Fall Break Europ Tour 2
2006-10-30
Fall Break!
I did not relax on a beach like several of my friends studying abroad in Florence. I went on a 10-day tour of 8 countries (10 by default) and had the time of my life seeing places and experiencing things I will probably never see or experience again. I backpacked across Europe by train and although I was half-alive most of the time, I loved every minute of it!
Zena and I bought a couple cheap backpacking backpacks near the train station for 4 euros. We should have gotten some of better quality because they fell apart right after we started using them. Backpacking is painful. Right when we got to a new place we would check into the hostel to drop off our bag and if we only had a day we would check our bags into the train station. Some of the hostels were sketch, but we survived. It was so much fun riding the eurail around Europe and the last ten days I will remember for the rest of my life.
My travel partners were Zena, Mckenzie, Ashley, Kate from Boston and Katie from South Carolina. At first I was not sure how it would work out with 6 travelers as opposed to the usual 4, but I am now very thankful that Kate and Katie came along. There is safety in numbers and it is always more fun to add people when traveling.
My high school friend Sam Selby saved my life when he passed on a Europe book to me before I left for Italy. I took it everywhere with me. No one else seemed to care what we were seeing so I was the tour guide and planner for the duration of our excursion. If it had not been for the maps of the major cities in Europe and the background information of the main sights to see, we would have been lost. Thank the Lord for travel guides, even if they are awful to lug around.
Cologne, Germany
We started our trip off flying to Frankfurt, Germany out of Pisa early Friday Morning on Ryanair. Our backpacks were so large that we had to check them in. Mine weighed a little over 10 kg! After arriving in Frankfurt we caught a bus to Cologne. The view all along the way was gorgeous and we were extremely excited about starting our break. By the time we got to Cologne and checked into our hostel it was supper-time. Ashley studied in Germany for 6 weeks during the summer so she helped us get around the city by the U-bahn and translate if it was needed.
We were exhausted from traveling so we scoped out a Hard Rock Cafe to kick off our trip. It was like having a taste of home and we stayed there for a long time enjoying the almost-American atmosphere. Afterwards we walked around Cologne to see the Cathedral, shopping street, Rhine river and everything else at night. The people were friendly and the city was gorgeous.
We woke up to have breakfast at our hostel and run around Cologne to see everything during the day. Katies little sister is dating a boy who was an exchange student in her hometown last year. His name is Johannes and he is now back home in Germany and came to meet us to show us around. We went inside the Cologne Cathedral first. It holds the relics of the Three Kings. It is the most glorious chapel in Germany. After the Chapel we visited the Lindt chocolate museum on the Rhine River. It was interesting and I was in heaven except for the fact they only gave out a couple samples. We grabbed our bags in the train station and said good-bye to Johannes after grabbing lunch (pretzel and strudel-it is Germany.) We then hopped on the train to Brussels, Belgium.
Brussels, Belgium
Brussels was my favorite place of everything we saw during our excursion. We did not arrive until nightfall and Katie and Kate were in another hostel so we split up and then met at the Grand Place
a little later. We constantly were taking the metro in Brussels, especially because the train station where we went for international trains was outside of the city. When we first got to Brussels we were very confused and I had to figure it out.
We were starving while we waited for them to check in so Zena and I splilt a Belgium waffle. It was amazing!!! I had never had anything so good! We hung out and watched some Native Americans put on a show (Europeans seem to like them) and looked at the Hotel de Ville and the guild houses of the Grand Place.
The atmosphere was always very cheerful and the locals strolled around speaking in French. There was an entire street of Kebab places behind the Hotel de Ville that we ate at. We tried Belgian beer and I had falafel for the first time. We walked around for awhile and even went to a random Irish Discoteque for the fun of it. At one point Zena laid down beside a few people looking at the stars and they ended up being Americans. It was so beautiful at night.
