The End . . . of This Adventure - 9/25/2010

Had a 4-hour layover in Dulles and we briefly toyed with the idea of dashing out to Georgetown and having dinner at one of our favorite Indian restaurants, but given that we'd be dealing with Friday DC traffic,  the 93-degree and muggy temps , and the fact that I was battling a cold I had picked up in Frankfurt (hey, at least it was at the end of the trip), we decided that it would be best to sit tight and, because there is really nothing to do at Dulles, take a stab at going through our work e-mails.  It wasn't so bad.  I was able to reduce the 300 e-mails to about 120 and, in reading most of the remaining ones, confirmed that nothing dire required my attention and that I am, indeed, expendable.  I've been looking forward to coming home, but I have to admit, while sitting in Dulles and hearing all of the international departures to places we've returned from and to places we have yet to go, I was a little envious of those just beginning their adventures while we were ending ours.

Six-hour flight home after a one hour delay made our long travel day even longer, but our wonderful friends, Casey and Alison picked us up at the airport and drove us home.  Thank you , thank you, thank you.  Also, if I hadn't mentioned it before, thank you Matt for taking us to the airport almost three weeks ago, these two were the easiest connections of the whole trip.

Today we are settling in, unpacking, doing laundry updating our finances (looks like I have enough leftover vacation funds for that Nespresso Machine :-)), weighing ourselves (as suspected, no weight gain!), going through snail mail, and picking up groceries.  Rick needs to get his fix of college football.  For me, I think I'll start planning our next trip.  Hello Scotland . . .

Signing off for now. Though the primary goal of the blog is to create a trip diary for us (which I normally do in pen and ink), I do hope you found it a little entertaining.  Thanks for reading and the feedback, verbal or electronic.  It was fun to have you join us on the trip.  Until the next adventure, cheers to all.

Jennifer and Rick

Round up of Random Thoughts- 9/24/2010

Sitting on an 8-hour flight from Frankfurt to Dulles, so I thought I'd put down some random thoughts and opinions from the trip.

- Getting out of people's way, (I mean pedestrian-wise) seems to be somewhat exaggerated in American culture. We see someone coming our way and we scoot out of the way a dozen or more feet before we cross paths. Here, they usually wait until what seems to be the last minute before moving out of the way. From the American perspective, it feels aggressive and like a constant game of chicken, when, in fact, I think, it is just a necessity born out of how much tighter the streets and sidewalks are, and how much crazier the drivers are.

- The ground level of a building in Germany is often called 0 not 1.

- If you can't turn the lights on in your hotel room, insert your key card in the main switch when entering the room

- Though I was once mistaken for being French in Prague (I tell you it's the scarves), the German are indeed my people. Typically tall and a little gangly. I know for certain where my giraffe characteristics come from. Many times we were mistaken for being native Germans when we were in Germany. The fact that we both have quite a bit of German in us doesn't make that surprising. Perhaps being German is what drew me to study the German philosopher Immanuel Kant?

- Northern Europe is flat and green and there is a lot of agriculture.

- Germany has odd looking crows that are grey with black wings.

-Rick is a phenomenal travelling companion. He stays calm and patient in stressful situations such as being lost, less-than-self-evident public transit, and rather unhelpful service. He has soothed my frustrations and waited out my impatience and ensured that things worked out . . . and if they didn't that was OK too. I look forward to many more trips with him.

- City maps and small guidebooks are worth the money. The only thing I would do different next time is try to print up some information on the public transit in the cities that we would be visiting.

- Having an international cell phone, while not necessary, certainly would have made things a little easier, especially when making reservations or trying to obtain information.

- The purchase of this little Acer Netbook was a great investment for this trip. Can't imagine lugging my laptop all through Europe or trying to record my experiences at internet cafes.

- Make reservations when traveling by train.

- Black, white, grey, and beige with a splash of color here and there make for a great travelling wardrobe and minimizes the items that need to be packed.

- Clarks shoes are great for lengthy walkabouts.

- Next time, set aside money to have the hotel do critical laundry so that you can bring less and not spend precious time abroad washing your delicates . . . though I argue that doing laundry in Paris was still a cultural experience.

- I have no favorite or least favorite country.

- I would like to spend Christmas with Rick in Prague some year soon.

- The Eurrail Pass makes travelling easy, once you get on the train. Ninety-nine percent of the battle though is finding the right train and getting a seat and then finding the right seat. After that, traveling by train, particularly the ICE's, is great.

- It wasn't that much more for us to purchase a first class Eurrail pass and there are a few perks here and there so we'd probably do the same again. However, The different between first and second class on the trains is not as great as what you experience on the airplanes. if you need to sit in second class it is pretty darn comfortable. Much better than coach on a plane.

- In France, Belgium and, to some degree, in the Netherlands, people eat with their fork AND knives. Rarely do they cut their food with their fork.

- When you aren't sure what to do, just get out and walk. You'll ever know what you find in the cities of Europe, or USA for that matter.

- Let yourself take afternoon naps. They are rejuvenating and are the quickest way to get a second wind.

- We MUST get a Nespresso Machine, found all through Europe. These coffee machines make wonderful espressos and coffees with rich crema from coffee capsules. The cost around $200 - $400. These machines have spoiled me for life and it will be difficult to do Starbucks anymore. Thank goodness Portland has some decent coffee houses and Ristretto Coffee!

- After Rick caught me checking work e-mail early in the morning in our Paris Hotel, I promised to not check work e-mail and, though initially difficult, fulfilled that promise and do not regret it. As much as I dread seeing ALL the work e-mails, I now see the value in unplugging completely.

-Must travel like this again before another 20 years passes by. We are thinking perhaps every couple of years if we can afford it. The list of places to go includes Scotland (hopefully castle-hopping with our good friends Alison and Casey), Italy, Prague, Hungary, Istanbul, Croatia, Slovakia, Iceland, Patagonia, Brugge, and the French countryside. Any other suggestions?

-Quit being so damn afraid of being disoriented, confused, or lost. You might have to back track, take a later train, get into an argument with a cab driver who is trying to scam you, or concede to having to eat a third rate pizza in a second rate jazz bar in Prague. It is all part of the adventure and hey sometimes it is these "bad times" that make for the best stories.

