Janie und Carl’s blog

Our much anticipated trip to Ireland came and went much too quickly right in time with Janie's 25th birthday.  We hit the ground running after landing in Dublin on Thursday.  The first challenge was to acclimate to the driving configuration quick enough to not be a danger to the other drivers on the road:

I don't think Jane has too many stories from my driving.  Ok, maybe one.  I did eventually zone out on some back roads and made a left turn into the right lane.  I was quickly corrected by a motorcycle which came around a corner and gave me some choice hand gestures. 

This past weekend, Carl and I sprinted to Prague for a wonderful, but short weekend getaway.  Stopping once to get gas and be turned down by McDonalds, we hit Prague around 8:30.  After checking in, we went to a restaurant with vaulted ceilings and a unique atmosphere.  The food was wonderful and was the most reasonably priced food we had seen in a while.  With out tummies full, we headed to sleep.

The next morning, we changed rooms and then beat feet around town.  Our first stop was the Municipal building and Powder Tower.  The Municipal building was a created by a conglomerate of artists of the day.  It is absolutely gorgeous with it's architecture, stain glass windows, sculptures, and mosaic. 

From here we headed to the the Old Town Square.  Here is their Astrological clock and quite a bit of history.  They also have beautiful neogothic style buildings.  Luckily, Prague was able to preserve most of it's city during several wars and communism to bring a sight truly old European style.

After grabbing a quick snack, Carl and I hiked up the hill to Prague's Castle.  I got a chance to catch a pic with the guards and then headed in.  We hit the Castle hall, Basilica of St. George, the Golden Lane, and finally the Daliborka Tower.  Carl and I both got our fix for tourture chambers and beautiful halls. 

After grabbing an overpriced bit to eat, Carl and I headed to St. Wenceslas Square.   This is where a lot of the Czech Republic's History has gone down.  Originally a medieval horse market, everything from revolutionary riots to Communist police brutality occurred here.  It was also here that Communism ended. 

At this point both of us were pretty hungry and headed to an overpriced and disappointing Indian restaurant.  Feeling a bit jaded, we headed back to the hostel and got ready to head out.  Carl had done a bit of researching and decided that the place to be was the U Zlateho Tygra, The Golden Tiger.  This is where the authentic Czech bar style is at it's hight.  Half underground with vaulted ceilings.  You sit down and immediately, two beers are brought over to you and two marks are put on your tab.  A wonderfully unique Czech experience.  Surprisingly enough, the bar closed rather early and from there we hit another spot and watch a Euro Idolish show while listening to tables chant for their county. 

The next day Carl and I woke up and headed to do our shopping for a few friends and family members and hit up the Communism Museum.  I actually learned quite a bit as there was a video playing that kept Carl occupied while I read through the displays.  Having seen as much as we could, Carl and I walked back through the city and onwards to Switzerland. 
  

Finally!  After pushing this trip back once Janie and I got on an overnight train and traveled to one of our must-see destinations in Europe:  Rome.  It's a truly overwhelming city - for almost a thousand years the Romans stole wealth from all over Europe, North Africa and the middle east and dumped the cash and slave labor into the city.  Then starting in about the year 800, the Catholic church slowly assumed the Romans role of "collecting" from across the globe (including from within the Roman ruins in Rome itself) and pumping the resources into churches, basilicas, statues and the Vatican.  

The Trip

Day Uno:  Caught the overnight train on Friday (9-May) and found the hostel right outside the train station.  After testing the shower we assembled a plan and started walking.  The first stop was Piazza San Pietro to check out the chains that once held St. Peter.  From there we jumped head first into Rome - il Colosseo.  We didn't quite expect all the pock marks from a few hundred years of pillaging for the metal the Romans used to hold the building blocks together.  It is every bit as impressive as expected though.

From there we trappsed up to the Palatine Hill - the foundation of Rome.  Where the legend of Romulus and Remus occured and so did the birth of Rome.  Generations of Roman rulers made their homes on this hill and it became a sprawling palace.  We had a nice view of Circus Maximus (think Ben-Hur) then beat feet to the other end of the hill and checked out the Roman Forum.  At this point we were famished and paid WAY too much for a couple gelatinos from a street vendor.

