Late start. Oops. Took care of some planning and blogging
I biked around the Porto madero area, part of the river, that runs though the city. Not a very wide river. Very nice area to bike through. Modern architecture lots of people.
Traffic is interesting, for all the rules they break (or better said, rules of safety) they are sticklers on lights. They won’t run a red one even there is no one around. Surprising.
Fun yet starting to feel like I’m am in a game of crazy taxi, city crazier than the port area.
Last thing I wanted was the bike to get stolen so asked the guard outside museum to watched my locked my bike and he would. Perfect.
Huge museum, very modern. Liked the art lots of Argentinean landscapes and portraits.
Really liked this piece. Reminded me off the last supper. Saw another person staring at it. Ended up talking to her about the piece and what she was doing in Buenos Aires. We ended up talking for about an hour. Heard about her experience studying abroad. I filled her on current events on the US and we talked about the similarities and differences between the two places. Also talked about the problems each faces. Interesting conversation.
Took off towards the ecological reserve. It’s located just outside of the city and is a wildlife area. Awesome to be in nature while looking back towards the city. I intentionally took the long route and did the whole thing. While near the river banks I ran into a familiar face, the guide from the bike tour yesterday. Great time in the reserve.
Headed for the rose gardens. Got a little lost/disoriented near train station. Insane amount of people and vehicles. Bikes, buses, cars, people, motos all converging on one spot. As I found my way I was looking forward to getting on the bike path. Found it.
Buenos Aires built a great system of bike lanes, they run in the main streets or on the sidewalks just off the street and are separated by physical barriers from motorized traffic (out of necessity). I quite enjoyed passing all the sites that I had walked by or seen from the bus in previous days.
Stopped briefly to capture a photo of this flower, it opens and closes with the sun.
Made it to the rose gardens but it was only an hour until the bike shop closed, so I only spent 15 minutes is the garden. Stunning gardens. Very dense. A tranquil spot in the middle of craziness.
With 45 minutes left I started to battle my way through the city. Now I truly was in a game of crazy taxi! Consulting my map I had a route picked. The map makes crossing 8 lanes of traffic much easier than it actually is. I followed the lead of other bikers and made it happen. After some brief street confusion I was back on my way. Soon I was intense center of the city and knew the way the grid worked. I ended up on a prediction and bike street and despite not having rot contested with busses and cars, it was slower. Cars move in generally one direction the people were all over the place, back to the normal street. I continued racing and made it ack at 6:59. Phew. Lost an argument about getting a 1 phr free because I could not find the card, still would not give me the discount even though she knew that’s how I found out about the place and knew which card I was talking about. O well. Great day riding a bike though the city. Really enjoyed how much ground you can cover. Quite fun
Went to dinner with two guys from the hostel. Always interesting to hear others travels stories. The place we went to was alright. Kinda touristic spot.
Next stop was an English bar. Locals and other travelers. Met some people who are tour guides, currently taking a break by taking a trip of their own. Comical to hear the stories of them leaving people behind when they are not ready to get on the bus and don’t pickup the phone.
Walked back to hostel and as usual was very ready to go to be…….
I was getting ready for the day, I decided on a bike ride. Seemed like a good way to explore the city and would give my feet some rest. I was about to leave when two English girls said they were doing a tour at two, I made an impulsive decision and joined them. The tour started in 30 minutes and was across town. I wanted to take public transit but after doing the math in my head decided with their idea that we needed a cab. The total was 45 pesos. 13 more a person than the bus or subway would have been. Yes that is only three dollars but I am impressed by their transit system and try and use it.
I reluctantly paid for the tour instead of just riding a bike. But am I glad that I did because it gave me the confidence to ride on more streets and took me though areas I would have not done my own.
We did not stop much and I actually would have appreciated a bit more narration than the guide gave. Her pace on the bike was borderline painfully slow. I once tried to hint at a speed increase by pulling up even with her and coasting for a bit while in a wide open area in a park. My attempts were futile.
I will say her ability to ride a bike, lead a tour, dodge cars and text (for a few minutes) impressed me.
The public parks and green spaces in the city are impressive. Sadly the rose gardens were closed. I will return one day and just read. Cobblestone streets are not the most friendly thing to ride on. Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. Had some funny conversations with the Brits. Talked about humor differences and the worlds perception of our respective countries.
China town was hilarious. More like China street. Very small. But still had the signature entrance. When was it decided that all major cities should have a China town? There was some irony in ordering Chinese dishes in Spanish.
Where we parked our bikes had a dog park like none I have ever seen before. Check out this video.
It seemed like it was a free for all drop off. I was shocked that the dogs did not fight more. I never saw a fight just lots of barking. Crazy. We asked our guide about it, she asked abut it casualty and said that is where you leave your dog if you need to visit one of the business in the area.
The tour concluded. But I knew I would be riding a bike in Buenos Aires again soon. Perhaps tomorrow.
Time to head to MALBA. Starting to do better with the busses. Really was not a fan of walking due to the blisters. It really is incredible how many buses there are. I may do a special blog just on the busses.
They had a interactive noise meter outside. It goes up as traffic increases. Fun to watch.
Got to MALBA used my student ID. Realized I could have saved even more because they give 25% of to CITI customers. Grabbed a coffee and a pastry in the cafe and then started to explore.
Really interesting museum. For better or for worse, no photos were allowed. I realized this after I took a few an was promptly yelled at. Oops.
I did like this one.
I enjoyed the impressionist pieces and some of the modern art. However some of the modern art seemed silly to me. There was one piece that was literally two black squares suspended in air. Even I could had done that. But I guess the point is I didn’t. I did enjoy the collection that was interactive. At first glance it appears just to be a collection of random objects but the I noticed there were buttons and you could make the piece move,that was cool.
There also was a whole thing with colors and prisms and mirrors. That blew my mind. The art changed as you moved about the room. Quite genius. And fun.
I left and towards the hostel with the intent of going to a tango class. Found a bus home rather quickly, I only had to walk 5 blocks. It had already been a full day why not make it fuller.
I barley had time to set down my stuff down when people were leaving for tango lessons. I caught up with the group and after a little walk we found the tango spot.
For 25 pesos you got a lesson, a live band and then admission to the milonga (an open dance for tango). I did decent during the lesson. However I was told in Spanish by the instructor that I needed to move my weight first and the move my leg. Not sure I fully understood. Maybe next time.
There were two instructors, only one was bilingual. It was quite comical as she would say something in Spanish, I’d understand parts and then she would repeat it in English. The only odd part was when she’d say something in only one language or forget to translate what the other instructor said.
Overall a good time and fun to do with a group of people I knew. The band came next and was quite good. The singer kept coming on and off the stage. But appeared. embarrassed anytime he received applause. He had a great voice. People already started to dance, I was not feeling especially confident after just one lesson so just watched, as did the rest of my hostel group. It was entertaining but I soon felt a little more hungry and tired. So I left.
I felt less hungry as I walked back and saw nothing open so I just went to bed.
Quite a fun and busy day and night. Good night moon.
