Back home in the good ol' US of A and it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night. The last week flew by as I think I was mentally preparing to go home. Unfortunately we both got a little under the weather this past week so I spent one day of Zermatt stuck in bed (luckily I had an unobstructed view of the Matterhorn from this spot so it could have been worse).
After Zermatt we headed off to Lugano, and although it is in Switzerland it immediately feels more like Italy. The architecture and language are different-everything is in Italian and the people look and act Italian (for those of you who have been there, you know what I mean). We weren't very impressed with Lugano even after walking a bit around the city and taking a boat ride on the lake, so the next day we headed off to spend some time in Italy. The hour long bus ride to Menaggio was stressful to say the least. The bus was fighting to drive on skinny, one lane roads with other drivers. Whenever a large RV or another truck came down the road it was every man for himself. The driver layed on the horn on numerous blind curves so the other cars would (hopefully) stop so we could get by. There was no sleeping on this journey- our heart was pounding every step of the way!
We really liked the city of Varenna-very quaint and the waterfront is picturesque where we ate. We also went to Bellagio and spent a few hours walking around and seeing the mansions perched on the hill. We got back to Lugano in the late afternoon and hibernated in the hotel for a bit since it was quite warm this time of year.
Next we were off to Zurich, our final stop. The city was pretty with a decent old town on both sides of the river. It reminded me a lot of Luzern or Salzburg in that respect. We didn't spend much time here because the cold caught up with Jon here and he needed to rest in order to survive the 24 hour long travel day to get home.
Overall we absolutely loved the trip. We would definitely recommend the entire Berner Oberland region and especially the Lauterbrunnen valley. We also thoroughly enjoyed Hallstatt in the Austrian lakes. I will post some pictures in the next few days.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Week 2 Trip Update
Week two of our European adventure definitely outshined week one for scenery. We left Munich and got to Salzburg only two hours later by train. The old town is quaint with small, closed in streets, no cars, and nestled along a river with a castle perched above. The only negative was that it rained the whole first day, so everywhere was just plain wet (and so were we!).
The next day we went to Hallstatt, in the Austrian lake district. We hadn't planned this stop originally, but a Rick Steves DVD convinced us to go here instead of Innsbruck and we were not disappointed. This is truly one of the most beautiful places in Europe and I dare say the world. You approach it by boat and the town is built up on a hill overlooking a swan filled lake and gorgeous peaks. WHile here we also visited the famous salt mine which has been active since before Christ. The mine itself wasn't very exciting (the one I visited in Poland I would definitely recommend more), but you got to go down two miners slides and clock your time. Not surprising, I was slow and conservative at 14 kilometers/hour, while Jon went the fastest of anyone we had seen at over 30 kilometers/ hour.
Leaving Hallstatt we set off for Luzern and had a long day on the train. We arrived in the late afternoon and quickly got our bearings. As we scouted out a place to eat we were shocked at the prices! Yes, the euro was a poor rate but here you couldn't find a sit down place to eat for less than 20 dollars/person. Even the McDonalds Big Mac meal was over 11.00. Yes, that isn't a misprint.
Luzern was another pretty city but very touristy. The cobbletone streets and pedestrian only old towns are lovely, and the lake it is on is also swan filled and Mt. PIlates overlookes the city. It rained here the entire next day we were there, so we were unfortunately stuck in our room for much of the day.
We left Luzern anxious to get to the most popular tourist destination in Switzerland, the Berner Oberland. We skipped staying in Interlaken to get higher into the mountains, and we were so happy with our decesion. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen, a small town famous for its 500 foot waterfall, Staubbach Falls. Our room had a view of this imposing sight as well as the Jungfrau mountain range. Everywhere we looked we wanted to click our cameras for more impressive sights. We took the train for a two hour climb to the top of the Jungfrau peaks called the "top of Europe" because it is the highest train station on the continent.
Jon pushed me to my limits (and I'm so thankful he did) and we walked for 50 minutes from the shelter of the Sphinx on the top of the mountain to a hikers lodge aways away. The whole time we had snow swirling around us and high winds blowing against us making the uphill ascent something I had seen out of National Geographic.. When we got to the lodge I had such a sense of accomplishment though, and the views were extrodinary. It is one of the neatest things I have ever experienced.
Before we left in the area we went hiking in the Alps for about 2 1/2 hours and had gorgeous scenery and weather the entire time. Hearing the cow bells ringing through the valley was another quinicential experiencec for me. This is a place we would definitely return to. We fell in love with this gorgeous terrain.
As I write this we are in Zermatt and havve entered week three of the trip. Zermatt is also very touristy but seeing the Matterhorn after waiting to come here for years was exciting. This area in general doesn't seem as imposing as the Berner Oberland because the Matterhorn is all by itself and the area around it doesn't have peaks towerning over you as well, but it is still a pretty area (we have just been spoiled by the past three days in Lauterbrunnen).
The next update will have to wait until we return home. We only have the ascent of the Matterhorn tomorrow, Lugano and the Italian lake district, and Zurich left. We can't wait.
