A Week's Travels, Part 3: Amsterdam & Home

Well, this is getting old. I've got wireless again, though for how long is anyone's guess, so I'm going to try and get pics of Amsterdam up while I've got a chance.

Wendesday afternoon was pretty quiet. We got lost on the way to the hostel (why they keep giving me the map I honestly can't figure out!) and wound up walking for a few blocks through the red-light district. It was... interesting. Let's just put it that way. No pictures; my camera was still in my backpack, and either way, the girls apparently really don't like it when people take their pictures. Walked around the city a bit, just to get our bearings, but that was about it.

Thursday we took the walking tour. Interesting, but there really wasn't much to see. Not many pictures, either; the streets are so narrow that it's nigh impossible to get a decent shot. I'll post what I have, though.











After the tour, we went to the Anne Frank Museum (top picture). It was an incredibly moving, incredibly sobering experience. The museum is located in the same building that Anne Frank and her family hid in, and part of the tour includes the famous Secret Annex. Honestly, words fail me in describing the place. If you are ever in Amsterdam, this is one place you must go.

Later that night, Sam and Dreama did the Red-Light District Tour. I passed. Honestly, I saw enough of it in the daylight.

Friday was an adventure in and of itself. Our original schedule was to take an ICE high-speed train from Amsterdam to Frankfurt Airport, another ICE from Frankfurt Airport to Munich Central Station, and then a standard EuroCity train from Munich Central to Salzburg. Well, our first ICE developed a technical problem about 2/3 of the way for Frankfurt Airport and dumped us off in a city we weren't even scheduled to stop in. There was a half-hour wait for the next train, which turned out to be the same ICE we were scheduled to pick up in Frankfurt. Unfortunately, the train was filled to begin with, and another half a trainload of people got on along with us. So I go to ride in the aisle for 40 minutes until we got to Frankfurt and our reservations became effective and we got seats. Trust me, standing up in an aisle jam-packed with luggage at 300 kph (186 mph) is an experience.

So, anyway, even after we got to Frankfurt, the train still was overbooked, so we had people riding in the aisle all the way to Munich. Thank God we had seats; it was a four-hour train ride. Then, we get to Munich Central, only to find out that our EuroCity doesn't start in Munich Central, it starts in Munich West, and we had to take a local train to get there. So we take the local train, which dumps us out onto a platform where another train is waiting for us. Only the displays indicate that this train doesn't go to Salzburg. We stand there puzzled for a few minutes until I notice that the display lists the mystery train's number as the same train number we're scheduled to be on. No sooner do I notice this than the train's doors close and it starts to pull away. We chase after it, but to no avail. We ask a woman in a uniform on the platform if that train was going to Salzburg, she looks at us like we're crazy and says "of course." Fortunately, she tells us that there's another train leaving for Salzburg, and it was leaving in 15 minutes from the same platform.

The train was late. And it was about 35 degrees out. And it was raining. Hard. And when the train finally arrived, it had to wait another 20 minutes before it could leave. And it wasn't an intercity train; it was a regional, which meant it stopped in every single town between Munich West and Salzburg.

Long story short, we were scheduled to get into Salzburg at just after 8:00 PM, and we got in just before 10:30. We were so exhausted, we sprung for a cab back to Haus Wartenberg.



So, that's the end of my adventures from last week. I'm still pretty beat, so I'm taking this weekend off. So no new updates for a while. No idea what I'm gonna do next weekend. It's an extended weekend, no class on Thursday., so I've got an extra full day. I guess I'll try to organize a trip to Normandy or something. I'll be sure to plan and book everything in advance this time. Well, whatever I plan, I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Until then, peace.

-Raptor.

PS. Feel free to leave comments when you read. I like to know who's visiting the blog.

This is Getting Old

Well, wireless is down again, so I'm stuck using this Mac again, which means no pictures of Amsterdam until it comes back up. This is getting real old real fast.

Peace.

-Raptor

A Week's Travels, Part 2: Paris

Okay, I've got wireless back now. Turns out it's been on for a while, but I only found out about it now. What are you willing to bet it came back right after I posted tat it had gone down?

Anyway, back on topic...

We got into Paris late Sunday morning. No, that's not right; we got into Gare De l'Est just about 10:00 PM, but we spent the next two hours wandering hopelessly lost around a Metro station, and then on the streets of Paris because the directions our Hotel gave us were crap (go to this Metro station and walk 300 meters. In which bloody direction?) So we didn't get to our hotel until after Midnight on Sunday.