Slept in again. I enjoy this style of sight sighting. While my rapid and quick paced euro trip exceeded my expectations and then some, I did not relax much. I am relaxing in Buenos Aires and embracing each day. I open the guide book or ask for a recommendation and then go do it.
Today was time to meet up with Riley. I met Riley freshman year on my dorm hall. Very nice guy. I am envious of his ability to travel the world. Currently he is in Argentina studying for a year, volunteering and traveling. Jealous.
We met up at 11 and I gave him his presents. He proclaimed his thankfulness when he saw I had brought two 22’s of beer. fresh hopped. As a true NW guy he appreciates a good beer and while he has been trying the micro brews here, they do better with their wine.
Filled up my water bottle and headed out on an adventure. We took the subway to a bus and then walked towards the feria de Mataderos. We were outside of the tourist area of the city. It was interesting seeing the real living standards and what a neighborhood looked like. Mostly developed but some houses still coming together.
We arrived at the festival to the smell of cooking meet and heard live music playing. Locals were doing a traditional dance to the music. Great to have Riley as my tour guide for the day. We spent some time wandering the market and looking at local crafts. While I appreciate the hard work and good quality of what was on display i am not a big purchaser of such items. I do need a matte gourd though.
Hunger soon entered out mind so we went and got the local barbecue. A steak sandwich of sorts for only 18 pesos (4 US dollars). I chose to get a soda which cost 10 pesos, it amazes me how cheap the food is compared to drinks at times.
I am glad we found a place to sit and that it ended up being towards the entrance. We soon were treated to this.
Riley asked the man how he trained the dog to sit there and the man replied that it just started to sit there. While odd, it did look comfortable. The crazy part happened when the horse started moving and the dog stayed on, bareback. It appears he uses his nails to dig in a little bit and honestly just has good balance. As the little pony ride returned I was excited to see that the dog and made it the whole way.
When we headed back to the market Riley decided to get a belt. All morning I enjoyed listening to Riley interact with the various venders. He has excellent spanish but normally speaks slowly enough for me to understand and start to pick up new words. Watching the process of the belt being custom made intrigued me. The sizing then cutting the belt, changing the buckle, and punching the holes. After seeing how good it looked on him, I wanted one to. Went through the same process and go my very own leather belt. Really nice quality and a unique design. And it only cost me 110 pesos (26 dollars).
We moseyed our way to the entrance again to watch the gaucho horsemanship.
This setup consists of a soccer goal like post that has a string in the center of it that is used to hold a ring with a pin on it. The rider gallops towards the goal at full speed and then stands up and attempts to place a rod though the ring and retrieve the ring. Doing all of this while riding a horse. Sound crazy? It was. Check out the video to get a taste for it. But then come back, I’ll work on embedding them.
After watching several riders succeed and fail we moved on. Taking one last stroll though the main market we proceeded to attempt to catch a bus. Many passed but not the one Riley wanted. Glad I am not the only one who loses at bus lottery. Further up the road we found a stop that would have a bus that would work. As we got water of a store across the way I saw proof of how much Argentina loves it matte.
A self serve not water station. Brilliant. Still need to get a gourd.
The water we purchased was somewhere in between gas y sin gas. I want to know why outside of the EE.UU water with gas is so popular.
We boarded towards a bigger but less posh cemetery. For the record while intriguing, cemetery’s creep me out. Strolling past dead bodies, feet below the earth strikes me as odd.
I went to grab a sip of water and as I flipped up the value on my camelback water bottle I got attacked by a stream of water. I quickly flipped back down the value and turned to the now laughing Riley. We both instantly realized what had happened. Guesses? The water with a slight amount of gas got shaken up and well high school physics took over. (Tim you would have appreciated the resulting conversation about the path of least of resistance and why his water bottle did not have the same problem. ) I pointed the bottle out the window and let it spray. Quite a sight. (in hind sight I should have just undid the cap to let the excess pressure escape. )
After getting of the bus we realized that we exited too early. Oops. However there was a entrance near us. This was not the cemetery we were expecting, intrigued we started to look around. I soon realized most of the headstones were in English and had European sounding names. As I pointed this out to Riley, his history major took over. He gave me a quick lesson about how Argentina was the other destination when people left Europe for the US. There was and still is a significant Italian population and influence in Argentina. This helped to explain the Italianness of the local Spanish. Using ciao instead of adios, Biere or cervesa and more. There was also a influx of Germans and Brits. Intriguing.
As we moved down the road, another entrance. This time it was a clearly German cemetery. The German signs and order gave it away. I have never seen such a pristine cemetery.
Everything lined up, the headstones, trees, plots, gravel. Everything.
We kept walking and walking and found the entrance to our original destination by now we were both sick of dead people. I snapped a quick photo, noticed how it wasn’t as nice as Recoleta and headed towards a coffee shop Riley knew of. The whole time we had been walking we carried on a wide ranging and dynamic conversation. Covering everything from US politics, economic disparity in the US and Argentina, the problems with sunk cost, religion and everything in between.
Arriving at the coffee shop to the sight of a lowered metal gate disappointed both of us. O well. Onward. (lots of business still close here on Sunday’s).
Next stop Palermo for some sightseeing. Intended on catching a bus but it never came. So we kept walking, and walking and walking. Eventually we hit the point of no return where just made sense to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully it was a pretty walk. Saw the neighborhoods change as we entered the nicer areas. But the walk was very long. My foot stepped up the pain/annoyance level, I started to walk differently which makes my leg hurt. I need to do something about this blister.
Palermo had interesting shops. On Sunday’s they have a market of sorts and most of the nightclubs host clothing boutiques inside. Very fun way to shop. Great use of space.
Walked to the subway, walked back to the hostel. In total I walked between 7-10k. My bet is that much or further.
Shared one of the beers I brought for Riley as we planned the rest of my trip. Using the as a interactive map. Iguazu, san ignacio, Rosario, Uruguay, if time permits a town outside of BA and then spend the night with Riley before I fly home. I had him take my lenses so I would not have to carry them around. Since there was no point. We had a good conversation about traveling and roots and how it is nice to come home to people who care about you. So true.
Thanks to iMessage I received the news that I will be running the hood to coast either with a team from work. Yaya! Wait….should I be excited or scared. I am going with both.
Riley knew of a good place in San Telmo and we grabbed dinner there. Good food and got to here of some of his crazy travel stories. Having to coordinate a pickup truck to come and grab his injured friend after spending a night in a soccer field with their guide who carried and M-16 held my interest. Walked with Riley towards his bus stop and said ciao for now.
I woke up and was happy that I had slept in until 10:30. Different from my Europe trip, but I needed the rest. I had been woken up earlier when my roommates got ready for the day but I was able to fall right back asleep.
I looked at what I wanted to do for the day and decided my main goal was to explore the park area in Palmero. The jardin botanicas and japonasa sounded the most interesting. I also wanted to see the big cemetery in the middle of the city.
First I headed back towards the tourist area to see if there was a shop that sold my camera at a reasonable price. I found one the night before but it was $2000 us dollars. Only a $1,500 premium. I found the nikon shop hoping it would be cheaper but they did not even have it. And with that I was officially moving on.
