Copenhagen

Aaron and I are now in Copenhagen. It is really nice here! The whole city is full on canals (and lots of bikes!) Last night we took a canal cruise and then had dinner along a canal which was really nice. Then, on a whim, we decided to take the train into Sweden for dessert! The train ride (across a HUGE overwater bridge) into Målmo, Sweden takes about 25 minutes. So we spent a few hours in Sweden last night!

Today we are hanging around Copenhagen and enjoying the city before taking a night train to Amsterdam tonight. Should be fun!

--Emily

Berlin

Aaron and I had a wonderful day in Berlin today. It is such a fabulous city! This is one place we definitely want to visit again. Since the city was basically destroyed only 60 years ago....and half of the city only really free as of 15 years ago....the whole city is very vibrant and new. It actually reminded me a lot of Chicago because there is a river that runs through the center and there are a lot of activities surrounding the river.

This morning...and into the afternoon....we took a walking tour of the Third Reich sites. The tour was fabulous! We learned so much and had such a new perspective about the events surrounding WWII. It was so interesting learning all these things while we were in the city where most of it unfolded. We learned more about how the Nazis were able to come into power....the situation in Berlin following WWI....the actual Battle of Berlin with the Soviets...and what is going on with the neo-Nazis today. It was fascinating. Our tour was supposed to last 4 hours, but ended up going about 5.5. Part of that was because the Berlin marathon was going on today, so the city was kind of crazy. Although it was neat because most of the roads were blocked off so we didn't have any traffic!
One of the neatest things we saw today was the TV Tower....which is a 1,000 foot tall spire which was built by Stalin in East Berlin during the Cold War. This tower soars above all of Berlin and you can see it everywhere. During this period, Stalin had ordered all the crosses and other religious symbols removed from East Berlin because the Communist philosophies did not allow for religious beliefs. However, after the spire was created--as a sign of the atheistic state--it was discovered that when the sun hit the mirrored ball at the top of the tower (the ball is HUGE and basically the spire is topped by big mirrored ball), the way the sun hit the mirrors caused a cross-like symbol to appear. Again...I'll have to show a picture....but the basic principle is that after removing all signs of religious beliefs and taking away religious freedom....the very symbol that they erected in place of religious symbols basically turned in to a giant illuminated cross during the daylight hours. The people referred to it as the 'Pope's revenge'. I think that it was God. Anyway, I thought that was so neat.

Afterwards we took a break from WWII and Cold War Sites (we also went to Checkpoint CHarlie during the tour), and we went to the Egyptian Museum and the Pergamon Museum. At the Egyptian Museum we saw the bust of Nefertiti, which has come to symbolize much of Egyptian art, and is very recognizable.

The Pergamon was so cool. They basically took a bunch of excavation findings from Pergamon in Turkey and other places in the Middle East and put them together at this museum. We saw the Altar of Zeus which this huge altar with steps that takes up a huge museum room...pictures to follow...hard to describe. The coolest was called the Processional Street...which is a street from ancient Babylon (now Baghdad) from King Nebukanezzer's time (I know I butchered the spelling!) It was gorgeous!

And for those of you who have been wondering. I don't know how much these two events have been in the American news....but they are heavily covered in CNN International. We left Budapest the day that the riots began over the economy and dislike of the current prime minister. We saw some mild demonstrations, but the demonstrations turned violent the night that we left and have been going on for about a week. We feel very fortunate because our guesthouse was only 1 block from the Parliament where all the violence has been occuring. So we would have been caught in the middle of it! Yikes! Also, there was a train wreck in Germany while we have been here and it killed everyone on board....but it involved the test run of a magnetic train line....so there were no real passengers on board....very sad. It was in a different part of the country too....so we weren't affected.

Anyway, we are taking the train to Copenhagen tomorrow.

