Brandon O'Brien

Friday, September 2, 2022 @ 7:24 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 9

There was a lot of activity on the streets outside our Airbnb last night. It seemed like drunk people were walking by screaming and shouting until almost 5 in the morning. Tonight we're going to try shutting the windows to help keep the noise down. We were both up by about 7am, had some coffee and ate breakfast over the next hour and a half. I was looking at the train schedule to Freiburg and saw that the train we wanted (departing Strasbourg at 9:58am) had some issues so we tried to get to the station for the 9:20 train. Unfortunately we missed the tram and wouldn't get to the station in time so we meandered through town to the station and hung out for a little while until the 10:20 train.

Because of the different train we took, we had about an hour to kill at our connection in Offenburg, Germany. We walked into town and got some food to hold us over so we wouldn't be starving when we got into Freiburg. I got essentially a sauceless pizza and Sam got the same toppings on a pretzel. Both were good and did their job of filling us up. While we were eating, Dakotah had a poop explosion and got his onesie covered. We ended up having to change him and wipe him down in a park behind a big church. We also realized we were almost completely out of wipes so we'd need to pick up some more in Freiburg.

We got back to the train station and hopped on our 11:26am high speed train to Freiburg. The trip only took a half hour and was pretty uneventful. Our regional train pass was working well since we could hop on an off whichever trains we wanted to in the area without having to buy new tickets. When we arrived in Freiburg we ran into a DM store and picked up a new packet of diaper wipes.

Walking into town we saw an archeological museum that had a bunch of grape vines in front of them. Some of the grapes were ripe and we tried a few which were really good. We're assuming the grapes they had out there were the ones that grow really well in the area. From there, we made our way over to the Schlossburg area where we were going to hike up to the Schlossburgturn (the big tower). The walk through town brought us through a bunch of markets and really cool cobbled streets that still have some old sewage and water canals in them (no sewage now, haha). We also passed by the Martinstor which was a 13th century gate in the wall around town. Now there's a McDonalds underneath it, lol.

The hike up to the tower was pretty steep but it was mostly paved and pretty well marked. There were a bunch of various trails that all weaved through each other but most ultimately made it to the tower. The tower is 153 steps up to a big lookout with some amazing views of the area. I went up there while Sam stayed on the ground. It was probably a good choice on her part since the tower was slightly swaying in the wind at the top.

After hiking back into town, we went to the Feierling biergarten and had some of their Inselhopf (an unfiltered wheat beer that was very easy to drink) and some sausages with kraut, mustard and some slices of bread. It was nice hanging out in the beer garden, even if there were a decent amount of flies and our waitress wasn't very attentive. It took quite a while to flag her down and get the bill.

From the beer garden we walked over to the Freiburger Munster (the main cathedral in town) where we snapped some pics and then started walking back to the train station. Along the way we saw a bunch of people with boba tea so we hunted the shop down and got some too. We got one with taro and coconut and it was a good thirst quencher. We both realized how little water we'd had to drink today so having something to drink other than beer was extremely welcomed.

The train rides back to Strasbourg were uneventful. We just retraced our route here by getting the high speed train to Offenburg and then a regional train to Strasbourg. We got back into Strasbourg around 5pm and were pretty hungry already. We walked around a little while hoping to see somewhere that jumped out to us but ultimately decided on more Asian by going to a place called East Canteen. I got a Japanese pancake and Sam got some Pad Thai. The pancake was really filling and Sam's pad thai was really flavorful.

On the walk back to the hotel we saw one restaurant that I bookmarked as a potential location to eat tomorrow. It was also next to a cheese and meat shop so we'll probably get some meat, cheese and a baguette and snack on that with our wine that we still need to try. Tomorrow is calling for thunderstorms all day so we're going to take it easy and play it by ear. We're hoping to find some souvenirs in town so tomorrow might be a great day to do that.

