Deutschland

we are actually in poland now, but have spent all our time (expect for today) in germany since we last wrote.
germany was great, although our bad weather streak has been continuing!

we first went to munich for one day and stayed in a great hostel that was really, really close to Marienplatz, which is really the center of town, so we were very close to everything! the star of marienplatz is the Glockenspiel which is this stupid clock that has these little puppets that come out a few times a day and is about the dumbest thing you've ever seen. but, for some reason its the highlight of the square and tons of people stand there and video tape it and clap and cheer.... very strange.

anyways, since we only had one day in munich and we wanted to see as much as we could in the shortest amount of time, we randomly decided to take a bike tour. it was a completely free tour - you just tip at the end if you had fun - so we thought, 'why not?'

well, now i dont know why we have been walking, and walking, and walking miles and miles everyday!! it was so much fun, the guide knew all his munich history and was funny too and i really feel like we saw every notable building (and more - not just buildings) within biking distance and all within about 4 hours! it was a great time, plus we werent as completely exhausted as we are most days. also, very random, there were only 30 people on the tour and there were 2 boys from UF and 2 boys from FSU. so, 6 (including us) out of the 30 were from FL schools. we thought it was pretty funny.

highlights of the tour included the english garden (a huge nudist garden in the middle of the city, with lots of senior citizen nudists), the chinese beer garden (the 2nd largest beer garden in the world, and where we stopped for lunch), and the 'river surfers' (there's a river that runs through the english garden and as the water pours out from under a bridge it creates a perpetual wave and a lot of young guys gather there in their wetsuits with their surfboards and basically surf back and forth along the river until they fall, and the next guy jumps in. its really neat -but hard to describe- and i think people are there surfing everyday).

after the tour we still had a night to spend in munich, so we (very uncharacteristically) decided to take a beer tour. we went around, with our guide and 3 other guys on the tour from chicago and s. carolina, and went first to a bar for a beer (everywhere brews their own specific beer), then another bar for beer "tasting" (as in, "i taste a hint of banana") and had a very german dinner (lots of sausage) as well as a step by step tour of how that bar/restaurant brewed their beer, and then a final stop at one of the most famous (probably the most famous) beer halls in munich. it was actually a lot of fun.

the next morning we traveled to berlin by train and arrived late that night. our hostel was really very nice, but also really, really in the woods! i mean, we had to hike about 5 - 10 mins to even get out of the forest and to a paved road!!

our first day (one of two) we decided to take another bike tour. we went all over berlin (and to another beer garden for lunch) and as much as we liked the munich bike tour, this one was even 10 x better! maybe its just because berlin has so much more interesting and recent history, but it was a great tour. we also had another great, very intelligent guide (and he was from tampa!). we learned more about ww2 and the cold war in those 5 hours than we ever did in all our years of school, or at least we understood it a whole lot more.

afterward, we went to potsdamer platz to the big new movie theater that shows original language films to watch a movie in english. the only thing that was any different from american theaters is that 1) they assign you exact seats, and better seats cost more and 2) during the previews a commercial came on for this specific brand of ice cream bars that they sell EVERYWHERE and ALL over europe, and all the sudden at the end of the commercial, the lights come up, and the screen goes dark and 2 employees walked around selling the ice cream bars. it was so funny. a few people bought them, and then they left, the lights went off, and the previews continued.

our second day in berlin we (surprise) took another bike tour! i know, we are very lazy now and don't want to walk anywhere. we went with the same company on a more in-depth tour (longer and smaller - only 5 people) all about WW2 and the 3rd reich.
afterward, we went to the 'topography of terror,' a free, open-air museum also all about the Nazi regime, and then to the museum located at checkpoint charlie.

last night we took a night train from berlin to krakow, poland. today we took our 4th bike tour in 4 days!!!! ahhh, its getting out of hand! and are about to go out to dinner, as we are thoroughly enjoying their uber-cheap currency (they haven't switched to the eruo yet and one of their 'ztoty' is equal to 4 euro!)

