A Quick Oxford Summary

15.7.13

So, I’m well aware I’m nearly three weeks behind.  I will get everything updated, it just may be while I’m back in the state!  (Or maybe I’ll write while on the plane).  That being said, I wanted to give everyone a quick update about what Oxford is like, so here goes the Oxford Summary:

Our first night here we had a formal dinner with multiple courses, two types of wine, and great company.  We sat in the “Hall” (think Great Hall like in Harry Potter) at rows of tables and there was a high table for the professors and important people. 

The professors walked in in their black robes and we all stood until they were seated.  It was pretty spectacular.  It didn’t take long for me to realize I would be eating nearly every meal in this wonderful hall, albeit without the professors and all the pomp.  Normal meals (breakfast and lunch) were buffet style and better than normal school meals—according to Joe, the summer school assistant.  Dinner is a two course, served meal (main and dessert).  It is wonderful!

The college is beautiful.  A nice quadrangle is in the entry way, with only fellows being allowed to walk on it.  Students are fined if they cross it and tourists are told to strictly stay off of it.  There is a beautiful chapel on campus (but of course, it’s Church of England) and the buildings range from old to 1980s.  The 1980s buildings try to match the time period.  However, there is a building from the 1960s/70s and, like everything from that time period, it is square and ugly. 

Courses are lovely.  I’m taking “The Changing Face of Britain” and “The European Union in Perspective.”  Changing Face is more of a sociology class, which is fascinating and looks at changing trends in family, political, and social aspects of the UK.  The EU course looks at, surprisingly, the European Union!  I have seminars 4 days a week (M/W and T/R) and we have our plenary lectures every day at 11:15.  Some lucky dogs only have class two days a week, but those are long days.

Underneath the hall is the undercroft.  This is the social center of the campus and code for bar.  Lulu is the head bartender and she is absolutely fabulous!  The smart people befriended her quick, and received lots of laughs and great stories.  After lunch and dinner there is fresh tea and coffee in the undercroft.  I thoroughly enjoy my tea with two sugars and milk.  I have consumed lots of it while being here and have become quite spoiled with it.  During the day there is a nice machine in the undercroft that you can make a cup of tea or coffee if it tickles your fancy.  It’s quite nice. 

I’ve been on many adventures throughout Oxford, but more on them to come later.  Overall, it’s been a wonderful experience. Currently, many people are working on finishing their essays.  We have to write a 2000-3000 (6-8 page) essay for each seminar.  I’ve finished one and I’m working on the second one.  It’s not due until Thursday, but my goal is to finish tomorrow so I can celebrate and continue to bond with all the wonderful people I have met while here.  If only I could churn out words as fast I do while blogging.  Oh well.

So, that’s a quick update.  I’m sorry I’ve fallen so far behind, but there is just soo little time in a day.  I will catch up.  You have my word!  Just know that Capri was beautiful, Rome brought me to tears, the trip up to Oxford was fairly painless, and I’m having a wonderful time here! 

Until time decides to slow down, I’m back to work!  So long readers and thanks for sticking with me!

Cheers!

Beauty beyond Words: Capri

25.6.13 Capri

After a long day of travel, we begrudgingly woke up.  Of course we were excited to explore Capri, but we were both exhausted from traveling.  To be honest, I was starting to look forward to getting to Oxford so I could have a little more down time to rest. 

We showered and started our day around 9.  We went out to our hostel lobby and asked the price of breakfast.  Originally it was 5 euros, but after a moment of hesitation (always hesitate with Italians when it comes to prices) our hosts offered a special rate of 3 euros a person.  Neither of us was willing to pay the full price, but the 3 euros sounded like a plan to us!  We enjoyed a light breakfast of salted meats and bread.  We both had cappuccinos (fresh made and the perfect drinking temperature the moment it was handed over.  I’m becoming quite spoiled with Italian coffee).  

We asked our hosts about a couple different things to do for the day.  We had a long list and only a limited amount of time.  They kept trying to get us to stay later the next day, but we had to travel, so we had one full day to pack most of it in.  I was sincerely interested in visiting the ruins of Tiberius’s villa (Villa Jovis), but our host didn’t seem overly enthused about them.  Being a fan of history, I was bound and determined to go—and luckily Ana conceded to my wishes. 

We had to catch the bus to Capri, so Ana and I headed to the main square in Anacapri.  We passed all the lovely little shops and lots of other tourists, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as being in Capri proper. After another eventful bus ride down the island (I sincerely missed German public transit) we made it to the bus shed in Capri and could begin our day.

We started out walking towards the ruins.  It was about an hour walk , but we got to walk through the streets of Capri and experience side alleys and such that most tourists probably never see.  As we hiked up the second tallest point on the island, I grew ever more breathless—mostly because of the amazing view, but some of it may be attributed to my less-than-par physical shape.  The beauty surrounding this little island was truly amazing.

After we made it to the top of the ridge, we were at the base of the ruins.  We were standing at a Villa that dated back to the time of Christ (I think it’s something like 30 AD when the Villa was lived in by Tiberius).

As we walked through the remains dating back to one of the greatest empires in the Western world, I was speechless.  I could not believe the amount of history on this little island.  I was so happy that we ignored the advice of our hosts and came.  Ana also enjoyed it, as she was fascinated by the Roman architecture and the mosaics that were left on the floor (she frequently goes all artsy on me).  Not only was the villa amazing to see, the view was amazing. I mean, a Roman emperor did live there, so it had to be spectacular. 

The sky was very clear and sunny, the water was a color of blue I cannot even begin to describe, and island looked gorgeous.  I’m not an author, I’m not a poet, but I was in awe of the beauty of our world.  Ana and I found an observation deck that we took some pictures from, but also just stood in silence for a while to soak up the beauty.  Additionally, the silence allowed us to let the group of British school girls to get ahead of us so we could more thoroughly enjoy the ruins.

