So now we've come to the end. We want to start by thanking everyone (all 5 of you) who read this travel blog and followed us on our Christmas journey. We like sharing the trip with the people back home and you guys seem to enjoy reading it as well. This is a tradition we started in 2008 with our Europe trip and continued for this trip, and maybe with some luck, we can continue to do it in the future.
Time to reflect on the trip. Wow, what a trip. We saw several places and also saw lots of snow. This trip was particularly interesting because it seemed like alot of the American summer tourists were gone home, and we were spending Christmas with the local Belgians, Germans, and Austrians. In a way, it felt more real than the cathedral sightseeing tours that alot of summer Europe trips become. Summer trips have their obvious advantages too, so I wouldn't say this one was better, just different. And that brings us to the weather. It was definitely colder than we expected. And the chill intensified the longer you stayed out in the cold too. We did our best to adjust and I think we did okay. Sometimes the cold did inhibit the exploratory gene, so there wasn't as much random exploring as on a summer Europe trip.
So I think I'll sum up the trip with a couple of lists.
The Top 5 Funniest Moments from the Trip:
1. Some crazy Austrian was singing Christmas songs in German to everyone as he walked by them. As he walked by us he basically yelled, "Und, und, und" really loudly and it sounded pretty hilarious.
2. At the Hofbrauhaus, a large family of American tourists walks in late at night into a very crowded Hofbrauhaus. The only table with enough space for all of them has one crazy bum looking guy with a dirty gray beard sitting at it. To make it funnier, he was very excitedly waving them over to sit down with him in a really excited and friendly way. The apprehension on the family's face was hilarious and they were fighting about who had to sit next to him.
3. In Bruges, they had an ice skating rink in the middle of the town square. There was one teenager or maybe early 20-something guy that either was a) very drunk, b) couldn't ice skate at all, or c) both. He was completely wiping out and could not get up. At one point he fell and his leg went through an open area in the wooden rail fence around the rink. His leg got stuck and he couldn't get it out for several minutes. His friends with him were laughing at him too.
4. In Vienna, it was funny to watch the interaction between our ruthlessly efficient waitress and this solicitor who walked in the restaurant to try and sell magazines to the people that were eating dinner. She turned him away and told him to leave several times, but he would act like he was leaving and then just come back and keep asking people to buy his magazine. At one point they got a little bit heated and it was entertaining for sure.
5. The last one isn't a particular moment, but a series of events. It includes pretty much the whole night or afternoon after visiting the Hofbrauhaus. Everything seemed alot funnier after the 1 liter beers, even if it was just me and Chelsy hanging out.
The Best/Most Special Moments of the Trip:
1. Getting off the bus in Bruges, which was essentially the final event of our travel sequence to get us to our first hotel in Europe. Our bus dropped us off at the Markt Square, and it was competely lit up with Christmas lights, an ice skating rink, a small Christmas market, and tons of people enjoying themselves. It was quite a special sight to see as the very first thing you see when getting off the bus. The only downside was we still had our luggage with us at that point.
2. Climbing the hill up to the castle in Salzburg, Austria. It was a completely unexpected and unplanned activity, which is part of what made it so special. It was also challenging but with a big reward at the end. The view was amazing and we had lots of fun laughing as we climbed our way to the top.
3. The first big Christmas market in Nuremberg. We had seen a smaller market in Bruges, but the one in Nuremberg was bustling with people and was decorated very well. It felt like we were achieving the major purpose of our trip (which was the Christmas markets). It took us a while to walk through the stalls, but we got some gluhwein, gingerbread, and some crepes in the meantime. It was a fun afternoon.
4. Climbing to the top of the Zugspitze on our last full day in Europe. It felt like a culmination of the entire trip, and it was very nice to spend the last day at the top of the Alps, checking out the out-of-this-world view. Even if traveling doesn't seem that grand or momentous while you're doing it, those are the moments you look back on and remember and are glad you did them.
5. Coming home to spend Christmas with our families. As much as we enjoyed our trip to Europe, we were ready to come home and see our families and take part in the Christmas festivities. The coming home part of our trip was always the most important, and the first part in Europe was just for me and Chelsy, while the second part in KY was for the family.
6. (Bonus) Getting home to Baton Rouge and finally sleeping in our own beds. This hasn't happened yet, but when it does, it will be very nice. We're going to spend that whole week unwinding, playing with the dog, and just relaxing in general. That will be our final Christmas gift we receive and it may be the best of all.
So thanks for following us on our trip! All of the posts (except this one and a few at the beginning) were typed on a phone, so we apologize for any spelling errors or lack of creativity. We probably would have been funnier and more imaginative in our posts if not for the lack of time/energy and the difficulties of posting from an iPhone. We really enjoyed all of the feedback from the comments and read them while we were on our trip. We also heard from a few people that tried to comment but they never showed up on the page. Sorry about that, we don't know what happened, but we appreciate the effort you took to respond.
Three times now, we've taken overseas trips on the even years (2006, 2008, 2010), so maybe our next big trip will be in 2012. If so, you may see another installment of our travel blogs. Until then, thanks for following and be sure to let us know if you ever write a travel blog of your own that we can follow.
Auf wiedersehen!
25 December 2010
23 December 2010
"PREET!"
I'm not sure what that means but some crazy foreigner on our last flight kept yelling that to his mom and it almost had him escorted off the plane. He also asked about 12 times (really) if he could get an "assurance" or "guarantee" that his bags were on this plane. All these theatrics, while hilarious, made us a little late to NY. But we got here in time, and it looks like the flight to Lexington should be close to on time. I'll be sure to post one final time in Lexington either tonight or tomorrow. But first things first, we're...
22 December 2010
Back in the States
Back in the old US of A.
After some issues with Munich's metro line to the airport (that line was temporarily shut down, which worried us a little), we had a really pleasant overseas flight into Philadelphia. It was really the best case scenario outside of flying first class. We were first row in the economy section, so we had tons of legroom. Also we had adjacent seats that were a window and aisle so that was good. Also our TVs worked (didn't the first time overseas) and they were high quality pictures as well. That led to me watching 3.9 movies during the flight which made the time fly.
