Hello!
oh wow, so much has happened since our last post!
Canyoning was fantastic, perhaps the best thing that we have done so far. It was a cold, rainy day and unlike the other group that was supposed to go with us, we did not chicken out. We met up with our very tough looking tour guide, Gottfried, who briefed us on how to walk on rocks and jump off of cliffs (!). We donned cold weather wet suits and headed out on our trek.
Mom dont read this if you think you will get worried but rest assured, i made it okay!
We hiked over rocks and came to our first, easy jump. I may have let out a little squeal (cut me a break!) but the landing was quite fun. There was an initial shock of extremely cold water but the wetsuits did their job and we stayed (almost) warm the whole time. We move on to some higher, more difficult jumps and all did pretty well with them. Gottfried took pictures along the way with an underwater camera and we got electronic copies of them.
When I started, I was really tentative with my stepping (and hence, fell behind the group) but I learned to trust my body and walked over rocks and jumped with much more confidence. It makes you think that humans were made to do this kind of walking, not over paved streets or up man made steps.
Of course, the day ended with some epic portions of schnitzel, very fried traditional Austrian meet (oh how far I have come since I was a vegetarian).
Anyhow, a lot more has happened since then (Munich, Innsbruck, Venice, etc) and we are in Cinque Terre now. We will do a more thorough update once we have travel journals handy and are not paying a ridiculous amount for Internet (80 euro cents for 10 minutes!).
Ciao!
Julie
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Prague, Czech Republic, Vienna, Austria, and Salzburg, Austria
Hello!
After Pilzen we took a sweet bus to Prague. Public transportation in Europe has generally been pretty choice. They handed out free beer on the bus... we were the silly Americans in the back not drinking it, but I was quite impressed.
Prague was, as is known to be, completely gorgeous. Hopefully we can post some pictures soon. There were a lot of cobblestone streets, squares, giant churches, and a huuge castle overlooking the town. We stayed at Old Prague Hostel where we met a lot of other travelers and had a full kitchen to make delicious dinners. Nik, Noah, and I did a great run up to the fake Eiffel tower and to the castle and back again one morning. Hopefully we can post pictures soon.
Its been awesome being in Europe during the World Cup. Everyone is really excited about it. In Prague, there was a giant screen set up in the main square and a crowd of people around it during every game (there are three a day). We also did the typical sightseeing: St. Charles Bridge and the humongous Old Prague Castle.
After Prague, we were on to Vienna, Austria. It was much bigger than expected. In Prague we could walk anywhere but we had to become metro savy in Vienna. We went for a couple of runs in Schönburg park which is behind a palace and has some awesome fountains and statues. We went back to visit the palace and labyrinth behind it. Hint- if you are ever lost in a labyrinth and you have "friends" above you, dont listen to their directions. We also went to the Kunsthauswien which featured work from Hundertwasser, an environmental/religious artist who didnt believe in straight lines. The whole building had no straight lines at all so even the floors were curved. He had a lot of interesting pieces like an alternative flag for Sweden that had a greener theme.
Yesterday, we took a train to Salzburg, Austria. Today we went to yet another castle overlooking the town and got a great view of the city and river that it surrounds. This castle was the biggest that has been almost completely preserved. Its easy to see why- the walls were enourmous and looked pretty tough to get through. Tomorrow we are going to be canyoning outside of Salzburg and may have to brave some crappy weather but it should be fun!
Auf wiedersein!
Julie
After Pilzen we took a sweet bus to Prague. Public transportation in Europe has generally been pretty choice. They handed out free beer on the bus... we were the silly Americans in the back not drinking it, but I was quite impressed.
Prague was, as is known to be, completely gorgeous. Hopefully we can post some pictures soon. There were a lot of cobblestone streets, squares, giant churches, and a huuge castle overlooking the town. We stayed at Old Prague Hostel where we met a lot of other travelers and had a full kitchen to make delicious dinners. Nik, Noah, and I did a great run up to the fake Eiffel tower and to the castle and back again one morning. Hopefully we can post pictures soon.
Its been awesome being in Europe during the World Cup. Everyone is really excited about it. In Prague, there was a giant screen set up in the main square and a crowd of people around it during every game (there are three a day). We also did the typical sightseeing: St. Charles Bridge and the humongous Old Prague Castle.
