New York 2001

26 December 2001 - Less than 24 hours after deciding on Christmas Day that we wanted to go to New York to see Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center stood, we were on the road. We dropped Sadie off early at the kennel, hit the grocery store, then headed on the road. we drove all the way to Youngstown, Ohio. I drove all the way through Ohio. The rest of the time, I either slept or crocheted. We've done this so many times as a family that it was quite easy to pick up and go. It was snowing when we got to Youngstown. We stayed at a Hampton Inn and ate at a nearby tavern. Had an early night.

27 Dec - We got another early start this morning. Ate our complementary breakfast then headed out. Pennsylvania was very snowy and mountainy. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I slept a lot in the car. We stopped for a bit in New Jersey, but got a little sidetracked because traffic was backed up and the traffic lights were out. Traffic got heavy in New Jersey. We made it to Hazlet, then found a hotel somewhere down the line. We sat around in the hotel room. Dad and I played Sheepshead. We got dinner at Outback and ate it in the room. Steve came over and chatted for a while. He took tomorrow off, so he's going to come to the City with us tomorrow and be our tour guide.

28 Dec - I got up bright and early this morning at 6:45. Uncle Steve met us at 8, then took us to a local restaurant for breakfast. I had oatmeal with fresh strawberries. Then we drove to Steve's house and walked the block to the train stop. After waiting in the nippy cold for a while, we got on the train. It took about 45 minutes for us to get to Pennsylvania Station in New York. We got maps and our bearings. We took the subway to Chambers St, then walked to the area around the World Trade Center site. We weren't able to get very close, but we were able to see the destruction around the area and walk past memorials people set up nearby. It was very sobering to see how much support people from around the country were sending. I was surprised at the number of people drawn to the area. There were crowds of people all over. We walked on in the cold and the wind to go to the New York Stock Exchange. Didn't go inside, but we walked around it and saw their holiday display. We walked on to Pier 17. There, Mom, Dad and Steve went to a pub while Cassie and I shopped. I got a neat pair of pants and a tank. We got a bite of Chinese for lunch. We all walked on to a subway station through some neat streets with interesting people. We took the subway to Grand Central Station and walked from there to Rockefeller Center. It was a lot smaller than it looked on TV and in movies. There were flags lining the ice rink, and the big colorfully lit tree. It was pretty. We walked on towards Radio City Music Hall, and then we walked down towards Time Square. I was amazed by all the people, lights, signs, traffic, theaters and studios and everything. Wow. We walked on to Harold Square past Macy's, then on to the Pennsylvania Station again. We just caught a train back to Hazlet. I was at least awake on this trip back. Steve drove us back to the hotel and we settled in. Mom and Dad went out to get dinner, while Cassie and I stayed in. I got a cheese and broccoli pizza  - way too much cheese and too large for little old me. Steve came back for a while. Lori would have come, but she's recovering from the flu.

Cassie, Mom, Cara, Dad at Rockefeller Center

29 Dec - I got up again nice and early. At least I slept the whole night last night. Steve was going to come with us to the city today also, but he called and said he had come down with the same bug Lori had. Eek, I hope I don't catch it! We got some cereal from downstairs, then got ready to catch the 811 train from by Steve's house. The train was pretty crowded - more so than usual, probably because they were opening an observation platform to the public at Ground Zero today. We finally made it to Penn Station in the city. We bought daily metrocards for the subway. From there, we walked to the Empire State Building. It took about 1+ hours waiting in line before we finally got up to the 80th floor. From that point, we decided to walk up to the final 6 flights to the observation deck. It was a rather cold day already, and the winds up there weren't too pleasant. Since it was a cloudy day, the visibility wasn't great, but we could see where the WTC should have been, and the tiny-looking Statue of Liberty to the south. Lots of other buildings everywhere else. Once we exhausted looking around, we made our way back down to the lobby. We began our trek up to Saks on 5th Avenue. We stopped at a souvenir shop - I got a shot glass that said I ♥ NY. The sidewalks got a lot more crowded as we made our way up to Saks. We took a half hour to look around, then fought our way back out. The merchandise there was nice (beautiful ball gowns), but terribly expensive (a picture frame for $400 - ouch!). We found the nearest subway station intent on going to Central Park. We got on the wrong train, which sent us way up to 125th St when we wanted 81st. Got off and caught the right one. We started walking through the park. It's amazingly serene for being in the middle of Manhattan. There were walkers, joggers and bikers all over. We meandered our way around on the paths before we hit 72nd St. We stopped to get a look at the flowers someone had placed in memory of George Harrison on the Imagine mosaic in Strawberry Fields, a section of the park. We bought some hot huts from a vendor (one of the better smells of the city). Then we took the subway back towards the madness of Times Square. Cassie and I marveled as we found ourselves in the fabric district. We were going to eat lunch at the ESPNZone restaurant, but there was some sore to mix-up and it would have been expensive. We were going to go to Applebee's until we saw a Mexican restaurant that looked good. Had a pretty nice meal there, complete with margaritas. Yummy. We decided to take the subway back to 54th St. We dashed into Macy's where Mom took her sweet time picking out Christmas ornaments. It was incredibly crowded there. We went back to Penn Sta to catch the 506 train back, but it wasn't there. We had to wait a half hour for the next one, which was also crowded. The ride back took about 1.5 hours - long. We said hi to Steve and Lori, before heading back to the hotel. Relaxed for a bit, packed up and had an early night.

Dad & Mom at the Empire State Building

Cassie, Cara, Mom in Central Park

30 Dec - Woke up at 3:38 ET this morning to get ready. We decided we were going to drive the 16:17 hours straight home. Ugh. I tried sleeping for the first few hours, but couldn't get comfortable. I tried sleeping, crocheting and reading as we drove and drove.

