Greetings from Sorrento, Italy. I know...I hate me too.
Rome is ginormous! There's so many people and tons of things to do. More so than any other city I've been to so far, Rome is a place where you could spend months and still not see everything. Rather than talk about everything I did and bore you, it's best to hit the highlights.
Roman Forum: Out of everything I did, the Roman Forum was my favorite. The Roman Forum was the heart of the Roman Empire and contained all of the most important political, legal, and religious buildings. The Forum has a seemingly endless amount of ruins and things to see. I felt like I was a kid again, using my imagination to picture how life in Rome would have been. Many of the buildings are in poor shape, but in my opinion that only adds to the splendor of the Forum. Inside the Forum, my favorite parts were the Basilica of Maxentius, the Arch of Titus, the Curia, the Farnese Gardens, and the Aqueduct. I'd tell you about all of them, but in the interest of not boring you, I'll let you do your own research if you're so inclined.
Coliseum: Every sports fan should see the Coliseum before they die. It's the ultimate arena. The coliseum was started in 72 AD by Emperor Vespasia and finished in 80 AD by Emperor Titus. Historians aren't sure exactly how many people it seated, but the consensus is between 40,000 and 70,000 people. That's impressive by today's standards, let alone 2,000 years ago. Everyone knows about the gladiators, slaves, lions, etc, but it's become popular belief amongst historians that the coliseum was flooded and naval battles would be staged inside. Truly incredible to think of the carnage, the bloodshed, and the unbelievable feats that occurred inside.
The Vatican: Not being Catholic, I didn't really think I would appreciate the Vatican as much as I did; however, as soon as you walk into the plaza, and look up at Saint Peter's Basilica, you get a real appreciation for the history of The Vatican. At the Vatican, I visited the Vatican Museum (where the Sistine Chapel is), Saint Peter's Basilica, and Old Bridge gelato (best gelato I've had in Rome). The Museum was pretty incredible. There's so much to see besides the Sistine Chapel, but I must say that the Chapel is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. To think that Michelangelo laid on his back and painted Creation, The Fall of Man, the Return of Christ, and more over a 4 year period is phenomenal. I can't even sit in one place for 4 minutes let alone 4 years! Saint Peter's Basilica is also an unbelievable work of art. I didn't have a true appreciation for the scale of it until I got inside and looked down the cavernous interior; all the while fighting off the urge to yell "ricola"! The thing that made my visit to the Basilica extra special was that mass was going on when I was there which was a cool experience hearing the echos of the priest throughout the building.
Borghese Museum: The Borghese Museum is one of the most famous museums in all of Italy. The museum is pretty small, but houses many great works of art. The best parts of the museum are the half dozen famous statues that call the Borghese home. My favorite was Apollo chasing Daphne. I know I won't get this story 100% right, but basically Apollo is chasing Daphne because he got shot with an arrow by Eros thats incites love and falls for the nymph Daphne; however, Daphne was shot by an arrow that incites hate. Since Daphne doesn't love Apollo back, she begs her father to disguise her so Apollo will leave her alone. Daphne's father intervenes and turns her into a tree. This will sound ridiculous, but if you look at the statue long enough, you can easily piece together the story. It's an awesome piece of art. My other favorites were David preparing to slay Goliath, the Paolina Borghese, and Pluto's rape of Proserpina. On all of these sculptures, the detail is so intricate and amazingly lifelike.
Old Bridge Gelato: Right next to the Vatican. Huge portions, great flavors, and cheap. Enough said!
Various other cool sights I saw were the Trevi Fountain, Capital Museums, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trastevere, and a random pyramid. The Spanish Steps are completely overrated.
All in all, Rome is awesome. The history is unmatched anywhere I've ever been before. The Roman Empire was the greatest civilization in the history of the world (in this author's opinion), and it's been interesting traveling through Europe and seeing Roman influence almost everywhere. It was nice to finally see the place where it all came together.
Ching ching!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
11/13/2010 Update
Greetings from Rome, Italy! I'm here for 5 days and I'm hopeful Rome will live up to my expectations. If it doesn't, the weather can't possibly be any worse here than it has my last 3 weeks of travel, so that's a plus.
My first stop upon leaving Belgium was Luxembourg. I decided not to spend the night there and instead stay in Stuttgart since it was much cheaper. This left me with only 2 hours to see the city. As I mentioned before about Bremen, you can't possibly do a city justice in only a few hours, but I figure seeing a place, even if only for a few hours, is better than not seeing it. Luxembourg is the richest country in the world (based on PPP). I expected to see a pretty glamorous city when I got off the train, but the buildings and especially the landscape far exceeded my expectations. The city is fairly modern and the architecture was similar to that of downtown Brussels; modern, sleek, glass buildings. What I didn't expect when I walked from the train station towards the city centre was the Pétrusse Valley. The Valley felt like a mini Grand Canyon (very mini), but full of trees, parks, the Pétrusse and Alzette rivers, and Grund (the valley neighborhoods). It was pretty impressive. The bridge also provided a great view of the Fortress Luxembourg, Luxembourg's other claim to fame. Cool place even if it was only for a few hours.
After Luxembourg I made my way to Stuttgart for the night. Nothing interesting happened outside of having my own room, because of a mistake that was made when booking my room. No complaints here. I like a good night's sleep.
After Stuttgart, I went to Interlaken, Switzerland. I was pretty excited about the train ride, because you slowly wind your way through the Alps. While the entire train ride was phenomenal, the best part of the trip was the short journey from Spiez to Interlaken. The train zig zags through the mountains and around Thun lake, which separates the two towns. The views are spectacular. Words can't describe how unbelievable it is. Once I finally arrived in Interlaken, it was pretty late, so I didn't have much time to do anything but wander through the town. Interlaken is stereotypical Switzerland; Swiss watches and Swiss army knives are everywhere. Not much else; just watches and knives.
