Living Life to the Fullest

Though we only spent a short time in Spain, we got a feel for the pace of life there; and life is good. It is all about enjoyment. They sleep late, take long lunches, siesta, and party til the sun comes up. It seems like all we did in Spain was eat and drink. First there was the long lunch (unlike the Spaniards we can't stay up all night and then be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for breakfast). For lunch, the locals normally eat the "Menu del Dia." You choose a first course, second course, dessert, drink and coffee for around $10. After lunch we would wander the streets, exploring the city before enjoying a brief nap before dinner at around 10. Many Spanish restaurants don't even open their doors for dinner until 9 and it's not uncommon to see people heading out to their evening meal at 11:30 or later. Since our first night in Spain was election night in the US, this scheduled worked out perfectly for us. We found a restaurant near our hotel that was hosting an election night bash. They had two set meal options for dinner, the Obama meal (which was a hamburger and fries) and the McCain meal (which was a steak and salad). The place was decorated with red, white, and blue streamers, and they had CNN on the big screen televisions. The place was packed with both natives and Americans waiting for the results to come in. At about 3 am we gave in to fatigue and called it a night, but the party at the restaurant went all night. Our other big night on the town in Spain was our last night in Madrid. There we went to see a flamenco show at a club down the street. It was fabulous. The music and the dance were so filled with fire and passion that it brought tears to my eyes. I wish we had been able to spend more time there because I could easily live off of paella, sangria, and tapas and I would have loved to take flameno lessons, but we were also ready to explore other regions of the globe and experience life outside of the western world.

Our Roman Holiday

Rome truly is the eternal city. It is amazing that new buildings stand only feet away from the Coluseum, which is 10 times older than our country. We arrived in Rome exhausted, but were refreshed by the feeling of awe at seeing so many amazing sights in one city. After checking in at our hotel, we went straight to the Coluseum, only to find that it had already closed for the day. We were disappointed, but only for a moment, as we found a cafe directly across the street which offered spetacular food and an unbeatable view. The next morning we woke up early and headed to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. St. Peter's was crowded with throngs of tourists, but the lines moved quickly and we found it to be well worth the short wait. After that we toured the Vatican Museum and the Sistene Chapel. We were surprised to find that the Sistene Chapel isn't a separate church, but rather one of the many rooms on display in the Vatican museum. In fact, I didn't realize that I was in it until I saw the sign on the wall. I was expecting a traditional church with pews, a pulpit, and a giant painting of the final judgment. Instead, the Sistene Chapel is one of many rooms that are on display in the vatican. It is incredibly opulanet, and every surface of the wall and ceiling are covered with paintings by Michaelangelo. The Final Judgement is only a small part of the entire room, and though not what I expected, it was more impressive as a part of a whole than alone. We then wandered across the Tiber River to see the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and my favorite, the Trivi Fountain. We threw our coins into the fountain to ensure a return trip to this beautiful city. (Actually we threw in two. The first time we just threw them in and since you are supposed to do it over your shoulder we threw in a second coin each just to be sure.) We finished off the evening with some gelato and walk through the city at night. Our last day we went back to the Coluseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum for a look at ancient Rome. All in all we spent four nights in the city, more than we spent anywhere else, and yet it wasn't enough. The feeling of the city is infectious. I even convinced Leon to watch the old movie Roman Holiday with me. :)

Rome

Palermo

Unlike Venice, everyone in Palermo has a car; and they know how to use the horn. The streets are narrow and the sidewalks are even more narrow, so foot traffic and auto traffic fight for space, and it is not uncommon to see people walking down the street because the sidewalks are overcrowded, or to see cars parked on the sidewalk, forcing more people to walk on the street. Crossing the street is like playing frogger on your last life. It's noisy, it's crowded, and it's filled with boistrous smiling people. The restaurants are filled with traditional Sicilian sea-food dishes and a tortellini soup that they assure you will cure any ailment. The architecture is a mix of Italian, Spanish, and North African influences and makes for an ecclectic view. The mountains that seem to rise directly out of the ocean make a fantastic setting. Our time here was brief, and it rained most of the time, so we didn't see as much as we would have liked, but we found it an interesting contrast to Venice, and the train ride from Palermo to Rome was spectacular! We rode along the Italian coast, only a few meters from the shore, watching the waves crash along the beach and the sun set over the crystal clear water. Since we were coming from an island to the main land via train, they actually drove the train onto a boat to cross the water and then back on the tracks and onto to Rome...

Palermo

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