A glass of coca cola, a few chocolate chip cookies, an empty apartment and Radiohead playing in the background. I'm ready to write this baby!
Most importantly, here are the pictures from Brussels, Maastricht and Amsterdam. There aren't many pictures with me in them, they are mostly pictures of sights and what not, but I still think they are pretty cool. Check them out:
Set I: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057588&l=c66ad&id=29904207
Set II: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057591&l=8406a&id=29904207
I just spent the past few hours catching up on things back home. Movies, sports, news. I feel pretty refreshed, having been out of the loop for a little while doing so much traveling. Some thoughts:
Movies:
I am extrmeley excited for the new movies coming out this summer. I thought last year was amazing, but I seriously think this year could top even last year. Here are some of the movies I am super stoked about:
-Indiana Jones IV! How can you not be excited for this? I mean seriously. Spielberg, Lucas and Harrison Ford all working on the same picture? This can't go wrong. I read that they went through about 22 different scripts before they decided on the one that they wanted to use. And Cate Blanchett and Shia Labeouf joining the cast? I am there opening night!
-The Dark Knight If I saw nothing but Indiana Jones and this movie all summer, I would be okay with that. The cast for this movie is absolutely incredible. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and of course, Heath Ledger. Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite Directors working today which gets me even more excited for this. I thought Batman Begins was amazing, and was so much more than a "comic book movie". I think this one will be even better, and would not be surprised if Heath Ledger got an oscar nod for his performance. Seriously, I think people are going to be blown away by it. I think I'll have to see this one on DVD unfortunately, but that's okay, since I'll be in AFRICA when it comes out!
-WALL-E With the exception of "Cars", Pixar really doesn't fail. This looks like another strong hit from Pixar. Is there any studio out there that pumps out great movies on a more consistent basis? Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc, and Ratatouille especially were all amazing movies. I think Wall-E is going to continue the trend.
-Tropic Thunder This is probably the only one on this list you haven't heard of. Ben Stiller Directing and starring might make some people groan, but please, watch the trailer first before you bash it. It also has Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. playing a white guy who gets an operation to become a black guy! This movies looks downright hilarious and I think will be the funniest Stiller movie since Zoolander. This comes out at the end of the summer, and I'm betting it's really going to surprise a lot of people. Apparently, Stiller has been working on this movie for about 10 years, on and off, so he's put a lot of time into the script.
-Prince Caspian- Any story that C.S. Lewis writes turns to gold instantly in my mind. I think the first Narnia movie was actually very well done and told the story extremely well. I'm really looking forward as to how they are going to tackle the sequel and some of the remaining movies in the series. This is an epic saga and has some of the best symbolism out of all the "fantasy" movies being made today.
Other movies I'm excited about:
-Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark? Looks legit to me.)
-Get Smart (Steve Carell in a spy-action-comedy? I'm in!)
-The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton is going to make this franchise so legit it's not even funny. And Liv Tyler is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses out there. I think she's underrated and needs to start doing more serious roles. Watch "Reign Over Me" for a good performance by her, Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle.)
-Speed Racer- Now, I'm not super excited about this, but the main reason I'll go see it is because of the Director's: The Wachowski Brothers. These guys created my favorite movie of all time, The Matrix, so I will now forever watch whatever films they create. And so far, I don't think they have messed up too bad.
Some films I have watched recently that I thoroughly enjoyed:
When I was in Dublin, I saw In Bruges with Colin Farrell, Brandon Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. I had heard that this movie was suprisngly good, but I had my doubts, going in. I mean Colin Farrell? Really? But, I have to hand it to him, he actually was pretty good in this little dramatic comedy. Check this movie out, it's well written and kind of goes along the same theme as "Snatch" although not British and not as crazy. Made me think, made me laugh.
Yesterday I watched Gone Baby Gone Directed by Jannifer Garner's Husband and starring Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. I wanted to see this movie for a few reasons. One, I wanted to see Jennifer Garner's Husband (I refuse to acknowledge him as "Ben Affleck" solely because he stole Jennifer from me, but that's a whole 'nother story) direct his first movie. Also, the cast was pretty strong and I had heard great things about the film. This is a great movie, with a great script. This is one of those "thinker" films that you probably are going to need to go back and watch again so you can catch everything.
Other than that, all I've seen are some of the new Scrubs episodes (pretty good) and the new Lost episode (one of the best of the season).
Sports:
Since I don't follow baseball, this is usually a pretty lame part of the year for me, except for...THE NBA PLAYOFFS! Which somehow, I seem to miss a huge chunk of every year. From what I've seen online, this was one of the most anticipated playoffs in the last 15 years. I was happy to see the Maverick's get knocked out, but sad to see the Sun's go. I really want Steve Nash (my favorite NBA player) to get a ring before he retires, be it doesn't look like its going to happen. I'm not happy to see the Lakers doing so well, but you have to hand it to Kobe and the whole franchise, they know how to keep the team good. I think a Lakers/Celtics Finals would be epic, just like the old days of Bird and Magic battling it out. Of course the Spurs are still around in the playoffs, and I think it would be amazing to watch the Lakers and Spurs in a series, which looks like it is going to happen. That's really all my thoughts on the playoffs so far, and I think I'm goin to root for the Celtics, just because I think KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce all need a ring. They play their butts off everynight and have been for years, its really their time to win. If only they didn't have an incompetent coach in Doc Rivers. But hey, he can't be that bad if they won 66 games in the regular season...
News:
The only thing I'm really following in the News right now is the election coverage. How about these primaries eh? Things are just getting a little ridiculous. I just want Hilary out of this race. It's terrible. She would have been gone if she had beat Obama by anything less than 10 points. What did she beat him by? 10 points exactly! It's like this is scripted! I mean this is good writing! So now the battle continues. My roommate Jared had an idea that I'm sure many people have thought of, but I thought was pretty smart: Why doesn't Obama run independent? (Obviously only if he doesn't get the Democratic nomination.) He's perfect for it! A black man who is talking about change? Who better to run on the independent ticket! You want good "writing"? Ron Paul should run with Obama on the independent ticket and they would come back to beat McCain and Clinton in the general election this fall! That would be incredible! The thing that really makes me angry is that this whole thing might come down the Super Delegates. Basically, the way the system is set up, the popular vote really doesn't matter that much. It's like the deomcratic people humors the people of the U.S. by letting them vote, then at the end, they say "Okay we'll take your guys' vote's into consideration, but in the end, our "super" votes have more of a say and we'll be choosing the candidate that is more "electable!" What kind of corrupt crap is that? This system is terrible! We already had one candidate (Al Gore) get the most amount of popular votes and lose an election! If this happens again with Obama (who would easily destroy McCain in the general election in my opinion) there should be riots in the streets. Just my two cents. Go Obama. Yes We Can!
Okay, down off of my soap box.
Onto another completely differnet subject. I discovered a project that Zach Braff is starting up with artist Jay Clifford. Just watch the video:
Zach Braff Making the Video
I would really love to do this with people when I get back if anyone is interested. Let me know. I think this sounds really fun and is a really cool idea for a music video. If you don't know who this guy is, check him out and his band Jump! Little Children, who are quite good, by the way.
I can't believe I've written this much and still haven't talked about Ireland or The Netherlands. I really ramble don't I? Oh well. I'll save that blog for later, or else this play would be about 26 pages long.
I come home in 16 days! So crazy to think about home. The first thing I want to do when I arrive on May 16th at about 8:30pm? I'm going to straight to In-n-out. It needs to be done. Until then, I have a surprise-birthday-toga-party to attend tomorrow (could that be more "college"?), a Prague film to finish with Jared, 4 more classes to attend, and a massive cleaning project of our Apartment to start. My parents, who just arrive in Europe today in Munich, will be in Prague on tuesday, and I plan on going out to eat with them every day while they are here. I'm tired of eating all my meals off of my George Foreman grill!
Okay, this has been suuuuper long, but I need to get out and go enjoy Prague! Actually, for those of you who know him, I'm about to go and have dinner with Charlie Hunt! How crazy is that?
On the flip side...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
in this life
Here's what I wrote as my plane back from Amsterdam was landing. (I wrote this on one of those handy barf bags they give you on the plane, since I wasn't allowed to stand up and retrieve my journal out of my backpack. I tell you this, because I find it humorous...)
