Vienna
Our day in Vienna was not terribly fun. We arrived about midday – we decided not to get a hotel because we needed to take the night train to Venice. About an hour after being there, I started feeling incredibly sick. I started getting cold sweats and an aching body. I toughed it though because we were only there for a day and we had no where to go. We went and saw the famous cathedral in the main town square, Stephansplatz. We ended up eating at a phenomenal restaurant right on the square. I actually had Beef Stroganoff -- it reminded me of home! :D We also, walked our way to the famous Opera House because of the long running history of Opera in Vienna. After the Opera House, we went to the treasury where we saw all of the famous jewelry, swords, and robes worn by the Kings and Queens of Austria. After that we went to the imperial apartments where the Austrian Royal Families lived. They were ridiculous! Everything is made out of gold, whether it is a baby’s crib, a tablecloth, or a sword case. Once we made our way back to the main square, I really started feeling sick. I ended up heading back to the train station to take a nap before our train left for Venice.
Venice
Still feeling very sick. Pretty upset that I can’t really venture around Venice. Luckily I have been fortunate enough to have already experienced Venice to its full potential during high school. So here I am, lounging in the room, falling in and out of sleep trying to rest up for Milan, Florence, and Rome. Dave headed out about 30 minutes ago and we made plans to go grab dinner together at some point later tonight. Hopefully I will be feeling better. He keeps trying to get me to go on a Gondola ride, but they are 80 euro! I told him, it is definitely cool, but I would just ride the public transportation around the city to have the same effect. We leave for Milan at around 11 AM tomorrow and will be staying at Teddy’s place.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Bratislava, Slovakia
We arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia around 11 AM. This gave us more than enough time to cover the whole city. We checked into our Hostel, the City Hostel on Obrachodno street. This seemed to be a pretty big street since it connects their main city center located in the Old Town. The rain definitely followed us here. All day long we were constantly getting rained on. However, that did not stop us from seeing what Bratislava has to offer.
Once checked in, we decided to go see the main sites here: Old Town, St. Martins Cathedral, Bratislava Castle, and Devlin Castle. St. Martins cathedral was way under construction – it is interesting because here, multiple Austrian kings have been crowned. However, there is a huge billboard plastered on the side of the cathedral for a bank in Slovakia – it was pretty bizarre. Bratislava Castle offered a fantastic view of the residential side of Bratislava. Right outside the city there are many parks and forests, which looked incredibly nice. Our next destination was Devlin Castle. We had to take a 30 minute bus out to the castle, however we were able to see views of all of Bratislava, as well as trek around a castle. It was definitely worth the visit. We also visited Old Town, which had a nice little square like many other European cities.
Apparently hockey is a huge deal here and they are hosting the World Championships starting in 3 days! We were bummed because we saw this and immediately said we should go to a game since it would be a cool thing to do at night. Sadly, there were no games but there were a bunch of cool statues of hockey players up. I made sure to snap a photo in “hockey position.”
We are off to Veinna tomorrow at round 9:30 and slated to get in around 11. I wasn’t able to connect to the Internet in Bratislava and is doubtful I will in Veinna. We plan on not getting a hotel for Veinna, and taking the night train from there to Venice.
Once checked in, we decided to go see the main sites here: Old Town, St. Martins Cathedral, Bratislava Castle, and Devlin Castle. St. Martins cathedral was way under construction – it is interesting because here, multiple Austrian kings have been crowned. However, there is a huge billboard plastered on the side of the cathedral for a bank in Slovakia – it was pretty bizarre. Bratislava Castle offered a fantastic view of the residential side of Bratislava. Right outside the city there are many parks and forests, which looked incredibly nice. Our next destination was Devlin Castle. We had to take a 30 minute bus out to the castle, however we were able to see views of all of Bratislava, as well as trek around a castle. It was definitely worth the visit. We also visited Old Town, which had a nice little square like many other European cities.
Apparently hockey is a huge deal here and they are hosting the World Championships starting in 3 days! We were bummed because we saw this and immediately said we should go to a game since it would be a cool thing to do at night. Sadly, there were no games but there were a bunch of cool statues of hockey players up. I made sure to snap a photo in “hockey position.”
We are off to Veinna tomorrow at round 9:30 and slated to get in around 11. I wasn’t able to connect to the Internet in Bratislava and is doubtful I will in Veinna. We plan on not getting a hotel for Veinna, and taking the night train from there to Venice.