The only part of our flight that wasn't enjoyable was our brash flight attendant Charles, or Chuck as Chelsy called him. He always seemed in a hurry and impatient, even though he only had two meal services to do over an 8 hour span, and he was going to get to Philly the same time as us. His best line was to me during the first meal service, "Put your soda on the right side of your tray, not your left" in a mean way. My face kinda had a "Um, what?" look to it.
But we are here now and it looks like out flight to LaGuardia is on time for now. Then it's on to Lexington. We'll try to update again in New York.
After some issues with Munich's metro line to the airport (that line was temporarily shut down, which worried us a little), we had a really pleasant overseas flight into Philadelphia. It was really the best case scenario outside of flying first class. We were first row in the economy section, so we had tons of legroom. Also we had adjacent seats that were a window and aisle so that was good. Also our TVs worked (didn't the first time overseas) and they were high quality pictures as well. That led to me watching 3.9 movies during the flight which made the time fly.
The only part of our flight that wasn't enjoyable was our brash flight attendant Charles, or Chuck as Chelsy called him. He always seemed in a hurry and impatient, even though he only had two meal services to do over an 8 hour span, and he was going to get to Philly the same time as us. His best line was to me during the first meal service, "Put your soda on the right side of your tray, not your left" in a mean way. My face kinda had a "Um, what?" look to it.
But we are here now and it looks like out flight to LaGuardia is on time for now. Then it's on to Lexington. We'll try to update again in New York.
Our Europe finale...from the top of Germany
Going to bed last night, we faced a difficult question. We had two options for our last day.
1). Spend the day sightseeing in Munich, which we mostly hadn't done yet. We could do some things like tour the Residenz, tour some breweries, check out museums/cathedrals, etc.
2). Use one of our unused days on our rail pass to go to a ski town and take a cogwheel train to the summit of the highest mountain in Germany.
We chose number 2, with the caveat that we need to come back to Munich when it's warmer to do the things we wanted to do.
We took about an hour train ride to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a famous German ski town which has hosted many international winter sports events.
After arriving in the town, we took a special cogwheel train to the summit of the Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany. The ride took a little over an hour and had some amazingly beautiful views of the Alps on the way up.
After arriving near the top, we took a very fast cable car the rest of the way to the actual summit. The summit is near 10,000 ft. Here are some views from the top.
Looking at these pictures now, it kind of looks like Chelsy is superimposed using a green screen, but I can assure you we were there. It was really breathtaking and somewhat difficult to take it all in or decide exactly what to think about it. Regardless, a very fun experience. Oh, and it was crazy windy and crazy cold. It was about -9 C (about 16 F) but was much colder with the wind chill. We could only stay out on the observation decks for about 2 minutes worth of pictures at a time.
At the summit, they had 2 or 3 restaurants, a beer garden, and even a old border crossing station because that is the border between Germany and Austria. There were lots of skiers at the summit but unfortunately we didn't have time to do that.
After a few hours at the top of the mountain, we made out way back down the mountain and back to Munich.
In Munich, we decided to end our Europe trip with a really nice dinner. The first place we wanted to go didn't have any tables because an opera had just let out and it was full of people dressed way better than us.
We found a suitable alternative and had one of the best meals we had on this trip and probably the best atmosphere we've enjoyed so far. I had roasted saddle of veal with gratined potatoes and a dunkel beer. (I think their descriptions sometimes lost a little bit in translation)
Chelsy had half a Canadian lobster with spinach lasagne and fried tomatoes. We had pretty good service from a waiter that wouldn't stop making jokes and winking at us. Seriously, he winked about 10 times. But he did get us probably the last table in the place full of opera patrons.
We took a romantic little walk back to the hotel past all the lit up (but closed) shops. Now we're going through the hectic repacking of stuff that never seems to fit into the original luggage. It might be a late night.
Flight update - Weather in Munich has gotten much warmer, like high 30s. If we have problems tomorrow it shouldn't be because local weather here. Several big European airports are still struggling with their schedules right now, so if our plane is coming from one of those, we could be delayed.
We'll just have to wait and see. Everything looks good at this point. I'll try to post at some point in the flying process tomorrow and maybe once at home to wrap things up.
Wish us luck tomorrow so we can make it home by Christmas!
1). Spend the day sightseeing in Munich, which we mostly hadn't done yet. We could do some things like tour the Residenz, tour some breweries, check out museums/cathedrals, etc.
2). Use one of our unused days on our rail pass to go to a ski town and take a cogwheel train to the summit of the highest mountain in Germany.
We chose number 2, with the caveat that we need to come back to Munich when it's warmer to do the things we wanted to do.
We took about an hour train ride to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a famous German ski town which has hosted many international winter sports events.
After arriving in the town, we took a special cogwheel train to the summit of the Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany. The ride took a little over an hour and had some amazingly beautiful views of the Alps on the way up.
After arriving near the top, we took a very fast cable car the rest of the way to the actual summit. The summit is near 10,000 ft. Here are some views from the top.
Looking at these pictures now, it kind of looks like Chelsy is superimposed using a green screen, but I can assure you we were there. It was really breathtaking and somewhat difficult to take it all in or decide exactly what to think about it. Regardless, a very fun experience. Oh, and it was crazy windy and crazy cold. It was about -9 C (about 16 F) but was much colder with the wind chill. We could only stay out on the observation decks for about 2 minutes worth of pictures at a time.
At the summit, they had 2 or 3 restaurants, a beer garden, and even a old border crossing station because that is the border between Germany and Austria. There were lots of skiers at the summit but unfortunately we didn't have time to do that.
After a few hours at the top of the mountain, we made out way back down the mountain and back to Munich.
In Munich, we decided to end our Europe trip with a really nice dinner. The first place we wanted to go didn't have any tables because an opera had just let out and it was full of people dressed way better than us.