This wasn't entirely my idea, I must give some credit to my roommate Jared, but here's what I wrote:
"Imagine all of your greatest fears and worries about who you will become in the future. All the things you never want to be. The things you never want to do. Close your eyes. Visualize what this would practically look like. Live it. Now, pretend you have some kind of second chance to go back to today, to right now, and start all over again. Would you? How would you start living differntly? What things would you start doing? Stop doing?"
Random thought: Shouldn't everyone have some kind of list of things they absolutely must do before they die? I know some people have those "life-goals" list, but this is a little different. These are things that I think can be extremely general, or even very common (i.e. get married, have kids, travel, etc.) but I think the list should still be made. Maybe this is because I'm just one of those people that writes down lots of to do lists and uses lots of sticky notes, or maybe its just because I want to get the most out of life. I dunno. The thing is, maybe this list isn't necessary. Maybe those things that we absoulutely have to do, are already inside of us. I guess I just like putting things down in writing. (As I write this in my blog...thank you Captain Obvious!)I think I'm going to start thinking of these things and writing them down, maybe even posting some of them here. I think that could be quite entertaining. I think having a list like that in a place where you can see it everyday would be quite inspiring and encouraging. Call me cheesy, but seriously, looking ahead to achieving certain goals will probably motivate you more to actually get to them. Ugh, I sound like one of those lame inspirational posters you see in high school or something.
Here's what I wrote on the other side of the barf bag:
"Why aren't more people honest with themselves? If you aren't happy with yourself, do something! Don't just sit there waiting for change, waiting for someone else to come along and fix the problem! Address the problem. Not with alcohol. Not with drugs. Instant pleasure is not the answer. If you aren't happy with your life, with who you are, why? How is fixing that not your top priority? What, or who, is holding you back? Usually, it's only ourselves. Do what you were meant to do. What is that you ask? I don't know. Find what it is that makes you feel complete. Without this you aren't fulfilling your purpose on earth. Find what makes you come alive! And head towards that! Now!"
on that note: peace amigos. more to come about ireland and the netherlands.
This wasn't entirely my idea, I must give some credit to my roommate Jared, but here's what I wrote:
"Imagine all of your greatest fears and worries about who you will become in the future. All the things you never want to be. The things you never want to do. Close your eyes. Visualize what this would practically look like. Live it. Now, pretend you have some kind of second chance to go back to today, to right now, and start all over again. Would you? How would you start living differntly? What things would you start doing? Stop doing?"
Random thought: Shouldn't everyone have some kind of list of things they absolutely must do before they die? I know some people have those "life-goals" list, but this is a little different. These are things that I think can be extremely general, or even very common (i.e. get married, have kids, travel, etc.) but I think the list should still be made. Maybe this is because I'm just one of those people that writes down lots of to do lists and uses lots of sticky notes, or maybe its just because I want to get the most out of life. I dunno. The thing is, maybe this list isn't necessary. Maybe those things that we absoulutely have to do, are already inside of us. I guess I just like putting things down in writing. (As I write this in my blog...thank you Captain Obvious!)I think I'm going to start thinking of these things and writing them down, maybe even posting some of them here. I think that could be quite entertaining. I think having a list like that in a place where you can see it everyday would be quite inspiring and encouraging. Call me cheesy, but seriously, looking ahead to achieving certain goals will probably motivate you more to actually get to them. Ugh, I sound like one of those lame inspirational posters you see in high school or something.
Here's what I wrote on the other side of the barf bag:
"Why aren't more people honest with themselves? If you aren't happy with yourself, do something! Don't just sit there waiting for change, waiting for someone else to come along and fix the problem! Address the problem. Not with alcohol. Not with drugs. Instant pleasure is not the answer. If you aren't happy with your life, with who you are, why? How is fixing that not your top priority? What, or who, is holding you back? Usually, it's only ourselves. Do what you were meant to do. What is that you ask? I don't know. Find what it is that makes you feel complete. Without this you aren't fulfilling your purpose on earth. Find what makes you come alive! And head towards that! Now!"
on that note: peace amigos. more to come about ireland and the netherlands.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Off to the end of the rainbow
Straight to it: Here are the pictures from our class trip to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest, and Bratislava!
Cesky Krumlov/Vienna
Budapest/Bratislava
I'm heading off to Ireland tomorrow for five days with my friend Tom. We will be staying in Dublin, Cork and Galway. I'm super stoked for this trip, as I've always wanted to go to Ireland for some reason. I don't know if it is because of the accent, the beautiful countryside, the fact the U2, Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard hail from there, or something else, but I've always had this longing to go! And I have to say I am very excited about going to an English-speaking country! It's been about 3 months since I have been in an English speaking country!
The day after I get back from Ireland I will be going to Brussels and Amsterdam for my final trip in Europe! This will be quite the finale since there are 5 other guys going. Should be good times.
My roommate Jared pointed out to me today that we only have about 3 weeks left here. I can't believe it. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I felt when he told me that. We can't decide if time has been flying by, or if things have been going by slowly. I would probably have to say that time has been flying by, because that's usually what happens when you are having a great time. It's weird, because I really don't want to go back home, but at the same time I really do. There are a lot of things I miss, and there are a lot of things I really am not looking forward to going back to. Hopefully the re-entry culture shock won't be as bad as everyone says it will...but something tells me it is going to be pretty rough. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Alright, Ireland awaits.
Ciao!
Cesky Krumlov/Vienna
Budapest/Bratislava
I'm heading off to Ireland tomorrow for five days with my friend Tom. We will be staying in Dublin, Cork and Galway. I'm super stoked for this trip, as I've always wanted to go to Ireland for some reason. I don't know if it is because of the accent, the beautiful countryside, the fact the U2, Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard hail from there, or something else, but I've always had this longing to go! And I have to say I am very excited about going to an English-speaking country! It's been about 3 months since I have been in an English speaking country!
The day after I get back from Ireland I will be going to Brussels and Amsterdam for my final trip in Europe! This will be quite the finale since there are 5 other guys going. Should be good times.
My roommate Jared pointed out to me today that we only have about 3 weeks left here. I can't believe it. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I felt when he told me that. We can't decide if time has been flying by, or if things have been going by slowly. I would probably have to say that time has been flying by, because that's usually what happens when you are having a great time. It's weird, because I really don't want to go back home, but at the same time I really do. There are a lot of things I miss, and there are a lot of things I really am not looking forward to going back to. Hopefully the re-entry culture shock won't be as bad as everyone says it will...but something tells me it is going to be pretty rough. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Alright, Ireland awaits.
Ciao!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Spring is in the air
First thing: Listen to Jon Foreman's new EP titled "Spring". It is absolutely amazing. Each of his Ep's (he has two others appropriately titled "Winter" and "Fall") keep getting better and better. Give them a whirl.
I'm in the process of working on a little Prague film. For a while, I thought lugging my new camera all the way over here may not have been worth the hassle, since, for various reasons I won't go into, I was having trouble making a film over here. Well, my roommate and I have been going around the city the past few days getting our shots, and we are on our way to making a little film in Prague! When its done, it will of course be posted right here for all of you to see. The awesome thing about this film is that I might be able to submit it as my final project for not one, but two of my three classes! That is two final papers I don't have to write, just because I made a film I was probably going to make anyways! That's what I'm talking about!
The weather is finally looking up here in Prague. The past few days we've had temperatures in the mid 60's which is pretty warm for Prague. Looking at the weather for back home makes me a little jealous, since you Cali people already are enjoying 80 degree weather. I miss shorts and flip flops, but I know I'll get plenty of that when I get back. I think I'll enjoy the cooler spring, since this is weather I don't really get back home.
