We planned to get up around 8 am to begin out Oktoberfest extravaganza...but by 6:15 so many people were up and getting ready in The Tent that we decided to get up too. Apparently we had misjudged how early people will get up to stand in line and wait to drink beer. :)
Once we were on the tram it was easy to find our way to the Oktoberfest grounds. Just follow EVERYONE else. I was amazed by how many people really dress up in the full out Liderhosen and Gertels...wow. We were planning to go see the Opening Day parade...but as we walked through the grounds (at 8am...4 hours before they could begin serving beer) we noticed that the lines for the beer tents were already incredibly long. And after asking around a bit we heard that on opening weekend many tents closed their doors by 11am due to overcrowding. After a bit of hemming and hawing...we got in line.
And so we were a part of the mass crush to get into the hall when they opened the doors at 9:30. You know how you hear about people being crushed to death or trampled in a crowd. I had never before truly appreciated how that could happen. But as my face was smashed into the door frame and my left arm almost removed at the shoulder...I had a new appreciation for "Mob Mentality." Yikes.
Somehow we made it in...and the three of us were still together and we found a decent table. (We found out later you can't get served unless you're at a table.) And settled in to get to know the people around us in the 2 hours before anything would happen. We played cards, ate giant pretzels, tried to figure out how the people next to us got cokes...and then...the band came in.
And the crowd went wild. The band made it's way up to the stage. And the crowd went wild. The president of Haufbrauhause (I think) made a speech that no one could understand. And the crowd went wild. Girls started taking off their underwater and throwing it up onto the giant statue hanging in the middle of the ceiling. And the crowd went wild. They tapped the first keg. And the crowd went wild. They started serving beer. And the crowd (really) went wild.
At Oktoberfest they serve beer in 1 liter beer steins. The glass of the stein is probably 3/4 of an inch thick...and then when it's full of beer....well I had to use two hands just to lift one! I was amazed by the Beer maids who could carry 8 at a time! Yikes! No wonder they all have wrist braces on!
And then it was pretty much what you'd expect. People drank beer. There were beer drinking/toasting (Proust!) songs, which some nice German kids we were sitting with tried to teach us. My favorite toast was explained to us like this:
Julian: It means Cheers to your balls!
Us: Your balls?
Julian: Yes, you know, testicles.
Us: Right.
Julian: You know there is a sack...
US: We know! We know!!!
They also sang really random old American songs while some guys in Liederhosen on the stage lead little dances. Songs like: John Denver "Take me Home Country Road" or the one that goes "Heeeeeeey, Hey Baby! I wanna know, if you'll be my girl."
We were impressed by the bathroom system...even though the lines were long you never actually had that long of a wait. Those Germans sure are efficient! We met some random old guy who had a bunch of food coupons and kept buying us food, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, weird cheese dipping sauce for pretzels.
After awhile...quite awhile...you sort of loose track of time in there. We decided to leave the beer tent and see what else Oktoberfest had to offer. Answer: not much. They have some pretty cool rides (but at 8 euros a ride, we just watched). There is more food and souvenir shopping and that's about it.
AE realized she had left her shirt inside the beer tent. We went back to see if we could get in to go look for it (unlikely). But as we joined the back of the line one of the Beer maids came up to us and asked us if we wanted to go in. We said "Sure" and she lead us in the back door. She was a sneaky one though...she told us we all had to buy a beer (none of us wanted any more beer at that point). So we bought one to split...she was pissed....but, hey! She was the sneaky one. We found AE's shirt, amazingly and I was struck by the difference in the beer hall after only a few hours.
When we were there early in the day it was good, wholesome fun. Sure people were drinking....but it seamed clean, safe and quaint somehow too. Now after 10 hours of steady drinking and being rowdy the place just felt like any other dirty bar with out of control people. I was only too glad to get out of there.
And so concluded our one day extravaganza of Oktoberfest. When someone asked me later if I was glad I went I could wholeheartedly say "Yes." Then they asked me if I would ever go back and again I could answer with a wholehearted "No." It was amazing to experience...but now that I've done it...It's done.
The next morning we were up by 7am and on our way to the train station. After 10 hours on the train I said goodbye to the girls and got off in Arezzo. (They had another 2 hours to Rome, a quick overnight and then early flights the next morning back to the States.)
As I left the Arezzo train station to get my bus back up to my little mountain town, I felt like I had left my arm behind on the train. After spending 6 weeks, day and night with those two girls it just felt...weird that they weren't with me anymore. And even though the trip had ups and downs, it was, in the end, perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
And so concluded the amazing 6 week adventure.
