Instead of posting pictures individually with each blog update, I'm just going to include the link to my Picasa Web Album, which has all my pictures from Germany and my travels. It's easier and there's a lot of pictures on there.
http://picasaweb.google.com/prefectsoulshade
Enjoy!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Vacation with the Family
So for the mid-semester break, my parents and older brother Bryan flew into Zurich, where I met them, for a week-long visit. We had all been looking forward to this for a long time, and the trip definitely lived up to my expectations. To begin the trip, we rented a car and drove to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Lauterbrunnen is a gorgeous little village located in a mountain ravine. There were dozens of waterfalls surrounding us that we walked up to and into, and the whole scenery of the area was incredible. It's definitely one of the most picturesque and beautiful landscapes I've been to. Sheer cliff walls on either side of you and the snow-covered peaks of the Alps at the far end made for a perfect view. Thankfully, we spent two nights there and got to see a good amount.
After Lauterbrunnen, we drove to Schwangau, Germany, where the castle Neuschwanstein is located. We spent a night there and saw the castle, which was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat. It is quite the fairy-tale castle, even though only sixteen of the rooms were completed before the king's death. It's definitely worth a visit. It's especially nice to see from the village, as you can just look up and see the towering walls and spires of the castle on top of a mountain. It's really quite impressive.
After Schwangau, we drove north to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg is a medieval village that still has it's original wall and gates surrounding it. We actually stayed in a hotel inside of the walls, where you can just walk around the city and see all the sights. It's quite peaceful there. We even saw a medieval torture museum and an outdoor concert at a biergarten, although the band was playing folksy kids songs. It was a very nice little village, worth the trip to.
After Rothenburg, we drove to Heidelberg, which is more of a city than anywhere we'd been to so far. Heidelberg definitely tops my list of places I've been, if not just for the castle there. It's huge, impressive, and rather difficult to figure out. My brother and I spent hours just trying to determine how it was built, planning-wise. We went up to the castle twice in the course of our day and a half there, but we did walk up and down the main street there, and got dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant. We even saw a wedding taking place at the castle. I'm hoping to get back there if I can.
After Heidelberg, we traveled to France, where we spent a night in Rosheim and a night in Gueberschwihr, both in Alsace. The first night, we drove into Strasbourg and saw the cathedral there and got dinner in an Irish pub. The meal was alright, but the menu was in English and it wasn't French food, so we were all happy enough. The second day, we drove along the wine route, traveling through many picturesque little villages and stopping to see several castles. All were quite impressive. That night, we drove into Colmar for dinner and got to see a little bit of the Little Venice district. A reoccurring theme in France, though, was the inability to communicate, as me and my brother both speak a little German, but none of us speak French very well. I was dragging the depths of my brain for what I learned in high school, but it wasn't working very well.
After France, we spent two nights in Freiburg, before my family left on the third day. In Freiburg we saw all the sights, ate a good Irish meal at O'Kelly's, had drinks at many different places, visited Titisee in the Black Forest, and had a delicious last meal together at Feierlings. I love this city, and it was nice to be able to show my family where I've been living for the past three months. They seemed to enjoy Freiburg, and the trip as a whole. I'm very glad they visited, and I wish they could have stayed longer.
After Lauterbrunnen, we drove to Schwangau, Germany, where the castle Neuschwanstein is located. We spent a night there and saw the castle, which was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat. It is quite the fairy-tale castle, even though only sixteen of the rooms were completed before the king's death. It's definitely worth a visit. It's especially nice to see from the village, as you can just look up and see the towering walls and spires of the castle on top of a mountain. It's really quite impressive.
After Schwangau, we drove north to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg is a medieval village that still has it's original wall and gates surrounding it. We actually stayed in a hotel inside of the walls, where you can just walk around the city and see all the sights. It's quite peaceful there. We even saw a medieval torture museum and an outdoor concert at a biergarten, although the band was playing folksy kids songs. It was a very nice little village, worth the trip to.
After Rothenburg, we drove to Heidelberg, which is more of a city than anywhere we'd been to so far. Heidelberg definitely tops my list of places I've been, if not just for the castle there. It's huge, impressive, and rather difficult to figure out. My brother and I spent hours just trying to determine how it was built, planning-wise. We went up to the castle twice in the course of our day and a half there, but we did walk up and down the main street there, and got dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant. We even saw a wedding taking place at the castle. I'm hoping to get back there if I can.
After Heidelberg, we traveled to France, where we spent a night in Rosheim and a night in Gueberschwihr, both in Alsace. The first night, we drove into Strasbourg and saw the cathedral there and got dinner in an Irish pub. The meal was alright, but the menu was in English and it wasn't French food, so we were all happy enough. The second day, we drove along the wine route, traveling through many picturesque little villages and stopping to see several castles. All were quite impressive. That night, we drove into Colmar for dinner and got to see a little bit of the Little Venice district. A reoccurring theme in France, though, was the inability to communicate, as me and my brother both speak a little German, but none of us speak French very well. I was dragging the depths of my brain for what I learned in high school, but it wasn't working very well.
After France, we spent two nights in Freiburg, before my family left on the third day. In Freiburg we saw all the sights, ate a good Irish meal at O'Kelly's, had drinks at many different places, visited Titisee in the Black Forest, and had a delicious last meal together at Feierlings. I love this city, and it was nice to be able to show my family where I've been living for the past three months. They seemed to enjoy Freiburg, and the trip as a whole. I'm very glad they visited, and I wish they could have stayed longer.
