Hillary's dad asked her when we arrived in Prague, "So Hillary, why am I here?". I could only imagine what he was thinking when we arrived in Budapest (pronounced BudapesHt). Although a fairly well known destination, it probably doesn't normally make it on the travel itinerary of many family vacations. Many have compared it to Prague, and I do agree, they have their similarities. They were both part of the Hapsburg rule. They both have great architecture and food. Their histories are very similar too, especially in the past century, being Nazi and Soviet occupied for the vast majority of those years. Yes, the cities are very comparable, but they are also very different. Prague seemed almost surreal with it's clean perfect gothic architecture dotted around the city while Budapest is admittedly a little less polished, a little more run down.
Yet, it does have it's jewels. The parliament building is outstanding. They say it is supposed to be built with the London parliament as inspiration. To be honest, I like this building better. It is beautiful. The red domed roof and the white facade shining over the Danube is quite a sight to see. And the perfect view is from across the river on Castle Hill up by St. Matthias Cathedral. The cathedral is a view itself. It has a colorful tiled roof that makes it look like a patterned carpet. Up near the cathedral is the Fisherman's Bastion which some say is the inspiration for Disney's castle. That is probably the fourth castle like structure I have heard this about. From the bastion you can see St. Stephen's Basilica and the chain bridge. Both are spectacular examples of architecture.
Well, we saw all of this on a free walking tour. Yep, we love our free walking tours. While this wasn't the most informative when compared to Sandeman's New Europe Tours, our guide was probably the most entertaining. She was great, very excited about everything, especially the food and the drink.
And oh, the food. Here the goulash is a soup and is so savory. Ad I know that everyone thinks goulash when they think Hungary, if they think anything, but the paprikash is even better. It is this creamy stew spiced with paprika, the country's favorite spice. This dish is good. I had it with a side of dumplings and cleaned the plate. Besides this, langos is the dish to try. It is fried dough covered in garlic, sour cream and cheese. Yeah, Hungary is a pretty healthy place. Add to this delicious pastries and a good selection of beers and wines and you will never want to leave, or go on a diet.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Neuschwanstein Castle
This castle is the epitome of a fairy tale castle. It is incredible. It is a shame that I have to wait to post pictures of this place. That really is the only way that you will see what I am talking about. Or you could google the place. But if you are too lazy and not curious enough, I will have some pictures up when I finally get back to. Santander, which is fast approaching surprisingly. My tour of central Europe is coming to an end.
Anyways, Neuschwanstein. I really hope I am spelling this right. So yea, the castle is perfect. White stone. Blue capped turrets extending high into the sky. The Alps towering I the background. A gorge cutting around the grounds. Clear blue alpine lakes visible in the distance. Dense forest all around. If this doesn't sound good to you, I don't think anything else could impress you.
The castle is about a two hour train ride south west of Munich near Fussen, a small German town, then a short bus ride into Schwangau, or Swan Country, where King Ludwig built his castle New Swan Stone. If you can tell, Ludwig liked his swans. Apparently the castle is full of swans. I heard it wasn't worth the entrance fee, so my mom walked around the area. We went up to the castle that young Ludwig grew up in and walked around the lake. The day was beautiful after starting out with a bit of fog, rain and clouds. We were afforded some perfect picturesque views of the castles on their hills reflecting over the nearly still lake.
Back in Munich we bummed around until we could board our night train
Anyways, Neuschwanstein. I really hope I am spelling this right. So yea, the castle is perfect. White stone. Blue capped turrets extending high into the sky. The Alps towering I the background. A gorge cutting around the grounds. Clear blue alpine lakes visible in the distance. Dense forest all around. If this doesn't sound good to you, I don't think anything else could impress you.
The castle is about a two hour train ride south west of Munich near Fussen, a small German town, then a short bus ride into Schwangau, or Swan Country, where King Ludwig built his castle New Swan Stone. If you can tell, Ludwig liked his swans. Apparently the castle is full of swans. I heard it wasn't worth the entrance fee, so my mom walked around the area. We went up to the castle that young Ludwig grew up in and walked around the lake. The day was beautiful after starting out with a bit of fog, rain and clouds. We were afforded some perfect picturesque views of the castles on their hills reflecting over the nearly still lake.
