Only Oslo

The rest of the train journey was good and we enjoyed the scenery and napped a bit. It was a 7 hour train ride though and by the end of it I was getting really restless. Usually trains are a good time to rest up after a long couple days of walking, hiking and sight seeing. But in Bergen, because of the rain, we didn't do a whole lot of that, so this was just wasted time to me. We also just kinda jumped into an empty car and after a little while we realised we were in the children's car, as more and more parents with little kids kept getting on board. We really should have noticed becase there was a playground in the next compartment. But we already confirmed the seats weren't reserved with the conductor, and as he was a surly conductor, we didn't want to bother him again. The train was also going really slow and at times it was crawling along and waiting at stations for ever. So it was no surprise when our train got in late. Luckily the scenery was good, or it would have been almost unbearable.

We arrived in Oslo and walked through the rain to our hostel. We checked in and then headed back out and got some food, which we dropped off at the hostel. It was still raining and windy so even our umbrellas weren't much good. But we were determined not to waste another day indoors. Especially when we were planning on leaving Oslo for Stockholm early the next morning, so these would be our only few hours in Oslo. We went back to the train station and checked times for trains to Stockholm (something we could have done when we first arrived, I know). Then we did a nice walk along the river that was suggested in our guide book. The walk was ok, but the side of the river we decided to walk on, looks to be a popular hangout for homeless, so it wasn't all that scenic. The walk ended in a cool trendy area of town, and I took a couple photos of some grafitti. There was also a cool bar, but at 12 CAD for a beer, we decided to skip it. Then we headed back to the hostel where we watched Germany defeat Portugal. Cara was sad for Ronaldo, but we didn't really want Portugal to win and were happy Germany won. Then we headed to bed.

The night's sleep was pretty crappy. Our last roomate to get in, at 3:30, was really noisy and took an hour to get to bed. Then at 6 am our first roomate to bed was up and getting ready to leave and was also pretty noisy and took most of an hour to leave. We were up at 6:45 though to catch a train and we, being the nice people we are, were quiet and only took about 10 minutes to clear the room. Then, after checking out it was off to the train station, where we boarded a train to Stockholm. We hope to catch up on some missed sleep and really really hope that it doesn't rain in Stockholm the entire time we're there.

Boggy Bergen

The train to Bergen was great, but we were very tired and couldn't keep our eyes open to see all the scenery, but we need to come back through this way on our way to Oslo, so hopefully the second time around we aren't so tired. Anyway we arrived in Bergen and made our way across town to the tourist information office. We asked if they could book us some accomodations, of course, but for a 10 CAD fee. Hmmm. Well we didn't really have many more options so we paid the fee which ended up beeing about 10% the cost of our room. 100 CAD for a room in a private house with a shared bathroom. Norway is pricey and there is no way to avoid it, even the hostels would be almost this much. We had trouble finding the place because the map description had left and right mixed up and even the drawing suggested a left on the last turn, where it should have been a right. We met the father of the owner of the house who couldn't have been much more than 40. Cara and I both agree he was pretty young, and especially compared to European standards, Scandinavians have kids quite early (like Canadians), whereas in Paris, for example, it was the norm to see a 40 year old mother dragging around a 3 year old kid. Anyway, the son of the man apparently just bought this place for a paltry 3.5 million Krona (700,000 CAD) and is renting rooms to help pay the mortgage. Nice fellow, but busy, as he was the main renovator of the house.

After unpacking a few things, we headed out to explore the town a bit. We walk around for a few minutes and then stopped off at the library in town to take advantage of their free internet. It was nice to find something free in a country so expensive. We then headed off to a nearby grocery store where we bought some pricey groceries. We headed back to the room and used the kitchen to cook some spaghetti with mystery meat (cheapish meat patties that were beside the meatballs). The dinner was good and filling and afterwards we kinda just lounged around and met the other owner of the house, the son's girlfriend. She was really nice too, and you could tell she was excited about owning a house. We chatted and then, because we were still beat, had an early night.

Wenesday morning we got up early and made breakfast in the kitchen, scrambled eggs and yogurt. Then we headed out and found some information on hikes in the area. Then we set out on a nice 6 hour hike along some of the mountains in the area. Unfortunately we got only about 1/3 of the way through before a storm blew in and drenched us. We took cover from the wind in a little gully and from the rain under a tree and ate some lunch. After we were done eating we checked the sky and it didn't look like it was going to pass anytime soon so we turned around and headed back. Luckily going down is faster than

coming up and we made good time back to town. Just good enough time to see the storm lift. Well not really, it just broke for a bit. So with a rainy afternoon ahead (and the weather report just said cloudy...), we hit the library again. The connection speed was really good and so we both got our own computers and Cara uploaded about a month's worth of photos to Facebook (check it out if you have Facebook, if you don't, get out from under your rock, just kidding). After the alloted hour we went back through the downpour to the room, where we hung up 2 sets of drenched clothing. It was nearing supper time, so we cooked round 2 of the spaghetti and relaxed and watched a movie. It was really too bad about the weather, because Bergen looks like an awesome town to explore. Unfortunately everything is outdoors and when it's raining so hard, you don't want to be outdoors. We headed to bed, hoping for some good weather the next morning, so we could explore before heading out to Oslo.

