ok, we've been super busy lately and i know thats no excuse buuuuut we promise to sit down and update this thing as soon as we get a chance. Quick rundown though...
Ghent-beautiful, loved it! made a daytrip to antwerp which was pretty cool
Brussels-was ok but would of expected more for the "capitol" of europe...did get a free tour of eu parliment though which was pretty cool
Luxembourg-DULLEST CITY EVERRRRR
Paris-absolutely loved it, could of easily spent 3 more days there, saw everything and climbed 668 steps to get to the second level of the Eiffel Tower and then took a lift to the top.
London- if we said it sucked, 9 other people would be mad at us...buuuuut were just kidding, it was great and we had a blast seeing everyone!
Edinburgh-so far its great, wish we had more time in scotland in general but the city is amazing.
off to dublin in a few days then home...which is so wierd to say. but like we said, more updates later!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
P.S. about Amsterdam
We forgot to mention this before but Matt also has added some of the members of the cast of Miami Ink to to his list of people in which he has offended on this trip.
We where on our free tour of Amsterdam and where outside of a famous coffee shop and while the tour guide was talking Matt noticed Yoji (the asian apprentice) on Miami Ink and said "hey, arent you guys from L.A. Ink". The guy was totally offended that he got his show wrong, whoops
We where on our free tour of Amsterdam and where outside of a famous coffee shop and while the tour guide was talking Matt noticed Yoji (the asian apprentice) on Miami Ink and said "hey, arent you guys from L.A. Ink". The guy was totally offended that he got his show wrong, whoops
The guy in the hat was there too, he seemed lame
L.A. Ink is better anyway
Friday, August 7, 2009
Bruges
Were in Bruges right now, but are leaving tomorrow. It is a really small city, smaller than Venice if that puts it into perspective. Its crazy, it feels like your stepping into a picture when you walk around some of the streets here. And if you listen to Matt, it feels like an old midevil village full of mythical things...even though its not.
Still, we spent our time just walking around looking at everything. We went to a hospital museum, it cost 1 euro each so we figured why not. It was worth a euro. But other than that we just spent our time walking around taking it all in. It is the quietest place we've visted thus far and it is also one of the most beautiful.
Other than that there isnt that much to talk about, its a small intersting town but we spent the perfect amount of time here (one day). Quite frankly if we spent another day it would have been to much time.
Still, we spent our time just walking around looking at everything. We went to a hospital museum, it cost 1 euro each so we figured why not. It was worth a euro. But other than that we just spent our time walking around taking it all in. It is the quietest place we've visted thus far and it is also one of the most beautiful.
Other than that there isnt that much to talk about, its a small intersting town but we spent the perfect amount of time here (one day). Quite frankly if we spent another day it would have been to much time.
What we remember about Amsterdam
Its a very interesting city with a lot to offer. The city itself is really old while the people who inhabit it are relatively young. We went on the free tour that was offered and got to see everything all of the city. These free tours are AMAZING! But its really neat to see houses leaning every which way because the city was built on reclaimed land from the sea with really poor foundation. There are some of the smallest hosues we have ever seen and they all have a lot of character.
We were there for 4 days and did a lot of...cultural things. We went and saw the Anne Frank house. When we got there the line was wrapped around the block and we werent going to stay but we did and it was incredible. The house is still exactly the same except there is no furniture in the annex where the families stayed. You got to go through the small bookcase and go up through everything. It was really strange being able to walk through history like that. There were still pictures on the walls as well as origional bathroom and kitchen fixtures. Then at the end was Anne Franks origional diary, the whole thing was spooky and moving all at the same time.
We also saw the Van Gogh museum. It was intersting, but in the end its just another art museum. We saw a few famous pieces and some that were talked about during our art history classes so that was cool. But we have been to so many art museums that unfortunitally they are becoming less and less interesting as we go...same with churches, palaces and cathedrals.
Heineken beer tastes like dirt but the company sure knows how to create the most interesting brewery tour ever. The tour was in their origional brewery which they shut down in 1989, since then they completely transformed it into this incredible self guided tour. Every single exhibit in the plant was interactive, fun and educational all at the same time. We walked through the old brew room and it was really cool. They left all the old copper kettles in and you could play with them and look inside of them and ok, they are HUUUGE! We also got to taste unfermented beer...its sweet, in case you were curious. The rest of the place was impressive as well and even the free beer in the end didnt taste as terrible as it normally does...still, we only drank 1 of the 2 free beers we got...sorry Heineken.
The red light district isnt as cool as we figured it would be. There were not as many windows filled with girls, either because they werent rented for the night or they had a customer. It was very commercial also. It wasnt like the seedy back alley red light district that we where expecting. A decent amount of the girls looked like wierd space aliens becuase of the rediculous amount of plastic surgery that they had done. It was a little bit disapointing. But we ended up there twice, of course, and got lost the second time. The second time we were there was a little bit later in the night and there were a few more girls out but it wasnt what we were expecting.
In the end, we just had a good time...and were also proud of ourselves for actually making it out of there. For a while it was touch and go if we were leaving. :)
We were there for 4 days and did a lot of...cultural things. We went and saw the Anne Frank house. When we got there the line was wrapped around the block and we werent going to stay but we did and it was incredible. The house is still exactly the same except there is no furniture in the annex where the families stayed. You got to go through the small bookcase and go up through everything. It was really strange being able to walk through history like that. There were still pictures on the walls as well as origional bathroom and kitchen fixtures. Then at the end was Anne Franks origional diary, the whole thing was spooky and moving all at the same time.
We also saw the Van Gogh museum. It was intersting, but in the end its just another art museum. We saw a few famous pieces and some that were talked about during our art history classes so that was cool. But we have been to so many art museums that unfortunitally they are becoming less and less interesting as we go...same with churches, palaces and cathedrals.
Heineken beer tastes like dirt but the company sure knows how to create the most interesting brewery tour ever. The tour was in their origional brewery which they shut down in 1989, since then they completely transformed it into this incredible self guided tour. Every single exhibit in the plant was interactive, fun and educational all at the same time. We walked through the old brew room and it was really cool. They left all the old copper kettles in and you could play with them and look inside of them and ok, they are HUUUGE! We also got to taste unfermented beer...its sweet, in case you were curious. The rest of the place was impressive as well and even the free beer in the end didnt taste as terrible as it normally does...still, we only drank 1 of the 2 free beers we got...sorry Heineken.
The red light district isnt as cool as we figured it would be. There were not as many windows filled with girls, either because they werent rented for the night or they had a customer. It was very commercial also. It wasnt like the seedy back alley red light district that we where expecting. A decent amount of the girls looked like wierd space aliens becuase of the rediculous amount of plastic surgery that they had done. It was a little bit disapointing. But we ended up there twice, of course, and got lost the second time. The second time we were there was a little bit later in the night and there were a few more girls out but it wasnt what we were expecting.
In the end, we just had a good time...and were also proud of ourselves for actually making it out of there. For a while it was touch and go if we were leaving. :)
Can we eliminate Norway from the world?
If you ask us, so far, there is only one country that should not be part of the EU and/or Earth, and that has to be Norway. Lets start from the beginning.
First of all, its cold. Like cmon its the middle of summer and it is something like 60 degrees and constantly raining, we didnt leave Elkins Park for that. Second, its EXPENSIVE, and not center city Philadelphia expensive, like true rip off expensive. We went grocery shopping for 3 days worth of food and spent the equivilant of 100USD. For us, on this trip, thats a lot of money and the food wasnt worth it. Third, our hostel was sooooo far out of the way of anything. We got off the train and were going to take a regional train to get to the hostel but of course they were doing work on the line so we had to take a shuttle bus. We get off at the stop and of course have no idea where we are going so we ask for directions....an hour later we arrive at the hostel. In total it was something like 9km outside of the city, thats REALLY far from anything. Fourth, there are no ATMs anywhere. So word to the wise, if your going to stay in Oslo (or should i say outside of Oslo) make sure you have enough money for the bus becasue getting money is impossible. We managed to run out of money and were at our hostel when we found out that in order to get money you had to take a bus...which we had no money for. So Matt (he lost the coin toss) got on a bus (because we had enough for 1 person to go) and took the 20 minute bus ride into Oslo to get money for us...he came back 2 hours, 4 ATMs, 1.5 mile walk, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich later. We did nothing that day.
