Saturday, September 25, 2004

update from Zurich

Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 04:26:11 -0700 (PDT)

We are in Zurich now. HAvent been able to get a
computer in a while. While in Ruette Austria, we biked
from Austria to Germany over the Alps to see the
Neuschwanstien castle the one that inspired walt
disney. ok well I walked uphill mostly. but my rear is
still hurting from that seat. but boy was it amazing!!
The trees, moutains, a huge turquoise lake, and the
castles!! We hiked up this huge steep hill to see the
castle from above, it was amazing but seth thought the
bridge wasnt too great.

Then we moved on to Salzburg. The first day there we
walked around the old town and saw all the sights, the
cathedral, the cemetary that was the inspiration for
the one in the sound of music. Mozarts house etc etc.
The B&B that we stayed in was run by the nicest old
lady. It could have been a little cleaner for my
tastes but it was cheap and she did our laundry!! That
first night we went to a restaurant and had Salzburger
Nockerl - this sweet souflee on top of berries. It was
amazing.

The next day we toured the fortree on the hill. (we
rode the funicular up) It was pretty cool. It was
never successfully assaulted. Then we had lunch at the
street fair and headed out on the train to Hallein to
tour a salt mine. By then it was pouring rain so we
thought an underground tour would be good. We donned
these white miners` costumes and boarded this little
train - it looked like the ones kids ride at the fair.
It took us into the mine. then we walked a little and
learned the historz of salt mining. Then came the fun
part! we slid down these wooden banisters on our
butts!! It was so fun! then we rode in a boat across
an underground lake and slid down more banisters.

Then for dinner we went to the augustiner brewery. it
is run by monks and really interesting. when you
walked in there were statues of saints oro something.
then zou went downstairs to the 1000 seat brew hall.
You got your food from different booths in the hall
way and your beer from someone else and found a seat.
we met another nice person, this guy we were sitting
with. he was a local, had his own mug with his name on
it.

Then we left for Zurich. The train ride was 6 hours!
but we are listening to a book on tape - the Da Vinci
Code, it is riveting I can`t wait for the next train
to finish it - and we were in the panorama car, so we
watched the swiss alps roll by. It was nice.

In Zurich we didnt have a place to stay so we asked at
the tourist office (Since I have managed to lose two
things so far - the hostel book with reviews of
hostels, and the cheap hotel/hostel guide that I had
put together from the interenet) they found us a
place. It isnt the greatest, but it is cheap and
clean. I think tommorrow we are moving on to Lucerne,
then Gimmelwald high in the swiss alps so we may not
have computer access for a while. Dont expect to hear
from me until next weekend.

Today we got a Zurich city card so we can ride teh
buses and trams unlimited. it also includes entrance
to some museums. The public transportation is great
becuase it is STILL raining!!

So far today we saw the art museum with paintings by
chagall, picasso, van gogh, monet, etc. It was
interesting, and more fun than most because we were
there when it opened so we got it to ourselves and
talked about each painting without glares from other
people and guards.

I think we are going to the swiss cultural museum
next!

Megan


// posted by Megamay @ 7:34 AM 0 comments

after oktoberfest

Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 10:53:42 -0700 (PDT)

We went to Oktoberfest on Sat morning. We got there just in time to see a
little of the parade. Then we checked into our hotel and headed over to the
fair grounds. I am not a good estimator of numbers but there had to be a
million people there. The grounds were huge and people were everywhere. We
looked in some of the tents for like an hour and couldnt find a spot to sit.
they wont serve you if you dont have a seat. there were tons of people just
standing around looking. so we thought we would go take a nap and come back.
well three hours later the same thing except all the people that were there
first were still there, thez were just more drunk and annoying. So we left
and headed over to a beirgarten. it was much more my style like a big picnic
you got your beer and food then headed to a picnic table. While we were
there we heard the woman next to us speaking english like and american so we
started talking to her. Then her and the group she was talking to asked us
to go with them to
a different beer hall. so we did. it was interesting, we were sitting at
this big round table called the traditional table or something and the guys
were toasting and clinking their glasses on the bells hanging over the
table. they were also singing in german and stuff. it was fun. The next day
was not so fun for me. I was coming down with a cold to begin with, and I
guess two liters of beer is a little much for me. We wandered around the
city. we strolled just like the europeans do. then we went back over to the
fairgrounds to look around. it was a little less crowded. we just wandered
around and looked at all the tents and rides and food and stuff.