{transcribed 2/18/2020}

Paris 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Paris

25 April – I should just avoid travel days at all costs. It would be much less nerve-wracking that way. I got up early and got breakfast in the hostel. To avoid missing another important train, I opted to take trains that would get me to Geneva an hour earlier. The first two trains weren’t bad. I was lucky to get on the one going to Bern early, because it got so crowded. The train to Geneva was lower grade, but that didn’t matter much. I was ready Into Thin Air, and it was quite foggy out. I sat in the Geneva station for a while, then on the TGV train that would take me to Paris. I started fighting a little stomachache. That train ride wasn’t bad – I read and dozed and read some more. I got into Paris right on time – 4:16, then proceeded to try using the Metro. Bought my ticket and headed for the platform. On the way to it, I noticed the air was very dusty/smoky. When I got to the entrance area, there were police officers denying passage to line 1. I tried to find out what happened and one of the officers mumbled something about the train being kaput. Huh. I’ll have to see what that was all about. Luckily, I was able to take another route to my hostel. Just as I was approaching it, it started to rain. The hostel itself (Aloha Hostel) was in the midst of remodeling or something, so it didn’t look at that great. Found out I was booked in a double room – uh, no… too expensive – so I ended up with a mattress on the floor. Fine, whatever. I tried to work out where I’ll be staying for the next few nights. I got frustrated, and coupled with a foul tummy, I wasn’t a happy camper. I called Mom to make me feel better, and it worked. I decided I didn’t want to go back to the hostel just yet, so I bought a cheese sandwich and a small glass of wine at a bar. So Parisian. I called another hostel and got a place there for the next few nights. Whew. Then I decided to walk on towards the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. My feet took me past Les Invalides and down towards the palaces. I walked along the river towards the Eiffel Tower. It was getting late enough that I didn’t think I’d have to wait overly long to see it lit up at night. I bought a chocolate crepe and walked up to the Palais de Chaillot to get a better view. Took a few pictures, then watched these massive black clouds move their way in and start raining. Stood in the rain for a little while getting soaked before the sky started to clear. As it did, a rainbow appeared, arching right over the Tower just as the Tower lights started going on and off like random flashbulbs. Ooh la la! It had to have been one of the most magical things I’ve seen in a long time. I hung around there for a little while until the sun was about to set, then walked back to the hostel. I talked with the two Canadian girls who are sharing the room before they left, and I got ready for bed. I can’t unpack much, only being here for one night.

26 April – I got up early this morning, ate my free breakfast of half a baguette and orange juice, and took my stuff over to my new hostel. It took a while before everything could get straightened out, but I’m good. I bought a 3-day Paris Visite card for the metro use, then went to the Louvre. I spent a nice long time waiting in the line, but at least it wasn’t raining, merely cloudy. Finally got in to the museum around 10. To my pleasant surprise, museum workers were on strike and so it was free. Saved me a couple bucks. I headed straight to the Mona Lisa, so I could get that out of the way. I spent the next few hours looking at the paintings, sculptures (Venus de Milo, etc.), antiquities and the like. I was really impressed by the collection. Since a good chunk of the museum was closed, I got to see all of the open exhibits by 2:30. I decided enough was enough and left, I found La Comedie Français after a bit of walking. I wanted to see that – Re: The Scarlet Pimpernel. I just might try to go in… From there, I walked to an internet place to check my mail. Got some interesting news {um, not sure what it was, don’t remember it}. And I Hate French keyboards! I decided to go to the Cimietiere Pere Lachaise. Huge cemetery full of sepultures and tombs. I saw the graves of Jim Morrison, Heloise and Abelard, and George Bizet. It would have been really easy to get lost there, so I didn’t stick around long enough to do so. I came back to the hostel to put my stuff in my dorm room – nice, own shower, 4 beds… I did some grocery shopping, which took a while because I was torn on what to get. Chatted a bit with my roommates Jade, Esther and Mary Claire before going down and making dinner. I talked more with Jade during and after dinner. Then I decided to have a go getting up the Eiffel Tower at nightfall. As I got there, the lines and the tiredness of my feet didn’t make climbing to the second level too appealing. So, I decided to take the Metro over to see Notre Dame lit up at night. Turned out it wasn’t anything special, and my feet were killing me, so I decided to go back. Got ready for bed, read a little. It’s going to be nice sleeping in tomorrow!

Outside the Louvre

Jim Morrison's grave

27 April – Got up late, ate my baguette with jam, took a shower and headed out to the Eiffel Tower. I decided that it would be best if I went up it early, before I walked my feet off. I practically had no lines and no waiting. I huffed and puffed my way up to the second level, then bought a ride up to the very top. The view was decent – it was hazy/cloudy, so I couldn’t see into the distance very much. I went down to the second level, bought a cheesy mini Eiffel Tower to commemorate climbing up it, then walked back down. I passed a group of Kindergarteners heading up – good way to have them burn off energy! From there, I took the Metro to the Opera. I was a little disappointed, because the performance area itself was so dark as they worked on lighting for a show, so I could barely make out the splendor of the decoration and the chandelier. Appeased myself with an expensive pack of mini postcards. The stairs and the foyer were absolutely gorgeous, though. I walked from there trying to find a market or bakery, with no success because it was too touristy. Walked and walked and walked. I really didn’t know where I was. I bought a camembert sandwich, a lemon crepe and some strawberries and ate those as I walked. I realized I was getting into Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur, so I made my way up (no, not up!) there. Passed through what was obviously a fabric district. I bought another crepe (bad me) and walked up to a bench to enjoy it (nope) and sit for a bit. I hadn’t been up there too long when a {large Middle-Eastern-looking} Frenchman sat beside me and started ranting on and on about English and other languages. {For some reason, he assumed I was Dutch.} I was polite, then when I tried to make my escape, he put his arm around me and kissed my cheek a few times. Pulled out of that as quick as I could and practically flew down the stairs. I walked to the nearest Metro station which definitely took me through the ethnic heart of Paris. I took the Metro to the Bastille. I thought the prison was still there, but alas{?}, no. Just a statue and an opera house. It was starting to rain, so I went back on the trains. This time, I headed for Rue Plumet, to see if I could find No. 55 (from Les Miserables). Again, no luck, as the highest number was 25. I walked back to the hostel. Since it was too early for me to go to my room, I bought a coffee. French coffee comes in tiny little cups. At 5, I went up to the room and rearranged my stuff, talked with the other girls and read a bit. Since I ate lunch late, I’m going to wait and make a late dinner. Same thing as last night – pasta with sauce, spinach, half a baguette and cheese. When dinner time came, the kitchen was so busy, so I just settled for another cheese sandwich. I talked with Jade and Mary Claire, then read a little before going to bed.

