Vienna

Tonight I have a skype date with Amy and Dylan :)  So I can catch up on my travel blog while I wait for 22:00 to roll around.

After Paris our next big trip was to Vienna or Wien as it is known in Europe.  What are the natives known as?  Wieners.

I had a great weekend with all of the Wieners (here ends the Wiener jokes).

 

This trip marks the start of slightly less well known touristy land marks (Berlin Wall, Eiffel Tower, Le Lourve...etc) and some

great random finds. 

 

When I was in Vienna I thought it felt like a very crisp, clean city.  In my other travels there has always been a hint of home in the air, but Vienna wasn't as inviting.  Not to say I didn't enjoy my time there--because I did.  The art museums alone were worth the trip.  Gustav Klimt's works were the main attraction (and I was in Modern Art heaven at the Munch exhibit).  We went to an opera/ballet/orchestra combo one evening--which sort of looked like a family talent show (but it was only a few Euro to go...we knew going into it that).  Mozart is a home town hero for the people of Vienna and as such he is on every t-shirt, coffee mug, and postcard.  The people that pretend to be statues (they are all over Europe) were all Mozarts as well.  We had some of the local treats like the Tortes from Hotel Sacher (which is a famous chocolate cake w/ apricot filling).  I was able to send some home to the family (and even after a week in the mail, they were (a bit drier) but still pretty good). 

The train ride to Vienna proved to be our most cramped one yet.  The five of us had to share a six person area in the train (think Harry Potter train compartments...and they even have a trolley that comes around...no every flavor beans though).  It was a long 12 hours and we were sore when we got there.  The ride back was not a night train, so it was less eventful.

Paris at a Glance (abridged)

So after we were unpacked and settled into our new home in Paris we had to attend to the first order of business: The Eiffel.

We took a nice scenic walk along the Seine until we arrived at the tower.  It was surreal standing underneath this international monument

that you have heard of your whole life.  It was like we weren't really there (though the vendors hawking mini-towers reminded us that

we truly were in Paris).  If you were to look through my pictures of this little trip you could use them like a flip book to see me walk closer and closer

to the tower, under it, and then farther and farther away. You can buy a handbag in STL with a picture of it on there--so who needs a million pictures of

one monument on their camera during their trip to Paris? Me.

Up next was the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees.  The Arc has the best view of Paris (as all major roads lead to the round-about that it sits in

the middle of).  This gave me the chance to get some additional Eiffel pictures as well (something I never passed up on).  A casual stroll

down the Champs gave us some great window shopping opportunities.  The week after we went there was a giant protest there by the 

French dairy farm industry (which has taken a major hit).  The farmers came and dumped their milk at the Champs (which is like Rodeo

Drive in Paris..pretty posh for a farm protest).  We were in bed pretty early that night (for our big day).

Le Lourve!!! was how I spent my first half of the day.  It was amazing...it would take forever to see everything there (so I did the highlights tour of the pieces that

I wanted to/had to see and it only took half the day).  After that we were off to Monte Marte district in Paris where we stumbled upon a wine fest (oh how the

Europeans love their fests!) and the Moulin Rouge.  We dragged ourselves back home that night to get ready for our long train the next morning back home.

 

Bonjour! (Part 1)

Whew, there is quite a bit to catch up on (though I am happy to report that all of my papers for this program are finished--so no homework over Christmas for me :)).  Paris was, as anticipated, amazing.  We took another night train (and this time I slept on a one of the couches across three seats).  We some how managed to spread out in there and catch a few hours before we arrived to Paris early that morning.  Only once did I fall off the seats (and almost on another traveler) when we slammed the breaks (somewhere around 3:30 or 4:00am).  We arrived and then it was only a matter of a few subway jumps to get to our hotel.

The hotel..was what we expected for only $28 Euro a night per person.  We were in a small, box shaped room (but we did have our own bathroom...however the showers were in the hall and closed each night around 10:00p).  Inside this dorm looking room was 5 beds and 0 floor space.  So we had to crawl over our beds to get to the bathroom and out of the door.  But we had a great location.  Only a 10 min walk to the Notre Dame and a 20 to 30 min walk to the Lourve :)  So we really can't complain.  The mornings came with a traditional breakfast of a baguette and spreads (mostly cheeses), some tea, and fruit.
Megan M. Gallagher

Holocaust Memorial of Berlin

Another stop on our tour was the memorial to the Jews killed in the Holocaust (just for the Jewish people, they have separate memorials for the other groups that are either built or are currently under construction).  The memorial is a series of large grey blocks in different heights.  The outside has blocks short enough to walk over while the center has tall blocks that loom over you, closing you in, as you walk through.  There are over 2,000 blocks in all and the memorial takes about a block of the City (near the Brandenburg gate...and across the street from Hitler's bunker...so pretty centrally located).  So far, sounds good: the location, the looming blocks that cause you to question their meaning, and the fact that the Germans are acknowledging the responsibility for one of the largest crimes against humanity.  However there is one major problem with the memorial that visitors cannot simply ignore: the anti-graffiti paint. 

