Europe (Summing it all Up)

This is a quote that summarizes the trip to Europe quite nicely.

"Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything. You only have the most rudimentary sense of how things work; you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."  - Bill Bryson - Neither Here Nor There

Food and Drink in Europe

Night Train to Memphis (Or Rome)

We took a lot of train rides during the trip but a very memorable one was a night train from Munich to Rome. I had never been on a night train and really didn't know what to expect. We paid extra money to get a Couchette, which is basically like a small bunk. I cannot sleep in airplanes or sitting up so the money seemed like it was worth it to get a place to lie down.

We got to the train station and got to our cabin. There were six bed crammed into a space that was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and maybe 8 feet tall. It was going to be a tight squeeze. I only fit in the beds if I layed diagonally and even then if I moved suddenly, I would bang my head on a metal bulkhead. Adding to this uncomfort, the train did not have air conditioning and no windows in the cabin you could open. This went from a minor annoyance to maing me want to jump out of the train. I was pouring sweat and could not sleep to save my life.

It was some of the most uncomfortable 12 hours I have spent in recent memory.

That smile would soon fade when I saw where we were sleeping.

Yeah, the room was small. I couldn't turn around with my backpack on.

Ryan in his bed


Just like airplanes, the people that design trains did not have me in mind when they did. I had to lay diagonally to fit.

Pictures (Finally)

There will be many more to come. Between the two of us, Ryan and I have taken over 1,500 pictures.

Switzerland

Switzerland might as well be heaven on earth. We are in Interlaken and every view seems like it belongs on a postcard.

It is very very expensive here but well worth it. Interlaken is a hub for all kinds of outdoor activities. One we heard of and wanted to do before we come here was Cayoning. Cayoning is basically starting at the top of a canyon with a river running through it and finding ways to get through the canyon. We repelled down rock faces, floated, slid down rocks, and jumped from cliffs. It was quite the adrenalin rish.

Here is a link to a video showing what Canyoning is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGsy139Q_dw
I could stay in Switzerland for a very long time. Its great here

Dachau

While in Munich, I went to go tour the Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau is about a 15 minute train ride from Munich and was the first and longest operating concentration camp. It opened in 1933, right after the Nazis came to power and it housed a little over 200,000 people in its history.

Nothing can really prepare you for seeing a concentration camp in person. The gates leading into the camp have the words "Arbeit Mach Frei" which translates to "Work Will Set You Free." We walked through that gate and into the camp. There is a big gravel area that was used for the prisoners to assemble each day for the count, a large administration building, and two barracks. All of the braacks were torn down by the German government in the 1960s and so there are two that have been rebuilt to give people an idea of how they would have looked.

We began the tour in the administration building where they processed the prisoners. There were all kinds of displays about the brutality and the mistreatment of the people. I really could not get over how something like this happens. There were deiplays that showed how the camp was seen by the twon and outsiders to demonstrate that most German citizens and especially the citizens of Dachau were very aware of what was going on there.

From there we went to the bunker, which was a low building with small cells. This was where the Gestapo held special prisoners. One of these was Georg Elser. Elser was arrested after his failed attempt to assassinate Hitler with a bomb in Munich. He was kept alive and well fed at Dachau so that he could be publically executed by the Nazis after the war.

This whole time I had a surreal feeling and was just trying to take it all in. After all of this our guide took us to see the camps gas chamber and the crematorium. The crematorium was unnerving. There were two different ones each with about 3 ovens in them. It was simply shocking. Then we were taken into the gas chamber. I dont think I have ever felt that uneasy. The place was simply creepy. They only had a small light in one corner and so it was a dark room with a low ceiling. We could look up and no more than 4 inches from our heads were the nozzles where gas would come out.

While Dachau is notorious and was certainly not easy on its prisoners, it was not known for being a death camp per se. The guide told us that the gas chamber was only used once to kill people but there are no records of who they were or why it was done.

The whole experience was like a punch to the stomach but it was a very important one. You really cannot get a feel for what the camps were like by simply reading about it or looking at pictures.

Switzerland is Amazing (But Expensive)

I have all kinds of posts to write but in Switzerland, the Internet costs about $12 per hour. I will have to catch up on the blogging when it is cheaper.

We are in Interlaken, Switzerland. If you have a chance, google search that and look at pictures. It is simply breathtaking. We can see the Alps from our hostel and will be going up to the top of one mountain sometime this week.

There will be more blogs to come but I dont want to blow all of my cash on Internet.

Amsterdam is Very Over Rated

Amsterdam is pretty upon first sight. It is colorful and there are canals everywhere. It is also the bike capital of the world. There were parking structures just for bikes. No kidding. It was unreal. Check out the picture below. It is a 3 story parking garage for bikes.
Both Ryan and I were quite unimpressed with Amsterdam. There simply was nothing to do. Everything is legal in Amsterdam. It makes Nevada seem conservative and that is saying A LOT. It was almost too much though. Because everything is legal, Amsterdam has become a tourist destination for other Europeans and Americans to come there and do things that are illegal back home. We got real tired of walking through the streets and seeing this. It just wasn't our thing.