Tomorrow we day trip to Auschwitz.

Last Day in Paris

today we spent our last day in paris in the latin quarter.

we first went to the panthèon (of paris that is) and saw foucault's pendulum, which proves the rotation of the earth, and then visited the crypt below which houses the tombs of louies braille, victor hugo, jean jaures, jean-jacques rousseau, voltaire, andrew dumas, marie curie, and lots, lots more.

afterward, we walked the length of rue mouffetard, a pedestrian friendly street with tons of little shops and cafes. we had lunch at a creperie and then walked to the jardin luxembourg.

this very large park has garden areas as well as a natural history museum, a geological rock museum, and a cute little zoo.

we went to the zoo and for only 5€ had an afternoon of fun along with a gigantic cotton candy to boot! : )

Paris - pt. 2

we have been having a great time in paris (but not such a great time with french keyboards!! so, this will be a semi-short update!)

the days here have been filled with monuments, palaces, parks, and cafes. we have been picnicking at least one meal a day and have liked finding different parks to nap and rest each afternoon.

on wednesday night (after updating the blog) we took the elevator to the top of the eiffel tower, to see all of paris. we went around dusk which was nice because it wasnt too hot, but it was still light enough to take pictures. we also lucked out because we weren`t really planning of going since the line is so, so long, but we happened to walk by and saw it was unusually short. we only had to wait in line about 15-20 mins!

afterward we had a late dinner (another picnic) under the tower all lit up.

yesterday, thursday, we went out to the famous roland garros tennis complex and watched the qualifying matches for the french open that starts next week. there wasnt anyone famous playing (they all get to bypass the preliminary matches) but it was fun to see where all those tennis greats will be in just a few days, and we still got to watch some really great players.

after leaving the tennis games we went to a really pretty park named parc andre citroen, to rest, nap, and snack on stawberries.

today we traveled out to versailles (about a half hour by train) to see the palace and gardens and then came back into paris to go to invalides to visit napoleons tomb (a VERY large tomb for such a little man).

we are going to spend tomorrow in the latin quarter and then we catch a night train to munich, germany - leaving around 10pm.

Paris

we arrived in paris yesterday morning on a night train from madrid. like we mentioned before we were unable to book tickets together in the same sleeper car so we were hoping to ask someone in one of our cars of four to switch beds with us. well, we soon found out after boarding the train that in spain it is illegal to put men and women together on a night train! grrrrrrrr. so, michael was in an all male cabin with 3 other guys: a frenchman who spoke no english at all, a frenchman who spoke great english due to his love of american sports and american televised poker, and an 18 year old boy from arkansas traveling europe with his girlfriend. i was in a female room with a french mother and her daughter (around 8 years old maybe) neither of which spoke any english, so i did a lot of reading.

our first day in paris we spent trying to get to know the city. we first went to the eiffel tower (of course) and had a late breakfast/eary lunch at a near by cafe. after lunch we traveled around the city to see the arc de triomphe, walked along the avenue des champs-elysees, and more.

later on, as we headed back to the eiffel tower we stopped at a fruit stand for strawberries, a bakery for bread and a final store for a wheel of brie and we picnicked on the lawn spread out from the eiffel tower. it was a delicious, cheap, perfect dinner.

today we went to the louvre after stopping at a bakery right near our hostel for croissants. after the museum we went to see notre dame where we had lunch at a side walk cafe near the church and then took a long walk along the river.

Madrid pt.2

Last night was not a very successful one!

