Although I definitely had the bug to travel for another long weekend this Christmas month, I decided to spend these last couple weekends in London before heading back to the States for the holidays. Amidst the overcrowded streets and the looming credit crunch, there were some great holiday sights to see.
View pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/HolidayScenesInLondon#
I'll try to make this brief, but if you want to know more about anything I saw, just ask!
The borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (my home!) was decorated for the season quite early with real Christmas trees on the light posts and a large tree in Lyric square outside my work. The brand new largest urban mall in Europe, just two tube stops from me, was decorated in splendor. Our first (and only) snowfall so far occurred in October, the first time since the early 1900s. The premiere shopping roads of Oxford and Regents Street downtown were aglow with lights, music and fabulous window displays. The shops big and small were filled with festive goods and far too many people; I did learn that one should never go to Harrods during the Christmas season unless you don't want to see anything but more people. There are many great ice skating rinks around town, including the most scenic one (in my opinion) at the Natural History Museum, and the largest one set aside a German Christmas Market in Hyde Park. I had some great bratwurst, a pretzel and some German sweets at the Christmas market, and I even enjoyed some traditional German Christmas Stollen at a local Germany bakery.
Some very exciting changes took place at work this month as well. Us RegOnliners moved to our own office due to overcrowding in the original office we shared with our parent company. The office is very nice, and much more comfortable and quiet than the old one (and smells nicer too). We also had our own Christmas party last week where we enjoyed an excellent night out in London! We started at the Ice Bar, which is a bar made completely of ice...even the glasses! It is a constant -5 degrees celsius and all of the ice is shipped from an ice hotel in Norway. New ice is shipped every 4 months and a redesign is done then. After we had enough of the cold, we visited a few pubs before heading to Los Locos for dinner. We were very lucky and got a nicely decorated table that was empty because a reservation hadn't shown up. I have to admit that the Mexican food was very tasty considering it was in London! We had an absolute blast and more pics can be found on Facebook if you're interested.
I hope to post some pics and blogs about some of my experiences in the States. I'm sure I'll be in a bit of shock hearing American accents everywhere and refreshing my memory on why the US is such a great place. I hope to take note of everything that strikes me as odd because I think it'll be quite strange from a different perspective. Anyway, I figured I'd write some kind of Christmas message while I have the time. The city of London is a confusing place. Part of me gets fed up with the hustle and bustle, the over-crowded everything, and the lack of public friendliness & overall Christmas cheer. It can be a very impersonal place. However, it's also a great place that is full of culture, excitement and charm if you know where to look. When you find some of those places, it's even more pleasant because it's not expected. Sometimes you just have to look a bit further for something you're missing, but it doesn't mean that it is any less significant. I will be the first to admit that I sometimes get lost with everyone else, getting impatient with slow people on the way to work or not smiling to strangers on the street. But I've tried hard these last few weeks to make a difference to a few people, whoever they are, by giving up my tube seat or smiling to the random passerby. This isn't meant to be some cheesy Christmas lesson, but I do want to say one thing. Wherever you are and whoever it is with, it's never an excuse to forget your roots. Enjoy the season and what it has to offer. I'll see you all soon!!
PS - I'll be in Colorado the 16th-23rd and then in Oregon until January 3rd. If you want to see me please let me know! Email, call, text, facebook, blog comment, whatever. I'll be working while I'm in Colorado and I'm afraid the time is going to go real fast. I'll have my cell activated starting on the 16th and you can reach me at 303-995-7741. Cheers!
12.07.2008
12.04.2008
Prague, Czech Republic
Greetings! I know it's a little late, but this blog is about my recent trip to Prague with a few friends both new and old. I was joined by Hayley and her two friends from home, Nikki and Liam. To spice things up a bit, I'm going to try and make this an educational post. We'll see how it goes.
Photographs from Prague can be seen by visiting the following link: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Prague#
Our journey began in the early hours of the morning on Saturday the 29th of November. We woke from our B&B a few miles from Gatwick airport and caught a taxi to the terminal where we checked in at 5:30am. Gatwick is the world's 25th busiest airport and just celebrated it's 50th anniversary this year after Queen Elizabeth II opened the airport in June of 1958. After passing through security, we enjoyed a hearty English breakfast at a Wetherspoons pub. Especially impressive was my hot chocolate, loaded high with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.
Our EasyJet flight to Prague took approximately two hours. Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City. Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. The city itself is home to more than 1.2 million people and is traditionally one of the most cultural centers of Europe. Although it did receive decent damage from World War II, it was relatively untouched compared to neighboring European areas. Upon arriving in Prague, perhaps the most immediate difference we noticed was the currency. Having not yet adapted the Euro, the Czech Crown has no cents. A one crown coin is worth virtually nothing in our countries, but the 2000 crown note is worth approximately 135pounds. It took a good day to get used to the currency and how much we were actually spending.
Prague is one of the easiest and most hospitable places I have visited so far. It was extremely easy to find our bus that took us to the Metro (underground) line that took us a couple blocks from our Hostel in central Prague. Further, whenever we spoke English, no one ever stuck up their nose or gave an attitude. Instead they willingly assisted us with what we needed, usually with a smile and friendly gestures. As we explored the city, we noticed how amazingly clean and well preserved everything was. Slightly reminiscent of Rome, you could wander the streets for hours and never see the same thing twice; constantly being amazed at what you were seeing. Definitely a place more deserving than only a two nights stay.
Across from our hostel was a lovely Italian restaurant where we enjoyed some lunch. It may seem odd that we chose an Italian establishment, but I can assure you Italy is much closer to Prague than the US or UK and my "Lumberjack" fresh pasta was delicious! Our hostel was located a 2 minutes walk from the Old Town Square, the main hub of the entire city and an oasis for those wearied by Prague's narrow streets. The square is surrounded by many architectural styles including the gothic Týn Cathedral and the baroque St. Nicholas Church. The square was also bustling with tourists and locals visiting it's huge Christmas Market which offered a number booths with local crafts, food and hot mulled wine. We explored the Christmas market and I had my first taste at what I have named a Turtle. These soft, sweet pieces of rolled dough are actually called Trdlo, but not knowing how to pronounce the word I opted for an easier version. They are made by rolling sweet dough into a long pretzel-like string, wrapped around a metal ring and then dunked in sugar. The rings are then placed on a rotating rotisserie over a fire. After a few minutes, the dough is slid off the rings and served warm when you tear pieces of the delicately soft, warm dough off and eat them. A true delicatessen that I enjoyed far too many times during our trip.
Our first visit was to the Astronomical Clock and Tower, near the center of the square. The clock is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. For a small fee, you are able to climb to the top of the tower offering magnificent views of Prague from above. Take notice of these photographs in my gallery.
Since it was now late afternoon and we had already been up for too many hours, we decided to head back to the hostel for some rest before heading out that night. Nikki, Hayley and I joined some other annoying Americans (as always) in the common room where we watched a highly thought-provoking film. The name of the film has slipped my mind, but it involved a few horrible actors dancing in a stereotypical teen movie where the guy gets the girl and the girl wins a dance competition. While Nikki and Liam took a nap, Hayley and I decided to explore the area a bit more and get some dinner in the Christmas market. We both enjoyed some wonderfully prepared mulled wine and a chicken shish kabob. We then went back to the hostel to freshen up before embarking on our pub crawl for the evening.
As with most big European cities, Prague is well-known for it's vibrant nightlife. Traveling by myself, I usually don't take advantage of what European cities have to offer at night, but this trip was different. I was joined by three others, all anxious for a good night out, and that is what we had. We joined the organized pub crawl and went to our first pub. It was here we enjoyed unlimited drinks and a shot of Absinthe. Banned almost everywhere in the early 1900's due to it's high volume of alcohol, Absinthe saw a revival in many European countries within the last couple decades. It tastes utterly disgusting and similar to black licorice, but everyone has to try it once.
We then continued to our 2nd pub, which was much more like a club. We visited with other members of the tour and even got a few dance moves in before heading to our final destination for the evening. Meanwhile, our hosts continually carried around bottles of orange vodka for us to try. The third pub/club was a very unique venue covering three floors, each with it's own atmosphere. We decided to perch on the top floor which was most like a traditional Czech pub. We did occasionally venture to the other floors where we enjoyed some dancing and extremely sketchy bathroom behavior. At some point during the evening, I walked Nikki back to the hostel and then returned to the pub. The rest of us all made it home at different times and I'm afraid to say they were all too late in the morning. However, an excellent time was had by all and it will definitely go down as one of the best nights any of us have had out on the town.
The next morning was a bit rough, but we all got up at a decent time in the morning, took showers, and headed to a Chinese establishment two doors down from our hostel for some early lunch. I enjoyed some excellent sweet corn and egg soup and sweet and sour chicken. We then decided to make our way across the Vltava river to Prague castle atop the hill overlooking the metropolis. The Charles Bridge is the most well-known and popular crossing of the river. Constructed in 1357, the bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide. It is protected by three bridge towers, one of which is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700. It was a truly fascinating place and offered many excellent views of the the waterfront and the castle above.