Rothenburg/Berlin

After leaving the castle area, we took the 'Romantic Road' through the heart of Bavaria. It was a really nice bus ride through a bunch of medieval towns. We ended up in Rothenburg and we fell in love with the little town! It was so quaint and perfect. We stayed at a fabulous little B&B that was just outside the city walls by a little creek. It was an old mill that had been tranformed into a B&B...it was so nice! I definitely recommend going there!

This morning we took a train ride to Berlin....about 5 hours away. So far we have seen a lot in Berlin! We are staying in the former East Berlin and it is really interesting. We really like Berlin. Tomorrow we are taking a walking tour and going to a few museums. There is a marathon tomorrow and it is a pretty big deal. So things are pretty crazy around here!

Bavaria

Aaron and I took a train from Munich to Fussen, Germany this morning....about 2 hours. This afternoon we went to Neuschwanstein Castle, as well as another castle next door. They were both gorgeous! Built by 'Mad' King Ludwig in the 1800s, this was the castle that Walt Disney used as the model for Disney World (Sleeping Beauty castle). We are staying down the road from the castle tonight in a really cute B and B, and tomorrow are taking an all day bus ride through the Romantic Road area, and spending the night in Rothenburg.

Congrats to Vicki and Chris on the birth of their baby girl! I cannot wait to meet her!

Munich

We arrived in Munich early this morning. We both slept really well in our sleeping car, which was a relief! We ended up dropping our stuff off at our hotel and heading out for the day since we couldn't check in until noonish.

We spent the morning at the former concentration camp of Dachau. It was a very sobering experience. There's really not a whole lot to say about it, except that I think everyone should see something like this as a reminder of what happened not that long ago.

After Dachau we completely switched gears and headed to Oktoberfest, which just happens to be going on while we are here! We had a good time. The whole thing is like a giant carnival--with a lot of beer. But they have rollercoasters, carnival games, other rides, lots of people in lederhosen and giant horses pulling barrels of beer. It was pretty crazy, but also really fun! We went to the Hofbrau House tent and each had roast chicken, a beer and a pretzel. I could only drink half of my beer--not a big beer fan--but it was huge, to be fair! Aaron managed his just fine! We had some great conversation as well with a group of people from England. Then we each got a bag of sugared nuts--peanuts for me, almonds for Aaron (he actually had two huge bags!)

Now we are headed back to our hotel to relax and rest for a bit....then head out for dinner.

Prague

We really love Prague!! It is such a nice little town. We arrived late from Budapest, but we made it to our hotel. It is in the Old Town, so the location is perfect! Our room was great....it had a big terrace, and a little sunken living room with a TV, so we could watch CNN. It's funny, because the only TV we have watched in a month has been a little CNN here or there, or BBC....oh yes, and a little Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in German. That was amusing.

Yesterday we had breakfast at our hotel and then headed out to get symphony tickets. We went last night to the Prague Philharmonic and saw a really great performance. We think it was actually the Salzburg Philharmonic Orchestra--but we cannot really be sure, as the translation in the program was a little confusing. But it was good nonetheless. The first half of the performance was the orchestra--with a piano concerto solo by a really good pianist. And the second half was with a Czech choir and three opera soloists....they were really good! And our tickets were only $10 a piece! We had great seats in a little 3 person balcony.

We also saw the Jewish Museum yesterday--which is comprised of 6 synagogues and 1 cemetary. It was really interesting. Ironically, the only reason all of this was spared WWII damage was because Hitler intended to use this area (called Josefov) as his "Museum of the Extinct Jewish Race." Very disturbing, but at least everything was spared.

Today we are visiting the castle area of Prague. And tonight we are taking a night train to Munich. We are planning on visiting the Dachau concentration camp in the morning, and then going to Oktoberfest in the evening.

Budapest

Aaron and I made it to Budapest yesterday morning. We went straight to our "hotel" which is on the Pest side (Budapest is made up of two sections, Buda and Pest, which are separated by the Danube River). We had a little apartment in a residential apartment building near the Parliament. It was nice, although the building was a little run down. We got settled and then head off to do some sightseeing. We went to the Castle Hill and saw many different places, such as the St. Mattias church, which was very beautiful.

