Oslo, Norway

Great town. Crazy expensive. Beautiful people. Transportation here is as good as the Swiss systems. Sightseeing (and the weather) is probably better in the summer time, but it was nice to see a town with not too many crowds. The seafood is outstanding here – we had the opportunity to try the following: mussels, herring, salmon, scallops and lutefisk. There were some incredible views from the Akerhaus Fortress and the Holmenkollen ski jump (home of the 1952 Olympics). Early one morning we strolled through Vigeland, which is a large park in the NW part of Oslo decorated with over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. Although the art may appear to be of different taste, no visit to Oslo would be finished with out it. One of our favorites was "The Little Hot Head" - see the picture. Oslo and the surrounding area would be an easy place to spend a good solid weekend or even a week during better weather. The locals live by the outdoors. Twenty minutes away are endless forests and mountains for hiking. The view of the fjords are stellar and there is no question that the people of Oslo make the most of their surroundings. On the way out of town at 5am we discovered “black ice” exists in Norway, as D spilled a full cup of coffee on his hand and yet somehow managed to stay on his feet and not lose any bags. It was time to leave.

Berlin, Germany

Who knew Berlin had 3 small airports? Funny enough we arrived at the same time, but in 2 separate airports. Our first realization that the city was once really divided. Berlin proved to be more then we expected and is a highlight of the trip so far. The prices were a welcome change as it is one of the more economical cities we’ve come across. We met up with a good friend Chris, who got a recommendation of a “hot neighborhood” from his concierge. A couple hours later the three of us we were stuffed with German Potato dishes and less then politely asked to leave (the lights were turned off and they stacked chairs in our area). We later found out that this neighborhood was a retirement community. Sweet! We were due for a good Saturday!

This liberal city is driving full force towards a new life. Old architecture that survied two world wars is beautiful; the new transparent glass modern architecture compliments the older buildings very well throughout the city. We saw a good chunk of the city through Fat Tire Bike Tours on Saturday (we'd recommend them, they are also in Paris and Barcelona). We saw many of the key sights - the Berlin Wall remnants, Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz (which is the book burning memorial), Brandenburg Gate to name a few. You could spend weeks combing through the history in this town.

After prompting our bike tour for some “local recs” she gave us some great tips on hot spots for a Saturday night; it made for one of the more interesting nights in the past couple months. Stop #1 a bombed out club in the former East Berlin – see the picture. Apparently this building has been taken over by squatters and is home to a couple bars/clubs and some art galleries. Needless to say the three of us we’re the typical clientel. Stop #2 – White Trash Fast Food: yes this was the name and it was actually a restaurant/bar. We showed up in a local part of town asking for a table for three. The next thing you know we are seated at a table of 6, which had three empty seats. Our seatmates – 3 ladies in their 40s dressed with devil horns who looked less then enthused that we invaded their space. So it goes.The restaurant was decked out with Communist/E Berlin décor and was a solid rec by our guide. She was quickly gaining credibility. Stop #3 – Dr. Pongs. Words probably can’t explain this scene. Unfortunately we didn’t have a camera that could capture pictures. Thankfully there is video of it. For several years this has been a hot spot in Berlin. Laughable, yet fascinating. There were probably 100 people in the place (very tight quarters) – probably 50 played in each ping pong game. It was single elimination so each game went quickly - if you miss you're out! It sounds ridiculous, but it was amazing people watching. Think Napolean Dynamite meets Rocky IV (Cold War). Time stopped. As participants dropped off, you eventually get to the finalists who play a quick game to 5. A must see. Place #4 – Tresor – a former East Berlin Power Plant, turned club. Unreal. There is no chance this place would be allowed to open in the States as the EPA/NHS would be all over it (think Ghostbusters reactors). 2 levels of techno (one for “serious clubbers” and a lounge outfitted with dental chairs with a balcony overlooking the rest of the empty plant). The basement floor only had redlights for illumination which were basically useless because there was so much fog/smoke. We might still be glowing from entering this place. After meeting some locals who did some Bush bashing and an angry German/French meeting who told D he needed a new haircut it was time for some Zs.

We'll be back to Berlin....