Up next: what HAVE I been doing since my return to the Yoga Borgo.
Blessings,
KNL
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
It Was The Worst Of Times. It Was The Best Of Times.
The Tent in Munich is exactly what I expected it to be. A big-top circus-style tent full of bunk beds. There are two tents, actually, in the one we stayed in (the "higher-end" tent" there were, maybe, 200 bunk beds. In the other (lame-o) tent people were just sleeping on whatever patch of floor they could find. The tent was also, like our entire experience in Germany, cold. Really cold. When we checked in (at 6am) and selected our bunks the reception guy told us that they hoped the Tent Heaters would arrive sometime that day. Boy, so did we.
We headed out for our first day after a considerable period of trying to figure out the public transportation system. Munich has an S-Bahn (Suburban railway), U-Bahn (underground railway), Trams and Buses. All of these systems (being German) run amazingly efficiently and quickly...once you understand which ones you want to use that is. But figure it out we did and, after a bite of breakfast we were off.
About one hour outside of Munich is Dachau, the site of one of the Nazi Concentration Camps from WWII. The camp has been preserved and turned into a museum and memorial site. Visiting this site was one of the things I really wanted to do on this trip. So it was amazing to me that as soon as we were on the train on our way there I had a really visceral and urgent desire NOT to go. I wanted to jump off the train at every stop. I wanted to run away and not force myself to think on these horrible events and how human beings could stray so far from Love. But I managed to allow those feelings to exist...and go forward anyway.
We arrived and had a really great tour guide who gave us a half hour introduction about Dachau. It was one of the first camps of its kind and the model for all camps after that. There were some incredibly inhuman men running the camp who would basically train the humanity out of any Nazi officers or soldiers who came there to be trained. It is really appalling the things that happened on these grounds. We've all heard it before and know it our minds how awful that time way...but to stand there and hear the individual stories of people who struggled and died right on this very spot...it was horrible and I hated it. But I am grateful, beyond words, that I got to have this experience and that these places still exist as a un-ignorable reminder to all of us..."Never Again."
We walked first through several of the camp buildings that has been turned into the museum. A lot of really fascinating information. (Too much information, actually. The museum really needs to be edited down...there is a lot of repetition and after awhile you just can't soak in more facts....). Then we went to "The Bunker" the building used exclusively for the worst kinds of torture. We also toured the barracks were 2000 people were crammed into bunk beds (wooden platforms really) designed for 200. We walked the grounds. Saw the fence that marked the edge of camp and several of the memorial sites and religious sites dedicated to healing the wounds of this place.
We had saved the area of the crematorium and gas chamber for the end of our visit. Just as we were walking over to the gate for that area they closed it and told us we couldn't go in. We had lost track of time and the whole site was being shut down. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to see that area of the camp...but I am sure it was just not something we were meant to see...so there it is.
After that we had some dinner (falaffel)...felt like a**holes for complaining about being hungry or cold or that our feet ached...or anything. We tried to shop for some warmer clothes for the cold night ahead... but only ended up buying a hat. (And Thank God for that hat!). Drank some hot chocolate by the campfire that they have outside The Tent every night. I think the 3 of us pretty much just starred into the fire that night and probably weren't very entertaining...
The next day we set out to see the actual city of Munich. Well, truth be told...there isn't all that much to see. We wandered around the big market, saw some big old places and gardens, went to the English Garden and saw the naked sun bathers, had a giant pretzel. Whoa! Back up there...saw the Naked sun bathers...in the middle of Munich...in Germany...no where near a body of water or temperatures conducive to naked sunbathing?!?!?! Yep. You heard right. For some reason in this normally very button town place...they all go nuders in the park. (Makes it more interesting I guess...)
We got lost trying to find the U-Bahn but finally did make our way back to The Tent and I think we were much more lively at the bonfire our second night. :) Although the boys were trying to show off how 'macho' they were by tending the fire. Clearly none of them have ever had to actually make a fire before because...well...they sucked at it. They would pile all of this wood on the fire and then sit around wondering why it was roaring...I would have to go in, re-arrange, blow on the fire...basic things and then...Boom! things would burn! (Thanks Mom for sending me to camp all those years!)
Our third day in Munich we took another day trip to a place about and hour and a half outside of the city. This is to one of the famous Bavarian Castles...Neuschwanstein. And it just so happens to be THE castle that inspired a certain Walt Disney when he was drawing his "Fairytale Castle." Cool, huh?
