the time to enjoy a european trip is about three weeks after unpacking - george Ade

Make that 52 weeks. Exactly one year from today I returned to Boston after an exhilarating, eye-opening, fantastic adventure in Europe. I got to visit four countries, twelve cities, an abundance of landmarks, and made my way through the wonders and history that define western/central Europe. I'm pretty sure I covered everything I saw so by reading this blog from the beginning, I hope you get a sense of all that I experienced.

Paris was better than I expected or hoped for. Though on my sister's travel radar for years, Paris never really interested me that much. I don't really know why, and if it hadn't been for the flight availability, I would never have thought about visiting. My eyes were set on Southern France, Prague, Croatia or Greece, all of which I unfortunately couldn't fit in. I certainly don't regret the choice now. Paris had sooooo much to see and so much to choose from. Yes, it was a little on the expensive side, but it offered an abundance of historical museums, churches and landmarks to visit giving me plenty to do in my short time there. Highlights for me were the Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, and Louvre. Yes, cliche and probably typical answers. But there's a reason they're so popular. They're outstanding.

Tours was nice, and I liked being in a smaller city, but if I were to go back, I'd give myself a few days and I'd rent a car. The chateaus are very spread out and each is unique enough that I'd want to see the different designs so I'd need to go at my own pace and not that of a tour. Pompeii was a definite highlight and a must-see if you're in the Rome area. You can definitely make it a half-day trip, but I'd allow myself the entire day to travel from Rome, see and explore the entire place, and return back. Maybe I'd give it two days and spend the 2nd climbing Mt. Vesuvius.

Rome had plenty to do to fill up two days and I think I certainly covered most of it. I didn't feel rushed which was nice but If I had one more day, I would have gone to the Borghese Museum and maybe spent a little more time in the Vatican and St. Peter's as well as giving myself more time to explore Palantine Hill. But other than that I have no regrets about things I wish I'd seen. And even a year later, I still think the Capuchin Monk Crypt was one of the coolest things ever in Rome...and in Europe.

I didn't quite realize until I was there that I'd planned much of my Italian experience in Tuscany, but because I was to rely on trains and public transportation, I purposely chose large cities rather than smaller ones. So Rome, Florence and Venice immediately shot to the top of the list. Siena ended up being a "transition" city, and though the first part of my day there was awful, the view at the top of the Duomo complex more than made up for it. Rolling hills...the wind in my hair...I'm such a cliche. Florence gave me "David" so no matter how shitty the rest could have been (it wasn't, but IF it'd been) "David" more than made up for it. I don't know if I've ever seen a more perfect piece of art. Venice was such a change from Tuscany and it really felt like a completely different culture. While the other cities felt foreign because they had this essence of being "old" and "classic," Venice was it's own little world...a water planet according to Anne and I. And I loved every minute of it. Venice was beautiful, yes...but overall it was just really, really cool.

Munich was a great change of pace from both France and Italy. There was such a different cultural feeling to it that I didn't feel when transitioning from France to Italy. Yes, Italy was different from France, but Munich really gave me this "look you're in a new place" kinda feel. The Bavarian architecture with its onion domes and more streamline designs was quite different from that of Venice, Tuscany or Paris. I don't know the correct terminology for architecture, but visually you could see, and even feel, the difference. My visit to Dachau, though very sad, was a great learning experience. There are many concentration camps open throughout Europe but by finding one in my "path" of travel, I lucked out. I definitely think you should try and visit at least one throughout your lifetime since they are such an iconic piece of history and a great visual as to why an atrocity like the Holocaust should never happen again.

I don't want to assign beauty, as each and every city was gorgeous in its own way, but Innsbruck would take the crown in a fight. The snow-capped mountains surrounding this small, Alpine city makes for a picture perfect vacation spot. Not to mention the kindness of the Hotel Weiss Kruez's staff. Everything about my single day there was perfect. If the weather had been worse, my opinion would probably be different, but the sun was out and shining gloriously!

Salzburg...oh Salzburg. You had the crappy weather, yet you still got me to fall in love. What a classic, endearing place. It's with me every day, and not just cause my panoramic poster hangs above my closet so I get to look at it all the time. I got to live out a childhood dream of living The Sound of  Music and every time I watch it now, I think of being there and that excitement I felt. Salzburg is somewhere I would return to in a heartbeat. The lakes region and the surrounding mountains would be a terrific place to spend a week exploring.