Thursday morning we got up early and packed our stuff. Then we headed down to the kitchen and made round 2 of scrambled eggs. We looked out the windows too and assessed that another day of rain was ahead. With that in mind we decided to take the earlier train out to Oslo. The train didn't leave for an hour so we .... headed to the library again! At least we caught up on lots of research for the rest of our trip and Cara caught up on her facebook. Then we jumped on the train to Oslo and dealt with the surly conductors again. Both the journey to and from Bergen were met with some surly conductors who did not seem pleased to answer your questions. Anyway, here we sit, enjoying the great passing views again, and hope for some better weather in Oslo.

Fjordy Flam

Third time was the charm and we didn't need to move seats again. We got off in Myrdal and from there the Norway in a Nutshell loop starts (at least for us, you can start it from anywhere). So we took the steepest railway in Scandinavia down into the town of Flam. The train was crowded and everyone was jumping around taking pictures. It was really beautiful though. We even stopped at a pretty big waterfall and for some reason they were blasting Enya music and some Celtic woman was dancing around on the rocks near the water. Once in Flam we headed to the information desk, but since they charged money to make a phone call, we just decided to walk over. The town is tiny and it only took a few minutes to walk there. They hadn't got our e-mail yet, but they had room, so we got one. It was actually pretty good at 75 CAD for a private room. It was a hostel but really it was a campground with a couple of buildings with rooms. It was a nice town and we arrived before 3pm, so we went out and got some groceries. The grocery store was pretty pricey and we basically picked the cheapest things we could find. Beer was about 4-5 CAD per can, so we didn't get any of that either. Poop timing, but we were also out of toothpaste and shampoo. We plain forgot to get some while in Berlin.


After dropping the groceries off at the room, we headed out on a hike. The hike was to a nearby waterfall and only took a few hours. Then we returned to the campground and used a kitchen area to make some food. Food was some fried fish balls (fish pudding), fried peppers and some salad. We were adventurous with the fish balls, but they were cheap, and surprisingly good. We washed up and Cara got ready for bed. I thought I would check out a northern sunset. I headed out at 10:30pm and came home around midnight, still no sunset (FYI the picture with the propeller in it was taken at 11:30pm). But I did get a really peacefull walk around town with the whole town to myself. I however ran into a miffed looking american asking about accomodations. I felt sorry for the guy, but walking into a town of 400 people at 11pm at night without accomodations isn't a smart plan. We later looked at the GPS map and Flam is almost a full degree more north than Whitehorse, Yukon. So this is officially the most north we've been. Next weekend is also the longest day of the year and so we're not sure the sun is even setting right now, I've looked outside at 1am, 3am and 4am and I haven't seen a dark sky yet.

Tuesday morning we got up early, checked out, and headed down to the wharf. We bought some expensive tickets to take the rest of the Norway in a Nutshell loop (70 CAD each). The boat ride took a couple of hours and was filled some some spectacular views of one of the most scenic fjords in Norway, which makes it one of the most scenic in the world. The boat was a bit cold though and filled with lots of tourists. It was great and after it was over we got off in a small town and boarded a bus to take us to Voss. The bus ride was really scenic too and went up an incredibly steep and narrow road. At one point an oncoming bus passed our bus, and we were both surprised it actually happened without one of us rolling off the edge. Anyway we survived and soon were in Voss. From Voss we hopped a train for Bergen. The train is scenic too, but we were feeling a bit tired. We don't have accomodations in Bergen, but we were told it wouldn't be a problem. Hopefully we can find some more budget condusive places.

Costly Copenhagen

The orange juice sucked but I got it cleaned up ok and not too much damage was suffered. We changed trains in Hamburg and were soon speeding towards Copenhagen. Uneventful trip except that our train actually drove onto a ferry and we crossed over to Zealand. We both thought that was exciting. On the ferry there was the usual duty free, but we didn't really need any hard alcohol, cigarettes or perfume, so we abstained. Once in Copenhagen we rushed off to find accommodations. This proved quite the ordeal and we went to 2 different tourist offices that were both closed. Then a Danish guy directed us towards one of the hostels in our book. We decided to give it a shot and they actually had a room for us. It wasn't exactly cheap at 40 CAD and not the best with a 6 person dorm, no breakfast, and sheet rentals extra. But we took it anyway, and luckily we did, because not 2 seconds later some guy walked in and was turned away because we took the last room. I'm sure there were other rooms available in Copenhagen, but there was a huge sports tournament going on and a bunch of conferences so rooms were in high demand and it may have taken awhile to find some.