After a goodly amount of confusion over the train (part of the rail was down for construction so we had to take a bus the last bit...). We made it up to the castle. The Germans have a very orderly and precise system for getting into the castle. First you MUST take a guided tour. Second you must buy your ticket at the tourist office and your ticket will show a specific time when you are allowed to enter the castle. At your specific time you slide your ticket into the correct turnstile and if you are indeed within your specified time you get to go in. Wow...talk about the antithesis of an Italian system (AKA push and shove and see if there is a way you can get in without paying...).
We decided to be very whimsical and take the carriage ride up the mountain. It was whimsical, charming...quaint...all of those good Disney like things. In the tour of the castle we learned that it was built for a totally nuts-o King who only lived in it for about 90 days before his mysterious death. So only part of the interior or finished...and each room that is finished has a theme from a Wagner Opera, because Crazy King loved Wagner. There were some really amazing views of the castle and the castle from the outside is quite lovely.
Then it was back down the mountain, more forms of transportation than I can remember, a quick dinner and back to the campfire and The Tent. This was the night before the opening of Oktoberfest...so things were starting to reach a bit of a frenzy all over Munich and especially at The Tent where more than 300 people had checked in since we arrived 3 days ago. Wow.
Next Time: Something everyone should do once...and only once, in their lifetime.
Blessings,
KNL
We headed out for our first day after a considerable period of trying to figure out the public transportation system. Munich has an S-Bahn (Suburban railway), U-Bahn (underground railway), Trams and Buses. All of these systems (being German) run amazingly efficiently and quickly...once you understand which ones you want to use that is. But figure it out we did and, after a bite of breakfast we were off.
About one hour outside of Munich is Dachau, the site of one of the Nazi Concentration Camps from WWII. The camp has been preserved and turned into a museum and memorial site. Visiting this site was one of the things I really wanted to do on this trip. So it was amazing to me that as soon as we were on the train on our way there I had a really visceral and urgent desire NOT to go. I wanted to jump off the train at every stop. I wanted to run away and not force myself to think on these horrible events and how human beings could stray so far from Love. But I managed to allow those feelings to exist...and go forward anyway.
We arrived and had a really great tour guide who gave us a half hour introduction about Dachau. It was one of the first camps of its kind and the model for all camps after that. There were some incredibly inhuman men running the camp who would basically train the humanity out of any Nazi officers or soldiers who came there to be trained. It is really appalling the things that happened on these grounds. We've all heard it before and know it our minds how awful that time way...but to stand there and hear the individual stories of people who struggled and died right on this very spot...it was horrible and I hated it. But I am grateful, beyond words, that I got to have this experience and that these places still exist as a un-ignorable reminder to all of us..."Never Again."
We walked first through several of the camp buildings that has been turned into the museum. A lot of really fascinating information. (Too much information, actually. The museum really needs to be edited down...there is a lot of repetition and after awhile you just can't soak in more facts....). Then we went to "The Bunker" the building used exclusively for the worst kinds of torture. We also toured the barracks were 2000 people were crammed into bunk beds (wooden platforms really) designed for 200. We walked the grounds. Saw the fence that marked the edge of camp and several of the memorial sites and religious sites dedicated to healing the wounds of this place.
We had saved the area of the crematorium and gas chamber for the end of our visit. Just as we were walking over to the gate for that area they closed it and told us we couldn't go in. We had lost track of time and the whole site was being shut down. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to see that area of the camp...but I am sure it was just not something we were meant to see...so there it is.
After that we had some dinner (falaffel)...felt like a**holes for complaining about being hungry or cold or that our feet ached...or anything. We tried to shop for some warmer clothes for the cold night ahead... but only ended up buying a hat. (And Thank God for that hat!). Drank some hot chocolate by the campfire that they have outside The Tent every night. I think the 3 of us pretty much just starred into the fire that night and probably weren't very entertaining...
The next day we set out to see the actual city of Munich. Well, truth be told...there isn't all that much to see. We wandered around the big market, saw some big old places and gardens, went to the English Garden and saw the naked sun bathers, had a giant pretzel. Whoa! Back up there...saw the Naked sun bathers...in the middle of Munich...in Germany...no where near a body of water or temperatures conducive to naked sunbathing?!?!?! Yep. You heard right. For some reason in this normally very button town place...they all go nuders in the park. (Makes it more interesting I guess...)
We got lost trying to find the U-Bahn but finally did make our way back to The Tent and I think we were much more lively at the bonfire our second night. :) Although the boys were trying to show off how 'macho' they were by tending the fire. Clearly none of them have ever had to actually make a fire before because...well...they sucked at it. They would pile all of this wood on the fire and then sit around wondering why it was roaring...I would have to go in, re-arrange, blow on the fire...basic things and then...Boom! things would burn! (Thanks Mom for sending me to camp all those years!)
