Ok, I know I love Disney like crazy already but I think I just fell a little bit harder! After Paris we headed for the small mountain town of Zermatt, home to the world famous Matterhorn mountain! I can't even describe how awesome it was to be in the train heading for town, looking around, waiting for our first glimpse. The best part was there was a peak (one with a really obscure name that I can't remember) that was obscured by clouds so I thought we wouldn't get to see the Matterhorn, but then we rounded a corner and there it was in clear blue sky, snow capped, and dominating the skyline. Oh and if you've ever heard from an unreliable source that Disney's mountain was a good model, take it from me, it's scary how similar they are. Besides the sheer size, and no Mickey climbing the side, it looked exactly the same!
So we arrived in Zermatt and hiked our way through town to our hostel which was on top of a monstrous hill!!! I nearly collapsed walking up it with my pack on. We checked in and luckily enough got a room all to our selves with a perfect view of the Matterhorn!!! I immediately regretted our decision to only stay in Zermatt for 1 night, but we only had so much time and so much to see and do. We had dinner at the hostel which was a pretty good lasange and spent the night wandering through the ski town and doing some much needed laundry (which would have been pretty expensive but the machine glitched and washed our clothes for free!!! So we only paid for the dryer)
In the morning we just explored the ski town, popping into whatever shops we felt like. They had a ton of Swiss watches, Swiss army knives, Swiss chocolate, Swiss everything!!! We walked through the church graveyard marvelling at how many lives the Matterhorn's north face has taken. Some of the climbers were only 17 years old. My favorite tombstone had the young man's ice axe attached to it with the caption "I chose to climb". We had to catch a train to Milan that night so we decided to have a very late lunch. In the meantime we wandered into a very nice little park and took a nap in the much hotter than expected, or forcasted, weather (seriously weather.com you convinced me to pack an extra long sleeve shirt for that day?!) The park was full of springtime awesomeness with bees buzzing and birds chirping. I even made a friend with a little swallow whom I named Charles. Charles was very interested in us and even flew to my hand when I offered it! I really wish I would have had some food to give him so I could go all Snow White! :-)
After the park I was finally ready to get my grub on. And just guess where we decided to eat while in Switzerland... Seriously guess... That's right FONDUE!!! It was a little more expensive than I would have liked but delicious all the same. It was a lot liquid-ier (more liquified?) than the stuff I usually have at home but it was so good and so filling!!! We ate around 4 and I didn't have anything else for the rest of the night. Even the bread was fantastic and the three of us easily went through 2 huge bowls if it, i just wish we could have had some apples or other fruits and veggies We spent our last hour in this magical totally awesome place just admiring the view and finishing up some souvenir shopping (I had to get my patch!) Then we said goodbye to the Swiss alps and hello to Italy.
We only stayed in Milan for one night as a means to get to Venice cheaper and easier. Bad, bad, bad decision to arrive in Milan around 10 pm especially when a football match just ended (a big one too, I know some Italian team played Munich, maybe for the europa cup?) at least they won so the fans were happy but they were still loud and obnoxious well into the following morning. Oh Liz also saw a lady get pickpocketed but when she finally realized what she saw the thief was long gone.
Final conclusions: Zermatt = totally amazing and worth the additional expense to get/stay there. Milan = very sketch, shady metro line, the longest check-in process EVER (we probably waited a good 45 minutes with 3 people ahead of us) and totally not worth the expenses saved by going there.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The city of light!!!
Paris was a whirlwind of amazing architecture, art, and amigos!!! We didn't plan our last day in London too well and ended up sprinting (literally) for our eurostar train into Paris. The train was very crowded due to the volcanic ash cancelling flights but wasn't too terrible. After a quick metro ride we got to our hotel, Hotel Sully which was a godsend after our terrible London hostel. We met our Canadian friend Kat at the hotel and decided to grab some dinner and take an evening stroll to Notre Dame. I can't accruately describe how beautiful this place was especially in twilight! I think it also helped that there were no big crowds and Liz and I just watched the Hunchback of Notre Dame a few weeks ago. Needless to say we sang a chorus of "bells of Notre Dame" :-)
The next morning we woke to our English friend Alfie greeting us from a cafe across the street. On a surge of impulse he caught a 12 hour bus from Norwich to Paris to enjoy the City of Light with us!!! A couple of delicious pastries later (pan chocolate and croissonts) we headed back to Notre Dame to climb the 422 narrow and circular steps to the top of the tower. The view was breathtaking and the intricacies on the gargoyles was phenomenal and well worth the severe cramps and heavy breathing! We also checked out the crypts which were actually younger than the cathedral but weren't built to last. Next we strolled down the river towards the Orsay museum. I liked this one but I doubt I would have gone if I hadn't already purchased the museum pass, basically making it free. There were some really good Monets and Van Goghs though. Taking some advice from Rick Steves, we headed towards Rue Cler for an amazing dinner of steak and potatoes for only 10 Euros!!! While searching for the cafe I finally got my first up close and personal view of the Eiffel tower! Now this things serves no other purpose than to impress but it does it WELL!!! I immediately fell in love with this iconic and massive symbol of the city. We decided to wait to ascend the tower til our last day which was a pretty good idea. After all the walking (we only took two metro rides the entire day) we headed back to our hotel for some much needed rest for the next day we were headed to the museum to beat all others, the Louvre!
