It has been a while (again) since my last blog post!! Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles were amazing to visit. It was as if we were walking through a fairy tale. After we took a short ten minute bus to the castles we started off with a tour of Hohenschwangau castle then walked back down the hill through the forest back down to the main town. We ate our lunch by the lake (which took a bit longer than expected) so we had to practically run up the mountain to Neuschwanstein. We made it into the castle for our tour right as they were starting to walk in. Both castles were amazing to visit but Neuschwanstein was exceptionally stunning. The rooms are extravagant and unique. I think the enchantment of the castle was enhanced by the fact that it was never finished. King Ludwig II who commissioned the castle died before it was finished of mysterious circumstances and the castle was never completed. After the tour of the castle we walked to the bridge that Ludwig II built for his mother's birthday. There is a great view of the castle, forest and town in the background. After we hiked around the area some more then headed back down for dinner. I had bratwurst & Udara a pretzel. The only German food we ended up having throughout our week in Germany. Our budget is running thinner so we have been grocery shopping a lot ;)
The next day we left for Cologne, it was about a six hour train ride from Fussen. Our hostel in Cologne was nice, very close to the Cathedral and train station. Cologne was a beautiful city on the Rhine River, we enjoyed walking around the city and doing our usual wander-without-purpose-find-cool-stuff.
After Cologne we headed off to Amsterdam!!! Amsterdam is a great city. There is a lot to see and interesting people everywhere. On our only full day there we tried to go to the Anne Frank house, ended up going the wrong way and went to the Van Gogh Museum instead. I really love Van Gogh's art so the museum was really interesting to me...and surprisingly Udara liked it too. She's usually not too excited about the museums I drag her through. After we walked to the Anne Frank house but the line to get in was ridiculously long so we decided to attempt to come the next morning before we left. That night we walked through the Red Light District....damn. Next morning we went to the Anne Frank house again and the line wasn't too bad but we had to catch our train at 10:59 so we didn't have enough time to see it and make it to the train. I'm not too disappointed though....Amsterdam is definitely a city I would like to return to and finish exploring.
Now we are back in Paris and enjoying staying in one place for a while. It was an amazing month long journey with my Eurail pass and everything in my backpack. I'm excited for the next part of our trip, a few more days with Udara's cousins in Paris then back to Norway to go to Ina & Sondre's wedding :) Yesterday was Bastille Day - France's celebration of the storming of the Bastille on July 14th. We watched the parade on the TV and saw the fireworks under the Eiffel Tower at night! An amazing experience :)
Today we went to Oscar Wilde's tomb and after had lunch by the Seine. And everything in Paris is on summer sale, so of course we did some shopping too. When we were walking back from the Seine I heard someone call my name and turned to see my neighbors from home in Lake Forest!! Weird....haven't seen them in a while and then run into them in PARIS! So strange. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow.....we will see!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
July?!??
It is hard to believe that it is already July! We spent the whole month of June in EUROPE! It is unreal, we are in Germany already...haven't blogged since Italy...While staying in Rome, we took a day trip to the ruins of Pompeii in Naples. It was a very interesting day trip. It took us a three hour train ride and thirty minute metro ride to get to the ruins, but it was worth it! Because it took us so long to get there we didn't make it to the archaeological museum, but the ruins did have a few artifacts and preserved bodies in the excavation areas. It was a nice day roaming the ruins and imagining what it could have been like in its day.
After Rome, we headed off to Milan for a few days.
Our hostel started off quiet when we came in on Sunday afternoon but we ended up meeting some pretty awesome people and having a good time.
On Tuesday we took a train from Milan to Lucern, in Switzerland to stay with some of Udara's extended family for a few days. Our train ride took us through the Alps, a very scenic and beautiful train ride. It was nice having a "home base" and doing day trips while we were there. Our first day in Switzerland we went to Geneva and saw the United Nations building. We were going to go inside and tour but by the time we got there, they were at full capacity. As if they were Disneyland or somethin!
We headed to the city's botanical gardens instead and enjoyed our lunch there. The gardens were beautiful as well as the surrounding area. It was really nice to visit Geneva because it is part of the French speaking region of Switzerland. It was nice to put our French to use again! After exploring Lac Leman and the area around there, we headed to Bern for the evening. On our train ride from Milan to Lucern we met a Swiss guy who recommended we go to see this medieval capital city. It is a beautiful city! The views in Switzerland as a whole are amazing, but Bern has some exceptional lookout points.
Our second full day in Switzerland we headed to Valais, another part of French speaking Switzerland. On the way there Udara almost got on to a train to Basel instead of Bern, twice. First, we went to Le Lac Souterrain (the underground lake) in St. Leonard. We took a very small regional train to this station through the Alps, it was another beautiful train ride. When we got off at the station we were in the middle of nowhere, not sure what way to go. Udara looked at each other, said "Sooooo...." and started cracking up. Literally in the middle of nowhere in a one platform "train station." After a minute we found a sign pointing towards Lac Souterrain and had an enjoyable walk to the lake. Once there, we got our tickets for a boat tour. The tour was in French so we understood some of it, but I had to concentrate. It was a beautiful sight, cave filled with water & fish swimming below. Definitely a fun excursion!