Inside the Eiffel Tower

View towards Palais de Chaillot

Sacre Coeur

Haughty Parisian Stop-man

28 April – My last full day in Paris, and I sure took my time getting ready for it. I ate breakfast at 9:30 with Jade, then came back and took a shower. Said goodbye to the girls, then left around 10:30-11. I headed out to Notre Dame. After waiting in line under threatening skies, I finally made my way into the church. In terms of cathedrals, I was pretty disappointed. I think that was mostly due to the fact that they had the nave blocked off, so I couldn’t get into a good position to see the famous rose stained-glass windows. I eschewed the line to climb the tower. The skies were gloomy, and my legs were sore, plus I didn’t feel like paying. Maybe next time {regretting that now, post-fire}. From there, I wandered my way towards the internet place. I did a little emailing, then went to a café. I paid a lot for the privilege to sit inside while it rained, drank hot chocolate while I wrote out a postcard home. I realized I had to go back to the internet place to find out how I could get to the airport in Charleroi from the station. Found out that the last bus to the airport was a lot earlier than I was getting in, so I made my way back to the hostel to get my reservation, then went back to the train station to change my reservation. There must have been problems with the Metro, because the trains were few and far between, and crammed like sardines. Ugh. I finally found where I could get my ticket, and happily, I got it changed at no extra cost. From there, I took the Metro to see the Place des Vosges. Nice park, nice houses. I was a naughty girl and bought a pastry. I found a supermarket and bought some dried fruit. From there, I walked to WH Smith and went nuts buying books. I headed back to the hostel. I had to wait to make dinner, so I finished up the book I was reading, then ate. After dinner, my new roommates came in and we talked a bit, then some other people came in and pow-wowed. We finally got them to leave around midnight.

Notre Dame

Place des Vosges

29-30 April – I slept in again, because I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight. Ate breakfast and gathered up my stuff and left the hotel around 11. I ended up leaving a good amount of stuff there – things that I had brought along specifically for the trip that I probably wouldn’t use again. I set off, backpack on, for the last few places I wanted to see in Paris. I walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, an awful long walk. I wanted to climb up it, because it was a bright, sunny day with puffy clouds, but they couldn’t let me go up with my backpack and I had nowhere else to leave it. Then I walked down the Champs Elysse (sorry – can’t spell in French) with hordes of other tourists. I escaped them for a bit in a pretty park, where I nursed my feet. Then I walked on past the Place de la Concorde, Madeleine, and even though it was early, I headed for the train station. The route I took was absolutely dead, and I was starting, so I walked until I found a café where I got a sandwich. Sat for a little while, then set off again for the train station. Walked through a pretty ethnic area to get there. Bought an ice cream cone on the way and another in the station because I was quite warm, and I needed to use up my francs. I was two hours early for my 3:55 train, so I sat down and read until it was time to board the train to Brussels. Nice, short ride. I had a bit of a panic at that train station, because I wanted to find an ATM, but couldn’t. Ended up exchanging a traveler’s check to have some Belgian francs. I caught the train to Charleroi. Even though I got there in time to catch the bust to the airport it was nowhere to be seen. I waited a while, finally, giving up and taking an expensive taxi ride there. It’s a lot smaller and low-key than Stansted. I called home and talked to the folks for a good, long time. I was famished, so I got a cheese sandwich at the cafeteria before setting myself on some seats to read and wait for Madeline. That was about 8. Madeline finally showed around 11. We talked about what we had done since we parted ways. By 1:30 am, we were the only people in the entire airport, except for some security people who were nice enough to turn the lights off for us. That allowed me to get a few hours of sleep until 4, when we were rudely awakened by the radio coming on loudly. Ergh. I gave up on sleep. We finally got to check in, made our way to the departure gate, then got on the plane. I slept a little bit on the less-than-hour-long flight. Once at Stansted, we grabbed our stuff early and tried to catch the bus to Victoria, so we could hopefully catch the earliest bus to Swansea. I slept most of the way to London, but it became clear with the traffic, we weren’t going to make the 9:00 bus. We bought tickets for the 11:00 instead. Bought sandwiches there. Unfortunately, on the bus, we sat behind two people who insisted on talking loudly the entire trip to Cardiff. I wanted to either read or sleep, but it was hard to do either. We made a bus change at Cardiff, and soon enough, we found ourselves back at Swansea, our great adventure at an end.

