Well, I headed back to Italy to see Venice because it was closer to see it while I was in this neck of the woods instead of seeing it when I was in Italy before. I spent 2 days there wandering around the city and had a great time. It was pretty neat to see because there are all of thes canals running through the city to connect the different islands. Bridges cross all of the canals at different points and it really does look like the pictures that you see of it.
Everyone that I talked to before I went to Venice said that they got lost in the city even with a map. Because of that, I decided that I was just not gonna use a map and wander around to see what I see. That was the best decision that I made because I ended up seeing everything and getting into some areas that were definately off of the tourist track and there was no one there but the people who lived there. The islands at times feel like a big maze cause you wander for a while and then suddenly it just dead ends and you have to turn around and go back.
While there, I of course had to see St. Marks Square and the cathedral. The square was covered in more pigeons than I have ever seen in my entire life and they are aggressive things. I wanted to kick some of them when they landed on me. The cathedral is beautiful, both inside and out. It is quite a work of art. I went to this section behind the alter that you have to pay to get into to see this alter piece that is behind it. That thing is stunning! It is this huge intricate work of gold and precious stones inlaid in it. I have never seen anything like it!
Other than that, my time was spent just wandering and enjoying Venice. I checked out a few of the touristy shopping streets and looked at all of the various things they were selling. I also wandered around and just sat and enjoyed the view overlooking some of the canals with the gondolas and the water taxis. There was also this guy I watched for a while who had a bunch of wine glasses he was playing by wetting his fingers and holding it over the glasses. It was pretty amazing cause he was playing pieces by Mozart and such. I was impressed!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Slovenia
While, I am currently in Slovenia. It has been great! I began my time here in the little town of Ptuj. It is a tiny little medivel town in the eastern part of Slovenia. My journey there began by getting off the train at the wrong train station in the freezing cold rain in this tiny little town. I realized it once I got off, so I had to wait an hour until the next train came to take me on my way, but there was no where to wait inside, so I had to wait in the cold. Once my train came and I got to my destination, I made my way to the hostel. I thought that there was only one in town and just about died when they told me it was full. Luckily, there is one other hostel so they called over and got me a bed for 2 nights. That was good cause I had my own room and a great kitchen with tv. That is always a plus!
I explored the town the next day (in the rain). I walked all through the streets, went up to the castle and just browsed in some shops. It is this great old town, surrounded by trees and fields. I had a great time wandering around and chatting with people. They were all very friendly and even if they could not speak English, they wanted to try and communicate.
Next, I headed off to the capital, Ljbuljbiana. It is the capital, but it feels more like a small town. It is built around a river and many of the buildings are old. The arquitecture here is just great and there are so many landmarks right in the city center. The city is guarded by a huge castle up on the hill overlooking the city. I went up and explored it, walked along the river and checked out the sights.
The next day, I went with 3 other people from my hostel and we rented a car and went and checked out the Lake town of Bled. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately it was raining that day which made it a bit hard to enjoy completely. After that, we headed to the town of Postonja to see some caves that were supposed to be amazing. After getting lost for about 2 hours, we made our way there, just in time for the last tour of the day. It reminded me of the ride, Thunder Mountain at Disneyland cause you descend into the cave on a train and then you get off and walk around, then you get taken out on a train again. It was absolutely beautiful! There were all these stalagtites and stalagmites in the cave with these great formations. Upon getting back to town, we went to the best restaurant for dinner with such yummy salads that the guys who works at our hostel recommended. It was amazing! We loved it!
I explored the town the next day (in the rain). I walked all through the streets, went up to the castle and just browsed in some shops. It is this great old town, surrounded by trees and fields. I had a great time wandering around and chatting with people. They were all very friendly and even if they could not speak English, they wanted to try and communicate.
Next, I headed off to the capital, Ljbuljbiana. It is the capital, but it feels more like a small town. It is built around a river and many of the buildings are old. The arquitecture here is just great and there are so many landmarks right in the city center. The city is guarded by a huge castle up on the hill overlooking the city. I went up and explored it, walked along the river and checked out the sights.
The next day, I went with 3 other people from my hostel and we rented a car and went and checked out the Lake town of Bled. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately it was raining that day which made it a bit hard to enjoy completely. After that, we headed to the town of Postonja to see some caves that were supposed to be amazing. After getting lost for about 2 hours, we made our way there, just in time for the last tour of the day. It reminded me of the ride, Thunder Mountain at Disneyland cause you descend into the cave on a train and then you get off and walk around, then you get taken out on a train again. It was absolutely beautiful! There were all these stalagtites and stalagmites in the cave with these great formations. Upon getting back to town, we went to the best restaurant for dinner with such yummy salads that the guys who works at our hostel recommended. It was amazing! We loved it!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Vienna
Well, I spent 3 nights in Vienna. I only planned on spending 2 but there was just too much to see here and not enough time, so I decided that I needed a full two days instead of just 1 1/2. I first found a hostel to stay at cause I had not booked one. Once I did that I spent the next couple of days exploring. There is some great arquitecture in this city and I walked all around the center of the city to see it. There is an old palace, the old town hall, the parliament, some old churches, the state opera and the old opera, and this one section called museum quarter that has some good arquitecture and a ton of museums. None of which I went to though, instead I decided to visit some different ones. It was a beautiful city with lots of trees and parks that I would have loved to sat in and enjoyed had it not been so cold.
While I was there I also went to another palace a bit outside of the center that was set onthis huge plot of land. The whoel thing was beautiful and ornate as ever. I cannot imagine how much money must have been sunk into it at the time to build it. I went in and did a tour and most of the time spent with my mouth open and gapping at what I was looking at. Then afterwards I went and strolled around the extensive gardens there that were just huge. There was even a zoo on them! There was also a maye like the ones they used to have at Sea World made out of bushes, but I decided not to go into it cause it cost extra.
I went to the Sisi Museum there too which told the story of the empress Elizabeth and also lets you go in and see the royal dinnerware collection. That was a sight to behold. There were just rooms and rooms filled with so many beautiful peices for serving and eating on I could not believe it. I also had to go to the Freud Museum. Ok, so his theories are out there mostly nowdays, but he is pretty much the father of psychoanalysis and we still discuss him in my field of Social Work, so I felt it only appropraite to go. It was actually really intersting and I really enjoyed it a lot. It is in his house there and was begun with the support of his youngest daughter Anna. The only bad part about it was that someone stole my nice little compact umbrella out of my coat pocket while I was there so I am now umbrellaless:( Luckily, my coat that I just purchased is water proof with a hood and is fleece lined. I bought my clothes just int he nick of time before the coldness hit!
