Delphi 2/20/10

Today we visited the upper portion of Delphi and the museum. Ruins are still somewhat interesting, but repetitive at this point. Heading back to Salzburg now and couldn’t be happier.

Delphi, Greece 2/19/10

Today after leaving Athens we stopped along the way to Delphi at a Byzantine Monastery at Hosias Loukas. The 1000 year old monastery was quite ornate and I even bought some of the honey made by the monks (although I wish they had beer). The stereotype that Americans are loud is absolute BS. A group of Greek middle or high schoolers were screaming out theirs lungs on the monastery grounds. Eva even yelled at them for disrespecting the solitude.

After lunch we passed the spot from Oedipus Rex where three roads meet. Unfortunately, now there’s just an overpass and two roads so it wasn’t quite like ancient times.

We didn’t trek up to the main Temple of Apollo on the upper portion of the Delphi ruins, but we did visit the Temple of Athena Pronaia, which was good, but still doesn’t beat the Acropolis. We also drank from the waters here which are said to cleanse or bring good fortune, etc.

Athens 2/18/10

Today we went to the Acropolis and the ancient Agora. The Acropolis was pretty sweet. These are definitely the best ruins that I’ve seen despite the reconstruction that was going on. It is the “high city” after all. The view was spectacular as well. It was here that I saw the whole of Athens (which houses 1/3 of the population of Greece). The buildings in the distance resembled gravel spread about.

We also went to this viewing spot on Lycabettus Hill called the AG. Georgios. That view surpasses that of the Acropolis that I mentioned earlier. It’s cool to see the city lit up at night. There are veins of lights as opposed to geometrically ordered street lights of an American city. It’s also sick to see the Acropolis lit up in the distance. We had originally gone to catch the sunset, but as the trolley left at 6 and the sunset was at 6:07 we missed it by a few minutes. Oh well, it was smoggy anyway.

Athens, Greece 2/17/10

Visited the ruins of Corinth today. Repetitive in a sense, but still interesting. I can’t help but feel like Indiana Jones or like I’m in the Mummy when I’m around the ruins. Had a meat stick for lunch called Souvlaki, which was about 1.20 € per stick. From then on we drove to Athens. Dogs also followed us around Corinth and again in Athens. They must be able to smell that we’re Americans, they practically come in packs. Some are racist as well, I saw one bark only at a black and then an Indian guy, but not us.

Went to the National Archaeological Museum once we got in Athens. We also got to see Eva pull rank on the “security” (really just casually dressed people who sit in each room). She has a pass from the Greek Ministry allowing her to be a tour guide and one lady tried to get her to stop. Eva wasn’t having it though and the lady apologized. Hilarious. The museum also rushed us due to their “winter” hours (24°C outside mind you). Eva called the a guy by the door out on this as online the museum wasn’t supposed to close before 3 PM. His response: “Probably not myself, maybe the internet people.”

With the afternoon free, most of us toured the shops on the Plaka (the only nice place in Athens according to Jim).

Walking around at night we saw all the black guys (no other races were selling anything) selling their fake watches or Louis Vuitton bags on the streets outside of major shops. It’s funny because they carry everything in garbage bags so when they walk around in packs it looks like a protest or a hobo convention. At least the shops here close at 9 and not at 7 like Vienna. There is life at night here. At the first sign of the cops though, the salesmen pack up and move to a new site.

Athens is like the grimy side of New York without the skyscrapers in the distance.

Nafplion 2/16/10

Today we went to Epidauros to see more ruins such as the Sanctuary of Asklepios and the Ancient Theater. The theater was pretty cool as we could experience the power of the acoustics when Jim and Eva lectured from the central spot while all of us were spread out atop the structure. I’m really excited to see the Coliseum now. Reconstruction of some of the ruins was also taking place. Utilizing the remains of ruins they fill in the gaps with new pieces to rebuild the structures as they once were.

The dogs here really like us. One will follow you around for the whole day, such as “Coastas” who did just that with us.

