Venice

Our first stop in Italy, was the island city of Venice. We found it beautiful and charming, but different than we expected. Unlike other famous European cities, where you have a list of famous attractions to see during your stay, the biggest attraction in Venice is the city itself. Spread out over more that 100 small islands and connected by bridges, the city is completely unique. The two modes of transportation are boat and your feet, and it is the only city where you will not see a single car or bicycle on the road. The roads are built around this, and are narrow labyrinths that open into large piazzos. Even with the best map and a great sense of dirrection it is easy to find yourself lost or simply at a dead end, and you have to retrace your steps to get back on track. It gives the city a unique feeling; the thought that something dark and mysterious is lurking around the next corner. The masquerade masks that the city is famous for are on display everywhere and only add to this feeling. It also gives the feeling that the city is not real, and it something set aside for tourist. Most locals seem to live off of the main island, and while winding through the narrow alleys gives you a feeling of adventure the only things you see are souvenir shops and restaurants, no traces of the real world outside. St. Marks Square is so crowded with tourists that it is forbidden to sit there; the citys effort to prevent loitering. Fortunately, we chose to stay on the small island of Lido, a short boat trip from the main island. It was a refreshing view of local life, and we very much enjoyed the sights, sounds, and tastes of this island. Known for its beaches, we walked along the shores of Lido eating our gelato and stepped foot on the shores of the Mediterranian for the first time.

From Venice

Munich

Munich was fabulous! We arrived in Munich on Sunday morning, and decided to do the free city tour offered by our hostel. It was a great way to spend the day and see the sights, since the only things open in Munich on Sundays are churches and Beer Gardens. It gave us not only a great orientation to the city sights, but also a brief overview of the city's history, which has some very interesting moments. At the end of the tour we sat in the Chinese Pagoda Beer Garden and enjoyed our HUGE beers with some brats and sauerkraut. The food was amazing, and the beer was a great deal for the price. The following day we went on a tour of the BMW factory and then walked around the site of the '72 Olympic Games. We met some great people at the hostel, and spent the night drinking and making friends in the hostel bar. The next day was our trip to Dachau, which I already talked about. We followed up that experience with a visit to the restaurant at one of Munich's six local breweries. The Augustiner Brewery had great beer and a good offering of local favorites, including pork, blue cabbage, knodle, dumplings, and strudel. The locals were quick to point out their favorite dishes for us to try, and instead of bring fresh bread to the table, they bring out warm pretzels, so Leon was in heaven. Though Munich has a history that is often sad, there is much about the culture to celebrate, and we wish that we could have spent a few more days in Germany. Instead it's off to Italy...

From Munich

To honor the dead, and to warn the living

Today we went to visit the first concentration camp under Hitler's regime, Dachau. The camps is about 15 km outside of Munich, and we took a guided tour of the site. The guide gave a detailed account of how the camps were established. Dachau was the first, and served not only as the model for all future concentration camps, but as a training ground for new guards and commanders and as a showcase for diplomatic tours. He helped to describe the evolution of the camps, from a work camp for political prisoners to a source of slave labor, and finally, as a "final solution" to the problem of jews and other "undesirables". The tour was eye opening, and appalling. The original gas chamber and ovens are still on the site at the insistence of the camp surviviers, and visiters can walk through the chambers in the same path that many prisoners took. Standing in the gas chamber was a humbling experience; knowing as we do that do many others walked in but never saw the other side.

Dachau

Walking Along the Blue Danube

If Budapest isn't on your list of places to visit, you should add it immediately. We had such an amazing time in this city! The city is actually divided into two parts, the Buda, which is the hilly section on the west side of the Danube, and the Pest, which stretches out east from the river. Our flat was on the west side, in the shadow of the Buda Castle. Our first morning in Budapest we set out to explore, and walked up the steps to the Buda Castle. What a view! The castle itself is impressive, but the view from the castle over the river is breathtaking. We strolled down and walked across the Cable Bride to the Pest side of the city to the Central Market. Since we had a flat with a full kitchen instead of our usual hotel type accomadation we thought we would take advantage of the opportunity and cook ourselves a home cooked meal. The Central Market was a shopping experience. It is like the biggest farmers market you have ever seen. Meet vendors line the center aisles, each with a specialty, i.e. beef, pork, etc. Lining the sides you find stalls with fruits, vegetables, and spices, and in the front, the bakery with all the bread and pastries that you could ever want. Feeling a little overwhelmed we decided to fall back on a Hungarian favorite, goulash. We found a spice pack and recipe and gathered the rest of our ingredients, then with our hands full of packages headed home. We also stopped at a regular grocery store for snacks, thinking that maybe the Central Market was more of a tourist thing. It is not. The grocery stores only have a VERY small selection of meat, bread and produce. Hungarians only purchase these items at the grocery in case of emergencies, and still do most of their shopping in the market setting.
Aside from Buda Castle, the city of Budapest is dotted with many architectural treasures and monuments. The streets are tree lined and clean, the people are incredibly friendly and very proud of their city. It rivals Paris in it's beauty, and the price tag is much friendlier to the American Dollar.
Another thing that you can't miss in Budapest is the baths. They are fabulous! They have many public bath houses located throughout the city. We went to one of the larger ones in City Park. You pay an entrance fee and then you have five hours to explore the baths, saunas, and steam rooms. The baths are kept at different temperatures, so you can find the one that suites you, or you can hop around. Some are medicinal, some are just heated. They also offer massages and mud baths for an additional charge. The whole day cost just $24 for both of us, and we left feeling relaxed, refreshed, and ready for our train ride to Munich.

