About Me
Friday, June 5, 2009
Back in Prague
We are now back in Prague! Our first day back was Wednesday and we just did stuff around our hotel for the afternoon since there is a huge mall there. Yesterday we slept in wicked late and then did the tour of the Jewish Quarter and then walked around the Wenceslas Square area. Today we went to Karlovy Vary which is a spa town about two hours away from Prague. The town is really beautiful and it was where King Charles built his vacation spa. Now there are tons of spas and there are supposedly healing springs from which you are supposed to drink the water out of special cups. The water is all different temperatures and the different temperatures are supposed to have different healing qualities. They all kind of taste like metal. Amy and I bought the special cups and tried the different waters but they tasted pretty bad so we just took a sip of each. The we just explored the town since it was so pretty and then took the bus back to Prague. When we got back we picked our bags up at the hotel and then brought them to the new hotel and checked in. Then we went to dinner at Cafe Louvre which was of course very good. After that we went and picked up my giant suitcases at the kolej to bring them to the hotel. We had to take a taxi since they were so heavy though, but it was really cheap so it was not a big deal. Now we just have the weekend left in Prague and then home on Monday!
Venice
We took the overnight train from Paris to Venice. Our compartment was completely full, but it was a sleeper car so we got to fold down the beds and actually sleep, so it was not as bad as it could have been. Once we got there it was actually pretty easy to find our hotel because it was right by St. Mark's Square which is the main tourist area. When we got there we just walked around and explored and had lunch. This was actually what we did for most of the time we were there, we toured St. Mark's Square and went into the basilica but the rest of the time we just walked around and saw the city and did some shopping. Amy and I both bought leather bags. I really wanted to take a gondola ride but it was 100 euros! I figured it would be expensive but that was just ridiculous. When we switched hotels we took the water bus so we got to see the city on that anyway. The second hotel we were in for just one night and it took us forever to get to it because we had to wait almost an hour for the boat because one was too full for us to fit on and then we couldn't find it. Our room was huge though and had three beds for the two of us. I used one and Amy used the other two in one night. The hotel was kind of out of the city center, but this was good because we got to see a less touristy part of town and we were right near the bus station where we had to take the bus to the airport. On Wednesday morning we flew from Venice to Prague, which was actually cheaper and so much better than taking an overnight train.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Paris
We have finally had nice weather! It has been beautiful in Paris, just a little windy. We took the train from Brussels and it only took a little over an hour. When we got here, we checked into the hotel and then walked around a little to find a place for dinner. All of the restaurants close to our hotel are Italian! There are a surprising amount of Italian restaurants in Paris, so we had pizza the first night.
Friday
We woke up and went to the Eiffel Tower. We just went outside of it because the line was ridiculously long and the entrance was not included in our Paris Pass and since it is a two day pass we wanted to do the things that were included first. So we walked over to the Musee d'Orsay and saw a lot of Paris along the way, it is really beautiful. The Eiffel Tower is a little different than I thought it would be, it looked lighter than it does in pictures. It was really cool though and I was not disappointed. The Musee d'Orsay was also awesome and I really liked all the paintings there, especially the impressionist ones. After that we went to the Louvre. The Louvre was huge and beautiful and overwhelming. We walked through some of it and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The Venus de Milo was wicked cool and looked just like she does in pictures and was really impressive. The Mona Lisa was cool too, but people have all been telling me I would be disappointed, so my expectations were very low. I really liked the painting though. One great thing about the Paris Pass was we got to cut the lines at a lot of places. After the Louvre we picked up sandwiches for lunch and went to Notre Dame. At Notre Dame we went into the cathedral which was beautiful and then waited in line to go up to the towers. This was a long line that we were not allowed to cut but it was completely worth it. There were two places we could go up to and they both had beautiful views. We also go to see one of the bells. There were so many stairs, when we got down we were so tired. But then we went over to the Arc d'Triomph and climbed more stairs! It was worth it again though. After the arc we walked around that area for a while, which seemed to be really expensive shopping streets and found a place to have crepes for dinner.
