TravelingGirl2005

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Venice Sept. 4

Venice Sept. 4
Originally uploaded by cshellgo.

Here's the first photo from Venice

Introduction - Itinerary

My trip this time was split into 3 sections: pre-tour, Rick Steves' tour of Berlin/Prague/Vienna, post-tour.

Pre-tour - I went to Venice, Florence and Rome.

Tour - Here's the itinerary as pulled from the Rick Steves web site (sorry for the plagiarism)...

Day 0: Technically those are the dates from Sept 4-10, see the postings from those dates if you want to know what I was up to then.

Day 1: Sept. 11 - Meet in Berlin — Meet at your hotel at 5:00. At a short orientation meeting you'll meet your group and guide, who will preview the adventures ahead in the next 12 days. After a neighborhood orientation walk, we'll enjoy dinner together.

Day 2: Sept. 12 - Berlin's Historic Legacy — After climbing Berlin's shiny new Reichstag dome, a local guide will lead us through the historic heart of Berlin's Nazi and Communist history - including the Brandenburg Gate. This afternoon, we'll visit the fascinating Museum of the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy some of Berlin's many world-class museums, such as the stirring new Jewish museum or the Gemaldegallerie for paintings by the masters.

Day 3: Sept. 13 - Berlin's Artistic Treasures — Today we'll meet a local guide for a walk down Kurfürstendamm for a look at Western Berlin. We'll end in Potsdamer Platz, the "Times Square of Berlin," and the rest of the day is free for more museums (Pergamon for ancient Greece; Charlottenburg for ancient Egypt and Picasso), or for strolling, people-watching, and shopping.

Day 4: Sept. 14 - Baroque Dresden — Today we head south to Dresden, where we'll see the art treasures in the Old Masters Gallery housed in the beautifully-Baroque Zwinger. You'll have free time to explore more of the city dubbed "Florence on the Elbe", and to visit the Frauenkirche, destroyed in WWII, and now almost completely rebuilt.

Day 5: Sept. 15 - Arrive in Prague — We'll cross into the Czech Republic and make our way to Prague, Europe's best-preserved Baroque city. We'll have a short orientation walk before dinner.

Days 6 & 7: Sept. 16, Sept. 17 - Timeless, Lively Prague — We have two days to settle into fun-loving Prague. You'll gape at the perfectly-preserved Old Town Square, explore the evocative Jewish Quarter, tour the Prague Castle, and people-watch along the Charles Bridge. In the evenings, you can refresh yourself with Europe's best beer, enjoy classical concerts, or experience the quirky and uniquely Czech Black Light Theater.

Day 8: Sept. 18 - Delightful Ceský Krumlov — Today we'll hop on our bus and head for charming Ceský Krumlov. Most of the day is yours to explore its awe-inspiring castle, Gypsy heritage, delightful old town of shops and cobbled lanes, characteristic little restaurants, and easy canoeing options.

Day 9: Sept. 19 - Danube River, Melk and Vienna — After an early morning drive along the prettiest stretch of the Danube, we visit the striking abbey at Melk. Entering Vienna, we stop to explore Maria Theresa's opulent Schönbrunn Palace. Tonight your guide introduces you to the after dark delights of Europe's waltz capital.

Day 10 & 11: Sept. 20, Sept. 21 - Classy Vienna — We'll spend two days exploring the Hapsburg capital. You'll ogle the legendary empire's crown jewels in Europe's top treasury, walk the parks Beethoven walked, enjoy some of Europe's best art at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and savor every chocoholic's fantasy: Sachertorte. Then you can tour the world's best opera house (when available), conduct the Vienna philharmonic by computer wand, or sip coffee in Europe's most classic café scene. For our last night we'll enjoy tasting Vienna's distinctive "new wine" at an atmospheric Heurige wine garden and celebrate our time together.

Day 12: Sept. 22 - Tour over after breakfast — It's a breeze to reach Vienna's airport by shuttle, bus or taxi.

Post-tour - Amsterdam

Saturday, September 17, 2005

September 17 - Prague

Having had a difficult night, I thought it would be a good idea to go to a doctor or clinic to make sure that there was nothing that I could take to feel better. So Christoph was kind enough to go with me to the hospital. I'm glad he was there, he helped me remember to smile and laugh about it.

Here's the blog entry that I had done on my other blog to describe the incident.