We dropped our stuff off and went out in search of a grocery store. Because of some crappy directions we never actually found it, but we were eventually told it was closed for the evening. So we settled for some calzones from 7-11. Not exactly delicious or nutritious, but we settled for it nonetheless. We then watched Russia beat Greece in the hostel lounge and called it a night. The silk sleeping bag liners are finally paying for themselves and it shouldn't take long in Scandinavia, this use alone saved us 12 CAD.

Sunday morning we were up early and, after a breakfast of 7-11 yogurt and a granola bar, headed for the train station. We wanted to book tickets on the overnight train to Oslo. It was either that or take a train all day to Oslo and see nothing of Copenhagen. I asked at the ticket counter and sure they had a few tickets left, but when I went to pay they didn't take Visa without a pin number. Great... so Cara went and grabbed some cash. When she got back I waited in line and then asked again. Now all the tickets were taken. Grrr. We sulked for a bit and eventually I decided to ask a different person, because I the lady was rude and not helpful. I asked the guy and for some reason they had tickets now. Not sure if the lady was giving me the run around or what, but our little dilemma was over. Then we checked our bags in a pricey locker, but not more so than the one in Paris. Then, because the weather was crappy and because the Museums are free on Sunday in Copenhagen, we went out to on a Museum outing. We saw the pretty great art Museum where me and Cara split up for a bit, because I was spending too much time in the sculptures and ancient stuff and because Cara was anxious to get to the paintings. We reconnected and finished off the museum and headed off towards the National museum. This one was HUGE and contained, in my opinion, way too much stuff (they honestly have a PS2 on display). We spent some time in the Viking section (which was very interesting), but barely glanced at the rest of it, though the PS2 was hilarious. Then after another failed attempt to find a grocery store, we went to an all you can eat buffet mentioned in our guide book. It wasn't actually too back of a deal at 16 CAD, and they had some great curry lasagne and falafel. After feeling full for the first time in a few days we went for a walk around Copenhagen.

We visited a few squares and a couple churches and even went to Christianshavn. Christianshavn alternative commune has a really funky feel and tons of cool grafitti. Unfortunately while in Christianshavn I saw a huge sign saying no photographs and rather than dispute it with some of the drug dealers, I quickly put it away and so didn't get off more than a couple pictures. After our walk around town, we went back to the station where we got some internet and did a bit of planning and e-mailed ahead to Flam. Then we caught a train to Malmo, Sweden, and on the way crossed the longest bridge in the world (I think) at 7.8 km long. Once in Malmo we boarded our night train to Oslo. The couchettes were cramped with 6 people per cabin and the pillows rock hard, but the price was reasonable.
After a train sleep (not much sleep at all) we arrived in Oslo 45 minutes late, because our locomotive apparently broke down during the night. This meant a mad dash to the train to Bergen and no time to check if we received a response from the hostel in Flam. The train ride thus far from Oslo to Bergen has been pretty good. The scenery is awesome, but we've now moved seats 3 times, because we don't have reservations and most other people do. Hopefully we have a place to stay in Flam or our plan is to take the cruise to Bergen and find something there.

Bananas for Berlin

We arrived in Berlin a little late and decided to phone our hostel to make sure they hadn't given away our room because we were already later than we told them we would be. It wasn't a problem and we hopped on the S Bahn and then walked a little ways from Alexander Platz (an important place in the East Berlin protests). We checked in and found the hostel very agreable, very nice rooms, decent bar and cafe, and the staff was friendly too. No free internet or breakfast however. Anyway, we went out and had some excellent and cheap sushi down the street and then watched the Switzerland lose to Turkey back at the hostel bar. I was disappointed because I was cheering for Switzerland and now it looks like their chances are gone. After the game we headed off to get some sleep.

Thursday morning we got up early and checked out the hostel breakfast. It was 5 euro, but the best breakfast buffet so far. It was the usual fair plus waffles, fruit, tomatoes, pasta salad and fruit salad. Then we rented some metro passes from the hostel, which was cheaper than buying day passes. We then hit the metro and hooked up with the free tour, same company (New Europe) that did the tour in Munich. Again the guide was really excellent. We saw quite a few sights and heard about the history of Berlin, although mostly it was about WWII up until the fall of the wall. The Holocaust memorial was especially intriguing; a strange design that took 3 competitions to finally decide on a design. It was inspired by the Jewish cemetary in Prague. Everyone takes away a different experience and we walked into the memorial in a group of 30, but once you get down into the blocks you feel isolated, with only glimpses of others, but mostly you feel alone. Then as you emerge you feel connected again. I thought it totally fitting considering that must be the sentiments that many people felt during the Holocaust, disconnected, alone and couldn't even trust your neighbour. After the memorial we saw Hitler's bunker - or what is left of it. It's a parking lot now, quite fitting I think. The only thing better might be a hospital, or a community center. We moved on and visited Checkpoint Charlie. Nothing remains of this area though, except some replica stuff, so it was a bit of a let-down. We stopped for a half hour break at lunch and since I wasn't really hungry I got a haircut instead. Cara told the guide that's what I was doing and he thought it was really funny. We think he'll probably crack a joke about it on his next tour. We continued on the tour and saw lots more of Berlin and the whole tour was very interesting and we each gave the guide 5 euro, because it was so good.