Journeying Home - 9/23/2010

Hotel Savic - From where we begin our journey home

Out of the hotel at about 7:15 am, and despite the marathon trek last night for a restaurant that only periodically manifests itself in the physical realm, we felt up to hauling our luggage over the cobblestone streets to the train station. So we get there and see on the Departure screen our train number and destination but there is no platform where we were to load and it was about 20 minutes before the train was suppose to leave. Hmmmm, were we suppose to guess? Finally about 10 minutes before we were suppose to depart, the number 7 appeared, which, of course was the platforme the furthest away from where we are, so we all made a dash. I swear the Czech do some of this stuff just to amuse themselves with the frantic tourists. I got the same sense of this when I was trying to figure out how to say Thank you in Czech. I asked many people how to pronounce "Dekuji" and got all sorts of pronounciations so that everytime I pronounced the new version, the person to whom I'd be saying it would stare back at me blankly. I think it is a conspiracy among Czechs to have a little humour at the tourists' expense. Frankly, though, after seeing what they have to deal with in terms of the tourists, I can't blame them for this mildly sadistic method of amusiment, if it is in fact the case.

Yay!  Hear comes our seat!

Anyway, up to platform we go and now, being the savvy travellers that we are, we look for our car number, 27. So we trek on down, 24, 25, 26 . . . and it ends there. There are no more cars, no more numbers. Like the Wine Shop, we have phantom seats on a phantom car. ARE YOU SERIOUS? Rick, sensing an impending breakdown on my part asked that I watch the luggage and took off to find the conductor and ask what is going on with our tickets. As it turns out, they were planning on attaching another car and that they just hadn't gotten around to it yet. They finally did get around to attaching a car, car #27, and there, indeed, were our seats 63 and 65. So all-in-all no big deal, but just enough to get the heart racing. We got just a skoche too cocky and the travelling Gods had to remind us who is in charge. Travelling certainly keeps you wary and humble.

Goodbye Prague. I really do hope to return. I feel as though I've only just scraped the surface of experiencing this interesting, complex city and I hope we can spend a Christmas here when it is quieter. I sense much seathing beneath the surface of what we experienced. Next time we come, I plan to spend more time in advance boning up on the history, art, and literature of the area. Didn't get a chance to see the Jewish Quarter, explore the Cubist artwork, visit the museums of Kafka or Dvorak, but hopefully I will again someday.

My work table on the express train

We arrived at the Frankfurt Airport, after having transferred onto our last high-speed train of the journey and from their we took a shuttle to our airport, the sparsely accommodated Holiday Inn Express, which, apparently turns off the air conditioning at we later discovered.  We dumped our luggage and then shuttled back to the Frankfurt Airport to eat a Le Pain Quotidean (we ate there a couple of times when in Belguim) and then took another shuttle to the Steigenberger Hotel where we had arranged to meet up with Rick's former boss from Colorado, Steve, who happens to be in Frankfurt for business.  Sat and talked with Steve for a few hours over beer and wine.  Steve listened to our travel stories and asked lots of questions. Steve added to our tales funny stories of his own.  It was great to relive the memories so soon after the experience.  Thanks Steve for being so interested!  We took a cab back to our hotel and settled in for our final night in Europe.  Lot going through my head and I'll be posting some final thoughts after I've been given some time to mull them over during the flight home.

Tostinos Pizza and The Girl from Ipanema

Jubilee Synagogue

Dancing Buildings

A breakfast of fruit and coffee and some yummy hearty rolls and the off for another walk-about, this time to the east and south in another disrict called Nove Mesto to check out some unique architecture. Nove Mesto is a new portion of the city and while it does have some of the gothic-baroque architecture, it also has some newer pieces. Also Nove Mesto, is more of the Czech working district and is less of a tourist zone, and after being in a mass of tourists all day yesterday we wanted something a little more real. The first stop was the Jubilee Synagogue built in the early 20th century and cmoprised of Art Noveau and pseudo-Moorish styles. It is quite an interesting piece admist the more drab 20th century utilitarian archictecture. Then we hiked south past the National Museum and Wencaslas Square, the heart of the modern Prague, and then turned west to photograph the dancing buildings, also called Fred and Ginger.

National Theatre

Prague Castle

We stopped in a local cafe and had a fresh croissant, mmm, and espresso and decided to hike back over to Stare Mesto and get a view of the city from the adjacent hillside parks. We checked out the National Theatre, an impressive building, and then hiked across the Most Legii Bridge, just south of the King Charles Bridge. From there we took the fenicular up the hillside to the park and the Strahov Monastery. There is a observation tower there that you can climb up (about 200 steps) or take a lift. We climbed. From the top we got the views we were hoping for of the red-tile roof city with the Castle rising up prominently from the hillside. Unfortunately the air was hazy but the views and photos I think were still worth the effort.

King Charles Bridge, the Moldau, and Old Town

Then down the hillside we went, heading east, steps after steps, after steps. Thank goodness it was relatively cool. We wove our way through the crowds on King Charles Bridge one last time and then, after a little more souvenir shopping, we stopped in the hotel restaurant for a late lunch of pizza and beer and wine and then collapsed in our room to rest our barking dogs before dinner.

So I guess we we had to have at least one bad dining experience, eh? After we rested we decided to try out a recommended Italian restaurant nearby. We set off and got there in good time and relatively early but, alas, no room avaiable. No big deal there are plenty of places around so we walked around and found a promising place called the Wine Shop with Italian food, but Rick first wanted to check out a neat wine bar in underground caves that we had visited earlier. So we walked there only to find it closed. Seriously, closed during dinner and cocktail hour? We were a bit perplexed. Well that shot plan B so we decided to head back to the Wine Shop and eat there, only we couldn't find the damn place. We wandered around for a good hour, if not more, and no luck. It was particularly frustrating because we had passed it twice when we weren't looking for it and now when we were looking for it it was no where to be found. To add insult to injury, we were seeing for mutliple times all the other restaurants we had considered but dismissed for various reasons. We finally came across another Itlian restaurant that was recommended but it was full as well so we wandered more and then finally decided to go back to the hotel and google the "The Wine Shop" on our computer.