When we returned to our hostel we ran into a few people who go to FUA with us. We tried to meet up with them in Amsterdam, but it never worked out. Oh well. The next morning we met Kate and Katie at the train station to drop off our bags and headed off to see Brussels during the day. First we went back to the Grand Place. The Hotel de Ville is their town hall. It was completed in 1459 and is surrounded by other buildings that have been built over the years by different guilds (bakers, painters, etc.) Near the Hotel de Ville is a statue that you are supposed to touch in four places in a certain order to return to Brussels. Of course we all did it!
We grabbed Belgian waffles on our way to see the Manneken Pis. This bronze statue was completed in 1619 and according to legend a dukes son was caught peeing during a battle so the statue was made to symbolize military courage. Whatever. We went in the museum of the Hotel de Ville and there were over 400 costumes made for the statue.
We saw the Place du Grand Sablon after we had purchased Belgian chocolate near the Makkeken Pis.
Lots of chocolate. This area separates the two halves of Brussels...the upper and lower towns. It is called "sablon" (means sand in French) because the old route down to the city center once passed through sandy marshes. The gorgous Notre-Dame du Sablon church stands in the center.
We saw the Royal Palace, Department of Justice and the skyline of Brussels. In 1958 Andre Waterkeyn designed an atom of iron magnified 165 billion times for the Worlds Fair called the Atomium
(over to the right) and we could see it from the skyline. There is an amusement park around it now. We quickly saw the parliament quarter where the European Parliament is headquartered and reluctantly caught the metro to head back to the train station so we could get to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The Crest of Amsterdam. It is a coincidence that it is XXX
Our hostel was near the train station. It was also in the Red Light District where prostitution, sex shows and anything else you can imagine is located. This is the oldest part of the city. The hostel was sketch, but a fun experience. As we entered you could smell the pot and we were in a 15-bed room. It just made you laugh. We were starving so we grabbed some Chinese and then walked around in the Red Light District. It was depressing. There were women working in pink lit-up windows selling their bodies to men. We watched as men would gaze at them and discuss one and then go up to discuss prices. Callers kept on trying to get us to go watch sex shows. It was all very interesting to see and eye-opening as to what is in our world. There are coffeeshops everywhere that are really just to sell joints, etc.
In their law selling any drugs is illegal, but their thinking is that as long as it is not advertised and it is safely done, people can do whatever they want. Oh, and there is a church in the middle of the district. It was pouring rain and Katie had her butt slapped so we headed back to our fun-filled hostel drenched.
We checked out early, I ate a piece of cake for breakfast (I constantly ate chocolate from Belgium during the trip) and quickly met for a free tour of Amsterdam. The guide reminded Zena and I of Michael Martin, a friend back home. He was lively and showed us Chinatown, the Tower of Tears where women waved good-bye to their sailor-husbands, the Jewish Quarter where Renoir lived, the smallest house in Amsterdam where ironically tall Dutchman live and much more. We also saw Begijnhof where women since 1346 do not name the monastic oath but have lived as nuns. There is a legend in Amsterdam centered around a piece of bread that was consecrated as holy because it would not burn.
(Commemoration to the bread.) Then is was stolen by a theif and thrown into the water, but there is still a religious procession to where the bread once laid.
After our tour we ended up at the Anne Frank House. It was a very powerful experience and it was strange to think that it was where the young girl had actually lived and that her fate had been death in a concentration camp. It was marvelous seeing her actual diary. I was reluctant to leave Amsterdam because of the beautiful canals and architecture. There are two sides to Amsterdam...the touristy and the place where people live. The difference is startling and I wish we had had more time to explore the latter.
Copenhagen, Denmark
We were in Copenhagen the longest of any other places. We took an overnight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen without beds. People left so that Zena, Ashley, McKenzie and I finally had entire seats to stretch out and sleep so we slept a lot. Poor Katie and Kate hardly slept at all. When we got there everyone was tired so I went off by myself to explore Copenhagen. I saw the ornate Old Stock Exchange.I took pictures of the town hall, the Radhuset, which has the oldest world clock in the world. I then went through the Christiansborg Palace where the Danish Parliament still works and to the Rosenborg Slot where Christian IV built a summer residence in 1607. I went inside the palace and was pleasantly surpised. There was a room of pure gold, frescoes from floor to ceiling, a throne room, mirror room and a room with Danish porcelain from floor to ceiling. I also saw the crowned jewels of Denmark. The Castle had a moat, drawbridge and guards with a gorgeous garden behind it. It was nice getting out on my own.
