Florence is for...

...Robots? This 'artwork' found at my hotel on the first night in Florence -- It ain't exactly the adoration of the magi... But any painting with a cat works for me.

Notes from Innsbruck

Spent a day and a couple nights in this ski town in Austria. The surrounding countryside coming and going on the train was pretty gorgeous. It was also nice to finally see the rain letting up. Innsbruck itself had a few sites to visit and would likely be a fun place to return in ski season if I were loaded with dough. It was also a nice change of pace to get up into the mountains but there is obviously less going on here than in most of my other stops in Europe.

David Lynch breakfast moment

Breakfast served at a cafe in Innsbruck by a sweet and sturdily built waitress named Oksana. I'm enjoying my boiled egg and toast when an old woman enters the restaurant. She and Oksana seem to know each other and exchange pleasantries in german. The woman then turns to me and points to her left eye, which has some discoloration on the skin around it, and says something emphatic. As I don't speak german I have no idea what she's said but I smile. She considers me for a moment, then laughs and sits down for her breakfast.

Sometimes people you meet are kind of nuts. Sometimes it just seems that way.

Why the train is better

About to hop on another train tomorrow and I thought I'd share the ways it beats air travel:
* no security screening
* no customs or immigration
* no seatbelts
* no point at which you need to poweroff your electronic devices
* no need to arrive more than 5 minutes ahead of departure
* no turbulence
* no cloud cover
* no stress (well, not much anyway)

Clown time is over?

Here's a shot of a soggy ping ping table outside the circus tent where I've slept the past few nights. Got game?

Observations from Munich

If it hadn't been raining like the end of days, I think I would have fallen pretty hard for Munich. Feels a bit like San francisco in terms of it's accessibility - very bikeable and tons of public transport options.

Found some cool bars and restaurants up near the university area. Definitely not specific to Munich, but common tables are the norm at restaurants, encouraging interaction with strangers over food ... So much better.

People here (and in Berlin) are pretty easy on the eyes. I'm just sayin'...

Apparently the cost of living is very high here yet waitpeople and shop clerks are somehow making ends meet. I have yet to see any obviously homeless people in Europe except for in Amsterdam - not sure why that is.

Prague was gorgeous but I'm not sure I need to go back again. It felt very touristy, whereas Berlin and Munich feel like places I'd like to live for a while. Hard to put my finger on why, exactly.

The rain has definitely limited us ... Was looking forward to biking around, checking out the scene at the English gardens, mad king Ludwig's castle, etc. We have managed to explore the art museums, the deutsche museum, hoffbrau house, nymphenburg palace, Dachau concentration camp and the old center of town. A few photos below... More when I get home. As expected, Dachau was tough.

Sausage fest!

Arrived in Munich and it promptly got cold and rainy. This is summer?

The only remedy is a big beer and a plate of pork products. (apologies to my vegetarian friends for the graphic imagery) I think I'll be digesting for the next few weeks...

Prague wrapup

On a train out of Prague tomorrow. Feel like I've only scratched the surface after a tour through the castle, the old town, kafka museum, and some of the Jewish quarter.

Some random observations:
* tourism industry doesn't seem to be suffering at all here ... Hotels are mostly full
* everything costs money here ($0.50 to pee) -- which grates on you over time
* seems like a fun place to come with your drinking buddies, esp if they like pilsner urquell
* the 18 hours of daylight in the summer takes some getting used to
* they take their city supervisors a bit more seriously here... A few have been thrown to their death out the windows
* money changers are from hell
* really gorgeous city. Did I mention that?

First night in Prague

Arrived in Prague by train - was a very pretty ride from Berlin- feels more foreign somehow... Not much english spoken here. Some things are cheaper than Berlin but apparently hotel rooms aren't one of them.

Its brautiful here.The old city center is grand and the view of the castle from the Charles bridge is spectacular. You feel transported. Hope to have more photos to share in next post.

Berlin

Met up with my dad and stepmom today. Berlin seems like a giant, interesting city... We've only just scratched the surface and we're off today for Prague. The good news is we'll be back for a couple days later in the trip. Crazy how many hours of daylight we have in the summer here...

Freshman dorm

First night in Berlin arrived late at the train station after 9 hours travel and only affordable accommodations to be found was a youth hostel. Definite dormitory experience. I feel like a freshman at the university of Florida.

Meeting up with my dad and step mom tomorrow for the next leg of my travels. Maybe they'll remember to give me my allowance.