Saturday
Today we woke up and went to Versailles. This was quite the journey because we got on three wrong trains before finding the right one that would take us there. When we finally got there we walked around the palace and saw the apartments and the outside. It was huge and gorgeous. Then we went out to the gardens. The gardens were also huge and beautiful. I really liked them and they were cool because you would just walk around then there would be a sort of courtyard with statues or decorative plants. There was also a man made pond where you could rent boats to paddle around but we did not do this. We hung out in the gardens for a while and then we headed back into the city. Once we were back we went to the Conciergie which used to be a prison and was where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned. There was a recreation of her cell and a normal prisoners cell. Hers had two guards, a bed and a desk while a normal cell was straw on the floor. It was actually a really pretty prison. After the Conciergie we came back to the hotel and relaxed for a little while. Then we walked around the area our hotel is in, at first it seemed like a residential area but then we found this cool street with tons of restaurants. Our hotel is actually in the Latin Quarter so we went to a Cuban restaurant! It was not as good as in Miami, but that is not surprising. Then we walked around that area for a while and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we are doing some stuff around Paris then taking the overnight train to Venice!
Friday
We woke up and went to the Eiffel Tower. We just went outside of it because the line was ridiculously long and the entrance was not included in our Paris Pass and since it is a two day pass we wanted to do the things that were included first. So we walked over to the Musee d'Orsay and saw a lot of Paris along the way, it is really beautiful. The Eiffel Tower is a little different than I thought it would be, it looked lighter than it does in pictures. It was really cool though and I was not disappointed. The Musee d'Orsay was also awesome and I really liked all the paintings there, especially the impressionist ones. After that we went to the Louvre. The Louvre was huge and beautiful and overwhelming. We walked through some of it and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The Venus de Milo was wicked cool and looked just like she does in pictures and was really impressive. The Mona Lisa was cool too, but people have all been telling me I would be disappointed, so my expectations were very low. I really liked the painting though. One great thing about the Paris Pass was we got to cut the lines at a lot of places. After the Louvre we picked up sandwiches for lunch and went to Notre Dame. At Notre Dame we went into the cathedral which was beautiful and then waited in line to go up to the towers. This was a long line that we were not allowed to cut but it was completely worth it. There were two places we could go up to and they both had beautiful views. We also go to see one of the bells. There were so many stairs, when we got down we were so tired. But then we went over to the Arc d'Triomph and climbed more stairs! It was worth it again though. After the arc we walked around that area for a while, which seemed to be really expensive shopping streets and found a place to have crepes for dinner.
Saturday
Today we woke up and went to Versailles. This was quite the journey because we got on three wrong trains before finding the right one that would take us there. When we finally got there we walked around the palace and saw the apartments and the outside. It was huge and gorgeous. Then we went out to the gardens. The gardens were also huge and beautiful. I really liked them and they were cool because you would just walk around then there would be a sort of courtyard with statues or decorative plants. There was also a man made pond where you could rent boats to paddle around but we did not do this. We hung out in the gardens for a while and then we headed back into the city. Once we were back we went to the Conciergie which used to be a prison and was where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned. There was a recreation of her cell and a normal prisoners cell. Hers had two guards, a bed and a desk while a normal cell was straw on the floor. It was actually a really pretty prison. After the Conciergie we came back to the hotel and relaxed for a little while. Then we walked around the area our hotel is in, at first it seemed like a residential area but then we found this cool street with tons of restaurants. Our hotel is actually in the Latin Quarter so we went to a Cuban restaurant! It was not as good as in Miami, but that is not surprising. Then we walked around that area for a while and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we are doing some stuff around Paris then taking the overnight train to Venice!
Our hotel in Brussels had a bidet
Today in Brussels we started by going to the Grand Place. This is a square that is grand. It has many beautiful buildings, but there was a lot of construction going on that kind of took away from the full effect of the beauty. We also had Belgian waffles for breakfast because I had to eat a Belgian waffle in Belgium. After the Grand Place we went to the Chocolate Museum. At the museum they had the history of how chocolate was discovered and made and then there was a demonstration of how its made. This was really cool because the chocolatier showed how he made hollow chocolates and filled them and then he gave us samples. After the Chocolate Museum we went to the ruins of the Coudenbourg Palace. This was a huge underground archaeological site where the ruins of the old palace were. There were some school children filming a movie there or something and it was very strange but other than them we were the only people there. Then we went to the Museum of Musical Instruments which had tons of old musical instruments and you got head phones and as you walked by music played automatically. Once we were done there we took a break for lunch and then went to the EU Parliament and did the tour. It was really interesting and they had free tote bags because they were trying to encourage people to vote in the elections. After the tour we went to see a cathedral and headed back to the hotel to get our stuff and we are now on the train to Paris! The train tickets ended up being way more expensive than we thought they would be which was really disappointing but there was no other option since we have a hotel reservation for tonight. Overall, Brussels was a very beautiful city and very interesting since it is the home of the EU, but I don’t think we would have found much to do if we were there any longer than a day. I also had a very bad impression going into it because the train went through very old decrepit neighborhoods and a red light district, but luckily my opinion changed very quickly once we actually got into the city.
