Tom and I are sitting in an internet cafe in Dublin, about to head to the airport. Our trip has been a fantastic success, everything we had hoped it would be with a variety of unexpected events that made it all the more worth it.
Rome is a city designed for history nerds. The Colissuem, Parthenon, Trebi's fountain, Constantine's arch, Trajan's column, The Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Basilica, the Palatine Hill, Domus Aurea, and so much more make it a paradise. Even when you read books and watch documentaries on Roman history, until you come here, one cannot grasp the magnitude of these buildings the people who lived in them.
The Palatine Hill was the biggest surprise to me. It is not hailed as a great place to go, and many people do not even visit it despite the joint ticket with the Colissuem. The hill allows you to have panoramic views of Rome, surrounded by the ruins of old, Roman pine trees, fountains, and the Forum at the bottom. Tom and I stayed in their for a couple hours, soaking in the awesome sights.
St. Peters was also particularly special. Peter is one of the great men in history, and this place does justice to his memory. He is buried in the center of the largest interior of any church in the entire world. Michaelangelo's famous Pieta is there, and in addition to his paitings and sculptures, he designed the whole dome. The dome of course is so cool, that St. Pauls in London, Les Invalides in Paris, and of course, the White House are all based on that same design. What a gorgeous place.
The political scientist in me was quite intrigued by the Vaticans political system. It is an absolute monarchy, with the Pope in complete control of legislative, executive, and judical power. There are 450 citizens total, with roughly 800 people living within the walls. Truly seperate from Italy, it has a strange existence, but a really really interesting one nonetheless.
A random note on modern Rome; I am convinced that Italy may have regressed technologically from the Roman days. It seems possibly the city is less safe and is more dirty than it was 2000 years ago. This is perhaps because I would rather have Marcus Aurelius in charge of a country than Silvio Burlesconi. Also the Legionnaires would not have allowed Mafia control of the garbage industry.
Our last day in Dublin was very relaxing, because of our level of comfort with the city. We went to the Dublin writer's musuem and checked out exhibits on Swift, Wilde, Shaw, Yeats, and of course Joyce. What awesome writers, with the sharpest wits the world has ever experienced. I had traditional Irish stew at a pub for dinner (very very delicious) and an old Irish man bought me a Guinness and talked with me for a while about Barack Obama. He was quite happy to learn that I was politically left, and his knowledge of American history was quite strong.
Well... time to go back to America. I have no time left at the cafe, and I am ready to have stable internet, my own bed, and to see all the friends I miss. This trip was exactly what I hoped it would be, and I learned a lot of things that I would not have otherwise encountered. I have had discussions with Swedes, Fins, Australians, Italians, French, Germans, Irish, Dutch, the English, Mexicans, and many more. America seems a lot smaller once you leave it, but its global presence is still somehow felt wherever you go. I will see you all soon, and have no doubt, many many lengthy stories that wont be cut off by expensive internet.
See you all in the States,
Joel
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
From Germany to Italy
Tom and I are finally able to have more than ten minutes to dialogue about our trip, for the first time in more than a week. My cursory Berlin post really did not do the city justice, and so I will make some concluding remarks before moving on the great train ride to Italy.
Like the juxtaposition of communism and capitalism, Berlin has a further complicated history involving World War II. It is an awkward tension for the city, as they try to explain and outline the terror and unspeakable acts that their own people committed. An atrocity of some sort occured at almost every square in the city during over a decade of true Nazi power. Books were burned, humans massacred, and the Halocaust strategized all within a few square miles.
That being said, Berlin does its best to explain the past while maintaining a bright course for the future. The Halocaust Memorial is the the best structure in existence that I am aware of, to fully reach the seemingly insurmountable goal of remembering and honoring the stolen lives of millions of people. A series of rectangular concrete blocks of varying size are put together in a geometrically parallel arrangment, creating a unique rising and falling image on the landscape. It is several degrees colder in the center, as it dips towards the lowest point. Some people see the trains leaving Auschwitz or Dachau, others a chart of rising anti semitism and hate. The best thing Tom and I heard was of a city of sand, with the last blocks disappearing into the ground and continuing forever. This was a memorial of substance and shakes even a lay observer to the core.
Leaving Berlin that night, Tom and I had a few beers. A few strong German beers, that lead us to humming Amazing Grace on the train after we briefly discussed Bravehart. In true bagpipe form, Tom provided the base portion while I did the chorus. We must have been distinctly annoying to the only other individual on the train, a German businessman behind us. I think it is fair to say that the Tom and I have provided a good impression of Americans while over here... perhaps not during the humming session.
We arrived in Venice for a whirlwind two hour visit before the train left for Florence. We ate pizza and gelato there of course, both were quite delicious. The alley ways, narrow bridges, and ancient cathedrals were all around us. We should not have been surprised about how romantic the city is supposed to be, but there were couples merging into one another on every corner. Tom and I did our best not to take a moonlit gondola ride together. Venice felt far too touristy, if that is a word, and the English speakers certainly outnumbered the Italians. It was quite lovely, but to be blunt, two hours was enough.
On a general note, pizza has not dissapointed us in Italy, and I fear that when we return, not even the mighty Di Giorno will satisfy our want. Tom and I like pizza lot. I mean, we really, really like pizza. Back home I look forward every week to a randomly assigned pizza day. Some of you even know ahead of time which day it is. Here, it is pizza day every day. We are averaging at least a half pizza each a day, and forsee no altering of our eating behavior.