After the tour ended with a grand finale story about how the East Berliners tore down the wall and Germany was reunited, we walked back to the start of the tour and met up with Cara's friend Anna. She had gone on an exchange to Cara's high school and Cara was excited to see her since they hadn't seen each other for about 8 years. Anna was very nice and had lots of suggestions for stuff to see and do. We all took the metro and went to some very interesting areas, one of which was an old building used by squatters for a long time. Now it's cleaned up and is free space for people to use to make and sell their art. Some amazing graffiti, painting and sculptures decorate the place. It was really cool and afterwards we went to go watch the game with some of her friends. Another interesting place, it was a half ruined building in the former Communist area that now is a bar and was showing the game on projectors, excellent atmosphere. After the first game ended we headed to a different bar, another open air bar again with a projector showing the game, but this one actually had an old fortification of some kind used as a rock climbing wall (Loren, you'd love the place, and the rock climbing is free). The same place also shows movies and after the game we watched a Scottish movie with German subtitles called Hallam Foe. It was an excellent movie and a great way to end the night. It was really nice to have Anna show us around and we had a much better time than hanging out with a bunch of backpackers at the hostel. We loved Berlin already and there was still so much to see.

Friday morning we woke up early again, this time a little Cream Crackered. We had a lot to do nonetheless though and first we dropped some laundry in a machine at the laundromat down the street. Then we decided just to grab some groceries this time and we had a good breakfast with some food to spare for about the same price. After we hung up our laundry in the room we got down to the real issues. Friday was dedicated to doing a day trip to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. We were going to take the tour by the same company as our walking tour guide, but at the last minute we decided to take a tour by a non-profit group who had a pamphlet at our hostel. We met with the guide and our group only ended up being 5 because it was raining really heavily. Soon we were on our way and we talked to our guide and found out she was from the Jewish community in Montreal, and has been giving guided tours for almost 10 years and really knew her stuff.
This was our last chance to see a camp and this one is apparently a much different experience than Auschwitz. Sachsenhausen was a work camp, not an extermination camp, although many lost their lives there. It was also turned around immediately after the war and used by the Soviets to detain (and get rid of) their desirables as well - similar to the Nazis. The camp was used until around 1960 then it was turned into a propaganda memorial by the East German government. Although there were a lot of Jewish people at the camp, most were prisoners of war, political prisoners, criminals and anyone else who opposed the Nazis. After the war it was used for the same purpose except for anyone who opposed Communism or was suspected of helping the Nazis during WWII. It was a somber experience and at times it was very emotionally charged, especially seeing the extermination trench and building, and the autopsy room. We also saw the barracks just outside the camp, where every SS officer in Germany was trained. This was especially hard on the prisoners, because up-and-coming SS officers were eager to prove their cruelty. Again I think everyone took away something different and I'm not sure I'd be eager to see another concentration camp, but it definately is important to see how evil and cruel people can be, so the same mistakes aren't made again.

The rain let up and sun started coming out. Which reflected our moods a bit, because we were going back to the Berlin and away from the camp conversation turned to lighter topics. We went back to the hostel and feeling quite exhausted had a short nap. After which we sat down and decided to go to Copenhagen next. Our friends back in Finland said the weekend of the 28th would work best for them, and originally I had thought that would work for us too. But upon further review, leaving Helsinki on the 29th and being in Paris on the 1st, would be next to impossible. Even going there would be best if we just headed there now. So we decided to stay in Copenhagen and see Norway before heading to Helsinki for the weekend of the 21st. After we got that weight off our shoulders, we headed out and got a bite to eat and met up with Anna again. She had another cool bar for us to watch the game, but it was a bit crowded so we sat in a different room. It was ok though because the Netherlands were by now thumping France in their 4-1 win. After the game ended we chatted for a bit and then headed off to a house party. The house party was really cool too and full of University students from Berlin. Again, it's amazing that so many Europeans our age can speak so many languages. At the party you could hear German, English, French and Arabic. It is so humbling that we can really only speak one language (plus a small bit of French). We had some great converstations, but with another ealy morning ahead of us, we decided to turn in around 1am. Anna came with us, just to squeeze in a few more minutes visiting with Cara but it was soon over and we had to say goodbye to Anna, until she comes to visit us in Canada. We haven't extended too many invitations to people we've met along the way, but it'll be interesting to see who turns up.

Saturday morning we got up early and left the hostel to see the Reich- staggebaude, the parlement building which is capped by a huge glass dome. Entrance is free and it was great views of the city. Getting through the tight security we walked up and had a good look around. Then we headed out and saw that the line had tripled in size since we got there, so you really do need to arrive early. We were hoping to go and see the East Side Gallery too, which is a section of the Berlin wall that is decorated in interesting graffiti, but we soon realized we were running out of time and needed to get our bags and head to the train station. We went to the hostel and grabbed the buffet which we hoped would serve as breakfast and lunch and made our way to the train station to catch the 11:18 train to Hamburg, Germany. We made it with time to spare and now sit a very nice high speed train to Hamburg. My pack just started leaking orange juice all over me though, so I should probably tend to that.