We found a suitable alternative and had one of the best meals we had on this trip and probably the best atmosphere we've enjoyed so far. I had roasted saddle of veal with gratined potatoes and a dunkel beer. (I think their descriptions sometimes lost a little bit in translation)
Chelsy had half a Canadian lobster with spinach lasagne and fried tomatoes. We had pretty good service from a waiter that wouldn't stop making jokes and winking at us. Seriously, he winked about 10 times. But he did get us probably the last table in the place full of opera patrons.
We took a romantic little walk back to the hotel past all the lit up (but closed) shops. Now we're going through the hectic repacking of stuff that never seems to fit into the original luggage. It might be a late night.
Flight update - Weather in Munich has gotten much warmer, like high 30s. If we have problems tomorrow it shouldn't be because local weather here. Several big European airports are still struggling with their schedules right now, so if our plane is coming from one of those, we could be delayed.
We'll just have to wait and see. Everything looks good at this point. I'll try to post at some point in the flying process tomorrow and maybe once at home to wrap things up.
Wish us luck tomorrow so we can make it home by Christmas!
20 December 2010
Beer capital of the world
Ah, Munich. The land where water comes in bottles but beer comes out of the faucet. Well almost. Our first full day in Munich was a day where we didn't do much, but we relaxed and had fun.
We woke up and started with the big Christmas market. At this point they are getting a tad repetitive so we just quickly went through this one. We decided to head to the famous Hofbrauhaus for lunch.
Those are 1 liter beers if you're wondering. The food was good and the beer was excellent. We probably had a bit too much, but that's all part of the experience. The men's bathroom had a vomitorium for that reason. We spent the next few hours buying some overpriced souvenirs and doing some shopping. Afterwards we recharged at the hotel.
Upon leaving the hotel in the evening, we explored a new part of town and did some window shopping in the upscale district. We decided to have dinner from the bratwurst stands located through town. Very delicious.
With it being late at night and most stores closed, we tried to figure out what to do.
We'll go to the Hofbrauhaus again, of course!
This time we didn't really eat, except for pretzels, but we tried their Radler, or half beer and half lemon lime soda (think Sprite). Surprisingly, it wasn't gross but actually quite decent. We probably drank too much again and stumbled back to the hotel.
Tomorrow should be more planned events and sightseeing, unless of course we walk past another beer hall. See ya then!
We woke up and started with the big Christmas market. At this point they are getting a tad repetitive so we just quickly went through this one. We decided to head to the famous Hofbrauhaus for lunch.
Those are 1 liter beers if you're wondering. The food was good and the beer was excellent. We probably had a bit too much, but that's all part of the experience. The men's bathroom had a vomitorium for that reason. We spent the next few hours buying some overpriced souvenirs and doing some shopping. Afterwards we recharged at the hotel.
Upon leaving the hotel in the evening, we explored a new part of town and did some window shopping in the upscale district. We decided to have dinner from the bratwurst stands located through town. Very delicious.
With it being late at night and most stores closed, we tried to figure out what to do.
We'll go to the Hofbrauhaus again, of course!
This time we didn't really eat, except for pretzels, but we tried their Radler, or half beer and half lemon lime soda (think Sprite). Surprisingly, it wasn't gross but actually quite decent. We probably drank too much again and stumbled back to the hotel.
Tomorrow should be more planned events and sightseeing, unless of course we walk past another beer hall. See ya then!
19 December 2010
A little visit to Mozart's hometown
After yesterday's great day in Vienna, we were sad to leave but had to move on, so today was mostly a travel day.
We started the day with another train through the beautiful Austrian countryside, taking pictures of the snow covered houses. Our connection was in Mozart's town, Salzburg, Austria. We decided to stop for a few hours instead of heading right to Munich. So we put out luggage into storage and took off for the bus station.
It's always a challenge to figure out how to travel from the station into town, especially for a town that you haven't read about and has no metro. After a bit of legwork, we figured out where to go and took the bus there.
We got off the bus and went directly into a beautiful, old-style town with narrow alleys, tons of small, interconnected squares, and Christmas lights everywhere.
The markets were some of the best we've seen so far. It seemed like a decent amount of tourists, but mostly Austrian and German tourists. The atmosphere was very quaint and fun. Chelsy and I were even playing with these little kids on a big plowed mound of snow.
We were all set to catch the train to Munich with plenty of time to do some things later that night. However, plans sometimes change. Just before we planned to take the bus back to the train station, we saw some stairs heading up a hill. We were initially drawn to the stairs because people kept wiping out on them. I know you're probably thinking we are evil, but we went over there to try to warn people. It's just that they didn't understand English and would wipe out anyway. We tried to get the ice patch up with our shoes but a metal chisel type instrument was probably needed.
Anyway, Chelsy decided to climb the stairs some so I followed. Before you know it, we were a couple of hundred feet up the hill heading towards a castle at the top. We both knew it would kill our schedule, but sometimes the best things are the spontaneous ones.
Here we are, getting the hardest workout of our lives climbing this hill, and we come upon a admission booth. 4 euros each. Might as well, came this far. Very effective placement of that booth. As we get near the top, we can tell this place is going to be amazing. Chelsy somehow goes through an entire camera memory card. Don't worry I had another, just had to delete our wedding pictures off to use it. Come on, computer at home, don't crash while we're gone.
At the top, there is (surprise!) another small Christmas market. They put these things everywhere. Also at the top were these panoramic views which were just awesome.
The pictures fail to show what it was really like. But Chelsy has some good pictures on her camera to remember it by.
At this point our schedule is pretty shot, so we hurry to the bus stop we originally hopped off at. This is where something unexpected happened again, but not really with the greatest results. We hop on the same route we came in on, because the map shows it doing a loop around the town center and going back to the train station. Well, it doesn't do that. It apparently goes off the map and doesn't come back. We figured out something was wrong after about 3 stops in the wrong direction.
