Back in Germany

From Ljubljana we began our drive north to Munich, passing through Austria. It signaled the final phase of the trip, we returned to Germany where the three of us met and began our adventure. The drive was fine, we left Ljubljana pretty early and hit no traffic. Arriving back in Germany was a bittersweet experience. I love Germany and it was nice to be back in a country where I speak the language, my Slovene, Croatian, Italian, Czech, French, and Flemish are nonexistent. However this also meant the trip was nearing its end.

Munich is a city quite unlike any other I've been to. It is steeped in traditional Bavarian culture, which they will remind you of every chance they get. The food is mainly wurst and schnitzel, every sign says "Bayern"(Bavaria) or "Suddeutschland"(Southern Germany), and the Bavarian flag along with the jerseys of FC Bayern Munchen are found all over. It's almost as if the Bavarians wish they were still an independent country, Germany's Texas of sorts. We spent quite a bit of time at the Haufbrahaus, which is the most famous biergarten or bar in the world. Much of the Oktoberfest festivities happen there. Sarah and I also took another New Europe tour which showed us some incredible sites. The street the Nazi party marched down in an attempt to overthrow the German government, the Rathaus and Glockenspiel, and a church rebuilt to exact specifications after World War II were quite impressive to see.

We left Munich after three days. You could spend a week or two there, especially if you like to drink and have the money to do so, but we experienced a lot and had to move on. The next stop was Frankfurt, where we stayed in a hostel right in the middle of the red light district. Hilarious is the best word to describe that neighborhood, it was not like the classic image of a red light district. We met up with my friend Ben who lives in Frankfurt and was my room mate at TCNJ for a semester. He had us over his place for awhile and we had a great time watching late night German "sexy" commercials. Ben took us around the city a bit, showing us the multitude of clubs, but we ended up at our hostel and hung out until 4:30 AM. Ben was a partyer at TCNJ too haha.

Yesterday we made it to the final stop on our road trip and returned the car in Dusseldorf. Dusseldorf is crazy city on the Rhine river. People were all over the streets wasted out of their minds. Chants, cheers, and songs filled the streets during the world cup games, and Germany wasn't even playing! There were also tons of bachelor and bachelorette parties going on. This morning Randall got on his flight home, and then there were two. Sarah and I will be back at Peter's house tonight, and the trip will wind itself down.

Dalmatia, Italia, and Slovenia

Again, I'm behind on my blog posting. Terrible internet connections and a lack of free time are to blame, but to accommodate I'll cover three stops in one post. As with all of this entire blog, there is much more to tell when I get home.

We spent two days on Croatia's Dalmatian coast, there weren't 101 puppies there though. The coast is what Croatia is known for, and countless empires have fought over it. It was very easy to see why once we got to Bibinje from Zagreb. I live very near the Jersey Shore, so I now a bit about beautiful coasts, but we have nothing on Dalmatia. Other than a short trip to the nearby city of Zadar to go out to eat and see the Roman ruins, most of the time was spent just relaxing. The beach was great and the water cool and clear, no sand on the beaches though just rocks.

From Zadar the journey led us to Trieste, Italy. I had initially planned on stopping there if time permitted, if for nothing else than to add another country to the list. Trieste is a small but charming city by day, and a roaring party town by night. It was really amazing how many people were out on the streets. The city is on the Adriatic coast, but has no beach. We found out later that the beaches are just outside the city, which apparently everyone goes to. At this point we had made very good time throughout the whole trip, and out of curiosity looked up the distance to Venice. It turned out to be only two hours, nothing for us expert road trippers. Venice was crazy, the city on the canals is quite unique and intriguing. We made it to Saint Mark's square after much searching, Venetian streets are impossible to navigate. The Germany vs. Australia world cup game was pretty awesome to watch in a really cool Venetian bar as well. Venice is not the nicest city in the world though, and I wouldn't have wanted to spend a lot more time there.

