Hi Everyone! In order to arrive in Rome three days ago, I took the overnight bus from Vienna. It cost 44 Euro, less than half the price of the train. It was also completely insane. I was on the bus for 17 hours 2:30pm to 7:30am. And less you think that an overnight bus would provide space, or seats that are larger or more spacious than a regular bus let me disabuse you of that notion. I got maybe a hour of sleep if you add up all the 10 minutes that I managed in between people going to the bathroom [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone! Today is my birthday, and I get to spend it in Rome! My hostel here used to be a convent, and in the courtyard I can hear an Italian diva giving a concert. Rome is a fascinating city on many levels. There is an unbelievable amount of history here. Rome is at the heart of the birth of western civilization as we know it. It is like one giant open air museum that people just happen to live in. Unfortunately, the weather here is torturous. The sun is baking temperature and I feel like I am playing hopscotch with [View Full Entry]

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It seems to me that Vienna is a city that likes everything to be beautiful as well as functional, and if it can’t be both, it should be beautiful. The city is full of gardens, statues, fountains, and picturesque scenes. Metro stations are architectural marvels and a 40km manmade island stretches across part of the Danube River solely for the purpose of sunbathing in the summer. Clothing optional. July and August are interesting months in Vienna as two main attractions, the Spanish Riding School and Vienna boys choir are both on vacation but there are several free festivals that run f [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone! When I arrived in Vienna off of the bus from Prague it was pouring rain. It continued to pour rain all day as I searched up and down for a tourist information office. Apparently it is across from the Opera house. Not at the train station like every other tourist information office I have come across. But I guess the Viennese like to march to a different tune. The first thing I looked for was information on the Spanish Riding school. I promised several friends that I would visit the famous Lipizzaner horses here in Vienna. Unfortunately I found [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! In the last few days I have seen the Dancing House, the Prague Castle, the Kriski fountain, and I took a day trip to Kutna Hora to see the bone church. Because Prague was largely undamaged in WWII many of their architectual marvels still exist. Prague Castle is considered the largest ancient castle in the world. It has existed in some form since the 10th century. The highlight of Prague Castle is the St. Vitas Cathedral which was started in 1344 and not finished until 1929. Yes, 1929. It took them over 600 years to complete the cathedral. They [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone, In the last two days in Prague I have wandered around lost, taken a free walking tour, and visited the Jewish Museum. Prague and the Czech Republic in general has undergone many changes in the last century. They went from Democracy at the end of WWI to Nazi occupation to Communist rule finally to being their own country again. Capitalism is alive and well in Prague. The are enough shopping centers, souvenir stands, and McDonald's to make any western tourist happy. As long as you stay away from the tourist centers the prices are about the equivalent to US [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everybody! Today I spent most of the day on a train. I got up at 6:30am packed, checked out, took the tram to the train station, found my train and then sat on that train until 3 pm. I was in a car with a Czech family and they didn't speak any English. The little girl was cute, but very loud. It gets annoying listening to someone talk right in front of you when you can't understand them. When I got to the Prague station I had to find an ATM, figure out how to buy a metro ticket, figure [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone! Imagine back to a time before Germany became embroiled in two World Wars. Back to a time when Germany didn't even exist, when Bavaria had its own monarchy. Once upon a time there was a king of Bavaria named Ludwig. King’s Ludwig’s son Maximilian waited many years for his wife to give birth. When she finally did they were going to name their first born son Otto. But King Ludwig thought he should be named Ludwig, so in 1845 at Schloss Nymphenburg they named their first born ...Ludwig. Soon after little Ludwig was born, King Ludwig was forced to [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone, Yesterday I visited the Memorial at Dachau that is at the site of the former concentration camp. Dachau is infamous for being, not only the first concentration camp, but also the training grounds for the SS. The SS were Hitler's elite police/army who were in charge of the concentration camps all through out Germany and its territories. The SS training was for boys 16-19. It was basically training in torture. All of the future concentration camps used Dachau as a guide and the rules and regulations used in all the camps were drawn up there. Dachau was the only [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone! I arrived in Munich at 7:30 this morning off the overnight train from Amsterdam. Before I decided to come to Munich I didn't know anything about it other than it hosts Oktoberfest every year. (actually held in September.) Munich is actually the home of a rich history and culture, not the least of which is its involvement in the rise of the Third Reich. No surprise since it is right in the middle of Europe. The first thing I did once I checked into my hostel and got rid of my heavy bags, was to go on a free [View Full Entry]

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