Sunday was kind of a boring day. Samantha has a friend who lives in Paris, so she went to hang with her while Dreama and I wandered the streets for a while. Eventually, we made our way to the Arc de Triopmhe, then met up with Sam at the Eiffel Tower.





Honestly, I have to say that the Arc was quite underwhelming. It's much smaller (10%-15%) than I'd expected. The Eiffel Tower was nice, about what I though, and I must say I was somewhat impressed by it.

Monday we did the Free Walking tour of Paris. That was interesting. While we never made it back to either the Arc or the Tower (though we did get glimpses of both), we saw pretty much everything else there was to see in Paris, including Notre Dame, the Paris Opera House (of Phantom of the Opera fame), the Louvre, and a whole bunch of other places that I really can't remember. Sorry (it has been a week, after all!)

Well, anyway, here are some pics of everything.











After the walking tour, we went back to the Louvre and went inside for a little while. Found both the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.





I'm almost ashamed to say this, but neither work of art impressed me much. No, that's a lie; the Venus is quite magnificent. The Mona Lisa, on the other hand... it's... it's just... tiny. I mean real tiny, like smaller-than-your-average-portrait small. Honestly, it wouldn't look out of place hanging on my living room wall back home (and that's saying something).

So, anyway, getting myself back on topic before I go of on a pointless rant about art...

Tues, we tried to get to Normandy Beach. I say tried, because we made it as far as this little nowhere town called Bayeux, about 4.5 miles due south of Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, before everything fell apart. According to our guidebook, you could either hire a special taxi service or take a tour bus once you get to the train station. First thing we saw after getting off the train was a sign for a taxi service. We call the number, and they say they'll be right there. Half-hour later, no-show. We call back, and they tell us that they're not running the taxis any more that day. So I run across the street to the tour bus station (it's just after 1:00 by this point), and ask if there's room on their 1:15 tour. Guy at the counter says the bus just left, and it was the last tour of the day. Even though it wasn't scheduled to leave for another 15 minutes. So all we could do was wait for the next train back to Paris.

Does the word "heartbroken" mean anything to you?

We were able to salvage some of the day; I got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. That was pretty spectacular.



Wednesday, we left for Amsterdam. I'll do a quick post on that in a little bit.

Until then, peace.

-Raptor

Stupid Wireless!

Okay, so, first off, I apologize for not getting Paris and Amsterdam pictures up yet. Had two tests this week, and studying for them took priority. Now that it's the weekend (yay), I planned on putting those pics up. Unfortunately, Haus Wartenberg's wireless is acting up (again), so I can't get online via my laptop. Instead, I'm using one of HW's desktops (and it's stupid Euro-spec keyboard) right now. No idea when wireless is going to be fixed, but once it is I'll get Paris and Amsterdam up straightaway.

Until then, peace.

-Raptor

A Week's Travels, Part 1: Lucerne and Interlaken, Switzerland

We left early (as in 12:45 AM) last Friday morning for Lucerne, Switzerland, on an overnight train. Never, ever doing that again. Four people (the three of us plus one other woman) trying to sleep in a compartment that can sort-of-comfortably sleep three is not an experience I care to repeat any time soon. Anyway, we got to Interlaken at about eight in the morning, checked into our hostel, and then promptly all went back to sleep and didn't get up until after noon.

Lucerne was pretty enough, but since most of the city's attractions are actually outside the city, and thus require a dedicated day-trip, and we were only there for one night, we didn't actually do all that much. One thing we did do was check out the Glacier Gardens, which is an area that was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago. It's really quite something to see.





At the top of the Gardens, which is really the side of a small mountain, there's a rickety old observation tower where you can get a great view of the city.



Also, just below the Garden there is a monument to a group of Swiss Mercenaries who fought on the side of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution and were sent to the guillotine by the victorious revolutionaries.



Aside from that, though, there really wasn't much to do in Lucerne, like I said, so we just mainly hung out near Lake Lucerne and the Reuss River.





One funny story from our time in Lucerne: the three of us (Samantha, Dreama, and myself) were waiting for the light to change so we could cross the street when a brand-new Ferrari (F430 Scuderia Spider 16M, if you're really interested) turns the corner and roars past us. Me being me, I stare after it with my mouth hanging open. Sam and Dreama just roll their eyes and say "Dude, come on, it's just a car." To which I respond "It's not just a car, it's a Ferrari." They repeat themselves. "It's just a car." "It's a Ferrari." "It's a car." "It's a Ferrari." So we go back and forth like that for a minute, and the whole time there's this little old man standing on the sidewalk with us. All of the sudden he turns around and gives us a stern glare. I figure he's about to yell at us for being rude Americans when he starts wagging his finger at us. Then he starts to talk. "Is a Ferrari," he firmly declares in the thickest Italian accent I've ever heard.