Florence was lovely, and running into everything that the de Medici's either outright stole or happened to acquire was amusing. Machiavelli, Galileo, and of course the Medici's make it a city of great artistic and scientific clout. Michaelangelo's David was the best thing we saw there. 17 feet tall and in perfect human proportions, the statue was magnificent. Not cliche pretty like the Mona Lisa, but easily good enough to make one pause and stare. It was a symbol for the city of Florence, a David surrounded by the Goliaths of Rome and Naples. They take great pride in it, and understandably so.
I was ravaged by mosquitos as I slept that night, mosquitos that left Tom quite alone, which led me to the conclusion that my blood is just that much more delicious. We headed down to Salerno, a city south of Naples on the much visited Amalfi Coast. Salerno was not touristy at all, which was wonderful. Tom and I constantly were the only English speakers in a room. This non tourist experience culminated in a tiny family restaurant on a little used street. The place, La Brigante, opened at 9 pm. 9 pm. Tom and I waited for several hours, because we had heard it was especially good. We were the only non Italians in the restaurant for our entire stay. Not a sole spoke English, and the food... well lets just say La Brigante was a local family favorite for a reason. I will quickly mention however, that this expensive and authentic food, was not better significantly better than our one Euro pizza that we had earlier in the day. To reiterate, pizza is phenomenal here.
As I am typing we are in Rome, and tomorrow we are headed to the Colisseum, Forum, and Domus Aurea. Walking on the very streets of Caligula, Nero, Trajan, Aurelius and of course, one of the coolest people ever, Julius Caesar, is a lot of fun for complete nerds like Tom and I. Even so, I do miss America, unequivocally, the greatest country on earth, where going to the bathroom is free, a Coke costs less than three Euro, and people do not try to sell you bow and arrows. Yes, we encountered a bow and arrow salesman.
For tonight, a bid you all adieu, and will write again soon.
Joel
Like the juxtaposition of communism and capitalism, Berlin has a further complicated history involving World War II. It is an awkward tension for the city, as they try to explain and outline the terror and unspeakable acts that their own people committed. An atrocity of some sort occured at almost every square in the city during over a decade of true Nazi power. Books were burned, humans massacred, and the Halocaust strategized all within a few square miles.
That being said, Berlin does its best to explain the past while maintaining a bright course for the future. The Halocaust Memorial is the the best structure in existence that I am aware of, to fully reach the seemingly insurmountable goal of remembering and honoring the stolen lives of millions of people. A series of rectangular concrete blocks of varying size are put together in a geometrically parallel arrangment, creating a unique rising and falling image on the landscape. It is several degrees colder in the center, as it dips towards the lowest point. Some people see the trains leaving Auschwitz or Dachau, others a chart of rising anti semitism and hate. The best thing Tom and I heard was of a city of sand, with the last blocks disappearing into the ground and continuing forever. This was a memorial of substance and shakes even a lay observer to the core.
Leaving Berlin that night, Tom and I had a few beers. A few strong German beers, that lead us to humming Amazing Grace on the train after we briefly discussed Bravehart. In true bagpipe form, Tom provided the base portion while I did the chorus. We must have been distinctly annoying to the only other individual on the train, a German businessman behind us. I think it is fair to say that the Tom and I have provided a good impression of Americans while over here... perhaps not during the humming session.
We arrived in Venice for a whirlwind two hour visit before the train left for Florence. We ate pizza and gelato there of course, both were quite delicious. The alley ways, narrow bridges, and ancient cathedrals were all around us. We should not have been surprised about how romantic the city is supposed to be, but there were couples merging into one another on every corner. Tom and I did our best not to take a moonlit gondola ride together. Venice felt far too touristy, if that is a word, and the English speakers certainly outnumbered the Italians. It was quite lovely, but to be blunt, two hours was enough.
On a general note, pizza has not dissapointed us in Italy, and I fear that when we return, not even the mighty Di Giorno will satisfy our want. Tom and I like pizza lot. I mean, we really, really like pizza. Back home I look forward every week to a randomly assigned pizza day. Some of you even know ahead of time which day it is. Here, it is pizza day every day. We are averaging at least a half pizza each a day, and forsee no altering of our eating behavior.
Florence was lovely, and running into everything that the de Medici's either outright stole or happened to acquire was amusing. Machiavelli, Galileo, and of course the Medici's make it a city of great artistic and scientific clout. Michaelangelo's David was the best thing we saw there. 17 feet tall and in perfect human proportions, the statue was magnificent. Not cliche pretty like the Mona Lisa, but easily good enough to make one pause and stare. It was a symbol for the city of Florence, a David surrounded by the Goliaths of Rome and Naples. They take great pride in it, and understandably so.
I was ravaged by mosquitos as I slept that night, mosquitos that left Tom quite alone, which led me to the conclusion that my blood is just that much more delicious. We headed down to Salerno, a city south of Naples on the much visited Amalfi Coast. Salerno was not touristy at all, which was wonderful. Tom and I constantly were the only English speakers in a room. This non tourist experience culminated in a tiny family restaurant on a little used street. The place, La Brigante, opened at 9 pm. 9 pm. Tom and I waited for several hours, because we had heard it was especially good. We were the only non Italians in the restaurant for our entire stay. Not a sole spoke English, and the food... well lets just say La Brigante was a local family favorite for a reason. I will quickly mention however, that this expensive and authentic food, was not better significantly better than our one Euro pizza that we had earlier in the day. To reiterate, pizza is phenomenal here.
