Where am I? : Lincoln, NE
How did I get here? : 3 hour train to Frankfurt, Germany
10 flight to Atlanta, GA
3 hour flight to El Paso, Tx
1 1/2 hour flight to Denver, CO
1 1/2 hour flight to Omaha, NE
1 hour drive to Lincoln, NE
Well, we are indeed home again. But seeing as my camera card reader is in my luggage that got left in atlanta and will be here at earliest sometime today, I don't have much to update. I will post a good deal of pictures and talk about the last week in germany, just later.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
On the road, Day twenty three: A lesson in laziness
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Germany
So, I was too lazy to write something up for yesterday, mostly because we didn't do much other than walk to the grocery store and back to the apartment in the rain. We have been enjoying some time to be lazy. As far as I'm concerned, we've done our work on this vacation, and now it's time to get in some sleeping and general hanging about.
Today should see another trip to the store for dinner supplies, and maybe a trip to some part of a small festival going on around campus. The next week should involve much in the way of laziness: sleeping in and maybe a spot of shopping here and there. We might trip up to Erfurt one more time to get some teeshirts and stuff from a cute store in the train station there.
In a week, we will be on the plane home.
So, I was too lazy to write something up for yesterday, mostly because we didn't do much other than walk to the grocery store and back to the apartment in the rain. We have been enjoying some time to be lazy. As far as I'm concerned, we've done our work on this vacation, and now it's time to get in some sleeping and general hanging about.
Today should see another trip to the store for dinner supplies, and maybe a trip to some part of a small festival going on around campus. The next week should involve much in the way of laziness: sleeping in and maybe a spot of shopping here and there. We might trip up to Erfurt one more time to get some teeshirts and stuff from a cute store in the train station there.
In a week, we will be on the plane home.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
On the road, Day twenty one: Indian food in Erfurt
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Germany
Today we day tripped to Erfurt with the family for lunch and a spot of walking. Lunch was taken at a fabulous Indian restaurant where we had way too much food. A combination of chicken and vegetarian stuff (veggie for Mary and Adam who don't eat food with faces, except for potatoes who do have eyes from time to time) in the form of samosas and sauces to pour over delicious basmati rice, along with naan (Indian flat bread) left us all stuffed and slightly less eager for that walk we'd planned. However we did walk up to the top of some old German fortress (no, I don't know the name. Saint Peter's something-or-other I think... ) and let the kids run around for a bit. I took part in some escorting of my niece around the top, which is mostly just a wall with some grass and broken down old walls in the middle. The view from the top is mostly of the red-roofed town of Erfurt, so I didn't walk away with any actual pictures of the fortress...
- A dial at the top of the fortress, giving the direction and ages of nearby buildings and churches. -
- A view from the top. -
After our little excursion which turned out to be much less walking than I'd initially expected, we speedily made our way to the train and traveled back to Ilmenau for a dinner of some fabulous ice cream. At Adam's suggestion, I got a massive fruit and ice cream affair and managed to demolish the entire thing by myself.
- Before -
- After, though I ate the melon too -
Hooray. The evening finished up with some lazing about the flat before bed.
All and all, a fine first day back from the 2 weeks on the road.
Today we day tripped to Erfurt with the family for lunch and a spot of walking. Lunch was taken at a fabulous Indian restaurant where we had way too much food. A combination of chicken and vegetarian stuff (veggie for Mary and Adam who don't eat food with faces, except for potatoes who do have eyes from time to time) in the form of samosas and sauces to pour over delicious basmati rice, along with naan (Indian flat bread) left us all stuffed and slightly less eager for that walk we'd planned. However we did walk up to the top of some old German fortress (no, I don't know the name. Saint Peter's something-or-other I think... ) and let the kids run around for a bit. I took part in some escorting of my niece around the top, which is mostly just a wall with some grass and broken down old walls in the middle. The view from the top is mostly of the red-roofed town of Erfurt, so I didn't walk away with any actual pictures of the fortress...
- A dial at the top of the fortress, giving the direction and ages of nearby buildings and churches. -
- A view from the top. -
After our little excursion which turned out to be much less walking than I'd initially expected, we speedily made our way to the train and traveled back to Ilmenau for a dinner of some fabulous ice cream. At Adam's suggestion, I got a massive fruit and ice cream affair and managed to demolish the entire thing by myself.
- Before -
- After, though I ate the melon too -
Hooray. The evening finished up with some lazing about the flat before bed.
All and all, a fine first day back from the 2 weeks on the road.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
On the road, Day twenty: Back in Ilmenau
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Germany
How did I get here? : about 10 hours of total train travel time from Paris to Ilmenau
Not much to report for today, other than that we're back safe in Ilmenau, and have now gone back to living out of suitcases instead of just backpacks. I have clean pajamas on and it's spectacular.
