We're in Vienna! Yeah I Donau either...

We decided to waltz down to Vienna after being shut out of our Budapest train. We aren't yet in Europe's peak season but this is closer than I have ever been (while backpacking) so I am still getting used to the idea of hostels/trains/restaurants etc being booked.

Just before leaving Krakow, I messaged a former colleague, Joachim, and told him that I would be in Vienna and that maybe we could meet up for a beer. He ended up treating us to lunch, showing us around the world's oldest zoo at Schoenbrunn and inviting us over to his house. We started off our Viennese tour with a stop at Minoritenkirche right off the Herrengasse metro stop for a look at the Last Supper. Yeah you heard right. Apparently Napoleon was fond of the Da Vinci original in Milan so he commissioned a mosaic copy that he intended to swap out with the original. As a nice surprise, Joachim had never seen this.

He then showed us the oldest cathedral in Vienna dating back to the 1100s. It is easy to miss if you don't know what you are looking for. From the Stephansdom entrance you may notice the outline of a cathedral a few meters away. On that site there was a 12th century cathedral that was torn down in the 1700s. It was largely forgotten about until the metro workers, while tunneling stumbled into an open space...the basement of the cathedral. The remnants are viewable through a window in the Stephansdomplatz metro station but it is tucked away a little and easily overlooked. That night we went to see the Indiana Jones movie in English at a local theater. It was a throwback to the times when megaplexes didn't exist (which has its advantages and disadvantages).

The following day Joachim and his son came with us to the world's oldest zoo at Schoenbrunn. It hosts an impressive array of animals: pandas, hippos, penguins, sea lions, and even bats. In a "Jungle House" exhibit, bats fly freely (though mostly they just hang on the ceiling. But in the Bat Cave exhibit, the lights are off and you can feel then whistling past your hair! We returned to the hostel, Ruthsteiner's Summer house and made a big bowl of fettuccine alfredo with chicken, broccoli and carrots. We had made so much that we had some left over for the two person staff who were awesome during our stay. Luke and Keesha you two rock :)

That night we went to the Opera which is always a great experience regardless of what is happening. As I mentioned on the blog the last time I was in Vienna, if you show up to the ticket counter 2 hours before show time you can usually get a standing room seat for 2-3 euros which is worth it just to see the inside. We were decidedly underdressed for the occasion. The Viennese crowd attends the Staatsopera in business or even formal wear. My travelpunk tshirt and jeans seemed a bit out of place. After the show, the audience gave a 3 minute long standing ovation during which there were no less than four curtain calls. As the applause died down they still came out which was hilariously awkward. So with that we decided to start applauding like ANIMALS in order to coax another trip out. The three of us and another 3-4 wise guys in the standing room only section got them out 2 more times. Each time with less of their costume on!

On the last day in Vienna I was arranging Em and Cheryl's trip to Venice while trying to get myself to Slovenia and still do some laundry that was badly overdue. The washing machine left my clothes soaked since I didn't fully read the instructions which made the drying take hours and they still didn't complete. The damp clothes then smelled even worse. My train to Ljubljana would have required a change in Salzburg and an arrival at 2a. None of that was particularly attractive to me so I was thinking of staying another day in Vienna when I got word from Dad that he had the Holiday Inn points to put the girls up in a Crown Plaza just outside of Venice proper. Hmm...

So the three of us headed to Venice that night :D

Venezia: The Venice of Italy

Last time I was in Venice was during the Torino Olympics and it happened to coincide with the first day of Carnivale which was an extra cool bonus. The weather was a little dreary and my impression of it was a cool little town that was absolutely artificial. Every shop was selling masks, batteries, maps and other touristy kitsch stuff. Restaurants menus resembled the Rosetta stone, Gelaterias were everywhere, and high end clothing shops rounded out the remaining businesses. This time, I felt like people lived in Venice, and while still very touristy, I had a much better appreciation for it. The first order of business was to get some gelato. The creamy Italian specialty that NEVER tastes as good in any other country. I have tried it all over Europe and in the states and there is always something missing.

Em using her mother's spider's sense when it comes to bargains found a garage/chruch sale on the outskirts of town where she picked up a small Carnivale mask at 1/4 price. We wandered back and found a nice Chinese restaurant where we ate some dinner by the canal for a surprisingly reasonable price.

Day two we spent heading toward San Marco square. There are signs in most alleys leading you there, but (un?)fortunately the twisting maze of Venice makes it so easy to lose your direction and yourself that you end up not caring as much about your destination. As a result we ended up arriving a little too late.

The last item on the tourist trap list was a gondola ride. They charge you 80 euros for up to 5 people. As we cringed and divvied it up into thirds we met a couple from Miami on their honeymoon who were thrilled by the idea of splitting it 5 ways. Good luck Steve. We'll post a video somewhat shortly.

We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed lying in bed. I ended up passing on a shower figuring I would do it in the morning. That turned out to be a hilariously bad idea. The next day in Venice we started by eating at a restaurant called Restorante di Bepi. I give it two thumbs down even though the food was ok. I thought we had strayed far enough off the tourist trail (this was in Venice Mestre instead of the Venice everyone thinks of)...

The owner is this obese slob who is rude as hell. Cheryl and I ordered our food and as Em tried to decipher the menu he leaned on his fists breathing heavily. She buckled under the pressure and said just bread. Haha poor Emy. The food came out a little late and as we finished up we had 20 minutes to get back to the train. We asked for the bill. 10 minutes later, in a near empty restaurant, nothing. So we nodded to one of our servers. Still nothing. So I got tired of their crap and went up to get a menu to add it up myself and we left the money on the table. I didn't see a price for the drinks but figured it couldn't be more than the service charge and for such crappy service I wasn't inclined to pay it anyway. So we left and 100m down the street the guy comes waddling out yelling for us to come back that we didn't pay enough.