After walking through the ruins, and fighting Ana’s dying battery pack (it’s a little special because it will go from full, to dead, to half charged in the space of about 5 minutes) we realized we had spent over an hour just soaking up the beauty, architecture, and sheer history of the ruins.  It was time to get on with our day.  As we headed out, we passed a small park by the ruins.  The kind older gentleman conned us into entering (it was free) and we were incredibly thankful he had.  We were able to experience the beauty of the park and overlook different crevices of the island. 

We didn’t stay too long, as we wanted to get on and take part in the arco naturale. This is an incredibly scenic walk that takes around 1 ½-2 hours to complete along the coast of the island.  It is lots of steps and hills, but we were told it was absolutely gorgeous.  As we were walking, we kept thinking we should stop and get some food, but couldn’t quite find anything that we wanted/was in the price range we wanted.  This was a mistake.  We told ourselves we would find something before we really got to the walk…which we didn’t.  Luckily I had a couple protein bars in the backpack we took turns carrying (well sort of.  I would carry it until my back was so utterly sweaty I couldn’t take it anymore and then I’d pass it off to Ana for a bit.  I felt bad making her carry it for long though, so I took it most of the time) and bottles of water (we were very conscience of hydration the entire trip)!

The walk was truly amazing.  Every twist and turn resulted in a new, breathtaking view.  You would think that after so many pictures of water, trees, cliffs, etc. that you would get tired of it all, but each new angle, brought something exciting and different:  a new color, a different shadow, a moment of awe that this was all real.  At one point we came across a cave that the nuns and friars that used to live on the island used to walk to and pray in.  You could see where there would have been an altar—and I’m sure that it was used even before the expansion of Christianity.

We got to a point where our knees were shaking from going up and down so many steps, but we kept going.  Ana and I made sure to take water breaks and stop to enjoy the beauty of the island when our knees seemed too wobbly. 

After lots of walking, we started to notice villas again:  we were close to the end.  There was a beach at the end of the walk, but it was full of people and we had plans on going to the beach that evening and grabbing dinner.  When we finally got back into Capri, we realized we were in the Capri.  What do I mean by this?  Well, it means we were walking past 4 and 5 star restaurants and hotels.  Ana and I stopped at one briefly to look at the menu because we were hungry without realizing what it was.  It didn’t take us long to figure out we were out of our element!  One entrée was more than what we spent combined on a meal! 

Ana’s next location—she was usually in charge unless I wanted to see something special—on the agenda was the Garden of Augustus.  These were apparently another hot spot on the island.  Every place we went we usually had to spend a euro or two, but it was definitely worth it.  The Gardens of Augustus overlooked the Via Krupp, which is this gorgeous walk down toward the beach.  We, however, did not participate in it, as it meant you had to walk down a big zig-zag that ended in a dead end and then turn around. Since we had just completed a 5 hour walk, it was deemed unnecessary.  I enjoyed the gardens, but, at this point, I think I was enjoying the fresh lemon ice I got before entering.  Ana went with the watermelon ice (they were basically slushies), but I thought I might as well have lemon, since Capri is kind of famous for their HUGE lemons. 

After the gardens, it was time to head back to Anacapri and rest a bit before we headed to the beach.  When we got back to the bus stop in Anacapri we stopped at the first snack bar we could find.  Ana got a sandwich and I got a “slice” of pizza.  By slice, I mean I got half of a pizza.  I didn't realize when I ordered it that it would be half of a pizza, but I was completely ok with it!  It was probably the cheapest meal we had in Italy—and one of the most refreshing! We had learned our lesson:  don’t skip food.

After our mid-afternoon lunch (it was around 4pm) we decided we needed to rest.  We headed back to the hostel to relax for a bit before we headed to the beach.  We both planned on napping, but ended up on Facebook and talking to people.  Ooops.  We still were able to rest by laying on our stone beds (I’m still slightly disappointed at their lack of comfort) and just chilling. 

We decided to get ready and head to the beach.  Now, I use the term beach loosely because Capri has rock beaches and pebble beaches, but it’s still surrounded by water, so it works!  We both put our swim suits on and prepared to go out.  Ana, of course, wore a dress over hers and I had a shirt on.  I’m slightly ashamed to say my swim trunks had Hawaiian flowers on them.  While I like them a lot, this was a dead giveaway that I was an American tourist.  Before coming out I seriously considered buying a new suit, but didn't figure I’d use it enough to matter, so I just had to deal with the ridicule.  I saw ridicule, but no one said anything and I really didn't even feel judged (LOL).  We also loaded up our bag with a change of clothes since we were going to head to dinner after the beach.

We jumped on the appropriate bus to the beach and road it to the end.  There was a beautiful lighthouse (of course) and a nice walking path.  It took Ana and I a bit to realize where the beach was, but we finally figured it out.  You see, there was a roped in swimming area because this was the side of the island that faced the open sea and not the coast, making the water rougher.  There was also a nice little bar, snack bar, and restaurant overlooking it all with plenty of sunbathing chairs.  Strangely, to me, there weren’t that many people there.  It was a little cool and the water was quite rough and chilly.  Ana and I found a lovely rock overlook and camped out for a bit. 

After a few pictures, I realized that I had made a crucial mistake:  I had brought my camera but left my memory card in my laptop!  I was beside myself with grief (ok, not really) and had to rely on Ana to take all the pictures of this beautiful scene. As heart breaking as it was, there were a few good memories to help me get over it.