Having already seen the castle yesterday, a few of us decided to go to the island fortress. Not bad. No formal tour really just a sight, but I wish that the boat that took us there would have given us more than 20 minutes.

Went out tonight to celebrate Kim’s B-Day. I got the Old-Fashioned cocktail. Not my favorite drink, but I felt inclined to get it because of Don Draper. Very strong due to that being the way it is, or the bartender at the restaurant we went to didn’t know what he was doing.

Nafplion 2/15/10

Drove to Mycenae today to tour the palace ruins that was home to Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. The Lion Gate, ruins, and tombs reminded me in a way of a primitive Petra. Someday I’ll trek there. We also walked into a pitch black cistern that the citizens of old used for water during the war. Very deep and dark. Reminded us of the caverns in The Goonies.

After we got back, the rest of the afternoon was free. Katie S., Christina, Lauren, and I decided to visit the Palamidi Castle on the mountain. The weather was perfect as this is the first time in Europe that I’ve just worn jeans and a t-shirt outside. The castle sits on a high hill accessible by road or about 1000 steps. Great views and a huge outdoor complex for what it is. It would be great to see a movie shootout take place here. The stairs on the interior remind me of that picture where the stairs in the room are upside down and leading in all sorts of directions. A spot with a bell also looked like where Elizabeth Swann and eventually Jack Sparrow fall off into the water. It is an endless castle it seems as every time we got higher up there were more parts to walk around to see.

Gyros for lunch and dinner: delicious and cheap.

Olympia → Nafplion, Greece 2/14/10

After checking out the museum above where we saw the ruins to see recovered statues, we started the drive to Nafplion over the mountains of the Peloponnesian Penisula. Before the winding four hour drive, though, we ate at the Taverna “Ta Pefka.” Much delicious Greek food was served including lamb, peppers, and a fried cheese in addition to the Greek salad served with a large slice of goat cheese.

Greece seems to me at certain points to be the Mexico of Europe. Imitation Rolexes branded with other names, umbrellas, and typical knockoff purses can all be purchased along the waters of Nafplion. Parts of the city also remind me of the French Quarter of New Orleans. We also arrived during Carnivale so Eva told us to watch out for gypsies who were out to pickpocket. Lots of kids were dressed as Spider-Man and one was dressed as Superman, but there were no Batmans. This country must favor blue and red.

Sat down tonight with some others to see Kevin’s deaf-mute friend that he met when he was a student here. Really interesting to see the Pictionary conversation. Most of it was probably lost in translation though.

Patras → Olympia, Greece 2/13/10

After arriving at the Port of Patras we went to our bus driven by Dimitrios who took us to Olympia. One thing I’ve noticed traveling in Europe is the scenery. It is definitely unlike anything in the U.S. Greenery with sporadic foreign buildings. The azul ocean to the right didn’t hurt either. Along the roads are little churches that look like mailboxes, but are actually spots for candles when accidents occur.

After checking in at the Hotel Kronion, we walked to the archaeological site of ancient Olympia. The ruins of the Temple of Zeus, workshop of Phidias, Temple of Hera, and the Stadium were really cool. I had the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme in my head at this point. The large column that is left from the Temple of Zeus reminded me of the statue’s foot in Lost. By the Temple of Hera we saw the spot where the Olympic torch is lit before going around the world. At the stadium, all the guys and some girls competed in two 200 M dash competitions on the ancient track. Quite difficult for me in hiking boots, but at least I wasn’t last.

Greek TV is one of the few I’ve seen that simply add their own subtitles to English shows instead of dubbing them. I feel like a little something is lost though when they replace the Massive Attack theme from House.

Senigallia → Patras, Greece 2/12/10

Currently onboard the Superfast ferry line to Greece. It is a small cruise ship with both cabins and seats on which some passengers opted to sleep on instead of paying for cabins (at least this vehicle doesn’t disconnect at various ports). There is also a Disco on the rear of the boat where we went dancing last night. The music was interesting to say the least. International dance hits with optional wigs that some dancers wore (red or black fros). That was odd. When we got to the Disco around 11:15 pm we basically took it over. The Europeans really like to stay on the sidelines while we Americans go all out on the dance floor.

