Berlin, has to be one of the coolest cities in Europe (in my vast knowledge and all). It is a cheap city, the cheapest in Germany we've been told. Not to mention it is a blast. We went to musuems, saw a football match (European, not american), went to flea markets, saw naked sun bathers, saw the Riechstag, the Berlin wall, ate CurryWurst and Fallafel, saw fire dancers, slept on the hardest mattress ever, mastered public transportation, tried to rent a bike only to find out all of them (in Berlin it seemed) were rented, slack lined, bargain shopped, and many, many other things.
The football match was a highlight for me, as it came with all the cheering and crazy fans. The home team won and we were given free ticktes to sit in the family section of stadium. The section was sponsered by a Duetsche bank and this man picked us out of the crowd and gave us two seats next to him cause he was not suppose to sell them. They were 11 rows up from the field. The game was at the olympic stadium. The same one where Hitler attended the Olympics, pretty cool place. The fans were the best part. I got some great video of it and will post it later.
Oh, and to get to Berlin we took a 10 hour night train. The train ride is only about 5 hours to get from Munich to Berlin, but this one traverses all over Germany to make it last the full 10 hours. We were in a room with 6 Couchettes, or mini beds, three on one side, and three on the other in a space approx 8x8. I thought there would be a dinning car or bar car we could hang out in, but no, there was just the one room for us. Turns out the middle to beds fold down to make seats, but we didn't figure that out until the next morning, and we had some randoms in the room that didn't speak english. Crazy night sleep bumping around and shaking with the train. Eliz and I had the top bunk. Fun, but not the most comfortable way to travel.
Right now we are on the train, 1st class. When we first traveled from Prague to Munich, we sat in 2nd class and didn't know any better. But let me tell you 1st calls is better than all the connotations it alludes to. We are lucky enough to have our own room with a table and seats that fold down a just a few steps from the dinning car. This will make the 6 hour ride more bearable. Pictures from out time will follow.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Munich-Night
Munich, Hmmm, can't say it was our favorite place, but it was very intesting and fun. We stayed in a hostel, that was about 300 meters from the train station. Two important lessons where learned there. 1) We are WAY too old for a Hostel and 2) areas around central train stations are seedy.
We were fortunate to have a four bedroom room with two Canadians that had the same sleeping habits as us, being going to bed by 10pm and getting up after 8, but before 9. There were real nice and we shared some interesting stories. Another thing about European Hostels is they have awesome bars. Which leads to awesome all night parties, that Eliz and I just weren't in to. And with no a/c, having to leave the window open to the main street made sleeping a little difficult, and also reference #2 from above. It was such an experience that the night before we left, we canceled our hostel reservation for Berlin and changed it to a hotel. Well worth the extra expense!
Now the good about Munich. They have some great beer. We spent time in the Botanical Garten's biergarten, the English Garten's biergarten, the Haufbrau Haus' biergarten, and the Hostel Bar, where we enjoyed the Pope's favorite brand of beer Augustina. They had the 0,5l (half liters) and 1,0l (whole liters). The big ones where difficult to drink, but worth the challange. Sweet Eliz stuck with the 0,5ls.
We took a six hour tour of Dachau, the first concentration/work camp of the WWII. This camp was what all the others where modeled after. Our guide was extremely good, and we both learned a lot and experienced a lot. Definetly and amazing tour. Pretty depressing, we had to hit the bier garten afterwards.
All said and done, Munich is a place I would go back to, for sure. I would do things a little differently, like rent a bike to go through the Enghischer Garten (Europe's largest Park). I also would spend less time in the shopping area, and not stay at a hostel.
Now for Pictures:
(ok, so we are currently in route from Berlin to Amsterdam, and the internet is being routed through my phone. Which means I only have internet if I have phone service, which is spotty, and not enough to let me load pics. So, I will have to wait until a time when I have good internet and load a bunch. But, I will update about things until then.)
We were fortunate to have a four bedroom room with two Canadians that had the same sleeping habits as us, being going to bed by 10pm and getting up after 8, but before 9. There were real nice and we shared some interesting stories. Another thing about European Hostels is they have awesome bars. Which leads to awesome all night parties, that Eliz and I just weren't in to. And with no a/c, having to leave the window open to the main street made sleeping a little difficult, and also reference #2 from above. It was such an experience that the night before we left, we canceled our hostel reservation for Berlin and changed it to a hotel. Well worth the extra expense!