I finally met Zena, McKenzie, Ashley and a girl from NYC named Jane. We walked around on the Storget, the longest podestrian walkway in the world made up of five roads. We then decided to go to Sweden for supper. After Katie and Kate were ready we went on the Oresund Link to Malmo, Sweden. Denmark and Sweden has always been feuding and this bridge between the two cities over the water in 2000 was a big step. It is the strngest cable stay bridge in the world. We took pictures in Malmo and walked around until we found a Burger King where we had dinner.
Our hostel was more expensive, but the view from the 11th floor was worth it. Copenhagen had the most bikes of any other place we went to. There would be many more bikes than cars at any given stop light. Copenhagen is famous for the Tivoli Gardens, a sort of amusement park.
Katie and I went to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum while everyone else walked around. The art museum was huge and had a showcase of impressionist masters paining women. I enjoyed the Danish artwork and statues as well as the Egyptian mummies. We met up after the museum and we all walked to the Little Mermaid on the outskirts of the city. We passed by the modern Opera House on the other side of the Danube before finding the Little Mermaid. Hans Christian Anderson was from Copenhagen and this statue was unveiled in 1913 and is still beautiful today.
Munich, Germany
We had an overnight from Copenhagen across Germany to Munich. We hardly even saw Germany. Instead we saw the Schloss Nymphenburg, or the Disney Palace. This castle, built by a lunatic King Ludwig in 1664 in the Bavarian countryside is modeled after by Cinderellas Castle in the Magic Kingdom. t was a 2-hour train ride away from Munich, but it was totally worth it. It was in a beautiful location and the inside was even more beautiful. Apparently the King was obsessed with the operas of Richard Wagner and each room had a different romance. He was psycho though...he had a manmade cave on the second floor and a room with over 1000 swans hidden in the paintings. He died before it was complete, but his wood bed was the most intricate piece of furniture I have ever seen.
We did not get back from the castle until about 6:30 and so we had to tour Munich at night. The Neues Rathous (New town hall) had a rotating cuckoo clock-like portion that works at certain hours of the day.We then went to the oldest and largest beer hall in Munich, the home of Oktoberfest. There was a folk band playing and we were the only group of girls in the entire place. Of course we had to order 3 beers for the table
We walked back through the Marienplatz, the old corn and salt market, took pictures by the lions all over the square and after we all registered for class we went to bed like good girls. I think that is one of the favorite hostels I have stayed in so far...it is rated as one of the top ones in the world. Our hostel in Copenhagen was the largest hostel in the world.
Vienna, Austria
We were in Vienna even more briefly than Munich. The train ride took 4 hours (we went by Salzburg where the Sound of Music was filmed) and it was already getting dark by the time we got there.
We checked into our two different hostels and quickly walked to the Schonbrunn Palace of the Hofburgs. It was their summer palace from 1695 and is colored yellow on the outside.
Schonbrunn means "beautiful spring" and it was named that for the beautiful gardens that surround it. The castle was filled with beautiful portraits of queens and princesses and we were given audio guides as we went through the rooms.
The most celebrated patron is Empress Elisabeth who is called Sisi. She was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time (she was also very vain) and she was apparently very independent as she was never home. The rooms were magnificent and this palace is a must-see for anyone who travels to Vienna.
We then walked around Vienna as it turned dark. We took pictures by the beautiful cathedral. There were many people inside the chapel praying and lighting candles for their loved ones. I knew my grandfather who recently passed away had been there before so the reverent chapel really moved me. We then went to see The Devil Wears Prada-in English. We had assigned seats for the movie, but it was nice to take a breather from our (my) constant planning and our traveling. We went to bed very happy.