Budapest
We finally arrived at around 830 in the morning on Monday. The night train wasn’t too bad; we had a whole cabin to ourselves so I was able to sprawl out on 3 chairs. When we got in it was pretty overcast and of course, it started to rain so we had limited options. We decided a bus tour would be the best. We hopped on the bus and saw all of Budapest’s main sites like: St. Stephens Basilica, The Royal Palace and Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, the Danube bridge, Heroes Square, and the Parliament. Heroes Square was really cool; it was a gigantic square commemorating all of the people who have helped get Hungary to where they are today. The Royal Palace and Castle was also incredible. We were able to get views of all of BudaPest. It definitely would have been more enjoyable in the sun, but we were still able to see and enjoy much of Budapest. Something interesting to note is that Budapest consists of two different cities, Buda and Pest. The Danube River divides the two cities. Buda is on the West and Pest is on the East. Combined it’s pronounced Budapesht, as we learned on our tour.
After our tour it was pouring rain and we decided we needed to find something to do. We looked online and asked the front desk. We decided that going to one of the famous Roman Baths would be a good idea. Baths are one of the main reason tourists apparently go to Budapest. All baths are built around hot springs, and their central part is one or several thermal pools. They are usually complemented with several steam baths and saunas. We went to the Gellert Bathing Spa and it was pretty cool. Of course I didn’t like the fact that they are massive Jacuzzis with a bunch of people, especially old people, hanging out in them. But I toughed it out and swam anyways. It was also pretty funny because they made everyone wear shower caps, so Dave and I were walking around in shower caps for a couple hours. Overall, it was really cool and I enjoyed it. I had never seen anything like this. The architecture surrounding the walls and the fountains that would pour into the tubs were so awesome.
Right now, we are on our way to Bratislava for a day on the town. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) we will leave to Vienna for the day.
After our tour it was pouring rain and we decided we needed to find something to do. We looked online and asked the front desk. We decided that going to one of the famous Roman Baths would be a good idea. Baths are one of the main reason tourists apparently go to Budapest. All baths are built around hot springs, and their central part is one or several thermal pools. They are usually complemented with several steam baths and saunas. We went to the Gellert Bathing Spa and it was pretty cool. Of course I didn’t like the fact that they are massive Jacuzzis with a bunch of people, especially old people, hanging out in them. But I toughed it out and swam anyways. It was also pretty funny because they made everyone wear shower caps, so Dave and I were walking around in shower caps for a couple hours. Overall, it was really cool and I enjoyed it. I had never seen anything like this. The architecture surrounding the walls and the fountains that would pour into the tubs were so awesome.
Right now, we are on our way to Bratislava for a day on the town. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) we will leave to Vienna for the day.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Krakow
Krakow, Poland really impressed me. I came in with pretty low expectations considering no one ever really talks up Poland, aside from our friend who we met there, Krys. We got into Krakow around 7:30 PM last Thursday. Immediately, we showered and walked to the Old Town Square. It is one of the largest squares in Europe and it is incredibly cool. Throughout the square are restaurants – cheap too! So we went and ate some Perronis and Polish sausage. The food was incredibly good everywhere we went. I wish we had had this food in Spain! After we ate, we walked around and went to a few bars then called it a night.
Day 2 in Poland we went and saw the Wawel Castle. We woke up, grabbed some breakfast and started hiking to the castle. It was really cool; it is up on a hill and overlooks Krakow. So we went and ventured around that for a while. Hundreds of years ago, they supposedly had a dragon that tortured the people of Krakow for years. Finally, a chemist decided to put acid into a sheep and then lure the dragon into eating the sheep. This worked and he was deemed a hero. So now at the castle, there is the lair that the dragon allegedly lived in. So of course we went and checked it out ;) The rest of our day was spent hanging out in the square, shopping around, and eating great food. It was a beautiful day out and really relaxing. It was nice to slow things down after being on the go for 5 days straight!
Day 3 was by far the most interesting! We took a train to the Auschwitz concentration camp. It was insane, I couldn’t believe I was actually there considering we have learned so much about it in school. It was insane seeing the last remaining gas chambers and crematoriums. It was also crazy seeing the wall where the majority of executions took place. Just thinking about how many people died there is incredibly overwhelming. Auschwitz was just the first camp we saw. We took a shuttle bus over the second concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. You could tell that they knew what they were doing when they built this camp. It was MUCH MUCH bigger and laid out a lot better. The thing is though, not much of this camp actual exists anymore. The majority of buildings are ruins because the Nazis tried to burn everything down and erase the evidence. Pretty much all of the gas chambers and crematoriums are just ruins now. It was still cool to see, and we saw a lot of pictures of how it used to look so we still were able to get a good idea!