Back in Munich we bummed around until we could board our night train
Munich
Successfully navigating the public transportation we make it to our place which is considerably outside of Munich. It's in this quaint little area that had a particularly good beer garden where we had some great traditional German food.
After lunch we make our way into the city. Up until now, I have been particularly impressed by the metro stop in Milan that exits right onto the plaza in front of the duomo. It is just such an incredible sight to welcome you into the city. I a, not sure Munich topped this, but the metro that exits onto Marienplatz is pretty outstanding. You have the new town hall and the old town hall welcoming you as you climb the stairs from the station. Yes. Two town halls. One old, one new. Actually, they are both pretty new. The new town hall being from 1903 or so and the old town hall being from... well, was built about sixty years later. What? Yeah, the second war was pretty hard on many German cities. Berlin was ninety percent destroyed or so. Munich was bombed pretty heavily too. A lot of it had to be rebuilt after the war. Which causes you to have the old town hall being rebuilt after the new one.
Either way, these buildings are nice. Especially the new town hall. It is this outstanding neogothic structure towering over the square. And one of the most important parts, again, probably Meghan's favorite, the Glockenspiel. If the astronomical clock sounded in incredible, you would probably also be let down by this clock. First, there is a jousting match. Except this jousting match is quite slow. Actually, exceptionally slow. Slower than walking pace. The Bavarian knight always wins. Figures. Following this thrilling bout, there is a nice little cooper dance. This comes from the time when the plague was over the coopers all went to the streets and danced to show that it was finally safe to go out again. Other than that we saw a few churches and checked out the steins and called it a day.
The next day we started off in Viktulien Markt, the main fresh produce market of Munich. Everything was so fresh. Oh, and there were a ton of meat stores. A ton. All selling weisswurst and bratwurst and pork knuckle (whatever that is). We grabbed some fresh pastries and headed for the free tour of Munich.
The tour took us to a few churches, some beer gardens and halls including the famous Hofbrauhaus, and some sites from the beginning and formation of the Nazi party. Apparently Munich was the city in which it all started. Hitler used to give speeches at beer halls around the town. I wondered if he ever spoke at Oktoberfest. Talk about a buzz kill.
After the tour we went for food. I tried leberkase (sp?) which supposedly means liver cheese. It is neither liver nor cheese. It is compressed pork or something along those lines. Yea. I don't know why any of this made it sound appealing. Anyways, it tasted like a hot dog in patty form. Yum. Really no. Save yourself the time and the money. And the space in your stomach for more German food. Also, skip the currywurst. It is essentially hotdog and curry powder with some ketchup. A huge let down. Well after the food we tried out a beer hall. Augustiner I think it was. After a half liter we went to the Deutsches Museum. Sadly we were just a few hours too late. We missed the opening times. Well, just another reason to return to Munich again (if you are keeping track, the first reason is to come to Oktoberfest. I hope this was implied.).
Disappointed and dejected, my dad and I decided the only thing to do in Munich to make things better was to drink heavily. Really, we just joined Hillary and her brother Steve on a beer challenge guided by the same tour group as the free tours and the castle tours and essentially anything else we have done while traveling. The challenge brought to a number of beer halls, beer gardens and bars where we drank our liters and learned German drinking songs... Ein prosit ein prosit...
Well, after a good amour of liters and just being extremely tired, my dad and I caught the U3 instead of the U2 metro. Mistake. We finally realized our mistake when we made it out to the BMW museum outside of the city. We waited for another metro in the other direction but nothing came. We the. Tried walking around. There is nothing even close to the museum, and so had no luck finding a cab. Back down to the metro. Back up to the street. Finally we catch a cab by some god given luck and make it back to the apartment.
Luckily tomorrow I get to wake up early to go on a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle. Europe is full of good choices.