Tomorrow, a day trip to Erfurt. During the week, who knows...
How did I get here? : about 10 hours of total train travel time from Paris to Ilmenau
Not much to report for today, other than that we're back safe in Ilmenau, and have now gone back to living out of suitcases instead of just backpacks. I have clean pajamas on and it's spectacular.
Tomorrow, a day trip to Erfurt. During the week, who knows...
Friday, June 22, 2007
On the road, Day nineteen: Stranded in Paris
Where am I? : Paris, France
How did I get here? 4 hours of trains from Athens to Patras
15 hour ferry ride (complete with bunks this time) from Patras, Greece to Bari, Italy
9 hours of trains from Bari, Italy to Bologna, Italy with one hiccup along the way
11 hour night train ride from Bologna to Paris spent in a very nice, though slightly pricey, first class cabin
The past two days have been spent in Paris. Yesterday was a full day including the Louvre, a long walk to the Arc de Triumph, and the Eiffel tower.
- Mom at the Louvre. -
The quirkiest part of the whole day was seeing Aerosmith's Steven Tyler walking around the Louvre with a little entourage including a scary woman whose job it was to keep everyone away from him and stop people from taking pictures (though I managed to sneak one or two crappy ones). The Louvre was like the Vatican Museum or the Berlin Egyptian Museum, where it's entirely too much to take in at once.
- Cupid and Psyche -
I took some pictures, though not as many as I have in the previous places. The Eiffel tower is huge; again, it was almost too much to be taken in at once, just standing next to it. We didn't stand in line to go up, mostly because we're verging on broke and thought we'd be short on time. We did take a few minutes to have some pictures/caricatures drawn.
Today, we were meant to be travelling back to Germany, but after 2 unfruitful hours in the train station, mostly spent standing in slow moving ticket lines, we discovered that all the trains to Frankfurt were booked full and that we had to stay here another night and take an early train tomorrow. The cheaper internet access at our hotel has given me a nice day spent mostly inside thanks to the rainy weather, and the chance to catch up on some things.
Tomorrow should land us back in Ilmenau by about 5:30, and that means only one thing. More 1,50 euro bratwurst.
EDIT:
Ah, by request here is one of the pictures of Steven; the best one, in fact. The others are blurry and indistinct. The girl in the striped shirt was his personal Louvre guide, and the blonde was his babe, I guess. The threatening woman is off to the right, out of the shot. Steven, of course, is in the green. Appropriately enough, he had on just a teeshirt, some tighter jeans, and a pair of Converse.
How did I get here? 4 hours of trains from Athens to Patras
15 hour ferry ride (complete with bunks this time) from Patras, Greece to Bari, Italy
9 hours of trains from Bari, Italy to Bologna, Italy with one hiccup along the way
11 hour night train ride from Bologna to Paris spent in a very nice, though slightly pricey, first class cabin
The past two days have been spent in Paris. Yesterday was a full day including the Louvre, a long walk to the Arc de Triumph, and the Eiffel tower.
- Mom at the Louvre. -
The quirkiest part of the whole day was seeing Aerosmith's Steven Tyler walking around the Louvre with a little entourage including a scary woman whose job it was to keep everyone away from him and stop people from taking pictures (though I managed to sneak one or two crappy ones). The Louvre was like the Vatican Museum or the Berlin Egyptian Museum, where it's entirely too much to take in at once.
- Cupid and Psyche -
I took some pictures, though not as many as I have in the previous places. The Eiffel tower is huge; again, it was almost too much to be taken in at once, just standing next to it. We didn't stand in line to go up, mostly because we're verging on broke and thought we'd be short on time. We did take a few minutes to have some pictures/caricatures drawn.
Today, we were meant to be travelling back to Germany, but after 2 unfruitful hours in the train station, mostly spent standing in slow moving ticket lines, we discovered that all the trains to Frankfurt were booked full and that we had to stay here another night and take an early train tomorrow. The cheaper internet access at our hotel has given me a nice day spent mostly inside thanks to the rainy weather, and the chance to catch up on some things.
Tomorrow should land us back in Ilmenau by about 5:30, and that means only one thing. More 1,50 euro bratwurst.
EDIT:
Ah, by request here is one of the pictures of Steven; the best one, in fact. The others are blurry and indistinct. The girl in the striped shirt was his personal Louvre guide, and the blonde was his babe, I guess. The threatening woman is off to the right, out of the shot. Steven, of course, is in the green. Appropriately enough, he had on just a teeshirt, some tighter jeans, and a pair of Converse.
Monday, June 18, 2007
On the road, Day fifteen: Basking in the light
Where am I? : Athens, Greece
Today was a beach day and a shopping day. After a lazy morning and a gyro eaten on the walk, we took a tram ride to the beach where we alternately swam in the chilly water and baked in the hot sun. Another gyro served for dinner, and ice cream later on. We decided to buy some post cards of all the beautiful historic stuff we didn't go see. We also each bought a souvenir for ourselves and some for others.