Fifth, since our hostel was so far out of the way we realized that no busses were going to run first thing in the morning, especially on a Sunday which is the day we had to take our flight out of that hell hole into Amsterdam. So, we booked a hotel room for the last night just so we could get out of the city in the morning. Sixth, we wake up at 445am, get to the trainstation buy our tickets and get on a train to go to the airport, these tickets we bought were $20 per person and it turns out they were the WRONG TICKET! So, another $40 later we are allowed to leave the train. Ok, why not label the ticket machine saying dont buy airport train tickets from here? Just a thought. Seventh (and last reason), this one isnt really the fault of Norway but we like to blame them for everything wrong in the world. We get to the airport and look on the board for our flight, its not there. We try to do sign in from a kiosk, it doesnt work. We look at our Expedia reservation, yea it turns out that our flight was for 4 DAYS PRIOR! We booked the flight for the wrong day and didnt realize it. So we tried to get it sorted out, turns out our tickets are gone and out of the system so we need to spend 3x what we origionally paid for a flight out of Scandinavia back into the motherland that is the land of the Euro. blech.
In a nutshell, Oslo, and Norway should be eliminated from the map (sorry aunt mar) its just a thought. Was there some cool stuff to see, kinda but all in all it wasnt worth the time and especially the money.
First of all, its cold. Like cmon its the middle of summer and it is something like 60 degrees and constantly raining, we didnt leave Elkins Park for that. Second, its EXPENSIVE, and not center city Philadelphia expensive, like true rip off expensive. We went grocery shopping for 3 days worth of food and spent the equivilant of 100USD. For us, on this trip, thats a lot of money and the food wasnt worth it. Third, our hostel was sooooo far out of the way of anything. We got off the train and were going to take a regional train to get to the hostel but of course they were doing work on the line so we had to take a shuttle bus. We get off at the stop and of course have no idea where we are going so we ask for directions....an hour later we arrive at the hostel. In total it was something like 9km outside of the city, thats REALLY far from anything. Fourth, there are no ATMs anywhere. So word to the wise, if your going to stay in Oslo (or should i say outside of Oslo) make sure you have enough money for the bus becasue getting money is impossible. We managed to run out of money and were at our hostel when we found out that in order to get money you had to take a bus...which we had no money for. So Matt (he lost the coin toss) got on a bus (because we had enough for 1 person to go) and took the 20 minute bus ride into Oslo to get money for us...he came back 2 hours, 4 ATMs, 1.5 mile walk, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich later. We did nothing that day.
Fifth, since our hostel was so far out of the way we realized that no busses were going to run first thing in the morning, especially on a Sunday which is the day we had to take our flight out of that hell hole into Amsterdam. So, we booked a hotel room for the last night just so we could get out of the city in the morning. Sixth, we wake up at 445am, get to the trainstation buy our tickets and get on a train to go to the airport, these tickets we bought were $20 per person and it turns out they were the WRONG TICKET! So, another $40 later we are allowed to leave the train. Ok, why not label the ticket machine saying dont buy airport train tickets from here? Just a thought. Seventh (and last reason), this one isnt really the fault of Norway but we like to blame them for everything wrong in the world. We get to the airport and look on the board for our flight, its not there. We try to do sign in from a kiosk, it doesnt work. We look at our Expedia reservation, yea it turns out that our flight was for 4 DAYS PRIOR! We booked the flight for the wrong day and didnt realize it. So we tried to get it sorted out, turns out our tickets are gone and out of the system so we need to spend 3x what we origionally paid for a flight out of Scandinavia back into the motherland that is the land of the Euro. blech.
In a nutshell, Oslo, and Norway should be eliminated from the map (sorry aunt mar) its just a thought. Was there some cool stuff to see, kinda but all in all it wasnt worth the time and especially the money.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Denmark and Sweden...Börk Börk Börk!!!
Copenhagen
Our first city in Scandanavia. Not the most exciting city we have encountered. We rented bikes and scooted around the city for a little while until we realized we arent bike people and its a lot harder than it looks. Saw the Little Mermaid Statue that sits off a jeddi. The statue is the lamist tourist attraction in the world, its not impressive at all.
The most interesting thing happening in this place where the naked hookers walking around the town square.
This city kind of sucked worse than Berlin, there isnt much else to say about it.
Stockholm and the Archipelago´s
Totally incredible. Stockholm is a very relaxing town on the water and is actually made up of 14 small islands all conected by bridges. We went to the Vasa Museum which is a museum dedicated to a ship that was hauled out of the Stockholm Harbor 333 years after its maiden voyage. (it sunk after it went 1500 meters). Its the only ship from the 1600´s that has been preserved in the world.
Our Hostel is really cool, part of it is a ship that has been preserved from the 1800´s. Our room wasnt on the boat but its still cool anyway.
We got creative with cooking food becuase its so expensive to eat out here and made some really good stuff. Made a gumbo thing and other fancy stuff.
Went to the archipelago capital of Vaxholm which is one of the small islands. Sat on the rocks and watched boats and what not pass as we ate lunch. Saw an old fortress and snuck into a museum exibition about the island prison from the 1700-1800´s.
The craziest thing about this place is that it DOESNT GET DARK TILL SOOOO LATE! The sun isnt even fully set at about 1030pm and it will rise at 4am...we kid you not. Try waking up to go pee at 4am only to see that its super bright outside, its insane. We wished we were able to get up to the Arctic Circle to see the midnight sun which is the 24hrs of sun for about 100 days but we just missed it and its a little far. Still, the color of the sky here at 1030 is what it would look like at about 8pm back home.
Our first city in Scandanavia. Not the most exciting city we have encountered. We rented bikes and scooted around the city for a little while until we realized we arent bike people and its a lot harder than it looks. Saw the Little Mermaid Statue that sits off a jeddi. The statue is the lamist tourist attraction in the world, its not impressive at all.
The most interesting thing happening in this place where the naked hookers walking around the town square.
This city kind of sucked worse than Berlin, there isnt much else to say about it.
Stockholm and the Archipelago´s
Totally incredible. Stockholm is a very relaxing town on the water and is actually made up of 14 small islands all conected by bridges. We went to the Vasa Museum which is a museum dedicated to a ship that was hauled out of the Stockholm Harbor 333 years after its maiden voyage. (it sunk after it went 1500 meters). Its the only ship from the 1600´s that has been preserved in the world.
Our Hostel is really cool, part of it is a ship that has been preserved from the 1800´s. Our room wasnt on the boat but its still cool anyway.
We got creative with cooking food becuase its so expensive to eat out here and made some really good stuff. Made a gumbo thing and other fancy stuff.
Went to the archipelago capital of Vaxholm which is one of the small islands. Sat on the rocks and watched boats and what not pass as we ate lunch. Saw an old fortress and snuck into a museum exibition about the island prison from the 1700-1800´s.
The craziest thing about this place is that it DOESNT GET DARK TILL SOOOO LATE! The sun isnt even fully set at about 1030pm and it will rise at 4am...we kid you not. Try waking up to go pee at 4am only to see that its super bright outside, its insane. We wished we were able to get up to the Arctic Circle to see the midnight sun which is the 24hrs of sun for about 100 days but we just missed it and its a little far. Still, the color of the sky here at 1030 is what it would look like at about 8pm back home.
All in all, Stockholm helped redeem our initial thoughts of Scandinavia. There was a lot to see and a lot to do and it was absolutely beautiful. If we ever came back we would like to do a tour of the Archipelagos as well as the Arctic Circle. We would try to get a house somewhere for a week or two, rent a boat and just explore...that would be really cool.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
5 weeks in and a lot of random...