We went to the bullring in madrid around 5pm to see if we could find tickets to buy off someone since the man at our hotel told us the fight was already sold out and that he had tried to get tickets yesterday for another guest and was unable to, so our only chance was to try to buy some there.
well, when we got there, we saw a line at a ticket window... we thought it was probably just for pickup of already purchased tickets, but thought we would try anyways. well, we got to the front and were able to buy two tickets! (we have no idea why the man at the front desk of the hotel was told it was completely sold out? maybe they reserve some for day-of purchases?)
so, we were VERY excited we were going to see our bullfight after all, and since it was starting at 7 and lasts about 2 hours, we thought afterward we would still be able to go to the park to see the drum circle, which plays until around midnight.

at 6pm they opened the doors and we went and found our seats... and they were pretty good seats too! only about 20 rows up. we waited and watched them prepare the ring (take off the tarps, draw the chalk lines, etc.) and then, out of nowhere it began to sprinkle (well, it had been overcast all day, but didnt look like it was every going to amount to anything). and then it began to rain... and then it began to POUR! we were two of the only people there without ponchos or umbrellas and got soaked!

they came over the loud speaker and said that the fight would be postponed for 15 mins and would now start at 7:15. so, we went into covered hallway to stay out of the rain as we waited. 15 mins later, and they came back to say it would be another 10 mins. people were not happy! but everyone waited. then, 10 mins later they came back saying that it was canceled and would be rescheduled for june 10th!! obviously bad news for us!! we gave our tickets to a nice older couple to they could give them to someone to use them in june.

we made our way home in the rain (obviously the drum circle was surely over....) and went to the hotel room to dry off. it stopped raining a few hours later and we went to dinner, but all in all, a disappointing night!!

Today our main goal was to do laundry!! We took our clothes to a laundry place and they said they would have them done by 1:30. they lady didnt speak a lick of english and she kept saying something about being closed and 4:30, so i thought i understood that they close at 4:30.

we left our clothes to be washed and walked toward parque del buen retiro (roughly: the park nice retreat). this is similar to central park in nyc, as its a huge park in the middle of busy madrid. we stopped along the way to buy egg and cheese sandwiches and brought them to the park for lunch. we ate near the lake, fed the ducks, and walked around. theres a really pretty area at one end that is a rose garden filled will all different types of roses. very pretty.

at around 1:30 we headed back to pick up our laundry. we got there around 2 and realized they are closed until 4:30 for siesta! ooops! i clearly misunderstood her!!

so, we went and found this internet cafe. in a few minutes, we´ll head back to get our laundry, go back to the hotel to pick up our back packs and then off the the train station to catch our night train to paris!

wish us luck that we will be able to find friendly people to switch cabins with us so we can stay together!!!

Madrid

We have made it to madrid and are spending our last few days in spain trying to appreciate that we can somewhat decipher signs and menus before heading off to counties with languages very foreign to us.

we arrived in madrid this morning after taking our first night train of the trip in from lisbon. our accommodations were surprisingly ideal! we had our own private sleeper car for two with bunk beds that could fold up and convert into lounge chairs and a table, as well as our own sink in the room for brushing our teeth and washing our faces.
as we were waiting on the platform before boarding we could see these rooms through the windows and were saying to each other "oooh, look how nice those rooms are, thinking they were definitely not for us since we had chosen the least expensive type of sleeper car." so, it was a nice surprise that those were indeed the economy rooms!

as soon as we arrived in madrid this morning at the train station we booked our next train for tomorrow night from madrid to paris. its another night train and this time we were not so lucky! they had to split us up in´to two separate rooms with 4 beds each. we are really hoping at least one of us will have a single traveler in one of our rooms that will trade with us so we can stay together! : (

today in madrid it started out a bit dreary (as blair warned), but has since cleared up. it sprinkled just a little early on, but not even enough to bother with rain jackets.
this morning we walked around el rastro, the big flea market that appears each sunday. there were tons of makeshift stalls selling everything you could think of! there were some tables with nothing but nails and screws and others selling colorful socks and jeans. some people´s stuff they were selling looked like it was just a buch of junk they had pickpocketed or stolen (and we are pretty sure thats what it was)!

after walking the length of the market, we stopped for coffee, toast and orange juice (all over spain they make their oj with these weird machines where you put in the orange completely whole and out comes orange juice) at the plaza mayor near the puerta del sol.

