Prague, Czech Republic

I took an overnight train from Venice to Prague. It was only 70 Euro and I was in a 4 bed sleeper with a family that I believe was German. The daughter was around my age and had a bunch of piercings and hair dyed reddish purple. When I took off my jacket and she saw my tattoos she seemed suddenly interested in me and helped me figure out the lights. I don´t think any of them spoke any English though. The train was fine, I slept well, except that early in the morning they woke us to get off, get on a bus and drive into the Czech Republic from Austria. They said it was because they were crossing borders that this had to be done but I´ve now taken 5 overnight trains and that was the only one where we had to disembark and take a bus.

After a little confusion I reached my hostel in Prague. It was a bit far from the city but it was incredibly relaxed and nice. One of my favorite my whole trip, actually. It was called Sant Jordi Hostel. Check it out if you ever go to Prague. The first day I used the free internet for awhile and then walked into the city and randomly found myself in front of the astronomical clock just as it was about to start. It was a little anticlimactic but whatever. Then I found a grocery store and bought some soy milk and cookie crisp cereal, gnocchi, pasta sauce, and broccoli. When I was leaving I noticed a little stand just outside selling these sweet pretzel like rolls. There had been a huge crowd when I entered the grocery store so I bought one upon exiting and it was hot and delicious. I made the trek back to the hostel with my goods and cooked a scrumptious dinner that I couldn´t finish and passed out.

The next morning I woke to find a drizzling Prague outside my window. Since I was alone (first part of the trip alone besides Lucerne!) and could make these sorts of decisions, I had a museum day. When I was on the internet after eating my soy milk and cookie crisp, I looked up and noticed this giant poster of a drawing of a woman. It was beautiful. The signature in the corner said ¨Mucha¨. My guide book had said something about a Mucha museum and at that moment I knew I would be visiting said museum. It happened to be the closest to the hostel so that was my first stop on my impromtu museum day. I had never heard of Alfonso Mucha until that day but now I think he is my favorite artist, graphic artist at least. His drawings are swirly and intricate and beautiful. Check this out.



The museum was really amazing. There was a little film about how Mucha (pronounced ¨Mooker¨) was born in then Czechoslovakia and by chance became famous because he was working in a print shop on Christmas Eve when all the real artists were at home and the famous actress Sarah Bernheardt came to the shop demanding a poster quickly. They gave him the job and he produced and long thin beautiful poster for her and was immediately signed to do all her posters afterwards. He moved to Paris and became very famous but he always felt guilty about his wealth knowing his Slavic people were still not independent. So he travelled to the states to make money so he could return to his homeland and devote his talents to helping his people become free. He made a whole Slavic epic series of huge paintings with really Slavic looking girls and Slavic symbols. Those are not in the museum because they are huge but the film showed them. When Czechoslovakia finally gained independence Mucha designed their postal stamps and all the money. He did everything. I bought a shitload of postcards and bookmarks at the shop. I think I might get one of his flower designs or something of his for my next tattoo.

Next up was the nerby Museum of Communism. It was a little hecticly laid out but I enjoyed it. There was some film footage of the protests in Wenceslas Square against communist occupation that were just brutal. To think that it was all happening in 1989, when I was alive, blows my mind. It was just kids trying to voice their opinions peacefully and they just got beat to hell. I had to look away several times as I couldn´t help but tear up at the police brutality. Revolution sounds so cool but the reality is bloody and not pretty.

I was getting hungry at this point to I headed to one of the veggie restaurants happycow.net and Julie recommended. I was practically jumping out of my seat I was so giddy to be in Prague seeing awesome museums and eating at cute vegan restaurants. The meal was really good (read the review next). Afterwards I crossed the street to Charles Bridge. Since it was sort of rainy out there weren´t a whole lot of people on it, which was really nice. I wandered across to the castle side and took a small side street to the Franz Kafka Museum. I haven´t read a whole lot of Kafka but as he´s a really influencial classic writer I felt I should go to the museum. It was a bit confusing but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The low point was in the mirrow hallway where a school group of german 15 year olds were camped out. I could hear one boy saying ¨sex¨and ¨pussy¨over and over again. He had probably just learned them in English and he was, you know, a 15 year old boy. Anyway, I avoided that hall.