On to more important matters. As some of you know, I'm going to Northern Uganda this summer for about 6 weeks. I'm going with a team of 10 to work and help out at this orphanage/school. I'm also going to be bringing my camera and filming, possibly making my own little documentary. Each member of our team set the goal of raising $4,000, so we could reach our group goal of $40,000. As of right now, 60 days before we leave on June 11, we have 20% of our goal. This is a little frightening, but I have faith that our needs will be met. If I haven't already sent you a support letter and you would like to know how you can support me or anyone else on the team, please let me know! Anything will be appreciated, whether it is your prayers, your pocket change, or anything else you can think up. In case you didn't know, I really have a huge heart and passion for Africa. Ever since I saw the Invisible Children documentary a few years ago, I've always had a longing to go and help out in person. Now, I'm getting that chance. I don't know how it happened, but here I am, sitting in my apartment in Prague, already thinking to the future (which is only in 2 months!) about my adventures in Africa. I can't imagine hanging out with some of the poorest people in the world, but I'm so glad I get the chance. Many people think that the money we are raising for our team could be more efficiently used if we gave it to an organization that was already set up and running in Africa. I do think giving money to these organizations is important, but I also think it's important for those that have the desire to go see these atrocities in person to give them that chance. I know that I can help these people with my money, but I think it might mean something extremely special to these people to come and see them face to face.
My goal this summer is to become completely selfless. I want to serve others. This whole semester, I feel like I've been focusing on my wants and needs. I've been living in Prague for cripes sake! I've gotten a massage in a spa in Budapest! I've spent countless dollars on drinks throughout various pubs and bars in Europe! Let's face it, this semester has been a vacation for me. School has been easier than I ever imagined. Now, I worked my tail off in school so I could get here, and saved up a lot of money, so I feel like I deserved this amazing experience. But now, this summer, I want to give back. And not only because I feel like I've been on a "vacation" for a semester. No,this passion has been in me a while. I've been on a few one-week long mission trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, but I wanted something a little bit more. In two months, I feel I can actually build relationships with people I meet. I can hear their stories. I can tell them mine. We may come from two different worlds, but for 2 months this summer, none of that will matter. I'm coming from the richest nation in the history of the world, and that right there means that I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.
These people deserve our help. If genocide, starvation, poverty, the list goes on...was happening right across your street, you wouldn't stand for it. You would do something. So why is it any different if it is happening across the world? These people are humans, just like us. God loves them just the same. We all deserve a chance. A chance at life. At the basics: water, food, shelter, health. At love.
As I write this, I realize how much of a hypocrite I am. It's hard to pursue my life, my dreams, my desires, when I know there are people in the world that struggle to find enough water to drink for the day. How do I justify the way I live my life?
Wow...I did not plan on writing all this, and going off on a mini sermon. Uh..I apologize. I guess I just wanted people to know why I'm doing what I'm doing this summer. And that I'm incredibly grateful for the chance I'm getting. If I can make just one child smile this summer, it will all be worth it.
Movie of the week:The Edukators
I'm in the process of working on a little Prague film. For a while, I thought lugging my new camera all the way over here may not have been worth the hassle, since, for various reasons I won't go into, I was having trouble making a film over here. Well, my roommate and I have been going around the city the past few days getting our shots, and we are on our way to making a little film in Prague! When its done, it will of course be posted right here for all of you to see. The awesome thing about this film is that I might be able to submit it as my final project for not one, but two of my three classes! That is two final papers I don't have to write, just because I made a film I was probably going to make anyways! That's what I'm talking about!
The weather is finally looking up here in Prague. The past few days we've had temperatures in the mid 60's which is pretty warm for Prague. Looking at the weather for back home makes me a little jealous, since you Cali people already are enjoying 80 degree weather. I miss shorts and flip flops, but I know I'll get plenty of that when I get back. I think I'll enjoy the cooler spring, since this is weather I don't really get back home.
On to more important matters. As some of you know, I'm going to Northern Uganda this summer for about 6 weeks. I'm going with a team of 10 to work and help out at this orphanage/school. I'm also going to be bringing my camera and filming, possibly making my own little documentary. Each member of our team set the goal of raising $4,000, so we could reach our group goal of $40,000. As of right now, 60 days before we leave on June 11, we have 20% of our goal. This is a little frightening, but I have faith that our needs will be met. If I haven't already sent you a support letter and you would like to know how you can support me or anyone else on the team, please let me know! Anything will be appreciated, whether it is your prayers, your pocket change, or anything else you can think up. In case you didn't know, I really have a huge heart and passion for Africa. Ever since I saw the Invisible Children documentary a few years ago, I've always had a longing to go and help out in person. Now, I'm getting that chance. I don't know how it happened, but here I am, sitting in my apartment in Prague, already thinking to the future (which is only in 2 months!) about my adventures in Africa. I can't imagine hanging out with some of the poorest people in the world, but I'm so glad I get the chance. Many people think that the money we are raising for our team could be more efficiently used if we gave it to an organization that was already set up and running in Africa. I do think giving money to these organizations is important, but I also think it's important for those that have the desire to go see these atrocities in person to give them that chance. I know that I can help these people with my money, but I think it might mean something extremely special to these people to come and see them face to face.
My goal this summer is to become completely selfless. I want to serve others. This whole semester, I feel like I've been focusing on my wants and needs. I've been living in Prague for cripes sake! I've gotten a massage in a spa in Budapest! I've spent countless dollars on drinks throughout various pubs and bars in Europe! Let's face it, this semester has been a vacation for me. School has been easier than I ever imagined. Now, I worked my tail off in school so I could get here, and saved up a lot of money, so I feel like I deserved this amazing experience. But now, this summer, I want to give back. And not only because I feel like I've been on a "vacation" for a semester. No,this passion has been in me a while. I've been on a few one-week long mission trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, but I wanted something a little bit more. In two months, I feel I can actually build relationships with people I meet. I can hear their stories. I can tell them mine. We may come from two different worlds, but for 2 months this summer, none of that will matter. I'm coming from the richest nation in the history of the world, and that right there means that I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.
These people deserve our help. If genocide, starvation, poverty, the list goes on...was happening right across your street, you wouldn't stand for it. You would do something. So why is it any different if it is happening across the world? These people are humans, just like us. God loves them just the same. We all deserve a chance. A chance at life. At the basics: water, food, shelter, health. At love.
As I write this, I realize how much of a hypocrite I am. It's hard to pursue my life, my dreams, my desires, when I know there are people in the world that struggle to find enough water to drink for the day. How do I justify the way I live my life?
Wow...I did not plan on writing all this, and going off on a mini sermon. Uh..I apologize. I guess I just wanted people to know why I'm doing what I'm doing this summer. And that I'm incredibly grateful for the chance I'm getting. If I can make just one child smile this summer, it will all be worth it.
Movie of the week:The Edukators
Thursday, April 10, 2008
4 Countries, 5 days
Last week, my study abroad program, USAC, embarked on a 5 day trip to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. This trip had been planned months before we even arrived in Europe. We paid about 400 dollars for the trip, which included staying in some pretty nice hotels (at least for our standards, since we all had been used to staying in "interesting" hostels on our travels), eating at some nice restaurants, and having a bus drive us from city to city. It was certainly nice to not have to worry about catching trains or starving due to our college student budget. This trip was certainly more comfortable than some of my other travels, but moved at a rapid pace, since we really only had about a day and half in each city.
Cesky Krumlov is about 2 hours away from Prague, if I remember right, and was a nice, quaint little city with its own castle and everything. The castle even had a moat, but not filled with water, but rather, BEARS! This is the best idea ever! Anyone can swim across a pathetic moat filled with water, but who wants to fight multiple bears to break into a castle? Not me. Sadly, all the bears were hiding from us, so we never actually got to see any, but the idea was still cool enough for me.
We also got to see one of the oldest, most well preserved baroque theaters in all of Europe. This theater has been around for hundreds of years and was only used a few times, which is why it is still around in good condition today. It only seats about 200 people, if that, and is a little spooky inside with natural candle light being the only source of illumination.
We stayed in Cesky Krumlov for one night in a fantastic hotel, complete with a huge breakfast the next morning. Honestly, this might have been the best breakfast I've had since I've been in Europe, which isn't saying a whole lot. To anyone back home, this would have seemed purely average, but to me, it was a feast. Europeans just don't really eat breakfasts like we do, except for random countries here and there. I'm really looking forward to getting some amazing pancakes that I keep hearing about in Amsterdam at the end of this month.
