Prague, the Romantic Road, Baden-Württemberg, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam

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We took the train from Berlin to Prague, a known scenic route winding along the Vltava River. I recognized it from my 2006 trip and once again, I wished the train would stop for some photo op’s. We Couchsurfed in Prague with Jason, a hyper med student from California. He was very generous, offering us beer and food the whole time we were there. Within about an hour of arriving, we had our own key and he was on his way back to the university to study.

After getting settled, we set off into the city for some wandering. The famed Prague Castle was close enough to Jason’s place for us to walk to. It was dark and foggy, a pity because we couldn’t see the amazing views of Prague from the castle walls, but the fog also created the perfect atmosphere to walk around the castle and its fantastic gothic cathedral, which incidentally is probably my favorite church in the world.

Then we descended down the hill and immediately made our way to the main square in the old town, usually infested with tourists but pleasantly not crowded in November. We ate and drank, and before the night was through, we went to an Absinthe bar. I personally think the whole Absinthe thing is a bit of a fad, but it was interesting to be in a place that only sells Absinthe and in such huge variety. Nice staff and good atmosphere too.

The next day we did a free walking tour with the same company we used in Berlin, starting at the old town square. We learned about Czech history, which despite not getting the talk that Germany, French, and British history gets, is no less action packed with violence and oppression. We both agreed though that the tour didn’t match the Berlin tour. Nevertheless, we jumped on another tour after the free tour, this time a paid tour of the Prague Castle. I wanted to do it because I had now walked around the castle twice without any real knowledge. The tour was a letdown though and a waste of time I thought.

We topped the night off at a jazz club and saw a great blues band from Prague. Jason organized an event there through some kind of internet group he belongs to and so we met a few people from places like Germany, Russia, the US, Canada, and Ireland.

We left bright and early (well, foggy and early) the next morning and after a little trouble, we found and boarded our Nuremburg bound bus. The bus was owned and operated by the German train company (www.bahn.com, a godsend to anyone planning European train travel, whether in Germany or not) and it was a great bus. I even slept comfortably on it! This might as well be a different planet than Thailand.

We arrived in Nuremburg and were disappointed to find that there were no available rental cars in the whole city. We then reserved a car and took a quick but expensive train to Würzburg to retrieve our rental car. I then had my first stab at driving on the Autobahn, famous for its lack of speed limits. In reality, the unlimited speed sections are placed within sections that have very strictly monitored speed limits. Often there are no obvious reasons for a speed decrease and so you must pay close attention to the signs. There are also cameras on the roadside that will ticket you for excessive speed as well as driving while talking on a phone, and also failing to wear a seatbelt.

Our plan was to drive along the Romantic Road the next two days before arriving at Kristen’s family’s house in the southwest of Germany. First stop was charming Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of only three remaining medieval towns Germany still completely surrounded by a city wall. When we approached the city wall, it blocked us from continuing to follow the directions to our hotel. And just when we began to look for a spot to park and walk, we realized you can drive through the wall over a one lane bridge and drive within the old town itself.

We loved Rothenburg. It is very well maintained and you can just feel the history there. We climbed a tower on the wall for some views first and then we hiked about halfway around the wall. We intended to hike the entire thing but we decided we would be better of roaming the narrow cobblestone streets instead.

We ended up doing the Night Watchman tour, which is the thing to do in Rothenburg as a tourist. Just like Prague, we had a foggy, cold night, perfect for a tour with a night watchman holding a lantern and a scythe. Just as the reviews promised, the tour was a mixture of comedy and history. We learned what the night watchman’s duties were in medieval times and a little about the history of the town.

After the tour ended, our guide casually mentioned he was off to watch the Germany/Netherlands match and invited us to follow along. Humorously, we followed the watchman to his car where he stashed his costume and props, and we transported from the middle ages to modern amenities including plumbing, heat, and high definition.

The next day was an early one and we were on the road pre-sunset. We had no GPS and only bad directions but we didn’t really care. We managed to find our next intended stop, another medieval city called Dinkelsbühl. It was very similar to Rothenburg, although notably you couldn’t walk on the city wall. Maybe for this reason, we both preferred Rothenburg.

Next we drove to Nördlingen, the final of the three aforementioned walled medieval German cities. Nördlingen is also famous as being the town from the flying elevator scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We felt that it wasn’t nearly as charming as Rothenburg or Dinkelsbühl. Honestly we didn’t even really get out of the car for longer than a couple minutes, and decided to get back on the road.

Overall the Romantic Road was a little different from what I expected. Despite a fair amount of research, I didn’t realize that the road itself didn’t offer much, and it was only about the stops along the way. Great stops they are no doubt, but I was disappointed not to get dramatic scenery with river valleys and castles in all directions. Along the way, I saw a random flash of a red light in the trees on the side of the road. Now I’m nervously awaiting a notice in the mail that we got ticketed from one of the machines.