I also went into 2 of the art museums there, the Albertina and the Belvadere. The Albertina had a great collection that they were just given on permanent loan and the Belvadere had a special exhibition going on at the time with a ton of great paintings. I again got to see some magnificent works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Chagrall, Pollack, Cezanne, Signac, Matisse, and so many more I could keep going on for a while. I loved them. I think that I could soak up the art in some of these museums and not tire of them. A few of the peices I just sat and stared at for a while in awe of the painters. They were quite a sight!
While I was there I also went to another palace a bit outside of the center that was set onthis huge plot of land. The whoel thing was beautiful and ornate as ever. I cannot imagine how much money must have been sunk into it at the time to build it. I went in and did a tour and most of the time spent with my mouth open and gapping at what I was looking at. Then afterwards I went and strolled around the extensive gardens there that were just huge. There was even a zoo on them! There was also a maye like the ones they used to have at Sea World made out of bushes, but I decided not to go into it cause it cost extra.
I went to the Sisi Museum there too which told the story of the empress Elizabeth and also lets you go in and see the royal dinnerware collection. That was a sight to behold. There were just rooms and rooms filled with so many beautiful peices for serving and eating on I could not believe it. I also had to go to the Freud Museum. Ok, so his theories are out there mostly nowdays, but he is pretty much the father of psychoanalysis and we still discuss him in my field of Social Work, so I felt it only appropraite to go. It was actually really intersting and I really enjoyed it a lot. It is in his house there and was begun with the support of his youngest daughter Anna. The only bad part about it was that someone stole my nice little compact umbrella out of my coat pocket while I was there so I am now umbrellaless:( Luckily, my coat that I just purchased is water proof with a hood and is fleece lined. I bought my clothes just int he nick of time before the coldness hit!
I also went into 2 of the art museums there, the Albertina and the Belvadere. The Albertina had a great collection that they were just given on permanent loan and the Belvadere had a special exhibition going on at the time with a ton of great paintings. I again got to see some magnificent works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Chagrall, Pollack, Cezanne, Signac, Matisse, and so many more I could keep going on for a while. I loved them. I think that I could soak up the art in some of these museums and not tire of them. A few of the peices I just sat and stared at for a while in awe of the painters. They were quite a sight!
The Storybook Town of Hallstatt
After I had finished in Salzburg, my next stop on my travels was in the tiny town of Hallstatt in the Lake District of Austria. When you arrive there the train station is actually accross the lake from the town, so you have to catch a ferry over there. I had bought my winter clothes just in time cause it was raining and freezing there.
The town is a tiny little town. There are only 1,100 residents. It is built right up between the water and the mountain so there really is no room for it to grow. It is really cute though. It reminds me of one of those small east coast towns that you would see in a movie in the fall cause all of the leaves were changning colors here too. There is exactly 1 hostel in the town, 1 bank, 2 churches, 1 grocery store, about 5 restaurants, and 1 main square. It was real cute.
I dropped my stuff off and headed off to the Salt mines that it is famous for. They are the oldest continuously mined salt mines in the world, being in operation for 7,000 years. You have to take up a furnicular that is all glass so you can see all of the trees below you as you are headed up. Once I got there, I had to walk up about 20 minutes in the rain, but it was really pretty cause there was a stream running alongside the path surrounded by all of these trees. It felt a bit like I was in a forest.
In the mine it is guided tours and I really had a great time. You have to put on this miners outfit and mine was bright green. Having that over my winter clothes I looked like a big green marshmellow. Then we set off on the tour. They took us through levels 6 and 7 of the mine of which there are 12. They explain about the history of the mine, what is still going on there and the legend of the Salt Man who was found there. He was this perfectly preseved body found in the 1700s there. We also got to do down these 2 hige wood slides the way the miners used to go before they got high tech and built lifts. That was great! They took our pictures and recorded our speeds of which mine was 28 something kilometers per hour (do not ask me what that is in mph cause I am not good with the whole conversion to our screwy system from the metric system).
After that, I headed into town and explored it. There were a few little shops, a main square, a waterfall that drops off in the back of the town, and a couple of restaurants. Since I was freezing and it was 2 in the afternoon, I decided it was time for a warm up and lunch, so I found myself a cafe and got some hot chocolate and this dumpling salad thing. Then after I had warmed up, I headed over the see the Catholic church there. This churches claim to fame is that the cemetary is so small there that they were running out of room in the past so they started digging up the graves hundreds of years ago and made this house where they painted the skulls with designs and placed them in there with the persons name and birth and death date. It was a little creepy cause there were so many of them stacked up in this little house, but they do not do that anymore. The last person placed int here was in 1983 and that was only by special request. I was surprised though cause the graves there in the cemetary were really pretty. Nothing like our graves here in the US. They all had really pretty and different markers, a lot of which were wrought iron designs and each plot had tons of different flowers actually planted on it so that they grew year round. That was kinda good to see.
Later that day, I meet up with some people from my last hostel and we went to the only hostel in town at 4, when it opened, to get a room. There were 6 of us and luckily they had room for us cause it is the off season. It was kinda funny though cause all of them were from Japan and China and spoke extremely broken English so we did a lot of communicating with hand gestures and acting things out if I was not understanding them or they were not understanding me. That is always fun!
The town is a tiny little town. There are only 1,100 residents. It is built right up between the water and the mountain so there really is no room for it to grow. It is really cute though. It reminds me of one of those small east coast towns that you would see in a movie in the fall cause all of the leaves were changning colors here too. There is exactly 1 hostel in the town, 1 bank, 2 churches, 1 grocery store, about 5 restaurants, and 1 main square. It was real cute.
I dropped my stuff off and headed off to the Salt mines that it is famous for. They are the oldest continuously mined salt mines in the world, being in operation for 7,000 years. You have to take up a furnicular that is all glass so you can see all of the trees below you as you are headed up. Once I got there, I had to walk up about 20 minutes in the rain, but it was really pretty cause there was a stream running alongside the path surrounded by all of these trees. It felt a bit like I was in a forest.
In the mine it is guided tours and I really had a great time. You have to put on this miners outfit and mine was bright green. Having that over my winter clothes I looked like a big green marshmellow. Then we set off on the tour. They took us through levels 6 and 7 of the mine of which there are 12. They explain about the history of the mine, what is still going on there and the legend of the Salt Man who was found there. He was this perfectly preseved body found in the 1700s there. We also got to do down these 2 hige wood slides the way the miners used to go before they got high tech and built lifts. That was great! They took our pictures and recorded our speeds of which mine was 28 something kilometers per hour (do not ask me what that is in mph cause I am not good with the whole conversion to our screwy system from the metric system).