I figured it made sense to get a quick lunch before I started my adventure for the day. I looked for a restaurant as I was looking for the right bus. I saw this one and knew it would be great.
Once I got inside I was the only American there. Perfect. I was great by who I think was the owner, as he was the most dressed up but still knew everything about the restaurant. I picked out a steak sandwich. Almost everyone drinking a beer with lunch and thought about it but said in reply to the question of which one I wanted “tengo auqa”. As I walked away from the the cooler I heard a local mocking my choice to only have water. Haha.
Once the sandwich was ready the chef showed me all the different spices or things I could add he warned me that the on chili like spread was quite hot. I tried a little bit and found it flavorful but a bit mild, so I used a generous amount. I took my first bite and it lived up to my expectations. I love finding a good hole in the wall place. I finished and paid. Despite a one dollar to 4.2 pesos things are not that cheap. My sandwich cost 5 US dollars. A deal but not a steal.
I headed on the search for my bus. On advice from Riley I bought the guia t which is a book that lists every bus route in the city. It breaks down the city into grids and tells you which buses serve that area. The problem I am having is that I don’t know where to go in that grid!! So I just start walking around playing a combination of batteship and the lottery. I see a bus coming read the number and hope it is one I won’t. The problem is like the lottery my number is not coming up often. After 10 minutes of searching for a stop that would take me to my destination I started asking locals for help. I was told, well I don’t know where that bus stops but the one I am waiting for will take you there. All of this was in Spanish and hampered by me forgetting the local word for bus, collectivos. Sure enough the bus got me within 3 blocks of where I wanted to be.
The gardens were alright. Not as lush as I expected. So I headed over to the Japanese gardens. Not what I was expecting at all. It was packed. People were dressed up. I was confused. Slowly I started putting things together. They don’t celebrate Halloween, it’s not tourists dressed up, they are holding fake weapons. It is an anime convention!!!! Surprise. I enjoyed walking around seeing all the different costumes and outfits there were some really crazy ones. I really enjoyed how tranquil the gardens are contrasted with the noise and activity of the city. A good timeout.
After spending sufficient time wandering and relaxing, And fighting through throngs of anime characters I headed out. Time for the cemetery. It is located in the center of the city and is often referred to as a mini city for the dead. Very crazy. Huge ornate mausoleums house the famous Argentinean dead. While slightly spooky I enjoyed walking around an appreciating the craftsmanship of the buildings. Again the juxtaposition of staring out and seeing the tall buildings of the city in the background and the houses of the dead in the foreground intrigued me. I crashed a tour group and listened to some explanations in Spanish.
I started my journey home. I hung out for a minute on a park/hill where local college students appeared to be gathering. Made for some good people watching. Again I struggled to find the right bus home and I walked further than I would have liked. Pretty sure I am going to have a blister on the bottom of my foot.
I stopped in at a local shop to buy a bottle of wine. I made a rookie mistake and helped the cashier make change and gave her one of my coins. Dang it. Coins here are the only way to pay for the bus and the shortage I read about is real. There is a constant game played between customers and merchants with each side trying to get as many coins as possible. I tried to get mine back but she was not having it. I faced this problem earlier in day and had to ask three shops for change before i got some. I spotted a bakery and a solution to my lack of “moneda”. I picked out a snack that cost 2.50. Forcing the shop to give me change. My plan worked but I needed more, so as I paid I asked for peso coins nicely. The cashier helped me out and I now had a snack and the money I needed to board the bus.
Finally I arrived back at the hostel after a long but good day. Really enjoyed exploring the city. I sat I the common area, drank some wine, chatted with fellow travelers and began to blog. I emailed Riley to coordinate our meeting up tomorrow and the saw I had one from Hannah wanting to go to dinner. Why not. So I met up with her and we began a search for empanadas.
As we walked through the plaza de mayo a concert blasted music our way. An interesting sound but I did not feel the need to stay and watch. With our backs to the plaza there was a loud bang and then more. We turned around to see a spectacular fireworks show. Perfect timing. Stayed and watched the 5 minute show that ended with an impressive grand finale. Really need as we had the presidential house as the back ground for the show. Surprise.
After passing on two restaurants Hannah asked for a recommendation. We soon entered a local shop and knew we were set. I ordered three, pollo,carne and jamon y queso. They were delicious.
We left in search of dessert, accidentally wandered into the main touristy area and then found a nice ice cream shop. Not as good as italian gelato but still tasty. Walked back to her hostel and then I walked home. My feet were killing me by this point.
Once I returned I wanted to go to bed but saw some of my hostel mates were hanging out and listening to music so I joined in. Got a world to tour of music as the french and Colombian girls went back and forth playing songs. I thought I should represent america well, so I put on teach me how to Dougie.
Then it was time for bed and once again I put my head on the pillow a…………
I am burying the bad in the middle. One to make your read it all and because that is the order in which my day went. As usual please excuse any typo’s. Part of me wants to not post this story but hey that would take away all the fun and honesty.
Off the plane and through customs. Very easy save the 150 dollar fee they impose. That being said it mirrors the charge that we place on their citizens with a visa. What goes around comes around, or so they say……
After exiting customs I took the advice of my hostel and my buddy Riley and got correct bus transfer to my hostel. Cheaper that a taxi and faster than the public bus.
Being up for 24 hours was taking its toll on me. As the bus left the airport I soon fell asleep. I would wake up and fall back asleep. Even thought the girl next to me looked perfectly nice I made sure to keep my brand new camera close between my legs. I honestly felt a little sick as we inched closer to the city center. After about a 30 minute nap I woke up and felt much better. The combo of a nap and a limon-lime soda worked well.
I started to chat with the girl/woman/person next to me. She is a flight attendant for TAM airlines and is from brazil. She gave me some advice and we soon arrived at the central station. From there I had a minibus transfer to my hostel.
Hostel is very nice. Small and friendly. I unpacked a bit and was given advice to take defensa into town and just walk around. I got my camera ready, put on sunscreen and started walking.
I felt as if If I had entered a city that took part of paris and blended it with NY. It reminded me of the musical in the heights. I was clearly in the barrio.
I started snapping photos and loved the results I was getting. Having the 35 mm prime lens really allowed me to have some fun. Especially with some fruit in a market. I realized I was hungry and started looking for the right cafe. I kept zig zagging down side streets trying to find something not 100% turisicto. One caught my eye and the menu was espanol y no americanos. Bueno. I spoke only Spanish to the waitress, however I think she over estimated my Spanish ability. I was unsure of what I ended up ordering but the words sounded good and it was what she pointed to after I asked her what her favorite was.
Turns out I order stuffed bell peppers. Amazing. Once again my new camera setup captured a crisp image. I could see the individual specks of rice and detail on the peppers. It tasted as good as it looked. The salsa on the side only made it better. I had fun people watching as I filled my stomach. I sat there a bit and then left.
