiking up the steepest hill I have ever seen with huge backpacks and running on zero sleep. The hostel was great though, and the best part was each night they prepared a homecooked meal for €6,50. GLORY. We enjoyed pot roast, salad, and potato wedges, and went to sleep by 10:00 (clearly we are wild). The next day we went to Monaco, because buses between towns on the Cote D'Azur are only €1. The bus ride is a tour in itself, because it is a gorgeous ride that goes along the coast. Monaco is very fancy and very overpriced...lots of fancy cars and private banks. So we did what we do best by finding a public pool (yes, we had our swimsuits on) and paying €3 to swim and relax. The weather ended up being gorgeous, despite the forecasts for rain during our entire French Riviera stay. Sunday we took the bus the other direction to Cannes [Monaco is east of Nice; Cannes is west] with one mission: beach! Cannes is the only town with sandy beaches, so we camped out for the entire afternoon and enjoyed a swim in the Mediterranean. Upon our return to Nice, we climbed a hill in the old town just to get the nice view that we require from each city we visit and returned to our hostel for a dinner of beef stew (the previous night was roast turkey, rice, and green beans; I recommend this place just because of the dinners). We didn't see too much of Nice because we opted for other towns and beach instead, but it definitely is a place that deserves a better look. Out of all the places we have been, this is the one I would liked to have stayed longer, because there are so many places to explore. You can sightsee and lounge at the beach, but 2.5 days is not enough for both. It would be a good vacation spot for a week or two (parents...forego Florida for France?).
I am done with this keyboard. The Q and A have switched locations, as well as the Z and W. And you have to use the shift key for numbers and the period. And the M has taken up residence where the apostrophe lives. France is out of control.
So we ended up in Nice! A new language that we can both understand!!! We stayed at Villa Saint Exupery which used to be a monastery. We took the tram up a hill where we could've called the hostel to pick us up, but we decided to walk ourselves. From this experience we learned to not be independent and take all the free handouts we can get, because we ended up hiking up the steepest hill I have ever seen with huge backpacks and running on zero sleep. The hostel was great though, and the best part was each night they prepared a homecooked meal for €6,50. GLORY. We enjoyed pot roast, salad, and potato wedges, and went to sleep by 10:00 (clearly we are wild). The next day we went to Monaco, because buses between towns on the Cote D'Azur are only €1. The bus ride is a tour in itself, because it is a gorgeous ride that goes along the coast. Monaco is very fancy and very overpriced...lots of fancy cars and private banks. So we did what we do best by finding a public pool (yes, we had our swimsuits on) and paying €3 to swim and relax. The weather ended up being gorgeous, despite the forecasts for rain during our entire French Riviera stay. Sunday we took the bus the other direction to Cannes [Monaco is east of Nice; Cannes is west] with one mission: beach! Cannes is the only town with sandy beaches, so we camped out for the entire afternoon and enjoyed a swim in the Mediterranean. Upon our return to Nice, we climbed a hill in the old town just to get the nice view that we require from each city we visit and returned to our hostel for a dinner of beef stew (the previous night was roast turkey, rice, and green beans; I recommend this place just because of the dinners). We didn't see too much of Nice because we opted for other towns and beach instead, but it definitely is a place that deserves a better look. Out of all the places we have been, this is the one I would liked to have stayed longer, because there are so many places to explore. You can sightsee and lounge at the beach, but 2.5 days is not enough for both. It would be a good vacation spot for a week or two (parents...forego Florida for France?).
