Here is an update on my recent trip to Prague, Czech Republic. Pictures and text.
Nick and I (the usual suspects) left Cologne on Friday, May 23rd and took a short (1 hour and 10 minutes) flight to Prague. There we first took some money out at an ATM right at the airport in order to be able to pay for transportation to the city. The only problem was, the ATM spit out 1000 Czech Koruna bills, which is equivalent to $65, and we knew there was no way anyone would make change for that. So Nick astutely asked the Exchange Office lady to break down a 1000 into smaller bills. Problem solved, right? Well no. The transportation to the city center involves taking a bus to the metro and then once in the city you can either walk or take the tram. We paid for our bus tickets on the bus and that was ok. However, once we got to the metro stop, there was an automated ticket teller that only takes coins. Nick had only enough for one ticket, so I had to visit a store at the station and buy something in order to receive some “useful” change. The only problem, the lady (God bless her soul) didn’t speak a lick of English. So what did I do? Well I spoke to her in my native Serbo-Croat (omitting case declination on purpose), pronouncing every word really slowly while accompanying each one by international hand signals….I said: “jedna voda, velika i ovaj sendvič” (One water, big, and this sandwich). She understood me and off we were to Prague.
By the way, the first leg of the transport from the airport to the metro stop, Prague resembled newer parts of Sarajevo in many ways. There were these old school trams running around and these newer, Communist-era apartment buildings filling the landscape. I thought that was pretty interesting but I also knew that once I entered the city things would change dramatically. And they sure did.
Nick and I made it to our Hostel in no time. We checked in and headed out for some food. We opted for a pizza place recommended by the guy at the front desk as we wanted something quick and easy and decided to save our Czech cuisine experience for later that night. Pizza was ok. Staropramen was excellent.
After quick, late, lunch, we walked to the city center. We walked past many of the main city attractions, such as: The National Museum, Powder Gate, Old Town Square, and Tyn Church. All of these sites were beautiful, very unique. We wanted to do a first round, quicker tour of the city on the first afternoon there and then come back the next day to see it again. We went to Charles Bridge, Karluv Most, next. This is probably Prague’s most famous landmark. I must admit the place is awesome. It features both religious and historical figures as statues. I haven’t done my research on this but my guess is that this was one of the first bridges built to connect the banks of the Vltava River. My only complaint about this beautiful object is the amount of tourists it attracts. One literally needs half an hour to cross it and it’s hardly two football field lengths long. I guess, even though I am traveling around as a tourist, I resent my own kind (tourists) as we somehow unintentionally (hopefully) ruin the experience for others. Or at least, my motto is to act the least touristy as I possibly can; otherwise you don’t get to experience the true culture.
After this long walk, we decided to leave visiting the Castle, Petrin Tower, Jewish Quarters, and Gehry’s Ginger Dancing Building for Saturday. With nothing else on the agenda, we went to a Bier Garten on a small hill on the north side of the city. This is an awesome spot as one has the view of the entire city in front of him.
That night we went to an original Czech cuisine restaurant and had some really good food. I don’t necessarily remember the names in Czech, but it involved all sorts of meats, cabbage, potato dumplings and gravy….yummy. And the portions were enormous.
After dinner we went to a couple of night clubs recommended to us by two Slovakian girls studying in Prague that we met in Cologne. We were the only foreigners at the first place, which was pretty cool. It was really interesting to observe young Czechs having fun and dancing to some old school American music. The second club was fun as well. Interestingly enough, the music played at the first place was also played here. This of course wouldn’t be strange if we were talking about the current Top 40 Hit List, but this was your old(er) 80s and 90s music mixed in with the occasional more recent dance hits. Around 3am we decided to call it quits and headed back to the Hostel.
On Saturday we took the tram directly from the Hostel to the Prague Castel. This site is located on a hill overlooking the entire city. It is an amazing place. It is actually an old fortress, a small city that now functions as a tourist attraction. The amazing thing about this place is the church that resembles Kölner Dom; it is built in the similar style, although on a smaller scale, but it is still comes forward as this great Gothic temple. Because of my best friends, the hordes of tourists, we decided not to wait in line to get into any of these buildings; but we did walk all around the complex and proceeded taking the road towards the Petrin Tower, which is a series of parks. This was probably my favorite part of the city. We were practically 5 minutes away from the center, yet the nature was well preserved and the surroundings were really quiet. So basically even if one were to live in Prague, he/she could escape the city life by going on a short walk to the wooded areas located on the adjacent hills.
From the Petrin Tower one can really see the entire city (even better than from the Bier Garten described earlier) as the tower goes up in the air a good 50 meters I believe.
After our ascent up the hill, followed by climbing to the top of the tower, I was a bit winded. In fact, on our way down my legs started cramping up and I had to stretch. Pretty funny as I usually don’t get cramps even when I play sports and it’s not that I am out of shape; it is just that my muscles aren’t used to going up and down hills. We made it downhill going through an older part of town that features many embassies including the US. At the bottom of the park there is a monument dedicated to victims of Communism. The sign stated that it is meant to remember all those who suffered, whether they were persecuted or had to endure rule of fear during those years. Interestingly, the monument comprises of human figures that are incomplete (check it out on my pictures). This creates an interesting optical illusion, especially when seen at night as the statues are lit.
After the long walk we visited a street vendor and had some good Kielbasa with senf (mustard) on a bun. It was delicious. I took a picture of the street vendor. It is quite an intricate little shop in the middle of the street, I almost feel guilty calling it a street vendor.
On Sunday, we visited other remaining spots. The Jewish quarters, Josefov, is believed to be the oldest Jewish settlement on the old continent. Besides the old Synagogue, there is an old cemetery dating back to 10th or 11th century (don’t quote me on that one). Another historically significant fact in this area of town is that it was here that Franz Kafka was born. Kafka is considered by many to be the best classical German language writer. I was looking around the area to see if I can figure out where he got the inspiration for his Metamorphosis masterpiece; if he had lived in Amsterdam, I think I know where to look, but not here. Jokes aside, I always feel in presence of something great knowing that an artist who influenced (and still influences) many people, was born in the exact area I am visiting.