On our way to Vienna, I realized that bus rides, and traveling in Europe is so much better than back home in the states. Car rides, at least in California, can be extremely boring, and I can only imagine how bad they are in some other states (i.e. Montana, the Dakota's, Nebraska, etc.). But here, the countrysides are breathtaking! I wish I wasn't so tired whenever we were on the bus, because I could easily just sit there and listen to music and stare out the window the whole trip and be completely entertained. I say this often, but I'll say it again, it felt like being in one of those shots in a movie, where the character is shown sitting in a bus/car looking out the window contemplating life. European countrysides seem to have so much more history and stories to tell. Rolling hills, various kinds of trees, huge mountains in the background, bi-polar skies, they all make up for such a great scene to witness.
Anyways, on to Vienna. I had heard a lot about Vienna and was really expecting a great city. Vienna was a lot like Berlin. Very clean and tidy for the most part, and of course, they speak German there. The people were very nice to us, just like they were in Germany, so I certainly appreciated that little aspect. One of my favorite things to do in Vienna was tell people that I'm from California. This would immediately be greeted by some response like "Arnold!" or "The Govenator!" (This joke must still be funny to them, since it is extremely old to us Californians, haha). People seem to be fascinated in Austria that Arnold ended up being Governor. Come to think of it, I guess I still am too. I enjoyed some classic Wienerschnitzel, which was quite tasty and even some good wine. I'm still not a big wine drinker, I guess I just haven't acquired that taste yet, but I can still tell the difference between a good and a bad wine.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with an old camp friend. Katie, or as I know her better, "Wooga", is from Oregon/Washington and is now teaching in Vienna. She has been there since July and when I realized I was going to be in Vienna, I sent her a message via our good friend Facebook. This was a few weeks ago, and once I was in Vienna, I realized I didn't have her number or any means of meeting up with her. I used a friend's computer, send her a message and hoped she would get it within the next few hours, since I was only in Vienna for one night. Literally 20 seconds later, my phone rings and what would you have it, it was her on the other end! We met up, for the first time in 2 and a half years I might add, got dinner and then went out to a sweet Irish pub called Waxy's. I tried some great new drinks, one being Cider, which was basically just an alcohol version of Apple Cider. Good stuff. Katie knew a few friends in the bar, these Croatian guys, who were really cool. Apparently Croatians like showing off their wealth, and especially like to buy all (not just girls) people drinks. Since I was friends with Katie, this meant I was friends with them, and next thing I knew they were buying me Rum and Coke's, which I happen to like quite a lot. This turned into a great night of drinking (in moderation of course! Calm down people...!) and just overall good times. At one point in the night I realized that one of the Croatian guys was wearing a bracelet that had a real bullet on it. I thought this was pretty cool and told the guy I was diggin' his creative bracelet. He said he used the bullet as his stylus for his palm pilot. Later, after he had had a few more drinks, he ended up shoving the bracelet into my hand, telling me it was his gift to me. I tried to refuse, thinking this was probably a pretty special bracelet to him. He didn't give up, and said he had another one at home, so finally I accepted the gift and thanked him for it. This is probably my coolest souvenir from Europe thus far. I think it will join the collection of other items from around the world that are hanging from my rearview mirror in my car.
The next morning we had some time to kill before we left for Budapest, so some of us decided to go to some of the infamous museums in Vienna. This was probably the low point of my entire trip. Sadly, I chose to go to the Modern Art Museum which was probably one of the worst choices I have made recently. This was one of those Museums that had stuff in it that made you wonder who classified it as "art." I can't stand "art" that looks like something I could have created when I was 6. Why is a huge canvas with a screw glued to it a "masterpiece"? Please explain this to me, somebody, anybody! Also some of the stuff in this museum was some of the most grotesque, nasty things I have ever seen. Lets just say there was a warning that kids under 16 should not be allowed. I won't go into details, but I saw some things that I absolutely did NOT need to see. I want my money back. I wish I would have gone to the Fine Art museum or the Museum of Natural History. Oh well. You win some, you lose some I guess. Oh, some other random things I did in Vienna: visited St. Stephens Cathedral, got some more Gelato (which just doesn't feel the same outside of Italy) and had the best outdoor nap I've had in years. Just felt like I should include that little bit of info.
After another spectacular bus ride, we arrived at Budapest in the evening. As much as I liked Vienna, Budapest was my favorite city of the trip. Budapest feels a lot like Prague, with some great baroque architecture along a fabulous river. The Danube river is one of the widest rivers I have ever seen and easily makes a laughing-stock out of the Vltava river in Prague. As great as Budapest is, it still doesn't have a bridge nearly as cool as Prague's Charles Bridge. However, Budapest does have any amazing hill where you can sit and overlook the city. Man, I'll tell you, I've seen some amazing views in Europe, and I'm going to have a tough time choosing which one is my favorite once my time here is done. Right now my three favorites are from the top of the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica to be exact) in Rome, the top of the hill in Budapest, and St. Petrin Park in Prague. Something tells me I will have to add a place from Ireland to this list...but we'll see.
One of the main reasons why everyone was looking forward to Budapest in particular was because of the spa's that we got to go to. I'll post the pictures when I get a chance, but I'm telling you, these spa's were amazing. Just imagine a HUGE hot tub outside surrounded by elegant statues and fountains. Oh, and lots of old people floating around. Inside there were multiple sauna's, steam rooms, and various sized pools at different temperatures. It was crazy! I've never felt so relaxed. I also got my first massage, which was actually a little disappointing. I felt like the masseuse (who was a dude) easily could have put a little more elbow grease into the job. I probably should have told him, but I would have felt so spoiled turning around telling the guy who is massaging me: "Um excuse me! Sir! Can you do that a little harder? Thanks." I just can't say that without feeling like a pretentious a-word. It was still enjoyable, and I'm glad I can say I got a massage in Budapest.
By the way, if you ever go to Budapest, get the Goulash soup! It is cheap and absolutely amazing! I had this multiple times throughout the trip and am still craving it.
One of my favorite moments in Budapest came the last night of the trip, when two buddies and I decided to get some great Dominican cigars (I know, GASP! I smoke cigars!!! So sue me. Here's why I smoke cigars for all of you out there who wonder why people smoke them: They make great moments even better. I only smoke them when the time is right. When the fat lady sings. They aren't cigarettes. In my mind you don't just pop them off whenever you feel like it. This is why I only smoke them when it is clearly obvious that a cigar is right for the occasion. I.e. sitting on an enormous hill overlooking Budapest at midnight with two cool friends. I see nothing wrong with this. Oh, and I have a Cuban sitting in my room right now, waiting for the next "appropriate moment" to happen. :) ) Anyways, sitting up on that hill over looking the entire city with that Dominican was quite a memorable experience.
After my time in Budapest, I really felt like royalty. Great food, wine, cigars, a day at a spa and a massage? Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? Do you realize that we are some of the richest people to ever live? Geez. That's a lot of responsibility. It will be crazy to think back to these kinds of moments this summer when I'm in the middle of 115 degree heat in Uganda.
After Budapest, it seemed everyone in the group was ready to go home. But we still had one more city to see on our way home: Bratislava. Now, I had heard pretty bad things about Bratislava. Friends back in Prague told me you could see everything in about 2 hours. Luckily we weren't there for much longer than that. Most of my time there was spent in a restaurant, actually. Which really didn't bother me. Seriously though, Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) still looks like it is stuck in the middle of Communism. Most of the buildings are big and blocky and horribly ugly. Not exactly picturesque. Really, there isn't even a whole lot to tell about my trip this city. We saw a cool castle on the outskirts of the city, which actually was the best part of the whole trip, and technically wasn't even in Bratislava. Ha!
I want to finish with this quote, because this sums up a lot of things that have been on my mind lately:
Is there then any terrestrial paradise where amidst the whispering of the olive leaves people can be with whom they like and have what they like and take their ease in shadows and in coolness, or are all men's lives...broken, tumultuous, agonized and unromantic lives, periods punctuated by screams, by imbeciles, by deaths, by agonies? - Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
Currently listening to: Oasis
Cesky Krumlov is about 2 hours away from Prague, if I remember right, and was a nice, quaint little city with its own castle and everything. The castle even had a moat, but not filled with water, but rather, BEARS! This is the best idea ever! Anyone can swim across a pathetic moat filled with water, but who wants to fight multiple bears to break into a castle? Not me. Sadly, all the bears were hiding from us, so we never actually got to see any, but the idea was still cool enough for me.