I am done with this keyboard. The Q and A have switched locations, as well as the Z and W. And you have to use the shift key for numbers and the period. And the M has taken up residence where the apostrophe lives. France is out of control.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
In the Heart of Tuscany
Yesterday Kari and I arrived in Florence and took a van to our hostel, Heart of Tuscany, which is about an hour outside of the city, in the hills. The weather wasn't great, we were tired and the car was jolting us around as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains. We were giggling with weariness and anxiousness. This hostel was supposed to mark the beginning of our vacation half of the trip and yet we had no idea what to expect. When we arrived at the hostel we began to relax. It is beautiful, I mean really, absolutely beautiful. The villa looks over an entire valley and you can see scattered towns and houses in the hills. There are vineyards with grapes and olives everywhere and the trees are classically Italian, growing thin and tall. Apparently, the man who owns the villa has had the estate in his family for over 900 years, or something crazy like that, and he still lives here. His father was the cardiologist to Pope John Paul and the Pope even stayed here a few times! The people who work here are all on the younger side, two of them grad students at Vanderbilt (Kari was psyched about the TN connection), one is a psychology student from Sweden and the other guy is from upstate New York and has been traveling the world for several years. There's a job opening for this summer, which was very appetizing, but Kari and I are pretty pumped to get back home and see all of you so we decided to pass. Maybe next summer!
The only problem with this place is that they do not serve lunch, dinner isn't until 9ish and the towns around here close for siesta between 1-4pm, equalling two very hungry girls. We made friends with the employees and mooched some cookies and crackers out of them while chatting and watching Italian-dubbed Friends. (Speaking of tv, we saw SATC and it was so great and made us fall in love, once again, with where we live. NYC: we will be back to you soon!). Anyways, on to dinner. I, being the intense foodie that I am, was very, very happy after eating last night. We both decided to go big, so we got the four course meal. I started with an antipasto, which was made up of salamis, prosciutto, sundried tomatoes, olives and toasts with different cheese and olive spreads. Kari had the pasta appetizer and that was a helping of a rigatoni lasagna and one of a long pasta with garlic, olive oil and tomato sauce. Both dishes were flavorful and fantastic. We then got salad and a meat course, which was fresh pork ribs which were baked with a simple mixture of spices. Dessert was strawberry ice cream, which may have been homemade, along with fresh strawberries. There were only 7 of us at dinner so we all sat together, sharing life stories and wine. That elaborate description should suffice until the next fabulous meal. After dinner we hung out with the other guests and then played cards down by the pool with some of the guys who work here.
This morning was a slow one for us and we didn't get out of our room until 12pm. We then came across a dilemma because, as I mentioned before, there is no food here and everything shuts down at 1pm. Driven by hunger, Kari and I hopped onto bikes, which I think were children sized, and set out to maneuver the roads of Tuscany in search of a grocery store. We arrived at 12:45pm and had lunch and dinner planned and bought by 12:55pm. Mission accomplished. With the errands out of the way and nothing to rush back for, we found ourselves enjoying the ride back much more than the one to. The sun came out and it hit me, we were biking through Tuscany...Tuscany! That's mostly how it's been for the two of us, we follow schedules and wander through cities and every once in a while we remember that we are exploring the unknown, in Europe, and doing a damn good job.
A week and a half left and then we will be back to you all!
(Venice pictures are now up, scroll down you lazy bums!)
The only problem with this place is that they do not serve lunch, dinner isn't until 9ish and the towns around here close for siesta between 1-4pm, equalling two very hungry girls. We made friends with the employees and mooched some cookies and crackers out of them while chatting and watching Italian-dubbed Friends. (Speaking of tv, we saw SATC and it was so great and made us fall in love, once again, with where we live. NYC: we will be back to you soon!). Anyways, on to dinner. I, being the intense foodie that I am, was very, very happy after eating last night. We both decided to go big, so we got the four course meal. I started with an antipasto, which was made up of salamis, prosciutto, sundried tomatoes, olives and toasts with different cheese and olive spreads. Kari had the pasta appetizer and that was a helping of a rigatoni lasagna and one of a long pasta with garlic, olive oil and tomato sauce. Both dishes were flavorful and fantastic. We then got salad and a meat course, which was fresh pork ribs which were baked with a simple mixture of spices. Dessert was strawberry ice cream, which may have been homemade, along with fresh strawberries. There were only 7 of us at dinner so we all sat together, sharing life stories and wine. That elaborate description should suffice until the next fabulous meal. After dinner we hung out with the other guests and then played cards down by the pool with some of the guys who work here.