Amy didn't bring a jacket to Europe
Amsterdam
We arrived in Amsterdam on Monday morning and once we got there we took the tram to our hotel. Luckily our room was ready even though we were early, so we took a shower since we felt gross from the train and then we went to see the city. We walked around for a while and saw the Dam which is the main center square, some of the shopping streets and a few of the museums. Then we decided to buy the Holland Pass which gives you free entry to five museums and a bunch of other discounts. We decided to do this instead of the I Amsterdam card because it was cheaper, it wasn’t limited to 24 hours and what we wanted to do was included. After we did the tour we walked around a little more and then we did the Canal Tour. The Canal Tour was really cool because it took us down the main canals and showed and explained the history behind the major sights of the city. It was lucky that we did that tour on Monday because it rained all day on Tuesday and was pretty cold on Wednesday. We seem to be bringing bad weather with us. After the canal tour we walked around the Red Light District a little bit and then headed toward the area where our hotel was and found this square with a bunch of restaurants. We had dinner and just hung out there for a while because it was a nice night.
On Tuesday it was Amy’s birthday! We got up and went to Madame Tussaud’s first thing in the morning. We got to cut the line there and at the Rijksmuseum because of the Holland Pass. This was very fun and we took pictures with all the celebrities. Then we went to the Rijksmuseum and saw the paintings. This museum was a lot smaller than I expected and not as impressive as I thought it would be. It was still a good thing to go and see though. After the Rijksmuseum we had lunch. Every day for lunch I just had a sandwich with Dutch cheese which is delicious. Once we were done eating we went to the Museum of Bags and Purses. As we all know, this is my kind of museum. We saw bags that were used all through history and there were some really gross ones with actual lizards, crocodiles and other animals on them. They also had samples of all the different skins and leathers bags are made of which was kind of disgusting. But I actually loved this museum and seeing all the designs and different types of bags. It was like shopping at a really expensive store I couldn’t afford, only better because no one else could buy anything either. Then we went to Gassan Diamonds, which is a diamond factory that has a free tour. When we got there we went and got the ticket and then got to have free coffee and tea in the café. Then we did the tour and they told us about how diamonds are cut and polished for jewelry and how they are judged for their worth (cut, clarity, color and carat). Then the guide took us to see some diamonds and just put them on the table for us to see. The most popular cut is the princess cut which has 57 facets and is used all over the world, but Gassan invented a new one which has 121 facets and it’s the only company that makes it, so we got to see the difference between these. After this the guide took out boxes of rings for us to look at and TRY ON! Each one had the description of the diamond and the price on it and there was over 100000 euros worth of diamonds just sitting on the table for us to try on. It was wicked cool. I think a few people actually bought stuff. Then we didn’t know what to do so we had some more free tea and then went to the hotel and changed my shoes because my feet were cold. Then we had some time to kill so we went to the Vodka Museum. This was kind of cool, basically Russia dominates vodka and during World War II the Russian government could not afford to pay their soldiers so they paid them in vodka. We did get a free drink with the tour though. After this we did the tour of the Red Light District. This was cool because the guide showed us a lot of interesting stuff that we would never have noticed just walking around by ourselves. We also learned some stuff like only 25% of the prostitutes are Dutch, they make about 50 euro for 50 minutes, but the girls on the “African” street only make 35 euro for 50 minutes, it costs 150 euro to rent a window for a day and all the girls have panic buttons in their rooms so that they police can be there if they need them. In the middle of the Red Light District there is also a day care center and a church. The streets surrounding it are also very wealthy and it’s an expensive area to live in. A prostitute was murdered two months ago in the Red Light District but before that the last murder was in 2001, so its actually a pretty safe area to walk around in, you just have to watch out for pick pockets. At the end of the tour we got another free drink and then we went to dinner for Amy’s birthday. We actually had trouble finding a place that was serving food since it was past 10 PM and things close pretty early, but we ended up going to a place in the same square we went the night before and it was really good.