We also got to see one of the oldest, most well preserved baroque theaters in all of Europe. This theater has been around for hundreds of years and was only used a few times, which is why it is still around in good condition today. It only seats about 200 people, if that, and is a little spooky inside with natural candle light being the only source of illumination.
We stayed in Cesky Krumlov for one night in a fantastic hotel, complete with a huge breakfast the next morning. Honestly, this might have been the best breakfast I've had since I've been in Europe, which isn't saying a whole lot. To anyone back home, this would have seemed purely average, but to me, it was a feast. Europeans just don't really eat breakfasts like we do, except for random countries here and there. I'm really looking forward to getting some amazing pancakes that I keep hearing about in Amsterdam at the end of this month.
On our way to Vienna, I realized that bus rides, and traveling in Europe is so much better than back home in the states. Car rides, at least in California, can be extremely boring, and I can only imagine how bad they are in some other states (i.e. Montana, the Dakota's, Nebraska, etc.). But here, the countrysides are breathtaking! I wish I wasn't so tired whenever we were on the bus, because I could easily just sit there and listen to music and stare out the window the whole trip and be completely entertained. I say this often, but I'll say it again, it felt like being in one of those shots in a movie, where the character is shown sitting in a bus/car looking out the window contemplating life. European countrysides seem to have so much more history and stories to tell. Rolling hills, various kinds of trees, huge mountains in the background, bi-polar skies, they all make up for such a great scene to witness.
Anyways, on to Vienna. I had heard a lot about Vienna and was really expecting a great city. Vienna was a lot like Berlin. Very clean and tidy for the most part, and of course, they speak German there. The people were very nice to us, just like they were in Germany, so I certainly appreciated that little aspect. One of my favorite things to do in Vienna was tell people that I'm from California. This would immediately be greeted by some response like "Arnold!" or "The Govenator!" (This joke must still be funny to them, since it is extremely old to us Californians, haha). People seem to be fascinated in Austria that Arnold ended up being Governor. Come to think of it, I guess I still am too. I enjoyed some classic Wienerschnitzel, which was quite tasty and even some good wine. I'm still not a big wine drinker, I guess I just haven't acquired that taste yet, but I can still tell the difference between a good and a bad wine.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with an old camp friend. Katie, or as I know her better, "Wooga", is from Oregon/Washington and is now teaching in Vienna. She has been there since July and when I realized I was going to be in Vienna, I sent her a message via our good friend Facebook. This was a few weeks ago, and once I was in Vienna, I realized I didn't have her number or any means of meeting up with her. I used a friend's computer, send her a message and hoped she would get it within the next few hours, since I was only in Vienna for one night. Literally 20 seconds later, my phone rings and what would you have it, it was her on the other end! We met up, for the first time in 2 and a half years I might add, got dinner and then went out to a sweet Irish pub called Waxy's. I tried some great new drinks, one being Cider, which was basically just an alcohol version of Apple Cider. Good stuff. Katie knew a few friends in the bar, these Croatian guys, who were really cool. Apparently Croatians like showing off their wealth, and especially like to buy all (not just girls) people drinks. Since I was friends with Katie, this meant I was friends with them, and next thing I knew they were buying me Rum and Coke's, which I happen to like quite a lot. This turned into a great night of drinking (in moderation of course! Calm down people...!) and just overall good times. At one point in the night I realized that one of the Croatian guys was wearing a bracelet that had a real bullet on it. I thought this was pretty cool and told the guy I was diggin' his creative bracelet. He said he used the bullet as his stylus for his palm pilot. Later, after he had had a few more drinks, he ended up shoving the bracelet into my hand, telling me it was his gift to me. I tried to refuse, thinking this was probably a pretty special bracelet to him. He didn't give up, and said he had another one at home, so finally I accepted the gift and thanked him for it. This is probably my coolest souvenir from Europe thus far. I think it will join the collection of other items from around the world that are hanging from my rearview mirror in my car.
The next morning we had some time to kill before we left for Budapest, so some of us decided to go to some of the infamous museums in Vienna. This was probably the low point of my entire trip. Sadly, I chose to go to the Modern Art Museum which was probably one of the worst choices I have made recently. This was one of those Museums that had stuff in it that made you wonder who classified it as "art." I can't stand "art" that looks like something I could have created when I was 6. Why is a huge canvas with a screw glued to it a "masterpiece"? Please explain this to me, somebody, anybody! Also some of the stuff in this museum was some of the most grotesque, nasty things I have ever seen. Lets just say there was a warning that kids under 16 should not be allowed. I won't go into details, but I saw some things that I absolutely did NOT need to see. I want my money back. I wish I would have gone to the Fine Art museum or the Museum of Natural History. Oh well. You win some, you lose some I guess. Oh, some other random things I did in Vienna: visited St. Stephens Cathedral, got some more Gelato (which just doesn't feel the same outside of Italy) and had the best outdoor nap I've had in years. Just felt like I should include that little bit of info.
After another spectacular bus ride, we arrived at Budapest in the evening. As much as I liked Vienna, Budapest was my favorite city of the trip. Budapest feels a lot like Prague, with some great baroque architecture along a fabulous river. The Danube river is one of the widest rivers I have ever seen and easily makes a laughing-stock out of the Vltava river in Prague. As great as Budapest is, it still doesn't have a bridge nearly as cool as Prague's Charles Bridge. However, Budapest does have any amazing hill where you can sit and overlook the city. Man, I'll tell you, I've seen some amazing views in Europe, and I'm going to have a tough time choosing which one is my favorite once my time here is done. Right now my three favorites are from the top of the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica to be exact) in Rome, the top of the hill in Budapest, and St. Petrin Park in Prague. Something tells me I will have to add a place from Ireland to this list...but we'll see.
One of the main reasons why everyone was looking forward to Budapest in particular was because of the spa's that we got to go to. I'll post the pictures when I get a chance, but I'm telling you, these spa's were amazing. Just imagine a HUGE hot tub outside surrounded by elegant statues and fountains. Oh, and lots of old people floating around. Inside there were multiple sauna's, steam rooms, and various sized pools at different temperatures. It was crazy! I've never felt so relaxed. I also got my first massage, which was actually a little disappointing. I felt like the masseuse (who was a dude) easily could have put a little more elbow grease into the job. I probably should have told him, but I would have felt so spoiled turning around telling the guy who is massaging me: "Um excuse me! Sir! Can you do that a little harder? Thanks." I just can't say that without feeling like a pretentious a-word. It was still enjoyable, and I'm glad I can say I got a massage in Budapest.
By the way, if you ever go to Budapest, get the Goulash soup! It is cheap and absolutely amazing! I had this multiple times throughout the trip and am still craving it.
One of my favorite moments in Budapest came the last night of the trip, when two buddies and I decided to get some great Dominican cigars (I know, GASP! I smoke cigars!!! So sue me. Here's why I smoke cigars for all of you out there who wonder why people smoke them: They make great moments even better. I only smoke them when the time is right. When the fat lady sings. They aren't cigarettes. In my mind you don't just pop them off whenever you feel like it. This is why I only smoke them when it is clearly obvious that a cigar is right for the occasion. I.e. sitting on an enormous hill overlooking Budapest at midnight with two cool friends. I see nothing wrong with this. Oh, and I have a Cuban sitting in my room right now, waiting for the next "appropriate moment" to happen. :) ) Anyways, sitting up on that hill over looking the entire city with that Dominican was quite a memorable experience.
After my time in Budapest, I really felt like royalty. Great food, wine, cigars, a day at a spa and a massage? Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? Do you realize that we are some of the richest people to ever live? Geez. That's a lot of responsibility. It will be crazy to think back to these kinds of moments this summer when I'm in the middle of 115 degree heat in Uganda.
After Budapest, it seemed everyone in the group was ready to go home. But we still had one more city to see on our way home: Bratislava. Now, I had heard pretty bad things about Bratislava. Friends back in Prague told me you could see everything in about 2 hours. Luckily we weren't there for much longer than that. Most of my time there was spent in a restaurant, actually. Which really didn't bother me. Seriously though, Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) still looks like it is stuck in the middle of Communism. Most of the buildings are big and blocky and horribly ugly. Not exactly picturesque. Really, there isn't even a whole lot to tell about my trip this city. We saw a cool castle on the outskirts of the city, which actually was the best part of the whole trip, and technically wasn't even in Bratislava. Ha!