This morning was a slow one for us and we didn't get out of our room until 12pm. We then came across a dilemma because, as I mentioned before, there is no food here and everything shuts down at 1pm. Driven by hunger, Kari and I hopped onto bikes, which I think were children sized, and set out to maneuver the roads of Tuscany in search of a grocery store. We arrived at 12:45pm and had lunch and dinner planned and bought by 12:55pm. Mission accomplished. With the errands out of the way and nothing to rush back for, we found ourselves enjoying the ride back much more than the one to. The sun came out and it hit me, we were biking through Tuscany...Tuscany! That's mostly how it's been for the two of us, we follow schedules and wander through cities and every once in a while we remember that we are exploring the unknown, in Europe, and doing a damn good job.
A week and a half left and then we will be back to you all!
(Venice pictures are now up, scroll down you lazy bums!)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Sex and the Vatican City
(Preliminary note: This computer isnt being very cooperative when it comes to punctuation, so bear with us. Thank you~Kari and Kati)
On with the post! We are just finishing up our time in Rome, and seeing as it is raining and we are rather tired, we are going to see Sex and the City finally! We have been seeing posters in every city and we actually found a place that screens it in English (with Italian subtitles, we hope). But Im sure many of you would rather hear what it is that we have been up to these past few days.
Part One: Venezia!
After Munich we took a train into Italy and started our romance country tour with Venice, which was, of course, very romantic for the two of us. We camped at Plus DAlba Oro and shared a little love nest, which was a small shack which basically had us at armslength. We arrived late in the afternoon so we headed straight for the pool, it took us about 2 minutes to get out there and we were PUMPED. Unfortunately, it closed at six so we had to pack up again and move on to dinner and bed.
The next day we woke up on the later side, which left us refreshed and ready to explore the city of Venice. We took the bus to town and were immediately hit by waves of tourists and souvenir stands that were reminiscent of Chinatown. Kari and I headed straight for one of the side streets, deciding to forgo the attractive Grand Canal route for a less crowded, more intimate look at the city. First note, it is impossible to not get lost in Venice. It is a basically a labyrinth made up of winding streets that slant inwards and little bridges, complete with their fair share of gondolas. Second note, yes, the gondola men do wear those funny outfits (complete with nikes) and the rides are ridiculously overpriced. We would highly recommend just doing what we did and getting lost because it is a pretty small place and its pretty great to get a sense of what it is like to live there without the masses of people. Somehow we made our way to the other side of Venice (fun fact: which is made up of over 100 small islands!) We went to St. Marks square and played with some pigeons, well Kari did at least. I told her they are filthy creatues but she wouldnt have any of it and dove right in. We were able to sit by the square and look out at the Adriatic Sea. There were a ton of people, waiting for gondolas, waiting to get inside the church, and just waiting, so we headed back into the wilderness. We soon found ourselves a nice little restaurant named Vini Scelli alla Rivella, where we got pizza and pasta, and continued our ritual of writing in our journals. We are both very proud that we are now halfway through our trip and have not given up writing yet! That is basically it for Venice, besides some late night laundry, cardgames and wine back at the campsite. Overall, we had a great time and found a way to stay out of the tourist trap that surrounds the city. It was truly one of the more beautiful places we have seen yet and only gave us more to look forward to in Italy.
Part Two: Roma!
We got to Rome yesterday in the afternoon and were elated to find that M and J Hostel was right around the corner. After getting lost in Munich and having to take two buses to our campsite in Venice, we were very relieved. We decided to do the Colosseum and the Forum, which is basically a bunch of ruins that have now been turned into an outdoor museum. Apparently a couple of years ago, when Kari was last in Rome, the Forum was free but you will all be appalled to hear that they now charge (a lot) to get inside. We didnt go inside the Colosseum because it is pretty fantastic to see from the outside alone but Kari sucked it up for my sake and we went into see the ruins. I have to give a shoutout and thank her for bearing with me these past two days and going to really crowded, touristy areas so that I could see all these things for the first time. Thanks! Anywho, we walked through the ruins, which, by itself, is basically a bunch of old stones knocked around, but I kept thinking about the history that surrounds the place and it kind of blew me away. People lived in these old huts and gladiators fought and died for sport in the Colosseum. Ill be rewatching Gladiator as soon as I get home (along with The Sound of Music). After this we did the same old thing, got food, read and went to bed early. Had to get up early for the Pope!