After lunch we make our way into the city. Up until now, I have been particularly impressed by the metro stop in Milan that exits right onto the plaza in front of the duomo. It is just such an incredible sight to welcome you into the city. I a, not sure Munich topped this, but the metro that exits onto Marienplatz is pretty outstanding. You have the new town hall and the old town hall welcoming you as you climb the stairs from the station. Yes. Two town halls. One old, one new. Actually, they are both pretty new. The new town hall being from 1903 or so and the old town hall being from... well, was built about sixty years later. What? Yeah, the second war was pretty hard on many German cities. Berlin was ninety percent destroyed or so. Munich was bombed pretty heavily too. A lot of it had to be rebuilt after the war. Which causes you to have the old town hall being rebuilt after the new one.
Either way, these buildings are nice. Especially the new town hall. It is this outstanding neogothic structure towering over the square. And one of the most important parts, again, probably Meghan's favorite, the Glockenspiel. If the astronomical clock sounded in incredible, you would probably also be let down by this clock. First, there is a jousting match. Except this jousting match is quite slow. Actually, exceptionally slow. Slower than walking pace. The Bavarian knight always wins. Figures. Following this thrilling bout, there is a nice little cooper dance. This comes from the time when the plague was over the coopers all went to the streets and danced to show that it was finally safe to go out again. Other than that we saw a few churches and checked out the steins and called it a day.
The next day we started off in Viktulien Markt, the main fresh produce market of Munich. Everything was so fresh. Oh, and there were a ton of meat stores. A ton. All selling weisswurst and bratwurst and pork knuckle (whatever that is). We grabbed some fresh pastries and headed for the free tour of Munich.
The tour took us to a few churches, some beer gardens and halls including the famous Hofbrauhaus, and some sites from the beginning and formation of the Nazi party. Apparently Munich was the city in which it all started. Hitler used to give speeches at beer halls around the town. I wondered if he ever spoke at Oktoberfest. Talk about a buzz kill.
After the tour we went for food. I tried leberkase (sp?) which supposedly means liver cheese. It is neither liver nor cheese. It is compressed pork or something along those lines. Yea. I don't know why any of this made it sound appealing. Anyways, it tasted like a hot dog in patty form. Yum. Really no. Save yourself the time and the money. And the space in your stomach for more German food. Also, skip the currywurst. It is essentially hotdog and curry powder with some ketchup. A huge let down. Well after the food we tried out a beer hall. Augustiner I think it was. After a half liter we went to the Deutsches Museum. Sadly we were just a few hours too late. We missed the opening times. Well, just another reason to return to Munich again (if you are keeping track, the first reason is to come to Oktoberfest. I hope this was implied.).
Disappointed and dejected, my dad and I decided the only thing to do in Munich to make things better was to drink heavily. Really, we just joined Hillary and her brother Steve on a beer challenge guided by the same tour group as the free tours and the castle tours and essentially anything else we have done while traveling. The challenge brought to a number of beer halls, beer gardens and bars where we drank our liters and learned German drinking songs... Ein prosit ein prosit...
Well, after a good amour of liters and just being extremely tired, my dad and I caught the U3 instead of the U2 metro. Mistake. We finally realized our mistake when we made it out to the BMW museum outside of the city. We waited for another metro in the other direction but nothing came. We the. Tried walking around. There is nothing even close to the museum, and so had no luck finding a cab. Back down to the metro. Back up to the street. Finally we catch a cab by some god given luck and make it back to the apartment.
Luckily tomorrow I get to wake up early to go on a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle. Europe is full of good choices.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Prague, Czech it out
So I have to stuff the last two or three days or so into one post. Whattt??! Yeah, it turns out that I haven't had as much time to update since arriving in Prague.
So once off the train from Berlin we have a driver waiting for us. Talk about a huge change. I go from waking miles to avoid a metro fare to having a driver pick us up directly from the station. Nice.
Before I forget, I should make a list of things you should bring to Prague to ensure an industrious and efficient visit. I will touch upon this list as I go along describing the trip.