- Ahhh, the beach. -
- Mom -
- and me -
Of all the places we've been so far, Greece has been the most relaxing, mostly just because we were worn out when we got here and decided not to stress ourselves. It is also the most devastatingly beautiful place I've seen so far. Italy has a certain charm, with a sprawling grandeur to the cities and a look about the villages as if they were set gently on hill tops by a careful hand. It is very gently cultivated and very very beautiful. Greece on the other hand has a stark, raw beauty to the island with it's craggy hills and mountains seen from the city and harbor, and it's ruins embraced with in the city, viewable from the dinner tables on Monastiraki street. I will be sad to leave here tomorrow, but with a nice sense of expectation as we move on to our last big stop.
Tomorrow, we start two straight days of travel. An relatively early train will take us back to Patras, where we'll catch the ferry back to Bari, arriving early the next morning. Then we catch another train up to Bologna where, in turn, we will catch yet another train which should take us over night to Paris.
So, hopefully I'll be able to post again before we actually get there, but time will tell.
Today was a beach day and a shopping day. After a lazy morning and a gyro eaten on the walk, we took a tram ride to the beach where we alternately swam in the chilly water and baked in the hot sun. Another gyro served for dinner, and ice cream later on. We decided to buy some post cards of all the beautiful historic stuff we didn't go see. We also each bought a souvenir for ourselves and some for others.
- Ahhh, the beach. -
- Mom -
- and me -
Of all the places we've been so far, Greece has been the most relaxing, mostly just because we were worn out when we got here and decided not to stress ourselves. It is also the most devastatingly beautiful place I've seen so far. Italy has a certain charm, with a sprawling grandeur to the cities and a look about the villages as if they were set gently on hill tops by a careful hand. It is very gently cultivated and very very beautiful. Greece on the other hand has a stark, raw beauty to the island with it's craggy hills and mountains seen from the city and harbor, and it's ruins embraced with in the city, viewable from the dinner tables on Monastiraki street. I will be sad to leave here tomorrow, but with a nice sense of expectation as we move on to our last big stop.
Tomorrow, we start two straight days of travel. An relatively early train will take us back to Patras, where we'll catch the ferry back to Bari, arriving early the next morning. Then we catch another train up to Bologna where, in turn, we will catch yet another train which should take us over night to Paris.
So, hopefully I'll be able to post again before we actually get there, but time will tell.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
On the road, Day fourteen: A lesson in lounging
Where am I? : Athens, Greece
Today was a day of rest. Despite the historical urges in my brain to tromp up to the Acropolis in the heat of the day, we decided to shop the flea market for a bit, have some lunch, and come back the to hostel for some more relaxation. Tomorrow won't be quite so laxidasical, but a trip to the beach also falls under the category of relaxation.
- Glimpses of the historical stuff from the road where all the relaxing we did took place. -
Today was a day of rest. Despite the historical urges in my brain to tromp up to the Acropolis in the heat of the day, we decided to shop the flea market for a bit, have some lunch, and come back the to hostel for some more relaxation. Tomorrow won't be quite so laxidasical, but a trip to the beach also falls under the category of relaxation.
- Glimpses of the historical stuff from the road where all the relaxing we did took place. -
Saturday, June 16, 2007
On the road, Day thirteen: Athina
Where am I? : Athens, Greece
How did I get here? : 5 hour train from Roma to Bari.
16 hour ferry ride across the Adriatic to Pátras, Greece.
4-5 hours of trains to Athens.
So. Lots to catch up on...
Firenze (Day 8 and 9):
Our first night train took us from Frankfurt to Milan, Italy, and after an annoying 6 hour wait in the uncomfortable, dirty, pigeon infested train station, a 3 hour train took us to beautiful Florence. The first hotel we asked at offered a decent price, so we stayed there. Terribly friendly people at the Hotel Rayan. Firenze was beautiful, friendly, and easy to navigate. In fact, the touristy area is so easily navigated that Mom and I ran out of things to look at about 3 hours before our train was supposed to leave. We did lots of walking, though we decided not to wait in line for 3 hours to see Michelangelo's David. The Duomo (big cathedral) was also very pretty, but again, we declined not to wait in line to go inside. Pizza and gelato (Italian ice cream) each day easily made Florence one of my favorite places to be. A 3 hour train and some metro rides later landed us in Beautiful Roma.
