Oops..

Posted on June 13, 2012 by admin

Excerpts from travel journal:

11/6/2012

Well, I’ve lost Bailey. I went to get a pastry and she went to check the platform number. We said we’d meet back by one of those posts in front of the train station. When I returned, she wasn’t there, though her checking the platform shouldn’t have taken as long as my getting the pastry. I waited a bit, but the train was to leave from Venice to Milano in six minutes time. I didn’t see her.

I went inside and found the listing of the trains and departures. Milano — 11:50 — Platform 4. Alright, so maybe she’s at platform 4. She misinterpreted me and is standing in front of a post in front of the train. Nope. Four minutes.

I look quickly, I walk more quickly back out, thinking about shouting “Bailey,” but the steps of the station were crowded with people and I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to myself. Two minutes.

I rush back in and the train is gone. My heart stops a second and I say “Oh my God” out loud. What if Bailey was on it? I look up — Oh, okay, that’s platform 6, my train is potentially still here.

I run over to platform 4 and it is. I hop into the first car and look out the window for Bailey. No sign. So I guessed she got on, too, realizing it was about to leave. We must’ve missed each other somewhere. I started walking down the aisles through the coaches, still looking. The train starts moving. Its leaving the station.

I arrive at the final door and it won’t open. Must be the front of the train. Bailey isn’t on it.

…

Bailey doesn’t have a cell phone, or even my cell phone number I don’t think. She doesn’t have a computer or way to access the internet either. All we’ve got is our plan to reach Milano, hang out a few hours, and then catch the 18:25 train to Bern, Switzerland.

Best case scenario, she’ll realize I’m not at the station and got on the train. She’ll catch the next train to Milano and I’ll be waiting for her at the station, where we’ll meet up again, go get something to eat, and make it back in plenty of time to catch the next train, together, to Switzerland.

…

And that’s what happened!

Sink, Venice, Sink

Posted on June 13, 2012 by admin

First evening in Venice, I had four cheese gnocchi for dinner and about three quarters of the way through, I decided I was done with pasta. We’d been in Italy for just about a week, and probably gained fifteen pounds each, and feeling my pockets’ tug at the euro as they left for more carbs prompted a trip to the grocery store for salad and cereal. Of course, we still had pizza the past two days, but after our stop in Milano on our way to Switzerland tomorrow, it’ll be a long time before I see Italian food again. And I am okay with that.

Italy’s kind of like the Florida of Europe. Bright, hot, lots of people running around with cameras. Not my favorite place. I prefer the gray of Berlin or the purple of Prague to yellowing Italy.

Also, it’s kind of cruddy here. Yes, this city is sinking, but some narrow alleyways also stink. There’s no grass, but lots of dogs. This results in little piles of dog crap on the concrete. Hopefully, the alleyway is wide enough to easily skirt around it, and hopefully, a family of tourists isn’t blocking the sight of it before your shoe sinks in.

But despite the smell and the sinking, this place is really cool. I do love the twists and turns, the varying widths of the walkways, the bridges over teal water – it may take fifteen minutes longer to find a place because there’s no easy way to navigate by foot, but it keeps it interesting.

At night its great, no cameras, and quiet. You can actually maneuver through San Marco square. During the day, the empty alleys are cool, but the touristy areas are a bit overwhelming—too condensed.

Trees are rare, but perhaps to make up for it, everyone’s got plants hanging out of their windows. Colorful flowers to match the colorful clothes hang out there, too.

I’ve heard this city was supposed to be a romantic one, and I could see that during winter, maybe it’s less shabby-looking with less of a crowd, but maybe not.

In every city I’ve been to in Italy so far, men have stepped in front of me thrusting roses in my face, or the face of whatever guy is near me – not romantic at all, actually quite annoying. And they don’t understand what “No” means, either.

We went to the Dali museum, and I saw my favorite sculpture ever, that of Adam and Eve, the serpent and apple are there, too, of course. It’s quite sensual and alluring, pretty perfect. On the walls of the museum were Salvador Dali quotes, (an effectively confusing) one being, “What is important is to spread confusion, not eliminate it.”

My favorite was, “There are days when I think I’m going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.”

“I do not understand why, when I ask for grilled lobster in a restaurant, I’m never served a cooked telephone.” Okay, so that one was too good to leave out, especially as I’ve been eating in a lot of restaurants.

We took a waterbus to the other islands, Murano, Burano, and Torchello. Torchello’s pretty nature-y, with a church, but the church was closed for restoration, so there really wasn’t much to do there. Except, it was totally worth going to, because we saw the wedding of the guy who we saw in a pink robe and bonnet the night before, who had obviously had a bit to drink, and ended up in a fountain, with a little help from his friends.