After that, I headed into town and explored it. There were a few little shops, a main square, a waterfall that drops off in the back of the town, and a couple of restaurants. Since I was freezing and it was 2 in the afternoon, I decided it was time for a warm up and lunch, so I found myself a cafe and got some hot chocolate and this dumpling salad thing. Then after I had warmed up, I headed over the see the Catholic church there. This churches claim to fame is that the cemetary is so small there that they were running out of room in the past so they started digging up the graves hundreds of years ago and made this house where they painted the skulls with designs and placed them in there with the persons name and birth and death date. It was a little creepy cause there were so many of them stacked up in this little house, but they do not do that anymore. The last person placed int here was in 1983 and that was only by special request. I was surprised though cause the graves there in the cemetary were really pretty. Nothing like our graves here in the US. They all had really pretty and different markers, a lot of which were wrought iron designs and each plot had tons of different flowers actually planted on it so that they grew year round. That was kinda good to see.
Later that day, I meet up with some people from my last hostel and we went to the only hostel in town at 4, when it opened, to get a room. There were 6 of us and luckily they had room for us cause it is the off season. It was kinda funny though cause all of them were from Japan and China and spoke extremely broken English so we did a lot of communicating with hand gestures and acting things out if I was not understanding them or they were not understanding me. That is always fun!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music!
Just imagine that I am singing to all of you in that beautiful voice that I don't have! After my long night of travel I arrived in Salzburg, Austria. Let me tell you that city is all about the Sound of Music because some of it was filmed around there and Mozart because he was born there and lived there until he was 24. I found my hostel, dumped my bags, and headed out for the day.
Instead of exploring Salzburg first, I went to the little town of Werfen about 50 minutes outside of there. The train ride was beautiful and snaked through the hills and small towns along the way as well as showing some beautiful trees too. I went there because the largest accessible ice caves in the world to the public are there and I wanted to see them. I headed up there and you have to hike up about 20 minutes, take a furnicular up (like a cable car hanging from a wire) and then hike up another 20 minutes to the entrance of the caves. It was beautiful to be that high up and be able to look down and see everything. By the time I got to the top, I was hot! That was very short lived though because it is icy cold in the caves and very dark. They take you on a guided tour and explain about how the ice forms, the discovery of the caves, and some of the history. It was extremely dark so they gave us all these lamps with fire in them to light the way. That was very brave of them to trust us with fire I thought! As we walked around in there, there were points that the guide would light this string thing and place it on the ice to light up some of the ice and the sculptures that have naturally formed and they were jsut breathtaking! I was so glad that I decided to do that (even though I was not a big fan of the cold).
The next day I spent exploring the town of Salzburg after I did a bit of shopping. For those of you who do not know yet, I have decided to stay here a month longer until December 12. SÃnce I was not planning on staying that long I came completey unprepared for winter. Luckily, I found this discount shop (kinda like Ross) where I purchased a couple of long sleeve tops, a fleece lined jacket, and another zip up fleece, all for very cheap!
After my bit of shopping, Salzburg was beckoning. I headed towards the Schloss Mirabell first to get the "classic Slazburg view." You can see it in Sound of Music if you watch it cause there is a scene filmed there. It is this huge garden with a perfectly manicured lawn with intricate designs in it made of flowers. There is also a rose garden there with tons of benches and trees that is great for just sitting. In the background you can see some of the big roofs and domes of old Salzburg. It was beautiful.
I crossed the river and headed into the old town where I wandered through the streets with their very elaborate signs that hang outside of the shops. It felt like Christmas because it was cold and there are Christmas shops all over the place there. I saw a beautiful old church, a couple of the fountains and monuments in the town, and then I walked up to the fortress high on the hill. There I saw some of the state rooms, a museum they have there, and some other interesting things on disply (like torture chamber stuff which I probably didnot need to see). The weather was cool and crisp. The leaves were a beautiful red, yellow, and gold. There was a bit of a breeze making it the perfect autumn day. The town reminds me a bit of Solvang for those of you who have been there. It was quite cute!
Instead of exploring Salzburg first, I went to the little town of Werfen about 50 minutes outside of there. The train ride was beautiful and snaked through the hills and small towns along the way as well as showing some beautiful trees too. I went there because the largest accessible ice caves in the world to the public are there and I wanted to see them. I headed up there and you have to hike up about 20 minutes, take a furnicular up (like a cable car hanging from a wire) and then hike up another 20 minutes to the entrance of the caves. It was beautiful to be that high up and be able to look down and see everything. By the time I got to the top, I was hot! That was very short lived though because it is icy cold in the caves and very dark. They take you on a guided tour and explain about how the ice forms, the discovery of the caves, and some of the history. It was extremely dark so they gave us all these lamps with fire in them to light the way. That was very brave of them to trust us with fire I thought! As we walked around in there, there were points that the guide would light this string thing and place it on the ice to light up some of the ice and the sculptures that have naturally formed and they were jsut breathtaking! I was so glad that I decided to do that (even though I was not a big fan of the cold).
The next day I spent exploring the town of Salzburg after I did a bit of shopping. For those of you who do not know yet, I have decided to stay here a month longer until December 12. SÃnce I was not planning on staying that long I came completey unprepared for winter. Luckily, I found this discount shop (kinda like Ross) where I purchased a couple of long sleeve tops, a fleece lined jacket, and another zip up fleece, all for very cheap!
After my bit of shopping, Salzburg was beckoning. I headed towards the Schloss Mirabell first to get the "classic Slazburg view." You can see it in Sound of Music if you watch it cause there is a scene filmed there. It is this huge garden with a perfectly manicured lawn with intricate designs in it made of flowers. There is also a rose garden there with tons of benches and trees that is great for just sitting. In the background you can see some of the big roofs and domes of old Salzburg. It was beautiful.
I crossed the river and headed into the old town where I wandered through the streets with their very elaborate signs that hang outside of the shops. It felt like Christmas because it was cold and there are Christmas shops all over the place there. I saw a beautiful old church, a couple of the fountains and monuments in the town, and then I walked up to the fortress high on the hill. There I saw some of the state rooms, a museum they have there, and some other interesting things on disply (like torture chamber stuff which I probably didnot need to see). The weather was cool and crisp. The leaves were a beautiful red, yellow, and gold. There was a bit of a breeze making it the perfect autumn day. The town reminds me a bit of Solvang for those of you who have been there. It was quite cute!