Another interesting fact is that Prague, as well most of the current Czech Republic, was populated mainly by German speaking people; even as recently as WWII but were forced out in a combination of Hitler – Stalin occupations. Most German speaking folks were Jews and therefore targets of both these dictators.
Next on the agenda was Gehry’s dancing building. This is one of the most (if not really the only one) modern buildings in Prague. I saw works by this architect already in Düsseldorf and was extremely impressed. But this building is something else. I think I took about 4 or 5 pictures. The variety of shapes create an illusion of movement, hence the dancing in the name of it, but one really must take a look at it closely to see how well it is done and yet is very functional.
The last part of this post I want to dedicate to talking about one of my favorite writers, Milan Kundera. He was born in Brno in the Czech Republic but spent most of his Czech days in Prague. Since the late 60s he has lived in Paris. He wrote several books that deal with human relationships, while in subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways criticizing the Czech Communist regime and its servitude to the Soviets. Because of this he was persecuted by the government and forced to flee to France. Anyways, most of his early works, which were written in Czech (now he writes mostly in French) are set in Prague. And during this trip I was re-reading his masterpiece: The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Everywhere I looked; all the middle-aged Czechs I saw on the streets, I tried to imagine them as subjects of his work. Also, I wondered about the places he described; I wanted to know if I was near any of them; I must have been, the city is not that big, I thought. It was an awesome feeling; I could totally imagine these people going through life the way he talks about it; and the reason I focused on the middle-aged group was because those were the ones that lived through the Soviet occupation and the Communist regime. And even if Kundera didn’t specifically write about any of the people I saw, his work certainly spoke for most people in that era.
Well, it is getting late. In a few days I have my first exam. I cannot believe it’s already been two months since I’ve gotten here. Time certainly flies by when one travels. So, on the agenda for me next are:
- Channel Management exam on May 31st
- Amsterdam trip June 5th – June 8th
Till later
Stasha
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Cologne-Barcelona-Stockholm
I am writing this as Tricia is on her way back to the US. She was here from May 12th till today, May 22nd. During her stay we toured Cologne on the first day, went to Barcelona on the 13th for 3 days, then flew to Stockholm for 4 days and finally made it back to Cologne on the 19th.
Köln
Having Tricia here was awesome. On the day she came in we walked all over Cologne. May 12th was some sort of Holiday in Germany so pretty much everything was closed, except for restaurants and bars. I showed Tricia the main city attractions, like the Dom, so I will not delve into describing these sites again and running the risk of being associated with the expression of “sounding like a broken record”.
It was a beautiful day out. Most of Germany was enjoying great weather for a week. In fact it was so warm that it was big news around here how Cologne had better weather than southern parts of Europe. So, Tricia and I took the opportunity to enjoy the sun and relax, while being able to see the city. A few weeks ago I noticed this cool club on Rhine’s east bank. It is nothing more than a summer patio style bar except that they filled the area with white sand, added surf boards to décor and of course the beach chairs and beds. Once inside, one can relax feeling like being on a beach, have a view of the river and more importantly of the city’s west side skyline, which includes the Dom (of course) and its old city. It is quite picturesque, and you can judge it from the pictures I posted along with this blog although they don’t do great justice, but you’ll get the sense of it.
After hanging out at the beach club for a couple of hours, we headed back to the city center and walked through the old town. Tricia’s first impression of Cologne was that it was extremely quiet but this was a holiday and Germans (like anyone else) like to sleep in on Holidays. By the time we made it back to the city in the early afternoon, the atmosphere was definitely more vibrant. Although, the areas we walked through were touristy, Kölners like to come to the Rhine and enjoy the beautiful weather as well.
We had dinner in middle of the Belgian district, a few blocks away from where I live. Cologne, if I have not mentioned this before, is a very diverse city, and as a consequence food choices are infinite. We settled for Thai food, which was good but I have come to realize that German Asian restaurants make their food even more bland than their Minnesotan counterparts. Fortunately they give you a variety of spices to season your meal to your own preferences.
We made it an early night as the next day we were flying to Barcelona.
Cologne Pictures:
Barcelona
We booked our tickets well in advance, while I was still in Minnesota. The good of this decision is that we probably got a great deal on airfare, the bad is that I didn’t know that in Ryanair lingo, Düsseldorf (a city ½ hour away from Cologne) is actually Weeze (a city 2.5 hours away from Cologne). Lesson learned I guess; not only did it take long to get to the airport, but the bus fare was 20 EUR. So money saved on airfare is money spent on something else, plus the time it took to get there. I am starting to sound like an economist but just be aware of using low cost airlines in Europe; they’ll say they fly out of Paris but what they really mean is some small village 2.5 hours away.
The trip, besides my ranting in the previous paragraph, was not bad. We made it to Barcelona fine; found our lodging and settled in. We stayed at an apartment a couple of blocks away from La Rambla (main walking street and attraction in Barcelona). We had a full kitchen and shared the living spaces with others (although the place was pretty much empty), while having our own bedroom.
Right after settling in, we proceeded to discover Barcelona. Since it was already around 6pm, we decided to just go for a walk on the beach. Barceloneta is a part of the city close to the water and it features an extensive beachfront. Within 20 minutes we were there. Barcelona in many respects felt like Naples but with fewer people. Crazy traffic, the ocean smell, the architecture and a language (Catalan which is a mix of Spanish, French and Italian) that is different than the rest of Spain.
On our walk back we ventured into tiny streets of Barri Gòtic, and this part of the city is very similar to Naples’ “Centro Storico”, however the Gothic architecture dominates with its impressive statues sticking out of the buildings at a ninety degree angle giving the impression that they’re constantly staring at the passerby’s. We found a couple of cool restaurants and decided to return to this area later for dinner.
