Day 46 of THE AMAZING EUROTRIP
Paris

So here I am at my final destination. Paris is probably the most well-planned city that I have ever seen, and it is as beautiful as people say it is. The people here are surprising incredibly friendly as well. They say that if you at least a little bit of french, they will be much more receptive, and most do know how to speak english, at least a little anyways. So I am surviving.

I am staying at a hostel in the lower part of the Montmartre district at the bottom of the stairs that goes up to the Sacre-Coeur cathedral. It is quite a beauty. I wandered around there Sunday night (despite the rain), and then yesterday I climbed up the Eiffel Tower, and also wandered over to the Arc De Triomphe and down the Champs D'Elysees to some other sights. This morning, I went to the Catacombs (quite eerie down there!), and I'll wander over to the Notre-Dame Cathedral a bit later. And it is over to Versailles tomorrow and the Louvre on Thursday, with an extra day to kill before I finally come home Saturday morning!

Well, the big news in France the last couple of days has been the kidnapping of the two French reporters in Iraq. The reason for the kidnapping is the ban on religious symbols at schools in France, most notably the headscarves, and as much as I totally disagree with the law (see a post from a few months back), the French government is not giving into the terrorists, unlike the even wimpier Spanish and Filipino governments. It is also quite ironic I think that France, having stayed out of the Iraq war, believed that they would be insulated from the terrorists... guess what, it didn't happen. And for Canadians who are still complacent about terrorism, and believe that we are not a target, get out of your dreamworld. They have certainly woken up yesterday and today here in France on all the local newscasts and newspapersm about the threat of the terrorists against them.

It is a bit strange walking around the Eiffel Tower and seeing lots of army men and women serving as security carrying around huge machine guns.

Day 42 of THE AMAZING EUROTRIP
Still in Strasbourg, France

You know, I'm reading now about all these apologists for the Canadian Olympic team... I'm sorry, you get what you pay for. And not only that, but the real problem is that Canada, like everything else that the damn bleeding heart Liberals try to do, is try to be all things to all people. In this case, they fund all athletes equally, regardless of their chance of success. Wake up and get in the real world... in sports like in all society, there are winners and there are losers.... Canada should be concentrating only on those that have a chance at being world-class in their specialty. That not only goes for sports, but for everything. Take a look at every other nation in the world and see how they fund things.

Trying to be all things to all people is basically another word for communism... hmmm, just coming from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, we saw how well that worked in the past!

Following my German ICE train post from yesterday, observing European city's transportion systems, whether it be trains, trams, buses, metros, or whatever, they certainly have Toronto and Canada's asses beat out. For all those morons who were opposing the St. Clair streetcar project, have you ever travelled to Europe to see how streetcars (trams) are supposed to work??? And how much more pedestrian (and business) traffic you get from it?

Day 41 of THE AMAZING EUROTRIP
Strasbourg, France

I have now reached the point in my trip where I am bored out of my mind.... not that I think this is a great city, Strasbourg has a lot of interesting character, but I am pretty bored.

Plus the hostel I got here in Strasbourg is perhaps one of the dodgiest hostels I have ever been to.

Took a German ICE train today, those things are incredible, 300 KM/H!!!

Day 40 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP (only 10 days more to go!)
Koln (Cologne), Germany

Well, coming here was a waste of time. Not really that much to look at, other than the famous cathedral. The weather here has also been freezing, just had to buy myself a sweater. It was raining quite badly this morning, so I decided to go to a museum. However, I am quite bored of the usual museums, so I decided to try something different... there's a major European chocolate manufacturer here in Cologne, so I went to their chocolate museum! Other than the expected "how chocolate is manufactured" (which was quite good, including free samples), it also had the history of the cocoa plant, the uses of chocolate through the ages (including both health and aphrodisiac purposes), and other interesting facts. I quite enjoyed it.

Tomorrow, it's to Strasbourg, France, which is supposed to be really nice.

Trying to watch the Olympics last night. In most European countries, there are generally two choices for the games... their national network, which will usually concentrate on their own country's athletes, and Euro-Sport, an all sports network that has the more popular events of the day. Unfortunately, the hostel didn't have Eurosport, so I was stuck last night watching such great Deutsch athletes competing in events such as equestrian, floor hockey, and team handball. Oh joy. Didn't get to see any track and field until around 11:30 pm.

Day 38 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Krakow, Poland (and today, Oswecim... better known as Auschwitz)

Krakow has been amazing! This is a beautiful city, and I am glad that I followed the many recommendations to come here. On Friday upon my arrival, I took a wander around the old town, and had dinner at a Polish place (perogies with cheese, garlic soup, spinach, and beer) before going out to a nightclub that evening. On Saturday, I met up with the two Polish sisters who I had met down in Vienna, and spent the day showing me around the town and their university, and then we went to watch "Mystic River" in English with Polish subtitles, for only 5 Zloty! (I did see the movie last year when it was out, and read the novel, it is that damn good!). On Sunday, I went to the world famous and UNESCO-listed Wieliczka Salt Mine... this place has to be seen to be believed, amazing statues made entirely out of salt, and even a HUGE chapel with altars, chandaliars, and recreations of famous paintings all made out of salt. I then made a trek out to the suburbs to the sisters' flats and had dinner and spent the evening up there.