My second day in Interlaken was by far the worst weather day of my trip. It poured down rain all day. I wasn't going to let that "dampen" my spirits though as I was determined to climb one of the many surrounding mountains. I settled on Harder Mountain, but as I started my trek, I began to wonder if this was a really bad idea given the elements. Eh...you only live once, right! I made it about 2/3 to the top before the conditions became unbearable. I was pretty disappointed I didn't reach the top, but the views were still amazing! Even in the pouring rain, I found myself trying to comprehend if what I was looking at was indeed real. It was truly incredible! The rest of the day I spent inside, warm and dry...and with CNBC on, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the room.
The next morning, I had a 2:00 pm train to catch from Spiez to Rome. The weather was gorgeous, so rather than lounge around the hostel until it was time to catch the train, I left Interlaken early so I could spend a few hours in Spiez. Spiez is on the shore of Thun lake (Interlaken sits between Thun and Brienz lake) and I figured it would be a good spot to get lunch. I'm glad I came to Spiez, because it's just as breathtaking as Interlaken. Everything in town centers around the harbor, looking at the lake, and in every direction you look there are towering mountains. I grabbed a sandwich, found a bench at the harbor, and spent the next 2 hours doing nothing but enjoying the view and soaking up the sun.
Interlaken (and Spiez) are remarkable. With perhaps the exception of Füssen (hard to say which one I liked better), I've not been to a more scenic place on my trip (and there's much more to do here than in Füssen). If you're in Europe, it's a must see.
Ching Ching!
My first stop upon leaving Belgium was Luxembourg. I decided not to spend the night there and instead stay in Stuttgart since it was much cheaper. This left me with only 2 hours to see the city. As I mentioned before about Bremen, you can't possibly do a city justice in only a few hours, but I figure seeing a place, even if only for a few hours, is better than not seeing it. Luxembourg is the richest country in the world (based on PPP). I expected to see a pretty glamorous city when I got off the train, but the buildings and especially the landscape far exceeded my expectations. The city is fairly modern and the architecture was similar to that of downtown Brussels; modern, sleek, glass buildings. What I didn't expect when I walked from the train station towards the city centre was the Pétrusse Valley. The Valley felt like a mini Grand Canyon (very mini), but full of trees, parks, the Pétrusse and Alzette rivers, and Grund (the valley neighborhoods). It was pretty impressive. The bridge also provided a great view of the Fortress Luxembourg, Luxembourg's other claim to fame. Cool place even if it was only for a few hours.
After Luxembourg I made my way to Stuttgart for the night. Nothing interesting happened outside of having my own room, because of a mistake that was made when booking my room. No complaints here. I like a good night's sleep.
After Stuttgart, I went to Interlaken, Switzerland. I was pretty excited about the train ride, because you slowly wind your way through the Alps. While the entire train ride was phenomenal, the best part of the trip was the short journey from Spiez to Interlaken. The train zig zags through the mountains and around Thun lake, which separates the two towns. The views are spectacular. Words can't describe how unbelievable it is. Once I finally arrived in Interlaken, it was pretty late, so I didn't have much time to do anything but wander through the town. Interlaken is stereotypical Switzerland; Swiss watches and Swiss army knives are everywhere. Not much else; just watches and knives.
My second day in Interlaken was by far the worst weather day of my trip. It poured down rain all day. I wasn't going to let that "dampen" my spirits though as I was determined to climb one of the many surrounding mountains. I settled on Harder Mountain, but as I started my trek, I began to wonder if this was a really bad idea given the elements. Eh...you only live once, right! I made it about 2/3 to the top before the conditions became unbearable. I was pretty disappointed I didn't reach the top, but the views were still amazing! Even in the pouring rain, I found myself trying to comprehend if what I was looking at was indeed real. It was truly incredible! The rest of the day I spent inside, warm and dry...and with CNBC on, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the room.
The next morning, I had a 2:00 pm train to catch from Spiez to Rome. The weather was gorgeous, so rather than lounge around the hostel until it was time to catch the train, I left Interlaken early so I could spend a few hours in Spiez. Spiez is on the shore of Thun lake (Interlaken sits between Thun and Brienz lake) and I figured it would be a good spot to get lunch. I'm glad I came to Spiez, because it's just as breathtaking as Interlaken. Everything in town centers around the harbor, looking at the lake, and in every direction you look there are towering mountains. I grabbed a sandwich, found a bench at the harbor, and spent the next 2 hours doing nothing but enjoying the view and soaking up the sun.
Interlaken (and Spiez) are remarkable. With perhaps the exception of Füssen (hard to say which one I liked better), I've not been to a more scenic place on my trip (and there's much more to do here than in Füssen). If you're in Europe, it's a must see.
Ching Ching!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
11/9/2010 Update
Greetings from Interlaken, Switzerland! Had a few days between touring Belgium and meeting up with friends in Italy, so I decided to stop in Switzerland on my way south. I know...it's a rough life!
My stops in Belgium were Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels.
Bruges is a small town in northwestern Belgium that is a popular tourist destination because of the great medieval architecture (the city center is a UNESCO world heritage sight). Aside from the architecture, there's plenty of cool things to do and see. While there, I visited a few churches. One church has a Michelangelo sculpture which is believed to be the only Michelangelo sculpture to exist outside of Italy. Another church I visited claims to have blood from Jesus that has been preserved over the years. It's one of the holiest relics of the catholic church and comes equipped with it's own version of knight Templar guardians. I'n living the Da Vinci code! Aside from churches, I stopped in at the local De Halve Maan brewery to take the tour and sample some local beer. It was the best brewery tour I've been on and the hoppy aroma alone was enough to make your knees wobble. There's a really cool French fry museum as well (Bruges is the home of the french fry...go figure), but I ran out of time before I could make it there. Bruges was such a cool little town that I will definitely add it to my list of places I want to return to one day.
Ghent was a day trip I made from Brussels. It's only a 30 minute train ride and unfortunately that was the best part. Ghent isn't necessarily a boring or bad place to visit, but it felt like a poor man's Bruges. The city looked really run down, there was construction everywhere, and it was lacking in cool medieval architecture. Old Ghent wasn't bad. There was a cool old castle, Castle of Counts, with a terror and weapons museum. There was a neat church that had an uncompleted tower. Saint Bavo's Cathedral was one of the better churches I have seen so far on the trip with a pretty famous altar known as The Mystic Lamb. Anyway, probably could have found a better way to spend my day...like drinking Duvel! Oh well, it happens.