The Not-Trip to Barcelona
So this entry will be more of a recalling our misfortunes on our attempted trip to Barcelona. Sara and I decided to try to travel to Spain, despite the uncertainty created by the French train strikes and the requirement of traveling through France to get there. Sara planned and printed out our entire journey, which would be solely by regional trains, as we figured that these would be less likely to be canceled. Our trip would be as follows: Freiburg to Basel, Basel to Bern, Bern to Geneva, Geneva to Lyon, Lyon to Avignon, Avignon to Portbou, and Portbou to Barcelona. It would take from early morning until evening, but we booked a cheap hostel in Barcelona for the night and decided to try it. We wouldn't let a silly French rail strike prevent us from visiting Spain.
The trip went smoothly up until Geneva. Here, we found out our train to Lyon was canceled. Of course. But the helpful train employees finally managed to tell us that we could ride the TGV train leaving 20 minutes later because of the strike, even though our Eurorail passes aren't supposed to be could for them without reservations. It was apparent by the packed nature of the train (we stood in the restaurant cart) that there would be no checking of tickets, and we made it to Lyon just fine. In Lyon, we took our train successfully to Avignon, making the connection despite the delay on our previous train.
Avignon is a different story. Upon arriving, we found out that our connecting train to Portbou, the one that would finally get us out of France, had been canceled. What's worse is that there were no other trains even going that way. In frustration, I tried to find a train going back to Freiburg. That was also too much to ask for, but the man at the counter informed us of an overnight bus to Barcelona. Upon finding the bus station, we found no such evidence of this bus, and gave up on that. His other recommendation was to take a bus from the train station to the town of Nimes, and then take a train from there to Narbonne, which would at least put us closer to the border the following day. With no other options, we opted to do this.
Upon getting to Nimes and struggling to figure out what was going on, we realized Sara left her Eurorail pass on the bus. This was a serious problem. What made it worse was that we had next to no way to communicate with anyone, and after many frustrated attempts we got our message across, but there was little they could do to help us. We ended up staying in a hotel, and in the morning we struggled to find a way home. After waiting in line forever, we discovered a train going to Geneva, and despite the lady's insistence that we could not get to Freiburg that night, we asked if we could at least get to Geneva, figuring once in Switzerland we could get home. She told us that she couldn't book us reservations, but we could get on and hope that it was too crowded for them to check tickets. This is what we did, and we spent a train ride to Geneva cramped in the corridors with dozens of other people.
In Geneva, again, Sara purchased a ticket to Freiburg through Basel (Of course we could get home once in Switzerland) and the rest of our evening was spent traveling by train back to Freiburg. I was never so happy to see the wonderful city. I also learned my lessons. Don't travel if you can help it without reservations or assurances that your trains will run. And never trust the French train system. This not-trip was quite a headache.
The trip went smoothly up until Geneva. Here, we found out our train to Lyon was canceled. Of course. But the helpful train employees finally managed to tell us that we could ride the TGV train leaving 20 minutes later because of the strike, even though our Eurorail passes aren't supposed to be could for them without reservations. It was apparent by the packed nature of the train (we stood in the restaurant cart) that there would be no checking of tickets, and we made it to Lyon just fine. In Lyon, we took our train successfully to Avignon, making the connection despite the delay on our previous train.
Avignon is a different story. Upon arriving, we found out that our connecting train to Portbou, the one that would finally get us out of France, had been canceled. What's worse is that there were no other trains even going that way. In frustration, I tried to find a train going back to Freiburg. That was also too much to ask for, but the man at the counter informed us of an overnight bus to Barcelona. Upon finding the bus station, we found no such evidence of this bus, and gave up on that. His other recommendation was to take a bus from the train station to the town of Nimes, and then take a train from there to Narbonne, which would at least put us closer to the border the following day. With no other options, we opted to do this.
Upon getting to Nimes and struggling to figure out what was going on, we realized Sara left her Eurorail pass on the bus. This was a serious problem. What made it worse was that we had next to no way to communicate with anyone, and after many frustrated attempts we got our message across, but there was little they could do to help us. We ended up staying in a hotel, and in the morning we struggled to find a way home. After waiting in line forever, we discovered a train going to Geneva, and despite the lady's insistence that we could not get to Freiburg that night, we asked if we could at least get to Geneva, figuring once in Switzerland we could get home. She told us that she couldn't book us reservations, but we could get on and hope that it was too crowded for them to check tickets. This is what we did, and we spent a train ride to Geneva cramped in the corridors with dozens of other people.
In Geneva, again, Sara purchased a ticket to Freiburg through Basel (Of course we could get home once in Switzerland) and the rest of our evening was spent traveling by train back to Freiburg. I was never so happy to see the wonderful city. I also learned my lessons. Don't travel if you can help it without reservations or assurances that your trains will run. And never trust the French train system. This not-trip was quite a headache.
Paris, Day II
Today was our second day in the great French capital of Paris. Today was a bit more rushed than yesterday, though. Sara and I woke up early and headed to the train station to try to book tickets home, while Yiting and Rosie headed to the Eiffel Tower. After struggling for a while to communicate with the French train workers, we determined that there was no possible way to get to Spain, or even back to Freiburg. The French trains were on strike, and which trains would run was impossible to predict. They also refused to sell reservations. Sara and I were pretty much stuck in Paris, which isn't the worst thing in the world. But after failing at the train station, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower to meet the other two.
The Eiffel Tower is a very impressive monument, huge and towering, as expected. We waited in line for a very long time, in different places: once to get into the tower base, up the elevator, a long line around the lower level of the tower, another elevator up to the middle level, and finally up to the top of the tower, where the entirety of Paris is stretched out before you. It's quite an amazing sight. Granted the most striking part of Paris is the Eiffel Tower, it is still a beautiful sight standing on it. Unfortunately it was absolutely freezing up there. This was expected, but it was rather cold. We met up with Yiting and Rosie on the middle level and left with them, taking many pictures of us with the Eiffel Tower in the background before getting back on the train to go get lunch at a place Rosie's friend had recommended, near the Notre Dame.