I headed towards the plaza de mayo and snapped a few more pictures as I went. I thought about how much fun I am going to have learning how the most out of this camera.
As I entered the area near the square there was a big white building with lots of graffiti on it. The images perfectly stenciled intrigued me. I stopped to admire them. I then saw a solid building that I soon realized was a church.
The doors were wide open so I walked in. I wanted to start snapping photos right away but I held back. I walked towards a pew and knelt down to pray. As I prayed I thanked God for safe travels and for the ability to be able to travel. As I looked up I started thinking about how I wanted to take some photos of the church. I went to grab my camera and it was not there. WHAT?? I thought I must have put my bag on top of it. I lifted my bag and still no camera. I started to panic. I stood up and started looking for the thief. No one stood out. The people behind me appeared to have seen the whole thing but said nothing as it happened ( or they were part of the whole scheme they cursorily left at the same time I did). They said it was a tall blonde man. I ran out of the church and tried to find a man matching this description. No tall man existed. However, my eye did catch a man who started running as soon as I emerged from the church. I gave chase. As I reached the busy street the light changed and a wall of cars impeded my path. Ahhh. I was not willing to play frogger to maybe get my camera back. Still in a panic I approached a police officer and explained I has been robbed, he looked ready to jump into action, but I had no idea who we were looking for. As my panic level decreased, I became angry at myself and the thief and began to plan. Thoughts of stupidity, anger, frustration, stupidly,and insurance entered my mind. I asked the police officer where I could file a police report. Not because I expected any thing to happen but because I was/am pretty sure I need one to make a claim with my credit card company(everything should be covered). I ran back into the church and business was carrying on a usual. I looked around and nothing. I started my trek to the police station and warned a couple people walking in that there were thieves inside.
At the police station I began to explain what had happen. My Spanish was not good enough for them so they wait for an English speaking officer to be available. After he heard what had happened he let me know to wait. To make a LONG story short, after waiting 2.5 hours an officer helped me make my statement. It took literally 5 minutes. I could have done it in Spanish if I knew it was going to be that short. That would have cut 1.5 hours of my wait. While I was waiting there were several other people who were victims of petty crime. I felt bad for the local who had her cell phone stolen on her birthday. Yikes. Police report in hand I started my walk back my hostel to drop off stuff and head to dinner. Walking back I just kept kicking myself for being so dumb. I had not read as many warnings about petty crime in Buenos Aires as I had for Europe. But still I should have known better than to set my camera at side. O well. As I walked back I prayed that I could move on.
The hostel I am staying at has GREAT staff. Friendly and helpful with good recommendations for activities. The woman at the front could tell I was not happy and asked how my day went. She gave me a hug after I explained. I then told her I wanted a giant steak and glass of wine. She recommend a place five blocks away and off I went.
While the place did have an english menu, the grill in the front slowly cooking the meat drew me in. I ordered around 8:30pm and the restaurant was practically empty. Made me a little nervous about the place. My food came out and the restaurant started filling up. By 9:15 the place was packed. People were not kidding Argentina eats late.
I noticed there was another single traveler sitting across the restaurant. Since I had made it back to the hostel later than expected I missed any opportunity for a group outing. After finishing my meal and noticing that she didn’t have any join her I thought “what’s the worse that could happen” and headed over.
She was welcoming and we started it talking and sharing travel stories. Turns out Hannah was here for a month learning Spanish and volunteering to help teach English. Always fun making a new friend. We ordered dessert and continued chatting. She mentioned she was heading out to try and watch some tango. We left the restaurant and found our I intended location. While it was open there was no tango scheduled for that evening. We tried another one,and while it had tango,it has already started and was far too expensive. New strategy go grab a drink. We enjoyed exploring two different bars and then called it a night. I need to go to bed and she needed to call her family/bf. I walked her to her bus stop and then walked back to my hostel.
Once I got within a block of my hotel I was ready to pass out. Not only had I been traveling for 24 hours I had then had a very very full day, with a fun evening to cap it off. When I got in bed two people started snoring. I thought about ruffling through my stuff but decided I would do that if I could not fall asleep within five minutes. I put my head down, thanked God for save travels and was ready to go to sl………………….
My route to Buenos Aires takes me from PDX to LAX to IAH to EZE. 15 hours of flight time. Yikes. As I write this we are about to begin our descent down into Argentina. The 10 hour flight went faster than expected.
P.S. thanks to Kate for helping me pack and picking good YouTube videos. My mom for reminding me of things to bring and Dad for driving me to the airport.
A mostly uneventful travel day. I think the most exciting part so far was the drive to the airport. There was an accident on I-84 where a car managed to up have two of its wheels up on the guard rail. Everyone appeared to be ok. Thankfully it was going the other way on the freeway.
Flight to LAX went fast and smooth, after our brief mechanical delay. Things you don’t want to hear on a flight “uh ladies and gentlemen we just a over-voltage warning light, mechanic is on his way.” Touched down at LAX and then after I got my bag I walked right onto my next flight.
The flight bounced throughout the route to Houston. On approach we hit one patch of turbulence that felt like a roller coaster the way it made my stomach drop. Fun.
Very nice having a bigger pack but with the same amount of stuff. Makes getting things out of if much easier.
Big walk to make my connection and then had to retrace my steps to find decent food. Always love an airport for people watching. At the gate their was a woman freaking out as her boyfriend has gone for a smoke and the flight was getting ready to close. I felt bad as her face grew more and more concerned as time wore on. He strolled up as the line went to zero.
A little bit more about about my trip. I am spending two weeks in the country of Argentina. Starting in Buenos Aires for five days and then heading to Iguazo falls for 2ish days. And then wind my way back down towards Buenos Aires, stopping at some more towns and then just getting a feel for the place . I may dip into Uruguay for a day at beach. Then I catch my flight home from Buenos Aires. Should be a great trip.
While a 10 hour flight much nicer to be on a 767-400. Much more room than a 737. The entertainment system was a bit outdated though. Good thing I brought my own! Said a quick prayer before takeoff and here we go.
Reading Steve’s biography has been very interesting. Interesting to put together my knowledge of computer history with the way the industry developed.
The immigration forms for Argentina look interesting. Photocopied and asking me about what phone I am brining into the country.
I took off from PDX at 11am local time and will land at Buenos Aires 10am local time. Adjusted for a 4 hour time change my 19 hours of Air Travel will soon end.
As I sat on the LAX to IAH leg I thought about reading the guide to the city but then had a better idea. Just start walking. We will see what happens.
Time to put my tray table up, return my seat to its upright position and began my adventure.
I go to sleep with and eye-mask and two earplugs in. This setup makes sleeping in hostels much easier. Somehow thou I always end up with one or more earplugs missing when I wake up. During the night someone must have closed the window in the room as I woke up warm and in a stuffy room.
The big score was that a spot had opened up at the hostel and I could even stay in the same room. Decent breakfast and I hoped on the hostel computer to see if I could prebuy my Van Gogh ticket. I also looked at hostels for Brussels, not looking good. We will see where I end up sleeping.
