After a 13 hour day on trains, we finally arrived in Amsterdam! Because of the obviously long day, we crashed around midnight as soon as we got to our room.
We woke up the next morning and, you guessed it, went on another free walking tour. We took it through the same organization that we did in Prague and Berlin. Its called New Europe Tours. They were actually started by a college graduate a little while back. They are great so we highly recommend them to anyone else who decides to do the backpacking thing.
The tour took us around pretty much the entire city. To our surprise Amsterdam is also a city on water, a lot like Venice. They proudly boast, however, that Amsterdam is better because the canals dont smell in the summer time like they can in Venice. This is because they actually drain them every 3 days which is pretty impressive. Even so, a swim is not recommended. We learned there is a lot of public peeing in this city haha. But it is still pretty! The buildings tilt
like in Venice because of the sinking ground. Some of them also lean forward. But that is architecturally strategic. It was done to be able to lift heavy things outside the building and not hit the building when Amsterdam was a huge merchant and naval trading city. The buildings also look different than any other European city we have seen. Stay tuned to facebook for pictures. But the city definitely has its oan unique personality. We liked it a lot.
On the tour we saw the red light district briefly and learned about the legal prostitution in the city. We saw the Old Church and the New Church. We saw the old main square where they used to execute public beheadings. We saw the Jewish Quarter, which now looks different than any other part of the city because the buildings were designed by architecture students and are way more modern. This is because the entire Jewish Quarter was demolished during the war because people had to cut down their houses for firewood to keep warm in the winter.
We took a break at the Coffee Company, the local coffee chain there. We also stopped and had some free cheese tasting. It was yummyyyy. We then leatned about the hash...of course. There is a marijuana and hash museum which we heard a bit about. We learned about the coffee houses, which is where you can legally purchase and smoke weed, or eat a "space cake" if you so desire.
On the tour we made friends with 2 scottish guys. The tour guide took us to watch the World Cup game at a large bar slash theater called Boom Chicago. Being the lucky girls we are, Holland was playing and we were once again in the home country during one of their football games! (yes i said football...correct!) It was nuts of course because Holland won. The entire place was packed and in the national colors of orange and black. Hup Holland hup! We had a late lunch during the game. It was a sausage and mashed potatoes dish that was a Dutch commodity, along with some Dutch beer. The shape of it was very suggestive I might add. You will see in the pictures haha.
After a quick pit stop at the hostel we headed to have try some pancakes, which Holland is fa,ous for. Mmmm they were good. We then went back to Boom Chicago to see a comedy show. The performers were American but the theater is apparently a cool thing to do in Amsterdam. It was pretty much like Whose Line Is It Anyway...a bunch of improv. It was really funny! We then met the Scottish guys for some beers and went out to some bars and dancing with them in Leidsplein, a big square. It was a good time!
The next day we woke up and went to the Van Gogh ,useum. We saw a lot of his famous paintings and read about his life. We then grabbed a nice relaxing lunch at a restaurant along the water before heading to the Anne Frank House.
Anne Frank was such a surreal experience. Remembering reading the book and visualizing the "secret annex" which Anne and her family hid in, and then being in the actual house, was just crazy. One of the things that really got to us was seeing the pencil marks on the wall where Anne's parents marked the children's heights as they grew. You can also see the pictures Anne put up in her bedroom to decorate it. It is crazy that 8 people lived in there for years and they hardly ever said a word. They had to walk up those creaky, narrow wooden stairs and try not to make any sounds for fear of being discovered. Then hearing about how her father, Otto was the only one to survive and how hard he searched for his family and then how he made himself get through Anne's diary. He fought to save the house and publish the book....he made such a good thing out of something terrible. He is truly a hero. Now Anne's book is translated into 65 languages around the world, second only to the Bible. It was a truly moving experience.
Needing a bit of a pick-me-up we hunted down some sushi for dinner! We had a craving. We then wandered around and took pictures of the sunset over the canals...which by the way doesnt happen until about 1030 pm. We went back to pack and turn in early to catch a 5:50 am train to Paris! Bonjourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Stay tuned for updates about our last stop. Crazy! We are getting really excited to see everyone though. Miss you all!
Love
Nicole, Tricia, Christie
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Wheels are turning in Copenhagen!
Once we were finished in the bustling capital city of Germany known as Berlin, we headed on up to Denmark! We got on a 10 hour night train to Copenhagen so that we could safely arrive there in the morning!
Upon arrival, we were overtaken by the change of pace from pidgeons to seagulls. As well as the lovely old medieval architecture. But we had to shuffle onto a tram to get to our hostel and unload all of our belongings before adventuring further into the city. We dropped off our stuff and headed out the door to grab a delightful cup of Joe and a pastery before starting a day of sight-seeing. When we first started walking and came along a huge vigil that was in honor of Michael Jackson. It took us a few seconds to realized that is was a year since his death, and that it widely affected everyone in the world, not just USA. We then moved along and walked down some street alleys and looked into a few stores before being overwhelmed by some price tags.
Copenhagen was a city that was very chic, boho, and indie all that same time. It was QUITE expensive too. Needless to say, we drooled at an infamous number of things that we saw, wanted to buy (of course, we're girls) but a.) couldn't afford it and b.) we're backpackin' man! we can't bring all of that jank along! we rough it! But anyways, if you want an adorable place to shop, no matter the price, Copenhagen is the place to blow the big bucks.
We finished up what girls do best and then decided to stroll down the water on our way back to the hostel for a little R and R (you see, sometimes its not soo easy to the most relaxing sleep on night trains, so we needed a little pick me up nap). Once rengergized, we headed to Tivoli!!! Tivoli is a 19th Century themepark that is what Walk Disney based his theme park, Disneyworld on. Ohh yea, you heard me right. But we are not fools! We know the prices of theme park food, so we decided to splurge and grabe a China box of chinese food before going in! We think ahead. So we scarfed down our meals and then headed in. We saw so many shows, from ballet to seeing on orchestra tap their toes to their music. There was also a live rock band performance. It was really cool. We walked the theme park and got ice cream before heading out and deciding to crash early.
The next day, we spoiled ourselves and slept in. We got up and got another pastery and cup of coffee (sort of becoming a habit), and then decided to rent bikes! Copenhagen is all flat, so it is flooded with bikers. There are are separate bike lanes and stoplights for bikers, so we rented bikes for 6 hours and biked around the city. We were able to easily access the city this way. We stopped in and crusied through the Kings Gardens first. We then pedaled our bikes over to Nyhaven, the old navy port where we sat over the ledge where Christie and I got Thai food and Nicole got a hotdog! We then wanted to just bike all around the city, so we saw many sights like the Palaces and Christianshavn's Island. We also were able to watch a World Cup game on the waterside on a huge projector! We have been spoiled. But after returning our bikes, we realized that biking really is the way to go.
Headed for Amsterdam the day of the 27th by 3 trains that lasted 14.5 hours. But more to come when we talk about Amsterdam.
But as for now,
we love you. miss you. can't wait to see you while when we get home, but still are happy to be in Europe and don't want to leave!
<3
Tricia, Nicole, and Christie
Upon arrival, we were overtaken by the change of pace from pidgeons to seagulls. As well as the lovely old medieval architecture. But we had to shuffle onto a tram to get to our hostel and unload all of our belongings before adventuring further into the city. We dropped off our stuff and headed out the door to grab a delightful cup of Joe and a pastery before starting a day of sight-seeing. When we first started walking and came along a huge vigil that was in honor of Michael Jackson. It took us a few seconds to realized that is was a year since his death, and that it widely affected everyone in the world, not just USA. We then moved along and walked down some street alleys and looked into a few stores before being overwhelmed by some price tags.
Copenhagen was a city that was very chic, boho, and indie all that same time. It was QUITE expensive too. Needless to say, we drooled at an infamous number of things that we saw, wanted to buy (of course, we're girls) but a.) couldn't afford it and b.) we're backpackin' man! we can't bring all of that jank along! we rough it! But anyways, if you want an adorable place to shop, no matter the price, Copenhagen is the place to blow the big bucks.
We finished up what girls do best and then decided to stroll down the water on our way back to the hostel for a little R and R (you see, sometimes its not soo easy to the most relaxing sleep on night trains, so we needed a little pick me up nap). Once rengergized, we headed to Tivoli!!! Tivoli is a 19th Century themepark that is what Walk Disney based his theme park, Disneyworld on. Ohh yea, you heard me right. But we are not fools! We know the prices of theme park food, so we decided to splurge and grabe a China box of chinese food before going in! We think ahead. So we scarfed down our meals and then headed in. We saw so many shows, from ballet to seeing on orchestra tap their toes to their music. There was also a live rock band performance. It was really cool. We walked the theme park and got ice cream before heading out and deciding to crash early.
The next day, we spoiled ourselves and slept in. We got up and got another pastery and cup of coffee (sort of becoming a habit), and then decided to rent bikes! Copenhagen is all flat, so it is flooded with bikers. There are are separate bike lanes and stoplights for bikers, so we rented bikes for 6 hours and biked around the city. We were able to easily access the city this way. We stopped in and crusied through the Kings Gardens first. We then pedaled our bikes over to Nyhaven, the old navy port where we sat over the ledge where Christie and I got Thai food and Nicole got a hotdog! We then wanted to just bike all around the city, so we saw many sights like the Palaces and Christianshavn's Island. We also were able to watch a World Cup game on the waterside on a huge projector! We have been spoiled. But after returning our bikes, we realized that biking really is the way to go.
Headed for Amsterdam the day of the 27th by 3 trains that lasted 14.5 hours. But more to come when we talk about Amsterdam.
But as for now,
we love you. miss you. can't wait to see you while when we get home, but still are happy to be in Europe and don't want to leave!
<3
Tricia, Nicole, and Christie
Friday, June 25, 2010
Berlin: City of bears and walking man lights!
Heyo!
So we just got to Copenhagen after a night train from Berlin. We had a nice ride on our first 6 person sleeper car. It was actually pretty comfortable!
Berlin was a great experience. It was cool to go back to a different part of Germany and compare the 2. Berlin was definitely a lot different than Munich. Much less "German" culture, aka liederhosen, bavarian music, beer halls and beer gardens, but a lot more city. But the history there is fascinating. And every corner you turn there is a story behind it.
When we arrived in Berlin it was late so we just walked around the corner to grab some kebabs- our new personal favorite snacks- and went to bed. Apparently kebabs are like the most popular fast food in Europe. And boy they are tasty! These ones had peanut sauce and hummus! mmmm.
Anyways...we woke up the next morning to take a free walking tour. These free walking tours are definitely the best intro to the city. Just a word of advice to anyone doing something like this in the future. The tour took us through all the sites in Berlin. We saw the Brandenburg Gate ,which is the cities major symbol. Across from it is the hotel Michael Jackson dangled his baby from. Who knew! We saw the site of major Nazi marches, buildings, and their headquarters. Of these sites we saw the building where they filmed a major scene in Valkerie to recreate history only a few years ago, and we saw the spot where Hitler's bunker used to be. This is also the spot he died at. Now its simply a crappy parking lot. Very fitting.
We of course saw the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. This was the main crossover point between West and East Germany during communist times. They have replicas of signs and gates to give people a feel of what the checkpoint looked like. They also have panels with info all about the Berlin Wall. We read about people's attempted escapes, both successful and failed. We read about the amount of deaths at the wall, memorials to victims of it, the GDR's methods of restriction during communist times, and the fall of the wall, which was actually an accident! It is so crazy that this happened when we were alive. We were babies, but still. It doesn't feel like that recent. But I am sure to our parents who are reading this they remember everything.