Finally, there was Vienna. A gorgeous city that doesn't need much more discussion from me. Overall, I really, really loved my adventure in Europe. I'm the kind of person that wants to see and do everything, all dependent on cost of course, so it was ridiculously hard trying to figure out my itinerary because I wanted to go everywhere in Europe. I barely scratched the surface of my "to do" list. I think I need at least a year and a completely disposable income next time. But with what I did see and experience, I would never give that up. I saw history and iconic landmarks...places where I could have easily spent the entire day staring at their amazingness. There's not much more I can think of to say, but I will leave you with the quote below. My blogging isn't over, but my European recollections have come to an end.

the rewards of the journey far outweigh 

the risk of leaving the harbor - unknown

throw off the bowlines. sail away from the safe harbor. catch the trade winds in your sails. explore. dream. discover. - mark twain

I'm going to write a more detailed "reflections" kind of post, but before doing so, I thought it would be good to write down my "conclusion" entry from my travel notebook. Word for word, these were my thoughts as I was sitting in the airport waiting to board my plane back to Boston. Some of it might make no sense because I was just writing my stream of consciousness, but it gives a good picture of all that happened in my three weeks abroad.

Paris

• great city for history, architecture, art
• not wild about prices for things and people on street trying to talk to you
• Notre Dame was my fave 
• hostel okay; staff wasn't the friendliest; bad breakfast
• Metro was good; got me places 

Tours

• Chateaus - gorgeous
• Tours' cathedral - cold, but really neat
• tour made me sleepy but I don't think I missed much of the English narration
• hotel - good; wish there'd been breakfast; far walk; shower took awhile to heat; best towel ever!

Pompeii

• really interesting place
• wish I knew booklet had descriptions of each place
• huge, but I saw most of it
• more detailed art/decor stuff made it fantastic rather than the architecture

Rome

• crazy city drivers
• very interesting things; both Ancient and Catholic
• Renaissance Art - fantastic
• sculptures throughout city - cool
• each church pretty distinctive
• monk bones!

Siena

• STUPID BUS SYSTEM
• Duomo etc. actually very nice and interesting; Tuscan overlook one of my fave places
• Piazza del Campo - very nice
• gelato!

Florence

• everything had an admission fee that wasn't cheap
• LOVED DAVID!!!
• black and white marble design of Tuscan churches
• all had fancy facades but plain sides
• illegal bag selling

Venice

• it's own planet and culture
• lots of churches
• getting lost is easy
• boat pass - wonderful
• flooding! so neat!

Munich

• overall - underwhelming compared to previous cities
• Olympic Tower - overpriced
• Marienplatz - neat/awesome
• Dachau - depressing
• had lots of little things with nothing overwhelmingly awesome
• Nymphenburg - HUGE

Innsbruck

• My FAVORITE place!
• gorgeous weather, gorgeous mountains
• cheap, cutest, central hotel. LOVED
• crystals were trippy/weird
• Nordpark my fave; trampling around 2 ft. of snow on the Alps with parachuters and rock cliffs

Salzburg

• such an awesome, old, old, city
• SoM!! - all the filming places
• wish mountain wasn't closed
• saw the Untersberg! Gorgeous! Alps diff!
• panorama painting and my poster

Vienna

• a lot like Munich
• not a lot to do for 3 days without spending a lot of money
• everything had admission
• enjoyed art museum a lot - wish I could have seen all, but I saw all paintings
• Karlskirche - best church
• a lot hindered by crowds and Vienna's lack of herding abilities and awful space layout
• royalty history- very interesting

And though this has nothing to do with my thoughts on my trip, I have to add the last comment I made in the journal, from the airplane, because I don't remember it at all and I find it hilarious. It's also a great conclusion as its not a conclusion at all..."someone keeps farting; it smells."

crystal clear

After the magnificence of the mountains, I knew nothing else that day could beat what I felt on top of the snow-covered peak, but the Innsbruck card covered bus travel and free admission to the Swarovksi Crystal Museum, and Anne mentioned to me it was a neat place, so I thought I would check it out. Swarovski is an extremely famous crystal manufacturer and they have stores all around the globe. The are quite pricey based on what I saw in the gift shop. The shuttle ride was about 20 minutes long and it took you right to the front door of the museum. The first thing you see upon approaching the entrance is the face water feature built into the grass. Creepy and interesting are both good words to describe it.  And as it happens, both those adjectives along with "acid trip" would be a good way to describe the museum.