Lunch was a delicious affair, of course. I got duck that came with a kind of potato square. I'm not sure which was better, as they were both amazing. It was a very nice affair. French waiters are very accommodating and kind, even if they don't speak very much English. We've gotten by surprisingly well considering no one speaks much French. After, we headed back to the hostel, where we decided to cook a pasta and chicken dinner. I headed to the grocery store nearby and spent a long time trying to decipher the ingredients necessary. I eventually succeeded, and we made a delicious dinner. I always describe food as delicious, apparently, but it's all true. Afterward we had chocolate lava cake, which was just amazing. I love chocolate and I love cake.
Paris has been quite an amazing adventure. I just wish we had more time here. The Louvre could have taken up an entire day, let alone the evening the the art wing alone consumed. I would have liked to see more of the French landmarks, too, and maybe have taken a trip to see Versailles. Alas, Sara and I have plans to take regional trains back to Freiburg, which should hopefully be running successfully, but it will just take most of the day. We should be back in Freiburg by late evening, though, where we can began to plan our second attempt at adventures.
The Eiffel Tower is a very impressive monument, huge and towering, as expected. We waited in line for a very long time, in different places: once to get into the tower base, up the elevator, a long line around the lower level of the tower, another elevator up to the middle level, and finally up to the top of the tower, where the entirety of Paris is stretched out before you. It's quite an amazing sight. Granted the most striking part of Paris is the Eiffel Tower, it is still a beautiful sight standing on it. Unfortunately it was absolutely freezing up there. This was expected, but it was rather cold. We met up with Yiting and Rosie on the middle level and left with them, taking many pictures of us with the Eiffel Tower in the background before getting back on the train to go get lunch at a place Rosie's friend had recommended, near the Notre Dame.
Lunch was a delicious affair, of course. I got duck that came with a kind of potato square. I'm not sure which was better, as they were both amazing. It was a very nice affair. French waiters are very accommodating and kind, even if they don't speak very much English. We've gotten by surprisingly well considering no one speaks much French. After, we headed back to the hostel, where we decided to cook a pasta and chicken dinner. I headed to the grocery store nearby and spent a long time trying to decipher the ingredients necessary. I eventually succeeded, and we made a delicious dinner. I always describe food as delicious, apparently, but it's all true. Afterward we had chocolate lava cake, which was just amazing. I love chocolate and I love cake.
Paris has been quite an amazing adventure. I just wish we had more time here. The Louvre could have taken up an entire day, let alone the evening the the art wing alone consumed. I would have liked to see more of the French landmarks, too, and maybe have taken a trip to see Versailles. Alas, Sara and I have plans to take regional trains back to Freiburg, which should hopefully be running successfully, but it will just take most of the day. We should be back in Freiburg by late evening, though, where we can began to plan our second attempt at adventures.
Paris, Day I
Today, after a very fun and successful overnight train from Florence, Sara and I arrived in Paris. Of course, our first step was to get to our hostel, which we would need to take a metro ride to. This was around 9 am, and after finally figuring out where in the train station we needed to go, we headed underground to the metro station, where I learned the terrible lesson that metros in Paris aren't like normal metros – the kind with safety precautions for any object stuck in the doorway. Anyway, we waited for the next metro and took that to the end, where our hostel was located. It was easy enough to find afterward and we dropped our luggage off and met up with Yiting. Rosie was staying with her friend in Paris and would meet us later that day at the Luxembourg Garden. Yiting told Sara and me that we were lucky that the scenic train had been booked because it turns out the Eurorail pass wasn't valid for it so Yiting and Rosie had to pay an extra one hundred euro to cover it. I was quite happy with the extra day in Florence.
We ended up deciding to walk to the Luxembourg Garden from the hostel, which turned out to be the wrong decision, because maps make distances look much smaller than they really are. We eventually succeeded in reaching the garden though, which is massive, with a beautiful fountain in the middle. There we met Rosie and her friend, who told us she would take us to get crepes at a nearby crepe place. These crepes turned out to be the most amazing I've ever had. Ham and cheese and bacon and melted deliciousness. After crepes, we walked to Notre Dame, which wasn't as impressive as I was hoping, though it was still a gorgeous cathedral. Outside, we had to dodge the unfortunate beggars who plagued the area, and we quickly went inside. Inside was more impressive than outside, but it was still similar to other cathedrals I have seen.
After the cathedral, we headed north a bit and got felafel. We split up at this point, with Yiting going to see Sacré Cœur while Rosie, Sara and I would walk down the boulevard shopping while heading toward the Louvre. This took most of the rest of the day, and we got to the Louvre around 6:30, where we would get a discounted entrance rate. The Louvre is hard to put into words. It is a palace, an art museum, and a million other kinds of museums. We saw so many different paintings and objects; it was incredible. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Coronation of Napoleon (this painting was... huge. An entire wall...) the coronation crown of Ludwig XV, a recreation of the apartments of Napoleon III, and even the original stone fragment of Hammurabi's Code. I only wish we had more time in the Louvre. There's just too much to see there in one trip. After the Louvre, we headed back to the hostel and called it a night. On another interesting note, Sara and I found out that we may not be able to leave Paris, as the French train workers have decided to go on strike. Convenient of them.
We ended up deciding to walk to the Luxembourg Garden from the hostel, which turned out to be the wrong decision, because maps make distances look much smaller than they really are. We eventually succeeded in reaching the garden though, which is massive, with a beautiful fountain in the middle. There we met Rosie and her friend, who told us she would take us to get crepes at a nearby crepe place. These crepes turned out to be the most amazing I've ever had. Ham and cheese and bacon and melted deliciousness. After crepes, we walked to Notre Dame, which wasn't as impressive as I was hoping, though it was still a gorgeous cathedral. Outside, we had to dodge the unfortunate beggars who plagued the area, and we quickly went inside. Inside was more impressive than outside, but it was still similar to other cathedrals I have seen.