We ultimately made our way to the town of Singen and were greeted by Kristen’s grandfather. We stayed the next few nights at their house in nearby Steisslingen, which is in the vicinity of Lake Konstanz, a huge lake forming the borders of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and referred to locally as the Bodensee.

It was nice to be completely off the tourist trail (although apparently, Germans vacation to this area of the country in the summer) and to stay in a place that somehow maintains its small town vibe despite growing suburban sprawl. We spent our time in Steisslingen visiting Kristen’s grandmother in the hospital, eating at various spots throughout the town, and drinking high quantities of the local favorite beer, Fürstenberg.

Humorously (although frustrating at the time), water with no carbonation almost seems taboo in Germany. You can ask for still water or simply say, “no gas.” Sometimes you get it, but other times you just get minimally carbonated water. In their questionable perspective, they will tell you it has no gas even though it does. We’re talking about the most basic component of life here. Stock up on the still water, Germany!

One day we also took a drive into Switzerland and checked out a castle called Hohenklingen. Yet again, our views were ruined by the fog and so we continued down to a town called Stein am Rhein. Stein am Rhein was yet another walled medieval city but this one was distinct from the three German ones we saw. First of all, the wall today is subdivided into homes. Also, the exterior of the buildings throughout the town looked much different from the German style, featuring attractive frescoes on the fronts.

Next for us was Paris. I had an embarrassingly short stay in Paris the first time I was there, I didn’t even see it at night, and so I was eager to return. We checked into the Peace and Love Hostel which might have been the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed in. It was dirty and we were on the sixth floor, and we had to climb 104 stairs every time we went to our room. There was no chance of the free wifi reaching up to our floor either. But they listened to our complaints and gave us free drinks so I can’t give them a horrible review I guess. Still, I don’t see myself returning.

Our first day in Paris, we took the metro to the city center and first went to Sainte Chappelle, a gothic church known for its huge stained glass windows. Some reviews say it’s better than the neighboring and more popular Notre Dame, which I immediately disagreed with. After leaving we went a couple blocks over to Notre Dame and my memory proved accurate as I much preferred it over Sainte Chappelle.

Next we walked over to Les Egouts de Paris (Sewers of Paris), an unusual museum on the history of… you guessed it. You descend beneath street level and follow a maze of sewer tunnels. Sounds cools but I thought it was a waste of time. Not really because it was completely boring (it wasn’t), but because Paris has so much else to do.

We made our way to the Louvre and spent a few hours there until they kicked us out. We saw the “must-sees.” We also discussed how the must-sees like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo achieved the status they have when they weren’t even the best pieces in their respective wings of the Louvre, let along the Louvre in its entirety, let alone Paris and the rest of the world. Only our humble opinions though; neither of us are art connoisseurs by any stretch of imagination.

When we left the Louvre, it was dark and I saw the city of lights for the first time. We walked towards the Concorde Square, the largest square in Paris. Interestingly there is an obelisk straight from Luxor, Egypt in the center of the square. We continued past Concorde and onto Champs-Élysées, one of the most famous streets in the world and home to extremely high real estate and upscale shopping. And during this time of the year, the Christmas Market was completely up and running. We spent a lot of time checking out the stands and over eating throughout the night. We finished our walk at the Arc de Triumphe, built by Napoleon to commemorate his military victories. Such a modest guy he was.

The following day we first made our way to the Catacombs of Paris. This is an eerie mass gravesite of about 6 million human remains in the quarries underneath the streets of Paris. There is a disturbing history of Parisians struggling in unsanitary conditions due to water flow through overcrowded cemeteries, so eventually they decided to relocate the remains in the quarry tunnels. They are stacked shoulder high throughout endless tunnels and it is shocking as to how many remains there are down there.

Next we took the metro to the outskirts of the city to check out the Palace of Versailles, a French landmark most famous obviously for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I. The palace is lavish as you can imagine and every room as impressive as the last. The Hall of Mirrors (where the treaty was signed) was a highlight. We also roamed around the famous gardens in the back of the palace. Parts were already winterized so it probably would be better to visit in the spring or summer, although of course it was nice to be in the palace with relatively few tourists.

The next day we took the high speed Thalys train to Brussels. We returned to a hostel I stayed at in 2006 and it was even better than I remembered, a complete 180 from the place in Paris. We planned to use Brussels as our base for the next few nights and take day trips from there but we saw what we wanted to see in Brussels much faster than expected.

First we went to the Atomium, a unique Belgian icon built for the World Fair in 1958. Next we went to the adjacent Mini Europe, a park containing 1:25 scale models of famous buildings throughout Europe. Overall the area seemed to be catered towards kids but I really enjoyed Mini Europe. The quality of the models is very high. Also in the same complex is Heysel Stadium, infamous for events in 1985 which caused 39 deaths.

