Stop 4: The Leaning Tower!

Next we were off to a short stop in Pisa. There is not much in Pisa besides the leaning tower and the "Field of Miracles"-- the field where the cathedral, baptistery, and tower are located.

Mom pushing the tower up!

The Cathedral

We took lots of pictures, grabbed a latte at a cafe with a good view of the tower, and hopped back on the train for our next stop: Sienna!

Destination 3: Florence

Next is was off to Florence.. just a short 3 hour train ride! We stayed at Katti House... a hotel owned by a mother and daughter, so we thought that was appropriate! We went to Accademia and saw Michelangelo's famous David statue. It is gigantic and does look perfectly sculpted. You can't take pictures of the real thing, but below is a copy that is located in the square where David was originally placed.

We realized quickly that Florence is has much more of a city feel than Venice, with lots of Florence "kamikaze" motorcyles (as mom calls them) buzzing around!

Florence has the best gelato, so we ate it at least twice a day! We saw the Duomo, or "cathedral" and did some shopping!

Duomo

We also hate some delicious tortellini for dinner... though we were shocked when there were only 4 tortellinis in the entire dish... guess we are just accustomed to the huge American portion sizes. Dessert was bigger than dinner... 4 types of gelato, including "kiss"-- our favorite... It was a light chocolate with nuts.

For our second day in Florence we took a 3 hour walking tour, and our guide was a native English speaker so we could understand her perfectly! She told us all about the Medici family and the start of the Renaissance in Florence.

The Medici Coat of Arms

In the afternoon, we went to the Uffizi Galleria, the other famous museum in Florence. Lots of work by Leonardo and Raphael, but nothing as cool as David! We ate dinner at Il Latini, a restaurant recommendation from my boss. Apparently it is quite popular since when we arrived there was a line of people waiting outside. We chatted with another American couple and ended up having dinner with them. They were on their honeymoon! They just kept bringing us food.... it was ok, but I think I prefer to choose what I get to eat!

Next... to Pisa!

Stop 2: Venice, Mom's Favorite!

Day 4 was a travel day: Off to Venice! We spent a few too many hours on the train but finally made it to Venice in the evening, where we took a canal water taxi (Venice's main form of transportation) to our hotel. One thing we quickly learned is that traveling in Europe requires climbing lots of stairs with suitcases because they don't believe in escalators or elevators. At our hotel, they tried to put us on the 4th floor and our suitcases were so fat they could barely even fit through the tiny staircases. So luckily they had a room that required a few less steps!
We ate dinner on the canal and I tried a traditional Italian dish, cuddlefish---which was squid with pasta and black "ink".... basically pasta with black sauce.... yuck!! So I decided to go for some more traditional spaghetti instead.

We made a new friend at our hotel--Megan. She was actually on her R&R from Iraq, and she was by herself so we invited her to come with us. We went to Murano, the famous Venetian glass island, and then came back and walked to the famous Rialto bridge and had another Italian dinner.... lasagna this time... much better than my first meal!

We saw lots of pigeons and had to laugh when we saw this sign... which did not stop the pigeon feeders!

Day 6 we started of the day with a few of the city from above, in the clock tower! Then we visited Doge's Palace and stopped for a gelato treat. We visited the cathedral and climbed to the top of it too! Below is a picture of one of the oldest statues of 4 horses that were once on top of the cathedral.

We also did a Grand Canal tour cruise, where we got to see some important parts of the city... like Elton John's house!

Beautiful view of sunset from our canal tour

We saw lots of gondolas, but I decided I would wait to do that until I have a romantic boy to take me!

Venice was one of our favorite parts of the trip! The weather was great and it was not too crowded... I cannot imagine being their during high tourist season.

Stop 1: Garmisch

After picking mom up at the Munich airport, we took the train back to Garmisch so she could see my little mountain town and where I work. Night one we had dinner with my friend Samantha... at an Indian Restaurant! Not your typical German meal, but the food was great, and we did go to a German restaurant to have Bavaria's famous dessert... apple strudel... best I've tasted yet!

Day 2 we did lots of hiking... first to the gorge and then to the "halfway house." It's a little hut about 1/2 way up one of the mountains. This time we had traditional German food.... schnitzel, pretzels, specknoddlesuppe, and weissbier.... which mom actually liked! Then she came to work with me to see Edelweiss and have some good ol' American food at Zuggys.

Latte macchiato and gluwein (hot, spiced wine) to keep us warm!

Day 3 we took an Edelweiss tour to Linderhof Palace... one of King Ludwigs houses. Our tour guide was great, but since it is winter, all the pretty flowers were missing and all the statues were boarded up outside. So we had to buy a postcard and just imagine we were looking at it in the summertime! I think after 3 nights of staying in my room and walking to the bathroom, mom was glad to be finished with the dorm-style stay!

Sorry for the lack of pictures! You'll have to ask mom to see hers.. I didn't take many since I live here!

15 Days, 4 Countries, and 8 Cities, with Mom!

Mom and I had a great time venturing across Europe during her 2 weeks here! Lots of stops along the way: Garmisch, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Sienna, Rome, Salzburg, and Munich!We got to experience a little bit of everything- rain, snow, sun, German food, too much gelato, and just about every form of transportation...trains,busses, planes, taxis, bikes, and lots and lots of walking!

Much more to say, so be looking for posts and pictures from each city!

Krakow, Poland

Lindsay and I ventured to Poland... in the freezing cold and snow! We had quite an adventure, leaving both of us wondering why exactly we chose to live in the Alps where it is cold 6+ months of the year! Luckily I borrowed Chenea's coat for the trip since I don't have a warm one, which I definitely need to buy soon!

We had some transportation troubles--broken-down trains, unexpected taxi rides, delayed flights, no-show buses, and railway construction--all of which made our trip a little adventurous. We also made a New Zealand friend in our hostel who took us to some fun nearby pubs.

We tried Polish food, including potato cakes and Polish pizza, and drank lots and lots of coffee and hot chocolate to keep warm. We also had 2 of my favorite foods that I've yet to have since living in Europe... Mexican and sushi!

The town square, Rynek Glowny, was gorgeous, but unfortunately the main building was under construction. We also visited Wawel Hill, home to the city's famous castle and cathedral.

Rynek Glowny

Day 2 we visited Auschwitz-- the largest concentration camp. One room was completely filled with shoes of those who had died there--just one of the many tragic sights at the camp.

Auschwitz

Day 3 we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, where we journeyed down hundreds of steps to 135m below ground. Our tour guide sounded like dracula and made our visit very entertaining!

We returned to Garmisch to find the mountains covered in snow, but luckily it is not too cold.... yet!

And So Winter Begins..

Yesterday I woke up to see snow on the Zugspitze--the tallest mountain in Germany. Today I woke up to see snow on the Kramer, a not-so-tall mountain, and tomorrow I expect to see snow in town--which I am definitely not prepared for!

I have yet to buy a warm winter coat or snow boots, so that is top on my list of things to do! And even with all the winter gear, I'm not sure I'm fully prepared for what I've gotten myself into being the warm weather lover that I am.

I did get in one last good hike this week. Brynn and I hiked the Fricken...yes that's the actual name of the mountain. It was a little bit tougher than we were expecting but we made it! Rachel's parents were also in town and they invited me to dinner--it was quite nice to have a family for the evening--- something I miss so much about being back in the States!

Tomorrow Lindsay and I are off to Poland, where it is also snowing, and next week Mom is coming!

That's all for now!