The cobblestone streets challenge the calves

Well we tried googling the restaurant and, apparently, the place didn't exist. It was like the mythical town of freakin' Brigadoon, visible to us only at a certain time and then was invisible otherwise. Well, after a half our of digging on the web we thought we might have found it and so went back out trekking around only STILL no luck. OK, let's just eat at one of the cheesy tourist places at Old Town Square. The food may not be great but there was a great view of the astronomical clock and the Church of Our Lady of Tynn. Let's do that. I picked out a Spanish place with outdoor seating and as we tried to squeeze past some tables, I managed to spill a pitcher of milk all over the place. There is a reason why Rick refers to me as a bull in a China shop. We didn't stay there.

Old Town Square at Dusk

Finally we decided to go back to a bar that we had passed, that was playing some decent jazz, provided we could find the place. I recalled that it was near the guy playing the harmonica . . . please may the harmonica guy be there. He was thank goodness and so we found the restaurant and sat our tired butts down in a seat. So this is how we ended up in a second-rate bar in Prague, ordering our second pizza of the day (that's pretty much all they had) that was one step above Tostinos frozen pizza, drinking Italian wine, and listening to a very good duet of a saxaphone and bass play their

The Location of Our Final Meal in Prague

rendition of The Girl from Ipanema. Oye. We had been walking since 6:30 and it was 9:00 pm. Rick said that on the bright side of things, we already walked off the calories that we were consuming.

 We strolled back to the hotel, purchasing some version of Czech fast food which was a piece of baked dough in the form of a cylinder with cinnamon sugar on it, and then had a nightcap of Baily's Irish Cream and apple streudel. Not the best of nights, but hey our bellies were full and our minds full of memories so who can complain?

Prague, A Fairy Tale City - 9-21-2010

Astronomical Clock Tower

Astronomical Clock

Good breakfast at the hotel and then we were off to walk Prague. First stop was the old town square, just steps from the hotel and home of the the astronomical clock found on the face of a large bell tower. From 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, when the clock strikes the hour, it goes through a mechanical rigamarole, with death (a skeleton) turning the hourglass, the apostles parading through open windows on top of the dial, and then a herald trumpeting the passing of an hour and welcoming the new hour. When all is done the tourists cheer and then proceed about their business. Not a huge deal but fun to watch nonetheless and the crowd gets into it.

Church of Our Lady of Tynn

Also dominating the Square is the Church of Our Lady of Tynn an imposing bit of gothic archictecture built in the 14th and 15th centuries. I mention this only because it contains the remains of Tycho Brahe, the astronomer known for many of his discoveries and also for his slightly eccentric character. He lost a portion of his nose in a duel and wore a metal replacement. He was also the owner of a pet moose, which, one day, drank too much beer and died after falling down the steps. Is it true? Who knows? But I'd like to believe it. Fact can certainly be stranger than fiction.

Making our way thru Hradcany

Now it was off for Prague Castle in the Hradcany District, located on the west side of the Moldau River.  Our hotel in the Stare Mesto district is on the east side of the river.  So we traipsed back across the King Charles Bridge which was even more busy than the evening before with tourists and vendors.  Regardless of which direction you are facing, the views are stunning.  The castle, of course, dominates the view, set on a hill above the city, but there are many other structures that vye for your attention, including the St. Nicholas and St. Michael churches, the National Theatre, various museums, and the watch towers on either end of the bridge.

Note I said that Prague Castle is on a hill. There are a variety of ways to reach the castle, including tram and metro, but, trying to work off last night's dinner, we elected to hike up the steps. Didn't count them but there are quite a few. Fortunately, it was cool and soon we found ourselves at the castle gate guarded by some royal police who are there more for the tourists than actual protection, though I certainly wouldn't challenge them. Into the first courtyard, then the second, then we purchased tickets, and entered the third courtyard.

Cafe at the Beginning of Our Ascent

The castle compound itself was huge and we could have easily spent all of our time there but, wanting to see other parts of Prague, we decided to focus on the St. Vitus Cathedral, considered the spiritual center of Czech Nation and also the exhibit that provided a history of the castle. Did I mention that the Czech President and what we would call the executive branch work from this castle? The legislative bodies, I believe, are housed in buildings in the valley below.

St. Vitus Cathedral

The St. Vitus cathedral is stunning with its size, numerous chapels, and stained glass windows.  Its construction depicts the various archictecture styles that have influenced the region over the centuries, heavy on the gothic and baroque. The church has been built and rebuilt multiple times but it was originally built in 927 BC by St. Wencaslas and contains the remains of Czech's first ruler. I must say that the history here is overwhelming and this area was constantly being conquered and reconquered, by various groups including the Moravians, the Romans, the Hapsburgs and most recently Germany. It is amazing that so much of the historic archictecture has remained intact.

St. Vitus

With our heads ajumble with history, we made our way down into the Mala Strana District for a bite to eat at one of the local cafes. Rick and I shared a portion of a roast duck and bread dumplings with red cabbage and sauerkraut, a typical czech dish that was delicious and satisfying. He had a local beer, I had a local white wine, Muller Turgau, and then we shared an apple streudel. Should mention that for an appetizer we were served bread with a spread that was made of "boar fat and fried onion". It was good but I had trouble getting past the fact that I was essentially eating lard.

To work of the boar fat, we wandered back to Stare Mesto, also known as "old town" and did a little bit of souvenir shopping and then back to the hotel to rest a little before setting out to a concert in the Baroque St. Michael church and dinner. While at the hotel, I managed to finally skype my mother for a few minutes which was great fun. We still can't believe that this is free. We briefly exchanged news and Mom warned me about bedbugs coming into the US from overseas travellers. Thanks for the heads up! Now off to the concert.

