Ah, Rome. It was definitely a city that we were both really looking forward to visiting. We had a short train ride from Florence that zipped through the countryside. It was the closest thing to being in the rural areas of Tuscany that we were going to get on this trip. We arrived in Rome in the afternoon and the train station was enormous. We booked a hotel that was very close to the train station and right after we checked in we were right back out the door the start seeing the sights.
Since Rome is such a 
large city, we decided to buy a three-day metro pass instead of trying to walk everywhere. Having learned from visiting other large cities, it’s easy to get discouraged and not want to continue walking when you’re so tired. Our first stop was the Coliseum, possibly the most iconic image in Rome. We were really lucky to have such clear weather during our time and we took a lot of great pictures. The outside of the Coliseum is really spectacular and we were eager to walk around the inside. The arena is gigantic and it’s easy to conjure up images from movies about gladiators fighting and the crowds roaring above. Time certainly has done a number on the Coliseum, turning the once proud structure into ruin. Our ticket into the Coliseum was also good for the neighboring Palatine Hill and the Roman forum, and was valid for twenty-four hours. These areas are so large that we spent the rest of our first day walking around the ruins and still didn’t see even half of the grounds. We came back early the following morning to finish trekking around. We found remains of the famous Roman aqueducts as well as the partially intact Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens. It was a really interesting experience to be right where the Roman Empire once stood, and is now all but leveled. Not far from there is the Pantheon, a temple 
build for all of the ancient gods in Rome in 126 AD. But, like most of the important or iconic structures we’ve seen so far on our trip, it was under construction and our photos were disappointing. We made our way to Piazza Navona to take a break by the fountains. There are numerous fountains all over Rome, all incredibly detailed and gigantic. Once we were back on our feet, we came across the Trevi fountain and a large crowd gathered around it. It was so crowded that we didn’t make it close enough to throw a coin in and make a wish. Rome is such a huge city that you can’t go a block without running into something spectacular. On our travels back toward the metro, we found the church which houses the Mouth of Truth (as seen on “Roman Holiday” and “Only You”). Consider the statue an ancient lie detector; it’s said that if your hand is in the mouth and you tell a lie, your hand will be bit off. Unfortunately, we arrive literally a minute too late and the church was closing their gates. I was able to take pictures of the Mouth, but I didn’t have a chance to put my hand inside.
We had been in Italy for almost a full week, so it was time to leave the country. Within a few minutes on the Metro we arrived in Vatican City, the world’s smallest country and the home of the Pope. St. Peter’s Square is surrounded by giant columns that lead up to the main attraction: St. Peter’s Basilica. Because it’s free to enter the church, there is always a line wrapped around the square to enter. From the outside, the church looks more like a parliament building. The inside is a whole different story. There is gold everywhere, and even if it’s only paint it’s still pretty fantastic. The whole cathedral shines when the sun is out, and there is nothing ordinary about any of the staves, statues or artwork throughout. There was a procession being held, but we weren’t sure what was going on. We think that maybe some dignitaries were being escorted down the aisle and into another area of the church, but that’s only speculation. It was kind of neat to see the Vatican guards marching down the aisle in what I’m sure are very dignified and historic uniforms. When we were finished basking in the opulence of St. Peter’s Basilica, we made our way to the Vatican Museum. We had no idea what we were in store for other than to visit the Sistine Chapel housed inside. The Museum is enormous, I can’t emphasize that enough. It would take days to see everything there; we definitely didn’t schedule enough time for the museum. There are all sorts of sculptures, tapestries, painting and any other form of art you can think of. They even have an Egyptian wing, which we briefly visited. From floor to ceiling, the museum itself is a work of art. We didn’t have enough time to spend wandering around, so we went straight to the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s ceiling masterpiece which includes The Creation of Adam. Aside from visiting the tiniest country on the map, the Sistine Chapel was on our list of must-see things.