No problem, just hop off, catch one in the opposite direction right? According to the semi-American local on the train to do that we'd have to "find a way across the river". Since we are only a few stops from another train station we figure we'll go there and ride a train back to the main station. Well we go to the new station and it's possibly the most depressing, desolate station ever. Two platforms (one each way), completely snow covered, and not a soul in sight except one old woman all by herself on a snow covered platform. I wish I would've taken a picture. To make things worse, the train we need comes about once an hour. After some debate, we find a bus and decide to take it back to the original train station. We only wasted about an hour of our time, but it was an adventure and a story, so it was sorta worth it. That's what we keep telling ourselves anyway.
Because of all this, we get to Munich late (on a Sunday) so everything is closed. We find a bite to eat and that's where we stand now. We're going to get some rest and do some exploring tomorrow. We'll update again after.
We started the day with another train through the beautiful Austrian countryside, taking pictures of the snow covered houses. Our connection was in Mozart's town, Salzburg, Austria. We decided to stop for a few hours instead of heading right to Munich. So we put out luggage into storage and took off for the bus station.
It's always a challenge to figure out how to travel from the station into town, especially for a town that you haven't read about and has no metro. After a bit of legwork, we figured out where to go and took the bus there.
We got off the bus and went directly into a beautiful, old-style town with narrow alleys, tons of small, interconnected squares, and Christmas lights everywhere.
The markets were some of the best we've seen so far. It seemed like a decent amount of tourists, but mostly Austrian and German tourists. The atmosphere was very quaint and fun. Chelsy and I were even playing with these little kids on a big plowed mound of snow.
We were all set to catch the train to Munich with plenty of time to do some things later that night. However, plans sometimes change. Just before we planned to take the bus back to the train station, we saw some stairs heading up a hill. We were initially drawn to the stairs because people kept wiping out on them. I know you're probably thinking we are evil, but we went over there to try to warn people. It's just that they didn't understand English and would wipe out anyway. We tried to get the ice patch up with our shoes but a metal chisel type instrument was probably needed.
Anyway, Chelsy decided to climb the stairs some so I followed. Before you know it, we were a couple of hundred feet up the hill heading towards a castle at the top. We both knew it would kill our schedule, but sometimes the best things are the spontaneous ones.
Here we are, getting the hardest workout of our lives climbing this hill, and we come upon a admission booth. 4 euros each. Might as well, came this far. Very effective placement of that booth. As we get near the top, we can tell this place is going to be amazing. Chelsy somehow goes through an entire camera memory card. Don't worry I had another, just had to delete our wedding pictures off to use it. Come on, computer at home, don't crash while we're gone.
At the top, there is (surprise!) another small Christmas market. They put these things everywhere. Also at the top were these panoramic views which were just awesome.
The pictures fail to show what it was really like. But Chelsy has some good pictures on her camera to remember it by.
At this point our schedule is pretty shot, so we hurry to the bus stop we originally hopped off at. This is where something unexpected happened again, but not really with the greatest results. We hop on the same route we came in on, because the map shows it doing a loop around the town center and going back to the train station. Well, it doesn't do that. It apparently goes off the map and doesn't come back. We figured out something was wrong after about 3 stops in the wrong direction.
No problem, just hop off, catch one in the opposite direction right? According to the semi-American local on the train to do that we'd have to "find a way across the river". Since we are only a few stops from another train station we figure we'll go there and ride a train back to the main station. Well we go to the new station and it's possibly the most depressing, desolate station ever. Two platforms (one each way), completely snow covered, and not a soul in sight except one old woman all by herself on a snow covered platform. I wish I would've taken a picture. To make things worse, the train we need comes about once an hour. After some debate, we find a bus and decide to take it back to the original train station. We only wasted about an hour of our time, but it was an adventure and a story, so it was sorta worth it. That's what we keep telling ourselves anyway.
Because of all this, we get to Munich late (on a Sunday) so everything is closed. We find a bite to eat and that's where we stand now. We're going to get some rest and do some exploring tomorrow. We'll update again after.
Last night in Vienna
Our last day in Vienna. So much to see, so little time. I decided we would start by going to visit the Schonnbrunn Palace. Home to much of the historical Austrian royalty, the palace was a pretty amazing sight to behold. To top it all off, they had a Christmas market to visit as well.
Yep, that's Chelsy hogging up my shot. The one downside to the palace was it seemed like every tour bus in the city showed up the same time we did. So Chelsy and I were trying to navigate multiple crowds of 80+ people at all times. Other than that, it was very beautiful, especially in the snow. We also had a very good lunch there before going back to the center of town.
After the palace, we attempted to weasel our way into the Vienna Opera house to look around, but were unsuccessful. Instead, we visited the Hotel Sacher next door and had the famous Sacher Torte (their signature cake).
Very delicious. I believe this is a somewhat manufactured "famous" thing to do (kind of like a cheesesteak from Pat's or Geno's in Philly) but at least we can say we did it.
After some having some cake, we walked to the Hofburg and enjoyed the scenery. We stepped in a museum that I'm pretty sure was haunted so we left. We also took some pictures next to a Rolls Royce that was running with the keys in the ignition and the driver door open.
We hopped back on the metro and headed to Prater, a somewhat odd amusement park/nightlife/casino area. The odd part was even in the dead of winter, they were open. This place was the size of a normal Six Flags, but with no more than 200 people there. Most of the roller coasters were closed, but a few attractions were open. We saw some weird stuff. Bumper cars with only 2 people in the arena. Go karts with only 2 racers. They were operating the big swing ride with only one person on one swing. I kid you not. Very odd. There were people running taverns/pizzerias/casinos with no patrons. It had a very post-apocalyptic zombie movie feel to it. Anyway, the whole reason we were there was for the ferris wheel for spectators, kind of like the London Eye.
It was by far the most popular attraction at the park, drawing at least 10 people. Overall, a very fun and odd experience. I always wanted a theme park to myself. We also saw some weird stuff on the way out, like this wall clock.