As I am typing we are in Rome, and tomorrow we are headed to the Colisseum, Forum, and Domus Aurea. Walking on the very streets of Caligula, Nero, Trajan, Aurelius and of course, one of the coolest people ever, Julius Caesar, is a lot of fun for complete nerds like Tom and I. Even so, I do miss America, unequivocally, the greatest country on earth, where going to the bathroom is free, a Coke costs less than three Euro, and people do not try to sell you bow and arrows. Yes, we encountered a bow and arrow salesman.
For tonight, a bid you all adieu, and will write again soon.
Joel
Breads and Circuses
Buona sera, bloggees (blogians? blogites?). I haven't posted since Paris, which seems rather ridiculous. Sorry for the delay; most of our precious internet time is spent booking last minute hostels in cities that we will be in in less than 24 hours. Hope nobody's suffered too much withdrawal :).
Well, we're in Rome. Its been quite a journey - since I last posted, we've stayed in four different cities, and waited for long periods in countless more. Italian trains make a habit, it seems, of hanging out for hours in intermediate cities (took us about 5 and a half hours to make it from Salerno to Rome (should take less than three)) for no apparent reason. I'll get over it, with time and frequent counseling.
I digress. Berlin was fantastic, and I wish I had been able to devote an entire post to it. Much less of a 'see all the sites' town than its travel predecessors in London and France, and much more of a 'hang out and have a great time in our warmingly open and welcoming city even though its only been united as long as you've been alive' city. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of sites to see - you'll understand when we can post pictures and can post the greatest picture the world has ever seen. Those of you who are well acquainted with my propensity to exaggerate should be wary not to shrug off this boast. I'm giddy just mentioning it.
I ramble. Berlin was awesome, and we had a great time. The receptionist at our hostel gave Joel and I four shots each for singing the 'Star Spangled Banner' loudly in the lobby. Need I say more?
After Berlin, we took like seventeen different trains to get to Venice, where we spent about two hours walking through the city consuming liberal amounts of cheap pizza and gelato. I wish I could eat Italian pizza every day for the rest of my life. It's as good as all you pizza lovers (which should be everybody) have ever imagined. Saint Mark's square was gorgeous, though Joel and I were quite disappointed before we turned the corner and saw the Adriatic Sea (our pre-corner conversation was something to this effect: 'This is lame... I thought it was on the water,' and 'we should walk to the water after this' and other such frustrated, incredulous lines). Luckily, we did in fact turn the corner, and did take in the sweeping vista that is the western coast of Italy and the Adriatic coast of Venice. Its fantastic, and we've got photographic evidence. You just can't see it yet.
So then we took 45 more trains to get to Florence, where we spent that night, and slept like two people who have just changed trains 62 times. Florence was gorgeous. It's in the heart of Tuscany, the central, grape growing region of Italy. It's hilly and covered in grapes, and never not sunny. We ascended the 4,000,000 stairs to the top of Brunelleschi's famous Duomo, saw the Uffizi (the oldest art museum in Italy, but actually quite disappointing beyond Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus), and walked along the Arno for a while (eating gelato), and thinking about Machiavelli. Machiavelli probably would have known to skip the Uffizi. If you find yourself alone riding in green fields with the sun in your face, do not be troubled... Just go to Santa Croce instead of the Uffizi (i'll probably be shamelessly quoting Gladiator from now on... Rome evokes countless irremovable images in my brain. Apologies (and a sharp rebuke) to anyone who has not seen this epic film. Do it.), where Machiavelli, Galileo, Michaelangelo (who's David we did see in Florence. Awesome.) and other such notables are interred. Sorry for all the sidenotes (thats the story of Florence, I guess).
After Florence, Joel and I went to Salerno, a little port town on Italy's famed Amalfi Coast. We just wanted to sit for a day or two and do nothing; a little sight-see'd out at that point. It was quite an experience, and quite unlike the more urban ones we've grown accustomed to in these past weeks. It was cloudy the first day, which awoke deep, heretofore unseen red dragons of rage in Joel and I. Actually we just ineffectually tried to swim in the ice cold, sunless Mediterranean for several hours before we unconditionally surrendered, returned home, heads hung, and ate gelato. And pizza, of course. It's the kind of thing that Calvin's dad would say 'builds character,' if that puts it in perspective.
Several hours later the sun came out :(. Don't worry, it was very sunny the next day (joel's torso can attest to that (hehe)), and we both got plenty of sun, despite abundant and repeated applications of SonnenMilch. That's right, we bought German sun tan lotion, half for its utility, and half for the name.
The trip to and from the beach was quite an experience. Salerno's primarily a port city, so we had to go up the coast a little bit to find a nice beach. The Amalfi coast is a series of huge, rocky, terraced mountains that abut the water, and the Italian traffic engineers (...) decided to cut a winding, terrifying road that's just barely not wide enough for two cars to pass each other and that is an average 100 feet (not an exaggeration, surprisingly) above rocky oblivion. Our bus was flying down this road, taking blind corners, very nearly killing bikers and us in the process. It was mortifying at first, but we gradually got used to it.