Today we checked out of the hotel and went to the Anne Frank Huis. I had been there before but Amy wanted to go. It is a very interesting place to go but also very sad. After that we went to the Houseboat Museum which was a houseboat turned into a museum where you could see what its like to live on a houseboat. Then we walked around for a little while and I bought a pair of shoes. Then we went to the dam and met up with my friend Nadine for lunch and hung out with her for a little while. After that we went back to the hotel, picked up our luggage and went to the train station to go to Brussels. We are actually on the train to Brussels right now and should be there around 6PM.
We arrived in Amsterdam on Monday morning and once we got there we took the tram to our hotel. Luckily our room was ready even though we were early, so we took a shower since we felt gross from the train and then we went to see the city. We walked around for a while and saw the Dam which is the main center square, some of the shopping streets and a few of the museums. Then we decided to buy the Holland Pass which gives you free entry to five museums and a bunch of other discounts. We decided to do this instead of the I Amsterdam card because it was cheaper, it wasn’t limited to 24 hours and what we wanted to do was included. After we did the tour we walked around a little more and then we did the Canal Tour. The Canal Tour was really cool because it took us down the main canals and showed and explained the history behind the major sights of the city. It was lucky that we did that tour on Monday because it rained all day on Tuesday and was pretty cold on Wednesday. We seem to be bringing bad weather with us. After the canal tour we walked around the Red Light District a little bit and then headed toward the area where our hotel was and found this square with a bunch of restaurants. We had dinner and just hung out there for a while because it was a nice night.
On Tuesday it was Amy’s birthday! We got up and went to Madame Tussaud’s first thing in the morning. We got to cut the line there and at the Rijksmuseum because of the Holland Pass. This was very fun and we took pictures with all the celebrities. Then we went to the Rijksmuseum and saw the paintings. This museum was a lot smaller than I expected and not as impressive as I thought it would be. It was still a good thing to go and see though. After the Rijksmuseum we had lunch. Every day for lunch I just had a sandwich with Dutch cheese which is delicious. Once we were done eating we went to the Museum of Bags and Purses. As we all know, this is my kind of museum. We saw bags that were used all through history and there were some really gross ones with actual lizards, crocodiles and other animals on them. They also had samples of all the different skins and leathers bags are made of which was kind of disgusting. But I actually loved this museum and seeing all the designs and different types of bags. It was like shopping at a really expensive store I couldn’t afford, only better because no one else could buy anything either. Then we went to Gassan Diamonds, which is a diamond factory that has a free tour. When we got there we went and got the ticket and then got to have free coffee and tea in the café. Then we did the tour and they told us about how diamonds are cut and polished for jewelry and how they are judged for their worth (cut, clarity, color and carat). Then the guide took us to see some diamonds and just put them on the table for us to see. The most popular cut is the princess cut which has 57 facets and is used all over the world, but Gassan invented a new one which has 121 facets and it’s the only company that makes it, so we got to see the difference between these. After this the guide took out boxes of rings for us to look at and TRY ON! Each one had the description of the diamond and the price on it and there was over 100000 euros worth of diamonds just sitting on the table for us to try on. It was wicked cool. I think a few people actually bought stuff. Then we didn’t know what to do so we had some more free tea and then went to the hotel and changed my shoes because my feet were cold. Then we had some time to kill so we went to the Vodka Museum. This was kind of cool, basically Russia dominates vodka and during World War II the Russian government could not afford to pay their soldiers so they paid them in vodka. We did get a free drink with the tour though. After this we did the tour of the Red Light District. This was cool because the guide showed us a lot of interesting stuff that we would never have noticed just walking around by ourselves. We also learned some stuff like only 25% of the prostitutes are Dutch, they make about 50 euro for 50 minutes, but the girls on the “African” street only make 35 euro for 50 minutes, it costs 150 euro to rent a window for a day and all the girls have panic buttons in their rooms so that they police can be there if they need them. In the middle of the Red Light District there is also a day care center and a church. The streets surrounding it are also very wealthy and it’s an expensive area to live in. A prostitute was murdered two months ago in the Red Light District but before that the last murder was in 2001, so its actually a pretty safe area to walk around in, you just have to watch out for pick pockets. At the end of the tour we got another free drink and then we went to dinner for Amy’s birthday. We actually had trouble finding a place that was serving food since it was past 10 PM and things close pretty early, but we ended up going to a place in the same square we went the night before and it was really good.