We went back to the hotel to prepare for a nice dinner. Because we didn't want to dress nice and still go through our scarf/gloves/hat/jacket/layering routine, we just dressed nice and went to the restaurant at our hotel which is very nice.
I had maybe the best meal of the past few months, and I believe Chelsy enjoyed hers as well. I had veal filet with king prawns (biggest shrimp I've ever seen) and a mushroom and Parmesan risotto. Yum.
Chelsy had the Argentinean filet of beef with baked potato and grilled tomato.
And what for dessert you may ask? Only a dessert called "The Chocolate Trilogy".
Maybe those pictures may not look super delicious but it was all pretty good.
Tomorrow we leave Vienna. I'm sad to go and would like to come with Chelsy during a warmer month to explore it even more. Tomorrow we will check out Salzburg on the way to Munich, our final destination.
Yep, that's Chelsy hogging up my shot. The one downside to the palace was it seemed like every tour bus in the city showed up the same time we did. So Chelsy and I were trying to navigate multiple crowds of 80+ people at all times. Other than that, it was very beautiful, especially in the snow. We also had a very good lunch there before going back to the center of town.
After the palace, we attempted to weasel our way into the Vienna Opera house to look around, but were unsuccessful. Instead, we visited the Hotel Sacher next door and had the famous Sacher Torte (their signature cake).
Very delicious. I believe this is a somewhat manufactured "famous" thing to do (kind of like a cheesesteak from Pat's or Geno's in Philly) but at least we can say we did it.
After some having some cake, we walked to the Hofburg and enjoyed the scenery. We stepped in a museum that I'm pretty sure was haunted so we left. We also took some pictures next to a Rolls Royce that was running with the keys in the ignition and the driver door open.
We hopped back on the metro and headed to Prater, a somewhat odd amusement park/nightlife/casino area. The odd part was even in the dead of winter, they were open. This place was the size of a normal Six Flags, but with no more than 200 people there. Most of the roller coasters were closed, but a few attractions were open. We saw some weird stuff. Bumper cars with only 2 people in the arena. Go karts with only 2 racers. They were operating the big swing ride with only one person on one swing. I kid you not. Very odd. There were people running taverns/pizzerias/casinos with no patrons. It had a very post-apocalyptic zombie movie feel to it. Anyway, the whole reason we were there was for the ferris wheel for spectators, kind of like the London Eye.
It was by far the most popular attraction at the park, drawing at least 10 people. Overall, a very fun and odd experience. I always wanted a theme park to myself. We also saw some weird stuff on the way out, like this wall clock.
We went back to the hotel to prepare for a nice dinner. Because we didn't want to dress nice and still go through our scarf/gloves/hat/jacket/layering routine, we just dressed nice and went to the restaurant at our hotel which is very nice.
I had maybe the best meal of the past few months, and I believe Chelsy enjoyed hers as well. I had veal filet with king prawns (biggest shrimp I've ever seen) and a mushroom and Parmesan risotto. Yum.
Chelsy had the Argentinean filet of beef with baked potato and grilled tomato.
And what for dessert you may ask? Only a dessert called "The Chocolate Trilogy".
Maybe those pictures may not look super delicious but it was all pretty good.
Tomorrow we leave Vienna. I'm sad to go and would like to come with Chelsy during a warmer month to explore it even more. Tomorrow we will check out Salzburg on the way to Munich, our final destination.
17 December 2010
Lots of fun and snow in Vienna
Has anyone seen any news coverage in the US on the weather over here? It's supposedly about 10 C colder than normal here right now. That 18 F colder than normal and it's normally pretty cold. The snow here has closed many airports and caused huge delays at others. We are hoping some of that clears up before we leave so we can make it home in time for Christmas. So keep those presents wrapped and the food in the oven. We'll try our best.
But back to the trip. After checking out the big Christmas market last night, we checked out some of the smaller ones today.
Pretty similar, but a little bit different selection of food and other items, and smaller crowds to deal with.
We had lunch after the markets, and dropped some stuff off at the hotel. We went back out to the Rathaus market to check out the parts we had missed, and then we went inside to listen to a choir singing different Advent music from many international cultures.
After that market, we went to a restaurant to have some authentic Wienerschnitzel.
In case you didn't know, it's not a fancy dish. It's kinda like getting fish and chips in London. Not much of a step up from a chicken finger basket.
At the restaurant, we had the most ruthlessly efficient waitress I've ever seen. She was repeating our order before we even finished ordering, like she was listening to us before when we were discussing what to order. Also, in about the 12 sentences she spoke to us, she managed to speak some German, English, French, and Italian. Oh, and a dog sat next to us. It was an interesting experience.
Time to go, I think we wore out our welcome at the McDonalds with free Wifi. This is our only Internet option here so we may have to keep stopping by for ice cream so we can keep posting.
Another full day in Vienna tomorrow. We'll update ya.
But back to the trip. After checking out the big Christmas market last night, we checked out some of the smaller ones today.
Pretty similar, but a little bit different selection of food and other items, and smaller crowds to deal with.
We had lunch after the markets, and dropped some stuff off at the hotel. We went back out to the Rathaus market to check out the parts we had missed, and then we went inside to listen to a choir singing different Advent music from many international cultures.
After that market, we went to a restaurant to have some authentic Wienerschnitzel.
In case you didn't know, it's not a fancy dish. It's kinda like getting fish and chips in London. Not much of a step up from a chicken finger basket.
At the restaurant, we had the most ruthlessly efficient waitress I've ever seen. She was repeating our order before we even finished ordering, like she was listening to us before when we were discussing what to order. Also, in about the 12 sentences she spoke to us, she managed to speak some German, English, French, and Italian. Oh, and a dog sat next to us. It was an interesting experience.
Time to go, I think we wore out our welcome at the McDonalds with free Wifi. This is our only Internet option here so we may have to keep stopping by for ice cream so we can keep posting.
Another full day in Vienna tomorrow. We'll update ya.
