Getting To Know Berlin

This Hotel 4 Youth (I'm not sure why they call it that . . . There is no age restriction), had the best breakfast that has been included yet. There was a nice assortment of breads, cheeses, meats, hard boiled eggs, vegetables, cereals, etc. What a nice way to start the day. Tom and I figured out the subway system and headed down to the area known as Alexanderplatz. Here we were hoping to catch a city circle tour, but since we were right at the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) we decided to do that first. The TV Tower is the tallest building in Berlin at 368 meters high and has an observation deck. No stairs to climb this time! An elevator took us straight up and offered a 360 degree view of Berlin. It was kind of a grey, hazy day so not the best for viewing, but still a great overview of the city. Berlin is quite different from the other cities we have visited thus far as 70% of the city was destroyed during WWII. There is so much new construction, that you almost feel like you could be in any American city. In addition, when the Wall came down it opened up a whole new areas for development. After we were done with the TV Tower we found where to catch the City Circle Hop-on-Hop-Off tour and hopped on. We weren't on the bus long when we got off to view the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the Reichstag Parliament building. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was an extremely interesting memorial and the information center below the memorial was extremely well done. It is just sickening to read in details and see the pictures of the atrocities committed against the Jewish people, but this memorial and museum was very tastefully done. We hopped back on the bus and continued the tour. We next hopped off the bus when I spied a restaurant at the bus stop that looked like it would have authentic German food. I wasn't to be disappointed. I had the wiener schnitzel and a glass of Berliner Kindl pilsner beer and Tom had a sausage of sorts (can't remember the exact name) with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut on the side. I would like to thank Tom for reminding me why sauerkraut is on the top of my hated foods list. I can't even stand the smell! My meal was excellent, while Tom said his was ok, but he wished he would have gotten what I had instead. So after lunch/dinner we hopped back on the bus and completed the tour. Tom was particularly interested in Checkpoint Charlie and the museum on The Berlin Wall - History and Events. The museum is open until 10:00p.m., so this was a great way to spend our evening. What another outstanding museum. We spent about 3 hours learning about the history behind the Wall, how people escaped from East Berlin to West Berlin, and the personal stories of those lives affected by the Wall. We spent a lot of time in that museum and still didn't cover everything. Tomorrow we're going to try and do a 3 1/2 hour walking tour of the Third Reich, but it might rain so we'll have to play it by ear.

Hotel vs Hostel

Today was pretty uneventful. Our train left Amsterdam at 10:34 and 1 train transfer and 7 hours later we were in Berlin. Berlin by far had the newest Central Station that we have been to thus far. It seems that the station itself is a shopping mall/train station. Lucky for us, since I had not booked a hotel (per usual), there was a Tourist Information center right in the train station. There we booked a hotel called Hotel 4 Youth for €74/night. We thought the hotel might have been just a half hour walk away, but after a couple of wrong turns and 1 hour and 15 minutes we got to the hotel. This is a brand new hotel that has only been open since August. It's kind of interesting comparing this hotel with the hostel we just stayed in which is only €14/night difference. We'll see how it goes tonight. We are planning on spending two full days in Berlin before we move on to Prague on Saturday morning.



Hostel



Hotel

I don't think the pictures do the justice. Although we're glad to have stayed in the hostel and was probably nicer than our London hotel, I think this hotel in Berlin is much better.

Bier!

Today was really about beer, and Heineken Beer to be exact. Once we got going with our day we headed to the Heineken Brewery Experience. Although they no longer actually brew the beer there anymore, it was an outstanding interactive tour. I guess this is why they call it the "Experience". We enjoyed the "Experience" as well as the three beers that came along with it. I think we were there for 2 or 3 hours, so by the time we left, walked back, and found a nice little place for lunch, it was already 4:00. After our lunch/dinner, we headed back to the Red Light District and found a nice bar where we enjoyed several more Heinekens and watching the people go by. That was about the extent of our day. Nice and relaxing. Tomorrow our train for Berlin leaves around 10:30a.m., so we'll be able to sleep in a bit again tomorrow.

Location:Nieuwendijk,Amsterdam,The Netherlands

Amsterdam!

Monday we left Paris and took a train to Amsterdam. The ride took about 3 1/2 hours and was quite comfortable. Upon our arrival in Amsterdam we verified the train information we would need when we move on to Berlin, and began the search for a hotel. After checking in on about 5 different hotels and discovering they were a bit more than what we wanted to spend, we came across a sign for a hostel. We weren't originally planning on staying in a hostel, but we thought we might as well check it out. So glad we did. We were able to get a private room with a shower for 30€/person per night. The only shared area is the toilet and common room and the price includes breakfast and free wi-fi. The shower has more room than any we have experienced thus far. So overall, not bad. After we got the room, it was time to go out and see the town. This time we took a hop-on-hop off canal tour of Amsterdam and hopped off at the first stop to visit the Anne Frank house. This is the house Anne Frank and her family were hidden in during WWII. Her father Otto Frank was the only member of the family to survive the war and he was an integral part of turning the house into a museum. It was very well done and quite moving. Next we hopped back on the boat to complete the canal tour. This city is so much more smaller and manageable then Paris, and the weather quite a bit cooler too! Perfect conditions for walking around the town (yes this included The Red Light District). One of the local food favorites here are french fries with mayonnaise and there are plenty of shops along the streets that sell them. Of course we tried. Yummy! We also went to Icebar & 4D Ice Experience. This is a bar that everything is made of ice to include the glasses you drink from. I have to say it was kind of a disappointing experience. I think my expectations were too high. This morning as I'm writing this blog entry I'm eating breakfast In the common room of the hostel and listening to the news. It sounds like we left Paris just in time. The union workers are striking and the rails and metros are having very limited service. Whew . . . Glad we're not dealing with that! Ok. . . .time for me to go and explore more Amsterdam.