So its been about 5 weeks now and ive(jil) been keeping a little journal. It has some really random stuff in it, a lot of matts drawings of random things and notes from here and there...here is a little taste of whats inside....
-Matt nearly looses toe on second day (its totally healed now, fyi)
-Went to the train station in Portugal, it was the wrong one. Went to the another one, it was still the wrong one....were able to stay and cought our train!
-1245am on train to Madrid-Jil learns theres states in other countries, not just in the US...Matts reaction--stupid american.
-Matts favorite spanish term, dos gatos locos, actually comes in handy at the Prado Museum when there is a panting of, dos gatos locos.
-Jil-"oh look theres the Senate"
Matt-"how do you know thats the Senate?"
Jil- "Because it says Senate in English"
Matt-"...is that how you spell Senate?"
-3 rules for a bar crawl in Barcelona (as said by the bar crawl leader)
1.Dont talk to hookers-they dont like you, they just want to steal your money
2. Dont buy any beer from Pakistanis, unless you want to pay 165 euros
3. Shut the fuck up unless you want piss and poo thrown on you!
-Lady on train scared matt, he thought she was from transelvania and was afraid to sleep for fear of neck bites
-Matts new favorite song...to the tune of bob marleys we be jammin...."we be jamon, jamon like a thing of the past" (jamon is ham in spanish...this is from the vegan)
-Old man in barcelona wearing nothing but sandles walking to the beach...full body tattooed!
-The train line in italy is called trenitalia...haha get it? sounds like genitalia...theres an picture that goes to this one...
-We traveled all across Italy to Nice, from Nice to Monaco, from Monaco to Nice, from Nice to Ventemiglia, from Ventimiglia to Milan, from Milan to Venice, from Venice to Vienna...all becasue we couldnt get to Geneva
-Poop Chair...(there was a chair on one of the trains in italy that stunk of poop...of course because i didnt get enough poop issues in Rome, i got to sit in it)
-I told a waiter at the hofbrauhaus that i was a cheese head in german on a dare from matt....he continued to call matt a cheese head the rest of the night!
-Tour guide for Dachau-"Where are my Mexicans??"
-Canadian lady (who talked waaaaay to much) on the third reich tour. Theres actually a lot from her, to much to write but lets just say she claims to be a decendant of royalty and apparently broke her back right before her trip but still is able to take a 3 hour WALKING TOUR!
-Matt was drunk in Prague on the bar crawl...he then proceeded to yell CANADA SUCKS at the top of his lungs outside at one point. Our french canadian roomate happened to be right next to him...matt then tells the kid...canada sucks EXCEPT for French Canada, thats the best place ever! Even though he really doesnt believe that, still hates canada and doesnt understand why they arent american.
-Matt-"its kinda like that kill two birds with one egg thing right?" no...its not, hes just matt!
-Matt nearly looses toe on second day (its totally healed now, fyi)
-Went to the train station in Portugal, it was the wrong one. Went to the another one, it was still the wrong one....were able to stay and cought our train!
-1245am on train to Madrid-Jil learns theres states in other countries, not just in the US...Matts reaction--stupid american.
-Matts favorite spanish term, dos gatos locos, actually comes in handy at the Prado Museum when there is a panting of, dos gatos locos.
-Jil-"oh look theres the Senate"
Matt-"how do you know thats the Senate?"
Jil- "Because it says Senate in English"
Matt-"...is that how you spell Senate?"
-3 rules for a bar crawl in Barcelona (as said by the bar crawl leader)
1.Dont talk to hookers-they dont like you, they just want to steal your money
2. Dont buy any beer from Pakistanis, unless you want to pay 165 euros
3. Shut the fuck up unless you want piss and poo thrown on you!
-Lady on train scared matt, he thought she was from transelvania and was afraid to sleep for fear of neck bites
-Matts new favorite song...to the tune of bob marleys we be jammin...."we be jamon, jamon like a thing of the past" (jamon is ham in spanish...this is from the vegan)
-Old man in barcelona wearing nothing but sandles walking to the beach...full body tattooed!
-The train line in italy is called trenitalia...haha get it? sounds like genitalia...theres an picture that goes to this one...
-We traveled all across Italy to Nice, from Nice to Monaco, from Monaco to Nice, from Nice to Ventemiglia, from Ventimiglia to Milan, from Milan to Venice, from Venice to Vienna...all becasue we couldnt get to Geneva
-Poop Chair...(there was a chair on one of the trains in italy that stunk of poop...of course because i didnt get enough poop issues in Rome, i got to sit in it)
-I told a waiter at the hofbrauhaus that i was a cheese head in german on a dare from matt....he continued to call matt a cheese head the rest of the night!
-Tour guide for Dachau-"Where are my Mexicans??"
-Canadian lady (who talked waaaaay to much) on the third reich tour. Theres actually a lot from her, to much to write but lets just say she claims to be a decendant of royalty and apparently broke her back right before her trip but still is able to take a 3 hour WALKING TOUR!
-Matt was drunk in Prague on the bar crawl...he then proceeded to yell CANADA SUCKS at the top of his lungs outside at one point. Our french canadian roomate happened to be right next to him...matt then tells the kid...canada sucks EXCEPT for French Canada, thats the best place ever! Even though he really doesnt believe that, still hates canada and doesnt understand why they arent american.
-Matt-"its kinda like that kill two birds with one egg thing right?" no...its not, hes just matt!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Prague & Berlin
Prague, aka Praha, aka Prahahahaha, aka the largest and only country in central europe.
Everyone, except for one person, told us we were going to love Prague and we did. It was absolutely beautiful. Really old, very gothic looking and just all around great. While we were walking around in the Old Town it was a little wierd mainly becasue it felt like we were in a very small town, it was that quiet. The New Town is a lot more modern and commercial, and other than our free tour (which was fantastic by the way...tip, Sandemans New Europe great free tours just tip your guide) we spent no time in New Town.
Prague has a lot to offer, after all it is the largest and ONLY country in Central Europe. The astrological clock is pretty neat to look at but its hilarious to watch people wait for an hour to see the thing go off at the top of the hour. This clock was state of the art back in the 1800s or something so at the top of the hour two little doors open up at little men holding tiny little objects come out of their home to show you their tresures...also some decorations on the sides of the clock move their heads....like we said, people wait for an hour to see this-they congregate at the clock and then with cameras poised all have the same wtf look on their faces in the end. It was amusing to say the least.
The rest of Prague architecture was pretty cool. Some of it was kinda modern but then you have these insane Gothic churches and they just loom off behind another building, or up on a hill in a palace and they are kind of spooky but really cool to look at. We seem to be following a storm system, or the storm keeps following us because its rained everywhere since Vienna, so try to imagine these monstorous gothic buildings with a dark cloud behind it at 3pm...its a nice effect!
Like previously mentioned we liked Praugue a lot....we went on a bar crawl-that ended poorly for Jil....that same night (on the crawl) Matt offended our Canadian roommate (by yelling at the top of his lungs CANADA SUCKS!!) all though the roommate said he didnt even remember it and it was no big deal, and we got really into Franz Kafka. Since Prague is his home, we went to the Kafka museum and bought some of his books which are really interesting. We also saw the statue they made in honor of him...its the one with the giant headless, handless man with a smaller man sitting on his shoulders...its pretty cool.
We honestly did everything, from the castle to the bridge, to the lennon wall and so on...yay prague!
Berlin
Was the most boring city we have been in so far. Its huge and we were told that it is 9.5 times the size of Paris in square Kilometers, but it really sucks. We went on the free tour and where show a lot of old building that where uniteresting. The Holocaust Memorial was interesting but kind of odd because its one sqaure block of giant granite blocks. We went on a Communist tour and leaned all about east and west berlin and east and west germany. The inner city is really very modern becuase it was all blown apart during the World War 2.