I also finally finished Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry after having not read it in 7-8 years.

Salzburg → Senigallia, Italy 2/11/10

Driving to Italy, we drove through the Alps. All the snow covered trees resembled car wash brushes covered with suds. Patches of the area would be devoid of standing trees calling to mind a massacre of snow vs. tree with only the remnants of stumps and logs lying amongst the powder.

Don’t know why but at the pit stops along the way the Italians creeped me out. One guy seemed eager in a different kind of way to use the WC.

Krakow → Salzburg 2/6/10

In transit to Wien (Vienna) now. This time I’m very relieved, though. We had to pay 26 € to get passage on this sleep car, but peace of mind is worth it as this is the only car destined directly for Vienna. I’m grateful that there was even space for all of us (I even have my own compartment to myself). I feel like a low cost Cary Grant at the moment. Ironically this car is noisier than the non-sleeping cars. Lesson learned from this trip: buy sleeping car tickets for night trains as standing cars aren’t not available (they should’ve told us this at the ticket office, but w/e).

Krakow 2/6/10

We visited Auschwitz today taking the high priced tour. We found out later we were mostly paying for the convenience of a tour bus with a movie about the camp that played along the way. After the train fiasco though we really didn’t care about shelling out a few more bucks. I’m happy I decided to go as this camp is different from Dachau that I had visited in Munich. The buildings were still up as opposed to the Dachau camp where mostly everything was leveled. This one definitely hit me as well. One of the rooms in the museum had all the shaved hair from the women that was used for clothing afterwards. About a 1/3 of the 7 tons of hair that was originally found was on display in huge piles behind the glass cases. The amount was definitely on a grand scale. Other room shad piles of luggage, clothes, etc. I couldn’t get any pictures of these rooms as photography is only allowed outside. We also traveled to the nearby Birkenau camp. It was very frigid and freezing here with the wind. It’s hard to imagine how cold the prisoners must have been at the time with what little clothing that they had if I was as cold as I was all bundled up.

Krakow, Poland 2/5/10

The sun shines on Krakow! No, really it does. This is the warmest and sunniest it’s been since I’ve been in Europe. This is also the most relieved I’ve been that we made it. This city is actually pretty decent for its small size. There are a fair amount of sights that we took in for the rest of the day after arriving. The buildings resemble those seen in most WWII era films that take place in Europe. One of the sights we saw was this dragon statue that breathed fire by the river in accordance with a local legend. Very hyped by our hostel, but a waste of time for the most part. There are many trolleys here as well, but they aren’t that modern. Slim, enclosed and entirely different from those in The Bourne Supremacy in Berlin as well as SF.

Our hostel Greg & Tom’s Junior Hostel is one of the best (out of two so far) that I’ve been to. Affordable rates and very modern (12.50 € a night). Multiple flat screen TVs in the lounge with movies and videogames (Wii, PS3). The shower even has a built in radio and seat with many hoses; too many buttons and complications for me personally, but quite nifty. I don’t recall how Katie S. found this place while researching, but props.

Win. I’m more organized than most of the girls I’m staying with by the way.