Successfully asked a woman in German to take this picture of me

Trip favorites (no order):
Best tourist city – Munich, Berlin, Paris
Best inhabitable city – Oslo, Verona
Best hostel – Oslo, Verona (for looks), Interlaken
Best showers – Berlin (also best breakfast)
Favorite building – Schloß Neuschwanstein, Louvre, Deutsches Museum
Favorite sites – Holmenkollen, Eiffel Tower, Gedächtniskirche, Alps
Best weather – Italy and French Riviera (sun at last!)
Best experiences – shuffling Oslo palace guards, free beer in Copenhagen, train on the ferry to Berlin, Vulcan warship 3D sound headgear, Mike’s Bike Tour, drooling cat, flunch!, rainbow over Eiffel Tower, free Louvre

{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Interlaken 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Interlaken, Switzerland

23 April – ARGH! I ran the gamut of just about every negative emotion today. Annoyance – that it was raining when we got up this morning – that flunch’s breakfasts didn’t live up to their dinners – that this little girl on my train to Milan alternately cooed and screamed her bloody head off. Anger – that my train to Milan was 25 minutes late, rendering my 20-minute layover useless. Complete dejection – missing the train and spending the next two hours waiting in three lines before finally securing a reservation on the next train. I made myself feel a little better by buying a little gift. God, that whole mess was something I didn’t want to do alone. The train I finally got to take to Spiez was nice – higher class, and the views of the mountains were outstanding. We massed a tiny medieval village complete with ruined castle buried in the northern Italian Alps. Too many long tunnels (I counted up to 435 on one). At one point, the train was up so high that we were completely surrounded by clouds. Then we went through a tunnel only to emerge in a winter wonderland. Nooo! Thankfully, we came down shortly. We were late getting into Spiez, so I had to sit out in the cold train station for 40 minutes waiting for the train to Interlaken. I tried calling home to hear a cheery voice, but no one was around. The train to Interlaken turned out to be one of the double-decker ones I always wanted to ride on, so that was neat. It was just a short ride – in the dark – to my station. By the time I actually go there, it was almost 9:30. I was supposed to get in at 7:30. It was dark and drizzly as I made my way through the streets to my hostile (! Freudian…). Gave myself shin splints hurrying. Nice place {Balmer’s}, but a bit too raucous for my tastes right now. I just want to curl up and got to sleep for a long time. Tomorrow, I’m going to take advantage of the daylight and have a good look around. Oh, and those insect bites I got in Verona? They look swell (literally).

24 April – The potential to do something outrageous and totally extreme is very high here in Interlaken. I decided to be a lame-ass sissy cheapskate and not do anything like that. Being here on my own, there would be no one to impress with my daring and bravado (I feel like a thesaurus). So, I took the opportunity to see everything that I couldn’t in the dark yesterday. Following a hike route recommended by the hostel, I set out after a little breakfast to take a train to Lauterbrunnen. I had to wait in the train station for a while, so I marveled at the gray, overcast sky. The temperature wasn’t very warm, either, but not bad. I took the train, then began my hike. Lauterbrunnen is in a little valley a little ways away from Interlaken. The sky was still gray there. On either side, the cliff walls of sheer rock rose and made it a little disorienting to look at as I walked. I passed underneath (but not very close) to a few waterfalls that started so high up that it was just mist by the time the water reached the bottom. I was walking alone, so I noticed a lot of things – the silence except for my footsteps, some chirping birds and tumbling water – the smell of farms and wood smoke. I massed a cemetery where every grave was plated over with a profusion of flowers, pansies and the like. I walked for about an hour when I realized I lost the slip of paper with the route I was following. Instead of turning back, I walked ahead to where a gondola would take me up the mountain. I wasn’t able to get to the very peak, just over the top of the sheer cliff to Mürren. Pretty views, but the tops of the mountains were covered by clouds. As I left the gondola station, is started raining. Ugh. I walked through the village, then took the next ride down. I was going to walk back to the train station, but the weather was too miserable, so I took the bus then train back. It was too early for me to go back to the hostel, so I wandered a bit, bought pasta for dinner then chilled. I bought some patches and things in the store when that opened. Killed more time, then went to make dinner. Met some people at dinner. I called Dad and asked if he wanted a Swiss army knife. Yup. Watched Shawshank Redemption down in the bar with two nice guys from the East Coast, Brad and Eric. Then packed up my stuff and went to bed.

View in Interlaken
{46.686819, 7.858935}

Lauterbrunnen
{46.594874, 7.907472}

View down from Mürren
{46.547291, 7.893518}

Interlaken hostel
{46.681149, 7.863433}

The adventure continues in Paris…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Nice 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Nice, France

20 April – Travel day number five. After another lovely breakfast in the hostel (read: sarcasm) – of two stale rolls and a “bowl” of coffee, we gathered up our things and headed for the train station. Our train to Milan was a bit late, but the morning was nice, so the wait outside wasn’t bad. Nice, smooth train. We had a little time to kill in the Milan station, but that was mostly used up finding our train on a different track, then securing seats. Very important, because we were going to be on that train for over five hours. We ate some crackers and whatnot for lunch, and finally we were on our way. The ride up to Genoa was pretty boring – not much for scenery and I didn’t feel too well. I took a little nap. From Genoa, though, things looked a lot better. The train started following the coast of the Mediterranean, giving us gorgeous glimpses of the teal waters on one side and rolling hills on the other between tunnels. We had to change trains in Ventimiglia, but we were lucky to get seats. The train filled up as we entered France and made our journey along the ritzy French Riviera. We finally got to Nice and made our way to the hotel we had booked. Once there, the manager told us, oh, sorry, you can’t stay here tonight, but I booked you a double room down the street for 1½ francs more each. Checked in to the Hôtel D’Orsay by the train station. We’re up on the fourth floor (breaking my third-floor curse), with three beds and a sink. Decided to splurge (😊) and stay here the next three nights. It’s a little on the dingy side, but we get our own room! We headed out to get money, information and dinner. Settled for two of the three (tourist information was closed). We got dinner at a cheap cafeteria-style restaurant by the station {flunch}. I dined on a salad, cheese, bread and wine for under $5. Very nice. Madeline and I came back and talked for a while, then decided on an early night.

