Barcelona, España!

Hola!

Update coming from Paris, after having spent a couple of days in Barcelona. I'll start with Friday's daytrip to Milan and night train to Barcelona.

I got up early Friday and said goodbye to Rome, easily one of my favorite cities of the trip so far. I had to get to Milan first, since that's where my train to Barcelona left from. So I got a chance to wander around Milan for a bit, and took the metro to see the amazing Duomo.



I liked Milan, from what I saw. It lacks the tourism of the other Italian cities I visited, but seems like a very livable place (and is the second most populated city in Italy).

Around 7 PM, my hotel train left for Barcelona. I was in a cabin of 4, with the other guys from Texas, California and Australia. We all hung out for a while and had a great time, chatting and getting beers and food at the on-board bar.

The next day, we woke up in Barcelona. I took the metro to my hostel after realizing how gigantic Barcelona is (turns out, it would have been over an hour walk). I checked in and headed right to the Barceloneta beach. Here I took a nice dip in the Mediterranean. The water was incredibly warm (though it seemed really salty), and the beach was packed. The area was pretty cool - there was a nice boardwalk along it, and an area of the city with tons of food nearby.



I walked around a bit more, and then headed into a bar to watch the Spain vs Paraguay World Cup game. It seemed to be all locals - I didn't hear a word of English the whole time. Everyone was going wild during the two PK's in the second half, and when Spain finally scored to give them the 1-0 win.

The next day was my last in Barcelona, so I had to get up early and hit the major remaining attractions:



Yes, they have Dunkin' Donuts (called Dunkin' Coffee). First one I've seen in Europe. To make my iced coffee they committed the biggest iced coffee crime: making it by just pouring hot coffee on ice. But on the upside, they sold beer there.

But seriously, the first major attraction I hit was Gaudi's famous cathedral-under-construction, the Sagrada Familia. It was a unique structure, and looked really neat. Construction started in 1882, and is still going today, with completion expected in 2026.



I walked around Las Ramblas for a bit, which is a long area with tons of street performers, shops and restaurants. I ate here, with the meal being 2 tapas (cheese, and bread with tomatoes & potato pie), plus a paella (rice with a mix of chicken, shrimp, and mussels), with a sangria to drink alongside. All the food was very good.



Before my train to Paris left, I walked around the waterfront for a bit



and stumbled upon an amazing park right in the middle of everything, where everyone was outside hanging out:



I just had a great day in Paris, and plan on taking a day trip to Versailles tomorrow, before my train back to Amsterdam at night. I'll provide all the details in one final update before I head home!

Au revoir,
Colin

La Citta Eterna

Buon Giorno!

Currently on day 3 in Rome, The Eternal City. I really like it so far - despite being a huge city, it does not feel big at all. There's no section of huge skyscrapers, no downtown, and a bunch of piazzas, making it a nice walking city.

I arrived late Monday afternoon, and just wandered around the area by the Termini (main train station). At night, I went to another hostel's bar to watch the "Brasil vs Cile football game", with a group of Brazilians from my hostel. They were all really enthusiastic about the team, and it was a lot of fun.

Day 2 was packed with activity. Me and a guy from my hostel room (from Houston) spent the day walking around and seeing all the main sights. And we saw pretty much all of them, besides the Vatican. First up was the Spanish Steps:



Then the Trevi Fountain (at which we kept with tradition and threw a coin over our shoulders into it):



We then walked through a couple nice piazzas, the Piazza Navona and the Campo di Fiori. It was then about lunchtime, and we crossed the Tiber River to the area of Trastevere to eat. We split our dishes with each other, so the final assortment of food looked like this:

Antipasti: Bruschetta
Primi: Spaghetti alla Carbonara & Lasagna
Secondo: Milanese Cutlet & Rumps with Potatoes
Dessert: Vanilla Custard & Fruit Salad

all for just 10 euro each (~12 USD), not including our drinks. It took over an hour and a half to eat, being one the longest (and best) lunches I've ever had. We filled up our empty soda cans from a nearby fountain, and headed onward (all running water in Rome is drinkable, so people are constantly filling up bottles at or drinking from the fountains around the city).

We headed over to the ancient city, and walked through some incredible ruins on Palatine Hill. Some of these dated back to before 100 AD, which is amazing to think about how they're still standing.



The final stop was across the street, at the Colosseum. After seeing so many pictures of it and hearing so much about it, it was amazing to actually be there.



We went inside and caught some great views from the ground floor, and the floor above. The bottom was exposed, so you could see the labyrenth underneath, in which the animals would be kept, or which they would flood for boating events.



Today was devoted to the Vatican. Last night, I found out that the pope speaks every Wednesday, so I would be able to catch that. So I got up early and got a good seat in St Peters Square. The pope entered and first rode around in his vehicle for a bit, circling through and waving to the large audience attending. Next, he said a prayer in Latin, and then acknowledged the many groups attending from different countries, speaking in many different languages (Italian, French, German, English,and Spanish, in that order.) I left towards the end of this.