Salzburg, Austria → Krakow, Poland 2/5/10

What a bitch of a journey. To get here we bought tickets for Krakow from Salzburg with a changeover in Vienna. The first ride to Vienna was perfectly fine for the 2 hours that it took. The 9 hour ride from Vienna to Krakow was something else entirely. We found the train alright, but the only car labeled for Krakow was a sleeping car that we didn’t have reservations for. The reason we couldn’t just hop on any of the cars is because the trains in Europe disconnect various cars at certain stops and reconnect them to other trains heading in that direction. So started one of the most stressful times of my life. After presenting our tickets to the Russian conductor, he immediately pointed down the line of trailing cars attached to the train. We had a good 20 minutes before the train was to leave so we were fine time-wise. However every other car’s final destination was something else entirely (Warsaw, Prague, Berlin to name a few), or the conductor of the other train would send us back to the Krakow car. It didn’t help that the conductor of the Krakow car would only speak to us in fucking Sputnik and send us out because “the car is full.” This merry-go-round of passing from car to car was pissing everyone off to no end, especially after doors were locked behind us so we couldn’t return to various cars that we had just been in, or conductors like the Russian one would grab or push us (this happened to Katie S. and Laurel) so that we’d get off. They just didn’t care to help at all.

We finally settled on one of the cars labeled “Warsawa” figuring that one of the conductors who would check our tickets over the journey would be able to tell us when to switch cars so that we’d head toward Krakow. The conductors we asked in the beginning said the ride was fine and Christina and Katie S. sat with a guy from the Czech Republic who was a translator and believed that we were heading in the right direction. Hearing him speak English in the next compartment over was surprisingly comforting after the fucking musical chairs experience with the conductors that we’d had. His reassurance was really all we had to go on, but we hung on to it.

I slept from 11 PM to 12:30 AM taking the first shift while Lauren stayed awake (our group had divided ourselves into 3 two person groups for compartments so that no one would be alone with strangers). When I woke up we had apparently been at Brěclav for about 30 minutes before pulling out of the station and then pulling back in so that the cops could come abroad for some reason. Short of Lawrence of Arabia blowing up the tracks I didn’t know what was going on at this time.

I realized looking at my ticket later that morning that the stop we were at, Katowice, was the last stop listed before Krakow. I can only assume that this is where things went wrong what with us being in the wrong train car. Eagerly anticipating the arrival after 11 hours on trains, we waited for the Krakow station that was confirmed by our conductors at the last ticket check. As we entered the station, though, the sign read not “Krakow” but “Warsawa?” FUCK!! It was at this point that I wanted to start Red Dawn all over again. This is also pretty much my Amazing Race moment where we miss a crucial flight or in this case are in a completely different city. Cue commercial break…

Warsaw is north of Krakow and we felt it. It was ass-cold there, so much so that we didn’t even venture outside while we tried to rectify the situation. If there was ever an experience or a city that could turn me off from Eastern Europe, this would be it. We figured out that we had to pay around 25 €, on top of the 128 € we had already paid for the round trip tickets, in order to take an intercity train from Warsaw to Krakow. Well at least now we were for sure heading for Krakow.

Vienna 1/30/10

Today we visited the Belvedere Gallery, which is a gigantic property with huge wrought-iron gates, a large decorative pool out front, and grand grounds (albeit snow-covered for the season) out back. There was a room inside where if you yelled the acoustics caused the echoes to sound like deep breathing or hushes. While checking out the art in another wing, I almost missed everyone as they headed back for the bus, but luckily made it back in time.

For lunch we went to the Naschmarkt, which is like the farmer’s market of Vienna. Kebabs for 3 € were especially tasty and filling Afterwards we toured the nearby Saturday flea market where I picked up an old butane lighter. The seller was asking for 5 €, but I bartered him down to 4.

Vienna 1/29/10

At breakfast this morning I was happy to find out that my room wasn’t obliged with the presence of construction workers hammering away outside the window as others were. Much more peaceful. After breakfast we headed out on a medieval and imperial walking tour of Vienna with Jim, Betty, and Elizabeth (our professors). There are multiple cathedrals and we walked inside St. Stephan (I believe) which was quite nice and ornately decorated as most European buildings seem to be. One of the more interesting sights was this clock that changed to 12 different historical figures in Vienna’s history for every hour. Jim mentioned that Vienna has the real coffee, so we stopped at a coffee shop. Most of us ordered the “Cocochino” (coffee and hot chocolate). Lunch was on our own so some of us ventured to a mall where I got a calzone for 8.80 € (expensive). I got the large, not realizing how big it would be. (Guesstimating) Out of 16” I ate 14 ½ .”

