Tourist Sites

München turned out to be one of the best places we have visited so far. There is tons to see and do. The Dutches Museum is the best science museum I have been to outside of the Smithsonian, the English Garden is not to be missed, and the beer comes in liters and is extremely tasty. It is also within an easy day's train ride of places such as Dachau (the concentration camp) and Schloss Neuschwanstein (the fairy tale castle). We ended up staying a whole week because there were more and more things we wanted to do and see. Munich also has the best public transportation system of any city we have been to. Combine that with a cheap place to stay and a well equipped kitchen why would we ever want to leave?
That being said there is plenty more of Europe to do and see and its easy to get bogged down in a place and get lazy. That can be just as dangerous in travelling as trying to do to much. There is a delicate balance to strike of staying in a place and seeing all it has to offer while not forgetting about the other places yet to be discovered. With that thinking in mind we decided to head off to Switzerland. Neal wanted to do some hiking and get out of the city for a while and after seeing the pictures of Gimmelwald, I couldn't agree with him more. Gimmelwald is a tiny little town up in the Swiss Alps, in the Jungfrau region. Even though hordes of backpackers come here, in part thanks to Rick Steves telling people that it was one of Europe's best kept secrets, nothing can diminish its charm or beauty. It also has one of the best hostels we have been to. The kitchen is outstanding. There is a stove and a fridge, which is not something you always find, the price is good, and when you wake up in the morning you can look our across the valley to the glacier capped peaks of the alps. The hiking is breathtaking and mesmerizing, and very challenging. It is all up and down and very steep. We hiked about 8 hours yesterday and were so sore this morning that we decided to just enjoy the sun and air and do some reading. Tomorrow I am sure we will be back out the trails. It is easy to see why people come here planning to stay for a few day and end up staying for weeks or months instead. As tempting and delicious as that sounds--- not only is the view amazing but the food is outstanding, I had a piece of pear pie that was probably the best thing I have had to eat in all of Europe--- we will be heading to Hungary and the Czech after this for a whole new perspective on Europe.I hope everyone enjoys the pictures because they capture the beauty much better than I can.

Its has been a while since the last update mainly because we have been on the go the whole time. We had just gotten into Madrid when I wrote the last post. Since then Aaron has headed home, Neal and I took a train from Madrid to Rome ( it took about 33 hours), and we have met up with Colin, Liz, and Jerome in Italy.

We did make it to the bullfight in Madrid which was well worth the five euro. There were three matadors and they fought two bulls a piece. There are plenty of pictures but I don't have the camera with me at the moment to upload them so you'll just have to wait. Let's just say that I wouldn't be near any of those bulls and they run straight at it and stab it with a sword. Also of note was the fact that not only was there beer vendors walking the stands but also scotch and cigar vendors. The Palacio Real in Madrid was also worth a visit and it includes the armory. We got audio guides which were very informative, too informative actually. I now know more about the armory of Charles V then any one person should. Our last day in Spain was spent in Toledo and most of that was spent napping in a park. We didn't feel like spending the eight euro to see the cathedral and had only got about four hours of sleep the night before due the heat and drunk people in the street.

It was then off to Italy and Rome. The train ride involved two late night passport checks and a seat (mine) that didn't recline all the way. We made it and it was worth it. In the last three days we have seen the Vatican, Sistine chapel, the Colosseum, the roman forum, catacombs, art by Raphael and Michelangelo, had some great food and ice cream and hung out with an Australian who kicked our ass in pool and caused us to drink way too much wine. I wish that my writing skills were better because I cannot even begin to describe the amazing history that Rome has. It has been the best place we have been too so far. It lives up to all its billing. For having studied this buildings, places, paintings, and events for years now to see them is an unbelievably fulling experience. Also the no one has been pick pocketed, the locals are very friendly and helpful, and the gypsies haven't thrown any babies at us. So we were worried for nothing. Tomorrow its off to Florence for a few days. Hopefully I can get some pictures up then.

The person who can figure out the reference in the title of this post will get 50 bonus points. Hint: the older folk reading this may have an edge on this one. The first stop in Spain was Barcelona. It wasn´t as hot the last time I was there which was nice. Another day spent on the beach felt amazing again. There really is nothing like sitting on the beach looking out on to the Mediterranean. The beach at Barcelona is nothing to write home about, even though that is what I am doing, and it was packed but the water was warm and took away the aches from climbing the hill to our hostel. The hostel was nice, clean, had free Internet, and interesting people to talk to but it was a hike. It was farther out of town and up on one of the hills. My things are still feeling it. We went into the Sagarda Familia this time instead of just looking at. It is by far the most impressive unfinished building I have seen. If they finish it while I am still alive and that is a big if, I am going to fly to Barcelona just to see it completed.
Then it was train ride to Cordoba and this was our first bad train ride of the trip really because at least the night train was quiet. This train had about three little kids who took turns crying for seven hours. Cordoba was an interesting and frustrating city. The warren of streets in the medieval quarter is fun just to walk through and it was nice not having to take the subway everywhere. The frustrating part is that everything closes at 9:00pm. This is of course after having just opened up again at 5:00pm from the siesta. I am not sure when people actually get any work done. We went to the Mezquita which is the mosque Cordoba is famous for and it was a let down. It would have been more interesting but parts were under renovation and after seeing Chartres and the Sagrada Familia it didn´t have the same impact. However, we saw an excellent flamenco performance and then went to Medina Al-zhara which is the ruins of a palace city built by one of the caliphs outside of the city. I had never heard of it before but it was well worth the stop. I guess if for every famous thing that doesn´t live up to its billing if we find one that we didn´t know of before we are doing ok.
Now we are in Madrid and were luck to find a place to stay. In fact we are staying in three different places in three nights. There is a huge gay pride festival going on and they expect about 2 million people to come in for it. So the city is packed.We made it to the Prado today. It was the first major museum of the trip and well worth it. The collection of Goya´s is not to be missed.
I am running out of time online. It is not free tonight. I will post pictures in the next few days. Keep the comments coming, Neal and I really enjoy them.