 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Good times to be had in the Czech Republic. Czech out the photo album for more. Ahoj!
Showing posts with label excursions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excursions. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Czech It Out!
I was away in the southern Czech Republic from Friday afternoon until yesterday evening.
Me,
and Alex and Ilona (on the right),
crash at Ilona's friend, Radka's, place for the weekend
in Prachatice, Czech Republic.
Ilona and Radka speak in Czech to each other for much of the weekend, and we also visit a good handful of Czech bars in the evenings,
which translates to Alex (who is German) and I having noooo idea what is being said. Alex learned "thank you" and "please/you're welcome" during the trip. The only thing conversational I knew how to say before hand was, "Hey, darling! How's it going? Good! And you? Doing well too, thanks. I am a parrot." Which is amusing but understandably limited.
Fortunately, this didn't at all get in the way of a good trip.
Good times to be had in the Czech Republic. Czech out the photo album for more. Ahoj!
Good times to be had in the Czech Republic. Czech out the photo album for more. Ahoj!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Herbivore
Kristen is a vegetarian, so naturally, this was a concern of ours on this trip - especially because in this region (southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.), sausage and other meats are prevalent, traditional favorites. (I love being omnivorous. And completely unpicky. Marvelous traveling advantage.) Many before us have also warned that it is difficult to find strictly vegetarian food, and that it is uncommon in the area.
But much to our pleasant surprise, we had virtually no problems finding vegetarian options throughout the trip. To boot, it wasn't even "fake vegetarian," as some vegetarian travelers have found in other countries where the meat is simply hidden more subtly in the exact same dish.
Delicious, vegetarian Indian food in Salzburg
Here are shots from the somewhat upscale vegetarian restaurant Hiltl (restaurant website) in Zürich, Switzerland. The set-up is a long selbstbedienung ("self-service") bar with a huge variety of international vegetarian dishes, ranging from Thai to Greek to Indian and beyond. You schlock whatever you'd like on to your plate, weigh it and pay for it at the register, and sit yourself down.
Being on the constant look-out for veggie-friendly places, I found this place in on of our city guides and suggested that we have a look. It was a bit pricey, but we decided to take it on with reckless abandon. Everything is pricey in Switzerland, why not just get a good meal out of it.
We notice there is a long bar, and hesitantly assume that it's buffet-style. I ask a waiter and find out that you pay by the plate. To make a long story short, we both end up dishing out a pretty pricey amount for our respective plates (think CHF 30-50 -- and the Swiss Franc is currently equal to the American dollar), because we discover (too late) that it's priced by weight.
But Whoa. Who cares. It was superb food, and in my opinion, completely worth the one-time splurge. And every bit was vegetarian-friendly, to boot.
In conclusion, if you're an herbivore like Kristen, you'll probably be surprised to find that there are plenty of vegetarian options around, so long as your friends don't mind eating at the same places. We believe the reason people say that veggie places are few and far between is that they aren't looking for them. (Click here for a hilarious and dead-on example of how you miss what you're not looking for). But as globalization as well as vegetarianism spreads, we think you'll find that there are tons of restaurants who take their vegetarian customers into consideration as well.
But much to our pleasant surprise, we had virtually no problems finding vegetarian options throughout the trip. To boot, it wasn't even "fake vegetarian," as some vegetarian travelers have found in other countries where the meat is simply hidden more subtly in the exact same dish.
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
Here are shots from the somewhat upscale vegetarian restaurant Hiltl (restaurant website) in Zürich, Switzerland. The set-up is a long selbstbedienung ("self-service") bar with a huge variety of international vegetarian dishes, ranging from Thai to Greek to Indian and beyond. You schlock whatever you'd like on to your plate, weigh it and pay for it at the register, and sit yourself down.
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
Being on the constant look-out for veggie-friendly places, I found this place in on of our city guides and suggested that we have a look. It was a bit pricey, but we decided to take it on with reckless abandon. Everything is pricey in Switzerland, why not just get a good meal out of it.
We notice there is a long bar, and hesitantly assume that it's buffet-style. I ask a waiter and find out that you pay by the plate. To make a long story short, we both end up dishing out a pretty pricey amount for our respective plates (think CHF 30-50 -- and the Swiss Franc is currently equal to the American dollar), because we discover (too late) that it's priced by weight.