Teaser photos:

Martinstor

Near the Gewerbekanal

Schlossbergturm

View from Schlossbergturm

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Tags: france, germany, freiburg, strasbourg, europe

Posted from: France

Tuesday, August 30, 2022 @ 8:25 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 6

Today started out reasonably well. We both got some sleep and Sam ran downstairs to the coffee shop and picked us up some Chai. We made some croissant sandwiches for breakfast, finished packing and then went down to the train station to catch our first train of the day. We thought it might take a while to find our gate but it was actually pretty easy. With some time to kill, Sam set off to find another coffee and a snack.

We boarded our train and got settled in for the 3 hour ride to Mannheim. It was pretty uneventful, although we were losing time at each stop and we weren't sure if we'd make our 11 minute layover from Mannheim to Strasbourg. Lunch was leftover pizza from last night, which was actually pretty decent on the train. Some of the towns and countryside we passed through were really neat. Many of the towns had cathedrals or towers in the middle of them. Near Stuttgart, there were some vineyards on what looked like sheer cliffs too. When we left Stuttgart, the train said it was running 8 minutes late but we made up a little bit of time. Before arriving in Mannheim, they showed a list of updated connections and showed that our train to Strasbourg was also running a little late. With a sigh of relief, we didn't need to rush to get to the other gate.

Once we got to Mannheim, we got off and went to gate 5 where it said our train would be. We were supposed to be on the TGV9580 which went direct to Strasbourg. This is where the day went from chill to stress-fest. Our train was supposed to depart at 2:48 (after delays) and at 2:47 a train pulled up to gate 5. Not thinking anything about it, we got right on the train, found car 11 and sat down. One of the seats we were supposed to be in was taken, but that didn't seem too weird since some people kinda sit wherever they want and then move if the person with the reservation comes. Right as the doors shut and the screens updated to show the next stop, I realized we were on the wrong train. This one was going right back to Stuttgart (about 40 minutes away), and not Strasbourg.

With no other options, we were stuck on the train and had to figure out another way to get to Strasbourg from Stuttgart. The train we were supposed to be on was the only direct from Mannheim, so backtracking to Mannheim again wasn't going to help us out. We found some regional trains that would require two different transfers but would ultimately get us to Strasbourg (albeit, 2.5 hours after we were supposed to get in).

Back in Stuttgart, we jumped on our first train which was an extremely overcrowded commuter to Karlsruhe with a 50 minute ride time. Once in Karlsruhe, we got on another packed train to Appenweier. This one was doubly annoying because our huge roller bag took up like 3/4 of the aisle so every time someone wanted to walk by, they had to shimmy around the bag. There weren't any restrooms on this train either and Dakotah was in serious need of changing. With several delays and stops, we finally made it to Appenweier after about 45 minutes.

Due to the train being late, we missed our connection in Appenweier but fortunately there were trains running every 30 minutes to Strasbourg. This at least gave us time to change Dakotah at the train station (on the top of our suitcase in the parking lot, lol). At 6:11 we jumped on our last train of the day and made the 11 mile journey across the Rhine river into France.

After finally arriving in Strasbourg, we had to jump on the tram to take us into town. The tram station we got off at was just a couple hundred feet from the Airbnb which was convenient. What wasn't so convenient was having to carry a 50 pound roller bag up 3 flights of several hundred year old stairs to get to our apartment. After a lot of sweating (I was carrying Dakotah, my backpack and the roller bag), we made it and were able to get to our room.

By now it was well after 7pm and we were tired, hungry and thirsty. We gave Dakotah a quick clothes swap and then went back downstairs to eat at a microbrewery and restaurant called La Lanterne, directly across from our Airbnb. Sam and I each got a beer (I had an amber and she had a weissebier). For food, I got a chicken cordon bleu with spatzel and mushroom sauce while Sam got a burger and fries. All the food and beer was good but we were super stuffed and tired.

Since it was already dark out, we decided to take a walk to Strasbourg's Notre Dame Cathedral which wasn't too far away. The cathedral took a couple hundred years to build (starting in the 1100's) and looks really neat, especially at night. We walked around the entire cathedral then made our way back to the Airbnb. Unfortunately due to historical regulations, they couldn't put A/C in the unit so have a couple of fans blowing to try and cool it down. It was still really hot in the room but not too long after getting home it started raining which helped cool things down considerably (it also helped get people off the streets, which was pretty loud from our open windows).