The entire nation of Italy shuts down between 1pm and 7:30, apparently. Joel and I wandered the town in hypoglycemic trances for hours, consequentially. It's rather insane, actually, when juxtaposed with the hopping nightlife that most towns exhibit. Our roommate at the hostel, however, took advantage of none of these opportunities. He had one of the most 'simple' existences I have ever encountered. We returned to the hostel three times throughout each day, and each time, invariably, our friend was pants-less and smoking. A unique individual, to say the least. He also brushed his teeth each time we returned, borrowing tooth paste (denty-freshe, or something of that nature (he gesticulated until we capitulated)) from one of us each time. Please picture this.
So we swam, laid in the sun for a while, and narrowly avoided death for a couple of days in Salerno, then got on a train that was 35 minutes late in departing and 4 hours late in arriving in Rome, and that brings us to the present (or close enough). Today we saw the Colosseum (I didn't know men could build such things), the Pantheon (which was a tad disappointing), and glanced at the Forum. The weather was crappy and there were people getting married everywhere at the Colosseum, so we're going back tomorrow for another round. Rome, like London, has glittering, ancient edifices on seemingly every corner, and it takes Joel and I quite some time to get anywhere, as we invariably stop and go in or up something and take a bunch of pictures in several different locations before we move on. That happened today at Trajan's column, Trevi's fountain, and the spanish steps, for example. Also a man tried to sell us a bow and quiver of arrows today. That is all.
Anyway, the Italian internet man upstairs is ending our interent, so I have to leave. Miss you all - three days till America! See everybody soon.
- Tom
Well, we're in Rome. Its been quite a journey - since I last posted, we've stayed in four different cities, and waited for long periods in countless more. Italian trains make a habit, it seems, of hanging out for hours in intermediate cities (took us about 5 and a half hours to make it from Salerno to Rome (should take less than three)) for no apparent reason. I'll get over it, with time and frequent counseling.
I digress. Berlin was fantastic, and I wish I had been able to devote an entire post to it. Much less of a 'see all the sites' town than its travel predecessors in London and France, and much more of a 'hang out and have a great time in our warmingly open and welcoming city even though its only been united as long as you've been alive' city. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of sites to see - you'll understand when we can post pictures and can post the greatest picture the world has ever seen. Those of you who are well acquainted with my propensity to exaggerate should be wary not to shrug off this boast. I'm giddy just mentioning it.
I ramble. Berlin was awesome, and we had a great time. The receptionist at our hostel gave Joel and I four shots each for singing the 'Star Spangled Banner' loudly in the lobby. Need I say more?
After Berlin, we took like seventeen different trains to get to Venice, where we spent about two hours walking through the city consuming liberal amounts of cheap pizza and gelato. I wish I could eat Italian pizza every day for the rest of my life. It's as good as all you pizza lovers (which should be everybody) have ever imagined. Saint Mark's square was gorgeous, though Joel and I were quite disappointed before we turned the corner and saw the Adriatic Sea (our pre-corner conversation was something to this effect: 'This is lame... I thought it was on the water,' and 'we should walk to the water after this' and other such frustrated, incredulous lines). Luckily, we did in fact turn the corner, and did take in the sweeping vista that is the western coast of Italy and the Adriatic coast of Venice. Its fantastic, and we've got photographic evidence. You just can't see it yet.
So then we took 45 more trains to get to Florence, where we spent that night, and slept like two people who have just changed trains 62 times. Florence was gorgeous. It's in the heart of Tuscany, the central, grape growing region of Italy. It's hilly and covered in grapes, and never not sunny. We ascended the 4,000,000 stairs to the top of Brunelleschi's famous Duomo, saw the Uffizi (the oldest art museum in Italy, but actually quite disappointing beyond Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus), and walked along the Arno for a while (eating gelato), and thinking about Machiavelli. Machiavelli probably would have known to skip the Uffizi. If you find yourself alone riding in green fields with the sun in your face, do not be troubled... Just go to Santa Croce instead of the Uffizi (i'll probably be shamelessly quoting Gladiator from now on... Rome evokes countless irremovable images in my brain. Apologies (and a sharp rebuke) to anyone who has not seen this epic film. Do it.), where Machiavelli, Galileo, Michaelangelo (who's David we did see in Florence. Awesome.) and other such notables are interred. Sorry for all the sidenotes (thats the story of Florence, I guess).
After Florence, Joel and I went to Salerno, a little port town on Italy's famed Amalfi Coast. We just wanted to sit for a day or two and do nothing; a little sight-see'd out at that point. It was quite an experience, and quite unlike the more urban ones we've grown accustomed to in these past weeks. It was cloudy the first day, which awoke deep, heretofore unseen red dragons of rage in Joel and I. Actually we just ineffectually tried to swim in the ice cold, sunless Mediterranean for several hours before we unconditionally surrendered, returned home, heads hung, and ate gelato. And pizza, of course. It's the kind of thing that Calvin's dad would say 'builds character,' if that puts it in perspective.
Several hours later the sun came out :(. Don't worry, it was very sunny the next day (joel's torso can attest to that (hehe)), and we both got plenty of sun, despite abundant and repeated applications of SonnenMilch. That's right, we bought German sun tan lotion, half for its utility, and half for the name.
The trip to and from the beach was quite an experience. Salerno's primarily a port city, so we had to go up the coast a little bit to find a nice beach. The Amalfi coast is a series of huge, rocky, terraced mountains that abut the water, and the Italian traffic engineers (...) decided to cut a winding, terrifying road that's just barely not wide enough for two cars to pass each other and that is an average 100 feet (not an exaggeration, surprisingly) above rocky oblivion. Our bus was flying down this road, taking blind corners, very nearly killing bikers and us in the process. It was mortifying at first, but we gradually got used to it.
