Last little bit of Germany

So...to continue where I left off.

[the name of the town near neuschwanstein was fussen by the way; autocorrect changes things and wont let me go back and edit them].

Two days ago I decided to have a rest day (sort of). I woke up a little later than normal, ate breakfast, and then went to the laundry mat to do some washing. You have to understand, this was quite a novel experience for me as I have never done laundry in a laundry mat before. Up to this point I have been able to rotate through my clothes and do some periodic washing with some detergent in the hostels' sinks. This might sound gross, but I promise it is not. It hasn't been very hot until recently and so my clothes were not that dirty. However, even I could realize that I finally needed to do an actual load of laundry.

After lunch and some catching up on emails, I walked to the town center and wandered through the Englischer Garten. This was a really nice park right in the middle of the city, but it also had a secluded feel. There was a small canal running through the middle, and at one end a dozen or so surfers were riding an artificial wave that had been built in the middle of the canal. It was a nice place to relax and I felt a little bit like a local.

I felt even more like a local when I wet the next day to Heidelberg. It is about a three hour train ride to the northeast, and was a great example of a typical German town. There was a city castle overlooking the village; it was a steep walk to get there but the views were really nice. Apparently the villagers used to bring tribute to the king and a colossal wine barrel ( holding over a quarter of a million liters) stood as a testament to this.

From the castle I made my way down to the bismarkplatz area, where there was a mile long, pedestrian-only shopping street. Contrary to what you might think, it wasn't that commercialized, and though there were some international stores there were also a good number of local shops and restaurants. I browsed through several and bought pastries from two separate bakeries. I tried an apple strudel as well as a plum cake, and both were pretty tasty. I efeeling how I was able to escape a little bit from the hyper-touristy areas and just experience life in a German town.

Today I woke up around 6:30am and made my way through a heavy rainstorm to the train station. It is too early to evaluate Vienna - I literally just got to the hostel and am waiting for them to finish cleaning my room - but hopefully I will be able to give a good report soon.

Munich continued

Oh boy, I have had a great last couple of days!

Yesterday I travelled two hours to Fussen, a small village in the barbarian alps. I then walked about an hour, through beautiful fields and meadows, to the famous neuschwanstein castle. You have probably seen it - it is the basis for the Disneyland castle and was also featured in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." The castle itself was awesome. I don't think I have ever seen a real castle before and this was a great introduction to be sure. I tok a guided tour of the inside, and learned a lot about it's builder in the process.

Neuschwanstein was commissioned by king Ludwig II of barvaria, and is actually less than two centuries old. Ludwig was considered by many to be insane; regardless, I thought the castle he built was amazing. It was largely just as you would imagine as castle to be, complete with spiral staircases and narrow windows. He decorated each of the castle's rooms after scenes from Richard wagner's operas, and alternated the interior design between classical Rome and a fantastical swan theme. One of my favorite rooms was the king's bedroom, which was filled with incredibly ornate woodcarvings. Apparently it took 14 carpenters four years just to complete that one room.

It might sound hard to believe, but the view of from the outside was far superior, however. I walked a short distance to a bridge called the marienbrucke, which straddled a waterfall and a steep gorge. From there I saw one of the most spectacular scenes I have ever seen. Neuschwanstein was perched on a rocky outcropping, and beyond it were four aqua blue lakes and slightly rolling farmland. Immediately behind me, one thousand feet at most, were the alps. They jutted up from the flat pasture and towered over me. I tried to brand it in my memory, but I don't think it is the same as seeing it in person.

Munich

Hey y'all,

So since I last updated my blog I have travelled to Munich and have gotten to get a pretty good feel for Germany, I think.

Munich is simultaneously different and similar to Berlin. Obviously, they are in very different geographical areas, but Munich also seems to have retained an atmosphere from the past. Beer gardens, barvarian courtyards and everyday men walking around in lederhosen definitely make a striking contrast to Berlin. At the same time, there are many things that remain the same. People in Germany absolutely refuse to cross a road unless the crosswalk sign is green - regardless of whether there is any oncoming traffic. Also, they like order and regularity. A good example of this is when I was on a metro in Berlin. Two spaniards boarded the tram and started playing loud trombone and trumpet music. Almost all of the other passengers rolled their eyes and covered their ears at this intrusion into their quiet metro ride. Paris, Madrid, and barcelona were not like this.