Amsterdam

Went to Barney's coffee shop in Amsterdam today and asked for a mocha.

That's the joke.

If you need another punchline, they told me their coffee machine was broken and they were unable to make hot drinks. No lie.

Other statements of the obvious:
* people here are a lot taller than in SE Asia and central America
* it's a lot more expensive... and the value of the dollar isn't helping
* don't stay at a hotel in the old town if you have vertigo...
* ... or claustrophobia
* feels a lot like the Haight except the streets are narrower and all the hippies are on bikes

Sampling London

It's been a fun couple of days. The weather has been terrific (it's always like this here, right?) and my hosts were extremely gracious. I felt I got a good sample of London in a short time.

I enjoyed my visits to the Tate modern and the Tate Britain art museums with lunch at the Burrough market and a boatride past Big Ben thrown in the middle. Sunday was a relaxing day of shopping, eating, and people watching in Islington and on Brick lane followed up with some tasty Indian food.

Arrived in London

Arrived at Heatheow this AM and took the train into town for lunch with a couple of friends I'm staying with in Islington.

Am now seated at a local pub buzzing on a mixture of ale and jetlag, taking the edge off after a long day of travel. Will see how long I can rally this eve before I fade...

Pictures! Costa Rica and Mexico

I've posted photos from my travels in central America at the links below.
Enjoy!

Costa Rica
mine: http://picasaweb.google.com/dmilbrath/CostaRica
videos: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2D440D5F8B88C191
Nikki's: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbNXDlq3ZM2TnI

Cabo
mine: http://picasaweb.google.com/dmilbrath/CaboSanLucasBenS40th
Nikki's: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbNXDlq3ZM2Tr4

European Itinerary

In a couple of days I'll be embarking on the last leg of my journey -- a four week trek through Europe. Sad to see it coming to an end, but I can take solace in the fact that its the longest, most ambitious stretch yet. The bulk of this trip will be made with my family and much of the itinerary should be credited to my dad who has plotted out an impressive whirlwind route via Eurorail. Here's the hitlist...

• London
  
• Amsterdam
  
• Berlin
  
• Prague
  
• Munich
  
• Innsbruch
  
• Florence
  
• Karlovy Vary (for the International film festival)
• Istanbul
  
• Turkish Beach towns (a few days to relax and recharge before returning home)

Its probably going to be hard to do this leg on a budget -- and I'm already wondering if the travel strategies I used in Asia and Central America don't apply here -- though I'm still under the impression that deals and accommodations should be available given the economic downturn. I guess we shall see! 

Under water

Haven't posted in a while - in part because the days at the pool are blurring together a bit - in part because I got dumped in the pool with my iPhone in my pocket a few days ago. Needless to say, this is a bit of an inconvenience. Beyond the fact that I've been using it to blog its also been my internet access point and reading library.

Perhaps its part of my personal journey to ween myself off my iPhone as well?

Uh, yeah...

I have an appointment to get a replacement at the Apple genius bar at 9am before I fly to Europe.

Cabo!

Arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico yesterday. My friend Ben is turning 40 and is doing it in style having rented a beautiful house here for the week... A group of us are helping him celebrate. It's a tough job but I think we are up to the task. Corona, por favor!

Costa Rica: misc reflections

In no particular order:
- people drive poorly here
- it's insanely pretty almost everywhere you go
- don't eat American dishes in Costa Rica; with the possible exception of pizza, they are uniformally awful
- no one can give good directions but they are all very friendly doing it
- not nearly as good a travel value as Thailand. Hotels and busses can be cheap but not much else is.
- visiting in the low season during an economic meltdown ain't a bad way to go...
Everything is available with no waiting
- cheaper hotels = better chance to meet (fun) people here
- pura vida!

Cafe con leche

Spent my last night back in Alajuela where I met a nutty group of gals who'd just arrived at the same hotel from Boston and St. Louis. Tagged along for the obligatory tour of a coffee plantation and butterfly garden as a good to wind down my last day in costa rica.

Next up: Cabo!

Zip sliding away

Did the zip line canopy tour in Santa Elena cloud forest (near monte verde) and it did not disappoint... Hanging from a cable and racing along a few hundred feet off the groung is quite a rush.

By the time I got on the elevated suspension bridges the rain had come in earnest, and I enjoyed a spectacular, if soggy, walk among the treetops.