Auschwitz

There isn't too much that can really be said about this travesty. The Auschwitz concentration camps are about an hour outside of Krakow. We saw it in bleak conditions - snow cover, and -10 degrees C (about 15F). A chilling experience, all in all. The trip is something that everyone should see if in the area, but it was a very somber day. For a visual effect of our time click here for the pictures.

Krakow, Poland

The arrival to Krakow was preceded by a good few inches of snowfall. The drive from the airport to the center of town was remarkably pretty, but you get your first snow of the year anywhere in the world and it is always memorable. Krakow had a lot to offer. The students seem to dominate this town, as we definitely felt "old" when walking around. In the town center we experienced the first of many European Christmas markets. The setup for each of these booths is pretty amazing. Booths are about 5'x10' made of wood. The vendors in Krakow had these up in no time on Wednesday and were ready for locals and tourists alike to kick off their holiday shopping. No trip to Krakow would be complete without some kielbasa (a good tip from a "former local"), this went down quickly with mull wine (heated red wine with spices) - a festival favorite. The Wawel Castle sits perched above the town and river, very close to the famous Jewish Quarter - Kasmierz. Oscar Schindler's factory was just south of this area and they'll be opening an exibit of some sort soon. This is a town we hope to get back to sometime soon!

Budapest Pics...

Pictures from: Parliament, Fisherman's Bastion, St. Istvan's Basilica, City Park and more...

Budapest, Hungary

Saturday we arrived and opted to figure out Budapest on our own. All the bike tours were shut down for the winter. We strolled down to a cool neighborhood (Liszt Ferenc Ter first thing Saturday morning and tried for some coffee. Our waitress was not happy to see us, but this turned out to be our only unpleasant encounter with a local. Think Joan Jett with a solid scowl. Somehow we got the idea that we might be the only ones getting such treatment. We looked around and we were. We opted to conquer the “Pest” side of Budapest (east of the River) and managed to hit some key sights such as City Park, St. Istvan’s Basilica, Parliament, the Opera House. After a full day afoot and not too much to eat we caved and went the expat way for grub – Iguana Mexican food. Mix Hungarian spices with some Mexican dishes and that makes for tasty entrees! Sunday we attacked the Buda side of the city, leading to a local breakfast, many churches, the Buda Castle, some labyrinths and a Cave Church. The weekend ended with some local music, as a 6 man ensemble performed a mix of Hungarian and American jazz at Fat Mo’s Music Club. Coolest part was watching them setup as at 8:30 the “hired help”, 3 boys the under the age of 10 (sons of the drummers) had the band set up in no time.

When traveling you tend to be open minded and experience things you normally wouldn’t. It has been quite a while since we’ve donned a public pool back home. Nothing wrong with it, but we just haven’t been there in quite some time. So we did as Hungarians do and opted for time at the Baths. When K was asked to describe this experience in one word, her response was – “feet odor, b cracks, big bellies, foot fungus, utter odor”. It is safe to say this will be our last trip to the baths. This is one of “the things to do” in Budapest and you definitely get a local feel. We opted for a guide book rec on a Bath, rather then friends. Still not sure if this was a good choice.