Now, to the description of the hospital/clinic thing. That was pretty surreal. You have to realize that I went there at 9 in the morning. All I"d eaten the day before was 4 pieces of toast (nothing before going to the clinic). Of course the writing is all in Czech, so I can't even sorta make it out the way I usually can in other languages. I gave the front desk lady my passport and she filled out some paperwork. I talked with Christoph, our co-guide. A grumpy Czech doctor who sorta spoke English and a nurse who obviously didn't speak any (but she was kind of grandmotherly looking, tried to help me out with expressions and sign language) brought me to an examination room. I told the doctor what my symptoms were. He palpated my stomach/intestinal areas (weird, slightly painful, had to pull the shirt up and the pants down a bit further than I was comfortable with, but the nurse was there). The room looked like a mish-mash of old stuff and new stuff (Betadine bottle next to some glass bottles with cut glass tops that reminded me of my chemistry class in high school). Everything was kind of crumbling and seedy, but also obviously clean and the best they had to work with.

An intern guy put me in a wheelchair (how humiliating) and wheeled me up this ramp to the Xray and sonogram areas. On the side of the ramp were all these empty gurneys - they looked like 50s versions of gurneys (as did the wheelchair they put me in). Then the xray and sonogram equipment was all new. The sonogram operator spoke English - she had lived for a year in Hillsborough working as a nanny. She was a burst of cheerfulness in an otherwise dreary place. (Sonogram goo is icky - cold, messy, got everywhere. I thought she was trying to break my ribs on the right side looking for something... ow...) She told me should couldn't find anything wrong (duh). Back into the wheelchair, down the ramp and back to the doc to basically be brusquely told that I had gastroenteritis (no explanation), and to drink lots. I had to ask if I could take anything (no), what I could try to eat (bread), and was dismissed. This whole thing took about an hour and a half (not bad on a Saturday - but then again we were the only ones going in), and cost probably $120(?). Not bad. Very surreal.

Friday, September 16, 2005

September 16 - Prague

The next morning we met up as a group to do a walking tour with our local guide (whose name I don't remember - if folks could comment with her name, that'd be cool). It rained on and off while we walked around. We went by the Lennon Wall (which is the only area where graffiti is allowed sort of on the theme of John Lennon and his contributions).
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006601/in/set-1024707/

We walked through Josefov (the Jewish Quarter) and Old Town and ended the tour in Wenceslas Square. I took a cab back to the hotel and stayed there all afternoon and evening. (Apparently this wasn't a bad idea given that it started POURING rain later.) http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006922/in/set-1024707/

Given that I wasn't feeling well, and the weather was rainy and overcast, I think my idea of those areas are colored by how I was feeling. I definitely need to go back to Prague as I didn't get much of a view of the place, and I'm sure I would have loved it had I been able to explore when I was feeling better.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

September 15 - Prague

This was a bus day. We took the bus from Dresden to Prague. The Czech countryside was beautiful. Being so used to California's late summer golden brown everything, it was wonderful to see such beautiful green countryside. There were deer in the fields, and all kinds of different trees and greenery. Gorgeous.

As a surprise for the group, Ben took us to a luge park. We were each to get 2 runs on the luge. Since someone else didn't take one of their runs, I actually did 3 runs. I still felt like crap, but the prospect of going fast made me rally long enough to do the luge stuff. Basically you get on a little sled. There's a metal wire with studs on it. Your sled gets hooked on it, and then you get pulled up to the top of the hill. Then your sled is in a little metal half-pipe that snakes down the hill. There's a brake that you pull backward on to slow down. I think I pulled on the brake 3 times on the first run, and then twice on the other two runs. It was so fun going down the run with the wind in my hair and the feeling of speed. I was giggling like a little kid every time. That was so much fun, and a great surprise.
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006145/in/set-1024707/

When we crossed the border from Germany into the Czech Republic, it took somewhere between 1/2 hour and an hour. There was a tourbus in front of us, so that took a while. Then the border guards came on the bus and collected our passports (I was asleep, but the female border person was nice when she woke me up.) It was pretty uneventful.