Today, I went to Oswecim, which to most of the world will always be remembered as Auschwitz/Birkenau, the Nazi death camp. The feeling there was just surreal. To think that people can actually think of the most efficient ways for people to die, and just because of who they were when they were born is just totally sick. And while we're all supposed to never forget, and never have this happen again, you see what is happening in Rwanda and The Congo right now, as well as in Bosnia and Kosovo a few years ago, and you got to wonder if anything has really changed... killing people and mass genocide ("ethnic cleansing") simply because of their race.

Afterwards, I went to get a much-needed haircut (12 Zloty!... about $4.50 Canadian), which took a bit of explaining to say what I wanted (it came out quite nicely though), and then ate more perogies. Tomorrow, I'm flying to Cologne, Germany.

Day 34 (going into 35) of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Still in Warsaw

Had some real Polish perogies for dinner tonight to close out my short visit to Warsaw. A day and a half is all that I really needed, not too much to look at. I did go to the Polish Military Museum as was suggested to me, and I was quite impressed with the displays.

Tomorrow it's done to Krakow, where I will also get to visit the salt mines, and the Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camps. Should be some pretty powerful stuff.

Damn, I thought I actually had a whole room to myself tonight for the first time in my trip... nope, at 11:40 pm, a large group of Italians came in.

The Canadian Olympic team is nothing but a major embarassment. 1 Bronze so far (in some dumbass synchronized diving sport!!!)

Day 33/34 of the AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Warsaw, Poland

Having survived my first ever propellor-plane trip from Budapest to Warsaw, I spent the afternoon just touring aroud Warsaw, which wasn't as bad as people said it was. Although everyone said it didn't have much of an old town (bombed out during WW II)... so what, that is typical of a city in North America. But the Polish people are amazing, and it is certainly a helluva cleaner here than in Budapest. Spent the last couple of hours watching the Olympics (Canada is being a total embarassment), while a Polish guy from near Krakow bought like three bottles of Polish vodka and Sprite, and Polish chocolate for us to consume. I look forward to meeting up with the Polish girl (Alezandria), that I met in Vienna, again in Krakow in a couple of days. Anyways, it's like 1 AM right now, so time to call it a night.

Day 32 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP:
Still in Budapest

Yesterday, I went spelunking (caving)... that was quite an experience! Crawling (literally), sliding, and climbing for over two hours. Was definitely a blast! But I was totally dead tired afterwards... some of those passageways were so narrow, I'm amazed that I was able to make it through. I even got stuck in what they call the "Winnie the Pooh" hole, but was able to back myself out.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Poland!

Still in Budapest...

Hmmm.... Europe is cool... as long as you're with people from English-speaking nations. Trying to talk to Spanish, Portugese, or French is like pulling teeth. The Germans haven't been too bad, nor the Japanese and Koreans. And of course, english speaking Poles :-)

Day 30 of the AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Still in Budapest

Man, I think this trip is starting to wear down on me now. I am just totally tired today, even though I got a pretty decent sleep last night (well... I got home at 2 AM or so after drinking and got up around 10). Today, I just did some wandering around the city, but tomorrow, I am going to be going spelunking (caving) in one of the local national parks around Budapest. Should be lots of fun.

I finally got some pics burned onto CD... I'll be posting at least one pic up soon here on this blog.

Day 29 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Budapest

Last night, me and a Dutch girl went to a local pizza place (where the first time, i had a pizza with hard-boiled egg on it!). Watched the opening ceremonies of the Athens Olympics. Couldn't understand a word that was being said, as the broadcast was in Hungarian, but the pictures told the story. I don't think Canada is going to do really well in the medal count (I don't even really know who the contenders are). Knowing how the Chretien-Martin Liberals have made a total joke out of our nation's athletes (I already see that today, of 7 Canadian swimmers, not one advanced), I don't expect a damn thing. How is it that the Aussies, a similar but smaller nation, can kick our ass-maybe because they actually take sports seriously?

Budapest is still truly beautiful. I went to the Gellert baths with the Dutch girl yesterday to go into the famous thermal baths. I felt truly relaxed.

Day 28 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Budapest, Hungary

I love this city!! It has far more charm and character than Vienna. The city is quite large though, just got back from doing a lot of walking, and I barely even covered a chunk of the city. Did a climb up the the Citadel on the Buda side of the Danube (Budapest is actually two cities originally, Buda and Pest, on opposing sides of the river). Great marketplace in town too, just had a huge cabbage roll lunch with rice.

Dammit, they don't sell Pepto-Bismol here! Not even by the generic name, went into two different pharmacies to look for it. Hopefully what I have will last me through the rest of my trip, but not at the rate that I am going.

Day 25 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP (halfway!)
Still in Vienna

A Tuesday night just chilling out with a really amazing ice cream. Today, I just went to the Schonnburn(sp?) Palace in the morning. Never actually went inside as it was expensive, and the lineups were just nuts, but just wandered around their incredible gardens. I then went to some sort of amusement park (Volker?) with two Polish sisters from Krakow who are in my room at the hostel. Was a fun day :-) I am going to be in Krakow in about a week and a half, and so got the contact info from one of them, so she'll be showing me around town once I get there.