We then meandered the streets on the other side of the river, slowly gaining elevation before arriving at the castle. The Prague castle is one of the largest castles in the world and stretches back to around 870BC. The castle includes the gothic St Vitus Cathedral, romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defence towers. Due to the frigid temperatures that never exceeded 0 Celsius, and a long queue, we decided not to enter the castle but did spend some time exploring the area, enjoying the view from the castle walls and taking many photographs. On our way back from the castle, we stopped for a late lunch where I enjoyed some traditional Czech beef goulash with potato bread pancakes. It was interesting nonetheless, and was topped off with yet another Turtle from the market. On our way back toward the hostel, we did some shopping at some of the many shops and markets in the area and then dropped Nikki off at the hostel for some rest. Meanwhile, Liam, Hayley and I wondered into an old pub where I enjoyed some espresso and they enjoyed a pint of fine Czech beer.
Czechs drink more beer than any other country in the world, an average of 338 pints per person per year. With that said, it's not hard to find a lovely traditional pub with long wooden tables where you can join some locals for a pint of wonderful beer that costs the equivalent of about 1pound. Even the KFC's in Prague serve beer. Although Prague is getting more touristy, and therefore it's prices increasing, beer can still be found very cheap. After a drink and further exploring nearby streets, we decided to stop for some dinner at a Czech restaurant. I ordered a delicately prepared roast duck served with homemade sauerkraut and potato dumplings. It was absolutely wonderful and the first time I've ever eaten a considerable amount of duck. Potato dumplings/potato bread pancakes are very hard to describe. It looks like bread but it's far too dense and thick. However, it's not a potato because it's too breadlike. All I have to say is that not even I could finish all of them because they are too thick and a little bland. The four of us then enjoyed a couple drinks in our local favorite pub beside the hostel and finished the night sipping some mulled wine outside in the square. A perfect finish to a great trip.
The next morning we were up early again to catch the metro and then bus to the airport where we caught our mid-morning flight back to Gatwick and the busy, crowded and less-polite city of London. As always, the highlights of the trip involved good people, great food and endless exploring of yet another beautiful European city. I hope you have enjoyed this slightly education and hopefully not-too-boring depiction of my trip to the Czech Republic.
Photographs from Prague can be seen by visiting the following link: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Prague#
Our journey began in the early hours of the morning on Saturday the 29th of November. We woke from our B&B a few miles from Gatwick airport and caught a taxi to the terminal where we checked in at 5:30am. Gatwick is the world's 25th busiest airport and just celebrated it's 50th anniversary this year after Queen Elizabeth II opened the airport in June of 1958. After passing through security, we enjoyed a hearty English breakfast at a Wetherspoons pub. Especially impressive was my hot chocolate, loaded high with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.
Our EasyJet flight to Prague took approximately two hours. Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City. Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. The city itself is home to more than 1.2 million people and is traditionally one of the most cultural centers of Europe. Although it did receive decent damage from World War II, it was relatively untouched compared to neighboring European areas. Upon arriving in Prague, perhaps the most immediate difference we noticed was the currency. Having not yet adapted the Euro, the Czech Crown has no cents. A one crown coin is worth virtually nothing in our countries, but the 2000 crown note is worth approximately 135pounds. It took a good day to get used to the currency and how much we were actually spending.
Prague is one of the easiest and most hospitable places I have visited so far. It was extremely easy to find our bus that took us to the Metro (underground) line that took us a couple blocks from our Hostel in central Prague. Further, whenever we spoke English, no one ever stuck up their nose or gave an attitude. Instead they willingly assisted us with what we needed, usually with a smile and friendly gestures. As we explored the city, we noticed how amazingly clean and well preserved everything was. Slightly reminiscent of Rome, you could wander the streets for hours and never see the same thing twice; constantly being amazed at what you were seeing. Definitely a place more deserving than only a two nights stay.
Across from our hostel was a lovely Italian restaurant where we enjoyed some lunch. It may seem odd that we chose an Italian establishment, but I can assure you Italy is much closer to Prague than the US or UK and my "Lumberjack" fresh pasta was delicious! Our hostel was located a 2 minutes walk from the Old Town Square, the main hub of the entire city and an oasis for those wearied by Prague's narrow streets. The square is surrounded by many architectural styles including the gothic Týn Cathedral and the baroque St. Nicholas Church. The square was also bustling with tourists and locals visiting it's huge Christmas Market which offered a number booths with local crafts, food and hot mulled wine. We explored the Christmas market and I had my first taste at what I have named a Turtle. These soft, sweet pieces of rolled dough are actually called Trdlo, but not knowing how to pronounce the word I opted for an easier version. They are made by rolling sweet dough into a long pretzel-like string, wrapped around a metal ring and then dunked in sugar. The rings are then placed on a rotating rotisserie over a fire. After a few minutes, the dough is slid off the rings and served warm when you tear pieces of the delicately soft, warm dough off and eat them. A true delicatessen that I enjoyed far too many times during our trip.
Our first visit was to the Astronomical Clock and Tower, near the center of the square. The clock is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. For a small fee, you are able to climb to the top of the tower offering magnificent views of Prague from above. Take notice of these photographs in my gallery.
Since it was now late afternoon and we had already been up for too many hours, we decided to head back to the hostel for some rest before heading out that night. Nikki, Hayley and I joined some other annoying Americans (as always) in the common room where we watched a highly thought-provoking film. The name of the film has slipped my mind, but it involved a few horrible actors dancing in a stereotypical teen movie where the guy gets the girl and the girl wins a dance competition. While Nikki and Liam took a nap, Hayley and I decided to explore the area a bit more and get some dinner in the Christmas market. We both enjoyed some wonderfully prepared mulled wine and a chicken shish kabob. We then went back to the hostel to freshen up before embarking on our pub crawl for the evening.
As with most big European cities, Prague is well-known for it's vibrant nightlife. Traveling by myself, I usually don't take advantage of what European cities have to offer at night, but this trip was different. I was joined by three others, all anxious for a good night out, and that is what we had. We joined the organized pub crawl and went to our first pub. It was here we enjoyed unlimited drinks and a shot of Absinthe. Banned almost everywhere in the early 1900's due to it's high volume of alcohol, Absinthe saw a revival in many European countries within the last couple decades. It tastes utterly disgusting and similar to black licorice, but everyone has to try it once.
We then continued to our 2nd pub, which was much more like a club. We visited with other members of the tour and even got a few dance moves in before heading to our final destination for the evening. Meanwhile, our hosts continually carried around bottles of orange vodka for us to try. The third pub/club was a very unique venue covering three floors, each with it's own atmosphere. We decided to perch on the top floor which was most like a traditional Czech pub. We did occasionally venture to the other floors where we enjoyed some dancing and extremely sketchy bathroom behavior. At some point during the evening, I walked Nikki back to the hostel and then returned to the pub. The rest of us all made it home at different times and I'm afraid to say they were all too late in the morning. However, an excellent time was had by all and it will definitely go down as one of the best nights any of us have had out on the town.
The next morning was a bit rough, but we all got up at a decent time in the morning, took showers, and headed to a Chinese establishment two doors down from our hostel for some early lunch. I enjoyed some excellent sweet corn and egg soup and sweet and sour chicken. We then decided to make our way across the Vltava river to Prague castle atop the hill overlooking the metropolis. The Charles Bridge is the most well-known and popular crossing of the river. Constructed in 1357, the bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide. It is protected by three bridge towers, one of which is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700. It was a truly fascinating place and offered many excellent views of the the waterfront and the castle above.
We then meandered the streets on the other side of the river, slowly gaining elevation before arriving at the castle. The Prague castle is one of the largest castles in the world and stretches back to around 870BC. The castle includes the gothic St Vitus Cathedral, romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defence towers. Due to the frigid temperatures that never exceeded 0 Celsius, and a long queue, we decided not to enter the castle but did spend some time exploring the area, enjoying the view from the castle walls and taking many photographs. On our way back from the castle, we stopped for a late lunch where I enjoyed some traditional Czech beef goulash with potato bread pancakes. It was interesting nonetheless, and was topped off with yet another Turtle from the market. On our way back toward the hostel, we did some shopping at some of the many shops and markets in the area and then dropped Nikki off at the hostel for some rest. Meanwhile, Liam, Hayley and I wondered into an old pub where I enjoyed some espresso and they enjoyed a pint of fine Czech beer.