Brussels was my final Belgian visit. I arrived in Brussels on a Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the hostel had free Internet. I inspected the Internet and discovered what I feared; a pretty strong filter on viewable content. Immediately I tried to formulate a plan on how I could stream the OSU-Baylor football game. After searching various live streaming sites, I found one that worked and I was able to watch most of the game which was exciting. I hadn't seen a game since the TU game in September. I warned you all, I'm a football addict.
Besides football Brussels was full of things to do. Some of the highlights were as follows.
I found perhaps the biggest street market in existence outside of Asia. It's hard to describe how huge it was (TWSS). I spent an hour just walking around and I still didn't see everything that was there. There were clothes, shoes, kebaps, waffles, electronics, perfumes, batteries, bathing products, fruits, vegetables, flowers, pastries, power tools, and more. My favorite part was the tobacco vendor who was selling "Cuban" cigars. Perhaps they were real, but Cuban cigars at a street market in Brussels didn't make much sense to me. I was tempted to buy them just to find out (I did some subsequent research and apparently fake Cubans are quite popular in Europe).
I took a chance on a local's tip on another place I visited. Parking garage 58! Yes, I visited a parking garage when I was in Brussels. I was told by some locals that if you go to the top of the parking garage you have a panoramic view of the city. I'm a sucker for local tips, so I decided to check it out. I found the garage, took the stairs to the top (because I'm an idiot), and 10 floors later I found an awesome view of the city. You can literally see everything from up there. It was raining pretty hard so I wasn't able to take many pictures, but it turned out to be a great spot and a great tip!
Another fun stop was the atomium and surrounding area. The atomium was built for the World Exhibition of 1958, and is composed of 9 spherical metal balls that represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. You can enter the atomium and move from metal ball to metal ball via escalators, but the best view is from the outside looking in (or at in this case). This thing looks crazy from the outside! Much cooler then what I expected when I first heard about it. The atomium resides in Heysel park which has now claimed the title from the English Gardens as best park of my trip. This park is HUGE! There's hills, lots of trees, a carnival, a big restaurant area, a movie theater, and a sweet looking miniature museum that I unfortunately didn't have time to visit. Awesome area!
Belgium was awesome and probably my 3rd favorite stop behind Prague and Berlin. While I had a great time, I must confess that my true motivation for a visit was the beer. There are hundreds upon hundreds of beers brewed in Belgium. Every different method of brewing is used. Every different type of ingredient is used. And wow they are strong! While there's many beers in Belgium, the ones I was most interested in were the Trappist beers. Trappist beers are brewed by Trappist monks and out of the 171 Trappist monasteries in the world, only 7 brew beer; 6 of which are in Belgium. Some, such as Chimay, are widely available and popular in the US. Others, such as Westvleteren, are nearly impossible to get. Google it. It's seriously not easy to get especially since I don't have a car. Anyway, I was able to find 5 of the 7 beers, so of course I bought one of each and now they will trek with me through Europe awaiting the opportunity to quench my thirst.
Until next time, stay thirsty my friends!
Prost!
My stops in Belgium were Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels.
Bruges is a small town in northwestern Belgium that is a popular tourist destination because of the great medieval architecture (the city center is a UNESCO world heritage sight). Aside from the architecture, there's plenty of cool things to do and see. While there, I visited a few churches. One church has a Michelangelo sculpture which is believed to be the only Michelangelo sculpture to exist outside of Italy. Another church I visited claims to have blood from Jesus that has been preserved over the years. It's one of the holiest relics of the catholic church and comes equipped with it's own version of knight Templar guardians. I'n living the Da Vinci code! Aside from churches, I stopped in at the local De Halve Maan brewery to take the tour and sample some local beer. It was the best brewery tour I've been on and the hoppy aroma alone was enough to make your knees wobble. There's a really cool French fry museum as well (Bruges is the home of the french fry...go figure), but I ran out of time before I could make it there. Bruges was such a cool little town that I will definitely add it to my list of places I want to return to one day.
Ghent was a day trip I made from Brussels. It's only a 30 minute train ride and unfortunately that was the best part. Ghent isn't necessarily a boring or bad place to visit, but it felt like a poor man's Bruges. The city looked really run down, there was construction everywhere, and it was lacking in cool medieval architecture. Old Ghent wasn't bad. There was a cool old castle, Castle of Counts, with a terror and weapons museum. There was a neat church that had an uncompleted tower. Saint Bavo's Cathedral was one of the better churches I have seen so far on the trip with a pretty famous altar known as The Mystic Lamb. Anyway, probably could have found a better way to spend my day...like drinking Duvel! Oh well, it happens.
Brussels was my final Belgian visit. I arrived in Brussels on a Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the hostel had free Internet. I inspected the Internet and discovered what I feared; a pretty strong filter on viewable content. Immediately I tried to formulate a plan on how I could stream the OSU-Baylor football game. After searching various live streaming sites, I found one that worked and I was able to watch most of the game which was exciting. I hadn't seen a game since the TU game in September. I warned you all, I'm a football addict.
Besides football Brussels was full of things to do. Some of the highlights were as follows.
I found perhaps the biggest street market in existence outside of Asia. It's hard to describe how huge it was (TWSS). I spent an hour just walking around and I still didn't see everything that was there. There were clothes, shoes, kebaps, waffles, electronics, perfumes, batteries, bathing products, fruits, vegetables, flowers, pastries, power tools, and more. My favorite part was the tobacco vendor who was selling "Cuban" cigars. Perhaps they were real, but Cuban cigars at a street market in Brussels didn't make much sense to me. I was tempted to buy them just to find out (I did some subsequent research and apparently fake Cubans are quite popular in Europe).