This morning we got up early and took the train to Reutte Austria. It is
just across the german border from where the fairtale castles are,
supposedlz they inspired walt disney to build sleeping beauty castle.
tommorrow we are going to see them. today we took it easy becuase i have a
cold. plus you have to get to the castles early so tommorrow is better. We
are in this cute little town with white stucco buildings with dark timbered
trim, just like you imagine. And there are mountains all around. and the air
is this great crisp moutain air, and the water in the streams looks so clear
and blue it is amazing. I love mountains!

And the hostel we are in is so cute and quaint. we had dinner here tonight.
poor seth, everything in germanz is pork, lol. but the dinner was hearty and
tasty and cheap. Ok gotta go now

Meg and Seth

// posted by Megamay @ 7:14 AM 0 comments

Thursday, September 16, 2004

last from amsterdam



Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:16:13 -0700 (PDT)

We are getting ready to leave amsterdam this morning to move on to Cologne. Yesterday we went to the Heinecken experience, it was in the old brewery but they dont make beer there anymore. nevertheless it was interesting and entertaining. we got to see the evolution of the label and the advertising, as well as drink 4 beers and get a free glass - not a bad deal. Then we went on to the jewish history museum, which was a huge disappointment as most of it was closed - including the great synagogue which is the oldest part. Then it started raining and got really windy. We walked and got soaked then it let up and we walked around this outdoor market and got some pastries and then went back to the room becuase I had a bad headache. We needed some time to rest anyway. So this morning we leave.

 
Megan


// posted by Megamay @ 3:46 PM 0 comments

update from AMSTERDAM



Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 12:44:14 -0700 (PDT)

Ok so we got to Bruges on the 9th. Bruges, belgium is an AWESOME town. I would recommend Belgium to anyone, especially for a first trip to Europe. We were in the Flemish speaking part, but everyone spoke english and french and flemish. It was very easy to communicate and everyone was totally nice!! Bruges was gorgeous, all cobblestone streets and canals and these cute little brick and stone buildings. Our B&B was great too, the woman who ran it was really nice and breakfast was really tasty. We walked to the top of the belfry which got us a great view of the city, then we saw the groenig musuem that had paintings from jan van eck a famous belgian painter, among others. We also saw the gunnther musuem that had artifacts from medieval bruges and belgium. the brewery tour was really interesting too, all the info on how they make beer now and how they used to a long time ago. it was in english and french, the woman kept switching back and forth - that was cool. My favorite part though was the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo - the only sculpture by michelangelo to leave italy in his lifetime. It was gorgeous and really moving and FREE!

 
The next day we took the train to Ghent where we saw a medieval castle that was so picturesque and beautiful that it almost seemed to have been made just to look nice but it wasnt. there was a museum of medieveal torture stuff that almost made me sick but was interesting.
 
And of course, the chocolate and beer in belgium was AWESOME. I could stay there forever and live off of beer and chocolate - and most of you know I dont usually like beer. but this was really great beer!! and strong! I could only have 2 or 3!! Oh and we also splurged one night and had mussels and fries - the national dish of bruges or belgium, not sure which.
 
Then this morning we left bruges for antwerp. We stopped in antwerp to see the diamond musuem, which was really interesting. And so far all the train stuff was SUPER easy. I just read the signs and ask at the ticket counter if there is a sooner train leaving than what it says on the sign (sometimes the sign will say one thing - which is the end station - but it will stop where we want to go) and the most we had to wait was like 20 minutes. But today when we went to get on the train to amsterdam from antwerp we were told that they were working on the tracks around the border with the netherlands, so we would have to get off the train and take a bus then get back on the train. I racked my brain and asked if we could go through brussels or something, but we had to do it that way. When we got off the train in some random town in the netherlands, there were like 500 people waiting for like 4 busses. everyone was pushing and shoving and there was obviously no way we were going to fit, so we waited for more to come. then another train arrived, and there was more buses but we still didnt push hard enough - this time we were right up front but we tried to put our packs underneath and that made us lose the seats we might have had. so we watited. I was flipping out that we were never going to get a bus. but finally we did. we then got another train into amsterdam. unfortunately the little gadget that I got seth to store our picutures broke on the train so I was even more upset dont kno what we are going to do about pics now. then we got to amsterdam station and we couldnt find change to buy tickets for the tram to take us to our hostel. then we found tickets and couldnt decipher the map of the trams, then we figured that out and got on the tram and it didnt go the way it was supposed to - maybe cause it is sunday, we dont really know why. but we got lucky and it went where we wanted to go anyway, jsut the long way around. then we found our hostel - it seems acceptable. it smells like pot, but what do you expect in amsterdam. but the bed is nice and the bathroom we only share with 6 other people and it is ok. then the grocery store was closed so we found a restaurant. now we are hanging out in the bar, free internet access and chaep drinks is a good deal. hopefully the netherlands gets better since right now I am thumbs up on belgium and not impressed with the netherlands.
 