We also went to the "House of Terror" museum which is located in the building that was the headquarters of the Nazi Arrow Cross party as well as the Communists when they took over after WWII. It was a very informative place, but very creepy, as thousands were tortured and executed in the building.

In the afternoon was our highlight. To reward ourselves for a lot of walking and sightseeing we went to some of the Hungarian baths. The ones we went to were in the City Park--also a neat place. Don't worry....everyone wore bathing suits. We pretty much just hung out in the giant hot tub (the size of a large swimming pool) and also went into some of the mineral baths. And mom--they weren't sulpher, so they didn't smell! It was really fun and a neat experience.

We are headed to Prague today....the train ride is about 7 hours....yuck! Anyway, that's about it for now. We've really enjoyed Budapest, and have spent a lot of time just hanging out and enjoying the city. They have made a lot of progress in the 15 years since Communism has ended. They even have a TGI Friday's....don't worry, we did not go there!

~Emily

Austria

Things are going great in Austria!! We took an early morning train to Salzburg and spent a day there. My mom and I took the Sound of Music tour, which was cool. In addition, we stopped for a delicious chocolate torte and I took a luge ride (on wheels, not snow)....it was interesting! I'll share more about the Sound of Music later. I realized that this was the first time in 3 weeks that Aaron and I have been apart for more than just going to the bathroom....crazy huh??

The next day my dad rented a car and we drove to a part of Germany just over the border called Berchtesgaden, which is where Hitler's retreat 'Eagle's Nest' was located....and it is still there. It's actually a restaurant and there are bunkers and stuff. It was kind of creepy, but interesting at the same time....it was especially interesting to hear about WWII stuff from the German perspective. While no one advocates for what happened, the different take on it was interesting.

Then we drove to the town of Hallstatt. It was gorgeous!!! I'll try to put in a picture of it at the bottom. Our pension was right on the lake with balconies. It was so beautiful! I wish we could have spent more than one night. Aaron and I definitely want to go back there someday. We pretty much just relaxed and enjoyed the scenary.

The next morning we drove back to Salzburg and took the train to Vienna. To any of my family members who are reading this.....we randomly met up with my dads friend from Carbondale, Kurt Wagner....who lives in the town of Villach, Austria--where we had a train connection for about 15 minutes. My dad was thinking that he lived somewhere in the area, so he e-mailed him from his blackberry....and sure enough, he lived in the very town that we were tranferring in....and his office was a block away from the station. He was also doing business in Vienna today, so we saw him again today.

We got to Vienna and saw a few great places--St. Stephans Cathedral and the Kuntshistoriches Museum. Then we had an awesome dinner. We're staying in a really fancy hotel (thanks mom and dad!) called the Hotel Bristol. It is awesome....Aaron and I are so spoiled! We have a marble hallway in the room as well as a walk-in closet! And they put chocolate tortes on your pillow every night....sweet!

This morning we took a tram tour around the city of Vienna. Then we went to the Hofburg Palace and saw the Treasury with the crown jewels and the imperial apartments. Finally we had a tour of the opera, which was awesome! That is about it from Austria! Aaron and I leave bright and early to catch a train for Budapest, while my parents are flying back to the U.S in the morning. We will be home in about 2 weeks.....we really miss our dogs! In Europe you can bring dogs into restaurants....its crazy!

Love,
Emily (and Aaron)

Venice part due

Today was our last night in Venice....but it was a good one! We met my parents again this morning--they had spent the last 3 nights on the Amalfi Coast. We went to lunch and then strolled around Venice for awhile. Today, being 9/11, it was a little strange being away from America. However, it was very touching because as we were walking through St. Mark's Square--the main square in Venice--there was a huge American flag hanging in the center of the square--right next to the basilica. It was moving to see that despite all the differences in politics right now between Europe and America, that other countries are still grieving with us over such a horrific tragedy.