Slovenia began our journey back north. We stayed in Ljubljana, which is a really cool little city( only about 300,00 people) and capital. Our hostel that we booked in advance was not the one we ended up staying at, and this story is inappropriate for the blog as I'll use far too many naughty words. Anyway, Ljubljanski Grad(Castle) was awesome, and tiny compared to Prague Castle. Square of the Republic was very underwhleming, it's really just a parking lot. Heading north from Ljubljana, we stopped in Bled(awesome name for a town btw). The town is on Lake Bled and is incredibly beautiful. Pictures will do it more justice than my description can.

We're in Munich now, which has been great so far. I like being back in Germany. Next post will cover the happenings in Bavaria.

Zagreb: the forgotten European city

The first day in Zagreb after the crazy drive to the city was an eventful one. Ante met us at our hostel and took us on a tour of city. Having a local act as your free tour guide is really cool by the way. We saw the main square, which like all the other cities I've been to in Europe, is where the people congregate. It also has a statue of Ban Jelačić, which used to point toward the enemy Hungarians but now points out into the sea. The central Zagreb museum was really cool, it gave a quick summary of the entire history of the city. I learned a lot, and was very impressed with the millennium of foreign occupation Croatia suffered under yet still managed to pull through. Croatian food is really good, the meat eaters in the group had some kind of burger thing that isn't really a burger. I could eat that every day until I have a heart attack.

Day two saw us go outside the city and climb the mountain. Most of it was by car thankfully, but the walking part was still quite difficult. Ante kept apologizing for the strenuous activity, which I thought was hilarious. The hike was worth it though, we saw beautiful views of Zagreb, a clean natural water source(that tastes good), and Medvedgrad. Medvedgrad is a medieval ruin which at one time was a fortress overlooking Zagreb, really awe inspiring. Before leaving the city for the Adriatic coast, Ante took us to the Mirogoj central cemetery. Croatians don't bury their dead and cover them with soil, instead a large stone seals off a room in which all of the family coffins are kept intact. It was interesting to see the cultural differences. A final dinner with Ante was our last stop in Zagreb and then we took the drive to the coastal town of Bibinje, a story which will be told in the next post.

The long road to Zagreb

I thought the drive to Prague was bad, but had no idea what I was in for on the way to Zagreb. All of the driving in Austria was painless, and actually quite nice. We bought some "heavy metal" compliation in Vienna which provided a nice soundtrack to the drive. Unfortunately only about half of the album is actually metal, but it's so cheesy it works. Once we hit the border with Slovenia, things started to get ugly. A side note about border crossings within the EU, they suck. EU borders are nonexistent, there is no passport check, no car searches, no visas, and worst of all no stamps! The welcome to New Jersey sign from Pennsylvania is at least 4 times larger than those of the border crossings in the EU, if you're not looking you will miss it. Anyway, after crossing into Slovenia we came upon what looked like a toll booth. It turned out to be a station where you buy a pass to drive in Slovenia, called a "vinjetta" or something like that. The women at the window said in heavily accented English, "You need vinjetta for drive Slovenia!". About halfway through the country, which is tiny, I needed to urinate really really badly. We stopped at some gas station, I went in and looked around and didn't find anything. The cashier yelled something in Slovenian at me and pointed to the next building. So I then walked over to the next building, a bar full of people who didn't speak English. Couldn't find a bathroom, or anyone who could tell me where it was. I tried "Toilet?", "WC?", "Bad?", and "Bano"! I ended up just peeing in some bushes on the side of the road hahaha.

Crossing into Croatia was awesome. The only non-EU country on the itinerary, is also the only one with a real border crossing. We had to wait in line for about 15 minutes, but got our passports checked and stamped with no problem. Next was security, which was a bit nerve racking. The guy in front of us had his whole car searched, bags taken out and everything. When our turn came we were asked something In Croatian, which we obviously didn't understand. The woman saw American passports and switched to English, asked us if we had anything to declare to customs(we said no), and let us through without any search. Apparently Croats like Americans, finally found someone! Across the border we hit all kinds of problems. The GPS couldn't find our hostel, the main highway to Zagreb was closed, and the route we were detoured to led us to a road that was unfinished. We asked a cop for directions and one spoke English and told us, which was very helpful. The other spoke to us in German, which Sarah and I understood but Randall was very confused. The car we rented has German plates, and a ton of Germans vacation in Croatia, so he thought we were Germans. We stopped to get gas and I paid, the woman spoke some Croatian to me and then switched to German. I responded in broken German and she clearly thought I was retarded. Her German was better than mine, and I'm driving a German car, which means I'm a really stupid German. We did eventually make it the Hostel with the help of Sarah's Croat friend, Ante. Ridculous drive is ridculous.