On our tour we also saw the site where the students of the university in Berlin had to burn all the books the government had banned. We saw a war memorial and the university where Einstein studied. We also saw the Holocaust Memorial. This memorial is very different than anything else we have seen. It's not obvious what it is alluding to at all. Its just hundreds of stone blocks, all different sizes. You can walk through it and evaluate what it means for yourself. Some people play hide and seek in it because people disappear and reappear in front of your eyes beacause of all the blocks. Our tour guide said she saw that as conveying its sense of hope, that people can still play in something that signifies such a terrible part of history. There is an exhibition underground which we toured a few days later. It was incredibly intense. It had diary entries of 15 actual victims. It had a room about a select number of actual families that were affected. It talked about a few of the concentration camps. It was almost too much for us.
After our tour we went back to the hostel to rest up for a pub crawl! Thats right...we had to do at least one. And Berlin was the place to do it. This city never sleeps. We had a good group of people to meet up with from a neighboring hostel that we met on the tour. Two of the girls we actually had met in Prague on our tour there! So we hung out with them, some Australian guys, and some guys from UVA (again!) and partied and danced the night away.
The next day we went to the German History Museum. We read more in depth about WW2 and the Holocaust and the Commuist times. We then went to look more closely at Checkpoint Charlie and had lunch at Einsteins Cafe! The next day we looked at the Holocaust memorial that I described before, but more in depth. Afterwards we tried to go look at the Topography of Terror-the site where the Nazi headquarters were. But it was beginning to be overload. We were feeling overwhelmed and upset about all the holocaust stuff we have been hearing about. So we decided we needed something happy. Luckily, Berlin houses one of the best and biggest chocolate stores in the world!
We headed to the chocolate store for some happy chocolate time :) We got DELICIOUS chocolate mousse desserts and coffees with ice cream. MMMMM. After taking pictures with a ton of the Berlin bears around town (kind of like the hokie birds around blacksburg...the bear is the symbol of Berlin), we grabbed dinner at a Thai restaurant which Christie had been hardcore craving. We then headed to the main square by the Brandenburg Gate to watch Germany vs Ghana in the WORLD CUP!
Let me just say it was NUTSSSSS. We couldnt even see down the whole street until they showed it on tv. We were among millions upon millions of Germans crowding the streets watching the game. We didnt get there until halftime. But we were there when Germany scored. We actually couldnt stand there the whole time because it was too crowded. So we ran up the street to a cafe to watch. And Germany wonnn!!! Deutschlandddd! People filled the streets after the game going crazy. After long days and nights we turned in early before catching our train to Copenhagen the following evening.
Okay I wrote a lot of this out of order because it was hard to remember. But you get the general idea!
Love and miss you guys. We are definitely feeling the wariness of travelling in this last week. But we are seeing amazing things and can't wait share it with you in person!
Love
Nicole, Chrisite, Tricia
So we just got to Copenhagen after a night train from Berlin. We had a nice ride on our first 6 person sleeper car. It was actually pretty comfortable!
Berlin was a great experience. It was cool to go back to a different part of Germany and compare the 2. Berlin was definitely a lot different than Munich. Much less "German" culture, aka liederhosen, bavarian music, beer halls and beer gardens, but a lot more city. But the history there is fascinating. And every corner you turn there is a story behind it.
When we arrived in Berlin it was late so we just walked around the corner to grab some kebabs- our new personal favorite snacks- and went to bed. Apparently kebabs are like the most popular fast food in Europe. And boy they are tasty! These ones had peanut sauce and hummus! mmmm.
Anyways...we woke up the next morning to take a free walking tour. These free walking tours are definitely the best intro to the city. Just a word of advice to anyone doing something like this in the future. The tour took us through all the sites in Berlin. We saw the Brandenburg Gate ,which is the cities major symbol. Across from it is the hotel Michael Jackson dangled his baby from. Who knew! We saw the site of major Nazi marches, buildings, and their headquarters. Of these sites we saw the building where they filmed a major scene in Valkerie to recreate history only a few years ago, and we saw the spot where Hitler's bunker used to be. This is also the spot he died at. Now its simply a crappy parking lot. Very fitting.
We of course saw the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. This was the main crossover point between West and East Germany during communist times. They have replicas of signs and gates to give people a feel of what the checkpoint looked like. They also have panels with info all about the Berlin Wall. We read about people's attempted escapes, both successful and failed. We read about the amount of deaths at the wall, memorials to victims of it, the GDR's methods of restriction during communist times, and the fall of the wall, which was actually an accident! It is so crazy that this happened when we were alive. We were babies, but still. It doesn't feel like that recent. But I am sure to our parents who are reading this they remember everything.
On our tour we also saw the site where the students of the university in Berlin had to burn all the books the government had banned. We saw a war memorial and the university where Einstein studied. We also saw the Holocaust Memorial. This memorial is very different than anything else we have seen. It's not obvious what it is alluding to at all. Its just hundreds of stone blocks, all different sizes. You can walk through it and evaluate what it means for yourself. Some people play hide and seek in it because people disappear and reappear in front of your eyes beacause of all the blocks. Our tour guide said she saw that as conveying its sense of hope, that people can still play in something that signifies such a terrible part of history. There is an exhibition underground which we toured a few days later. It was incredibly intense. It had diary entries of 15 actual victims. It had a room about a select number of actual families that were affected. It talked about a few of the concentration camps. It was almost too much for us.
After our tour we went back to the hostel to rest up for a pub crawl! Thats right...we had to do at least one. And Berlin was the place to do it. This city never sleeps. We had a good group of people to meet up with from a neighboring hostel that we met on the tour. Two of the girls we actually had met in Prague on our tour there! So we hung out with them, some Australian guys, and some guys from UVA (again!) and partied and danced the night away.
The next day we went to the German History Museum. We read more in depth about WW2 and the Holocaust and the Commuist times. We then went to look more closely at Checkpoint Charlie and had lunch at Einsteins Cafe! The next day we looked at the Holocaust memorial that I described before, but more in depth. Afterwards we tried to go look at the Topography of Terror-the site where the Nazi headquarters were. But it was beginning to be overload. We were feeling overwhelmed and upset about all the holocaust stuff we have been hearing about. So we decided we needed something happy. Luckily, Berlin houses one of the best and biggest chocolate stores in the world!
We headed to the chocolate store for some happy chocolate time :) We got DELICIOUS chocolate mousse desserts and coffees with ice cream. MMMMM. After taking pictures with a ton of the Berlin bears around town (kind of like the hokie birds around blacksburg...the bear is the symbol of Berlin), we grabbed dinner at a Thai restaurant which Christie had been hardcore craving. We then headed to the main square by the Brandenburg Gate to watch Germany vs Ghana in the WORLD CUP!
Let me just say it was NUTSSSSS. We couldnt even see down the whole street until they showed it on tv. We were among millions upon millions of Germans crowding the streets watching the game. We didnt get there until halftime. But we were there when Germany scored. We actually couldnt stand there the whole time because it was too crowded. So we ran up the street to a cafe to watch. And Germany wonnn!!! Deutschlandddd! People filled the streets after the game going crazy. After long days and nights we turned in early before catching our train to Copenhagen the following evening.
Okay I wrote a lot of this out of order because it was hard to remember. But you get the general idea!
Love and miss you guys. We are definitely feeling the wariness of travelling in this last week. But we are seeing amazing things and can't wait share it with you in person!
Love
Nicole, Chrisite, Tricia
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Czech us out!
You know you want too! ;)
So, as you savy readers might guess, this post is about our last stop, Prague, in the Czech Republic! And let me just say first... WOW. We loved this city! I know for me personally, it's on my top three list. For one, Prague is incredibly gorgeous. It was one of the only European cities that was essentially untouched by WWII. So all of the buildings and monuments are super old, built in medeival times and onwards. Secondly, Prague is chock full of great history and facinating stories of people, events, and empires that rose and fell in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe.
Prague has actually only been the capital of it's own country for 20 years, since the fall of the Iron Curtain and communism. Before then, it was under the rule of emperors, Nazis, and communists. It's one of those cities that kind of just got passed around between occupying entities. Before the first world war, Prague was part of the Austrian Hungarian empire, ruled over by the Hapsburgs. After they were forced to abdicate the throne upon losing WWI, the first Czechloslovakian democracy was formed, very briefly, until the country was occupied by Nazis in WWII. At the end of WWII, the citizens of Prague decided that they finally wanted to be in charge of their own city. The city of Prague actually liberated itself when it got word that the American troops were only one day away, and they rose up against the occupying Nazi troops and engaged in a battle that lasted through the night for two days. When the Prague citizens found out that the Americans weren't going to be able to come to their aid as they were expecting (due to the division among responsibility and the claims on countries agreed on by the Allies), they finished off the Nazi occupation on their own, with the help of some Soviet SS soldiers who thought it might be better to get out of the city before the Soviets came and captured these traitors of communism. So the next day, when the Soviets arrived to "liberate" Prague, the job was already done! The happy and victorious Czechs tried to explain to the Soviets that no, in fact, they did not need "liberation", but to no avail. The Soviets stayed, made themselves at home in the city, and several years later Prague became part of the communist side of the Iron Curtain. This communist rule continued until after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when finally protests by the citizens were able to push the communists out of the city. The Czech Republic reclaimed its nationality and its capital in 1990, and has been a democratic country (with capitalism in full boom) ever since.
Whew! If you stayed awake during that exhaustive history lesson, you'll understand why Prague was so facinating! On our first day, we took a super-informative tour which gave us that whole rundown, while strolling through the streets and seeing the actual locations of the events I just described. We spent the rest of our first full day climbing up to the Prague castle, exploring that side of the city and catching some incredible views of the rest of Prague laid out below us. The evening before, we had explored the Old Town and the center square of Prague, which is quite touristy but still beautiful, and full of one of the wonderful facets of capitalism- great shopping! One of the things Prague is known for is Czech blown glass. Beautiful, vibrant colors blown in glass form platters, vases, bowls, and many decorative items like butterflies, fish, other animals, or even people (some caught in quite racy acts!).
After our long day of touring, we hit a local pub to watch the World Cup after enjoying some traditional Czech fare. We sampled some meat dishes, including roast lamb and a beef sirloin stew with dumplings. And of course, we took part in the Czech's greatest invention... beer!! Yes, folks, you can thank the Czechs for your evening festivities tonight. That night we hunted down some ice cream and took a walk in some light rain that beautified the city even more, if that was possible. We walked out onto the Charles Bridge to get some night shots and to take in the breathtaking image of Prague at night one last time.
The next day we spent exploring the Jewish Quarter, which was the Jewish ghetto during the years of oppression leading up to WWII and the Holocaust. We got to see the Jewish cementary, which was the only cemetary in the city where Jews were permitted to be buried for hundreds of years. Consequently, there are layers and layers of tombs which have settled into eerily rolling hills and jutting, lopsided tombstones. It was a surreal experience and a photographer's heaven. Connected to the cemetary is the Pinzer Synagogue, which contains the names of every Jew from Prague who was killed in the Holocaust. They cover the walls of the rooms of the synagogue in about size 14 font... and go on room after room. Talk about a moving sight... names of entire families are listed together, all with seperate birthdays, but identical dates indicating the last day they were known to be alive. It was quite chilling, actually. The names were painted over during the communist era, but the synagogue was restored after 1990 when the democractic government was formed.
