Day 15 (Sun) - Prague [Czech]

Prague! I have always heard so much about this city, and it has definitely lived up to its billing. Only marginally damaged during World War II, nearly all of its old charm remains. Most of the cities in Europe have an old quarter that you can cover in an afternoon, but Prague is one gigantic historical center that you could spend days or even weeks exploring.

I took off in the morning in the usual way, on foot and only a general direction in mind. And, in the usual way, I got lost and had to ask a local for directions. This time, I took the metro to the castle quarter and starting exploring.

Immediately, the city strikes you. The majority of the buildings are some-what like the german row houses of Germany, and Austria, but larger, all about the same height at 5 stories tall, and with ornate decorations on their facade and roof tops. The rest of the buildings are ornate churches, memorials, or statues commemorating someone or some event.

As I meandered through the narrow streets, I completely randomly ran into my American friends from Salzburg in front of a store. Although, by now, the size of their party had grown as they picked up a Canadian here in Prague, and a Greek that one of the girls had fallen in love with while staying on his island had flown out for a couple of days with her.

We toured the famously decorative Charles Bridge and watched the Astronomical Clock put on its crowd pleasing show. In the afternoon, we took a free tour of the old city for a couple of hours. We walked through the castle, the unbelievable chapel with its crazy spires and nightmarish gargoyles. We also saw some of the lesser known sights, such as John Lennon's wall, and a statue of Iron Man (different guz than the movie).

For dinner we ate dumplings at a great traditional Czech restaurant and had a few biers. We finished the night trying unsuccessfully to upload pictures to the web and update blogs, and going our separate way to our hostels.

Day 14 (Sat) - Munich, Prague [Germany, Czech Republic]

Today can be considered as a testament to how travel doesn't always work out, especially when you don't plan in advance for anything.

I sadly left Salzburg that morning, but excited because I was enroute to one of the biggest parties on the planet - Oktoberfest in Munich. I took my time getting to the train station in Salzburg, and ended up having to catch an early afternoon train to Munich, which meant that I wouldn't get there until 4ish.

The train station in Munich was an absolute madhouse. There were more people there than I had seen at any station yet. Many of them were dressed in the traditional dirndl & lederhosen, leaving no doubt where they were headed. I had to fight to find an open locker (normally there is always one free), and when I did, it was impossibly small, and I have no idea how I stuffed my whole pack in there. I also left my camera in the pack, so there aren't any pictures of my trip :(

I followed the great throng of revelers headed towards the bier tents, and as we walked along, those dark clouds overhead unleashed their fury. In the rain, we all hurried to the grounds, and unfortunately, everyone there was trying to get in to one of the big tents.

Apparently, today was the last saturday of the festival, the day when all the locals go. I also learned, a little too late, that you should reserve space in the tents, and once they fill up, they only let people in on a one-for-one basis. After standing in line for an hour or so and getting drenched, I gave up, promised to return in the near future, and headed back to the train station, missing out on Oktoberfest.

The train to Prague was quite boring, except when I got slightly harrassed by the fuzz when they checked my passport going into the Czech republic. The train was actually empty, which was a first. Then we pulled into one of many stops, and a great cheer arose from outside. A huge crowd was waiting for the train, and boarded with singing, cheering, and in nearly every hand, a bier.

Turns out that we just pulled into Pilsner, Czech, home of Pilsner Urquell,apparently, the home of the original pilsner style of brewries. They were having their annual celebration, a huge shindig that people came from all over Europe for.

So, in the course of a few hours, I missed two of the biggest parties in Europe.

I eventually made it to Prague and followed a couple of Australian kids to their hostel (since I didn't have a place to sleep). I got in late and woke up my four Brazilian roommates, apologized profusely, and crawled into bed.

Day 13 (Fri) - Salzburg [Austria]

Today was the sound of music tour. The night before, I went to bed in an empty hostel room, and was awoken early in the morning by the arrival of three high-spirited, high-energy Americans. It was surprisingly refreshing to be able to have a complete conversation with someone without using hand gestures or a phrase book to get my point across, or understand theirs.