The Trevi Fountain was the last major stop of the day then we headed back to the hotel to rest our office accustomed feet.

Day Due:  The next sunny morning we were quickly found ourselves stumbling into Our Lady of the Angels and Martyrs Basilica and then cutting across town to the Pantheon.   By the time we arrived (after lunch) it was absolutely loaded with folks.

From there we did a self-led walking tour across the Tiber River where we stopped in front of the Castel St. Angelo and checked out the bustling foreign street vendors on the bridge leading to the Castel.  From there we wandered the streets and alleys of Roma and happened upon some interesting sites like the anti-mafia building.  The Piazzo Farnese was then deemed a good place to stop for a brief rest and another gelatino.  

Day Tre:  The partly cloudy morning of the 3rd day we were finally able to provide Janie's catacomb fix at St. Callistus.   ~500k folks and a bunch of popes were buried there in Rome's biggest catacombs.  After our tour we quickly walked through one of the many open air markets and hoped the metro to do a lap around the completely ransacked but still discernable Circus Maximus.  That night we did our best to get a good looking night shot of the Coliseum and I was extremely tempted to hop in with a pub crawl we happened across.  Jane, while offering to let me go it alone, convinced me in her subtle way that sleep was the better option.  She was right - that night was absolutely the WORST night of sleep I've ever gotten at a hostel.  The work going on in the street sounded like it was happening right in our room.  Coupled with the daily 4:30 AM bottle cart that provided an obnoxious explosion of tinkering bottles made a less than welcome alarm clock.  Pure crap sleep.
 

Day Quattro:  On our last day, and the first with nasty weather, we started with a groggy but determined swagger - the Vatican could not be missed.  We started with checking out the tombs of the Popes (the line to the dome was long - maybe next time) and then darted into Saint Peter's Basilica.  Saint Peter's is to churches as Foz du Iguacu is to waterfalls.  Once you've seen it all others, while different, are a bore.  We then rolled through the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. 

Afterwards we were finally able to catch a late lunch at a restaurant Zach Gaston and Marcos Teixeira had highly recommend:  La Locanda di Borgo.  After a sumptuous Saltimbocca and Spaghetti Carbonara we made a quick trip in the rain out to the ancient port town of Ostica Antica.  The most well preserved example of Roman city life, it was a great stop that made us wish we had visited sooner.  Maybe the coin toss over our shoulders into the Trevi fountain will help get us back to Rome sooner rather than later.

The overnight train ride back was a little eventful thanks to a Indian family of 4 from Canada removing their sour shoes and then whipping out a meal of some ham/spam meat.  The combined smell was enough to send Janie's stomach into flips and convince the train attendants that they needed to hook us up on our own private sleeping car. 

To conclude, Rome truly is an experience.  With a monument, ancient ruins, fountain, a basilica or some other important site every few hundred meters it is one of the richest cultural locations on the planet.  Janie and I now have a comfortable fill of Roman ruins and basilicas and will be focusing on Europe's other treasures.

A couple of weeks ago, Carl and I had the opportunity to take a wonderful trip on a long weekend.  About two days before we left, we started planning our trip through Austria and Italy to Slovenia and Croatia.  We decided to take the most "cost efficient" means of transportation, driving.  While I am a lucky person who can sleep for hours in the car, I was ill prepared for the eight hours I was to spend in the car (one way). 

Once we finally arrived in Slovenia, I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the small town we were staying in.  Somehow, Carl and I had lucked out and we stayed at an enchanting Italian style house that had been converted to a very nice hostel overlooking the city of Portorose and the Adriatic Sea.  After checking in and cleaning up for a moment, Carl and I headed out to Piran, a small coastal city with Venice-like architecture and breathtaking views of the Sea.  We walked through the Piran's Piazza and down the coastline with little cafes and restaurants.  I was completely in love with the Myanmar Wall and the stone beaches where you could view the Italian Alps across the Adriatic.

That evening Carl and I drank a bottle of red wine.  After nightfall, we walked out in the hostel yard and sat around a bonfire the manager of the hostel had set up for us and watched the sea and city.  This was the most enchanting time of the vacation.  Simply wonderful.

Early the next morning, Carl and I left out to Piran's stone beach and crystal clear waters and laid out for about an hour.  While we were there we got the full view of the European beach life style (ahem).  I was just starting to sun when Carl decided it was time for the next leg of our holiday....we should have never left!

Our next stop was the city of Pula in Croatia.  No one had recommended this city for touring but we had read some interesting information about it in lonely planet.  We drove to our hostel which was on a cove but was made out of trailers.  Ours was quite damp when we first arrived and not quite what we expected.  This was a fore barer for what was to come.   Carl and I dropped our stuff at the hostel and walked about 30 minutes into Pula.  Once there we found dilapidated building and a few very odd people.   This was the most unsafe I have felt in Europe ever.  People would gawk and star and one person just stopped and stared at Carl and I as we maneuvered around him.

Once we made it into the heart of the city, we were pleasantly surprised with the number of Roman ruins we found.  Our first encounter was the Arch of Sergii.  It was erected for two of the cities first founders.  This was the first time Carl and I had actually seen a ruin so intact.  The arch led us to the main shopping area and city square.  Carl and I walked from here to the Amphitheatre of Pula.  This is the sixth largest structure still standing from Roman times.  We circumnavigated the monument and took several photos.  Once finished we grabbed dinner, wondered the city for a few more hours and finally headed back to catch some sleep!

The next morning, Carl and I decided we had seen what Pula had to offer and headed two hours southeast to the Island of Krk.  I slept for most of the trip to Krk and woke up as we passed through the city.  While in Slovenia, Martin had told us of a city named Vrbnik and we decided to check it out as well.  Once we arrived in Vrbnik, we ate lunch and laid out in the city's small cove.  We stayed for a couple of hours and decided we were ready to take the long drive back to Switzerland.  We started driving around 5 or 6pm and made it home the next morning, both very happy to be back.

After an expensive trip to Venice, Carl and I decided to chill out one weekend and do some city walking.  We decided to take a short trip to Kyburg.  Kyburg is a beautiful and well preserved castle that was first mentioned in 1027.  It stands in the town Kyburg over the Töss river.  Carl and I had come here before to walk around but missed the castle because of arriving too late.  This time we were not to be disappointed.

Carl and I parked on the other side of town and walked to the castle.  Once on the grounds, there were gorgeous views of the surrounding country side. Inside the castle was a museum covering all sorts of events throughout the history of Kyburg.  In the bedroom there was a heated chair that I was very fond of.  Carl, on the other hand, was quite fascinated with the armory.  There were also torture chambers, studies, a wine cellar, a chapel and a carriage room.  One thing that surprised me was that they had a fire hose.  Very smart people.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day and a much needed relaxing weekend.

Jane and I partnered up with Tom Engbring from Arizona (Palo Verde Nuke plant) and headed to Venice Friday afternoon, 18-April-2008, on what was forecasted to be a rainy weekend.  Finally left town at 4pm and hit traffic slowing was should have been a 6 hour drive to 7 1/2.   After parking we followed the GPS on foot to our hotel.  It lead us to an unlikely small alley that had all 3 of us shaking our heads.  After venturing into the alley we found the hotel but with a little surprise: I had been led to believe 3 people in a double room were no problem - but with the old coot inn keeper it obviously was.  We scrounged and found Tom a better deal on a room (70 Euros compared to our 105) right across the alley.

The weather forecasters here in Europe are, at best, terrible.  The weekend of predicted rain evaporated with the break of Saturday morning into a couldn't be scripted better sunny blue sky pair of days.

Saturday Janie and I beat feet all over the beautiful, enchanting island of Venice.  I've never been on an island with no cars and didn't even see any bikes.  We figured out the water taxi system which, aside from the lack of jimmy buffet and coolers of beer, reminded me of the college days at Ono Island - using boats as your primary means of transportation.  The secondary means, walking, had Jane and I exploring endless venetian alley nooks and crannies.  

Piazza San Marco was an impressive sight with salt water pumping up through the floor, sun warming our swiss made pale skin (for one of the first times in the new year) and pigeons having their way with tourists who were seemingly amused by the little pests.  Unlike the warnings in the tourist books we walked right into St. Mark's Basilica for a better than normal tour.  4 euros got us into the VIP 2nd floor where were were able to gaze down at the lay folk getting molested by winged rats and further quench our need for sunlight under the Italian sky.

After leaving San Marco we grabbed a touch of a nap and I mentioned the Sunday shopping may not be as bountiful as Saturday's options.  Jane, with her new found cash source (job), went into a tizzy and the resulting trek rewarded us with all the trinkets we could have hoped to procure.  

That evening we went in search of Tom at a pizza place without knowing the name and only the general location which ended, predictably, in failure.  Jane and I hoped a boat to a walk along the outside of the island, had a nice pizza and wine dinner followed a nice evening stroll back to the the hotel and, like the rest of Venice, turned off the lights early. 

Sunday was scheduled to be a short day but Tom had come back Saturday with tales of a sandy beach nearby.  This information sent us to the island of Lido.  After a boat ride to the island, a walk, a brief stop for some basil, tomato and mozzarella and some Italian gelado we found the beach just where Tom had left it.  It happened to be our first introduction to Euro style sunbathing too - nothing but fleisch.  A beautiful way to finish up the trip and earn some red skin....in all one of the most enjoyable trips since touching down on this continent.   Expensive though at ~$850 for the 2 days.  Good thing Ms. J is now bringing in the g's. 

On Monday after Jenna and Erin were on their way to Paris, I started my trek to Stuttgart.  This was my first time to travel solo outside of the states.  Needless to say I was a bit anxious.  Putting fears aside, I loaded up my day pack, grabbed the GPS, and hopped on the train.  I left early around 11:15 so that I would arrive in Stuttgart before dark.  This is another fear of mine, arriving after dark and then wondering the streets alone, being the small girl that I am in search of her hostel. 

I arrived unscathed and headed on my 30 min walk to the hostel.....thank you GPS.  Little did I know that the hostel was really just a 10 min walk.  After reaching the hostel, I unpacked, chatted with my roommates and headed out the door to find the Swiss Consulate.  I wanted to make sure I knew where that place was so I could hit it first thing in the morning.  I did some more touring and finally hit the hostel that evening.  The sleeping arrangements where what you expected....at least one insanely early riser, one really late arriver, and one person who snored incredibly loud all night.  I myself was the second one up.  I did all my morning stuff and headed out to the consulate. 

I was the first one there and probably the first one back at 11:15 (we were supposed to be there at 11:45).  I was lucky to pick up my passport and make it to the noon train to Winterthur.  Once there, I ran to immigration and did all the, what I hope to be, finally paperwork.  I finally arrived at the apartment around 1700 and crashed.  After a crazy weekend with Erin, Jenna and Carl and then running all over Stuttgart to get my visa and permit, I was exhausted. 

Ahhh, it is such a fabulous feeling to have friends over!  I am so glad that I was able to meet up with Erin this weekend.  After months of planning, Erin and I made arrangements to meet up in Münich.  Carl and I had a late start on the evening and of course where caught in traffic on the German Autobahn.  Once we arrived, we threw our bags in the hostel, started a "pre-drink" and got in party gear as quickly as we could.  We caught word from Erin to meet her and Jenna at Salsalito's, a bar in downtown Münich.  Carl and I trot our way down and after spotting each other, Erin and I burst into high pitched squeals and giggles.  I think this effectively got the attention of every male in the bar.  I think we all paid for perhaps 1 or 2 drinks the entire night.  It is wonderful being a cutie!  After Salsalito's, Carl decided he had enough girl time and headed back to the hostel.  It was not the end for us three chicas!  I believe our evening started around 2300 Friday and didn't stop till 6:30, yep, the next morning.  Ah, so wonderful to have a girl's night (and morning) out!!!

The next day, Carl and I woke up and walked around Münich seeing all that it had to offer.  We started off at BMW Welt.  We saw the technology, the cars and the bikes.  We were unable to go to the museum or the factory which is where Carl and I really wanted to go.  They were both closed for remodeling *sigh*.  After BMW, we walked around the Olympic Park and hopped on the S-bahn to head back into downtown.  We caught lunch at the Augustiner (a brewery) and just strolled around window shopping.  Carl and I still felt a bit tired after our crazy night before and ended up crashing in the car for a couple of hours before meeting back up with Erin and Jenna. 