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
But Whoa. Who cares. It was superb food, and in my opinion, completely worth the one-time splurge. And every bit was vegetarian-friendly, to boot.
In conclusion, if you're an herbivore like Kristen, you'll probably be surprised to find that there are plenty of vegetarian options around, so long as your friends don't mind eating at the same places. We believe the reason people say that veggie places are few and far between is that they aren't looking for them. (Click here for a hilarious and dead-on example of how you miss what you're not looking for). But as globalization as well as vegetarianism spreads, we think you'll find that there are tons of restaurants who take their vegetarian customers into consideration as well.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Sound of Music
Most of the pictures are already explained in the photo album, so instead of describing every detail of the trip in long, boring, drawn-out detail that you probably won't have the patience to read, I'll just elaborate on a few trip stories here and there that are too long for the picture captions. Speaking of long stories, that was a long sentence.
In Salzburg, we came across this marvelous music shop called Klanghaus Gandharva Loka (Klanghaus means "House of Sounds," which was extremely appropriate). This store was smaller than my bedroom, but had virtually hundreds of different instruments. The picture above is a mere portion of the woodwind collection alone. I couldn't believe how much they could fit in there.
I was particularly drawn to a few certain instruments:
Sansula - First, the Sansula (Sansula video). It's basically a variation of the Kalimba (Kalimba video), which in turn is a variation of the Mbira, an originally African instrument. (Isn't instrument evolution fascinating). The Sansula has the extra drum skin stretched around it, which you can than use on flat surfaces to bend the beautiful little notes and make "waa-waa" effects. At one point, he said, You can play with a wide spectrum of sounds using objects as well, whereupon he scattered three paper clips on the drum skin and played the instrument with yet another surprising timbre. I adored it and wish I had the €85 to spend for it.
Waterphone - The shopkeeper happily demonstrated any instruments we asked about, and the Waterphone (video) is the first instrument in the store that caught my eye. I'd never seen anything like it. I thought it was a percussion type of instrument, but surprisingly, he picked up a bow and started drawing it across the rods. WHOA! This heavy instrument filled the room like a cave. It produced something I thought was only available in cinematic sound effects :P . If you watch the video, be sure to see the whole thing for both methods of playing.
Singing bowls - Last but not least, I've now been motivated by this trip to get myself a Tibetan/Nepalese/etc. singing bowl (video). We even saw them a second time from a street vendor in Zürich, from whom Kristen actually bought a small one. I must get one! They really made an impression on me, and I love the deceptively small size for a sound you could probably hear from half a mile around. Also, they are often beautifully ornamented. I am smitten with this little, round, metal bowl.
We also got to sit in the "harp-chair" :
Someone plays the long strings on the side of the (rocking)chair while you sit in it. It's sort of a series of low, eerie twangs. When it starts building louder and louder, you feel all the vibrations going through your body.
Oh, everything we touched in that little store made a sound, and not just any sound, but a beautiful sound. Kristen and I easily spent over an hour and a half in that shoebox-sized store. A definite highlight of our time in Salzburg.
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
In Salzburg, we came across this marvelous music shop called Klanghaus Gandharva Loka (Klanghaus means "House of Sounds," which was extremely appropriate). This store was smaller than my bedroom, but had virtually hundreds of different instruments. The picture above is a mere portion of the woodwind collection alone. I couldn't believe how much they could fit in there.
I was particularly drawn to a few certain instruments:
Sansula - First, the Sansula (Sansula video). It's basically a variation of the Kalimba (Kalimba video), which in turn is a variation of the Mbira, an originally African instrument. (Isn't instrument evolution fascinating). The Sansula has the extra drum skin stretched around it, which you can than use on flat surfaces to bend the beautiful little notes and make "waa-waa" effects. At one point, he said, You can play with a wide spectrum of sounds using objects as well, whereupon he scattered three paper clips on the drum skin and played the instrument with yet another surprising timbre. I adored it and wish I had the €85 to spend for it.
Waterphone - The shopkeeper happily demonstrated any instruments we asked about, and the Waterphone (video) is the first instrument in the store that caught my eye. I'd never seen anything like it. I thought it was a percussion type of instrument, but surprisingly, he picked up a bow and started drawing it across the rods. WHOA! This heavy instrument filled the room like a cave. It produced something I thought was only available in cinematic sound effects :P . If you watch the video, be sure to see the whole thing for both methods of playing.