Going to Vienna
Sorry for the late post but we had to figure out the Internet situation in Vienna.
Yesterday we spent the first few hours of the day on the train traveling from Nuremberg to Vienna. It was actually a really nice train ride. It was a super fast train and went through some beautiful German and Austrian countryside covered completely by snow. Chelsy took lots of pictures but I didn't get any on the phone (for the blog).
We arrived in Vienna in the early afternoon. We checked in at the hotel, then took off walking. I showed Chelsy the hotel I stayed at last time I was in Vienna, and we headed towards Stephensplatz.
Stephensplatz was a pretty amazing sight. It was full of people shopping, eating, and enjoying themselves. We ate a late lunch and began to walk down the high end shopping street.
The pictures are dark, but hopefully you get the idea.
Luckily for me, Chelsy didn't buy anything (although I said it was fine if she wanted to). I thought Paris had a lot of high end shopping, but I think Vienna may have as much or more. After all, it is "the Paris of the East". OK, maybe I made that up.
We kept walking until we found the big Christmas market at the Rathaus (city hall).
We walked around, had our usual gluhwein, and bought a few items. We had almost explored the whole area when our toes became frozen together, so we headed back towards the hotel. But not before I was able to buy a huge pretzel to enjoy at the hotel.
Yesterday we spent the first few hours of the day on the train traveling from Nuremberg to Vienna. It was actually a really nice train ride. It was a super fast train and went through some beautiful German and Austrian countryside covered completely by snow. Chelsy took lots of pictures but I didn't get any on the phone (for the blog).
We arrived in Vienna in the early afternoon. We checked in at the hotel, then took off walking. I showed Chelsy the hotel I stayed at last time I was in Vienna, and we headed towards Stephensplatz.
Stephensplatz was a pretty amazing sight. It was full of people shopping, eating, and enjoying themselves. We ate a late lunch and began to walk down the high end shopping street.
The pictures are dark, but hopefully you get the idea.
Luckily for me, Chelsy didn't buy anything (although I said it was fine if she wanted to). I thought Paris had a lot of high end shopping, but I think Vienna may have as much or more. After all, it is "the Paris of the East". OK, maybe I made that up.
We kept walking until we found the big Christmas market at the Rathaus (city hall).
We walked around, had our usual gluhwein, and bought a few items. We had almost explored the whole area when our toes became frozen together, so we headed back towards the hotel. But not before I was able to buy a huge pretzel to enjoy at the hotel.
15 December 2010
Full day in Nuremberg
Hello again from your loyal correspondents hailing from the Burger King in the train station again. We had to buy a Coke Light to use the Wifi but we do it and hang out here for an hour for you guys. And because everything closes pretty early in the winter, but we'll get to that.
Funny side note from last night before we get started - we were getting a snack late at night and while I'm looking at the snacks, some crazy German bum comes up to me, points to the snacks and says something in German. I just look at him and respond "Ehhh" and walk away. It was funny at the time. You had to be there.
Anyway, we started the day by attending the biggest Christmas market in Germany.
It was pretty amazing. Everything Christmas related you could think of was there. It had lots of ornaments, nutcrackers, roasted chestnuts, spiced wine, gingerbread, chocolates, toys, wooden dolls, and other things I can't recall right now. Here is a stall with a TON of wooden figurines that we came across.
After spending an hour or two at the market, we had purchased a few things and were ready to do something else. We took the metro to the next area which was the shopping area (which Chelsy was very eager to partake in, especially H&M. She's a discount shopper at heart, even on vacation). We went the wrong direction at first, but that caused us to be able to see the city wall which still surrounds the city center and is very cool. After correcting our path, Chelsy bought a few clothing items and we were off to do something else.
In an effort to do at least one historical/cultural thing on our trip, we headed to the courthouse which held the Nuremberg trials. For those that don't know, they were trials to prosecute the Nazi leaders for their war crimes after WWII was over. Here's a shot of the courtroom.
They had a brand new (like within 3 months) exhibition explaining the trials and the history of it all that was really nice.
After a brief stop at the hotel, we attempted to go back to the market at night, but it was already closed when we got there (just after 8 PM), Oh well, we saw it once and we'll see more of them in Vienna and Munich. Chelsy did find some time to sip some gluhwein in a red mug we affectionately call "Das Boot".
Oh did I mention it was snowing? And extremely cold? We're getting better at surviving it now though.
Since we had a little time on our hands, we ended the night with a long dinner of pizza and German beer. And a blog post.
Off to Vienna tomorrow. See ya later!
Funny side note from last night before we get started - we were getting a snack late at night and while I'm looking at the snacks, some crazy German bum comes up to me, points to the snacks and says something in German. I just look at him and respond "Ehhh" and walk away. It was funny at the time. You had to be there.
Anyway, we started the day by attending the biggest Christmas market in Germany.
It was pretty amazing. Everything Christmas related you could think of was there. It had lots of ornaments, nutcrackers, roasted chestnuts, spiced wine, gingerbread, chocolates, toys, wooden dolls, and other things I can't recall right now. Here is a stall with a TON of wooden figurines that we came across.
After spending an hour or two at the market, we had purchased a few things and were ready to do something else. We took the metro to the next area which was the shopping area (which Chelsy was very eager to partake in, especially H&M. She's a discount shopper at heart, even on vacation). We went the wrong direction at first, but that caused us to be able to see the city wall which still surrounds the city center and is very cool. After correcting our path, Chelsy bought a few clothing items and we were off to do something else.
In an effort to do at least one historical/cultural thing on our trip, we headed to the courthouse which held the Nuremberg trials. For those that don't know, they were trials to prosecute the Nazi leaders for their war crimes after WWII was over. Here's a shot of the courtroom.
They had a brand new (like within 3 months) exhibition explaining the trials and the history of it all that was really nice.
After a brief stop at the hotel, we attempted to go back to the market at night, but it was already closed when we got there (just after 8 PM), Oh well, we saw it once and we'll see more of them in Vienna and Munich. Chelsy did find some time to sip some gluhwein in a red mug we affectionately call "Das Boot".