After lunch we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History). The museum was very elaborate in its design and reminded me of the final level in the videogame “Mafia.” We toured that for a good two hours before we were left on our own. I opted to go with part of the group to the Sigmund Freud Museum. The journey took a little bit due to map confusion and the length of the walk. I also had a wardrobe malfunction with my jacket’s zipper which was frustrating to deal with along the way. By the time we got to the Freud Museum where his office had been located, we had abour 30 minutes till closing—plenty of time. I’m not a big psychology fan (In my opinion Freud was just a regular perverted guy who wrote down his thoughts and published them, so sue me.), so I really wasn’t looking at everything in depth. There wasn’t that much there and the couch where Freud had sexytime with his patients had been moved to London. Particularly happy that we get reimbursed for this museum.

The walk back was scenic. Christina got a little confused on which cathedral she had seen, but the one we were at was identifiable on the map so I got to use the experience to hone my navigational skills while heading back. I’m not complaining as the experience will definitely come in handy later and we did see more sights of Vienna that hadn’t been on the tour.

I got dinner at Mr. Lee’s (Quick Lee was their slogan) down the street with the rest of the group. I didn’t know that Chinese fast food joints could serve spaghetti bolognaise which is what I got. Not bad actually for something with an Asian twist.

Notes about the “Hotel Post.” We’re probably staying here because it is on the site of a hotel that was frequented by Mozart back in the day, and is by a couple historic sites that are hidden pieces of history. The halls really remind me of The Shining though. Any second I’m expecting to see RED RUM written on the doors and a cascade of blood roaring down the hallway. The lock’s in Europe are annoying. There are no turn locks on the insides of the rooms. Instead one has to use the key to lock the door from the inside.

Vienna 1/28/10

Woke up at 6:50 AM today to prep for splitting for a three day class trip to Vienna. I watched the rest of The Bourne Identity and started Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade on the bus ride, before we stopped at the Melk Abbey which is on the way to Vienna. Very nice, Baroque structures and lots of photos to be had. Our female guide kept pronouncing “v’s” as “w’s” (“wisit” instead of “visit”). This made me really want to ask her to say “nuclear vessel” but I refrained. Imagine her saying “Valentine’s Day”—now that’s a laugh. The snow covered woods along the way in the bus make me think that this is where that sample pic from Windows XP comes from. Interesting tidbit: Picking up from where I left off in Last Crusade I saw Indy go past Salzburg on the map on the way to grab his dad from the castle on the Austro-Hungarian border. Oddly enough as soon as we got into Vienna I got really tired when one of our professors, Elizabeth, just started to giving a brief tour of the city from the bus. I’ll find out more on the walking tour tomorrow anyway.

After arriving at the Hotel Post we had two hours before the Don Giovanni opera that we were going to see at the Wienert Staatsoper Operahouse. I opted to get dinner at “Happy Noodle” (Asians speaking German is very odd and reminded me of the French Asians in Rush Hour 3): Salmon with rice—okay, cheap food for 3.90 €.

Opera: Can’t say that I’m too much of a fan unless it’s a rock opera in the same vein as “Dracula’s Lament.” I was already tired to begin with and somhow struggled to stay awake until intermission. I really did not care after that as I was zoning out until Katie S. hit me with a paper. Unfortunately by that time I had missed the part where Don Giovanni had be dragged to hell, but whatever. The entire play is in Italian, so there were subtitle screens in front if all the seats, but it takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes to an eternity for the opera singers to express the feelings of one sentence that shows up on the screen. I equate the experience with the last act of the third Lord of the Rings: JUST END ALREADY.

Happy Noodle didn’t completely fill me up so I grabbed McDonald’s on the way back. I realized that I didn’t have any ketchup though and asked the cashier for some. Response: “30 cents.” Nope. This really is a weird country with their policy of no free ketchup and a lack of water tabs on the soda fountains.