Budapest, Hungary
We got up very early to take a train to Budapest, but it ended up that this particular train left out of a different train station so we sat around the station for over an hour half-asleep. Budapest was interesting and we were only there for 6 hours. There are two parts to the city-Buda and Pest. Our train brought us to Pest. In Buda lies the Royal Palace and the great cathedral (Matyas Church.) We walked to the parliament building, which is the largest building in Hungary and were creeped out by the guards. The view across the river from Pest to Buda was beautiful. The Royal Palace and Church are up on a hill and the weather was perfect.
We were far from the train station so we decided to take the subway. Not a good idea. We bought a one-trip ticket and were stopped by the police (we are guessing) as we got on our second subway. Apparently you need a two-trip ticket or something, but how were we to know. Instead of a warning and politeness they were very rude and gave everyone 10 euro tickets. So much for Budapest. It was hard to argue when you know how dangerous of a country it is right now. McKenzie and I were not with the other four because we had sensed what was going on and run away. At least the girls will get some money back when we pay our 10 euros!
We literally ran onto our overnight into Venice. Zenas poor backpack completely broke and she ended up having to carry it like Santa Claus. I have no idea why hers ended in worse repair than mine since we have the same one. That overnight was awful. We had a 6-bed couchette, but it was small and ghetto. In addition, we passed through Croatia and Slovenia before entering Italy so we were woken up 3 different times to show them our passports. At least we now have two additional countries to add to our list bringing our grand total to 10 countries in 10 days. We have the stamps to prove it.
Half asleep we tried to figure out to get home to Florence. We took a train to Bologna and then transferred to get back to Florence. Kate separated from us to meet her boyfriend elsewhere in Italy. It was awful walking all the way home from the train station. I have 6 flights of stairs to get to my apartment on top of that. Zena and I started to watch a movie but we both gave up and took naps. The rest of the day we washed clothes, bought groceries for the week and cooked a healthy meal (for once.) I have not eaten as much chocolate in all my life as I ate this past week. I am glad to be back, feel too tired for school, but I am ready to have a routine. I had the best and most tiring week of my life this past 10 days, but I am glad it is over and I am back in Florence.
Now I have to plan a trip for Amber and I for the Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompeii this next weekend...
Fall Break!
I did not relax on a beach like several of my friends studying abroad in Florence. I went on a 10-day tour of 8 countries (10 by default) and had the time of my life seeing places and experiencing things I will probably never see or experience again. I backpacked across Europe by train and although I was half-alive most of the time, I loved every minute of it!
Zena and I bought a couple cheap backpacking backpacks near the train station for 4 euros. We should have gotten some of better quality because they fell apart right after we started using them. Backpacking is painful. Right when we got to a new place we would check into the hostel to drop off our bag and if we only had a day we would check our bags into the train station. Some of the hostels were sketch, but we survived. It was so much fun riding the eurail around Europe and the last ten days I will remember for the rest of my life.
My travel partners were Zena, Mckenzie, Ashley, Kate from Boston and Katie from South Carolina. At first I was not sure how it would work out with 6 travelers as opposed to the usual 4, but I am now very thankful that Kate and Katie came along. There is safety in numbers and it is always more fun to add people when traveling.
My high school friend Sam Selby saved my life when he passed on a Europe book to me before I left for Italy. I took it everywhere with me. No one else seemed to care what we were seeing so I was the tour guide and planner for the duration of our excursion. If it had not been for the maps of the major cities in Europe and the background information of the main sights to see, we would have been lost. Thank the Lord for travel guides, even if they are awful to lug around.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things can not be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. -Mark Twain in The Innocents Abroad
Cologne, Germany
We started our trip off flying to Frankfurt, Germany out of Pisa early Friday Morning on Ryanair. Our backpacks were so large that we had to check them in. Mine weighed a little over 10 kg! After arriving in Frankfurt we caught a bus to Cologne. The view all along the way was gorgeous and we were extremely excited about starting our break. By the time we got to Cologne and checked into our hostel it was supper-time. Ashley studied in Germany for 6 weeks during the summer so she helped us get around the city by the U-bahn and translate if it was needed.
