So I met up with Ariel in Munich after a fantastically gorgeous train ride through the Alps. There were a couple mix-ups at the airport (like me waking up early in Venice and forgetting to check what city she was coming in from...I thought she had a connection in germany). I thought I knew what time she was getting in...but got Google-Calendared...she entered 4:50 on the joint schedule...Central time...google adjusted it for me, so I presumed she was getting in at 5:50 and well...yeah. oops. it would have worked out eventually somehow, but we ran into each other at the internet station. Sweeeeet.
We did dinner at a pretty fantastic vegetarian restaurant, wandered around the downtown portion of munich and crashed pretty early to get ready for the morning drive to Neuschwanstein! Neuschwanstein was downright amazing...so fantastic a time, ridiculously picturesque. Mad King Ludwig II was a little extravagant and probably got killed for spending so much money on castles...but they were definitely amazing. Words really don't do it justice...look at my pictures :)
That afternoon we got back into Munich for more walking around and sightseeing, we stuck to downtown for the most part, went into one of the cathedrals, saw Marienplatz and the associated Rathauses and such. Dinner was at the Hofbräuhaus because we're tourists and I wanted beer! Deliciousness.
We woke up nice and early again on Tuesday, off to do one last bit of sightseeing before driving to Regensburg for lunch on the Danube, however, our car had different plans and refused to lock. fucker. It treated me so well on the Autobahn (up to 195 kph, 122mph) but didn't want to lock. Boo! So we had to trade in the car and miss a little bit of sightseeing. Thankfully the airport was in the right direction for the rest of our plans...
17 April, 2008
11 April, 2008
Venice
Catching up on my adventures...Venice was a lot of fun. The hostel was relatively expensive compared to others, but the crowd was cool, the price included dinner, and we had one hell of a Friday night out. I walked around with people from the hostel on Friday afternoon after my train arrived from Rome. Saw the Doge's Palace, the Basilica, etc...a few of us took a few turns off the beaten path to just walk around Venice itself for a while. Fun times...I like doing that in every city for a little while.
Thoughts? Venice is like nothing I've ever seen. I could compare other cities I'd been to on this trip with cities I had previously visited...but not Venice. Two sad things: only 60k people live there and it's sinking. So it's a tourist trap and it will eventually disappear. nuts.
On Saturday we did the typical walking around thing (once I got up and recovered with some water). I actually ran into three people from Friday night just walking around a corner...(a guy from the hostel (cool) and two girls who were staying at a hotel nearby (not cool)). Eventually I could tell the girls didn't really want me around so I took a left when they took a right and wandered some more. I went back to the hostel and resisted the urge to take a nap...looked up where the Palazzo Balbi was and walked there. Saturday night was far more tame, a bunch of people had to get out of town early (myself included)...so just hanging out talking and listening to music with a couple new arrivals (Aussie guys).
Thoughts? Venice is like nothing I've ever seen. I could compare other cities I'd been to on this trip with cities I had previously visited...but not Venice. Two sad things: only 60k people live there and it's sinking. So it's a tourist trap and it will eventually disappear. nuts.
On Saturday we did the typical walking around thing (once I got up and recovered with some water). I actually ran into three people from Friday night just walking around a corner...(a guy from the hostel (cool) and two girls who were staying at a hotel nearby (not cool)). Eventually I could tell the girls didn't really want me around so I took a left when they took a right and wandered some more. I went back to the hostel and resisted the urge to take a nap...looked up where the Palazzo Balbi was and walked there. Saturday night was far more tame, a bunch of people had to get out of town early (myself included)...so just hanging out talking and listening to music with a couple new arrivals (Aussie guys).
First Night Out...
yeah, it was pretty much a bust...
that's sad.
I mean, I saw a bunch of people I hadn't in quite a while, which was very cool. the problem was, Lucy's (which is no longer actually Lucy's) was DEAD. there were some people at top of the hill, which...well...sucks.
Anyway, neither place was full, neither place was really conducive to hanging out and catching up. I'll just wait for next week I guess...why not this weekend you ask? because I can't go out becuase I have to play rugby all weekend. duh. get with the program!
that's sad.