In Spain it is normal to have dinner very late; but apparently not as late as Tricia and I decided to do. We got sidetracked by enjoying some good Rioja wine back at the apartment that we didn’t make it out of there till well after 11pm. By the time we made it back to the Gothic Quarters, it was almost midnight. Thankfully, we found a couple of open places on a Tuesday night, and settled for some Seafood Paella. The restaurant owner spoke only Catalan, so even though both Tricia and I (well mostly Tricia, I only pretend) speak Spanish, we had a hard time understanding the guy. But we did get our food, which was good. After dinner, since it was already so late, we decided to go back to our apartment and sleep.
On our first full day in Barcelona we went sightseeing. And when I say sightseeing I mean we went all over the place. We started with Barri Gòtic again and visited the Cathedral (well the outside of it since in Barcelona even to see a Church you need to pay a fee), the side streets and nice little squares. From there we proceeded to the Picasso Museum, which is in the same general area. The museum features the progression of Picasso’s work throughout his life. Each gallery has a wall dedicated to the description of the time period and Picasso’s influences. I was particularly impressed with some of his early work, which was far from what people know about Picasso as it was more Classical than Impressionist. In particular there is a painting he composed as a 15 year-old, which was so well done that it is almost scary. The rest of the museum also focused on Picasso’s willingness to explore and experiment with various media and techniques. It was definitely a worthwhile visit and money well spent.
Right outside of Picasso’s museum Tricia noticed this little Tapas bar/restaurant and suggested we go in. We did and it was great. This was a family-owned restaurant that had character. The inside was decorated with antiques that accumulated throughout the years as I believe this place has been around for a while. There were black and white pictures, old wine barrels, wine skins hanging from the walls, etc. We had all sorts of tapas, including Serrano ham and salted cod, which are typical of this area.
After the late lunch, we took the metro to the main city attraction, La Sagrada Familia. This is a Catholic Church that has been under construction since 1882. Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect whose works are all over Barcelona, pretty much dedicated most of his life to this building. The sight is awesome from outside designed very intricate style with a lot of décor that one gets lost in trying to decipher its meaning; definitely a sight worth seeing. However, to go inside one must pay 8 or 10 Euros, and once inside there is nothing but scaffolding and people working on the Church. I was pretty disappointed to say the least and wish I had just seen the place from the outside and had this great image of it.
After visiting Sagrada Familia, we proceeded to go see other works/buildings by Gaudi, mainly Casa Milà and Casa Batlò. These buildings feature small mosaics made out of colored clay tiles and interesting architectural shapes. Casa Batlò for example features balconies in the shape of a skull. These sights were awesome and very representative of this entire city. Unfortunately, some other buildings were being renovated and we weren’t able to see.
At the end of the day we went to a hill overlooking Barcelona by taking the bus to Tibidabo. There is a restaurant called Mirablau, which is located on this hill with a great view of the entire city. We decided to have Cuba Libres on the terrace and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the weather at this point was not cooperating as it was overcast and hazy; we still were able to see most of the city but I am certain the view gets even more spectacular on a clear day.
On our third day in Barcelona, we went to Park Güell, which is another work of Antoni Gaudì. It is located on another hill and hence it has a great view of the city. As his other works, this park has a few interesting buildings with a lot of colored tile mosaics. After seeing all of his works, in my mind Barcelona is Gaudì.
Since the weather was nicer we decided to spend the afternoon on the beach. It was nice just to lie on the beach and relax. To help the level of relaxation one can get a back massage for 5 Euros by trained masseuses walking on the beach offering their services. I decided to get one and nearly fell asleep on the beach; it was great.
For our last night in Barça we decided to have a nice seafood dinner on the beach. We went to a place called Aqua in Barceloneta. It was great; we didn’t have reservations but the host ushered us to the restaurant bar inside and offered us a couple of cocktails on the house. Shortly thereafter he came back and showed us our table on the patio with a view of the beach. We had some great food and good wine. It was really a great way to end our stay in this city. Stockholm was next.
Barcelona Pictures:
Stockholm
On Friday, May 16th, we arrived at Stockholm’s Skavsta airport. Our friends Martin and Matilda (and their three month old daughter Liv) came to meet us. This was our first time seeing their baby and we were really excited. This was also Tricia’s first time in Sweden.
The first part of our stay we spent at my friend’s Tom’s cabin. His family owns two tiny islands southeast of Stockholm and it is literally one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It is so quiet and pristine. And even though it was quite colder than Barcelona, it was still a nice place. We met Tom and his girlfriend Zandra just outside the islands. The only way to access them is by private boat, which is another intrigue about this place.
Zandra and Tom cooked us dinner and we enjoyed the company. Martin, Tom and I know each other from our Gustavus days. I’ve known Matilda almost for as long; so it was really nice to catch up and also for both Tom and I to introduce Zandra and Tricia to each other.
On the following day we decided to take a little fishing trip around the other islands in the area. I had no great expectations but I just knew that cruising around in a boat would give us a chance to see more of this beautiful place. We tried a couple of spots without much luck. At this point Tom called his brother, who apparently had gone out fishing the week before, and asked where the good spots were. With his instruction we went to a place near the islands. Within minutes Martin, the fisherman of the hour, caught 3 huge Pikes (see in the pictures). It was amazing. He would literally cast the line and reel them in right away without waiting. I guess Tom’s brother was correct on the fishing location.
We headed back to the cabin to clean the fish. Tom then looked up some recipes and fixed lunch with freshly caught fish. We also tasted some Crawfish that Martin had brought up with him as well. It was just a great experience.
I must add that during this whole time Liv, Martin and Matilda’s daughter, was constantly by our side (yes she came fishing with us too). She’s a sweetheart; doesn’t complain much except when she’s hungry and just a joy to have around. Seeing our friends going through the joy of parenthood is simply indescribable.
After the late lunch we packed up as it was time to leave the islands and head to Stockholm. Unfortunately, Martin and Matilda couldn’t join us as they had to head back to Växjo, their home town. So we said good bye to them and Liv.
In Stockholm we stayed at Tom and Zandra’s condo. They have this beautiful place near the city center. I was impressed. Once we got there we had some dinner and a few drinks. Then it was time to go out and show Tricia a bit of Swedish nightlife. We ended up going to a place called “Cliff Barns”. It was super fun. They played old school American (and some Swedish) songs and everyone was dancing and having a great time. Tricia loved it.
