For a friend

I'm posting this for one of my friends from Singapore. This is her husband's photography web site - he's got some talent! :-)

Gronow Photography

Amsterdam - The End

Well, it took a little while, but I've finally got around to the final entry.

I took the train from Bacharach, Germany to Amsterdam. Finally, I got to ride on one of the super high-speed German ICE trains! These things are super awesome - sleek on the outside, and posh on the inside. And, I was traveling 1st class (since I'm old, I had to buy a 1st class Eurail pass. As Rick Steves says, "Forced Luxury")





Too bad the train didn't get up to full speed - I'm not sure why. We were well over 100 mph, but not as fast as I had been on one of the French TGV trains. (I think I been close to 200 mph on that)

I got back to the apartment in Amsterdam, and headed out to dinner. Since I was in Amsterdam, naturally I went for Indian. ;-) I was just in the mood for some naan & curry.
That night it stormed really hard. REALLY HARD! No complaints, though. It was fun to watch the lightning & hear the thunder. And, considering how fantastic the weather had been during the whole 6 weeks - I couldn't get upset about a little rain.





As in other cities, I decided that a bike would be the best way to get around. I rented a bike near the train station. They were really concerned about bike theft - I guess it's very common in Amsterdam, which is why everyone rides really crappy, basic bikes. My bike had 2 locks on it - one for the rear wheel, and a chain that was for the front wheel & frame. I was told that I must use both locks whenever I leave the bike anywhere.

Biking in Amsterdam is great, although more chaotic than the other cities that I had biked in. On my last day, I used the bike to get outside of Amsterdam & bike in the Dutch countryside. Well, I probably didn't make it to the countryside, but I definitely wasn't in Amsterdam-proper.

I made my way past lots of enormous wind turbines. I couldn't believe how quiet they were! I was standing basically at their base, and I could barely hear a faint whine.
I crossed a canal on a ferry (which cost nothing) and headed north. I rode through Zaanstad, and made my way up to an area called Zaanse Schans. There were some fantastic old windmills up there! If I had been there earlier, I could have gone inside to see how they work. Oh well, I'll go back to the Netherlands again to do some more biking in the countryside. I'll stop by the windmills again.





I visited my 4th WWII historical site while in Amsterdam - the Anne Frank House. The line to get in was really long, but fortunately I ran into the Singapore girls again. They told me that they read that the lines are much better around 6pm. So, I went back then, and sure enough - they were.

The Anne Frank House was really moving. It was such a small space for so many people to live! Anne's original diary is on display there too. It was the only place that I saw in all of Europe where everyone respected the 'No Photography' signs.

The Trip Home
At the end, I was tired. I wanted to see more, but I didn't want to right now. I had moved around so much that I was tired of getting on trains, visiting museums, checking in, checking out, etc... So, I decided that it was time to come home. I'll have to see more next time.

I'm not sure how long my next trip to Europe will be. A week or 2? Several weeks/months? Whatever it is - I won't move around as quickly next time. I'm glad that I did this trip as I did - it was a good way to get exposed to a lot of things. But, next time I'll take more time in each place.

I made it home in time for one of my favorite events of the year - the Minnesota State Fair. I went twice. :-) I ate a lot. :-)

I also made it back in time to spend a few days with Brian - a friend from college who now lives in Australia. He was back in town for a visit, and it was great to see him again.

Several people commented that I looked much thinner after coming home. I jumped on the scale, and wow! - I was 10 lbs lighter! I hadn't paid any attention to my diet or exercise while over there. I ate & drank like crazy. I guess all the walking around (especially with a big backpack on) really had an impact.

People ask what my favorite place was. I'm not really sure - I visited a lot of great places. But, here are some of the highlites that stick in my mind:

- Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person. Much cooler than I had expected!
- The Richelieu wing of the Louvre. The sculptures were amazing.
- Hiking in the mountains of Gimmelwald
- Paragliding in Interlaken
- The amazing stories from Normandy
- The ice-cold stream through the English Garden in Munich
- Swimming in the alpine lake in Fussen
- Using a bike to get around. (Fussen, Salzburg, and Amsterdam)
- Wandering around Prague at night
- The Night Watchman's tour in Rothenburg

So it was a great trip. I'll definitely go back to Europe many times in the future.