I mean, I saw a bunch of people I hadn't in quite a while, which was very cool. the problem was, Lucy's (which is no longer actually Lucy's) was DEAD. there were some people at top of the hill, which...well...sucks.
Anyway, neither place was full, neither place was really conducive to hanging out and catching up. I'll just wait for next week I guess...why not this weekend you ask? because I can't go out becuase I have to play rugby all weekend. duh. get with the program!
07 April, 2008
I don't want to leave!
So I'm at the airport...of course it went ridiculously fast, because that's how things work here (I left T-Centralen at 12:05 and was through security by 12:45 (and there's a 20 minute train ride in there). Sigh...anyhow, I bought some Akvavit at the duty free shop and debated getting a ridiculously good sandwich (that I will triumphantly make in the US from now on)...but decided that Iceland Air feeds me anyway, so why worry. Oh, and my bags were definitely overweight, by about 5 kilos, but the guy at the desk didn't charge me. yay! I think he figured it was just too much work to do...
I want to come back already, and I haven't left...guess I'll need to start saving vacation time ASAP and see if I can transfer to the Stockholm office in a couple years (which means I'm going to need to practice my Swedish).
I want to come back already, and I haven't left...guess I'll need to start saving vacation time ASAP and see if I can transfer to the Stockholm office in a couple years (which means I'm going to need to practice my Swedish).
tomorrow...
I head back to the states finally...sad. so very sad.
a string of updates will happen soon regarding Venice, Munich, Prague and Berlin...and the last weekend in Stockholm!
a string of updates will happen soon regarding Venice, Munich, Prague and Berlin...and the last weekend in Stockholm!
28 March, 2008
Rome 4
Ok, finally...I'm Vaticanized.
I got up and waited for 2 hours in the Vatican line...rough...but well. really? worth it. The Vatican museums are fantabulous, so much stuff (a lot of general periodic trash, but some very fine pieces). However, a lot of beautiful sculptures (which are my favorite), and well, once you realize what the Sistine Chapel really entails...magnitude and the work that it must have taken...wow.
Post-Vatican, Vivian (aussie girl I met the night before) and I went down to middle Rome to get some lunch (delicious carbonara and veal), and headed down to the one island in the Tiber, over to the Trastavere and walked back by the Aventine Hill, to the Pyramid (which she hadn't seen and is by a metro). We grabbed the metro, got me a ticket to Venice, some groceries and then chilled back at the rooms. Dinner was amazing, I decided to try Lasagne and Roast Lamb. oh god good. Rome is nice. veeeeery nice.
I got up and waited for 2 hours in the Vatican line...rough...but well. really? worth it. The Vatican museums are fantabulous, so much stuff (a lot of general periodic trash, but some very fine pieces). However, a lot of beautiful sculptures (which are my favorite), and well, once you realize what the Sistine Chapel really entails...magnitude and the work that it must have taken...wow.
Post-Vatican, Vivian (aussie girl I met the night before) and I went down to middle Rome to get some lunch (delicious carbonara and veal), and headed down to the one island in the Tiber, over to the Trastavere and walked back by the Aventine Hill, to the Pyramid (which she hadn't seen and is by a metro). We grabbed the metro, got me a ticket to Venice, some groceries and then chilled back at the rooms. Dinner was amazing, I decided to try Lasagne and Roast Lamb. oh god good. Rome is nice. veeeeery nice.
27 March, 2008
Rome 3
Oh man. Talk about sore feet, day three tried me the hardest. The idea was to hit up in this order:
St. Peter in Chains (the chains and a Michaelangelo sculpture of Moses)
Pyramid (yes, in Rome, a ridiculously rich man decided he wanted one for his tomb)
Via Appia and the Catacombs
National Museum of Rome
It went as planned for the first two steps, taking the metro out to successive monumental awesomeness. However, after the Pyramid I went the wrong direction on a street with a shockingly similar name to the right direction :) In short, I decided not so much that I was lost that I was about to turn around and head back when I saw San Paolo's Basilica. Sweet. So I went in had picture time and then caught the metro back up to the pyramid and then went the proper direction (on foot of course)...about half an hour later I decided I should be about "there" and got off of the highway (and sidewalk) to check out where I was (this was all off of the free map of central rome). Let's just say that the Via Appia is no longer pedestrian friendly...no sidewalk. at all. the catacombs were about a mile and a half south of where I joined the deathroad.