Now the good about Munich. They have some great beer. We spent time in the Botanical Garten's biergarten, the English Garten's biergarten, the Haufbrau Haus' biergarten, and the Hostel Bar, where we enjoyed the Pope's favorite brand of beer Augustina. They had the 0,5l (half liters) and 1,0l (whole liters). The big ones where difficult to drink, but worth the challange. Sweet Eliz stuck with the 0,5ls.
We took a six hour tour of Dachau, the first concentration/work camp of the WWII. This camp was what all the others where modeled after. Our guide was extremely good, and we both learned a lot and experienced a lot. Definetly and amazing tour. Pretty depressing, we had to hit the bier garten afterwards.
All said and done, Munich is a place I would go back to, for sure. I would do things a little differently, like rent a bike to go through the Enghischer Garten (Europe's largest Park). I also would spend less time in the shopping area, and not stay at a hostel.
Now for Pictures:
(ok, so we are currently in route from Berlin to Amsterdam, and the internet is being routed through my phone. Which means I only have internet if I have phone service, which is spotty, and not enough to let me load pics. So, I will have to wait until a time when I have good internet and load a bunch. But, I will update about things until then.)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunset on Prague
No, I don't have an actual picture of a Prague sunset, but the sun is setting on our last night here. Unfortunately, we are so exhausted from traipsing the city for the past three days, I think it may be an early night for us. Yesterday we took a "night time tour of Prague." It ended up just being the two of us, so we pretty much had a private tour of the Prague and the Prague Palace. We were completely alone in some spots walking the streets of Prague, the Courtyards of the Palace. It was pretty amazing! I actually couldn't believe a place so busy in the day time was so ultimately vacant at night. I think the brief down pour helped with our seclusion. But, it was merely and excuse for us to duck into a little cafe for beer, Horka Cocoate and Honey Cake. It's good that we are walking everywhere cause we need to burn the calories.
Today we took another tour, and underground tour of Prague. We say homes from the 1100s and wells and learned some pretty neat history of the place. We also went to the Cathedral Our Lady of Snow. This was one of the most detailed cathedrals I have ever seen. It helps me to appreciate Pillars of the Earth more, and that book helps me appreciate cathedrals more. Tonight we ate at a themed restaurant. Everyone speak very good English here, which is awesome cause Czech is a hard language to learn. but enough talk, how bout some pictures:
Today we took another tour, and underground tour of Prague. We say homes from the 1100s and wells and learned some pretty neat history of the place. We also went to the Cathedral Our Lady of Snow. This was one of the most detailed cathedrals I have ever seen. It helps me to appreciate Pillars of the Earth more, and that book helps me appreciate cathedrals more. Tonight we ate at a themed restaurant. Everyone speak very good English here, which is awesome cause Czech is a hard language to learn. but enough talk, how bout some pictures:
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| Eliz at St. Vitus Cathedral |
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| Prague Palace, at night |
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| St Vitus Cathedral at Night |
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Prague
This place is awesome. We arrived here yesterday around12pm Prague time, which would make it approimately a 5am Louisiana Time. The Jet Lag almost sidelined us a couple of times, but we pushed through. We visited the Market Square, Astronmical Tower, a bridge we thought was Charles Bridge, until we realized Charles Bridge wouldn't be made of iron and fastened with rivets. We walked across the river and hung out a Letna Park for a bit and watched the City and the Skate boarders. As we were trying to get back to the other side, closer to our hotel, we "got lost" strolling through the one time gardens and now parks of Prague Castle.
Today we are going to explore Prague Castle in More detail. Some of it dates back to the 9th Century. It was kinda crazy last night as we were walking back to our hotel after dinner. Dinner, which was down a schetchy alley right off a main road where this old Czech lady lead us saying in very broken English how good it was...it was ok. But, walking back thinking "Man, I am strolling the streets of Prague at night." Pretty amazing. We found this neat basment bar a block from our hotel. and I was able to use all of my Czech, "Beer Please, Thank you."
Here are some pics from yesterday:
Today we are going to explore Prague Castle in More detail. Some of it dates back to the 9th Century. It was kinda crazy last night as we were walking back to our hotel after dinner. Dinner, which was down a schetchy alley right off a main road where this old Czech lady lead us saying in very broken English how good it was...it was ok. But, walking back thinking "Man, I am strolling the streets of Prague at night." Pretty amazing. We found this neat basment bar a block from our hotel. and I was able to use all of my Czech, "Beer Please, Thank you."