We decided to get to the Louvre as early as possible to avoid the crowds. Well that was the plan anyway. We got to the pyramid to find a queue of about one to two hundred people. However thanks to our awesome pass we bypassed the line in the handicap entrance and sprinted our way towards the Mona Lisa! She was amazing! I guess all the negative hype (I read a lot of stuff saying she was small and unimpressive) helped lower my expectations and let me really enjoy the painting. She was actually bigger than I had imagined and because we ran we only shared her with two or three other people which is definitely worth bragging about. We spent the better part of 4 hours in the museum looking at nothing but paintings. Things to check off the list: Mona Lisa, Madonna on the Rocks, Wedding Feast, and many more that I don't remember how to spell (but I do remember the painting!). This was exhausting so we decided to take a little lunch break and guess what was in the food court. McDonalds!!!! Of you're not sure why I'd be excited about a Mickey D's in France I suggest you go rent Pulp Fiction ASAP. Obviously I had a Royal with cheese which was awesome just for the fact that it was on the menu!
We wanted a museum break so jumped on the metro for another amazing monument, the Arc de Triomphe. The arch was fantastic and bigger than I had ever thought. I loved the style and the writing I just wish I could have read it all. After another 200 + steps we got another great view of Paris. The Eiffel Tower was particularly prominent and awesome. I really wish we could have stayed there until dark to see the tower light up but we just didn't have the time. Another metro ride brought us to Montmarte and the Moulin Rouge! I couldn't resist humming a few lines of "your song" looking at the famous windmill!! I wish we could have seen a can can show but research showed me it was over 100 euros ppn which was just too much. We climbed the only hill in Paris for yet another breathtaking view. You'd think we would have been sick of them by then but I just couldn't take my eyes off the landscape. Here I finally found a reasonable price for a sweet crepe and it didn't disappoint! The nutella he spread on was the icing on the cake!
Wanting to make the most of our museum pass we went back to the Louvre to see the sculptures and as much else as we could. Now we saw the Venus de Milo and some others and were done with the things we knew we wanted to see. At this point we made the bad but eventually hilarious decision to breeze through other wings to see some cool stuff. I say bad because we were physically drained and could barely walk, but I say hilarious because we were mentally unable to comprehend what we saw. Don't get me wrong, Napolean's apartments were beautifully ornate but we couldn't quite manage to speak with any indication of awareness or comprehension. Basically, Liz Jessica and I were walking around saying "rug" "table" "chair" and the like. It also didn't help that we got lost at one point, tried looking for an exit, followed all the signs and ended up in the exact same spot. It was totally one of those twilight moments where we nearly collapsed into a fetal position crying for our mommies!!! :-)
Eventually we got out, met up with Kat and Alfie and had a very nice dinner a stone's throw from the Bastille. Kat and Alfie had to leave the following morning so we spent our last day in Paris with just the three of us. We started with some amazing pastries and baugettes outside a cafe across from Notre Dame soaking up some sun. Saying our last goodbyes to the fantastic Cathedral, we headed for the Champ-Elysee, the shopping district. If you want the full details ask Jessica. All I know is we walked forever, backtracked significantly, and Jess bought a polkadot dress. We were all tired and hungry by this point so headed back to Montmarte because it had such a cool atmosphere and a bunch of retaurants. We relaxed on the hill for a while sunbathing and enjoying some bohemians trying to engage the crowd before we went to another cafe for dinner. Oh yeah we also tried a savory crepe (with cheese) which I seemed to like much better than the girls. After dinner we finally went back to ascend the Eiffel Tower. The line was long and miserable and the view was a little overrated but it is just something you have to do! We were very lucky that we got to the tower just before sunset and got to see it light up as it got dark. I loved the tower and still think about how it was built and what it would have been like to be a worker on that awesome monument.
Anyways some observations on Paris and France. People were at lot nicer than expected. Granted it helped immensly to have Kat or Alfie around who spoke conversational French. But even without them I didn't feel like they hated me for being American. The food was good (especially pastries) but weird. My steak tasted great but was pretty chewy and wasn't cooked the same throughout (mostly well done but parts were medium rare at best) my ceasar salad was good but tasted much more like anchovies than I really care for. Lizs sausage wasn't bad but we couldn't really decide if we liked it or not. Lookie lookie men were way too plentiful. We call them "lookie lookie men" because that seems to be the only english they speak,"lookie lookie, you buy this, only 2 euro". They were at every single major sight and made each one a little less enjoyable. I am so sick of 10 random guys shoving crap in my face and refusing to leave until I (and every one else in the party) say a very loud NO. I have to admit that when the cops showed up at the Eiffel Tower and they scattered like roaches from a light was a definite highlight of my trip. Beggars were also plentiful. Little ladies walking around asking "speak English?" and showing you a written postcard telling about her unfortunate circumstances. We learned very quickly to answer "no, lo siento" to these women. We saw gypsies asking tourists if they dropped a ring, then slip it on their finger begin to walk away, and at the last second run back and ask to be paid for it. However there were some awesome street performers. One guy actually seemed like a robot grooving to music. Even I felt obliged to give some coins to the best Michael Jackson dancer I've seen since the real deal!!! Overall I absolutly loved Paris and am so happy we spent so much time there although I'm sure I'll be back eventually!