Upstairs in the Pinzer Synagogue is a display of childrens' artwork. Normally this would be a happy exhibit, but these children were imprisoned in the concentration camp outside of Prague. The drawings were used as a sort of therapy to help the children cope with the horrors of daily life. Out of over 8,000 children imprisoned from Prague, only about 100 survived. Most of the artists whose work is contained in the exhibit died before they reached the age of 15.
After that morning, we needed a little pick-me-up, so we visited (for about the third time in 2 days) our favorite shop in Prague- Bohemian Bagel, an American owned bagel store that was a wonderful treat for our tastebuds!! Oh heaven, you are a bagel with Philadelphia cream cheese in Europe. I'm telling you all, you never know what you'll miss the most until you have to go without it for a month and a half.
That afternoon, after our bagel feast, we sadly said goodbye to one of the most beautiful and fun, energetic, and facinating places we have visited yet. Have no doubts, we will be back! We caught a train to Berlin last night, and are on to our next adventure, in a new city on a new day. But for now, ciao loved ones! Kisses from over the Atlantic!
So, as you savy readers might guess, this post is about our last stop, Prague, in the Czech Republic! And let me just say first... WOW. We loved this city! I know for me personally, it's on my top three list. For one, Prague is incredibly gorgeous. It was one of the only European cities that was essentially untouched by WWII. So all of the buildings and monuments are super old, built in medeival times and onwards. Secondly, Prague is chock full of great history and facinating stories of people, events, and empires that rose and fell in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe.
Prague has actually only been the capital of it's own country for 20 years, since the fall of the Iron Curtain and communism. Before then, it was under the rule of emperors, Nazis, and communists. It's one of those cities that kind of just got passed around between occupying entities. Before the first world war, Prague was part of the Austrian Hungarian empire, ruled over by the Hapsburgs. After they were forced to abdicate the throne upon losing WWI, the first Czechloslovakian democracy was formed, very briefly, until the country was occupied by Nazis in WWII. At the end of WWII, the citizens of Prague decided that they finally wanted to be in charge of their own city. The city of Prague actually liberated itself when it got word that the American troops were only one day away, and they rose up against the occupying Nazi troops and engaged in a battle that lasted through the night for two days. When the Prague citizens found out that the Americans weren't going to be able to come to their aid as they were expecting (due to the division among responsibility and the claims on countries agreed on by the Allies), they finished off the Nazi occupation on their own, with the help of some Soviet SS soldiers who thought it might be better to get out of the city before the Soviets came and captured these traitors of communism. So the next day, when the Soviets arrived to "liberate" Prague, the job was already done! The happy and victorious Czechs tried to explain to the Soviets that no, in fact, they did not need "liberation", but to no avail. The Soviets stayed, made themselves at home in the city, and several years later Prague became part of the communist side of the Iron Curtain. This communist rule continued until after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when finally protests by the citizens were able to push the communists out of the city. The Czech Republic reclaimed its nationality and its capital in 1990, and has been a democratic country (with capitalism in full boom) ever since.
Whew! If you stayed awake during that exhaustive history lesson, you'll understand why Prague was so facinating! On our first day, we took a super-informative tour which gave us that whole rundown, while strolling through the streets and seeing the actual locations of the events I just described. We spent the rest of our first full day climbing up to the Prague castle, exploring that side of the city and catching some incredible views of the rest of Prague laid out below us. The evening before, we had explored the Old Town and the center square of Prague, which is quite touristy but still beautiful, and full of one of the wonderful facets of capitalism- great shopping! One of the things Prague is known for is Czech blown glass. Beautiful, vibrant colors blown in glass form platters, vases, bowls, and many decorative items like butterflies, fish, other animals, or even people (some caught in quite racy acts!).
After our long day of touring, we hit a local pub to watch the World Cup after enjoying some traditional Czech fare. We sampled some meat dishes, including roast lamb and a beef sirloin stew with dumplings. And of course, we took part in the Czech's greatest invention... beer!! Yes, folks, you can thank the Czechs for your evening festivities tonight. That night we hunted down some ice cream and took a walk in some light rain that beautified the city even more, if that was possible. We walked out onto the Charles Bridge to get some night shots and to take in the breathtaking image of Prague at night one last time.
The next day we spent exploring the Jewish Quarter, which was the Jewish ghetto during the years of oppression leading up to WWII and the Holocaust. We got to see the Jewish cementary, which was the only cemetary in the city where Jews were permitted to be buried for hundreds of years. Consequently, there are layers and layers of tombs which have settled into eerily rolling hills and jutting, lopsided tombstones. It was a surreal experience and a photographer's heaven. Connected to the cemetary is the Pinzer Synagogue, which contains the names of every Jew from Prague who was killed in the Holocaust. They cover the walls of the rooms of the synagogue in about size 14 font... and go on room after room. Talk about a moving sight... names of entire families are listed together, all with seperate birthdays, but identical dates indicating the last day they were known to be alive. It was quite chilling, actually. The names were painted over during the communist era, but the synagogue was restored after 1990 when the democractic government was formed.
Upstairs in the Pinzer Synagogue is a display of childrens' artwork. Normally this would be a happy exhibit, but these children were imprisoned in the concentration camp outside of Prague. The drawings were used as a sort of therapy to help the children cope with the horrors of daily life. Out of over 8,000 children imprisoned from Prague, only about 100 survived. Most of the artists whose work is contained in the exhibit died before they reached the age of 15.
After that morning, we needed a little pick-me-up, so we visited (for about the third time in 2 days) our favorite shop in Prague- Bohemian Bagel, an American owned bagel store that was a wonderful treat for our tastebuds!! Oh heaven, you are a bagel with Philadelphia cream cheese in Europe. I'm telling you all, you never know what you'll miss the most until you have to go without it for a month and a half.
That afternoon, after our bagel feast, we sadly said goodbye to one of the most beautiful and fun, energetic, and facinating places we have visited yet. Have no doubts, we will be back! We caught a train to Berlin last night, and are on to our next adventure, in a new city on a new day. But for now, ciao loved ones! Kisses from over the Atlantic!
Budapeshht
We arrived in Bohemia Budapest via train. It was a whopping 20 minute walk from the train station to our hostel but we finally made it with a wide load backpack on. Upon arrival, we were reunited with our dear friend Amanda Nizam whom we will be traveling with for a few days. "Reunited and and it feels so good!" We washed up and took a little break before heading to an all you can eat hungarian buffet with our hostel. It was quite a spread if I do say so myself. Food from shark to pork in spices. Yum yum yum! But stuffing our faces and bellys with tradional style cuisine, we decided to burn it all off by taking a hike to the top of Citadel to see all of Budapest at night. It was beautiful. We even happened to walk by fireworks on the bridge. We got to see Parliment at night and other wonderful sights along the Danube River. We then trekked home and got ready for a day of sights.
The next day consisted of...rain. But that didnt stop us. We hit up a free walking tour that took us throughout the historical odds and ends of Budapest. We were able to hear about how communism died within Hungary, and saw many amazing sights like St. Stephens Basilica many historical statues and what the represent to the Hungarian culture. It was crazy to hear about how revolutionary Hungarys history was. After the tour, we had a tradional hungarian lunch with our tour guides and group and then headed over to the legendary Turkish baths, what have been recommended for quite some time on our trip.
We went to on of the more popular baths, called Szecheni in the park. It was fun the go in and out of these baths (pretty much like pools, dont get your minds wandering) that ranged from all different temperatures. We got caught in a whirlpool in one, and then could relax in a sauna right across the way. We hopped from pool to pool with friends we made from our tour as well as our hostel before heading out to see the end of the United States vs. Slovenia game.
We then headed back to the hostel to kick back, relax, make some pasta, have a little vino, and get ready for a fun night out with the friends in our hostel. Our hostel was quite small so we quickly became friends with everyone that was in it. But everyone was going out to experience the Budapest nightlife. We had made a stop or two before it had got kind of late, and being swayed by the thought that our train was leaving for Prague at 5:30 in the morning, we decided to call it a night. But not without a quick bite to eat. A traditional favorite, langos! It was quite delectible.
But anywhos, we called a cab to take us to the train station, to hop on a train, and wa-la we arrived in PRAHA!
Thats all we have for now folks, but keep reading!
Love,
Tricia, Christie, and Nicole
The next day consisted of...rain. But that didnt stop us. We hit up a free walking tour that took us throughout the historical odds and ends of Budapest. We were able to hear about how communism died within Hungary, and saw many amazing sights like St. Stephens Basilica many historical statues and what the represent to the Hungarian culture. It was crazy to hear about how revolutionary Hungarys history was. After the tour, we had a tradional hungarian lunch with our tour guides and group and then headed over to the legendary Turkish baths, what have been recommended for quite some time on our trip.
We went to on of the more popular baths, called Szecheni in the park. It was fun the go in and out of these baths (pretty much like pools, dont get your minds wandering) that ranged from all different temperatures. We got caught in a whirlpool in one, and then could relax in a sauna right across the way. We hopped from pool to pool with friends we made from our tour as well as our hostel before heading out to see the end of the United States vs. Slovenia game.
We then headed back to the hostel to kick back, relax, make some pasta, have a little vino, and get ready for a fun night out with the friends in our hostel. Our hostel was quite small so we quickly became friends with everyone that was in it. But everyone was going out to experience the Budapest nightlife. We had made a stop or two before it had got kind of late, and being swayed by the thought that our train was leaving for Prague at 5:30 in the morning, we decided to call it a night. But not without a quick bite to eat. A traditional favorite, langos! It was quite delectible.
But anywhos, we called a cab to take us to the train station, to hop on a train, and wa-la we arrived in PRAHA!
Thats all we have for now folks, but keep reading!
Love,
Tricia, Christie, and Nicole
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The hillsss are alive with the sound of operaaa..in Vienna!
Hey all! How do you like our quick blogs? We are finally up to date! Yay for free internet.
Well we just arrived in Budapest after a wonderful time in Vienna. Vienna is a very classy town. While it is a bit of a contradiction to see the beautiful old buildings clashing with the light up trendy shops, it is very easy to imagine the in-crowd of the 18th century bustling in the streets. All of the street names and restaurants are related to music, especially composers like Mozart, Strauss, Haydn, etc. The city is known for the coffee shops. We had a few very tasty cups of coffee while we were there, I must say.
The first night we ventured out to find a wine bar. We ended up at another Augustiner, but way different than the beer halls in Munich. This was a wine cellar that used to be a monastery. It serves its own locally grown wine. Christie got a glass with her Viennese wienerschnitzel. Nicole got some Viennese dumplings, and Tricia solely ordered a Viennese apple strudel. Christie and Nicole split a topfenstrudel for dessert. It was delicioussss. We took the metro home to get a good nights rest for sight seeing in the morning.
We awoke to pouring rain. Lame. But we made the most of it. We went inside St Stephen's cathedral, which was gorgeous of course. This church has catacombs that encase the Hapsburg families intestines. Yummy! But no, sadly we did not see the royal innards. We then walked to the Hofburg Palace, and on the way stopped in the world famous Delem chocolate shop. Everything looked amazingggg and you could watch them bake. It was so hard not to buy everything.