after breakfast we spent the last couple hours at the museo nacional centro de arte reina sofia, as recommended by uncle luis, it is one of madrid 3 acclaimed museums. plus, it was free today as it is every sunday.
it was a great museum and michael had to drag me out because apparently i take, "waaaay to look looking at each piece and insist on listening to every explanation provided on the automated tour."

we are now at an internet cafe and michael is next to me trying to make sure we have a place to sleep in paris our first night there (if you havent noticed, we are a day ahead of our original schedule and hence, our hostel isnt expecting us until the day after we will arrive).

we are now going to head over to the bullring to attempt to find tickets for tonight´s bullfight.... although its not looking very promising. apparently its not very easy to buy tickets day of, and since you can only buy tickets on friday and saturday and in person, we werent able to figure out how to get tickets ahead of time.

if we cant go to the bullfight though, we are going to head to parque del buen retiro, a big park here that has a huge drum circle (with over 100 percussionists) that gathers every sunday night from 5pm to midnight.

hope everyone liked the pictures we were able to post! we have more recent ones, but we havent been able to transfer any pictures for the last week, so those will come later!

Barcelona, Sevilla and Lisbon

sorry this is only our second update!
we'll try to do better!!
since we last wrote we've been in barcelona and sevilla and now protugal....
(sorry this is going to be a lot of reading!!!)

we had great time in Barcelona.
it was very nice to have stacy to show us around and navigate the city. we hit all the major sites and many of stacys favorite restaurants as well - michael and my's favorite being la mamasitas (blair and kayla ... you should go!)

we did a LOT of sight seeing with stacy as our guide. one of our favorite tours was of the Sagrada Familia -- a beautiful church (although it´s far from finished) and a symbol of barcelona designed by Gaudi. We walked around the interior -- really a glorified construction site -- and rode an elevator all the way to the top of one of the bell towers. there was a great view of the city from up there and it really displayed how obsessed with every detail Gaudi was. after the relaxing view we thought it would be a good idea to take the stairs. oh my god there were a LOT of stairs! we made our way down, down, down the tiny spiral stairs (definitely not up to code - at least not any american code) until back on the ground and exhausted.


barcelona is in love with Gaudi, and we loved him as well. we also visited an apartment and roof top terrace of his, and the parc guell (complete with the longest bench in the world).
while in barcelona we also got to see stacy's college while in spain, Barri Gotic (a fun neighborhood with lots of restaurants, we ate at one called CheeseMe where every single thing on the menu featured cheese), the picasso museum, the Church of Santa Maria (where we stumbled upon a wedding in progress and proceeded to grab a seat at watch kevin and peggy's holy union), cathedral of barcelona, montjuic, the pasag de gracia (a pretty tree lined street with upscale shopping), las ramblas (a huge, outdoor market), parc de la ciutadella, barcelona's arc de triumph, and the beach (a very, very, very crowded beach -- we didnt swim... just saw). clearly stacy kept us moving!

after 3 days in barcelona we said goodbye and flew to sevilla on the 14th.
our first day in sevilla was spend getting to know the city and planning for our next few days. our main goal was to get all our tickets situated to go on our day trips to gribralter and granada. after making those arrangements (and walking all over town in the process) we did get to go see the main attraction in sevilla, the Catedral. this HUGE church (the 3rd largest in the world) was purposefully build so that, as the builders declared, "those who come after us will take us as madmen!" the church also boasts the tomb and remains of christopher columbus (although most historians say its not really him!)
the detailing of the carvings, statues, gates, ceiling, walls, etc. was insane. as huge as the church is, every inch in embellished! attached to the catedral is the giralda, a tall tower with 34 ramps leading to the top which had a great view of the city.