Teaser photos:

Before boarding train #1

On the train before the SNAFU`

Beers at La Lanterne

Notre Dame in Strasbourg

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Tags: germany, munich, trains, france

Posted from: France

Monday, August 29, 2022 @ 7:22 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 5

Today was a much needed rest day after several late nights and very little sleep. We got up around 8:30am, made some coffee in the room and then I set out to track down some laundry detergent so we could do a load of laundry in the basement of the hotel. There was a DM store around the corner and I found some laundry sheets there (basically sheets of soap you use). I went down to the laundry room to see if any of the machines were being used and saw a sign that said no detergent was needed... the machines automatically added it. Whoops. At least the detergent was cheap and doesn't take up much space.

I brought all the laundry down, put it in the machine and then started looking for a coin slot or start button. Turns out you had to use an app to reserve and start the machines. Not a big deal, but the wifi wasn't working in the basement and it was below ground so I didn't have any cell service. I went up to the lobby to download the app and get it started. For some reason it wouldn't let me immediately start it but I had to wait 10 minutes before it would let me start the machine.

Once we finally got the laundry going, Sam and I headed out to find some coffee and grab a quick snack for breakfast. By now it was getting close to 11 and we didn't want too much food since it was getting close to lunch. We found a Coffee Fellows near the train station and got a cappuccino and blueberry muffin. After that, the laundry was ready so we came back to switch it over to the dryer.

Not really sure what to do, we headed down to the Oktoberfest grounds to see all of the beer halls under construction. Back in 2008 we were able to walk through the grounds but now they have the whole thing gated off. We walked around it a little while and got to the Bavaria statue where we sat down for a little while and fed Dakotah. Allie video called us so Emmie and Sofie could see Dakotah again too.

I got a notification that the clothes were done so we went back to the hotel to grab our clothes and then find some food. Along the way, Sam found a couple Thai restaurants pretty close to the hotel so we picked one to try. The food hit the spot and it wasn't as heavy as sausage, potatoes and cabbage would have been.

We came back to the hotel for a quick break before heading out for an aimless wander around town. We started going through the botanical garden / park near our hotel, making our way back down to the Marienplatz and over to the Hofbrauhaus. After snapping a quick pick there (didn't need to go in since I had been there before and wasn't really feeling the need for more beer), we walked through Old Town and the Promenadplatz. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a Rewe to grab something for breakfast in the morning. We landed on some croissants with cheese and meat.

Not really sure what to do for dinner, we went back to the same Doner place we had for lunch yesterday and got a couple pizzas. One was mushroom and prosciutto and the other was spinach, onion and feta. We brought them back to the hotel, ate and have been getting ready for our train ride to France tomorrow. Fortunately the train doesn't leave until 11:30am so we have plenty of time to get packed up in the morning. We also have some leftover pizza we can eat for lunch.

Teaser photos:

Oktoberfest grounds under construction

Bavaria Statue

Thai for lunch

Neptunbrunnen at the biopark near Karlsplatz

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Tags: germany, munich

Posted from: Germany

Sunday, August 28, 2022 @ 7:41 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 4

After a late night at the wedding, we got as much sleep as we could but were still up and hungry by about 7:30am. We had another big breakfast buffet and got to say goodbye to Tom, Kay, Scott, Stef, Marrit and several other people who happened to be up early enough to catch breakfast. Once we finished up, we went back to the room to pack up our bags which was quite the undertaking. We already had a pretty heavy roller bag but adding the steins and a few beers added even more weight.

Our plan was to walk all the way down to the train station with the big roller bag, but Allie and Al said they'd take it in the taxi with them. That was really helpful and saved us some awkward pushing and pulling on some of the hills down to the station. It was raining a little bit but not too bad. Sam and I actually beat Allie and Al down to the station so we went ahead and got our tickets. A lot of people ended up being on this train back to Munich or the Munich Airport. We got to ride with Allie, Al, Deb and Amir.