1. Sharpie or spray paint
2. A lock
3. Paper and pencil for the Jewish cemetery
Okay, so that isn't too long of a list, but it is important. Like in Paris, there is a bridge (this one is a lot smaller) full of locks symbolizing love and throwing away the key. Right next to this bridge is the John Lennon wall, a wall that is covered in graffiti calling for love and peace and living in a yellow submarine.
Okay, so our driver takes us to the apartment. This place is nice. A large flat screen. A iMac on the desk. Nice hardwood floors. Really comfortable mattresses. Ikea everything. Way nicer than a hostel. How am I supposed to go back?
After walking around a bit we stumble upon the old town square. It is probably one of the nicest squares I have seen. Really, Prague is one of the nicest cities I have been to. All the architecture is so old and really is something. The city is beautiful. Gothic and renaissance and neogothic and neoclassical and modern all coming together for a distinctly different city. I finally sense that I am no longer in western Europe. Anyways, the square has this really nice astronomical clock on a large tower, some nice buildings, and most importantly, a very prominent gothic church that towers over the square. It really is impressive. And since it is Easter, there was also an Easter market on this square among others. The market consisted of small stands selling easter eggs and twig whips, random knickknacks and food like sausage, pastries, potato pancakes and grilled smoked cheese.
Our free tour left from here. Filip, this young Czech guy brought us around the city. Apparently here they love King Charles IV. He's the guy that built the famous bridge, the cathedral inside the castle, the first university, probably one of the theaters or opera houses, and a lot more. Basically he made everything that draws people to Prague... except maybe the beer.
It's hard exactly to say everything that I saw. There is just too much. We saw the Jewish Quarter and its synagogues including the cemetery that is about 12 meters high and holds between 12000 and 100000 bodies. The plot of land is no bigger than a standard size class room. It is apparently the inspiration for the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. We spent the rest of the day eating from stands at the market and walking along the river and up to the castle.
The next day we slept in a bit and headed to the old square to watch the astronomical clock. Let me tell you, it is impressive... or at least Meghan thinks so. First a skeleton rings a bell. Then some sinners shake their heads. Then a rooster crows. Then a trumpeter trumpets. This happens every hour on the hour between 9 and 5 or so. Pretty high tech stuff eh? Well in the 15th or 16th or whatever century it first was made this was a pretty big deal. Apparently this was voted one of the most disappointing attractions in Europe. This was Meghan's favorite thing in Prague. Right.
We spent a little more time at the market and then it was time for the castle tour. Fun fact: the Prague castle complex is the biggest in the world. In Potsdam each emperor would just his own palace. In Prague they just added on to the existing one. Now the president lives and works there, but let me tell you, this place is huge. It has a gigantic cathedral on the inside. I will post pictures when I am back in Santander, but there is something a little off about this cathedral. You don't really notice it when you are far away or just not looking for it, but the top of the tower on the cathedral just looks plain dumb. The tower is all gothic except the last part at the top which is renaissance. Once you know this you just notice it all the time.
The rest of the castle was nice and pretty extensive, but the best was saved for last. We stopped at this great monastery, the Strahov Monastery, where they brew their own beer. The Richards and the Wachtls sat down to enjoy a well deserved beer after wandering the grounds of the castle complex.
After a small snafu of taking the tram the wrong way to the outskirts of town and struggling to have enough money for the trip back, my family went to a restaurant for great Czech food.
Easter Sunday was very leisurely. My dad and I took a morning walk to see the Dancing Houses, this really modern structure partially designed by Frank Gehry, and walk along the river. We then reunited with the rest of the family and walked across the Charles Bridge. There are certain things you are supposed to rub while walking across the bridge, and we rubbed them all. We rubbed one statue to ensure our return to Prague. We rubbed another plaque for good luck. Finally we rubbed one statue for seemingly no reason at all but to ensure ourselves something extra from Prague.
