Venice and Rome

After our wonderful overnight cruise/ferry where we got to watch Italy beat England in the quarterfinal match of the EuroCup, we landed in the beautiful city of Ancona (it wasn’t really that beautiful at all) and jumped on the first train out of there to Venice, the city of pigeons and tourists. I am convinced that no one actually lives in Venice after visiting, and it is all American, German and Canadian tourists. Anyways so we showed up to the city with nowhere to stay, so first step was taking care of that. How do we do that you ask? Simple wander aimlessly in one direction until you reach an internet café, and then book a hostel (our overnight ferry unfortunately didn’t have internet to our dismay). So once that was taken care of, and our stuff had been properly dropped down carelessly we headed out to see one of the most famous cities in the world, and take in the Venetian Culture. The first stop (because it was close) was the famous Rialto Bridge before we headed towards the Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark’s Square) to take in more tourists, and more importantly more pigeons and street vendors. Oh, I suppose there was some famous old stuff and churches too, and the canal or whatever… If you’re curious how to navigate the alleys and canals and confusing-ness of Venice, it’s a very simple science. You just walk in a general direction for a while, and if its something famous you’ll start to see signs for it. Anyways after we had walked and wandered enough for one day we went back to the hostel to freshen up for a little bit before hitting the town… Except that its not a party town at all, so what we really did was grabbed some dinner, and this orange drink we had seen everyone drinking all day (apparently its some famous venetian drink called spritz, we didn’t like ours but maybe that’s just the place that we ordered it from) anyways we then got some Italian gelato as we took in a Venetian band playing everyones favorite classical Italian songs on Saint Marc's Square.

The next day was the twenty sixth of June in the year of our lord two thousand and twelve, the day we sacked Roma, or arrived, same thing. So to back track we woke up in Venice with train tickets that left at 12:36, so we woke up at our hostel after sleeping till 10 and walked back over the bridge, got some water and breakfast heading to the train station. Luckily we booked ahead so we were on the fast train, which brought us into Rome at 3:30 and it reached speeds of 180 km/hr. By far the fastest, nicest, most well air conditioned train we have been on yet. Once we reached Rome, we used our trademarked navigation skills to make our way to our hostel (yeah it involved wandering, and more time than it needed, but not too much. Seriously what did people do before iPhones). Standard procedure now, we got our stuff dropped off and we were told it was only a 15 minute walk to the Coliseum, so obviously we wanted to do that. We were both impressed, just in very different ways. From there we were starting to get hungry, since we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast way back in Venice and the time was starting to push 8 something PM (or 20 something PM if you’re on military time) and we really wanted to take in some of the famous fine Italian cuisine (yes, we went out for pizza and ice cream, duh). Before turning in for a long summers nap (seriously it’s really hot, not as hot as you guys have it (+1 point to us (for those of you keeping score), but we don’t get air conditioning most places (+1 to you guys)). More accurately, we got back to the hostel and Grant went to sleep while I stayed up till 3 catching up on Game of Thrones (totally worth it, but makes me less likely to read the 2nd book after completing the first one that me, and everyone else we’ve met is reading (seriously).

The next day we woke up after dreaming of the ancient Romans, gladiators, and Caesars, so we headed off to see the Coliseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. So upon arrival we signed up for a guided tour of the three sites that lasted from 11:30 till roughly 4:00 PM. After there we made our way towards some other famous sites, such as the Trevi Fountain, where we tossed one coin in for a return to Rome and 3 in for true love… Supposedly. It collects €3000 a day, so maybe they were just smart in Italy when they made that up. We took our chances with the coins anyways though. From there we headed towards the giant plaza, that isn’t that old, but has something to do with the president, and hit up the pantheon after that. A truly full day in Rome wouldn’t be complete without a stop at a small Italian Restaurant/bar, where Grant was able to enjoy some Pasta, Michael enjoyed some lasagna, and we took in yet another soccer game (ugh - Michael's opinion only)… Anyways after dinner and soccer we headed back to the hostel for the night.