On Sunday we were set to depart to Budapest, Hungary. However, because the Eurail timetable messed up, we ended up in Prague again! We were told online, at the ticket counter, and by multiple workers on board that the train EC 110 would be going to Budapest. Us and other people, also headed to Budapest, jumped on the train and ended up in Prague. So we got off, spent a few hours there and grabbed a bite to eat. We ended up catching a night train from Prague to Budapest and arrived at 10 AM on this Monday morning. We are about to head out and see Budapest for the day and head to Bratislava, Slovakia in the morning. Love you all!
Day 2 in Poland we went and saw the Wawel Castle. We woke up, grabbed some breakfast and started hiking to the castle. It was really cool; it is up on a hill and overlooks Krakow. So we went and ventured around that for a while. Hundreds of years ago, they supposedly had a dragon that tortured the people of Krakow for years. Finally, a chemist decided to put acid into a sheep and then lure the dragon into eating the sheep. This worked and he was deemed a hero. So now at the castle, there is the lair that the dragon allegedly lived in. So of course we went and checked it out ;) The rest of our day was spent hanging out in the square, shopping around, and eating great food. It was a beautiful day out and really relaxing. It was nice to slow things down after being on the go for 5 days straight!
Day 3 was by far the most interesting! We took a train to the Auschwitz concentration camp. It was insane, I couldn’t believe I was actually there considering we have learned so much about it in school. It was insane seeing the last remaining gas chambers and crematoriums. It was also crazy seeing the wall where the majority of executions took place. Just thinking about how many people died there is incredibly overwhelming. Auschwitz was just the first camp we saw. We took a shuttle bus over the second concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. You could tell that they knew what they were doing when they built this camp. It was MUCH MUCH bigger and laid out a lot better. The thing is though, not much of this camp actual exists anymore. The majority of buildings are ruins because the Nazis tried to burn everything down and erase the evidence. Pretty much all of the gas chambers and crematoriums are just ruins now. It was still cool to see, and we saw a lot of pictures of how it used to look so we still were able to get a good idea!
On Sunday we were set to depart to Budapest, Hungary. However, because the Eurail timetable messed up, we ended up in Prague again! We were told online, at the ticket counter, and by multiple workers on board that the train EC 110 would be going to Budapest. Us and other people, also headed to Budapest, jumped on the train and ended up in Prague. So we got off, spent a few hours there and grabbed a bite to eat. We ended up catching a night train from Prague to Budapest and arrived at 10 AM on this Monday morning. We are about to head out and see Budapest for the day and head to Bratislava, Slovakia in the morning. Love you all!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Prague
So we got into Prague Tuesday morning at around 9:30. We ended up hoping on a train at 4:15 AM from Berlin so we would be able to get in earlier to Prague. Our hotel was called Breniza Pension and it was a total eastern European hotel – incredibly small, no air conditioning, makeshift elevator, etc… But what else can you expect for such a great deal we got for it! We were about a 20 minute walk from Old Town Square, which is basically the center of their city. It has a huge church and an astronomical clock created hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The clock can tell the current time, as well as when the sun will rise and set. Every hour a guy at the top of the church will play a little tune, it’s really cool and peaceful.
We were able to meet up with Nick and he showed us pretty much all of Prague. The first thing we did was check out the Jewish Quarter. This is where they stuck all the Jews and forced them to live (seems like a typical trend in Europe). Everything was closed though in the quarter for Passover, so we just walked around. Next, we crossed the famous Charles Bridge. It’s really similar to La Rambla in Barcelona. There are a ton shops in tents and artists on the bridge. Once we crossed the bridge, we went and checked out Nick’s school and the John Lennon wall. The Lennon wall was a pretty big let down; I was expecting much more. It is supposed to be a wall dedicated to Lennon for his musical work against communism. However, people have really butchered the wall because you are able to spray paint whatever you want on there. Dave decided to lean up against the wall and ended up with some nice fresh yellow paint on his back. After the Lennon wall , we went to the Castle, which overlooks all of Prague and is home of St. Georges Basilica. It was a beautiful view and the walk to get there was just as beautiful. We walked through a bunch of gardens and parks to get there.
The weather was insanely nice, we got there at the perfect time! Yesterday, we rented a paddle boat and cruised around a good portion of Prague. It was a great time and probably the highlight of the trip – it was so relaxing and fun.
Our next stop is Krakow, Poland. We are going to be meeting our friend Krys, who is from Warsaw. It should be a lot of fun considering he speaks the language and knows the city. We plan on going to Auschwitz and checking out some of the Cultural Heritage Sites that are in Krakow.