I want to finish with this quote, because this sums up a lot of things that have been on my mind lately:
Is there then any terrestrial paradise where amidst the whispering of the olive leaves people can be with whom they like and have what they like and take their ease in shadows and in coolness, or are all men's lives...broken, tumultuous, agonized and unromantic lives, periods punctuated by screams, by imbeciles, by deaths, by agonies? - Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
Currently listening to: Oasis
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
On the road
Back from the class trip to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. This trip was absolutely sweet because we had transportation, a few meals paid for, and great hotels to stay in. We didn't have to worry about catching random trains all over the place, or staying in a sketchy hostel. It was nice to sleep in comfortable rooms in nice beds with people I know. But before I write all about this fun little 5 day trip, I want to write a little bit about Rome before I start forgetting certain details.
Rome was the highlight of my trip to Italy. I met more people in Florence, but the best some of the best sights of Europe are in Rome. I saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon, The Forum, Trevi Fountain, the Catacombs, the Spanish Steps, the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica (AKA the Pope's church and by far the best cathedral I have seen so far) and a few other great sights. It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing each of this sights but I certainly have a few highlights. Walking around the Colosseum by myself listening to the Gladiator soundtrack was an intense experience. I highly recommend this activity. The Forum is a bunch of old roman ruins that aren't preserved very well but still make for a very cool experience to walk through. It's crazy to try and imagine what happened in this places 2,000 years ago.
The catacombs were extremely interesting because this was where all the Christian's that were killed by the Roman Empire were buried. The catacombs are huge underground crypts and tombs that stretch for 80 acres! Walking through them felt like some scene out of Indiana Jones.
I went to the Vatican with some friends that I met from my hostel which was a lot of fun. Some of them go to Colorado State, which is where my mom went to college and is less than an hour from where I was born, so that was pretty cool to get to hang out with them. I went to the Vatican museum which is the best museum I have been to in Europe so far, because they have Egyptian relics and artifacts that are about 3,000 years old. They even have a preserved mummy taken out of its sarcophagus! Being an American I really hadn't seen much that was old than just a few hundred years, so seeing many of this things was really mind blowing. One of my favorite moments of my entire trip was seeing the Sistine chapel. Extremely cliche I know, but the long lines and all the waiting were definitely worth it. The artwork in there is super hyped, but for very good reason. Michaelangelo's paintings on the ceiling and on the front wall (titled "Judgment Day") are my favorite pieces of art...ever. I knew this going in, so I was extremely excited. The place is really packed out with tourists, but I didn't even care. Seeing art that is that good is almost a spiritual experience. The idea that someone created something that remarkable just blows my mind. I can't even draw proper stick figures and here is this guy painting works of art on the wall of one of the most famous buildings in history. Incredible. Wasn't allowed to take pictures of any of the art in there, but I don't think I would have wanted to, I mean it wouldn't have done it justice.
The Pantheon was really cool too, because it is the most well preserved building in all of Rome. It is about 99% the same as it was when it was built about 2,000 years ago, which is incredible with all the earthquakes and floods that Rome has seen over all that time. The architectural skills that the Romans had are just unthinkable. Some of the things they did are still a mystery to archaeologists and engineers today.
I had some interesting experiences in Rome besides seeing all the sights. I did meet some cool people, but didn't find any people to couch surf like I did in Florence. However, after going to hang out with some of the people I met in our hostel for the day, I came home to realize that Joe and I had been separated because of this. I hung out at the hostel (which was another camping hostel that was on the outskirts of the city, making it a HUGE pain to get to, and was also freezing cold due to the terrible weather) that night, got some dinner, and decided to call it day and figured Joe would come back home that night. Didn't happen. I wake up the next morning to find that Joe was still not there, so I figured I would go out and explore the city myself. Long story short I ended up not seeing Joe until the next morning! I found out later that he met some Swiss girl and really hit it off with her and ended up staying at her hostel, so that was cool for him, just really confusing for me! But it was cool exploring a city as exotic as Rome by myself. Sometimes a man just needs some reflecting time, and I certainly got it.
Alright gotta go...
Currently listening to: Pink Floyd
Rome was the highlight of my trip to Italy. I met more people in Florence, but the best some of the best sights of Europe are in Rome. I saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon, The Forum, Trevi Fountain, the Catacombs, the Spanish Steps, the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica (AKA the Pope's church and by far the best cathedral I have seen so far) and a few other great sights. It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing each of this sights but I certainly have a few highlights. Walking around the Colosseum by myself listening to the Gladiator soundtrack was an intense experience. I highly recommend this activity. The Forum is a bunch of old roman ruins that aren't preserved very well but still make for a very cool experience to walk through. It's crazy to try and imagine what happened in this places 2,000 years ago.
The catacombs were extremely interesting because this was where all the Christian's that were killed by the Roman Empire were buried. The catacombs are huge underground crypts and tombs that stretch for 80 acres! Walking through them felt like some scene out of Indiana Jones.
I went to the Vatican with some friends that I met from my hostel which was a lot of fun. Some of them go to Colorado State, which is where my mom went to college and is less than an hour from where I was born, so that was pretty cool to get to hang out with them. I went to the Vatican museum which is the best museum I have been to in Europe so far, because they have Egyptian relics and artifacts that are about 3,000 years old. They even have a preserved mummy taken out of its sarcophagus! Being an American I really hadn't seen much that was old than just a few hundred years, so seeing many of this things was really mind blowing. One of my favorite moments of my entire trip was seeing the Sistine chapel. Extremely cliche I know, but the long lines and all the waiting were definitely worth it. The artwork in there is super hyped, but for very good reason. Michaelangelo's paintings on the ceiling and on the front wall (titled "Judgment Day") are my favorite pieces of art...ever. I knew this going in, so I was extremely excited. The place is really packed out with tourists, but I didn't even care. Seeing art that is that good is almost a spiritual experience. The idea that someone created something that remarkable just blows my mind. I can't even draw proper stick figures and here is this guy painting works of art on the wall of one of the most famous buildings in history. Incredible. Wasn't allowed to take pictures of any of the art in there, but I don't think I would have wanted to, I mean it wouldn't have done it justice.
The Pantheon was really cool too, because it is the most well preserved building in all of Rome. It is about 99% the same as it was when it was built about 2,000 years ago, which is incredible with all the earthquakes and floods that Rome has seen over all that time. The architectural skills that the Romans had are just unthinkable. Some of the things they did are still a mystery to archaeologists and engineers today.
I had some interesting experiences in Rome besides seeing all the sights. I did meet some cool people, but didn't find any people to couch surf like I did in Florence. However, after going to hang out with some of the people I met in our hostel for the day, I came home to realize that Joe and I had been separated because of this. I hung out at the hostel (which was another camping hostel that was on the outskirts of the city, making it a HUGE pain to get to, and was also freezing cold due to the terrible weather) that night, got some dinner, and decided to call it day and figured Joe would come back home that night. Didn't happen. I wake up the next morning to find that Joe was still not there, so I figured I would go out and explore the city myself. Long story short I ended up not seeing Joe until the next morning! I found out later that he met some Swiss girl and really hit it off with her and ended up staying at her hostel, so that was cool for him, just really confusing for me! But it was cool exploring a city as exotic as Rome by myself. Sometimes a man just needs some reflecting time, and I certainly got it.
Alright gotta go...
Currently listening to: Pink Floyd
Photos!
Back from Budapest and Vienna...the trip was awesome!
Here are the pictures from Italy:
Milan
Florence/Rome
More of Rome
Florence/Rome (this link won't work, I'll put these up later, but they are on my facebook if you want to see them)
Milan/Florence
Cesky Krumlov/Vienna/Budapest (our internet won't let me upload this yet...so they are coming soon...)
Will blog soon, don't have as much time without my own computer!!!
Here are the pictures from Italy:
Milan
Florence/Rome
More of Rome
Florence/Rome (this link won't work, I'll put these up later, but they are on my facebook if you want to see them)
Milan/Florence
Cesky Krumlov/Vienna/Budapest (our internet won't let me upload this yet...so they are coming soon...)