The catacombs were fantastic, no bones to handle though. oh...and I definitely took the bus back. reduced the suckage immensely. I accidentally found another huge basilica (at the san giovanni metro stop), very cool. Then off to the museum as planned, except well, the branch I wanted to go to at the Diocletian baths is only open from 9-2. wtf mate!?
I then went back to the hostel and had to just relax. Three days of hard hoofing around Rome can take it out of you so I just crashed and talked with an Aussie girl for a while, had dinner in and just chilled...and wished I had an ice bath for my feet.
St. Peter in Chains (the chains and a Michaelangelo sculpture of Moses)
Pyramid (yes, in Rome, a ridiculously rich man decided he wanted one for his tomb)
Via Appia and the Catacombs
National Museum of Rome
It went as planned for the first two steps, taking the metro out to successive monumental awesomeness. However, after the Pyramid I went the wrong direction on a street with a shockingly similar name to the right direction :) In short, I decided not so much that I was lost that I was about to turn around and head back when I saw San Paolo's Basilica. Sweet. So I went in had picture time and then caught the metro back up to the pyramid and then went the proper direction (on foot of course)...about half an hour later I decided I should be about "there" and got off of the highway (and sidewalk) to check out where I was (this was all off of the free map of central rome). Let's just say that the Via Appia is no longer pedestrian friendly...no sidewalk. at all. the catacombs were about a mile and a half south of where I joined the deathroad.
The catacombs were fantastic, no bones to handle though. oh...and I definitely took the bus back. reduced the suckage immensely. I accidentally found another huge basilica (at the san giovanni metro stop), very cool. Then off to the museum as planned, except well, the branch I wanted to go to at the Diocletian baths is only open from 9-2. wtf mate!?
I then went back to the hostel and had to just relax. Three days of hard hoofing around Rome can take it out of you so I just crashed and talked with an Aussie girl for a while, had dinner in and just chilled...and wished I had an ice bath for my feet.
26 March, 2008
Rome Day 2
Ok wow. Observation one: my feet hurt.
Observation two: always visit Rome the week after easter, it's culture week and the museums/monuments are all free
Day 2: I started out heading straight for the coliseum at 8:30 to hop in line. Apparently the metal detectors were broken, so nobody got in until 9:30, but I was in within 10 minutes since a bunch of tour groups gave up in the 10 minutes before things started working again. Impressive...certainly not what I expect to be a place that seats 50,000. I mean, it's huge, but not in comparison to the stadiums of today. Next up, the Palatino and Forum, both fabulous...I think I saw the whole thing through my camera (I took 332 pictures yesterday). Now it was about 12:30, and I wanted to hit up the Pantheon before the lunch crowd got back out. I felt a little gypped. I had no idea that it had been turned into a basilica for christian martyrs. But, you could still see the eight sided nature of the interior and know it was at one point pagantastic. Following that it was definitely lunch time...wait. I lied...it was time to go see the Trevi Fountain...and yes, it was ridiculously beautiful. ok, by now I was starving and looking for a place to eat, so I headed back towards my hotel, snapped a photo of Triton, rolled on, found a corner of the Diocletian baths that had been turned into yet another huge and impressive church, took more photos and then finally found a place for lunch :) I decided to go for the Spaghetti alla Carbonara because I love making it and I wanted to see what changes I might want to make to my recipe...less cream, more egg, fresher parmesan cheese...and they use black pepper, but I'm going to stick with white pepper 'cause you can't see it. Anyhow, next up, a walk on the tiber and visiting a castle! The tiber is dirty, the castle Sant' Angelo was fabulous...I got a lot of good pics from the top. After this, I walked up into the Vatican main square, looked around, and then decided since the lockout at the hostel was over, it was time to go chill. All in all I had walked around Rome for about 8 hours and was tired. met some people at the hostel, chilled, had some wine, walked out to grab a quick dinner, managed my pics and then retired.