One positive note was that we were able to meet up with Ben Dictus here. Ben is another former consultant and is traveling through Europe for two months with his fiancee (You didn't here that from me). It was so nice to meet up with them and hang out for a day. It really was the only redeeming part of the trip.

Don't go to Amsterdam. It is way over rated and nothing but a big tourist trap. Spend your time in Germany or Paris.

Pictures

I am still unable to find a way to post pictures. The comuters in hostels are basically just for checking email, news, and blogging.

Between the two of us, Ryan and I have taken over 1,000 pictures so far so there will be lots to see when we get back and can post them.

Prague Will Spoil You

Prague is cheap. Ridiculously cheap. (And on top of this, it really is a beautiful city. They avoided both World Wars and so all their buildings are still intact). This has either been a nice break for our wallets or it has made everything else we do seem very expensive. Im beginning to think it is the latter of those two.

How cheap is Prague? The exchange rate is about 20 Korunas for $1. (And it was the only country where I didn't cry when I exchanged my money). While this does sound quite cheap, lets put that into some perspective. Beers at a neighborhood pub go for 20 Korunas and beers can be had in the grocery store for as cheap as 7 Korunas (yes, that is 35 American cents). Also, the beers here pretty much only come in half liters.

Since we were feeling newly rich, we went out for a traditional Czech meal. We walked into the restaurant and got a table. The waiter appeared and immeadiately handed us English menus. While this was great, it was also a bit of a letdown. Ryan and I have tried so hard to not stick out as Americans but something about us that day must have screamed dumb tourist.

We ordered the roast duck and dumplings. The woman at the desk in the hostel told us this was a very traditional dish. They brought out the meal in a pot and the portions were unbelievable. We couldn't finish it all. All told the meal (including appetizers and beers) came out to $15 American per person. To say we were happy is a major understatement.

Also, when all was said and done, our hostel came out to something like $50 per person for three days. It was not only the cheapest place we have stayed, but it was also the best.

Everything from here on out is going to seem quite expensive. Maybe we will just go back to Prague.

Lost in Translation

The source of most of our funny stories and times of complete stupidity mostly stem from not being able to speak the language of the country we are currently in.

Before the trip it was a little bit of a concern but we figured that a lot of Europeans would speak English and it wouldn't be so difficult. How stupid and naive we were.

I have already posted about our adventures in Paris but there have also been some good misques throughout the trip. I am becoming quite adept at saying the wrong word in a different language. When we were getting tickets to go up the Eiffel tower I paid for the tickets and then enteded to say thank you (which in French is Merci). Instead for some reason I said "Bonjour" which means "Hello." She gave me a funny look and so I just smiled and walked off.

Another time was in Prague. We had no clue how to say anything in Czech and pretty much gave up trying. When we were out to eat one night the waitress. She said something in czech which is kind of a catch-all word that can mean "Enjoy." I again jumped the gun and said the word for You're welcome. She gave me a funny look and then walked off. I am pretty sure she spoke very good English but we couldn't even figure out how to ask people that in Czech.

Its been a very interesting experience to say the least. One of the hardest things about the language barrier has been in restaurants. Half the time I just point at something and hope it works out (like pig's knee in Berlin).

It makes me want to start learning another language when I get back home.

The Pope's Revenge

This is one of the better stories we have heard while touring Europe (I apologize in advance if I don't get all the details quite right). In Berlin, they built a TV tower in the east (communist) side. It was intended to be a symbol of the city and in some ways, communism.

So they begun building it and quickly found out that they were overmatched. Berlin sits in somewhat swampy land and it proved to be too much of a challenge for the East German engineers. They quietly brought in some Swedish (capitalist) engineers to finish the project.

The tower is quite the sight and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Around this time the government had also cracked down on churches and had removed all crosses from the eastern side. As it turns out, when the sunlight hits the tower, it forms a giant cross. People began calling this the Pope's revenge for taking the crosses down. The East German government tried lots of things to scatter the light but in the end declared that it was not a cross, but rather a giant plus sign for communism.

We happened to hit Berlin on a beautiful, sunny day and we could very clearly see the cross on the tower.

Prague

In Prague we are staying at a hostel called Sir Tobys that was highly recommended on a blog I read. It is easily the best hostel we have stayed in. Check it out: http://www.sirtobys.com/

Also, the exchange rate here is $1 = 20 koruna and things are quite cheap so that is working out well for us.

Eich bin ein Berliner

Berlin is definately going to compete with Paris for my favorite city so far. There is so much history and you could easily argue Berlin has been in the center of most of the major events in the 20th century.

We took a free tour despite our bad experience on the one in London and this one was great. (http://www.newberlintours.com/nbt/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/lang,en/)

Our tour guide was from England and talked a lot about the history of the city. One thing that really amazed me was the fact that there are still some buildings in Berlin that show damage from World War II. Yeah, its been over 60 years and they are still getting around to repairing things. It was crazy to look at and think about.

The food was good here too and we were able to find a restaurant that had an english menu. There special was a "Berliner" with potatoes and peas. It sounded good enough and when I got it, it turned out to be a pig's knee. It was some of the most tender pork I have eaten and it was surprisingly good.