21 April – Wow, I wrote really big yesterday. And I through I was getting better about that… After a nice, though not terribly restful night, Madeline and I struck out to see Nice. The day was sunny, albeit on the chilly side (found out later the high was only going to be 50°F). After a brief stop at tourist information for maps, we headed for the sea and a market that was somewhere nearby. After a walk, we found both. I bought strawberries and a baguette for lunch, as did Madeline. We took our goodies to the beach wall and ate there. The sea was a gorgeous turquoise teal. The beach itself is nothing more than small, smooth pebbles and stones. Not very conducive to castle-building. We heard so many languages being spoken on the path behind us. After eating, we decided to climb up a nearby hill for some nice views. I guess we’re just sick like that. Climbing up, up, up did give us great views over the city. At the top, I bought a few postcards. We walked back down past castle ruins and Greek mosaics towards the sea. We both wanted our picture taken with our feet in the water. Not an easy task because of the damn rocks. We walked back towards the train station and our hotel to find an internet café. We spent a half hour emailing there, the I took off back to the hotel while Madeline got train information. We came back, read and relaxed. There isn’t too much here to hold your attention if it’s too cold to sunbathe, your feet hurt too much to walk or you’re too cheap to go shopping. But it definitely is restful for those reasons. Madeline and I went to eat again at flunch. We imbibed four glasses of wine each there, which made us a bit happy. Stayed in at the hotel tonight. Nothing to do anyway.

22 April – Wow, today was Madeline and my last day traveling together. We got up earlyish to get breakfast from the market and to catch the bus to Monaco. Bought lovely raspberries, bananas and bread. Because of a semi-marathon in town, we had to walk to the port to get the bus. It was a nice sunny day, a little warmer than yesterday. The bus ride to Monaco was nice – fewer tunnels. We were dropped off, then made our way uphill to the palace. I bought a stamp for a postcard, then we watched (after a wait) the changing of the guard. Note to self: they are all lame! We walked over to the cathedral where we caught an American school choir performing. Listened to that for a bit, but it kept us from seeing where Princess Grace is buried. We walked on a little more, admiring the views, before heading back downhill. I walked along some of the street the F1 drivers race on. We bought some ice cream on the walk up to the Monte Carlo Casino. I couldn’t go in because I’m barely underage, but we just took a few pictures anyway. We walked a little further to the Japanese gardens, which was lovely, before deciding to go back – good thing, because my feet were killing me. I have a bunch of blisters. The Tevas are being packed away now. Quiet drive back. Dan came by and surprised us as we were relaxing in the hotel room. I tried to call home to no avail, so we all went out to dinner at flunch. For the third straight evening, I had salad, cheese, bread, wine and dessert. I love flunch. I shall miss it. After dinner, I called home again, and talked for a long time with the whole family. It was lovely. Afterwards, headed back to the hotel to get ready to travel tomorrow.

Monaco

Changing of the guard in Monaco

Cara in a Japanese Garden in Monaco

flunch!

The adventure continues in Interlaken…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Verona-Venice 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Venice and Verona

17 April – Travel day number four. Our train to Verona left at 9:30. I bought some goodies that came to exactly the amount of money I had. Lucky! At first, we couldn’t find our train car, then it turned out we were the only people in the compartment (of 6) for a while. The ride was pretty nice. I spent most of my time staring out the window at the gorgeous mountains. The Austrian Alps were all snow-covered and lovely, with little green valleys with villages. Then we came into Italy. The Alps became rounder, rockier and tree-covered. They were green and brown, the sky was blue, and it looks warm out! At one stop in Italy, a lot of people got on, and a smelly man sat next to me. Ick. The total train ride wasn’t that long – 5½ hours. I exchanged some money, then we caught a bus that would take us near our hostel. It was a bit of a walk from there, but we got beds. Had to stay out until 5, so we walked up the hill to get a good view of the city (much larger than I expected). At 5, we went back to the hostel to haul our stuff up to our room. The hostel is Ostello della Gioventù {Ostello Villa Francescatti chiuso} and it’s in an old villa. The paintings on the wall leading up to the room are beautiful. Our view overlooks one of the wall-topped hills surrounding the city and the houses and villas below it. And it’s spring here! It’s in the 60s, and the air smells so sweet. It’s nice not to be cold for a change. And our room only has six beds, which is another nice change. We bought dinner here, not knowing where we could get anything in the area. I read and took a little rest before then. Dinner was nice. We met another girl traveling around and ate with her. We got bread, pasta, vegetables, wine and I got cheese instead of meat. It was starting to get chilly out, and we have a full day planned tomorrow, so we went straight up to our room. This hostel has some pretty strict rules, especially an 11 pm curfew. Not that we were going to go out or anything.

Verona hostel
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View from our hostel

View of Verona

18 April – Madeline and I were going to take a day trip to Venice today, so we were up and out pretty early. We were going to make reservations at the train station for part of our trip to Nice, but it turned out no reservations could be made. We caught the 8:33 train and were on our way. The ride was nice, and we were finally there. I had decided to break out my sandals because the weather was nice, and they were already giving my pinky toes grief. We started walking through the narrow passageways, making our way to the Piazzo San Marco. We stopped at a mask shop – I got a small sun mask for Cassie and a necklace with three cobalt blue Venetian glass beads for myself. As we were walking, we ran into one of Madeline’s friends from Iowa State, Dan, who had been traveling alone. They caught up on how our respective trips have been going as we made our way over the Rialto bridge to P. San Marco. The tiny streets were wonderfully car/moped/bike-free, yet crowded with people. The Piazzo was crowded, especially with pigeons. Took some pictures, looked over the water, then proceeded to wander a way through the labyrinthine streets. We bought some nice gelato as we went. I found a great handmade Carnival mask for myself. I started to feel a bit woozy, so we stopped and got something to eat. And more gelato. We wandered up and down and around. It was very pretty – the colorful, shuttered houses, teensy alleys, milky-teal water… My feet were absolutely shattered from walking so much. Eventually, we made our way back to the train station to catch a train back to Verona, bringing Dan with us. We took the bus back to the hostel, threw our stuff down, then went in search of food. We ended up at a pizza place that mainly delivered, but we could sit and eat at. Good thing, because it started raining. I got a cheese and potato pizza that was very good. We walked back through the rain to the hostel, played cards for a while, then called it an early night.