Cologne/Dusseldorf, Germany

This swing through Germany was highlighted by an amazing cathedral and some travel hiccups. No trip to the area would be complete without at least a quick peak at the Dom Cathedral. Towering over the Rheine river and town of Cologne this massive church somehow survived serous bombings in WW2. Walking out of the train station, you are immediately in awe, only to be topped by going inside. The Dom is enormous. We’ve been in many churches over the past couple months, so far this one really sets itself apart. Attached are a few pictures throughout the Cathedral. As luck has it, the German train system – Deutsch Bahn, decided to strike the day after my arrival. Day 1 provided no problems, but Day 2 the day of departure was chaos. It was the equivalent of Hartsfield or Ohare airports, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (now add weather delays). I had 2 trains “disappear” from the schedule in thin air. It made for some crowded rides, high stress environments and constant second guessing. The Germans seem to pride themselves on a couple things – technology/innovation and being known for running on schedule. On this day in Cologne, neither seemed to work for them. Friday morning I checked out of my hotel in Cologne and stashed my bag at the local train station. In most European Train stations you have one of two options – luggage check (at the bigger stations) or a locker system for 24 hours. Cologne is a bit different. Instead you have an “automated system” where you place your bag in an open door attached to a conveyer belt. After inserting money, you get a claim ticket which will bring your luggage back within 40 seconds. So they claim. After a full day in Dusseldorf, I stopped back through Cologne to pickup my luggage and catch a train to the airport. Running tight to make the flight because of the train strike, I needed a smooth pickup at Cologne to guarantee on time departure at the airport. Upon inserting my claim ticket, I kept getting an error message. Figuring I was doing something wrong, I looked around – native speakers had the same difficulty. The “40 second retrieval”, turned into 50 minutes of waiting for myself and about 20 other passengers in the same predicament to get their luggage. People were trying to catch trains and flights all throughout Europe and when a baggage representative was asked to help, he countered with 1) “Just wait 5-10 mins and the system will fix itself (this was mentioned at least 3 times. 2) “just catch the next train or next plane – you’ll be fine”. No baggage could be claimed by a human, which made for some solid peanut gallery commentary from about 6 different languages. We had found the Fort Knox of Baggage Check. For some additional pics of the Dom, click here.

London trip...

How come the women of London have not revolted? As you know I (K) hate to be late, especially going to a business meeting in unfamiliar territory. I gave myself a reasonable hour and 15 minutes to make it to the meeting on time. Dressed in the all appropriate black suit and heels, I embarked on my Tube (Underground) journey. This should have taken less then 20 minutes. Navigating the Tube - taking one train - transferring - then finding the right 2^nd train, only to find by the loud overhead voice that ALL trains have been halted due to security concerns. First thought – get out of the Tube. Second thought – safe and sound, but no idea where I am. Now I find myself on a busy London street, with many locals in the same predicament. Not a cab to be found anywhere… So I rip out my map, identify my location and start hoofing it towards my meeting. 25 mins left to arrive on time, walking briskly admiring my surroundings I am amazed at the uneven pavement and cobblestones. There are women all around me in stiletto heels navigating each step with grace and composure. I have significantly sturdier shoes and can’t seem to make it a step without twisting an ankle. Who is the man who invented the high heel shoe? Why is it that women continue to wear them? A women who wears heels and conquers these heels successfully should receive a medal from the queen (or at least a pair of crutches).

Copenhagen, Denmark

This town was our favorite of this Scandanavian swing. Everything we expected in some of the other cities was to be found in Copenhagen. The city - very manageable, best discovered by bikes (this is the 2nd most biked city in Europe, sitting behind Amsterdam). The people - extremely nice, probably the most friendly of our trip and quite frankly beautiful. The food - while we didn't try all of the traditional fare, we had a good dose of seafood before we hit the Europen mainland again and it was fantastic. The weather - sunny skies both days made the 30s seem more then beareable. Some highlights of the weekend:

• The Bike Tour - according to our brochure, Copenhagen has a bike tour leaving every morning at 10:15. After ripping threw town to make the 10:15 departure, we arrive to a "Rickshaw" stand that explained in a Danish/English dialect that they only do tours for 5 or more people. We were the only 2 standing there. We walked the rest of the day.
  
• The Carlsberg Brewery - this tour gives the Heineken Experience a run for its money. D met a local who had a solid story about walking around the south side of Chicago looking for some "good blues" 25 years ago. After he made it south of Hyde Park (starting in the Loop) he was picked up by a police officer at 10pm. He was happy to still be telling the story. We are now Carlsberg fans.
• Danish Design - we thought we'd see much more of this in Norway and Sweden, but the design and architecture were more impressive here then anywhere else. The Design Museum was a worthwhile stop, but you can get a taste of this specialty in shops, hotels, restaurants and walking around town. Very cool.
• Biking Ride Sunday - this time we went on our own and saw the city as locals do. We ventured across the bridge of Copenhagen into the island known as Christianshavn, which surrounds a small community known as Christiana - the Free Town. This "self governed town" has a hippie feel to it and made for some fantastic people watching. The town claims to be a separate entity and does not consider themselves as a part of the EU. As we cut through town we encountered about 8 police officers (armed with gas masks) and about a dozen locals just watching them. As we peddled by we both realized about 10 of those eyeballs were now on us. We peddled a littler faster and escaped back to the EU.
  