The best part of the city was the Autobahn. Matt lived a life dream and drove really fast in a manual Audi A4. The best part about getting a stick shift car was that he really didnt remember how to drive it to well. He just had trouble getting it in reverse and starting the car. So after starting the car we had to push it around in the garage until a angry bald german helped showed him how to reverse. We also had to get 2 tickets to open up the gate because it was on a hill and we rolled backwards and the gate closed before he was able to get out. Once on the highway it was a great drive, he only stalled out twice and Jil didnt even get carsick which is impressive. He was only able to get it up to 140mph.....but average 110 for about 400 miles. We drove to hamburg and back.
Basically, not such an interesting city.
Were in Copenhagen right now..............its expensive. The train from Berlin to Copenhagen started out normal...........then the entire train went on a boat and we floated to Denmark. The the train got of the boat and back on rails. Your probably wondering how are minds where?..they where blown. True story people.
We promise, more positive posts later
see ya!!
Everyone, except for one person, told us we were going to love Prague and we did. It was absolutely beautiful. Really old, very gothic looking and just all around great. While we were walking around in the Old Town it was a little wierd mainly becasue it felt like we were in a very small town, it was that quiet. The New Town is a lot more modern and commercial, and other than our free tour (which was fantastic by the way...tip, Sandemans New Europe great free tours just tip your guide) we spent no time in New Town.
Prague has a lot to offer, after all it is the largest and ONLY country in Central Europe. The astrological clock is pretty neat to look at but its hilarious to watch people wait for an hour to see the thing go off at the top of the hour. This clock was state of the art back in the 1800s or something so at the top of the hour two little doors open up at little men holding tiny little objects come out of their home to show you their tresures...also some decorations on the sides of the clock move their heads....like we said, people wait for an hour to see this-they congregate at the clock and then with cameras poised all have the same wtf look on their faces in the end. It was amusing to say the least.
The rest of Prague architecture was pretty cool. Some of it was kinda modern but then you have these insane Gothic churches and they just loom off behind another building, or up on a hill in a palace and they are kind of spooky but really cool to look at. We seem to be following a storm system, or the storm keeps following us because its rained everywhere since Vienna, so try to imagine these monstorous gothic buildings with a dark cloud behind it at 3pm...its a nice effect!
Like previously mentioned we liked Praugue a lot....we went on a bar crawl-that ended poorly for Jil....that same night (on the crawl) Matt offended our Canadian roommate (by yelling at the top of his lungs CANADA SUCKS!!) all though the roommate said he didnt even remember it and it was no big deal, and we got really into Franz Kafka. Since Prague is his home, we went to the Kafka museum and bought some of his books which are really interesting. We also saw the statue they made in honor of him...its the one with the giant headless, handless man with a smaller man sitting on his shoulders...its pretty cool.
We honestly did everything, from the castle to the bridge, to the lennon wall and so on...yay prague!
Berlin
Was the most boring city we have been in so far. Its huge and we were told that it is 9.5 times the size of Paris in square Kilometers, but it really sucks. We went on the free tour and where show a lot of old building that where uniteresting. The Holocaust Memorial was interesting but kind of odd because its one sqaure block of giant granite blocks. We went on a Communist tour and leaned all about east and west berlin and east and west germany. The inner city is really very modern becuase it was all blown apart during the World War 2.
The best part of the city was the Autobahn. Matt lived a life dream and drove really fast in a manual Audi A4. The best part about getting a stick shift car was that he really didnt remember how to drive it to well. He just had trouble getting it in reverse and starting the car. So after starting the car we had to push it around in the garage until a angry bald german helped showed him how to reverse. We also had to get 2 tickets to open up the gate because it was on a hill and we rolled backwards and the gate closed before he was able to get out. Once on the highway it was a great drive, he only stalled out twice and Jil didnt even get carsick which is impressive. He was only able to get it up to 140mph.....but average 110 for about 400 miles. We drove to hamburg and back.
Basically, not such an interesting city.
Were in Copenhagen right now..............its expensive. The train from Berlin to Copenhagen started out normal...........then the entire train went on a boat and we floated to Denmark. The the train got of the boat and back on rails. Your probably wondering how are minds where?..they where blown. True story people.
We promise, more positive posts later
see ya!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Halloooo München!!!!
Munich, what an interesting time to say the least. First of all we stayed in a hotel, but not just any hotel, one that was pretty, had a kitchenette in the unit and was COMPLETELY PRIVATE! Its funny how much you come to appreciate your privacy when you for the first time really dont have any. It was a really nice change of pace.
So, Munich...the first night there we went to the Haufbrauhous a.k.a. the most famous beerhall in the world. The place is absolutely huge. It had three floors, outside seating and live bavarian music is the most fantastic outfits in the world, laderhosen! We sat down at a random table, ordered some food and beers and just enjoyed the atmosphere. We then became table america when the waiter sat down 4 other americans with us (its communal eating which is actually kind of nice)....clearly, as americans, we can only speak to other americans, so we have to all sit together! Either way it was a good time!
We did a lot of tours in Munich. The first one we did was the Third Reich Tour which chronicaled Hitlers rise to power in Munich. It was kind of neat to see where he left his mark and how so many things are still standing. There are also little reminders of his presence all around Munich but most things were either bombed out or torn down during the war.
We also went on a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp. We Learned that it was used as the model for all the other camps that where built during the Holocaust. It was the most interesting, bone chilling, depressing place we have ever visited. All of the baracks were torn down in the 1960s so all they had were 2 recreations of what they were like but you still get the picture and all down a dirt path were rows and rows where all of these places stood. The most disturbing place was the crematoriam, mainly because it was the origional one and you could walk into it and see everything so clearly. It literally made us sick to be standing in there and when we were in the room that had the gas chambers we left as quickly as we entered. The one thing that was really annoying about the place was that the catholic church had a giant building put up inside the camp which over shadowed the Jewish one..............just goes to show you they are morons.
We saw the BMW museum which was cool but creepy as well but on a whole different level. The building looms over you like some giant mega-corp which has robot employees. The exhibits where interesting, but became depressing when we got to the part of the tour which showed how they used jews as forced labor during Hitlers riegn. Still the BMW museum was really cool, the only wish was that we would of been able to do a plant tour but we were to late in the day and they didnt run them on weekends. At the same time we were at the BMW museum we went to the Olympic park which was the most bizzare design concept we have ever seen. It literally looked like spiderman created the entire thing because there were these wierd nets over everything.
The really creepy part was that it had to be the international convention for Jahovas Witnesses and no lie, at least 50,000 Jahovas Witnesses took over. It was freightening to be surrounded by the same people that annoyingly knock on your door at home. And they were EVERYWHERE. It didnt matter where you went but there was a Jahova wearing their nametag like a badge of honor...it was freightening!
Still, you couldnt go to Munich or think about it without thinking about the gays...yes, it was gay pride weekend in Munich. So in the middle of the town square right under the famous Glockenspiel clock there was the center of this weekend party filled with people from butch women to fabulous drag queens. Its just slightly ironic becuase where they were celebrating, Hitler stood only some 60 years prior trying to exterminate them. Also, they seem to love John Denver in Germany. During the talent portion of the weekend one young feller sang Country Road and if your not familiar with this song its all about West Virginia or something like that but as if someone turned the switch to on, an entire croud of gay people starting singing and cheering along with this song....who knew John Denver had such a following. It was amusing to say the least!
For the time we where there Munich was entertaining, but we wouldnt go back until Oktoberfest. Were in Prague right now which is very different from Munich but more on that another time!
So, Munich...the first night there we went to the Haufbrauhous a.k.a. the most famous beerhall in the world. The place is absolutely huge. It had three floors, outside seating and live bavarian music is the most fantastic outfits in the world, laderhosen! We sat down at a random table, ordered some food and beers and just enjoyed the atmosphere. We then became table america when the waiter sat down 4 other americans with us (its communal eating which is actually kind of nice)....clearly, as americans, we can only speak to other americans, so we have to all sit together! Either way it was a good time!
We did a lot of tours in Munich. The first one we did was the Third Reich Tour which chronicaled Hitlers rise to power in Munich. It was kind of neat to see where he left his mark and how so many things are still standing. There are also little reminders of his presence all around Munich but most things were either bombed out or torn down during the war.