After the cathedral, we headed north a bit and got felafel. We split up at this point, with Yiting going to see Sacré Cœur while Rosie, Sara and I would walk down the boulevard shopping while heading toward the Louvre. This took most of the rest of the day, and we got to the Louvre around 6:30, where we would get a discounted entrance rate. The Louvre is hard to put into words. It is a palace, an art museum, and a million other kinds of museums. We saw so many different paintings and objects; it was incredible. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Coronation of Napoleon (this painting was... huge. An entire wall...) the coronation crown of Ludwig XV, a recreation of the apartments of Napoleon III, and even the original stone fragment of Hammurabi's Code. I only wish we had more time in the Louvre. There's just too much to see there in one trip. After the Louvre, we headed back to the hostel and called it a night. On another interesting note, Sara and I found out that we may not be able to leave Paris, as the French train workers have decided to go on strike. Convenient of them.
Firenze, Day III
Today is Sara and I's third day in Firenze. We didn't exactly plan on having a third day in Firenze, but a third day here makes for a more interesting blog entry than a day-long scenic train ride to Paris would. This morning Sara and I headed to the train station to attempt to book tickets on the same train Yiting and Rosie were taking to Paris, the same one I tried to book last night before they closed in my face. Conveniently, there was only one ticket left aboard this scenic train. Sara and I opted instead to book tickets aboard the overnight train to Paris, which would get us to Paris first thing the next morning, and would give us a third day to explore the amazing city of Firenze.
With this plan set, Sara and I checked our luggage at the train station and said goodbye to Yiting and Rosie before heading back out into the city. We weren't too sure of what to do, but we walked around the city, exploring a lot of the merchant stands. The area around the Basilica of San Lorenzo is lined with hundreds of merchant stands, so it makes for an entertaining walk through. They alternate between aggressively trying to sell you merchandise to practically ignoring you. Nearby was a restaurant that we were recommended to go to for lunch, but had been closed the past two days due to the Easter celebrations. Thankfully it was finally open on our extra day in Firenze, and its quality was demonstrated before we even went in by the line of people outside. You put your name down and they called you in, often seating you with other people simply because there is just not enough room inside. Sara and I sat at a four person table with two other people. My meat pasta dish was excellent, and were both very pleased with the place. Sara's friend's recommendations of where to eat in Firenze turned out to be great.
After lunch, we headed to the Bargello, a museum we had passed by several times but hadn't a chance to enter. It is inside an barracks and prison, which is ironic seeing as it is an art museum. While there aren't as many famous statues in there as there are at the Galleria dell'Accademia (namely the David) it still had quite a few interesting works of art, probably more than the Galleria had, simply because the Galleria makes its name off Michelangelo's David. It was definitely worth the visit, and took up most of our afternoon. For dinner, Sara and I headed to the Santa Croce plaza, where the church was unfortunately closed. There we dined on fine cuisine of bread and Nutella before deciding to go to a nearby pizzeria for a real dinner. After dinner we slowly made our way back to the train station where we grabbed our luggage and boarded our train to Paris.
In quite an interesting twist, we were in a six bed compartment with four other people, all American, and three of them having spent the night with Yiting and Rosie on the night the two of them spent extra in Roma. It made for a fun night of card games and talking before finally going to bed. It made the world feel like a small place, which I suppose it kind of is. Anyway, tomorrow will be our first day on the grand adventure of Paris, but I am going to miss Firenze; it is an incredible city.
With this plan set, Sara and I checked our luggage at the train station and said goodbye to Yiting and Rosie before heading back out into the city. We weren't too sure of what to do, but we walked around the city, exploring a lot of the merchant stands. The area around the Basilica of San Lorenzo is lined with hundreds of merchant stands, so it makes for an entertaining walk through. They alternate between aggressively trying to sell you merchandise to practically ignoring you. Nearby was a restaurant that we were recommended to go to for lunch, but had been closed the past two days due to the Easter celebrations. Thankfully it was finally open on our extra day in Firenze, and its quality was demonstrated before we even went in by the line of people outside. You put your name down and they called you in, often seating you with other people simply because there is just not enough room inside. Sara and I sat at a four person table with two other people. My meat pasta dish was excellent, and were both very pleased with the place. Sara's friend's recommendations of where to eat in Firenze turned out to be great.
After lunch, we headed to the Bargello, a museum we had passed by several times but hadn't a chance to enter. It is inside an barracks and prison, which is ironic seeing as it is an art museum. While there aren't as many famous statues in there as there are at the Galleria dell'Accademia (namely the David) it still had quite a few interesting works of art, probably more than the Galleria had, simply because the Galleria makes its name off Michelangelo's David. It was definitely worth the visit, and took up most of our afternoon. For dinner, Sara and I headed to the Santa Croce plaza, where the church was unfortunately closed. There we dined on fine cuisine of bread and Nutella before deciding to go to a nearby pizzeria for a real dinner. After dinner we slowly made our way back to the train station where we grabbed our luggage and boarded our train to Paris.
In quite an interesting twist, we were in a six bed compartment with four other people, all American, and three of them having spent the night with Yiting and Rosie on the night the two of them spent extra in Roma. It made for a fun night of card games and talking before finally going to bed. It made the world feel like a small place, which I suppose it kind of is. Anyway, tomorrow will be our first day on the grand adventure of Paris, but I am going to miss Firenze; it is an incredible city.