We were told by people in our hostel and all the guidebooks to get to Vatican City early, so as to avoid the ridiculous lines. We arrived at 10am and waited for 2 hours...in the rain... We then came to the conclusion that people think that early is better but, trust us, early is the new late and we found out the hard way. We finally got inside the Vatican Museum and followed the wave of people through each room, passing by the old masks and sculptures and opting for the Sistine Chapel instead. Besides all of the people, it was pretty impressive. As I learned from Dan Brown, this is the site of where every Pope has been elected. Basically, all the Cardinals stay in that room until they have made a decision, or so I think, we got no tour so I am going on a whim. Either way, each Pope has stood in that room, not to mention Michaelangelo when he painted the whole thing. The security guards freaked us out a little, practically flying across the room if a flash was seen or a phone went off, so we left for the cafeteria and post office.
We then found the entrance for the Basilica St. Pietro and got in yet another huge line. Kari and I discovered that we spent more time in line today than in the actual places that we were trying to see. Cest la vie. St. Peters was very impressive, decorated with massive collages and statues of past saints. We also went into the Tomb of the Popes and saw all of their graves, including Pope John Pauls. By that time we had had enough religion for a lifetime and decided that it was time for ice cream. We went on a hunt for the movie theater and in about four hours our Sex and the City relationship will have completed its final chapter. Good couple days: Venice, check. Costumed Gondola Men, check. Pope, check. Russel Crowe in Colosseum, not yet. Sex and the City in a foreign country, almost! Peace out friends and family.
On with the post! We are just finishing up our time in Rome, and seeing as it is raining and we are rather tired, we are going to see Sex and the City finally! We have been seeing posters in every city and we actually found a place that screens it in English (with Italian subtitles, we hope). But Im sure many of you would rather hear what it is that we have been up to these past few days.
Part One: Venezia!
After Munich we took a train into Italy and started our romance country tour with Venice, which was, of course, very romantic for the two of us. We camped at Plus DAlba Oro and shared a little love nest, which was a small shack which basically had us at armslength. We arrived late in the afternoon so we headed straight for the pool, it took us about 2 minutes to get out there and we were PUMPED. Unfortunately, it closed at six so we had to pack up again and move on to dinner and bed.
The next day we woke up on the later side, which left us refreshed and ready to explore the city of Venice. We took the bus to town and were immediately hit by waves of tourists and souvenir stands that were reminiscent of Chinatown. Kari and I headed straight for one of the side streets, deciding to forgo the attractive Grand Canal route for a less crowded, more intimate look at the city. First note, it is impossible to not get lost in Venice. It is a basically a labyrinth made up of winding streets that slant inwards and little bridges, complete with their fair share of gondolas. Second note, yes, the gondola men do wear those funny outfits (complete with nikes) and the rides are ridiculously overpriced. We would highly recommend just doing what we did and getting lost because it is a pretty small place and its pretty great to get a sense of what it is like to live there without the masses of people. Somehow we made our way to the other side of Venice (fun fact: which is made up of over 100 small islands!) We went to St. Marks square and played with some pigeons, well Kari did at least. I told her they are filthy creatues but she wouldnt have any of it and dove right in. We were able to sit by the square and look out at the Adriatic Sea. There were a ton of people, waiting for gondolas, waiting to get inside the church, and just waiting, so we headed back into the wilderness. We soon found ourselves a nice little restaurant named Vini Scelli alla Rivella, where we got pizza and pasta, and continued our ritual of writing in our journals. We are both very proud that we are now halfway through our trip and have not given up writing yet! That is basically it for Venice, besides some late night laundry, cardgames and wine back at the campsite. Overall, we had a great time and found a way to stay out of the tourist trap that surrounds the city. It was truly one of the more beautiful places we have seen yet and only gave us more to look forward to in Italy.
Part Two: Roma!