The entire nation of Italy shuts down between 1pm and 7:30, apparently. Joel and I wandered the town in hypoglycemic trances for hours, consequentially. It's rather insane, actually, when juxtaposed with the hopping nightlife that most towns exhibit. Our roommate at the hostel, however, took advantage of none of these opportunities. He had one of the most 'simple' existences I have ever encountered. We returned to the hostel three times throughout each day, and each time, invariably, our friend was pants-less and smoking. A unique individual, to say the least. He also brushed his teeth each time we returned, borrowing tooth paste (denty-freshe, or something of that nature (he gesticulated until we capitulated)) from one of us each time. Please picture this.
So we swam, laid in the sun for a while, and narrowly avoided death for a couple of days in Salerno, then got on a train that was 35 minutes late in departing and 4 hours late in arriving in Rome, and that brings us to the present (or close enough). Today we saw the Colosseum (I didn't know men could build such things), the Pantheon (which was a tad disappointing), and glanced at the Forum. The weather was crappy and there were people getting married everywhere at the Colosseum, so we're going back tomorrow for another round. Rome, like London, has glittering, ancient edifices on seemingly every corner, and it takes Joel and I quite some time to get anywhere, as we invariably stop and go in or up something and take a bunch of pictures in several different locations before we move on. That happened today at Trajan's column, Trevi's fountain, and the spanish steps, for example. Also a man tried to sell us a bow and quiver of arrows today. That is all.
Anyway, the Italian internet man upstairs is ending our interent, so I have to leave. Miss you all - three days till America! See everybody soon.
- Tom
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A Tale of Two Cities
Unlike Garfield, a Tale of Two Kitties, my chosen title for this blog actually reflects something Dickens might have been interested in. Instead of referring to the timeless comparison of Paris and London, I am writing about East and West Berlin.
Capitalism against communism, freedom against opression, choice against mandates, and hope against despair. All of these elements were actually separated by a 10 foot high wall erected in the middle of the night.
The communist Germans were actually entertaining, in a sad sort of manner. They discovered important things such as: children prefer wood to concrete as a construction material for their playgrounds. They tried repeatedly to compete with the capitalist West and failed. The Trobi is the standard example of this. The East Germans built a diminuitve, polluting, slow, and ugly automotive that was supposed to compete with the beetle and other western cars. Shockingly, the car was terribly constructed, poorly distributed, over priced, and had a sixteen year waiting list to get it. There may not be a better metaphor for the East German government and why on November 9th 1989, the Wall came down.
I have four minutes left on the internet, so I am going to quickly summarize the ambience of Berlin. It is a spacious city, and that was a welcome feeling from the oft congested London and Paris. The food is excellent (especially currywurst) and the people are very friendly. German is a hilarious language with ridiculous cognates. For example, thimble is fingerhoot, or fingerhat. The Wall still stands for a stretch of just over a kilometer in the East, and it is covered in beautiful grafitti now. The Reichstag, their parliament building, is a well designed and efficient building that is quite accessible to the public and provides a view of the cityscape.
I have 1 minute left, so I must run to the Italian beach with Tom! We miss you all and will give you detailed stories when we return! Rome tomorrow by the way....
Joel
Capitalism against communism, freedom against opression, choice against mandates, and hope against despair. All of these elements were actually separated by a 10 foot high wall erected in the middle of the night.
The communist Germans were actually entertaining, in a sad sort of manner. They discovered important things such as: children prefer wood to concrete as a construction material for their playgrounds. They tried repeatedly to compete with the capitalist West and failed. The Trobi is the standard example of this. The East Germans built a diminuitve, polluting, slow, and ugly automotive that was supposed to compete with the beetle and other western cars. Shockingly, the car was terribly constructed, poorly distributed, over priced, and had a sixteen year waiting list to get it. There may not be a better metaphor for the East German government and why on November 9th 1989, the Wall came down.
I have four minutes left on the internet, so I am going to quickly summarize the ambience of Berlin. It is a spacious city, and that was a welcome feeling from the oft congested London and Paris. The food is excellent (especially currywurst) and the people are very friendly. German is a hilarious language with ridiculous cognates. For example, thimble is fingerhoot, or fingerhat. The Wall still stands for a stretch of just over a kilometer in the East, and it is covered in beautiful grafitti now. The Reichstag, their parliament building, is a well designed and efficient building that is quite accessible to the public and provides a view of the cityscape.
I have 1 minute left, so I must run to the Italian beach with Tom! We miss you all and will give you detailed stories when we return! Rome tomorrow by the way....
Joel
Sunday, May 31, 2009
A pinch of Paris and a dash of Berlin
Guten Tag everyone from Berlin, Germany (East Half in pre 1989 terms)!
I should warn you before I begin, the Germans insist on having several keys in different places on the keyboard, and thus typing is slow and error prone. If a rogue z appears where a y should be, you know whz. or rather, why.
I never got to talk about Paris, so I'll try to give you a synopsis of the highlights and some of the unique occurences that Tom and I will never forget.