Observation two: always visit Rome the week after easter, it's culture week and the museums/monuments are all free
Day 2: I started out heading straight for the coliseum at 8:30 to hop in line. Apparently the metal detectors were broken, so nobody got in until 9:30, but I was in within 10 minutes since a bunch of tour groups gave up in the 10 minutes before things started working again. Impressive...certainly not what I expect to be a place that seats 50,000. I mean, it's huge, but not in comparison to the stadiums of today. Next up, the Palatino and Forum, both fabulous...I think I saw the whole thing through my camera (I took 332 pictures yesterday). Now it was about 12:30, and I wanted to hit up the Pantheon before the lunch crowd got back out. I felt a little gypped. I had no idea that it had been turned into a basilica for christian martyrs. But, you could still see the eight sided nature of the interior and know it was at one point pagantastic. Following that it was definitely lunch time...wait. I lied...it was time to go see the Trevi Fountain...and yes, it was ridiculously beautiful. ok, by now I was starving and looking for a place to eat, so I headed back towards my hotel, snapped a photo of Triton, rolled on, found a corner of the Diocletian baths that had been turned into yet another huge and impressive church, took more photos and then finally found a place for lunch :) I decided to go for the Spaghetti alla Carbonara because I love making it and I wanted to see what changes I might want to make to my recipe...less cream, more egg, fresher parmesan cheese...and they use black pepper, but I'm going to stick with white pepper 'cause you can't see it. Anyhow, next up, a walk on the tiber and visiting a castle! The tiber is dirty, the castle Sant' Angelo was fabulous...I got a lot of good pics from the top. After this, I walked up into the Vatican main square, looked around, and then decided since the lockout at the hostel was over, it was time to go chill. All in all I had walked around Rome for about 8 hours and was tired. met some people at the hostel, chilled, had some wine, walked out to grab a quick dinner, managed my pics and then retired.
24 March, 2008
Barcelona, Rome v.1
The night out in Barcelona was pretty cool. I was hanging out watching basketball and having a couple beers in the hostel when a couple youngish looking girls asked me what I was up to later, so I decided to go clubbing, you know...why not. Over the next couple hours, we learned exactly how old each other were...yeah. I don't look 27, but they didn't look 18 either.
*awkward silence*
It was still fun, but we had to cut the night short when my hip broke.
Sunday in Barcelona was cooler than anticipated. I got up at noon and started the "I hate bus tours walking tour", I walked up the big hill south of the city, took photos...Then walked to the beach and stuck my hand in the Mediterranean. From there I decided to walk back towards the hostel, stopped to photograph some breakdancers. I like the entire category of "stupid human tricks". Knowing I was looking at a ridiculously early morning I decided that I would try and take it easy...I debated going to the Maritime museum, or perhaps the Barcelona FC game, but back at the hostel I got the news that both Messi and Ronaldinho weren't playing...and while Henri and the rest are definitely stars in their own right...they were playing a crap team. So after a brief siesta (which was in the plan either way, I didn't skip the game to sleep...) I ended up taking another walk hunting for dinner...I did get distracted by the Arsenal vs. Chelsea match at an Irish pub. But ended up with a pretty good and relatively cheap paella. I figured I should have it once at least...
The evening consisted of hanging out, watching more basketball and chatting with people back at the hostel. good stuff, fun times and I accidentally stayed up til 2 talking. Got up at 5 this morning, on a plane by 7:20, in Rome proper at 11:15. Booyah. I dropped my bag off at the hostel (locked and such, it was the lock-out hours from 11-4), I'm ok with that...I plan on doing nearly everything anyhow. So yeah, today I took the metro to the coliseum, and walked from there around the forum (I didn't feel like lines) and up to the piazza de popolo. I'm planning on a early morning tomorrow to go into the coliseum and forum, also St. Peter in Chains, then over to the Pantheon as well. That should last most of the lockout and such...I need to check out the existence of a Da Vinci museum here.
yeah. so. having a blast! oh, and Vatican on Thursday I expect. Wednesday would be cool to see the pope, but I presume that everyone else thinks that too.