Concert in St. Michael's

Concerts in churches and other large buildings with great acoustics hav become quite the tourist industry here in Prague. In the streets along the shoppng districts, there are countless of people handing out leaflets advertising various concerts throughout the city. Of course, these people handing out the leaflets can get you "good discount price with a seat in the front" if you purchase right now. Finally I succumbed to a flyer that adverstised Bach's "Air", Pachabel's Canon, some pieces by Mozart and Dvorak, and finally, selections from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Good sport that he is, Rick agreed to come along. We went back to the church and the man, who had promised us a "good price" earlier, pulled us aside, and in hushed tones, asked us to quietly tell him the price he offered us earlier. He didn't want anyone else to hear what a great deal he had offered us. Rick just laughed. Tempted to undercut, we told him the amount and he surrepticiously gave us the tickets and then ushered us in, spoke with someone else and then carefully handed us over to the other individual who then seated us. Rick was convinced that the Chamber

View of Old Town from King Charles Bridge

Orchestra was going to be comprised of high school students (no offense Elena). As it turns out, the music was pretty good. Not sure why Pachabel's Canon was played at doubletime, but Bach's "Air" was lovely, and Dvorak's "The Lord is My Sheppard" with the accompaniment from the organ was well done. I thought the concert was worth 400 Czech Crowns, approximately $20 a person. And on our tickets it shows that the original amount was actually 550 crowns so, hey, we got a deal! ;-)

Wine Bar

Prague Castle from King Charles

Off to dinner at a wine bar acrossed the river in Mala Strana. I drank a very nice Czech red, no idea what it was, and Rick had South American red that I can't remember. We ordered some small tapas dishes of cheeses, meats, salads, and a fig sauce and balsamic sauce, and greatly enjoyed the light fare. Hiking back across the bridge, we found a violinist, who, was playing Pachabel's Canon the way I liked it, slow and deliberate. It was a wonderful moment, nighttime on the bridge, the moon rising above us, the Moldau streaming below us, the castle, lit up, looking down upon us, and the violinist playing one of my favorite songs. I tipped him big. As we walked away, he started playing Laura's song.

Violinist Playing Pachabel's Canon on King Charles Bridge

Prague - Disney without the Disney - 9/20/2010

Up an at 'em early this morning for the trip to Prague. Got to the train station in good time to grab a bit of breakfast and buy some food for the trip and then waited for the train. As we waited on the platform, a strong sense of foreboding overcame us. The place was packed and we had no reservations. When the train arrive it was chaos, much like it was we caught the train from Mannheim to Paris. We at least knew what car we were suppose to be in but, as we had no reservations (didn't think we needed them for this jaunt) all of the available seats were taken by the time we had stowed our luggage. We went in search of available seats in other cars, but there were none and people, also without reservations, were hanging out in the hallways, the bathrooms, the car connecting areas, anywhere there was available. So, apparently, even if there are more passengers than seats, all those passengers are still permitted to board. Lesson learned, get reservations! Fortunately, while Rick and I were in search of seats, we had passed through the dining car and snagged a table and slowly dined on the most expensive bad omelette (seriously, how hard is it to make an omelette?), coffee, and watered down orange juice in our lives. We learned that the train clears out considerably in Dresden which was about 2 hours and 20 minutes away. Like good Europeans we ate s-l-o-w-l-y and nursed that coffee until we got into Dresden (the steward didn't seem to care and there were seats available) at which point we were able to snag some unreserved seats for the remaining 2 and 1/2 hour trip to Prague.

We were delighted to be on a train with a bunch of BIG, noisy, middle-aged drunken American men, apparently on a group jaunt, who found it necessary to play their ipod loudly in the dining car and discuss LOUDLY anything that struck their fancy. The Europeans in the car tolerated them, as they are probably use to this. We were embarrassed. Rick said that he now knows why Americans have the reputation of being big loud and obnoxious. Doesn't matter that for every one loud obnoxious travelling American, there are ten quiet ones. The one loud, obnoxious American makes so much more of an impression.

From Dresden we followed the Vatlva, also know as the Moldau, River Valley down to Prague. It is pretty country and there are many quaint towns along the way. It was overcast but not raining. We have been very fortunate with the weather. We've encountered a little rain here and there but nothing constant, steady, and seemingly endless. The weather in Berlin was the best so far with temps in the high 50's low 60's and partly cloudy. These have been wonderful crisp fall days and seeing the leaves changing reminded us that fall is coming to our home in Oregon and we wondered if we'll see and feel a change when we return there in less than a week.

Prague Train Station

Pulled into the Czech station roughly on time, around 3:15, and, to avoid the fiasco that we just experienced, we stopped in at the international ticket office and reserved seats to Dresden and then onto Frankfurt for our Thursday travel. Because the hotel appeared faily close we decided to walk rather than take public transport (or cabs which are notorious here for cheating tourists) and quickly discovered that there are a lot of cobblestone streets in Prague. Hope the wheels stay on the luggage. Our hotel is in the old town area of Prague which is filled with narrow streets going every which way, no grid system here. This resulted in us circling in on our hotel for a while before actually reaching it. Just as I was despairing that the hotel ever existed, we made a sharp turn onto a street, unnamed on our map, and there it was, Hotel Savic. Yay!

The hotel is beautiful with an old style character consisting of big wooden beams, thick white walls, and multiple staircases. Our room has exposed timbers and a ceiling that slopes down which has resulted in my hitting my head a few times. We have a tiny window that looks out a small square, or rather, triangle, and a cafe restaurant below. We are on the 4th floor, and charmingly, the elevators only access the 3rd and 5th floors. To get to the 4th floor we had to get off on the 3rd floor (we didn't have access to the 5th floor) and hike up, with our 45 lb packs, a spiraled staircase far
more difficult to manuver than the one at the Amstel Canal B&B. Later we discovered that other wider, straighter staircases were available for our use :-) Did I mention that I think we've lost weight on this trip?

Kin Charles Bridge over The Vatlva River

Settled in, cleaned up, and then when out in search of food. We negotiated our way out of Old Town, known as Stare Mesto, and crossed the King Charles Bridge to enter the Hradcany (Castle) and Mala Strana Districts. The views take your breath your away, particularly at night. As Rick describes it, Prague is Disney without the Disney. You are surrounded by century old gothic and baroque structures topped with steeples, domes and spires. Just coming from Berlin, which had been bombed beyond recognition during WWII, and now, with a few exceptions, is occuppied by post 1970's architecture, Prague provided quite the contrast. It was a carnival atmosphere on the King Charles Bridge, a pedestrian bridge, loaded with tourists and vendors selling their wares. This is probably the most touristy city we've encountered on this trip.