Today we checked out of the hotel and went to the Anne Frank Huis. I had been there before but Amy wanted to go. It is a very interesting place to go but also very sad. After that we went to the Houseboat Museum which was a houseboat turned into a museum where you could see what its like to live on a houseboat. Then we walked around for a little while and I bought a pair of shoes. Then we went to the dam and met up with my friend Nadine for lunch and hung out with her for a little while. After that we went back to the hotel, picked up our luggage and went to the train station to go to Brussels. We are actually on the train to Brussels right now and should be there around 6PM.
Copenhagen 2
Saturday
On Saturday we started out by going to the National Museum. This was pretty interesting because it had a lot of modern and cultural things but it also started with ancient history. After the museum we walked around Christiansborg Palace. This palace was actually burned down twice and rebuilt several times because of the fires and being out of date compared to other palaces. Underneath the castle are the ruins from the first two that were destroyed. This was also really cool to see because the ground used to be so much lower. After the ruins we went to the Round Tower. This is literally a round tower with an observatory on the top where you can see the whole city. Then we walked around for a while and decided to walk over to Christiana which used to be a commune and is now the alternative part of Copenhagen. But we couldn’t find anything interesting so we just sat by a lake for a little while.
Sunday
Sunday we were going to go to Tivoli Gardens but it was raining. So then we had no idea what to do but we knew that an amusement park wouldn’t be fun in the rain. It was also wicked expensive because you had to pay to get in and pay to go on rides. So we decided to go to Glypotek which is an art museum. It was free for those of us who are under 18…and maybe other people because I didn’t actually see anyone else buying tickets but it was listed as free under 18. After the museum we went to Christiansborg to do the tour of the Danish Parliament. We picked up the tickets and then still had some time so we saw the Palace Chapel. This church was really pretty and was not like a normal church, it did not have lots of stained glass or anything, it was really light and had columns in it. The tour of Parliament was interesting because we got to hear about how the voting works and see where everything happens. We also saw the Danish Constitution and heard a lot about the history. After the tour of Parliament we had lunch. Then there was not much to do so we walked around for a while and then went back to the hotel, picked up our bags and went to the train station to get the overnight train to Amsterdam. As I write this, it is 9AM and we are about an hour away. I was very surprised I actually kind of slept last night on the train and once the people who were in our compartment left we were both able to spread out and actually sleep. When we get off the train we are going to drop our stuff off at the hotel and go see Amsterdam!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Copenhagen
Amy arrived in Prague on Wednesday and then yesterday I just showed her the major sights of the city, the castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the John Lennon Wall and Petrin Hill. Today we flew to Copenhagen! I had to pack up my entire room and say goodbye to everyone which was really sad. I stored my luggage at the kolej because we're going back to Prague at the end of our trip.
The flight to Copenhagen was only about an hour and ten minutes so we got in at 11:40. Then we took a train to the main station and then walked to the hotel. We got to check in early and then we went out and had lunch. Lunch was very expensive but good, everything in this city is expensive. After lunch we walked basically from one end of the city to the other to see the Little Mermaid Statue, which is Copenhagen's most visited spot. On the way there we saw the Amalienborg Palace which was really pretty. After the statue we walked around for a while and went to the Guinness World Records Museum, which was really cool and had tons of exhibits about strange records. Then we walked up and down one of the shopping streets. It was raining on and off throughout the day which was unfortunate because I forgot to take my umbrella with me. It is also colder here than I expected, I knew it would be colder but everyone here is still wearing jackets and scarves (which seems a little unnecessary but it is chilly). After the museum we continued our walk back and we got ice cream. I got soft serve on Belgian waffle which was wicked good. Then we walked the rest of the way back and we are just hanging out because we are exhausted and walked a lot today.
The flight to Copenhagen was only about an hour and ten minutes so we got in at 11:40. Then we took a train to the main station and then walked to the hotel. We got to check in early and then we went out and had lunch. Lunch was very expensive but good, everything in this city is expensive. After lunch we walked basically from one end of the city to the other to see the Little Mermaid Statue, which is Copenhagen's most visited spot. On the way there we saw the Amalienborg Palace which was really pretty. After the statue we walked around for a while and went to the Guinness World Records Museum, which was really cool and had tons of exhibits about strange records. Then we walked up and down one of the shopping streets. It was raining on and off throughout the day which was unfortunate because I forgot to take my umbrella with me. It is also colder here than I expected, I knew it would be colder but everyone here is still wearing jackets and scarves (which seems a little unnecessary but it is chilly). After the museum we continued our walk back and we got ice cream. I got soft serve on Belgian waffle which was wicked good. Then we walked the rest of the way back and we are just hanging out because we are exhausted and walked a lot today.
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