Our bill was itemized and he said, "You didn'tah pay the cover noabody wants your money". Which wasn't true, he was very interested in my extra 10 euros. He also said he was waiting with the bill for me...if he had been you would think he would have come over when I was doing his job for him. The back and forth escalated to a screaming match where I called him and his restaurant a steaming pile of shit. I hope this fat douche dies of a carbonara induced heart attack at 45. Next time you go to a restaurant in the states and you get service and don't have problems with your meal, try to appreciate it, the rest of the world doesn't always operate that way...

By 2ish I was planning on heading to Trieste then Slovenia but the line for the tickets was too long so I followed Em and Cheryl to Rome. Now I plan to loop the Adriatic and fly out of Venice...for now anyway :D

--Joey

Polishing off Pierogies in Krakow

No trip to Poland should be complete without a plate of boiled or fried pierogies. Krakow, often called "the next Prague", is a bit more expensive than the rest of Eastern Europe but it still offers up some pretty good deals even in the central parts of the city. For example, U Babci Maliny, a small chain of traditional Polish restaurants, sells a massive plate of Pierogies (probably enough for two people) for between 3-7 bucks. Throw on a bowl of hot pea soup and half a liter of Zywiec and you can walk out stuffed for less than 10 bucks. It caters to tourists and locals alike.

Due to the poor weather the three days in Krakow were spent primarily at this restaurant. Day one was a tour of Nowa Huta, the Soviet response to the beautiful architecture of the main square. The goal was to create a centrally planned utopia for the industrial workers. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of this industry and most of the raw materials had to be shipped in from all over the country. Today it attracts tourists interested in the ugly style of communist architecture that cropped up one identical block at a time. We spent the afternoon at a local pizzeria and took advantage of being reasonably far from the center of town. Between the four of us we spent only about 25 bucks, including our transportation to and from.

Day two, as I already wrote, was spent at the Auschwitz memorial and Day 3 rained us out which kept us pretty local to the hostel (which was actually a welcome change). Day 4, Em and Cheryl ended up making an impromptu visit to the castle while the weather briefly cooperated and said it was great. The night train to Budapest was booked so we opted for Vienna instead.

--Joey

From Bed to Wurst

Em and I didn't sleep much our last night in Barcelona. The alarm went off around 4, and I rolled out of the top bunk. We had a 5a bus to Girona and then a flight to Bremen where our friend Wiebke, or VB as we call her, lives. We also had to worry about our weight. You see, Ryan Air, while cheaper than the average night in a hostel for those that book ahead, also charges you about 15 bucks a pound for luggage over 33lbs. So I wore my jacket, moved the heavier items to my day bag and wore two pairs of pants. 15kg exactly. The flight was pretty meh like my last one and I am pretty sure there is no reclining the seats, but I did fly for 20 euros all told.

VB greeted us at the airport and showed us around downtown Bremen and we had a traditional German lunch with a Franizkaner hefeweizen beer. She lives a bit outside the city so we took a train to her village and from there her mom drove us to her farm where we met her brother and father. They are incredibly nice people :)

The weather turned rainy so we bailed on going out. The next day was May 1st; the non American world's labor day. Which is celebrated pretty much the same way we do. Bbq, brats (the best Bratwursts), beer, and the like. We even built a grill for the occasion (VB's dad got it as a gift for his birthday days earlier) and drank the local brew, Becks. They were quite impressed that we had heard/had Beck's in the states. Little do they know that is probably the most famous German brewed beer on our side of the pond. Fat and full we rode out a quick rain storm and had a bonfire in the yard.

Day 3 on the farm was a rainout so we went down to Bremen Haven for a kebab and a look at the North sea. The following day was really cool. In the afternoon we drove out to the North Sea. At low tide you can walk for miles from the coast in ankle deep water. It is really bizarre! That evening we hit up a barn party that brought people from every neighboring village to hear live music in a quasi circus atmosphere.

We took a train to Hamburg and then split ways. Her back to Bremen for her flight and me to Berlin.

--Joey

Auschwitz Tour

This is the 3rd Concentration Camp I have visited (the others being Mauthausen and Dachau) but it was by far the worst, both in terms of its emotional impact and the nature of the camp. Like before, the feeling is undeniably haunting but contrary to the previous visits, the weather was appropriately raw; around 50F and raining. I think God was crying along with us.

There is a visitor's center that serves food (a noticeable difference between Mauthausen and Dachau), a gift shop (which at the onset gave me really mixed feelings. Fortunately it is tastefully done and they offer books, ponchos, batteries, disposable cameras and footage of the liberation), and a projection room that shows footage taken by the Russians on and after liberation day; January 27, 1945.

I have read a fair amount about the Holocaust (and Auschwitz in particular) so there may have been fewer surprises for me than there were for others. For starters, Auschwitz is often incorrectly used as the name for Birkenau and the entire camp complex. There were three camps. The original camp (Auschwitz), the extermination camp (Birkenau), and an industrial work plant that produced synthetic rubber (Monowice-Bunawerke). With the latter being destroyed, visitors can only tour Auschwitz and Birkenau.

A guide speaks into a microphone and we listen through headphones. As I walked through the infamous Arbeit Mach Frei (work brings freedom) sign in Auschwitz I felt a little confused. I believed that sign to have been seen by the millions of victims as they entered. The overwhelming majority never saw the cynical slogan. I felt oddly normal walking on the roads between the housing complexes.

It is easier to forget the atrocities when you are surrounded by 20 other people. But as time and the tour went on it drained everyone in the group. The camp was originally meant for Polish soldiers and then after the September 1st invasion it was used by the Nazis. The barrack tour starts with a little history and maps from Nazi occupied Europe. As it moves on it shows trains of mostly Jewish prisoners arriving. Disturbing photos of families aligned after selection; their death in the gas chambers a fait accompli, horrifically malnourished children, twin victims of Mengele's sadistic experiments along with glasses, suitcases, shoes and other personal artifacts. But it was the hair that was worst.