The next morning we woke to our English friend Alfie greeting us from a cafe across the street. On a surge of impulse he caught a 12 hour bus from Norwich to Paris to enjoy the City of Light with us!!! A couple of delicious pastries later (pan chocolate and croissonts) we headed back to Notre Dame to climb the 422 narrow and circular steps to the top of the tower. The view was breathtaking and the intricacies on the gargoyles was phenomenal and well worth the severe cramps and heavy breathing! We also checked out the crypts which were actually younger than the cathedral but weren't built to last. Next we strolled down the river towards the Orsay museum. I liked this one but I doubt I would have gone if I hadn't already purchased the museum pass, basically making it free. There were some really good Monets and Van Goghs though. Taking some advice from Rick Steves, we headed towards Rue Cler for an amazing dinner of steak and potatoes for only 10 Euros!!! While searching for the cafe I finally got my first up close and personal view of the Eiffel tower! Now this things serves no other purpose than to impress but it does it WELL!!! I immediately fell in love with this iconic and massive symbol of the city. We decided to wait to ascend the tower til our last day which was a pretty good idea. After all the walking (we only took two metro rides the entire day) we headed back to our hotel for some much needed rest for the next day we were headed to the museum to beat all others, the Louvre!
We decided to get to the Louvre as early as possible to avoid the crowds. Well that was the plan anyway. We got to the pyramid to find a queue of about one to two hundred people. However thanks to our awesome pass we bypassed the line in the handicap entrance and sprinted our way towards the Mona Lisa! She was amazing! I guess all the negative hype (I read a lot of stuff saying she was small and unimpressive) helped lower my expectations and let me really enjoy the painting. She was actually bigger than I had imagined and because we ran we only shared her with two or three other people which is definitely worth bragging about. We spent the better part of 4 hours in the museum looking at nothing but paintings. Things to check off the list: Mona Lisa, Madonna on the Rocks, Wedding Feast, and many more that I don't remember how to spell (but I do remember the painting!). This was exhausting so we decided to take a little lunch break and guess what was in the food court. McDonalds!!!! Of you're not sure why I'd be excited about a Mickey D's in France I suggest you go rent Pulp Fiction ASAP. Obviously I had a Royal with cheese which was awesome just for the fact that it was on the menu!
We wanted a museum break so jumped on the metro for another amazing monument, the Arc de Triomphe. The arch was fantastic and bigger than I had ever thought. I loved the style and the writing I just wish I could have read it all. After another 200 + steps we got another great view of Paris. The Eiffel Tower was particularly prominent and awesome. I really wish we could have stayed there until dark to see the tower light up but we just didn't have the time. Another metro ride brought us to Montmarte and the Moulin Rouge! I couldn't resist humming a few lines of "your song" looking at the famous windmill!! I wish we could have seen a can can show but research showed me it was over 100 euros ppn which was just too much. We climbed the only hill in Paris for yet another breathtaking view. You'd think we would have been sick of them by then but I just couldn't take my eyes off the landscape. Here I finally found a reasonable price for a sweet crepe and it didn't disappoint! The nutella he spread on was the icing on the cake!
Wanting to make the most of our museum pass we went back to the Louvre to see the sculptures and as much else as we could. Now we saw the Venus de Milo and some others and were done with the things we knew we wanted to see. At this point we made the bad but eventually hilarious decision to breeze through other wings to see some cool stuff. I say bad because we were physically drained and could barely walk, but I say hilarious because we were mentally unable to comprehend what we saw. Don't get me wrong, Napolean's apartments were beautifully ornate but we couldn't quite manage to speak with any indication of awareness or comprehension. Basically, Liz Jessica and I were walking around saying "rug" "table" "chair" and the like. It also didn't help that we got lost at one point, tried looking for an exit, followed all the signs and ended up in the exact same spot. It was totally one of those twilight moments where we nearly collapsed into a fetal position crying for our mommies!!! :-)
Eventually we got out, met up with Kat and Alfie and had a very nice dinner a stone's throw from the Bastille. Kat and Alfie had to leave the following morning so we spent our last day in Paris with just the three of us. We started with some amazing pastries and baugettes outside a cafe across from Notre Dame soaking up some sun. Saying our last goodbyes to the fantastic Cathedral, we headed for the Champ-Elysee, the shopping district. If you want the full details ask Jessica. All I know is we walked forever, backtracked significantly, and Jess bought a polkadot dress. We were all tired and hungry by this point so headed back to Montmarte because it had such a cool atmosphere and a bunch of retaurants. We relaxed on the hill for a while sunbathing and enjoying some bohemians trying to engage the crowd before we went to another cafe for dinner. Oh yeah we also tried a savory crepe (with cheese) which I seemed to like much better than the girls. After dinner we finally went back to ascend the Eiffel Tower. The line was long and miserable and the view was a little overrated but it is just something you have to do! We were very lucky that we got to the tower just before sunset and got to see it light up as it got dark. I loved the tower and still think about how it was built and what it would have been like to be a worker on that awesome monument.