Headed for the museum area and already started noticing a orange glow to the city. Took some photos at the I (am)sterdam sign and saw them setting up a huge screen for the game tonight. I think this is where I’ll end up watching the game.
I headed into the Rijksmuseum. Learned some history about the Dutch golden ages and then headed upstairs for the paintings. This museum has a large collection of Rembrandt’s paintings. Rembrandt amazed me. His style and detail stood out above many things I have seen. Saw a large art class there and ended up to talking to a few of them about their trip and the challenges with sketching such impressive works.
Enjoyed some more and then left. The weather was sunny but a little cold. I searched the surrounding blocks for something nicer than a hotdog but cheaper than sit-down. Found it with bagels and beans. Ordered a cappuccino and a everything bagel with pesto and tomato cream cheese. Yum. They even had free wifi. Score. It was too early for a call home thou. Around 6am there. My waiter showed me some other areas of the city to explore and I was off to the Van Gogh museum.
I thought about not doing all these museums while I was in Amsterdam. I am so glad I did. Both showcased phenomenal art that I really enjoyed. I ran into my art student friends again. Pretty funny. We both observed that in the row of paintings we were looking at, Monet did not paint a detailed sky. While I felt a bit tired I was enjoying the art.
I exited and headed back to the hostel to sneak in a nap before Ann Franks house and then the football match. I had been scouting locations all day and while there were some good looking bars I could not pass up the museumplein (square). I watched them setting up earlier in the day and they said they were expecting up to 40,000 people.
Nap recharged me and I was off to Ann Franks house. My other mission was to find an orange shirt or jersey.
I really like the city of Amsterdam. It appears to have great city planning. Reminds me a bit of Portland. Amsterdam has taken things to maturity though. Huge bike lanes, trams everywhere, lots of greenspace and weed is legal. They even have traffic signals for bikes! I loved getting this photo that captured almost every mode of transport in one intersection. Bike, tram, bus, car, pedestrian and even a moped. It is quite a feat watching them all interact. Click to make bigger.
At first finding a shirt presented me with a challenge. Soon however I walked up the right street and saw shirts everywhere. I went with an orange Netherlands jersey. I paid 5 euro more to get it at a real store instead of a souvenir stand. On my way to Ann’s house I continued my tradition of buying fruit off the street and enjoyed an excellent nectarine.
Got a little turned around finding Ann Franks house. However this detour went into the area I wanted to check out anyway.More of the local neighborhood, very charming. The canals really add a nice touch to Amsterdam.
I knew I found the house when I saw the long unmoving line stretching out and around the corner. While the line for Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum were not that long and I could have done without pre-buying I am quite glad i had a reservation for Ann frank. With it I rang a doorbell for a side entrance was buzzed in and walked right in.
Touring the house gave me insight into the life of Ann. The way you are led though the house with video clips, quotes and artifacts creates a very powerful effect. I left frustrated with the continued hatred and discrimination seen in the United States and the rest of the world.
Time to go to the game. My search for food, and beer began.
I joined the orange masses and started looking for food and beer. While I could see dozens of restaurants and bars I wanted something quick. I found a grocery store and followed the crowd to the beer alike. At first glance it looked like all the Heineken was already gone, (gotta drink the local beer) but the mob soon found another stack. Grabbed a six pack abs some Pringles and left.
At about this time I realized I was wearing an orange shirt. I paused for a moment and thought this will be one of the few times I’ll be with a large crowd in orange and cheering for them to win.
My search for food continued. I realized that I was now headed towards the square which would pass by my hostel where plenty of places offer cheap food. I spotted a pastry/sandwich spot and headed in. While getting my food I met Embre and we decided to walk to the game together. Learned more about him grabbed our food and started to walk. The amount of orange shirts reached s fever pitch it slowly transformed throughout the day. Starting at about 1 in 10 and now around 9 out of 10. The thickness of the crowd intensified as we neared the park. It was great to see all people of all different cultures walking together to go cheer on the team. We arrived at the square and surprisingly we kept moving. Apparently the Dutch know how to pack it in. Embre and I pushed Into the crowd and choose a place to stand pretty far forward and a little left of center. We were in the thick of the crowd and had a great view of the giant screen. Successful.
The pre-game energy reached it’s peak as the national anthem finished up. I could tell all these people contained pent up energy and when Netherlands scored would go crazy. Video of The Crowd
The game began and watching with thousands of others was great. Every time Netherlands went on the offensive a roar would gather in the crowd. The outbursts at any sight of a foul against their home country provided great entertainment.
And then it happened. A shot at goal, and it went in! Instantly a group of standing civil Dutch citizens went mental. Road flares were set off, fireworks exploded, people danced, hugged and high fived. I felt bodies hitting me from each direction, insane! I pulled out my phone and started shooting video as the replay started to show. While not as intense the celebration picked back up as we watched the reply. Video: The crowd after a score
Instead of there being a lull after the goal you could feel the whole crowd was even more into the game. As the second goal went in the crowd erupted with even more energy. Soon I heard “olay olay olay olay.” Followed by words I did not understand. I asked a Dutch guy next to me and he explained they were singing “we are the champion we are the champions.” the whole crowd seemed to be singing it at once. Next up was Viva Hollandia, followed by Dutch words.
Half time game and I started talking more with the Dutch group around me. Somehow with the noise and crowd one thought I said I was from the pole to which he responded “north pole?” this became the joke of the night as he kept saying north or south pole and we even talked about elfs.
The third goal set of a an equally impressive celebration. Such fun. When Uruguay scored their first no one seemed to care too much. However when the second went in you could fill the tension increase.
As the end of the anticipated added time neared a countdown began. However when it reached zero the game was still going as usual. Then whistles and the party started. Fireworks, flares, singing, jumping and highfives. Wait, they are still playing! It was a foul call, the crowd starts watching again and 10 seconds later the game really ends. The party started right back Up. “Tonight’s going to be a good night” came on and whole crowd sung along. My new Dutch friend asked me if was coming with them to the bars and I started walking with them. Video: Amsterdam sings after winning
What a fun walk of singing, random circles of people blowing the horns and just walking up the street with thousands of others. The most controlled celebration I have ever seen. I kept expecting the energy to die down but it never did. There was always someone yelling, cheering or singing. Here is the link to the video. The never ending sea of people kept walking towards an unknown designation but they were not quite about it. The perspective the tram driver had must have been exciting yet frightening at the same time. Video : Walking though the streets of Amsterdam. Watch for how the trams handle it at about 1:15.
I thought this was going to be the one time I got carded my whole trip but then the bouncer started letting everyone in. The bar was fun. I enjoyed how the music went back and forth from Dutch and English music. Exchanged buying rounds and had a good time celebrating with my Dutch friends. I hate having to pay to go to the restroom thou. Should have followed my friends lead and just peed agianst a building. We continued dancing and celebrating for awhile. Then they had to leave to catch trains home and in left with them. Conveniently the bar we were at was right by my hostel. As I approached for the countless time tonight people mistook me for a Dutchman. All I could do these situations was yell Holland and if interaction continued laugh and say I’m American. Talked with this group and then not yet ready for bed did some facebooking and then hit bed.