We then took a tour of the Hofburg Palace, which took us through the royal families silver and dining collection, the Sisi museum, and the imperial apartments. The Sisi museum took us through Empress Elisabeth's interesting but very depressing life. But it was still very intriguing.
We went back to the hostel to cook some pasta on our own and get ready for our night out...at the opera! We caught the metro early to the WORLD famous Vienna State Opera House. We paid 4 euro for standing room tickets right in the center aisle under the balcony on the first floor. We saw the premiere of Wagner's Tannhauser. As soon as the orchestra, comprised of members of the Vienna Philharmonic, started playing, we all had goosebumps. The sound was just amazing. And the singers did not disappoint. It was 3 acts, a total of 4 1/2 hours. And yes we stood the whole time. But it really wasn't that bad and DEFinitely worth 4 euros. The crowd went wild as the final curtain went down. It was so cool to watch opera with the people of Vienna. They were all ages and all types. And every single person was so well cultured and appreciative of their city's famous art form. It was a great experience.
The next morning we went to the Spanish Riding School. We saw the world class horses at their morning practice. They were beautiful! They did all sorts of dressage exercises. Christie exercised her knowledge on us, which was nice to understand the difficulty level of the tricks the horses and riders were practicing.
We topped the trip off with some pastries and headed to the train station. We will miss this classy town! Next stop-Budapest!
Love you all
Nicole, Christie, Tricia
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Munich... Prost!!!
Guten Tag!
We arrived in Munich on Sunday morning, after catching an eaaaaarly train from Interlaken with our two friends Scott and Kate from William & Mary. We checked into our hostel- the WOMBAT, oh yeah. We picked this one because we actually discovered that our UVA friends we met back in Nice (check out that post if you missed it) were going to be in Munich at the same time, and so we decided to book the same hostel.
After checking in, we were famished and in dire need of some authentic German beer and brats, with a side of HUGE pretzels. So we headed to one of the best beer halls in the city, Augustine Keller. They were the first Munich brewery and are still known as serving the best beer in the city! Our waitress was dressed up in traditional Bavarian clothing (just picture your mental image of a beer maid at Oktoberfest- that was her). We got all of the aforementioned food and I even tried sauerkraut for the first time! Hey, if you're gonna try it, it might as well be in the country that invented it. It actually was pretty good. The best thing about the food (even though I think by the end we had had about as much as we could handle) was that it all went so well with beer! We tried lots of different kinds... the regular lighter ale they serve everywhere, as well as a darker Weissebeir- a wheat beer with a really foamy head- that was my personal favorite.
Another awesome and unplanned timing of our visit- Germany played their first World Cup game on Sunday night. For those of you that saw it, it was sick, wasn't it? Imagine watching that team play that well in a German beer hall surrounded by Munich locals, wearing Germany colors with a German flag painted on your face. Well that's exactly what we were doing Sunday night! It was pretty surreal and awesome. We tried to watch the game at the famous Haufbrauhaus beer hall, but the only TV they had set up was in the beer garden and it was raining. (By the way, we have had our first slew of rainy days- a bummer, but pretty lucky that it's our first set of bad weather for the whole trip!) Any way, we ended up just going back to the place we had lunch, one of the 28 Augustine Keller beer halls in Munich. We picked up our German garb at a store on the way and a random German girl on the street painted flags on our faces! We piled into an upstairs room with lots of locals and a few brave Australians, with wooden tables in rows running perpendicular to a huge projection screen. And yes, the viewing did come complete with huge, liter-sized beer steins full of delicious German beer. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience.
The next day, we got up and hit the streets of Munich for a guided walking tour through the old city. Fun fact: Most of Munich is only 60 years old. It was completely bombed out in WWII, because it was the capital of the Nazi movement. But Hitler loved the city so much that his subordinates were careful to meticulously photo-document the inside and outside of countless buildings so they could all be rebuilt after the war (which they assumed they would win). Well, win or lose, the photos have helped the people in Munich rebuild their city. They have deliberately built new buildings to look old, so you can get lost in the city and believe the whole time that you are walking in 200 year old streets, when in reality some of the cobblestones were hand-laid just last year.
See, I learned a lot on our tour! We also got to sample some more beer and brats. The brats were a little spicy for me and Nicole, but Tricia enjoyed them, and we all enjoyed our half-liter of beer at 11:30 am. That's how they do it in Munich! The average local drinks a liter and a half of beer per day. In fact, the city provides one liter of beer a day to all of the students living in their "perfect student" housing- you have to have the equivalent of a 4.0. That's one way to motivate students to study!
After our walking tour on Monday, we headed back to the hostel to meet up with Nate and Tyler (Arthur headed home to the States earlier this week), our friends from UVA/Nice. We all grabbed a free drink (voucher provided at check in) at the hostel bar, and also enjoyed the sweet happy hour from 6-7 pm before going out to the Haufbrauhaus (the most famous beer garden in Munich) for dinner. The Haufbrauhaus was actually one of the central meeting places for Hitler and his original Nazi supporters during the beginning of the socialist movement. There are Bavarian flags painted on the ceiling, but if you look closely you can tell that they actually cover up four swatstikas. But don't make any jokes about Munich's Nazi history- you can be arrested on the spot for doing the Nazi salute in public in Munich.
After checking out several beer halls, we headed back to the hostel bar then went on a hunt for kebabs at midnight! Yum :) To bed that night (an interesting night in our hostel dorm, but that's all I'll say about that), then up the next day to catch a tour of Dachau, one of the original concentration camps outside the city. This tour was incredibly sad, but really interesting and definitely a must-see if you're in the area. We weren't super excited, but we new it was necessary to check out such a pivitol part of our world's history. Seeing what human beings are capable of doing to each other only confirmed to me the reality that we face true evil in this world, but hearing the stories of solidarity amongst the prisoners of the camp renewed my hope in human beings and the stronger powers of good at work around us.
After we got back from that sobering tour, we hopped on a train to Vienna, Austria! That's where we are now, but I'll leave our adventures in this city for another time. For now, we love you all and we miss you terribly! A quick rundown of the things we miss from the States:
Tricia- my duvet, slippers, and watching movies
Nicole- a larger closet (scratch that, a closet.), cheap candy, and Frappacinos
And of course, all of you!!
Love you, bye for now!
Christie- hoodies, my puppy, and sleeping without earplugs
We arrived in Munich on Sunday morning, after catching an eaaaaarly train from Interlaken with our two friends Scott and Kate from William & Mary. We checked into our hostel- the WOMBAT, oh yeah. We picked this one because we actually discovered that our UVA friends we met back in Nice (check out that post if you missed it) were going to be in Munich at the same time, and so we decided to book the same hostel.
After checking in, we were famished and in dire need of some authentic German beer and brats, with a side of HUGE pretzels. So we headed to one of the best beer halls in the city, Augustine Keller. They were the first Munich brewery and are still known as serving the best beer in the city! Our waitress was dressed up in traditional Bavarian clothing (just picture your mental image of a beer maid at Oktoberfest- that was her). We got all of the aforementioned food and I even tried sauerkraut for the first time! Hey, if you're gonna try it, it might as well be in the country that invented it. It actually was pretty good. The best thing about the food (even though I think by the end we had had about as much as we could handle) was that it all went so well with beer! We tried lots of different kinds... the regular lighter ale they serve everywhere, as well as a darker Weissebeir- a wheat beer with a really foamy head- that was my personal favorite.
Another awesome and unplanned timing of our visit- Germany played their first World Cup game on Sunday night. For those of you that saw it, it was sick, wasn't it? Imagine watching that team play that well in a German beer hall surrounded by Munich locals, wearing Germany colors with a German flag painted on your face. Well that's exactly what we were doing Sunday night! It was pretty surreal and awesome. We tried to watch the game at the famous Haufbrauhaus beer hall, but the only TV they had set up was in the beer garden and it was raining. (By the way, we have had our first slew of rainy days- a bummer, but pretty lucky that it's our first set of bad weather for the whole trip!) Any way, we ended up just going back to the place we had lunch, one of the 28 Augustine Keller beer halls in Munich. We picked up our German garb at a store on the way and a random German girl on the street painted flags on our faces! We piled into an upstairs room with lots of locals and a few brave Australians, with wooden tables in rows running perpendicular to a huge projection screen. And yes, the viewing did come complete with huge, liter-sized beer steins full of delicious German beer. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience.
The next day, we got up and hit the streets of Munich for a guided walking tour through the old city. Fun fact: Most of Munich is only 60 years old. It was completely bombed out in WWII, because it was the capital of the Nazi movement. But Hitler loved the city so much that his subordinates were careful to meticulously photo-document the inside and outside of countless buildings so they could all be rebuilt after the war (which they assumed they would win). Well, win or lose, the photos have helped the people in Munich rebuild their city. They have deliberately built new buildings to look old, so you can get lost in the city and believe the whole time that you are walking in 200 year old streets, when in reality some of the cobblestones were hand-laid just last year.
See, I learned a lot on our tour! We also got to sample some more beer and brats. The brats were a little spicy for me and Nicole, but Tricia enjoyed them, and we all enjoyed our half-liter of beer at 11:30 am. That's how they do it in Munich! The average local drinks a liter and a half of beer per day. In fact, the city provides one liter of beer a day to all of the students living in their "perfect student" housing- you have to have the equivalent of a 4.0. That's one way to motivate students to study!
After our walking tour on Monday, we headed back to the hostel to meet up with Nate and Tyler (Arthur headed home to the States earlier this week), our friends from UVA/Nice. We all grabbed a free drink (voucher provided at check in) at the hostel bar, and also enjoyed the sweet happy hour from 6-7 pm before going out to the Haufbrauhaus (the most famous beer garden in Munich) for dinner. The Haufbrauhaus was actually one of the central meeting places for Hitler and his original Nazi supporters during the beginning of the socialist movement. There are Bavarian flags painted on the ceiling, but if you look closely you can tell that they actually cover up four swatstikas. But don't make any jokes about Munich's Nazi history- you can be arrested on the spot for doing the Nazi salute in public in Munich.
After checking out several beer halls, we headed back to the hostel bar then went on a hunt for kebabs at midnight! Yum :) To bed that night (an interesting night in our hostel dorm, but that's all I'll say about that), then up the next day to catch a tour of Dachau, one of the original concentration camps outside the city. This tour was incredibly sad, but really interesting and definitely a must-see if you're in the area. We weren't super excited, but we new it was necessary to check out such a pivitol part of our world's history. Seeing what human beings are capable of doing to each other only confirmed to me the reality that we face true evil in this world, but hearing the stories of solidarity amongst the prisoners of the camp renewed my hope in human beings and the stronger powers of good at work around us.
After we got back from that sobering tour, we hopped on a train to Vienna, Austria! That's where we are now, but I'll leave our adventures in this city for another time. For now, we love you all and we miss you terribly! A quick rundown of the things we miss from the States:
Tricia- my duvet, slippers, and watching movies
Nicole- a larger closet (scratch that, a closet.), cheap candy, and Frappacinos
And of course, all of you!!
Love you, bye for now!
Christie- hoodies, my puppy, and sleeping without earplugs
Extremists to the Extreme!!
Hey all you kooks! Hope you are keeping up with our blog and enjoying our latest news. We have been to quite a number of places in the past few days, but heres the low down on a very hardXcore and intense place called...INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND! (Rambo music!!)
