We knew that we wanted to go back to Germany after Amsterdam, but we weren't sure where. Once again our guidebooks came through for us: Fussen. Fussen was, pretty much, the land of classic castles and mountains. Awesome! Quite possibly my favorite things. You know the Disney castle? I've been to the castle that inspired it: Neuchwenstein. Also the one that came before it, Hohenschwangau. Think I spelled them both correctly. Either way, they were cool. We took guided tours of each so it was educational too.
Our hostel in Fussen was really really nice. The three of us had a four person room to ourselves, we made an awesome new friend named Jean, and they had the best breakfasts of any hostel or hotel we've been!
The second day we split up. Alex and I were going to hike to the peak of Sauling, 2042 m. Jean, the great new friend, came with us. It was a beautiful day for a hike and the view was absolutely gorgeous. Just indescribily beautiful. To one side we had the smooth green landscape, dotted with small towns and lakes in shades I'd never before seen. To the other side was the vastness of the mountain range, stretching off in the distance into the east and to Austria in the south. It was amazing. However, we ended up on the wrong path and did not, in fact, go to Sauling. Whoops. Instead we ended up going way too west and ended up at Tegelberg, a little rest stop type place at the height of 1707 m. I couldn't bear to turn back without having climbed to the top of something, so we checked the map and found another peak nearby: Branderschrofen, an acceptable height of 1881. The hike was fine, exhausting but fine, until we reached the very end. We couldn't have been more than 50 or 100 feet from the peak when suddenly the path ended. All that remained was a short climb, then the narrow rocky side of the mountain countinuing on and up. It could have been called a ledge, had it been smooth and/or path like. That was the end for Alex, but Jean was willing to try going farther if I was willing. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to make it, physically or otherwise, but I was too stubborn to turn back. And I did it! I didn't stop and I didn't fall to my death and I did make it to the top! It was exhilerating!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Amsterdam, it's cool but it's not all that
Our Amsterdam hostel was really good and not so great at the same time. The main downside was found while I was off getting money: black mold. While it's not good for anyone it's particularly not good for Constantina. For some reason the hostel people didn't offer to move us, or to clean it, so Alex ended up taking a mask and some bleach spray stuff and killing it off. Seems like an unpleasant job to me but he enjoyed it. After that we walked around for a while, hungry and indecisive, until eventually settling on a tasty Italian place with very nice wait staff. Having food in us perked us up enough to walk around. They have lots of interesting shops there.
We'd enjoyed walking tours in other cities so we decided to try to find a free one there in Amsterdam. None of us knew much about the city, so it seemed like a good way to get an introduction and learn about some cool places. Sadly we never found it. We waited for a while in the rain, but eventually had to give up and make our own walking tour. Touring the Red Light District by day and then by night was a fun time. We had some tasty foods and saw some interesting shops. By night the whole area was lit up with neon lights and signs. Windows that had been mostly vacant by day were then occupied by prostitutes. We decided to check out a club in the area, which was an interesting time.
For our second full day Constantina and I split a cake and we headed off to the zoo. It wasn't quite what we'd expected, but it was still fun. I think that part of the problem was that we were all pretty tired, and kind of malnourished that day. The zoo was fun and kind of chill, which was nice, but we also kind of forgot to eat. Dinner that night was Indonesian food--yay! I'd really wanted to make sure I had some Indonesian while we were in the Netherlands, and it didn't disappoint.
That night we hung out with our hostelmates. Well, some of them. We made friends with three out of the four people in the room. The fourth we named Sleeping Guy, because it seemed that all he did was sleep. Come in at night, he's sleeping, the next afternoon-sleeping, later that evening-still sleeping. Strange. But anyway, our little group went out for tasty tasy gelato, then off to a cafe. It wasn't quite what I'd expected but I did really enjoy the experience. Very relaxing.
That was pretty much the end of our time in Amsterdam. Our last morning and afternoon was spent getting ready to go and then hanging out around the train station. It was a fun city, and I wouldn't not recommend it, it's just that there are so many other places which are just, well, more awesome.
We'd enjoyed walking tours in other cities so we decided to try to find a free one there in Amsterdam. None of us knew much about the city, so it seemed like a good way to get an introduction and learn about some cool places. Sadly we never found it. We waited for a while in the rain, but eventually had to give up and make our own walking tour. Touring the Red Light District by day and then by night was a fun time. We had some tasty foods and saw some interesting shops. By night the whole area was lit up with neon lights and signs. Windows that had been mostly vacant by day were then occupied by prostitutes. We decided to check out a club in the area, which was an interesting time.