I took a chance on a local's tip on another place I visited. Parking garage 58! Yes, I visited a parking garage when I was in Brussels. I was told by some locals that if you go to the top of the parking garage you have a panoramic view of the city. I'm a sucker for local tips, so I decided to check it out. I found the garage, took the stairs to the top (because I'm an idiot), and 10 floors later I found an awesome view of the city. You can literally see everything from up there. It was raining pretty hard so I wasn't able to take many pictures, but it turned out to be a great spot and a great tip!
Another fun stop was the atomium and surrounding area. The atomium was built for the World Exhibition of 1958, and is composed of 9 spherical metal balls that represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. You can enter the atomium and move from metal ball to metal ball via escalators, but the best view is from the outside looking in (or at in this case). This thing looks crazy from the outside! Much cooler then what I expected when I first heard about it. The atomium resides in Heysel park which has now claimed the title from the English Gardens as best park of my trip. This park is HUGE! There's hills, lots of trees, a carnival, a big restaurant area, a movie theater, and a sweet looking miniature museum that I unfortunately didn't have time to visit. Awesome area!
Belgium was awesome and probably my 3rd favorite stop behind Prague and Berlin. While I had a great time, I must confess that my true motivation for a visit was the beer. There are hundreds upon hundreds of beers brewed in Belgium. Every different method of brewing is used. Every different type of ingredient is used. And wow they are strong! While there's many beers in Belgium, the ones I was most interested in were the Trappist beers. Trappist beers are brewed by Trappist monks and out of the 171 Trappist monasteries in the world, only 7 brew beer; 6 of which are in Belgium. Some, such as Chimay, are widely available and popular in the US. Others, such as Westvleteren, are nearly impossible to get. Google it. It's seriously not easy to get especially since I don't have a car. Anyway, I was able to find 5 of the 7 beers, so of course I bought one of each and now they will trek with me through Europe awaiting the opportunity to quench my thirst.
Until next time, stay thirsty my friends!
Prost!
11/4/2010 Update
Greetings from Bruges, Belgium! Many happenings have occurred since my last update like missing Audrey and Julie's Hallowscreen party. Sad times. Perhaps next year I can bust out my Wilson costume.
My first stop since my last update was in Bremen, Germany. As I mentioned before, I really only stopped there because it was halfway between Arhus and Amsterdam. It's hard to judge a city when you only spend 8 or so waking hours in it, but Bremen was awesome for the brief time I was there. As I mentioned a few posts back, I try to walk from the train station to my hostel/hotel whenever feasible, because it gives me a good feel for the city. I'm glad I did in Bremen because had I not I probably would never have seen the festival that was going on. I have no idea what the festival was for or even what it was called. I would call it mini-Oktoberfest, but there were far more unattractive people and mullets so really it was more like the Tulsa State Fair then Oktoberfest (no hate...I live there too!). It was great walking around, people watching, and eating WAY too much. In the span of an hour, I downed a giant ham steak sandwich, a currywurst (think bratwurst with curry sauce), and a giant ice cream cone. Pretty sure my stomach didn't like that too much. Bremen seemed charming even without the festival, but since I spent the majority of my time there, I have to say my love of Bremen mostly stems from reliving my Oktoberfest days.
My next stop after Bremen was Amsterdam. Amsterdam is well known for a lot of things: The Red Light District, canals, flowers, cafés (where they don't sell coffee), Anne Frank's house, the Van Gogh museum, Heineken, and more. I don't remember much from Amsterdam from my visit as a kid, but what I envisioned couldn't have been further from the truth. When conjuring up images of Amsterdam in my head, I thought back to my visit to Las Vegas one New Years and envisioned people smoking weed everywhere. Not the case. Most of the smoking takes place in the cafés, so it's pretty tame. The Red Light District is what one would expect. Solicitations and graphic sexuality are abound.
Overall, I found Amsterdam to be lacking. The Van Gogh museum was far too expensive to warrant going when I've been to London already and have a Paris stop planned for the future. Van Gogh is a great artist, but I'd rather save my money for The Louvre. The Heineken brewery tour was €15 and I like Heineken but not $21 worth. I went to a few parks, but they weren't anything special. At least I had cool roommates to hang out with while I was there.
Aside from the aforementioned disappointments, the Anne Frank House/Museum was excellent. One of the best stops I have made so far. It's hard to compare it to my experience at Sachsenhausen, but I found the house to be a different kind of sad. While there are 3rd party accounts of what occurred in the concentrations camps and even first hand stories from survivors, there's nothing like Anne Frank's day-to-day "live" account of the persecution of the Jews. When walking through the Secret Annex, it's as if you are back in the 1940's and the story is unfolding in front of your eyes. Add to that a 12-16 year old girl with a remarkable talent for expressing her thoughts and unbelievable awareness of the situation unfolding and it only intensifies the experience. Truly a remarkable place with unimaginable sadness and heroics.
Since I didn't find much to do in Amsterdam besides the Anne Frank House, I decided on my last day to take a day trip to Delft and The Hague, both in The Netherlands. Delft is a quaint little town that produces world renowned porcelain and flatware. The designs are incredible! Delft proved to be a fun place to escape the big city. After Delft, I stopped in The Hague on my way back to Amsterdam. The Hague is the capital of The Netherlands and has plenty of interesting shopping, architecture, restaurants, and an excellent China Town. It was worth a few hours of my time to see the city and hit a few of the important sights.
On to Belgium!
Prost!
My first stop since my last update was in Bremen, Germany. As I mentioned before, I really only stopped there because it was halfway between Arhus and Amsterdam. It's hard to judge a city when you only spend 8 or so waking hours in it, but Bremen was awesome for the brief time I was there. As I mentioned a few posts back, I try to walk from the train station to my hostel/hotel whenever feasible, because it gives me a good feel for the city. I'm glad I did in Bremen because had I not I probably would never have seen the festival that was going on. I have no idea what the festival was for or even what it was called. I would call it mini-Oktoberfest, but there were far more unattractive people and mullets so really it was more like the Tulsa State Fair then Oktoberfest (no hate...I live there too!). It was great walking around, people watching, and eating WAY too much. In the span of an hour, I downed a giant ham steak sandwich, a currywurst (think bratwurst with curry sauce), and a giant ice cream cone. Pretty sure my stomach didn't like that too much. Bremen seemed charming even without the festival, but since I spent the majority of my time there, I have to say my love of Bremen mostly stems from reliving my Oktoberfest days.