We got to Rome yesterday in the afternoon and were elated to find that M and J Hostel was right around the corner. After getting lost in Munich and having to take two buses to our campsite in Venice, we were very relieved. We decided to do the Colosseum and the Forum, which is basically a bunch of ruins that have now been turned into an outdoor museum. Apparently a couple of years ago, when Kari was last in Rome, the Forum was free but you will all be appalled to hear that they now charge (a lot) to get inside. We didnt go inside the Colosseum because it is pretty fantastic to see from the outside alone but Kari sucked it up for my sake and we went into see the ruins. I have to give a shoutout and thank her for bearing with me these past two days and going to really crowded, touristy areas so that I could see all these things for the first time. Thanks! Anywho, we walked through the ruins, which, by itself, is basically a bunch of old stones knocked around, but I kept thinking about the history that surrounds the place and it kind of blew me away. People lived in these old huts and gladiators fought and died for sport in the Colosseum. Ill be rewatching Gladiator as soon as I get home (along with The Sound of Music). After this we did the same old thing, got food, read and went to bed early. Had to get up early for the Pope!
We were told by people in our hostel and all the guidebooks to get to Vatican City early, so as to avoid the ridiculous lines. We arrived at 10am and waited for 2 hours...in the rain... We then came to the conclusion that people think that early is better but, trust us, early is the new late and we found out the hard way. We finally got inside the Vatican Museum and followed the wave of people through each room, passing by the old masks and sculptures and opting for the Sistine Chapel instead. Besides all of the people, it was pretty impressive. As I learned from Dan Brown, this is the site of where every Pope has been elected. Basically, all the Cardinals stay in that room until they have made a decision, or so I think, we got no tour so I am going on a whim. Either way, each Pope has stood in that room, not to mention Michaelangelo when he painted the whole thing. The security guards freaked us out a little, practically flying across the room if a flash was seen or a phone went off, so we left for the cafeteria and post office.
We then found the entrance for the Basilica St. Pietro and got in yet another huge line. Kari and I discovered that we spent more time in line today than in the actual places that we were trying to see. Cest la vie. St. Peters was very impressive, decorated with massive collages and statues of past saints. We also went into the Tomb of the Popes and saw all of their graves, including Pope John Pauls. By that time we had had enough religion for a lifetime and decided that it was time for ice cream. We went on a hunt for the movie theater and in about four hours our Sex and the City relationship will have completed its final chapter. Good couple days: Venice, check. Costumed Gondola Men, check. Pope, check. Russel Crowe in Colosseum, not yet. Sex and the City in a foreign country, almost! Peace out friends and family.
Friday, May 30, 2008
The hills are alive...
With music, not the bad horror movie! So we have quite a bit of catching up to do, we know. But we have not been in a place with great internet, nor had a place to upload pictures. So I will start from several days ago. And Katie, do not worry, your chef will give a full food report soon.
Well Kati went through most of our Prague adventure already, up until our last night there. We went to the Czech Beer Festival with people from our hostel, which was an exciting experience. It cost 130 CZK to get in (15 CZK = $1, you do the math), and then you paid 39 CZK for a token. There were numerous tents set up down a line, all sponsored by different beer companies. 1 beer = 1 token, so we just worked our way down the line. They also had "traditional" Czech food, so we had some goulash (very good). Once it got good and dark (which doesn't happen here til around 10pm), Kati and I went to the Charles Bridge, Prague's most famous landmark, to take pictures without all the daytime tourists. All in all, Prague gets a thumbs up.
Kati already mentioned our debacles of the train (much hilarity), so I will get right into Vienna. This was a city neither of us knew anything about, so we definitely just wandered for a couple hours after we arrived. We stayed at Wombat's, which is a very hip place, apparently. It has its own bar, so is supposed to be social. We found dinner at an out of the way restaurant we read about on our guide map and it was in a little courtyard (I will save food related things for Kati, the foodie). The next day, Tuesday, we had no guided tours, which was actually a relief...they get old after a while. Kati mentioned our day as 10-year-olds, but here is my obligatory suggestion/advice: lunch at Naschmarket...lots of stands to buy fresh food and sit down restaurants that are pretty cheap. So the night that we had seemed so enthusiastic about did not end up as exciting. We went to our hostel's bar, drank a pina colada, and ate a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Pretty quality I'd say. We get more exhausted than we realize, and by 10pm, we are dead.