Once across the bridge we walked to the John Lennon wall and by the padlock bridge that I mentioned earlier. Yeah so I did that. Then we went to the Jewish Quarter where number 3 comes in. The myth is that if you write a wish and place it in a specific gravestone the wish will come true. Well the line was king and it was a little pricey so we didn't end up going in. Instead we hiked up a hill to see the metronome that replaced the large Lenin statue that used to watch over all of Prague. After a while we just hopped from pub to pub to play cards, drink beer and eat dinner. A perfect end to our stint in Prague.
I want to mention, I know I switch tenses all the time. I even do it within the same paragraph. I hope none of you care too much. I also hope I don't change tenses in the same sentence, but wouldn't be surprised if I did. Also, I blame any misspellings I have had lately on the iPad. It is hard to type on an iPad, but luckily convenient enough to allow me to update my blog almost daily.
So once off the train from Berlin we have a driver waiting for us. Talk about a huge change. I go from waking miles to avoid a metro fare to having a driver pick us up directly from the station. Nice.
Before I forget, I should make a list of things you should bring to Prague to ensure an industrious and efficient visit. I will touch upon this list as I go along describing the trip.
1. Sharpie or spray paint
2. A lock
3. Paper and pencil for the Jewish cemetery
Okay, so that isn't too long of a list, but it is important. Like in Paris, there is a bridge (this one is a lot smaller) full of locks symbolizing love and throwing away the key. Right next to this bridge is the John Lennon wall, a wall that is covered in graffiti calling for love and peace and living in a yellow submarine.
Okay, so our driver takes us to the apartment. This place is nice. A large flat screen. A iMac on the desk. Nice hardwood floors. Really comfortable mattresses. Ikea everything. Way nicer than a hostel. How am I supposed to go back?
After walking around a bit we stumble upon the old town square. It is probably one of the nicest squares I have seen. Really, Prague is one of the nicest cities I have been to. All the architecture is so old and really is something. The city is beautiful. Gothic and renaissance and neogothic and neoclassical and modern all coming together for a distinctly different city. I finally sense that I am no longer in western Europe. Anyways, the square has this really nice astronomical clock on a large tower, some nice buildings, and most importantly, a very prominent gothic church that towers over the square. It really is impressive. And since it is Easter, there was also an Easter market on this square among others. The market consisted of small stands selling easter eggs and twig whips, random knickknacks and food like sausage, pastries, potato pancakes and grilled smoked cheese.
Our free tour left from here. Filip, this young Czech guy brought us around the city. Apparently here they love King Charles IV. He's the guy that built the famous bridge, the cathedral inside the castle, the first university, probably one of the theaters or opera houses, and a lot more. Basically he made everything that draws people to Prague... except maybe the beer.
It's hard exactly to say everything that I saw. There is just too much. We saw the Jewish Quarter and its synagogues including the cemetery that is about 12 meters high and holds between 12000 and 100000 bodies. The plot of land is no bigger than a standard size class room. It is apparently the inspiration for the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. We spent the rest of the day eating from stands at the market and walking along the river and up to the castle.
The next day we slept in a bit and headed to the old square to watch the astronomical clock. Let me tell you, it is impressive... or at least Meghan thinks so. First a skeleton rings a bell. Then some sinners shake their heads. Then a rooster crows. Then a trumpeter trumpets. This happens every hour on the hour between 9 and 5 or so. Pretty high tech stuff eh? Well in the 15th or 16th or whatever century it first was made this was a pretty big deal. Apparently this was voted one of the most disappointing attractions in Europe. This was Meghan's favorite thing in Prague. Right.
We spent a little more time at the market and then it was time for the castle tour. Fun fact: the Prague castle complex is the biggest in the world. In Potsdam each emperor would just his own palace. In Prague they just added on to the existing one. Now the president lives and works there, but let me tell you, this place is huge. It has a gigantic cathedral on the inside. I will post pictures when I am back in Santander, but there is something a little off about this cathedral. You don't really notice it when you are far away or just not looking for it, but the top of the tower on the cathedral just looks plain dumb. The tower is all gothic except the last part at the top which is renaissance. Once you know this you just notice it all the time.