Will blog soon, don't have as much time without my own computer!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Florence
I wish my blog had some kind of awesome theme music, so whenever you logged onto this page you could hear a familiar, pump you up kind of tune. Maybe something like the mix between the Sports center theme and the Law and Order little tune. Serious, yet kinda light hearted. I might have to create something...hmmm...get back to me on that one...
Okay! So Italy post numero dos! Florence! Where to begin... Florence was so much fun. However, the beginning of our trip was not so awesome. Our time in Florence began with a crowded, very noisy train full of Italians. Our compartment was empty as first, but about halfway into the trip, a huge Italian family joined us, and one of them actually took Joe's seat (he was up going to the bathroom) and he actually ended up having to move somewhere else on the train. Once we arrived in Florence at about midnight or so, we were very disorientated and to make matters worse, it was raining, and pretty hard. So we began our trek to find our hostel, which we knew was just outside the city somewhere. Luckily I am an Eagle Scout and am always prepared, so I had the address and phone number of the hostel written down. We finally found a map at a bus station and after about 30 minutes of searching for our street, we found it, and realized we had a decent walk ahead of us. About 45 minutes later, soaking wet, we arrived at our hostel. Luckily a guy was waiting for us at the desk to let us in. Now, this hostel was the cheapest one in Florence, and would have been awesome in the summer, but it wasn't so awesome in March. We were sleeping in these canvas tent things (we did have beds), and had very inadequate means to keep ourselves warm. We were only provided one blanket, and I don't even think we had any sheets. Not so fun.
After a fairly miserable nights sleep in the cold, we awoke and prepared to explore the city. This is when the adventure began. We met Miriam while we were trying to figure out how to use the confusing lockers, and we were pleased to meet someone who spoke English. Miriam is 18 and from Florida, currently traveling around Europe. We noticed immediately how outgoing she was and how much she loved having company. Very cool girl. Immediately upon meeting her she asked us if we wanted to join her and the "Free Hugs" campaign. I had no idea what she was talking about until I remembered this youtube video I had watched a while back. I'll let you watch it for yourselves:
Apparently, the day we met Miriam was "International Free Hugs Day." Sounded pretty cool to us, so we figured we would join Miriam. Apparently all you do is hold a sign up that says "Free Hugs" and give hugs to anybody that wants one. Thats it! She planned on doing this in front of the main cathedral in Florence, where tons of people are all the time, so I figured something interesting would happen. After getting a tasty lunch with her and Joe, we went to the cathedral, but we couldn't find any other fellow "Free Huggers". (Doesn't it sound like some hippie thing from the 70's?) Miriam was disappointed, but realized she could do it all by herself. She whipped out her sign held it up, and after a few minutes, was having random people coming up to her giving her hugs! Pretty cool. This is when we met Abdu. Abdu is this awesome guy studying art in Florence. We found out he was a couchsurfer (check out the website for more info: couchsurfing.com) and that he was hosting a few fellow travelers at his place the next few days. Couchsurfing is an online network set up to save people just like us some cash. I wish we would have known about this before booking our hostels, because all it is is people all over the world offering their couches to people traveling through their city. It doesn't cost anything, unless you want to be generous and take your host our for dinner or drinks or something.
We decided that we wanted to split up for a bit, and this is when Joe and I went up to the top of the cathedral to catch an amazing view of the city. Once I find a way to upload my pictures, you will known what I'm talking about. All the views that I saw from the top of cathedrals in Italy were absolutely breathtaking, and well worth the 5-6 euros that they usually charge. After this, I wanted to go to the Ufitzi gallery, because I realized it might be hard to get in the next day, which was Easter. I learned that the gallery closed in abotu 45 minutes, but I wouldn't be able to get in the next day anyways, so it was either go in and rush around or don't go at all. Being really interested in famous art, I decided to go in. Obviously, art is not a good thing to rush, its something that should really be taken in and interpreted, but I didn't really have a choice. Boticelli and Da Vinci's works were amazing. You've probably seen this painting by Boticelli before:
It is amazing in person, let me say. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Obviously Italy has some of the greatest works of art in history, The birth of Venus, The Last Supper (which I actually didn't get to see in Milan), The Statue of David (which I didn't see in Florence, because I was told the replica outside looks exactly the same, so save myself the money and just pretend), The Sistine Chapel (I'll talk about that when I write about Rome next) and obviously tons more by the greats of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello (The Ninja Turtles!!!) Boticelli, etc. Absolutely fantastic art in Italy, if you appreciate it.
I did not have time to go to the famous Piti Palace in Florence, and this was the only major attraction that I feel like I missed in the city, but hey, I guess you can't see everything.
Later, when we met back up with Miriam and Abdu, we learned a very interesting thing about Mriam. She mentioned before that she could sing, but we didn't really have any idea how well she could sing, what her experience with singing was, or what kind of singing she was talking about. When we met her, she was wearing all black and a heavy metal band black sweatshirt. We figured maybe she was in a scream-0 band or something. She said she sang opera. Little did we know what we were in for. Next thing we know, she randomly walks up to the front of the main cathedral, and starts belting this beautiful opera tune! She sounded like a bird on a spring day, I mean I don't even know how to describe it... People started stopping right in their tracks to listen to her. A cop car even drove by, stopped, and rolled down the windows just to listen to her! The Italians were loving this and were completely eating it up. Soon, she had a crowd of 20, 30, 40, over 50 people! Abdu got a hat and started collecting little donations for her, and after about 20 minutes she had over 50 euros (75 bucks!) Isn't that crazy? Standing next to Miriam on those steps of the cathedral as the soft rain came down, watching all these mesmerized Italians was one of those moments for me. I just stopped and took it all in. It was like something from a movie. This kind of stuff doesn't happen!
We met some of Abdu's friends from his Art program, and one of them, Eduardo, we ended up staying with. (These couchsurfers are some of the most laid back, cool people we have met in Europe. I guess you have to be to let random people come sleep in your home!) We also met Becca, Laura (both from Canada) and Chris (an Aussie) at Abdu's place. They were the ones already couchsurfing at Abdu's. Such a great group of people, we had a lot of fun hanging out with them. There was also this hilarious French guy, Vincent who was so funny after he had a few glasses of wine in him. A tipsy outgoing frenchman can be entertainment for the whole night.
At the end of our second night in Florence, we ended up crashing at Abdu's (this was the night where Joe and I had to decide how we were going to share a twin bed together. It was either A) Man love, and spoon the whole night or B) sleep head to toe. We chose the latter, which led to a fairly uncomfortable night's sleep. ) This was after a long night of walking around to random bars and what not, and getting really really lost on the way home, (we were extremely tired, and none of us really caring about our sleeping situations). Lets just say we were so lost at one point, Joe laid down on the pavement and thought it might be a good place to sleep for the night. We trekked on and finally made it back to Abdu's place at about 5 or 6 in the morning where Joe and I got to sleep head to toe.
It rained for most of the next day, and we kind of just walked around and took it easy that day. We found a great little soup kitchen place to eat and get out of the rain, and this is where I randomly spotted our friend Patrick, a guy from our program back in Prague, out the window. Small world! Joe and I ran outside and said hello to him, and told him it would be fun to meet up with him later. We didn't actually think we would, but what would you know, later that night in some random bar we see Patrick once again. What are the odds of seeing someone like that twice in one day in a random city in Italy?!? I swear, sometimes it just feels like everything is planned out and something bigger is truly controlling everything...
For our last night, after a long and rainy day, we crashed at Eduardo's place, which was extremely comfortable. It was probably the most comfortable bed I've slept on since I've been in Europe, which was soooo refreshing. We were going to need a good rest before we were off to Rome.
So that is Florence. Good art, good people, great food, too much rain for a spring break, wayyy too much walking (at one point I thought I had honestly bruised my heels) and solid memories. Florence was the city where we got to experience more of the Italian culture, rather than just focus on running around to a bunch of different sights. We met a lot of good people who I had some great conversations with, and really just made the trip that much better.
However, I knew the greatest city in all of Italy still awaited, and I couldn't believe that we were only halfway done with our trip...we still had 5 days in Rome!
Coming soon...The Rome Blog! Check back soon! I think I am going to try to get it up tomorrow before my next adventure to Vienna and Budapest starts on Friday morning.