Lugano, Switzerland

Saturday we hopped on a train straight south to Lugano. Halfway there the train tracks cut through the alps and we saw our first snowfall!! The snow was coming down pretty hard. No more golf it is officially ski season. Just three hours from Zurich, Lugano sits in the canton of Ticino. Lugano is a big commerce and banking center in the southern part of Switzerland, but the feel is extremely laid back. They speak beautiful Italian and cook amazing Italian food. It was a welcome change from a week ago, where nearly everything was foreign. Saturday afternoon downtown Lugano was packed with multiple street vendors along the piazza. Sitting at a sidewalk cafe made for some solid people watching. As we finished a killer pizza, a glass of chianti and getalo to die for we were anxious to check out town. After a quick stroll through town along the Via Nassa (shopping district) and checking off our obligatory town cathedral (San Carlo), we opted for some serious exercise. Monte Bre was in our sights. The trail to Monte Bre was along several old towns and even an old olive trail. A mix of bricks, switchbacks and lots of steps led us to the town of Bre which was a teaser - as we still had a good 25 mins to the top of the mountain. All in, we probably did about 25km distance and climbed just under 700m altitude. We stayed in a village called Castagnola - just east of Lugano. No cars could access the hotel, so we had about a 10 minute trek along the Olive Path.

Sunday, made for a cool stroll along this Olive Path. We headed east along Lake Lugano and discovered the town of Gandria. The village had an old olive press and even vines growing right along the lake. The views were probably the best we had seen on the lake and the architecture and design of the village was astounding. Making our way back to the hotel, we checked out and got a quick bite of some local baking - our hotel's specialty - raisin cake. Fully fueled for the trek up Monte San Salvatore (912m), we dumped our bags at the the train station and aimed for the base of the mountain. Both Bre and San Salvatore had easy ways up - via Funicolares (aka trains). At the San Salvatore Funicolare station, we asked the cashier which way for the wonderwag (hike) and how long would it take. She rolled her eyes, as if to say "Mama Mia!". Then simply put two fingers up and pointed behind us. We were on it.

About ten mins later our first sign said it would be 2hr 25 mins - no problem. 30 minutes later we hit our first wrong turn. We continue. About 1/2 way up we both hit a wall. The climb was much more severe then the day before. Moments after this, we came across a sign warning us that the "via ferrata" was off to the right - only for experienced climbers with proper harness gear. In between breaths, we managed to chuckle at each other. Obviously, we went the other way. The views made for some great breaks along the way, but the trail didn't seem to end. Finally, we made it and the best views of the weekend were atop this mountain. To the west you get a clear shot of the Swiss Alps, on some days you can even see Matterhorn. To the East and South you get views of Italy. Had it not been so windy, we could have spent hours up there checking out the views... Click here for more views of the weekend!

London, UK

Great opportunity for some golf on a rare sunny London day... About 30 minutes south of London is a great golf course complex - Walton Heath Golf Club. In the past it has hosted US Open qualifying, European Opens and even the 1981 Ryder Cup. Click here for photos from Walton Heath.

St. Gallen, Switzerland

About an hour away from Zurich to the NE is St. Gallen. Two famous things here - the St. Gallen Abbey and Library is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. The abbey is decorated in a baroque style and makes for some pretty amazing scenes inside. Also in the Fall, St. Gallen is famous for the OLMA festival, specifically for trade of food, textiles and famous crafts.

St.. Petersburg Pictures

Click here for the latest pictures from the weekend in St. Petersburg...

Midnight train to....

... St. Petersburg...

Red Square Update

When walking to dinner tonight, we had to cross the bridge to the Kremlin (typical path for us every day here). At the top of the steps, we looked up and encountered no fewer then 15 men, dressed in full military uniform. Very intimidating. We proceeded, as they did not stop us. As we approached St. Basil's cathedral we noticed troops by the HUNDREDS marching all around St. Basil's and the Kremlin. They diverted us around the block to enter Red Square as we were right in the middle of their activity. We have walked through there a dozen times this week and outside of some guards patrolling never really considered it a military arena. Once we reached Red Square we could hear the sound of marching on the cobblestones from across the way. We're still not exactly sure why all of the troops are here, but it was pretty wild to see. Catching a train tonight to St. Petersburg...

Stories from Russia

One must bring a full load of patience when visiting this fine city. The ease of getting through the airport has been long forgotten after these recent episodes.

• Train Tickets: We had to book our train tickets before leaving Chicago, as your entire itinerary needs approval before you are granted a visa. They were booked online and we received instructions on where to pick them up in Moscow. In fact, here are some of the key details: MPP "Megapolis",Bolshaya Molchanovka 30/7, Metro Station "Smolenskaya" -Directions: The building is on Noviy Arbat close to center "Metelitsa", between Impexbank and restaurant "Pekinskaya Utka". Seems fairly routine. Here is where it gets good:
  

1. Once you leave the heart of Moscow (Kremlin), nothing has an English translation, everything is in Cyrillic -basiclly you can't read.
2. When trying to map the address it won't show up and if you ask locals about the addresses, they'll say "we don't really have addresses'
   
3. After 3 laps on Noviy Arbat (a long street) much was learned
• locals don't speak a lick of English (which is fair, I don't know many in the States who can rattle off Russian),
• there are about 50 banks on the Noviy Arbat, none of them look remotely close to Impexbank
• this might be the ugliest street in Moscow
• looking for this mystery train station, was a lousy way to kill 2 hours in a beautiful city
• my phone can't dial Russian numbers
• if at first, you don't succeed - try again