Friday, October 19, 2007
2 train rides and Zagreb
Mt time in Croatia ended with a bit of a travel day. I took a train ride from the coast of the country into the capital of Zagreb where I had to catch a train later that night for Austria. The ride was beautiful. The country itself is just a stunning country filled with lush green hills and fields. We passed through some very small towns with farms and meadows dotting the landscape.
I arrived in Zagreb around 2 that afternoon and had until 9 that night to do some sightseeing so I dumped my stuff in a locker and headed off to explore for the day. I went and saw a couple of very ornate and beautiful churches along with the old town. It is a very pretty city with lots of tree lined streets and parks. It is fall so all of the leaves are changing colors and the air was cool and crisp.
I boarded my train that night at nine and it was supposed to arrive in Salzburg at 4am. I was tired and ready for a bit of sleep. I parked myself in a 6 person compartment which was only filled with 2 other people and we headed off. I closed my eyes and about 30 minutes later, they were asking for our tickets (which is understandable since they have to check our tickets). I then closed my eyes again when a few minutes later we were aroused by the police needing to see passports (ok, again understandable because we were leaving the country, and I did get another stamp which always fun). After that was done I closed my eyes and was just beginning to doze off when once again we were aroused by the police needing passports, only this time it was the Slovenian police (so I guess it was understandable because we were entering their country and yet again I got another stamp). As I closed my eyes again hoping for some sleep, one of the guys in my compartment starts talking very loud on the cell phone and then begins slurping yourgurt from a container when he is done cause he has no spoon, completely oblivious to the fact that 2 of us are trying to sleep. Finally, he quits and I get some shut eye for what feels like about 2 minutes before I am awakened again because we are stopped in the capital of Slovenia. At this point, another guy gets into our cabin and decides to get chatty at midnight. I was trying to be polite (my patience was wearing very thin at this point because tiredness was looming), but finally just closed my eyes and he eventually quit talking. I closed my eyes when not even an hour later, the police are waking us up AGAIN for passports (my understanding with them was almost gone at this point and we did not even get a stamp!). As I shut my eyes again, we were then aroused by the train people about 30 minutes later needing to see tickets again ( iwas frustrated at this point and just wanted sleep). Finally, they left us along long enough for me to get about 2 hours of sleep before I woke up to my alarm clock blaring in my ear. I had stuck it in my purse and this was serving as my pillow for the night as well. It was 4am and we should have been arriving at our stop soon.
When we stop, there were a few of us who were getting off in Salzburg, but the sign did not say Salzburg so we were very confused. We got off to find out what was going on (keep in mind I am tired and have not slept more than 2 hours the whole night and it is cold out) when I see this guy on the inside motioning me to come back in. I go back and he is explaining to me (in German) that something is broke and needs repaired on the tracks I am assuming so he says we have to go around and it will take 2 hours longer and we will arrive in Salzburg at 7am. We comunicate in hand gestures a few words of broken English and acting it out. I say alright. Then I go and tell some other people who were getting off with me so they know what is going on, there was 1 guy and a family there. The dad of the family looked very skeptical and did not believe me so he asks the other guy to go talk to this guy since they both speak German and the other guy was bilingual. So he comes with me to talk to him. The guy explained the same thing to him that he did to me. So the guy kinda laughs and looks at me and says that we have to wait. I laughed and told him I got that. Then I said for for a few hours until 7 right? And he says yup, then he heads off to tell the family. I almost wanted to go with him so I could gloat cause I was thinking to myself, I may not speak the same language as people but I sure know how to communicate jsut fine with them. I grabbed another hour and a half of sleep before being awakened just before we entered Slazburg. Needless to say, it was not the most restful night ever!
I arrived in Zagreb around 2 that afternoon and had until 9 that night to do some sightseeing so I dumped my stuff in a locker and headed off to explore for the day. I went and saw a couple of very ornate and beautiful churches along with the old town. It is a very pretty city with lots of tree lined streets and parks. It is fall so all of the leaves are changing colors and the air was cool and crisp.
I boarded my train that night at nine and it was supposed to arrive in Salzburg at 4am. I was tired and ready for a bit of sleep. I parked myself in a 6 person compartment which was only filled with 2 other people and we headed off. I closed my eyes and about 30 minutes later, they were asking for our tickets (which is understandable since they have to check our tickets). I then closed my eyes again when a few minutes later we were aroused by the police needing to see passports (ok, again understandable because we were leaving the country, and I did get another stamp which always fun). After that was done I closed my eyes and was just beginning to doze off when once again we were aroused by the police needing passports, only this time it was the Slovenian police (so I guess it was understandable because we were entering their country and yet again I got another stamp). As I closed my eyes again hoping for some sleep, one of the guys in my compartment starts talking very loud on the cell phone and then begins slurping yourgurt from a container when he is done cause he has no spoon, completely oblivious to the fact that 2 of us are trying to sleep. Finally, he quits and I get some shut eye for what feels like about 2 minutes before I am awakened again because we are stopped in the capital of Slovenia. At this point, another guy gets into our cabin and decides to get chatty at midnight. I was trying to be polite (my patience was wearing very thin at this point because tiredness was looming), but finally just closed my eyes and he eventually quit talking. I closed my eyes when not even an hour later, the police are waking us up AGAIN for passports (my understanding with them was almost gone at this point and we did not even get a stamp!). As I shut my eyes again, we were then aroused by the train people about 30 minutes later needing to see tickets again ( iwas frustrated at this point and just wanted sleep). Finally, they left us along long enough for me to get about 2 hours of sleep before I woke up to my alarm clock blaring in my ear. I had stuck it in my purse and this was serving as my pillow for the night as well. It was 4am and we should have been arriving at our stop soon.