- One of Mom's favorite things from Firenze. The McCafe -
- Scooters in Florence. Did I mention that everyone rides scooters? -
- Yeah.. that..uh...famous bridge in Florence... Okay, I know nothing about it. -
- Mom and I on the next bridge down from that famous one. -
- Il Duomo. -
Roma (Days 9, 10, 11):
Roma, of course, is a gorgeous place. Our hostel was an amazing place: a combination of campground, cabins and bungalows, tucked in the wilderness of the main road along with a decent little restaurant and supermarket. Our little bungalow included a mini fridge, complete with a couple of beers, a couple of cokes, some pear juice, a couple other sparkling juices, and some water, all complimentary, two beds, a private bathroom, and a broken air conditioner, which acted just as a fan.
Our first day of Rome started out at the Colosseum. To date, this was the hardest day of sightseeing we've had. It was exhausting. We couldn't say "no" to the 21 euro tour that included entrance to the Colosseum and a free tour of the Roman forum and entrance to walk around Palatine hill. The Colosseum was amazing, though it's hard to mentally cope with something that big that you've seen in pictures so many times. Also, it's hard to believe that it was erected in 8 years, while it takes us more than that to complete a road construction project, and that it was so savagely pillaged that less than a third of the original stone remains. The Circus Maximus was slightly less impressive than I expected, since I didn't realize that none of the original structure remains. I also didn't realize that you can find dedicated Italian runners out on the field of the Circus Maximus in the heat of a June day. Many of the sidewalks around the Colosseum, Circus Maximus and the Forum are made of small and large, uneven stones that had our feet aching by the end of the day. Exhausted, we tromped the 3/4 of a mile back to our bungalow, had a short swim, some dinner, and slept well.
- From one of the arches of the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine in the background -
- The marble floor of the Roman Senate. -
When the alarm went off at 7:30 the next morning, we decided to trust the advice that one of the tour guides had given us. Choosing to believe that the line to the Sistine Chapel dies out around 1 in the afternoon, we decided that another 3 hours of sleep were more important. So we ended up in the Sistine Chapel that afternoon, only having to wait in line for about 5 minutes for tickets. This time would have been less if we hadn't been waiting in the student line for the discount. First off, the amount of art that the Vatican has (on display and off) is hard to comprehend. Just walking through rooms, trying to get to the end result of the chapel, I saw more art, in the form of paintings, sculptures, mosaics, etc, in just a few hours than I have in my entire life up to that point, not to mention that we skipped several of the side galleries. Second of all, seeing something as massive and impressive inside the Sistine Chapel was almost enough to drop me into tears. After the unbelievable amount of wealth and rare art ( I saw my first true Salvador Dali painting ) in the house of a religion that claims that it's true riches are in 'heaven', we were a bit discouraged with the church as a whole, a feeling that only increased as we walked to the Pantheon to discover that has been turned into a basilica for saint mary of something-or-other. We had another swim back at the hostel and some cheese, crackers and salami for dinner, and then tried to get some sleep as we had to get up early and catch our next train.
- Mom with a Sphinx in one of the Vatican Museums. -
- Beautiful Statue. Don't remember who it is now though... >
Bari, and the Adriatic:
Early morning landed us on the train to Bari where we caught the ferry to Pátras. The train ride was pleasant enough until they turned off the air conditioner with about 2 hours to go. We didn't get to see much of Bari, other than the train station, the bus station and the port. We managed to upgrade ourselves to some more comfortable seats on the ferry, which isn't saying much as we didn't get much sleep and came away with some seriously swollen ankles from being in a sitting position for probably more than 32 hours total in the time span of 2 days. The train ride from Pátras to Athina was confusing, hot, uncomfortable, long, and crowded. But in the end, we find ourselves in a nice hostel for the next three nights with, OMG! wireless internet for FREE. Dinner was amazing. Greek food in Greece. Yum!
- The port city of Patras -
- Mom and I on the ferry, coming into port -
We've decided to take it easy in Greece. Seeing the Acropolis tomorrow, which is only about 5 minutes away from the hostel, then the beach on Monday. Then we have 2 days of hard travel to get to Paris, and then, lastly, to Munich before we go back to Ilmenau.
How did I get here? : 5 hour train from Roma to Bari.
16 hour ferry ride across the Adriatic to Pátras, Greece.
4-5 hours of trains to Athens.
So. Lots to catch up on...
Firenze (Day 8 and 9):
Our first night train took us from Frankfurt to Milan, Italy, and after an annoying 6 hour wait in the uncomfortable, dirty, pigeon infested train station, a 3 hour train took us to beautiful Florence. The first hotel we asked at offered a decent price, so we stayed there. Terribly friendly people at the Hotel Rayan. Firenze was beautiful, friendly, and easy to navigate. In fact, the touristy area is so easily navigated that Mom and I ran out of things to look at about 3 hours before our train was supposed to leave. We did lots of walking, though we decided not to wait in line for 3 hours to see Michelangelo's David. The Duomo (big cathedral) was also very pretty, but again, we declined not to wait in line to go inside. Pizza and gelato (Italian ice cream) each day easily made Florence one of my favorite places to be. A 3 hour train and some metro rides later landed us in Beautiful Roma.