After Prague, we were on to Vienna, Austria. It was much bigger than expected. In Prague we could walk anywhere but we had to become metro savy in Vienna. We went for a couple of runs in Schönburg park which is behind a palace and has some awesome fountains and statues. We went back to visit the palace and labyrinth behind it. Hint- if you are ever lost in a labyrinth and you have "friends" above you, dont listen to their directions. We also went to the Kunsthauswien which featured work from Hundertwasser, an environmental/religious artist who didnt believe in straight lines. The whole building had no straight lines at all so even the floors were curved. He had a lot of interesting pieces like an alternative flag for Sweden that had a greener theme.
Yesterday, we took a train to Salzburg, Austria. Today we went to yet another castle overlooking the town and got a great view of the city and river that it surrounds. This castle was the biggest that has been almost completely preserved. Its easy to see why- the walls were enourmous and looked pretty tough to get through. Tomorrow we are going to be canyoning outside of Salzburg and may have to brave some crappy weather but it should be fun!
Auf wiedersein!
Julie
Sunday, June 13, 2010
briefly in Amsterdam, a first taste of Germany, and Pilsen, Czech Republic
Hello!
We are right now in Pilsen, Czech Republic and the house of a couchsurfer, Ondrej. Its been a crazy week.
We actually accidentally stayed an extra day in Brussels, I guess because we liked it so much. We spent a day in Bruges (if you've ever seen the movie "In Bruges," it pretty accurately portrays it). There was tons of churches, most very beautiful and many canals that ran through the streets. We climbed to the top of the tower from the movie but didn't fall off or shoot anyone.
Our stay in Amsterdam was brief since we only had one night even though we were supposed to have two. It was mostly wandering around the canals. We couldn't do much the next day because it was pouring rain, and we moved on to Koblenz, Germany, a smallish town along the Rhine River.
Next was the ferry tour of the Rhine. Germany seems to love their castles- we must have passed by at least 15 going from Koblenz to Mainz. *Noah takes over typing* We stopped and got off at St Goar which is a little town about halfway to Mainz. The first thing you notice about St. Goar is the ruins of a castle looming above the city on what we'll call a small mountain. We had about 2 hours before the next ferry so we carboloaded on Clif bars and booked it up the hill with our packs. Down at the bottom a tram was loading with elderly Germans who jeered us as they passed us on the way up. The castle ruins were incredible with a few small tunnels connecting rooms and we were lucky that we brought along headlamps. Back at the bottom we all grabbed a "Doner Fladenbrot" which is mystery meats all packed together on a spit that they carve into a pita-style sandwich with salad, onions, and a ranch-ish dressing. Delicious! We hopped back on the ferry and arrived in Mainz around 6.
If there's one thing we've about travel it's that the best way to travel is to be helpless, confused-looking tourists. We got a woman to help us buy our bus passes in Mainz about 13 seconds before the bus came that took us about 20 mins outside of the downtown area where we checked into our hostel for the night. It was in a really nice area with a huge adjoining park that we ate a grocery store dinner in and played some futbol.
Friday we took it easy in Mainz. We went for a short hike at the end of one of the bus lines. Our hotel was right on the Rhine and so we went for an evening run along the river and watched the World Cup games.
It was a relatively long train ride to get to Plzen, transferring in Frankfurt and Nuremburg. We walked into town and met Ondrej, our couchsurfing host. He took us on a quick walking tour of the town and then to an authentic Czech restaurant and pub for dinner consisting mostly of meat in a gravy-type sauce and dumplings. We watched the USA-England game (we'll consider a tie a victory!) and drank Pilsner Urquell.
This morning Ondrej mad us delicious pancakes and now we are on to Prague!
Happy Trails!
Noah and Julie
We are right now in Pilsen, Czech Republic and the house of a couchsurfer, Ondrej. Its been a crazy week.
We actually accidentally stayed an extra day in Brussels, I guess because we liked it so much. We spent a day in Bruges (if you've ever seen the movie "In Bruges," it pretty accurately portrays it). There was tons of churches, most very beautiful and many canals that ran through the streets. We climbed to the top of the tower from the movie but didn't fall off or shoot anyone.
Our stay in Amsterdam was brief since we only had one night even though we were supposed to have two. It was mostly wandering around the canals. We couldn't do much the next day because it was pouring rain, and we moved on to Koblenz, Germany, a smallish town along the Rhine River.