After getting back to the hotel, calling the train they agreed to meet at 9am the next
morning. When asking for directions (in English) they STILL could not give an address.
Keep in mind, they worked there. This conversation made it "somewhat clear" that it
was not on the main street, but near the main street. Perfect. The next morning after
combing sidestreets of the Noviy Arbat, the destination was discovered. This was a good
driver and wedge away from the main street and was nowhere near a bank or Chinese
restaurant. In fact, seemed to be in a building with only 2 windows (open with bars on
them) and no way to enter the building. Now we are walking by, jumping up in the window
sill trying to catch attention (in English). We must have looked like a couple of lunatics.
No response. Finally a local spoke English and suggested ringing a call button (directions
in cyrillic) of a large steel door (think solitary confinement) about 50 feet from the
windows. It worked. Hopefully it is the right train...

• "KGB Man" - so we are walking back from dinner Wednesday night and we've just had our daily encounter with the man selling fur hats (typical response - nyet, nyet). As we are walking into Red Square we are admiring the lights (see photos) when suddenly someone whispers something in Russian quite sternly in my right ear. K was on my left. Looking to my right is a Russian Guard, who is about 6 inches from my face. We surmised that he whispered, "excuse me" - but he literally came out of thin air. After he rattled off some Russian, pointing to my camera, we answered with two blank stares. He rebutted - "your passport please!". There wasn't a smile to be found anywhere near this conversation. After thumbing through my passport (checking my visa and departure cards), he rattles off several questions in a fierce tone: 1) "do you speak Russian"? - if we weren't so shocked from the sneak attack, we'd have both been laughing our butts off 2) "where are you staying?" - we answer 3) "when are you leaving"? - as quickly as we can comrade!.... Turns out it was just a little check up to show who is in charge. (Note: the picture above was taken moments after the encounter - the color had just come back to my face, but notice the look of terror from me.
  

• Bureacracy - you follow the rules when visiting this town. No deviations. We managed to get a quick visit to see Lenin's Mausoleum in one morning. There wasn't really a line, but as we approached the exhibit from the south end of Red Square we realized that the guards (approx 20 of them, for a guy who has been dead for 80+ years) have set up fencing so you must approach from the north side. This wouldn't be a big deal unless you are in heels (K was, as it is strongly suggested that women where heels in Russia to "fit in with local women"). Red Square has cobblestones. Guard #1 enjoyed pointing towards the north end of Red Square rather then "cutting through the fence" (again no one was in line). So we walk the 500 meters to the north end. Guard #2 gives us our first Russian guard smile just as he motions to us that we have to walk all the way around the State History museum to enter the gate. K points to her shoes. Guard #2 shrugs and motions. We understand - we'll be circling the building to come to the same spot. There are rules and those rules will be followed! Now we've covered a good 1/2 mile of extra ground, when we could have been through the exhibit already. We walk around and get to the front of the exhibit. Security check. No cameras or cell phones allowed in the Mausoleum. Thanks for the signage. We now have to walk back another 500m back to check our phones and camera. Guard #1 & Guard #2 must really get a kick out of this, along with their other 18 comrades as it happens every single day.
  

Russia Update

More details coming soon, for now check out some of the pictures...

Moscow

We made it! It is certainly not easy getting here, but we had no problems since our arrival this evening. Surprisingly, the airport is really far from downtown. We made it to the city center and are staying within walking distance of the Kremlin and Red Square. After snapping a couple photos in Red Square, a peddler quickly closed in and he was shied away with a "nyet, nyet (no, no)" - just like a local!

Tubingen, Germany

Here are some of the pictures from the weekend... This was a great little town that we stumbled upon. We had to chase down living permits in Stuttgart Germany and managed to just spend Friday and Saturday night in this charming little town. Great mix of new/old here as it is an old town near the Black Forest and parts of the German wine region. They have a university in town, schooling about 23,000 kids. According to a some "locals" that were were on the boat with, it only costs about 600 EURO per semester. Sounds like quite a deal. We noticed that German University students keep very similar hours as their counterparts in the US. This was discovered two ways: 1) notice the picture of the bar in the photos (link above). This was empty at about 9:30 when we walked back from dinner. K made a comment - "oh, that is so sad that the bar is empty - such a neat little place". By 11pm the place was packed and they probably didn't quit til 3am. So much for a quiet getaway... :) 2) The following morning, we decided to walk around the University. From about 8-11AM we didn't see more then 5 students on the grounds of the university. This town is highly recommended though, particularly if you speak German (we still don't). That made the museum tour in Tubingen Castle, challenging at best. The local shops and farmers market stands made for some good chatter. One other strange note, this town seems to have an abundance of spiders. While we didn't come across any, you'll see about 5 picutures in the album of spider webs we came across on our walk Sunday morning. There were litterally hundreds of these throughout the walk...

