Zurich

I should really have my diary here to remind me of Zurich as it was now so long ago (nearly two weeks) that it is not so fresh as my more recent experiences. Anyway, I am in an internet cafe and must make use of the time I have, so here goes.

We left Ingolstadt early in the morning, dragging Imke and Martin out of bed at 5 am to get us to the train station on time. We took the train into Zurich, arriving late-morning. We found our hostel without difficulty and set out to explore the city. First, we sat down to enjoy a lunch of bread and cheese fondue near our hostel. There was a big parade happening in Zurich that day, an energy festival that we happened to coincide with. There were flyers all over the sidewalks, and people were in high spirits everywhere we went. There were also lots of unusually dressed people for the freak show happening that afternoon. We crossed the river and headed back toward the older section of town. We saw the Grossmunster, where Ulrich Zwingli began preaching in 1519, and located a store that Karen´s book had mentioned for its tiny little ¨burgers¨--little candies in the shape of a burger. It was closed, but we got a few photos. Then it started raining. We headed back towards the train station, where we visited the Swiss National Museum, and then decided to go up the mountain on a small train. It was only a 20 minute ride and would have been even more beautiful if it hadn´t been overshadowed by pouring rain. Karen walked around outside snapping shots in the rain like a trooper, while I got a few shots and then headed into shelter indoors to wait out the rain at the only restaurant on the mountain.

On the way back home, we saw hordes of young people huddled in clusters on the floor of the train station, sheltering from the rain. The station was packed! Apparently they didn´t have much in the way of indoor venues for people to stay in for this event. In spite of the rain, it was still quite noisy below our window. I used the earplugs the hostel gave me and slept through it all quite fine.

Ingolstadt

We took the train from Salzburg to Munich, and then Ingolstadt where our friend Imke and her boyfriend Martin are living on Thursday (Aug. 12). After a long day of travel, it was wonderful to arrive at their home and just relax that afternoon. They were both at work but had given us instructions about where to find the key, so we just let ourselves in and chilled out in their living room for an hour or so before they arrived home. When Imke arrived, we did some catching up and then she performed a belly dance for us--something that she takes a class in every week--and then got out her motorbike so Karen could go snap happy with her camera.



After Martin arrived home, Imke made us a lovely potato and carrot and bean cream casserole for dinner. Then we chatted quite late and tried out some Swedish chocolate (they had German and Dutch varieties for us to compare against...alas, we were full).



The next day, Karen and I slept in and they went to work. Then Imke collected us at 12:30 and we met Martin at the Biergarten (beer garden) for lunch. So now I can say I have tried Munich beer...I did not however, manage to finish the whole 0.5 L.

After lunch, we walked around Ingolstadt with Imke, along the river and outside the local castle. We did a bit of shopping for groceries, and then headed back. For dinner, we had a fabulous BBQ...sausages, Halloumi cheese (barbequed as well--it is somewhat like feta in texture) salad, bread, and a cheese-herb dip.

Martin got a fire going in the grill on the balcony and we sat out and chatted for hours. Then Martin introduced us to a new kind of drink: one shot of vodka, then place a slice of lemon on the shot glass, one sugar cube on top of the lemon, and a drop or two of rum (must be more than 50% alcohol). You light the sugar and carmelize it, then hold the vodka with one hand and the lemon-brandy concoction in the other. Drink the vodka shot and then immediately bite into the lemon. (Note from this meal: Karen and I would both like to find Halloumi cheese.)

Salzburg

It is hard to keep up with photos, as many of the places we stay do not have the capacity to read our memory sticks. I am not hopeful now of finding many such places once we are in Italy, as it seems internet cafes are in shorter supply than in the German-speaking countries we have lately been in. So I will have to describe as best I can what we have been seeing.

After a slightly hectic morning on Tuesday (a child picked up my hostel room key, and I had to return to a restaurant from the day before to pick up my jacket which I had left behind), we got off for our train ride from Vienna to Salzburg. The train ride on the way was lovely, with mountains and chalets scattered throughout.

We arrived at the home of our Mennonite Your Way hosts, Helmut and Marietta Wejooda, around 4 pm. She is a Canadian from Saskatchewan who went over to Austra some 40 or 50 years ago as a missionary and married and had a family there. Her husband Helmut retains a good sense of humour though going through the latter stages of Parkinsons. They are the only MYW host in Salzburg so get fairly regular guests through.

After getting briefly acquainted, we headed out to explore Salzburg. It is framed by mountains to the south and east, which make it a very picturesque place. We took the funicular up the mountain to the Höhenfortress, a castle defence built in 1070. The views from the top were breathtaking. I found out that salz means salt, the major industry of Salzburg historically. After dinner overlooking Salzburg, we climbed back down the mountain on a steep, rarely-staired incline. We walked through the old city on the east side of the river, and then meandered toward the Rathauspark, where they were (for the summer months) playing various films of classical music on a large screen in the park. That night, they were playing various opera excerpts...there were lots of chairs and some bleachers set up near the screen, and then a little away from the screen, there were lots of food and drink vendors, and tables and chairs to sit at and visit if you just wanted the music to be background entertainment.