Czechs drink more beer than any other country in the world, an average of 338 pints per person per year. With that said, it's not hard to find a lovely traditional pub with long wooden tables where you can join some locals for a pint of wonderful beer that costs the equivalent of about 1pound. Even the KFC's in Prague serve beer. Although Prague is getting more touristy, and therefore it's prices increasing, beer can still be found very cheap. After a drink and further exploring nearby streets, we decided to stop for some dinner at a Czech restaurant. I ordered a delicately prepared roast duck served with homemade sauerkraut and potato dumplings. It was absolutely wonderful and the first time I've ever eaten a considerable amount of duck. Potato dumplings/potato bread pancakes are very hard to describe. It looks like bread but it's far too dense and thick. However, it's not a potato because it's too breadlike. All I have to say is that not even I could finish all of them because they are too thick and a little bland. The four of us then enjoyed a couple drinks in our local favorite pub beside the hostel and finished the night sipping some mulled wine outside in the square. A perfect finish to a great trip.
The next morning we were up early again to catch the metro and then bus to the airport where we caught our mid-morning flight back to Gatwick and the busy, crowded and less-polite city of London. As always, the highlights of the trip involved good people, great food and endless exploring of yet another beautiful European city. I hope you have enjoyed this slightly education and hopefully not-too-boring depiction of my trip to the Czech Republic.
11.28.2008
Thanksgiving in London
Many of you have asked whether or not I would be doing anything for Thanksgiving since I'm in a country that didn't slaughter Native Americans for their land. Well, the answer is YES! Sam, a co-worker of mine, graciously offered his flat so Ellen (an American co-worker) and I could take the day off and cook an amazing feast for friends...and we did just that. It ended up being an amazing day and probably the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. I have to warn you that the following pictures contain a lot of food in all forms. A lot.
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Thanksgiving#
Preparations actually started weeks ago when Ellen and I visited a small shop we found that sold a lot of American food staples. We picked up things like canned pumpkin, creamed corn, ritz crackers, cornbread mix, stove top (as a back up) and a few things for us like Kraft mac and cheese. Then last weekend Hayley drove us to a large supermarket where we bought everything else we needed...including way too many lbs of potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, stuffing fixins (including some wonderful British sausage), green beans, gravy flour, butter, extra serving platters/bowls/utensils, and tons more. Finally, on Wednesday after work we picked up our 9kg (20lb) fresh turkey from Whole Foods. It was an amazing, free-range bird that had never been frozen. It even had some real skin left on it's legs and some random feathers sticking out here and there. On Thursday morning we were ready to start cooking!
First went the pies...three pumpkins pies to be exact. Then the turkey covered in seasoned butter and stuffed with veggies to flavour the gravy. While the turkey cooked we prepared everything else and had everything prepared to be warmed up in the oven once the turkey was done. People started arriving around 6pm, bringing appetizers and drinks, football (soccer) came on the tele and everyone was having a great time. We eventually ate, and kept eating, and then ate some more. There was plenty of food for everyone and by the end of the night we still had half of the mashed potatoes, half of the stuffing, half of the rolls and almost half of a turkey left!! It was amazing.
Due to a few visitors from the States, the crowd was about half American and half English. We even went around and made everyone say what they were thankful for. I'm not sure what made it such a great day. It could be because it was just me and Ellen that planned and prepared everything which is quite an accomplishment for about 15 people. But it also had to do with the people that were there and the great time had by all. It will definitely be one to remember.
Sam deserves the biggest thanks of all for letting us use his flat (and double oven) for the day and hosting a bunch of annoying Americans when he wasn't feeling very well. Thanks also goes to Hayley for being the greatest friend and always doing whatever she can to help out. Thanks guys, it was great!
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Thanksgiving#
Preparations actually started weeks ago when Ellen and I visited a small shop we found that sold a lot of American food staples. We picked up things like canned pumpkin, creamed corn, ritz crackers, cornbread mix, stove top (as a back up) and a few things for us like Kraft mac and cheese. Then last weekend Hayley drove us to a large supermarket where we bought everything else we needed...including way too many lbs of potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, stuffing fixins (including some wonderful British sausage), green beans, gravy flour, butter, extra serving platters/bowls/utensils, and tons more. Finally, on Wednesday after work we picked up our 9kg (20lb) fresh turkey from Whole Foods. It was an amazing, free-range bird that had never been frozen. It even had some real skin left on it's legs and some random feathers sticking out here and there. On Thursday morning we were ready to start cooking!
First went the pies...three pumpkins pies to be exact. Then the turkey covered in seasoned butter and stuffed with veggies to flavour the gravy. While the turkey cooked we prepared everything else and had everything prepared to be warmed up in the oven once the turkey was done. People started arriving around 6pm, bringing appetizers and drinks, football (soccer) came on the tele and everyone was having a great time. We eventually ate, and kept eating, and then ate some more. There was plenty of food for everyone and by the end of the night we still had half of the mashed potatoes, half of the stuffing, half of the rolls and almost half of a turkey left!! It was amazing.
Due to a few visitors from the States, the crowd was about half American and half English. We even went around and made everyone say what they were thankful for. I'm not sure what made it such a great day. It could be because it was just me and Ellen that planned and prepared everything which is quite an accomplishment for about 15 people. But it also had to do with the people that were there and the great time had by all. It will definitely be one to remember.
Sam deserves the biggest thanks of all for letting us use his flat (and double oven) for the day and hosting a bunch of annoying Americans when he wasn't feeling very well. Thanks also goes to Hayley for being the greatest friend and always doing whatever she can to help out. Thanks guys, it was great!
11.25.2008
Watch out UK, I'm 100% really and fully official now!
Well today was a pretty important day for me. After traveling by train through the wonderfully disguisting urban sprawl of London, I visited the UK Border Agency in Croydon to receive my further leave to remain. This is a fancy way of giving me further permission to stay in the UK. After waiting in line outside, then another line inside, then sitting in a chair for another hour, the agent looked through my application and documents and granted me permission to stay. I now have this fancy sticker (that's actually in color) in the back of my passport! My terrorist-style picture is due to the fact that I had to get the picture taken a couple weeks ago during my beard phase. I'm cleared to stay in the UK until 2nd July, 2010. So plenty of time for all of you to come visit me. Sweet.
11.21.2008
Ode to the Cornish Pasty
This post is to celebrate the Cornish Pasty, properly pronounced Past-ee (not paste-ee). What many of you only know as a frozen food item, a pasty is a staple here often found in malls, street corners and gastropubs. Usually sought by fast-food lovers and those who recently consumed too much alcohol, a pasty is like a pastry. A delicate, flaky crust filled with nothing but goodness. A traditional pasty is filled with meat, sliced potatoes and onion and baked to perfection. However, dozens and dozens of flavors can be found at any local pasty shop. My recent choice was a rather fine chicken and vegetable pasty, and my friend enjoyed a lamb and mint pasty. You can also find fruit variations such as pork and apple or turkey and cherry. In my opinion, the filling choices are truly endless and apparently it's possible to even find dessert pastys like chocolate and banana!The origin of the pasty itself is largely unknown but they have been around since at least the 13th century. It is commonly agreed to that their birthplace was in Cornwall, UK, a coastal region at the southwest tip of the kingdom. I would encourage each and every one of you to enjoy a pasty at some point in your life.
A few of you have asked me to start posting more pics and information about the foods I eat when I travel. As many of you know, I have a rather dangerous addiction to food. Therefore, I would love nothing more than to include food in my blog from now on. For your enjoyment, I have included some pictures below of food that I have already enjoyed. I still doubt most of you are as excited as I am to see these pics, but I hope you enjoy them regardless!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/FoodRound1#
11.16.2008
A New Look!
Welcome! I obviously spent some time changing my blog up a bit so I hope you like the new look. The picture behind the title is one that I took in Switzerland. I also have one pic from all of the main places I have traveled on the right side of the page. You are probably also noticing the fact that I have a really corny looking picture situated to the left. I have been "dared" to grow a mustache during the month of November. This is a trend the Australians started called Movember. The overall goal is to grow a mustache and raise money for prostate cancer. The picture here shows my progress so far...basically I just decided not to shave for the first half of the month. However, today I did shaved and sculped the mustache (and handlebars) themselves. You'll have to wait for a pic of that though!
11.11.2008
Seville, Espana
Hola! So things in Spain are small. Well, I don't know about the entirety of Spain, but at least Seville, which lies in the heart of the Andalucia region of southern Spain. Specifically, the drinks (especially beer), the food (tapas), the roads, the people, the cars, and probably a lot more things. Many of you question my ability to travel to such foreign places on my own. I have to admit it's both nice and boring at the same time. I can do what I want, when I want, and at any time. I can see what I want to see and only I live the consequences if I make a bad choice. With all of that said, I let myself do a lot of relaxing this trip...something I don't usually let myself do. I spent some time sitting in the park reading a book or sitting at a coffee shop writing in my journal. That's right, I have an actual journal outside of my blog where I keep things that all of you can't read. During this trip I wrote about some of my experiences and I'm going to give you some excerpts of those entries in this blog, so it may be a little different than previous blogs. Oh, and I'm sorry for the length.