Firenze, Day II
Our second day in Firenze was quite exciting, too. Yiting and Rosie finally joined us after enjoying a second day in Roma, and there's still so much for us to see here. We checked into our new hostel, where the four of us would be staying, before hitting the city again. The two of them wanted to see the David, so while they went up there, Sara and I got in line to go inside of the Duomo, seeing as the Galleria dell'Accademia doesn't take particularly long to see. The inside of the Duomo is amazing, huge and grand, although we weren't allowed into the altar area, which would have been amazing. I could only crane my neck and try to see up the dome. I wish we could have taken the tour of the dome, or done the walk up the Campanile, but that would have taken more time than we had. Inside, there was a staircase downstairs to a basement portion where a gift store was, so I stood there reading a bit of history about the Medici family. I especially like Lorenzo de' Medici, a brilliant statesman and patron of the arts.
After seeing the Duomo, we walked slowly south, passing again through the Paizza della Signoria, but this time we actually went into the Uffizi Gallery. It is an art gallery with many impressive paintings, particularly the one of Venus on the shell. The museum is also rather large, comprised of three or so wings. After the museum, which took most of the afternoon, we headed to the Ponte Vecchio, which we crossed, and headed towards the Piazza Michelangelo, a large plaza overlooking the city. The hike of the large hill wasn't the most enjoyable, but it felt good and the view was incredible. The city just spread out before us, with the Ponte Vecchio and the Palazza Vecchio to our left, the Duomo looming over the city in front of us, and the Basilica of Santa Croce to our right, which houses the tombs of many famous scholars, including Michelangelo and Galileo. Unfortunately we never got to go inside of it. But the hike up the hill was definitely worth it.
Afterward, we needed to head to the train station so that Sara and I could book tickets for the scenic train to Paris the next day that Yiting and Rosie had tickets for. We walked slowly, and stopped in this neat art gallery, with an interesting picture of the Duomo as if riding on water, and a rather interesting spinning item on the wall. While walking, we decided that Rosie and I would go get the tickets while Yiting and Sara headed back to the hostel to drop stuff off, and would then meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Fortunately for Rosie and me, the ticket booth was still open. Unfortunately for us, there was a long line, and right before we got up there, after waiting half an hour, they closed promptly at nine. How very nice of them. And when I say promptly at nine, I mean it. So we hustled over to the restaurant where Yiting and Sara were waiting, and got another delicious meal and a bottle of Italian wine.
We then headed back to the hostel, but not before stopping in a little convenience store, buying more wine, and having our picture taken with the Indian guy working there. They were very friendly, and apparently it is popular amongst them to have their picture taken with foreigners. It was rather entertaining. But tomorrow Sara and I will have to head to the train station early to try to book tickets on this scenic train, which doesn't go as planned. (Does it ever?) Anyway, it was a great second day in Firenze, which is an incredible city.
After seeing the Duomo, we walked slowly south, passing again through the Paizza della Signoria, but this time we actually went into the Uffizi Gallery. It is an art gallery with many impressive paintings, particularly the one of Venus on the shell. The museum is also rather large, comprised of three or so wings. After the museum, which took most of the afternoon, we headed to the Ponte Vecchio, which we crossed, and headed towards the Piazza Michelangelo, a large plaza overlooking the city. The hike of the large hill wasn't the most enjoyable, but it felt good and the view was incredible. The city just spread out before us, with the Ponte Vecchio and the Palazza Vecchio to our left, the Duomo looming over the city in front of us, and the Basilica of Santa Croce to our right, which houses the tombs of many famous scholars, including Michelangelo and Galileo. Unfortunately we never got to go inside of it. But the hike up the hill was definitely worth it.
Afterward, we needed to head to the train station so that Sara and I could book tickets for the scenic train to Paris the next day that Yiting and Rosie had tickets for. We walked slowly, and stopped in this neat art gallery, with an interesting picture of the Duomo as if riding on water, and a rather interesting spinning item on the wall. While walking, we decided that Rosie and I would go get the tickets while Yiting and Sara headed back to the hostel to drop stuff off, and would then meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Fortunately for Rosie and me, the ticket booth was still open. Unfortunately for us, there was a long line, and right before we got up there, after waiting half an hour, they closed promptly at nine. How very nice of them. And when I say promptly at nine, I mean it. So we hustled over to the restaurant where Yiting and Sara were waiting, and got another delicious meal and a bottle of Italian wine.
We then headed back to the hostel, but not before stopping in a little convenience store, buying more wine, and having our picture taken with the Indian guy working there. They were very friendly, and apparently it is popular amongst them to have their picture taken with foreigners. It was rather entertaining. But tomorrow Sara and I will have to head to the train station early to try to book tickets on this scenic train, which doesn't go as planned. (Does it ever?) Anyway, it was a great second day in Firenze, which is an incredible city.
Firenze, Day I
Today, Sara and I woke up really early to take the 7:12 am train from Roma to Firenze. On another note, it is Easter Sunday, so happy Easter everyone! I was rather scared that Sara didn't make the train, but apparently she just made it on, so I didn't have to go to Firenze alone. Our goal was to make it to Firenze and be at the Duomo, the cathedral there, by 9:30 – 10ish, as there is a rather large Easter celebration in front of the Duomo. We arrived in the city around 9 am, checked into our hostel, which was really nice, and we finally weren't staying in separate hostels. I probably shouldn't have waited so long to book my Roma hostels. Woops. After checking in, we headed outside to a nearby cafe that the hostel receptionist recommended, where we then got breakfast.