Wiener schnitzel in Wien

A common theme on this trip, the arrival in Vienna was very late. The people at the hostel thought we were crazy for showing up at 2:30 in the morning. That place was really nice, it had a bar, a cafeteria type place, and TV in the room. It was also a few blocks from an U-Bahn, very convenient. I watched a bit of CNN international before falling asleep, it was nice as I hadn't watched TV since the plane to Belgium.

The next day we spent sleeping in, which was much needed, and casually exploring Vienna. The city center is really cool, with historic buildings intermingled with newer architecture. The history in that city is pretty incredible, it was the capital of empires ruled by the Hapsburg Dynasty for many centuries. Today, a laid back atmosphere is the most notable thing about Vienna. Small bars and cafes are to be found all over the city, with staff that are more than happy to have you hang out there all day long. Austrians have the shortest work week in Europe and the longest lifespan, not a coincidence I'd say. The coolest thing I saw that day was the Mozart Wohnung(Mozart's apartment). I stood in the room where "The Marriage of Figaro" was written. For dinner I had an expensive Wiener Schnitzel, almost everything in Vienna is expensive though. I couldn't pass up having Wiener Schnitzel in Wien(the German name for Vienna), the dish is named after the city!

Yesterday was spent mostly in the Hapsburg Palace. The luxury and wealth the people had that lived there is mind blowing. The palace is huge, there was a concert in the "backyard" that night. It also has large garden, massive sculptures, and a labyrinth. The history in the building was impressive to me, one of the most powerful empires in Europe was governed from inside its walls.

I liked Vienna quite a bit. The relaxed pace of the city is very nice, and a change of pace from Prague and Berlin. The food is great, especially if you love meat like me. Cultural and history make up a big part of the city's character too. Oh, and they speak German so I could communicate a bit. That said, I don't think I could ever live there.

Prague

In the last post I alluded to the drive to Prague from Berlin, which is only 4 hours and seems relatively simple when looking at a map. We found out that it definitely is not simple. The distance is actually very short, and if the trip was on the autobahn the whole way it would probably take only 3 hours. Nothing is ever that easy though, about half of the drive is on one lane winding mountain roads. The speed at which it is possible to drive on these roads is really low, and that adds a lot of time to the trip. At one point Randall coasted in neutral for 15 minutes straight, all downhill. For miles and miles there was nothing to be seen but fields, forests, and mountains; it's really a pretty ridiculous drive.

We arrived in Prague late, and the area our hotel was in looked really shady. The guy at the desk didn't help matters, he was watching an adult movie haha. After checking in with no Czech currency, they don't use the Euro, we crashed. The next morning we hit the city center of Prague for another New Europe tour(I really recommend these tours to anyone that will be in cities they operate). It was very cool and we saw a lot, for the sake of brevity I'll not get into it but Prague has some really great sites(when I get home I'll elaborate with a ton of stories). My favorite place by far in the city was Wenceslas Square. 20 years ago Vaclav Havel led the protests which brought about the Velvet Revolution up and down those streets, today it is filled with bars, shops, and casinos. The place where the Czech people demanded their freedom is now where they go to enjoy them.

The next day was taken up mainly by Prague Castle. The castle is the largest medieval castle in the world, and I can't even accurately convey how huge it is. We only did a small portion of it, and could have spent several days within the walls. Fans of history, architecture, and government will surely not be disappointed there. The entire Czech government is run from within the castle, something I find very cool. Oh by the way, the clock tower in the main square in Prague is rightfully called "the most disappointing attraction in Europe", I have a video of it which is very underwhelming.

