Gutten Tag: Switzerland, Germany, and Austria

For my 10 days of Semana Santa I got to go galavanting around Central Europe with my dad.  No Spanish  vacation it wasn't: it was early mornings, no siestas, and early nights to do it all over again the next day.  We wanted to see as much as possible, and indeed we did.

Geneva - Place of reunion!  We enjoyed a tour of the United Nations and a visit to the Red Cross museum.  Our tour guide of the UN, a Romanian who passed for a Brit, was understated and passionate about the organization he worked for, and it became one of the most inspiring moments of the trip.  Overall, the weather was beautiful, the tulips were blooming, and the swans were picture-perfect.  We managed to catch a few of the fountain in Lake Geneva on the night before we left when it was running briefly.

Zurich lake

Bern - On our way through to Zurich, we made a pit stop in the capital Bern.  We certainly didn't regret it, as it was quite charming and full of life.  In many ways, I wished we could have spent more time in Bern, but we were there long enough to grab a kebab and a warm soft pretzel.  

Zurich - Admittedly, I didn't expect much out of Zurich, but my opinions changed after we met the kindest ex-parliament member on the remainder of our ride from Bern.  He taught us all about the landscape that passed by our windows and then escorted us to our hotel upon our arrival (not without pointing out the main features of Zurich along the way).  It was a prettier city than Geneva, but without a lot to do.  But we set our priorities straight and in our short time there did manage to make it to the Chocolatier and have an amazing meal in a local restaurant.

Munich - Four days in Munich was certainly not enough, especially considering that we didn't actually spent that much time in the city itself.
      - Our first full day after arrival we decided to skip town all together and take a guided tour to the nearby fairy tale castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.  We were supposed to get back to Munich in time for a leisurely dinner, but after our train was delayed (only 15 minutes away from our destination) and we were told to get off (in the most rural station I've ever seen) and wait until the next train came along.  We would have all been disappointed had our guide not been more flexible, but we just put off returning until later, and had all the time we wanted to explore the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty's Castle and the surrounding alpine wilderness (complete with even the smell of burning firewood).

Need I say more?

     - Our second day we made the much shorter trek to Dachau to visit the first concentration camp of the Third Reich.  Probably fortunately, I didn't know that much about the camp before visiting, which also probably made the visit a lot easier to stomach.  But I was all to excited to leave and get back to exploring Munich itself, especially the local market where we indulged in a BioBrat and BioBeer and bask in the warm sun before running through the Deutsche Museum in the less than 2 hours before it closed.
     - Our third day we skipped town again to go an hour and a half north to visit Tempe's sister city, Regansburg, and which happened to be 1) another UNESCO sight, 2) one of the few German cities that escaped the carpet bombings of World War II, 3) the northernmost point of the Holy Roman Empire, and 4) the largest medieval city center in Germany, including the Roman stone bridge and Gothic cathedral.  Even cooler, it's home to what is thought as possibly the oldest "fast food" restaurant in the world, which of course was sausages and kraut, and which of course, we ate at, though hardly very fast - who'd want to rush delicious breakfast-size sausages on the edge of the Danube on a beautiful sunny day.  When we got back to Munich, we repeated our sandwiches-in-the-plaza and then went for one last German beer at the Haufbrauhaus, where over it's last 400 years, it's hosted Mozart, Lenin, and Kennedy. Hitler even kicked of the Nazi Party in the beerhall.  Ah, history.

Salzburg - I was sad to leave Germany as I had grown quite attached (work hard AND play hard philosophy with all the European charm and delicious bread), but I quickly learned that Austria wasn't going to be huge adjustment.  Just like Bern, we made a pit stop in Salzburg on our way through to Vienna.  We weren't too interested in any of the Sound of Music tours, but we did enjoy walking around some of the most beautiful streets and sitting on the steps of a church in a plaza enjoying a spicy sausage dog and then a large sweet pretzel.  Life was good.

Vienna at dusk

Vienna - And life stayed pretty good.  We arrived in Vienna and within moments of coming to the center the sun was setting and everything had that pregnant lady glow to it.  Dad convinced me to go to our second vegetarian restaurant of the trip (who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? ;) ) to give our stomachs a rest for getting in our last days of delicious sausages, weinerschnitzel, carbs, coffee and ice cream (the 5 basic food groups in Vienna).  We took a tour of the Palace and grounds which randomly included the (awesome!) apple strudel demonstration, wandered around the market and flea market, and even managed to squeeze in an art gallery, which ironically was highlighting two different American pop artists and Picasso.  We finished it all off with an authentic Sacher torte and coffee and a song or two of the live broadcast of the opera.

 On our last morning, Dad and I departed before the crack of dawn.  He made his way to the airport and I to the train station to make it to my outgoing-Bratislava flight.  Luckily, I found the station and an open bakery before my train departed where I was able to enjoy my last warm bread roll and strong coffee while watching the sun rise.  It was a great trip, indeed.

The complete picture albums can be found here for Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

Dad and I at Neuschwanstein

Can life just slow down, please!