The next day we went to Hallstatt, in the Austrian lake district. We hadn't planned this stop originally, but a Rick Steves DVD convinced us to go here instead of Innsbruck and we were not disappointed. This is truly one of the most beautiful places in Europe and I dare say the world. You approach it by boat and the town is built up on a hill overlooking a swan filled lake and gorgeous peaks. WHile here we also visited the famous salt mine which has been active since before Christ. The mine itself wasn't very exciting (the one I visited in Poland I would definitely recommend more), but you got to go down two miners slides and clock your time. Not surprising, I was slow and conservative at 14 kilometers/hour, while Jon went the fastest of anyone we had seen at over 30 kilometers/ hour.
Leaving Hallstatt we set off for Luzern and had a long day on the train. We arrived in the late afternoon and quickly got our bearings. As we scouted out a place to eat we were shocked at the prices! Yes, the euro was a poor rate but here you couldn't find a sit down place to eat for less than 20 dollars/person. Even the McDonalds Big Mac meal was over 11.00. Yes, that isn't a misprint.
Luzern was another pretty city but very touristy. The cobbletone streets and pedestrian only old towns are lovely, and the lake it is on is also swan filled and Mt. PIlates overlookes the city. It rained here the entire next day we were there, so we were unfortunately stuck in our room for much of the day.
We left Luzern anxious to get to the most popular tourist destination in Switzerland, the Berner Oberland. We skipped staying in Interlaken to get higher into the mountains, and we were so happy with our decesion. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen, a small town famous for its 500 foot waterfall, Staubbach Falls. Our room had a view of this imposing sight as well as the Jungfrau mountain range. Everywhere we looked we wanted to click our cameras for more impressive sights. We took the train for a two hour climb to the top of the Jungfrau peaks called the "top of Europe" because it is the highest train station on the continent.
Jon pushed me to my limits (and I'm so thankful he did) and we walked for 50 minutes from the shelter of the Sphinx on the top of the mountain to a hikers lodge aways away. The whole time we had snow swirling around us and high winds blowing against us making the uphill ascent something I had seen out of National Geographic.. When we got to the lodge I had such a sense of accomplishment though, and the views were extrodinary. It is one of the neatest things I have ever experienced.
Before we left in the area we went hiking in the Alps for about 2 1/2 hours and had gorgeous scenery and weather the entire time. Hearing the cow bells ringing through the valley was another quinicential experiencec for me. This is a place we would definitely return to. We fell in love with this gorgeous terrain.
As I write this we are in Zermatt and havve entered week three of the trip. Zermatt is also very touristy but seeing the Matterhorn after waiting to come here for years was exciting. This area in general doesn't seem as imposing as the Berner Oberland because the Matterhorn is all by itself and the area around it doesn't have peaks towerning over you as well, but it is still a pretty area (we have just been spoiled by the past three days in Lauterbrunnen).
The next update will have to wait until we return home. We only have the ascent of the Matterhorn tomorrow, Lugano and the Italian lake district, and Zurich left. We can't wait.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Time in Germany
Time for a more thorough update on week one of the trip: Germany. We got to Berlin about 5:00PM and got to meet up with Marie. We ate at a cute square and I had a great German meal, sauerbrauten. I also discovered that I liked one type of German beer: berlinerweisse. It is flavored with a berry taste and is a lot like a wine cooler. Yum. We walked around quite a bit that night and got a great feel for the city.
The next day we climbed up the top of Berlin's capital building, the reichstag. It was neat how architectually they blended old with the new, and the top had great views of the city. The Berlin Cathedral is one of the prettiest spots and on the banks of a river. We went to church here on Sunday morning and listened to an English translation with a complimentary headpiece they give you.
In my opinion, the western section of Berlin is much prettier than the eastern section. Instead of having box like and uninteresting buildings the streets are tree lined and facades look more 19th century quaint.
We drove the next few days and saw lots of German countryside. One thing that surprised us was the number of nuclear power plants we saw-at least five! The towns on the romantic road, of which we saw five, were nice and parts of each town were very picturesque, but if I was head of the tourism department I would encourage true pedestrian only old towns. Seeing these spots and then having the modern cars lined up on the roads takes away from the experience of being transported into the 14th century. Rothenburg was neat because of its size and extensive intact old walls that surround the city. Heidelburg was pretty because of the dominating castle remains looking over the old town. Likewise, Wurzburg's castle was very unique in that you could walk all over the ancient monestary and see exactly how their defense system worked. The views from the top were also gorgeous.
One of the trip highlights for me so far was seeing Neuschwaunstein Castle. Truly seeing the outside of it perched high on a hill with beautiful mountains surrouding it and a lake with swans at the base is breathtaking. The interior tour is short (35 minutes) and makes you realize how crazy this king really was to build this thing. He even has a fake cave inside of the castle walls and everything inside is meant to look medieval but is mearly a facade. Nothing-not the jewels, not the gold trim, not the furniture is truly authentic. Our room had a balcany which we could look at the castle from. I told Jon to pinch me it was so surreal.