We were at a crossroads with our trip. A decision had to be made on where to go next. Up until this point, we’ve mostly stuck to our outlined plan, with few exceptions. But at this point, we were a bit worn down and tired of big cities, especially in Italy. We needed a break, somewhere where we don’t have to feel obligated to see everything we can and make the most of our time. Originally we planned on going to Naples and visiting Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. It would have been neat to see the mountain and the remains of the leveled city, but through a bit of research we found that Naples wasn’t a very nice city and it was going to be more expensive than we thought. Our goal was to relax and our alternatives were either to go back into Florence and find a nice bed and breakfast in the countryside, or to head up to the Italian Riviera and stay along the coast. The deciding factor was the weather, which was forecast to be rainy and windy in most areas of the country. We decided that, given the impending inclement weather, going to the ocean would be a better choice. After leaving Rome, we stopped in Pisa for about twenty minutes to look at the Leaning Tower. We took our pictures, saw all the tourists taking silly pictures of them holding the tower up, and then we left. We never planned on spending a lot of time in Pisa, it was always meant to be a quick stop between destinations.
Our next stop was La Spezia, a small city along the Mediterranean. We were not planning on spending much time there, however, because the real scenic beauty is just north in an area called Cinque Terre, or the five cities: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The cities all sit along the ocean and are easily accessible by train. We decided to spend the whole day walking throughout the cities and along a coastal path that connects them. The cliffs and hillsides are brushed with colorful houses, and vineyards are spread out over the hilltops. The cities were fairly similar to each other, but all had very distinct charm. We walked along the ocean on a paved path from the first city to the second, and then boarded a train to the fifth city, which was apparently the nicest of them all. From there we hiked for about three miles along a winding dirt path that connected the fifth to the fourth, snaking through vineyards on the hillsides and squeaking by the narrow trail along the ocean cliffs. The hike wasn’t extremely difficult, but it was a bit challenging in areas. The whole area reminded us of Big Sur, and it was the closest thing to “home” we’ve had so far on this trip. We had planned to have a “down day” and not do anything, but once we starting exploring the cities we decided that it would be fun to hike around. The weather wasn’t the best, but it didn’t rain the whole time we were outdoors. Once we returned to our hotel, the downpour really began. We planned our outing perfectly and we were both really happy with our time spent. It was nice to be out in nature again, something we both love and haven’t done in a while. We had a great day, despite the gloomy weather. I’m sure that the area is even better in the summertime, and we would possibly consider visiting Cinque Terre again during that season.
Our time in Italy was not exactly what we had anticipated. It’s not that we didn’t enjoy being there, but that our interpretations of Italy are very different than how the vacation destination is generally portrayed. I suppose that there were a few cultural differences that we may have misinterpreted which created ill feelings. Basically, we saw almost all of the culturally and historically significant places and things, and there’s a slim chance that we would ever return to any part of the country.
Next up: Monaco, Nice & BarcelonaRome and Vatican City:Pisa and Cinque Terre
There is quite a distance between Budapest and Venice and we had to decide on whether to spend a whole day traveling or to take the dreaded night train. After careful consideration, we chose to take a proper sleeper train overnight. The whole trip lasted from eight at night until eight in the morning. Because we made reservations late, we were in separate cars; I was in a female-only room and Mark in a mixed-gender. The “rooms” contained six “beds,” three on either side stacked on top of each other, bunk bed style. Thankfully neither of our rooms were full. However, that didn’t stop the train from ruining our rest. It wasn’t the best night’s sleep we’ve had, but it was better than the last time we rode a night train in Copenhagen. We arrived in Venice early and excited to be in Italy. Our excitement was deflated little by little as we realized what being in Italy really means. Truly it is a country that wants to squeeze every penny out of you. I can go on and on about how Italy grinds my gears, and we even created a blog post to accompany this one just for the gripes, but we decided against it so that our time in Italy doesn’t seem so negative.Our first order of busin
ess was to get food and then meander through the alleyways of the city. Venice is the world’s only pedestrian-only city, and it was nice to not have to compete with cars, busses, bikes or scooters. It is very easy to walk around the island city, and just as easy to get lost. Venetian streets are exactly what the pictures look like: a labyrinth of cobbled streets snaking over canals tucked between aged brick buildings. It certainly is a one-of-a-kind place. The gondolas were in full effect, many accompanied with singing gondoliers. We made our way to the highlight of the main island, Piazza San Marco. The bell tower, the Campanile di San Marco, is easily the most recognizable symbol of Venice. Next to the tower are the Palazzo Ducale and Saint Mark’s Basilica. We waited in line for a bit to go into the church, which is known for having large opulent mosaics throughout the interior. We came across a number of immense stone churches which were all open to the public. At an exhibit on violin making in Venice, the “Artemio Versari Collection,” we saw a violin that dates back to 1580, along with several other old and interestingly shaped instruments. We crossed over the famous Rialto bridge and the market. Later, we made some time to visit the old Jewish Ghetto, which was where the term “ghetto” was used for the very first time. The area is a bit on the dilapidated side, but it is still home to many whose families lost so much. The majority of our time in Venice was spent wandering around, often times aimlessly to find something new to see and trying to avoid getting caught in the rain.