For example, when Ana wanted to get her picture in the water at the base of our overlook rock.  Remember I said the water was a little rough?  Well, as I was preparing to take a picture, the water came crashing in and—you guessed it—hit Ana from behind!  Now, soaked would be an exaggeration, but she certainly did get plenty wet!  What was worse, she was wearing her dress and not her swim-suit cover up, so it was sufficiently damp!

After a couple more pictures (where I was extremely cautious and made sure I didn't get wet, despite Ana’s attempts to get me hit by water), we left our one platform and moved over to some small tide pools.  Here I acted very responsibly and climbed over very slick, mossy rocks to get as far out as I could.  Apart from a short period where I hit behind a large rock to avoid the waves crashing it, it all worked out wonderfully! 

Ana laid her dress out for a while in an attempt to dry it out.  This was relatively unsuccessful.  We did watch a beautiful sunset and just enjoyed the beauty of the beach and the tranquility of the scene surrounding us.  I honestly can say it was a sunset unlike any other I have ever seen; it was truly a sight to behold. 

Eventually, the sunset and it was time to find some dinner.  I was tired of being in my swim trunks, so I slipped behind a bush and changed.  Yeah, I grew up in the country, no big deal.  Ana and I walked to the bus stop, but we had just missed the bus and had to wait for the next one.  It was only a thirty minute wait, and after all the traveling we’d done, that was next to nothing. 

However, as I was waiting, the strangest thing happened:  the couple next to me had a very bizarre argument about Facebook.  Now, the argument in itself wasn't bizarre, as it was just her telling him to get off Facebook and enjoy the moment with her.  What I found strange was the way the conversation was spoken.  It started off with the couple speaking in Spanish.  However, they switched their conversation over to English when they entered the bus stop area.  (Side note:  When I say bus stop area, I just mean an open parking surrounded by natural island stuff.  There are very few “normal” bus stops in Capri.) To make the conversation even more interesting, the couple spoke in Indian accents when they were speaking English.  It was one of the most interesting conversations I had ever tried to ignore. 

Finally our bus arrived and Ana and I rode back into town.  We went back to the hostel so Ana could put on dry clothes and I changed shoes (I’d been in flip flops and a blister was developing, even after only a short amount of time).  It was dinner time!  As we rode the bus back, we had paid attention to the restaurants so we knew exactly where we wanted to go.  I don’t remember the name of the place, but it was right off the main drag in Anacapri.

However, Ana and I decided to take a different way than how we normally come back from the Bus stop because we thought we could save time.  Well, that was a mistake.  While we came across beautiful fountains and lovely people, we also went about 6 blocks out of our way.  It’s amazing how those little twisty street can quickly become very large distances.  Eventually we made it to the restaurant and had a wonderful dinner.  By this point, I had only had pasta in Italy, and was in need of some meat.  I ordered steak strips in a…ummm…I forget the name, but it was a good sauce.  I’ll think of it later! 

As per our usual meal tradition, we got espresso after dinner and had a bottle of wine with dinner.  It was a wonderful end to our stay in Anacapri.  We walked back and just soaked up the beautiful weather.  We passed our favorite gelato place:  CCC.  The problem is, I never could, for the life of me, remember the full name. Oh well.  It had been a wonderful stay in Capri.  Ana and I decided to scale Mount Solaro before we left Capri in the morning, so we needed to get to bed before the roosters crowed.

When we got back to our hostel we were a little nostalgic, despite only staying there for two nights.  It had been wonderful and we were going to miss our hosts and Capri.  However, we had a couple morning adventures in store and then a day’s travel to the city I had eagerly been waiting for:  Roma!

After some packing and straightening up, we finalized our travel plans for the next day, and called it a night.  As I drifted into dreamland, I couldn't help but be amazed at how much I had seen already.  Who would have thought this little Midwestern, rural boy would have ever been able to see and do so much in such an exotic place, half-way across the globe?  And to make it better, Roma was less than 24 hours away.  Ah, life was good.   

Capri, that's CAP-pree

24.6.13 

After a very soggy day in Füssen, Anna and I were finally leaving Germany and headed to Capri, Italy, off the Amalfi coast!  However, this was going to be a day of travel like never before.  We had to catch a 7:02 train with an arrival time at the Buchloe station in Germany at 8:17 followed by a transfer at 8:20 to the München HBF where we would take the S-train to the airport, board our flight to Napoli (Naples), get in a taxi, ride to the port, board a hydrofoil (a fast water taxi) to the Island of Capri.  From there we would have to take a bus up to Anacapri and then walk, and walk, and walk, with 80 lbs of luggage to our hostel.  An easy day, right?

When our 5:45 am alarms went off, neither Anna nor I saw this as a good thing.  While we were excited about getting to Capri, the traveling did not excite us.  Yes, I know, I’m in Europe, traveling to all these wonderful places, poor me!  Well, let me tell you, it’s exhausting when you have nearly 80 pounds of luggage to carry with you (and that’s before I get souvenirs, so ya’ll back home had better be appreciative!).

We had everything marked out.  Today was my time to shine, as I had the trains down to the exact time and everything we needed.  At one point, our train was running 4 minutes behind schedule, no big deal right?  Well, when you arrive at 8:17 normally and your transfer is at 8:20, those 4 minutes is very stressful.  German trains may run behind schedule after they start, but very, very seldom, in our travels, do they not leave on time.  I was a wreck the entire morning on the train.  I did what any nervous Catholic should do: I prayed.  I pulled up my Laudate Catholic App and searched my prayers, finally deciding on a general Intercessory prayer.  Somehow, our train that was running 4 minutes behind managed to arrive at the station only 1 minute late and we made our transfer.  As long as we could get to the airport before 10 am, I knew we would be ok!