We arrived late evening (dont know the day, we sort of forget the days on this trip) but walk into our hostel after 4 trains. We stopped into Luzern, Switzerland for the afternoon. We walked by some famous bridges that overlooked GORGEOUS, and I mean, gorgeous rivers overlooking the Alps. As well as walking by some famous Medieval walls.
After this pit stop, we arrived safe and sound to hear that we would be staying in a... yes, you didnt guess it, a 32 person bed dorm. You heard me right. We were roughin' it to the extreme in the Alps. We went all out and literally lived out of our backpacks for the first time. But we put our packs down, grabbed a burger and fries to eat provided by our hostel (the first American meal we´ve had on the trip) and met up with our William and Mary friends that we met in Rome that we found out were stalking us (not really, parents dont freak out). We hung out for the evening, met a few new faces in our hostel before hitting the sack for some outdoors adventure.
The next morning, we filled our bellys withs some grub provided from the hostel before taking a bus, and then two trains, and a gondola up to trail in the Alps that overlooked the Eiger, the Jungfrau, and the Monch. Oh my lanta, it was breathtaking. Dont worry, the pictures are our souvenirs. We hiked for a few hours throughout the alps in and out of snow patches in the midst of cold clouds. It was a gorgeous day to hike. the. alps. ¨Hi my name is _____ and I´m on an Alp!" We are greatly proud to say this phrase all day long. But anyways, after a day of hiking we went back for some lunch and treats, and then watched the start of the WORLD CUP!! HOOPAHH!! South Africa vs. Mexico, Go South Africa! (Sorry, Mexico, South Africa should have won) But we are in full World cup mode since we are in Europe, home of football.
After this, we washed up for some native dinner, which turns out that Switzerland is mighty expsensive. We shared some rostis and schnitzl with mushroom sauce, which broke the bank for us. We then headed back to watch another world cup game, hang out with some more people from our hostel and then check out the club at our hostel (yes, there was a club in the basement of our hostel. I know, legit. Unz. Unz. Unz. (base music) We pretty much brought down the house with our funky dance moves.)
The next day, we tried to be extreme like all the other extemists in our hostel. Those that were skydiving, canyoning, or rafting, but our money wouldnt allow for it. But we were able to get really intense with a challenging and elevated ropes course. Zip lines, walking on ropes and tight lines 60 feet in the air... don´t worry, we were safely harnessed in!
After this, we got some yum yum snacks like wraps and Thai food (since Switzerland is known for having an abundance of Thai and Asian food) and watched more World Cup! We got all ready and got our nook prepped for the USA vs. England game. After watching the intense and mentally challenging game, we went to rest up so we could head our for an early night train to Munich, Germany!
Well folks, thats all for now from Switzerland. If you want more, scroll up!
For now, ¨So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night!¨
With GREAT love,
Tricia, Nicole, and Christie
We arrived late evening (dont know the day, we sort of forget the days on this trip) but walk into our hostel after 4 trains. We stopped into Luzern, Switzerland for the afternoon. We walked by some famous bridges that overlooked GORGEOUS, and I mean, gorgeous rivers overlooking the Alps. As well as walking by some famous Medieval walls.
After this pit stop, we arrived safe and sound to hear that we would be staying in a... yes, you didnt guess it, a 32 person bed dorm. You heard me right. We were roughin' it to the extreme in the Alps. We went all out and literally lived out of our backpacks for the first time. But we put our packs down, grabbed a burger and fries to eat provided by our hostel (the first American meal we´ve had on the trip) and met up with our William and Mary friends that we met in Rome that we found out were stalking us (not really, parents dont freak out). We hung out for the evening, met a few new faces in our hostel before hitting the sack for some outdoors adventure.
The next morning, we filled our bellys withs some grub provided from the hostel before taking a bus, and then two trains, and a gondola up to trail in the Alps that overlooked the Eiger, the Jungfrau, and the Monch. Oh my lanta, it was breathtaking. Dont worry, the pictures are our souvenirs. We hiked for a few hours throughout the alps in and out of snow patches in the midst of cold clouds. It was a gorgeous day to hike. the. alps. ¨Hi my name is _____ and I´m on an Alp!" We are greatly proud to say this phrase all day long. But anyways, after a day of hiking we went back for some lunch and treats, and then watched the start of the WORLD CUP!! HOOPAHH!! South Africa vs. Mexico, Go South Africa! (Sorry, Mexico, South Africa should have won) But we are in full World cup mode since we are in Europe, home of football.
After this, we washed up for some native dinner, which turns out that Switzerland is mighty expsensive. We shared some rostis and schnitzl with mushroom sauce, which broke the bank for us. We then headed back to watch another world cup game, hang out with some more people from our hostel and then check out the club at our hostel (yes, there was a club in the basement of our hostel. I know, legit. Unz. Unz. Unz. (base music) We pretty much brought down the house with our funky dance moves.)
The next day, we tried to be extreme like all the other extemists in our hostel. Those that were skydiving, canyoning, or rafting, but our money wouldnt allow for it. But we were able to get really intense with a challenging and elevated ropes course. Zip lines, walking on ropes and tight lines 60 feet in the air... don´t worry, we were safely harnessed in!
After this, we got some yum yum snacks like wraps and Thai food (since Switzerland is known for having an abundance of Thai and Asian food) and watched more World Cup! We got all ready and got our nook prepped for the USA vs. England game. After watching the intense and mentally challenging game, we went to rest up so we could head our for an early night train to Munich, Germany!
Well folks, thats all for now from Switzerland. If you want more, scroll up!
For now, ¨So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night!¨
With GREAT love,
Tricia, Nicole, and Christie
Friday, June 11, 2010
Rome, Florence, Venice..Arrivederci!
Hey all!
So sorry we haven't blogged in awhile. It is getting more and more difficult to find free internet.
We finished our week in Italy and are now in Interlaken, Switzerland..it is beautiful here! But we will save that for the next blog.
Because so much happened in Italy this blog is just going to be a brief synopsis! (We are also intently watching the World Cup as we write haha)
We arrived in Rome at about 8 pm on Saturday night. We checked into the hostel, who gave us a free bottle of red wine as a welcoming gift (yeaaaa) and set out to find an Italiano dinner! We ate at a restaurant in front of the Pantheon. We all enjoyed different pastas and some white wine. We got some gelato at the Trevi Fountain and threw some coins in, hoping the myth about meaning we will return to Rome comes true! Tired from a long day of travelling we turned in early after dinner.
The next day we got up and went to the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. Seeing all of the ancient Roman ruins is so surreal. Everything is SO old and has such a great history behind it. But it was hotttt. We found some lunch at a wonderful place that served big, cold, refreshing salads. Mmmm. We checked out the Campo di Fiori and got some gelato and headed back to the hostel for a siesta. Man I am going to miss those siestas.
That evening we met a guy from NC State, now working in Northern Virginia. He introduced us to his friend from work who is a Hokie Alumni! We all took our free bottles of wine and headed over to the Spanish Steps to hang out. Afterwards we ate another grand Italian dinner in an alley way. We walked by the Trevi Fountain, all lit up at night, on the way to an Irish pub (I know not Italian at all) to wind down for the night.
The next morning we met up with our new friends to head to Vatican City. We shopped at a flea market in front of the Castel St. Angelo, shared a big mozzerella pizza for lunch, and headed to the museum. We toured the museum, ending with the breath taking Sistine Chapel. Afterwards we gazed in awe at the inside of St Peters Basilica. We then climbed the tiny stairway, all 325 steps, to the top to peer over the rooftops of Rome.
Tired from our day in Vatican City we turned in for another Siesta. That night we headed to dinner in the Piazza Navona and ate alongside street musicians, artists, and the bustling Italian atmosphere. We then headed to a bar in the Campo di Fiori and took advantage of the Ladies' Night specials :)
We had a blast in Rome! We then headed to Florence. We checked into our hostel and got lunch at an excellent local panini place, where we chatted with a guy from Florence for awhile about his city. We saw the Statue of David, which was huge and incredible. Every detail is carefully carved into a huge slab of marble. It was awesome. We then headed to the Duomo and stared up at its beautifully painted Dome. Finally it was time to shop. We caved and headed to Zara. We all got some dresses and skirts :) We had dinner at a restaurant by our hostel and then went back. We decided to check out our hostel's pool (yes it had a pool). We went for a swim in the COLOR CHANGING water...so cool! We went to bed to rest up for our day of travelling to Venice!
After a couple trains and a ferry we finally arrived in the beautiful town on the water-Venice. Looking at the skyline was crazy because the tall skinny buildings are tilting because the city is legitimately sinking. But the water is beautiful. We took ourselves on a self guided tour on a slow boat that went all the way down the Grand Canal. We went under the famous Rialto bridge and got off at San Marco's. We walked around the square and stopped in some murano shops. We got dinner in an alleyway close to the square and then went to listen to the battling cafe orchestras in San Marco square. A perfectly Italian end to our perfectly Italian adventure!
We are now in Interlaken. Stay updated to hear about our adventures with the Swiss!
Arrivaderci!
Nicole, Tricia, Christie
So sorry we haven't blogged in awhile. It is getting more and more difficult to find free internet.
We finished our week in Italy and are now in Interlaken, Switzerland..it is beautiful here! But we will save that for the next blog.
Because so much happened in Italy this blog is just going to be a brief synopsis! (We are also intently watching the World Cup as we write haha)
We arrived in Rome at about 8 pm on Saturday night. We checked into the hostel, who gave us a free bottle of red wine as a welcoming gift (yeaaaa) and set out to find an Italiano dinner! We ate at a restaurant in front of the Pantheon. We all enjoyed different pastas and some white wine. We got some gelato at the Trevi Fountain and threw some coins in, hoping the myth about meaning we will return to Rome comes true! Tired from a long day of travelling we turned in early after dinner.
The next day we got up and went to the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. Seeing all of the ancient Roman ruins is so surreal. Everything is SO old and has such a great history behind it. But it was hotttt. We found some lunch at a wonderful place that served big, cold, refreshing salads. Mmmm. We checked out the Campo di Fiori and got some gelato and headed back to the hostel for a siesta. Man I am going to miss those siestas.
That evening we met a guy from NC State, now working in Northern Virginia. He introduced us to his friend from work who is a Hokie Alumni! We all took our free bottles of wine and headed over to the Spanish Steps to hang out. Afterwards we ate another grand Italian dinner in an alley way. We walked by the Trevi Fountain, all lit up at night, on the way to an Irish pub (I know not Italian at all) to wind down for the night.
The next morning we met up with our new friends to head to Vatican City. We shopped at a flea market in front of the Castel St. Angelo, shared a big mozzerella pizza for lunch, and headed to the museum. We toured the museum, ending with the breath taking Sistine Chapel. Afterwards we gazed in awe at the inside of St Peters Basilica. We then climbed the tiny stairway, all 325 steps, to the top to peer over the rooftops of Rome.
Tired from our day in Vatican City we turned in for another Siesta. That night we headed to dinner in the Piazza Navona and ate alongside street musicians, artists, and the bustling Italian atmosphere. We then headed to a bar in the Campo di Fiori and took advantage of the Ladies' Night specials :)
We had a blast in Rome! We then headed to Florence. We checked into our hostel and got lunch at an excellent local panini place, where we chatted with a guy from Florence for awhile about his city. We saw the Statue of David, which was huge and incredible. Every detail is carefully carved into a huge slab of marble. It was awesome. We then headed to the Duomo and stared up at its beautifully painted Dome. Finally it was time to shop. We caved and headed to Zara. We all got some dresses and skirts :) We had dinner at a restaurant by our hostel and then went back. We decided to check out our hostel's pool (yes it had a pool). We went for a swim in the COLOR CHANGING water...so cool! We went to bed to rest up for our day of travelling to Venice!