Once we got over the border, we saw workmen on the side of the highway. They were doing repair work from flooding that had been in that area a few years ago. I had seen a couple of girls on the side of the road here and there who were clearly "working girls". Then we passed a building that from one side was not really worth a second look (may have at one point been a gas station, but there were no pumps there any longer), except that on one corner of the building was a big window that had dancing girls in bikinis in it. I looked around the bus to see if anyone else had seen it (i.e. was I hallucinating). I saw the shocked expressions on Jim and Bonnie's faces, and felt better that I wasn't hallucinating, so I wasn't THAT sick.

We had a picnic lunch in a little town called Litoměřice. It was a really cute little town where we ate our lunches in the town center. I loved the signs since they were so similar but different (i.e. it feels like you should be able to read them, but the words don't connect to anything).
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006221/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006291/in/set-1024707/

Once we arrived in Prague, there was some logistical activity to get our luggage loaded into the correct vans as there were 2 separate hotels about a short block apart that we were staying in. We went to one of the hotels (the one Kathy and I were not staying in) for our "innoculations" or "anti-virus screening". Basically we had shots of alcohol with the owner of the hotel (I forget her name - she was a hoot). There was a shooter alcohol and a sipper alcohol. I don't know which one I did, but I think I regretted it until I was all warm and toasty. Then we went on a short orientation walk from the area where the hotel was situated (an area known as Mala Strana) (Lesser Town or Little Quarter) down to the Charles Bridge (Karlov Most). We walked around the bridge, got an orientation to the area and the history of the bridge.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about what could be so great about the Charles Bridge. It's just a bridge, so why is it such a big deal. But now that I've been there, I do kind of get it. It's just magical. Maybe it was because of the time of day that we were there - the light was beautiful (which is only partially captured in the pictures). But it's also a cool place - it's a pedestrian only zone, and there are artists selling their pictures and tchotchkes. There are musicians on the bridge and tourists and people hawking various concerts. The place is just full of life and fun to be in the midst of.

From there we went to dinner as a group (venison in sauce with potato croquettes - yummmm) with salad and plum cake for dessert. I had a bit of Czech beer (no idea which one, probably a pilsner) which was good. But this was the beginning of the portion of the trip where I was really sick. So I just went straight back to the hotel (although I think some of the group might have gone out after dinner to wander and/or drink).

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

September 13 - Berlin

We met with our local guide Sarah again for another morning walking tour. This time we went through and around the Jewish quarter and Museum Island. There was an interesting memorial to the wives of Jewish detainees that managed to get their husbands freed after protesting. We saw a lot of interesting graffiti and random pieces of art during the walk too.

http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005090/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005288/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005288/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005526/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005700/in/set-1024707/

I had lunch with Kathy, Judy and Bill in a restaurant near the Opera (I think). We sat outside as the day was nice. Kathy and I split a weinerschnitzel and German potato salad. It was really yummy (although the service was verrrrrrry slow). Since all of our feet were killing us, we thought a nice boat tour was just the ticket. Even though the tour was in German, and we didn't understand anything, we got some nice views.
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005806/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005862/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47005969/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006033/in/set-1024707/

Kathy and I headed back to the hotel for a nap. (Ah... sleeping...) The group took a tram to dinner. We had a family-style dinner - very meat-centric. There were sausages and chicken and beef and sauerkraut and 2 kinds of dumplings. (One was kind of bready and the other was kind of starchy.) Oh, and beer. Ah...heaven...
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006040/in/set-1024707/

Monday, September 12, 2005

September 12 - Berlin

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (breakfast on the tour was always included as well as some of the dinners and lunches). We then met our local guide Sarah, who took us on a walking tour. (http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004455/in/set-1024707/). Our walking tour led us past/around/through the former site of the wall (and past memorials to people who died trying to escape East Germany), past the Reichstag, to the new Holocaust memorial, past the new train station, to the Brandenburg Gate and to Checkpoint Charlie. (That was a lot of walking, my feet were KILLING me.)

Near the Brandenburg Gate was a Frank O. Gehry building (the DZ Bank building). The outside of the building had to conform to specific standards, so it doesn't look like a more typical Gehry building. But wander into the lobby/entry, and an entirely different view greets you. http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004700/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004725/in/set-1024707/

http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004559/in/set-1024707/
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http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004796/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004804/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004909/in/set-1024707/

We had lunch at an Italian restaurant (doh!!). We had really nice antipasto (meats and roasted veggies) and then I had the lasagna (I think there were other choices too - but I always went to for meat version). It was really good - much lighter than traditional ones made at home (not much cheese). We then went across the street to the chocolate store. MMMMMM... chocolate... (http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47004957/in/set-1024707/).