A Pinch of Prague

The fist leg of the train was ok, but afte border, the journey started to take a turn for ther we changed trains at the worse. The train was very crowded and some people ended up standing. We shared a very full compartment. Then halfway to Prague they announced something in Czech. A lot of swearing ensued, so we figured it was bad. It was and we needed to change trains again. Once off the train we maded our way to a platform where a train headed for Prague was to depart in about 15 minutes. We saw some Canadians and chatted with them for a while (two cousins from Ontario). About an hour later the train showed up. We again sat on a crowded train, but this time it was much slower and stopped at every station. At least we had some company. We finally arrived in Prague two hours late. We parted ways with the cousins as we made for opposite corners of the city. We walked (no Czech Crowns to take the metro) and made short work of it. We checked into our hostel and were pleased with it almost immediately. A private room, free breakfast, free internet, free wifi, free welcome beer and all for the same price as our Munich hostel. It was highly rated online and we see why. Unfortunately it's a bit out of the way. We made some package soup, did some internetting, had our welcome beer and then headed off to bed.

Tuesday morning we slept in a bit after letting ourselves get run down a bit over the past few days. We did breakfast again, pretty standard, but this time they had chocolate puff cereal. We both chuckled and agreed that Tom would approve. We got money, groceries, bus tickets and finally made our way out into Prague at 11am. Prague is a very nice town to stroll around in. It's huge and barely walkable, but nearly every building is nice to look at. It has the full gamut: Roman, Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, the Neo's, Cubic and Modern. Architecture through the ages, and all in one city. We headed for the castle and stopped at a very Baroque cathedral on the way. The Lonely Planet suggested this cathedral if you only see one in Prague. It was outlandish to say the very least. Extravegance at every turn but after taking it in we turned back to the dreary (by comparison) streets and continued on to the castle, but once there were disappointed with the entrance prices. 350 Crown for a full entry and 250 for an audio guide it was much more than a nights accommodation and about 33 CAD. But after humming at the price for a bit we tried the student card and got in at half price. That made the pill easier to swallow. Once in though we found the ticket not worth it, even at half price. Entrance to the castle is free as well as entrance to the huge Gothic cathedral. Those were the major sights and we found the rest of the agenda a little disappointing. It was still all pretty cool, but we could have sufficed without the ticket. The cathedral was especially good and the stained glass was excellent and the national gallery was good too. Next we walked through the park adjacent to the castle and stopped at a beer garden. The location is perfect in the middle of a huge park ontop of a steep hill overlooking the city. We had some excellent Czech beer and shared a sausage. We could have stayed longer soaking up the atmosphere, but we wanted to get back before the grocery store closed. We walked into town, took a peek at some of tomorrow's sights and caught the metro and bus back to the hostel. We then went and grabbed groceries and had salad and soup back at the hostel. The internet was clogged up by a group of rude Spanish students who didn't clean up the kitchen either, so we decided to head to bed and have an early morning.

Wednesday morning we got up early, but not too early to get free breakfast and were packed and out the door shortly after 8. We dropped our bags off at the train station and made our way to the Communism museum. It was facinating, albeit small, and we had to speed-read the last couple panels as we rushed to catch the free walking tour at 10:30. We did the tour and were disappointed with the tour guide. She was much too professional and the backstories were pretty dry. It was ok though, and we saw the last few things we wanted to see, although from the outside. An extra day would have let us see the insides too, but our schedule is getting tighter near the end and we find ourselves with only a couple of flex days. We then ran to the train station only to find out we were looking at train times we wrote down for Munich to Prague and that the next train wasn't for an hour. But it was for the better because we needed to go to a different station anyway. We made it to the station and ended up sitting around for an hour because our train was 20 minutes behind schedule. We rode second class to the border in a slightly crowded compartment and then switched to first class once in Germany and our rail passes were in effect. So here we sit excited about Berlin and the fact that Cara's friend Anna has agreed to show us around a bit. But we also wonder if the timing wasn't right to spend one of our precious flex days in Prague, especially the Czech playing a game tonight. Berlin should be great though, and Germany is playing tomorrow night, which should be awesome.