After breakfast, we made our way down the streets of Firenze to the Duomo, there a crowd was already starting to gather. Thankfully there was more than enough space so Sara got right up to the ropes and I stood a few rows back. We had to wait maybe half an hour, fourty five minutes for the ceremony to begin, but it was incredible. The Duomo itself is unbelievable to see, a massive and unbelievably decorated cathedral that is just huge. Towering. Not to mention the baptistry right next to us and the Campanile next to the Duomo that is just as tall. The ceremony consisted of marching groups of people dressed in Renaissance clothing, followed by the bishop and clergy of the cathedral in a procession giving out holy water and branches. After this, they wheeled out a giant... box. A very large and ornate box, which they planted in the center of the plaza between the Duomo and the baptistry and covered it with fireworks. Then they lit them all. The fireworks went on for a good fifteen minutes, and the ceremony overall was incredible to witness. I'm very glad we took the early train. Firenze knows how to celebrate Easter.
After this amazing event, we headed up to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where the statue of David is. Upon seeing the line and reading the sign, we realized that we could head a few blocks to the architecture museum or something like that and get tickets there, bypassing yet another line. We did this and got into the Galleria rather quickly. There were some rather neat statues there, and a lot of paintings and religious items that I did not particularly enjoy, but the David was much larger than what I was expecting and pretty impressive. They also had a collection of old instruments, including a harpsichord, and a Stradivarius violin and viola, both of which were amazing to see.
Lunch our first day in Firenze was a quick meal at a small pub-like lunch place where we grabbed pizza slices that were actually pretty good. But for dinner we went to a restaurant a friend of Sara's had recommended, which turned out to be pretty incredible. So incredible that Sara asked for reservations for the next night to come back with Yiting and Rosie, who decided to stay in Roma for one more day as they had only been there for the previous day. After dinner, we walked down to the Ponte Vecchio where we got ice cream before walking back up to the hostel. We got to see the Paizza della Signoria, where the town hall Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Loggia dei Lanzi are located, the latter being an open-air museum of sorts with a bunch of statues and sculptures, all of which are pretty interesting. The rain was a bit heavy, but it wasn't really a problem. We did have to walk back to the Ponte Vecchio to get Sara's hat, but I could live with that. Firenze is definitely my favorite city so far on our trip.
After breakfast, we made our way down the streets of Firenze to the Duomo, there a crowd was already starting to gather. Thankfully there was more than enough space so Sara got right up to the ropes and I stood a few rows back. We had to wait maybe half an hour, fourty five minutes for the ceremony to begin, but it was incredible. The Duomo itself is unbelievable to see, a massive and unbelievably decorated cathedral that is just huge. Towering. Not to mention the baptistry right next to us and the Campanile next to the Duomo that is just as tall. The ceremony consisted of marching groups of people dressed in Renaissance clothing, followed by the bishop and clergy of the cathedral in a procession giving out holy water and branches. After this, they wheeled out a giant... box. A very large and ornate box, which they planted in the center of the plaza between the Duomo and the baptistry and covered it with fireworks. Then they lit them all. The fireworks went on for a good fifteen minutes, and the ceremony overall was incredible to witness. I'm very glad we took the early train. Firenze knows how to celebrate Easter.
After this amazing event, we headed up to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where the statue of David is. Upon seeing the line and reading the sign, we realized that we could head a few blocks to the architecture museum or something like that and get tickets there, bypassing yet another line. We did this and got into the Galleria rather quickly. There were some rather neat statues there, and a lot of paintings and religious items that I did not particularly enjoy, but the David was much larger than what I was expecting and pretty impressive. They also had a collection of old instruments, including a harpsichord, and a Stradivarius violin and viola, both of which were amazing to see.
Lunch our first day in Firenze was a quick meal at a small pub-like lunch place where we grabbed pizza slices that were actually pretty good. But for dinner we went to a restaurant a friend of Sara's had recommended, which turned out to be pretty incredible. So incredible that Sara asked for reservations for the next night to come back with Yiting and Rosie, who decided to stay in Roma for one more day as they had only been there for the previous day. After dinner, we walked down to the Ponte Vecchio where we got ice cream before walking back up to the hostel. We got to see the Paizza della Signoria, where the town hall Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Loggia dei Lanzi are located, the latter being an open-air museum of sorts with a bunch of statues and sculptures, all of which are pretty interesting. The rain was a bit heavy, but it wasn't really a problem. We did have to walk back to the Ponte Vecchio to get Sara's hat, but I could live with that. Firenze is definitely my favorite city so far on our trip.
Roma, Day III
Today is my third and last official day in Roma. Yiting and Rosie finally joined us on our grand adventure to the Roman ruins, including the Forum, Palatine, and Colosseum. The area was another metro ride from the train station to get to, but that wasn't a problem. Walking out of the metro station, you just look up and looming over you is the Colosseum. It's quite the impressive sight, and that's just from the outside. But first, after reading the signs and seeing the massive line to get into the Colosseum, we walked 100 yards down the path, past the Arch of Constantine, which is impressive itself, to the entrance to the Palatine, the Roman ruins on Palatine Hill, one of Roma's original seven hills. Getting in took about half an hour, not even, and it was much quicker than waiting to get into the Colosseum – plus the tickets got us into both. It's amazing that people don't read signs and see that seeing less popular attractions first often let you get into the big sights quickly and easily. We spent a long time walking through those ruins, which are pretty incredible. Ruins of buildings, pillars, and pits are everywhere. The weather was great too, which made walking around ruins outdoors very enjoyable.
After exploring the Palatine, we wandered down the hill into the ruins of the Roman Forum, which was amazing. The ruins of buildings, the intact temples, the Arch of Nero, and just the ability to look around and picture what used to stand there thousands of years ago is awe-inspiring. We walked around both these areas for about two or so hours, and we then walked a little ways out of the ruins to go to a little cart and get lunch, sit on the steps nearby to eat, and then get ice cream at the store next to us. (They are everywhere.) After lunch, we walked back down and went to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is obviously quite amazing. I'm not sure how many pictures I took in there, but it was quite a lot. Getting in was easy, and I can actually say I got to walk around inside of the Colosseum. For a structure built two thousand years ago, it's condition is amazing. Kudos to Roman architecture. Walking around the upper rings, you can see the areas where people would have sat, the lower boxes, and of course the arena floor and catacombs. Half the floor is covered by a modern wooden floor, designed to show what it would have looked like. The rest is left uncovered, showing the catacombs below the Colosseum, which are really cool to see. Overall, the Colosseum is one of the most impressive buildings I've seen, on par with the Vatican City for beauty. Alas, it was our last day in Roma, and the next day we took an early morning train ride to Firenze. I am very happy with the way our Roma trip turned out. It is an incredible city!