Finally I walked to Wenceslas Square to see the memorial for the two young students who lit themselves on fire in protest of the communists occupation in 1969. Then I came back to the hostel and showered, ate lunch leftovers, read and wrote until I passed out. It was so nice to do whatever I wanted!

My second day I set aside to do Prague Castle, which is the largest castle in the world. I shelled out 40 bucks for the extended ticket and audio guide so I could see everything. First I went to St. Vitus Cathedral which had huge beautiful stained glass windows (including an amazing one done by Mucha) and a million chapels. The tombs were closed as was the option of climbing the tower. I walked around and saw some more but about a third of the things I wanted to see were closed. I wish they´d tell you that when you buy the more expensive ticket just so you can see those things. It was cold and windy at the castle and I was just so fed up with everything being closed that I left and walked back to the hostel. Ok well not before I ate at the same veggie restaurant as the day before. On the walk back I stopped and bought 3 different kinds of Czech beer to try. People in the hostel living room were watching Little Miss Sunshine so I drank my beers and watched with them. Then I wandered into the kitchen and talked to some people about where I should stay in Krakow and what to do in Turkey. When I finally got back to my room there were two new Australian girls so I stayed up with the two Canadians talking to them for awhile.

The next morning I finished up my soy milk and cookie crisp and headed out to Dresden.

Venice and I are not friends

In Venice I could not find a bed to sleep in so I opted for 8 hours there and then an overnight train to Prague. On the train from Florence I could see that it was raining in Venice. Undeterred, I marched headlong into the storm with flip flips on because the Florence storm had taken out my chucks already. I got to Saint Mark's Square after huddling under various souvenir shop canopies until the owners kicked me out. By the time I finally arrived I was cold, wet, tired, uncomfortable, hungry, and my feet ached. I walked around the square, took some grey pictures, got lost in the little streets continuously crossing this or that canal, ate some overpriced Chinese food sitting in my soaked pants, bought gifts for Jacki and Remy, and then walked back to the train station. I still had 4 hours until my overnight train. It had basically stopped raining at this point but I was so miserable that it was too late. I paid a Euro to go to the bathroom and change into dry clothes and then sat in the train station, reading and sleeping.

Venice was what I expected it to be: rainy.

Il Vegetariano Veg Restaurant Review - Florence, Italy

Back to Florence. It wasnt hard to convince Julie (also a vegetarian) to check out Il Vegetariano. We got there right when they opened. The interior is really rustic and cute. Theres a dining room when you walk in and stairs to the left which lead down into another dining room, the kitchen, and a further dining room. The staff didnt speak much English but there was one woman there who translated the menu for us. The place was full of locals so Im not sure she even worked there. You order with the cashier and then wait at the counter for your food to come up. I think youre supposed to give them your ticket as well. The menu is a little small, with the vegan items marked. Dishes include pasta, couscous, eggplant, salads, soups, and lots of desserts. Free whole wheat bread comes with the meal. Julie had pasta with mushrooms, which was good. It had a nice flavor and at first I was a little jealous that I hadnt picked it as well. I had the seitan wih green beans which came with rice and salad. The flavor was very rich and the seitan had a good consistency, not too chewy. The portion was quite large. I want to try the desserts next time but I was too full.

I forgot Pisa!

Im so far behind! Anyway, I forgot that before arriving in Florence Julie and I made a quick stop in Pisa to see the infamous leaning tower. Thanks to Rick Steves we were able to find the right bus and head to the area where not only the tower is located but the baptistry and cathedral as well. There were gobs of tourists and people selling souveniers but the buildings were cool to see in person. Julie pointed out that the buildings sort of go in life order- you are born and baptised in the baptistry, get married in the cathedral, hopefully live a long life full of twists and turns (ok so I dont remember how the tower fit in), and then are buried in the cemetary behind the tower. Something like that. We took the obligatory photos holding the tower up and got the only photo of the two of us together taken. Then we ate some shitty lunch by the train station and headed on to Florence.

PS Right now Im in Lagos, Portugal. The people at the hostel are being really nice to me because theyŕe from Boston and one kid working here is actually on co-op from Northeastern. I cant imagine getting school credit AND paid for working at a hostel in Portugal called The Rising Cock. Amazing.