On Sunday we walked through Stockholm’s city center. It was extremely cold so our stroll was cut short as it was not that enjoyable. Tricia and I knew we had another day to see the rest of Stockholm with hopefully better weather. Back home we made dinner and watched a movie: The Hunting Party. Interestingly enough, this movie is mostly based on a true story about Bosnia and was filmed there. Both Tricia and I recognized many of the places, especially the ones shot in Sarajevo. I am still not sure how I feel about the movie; I am ok with its message but the way it was shot it is a bit cheesy.
On Monday morning, Tricia and I were lucky to be able to walk through Stockholm on a beautiful sunny day. We went through the old city, saw the Royal Palace as well as guard ceremony. We then walked on the shore and took some great pictures. Stockholm is a beautiful city.
We met Tom and Zandra for lunch. They took us to the top floor of a department store (kind of like the Skyroom at Minneapolis downtown Macy’s except the open terrace seating). We enjoyed the lunch outdoors and chatted with our friends. Tom is turning 30 next week and was making last minute arrangements for his birthday party. I was trying to attend as well but on the same day I have my first exam in Germany and getting on a flight in time was not feasible; too bad as I really wanted to go to his party and hang out with Martin and Erik (another friend of mine from Gustavus). Oh well, can’t really do everything I want to do.
Stockholm (and islands) pictures:
Well, I am glad I was able to spit out this blog post today as tomorrow I am heading to Prague for 4 days. Till next time.
Stasha
Köln
Having Tricia here was awesome. On the day she came in we walked all over Cologne. May 12th was some sort of Holiday in Germany so pretty much everything was closed, except for restaurants and bars. I showed Tricia the main city attractions, like the Dom, so I will not delve into describing these sites again and running the risk of being associated with the expression of “sounding like a broken record”.
It was a beautiful day out. Most of Germany was enjoying great weather for a week. In fact it was so warm that it was big news around here how Cologne had better weather than southern parts of Europe. So, Tricia and I took the opportunity to enjoy the sun and relax, while being able to see the city. A few weeks ago I noticed this cool club on Rhine’s east bank. It is nothing more than a summer patio style bar except that they filled the area with white sand, added surf boards to décor and of course the beach chairs and beds. Once inside, one can relax feeling like being on a beach, have a view of the river and more importantly of the city’s west side skyline, which includes the Dom (of course) and its old city. It is quite picturesque, and you can judge it from the pictures I posted along with this blog although they don’t do great justice, but you’ll get the sense of it.
After hanging out at the beach club for a couple of hours, we headed back to the city center and walked through the old town. Tricia’s first impression of Cologne was that it was extremely quiet but this was a holiday and Germans (like anyone else) like to sleep in on Holidays. By the time we made it back to the city in the early afternoon, the atmosphere was definitely more vibrant. Although, the areas we walked through were touristy, Kölners like to come to the Rhine and enjoy the beautiful weather as well.
We had dinner in middle of the Belgian district, a few blocks away from where I live. Cologne, if I have not mentioned this before, is a very diverse city, and as a consequence food choices are infinite. We settled for Thai food, which was good but I have come to realize that German Asian restaurants make their food even more bland than their Minnesotan counterparts. Fortunately they give you a variety of spices to season your meal to your own preferences.
We made it an early night as the next day we were flying to Barcelona.
Cologne Pictures:
Barcelona
We booked our tickets well in advance, while I was still in Minnesota. The good of this decision is that we probably got a great deal on airfare, the bad is that I didn’t know that in Ryanair lingo, Düsseldorf (a city ½ hour away from Cologne) is actually Weeze (a city 2.5 hours away from Cologne). Lesson learned I guess; not only did it take long to get to the airport, but the bus fare was 20 EUR. So money saved on airfare is money spent on something else, plus the time it took to get there. I am starting to sound like an economist but just be aware of using low cost airlines in Europe; they’ll say they fly out of Paris but what they really mean is some small village 2.5 hours away.
The trip, besides my ranting in the previous paragraph, was not bad. We made it to Barcelona fine; found our lodging and settled in. We stayed at an apartment a couple of blocks away from La Rambla (main walking street and attraction in Barcelona). We had a full kitchen and shared the living spaces with others (although the place was pretty much empty), while having our own bedroom.
Right after settling in, we proceeded to discover Barcelona. Since it was already around 6pm, we decided to just go for a walk on the beach. Barceloneta is a part of the city close to the water and it features an extensive beachfront. Within 20 minutes we were there. Barcelona in many respects felt like Naples but with fewer people. Crazy traffic, the ocean smell, the architecture and a language (Catalan which is a mix of Spanish, French and Italian) that is different than the rest of Spain.
On our walk back we ventured into tiny streets of Barri Gòtic, and this part of the city is very similar to Naples’ “Centro Storico”, however the Gothic architecture dominates with its impressive statues sticking out of the buildings at a ninety degree angle giving the impression that they’re constantly staring at the passerby’s. We found a couple of cool restaurants and decided to return to this area later for dinner.
In Spain it is normal to have dinner very late; but apparently not as late as Tricia and I decided to do. We got sidetracked by enjoying some good Rioja wine back at the apartment that we didn’t make it out of there till well after 11pm. By the time we made it back to the Gothic Quarters, it was almost midnight. Thankfully, we found a couple of open places on a Tuesday night, and settled for some Seafood Paella. The restaurant owner spoke only Catalan, so even though both Tricia and I (well mostly Tricia, I only pretend) speak Spanish, we had a hard time understanding the guy. But we did get our food, which was good. After dinner, since it was already so late, we decided to go back to our apartment and sleep.
On our first full day in Barcelona we went sightseeing. And when I say sightseeing I mean we went all over the place. We started with Barri Gòtic again and visited the Cathedral (well the outside of it since in Barcelona even to see a Church you need to pay a fee), the side streets and nice little squares. From there we proceeded to the Picasso Museum, which is in the same general area. The museum features the progression of Picasso’s work throughout his life. Each gallery has a wall dedicated to the description of the time period and Picasso’s influences. I was particularly impressed with some of his early work, which was far from what people know about Picasso as it was more Classical than Impressionist. In particular there is a painting he composed as a 15 year-old, which was so well done that it is almost scary. The rest of the museum also focused on Picasso’s willingness to explore and experiment with various media and techniques. It was definitely a worthwhile visit and money well spent.