Munich, much like Berlin, is a big city with a small old town which is reconstructed after being demolished in WW2. The marienplatz square is pretty, but the glockenspiel is not as neat because of my skewed 21st century perspective. It doesn't do much but slowly move in a large circle. The Englisher Garden was larger than I expected, but also very risque. Who knew nudity was so accepted outside of the beaches of southern France? We also got to see some surfers on the fast moving river that goes through the park. Very unique.
Next we are off to Switzerland and Austria. This was the part of the trip I have been looking forward to most. I can't wait to see the Matterhorn, get to the trop of the Jungfrau, see Hallstat, and get some gelato in Lugano.
Auf wiedersehen!
The next day we climbed up the top of Berlin's capital building, the reichstag. It was neat how architectually they blended old with the new, and the top had great views of the city. The Berlin Cathedral is one of the prettiest spots and on the banks of a river. We went to church here on Sunday morning and listened to an English translation with a complimentary headpiece they give you.
In my opinion, the western section of Berlin is much prettier than the eastern section. Instead of having box like and uninteresting buildings the streets are tree lined and facades look more 19th century quaint.
We drove the next few days and saw lots of German countryside. One thing that surprised us was the number of nuclear power plants we saw-at least five! The towns on the romantic road, of which we saw five, were nice and parts of each town were very picturesque, but if I was head of the tourism department I would encourage true pedestrian only old towns. Seeing these spots and then having the modern cars lined up on the roads takes away from the experience of being transported into the 14th century. Rothenburg was neat because of its size and extensive intact old walls that surround the city. Heidelburg was pretty because of the dominating castle remains looking over the old town. Likewise, Wurzburg's castle was very unique in that you could walk all over the ancient monestary and see exactly how their defense system worked. The views from the top were also gorgeous.
One of the trip highlights for me so far was seeing Neuschwaunstein Castle. Truly seeing the outside of it perched high on a hill with beautiful mountains surrouding it and a lake with swans at the base is breathtaking. The interior tour is short (35 minutes) and makes you realize how crazy this king really was to build this thing. He even has a fake cave inside of the castle walls and everything inside is meant to look medieval but is mearly a facade. Nothing-not the jewels, not the gold trim, not the furniture is truly authentic. Our room had a balcany which we could look at the castle from. I told Jon to pinch me it was so surreal.
Munich, much like Berlin, is a big city with a small old town which is reconstructed after being demolished in WW2. The marienplatz square is pretty, but the glockenspiel is not as neat because of my skewed 21st century perspective. It doesn't do much but slowly move in a large circle. The Englisher Garden was larger than I expected, but also very risque. Who knew nudity was so accepted outside of the beaches of southern France? We also got to see some surfers on the fast moving river that goes through the park. Very unique.
Next we are off to Switzerland and Austria. This was the part of the trip I have been looking forward to most. I can't wait to see the Matterhorn, get to the trop of the Jungfrau, see Hallstat, and get some gelato in Lugano.
Auf wiedersehen!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Hallo von Deutzchland
We have been enjoying our time in Europe so far. We started off in Berlin and met up with my friend from high school, Marie. We climbed up the Reichstadt and walked through the Brandenburg gate. At the time they were celebrating America's return to that plaza, and they had tons of Obama balloons. We also went to a church service in Berlins catherdral with Marie that was entirely in German. It was quite an experience.
We took a car and went off to visit pretty towns including Rothenburg, Heidelburg, würzburg, dinkelsbühl, nordlingen, and hohenschaungau. there i got to see the neuschwuanstein castle, which walt disney modeled his cinderella castle after. that was a highlight for me so far. jon just did the conversion from kilometers to miles and we were going 93 mph on the autobahn at one point. if i knew that, we would not have been going 93!!!! even at that, we were averaging about 88. yikes. the scarier part was we kept being passed by others-audis, bmws, and mercedes.
we have been in münchen for two days now and took a tour of the city and went to their science museum today. tomorrow we might go to dachau to be thoroughly depressed.
so far jons favorite thing has been riding the subways all over the big cities and the food. he has gotten to eat tons of german sausages and he finished his 1 liter beer at the Hofbrauhaus last night. i drank maybe 0.2 liters. it was the most beer i have ever drunk so i was proud of myself. ha ha.
We took a car and went off to visit pretty towns including Rothenburg, Heidelburg, würzburg, dinkelsbühl, nordlingen, and hohenschaungau. there i got to see the neuschwuanstein castle, which walt disney modeled his cinderella castle after. that was a highlight for me so far. jon just did the conversion from kilometers to miles and we were going 93 mph on the autobahn at one point. if i knew that, we would not have been going 93!!!! even at that, we were averaging about 88. yikes. the scarier part was we kept being passed by others-audis, bmws, and mercedes.
we have been in münchen for two days now and took a tour of the city and went to their science museum today. tomorrow we might go to dachau to be thoroughly depressed.
so far jons favorite thing has been riding the subways all over the big cities and the food. he has gotten to eat tons of german sausages and he finished his 1 liter beer at the Hofbrauhaus last night. i drank maybe 0.2 liters. it was the most beer i have ever drunk so i was proud of myself. ha ha.