We were exhausted from traveling so we scoped out a Hard Rock Cafe to kick off our trip. It was like having a taste of home and we stayed there for a long time enjoying the almost-American atmosphere. Afterwards we walked around Cologne to see the Cathedral, shopping street, Rhine river and everything else at night. The people were friendly and the city was gorgeous.
We woke up to have breakfast at our hostel and run around Cologne to see everything during the day. Katies little sister is dating a boy who was an exchange student in her hometown last year. His name is Johannes and he is now back home in Germany and came to meet us to show us around. We went inside the Cologne Cathedral first. It holds the relics of the Three Kings. It is the most glorious chapel in Germany. After the Chapel we visited the Lindt chocolate museum on the Rhine River. It was interesting and I was in heaven except for the fact they only gave out a couple samples. We grabbed our bags in the train station and said good-bye to Johannes after grabbing lunch (pretzel and strudel-it is Germany.) We then hopped on the train to Brussels, Belgium.
Brussels, Belgium
Brussels was my favorite place of everything we saw during our excursion. We did not arrive until nightfall and Katie and Kate were in another hostel so we split up and then met at the Grand Place
a little later. We constantly were taking the metro in Brussels, especially because the train station where we went for international trains was outside of the city. When we first got to Brussels we were very confused and I had to figure it out.
We were starving while we waited for them to check in so Zena and I splilt a Belgium waffle. It was amazing!!! I had never had anything so good! We hung out and watched some Native Americans put on a show (Europeans seem to like them) and looked at the Hotel de Ville and the guild houses of the Grand Place.
The atmosphere was always very cheerful and the locals strolled around speaking in French. There was an entire street of Kebab places behind the Hotel de Ville that we ate at. We tried Belgian beer and I had falafel for the first time. We walked around for awhile and even went to a random Irish Discoteque for the fun of it. At one point Zena laid down beside a few people looking at the stars and they ended up being Americans. It was so beautiful at night.
When we returned to our hostel we ran into a few people who go to FUA with us. We tried to meet up with them in Amsterdam, but it never worked out. Oh well. The next morning we met Kate and Katie at the train station to drop off our bags and headed off to see Brussels during the day. First we went back to the Grand Place. The Hotel de Ville is their town hall. It was completed in 1459 and is surrounded by other buildings that have been built over the years by different guilds (bakers, painters, etc.) Near the Hotel de Ville is a statue that you are supposed to touch in four places in a certain order to return to Brussels. Of course we all did it!
We grabbed Belgian waffles on our way to see the Manneken Pis. This bronze statue was completed in 1619 and according to legend a dukes son was caught peeing during a battle so the statue was made to symbolize military courage. Whatever. We went in the museum of the Hotel de Ville and there were over 400 costumes made for the statue.
We saw the Place du Grand Sablon after we had purchased Belgian chocolate near the Makkeken Pis.
Lots of chocolate. This area separates the two halves of Brussels...the upper and lower towns. It is called "sablon" (means sand in French) because the old route down to the city center once passed through sandy marshes. The gorgous Notre-Dame du Sablon church stands in the center.
We saw the Royal Palace, Department of Justice and the skyline of Brussels. In 1958 Andre Waterkeyn designed an atom of iron magnified 165 billion times for the Worlds Fair called the Atomium
(over to the right) and we could see it from the skyline. There is an amusement park around it now. We quickly saw the parliament quarter where the European Parliament is headquartered and reluctantly caught the metro to head back to the train station so we could get to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The Crest of Amsterdam. It is a coincidence that it is XXX
Our hostel was near the train station. It was also in the Red Light District where prostitution, sex shows and anything else you can imagine is located. This is the oldest part of the city. The hostel was sketch, but a fun experience. As we entered you could smell the pot and we were in a 15-bed room. It just made you laugh. We were starving so we grabbed some Chinese and then walked around in the Red Light District. It was depressing. There were women working in pink lit-up windows selling their bodies to men. We watched as men would gaze at them and discuss one and then go up to discuss prices. Callers kept on trying to get us to go watch sex shows. It was all very interesting to see and eye-opening as to what is in our world. There are coffeeshops everywhere that are really just to sell joints, etc.