I then hit the Vatican museums, in which there were some great statues and paintings. Of course, this ended in the Sistine Chapel, with the famous Michaelangelo cealing painting. The artwork was incredible, and while it wasn't as stunning as the David, the detail and perspective in the paintings were very impressive.



Also saw the largest church in the world, St Peter's Basilica:



Now I'm exhausted from two busy days, and planning to rest a bit before my Friday train to Barcelona!

Colin

Firenze and Napoli/Pompeii

Hey Guys,

Just finished quick visits to Florence and Naples. Now just about to leave for Rome to finish my tour of Italy.

Got into Florence and couple days ago, and threw my bag in the hostel before heading out to explore. First came upon the Duomo, which was mobbed with tourists, but an absolutely amazing display of architechture.



I then headed into the Galleria dell'Academia, home of David. I'm not really a fan of art, but when I came upon the statue I was stunned. It's much bigger than I'd imagined, and almost looks like it's going to come alive at any second. Also in the Galleria were some amazing unfinished statues from Michaelangelo. (Wish they allowed pictures to be taken here)

I wandered around some more, walked through a few street markets (they were all over the place), got the best gelato I've ever had (pistaccio, at a place called Grom), and caught some main sights of the city (including the Ponte Vecchio).



I found it funny that there was a thriving Ben & Jerry's just a couple blocks from the gelato place I mentioned. Apparently they're having no problem with competition from some of the best gelato places in the world around them.

The next day, I woke up, and planned to devote the majority of the day to waiting in line for, then going through the Uffizi Gallery. The wait took an hour and a half, which wasn't as bad as some of the horror stories I've heard. Then I finally got inside and climbed the stairs to the gallery. The gallery was nice - there were some pretty amazing pantings, notably by Bottecelli. But I'll admit, I have no idea what makes those paintings so great and famous, so the terms and styles mainly went over my head. But it was neat to see such acclaimed paintings in one of the most famous galleries in the world.



The next day, I caught an early train to Naples. I stepped out of the station, and it was completely hectic right away. Naples has the reputation of being incredibly fast paced, and it was way moreso than I expected. Mopeds were racing around and weaving through traffic. Drivers were beeping every couple seconds, yelling to other drivers, and running red lights. On the subway, the conductor came back to announce a delay, and everyone just started yelling and drowned him out. It was wilder than any city I've ever been in, much moreso than even New York. It was quite an experience, but I'm happy to have only spent a day there.

Anyways, the main reason for going here was to see Pompeii, about a 40 minute train ride away from Naples. It was incredible to see this town that was covered by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. They had the molds of some of the bodies, as cavities were created when the ash covered the city. The audio tour had a ton of detail about many of the buildings, and what the specific rooms were used for. It was surprisingly big - you could walk through this giant, deserted city in no less than 20 minutes.







Well that's it for now. I'll report back on my time in Rome. The plan after that is short visits to Barcelona and Paris, before heading back to Amsterdam for my flight home.

Ciao!
Colin

Venezia!

Ciao!

(Note: Making two entries at once, since I couldn't find internet in Venice. See entry on the rest of Munich and train ride to Venice below)



Currently on the train from Venezia to Firenze. Venice was absolutely amazing - wish I had more than a day and a half there. I got in at 18:40 a couple nights ago, and followed the signs through the city to eventually reach St Mark's Square and my nearby hostel. I ran into a guy I hung out with in Munich on the way. My hostel was actually a single bedroom located down the street from the main hotel, in a small alley.



I then set out to explore the area. I got a couple typical italian foods - a slice of pizza (almost half the size of a whole US pizza) and some gelato. Many parts of St Mark's Square were flooded, as expected with the water issues there. But it was very lively - small groups playing italian music throughout the square, street vendors aggressively selling ripoff purses and other items, and tourists wading through the masses of pidgeons.

The next morning, I headed off to see the attractions. I first walked through Doge's Palace, gazing at extravagant cealing paintings before crossing the Bridge of Sighs into the prison. These two pictures show the view from outside of and inside of the bridge, respectively:





I then went up the Campanile bell tower and saw a great panoramic view of Venice.



I walked through St Marks Basilica briefly, then headed out to wander aroud the city and explore the shops. It reminded me of a giant mall - narrow hallways, no cars, and TONS of shops. After this, I took the water taxi through most of the grand canal to the train station, where I got a reservation for my train to Firenze.

One thing I've noticed about Italy so far, is that there are tons of rules, but they are very rarely enforced. Examples include: no bags in museums, no eating or drinking in St Marks Square, no wearing backpacks on the water taxi, and no feeding the pidgeons (Three of the four I routinely broke, with no desire to break the fourth and be swarmed by birds.)

I'll update more in the next couple days, and report on my time in Florence.

Ciao!
Colin

Munchen -> Venezia

(From Wednesday, June 23rd)

Hey Everyone,

As I write this, I'm traveling on a train through the Alps! The view has been amazing - rolling through huge mountains with snow on the tops, and passing over crystal-clear rivers with rocky cliffs on the sides. We just passed Innsbruck (Austria), and are on the way to Verona (Italy) and then Venezia.