Venice is a cluster of over one hundred islands, and we only explored a fraction of them. If we had had more time we would have really enjoyed taking a boat out to more of the remote islands. Overall, there really isn’t much to do there other than to sightsee and take great pictures. We were really looking forward to riding in a gondola and eating at a canal-side restaurant, but everything was incredibly expensive and we just couldn’t justify it with more than a month left in our trip. I’m sure we would have felt a bit better about our time in Venice had the weather been less gloomy. We’re not sure it’s a place we’d ever return to, but we’re glad we came and we left with some good pictures.
Our next stop was Florenc
e, right in the heart of the Tuscan region. We quickly realized that our Eurail passes were not enough to get us onto an Italian train, and that seat reservations were compulsory. We were fined twice the amount of a seat ticket for not having one. Plus, most of the train ride was through tunnels, so we barely got to see any of the countryside. Needless to say, we arrived in Florence a bit peeved and ready to say nuts to the whole affair. Our hostel accommodations didn’t ease our frustration as it was easily one of the worst we’ve stayed in. We’ve been relying heavily on consumer reviews of different hotels and hostels wherever we go, and this one definitely led us astray. On the positive, it was close to the train station, a grocery store and a laundromat. It just felt like we were paying a lot of money to stay in someone’s spare room. Our main purpose for staying in Florence was to see Michelangelo’s David, which was as brilliant as we’d hoped it would be. We spent a fair amount of time marveling at the incredible undertaking the sculpture must have been. The masterpiece is housed in the Accademia Gallery along with Michelangelo’s unfinished Slaves and various other pieces of art throughout history. Many of the exhibits were focused on art from churches and historic tapestries. We coul
d not take any pictures of David or of anything else in the museum, but the city has two replicas as it is easily one of their proudest pieces of art. Not far from there is the Florence Cathedral, which was ornate and impressive on the outside and mundane on the inside. With the exception of a few ceiling murals, the interior was beige and tasteless. We moved across the Arno river and climbed up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to get a panoramic view of the city and countryside. From there, the Florence Cathedral dominates the landscape as the largest building in the city. We caught a glimpse into what the rural Tuscan region might be like on the west side of the city. From what we saw, it looks an awful lot like Napa, California. On our way out of Florence on the train, we noticed that the rolling green hills spotted with small farms and vineyards were reminiscent of the drive down HWY 1 from outside south San Jose to the north of Salinas. Some will surely argue, but I say the California version was much more pleasant (as long as there’s no traffic).
Rolling down the boot to: Rome, Vatican City and an incredibly brief stop in PisaVenice:
Florence:
Greetings from the Eastern Bloc! Poland is the farthest east either of us has ever traveled. We sort of had an idea of what it was going to be like, but we really didn’t know what to expect. For the most part, our initial expectations of Poland being a bit run down were correct. Our train ride from Vienna to Krakow proved to be a challenge. There was one stop at a notoriously dodgy train station in Katowice that had us a bit worried. When we arrived at the station, nothing was in English and our connecting train information was not clearly displayed. Fortunately there was a huge group of boisterous Scottish men, clearly identified as such by their kilts, who were also on their way to Krakow. We also met a nice couple from Australia who were heading in the same direction, and we had time to converse once we boarded our run-down communist-era train. We made it safely to Krakow and were surprised by what we saw.