Wednesday was supposed to be spent heading to Munich but we opted for a quick day trip to Salzburg, the home of The Sound of Music (hence my post title). We had a nice little lunch special that was 3 courses and only cost €5,50. Then we decided to hike up to Ferstung Hohensalzburg, which is a big fortress (we are cheap and did not take the tram). Well that thing was boring and did not offer good views so we walked 500m west to Richterhöhe, which is a big scenic overlook (there is also some kind of structure there...not really sure what, but I'm sure that's why the spot has a specific name rather than just "lookout"). Anyway, this spot was amazing! Salzburg, as much of Germany and Austria, is on the edge of the Alps, but this was our first view of them! We also went to Stiftskirche Nonnberg, which is a nunnery, yes the very one from whence Maria came before the Von Trapp household. We walked in the chapel and it was deserted and silent, until the nuns started to sing from up in their choir altar. It was pretty cool, because it was one of the first times we seemed to experience something really authentic and out of the blue--we were like flies on the wall. Then we walked to Mirabellgarten, which is a big garden that the children and Maria ran through. So typically, we followed suite and did the same. Well I did, Kati just shook her head in disdane. Salzburg ended up being one of our favorite places, because it was really quiet and really small. It was also a lot more scenic than Vienna which just seemed to be a lot of museums (and we hate those...boring and they cost money).
I just want it to be known that as I am typing this, "My Heart Will Go On" came on in the internet cafe. Classy.
Well this brings us up to date to our day spent in Munich. We got here last night and found our hostel after much confusion from poorly phrased directions. We went to another hostel to meet up with our Prague friends who were here at the same time, and it ended up being our first night out past 2am! Whoo, we are NOT completely lame! It wasn't much of an exciting night out though, no German rave clubs or anything. We went to eat kebab and go to a hostel bar. But we, for some reason, have a private room, so that is a nice change in pace. Today we went on Lenny's Free Bike Tour at the recommendation of one of our friends. It was better than walking, but 40 people is too many for a bike tour; they should have split it up. We saw the important things in Munich, but I can't really relate too many of them to you...the bike kind of prevented me from writing things down as we moved along. However, we did learn that Munich was founded in 1156 and was 65% destroyed in WWII. Lots of seemingly old buildings are actually from the 60s when they were rebuilt. But they did try and rebuild it as much as possible, so it still has an old feel. Also, we learned that in Munich they like beer, which is why it took things a very long time to be built. We went through Englischergarten which is Europe's largest city park, where we saw some river surfers and some nudists (none attractive). Our scenery of the day was hiking up the 305 steps to the top of Peterskirche for €1, which gave us an overview of Munich (very nice). It was vey hot and sunny outside today so we both burned with weird tan lines. Can't wait for Nice and the beach!
We promise not to slack in posting anymore, for both our sakes--1) this must have been terribly long to read it you made it this far, 2) it was terribly long to write and my hands hurt. And also we apologize for any lack of phone calls; no freaking phones will take calling cards (except Joe and Linda, I already tried and you were not home--your fault!). Til later, auf wiedersehen.
Well Kati went through most of our Prague adventure already, up until our last night there. We went to the Czech Beer Festival with people from our hostel, which was an exciting experience. It cost 130 CZK to get in (15 CZK = $1, you do the math), and then you paid 39 CZK for a token. There were numerous tents set up down a line, all sponsored by different beer companies. 1 beer = 1 token, so we just worked our way down the line. They also had "traditional" Czech food, so we had some goulash (very good). Once it got good and dark (which doesn't happen here til around 10pm), Kati and I went to the Charles Bridge, Prague's most famous landmark, to take pictures without all the daytime tourists. All in all, Prague gets a thumbs up.