Right outside of Picasso’s museum Tricia noticed this little Tapas bar/restaurant and suggested we go in. We did and it was great. This was a family-owned restaurant that had character. The inside was decorated with antiques that accumulated throughout the years as I believe this place has been around for a while. There were black and white pictures, old wine barrels, wine skins hanging from the walls, etc. We had all sorts of tapas, including Serrano ham and salted cod, which are typical of this area.
After the late lunch, we took the metro to the main city attraction, La Sagrada Familia. This is a Catholic Church that has been under construction since 1882. Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect whose works are all over Barcelona, pretty much dedicated most of his life to this building. The sight is awesome from outside designed very intricate style with a lot of décor that one gets lost in trying to decipher its meaning; definitely a sight worth seeing. However, to go inside one must pay 8 or 10 Euros, and once inside there is nothing but scaffolding and people working on the Church. I was pretty disappointed to say the least and wish I had just seen the place from the outside and had this great image of it.
After visiting Sagrada Familia, we proceeded to go see other works/buildings by Gaudi, mainly Casa Milà and Casa Batlò. These buildings feature small mosaics made out of colored clay tiles and interesting architectural shapes. Casa Batlò for example features balconies in the shape of a skull. These sights were awesome and very representative of this entire city. Unfortunately, some other buildings were being renovated and we weren’t able to see.
At the end of the day we went to a hill overlooking Barcelona by taking the bus to Tibidabo. There is a restaurant called Mirablau, which is located on this hill with a great view of the entire city. We decided to have Cuba Libres on the terrace and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the weather at this point was not cooperating as it was overcast and hazy; we still were able to see most of the city but I am certain the view gets even more spectacular on a clear day.
On our third day in Barcelona, we went to Park Güell, which is another work of Antoni Gaudì. It is located on another hill and hence it has a great view of the city. As his other works, this park has a few interesting buildings with a lot of colored tile mosaics. After seeing all of his works, in my mind Barcelona is Gaudì.
Since the weather was nicer we decided to spend the afternoon on the beach. It was nice just to lie on the beach and relax. To help the level of relaxation one can get a back massage for 5 Euros by trained masseuses walking on the beach offering their services. I decided to get one and nearly fell asleep on the beach; it was great.
For our last night in Barça we decided to have a nice seafood dinner on the beach. We went to a place called Aqua in Barceloneta. It was great; we didn’t have reservations but the host ushered us to the restaurant bar inside and offered us a couple of cocktails on the house. Shortly thereafter he came back and showed us our table on the patio with a view of the beach. We had some great food and good wine. It was really a great way to end our stay in this city. Stockholm was next.
Barcelona Pictures:
Stockholm
On Friday, May 16th, we arrived at Stockholm’s Skavsta airport. Our friends Martin and Matilda (and their three month old daughter Liv) came to meet us. This was our first time seeing their baby and we were really excited. This was also Tricia’s first time in Sweden.
The first part of our stay we spent at my friend’s Tom’s cabin. His family owns two tiny islands southeast of Stockholm and it is literally one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It is so quiet and pristine. And even though it was quite colder than Barcelona, it was still a nice place. We met Tom and his girlfriend Zandra just outside the islands. The only way to access them is by private boat, which is another intrigue about this place.
Zandra and Tom cooked us dinner and we enjoyed the company. Martin, Tom and I know each other from our Gustavus days. I’ve known Matilda almost for as long; so it was really nice to catch up and also for both Tom and I to introduce Zandra and Tricia to each other.
On the following day we decided to take a little fishing trip around the other islands in the area. I had no great expectations but I just knew that cruising around in a boat would give us a chance to see more of this beautiful place. We tried a couple of spots without much luck. At this point Tom called his brother, who apparently had gone out fishing the week before, and asked where the good spots were. With his instruction we went to a place near the islands. Within minutes Martin, the fisherman of the hour, caught 3 huge Pikes (see in the pictures). It was amazing. He would literally cast the line and reel them in right away without waiting. I guess Tom’s brother was correct on the fishing location.
We headed back to the cabin to clean the fish. Tom then looked up some recipes and fixed lunch with freshly caught fish. We also tasted some Crawfish that Martin had brought up with him as well. It was just a great experience.
I must add that during this whole time Liv, Martin and Matilda’s daughter, was constantly by our side (yes she came fishing with us too). She’s a sweetheart; doesn’t complain much except when she’s hungry and just a joy to have around. Seeing our friends going through the joy of parenthood is simply indescribable.
After the late lunch we packed up as it was time to leave the islands and head to Stockholm. Unfortunately, Martin and Matilda couldn’t join us as they had to head back to Växjo, their home town. So we said good bye to them and Liv.
In Stockholm we stayed at Tom and Zandra’s condo. They have this beautiful place near the city center. I was impressed. Once we got there we had some dinner and a few drinks. Then it was time to go out and show Tricia a bit of Swedish nightlife. We ended up going to a place called “Cliff Barns”. It was super fun. They played old school American (and some Swedish) songs and everyone was dancing and having a great time. Tricia loved it.
On Sunday we walked through Stockholm’s city center. It was extremely cold so our stroll was cut short as it was not that enjoyable. Tricia and I knew we had another day to see the rest of Stockholm with hopefully better weather. Back home we made dinner and watched a movie: The Hunting Party. Interestingly enough, this movie is mostly based on a true story about Bosnia and was filmed there. Both Tricia and I recognized many of the places, especially the ones shot in Sarajevo. I am still not sure how I feel about the movie; I am ok with its message but the way it was shot it is a bit cheesy.
On Monday morning, Tricia and I were lucky to be able to walk through Stockholm on a beautiful sunny day. We went through the old city, saw the Royal Palace as well as guard ceremony. We then walked on the shore and took some great pictures. Stockholm is a beautiful city.