The second train brought us back to München (and oh, how I love München) and we switched to the S-Bahn and road it all the way to the airport!  We arrived at the München flughafen (airport) and realized it was quite large.  Anna has this funny way of not believing me when I give directions, so we stopped to confirm that we were going the right way:  we were.  We made it to the Air Berlin counter and I experienced the longest line at an airport I have ever come across.  Granted, at the Louisville airport I don’t’ think I’ve ever seen a line, and the last time I flew I was in Junior High, so that’s not saying much, but still!  25 minutes in line and we made it to our counter.  Both Anna and I had been pretty close to the 50lb weight limit on our suitcase, and we were nervous our souvenirs might tip us over the edge—which luckily they didn’t!

Our flight boarded on time and then decided to taxi halfway to Napoli.  But for real, we literally taxied around the airport for 25 minutes.  I have no idea why.  So we were about 15 minutes behind schedule after that. Finally we took off and the flight was smooth for the most part.  As we approached Italy, the excitement grew.  Ana (AH-nah), as it’s said in Italian, is incredibly biased from studying there last year and absolutely adores Italia.  My first impression was not so great.  We get off the plane in Napoli and have to take a bus to the station, which isn’t a huge deal, but then it takes for-ever to get our luggage!  Ana was quite nervous about Napoli and didn’t want to have to mess with the public transit system.  I’m quite cheap, so she had to talk me into paying for a taxi—and I’m glad she did.  Mostly.  If you have never heard about Italian driving, let me summarize it for you:  IT’S REALLY SCARY!  Cars, mopeds, buses, people, objects, high speeds, close shaves, lots of horns, quick stops, sharp turns, Hail Mary’s and lots of other prayers are involved.  Pedestrians sometimes follow the pedestrian lights, if they are tourists.  Otherwise you just walk across the street whenever you please.  I am sure there are rules of the road, but I couldn’t figure out any.  Lane changes are sudden, but to their credit, every driver in Italy uses a turn signal—something Louisville drivers could look into. 

Apart from the cultural experience of the cab ride, the city, itself, is scary.  As Ana describes it, “It’s like a third world country.”  This is neither politically correct or socially considerate, but 100% accurate.  The city, or at least the parts we were in, was filthy.  Trash was everywhere, the buildings and sidewalks were grimy, and the overall atmosphere seemed rough and rude.  I am sure there are beautiful parts, and that it’s just rough around the edges, but it was quite scary around the port and train station.  Either way, Ana and I didn’t stay long.  We were headed to the gorgeous island of Capri! 

Finally our taxi dropped us off at the port and we figured out where to buy our hydrofoil tickets.  These were a little expensive for my tastes, but what can you do, Capri is an island and I certainly wasn’t going to be swimming to get there! 

After a 40 minute hydrofoil (it was quite sketchy) ride, where I napped on and off to avoid feeling sea sick and Ana nearly got sea sick, we were on the island.  I would tell you it was beautiful, but that is the understatement of the century.  I thought the island was gorgeous, but I would learn the next day, that it would only get better!

The view upon arrival 

Our hostel was actually in Anacapri (ana in Italian means up, so it was the upper part of the island), so Ana and I found the bus station and headed up the mountain.  Now, by this point I thought I was a public transit expert.  Again, I could not have been more wrong.  We boarded this short little orange bust that had 7 seats on it and was about the size of Cargo van, except thinner and longer.  I had been told that the buses in Capri you would feel like you would be herded about, but I didn’t realize how tight this would be.  Ana and I loaded our luggage, and were charged for an extra passenger each because they were so large (but it was only 1,80 euro, so it wasn’t terrible).

After cramming into what I thought was max capacity, the bus took off.  Remember, Capri is a small island.  I was expecting it to be small, and somewhat crowded, but I was in for quite the ride.  There were turns that were literally 180 degrees.  Remember that driving I previously told you about in Napoli?  Well, it was like that on Capri, except with far narrower roads.  When I say the roads were narrow, I mean, narrow.  Think about an average size ally in the US.  Keep it that size, add sidewalks, and put two cars in it.  That is the approximate size of the main roads in Capri.  Now, think about a sidewalk, there you have your side streets, where cars still go—and mopeds. Lots of mopeds.

So, with that description in mind, imagine driving up a windy road, where you would feel uncomfortable about being alone on the road because of how narrow it is.  Now put two buses, taxis, about 50,000 mopeds, and pedestrians on it, and you have Capri’s main bus routes.  There were points where the driver would stop suddenly and back up so another vehicle could get through. Additionally, honking in Italy is not like honking in the US. There are different types of honks.  There are friendly honks at people you are on the road with and then you have warning honks around sharp corners.  Additionally, you have your random honks that are reminder honks that there is an orange bus barreling through full of people at speeds you are surprised are possible in such a machine.  The final honk is the angry honk, and it is seldom heard, but when it is, it is usually accompanied with an annoyed yell or an expressive lifting of the hands (which is frightening, as they should be on the wheel).

So, one new bus experience later, Ana and I arrive at the bus stop “closest” to our hostel.  The reviews of the place we decided to stay at were great, except for one thing:  It is incredibly hard to find.  By this point, however, Ana and I are pro navigators and can take on anything (especially when we quickly consult her mobile data plan).  Now, it take us a little while, but we found our hostel, nestled in the heart of Anacapri.

Anacapri, as mentioned, is higher up on the island.  Capri is the island and the lower part with all the ritzy resorts, million-and-billion-airs, yachts, etc.  Anacapri is the more “native” part of the island.  While still touristy, there are more natives and you can experience more of the culture and less tourism. 

So, Ana and I arrive at the hostel, check in, and drop our bags off.  The hostel operators were incredibly nice and helpful.  They let us drop our bags off, get settled in, and then had us come back to the desk and showed us on a map everywhere we should go.  It is great to have other people plan things for you.  While they gave us a lot of good advice, we did deviate a little bit, but that’s for tomorrow!