We picked up Erin and Jenna around 1900 from main station.  It was there that we found out that even though Erin went to Neuschwanstein, she didn't actually make it in.  Jenna was the one who braved the tour solo.  Erin was having too much fun "relaxing" on the bench while oriental tourists took her pic.  Hee hee hee.  We all loaded up in VW and started the three hour trip home.  Everyone crashed out pretty much on arrival.  :)

Sunday, we were supposed to go skiing, but with our sleep deprived state, we were unable to justify going.  No matter though!  Carl woke up early and headed into work while Erin, Jenna and I enjoyed our sleep time!  Once we did wake up, I exposed Erin and Jenna to Müesli (which I believe they both are quite fond of) and headed out for a walking trip of Zürich.  We mulled around, taking shots of the Grossmünster, Fraumünster and Limmathof in search of a fondue cafe to appease our little tummies.  After munching we stopped by Winterthur to take a short tour and then headed home for a fabulous raclette dinner.  We shared stories and pictures and went to bed early.  I was still half dazed when Erin and Jenna left Monday morning at 6:00 (felt like 5:00 because of DST).  I will miss them both and am so thankful I was able to play for a weekend!   

Carl and I battled the gigantic snowflakes out of Brussels in hopes of making it to Amsterdam before nightfall.  We failed due to the two hours we spent in traffic.  Once arriving in Amsterdam, we drove to our hotel just to find out that our room had been given away.  (We had called and canceled one night, and apparently the entire stay was canceled).  Not missing a beat, the hotel assistant called another hotel and paid the difference.  We ended up getting four bed, corner room right in the middle of the entertainment district.  It was fabulous, we had very short walks to get to where ever we wanted. 

Carl and I were exhausted our first night in Amsterdam, we ate at a divine Indian restaurant and crashing out.  The next morning we got up and fought the horrible weather again to Big Mac bikes.  It was so much fun riding around through the canal streets and taking in all the sights, after being yelled at by some locals of course).  The first tourist outing we had was to the Sex Museum.  It was..um....interesting? Afterwards, Carl and I hiked it up to Anne Frank's house.  The house itself was barren and held a few wall replicas of what were originally in the room when Anne was there.  It was very neat to see the hidden staircase behind the bookshelf, but the aura was stark and desolate. 

Our next stop was the Van Gogh museum.  Carl and I arrived not too long before it's closing time so we viewed all 4 levels in about an hour and a half.  We ended up in the basement where there was another display that we liked better then the Van Gogh artwork.  Millais amazed us with his very realistic and unique perception in his artwork.  By this time Carl and I had enough museum time and headed back to the room to freshen up.  We showered and started walking towards the Red Light District.  I didn't realize that the Red Light District was really red from all the red lighting.  There were certain shops and bars everywhere.  Almost the entire night I kept singing the "How much is that doggy in the window" song in my head.   Later we decided to wet our whistle and meet up with some wonderful people from London.  We changed scenes and headed to a dance club and partied all night.  At the end of the night, we exchanged names and numbers on the back of coasters and walked to our respective hotels.  Carl and I were lucky, our hotel was a two minute walk from the club. 

The next day, as in afternoon, when we forced ourselves up and peddled our heavy heads to return the bikes.  We grabbed some lunch after and fell right back asleep.  That evening when we actually wanted to wake up, Carl and I met up with our London friends and took a night cruise through the canals throughout Amsterdam.  We saw the West Indian Trading Company's original warehouse and the beautiful old homes and businesses on Gentleman, Emperor, and Prince canals.  We finished our cruise and headed to get some food.  We walked all around town and ended up at the most expensive Chinese restaurant I've ever been to.  The food wasn't that great but at least Carl and I were able to leave with semi-satisfied stomachs.