After a couple trains and a ferry we finally arrived in the beautiful town on the water-Venice. Looking at the skyline was crazy because the tall skinny buildings are tilting because the city is legitimately sinking. But the water is beautiful. We took ourselves on a self guided tour on a slow boat that went all the way down the Grand Canal. We went under the famous Rialto bridge and got off at San Marco's. We walked around the square and stopped in some murano shops. We got dinner in an alleyway close to the square and then went to listen to the battling cafe orchestras in San Marco square. A perfectly Italian end to our perfectly Italian adventure!
We are now in Interlaken. Stay updated to hear about our adventures with the Swiss!
Arrivaderci!
Nicole, Tricia, Christie
Friday, June 4, 2010
Cinque Terre!
Yesterday we arrived in Cinque Terre after a series of 4 trains. Oh man. But once we saw the beautiful cliffs and coastline it was wellllll worth it. Cinque Terre is a series of 5 small towns on the cliffs of the Northwest Italian coastline- Monterosso is the main one, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manorolla (where we stayed), and Riomaggiore.
We got to our hostel in Manorolla and they told us it was full! Luckily they had 3 beds, but one was in a different room. Which was fine. Livin on the edge here people! But everything was fine. The town of Manorolla is notorious for its church bell. It rings every half hour, starting at 7 am. Yup. You read that right. This town is completely the opposite of any other European town when it comes to sleep schedule. As opposed to waking up, going out, having a siesta, getting dinner around 10 pm, and staying out until 2 or 3 am...Cinque Terre wakes up at 7 am and lights are out by midnight. Therefore, such is so with our hostel.
But dinner is served here for cheap and it is amazingg food. Cinque Terre is the creator of pesto. So we have had as much pesto as possible. Combined we have had linguine, penne, gnocchi, lasagna, ravioli, and troffie with pesto. We also had Caprese sandwhiches which were delicioso! And of course, the real italian gelato is to die for. Goes well with a cappucino :) We have also had special Cinque Terre white wine which is a lot fresher and richer than any of the wine we have had so far. MMMMMM Italy!
After exploring our small town last night we got up this morning (to the church bells) and set out to hike the other 4 towns. A path winds around the cliffs throughout all 5 towns. The whole time you have an aamazing view. We first hiked to Riomaggiore via the Tunnel of Love (Via dell Amore). This tunnel has something to do with Abbey Road because we saw a sign and an acordion player was playing Yesterday as we walked through. The walls of the tunnel are covered in paintings and graffiti all having to do with love. There are also padlocks hung on every available gate or fence or plant with lovers' initials on them. We wrote a note with our initials and a quote and put it in between the stones of the tunnel. We also each made our marks on the tunnel of love :)
After this we hiked to Corniglia and caught the train to Monterosso. We had lunch and then set out for the beach. We sunned and tanned and swam in the mediterranean all afternoon before grabbing some gelato and some souveniers and heading back to the hostel.
For dinner we ate at the hostel with some canadian girls we met last night. Turns out they will be in Florence in a few days when we will. So hopefully we will cross paths again!
Tomorrow is Rome with a pit stop in Pisa. Arrivaderci!
Nicole, Christie, Tricia
We got to our hostel in Manorolla and they told us it was full! Luckily they had 3 beds, but one was in a different room. Which was fine. Livin on the edge here people! But everything was fine. The town of Manorolla is notorious for its church bell. It rings every half hour, starting at 7 am. Yup. You read that right. This town is completely the opposite of any other European town when it comes to sleep schedule. As opposed to waking up, going out, having a siesta, getting dinner around 10 pm, and staying out until 2 or 3 am...Cinque Terre wakes up at 7 am and lights are out by midnight. Therefore, such is so with our hostel.
But dinner is served here for cheap and it is amazingg food. Cinque Terre is the creator of pesto. So we have had as much pesto as possible. Combined we have had linguine, penne, gnocchi, lasagna, ravioli, and troffie with pesto. We also had Caprese sandwhiches which were delicioso! And of course, the real italian gelato is to die for. Goes well with a cappucino :) We have also had special Cinque Terre white wine which is a lot fresher and richer than any of the wine we have had so far. MMMMMM Italy!
After exploring our small town last night we got up this morning (to the church bells) and set out to hike the other 4 towns. A path winds around the cliffs throughout all 5 towns. The whole time you have an aamazing view. We first hiked to Riomaggiore via the Tunnel of Love (Via dell Amore). This tunnel has something to do with Abbey Road because we saw a sign and an acordion player was playing Yesterday as we walked through. The walls of the tunnel are covered in paintings and graffiti all having to do with love. There are also padlocks hung on every available gate or fence or plant with lovers' initials on them. We wrote a note with our initials and a quote and put it in between the stones of the tunnel. We also each made our marks on the tunnel of love :)
After this we hiked to Corniglia and caught the train to Monterosso. We had lunch and then set out for the beach. We sunned and tanned and swam in the mediterranean all afternoon before grabbing some gelato and some souveniers and heading back to the hostel.
For dinner we ate at the hostel with some canadian girls we met last night. Turns out they will be in Florence in a few days when we will. So hopefully we will cross paths again!
Tomorrow is Rome with a pit stop in Pisa. Arrivaderci!
Nicole, Christie, Tricia
Nice was niiiiiice
Hello out there across the deep blue!
Christie here from Manarola, Italy, in the Cinque Terre. It's gorgeous here! But let me tell you a little about our last few days in Nice, France...
After spending a few days in beachy but fast paced Barcelona, we were ready for a little R&R in the French Riviera, so we hopped on a train that took us to Nice, the summertime playground of the rich and famous of Europe. Nice is home to both movie stars and beach rats, and we really enjoyed spending a day unwinding from our busy itinerary and sightseeing travels.
Funny story about this small world we live in- we were sitting on our train about to leave the Barcelona station, when on boarded three very flustered looking (and quite obviously American) guys... one who was wearing none other than a UVA tee shirt. So, being the loyal Hokies we are, we immediatly started vocalizing our disgust for anything Wahoo-related... and promptly made three new friends! Coincidentally, they were also headed to Nice, so we picked up a new three person addition to our little traveling circus. Shoutouts to Arthur, Nate and Tyler if you read this!
Anyway, upon our arrival in Nice we checked into our hotel (yes, folks, we stayed in a hotel, livin the good life) and grabbed a little pastry snack and headed down to the water to soak it all in. By the water in Nice is a long promenade that stretches by the entire city. This is where lovers come to stroll, runners come to huff, puff and sweat, and the wealthy come decked out in the latest designer fashions to walk the catwalk. We have all developed a passion for people watching, and this was the pinnacle. Later that evening, when we had exhausted (temporarily) our nosy natures, we enjoyed a relaxed dinner on one of the main streets.
After dinner, the epic-ness began. We decided to experience a little of the late-night culture and sought out a bar called Wayne's we had read about in our travel books. Guys, this bar was off the hook. We had an absolute blast. Imagine loads of international backpackers, a hilarious and loud Aussie dj, bumpin 90's music (the selection included Fresh Prince, Backstreet Boys, and Saved by the Bell), and crazy dancing on tabletops. We aren't talking sleazy table dancing, but wild, jumping up and down, loving life and music dancing. What a night!
The next day, we kicked back and took it easy, moseying our way down to the beach picnic in hand, where we spent the day lying back on the rocks and working on our tans. Now, many of our fellow sunbathers were working on a little more serious tan than we were, but we definitely still have tan lines. I guess we aren't complete European chameleons yet!
After another yummy dinner, we sat on the beach with a bottle of wine and our UVA friends and then hung out at a very cool, laid back bar with live jazz music and a bohemian atmosphere. And of course, we couldn't resist the pull of 90's pop-rock, so we headed back to Wayne's to finish out our night.
Yesterday, we packed up again and hit the train tracks to Cinque Terre, where we are now. Cinque Terre is the home of pesto and delicious white wine, both of which we enjoyed last night on the rooftop terrace of our hostel. Manarola, the city we are staying in, is one of five villages that make up Cinque Terre. These little towns are perched on cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea, with houses stacked on top of each other, clinging to the rocks and threatening to teeter off into the deep blue water below. They make there own wine here, and above the villages there are layers of vineyards built into the cliffs. But our adventures here will have to wait. For now, arrivaderci and, as they say in Nice, à bientot!
Christie here from Manarola, Italy, in the Cinque Terre. It's gorgeous here! But let me tell you a little about our last few days in Nice, France...
After spending a few days in beachy but fast paced Barcelona, we were ready for a little R&R in the French Riviera, so we hopped on a train that took us to Nice, the summertime playground of the rich and famous of Europe. Nice is home to both movie stars and beach rats, and we really enjoyed spending a day unwinding from our busy itinerary and sightseeing travels.
Funny story about this small world we live in- we were sitting on our train about to leave the Barcelona station, when on boarded three very flustered looking (and quite obviously American) guys... one who was wearing none other than a UVA tee shirt. So, being the loyal Hokies we are, we immediatly started vocalizing our disgust for anything Wahoo-related... and promptly made three new friends! Coincidentally, they were also headed to Nice, so we picked up a new three person addition to our little traveling circus. Shoutouts to Arthur, Nate and Tyler if you read this!
Anyway, upon our arrival in Nice we checked into our hotel (yes, folks, we stayed in a hotel, livin the good life) and grabbed a little pastry snack and headed down to the water to soak it all in. By the water in Nice is a long promenade that stretches by the entire city. This is where lovers come to stroll, runners come to huff, puff and sweat, and the wealthy come decked out in the latest designer fashions to walk the catwalk. We have all developed a passion for people watching, and this was the pinnacle. Later that evening, when we had exhausted (temporarily) our nosy natures, we enjoyed a relaxed dinner on one of the main streets.
After dinner, the epic-ness began. We decided to experience a little of the late-night culture and sought out a bar called Wayne's we had read about in our travel books. Guys, this bar was off the hook. We had an absolute blast. Imagine loads of international backpackers, a hilarious and loud Aussie dj, bumpin 90's music (the selection included Fresh Prince, Backstreet Boys, and Saved by the Bell), and crazy dancing on tabletops. We aren't talking sleazy table dancing, but wild, jumping up and down, loving life and music dancing. What a night!
The next day, we kicked back and took it easy, moseying our way down to the beach picnic in hand, where we spent the day lying back on the rocks and working on our tans. Now, many of our fellow sunbathers were working on a little more serious tan than we were, but we definitely still have tan lines. I guess we aren't complete European chameleons yet!
After another yummy dinner, we sat on the beach with a bottle of wine and our UVA friends and then hung out at a very cool, laid back bar with live jazz music and a bohemian atmosphere. And of course, we couldn't resist the pull of 90's pop-rock, so we headed back to Wayne's to finish out our night.
Yesterday, we packed up again and hit the train tracks to Cinque Terre, where we are now. Cinque Terre is the home of pesto and delicious white wine, both of which we enjoyed last night on the rooftop terrace of our hostel. Manarola, the city we are staying in, is one of five villages that make up Cinque Terre. These little towns are perched on cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea, with houses stacked on top of each other, clinging to the rocks and threatening to teeter off into the deep blue water below. They make there own wine here, and above the villages there are layers of vineyards built into the cliffs. But our adventures here will have to wait. For now, arrivaderci and, as they say in Nice, à bientot!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Barcelona Bound!