Berlin: a city that has overcome so much

Sorry everyone, blogging takes a bit of time and regular computer access. I haven't had a ton of each in recent days. This will be brief, but I'll cover the important things.

Randall, Sarah, and I left Peter's house to make the drive to Berlin, all the way across the country. It took us 8 hours because we hit a ton of traffic. The Autobahn going from west to east was under a lot of construction, however the radio stations we picked up along the way played far better music than those of the south to north. We arrived pretty late and just ate dinner and saw some stuff along the way, the Brandenburg Gate ate night is really cool. We also stumbled upon an "international bar" run by some crazy Irish dude. There are pictures of us standing behind the bar haha.

The following day we took the New Europe walking tour through Berlin, which was free and really great. The tour started in Pariser Platz, named for German victory over the French which is a common theme, in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate. The gate is such an impressive structure, very dominant and imperial, one of my favorite parts of Berlin. The tour also took us to the Reichstag, Museum Island, the Berlin Wall(parts of which still stand), the TV tower, and the former Luftwaffe headquarters. The bunker in which Hitler committed suicide is covered up by a parking lot, sort of weird to see. Some of the buildings still had bullet holes from the battle of Berlin at the end of World War II! 90% of the city was destroyed during the war so the fact that nearly 70 years later some of them still stand and display the scars is mind blowing.

Waking up early to get to the Reichstag before the crowds didn't work out so well. When we did get there, it was a long, long wait(about 3 hours). The building is really cool though, as most of the business of government goes on inside its walls. Additionally, the roof gives some of the best views of the city and contains a dome made of mirrors and solar panels. The dome helps to power the building and allow the citizens(and tourists) to see inside and the members of parliament to see the people. Transparency in government is the the theme, one we could learn from. Waiting in line to get in was a ridiculous experience though. Some guy in a 18th century style suit with a top hat brought some kind of pipe organ type thing and sang a horrible song. It was complaining about the government and he really couldn't sing. I got a video of it, which does a much better job than I could to describe it. It was to say the least, hilarious.

After the Reichstag the next stop was about 30 minutes north of Berlin, a town called Oranienburg. Sachsenhausen concentration camp is located right in the town, which says something about the complicit nature if the average person in the horrors committed there. The site was overwhelming, emotional, but also very well done as a memorial to the victims. I won't go into the details, but it was not a fun experience by any means. I'm very happy I got to see it though, as a reminder of the atrocities man is capable of, and to pay my respects to the victims.

Upon our return to Berlin from Oranienburg, we saw the east side gallery. This section of the Berlin Wall was painted by artists starting in 1990. Some of the artwork is really incredible, and all quite different from each other. We had dinner and then began our drive to Prague, a ridiculous story which will be told in the next post.

The first few days in Germany

Monday morning Peter, my uncle for those of you that don't know, picked me up from my hostel in Brussels. We then went to Charleroi to pick up Randall who flew in from Sweden. Charleroi claims to be Brussels south, but it is nowhere near Brussels. A good 40 minute drive from the outskirts of Brussels puts you in Charleroi. After picking Randall up, we headed to Peter's house in Gransdorf, Germany. The drive was a decent distance, took about three hours. Gransdorf is a tiny rural town, I've been referring to it as "cow country". The area is really beautiful though, and a real change from everywhere else I've been so far. That day we hung out at the house, and it was really good to see everyone. For dinner we hit up a German restaurant in the next town over and I had my first schnitzel, I love German food.

Yesterday I drove up to Bremen to pick Sarah up. Randall was my faithful navigator for the whole 5 hour trip, and was very helpful. Driving on the Autobahn is not at all what people make it out to be. Sure in some areas there is no speed limit, but Germans are very good drivers and it forces you to become a good driver. Bremen is very cool city, we saw the city square and the river. It's very northern European. Then we turned around and drove the 5 hours back, arriving at 2 am haha. It was a pretty long day.