Budapest

Prague

We took a tour of the city in Prague, and before the tour started our tour guide gave us some warnings about the city: 1. Do not change money anywhere in the city, use only ATMs to get cash as even the authorized places will give you fake or Hungarian money. 2. Do not trust the taxi drivers. They are now obligated to use the meter, but being creative souls they discovered that tourist don't know their way around, so they will drive you for miles out of your way to up your cab fare to astronomical levels. 3. Watch out for pickpocket when using any public transportation. They can steal your shoes while you walk down the street. Having experienced the trustworthy cabdrivers upon our arrival, when trusted what she said. Maybe this tainted our view of the city, or maybe it just help us to approach the city without being so naive. That being said, the Old Town, Lesser Town, and Castle Areas of the city are lovely. The city wasn't bombed in either of the World Wars, so the architecture is perfectly preserved. The church in Prague Castle rivals the beauty of Notre Dame Cathedral. Oddly, none of these buildings are still used as churches. They were converted to concert halls during the Communist era. An interesting history to hear, since growing up in America we learn very little about the communist movement other than they were the bad guys in every film of the 1980s. Having that steroetype of Eastern Europe in our head, we felt that most people we encountered were unfriendly. They rarely smiled, even at each other, and the constant warnings posted everywhere about theives leave you feeling a little paranoid. We had a difficult time with the trains in and out the the country, as we got conflicting information from each person that we talked to, and once on the train it didn't really matter what ticket we got as they were all "invalid" for one reason or another and we had to pay money to stay on the train everytime someone came around to check our tickets. We breathed a huge sigh of relief upon crossing into Hungary. We are hoping that our stay here will offer us a different view of Eastern Europe.

Prague

Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

Our journey in the Netherlands was both weird and wonderful. We started in Amsterdam, which is like no place I have even been. It is like a fantasy land for grown ups, with a lot less glitter than Vegas. People walk the streets smoking, eating and drinking weed and hash. The Red Light district allows for every man to fulfill his wildest fantasies. These are the things that most Americans associate with Amsterdam, and they are a big part of the tourist market I'm sure, but as shocking as these things would be anywhere else, you expect them in Amsterdam. Here are some things about Amsterdam that really surprised me: The city is much smaller than I expected; less than 1 million people and in area, roughly the size of Denver. The canals are amazing! The traffic patterns are wonderful. Bikers and pedestrians have the right of way in most cases, and automobile drivers have to wait patiently (it is said that there are more bike in Amsterdam than people for this reason). The Dutch LOVE junk food. Fried food is available everywhere. French fries with mayo, hamburgers, and anything fried are staples. There is even a restaurant called FEBO with several locations where you can put your money in the wall and pull out a delicious fried fritter. It reminded me of the weird automats that you see in 1950s movies.
After Amsterdam we took a train to visit our friends Alison and Tom in their small villiage near Zaltbommel. The Dutch countryside is wonderful. They took us to their "River Beach" just on the otherside of the dyke near their home. We spent the afternoon collecting shells and watching the ships roll by. Who would of thought we could enjoy a day at the beach in The Netherlands in October?! Aside from the quaint atmosphere it was great to see some good friends. We have met so many interesting people, but there is nothing quite like a familiar face. We got homemade sushi and traditional Dutch breakfast. They taught us how to ride bikes "The Dutch Way," girls hitching a ride on the back of the boys. It was lovely. We had such a lovely time that we decided to stay and extra day before leaving to head on the Prague.

Netherlands

Why French Women Don't Get Fat

The real reason that French women don't get fat despite all the bread, cheese, chocolate, and crepes is the stairs. They are all over Paris. A trip to enjoy the view from Sacre Coure is like 20 minutes on the stairclimber. The Arc de Triumph, many of the Metro stations, and our hotel were the same. Of course, this does mean that you can eat mille feuille until your sick, so it's worth it. ;) Aside from the food, which is truly amazing; Paris is beautiful. The lights, the architecite, the language; they all combine to create a feeling that is palpable. It makes you feel happy, and inspired. It's not wonder that so many famous artist chose to make this city their home. We loved every second of our visit there. We spent hours walking up the Champs-Elysees enjoying the sights and the perfect weather. We saw, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc, the Louvre, Sacre Coure, the Moulin Roughe. We had lunch in Montmarte at a fabulous bistro, and at the end of the day we sat in our hotel room and watched the street below from our thrid story window. We were sorry to leave, but excited to see Amsterdam and some friendly faces in Alison and Tom. More to come...