Anyways some observations on Paris and France. People were at lot nicer than expected. Granted it helped immensly to have Kat or Alfie around who spoke conversational French. But even without them I didn't feel like they hated me for being American. The food was good (especially pastries) but weird. My steak tasted great but was pretty chewy and wasn't cooked the same throughout (mostly well done but parts were medium rare at best) my ceasar salad was good but tasted much more like anchovies than I really care for. Lizs sausage wasn't bad but we couldn't really decide if we liked it or not. Lookie lookie men were way too plentiful. We call them "lookie lookie men" because that seems to be the only english they speak,"lookie lookie, you buy this, only 2 euro". They were at every single major sight and made each one a little less enjoyable. I am so sick of 10 random guys shoving crap in my face and refusing to leave until I (and every one else in the party) say a very loud NO. I have to admit that when the cops showed up at the Eiffel Tower and they scattered like roaches from a light was a definite highlight of my trip. Beggars were also plentiful. Little ladies walking around asking "speak English?" and showing you a written postcard telling about her unfortunate circumstances. We learned very quickly to answer "no, lo siento" to these women. We saw gypsies asking tourists if they dropped a ring, then slip it on their finger begin to walk away, and at the last second run back and ask to be paid for it. However there were some awesome street performers. One guy actually seemed like a robot grooving to music. Even I felt obliged to give some coins to the best Michael Jackson dancer I've seen since the real deal!!! Overall I absolutly loved Paris and am so happy we spent so much time there although I'm sure I'll be back eventually!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Getting down in a Spa town!
We left our Frankfurt hostel at 7:00 am to catch a 7:30 train towards (insert some random German train station here). It took us nearly 3 hours and as many transfers to reach the spa town of Bad Kissingen, but the trip was definitely worth it. A little history of Bad K: My dad was stationed here in the Daley Barracks when he was drafted by the US Army in the 60's. I grew up to stories of him going up and down a mountain making sure the generators kept running, as well as decoding Top Secret messages because of his typing skills. Since I was a kid I've wanted to see where he was, browse around a German Bakery that he made so enticing, and relax in the grass with some bread, cheese, and salami, for lunch. EVERYTHING was true!!!
I absolutely LOVED this city! It was small but beautiful, the people were ridiculously nice, and the food was amazing! We stashed our luggage in a locker at the train station and made our way towards what looked like the city center. After walking quite a ways, because we had no map and no sense of where to go, we finally made it to the high street of town. After a quick stop in a TI to get our bearings (and directions to the site of the old Daley Barracks) we sat down at a little cafe for some much needed breakfast. I was a little concerned when we asked what kind of pastries they had and the lady behind the counter gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look at English, but her associate was able to tell us "sweet" and "savory" while pointing. Obviously we went for the sweet one but boy were we in for a pleasant surprise! This was hands down the best pastry I've ever had in my life! I still don't know exactly what was in it, but it was some kind of glazed bread with a sweet nut sauce inside.
After breakfast I wanted to see the old barracks spot. I was confident the TI knew what I asked for because she pointed out the spot right away, but once we got there I was a little underwhelmed. I knew the buildings had been largely destroyed but the gate was still there but it had no signs or commemorative material. I just hoped for the best and snapped as many pictures as I could. After discussing this with my father, we figured out I WAS in the right spot, but the gate was built AFTER he was there.
Nothing remains of my dad's time in Germany, but I felt closer to him regardless of whether I saw the building he slept in. We spent the rest of our day meandering through the small town.
Bad K is exactly what comes to mind when you think of small town Germany. The buildings and scenery look like they're directly out of a fairy tale. We stumbled upon a grocery store and grabbed some bread, cheese, salami, grapes, and some coke, as a further homage to my father. Not only was this meal cheap, but delicious as well. I loved hanging out in the park munching on our goodies, enjoying a beautiful sunny day. Bad K is known as a spa town for its several different springs, all with different mineral contents. They have water spigots that constantly spew these different waters and people are encouraged to take tastes of them all. I just had to try and let me tell you, that water was NASTY! Apparently each spring is suppossed to have different benefits to your body, but every one I tried tasted just like highly-concentrated salt water.
I was really happy we didn't fill up our entire bottle with these waters as I could barely take a 10 mL taste without gagging. One of them even stung my mouth like a carbonated drink would but much more potently and painfully!
Not really wanting to leave, we finally headed to Wurzburg where we had a very long layover before we got to Munich. Without our luggage it would have been fine, but hiking around a city with a huge pack was just too uncomfortable. We did manage to see the river, and a fortress on a hill, but I was just too tired to really enjoy them. We finally made it to Munich around midnight and crashed hard after such a long day. At least the hostel was very close to the station and was quiet enough that I fell asleep almost instantly.