For our second full day Constantina and I split a cake and we headed off to the zoo. It wasn't quite what we'd expected, but it was still fun. I think that part of the problem was that we were all pretty tired, and kind of malnourished that day. The zoo was fun and kind of chill, which was nice, but we also kind of forgot to eat. Dinner that night was Indonesian food--yay! I'd really wanted to make sure I had some Indonesian while we were in the Netherlands, and it didn't disappoint.
That night we hung out with our hostelmates. Well, some of them. We made friends with three out of the four people in the room. The fourth we named Sleeping Guy, because it seemed that all he did was sleep. Come in at night, he's sleeping, the next afternoon-sleeping, later that evening-still sleeping. Strange. But anyway, our little group went out for tasty tasy gelato, then off to a cafe. It wasn't quite what I'd expected but I did really enjoy the experience. Very relaxing.
That was pretty much the end of our time in Amsterdam. Our last morning and afternoon was spent getting ready to go and then hanging out around the train station. It was a fun city, and I wouldn't not recommend it, it's just that there are so many other places which are just, well, more awesome.
Stuttgart, land of cockroaches and disappointment
Stuttgart, as one might guess from the title, is not one of my favorite places. It was not even somewhere we'd intended to go, really. Unfortunately Alex lost his rail pass somewhere along the way, which meant we had to modify our plans to go through a city where he could buy a new one. Fortunately Stuttgart wasn't far from Freiburg and was on our way up to Amsterdam. Quite convenient. The plan was to stop in Stuttgart, Alex would get his pass, we'd eat dinner, chill, then hop a 1 am night train up to Amsterdam. Already had the reservation tickets and everything.
Stuttgart was a nice enough city. It had lots of pretty fountains and a nice walking area. I searched for a restaurant while Alex and Constantina stayed at the station with the bags. We ended up eating at an American-type place that was just across the street and down a little. It was good. We decided to go hang out in some park area until it was time to go back to the station. The first place we tried ended up having too many way too big cockroaches. But no problem, we just went down to the big square area I'd found earlier, which was pleasant and had benches and fountains. No problem.
Went back to the station to grab our train out. But it wasn't up on the marque. Still ok, figured it might be too early for it to be listed, but we might as well ask anyway. Turned out the train was actually for the next night, not that one. Rrgh. Very frustrating. The tickets were all in German, of course, so we couldn't read it. Wandered around for a while, indecisive, tired, eventually got to a hostel and to sleep around 3 am. The next morning we everything worked out fine, ended up taking a day train up instead. Just an irritating thing to have to deal with.
Stuttgart was a nice enough city. It had lots of pretty fountains and a nice walking area. I searched for a restaurant while Alex and Constantina stayed at the station with the bags. We ended up eating at an American-type place that was just across the street and down a little. It was good. We decided to go hang out in some park area until it was time to go back to the station. The first place we tried ended up having too many way too big cockroaches. But no problem, we just went down to the big square area I'd found earlier, which was pleasant and had benches and fountains. No problem.
Went back to the station to grab our train out. But it wasn't up on the marque. Still ok, figured it might be too early for it to be listed, but we might as well ask anyway. Turned out the train was actually for the next night, not that one. Rrgh. Very frustrating. The tickets were all in German, of course, so we couldn't read it. Wandered around for a while, indecisive, tired, eventually got to a hostel and to sleep around 3 am. The next morning we everything worked out fine, ended up taking a day train up instead. Just an irritating thing to have to deal with.
Friday, June 5, 2009
I'm so behind on blogging!
Still need to catch up on Stuttgart, Amsterdam, Fussen, Venice, and now Rome. Might get the chance tomorrow night, but probably not. Think I'm the only one who's behind and needing internets still.
Freiburg, a rest with friends
We were in Freiburg less than 48 hours, but it still managed to be relaxing. Getting in was confusing because we hadn't figured out how we were meeting up with Andrew, who had kindly offerred to host us. There was some stress and worry, but we found our way to the Black Forest Hostel with the help of no less than 5 friendly individuals, and thanks to the use of their computer found out that Tabitha had been waiting for us the whole time!
It was really awesome getting to hang out with Andrew and Tabitha and Balin and their friends. I couldn't believe just how long it had been since I had last seen Balin. That's the problem with studying abroad, I suppose. Andrew was an excellent host! He and the others had even gotten mattresses and sleeping bags and pillows for us! It was really really nice.
It was really awesome getting to hang out with Andrew and Tabitha and Balin and their friends. I couldn't believe just how long it had been since I had last seen Balin. That's the problem with studying abroad, I suppose. Andrew was an excellent host! He and the others had even gotten mattresses and sleeping bags and pillows for us! It was really really nice.
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