Venice Canal
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Piazzo San Marco

Dan and Cara
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19 April – We were up early again this morning. 9-5 lock-outs will make you do that. Dan decided to go straight off to Florence this morning, but we had some time to kill, so we explored the villa gardens and passageways cut into the rock behind the house. He left, then around 10, Madeline and I began our walking tour of the city. Found our way to the Roman arena and decided to start there. It was large, rosy-colored, and pretty, but there were too many people about for our tastes! I bought postcards and decided to send one home. We’ll see if it gets there. I’ve heard the postal system here isn’t the greatest. We walked to the old castle, walked along the castle walls, along city walls, stopped by some churches. By this time, it was noon and we were already sick of walking. Nevertheless, we pressed on, deciding to take a break for lunch. We walked down to this café near our hostel and ate and rested. The food was prepackaged, but it was good and pretty cheap. We went to the ruins of the Roman theater and “archaeology museum” to kill some time. We took a couple pictures, then sat in the sun in the stands. A friendly, drooling cat gave us company. After that, more walking, “Juliet’s House” was extraordinarily crowded. We got back to the hostel an hour early. I went and bought groceries for the train ride. Came back and read before going back to the pizza place for dinner. It’s going to be an early night tonight, because a long travel day tomorrow.

Roman arena in Verona

Piazza Erbe in Verona
[45.442954, 10.997070]

Roman theater ruins

Friendly kitty with Madeline

Juliet's Balcony

The adventure continues in Nice…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Munich 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Munich

11 April – Travel day number three. For being our shortest train ride so far, it seemed like the longest. We were up and out of our hostel by quarter to seven. Oh, how I *love* lugging my backpack everywhere! Decent trains to Munich. The landscape became more interesting on the way down – green and hilly, but rainier as well. Was pretty well dazed. We pulled into Munich around 3, made some train reservations, then went to our hostel {Euro Youth Hotel on Senefelderstraße}. I picked up the book “Ragtime.” Our dorm room here is a little better than Copenhagen – only 24 beds, but each has nice peach sheets and blankets. We bought some pizza by the station (just down on the corner), then ate them at the hostel while watching CNN. We went out to check internet. My stomach didn’t feel good, so I left to go back before Madeline. Found a bakery where I got a pretzel and a cup of tea. Came back, read some, then took my shower. Read a little more. It’s going to be nice being in a city where things are at least a little familiar.

12 April – We were up and out early. We went to the Marienplatz Viktualienmarkt. Madeline wanted to buy some Birkenstocks. We got there too early, so I bought some strawberries and had bread and those for breakfast. I feel like I’m coming down with a cold! She bought her sandals, then we walked around the Marienplatz. I spent forever getting a shirt as another layer. It’s pretty cold out today. We went on a Mike’s Bikes tour of the city. I had done it four years before and wanted to do it again. We met a lot of people. Our guide Jordan was funny. The bikes were so much better than last time. The route and information were different enough that it seems all fresh and new again. Unfortunately, the peaking sun didn’t warm the air enough. I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt. We came back to the hostel because we were expecting Ryan and Jessi this afternoon. Nope, they’re coming tomorrow. We checked email, then I went back to the Viktualienmarkt to buy some bread and cheese for dinner. I’m tired and would like to go to bed, but I have to stay up to register for classes {back at UW-Madison} this evening late. Read a bit, watched news on CNN. That was odd: After reading for a while, I went out to register for my classes by phone, only to find people either making a commercial or a movie in the lobby. I had to wait for action to stop before I could pass through. I got all the classes I wanted, then came back in and went to bed.

Cara and Madeline on the bike tour

Tour group bikes at the Feldherrnhalle

13 April – It’s Good Friday the 13th. That would explain a bit… I got up early this morning to use the internet. When I came back, I ate breakfast and talked to some guys who were also from Madison. Madeline came back with Jessi and Ryan. It’s a cold, cold day. We walked around the Marienplatz, then just started walking in random directions. We ended up on the Theresianwiese, where they hold Oktoberfest. And that’s where it started to snow on us. Sheesh. We retraced our steps, bought some lunch at the train station, then had a quiet afternoon. Doesn’t make much sense to go out and do much because it’s a holiday and everything is closed. I did some more internetting, read, tried to nap, etc. We left the hostel at 7, then headed out. Our first through was to head to the Hofbräuhaus. Ohmigod. Huge, packed with beer-guzzlers and not a single table free. So, we walked on until we hit Paulaner im Tal, just off the Marienplatz. I got some pilsner and käsespätzle, which I hadn’t had in forever. I tried to translate the menu for everyone else with more or less success. Sat a while before we could pay, then we headed back to the hostel for a somewhat early night.