Malty Munich

We got off the train late in the afternoon and, after picking up a few things at the tourist office, made our way to the post office where we sent off some mail back home. Then we failed to locate some cheap internet place mentioned in our guide so we made our way to the hostel we booked using the Munich S Bahn. Our rail passes actually get us free passage on all S bahn (suburban rail). That's a good portion of the total metro system, so it was nice. We checked into our hotel and hung up the rest of our damp clothes. Then a nice New Zealand fellow checked into our room and we decided to go out together and see some stuff and get a bite to eat. Being in Munich we thought the best thing to do would be to check out a beer hall. It was quite the experience. The world famous Hofbrauhaus is like the Salzburg beer hall, but much wilder and it's not self service. Also for most of the beer the only option is 1L. We had a few beer each and ordered some beer hall fare. The food was authentic and pretty good. I had sausage sampler and the sauerkraut was the best I've ever had. Near the end of the night we decided to have one more round and head back. Later I realized that one more round of 1L beers, in Canadian standards, is more like 3 more. After we left the Hofbrauhaus, we had to sprint through a massive downpour of rain, and got completely soaked. We turned in and had decided that Neuschwanstein was on the agenda for tomorrow since the rain was supposed to continue the next day and we figured it would be best to be indoors somewhere.

We woke up Saturday morning, a little groggy from the last liter of beer, but early nonetheless. As the weather report had predicted, there was a steady drizzle falling outside. Dragging our feet at breakfast led to a nice sprint to the S Bahn and then sprint to our platform once we arrived at the main train station, only to see the train pull away right before us. We estimated we were about 20 seconds too late. So with an hour to kill we went and found lots of closed shops and ended up getting nothing really accomplished. At 8:55 we got on a very packed train heading for a town called Fussen. During the ride we initially sat in 2nd class because our friend, Cameron, didn't have a 1st class pass, but ended up giving up our seats to some old lady and her daughter, so we moved to 1st class, where Cameron kept a nervous eye out for the conductor. We chatted with another older couple from Edmonton for about an hour before the conductor scared Cameron away, he eventually returned though. Finally in Fussen we hopped on a city bus to get closer to the Castles. Neuschwanstein is actually a very new Castle, and construction started in the 1870s. Ludwig II was king of Bavaria and was quite an eccentric fellow. He didn't much care about the country and instead used all his time to build fanciful castles and listen to Wagner music. He only managed to complete part of Neuschwanstein before he came to his end, under suspicious circumstances. But his family used to live in another castle about a 40 minute walk from Neuschwanstein. This castle was the first stop on our trip and is a pretty great castle in itself. After the guided tour we headed to the astounding Neuschwanstein castle. This is the model that Disney used and therefore looks exactly like what you think a fairy tale castle should look like. Cameron was especially excited - the castle was pretty up there on his to-do list of Europe. After the tour of Neuschwanstein we walked around the castle, trying to get the best angles and found some good ones, especially from the middle of a sketchy bridge, spanning a gorge. Then we took the 2 hour train back to Munich. The day trip was great and even though it took a while to get there and back, it was much better than the 50 euro package our hostel was trying to sell us. Plus the weather had cleared up by the end of the day; it stopped raining and the fog started to lift.

Euro Cup is definately on every European's mind right now and once back in Munich we decided to go catch some of the action. We were advised of a good Irish/Australian pub (?? I know), but it was packed, so we just grabbed some food at a cafe which had the game playing. We missed the Swiss game but watched Portugal secure a win against Turkey. Cara was very proud of Ronaldo... It was good times and again good beer, but this place served it in smaller portions and we made it to bed at a good time, and much less inebriated than the night before.

Sunday morning we woke up and checked out temporarily because our hostel wanted us to change rooms. We weren't excited to begin with and were even less excited when we found out we needed to be out by 10am and couldn't check back in until 2pm. We had other things on our mind though and thought to take advantage of the free walking tours offered in some major cities, including Munich. It was a really excellent tour, focusing on WWII events. Munich was the birthplace of the Nazi party and it was really surreal to stand in places that Hitler used to frequent while he was trying to gain favor. We even saw the place where he almost died in his first attempt to seize power. Instead he was thrown in jail, where he wrote his book 'My Struggle'. After his rise to power he installed a plaque on the spot to commemorate the loss of Nazi life and during his reign, it was law to salute the plaque as you walked by. Two Gestapo officers ensured this was done and failing to do so put you into a concentration

camp. Therefore anyone not wanting to salute used to use the alley just down the street, 'Dodger's Alley'. It was all really interesting and we gave our guide a good tip at the end, because he really earned it. It's a great idea and we both support it. A guide should really get payment at the end of the tour and what you feel it was worth, instead of paying up front and hoping it'll be worth it. After the tour we headed up a church tower to get a view of the city. The stairs were very narrow and even at the top there is barely room for two people to pass. 30 people easily packed the top. Cara didn't hardly seem to notice the h

eight at all, which was surprising, because I definately noticed how high and how 'after the fact' this platform actually was, but I didn't point it out to her. At this point we parted ways and Cameron went to meet up with some vacationing New Zealand family. Me and Cara headed up to the University to see a memorial of the White Rose, which was an anti-Nazi group of students, teachers and friends who were trying to show people the lies in the Nazi propoganda. Eventually the brother and sister (and several other members) were caught and put to death. The memorial was closed though because of it being Sunday, so we took in the sights of the open air festival going on around the University. Skateboarders, fruit booters, beach volleyball, astro turf soccer and bands, all made for some interesting atmosphere. The weather looked like it might turn

though and we really wanted to see the river surfers, so we got going again. After a short walk, we found them. It was cool to see people surfing on a

permanent wave in a river, but I can't help wondering if they don't get bored. Ocean surfers get a lot more variety, and I don't think I'd want to snowboard the same run day after day. At least they have tons of spectators to impress, I guess.