Sadly this is day 4 of not meeting someone from Australia. The first 16 I felt like I always met at least one.
As I put my earplugs in around 1:30 the street had calmed down somewhat but there was still a constant yelling honking and horns going off.
“Eric Becker you have a phone call” woke me up. Soon after the sounds of a high school band pierced the quiet castle air. I for once felt rested and my back pain was gone.
Packed up took a shower and then went and had breakfast. Pretty standard the rolls were good. I still had not figured out my transportation plan for the day. I looked at the timetables for the boats last night and it looked too slow for a journey by myself. I knew the girls were hanging around until evening so I figured I’d just take the train to the bigger town of Mainz and figure it out from there.
I asked the girls for their plan and they said they scraped the hanging around and wanted to take a boat towards Mainz. Sounded good to me. However the boats threw a kink at us; no boats to Mainz. Oh well we figured we would just boat till the end of the line and then hop a train to Mainz. Thankfully we consulted the hostel lady so we did not end up on the wrong side of the river. Based on the boat and local trains I checked my train to Amsterdam and I would be there by 8pm. Sounds good. We took some photos using flower pots as tripods and headed down the trail. As we walked away the high school honor band serenaded us from above our the castle. I will not miss those stairs.
The boat did not depart for 45 minutes so I walked around town. Love the small town environment. Grabbed one last great picture of the castle and walked aboard.
What a beautiful day for a river cruise. While yesterday’s haze prevented the sun from fully soaking the valley with it’s light, the difference today looked like someone had cleaned a dirty screen or glasses. Everything in the valley had more color and it was possible to see much further into the horizon. Beautiful!
We acquired a bottle of wine before boarding and Devin secured glasses from the snack bar. As the boat left the dock we gave one last ”Prost” to the wonderful castle hostel.
A very relaxing cruise down the river while talking, writing post cards and enjoying the sights. Major landmarks were announced in four languages; German, English, Spanish and Japanese.
After getting of the boat we caught a local train to Mainz. The girls found their departure time in 40 minutes and I confirmed mine. Turns out I could either go through Frankfurt or Koln. In Koln I would have a 45 minute layover but would get to Amsterdam at the same time and same train. Frances had told me yesterday that there was an amazing cathedral right outside of the train station. Koln here I come.
Said goodbye to the girls and I still had time to kill before my train left. Headed to a cyber cafe to find a hostel for tonight and make museum reservations. Had an extremely productive 40 minutes online. Had a place to sleep, ticket to Rajama and a time slot to visit Ann Frank’s house.
Boarded my train to Koln. And started blogging.
I looked up from blogging and saw a castle and than a distinctive river mile marker. Am I back on the Rhine? The train announcement said Koblenz. I laughed inside as I had just made and a big U shape of travel today. If I had been looking I would have seen St.Gore and Bacharach. Oh well the boat ride was great and I enjoyed traveling with my new friends. I was planning on connecting though Frankfurt at first. The fun is in the journey right? Still funny! I did not realize my route change made a circle for me. Basically if I was in a hurry I could have just taken a local train to Kolbenz and saved 4 hours of travel time. But then I would not have enjoyed the river cruise.
Wow! the girls were not kidding about the impressive size of the Koln cathedral. Walking towards the entrance the cathedral towered just outside the station. The lobby consist of large glass windows and ceiling, allowing the cathedral to invade your vision. I was excited and headed for the building. Very impressive inside as well. I would have liked to spend more time there but needed to return to the station. After a quick tour and capturing the magnificent stained glass I returned to the station. I had tried to view the tomb of the three kings but they closed the area right before I reached it.
I bought some apple pastry and headed for the platform. While I enjoyed the bread part of the pastry the amount of filling overwhelmed me. I left about 1/4 of it behind and boarded the train. What a zoo! This was the most packed long distance train that did not require a reservation that I had seen. I quickly figured out that the seats with the L.E.D. illuminated display above them meant someone had that seat. The car I board quickly became a log jam. People met half way and wanted to go different directions and no one moved. I ducked into seats for a second and then pushed my way forward. My next obstacle was getting past a baby stroller that had lost a wheel. After some rail employees joined in the rescue effort I was able to get by.
I found an unreserved aisle seat and sat down. Got out my noise canceling headphones and started blogging. After 45 minutes we reached the first stop and a good part of the train got off. My seat-mate left and I enjoyed the space. More ruckus occurred when new people with reservations got on and booted those seated in their seats. Gotta check those L.E.D’s.
Two groups of travelers who could not find seats together turned the restaurant car into a campsite of sorts. Lots of backpacks and a few big camp chairs . I asked when they were starting the fire. They laughed and replied “soon”. Met some girls from Norway who were nice but told me that I should not visit. It is too cold and the people are not nice.
I returned and kept blogging. Uneventful train ride besides by noise canceling headphones breaking. I also think I saw undercover cops doing an inspection on someone.
Got off at Amsterdam and after some brief tram confusion got on the right one. That made for my third mode of transportation for the day.
Easily found my hostel and checked in. The websites were right; rooms in Amsterdam are tiny. Reminded me of my freshman dorm room except there are four people instead of two.
Got some alright pizza for dinner. Found a linksys hotspot and did some things online while waiting for my food. Noticed the World Cup game was tomorrow and instantly decided to stay an extra night. Finished dinner and then explored the city for a little bit. I quickly got tired and called it a night. Caught the last tram of the night home.
And I’m pretty sure I’m going to write a travel guide once I get home. ”21 days to see Europe, it is possible” or something like that.
As the door to the couchette opened (it’s a 4-6 person sleep compartment) I realized I was no longer sweating. A welcome change from when I went to bed. I felt very tired though. Through out the night I kept waking up. I finally found a way to fit in the bed by shoving my arm under the bunk and having my feet and head touching the other side.
As I started to gather my stuff I panicked! We were already in Frankfurt. Most trains stay at a station for 2-3 minutes and we had already been there 2. Yesterday I was woken up 25 minutes before we arrived. And today we were early because I had an alarm set for 8 minutes before the scheduled time. I quickly asked a train employee and he let me know we had another 10-15 minutes. Phew.
Now that I am in Germany this means country number 6 in the last 18 days, designation 9. Crazy. I cannot believe all the places I have seen and people I have met.
Since it was 6am the ticket office was not yet open therefore I needed to figure out how to back track. Consulting the timetables did not help! Finally I started using a ticket machine, not only could I put it in English but it printed a route for me. I had to go back a second time because it had a subway trip and I didn’t want to have to buy a ticket. Frequent trains meant I would arrive by 9am.
As my second train journey began I could fill the tiredness hitting me. I charged my phone via the trains outlets. I have been meaning to say this for a while now, I love the trains here. Not only are they easy to navigate but they are nice. Being able to charge my phone and camera keeps my digital life going. Blogs and photos! The time gives me a chance to blog. 50% or more has been written on trains. There would not be a blog without trains.