There is a room with filled with human hair. From ceiling to near floor, and 20 yards long. When you say a million people died, you can just as easily say 100,000, 10,000 or 10 million. Humans don't handle numbers that large very well and orders of magnitude are as easily lost as adding commas and zeros... but the hair both makes it intensely personal and gives you a sense of the scale. 14,000 lbs of hair were recovered from Auschwitz...and that was what was only what was left after it had been used for packing textile industries and the like for the entire course of the war.

Next was a prison within the prison for inmates who broke the rules (which ranged from working too slowly, to relieving yourself outside of the two designated times per day) and horrific punishments (hanging people by their arms, starvation chambers, suffocation rooms) that seem more fitting in a medieval museum than in a 20th century memorial.

The tour finishes the with a reconstruction of the Auschwitz gas chamber and crematory. Nazis sensing the Russians would be in Poland shortly thereafter destroyed as much of the evidence as possible. Some historians believe only 7% of the paperwork to have survived the this coverup. You can only wonder what they were thinking.

We finished the Auschwitz tour and boarded a bus for the roughly 2 mile journey to Birkenau. It was standing room only but there were no complaints. The group reconvened just beyond the infamous watchtower. From there we walked to the barracks to see models of how they lived. Prisoners who worked emptying the toilets had the most desirable jobs because they worked inside and because they smelled so badly, the kapos and other blockfuhrers didn't want to get close enough to beat them.

Finally we ended with the remains of the crematoria which haven't been moved much since WWII. Since we tend to think of trash as needing removal, seeing it as it was in 1945 closed the 63 year gap and made it feel uncomfortably recent.

By this time we were numb both emotionally from the day and physically from the cold, so we headed back. If you climb the watchtower you can see from one end of the camp to the other, something you can't do on the ground. I completely underestimated how large the camp was.

When I hear holocaust deniers coming up with Zionist conspiracies to explain the founding of Israel or at least minimizing numbers suggesting the scope of the crimes was vastly exaggerated, I am strongly sympathetic to the idea this atrocity could not possibly have happened.

How I wish they were right.

--Joey

Bewitching Andorra

If you have heard of this city-state, pat yourself on the back. Outside of countries sharing a border with the Pyrenees, those seeking ski heaven and a tax haven it is relatively unknown...even among our European friends.

The scenery here is really nothing short of spectacular. Due to it's location, and Andorra la Vella's setting in the valley; you can literally see mountains in every direction from every point in town. Anyone spending time in Barcelona owes it to themselves to check out this beautiful place.

Our first night, Joeda had a craving for KFC. The woman at the front desk insisted to me that restaurant didn't exist. 15 minutes later I was walking back through the fancy glass doors with a bucket of chicken. Day two in Andorra la V(B?)ella started with a hearty breakfast of Napolitanas de Chocolate, meats, cheeses, eggs, yogurt, and OJ. From there we headed to Arinsal to take a hike. As amazing as the scenery is in the capital, as you go forward 3 miles or so, it gets mind blowing! After that long tough day, I went to the town's spa called the Caldea which was AMAZING!

Because I got there after 8:30pm, it was only 24 Euros. The building was so futuristic looking. Inside, the stairs were spiraled and illuminated by blue LED's. The dressingrooms were cool: set up like this. From the dressingroom you go through the shower area then into the bathing area. The main lagoon was huge! and the water was perfect - just the way I like it (87-90 degrees). It wasn't too crowded which was awesome so I had a lot of room to swim around - kind of like fountains - overflowed water into the lagoon. There were mini waterfalls that you could go under and the whole lagoon had vanishing edges - REALLY cool idea! The lagoon went outside via a canal that had plastic flaps covering the exit. I swam under it like at the Jacksonville pool (just a Mom and Dad reference). It was probably 60 degrees outside so the hot water felt even better. It reminded me a lot of the night we went to the onsen in Japan. The Caldea has a "fitness" area that was a maze of saunas, blacklight rooms, the desert hot air bath/tunnel, polar room that had snow and ice. This area was really fun to explore. The other really neat area of the Caldea was the Roman baths. At night it is dark with very low lighting (from candles) and I was alone so it was extra meditative. There was a light show in the main lagoon - Actually, it was a little trippy...a big sun face that at the end of the night eventually turned into a moon face and the moonface would nod off and blink its eyes until it fell asleep...and from the ceiling dropped colorfully lit planets with faces in them that spun around. Then an illuminated pirate ship sailed through the air from one side of the lagoon to the other. All to the tune of plunky music from a xylaphone. Some images were projected on the water like the Fantasmic show at MGM. The spa also had a bunch of facial and body treatments. It's a funny thing about pampering and perceptions of luxury. Having Belgian chocolate painted on your body = sophisticated. Having chocolate crummies around the corners of your mouth...not so much. For anyone planning their honeymoon/ anniversary, I highly recommend the Caldea!!

Breaks from hostels can be welcome and this 3 star hotel was the same price as our hostel in Barcelona (if you count the included breakfast) for the low season. Unfortunately, we don't really deserve to stay in nice places. During our stay here I set a croissant on fire, left hair in the bathtub, Joey broke a glass, we checked out late and left finger nail clippings in the lobby. That's how we roll...

--Emily

Bayerning for some Bavaria

These posts are chronologically out of order. I'll go back and cover Berlin and Bremen a little later.