My next stop after Bremen was Amsterdam. Amsterdam is well known for a lot of things: The Red Light District, canals, flowers, cafés (where they don't sell coffee), Anne Frank's house, the Van Gogh museum, Heineken, and more. I don't remember much from Amsterdam from my visit as a kid, but what I envisioned couldn't have been further from the truth. When conjuring up images of Amsterdam in my head, I thought back to my visit to Las Vegas one New Years and envisioned people smoking weed everywhere. Not the case. Most of the smoking takes place in the cafés, so it's pretty tame. The Red Light District is what one would expect. Solicitations and graphic sexuality are abound.
Overall, I found Amsterdam to be lacking. The Van Gogh museum was far too expensive to warrant going when I've been to London already and have a Paris stop planned for the future. Van Gogh is a great artist, but I'd rather save my money for The Louvre. The Heineken brewery tour was €15 and I like Heineken but not $21 worth. I went to a few parks, but they weren't anything special. At least I had cool roommates to hang out with while I was there.
Aside from the aforementioned disappointments, the Anne Frank House/Museum was excellent. One of the best stops I have made so far. It's hard to compare it to my experience at Sachsenhausen, but I found the house to be a different kind of sad. While there are 3rd party accounts of what occurred in the concentrations camps and even first hand stories from survivors, there's nothing like Anne Frank's day-to-day "live" account of the persecution of the Jews. When walking through the Secret Annex, it's as if you are back in the 1940's and the story is unfolding in front of your eyes. Add to that a 12-16 year old girl with a remarkable talent for expressing her thoughts and unbelievable awareness of the situation unfolding and it only intensifies the experience. Truly a remarkable place with unimaginable sadness and heroics.
Since I didn't find much to do in Amsterdam besides the Anne Frank House, I decided on my last day to take a day trip to Delft and The Hague, both in The Netherlands. Delft is a quaint little town that produces world renowned porcelain and flatware. The designs are incredible! Delft proved to be a fun place to escape the big city. After Delft, I stopped in The Hague on my way back to Amsterdam. The Hague is the capital of The Netherlands and has plenty of interesting shopping, architecture, restaurants, and an excellent China Town. It was worth a few hours of my time to see the city and hit a few of the important sights.
On to Belgium!
Prost!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
10/31/2010 Update
Greetings from Bremen, Germany! Why Bremen? Because it's roughly half way between Arhus and Amsterdam and there's a Hilton here. I have a bunch of Hilton points via traveling and a credit card, so it's nice to stay in a free room every now and then especially when the choice of hostels is limited. Other than a Hilton being here I know nothing about the place.
My stay in Arhus was great! I suppose if I wanted to be technical, I'd say my stay in Solbjerg was nice. Arhus is the second largest city in Denmark and the economic center of the Jutland. In other words, there's a fair amount of stuff to do here; however before my adventures in Arhus started, I took half a day in Odense to see the town.
Odense is a relatively small town, but the largest city on the island of Funen. It's mostly known for two things: 1) being the halfway point between the Jutland and Copenhagen and 2) being the home of Hans Christian Andersen. As Mozart is to Salzburg, H.C. Andersen is to Odense. My main objective while there was to see the H.C. Andersen Museum. The museum was very well done, and detailed his life thoroughly. The most interesting thing to me about H.C. Andersen was how many of the most famous fairy-tales were penned by him. The list is pretty astonishing and of the few stories I can recall from childhood most were written by him. Not bad for a guy who grew in complete disfunction.
Odense
After Odense I made my way to Kolding to meet up with Marlene and drive to Solbjerg. The only instructions each of us had from Thomas was to be at the train station at 4:34 pm. OK. Done deal. Now what does she look like... Marlene and I had met once in Tulsa 4 years ago, and I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember much about her appearance (and I realized that that was probably a reciprocated admission). Once at the train station, I walked around for 5 minutes or so looking for a person who had the same facial expression as...well...me. You know the face. I call it the "what am I looking for" face. After a few minutes, a girl walked in the door and after a few of the aforementioned stares at each other, I knew I had the right person.
After finding each other, we drove back to her and Thomas's house, and on the way home we even got to stop at the Danish equivalent of Wal-Mart. The neighborhood they live in is fairly new and reminds me a little bit of American suburbia. They live close to a lake which has some spectacular views. Interestingly enough the Danish government won't let people build on the shore in an effort to preserve the environment. Their house is beautiful and fits what I envision the Danish Modern motif to be. Once home, Marlene and Thomas cooked dinner (which was very good) and we sat and talked about life, family, soccer, and much more.
Day two in Arhus consisted of driving to Arhus proper and seeing the city. Before going into town, Thomas took me on a tour of the hill-country outside of town. The Queen has a summer home in the area, there's a really nice beach, dense forests, and a deer sanctuary where people can hand feed deer. They would never survive at home. After my tour, we went into town. Arhus was nice. I really liked the cafés and canal area of town. After walking around and shopping for a bit, Thomas and Marlene took me to eat a traditional Danish meal; smørrebrød. Smørrebrød for lack of a better word is an open faced sandwich. We ordered a sampler plate and I really liked the fried halibut and roast beef, but I think I could've done without the liver paste (think liver flavored cream cheese). At least I manned up and tried it though! Also with lunch we had raw halibut which was excellent. This presents a problem though, because I hate sushi, so now I'm confused about what it is about sushi that I don't like. I'm sushially confused! After lunch we drove to the north side of Arhus to see some castle ruins. The castle was built on an island and joined to land via a manmade causeway. The ruins were really neat and it was fun hiking around and exploring. The castle posed a formidable defense, but as my tour guides pointed out the castle was so well fortified that the enemy figured out if they just sieged the castle, which was easy to do since there is only one way in and out, eventually the defenders would run out of food and water. Oops! After the castle, we went back home to eat dinner. I'm glad I told Marlene I liked Thai food, because...wow! That was probably the best Thai food I've ever had. No exaggeration. Marlene is an unbelievable cook. If her legal career doesn't pan out, I hope she opens a restaurant.