- One of Mom's favorite things from Firenze. The McCafe -
- Scooters in Florence. Did I mention that everyone rides scooters? -
- Yeah.. that..uh...famous bridge in Florence... Okay, I know nothing about it. -
- Mom and I on the next bridge down from that famous one. -
- Il Duomo. -
Roma (Days 9, 10, 11):
Roma, of course, is a gorgeous place. Our hostel was an amazing place: a combination of campground, cabins and bungalows, tucked in the wilderness of the main road along with a decent little restaurant and supermarket. Our little bungalow included a mini fridge, complete with a couple of beers, a couple of cokes, some pear juice, a couple other sparkling juices, and some water, all complimentary, two beds, a private bathroom, and a broken air conditioner, which acted just as a fan.
Our first day of Rome started out at the Colosseum. To date, this was the hardest day of sightseeing we've had. It was exhausting. We couldn't say "no" to the 21 euro tour that included entrance to the Colosseum and a free tour of the Roman forum and entrance to walk around Palatine hill. The Colosseum was amazing, though it's hard to mentally cope with something that big that you've seen in pictures so many times. Also, it's hard to believe that it was erected in 8 years, while it takes us more than that to complete a road construction project, and that it was so savagely pillaged that less than a third of the original stone remains. The Circus Maximus was slightly less impressive than I expected, since I didn't realize that none of the original structure remains. I also didn't realize that you can find dedicated Italian runners out on the field of the Circus Maximus in the heat of a June day. Many of the sidewalks around the Colosseum, Circus Maximus and the Forum are made of small and large, uneven stones that had our feet aching by the end of the day. Exhausted, we tromped the 3/4 of a mile back to our bungalow, had a short swim, some dinner, and slept well.
- From one of the arches of the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine in the background -
- The marble floor of the Roman Senate. -
When the alarm went off at 7:30 the next morning, we decided to trust the advice that one of the tour guides had given us. Choosing to believe that the line to the Sistine Chapel dies out around 1 in the afternoon, we decided that another 3 hours of sleep were more important. So we ended up in the Sistine Chapel that afternoon, only having to wait in line for about 5 minutes for tickets. This time would have been less if we hadn't been waiting in the student line for the discount. First off, the amount of art that the Vatican has (on display and off) is hard to comprehend. Just walking through rooms, trying to get to the end result of the chapel, I saw more art, in the form of paintings, sculptures, mosaics, etc, in just a few hours than I have in my entire life up to that point, not to mention that we skipped several of the side galleries. Second of all, seeing something as massive and impressive inside the Sistine Chapel was almost enough to drop me into tears. After the unbelievable amount of wealth and rare art ( I saw my first true Salvador Dali painting ) in the house of a religion that claims that it's true riches are in 'heaven', we were a bit discouraged with the church as a whole, a feeling that only increased as we walked to the Pantheon to discover that has been turned into a basilica for saint mary of something-or-other. We had another swim back at the hostel and some cheese, crackers and salami for dinner, and then tried to get some sleep as we had to get up early and catch our next train.
- Mom with a Sphinx in one of the Vatican Museums. -
- Beautiful Statue. Don't remember who it is now though... >
Bari, and the Adriatic:
Early morning landed us on the train to Bari where we caught the ferry to Pátras. The train ride was pleasant enough until they turned off the air conditioner with about 2 hours to go. We didn't get to see much of Bari, other than the train station, the bus station and the port. We managed to upgrade ourselves to some more comfortable seats on the ferry, which isn't saying much as we didn't get much sleep and came away with some seriously swollen ankles from being in a sitting position for probably more than 32 hours total in the time span of 2 days. The train ride from Pátras to Athina was confusing, hot, uncomfortable, long, and crowded. But in the end, we find ourselves in a nice hostel for the next three nights with, OMG! wireless internet for FREE. Dinner was amazing. Greek food in Greece. Yum!
- The port city of Patras -
- Mom and I on the ferry, coming into port -
We've decided to take it easy in Greece. Seeing the Acropolis tomorrow, which is only about 5 minutes away from the hostel, then the beach on Monday. Then we have 2 days of hard travel to get to Paris, and then, lastly, to Munich before we go back to Ilmenau.
Monday, June 11, 2007
On the road, Day 8: Firenze
Where am I? : Florence, Italy (Firenze, Italia)
How did I get here? : Over night train from Frankfurt to Milano, 3 hour train from Milano to Firenze
Not much time for now, at an internet cafe. Posting more and picture tomorrow upon arrival to Roma.