Jessi, Ryan and Madeline by Sendlinger Tor

Theresienwiese

14 April – Today was a day better off forgotten. Madeline and I went to make train reservations, and on the way, she surprised me saying she didn’t want to go to Interlaken or Paris, and she was going to Spain. Okay… Momentarily upset. She had problems reserving, which cause us to miss the train we were going to take to Füssen. We killed an hour in the train station before boarding another train. It wasn’t until about an hour and a half into this journey into the heavily-snowing Alps that we realized we were on the wrong train. Luckily, where we got off had a train pull in immediately going back to Munich. The next train actually to Füssen didn’t leave for a while, so more time to kill. Making a long story short {too late}, we arrived in bloody cold Füssen at about 4 in the afternoon. Had to wait a while for a bus that would take us up to the Schloß Neuschwanstein, but finally we got there. Began the long trek uphill. We weren’t going inside but took pictures of the castle and surrounding mountains shrouded in clouds and snow. We then trekked over to the Marienbrücke. This was the highlight of the day for me – I actually walked all the way across it! You’d have to see it to understand. Then we walked back down, waited in the cold for the bus back to the train station, then waited in the cold for our train. Yeah, the stupid train was 40 minutes late, leaving us to slowly freeze for over an hour. It wasn’t fun. Finally, the train arrived, we got on and went back. So cold. I bought some bread and made PB&J sandwiches for dinner. Everyone else stayed up for a while, but I was too cold and tired.

Schloß Hohenschwangau

Madeline and Jessi by the Marienbrücke

Schloß Neuschwanstein

15 April – Happy Easter! No Easter basket for me today, though. I got up a little later than intended this morning. The other three were headed off to Dachau, but since I had already been there, I didn’t care to go back. So instead, after grabbing a bite of breakfast at the train station, I headed out through the sleet, rain and general miserableness to walk all the way to the Deutsches Museum. I got there around 10:20. The museum is this huge collection of science and industry exhibits – ships, cars, airplanes, all types of engineering, physics, chemistry, musical instruments, astronomy, chronology, etc. I walked around there for hours. I wanted to at least see all of the exhibits and I managed to. The museum was a lot like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (which is modeled after the German one), only with less English and more things to see. I was impressed by all the mechanical things (naturally). I left there at around 3, then walked back. I stopped for some ice cream (crazy me) and lunch at McDonald’s. Ugh. Just because it was warm and cheapish. An old lady tried to engage me in conversation, but I could barely hear and understand her. I went to check email and saw the others there. Then, with my tummy not feeling 100%, I came back to the hostel to organize my stuff a bit, read, write postcards. I bought some bread for dinner. At 8, I called Grandma K’s house and talked to her, Brian, Anne, Mom & Dad. It was really nice! I miss everyone, especially today. Then I came back and stayed up talking with the others over a Munich wheat beer.

16 April – Yet another holiday day here, so nothing is open. I did laundry after Madeline, which was pretty expensive (~$3.75) and which took *forever*. I put my clothes in the washer around 11, and they were finally done and dried around 1:30. I tried to kill time reading and staring off into space. After that, I went to get some food and did a quick email check. Then I decided to take a walk. I went to see where the hotel I stayed at before was and wandered my way around the Marienplatz. My feet hurt like hell, and it began to rain on me, so I didn’t stay out too long. I came back to the hostel and read the paper, watched a bit of CNN. I tried to kill time before dinner by taking a nap, but that was rather futile. I keep trying to count up how much money I have left, and how far I can make it go. I really hope the weather in the next few places gets better. I don’t think I can take much more of this gold sogginess. It’s nice to know that this whole month of travel is half over. Four more stops left for me, then back to Swansea, but they’re each of pretty short duration. (Man, it’s not easy trying to ramble and fill up a page when there’s not much going on.) Oh, Jessi and Ryan checked out this morning to continue on their trip. I went and got dinner, then made some phone calls to make sure we had places in Verona. I came back and took a shower, then got all my stuff ready to go for tomorrow.

The adventure continues in Verona…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Berlin 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Berlin

7 April – Travel day number two. Wow, we’ve been at this a full week now. Since we couldn’t catch the very first train to Berlin, we got to sleep in and finally left that hostel behind forever (yea!). We stopped at the 7-Eleven for juice and bagels before walking on the to the train station. I seriously need to lose some junk from my bag… We waited in the station for a while, then caught our train – pretty spiffy. The neatest thing was when we took a ferry ON THE TRAIN into Germany. That ferry only lasted 45 minutes, so we both got out to look around at the gray skies, gray water, and people scuttling to buy things from the duty-free shop. We changed trains in Hamburg, then finally bade it into Berlin around 7:15. We got our reservations to Munich taken care of, got transportation for the next three days, then took the S-Bahn to our hostel {A&O Backpackers}. Gorgeous sunset over the city. The hostel’s pretty nice (oh, so much better than the last one). A little spartan, but they have “blankets” and “8-person rooms” and “showers with hot water.” Loverly, loverly. (Madeline is giddy because she likes this hostel so much). {To be fair, our expectations were very low…}

8 April – After a nice, cozy night in the hostel, Madeline and I ate a nice breakfast of rolls in the kitchen before heading out. The first thing we did was take the S-Bahn to the Tiergarten. We got a few pictures of the bombed-out Gedächtniskirche. Then we walked down the street to the Story of Berlin. It was kind of expensive, but the first part was in 3D sound - they gave us these things to hear on our heads hat looked like sci-fi purple alien ships (We couldn’t stop laughing because we looked so ridiculous {too funny to even take a picture of ourselves looking so ridiculous for posterity. Sigh.}). There was a lot to take in and see/read, and it was hard to take it all in. After that whole experience, I bought a guitar pin at the Hard Rock Café. From there, we directed ourselves towards the House on Checkpoint Charlie. Took some pictures. It’s also a museum, but we didn’t feel like going in. Instead, we took the U- and S-Bahns out to Schoß Charlottenburg. We walked around the palace and the gardens – lots of walking. On our way back, we stopped at the Zool. Garten Station so Mad could buy a phone card and we could buy some food. Came back to the hostel for some quiet time and a chance to rest our poor feet. Oh, and we also did some emailing after going to Hard Rock. Madeline went to make some phone calls, while I sat in the room and finished the Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book that I had been reading. Went to bed early, seeing as we’re getting up early in the morning.