The rest of the castle was nice and pretty extensive, but the best was saved for last. We stopped at this great monastery, the Strahov Monastery, where they brew their own beer. The Richards and the Wachtls sat down to enjoy a well deserved beer after wandering the grounds of the castle complex.
After a small snafu of taking the tram the wrong way to the outskirts of town and struggling to have enough money for the trip back, my family went to a restaurant for great Czech food.
Easter Sunday was very leisurely. My dad and I took a morning walk to see the Dancing Houses, this really modern structure partially designed by Frank Gehry, and walk along the river. We then reunited with the rest of the family and walked across the Charles Bridge. There are certain things you are supposed to rub while walking across the bridge, and we rubbed them all. We rubbed one statue to ensure our return to Prague. We rubbed another plaque for good luck. Finally we rubbed one statue for seemingly no reason at all but to ensure ourselves something extra from Prague.
Once across the bridge we walked to the John Lennon wall and by the padlock bridge that I mentioned earlier. Yeah so I did that. Then we went to the Jewish Quarter where number 3 comes in. The myth is that if you write a wish and place it in a specific gravestone the wish will come true. Well the line was king and it was a little pricey so we didn't end up going in. Instead we hiked up a hill to see the metronome that replaced the large Lenin statue that used to watch over all of Prague. After a while we just hopped from pub to pub to play cards, drink beer and eat dinner. A perfect end to our stint in Prague.
I want to mention, I know I switch tenses all the time. I even do it within the same paragraph. I hope none of you care too much. I also hope I don't change tenses in the same sentence, but wouldn't be surprised if I did. Also, I blame any misspellings I have had lately on the iPad. It is hard to type on an iPad, but luckily convenient enough to allow me to update my blog almost daily.
Odds and Ends of Berlin
And now that I am looking back on my first experience in Germany, trying to recount anything odd or peculiar or interesting or anything of that sort, one thing immediately strikes me. The Germans drink beer everywhere. I don't mean everywhere as in just odd restaurants like McDonalds or Burger King, but really just everywhere. You can see people drinking on the metro or on the bench in the park. And I am not saying this is a once in a while type of thing. It Is very common. Every time I was on the metro after noon I saw groups of twenty or thirty somethings with Becks in hand, casually drinking a bottle of beer like an American would down a bottle of soda in public. They were not being obnoxious and were not drunk in public. They were just enjoying their beer while going about their day.
Also, everything in Germany has been on time. Typical.
Oh, and everything in Berlin is a replica. I forget if I mentioned this, bit after the war everything had to be rebuilt. Communist Russia wanted to show that their way worked better, capitalist Britain, USA and France wanted to do the same. So buildings went up. Fast. They were all restored in their former style and made to look old, like they had been there all along. Well, I can't complain.
Also, the Berlin wall is small. Well, smaller than I thought. The part that was remaining was pretty short, thing and raggedy, and not very imposing. Apparently the barbed wire was removed because it only made it easier to get over. It was something to grab onto. Can you imagine? When the wall was still standing, there were apparently actually two. The space in the middle was the difficult part. It was heavily guarded, there were a lot of watch towers, and there were obstacles. All just to keep people in East Berlin. Oh, and I know I said it was small, but that really was just in regards to the height, because it was long. Remember how I went to Potsdam? Well that is about 25 km outside of Berlin. The wall went around that. It measured 155 km or so. That is almost 100 miles long. Wow.
Also, everything in Germany has been on time. Typical.
Oh, and everything in Berlin is a replica. I forget if I mentioned this, bit after the war everything had to be rebuilt. Communist Russia wanted to show that their way worked better, capitalist Britain, USA and France wanted to do the same. So buildings went up. Fast. They were all restored in their former style and made to look old, like they had been there all along. Well, I can't complain.
Also, the Berlin wall is small. Well, smaller than I thought. The part that was remaining was pretty short, thing and raggedy, and not very imposing. Apparently the barbed wire was removed because it only made it easier to get over. It was something to grab onto. Can you imagine? When the wall was still standing, there were apparently actually two. The space in the middle was the difficult part. It was heavily guarded, there were a lot of watch towers, and there were obstacles. All just to keep people in East Berlin. Oh, and I know I said it was small, but that really was just in regards to the height, because it was long. Remember how I went to Potsdam? Well that is about 25 km outside of Berlin. The wall went around that. It measured 155 km or so. That is almost 100 miles long. Wow.