Deer Park
Castle
Smørrebrød
Thomas and Marlene were great hosts. After staying with them, I'm hoping some of their hospitality rubbed off on me. I had a great time with them and the Bjerg's in Kolding. Makes it hard to leave Denmark, but more great adventures lie ahead. After Bremen I have stops scheduled in Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Luxembourg, Italy, and Paris. I'm pumped!
Go pokes! 7-1!
Until next time...
Prost!
My stay in Arhus was great! I suppose if I wanted to be technical, I'd say my stay in Solbjerg was nice. Arhus is the second largest city in Denmark and the economic center of the Jutland. In other words, there's a fair amount of stuff to do here; however before my adventures in Arhus started, I took half a day in Odense to see the town.
Odense is a relatively small town, but the largest city on the island of Funen. It's mostly known for two things: 1) being the halfway point between the Jutland and Copenhagen and 2) being the home of Hans Christian Andersen. As Mozart is to Salzburg, H.C. Andersen is to Odense. My main objective while there was to see the H.C. Andersen Museum. The museum was very well done, and detailed his life thoroughly. The most interesting thing to me about H.C. Andersen was how many of the most famous fairy-tales were penned by him. The list is pretty astonishing and of the few stories I can recall from childhood most were written by him. Not bad for a guy who grew in complete disfunction.
Odense
After Odense I made my way to Kolding to meet up with Marlene and drive to Solbjerg. The only instructions each of us had from Thomas was to be at the train station at 4:34 pm. OK. Done deal. Now what does she look like... Marlene and I had met once in Tulsa 4 years ago, and I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember much about her appearance (and I realized that that was probably a reciprocated admission). Once at the train station, I walked around for 5 minutes or so looking for a person who had the same facial expression as...well...me. You know the face. I call it the "what am I looking for" face. After a few minutes, a girl walked in the door and after a few of the aforementioned stares at each other, I knew I had the right person.
After finding each other, we drove back to her and Thomas's house, and on the way home we even got to stop at the Danish equivalent of Wal-Mart. The neighborhood they live in is fairly new and reminds me a little bit of American suburbia. They live close to a lake which has some spectacular views. Interestingly enough the Danish government won't let people build on the shore in an effort to preserve the environment. Their house is beautiful and fits what I envision the Danish Modern motif to be. Once home, Marlene and Thomas cooked dinner (which was very good) and we sat and talked about life, family, soccer, and much more.
Day two in Arhus consisted of driving to Arhus proper and seeing the city. Before going into town, Thomas took me on a tour of the hill-country outside of town. The Queen has a summer home in the area, there's a really nice beach, dense forests, and a deer sanctuary where people can hand feed deer. They would never survive at home. After my tour, we went into town. Arhus was nice. I really liked the cafés and canal area of town. After walking around and shopping for a bit, Thomas and Marlene took me to eat a traditional Danish meal; smørrebrød. Smørrebrød for lack of a better word is an open faced sandwich. We ordered a sampler plate and I really liked the fried halibut and roast beef, but I think I could've done without the liver paste (think liver flavored cream cheese). At least I manned up and tried it though! Also with lunch we had raw halibut which was excellent. This presents a problem though, because I hate sushi, so now I'm confused about what it is about sushi that I don't like. I'm sushially confused! After lunch we drove to the north side of Arhus to see some castle ruins. The castle was built on an island and joined to land via a manmade causeway. The ruins were really neat and it was fun hiking around and exploring. The castle posed a formidable defense, but as my tour guides pointed out the castle was so well fortified that the enemy figured out if they just sieged the castle, which was easy to do since there is only one way in and out, eventually the defenders would run out of food and water. Oops! After the castle, we went back home to eat dinner. I'm glad I told Marlene I liked Thai food, because...wow! That was probably the best Thai food I've ever had. No exaggeration. Marlene is an unbelievable cook. If her legal career doesn't pan out, I hope she opens a restaurant.
Deer Park
Thomas and Marlene were great hosts. After staying with them, I'm hoping some of their hospitality rubbed off on me. I had a great time with them and the Bjerg's in Kolding. Makes it hard to leave Denmark, but more great adventures lie ahead. After Bremen I have stops scheduled in Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Luxembourg, Italy, and Paris. I'm pumped!
Go pokes! 7-1!
Until next time...
Prost!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
10/29/2010 Update
Greetings from Arhus, Denmark! It's good to still be in the motherland. Arhus is the second largest city in Denmark and the largest city of the Jutland. I'm here visiting one the Bjerg's sons, Thomas, and his girlfriend, Marlene, who just built a house here. Being the real estate magnet that I am, I had to come see it.
In between stops in Kolding and Arhus, I visited Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, one of the world's most expensive cities! It's absolutely outrageous how expensive things are here. $4 for a slice of pizza, $6 for a beer (during happy hour), and so on. I thought London was expensive, but Copenhagen takes it to another level. Good thing I'm only here for 3 days, because I couldn't afford much more.
I've been to Copenhagen before when I was a kid, but outside of Tivoli, The Little Mermaid, and the City Hall square, I don't remember much about it. To my dismay Tivoli is closed or a few weeks as they get ready for Christmas season, and The Little Mermaid swam away to China for the year, so I won't be seeing 2 of the biggest sights in town. While I'm bummed, it's not the end of the world since I have seen them before.