*awkward silence*
It was still fun, but we had to cut the night short when my hip broke.
Sunday in Barcelona was cooler than anticipated. I got up at noon and started the "I hate bus tours walking tour", I walked up the big hill south of the city, took photos...Then walked to the beach and stuck my hand in the Mediterranean. From there I decided to walk back towards the hostel, stopped to photograph some breakdancers. I like the entire category of "stupid human tricks". Knowing I was looking at a ridiculously early morning I decided that I would try and take it easy...I debated going to the Maritime museum, or perhaps the Barcelona FC game, but back at the hostel I got the news that both Messi and Ronaldinho weren't playing...and while Henri and the rest are definitely stars in their own right...they were playing a crap team. So after a brief siesta (which was in the plan either way, I didn't skip the game to sleep...) I ended up taking another walk hunting for dinner...I did get distracted by the Arsenal vs. Chelsea match at an Irish pub. But ended up with a pretty good and relatively cheap paella. I figured I should have it once at least...
The evening consisted of hanging out, watching more basketball and chatting with people back at the hostel. good stuff, fun times and I accidentally stayed up til 2 talking. Got up at 5 this morning, on a plane by 7:20, in Rome proper at 11:15. Booyah. I dropped my bag off at the hostel (locked and such, it was the lock-out hours from 11-4), I'm ok with that...I plan on doing nearly everything anyhow. So yeah, today I took the metro to the coliseum, and walked from there around the forum (I didn't feel like lines) and up to the piazza de popolo. I'm planning on a early morning tomorrow to go into the coliseum and forum, also St. Peter in Chains, then over to the Pantheon as well. That should last most of the lockout and such...I need to check out the existence of a Da Vinci museum here.
yeah. so. having a blast! oh, and Vatican on Thursday I expect. Wednesday would be cool to see the pope, but I presume that everyone else thinks that too.
22 March, 2008
Picasso, Wandering, Barcelona by Train
So here's the short of it: Every museum is TINY after the Louvre. I mean, I love Picasso and all, but his museum in paris seemed like it was about 2 rooms with 3 paintings each after cruising the Louvre for 5 hours.
I then wandered around Paris for...a while. I walked from Picasso to the Bastille circle and then over to the Arc d'Ican'tspellfrenchthingsTrioooomph again. Got better pics, saw a lot more of the city than in the rain before and really enjoyed the walk. I had Indian for dinner, again, and well, why? I just really like Indian food more than anything else...
The train was a little painful. 3 people in my room snored...hell, I may have too, but I don't think I slept enough in a row to get to snore-depth sleep. fuckers. Barcelona has been great though. That is, if you like reconstructive work on monuments. Cathedral? refurbishing. Crazy neo-baroque church? refurbishing. but I got to walk around a lot today, but a sweet puma eurojacket for southern europe (I felt like a d-bag walking around in a full jacket all evening). I've eaten my meals substantially later than usual and am now ready to head out on the town!
I then wandered around Paris for...a while. I walked from Picasso to the Bastille circle and then over to the Arc d'Ican'tspellfrenchthingsTrioooomph again. Got better pics, saw a lot more of the city than in the rain before and really enjoyed the walk. I had Indian for dinner, again, and well, why? I just really like Indian food more than anything else...
The train was a little painful. 3 people in my room snored...hell, I may have too, but I don't think I slept enough in a row to get to snore-depth sleep. fuckers. Barcelona has been great though. That is, if you like reconstructive work on monuments. Cathedral? refurbishing. Crazy neo-baroque church? refurbishing. but I got to walk around a lot today, but a sweet puma eurojacket for southern europe (I felt like a d-bag walking around in a full jacket all evening). I've eaten my meals substantially later than usual and am now ready to head out on the town!
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