Oh did I mention it was snowing? And extremely cold? We're getting better at surviving it now though.
Since we had a little time on our hands, we ended the night with a long dinner of pizza and German beer. And a blog post.
Off to Vienna tomorrow. See ya later!
14 December 2010
509 steps? Ummm...no.
Today we had to leave the wonderful little city of Bruges and it was mostly a travel day as we made our way towards Nuremberg. Apparently, the train got lost and we ended up in Antarctica. When we got off the train in Cologne, it was really cold. I mean bone shattering cold. It was cold in Bruges but it must've dropped 20 degrees and picked up some wind as well. It was crazy.
We stopped in Cologne to see the Koln Dom, the biggest cathedral in Germany and the 4th tallest in the world.
The original plan was to climb the 509 steps to the top but with the wind chill being about -20 we decided against it. Luckily for us, there was a Christmas market next door so we got to attend our first German Christmas market.
I even had my first German pretzel. It was delicious. After Cologne we took a really nice, really fast train straight to Nuremberg.
We are now having dinner in the Burger King as it was the only thing left open and was also the only free Wifi spot I could access.
Tomorrow should include Germany's best Christmas market so we should have some good pictures.
We stopped in Cologne to see the Koln Dom, the biggest cathedral in Germany and the 4th tallest in the world.
The original plan was to climb the 509 steps to the top but with the wind chill being about -20 we decided against it. Luckily for us, there was a Christmas market next door so we got to attend our first German Christmas market.
I even had my first German pretzel. It was delicious. After Cologne we took a really nice, really fast train straight to Nuremberg.
We are now having dinner in the Burger King as it was the only thing left open and was also the only free Wifi spot I could access.
Tomorrow should include Germany's best Christmas market so we should have some good pictures.
13 December 2010
366 Spiral Steps
Today began our first and only full day in Bruges, so we started by walking around the town a little bit. I showed Chelsy the odd hotel I stayed at last time I was here, we tried to go to a few museums that were closed (only on Mondays), then we concluded our walk with some lunch at this place:
We both had some very delicious sandwiches and were on our way. Just outside the restaurant, Chelsy was asked (for the 2nd time already) to take someone's picture, so I naturally had to take a picture of that.
After being re-energized by lunch, we decided to continue the tourist tradition of paying money to climb to the top of things. In this case it was the Bruges Belfort, or belfry tower.
As the blog post suggests, the tower has 366 steps, all in a spiral staircase formation. Also, it is a very narrow staircase, barely enough for one person to get through, much less two (which is the case because people are coming down). If you don't know me, you may not know that I don't like spiral staircases. Not a fan, always have to work one leg more than the other. So these are basically worst case scenario steps here.
It wasn't too hard of a climb overall and we made it to the top. Here is a view from the top.
Afterwards we continued exploring the numerous chocolate shops, toy shops, and clothing stores. We came upon this funny toy monkey and decided to video it. Let me know if you can see this video. If so, maybe we can post more in the next few days.
After that, we happened to pass by a museum that was dedicated exclusively to French fries, so of course we had to go in. Not our proudest moment but the guy at the admission counter had his back turned to us so we just slipped on by him. In our defense, the sign that probably said "Pay here" or "Admission" was in a different language, so we couldn't be sure anyway, right?
We went back to the hotel to warm up a little after all the walking.
After leaving the hotel again, it was time for dinner. It seems one of the local foods is mussels, so I wanted to get some for sure.
Here's what I ordered (along with free fries).
In case you're wondering, it's mussels in white wine and cream sauce and Chelsy got a steak. We both really enjoyed dinner and it was very nice.
Funny side note - Regrdless of how romantic or serious of a conversation you are having, the conversation generally stops dead when you hear the guy at the next table say "random French random French random French Speedy Gonzalez random French". I just stopped talking immediately and started smiling, trying my hardest not to laugh.
Anyway, we are almost done with Bruges and tomorrow we will make our way to Nuremberg to see the biggest Christmas market in Germany.
Farewell from Bruges.
We both had some very delicious sandwiches and were on our way. Just outside the restaurant, Chelsy was asked (for the 2nd time already) to take someone's picture, so I naturally had to take a picture of that.
After being re-energized by lunch, we decided to continue the tourist tradition of paying money to climb to the top of things. In this case it was the Bruges Belfort, or belfry tower.
As the blog post suggests, the tower has 366 steps, all in a spiral staircase formation. Also, it is a very narrow staircase, barely enough for one person to get through, much less two (which is the case because people are coming down). If you don't know me, you may not know that I don't like spiral staircases. Not a fan, always have to work one leg more than the other. So these are basically worst case scenario steps here.
It wasn't too hard of a climb overall and we made it to the top. Here is a view from the top.
Afterwards we continued exploring the numerous chocolate shops, toy shops, and clothing stores. We came upon this funny toy monkey and decided to video it. Let me know if you can see this video. If so, maybe we can post more in the next few days.
After that, we happened to pass by a museum that was dedicated exclusively to French fries, so of course we had to go in. Not our proudest moment but the guy at the admission counter had his back turned to us so we just slipped on by him. In our defense, the sign that probably said "Pay here" or "Admission" was in a different language, so we couldn't be sure anyway, right?
We went back to the hotel to warm up a little after all the walking.
After leaving the hotel again, it was time for dinner. It seems one of the local foods is mussels, so I wanted to get some for sure.
Here's what I ordered (along with free fries).
In case you're wondering, it's mussels in white wine and cream sauce and Chelsy got a steak. We both really enjoyed dinner and it was very nice.
Funny side note - Regrdless of how romantic or serious of a conversation you are having, the conversation generally stops dead when you hear the guy at the next table say "random French random French random French Speedy Gonzalez random French". I just stopped talking immediately and started smiling, trying my hardest not to laugh.