Berlin to prague train
That was mostly a lie. I am bored and have another hour on this train until we get to Prague. There is only so much Angry Birds I can play and I feel like I should write about what I am seeing.
Really I am torn between staring out the window to enjoy the view and writing about it, trying to capture what I am seeing in words since I can't through pictures. I guess I could get out of the train cabin and take pictures, but photos through glass just won't do it justice. Besides, I can't get any good angles from a train. When I ride on trains and busses I always wish I could ask the driver to stop so I can get out and snap a few of the countryside. I couldn't tel l you how many times in southern Spain and northern Italy I desperately wanted to document the scenery I was seeing, and until I can road trip through Europe with my own car, it will continue to happen.
Anyways, like I mentioned before, what's on the other side of the window has been very distracting. The rolling tree covered hills and the river twisting in and out of them is almost perfect. Add medieval cathedrals, castles or random residences crowning these hills every so often and you may think you could be on the verge of a fairytale, minus the damsel in distress (or charming prince in tights for you lady readers). This just gets me more excited for Munich and Neuschwanstein castle in the Bavarian Alps especially.
Really I am torn between staring out the window to enjoy the view and writing about it, trying to capture what I am seeing in words since I can't through pictures. I guess I could get out of the train cabin and take pictures, but photos through glass just won't do it justice. Besides, I can't get any good angles from a train. When I ride on trains and busses I always wish I could ask the driver to stop so I can get out and snap a few of the countryside. I couldn't tel l you how many times in southern Spain and northern Italy I desperately wanted to document the scenery I was seeing, and until I can road trip through Europe with my own car, it will continue to happen.
Anyways, like I mentioned before, what's on the other side of the window has been very distracting. The rolling tree covered hills and the river twisting in and out of them is almost perfect. Add medieval cathedrals, castles or random residences crowning these hills every so often and you may think you could be on the verge of a fairytale, minus the damsel in distress (or charming prince in tights for you lady readers). This just gets me more excited for Munich and Neuschwanstein castle in the Bavarian Alps especially.
More berlin
DAY 3
Our third day in Berlin pretty much started just like the second. More waiting for the family to get ready. More strudel from another German pastry shop. More metro rides. But this time the metro ride took us all the way to Potsdam (when I. Say metro in this case, I really mean the all encompassing light rail above and below ground that makes up the Berlin system).
Well, Potsdam, besides being the upstate town in the middle of nowhere New York that my friend Maggie hails from, is also the home to all the Prussian kings' summer homes (read: palaces).
Now, these palaces are pretty much situated in various parks and gardens and are very spread out. We started out in Sansouci Park and strolled around the royal grounds, passing gigantic Prussian buildings along the way, including Frederick the Great's enormous and grand looking palace, the Orangerie, and arguably the most famous schloss in Potsdam (and most photogenic) this large, yellow palace with sprawling tiered gardens opening up below.
Hungry and exhausted from our many kilometer
Sorry, as I type this I am on a train ride from Berlin to Prague and we are passing through this are with beautiful bluffs along a river dotted with what I think of as traditional German houses. The scene is too picturesque. It really is making writing this blog entry much more difficult.
... So yeah. Many kilometers. Well, let's see, where was I? Hungry and exhausted we went into town which I am tempted to describe as quaint, but should really say it was touristy made to feel quaint. Either way, we went to eat. My mom luckily picked one of the only places that didn't have an English menu and the waiter only spoke German. How neat! Some of you may be thinking. No. Wrong. This was not neat. Let me put it this way. I don't think an egg sandwich is exclusively German and I don't like egg. Nor do I like bitter lemon drinks.
Disappointed with my lunch, my mom thought it was necessary to fix the situation with ice-cream. It worked.