We also went on a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp. We Learned that it was used as the model for all the other camps that where built during the Holocaust. It was the most interesting, bone chilling, depressing place we have ever visited. All of the baracks were torn down in the 1960s so all they had were 2 recreations of what they were like but you still get the picture and all down a dirt path were rows and rows where all of these places stood. The most disturbing place was the crematoriam, mainly because it was the origional one and you could walk into it and see everything so clearly. It literally made us sick to be standing in there and when we were in the room that had the gas chambers we left as quickly as we entered. The one thing that was really annoying about the place was that the catholic church had a giant building put up inside the camp which over shadowed the Jewish one..............just goes to show you they are morons.
We saw the BMW museum which was cool but creepy as well but on a whole different level. The building looms over you like some giant mega-corp which has robot employees. The exhibits where interesting, but became depressing when we got to the part of the tour which showed how they used jews as forced labor during Hitlers riegn. Still the BMW museum was really cool, the only wish was that we would of been able to do a plant tour but we were to late in the day and they didnt run them on weekends. At the same time we were at the BMW museum we went to the Olympic park which was the most bizzare design concept we have ever seen. It literally looked like spiderman created the entire thing because there were these wierd nets over everything.
The really creepy part was that it had to be the international convention for Jahovas Witnesses and no lie, at least 50,000 Jahovas Witnesses took over. It was freightening to be surrounded by the same people that annoyingly knock on your door at home. And they were EVERYWHERE. It didnt matter where you went but there was a Jahova wearing their nametag like a badge of honor...it was freightening!
Still, you couldnt go to Munich or think about it without thinking about the gays...yes, it was gay pride weekend in Munich. So in the middle of the town square right under the famous Glockenspiel clock there was the center of this weekend party filled with people from butch women to fabulous drag queens. Its just slightly ironic becuase where they were celebrating, Hitler stood only some 60 years prior trying to exterminate them. Also, they seem to love John Denver in Germany. During the talent portion of the weekend one young feller sang Country Road and if your not familiar with this song its all about West Virginia or something like that but as if someone turned the switch to on, an entire croud of gay people starting singing and cheering along with this song....who knew John Denver had such a following. It was amusing to say the least!
For the time we where there Munich was entertaining, but we wouldnt go back until Oktoberfest. Were in Prague right now which is very different from Munich but more on that another time!
Vienna
Its been a little while since our last post because the hotel in Munich charged so much for internet that we figured we'd wait and use free internet in Prague to ramble on about our trip.
Vienna feels a lot like Germany mainly becuase they speak German and we kept getting confused about where we were. It was our first country outside of southern europe so it was a huge change. The people and culture are much more similar to the United States than any of the southern european countries so we actually seemed to fit in. We kept getting approced by people from the area asking us questions and what not...we had no idea what they said, apologized in english and got pretty much the same, ughhh of course face, from every single person.
The pastries in Vienna are pretty incredible, much better than the processed junk at home. Actually every pastry we have had on this trip so far has been really good. Not as sugary sweet as the ones at home tend to be, but more natural tasting. Theyre addicting.
Went to the palace (called Shoenbruenn) which was home to the many emporers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire/Austrian Empire. It was much different than the spanish palace that we toured, much less gaudy and a lot more elegant. It seemed to show the difference in culture between southern europe and northern in that the northerners are much more conservative. The Palace itself was really modest, if you can try and imagine a modest Palace, but the grounds were absoultely massive. We cant even describe how big these grounds were but lets put it this way, we spend about 4 or 5 hours there seeing everything.
Also, we found the Globe Museum which was the most random museum we have ever been in but still is was interesting. It had in it the private collections of antique globes dating back to around 1200 a.d. and had lots of different types of globes like terestial, celestial, topographical and explained "globology" in great detail.
For the most part Vienna was quiet, clean, a little cold and really pretty. There was a film and jazz festival going on at the time which we visited at night and watched a cure concert on a jumbo screen in the rain (it rained for the first time our entire trip here). Even though we were getting poured on it was still a lot of fun. There were food stands set up everywhere from all over the world which offered big food portions for a little price which is right up our alley.
Vienna feels a lot like Germany mainly becuase they speak German and we kept getting confused about where we were. It was our first country outside of southern europe so it was a huge change. The people and culture are much more similar to the United States than any of the southern european countries so we actually seemed to fit in. We kept getting approced by people from the area asking us questions and what not...we had no idea what they said, apologized in english and got pretty much the same, ughhh of course face, from every single person.
The pastries in Vienna are pretty incredible, much better than the processed junk at home. Actually every pastry we have had on this trip so far has been really good. Not as sugary sweet as the ones at home tend to be, but more natural tasting. Theyre addicting.
Went to the palace (called Shoenbruenn) which was home to the many emporers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire/Austrian Empire. It was much different than the spanish palace that we toured, much less gaudy and a lot more elegant. It seemed to show the difference in culture between southern europe and northern in that the northerners are much more conservative. The Palace itself was really modest, if you can try and imagine a modest Palace, but the grounds were absoultely massive. We cant even describe how big these grounds were but lets put it this way, we spend about 4 or 5 hours there seeing everything.
Also, we found the Globe Museum which was the most random museum we have ever been in but still is was interesting. It had in it the private collections of antique globes dating back to around 1200 a.d. and had lots of different types of globes like terestial, celestial, topographical and explained "globology" in great detail.
For the most part Vienna was quiet, clean, a little cold and really pretty. There was a film and jazz festival going on at the time which we visited at night and watched a cure concert on a jumbo screen in the rain (it rained for the first time our entire trip here). Even though we were getting poured on it was still a lot of fun. There were food stands set up everywhere from all over the world which offered big food portions for a little price which is right up our alley.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Venice, Le Tour de France and The French Riviera
Havent had enough time to write much because these Europeans make you pay to use their computers and make you pay for everything else as well. We now have some down time and are just going to hash out what weve been up to.
Venice:
Really the best place in Italy we have been to, the canals are incredible up close (and arent smelly like all the books say). The city has only had two new buildings put up in the past 500 years or so, so it has a feel unlike anyother place that we have seen. There are all of these cool alleyways and sidestreets that you would never go down in Philly but here they are home to a lot of really cool storefronts,restaurants, bakerys and bars. Although its really expesive on this group of islands there is a kind of mystery about them that draws you in. Venecian masks everywhere (some priced over a few hundred euro, and mascarade clothing in the thousands), glass artwork is also big here. Our hostel overlooked the water and at night it was beautiful. To get everywhere we had to take a boat/water taxi (we figured out how to not pay and saved a bundle of money). There were no cars no buses no trains becuase the city is so dense and old there is no room. Its all water here people!!
On our last night in Venice we saw this free concert/art performance. It was hosted by Swatch in Piazza San Marco. It was to launch their new line but it was still really neat to see. This American artist created an entire canvas (it was as long as the stage and maybe 8 feet tall) in a 50 minute period while a band played. Apparently the artist was inspired by the band so they worked in harmony. It was really cool to see and the entire Piazza lit up with a whole laser and light show during the performance. It was a great way to end Venice
Nice and the French Riviera:
Nice was niiiiiiice! First off, it is beautiful and completely relaxed which is exactly what we were hoping for. When we changed our plans to to go Nice instead of Lyon we booked a Hostel through a different website than what we had previously used. This "hostel" we booked was actually a Hotel 2 blocks from the beach at an incredible rate! It was such a nice change of pace and so very welcome! We spent the first day just laying on the beach (its a rock beach but still pretty comfortable and less messy than sand) and swimming in the Mediteranian which was so clear, warm, and calm, the best ocean/beach we have ever been to. At night it didnt get dark out until around 10pm (which is actually a norm for southern europe so far were noticing) and we would just get dinner and relax. The perfect vacation from our vacation.