In their law selling any drugs is illegal, but their thinking is that as long as it is not advertised and it is safely done, people can do whatever they want. Oh, and there is a church in the middle of the district. It was pouring rain and Katie had her butt slapped so we headed back to our fun-filled hostel drenched.
We checked out early, I ate a piece of cake for breakfast (I constantly ate chocolate from Belgium during the trip) and quickly met for a free tour of Amsterdam. The guide reminded Zena and I of Michael Martin, a friend back home. He was lively and showed us Chinatown, the Tower of Tears where women waved good-bye to their sailor-husbands, the Jewish Quarter where Renoir lived, the smallest house in Amsterdam where ironically tall Dutchman live and much more. We also saw Begijnhof where women since 1346 do not name the monastic oath but have lived as nuns. There is a legend in Amsterdam centered around a piece of bread that was consecrated as holy because it would not burn.
(Commemoration to the bread.) Then is was stolen by a theif and thrown into the water, but there is still a religious procession to where the bread once laid.
After our tour we ended up at the Anne Frank House. It was a very powerful experience and it was strange to think that it was where the young girl had actually lived and that her fate had been death in a concentration camp. It was marvelous seeing her actual diary. I was reluctant to leave Amsterdam because of the beautiful canals and architecture. There are two sides to Amsterdam...the touristy and the place where people live. The difference is startling and I wish we had had more time to explore the latter.
Copenhagen, Denmark
We were in Copenhagen the longest of any other places. We took an overnight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen without beds. People left so that Zena, Ashley, McKenzie and I finally had entire seats to stretch out and sleep so we slept a lot. Poor Katie and Kate hardly slept at all. When we got there everyone was tired so I went off by myself to explore Copenhagen. I saw the ornate Old Stock Exchange.I took pictures of the town hall, the Radhuset, which has the oldest world clock in the world. I then went through the Christiansborg Palace where the Danish Parliament still works and to the Rosenborg Slot where Christian IV built a summer residence in 1607. I went inside the palace and was pleasantly surpised. There was a room of pure gold, frescoes from floor to ceiling, a throne room, mirror room and a room with Danish porcelain from floor to ceiling. I also saw the crowned jewels of Denmark. The Castle had a moat, drawbridge and guards with a gorgeous garden behind it. It was nice getting out on my own.
I finally met Zena, McKenzie, Ashley and a girl from NYC named Jane. We walked around on the Storget, the longest podestrian walkway in the world made up of five roads. We then decided to go to Sweden for supper. After Katie and Kate were ready we went on the Oresund Link to Malmo, Sweden. Denmark and Sweden has always been feuding and this bridge between the two cities over the water in 2000 was a big step. It is the strngest cable stay bridge in the world. We took pictures in Malmo and walked around until we found a Burger King where we had dinner.
Our hostel was more expensive, but the view from the 11th floor was worth it. Copenhagen had the most bikes of any other place we went to. There would be many more bikes than cars at any given stop light. Copenhagen is famous for the Tivoli Gardens, a sort of amusement park.
Katie and I went to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum while everyone else walked around. The art museum was huge and had a showcase of impressionist masters paining women. I enjoyed the Danish artwork and statues as well as the Egyptian mummies. We met up after the museum and we all walked to the Little Mermaid on the outskirts of the city. We passed by the modern Opera House on the other side of the Danube before finding the Little Mermaid. Hans Christian Anderson was from Copenhagen and this statue was unveiled in 1913 and is still beautiful today.
Munich, Germany
We had an overnight from Copenhagen across Germany to Munich. We hardly even saw Germany. Instead we saw the Schloss Nymphenburg, or the Disney Palace. This castle, built by a lunatic King Ludwig in 1664 in the Bavarian countryside is modeled after by Cinderellas Castle in the Magic Kingdom. t was a 2-hour train ride away from Munich, but it was totally worth it. It was in a beautiful location and the inside was even more beautiful. Apparently the King was obsessed with the operas of Richard Wagner and each room had a different romance. He was psycho though...he had a manmade cave on the second floor and a room with over 1000 swans hidden in the paintings. He died before it was complete, but his wood bed was the most intricate piece of furniture I have ever seen.