Pics Here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/SevilleSpain#
I arrived late on Friday night after heading straight to Stansted airport from work. Stansted is a huge hub for the budget airlines, but it's a major pain to get to and get back from. After catching the bus into town, and another bus to my hostel, I randomly walked around trying to get my bearings straight. I figured the printed map I had would get me to the right spot, but I had to ask two taxi drivers for directions before I finally made my way to the hostel. The hostel itself was very nice and I was in a room with 7 others. There was a bar on the street level and a outdoor terrace on the top with a kitchen. They also have nightly optional activities which I took part in the following nights. I unloaded my pack and decided to go for a walk around the area before heading to bed.
The next day my frustration with the city continued. I had thought about trying to do a walking tour that started at 10:30am, but got to the meeting place late because I was pretty much lost the hour prior. The streets of Seville are like a hamster on crack. If you got the hamster high and put it on a large piece of paper with a marker attached to it's tail and let it free, you would have a mess. If you then gave the piece of paper to a city planner and said "I want a city that looks like this," you would have Seville. To be fair, you would probably have a lot of European cities, but Seville is the craziest I have experienced. The streets, mostly made of cobblestone or large bricks, are only wide enough for the smallest of vehicles. One road seems like it may go north, west, south, and east all before you get to the next intersection. The sidewalks, if any, are about a yard wide. Although I got the hang of things after a while, to be completely efficient you have to have a map out at all times with your finger wherever you are. In my opinion, a lot of these roads "wouldn't count" on a normal map - they are far too small and insignificant in the scheme of things. However, I eventually changed my mind. It is fascinating that it's possible to get from point A to point B about 8 different ways, each taking the same amount of time. Every road has it's own characteristic and a number of shops, cafes and restaurants that you could so easily miss if you picked another. One minute you might be on your own on a darker street that actually never sees sunlight on the road, lined with doors that surely lead to people's flats. The next minute you are dodging tables and chairs from a tapas bar, smelling the fresh aroma of one of the orange trees that line many streets, or snapping pics of one of the dozens and dozens of churches scattered throughout the city. And then there are the places invisible to the passerby that are the heart of the city, places like the Flamenco bar that you will read about later.
After missing the walking tour, I decided to explore the city's sights on my own. The first stop was the Caterdral y Giralda, which is the Cathedral and the Giralda tower. The Seville cathedral is the third largest in the world, just behind St. Peters in Rome and St. Pauls in London. It's style, however, is very different. Built in the 12th century, it was built by the Morrish Almohad rulers and is apparently very similar to architecture in Morroco. The Giralda tower, connected to the cathedral, is a huge tower taller than any other building in town. The views from the top were excellent! I continued exploring the area, finding a lot of things by accident while lost, and ended up at a tapas bar for lunch in the Barrio de Santa Cruz area of town. This was my first dining experience in Spain and I was a bit nervous about it. I ended up ordering a tapas sized Paella and a baguette sandwich with roast pork and a spicy sauce. It was excellent! On a full stomach I decided to head toward the river and the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, which is the famous bullring in town. The fighting season ended in September and they offer tours of the bullring which is widely known as the finest in the world. The tour guide told us how the fights work and explained many items found in the museum as well. I really enjoyed the bullring and thought it was beautiful. The sand was finely manicured and the building so simple. I was a little bummed we had to stay with the tour guide and couldn't explore more on our own. I also spent a large portion of the afternoon at Plaza de Espana and Parque de Maria Luisa. The park of Maria Luisa was an outstanding escape in the middle of the city filled with huge trees, towering palm trees, and open lawns and fountains. I read in the grass for a while and finally headed back to the hostel before dusk. The hostel was about a 10 minutes walk to the river which had a pathway that followed it's length. I decided to go for a run and it was an excellent choice. The temperature was perfect and the sun was setting. A great way to start a long night.
Since it was Saturday, the busiest night in the hostel, one of the workers led a tapas and Flamenco tour for anyone who wanted to join. Our first stop was a traditional tapas bar where we all ordered tons of food and enjoyed some fine Spanish cerveca. There were about 12 of us in the group, most all of us from either the US or Australia. I ordered breaded eggplant with a queso sauce and chorizo sausage on bread. We then followed our host to a local Flamenco bar.
Flamenco originates in Andalucia, and Seville is known as the heart of this awesome tradition. The bar itself was on a quiet, lonely street. We stopped outside a double door; the building was non-descript and there was no sign of anything worthwhile around. It was just like any other set of doors on any other building on any other street. After telling us the "rules," he opened the door and we entered. To our astonishment we entered a room greeted by a small, burning fireplace. The walls were white stucco and the ceilings very high. As we walked through the white room framed by exposed wooden beams, we saw that it opened into another room in the back. This room was lined with rows of tables and benches. A small, almost hidden stage sat against the front wall, and was only raised a foot or two. A long bar was against another wall and bartenders were busy mixing drinks, pouring cerveca and making sangria while flipping ice cubes in the air with tongs. Clay pots hung from the ceiling filled with greenery. We grabbed one of the last tables in the corner and got some drinks. I decided I had to try some real Spanish Sangria, which is red wine mixed with fruit and lemonade. Since the drink sizes are small, I decided to order an entire jug. When he gave it to me, he asked how many glasses I wanted with it. I looked surprised, grabbed a straw sitting on the bar, and put it in the jug. He looked completely shocked but smiled and took my money. Fortunately I wasn't the only one in our group that did the same, but we were probably the only one in the entire bar that did.
The show was absolutely incredible. Flamenco is more than an art. The beginning of the show starts with music; usually flute, then guitar and finally singing - each getting their chance to have priority. It sounds as if there is a method and plan behind the whole thing, but I'm not sure how much there really is. Either way, they are amazing improvisers or talented musicians able to keep a raw and genuine sound. As the rhythm increases and the music becomes more intense, the clapping and stomping play a larger role in the sound. The singers voice is gentle, yet loud and powerful. When the show started the crowd fell silent, yet the singers voice could pierce through all of them. Eventually the dancer stands, her elaborate dress falling to the floor. She starts slow, clapping and tapping to the beat. She uses her entire body to clap - chest, stomach, thighs - and is able to stomp and tap while keeping composure. The show isn't just about the dance. It's about contributing to the music in different ways. It's about keeping in beat. Most important it's about an invisible line of communication between all performers. Each musician playing as one to achieve Flamenco. The music becomes more intense and the dancing more involved. She twirls, jumps and taps amazingly fast. All while keeping a steady upper body, moving her arms and floating around the stage. Her hair whips around with her dress and her face glows with sweat. The music only pauses for short periods of time - long enough for the audience to clap - and then fall silent again. The show ends on a high, the dancer using the entire stage moving her feet incredibly. Not knowing whether to focus on her or the music it stops and it's over. After a short intermission, the same group comes back and does it again. The dancer in a new dress and this time with a Spanish hand fan. For over an hour you are literally engulfed by Spanish culture. Moving your head and tapping your feet with the beat without even noticing.
On Sunday I decided to take a bus to a small white village in the mountains about 2 hours southeast. The mountain countryside is filled with small white villages and Rondo is one of the more well known villages. The village sits atop a huge cliff that is severed by a deep gorge cutting the town in half. An incredible old bridge, Puente Nuevo, crosses the gorge at it's highest point creating a dramatic sight, especially from below. I explored the streets of Rondo and eventually took a short hike to the bottom of the gorge for an excellent view of the bridge. I also visited Plaza de Toros, the bullring which is recognized as one of the oldest and most monumental in the world. This bullring was great because you were able to roam freely inside, including on the sand itself! Eventually I decided I needed some lunch, so I stopped in a small shop that sold meats, cheeses and breads. I noticed that throughout Italy and Spain they sell whole boar's legs that are smoked or dried or something. So I decided that it was time to try some. I went into the shop and saw one hoisted on the counter, so I asked the shopkeeper for some. He cut the skin off of a portion of the leg and tossed it in the trash. Then he started cutting thin slices of meat off of the leg. At one point a fly landed on the meat that he smashed with his knife and then continued to cut meat from the leg. I also got some cheese and bread and headed to the large park that sits atop the edge of the cliff in town. Randomly, there was a helicopter show going on with 5 helicopters doing tricks that it seemed like helicopters shouldn't do. It was really cool because we were on top of a huge cliff so the helicopters were literally at eye level.
Sunday night was Paella night in the hostel and it was excellent! I talked with some people in the bar as we ate and then I went to the Flamenco bar again, joined by the two guys that live down the road from me in London. It was another excellent show and I managed to get us there and back with only a couple wrong turns. I decided to stay in Seville on Monday and explore all of the stores and shops and chill in the park. I spent a lot of time walking around visiting tons of shops and plazas. I also read in the park and even stopped at Starbucks for some chai. I felt like I owed them some patronage since I had used their bathrooms all weekend without buying anything. Finally I stopped for one last tapas dinner and enjoyed 3 wonderful dishes and some churros! I eventually made my way back to the airport and got my late flight back to London, getting back to my flat at 2am.