We met Tom and Zandra for lunch. They took us to the top floor of a department store (kind of like the Skyroom at Minneapolis downtown Macy’s except the open terrace seating). We enjoyed the lunch outdoors and chatted with our friends. Tom is turning 30 next week and was making last minute arrangements for his birthday party. I was trying to attend as well but on the same day I have my first exam in Germany and getting on a flight in time was not feasible; too bad as I really wanted to go to his party and hang out with Martin and Erik (another friend of mine from Gustavus). Oh well, can’t really do everything I want to do.
Stockholm (and islands) pictures:
Well, I am glad I was able to spit out this blog post today as tomorrow I am heading to Prague for 4 days. Till next time.
Stasha
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Munich and London Trips
Munich May 1st – May 3rd:
Matt, a friend of mine from Minnesota, came to visit me. The first few days he was here we walked around Cologne and attended social events. It was great to chaperon him around as it was his first time in Europe. Some of his reactions were just great because he had obviously had a certain image of Germany, and while most things were correct, others took him by surprise. Most notably the shear number of Americanization that this country (as well as the rest of Europe) is experiencing. The first thing he saw from the train taking us from the airport to the city was this huge sign for KFC. KFC is the worst of the worst in the US and somehow it is doing business in Germany. Later he commented on the saturation level of the various Burger King, McDonalds, and Starbucks outlets (the latter mostly in London). I applaud him for not wanting to go into any of these stores (except for Starbucks on occasion) in order to get a more unique experience. The interesting thing is that German people of our age and younger frequent these chains quite often. So one might wonder whether avoiding these chains one is really experience the current German culture or not?
Well enough with Philosophy, let’s move on. As I stated before, we visited Cologne extensively. One item that Matt said he could get used to is the fact that one can go to a convenience (corner) store, buy a beer, open it at the door and walk through the city. In fact the weather was really nice for a couple of days and most people were out in the parks barbecuing, drinking beer and playing all sorts of games.
To make Matt’s experience more meaningful, we decided to rent a BMW and drive to Munich for a couple of days. We decided to go with a 3 series to save on money, but were lucky that the rental company gave us a 5 series for the same price. So we took the Autobahn by the storm. In most parts of the freeway there is not a specified speed limit. We both wanted to experience that aspect of Germany as well and put the pedal to the metal; we didn’t go over 130mph, the thrill of driving 130mph on a very busy Autobahn was enough for us.
We made it safe and sound to Munich. We were laughing hard because we pulled up to our Hostel and thought how we were probably the only people that drove a nice car to the cheapest lodging available in town. But that as well is part of the experience. The hostel was just the stereotypical young people hang out. We were glad we didn’t have to spend too much time there; some of the kids were really obnoxious.
The first night we walked around the center of the city; scoped out a couple of sites we wanted to come back to and headed to a restaurant. We ended up in a very small place close to the University. It was an interesting place and the portions were huge (I think if you look at the slideshow in my previous post you can attest to that yourself). After dinner we decided to find a bar or a Bier Garten and have a couple of Munich style beers. To our surprise we couldn’t find much; it was May 1st and in Europe this is the equivalent of the Labor Day in the US. The night before, on April 30th, is one of the biggest party nights in Germany, so I figured that people were partied out by May 1st. So we called it an early night and went back to our luxurious hostel.
The next day we went to several touristy sights. I will name a few: Rathaus, Altes Rathaus, Isar Gate, Karlstor Stachus, Frauenkirche (Cathedral), Peterskirche, Marienplatz, Königsplatz, English Gardens, Chinese Garden, Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräuhaus, etc. In one of my pictures you can see a footprint located in the Frauenkirche; the legend states that the footprint belongs to the Devil that angered by architect’s windows placement decided to leave a mark (to read more about it click here).
Besides visiting different churches and cultural buildings, we also went to see where the Nazi headquarters were. It was really eerie to stand in the middle of the Königsplatz as this is where the burning of the books took place as well as the major SS forces swearing lead by Hitler.
Of course, we found our way to a couple of Bier Gartens; and they are fun although don’t expect to get good service there but who can blame them; they get to deal with drunken tourists every day of the year. It is really part of the experience, especially if you go in the summer months and get to sit outdoors. Most places feature guys dressed in Leder Hosen playing Bavarian music and waitresses wearing traditional Bavarian gowns.
London/Portsmouth – May 3rd – May 6th:
On Saturday morning it was time to say good bye to Munich and fly back to Cologne. We hadn’t planned our journey too well and booked our London trip in advance (flying out of Cologne). In the end it was a blessing as we got back to Cologne around 10am and were able to catch up on some sleep. Our flight to London was at 6pm.
We arrived to Gatwick airport around 6pm local time. It is barely an hour flight. Our friend Matt Glaeser was there waiting for us. This was my first time in the UK besides going through Heathrow airport a couple of times before.
It took the entire way down to Portsmouth (that’s where M. Glaeser lives) to get used to riding on the “wrong” side of the road. I am amazed that he drives so well, especially since he goes back and forth between the UK and the US. One of these days, I told him, he’ll end up going in the wrong direction.
Matt Glaeser works for Deloitte and has recently moved to the UK. The company gave him a rental car and a nice apartment to live in. The drawback of it is that he’s located in Portsmouth, which is located an hour and a half to the south of London. Entering the city it reminds you a bit of Duluth, MN, it is very grayish, industrious looking city. Sorry for of those of you who think Duluth is pretty; every time I drive through there I feel a bit sad for some reason, it might be the coal mines, the old trains, ships, etc; but to me Duluth always looks desolate. I agree that the North Shore is beautiful, but that’s not Duluth.
Anyways, we had our first British dinner in Portsmouth. The food was ok as expected. One tip for first time travelers to the UK: if you want a cold beer do not order Ale but instead opt for a Lager. Ales are served lukewarm and flat. Also, the Pubs that serve food operate differently than in the US. You order your food at the bar and then they bring it to you; same goes for drinks. These are the little differences that sometimes drive you absolutely crazy.