Meet us in Paris!

Today was our last full day in Paris, so we thought what better way to spend it than by doing our laundry! We went to the local launder mat and were thankful for some people that new what they were doing who could show us the way. In no time at all our clothes were washed and dried and packed away as if we were starting a new vacation. The timing of our laundry completion could not have worked out anymore perfect when Tom's sister, Laurie, called to tell us that her and her boss, Tom (yes another Tom . . . I just can't seem to get away from them :), had just got into Paris for work and were ready to meet us at The Eiffel Tower. Tom and I opted for the subway and made our way there. Wouldn't you know, I had just got done telling Tom how it would have been cool to run a race in Paris when we found ourselves getting off the Eiffel Tower metro stop and walking into a crowd of thousands at the finish line of The Paris 20K. For a few minutes I was kind of jealous as I saw a runner with the race shirt and finisher's medal, but than I remembered if I was actually going to run in that race, I still would have to be in training for a half-marathon. It seemed like a neat race, so for all my running buddies, maybe someday we'll end up in Paris! So after making our way through runners and tourists, Tom saw an ice cream stand and decided he could go for a cone while we waited for Laurie and her boss. I sat to wait for him and the next thing I new Laurie was walking right up to me! The four of us (Laurie, Tom, Tom, and I) decided we did not want to wait in the long line for the elevator ride to the top of the tower, so we chose to climb steps once again. Sure wish I could be keeping track of how many steps we've climbed on this trip. We went to the first and second platforms, but did not go to the very top of the tower, because A. After Platform 2 there are no more stairs to take you all the way to the top, and B. Because Platform 2 was really quite high enough. Again we had a great weather day so the visibility was near perfect. I'm glad we had the opportunity to do it. After we left the tower we rode with Tom and Laurie in their rental car, to check out the smaller version of The Statue of Liberty and then experienced the wonderful Paris traffic and the hunt for a parking space. Once parking was secured, we walked from then on! We had a nice lunch/dinner at an Italian Cafe and continued on giving Tom and Laurie a bit of a walking tour. My Tom did a great job as navigator and guide. It was great to see Laurie in Paris and so glad that the timing worked out for us to be there at the same time! My Tom and I finished our tour of Paris with going back to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up. I think it is much prettier at night than during the day. When we got back to our hotel tonight I wanted to write this blog entry right away, but we no longer have free wi-fi, and decided 10€ was a little bit too much for about 1 hour of Internet, so I have instead written it while everything is still fresh in my mind and will post it to the blog once we have wi-fi again. Next stop . . . Amsterdam!

Paris Day Three

So day three of Paris was another gorgeous day! This morning we began our day by visiting the Musee D'Orsay where we saw many impressionist artists. My favorite of course are Monet and Renoir. This museum was a lot more manageable than the Louvre. I think we covered everything we wanted to see there. After we left the Musee d'Oray we walked to the Musee de Rodin. The artist Rodin is famous for his sculpture of "The Thinker" which we saw. The garden was beautiful. Across the street from the Rodin Museum was the Hotel Des Invalides, which more simply put is where Napoleon's remains are entombed. After a lunch at a cafe with a view of the Eiffel Tour, I realized I lost (or got pick-pocketed, but most likely dropped out of my pocket) my 2-day museum pass. Thankfully we were already on day 2 of the pass, but I was still irritated since we were planning on doing a couple more things on the pass. We took the subway to the Catacombs of Paris, but they were already closed by the time we got there. We got back on the subway and went to the Arc de Triumph (here the Museum Pass would have saved me 9€, but oh well), and we went to the top. Great view of Paris! Next it was back on the subway to Basilique du Sacre Coeur where we thought we would enjoy a nice peaceful sunset over Paris, but instead walked into a festival for the harvesting of the grapes wine festival. Let's just say after a bottle of wine and chatting with some friendly Parisians (Cal and Adrien), I was feeling pretty good. We took the subway back to our hotel, and decided to go back to our friendly gnome restaurant where I'm writing this now with Beyonce playing in the background. This time I have ordered the lasagna and Tom is trying a different pizza. Food just got here so I have to go.

PS - Would love to post more pictures but the WI-FI connection is not always good.

Walking. Lots of Walking.