I arrived around 11 in the morning my first day in Copenhagen. I immediately went to a hostel I knew about, because I didn't have a reservation. Luckily, no problems and lots of room. After checking in, I got money (no Euro in Denmark) and a map. I followed a self-guided walking tour that took me to City Hall square, down Strøget Street which is the major shopping avenue, through Christiansborg Palace, and over to Christinhavn. Christianshavn is one of many island around Copenhagen and home to an area called Christiania; which I visited. Christiania started in 1971 as a group of squatters who moved into abandoned barracks the government was considering tearing down. Over time, the area transformed into a self-governing community within the city. In Christiania the people don't pay taxes, ignore laws, partake in rampant drug dealing/use, and by and large live everywhere: abandoned buildings, shacks, tents, etc. It's interesting because it's a huge underground economy yet in functions somewhat normally with stores (that primarily deal weed rather than bread and cheese), parks with kids, an information center, health center, town hall, post office, and more. I would not consider it a safe place by any means, but if you mind your own business and act like you've been there before, people won't bother you. Absolutely no photography though and do not go at night. It's interesting that the government has chosen to leave these people alone rather than fight them; a controversial decision amongst Danes.
Christiania
My second day in Copenhagen was filled with rain, rain, and more rain. Even though it was chilly and wet I decided to suck it up and see as much as possible. My first stop was the royal residences at Amalienborg. Pretty standard for royalty, but I did think it was cool that you get so close to the buildings. My next stop was the Museum of Danish Resistance. During World War II, the Danes chose a stance of neutrality before ultimately being invaded by the Germans. The Danes chose to accept German occupation rather than fight, because they were severely outnumbered and this would minimize casualties. After the invasion, the Germans felt it was better to leave the current government in place so long as they could control it and the people they represent. This worked OK for a time until the Danish saw no end to the occupation, and began fighting back by helping British intelligence, blowing up factories that were producing German armament, destroying rail lines, etc. It was a very good museum. Following the Resistance Museum, I went to the Danish Museum of Art and Design. It was like being in IKEA. I didn't stay long. Good thing it is free on Wednesdays. After leaving, I walked through Kastellet, an old fort, on my way to The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid is one of the most famous sculptures in the world, but as I mentioned earlier it's gone for the year so I took a picture of the rock it normally sits on. My final stop for the day was the Old Stock Exchange which in the past housed stock exchange operations for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
On my last day in Copenhagen, I set out to accomplish the few remaining things on my list. I failed miserably. I had intended to go to the Carlsberg Brewery, but decided early in the day that I could skip it and hit the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam instead. My first stop was a walk through the King's Gardens which is adjacent to the Rosenborg Castle. They were nice, but the English Gardens in Munich they were not. Next stop, the Rosenborg Castle. The Rosenborg Castle was built by King Christian IV in the 1600's as a summer home. It is large and filled with all kinds of gaudy objects, but most importantly it houses the crown jewels. The crown jewels were pretty spectacular. I'm pretty sure if Little Wayne visited, bling bling would simply not cover it (sorry old people, pop culture reference). From there, I crossed the street to Denmark's National Gallery. I was told there was a free section of the gallery, but I wasn't told was how crappy the free section was. Literally it was the worst museum/art exhibit I have seen on my trip so far. I walked up to the information desk and asked for my money back, but the attendant didn't think that was very funny. Afterwards, I walked through the adjacent botanical gardens which I must say was a pleasant surprise. I've only been through a few on my trip, but these were the best so far. I really liked that EVERY flora and fauna was labeled. My last stop for the day was the National Museum. This was my 2nd huge failure of the day besides missing Carlsberg. I had not accounted for how massive the museum was. I also figured on a British Museum style layout where things are poorly organized, but I was wrong on that too. It was an excellent museum (and free) and had detailed explanations of Danish history from 9000 BC to present day. I easily could've spent the entire day there. Afterwards I stopped by McDonald's for a $14 "value" meal to use their free wifi and plan my day tomorrow. I have to get out of here. Copenhagen is so expensive.
Copenhagen
Rosenborg Castle
My next update will be in another country so for the final time...
Sköål!
In between stops in Kolding and Arhus, I visited Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, one of the world's most expensive cities! It's absolutely outrageous how expensive things are here. $4 for a slice of pizza, $6 for a beer (during happy hour), and so on. I thought London was expensive, but Copenhagen takes it to another level. Good thing I'm only here for 3 days, because I couldn't afford much more.
I've been to Copenhagen before when I was a kid, but outside of Tivoli, The Little Mermaid, and the City Hall square, I don't remember much about it. To my dismay Tivoli is closed or a few weeks as they get ready for Christmas season, and The Little Mermaid swam away to China for the year, so I won't be seeing 2 of the biggest sights in town. While I'm bummed, it's not the end of the world since I have seen them before.
I arrived around 11 in the morning my first day in Copenhagen. I immediately went to a hostel I knew about, because I didn't have a reservation. Luckily, no problems and lots of room. After checking in, I got money (no Euro in Denmark) and a map. I followed a self-guided walking tour that took me to City Hall square, down Strøget Street which is the major shopping avenue, through Christiansborg Palace, and over to Christinhavn. Christianshavn is one of many island around Copenhagen and home to an area called Christiania; which I visited. Christiania started in 1971 as a group of squatters who moved into abandoned barracks the government was considering tearing down. Over time, the area transformed into a self-governing community within the city. In Christiania the people don't pay taxes, ignore laws, partake in rampant drug dealing/use, and by and large live everywhere: abandoned buildings, shacks, tents, etc. It's interesting because it's a huge underground economy yet in functions somewhat normally with stores (that primarily deal weed rather than bread and cheese), parks with kids, an information center, health center, town hall, post office, and more. I would not consider it a safe place by any means, but if you mind your own business and act like you've been there before, people won't bother you. Absolutely no photography though and do not go at night. It's interesting that the government has chosen to leave these people alone rather than fight them; a controversial decision amongst Danes.