On Sunday we drove to Putney Bridge, which is on the outskirts of London and found free street parking (almost better than winning the lottery here). From here we took the good old London Tube (Subway) into the City. We started by visiting Green Park, then proceeded to Buckingham Palace. London is similar to New York in many respects. It is very diverse, fast pace, expensive and full of tourists. We arrived at Buckingham Palace just as the changing of the guards ceremony was ending. This is repeated twice daily and it is a whole shebang; it takes about an hour.
From Buckingham Palace we went on to see where the Prime Minister lives, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament, London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare’s Theater, St. Paul Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus and SoHo. It was an action packed day.
While walking towards Big Ben, all three of us kept quoting Clark Griswold from European Vacation when he couldn’t make a left turn on a roundabout: “Hey kids, look, Big Ben”. Well as stupid as it sounds, there is a big roundabout right in front of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey through which we couldn’t seem to get across. Sadly, even though this is one of the most touristy places in all of London, there is not an effective way of crossing the street from one side to the next. We nearly got run over by a bus and were stuck on a small traffic island for a few minutes waiting for cars to go by so that we could cross safely.
After seeing Big Ben and the British Parliament Building we crossed the bridge and walked on the other bank of Thames River. It was really cool to see all of the historic buildings on the other side. The one place we actually took time to go in was the Tower of London. This at one time was the Royal Palace, but then converted into a prison/execution camp. We overheard one tour guide describe public executions that took place here for traitors of the Kingdom (I believe the latest coming sometime in the 1700s). The prisoner was executed by beheading using an axe; the guide mentioned that for the sake of the prisoner it hopefully only took one swing to finish him off. After the beheading, the executioner picked up the head by the hair and showed the crowd that in fact the correct person was executed. Then for a week or so the head was displayed on a pole somewhere in London. It was very bothersome to listen to this story (as I am sure you’re finding my narrative as disturbing). Interestingly enough these things still happen in certain parts of the world.
Besides the executions and weaponry displays, the Tower of London houses Royal Jewelry. On display are various jewels, diamonds, crowns, and other ornaments used in various Royal ceremonies. It is amazing to see how much wealth is consumed and that there is no sense of putting a limit to it. Every King or Queen wanted to outdo its predecessor by ordering a nicer crown, more flashy jewelry, etc. Jokingly I told my buddies that the Royal Family was the first one to start the BLING fashion that today Hip Pop artists have adopted. Maybe the Queen rides in horse carriage with spinner wheels and sips Crystal…..or maybe not.
After seeing the historic London, we went to the Piccadilly Circus, which by the way is London’s version of Times Square. Jokes aside, the main square is a tourist trap with big advertisement screens. We ventured into the small streets surrounding this place and found an array of different pubs, restaurants and stores. We enjoyed our dinner and a few drinks with Londoners. Unfortunately we had a long ride back and had to head out early to catch the Tube back to Putney Bridge.
All in all it was a fun trip.
Right now I am back in Cologne. I have class this week but then next week is their spring break as it is Easter Week. Tricia is coming on Monday and we’re heading to Barcelona for 3 days and Stockholm for another 3. So prepare yourself for more travel stories in the near future.
Bis später!
Matt, a friend of mine from Minnesota, came to visit me. The first few days he was here we walked around Cologne and attended social events. It was great to chaperon him around as it was his first time in Europe. Some of his reactions were just great because he had obviously had a certain image of Germany, and while most things were correct, others took him by surprise. Most notably the shear number of Americanization that this country (as well as the rest of Europe) is experiencing. The first thing he saw from the train taking us from the airport to the city was this huge sign for KFC. KFC is the worst of the worst in the US and somehow it is doing business in Germany. Later he commented on the saturation level of the various Burger King, McDonalds, and Starbucks outlets (the latter mostly in London). I applaud him for not wanting to go into any of these stores (except for Starbucks on occasion) in order to get a more unique experience. The interesting thing is that German people of our age and younger frequent these chains quite often. So one might wonder whether avoiding these chains one is really experience the current German culture or not?
Well enough with Philosophy, let’s move on. As I stated before, we visited Cologne extensively. One item that Matt said he could get used to is the fact that one can go to a convenience (corner) store, buy a beer, open it at the door and walk through the city. In fact the weather was really nice for a couple of days and most people were out in the parks barbecuing, drinking beer and playing all sorts of games.
To make Matt’s experience more meaningful, we decided to rent a BMW and drive to Munich for a couple of days. We decided to go with a 3 series to save on money, but were lucky that the rental company gave us a 5 series for the same price. So we took the Autobahn by the storm. In most parts of the freeway there is not a specified speed limit. We both wanted to experience that aspect of Germany as well and put the pedal to the metal; we didn’t go over 130mph, the thrill of driving 130mph on a very busy Autobahn was enough for us.
We made it safe and sound to Munich. We were laughing hard because we pulled up to our Hostel and thought how we were probably the only people that drove a nice car to the cheapest lodging available in town. But that as well is part of the experience. The hostel was just the stereotypical young people hang out. We were glad we didn’t have to spend too much time there; some of the kids were really obnoxious.
The first night we walked around the center of the city; scoped out a couple of sites we wanted to come back to and headed to a restaurant. We ended up in a very small place close to the University. It was an interesting place and the portions were huge (I think if you look at the slideshow in my previous post you can attest to that yourself). After dinner we decided to find a bar or a Bier Garten and have a couple of Munich style beers. To our surprise we couldn’t find much; it was May 1st and in Europe this is the equivalent of the Labor Day in the US. The night before, on April 30th, is one of the biggest party nights in Germany, so I figured that people were partied out by May 1st. So we called it an early night and went back to our luxurious hostel.
The next day we went to several touristy sights. I will name a few: Rathaus, Altes Rathaus, Isar Gate, Karlstor Stachus, Frauenkirche (Cathedral), Peterskirche, Marienplatz, Königsplatz, English Gardens, Chinese Garden, Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräuhaus, etc. In one of my pictures you can see a footprint located in the Frauenkirche; the legend states that the footprint belongs to the Devil that angered by architect’s windows placement decided to leave a mark (to read more about it click here).