The first room you enter into is pitch black except for the artistically designed crystal on the walls reflecting the little light there is. In the center on the floor is the world's largest crystal. It's pretty big, I'm not gonna lie.

From there on, I don't remember the order or the rooms/exhibits, but some specifics stand out. The giant dome with hundreds of sides was one of my favorite parts. Inside is all reflective surfaces and even though the music was a little weird, the changing colors of light altered my perception of everything and I spent a good deal of time with my head tilted back admiring it all.

 The other portion of the museum I loved was the Crystal tree. Made completely out of crystal, the tree looked like an angelic pine covered in snow in the middle of a far off wood. It was something I wouldn't mind having in my house, but the presentation would be hard to replicate. What made it stand out so much was it being surrounded completely by black walls and a room with no light except for the few shining onto the tree itself. Utterly beautiful.

Now, even though there were some really interesting things, overall I felt like the museum was somewhat pretentious and a couple of the rooms really did feel like acid trips. Especially when they didn't even incorporate crystal that much. An example was a room that had pants and shirts flying around on a loop and they were also seen dancing to music. It was like a really bad Disney ride. Another room was similar but had about 6-7 small mechanical "exhibits" and some had no crystal involved in them so I didn't see their point. They were just weird and felt like a "look what we can do" kind of place.

At the end of all these strange rooms, almost all in the dark, was a giant crystal jellyfish and that was a good ending note cuz it was pretty cool. The gift shop which looked more like a department store floor had some really neat stuff but nothing I could afford from my wallet. There was a $27,000 crystal eagle which was gorgeous of course, but priceyyyy.

Reemerging from the underground, no light at all museum the sun had set and it was just as dark outside. Though it had only been an hour and a half or so, I was so physically and mentally exhausted and drained I wish my hotel wasn't a bus ride away.

I returned to the cutest hotel alive and checked into my private, single room which was perfect even though I would have to go down the hall to use the shower. But it didn't seem like many people were there as the hotel was so quiet. Although I'd been on my own for 2 weeks now, I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude and peacefulness Hotel Weisses Kreuz emitted. There were about 1000 things I loved about this place but I'll only mention a few here. First, the hotel wasn't set up like a fancy, new modern structure. The check-in desk is on the first floor up the stairs from the entrance and it looks a lot like you just stepped into someones home. The living room has a tv, toys and Tirolean furniture. Nothing looks out of place. There is a rustic dining room as well that probably fits about 50-60 people.

The other highlight which skyrocketed this place to the top of my list was the offer to serve my breakfast at 5am even though it normally doesn't begin until 7. I was shocked when the woman offered it to me and I was elated since I was sad I was going to miss the free breakfast. When I went down at 5am the next morning, it was all ready for me, the server said I could sit anywhere and then kept bringing me more and more food options. It was probably one of the most glorious parts of the entire trip. Just outstanding. The customer service at this hotel was spectacular. If you are ever in Innsbruck, I highly highly recommend choosing to stay here. It's downtown location is perfect and close to all the sights and the Weisses Kreuz is everything a traveler could want in a hotel.

city cards and the best high you can have

To begin this post, I'm going to do my spiel about City Cards. Only 3 of the cities I visited offered the city cards, each with their own specifics. Munich's was only a discount card and based on how long I would be there and what I wanted to see, it was not worth it for me to purchase one. Unlike Innsbruck and Salzburg, whose cards include a number of activities around the cities that I wanted to see and the card allows for free admission. And some of the things to do cost almost as much as the card did. In Innsbruck, with just one round trip ride to the top of the mountains and back, I utilized the cost of the card almost completely. Add in all the other wonderful things I saw, and it was the best investment of my entire trip probably. Sure, if you get the card and don't choose to go to the mountains, you don't recoup the investment as quickly but it can still be done since paying individual admission to all the museums and sights can really add up. Such was the case in Salzburg. We bought the cards and ended up breaking even between the cost and individual admission prices. I'm prolly one of the few people who would even care to add it all up and see if it was worth it monetarily but you do get to skip lines as well so there is a time consideration to factor in as well. So my recommendation for City Cards is to get them, as long as the investment will be worth it, and with free admission that worth shows itself very quickly.