My final couple days in Munich were a blast. I spent some time walking through the English Gardens, the largest municipal park in the world - larger than Central Park. I saw some interesting things along the way, including a gigantic beer garden in the middle, and some surfers riding the rapids of a river passing through.



That night, I went over to another hostel's bar with one of my roommates (from Cleveland) to watch the Spain/Honduras game. We met up with a couple girls from Canada, and went to the Augustiner beer hall, the oldest in Munich. This was located about three floors underground, and so we had to take a long winding spiral staircase down into this candle-lit, bricked-walled beer haven.

The next day, I grabbed a train over to Dachau (about 30 minutes away) for a tour of the concentration camp. Along the way I met a college kid from New Brunswick, and traveled around with him for the day. Dachau was truly eye-opening; it was incredible to think about the amount of human suffering that occured in the very area I was walking around. We went inside the gas chamber, crematorium, and barracks.



From here, we went to the BMW museum. It was all incredibly high-tech, with touchscreens on the walls and cars hanging from the cealing. Also, I was able to hang out in my future car:



After this, we went to Olympiapark, where the Summer Olympics were held (not sure what year this was). Went inside the building housing an Olympic swimming pool, saw inside the main stadium, and walked along beautiful bike paths through the park.



Now onto Italia!

Ciao,
Colin

Ich bin im Deutschland!

Hallo aus Deutschland!

I am now in Munich, my third stop of the trip, drinking an espresso, like a true European. It was hard to say goodbye to Prague, perhaps my favorite city I’ve ever been to. I went out to a couple bars the other night with a few guys from the hostel – a Canadian, a German, an American, an Australian, and an Argentinian. It was really cool to chat with people from other countries like this, and was interesting to hear what they thought about America and how their lives were like in their own countries.

Yesterday I slept through my 9 AM train (was a bad idea to book that early), but hopped on a bus to Nuremburg and from there a one-hour train to Munich. I had some time to walk around Nuremburg, and it was a cool little city - it had a big pedestrian-only section (as most cities in Europe seem to have).

I arrived in Munich around my originally scheduled time (surprisingly), and headed out to explore the city.

Today I woke up and headed to the Residenz Museum, where the rulers of Bavaria lived until 1918. There was some beautiful architecture, paintings, and furniture inside. But the audio tour seemed to drag on and give incredibly long explanations of mundane details of each chair and table in every room.

I exited the museum and did the next logical activity - ate a bratwurst and drank a beer. The bratwurst was delicious, and so was the beer, a half-liter of Hacker-Pschorr brand Munchen Dunkel (dark beer) in a trademark dimpled mug. I sat around the beer garden having this and watching Portugal vs North Korea. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this, as my camera battery died in the Residenz Museum.

I now plan to walk around and explore some of the reamining Munich attractions, and tomorrow I will be taking a day trip to Dachau (concentration camp about 30 min away).

Auf Wiedersehen,
Colin

Praha -> München

Hey Guys,

Last update from Prague before I jump on the train to Munich tomorrow morning. First I'm gonna mention some cultural differences I've noticed on my trip so far:

-The Netherlands love orange juice, and make very good freshly-squeezed OJ. I actually spent more money on two glasses of OJ than the rest of my meal one breakfast there.

-Citizens of the Czech Republic (#1 per capita beer consuming country in the world) will drink beer (mainly the national brew, Pilsner Urquell) at any time. When I leave in the morning, I see tons of people sitting outside having a beer around 9 AM) [Note: yes Dad, I've been getting up before noon]

-Everything here is very cheap. Especially beer, which is usually around 35 Kc (under $2 US). I just had a great Czech meal (rabbit, dumplings, and a beer) for 300 Kc (about $15) including tip.



As far as my recent activity, I've seen most of the main attractions at this point. I've watched a few world matches from the Old Town Square,where they have a big screen set up, and tons of food and beer stands around.



I took a great tour of Prague yesterday, that talked mainly about the architectural history of the city (most parts were built in 1300's), and state of the city through the world wars and Velvet Revolution in 1989, when communism was overthrown. The political rallies for this were held in Wenceslas Square, shown below. (Yes, the same as King Wenceslas from the Christmas song, but that's actually erroneous, as he never held the title of "King")



Another thing I really enjoyed was the Museum of Communism. It detailed from post-WWI Czechoslovakia to the velvet revolution in 1989. The difference in this communist state was absurd - people were regularly being jailed by the Secret Police, and shot if they tried to cross the border. They had some very interesting anti-America propaganda up on display as well. One room showed video of the riots proceeding the Velvet Revolution - an inspiring account of people coming together to overthrow an overpowering government.

Well that's it for now. I'm going to pack and get ready to head out with a few friends I've met from the hostel. Prague has been great to me, but there's tons more to see in Munich, Italy, and beyond.

Auf Wiedersehen,
Colin