Our third day in Munich we took another day trip to a place about and hour and a half outside of the city. This is to one of the famous Bavarian Castles...Neuschwanstein. And it just so happens to be THE castle that inspired a certain Walt Disney when he was drawing his "Fairytale Castle." Cool, huh?
After a goodly amount of confusion over the train (part of the rail was down for construction so we had to take a bus the last bit...). We made it up to the castle. The Germans have a very orderly and precise system for getting into the castle. First you MUST take a guided tour. Second you must buy your ticket at the tourist office and your ticket will show a specific time when you are allowed to enter the castle. At your specific time you slide your ticket into the correct turnstile and if you are indeed within your specified time you get to go in. Wow...talk about the antithesis of an Italian system (AKA push and shove and see if there is a way you can get in without paying...).
We decided to be very whimsical and take the carriage ride up the mountain. It was whimsical, charming...quaint...all of those good Disney like things. In the tour of the castle we learned that it was built for a totally nuts-o King who only lived in it for about 90 days before his mysterious death. So only part of the interior or finished...and each room that is finished has a theme from a Wagner Opera, because Crazy King loved Wagner. There were some really amazing views of the castle and the castle from the outside is quite lovely.
Then it was back down the mountain, more forms of transportation than I can remember, a quick dinner and back to the campfire and The Tent. This was the night before the opening of Oktoberfest...so things were starting to reach a bit of a frenzy all over Munich and especially at The Tent where more than 300 people had checked in since we arrived 3 days ago. Wow.
Next Time: Something everyone should do once...and only once, in their lifetime.
Blessings,
KNL
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Then We Wandered...and Shopped.
So the next morning we were up early adn ready to get into Venice...problem was we didn't know we had to buy tickets for the shuttle ahead of time...so the 10am shuttle was full. We ended up getting into the city around noon. And then we began what is pretty much the only thing to do in Venice. Wander, shop, get lost and ride the water bus.
I really wish I could report more than that. But that was pretty much it.
Ok, ok, ok...we DID also see St. Marco'square, which was pretty huge and impressive. The thing that made the biggest impression however was not the grand churches and elaborate bell tower but...the pigeons. The square is absolutely covered in pigeons, or as I like to call them 'Flying Rats.' And the grossest part of it was people were actually feeding the pigeons and trying to get the birds to land on them...ewwwwwww! That was just too much for me...so we headed out and got down to some serious wandering, shopping and getting lost. :)
Around dinner time AE and Meg were buying some art work from a street vendor so we asked him for a suggestion of a good (reasonably priced, non-touristy) place to eat. He gave us directions to a "big place, not a small place, a big one" where there were "onyl Venetians, ask any Ventiain, they'll knwo it, only Venitian eat here" and remember its a "big place." So we headed off with our map, his directions adn half a hope of finding the place...but by the miracle of God we walked right to it. And it was a big place and there were lots of Venetians there adn the food was really good and reasonably priced...so we were happy campers.
Then we headed back to the campsight, bought a bottle of wine on the way and spent some time hanging outside with some other folks staying there before heading into bed.
Day two in Venice. Don't get to excited this day consists of a lot of wandering, shopping adn getting lost. Only this time we did most of it on Murano. Murano is one of the islands just outside of the city and it is the one known for all of its glasswork. The amount of glass on this one little island is amazing. I mean, glass everthing...wine bottle stoppers, beads, jewelry, plates, cups, wine glasses, lamps, chess sets, chirstmas ornaments, keychains, etc...and it is all so beautiful. You could easily spend several thousand dollars on stuff here. We, however, treid to contain ourselves a bit more than that. We also got caught in a bit of a downpour in the morning...but after that it cleared up and was really a beautiful sunny day.
Seriously, the whole day was wandering and shopping on Murano. Then back to the main city, dinner at the same place as the night before adn back to the campsight and to bed.
Day 3 in Venice. I think you've got the hang of it by now. Today we wandered and shoppe first at the Rialto market. The famouse outdoor fish adn vegetable market in Venice and then took the waterbus over to Burano, the island just outside of the city known for it's lace. As we headed over to Burano we got caught in another huge downpour...there was even hail! It cleared a bit, but there were several more bursts throughout the day where we'd run into the closest store and buy french fries or a coffee or somethign to wait it out. The we headed back to Vencie proper and (you guessed it) wandered and shopped until it was time for us to go to the train station to catch the overnight train to Munich.
