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