Next was the ferry tour of the Rhine. Germany seems to love their castles- we must have passed by at least 15 going from Koblenz to Mainz. *Noah takes over typing* We stopped and got off at St Goar which is a little town about halfway to Mainz. The first thing you notice about St. Goar is the ruins of a castle looming above the city on what we'll call a small mountain. We had about 2 hours before the next ferry so we carboloaded on Clif bars and booked it up the hill with our packs. Down at the bottom a tram was loading with elderly Germans who jeered us as they passed us on the way up. The castle ruins were incredible with a few small tunnels connecting rooms and we were lucky that we brought along headlamps. Back at the bottom we all grabbed a "Doner Fladenbrot" which is mystery meats all packed together on a spit that they carve into a pita-style sandwich with salad, onions, and a ranch-ish dressing. Delicious! We hopped back on the ferry and arrived in Mainz around 6.
If there's one thing we've about travel it's that the best way to travel is to be helpless, confused-looking tourists. We got a woman to help us buy our bus passes in Mainz about 13 seconds before the bus came that took us about 20 mins outside of the downtown area where we checked into our hostel for the night. It was in a really nice area with a huge adjoining park that we ate a grocery store dinner in and played some futbol.
Friday we took it easy in Mainz. We went for a short hike at the end of one of the bus lines. Our hotel was right on the Rhine and so we went for an evening run along the river and watched the World Cup games.
It was a relatively long train ride to get to Plzen, transferring in Frankfurt and Nuremburg. We walked into town and met Ondrej, our couchsurfing host. He took us on a quick walking tour of the town and then to an authentic Czech restaurant and pub for dinner consisting mostly of meat in a gravy-type sauce and dumplings. We watched the USA-England game (we'll consider a tie a victory!) and drank Pilsner Urquell.
This morning Ondrej mad us delicious pancakes and now we are on to Prague!
Happy Trails!
Noah and Julie
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Paris and Brussels
Hello there!
What a journey it has been so far. Mike, Noah, and I started in Philadelphia at 6PM on June 1st, each with one backpack, nearly a week ago even though it feels like longer. We departed at 6PM and had a pleasant plane ride and arrived in Paris at 8AM Paris time (2AM EST!). After some confusion we found Nik and headed out into Paris. Our first destination was Notre Dame where we climbed a buuunch of stairs (backpacks included) and saw a good view of the city, gargoyles, and a hobbit's entry to a big bell which Mike and Noah reached over the barrier and touched (tsk tsk). We then headed over to the famous Louvre, complete with the pyramid and Mona Lisa. Luckily they made us check our backpacks so we could enjoy it more. We had very in depth but pretty wrong analyses of the some of the paintings.
After that we somehow managed to find Romain, our host in Paris. We enjoyed French wine and pizza hut with him and had some good conversation. Despite our complete lack of sleep we stayed up late talking for quite a while.
The next day was our second in Paris: complete with getting lost on a run, the Eiffel Tower (exterior only), and a pleasant picnic with brie, baguette, and more delicious French wine.
We missed our train to Brussels (oops) but by some insane stroke of luck our train had been canceled so we got on the next train. We met up with Emily Miller, a Beloit College alum who we happened to meet on couchsurfing.org, and went out for some quality brews. The beer here is ridiculous, so many kinds and a lot with interesting stories. Noah had a lambeck (Cantillion) that we all tried that is the only of its kind. The yeast grows exclusively in the walls of the brewery in Brussels and apparently takes two years to make. Also tasted delicious.
The next day we ventured out into Brussels, first hitting up the music museum. They give you headphones and when you walk close to an instrument, you hear music from that instrument or group of instruments. I had no idea that many types of instruments even existed! We also got to play with an organ and a music machine. The trip was followed by some delicious Belgian chocolate and an excellent dinner.
That night, we went out and met a lot of Emily's friends. We drank some good (and not so good) beers on the Gran plaz (spelling?) which is said to be the most beautiful square in the world. We also ended up at a kareoke bar that wasn't really kareoke, rather, a guy singing American songs, and a different bar where I got a drink out of a crâne (skull in French) (?!)
The following day Emily's friend Sarah was nice enough to let us tag along on their trip to her home in Flanders (Blaasveld) with Eleri, Emily's Welsch friend. We had a lovely day swimming in a lake close to her house and then barbequeing in Sarah's backyard with her family. They were exceedingly welcoming and we had a great time.
And finally, today! The guys and I split up. I went to Knokke, a seaside town on the north coast on Belgium on the North Sea with Emily and friends. The day started out not looking too promising, but it eventually cleared up and we had the beach to ourselves. I had a really good time with these girls who I felt like were good friends even though I just me them! The guys stuck around Brussels and maybe one of them will finally make a post so they can tell you about it.
So so far? A dynamic and interesting trip. We're on to Brugge tomorrow, a small town in Belgium and after that Amsterdaam!