Paris

La Bella Bambina

The people that we have met so far on the trip have been so kind, and have really added to our enjoyment. This morning on our way to Paris was a perfect example. We flew into Beauvais on an early morning flight and had to take a shuttle bus into Paris. The trip is a little over an hour; and we happened to sit behind an Italian family on holiday. There was a little girl sitting right in front of me, and I saw her eyeing me through the crack between the seats. I smiled and she must have decided that I was okay because she started talking to me. She told me about how she was studying English in school, and that today was her 9th birthday. With her limited English vocabulary she grilled me for the next 40 minutes, wanting to know what State I was from, had I been to the Grand Canyon, did I have any pets, did I have a car or a motorcycle, etc.? When we ran into a language barrier she would just use hand gestures until I understood, and when her mother tried to tell her that I wasn’t understanding her Italian, she wasn’t the least bit deterred. She just nodded and insisted that I would get it eventually. When we finally arrived in Paris, she was so disappointed to see us walk the other direction. She called for me to wait as we grabbed our bags, and walked over to give me a kiss on the cheek. “Ciao, Sara; my bella Americano.” she said. It was lovely, and such a great way to start the second week of our journey.

The Rolling Hills of Scotland

We spent the last few days in the quaint Scottish town of Edinburgh. It was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of London. The entire city center is only a couple of miles, which makes it perfect for wondering the streets and exploring. We took a three hour walking tour on our first day and learned about the colorful history of the city; including castles, witches, and many ghosts. Edinburgh is a great city for travelers, particularly students and backpackers. The lodging was half the price we paid in London and many of the local pubs offered discounted food for people who could prove that they were backpackers. There are also lots of free things to fill your time, including, the walking tour, the museums, and some half day hikes. Bring your hat and gloves though. The wind coming off the water makes for chilly days and the ever-present drizzle makes afternoon tea a must. Overall, we really enjoyed out time in Scotland. After only a few days in London we were starting to feel a little tired, and the smaller city gave us a chance to catch our breath (that is when we weren’t huffing and puffing up the steep hills that are everywhere here). Tomorrow we head to Paris for another couple of crazy days. Hopefully the French Cuisine will more than make up for the 4 am taxi ride to the airport.

From Edinburgh

Bus Trip to Edinburgh

So we just arrived in Edinburgh after an overnight bus ride from London, and since we can't check into our hotel until 2 we thought we would recount the events of our trip. First of all, for those of you who know me, I haven't taken a bus trip since the time I went to see my sister via Greyhound during a college break. That trip was enough to last me eight or nine years. This one was even better. We got to Victoria Coach Station early just in case (we got horribly lost the night before on the way to see Wicked and almost missed our show). Since we had plenty of time, I sat down to enjoy a classic episode of Sex and the City on my ipod, when I felt something hit my arm. At first I thought, someone is throwing things at me; then I found the culprit. I pigeon, was sitting on the column next to me, laughing. Fortunately, I was wearing Leon's jacket. ;) On the bus, I fell asleep, but halfway through the night, Leon woke up to a commotion. Apparently the man in front of him was slumped over, and after about an hour in this awkward position, people started to suspect that he had died from a heart attack. There was a debate raging about who would poke to poor man to determine if he was still alive. Fortunately for him he woke up just as quickly as he went to sleep, so he wasn't dead, he just had a bad case of narcolepsy. When we got to the bus station in Edinburgh, I decided to hit the toilets before hitting the town. As I have said in earlier e-mails, you have to pay to pee on this continent. I put my money in the turnstile, but while walking through my backpack got horrible tangled in the turnstiles and in trying to disentangle myself I fell flat on my face, on the floor of the loo. I hate bus trips.

Mind the Gap

Though a lot like a major US city, there are some quirky features to London that make it confusing, frustrating, and wonderful. The food is strange (who eats baked beans for Breakfast?), you have to pay to use the public toilets (50p to pee), and the streets never seem to match what’s on the map. That being said we have really enjoyed our stay here. London is such an international city, and we have met so many nice people. Last night we went to the local pub for a pint and ended up playing billiards with a Greek, a Spaniard, a Scot and an Irishman. The sights have been great. We’ve seen all the big stuff, and tonight we took in a little culture with a night at the theatre. We went to see Wicked, which was loads of fun. Tomorrow we spent one last day exploring the city before we head up north to Scotland. I’ll need some of that whiskey to wash down the Hagas…

For more photos:

London