This evening we went to a little osteria recommended to us by Riccardo, who runs our B&B....this man is so helpful, it is unbelievable! We had an awesome dinner and then we went for a gondola ride.....with my parents....ha! But it was amazing. As cheesy and "touristy" as the gondola rides are, they truly are magnificant! We went through the smaller canals and then onto the Grand Canal and under the Rialto bridge. Then we went back through the smaller canals until we reached the Bridge of Sighs (the bridge that connects the Doge's Palace to the prison)....it is so named because the prisoners apparently "sighed" as they caught one last glimpse of the canals of Venice as they crossed the bridge to face their deaths or lifetime in the prison. It is a very gorgeous bridge for its purpose.

Afterwards my dad, Aaron and I went to Harry's Bar, which is a famous bar where writers such as Ernest Hemingway used to hang out. We each had a glass of overpriced champagne....but can you really put a price on sitting at the same bar stool as famous people??? Umm....the answer if yes. Then we strolled through St. Mark's Square and saw all the orchestras playing for the cafes along the square. I have come to realize that Venice is truly a magical place....it almost doesn't even seem real....like Disney World or something. But I love it.

Tomorrow we leave on the 6:44AM train to Salzburg, Austria. I am hoping we can arrange a Sound of Music tour....again, cheesy, but a quintessential experience. Did you know that the Austrians don't even know what the Sound of Music is? It never really caught on there.... We have a water taxi (compliments of Riccardo's friend), who is going to pick us up right outside our hotel.

Funny story for all those who know a thing or two about classical music. Antonio Vivaldi, the great composer and musician, was from Venice. So tonight there was a concert featuring his music. Aaron points out the poster and asks me if I've ever heard of Vivaldi. I said, "yes, he wrote the four seasons." Aaron says, "oh yeah? he's playing a concert tonight....." He died in 1741. Oh Aaron....

Venice
We have arrived in Venice. It is beautiful!! We took a 45-minute long vaporetti ride down the Grand Canal before checking into our hotel, the Corte Campana Bed and Breakfast. It is really nice!! Plus they have free internet.....yes! Our hotel is right on a little canal. We will be here two nights and my parents will join us tomorrow. We are the only ones here right now--the owner doesn't even stay here--so we feel like we have our own little apartment in Venice.
Random--on the train from Rome to Venice we ran into the pastor who married us--Jim Tomberlin and his wife.....how random is that? They had moved to Arizona shortly after we were married, so we haven't seen them since the wedding.....and they happened to be on the same train as us going to visit their daughter outside of Venice (her husband is in the air force). It's a small world after all.....
Ciao,
Emily

Rome

We are currently in Rome. It is wonderful. We have seen many sights so far including the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica. Tomorrow we leave around 11AM to go to Venice and then on to Austria. We had a fabulous dinner last night where they basically serve you what they are cooking. We had a 5 course Roman meal for only 20 euros each....this is a great price for Rome! Tonight we have reservations at my favorite restaurant in Rome--Tre Scalini--they have a chocolate dessert that is to die for!!

--Emily

Rome

Cinque Terre, Italy

We met up with my parents in Milan yesterday morning and we all made the train to Cinque Terre without problems! We had a lovely dinner last night--Aaron and I are excited that we could go out for a really nice dinner for a change. We are staying in a town called Monterosso Al Mare which is the last town in Cinque Terre. This morning the 4 of us took a boat ride to the 1st town and then we walked part of the way--down the Via del Amore. Since my mom has a bad knee, she took the train back and hung out while Aaron, my dad and I walked. It was a very tedious walk--about 5 miles and up and down the whole way! There were many parts where the path was very narrow and the drop down to the water was hundreds of feet.

We are going to Siena tomorrow and staying at a friends vacant house, so we think we will be able to post more pictures! Until then....we are off to dinner.