After receiving some great instructions, Ana and I needed some food.  We had traveled for 12 straight hours with only a light snack on the plane, and were in desperate need of food.  Our hostel operator highly recommended Mamma Giovanni’s—I think they have a “special connection”—so we headed there.  They have a shuttle service, but Ana decided we could walk and experience the island.  So, off we went.  It was only about a mile from our hostel, or 1.5 miles after all the wrong turns we took, but it was worth the walk.  We got to experience the true beauty of the island and side streets most tourists probably never get to.  It was tiring, but when we got to the restaurant, it was well worth it!  I had ravioli and Ana had pasta with clams.  We split a half portion of the house white wine, and it was wonderful.  It was truly an Italian evening!

Part of the garden outside our restaurant.

View of sunset during dinner

I want to be very clear:  Ana really likes seafood.  And those were some of the freshest clams Ana has ever had. Ever.  In her life.  Totally fresh.  Absolutely amazing.  So amazing, that she is still talking about them, two days later! 

After a successful walk back, where we navigated back to the hostel perfectly, we decided we needed to plan a bit, blog, facebook, and do all sorts of other things.  Of course, who wanted to be stuck in a room of their hostel when they had a beautiful rooftop patio they could sit on?

So, of course, up to the patio we headed!  It was absolutely amazing, sitting up on the roof, listening to the wind blow in from the ocean, smelling the flowers and salt, and enjoying a truly, peaceful, night.  After a long day of traveling and lots of island walking, it was a much needed calm night.

Finally, the wind started to become a little chilly and my eyelids began to anchor down.  Ana and I both headed back in and decided it was time to call it a night.  The biggest down side to our hostel came next:  the beds.  They were like sleeping on boards.  However, it was a hostel, so we weren't complaining too much, especially since we had our own bathroom! 

We set our alarms and finally drifted off into dreamland after an exhausting, but wonderful day.  We knew we were in store for a gorgeous island the next day, and we needed to be well rested for all the hiking we would do!

The hills are alive, with the sound of Füssen

23.6.13 

After a later than planned night, Anna and I got up to start our day of travel to Füssen.  We were very excited to be heading into the heart of Bavaria and the Bavarian Alps. When we started planning our trip to Europe, I was researching things to do in Germany, and Neuschwenstein castle popped up.  Nearly every American has seen this castle, or one similar to it, without even realizing it. Walt Disney fell so in love with this castle, he modeled the Disney Castle after it.  It actually belonged to the Bavarian king, King Ludwig II until the time of his death, but more on that later.

After waking up and mobilizing, Anna and I headed to the train station.  We were a little confused at first what platform we needed to be on for our train.  We knew the train number and time, but couldn’t seem to find the platform number.  After wandering around, consulting Anna’s limited supply of Mobile Data (which has saved our behinds many times), and finally just figuring it out, we were on our train to Füssen.  Anna and I needed to study, so we both started reading for our classes; however, we weren’t feeling too rushed, we still had a week!

The train ride was very quaint and lovely.  The scenery was beautiful and I couldn’t help but just fall in love with the German country side.  The train was a Regional Bound (or maybe Express) so it was slower than the ICE (Inter City Express) trains we had been traveling on.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed my ride and was able to read a chapter.  Apart from getting yelled at (really just scolded) in German by the ticket lady—I can’t think of what you call them at this moment—the ride was wonderful.

As Anna and I approached Füssen, the view was gorgeous. You could see the castle nestled in the hills in the distance and we were incredibly excited to finally arrive in this quaint town, home to King Ludwig II.  The sky was grey, but it only added to the mystery of the mountains and the atmosphere. 

Around 14:00 (2pm) the train arrived at the station.  Since the both of us had been traveling all day and hadn’t eaten, we were determined to get to our hostel and then run out to lunch before exploring the castle.  The castle’s website said it closed at 18:00 (6pm) so we wanted to be sure to get there in time.  Apparently you can only go on guided or audio tours, so we needed to be sure to arrive in time.

After a little confusion on how to get to the hostel from the bahnhof (station), we were able to successfully navigate to the Old King Ludwig Design Hotel.  As we approached our quaint, yellow hostel, our cheer dissipated: it was closed.  Apparently from 12:00-16:00 the reception desk is not open.  It was not like this at our previous hostel.  Anna and I, hungry and travel weary, walked back to the city square, dragging and carrying all 80 pounds of luggage (apiece) to lunch.  We found a sidewalk café that seemed to fit into our price range and ordered lunch.

Remember, meals in Europe are a much longer ordeal than in the US, so that was good for us.  We ordered something German, but not too German.  Anna and I both were too afraid to ever try the white sausages, despite their fame in the region.  After about an hour and 20 minutes, we had eaten all we could, were exhausted and just tired of sitting in the same place.  We got up and wandered back to our hostel.  There was a nice little bench we sat on until 4pm came and Simone opened the reception desk.  She seemed very nice and showed us to our room (The London room).  It was all decked out with Union Jack patterns and pictures of the queen.  The beds were comfortable and there was room for a suit case, so we were satisfied.  Our roof window was open a crack and Anna opened it a little more, just to let some fresh air in. 

It was finally time to get to Neuschwanstein.  It had started sprinkling a little bit, but we weren’t afraid of a little water, and Anna didn’t want to carry her umbrella, so we headed out to the castle without any raingear. 

By the time we made it back to the station, we were already starting to regret this decision.  After some confusion on how to get to the castle, we found which buses would take us up to the little village surrounding Neuschwanstein and the other castle that was Ludwig’s childhood home. 