So, right after we posted the last blog, we made several new friends at our hostel dinner, like we were hoping to do! Yippie! F is for friends who do stuff together :) We ate dinner in our super chic and ultra fetch hostel, I don`t know if we`ve said that enough already (p.s.- We found out that its the number one hostel...in the world...how spoiled were we?! very. Crepes for breaksfast. lets just put that in perspetive. simmer on that for a second...). It was DELICIOUS! It sounds like an ad for Olive Garden, but endless wine, bread, salad, and a codfish casserole with a dessert included too!!! WHAT could get better than that? We wined and dined and had wonderful conversation with people from Ireland, Austrailia, Brazil, England, Swizterland, Bulgaria, and other fellow Americans.
We decided to move the fun out onto the streets, so we hit the nightlife of Lisbon! The nightlife of Lisbon is much more different than that of America, because it is much more laid back, relaxed and chill. You can grab your beverage of choice take it outside and just talk. There is no dress code, so you can show up dressed looking like a hobo and people will still think you are the hottest chick in town! Bow chicka wow wow!
But the night was great. Cést la vie! We loved hanging and getting to know the people in our hostel more and more. The more time we spent hanging with them and in Lisbon, the more time we wish we had in the wonders of this glorious city. UGH! Lisbon, why did you have to be so marvelous?! WHO KNEW?! Once the nightlife died down, we went to an overlook of the city at night, and saw Lisbon at night. It. was. gorgeous. We could live here. We will live here (trust me, we´re working on it) . But you could see all of the lights, hillside, and water of Lisbon at night. We then headed in and got some shut eye for our next day of seeing the sights.
Day two of our city love, Lisbon, included seeing Belem, which included seeing the Monestario de Jeronimo, Patiserie de Belem, and Torre de Belem. Monestario de Jeronimo was a huge catheradral that housed the tomb Vasco de Gama. Yea. We´ve read about him since like 6th grade, but who knew that he was buried in Portugal, and the coolest city known to Christie, Nicole and Tricia? After that we went to try some famous pasteries that are founded in Belem in Pasteries de Belem, and yes, they were a slam dunk. I could have those every morning for breakfast. I mean, woof, we scarfed them down with some wondeful cafe au lait and tea. But Belem was a wonderful scenic view of Portugal, with a wonderful view of the river (some river that we never could really get the name of).
We also had dinner in Alfama before we left for our sleeper car. Tricia had some cuttlefish, Nicole had some pork ribs, and christie had some codfish potato casserole. Dinner was superb. A bird did poop on Christieś plate, but Hey! That´s good luck!! We swapped out for a new plate and all was fine. It was a great dinner.
After a long journey through another night train and then another 3 hour train, we finally reached beach town Barcelona! Barcelona upbeat, perky, and beachy! Palm trees everywhere an...oh my lanta! We arrived and laid back by hitting the street of local street vendors and other shops. Shopping, its what girls do best. We then just had some dinner and enjoyed a local favorite, and ours now too (trust us, they are better local) churros and chocolate!! And enjoyed some Cava (Barcelona is known for their champagne).
Day two. We decided to enjoy the local culture of Catalonian that takes place every Sunday at noon. Locals gather to dance in circles. There were adorable old men swooping their feet left and right, we couldnt resist but to join in. Dont worry, we got pictures. It was so much fun.
We then...uhh...shopped a bit more.
And then enjoyed the Picasso museum where we got to see the works and expericence the life of Pablo Picasso. Def recommend to anyone heading to Barcelona. You know, for a night trip or what not.
Then, we traveled to the far corners of Barcelona to see Montjuic Castle and the location of the 1992 Olympic games, held in (none other than) Barcelona! We saw breathtaking overlooks of Barcelona, as well as the home of HELLO!! Olympians!!! I mean, I was 3 when the games went on but they were famous and amazing. And it was awesome I bet. Parents, you saw and watched. COOL!
Next I am about to describe possibly the best thing known to mankind...the light up Disney fountain. We went to see Font Magica, a fountain show at night that lights up and plays music as well. They played a hefty amount of Disney in Spanish, or atleast, the amount you could hear over us singing in engish was in spanish. It. was. awesome. They are competing with Disney world with this one. We topped the night with a long dinner and dessert before heading off to bed.
Today, we woke up and headed to take a free tour (we found a brochure in our hostel) to learn about the famous and revolutionary architect, Antoni Gaudi. We learned so much about the detailed buildings he designed all throughout the city, as well as his interactions with his clients. I mean, it was just mindblowing to see the detail he put into his buildings up close. You can truely see it in a church that he was working on and is still left uncompleted, and the work that still remains estimates around 25 to 30 years
We were so inspired by Gaudis work that we wanted to see more! So we grabbed some lunch at a local grocery store, and decided to eat in a park down the city. The park is known to house the longest bench in the world, that wraps in and out the main plaza (as seen below), and is designed by Gaudi! How neato is that!! Hes so awesome!
After all of our tours and such, and because we have such an early train to (Nice, France!) tomorrow, we decided to take an easy night tonight. So we were able to find a nice relaxing cafe where there was some live acoustic music. We ordered some drinks, some appetizers, and some tapas before we head out of Spain. We couldnt have left though without saying goodbye to the beach, so we walked down to the water of Barcelona and said our final farewells to Bar-th-lona! We have loved your culture...your fun dancing...your Disney fountain, rave on Gaudi! Its all awesome!!
But now on to the beaches in Nice!
....nice.
Love you all,
Christie, Tricia, and Nicole
(Sorry for the length, it has been a much needed update)
We decided to move the fun out onto the streets, so we hit the nightlife of Lisbon! The nightlife of Lisbon is much more different than that of America, because it is much more laid back, relaxed and chill. You can grab your beverage of choice take it outside and just talk. There is no dress code, so you can show up dressed looking like a hobo and people will still think you are the hottest chick in town! Bow chicka wow wow!
But the night was great. Cést la vie! We loved hanging and getting to know the people in our hostel more and more. The more time we spent hanging with them and in Lisbon, the more time we wish we had in the wonders of this glorious city. UGH! Lisbon, why did you have to be so marvelous?! WHO KNEW?! Once the nightlife died down, we went to an overlook of the city at night, and saw Lisbon at night. It. was. gorgeous. We could live here. We will live here (trust me, we´re working on it) . But you could see all of the lights, hillside, and water of Lisbon at night. We then headed in and got some shut eye for our next day of seeing the sights.
Day two of our city love, Lisbon, included seeing Belem, which included seeing the Monestario de Jeronimo, Patiserie de Belem, and Torre de Belem. Monestario de Jeronimo was a huge catheradral that housed the tomb Vasco de Gama. Yea. We´ve read about him since like 6th grade, but who knew that he was buried in Portugal, and the coolest city known to Christie, Nicole and Tricia? After that we went to try some famous pasteries that are founded in Belem in Pasteries de Belem, and yes, they were a slam dunk. I could have those every morning for breakfast. I mean, woof, we scarfed them down with some wondeful cafe au lait and tea. But Belem was a wonderful scenic view of Portugal, with a wonderful view of the river (some river that we never could really get the name of).
We also had dinner in Alfama before we left for our sleeper car. Tricia had some cuttlefish, Nicole had some pork ribs, and christie had some codfish potato casserole. Dinner was superb. A bird did poop on Christieś plate, but Hey! That´s good luck!! We swapped out for a new plate and all was fine. It was a great dinner.
After a long journey through another night train and then another 3 hour train, we finally reached beach town Barcelona! Barcelona upbeat, perky, and beachy! Palm trees everywhere an...oh my lanta! We arrived and laid back by hitting the street of local street vendors and other shops. Shopping, its what girls do best. We then just had some dinner and enjoyed a local favorite, and ours now too (trust us, they are better local) churros and chocolate!! And enjoyed some Cava (Barcelona is known for their champagne).
Day two. We decided to enjoy the local culture of Catalonian that takes place every Sunday at noon. Locals gather to dance in circles. There were adorable old men swooping their feet left and right, we couldnt resist but to join in. Dont worry, we got pictures. It was so much fun.
We then...uhh...shopped a bit more.
And then enjoyed the Picasso museum where we got to see the works and expericence the life of Pablo Picasso. Def recommend to anyone heading to Barcelona. You know, for a night trip or what not.
Then, we traveled to the far corners of Barcelona to see Montjuic Castle and the location of the 1992 Olympic games, held in (none other than) Barcelona! We saw breathtaking overlooks of Barcelona, as well as the home of HELLO!! Olympians!!! I mean, I was 3 when the games went on but they were famous and amazing. And it was awesome I bet. Parents, you saw and watched. COOL!
Next I am about to describe possibly the best thing known to mankind...the light up Disney fountain. We went to see Font Magica, a fountain show at night that lights up and plays music as well. They played a hefty amount of Disney in Spanish, or atleast, the amount you could hear over us singing in engish was in spanish. It. was. awesome. They are competing with Disney world with this one. We topped the night with a long dinner and dessert before heading off to bed.
Today, we woke up and headed to take a free tour (we found a brochure in our hostel) to learn about the famous and revolutionary architect, Antoni Gaudi. We learned so much about the detailed buildings he designed all throughout the city, as well as his interactions with his clients. I mean, it was just mindblowing to see the detail he put into his buildings up close. You can truely see it in a church that he was working on and is still left uncompleted, and the work that still remains estimates around 25 to 30 years
We were so inspired by Gaudis work that we wanted to see more! So we grabbed some lunch at a local grocery store, and decided to eat in a park down the city. The park is known to house the longest bench in the world, that wraps in and out the main plaza (as seen below), and is designed by Gaudi! How neato is that!! Hes so awesome!
After all of our tours and such, and because we have such an early train to (Nice, France!) tomorrow, we decided to take an easy night tonight. So we were able to find a nice relaxing cafe where there was some live acoustic music. We ordered some drinks, some appetizers, and some tapas before we head out of Spain. We couldnt have left though without saying goodbye to the beach, so we walked down to the water of Barcelona and said our final farewells to Bar-th-lona! We have loved your culture...your fun dancing...your Disney fountain, rave on Gaudi! Its all awesome!!
But now on to the beaches in Nice!
....nice.
Love you all,
Christie, Tricia, and Nicole
(Sorry for the length, it has been a much needed update)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Lisbon Lovers
We are now writing from our hostel in Lisbon. We arrived this morning via night train from Madrid.
First off, our final day in Madrid consisted of touring the Museo del Prado. The museum had endless amounts of paintings from famous painters all over Europe. We also saw a lot of Neo Classical sculptures which all alluded back to Greek art.
The Museum wore us out. We snagged a couple cheap sandwhiches and a plate of Spanish cheeses and wandered off into the Parque de Retiro. The park was HUGE. It is basically the Central Park of Madrid. We had a picnic lunch and took a cat nap on the grass. We then went back to our hostel to book a few future hostels and buy our tickets to see the Statue of David in a few weeks! After a quick trip to the Mercado de San Miguel to grab some bread, cheese, and fruit, we packed up and took the train to the train station which would bring us to Lisbon over night.
The night train was a lot cozier than expected. We were actually really excited to try it out! Haha. We had our own room with 2 bunk beds and a sink. It was a tight squeeze alright. But when we woke up in the morning...we were in Portugal!