Next on the agenda is the famous Neuschwanstein castle in the Bavarian alps!
The Rhine valley to Frankfurt
After Brussels we headed out of Belgium for Germany. We had about a half hour in Koln which we took advantage of by grabbing something to eat and looking at the massive cathedral. It was so crazy, the cathedral was literally right outside the train station. I loved the architecture and I really wanted to look around inside, but we just didn't have the time.
Next we hopped on a much slower, regional train that took us down the Rhine towards Mainz. this was easily the most beautiful part of the day. We were lucky enough to get seats on the right side of the train and had an unobstructed view of the river and all the little towns situated on it. These little German towns looked like they were choppered in directly from Fantasyland! I wish we had more time to explore some of these cities, but i guess I'll save that for my next trip!
We finally made it to Frankfurt and set out on the longest walk ever to our hostel. Frankfurt was a much more modern city than anything we had seen thus far giving it a very overwhelming feeling. But when we reached the river that led us to the hostel i was right back where i wanted to be. Our hostel was very nice (located right on the bank of the river), with some of the best staff we had encountered thus far. They even had washers and dryers for only a Euro a piece, which we totally took advantage of. We spent the evening playing cribbage in a windowed room overlooking the river waiting for our clothes to dry, very relaxed and awesome, especially considering our next day of travel!
Up next, a 7:30 train to Munich, via Bad Kissingen, and one of the most charming and beautiful cities I've ever seen!
Next we hopped on a much slower, regional train that took us down the Rhine towards Mainz. this was easily the most beautiful part of the day. We were lucky enough to get seats on the right side of the train and had an unobstructed view of the river and all the little towns situated on it. These little German towns looked like they were choppered in directly from Fantasyland! I wish we had more time to explore some of these cities, but i guess I'll save that for my next trip!
We finally made it to Frankfurt and set out on the longest walk ever to our hostel. Frankfurt was a much more modern city than anything we had seen thus far giving it a very overwhelming feeling. But when we reached the river that led us to the hostel i was right back where i wanted to be. Our hostel was very nice (located right on the bank of the river), with some of the best staff we had encountered thus far. They even had washers and dryers for only a Euro a piece, which we totally took advantage of. We spent the evening playing cribbage in a windowed room overlooking the river waiting for our clothes to dry, very relaxed and awesome, especially considering our next day of travel!
Up next, a 7:30 train to Munich, via Bad Kissingen, and one of the most charming and beautiful cities I've ever seen!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Waffle madness in Brussels!
After a quick train ride to Brussels we decided to check into our hostel and do some exploring. slight problem with that plan... Brussels is CONFUSING!!! without a proper map and the fact that the train station had 8 different exits that we on different sides of a 6 way road crossing, not to mention the construction! I finally figured out a general direction and we set of to the hostel. One we got there we found out it was locked out between 10-2 for cleaning but we only had to wait less than a half hour to get in. however we weren't quick enough to cut ahead of the 12 person group from Spain out of which 1 spoke broken English and had to translate to the rest of the group. after what felt like an eternity we got settled into our rooms and set off into the city.
Luckily our hostel was pretty close to the main square which was beautiful!
We got some waffles covered in fruit chocolate and whipped cream so you know I was more than happy!!! After the square we tried to hit as many monuments as we could. We saw the Cathedral which was really nice but the best part was the lounging benches outside that provided a perfect view of the church!
After a few more sights we decided another snack was in order. This time we went for fries, which were just as expected for a random cart on the street of Belgium, DELICIOUS!!! After this we just kinda hung around the main square (making sure to rub the statue that's supposed to bring good luck) as well as the Pissing Boy.
The statue was a lot smaller than I had imagined but oh well, it was cool to see it. Oh and did I mention we got another couple waffles throughout the day? I just couldn't get enough of them! Once the sun went down we explored around our hostel and stumbled upon the Palace of Justice. The building was huge and domineering but beautiful too with some huge columns, which i figured out I LOVE (Italy is going to rock!!) After that we crashed in our rooms which weren't as noisy as i was expecting and I actually slept quite well. Some old french lady yelled at Liz for some unknown reason but we saw her at breakfast in the morning and she was rude to everyone, so I'm pretty sure she was just having a bad trip or something (why else would a late 50 year old stay at a youth hostel?) The next day we just hung around the Cathedral and the Royal Palace before catching our train to Koln.
Overall I really liked Belgium but other than a trip to Brugga (Bruges) i thought the time we spent there was enough. Brussels was interesting; ugly, modern buildings stood right next to ancient, beautiful ones, so the weird mix made it oddly enchanting! Next on our whirlwind tour was Koln (only for a couple minutes) and a Rhine train ride to Frankfurt.
Luckily our hostel was pretty close to the main square which was beautiful!
We got some waffles covered in fruit chocolate and whipped cream so you know I was more than happy!!! After the square we tried to hit as many monuments as we could. We saw the Cathedral which was really nice but the best part was the lounging benches outside that provided a perfect view of the church!