Krakow is a city with 
a lot of history; it was officially founded in 966. Our hotel was within walking distance of the train station. Poland is a generally inexpensive place, so we decided to stay in a nice hotel for a change, which was actually cheaper than many of the hostels we’ve stayed in elsewhere. As it turns out, we actually rented an apartment for our stay, and this place was as big as our last apartment in Monterey. It was so nice to have a private place to walk around and stretch out. Since it was early in the evening, we decided to head down the block to see what was nearby. Again, we picked a great place to stay as our apartment was within a few blocks of the main town square, the Rynek Główny. At night, all the buildings and the church are lit up and the sidewalk restaurants are filled. There are stalls all around selling flowers and other wares. It was the first time we were intentionally out in a city at night, and thankfully for us Krakow’s city square is really beautiful. The main focal point is the St. Mary’s Basilica which sits in a corner of the square. There are two very interesting stories regarding the church’s history. If you notice, the church spires are different styles and sizes. It’s said that during the planning, two brothers were contracted to build the spires of the church. Once they began to build, the younger brother became jealous of his brother’s spire, which was taller and more ornate. In a fit of rage, he killed his brother. Once he realized what he had done, he was so remorseful that he killed himself by jumping off of the roof of the church. The second story involves a firefighter in the thirteenth century who was standing watch over the city up in the tallest tower. It was very late at night when he spotted Tartar forces approaching, ready to storm the city. The firefighter began to blow a trumpet from the tower to wake all the residents to prepare themselves for battle. Partway through the trumpeter’s song, he was shot and killed by an arrow. Because of his valiant effort, the city was organized and staved off the challengers. So now, as a tribute, a local firefighter is in charge of playing a tune on the trumpet from the tallest tower every hour (during the daytime). And he never finishes; he always cuts out partway through the son
g as the original firefighter did. Right in the center of the square is the historic Cloth Hall, essentially the world’s very first shopping mall. There are booths inside selling souvenirs and such, carrying on the tradition. There are several churches in Krakow, almost all of them Catholic. The city, as I’m sure with the rest of the country, absolutely loves their native son Pope John Paul II, or as I like to call him, PJP2. There are statues and memorials dedicated to his life and work during his tenure as pope. There was one incredible picture of an aerial shot over the Rynek Główny were over two million people gathered to see PJP2 give a speech. Near the city center is the Wawel castle, home to the kings of Poland for centuries and now the resting place of many of them. The castle compound sits atop of a hill overlooking the 
city and is quite expansive. After checking out the church and some of the tombs (the very recently deceased president and his wife are controversially buried there) we descended into the famed Dragon’s Lair. The fabled dragon is a favorite in Krakow, but the lair itself was incredibly cheesy. At the end there is a statue of the dragon that at one point would shoot fire from its mouth whenever a text message was sent to a special number. Alas, no more.
We found out through the tourist information center about a free walking tour of the Jewish Quarter that day. The tour is run independently by a group of certified guides. Apparently, it is very difficult to become a tour guide in Poland and it requires taking state exams. According to our guide, less than ten percent pass every year (at least, that’s what he said). Our guide was pleasant but seemed a bit eccentric. We also ran into the Australian couple from the train who were taking the tour as well. Our tour started in the small area designated as a Jewish quarter and was where several scenes from “Schindler’s List” were filmed. We passed by the few remaining Synagogues and a cemetery. There are only a small percentage of Jewish people living in Krakow these days. We moved across the Vistula river to an area that was designed as a ghetto during WW2. There is a memorial set up in a large square with several statues of empty chairs. It was believed by the Nazis that Jewish people hit valuables inside of chairs. When everyone was forced out of their homes and into the ghettos, the chairs were piled in this square and searched. Our tour continued far outside of the city center to the site of Oskar Schindler’s factory. The original factory is no longer standing, but the building on the grounds is now sectioned into a museum and other workspaces. As controversial as Schindler may have been, he still played a role is saving lives. Once the tour was over, we booked it back into the city center to catch a piano concert featuring mostly works by Chopin. The concert was held in the historic Wierzynek building, and the pianist was very talented. He also played a few pieces by Liszt and Mendelssohn, and it was exactly the kind of classical music experience we were looking to find while in Vienna but didn’t. It would have been neat to see a Mozart performance in Vienna, but Chopin is Mark’s favorite composer (and from Poland) and Liszt his second, so overall this was a better choice. The evening was getting on and we decided to call it a night. We knew the following day was going to be hard-hitting and emotional.