First, the Parisian metro is much more convoluted and congested than the London tube. In Britain they always say "Mind the Gap" to avoid stepping down into the space between the train and the platform. In Paris there is no such warning, and on occasion, a "Mind the Giant Crater Through Which an Infant Could Easily Fall Through" would be appreciated. Tom and I have to date still avoided paying for bathrooms. In the words of Churchill, I shall never, never, surrender to the European's bathroom demands. Certainly not to the French.
Eating in France has been an event in itself. The food is delicious, and we are getting adept at spending little money for decent quality. We had a Royale with Cheese meal each the second night in Paris, following the Pulp Fiction idea of the Frenchified McDonalds. At the foot of Notre Dame we had jambon et fromage crepes (and a complimentary chocolate crepe because Tom and I looked like confused American boys, a power we are still learning to utilize at full potential). To sum it up, we ate only bread, cheese, and chocolate for several days, which I believe is all the essential food groups. For French people.
My semesters of French came in handy on occasion, but wild gesticulating almost was more useful than the correct vocabulary word. Several mistranslations of epic proportions occured, one in particular where I was asking about the size of an omelette and the shopkeep would respond only with "bagguette." Many stereotypical French customs were witnessed, straight out of my high school and college textbooks. Unshaven men named Jacques would greet random friends in 80's clothing, kiss both cheeks, get on a noisy moped, and head to the cinema.
One of the most memorable experiences of my life happened crossing the Seine to see Notre Dame. Tom and I heard the unmistakable wail of Kurt Cobain (lead singer of Nirvana for the adults reading this post) singing Smells Like Teen Spirit, and being gigantic fans of the band, we were naturally quite shocked... when before us a marionette was soloing to the song! A strung out man was beautifully choreographing a marionette to play Smells Like Teen Spirit on the main bridge across the Seine... In Paris. It was sublime. I tipped the man, and hopefully he did not decide to buy additional drugs with my money, but I had to reward his efforts nonetheless.
The sights in France were lovely. Sacre Coeur was magnificent. Pere Lachaise was a very peaceful experience, and we stopped at the graves of Jim Morrison, Moliere, Rossini, and Oscar Wilde. The Eiffel Tower was, well... Paris lit up at night in a 360 degrees panaromic view, words cannot do it justice. The Louvre has everything important in it ever. I think Tom mentioned some of the things in it. Versailles and the surrounding gardens are among the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I mean that quite seriously. The azure sky with a beaming sun, shining upon endless tree rows with symmetrical floral patterns and fountains with various mythological figures was breathtaking. King Louis had a serious greenthumb. And by greenthumb I mean 1,000 disgruntled servant garderners.
So, that was France in a nutshell. A bread nutshell covered in cheese and chocolate. I will comment about Berlin very soon because the internet is available and not overly expensive. Now if I can just get a keyboard with a y and z in the correct places...
-Joel
I should warn you before I begin, the Germans insist on having several keys in different places on the keyboard, and thus typing is slow and error prone. If a rogue z appears where a y should be, you know whz. or rather, why.
I never got to talk about Paris, so I'll try to give you a synopsis of the highlights and some of the unique occurences that Tom and I will never forget.
First, the Parisian metro is much more convoluted and congested than the London tube. In Britain they always say "Mind the Gap" to avoid stepping down into the space between the train and the platform. In Paris there is no such warning, and on occasion, a "Mind the Giant Crater Through Which an Infant Could Easily Fall Through" would be appreciated. Tom and I have to date still avoided paying for bathrooms. In the words of Churchill, I shall never, never, surrender to the European's bathroom demands. Certainly not to the French.
Eating in France has been an event in itself. The food is delicious, and we are getting adept at spending little money for decent quality. We had a Royale with Cheese meal each the second night in Paris, following the Pulp Fiction idea of the Frenchified McDonalds. At the foot of Notre Dame we had jambon et fromage crepes (and a complimentary chocolate crepe because Tom and I looked like confused American boys, a power we are still learning to utilize at full potential). To sum it up, we ate only bread, cheese, and chocolate for several days, which I believe is all the essential food groups. For French people.
My semesters of French came in handy on occasion, but wild gesticulating almost was more useful than the correct vocabulary word. Several mistranslations of epic proportions occured, one in particular where I was asking about the size of an omelette and the shopkeep would respond only with "bagguette." Many stereotypical French customs were witnessed, straight out of my high school and college textbooks. Unshaven men named Jacques would greet random friends in 80's clothing, kiss both cheeks, get on a noisy moped, and head to the cinema.
One of the most memorable experiences of my life happened crossing the Seine to see Notre Dame. Tom and I heard the unmistakable wail of Kurt Cobain (lead singer of Nirvana for the adults reading this post) singing Smells Like Teen Spirit, and being gigantic fans of the band, we were naturally quite shocked... when before us a marionette was soloing to the song! A strung out man was beautifully choreographing a marionette to play Smells Like Teen Spirit on the main bridge across the Seine... In Paris. It was sublime. I tipped the man, and hopefully he did not decide to buy additional drugs with my money, but I had to reward his efforts nonetheless.
The sights in France were lovely. Sacre Coeur was magnificent. Pere Lachaise was a very peaceful experience, and we stopped at the graves of Jim Morrison, Moliere, Rossini, and Oscar Wilde. The Eiffel Tower was, well... Paris lit up at night in a 360 degrees panaromic view, words cannot do it justice. The Louvre has everything important in it ever. I think Tom mentioned some of the things in it. Versailles and the surrounding gardens are among the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I mean that quite seriously. The azure sky with a beaming sun, shining upon endless tree rows with symmetrical floral patterns and fountains with various mythological figures was breathtaking. King Louis had a serious greenthumb. And by greenthumb I mean 1,000 disgruntled servant garderners.
