The birthplace to out beloved governor, The Sound of Music, and the highest bad street performer per capita in Europe*, Austria has it all. The spread out city has an incredible historic building at every turn, which I regret not taking a tour since I don't know what any of them are, but they were easy on the eyes. Museums are a dime a dozen as Vienna was the musical capital of the world back in the day.
There was also a two month long free outdoor film festival in front of this amazing catholic church** which was free and had amazing food and beer vendors everywhere. Not a bad way to spend a Monday night.
Highlight of Vienna: biergartens + outdoor film fest + late night cheese filled bratwurst = awesome. Also watched several episodes of How I Met Your Mother until the early hour of the morning, an added plus.
*source: CIA Factbook 2009
**the supposed catholic church could have been a Souplantation
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Czech Me Out
Walking around in Prague was like being in a touristy version of one of the Bourne Identity films. They really should make a Bourne Identity tour, i think its a million kruno idea. Throw in some reenactments of the fighting scenes, I think this idea might have legs.
All of the narrow cobblestone streets, beautiful riverside waterfront sidewalks and Old Town Squares littered with churches, statutes and castles really made Prague the epitome of what a capital in Europe is supposed to encompass.
The one (quite substantial) element missing from Prague was Czech culture and the people. My guidebook says that during the summer months, the tourist to local ratio is approximately 9:1, and I would venture a guess that it might be even higher. The Czech food felt more German or Hungarian instead of anything uniquely local, but I guess that is the way it is when you're a small country sandwiches by two much bigger ones. I will have to say that the beer was great an fairly cheap to boot. It was odd to drink a Budweiser (non-US version) and actually savor the flavor.
Highlight of Prague: Drinking cheap good beer along the Danube river enjoying the scenery
Low point of Prague: Paying 92 krunos ($5 US) to try fried shrimp at a McDonald's then going to the National Museum of the Czech Republic - easily the worst museum I've been to. Ten rooms dedicated to rocks from other countries, most from the US.
All of the narrow cobblestone streets, beautiful riverside waterfront sidewalks and Old Town Squares littered with churches, statutes and castles really made Prague the epitome of what a capital in Europe is supposed to encompass.
The one (quite substantial) element missing from Prague was Czech culture and the people. My guidebook says that during the summer months, the tourist to local ratio is approximately 9:1, and I would venture a guess that it might be even higher. The Czech food felt more German or Hungarian instead of anything uniquely local, but I guess that is the way it is when you're a small country sandwiches by two much bigger ones. I will have to say that the beer was great an fairly cheap to boot. It was odd to drink a Budweiser (non-US version) and actually savor the flavor.
Highlight of Prague: Drinking cheap good beer along the Danube river enjoying the scenery
Low point of Prague: Paying 92 krunos ($5 US) to try fried shrimp at a McDonald's then going to the National Museum of the Czech Republic - easily the worst museum I've been to. Ten rooms dedicated to rocks from other countries, most from the US.
Friday, July 24, 2009
It's all Greek to Me
Greece is Pretty damn close to hevan in my opinion. The beaches, the food (especially pita gyros) and the people make Greece probably my favorite (but also by far the most expensive) I've been on the trip so far.
The trip unfortunately started off with a 14 hour travel day to get from Bodrum, Turkey to Chania, Greece on the island of Crete, a 238 mile trip that took a ferry, an 18 minute flight, another flight and finally a 3 hour bus ride. 280 euros later we arrived at our hotel and it was all worth it. Chania (dpesnt sound like its spelled - Cott is tires of me butchering the name) is a laid back beach town with dozens of great day trips emanating from it's tiny bus station. We hiked the Samira Gorge hike, an 18 km (10.8 American miles) which was an amazing array of steep cliffs, river crossings, and a black sand beach to top it all off.
The next day we took a ferry from Kissinos to Gramvousa Castle which had some amazing views of the Cretian Sea. We then went to Balos Lagoon where shallow crystal clear waters and pink sand beaches dominate the landscape.
Santorini:
This island was truly amazing with the most picturesque towns and incredible sunsets (which we missed by 5 minutes) on top of Oia, the quinessential beautiful blue domed Greek village which postcards try to encapulate. We then went to a "pub" called Murphys which was more of a spring break nightmare with bad music and worse prices. We made the best of it and I was able to showcase my three dance moves, including a new one I borrowed from a law student we met in Istanbul called the Peacock, to the horror of other European travellers.
Athens:
Cory and I did a whirlwind tour of Athens in 5 and a half hours. In this time, we checked out the Acropolis, the New Acropolis Museum, and the Archiology Museum. We also saw Greek prostitutes and smut magazines as they both peppered the streets next to our hotel.
The trip unfortunately started off with a 14 hour travel day to get from Bodrum, Turkey to Chania, Greece on the island of Crete, a 238 mile trip that took a ferry, an 18 minute flight, another flight and finally a 3 hour bus ride. 280 euros later we arrived at our hotel and it was all worth it. Chania (dpesnt sound like its spelled - Cott is tires of me butchering the name) is a laid back beach town with dozens of great day trips emanating from it's tiny bus station. We hiked the Samira Gorge hike, an 18 km (10.8 American miles) which was an amazing array of steep cliffs, river crossings, and a black sand beach to top it all off.