We boarded a small bus earl
y in the morning and headed an hour and a half outside of Krakow to Auschwitz concentration camps. The former camps are now memorials and museums open to the public to either go it alone or to take a paid tour. We decided it would be best to get the most and take the tour. Out of respect, we did not take any photos inside of the camps, only of the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” (work makes you free) gate and the train tracks leading into Auschwitz-Birkenau. I won’t go into too much detail on what we saw, other than it was not a pleasant event but rather one we felt was necessary to do. Visiting Auschwitz was the reason we decided to travel to Poland altogether. It was a harrowing experience to say the least. We were taken around to the different barracks that are now museums that house photos taken during and after the Holocaust and items that belonged to those killed there. When the war was coming to a close, the Nazis tried to destroy the gas chambers and all other evidence o f their murders. However, one gas chamber was left intact, and our tour took us through it. Once the tour finished at the main camp, a bus took us to Auschwitz-Birkenau just ten minutes away. This was the location where all prisoners arrived, and once off the train were inspected to determine whether they were fit for work or not. Those who were fit were transported to the main camp for processing, and those who were not, about seventy percent, were marched right into the gas chambers just a few yards away. On either side of the tracks are wooden barracks used as quarantine areas, penal colonies and the women’s camp. At the end of the tracks lies a bleak memorial to those who were killed there, and at either side of the tracks are the ruins of the gas chambers. The sheer size of the ruins, as well as the entire compound itself, was shocking. We left that day feeling emotionally drained and morose, but thankful to have taken the time to go to Auschwitz.Our next stop was Bud
apest, but unfortunately there was not a direct route from Poland to Hungary that allowed us to use our Eurail pass. Therefore we had to go back to Vienna, stay the night and leave early the following day. We had heard and read a lot of really positive things about Budapest during our planning, but unfortunately the city did not live up to our expectations. The city is actually clean when it comes to litter, but the air is terribly polluted. I was constantly sneezing and my eyes were really affected by the smog. I suppose that’s the result of decades of heavy industrialization under communist rule. The monetary aspect of our stay was interesting: one US dollar was equal to two hundred Hungarian forints. It was a real surprise at first, but goods were actually pretty cheap. The one upside to our time in Budapest was a glitch in the computer system at the hotel-apartments where we stayed. Initially we booked a one bedroom apartment, but somehow we ended up with a three bedroom penthouse for the same price. It was spacious and clean, and best of all quiet. We had some time left in the evening to go out and see the city. Budapest is actually two cities divided by the Danube river; Buda on the west and Pest on the east. One thing we didn’t count on during our visit was how spread out all the main sites where. We were resolute to do most of our site seeing on foot, which turned out to be more of a hassle than we thought. There are several tour busses that boast the “hop on, hop off” feature, but they were really expensive and not very environmentally-friendly. We missed out on seeing a lot of sites, but after reading about all the different p
laces to see, we felt that it just wasn’t worth it. We walked across the iconic Chain bridge and took a fair amount of pictures at the palace, parliament and a few churches. We took a few shots from the top of the palace in Buda overlooking Pest, and you can easily see how poor the air quality is there. The day was rather sunny, but the photo makes it look like it’s overcast or foggy. After wandering around and increasingly feeling ill, we decided to pack it in early and make dinner at the apartment. We had a giant flat screen TV, but the only channel that had anything in English was music videos on VH1 (not even a BBC!). It was just our luck that someone left a DVD behind. We spent the afternoon watching Alfred Hitchcock’s mystery movie “Spellbound” with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. We were really happy to have some downtime, and enjoy a classic as well. If it weren’t for the awesome apartment, we probably would have left Budapest feeling unenthusiastic about our time spent there. We can certainly check it off the list, but we feel there’s no reason to ever return.
Moving forward to: Venice and Florence, ItalyKrakow:Budapest:
It was difficult to leave Switzerland. The places where we stayed could have provided the kind of relaxation that, at this point in our journey, we certainly needed. However, we pressed on, if not for the sake of seeing new places but also to get away from the ridiculously high cost of everything there. Our direction was east to Austria, and our first stop was Salzburg. Within walking distance to the German border and an hour’s train ride to the Bavarian Alps, Salzburg and the surrounding areas were the settings for the timeless movie “The Sound of Music” and the Clint Eastwood classic “Where Eagles Dare.” We arrived at the tail end of Oktoberfest, and even there we could see people dressed up for the festival hopping on a train toward, or off from Munich.