After our tour of the lake, we headed a few stops away for Sion. In Sion, we visited the two medieval castles on the top of the hills in the distance. We could see them from the train station, we left the station intending to find a bus to the top...but instead managed to walk the whole way there. It wasn't that bad of a walk, but that's what we get for not planning ahead! We found out after that there is a bus/train that takes you most of the way to the top, but I'm glad we walked, we got to see more of the city! The castles were amazing, the views on the way up were beautiful as well. We had fun exploring and climbing...there was nobody there to tell us not to ;) Somehow during this adventure I managed to lose my camera case and chip the bottom of my camera when climbing down a hill. It's all good though, battlescars! My camera got it's first scratch in a medieval castle, how 'bout yours?! Anyway, it was overall a really fun day, it was nice not being in a city for once and enjoying more of the countryside. On the way home I was the one who almost took the wrong train. We were run/walking to the platform and I jumped on the train that was there, thinking it was ours. I got on to the train on the wrong side and looked back to see Udara cracking up. I got off the train just in time though. Good thing.
Today we planned on exploring Lucern before we left for Germany. That didn't work out so well because when we got to the train station to see when we should leave they told us the next convenient train to Fussen that wouldn't get us there too late was in a little over an hour. So, we took the bus back to where we were staying and rushed to get our things together and back to the bus station. We ended up not making that convenient train...soooo we ended up instead taking a route that included six different trains and seven and a quarter hours instead of four trains and five hours. Oh well! It was very scenic and relaxing. I much prefer train travel over plane, time goes by faster because there is more space to relax and move around. In our last train we had an entire car to ourselves.
We are now in Fussen, Germany. The hostel is right next to the train station so it is very conveniently located. We will be here for the next few days and I am looking forward to exploring the area. Tomorrow we are going to go see the Neuschwanstein castle which inspired Disney and the older Hohenschwangau castle. We are in a four bed dorm now, but it is just the two of us tonight. Pictures soon, hopefully!
After Rome, we headed off to Milan for a few days.
Our hostel started off quiet when we came in on Sunday afternoon but we ended up meeting some pretty awesome people and having a good time.
On Tuesday we took a train from Milan to Lucern, in Switzerland to stay with some of Udara's extended family for a few days. Our train ride took us through the Alps, a very scenic and beautiful train ride. It was nice having a "home base" and doing day trips while we were there. Our first day in Switzerland we went to Geneva and saw the United Nations building. We were going to go inside and tour but by the time we got there, they were at full capacity. As if they were Disneyland or somethin!
We headed to the city's botanical gardens instead and enjoyed our lunch there. The gardens were beautiful as well as the surrounding area. It was really nice to visit Geneva because it is part of the French speaking region of Switzerland. It was nice to put our French to use again! After exploring Lac Leman and the area around there, we headed to Bern for the evening. On our train ride from Milan to Lucern we met a Swiss guy who recommended we go to see this medieval capital city. It is a beautiful city! The views in Switzerland as a whole are amazing, but Bern has some exceptional lookout points.
Our second full day in Switzerland we headed to Valais, another part of French speaking Switzerland. On the way there Udara almost got on to a train to Basel instead of Bern, twice. First, we went to Le Lac Souterrain (the underground lake) in St. Leonard. We took a very small regional train to this station through the Alps, it was another beautiful train ride. When we got off at the station we were in the middle of nowhere, not sure what way to go. Udara looked at each other, said "Sooooo...." and started cracking up. Literally in the middle of nowhere in a one platform "train station." After a minute we found a sign pointing towards Lac Souterrain and had an enjoyable walk to the lake. Once there, we got our tickets for a boat tour. The tour was in French so we understood some of it, but I had to concentrate. It was a beautiful sight, cave filled with water & fish swimming below. Definitely a fun excursion!
After our tour of the lake, we headed a few stops away for Sion. In Sion, we visited the two medieval castles on the top of the hills in the distance. We could see them from the train station, we left the station intending to find a bus to the top...but instead managed to walk the whole way there. It wasn't that bad of a walk, but that's what we get for not planning ahead! We found out after that there is a bus/train that takes you most of the way to the top, but I'm glad we walked, we got to see more of the city! The castles were amazing, the views on the way up were beautiful as well. We had fun exploring and climbing...there was nobody there to tell us not to ;) Somehow during this adventure I managed to lose my camera case and chip the bottom of my camera when climbing down a hill. It's all good though, battlescars! My camera got it's first scratch in a medieval castle, how 'bout yours?! Anyway, it was overall a really fun day, it was nice not being in a city for once and enjoying more of the countryside. On the way home I was the one who almost took the wrong train. We were run/walking to the platform and I jumped on the train that was there, thinking it was ours. I got on to the train on the wrong side and looked back to see Udara cracking up. I got off the train just in time though. Good thing.
Today we planned on exploring Lucern before we left for Germany. That didn't work out so well because when we got to the train station to see when we should leave they told us the next convenient train to Fussen that wouldn't get us there too late was in a little over an hour. So, we took the bus back to where we were staying and rushed to get our things together and back to the bus station. We ended up not making that convenient train...soooo we ended up instead taking a route that included six different trains and seven and a quarter hours instead of four trains and five hours. Oh well! It was very scenic and relaxing. I much prefer train travel over plane, time goes by faster because there is more space to relax and move around. In our last train we had an entire car to ourselves.
We are now in Fussen, Germany. The hostel is right next to the train station so it is very conveniently located. We will be here for the next few days and I am looking forward to exploring the area. Tomorrow we are going to go see the Neuschwanstein castle which inspired Disney and the older Hohenschwangau castle. We are in a four bed dorm now, but it is just the two of us tonight. Pictures soon, hopefully!
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