So, that was France in a nutshell. A bread nutshell covered in cheese and chocolate. I will comment about Berlin very soon because the internet is available and not overly expensive. Now if I can just get a keyboard with a y and z in the correct places...
-Joel
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Paris ==> Berlin
Good afternoon all. Tom here, from the Rue des Halles in Paris. The Nazi internet Frenchman (his full title) just told us we have 15 minutes left, so I will be posting for Joel and myself, as he is buying a flight to Phoenix right now for his job training this summer.
Paris is beautiful, simply put. The first two days were kinda gray and overcast, but yesterday the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The timing worked out well, as we went to Louis XIV's palace of Versailles yesterday, and were able to experience the Sun King's chateau with the requisite ample sunshine. The gardens behind the palace itself are ridiculously vast, filled with fountains, hedgemazes, little lakes, and perfectly manicured lawns literally as far as they eye can see. Joel and I laid out in the Jardin du Roi (garden of the king) for a little bit. It was awesome.
We've hit all of the obligatory Paris sites - the Eiffel Tower (awesome, got some great night pictures of the City of Lights (and met a Brewers fan at the top)); the Arc du Triomphe, where my brother the expert photographer took some professional looking pictures of the sun setting behind it and on the Champs-Elysees, the Obelisk of Luxor, and the Louvre; the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Hammurabi's Code of Laws (probably the coolest thing there), the Venus de Milo, and countless other priceless and jawdropping artifacts; Notre Dame, where we were able to go up to the Belfry and look at the 13 ton bell and get some great panoramic views of Paris; Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), the high-domed Romanesque Cathedral that sits atop Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, which, unsurprisingly, also offered some incredible views of the city. It's a long list, I know.
Joel and I eat some combination of bread, cheese and/or chocolate with (or for) every single meal, including a free chocolate crepe at the base of Notre Dame from a French crepe-maker. She must have liked us :). We also befriended some Indian breadmakers near our hostel, and have been eating copious amounts of pain au chocolat (it's like a croissant with chocolate inside).
Well damen und herren, gotsta sortie for now. The Nazi is upset. Chartres Cathedral in a couple of hours, and then a night train to Berlin! We'll try to blog again soon... hope everyone's enjoying their American summers!
Paris is beautiful, simply put. The first two days were kinda gray and overcast, but yesterday the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The timing worked out well, as we went to Louis XIV's palace of Versailles yesterday, and were able to experience the Sun King's chateau with the requisite ample sunshine. The gardens behind the palace itself are ridiculously vast, filled with fountains, hedgemazes, little lakes, and perfectly manicured lawns literally as far as they eye can see. Joel and I laid out in the Jardin du Roi (garden of the king) for a little bit. It was awesome.
We've hit all of the obligatory Paris sites - the Eiffel Tower (awesome, got some great night pictures of the City of Lights (and met a Brewers fan at the top)); the Arc du Triomphe, where my brother the expert photographer took some professional looking pictures of the sun setting behind it and on the Champs-Elysees, the Obelisk of Luxor, and the Louvre; the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Hammurabi's Code of Laws (probably the coolest thing there), the Venus de Milo, and countless other priceless and jawdropping artifacts; Notre Dame, where we were able to go up to the Belfry and look at the 13 ton bell and get some great panoramic views of Paris; Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), the high-domed Romanesque Cathedral that sits atop Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, which, unsurprisingly, also offered some incredible views of the city. It's a long list, I know.
Joel and I eat some combination of bread, cheese and/or chocolate with (or for) every single meal, including a free chocolate crepe at the base of Notre Dame from a French crepe-maker. She must have liked us :). We also befriended some Indian breadmakers near our hostel, and have been eating copious amounts of pain au chocolat (it's like a croissant with chocolate inside).
Well damen und herren, gotsta sortie for now. The Nazi is upset. Chartres Cathedral in a couple of hours, and then a night train to Berlin! We'll try to blog again soon... hope everyone's enjoying their American summers!
Monday, May 25, 2009
A London Synopsis
It's our last night in London and I have a little time to blog finally, so i'm going to sum up our London experience. We visited most of the highlights, and while the three days have been fantastic, it takes many more days to truly see this city.
Today we took the Westminster Abbey tour (after going to a service there yesterday). I cannot fully describe the enormity of this place. There is so much history contained in the abbey, but I am going to try my best to convey the ornate magnificence.
Kings and Queens that have cumulatively shaped the earth as much as anyone else throughout time have all been buried, married, and coronated at this place. Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor and Queen of Scots, Edward the Confessor, Edward Longshanks (6 foot 2 by the way), Henry III, Henry VII (beautiful Lady Chapel funded by him), and many more are buried there. It is strange to say "many more" when referring to British monarchs throughout time. Every room is opulently decorated to a ludicrous level.
Poets Corner blew my mind. It is tucked away with the greatest writers to have ever existed buried all around us. Spencer, Kipling, Tennyson, Chaucer, and Dickens are ALL buried there. On that note, I am in the middle of a Tale of Two Cities, and I hope to finish it in Paris.... for obvious reasons. Handel is buried there as well, and his music serenades you through the audio tour.