The next day (Aug 11) we had a traditional Germanic breakfast with Marietta before walking to the Schloss Hellbrun, an Italianate palace some 2 km away from her house. There we saw the pavilion from the Sound of Music (I am sixteen, going on seventeen...) though it has since been moved to Hellbrun from the original location where it was filmed. We enjoyed the lovely flower and herb gardens there.

We went back to Marietta's neighbourhood to an Austrian restaurant she recommended for lunch. The menu had no French or English on it, so we ordered without exactly knowing what we were getting. Karen had wienerschnitzel (breaded pork cutlets) with potatoes, and I had a large cast iron frying pan filled with: pork loin, ham, sausage, sauerkraut, and knöbl, a large dumpling (a bit larger than my fist) flavoured like turkey stuffing.

For the afternoon, Karen and I split off. She wanted to go on the Sound of Music tour, visiting all the locations where the movie was filmed, whereas I was more interested in seeing all things Mozart. I went to the Geburthaus, the place where he was born (in 1756) and lived until 1773. Then I went to the Wohnhaus, where he lived from 1773-1780. The best things about Europe so far for me are: 1)actually seeing the places where historical people lived and worked, and 2)enjoying such a variety of great food everywhere (you knew that was coming, mom...) I saw originals of Mozarts music manuscripts, saw a 1/3 size violin, some of his early keyboards, as well as several multimedia presentations on things such as the music tours he took across Europe.

After the Mozart museums, I walked back through the old city to the Mirabelle Gardens where I was to meet Karen after her tour. After a short nap in the park, I met her and a newfound friend (from the bus tour), an Australian named Cassie a bit after 6. We showed Cassie around the old city some of our favourite things (no pun intended) and then invited her to join us for dessert at Demel. Karen and I both got the Schokobombe, with as much chocolate as is implied by the title. Chocolate mousse and creme brulée wrapped in a chocolate coating...heavenly! Then we went by the Mozartplatz and I got a photo in front of the statue of Mozart.

We went back to Helmut and Mariettas place, and had a relaxed visit with Marietta until bedtime.

Vienna

We had a lovely time in Vienna. We arrived at Hotel Ruthensteiner without difficulty on Sunday afternoon. After our recent hostel experiences, it was a haven of rest. Here I am sitting in the lounge downstairs, surrounded by guitars. In the bar next door was a piano with various music books available which I also made use of. There were two garden patios with an outdoor grill, self-serve kitchen, laundromat and breakfast available as well as four fast computers available for use (2 euros for 45 minutes).


This is one side of the Stephansdom, the major cathedral in the middle of Vienna. After dinner, we wandered toward the Rathausplatz, where we heard a wonderful Polish band playing some updated (almost jazzy-sounding) folk dances--violin, accordion, clarinet, and double bass. I succumbed to buying a CD. Then we walked into the Rathauspark, where we found a large crowd gathered to watch various opera excerpts on a big screen. Many cafes and food and drink stands were there, a couple hundred seats set up near the screen, and more tables and chairs closer to the back for the people who wanted to chat while enjoying the background music. Here is a bit of a sense of that, pictured below.
This is the parliament buildings in Vienna.

A highlight of the trip for me was going past the Staatoper (State Opera) and the Musikverein (music academy), as well as going into the Haus der Musik, which had lots of interesting interactive exhibits as well as information about various composers who lived and worked for part of their lives in Vienna.As soon as we got out of the subway on Monday morning, we were accosted by a courtier (e.g. an adept salesman) dressed in the style of the nobility several hundred years ago) who solicited our attendance at a concert of Mozart opera excerpts and Strauss operetta excerpts that night at 6:30. We decided that we really had to go to a classical music concert while in Vienna, so indulged the money on it. Immediately afer making arrangements with him, we were stopped by three salesmen with similar offers).

Before the concert, we tried Sachertorte (Viennese chocolate cake) and Cardinalschnitte (vanilla mousse cake) at a local cafe recommended by an Austrian-English friend.


Here we are at the concert that night in the beautifully decorated Palais Auersperg. After the concert, we wandered over to the Rathauspark, where we watched part of another film, this time Russian ballet excerpts with the throngs of Viennese and tourists gathered there. In between outings into the centre of Vienna we enjoyed the opportunity to get caught up on email, FB, and blogs.