Satisfied, we went to Babelsberg, a town just to the east of Potsdam and walked in another park. Meghan really wants to see castles while in Europe, and saw a castle like tower in the distance. We walked toward it through fields and along the river up a hill to the tower, which was attached to this magnificent... it wasn't attached to anything actually. In Meghan's opinion it was a "castle tease" but I can't imagine what she was expecting. Not all castles are the fairy tale type with whole towns inside. Yes, some are, but we probably aren't just goin to happen upon something like that.
Back in Berlin I bought my Interrail pass and we confirmed our reservations when something really awesome happened. To skip some personal medical details, I ended up spending my last few waking hours in Berlin on a hospital getting treated for a really fun skin itch that I thought I handled in Spain a few weeks ago. Luckily signs of my traveling are staring to show. Sadly it's not in the form of being more cultured and worldly, but rather in the form of a very itchy rash.
On that note, I'm off to Prague for Easter weekend, hopefully without any more health problems.
One last thing. I didn't get a currywurst in Berlin. How upsetting. Hopefully in Munich I can get one.
Last thing I swear. I am getting really good at keeping up with my daily activities on this trip. Yea for blogging the day of (or at least right away the following day)!
Our third day in Berlin pretty much started just like the second. More waiting for the family to get ready. More strudel from another German pastry shop. More metro rides. But this time the metro ride took us all the way to Potsdam (when I. Say metro in this case, I really mean the all encompassing light rail above and below ground that makes up the Berlin system).
Well, Potsdam, besides being the upstate town in the middle of nowhere New York that my friend Maggie hails from, is also the home to all the Prussian kings' summer homes (read: palaces).
Now, these palaces are pretty much situated in various parks and gardens and are very spread out. We started out in Sansouci Park and strolled around the royal grounds, passing gigantic Prussian buildings along the way, including Frederick the Great's enormous and grand looking palace, the Orangerie, and arguably the most famous schloss in Potsdam (and most photogenic) this large, yellow palace with sprawling tiered gardens opening up below.
Hungry and exhausted from our many kilometer
Sorry, as I type this I am on a train ride from Berlin to Prague and we are passing through this are with beautiful bluffs along a river dotted with what I think of as traditional German houses. The scene is too picturesque. It really is making writing this blog entry much more difficult.
... So yeah. Many kilometers. Well, let's see, where was I? Hungry and exhausted we went into town which I am tempted to describe as quaint, but should really say it was touristy made to feel quaint. Either way, we went to eat. My mom luckily picked one of the only places that didn't have an English menu and the waiter only spoke German. How neat! Some of you may be thinking. No. Wrong. This was not neat. Let me put it this way. I don't think an egg sandwich is exclusively German and I don't like egg. Nor do I like bitter lemon drinks.
Disappointed with my lunch, my mom thought it was necessary to fix the situation with ice-cream. It worked.
Satisfied, we went to Babelsberg, a town just to the east of Potsdam and walked in another park. Meghan really wants to see castles while in Europe, and saw a castle like tower in the distance. We walked toward it through fields and along the river up a hill to the tower, which was attached to this magnificent... it wasn't attached to anything actually. In Meghan's opinion it was a "castle tease" but I can't imagine what she was expecting. Not all castles are the fairy tale type with whole towns inside. Yes, some are, but we probably aren't just goin to happen upon something like that.
Back in Berlin I bought my Interrail pass and we confirmed our reservations when something really awesome happened. To skip some personal medical details, I ended up spending my last few waking hours in Berlin on a hospital getting treated for a really fun skin itch that I thought I handled in Spain a few weeks ago. Luckily signs of my traveling are staring to show. Sadly it's not in the form of being more cultured and worldly, but rather in the form of a very itchy rash.
On that note, I'm off to Prague for Easter weekend, hopefully without any more health problems.
One last thing. I didn't get a currywurst in Berlin. How upsetting. Hopefully in Munich I can get one.
Last thing I swear. I am getting really good at keeping up with my daily activities on this trip. Yea for blogging the day of (or at least right away the following day)!
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