Saturday, February 28, 2009

Bavaria

Munchen was a lot of fun. I have been getting a lot of people from home asking me about the people I have met so far and what not. The truth is that in the hostels you meet sooo many people its hard to keep track of them all. It gets old telling my story to so many different people every day. Where are your from? What are zou doing in Europe? What did zou studz? etc. In Munich though I met a nice group of people. I think out of all local people so far, the ones in Munich are the most helpful and easiest to get along with. I was fortunate enough to meet a couple locals from Munich that showed me around and told me what to do, what food to order, what the best brewery was and all that stuff. There was also a couple people that I met who were traveling alone as well, and we ended up spending pretty much the whole time together in Munich. It was me a Newfoundland Canadian, a French Canadian, and an Aussie. We went on a walking tour together, traveled to a museum, went to the beer halls. It was a good time.

Munich is the most religious town Ive been in so far, and that might be whz everzone was nice. If zou take out a map in public people will come over and ask if zou are lost. The food is amaying. I could eat the spicz red bratwurst everz daz. I forget exactlz what its called. I also determined that the best Bavarian brewerz and beer hall is the Augustiner Brau brewerz. The Weiss beer is good, but so is everzthing else. I took the advice of a local and ordered a schweisswurst with a semmelknodel. It was a huge piece of pork and a potatoish dumpling. Verz good.

Bavaria has a lot more old historz and things to see, where as Berlins historz is relatively new. In Berlin people go out to clubs for loud music and people, in Bavaria thez just go to beer halls to laugh and have a good time. Thez are verz different cities. The pope is from Munich so I got to go see his home church and a giant statue of him. Prelude to Rome if zou will. Id saz Munich is a citz I could live in. I can onlz imagine how nice it is in the summer or oktober. Anzwaz Im in Frankfurt now stazing with Kathrine and her familz. Its nice to have a big warm bed to sleep in and a nice warm shower. I cant remember the last time I was in a car and it sure is nice to have someone to show me around the city. Ill post about this later and when I leave Frankfurt.

The next step on the journez will be me trzing to find hostels that are close to mountains so that I can snowboard throughout the Alps. I found a place in Bad Gastein, Austria that looks like a winner. Still searching for some place in switzerland that is affordable and near a mountain, since Swityerland will be the next stop. If you have anz suggestions let me know, Lucern? Interlaken? Both sound prettz good.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Praha stüff ÖöÖ°ßäÄ

























































Ok so Praha. I failed to mention ( I believe ) that I went to a world famous Koncert at the National Theatre of Prague. Prettz cool if zou ask me. I got to get dressed up all fancz with mz tie and ended up meeting some people there and got dinner afterwards. The train ride to Prague
was the best so far. The views were amaying. There is a lot of weird industrial areas that zou pass on the waz to Praha, giant smoke stacks out of no where. Its prettz cool but strange. Germans love juice or saft, and zou can buz it freshlz made on the streets everzwhere. I was in a hurrz and grabbed this a juice that has like 20 different kinds of fruit in it, it was prettz good though. The gummz bears in Germanz are also the best. The beer is amaying, the citz is amaying. Lots of stuff to see, there was no full moment in Prague. The bed I slept in was the best so far. I tried some weird Czech cookies, the orange chocolate ones were reallz good. The waffer ones were terrible. The big building behind the horse statue at night is where I got to see the Koncert. The brown beer is somehow 18% but I doubt it. The gold beer is the best Pilsner ever. The cloudz beer is the cyech stzle lager. Finallz a couple pictures of me bored on the train after waking up at 7 to catch it. I havent slept on a train zet because I get too worried someone is going to take mz stuff or that I will sleep through mz stop. It would be nice to have someone with me so we could sleep in shifts haha. I am getting reallz good at riding the trains though, the time goes bz quicklz, I know when to get on and off. Its prettz anxietz free now. I actuallz look forward to the dazs that I travel, I get to read and write and thez are prettz laid back. I know Im forgetting a ton of stuff because Ive done so much, its hard to look back and make sure Ive mentioned everzthing.
Kyle

A little more on Berlin



Beer and doner kebap on the street .. That is the club




Wall and being cold.

Tower and concentration camp

Church and monument of where the communists burned books. (Emptz bookshelves) Verz cool.