The next day (yesterday 6/28/2012 or if you’re anywhere but in America 28/06/2012) was dedicated (the first half of the day anyways) to the smallest country in the world. Michael woke up early for his tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel which started at 9:30 so I was out the door by 8:45 to make it there on time. Grant slept in and we agreed to meet by one of the fountains in St. Peter’s Square. Fun fact of the day, did you know the entire coliseum could fit inside of St. Peter’s Basilica? The Catholics wanted to build a new and bigger symbol of Rome that trumped the coliseum, so they built the basilica right over St. Peters tomb. Anyways, the Sistine Chapel lives up to the legend, although it is very different than what I anticipated, and it is almost hard to appreciate how holy and sacred of a place it is because it is so crowded and there are guards shushing (shhhhhhhhhh) the whole time you’re in there. Anyways if you don’t know, that is the famous ceiling Michelangelo painted and it is where the pope is elected. So we met up at the fountain at 1:00 PM and were about to go see the basilica, but since one of us (Grant) wore a cut off shirt, they weren’t allowed in by the Swiss Guard or the Vatican Police, or something. Anyways, after we met up for the second time, we headed back to the hostel to recuperate and grab a quick bite to eat before seeing a few more sites, grabbing some food, and finding a place to watch the game. We heard that the public viewing wasn’t a big deal though, so we didn’t bother to check where it was. On the way though we saw a few guys waving Italian flags so we decided to follow them (that sounds creepy…) After stalking them for the better part of a mile we found ourselves in a square not too far from the Spanish Steps in the biggest viewing party I’ve ever seen (my estimate is easily over 10,000 people) Good news! Italy won and is headed to the championship game of the EuroCup! (sorry Fabian) Immediately after they won the town went crazy. Instant parades taking place, flares (yes, like road flares) being lit all over the place, air horns, flag waving, and constant car honking everywhere. Apparently it’s a thing to get in your car and drive around and honk your horn after you win the game. We’ll post videos when we have better internet and full access to a computer (at home). Anyways the parades brought us to midnight, where it was once again time to turn in for bed.

We are Headed to the Amalfi Coast tomorrow, with plans to visit Pompeii, maybe Capri, hopefully a vineyard, and definitely a beach. Today also marks the 6 week point in our trip, and we’ll be back in the good ‘ol US of A in 5 days,(right after the Twins/Royals series fuels a rivalry in us) so I wouldn’t hold hold your breath for another post until we're back.

More of Croatia!

After two days of hiking and staying in a bungalow at a campground at the national park, we made our way by bus to southern Croatia and the coastal city of Split. The bus ride took about six hours and stopped at just about every little city and town, but the scenery on the way down was great--mountains and sea. When we got off the bus and arrived in Split we had to dodge dozens of people trying to get us to stay in their "hostels" since we already had one booked. After some careful navigation through tiny alleyways, we found our hostel and were luckily given a newly renovated room which was pretty nice.

We then quickly unpacked and got settled and of course headed to the beach. The beaches were just a short walk from where we were staying, but they were different from most beaches that we have been to. All of the beaches in Croatia are rocky, not sandy. The same goes for Split, with the exception of one beach which imported a thin layer of sand. After scoping out a few of the beaches we found a nice spot to lay down our towels and finally escape the heat by diving into the sea. This beach was pretty cool because there were a couple of big rocks you could swim to and relax on or jump off of. You could also see a couple of Croatian islands in the distance. After the beach we went to a nicer restaurant for Grant's birthday and then made some new friends from Holland and Finland to go out with.

The next day, we spent the whole time people watching, swimming, and laying around the beach. That night, we headed to bed after the Euro Cup game.

The next afternoon, we took a fast ferry to the Croatian island of Hvar, which is rated one of the most beautiful islands in the world. The trip took only an hour and our hostel wasn't difficult to find as the city of Hvar is not big at all. Our hostel was filled with friendly beach bum Aussies and British and had a great atmosphere. The island itself is kind of desert-like and is pretty rocky. There are also hundreds of sailboats and yachts docked and anchored at the island daily. That night we actually made dinner for the first time and hung out with our British roommates.

The next morning we got an early start and did what you're supposed to do when in Croatia, go to the beach! We walked a little ways and found a nice spot on the rocky beach to rent some lounge chairs for the day (unlike the states, you have to pay for your lounge chair!). After spending too much time in the sun and becoming lobsters, we decided to head in and make dinner again. After, we hung out at a pub with our British friends to watch the Spain/France match.

The next day we had a relaxed morning and eventually said goodbye to our island life and caught a ferry back to the mainland and Split where we took yet another overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy.

Plitvicka Lakes National Park in Croatia

Not a whole lot to tell here, we went hiking all day today, here are some pictures

Prague and Budapest

So we've been to Prague, you can Czech that off the list (sorry)
Anyways we got into Praha (correct way of saying Prague) around 11 PM and made our way to our hostel. It was a nice quant hostel about a twenty minutes walk to all the attractions.