Singing bowls - Last but not least, I've now been motivated by this trip to get myself a Tibetan/Nepalese/etc. singing bowl (video). We even saw them a second time from a street vendor in Zürich, from whom Kristen actually bought a small one. I must get one! They really made an impression on me, and I love the deceptively small size for a sound you could probably hear from half a mile around. Also, they are often beautifully ornamented. I am smitten with this little, round, metal bowl.
We also got to sit in the "harp-chair" :
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
Someone plays the long strings on the side of the (rocking)chair while you sit in it. It's sort of a series of low, eerie twangs. When it starts building louder and louder, you feel all the vibrations going through your body.
Oh, everything we touched in that little store made a sound, and not just any sound, but a beautiful sound. Kristen and I easily spent over an hour and a half in that shoebox-sized store. A definite highlight of our time in Salzburg.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Vienna, Street Artists
Kristen and I mapped out the trip shortly before departure, and we agreed to meet in Vienna on Saturday. We would then gradually work our way eastward and hopefully closer to Aix by the end of the trip. I would get to Vienna in the early afternoon and Kristen in the evening.
Unfortunately, the poor girl missed one of the trains on her first major experience with the European train systems. But she made it there early the next morning.
So I took Saturday to explore Vienna on my own. Along with all the areas I visited, I came across many a street artist, mostly all located throughout points in the Altstadt ("Old City"). This included several musicians, a diabolo (what's a diabolo?) artist, stunning break dancers, and ethereal spray paint landscape artists.
Oh, but pictures say 1000 words. And a video is like a really, really big sequence of pictures!
Unfortunately, the poor girl missed one of the trains on her first major experience with the European train systems. But she made it there early the next morning.
So I took Saturday to explore Vienna on my own. Along with all the areas I visited, I came across many a street artist, mostly all located throughout points in the Altstadt ("Old City"). This included several musicians, a diabolo (what's a diabolo?) artist, stunning break dancers, and ethereal spray paint landscape artists.
Oh, but pictures say 1000 words. And a video is like a really, really big sequence of pictures!
Back from the Alpine Excursion
Haha, I see Marcin has been keeping diligent blog-watch for the end of the week. At any rate, yes, I'm back in Regensburg now, and it's been a great week of travel. I've got a few posts in queue, but I've also uploaded all the pictures now, with the exception of some that Kristen will give me from her camera (eventually).
Some background info. Kristen is a friend of mine from high school who is studying in Aix-en-Provence, France, this semester. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and we already had plans for a while to meet up sometime while we're both here to do some traveling together. As it were, we chose to go through some countries that were somewhat in between both of our locations: Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. The locations I've marked on this map are Vienna, Salzburg, Liechtenstein (Feldkirch), and Zürich.
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
Some background info. Kristen is a friend of mine from high school who is studying in Aix-en-Provence, France, this semester. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and we already had plans for a while to meet up sometime while we're both here to do some traveling together. As it were, we chose to go through some countries that were somewhat in between both of our locations: Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. The locations I've marked on this map are Vienna, Salzburg, Liechtenstein (Feldkirch), and Zürich.
 |
| From Whirlwind Alpine Tour |
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas Time Photo Update
There are some new pictures up from both the Regensburg and Nürnberg Christmas Markets. They have been added to two different albums:
Enjoy!
 |
| Excursions |
 |
| Christkindlmarkt |
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Salzburg
So as I mentioned, Michael and I hopped an early morning train and went to Salzburg for the day on Saturday.
Salzburg sits in west Austria on the river Salzach. Mozart was born there, so as it were, there is Mozart paraphernalia all over the city...
Seeing as it's December and every European city that has a Christmas Market has got it set up by now, Michael and I hit up the market streets during our wanderings through the city.
We only truly realized that we had done absolutely no "research" for our trip to see what kind of locations we needed to visit in Salzburg until we had stepped out of the train station and were looking around our first glimpse of the city. But that was okay. Some of the very best trips are always impromptu.