The overnight train was...a trip. (Pun intended). First of all you get these amazingly narrow and short little bunks to sleep in and then you get the strangest Sweedish man you have ever encontered in your entire life...and his wife or mother that share you're compartment. I was SO thanful that I was on the third bunk up becasue I could sort of tune him out. Poor Megan was on the second bunk, right at his head height when standing so she got the brunt of his really fascinating questions. "Whats a Google?" "Who's the Prime Minsiter of Britain?" "How much does and LP cost in America?" I am not kidding.
But we still managed to make it to Munich. We stepped off the train and were immediately struck by how COLD it was. I mean realyl cold. So we stopped at the first coffee/pastry place we found and put on just about ever layer we had with us. And then proceeded to find the tram to our hostel...The Tent.
More about that (and the rest of our German escapade) next time.
Blessings
KNL
I really wish I could report more than that. But that was pretty much it.
Ok, ok, ok...we DID also see St. Marco'square, which was pretty huge and impressive. The thing that made the biggest impression however was not the grand churches and elaborate bell tower but...the pigeons. The square is absolutely covered in pigeons, or as I like to call them 'Flying Rats.' And the grossest part of it was people were actually feeding the pigeons and trying to get the birds to land on them...ewwwwwww! That was just too much for me...so we headed out and got down to some serious wandering, shopping and getting lost. :)
Around dinner time AE and Meg were buying some art work from a street vendor so we asked him for a suggestion of a good (reasonably priced, non-touristy) place to eat. He gave us directions to a "big place, not a small place, a big one" where there were "onyl Venetians, ask any Ventiain, they'll knwo it, only Venitian eat here" and remember its a "big place." So we headed off with our map, his directions adn half a hope of finding the place...but by the miracle of God we walked right to it. And it was a big place and there were lots of Venetians there adn the food was really good and reasonably priced...so we were happy campers.
Then we headed back to the campsight, bought a bottle of wine on the way and spent some time hanging outside with some other folks staying there before heading into bed.
Day two in Venice. Don't get to excited this day consists of a lot of wandering, shopping adn getting lost. Only this time we did most of it on Murano. Murano is one of the islands just outside of the city and it is the one known for all of its glasswork. The amount of glass on this one little island is amazing. I mean, glass everthing...wine bottle stoppers, beads, jewelry, plates, cups, wine glasses, lamps, chess sets, chirstmas ornaments, keychains, etc...and it is all so beautiful. You could easily spend several thousand dollars on stuff here. We, however, treid to contain ourselves a bit more than that. We also got caught in a bit of a downpour in the morning...but after that it cleared up and was really a beautiful sunny day.
Seriously, the whole day was wandering and shopping on Murano. Then back to the main city, dinner at the same place as the night before adn back to the campsight and to bed.
Day 3 in Venice. I think you've got the hang of it by now. Today we wandered and shoppe first at the Rialto market. The famouse outdoor fish adn vegetable market in Venice and then took the waterbus over to Burano, the island just outside of the city known for it's lace. As we headed over to Burano we got caught in another huge downpour...there was even hail! It cleared a bit, but there were several more bursts throughout the day where we'd run into the closest store and buy french fries or a coffee or somethign to wait it out. The we headed back to Vencie proper and (you guessed it) wandered and shopped until it was time for us to go to the train station to catch the overnight train to Munich.
The overnight train was...a trip. (Pun intended). First of all you get these amazingly narrow and short little bunks to sleep in and then you get the strangest Sweedish man you have ever encontered in your entire life...and his wife or mother that share you're compartment. I was SO thanful that I was on the third bunk up becasue I could sort of tune him out. Poor Megan was on the second bunk, right at his head height when standing so she got the brunt of his really fascinating questions. "Whats a Google?" "Who's the Prime Minsiter of Britain?" "How much does and LP cost in America?" I am not kidding.
But we still managed to make it to Munich. We stepped off the train and were immediately struck by how COLD it was. I mean realyl cold. So we stopped at the first coffee/pastry place we found and put on just about ever layer we had with us. And then proceeded to find the tram to our hostel...The Tent.
More about that (and the rest of our German escapade) next time.
Blessings
KNL
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
And Then I Saw Africa
Up early and out on the road to the Rock of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a UK owned territory and so it felt VERY different than Spain. Which seems odd...but there you have it. We took a mini-bus tour of the "Top of The Rock," and it was a good thing we did because there was no way we could have figured it out on our own...and our bus driver was full of funny stories and facts.