Ciao Ciao!
Steven is currently listening to: Rufus Wainwright, In-Flight Safety, Radiohead
Okay! So Italy post numero dos! Florence! Where to begin... Florence was so much fun. However, the beginning of our trip was not so awesome. Our time in Florence began with a crowded, very noisy train full of Italians. Our compartment was empty as first, but about halfway into the trip, a huge Italian family joined us, and one of them actually took Joe's seat (he was up going to the bathroom) and he actually ended up having to move somewhere else on the train. Once we arrived in Florence at about midnight or so, we were very disorientated and to make matters worse, it was raining, and pretty hard. So we began our trek to find our hostel, which we knew was just outside the city somewhere. Luckily I am an Eagle Scout and am always prepared, so I had the address and phone number of the hostel written down. We finally found a map at a bus station and after about 30 minutes of searching for our street, we found it, and realized we had a decent walk ahead of us. About 45 minutes later, soaking wet, we arrived at our hostel. Luckily a guy was waiting for us at the desk to let us in. Now, this hostel was the cheapest one in Florence, and would have been awesome in the summer, but it wasn't so awesome in March. We were sleeping in these canvas tent things (we did have beds), and had very inadequate means to keep ourselves warm. We were only provided one blanket, and I don't even think we had any sheets. Not so fun.
After a fairly miserable nights sleep in the cold, we awoke and prepared to explore the city. This is when the adventure began. We met Miriam while we were trying to figure out how to use the confusing lockers, and we were pleased to meet someone who spoke English. Miriam is 18 and from Florida, currently traveling around Europe. We noticed immediately how outgoing she was and how much she loved having company. Very cool girl. Immediately upon meeting her she asked us if we wanted to join her and the "Free Hugs" campaign. I had no idea what she was talking about until I remembered this youtube video I had watched a while back. I'll let you watch it for yourselves:
Apparently, the day we met Miriam was "International Free Hugs Day." Sounded pretty cool to us, so we figured we would join Miriam. Apparently all you do is hold a sign up that says "Free Hugs" and give hugs to anybody that wants one. Thats it! She planned on doing this in front of the main cathedral in Florence, where tons of people are all the time, so I figured something interesting would happen. After getting a tasty lunch with her and Joe, we went to the cathedral, but we couldn't find any other fellow "Free Huggers". (Doesn't it sound like some hippie thing from the 70's?) Miriam was disappointed, but realized she could do it all by herself. She whipped out her sign held it up, and after a few minutes, was having random people coming up to her giving her hugs! Pretty cool. This is when we met Abdu. Abdu is this awesome guy studying art in Florence. We found out he was a couchsurfer (check out the website for more info: couchsurfing.com) and that he was hosting a few fellow travelers at his place the next few days. Couchsurfing is an online network set up to save people just like us some cash. I wish we would have known about this before booking our hostels, because all it is is people all over the world offering their couches to people traveling through their city. It doesn't cost anything, unless you want to be generous and take your host our for dinner or drinks or something.
We decided that we wanted to split up for a bit, and this is when Joe and I went up to the top of the cathedral to catch an amazing view of the city. Once I find a way to upload my pictures, you will known what I'm talking about. All the views that I saw from the top of cathedrals in Italy were absolutely breathtaking, and well worth the 5-6 euros that they usually charge. After this, I wanted to go to the Ufitzi gallery, because I realized it might be hard to get in the next day, which was Easter. I learned that the gallery closed in abotu 45 minutes, but I wouldn't be able to get in the next day anyways, so it was either go in and rush around or don't go at all. Being really interested in famous art, I decided to go in. Obviously, art is not a good thing to rush, its something that should really be taken in and interpreted, but I didn't really have a choice. Boticelli and Da Vinci's works were amazing. You've probably seen this painting by Boticelli before:
It is amazing in person, let me say. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Obviously Italy has some of the greatest works of art in history, The birth of Venus, The Last Supper (which I actually didn't get to see in Milan), The Statue of David (which I didn't see in Florence, because I was told the replica outside looks exactly the same, so save myself the money and just pretend), The Sistine Chapel (I'll talk about that when I write about Rome next) and obviously tons more by the greats of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello (The Ninja Turtles!!!) Boticelli, etc. Absolutely fantastic art in Italy, if you appreciate it.
I did not have time to go to the famous Piti Palace in Florence, and this was the only major attraction that I feel like I missed in the city, but hey, I guess you can't see everything.
Later, when we met back up with Miriam and Abdu, we learned a very interesting thing about Mriam. She mentioned before that she could sing, but we didn't really have any idea how well she could sing, what her experience with singing was, or what kind of singing she was talking about. When we met her, she was wearing all black and a heavy metal band black sweatshirt. We figured maybe she was in a scream-0 band or something. She said she sang opera. Little did we know what we were in for. Next thing we know, she randomly walks up to the front of the main cathedral, and starts belting this beautiful opera tune! She sounded like a bird on a spring day, I mean I don't even know how to describe it... People started stopping right in their tracks to listen to her. A cop car even drove by, stopped, and rolled down the windows just to listen to her! The Italians were loving this and were completely eating it up. Soon, she had a crowd of 20, 30, 40, over 50 people! Abdu got a hat and started collecting little donations for her, and after about 20 minutes she had over 50 euros (75 bucks!) Isn't that crazy? Standing next to Miriam on those steps of the cathedral as the soft rain came down, watching all these mesmerized Italians was one of those moments for me. I just stopped and took it all in. It was like something from a movie. This kind of stuff doesn't happen!
We met some of Abdu's friends from his Art program, and one of them, Eduardo, we ended up staying with. (These couchsurfers are some of the most laid back, cool people we have met in Europe. I guess you have to be to let random people come sleep in your home!) We also met Becca, Laura (both from Canada) and Chris (an Aussie) at Abdu's place. They were the ones already couchsurfing at Abdu's. Such a great group of people, we had a lot of fun hanging out with them. There was also this hilarious French guy, Vincent who was so funny after he had a few glasses of wine in him. A tipsy outgoing frenchman can be entertainment for the whole night.
At the end of our second night in Florence, we ended up crashing at Abdu's (this was the night where Joe and I had to decide how we were going to share a twin bed together. It was either A) Man love, and spoon the whole night or B) sleep head to toe. We chose the latter, which led to a fairly uncomfortable night's sleep. ) This was after a long night of walking around to random bars and what not, and getting really really lost on the way home, (we were extremely tired, and none of us really caring about our sleeping situations). Lets just say we were so lost at one point, Joe laid down on the pavement and thought it might be a good place to sleep for the night. We trekked on and finally made it back to Abdu's place at about 5 or 6 in the morning where Joe and I got to sleep head to toe.
It rained for most of the next day, and we kind of just walked around and took it easy that day. We found a great little soup kitchen place to eat and get out of the rain, and this is where I randomly spotted our friend Patrick, a guy from our program back in Prague, out the window. Small world! Joe and I ran outside and said hello to him, and told him it would be fun to meet up with him later. We didn't actually think we would, but what would you know, later that night in some random bar we see Patrick once again. What are the odds of seeing someone like that twice in one day in a random city in Italy?!? I swear, sometimes it just feels like everything is planned out and something bigger is truly controlling everything...
For our last night, after a long and rainy day, we crashed at Eduardo's place, which was extremely comfortable. It was probably the most comfortable bed I've slept on since I've been in Europe, which was soooo refreshing. We were going to need a good rest before we were off to Rome.
So that is Florence. Good art, good people, great food, too much rain for a spring break, wayyy too much walking (at one point I thought I had honestly bruised my heels) and solid memories. Florence was the city where we got to experience more of the Italian culture, rather than just focus on running around to a bunch of different sights. We met a lot of good people who I had some great conversations with, and really just made the trip that much better.
However, I knew the greatest city in all of Italy still awaited, and I couldn't believe that we were only halfway done with our trip...we still had 5 days in Rome!
Coming soon...The Rome Blog! Check back soon! I think I am going to try to get it up tomorrow before my next adventure to Vienna and Budapest starts on Friday morning.
Ciao Ciao!
Steven is currently listening to: Rufus Wainwright, In-Flight Safety, Radiohead
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