Once the train started rolling, it really started to downpour and rained the entire ride down to Munich. We said our goodbyes to everyone at the station and set off for the hotel. Fortunately our hotel was pretty close to the train station so it wasn't too long of a walk in the rain to get there. It was only around 1pm and we weren't supposed to be able to check in until 3pm but we figured we'd try. The hotel we're staying at is a different style and doesn't actually have a check-in staff but instead uses a kiosk. I tried to check in but it was telling me our room wasn't ready. It was still raining and we didn't want to have to go to a cafe or something and hang out for two hours with all of our bags. There was a help phone next to the kiosk so I gave it a call and asked if they could check on the room availability. Fortunately they had just cleaned the room so they updated their check-in system and we were able to move in.

We're staying in an extended stay style room which has a small kitchenette and "separate" seating area with a couch and small table (it's really just a basic studio apartment). They have a laundry room in the basement so we'll definitely get a load of clothes going tomorrow. Dakotah has dirtied a lot of his shirts already and it'll be nice to get a fresh start before we head into France.

While Sam was getting things organized at the hotel, I ran out to find some lunch. It was already about 1:30 and I didn't feel like walking too far or waiting too long for food, so I found a restaurant called Doner Deluxe and got the Doner Teller box (basically a doner kebab without the bun but on top of fries). I brought it back to the room and we quickly demolished it.

With full stomachs and it still being gloomy out, we laid down for a while. Unfortunately I wasn't able to fall asleep but Sam got a good nap. Before dinner we opened a beer Mike and Anne handed out in their wedding favor goodie bag. I was looking around for restaurants and found a place called Bento Ya which had a lot of Asian food. Sam and I both got some Ramen which was perfect for a rainy and gloomy day. For some reason they didn't take Visa at the restaurant so we had to pay in cash. All I had was a 50 euro bill and Europeans notoriously hate breaking large bills but we didn't have another choice. We walked around a little bit after dinner but ultimately just came back to the hotel to call it an early night.

Tomorrow we're going to hit the Oktoberfest grounds and then see the Hirschgarten. The plan is to make it a pretty chill day without any real rush to get up in the morning.

Teaser photos:

Saying goodbye to the Sharp family

Doner Teller for lunch

Ramen for dinner on a rainy day

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Tags: germany, munich, miesbach

Posted from: Germany

Saturday, August 27, 2022 @ 11:30 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 3

Today was Anne and Mike's wedding day! It started off pretty chill with breakfast at the hotel which had a ton of breads, spreads, meats, cheeses and traditional breakfast fare. After breakfast, we met up with Allie and swung by Aldi to pick up some diaper wipes on our way down to the center of Miesbach. We stopped at a few shops and made it down to the center of town where Allie picked up some chocolate and then we stopped for coffee and some cake at Cafe Huatfabrik.

Matt stumbled on us and we sat at the cafe for a little while before going to Weissbräustüberl where we met up with Amir, Ben, Brogan, dude Sam and Mike. Sam and I spilt a Hopf Spezial Weisse (basically a supercharged hefeweissen) and some currywurst with fries. We didn't want to eat or drink too much since we knew there would be a lot of food and booze at the wedding later in the day.

Allie offered to watch Dakotah for a couple hours so Sam and I could get a little nap in. We took her up on the offer and dropped Dakotah off while we got rested up. While she was watching him, she gave him a bath too which was really helpful. After the nap, we changed and got ready for the wedding.

The ceremony was at a farm and organic market a couple minute drive away from the hotel. A shuttle bus took us over there since it would have been difficult for some people to get over there in their wedding attire. They handed out some champagne while we were waiting for everyone to arrive and as we were waiting, some really dark clouds started rolling in. As the ceremony was happening, thunder started rumbling and we were sure we'd all get rained on. Fortunately the rain held off and Anne and Mike were able to say their vows before any rain hit.