We saw: St. Michael's Caves, a big natural cave with stalactites/mites.... and one of the caverns was even big enough for them to have concerts in there, how cool!! The Great Siege Tunnels, man-carved tunnels made as a war-time bunker. Sort of an odd thing to dig tunnels in this huge rock....but there were some neat views of the ocean.
Of course, we saw the only primates in Europe, the monkeys who live on the top of the rock. They are very domesticated (as there are loads of tourists, like us, who come up to see them everyday). One even sat on my shoulder, I was turning to Allison to get a picture when the girl behind me starts yelling "He's gonna poo! He's gonna poo! He pooed one you!!!" That's right folks, a monkey pooed on me. Luckily, (I guess) it was a firm poo and our tour guy just brushed it off. I definitely think I win the "Craziest Thing to Poop on You During Vacation" Award. :)
One of the cool things about Gibraltar is that it is only (something like) 11 km from Africa, so you can look across the strait to another continent. It was a bit foggy on the day we went....but we could still sort of see Africa, which was also cool. It is also cool because at the top of the rock you look to your left and see the Mediterranean and then look to your right and see the Atlantic. Neat!
That's about all there is to do in Gibraltar so we headed back to our room and we didn't even get lost this time. We made dinner and then went out to see if there was much nightlife in Malaga. Answer: No. So we watched some more movies and went to bed.
Next day was supposed to be a beach day...but it was POURING rain all day...so it ended up being a movie/couch day. Remember this week was our vacation from our vacation and we were all still getting over our colds...so we were supposed to be doing nothing. :) And we did a mighty, fine job of it!
The next day was a travel day. Up pretty early, drove to the airport, metro to the train station, train to Madrid, train to Barcelona. We had one night in Barcelona (and since we were sick the last time we were there) we decided to go out and have a true Spanish Night On The Town. :) And we did. We found a club called "Catwalk" right on the beach, crazy expensive drinks but good music. We had a good time...and we're out pretty late...and....it was good. :)
Next morning we walked to the bus station, had breakfast and saw the Arc De Triumf on the way. (Europeans are really into Arc's...I think this is the 4th or 5th one we've seen). Took the bus to Girona and then flew to Venice. We were flying Ryainair, which is a discount airline within Europe. The problem is, even though you can find flights for 1 cent, you never fly to the main airport, you end up a hour or so outside of the city you are trying to get to...and figuring out how to get in can be challenging.) So we got into "Venice" and then took a bus to the train station and then took another bus to our hostel/campground.
It is crazy expensive to stay in the actual city of Venice, so we were staying in a little cabin at a campground about 20 minutes from the city. It was actually a great place, it had it's own restaurant, bar, grocery store and pretty clean bathrooms/showers etc. So we settled in for the night after a passable meal at the restaurant.
I think I'll end there for now. Only 2 cities left to catch up on: Venice and Munich. And of course all the great things about life back up on the mountain!
Blessings,
KNL
We saw: St. Michael's Caves, a big natural cave with stalactites/mites.... and one of the caverns was even big enough for them to have concerts in there, how cool!! The Great Siege Tunnels, man-carved tunnels made as a war-time bunker. Sort of an odd thing to dig tunnels in this huge rock....but there were some neat views of the ocean.
Of course, we saw the only primates in Europe, the monkeys who live on the top of the rock. They are very domesticated (as there are loads of tourists, like us, who come up to see them everyday). One even sat on my shoulder, I was turning to Allison to get a picture when the girl behind me starts yelling "He's gonna poo! He's gonna poo! He pooed one you!!!" That's right folks, a monkey pooed on me. Luckily, (I guess) it was a firm poo and our tour guy just brushed it off. I definitely think I win the "Craziest Thing to Poop on You During Vacation" Award. :)
One of the cool things about Gibraltar is that it is only (something like) 11 km from Africa, so you can look across the strait to another continent. It was a bit foggy on the day we went....but we could still sort of see Africa, which was also cool. It is also cool because at the top of the rock you look to your left and see the Mediterranean and then look to your right and see the Atlantic. Neat!
That's about all there is to do in Gibraltar so we headed back to our room and we didn't even get lost this time. We made dinner and then went out to see if there was much nightlife in Malaga. Answer: No. So we watched some more movies and went to bed.
Next day was supposed to be a beach day...but it was POURING rain all day...so it ended up being a movie/couch day. Remember this week was our vacation from our vacation and we were all still getting over our colds...so we were supposed to be doing nothing. :) And we did a mighty, fine job of it!