Peace,
Julie
What a journey it has been so far. Mike, Noah, and I started in Philadelphia at 6PM on June 1st, each with one backpack, nearly a week ago even though it feels like longer. We departed at 6PM and had a pleasant plane ride and arrived in Paris at 8AM Paris time (2AM EST!). After some confusion we found Nik and headed out into Paris. Our first destination was Notre Dame where we climbed a buuunch of stairs (backpacks included) and saw a good view of the city, gargoyles, and a hobbit's entry to a big bell which Mike and Noah reached over the barrier and touched (tsk tsk). We then headed over to the famous Louvre, complete with the pyramid and Mona Lisa. Luckily they made us check our backpacks so we could enjoy it more. We had very in depth but pretty wrong analyses of the some of the paintings.
After that we somehow managed to find Romain, our host in Paris. We enjoyed French wine and pizza hut with him and had some good conversation. Despite our complete lack of sleep we stayed up late talking for quite a while.
The next day was our second in Paris: complete with getting lost on a run, the Eiffel Tower (exterior only), and a pleasant picnic with brie, baguette, and more delicious French wine.
We missed our train to Brussels (oops) but by some insane stroke of luck our train had been canceled so we got on the next train. We met up with Emily Miller, a Beloit College alum who we happened to meet on couchsurfing.org, and went out for some quality brews. The beer here is ridiculous, so many kinds and a lot with interesting stories. Noah had a lambeck (Cantillion) that we all tried that is the only of its kind. The yeast grows exclusively in the walls of the brewery in Brussels and apparently takes two years to make. Also tasted delicious.
The next day we ventured out into Brussels, first hitting up the music museum. They give you headphones and when you walk close to an instrument, you hear music from that instrument or group of instruments. I had no idea that many types of instruments even existed! We also got to play with an organ and a music machine. The trip was followed by some delicious Belgian chocolate and an excellent dinner.
That night, we went out and met a lot of Emily's friends. We drank some good (and not so good) beers on the Gran plaz (spelling?) which is said to be the most beautiful square in the world. We also ended up at a kareoke bar that wasn't really kareoke, rather, a guy singing American songs, and a different bar where I got a drink out of a crâne (skull in French) (?!)
The following day Emily's friend Sarah was nice enough to let us tag along on their trip to her home in Flanders (Blaasveld) with Eleri, Emily's Welsch friend. We had a lovely day swimming in a lake close to her house and then barbequeing in Sarah's backyard with her family. They were exceedingly welcoming and we had a great time.
And finally, today! The guys and I split up. I went to Knokke, a seaside town on the north coast on Belgium on the North Sea with Emily and friends. The day started out not looking too promising, but it eventually cleared up and we had the beach to ourselves. I had a really good time with these girls who I felt like were good friends even though I just me them! The guys stuck around Brussels and maybe one of them will finally make a post so they can tell you about it.
So so far? A dynamic and interesting trip. We're on to Brugge tomorrow, a small town in Belgium and after that Amsterdaam!
Peace,
Julie
Monday, May 31, 2010
Leaving tomorrow!
Hello friends and family!
For those friends of Noah, Nik, and Mike who don't know me, I'm Julie, and I will be joining said three recent graduates (I'm a recent graduate too) for a post-college Eurotrip beginning tomorrow! Preparations are almost done (if my clothes will ever dry in my dryer) and Mike, Noah and I will leave Philadelphia at 6PM for Paris while Nik will meet us there. We'll be staying in "La Ville-Lumière" ("The City of Light") with a friend of a friend, Romain, for a night before departing for Brussels, Belgium. I sense some serious screw up of Circadian Rhythms but it should be fun none the less.
Throughout the trip, we'll be staying in hostals and on people's couches who have generously offered them through Couchsurfing.org. It should be an exciting adventure: stay tuned!
For those friends of Noah, Nik, and Mike who don't know me, I'm Julie, and I will be joining said three recent graduates (I'm a recent graduate too) for a post-college Eurotrip beginning tomorrow! Preparations are almost done (if my clothes will ever dry in my dryer) and Mike, Noah and I will leave Philadelphia at 6PM for Paris while Nik will meet us there. We'll be staying in "La Ville-Lumière" ("The City of Light") with a friend of a friend, Romain, for a night before departing for Brussels, Belgium. I sense some serious screw up of Circadian Rhythms but it should be fun none the less.
Throughout the trip, we'll be staying in hostals and on people's couches who have generously offered them through Couchsurfing.org. It should be an exciting adventure: stay tuned!
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