On the way out in the main nave, the greatest British scientists are buried. I got to view Newton, Lyell, and Faraday's final resting place. Most significantly, Charles Darwin is buried there. I stood at the foot of his memorial for several minutes, trying my best to realize the greatness of the scientists all around me. In that 20 foot triangle, four men were buried with a cumulative IQ of 650. To be blunt: Newton invented gravity (we were all floating), Darwin invented biology, Faraday invited time, and Lyell invented rocks. We lived in a floating, timeless, rockless, and transitional form free world before these great men came onto the scene. I'll stop blubbering about them now, but for me, that alone was worth a trip to Europe.
Essentially, without exaggeration, Westminster Abbey may have more incredible people buried in it than any other place on Earth.
So we also saw the National Gallery today, which has paintings from Raphael, Da Vinci, Monet, Manet, Seurat, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh. I saw VG's Sunflowers, Rembrandt's self portrait, Da Vinci's Madonna and Child, Monet's Lily paintings, and many others. Obviously all the great paintings were magnificent, and the history behind them was equally interesting. One of the Bellini paintings had an awesome story about Lorenzo de Medici stealing it. I think Lorenzo was able to do whatever he wanted. There were a couple paintings that really struck me. One in particular was called an Allegory for Human Vanity by Steenwyck. I recommend Google imaging it, but the artist did a lovely job of juxtaposing the frailty and transient nature of life with the very things that make life worth living. I really really appreciated it, and went back to look at it several times.
I should mention, I did encounter my first pay to use the bathroom facility, but did not pay. I was really pressed for time because Tom and I were trying to get into Westminster, and I did not have the requisite 50 pence to move the turnstile. So, I just jumped over it. Lets find out if the French have barriers that prevent such a thing. I doubt it. We have met people from all over the world, and our conversations have been very enlightening. I love learning about other cultures, especially about ones that I am entirely ignorant of. We met a pair of Estonian men at dinner, and let me tell you, besides knowing Talinn the capitol city, I know absolutely nothing about that country. It is very humbling to realize how large and complicated the world really is.
Well, I need to go off to bed, Tom and I have a train to Dover really early tomorrow morning. The White Cliffs and Calais await us! I hope you are all doing well, and I assure you I have much more to talk about when I get back.
-Joel
Today we took the Westminster Abbey tour (after going to a service there yesterday). I cannot fully describe the enormity of this place. There is so much history contained in the abbey, but I am going to try my best to convey the ornate magnificence.
Kings and Queens that have cumulatively shaped the earth as much as anyone else throughout time have all been buried, married, and coronated at this place. Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor and Queen of Scots, Edward the Confessor, Edward Longshanks (6 foot 2 by the way), Henry III, Henry VII (beautiful Lady Chapel funded by him), and many more are buried there. It is strange to say "many more" when referring to British monarchs throughout time. Every room is opulently decorated to a ludicrous level.
Poets Corner blew my mind. It is tucked away with the greatest writers to have ever existed buried all around us. Spencer, Kipling, Tennyson, Chaucer, and Dickens are ALL buried there. On that note, I am in the middle of a Tale of Two Cities, and I hope to finish it in Paris.... for obvious reasons. Handel is buried there as well, and his music serenades you through the audio tour.
On the way out in the main nave, the greatest British scientists are buried. I got to view Newton, Lyell, and Faraday's final resting place. Most significantly, Charles Darwin is buried there. I stood at the foot of his memorial for several minutes, trying my best to realize the greatness of the scientists all around me. In that 20 foot triangle, four men were buried with a cumulative IQ of 650. To be blunt: Newton invented gravity (we were all floating), Darwin invented biology, Faraday invited time, and Lyell invented rocks. We lived in a floating, timeless, rockless, and transitional form free world before these great men came onto the scene. I'll stop blubbering about them now, but for me, that alone was worth a trip to Europe.
Essentially, without exaggeration, Westminster Abbey may have more incredible people buried in it than any other place on Earth.
So we also saw the National Gallery today, which has paintings from Raphael, Da Vinci, Monet, Manet, Seurat, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh. I saw VG's Sunflowers, Rembrandt's self portrait, Da Vinci's Madonna and Child, Monet's Lily paintings, and many others. Obviously all the great paintings were magnificent, and the history behind them was equally interesting. One of the Bellini paintings had an awesome story about Lorenzo de Medici stealing it. I think Lorenzo was able to do whatever he wanted. There were a couple paintings that really struck me. One in particular was called an Allegory for Human Vanity by Steenwyck. I recommend Google imaging it, but the artist did a lovely job of juxtaposing the frailty and transient nature of life with the very things that make life worth living. I really really appreciated it, and went back to look at it several times.
I should mention, I did encounter my first pay to use the bathroom facility, but did not pay. I was really pressed for time because Tom and I were trying to get into Westminster, and I did not have the requisite 50 pence to move the turnstile. So, I just jumped over it. Lets find out if the French have barriers that prevent such a thing. I doubt it. We have met people from all over the world, and our conversations have been very enlightening. I love learning about other cultures, especially about ones that I am entirely ignorant of. We met a pair of Estonian men at dinner, and let me tell you, besides knowing Talinn the capitol city, I know absolutely nothing about that country. It is very humbling to realize how large and complicated the world really is.
Well, I need to go off to bed, Tom and I have a train to Dover really early tomorrow morning. The White Cliffs and Calais await us! I hope you are all doing well, and I assure you I have much more to talk about when I get back.
-Joel
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