We took the tram back to the city center and walked around for a bit. I’ve always had a high opinion of Brussels but I realized on this visit that the enjoyable parts are actually confined to a small area. Grote Markt is one of my favorite squares in the world, completely lined with some great architecture from the middle ages. Notable mentions are the town hall, and the King’s House, also called the Breadhouse. Last time in Brussels I was fortunate enough to see the square during Christmas time and the light displays made it even more incredible. This time we unfortunately just missed it as they were setting up the very same light displays for this year.

We also checked out the famous Manneken Pis which shockingly is one of the top tourist spots in all of Belgium. It is a very small statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain. I fully expected disappointment, which is why I didn’t even bother seeing it on my first trip to Brussels. For me it’s a perfect reminder of the equally lacking Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen.

Finally we checked out some of the nightlife, highlighted of course by the amazing centuries-old beers produced in this country. You always hear about the beer culture of Germany, Ireland, and Czech Republic, but as far as I’m concerned no one touches Belgium. We also returned to what I seriously might consider my favorite bar in the world, the Delirium Café, named in the Guiness Book for having over 2,000 different kinds of beer available!

So we tackled what we wanted to see in Brussels in a day. I could happily spend many days there, but our trip is short and nearby Amsterdam was calling. First though, we arranged a stop in Bruges, seemingly most famous nowadays due to the movie, In Bruges.

Fortunately the real Bruges is much more charming and less bleak than it is portrayed in the movie. Any city that’s 1,000 years old is going to be interesting to walk around, especially Belgian cities. Like Brussels, the town hall is very impressive. Overrated are the Chocolate Museum and French Fry museum. And sadly we missed an ice sculpture festival by only one day.

After spending the day in Brugge, we continued up to Amsterdam and stayed at my favorite hostel ever, the Flying Pig (uptown location). We stayed two nights and our tourist activities ranged from going to the Anne Frank House (definitely recommended), to strolling through the red light district (not as highly recommended, but still an experience). I feel that back in the states - and likely elsewhere as well - Amsterdam is talked about for all the wrong reasons. Take away all the sex and drugs and it’s still one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with museums and attractions that rival most other cities. Worst pizza in the world though.

Next we drove to our final stop on the trip, Dortmund. The reason for our visit was because I overpaid for tickets to the Ruhr Derby - Dortmund vs. Schalke - which is the biggest rivalry in Germany. The stadium is one of the biggest in Europe and the atmosphere is legendary even without the rivalry. Interestingly, my only warm weather gear was a coat of the exact shade of Schalke blue. I was considering dealing with the cold and leaving the coat in the car, but I noticed many sections of Schalke supporters co-existing with Dortmund fans.

In the end I really didn’t have any problems. One drunk guy sat next to us in the game and accused me of being a Schalke fan but I told him I wasn’t. The game was good, a comfortable 2-0 victory for Dortmund. But the atmosphere was everything it’s supposed to be, and for me ranks right up there with Besiktas and Fenerbahce for best crowds I have ever seen. Although I think I have to give Besiktas the nod over the rest.

The next day we were due to fly out of Brussels at 10:00 am. We slept in the car in the parking lot of the stadium and gave ourselves five hours to make the 2 ½ hour drive. The next three hours of trying to figure out how to get out of Germany gave me a completely new opinion of the Autobahn, and it wasn’t good. Everyone raves about the Autobahn of course for the unlimited speed limits, but in my opinion (and I concede that I’m biased because we ended up missing our flight) the Autobahn is horribly unaccommodating to people not familiar with the area. They don’t use any direction whatsoever. Until the sun came up, it was a guessing game if we were driving north, south, east, or west. Also, I think it’s normal to expect a highway system to list major cities that you are driving towards. Instead, the Autobahn only gives you small towns that are in your immediate area on the signs. So if you want to drive towards Berlin and you are only 200 km away, don’t expect to see a sign for Berlin. Instead you will only see signs for towns of 2,000 people that are 10 km away.

So yes, we missed our flight, but luckily we were transferred onto a Lufthansa flight for no additional cost, and we arrived home just four hours after our original flight. Not bad at all in the end.

The trip was a good one of course. It came at a time I was itching to go somewhere, and it was my first time doing a proper Euro trip in a few years. We’re looking to do India and Nepal next year so stay tuned.

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Photos

Prague
The Charles Bridge

Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Night Watchman Tour

Paris
Notre Dame

Paris
Napoleon's Tomb

Paris
The Louvre

Paris
From inside the Louvre

Paris
The Catacombs

Versailles
The Hall of Mirrors

Mussels in Brussels
Possibly my favorite meal ever