How did I get here? : Over night train from Frankfurt to Milano, 3 hour train from Milano to Firenze
Not much time for now, at an internet cafe. Posting more and picture tomorrow upon arrival to Roma.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
On the road, Day six: Museum Island
Where am I? : Berlin, Germany
--Mom and I in front of the Altes Museum--
Today was an amazing day. Mom and I spent a large majority of our time in Berlin's Altes Museum which houses the Ägyptisches(Egyptian) collection. An amazing array of statues, papyrus, jewelry, sarcophagi, and the like go together with some wonderfully informative commentary via headphones. The most famous of all the pieces housed in the museum is the Bust of Nefertiti. For years I've seen this bust represented in textbooks, and now, I've seen it face to face, which was an incredible experience.
So many things were wonderful. I took a ton of pictures in the museum to make an album of later on. For now, I'll just post a few since I have precious little time in both pre-paid intraweb access and battery power for the laptop.
Also, street markets in Berlin are very dangerous places. If I'd had the money, I would have walked away with thousands of Euro worth of beautiful artwork.
On the horizon: A little more Berlin, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Milan
--Mom and I in front of the Altes Museum--
Today was an amazing day. Mom and I spent a large majority of our time in Berlin's Altes Museum which houses the Ägyptisches(Egyptian) collection. An amazing array of statues, papyrus, jewelry, sarcophagi, and the like go together with some wonderfully informative commentary via headphones. The most famous of all the pieces housed in the museum is the Bust of Nefertiti. For years I've seen this bust represented in textbooks, and now, I've seen it face to face, which was an incredible experience.
So many things were wonderful. I took a ton of pictures in the museum to make an album of later on. For now, I'll just post a few since I have precious little time in both pre-paid intraweb access and battery power for the laptop.
Also, street markets in Berlin are very dangerous places. If I'd had the money, I would have walked away with thousands of Euro worth of beautiful artwork.
On the horizon: A little more Berlin, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Milan
Friday, June 8, 2007
On the road, Day Five: Live aus Berlin
Where am I? : Berlin, Germany
How did I get here? : 45 minute train from Ilmenau to Erfurt
approx. 2 1/2 hour train from Erfurt to Berlin
Not much time to write tonight, mostly because this hour of internet access cost me 8 euro and I'd like for it to last both nights that I'm staying in Berlin. Staying in a small bed and breakfasty type place with Mom and the rest of the family. Talking to the boyfriend right now whom I miss very much. Had dinner at a fabulous little vegetarian Indian resturant and now it's about time to call it a night.
--Willkommen in Berlin--
How did I get here? : 45 minute train from Ilmenau to Erfurt
approx. 2 1/2 hour train from Erfurt to Berlin
Not much time to write tonight, mostly because this hour of internet access cost me 8 euro and I'd like for it to last both nights that I'm staying in Berlin. Staying in a small bed and breakfasty type place with Mom and the rest of the family. Talking to the boyfriend right now whom I miss very much. Had dinner at a fabulous little vegetarian Indian resturant and now it's about time to call it a night.
--Willkommen in Berlin--
Thursday, June 7, 2007
On the road, Day Four: Being lazy in germany
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Thüringen, Germany
After the exciting day we had yesterday, we spent most of today not doing a whole lot. With a very angry baby in tow, we picked up the other youngin', my nephew Noah, from school and made the trek to the grocery store, the 'pedestrian zone' (aka the city center with the shops) for ice cream and a new backpack for mom, and to another grocery store (the often visited Kaufland where we've purchase many a bratwurst in the past 4 days) for dinner supplies and, of course, another brat for mom and I. You see, my sister lives in what might be described as an efficiency flat for PhD students with a family, and their refrigerator is about the size of a regular kitchen cabinet. While this is not the regular size for a fridge anywhere, most fridges here are smaller than their American counterparts, so it is not irregular for a visit to the grocery store to take place several times throughout the week. So far, we've been there once at least everyday. Other odd/neat things about the apartment include the toilet in a room separate from the bathtub/shower, the biggest bathtub I've had the pleasure of bathing in, windows that can open two different ways, and a tinnie-tiny sink to wash dishes in.
So, all in all today, not too much to report and not too many pictures taken, so I'll post some various ones from today and the past few days.
--A cool statue down in the 'pedestrian zone'--
--My niece digging into some nacho cheese dip--
--A selection of German graffiti. From what my brother-in-law tells me, there's an unspoken agreement that abandoned buildings are fair game for this sort of art if the artists leave the churches, public buildings, etc, graffiti free. Note the orange/blue and blue/light blue easter eggs around the writing on the first picture.--
On the horizon: a little more shopping then a train ride to Berlin, more time in Berlin, a train ride back, then off to Italy
After the exciting day we had yesterday, we spent most of today not doing a whole lot. With a very angry baby in tow, we picked up the other youngin', my nephew Noah, from school and made the trek to the grocery store, the 'pedestrian zone' (aka the city center with the shops) for ice cream and a new backpack for mom, and to another grocery store (the often visited Kaufland where we've purchase many a bratwurst in the past 4 days) for dinner supplies and, of course, another brat for mom and I. You see, my sister lives in what might be described as an efficiency flat for PhD students with a family, and their refrigerator is about the size of a regular kitchen cabinet. While this is not the regular size for a fridge anywhere, most fridges here are smaller than their American counterparts, so it is not irregular for a visit to the grocery store to take place several times throughout the week. So far, we've been there once at least everyday. Other odd/neat things about the apartment include the toilet in a room separate from the bathtub/shower, the biggest bathtub I've had the pleasure of bathing in, windows that can open two different ways, and a tinnie-tiny sink to wash dishes in.