There are a wide array of restaurants to choose from and no need for hopping on the metro for a 20-minute

Old Town (Stare Mesto District)

ride. We finally settled on one that had a spunky Chzech blonde waitress, Lanka, who spoke roughly six languages. I hade a pork tenderloin stuffed with blue cheese, Rick had a chicken stuffed with ham and gouda cheese, and we ordered a side of potato pancakes and potato croquettes which are essentially mashed potatos, patted into little balls and deep fried. Brilliant. Both dinners were excellent and we had some nice conversations with folks seated behind us who were from Minneapolis touring through Europe. We also chatted with Lanka, who, has a boyfriend who conducts scuba tours and so in the winter, she takes off for Goa, India. Rick and I imagine that winter here must be lovely and are already thinking about a return trip to celebrate Christmas in the City of Good King Wencaslas. Satiated, we strolled back across the bridge, and made our way to the hotel. Aside from my apparently pressing the wrong combination of light switches and blowing a fuse that caused the entire room to loose electricity, getting ready to for bed was pretty straight forward :-)

A Day in Berlin - 9/19/2010

Tiergarten Park

Coffee, fruit, cereal, and freshly-made croissants at the hotel and we were ready for a full day of walking tours, suggested from our tourbook, in West and East Berlin. We started off hiking though Tiergarten Park, a 412-acre wooded oasis filled with creeks and ponds and criss-crossed by small footpaths and large jogging trainls. Unexpectedly, we took quite a bit of time photographing this area. While Rick was focused on a particularly beautiful tree in the morning light and dew, I saw A tall woman in her late 50's early 60's, dressed in black trousers and a good qualilty rain jacket, come walking through the field with her little terrier of a dog. She stopped at the edge of the meadow and began throwing a ball for her dog, just itching with excitement to give chase. Sometimes though, she would stop and she would reach into a plastic sandwich bag and placed what I imagined to be a piece of bread in the palm of her hand and then hold her hand high above her hand, palm up and then talk to the birds, invisible to us, in the trees. Within a few seconds a little bird would alight onto her hand, take the bread, and then fly back to the tree.  Pretty cool.


Holocaust Memorial

Brandenberg Gate

We moved on and proceeded east to the Brandenburg Gate on the eastern border of the park. The treatment of the Gate, in recent history, serves as a microcosm for what was happening in Germany at large. The gate was originally built in 1791 during the Prussian empire. Napolean removed the gate completely in 1806. It was later rebuilt and served as the backdrop for many of HItler's speeches and Nazi ralliers in the 1930's. Then the Allies bombed the heck out of it during WWII. It was rebuilt in 1956 and then it was incorporated as part of the no-man's land that was the patrol corridor in between the two walls dividing East and West Berlin. Today it is referred to as the "Gate of Peace", "Friedenstore" in German.

Remnants of the Wall

Immediately to the south is the Holocaust monument, a unique design of a grid of cubes of varying heights, through which tourists may walk a maze and find their own path out. The design is intended to provoke contemplation rather than awe and amazement as most monuments seem to try to produce. The monument easly lent itself to some great abstract photography so we spent quite a bit of time there.

Pretzels and Doughnuts

We continued south walking in what was once the no-man's land in the partrol corridor of the Berlin wall, passed the Fuhrer's Bunker, left unmarked by the German goverment for fear that it would become the mecca of neo-nazis, and then came upon some remants of the wall up for display in Potsdamer Platz (Square). For a couple of Euro you can have your passport stamped with the seven stamps once needed to cross the border between west and east Berlin. As it is a federal offense to alter your passport, I elected not to do this, though I was tempted. Instead, I purchased a visa instead. In the square there was an organic harvest festival going on complete with hay bales and kids playing in huge bins of grain. We bought another big pretzel from a street vendor though I was sorely tempted by a humongous chocolate glazed doughnut that was as also available.

Typography of Terror Exhibit

From Potsdamer Platz we headed east until we came upon a large portion of the Berlin wall that was incorporated into a museum and exhibit called the Topography of Terror. The outdoor exhibit is an informative series of panels discussing the origins, rise, and fall of Hitler and the Nazis. I recommend this to anyone who finds themselves in Berlin. It gives a fairly detailed acount of the political and economic underpinnings of the rise of the third reich, some of which are frighteningly similar to our own circumstances in the US including the economic precursor of corruption, failing banks, fearmongering and
scapegoating, and finally, the alienation of groups of people through a series of laws and ordinances, all intended to protect the "people". In the case of the Jews, the first ordinance that set Germany on the path to persecuting the Jews and eventually, genocide, was to require the citizens to obtain identity cards. Sound familiar?

Where the Wall was at Checkpoint Charlie

After spending a couple of hours of there we proceeded further east to Checkpoint Charlie where there were yet more exhibits about the Berlin Wall and life under Nazi rule, but we were feeling a bit saturated at this point and decided to move onto a coffee shop to take a break, rest our feet, get a bite to eat, and take advantage of the free internet to check mail and update the blog posts. From there we headed north up Freidrich Strasse, lined with upscale stores and boutiques, and then east to Bebelplatz which was the site of the infamous 1933 book-burning campaign by the Nazi's.  Completing the loop we started this morning, we headed west on Linden Lane towards the Brandenburg Arch, took the requisite picture of the arch and then got out of there because, given that it was Sunday it was a zoo of odd street performances and tourists. We headed back through Tiergarten and to our hotel to clean up and rest a little dinner.