Since London, a brief summary of the past few weeks:

Chantal visits!  It was so nice to have the opportunity to show Chantal around my side of the globe (this side of the Atlantic).  We went to Marbella one day, indulged in great food and desserts around Malaga, and even got to the mandatory tourist traps.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, save for the day she left (we did manage to get some beach time in before her flight), but it was still a wonderful visit.

Vanessa visits!  Despite finishing her third year in Andalucia, Vanessa had yet to visit Malaga (Malaga gets a bad reputation from all the other Andalucians just jealous they don't live in a big city by the sea) so I had yet another opportunity (twice in one week!) to show off the city I've fallen in love with.  I must have done all the right things, because by the end, I think Vanessa liked Malaga a lot too; but who wouldn't after two beautiful days at the beach, grilled sardines while we digged our toes in the sand at a chiringuito, and a late night out jumping from discoteca to discoteca.

Training in vain?  Maybe not, but in the end I decided not to actually do the half marathon.  It was hard decision, but something I had to refrain from.  I had trained a lot, but realized that my knees weren't exactly holding up, and I didn't want to risk and injury days before leaving on a 10-day walking trip of central Europe (not to mention that not being able to walk in Malaga is like not having a car in LA).  I figure, there are other marathons to conquer in my future.

Which brings me to my last large adventure...

Seeing London through Spanish eyes

New concept:
Stand to the right!

In January, my IT class invited me to come along for their end-of-studies trip to London.  Honored at the invite (but really, it didn't surprise me - after all, I am their favorite) and excited at the opportunity to go to London (a city I've always wanted to see and couldn't miss this time around), I of course accepted.

Let me paint you this picture: 13 chicos/4 chicas students (aged 18-28), 2 female teachers, and myself.  Often, it was a battle of the wills. At its best, it was utter chaos, but nearly always it was thoroughly entertaining.

I'll start by painting you another picture: 13 boys, Veronica, and myself.  We are all packed into a room smaller than any of my college dorms.  I actually had the option of staying with the profesoras, but decided that more lasting memories would probably be happening back at the hostel.  And indeed that was the case.  For 5 nights, it was a bit like reliving freshman year of college: musty smells, bunk beds, late night convos, lights on all hours, and snoring that shook the foundation (ok, so maybe they weren't exactly like my freshman year roommates).

Lesson #1: When traveling with Spaniards, I learned that it will entail frequent outbursts of flamenco singing and clapping in public places.  I might have peed in my pants laughing a little (out of sheer humiliation and hilarity).

Lesson #2: When traveling with students, I learned that it will entail many kebabs and meals at McDonald's.  In the meantime, I fell in love with Mark & Spencer's prepackaged salads which helped to keep me scurvy-free in London.  Also, they were about the only places open when they wanted to eat at the normal Spanish hours of 3 and 11pm.

At the British Museum

I was definitely the token English speaker (ok, there was Victor, but I definitely had the whole "native-english-speaker thing going for me) and main resource for Q&As of any importance.  I spoke Spanish 95% of the time.  Looking back, I could probably recall every english dialogue I had while visiting, all 1.5 of them (excluding Starbucks). Even besides my own students, walking around the city I heard a surprising amount of Spanish, which they even noticed and joked about ("Españoles del mundo!").

On several different occasions, I also had to explain that the pace of walking in the streets and subways didn't indicate a significant higher level of estress; merely that the pace of life was faster, and the quality of life didn't suffer just because we walked faster than the average Spaniard.  I think they remained skeptical.

It doesn't get more fun than an
oversized elevator - excuse me, lift.

My impressions of London were only positive, and easy biased as I'm at the 7-month stage of missing everything.  London, in many ways, reminded me of New York City; large, classy, cosmopolitan, diverse, efficient, and easy to get around with more museums, galleries, restaurants, markets, and cafes than one could explore in a lifetime.  But then, it still retained so much of that European charm; city along a river, old [looking] buildings, a history that extends more than 400 years.  I was able to indulge in Starbucks AND baguettes.  Gap AND Zara.  Capitalism AND public health care.  The best of both worlds? I think so.

In the 5 or 6 days, we got a lot done: British Museum, Tate Modern, Hyde Park, Changing of the Guard, Camden Town, St. Paul's Cathedral, Harrods, Science Museum, Notting Hill/Portobello Market, Natural History Museum, Tower of London, St. James Park, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Millenium Bridge, Parliament, Westminster Abby, Hamleys, Covnent Garden, Picadilly Circus, and all the places in between.

Was it my ideal trip to London?  No.  But it was unforgettable and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had.  Indeed going with a large group of young Spaniards lent to a completely different experience than I ever could have had going with myself, my family, or any other group.  I learned as much about Spanish culture as I did about London, if not more so, simply because I was able to experience their reactions and impressions to a different culture and one outside of Spain.

I didn't get to eat at any of the restaurants on my list, linger over paintings at the National Gallery, or take in a world-class show.  But how many people can say they were serenaded by flamenco in the middle of the London Underground?  I can.

For the complete gallery, go to my Facebook album.