After spending plenty of time soaking up Tirolean culture in the Folk Museum, it was around mid-day and the gondola ride to the top of the mountains, and a small ski area, awaited. It started as something off my checklist of things to do, and since the cost was almost as much as the City Card, a worthy investment to check out. It quickly turned into one of my favorite locales/activities of the entire trip.

View of the mountains from the streets below

To get to the top, there were three different transportation devices I had to ride. The first, from the streets of downtown Innsbruck to a small village neighborhood in the hills was completed on a small, train-like shaped car and the ride was fairly quick. From there, we walked 2 minutes to the gondola station that would take us to the restaurant and main section of the ski area. This trek also stopped at the Alpine Zoo, which Anne told me was neat but which I didn't have enough time to visit since I decided I wanted to see the Swarovski Crystal museum more. Don't know if I made the right choice, but more on that later. 

On the ride up, I thoroughly enjoyed my window position and being able to look down at all the lovely snow and see minuscule hikers with their dogs, going both up and down, and I think some may have been on skis. My giddyness started here, and the high I experienced for the next hour was thrilling. Departing from the gondola at the ski level, I had no idea there was another level I could go up, so I went outside and saw kids playing in the snow, couples sitting at the outdoor tables, chair lifts not active yet, and a breathtaking view of the city of Innsbruck and the 360 degree view of surrounding mountains. Oh, and a parachuter flying right over the city.

After spending quite a few minutes soaking up the overlook, I turned and saw the richest blue sky behind a gorgeous balance of rock and snow. 

Deciding I needed to explore, I started to follow the paths of others when I looked to my right and saw another gondola heading up the mountain further. Quickly backtracking, I hopped on the next one departing up. While waiting I saw the map they had for the area and displayed which areas of the mountain were open. There were actually quite a few areas to explore if you were a skier. 

On the ride up there was a gentleman sitting next to me with a backpack and a helmet so I figured he was just an intense hiker. Little did I know I would get a surprise from him when we got to the top. Immediately upon departure he walked determinately to an open spot with plenty of clearance and nothing blocking him from the edge of mountain. Within a matter of seconds it felt like, he pulled a parachute out from his pack, had it all strung up and ready to go, threw his helmet on and ran off the side of the mountain. Where he planned to land in the city, or towards the bottom of the mountain, I have no idea but it was quite a sight to see. And a very popular sport because as I was heading back to the gondola station, there was a whole group prepping to do their run, and at the bottom there were many gentleman with backpacks heading to the top.

After getting over the thrill of watching a man run off the mountain, I finally took the time to gaze in awe of where I was. The view of Innsbruck this time was even more amazing and expansive. I could see forever. 

Turning around was even more amazing. The Alps extended into oblivion and the snow, rock and sky contrast was so spectacular I don't know if I could find words for it. Wispy clouds moving in and out added to the magical effect the mountains were having on me. I was in absolute awe and couldn't get over how gorgeous everything all was and how great and lucky I felt being up on top of the Alps in the snow in the early days of December. Being from New England, snow isn't new to me, but for some reason it was magical that day and I felt like a kid waking up to find school canceled and all the snow in the world to play with.

 

Next to where I was admiring the view was another small peak that had an outbuilding on it and I could see people climbing up to the top. Wishing I was better prepared for hiking and exploring, I desperately wished I could go up there, but didn't think it would be possible. But as I started to hike a little ways up it to get a better view anyway, this lady was hiking down and she was dressed as un-hikerly as me. At this point the wind was blazing by and I stayed lower to the ground in order to not lose my traction and be blown down the mountain. However, as this wonderful lady passed me on her way down she told me it wasn't windy just a little ways up. Based on how much I was being blown over at that moment, I really wanted to say "are you shitting me?" but instead I came up with a very curious, "really?"  