King Ludwig II's Childhood home (as seen from Neuschwanstein)

After a short ride up the mountain, we were in the region where the castle was, but not to the castle.  We still had to buy tickets and get up to the actual castle.  I stopped by an information window, fully aware that they did not sell tickets and asked directions on where to go.  I received an answer in German.  The lady at the information desk did not speak English.  This was the first time Anna and I had really encountered such a language barrier.  After some pointing and waving and the lady giving us a sheet of paper, I decided I’d try something else, and started walking.  It wasn't long before one of us noticed a sign to the ticket office—and by this point it was close to 5:30.  Anna and I were really regretting not bringing an umbrella, as the rain was not letting up.  In fact, it was coming down mercilessly.  We stopped and paid too much for a poncho—really just a plastic bag with holes—and finally made it to the ticket counter, where I proudly purchased out tickets to the castle…And found out it is a 40 minute to an hour walk up the hill and the bus stops running at 5 and the horse drawn carriage would be quitting soon.

We were lucky enough to catch the last carriage, with a cranky, reluctant driver, and headed up the hill.  By this point, it’s cold, wet and disgusting outside, but Anna kept reminding me that I was having the time of my life and of how much fun I was having.  (Side note:  Anna can be a little bossy at times).  

Finally, we get to the top of the hill and the less-than-cordial carriage driver drops us off near the base of Neuschwanstein.  We had made it in time for our 6:15 tour and even had some time to spare.  Anna and I found the observation decks at the base of the castle and started snapping awesome pictures of the clouds and gorgeous Bavarian town below.  We walked up to the castle courtyard—as we had to be there promptly at 6:15 or we would not make the tour—and took some pictures outside of my new residence.  I decided that I kind of liked the view, and the castle, and would invest some of my own money into finishing it and calling it home.  Then Anna slapped me back into reality.

Our tour began and we got to go inside.  I was beyond excited by this point:  we were going to be dry for a while! 

The castle was absolutely gorgeous!  The tour was around 30 minutes, as there were only 13 completed rooms when Ludwig died.  After his death, his uncle took control of the government and no one has lived in the castle since Ludwig II died.  It was turned over to the Bavarian government, but the family (I suppose they are what’s left of the Royal Family of Bavaria) gets a percentage of all the ticket sales of the tours—and something like 1.5 million or more tourists go through each year.  I’d say they have a pretty nice retirement going on there!

After the tour, Anna wanted to go see this bridge that was off in the distance between a ravine by the castle. Being a jovial fellow, I conceded and we started walking—still in the rain.  I will say, the view was gorgeous and I got my exercise in!  However, I seem to get a lot of exercise in everywhere we go. After quite a few pictures, we decided to head back to the hostel.  

Just admiring my future home

Now, by this point Anna was tired of wearing her plastic bag and decided that we should probably just toss them.  They were obnoxious and how much wetter could we get, really?  At this point, I agreed with her—again.  You would think that since she steered me wrong once with the rain, I would have responded differently the second time.  But I didn't.

So, like idiots, we threw away our ponchos, because, I mean, really?  How much wetter could we get?  The answer:  A lot.

Mind you, the walk is about a 40 minute walk.  By  the time we were finished seeing the bridge and everything else, there was no one around.  We had to walk down the hill back to the town at the base of the castle.  And walked we did.  In the rain.  With no poncho. And it was cold.  Very cold.  Another thing the poncho was doing that we didn't realize, for whatever reason, was keeping us warm.  Without it’s extra protective layer, our body heat was being sapped by the cold rain.  We literally were soaked to the bone. 

Finally, we made it back down to town, only to realize that the bus back to Füssen was no longer running.  After waiting for the bus to come, and then seeing everyone taking taxis, we were able to grab a taxi and head back to Füssen.  Now, you would think, in a region populated with tourists, most of which speak some English, that a taxi driver would have a basic understanding of English.  Ours didn’t.  We tried to tell him where our hostel was and tried to say the street name, show it to him on a piece of paper, but to no avail.  We finally just had him drop us off at the train station and we walked back to our hostel.

By this point, Anna and I were so ready to take the longest, hottest shower—separate of course!—possible.  We get back to our hostel and say hello to Simone at the front desk before going upstairs.  We decided to pay the 1 euro for towels instead of using the ones we brought with us.  I have been 100% successful in not having to carry around a wet towel this entire trip! 

Anna and I were talking about how nice it would be to take a warm shower, grab dinner, and then just relax.  This day had been miserable and we were ready for an enjoyable evening.

And then we walked into our room.  Remember how I said we had a window in our roof?  Now, also remember that it was raining.  Normally this would not be an issue, but it had rained so much while we were gone that the rain had pooled on the window and pushed the window in a reverse slop opposite of that of the house.  This reverse slope kept the pooled water in it until it was completely full and started overflowing, directly into our room.  That’s right; Anna’s bed was completely soaked.  Our floor was a puddle and our suitcases and backpacks had absorbed a large amount of water.  It’s not traveling if things don’t go wrong! 

Anna used the towels we had just purchased for showering to sop up some of the water.  I went downstairs to tell Simone about our damp situation.  Luckily, she was very understanding and assured me that this had happened in the past under such conditions.  Silly us leaving the window open.  Simone brought up lots of towels, got Anna new bedding, and did all she could to make things better.  Finally, our room was as dry as it was going to get and it was time for a hot shower.

After showering, Anna and I were in desperate need of food.  We had been traveling for too long, walking in the rain, and were weary.  Simone suggested we go to a little Italian pizza restaurant just down the street.  Anna and I were both in need of something other than heavy German food, and this sounded wonderful.  Yes, I know, we were going to be in Italy the very next day, but we didn’t mind! 