When we stop, there were a few of us who were getting off in Salzburg, but the sign did not say Salzburg so we were very confused. We got off to find out what was going on (keep in mind I am tired and have not slept more than 2 hours the whole night and it is cold out) when I see this guy on the inside motioning me to come back in. I go back and he is explaining to me (in German) that something is broke and needs repaired on the tracks I am assuming so he says we have to go around and it will take 2 hours longer and we will arrive in Salzburg at 7am. We comunicate in hand gestures a few words of broken English and acting it out. I say alright. Then I go and tell some other people who were getting off with me so they know what is going on, there was 1 guy and a family there. The dad of the family looked very skeptical and did not believe me so he asks the other guy to go talk to this guy since they both speak German and the other guy was bilingual. So he comes with me to talk to him. The guy explained the same thing to him that he did to me. So the guy kinda laughs and looks at me and says that we have to wait. I laughed and told him I got that. Then I said for for a few hours until 7 right? And he says yup, then he heads off to tell the family. I almost wanted to go with him so I could gloat cause I was thinking to myself, I may not speak the same language as people but I sure know how to communicate jsut fine with them. I grabbed another hour and a half of sleep before being awakened just before we entered Slazburg. Needless to say, it was not the most restful night ever!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Hvala...
And that is the extent of the Croatian that I can speak. It means "thank you." I caught an early Katamaran for the town of Split on the Adriatic Coast of Croatia. I had a full 2 days here and enjoyed every minute. I got here pretty early, around 8:30 in the morning and found my hostel. Luckily, they let me check in early and imagine my surprise when not only do we have big rooms there with only 3 to 4 people in them, but each room has a computer with FREE internet and a tv and dvd player. Such a luxury when you have been doing budget traveling to have those things! The guy who runs this place has about 500 dvds so it is like having a movie store in the hostel. We have definately taken advantage of it here and enjoyed some tv and dvds with some quiet nights in just all of us hanging out since it is a smaller hostel.
I did however actually get out and see the city. This is another city that is a UNESCO World Heritage sight with a great old town. The old town is composed of Diocleatans Palace that is very impressive. The arcitecture all around the city is old and has a great feel to it. There are tons of little shops with back alleyways winding and above the shops are apartments where people live and you can see lines of clothes hanging out to dry everyday. It is built right on the water where there is a port for all of the ferries and ships to come into. Along the water there is a palm tree lined promenade that is great for strolling down and tons of benches for sitting and observing the bustling cafe scene there. On Saturday, it appeared as though every family were out walking about. The weather here was beautiful. It is autumn so it was sunny out with just a slight breeze in the air. It was very cool and crisp weather, the kind where you can put on pants and a long sleeve shirt and it is the perfect temperature. When sitting in the sun, it just warms you up and feels great!
One of my favorite things was going to the crazy busy fruit and veggie market on Saturday. Everyone was out buying their food for the week and I went to grab some fixings for dinner. There was a ton of people there and tons of great looking fruit and veggies. Additionally, people were selling flowers, cheese, meats, fish, dried fruit, nuts, and a whole assortment of of other things. I had fun finding my stuff and getting it as I usually do at the local farmers markets that are all around here. It was great!
I did however actually get out and see the city. This is another city that is a UNESCO World Heritage sight with a great old town. The old town is composed of Diocleatans Palace that is very impressive. The arcitecture all around the city is old and has a great feel to it. There are tons of little shops with back alleyways winding and above the shops are apartments where people live and you can see lines of clothes hanging out to dry everyday. It is built right on the water where there is a port for all of the ferries and ships to come into. Along the water there is a palm tree lined promenade that is great for strolling down and tons of benches for sitting and observing the bustling cafe scene there. On Saturday, it appeared as though every family were out walking about. The weather here was beautiful. It is autumn so it was sunny out with just a slight breeze in the air. It was very cool and crisp weather, the kind where you can put on pants and a long sleeve shirt and it is the perfect temperature. When sitting in the sun, it just warms you up and feels great!
One of my favorite things was going to the crazy busy fruit and veggie market on Saturday. Everyone was out buying their food for the week and I went to grab some fixings for dinner. There was a ton of people there and tons of great looking fruit and veggies. Additionally, people were selling flowers, cheese, meats, fish, dried fruit, nuts, and a whole assortment of of other things. I had fun finding my stuff and getting it as I usually do at the local farmers markets that are all around here. It was great!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Island Paradises in Croatia
I have spent the last few days on some of the islands off the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia and they have been absolutely stunning. I took a bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula Island. Yes, you heard me right, a bus. The bus went through some beautiful country and I saw tons of green, lush hills covered in trees and small towns. Upon arriving at the port, the whole bus gets on a car ferry and then they take us over to the island where they dropped us off at the main town on the island: Korcula town. I got off of the bus and was immediately swamped with people asking all of us if we wanted rooms to rent. I was planning on going to the hostel, but I did not have reservations since it is the down seaon right now. I headed to a tourist info place to grab a map of town to find my way there. When I got there, I was informed that the hostel had closed 2 weeks ago and there are no other hostels in the town since it is so small. That left me with not many options. The agency keeps a list of people who rent rooms out in their houses because this is extremely common to do in Croatia, so they called up a woman who came to get me and took me to her house. It was really nice and I was the only one there cause the other rooms were not being rented out, so it was a nice break from sharing a room with 2-10 people.
The next day was a bit cloudy and rainy, so I mainly just checked out old town. The old town was a walled city that has one main street running down the center with small streets all off of the main street. There are some high, old towers there that used to be defensive towers for the town. I spent the day walking around and looking at all of the little alleyways, watching the numerous stray cats around the city, and checking out the water front. Although it was not very warm, I decided that I needed to go for a swim because this is my last country with beaches, so I threw on my bathing suit and headed into the water. I was the only one in and once I got used to it, it really was not cold. I was carefully dodging the numerous amounts of sea urchins so that I would not end up with a war wound on my feet. I basically jumped in and headed straight out to where I could not touch the ground to avoid the spiky litttle guys.
After spending 2 nights there, I caught an extremely early (as in 6am) katamaran for Hvar Island. I arrived at my hostel, threw my stuff down and went exploring the town for the day. Unforntunately my first day there was rainy and overcast as well due to it being fall weather and all, but it gave me a good opportunity to explore the small little town. Because it is considered low season now, the towns have really died down in the amounts of tourists there are, especially in Croatia because it is not as touristy as some of the other countries. The island was ruled by Venice for a while so there is this great Venetian Fortress up on the hill overlooking the town that I walked up to. There are some great views of the city and many other small islands nearby. The fortress has a prison in it that I went down into that was somewhat dark and creapy (glad I wasn't in there). I checked out the rest of the small town that day and did some reading and writing. The town is very little with not much to see.