Christoph and I met up on some random street and decided to hang out together for the rest of the afternoon. We went to the Jewish History museum. The museum was interesting - the shape was weird, the feeling of the rooms and windows and floors a bit unsettling (it was as if there were no 90 degree angles in the place). The actual exhibits were cool too, giving you insights into what Jewish life is/was like, etc.

We then went to the Berlinische Galierie (a modern art gallery). Christoph had wanted to see this, but then ran out of time as he had to take care of some tour business before the end of the business day. We did the ultra high speed tour (ok, saw it, saw it, saw it, done). We tried then to get back to the hotel, but had a little trouble on the S-bahn (or was it the U-bahn? whatever...) After more walking (enough that I thought my feet might fall off), we made it back to the hotel. He did his thing for a while, and then we met for dinner in the neighborhood. Maria and Lanny (other tour members) joined us for pizza and beer just down the street from our hotel. That was fun - great conversations.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

September 11 - Berlin

While everyone else on the tour probably arrived today, I had already been in Italy for a week, so I got up early to catch the flight from Rome to Berlin. Once I got in I checked into the hotel (my roommate Kathy had already checked in, but wasn't in the room when I got there), I needed to do laundry.

So I packed all the dirty stuff in my day pack and went in search of the laundromat the lady at the hotel directed me to. Given that it was a Sunday, pretty much everything else was closed. I got there and couldn't figure out the machines. There was a central control panel from which you put in the money and started the machines (by number). One of the guys there spoke English and helped me out with getting it working. I haven't had to sit and wait for my laundry in a long time, and had forgotten that there's something sort of zen about watching your clothes go round and round. Or that could have been lack of sleep from getting up early for the flight from Rome.

Then I went in search of food, and had one of my favorite meals of the vacation. I had doner kebap (chicken). It was amazing - spicy and salady and warm and yummy. (Although I'm not convinced that that wasn't what caused my later intestinal difficulties.) Since I still had time to kill after dropping off my clean laundry in the room, I wandered the nearby area and took some photos. The neighborhood was interesting - seemed like it was going through some sort of transition. There were lots of pierced/tattooed kids around, but also families (saw lots of folks out with the strollers and walking dogs). The graffiti in the area was cool too(this was a whole side of a building

- I'm not really sure if it was graffiti or a mural, but it was colorful).

After going back to the hotel to chill out for a bit (and chat with and get to know my roommate Kathy a bit), we met with the group for our first meeting at the hotel. Our guide Ben introduced himself, asked us to give our names, where we were from and if we'd taken any tours before. We then, as a group, agreed to the following things: we'd wear our money belts, we'd be on time (especially for the bus), and that we'd laugh at Ben's jokes. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad, right? This is where I cop to the fact that I never wore my money belt. Not one day. I carried it in my backpack or purse a couple of times (mostly because of border crossings on the bus), but didn't wear the moneybelt under my clothes like we were supposed to. I don't know if this should be a cautionary tale that you should do what your guide tells you as it's for your own protection, or a cautionary tale that if you're careful it's not necessary to wear the belt. Take it whichever way works for you.

We then did a short orientation walk around the neighborhood, with Ben giving us information about Berlin, Germany, etc.

We went to a little park

and did a name game to get us all familiar with each others' names. We had to say our name plus the names of everyone else in the circle who had gone before you. Luckily, I was near the beginning of the line, so I didn't have to remember very many, but you still got to know everyone's names as you were trying to help others remember all the folks in front of them. Little kids ran into the middle of our circle, got bored and ran back out. In the category of "it's a small world", I found out that the co-guide, Christoph, is the fiance of the guide I had on the tour of Italy that I took in 2003 (Taunya).

We went to dinner as a group.

I think it was a salad, and then chicken and potatoes. I forget what the dessert was, but I have an impression that it was yummy. (I also have to cop to the fact that while I intended to take pictures of the various foods that I ate, I was inconsistent. I think I got better about noting the foods in my journal and worse about photos as I went through the trip.) It was sprinkling when we walked back to the hotel, where everyone turned in as many of them had just arrived that day (and some had not even made it to Berlin yet).