This is it...?

Location: Venice, Italy

The first thing I have to say about Venice is: a day and half is more than enough for me (don't tell Mike, he could spend another week there, blah!). Venice is a decaying city falling into the sea. Lots of old buildings, graffiti, dirty. I dare to say its only worth viewing at nighttime, when the city is lit up with street lights and the canal is reflecting the pretty yellow glow. Otherwise, I could take it or leave, when it comes to Venice.

Yes, it’s a historically and culturally rich city--but it just didn't do it for me. And on that note, I do have to say "damn the Vegas!" The Venetian tainted my perspective of Venice (just another reason why I didn't fall in love with the city, not the sole reason). We are walking along the canal front, and the sun is setting--beautiful sunset, turning the sky light purple and pink. What thought comes into my mind? "Oh, that's pretty...it looks just like the painted ceiling in Vegas". Boo.

With that said, I did have fun while we were in Venice. Our hotel room reminded me of a doll house, very small space, light blue furniture, basic. The entire city is cobble stone-no cars, no bikes. We perused the city and shops. Hit an open air market and bought some produce to supplement breakfast. Me, Mike, and one other group member took a water bus around the island which gave us some great views and we got to see the "residential" area of Venice.

What was really fun was taking a night tour on the gondolas. Very romantic, just like the movies but not cheesy.

Also, because Venice is an island, it is at the mercy of the tides and the moon cycle. Very often the entire city floods (not due to the amount of rain fall, although sometimes the events do coincide). A few days ago there was a full moon-so according to our city guide, there has been daily flooding for the past 3 days. Not just the regular flooding, but aqua alta (extra high tide). So much so, the water floods the town square in front of the Church because that is the lowest part of the city. Now that was entertaining to see!

The canals basically disappear and you can't tell where they used to be. The city efficiently pulls out its raised walkways and creates mini runway ramps for people to get around on while in the town square and some additional side streets. We were mean and took pictures of other tourists dragging their suitcases through the water (that's why you bring backpacks in Europe!). San Marco square flooded is truly a site to see, especially when you know what it looks like bone dry. This daily flooding only occurs during high tide, so after a few hours, water recedes and life goes on.

I did not love the city, but I do LOVE spaghetti al carbonara! OMG! We ate at a super cute Osteria far far away from the tourist sites and got some delicious dinner for an amazing price. Love love spaghetti al carbonara (raw blended eggs, cheese, mixed with hot pasta), pasta heaven. Will definitely have to find a delicious recipe to make at home. I have succumbed to the fact that I will in fact gain weight on this trip, but I will be in complete bliss while I do so!

Home of Arnold!

Location: Pinswang, Austria

We stayed at really cute Farm House that was nestled in a valley. We were surrounded by mountains, very reminiscent of what you'd see in the sound of music. The Farm House used veggies from their garden to build the dinner salad, they have home grown eggs, a pygmy ponies in the yard. Down the country road you see an old man walking his bicycle with 4 dairy cows. It’s a very peaceful setting, you see few cars and the houses have a traditional German design.

This was a cute lady bug chocolate that was left on our beds when we arrived. I like how our pillows have been shaped like the Pope's hat in our hotel rooms! The staff at this hotel was so nice and accommodating. Even though we were getting up really early for breakfast (7:15) they still greeted us with a smile all the way through dinner.

Our event for the day consisted of visiting the two castles of King Ludwig (Oktoberfest honoree). His first castle was a modest one as far as castles go. Castle Hohenschwangau sits atop a cliff where he can overlook his town. Built in the 12th century Ludwig's dad rebuilt it in 1830 after Napoleon destroyed it.

This castle was by far the most ornate and luxurious one we've seen thus far. There is a wooden bridge that you hike up to above the castle were you get amazing views of the castle with the farmland and village in the background. Simply Beautiful.

Unsatisfied with his first castle, it became the summer home, and he started construction on another castle called Neuschwanstein, also known as the "Disneyland Castle". This is the castle that inspire Walt Disney's Cinderella's castle, awesome! This castle took 17 years to build and was Ludwig's dream castle. He used a medieval style even though its only 150 years old. Interestingly, only 1/3 of the castle's interior was finished, 17 of the 50 rooms completed. The tour we took in the castle led us through 15 of them. Ludwig died before he could see his dream castle completed, and only stayed in the inhabitable part of the castle for a year. All construction stopped after his death. I was super curious to see what the rest of the "unfinished" castle looked like. The same family lineage still owns the property and oversees the business.

A Day of Contrast

Location: Dachau, Germany

So today our guide warned us that today would be a day of contrast in Germany's history.  We had two stops today before heading out to Austria.  Stop 1: Dachau.  A concentration camp that was a self-claimed "work camp" rather than an "extinction camp".  Although they sure resembled each other...

So this was the entrance where trains would drop off Jews and later in the war, homosexuals, immigrants, and anyone who wasn't supporting the Nazi regime.  There is a skeleton of what the barracks used to look like.  Bunk beds are stacked three high and go the width of the room.  The beds had checkered patterned bedding and if any of the patterns were misalinged, it meant severe punishment.  At the height of the war, the barracks that were built to hold 200 now held 2,000 men.