After a few more sights we decided another snack was in order. This time we went for fries, which were just as expected for a random cart on the street of Belgium, DELICIOUS!!! After this we just kinda hung around the main square (making sure to rub the statue that's supposed to bring good luck) as well as the Pissing Boy.
The statue was a lot smaller than I had imagined but oh well, it was cool to see it. Oh and did I mention we got another couple waffles throughout the day? I just couldn't get enough of them! Once the sun went down we explored around our hostel and stumbled upon the Palace of Justice. The building was huge and domineering but beautiful too with some huge columns, which i figured out I LOVE (Italy is going to rock!!) After that we crashed in our rooms which weren't as noisy as i was expecting and I actually slept quite well. Some old french lady yelled at Liz for some unknown reason but we saw her at breakfast in the morning and she was rude to everyone, so I'm pretty sure she was just having a bad trip or something (why else would a late 50 year old stay at a youth hostel?) The next day we just hung around the Cathedral and the Royal Palace before catching our train to Koln.
Overall I really liked Belgium but other than a trip to Brugga (Bruges) i thought the time we spent there was enough. Brussels was interesting; ugly, modern buildings stood right next to ancient, beautiful ones, so the weird mix made it oddly enchanting! Next on our whirlwind tour was Koln (only for a couple minutes) and a Rhine train ride to Frankfurt.
Antwerp! and the best CS host ever!!!
Alright! Sorry for the delay for this post, I've had a bunch of coursework to do. You know... the thing that i actually came to England for? the school like thing, whatchamcallit... oh right University! :-) Anyways, the essays are done and now I just have a two hour final on the 15th of May before Liz, Jessica, and I head off for the second big trip! Anyways...
We arrived in Antwerp, which turned out to be a really awesome train station!!! it was huge but had some really awesome architecture. Our Couch Surfing host, Geoff met us in the train station before leading us back to his apartment which was awesome!!! We had our own room with a mattress on the floor, wifi, a living room with a TV (keep in mind I don't have any TV in Norwich so being able to come back after a long day of sightseeing and wind down watching the BBC's version of ESPN on an actual couch was something of a delicacy for me!) We went out with Geoff that night to a pretty cheap Greek restaurant, it was the only thing open but it had some huge portions and was pretty delicious.
The next morning we had a relaxing breakfast with Geoff before walking towards the old part of Antwerp. Apparently over 80% of the worlds diamonds pass through Antwerp at some time or another so we had a great time window shopping through the diamond district. We finally made it to the Cathedral which was gorgeous. Inside they had a bunch of original Ruben's paintings that were colossal! the best part was they had a little guide for each piece of art that explained what to look for, the themes of the painting, as well as some of the nuances that made it great. Needless to say this made his artwork much more interesting for me! The Cathedral is right next to the Gronenplatz as well as the Grote Markt. these were both huge squares where we were able to eat lunch and enjoy the scenery around us!
Geoff met us later for dinner at this great pub. I discovered that I like Stoemp (a traditional Belgian dish of mashed potatoes, veggies, and sausage) while liz just had a bacon and apple salad. the best part by far of the dinner was at the end when our waiter said he liked my Green Lantern shirt! I asked him how he knew about it; i guess "The Big Bang" theory is popular in Belgium and one of the guys on the show got a ring and a power battery in one episode! After dinner we went to another bar to meet some other Couch Surfers who were all really nice, one of them was even from the UK!
The next morning Geoff had to leave back for the States but was kind enough to let us sleep in and use up any perishable food he had in his kitchen (thank you Geoff!!!) we thought about running into town for a little bit, but we had seen all that we had gone for and lugging our bags around the city didn't sound like too much fun, so we relaxed a little bit until our train took off for Brussels!
We arrived in Antwerp, which turned out to be a really awesome train station!!! it was huge but had some really awesome architecture. Our Couch Surfing host, Geoff met us in the train station before leading us back to his apartment which was awesome!!! We had our own room with a mattress on the floor, wifi, a living room with a TV (keep in mind I don't have any TV in Norwich so being able to come back after a long day of sightseeing and wind down watching the BBC's version of ESPN on an actual couch was something of a delicacy for me!) We went out with Geoff that night to a pretty cheap Greek restaurant, it was the only thing open but it had some huge portions and was pretty delicious.
The next morning we had a relaxing breakfast with Geoff before walking towards the old part of Antwerp. Apparently over 80% of the worlds diamonds pass through Antwerp at some time or another so we had a great time window shopping through the diamond district. We finally made it to the Cathedral which was gorgeous. Inside they had a bunch of original Ruben's paintings that were colossal! the best part was they had a little guide for each piece of art that explained what to look for, the themes of the painting, as well as some of the nuances that made it great. Needless to say this made his artwork much more interesting for me! The Cathedral is right next to the Gronenplatz as well as the Grote Markt. these were both huge squares where we were able to eat lunch and enjoy the scenery around us!
Geoff met us later for dinner at this great pub. I discovered that I like Stoemp (a traditional Belgian dish of mashed potatoes, veggies, and sausage) while liz just had a bacon and apple salad. the best part by far of the dinner was at the end when our waiter said he liked my Green Lantern shirt! I asked him how he knew about it; i guess "The Big Bang" theory is popular in Belgium and one of the guys on the show got a ring and a power battery in one episode! After dinner we went to another bar to meet some other Couch Surfers who were all really nice, one of them was even from the UK!