What another beautiful day in Paris! We did a ton of walking today, and I'm actually kind of curious as to how many miles we walked. Our first walk this morning took us to The Louvre. That place is gigantic and there is no way you could even begin to cover that museum in a day. We did stay for about 4 hours and saw a ton of paintings and the Egyptian Antiquities wing. Of course we saw The Mona Lisa too! After The Louvre we walked to Notre Dame Cathedral and strolled around the interior, but of course what we really wanted to do was climb more steps up to the bell tower. While we were waiting in line for the climb, we met a nice gal from Minnesota (she too has a dislike for Farve now :)) and had a nice time talking with her. She was touring Europe on her own for 6 weeks! The view from the top of Notre Dame was well worth the climb. While we were at the top of Notre Dame we spotted the Pantheon and decided that we could make the walk there to see it too before they closed. I'm glad we had a chance to see it. From the Pantheon it was time to find a place for dinner. Tonight I had French Onion Soup (not as good as I was hoping) and beef burgandy. It was ok, but the Nutella crepe we had for dessert was very good. After dinner we took a walk along the Seine River to see if we could catch a night cruise, but we could not find any. This then led us back to the long walk home. Tomorrow we use the subway!

Gnomes in Paris

Today started very early as we packed up and headed to St. Pancras Station to catch the high speed train to Paris. Wow! Was that train ever fast but yet smooth. We didn't really even know when we were going under The English Channel because other parts of the ride were underground too. I was mostly surprised by how much my ears popped, and that was well before the English Channel. So once again we arrived in a city without hotel reservations. While we were standing in the train station trying to decide which direction we were going to go a young gypsy girl came up to Tom and asked him if he spoke English. He flat out said "No!". She walked away, but we were joking about it all day because it sounded so funny. So once again we wondered around looking for a hotel and after 3 hotels said they were full, we decided to grab a bite at a nearby cafe. I think I had the best pizza ever, and we haven't even made it to Italy yet. But what I thought was even better was that the restaurant had a gnome theme. I'm not even kidding that I did not notice the gnomes until we sat down and looked at the menu which had a gnome on it. Too crazy! After lunch we tried another near by hotel (Alane Hotel) and took the last room. I'm so excited that his hotel has a hair dryer! I didn't bring my own and my hair was driving me crazy in London. Ahh the little things. We finally were able to move on with our day and took an open bus tour to get a feel for the city. Traffic here was insane! The weather was perfect and it looks to be a high of 74 degrees tomorrow as well. Glad we got an overview today. Tomorrow we explore more.

Rainy & Sunny London

What started out to be a rainy dreary morning, turned into a great day seeing London and an awesome day spent with my cousin, Curt. Tom and I began our morning with a rainy exploration of Trafalgar Square. Next it was on to a walking tour which included watching a full changing of the guard ceremony. After a nice lunch at a local cafe where (with no surprise what-so-ever) Tom had a BLT, we walked back past Buckingham Palace. Now the sun had come out and it had turned into a beautiful afternoon! We took the suggestion from our walking tour guide and headed next to Winston Churchill's War Rooms. What an interesting tour and museum! Here we met up with Curt and walked by West Minister Abbey and Parliment, on our way to the London Eye (giant ferris wheel). We were going to ride the eye, but was running short on time and decided to get a closer look of St. Paul's Cathedral instead. At St. Paul's Cathedral we were able to walk up approximately 247 steps to the dome to get an awesome view of London and a great workout. After all that walking some refreshments was definitely in order. Tom enjoyed a very fruity beer (even more so than the beloved Berry Weis) and I some London Ale! Curt's fiance, James, was able to meet us for dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant! Yes I know, all the way to London to eat Mexican. It was the first time I have ever tried a mole sauce (chocolate and pepper sauce), and it was pretty good. Weird thing happened though when some kids with Halloween masks came by the tables saying Trick-or-treat and holding out a cup for money. At first I was confused because I didn't think we had been gone that long, but than realized that they weren't supposed to be in there. Restaurant staff was quick to show them the door. Was really great to see Curt and meet James. Early tomorrow morning we're off to Paris! Some day we will have to come back to London though!

Cheerio!

I had just finished typing my blog post for day one and thought it posted when it crashed and now I'm starting all over. Err! Anyway Cheerio from London! Our first day of our European vacation has gone pretty well. We arrived in London this morning with nothing but our backpacks, passports, credit cards and a shell of an itinerary of what we think we are going to do. Surprisingly we have only packed 21lbs of stuff in my backpack and 29lbs of stuff in Tom's backpack. We normally pack more than that for a 1week vacation! Here I thought not having a hotel booked in London made us care-free and adventurous, but not so much according to UK immigration officials. Now when you enter the UK you must give an address of where you will be staying. Lucky for us, our immigration officer helped us out with an address and let us in. We were able to find a hotel called Hotel Montana (funny I thought we were in London and not Montana) where we will be spending tonight and tomorrow. After catching a quick nap we headed into Central London and took the Big Bus tour and got a pretty good overview. Tomorrow our tickets are still good and we'll get back on the bus and stop and explore more! So far so good!