Some Statistics
- Days in Europe: 45
- Countries Visited: 7
- Cities Visited: 19
- Ghosts seen: 0 (not even in Prague)
- Flights: 5 (4 in airplanes, one on a paraglider)
- Journeys by train: 22 (I think... not counting subways & trams, btw)

The Rhine Valley

[This is the 3rd post today - they've piled up as I haven't had internet access recently]

When I arrived in Rothenburg (my previous destination), there were 3 women checking into the hostel ahead of me. That night, when I went on the Night Watchman's tour - there they were. The following night, when I went to dinner at the English COnversation Club - there they were again! (although, not as a part of the club).

When I got to the Rothenburg train station to leave, I probably shouldn't have been surprised to see them there. Then, when they got off at the same connecting stop as me, I decided to find out what their deal was.

Me: "Didn't I see you 3 at the hostel in Rothenburg"
Them: "Yeah"
Me: "Where are you going now?"
Them: "Bacharach"
Me: "Really? So am I. Small world. Where are you going after that?"
Them: "Amsterdam"
Me: ... "Really? Wow - small world. So am I. So, where are you 3 from?"
Them: "Singapore"
Me: ... ... "Wow - really small world"

So, I chatted with them a bit, and found that they were following Rick Steves' book through Germany too. :-)

Anyways - My last stop in Germany was the Rhine Valley - famous for wines & the castles that line the Rhine river. It's definitely a busy place - there are barges & ferries cruising all over the river (not to mention tourist cruise boats), and trains are constantly running up & down tracks on both sides.

I went for one of the famous cruises on the Rhine - from Bacharach (where I stayed) to St. Goar (about an hour away). The cruise was ok - you looked at castles along the way. When I got to St. Goar - there were the Singaporeans again!

We wound up going to the same castle - the only castle in St. Goar: Rhinefelds. I toured the grounds. It offered some good views of the river & valley. But, I was more excited to get to the tunnels under the castle. Most are closed off, because they're pitch black & really easy to get lost in. But, there are a few that have been mapped off (but, they're still very very dark - only a few slits of light in the wall).

I made my way down a stone spiral staircase to a tunnel that was 30-40 years long. It was completely dark in there - no light at all. I thought about turning back (because I didn't have a flashlight, as they recommend that you bring with you). But, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity, so I proceeded by using my camera's flash to light the way. Every few feet I'd take a pick & get a glimpse of what lied ahead. Obviously I made it through, since I'm writing this. :-)

Later that evening, I took the cruise back up the river to Bacharach. Bacharach's a small, quiet town. There is really nothing to do there in the evening - everything pretty much shuts down by 9pm. So, I grabbed dinner (schnitzel with some of the local wine - which was great), and headed to the B&B to go to sleep.

Today was pretty quiet. Woke up, and had breakfast at the B&B. It was a little awkward, since I was the only guest at the time & the little old lady was waiting on me hand & foot. The food was good, though - her husband has bees & makes honey, and she made strawberry & apricot jams.

Then, it was time to make sure I had had a ticket up to Amsterdam (this train required reservations), grabbed some lunch, bumped into the Singaporeans again, and then bought some of that awesome wine.

As I write this - I'm on my way to Amsterdam; my last stop before I come home.

Rothenburg

Slowly making my way back towards Amsterdam, I stopped in the small, midevil town of Rothenburg. The old city is surrounded by wall, with guard towers over every street connecting the city with the outside world.

The highlight of the visit was the Night Watchman's tour. At 8:00, everyone meets in the town square, and is led around the town by the Night watchman - who tells the history of the town, explains the duties of a Night Watchman, and entertained the entire crowd with his sense of humor. It was definitely the most entertaining tour that I've been on in a long time.

Another great experience was the dinner I had with the English Conversation Club. The club meets every Wed evening at a restaurant to have some food, drinks, and chat in English. It's mostly locals, although every week some tourists join in. I read about it in Rick Steve's book, and was also referred there by one of the town's shop owners. It was fun talking with the Germans, and there was also a woman from Wisconsin who had moved over to Rothenburg after marrying a local farmer. The food was great - pork w/ cream & mushroom sauce, and a pear stuffed with cranberries.