We were able to meet up with Nick and he showed us pretty much all of Prague. The first thing we did was check out the Jewish Quarter. This is where they stuck all the Jews and forced them to live (seems like a typical trend in Europe). Everything was closed though in the quarter for Passover, so we just walked around. Next, we crossed the famous Charles Bridge. It’s really similar to La Rambla in Barcelona. There are a ton shops in tents and artists on the bridge. Once we crossed the bridge, we went and checked out Nick’s school and the John Lennon wall. The Lennon wall was a pretty big let down; I was expecting much more. It is supposed to be a wall dedicated to Lennon for his musical work against communism. However, people have really butchered the wall because you are able to spray paint whatever you want on there. Dave decided to lean up against the wall and ended up with some nice fresh yellow paint on his back. After the Lennon wall , we went to the Castle, which overlooks all of Prague and is home of St. Georges Basilica. It was a beautiful view and the walk to get there was just as beautiful. We walked through a bunch of gardens and parks to get there.
The weather was insanely nice, we got there at the perfect time! Yesterday, we rented a paddle boat and cruised around a good portion of Prague. It was a great time and probably the highlight of the trip – it was so relaxing and fun.
Our next stop is Krakow, Poland. We are going to be meeting our friend Krys, who is from Warsaw. It should be a lot of fun considering he speaks the language and knows the city. We plan on going to Auschwitz and checking out some of the Cultural Heritage Sites that are in Krakow.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Berlin
Dave and I made it to Berlin yesterday safe and sound. I don't have much time so I'll give the highlights.
We took it easy yesterday and hung around where we are staying in Warchauser Strasse. The hostel is pretty awesome, it's called Plus Berlin. As for today we rented bikes and rode around all of Berlin from 10 am to 7 pm. We did all of the following today:
The wall
The wall museum
Pariser Platz -- a big square
The TV tower
A bunch of cool parks that we rode through
Holocaust Monument designed by the same person who is redesigning the world trade center
Victory Monument
Parliament building
Just a whole bunch of cool things and a really nice city. Renting bikes was key, we were able to see literally the whole city in a day. We are either going to leave for Prague tonight or early tomorrow morning.
We took it easy yesterday and hung around where we are staying in Warchauser Strasse. The hostel is pretty awesome, it's called Plus Berlin. As for today we rented bikes and rode around all of Berlin from 10 am to 7 pm. We did all of the following today:
The wall
The wall museum
Pariser Platz -- a big square
The TV tower
A bunch of cool parks that we rode through
Holocaust Monument designed by the same person who is redesigning the world trade center
Victory Monument
Parliament building
Just a whole bunch of cool things and a really nice city. Renting bikes was key, we were able to see literally the whole city in a day. We are either going to leave for Prague tonight or early tomorrow morning.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Awesome weekend in Barcelona!
Last Thursday, I went to the aquarium and it was pretty cool. I wasn't overly impressed, but it was still worth it just to get out and do something for the day. I had a good time, especially in their famous aquarium tunnel. You step onto a conveyor belt surrounded by the tank, so sharks, fish, and stingrays are all literally right in your face. At one point, I was a good 6 inches beneath a shark -- it was pretty freaky but definitely cool!
This weekend we really took advantage of the beautiful weather and hung out at the beach all day Friday and Saturday. Also played a good amount of cards and ping pong in the park. The parks here are incredibly nice and well kept. I think our favorite one is Ciutadella, which is right next to our school. There is a Zoo and Nick was in town again so it was cool to see him. We ended up going to Montjuich to catch the sunset which was a nice little hike up the mountain.
As for today, we have been working on our papers that are due tomorrow. I am pretty much finished up with mine. I just need to put the final touches on that and the powerpoint presentation I have to give. Can't remember if i mentioned it, but the project is on the Design museum I went to a couple weeks ago. Then on Wednesday I have a presentation on another Museum. Then the following Monday, I have 3 finals, but they should be pretty easy. After that, I am done for the semester!
This weekend we really took advantage of the beautiful weather and hung out at the beach all day Friday and Saturday. Also played a good amount of cards and ping pong in the park. The parks here are incredibly nice and well kept. I think our favorite one is Ciutadella, which is right next to our school. There is a Zoo and Nick was in town again so it was cool to see him. We ended up going to Montjuich to catch the sunset which was a nice little hike up the mountain.
As for today, we have been working on our papers that are due tomorrow. I am pretty much finished up with mine. I just need to put the final touches on that and the powerpoint presentation I have to give. Can't remember if i mentioned it, but the project is on the Design museum I went to a couple weeks ago. Then on Wednesday I have a presentation on another Museum. Then the following Monday, I have 3 finals, but they should be pretty easy. After that, I am done for the semester!
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