The next morning Geoff had to leave back for the States but was kind enough to let us sleep in and use up any perishable food he had in his kitchen (thank you Geoff!!!) we thought about running into town for a little bit, but we had seen all that we had gone for and lugging our bags around the city didn't sound like too much fun, so we relaxed a little bit until our train took off for Brussels!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Amsterdam!!!
Ok I know it's been a while but I'm gonna start posting things from our trip by the city. This might take a while but I can't think of a better way to do it... so there you go. :-)
We started off taking a train to Harwich, where we got on a way bigger than i had imagined, cruise boat headed for the Netherlands. The boat was totally awesome with a movie theater (we skipped watching Valentine's Day, but if we were on the day trip we could've seen Sherlock Holmes which would have been cool) an arcade, a big duty free shop, as well as some blackjack and roulette tables. I played 10 euros and had a really good time losing it all (i would've done better but the odds were crazy! A natural only paid out at 1:1) I'm not sure why, but they put us in a 5 person room so we had a blast jumping on all the beds, trying out each one to see which was the comfiest, you know the normal things you do in a hotel room!
The next morning, we caught a couple trains into Amsterdam. We even got to try out a fancy double decker train! I'm not sure why but I just love double-decked things - buses, trains, beds, I think everything should be double-decked. Amsterdam was the only place we didn't have set accommodations so our first stop was to find a place to crash. We tried Bob's Youth Hostel which seemed really cool from the internet but didn't take reservations. They were all booked which was a bummer at the time but ended up being a blessing in disguise. The place was crammed with over anxious college kids wanting to get high and was just a little too hippie for us. We finally found some space with the Flying Pig in downtown Amsterdam. Well actually it was their sister location in Noordwijk about an hour's drive away from Amsterdam, but it was relatively cheap and they had a free shuttle that brought us back and forth for the one night we had in the city.
After securing a room we set off for Anne Frank's House. We waited in line for almost an hour but it was a nice little museum. I think it's tough to really portray any kind of living conditions worse than what you've experienced but it was a nice little memorial to her family and the suffering they endured. Next we went to the number 1 sight on my list of things to see the Green Lantern restaurant (technically its De Gronene Lantaarn, but the translation is undeniable) To my big disappointment it was a dinner only restaurant and it opened only after we left on the shuttle to our hostel. So i didn't get my much anticipated fondue meal, but at least i got to see the place and touch the Green Lantern they had over the door!
After that we just started exploring the city. We saw loads of awesome sculptures, cool shops, and even found our way into the Red Light District. Now Liz had prepared me for the worst in the RLD. She described how old and gross the women were and how sad it was that they were just advertising themselves in a ground level window. Now although this was mostly true (it was sad when you thought about it) the girls were much more attractive than i had expected. While I still had no intention to do anything but just walk through snickering, I finally saw and understood how these districts have been there for so long. :-)
By this time the weather started getting a little hectic with some really cold wind and finally a pouring rain. We ducked into an awesome little place called Cafe Stevens where we waited out the storm with the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever had! After the storm died away we happened to stumble on St. Nicholas' Church, right as they were starting an Evensong service! It was a beautiful service that was even in English. We didn't have any trouble with language barriers in Amsterdam, everybody spoke English fluently, however it was a little difficult to read menus. We had dinner near our hostel in a Pizzeria. I stuck with the self-explanatory Salami pizza while Liz ordered something else and ended up having egg on her pizza! She said it was still good though.
We finally caught our shuttle with some pretty funny drivers (i say funny but really they were just a bunch of characters!) they even made a little pot stop on the way back which made me think there was a reason this shuttle was there in the first place. The Hostel had a really nice laid back vibe. Our room which consisted of around 25-30 beds only had three other occupants. We talked a little bit with an Aussie couple who had been out for 6 months already! I don't think I'll ever be that into traveling. Don't get me wrong I love to be out, but I like working out of a home base where i can come to relax and detox every once in a while.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast at the hostel and drove back into the city. It was the first day of Spring and it showed!!! We ended up lazing around a park people (and dog) watching for a while before we went to the Van Gogh museum. Thank goodness we bought our tickets at the hostel, otherwise we would have waited in just as long a line as for the Anne Frank House. Bypassing all the other tourists i couldn't help but smirk in sweet sweet victory for planning ahead! :-) The museum was really cool if a bit overpriced. I'm not sure why but I thought Starry Night was there so i was a little disappointed when i didn't see it (apparently its in the NYC Museum of Modern Art, lame). They did give some explanations of why his art was so good though, which i found interesting. Afterward on our way to lunch in the top of a 5 story department store, we saw an interpretive dancer clad in a white leotard with blotches of color dancing to a song that sounded a little to close to the theme song to the Halloween movies. This had to be the funniest thing I saw in Amsterdam! I was laughing for a good couple of blocks.