The bus ride from Berlin started at 8:15 and concluded around 4:30p. We had a stop around noonish for "5 minutes" which meant that the rest stop that sold food and the like was 2 minutes too far to go. Then about 25 minutes later there was another 10 minute stop. I don't get it. Since the first one was at a rest stop and the second one was in a town, how about letting us have a 15 minute stop at the next place so we can all get something, you know, to eat? It was the first time I have said to myself "This makes NO sense at all" in Germany. While on board I met a guy who looked uncannily like our roommate for a day in Salamanca, Sebastien. He was from Munich (two stops from Aying) and I think I remember him saying he had a brother. So just out of curiosity I asked this guy if he was originally from Munich. Yup. "By any chance do you have a brother named Sebastien?" No...but my name is Sebastien. That was pretty weird. I showed him a photo that was left on my camera and he agreed so much he wants me to send him a bigger photo of the Sebastien I know.

I went for a walk around the Marienplatz and despite the throngs of tourists (more than I have seen in my last two visits) I still love the area. I got word that Em missed her flight from London but Cheryl didn't so I would meet her at the hostel. Em spent the night in Stansted airport which I am sure she'll tell you about.



The next day we scrapped our plans for a Neuschwanstein visit because of Em getting in a little late. A perfect day for an Aying day trip which happens to be my 4th time to the biervonhimmeldorf. The open air beer garden is so nice. We had half a chicken, some kartoffelsalat, and 1L of a helles good beer. Chamber of commerce weather, great food/beer along with some typical Bavarian music from the accordionist rounded out the gemutlichkeit hat trick. One of best parts of ordering beer in German is that I am quite accustomed to saying "Una mas" to get my next 8oz in Spain, and now I just say "Eine Maß" to get my next liter in Germany ;)

Feeling full we decided to go for a walk to Peiß, the next town over. As rare as it is for visitors to hit up Aying, Peiß makes it look like Zone 1 London. Along the way, Em and I both peed in the same woods (at different times smart ass) that my father took an emergency schieße back 2 years ago.

Since Em was on fumes and Cheryl might be coming down with something we called it an early night back at my home away from home in Germany, the Wombat hostel.


I can't believe I know four people who have been to that rail stop :D

Tschus!

--Joey

Gaudacious!

I am now firmly in the camp with everyone who didn't get robbed (and maybe a few that did) in Barcelona: we love it. It's center oozes "cool". For a place that gave me such a bad first impression, I now consider it among my favorite "big cities" in Europe.

Em and I stayed, primarily, at Sant Jordi Arago right off of Arago and Passeig de Gracias (a main road in town). It is yards away from the Gaudi masterpiece Casa Batllo. It's skeletal frame and soft curves with bright colors give off a vibe that is as whimsical as it is macabre.

The hostel organizes regular events (pub crawls and dinners) so on our 2nd day we headed to Frico's for the FC Barcelona vs Manchester United. It was the game EVERYONE was talking about. The ramblas were overwhelmed by ManU fans supporting their team. Every newspaper, every nook of the city was ready to explode if Barcelona could manage the upset. Naturally, we were root root rooting for the home team. Not because I care about the sport (much less the team) but because I am always a fan of people making noise until 5a. After a hard fought match, the game ended the way it began: 0-0. Excuse me while I hock up a cheek busting 25cl mouthful of loogie and spit it right onto the steps of Sagrada Familia. How can a tie for a game so big possibly be acceptable? This is the champions league! I just don't get it. Games should have winners and losers. A tie should leave everyone feeling miserable and yet there were people still in the streets reenacting parts of the game; "Remember when the guy from Brazil went like this :moves feet around: yeah!" Oh who cares...

The next day we were off to Sagrada familia, Gaudi's most famous work in progress. The Cathedral is expected to be finished in 2026 for the 100th anniversary of his death. The nativity facade is amazing in it's intricacy. It is like Gaudi decided to melt an existing cathedral. When all is said and done it is expected to be 550ft tall. To put that in perspective, the Dom of Cologne is "only" 515ft. Given our extra days in Barcelona we decided not to go inside since we would have only been able to see the first floor (no climbing the towers) and even then we had 30 minutes before it closed. So we instead marveled at it from the outside (apparently the consensus from everyone is that the inside is a bit disappointing).

On Friday, we were rounding out our final day in Barcelona with a girl we met at the hostel. We did a tour of Mont Juic (trying to catch the Magic Fountain which, outside of the summer tourist season, only has shows on Friday and Saturday. The fountain was built in the 20s but suffered from years of neglect. When the olympics were awarded to Barcelona it was fully refurbished and has been wowing visitors ever since with its mix of lights, water and music. Unfortunately, we showed up a little late and only caught the tail end of it. One more thing on the next time list...along with the inside of Sagrada Familia.

The next day we got our bus to Andorra la Vella which Em will tell you about...





--Joey

Quick update

Em and I are in Hamburg. We will update with a post on Andorra, Barcelona, and Bremen shortly. Hang tight :)

--Joey

Life in Spain

Our final day in Salamanca starts with a piso tour of rooms not covered in Life in Spain 6 and continues on through the next morning to show what Salamanca is like on the weekends.



--Joey

100th Post

My lil ol' travel blog has finally reached 100 posts. I feel it is particularly apropo that the milestone be reached in the city where I wrote my first post from the road: Barthelona! Thanks to everyone who has read the 99 ramblas in the interrim. Hopefully I have another 100 in me before my backpacking life ends.

Em and I celebrated our last night in Salamanca with a few of our new roommates. We had a pretty delicious Fettucini Alfredo with some veggies. Not knowing exactly how many people would show up, we prepared for a worst case scenario of everyone we invited coming and we low balled the serving size. Consequently our 12 big appetite servings, 18 for normal people, were shared among the 7 of us. Combined with deviled eggs and finished off with my ersatz bananas foster.

So with that we all sat around and chatted before leaving for a few Salamanca bars like La Chupiteria (literally, the shot place), Cubic, and a few others. Around 3am we had to decide whether to stay up, or head back. The train was at 8a, so we had to leave by 7a meaning to pack up required us back at 6a so sleep was either not going to happen or it had to happen right then. Nahhh....