The next day we went to go get our train tickets to Geneva because we would be leaving the following day. Turns out, everyone and there mother wanted to go there from Nice and we couldnt get out for another couple of days. In the end we decided to cut out Geneva all together, spend more time in Nice and go directly to Vienna...(well go from Nice to Milan, Milan back to Venice, then take an overnight train from Venice to Vienna).
The additional day payed off becasue we were able to go to Monaco. We wanted to see everything, the palaces and the museums but got no chance due to a small not so well known bike competition that was happening called Le Tour de France...ever heard of it? :) We spent the day in the stands (front row) watching the Grand Depart, which is the first official day of competition. We saw Lance Armstrong, who came out of reitrement this year, fly past us as well as all of the other competetors. It was really incredable to see!
Off to the north (or as far north as we have gotten thus far) to see Vienna, Austria!
Venice:
Really the best place in Italy we have been to, the canals are incredible up close (and arent smelly like all the books say). The city has only had two new buildings put up in the past 500 years or so, so it has a feel unlike anyother place that we have seen. There are all of these cool alleyways and sidestreets that you would never go down in Philly but here they are home to a lot of really cool storefronts,restaurants, bakerys and bars. Although its really expesive on this group of islands there is a kind of mystery about them that draws you in. Venecian masks everywhere (some priced over a few hundred euro, and mascarade clothing in the thousands), glass artwork is also big here. Our hostel overlooked the water and at night it was beautiful. To get everywhere we had to take a boat/water taxi (we figured out how to not pay and saved a bundle of money). There were no cars no buses no trains becuase the city is so dense and old there is no room. Its all water here people!!
On our last night in Venice we saw this free concert/art performance. It was hosted by Swatch in Piazza San Marco. It was to launch their new line but it was still really neat to see. This American artist created an entire canvas (it was as long as the stage and maybe 8 feet tall) in a 50 minute period while a band played. Apparently the artist was inspired by the band so they worked in harmony. It was really cool to see and the entire Piazza lit up with a whole laser and light show during the performance. It was a great way to end Venice
Nice and the French Riviera:
Nice was niiiiiiice! First off, it is beautiful and completely relaxed which is exactly what we were hoping for. When we changed our plans to to go Nice instead of Lyon we booked a Hostel through a different website than what we had previously used. This "hostel" we booked was actually a Hotel 2 blocks from the beach at an incredible rate! It was such a nice change of pace and so very welcome! We spent the first day just laying on the beach (its a rock beach but still pretty comfortable and less messy than sand) and swimming in the Mediteranian which was so clear, warm, and calm, the best ocean/beach we have ever been to. At night it didnt get dark out until around 10pm (which is actually a norm for southern europe so far were noticing) and we would just get dinner and relax. The perfect vacation from our vacation.
The next day we went to go get our train tickets to Geneva because we would be leaving the following day. Turns out, everyone and there mother wanted to go there from Nice and we couldnt get out for another couple of days. In the end we decided to cut out Geneva all together, spend more time in Nice and go directly to Vienna...(well go from Nice to Milan, Milan back to Venice, then take an overnight train from Venice to Vienna).
The additional day payed off becasue we were able to go to Monaco. We wanted to see everything, the palaces and the museums but got no chance due to a small not so well known bike competition that was happening called Le Tour de France...ever heard of it? :) We spent the day in the stands (front row) watching the Grand Depart, which is the first official day of competition. We saw Lance Armstrong, who came out of reitrement this year, fly past us as well as all of the other competetors. It was really incredable to see!
Off to the north (or as far north as we have gotten thus far) to see Vienna, Austria!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Stuck on the French Riviera
We are in Nice right now and its awesome, but we cant catch a train to Geneva and had to cancel our hotel. So we going on a long long train ride back through Venice [ which was amazing but we will talk about that in a later post] and then to Vienna, home of the pastry. We are going to Monte Carlo tomorrow to see the Tour de France. We will upddate you all further when we dont have to type on these rediculous French keyboards.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Florence
Florence is a really awesome place, a lot different than Rome and much slower paced. Our Hostel is an old Italian Villa which looks like it was build over a hundred years ago. Inside the hostel are frescoes ( wall paintings) from top to bottom and sculptures mounting into the architecture. Also when you first walk in and look up at the ceiling there is a big dome with a painting on that as well...it was really nice to walk into that after Rome.
The hostel was pretty close to the center of Florence in that we only have to take a 15 minute bus ride. We went out the night we got there and off of a tip from a hostel worker we climbed to the top of the Piazza de Michelangelo....hands down, the most beautiful view of the city at night. you could see everything that it had to offer and it was a great view. We then sat in front of a museum where they were doing a dance preformance with a bottle of wine and just enjoyed ourselves.
Florence was just so relaxed. We saw all that we wanted to see but also had some time to ourselves. We stayed at our hostel the second night and were able to talk to some really cool people from all different backgrounds. I believe our table consisted of, a french lady, a columbian (chemical engineer), a brazilian (lawyer) and an english woman (cop)....it was a lot of fun.
Venice is beautful but more about that later!
The hostel was pretty close to the center of Florence in that we only have to take a 15 minute bus ride. We went out the night we got there and off of a tip from a hostel worker we climbed to the top of the Piazza de Michelangelo....hands down, the most beautiful view of the city at night. you could see everything that it had to offer and it was a great view. We then sat in front of a museum where they were doing a dance preformance with a bottle of wine and just enjoyed ourselves.
Florence was just so relaxed. We saw all that we wanted to see but also had some time to ourselves. We stayed at our hostel the second night and were able to talk to some really cool people from all different backgrounds. I believe our table consisted of, a french lady, a columbian (chemical engineer), a brazilian (lawyer) and an english woman (cop)....it was a lot of fun.
Venice is beautful but more about that later!
Rome...Home of the Worst Hostel Ever!
Rome, its an amazing city with a lot of history. There is so much to see and do there and the food is incredible. When we arrived in Rome from our flight from Barcelona is was really late at night and all we wanted to do was go to our hostel and get some sleep. So we did...after a 30€ cab ride.
We wake up the next morning to no breakfast and to find out that to get into the center of Rome where all the good stuff is we would have to take a bus, then a metro and then another metro. In total thats 3 different modes of transportation taking about 1hr out of the day....each way.
While we spent time in the city we got to see all the major sites. The Colloseum, the Forum (really old ruins), The Vatican and so on. Pretty much everything you would want to see in Rome. The Vatican is incredible, probably the coolest site to see in Rome. Every room and hall is decked out from floor to ceiling in artwork and frescoes and statues. The sistine chapple is gigantic and we saw the place the Ewan McGregor burned himself in Angels and Demons and also the place where the elect the popes. We saw the Vatican towards the begining of our trip so it kind of made everything else seem a bit less impressive. We bought a souvenir bottle opener with the popes face on it....we call it the bottle popener.
Basically ran around for several days straight. The food was incredible. It was so fresh and you could just taste that it wasnt from a can or a jar or whatever they use in everything at home. It just didnt have that processed taste that we are all so used to...it was a nice change of pace.
So on the night before we leave we decide to do some laundry. They had washers and dryers that we thought said on 1€ a piece so we got very excited. We put everything in (including the soap) and realize that you need a special kind of coin for the machines that were 3€ a piece! Super fantastic and really expensive! We do our laundry the dryers are done when I (Jil) open my dryer to find used toilet paper with shit on it tumbling around with all of my clean clothes. Trust me, it wasnt mine! After complaining to the people at the desk they gave me money and soap to wash my clothing all over again....it took almost 3 hrs to do one load of laundry.
Once the laundry was done i went to go to bed because i was exhausted...Matts clothes were done and he was hanging out with me and we are both trying to keep our eyes open. So i go to walk into my room only to find that is has been taken by Mexicans. Someone had taken everything from my bed, thrown it in a corner and moved right on in. So i flew downstairs started in on some not kind words and ultimately ended up with a private room for Matt and I which was the least they could do but apparently they thought they should be given a medal for the act. We left the next morning.
We also noticed that every Canadian seem to have a Canadian flag patch on their bag.