Here are some pics from yesterday:
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| Us at the Square with the 17th Century Church |
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| Lunch Refreshments! |
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| Taking a break at Letna Park, looking into Old Town |
Friday, August 13, 2010
It's Terminal
I love sitting in the international terminal. Hands down one of the best people watching places EVER! We staked out a cozy, corner table, by an electrical outlet for the computer, and opened our eyes to the sights. "The Bar" as the restaurant is called, is the perfect place to wait out our 3 hours lay over. They even have one of those cheese self playing pianos competing with overhead PA. The PA that advertises wonder location that taunt me with future Trips. No walls, no barrier, just us and the throngs of people bustling to their next location in awkward stripped pants, mismatched clothes, weird shoes, and just general foreign fashion.
The Languages are amazing too. From the little oriental girl running around playing with her stuffed panda to the obvious 7 foot Nordic woman hacking into the phone. The faces, languages, and culture mash is so exciting. I can't wait till I am the minority and we have to figure our way through the unknown streets and rely on the "kindness of strangers." Oop, gotta run, there's a cute little Indian couple that I need to focus my people watching skills. Quanta La Gusta!
The Languages are amazing too. From the little oriental girl running around playing with her stuffed panda to the obvious 7 foot Nordic woman hacking into the phone. The faces, languages, and culture mash is so exciting. I can't wait till I am the minority and we have to figure our way through the unknown streets and rely on the "kindness of strangers." Oop, gotta run, there's a cute little Indian couple that I need to focus my people watching skills. Quanta La Gusta!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Blue Dye and Stupidity
Have you ever been greeted by a nice firm handshake? Would you be as receptive if the hand was blue? Would you tilt your head slightly to the left, squint you eyes, and judge the person as a bit off kilter? I hope not, because they could just be a little bored or a touch crazy.
So, it goes like this. Eliz was dying a white shirt blue, but only on the bottom with a gentle fade as it rose up. This is my creative baby's way of doing designer on her own. Why pay high dollar when it's so easy to DIY. She was doing this in the house, no problem, excpet our now blue counter...splotchy blue. As she was rinsing and drying the shirt I noticed a pot full of blue dye.
I thought to myself, I have never seen anyone with one blue hand before...wouldn't that be a sight to see. I geuss I could have let my imagination run with that thought and kept on with my night, but really, what kind of fun is that. What's the only this to do, but plunge your hand down into the pot and gingerly sip a beer for approximately 5 minutes. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, huh?
Looks like tomorrow I will be greeting clients with sturdy, hard, BLUE, handshake. And probably a sheepish grin too. I gotta start working on my story of how this happened. Right now I am think saving a baby from a fire in a Dye Factory. I think I can pull that off.
So, it goes like this. Eliz was dying a white shirt blue, but only on the bottom with a gentle fade as it rose up. This is my creative baby's way of doing designer on her own. Why pay high dollar when it's so easy to DIY. She was doing this in the house, no problem, excpet our now blue counter...splotchy blue. As she was rinsing and drying the shirt I noticed a pot full of blue dye.
I thought to myself, I have never seen anyone with one blue hand before...wouldn't that be a sight to see. I geuss I could have let my imagination run with that thought and kept on with my night, but really, what kind of fun is that. What's the only this to do, but plunge your hand down into the pot and gingerly sip a beer for approximately 5 minutes. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, huh?
Looks like tomorrow I will be greeting clients with sturdy, hard, BLUE, handshake. And probably a sheepish grin too. I gotta start working on my story of how this happened. Right now I am think saving a baby from a fire in a Dye Factory. I think I can pull that off.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Fromers, Steves, and Lonely Planet
My eyes hurt. I have been spending most of my days with my nose in travel books. Staring at three color maps while simultaneously cross checking places and translating local place names makes my head hurt. On the upside, I now think I am pretty darn knowledgeable about Amsterdam. Only Munich, Berlin, Prague, Paris, Lyon, and Taize to go, right. I can do all that in a little over a week. Ha!