Carl and I woke up early the next day to head to Bastogne.  Both of us were very excited about going to the last museum of the trip, the Bastogne Historical Center.   After some hassling with GPS and fighting through heavy snow we pulled into Bastogne...greated  by Sherman tank turrets at the city limits.  We spent some time touring through the extensive museum, watching a historical video and walking all over the big memorial. 

Once Zach and Marcos left, Carl and I started gathering our stuff to start our Easter trip.  I have to admit, I was in a bit of a foul mood because of the snow, sleet, hail and rain that were awaiting us.  Pulling my chin up, we packed, and hit the road at 5:30 Thursday morning.  Of course, we had to forget our passports which cost us 2 hours of travel time. 

However, back on the road and roughly nine and a half hours later, Carl and I arrive at the Westvleteren Monastery.  Carl originally thought that he was allowed to get one case per car.  Once he found out we could get one case per person, we were speeding through little, curvy farm roads to the closest ATM.  We raced back through those same narrow, curvy farm roads to pick up two cases of beer and a set of six beer goblets (yeah, beer goblets).  Carl was so excited that he couldn't stay in the car and wait.  He walked around the drive through waiting on other people and then jumping in the car to pull it up whenever someone finished.

With the beer errand finished, we headed to Brugge for the evening.  We arrived later then we wanted and rain was pouring down.  We crossed the draw-bridge into the city, toured the outer-ring of windmills, ate at the hostel restaurant and took advantage of their complimentary three-beer sampler.  It is here that I found a beer that I almost like.  Carl was excited about this as well and we ended up buying two four-packs.  The next morning we woke up and started scanning the town.

Brugge is what I though every European town was going to look like.  It had fantastic step-gable buildings from the 1600s and towers and churches that were breathtaking.  There were also the canals and horse-drawn carriages that added to the atmosphere of Brugge.  We took some shots

of the city and then headed towards our "picked" attractions.  We looked through dozens of chocolatiers' windows and admired the canals that went right up to the houses on it's banks.  We survived our first hail storm under an awning in their city center.  Once the storm broke, we headed to a church that holds Michelangelo's Madonna and Child.  We continued our walk to the Begijnhof.  The white buildings and tulip field was once the home of the Begijn nuns.  These nuns became a bit mystical and were eventually snuffed out by the church.  Their land in Brugge is now a monastery and an Unesco World Heritage site.  With all the running around, Carl and I were beginning to get hungry.  We stopped by a small cafe and ordered, you guess.............a Belgium waffle.  The waffles were divine!  I think there was a coating of sugar under my strawberries and cream and Carl's banana and cream waffle.  Both were delicious!  With our hunger pains subdued, Carl and I headed back to the car and started the hour trek to Waterloo!

Carl and I drove through the town of Waterloo and after asking directions, ended up at the Lion Mound.  From this 41 meter man-made mound, you can see the entire battlefield of Waterloo.  Something else you can also see is the impending HAIL STORM!  About 5 minutes of running around the monument we start to feel the first drops.  Carl start running down the stairs while I stash my sunglasses.  Half way down, the hail hits.  I could barely see anything and the hail was coming at me sideways and at pretty darn high speeds if you ask me.  Those things can sting when they hit!  With both hands on the railing holding on for dear life, I finally fight my way to the bottom of the mound.  Inclemet weather is why there are not a lot of photos from Waterloo.  Carl and I rush through the storm to the Panorama next door.  Carl was suckered into the Panorama by the warning "May scare small children."  The fresco was gigantic and very detailed and evoked a feeling of excitement.  Once the weather broke again, we darted to the car and made our way to Brussels.

The rain was a continuous downpour, so for the most part, Carl and I drove through Brussels.  We tried to spot the European Parliament but the building was pretty sheltered from the road.  The two things we did get out for were the Mannequin Pis (little man pee) Fountain and the Grand Place which is the old city square.  Pictures were pretty tough since we were shielding the camera and ourselves from driving rain. 

Carl and I darted back to the car after taking our pictures with the Mannequin Pis and snapped a few more random photos from the car window while exiting Brussels.  By this point, the rain had turned into the largest snow flakes Carl or I had ever seen.  In a city the size of Birmingham, we sat in bumper to bumper traffic for two hours but we were thinking the main part of the trip was beginning!