So, all in all today, not too much to report and not too many pictures taken, so I'll post some various ones from today and the past few days.
--A cool statue down in the 'pedestrian zone'--
--My niece digging into some nacho cheese dip--
--A selection of German graffiti. From what my brother-in-law tells me, there's an unspoken agreement that abandoned buildings are fair game for this sort of art if the artists leave the churches, public buildings, etc, graffiti free. Note the orange/blue and blue/light blue easter eggs around the writing on the first picture.--
On the horizon: a little more shopping then a train ride to Berlin, more time in Berlin, a train ride back, then off to Italy
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
On the road, Day Three: Walking to watch towers
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Thüringen, Germany
Today was our exciting adventure up to the watchtower on Kickelhahn, one of the small mountains or very large hills near the city. So first, we started off with another amazing brat. I'm sure we'll eat at least one everyday that we're in the city. Then we set off with Mary to the start of the trail, or at least to where the signs that lead you to the trail-head start. The path was steep, though not too long. It's about 3.1 km from where my sister deposited us, 2.6 from the actual trail starting.
Rocky terrain, mostly, though there seemed to be a less steep, though longer, road that we could have taken but did not discover until reaching the top of the trail. A section of trees flattened by a recent storm along the trail provided some nice panoramic views and picture taking opportunities.
-Mom and I on the trail, Ilmenau in the background. We're staying in a dorm located somewhere behind the tree on the left.-
At the top, of course, we found the watch tower.
Not quite as big as I'd imagined it after seeing it from the city below, but still just as cool. We of course climbed to the top of the tower, finding cool little windows on the inside...
...though probably not historic ones, and a neat placard up top indicating the general direction of several nearby villages and large cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt.
Despite the presence of a small restaurant a few paces from the tower, we decided against the beer and/or water (considering the steep trail leading back down) and made our way back to the bottom. About five minutes from the end, I, of course, being the most grace-less and clumsy person on the planet, slipped, rolling my ankle and gouging my knee in an unflattering plummet to the ground. However, despite this little hiccup, we made it back to town in generally one piece. Feeling like some child with a scratch on my knee who needs a treat to be consoled, I walked with my mom into the small store with the sign for soft serve ice cream out front. With a rather interestingly dispensed chocolate vanilla swirl sugar cone in my hand, I did, indeed, feel much better. Also, I found it amusing walking through my favorite city center shopping area with a bloodied up knee.
The language barrier is still interesting to deal with. Mom and I walk around speaking in, of course, English. So far, we've had three language impaired encounters with the locals, all of which I walked away from with some sense of amusement. These babbling talks back and forth, about sunglasses, ice cream, and credit cards, have been inconsequential so far, but who knows what we'll need to "talk" to someone about next time. I'm always trying to think of a word that's not german and not english, but has fallen into that category of universal communication. When talking about credit cards, I asked about "american express" since that's the card I'm currently using, however Visa and Mastercard may have been better choices. With ice cream, we resulted in pointing and using our fingers for 'one' to indicate just one scoop. The discussion about sunglasses was somewhere in between with a lot of physical references accompanying babbling on both sides. Everyday though, I'm feeling a little more comfortable here, enough to go into the grocery store and not be intimidated. So far, the trip is going well.
Today was our exciting adventure up to the watchtower on Kickelhahn, one of the small mountains or very large hills near the city. So first, we started off with another amazing brat. I'm sure we'll eat at least one everyday that we're in the city. Then we set off with Mary to the start of the trail, or at least to where the signs that lead you to the trail-head start. The path was steep, though not too long. It's about 3.1 km from where my sister deposited us, 2.6 from the actual trail starting.
Rocky terrain, mostly, though there seemed to be a less steep, though longer, road that we could have taken but did not discover until reaching the top of the trail. A section of trees flattened by a recent storm along the trail provided some nice panoramic views and picture taking opportunities.
-Mom and I on the trail, Ilmenau in the background. We're staying in a dorm located somewhere behind the tree on the left.-
At the top, of course, we found the watch tower.
Not quite as big as I'd imagined it after seeing it from the city below, but still just as cool. We of course climbed to the top of the tower, finding cool little windows on the inside...