So, the next day, Saturday, we took a train to Interlaken. Only spent a few hours there before our train to Paris left (actually the train that took us to the TGV that took us to Paris). Oddly enough, even though we were only there for five hours, I think it was my favorite spot in the whole trip, probably because it was so beautiful.









One interesting bit of trivia about Interlaken; they filmed a good portion of the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service near the town. The hotel that features prominently in the film, Piz Gloria, can actually be seen from the town square on a clear day. BTW, if you've never heard of the movie, it's the only one where George Lazenby played 007. If you haven't seen it, rent it. Despite the no-name actor in the lead role, it's actually one of my favorite Bond films.

So, after spending too few hours in Interlaken, it was off to Paris, which will be featured in my next post. So look for Part 2 of my write-up coming soon!

Also, the Toblerone bars in Switzerland are absolutely huge!



That one weighs 400 grams (the ones you can find in the states only weigh 100, for comparison), but they come even bigger; 750 grams are also common, and if you look hard, you can find bars that weigh a whopping 4.5 kilograms! Unfortunately, while I did see a few of those huge bars, I couldn't afford one; they cost upwards of 25 Swiss Francs (one SF is just about equal to one US Dollar).

So, anyway, look for my write-up on Paris soon (probably tomorrow). Until then, peace.

-Raptor

Back from All Over

Well, over the last week, I've been to two different cities in Switzerland, Paris, and Amsterdam. Got back in at 10:00 local time last night, and I'm tired.

I had, for the most part, a pretty good time, though I'm still sad that Normandy fell through (long story). I'll put up some pics and do a full write-up either later today or tomorrow, Monday at the latest. For now, It's just good to be home. Thanks for all your prayers as we traveled all over Europe.

Prague Write-Up

Well, our train for Switzerland doesn't leave for another three hours, so I figure I should do that write-up on Prague now.

Friday, we took a walking tour of the city. Took about three hours, and we went all over the place, from the Town Square, through Old Town and into New Town (which was built in 1300, so "new" is a relative term), through the Jewish Quarter (past a very strange statue of Franz Kafka), and to the river, where we saw the Charles Bridge and the home of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Along the way, our guide told us about the history of Prague and Czechoslovakia/The Czech Republic, from the very first Celtic and later Bohemian tribes that settled the area right up through WWII and the Cold War.#

After the tour, we walked back to the Jewish Quarter and toured part of the Jewish Museum. Most moving was a building that used to be a Synagogue, but is now a memorial to the Czechoslovakian Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust. Written on the inside walls are the names of all the people who were murdered. There are over seven hundred thousand of them. The names, which are written in very small letters, cover nearly the entire inside of the synagogue, from floor to ceiling. It is very moving, very saddening. The museum also features pictures that were drawn by children at a concentration camp outside Prague as part of a secret art-therapy program organized and run by one woman. All of the children were later taken to Auschwitz and killed, and since the Nazis were so good at destroying birth certificates and altering records, those pictures are the only proof we have that most of those children ever existed. It's... no, words cannot describe such tragedy.

Anyway, on Saturday we hiked over the Charles Bridge to Prague Castle. It was interesting, I guess; it's not really a castle. but more a collection of buildings on a hill with a wall built around them. The cathedral in the center is absolutely beautiful, though. And we did get to see the Changing of the Guard at noon (sort of; we got stuck behind a really large crowd for most of it), which was very cool.

After the Castle, we hiked over to a bluff that overlooks the city. At the top of the bluff is a giant metronome. Now, after the USSR took over Czechoslovakia in 1949, they built the largest statue of Stalin in the world atop that bluff. The statue was then blown up during the Prague Spring era of liberation in 1968. After the Warsaw Pact invaded and retook Prague, a massive plaza was built atop the bluff for "Mandatory Celebrations." After the fall of Communism and the splitting up of The Czech Republic and Slovakia, the metronome was built on the spot where Stalin's statue once stood. It symbolizes the time lost under Communism, as well as the time of freedom that is still coming towards us.

So, that was basically Prague. I can't upload any more pictures right now because I'm not on my laptop. I will be taking said laptop with me, though, so look for periodic updates throughout the week. We're doing Luzerne and Interlokan, Switzerland, then a few days in Paris (including a day trip to Normandy), the Amsterdam (to see the city, not to get smashed, so don't worry), then back to Salzburg on Friday and then a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, outside Munich) on Saturday. We couldn't make Brussels work on our budget.

So, that's Prague in a nutshell. Please pray for us as we travel this week.

