jasinski

Whenever anyone hears the word “Rome” mentioned, it always tends to evoke certain associations. Many will think first of the Ancient Romans and their vast empire, others may go right to the art and culture of Italy, some may have thoughts of Vatican City and the Pope, a select few may have strong feelings of “amore,” while no one will forget the delicious food. Regardless of what you think of first, everyone seems to have a feeling that Rome is more than just a city. There is a feeling that Rome transcends the physical realm and gains mythical qualities, thus its being nicknamed “The Eternal City.” With its “eternal” nature Rome has gone through numerous transformations. These changes can be felt throughout the city, creating layers of history, some of which you can physically examine. This ... read more

If there is any city that thoroughly defined the Renaissance it was Florence. Home of the powerful Medici family, who while governing according to the principles of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, also contributed vast amounts of money that helped to spark the artistic boom of the Renaissance. The influence of Michelangelo Buonarrati, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello, Botticelli, Titian, and countless others created a city that is widely considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. The Renaissance is most often mentioned when discussing artwork, but its impact went far beyond the physical realm. The Renaissance in its essence is an intellectual movement, where the masses began to look back to classical sources for inspiration. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophies reemerged and created a new emphasis on humanism, which could be seen in artwork, literature, politics, science... read more

I could not escape singing this Led Zeppelin song when traveling up the hill to Neuschwanstein castle. If you look at the pictures, it will be easy to see why. I truly found myself in a winter wonderland in the Bavarian alps and the continual repetition of the Zeppelin song in my head reflected the fantastic mood I was in. On my way up, I passed by scenes of families riding in horse carriages and children making snowballs, some left as messages to their father as he was lagging behind them. On its own, the newly fallen snow was beautiful...then I reached the castle. What makes Neuschwanstein so famous is that the Sleeping Beauty castle in Walt Disney World is based off of the design. I can certainly see why they used it as an example, ... read more

Up until my stay in Salzburg, my time spent with music was relegated to what was played in cafes or pubs, music shared with fellow travelers (which was excitedly recorded in my travel notepad), my time spent wandering and listening to my iPod, or random encounters with street performers. Considering Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart and famous for its role in The Sound of Music, I figured there would be no better time for a musical journey. I had been wanting to go to a classical music concert and had looked into it in Prague and Vienna. Each place I went, I would ask in the local travel information center about locations, times, and prices. When asking in Salzburg I was pleased to find out that there was going to be a concert that night ... read more

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when first getting to Cesky Krumlov. I knew that it was the off-season, but the fact that only three other people got off the train when I did, seemed to scream that I had made the wrong choice in coming. In my head, I was silently thinking about how I was so disappointed that Rick Steves had let me down. I had always been able to trust him for good travel advice and I couldn't believe that he had betrayed me! All of these thoughts were simmering in my head while I had to wait thirty minutes to catch a bus into town. Of course, now that I was in the Czech Republic it was a whole new language and it seems that the bus driver and I miss-communicated ... read more