We did not get back from the castle until about 6:30 and so we had to tour Munich at night. The Neues Rathous (New town hall) had a rotating cuckoo clock-like portion that works at certain hours of the day.We then went to the oldest and largest beer hall in Munich, the home of Oktoberfest. There was a folk band playing and we were the only group of girls in the entire place. Of course we had to order 3 beers for the table
We walked back through the Marienplatz, the old corn and salt market, took pictures by the lions all over the square and after we all registered for class we went to bed like good girls. I think that is one of the favorite hostels I have stayed in so far...it is rated as one of the top ones in the world. Our hostel in Copenhagen was the largest hostel in the world.
Vienna, Austria
We were in Vienna even more briefly than Munich. The train ride took 4 hours (we went by Salzburg where the Sound of Music was filmed) and it was already getting dark by the time we got there.
We checked into our two different hostels and quickly walked to the Schonbrunn Palace of the Hofburgs. It was their summer palace from 1695 and is colored yellow on the outside.
Schonbrunn means "beautiful spring" and it was named that for the beautiful gardens that surround it. The castle was filled with beautiful portraits of queens and princesses and we were given audio guides as we went through the rooms.
The most celebrated patron is Empress Elisabeth who is called Sisi. She was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time (she was also very vain) and she was apparently very independent as she was never home. The rooms were magnificent and this palace is a must-see for anyone who travels to Vienna.
We then walked around Vienna as it turned dark. We took pictures by the beautiful cathedral. There were many people inside the chapel praying and lighting candles for their loved ones. I knew my grandfather who recently passed away had been there before so the reverent chapel really moved me. We then went to see The Devil Wears Prada-in English. We had assigned seats for the movie, but it was nice to take a breather from our (my) constant planning and our traveling. We went to bed very happy.
Budapest, Hungary
We got up very early to take a train to Budapest, but it ended up that this particular train left out of a different train station so we sat around the station for over an hour half-asleep. Budapest was interesting and we were only there for 6 hours. There are two parts to the city-Buda and Pest. Our train brought us to Pest. In Buda lies the Royal Palace and the great cathedral (Matyas Church.) We walked to the parliament building, which is the largest building in Hungary and were creeped out by the guards. The view across the river from Pest to Buda was beautiful. The Royal Palace and Church are up on a hill and the weather was perfect.
We were far from the train station so we decided to take the subway. Not a good idea. We bought a one-trip ticket and were stopped by the police (we are guessing) as we got on our second subway. Apparently you need a two-trip ticket or something, but how were we to know. Instead of a warning and politeness they were very rude and gave everyone 10 euro tickets. So much for Budapest. It was hard to argue when you know how dangerous of a country it is right now. McKenzie and I were not with the other four because we had sensed what was going on and run away. At least the girls will get some money back when we pay our 10 euros!
We literally ran onto our overnight into Venice. Zenas poor backpack completely broke and she ended up having to carry it like Santa Claus. I have no idea why hers ended in worse repair than mine since we have the same one. That overnight was awful. We had a 6-bed couchette, but it was small and ghetto. In addition, we passed through Croatia and Slovenia before entering Italy so we were woken up 3 different times to show them our passports. At least we now have two additional countries to add to our list bringing our grand total to 10 countries in 10 days. We have the stamps to prove it.
Half asleep we tried to figure out to get home to Florence. We took a train to Bologna and then transferred to get back to Florence. Kate separated from us to meet her boyfriend elsewhere in Italy. It was awful walking all the way home from the train station. I have 6 flights of stairs to get to my apartment on top of that. Zena and I started to watch a movie but we both gave up and took naps. The rest of the day we washed clothes, bought groceries for the week and cooked a healthy meal (for once.) I have not eaten as much chocolate in all my life as I ate this past week. I am glad to be back, feel too tired for school, but I am ready to have a routine. I had the best and most tiring week of my life this past 10 days, but I am glad it is over and I am back in Florence.
Now I have to plan a trip for Amber and I for the Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompeii this next weekend...
Labels: fall break
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