Bmw's and Mercedes comprise at least half of the cars here; even the taxis and garbage trucks are almost exclusively mercedes. Also, Germans, unlike the other European countries I have visited, have grocery stores. I'm talking about real supermarkets, not just a local grocer with a rather abysmal selection of food. No, Germans have decent places to buy food, and I definitely like that.

Today I went with my friend Brian on a free walking tour of the city. Brian is from hong kong and I have really enjoyed hanging out with him. We travelled to the haufbrauhaus (munich's most famous beer hall), the old fraukenkirche church, the city's own version of the arc deed triomph, munich's maypole, the Munich opera house, the residenz palace (not very interesting), and saw the marienplatz town hall building with its glockenspiel. That was very different from any town hall I have seen. It reminded me a little of the big bad wolf section of busch gardens, only this was the real thing.

This has truly been an unforgettable trip, and I have enjoyed Both the awesome sights as well as the time alone to think and relax. I have rediscovered how much I like reading, for one, and hopefully I can continue that when I get back to the states.

Until next time...

Soaking it all up: the second half of berlin

When I left for Europe, my dad told me several times to "drink deeply." Now, while some people might interpret that as a reason for sampling pint after pint of europe's beer, he was referring to something else. He was talking about something more, immersing myself in the sights, sounds, culture, and everything else in Europe that is so very different from the US. Well, I have been trying to keep this on mind. The past two days alone I feel as though I have squeezed things into every waking hour.

I started yesterday with a hearty breakfast of fruit, jellied toast, three bowls of cereal, a sandwich, coffee and orange juice. It's hard to go wrong with that sort of beginning. And, sure enough, I had a great day. I took a train about an hour north to sachenhausen concentration camp, the first of Nazi germany's camps for the "Jewish problem." It was opened in 1936 to be a model for other internment and death camps. Although it is not as notorious as some of the other camps, it housed more than 200,000 people over the years. After the war, the camp was converted into a soviet prison camp. Sachenhausen was finally closed in 1950, after 14 years of horror and oppression.

The camp was largely intact and I was free to wander around the inmate barracks, the cellblocks, the infirmary, the crematorium and execution trench, the morgue, and the watch towers. The whole time I was there I kept envisioning how I was going to describe the camp on my blog post. I finally realized that words would never be able to completely encompass all that I saw. One moment in particular made an impression on me. I was walking past the autopsy tables where patients were experimented on and I saw the entrance to the morgue. It was in the basement, with a ramp where the bodies could be rolled down into one of the three large rooms. The building was preserved just as it would have appeared 70 years ago, and I sensed a tangible feeling of evil. I wanted to leave; after all, hadn't I seen enough to last a lifetime? It was at that moment, though, that I realized something. I realized that even though i felt uncomfortable, I needed to confront the entire exhibit - to understand and remember. George Santayana famously stated, "those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This is quite true, I think.

I next segued to a less depressing scene, the pergamon museum. Founded during the early 20th century by max Von openheimer, it housed a colossal collection of classical, near eastern and Islamic art and artifacts. There was an entire Greek temple inside, cut into blocks and reassembled piece-by-piece in back in Berlin. There were also Assyrian sculptures and absolutely beautiful Arabic pieces: colored lithographs with the most intricate calligraphy, ancient wooden doors with thousands of tiny dots and scrollwork, and more. The centerpiece of the museum were the Ishtar gates from babylon. I would highly recommend visiting there.

Alright, so I realize that this post is approaching yawn-length, so I will try to wrap it up. Today I again had a long breakfast and read a newspaper, in English! That was nice of course, and so was my trip to nearby potsdam. This city was the site of the hapsburg emperors and is home to the sans souci palace system. I toured one, the new palace, and it was very fancy. It made my wonder, how much wealth did these people have to construct such a massive complex of palaces. Nothing in the US really compares in terms of sheer size alone.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to travel to Munich, where I hope to have many more things to write about.

