Reflections on my European Vacation

This is my last day here. We're leaving tomorrow at 5am. It seems like it all went so fast, but I am excited to get home. I figured I would use my last post to reflect on some of my observations on this trip.

1) Europe is a very beautiful place. The buildings are old and beautiful. The countryside is green and beautiful. The plainest buildings here and still more beautiful than the most elaborate buildings in the U.S. 

2) America is seriously lacking in terms of public transportation. You can take the train anywhere here, and for very reasonable prices.

3) The train is not the most comfortable place to sleep.

4) Most younger Europeans speak some English. This 

is not because it has been forced on them by traveling A

mericans (as some Americans told me). It is 

because a person in Austria does not want to learn Czech, French, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, Italian, etc. English has become the "common" language, for whatever reason, for the ease of communication amongst those in the European community.

5) A clean and stocked bathroom is an amenity I will no longer take for granted. 

6) A McDonalds hamburger tastes the same in Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, and 

d America. In CZ, there are shrimp burgers and beer. In Italy, the cashiers are mean. In Austria, they serve Tiramisu as well as a McGreece, McItaly, and a McFrance burger (to cel

ebrate the upcoming soccer tournament being held there this year). And it is true that the Quarter Pounder is called the Burger Royal, because they don't use pounds. 

7) I cannot drink and travel. 

8) Good Ital

ian food is good. Very very good. 

9) Absinthe will not make you hallucinate. Or inspire you to create great works of ar

t. It will make you throw up.

10) Traveling should be an experience that you learn from. You should try to learn about other cultures from the people you meet while you travel. You should try to adjust to their customs while in their country, be polite, and mind your manners. Have fun. Do not be embarrassed that you do not know everything about the customs. Do not be embarrassed that you cannot pronounce some words. Do not be embarrassed that you are American. Do not feel superior that you are American. You do not have to see every historical point of reference on your tourist's map. Relax, and enjoy yourself. Because soon enough it will all be over and you will have to return home and pay bills and catch up on business and go back to work.

I will see everyone soon. 

Pics from Vienna

Vienna Calling, woh-oh

Weve been in Vienna the last couple of days, home of Freud, Mozart, Falco, and Red Bull. Vienna is very nice, and very big. Its funny, because Vienna is "Wein" in German, so you see signs that say "Weiner this" and "Weiner that" all over.  It makes me giggle. 

Last night we went to the Emperors Palace, and then to drinks at "The American Bar". We had a traditional Viennese dinner at a nice hotel restaurant. We finished up at an Italian restaurant where Johannes kept trying to convince me that I would like Grappa if I had the "right one". Apparently we never found that one.

Today we went around Vienna, seeing the sights. We hit a couple museums, saw some Klimt and Schiele. For dinner we went to a cool Mexican restaurant. It was pretty good, if not quite authentic. There was a DJ there playing GREAT music. I now have a long list of obscure artists that I need to find back in the States. Now its off to bed. We have to get up early oclock to catch our train back to the CZ. I apologize for the boring post, but I am exhausted. 

Some of you may have noticed that some of my posts are void of apostrophes. I cant find the freaking things on the European keyboard! Aaaaaarrrgghhhh!!

Rics of Florence

Back in the CZ

Well, we're back in Chotoviny now. Me & Jillian had a very grueling trip back from Italy. Our train left Florence at 10pm and was to arrive in Vienna at 9am. The train was full, and hot as hell. I got about 20 minutes of sleep. The train was late getting into Vienna, so we had to run to our connecting train to Prague. Again, no sleep on this train. And again, this rain was late. We had very little time to navigate through the Metro system to get to a different train station in Prague to catch the train to Tabor. We made it, but barely. The train to Tabor was old and rickety. But we could lean out the windows and breath in the Czech countryside. So, all in all it was 20 hours of traveling on 20 minutes of sleep. When we got home, some friends from Austria made us Wiener Schnitzel, and then I went to bed and slept for about 10 hours.

Last night, me & jillian decided to make a Mexican dinner. This in no easy feat in the CZ. There is not a large Mexican food section in the grocery stores here. We made makeshift enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans, salsa, and guacamole. I have to say, it was awesome. I was very proud of us. So, a couple American girls made a couple Austrians some Mexican food in the Czech Republic. Typical.

Today we are taking it easy. Six people are coming over from the states with the media company that is putting together the media package for Zamek, so we will have a full house!

Florence - The Final Chapter

Today is our last day in Florence. We take the train tonight at 10pm back to Chotoviny. It is a beautiful day; the sun is shining and it is getting warm. The last couple days have been kinda rainy, so it is a nice break.

We went out last night and had some more delicious Italian food. We then found a bar to have some tequila at. One of the men working then kept trying to convince us that when he gets off in 20 minutes, we should drive with him & his friend to another bar. Being the well-traveled girls that we are now, we decided it was maybe not such a good idea. We stayed for a little longer, mostly because our bartenders were very sweet and very easy on the eyes. We wandered back to the hotel about midnight, and surprised the very cute young man that was working at the hotel. FYI - the men in Italy are beautiful.

Today we got up and had some breakfast. We went to go get money to pay for our hotel, but one ATM was broken and another said we had no credit or our card was not approved for international transactions. How frustrating!

Now we are going to go see more sights before we have to leave. We are going to go to the Galleria dell Accademia (where the statue of Michelangelos David is), then the Santa Maria Novella, then finish up at the Uffizi.

Florence - Day 2

Today we got up relatively early and started with a nice breakfast at our hotel. From there, we went to the Piazza della Signoria. There is a gallery of magnificent statues there. We then wandered across the Ponte Vecchio and got some "real" pizza. It was good. Real good. We walked up to Piazalle Michelangelo, from where you can see all of Florence. We then took a looooong walk to the Giardino di Boboli (a park-like area). Now we are heading home to rest and clean up before heading out for dinner.

It has been a busy day, but Florence is beautiful, and the people are very kind. I took about 200 pictures, so once we get back to Chotoviny, I will post some. Ciao!