They tapped their keg and the reception was under way! Everyone got a customized bier stein to drink from. The beer on tap was some sort of helles lager and it was really refreshing. We all mingled, took photos and hung out for a couple hours until Anne's mom, Deb, and Mike's dad, Tom, gave their speeches. Once they were finished, dinner kicked off and we were shown to a buffet with a ton of Bavarian food. The goulash was extremely good, especially with some seasoned bread.

The planned shuttles weren't departing the venue until after 1am so we got together with Brandon B. and his wife Marissa and got back to the hotel around 11. They had a 5am departure for Venice and didn't want to stay up super late. With Dakotah in tow, we knew we'd be better off getting to bed early too.

As we were getting ready for bed, I got a reminder email about our hotel in Munich and realized it was for two days, not one. I had accidentally booked our train to Strasbourg for the wrong day thinking we only had one night in Munich. Unfortunately the ticket wasn't refundable so I had to buy a new ticket for Tuesday. On the plus side, this gives us Sunday night and all day Monday to relax and catch up on some sleep before getting on a train for 6 hours.

Teaser photos:

Walking around Miesbach

Coffee and cake in Miesbach

Mike and Anne got hitched!

Tapping the keg

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Tags: wedding, germany, miesbach

Posted from: Germany

Friday, August 26, 2022 @ 11:29 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 2

This morning I actually felt pretty refreshed! We were able to get a little sleep last night which really helped get feel better.

We went down to the hotel breakfast around 7:30am and were pretty amazed with the spread. They had a huge assortment of cheeses, meats, pastries, juices and hot breakfast items. We hung out in the breakfast area for a while sipping on coffee and enjoying some relaxing time. The server who was cleaning the room kept coming over to us and talking to us about Dakotah and her grand baby.

After eating, we went back to the room and started packing up. After feeding Dakotah, I went out to get some saline drops for him since his nose seemed really stuffy last night. I think all the dry air on the plane really made it hard for him to breath and fortunately clearing out his nose seemed to really help.

Once we packed up, we met with Scott and Stefanie outside the hotel where they took our bags and parked their car. The plan was to walk around the pedestrian area near the Marienplatz, get Doner kebab for lunch and then try to hit the Oktoberfest grounds. We waited around the Marienplatz for about 20 minutes to see the Glockenspiel do its thing at noon and then got a little sidetracked at the beer garden at the Viktualienmarkt. We also met up with Eric and Emily there before realzing how late it was getting and that we wouldn't really have time to do much else.

We went and got some Doner for lunch near the Hauptbahnhof after checking out the Karlsplatz. The Doner was really good and something I haven't had in years since I was last in Europe.

Eric and Emily went to the train station and got on the train to Miesbach while Scott, Stef, Sam and I went back to their car and drove to Miesbach. We got to see some of the Alps on the way to town. The scenery got really nice with more of an alpine farmland and dairy feel to it as we drove into town.

After checking into the hotel, we showered and got ready for the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner was really fun and great to see everyone again. We sat with Allie and Al and had a few beers over the course of the night alongside many typical German food options in the dinner buffet.

We stayed up a lot later than we were planning to, but it was hard to leave the party. It's now about 11:30pm and we really need to get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day with the wedding planning to go well past midnight.

Teaser photos:

Breakfast at the Mercure hotel in Munich

Viktualienmarkt biergarten

Doner Kebab for lunch

Allie meating Dakotah for the first time

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Tags: europe, germany, miesbach, munich

Posted from: Germany

Thursday, August 25, 2022 @ 10:29 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 1

Today has been a really long day, but we successfully arrived in Munich, Germany with a 6 week old baby and no meltdowns on the plane! We woke up in Santa Fe around 6:30am on the 24th but didn't need to be on our first flight until around noon in Albuquerque. We figured this would give us plenty of time to get all of our last minute packing and organizing done and head out.

We left Santa Fe around 9am and made it to the ABQ long term parking a little after 10. It didn't take long to get the car unloaded and our bags on the shuttle bus which dropped us off at the United counter. Fortunately there weren't any issues getting checked in and our big checked bag was just barely under the maximum weight. Security was also a breeze since Sam and I both have TSA Precheck. No taking off shoes, belts, separating liquids, etc.