I visited 2 museums - the Museum of Midevil Crime & Punishment & the Imperial City Museum. The Crime & Punishment museum was supposed to be great, but I was a little disappointed. I went to the Imperial City Museum right before it closed, and had to rush through it. I wish I had more time - the museum was much cooler than I had expected. They had a great display of midevil weapons - swords, lances, rifles, pistols, crossbows, etc... Some of the swords were huge - as tall as me! And, they had rifles there that were 7-8 feet long... I had no idea how anyone would lift one of those. I guess midevil people were strong.


One more stop - the city of Bacharach, to spend the day cruising on the Rhine river. Then, it's back to Amsterdam for a couple of days & then back to Minnesota.

Prague

Prague is a spooky city at night! It's super old, dimly lit, and there are statues (darkened with age) that loom over you like spectres. (especially on the Charles bridge) It's a lot of fun to wander around at night.

Spooky statue in Prague

At this point, I'm pretty fatigued with museums, so I didn't go into many. I will definitely come back to Prague, and will tour the museums then. For this trip, I spent a lot of time wandering around the city while admiring the architecture & hearing the stories.

I took 2 tours in Prague. The first was a Free Walking tour, which was a lot of fun. It was led by a Scottish guy who was a lot of fun to listen to. He told us about Prague's bloody history - there were a lot of Catholic/Protestant battles here, and a lot of hangings & beheadings.

In the evening, I went on a Ghost Tour - I was inspired by how spooky things are here. The tour was fun, but not as great as I had expected. I didn't see any ghosts. :-(

I did go to one museum - the museum of Communism. It showed how bad things were in Czechoslovakia under Communism, and had a very clear anti-Communist message. It was surreal to see news clips, photos, and stories from things that happened just 20 years ago, but seems so different than the way things are now.

The food in Prague was good - I had some good goulash, and some chicken, dumplings, and cabbage. And, of course, I had some really good Czech beer. After the walking tour, I went to a Monastery that brewed beer for Kings for a great lunch with their specially brewed beer.

Austria

I made 2 stops in Austria - in Salzburg (near the German border), and in Vienna.

Salzburg was a lot of fun. It's divided by the Salzach river, into the Old Town & New Town. Overlooking the Old Town (and dominating the entire city landscape) is the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which is high atop a hill.

I decided to rent a bike for the day, which was a great decision. It was great to bike along the river, and stop whenever I wanted to take a look at something. I was also able to get from my hostel to the Old City & around very quickly. Bike rental is definitely the way to go!

I spent the first day going around the city & seeing the sights. (BTW - I bought a Salzburg card, which gets you into lots of sights for free. It's kind of expensive, but worth it if you go to a number of sights, which I did). I went to Mozart's birthplace, and the home where he lived a little later in life. I also went up to the fortress, which was really cool (it has never been taken by force, and when you're up at the top, you can see why).

Later in the afternoon, I went to a piano & violen concert at Schloss Mirabell (which, incidentally, has an awesome garden with statues & a great view of the fortress). It was cool to hear music by Mozart in his home town.

Wandering around in the evening, I was reminded how small the world is. As I was walking up to a restaurant to eat, I thought I saw a familiar face. I did a double-take, and there was Tim - an American that I had met while living in Singapore!

The next day, I took a bus back into Germany, to the town of Berchtesgaden. I went to see the Eagle's Nest, which was Hitler's mountain retreat & where he planned a last stand (this place was in the one episode of Band of Brothers that I saw).

There were 3 things to see there. The first was the Nazi Documentation center (which was destroyed & rebuilt into a museum). They showed how Hitler was first presented to the German people (Eerie to see the propaganda, presenting him in such a positive light). They also showed how the 3rd Reich operated, the propaganda against Jews & other minorities, and how the Nazis committed their atrocities. Finally they showed how WWII progressed, and how Nazi Germany fell to the Allies.

The 2nd sight to see was the underground bunkers that the Nazis built. They were much bigger & more high-tech than I had imagined. They had air-locks, fuel storage facilities, power & life support faciliities, etc... And, the tunnels were not small - they were easily big enough to drive vehicles through.