Cara and Madeline by the Gedächtniskirche

Pieces of the Berlin Wall

Checkpoint Charlie

9 April – Got up this morning at 7, ate breakfast, and we were out around 8:15. We went to the Reichstag building to climb the dome. Got there and in line at 9:25. It was a long line to get in but seeing as it was pretty chilly, and the line wasn’t moving, many people deserted. The doors finally opened at 10, and we were able to go up up up and have a good look around. We came back down and decided to walk Under den Linden to the Victory statue. Then we walked through the Tiergarten, past a few embassies, Potzdammer Platz and a few opera buildings to Gendarmenmarkt. Took a picture, then took the underground back to the internet place. Spent a little time therebefore jumping on the S-Bahn back to the hostel. Spent some rather frustrating time after a brief nap trying to make reservations in Venice. Madeline and I went out and bought falafel for dinner, said hello to our new roommates, then relaxed. I don’t think we’ll be going out anymore tonight.

Reichstag

See me?

Berlin Cathedral

10 April – Finished off seeing everything I wanted to today. The Alexanderplatz, Rotes Rathaus, Nikolaikirche, Berliner Dom, etc. I mailed a package home – I was so proud because I did it all in German. I was about to go to the Pergamonmuseum, but just bought postcards of what I wanted to see. I went and checked my email, then went to the Kaufhaus des Westerns (KaDeWe) – Europe’s largest department store. So huge. Great fabric section. Did a little more looking around the shopping area before getting on the bus that drove around to the major sights, just in case I missed anything. It was raining when I came back. Ate a little, quiet night. Leaving tomorrow.

East Berlin green man
{52.506339, 13.470400}

The adventure continues in Munich…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Copenhagen 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Copenhagen

4 April – The first of many testy, irritable and long travel days. We were up around 5:40 to get ready for our train. Ugh. Too early! Waited outside for our train to come. It was this 1950’s-style train – pretty interesting. They made us take a bus from one station to another because there was work being done on the track. Sweden looked pretty nice - they had great big wind generators. We changed trains in Göteborg. Very nice, classy train. Finally got to Copenhagen. We reserved our train to Berlin later than we expected, because the first train was full. Walked all the way to the hostel {Sleep In Heaven - ha}, buying food along the way. The hostel did not score points in my book when I couldn’t pay with my credit card. We had to find an ATM. And then we were shown our beds. Very reminiscent of a concentration camp, but with better mattresses… There are 88 bunks, stacked 3 high. Settled our stuff and ate dinner. I took a shower, then Madeline and I talked with another American traveler we met. We all decided to go out for a beer. We went to this nearby pub, where we met this local guy who was telling us all about Copenhagen. There was a little thunderstorm while we were there. Also, this incredibly drunk guy tried to pick me up, but he got mad that I didn’t want him to buy me a beer. {He kept slur-swearing in a strange mixture of English and Danish. Yikes.} We left soon after that.

5 April – Horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad night. The barracks was alive well into the wee hours, and only then did I fall asleep. I didn’t have a blanket, so I was also cold. Morning came too soon, once I was asleep. Madeline and I met Corbett (the guy from Minnesota) and this English guy at 10 to go to the Carlsberg Brewery. We went through the visitor’s center, then got two free 0.25 L samples. We went for both the Easter beers of Carlsberg and Toborg. We took the bus from there to Christiania, this “free city.” Oh, very free. They were selling marijuana and hash out in the open, lighting up, etc. Walked through there pretty quickly. I wanted to see the Little Mermaid statue, so we walked along the harbor towards it. For being so famous, it’s rather small and out of the way. The weather today has been odd – very windy and drizzling in the morning, then the sun peeked out in the afternoon. The other three wanted to find food, and I wanted to find a library to use the internet, so I split off. I walked through the pedestrian district to the library. Got in and got on and emailed to my heart’s content. After that, I walked down the Strøget, the longest pedestrian street in the world. I got over towards the Rådhus. Since I was close, I peaked in to the Tivoli Gardens, which, alas, doesn’t open until next week. I bought Mom a guitar pin at the Hard Rock Café, bought some dinner (roll and yogurt), then made my way, unfortunately, back to the hostel. I ate dinner and read. Mad, Corbett, Michael (the English guy) and I talked for a while before Corbett left to catch his train. We asked to be put in a smaller, quieter room, and joy of joys, our request was granted. The 14-bed room may have squeaky beds, but it doesn’t have 20 loud Danish girls. We went to bed pretty near after that.

Madeline and Cara at the Carlsberg Brewery

Little Mermaid

Pretty Copenhagen

6 April – Didn’t get great sleep last night, but at least I got sleep! Madeline and I got up this morning and just decided to walk around the city and take pictures. We walked down to the town hall {Rådhus} and all along the Strøget. Then we walked back and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Café for only 49 Kr! {I can’t remember the exchange rate, but something like $7?} For Hard Rock and for an entrée and drink, that was cheap! From there, we walked back to the library to do some quick emailing. We read through newspapers for a while, catching up on news back home. When we left the library, the partly cloudy skies had turned into gray, cloudy drizzle. We started walking in random directions to see more of the city. We found the Botanical Garden and walked through it. Still early in spring, so it was a little dead. Found our way back to the hostel, stopping in a post office so I could mail a postcard home. Settled in at the hostel to read, pass time before we got to bed early. This whole tour bus of Swedish guys came to the hostel this evening. Boy, they really don’t mind walking around half-naked…

Tivoli Gardens

The adventure continues in Berlin…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}