The very interesting city that is berlin

Hello once again,

So I must apologize for the slight lapse in my blog updates as I spent two of the last three days on trains. Getting from Barcelona to Berlin was supposed to be relatively simple. I would take one train to Paris, go to the louvre (which I missed the first time around), and then go the next day to Berlin. As it turned out, the first two trains out of barcelona were completely full, the regional train I wound up taking had a connection that was cancelled due to a worker's strike, and so I travelled to Berlin via an uncomfortable night train and a very long train ride through Germany. It actually was not that bad, but I definitely would rather not have a repeat.

[On a side note, I am unable to edit my postings on my iPad, so I apologize for the spelling errors that may have occasionally cropped up. Also, the architect of park guell and the sagrada familia was named gaudi, not guell.]

Berlin itself has been great so far. The first thing I noticed were the people. I got into town late in the afternoon, and was hungry. A lady I passed on the sidewalk recommended I go to a nearby Portuguese sandwich shop - the best in town. It was indeed good, but the folks inside really made it enjoyable. As a lone American in a foreign country, it is so nice to meet locals who make me feel at home. It seems this characteristic wasn't just limited to the sandwich shops though; everywhere I have been Berliners have been helpful, friendly, and generally spoke impeccable English.

Alright, here is what I have actually seen. Yesterday I went on a free, tips-only walking tour of the city, and it was top-notch. We walked to the Brandenburg gate and down to where the Reich chancellory and hitler's bunker once stood. Interestingly enough, there is only a gravel parking lot and apartment buildings there now, and Berlin city code asks dog walkers to take their dogs to this spot. From there, our guide led us to the former luftwaffe headquarters, which was saved from the bombs of ww2 by the soviets. Apparently, the soviets wanted to keep the building for themselves after the war, and it was subsequently home to the GDR secret police ( the Stasi). Now it is germany's administrative center for taxes, so it appears that the building's evil legacy endures even today.

Continuing the tour, we walked to one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin wall, and then made our way to checkpoint Charlie and its famous, "you are now leaving the American sector" sign. It was lunchtime by now so I stopped at a sidewalk stand and ordered some currywurst. It was pretty tasty, but nothing phenomenal. The second half of the tour was spent visiting the Berlin opera house, the plaza where German students burned 20,000 "forbidden" books in 1933, the Berlin war memorial and holocaust memorial, and the main boulevard, unter den linden. Overall, the guide was incredibly knowledgeable and provided a great sense of coherence to the different places around Berlin. I really appreciated how he made each of the buildings come to life with a story of their own.

I completed my day with a side trip through the GDR museum, a look at the Reichstag, and a walk through the Tiergarten (a small forest with gravel walking trails and a couple of lakes, a very natural-like place).

Barcelona

So today marks my last night in Barcelona; though I have only been here for a day and a half I have really enjoyed it, more than Madrid I think.

Yesterday I got in around lunchtime and went to find my hostel. It only has about 5 rooms, but is quiet ( unlike the one in Madrid) and i could not ask for a better location. After I checked in, I walked about twenty minutes down to the playa barceloneta, one of barcelona's main beaches. It was pretty, but it was also pretty crowded. I wound up taking a nap and getting ever-so-slightly sunburned. After the beach I went to the barri Gotic cathedral and the Iglesia de Santa Maria del mar. Both were alright, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again. That evening, the receptionist at my hostel recommended I go see the fountain at the placa de espanya. I am very glad I did. The fountain(s) were spectacular, with water jets that changed positions and lighting that changed too. The jets would shoot out water in seemingly endless variations - sometimes like a crown, sometimes like a whirling fan, sometimes like a colossal mist, and so on. All of this was synced with opera music playing on speakers within the fountain. I probably watched for an hour.

Today was great too. I took the metro to park guell, which is a fairly large complex originally designed to be a self containing residential area. This purpose was never achieved; instead, it is now a series of miniature parks and playgrounds, walking trails, and a big courtyard. Around the courtyard is a continous, serpentine-like bench. Designed by the famous architect, Guell, the bench was covered with mosaics, all different colors and polished to a finish almost like lacquer. The bench and courtyard overlooked two other buildings, also designed by Guell. These houses looked as if they belonged in a Dr. suess book. They were covered in mosaics too, and had a lot of circular, curvy architectural lines, with a loopy staircase and small tower.