(amusement park tip: NEVER go one any ride resembling the octopus. Your stomach will be sorry for an hour or so afterwards that you did).

On a negative note however, I haven't heard back from a Hungarian girl who I met last year who I was supposed to be meeting in Budapest, where I'll be next. It's been about a month since she has emailed me.

Tomorrow, I take a daytrip west of the city into the Wachau/Danube River Wine Region. Should be a really fun day.

Day 24 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Vienna, Austria

My train ride up to Vienna yesterday was fairly uneventful. This is also an extraordinary city with amazing architecture, but it lacks the feel and ambience of Munich or Prague, feeling like just another big city. Had an epic Conservative vs. NDP debate last night with some chick from Ottawa in my hostel... I shouldn't be talking about this stuff when I'm on vacation! (And I'm not the one who brought up the topic at all).

I am feeling better now, hopefully my cold is now pretty much gone, other than a small cough.

It is a hot and humid day in Ljubljana, and now there is a major thunderstorm outside. I did manage to do some wandering today, including the morning market, and their own Tivoli Park. I took a look at the Museum of Contemporary History, which presents the Slovene history since about 1912, with the world wars, occupations, and then independence from Yugoslavia.

When travelling for a really long time, it is crucial that you take days off every once in a while, where u take it easy. After all, when you're at home, do u go out and do something every single day without chilling on a Sunday afternoon or something just watching the ball game or a DVD? (Speaking of which, how I miss regular TV... what's going on in The Amazing Race right now?).

I have met many people on this trip who are amazing to be with, and others not so... but isn't that also how it is in real life? Well, three weeks down and four to go!

Day 22 of THE AMAZING EURO-TRIP
Ljubljana, Slovenia

This has been an amazing last few days just chilling out. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a cold on this part of the trip, especially when I just arrived here on my train ride from Munich, but I am feeling better now. On Wednesday, I went to the Postojna caves, which are definitely the most spectacular caves that I have ever seen. You take an underground train like 2 km to get to the main caverns. Then on Thursday, I spent the day with two hotties from the south of England exploring Bled, just to the north of here in the Julian Alps, hiking and rowboating across Lake Bled. Just chilled out yesterday taking a city walking tour of Ljubljana, and enjoying some of the outdoor concerts. I was intending to go to Piran today which is on the Adriatic sea coast near Trieste, Italy, but the time and amount of money it would take to get there would not be worth it. Tomorrow, I am off to Vienna. I definitely recommend visiting Slovenia to anyone, in a few years, this place will definitely be a tourism hotspot.

Day 18 of the AMAZING EURO-TRIP:
Still in Munich, waiting for a train to take to Ljubljana, Slovenia

So yesterday was zoo day for me. I was bored out of my mind, and I didn't want to spend the money to take a guided tour trip of the "Disney Castle". So to the zoo it was, as I had heard that the Munich zoo was pretty good. I was impressed. Lots of animals that you don't see in the Toronto Zoo, plus a beer garden to boot (this is Munich, after all!)

One final night at the Hofbrauhaus last night. Am I glad to finally get out of Munich, this place is so expensive for going out at night. And for anyone planning to visit Munich in the future, DO NOT STAY AT THE EASY PALACE! This place is totally absent of any character, almost impossible to meet other backpackers, and far from the train station and the other hostels.

I am starting to feel tired from the trip, but I hope that I am reinvigorated once I get to Slovenia. It will be a long train ride, about 6 hours. Gotta go buy lots of food to bring on the train. Fortunately, the Munich train station is like a city and shopping centre into itself, this place is MASSIVE.

Unfortunately, I had to relent and bought McDonald's Sunday night for dinner as I couldn't find anything else reasonably priced. Bad, bad!

Still in Munich...

Beer... Bavaria beer at a beer garden... hmmmm (yeah, just got back from one. And there's an Easy Internet Cafe close to my hostel here, so that's why I'm posting so much, although otherwise my hostel here sucks compared to my previous ones).

The Dachau concentration camp was definitely an experience. I really don't know how to describe it, except that it is hard to imagine what it could have been like living at that time. As for what Germans say about the whole thing, from what a tour guide told me, they avoid talking about it, it's an embarassment that happened, and that they're not proud of.

Day 16 of the AMAZING EURO-TRIP:
Still in Munich

Had an actual 8 hours of sleep last night for the first time in this trip. Had a very big walking day yesterday exploring Munich and around the famous Englisch Garden, where I hit one of the beer gardens there, as well as another one in the city near the marketplace. Was just totally dead by the evening, I just crashed as soon as I got back to the hostel.

In a few minutes, I am going to head to the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial, just outside of town. I wasn't going to go, as I am also heading to Auschwitz/Birkenau when I go to Krakow, but everyone says it is worth going to, especially here where everything started (I had also done a Third Reich history tour here on Thursday), so this will round out my history lessons here for Munich. When I get back this afternoon, today is free museum day, so I think I will hit a couple of them.