The restaurant was wonderful, the people were cordial, and the food was revitalizing!  Anna and I both got cokes:  because sometimes you just need carbonation.  This is unusual, because in most of Europe, cokes and waters are more expensive than alcohol.  Water is never free and there is no such thing as ice.  

Dinner was wonderful and just the change of pace we needed.  Since it was nearing 11, we decided it was time to head back to the hostel, as we had to get up around 5:45 to begin a long day of traveling to Italy! 

We both made use of the free, and strong, Wi-Fi at the hostel before we went to bed.  Anna skyped her family and I called Jena and facebooked while working on a blog post.  These things are harder to keep up with than you might think! 

Finally, it was later than we imagined—the days go by so quickly—and the morning was going to come too early.  We packed our bags to the best of our abilities—as we were both drying out lots of wet clothes—and called it a night.

While Füssen was wet, it was quite beautiful.  I learned not to trust Anna when it came to decisions regarding weather and I found the model for my future home (if only)!  Both Anna and  I longed for more time in Füssen, but Capri was calling, and we couldn’t say no to Italy!  

Hofbräuhaus: The German Way

22.6.13:  Relaxing after a heavy day

After a deep and insightful tour of Dachau, Anna and I decided that we needed to experience the lighter side of Germany and visit the historic Hofbräuhaus.  This is an old brewery and restaurant that was founded in the 1500s.  The current building is the second version, as the old one had to be rebuilt in the late 1800s.  This historic landmark is the epitome of Germany:  Beer, food, lederhosen, beer gardens, Bavarian musicians and a fantastic atmosphere. 

Anna and I both ordered pork with a shredded potato dumpling.  I wasn’t sure that I liked the potato dumpling, but the longer I nibbled on it, the more I seemed to like it.  Now, I would be lying if I said I didn’t drink anything.  Anna and I both got a Hofbräuhaus Original (but not the dark lager)!  That’s right; we both finished off a liter of beer in an awesome HB glass mug.  I wanted to buy an HB stein, but they were way out of my price range, so I was happy to settle for a glass mug for 9,90 euros.  It was just like the one we had used to drink out of, so it was worth it. After all, when in Germany, do as the Germans do!

After a great dinner and some wonderful conversation, Anna and I headed back to the hostel to drop off our new souvenirs (note that it’s plural and I only bought one thing for me…Someone is getting a present, but whom?).  After hanging out in the hostel for a little while, we decided to go out and experience some of München’s night life.  After walking around the city for a few minutes, we stopped in and had a couple drinks at a bar that looked to be pretty popular.  Anna and I ended up having a wonderful political conversation.  I’m pretty sure the morale of the story came down to this:  Liberals and Conservatives can definitely get along; they just need to go out and have a beer together! 

We were pretty tired after a long day, and had to get up to travel to Füssen in the morning, so we needed to get to bed early—which didn’t really happen, but early than the rest of München. (Side Note: Remember I said München goes to bed at 5:30 and gets up at 6—or something similar?  Well, I awoke at 4:30 to the sounds of people still drinking outside of our hostel and by 5am heard the street cleaner going.  It was a night) We headed back to our hostel and called it a night.  While I was sad to say goodbye to München, I was quite excited to go to Füssen, home of Nueschwenstein—the Castle of King Ludwig II, and the model for Walt Disney’s castle!  Anna and I both knew this was going to be quite the adventure! 

Remember the Dead; Warn the Living

22.6.13 A day of reflection

So, today was quite the adventure.  Anna and I had every intention of getting up early and heading to Dachau, but then the rain came.  After sleeping very little—our hostel is apparently next to a night club that opens only on Friday nights—we woke up and it was pouring.  Anna and I both were incredibly disgruntled from barely sleeping (München seems to shut down around 5:00am and then open again around 5:30am), and the rain did not help our moods.  Anna suggested we take the later tour time for Dachau, and I agreed.  She quickly fell back asleep and in bed, but could not sleep.

Finally I got up, showered, and went across the street to Starbucks. I had a wonderful conversation with the baristas about what to do in the rain in München—there apparently isn’t anything—and just about the general area.  They were very nice, or as nice as German customer service individuals can be. 

(Side note:  The Germans are not like the Americans.  They do not focus on customer service and are not “overly friendly” like most US waiters are told to be, etc.  It’s more about taking your time and if you want something, you flag them down. It’s interesting).

Anyhow, I went back to the hostel and Anna finally woke up.  We decided that rain or shine we were going to Dachau—and I was ever so grateful Anna was up for it!  A short train ride followed by a shorter bus ride and we were at the gates of the camp that was the model for all future Concentration camps in the German region.  Dachau was the camp where Hitler’s SS were trained and taught how to psychologically and physically torture camp prisoners.  It was the camp where the level-headed, persistent German soldiers were taught that Jews and other camp prisoners were not human, but sub-human and thus, worthy of the treatment they received.

Anna and I paid the 3 euros for a 2 ½ hour guided tour and it was incredible. Our tour guide, Keith (from Ireland), was incredibly knowledgeable and insightful.  Apart from one jab at the Tea Party being radical extremists as a comparison to Nazis, I really enjoyed him.

I have a deep appreciation of WWII and of Germany’s involvement as a whole. When I found out I was going to be able to study abroad this summer, I told Anna we had, simply had to go to a concentration camp.  I wanted to go to Auschwitz, but we were unable to travel to Poland, as we were limited on time.  Dachau was a wonderful 2^nd choice though.

Tangent’s aside, the tour was awe-inspiring.  We walked through the original gate house—with recreated door that never can be locked—and through the gate with the notorious slogan often associated with Auschwitz:  Arbeit Macht Frei (Work sets you free).  The Dachau Commandant had this placed over the camp entrance to mentally torture the prisoners.  It was later placed over the entrance of Auschwitz because the Commandant was trained at Dachau, as so many others were and wanted to use the same torture at other camps.