From the park, I walked down to the sagrandia familia. This church was Guell's most famous work. It is the most fascinating building I have ever seen. The best way I know how to describe the outside is that it is similar to a sandcastle made by letting silt drip down your fingers. There were eight towers I think, which were supported at the base by pillars leaning inwards. On the inside, the basilica was equally, if not more, impressive. Light streamed in everywhere through the countless windows. The nave was held up by columns that split into branches hallway up. Concave, scalloped indentures formed the ceiling, and there was an elevated choir balcony with room for 1000 singers. I finished my day by walking back to the hostel, pausing along the way to look at a couple more houses that were also designed by Guell. I like barcelona because it seems to have a personality and charisma. I would definitely visit again.

Final days in madrid

Wow,

Looking back, it seems as if I have been in Europe for much longer than just a week and a half. I have visited many places and experienced a great number of new sights, smells, etc. Come to think of it, I have done quite a bit in just the past two days.

Yesterday I really wanted to go hiking. I had been in cities for several days straight and wanted to see more of spain's countryside instead. I found a travel website mentioning a set of trails in the sierras de guadarrama, and so I took the train to cercedilla, where I embarked on a 3 1/2 hour trek. The weather was perfect: clear skies, low humidity, and about 75 degrees. The trails were incredibly well marked ( definitely a plus) and there were some great views to be had from the multiple scenic overlooks. At the apex of the hike, you could see the entire valley region, stretching all the way to Madrid. It reminded me why I love hiking; everything was so serene and quietly beautiful.

Today I went and toured the palace de real - built by king felipe V. There were hundreds of rooms in the building. I was only allowed to view 55, but these were impressive in their own right. Lavish is the first word that comes to mind. Extravagant as well. These rooms were decorated from ceiling to floor in rich tapestries, gold and silver enamel, porcelain embellishments, mirrors, frescoes, crystal chandeliers of enormous sizes, and more. There was a dining room with a capacity for 70guests, and even a room devoted exclusively for the king to put on his royal outfits.

As if this wasn't enough opulence, I next went to the royal armory, where sets of armor - for man and horse - were displayed, along with various weapons of war. Some were ceremonial, others were solely functional, but all were very impressive. After taking a long cut to try and find a local tapas restaurant, I headed over to the caixa forum, which provided free admission to see some of spain's premier works of contemporary art. I'm not always the biggest fan of modern stuff, but these pieces were really sweet. There were two exhibits, one concerning photographs of soviet architecture, and the other showing black and white pictures of life during the 1920's. Both were quite well done, and I especially enjoyed looking at the photos of the roaring twenties - the flapper generation - taken by jacques henri lartigue. His subjects were all people, and he focused mainly with dynamism. Watersports, early racing cars, snow skiing, and the day-to-day happenings of the well to do were some of the topics he covered; all of his shots managed to capture the fleeting moments of a bygone era, and I thoroughly enjoyed catching a glimpse into a world that is now no more.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to take the train to Barcelona. Here is my final itinerary: Barcelona until June 20, Berlin until June 25, munich until June 30, Vienna until July 3, Salzburg until July 6, Innsbruck until July 10, Milan until July 14, Florence until July 17, Rome until July 21, Venice until July 24, Amsterdam and holland until July 29, London until august 7 or 8 ( tentatively), and fly out of Dublin to the states on august 9.

Day one in madrid

Hello again,

Today was my first chance to get a real view of Madrid as I got in late last night. However, I liked it from the start. First of all, it was sunny. This might not seem very important, but you have to know that up to this point, I had experienced nothing but clouds and rain. This was much better. Also, it was hot - about 34 celcius (94 farenheit). This place was much different from France. Everyone walked with a much more languid pace ( in the shade if they could), many wore shorts, and no one seemed to be in a real hurry. All of this suited me just fine.

I began my day with a couple of errands and then headed over to the museo del prado, spain's finest art museum. There were over 1000 paintings and sculptures, and I'm pretty sure I looked at them all. Durer, goya, valazquez and bosch were the most famous and prominent artists, but there were many other French, Spanish, and Flemish painters who also had some really nice contributions.