Despite my original hesitation, I really ended up liking Seville. It made me think that sometimes you just need to spend some time in a place getting used to how things work. You have to be ok with stepping out of your comfort zone, especially if you're by yourself, and take some chances. For all of you that are jealous of my adventures (which I often hear), you really should think about doing your own. For some reason, us Americans forget about the huge continent of South America that is so close. Looking back, I'm completely shocked that I've never been anywhere but Mexico and can't wait to explore South America more whenever I return. If anything, let me motivate you to do the same!
Pics Here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/SevilleSpain#
I arrived late on Friday night after heading straight to Stansted airport from work. Stansted is a huge hub for the budget airlines, but it's a major pain to get to and get back from. After catching the bus into town, and another bus to my hostel, I randomly walked around trying to get my bearings straight. I figured the printed map I had would get me to the right spot, but I had to ask two taxi drivers for directions before I finally made my way to the hostel. The hostel itself was very nice and I was in a room with 7 others. There was a bar on the street level and a outdoor terrace on the top with a kitchen. They also have nightly optional activities which I took part in the following nights. I unloaded my pack and decided to go for a walk around the area before heading to bed.
The next day my frustration with the city continued. I had thought about trying to do a walking tour that started at 10:30am, but got to the meeting place late because I was pretty much lost the hour prior. The streets of Seville are like a hamster on crack. If you got the hamster high and put it on a large piece of paper with a marker attached to it's tail and let it free, you would have a mess. If you then gave the piece of paper to a city planner and said "I want a city that looks like this," you would have Seville. To be fair, you would probably have a lot of European cities, but Seville is the craziest I have experienced. The streets, mostly made of cobblestone or large bricks, are only wide enough for the smallest of vehicles. One road seems like it may go north, west, south, and east all before you get to the next intersection. The sidewalks, if any, are about a yard wide. Although I got the hang of things after a while, to be completely efficient you have to have a map out at all times with your finger wherever you are. In my opinion, a lot of these roads "wouldn't count" on a normal map - they are far too small and insignificant in the scheme of things. However, I eventually changed my mind. It is fascinating that it's possible to get from point A to point B about 8 different ways, each taking the same amount of time. Every road has it's own characteristic and a number of shops, cafes and restaurants that you could so easily miss if you picked another. One minute you might be on your own on a darker street that actually never sees sunlight on the road, lined with doors that surely lead to people's flats. The next minute you are dodging tables and chairs from a tapas bar, smelling the fresh aroma of one of the orange trees that line many streets, or snapping pics of one of the dozens and dozens of churches scattered throughout the city. And then there are the places invisible to the passerby that are the heart of the city, places like the Flamenco bar that you will read about later.
After missing the walking tour, I decided to explore the city's sights on my own. The first stop was the Caterdral y Giralda, which is the Cathedral and the Giralda tower. The Seville cathedral is the third largest in the world, just behind St. Peters in Rome and St. Pauls in London. It's style, however, is very different. Built in the 12th century, it was built by the Morrish Almohad rulers and is apparently very similar to architecture in Morroco. The Giralda tower, connected to the cathedral, is a huge tower taller than any other building in town. The views from the top were excellent! I continued exploring the area, finding a lot of things by accident while lost, and ended up at a tapas bar for lunch in the Barrio de Santa Cruz area of town. This was my first dining experience in Spain and I was a bit nervous about it. I ended up ordering a tapas sized Paella and a baguette sandwich with roast pork and a spicy sauce. It was excellent! On a full stomach I decided to head toward the river and the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, which is the famous bullring in town. The fighting season ended in September and they offer tours of the bullring which is widely known as the finest in the world. The tour guide told us how the fights work and explained many items found in the museum as well. I really enjoyed the bullring and thought it was beautiful. The sand was finely manicured and the building so simple. I was a little bummed we had to stay with the tour guide and couldn't explore more on our own. I also spent a large portion of the afternoon at Plaza de Espana and Parque de Maria Luisa. The park of Maria Luisa was an outstanding escape in the middle of the city filled with huge trees, towering palm trees, and open lawns and fountains. I read in the grass for a while and finally headed back to the hostel before dusk. The hostel was about a 10 minutes walk to the river which had a pathway that followed it's length. I decided to go for a run and it was an excellent choice. The temperature was perfect and the sun was setting. A great way to start a long night.
Since it was Saturday, the busiest night in the hostel, one of the workers led a tapas and Flamenco tour for anyone who wanted to join. Our first stop was a traditional tapas bar where we all ordered tons of food and enjoyed some fine Spanish cerveca. There were about 12 of us in the group, most all of us from either the US or Australia. I ordered breaded eggplant with a queso sauce and chorizo sausage on bread. We then followed our host to a local Flamenco bar.
Flamenco originates in Andalucia, and Seville is known as the heart of this awesome tradition. The bar itself was on a quiet, lonely street. We stopped outside a double door; the building was non-descript and there was no sign of anything worthwhile around. It was just like any other set of doors on any other building on any other street. After telling us the "rules," he opened the door and we entered. To our astonishment we entered a room greeted by a small, burning fireplace. The walls were white stucco and the ceilings very high. As we walked through the white room framed by exposed wooden beams, we saw that it opened into another room in the back. This room was lined with rows of tables and benches. A small, almost hidden stage sat against the front wall, and was only raised a foot or two. A long bar was against another wall and bartenders were busy mixing drinks, pouring cerveca and making sangria while flipping ice cubes in the air with tongs. Clay pots hung from the ceiling filled with greenery. We grabbed one of the last tables in the corner and got some drinks. I decided I had to try some real Spanish Sangria, which is red wine mixed with fruit and lemonade. Since the drink sizes are small, I decided to order an entire jug. When he gave it to me, he asked how many glasses I wanted with it. I looked surprised, grabbed a straw sitting on the bar, and put it in the jug. He looked completely shocked but smiled and took my money. Fortunately I wasn't the only one in our group that did the same, but we were probably the only one in the entire bar that did.
The show was absolutely incredible. Flamenco is more than an art. The beginning of the show starts with music; usually flute, then guitar and finally singing - each getting their chance to have priority. It sounds as if there is a method and plan behind the whole thing, but I'm not sure how much there really is. Either way, they are amazing improvisers or talented musicians able to keep a raw and genuine sound. As the rhythm increases and the music becomes more intense, the clapping and stomping play a larger role in the sound. The singers voice is gentle, yet loud and powerful. When the show started the crowd fell silent, yet the singers voice could pierce through all of them. Eventually the dancer stands, her elaborate dress falling to the floor. She starts slow, clapping and tapping to the beat. She uses her entire body to clap - chest, stomach, thighs - and is able to stomp and tap while keeping composure. The show isn't just about the dance. It's about contributing to the music in different ways. It's about keeping in beat. Most important it's about an invisible line of communication between all performers. Each musician playing as one to achieve Flamenco. The music becomes more intense and the dancing more involved. She twirls, jumps and taps amazingly fast. All while keeping a steady upper body, moving her arms and floating around the stage. Her hair whips around with her dress and her face glows with sweat. The music only pauses for short periods of time - long enough for the audience to clap - and then fall silent again. The show ends on a high, the dancer using the entire stage moving her feet incredibly. Not knowing whether to focus on her or the music it stops and it's over. After a short intermission, the same group comes back and does it again. The dancer in a new dress and this time with a Spanish hand fan. For over an hour you are literally engulfed by Spanish culture. Moving your head and tapping your feet with the beat without even noticing.
On Sunday I decided to take a bus to a small white village in the mountains about 2 hours southeast. The mountain countryside is filled with small white villages and Rondo is one of the more well known villages. The village sits atop a huge cliff that is severed by a deep gorge cutting the town in half. An incredible old bridge, Puente Nuevo, crosses the gorge at it's highest point creating a dramatic sight, especially from below. I explored the streets of Rondo and eventually took a short hike to the bottom of the gorge for an excellent view of the bridge. I also visited Plaza de Toros, the bullring which is recognized as one of the oldest and most monumental in the world. This bullring was great because you were able to roam freely inside, including on the sand itself! Eventually I decided I needed some lunch, so I stopped in a small shop that sold meats, cheeses and breads. I noticed that throughout Italy and Spain they sell whole boar's legs that are smoked or dried or something. So I decided that it was time to try some. I went into the shop and saw one hoisted on the counter, so I asked the shopkeeper for some. He cut the skin off of a portion of the leg and tossed it in the trash. Then he started cutting thin slices of meat off of the leg. At one point a fly landed on the meat that he smashed with his knife and then continued to cut meat from the leg. I also got some cheese and bread and headed to the large park that sits atop the edge of the cliff in town. Randomly, there was a helicopter show going on with 5 helicopters doing tricks that it seemed like helicopters shouldn't do. It was really cool because we were on top of a huge cliff so the helicopters were literally at eye level.