the next day we traveled from sevilla to gibralter. it was a loooong bus ride (4 hours each way) and because of the bus schedule, even though we took the earliest bus there and the latest bus home, we were only actually in gibralter for around 2 hours. however, we tried to make the most of it. since gibralter is actually owned by england, and therefore brittish, we walked across the boarder from spain and all the sudden, people were speaking english and the signs were in english, and they even use the pound in stead of the euro.
we went to a little pub that mrs. hyman had ready had the best fish and chips in the town for lunch. after eating we hurried over to the cable car that takes you up the rock to a great view and lots and lots of monkeys. even though we didnt get to see a quarter of all there was to see, it was very pretty view and a fun day. we took the cable car back down and then we RAN back to our bus -- making it by only 2 mins and almost missing it (remember it was the very last bus back to town)!

our last day in sevilla was spent traveling to granada to see la alhambra - for this trip we took a planned tour. it was another long day on a bus - we were picked up at 6:15am and didnt get there until after 11:00. we finally arrived at la alhambra and get off the bus and next thing you know we are separated from our tour group. some how our tour leader left nine people in the dust (the 5 of us, a family of 3 from australia, and a woman from chicago). we were left standing there with no tickets to get in, and no idea where to go to find anyone. it took about an hour to finally figure it all out and we finally started our tour around noon.
despite all the trouble, la alhambra was great. it was beautiful and interesting, the gardens looked like they were out of a fairytale and it was all like nothing we had ever seen before.
after the long ride home back sevilla, we had dinner at a cafe with outdoor seating. we soon realized soemthing was going on when the bars were packed and people would errupt in burst of cheers. apparently sevilla was playing for the championship of the spanish soccer league, and to them this was huge!! toward the end of the dinner, it was quite obvious that sevilla had won when the streets started to fill with cheering, singing fan waving flags and wearing capes.

the next day (the 17th) we all had one final breakfast together, we said our goodbyes to stacy and the hymans and then michael and i left to catch our train madrid, and then flew from madrid to lisbon, portugal.

yesterday we toured all over lisbon. the city is divied into different neighborhoods (mainly baixa, bairro alto, and alfama) and we tried to see a bit of each of them. we also went to the neighborhood of belem to see mosteiro dos jeronimos (a monastery built to commemorate vasco de gamas expedition to india and houses his supposed tomb), the torre (tower) de belem and we ate at the pasteis de belem. this a bakery type place that opened in 1837 as a little pastry shop and is now HUGE! the restaurants main draw is it's famous pastel de belem, a little treat that has a flakey, pastry outside and a yummy, yummy custard center. although they serve other food, everyone comes for these little cakes (and they are only .80 € a piece) and you can see the little only lady bakers churning them out by the hundreds through a big window that looks through to the kitchen.

after belem we rode a trolley car over to castelo de sao jorge - a very old castle right in the city. it was only 1.50€ (actually, everything here has been really cheap) to get in and we spend a little over an hour wandering around seeing the views (you can see the whole city all the way down to the rio tejo from up there) and climbing up and down the old fortress.
after seeing as much of lisbon as we could yesterday, to day we were going to spend the day in sintra. yesterday was very very hot and we were prepared to be as sweaty and overheated today, however after leaving sunny, blue-skied lisbon (pretty sky to left) and taking a 35 min train ride we stepped out into misty, rainly, cloudy, chilly weather (see picture on right). we were freeeezing! we tried to tough it out in shortsleeves with no sweaters of rain jackets, but it was just unbearable! we were in sintra for maybe an hour in a half before giving in and heading back to the train. 35 mins later and we were back to lisbon, still without a cloud in the sky -- it was very weird. we were disappointed we didnt get to really enjoy sintra, but we used the extra time in lisbon to go to the parque das nacoes, or the park of nations. this area was built up for the world expo in 1998. its a really modern, well-devloped area right along the river and was a nice place to spend the afternoon.

we are leaving tonight on a night train to madrid where we will be for the next two days. we will try find more time to keep in touch, so we wont be burdening everyone with so much reading at once! : )