After watching the surfers for a bit, we headed to check out one of the most famous beer gardens in Munich, Chinesischen Turm. It was in the middle of a huge park and, as Germany was playing that night, packed with German supporters. We watched Croatia win over Austria, even though Austria had lots of support from its German neighbours. Then the real event started, Germany vs Poland. Talk about awkward, although maybe it just seemed so because we just got off a WWII history tour. It was really something and I'm going to try and jostle the trip schedule a bit so we can be in more countries while they play. We learned a few chants and joined in the celebration as Germany won 2-0. Then we snuck on the metro and took the S bahn back to our hostel. Where we finally decided to complain a bit and ended up getting half price off our last night's stay.

Monday morning we got up and checked out again. We saw Cameron down at breakfast and tried to brag about our awesome night, when we learned he was there too. Too bad we didn't see each other, but we did have better seats, so that was a good consolation. Then we all headed out to get a few sights in before me and Cara left on a train to Prague. We managed to get into the White Rose memorial this time and it was really interesting. We picked up a thick booklet to read later and had a second hand accounting of some of the events. The caretaker was really into it and told us some stories from one of the former White Rose members who comes in from time to time to talk to anyone interested. Unfortunately we lingered too long and only got in one sight, a church, before we hit the train station in a rush. We picked up our bags, got a take-out bite, and got on our train to Prague. So far so good, we used to have another passenger in our compartment, but the conductor made her move to second class after seeing her ticket. We just found out though that we need to change trains at the border, so we'll see how that pans out.

Heavenly Hallstatt

Our connections from Bled to Hallstatt worked out quite well and we had about a half hour layover at one station and we were able to phone ahead to the tourist office and make a reservation in a Gasthaus in Hallstatt. When we got to Hallstatt the boat across to Hallstatt. The weather wasn't cooperating though and it was cloudy and rainy all night. We still took a bit of a walk around and grabbed some dinner at a nice restaurant. The meal was great and Cara's spicy rice and my smokedwas waiting for us and ferried us fish were real highlights. After dinner we walked a bit and went back to the room for some sleep.

Thursday morning we woke up early and got our free breakfast. Standard fair. We got some info on the town and asked about getting a few laundry items done. Helga told us of a place but it was a bit pricey and a bit of a walk. We only had a few items to do and we only really wanted them washed, so I politely asked if we might just be able to throw them in her machine. She said ok and we agreed to pay her some euro. The weather was rainy again though so she said she'd throw them in the dryer, and I told her not to worry about folding them or anything like that. Bonus, so we went out on our day of sightseeing. Hallstatt is having some sort of exhibition on until November so we got an exhibition pass for the bargain price of 7 euro. This gives us access to pretty much everything in Hallstatt, except the salt mine, which was actually our first stop. We took the funicular up to the salt mine and once there got into our sweet jump suits with leather butts for the wooden slides in the mine. The tour was quite informative. They estimate that for 7000 years now people have been living in the region and harvesting the salt. It wasn't till about 3000 years ago that people got organized and started digging and implementing an industrial system. Initially people would chip the crumbly salt rock out with picks made from antlers (later replaced by bronze aduring the Bronze Age) and carry it down to the town. The area was really rich because salt was the white gold of the past (preservative and seasoner in one). The acheologists believe trade reached all the way to Africa. Hallstatt was such a center of economy for the Alps reagion from 800 to 400 BC that they've actually labeled that era the Hallstatt Era. Then in 400 BC there was a massive mud slide that buried many entrances and killed many people. Everyone was scared and most people left for another safer salt mine in the region. During the middle ages salt mining revived and recently, only 500 years ago, they advanced the extraction method to using water. By drilling holes into massive salt deposits they can then use water to dissolve the salt and then pump it out and use massive kettles to boil the water out and you're left with salt. They actually use this method today in the mine to extract the salt. Another interesting tidbit is that they found a man perfectly preserved in salt in 1700 and they estimate he was trapped during the mud slide. The people in the 1700s didn't have a clue though and just buried the man somewhere, yet to be found. The area is so rich in salt that they've found many graves from antiquity and even the clothing is much better preserved for it.

The tour of the mine was pretty decent and the giant wooden slides were a highlight, although next time I'll bring a silk scarf like the guide and get extra speed going down. One down point of the tour was that it was combined German and English and I could tell the Germans in the crowd were getting alot more information than us. One segment didn't even have English. Not that I'm ignorant or anything but we paid just like everyone else and they advertised English tours, so I was disappointed when we missed out on a lot of the info. After the salt mine we walked through some more stuff to do with the mine and acheology and then took the funicular back down to hit the museum. On the way to the museum we went inside a crazy soap shop, looking for a wash cloth but we couldn't find any. Cara got some homemade soap for less than 2 euro and they gave her a free washcloth with her purchase, suckers...