This was a great town and we'd recommend Copenhagen and spending some time in Denmark - a very nice surprise... For some additional shots of Copenhagen, click here!

Aarhus, Denmark

What a great little town! This town sits on the island of Jutland (directly north of Germany). Aarhus is dominated by the University, which somehow has 40,000 students. Denmark labels it the "youngest" town in the country and you certainly get that feel walking around. Live music is big in this town; unfortunately we did not get a chance to experience any. Driving in town from the airport shows the Danish countryside at its best. Plenty of windfarms and lush farms dominate your eyesight for miles. The first thing you'll notice pulling into central Aarhus, is the quantity and size of its ships. Shipping is king and at all hours, the harbor is busy. Not too far from the port is the old town center of Dem Gamle By. This quaint community still keeps the old Danish village style and allow tourists to picture what life was like hundreds of years ago. The town is probably best seen by bike (which we didn't do), but can be very manageable afoot. We were lucky enough to stay right on the water (see pics below), but had some laughs as we were locked out of our hotel (with 10 other guests) as the front desk took a break. Hard to explain, but pretty humorous as we had to scatter into different groups to attempt other entrances. If you are ever in Denmark, make a plan to hit this town for a couple days. For some more random pics of Aarhus click here!

Lulea, Sweden

Having no idea what to expect, we ventured north to Lulea, Sweden. Lulea sets on the Gulf of Bothinia - about an hour from the Arctic Circle, a couple hours from Finland, and on the southern part of the Swedish Lapland. The town had a small town feel that likely has a much bigger feel to it in the summer time. The weather was really chilly and we got another dose of snow. Some highlights: Gammelstad Church Town - dating back to 1339 this area (picture above) was developed into an area known as Lulea. The town was built around the church (Nederlulea) and over time people lived there but also visited for weekend services and to trade goods. Another highlight was the Northern lights (also above). Cloud cover only gave us a few views, but the sights were more amazing than could be expected. A cool surprise in town was the Kulturhaus - picture below. The Kulturhaus seems to be a combination of city center/library/art museum in some of the Swedish towns (Stockholm had one as well). This structure had architecture that you couldn't miss, even if driving through the town of Lulea. The views inside were as cool as the building looked passing by. If you want to see more pictures of the Lapland click here.

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm's beautiful boulevards, immense Royal Place, elegant Opera House, windy medieval streets and locals riding horses create the feeling of a wonderland. Each island in the archipaelgo (there are 11) has its own character. From the Museum Island to Old Town each have a distinct feel and personality. Its easy to get lost in the capitivation of it all. Fortunately for a change, we did not. The locals are beautiful, charming and speak English better then us. Communication was never an issue. We fell into one of our first "tourist traps" at the Ice Bar, based on a Travel and Leisure tip. We set foot in our Ice Experience and emerged 45 mins later, several degrees colder, none the wiser, and many kroner lighter. Come to think of it we were hit with another tourist trap, by being charged for an elevator ride on the south side of town. Had we seen another way (or a sign with a fee) we never would have continued. Instead we continued on and contributed to the GDP of Sweden. If you can handle the crowds and plan to save up, save this for a summer trip when this town clearly thrives. For additional pictures of time in Stockholm click here!

Picture Updates

For pictures from recent trips, click on the cities below:

• Berlin
• Oslo
• Tronheim
  

Trondheim, Norway

Located 3 hours NW of Oslo this is Norway’s 3^rd biggest city and allegedly the tech capital of the country. There is a large university here (30,000 students – note the town is only 150,000) which gives this town a younger feel. If you travel to the outskirts of town you’ll see this is a huge shipping and fishing corridor for Norway. There was snow within the first hour of us landing and a constant battle with the weather during the 2 day stint. Snow, rain and sleet dominated but Mother Nature cooperated for a bit to get some blue skies and sunny pictures in throughout the city. The ride to and from the airport (45km) is beautiful. Large snow capped mountains, fjords and farm land. Looks like good living. It'd be great to see this town when it is alive in warmer weather, but we definitely had a taste for what it could be most of the year...