As I switched trains I felt my body dragging more. Starting the final hour journey the thought began to enter my mind “am I trying to do too many places”? Instead of pondering this, I took quick naps in a variety of semi-comfortable positions. It was a smaller new regional train that reminded me of Max.
Exiting the train gave me a bit of energy as the sight of a small town made me happy. Than I looked up, castle! Wow I get to sleep in that castle tonight. Amazing! Instantly I knew the extra travel paid off. Today would be a good day. My energy level spiked and off I went.
At 9am the town was still sleeping. Walking though the little streets felt extremely peaceful. At the moment I was down to 25 Euro and had the “oh crap” moment of “does this place have an ATM”? After some walking I spotted a bank with an ATM. Phew. Except it was offline. Hopefully the next town up has one. I spotted the church and the trail up to castle. Can’t say the 15 minute walk and 500 steps made me excited. Hiking up with my pack made me start to sweat and reminded me I really needed a shower. At the top a great view of the valley and town below greeted me. I wondered around the courtyard before I discovered the reception desk.
The castle felt very modern inside, both exciting and disappointing at the same time. Reception informed me I could not check in until 2, as I expected. Luckily she said no problem to using a shower room. Shower felt great. Got ready for the day, left my bag at the front desk and was off to explore the Rhine river area. Grabbed a great breakfast first, down to 12 Euro.
I planed to take the river boat up to St. Goar explore the town and castle and then figure out where to go from there. Where I was on the Rhine according to Rick contains the best sights packed into a single stretch. The next boat did not leave until 11:30 so I had 40 minutes to
kill. Then I remembered something about bike rental. I pulled out Rick Steves and found that I could rent a bike, do the 10k ride and then use ferries or trains to connect my journey. Found the bike rental place and got a decent 3-speed for 12 Euro all day. Out of Euro besides my souvenir 5 Euro bill. Not panicking yet thou. St Goar should have an ATM and worse case I’ll only eat at places that take a card.
After putting on sunscreen I setoff along the Rhine. Gorgeous! Soon I encountered my next castle across the river. Sweet. There are so many castles on the river because back in the 1300’s each castle would force passing trade ships to pay tolls by raising chains across the river and not letting them pass until they paid. Created some nice castles.
The entire ride snaked along the Rhine providing scenic views and wonderful photo opportunities. I made good speed and when I started to pass boats felt happy about my transportation choice. Soon I approached St. Goar.
Two castles sprung into my view between them laid a cute small town. The castle are on the same bank as the town that I planned to explore later but first an ATM and than lunch. I wanted to do a picnic but the grocery store does not open on Sundays.
I struggled to find the restaurant Rick has recommended in the small windy streets. As I hit the main street and began to pull out my map I heard something, music.
I heard a band playing “these are a few of my favorite things”. If this trip has taught me one thing, music leads to good things. I followed the sound and arrived at a church courtyard facing a full band and a sign about the Goar festival. Really? I’d stumbled upon another festival!
I entered and met a ticket seller. When I asked how much she produced a menu! No entrance fee just German food! Yes! I bought 3.50 worth of tickets. Enough for a bratwurst and beer. 2.5 Euro left. Luckily the ticket seller informed me that the town contains an ATM.
Fresh local BBQ, sweet! It was very hot out so I looked for a spot in the shade. Being overwhelmed by the music and food soon wore off and I realized I was the only non-local at the festival. My spot was next to some friendly looking locals. I sat down and they asked German or English and the conversation began. The youngest person at the table was 30ish
and there were a couple of senior citizens. All of them warmly welcomed me. My bratwurst and beer tasted delicious. The locals were very curious about where I was from and what I was doing.
An older man, who I later learn is named Heinz, began to explain to me about his friends in the United states that have kept in touch for years. He told me the whole story of how they met. She fell off a tour bus and broke her hip but the tour guide said “he did not have time for this.” Heinz saw this happen and took her to the hospital. She thanked him and said sorry for not having the chance to buy one of his cuckoo clocks. He sent her one for free. She rejoined the tour and the guide gave her grief for not moving fast enough. Others on the tour complained and he was fired. A cool story of international friendship. The U.S. couple
has come back three rimes and Heinz has traveled to the U.S. once. Both believe God put them in the situation.
Next I found out George is a 747 pilot for a cargo airplane. We had a good time talking about aviation and all the pros and cons of flying a big aircraft. We also disscued the differnt life style he has exprienced from living in many different places. He really enjoys the small town community and feel.
Once again I found myself in an surreal situation. I had stumbled upon this communities festival and they made me feel at home. I really enjoyed all the conversation. I went back for a steak and a glass of local wine. But first a side trip to ATM. This one worked and I had a
healthy supply of Euro again. Now I have to time it right so I run out as I leave.
The conversation continued and I learned more about the people and the town. Over 500 trains a day pass by it’s tracks and we were interrupted multiple times by them. The steak tasted great and I enjoyed the locally produced wine.
Time for dessert. The band had wrapped up playing but not before playing though a Beatles tribute. Dessert consisted of a strawberry pudding of sorts. Yum.
The conversation kept going. As I prepared to say goodbye Georges wife brought me a piece of berry cake. How could I say no? By the way Georges wife is from Argentina. So the conversation would go from English to Spanish to German, Spanish, English and so on. Hard to wrap my head around at times. Knowing German would have helped.
I asked George for advice about the castle and prepared to leave. Then the town priest joined the table and started asking me questions. After passing his spiritual survey, his memorable line “your faith makes you smile”, I said my goodbyes and was on my way to the castle.
At the beginning of the day I thought I’d have an easy walking day. I clearly did not think about having to hike up and down from castles. The heat did not make the walk easy but the view rewarded me for the effort.
I started the Rick Steves self guided tour and learned all about the castle. I tried to stay in the shade and avoid the sun sucking away my energy. The castle today commands respect but before the French almost destroyed it, it must have been huge. It’s hard to understand from
looking at models but it looks at least 3 times bigger. I could not believe how big the storehouse was and how little space the prisoners got. Prisoners were lowered into a small room and got to sit on wood beams keeping them out of their own waste.
I enjoyed more castle views and than headed back town the trail towards St. Goar. Checked the boat time tables and it would be an hour before the next one. I decided to try my luck with the trains. Checked the tables after getting to the station and it would be there in 10 minutes. Perfect.
Returned my bike and checked out a Rick Steves recommended dinner place for later. Also read about an Italian gelato place in town, naturally I had a one scoop for an afternoon snack.
I started up the 500 steps back to my castle. A huge group of people was gathered in the courtyard. Some sort of high school group. I also saw a topdeck tour sign, same group from Venice. Activity once again centered around the castle.
Upon check-in the women confirmed my details and said “normally it’s a mixed dorm but tonight it’s you and three girls.” She could tell I was crushed. I did ask if they knew I was coming though because that could be awkward if not. She said ya I told them. She than delivered more bad news “it’s a 12 person dorm, but tonight it’s just the four of you”. I walked up the castle tower to my room so cool. Opened the door and looked in shock. A huge circular room, each of us got our own bunk bed plus 2 extras. Easily the nicest room I’ve been in. The incredible views out the multiple windows were icing on the cake. I realized the towel I had checked out earlier was no longer on my backpack. No worries get a new one at the front desk. I looked out the window and saw three girls at a table on the patio. I thought “I wonder if those are the girls”? I tried to make eye contact but it is not that’s not easy from a two story window. I descended to have a closer look.