Murano had exquisite glass chandeliers, and other easily breakable pieces, non-ideal for travelers, or any transportation, really. Burano was wild—canals still running through it, but each house a different bright color than the next. Burano’s known for its lace.

We’ve been staying at VeniceGold, and the guy here recommended Peter Pan for cheap pizza. They also have kabobs and felafels, but we stuck with the pizza. It wasn’t Gusto Pizza, but it wasn’t bad. What we’re really happy with though, is the cereal Muesli Croccante– hazelnuts, chocolate, granola, and really tasty.

We started working out yesterday(pasta-pizza-pizza-pizza-pasta—you get the idea), and after tonight’s work out and some salad we celebrate with a Bueno bar for our last night in Italy. I kept hearing brief catches of Beatles songs while here, so I asked Bailey which song to play. She said “something dramatic” just as I came across ‘Revolution’. We danced, and ate our chocolate.

When in Rome…

Posted on June 8, 2012 by admin

We arrived in Rome Tuesday evening, met up with my best friend from the fifth grade(who I haven’t seen in a decade) and grilled burgers on her balcony reminiscing over good ole Catholic school days.

We walked to the smallest country on Earth, where we realized we had made it to Rome in perfect time to catch papal mass, which occurs in the Vatican in front of St. Peter’s basilica every Wednesday.

But of course, you need a ticket. And you need to get the tickets ahead of time…which we hadn’t done.

We awoke early enough anyway, put on our dresses(shoulders covered, thighs covered—there’s a dress code), and starting headed down to the Vatican walls. Parallel to the wall, a man walked near and asked, “You girls speak English? These are for the Pope.” And in his hand were two tickets for papal mass that morning.

We got there a little after eight, so we had pretty good seats. The Pope came gliding out a little after 10:30 waving to a mass of cheers from all over the world. He stood on this white Toyota that encircled the crowds and was surrounded by men in suits. The vehicle even made it up the steps of St. Peters, where he got off and sat in the shade.

The following proceedings included a calling-out of the many “groups of pilgrims” who had made it here today, including a chorus from Sri Lanka, who had the reserved seats directly in front of us, and a choir from Singapore, caddy-corner to us. During the wait that morning, they sang back and forth and even joined forces for the Hallelujah when the Singapore conductor brought in the Sri Lankan choir with a wave of his hand.

The most mass-like thing was the “Our Father” led by the Pope in Latin at the end. It was printed on the back of the ticket, so we all could join in with him. It was quite an experience.

Following mass, we evaded the crowd and snuck down a side street for gelato and a sandwich. We then caught the A line to Termini and caught the B line to Colloseo to see the Colluseum, and the archeological site with the Forum across the street.

Bailey and I stomped and cheered in the passageways of the Colloseum, trying to envision the energy of the people the events brought there, but not so much the gore of the games.

That night we went out for drinks and aperitivo, appetizer-like foods brought out like pre-dinner snacks with drinks, served all over in bars in Italy. After, we went out for a cannoli – cinnamon crust, with a ricotta cream with chocolate chips and pistachio(mmm).

The next morning, we walked to the place of chariot races and bath houses in Circus Maximus(The stop on the train says Circo Massimo).

We stopped by the Mouth of Truth(if you’ve lied, your hand will get bitten off! Watch out for the scorpions…) and then walked across the street to the Temple of Hercules.

We saw a fountain designed by Bernini, with the four major rivers represented, the Niles’ face turned away since they didn’t know where it started.

We walked in the Pantheon, which was free because it’s technically a Catholic Church now, and it was great, but the number of people in that place was discomforting. It’s pretty big, but seeing the floor to take in the space could have been cool. There was an even worse problem in the Sistine Chapel, and no respect there –yes, Micheal Angelo painted it, but it is a chapel and we’re asked to keep it down and not take pictures. It was almost overwhelming to be in there with so many colors, people, and noise.

After the Pantheon we went for the oldest gelato place in Rome, and arguably one of the most popular– Giolitti.

We made it to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the oldest McDonald’s in Rome before heading from the Spagna stop down the line to the Vatican again, where we went in St. Peters and then the Vatican Museum. By the time we finally made it to the museum, our feet were beat.

That night we had delicious Roman pizza at Falcini.

Quatra-lingual Conversation for Directions

Posted on June 4, 2012 by admin

We woke up with twenty minutes to go before we were supposed to be all packed up and checked out of the hostel. Somehow the alarm didn’t go off(…it was switched to ‘off’)– oops. We were supposed to be on a train that morning to Kutna Hora, but we just caught a later one and it was all good.

We took a bus to somewhere in Kutna Hora and walked up to one of the churches– but not the one we wanted. I went in to ask directions to Santa Barbara, the huge cathedral, and the woman told me she spoke better Spanish or German than English. We then proceeded to have a quatra-lingual conversation– Czech, German, English, and Spanish– and guess what? We made it to the Cathedral.