Finally, it was off to the Eagle's Nest - the mountain retreat. I only had an hour up there (it closes earlier than I had expected), but an hour was enough. It has been converted to a mountain-top restaurant now (definitely better as a restaurant with a view than a Nazi hideout). The view was fantastic - you could see all the way to Salzburg!

Speaking of Salzburg... the hostel that I stayed (YoHo) at there wasn't the best. The internet access sucked (everyone had trouble getting online, except either very early or very late - and when you did get online, it was very slow or it dropped you). There was also a bar in the hostel, which was very smokey & the smell drifted up into the halls. The rooms weren't too bad, but it was pretty hot - which made it tough to sleep. It wasn't a disaster, but it could have been better.

My next stop was Vienna. While I'm on the topic of hostels, I'll preface my Vienna experience with a story from my hostel (Westend Hostel). The hostel was pretty nice - modern, and they served breakfast. But, I found out the true meaning of noisy roommate. One guy in our room snored so loud - it kept everyone up both nights. I couldn't believe that anyone could snore that loud. I put earplugs in, and it still woke me up - although not as much.

So, most of my time in Vienna was cloaked in a veil of exhaustion. Coffee & redbull were definitely my friends. But, I also wonder if I am getting a little fatigued on traveling - we'll see after I have a good night's sleep - I've booked a single room in Prague.

Anyhow - Vienna was a nice city, although I think I need to come back again to do it justice. I visited Stephansplatz, the giant church in the center of town, and a number of other churches. I visited 2 small museums, and spent quite a bit of time out in parks - sitting in the grass & relaxing.

The highlite of my Vienna experience was going to see Mozart's Requiem performed by an orchestra & choir at Karlzplatz church. It was great to see that performed in such a magestic setting.

So, now I'm off to Prague, with high expectations. Everyone says Prague is a great city, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to getting a little more sleep. :-)

Fussen

[WiFi connectivity continues to be really spotty at hostels recently. Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating...]


Germany has been great so far. I've been down in Bavaria - in the Southeast corner of the country. The food has been really good - I've had sausages, sour kraut (which I actually liked, unlike the times I've tried it in the US), schnitzl, pork knuckles, etc... And, the beer has been fantastic. I've had lagers (light) and dunkels (dark). I've also had some beer mixes. A Radler is lager mixed with lemonade/sprite (a shandy in the US). I've also had a dunkel mixed with coke. That was pretty good, but nowhere as good as a Radler.

My 2nd stop in Bavaria was the city of Fussen. It's a small town that many people stay at while visiting the castles of Neuschwanstein & Hoenschwangau. I toured the castles, which were pretty cool - especially Neuschwanstein. Many people believe that Neuschwanstein was the model used for the Walt Disney castel - I'd believe it. They look a lot alike.

The tours through the castles were a little rushed (but going on a tour is the only way to get into the castle). The artwork & decorations inside the castles were really impressive - they are more recent than other castles, and have been really well preserved. Lots & Lots of gold, ivory, and jewels...

While the insides were cool, the area around the castles was really cool. There were mountains around them, and an alpine lake (Alpensee) nearby. I hiked around the castles for a while, and went up to a bridge that spans a gorge & waterfall for a better view of Neuschwanstein. Unfortunately, there's a lot of scaffolding up on one side of the castle. I guess I'll have to come back again someday.

Alpensee is awesome - it was really calm (mirror-like), a dark blue/green, and surrounded by mountains. I rented a row-boat & paddled out on the lake for a great view of the castles & surrouding area.

Back in Fussen that evening, I grabbed an outdoor table at a restaurant. Since they were pretty crowded, I invited a couple to sit at my table. They were from Spain, and we had a great conversation throughout dinner. I was amazed at how much of my Spanish came back. I was able to communicate w/ them (albiet in somewhat broken sentances), and they helped correct my grammar as I went along. :-)

This morning, I woke up & checked out of my hostel. I had a few hours to kill before the train, so I seized the opportunity. I dropped my backpack off at a locker at the train station & rented a bike. I biked down to Alpensee (only a 15 minute ride), and went for a swim! It was great - cool, but not as cold as the water in the English Garden in Munich. Definitely a great way to end my time in Fussen.




I'll be back to Germany in a week or so, but for now I'm off to Salzburg Austria.