We arrived late in the eve
ning and had a bit of a difficult time reaching out hotel. After a few turns on a bus and a few miles walking through neighborhoods, we finally found it. We actually had to stay in two different hotels during our time in Salzburg due to price fluctuations. The first was nothing much to speak of, but the second was in a building constructed in the fifteenth century and was very charming. It was nice to be in a more homely setting for a change. Our first full day in Austria was actually spent in Germany, in a small town called Berchtesgaden. Located in the Bavarian Alps, the town was the favorite holiday residence of the Nazi party and home to Hitler for some time. Our purpose for the visit was to ascend to the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s fiftieth birthday present from the party. Perched at 6017 feet, it is said that Hitler didn’t spend much time there because of his fear of heights. After the war, the building was set to be destroyed until the local mayor at the time successfully lobbied to keep it intact. The only way to get to the top is by a tourist bus as the roads have been closed to all other transportation. Once we arrived at the base, a long tunnel takes visitors to an elevator that goes four hundred feet up to the site. The building itself has been leased out and is now used as a mountain top restaurant. It’s kind of a shame; they could have made it into a museum or something other than a cafeteria. Although it’s not much to look at, the surrounding park area is really nice. We were able to do a bit of hiking and climbing around the rocks, and the view of the Alps was fantastic. It was a good thing the weather was nice, otherwise the whole experience would have been for naught. When we were finished, the bus took us back to a tourist center that includes the WW2 history museum Dokumentation. The museum focuses on all aspects of the war, both in Germany and abroad. The museum sits on top of an actual bunker, which is a part of the museum. The bunker is a dank labyrinth of tunnels and rooms that seem as depressing now as they surely were during the war. We went into the museum just over an hour before closing, so unfortunately we didn’t see everything on display, though we still felt it worth the time spent. The next day we headed once again outside of Salzburg, but we were still in Austria (barely). We took a train to Werfen, a small town in the Alps that was a setting for “The Sound of Music.” Remember the “Do, Re, Mi” song that was sung in a field? That was
in Werfen. One of the draws to the city is the Hohenwerfen fortress. You can see the fortress from almost all points of the area. We decided to do a little hiking to find the spot where the “Do, Re, Mi” scene was performed, and we’ll just go ahead and say the field we saw was it. It’s hard to tell just by looking since there aren’t any signs indicating the exact location, but our Google images investigation yielded a picture of the scene that looks almost exactly like where we were. Our intentions for going to Werfen were to be outdoors and enjoy the Alps for the last time, and in that we were successful. On our last day in Salzburg, we decided to take most of the day to relax and sleep in. It was a good thing as well since it was a rainy day. Later in the afternoon we decided to walk around the historic center. We found Mozart’s childhood house, which is now surrounded by souvenir and fast food shops . We found a few impressive cathedrals, but at this point we’ve seen enough of them. We climbed up to one of the fortress walls to get a panoramic view of the city, which is spotted with domes and spires throughout. We watched one of the street bands perform various Mozart pieces on an accordion and a harp-like instrument. Overall, Salzburg wasn’t the most exciting place. It has a very nice historic center, but the downtown area is a dump. Also, the drivers in the city are jerks. I can’t tell you how many times we were almost hit by cars while in the crosswalk with the right-of-way; bus drivers are the worst offenders.
We had much better lu
ck in Vienna. We stayed in a hostel that was really close to the train station, which was nice for a change. Our room was small but private, and everything we needed was just a few blocks away. We decided to take a self-guided walking tour on our first day. The first stop was the symbol of the city; the Stephansdom. No part of the original church is still intact, and the oldest portion dates back to the thirteenth century. There are a lot of different architectural styles mixed in the building, which are very apparent when walking around the exterior. We decided to take an elevator to the top of one of the towers. Unfortunately, we picked the wrong tower to get the best views of the city, but we did get to see cool parts of the top of the church. It was just our luck that right across from the church was a Manner store. Manner is the original Viennese Neapolitan wafer treat and is very delicious. Not far from there was another house where Mozart lived during the later part of his life. The house, like his childhood house in Salzburg, is now a museum. We continued into the city toward the museum district and passed by one of the many ostentatious opera houses along the main streets. Outside are guys wearing Mozart themed bathrobes and wigs peddling last minute discounted opera and symphony tickets to tourists. We actually were planning on going to a symphony while in Vienna, but after seeing how they are all geared toward tourists and are slightly more expensive than we were hoping for, we declined. However, we were still hounded by the faux-zarts everywhere we went. Vienna certainly has a flair for dramatic structures. The Rathaus and the library i