After being blown away by stained glass and the incredible organ and all, we caught a bus to the Kostnice Sedlec Ossuary –aka Bone Church. Pretty weird.

We caught a train back to Prague, and I ate traditional Svickova na Smetane: meat and potato dumplings with a nutmeg sauce– not too shabby.

From there we attempted to find an underground bar a friend recommended– We found it, and then proceeded to wander around Prague buying different foods until our Crowns ran out.

Friends in Firenze

Posted on June 4, 2012 by admin

After 16 hours on four different trains and a bus, we made it Florence. A train from Prague to Wien(where we didn’t get off at Meidlings like we were supposed to[by the time we got our packs on, the train was rolling again!!], so we went a stop down and caught one back and so delaying our arrival by two hours…

We took a night train that left at midnight from Prague — definitely an experience. As I generally sleep on trains, it was pretty cool to actually have a place to lay down, much less harsh on the neck. They even brought two tablespoons on coffee on a tray with bread in the morning!

When we arrived friends were awaiting us. We dropped our packs at their place(where Napoleon lived, no big deal) and went for the best pizza I’ve ever had, at Gusta Pizza. We then proceeded to walk around Florence with bottles of vino, the proper way to spend a first evening in Italy.

It was so damask in that apartment that we didn’t wake up til the afternoon the next day. We had to scurry to make it to the Uffizi, as they’re closed on Mondays, and we’re headed out again Tuesday morning. We made it, and saw the Birth of Venus, of course, but my favorite was by Piero Del Pollaiolo, the “Temperance, Faith, Charity, Hope, Justice, Prudence” piece.

Then, pasta(on a super tiny table). Ciao!

Czech, mate.

Posted on June 3, 2012 by admin

Our group of 13 ate its last meal(and, of course, drank our last beers) together last night at Muggelsee Lake Biergarten in Friedrichshagen. We told stories, and repeatedly sang ever-changing versions of the song inspired by Lisa’s subject, Jannis — “I don’t make party everyday, I don’t make party everyday, I don’t make party everyday — only six days a week,” or something like that…Kiva and Emily’s rap/techno rendition at dinner was pretty solid.

My room at the hostel that night was full of scrambling around, no one being quite ready to leave yet, but everyone headed somewhere else by end of morning. I finished packing three hours before my rail reservations to Prague, and slept restlessly for what I’d hope to call two hours. I had to fit everything down to my back pack again for the intense traveling to come in the next four weeks.

Bailey got in the evening before in time to make reservations for Prague before heading to the Biergarten. We took the M4 to Alexanderplatz and the S75 to HBF(Haupt…something), where we took zug 171 nach Prague.

We made it just in time, and I slept the most uncomfortable sleep ever on that train. But then, we were in Praha.

We got off, made our reservations for Florence, bought a map, got some Crowns and headed off in the direction of our hostel– then we heard the music.

And there we were, swept up in some sort of parade(A welcome parade, they must’ve known I was coming), and walking among musicians and dancers and men on stilts. Thank-you, Prague.

After this, we passed a shop with a dress I want. It’s unique. It only costs 63,000 kc.

We found our hostel, no sweat(I can do the directions, it was decided Bailey’s in charge of the re-folding of the maps…), checked in and then headed off again. First — coffee and ice cream. I felt much better after this, still going off of what I’m -intensely- rounding up to three hours of sleep. I definitely never had a night where I slept as much as in the U.S. as in Berlin.. maybe its the sun-up at 4 a.m. thing, sort of inspiring.

We found a great restaurant, Svejk(–the S has a ‘v’ mixed with a ‘u’ over it…). The Kozeldark beer was awesome, I think my favorite yet. I had a Grandmother’s Kvetovany-style potato soup, and a recruiter Vanek’s steak(mmmmm!!!) This was truly glorious, especially with the second Kozeldark. But get this: roast fillet of pork, peach, cheese, and whipped cream. When I saw this on the menu I knew I had to try it, it’d by either one or the other, and it really was the better turn-out.

Bailey couldn’t quite muster herself up to eating the ham on her plate(she’s pescatarian-ish back in the States), so I willingly helped her out with that as well.

We wondered down to the river, crossed it, and wandered into the Senate gardens. The hedges are nice, the statues are gruesome, and the wall with hidden faces is a bit eerie. I can dig it.

We walked up to the castle, wandered around its grounds, came back down for a fruit chiller(I had ice cream..) and were going to head to the Torture Museum, but it was closed. I saw a beautiful four-door Porsche and took pictures before it got away. Tomorrow night we’ve got a sleep train, til then its Gothic cathedrals, human remains, torture devices, inside the castle, and underground pubs.

A third of my stay in Europe is now down. Four more weeks of swift-paced perspective advancement. Here we go.