So we woke up on the morning of the 13th with the plan of heading to the castle grounds and then catching an afternoon free walking tour. The castle grounds were set up on top of a giant hill, of course but they were really cool and offered amazing views of the cityy. On our way back down we made our way across the Charles Bridge to grab a quick bit to eat and go on the tour. The bridge is a very cool bridge with statues placed all around it, and it links the castle to the town. One of the cool things about Prague is that it was virtually untouched by the world war bombings, because well, they rolled over and played dead. But it worked out well for us to take in the Bohemian culture people and city. Anyways back to the timeline. We met the tour group around 2:30 and had an older tour guide who remembered the communist rule in the Czech Republic, which gave a cool slant to the tour as he took us around the old town and new town of Prague informing us about their history. After the tour had ended and we had made friends we made plans to meet up later.  Before that though, we needed to eat and shower and change.  So we headed back to the hostel and completed those takes before we headed back towards the Old Town Square to watch the Euro Cup for the night.  On the way we stopped to grab a few beers to save us money so we didn't have to do it at the event.  After we had cheered Germany on to victory (yeah, we're Germany fans now, or Schland fans!) we met up with our friends from the tour and had a beer at a bar, then headed to an Irish Bar (yeah, I don't know either, we have already been to Ireland.

The next day we woke up with plans to see one or two more things and then heading to Budapest.  The only problem - it was pouring, and was supposed to all day.  So we just took off for Budapest earlier than we had initially intended.  So we headed to the Train Station, in the lightest period of rain we saw all day - well until we reached Budapest anyways.  As we walk up to the tram station we find out that the machine is out of order and we can't buy tickets. So we just set out walking to the train station, with our backpacks on.  Yep 3 mile walk, why not, its free right?

So we made the 1:00 bus out of Prague towards Budapest, and we finally got in around 7:00, and when we got to the Hostel they had messed something up in our order, so they upgraded us to a room with less people and gave us extra drink tickets. How could we complain? We couldn't, so we grabbed our free beers and watched the end of a soccer game before calling it an early-ish night.

The next day we woke up around 10 AM and headed out for the free walking tours that we have taken a liking to.  On our way, we may have gotten a little lost.  The thing about that was, we had picked up followers who were also trying to find the same tour, and assumed we were expert navigators of the city. We weren't but we had made friends for the next few days, and did end up finding the tour with them.  The tour was great, and gave us a great history and feel for Budapest, and learned that it actually used to be two towns, Buda and Pest (pronounced Buda-PeSCHt) and learned about their communist rule and revolution, and how terrible of a situation it is and how it has lead them to where thez are today.  After that tour we enjoyed it so much, and wanted to learn more about the Communist rule in Hungary that we signed up for another free walking tour on Communism, that started right after our previous tour (with time to eat some traditional Hungarian food of course) after the tour we grabbed a quick bite to eat, had a beer while we watched some soccer games in our hostel, and then met our new friends at a bar, then we called it a night, with plans to see a little more of the city the next day.

The next day we woke up and grabbed some breakfast and then met our two new friends to see the tour.  We kept forgetting stuff though, and ended up getting a later start than we wanted.  First stop though was the Terror Museum that walked through the Terror of the Nazis a little bit, but it mostly focused on the Communists.  It was eyeopening and eerie.  After that we all needed something a little more light hearted so we set out towards the baths, which Hungary is famous for, stopping only for a quick lunch.  The baths are nothing like what I expected. It was essentially a bunch of hot tubs, pools, giant hot tubs in pools, freezing tubs, saunas and steam rooms.  We obviously had a great time there, and wore ourselves out.  Then the typical night in Budapest began.  Came back, grabbed beer for a soccer game, grabbed a bite to eat, and met our new friends at a bar, before we called it a night.

The next day we had every intention of getting to Croatia.  We got to the train station 2 and a half hours early, and when we got there it was a 2 hour wait to buy a ticket.  Absolutely absurd.  In the middle of it Michael ran back to grab our backpacks because while Grant waited in line.  When Michael got back Grant had just finished talking and found out that we were at the wrong train station.  So we sprinted towards the subway, with 20 minutes till the train left for Croatia, and by some miracle, or by the grace of God himself we made the train to Croatia, and are now settled in here about to head to the Plitvicka Falls National Park (look at pictures, its beautiful)

Watching the football (soccer) game in the Old Town Square in Prague

Church at the top of the Castle Square in Prague

Inside of said church above

View from the Buda Side with Pest and the Parliament in the background

The view of Prague from the top of the Royal Palace

Giant square in Budapest that is right next to the Park and the Baths

Largest Bath House in Budapest

View of Pest from the Buda side

Inside of St. Stephen´s Church in Budapest

Outside of the Church in Budapest

MN Vikings and KC Chiefs next to eachother in Prague, how about that?

Church at the top of the hill in Buda

The gate to Charles Bridge

Statue of Ronald Reagan in front of the Communist Memorial in front of American Embassy with the Parliament in the background.  The Cold War rages on.

Good luck to rub the dog on the Charles Bridge in Prague

View of Pest with the church and the parliament in the backgrounds