It doesn't matter. We are not going to fill our days with museums and dance clubs. No for us we are looking forward to laying in the parks, picnicking in the beer gardens, and sunbathing on the banks of the Seine River, since August is the time the French truck in Sand to make beaches for those who can't afford to travel out of Paris.
I have books from the Library, from my mother, from Eliz's sister, books we bought. I am about to go on a book revolt. I say this as my eyes causally glance upon a magazine that is suppose to be in my pile of "Must Reads before I Go."
I will take opinions though. Fill up the comment section on things we should do while we are in Europe. Anything in particular that exemplifies local life or is instrumental in making connections with local people? Those are the real things I am interested in.
It doesn't matter. We are not going to fill our days with museums and dance clubs. No for us we are looking forward to laying in the parks, picnicking in the beer gardens, and sunbathing on the banks of the Seine River, since August is the time the French truck in Sand to make beaches for those who can't afford to travel out of Paris.
I have books from the Library, from my mother, from Eliz's sister, books we bought. I am about to go on a book revolt. I say this as my eyes causally glance upon a magazine that is suppose to be in my pile of "Must Reads before I Go."
I will take opinions though. Fill up the comment section on things we should do while we are in Europe. Anything in particular that exemplifies local life or is instrumental in making connections with local people? Those are the real things I am interested in.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
New Hobby
Yesterday, I took a little trip to Monroe (a.k.a. Funroe) Louisiana for some family time. Got to visit with my grandmother and aunt and uncle for the afternoon. It was, as usual, a very enjoyable day. However, the highlight was the time spent in my Uncle Mike's shop learning to weld.
Welding is something I have been interested in for a few months now, but I have never had the opportunity to actually weld anything. I had a few hours, uncle mike had a few hours, so I had a chance to try my hand at welding. It was pretty darn entertaining. I managed to weld two pieces of metal together...twice. There was a lot more to it and I learned a great deal. I actually learned enough to know this is something I would like to pursue. So watch out Mike, cause I am making a list of projects and blocking of weekends. But, I will wait to the temperature drops considerable.
This is the first thing I have ever welded (pause for affect and virtual "awes," and now we are back at it). Actually it is half of the first thing I have every welded. We cut the previous two, no one piece of metal in half to determine the amount of penetration of the weld. This is the piece I kept as my souvenir. Cause I am nostalgic like that.
This is the same piece, only the end that we cut to see how well I did. Not bad, but always room for improvement. You can see I welded on both sides and the top section you are looking at is a pull technique...the first one. The bottom bead is a push technique, which I believe I handled a little better.
We did some T welds ( I may be making up this termonolgy but who cares) too. But they were very indicative of a first time welder so there are no pictures of that to post.
It was a blast and I am looking forward to doing it again. There is just something extremely manly about connecting two piece of metal with molten metal...I liken it to Tom Hanks in Castaway when he builds the fire. "I, WELD METAL!" There may have even been a grunt or two, but I will never admit it.
Lastly, here is a pic of Uncle Mike and me in the process...and don't worry, the first, the very first thing I am going to do before I try this again, is get a set of those bitchin, awesome overalls!
Welding is something I have been interested in for a few months now, but I have never had the opportunity to actually weld anything. I had a few hours, uncle mike had a few hours, so I had a chance to try my hand at welding. It was pretty darn entertaining. I managed to weld two pieces of metal together...twice. There was a lot more to it and I learned a great deal. I actually learned enough to know this is something I would like to pursue. So watch out Mike, cause I am making a list of projects and blocking of weekends. But, I will wait to the temperature drops considerable.
This is the first thing I have ever welded (pause for affect and virtual "awes," and now we are back at it). Actually it is half of the first thing I have every welded. We cut the previous two, no one piece of metal in half to determine the amount of penetration of the weld. This is the piece I kept as my souvenir. Cause I am nostalgic like that.
We did some T welds ( I may be making up this termonolgy but who cares) too. But they were very indicative of a first time welder so there are no pictures of that to post.
It was a blast and I am looking forward to doing it again. There is just something extremely manly about connecting two piece of metal with molten metal...I liken it to Tom Hanks in Castaway when he builds the fire. "I, WELD METAL!" There may have even been a grunt or two, but I will never admit it.
Lastly, here is a pic of Uncle Mike and me in the process...and don't worry, the first, the very first thing I am going to do before I try this again, is get a set of those bitchin, awesome overalls!
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