Kati already mentioned our debacles of the train (much hilarity), so I will get right into Vienna. This was a city neither of us knew anything about, so we definitely just wandered for a couple hours after we arrived. We stayed at Wombat's, which is a very hip place, apparently. It has its own bar, so is supposed to be social. We found dinner at an out of the way restaurant we read about on our guide map and it was in a little courtyard (I will save food related things for Kati, the foodie). The next day, Tuesday, we had no guided tours, which was actually a relief...they get old after a while. Kati mentioned our day as 10-year-olds, but here is my obligatory suggestion/advice: lunch at Naschmarket...lots of stands to buy fresh food and sit down restaurants that are pretty cheap. So the night that we had seemed so enthusiastic about did not end up as exciting. We went to our hostel's bar, drank a pina colada, and ate a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Pretty quality I'd say. We get more exhausted than we realize, and by 10pm, we are dead.
Wednesday was supposed to be spent heading to Munich but we opted for a quick day trip to Salzburg, the home of The Sound of Music (hence my post title). We had a nice little lunch special that was 3 courses and only cost €5,50. Then we decided to hike up to Ferstung Hohensalzburg, which is a big fortress (we are cheap and did not take the tram). Well that thing was boring and did not offer good views so we walked 500m west to Richterhöhe, which is a big scenic overlook (there is also some kind of structure there...not really sure what, but I'm sure that's why the spot has a specific name rather than just "lookout"). Anyway, this spot was amazing! Salzburg, as much of Germany and Austria, is on the edge of the Alps, but this was our first view of them! We also went to Stiftskirche Nonnberg, which is a nunnery, yes the very one from whence Maria came before the Von Trapp household. We walked in the chapel and it was deserted and silent, until the nuns started to sing from up in their choir altar. It was pretty cool, because it was one of the first times we seemed to experience something really authentic and out of the blue--we were like flies on the wall. Then we walked to Mirabellgarten, which is a big garden that the children and Maria ran through. So typically, we followed suite and did the same. Well I did, Kati just shook her head in disdane. Salzburg ended up being one of our favorite places, because it was really quiet and really small. It was also a lot more scenic than Vienna which just seemed to be a lot of museums (and we hate those...boring and they cost money).
I just want it to be known that as I am typing this, "My Heart Will Go On" came on in the internet cafe. Classy.
Well this brings us up to date to our day spent in Munich. We got here last night and found our hostel after much confusion from poorly phrased directions. We went to another hostel to meet up with our Prague friends who were here at the same time, and it ended up being our first night out past 2am! Whoo, we are NOT completely lame! It wasn't much of an exciting night out though, no German rave clubs or anything. We went to eat kebab and go to a hostel bar. But we, for some reason, have a private room, so that is a nice change in pace. Today we went on Lenny's Free Bike Tour at the recommendation of one of our friends. It was better than walking, but 40 people is too many for a bike tour; they should have split it up. We saw the important things in Munich, but I can't really relate too many of them to you...the bike kind of prevented me from writing things down as we moved along. However, we did learn that Munich was founded in 1156 and was 65% destroyed in WWII. Lots of seemingly old buildings are actually from the 60s when they were rebuilt. But they did try and rebuild it as much as possible, so it still has an old feel. Also, we learned that in Munich they like beer, which is why it took things a very long time to be built. We went through Englischergarten which is Europe's largest city park, where we saw some river surfers and some nudists (none attractive). Our scenery of the day was hiking up the 305 steps to the top of Peterskirche for €1, which gave us an overview of Munich (very nice). It was vey hot and sunny outside today so we both burned with weird tan lines. Can't wait for Nice and the beach!