After exploring the Palatine, we wandered down the hill into the ruins of the Roman Forum, which was amazing. The ruins of buildings, the intact temples, the Arch of Nero, and just the ability to look around and picture what used to stand there thousands of years ago is awe-inspiring. We walked around both these areas for about two or so hours, and we then walked a little ways out of the ruins to go to a little cart and get lunch, sit on the steps nearby to eat, and then get ice cream at the store next to us. (They are everywhere.) After lunch, we walked back down and went to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is obviously quite amazing. I'm not sure how many pictures I took in there, but it was quite a lot. Getting in was easy, and I can actually say I got to walk around inside of the Colosseum. For a structure built two thousand years ago, it's condition is amazing. Kudos to Roman architecture. Walking around the upper rings, you can see the areas where people would have sat, the lower boxes, and of course the arena floor and catacombs. Half the floor is covered by a modern wooden floor, designed to show what it would have looked like. The rest is left uncovered, showing the catacombs below the Colosseum, which are really cool to see. Overall, the Colosseum is one of the most impressive buildings I've seen, on par with the Vatican City for beauty. Alas, it was our last day in Roma, and the next day we took an early morning train ride to Firenze. I am very happy with the way our Roma trip turned out. It is an incredible city!
Roma, Day II
Our second day in Roma still consisted of just Sara and I, as Sara's roommate Yiting and friend Rosie weren't getting to Roma until our third day there. My move to my second hostel was a very easy affair; it was literally one floor down from the hostel I was in... same building, just 10 seconds down the stairs. This made me very happy, as I didn't have to lug my bags down the street to a far location. We decided to make our way to the Vatican City and see that for the day, which was definitely worth the trip. We got directions to get there, which involved us using the metro. Metros in Roma are nice, easy enough to use.
We arrived in the area of the Vatican City and decided to grab lunch before heading in. We wandered a few blocks away from the walls of the Vatican, where we found a little pub where we grabbed sandwiches at half the price of restaurants closer to the Vatican. That's an easy tip for anyone trying to find cheap food – take the extra five minutes to walk away from the tourist attractions, prices will drop drastically. After lunch, we walked to Saint Peter's Square, which was incredible. We did see and hear a few things that made us cringe, though. A security guard came up to a group of girls to yell at them as they decided that Saint Peter's Square makes for a good location to put out towels, lay down in bathing suits, and tan. That's right, tan. In the middle of Saint Peter's Square. People. And we also overheard a woman telling her family that this was the place that Tom Hanks was at in that movie. Cringe.
On the plus side, we went to the information booth in the Square and found out we could purchase tickets to the Vatican Museum there and bypass the line. I cannot express in words how much time this saved us. The wait at the information center was roughly five minutes, the line into the museums snaked around the wall for half a mile. The man there also recommended that if we wanted to see Saint Peter's Basilica to come at seven a.m., when it opened.
We went to the Vatican Museums, using our wonderful tickets to walk right up to the doors and get in instantly. This was a trend we found to hold true nearly everywhere in Italy. READ THE SIGNS. There is usually a place you can buy tickets for a museum without going through the really long line. We bought tickets for the Galleria Academia in Florence, where the David is, at the Architecture Museum, which no one was at. We walked right into the Galleria Academia. Very nice.
The Vatican Museums were quite nice, though. It is full of statues and paintings that the Church stole over the years, including Egyptian works, which I found particularly interesting. I do love Egyptian statues. Of course, the pinnacle of things to see in the Museums is the Sistine Chapel, which is unbelievable. A giant room with every centimeter of wall and ceiling space painted with religious murals. The painting of God reaching out and touching Adam's hand was right above my head. We ended up going back to it after the crowd had worn down. We also got a quick drink in the cafe, where I purchased a 7-Up drink, which amused me.
After the museums, we grabbed a delicious dinner at an outdoor pizzeria a few blocks from there, which was less than half the price of the restaurant right outside the museums. Hah. It was a bit sketchy to me, though, as the restaurant itself consisted of a room barely large enough to stand in, and presumably a kitchen tucked somewhere. Or at least a stove. But the food was delicious and the price was fair, so I was quite happy. We then walked back to our hostels, which was quite a hike, but totally worth it. We saw a dozen different sights on the way home. Quite an amazing second day in Roma.
We arrived in the area of the Vatican City and decided to grab lunch before heading in. We wandered a few blocks away from the walls of the Vatican, where we found a little pub where we grabbed sandwiches at half the price of restaurants closer to the Vatican. That's an easy tip for anyone trying to find cheap food – take the extra five minutes to walk away from the tourist attractions, prices will drop drastically. After lunch, we walked to Saint Peter's Square, which was incredible. We did see and hear a few things that made us cringe, though. A security guard came up to a group of girls to yell at them as they decided that Saint Peter's Square makes for a good location to put out towels, lay down in bathing suits, and tan. That's right, tan. In the middle of Saint Peter's Square. People. And we also overheard a woman telling her family that this was the place that Tom Hanks was at in that movie. Cringe.
On the plus side, we went to the information booth in the Square and found out we could purchase tickets to the Vatican Museum there and bypass the line. I cannot express in words how much time this saved us. The wait at the information center was roughly five minutes, the line into the museums snaked around the wall for half a mile. The man there also recommended that if we wanted to see Saint Peter's Basilica to come at seven a.m., when it opened.