Sunday night was Paella night in the hostel and it was excellent! I talked with some people in the bar as we ate and then I went to the Flamenco bar again, joined by the two guys that live down the road from me in London. It was another excellent show and I managed to get us there and back with only a couple wrong turns. I decided to stay in Seville on Monday and explore all of the stores and shops and chill in the park. I spent a lot of time walking around visiting tons of shops and plazas. I also read in the park and even stopped at Starbucks for some chai. I felt like I owed them some patronage since I had used their bathrooms all weekend without buying anything. Finally I stopped for one last tapas dinner and enjoyed 3 wonderful dishes and some churros! I eventually made my way back to the airport and got my late flight back to London, getting back to my flat at 2am.
Despite my original hesitation, I really ended up liking Seville. It made me think that sometimes you just need to spend some time in a place getting used to how things work. You have to be ok with stepping out of your comfort zone, especially if you're by yourself, and take some chances. For all of you that are jealous of my adventures (which I often hear), you really should think about doing your own. For some reason, us Americans forget about the huge continent of South America that is so close. Looking back, I'm completely shocked that I've never been anywhere but Mexico and can't wait to explore South America more whenever I return. If anything, let me motivate you to do the same!
11.05.2008
Election from Afar
If you're like me, US politics and the election process isn't really that exciting. In the past, it's been something I've done because I'm supposed to. I will be the first to admit that I don't educate myself as much as I should about the candidates or issues, and I never fully understood the significance of my opportunity and right to vote. Overall, I felt like my vote isn't really going to change anything or make a difference. And even if it did, why would I want to participate in a system that many of us believe is corrupt.
Taking in the election from oversees has really changed my ideas about our rights as Americans and what our country is all about. Regardless of whether or not our vote makes a real difference, we still have the right to make the vote. We have the privilege of taking part in a system that is for the people and participating in something that most other countries don't get the opportunity to participate in. As seen in recent events, the US and our actions effect the entire world. Each of us had the opportunity to make a global difference.
I'm not sure why it's different now that I'm gone, but it has been really interesting watching the events occur from overseas and hearing people comment on them. For the first time, I think I'm actually proud of my country and what it stands for. It's unfortunate that it took me leaving the country to find that out, but at least now I know. It's pretty cool.
Taking in the election from oversees has really changed my ideas about our rights as Americans and what our country is all about. Regardless of whether or not our vote makes a real difference, we still have the right to make the vote. We have the privilege of taking part in a system that is for the people and participating in something that most other countries don't get the opportunity to participate in. As seen in recent events, the US and our actions effect the entire world. Each of us had the opportunity to make a global difference.
I'm not sure why it's different now that I'm gone, but it has been really interesting watching the events occur from overseas and hearing people comment on them. For the first time, I think I'm actually proud of my country and what it stands for. It's unfortunate that it took me leaving the country to find that out, but at least now I know. It's pretty cool.
11.01.2008
Life in London
Well I can tell that life here is getting pretty normal because I no longer feel the need to write about everything I see and do. With that said, I have been up to a few things the past couple weeks, so I can probably find something to fill some blog space. Here we go!
Coming back to my flat after Italy, I found that it had no electricity! Apparently there was a fire in some circuit board which blew power to the entire block. They were able to fix everything except for three flats, one of which was mine. So my landlord kindly put me up in a hotel for a couple days until it was fixed. Unfortunatley, the couple days turned in to two weeks! So two hotels and no home-cooked meals later, I finally got back into the flat.
I now have tenure in my flat. Both of my other flatmates moved out during the last couple months. One of the new girls, Temi, moved in just before I left for Italy. The other, Celine, got the keys today and will be moving in this week. They both are really nice and I think it will be a good situation.
Last weekend Hayley took me up to the village where she grew up for the weekend. It was a mini roadtrip and felt so good to get out of London, especially in a car! We stayed with her dad and step-mom and enjoyed the local village culture, which meant a lot of time in the pub across the street and the next village down. However, she did show me some of the local highlights which included an indoor skiing/snowboarding slope, Dunstable Downs hill, Clophill Church ruins(which is haunted), and a china buffet. We also hung out with a couple of her childhood friends and went to watch one of them play football (soccer) for the local club. It was a really nice weekend and nice to experience what the UK is really about.
It has certainly become autumn in the UK. It's been pretty cold with highs around 10 degrees celcius (if we're lucky) and lows right around zero. We also had our first snowflakes! It was really light and pretty wet, but it was the first time London has seen snow in October since 1934. Some areas outside of London actually got a decent amount. Halloween is not a big deal here at all, which was depressing. However, I did buy some candy on Friday and set it out in the hallway for all of our neighbors. We do have Bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes Night, on Wednesday which is apparently a much bigger deal and includes fireworks! If you have seen the movie V for Vendetta, I guess this is in honor of that. Obviously they don't have Thanksgiving here either, but the other American in my office and I will be cooking a huge, traditional Thanksgiving feast for friends on Thanksgiving. It should be yummy!
Some of the most exciting news is that my work permit extension has been approved for 18 months! So it looks like I'll be here for a total of 2 years. I still have one more step, which involves going to the UK Border Agency to get further leave to remain, which involves an application and a bunch of other stuff that can apparently take up to 4 hours! My appointment is on the 25th of November.
Otherwise, I'm heading down to the Andalucia region of Spain next weekend for three days. I'll be spending my time in Seville, but will hopefully get a day trip in to a nearby town or hiking area. The weekend after Thanksgiving I'm going to Prague for 2 days with Hayley and a few of her friends. I am also currently making my arrangements to come back to the States for Christmas. I should be arriving in Colorado on December 16th, staying there for about a week, and then heading to Oregon for Christmas and New Years. I'll let everyone know my plans when they are finalized.
Today is an exceptionally dreary day in London. Cold, windy, and very very very wet. However, I did run a 5k in Wimbledon this morning before it started raining. They do a free 5k run every Saturday as a time trial. I ran it in just over 23 mins and 30 seconds. It's about what I expected, but I really hoped I would surprise myself. Oh well, there is lots of room for improvement! After taking care of some stuff around the flat, I then went to Whole Foods and did some grocery shopping. I also browsed around some other clothing shops in the area. I can't wait to come home and shop...things are just way too expensive here!
OK, that's it for now!
Coming back to my flat after Italy, I found that it had no electricity! Apparently there was a fire in some circuit board which blew power to the entire block. They were able to fix everything except for three flats, one of which was mine. So my landlord kindly put me up in a hotel for a couple days until it was fixed. Unfortunatley, the couple days turned in to two weeks! So two hotels and no home-cooked meals later, I finally got back into the flat.
I now have tenure in my flat. Both of my other flatmates moved out during the last couple months. One of the new girls, Temi, moved in just before I left for Italy. The other, Celine, got the keys today and will be moving in this week. They both are really nice and I think it will be a good situation.
Last weekend Hayley took me up to the village where she grew up for the weekend. It was a mini roadtrip and felt so good to get out of London, especially in a car! We stayed with her dad and step-mom and enjoyed the local village culture, which meant a lot of time in the pub across the street and the next village down. However, she did show me some of the local highlights which included an indoor skiing/snowboarding slope, Dunstable Downs hill, Clophill Church ruins(which is haunted), and a china buffet. We also hung out with a couple of her childhood friends and went to watch one of them play football (soccer) for the local club. It was a really nice weekend and nice to experience what the UK is really about.
It has certainly become autumn in the UK. It's been pretty cold with highs around 10 degrees celcius (if we're lucky) and lows right around zero. We also had our first snowflakes! It was really light and pretty wet, but it was the first time London has seen snow in October since 1934. Some areas outside of London actually got a decent amount. Halloween is not a big deal here at all, which was depressing. However, I did buy some candy on Friday and set it out in the hallway for all of our neighbors. We do have Bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes Night, on Wednesday which is apparently a much bigger deal and includes fireworks! If you have seen the movie V for Vendetta, I guess this is in honor of that. Obviously they don't have Thanksgiving here either, but the other American in my office and I will be cooking a huge, traditional Thanksgiving feast for friends on Thanksgiving. It should be yummy!
Some of the most exciting news is that my work permit extension has been approved for 18 months! So it looks like I'll be here for a total of 2 years. I still have one more step, which involves going to the UK Border Agency to get further leave to remain, which involves an application and a bunch of other stuff that can apparently take up to 4 hours! My appointment is on the 25th of November.
Otherwise, I'm heading down to the Andalucia region of Spain next weekend for three days. I'll be spending my time in Seville, but will hopefully get a day trip in to a nearby town or hiking area. The weekend after Thanksgiving I'm going to Prague for 2 days with Hayley and a few of her friends. I am also currently making my arrangements to come back to the States for Christmas. I should be arriving in Colorado on December 16th, staying there for about a week, and then heading to Oregon for Christmas and New Years. I'll let everyone know my plans when they are finalized.