Also, I apologize for any glaringly bad typos in this post: I wrote it on a German keyboard. No lie, some of the keys are arranged differently than a US-spec keyboard. Like Y and Z are switched around, for example.
Until next time, peace.

-Raptor.

Pics of Prague at Last

Hey everyone. Sorry it's taken so long to get these up. It's been a crazy week and, to be honest, I am exhausted. I'll try and get a full write-up done when I have the time.

I Am Not Yet Dead

Just a quick update to let y'all know that I made it back from Prague okay and that I am not dead or anything. I've just been busy as heck. I've got a big test tomorrow, and my group has just finished planning next week, which is our first week-long (ten days, actually) free period. Lucerne and Interlaken in Switzerland, followed by a few days in Paris, which will include an all-day trip to the beaches at Normandy, then two days in Amsterdam (to see the city and the architecture and the history, not to party), then home. We wanted to do Brussels, but that's all booked out, so we're going to come home early and then maybe do a day trip to Munich or somewhere near there. We'll see.

Anyway, I'll upload the pics tomorrow afternoon and take care of the Prague entry then. After that, I'm probably going to be off the web for ten days or so, depending on whether or not I take my laptop with me (probably won't, again).

So, until tomorrow, peace.

-Raptor

Weekend in Vienna

I spent last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Vienna. It was, in a word, beautiful.

We (there were three of us in the group) got to Vienna a little after Noon on Friday. It was about a 3 hour train ride from Salzaburg. We had the compartment (they have individual compartments on most trains here) to ourselves for most of the trip, which was nice.

Anyway, first thing we did after going to the hostel, checking in, and taking a much-needed nap (no one slept much the night before) was to head to the very center of the city, and St. Stephen's Cathedral.









The church is gorgeous, both inside and out.



So, after St. Stephens, we just wandered around the city for a while, seeing the sights, and getting lost. Why the group trusted me with the map, I have no idea.



This is the Hofburg Palace, the winter residence of the Habsburgs, who ruled Austria for centuries. Unfortunately for us, we thought it was the Austrian Parliament.



This is the real Parliament.

Saturday, we spent most of the day at Schonbrunn Palace, which was the summer residence of the Habsburgs.









The place is huge! There's over a thousand rooms in the palace, but only 40 of them are open to the public (no cameras allowed inside, though).

After touring the palace building itself, we toured the palace gardens, which feature a massive hedge maze (which I foolishly decided to try out. Got lost in there for a while), as well as a massive structure-which we have no idea what it is-up on a hill overlooking the city. Honestly, we were there all day, and we didn't see even half of what there is to see on the property.

After Schonbrunn, we toured the Museum of Applied Art for a few minutes (again, no pics of the inside) before racing to some markets to pick up food for our trip home (as none of the food stores open on Sunday.)

Sunday, we started off by finding St. Peter's Church (getting ourselves good and lost along the way). We finally found it around noon.



(Picture courtesy of Wikipedia since mine didn't turn out so good)

The inside is, like St. Stephen's, absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, it is rather dark inside the church, and they do not permit the use of flash photography, so all of my pictures turned out badly. One kind of creepy thing is that the bodies (skeletons, really) of two martyrs from Rome that are on display in glass coffins on the sides of the church. Kinda gross, if you ask me.

After that, we toured the House of Music. Very Cool. The first floor is a display about the history of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Then, from the second floor up, there are a multitude of displays describing how our mind processes sound and how we can be tricked via various auditory illusions. Then there was a history of music, leading from the classical composers of Mozart's era up through the present day and even into the future. My only regret was, again, that I neglected to take any pictures.

Finally, since we had about three hours to kill before our train left, we wandered the city again, going first to St. Stephen's again, then back to St. Peter's, before finally arriving at Votivkirche. I have pictures, but they were all taken with the camera turned horizontally to get the entirety of the church's twin steeples in view, and I don't know how to rotate them. I'll post pics if/when I do.

After Votivkirche, we wandered the city for another hour or so before heading back the hostel, checking out, and then catching the train home. When we made our reservations, we accidentally upgraded ourselves from the standard InterCity train to one of the new high-speed RailJet trains (only cost us 10 Euro, so we didn't mind). We made it home in just over two hours after hitting a top speed of 200 kph (~125mph), which we sustained for about half the journey. Got in just after nine thirty at night (the train was 20 minutes late, surprisingly), made it to Haus Wartenberg by about ten.

So, that was last weekend. Have to say that I had a blast.

Next weekend looks like Prague. I'll let y'all know how that turns out. Until then, peace.

-Raptor