The last post described the first few days of spring break in Italy and I will try and describe the rest of my time in the incredible country.
After leaving Napoli, we headed back to Rome to stay with our ZBT Wisconsin friend Ron (who subsequently spent the next weekend with us in Prague). Our remaining days in Rome were absolutely magnificent. We saw the rest of the sights, including the Vatican City (also it's own country). The Vatican was crazy, so many people looking spiritually cleansed. The inside of St Peter's church was so finely decorated and the church itself was massive. Probably my favorite thing in all of Rome was going to the top of St. Peter's basilica. It was quite the hike to get up there, all kinds of small spaces and spiral staircases, but the view from the top was quite worth it. We were graced with beautiful weather that day, and seeing such a beautiful and historical city from that vantage point was really something. The Vatican is so big and crowded that it took us two days to complete (and even then, we probably only saw about 25 percent of what was there). The following day we went back and journeyed through the Vatican Museum, with all kinds of paintings by famous artists such as Michaelangelo and also sculptures of early Greek and Roman Gods/historical figures. After making it through the endless museum, we finally arrived in what is probably the most famous chapel in the world, the Sistine. Not as big as I had expected, but with gorgeous paintings in every direction, it was easy to spend a cool hour or two there. The best part was the security inside the chapel with hardline security personnel intermittently yelling "NOOOO PHOTO" and shhhhing us every chance they received. The Sistine is famous for many things, including the location where the holy priests gather to discuss a new pope. In Rome we ate like Kings. Gelato everyday, incredible pasta and pizza, and great sandwiches. Old Bridge Gelato and Fabio sandwiches (we went there twice) were my two favorite places. Thursday afternoon we sadly packed up our things and went to the train station to meet Paige on our way to Florence.
I thought Rome couldn't be topped, but if Florence didn't, it certainly came close. Situated in beautiful Tuscany, Florence had one of the most picturesque locations in the world. Great weather and amazing architecture made this cute little town truly unique. Paige and I stayed in this awesome 13th century hotel overlooking the Duomo. Our room had paintings dating back to the 15th century. It was a great place and it was amazing to actually sleep in a place with so much history. Shockingly, we also ate tremendously well in Florence. Antico Noe sandwich shop had perfectly chewy and fresh bread with all the fixins for only 4-5 euros. Paige and I ate there 3 times, because every time we tried to find something else, it was either closed, too expensive, or unappealing. Our best meal of the entire trip came at Al Acqua Due with everyone on the trip (Blake, Ian, John, Paige, John's friend Melanie, Blake's friend Sebastian, and myself). We ordered the pasta sampler, with no less than 6 different kinds of authentic Italian pasta, and many bottles of house wine. Then came the main dish, steak with some sort of concentrated blueberry syrup. Sounds weird, but it might have been the best steak I've ever had. The syrup was thick and so full of flavor that I could probably even bear to eat a McDonald's burger with it. The next day Paige and I saw the former Palace and the gardens behind it. The gardens were great and very well maintained. On our last day we saw Florence from the elevated Piazzale Michaelangelo. The panorama of the city of truly spectacular. We left Florence on a late train for Milan Unfortunately NOTHING was available in Milan to sleep in (unless you wanted to drop 100 plus dollars). We got into the train station at 12 and had a 10 o clock bus to the airport. We found a bench and saddled up, alternating sleeping and looking out. Needless to say, not the best nights sleep. We got on an earlier bus to the airport, slept on the hour long bus. Got to the airport, slept an hour more on the ground before the Wizz Air desk opened, finally boarded the plane for Prague and upon arrival kissed the ground. Okay so maybe we didn't kiss the ground, but that's the level of satisfaction we gained from finally being home.
The next two weeks I was solely in Prague which was great. My friend Ron came for a visit and we showed him all the sights and some new ones we discovered. A couple of my new favorite spots, Vysehrad; a second castle on the Vltava River opposite from the Prague Castle. Vsyehrad gives you a different view of Prague, one that most don't get to see. Since I've discovered it, I've been at least 5 times and have showed all my visitors. Petrin hill and the Petrin observatory were also awesome. The Petrin tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and is the highest structure in Prague because it is perched on top of a huge hill. The view from the top was amazing and the climb up was nearly as enjoyable. The walk back down the hill (we took the funicular up) was filled with amazing views, beautiful apple orchards, and cherry blossom trees.