Florence, Italy

My original plan when I left Geneva to meet Julie in Italy was to try to convince her to join me in Venice after Cinque Terre. However, this was not to be. Julie had already been to Venice and wanted to check out Florence and Rome before heading to Greece for the last leg of her trip. Plus, I could not find anywhere to stay in Venice. Instead I took Julie's invitation to go to Florence with her, despite having already been there once with my mom when we were visiting my sister in Rome.

We took a short train to Florence and after a little confusion found our hostel. It was one of the stranger hostels I've stayed in as it had free internet and breakfast. That is not why it was strange though. The free internet meant there were about 8 computers in the lobby as well as a computer with internet in every room! That is very strange, and awesome, for a hostel. As for the breakfast, there were literally 10 choices for the free breakfast. Usually "free breakfast" in a European hostel means there is shitty coffee and some bread with nutella if you're lucky. This hostel's free breakfast was a choice of cereal or croissant or toast or eggs or an omlette or something else. It was pretty cool but all I could really get was the toast. There was a little buffet of fruit salad and other things I could eat so that was cool. Ok, enough about free breakfast.

Our first night in Florence we went to check out one of the veggie restaurants I had looked up on happycow.net (ps happycow I love you). We got there about half an hour before it opened so we wandered around for a bit and happened upon the back of the Duomo. We then bought some water and wine at a grocery store and headed back for a hearty vegan meal. I'll write up my review of the restaurant after this post. We were pretty tired that night so we both used the internet instead of going out. I tried to find somewhere to stay in Venice or a different place to travel to, with no luck. Finally I let Julie use the computer and took a shower. I was feeling really frustrated and freaked out but then I had an ephipany. I could go wherever I wanted. I had no plans at all, no deadline to be back at work, nothing. I felt much better when I realized this and was able to drift off to sleep easily that night.

The next day we headed to the train station to buy tickets to our next destinations. Earlier in the morning I was able to find an overnight train for Prague leaving from Venice. I bought a ticket for Venice early in the morning and a place on the overnight train for that night so I'd have 8 hours in Venice and be able to see it afterall. Julie was headed to Rome. Once we had our tickets in hand we had the whole day to explore. We started off walking across Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge that crosses the Arno River and was the only bridge in Florence to survive the second World War. I'd read that it used to be lined with butcher shops but the Medici family changed them all to silver shops. It's now lined with jewelry stores. There were tons of people on the bridge but Julie and I had a good time picking out the most obnoxious pieces in each store window. Next we headed to the Uffizi gallery to see if there was any possibility of getting in. As I mentioned earlier, I'd been to Florence for the day before with my mother. We had climbed the Duomo, seen David, and crossed the Ponte Vecchio. Basically, we'd seen everything I was interested in seeing except the Uffizi gallery as it is known for having all day lines. I think Julie wanted to go so that I'd see something new on this trip. As expected, the line was a couple hours wait at least so we instead checked out the living statues outside and then started towards the Santa Croce. We got hungry on the way so we stopped for lunch at a place on a backstreet that Julie's brother had recommended. We're not sure if it was actually the place he suggested but it was good nonetheless. We did find the gelato place next door that he definately recommended and tried their wares (I had the sorbet flavor of cantelope. It tasted eerily like the actual fruit).