The next day we took a ferry from Kissinos to Gramvousa Castle which had some amazing views of the Cretian Sea. We then went to Balos Lagoon where shallow crystal clear waters and pink sand beaches dominate the landscape.
Santorini:
This island was truly amazing with the most picturesque towns and incredible sunsets (which we missed by 5 minutes) on top of Oia, the quinessential beautiful blue domed Greek village which postcards try to encapulate. We then went to a "pub" called Murphys which was more of a spring break nightmare with bad music and worse prices. We made the best of it and I was able to showcase my three dance moves, including a new one I borrowed from a law student we met in Istanbul called the Peacock, to the horror of other European travellers.
Athens:
Cory and I did a whirlwind tour of Athens in 5 and a half hours. In this time, we checked out the Acropolis, the New Acropolis Museum, and the Archiology Museum. We also saw Greek prostitutes and smut magazines as they both peppered the streets next to our hotel.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
China: Perpetuating the Stereotype
I now understand where the stereotype that all Asian drivers are wreckless, it stems from China. I've never seen such crazy and impatient driving in my life than on the mean streets of Xian and Huangshan, China. But besides that, it's a pretty awesome country.
Xıan:
Huangshan:
Hong Kong & Macau:
Xıan:
Huangshan:
Hong Kong & Macau:
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Da Lat, Vietnam
Dalat, Vietnam, the strawberry, artichoke, mushroom and adventure sport capital of Vietnam. Ryan and I have spent a couple of days enjoying the mountainous town (2,000 meters high - 6,560 in American) which is a nice escape from the heat and humidity from the rest of Vietnam.
Below are some pics of our canyoning/abseiling adventure just south of Da Lat. Ryan and I were able to scale down a 15, 18 and finally a 25 meter waterfall without dying (although with a few bumps and bruises and blows to my ego with regards to my fear of heights).
That's it for now, hope everyone is well.
Below are some pics of our canyoning/abseiling adventure just south of Da Lat. Ryan and I were able to scale down a 15, 18 and finally a 25 meter waterfall without dying (although with a few bumps and bruises and blows to my ego with regards to my fear of heights).
That's it for now, hope everyone is well.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Thailand and Vietnam Pics
Greetings from Hoi An, Vietnam, the city of custom suits and pristine beaches. Because of my tendency to procrastinate, I forgot to bring my computer cable for my camera on the trip and haven't been able to upload any pictures. But luckily Ryan was not as irresponsible as myself and packed his cable. Below are all of our pics from Vietnam and Thailand:
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Ko Tao and Ko Phangan
Three observations I have made in Thailand:
1. Coozies need to become more commonplace since a cold beer goes warm in about two minutes due to the humidity.
2. Mosquitos suck. Really, they Contribute to society except annoyance and disease. And they are particularly angry at my legs for some reason.
3. Scooters are fun. They need to be more widely accepted as a legit form of transportation in America in the near future. Theyre fuel efficient, affirdable and damn fun. Who's with me?
Ko Tao is an amazing mix of picturesque (albeit a little dirty) beaches, great diving, and chill bars. We stayed at Ban's whereNoel and I got Scuba certified which had a cool beachside bar that had live accoustical music with fire jugglers on the beach while we were chilling on bean bags drinking Singhas. All of the people were backpackers, almost exclusively from Europe (most notably Britian). I would highly recommend anyone looking to get away from reality to escape to Ko Tao immediately. I forgot to bring my camera adapter but will upload pics soon. Here is a video snorkeling at Freedom Beach on the south side of Ko Tao.
1. Coozies need to become more commonplace since a cold beer goes warm in about two minutes due to the humidity.
2. Mosquitos suck. Really, they Contribute to society except annoyance and disease. And they are particularly angry at my legs for some reason.
3. Scooters are fun. They need to be more widely accepted as a legit form of transportation in America in the near future. Theyre fuel efficient, affirdable and damn fun. Who's with me?
Ko Tao is an amazing mix of picturesque (albeit a little dirty) beaches, great diving, and chill bars. We stayed at Ban's whereNoel and I got Scuba certified which had a cool beachside bar that had live accoustical music with fire jugglers on the beach while we were chilling on bean bags drinking Singhas. All of the people were backpackers, almost exclusively from Europe (most notably Britian). I would highly recommend anyone looking to get away from reality to escape to Ko Tao immediately. I forgot to bring my camera adapter but will upload pics soon. Here is a video snorkeling at Freedom Beach on the south side of Ko Tao.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Bangkok and Khao Sok
Greetings from Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok on 5/21 and headed to the backpacker/tourist capital of Khaosan Road. Really densly packed with merchants, massage parlors, bars, restaurants, and other sins for sale, the highlight was a Muay Thai fight.
Noel, Ryan and I just left Khao San National Park where we stayed in floating huts on an amazing lake. There were limestone mountains/cliffs that sprouted straight up from the water. We did a cave hike to check out stalagmites and stalagtites which was amzazing. Here are some pictures and videos below:
We are currently booking flights to Ko Samui as soon as I'm done with the computer so that's all for now.
Noel, Ryan and I just left Khao San National Park where we stayed in floating huts on an amazing lake. There were limestone mountains/cliffs that sprouted straight up from the water. We did a cave hike to check out stalagmites and stalagtites which was amzazing. Here are some pictures and videos below:
We are currently booking flights to Ko Samui as soon as I'm done with the computer so that's all for now.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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