...though probably not historic ones, and a neat placard up top indicating the general direction of several nearby villages and large cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt.
Despite the presence of a small restaurant a few paces from the tower, we decided against the beer and/or water (considering the steep trail leading back down) and made our way back to the bottom. About five minutes from the end, I, of course, being the most grace-less and clumsy person on the planet, slipped, rolling my ankle and gouging my knee in an unflattering plummet to the ground. However, despite this little hiccup, we made it back to town in generally one piece. Feeling like some child with a scratch on my knee who needs a treat to be consoled, I walked with my mom into the small store with the sign for soft serve ice cream out front. With a rather interestingly dispensed chocolate vanilla swirl sugar cone in my hand, I did, indeed, feel much better. Also, I found it amusing walking through my favorite city center shopping area with a bloodied up knee.
The language barrier is still interesting to deal with. Mom and I walk around speaking in, of course, English. So far, we've had three language impaired encounters with the locals, all of which I walked away from with some sense of amusement. These babbling talks back and forth, about sunglasses, ice cream, and credit cards, have been inconsequential so far, but who knows what we'll need to "talk" to someone about next time. I'm always trying to think of a word that's not german and not english, but has fallen into that category of universal communication. When talking about credit cards, I asked about "american express" since that's the card I'm currently using, however Visa and Mastercard may have been better choices. With ice cream, we resulted in pointing and using our fingers for 'one' to indicate just one scoop. The discussion about sunglasses was somewhere in between with a lot of physical references accompanying babbling on both sides. Everyday though, I'm feeling a little more comfortable here, enough to go into the grocery store and not be intimidated. So far, the trip is going well.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
On the road, Day Two: exploring Ilmenau
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Thüringen, Germany
Today we mostly just walked around the village a lot. Visited what seems to be the city center again, grabbing the best bratwurst in the world on our way there, and another on the way back to my sister's flat. Later, another walk, this time to my nephew's school, then down to the same grocery store where the bratwurst had been purchased. Tofu and pad-thai for dinner. A nectarine and some chai tea for dessert.
A bell tower, near the city center.
Statues along a building in the center. Neat shops around there.
On the nature trail to/from Mary's flat.
On the horizon: walking to the Kickelhahn Tower, walking other places, and most likely Berlin over the weekend.
Today we mostly just walked around the village a lot. Visited what seems to be the city center again, grabbing the best bratwurst in the world on our way there, and another on the way back to my sister's flat. Later, another walk, this time to my nephew's school, then down to the same grocery store where the bratwurst had been purchased. Tofu and pad-thai for dinner. A nectarine and some chai tea for dessert.
A bell tower, near the city center.
Statues along a building in the center. Neat shops around there.
On the nature trail to/from Mary's flat.
On the horizon: walking to the Kickelhahn Tower, walking other places, and most likely Berlin over the weekend.
Monday, June 4, 2007
On the road, Day one: Arrived in Ilmenau
Where am I? : Ilmenau, Germany
How did I get here? : 80 mile drive to El Paso, TX
3 hour flight to Atlanta, GA
9 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany
3 hour drive to Ilmenau
--on the bus, after the plane trip, going into the Fraport (or Frankfurt airpot)--
Today, for the first time, I am in a country on another continent. For the first time, I am in a land where english is not the main language nor widely known. For the first time, I can't order my own food in a restaurant. It's a very odd experience, and I'm looking forward to the weeks where my mom and I will be on our own, having to make due with what little bits of the language we know.
I miss my Chris, and I miss my home, my bed, and my refrigerator, but I am so excited to get this vacation underway.
On the horizon: The best bratwurst ever, more Ilmenau, Berlin, and beautiful countryside.
Tidbit:
In what is now old East Germany, the crosswalks have two old symbols, known as the Red man and the Green man (in german of course, I don't know how to spell any of that stuff). Old East Germany is the only place you can find these curiously Soviet styled emblems.
How did I get here? : 80 mile drive to El Paso, TX
3 hour flight to Atlanta, GA
9 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany
3 hour drive to Ilmenau
--on the bus, after the plane trip, going into the Fraport (or Frankfurt airpot)--
Today, for the first time, I am in a country on another continent. For the first time, I am in a land where english is not the main language nor widely known. For the first time, I can't order my own food in a restaurant. It's a very odd experience, and I'm looking forward to the weeks where my mom and I will be on our own, having to make due with what little bits of the language we know.
I miss my Chris, and I miss my home, my bed, and my refrigerator, but I am so excited to get this vacation underway.
On the horizon: The best bratwurst ever, more Ilmenau, Berlin, and beautiful countryside.
Tidbit:
In what is now old East Germany, the crosswalks have two old symbols, known as the Red man and the Green man (in german of course, I don't know how to spell any of that stuff). Old East Germany is the only place you can find these curiously Soviet styled emblems.
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