Exhausted, we headed to the train station and bought our ticket to Barcelona. It was about 9 euros per person more than it said on the website for Saturday. The 12 hour train ride ended with an arrival in Estacio Sants the unofficial parliament for the pickpocketing capital of Western Europe. Ironically, it didn't feel like it. It was mostly empty (contrary to the other three times I have seen it) and but among the very few people there were Vb and Sophie who welcomed two weary travelers to the metropolis. Turned out they lived two stops from our hostel off a back alley of Plaça Reál. On day one we headed out to a greek place that offered up some of the best kebabs ever, and afterwards called it an early night.

Adieu,

--Joey

Life in Spain 7



On this Life in Spain vlog, Em and I head to Avila in search of Yemas and a photo I took 2 years ago.

--Joey

Via Libre

I found this place downstairs (literally) from my apartment (47 Gran Via). I have stopped heading to the Plaza Mayor to do my internet-ing. There you pay 1 Euro per hour for a connection on slightly older computers (still a deal, especially given the location). In the past I would spend about two hours there, get a drink and blow between 3-4 euros. In Via Libre, I get a Ca~a of beer for 1,50 then it comes with a tapa (I usually choose Bacalao--the fried and salty fish goes great with a creamy Estrella Galicia), and for an extra 50 cents I get a potato salad. So for 2 euros I can stay all day long and get some food. Most days I spend around 5 euros and get another beer and tapa or two.

Only downside is I wreak of smoke especially after "rush hour" since Gran Via is on a lot of people's way home.

--Joey

Life in Spain 6



On this life in Spain Salamanca celebrates Lunes de Aguas and the return of prostitutes from the banishment during Lent.

Enjoy!

--Joey

Avila's Home Again

I have mentioned on previous blog entries about my favorite untouristed touristy spot in Spain; Avila. Most Iberian bound travelers will be lucky to see it from the window of their train on the way to Salamanca. It is a either a shame or a blessing depending on your point of view. It is nice to be traipsing around 900+ years of history without every fannypack yellow umbrella follower getting in the way of your photos on the other hand, people are missing out on this day trip gem. Meh, I'm selfish I'll keep it the way it is.

The attraction for non Catholics, is the wall--called La Muralla; Avila is also the home to Saint Teresa of Avila. Em and I took the 12:40 train there for about 16 euros roundtrip. For people that like buses, you can do the same for 10. For people traveling with my sister, you spend the extra 6 euros ;)

The wall is roughly 1 km or so from train station so when you pull up you can see from end to end. Very impressive. Having seen this lovely pueblo twice, like a few things I have revisited, the wow wears off a bit. Although that is to be expected. Jokes aren't as funny the second time around and movies dubbed classics make you scratch your head at times.

Disculpe, donde esta 40.653466, -4.696451?

There is something here I wanted to see which is a bit different than most people. Two years ago, I took a photo that turned out by chance to be possibly my favorite of the thousands I have taken. I didn't realize it fully until I dumped it on my computer almost a week later. So one of my goals was to find this place. A tricky task. When I took it, it seemed good but not thinking much of it at the time, I took no steps to think about where exactly it was. I had a vague idea (which turned out to be right) that it was on the back side of the wall or near the back side of the wall.

Em and I wandered for hours looking for the place. I decided that it was probably not going to happen...at least not in time to see it in different light. Because Angela and I passed by at twilight, it is forever foggily sealed in my imagination the way it exists there. Part of me wondered if I wanted to see it any other way. There is something to be said for keeping it as it was in my mind. If I took a better photo with my better camera, would I really want to replace my first one? It wouldn't represent the same feelings or mentality I had when I took it. The photos I plan on hanging on the walls of my future house, should be more than a pretty picture, I want it to represent about that 1/8th of a second of time when it was taken with all the associated feelings and thoughts that went along with it.

We had lunch/dinner at a cafe called Bar Havana (alas no luck finding Cuban food, just burgers) when I noticed they had a few computers. So I jumped on took a look at the photo on my blog, photoed the screen and headed off with new found energy. I think I had seen the top of the cathedral in the background! Sometimes Dad will tell me he has no idea who he is rooting for in a random football game until one team scores or messes up and the outburst is off the cuff. Similarly, I wanted to find this place. No doubt :)


We got a bit turned around and as we found ourselves near a belltower I recognized from last time and we kept poking around the grounds because it looked promising. Having covered it from every angle I was resigned to not finding it again, only this time I knew I was going to be disappointed. More walking up narrow paths up to the wall and I see a familiar arch, with the top of a tree that doesn't appear to belong in Spain. YES! I ran up and as the road bent around I see a hemisphere of stone.

Bingo! Now that I had found it, I wanted to get some more information. If future generations were to do what I have done with my father's photos I would need to get them some details on what and where this is. I now know exactly what it is and EXACTLY where it is ;)

Turns out it is called El Convento de Nuestra Se~ora de Gracias. The street is Cuesta de Gracias and is a stone's throw from the Muralla. I remember Angela telling me she thought the courtyard felt spiritual and I agreed, and then whipped out the camera. The Convent was from the 1980s. Wow, only as old as me? Kind of a metaphysical bummer. A little more research showed that it founded in the 1500s but burned down in the 1700s. In the 200 years that followed it was decided that it should be a national monument. 40 years later it was reconstructed in its present form.

If you decide to take a day trip to Avila from Madrid (or Salamanca), make sure you take the last train back. The wall at night is really pretty.



--Joey

(post out of order*) The Exquiste Mezquita

Our 2nd full day back in Sevilla played a familiar unpunctual tune. It started with me seeing off Hwei and her friends from a night of tapas at Bar Esclava. By the time I saw them off from the bus station and made the long walk back to Santa Cruz and Mendez Pelayo I was pretty beat. I left a note for the Tios at the front desk but it never got to them so when they arrived early the next morning, we sent them along and decided to meet them there on the next train.