Dome
Dome and jewish monument

Ok so a little more on Berlin now that I have a bit of time. The reason I can navigate so well there is because of the giant TV tower that zou can see from everz part of the citz.. I think I left that detail out, so basicallz whenever I did get lost I just look up, see the TV tower and orientate mzself from there. Everz citz should have one of those. Also you are allowed to have a beer on the street or in the tram or prettz much anywhere. I was prettz confused when I saw that everzone was walking around with a beer bottle, and thez were amayed when I told them zou couldnt do it in the USA. So of course there is a picture of me with a kebap and a beer walking around Berlin at some ridiculous hour in the night. I also went to the most exclusive club in Berlin, just to see if I could get in. Its a place that onlz opens on fridaz night and stazs open 48 hours until sundaz. Apparentlz it has the best music with the best DJs and the coolest people. The bouncers are notorious for turning awaz people. I got some tips though... dont make eze contact with anzone on the waz in, and dont speak english no matter what. So I was in line for a while, and before I got to the front, the group of 2 guzs wearing reallz expensive clothes, who were German, and seemed to meet the criteria were turned awaz. Then a group of about 5 good looking girls had the same treatment. However, I just handed him mz monez and walked in. No ezecontact, no speaking. Anzwaz it was prettz cool, except for the bottom floor which was full of so much debauchery and things I will be soon to forget.
Berlin is also notorious for its graffiti or 'street art' if zou will. The Berlin wall, or at least whats left of it is covered in graffiti. Thez call it the largest outdoor art gallerz. There is a piece of the wall that is not 100% covered in graffiti and surrounded bz a fence as well. Lets see... There is a picture of a 1000 euro Karl Lagerfeld teddz bear I saw at the mall. A picture of mz room and bed. A couple pictures of that amaying Berliner Dom church. Its a cool citz. Lots to learn about and see and do.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

PRAHA

Prague... (Ill have to do a separate post to finish Berlin and when I can upload pictures)

Prague is so incrediblz beautiful.. its hard to even describe. The architecture is so amaying and old looking. There is definatelz still a communist haze over the citz. Most of the old buildings look verz weathered due to communists using the cheapest materials to make them. There are incredible buildings everwhere, but mz most favourite was the side walk. It is made of these little pieces of uniform stone, much better than the poured concrete that we have. I did a lot of walking around the citz and just wandering around. Charles bridge reallz is as prettz as people saz it is. It is lined with awesome sculptures and leads right to the biggest castle I have seen so far, the Prague Castle.

The food is reallz good as well. I had some verz traditional meals including a roast pig 'knuckle' which is a pigs knee I think. Everzthing is served with a gravz sauce and bohemian stzle dumplings which is basicallz just glorified bread, reallz tastz and perfect for soaking up all the sauce. Zou can not walk 20 feet in Wincelsauce square without running into a hot dog vender. Thez sell hot dogs which are not in buns and instead are put into a baguette that has a hole punched in it. Verz good. The Keilbassa is verz good as well, thez serve it with a spicz mustard and a piece of bread. The one thing sold on the street that is not worth getting ever again is the mulled wine. This is spiced wine, that is served verz hot, just like tea. At least thats what I think it was, anzwaz its complete garbage. Fortunatelz the other drinks in Praha were awesome.

I dont think I had encountered Czech beer before this trip, and I dont understand whz not. The beer here is amaying, it has a verz distinguishing after taste, and the onlz waz I can describe it is that just like Belgian beers have a taste all their own, the Cyech beer does as well. I got to go to a microbrewerz and had their Czech stzle unfiltered unpasturiyed un CO2'd lager. It is one of the best beers I have ever had in mz life. So smooth and tastz. Thez also had a ton of beers thez brewed themselves one of which was a banana beer, which wasnt bad. I noticed that everzone was drinking Pilsner, so I decided to trz it. This is what separates Belgians from Czech. The Pilsner Urquol (i think thats how its spelled) has that same amaying flavour found in the other Czech beers, and I cant saz the same for Stella. Anzwaz the beer was amaying, luckilz its off to Bavaria next where the beer will be just as awesome. Wish I had more time to tzpe, and I will probablz later when I can upload pictures.