The three are all USC School of Drama grads, and work in the industry (acting, modelling, directing, plays, movies, tv - you name it)so they are completely different than me, and I find that entertaining to no end. They invited me to tag along on a Sound of Music tour, and having nothing better to do, I went. Of course, I've never actually seen more that the first 15 minutes of the movie, but it would still be a great way to see the area, and stay out of the rain, mostly.

The tour was a lot of fun, even though I didn't recognize anything that people were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over. I guess now I pretty much have to see the movie. It was great going with my new american friends - they have such a different perspective on the world, and its really interesting to hear what they have to say about things.


We finished off the tour by collecting a bunch of random tourists and filming them singing the do-ray-me song while skipping through the ivy covered park. I still have to figure out how to get that video online and mail it to the old man from Malaysia...

That night we went to the Mirabell Palace for a chamber music concert. The trio consisted of a violinist, a cellist, and a pianist. The room we were in was the very same room that Mozart performed in as a child with his father. The music was breathtaking, and quite moving. Combined with the incredible ambience and the setting, it made for an unforgettable experience.

Salzburg was definitely one of my favorite places so far, and I will most definitely come back.

Day 12 (Thu) - Salzburg [Austria]

Yesterday's farmer's market was incredible! I must've stayed for a couple of hours taking pictures, and sampling the different meats, cheeses and produce. The event was almost entirely a local affair, and I felt for the first time like I was getting a glimpse of what Bohemian culture was like, outside of the tourist areas. Eventually, I had to leave, and check out what the rest of the city had to offer.

The afternoon consisted of more wandering and yet another church, the largest I've seen so far, and one where Mozart himself performed at the organ. It was built in the Baroque style, as opposed to the Gothic styles in German. I thought one of the most interesting differences was that the pews were built with an angle of >90degrees, whereas the churches in Germany had pews that were at less than 90, forcing you to bend forward in devotion.

The next day it was rainy and dreary out, so I thought that taking the Sound of Music Tour might brighten my mood. I've never actually seen the movie, but my three adopted American friends convinced me it would be a good time, certainly better than sitting in the hostel all day!

Day 11 (Wed) - Salzburg [Austria]

Some food pics for you.

Day 10 - Innsbruck / Salzburg [Austria]

I spent too much time at that internet cafe last night, and didn't get to board my train until 1030pm. 2 hrs later, I arrived in Innsbruck, Austria, tired and ready to sleep. Of course, since everything closes early in Europe, I wandered around for an hour or so until I stumbled upon a Hilton right near the old town. Even though the price was ridiculous (>100 euro), I got a room and hit the rack.

Innsbruck is a winter sports resort town. Apparently, it has some historical importance too, although I'm really struggling to keep up with all the Emperors, Electors, Archbishops, etc. Basically, the first German Emperor (or Holy Roman Emperor - don't ask me how that makes since) loved this place, and built a few things. They include a famous "Golden Roof" (verdict - lame) and his own tomb, which is pretty cool.

The room at the hilton was very posh, so I woke up feeling very refreshed. From my window, I could see the Victory Arch, which apparently celebrates some prince's wedding. I guess he partied too hard, because he died the next day. So the monument is happy and shiny on one side, and sad and gloomy on the other.

It rained during the night, but I was lucky again, and the skies cleared by about noon. First thing I did, was a little laundry, and grab some food while the laundry was spinning in the wash. (7 euro for a load! thats like 10$!) Since the clouds cleared, I got to see why this place was so popular, and why the hosted the winter olympics here, twice. They still have the ginormous ski jump up on the hill.

I did my normal routine - walked around, saw a bunch of old stuff, people watched, went into some churches (best art for sure), some buildings built by the Hapsburgs (I think they're pretty important), and the coolest, the tomb of that first emperor, Maximillian. He had 28 bronze sculptures commissioned that represented his significant ancestors, and some archtypal heroes of the day (like King Arthur) that he decided must have been his ancestors, since he was so awesome. In the middle of the room is his ornate sarcophogus, although I don't think his body is in there.

I didn't want to get to the next town too late, so I hit the train station, and boarded a two-hour train to Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart.