Katamus

Spent yesterday in Mainz with Nicky, doing some shopping. Picked up an extra bag to put some of my stuff in so that it wouldn't get lost if AC f'd up again (in all honesty, I haven't had too many bad experiences with Air Canada, unlike some people, but they have managed to lose my bags once, and they've also managed to destroy one of my backpacks, so...), and some really nifty shoes... Today it was off to the airport - bus into Mainz HBF, train from Mainz to Frankfurt airport. 10-hour flight from Frankfurt to Calgary, then a short hop from Calgary back up to Edmonton. My parents met me at the airport and took me to dinner, which was lovely. I'm not sure how I feel about being home. No, that's a lie, I'm ... read more

So the Rhineland.... absolutely gorgeous. The train I took today from Mainz to Köln follows the Rhine and it was nearly impossible to stop staring out the window. Honestly. I tried to start writing this entry on the train, but had to put down the iPhone. I was too afraid that I'd miss a castle or a chateau on the river bank, or miss seeing a small town with an amazing church.... or the vineyards that seem cut into the rock on the hills lining the river valley. I think this is probably the Germany of my imagination, and that's part of the reason I'm loving it so much. I had decided to head to Köln for the day today. I had no real plan other than to see the cathedral there, as I was in ... read more

Was not nearly as hung over this morning as I thought I might be, which is pretty good, although I seem to have done something to my foot - and have some mysterious bruises that are probably from bumping into benches in beer halls and the like (one particularly nasty one right at shin level I think I owe to the bench at the Hofbrauhaus...), but having said that, I get mysterious bruises when perfectly sober, so whatever. The foot is not a mystery - I actually injured it on the 2nd, I think - I was getting off the escalator at the Munich HBF, and felt something in my left foot... not snap, precisely, but there was definitely something that moved in a way it shouldn't have, and there was a major pain for a ... read more

The train from Berlin to Munich took up most of my day. Arrived in Munich close to 4 pm and after dumping my stuff at the hotel, set out on the final leg of the epic jersey hunt. Adidas makes the German national team's jerseys, and there was an Adidas store about a half an hour's walk from my hotel. So, armed with my map, I set out. What should have been fairly easy and straightforward was not. I realized afterwards that trying to cross the road anywhere near Karlsplatz is pointless and that you should really take the subway _under_ the road. Still, I didn't get too lost, and found the store in about 45 minutes (as well as seeing some interesting sites along the way). They... had... nothing. Seriously. Not a football jersey to ... read more

Taking a slightly later train to Berlin than originally intended has got to be one of the greatest things I've ever done. No getting up stupid early, no rushing about, time for a real sit-down breakfast rather than just grabbing something at the station on the run... Time to change my last 500 Kč bill into Euros (although I still have about 4 euros worth of Czech change that is now useless, but such is life)... Train to Berlin was fine. Not much to write home about. After a couple of weeks in essentially mountainous terrain, it was flat. Pretty, but flat. Kinda like being home, but at the same time so definitely not. As with lots of European countries, you see a lot of really old, beautiful buildings that have fallen into disrepair, and I ... read more

This morning was a bit of a repeat of yesterday... In the sense that the first thing I did was take the tram up to the Castle. This time, however, I bought admission and rented an audioguide for a couple of hours. The tour was fairly interesting, although I have to admit I was kind of disappointed to learn that St. Vitus' cathedral is mostly a 19th and 20th century structure. I was still fascinated by the reliquaries and such, since they were mostly housed in the older sections of the Cathedral, and the tomb/relics of St. Wenceslas was pretty impressive. The one thing I need to figure out, but didn't, was how this Wenceslas fits with the guy who's in the Christmas carol. I'm sure Google will find me the answer. The castle also housed ... read more

Sad to leave Slovakia behind, but I have been looking forward to Prague for while, too. The train from mid-Slovakia to Prague is... Not quite the milk run, but getting there. It's certainly not a huge distance, but nevertheless took from just before 9 am to well after 4 pm. Maybe it's just me, but if your train is running behind, wouldn't it make sense to cut the length of some of the stops? Y'know, instead of 14 minutes, maybe 10 or even 12? I'm sure there's some sort of logical reason for why they can't though... At least, I'd like to think there is. Anywho, arrived in Prague, remembered belatedly that they aren't on the Euro (as I later discovered, given that the Czech Republic isn't on the Euro, there are exchange offices _everywhere_ - ... read more