Bye
 
Meg


// posted by Megamay @ 3:42 PM 0 comments

update from Cologne



Megan Aaron <megamay79@yahoo.com> wrote:

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 10:29:21 -0700 (PDT)

We are in Cologne now with Zdzislaw Goschler. Everyone here is very nice. They dont speak english so that has been tough. but we are managing. And his sone speaks a little english so that helped when he came over. Mainly we have been using a translator on the computer. 

 
We had a chance to relax, sleep in, do laundry (actually Halina did it for us) and see a little of Cologne. We went into town for a few hours. Zdzislaw drove us and showed us the Dom (Cathedral) then he went home and we looked around. I bought a pair of shoes - lightweight purple sneakers becuase they are cute and my boots are really heavy for casual walking. Seth says he likes his boots just fine.
 
He also helped us get a better reservation for tommorrow night. We can't stay in Munich becuase all the rooms are booked and our reservation is for sat night and sunday night only. But there is a parade on sat morning. So we want to stay close to Munich so we can catch and early train and be there to see the parade. Zdzislaw found a town with availability much closer than we were going to stay.
 
So tommorrow we leave for Ingolsbruch, outside Munich. And Sat morning we will be at Oktoberfest!
 
Also, he helped us plan a trip to Warsaw for a few days. He is going to be there for the first day, to meet us at the airport and show us around a little. Then we are going to stay another day. We have round trip tickets from Vienna. So our schedule is changed a little. Since I can't scan in a new calendar, here is the updated section.
 
October 27 - night train from Prague to Budapest
Oct 28-31 Budapest
Oct 31 - Budapest to Vienna
Nov 1-3 Vienna
Nov 3 Vienna - Warsaw
Nov 4-6 Warsaw
Nov 6 Warsaw to Vienna
Nov 7 Vienna to Venice
 
Then the rest of the schedule gets shifted by 4 days. We are cutting a day from Cinque Terre, Rome and Madrid. we also had two open days at the end of spain anyway so that makes up for the time we are taking to go to Warsaw.
 
So now we are all rested up and ready to go to Oktoberfest!!
 
Megan
 

// posted by Megamay @ 3:42 PM 0 comments

another update from amsterdam



Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 12:35:11 -0700 (PDT)

Today was much better than yesterday. Seth got the picture thing working again so that is good. Breakfast at the hostel is free and pretty tasty. Our shower isnt the prettiest, but it has hot water so that is good. We started off at the Rijksmuseum where we saw works by rembrandt, vemeer, steel and other famous painters. Then we had lunch, from a grocery store, we made our own sandwhich of roast beef, cheese and a tomato spread. It was tasty but still expensive. Then it went from just chilly to raining and cold, so we came back here and got our coats and long sleeve shirts. Then we went to teh Van Gogh museum. Van Gogh has always been one of my favorites so that was really cool, we learned all about his life and the evolution of his painting style, and saw a lot of his paintings. I really enjoyed it, even if it was expensive. 
 
Then we walked A LOT (that seems to be par for the course on this trip) and saw the anne frank house. That was also really impressive. I was in tears more than once. Then we went to something a LOT less heavy, and walked to the red light district. There we stopped at Cannibis college to learn about all the uses of hemp, that was much more informative and dry than you might believe, but interesting nonetheless, and FREE. We wandered around the red light district and saw the girls in the windows. Taht was really weird. I didnt think it would bother me, but seeing those women in the windows half naked was really weird, I felt like they were animals in cages waiting for me to inspect them and maybe take them home.
 
We had dinner at a tibetan restaurant, it was tasty and different, so that was cool. Now we are again hanging in the bar at the hostel and the free internet. There are people sleeping in our room already (and it is only 9:30!!) so we cant hang out in there :(
 
anyway, that is all for now I guess. tommorrow we are still in amsterdam, we are goign to see the jewish museum and quarter, and the dutch resistance musuem etc. or we are going for a bike ride, if it is nicer than today. but the forecast isnt good.
 
Megan
 

// posted by Megamay @ 3:42 PM 0 comments

in london airport



Just wanted to let you all know that we got here ok. we are waiting for our fight to brussles. the flight here was long. the line for customs was  even longer!! then we got  our bags and took a train to another terminal nd waited in aNoThER long line to check in for the brussels flight, and now we are waiting at the gate.
 
the good news is that we got a little sleep oon the plane so we are feeling pretty good despite the jet lag.
 
sorry for the typos, this keyboard is really hard to use.
 
well I guess that is all for now. by this evening we will be in bruges!!
 
Megan
 

// posted by Megamay @ 3:12 PM 1 comments

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