I cannot express to you the emotion and awe that flowed from Dachau.  (Side Note: Dachau and all other camp sites are memorial sites; the last concentration camp ceased to exist in May of 1945, upon liberation.) The tour was incredibly historical and informative.  Our tour guide did not try to make it dramatic or emotional, but kept it very historical and relevant. I consider myself well educated on WWII, and the events leading up the Holocaust, but I learned so much from our tour guide.  While Dachau was the training camp of the SS, the camp itself was originally for German political prisoners and was never an extermination camp.  Those that died at Dachau were killed by the guards or by illness, not by the gas chambers.  Oddly enough, Dachau’s gas chambers never went into operation. 

I could write a novella about my experience at Dachau, it truly was heartbreaking and amazing to be there.  The final thing we saw on the tour was a statue, made by a Jewish artist that survived the camp.  The inscription below the statue was a perfect summary of what happened during this horrific period: Remember the Dead; Warn the Living.  As the tour guide translated this, a chill ran through my body.  This memorial wasn’t just about all those that had died, it was about the future.  The Germans were never a terrible group of people simply waiting to act out evil deeds; and you never know when a fringe leader may rise again and begin doing something similar.

Dachau left me speechless and with a new understanding of this historic event that happened less than 100 years ago.  While their numbers are dwindling, there are still survivors of these camps.  There soldiers on both the Axis and Allied sides that controlled and liberated these camps and still remember those days.  This is not ancient history, but I think we often forget how recent this event was.   As I walked out of the gates of Dachau, with the latch that can never be locked, symbolizing the true liberation of the people that were once held there, I couldn’t help but be in awe of everything I just experienced.

Dachau is more than a memorial site.  It is history; it is a living story and has become a sign of perseverance for all those who made it out alive, a place of mourning to the families’ who lost loved ones, and a lesson for all of us to learn from.  As the memorial statue reminds us: Remember the Dead; Warn the Living. 

Meandering around München

21.6.13—München

After a delayed train, Anna and I made it to München around 12:30pm.  We quickly found our way to our hostel.  It is located directly across from München’s main train station, which is a huge plus! No one wants to carry luggage around a city! 

We wandered across the street, well, under actually, and made it to our hostel.  It’s a small thing, with basic amenities, but it works for Anna and me.  There was some confusion between booking the room online through hostelworlds and the actual booking, but we were able to straighten it out.  It’s located right by the old city center, which is wonderful for us! 

After getting settled in, we decided to grab a quick lunch.  There are lots of street café’s, and there is one that operates right outside of our hostel, so we stopped in for a bite.  I wasn’t feeling very hungry and neither was Anna.  I settled on potato soup and she had a salad.  I enjoyed my soup, but Anna’s salad had a little too much corn on it.  It looked like someone had poured a can of corn on her salad.  I thought it was odd and Anna ended up not eating it all—for shame!

After lunch we ran up to the room to use the wifi, let everyone know we made it, etc.  Wifi is 2 euro’s a day, which isn’t terribly expensive for a hostel.  After a few quick posts, it was time to go exploring.  We didn’t have much of an itinerary today.  Some people may say we’re crazy for not having everything planned out, but we enjoy it.  We walked around the city for something like 4 hours.  Anna wanted to go to Alte Pinakothek—an art museum.  Since we are going to tour Dachau tomorrow, I figured it would be a nice trade off.  We figured out where our hostel was and quickly decided that I would be the keeper of the map.  We headed off through the old city center to the museum. 

Upon arrival at the museum, we entered, ready to pay.  We approached the cashiers and both wen to different people.  Anna got a middle-aged gentleman and I had a very pleasant grandmotherly woman.  When they asked for our student IDs, we both presented ours.  Somehow I received the student rate of 5 Euros while Anna was charged full admittance of 7,50 Euros. I found this slightly humorous.   After nearly two hours in the museum—where I found found art museums are far more enjoyable when you get the audio—we decided to head out.

The next two hours was simply us strolling through the city center, trying to find the Hofbräuhaus, we decided to call it an evening.  While we saw lots of beautiful churches, the old royal residents, a really fascinating building (now my blog’s picture) in a platz (plaza, I think), we were unable to find the Hofbräuhaus.  Much to our dismay, when we made it back to our room after dinner, we realized we had missed it by one street—a street we nearly turned on, but instead we decided to stick our course.  So, tomorrow after Dachau, we will head to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner.

For dinner we ate at the Anna Hotel café.  I’m not really sure what I had, but it wasn’t bad.  It had bread, roast beef, some sauce, lettuce and pickled onions (I picked those off).  Anna and I decided to split an apple streusel for dessert, and it was delicious!  We both also had Pilsner’s with our dinner. Despite the second try at a beer today (I had a Beck’s for lunch) I still don’t enjoy the taste of beer much.  I suppose I’ll keep trying since we are in the beer capitol of the world or something like that. 

After we wrapped up dinner, we came back to the hostel (just 3 doors down) and settled in for the evening.  Anna decided she needed a nap, and I played on facebook, looked up the nasal spray the apotheke (pharmacy) gave me, and started planning out the fine details of our trip tomorrow.  Anna decided to finally wake up, but couldn’t quite pull herself out of bed.  She’s currently reading (after playing Candy Crush until she ran out of lives on her iPhone) and I’m wrapping up my blog for the day.  I suppose I should get some studies in before I call it a night.

Tomorrow we are headed to Dachau to tour the first concentration camp of the Third Reich.  This is the camp that was the model for all future camps and home of the SS training grounds.  While I had hoped we could make it to Auschwitz’s I am prepared to be sobered and awed by the camp that laid the foundation for Auschwitz.

Until tomorrow, Gute Nacht!