The first flight from ABQ to Houston was on a really small express jet with only three seats to a row (one seat, aisle and two seats). My backpack just barely fit in the overhead bin which says a lot about how small the plane was. The flight to Houston started off pretty normal but after about an hour they got on the speakers saying we might need to be diverted to a different airport due to thunderstorms over Houston. Uh oh, that would not be good.

Fortunately the storms cleared and we landed about 30 minutes late. Unfortunately that meant our layover was almost non existant. We ended up having to run through the hot and humid airport to get to our international flight. We arrived just as they were boarding group 1. We jumped in line since we can preboard with an infant but Sam couldn't find her ticket! After a quick jot over to the counter, we got a new one printed and got onboard before Group 2.

We were almost an hour late to takeoff due to the storms and a broken radio issue they had to fix. At least it didn't matter to us since we didn't have any more connecting flights, but a lot of people were getting really nervous.

As far as international fights go, this one was pretty standard. I tried sleeping but only got about 15 minutes of sleep on the entire 10 hour flight. I would have taken a sleeping pill but wanted to be alert in case Dakotah started to freak out and needed attention.

We were about as lucky as we could be in that regard. Dakotah didn't fuss and was a really great baby the entire flight. We either had him in my chest carrier or Sam was holding him. There were quite a few diaper changes over the flight but at least that wasn't a big deal since the bathroom had a changing table in it.

Dinner on the flight was quinoa with salsa and chicken, a side salad and a glass of wine, and breakfast was some yogurt and a biscotti. Customs in Munich was also a breeze, even though it was packed and took a while to get to the agent. Once we made it through customs we were a little worried that our checked bag might not have made it after the really short layover. We didn't need to worry though since it was there without a problem.

I tried buying some tickets for the S-Bahn to get us from the airport to downtown Munich but the ticket kiosk was asking for a PIN with my cardit card (we don't have a PIN). I had to get some cash but the ATM was out of service. We ended up finding another ATM and ticket kiosk but found out the kiosk didn't take 50 Euro bills (which is what I got). We tried another one and fortunately that one did accept them.

Train ticket in hand, we got on board and about 40 minutes later were at the Karlsplatz station. A short walk through some nice pedestrian areas and we made it to the Mercure hotel. It was a little before 1 and we weren't supposed to be able to check in until 3 but our room was ready and we were able to change out of or sweaty clothes and decompress for a few before heading out to find food.

We weren't sure what to eat so we went to the Augustiner Klosterwirt where I got the sausage platter and Sam got some schnitzel. To drink, I got a Dunkel and Sam got a Radler. Both the food and the beers were really good but after having almost no sleep in 24 hours and sitting on an extremely full stomach, we did a quick walk to the Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel and then went back to the hotel.

I was able to nap for about an hour and a half while Sam watched Dakotah. We were going to try and meet up with Brandon B. but they were in the same boat as us and wiped out from their trip. Now she's napping while I'm writing about everything up to now.

After some quick napping, we hopped on the S3 line from Marienplatz up three stops to Giselastraße where we walked a few minutes to the Chinesischen Turm biergarten in the Englischen Garten. Sam and I split a giant pretzel, a radler and some couscous. It was really nice just chilling in the park as the sun went down. After we finished, we walked back to the Giselastraße station, back to Marienplatz and then walked back to the hotel.

Since getting back we've been working on getting Dakotah to fall back to sleep but it's not working too well. I think being chill for 36 hours has finally caught up with him and he doesn't want to go to bed.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that we can actually get some real sleep tonight.

Teaser photos:

Everything we're taking with us

Sausages for lunch at Augustiner Klosterwirt

At the Glockenspiel in Munich

Chinesischen Turm biergarten in the Englischen Garten after sunset

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Tags: germany, munich, bier

Posted from: Germany

Thursday, September 26, 2013 @ 6:52 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 92

All of the cold wet weather, living in hostels, crappy sleep, and eating pasta several times a week finally caught up with me. Yesterday I started to feel a little out of it and by the time last night rolled around I could tell I was getting sick.