El Con Pandino Wine Bar

For dinner we decided to make our way back to northeast Berlin and wander a bit until we found something that struck our fancy. I blythely directed us to the wrong U-bahn stop and got us completely disoriented, but we soon set ourselves straight and started walkng towards the Hackescher Market in the the Scheunenviertel area recommended by the guidebook. The restaurants were pretty touristy (menus translated into English) and the food appeared to be nothing remarkable so we kept looking and found a cute wine bar called Al Con Padino serving flights of wine and small Italian dishes so we decided to give it a try. What a great decision that was.  As it turned out, this establishment, not usually opened on Sundays, was opened for a special occasion of sampling three Italian wines paired with small antipasta dishes. The fee was 20 Euros/person. We said sure. So we were seated and immediately served our first wine, a white with just a hint of a blush. It was quite tastey but we were afraid to drink too much of it while before we were served he antipasta pairing. We soon realized that we were waiting for the whole restaurant to be seated, which wasn't that big, before the serving of the antipasti which appeared to begin at 7:00. We happily discovered that, the host, Massimo, kept refilling our glasses as we slowly drained them.



The Evening's Unique Musical Entertainment



Seven o'clock arrived and to our surprise, we discovered that there was also a floorshow. The entertainment consisted of an 86-year old man, taking a bow to a metal contraption that he himself created. I can't describe it so please see the picture. He was accompanied by a young man on a variety of drums. The best way I can describe it is that it created in me the same feeling that is created by the chants of Tibetan Monks or Peter Gabriel's soundrack to the movie "Rabbit-Proof Fence".  After each song, then the antipasta was served. To go with the white wine, we had a smoked swordfish with fig on something like an Indian Pampadum cracker. The pairing was remarkable, the saltiness of the swordfish complimenting the fruity stawberriness in the wine.  Then another musical piece was played after which we were poured a red Barbera with which we ate a crostini with an olive tapenade. Again great wine and a remarkable pairing with the saltiness of the tapenade bringing to light the almost non-existent sweetness in the wine. If you drunk the wine by itself, you would not notice the sweetness at all.  Then it was another musical selection, and out came the second red wine for the evening made from a Croatini grape. With this we ate amarone salami, pecorino parmesean and an orange marmelade. There was one final musical selection and the evening was done, but not until after the 86-yr old man sang, in English, a raunchy and bawdy tale about Mr. Murphy's daughter. Rick and I were the only ones that appeared to understand the lyrics. We met the gentleman later and learned that he was born in Germany but, being a Jew, he fled in the 1930's to Canada and then proceeded to live in a variety of countries, including 20 years in the US (Cambridge, MA) and Mexico, before returning to Germany.


After the performance, Massimo sat with us, continually refilling our glasses with the Croatini wine, and discussed his life and wine for sometime. He was born in Sicily and moved to Berlin 20-yrs agao. He has a knack for finding the small vineyards in Italy where he can acquire good wine inexpensively, due the lack of name recognition and a distribution on the part of the vineyard, and is able to pass the savings on to the customers.  A quick word about wine in Europe. Good European wine is unbelievably inexpensive. Not surprisingly Australian and American wine is much more expensive. The bottles we were sampling this evening, based on the taste, could probably have gone for between $35 and $50 easily. Here in Massimo's establishment we were able to purchase one bottle each of the Barbera and Croatini for about $13 and $27 respectively. How we wanted to buy more! We then bid Massimo Gute Abend and made our way home.

Looking for Something "Light" in Berlin - 9/18/2010





Amsterdam Centraal Station

High Speed Trains all the way to Berlin. Once you get all of your luggage on board and stowed and find your seats, it is very relaxing. Apparently not a lot of people travel on Saturdays so there is no need for reservations. These trains have plenty of areas to stow your luggage. There is no checked baggage, you just find a spot that is not in the way (behind seats, in little niches) and stow it. When you get on the train, there are digital signs above the seats that indicate whether they have been reserved. We took the ICE from Amsterdam to Duisdorf which lasted about two hours, changed trains, and then proceeded from Duisdorf to Berlin, which took another four hours during which time we had a picnic of salad and prepared foods that we had purchased in Amsterdam. Cruising along at a little over 150 miles an hour, we arrived in Berlin's Central Train Station a little after 3:00 . . . right in the midst of a large nuclear protest rally so the station was pretty chaotic. Having boned up on Berlin's mass transit system the day before, via the internet (we learned our lesson in Amsterdam), we knew that we would be taking both an elevated (S-bahn) and underground (U-bahn) train to our hotel. We purchased a few day passes, found our train and hopped aboard.





Picnic on the ICE



Every transportation system has been different. In Paris, provided you travelled within a certain large area of Paris proper, you could travel anywhere for the same price. Purchase a ticket at a kiosk or ticket booth, send it through the ticket machine, board and ride your train, then send your ticket through again to exit the train station. In Belgium's northern coast you can purchase tickets at a kiosk or on the tram. We never quite figured out the system, sometimes you had to check your ticket in at a yellow box when you boarded the tram, sometimes you didn't. Seemed that the system operated on an honor system, because there appeared to be no way to prevent people from boarding the tram who hadn't purchased a ticket and we witnessed no monitoring. In Amsterdam, you could purchase one ticket from the conductor or at a kiosk for one price and it was good on any metro, bus, or tram for one hour. If you stay for at least a day and plan on using the mass transit system, it makes sense to purchase single or multi-day passes. You flash the pass in front of an electronic reader when entering and exiting the tram, bus, or metro station and a little electronic chip in your pass communciates that you are legit. Pretty nifty system once you figure it out. Here in Berlin, we've purchased day passes. Before entering the train the first time using the pass, you must validate the pass at a small machine on the platform which stamps the date and time on the pass. You can then use that pass all day until 3:00 the following morning. I imagine you can purchase individual trip passes, as well. Like in Belgium, there is nothing preventing you from entering the trains and possibly buses if you don't have a pass or ticket, however, the guidebook warns that the trains and buses are frequently patrolled and if you are found without an appropriately validated ticket, you will be fined 40 Euros, no small chunck of change. It will be interesting to see what Prague has in store for us.



Belin Central Bahnhoff



We managed to get to our hotel by 4:00, checked in, very nice but no Amstel Canal House, and then decided to go investigate a little. Our hotel is centered on the southern border the Tiergarden, a large 412 acre park and we are about a mile west of where the Berlin wall was once located. In search of food, we went to a place just down the street called "Pa De Wa," recommended in the guidebook, which is a seven-floor department store. On the seventh floor is a cafe, but it was the sixth floor that we were seeking which was an upscale market selling all sorts of items. The place was huge, kind of like a Whole Foods on steroirds (but no free samples). It was "organized" into a confusing and chaotic maze by food type, meats/cured meats, fish, chocolate, breads, wine (over 2400 different bottles), cheese (guidebook says 1300 kinds - thank god there were no free samples), prepared foods, veggies, and so on. Once the tour groups cleared out, it became a little less confusing but we never did get a handle of the layout. Within each food group there was often a space where you could sit down and purchase and eat some of the food. Often times these areas had their own open kitchens where you could watch your food being prepared. We found the sausage section, which sold bavarian pretzels so we sat down and had a couple of pretzels with mustard to take off the edge before we went in search of dinner.

Our hotel is situated in a rather quiet part of town. It reminds me of the business sector of most American cities which is almost a ghost town in the evenings and on the weekends. After being in the vibrant hearts of Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, surrounded by little eateries and shops, this was a new experience for us. The guidebook recommended a number of up and coming trendy areas in what was formerly East Berlin for food and shops so we hiked on down to the U-bahn and took a 20-minute train ride into East Berlin and got off in the Prenlauzer Berg area, in search of a little restaurant called, Gugelhof, known for its Alsatian food and a favorite of locals and tourists alike. The guidebook warned us that this was a sketchy area and walking through the heavily-graffittied area in twilight we agreed. But there were quite a few families out and about with their kids so it may be that these neigborhoods are in transition to becoming safer and gentrified.


Gugelhof Interior - Bill Clinton ate here:-)

 As is often the case, we were disoriented coming out of the U-bahn, so took the wrong street and had trouble finding any decent eatery let alone the recommended restaurant. We were about to pack it in and head back for hotel when, upon turning a corner we came upon the correct street and a few blocks down, found our restaurant, which, at 8:00 pm was PACKED. We walked in and the bartender who looked uncannily like Morgan Freeman welcomed us. No tables were available, everything was reserved for the evening (as usual), but, with a huge grin, he said the bar was always open. There happened to be two availabe barstools, and, unable to refuse his invitation, we had a seat. The establishment was quiant with stuccoed walls, and simple wood furniture. Waitstaff dressed impeccably in black trousers, vests, and ties, and white shirts. We were handed the menu which took a while to understand because it was translated into four different languages, German, French, English, and something else, perhaps Dutch.

Hoping beyond hope for something light, we found it. Though sorely tempted by the cheese fondue (this late in the evening it would have been painful, Ooofta), I ordered the trout with veggies in an herb and reisling broth and Rick ordered a stew of beef and lamb and vegetables. We asked the bartender, Omar, to recommend a dry white, and he gave us a wonderful reisling. Reislings can be dry depending on the time of harves.


The Bar at Gugelhof

 We then settled in, observed, and chatted with the very charming Omar, fluent in many languages, and quite proficient behind the bar. While waiting for our food Rick taught me German and we could tell that Omar and the other waitstaff were bemusedly listening in so we enlisted their aid and they gladly helped out when we got stuck on a word. Embarrassed that our food was taking such a long time (only took an hour) Omar refilled our wine glasses and kept us happy. This was quite the local joint. Sure there were tourists like ourselves, but usually as a party was leaving, they'd stop by and chat it up with Omar, clearly familiar with each other, and often Omar would pour them a little champagne before they left.



Neat Bottles Containing Who-Knows-What



Our food was well worth the wait. I had a whole trout, skin and all, swimming (pun intended) in a broth of chicken stock, reisling and herbs. Apparently, I was suppose to let Omar skin, behead, and debone the critter for me, but he was occupied at the time I received my plate, and, unaware that he was suppose to do this me, I dug in and skinned, beheaded, and deboned the guy myself. Omar was impressed, though a little put out that I did not wait for him to do his job. I apologized, which he accepted provide that I promised that next time I would wait for him. Agreed. Rick's meal was a wonder. It came out in a pot with the lid on and protruding through the cracks between the pot and lid was a huge ring of bread/biscuit/pretzel which had to be carefully cut off and placed on the plate, looking like a humongous doughnout. Open the lid and the delectable smell of the stew, really a broth with cubed meat and vegetables, wafted out and made the mouth water. It seemed almost like a bourgoungoine but made with white wine instead of red and bay leaves were prominent in both dishes but not overpowering. We slowly savored our food, quiet accept for my occasional mouthful mumble of "This is so good."



Omar at the Bar



Unfortunately plates become empty and stomachs become ffull and the meal came to an end. Omar asked if we would like anything else and in my fledling German I asked for an apertif of his choosing. He corrected me and said I meant "digestive". Rick asked for a port, which Omar slightly disapproved of because it really is meant to be an apertif, something for before dinner. Rick said that in the US we generally drink it after. Omar replied, in German, "I know, THAT is the problem." He, like a patient father, conceded in providing Rick a port and then set to work on figuring out what to give me and asked whether a I preferred clear or tawny. I replied tawny. He grinned and poured me what turned out to be a 30-yr old cognac. I thought to myself, well there goes the bill (and it was my turn to pay) but given the wonderful evening, I just didn't care. We savored our drinks for another 45 minutes and then finally had to ask for the check. Omar bemoaned us leaving him and took awhile getting us the check. We chatted a little more and learned that he was originally from Sudan. At 62 years old, he is "retired" but likes to bartend Saturday nights. It helps keep him fit and his mind sharp. No kidding. He was quite the one-man show behind the bar showing considerable physical and mental stamina, cleaning dishes, filling orders, delivering food, keeping everything neat and clean and in its place, and making every customer feel special. I commented that we were fortunate to come in then tonight because it has been quite the gift to meet him. He smiled. He handed me the check which had missing from the tally most of the wine and all of the port and cognac. We just handed him the payment along with, in European terms, a very large tip. He kissed my hand and shook Rick's, we said Guten Nacht, and he pronounced that he has the premonition that we will see each other again. I replied that was good and I'm looking forward to it.

A Bike Ride through the Countryside - 9/17/2010

Woke to downpouring rain this morning which did not bode well for our plans to take a bike tour into the countryside, but the ride was not until 11:00 and the weather here seems to be as capricious as the weather in Denver so we thought we would wait and see. In the meantime we had a leisurely morning and then set off to the train station to figure out our train trip to Berlin the following day.

This Eurrail Pass certainly has its advantages, but it does take some figuring out, which we are still doing. With the pass you can travel many, if not most trains and routes, without paying an additional fee. Sometimes, though, you must make reservations (particularly for high speed trains called ICE), and for that you pay a fee. Sometimes reservations are recommended but not required and often times there is no need to reserve, you can just hop on and hop off. When you purchase the Eurrail Pass, you are sent a schedule of train schedules for all of Europe (though in small font and on thin paper it is still an impressive booklet), that indicates when reservations are required. What we did not realize was that this book does not reflect all of the options available to us and we discovered that many routes, including those using the ICE, are not identified. So we find it useful to check in at the train station ticket desk to ask specifically for ICE trips as the trains are faster and very comfortable. It seems that almost always we are presented with options preferable to those not found in our booklet. I think the Eurrail can be easy if you just go by the booklet, but for high maintenance folks such as ourselve,s it can get a little more complicated and confusing, by our choice of course.

As mentioned in a previous post, Amsterdam Centraal Station is confusing. We went to an information booth and after standing in line for 20 minutes, we were informed that we needed to go to the international information booth. We stood in line and then when we walked up to the first available window, were informed that we needed to take a number, for which needed to, you guessed it, stand in line because a woman was handing out the tickets and before doing so had to quiz us to ensure that we took the right ticket. I was losing my patience while Rick remained wonderfully calm. At least when we finally got to the right window it was pretty straight forward and we managed to find an ICE route from Amsterdam to Berlin with only one transfer in Duisdorf.

Pete, our Fearless Guide

By that time, the sun had come out so we took a tram to the bicycle tour place where we met up with our tour guide Pete, a Canadian expat, and 10 others from Australia, US, and Canada, for a bicycle ride in the countryside. A word about the bikes. The most popular brand seems to be Townies. In the city you see none of your fancy touring or mountain bikes. The bike is strictly intended to be a form of reliable transport that is plain enough that no one would want to steal it. So the bikes are like those of my and perhaps even my parent's childhood, the ones where you sit upright (no leaning forward). Rick noted what wonderful posture the bike riders have. You might have gears, you might not, you might have brakes, you might not. I noticed that when we went biking with the group, must of us were slouchers. Anyway, I like these bikes (despite the constant grinding gears on my own rental).  The ones I've had during my adult years had me leaning forward and it seems that ever since I developed hips, I couldn't balance myself well. On these Townies, it was a breeze.

You know what this is

The bicycle ride in the country was a great respite from all of the walking we've been doing. Along with the tour, Pete gave us an overview of Dutch history and provided enough detail about dikes and the pumping system to please an engineer but not so technical that us non-technical types couldn't understand it. We visited a windmill, no longer in use, and had to stop for some tourist kitch at a cheese AND clog making factory. How efficient, all of Netherland's stereotypes, minus the cannabis, rolled into one. I guess Pete needs to get his

You also know what this is

kickbacks in some way. Despite the feeling of getting sold a bag of goods, it was educational nonetheless. Before long we were back on the road, in the rain this time, making our way back to the city. We passed through a protected hardwood forest, and a number of parks. In total it was about four hours long and our biking mates were all good natured and fun. Good luck to Karen from North Carolina on her ascent to Mt. Kilmanjaro!

And you know what these are

After the bike ride, we went in search of stamps for postcards (Elena, Michael, and Matthew, you each should be receiving postcards from me from every country though you might not receive them until after I get home) and an afternoon snack, then it was back to our B&B, where found Ken playing with the neighbors next door kids, to organize, pack and prepare for our trip to Berlin the following day.

Pretty Tree in Amsterdam Park

Dinner was taken in another part of town, the West Canal District, in the form of tapas and Sangria. Tapas has been a great way to eat dinner given that, because we often each lunch so late, we aren't so hungry for a full meal, but need to eat a little something otherwise we'd be pretty hungry when we go to bed. The restaurant we picked was Duende and it started off sleepy enough, but come 7:30 pm it was packed. We swear that the bartender must have been pretty high because he was continuously messing up our order and we had quite a few plates delivered to our table that we hadn't ordered, but we ate nonetheless because we weren't sure as to what we had ordered and it was hard to place orders given how packed it was. You could tell that the waitresses and chefs were getting a little PO'd about this, but, as it turns out, he owns the establishment so there isn't much that they could do. He then delivered to us our bill which was about half of what it should have been. We sorted things out, paid our full bill, fools that we are, and appear to have made friends for life. The food was good and the Sangria delicious.

Happy Me on a Bike

We came back to our room around 9:00 pm when Ken appeared and asked us what he thought of the new painting that he had just finished and place in our room. It was a beautiful modern style painting of cherry blossoms against a red background. Ken said that he wanted someone's honest opinion of the work. Despite our not being art afficionados, we both raved about it. Honestly, if I wasn't already struggling with our baggage as it is, I would have offered to buy it on the spot. I'm upset with myself for having forgotten to take a photo. Ken seemed satisfied with our response and then said that we were the best guests ever (of course) and that he feels like he should be doing more for us. We assured him that he more than exceeded our expectations and that we would stay with him should we come to Amsterdam again and that we would recommend him to all of our acquaintances. I almost feel sad leaving him.

Final thoughts on Amsterdam:
- Bikes have the right-of-way, pedestrians, cars, trams, and busses duke it out for second place.
- Amsterdam businesses do not like taking credit cards and many won't. Good idea to have a bit of cash with you when you visit . . . and know the location of the closest ATM.
- Had no luck finding a post office but was able to buy postcard stamps at a grocery store. Mailboxes are red but small and inconspicuously located along the streets.
- Coffee shops are where marijuana is openly smoked. Cafe shops are where you drink coffee.  It is, however, illegal to smoke tobacco in these "coffee" shops. Only cannibis is permitted. We do NOT know this from personal experience. Our bike guide, Pete, told the group about this. We got a sense that he likely came by this knowledge first-hand.
- Couples of all ages firmly believe in public displays of  affection.