The Grey smooth blocks do not have a single mark anywhere on all 2,000 of them.  No "John + Kate = <3" from school children and no profanity due to the very expensive anti-graffiti paint.  Any markings, paint, blood, dirt...anything just wipes right off.  The idea of it, I'm sure, was to preserve the integrity and serious nature of the memorial.  The glaring problem comes not from the product but the product's manufacturer...who has a history of business with the Germans.  The company that manufactures and sells the paint is the same company that manufactured and sold Zyclon B (the gas used in the chambers by the Nazi's to murder over 6 million Jews).  This company has made a profit from killing and remembering those they killed. 

Sleepin' with the Fishes

Well as promised, a little more info about Berlin!

Berlin has really pushed to market itself as a liberal and tolerant city (having been marred as a whole during WWII they are now trying to completely over ride the former image of Germany...at any cost).  Prostitution is 100% legal--they have a union and pay taxes.  The main strip for the Johns to pick up prostitutes was recently under construction to repair the cable car track.  This closed the street for an entire month (apparently the Dept of Transportation in Germany is just as fast as the ones in the US).  The prostitute union banned together and sued the state of Germany for lost wages...and WON!  The sum was worth a couple of thousand for each worker (the shops and bakery on the same street got nothing for the month).  

On our tour we saw where an exhibit from Chilean artist Evaristti was being prepared for his next controversial piece.  His last exhibit (which was shut down by PETA) was a table with 10 blenders, plugged in and fully functioning, with live goldfish swimming around inside awaiting the public to decide their fates (coincidentally after many hours only 3 of the blenders had the button pushed).  His next piece promises to leave the public with an even deeper moral dilemma.  He has befriended a death row inmate in Texas who has agreed to donate his body for the artist's use.  He plans to freeze dry it into pellets for fish food and leave the pellets out for the audience to feed the tank of goldfish.  Now if people do not use the pellets to feed the fish the fish will die (they will have no other food source)...so to save the fish (which was the cry of PETA at his last exhibit) the audience has to use the inmates remains.

What would you do if you were in the audience?

Berlin

Hello Everyone!

There is a lot to catch up with (and only a short lunch break to do it).  Since my last post I have been on the move.  Two weekends ago was my trip to Berlin (and my first attempt since Prague at a successful weekend trip that wasn't just a day trip).  It was FREEZING (I'm so glad we went earlier this fall rather than later) but wonderful.  We caught the night train at 1:30am (ugh...I can't stay up that late anymore) and got into Berlin around 7:30 Sat morning (after a really good night sleep in the train).  We found our hostel (the Circus Hostel) in East Berlin and then joined a walking tour of the city that left at 10:30 that morning (only to return at 6:30 that night...it was quite a jaunt around the City).  We saw everything that I wanted to see in Berlin on our tour.  And, as my traveling experiences seem to work out, we picked the perfect weekend to go to Berlin.  They were having a giant celebration (throughout Germany but especially in Berlin) to celebrate the reunification of Germany.  So there were people everywhere and lots of festivities to keep us busy.  That night we went out for Russian food and then to a wine sampling party (for only 2 Euro...all the wine you cared to "sample") and then off to bed by 11p for me.  The next day we went to one of the early Sunday morning markets (picture a giant garage sale with German trinkets).  That is the weekend at a glance, I have to work now.  More on Berlin (and my weekend in Paris!) to come.

No Worries All Safe and Sound Over Here

 

Hi Everyone!

I didn't want anyone to worry (should this make the news back in the states).  We

have just been advised to maintain a low profile (duh.  Guess I will not be able

to wear my American Flag jogging suit for awhile).  Anyways, we have just been

sternly cautioned and are not allowed to attend Oktoberfest (the most likely target)--

good thing I went last week!!  Check out my pics on facebook!

 

And seriously, I live in a sparsely populated section of Germany where everything

closes by 6pm and on Sundays...totally fine :)

 

<3 Megan

 

Here's a copy of the email we got from post:

 

The US Embassy in Germany has issued a Travel Alert.

The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens that Al Qaeda has threatened it
will conduct terrorist attacks in Germany immediately prior to and following
the federal elections on September 27.  This Travel Alert expires on
November 11, 2009.

Al Qaeda recently released a video specifically warning Germany of attacks.
German authorities are taking the threat seriously and have taken measures
to enhance the level of security throughout the country.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to maintain good security
practices at all times, and to maintain a heightened situational awareness
and a low profile.  Americans are advised to monitor news reports and
consider the level of security present when visiting public places or
choosing hotels, restaurants, and entertainment and recreation venues.

We encourage U.S. citizens to read the Department of State's current
Worldwide Caution.  It provides additional information on potential threats
to U.S. citizens overseas, along with advice on how to reduce your
vulnerability to such threats.  Additional general information on residing
and traveling abroad, including the latest Country Specific Information for
Germany, may be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website.

Contact information for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and U.S. Consulates in
Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Munich, and Leipzig may be found on the U.S.
Diplomatic Mission to Germany's website.  All U.S. citizens traveling to or
living in Germany are urged to register with the U.S. Embassy through the
State Department's travel registration website.

Travelers may also obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by
calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States or outside the United
States and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.
Megan M. Gallagher