Finally we got to Santa Croce, the church that houses the monumental tombs to most of the famous Floritians. Inside we found the tombs of Dante, Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machievelli among others. I also realized once inside that I had been there before with my mother. Oh well. We looked around the leather workshop in the back and watched a man branding a complicated pattern into a piece of leather. It looked cool but it was creepy to be around so much dead animal skin. Not my thing. After the Santa Croce we headed the the Duomo. We discussed how the front and bell tower of the Santa Maria del Fiore, the big church at the center of Florence's Old Town, looks like a wedding cake due to all the pastels and decorations. Then we studied the famous Baptistry doors just opposite, though we read they are not the originals. I told Julie that climbing to the inside top of the Duomo was really great and she should do it but since my legs were still sore from Cinque Terre I'd sit on the church steps and write postcards. I had a postcard of David's junk that I was eager to write out to Bonnie. So we parted with plans to meet in the square in 2 hours. I sat on the steps and listened to some dude try unsuccessfully to pick up the girl from Hungary that was sitting next to me before it started to rain. At first it was just little drops. I walked behind the Baptistry and sat on a bench and then it started to really come down. In the row of shops just behind me there was a deep archway that people were huddling in so I joined them. Soon it was pouring. I think I stayed in the archway for maybe an hour. The rain would let up a little and some people would leave the shelter and then it'd come down hard again and new people would join. I realized I'd have to make a run for it or I'd never leave so I waited for it to let up a bit and then ran. I had a rain jacket but it didn't cover my backpack so I had to wear it over the backpack which meant I couldn't zip it in the front, which meant the front of my shirt got wet. It started pouring hard again while I tried to figure out how to get back to the hostel and I was completely soaked within 10 minutes. I had my chucks on which have holes in them everywhere so my feet were cold and wet as well. When I finally found the street where the hostel was located the rain had slowed to a drizzle. I got inside and stripped everything wet off but I knew none of it would dry before the next day. My shoes were the most troublesome as they were really the only ones I had.

Julie returned about an hour later, pretty dry, saying she couldn't find me anywhere. We bought oranges and cookies from the front desk and sat in the cafeteria area eating them as well as leftover chips and wine for dinner. Soon we were joined by a very annoying young man from New York who told us multiple times he'd just taken the bar exam and could tell by my accent that I was from the Northeast. As flattering as that was, I lived in Boston for the past 7 years which makes me hardly from the Northeast and definately does not effect my accent. He tried to convince us to go out with him that night but we were not having it. Finally he found some Australians who were also going out and abandoned us, thankfully. There was one Kiwi in the crowd who, when hearing where she was from, the soon to be lawyer asked, "Hey, have you ever heard of Flight of the Concords?" The Kiwi girl answered, "No!" so sarcastically everyone understood but our New York friend who then launched into an explanation of the show. I'm sure they all had lots of fun together out on the town in Florence. Julie and I instead used the internet some more and went to bed on our last night in Europe together.

Coming up: Venice, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Krakow, Budapest, Munich (Oktoberfest!), and more Geneva. If anyone is reading this let me know, ok? I'm really behind and I need to know if it's worthwhile to play so much catch up.

Cinque Terre, Italy

I left Geneva on a train to Genoa, Italy. At about 11:50 that night I met my friend Julie in the Genoa train station coming from southern Italy. I met Julie in Sydney in 2004 when we were studying abroad. I've seen her once since then, Boston 2005, so it's been awhile. I was excited to finally see her again and have a travel partner. We stayed overnight in a somewhat shady hotel by the train station. It wasn't that shady though, because we passed the night without interuption dispite discovering the next morning that we left the keys in the outside lock.

The next morning we caught the train to Cinque Terre and decided to get off at the fourth town, Vernazza. Right off the train we found a small apartment to stay in for the night for our desired price, grabbed a slice of pizza each (I scrapped the cheese off mine), bought Cinque Terre cards at the train station so we could hike the trails, and walked around. Cinque Terre is an area of 5 small towns just south of Genoa on the northwestern Italian coast. I've wanted to go for awhile after hearing that the coastal hike between all the towns is stunning. We found that each town has it's own personality as well. Only locals are allowed to have cars in the towns to tourists are forced to walk between each. The hikes range from difficult to paved and easy and take anywhere from 15 minutes to 90 minutes between two towns.

Since we arrived in Vernazza at around 1 in the afternoon we decided to hike to the fifth town, Monterosso. We read in Julie's Rick Steve's book that Monterosso was the most yuppy touristy because it has the nicest beach. The hike turned out to take us more than 90 minutes because it was pretty difficult. Lots of steps and steep up and down climbs. We passed lots of English speaking tourists who seemed to find the hike challenging as well. It was really sunny and hot so the views of Vernazza as we left and Monterosso as we approached were truly amazing.

Here's an internet image of Vernazza since I haven't uploaded my pictures yet. You get the idea.



And Monterosso...