So, Rome....great city, a lot to see....Hostel...sucks more than words can describe!
P.S. Matts toe is all better after a lot of Bactracin and band aids ( he slipped off a jetti in Portugal and cut his toe pretty bad, then walk into one of our bags a few days later re-opening it)
We wake up the next morning to no breakfast and to find out that to get into the center of Rome where all the good stuff is we would have to take a bus, then a metro and then another metro. In total thats 3 different modes of transportation taking about 1hr out of the day....each way.
While we spent time in the city we got to see all the major sites. The Colloseum, the Forum (really old ruins), The Vatican and so on. Pretty much everything you would want to see in Rome. The Vatican is incredible, probably the coolest site to see in Rome. Every room and hall is decked out from floor to ceiling in artwork and frescoes and statues. The sistine chapple is gigantic and we saw the place the Ewan McGregor burned himself in Angels and Demons and also the place where the elect the popes. We saw the Vatican towards the begining of our trip so it kind of made everything else seem a bit less impressive. We bought a souvenir bottle opener with the popes face on it....we call it the bottle popener.
Basically ran around for several days straight. The food was incredible. It was so fresh and you could just taste that it wasnt from a can or a jar or whatever they use in everything at home. It just didnt have that processed taste that we are all so used to...it was a nice change of pace.
So on the night before we leave we decide to do some laundry. They had washers and dryers that we thought said on 1€ a piece so we got very excited. We put everything in (including the soap) and realize that you need a special kind of coin for the machines that were 3€ a piece! Super fantastic and really expensive! We do our laundry the dryers are done when I (Jil) open my dryer to find used toilet paper with shit on it tumbling around with all of my clean clothes. Trust me, it wasnt mine! After complaining to the people at the desk they gave me money and soap to wash my clothing all over again....it took almost 3 hrs to do one load of laundry.
Once the laundry was done i went to go to bed because i was exhausted...Matts clothes were done and he was hanging out with me and we are both trying to keep our eyes open. So i go to walk into my room only to find that is has been taken by Mexicans. Someone had taken everything from my bed, thrown it in a corner and moved right on in. So i flew downstairs started in on some not kind words and ultimately ended up with a private room for Matt and I which was the least they could do but apparently they thought they should be given a medal for the act. We left the next morning.
We also noticed that every Canadian seem to have a Canadian flag patch on their bag.
So, Rome....great city, a lot to see....Hostel...sucks more than words can describe!
P.S. Matts toe is all better after a lot of Bactracin and band aids ( he slipped off a jetti in Portugal and cut his toe pretty bad, then walk into one of our bags a few days later re-opening it)
Monday, June 22, 2009
Barcelona
We leave Barcelona tomorrow to fly to Rome. So far Barcelona has been pretty cool, very different than Madrid. Its more of a party town (like a better verison of Cancun). we have criss crossed the entire city looking at all the sites.
We went on a pub crawl which was a blast, got drunk for cheap. Learned the 3 rules of a pub crawl in Barcelona.....1. (for women) dont talk to the hookers, they dont really like you and are just going to rob your ass, 2. dont take any beer cans from pakistanies unless you want to pay 165 euros (cause the cops will arrest and fine you), 3. Shut the fuck up!! unless you want the locals to get mad and dump food or urine on your head. It was a good time.
Met cool people and saw amazing stuff. The people in our hostel this time were awsome. So different than Lisbon. First of all it is co-ed which means we can stay in the same room. Second, the girls are super nice which is a nice change of pace from the girls in Jils room last time. These girls were from Australia and we actually went on the pub crawl with them.
They have a maze garden here which Jil and I got lost in for about half an hour. Saw the Sagrada Familia which was amazing. It has been under constuction for over 120 years and isnt due for completion unto 2030. We took a cable car ride up to this castle, which is more of a fort than anything else but it is still cool.
The Metro system so far in every place we´ve been puts SEPTA to shame. Its amazing how easy and cheap it is and you dont have to smell urine and bum everytime you get on or off.
Hitting the beaches tomorrow then Rome at night!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
We did stuff backwards and changed our itenerary......
We had our itinerary messed up and booked a flight from Oslo to Amsterdam. Otherwise we would have ended up taking a 24 hour train ride through Northern Europe and Germany and backtracked a lot. We´re now also going to Nice, France instead of Lyon, France. We realized there isnt much to do in Lyon and the French Riviera seems a lot more interesting. We will probably take day trips to Cannes and Monacco/Monte Carlo.
Hope everyones doing well.
Hope everyones doing well.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Train Rides, Culture Shock and Tapas
So....10 hours on a train, sounds boring but honestly it wasnt, once we got to the train station. We were so pumped that we knew how to work the Metro system in another country, it was a sick kind of confidance. So sincde we were pros we decided to take the metro to our trainstation leaving Lisbon. We asked the people at the hostel where to go and we followed their instruction....yea wrong train station. So then we got back down into the Metro again and asked them where to go, so we go to the other end of the line only to be at THE WRONG STATION AGAIN! Only this time we were able to stay there becasue our train stopped there anyways. Lets just say thank god we left early!
Once finally on the train we met this really nice Indian couple who were travelling on vacation. We spent maybe half an hour just talking to them about the places were going and the places we´ve been. It was nice. Also on the train we met Ricardo...lovely gentelman from Portugal who worked in the cafe. We spend maybe 3 hours sitting at the counter talking about everything from what to do in europe to how do our accents sound to you? It was some real philisophical chatter, but it really was great.
Madrid is beautiful. There is so much history and so much culture. We really enjoyed ourselves there....well, once I (jil) stopped freaking out we did. We were supposed to have a hotel in Madrid but Matt being Matt booked us a hostel because he thought that Hoooostaaaal (picture him saying it like that) was spanish for Hotel. Yea, how about NO! So we arrive at our HOSTEL and its in this building, kinda looked like row homes but on a much bigger street. We get buzzed in, and its dark-as in pitch black cant see a think dark. Personally all I kept thinking was why didnt I watch that movie Hostel so I can know whats going to happen to me now. So we walk upstairs and the reception area is small...very small. Our room isnt ready so we leave our bags are given keys and run. Thats when panic sets in and it takes every fiber of my being to not burst out into tears and try and find a flight home. We couldnt speak the language, we didnt know where we were, and I thought we were going to be murdered....all in all a bad situation.
We walk down the road and find another hostel, it looks the same. Actually, all of them looked the same which puts my mind at rest. Then we go back to go to our room and it is actually really cute and nice. Its also private which was extra nice. After a nap everything kinda worked out and i no longer feared the hostel, not hotel.
In the end we spend two amazing days in Madrid and already want to go back. The food is amazing-we found 2 vegetarian places for Matt! The bars are a lot of fun with some really good beer and the sights are gorgeous. If we had more time we would of liked to of explored more of the surrounding areas but we can leave that for next time.
We just got to Barcelona and Rome is next!
Once finally on the train we met this really nice Indian couple who were travelling on vacation. We spent maybe half an hour just talking to them about the places were going and the places we´ve been. It was nice. Also on the train we met Ricardo...lovely gentelman from Portugal who worked in the cafe. We spend maybe 3 hours sitting at the counter talking about everything from what to do in europe to how do our accents sound to you? It was some real philisophical chatter, but it really was great.
Madrid is beautiful. There is so much history and so much culture. We really enjoyed ourselves there....well, once I (jil) stopped freaking out we did. We were supposed to have a hotel in Madrid but Matt being Matt booked us a hostel because he thought that Hoooostaaaal (picture him saying it like that) was spanish for Hotel. Yea, how about NO! So we arrive at our HOSTEL and its in this building, kinda looked like row homes but on a much bigger street. We get buzzed in, and its dark-as in pitch black cant see a think dark. Personally all I kept thinking was why didnt I watch that movie Hostel so I can know whats going to happen to me now. So we walk upstairs and the reception area is small...very small. Our room isnt ready so we leave our bags are given keys and run. Thats when panic sets in and it takes every fiber of my being to not burst out into tears and try and find a flight home. We couldnt speak the language, we didnt know where we were, and I thought we were going to be murdered....all in all a bad situation.