We promise not to slack in posting anymore, for both our sakes--1) this must have been terribly long to read it you made it this far, 2) it was terribly long to write and my hands hurt. And also we apologize for any lack of phone calls; no freaking phones will take calling cards (except Joe and Linda, I already tried and you were not home--your fault!). Til later, auf wiedersehen.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Ich bin ein kuh
The heading means 'I am a cow,' and these were the first words of German I (Kati) remember speaking. Fortunately, I learned a few other phrases from my German friends and we have been able to navigate around Vienna. We left Prague early yesterday with a plan. We were taking the train to Hohenau, which is on the border between the Czech Republic and Austria, so that we could use our railpass the rest of the way. See, the Czech Republic doesn't take the pass so we had to find a way around that, and we thought we had. Of course, we get to Hohenau and it is in the middle of nowhere and we get on a train going the wrong way. After some extreme finagling on our part, we manage to get onto the correct train and land in Vienna, only a few hours later than expected. Our hostel is nice, but not as homey as the one in Edinburgh- we miss Steve. Today we walked to the Schonbrun Palace (Vienna's Versailles). It was gorgeous but very hot, so many breaks were necessary. Kari and I did something very characteristic of us, we spent the day as children. We went to Europe's oldest zoo AND the amusement park (very creepy I have to admit). It was a great day but we are rather tired and extremely dirty so it is time to wash up and explore what Vienna is like at night (safely of course, mom and dad). We miss you all!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Czech us out.
Yes, I am going to go with the lame title, because we are now in Prague. We got here yesterday after an exhausting 7:30am flight (on which we sat next to the cutest baby ever, and everyone in our row passed out hard). But we got here and it is warm and sunny for a change! Britain is great and all, but the weather sucks. We are staying a little bit outside the city center at a hostel called Sir Toby's, which is really nice (we have reading lights!) and clean and has a lot of random amenities. We have a tram stop outside that takes about 10 minutes to get into the main part of the city.
Yesterday was our wandering day (in case you haven't noticed, we generally go by this schedule: one day wandering ourselves, one day guided tour) so we wandered up to the Prague castle, which required us to climb a ton of stairs--we can't escape exercise it seems. But it was a good view from the top, and we found a nice park to sit in/pass out hard in the grass. Then we wandered down to Charles Bridge which is probably the most famous site in Prague, but it was the afternoon so tourists were out in full force and it was too crowded. We are going go head back there tonight when it is less crowded and we can get some nice pictures.
Today we went on a walking tour that was pretty exhausting. It covered the Old City part of Prague which is interesting but all looks the same, so it got a little tiring after a while. We went to the Jewish quarter (Kati wants to throw props there) and saw the oldest synagogue in Europe (circa 1270). We also saw where a student protesting the communist regime burned himself alive in 1969 and where a thief who tried to steal jewelry off a statue of the Virgin Mary got his hand caught (part of a legend...the statue came alive), at which point they couldn't ruin the statue so they just cut his hand off (apparently his hand is still there).
Tomorrow we are off to Vienna to even better weather and perhaps some bratwurst (do Austrians eat that?). One week down, three to go.
Also, Kati and I would like to point out that you guys are getting lazy with sending us comments, because now we feel like we are typing to a blank wall. Or creepy internet stalkers who somehow landed on this page (you guys can comment t00). Friends and family, show us some love..please?
Yesterday was our wandering day (in case you haven't noticed, we generally go by this schedule: one day wandering ourselves, one day guided tour) so we wandered up to the Prague castle, which required us to climb a ton of stairs--we can't escape exercise it seems. But it was a good view from the top, and we found a nice park to sit in/pass out hard in the grass. Then we wandered down to Charles Bridge which is probably the most famous site in Prague, but it was the afternoon so tourists were out in full force and it was too crowded. We are going go head back there tonight when it is less crowded and we can get some nice pictures.
Today we went on a walking tour that was pretty exhausting. It covered the Old City part of Prague which is interesting but all looks the same, so it got a little tiring after a while. We went to the Jewish quarter (Kati wants to throw props there) and saw the oldest synagogue in Europe (circa 1270). We also saw where a student protesting the communist regime burned himself alive in 1969 and where a thief who tried to steal jewelry off a statue of the Virgin Mary got his hand caught (part of a legend...the statue came alive), at which point they couldn't ruin the statue so they just cut his hand off (apparently his hand is still there).
Tomorrow we are off to Vienna to even better weather and perhaps some bratwurst (do Austrians eat that?). One week down, three to go.
Also, Kati and I would like to point out that you guys are getting lazy with sending us comments, because now we feel like we are typing to a blank wall. Or creepy internet stalkers who somehow landed on this page (you guys can comment t00). Friends and family, show us some love..please?
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