Besides visiting different churches and cultural buildings, we also went to see where the Nazi headquarters were. It was really eerie to stand in the middle of the Königsplatz as this is where the burning of the books took place as well as the major SS forces swearing lead by Hitler.
Of course, we found our way to a couple of Bier Gartens; and they are fun although don’t expect to get good service there but who can blame them; they get to deal with drunken tourists every day of the year. It is really part of the experience, especially if you go in the summer months and get to sit outdoors. Most places feature guys dressed in Leder Hosen playing Bavarian music and waitresses wearing traditional Bavarian gowns.
London/Portsmouth – May 3rd – May 6th:
On Saturday morning it was time to say good bye to Munich and fly back to Cologne. We hadn’t planned our journey too well and booked our London trip in advance (flying out of Cologne). In the end it was a blessing as we got back to Cologne around 10am and were able to catch up on some sleep. Our flight to London was at 6pm.
We arrived to Gatwick airport around 6pm local time. It is barely an hour flight. Our friend Matt Glaeser was there waiting for us. This was my first time in the UK besides going through Heathrow airport a couple of times before.
It took the entire way down to Portsmouth (that’s where M. Glaeser lives) to get used to riding on the “wrong” side of the road. I am amazed that he drives so well, especially since he goes back and forth between the UK and the US. One of these days, I told him, he’ll end up going in the wrong direction.
Matt Glaeser works for Deloitte and has recently moved to the UK. The company gave him a rental car and a nice apartment to live in. The drawback of it is that he’s located in Portsmouth, which is located an hour and a half to the south of London. Entering the city it reminds you a bit of Duluth, MN, it is very grayish, industrious looking city. Sorry for of those of you who think Duluth is pretty; every time I drive through there I feel a bit sad for some reason, it might be the coal mines, the old trains, ships, etc; but to me Duluth always looks desolate. I agree that the North Shore is beautiful, but that’s not Duluth.
Anyways, we had our first British dinner in Portsmouth. The food was ok as expected. One tip for first time travelers to the UK: if you want a cold beer do not order Ale but instead opt for a Lager. Ales are served lukewarm and flat. Also, the Pubs that serve food operate differently than in the US. You order your food at the bar and then they bring it to you; same goes for drinks. These are the little differences that sometimes drive you absolutely crazy.
On Sunday we drove to Putney Bridge, which is on the outskirts of London and found free street parking (almost better than winning the lottery here). From here we took the good old London Tube (Subway) into the City. We started by visiting Green Park, then proceeded to Buckingham Palace. London is similar to New York in many respects. It is very diverse, fast pace, expensive and full of tourists. We arrived at Buckingham Palace just as the changing of the guards ceremony was ending. This is repeated twice daily and it is a whole shebang; it takes about an hour.
From Buckingham Palace we went on to see where the Prime Minister lives, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament, London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare’s Theater, St. Paul Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus and SoHo. It was an action packed day.
While walking towards Big Ben, all three of us kept quoting Clark Griswold from European Vacation when he couldn’t make a left turn on a roundabout: “Hey kids, look, Big Ben”. Well as stupid as it sounds, there is a big roundabout right in front of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey through which we couldn’t seem to get across. Sadly, even though this is one of the most touristy places in all of London, there is not an effective way of crossing the street from one side to the next. We nearly got run over by a bus and were stuck on a small traffic island for a few minutes waiting for cars to go by so that we could cross safely.
After seeing Big Ben and the British Parliament Building we crossed the bridge and walked on the other bank of Thames River. It was really cool to see all of the historic buildings on the other side. The one place we actually took time to go in was the Tower of London. This at one time was the Royal Palace, but then converted into a prison/execution camp. We overheard one tour guide describe public executions that took place here for traitors of the Kingdom (I believe the latest coming sometime in the 1700s). The prisoner was executed by beheading using an axe; the guide mentioned that for the sake of the prisoner it hopefully only took one swing to finish him off. After the beheading, the executioner picked up the head by the hair and showed the crowd that in fact the correct person was executed. Then for a week or so the head was displayed on a pole somewhere in London. It was very bothersome to listen to this story (as I am sure you’re finding my narrative as disturbing). Interestingly enough these things still happen in certain parts of the world.
Besides the executions and weaponry displays, the Tower of London houses Royal Jewelry. On display are various jewels, diamonds, crowns, and other ornaments used in various Royal ceremonies. It is amazing to see how much wealth is consumed and that there is no sense of putting a limit to it. Every King or Queen wanted to outdo its predecessor by ordering a nicer crown, more flashy jewelry, etc. Jokingly I told my buddies that the Royal Family was the first one to start the BLING fashion that today Hip Pop artists have adopted. Maybe the Queen rides in horse carriage with spinner wheels and sips Crystal…..or maybe not.
After seeing the historic London, we went to the Piccadilly Circus, which by the way is London’s version of Times Square. Jokes aside, the main square is a tourist trap with big advertisement screens. We ventured into the small streets surrounding this place and found an array of different pubs, restaurants and stores. We enjoyed our dinner and a few drinks with Londoners. Unfortunately we had a long ride back and had to head out early to catch the Tube back to Putney Bridge.
All in all it was a fun trip.
Right now I am back in Cologne. I have class this week but then next week is their spring break as it is Easter Week. Tricia is coming on Monday and we’re heading to Barcelona for 3 days and Stockholm for another 3. So prepare yourself for more travel stories in the near future.
Bis später!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Pictures (Köln, München, London, Portsmouth)
Hello Folks,
I am in the process of writing an update. I've been traveling in the last couple of weeks so forgive me for not having had the time to update my blog. Here are some pictures from my recent trips.
Cologne/Munich (My buddy Matt was here visiting)
London/Portsmouth (Matt and I visiting our friend Matt Glaeser):
Written Blog to follow shortly, I promise.
I am in the process of writing an update. I've been traveling in the last couple of weeks so forgive me for not having had the time to update my blog. Here are some pictures from my recent trips.
Cologne/Munich (My buddy Matt was here visiting)
London/Portsmouth (Matt and I visiting our friend Matt Glaeser):
Written Blog to follow shortly, I promise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)