The next day, we woke up to beautiful weather which was perfect for my last day on the islands. I headed out, found a beach (which in Croatia is not sand, but instead a flat rock), and did some tanning and swimming. The coast in this country is amazing because the water is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is so clear, but also teal and azure at the same time. When I was smimming in it, I could see straight down to the bottom, including all the rocks and fish which had to be atleast 20-30 feet below me. The coast is super lush with trees and plants all over the place and it is just the epitmoy of an island paradise, especially when you are the only one there for the entire day with the exception of a few boats going by. The country is truly a beautiful sight to behold that words cannot describe and pictures are not even going to begin to do justice to. That day was my perfect ending to my time in the islands.
The next day was a bit cloudy and rainy, so I mainly just checked out old town. The old town was a walled city that has one main street running down the center with small streets all off of the main street. There are some high, old towers there that used to be defensive towers for the town. I spent the day walking around and looking at all of the little alleyways, watching the numerous stray cats around the city, and checking out the water front. Although it was not very warm, I decided that I needed to go for a swim because this is my last country with beaches, so I threw on my bathing suit and headed into the water. I was the only one in and once I got used to it, it really was not cold. I was carefully dodging the numerous amounts of sea urchins so that I would not end up with a war wound on my feet. I basically jumped in and headed straight out to where I could not touch the ground to avoid the spiky litttle guys.
After spending 2 nights there, I caught an extremely early (as in 6am) katamaran for Hvar Island. I arrived at my hostel, threw my stuff down and went exploring the town for the day. Unforntunately my first day there was rainy and overcast as well due to it being fall weather and all, but it gave me a good opportunity to explore the small little town. Because it is considered low season now, the towns have really died down in the amounts of tourists there are, especially in Croatia because it is not as touristy as some of the other countries. The island was ruled by Venice for a while so there is this great Venetian Fortress up on the hill overlooking the town that I walked up to. There are some great views of the city and many other small islands nearby. The fortress has a prison in it that I went down into that was somewhat dark and creapy (glad I wasn't in there). I checked out the rest of the small town that day and did some reading and writing. The town is very little with not much to see.
The next day, we woke up to beautiful weather which was perfect for my last day on the islands. I headed out, found a beach (which in Croatia is not sand, but instead a flat rock), and did some tanning and swimming. The coast in this country is amazing because the water is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is so clear, but also teal and azure at the same time. When I was smimming in it, I could see straight down to the bottom, including all the rocks and fish which had to be atleast 20-30 feet below me. The coast is super lush with trees and plants all over the place and it is just the epitmoy of an island paradise, especially when you are the only one there for the entire day with the exception of a few boats going by. The country is truly a beautiful sight to behold that words cannot describe and pictures are not even going to begin to do justice to. That day was my perfect ending to my time in the islands.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
3 Long Days of Travel Before Arriving in Croatia
Apparently from Greece, there is no easy way to get to Croatia. You either have to spend an obscene amount of time on a train, or an obscene amount of time on ferries, so I opted for the ferry option. I took 3 overnight ferries in a row to get from the Greek Isles, back to the mainland of Greece, then to Italy, then over to Dubrovnik, Croatia. All of them were overnight ferries so it was 3 long nights with not the best sleep, but I survived.
One of the days, I had an entire day to kill in the city of Bari, Italy. This is not a tourist destination really. Usually the only people who go there are catching ferries so they do not stay long. I had the day so I walked around town. The city itself is not much different from other cities, except there is this great old town close to the port that I stummbled upon. It was built in the days before cars, so there are only some scooters in there. All of the buildings are high apartment like buildings with different families that live in them. There is clotheslines with clothes drying drapped between the buildings and the balconies are filled with women either chatting amongst themselves from balcony to balcony or yelling down to people below. All the old men sit around outside of their houses on the street just chatting there are tons of little family owned stores on the ground level. It totally made my Italy experience. I wandered around there for a good couple of hours and felt like I was in an Italian movie or something.
Upon arriving in Dubrovnik, it was a bit cloudy and rainy. I was attempting to find my hostel in the old town, but was wearing flip flops and all of the streets have these really slippery stones they are made out of so I was shuffling along and almost fell numerous times.
Dubrovnik is a beautiful old city surrounded entirely by walls. It was built hundreds of years ago and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. There are no cars or anything in the old town because they do not fit on the streets. I walked all around the walls and you can see a great view of the ocean and look down on the entire town. I felt like I was in Peter Pan when they are flying over London. It looked like that. The towns has one main street, with all of these tiny streets and alleys built off of it and there are lots of stairs too. There is an old Palace there, a couple very ornate churches and one of the oldest pharmacies that is still functioning in Europe. It has been in operation since the 1300s.
Yesterday, I took a day trip to a small island about 15 minutes off of the coast of Dubrovnik. I saw an old Monastary that is in ruins there, an old fort, and also some amazing plant life. It is extremely lush and green here in Croatia and that is very evident on the island. I found some rocks on the back of the island and perched myself there for the remainder of the day and swam and tanned. The water felt so refreshing and amazing. It is so clear and blue and the sky was just beautiful after a day of rain.
I love this city and have really enjoyed it. The best part is at night and early in the morning when all of the tour buses leave and it is quiet.
One of the days, I had an entire day to kill in the city of Bari, Italy. This is not a tourist destination really. Usually the only people who go there are catching ferries so they do not stay long. I had the day so I walked around town. The city itself is not much different from other cities, except there is this great old town close to the port that I stummbled upon. It was built in the days before cars, so there are only some scooters in there. All of the buildings are high apartment like buildings with different families that live in them. There is clotheslines with clothes drying drapped between the buildings and the balconies are filled with women either chatting amongst themselves from balcony to balcony or yelling down to people below. All the old men sit around outside of their houses on the street just chatting there are tons of little family owned stores on the ground level. It totally made my Italy experience. I wandered around there for a good couple of hours and felt like I was in an Italian movie or something.
Upon arriving in Dubrovnik, it was a bit cloudy and rainy. I was attempting to find my hostel in the old town, but was wearing flip flops and all of the streets have these really slippery stones they are made out of so I was shuffling along and almost fell numerous times.
Dubrovnik is a beautiful old city surrounded entirely by walls. It was built hundreds of years ago and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. There are no cars or anything in the old town because they do not fit on the streets. I walked all around the walls and you can see a great view of the ocean and look down on the entire town. I felt like I was in Peter Pan when they are flying over London. It looked like that. The towns has one main street, with all of these tiny streets and alleys built off of it and there are lots of stairs too. There is an old Palace there, a couple very ornate churches and one of the oldest pharmacies that is still functioning in Europe. It has been in operation since the 1300s.