If we missed info at the salt mine we definately got our fill at the museum and there was tons to digest (archeology, not art museum). After the museum we saw the Catholic church and went to the bone chapel too. Hallstatt doesn't have much real estate and you only got 10 years in the graveyard before you were dug up and laid out in the sun to rot and bleach your bones. Then they painted the skulls with names and various symbolic plants and stack you up in bone chapel. Fortunately/unfortunately the prefered method of burial is now cremation and that doesn't take up much space, so now virtually nobody goes in there (permanently) anymore. One lady did in 1994, but that was rare, and only granted after special request. The whole thing was pretty morbid, but interesting nonetheless. After we went and got some food at the supermarket and dropped it off at the room. At the room we were horrified to find out that there was a problem with the dryer and Helga actually hung out all our clothes on a drying rack in our room. Horrified because she had to handle our socks and underwear and because it took her much longer, where she didn't really want to do it in the first place. We got over it though and after a full day of sights we went looking for internet and found that the going rate was 1 euro for 6 minutes so we had a hurried session at a nearby cafe (1 euro for 15 minutes) and looked for accommodation and train connections, and then got out. After that we went back to the room and eat some food (salad and soup) and had a night in because of the rain.

Friday morning we woke up and did breakfast again, where we saw Helga and thanked her profusely for the laundry. Then we went to the last major stop on the exhibition a local art/technology school. It was pretty good and they had stuff from the students on display, so really funky and quality furniture, art, sculptures and instruments as well. I was particularily impressed with the instruments. Then we went on a walk up the valley and took in some nature before heading back to the room to get our bags. Then we took the boat across the lake to the train. After two changes on progressively speedier and direct trains we are on our way to Munich. Actually on the same train from Lesce/Bled that we rode a few days ago. Salzburg station was decked out in Austria flags because the Euro cup is being held in Switzerland and Austria right now. Luckily we already did Austria, because I'm not sure accommodations are readily available in the major cities right now. We look forward to Munich though and hope that 3 nights is enough to see all we want.

Breathtaking Bled

We got off the train in Lesce, because Bled is accessible only by road, and our luck immediately turned around when we met a very nice and eager to please tourism lady at the train station. She helped us decide what train to take out of Lesce to get to Hallstatt, how to find our Hostel and where to catch the bus to Bled. We could have figured most of it out ourselves I think, except the train part, but we weren't about to turn down her awesome help. We got a bus to Bled and made a short hike up the hill to the hostel. We checked in and discovered that the awesome deal Cara had thought she heard on the phone was not 7 euro but 27 euro each. We kinda figured it was too good to be true. We immediately dropped our bags and were out the door to see a bit of Bled before the sun went down. We made it to the castle just before 8pm and since the ticket booth was closed we got free entry and enjoyed the awesome scenery for the remaining time the castle was open. We then headed down to the lake and satisfied we had squeezed in some sight seeing headed back to the hostel looking at a couple restaurants on the way. During our browsing we walked past a house and were surprised to see a horse and two colts. They were still really wobbly and I asked the owner how long ago they were born, he said 6 days. After admiring the guy's fine twins, we decided our Hostel offered the best looking food and reasonable prices. We were right; my pasta was awesome and Cara got a huge selection on the tourist plate for 9 euro and she needed help finishing it. After our meal we headed to our room and finished the movie on TV that was playing in the restaurant during dinner. Pretty much the fist TV we watched that wasn't soccer. It was in English (Slovanian subs) and apparently I was so starved of TV, I was willing to watch a pretty crummy movie.

Wednesday morning Cara's alarm got us up at 6am. She had set it the night before wanting to get some hiking in before our 11am train. Morning changed her mind and she decided to catch up on some sleep so she wouldn't get sick. I wasn't feeling too run down though and decided to do the walk anyway. I packed up my camera gear and hiked back up the Castle for a morning view of the lake. The sun rises around 5:15 now, so I missed that, but the view was still great and it had rained during the night and was still drizzling a bit, which offered a misty and cloudy effect. Then I went down the lakes edge and walked around the entire lake. It was very peaceful and I saw only a few morning joggers and people fishing besides the water fowl. Swans and ducks aplenty and many of them had little ones tagging along. After about 2 and a half hours I found myself back at the hostel and joined Cara for breakfast. She told me she had a good morning and slept mostly while I was out. Standard breakfast again and after breakfast I went to pack up. Cara had already packed up, so she went to the market to see if she could find some deodorant and shampoo. We then checked out and went to the bus stop. We got to the bus stop about 20 minutes early, so I sat with the bags and told Cara where to find a nice park so she could see some more of Bled. We made the very short journey to Lesce and waited around for our train to depart. We now sit on a train headed for Munich, but we'll be getting off in St. Veit and after a few connections should be in Hallstatt by 5:31pm.