Stuttgart, Germany

Off to get our visas and living permits (long story). Had a chance to get morning coffee (look left) while waiting for the consulate to open. That is the city hall building of Stuttgart.

A few more pictures to add as were able to catch a few sights before hopping on another train. Looks like we are headed to a small town south of here for the weekend....

Brussels, Belgium

All the pictures of the palace and park were wiped out, so we'll have to resort to the cafe where I parked for a bit before the train. Brussels was pretty uneventful, getting there was the fiasco. A Duvel and mussels can make all of that nonsense seem like a distant memory...

Forgettable Day

Getting to Brussels, might not be as easy as one thinks. It should be a train ride from Zurich (through Basel) north to Brussels. Here's another way it could happen:

1. Zurich to Basel - no problem, right. Our lovely tram system (which we've grown accustomed to falling asleep to) doesn't start running until 5:30am. Nothing like walking to the train station at 5am!
2. Basel to Brussels - 10 mins to make the connection. "Sorry, the direct train to Brussels has been canceled (communication all in Swiss-German, of course). You'll need to connect in Strasbourg. There you can catch a direct train. It will leave from this track (pointing) in 30 minutes. 28 minutes later (still in front of the aforementioned track, obeying my orders) I get a tap on my shoulder, "you need to be on that train" points afar. I run like hell and barely make it.
3. Strasbourg to Brussels - One traveler in dire need for a cup of coffee. The food cart strolls by,maybe may day is turning around. After ordering a "cafe" which was about three sips of coffee in a dixie cup, the cashier asked me (in French) to pay. I handed him a 2 Euro coin, figuring change was coming back. Nope. The Frenchmen threw my 2 Euro in his change cart and kept his hand out for more. The only additional Euro currency I had was a 50 bill. He shook his head in utter disgust (for those of you who have traveled often, it was the same look you'd give a guy talking too loud on his cell phone in public transportation). That look said it all. Since this guy's English was as strong as my Swiss German, we resorted to body language. After some Neanderthal like pointing and waiving it was clear that he wasn't going to accept my 50 bill and did not want any of my Swiss Franc coins. As this war of attrition continued, the Frenchmen countered with "parlais vous espanol?" - Now, we are talking! Crisis averted. He spotted me 20 cents (reluctantly) after I offered the 50 again and a half dozen "lo siento muchos!". Shortly after my little, little coffee the train stopped in a French town called Metz. A dead stop. Shotty linguistics skills by me, picked up a faint "trois" heard on the overhead page. It was that clue and the fact that everyone was piling of the train (heading towards track 3). This train clearly did not want to go to Strasbourg (frankly, I didn't either). Off to track three to catch my Strasbourg (or was it Brussels?) train. Track 3 says - final destination Luxembourg. I ask the conductor, "parlais vous engles? (for the third time today) and then ask "will this train get me to Brussels"? This conductor assures me that I can transfer in Luxembourg and catch a train to my final destination. Perfect!
4. Metz to Luxembourg - Hey, a new train! This is one of the newer TGV models, a serious upgrade from those other trains this morning. Four trains all by 10AM (impressive, the East Coast isn't even out of bed yet)! Although this is a newer model, the train is considerably louder then the other three trains. By louder, I refer to the two women 3 rows back talking at volumes as if their ears were plugged from high altitude (we were damn close to sea level) and couldn't hear each other. Although I suspect they could hear each other, but if not about 2 dozen volunteers (all rolling their eyes) would be willing to act as a conduit to finish their conversation, just to bring it down an octave. Travelers note - don't enter any long train journeys without a fully charged iPod! I hope they aren't on my next train...
5. Luxembourg to Brussels - allegedly my final transfer (still suspicious). Popular pastimes on this train: a) producing large, loud hacking coughs b) carrying yippy dogs on your lap. Wait until K experiences a train like this.
6. Arrive in Brussels. Go to Hotel. Hotel does not have any record of reservation. Printed email confirmation does this guy no good, as he keeps "very detailed" records of each reservation (in pencil). To give an idea of the bookkeeping he referred to, think of the last lemonade stand you've been to lately. Those kids had better records then this guy. Beginning to think this is just a long practical joke. Not funny. The Belgian apologized and lit up a cigarette right at the front desk. Must be nice, you can smoke at the front desk and not honor reservations. What a place! After it was clear that this guy wasn't honoring my reservation, I called around. Brussels is sold out tonight. Great, like we haven't been through this before (think Zurich apt. hunting).
   
7. Somehow found a place (don't ask how or what it looks like).