We walk down the road and find another hostel, it looks the same. Actually, all of them looked the same which puts my mind at rest. Then we go back to go to our room and it is actually really cute and nice. Its also private which was extra nice. After a nap everything kinda worked out and i no longer feared the hostel, not hotel.
In the end we spend two amazing days in Madrid and already want to go back. The food is amazing-we found 2 vegetarian places for Matt! The bars are a lot of fun with some really good beer and the sights are gorgeous. If we had more time we would of liked to of explored more of the surrounding areas but we can leave that for next time.
We just got to Barcelona and Rome is next!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
First Day
So today was the first day we spent in Europe. Technically its the second and we havent exactly gone to sleep yet, but time changes are just a technicality anyways. So here we are FINALLY in Portugal. The flight to London was awesome british airways is the shit ( free wine and lots of movies) but the layover made you want to curl up into a little ball and be used as a a prop in one of the many designer stores Heathrow airport has.
So far Portugal has been ok. In a quick time we have become masters of sign language and gesturing. So far its worked out in our favor but we have noticed that many people here do speak English, which helps a lot. We cut our time down here by a day because do to our excelent planning we didnt realize that our 10 hr train ride to Madrid was going to be an overnighter. So, tomorrow we hit the beaches of Portugal and hopefully make it this time and then are on our way to Madrid!!
Just as an FYI, we dont think that were going to be able to post pictures to this thing anytime soon. The computers we use are straight out of star trek-its wierd. But we`ll try and keep you all posted!
So far Portugal has been ok. In a quick time we have become masters of sign language and gesturing. So far its worked out in our favor but we have noticed that many people here do speak English, which helps a lot. We cut our time down here by a day because do to our excelent planning we didnt realize that our 10 hr train ride to Madrid was going to be an overnighter. So, tomorrow we hit the beaches of Portugal and hopefully make it this time and then are on our way to Madrid!!
Just as an FYI, we dont think that were going to be able to post pictures to this thing anytime soon. The computers we use are straight out of star trek-its wierd. But we`ll try and keep you all posted!
Monday, June 15, 2009
And we're off!
Todays the day and we are off. Me (Jil) is packed...Matt is playing with Christian, and isnt packed... anyone suprised by that? Yea, didn't think so! So we just printed out all of itineraries, reservations and flights. Photocopies are currently being made of our personal information and then its time to get some sleep and go. Of course everything is being done last minute, its what we do but at least its getting done.
So, Matts head is shaved, my passport no longer says im a man and all is good with the world and we are ready to hit the sky! It's been really hard to say goodbye to everyone becasue we'll miss you guys so much but we'll be back...whether you want us to or not! :)
Wish us luck and we'll check back as soon as possible!!
So, Matts head is shaved, my passport no longer says im a man and all is good with the world and we are ready to hit the sky! It's been really hard to say goodbye to everyone becasue we'll miss you guys so much but we'll be back...whether you want us to or not! :)
Wish us luck and we'll check back as soon as possible!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
One Week to Go
So, its 11: 53 pm on Sunday June 7. That means, in 7 minutes it is exactly one week to go until we leave! Its getting so close and were getting so excited. Thank you to everyone who was at our graduation party yesterday, it was so great. Honest, without you guys we wouldnt have had the time of our lives! So....2 out of the 3 things to do before we leave are done. Jil graduation, done, graduation party, done, Matt graduations left and then we are out of here! This weeks going to be busy trying to get everything together but it'll get done....it has to haha!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Our First Eurpean Fight
Matt: I want to create our blog today.
Jil: I did'nt know you were interested in it
Matt: I am, thats why I want to do it now
Jil: ok....
Matt: Ok, I want to create it on blogger
Jil: I want to use blogspot
Matt: Blogspot is stupid, we're using blogger
Jil: Why? Have you use blogger?
Matt: No, i watched a video on how to use it
Jil: Well I have friends who use blogspot and they can help us if we need
Matt: Well thats dumb
Jil and Matt: ( Both realize that blogger is blogspot)
We're stupid
Jil: I did'nt know you were interested in it
Matt: I am, thats why I want to do it now
Jil: ok....
Matt: Ok, I want to create it on blogger
Jil: I want to use blogspot
Matt: Blogspot is stupid, we're using blogger
Jil: Why? Have you use blogger?
Matt: No, i watched a video on how to use it
Jil: Well I have friends who use blogspot and they can help us if we need
Matt: Well thats dumb
Jil and Matt: ( Both realize that blogger is blogspot)
We're stupid
Thursday, May 21, 2009
People or Things We May See in Europe
Swiss Cheese From Switzerland, One Legged Hooker From England, The Popes Reaction to Angels and Demons, Fronch Toast, The National Curling Team of Norway, and the national icon of Sweden....The Swedish Chef.......bork bork bork.
Leaving for Europe in 25 days
Hi Everyone,
We are leaving for Europe soon. We created this blog as a way to help stay connected to everyone and so that you all know where we are and what we are doing at any point throughout the summer. Even though we wont be able to update all the time, check back periodically to see whats new. Below is a copy of our tentative itinerary...who knows what may change but this is a rough estimate.
June 16-June 18 ---------- Lisbon, Portugal
June 18-June 20-----------Madrid, Spain
June 20-June 23 ----------Barcelona, Spain
June 23-June 27 ----------Rome, Italy
June 27-June 29---------- Florence, Italy
June 29- July 1 ------------Venice, Italy
July 1- July 4 --------------Lyon, France
July 4- July 6 --------------Geneva, Switzerland
July 6 - July 9 -------------Vienna, Austria
July 9 - July 13 ------------Munich, Germany
July 13- July 17 ------------Prague, Czech Republic
July 17-July 22 ------------Berlin, Germany
July 22- July 25 -----------Copenhagen, Denmark
July 25-July 29 -----------Stockholm, Sweden
July 29- Agust 2 ----------Oslo, Norway
August 2- August 6 -------Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 6 - August 8 ------Bruges, Belgium
August 8 - August 11 ------Ghent, Belgium
August 11- August 14 -----Brussels, Belgium
August 14 - August 16 ----Luxenburg, Luxenburg
August 16- August 19 -----Paris, France
August 19 -August 25 -----London, England
August 25- August 28 ---- Endinburgh, Scotland
August 28-September 1 ---Dublin, Ireland
Talk to you soon!!
Jil & Matt
We are leaving for Europe soon. We created this blog as a way to help stay connected to everyone and so that you all know where we are and what we are doing at any point throughout the summer. Even though we wont be able to update all the time, check back periodically to see whats new. Below is a copy of our tentative itinerary...who knows what may change but this is a rough estimate.
June 16-June 18 ---------- Lisbon, Portugal
June 18-June 20-----------Madrid, Spain
June 20-June 23 ----------Barcelona, Spain
June 23-June 27 ----------Rome, Italy
June 27-June 29---------- Florence, Italy
June 29- July 1 ------------Venice, Italy
July 1- July 4 --------------Lyon, France
July 4- July 6 --------------Geneva, Switzerland
July 6 - July 9 -------------Vienna, Austria
July 9 - July 13 ------------Munich, Germany
July 13- July 17 ------------Prague, Czech Republic
July 17-July 22 ------------Berlin, Germany
July 22- July 25 -----------Copenhagen, Denmark
July 25-July 29 -----------Stockholm, Sweden
July 29- Agust 2 ----------Oslo, Norway
August 2- August 6 -------Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 6 - August 8 ------Bruges, Belgium
August 8 - August 11 ------Ghent, Belgium
August 11- August 14 -----Brussels, Belgium
August 14 - August 16 ----Luxenburg, Luxenburg
August 16- August 19 -----Paris, France
August 19 -August 25 -----London, England
August 25- August 28 ---- Endinburgh, Scotland
August 28-September 1 ---Dublin, Ireland
Talk to you soon!!
Jil & Matt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