The next day was a travel day. Up pretty early, drove to the airport, metro to the train station, train to Madrid, train to Barcelona. We had one night in Barcelona (and since we were sick the last time we were there) we decided to go out and have a true Spanish Night On The Town. :) And we did. We found a club called "Catwalk" right on the beach, crazy expensive drinks but good music. We had a good time...and we're out pretty late...and....it was good. :)
Next morning we walked to the bus station, had breakfast and saw the Arc De Triumf on the way. (Europeans are really into Arc's...I think this is the 4th or 5th one we've seen). Took the bus to Girona and then flew to Venice. We were flying Ryainair, which is a discount airline within Europe. The problem is, even though you can find flights for 1 cent, you never fly to the main airport, you end up a hour or so outside of the city you are trying to get to...and figuring out how to get in can be challenging.) So we got into "Venice" and then took a bus to the train station and then took another bus to our hostel/campground.
It is crazy expensive to stay in the actual city of Venice, so we were staying in a little cabin at a campground about 20 minutes from the city. It was actually a great place, it had it's own restaurant, bar, grocery store and pretty clean bathrooms/showers etc. So we settled in for the night after a passable meal at the restaurant.
I think I'll end there for now. Only 2 cities left to catch up on: Venice and Munich. And of course all the great things about life back up on the mountain!
Blessings,
KNL
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Why Didn't You Just Say So?!?
After 2 days of near-comatose functioning levels on the beach, sauna and pool...we decided it was time for a day trip. We selected Seville, the birthplace of Flamenco, which is a pretty exciting thing for 3 dance majors.
We were up early in the morning (before the sunrise even....but the sun rises in Spain at like 8am, so that isn't as impressive as it sounds.) Got a map and directions at the gas station and headed out for the 2 1/2 hour drive. In that short time we drove through some beautiful and hugely varied countryside. Beach, mountain ranges, hue dessert plains, olive groves. Got into the town of Seville and were promptly lost, which is a bit more stressful in a car than on foot. After finding a parking garage and tourist office we were off..for a seriously full day of sight seeing.
Plaza Nuova: awesome bull statue. Cathedral: HUGE!, Christopher Columbus' Crypt (say that 5 times fast), climbed to the top of the bell tower. They are really into climbing to the top of things in Europe...I have to say, every time I've made the climb up something it is worth it and totally beautiful, but you could burn yourself out in it, I suppose. Real Alcares: Old, Moorish castle, closed but the outside looked cool, just like the castles you draw when you're a kid. Jardins De Murillo: A beautiful, green oasis in the middle of the city. Plaza de Espana: supposed to be THE thing to see in Seville, I was underwhelmed. The fountain/moats were drained of water and everything was crumbling and falling apart. I could see how it COULD be cool...but it, just, wasn't. Parque de Maria Luisa: just a quick walk through...after awhile you start to burn out on churches, parks and museums...so I could be jaded here, but, it was...just a park. Found the street where Megan's sister lived during her semester abroad. Walked by what we thought was the bullring and were unimpressed...looking at the map later we realized it was the National Theater...oops.
Whew! This is one day! I'm tired just writing about it. Then we found dinner...after a lot of searching. Spain really sucks for vegetarians. I ended up with potato salad and gazpacho, not my top choice, but it was pretty good. During our dinner we saw a bunch of people gathering just down the street so we went down to check it out. They were having a dress rehearsal for some outdoor orchestral concert. It was pretty fun so we hung out for a bit. Then headed off to our waiters recommendation of a Flamenco bar. This was it! This is what we came for....
We almost didn't find the place because there was no sign of any kind on the outside of the building. We came in during a break between shows so we ordered drinks and found a decent spot to see the stage. At the top of the hour three people came on stage and one of the men gave the audience a firm lecture about no filming and being quiet during the show. They played about 4 numbers, some with just singing and guitar and the last 2 with dance. Half way through we got another lecture about being quiet during the show. We even got the "If you guys want to talk, we'll just leave and let you talk." line. I felt like a 3rd grader being scolded...it seriously put a damper on the show for me. (I mean, if you want silence while you perform, got o a concert hall...not a BAR where they serve LIQUOR...what do you expect?)
Overall, (even leaving out the lectures), I was a bit disappointed in the Flamenco. It is supposed to be all about passion...and the female dancer mostly looked bored. I would say that if you are ever in Seville DON"T go to Carboneria to see Flamenco.