With my program I went on a couple of different day trips. Kutna Hora is a small town not far away. It used to be the center of silver mining for all of Europe. They took us down old mining shafts that were so small and narrow that you needed special coats and helmets on so you didn't damage your clothes or head. We had an authentic Czech meal with wonderful home brewed beer before going to the Sedlec Ossuary. Someone took soil from where Jesus was crucified and sprinkled it around the Ossuary in Kutna Hora. This created huge demand for European elite to be buried there. With such a surplus of extra bones (they had an excess of 40,000 bodies), some artist was brought in to make art of the extra bones. Chandeliers, and other really cool things were constructed of actual human bones. Kinda creepy when you first walk in but it felt surprisingly normal for the most part.
Additionally with my program we went to the Labor Camp Terezin. A humbling experience to see the Holocaust firsthand. You grow up reading all about it, but until you actually see what the prisoners went through (not just Jews, but also Gypsies, homosexuals, communists, the mentally retarded, and other undesirables) you just have no idea. The rooms were so small and they were given so little food that many of them died at the camp from exhaustion, disease, or starvation. If they misbehaved at all, they would be shipped to Auschwitz for immediate execution. The Nazis treated these people worse than animals. Terezin was orinially a 17th century castle built to protect the Austria-Hungarian empire from the advancing Prussians of Germany. The Nazis took over the castle part as a work camp and the actual town of Terezin as the ghetto. Sometimes rooms the size of a classroom housed up to 100 people, sometimes with only one toilet. Horrible living conditions. A very sad day, but I'm glad I experienced it.
On a happier note, I went with Paige and her parents to the castle town of Cesky Krumlov. We had all kinds of trouble getting there with the train tracks apparently under construction. We narrowly made our train, before getting off and taking a bus, getting back on a train, taking another bus, to get on a train, to switch trains, to finally arrive in our destination. Truly a traveling nightmare. The city was marvelous and the castle and surrounded gardens were spectacular as well. It was just a small town, but it had wonderful charm and it was a great day with the Waterous's.
Two weeks ago, I went by myself to Konopiste castle, partly because my roommates Brian and Blake flaked that morning. I took a bus an hour away to Beroun before walking 2 kilometers through beautiful forest before arriving at the castle. Franz Ferdinand was the castle's last and most famous tenant. Ferdinand was a huge hunter and had every single one of his kills registered by date and name. He was a big fan of taxidermy (preserving and mounting animals on walls). His halls were filled with every animal known to man, from your ordinary deer to the exotic tiger he killed on his many African safaris. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne so he had a lot of money and selected Konopiste because of it's excellent hunting forests. The lake in front was beautiful and provided as an excellent backdrop for the clouds in the sky. They had the bullet that killed Ferdinand in the infamous shooting in Sarajevo, effectively starting World War One. It was a relaxing day on my own, and I hope to show the castle again when my Dad and sister come to visit.
Finally, with our friend from Israel Ezra, we went to Amsterdam last Wednesday. Amsterdam's canals and buildings give it a charm unmatched by anything else. Thursday we went to the Van Gogh museum and took a canal tour on a boat. We were originally slated to go to London Friday night, but the bus was completely booked because it was Easter Weekend. All the buses anywhere out of the city were booked until Tuesday. We were then forced to stay in Amsterdam, but we had no hotel and it was already 10:30 at night. We searched for 5 hours and looked in at least 30 hotels before finally finding a dorm room bed for 50 euros a night. Not the best, but much better than the prospect of being homeless in a foreign city (didnt want to repeat Milan). Luckily we found a cheap flight Sunday morning out of Eindhoven, 2 ours outside of Amsterdam. We made it home on Sunday all completely broke after having to spend extra money on additional flights, trains, and hotels.
I'm meeting my Dad in Vienna tomorrow and then Yael in Budapest on Sunday. More good times to come!
Sam
See you soon!!!
ReplyDelete