Yesterday, I took a day trip to a small island about 15 minutes off of the coast of Dubrovnik. I saw an old Monastary that is in ruins there, an old fort, and also some amazing plant life. It is extremely lush and green here in Croatia and that is very evident on the island. I found some rocks on the back of the island and perched myself there for the remainder of the day and swam and tanned. The water felt so refreshing and amazing. It is so clear and blue and the sky was just beautiful after a day of rain.
I love this city and have really enjoyed it. The best part is at night and early in the morning when all of the tour buses leave and it is quiet.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The Greek Isles of Santorini and Naxos
I left Athens and traveled first to the island of Santorini with 3 of the people I had met in Naxos. Upom arrival there, we got checked into our hotel, changed into bathing suits, and immediately headed for the beach. We decided the best way to see the island would be to rent some scooters. One of the guys with us had driven 2 wheel vespas before, so him and I got one of those and shared. All I had to do was hold onto the back and navigate. The other 2 girls we were with got a 4 wheel dirt bike that is completely safe, but a bit slow. We headed down to a Red beach that was jsut amazing! The cliffs look like the red cliffs of Sedona and the sand is the exact same way. The water there was absolutely stunning! It was so extremely clear with this beautiful turquoise and teal color. I could not believe that swimming out to where I was treading water, I could still see clear down to the bottom. The water was so refreshing and nice, but very salty.
After that, we headed up to a lighthouse on one of the cliffs and checked out the view before heading up to the monastary that is the highest point on the island. From there, we watched the sunset over the water and could view the entire island. Because it is a volcanic island, it is a bit barren, but there are grape vines growing all over for wine. The buildings in the towns are whitewashed and the roofs are all blue. Many of the towns are perched up above the cliff with amazing views of the water down below.
We headed into the main town on the island which is Fira to grab some dinner. We went to this Greek restaurant recommended by 2 of our guidebooks and our server was definately the highlight of the meal. He was so stinking sarchastic with us and asked us a bunch of questions but as soon as we would ask a question, he would not really answer and then walk away. It was great! We had to wait for a table, so the guy with us went in and the server stopped him and asked "What are you doing?" He tells him "I am going to check out the menu (which is written on a chalkboard at the back of the restaurant completely in Greek)." The server just looks at the him and tells him he can't understand the menu. Mathias, the guy with us, says he speaks Greek (which he does not cause he is from Brazil). Our server jsut laughed at him and gave him such attitude after that. The meal was awesome though. I had this amazing stuffed zucchini that was so yummy.
The next day, we got the scooters again and headed off to explore the northern part of the island. We went to the very tip down to this one beach that did not have many people in it. From there we hiked to some rocks a bit out. We jumped in the water and swam out about 50 meters to the rock island there. After climbing up, we climbed up it some, about 3 stories, to where they have this old platform you can jump off of. After contemplating because we did not want to plunge 3 stories straight into rock and we could not tell exactly how far it was to the bottom, another couple came up there and the husband had jumped off before. He went off and then, I went after him. It was sooooooo much fun and amazing to have that freefalling feeling and then plunging straight into the blue water down below. I loved it. The second time I did it, I had been laying on the rocks on the island so I was dry and that felt so refreshing it was great!
We went up to another little town to watch the sunset that night on the horizon and it is just a beautiful sight to see. The town we were in there, was definately touristy but nice. The scooters were great because we could just zip from town to town. It was also nice because it felt so good to ride into the wind with no one else on the road and your hair streaming out behind you.
The next day, the 3 of us girls headed on to the island of Naxos, while the guy we were with headed back to the mainland. Our ferry was delayed 4 hours due to weather so by the time we boarded it was crowded. We met this great Greek woman from Naxos on board who was embroidering the whole time a beautiful and intricate pattern. As we arrived in Naxos, she got really chatty with us (in Greek) and between hand gestures and stuff, we communicated.
We got picked up at the port by the place we were staying at along with another couple in their 20's. The hostel is run by a family so we went with the dad who is in his 70's. We got there and he had us come in and put our stuff in the main room while he showed the other couple their room. Then he motioned for us to follow him up to our room. He tells us "You put your stuff down. Then you come down and we drink. I looked at the people I was with and we were not too sure about that. He was so sweet though and gave us some fresh olives, fresh tomatoes, fresh cheese, and some red wine. All of which was homemade from his own garden. It was amazing.
The next day, all 5 of us who arrived together rented a car because they were so cheap to see the whole island. We headed off and explored all of the little towns scattered throughout. Some of them, you really felt as though you were stepping back 400 years. They are so quiet and life just goes on as it normally does. I bought a small painting and had to bust out a few pages I had torn out of a book on how to communicate with people because this person did not speak one word of English, and the only thing I know in Greek is thank you. We did just fine though. The best part is that many of these small towns have men just cruising around on donkeys in the street and I loved it!
The drive was very pretty and we saw the amazing island. It felt very quiet and surreal almost. It was more of an authenic Greek than Santorini was. There were some beaches we came accross that were completely deserted and very picturesce. We kinda felt like we were in a Greek movie cause we were the only car on the road and we could not pick up any English radio stations so we were listening to our Greek music the whole time. That was fun. Then, in the middle of the road, goats and pigs will just cruise accross it that are wild so you just have to stop and wait. It is great!
The food here had been amazing and so far has been my favorite. We have had mosaka, which is kinda like lasagnia without noodles, gyros, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers, eggplant dip, stuffed grape leaves, greek salad, baklava, fennel and cheese dishes, aubergiene dishes, there has been so many good ones, words cannot even begin to describe them.
Today, we explored the older part of the town we are staying in. There are these winding alleyways with houses that are hundreds of years old that families still live in. It is a sight to see. There is something about this island that is so peaceful and nice.
Today, I am off to begin working my waz towards Croatia. I have to take 3 ferries and spend the next 3 nights on ferries so that will be fun! Stay posted for more to come...
After that, we headed up to a lighthouse on one of the cliffs and checked out the view before heading up to the monastary that is the highest point on the island. From there, we watched the sunset over the water and could view the entire island. Because it is a volcanic island, it is a bit barren, but there are grape vines growing all over for wine. The buildings in the towns are whitewashed and the roofs are all blue. Many of the towns are perched up above the cliff with amazing views of the water down below.