Anyway, we are almost done with Bruges and tomorrow we will make our way to Nuremberg to see the biggest Christmas market in Germany.
Farewell from Bruges.
12 December 2010
Bruges at night
After a brief nap to combat our jetlag, we finally left our hotel to explore Bruges a bit.
I think it's fair to say we underestimated how many people would be around the town at this time of year. In a way it's good, in a way it's bad. Regardless, it was nice to see it wasn't a ghost town like we thought it might be.
Here's a picture from right outside our hotel.
We headed to the Markt square to find our first Christmas market of the vacation. Granted it was small, but it had ice skating, beignets, Belgian waffles, bratwurst, chocolates, pasta, cotton candy, and best of all gluhwein, which is heated wine to keep you warm.
After having our dinner between about 5 stalls, things began to shut down around town so we headed to a pub. In the pub we had some Bruges Trippel, Bruges Zot Blond, Leffe Blond, and Leffe Dark. Here's a picture from the pub.
That picture is a bit dark, but you get the idea. Tomorrow we get to explore Bruges in the daytime which means warmer temperatures and better pictures.
We'll update you tomorrow.
I think it's fair to say we underestimated how many people would be around the town at this time of year. In a way it's good, in a way it's bad. Regardless, it was nice to see it wasn't a ghost town like we thought it might be.
Here's a picture from right outside our hotel.
We headed to the Markt square to find our first Christmas market of the vacation. Granted it was small, but it had ice skating, beignets, Belgian waffles, bratwurst, chocolates, pasta, cotton candy, and best of all gluhwein, which is heated wine to keep you warm.
After having our dinner between about 5 stalls, things began to shut down around town so we headed to a pub. In the pub we had some Bruges Trippel, Bruges Zot Blond, Leffe Blond, and Leffe Dark. Here's a picture from the pub.
That picture is a bit dark, but you get the idea. Tomorrow we get to explore Bruges in the daytime which means warmer temperatures and better pictures.
We'll update you tomorrow.
We've finally arrived!
After many delays and countless screaming babies, we made it to our final destination.
We actually have taken a train to Bruges and checked into our hotel at this point. We'll probably have a post about Bruges later tonight.
We actually have taken a train to Bruges and checked into our hotel at this point. We'll probably have a post about Bruges later tonight.
11 December 2010
This. Changes. Everything.
In typical crazy travel fashion, our first flight was delayed just enough to make us power walk/jog through the Charlotte airport to catch our flight to Philadelphia. We barely made it in time, just to find out the flight was...CANCELLED.
So what do we do now? They tell us to get our checked luggage back from baggage claim and go through rebooking and security again. Since we're the thinking types, we devise a plan for one person to get the luggage and the other to go to rebooking before the 50 angry passengers from our flight get there. As if I really have to say it, but our plan worked perfectly. No one was in line, and I sweet talked the lady into getting us on a flight to Frankfurt (not Kentucky) tonight and then take a German airline (Lufthansa) to Brussels. All in all, we will get there about 5 hours later than we originally would have - not bad.
So that means we have about 5 hours to burn in the Charlotte airport.
I wonder what we'll do...
I'm sure we'll find something.
So what do we do now? They tell us to get our checked luggage back from baggage claim and go through rebooking and security again. Since we're the thinking types, we devise a plan for one person to get the luggage and the other to go to rebooking before the 50 angry passengers from our flight get there. As if I really have to say it, but our plan worked perfectly. No one was in line, and I sweet talked the lady into getting us on a flight to Frankfurt (not Kentucky) tonight and then take a German airline (Lufthansa) to Brussels. All in all, we will get there about 5 hours later than we originally would have - not bad.
So that means we have about 5 hours to burn in the Charlotte airport.
I wonder what we'll do...
I'm sure we'll find something.
Packed and ready to go!
We did a little better than expected packing last night. Only up until 2AM instead of 3 AM. Anyway, I'm happy we managed to get all of our stuff into 2 medium sized luggage pieces and 2 backpacks instead of using the big luggage. Check it out.
10 December 2010
The Shofner Standard: Pre-Travel Chaos
Since Chelsy and I have been together, we've found out that we are pretty good travelers once we get to where we are going. We are very patient and laid back and normally don't sweat the numerous travel issues that may arise. We know how to get through the airport security line and the airplane aisles quickly (apparently unlike most people). We're good with maps and getting around and overall we get it done with very few complaints from either of us.
Unfortunately, what we've also found out is that we are pretty terrible when it comes to one day before we leave. We usually enter a period of pre-travel chaos involving endless errands, lots of house cleaning, packing way too late, and packing way too much stuff. And to top it all off, we usually both have mental fits thinking that we forgot to pack something, especially if it is a long trip or an important trip.
So that's where we are now, right in the middle of the pre-travel chaos. To deal with the chaos, we try and make to-do lists. I'm pretty sure we have made about 7 to-do lists in the past few days. We'll usually get about 75% done with one list when another list is made and makes us start back at square one. One thing that slows us down is Chelsy likes to put somewhat random tasks on the lists of things to do before we leave. For example, is it really necessary to take all our change in a jar, roll into into coin sleeves, and deposit it into the bank? Apparently so. Is it necessary to call our cable provider to dispute a charge on our bill? I guess it is. Is it required that we clean our house as if the Queen of England will be staying there while we're gone? Obviously. But I digress.
I have my own pre-travel faults as well. I attempt to set artificial deadlines on myself (pack Thursday night as if we're leaving Friday morning even though it's going to be Saturday) but I never pay attention to them and wait till the last minute anyway. To me, going out to eat or watching the last hour of a movie I've already seen 25 times on TBS seems like a better idea than packing or getting ready to leave.
So what do you get when a perfectionist and a procrastinator get married? You get a couple that will probably be up till 3 AM the night before traveling and will probably be late to the airport.
That's life, nobody's perfect.
To end this post on a positive note, here's a picture of a way too stereotypical beer wench from Germany, and then a picture of the same thing made into a Christmas figurine/ornament. Enjoy.
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