Looked possible so I approached and asked “are you three girls staying together.?” “yes. Why?” before I could get out are you in room 241 one of them cut in “are you Paul?” I sat down and said I didn’t know they could give out my name ;). We had a conversation and it seemed like it would work well. Found out they were all from and go to school in Texas at Texas. They are currently studying abroad. I invited them to dinner but they declined and said “were going to eat the buffet and avoid the steps” I quipped back “dinner with 40 high-schoolers or a nice dinner in town with gelato after”. Agreeing that we would maybe
split a cab back up the hill sealed the deal. I set off to shower and than dinner.
A shower odyssey. I went and got my new towel from the desk and it took a little explaining. She thought she had taken my personal towel at first. After hiking up two floors to my room I realized I’d left my shampoo and soap in shower from this morning. 4 stories up in the other building. Down 2 up 4, stuff gone. Down 4 to ask “do you sell shampoo”? Down 1, snake past 40 kids waiting for dinner and get lemon scented body wash
from a vending machine. Back up 1 than 2 more. Good shower. As I dried off inside the shower I turned the shower back on with my back!
Finally got back down and we walked into town. Found the restaurant looked nice. Frances, Devin, Alex and I choose to sit outside. Agreed on a bottle of wine and started looking at the menu. Rick warned about passing trains if sitting outside. First one roared by, created a nice
breeze thouugh. I ordered the beef and potatoes. Alex is a little picky and went with the chicken nuggets.
The waiter did the try before you’re sure on the bottle thing, good sign that this food was going to be great. Mine came out but almost ended up at the wrong table because the waitress had said it was for a young boy. After not getting carded for almost 3 weeks, and the Paris women saying I was not under 26, being called young worked for me. Alex’s
nuggets really threw off the people delivering food. We all got a laugh about that. The food was phenomenal. Great place. As we were leaving the manager/owner asked if we were here cause of Rick and we laughed and said yes. Said they get lots of Rick readers and always enjoy them. We chatted for a bit and then were off to gelato.
Since this likely will be my last gelato I went with three scoops. While it tastes authentic the scoops are much smaller than in Italy. I felt myself gain weight today. I ate so much food. We strolled around town with our gelatos and than headed back up to the castle. Having no
pack makes the hike much easier but the third time of the day was tiring.
Sat outside and enjoyed the dusk as the colors changed over the Rhine river. A thunderstorm produced cool flashes of lighting off in the distance. Talked for a few hours over a bottle of wine about everything from home, politics, places in Europe, sororities, college football and relationships. Some very funny quotes came out of our night. Called it a night and headed to bed.
Back pain is starting to go away because more stretching and massaging the right spot must have helped.
Felt so good to be on a normal sized bed and not trying to fall asleep on a train constantly changing speeds. I have a feeling this is going to be a good night of sleep.
After a less than stellar nights sleep I woke up to the train manger knocking and delivering tea and a dry roll. The only problem was we had already passed Salzburg! But I meant to miss my stop. Salzburg was at 5am so I decided to ride until 630 and then catch a train back to Salzburg. It worked perfectly. I got off the train in Lienz and then right back on one to Salzburg. Asked Rick about “Sound of Music” tours and the first one was at 9:30. Perfect. I kept watching the movie as I approached the city.
Beautiful train ride though the Austrian hills as the sun was rising. Not as spectacular as the Swiss alps but still gorgeous. Arrived in the city, stored by bag and booked my ticket. All too easy. Found a cafe on my way to the pickup and had a great omelet. I now realize it was some sort of yoga/spiritual cafe hence the fake ham on the menu. Oh well tasted good. Walked right onto the bus and got a window seat.
The energy of our guide made me glad that I had a cappuccino with breakfast. The sights started coming at us and the guide filled us in on little known Sound of Music facts. After seeing the house used to shoot the back scenes of the family’s house I knew the glare was going to be too much so I put in my contacts outside the bus. I impressed myself with how fast I was able to get them in.
The rest of the tour was good. It was cool seeing all the sights from a movie I had been watching just a few hours ago. The guide kept talking up apple strudel from the songe “these are a few of my favorite things”. When we stopped in a town she recommended a place to get some. Of course 3/4
of the bus went and the strudel was all ready. I think she might get a kickback.
As we went from sight to sight she would play the soundtrack and encourage us to sing. Most of the bus would join in; a fun time for all.
The tour ended by her telling us to go walk though the gardens where thesong “do,ray, me: was filmed. Not only beautiful but also popular. I saw two weddings that were taking pictures in the square and listened into a orchestra performance. I took a quick nap under a tree while all that was going on. Too hot for walking around.
I continued though the gardens and made my way towards the river. So hot. I started looking for a place for lunch but I was in tourist central. I found an authentic looking beer hall thing and went it.
Looked good. Got a beer and sausages. The sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes were so good! Yum!. I still miss gelato though.
I found my way to where Mozart lived but had no desire to pay to go in. Mozart was born and lived in Salzburg. Next stop was an Internet cafe to catch up on blog posting and figure out where I am sleeping tomorrow night.
Took me awhile to find one but I did. Used the bathroom but also took out my contacts and brushed my teeth. The guy gave me a weird look when I came out. As I sat down at the computer I pulled out my iPhone cord to charge it. But discovered parts of my backpack were covered in sunscreen. The guy again gave me a weird look as I took out almost everything in my pack and grabbed a paper towel to wipe stuff off. This was only my daypack and not that much sunscreen. However he
started the computers usage clock. Oh well, I don’t blame him.
The net was slow and a mom and kid walked in who were quite annoying! The kid kept roaming and the mom kept yelling at him in a different language.
Posted blogs and thanks to FB found out a world cup game was on so hurried up sending an email to the hostel and left for the game. I tried to ask the guy for a bar nearby but my English and gestures could not break though the language barrier.
Found an empty hotel bar so kept walking. Soon I passed a restaurant with people starring at a wall. Walked in, it was another shaved meat place making it very hot. At the time it was 1-0 Germany, making it anyone’s game. Always exciting to see not one but two goals. As I left two stores up was a sports betting place with two huge TVs and much cooler.
On my way to finding a place to eat I found free wifi and called the castle hostel for tomorrow. I had a room at 20 euro. Sweet.
Found a bar for dinner and ordered wienerschnitzel and a beer. Good food and blogged for awhile.
Walked back to the station and started my journey to the Rhine area. Took a train to catch my night train. The night train was 30 minutes late. I had the top bunk, bad bad news. It was like a sauna up there and it’s about two inches two short for me. And the women in the car kept the lights on for too long. Not sure how well I will sleep.
fresh hopped. As a true NW guy he appreciates a good beer and while he has been trying the micro brews here, they do better with their wine. 