The ride there was on a quasi express train that gave the two of us some extra sleeping time. We rendezvoused with them at the bus stop all the tourists use to get to the Mezquita and headed to an open air cafe. The food was awesome which isn't always a guarantee in a centrally located touristy place as most of their patrons are one time visitors.

Their return ticket to Sevilla was three hours afterwards so we had enough time to lunch it up a bit head to the Mezquita courtyard and then send them off. Architecturally the place is pretty interesting, the courtyard is duplicated all over Andalucia. The arches outlining the former mosque feel like a forest of trees. If you align yourself just right, you may not be able to see from one end of the building to another.

We had just enough time to check out the old baths of Cordoba underground. The entrance to the place is non descript but the tour was interesting and worth the price of 1 euro. At the station we jumped on the first train back and purchased our tickets on board. Some of the trains in Spain allow you to do this with out paying anything extra. Really helps with you are pressed for time.

Back at Samay we made some breakfast for dinner and realized that Granny's French Toast is just so much better than ours it is ridiculous. We hung out with some of the typical assortment of travelers you see in the offseason (mostly study-abroad kids on vacation, long term travellers, and Australians). I met a girl who knew Hwei there so I sent some stickers that I had been meaning to give her. Funny how stuff like that works although I am getting somewhat numb to the coincidence thing.

We went back to the Alcazar the next day and did the typical tour pointed out the guy that looks like a colleague of Dad's and headed back to Samay where our Tios' luggage was hanging out under the stairs. They took a cab and went back to Lisbon via that crazy bus journey. We had our own trip the next day, Saturday, to Madrid. It was the same bus that Hwei and her amigas took a few days earlier. We had a really rough night's sleep on a hot humid bus. Around 3a we made a stop at a place called Pedro Abad in the middle of nowhere. So it stood as this neon bathed building in the blackness that extended in every direction to the horizon. Spain is kind of weird that way. I have know idea where the employees that work there actually live (maybe there, for all I know).

At the Madrid bus station there were lots of sleep deprived people awaiting their early morning bus ride to wherever. Once the metro opened Em and I jumped on and headed to Chamartin to take the train to Salamanca. We had 25 minutes for a quick chocolate con churros y cafe con leche breakfast before heading off westward. Without a place to stay, and no way to contact Enforex to get an apartment, we chose a modest pension across from the train station. I told the owner that I didn't want to pay anything over 20 Euros per person, so she scrapped her spiel and showed me a room in her personal apartment saying it was the best she could do. She said there was a huge demand for Semana Santa.

I already wanted to bite this woman. No there wasn't! She just got through showing us 3 rooms all empty! Not only that but Salamanca's Semana Santa didn't start in earnest until Wednesday! I called bullshit. Okay 18 per. She then asked us where we were staying. I told her I think we are looking for an apartment. "Oh I have another apartment in Salamanca...It is much nicer than this one". For the mere cost of 15 euros per night per person. I told her that was ridiculous, because on a monthly basis that was almost a 1000 euros. She answered with that includes electricity and water which is very expensive in Spain. She also said that because we were students we would be using a lot of electricity because we would have a light on to study a lot.

Seriously, incisors to molars from her lower eye to upper chin respectively. I was too tired to figure out how the reflexive nature of joder would apply to her so I just nodded dismissively and told her we were ready to sleep. She said we would be lucky to find anything for under 850. Yeah okay. We could have rented an entire four bed room apartment for that price...one a hell of a lot more central than hers. I really don't like people talking to me like I am a 3 year old and if you are going to BS me, please do it on a subject other than electricity.

Em's first impressions of Salamanca were pretty positive. The Plaza Mayor, in contrast to my last time here, was full of people enjoying a lazy Sunday in temperatures that could allow it to happen. The weather is described by locals as "Nueve meses de invierno y tres meses de infierno" or "9 months of winter and 3 of hell". We are in the overlap between our last month of winter and hell apparently because it is pretty much gorgeous here. Blue skies and 75/50 Max/Min temps daily.

So you can now resume normal viewing :)

--Joey

*This will be moved to it's proper place in the timeline after a month or so, if you need to find it, it will be in March 2008 :)

GAMBA-tte: Selfmade Sugoi Sushi in Salamanca

Life in Salamanca has been pretty good since Semana Santa. We started the week with Sushi night (the month of cooking has made us a bit cocky) and it turned out really well. About 10 of us took turns maki-ng our own rolls which ranged from Philly/California/Shrimp-with-stuff rolls (likely to the very polite chagrin of our resident Nihonjin, Ayako), Avocado and Tamago Nigiri. For dessert we finished with an ersatz Bananas Foster made from Apple Schnapps and Coca Cola. You had to have tried it it isn't as bad as it sounds ;)

School started to wear on me last week so I decided to take a hiatus for a week/possibly two and visit some of the daytrips the region offers. Also, I think reading the newspaper and watching an few hours of Spanish TV daily is equally beneficial at this point in my learning. I may go back for the last week of April.

Lagos reunion tour

Our crew from the Rising Cock came to visit us this past Friday and we spent a couple of days touring around. It has been under 3 weeks since we saw them last but felt like the better part of several months. Saturday we lounged around the Plaza Mayor with bags of McDs and BK. We are really taking advantage of the local atmosphere if not always the cuisine. Sunday, we sent Texas Joe off to Madrid where he is flying to Paris, Today we are sending off Luke and Ben who are headed to Logroño, Wiebke to Lagos via Lisbon. Good times guys!