n particular are very striking. Their statues are incredibly detailed, and in some cases quite bizarre. There were several statues in front of the Parliament building depicting naked men punching horses in the face. Who knows what that means? We continued on to an outdoor market to find lunch. The market stretches for about four blocks and is mostly filled with kebab shops. There are fresh produce stands and actual restaurants as well, but every other stall housed a döner/falafel/kebab stand. It was not exactly the traditional Viennese food we were looking for, but we were satisfied. As we made our way toward the metro station, we passed by a park which had manhole covers from all over the European Union on display lining the path. We never considered manhole covers as art before. After a full day of walking, we decided to call it a night and make dinner at the hostel. The next morning we were out early to finish up our sightseeing in town. Our first stop was at a local coffee shop to enjoy a traditional Viennese coffee and a Manner. The coffee was about as good as I’ve had back home. Just outside of the coffee shop were St. Micheal’s Square and the Roman ruins. The ruins contain an old Roman road and the basement of a theater that was built in the seventeenth century. It was a pretty neat find that we just happened to stumble upon on our way to get coffee. Across the way were more interesting statues of large naked men slaying various types of mythical creatures. We decided to visit one of the sev
eral museums Vienna has to offer and chose the Papyrus Museum at the Nationalbibliothek (the library), mostly because it had really cheap admission. A small section of the library houses a rare collection of papyrus scrolls and artifacts from around the world that are thousands of years old. The artifacts were from various areas and times; ancient Egyptian, Jewish, Greek, Muslim, and Christian writings. One of the more interesting displays was of the pieces of original text from Homer’s Odyssey. There was a whole row dedicated to ancient prescriptions and medical advice, one of which was a recipe for toothpaste. Also on display was a small statue of Ishtar, the mother of magic in Persia, and was the oldest object in the collection dating back to 3000 BC. It was certainly the oldest thing we’ve ever seen as we
ll. After the museum, we headed about a half hour outside of the city to the Zentralfriedhof, the central cemetery. The cemetery was incredibly large and required a map to navigate. Not far from the front gate was the “graves of honor” section, the final resting places of composers Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss and Schubert. There is a memorial to Mozart between Beethoven and Schubert because his body was buried in a mass grave elsewhere. Visiting these famous composers’ graves was the only reason for our trip to the cemetery, so we didn’t stay long to wander around. We decided to call it a day and head back to start planning for our next destination. Vienna is a very pleasant city that was easy to navigate and had a lot of really interesting sights. Salzburg was kind of the opposite of Vienna, and we’re glad that most of our time spent there was actually outside of the city. Austria probably won’t be a country that we’ll intentionally* visit again, but we’re satisfied with our time spent.
Coming up: Krakow, Poland and Budapest, Hungary
*At the point of this post, we will have returned to Vienna two more times, once coming back from Krakow to stay the night and again coming from Budapest for six hours on our way to Italy. At least we knew the area well…Salzburg:Vienna:
Ah, Rome. It was definitely a city that we were both really looking forward to visiting. We had a short train ride from Florence that zipped through the countryside. It was the closest thing to being in the rural areas of Tuscany that we were going to get on this trip. We arrived in Rome in the afternoon and the train station was enormous. We booked a hotel that was very close to the train station and right after we checked in we were right back out the door the start seeing the sights.
large city, we decided to buy a three-day metro pass instead of trying to walk everywhere. Having learned from visiting other large cities, it’s easy to get discouraged and not want to continue walking when you’re so tired. Our first stop was the Coliseum, possibly the most iconic image in Rome. We were really lucky to have such clear weather during our time and we took a lot of great pictures. The outside of the Coliseum is really spectacular and we were eager to walk around the inside. The arena is gigantic and it’s easy to conjure up images from movies about gladiators fighting and the crowds roaring above. Time certainly has done a number on the Coliseum, turning the once proud structure into ruin. Our ticket into the Coliseum was also good for the neighboring Palatine Hill and the Roman forum, and was valid for twenty-four hours. These areas are so large that we spent the rest of our first day walking around the ruins and still didn’t see even half of the grounds. We came back early the following morning to finish trekking around. We found remains of the famous Roman aqueducts as well as the partially intact Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens. It was a really interesting experience to be right where the Roman Empire once stood, and is now all but leveled. Not far from there is the Pantheon, a temple 
build for all of the ancient gods in Rome in 126 AD. But, like most of the important or iconic structures we’ve seen so far on our trip, it was under construction and our photos were disappointing. We made our way to Piazza Navona to take a break by the fountains. There are numerous fountains all over Rome, all incredibly detailed and gigantic. Once we were back on our feet, we came across the Trevi fountain and a large crowd gathered around it. It was so crowded that we didn’t make it close enough to throw a coin in and make a wish. Rome is such a huge city that you can’t go a block without running into something spectacular. On our travels back toward the metro, we found the church which houses the Mouth of Truth (as seen on “Roman Holiday” and “Only You”). Consider the statue an ancient lie detector; it’s said that if your hand is in the mouth and you tell a lie, your hand will be bit off. Unfortunately, we arrive literally a minute too late and the church was closing their gates. I was able to take pictures of the Mouth, but I didn’t have a chance to put my hand inside. 