We were exhausted when we arrived in Monterosso but also seriously psyched about the swimming. The hike was all along the coast so we could see the wonderfully blue water tempting us the whole time. After paying a euro each to use the public bathrooms at the beach to change into our swimsuits, we found a spot on the small public beach (most of it is private and must be paid for), set down our bags and waded into the water. It was probably pretty cool by normal standards but we were so hot and exhuasted that it felt incredibly refreshing. We swam for awhile, bought some gelato, and headed back onto the trail. It was close to dusk so we knew we had to hurry. The walk back was equally tough but worth it for the views of Vernazza and the water. When we got back to our little apartment we took turns showering and then headed out onto the town to eat some Italian food. The area is known for Pesto as it was aparently created in nearby Genoa so Julie ordered that while I had pasta with a simple tomato sauce. We picked sort of a crappy restaurant but the location right on the water could not have been better. Afterwards we sat by the beach and caught up on the past three years. I'd missed Julie and it was really nice to be able to experience Cinque Terre with a good friend.

The next morning we quickly exited our apartment and hopped back on the train towards the first town, Riomaggiore. We walked up the hill straight off the train and were surprised not to see the little town right away. Once we found some accomodations after a little bargaining we walked back towards the train station and realized the town is down a tunnel in the opposite direction. At least we'd be right by the train the next day, we reasoned. I put some clothes in the washing machine at our new apartment and we wandered around the town looking for breakfast and a post office (the latter was never found) before we returned and I hung out my wet clothes. Then it was time to hike to the rest of the towns.

The beginning of the walk to Manarola, the next town, is one of the most popular walks in Cinque Terre. It's called via dell'amore or something like that, and is flat and paved. There's even a tunnel where there's usually someone playing accordian or guitar. We reached Manarola quite easily. I wanted to stop for lunch but it was too early so we bought stamps and browsed in the little souvenir shops leading down to the water before getting right back on the path. Manarola is the best town for deep sea swimming as there really is no beach. The coast area by the town is made up of big rocks that people lay out on and jump off. There are even some ladders from the water built onto the rocks. I really wanted to swim there but we said we'd come back for that and mushed on.

The path to Corniglia was not paved but it was still pretty short and easy after the previous day's hike. We reached the Corniglia train station and decided to wait for the bus to the town center instead of hitting the many steps we'd otherwise have to traverse. Julie and I sat and wrote postcards while waiting for the bus and then got a nice ride up the hill. At this point we were pretty hungry to we picked one of the restaurants we could see and sat down for a relaxing Italian meal while enjoying the view of Corniglia. It was one of the best meals we had in Italy. Afterwards we walked the little backstreets of Corniglia and I contemplated getting Lemoncello for Remy but decided I didn't want to carry it. We found a little water fountain at which we refilled our water bottles and started on what we had read was another tough hike to Vernazza, the town we'd stayed at the previous night. We walked until we could see a postcard perfect view of Corniglia from the back and then discussed whether to continue or not. Finally it was decided that we'd turn around as we'd already seen Vernazza and would rather swim and enjoy the rest of our afternoon. We hiked about half way back to Manarola before we saw people swimming below the path, down a little metal staircase and decided to join them. There was no beach to speak of really, only rocks, but we'd worn our suits so we stripped down and got in. The water was beautiful. Sitting in Remy's apartment now writing this I feel relaxed just thinking about how wonderful it felt to be floating in the sea off the Italian coast with an old friend and no plans other than to walk for awhile, shower, and eat something.

After our swim we slowly walked home, savoring the views and feeling content. Julie desparetly needed to check her email so we used the internet at the Cinque Terre tourist info center because picking up some pesto, fruit, chips, and cookies for a dinner at home. I had leftover ciabatta bread from the bakery near Remy's apartment so we used that for the pesto and had a nice dinner with a bottle of red wine. While closing the swiss army knife I had picked up in Lucerne I accidentily cut a deep gash into my left thumb. Julie and I sat there drunkenly looking at it as the blood started to gush out before I ran to the sink and ran cold water over it. I had a little first aid kit in my bag so we washed the cut out after the bleeding slowed down and bandaged me up. I felt pretty stupid though. [FYI the cut is totally healed now. Fear not!]

Julie did long overdue laundry and we both took nice hot showers before heading off to bed on our last night in Cinque Terre. Then, and looking back now, I realize that hiking Cinque Terre was one of my favorite parts of what has been an amazing trip. I suggest everyone does it one day. I'll include pictures once I update them.