It was getting late and we had a bit of a drive in front of us so we headed back to the car. This is where the fun really started. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot it was raining and a few minutes later it was POURING. So we got lost trying to get back to the freeway. Finally we stopped at an Irish Pub (why are those everywhere?) and got directions to what we were pretty sure was the right freeway. Whew...not too much time lost. After 2 hours on the freeway we somehow managed to miss the exit to our resort and get onto a toll road and some other random beach road...and, well we were all over the place. We finally were turned around in what we though was the right direction. As we came through the toll booth we asked the guy for directions...just to be sure. He informed us that the road we had been looking for had a NEW NAME. That bit of information could have saved us a lot of frustrated car time. But, we finally made it back around 5am and crashed.
The next day was going to be a beach day...but it was still cloudy and threatening rain. So we found an Internet point, napped and watched videos. A perfect recovery day.
That's it for now. Next time you'll learn all about our adventures in Gibraltar! Woo-Hoo!
Blessings,
KNL
We were up early in the morning (before the sunrise even....but the sun rises in Spain at like 8am, so that isn't as impressive as it sounds.) Got a map and directions at the gas station and headed out for the 2 1/2 hour drive. In that short time we drove through some beautiful and hugely varied countryside. Beach, mountain ranges, hue dessert plains, olive groves. Got into the town of Seville and were promptly lost, which is a bit more stressful in a car than on foot. After finding a parking garage and tourist office we were off..for a seriously full day of sight seeing.
Plaza Nuova: awesome bull statue. Cathedral: HUGE!, Christopher Columbus' Crypt (say that 5 times fast), climbed to the top of the bell tower. They are really into climbing to the top of things in Europe...I have to say, every time I've made the climb up something it is worth it and totally beautiful, but you could burn yourself out in it, I suppose. Real Alcares: Old, Moorish castle, closed but the outside looked cool, just like the castles you draw when you're a kid. Jardins De Murillo: A beautiful, green oasis in the middle of the city. Plaza de Espana: supposed to be THE thing to see in Seville, I was underwhelmed. The fountain/moats were drained of water and everything was crumbling and falling apart. I could see how it COULD be cool...but it, just, wasn't. Parque de Maria Luisa: just a quick walk through...after awhile you start to burn out on churches, parks and museums...so I could be jaded here, but, it was...just a park. Found the street where Megan's sister lived during her semester abroad. Walked by what we thought was the bullring and were unimpressed...looking at the map later we realized it was the National Theater...oops.
Whew! This is one day! I'm tired just writing about it. Then we found dinner...after a lot of searching. Spain really sucks for vegetarians. I ended up with potato salad and gazpacho, not my top choice, but it was pretty good. During our dinner we saw a bunch of people gathering just down the street so we went down to check it out. They were having a dress rehearsal for some outdoor orchestral concert. It was pretty fun so we hung out for a bit. Then headed off to our waiters recommendation of a Flamenco bar. This was it! This is what we came for....
We almost didn't find the place because there was no sign of any kind on the outside of the building. We came in during a break between shows so we ordered drinks and found a decent spot to see the stage. At the top of the hour three people came on stage and one of the men gave the audience a firm lecture about no filming and being quiet during the show. They played about 4 numbers, some with just singing and guitar and the last 2 with dance. Half way through we got another lecture about being quiet during the show. We even got the "If you guys want to talk, we'll just leave and let you talk." line. I felt like a 3rd grader being scolded...it seriously put a damper on the show for me. (I mean, if you want silence while you perform, got o a concert hall...not a BAR where they serve LIQUOR...what do you expect?)
Overall, (even leaving out the lectures), I was a bit disappointed in the Flamenco. It is supposed to be all about passion...and the female dancer mostly looked bored. I would say that if you are ever in Seville DON"T go to Carboneria to see Flamenco.
It was getting late and we had a bit of a drive in front of us so we headed back to the car. This is where the fun really started. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot it was raining and a few minutes later it was POURING. So we got lost trying to get back to the freeway. Finally we stopped at an Irish Pub (why are those everywhere?) and got directions to what we were pretty sure was the right freeway. Whew...not too much time lost. After 2 hours on the freeway we somehow managed to miss the exit to our resort and get onto a toll road and some other random beach road...and, well we were all over the place. We finally were turned around in what we though was the right direction. As we came through the toll booth we asked the guy for directions...just to be sure. He informed us that the road we had been looking for had a NEW NAME. That bit of information could have saved us a lot of frustrated car time. But, we finally made it back around 5am and crashed.
The next day was going to be a beach day...but it was still cloudy and threatening rain. So we found an Internet point, napped and watched videos. A perfect recovery day.
That's it for now. Next time you'll learn all about our adventures in Gibraltar! Woo-Hoo!
Blessings,
KNL
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