Needless to say the conditions were deplorable and the torture techniques used were even worse.

Many of the men who entered these gates did not leave, many died from work exhaustion, starvation, suicide, torture, or disease.  Another startling reminder of what can happen when there are no checks and balances when it comes to government power.  We visited the main square where roll call took place, the creamatorium that was built on site so the community wouldn't know how many people were dying inside to avoid suspicion, and the row where the living quarters used to be. 

We spent a good three hours here and could have spent a few more.  It wasn't the most positive site we've visited thus far, but it was an important one.

Now remember, we were warned about today being a day of stark contrast.  Our second stop was not originally on the itinerary.  But the guide heard our pleas and made room in the schedule to stop by Munich on our way to Austria.  We got to spend a copule of hours at Oktoberfest, the 200th Anniversary mind you.  We did get some history, for instance, Oktoberfest is not actually associated with the fall harvest.  It actually came about from the wedding celebration of Prince Ludwig to his princess.  The villagers loved it so much that they made it a yearly event.  So basically, Oktoberfest is a annual wedding reception!  This experience was nothing like the Oktoberfest in Washington.  There are 14 "tents" for each type of beer.  They are served in liter cups only.  There are ferris wheels, carnival games, pony rides, and tons and tons of food.

Just to give you some perspective of the celebration: 6 million attend Oktoberfest in Germany, 6.5 million liters of beer is sold and 27,000 liters of wine is sold.  Not to mention the amount of food that is consumed by everyone.  This place was bananas!  Just about everyone is dressed up on traditional German garb, and there are tons of people singing and toasting.

 

 

 

 

Each of the tents is like an individual frat house.  Your colors, flags, and logos are posted on the outside and interior of your "tent" (they are actually huge framed structures).  With our time limit, we were able to visit two tents.  We went to the Lowenbrau and Ochsenbrateri tents. 

Castles!

Location: Bacharach, Germany

Germany is amazing. Absolutely picturesque. The little town we stayed in is called Bacharach. We stayed in a tower (converted into the 18 floor hotel Kranenturm, 700 years old~!) that is one of the 16 towers that were part of the fortress walls protecting the Rheinfels castle. We are a stone-throw away from the still highly used Rhine River.

Our first day begins with a historical walking tour with a Bacharach local name Heir Jung. He is an 80 year old gentleman who is a survivor of World War II (10 yrs old at the time) and gave us his perspective on German history (all the nitty gritty parts). His recollection of lying the floor with his mother during bombings, losing his 17 year old brother to combat, and living in extreme poverty during and after the war was extremely touching.

Looking at him, you'd never guess he was 80 years old--not by the way he was leading up and down the town streets, hoping up on building ledges, and trudging up the vineyard hills (OMG, the vineyard hills were beautiful!). He even took us into one of his good friend's shops and demanded "now sit down and play us a song" on the piano, to which his friend enthusiastically obliged (I'm sure they've done this routine for many tours before us ;-] ). Heir even told us about his efforts to do good for the world because of the "dark" parts of his country's history (Nazi rule). He is a retired school teacher who now teaches refugees from other countries how to speak German and its history. He houses Jewish immigrants in his home to help them get settled and learn the ways of the community. He was adorable and we wanted him to stick with us for the rest of the day!

The town of Bacharach is a gem along the Rhine River. It looks authentically historical without trying to be tourist trap (ahem…Leavenworth). The town exists just as it did when it was first settled into, the architecture isn't a gimmick but how they truly live. Adore it. It’s a two street city, that's it. Two main roads, the rest are ally ways.

After his tour we hiked to the Rheinfels castle which over looks both the river and town. Rick Steve's describes the castle as a "dead pit bull" above the town. This castle is dubbed the "mightiest of castles" because during the war no one could over take it, not even a 20,000 siege by army troops in 1679 couldn't do the job. We get a guided tour through underground tunnels, the wine cellar, a dungeon, and along the top of the fortress walls. This place is everything I expected a castle to be! SO cool. Definitely the highlight of my day. The castle's history is quite interesting as well, it was finally blown up by the French after they occupied it for 2 years in 1797 (but that was only because the current ruler knew the French commander who was going to invade and he refused to fight against his friend, so he ordered all German soldiers to evacuate). What is left are the ruins, not rebuilt by the following rulers due to high cost for the stone.

Then it was back to the hotel via ferry down the Rhine River. At dinner a small group of us ventured to the end of the main drag to a little restaurant. We totally ordered dinner in German, and the waiter understood us!

Me: sprechen sie Englisch? (do you speak english)

Waitor: Ein (a little)

Us: (thinking in our minds) oh crap

--bust out the translation book--

Us: Haben sie…blah blah menu stuff (do you have…)

Me: die rechnung bitte (the bill please)

Us: danke shen (thank you very much)

Good Times! Then we took our skills to the Gelato store!!