Prague

We arrived in Prague on Saturday afternoon on a misty, cold afternoon. Since we only had the one afternoon, we dropped our stuff off and then headed back out into the rain again. We had some problem with cameras--news bulletin: cameras do not like rain!--so Karenś camera was really blurry and mine was rather blurrier than usual as well. Anyway, we saw the astronomical clock in the main square, which shows the seasons of the year as well as the time. And every hour, the doors open and the twelve apostles march past the openings.
After meandering through the main square a bit, we walked across Charles Bridge and had dinner at a fairly posh restaurant...I think we were fairly underdressed--especially in comparison to the wedding party guests who made up most of the people at the restaurant. We both ordered the Duck Comfit with bean ragout, roasted potatoes, and fig sauce.

We had another 16 people in our dorm room that night. Karen was blessed to have a couple making out in the bunk below hers. Oh well...

Here is the city gate on the other side of Charles Bridge.

Berlin

We arrived in Berlin on Thursday afternoon and found our hostel, an eccentric spot known as the Helter Skelter. Reception and bar were found on the fourth floor, and found our room, shared with two girls from the States on a college graduation gift trip and an Iranian man. We went to a potato specialty restaurant for dinner, and had very hearty and delicious meals indeed...a potato, spinach, and sausage casserole for me, and pan potatoes with various veggies for Karen. We went to see the Brandenburg Gate after dinner, a historic landmark, and renewed symbol of German unity after the fall of the wall.

The next day, we explored the Reichstag (parliament buildings) which involved a two-hour wait and security check identical to that faced in any airport you fly from. The building itself was quite beautiful, with a glass cupola (dome) that gave us an advantageous view of the city, and lots of environmentally friendly measures, such as the mirrors in this pillar which help to direct the sunlight onto the solar panels above.
Then we went to see this very interesting memorial to Europeś Murdered Jews. From the street, it looked almost like a cemetary of similarly-sized stones in perfect rows and columns. Upon walking into the middle of it, you realized that it actually was dug into a valley, so that by the time you reached the centre, these stone slabs were 12 feet tall. It was reminiscent of either tomb stones or a ghost town of empty houses. Hereś what it was like in the middle.
Karen was very interested in looking up evidence of the old split between East and West Berlin, so here is Checkpoint Charlie, one of the old border points you had to pass through to get between them.
...and the sign demarcating the American zone from the British, French or Russian zones.
We tried to see the remains of the wall and spent time lost because Karenś guide book gave us bad directions. My guide book gave more help, and she got some guidance from the people at the hostel, so she got up early the next morning to find it. I opted to sleep in a bit (yes, reversal of typical roles!) and look for an envelope to mail some postcards home.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam feels like a long time ago now...we arrived six days ago on the 3rd of August. I will try to recall as many details as I can. We waited almost two hours to reserve our train tickets to move on to Berlin, only to be told we didnt need them (upon arriving at the station for departure 36 hours later, we found out that indeed we should have had them--not impressed with transportation in Amsterdam). We were immediately struck by all the bicycles when we left the station. There were several floors of parking for bicycles at the central train station!--all full.
We got to our hostel ¨The Shelter¨--a Christian hostel--in the centre of the red-light district around 8:30 or so in the evening. Quarters were crowded in our 16-bed dorm room. We headed out for supper around 9, finding a little cafe (the outdoor patio was wreathed in smoke-rings, tobacco and otherwise) at which to eat.

Then we headed out to wander the red-light district for an hour or two. It was slightly weird to walk down these narrow streets with window after window framing the silhouette of a prostitute in its red/pink/purple glow. Above is an example of what we saw. It was even weirder to see them at 3 pm the next afternoon, lights off, but prostitutes still standing in windows and doorways, always ready for customers. We also passed the Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum, and quite a few places with Sex Musuem or Porn Shop or Erotic Museum printed on the side...they get good mileage out of their reputation!
All of Europe seems to have these cute little trucks to sweep the street or pick up garbage from litter bins on the street, but Amsterdam has taken the prize so far for smallest trucks. Here stands Karen beside one of them.
This view is looking off one of the bridges into the canal our first night in Amsterdam. Our second day in Amsterdam was not as nice...it rained most of the day, so we were glad we had gone out the night before.
Here is a view of some of the houses along the canal in the red-light district. There was once (say, 500 years ago?) some kind of a tax on houses wider than 6 metres, so they built them all tall and narrow to avoid this tax.

On Wednesday (the rainy day), we spent time in the Joodisches Historisches Museum, showing some of the history of the Jews in Amsterdam from the 16th to the 20th century (housed in several Ashkenazi synagogues), and in the evening we got into the Anne Frank House. This latter museum was particularly interesting for Karen and I, having read her diary. We got to actually tour the warehouse and house (annex) where she lived during the war years. Apparently, she had planned to publish a book about her experiences after the war, and actually had several manuscripts going (her diary, her book manuscript, and several other novel ideas) at the same time. Very interesting.