Cuídate: Techo Mojado

Apparently we developed a bit of a leak in the gym/garage below our flat. This was first noticed when we filled up our tub to do the laundry (yeah we are classy like that--the washer doesn't drain quickly enough) but apparently even quick showers are doing it. We told him we would use the spare bathroom in the interim. Yesterday he buzzed our apartment exasperatedly and told us that "I thought you weren't going to shower!". We had been using the other one so the problem is bigger than just one bathroom. Truthfully, I am not even sure we can help it. The pipes may be shared for every "D" apartment in the complex. So that is on the to-fix list for our dueña Carmen. In the interim we have been showering with the tub plugged and bailing the water out manually.

Loonies de Agua

Salamanca (and the rest of Castilla Leon) celebrated Lunes de Agua, the historical end of Easter and thus the return of prostitues to the region from their banishment during Semana Santa, by sitting outside and relaxing at Parque Aldehuela. You got to love Spanish holidays.

Fonzie had an easier time with the word wrong than I do with the word Itinerary

In unrelated news, I am thinking of canning my return to the states on June 10th in favor of the world's longest train ride to China from Warsaw via Moscow and Ulaanbataar. This may end up as a bonafide RTW after all. The reason is that I am starting to doubt whether the Japanese stay is going to happen. I am not tired of traveling but I am starting to get the 2 month homesick pang a bit. Much less than last time around, but still there which means after another month in Salamanca and 6 weeks on the road I think will have another month or two in me before I find traveling to be more of a burden than the enjoyable experience it should be. All that said I have to do some more research because Transsiberian railroaders require visas, embassy invitations and a bunch of other bureaucratic hassles. At the same time the demand for the direct tickets is substantial so I may head to Eastern Russia and then to Ulaanbataar and then to Beijing. Or maybe I do the sane thing and just come home and fly roundtrip to Hong Kong...nahhh ;)

The travel whatifs

Today Em and I were saying that every photo on this blog is due to Andalucia day. Sounds funny right? Had Andalucia day never happened, we would have stayed in Sevilla in our own apartment or with the school. That being the case, we would not have hung out at Samay (and the Rising Cock) and met Ben, Luke and Joe. We would not be in Salamanca now, if at all.

--Joey

Life In Spain




--Joey

New digs

I know I am supposed to be updating everyone on the Cordoba and Salamanca legs of the trip since I am behind but instead I wanted to let you all know we got our own apartment. Yeah!

We are about 3 minutes walking from the Plaza Mayor just off Gran Via; a main drag in Salamanca.

As I am writing this the Semana Santa processions are passing through the plaza and as beautiful as this should be I can't help getting creeped out a little.

--Joey

Lagos goals

After a five day stop in Lagos at the Rising Cock, we finally left for Lisbon to meet up with our Tios coming to visit us. Our last night involved packing all of our stuff up and thinking about trying to sleep but getting peerpressured into a night of staying up (the capitulation was remarkably fast ;) ) at various bars.

So long Chicken man, Nahnah burgers, 3 Monkeys with Scotty and his Chupitos alerts. And of course, so long to Mama with her awesome crepes and lemon tea.

The trip to Lisbon was via Tunes and was roughly 5 hours. The perfect amount of time to not get any sleep whatsoever, but we were quite proud to achieve the near impossible; catching transportation as it was scheduled...in the morning!

We were pretty exhausted, fortunately for us our Aunt and Uncle very generously decided to get us a hotel. While I will never give up hostels completely, a hotel break once and a while can be very welcome. After three weeks of taking as luke warm a shower as I, and my boys, could tolerate, I think I was just a few minutes away from making the shower a bath.

We got to the hotel ahead of them and collapsed after we helped Kezia, a fellow backpacker from the Rising Cock, get her trip to Paris settled. Having been burned on the Lagos to Sevilla trip with some of the times in GMT others in Spanish Standard Time (GMT + 85 minutes) we wanted to confirm the horario. So the guy at the desk calls the information number listed on the website...which was wrong. Patience is a virtue and a requirement for traveling in Iberia. Hoping the information was correct, we sent her on her way. (She later confirmed all went well)

Super Bockalao

Lisbon was the first city where I did next to no prepwork at all. I had no idea what to see (other than the castle as recommended by some backpackers in Lagos) nor any of the language other than to ask if they spoke English or Spanish, and Obrigado. Fortunately, our Tios did and recommended a museum near our hotel which had an impressive collection of ancient Greek coins, Egyptian knickknacks and Japanese artwork. Best of all the entrance is free.

After leaving, the first order of business was to find a place open to have some dinner. We strolled around the city which seemed about as tired as we were. As we got toward the coast we found a nice little place that was showing some futbol and served up Super Bock (which is neither, but still quite enjoyable) and some Bacalao which was delicious.

We all kind of thought it was weird that for a capital city, it didn't really buzz. It was more like a medium sized town. The next day the newspaper confirmed that the Portugese economy was lagging the rest of Western Europe.

The next day we decided against Sintra because of the misty weather and instead headed to the castle, cathedral and the old town. The main mode of transportation within the city was by trolley or metro and with the hilly roads it seemed remarkably like what I think of San Francisco and with a touch of Budapest thrown in. When we got to the castle we even saw a bridge that was the spitting image of the Golden Gate.

Having put in our share of uphill walking we returned to the hotel and watched a little bit of the Spanish election. Zapatero's socialist party (PSoE) won handily. That night we went to the best chinese restaurant I've ever visited. I went with lucky number 127 and hoped for the best. Maybe it was numerology, the fact that I was hungry or that I ordered it in Chinese. It was so good I came really close to getting another order to go.

We figaro'ed it was time for Sevilla

Day three in Portugal started with the usual breakfast and had us rushing to the bus station, with 10 minutes to spare. The worry from our more senior travel companions was hilariously palpable. 10 minutes is a luxurious cushion for the two of us. As it turned out, there was a more direct Lisbon to Sevilla bus that was not publicized on the web that left 30 minutes later. Awesome.