After lunch we killed some time going into shops before our train left for Antwerp... which brings us to the conclusion of Northern Europe Trip Part 1. Stay tuned for Antwerp, Brussels, Bad Kissingen, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, Munich, Salzburg, Prague, Krakow, and if I ever get to it Berlin! We leave for Edinburgh and Liverpool tomorrow so I might not post for a week, but don't worry its on the way!!!
We started off taking a train to Harwich, where we got on a way bigger than i had imagined, cruise boat headed for the Netherlands. The boat was totally awesome with a movie theater (we skipped watching Valentine's Day, but if we were on the day trip we could've seen Sherlock Holmes which would have been cool) an arcade, a big duty free shop, as well as some blackjack and roulette tables. I played 10 euros and had a really good time losing it all (i would've done better but the odds were crazy! A natural only paid out at 1:1) I'm not sure why, but they put us in a 5 person room so we had a blast jumping on all the beds, trying out each one to see which was the comfiest, you know the normal things you do in a hotel room!
The next morning, we caught a couple trains into Amsterdam. We even got to try out a fancy double decker train! I'm not sure why but I just love double-decked things - buses, trains, beds, I think everything should be double-decked. Amsterdam was the only place we didn't have set accommodations so our first stop was to find a place to crash. We tried Bob's Youth Hostel which seemed really cool from the internet but didn't take reservations. They were all booked which was a bummer at the time but ended up being a blessing in disguise. The place was crammed with over anxious college kids wanting to get high and was just a little too hippie for us. We finally found some space with the Flying Pig in downtown Amsterdam. Well actually it was their sister location in Noordwijk about an hour's drive away from Amsterdam, but it was relatively cheap and they had a free shuttle that brought us back and forth for the one night we had in the city.
After securing a room we set off for Anne Frank's House. We waited in line for almost an hour but it was a nice little museum. I think it's tough to really portray any kind of living conditions worse than what you've experienced but it was a nice little memorial to her family and the suffering they endured. Next we went to the number 1 sight on my list of things to see the Green Lantern restaurant (technically its De Gronene Lantaarn, but the translation is undeniable) To my big disappointment it was a dinner only restaurant and it opened only after we left on the shuttle to our hostel. So i didn't get my much anticipated fondue meal, but at least i got to see the place and touch the Green Lantern they had over the door!
After that we just started exploring the city. We saw loads of awesome sculptures, cool shops, and even found our way into the Red Light District. Now Liz had prepared me for the worst in the RLD. She described how old and gross the women were and how sad it was that they were just advertising themselves in a ground level window. Now although this was mostly true (it was sad when you thought about it) the girls were much more attractive than i had expected. While I still had no intention to do anything but just walk through snickering, I finally saw and understood how these districts have been there for so long. :-)
By this time the weather started getting a little hectic with some really cold wind and finally a pouring rain. We ducked into an awesome little place called Cafe Stevens where we waited out the storm with the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever had! After the storm died away we happened to stumble on St. Nicholas' Church, right as they were starting an Evensong service! It was a beautiful service that was even in English. We didn't have any trouble with language barriers in Amsterdam, everybody spoke English fluently, however it was a little difficult to read menus. We had dinner near our hostel in a Pizzeria. I stuck with the self-explanatory Salami pizza while Liz ordered something else and ended up having egg on her pizza! She said it was still good though.
We finally caught our shuttle with some pretty funny drivers (i say funny but really they were just a bunch of characters!) they even made a little pot stop on the way back which made me think there was a reason this shuttle was there in the first place. The Hostel had a really nice laid back vibe. Our room which consisted of around 25-30 beds only had three other occupants. We talked a little bit with an Aussie couple who had been out for 6 months already! I don't think I'll ever be that into traveling. Don't get me wrong I love to be out, but I like working out of a home base where i can come to relax and detox every once in a while.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast at the hostel and drove back into the city. It was the first day of Spring and it showed!!! We ended up lazing around a park people (and dog) watching for a while before we went to the Van Gogh museum. Thank goodness we bought our tickets at the hostel, otherwise we would have waited in just as long a line as for the Anne Frank House. Bypassing all the other tourists i couldn't help but smirk in sweet sweet victory for planning ahead! :-) The museum was really cool if a bit overpriced. I'm not sure why but I thought Starry Night was there so i was a little disappointed when i didn't see it (apparently its in the NYC Museum of Modern Art, lame). They did give some explanations of why his art was so good though, which i found interesting. Afterward on our way to lunch in the top of a 5 story department store, we saw an interpretive dancer clad in a white leotard with blotches of color dancing to a song that sounded a little to close to the theme song to the Halloween movies. This had to be the funniest thing I saw in Amsterdam! I was laughing for a good couple of blocks.
After lunch we killed some time going into shops before our train left for Antwerp... which brings us to the conclusion of Northern Europe Trip Part 1. Stay tuned for Antwerp, Brussels, Bad Kissingen, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, Munich, Salzburg, Prague, Krakow, and if I ever get to it Berlin! We leave for Edinburgh and Liverpool tomorrow so I might not post for a week, but don't worry its on the way!!!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