We had been in Italy for almost a full week, so it was time to leave the country. Within a few minutes on the Metro we arrived in Vatican City, the world’s smallest country and the home of the Pope. St. Peter’s Square is surrounded by giant columns that lead up to the main attraction: St. Peter’s Basilica. Because it’s free to enter the church, there is always a line wrapped around the square to enter. From the outside, the church looks more like a parliament building. The inside is a whole different story. There is gold everywhere, and even if it’s only paint it’s still pretty fantastic. The whole cathedral shines when the sun is out, and there is nothing ordinary about any of the staves, statues or artwork throughout. There was a procession being held, but we weren’t sure what was going on. We think that maybe some dignitaries were being escorted down the aisle and into another area of the church, but that’s only speculation. It was kind of neat to see the Vatican guards marching down the aisle in what I’m sure are very dignified and historic uniforms. When we were finished basking in the opulence of St. Peter’s Basilica, we made our way to the Vatican Museum. We had no idea what we were in store for other than to visit the Sistine Chapel housed inside. The Museum is enormous, I can’t emphasize that enough. It would take days to see everything there; we definitely didn’t schedule enough time for the museum. There are all sorts of sculptures, tapestries, painting and any other form of art you can think of. They even have an Egyptian wing, which we briefly visited. From floor to ceiling, the museum itself is a work of art. We didn’t have enough time to spend wandering around, so we went straight to the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s ceiling masterpiece which includes The Creation of Adam. Aside from visiting the tiniest country on the map, the Sistine Chapel was on our list of must-see things. 
We were at a crossroads with our trip. A decision had to be made on where to go next. Up until this point, we’ve mostly stuck to our outlined plan, with few exceptions. But at this point, we were a bit worn down and tired of big cities, especially in Italy. We needed a break, somewhere where we don’t have to feel obligated to see everything we can and make the most of our time. Originally we planned on going to Naples and visiting Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. It would have been neat to see the mountain and the remains of the leveled city, but through a bit of research we found that Naples wasn’t a very nice city and it was going to be more expensive than we thought. Our goal was to relax and our alternatives were either to go back into Florence and find a nice bed and breakfast in the countryside, or to head up to the Italian Riviera and stay along the coast. The deciding factor was the weather, which was forecast to be rainy and windy in most areas of the country. We decided that, given the impending inclement weather, going to the ocean would be a better choice. After leaving Rome, we stopped in Pisa for about twenty minutes to look at the Leaning Tower. We took our pictures, saw all the tourists taking silly pictures of them holding the tower up, and then we left. We never planned on spending a lot of time in Pisa, it was always meant to be a quick stop between destinations. 
Our next stop was La Spezia, a small city along the Mediterranean. We were not planning on spending much time there, however, because the real scenic beauty is just north in an area called Cinque Terre, or the five cities: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The cities all sit along the ocean and are easily accessible by train. We decided to spend the whole day walking throughout the cities and along a coastal path that connects them. The cliffs and hillsides are brushed with colorful houses, and vineyards are spread out over the hilltops. The cities were fairly similar to each other, but all had very distinct charm. We walked along the ocean on a paved path from the first city to the second, and then boarded a train to the fifth city, which was apparently the nicest of them all. From there we hiked for about three miles along a winding dirt path that connected the fifth to the fourth, snaking through vineyards on the hillsides and squeaking by the narrow trail along the ocean cliffs. The hike wasn’t extremely difficult, but it was a bit challenging in areas. The whole area reminded us of Big Sur, and it was the closest thing to “home” we’ve had so far on this trip. We had planned to have a “down day” and not do anything, but once we starting exploring the cities we decided that it would be fun to hike around. The weather wasn’t the best, but it didn’t rain the whole time we were outdoors. Once we returned to our hotel, the downpour really began. We planned our outing perfectly and we were both really happy with our time spent. It was nice to be out in nature again, something we both love and haven’t done in a while. We had a great day, despite the gloomy weather. I’m sure that the area is even better in the summertime, and we would possibly consider visiting Cinque Terre again during that season.