We went to the Vatican Museums, using our wonderful tickets to walk right up to the doors and get in instantly. This was a trend we found to hold true nearly everywhere in Italy. READ THE SIGNS. There is usually a place you can buy tickets for a museum without going through the really long line. We bought tickets for the Galleria Academia in Florence, where the David is, at the Architecture Museum, which no one was at. We walked right into the Galleria Academia. Very nice.
The Vatican Museums were quite nice, though. It is full of statues and paintings that the Church stole over the years, including Egyptian works, which I found particularly interesting. I do love Egyptian statues. Of course, the pinnacle of things to see in the Museums is the Sistine Chapel, which is unbelievable. A giant room with every centimeter of wall and ceiling space painted with religious murals. The painting of God reaching out and touching Adam's hand was right above my head. We ended up going back to it after the crowd had worn down. We also got a quick drink in the cafe, where I purchased a 7-Up drink, which amused me.
After the museums, we grabbed a delicious dinner at an outdoor pizzeria a few blocks from there, which was less than half the price of the restaurant right outside the museums. Hah. It was a bit sketchy to me, though, as the restaurant itself consisted of a room barely large enough to stand in, and presumably a kitchen tucked somewhere. Or at least a stove. But the food was delicious and the price was fair, so I was quite happy. We then walked back to our hostels, which was quite a hike, but totally worth it. We saw a dozen different sights on the way home. Quite an amazing second day in Roma.
Roma, Day I
Well, this is quite overdue for an update, so here goes, my trip to Roma, to be followed by my trip to Firenze, and finally Paris.
My trip to the great city of Roma began very early in the morning, catching the 4:50 a.m. Train from Freiburg to Basel, took a connection from there to Milan, and a second connection from Milan to Roma. The train ride was nice enough, and comfortable enough that I got a little sleep. We arrived in Roma somewhere around 2:30 in the central station. Thankfully our hostels were relatively nearby, five minute walks each, so we didn't have far to travel with all of our bags. Packing for an extended trip isn't fun, but I stuffed all my clothes in a big travel bag and it worked out well. For getting to Roma at 2:30, we managed to see quite a lot.
We grabbed a quick lunch at a little pizza restaurant near Sara's hostel before we began the day. We decided to walk from the train station to the major sites of the city. We walked by the Republic Place and saw several fountains, all of which were really nice. It's weird seeing elaborate sculptures and statues in the middle of the street. Our main destination of the walk were the Spanish steps, and we ended up coming upon them from the top of them. Right near them, though, we saw an old church that we peaked in and got to witness a Mass being recited in Latin, which is something I've always wanted to see.
The Spanish Steps are quite an interesting place. I would have enjoyed them even more if it weren't for the very awkward event that caused us to hurry down them in embarrassment. A man came up to Sara as we began to walk down the stairs and told her she was very pretty while handing her a rose. He continued to to follow us, giving Sara a total of three roses and telling me how lucky I am. It's weird to travel alone with Sara, simply because everyone will pretty much assume that you're a couple. To have a man give her roses and tell me how lucky I am was just too much awkwardness. But oh well, we survived.
After the Steps, we made our way around the city, seeing some mausoleum and seeing the Pantheon, which unfortunately is half-covered in scaffolding (a trait common to nearly every single structure that you'd like to see in Europe) and was closed at the time. We finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, which was where Sara really wanted to go. It's quite a beautiful fountain, and the illumination at night made it even more so. It made for a good ending for our first night in Roma. We got dinner at a little Italian restaurant where I got delicious salmon pasta. We then made our way back to our hostels and called it a night. Not a bad first day at all.
My trip to the great city of Roma began very early in the morning, catching the 4:50 a.m. Train from Freiburg to Basel, took a connection from there to Milan, and a second connection from Milan to Roma. The train ride was nice enough, and comfortable enough that I got a little sleep. We arrived in Roma somewhere around 2:30 in the central station. Thankfully our hostels were relatively nearby, five minute walks each, so we didn't have far to travel with all of our bags. Packing for an extended trip isn't fun, but I stuffed all my clothes in a big travel bag and it worked out well. For getting to Roma at 2:30, we managed to see quite a lot.
We grabbed a quick lunch at a little pizza restaurant near Sara's hostel before we began the day. We decided to walk from the train station to the major sites of the city. We walked by the Republic Place and saw several fountains, all of which were really nice. It's weird seeing elaborate sculptures and statues in the middle of the street. Our main destination of the walk were the Spanish steps, and we ended up coming upon them from the top of them. Right near them, though, we saw an old church that we peaked in and got to witness a Mass being recited in Latin, which is something I've always wanted to see.
The Spanish Steps are quite an interesting place. I would have enjoyed them even more if it weren't for the very awkward event that caused us to hurry down them in embarrassment. A man came up to Sara as we began to walk down the stairs and told her she was very pretty while handing her a rose. He continued to to follow us, giving Sara a total of three roses and telling me how lucky I am. It's weird to travel alone with Sara, simply because everyone will pretty much assume that you're a couple. To have a man give her roses and tell me how lucky I am was just too much awkwardness. But oh well, we survived.
After the Steps, we made our way around the city, seeing some mausoleum and seeing the Pantheon, which unfortunately is half-covered in scaffolding (a trait common to nearly every single structure that you'd like to see in Europe) and was closed at the time. We finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, which was where Sara really wanted to go. It's quite a beautiful fountain, and the illumination at night made it even more so. It made for a good ending for our first night in Roma. We got dinner at a little Italian restaurant where I got delicious salmon pasta. We then made our way back to our hostels and called it a night. Not a bad first day at all.
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