We headed into the main town on the island which is Fira to grab some dinner. We went to this Greek restaurant recommended by 2 of our guidebooks and our server was definately the highlight of the meal. He was so stinking sarchastic with us and asked us a bunch of questions but as soon as we would ask a question, he would not really answer and then walk away. It was great! We had to wait for a table, so the guy with us went in and the server stopped him and asked "What are you doing?" He tells him "I am going to check out the menu (which is written on a chalkboard at the back of the restaurant completely in Greek)." The server just looks at the him and tells him he can't understand the menu. Mathias, the guy with us, says he speaks Greek (which he does not cause he is from Brazil). Our server jsut laughed at him and gave him such attitude after that. The meal was awesome though. I had this amazing stuffed zucchini that was so yummy.
The next day, we got the scooters again and headed off to explore the northern part of the island. We went to the very tip down to this one beach that did not have many people in it. From there we hiked to some rocks a bit out. We jumped in the water and swam out about 50 meters to the rock island there. After climbing up, we climbed up it some, about 3 stories, to where they have this old platform you can jump off of. After contemplating because we did not want to plunge 3 stories straight into rock and we could not tell exactly how far it was to the bottom, another couple came up there and the husband had jumped off before. He went off and then, I went after him. It was sooooooo much fun and amazing to have that freefalling feeling and then plunging straight into the blue water down below. I loved it. The second time I did it, I had been laying on the rocks on the island so I was dry and that felt so refreshing it was great!
We went up to another little town to watch the sunset that night on the horizon and it is just a beautiful sight to see. The town we were in there, was definately touristy but nice. The scooters were great because we could just zip from town to town. It was also nice because it felt so good to ride into the wind with no one else on the road and your hair streaming out behind you.
The next day, the 3 of us girls headed on to the island of Naxos, while the guy we were with headed back to the mainland. Our ferry was delayed 4 hours due to weather so by the time we boarded it was crowded. We met this great Greek woman from Naxos on board who was embroidering the whole time a beautiful and intricate pattern. As we arrived in Naxos, she got really chatty with us (in Greek) and between hand gestures and stuff, we communicated.
We got picked up at the port by the place we were staying at along with another couple in their 20's. The hostel is run by a family so we went with the dad who is in his 70's. We got there and he had us come in and put our stuff in the main room while he showed the other couple their room. Then he motioned for us to follow him up to our room. He tells us "You put your stuff down. Then you come down and we drink. I looked at the people I was with and we were not too sure about that. He was so sweet though and gave us some fresh olives, fresh tomatoes, fresh cheese, and some red wine. All of which was homemade from his own garden. It was amazing.
The next day, all 5 of us who arrived together rented a car because they were so cheap to see the whole island. We headed off and explored all of the little towns scattered throughout. Some of them, you really felt as though you were stepping back 400 years. They are so quiet and life just goes on as it normally does. I bought a small painting and had to bust out a few pages I had torn out of a book on how to communicate with people because this person did not speak one word of English, and the only thing I know in Greek is thank you. We did just fine though. The best part is that many of these small towns have men just cruising around on donkeys in the street and I loved it!
The drive was very pretty and we saw the amazing island. It felt very quiet and surreal almost. It was more of an authenic Greek than Santorini was. There were some beaches we came accross that were completely deserted and very picturesce. We kinda felt like we were in a Greek movie cause we were the only car on the road and we could not pick up any English radio stations so we were listening to our Greek music the whole time. That was fun. Then, in the middle of the road, goats and pigs will just cruise accross it that are wild so you just have to stop and wait. It is great!
The food here had been amazing and so far has been my favorite. We have had mosaka, which is kinda like lasagnia without noodles, gyros, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers, eggplant dip, stuffed grape leaves, greek salad, baklava, fennel and cheese dishes, aubergiene dishes, there has been so many good ones, words cannot even begin to describe them.
Today, we explored the older part of the town we are staying in. There are these winding alleyways with houses that are hundreds of years old that families still live in. It is a sight to see. There is something about this island that is so peaceful and nice.
Today, I am off to begin working my waz towards Croatia. I have to take 3 ferries and spend the next 3 nights on ferries so that will be fun! Stay posted for more to come...
Monday, October 1, 2007
Athens, Greece
Well after my 2 extremely long days of travel, I arrived in Athens with the group of people I met on the ferry on our way over here. My first full day there, I headed up to the Acropolis to see the sights andall of the ancient ruins that are around there. I walked up and imagine my suprise when I happen to be there on the one day a year when everything is free! That is great news for us budget travelers cause we saved 12 euros! The acropolis was pretty amazing to see especially the Partheon. Unfortunately, a lot of the sights there were having to be rebuilt, but it was still amazing to see. I spent a few hours up there and then headed back into town to walk around.
I met up that night with the group of people from before and we went to grab some dinnner at this really cheap gyro place we found that had great food, but only if you take it to go is it so cheap. We wanted to sit somewhere, so we walked to this one section of town where we could "dine with a view of the Acropolis" at night. Since Athens did not have that many benches around, we just plopped ourselves on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk. We kinda looked like vagabonds, but it worked well.
The next day I went to the National Archeological Museum to see an amazing amount of artifacts from Greek culture. There were beautiful statutes and bronze work and gold work. I was truly a sight to see. The whole city of Athens was interesting because it is this completely modern city, built around what is supposedly the beginning of civilization set high up on a hill over looking the city.
In the afternoon, I headed over to the national gardens, which is this completely lush green park bythe parliament building where it is nice,quiet, and relaxing among all of the loud huslte and buslte of the city. There was also some great shopping in Greece, so I went on the hunt that afternoon for a skirt. Instead, I ended up with 2 skirts, but I figured it was alright.
I only had 2 days in Athens, but that seemed to be enough and next I am off to island hop in the Greek Isles.
I met up that night with the group of people from before and we went to grab some dinnner at this really cheap gyro place we found that had great food, but only if you take it to go is it so cheap. We wanted to sit somewhere, so we walked to this one section of town where we could "dine with a view of the Acropolis" at night. Since Athens did not have that many benches around, we just plopped ourselves on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk. We kinda looked like vagabonds, but it worked well.
The next day I went to the National Archeological Museum to see an amazing amount of artifacts from Greek culture. There were beautiful statutes and bronze work and gold work. I was truly a sight to see. The whole city of Athens was interesting because it is this completely modern city, built around what is supposedly the beginning of civilization set high up on a hill over looking the city.
In the afternoon, I headed over to the national gardens, which is this completely lush green park bythe parliament building where it is nice,quiet, and relaxing among all of the loud huslte and buslte of the city. There was also some great shopping in Greece, so I went on the hunt that afternoon for a skirt. Instead, I ended up with 2 skirts, but I figured it was alright.
I only had 2 days in Athens, but that seemed to be enough and next I am off to island hop in the Greek Isles.
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