So as usual, the full collection of pictures is on the Picasa album ("Salzburg"), along with extra explanations. Kuck mal ;) ! ("Have a look!")
 |
| From Salzburg |
Salzburg sits in west Austria on the river Salzach. Mozart was born there, so as it were, there is Mozart paraphernalia all over the city...
 |
| From Salzburg |
Seeing as it's December and every European city that has a Christmas Market has got it set up by now, Michael and I hit up the market streets during our wanderings through the city.
 |
| From Salzburg |
 |
| From Salzburg |
We only truly realized that we had done absolutely no "research" for our trip to see what kind of locations we needed to visit in Salzburg until we had stepped out of the train station and were looking around our first glimpse of the city. But that was okay. Some of the very best trips are always impromptu.
So as usual, the full collection of pictures is on the Picasa album ("Salzburg"), along with extra explanations. Kuck mal ;) ! ("Have a look!")
 |
| From Salzburg |
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Schlösser
("Castles")
Today we went to Castles Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein in Schwangau, in the very south of Germany and a stone's throw from the Austria border.
Pictures inside the castles are not allowed, but I just want to say that today, I beheld 100+ year old BREAD in Castle Neuschwanstein... in a box... on a platter with the year 189- [something] on it... or in other words, the year that the bread loaf was baked and presented to a prince for his birthday...
... That's just odd. Don't do that. Be sure to clean out your pantries when the proper time calls for such.
I've only put up a handful of pictures from today's excursion, but at any rate, they're up to see now. By the way, aerial shots of the castles are stunning, but obviously, I can't provide you with those personally. You have the internet, though, so you ought to look some up if you would like to have a look.
Today we went to Castles Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein in Schwangau, in the very south of Germany and a stone's throw from the Austria border.
Pictures inside the castles are not allowed, but I just want to say that today, I beheld 100+ year old BREAD in Castle Neuschwanstein... in a box... on a platter with the year 189- [something] on it... or in other words, the year that the bread loaf was baked and presented to a prince for his birthday...
... That's just odd. Don't do that. Be sure to clean out your pantries when the proper time calls for such.
 |
| From Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein |
I've only put up a handful of pictures from today's excursion, but at any rate, they're up to see now. By the way, aerial shots of the castles are stunning, but obviously, I can't provide you with those personally. You have the internet, though, so you ought to look some up if you would like to have a look.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
I just got back from a weekend in Erfurt and Weimar. Today, as our last stop, we visited the historical Buchenwald concentration camp, located 8 km from Weimar.
I simply find it so ironic, because walking through Buchenwald in the autumn is almost dreamily beautiful. It is quiet, nearly silent except for the tread of visitors on the gravel paths, and sunshine in good weather will turn the surrounding woods absolutely brilliant with gold.
Yet Buchenwald is steeped in so much unspeakably horrendous history, as with the unfortunately many other concentration camps and other historical sites associated with the second world war (or as many other wars as you can name...) . There was so much suffering, I can not even imagine. I can't even describe, with or without words.
Today, while the rest of our group wandered off to look around some more before our bus ride back, I went to the center of the main prisoner camp, where it is now flat, and only black gravel in wooden frames outline where there were once several dozen barracks holding inmates hollow with despair. I stood where literally thousands of dying bodies and walking corpses passed by for month after hopeless, tragic month and forgot what it was like to be human...
And I cried and cried...
... and cried.
I simply find it so ironic, because walking through Buchenwald in the autumn is almost dreamily beautiful. It is quiet, nearly silent except for the tread of visitors on the gravel paths, and sunshine in good weather will turn the surrounding woods absolutely brilliant with gold.
 |
| From Erfurt, Weimar, and Buchenwald |
Yet Buchenwald is steeped in so much unspeakably horrendous history, as with the unfortunately many other concentration camps and other historical sites associated with the second world war (or as many other wars as you can name...) . There was so much suffering, I can not even imagine. I can't even describe, with or without words.
Today, while the rest of our group wandered off to look around some more before our bus ride back, I went to the center of the main prisoner camp, where it is now flat, and only black gravel in wooden frames outline where there were once several dozen barracks holding inmates hollow with despair. I stood where literally thousands of dying bodies and walking corpses passed by for month after hopeless, tragic month and forgot what it was like to be human...
 |
And I cried and cried...
 |
... and cried.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