I made sure and saw the big ones: duress's Adam and eve, goya's 3 rd of may, bosch's the garden of earthly delights, the naked maja and the three graces. I liked most all of them, but especially enjoyed the huge (20 or 30 feet tall) church altarpieces, as well as the landscapes that were featured. The place was huge; it also had the potential to be exhausting. Between the depictions of royal palace life, commissioned portraits, and hundred of religious scenes, I got my fill of paintings for the day.

I then walked next door to the parque del bien retiro. It was a combination arboretum- botanical garden-college quad style place. I liked it, and took a nap on one of the many lawns. Everywhere there was a grassy spot or bench it seemed, and quite a few people - mostly young couples and twenty-somethings - were reading and sunbathing. Fortunately none of them were topless that I know of.

Within the park there was a beautiful rose garden, a small lake with rowboats for rent, and a metal and glass building called the palacio de cristal (nothing to see inside but kind of cool). I enjoyed it there, and am planning on taking a run along one of it's trails tomorrow.

Whirlwind of events, or my last day in paris

So, here is my most recent update.

As I said in my last post, I was planning on going to the louvre yesterday. Sure enough, I made my way to the museum and got their about 10am. However, when I went to purchase my ticket, I realized I didn't have my money bag with me. Ok, I thought, I'll go back to the hostel and get it in my other pair of pants. I grew really concerned, though, when it was not in my pants pocket either. The last place I remembered having my money was at the neighborhood mcdonalds the night before. I went there straight away, but they hadn't seen it either.

The next few hours were a blur of visits between the us embassy, the Paris police department, and phone calls to visa. Complicating matters was the fact that the us consulate and the Paris lost and found office were both closed for a holiday. I was really stressed out and wasn't sure what was going to happen. However, I was told that a new credit card could be shipped to me and that o could get a new passport made too ( for my passport was in the same bag).

Needless to say, I didn't make it to the louvre. Even so, there was a bright spot: my passport, credit cards, and cash were returned to the hostel where I was staying. Apparently a mcdonalds employee had found it and was kind enough to return it.

I had just about as much craziness as I could handle in 24 hours, so tham
Nkfully today was pretty non eventful. I spent about 12 hours on a train ride from Paris to Madrid, and made it to my hostel without any mishaps haha. The Spanish countryside was really amazing - rolling hills, mountains, and valleys covered with wheat fields were my view from the train window.

I'm pretty tired now, but will update soon.

Dublin and paris

Hello everybody,

I know this posting is a little overdue but between getting my itinerary situated ( not a small task), adjusted to a new sleep schedule and just trying to take advantage of all the things to see, I have not had much free time. Hopefully my entries to come will be more punctual.

I flew into Dublin on june 6, and made it to the ash field youth hostel before noon. Saw Dublin castle, trinity cathedral, the oconell statue, and a couple other churches I can't remember their names right now. I was pretty tired and stressed over trying to figure out where I would be traveling next, but God came through and worked everything put. Next day I travelled with two of my roomates, Tim and jochem, to howth peninsula. They were brothers from holland and very nice. Howth was beautiful. Definitely my favorite thing in Ireland.

Next, we went back to Dublin and saw trinity college. That night, we went with mother roomates to the famous ( apparently) temple bar. It was really packed and lively, but a pint of Guinness cost 5 euro. As such, I only had one of them. Next day took the train to rosslare, a pretty scenic route, and then took the irishferries ship to roscoff, France. Really a nice boat and I met a French college student onboard. We kept each other company and I enjoyed talking with him.

June 9 I took the tgv from roscoff to Paris, and miraculously was able to book a hostel in a good location for a pretty good price. June 10 ( today) I wales from the hostel to the sacre coure cathedral, a very beautiful place and a greAt view of the city. Next I went to the place tertre, which was a town square containing hundreds of painters and caricaturists. A very Parisian feeling spot.

I then proceeded to visit the trinite church, the place d'opera, and the printemps department store in the galeries lafayette district. I finished my sightseeing with a walk to the place de la Madeline, then headed to the oblique, champs élysées, and the arc de triumph. I am really looking forward to tomorrow. Paris is such a neatly laid out city and it is so amazing to be walking down the street and stumble upon a centuries- old church, let alone come into view of the champs élysées.

Hopefully this hasn't been too tedious to read. More to come soon.