Today is an exceptionally dreary day in London. Cold, windy, and very very very wet. However, I did run a 5k in Wimbledon this morning before it started raining. They do a free 5k run every Saturday as a time trial. I ran it in just over 23 mins and 30 seconds. It's about what I expected, but I really hoped I would surprise myself. Oh well, there is lots of room for improvement! After taking care of some stuff around the flat, I then went to Whole Foods and did some grocery shopping. I also browsed around some other clothing shops in the area. I can't wait to come home and shop...things are just way too expensive here!
OK, that's it for now!
10.16.2008
Italy, Part 3 - Roma!
I think it's really strange that cities have different names depending on what language you speak. For example, Florence is really Firenze and Rome is really Roma. Why does it matter? My name doesn't change depending on who I'm talking to. Plus, the real names sound better! Oh well, let's move on to the final portion of my trip to Italy...Roma!!
See pics: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Rome#
So the drive to Roma went very well and took a couple hours. However, once we got near the city it was a different story. Due to a lack of a good map and good signs, we ended up going the wrong way on the highway that circles the city. So after a while we decided it may be best to figure out how to get to where we needed to go based on our maps. It ended up working out, but it took a while and involved a lot of turning around. When we finally got to the Hertz office, there wasn't even a place to park the car, so I basically sat in the middle of the road with hazards on while Megan ran in to get more information. Eventually we got everything settled, dropped the car off, and put everything on our backs again. We went to the nearest metro (underground) station and made our way to the appropriate stop for our B&B. We left the map to our B&B at the Hertz office, but very luckily found it thanks to Megan's memory.
Our B&B host was waiting for us outside and took us upstairs to our room. The B&B was basically a flat with a large common area, a kitchen, and three rooms. It was pretty nice and our host was amazing. She gave us an excellent city map, complete with handrawn bus routes and pointed out all of the main sites to see. She also added a couple great restaurant recommendations that she often enjoys as a local. After our introduction to Rome, we felt we better use the rest of our evening to the fullest! We unpacked our stuff and set off into town. We decided to make our way to the central area of town where a number of sights are, and most notably, all of Roma's fine shopping. We passed stores that didn't mean anything to me but made Megan pretty excited, like Dior, Prada, YSA, Gucci, Verache, and many many many more. We made our way to the Spanish Steps, which consists of 138 steps that climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna (at the base) and the Trinita dei Monti (the church at the top). The stairway was built in 1723 and is known as Europe's longest and widest staircase. The sun had gone down and we had an awesome view of Roma lit up from the top. Climbing and exploring the stairs and church worked up an appetite, so we decided to head to dinner.
We went to our host's most highly recommended restaurant called Maccheroni. It is hidden among restaurants and shops along some of the tiny streets of the central area of Rome. It was 8pm and we were told we could sit outside as long as we were done by 9pm when the reservation seating started. We ordered a jug of excellent white wine and ordered two courses. I started with penne pasta with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella. It was by far the best pasta dish I had during the entire trip! My second course was excellent Italian Sausage. We finished just after 9pm and headed toward another sight in the area, the Trevi Fountain.
On our way to the fountain, we passed a number of street vendors which is very common in the city. A lot of them in the central area sold some kind of shelled, warm nut. However, most of the vendors consist of huge carts selling all types of beverages and snacks, including wine. We bartered with one of them for a few minutes, bought a bottle of wine, and headed to the fountain. The Trevi Fountain is the largest, standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet), and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome. Although the fountain is very old, it is meant to symbolize the place of one of the main aqueducts that supplied Rome with running water. The fountain was an extremely popular place and we stayed there for the rest of the night drinking our wine and chatting with other tourists. I didn't know it at the time, but tradition says that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. I wish I would have known because I would love to return some day!
Our 2nd day, and only full day in Rome, was another power sightseeing day. We had a lot to cover in one day, something that normal tourists would take a couple days to do. We started by walking to the Coliseum, which we had seen the night before from the outside. We were shocked how long the line was, but luckily we got stopped by someone who was selling guided tours of the Coliseum and the nearby Forum area. By taking the tours, you got to bypass the line to the Coliseum and you obviously got to learn a lot from the guide, so we did it. The Coliseum was absolutely amazing. To imagine how big and revolutionary it must have been at the time is mind boggling. The entire building, inside and out, was very impressive even in it's current state. A few years ago they found the underground series of tunnels and chambers underneath the floor of the stadium, so most of the floor has been lifted to show them. The coliseum was built in ten years between 70 and 80 AD. It seated somewhere between 50k and 70k and hosted three types of fights: animal vs. animal, animal vs. gladiator, and gladiator vs. gladiator. Obviously the fights at least included a lot of blood, and commonly included death. The underground series of chambers and tunnels also included lifts which allowed animals and gladiators to suddenly appear on the stadium floor...an ancient example of special effects. After our tour we were free to explore the Coliseum, which we did, and then went to a nearby shop to grab some lunch.
Right next to the Coliseum area is Palatine Hill and the Forum. Palatine hill is the most central hill in Rome and is where ancient Roman Emperors lived. Excavations have shown that people started living there around 1000BC! Just below the hill directly next to the Coliseum is the area known as the Roman Forum. In ancient times, this was the center of everything. No one lived in this area, but it was the financial, economic, religious and commerce center of Rome. It held a number of churches, basilicas, arches, and other buildings whose remnants can still be seen today. We met up with our tour guide that took us through this huge area. Since we still wanted to see so much, we breezed through the area after our tour and headed to our next stop...the Vatican.
Vatican City is actually a sovereign city-state sealed in it's own walls in the city of Rome. With a population of around 800, it is the smallest independent state in the world by both population and area. It is the central authority for the catholic church and holds a huge museum and St. Peters Cathedral. Our first visit was to the Vatican Museum. The museum was huge and had endless rooms and halls full of museum things. Since neither of us were too excited to spend hours looking at museum things, we made our way to the highlight of the museum: The Sistine Chapel. However, getting there meant we had to walk through plenty of rooms and hallways which were extremely elaborate. My favorite part of the museum was a collection of handrawn maps from the 1500s. It was very interesting seeing North America, and the world, grow throughout those exploratory years. The Sistine Chapel itself was full of people gawking at the famous painting on the ceiling. Although no pics were aloud, I snuck one here as well.
From there, we went to St. Peters Cathedral which has the largest dome in the world. The Cathedral is a lot like other Cathedrals we had seen, but even more elaborate and fancy. As we walked in, the sun shone through the windows and visibly streaked the thick air inside. My overall impression of the cathedral was disappointing. I don't understand the need for so much money to be spent on making a building so over the top elaborate. It really seemed unnecessary and gotty, but it was an amazing building. Below the cathedral are the crypts of St. Peters Tomb. A number of previous popes, including Pope John Paul, are buried there. The piazza outside of the cathedral is huge and surrounded by gigantic pillars and statues. There is a fountain in the center and, based on what I've seen on TV, this is where everyone gathers to hear the Pope.
After leaving Vatican City, we grabbed some quick gelato and took the bus to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was truly an amazing building. The large pillars outside are made from a single slab of granite and came from Egypt. Pantheon, meaning "temple of all gods," was built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome. The center dome is open in the middle and looks absolutely incredible from the inside. The piazza outside the Pantheon had a small fountain in the center and surrounded by other buildings, restaurants and shops. From there we headed to another restaurant recommended to us by our host called Gusto. It is known for their pizza, but we got there before the restaurant opened so we enjoyed happy hour in the bar before being seated outside for dinner. The pizza was incredible and definitely the best pizza I had in Italy. We later learned that our host was also there for dinner with some friends shortly after us. After a quick break at our hotel, we headed back out on the town to enjoy some drinks in Piazza Navona, the popular and young area to hang out in town. We grabbed a few beers and checked out one of the local shops before heading in for the night.
Our last day in Rome was short since we had to catch a flight in the early afternoon. We went back down into the central shopping area and browsed some more of the fancy stores. We also saw the Spanish Steps again, grabbed some gelato and some lunch, and walked the narrow streets enjoying the nice weather. Overall, I was extremely impressed and happy with Rome. It was much better than I had imagined and would love to go back again. Farewell for now!
See pics: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Rome#
So the drive to Roma went very well and took a couple hours. However, once we got near the city it was a different story. Due to a lack of a good map and good signs, we ended up going the wrong way on the highway that circles the city. So after a while we decided it may be best to figure out how to get to where we needed to go based on our maps. It ended up working out, but it took a while and involved a lot of turning around. When we finally got to the Hertz office, there wasn't even a place to park the car, so I basically sat in the middle of the road with hazards on while Megan ran in to get more information. Eventually we got everything settled, dropped the car off, and put everything on our backs again. We went to the nearest metro (underground) station and made our way to the appropriate stop for our B&B. We left the map to our B&B at the Hertz office, but very luckily found it thanks to Megan's memory.