It's fair to say that we liked Madrid...but we LOOVEE Lisbon!! As soon as we exited the metro to smell the sea air and see the huge square over looking the water, the early morning lull we had had from the night train quickly wore off.
We dropped our stuff off in the hostel...which by the way is ballin' and very chic...and immediately ventured out into Lisbon. We wandered the windy hills of the sleepy sea faring town, admiring all of the brightly colored buildings and tilework. We toured the Se Cathedral. We then ventured alllll the way up the hill to the Castelo San Jorge. This was amazing. The Castle is only the reconstructed walls because it was devastated in an earthquake in the 1700's, but the view from the top is breathtaking. It overlooks the entire city. You can see all the red tiled roofs, the water with boats pulling up to dock, big white churches, people's terraces with laundry hanging over the cobblestone streets...everything. We briefly looked at the artifacts in the museum for the castle before wandering down the streets of the Alfama.
The Alfama is the Old Town of Lisbon. Because most of Lisbon was devasted by the earthquake, the Old Town is still mostly in tact. We just let ourselves get lost in the alleys. At the bottom of the hills of the neighborhood we found a place to eat lunch. Tricia and Christie had swordfish with potatoes and Nicole had a Portuguese meat called Isba or something...cant remember the name! But it was all delicious.
After lunch we were finally able to check into our hostel and shower..yeah..we were gross. We then wandered around the city and shopped. We bought some gifts at some street vendors...yes for you guys! Then we stopped for some pastries and coffee. The pastries here are AMAZING!! I believe Tricia has already had 4 and it is our first day here. Haha.
We're eating dinner here in the hostel tonight. It's an 8 euro dinner with unlimited wine, bread, a meal, and a dessert. Good deal! Hopefully we meet the people in our hostel. We have met people here from Australia and the United States so far. But one of the girls from the U.S now teaches English in Granada. After dinner we will probably venture out for some more pastries and maybe some drinks.
Tomorrow we are taking a tram, SO cute, to the district of Belem. Supposively there is a bunch of stuff the do and see there, and it is on the water. So we will let you know how it goes! We are already wishing we had more time in Lisbon. But it gives us more reason to come back!
Obregada!....thats the only Portuguese word we know!!! It means Thank You. Haha.
Love you all!
Christie, Tricia, and Nicole
First off, our final day in Madrid consisted of touring the Museo del Prado. The museum had endless amounts of paintings from famous painters all over Europe. We also saw a lot of Neo Classical sculptures which all alluded back to Greek art.
The Museum wore us out. We snagged a couple cheap sandwhiches and a plate of Spanish cheeses and wandered off into the Parque de Retiro. The park was HUGE. It is basically the Central Park of Madrid. We had a picnic lunch and took a cat nap on the grass. We then went back to our hostel to book a few future hostels and buy our tickets to see the Statue of David in a few weeks! After a quick trip to the Mercado de San Miguel to grab some bread, cheese, and fruit, we packed up and took the train to the train station which would bring us to Lisbon over night.
The night train was a lot cozier than expected. We were actually really excited to try it out! Haha. We had our own room with 2 bunk beds and a sink. It was a tight squeeze alright. But when we woke up in the morning...we were in Portugal!
It's fair to say that we liked Madrid...but we LOOVEE Lisbon!! As soon as we exited the metro to smell the sea air and see the huge square over looking the water, the early morning lull we had had from the night train quickly wore off.
We dropped our stuff off in the hostel...which by the way is ballin' and very chic...and immediately ventured out into Lisbon. We wandered the windy hills of the sleepy sea faring town, admiring all of the brightly colored buildings and tilework. We toured the Se Cathedral. We then ventured alllll the way up the hill to the Castelo San Jorge. This was amazing. The Castle is only the reconstructed walls because it was devastated in an earthquake in the 1700's, but the view from the top is breathtaking. It overlooks the entire city. You can see all the red tiled roofs, the water with boats pulling up to dock, big white churches, people's terraces with laundry hanging over the cobblestone streets...everything. We briefly looked at the artifacts in the museum for the castle before wandering down the streets of the Alfama.
The Alfama is the Old Town of Lisbon. Because most of Lisbon was devasted by the earthquake, the Old Town is still mostly in tact. We just let ourselves get lost in the alleys. At the bottom of the hills of the neighborhood we found a place to eat lunch. Tricia and Christie had swordfish with potatoes and Nicole had a Portuguese meat called Isba or something...cant remember the name! But it was all delicious.
After lunch we were finally able to check into our hostel and shower..yeah..we were gross. We then wandered around the city and shopped. We bought some gifts at some street vendors...yes for you guys! Then we stopped for some pastries and coffee. The pastries here are AMAZING!! I believe Tricia has already had 4 and it is our first day here. Haha.
We're eating dinner here in the hostel tonight. It's an 8 euro dinner with unlimited wine, bread, a meal, and a dessert. Good deal! Hopefully we meet the people in our hostel. We have met people here from Australia and the United States so far. But one of the girls from the U.S now teaches English in Granada. After dinner we will probably venture out for some more pastries and maybe some drinks.
Tomorrow we are taking a tram, SO cute, to the district of Belem. Supposively there is a bunch of stuff the do and see there, and it is on the water. So we will let you know how it goes! We are already wishing we had more time in Lisbon. But it gives us more reason to come back!
Obregada!....thats the only Portuguese word we know!!! It means Thank You. Haha.
Love you all!
Christie, Tricia, and Nicole
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Hola from Madrid!
We´re here! And everything worked out with the flights and baggage. We arrived safe and sound and gave a little cheer when our backpacks plopped down on the luggage belt unscathed. Our hostel is nice and quiet, and the people are friendly. We´ve already met folks from Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, and northen Spain. Last night after we checked into our hostel we walked around the main square (Plaza Mayor) near our hostel and sat outside at a cafe and enjoyed some local fare. We tried paella, a local rice/stew dish. It was quite yummy!
Today we walked around all of the historic sites in the city. We got to see the Palace Real (Royal Palace) and the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. The cathedral was cool because the tilework and stained glass was definitely more Spanish looking than a lot of the cathedrals we are used to seeing. We also walked through the gardens next to the palace, and stopped at an Egyptian temple that is set up on a hill looking out over the city. It was donated to the city by Egypt as a gift. After grabbing a quick lunch, we walked through a market full of street vendors selling jewelry, hand crafted nicknacks, clothes, scarves, and our new favorite- genie pants! They are actually really popular hear and you see girls wearing them around the city.
We are taking a little siesta before heading out tonight. Madrid stays up late! Last night we were so tired from our travels we crashed early, but tonight we are excited to try some ''tapas'' and sangria!
We love you all and miss home, but are so excited to finally be here. I don´t think it has quite hit us yet. Madrid is definitely a European city and the architecture of the old buildings is beautiful, but there are times when it can feel a little like America. It´ll be fun to see some more cities in the next few days.
Next we head to Lisbon, Portugal. Hasta luego!
Christie, Tricia & Nicole
Today we walked around all of the historic sites in the city. We got to see the Palace Real (Royal Palace) and the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. The cathedral was cool because the tilework and stained glass was definitely more Spanish looking than a lot of the cathedrals we are used to seeing. We also walked through the gardens next to the palace, and stopped at an Egyptian temple that is set up on a hill looking out over the city. It was donated to the city by Egypt as a gift. After grabbing a quick lunch, we walked through a market full of street vendors selling jewelry, hand crafted nicknacks, clothes, scarves, and our new favorite- genie pants! They are actually really popular hear and you see girls wearing them around the city.
We are taking a little siesta before heading out tonight. Madrid stays up late! Last night we were so tired from our travels we crashed early, but tonight we are excited to try some ''tapas'' and sangria!
We love you all and miss home, but are so excited to finally be here. I don´t think it has quite hit us yet. Madrid is definitely a European city and the architecture of the old buildings is beautiful, but there are times when it can feel a little like America. It´ll be fun to see some more cities in the next few days.
Next we head to Lisbon, Portugal. Hasta luego!
Christie, Tricia & Nicole
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hasta Luego!
Hello everyone!!!
Well, this is officially our last post from U.S. soil. We leave in an hour to head to the airport. Fingers crossed that Heathrow stays open (no volcano ash please!) and we can make our connecting flight to Madrid. We should get into the city tomorrow afternoon.
Christie... can't wait to try some Sangria and listen to a little Spanish music!
Tricia... I just found out that I'm taking over unhip gaucho (??) pants that spanish boys wear. Watch out, Spain! I'm going to wear them with pizazz. Oh, and I am oober excited for all the paintings, sculptures, and cathedrals!
Nicole... i don't know why we are blogging so much....we haven't even left yet. Obvi EXCITEDDD.
Christie... Nicole you're such a party pooper. Negative Nancy.
Tricia... Second! We love to blog :)
Well folks, we're off to a good start :) See you in Spain!
Love,
Christie, Tricia & Nicole
Well, this is officially our last post from U.S. soil. We leave in an hour to head to the airport. Fingers crossed that Heathrow stays open (no volcano ash please!) and we can make our connecting flight to Madrid. We should get into the city tomorrow afternoon.
Christie... can't wait to try some Sangria and listen to a little Spanish music!
Tricia... I just found out that I'm taking over unhip gaucho (??) pants that spanish boys wear. Watch out, Spain! I'm going to wear them with pizazz. Oh, and I am oober excited for all the paintings, sculptures, and cathedrals!
Nicole... i don't know why we are blogging so much....we haven't even left yet. Obvi EXCITEDDD.
Christie... Nicole you're such a party pooper. Negative Nancy.
Tricia... Second! We love to blog :)
Well folks, we're off to a good start :) See you in Spain!
Love,
Christie, Tricia & Nicole
Saturday, May 22, 2010
A little music to pump us up!
Let's get revved up, because we leave in LESS THAN 24 HOURS!! And plus we might hear this music a lot in Europe, so we might want to start preparing our ears.
And yes, Nicole and I just finished packing our packs and they are GI-NOR-MOUS! Hello $50 baggage overweight charge, because we are not light packers.
Now, it is very late, and we need our beauty sleep before the long journey that lies before us. You know. Before MADRID!! Woop WOOP! Thanks mom and dad!
Love Tricia and Nicole :)
And yes, Nicole and I just finished packing our packs and they are GI-NOR-MOUS! Hello $50 baggage overweight charge, because we are not light packers.
Now, it is very late, and we need our beauty sleep before the long journey that lies before us. You know. Before MADRID!! Woop WOOP! Thanks mom and dad!
Love Tricia and Nicole :)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Christie signing in!
I guess it's my turn! I'm so excited to spend 6 weeks adventuring with these ladies. I can't wait to post tons of pictures for your viewing pleasure, and I'm making it my goal to try a new food in every country we go to! I'm also pretty excited about tasting some European wine :) I'll be sure to tell you all about my favorites (and maybe not-so-favorites)!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Getting Ready!
This is kind of a test blog...haha but regardless...
We are home from graduation and trying to gather the odds and ends! Hostel reservations and train tickets are booked for Madrid and Lisbon. We are getting excited! Now...how to pack 6 weeks of stuff in one backpack....
We are home from graduation and trying to gather the odds and ends! Hostel reservations and train tickets are booked for Madrid and Lisbon. We are getting excited! Now...how to pack 6 weeks of stuff in one backpack....