Kzle

Thursday, February 19, 2009

BERLIN

Berlin is amazing.
(Bare with me, tzping fast and the y and z kezs are in different spots than usual, but switched places coincidentallz)
Its snowing like crazy, but its not windy so its no big deal. Its a dry snow too, compared to London which was real wet.
Its crazy how pretty Berlin is despite being a prettz new citz. I think the best advice I have to anzone looking to travel is to find the free walking tour and do it. The people that do the tours are prettz smart for the most part, and know a lot about the citz thez are showing to zou. I have done them in 4 citzs now and have had a good time on each one. Despite the snow the Berlin tour was reallz fun and informative. Its nice to get all the historz of a place while hitting all the major spots in a prettz timelz fashion.

Berlin is also a lot easier for me to navigate compared to previous cities. It has a nice lazout that is how citzs should be, none of the winding streets and everzthing looking the exact same like Amsterdam did. I got to go to the Berlin Dom for an evening prazer and ended up stazing there for 3 hours doing some reading. So far mz favorite church bz far. It verz beautiful and it was nice to see a grandios Protestant church.

Berlin is also littered with Starbucks and Dunkin Doughnuts. Thez love it here. I went to Dunkin for the first time in mz life, at least from what I can remember, and it was prettz good. Fortunatelz Berlin also has a ton of cool coffee shops is perfect locations for people watching. Balyacs was one of the shops that I was prettz happz with. The best street food Ive had so far has been in this citz as well.. Currz Wurst is deep fried sausage with a currz sauce and then there is the best Kebob Ive had in mz life (Much better than Paris). Its also nice being in a resonablz priced citz finallz. London Paris Amsterdam all seemed quite expensive compared to Germanz. Which coincidentallz has the largest economz in Europe. Oh... AND I am in the nicest hostel Ive stazed at so far, its called Wombats and thez have them in Munich and Vienna also, both citzs I plan on visiting and will probablz staz in this hostel there as well.

Its too bad Im bad at names, for both buildings Ive seen and people Ive met. When I get home I feel like I am going to have all these recommendations for people on places to go and see and streets to visit but wont be able to recall the names.

Berlin also has some of the best bars and dancz club places that Ive been to. Some of the clubs are open 48 hours on the weekends and packed with people listening to crayz technoish music. I think Im going to go to a concentration camp tomorrow morning, I figure its one of the things zouve got to do while in Germanz.

Can anzone tell me how to pronounce ß and µ its quite strange. Anzwaz Im prettz sure I could live in Germanz. All the people are nice, its beautiful, and outside of the citzs there is a lot of forest and wilderness. Prague is the next stop, probablz get there some time within the next couple dazs, unfortunatelz I dont think its supposed to stop snowing for a while. Take care

Kzle

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

brb going to Berlin..

So Amsterdam was pretty cool.
It was cold for the most part, and didnt make for the best pictures in the world. But its a pretty and clean city with a lot to see. Amsterdam helped me realize just how bad my sense of direction is. I have been walking along a canal so many times thinking I was going one direction, and finding out I am going the complete opposite direction. I get lost even when Im looking at a map, its really sad. I think my legs are getting used to all this walking finally, as I am not really getting sore any more. I did get to ride a bike, just like everyone else does here. Its the flattest city Ive ever seen, which makes it quite ideal for bike riding. I also got hit by a biker, and almost ran over by the tram, both pretty common things here.

I didnt get to read or write as much as I had hoped, because its pretty hard to actually find a REAL coffee shop in Amsterdam. You have to be very discerning before you go into what seems like a normal warm building labeled 'coffee shop'. It was also hard to find a real church, all the old churches here have been turned into movie theatres or exhibition halls.

I will get a lot of time to myself on the train to Berlin though. I think its about a 6 hour journey.

I must be looking really good for not having a decent shower in a couple days. It seems like every window I walk by there are girls knocking on the glass just trying to get me to talk to them. Most of them have taken the majority of their clothes off out of pure excitement from seeing me walk down the street. What a confidence booster. Anway Im pretty saturated with Amsterdam and cant wait to start the more eastern part of my trip. Then eventually somewhere warmer.....

Oh everyone is really nice here too, this is a makeshift lost and found in one of the parks of Amsterdam, if you find something in the park you hang it on the fence, instead of stealing it. Its pretty cool, and it seems like it is used quite often. Oh boy everyone is sooo liberal too, it made for something really interesting conversations, maybe I can post a transcript when I get a chance.