Wind so strong the ice and snow was horizontal not vertical

She was absolutely right though. The magic of weather and wind and nature somehow made it so that the higher I climbed the less the wind had an effect. The hike up was therefore quite easy since I didn't have to worry about being thrown off the mountain by mother nature. And even though every step I took had me sinking at least a foot into the snow, it didn't matter whatsover. I was enjoying myself so thoroughly it would have taken an anvil to destroy my high. The top of this peak was wonderful, silent and serene. No people, no wind. Just me.

our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else - lawrence block

Innsbruck, Austria is in the heart of the Alps on the western side of the country. In the month spent planning my trek, Innsbruck came up as a stop over between Munich and Salzburg. Anne had visited the city early in her semester and had said it was really nice so I thought it would be an interesting place to visit. Little did I know, it would rank in my Top 3 by the end of the day. I took the first train out of Munich to Innsbruck and arrived early morning. Innsbruck isn't as touristy, or as large, as the other European cities I'd already been to so there wasn't much available in the ways of hostels. Instead, I found a hotel for only $50 in the heart of the attractions...almost everything was a 5 min walk away. Called the Hotel Weisses Kreuz, it was the cutest and most adorable place I've ever been, and had the nicest staff ever. The hotel has been functioning since 1465 and boasts for hosting Mozart and his father for a visit in 1769. The hotel was a 10 minute walk from the train station, but on a beautiful, sunny day it passed by very quickly with sights such as the Triumphforte (Triumphial Arch) to pass the time.

Too early to check in, I dropped my bag off at the hotel's front desk, bought the Innsbruck card (most amazing thing in the world to be discussed later) and headed out sightseeing. I had about 8 hours of daylight left and I wasn't going to waste a single minute. I started with a hike to the top of the City Tower which offered a great overview of the city and surrounding mountains. Innsbruck is one of those cities that sits in the valley between majestic, snow covered mountains. Absolutely gorgeous. The mountains provide the most wonderful backdrop to the buildings and streets of Innsbruck and immediately, I wished I could live there. From the tower, the view of St. Jacob's Cathedral was also great since its surrounded by other buildings so up close, you can't get a full picture.

The Cathedral was actually next on my journey, and once again, a new geographical area made for new design of the interior of the church. This time, pink marble was the dominating factor, yet the balance between the gold of the altar, pulpit and organ and the ceiling frescoes made for a gorgeous place.

Outside, an English-speaking tour was going on and I heard an interesting tidbit about the church. Of the 3 windows on the front of the cathedral, only the center is real. The other 2 were painted on to provide visual balance.

 

 

On to...the Goldness Dachl, or Golden Roof; the city's trademark and biggest tourist attraction. The building was originally built as a residence for Tirolean soverigns, and the balcony with the gold-plated, copper tiled roof was used as a box to observe and enjoy tournaments in the plaza below.

Today, its a museum about Emperor Maximilian I, the golden roof and life in the middle ages. As part of the museum, you can step onto the balcony and with a clever set up of mirrors, you can see the roof from there. Looking out onto the square you also get a nice view of the Helbling House, a mansion that sits on the square and is heavily decorated in stuccos. And it's really pink.

The next block over was the Imperial Palace of Innsbruck, and even though Anne told me it wasn't very interesting, since it was part of the Innsbruck Card, it wouldn't cost me anything but a few minutes of my time to check it out. It was certainly open to the public, but after about 5 minutes of wandering around and trying to figure out where to go after the first 2 rooms, I decided my time would be better spent elsewhere. So I went another block over to the Court Church and the Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum (Museum of Tirolean Folk Art). The church was interesting since it's mainly just the tomb of Maximilian I, not a full-time place of worship. The part I really liked was the 20-something statues surrounding the tomb. Very cool and each distinct from each other.

The adjacent building to the church was the Folk Art Museum, a collection of Tirolean furniture, toys, stoves, fabric looms etc. It was a 2 floor collection and there was a lot to see...all of it really interesting. It was like a flashback/surge into the past where everyone dresses up in cute costumes and lives in cabins in the mountains. I loved it all. A wonderful slice of Tirolean life.

A cool part, which scared me a little, was a motion-sensored door that opened as I walked by and led the the balcony of the Court Church so you can look down on the sanctuary and tomb. There was no sign explaining what the door led to so when it magically opened, it was a little scary and disconcerting. Especially since it closes when you enter the church and with no door handle, all I had was my common sense that it would open again if I stood near it.