I went to bed really early last night in hopes of fighting the cold but I was tossing and turning all night, plus some of the people in my room started having a conversation at 3:30am again. I got up around 9, ate and then pretty much stayed at the hostel the rest of the day.

I ran out a couple times though... one to get some of Germany's Nyquil equivalent, another to get some fresh air by walking around the Alexanderplatz and a third to go get dinner. I cut my second outing short since it was pretty chilly and I figured that wasn't really doing me any good.

I was going to meet with Katja and Joerg tonight (friends of Scott and Stephanie) but because I'm feeling like crap and didn't want to get them sick we decided to call it off. Over the course of the day I booked the rest of my lodging in Italy which means I have everything taken care of between now and Paris. The only real thing left is to buy train tickets but all the ones left are simply regional trains that don't need reservations. I was looking at the weather for Italy and it looks like it's going to be much warmer and sunny which is going to be very welcome after two and a half weeks of wet and cold.

Tomorrow I get on a train to Prague where I'll spend 3 nights. I've heard great things about the city and I'm really hoping this cold doesn't keep me from seeing and doing everything I want to there.

Tags: daily journal, germany, berlin

Posted from: Germany

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 @ 4:37 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 91

The rain stayed away today so I spent the first half of the day out exploring. There's a huge section of the Berlin Wall not too far from the hostel called the East Side Gallery. I walked over there and walked along the stretch of wall. Most of the artwork on the wall was done in 2009 and only some of the stuff was original.

From there, I jumped on the S-Bahn and went to Alexanderplatz where I walked the Unter der Linden to the Brandenburg Gate. The walk is supposed to be a really scenic street but literally the entire road for about a mile was under construction. I'm not sure what the deal was but instead of being a peaceful stroll it was a frustrating mess of construction, people and diversions.

The Brandenburg Gate area was slammed pack full of people taking photos. I'm glad I was able to get some when I first arrived before people showed up. I didn't even bother trying to take any today because it was so crowded.

The Holocaust Memorial isn't too far from the Brandenburg Gate so I walked to it. It's a pretty cool grid of various sized rectangle concrete blocks over an uneven floor which makes walking through it pretty neat. I wanted to go back to the Victory Column but for some reason they had all the routes blocked off. I'm not sure what's getting ready to happen but it I couldn't head over there. Instead, I walked back to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof and got the connections back to the hostel.

Since getting back I've been working more on getting my travel and lodging booked between now and Paris. I was stumped how I was going to get from Vienna to Italy since all of the trains ran at funny times and I wasn't really too pumped about another overnight train experience. Instead, I simply booked an hour long flight from Vienna to Florence, Italy. From Florence I'll get a regional train to Lucca where I'll spend a couple days.

Tomorrow I'm going to head to Charlottenburg Palace which is supposed to be modeled after Versailles, including the expansive gardens.

Teaser photos:

Holocaust Memorial

Reichstag

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Tags: daily journal, berlin, germany

Posted from: Germany

Tuesday, September 24, 2013 @ 6:48 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 90

Some people in my room came in drunk at 4:45 this morning and proceeded to discuss food, religion, drinking and drug habits for an hour before finally going to bed. Needless to say I was pretty pissed off from being woken up that early and didn't really get good sleep after that.

It was raining when I woke up and hasn't stopped all day. I went to the Turkish Market that's pretty close to the hostel and got soaked. It would have been a fun time if it wasn't for the rain. There were tons of food, vegetable, fruit, bread, cloth, and misc vendors set up along a big street. Even in the rain it was still pretty busy.

Rather than deal with low 60's and constant rain I came back to the hostel to read and work. If the weather is nice tomorrow I'll head out and do some more exploring. If it's cold and raining again I'll probably just make it another working day. I'm passed the point in my travels where I feel the need to go out and get soaked all for a few photos. I saw the majority of what I wanted to see during the first two days when it was better weather.

Tags: daily journal, germany, berlin

Posted from: Germany