Monday, June 8, 2009

Monday, June 8th (Day 16)

After narriving in Munich at 6:30 am, we walked across the street from the train station to our hostel and checked in. We couldn't get into our rooms until 2pm, so we sacked out on the hammocks in the hostel atrium for a few hours. Today was a mellow day of rest. We really didn't do much except a load of laundry, some email, getting unpacked, grocery shopping, and eating pizza for dinner. There's a pizzaria across the street that has the most exotic pizza in their display window! I was ordering and Abel was taking pictures when a lady scolded him. "No pictures!" She said. We asked the nice young man who was serving us why not and he said it's because someone might copy their pizza. I wonder if they've thought that someone could just buy a slice and then take a picture. Oh well - it was good pizza!

Tonight we are relaxing in our room. I'm getting caught up on my blogging and Abel is resting on the bed. I think he's tired from trying to keep up with me the last 16 days! Don't tell him I said that.

Tomorrow, it's off to Innsbruck and the Austrian Alps. Hooray!!!

Sunday, June 7th (Day 15)

It is hard to leave Rom when there is so much to see, but Venice is calling and today is our travel day. We took a train (about a 4.5 hour ride) to Venice today. I got to ride in first class, which was pretty nice. Mainly it meant a bigger seat. The trip was uneventful except for the part where I got off at the wrong Venice station. I didn't realize there were two stations and Abel and I didn't sit together. After I got off and couldn't find Abel, I found out that I should have waited 10 minutes to exit the train. I had to hop on another short shuttle to get me to the other station. No harm done - just a half hour delay and a good laugh for Abel. Apparently he saw me out the train window as it was leaving the station, so he knew to wait for me to arrive at the next stop.

You walk out of the train station and you find yourself in the heart of Venice. Canals, ships, mobs of tourists. This is a hopping place! We didn't know where our hostel was located and after some research we discovered it was a ways away and we would have to take a boat (E6.50 each way) to get there and also take a boat any time we wanted to sight-see. We anticipated spending about 40 Euros each on boat rides, so we questioned whether staying in Venice was a good idea. Things like Internet access and phone calls were quite expensive, but food and hotel rooms (a cheap one for 70 Euros/night) weren't too bad.

After some deliberation and Abel's strong opinion, we decided it would be best to take an overnight train to Munich. So we cancelled our hostel reservations and got a ticket. Before leaving, we had time to walk around the city to get a flavor of Venice. I also took a boat ride through the Grand Canal and listened to Rick Steves' audio tour. That was very good! We left town about 11pm, so we had a good 8 hours in Venice - enough to say we've been there!
The train ride was grueling! We had regular seats (they wanted to charge me E105 or E45 for a bed) that didn't recline, six people in a small room with three facing the other three. It wasn't easy to sleep. I also had an incident with a very overzealous ticket man who fined me E50 for not writing the date on my rail pass. This is something you are supposed to do, but up until now nobody seemed to care. This guy cared deeply! He reprimanded me several times, to the point where I thought I was going to spend the night in a German prison camp. I paid my E50 and tried to act respectful, though I must admit that when he said "Do you think I am stupid?" I was tempted to say "I'm going to assume that is a rhetorical question."

Abel was in the cabin next door and the ticket monster hadn't gotten there yet, so after he was done with me, I went over and warned Abel to put the date on his ticket. Of course, Mr. Crabby Ticket Man saw me do that and I got another lecture. However, it paid off because Abel got his date recorded and didn't get fined.

Abel had interesting conversation in his cabin with a guy from Nigeria and some other college age folks about everything from politics to religion. They ended up talking almost all night. We drove through the Alps in Austria (Innsbruck) around 4am. They were spectacular! That's were we intend to stay Tuesday and Wednesday night - about two hours by train from Munich.
We arrived back in Munich at 6:30 am.

Saturday, June 6th (Day 14)

Today was another stellar day of sightseeing. We started at the Vatican Museum. Besides the E14 entrance fee, it was a great visit. We first walked through a large collection of Christian art from the Dark Ages. We were impressed (or depressed) with the mournful looks on the faces of everyone. Even a lion in one of the paintings had the most mournful look on its face. Not being art critics or experts on the paintings of that day, we toured the images pretty quickly on our way to the main attraction of the day: the Sistine Chapel!

The walk to the Sistine Chapel was filled with anticipation. We followed the signs indicating the Chapel was just around the corner, but we had to walk through several large art exhibits, some narrow hallways, stairways, and more before we finally reached it. We kept wondering each time we entered a new hall if this was really it. If you have to ask that question, you are not there. I think they build the anticipation by forcing you through mutiple exhibits of lesser art, which heightened the impact of the Chapel when we finally got there. The room was packed with people, literally shoulder to shoulder in most places. The art was breathtaking. We used the Rick Steves audio tour to give us an interpretation of the paintings and some history.

Michealangelo was commissioned by the Pope to paint the chapel. It is a chronological series of paintings depicting creation to the last judgment. There are some very interesting subtle details which you wouldn't see unless someone pointed them out, such as a self-portrait of Michaelangelo in the last judgment. It would be easy to stand and gawk at the paintings for hours, but we had other things to do, so we moved on.

We next toured St. Peter's Basilica, including a walk through tombs of the popes and the alleged tomb of the real St. Peter. The basilica itself is a pretty amazing work of architecture. It's loaded with statues, tombs, and of course there is the dome itself which makes you dizzy while looking at it.

After a brief rest in our room, we made our way to the last significant stop in Rome: the Pantheon (greek for "all gods"). This was one of the most amazing sights we've seen on our trip. The Pantheon has been in continuous use for various purposes for over 2000 years. The structure and symmetry of the building is unbelievable. The 16 pillars in the entrance came all the way from Egypt, are made of solid one-piece granite, and weigh over 55 tons each. How they got them there, I have no clue. It turns out that when they arrived, they were not the right size, so they had to adjust the building to match them!

It was a busy day and a lot to take in! We relaxed in the evening and went out for dinner at a restaurant (they are everywhere in Rome!). Abel had pizza (real Italian pizza, which is different than ours) and I had lasagna. We also got salad, pork and gravy, french fries, potatoes (like tater tots), and a bowl of fruit with our meal. Everything seemed very Italian except the french fries.
What a day! Our last day in Rome. In the morning it's off for Venice.

Friday, June 5th (Day 13)

Today had to be the best day of sightseeing we've had so far. I started the day with a very long run of maybe 10 miles, from about 6am to 7:45am. It felt good to run after a couple days off. I started by running through St. Peter's Square - just a stone's throw from our hostel. From there I ran through a very nice neighborhood full of wrought iron fences, 20 foot brick walls (very old brick), and nice homes. I ended up in a very large park that had some really amazing statures and a building and yard with some incredible hedges trimmed in a random weaving patterm. I wished I had my camera!

From there I ran back through Rome to Vatican city and completed a loop around the outside. I ran around the perimeter of an entire country this morning! The city was already bustling with activity by 7am and people were lining up to get into the Vatican Museum by 7:30, thought it doesn't open until 8:45.

Abel and I got ready for a day of sightseeing and took the Metro to the Roman Colloseum. We stepped out of the Metro station, and there it was, looking as big as the Metrodome, but 2000 years older! We used the Rick Steves' audio guide, which helped us understand a little better what we were looking at. The lines were long, but after a half hour or so, we found ourselves inside and it was quite the experience. The Colosseum was built around 70 AD and took about 10 years. To think that the Romans built this gigantic structure without modern equipment is unfathomable. There is apparently some doubt about whether Christians were actually thrown to the lions in this Colosseum or not, but they certainly were in others.

After wandering around the first and second level of the Colosseum, we made our way out to the Roman Forum. This huge area of ruins was the center of ancient Rome and the imagination runs wild thinking of what it was really like. Temples to various gods and Caesars, a main street, court yards, arches, and lots of other ruins are everywhere. A person would need a full day and a really good book to do justice to this place. The history represented here is absolutely unbelievable.

It was a very hot day - sunny and perhaps in the 90s, so by the time we took the Metro back to the hostel around 3pm, we were tired! We ate a late lunch, lounged around a bit, and then decided to head to a neary by castle (St. Anthony's) right on the Tiber river. Near the castle was an outdoor market where vendors were selling anything from clothing to jewlrey to dried fruit. We had a very relaxing time of meandering around the castle, market, and a nearby building (gigantic) which we supposed was the Roman courthouse.

We got home around 7pm and had a quiet evening of reading and I took a stroll around the neighborhood.

Thursday, June 4th (Day 12)

Despite our attempts at a good night's sleep, it wasn't. There were some noisy people in the room next to us, and the walls don't go all the way to the ceiling. This is the first time this has happened on our trip. They would leave, come back, leave, come back. Before I know it, it was 1am and had only dozed a little. Then I think I slept for a few hours before Abel woke me up at 4am to head for the airport.

We walked to Barceloneta, a place where a shuttle bus was supposed to pick people up for a 30 minute ride to the airport at 5:05. We talked to a bus driver who told us the bus came at 5:30! We were already cutting it close with a 5:05 bus! After some deliberation, we decided to take a taxi. It would cost us 25 Euros instead of 2.60 Euros, but it was worth it (in my estimation) to avoid missing our flight. We didn't know our way around the Barcelona airport, and our ticket didn't even tell us a terminal or provider. The taxi got us there in 15 minutes and we managed to get to our gate in plenty of time. Abel and I are still debating if we would have made it on time had we taken the bus. You decide who takes which side on that issue!

The flight was about 90 minutes and uneventful. We arrived at the airport, found our way to a shuttle that brought us to the train station in Rome, bought our tickets for Venice on June 7th, and hopped on the Metro to our hostel. It's a nice place, and we're right across the street from Vatican City. Tomorrow we will probably see the Vatican Museum, including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.

We took an afternoon nap, walked around town, bought some groceries at a "supermarket," and just finished a really nice meal of cheeseburgers, fruit, iced tea, a rice dinner, and (for me) a bananna. I went from being starve to stuffed in about 30 minutes. Tonight we will probably walk around Vatican City (the world's smallest nation with 550 residents).

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wednesday, June 3 (Day 11)

Our last day in Barcelona was spent separately again. We've both enjoyed the freedom to wander and do whatever interests us. I had a desire to excape from the big city, so after the customary free hostel breakfast, I packed my things for the day and headed out in search of Parc de Naturale Mountsenery (or something like that). It's about 50 km from Barcelona, by a town called Sant Celona (or something like that). The information I had was sketcy, but I knew where the town was and the description of the park sounded fantastic. High in the mountains and very scenic. More importantly, not in a big city!

I took the Metro to the train station and stood in three lines before I finally got a ticket to my destination. The train ride was less than an hour, but after waiting in line for a ticket, I had to wait for the train to come. It was almost 1pm before I finally headed out of town. I think many Europeans learn patience because they use public transportation. We are so accustomed to just hopping in a car and going anywhere we want. The price of gas in Europe is about triple what it is in the US, and public transportation is much more developed. So standing in line and waiting for trains to come is just part of life for many folks over here, I think. I've gotten into the habit of having a good book along to make use of the time spent waiting.

The train ride was scenic and uneventful. We passed by some very nice mountains, but none as large as those in Sant Celona. I was so excited when I saw those mountains, but I also realized they were a long ways from where the train dropped me off. There was no way I'd walk to the mountains with the time I had! I was hoping there would be a train or shuttle that would take me to the park. There was a bus stop, but I couldn't decipher the information, and I tried talking to several people, but nobody spoke a word of English. I felt like I was really in Spain now! That was a great feeling!

So, I took a walk around town. This was very different from Barcelona. This was small-town Spain. There were old men playing dominos in a bar. There were schoolkids playing on recess. There was only one stop light in town. I tried to find an English speaker, and the best I could do was a young woman who knew a few words. I asked her about the park, and she pointed to the highest mountain peak and nodded her head. I asked if there was a bus to the park, and she said no. She looked at me like I was a little crazy and smiled. I thanked her and went on my way.
By now it was approaching 3pm and I knew I didn't have much time for the park anyway. It was a fun day's adventure. Very different from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and very relaxing. Relaxing until I tried to take a picture of the mountains. I realized I had left the memory card from the camera in the computer at the hostel the night before. So, I decided it was time to go anyway! I didn't want to lose my memory card! I quickly bought a ticket back to the station and hopped on the next train. I took the metro back to the hostel and fortunately, my memory card was still in its place!

Abel and I ate some leftovers for dinner and went to bed early. We have an early flight to Rome on June 4th - 6:25am. We plan to get up at 4am to make it to the airport on time. Our last day in Barcelona!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Tuesday, June 2nd (Day 10)

Wow! Today is the halfway point of our trip! We're getting along fine in Barcelona. The weather is fantastic. We've forgotten what rain or cold are. We just assume every day is sunny and in the upper 70s. We started today with no plan at all, which is great! It turned out that Abel and I split up for most of the day, so I'll give my side of the story.

I went for a morning run of about 4 miles along the boardwalk by the beach. The sun was pretty high already as I overslept and didn't get out running until about 8am. We had breakfast at the hostel. It was missing fresh fruit, which really hurts. Otherwise it was fine. Toast and jelly, ceral, milk, lots of choices of juice. Basically a very high carb diet!

I took a nap after breakfast. I don't know why, but it lasted about an hour and felt good. When I woke up, Abel had left for his day's adventure. I took the Metro to the Sangrada Familia, Barcelona's most famous tourist attraction. I guess I've seen so much spectacular architecture on this trip that I wasn't as impressed as I should have been. This structure is still in progress and is predicted to be over 20 years from completion. It think what's missing is a courtyard or large garden around the structure. The building is impressive enough, but right across the street on all four sides are shops and restaurants (even a McDonald's!).

I'm glad I saw it, but I was told it would be breathtaking and it didn't do that for me. When I got back, I rented a bicycle and toured the city for a while. It was great fun to ride around the sidestreets of Barcelona. You can cover a lot of ground on a bicycle! I also missed riding a bike, so it felt good to pedal again.

When I got back, Abel and I went out for dinner. We haven't had many sit down meals on this trip, but we were both in the mood. We both had Paella, but different kinds. It was very tasty!

Today was a pretty slow moving day. No hurry to get anything done - a very nice pace. Tomorrow, if it works out, I plan to visit Parc Natural del Montseny, which is about 50 km from Barcelona and has some very nice hiking trails. The big cities are getting to me and I'm craving some trees and trails and water and open space!

That's all for now!