Christiania
My second day in Copenhagen was filled with rain, rain, and more rain. Even though it was chilly and wet I decided to suck it up and see as much as possible. My first stop was the royal residences at Amalienborg. Pretty standard for royalty, but I did think it was cool that you get so close to the buildings. My next stop was the Museum of Danish Resistance. During World War II, the Danes chose a stance of neutrality before ultimately being invaded by the Germans. The Danes chose to accept German occupation rather than fight, because they were severely outnumbered and this would minimize casualties. After the invasion, the Germans felt it was better to leave the current government in place so long as they could control it and the people they represent. This worked OK for a time until the Danish saw no end to the occupation, and began fighting back by helping British intelligence, blowing up factories that were producing German armament, destroying rail lines, etc. It was a very good museum. Following the Resistance Museum, I went to the Danish Museum of Art and Design. It was like being in IKEA. I didn't stay long. Good thing it is free on Wednesdays. After leaving, I walked through Kastellet, an old fort, on my way to The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid is one of the most famous sculptures in the world, but as I mentioned earlier it's gone for the year so I took a picture of the rock it normally sits on. My final stop for the day was the Old Stock Exchange which in the past housed stock exchange operations for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
On my last day in Copenhagen, I set out to accomplish the few remaining things on my list. I failed miserably. I had intended to go to the Carlsberg Brewery, but decided early in the day that I could skip it and hit the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam instead. My first stop was a walk through the King's Gardens which is adjacent to the Rosenborg Castle. They were nice, but the English Gardens in Munich they were not. Next stop, the Rosenborg Castle. The Rosenborg Castle was built by King Christian IV in the 1600's as a summer home. It is large and filled with all kinds of gaudy objects, but most importantly it houses the crown jewels. The crown jewels were pretty spectacular. I'm pretty sure if Little Wayne visited, bling bling would simply not cover it (sorry old people, pop culture reference). From there, I crossed the street to Denmark's National Gallery. I was told there was a free section of the gallery, but I wasn't told was how crappy the free section was. Literally it was the worst museum/art exhibit I have seen on my trip so far. I walked up to the information desk and asked for my money back, but the attendant didn't think that was very funny. Afterwards, I walked through the adjacent botanical gardens which I must say was a pleasant surprise. I've only been through a few on my trip, but these were the best so far. I really liked that EVERY flora and fauna was labeled. My last stop for the day was the National Museum. This was my 2nd huge failure of the day besides missing Carlsberg. I had not accounted for how massive the museum was. I also figured on a British Museum style layout where things are poorly organized, but I was wrong on that too. It was an excellent museum (and free) and had detailed explanations of Danish history from 9000 BC to present day. I easily could've spent the entire day there. Afterwards I stopped by McDonald's for a $14 "value" meal to use their free wifi and plan my day tomorrow. I have to get out of here. Copenhagen is so expensive.
Copenhagen
Rosenborg Castle
My next update will be in another country so for the final time...
Sköål!
10/26/2010 Update
Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark. It's good to be back in the motherland! I've spent the last 2 days in Kolding, Denmark visiting the Bjerg's who are family friends. It's been 4 years since I have seen them and it was nice seeing them and catching up on the last 4 years of life.
Kolding is probably the smallest town I have been to so far (aside from Iceland) on my trip. It's actually really nice to go somewhere and not be surrounded by hundreds of things to do. After the Bjerg's picked me up at the train station, they fed me and we went to see a Beatles exhibit at Koldinghus, the local castle. The exhibit was really well done and they had tons of pictures and memorabilia that I never knew existed. Afterwards, we went back to their house (the Bjerg's not the Beatles) and Hanna made dinner. I haven't had some good home-cooking (like an OU football game in Norman) in weeks, and it was delicious. After dinner, I left with Jacob, the youngest son, to go watch a movie with some of his friends. They chose The New Daughter which would've been a decent movie had it not been for a completely bizarre and therefore terrible ending. Word of advice movie producers, if you are going to give a guy a shotgun and 3 cartridges of ammo, make sure he empties every one of those shells into something evil!
Overlooking Kolding
My second day in Kolding was filled with complete laziness. I literally did not go outside all day. It was great. I got to use the computer to check email and read up on the news. Hanna helped me with a load of laundry which desperately needed to be done. It was nice to relax. Thomas, the oldest son, came to dinner after work and it was nice being able to see the whole family (except for his girlfriend, Marlene, who was sick that day) while I was there. After dinner we sat around and talked for several hours about everything from the oil and gas business to politics (Danish and American). I normally dislike talking about American politics while abroad; however, it was actually nice talking to the Bjerg's about it, because they are extremely well informed on the issues and have actually lived in the US so they have a good understanding of American capitalism and the American political system. By the end of the night I'm pretty sure we solved the plight of 6+ billion people.
My trip to Kolding was great. It was nice to take a break for a few days to sit and relax. I look forward to returning some time in the future.
Sköål!
Kolding is probably the smallest town I have been to so far (aside from Iceland) on my trip. It's actually really nice to go somewhere and not be surrounded by hundreds of things to do. After the Bjerg's picked me up at the train station, they fed me and we went to see a Beatles exhibit at Koldinghus, the local castle. The exhibit was really well done and they had tons of pictures and memorabilia that I never knew existed. Afterwards, we went back to their house (the Bjerg's not the Beatles) and Hanna made dinner. I haven't had some good home-cooking (like an OU football game in Norman) in weeks, and it was delicious. After dinner, I left with Jacob, the youngest son, to go watch a movie with some of his friends. They chose The New Daughter which would've been a decent movie had it not been for a completely bizarre and therefore terrible ending. Word of advice movie producers, if you are going to give a guy a shotgun and 3 cartridges of ammo, make sure he empties every one of those shells into something evil!
Overlooking Kolding
My second day in Kolding was filled with complete laziness. I literally did not go outside all day. It was great. I got to use the computer to check email and read up on the news. Hanna helped me with a load of laundry which desperately needed to be done. It was nice to relax. Thomas, the oldest son, came to dinner after work and it was nice being able to see the whole family (except for his girlfriend, Marlene, who was sick that day) while I was there. After dinner we sat around and talked for several hours about everything from the oil and gas business to politics (Danish and American). I normally dislike talking about American politics while abroad; however, it was actually nice talking to the Bjerg's about it, because they are extremely well informed on the issues and have actually lived in the US so they have a good understanding of American capitalism and the American political system. By the end of the night I'm pretty sure we solved the plight of 6+ billion people.
My trip to Kolding was great. It was nice to take a break for a few days to sit and relax. I look forward to returning some time in the future.
Sköål!
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