We began the log trek to Andalucia by way of Faro. Along the way I noticed how different the scenery was. At the Lisbon latitude it was way greener than arid Andalucia. The ride was long so we had a stop at a rest stop for about 45 minutes. All European rest stops have a similar feel. They are usually pretty nice, they have a gas station, a restaurant/food court and a souvenir stand. In the states, we have so many places to pull off. In Europe, they are few and far between partially due to the lack of intercity travel by car and also the urban centric lifestyle.

We pulled in to Seville at 8ish. From the Plaza de Armas we took a cab to Samay and while crossing Menendez Pelayo I felt a kick. It turned out to be two of our hostel mates from the Rising Cock who on the recommendation of Joe, Ben, Luke and the two of us made a reservation. There was room at our place but the Tios didn't get too thrilled by the prospect of dorm room living. (It turned out there was a private room that wasn't advertised on hostelworld they could have used...whoops!) So we showed them our pension from visits one and two to Sevilla on the Puerta de Carne. It is a very basic kind of place. Two beds, hot water, dripping with character but no TV (although anyone caught watching TV in Sevilla should be shot).

Across from the pension there was a nice Italian place where we got some grub and then headed back. The 10 hour bus ride had taken its toll so we made it an early night.

The first full day back in Spain, which funny as it sounds, was a little like coming home. That feeling I had as I left France for Irun came flooding back. Em was feeling bad so she met us later. My 3rd time inside I finally got a little more numb to it's awesomeness. Although, in preparation of Semana Santa it was decked out a little. We roamed around and entered the courtyard where I ran into a girl I knew from a messageboard I post to. I knew she was in Sevilla and we planned to meetup that night so I wasn't too shocked to see her and her friends but it was a nice surprise none the less. A few more pictures later we went out to meet Emily who was feeling a little better. Off to Euro fastfood; Pans and Company a place I frequented in Salamanca because of its proximity to the Plaza Mayor and its daily lunch specials.

We took a leisurely paseo to the Plaza de España and from there split ways. Em and I to the hostel to arrange some transportation for ourselves, and the two of them to an archaelogical museum.

We got a Tapas bar tip from the woman who worked in the hostel. Near the Alameda was calle Eslava home to the eponymous Bar Eslava. It was a packed hole in the wall with delicious food. Round one was delicious and everything I understood. Round two was a mixed bag including blood and onions and things I preferred not to look up after I left. Em went her own way from calle Sierpes and I walked with the girls to the Plaza de Armas.

Having had a stationary day we figured we were rested enough for Cordoba. We'll pick it up from there next time ;)

--Joey

(Photos to come within the next day or so right now I am having some technical problems)

Faro and away

Our second trip to Sevilla was 7 days of soaking up the town. Yup lucky number 7. We missed the bus to Lagos on Monday for the sake of 50 euro cents off a chicken sandwich meal at the BK Lounge.

Bonus night in Sevilla was kind of meh. Something I sort of knew but didn't have drilled home until recently. Your hostel experience is part the hostel itself and more so the people you meet around the common room. The place was dead come Monday. All of the great people we met were either in Lagos, Malaga, or Granada. All the music, communal cooking and joking around was replaced by silence.

The next morning I woke up arond 7a and checked my mail. The rest of the guys had made it to Lagos and were telling us the bus left at 7:30 not 8:30. I double checked the bus schedule and saw that 7:30 was the departure time from Lagos to Sevilla. With that reassuring tidbit, we took our time getting to the station. 10 minutes before we were scheduled to leave, we learned our friends were right and the website was wrong. At tourist information the typical Spanish mentality of customer service as an after thought prevailed again. The lady said she can get us on a bus to Ayamonte. Great, then how to we get to Lagos from there? Yo no se. What? She told us to ask someone at the station when we get there. You have to be kidding me. Okay fine. We get to Ayamonte and there is no station just a closed kiosk on the side of the road.

We talked to a cab driver who said that for 14 Euros he could get us to Portugal. To a town that has a train to Lagos. It was better than the alternative of waiting 8 hours in Spain so we went for it. Plus, he gave us a crash course in Portugese on the way there.

Two and a half hours via a stop in Faro and we were in Lagos.

When in doubt, follow the bleeding guy

With tourist season in a lull, the owners of pensions, hostels, and homes are hawking their accomodations. Nao obrigado, we have our accomodation...at the...Rising Cock hostel. It is rooster themed. It may also be a double entendre ;)

One of the guys pushing his house told us he would walk us there...he also had a bleeding lip. Not in the little blood crusts sense from a shaving mishap, but like a juicy, bright red bleeding corner. Not sure if he realized this or not but when you are trying to convince someone to stay in your house, the fewer open wounds the better. Anyway, the hostel was literally 10 minutes from the train station and 5 from the beaches.

Lagos is a Portuguese beachtown that reminds me a bit of Amity. It gets heavily touristed during the summer but it is a different kind of tourism than you see on the costa del sol. Right now, the shops along the sun beaten streets are catching their breath in anticipation of the endless lazy summer days to follow.

Our hostel, the Rising Cock, is an interesting place. It is essentially study abroad kids on break, the usual cadre of young Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Canadians and Americans relaxing and longtermers that have no idea how to find an appropriate encore. Anyone with any flexibility at all in their schedule overstays. In part due to its common room (with a huge couch sectional) and also due to the lack of sites to see (you come here for the beach and the beach only) makes it the best social hostel I have ever been to. After a night of hitting up the local bars the hostel mom Maria, makes you lemon tea and a mountain of crepes to cure your hangover. Quite an easy life to become accustomed to.

Cliff Cravin'

The beaches are beautiful here. Coarse yellow brown sand, blue green waters, and rock formations reminscent of American west loom invitingly. Em and I being beach and water snobs are finding the testicle destroying 17 degree water horrificly hypothermic and nearly unswimmable but when you get out it feels like jumping into a hot shower on a cold morning. Good times.

To relaxing days, long nights and suggestive accomodation. Cheers :)

--Joey