Our B&B host was waiting for us outside and took us upstairs to our room. The B&B was basically a flat with a large common area, a kitchen, and three rooms. It was pretty nice and our host was amazing. She gave us an excellent city map, complete with handrawn bus routes and pointed out all of the main sites to see. She also added a couple great restaurant recommendations that she often enjoys as a local. After our introduction to Rome, we felt we better use the rest of our evening to the fullest! We unpacked our stuff and set off into town. We decided to make our way to the central area of town where a number of sights are, and most notably, all of Roma's fine shopping. We passed stores that didn't mean anything to me but made Megan pretty excited, like Dior, Prada, YSA, Gucci, Verache, and many many many more. We made our way to the Spanish Steps, which consists of 138 steps that climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna (at the base) and the Trinita dei Monti (the church at the top). The stairway was built in 1723 and is known as Europe's longest and widest staircase. The sun had gone down and we had an awesome view of Roma lit up from the top. Climbing and exploring the stairs and church worked up an appetite, so we decided to head to dinner.
We went to our host's most highly recommended restaurant called Maccheroni. It is hidden among restaurants and shops along some of the tiny streets of the central area of Rome. It was 8pm and we were told we could sit outside as long as we were done by 9pm when the reservation seating started. We ordered a jug of excellent white wine and ordered two courses. I started with penne pasta with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella. It was by far the best pasta dish I had during the entire trip! My second course was excellent Italian Sausage. We finished just after 9pm and headed toward another sight in the area, the Trevi Fountain.
On our way to the fountain, we passed a number of street vendors which is very common in the city. A lot of them in the central area sold some kind of shelled, warm nut. However, most of the vendors consist of huge carts selling all types of beverages and snacks, including wine. We bartered with one of them for a few minutes, bought a bottle of wine, and headed to the fountain. The Trevi Fountain is the largest, standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet), and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome. Although the fountain is very old, it is meant to symbolize the place of one of the main aqueducts that supplied Rome with running water. The fountain was an extremely popular place and we stayed there for the rest of the night drinking our wine and chatting with other tourists. I didn't know it at the time, but tradition says that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. I wish I would have known because I would love to return some day!
Our 2nd day, and only full day in Rome, was another power sightseeing day. We had a lot to cover in one day, something that normal tourists would take a couple days to do. We started by walking to the Coliseum, which we had seen the night before from the outside. We were shocked how long the line was, but luckily we got stopped by someone who was selling guided tours of the Coliseum and the nearby Forum area. By taking the tours, you got to bypass the line to the Coliseum and you obviously got to learn a lot from the guide, so we did it. The Coliseum was absolutely amazing. To imagine how big and revolutionary it must have been at the time is mind boggling. The entire building, inside and out, was very impressive even in it's current state. A few years ago they found the underground series of tunnels and chambers underneath the floor of the stadium, so most of the floor has been lifted to show them. The coliseum was built in ten years between 70 and 80 AD. It seated somewhere between 50k and 70k and hosted three types of fights: animal vs. animal, animal vs. gladiator, and gladiator vs. gladiator. Obviously the fights at least included a lot of blood, and commonly included death. The underground series of chambers and tunnels also included lifts which allowed animals and gladiators to suddenly appear on the stadium floor...an ancient example of special effects. After our tour we were free to explore the Coliseum, which we did, and then went to a nearby shop to grab some lunch.
Right next to the Coliseum area is Palatine Hill and the Forum. Palatine hill is the most central hill in Rome and is where ancient Roman Emperors lived. Excavations have shown that people started living there around 1000BC! Just below the hill directly next to the Coliseum is the area known as the Roman Forum. In ancient times, this was the center of everything. No one lived in this area, but it was the financial, economic, religious and commerce center of Rome. It held a number of churches, basilicas, arches, and other buildings whose remnants can still be seen today. We met up with our tour guide that took us through this huge area. Since we still wanted to see so much, we breezed through the area after our tour and headed to our next stop...the Vatican.
Vatican City is actually a sovereign city-state sealed in it's own walls in the city of Rome. With a population of around 800, it is the smallest independent state in the world by both population and area. It is the central authority for the catholic church and holds a huge museum and St. Peters Cathedral. Our first visit was to the Vatican Museum. The museum was huge and had endless rooms and halls full of museum things. Since neither of us were too excited to spend hours looking at museum things, we made our way to the highlight of the museum: The Sistine Chapel. However, getting there meant we had to walk through plenty of rooms and hallways which were extremely elaborate. My favorite part of the museum was a collection of handrawn maps from the 1500s. It was very interesting seeing North America, and the world, grow throughout those exploratory years. The Sistine Chapel itself was full of people gawking at the famous painting on the ceiling. Although no pics were aloud, I snuck one here as well.
From there, we went to St. Peters Cathedral which has the largest dome in the world. The Cathedral is a lot like other Cathedrals we had seen, but even more elaborate and fancy. As we walked in, the sun shone through the windows and visibly streaked the thick air inside. My overall impression of the cathedral was disappointing. I don't understand the need for so much money to be spent on making a building so over the top elaborate. It really seemed unnecessary and gotty, but it was an amazing building. Below the cathedral are the crypts of St. Peters Tomb. A number of previous popes, including Pope John Paul, are buried there. The piazza outside of the cathedral is huge and surrounded by gigantic pillars and statues. There is a fountain in the center and, based on what I've seen on TV, this is where everyone gathers to hear the Pope.
After leaving Vatican City, we grabbed some quick gelato and took the bus to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was truly an amazing building. The large pillars outside are made from a single slab of granite and came from Egypt. Pantheon, meaning "temple of all gods," was built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome. The center dome is open in the middle and looks absolutely incredible from the inside. The piazza outside the Pantheon had a small fountain in the center and surrounded by other buildings, restaurants and shops. From there we headed to another restaurant recommended to us by our host called Gusto. It is known for their pizza, but we got there before the restaurant opened so we enjoyed happy hour in the bar before being seated outside for dinner. The pizza was incredible and definitely the best pizza I had in Italy. We later learned that our host was also there for dinner with some friends shortly after us. After a quick break at our hotel, we headed back out on the town to enjoy some drinks in Piazza Navona, the popular and young area to hang out in town. We grabbed a few beers and checked out one of the local shops before heading in for the night.
Our last day in Rome was short since we had to catch a flight in the early afternoon. We went back down into the central shopping area and browsed some more of the fancy stores. We also saw the Spanish Steps again, grabbed some gelato and some lunch, and walked the narrow streets enjoying the nice weather. Overall, I was extremely impressed and happy with Rome. It was much better than I had imagined and would love to go back again. Farewell for now!
10.13.2008
Italy, Part 2 - Tuscany and more!
Welcome back! I last left you when we left the Cinque Terra region of the northern coast of Italy on our way inland to Tuscany. We had a car rental reservation ready for us in La Spezia, so we took the train there and managed to find an information office where we were instructed on what bus to take to the Hertz office.
See pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Tuscany#
The bus journey was actually quite interesting. We weren't exactly sure how the ticket situation would work, so we thought we would follow everyone else's lead. Some people walked right on and others validated a ticket they had already purchased. So we decided to just walk on and sit down. As the bus continued it's journey, it got rather full...very full. When we got to our stop, I had to lift my pack above my head to avoid hitting others standing in the isle. We got to the rear door and it started to close and the bus began to move! We yelled "wait!" and then an Italian man did the same in Italian for us. The driver stopped and opened the door, but the people blocking our way didn't move! Finally a lady stepped off the bus to make room but I didn't see that she just left a bag of groceries where she had been standing, so I knocked it over but had no choice to get off anyway. We made it off and walked across the street to pick up our car. We were upgraded to a manual, diesel car that was similar to my old Scion.
Megan was a bit nervous about the driving situation, so I took the wheel while she navigated with the rather poor maps we had with us. Unfortunately, the Hertz office was out of maps but he gave us pretty good written directions. It had been about 4 months since I had driven and I absolutely loved it!!! We made our way inland, into Tuscany, and arrived in the town of Uligiana (or U-town) where we would stay for the next three nights. Utown has a great location in the heart of Tuscany. Tuscany itself was much more hilly/mountainy than I had expected and was of course filled with vineyards and wineries. Most of the towns, big or small, are perched atop hills and have city walls. They are all very fortress-like and the towns are filled with old buildings, towers and archways. We also found all of the doors to be very fascinating and a lot of my pictures ended up being archways and doors. The city walls are leftover from ancient times when each town had to defend themselves from neighboring towns and the Romans. It makes the towns really unique and quaint, but hard to find ways to get in!
Our place in Utown was another beautiful B&B style hotel hosted by Guido. He spoke perfect English and showed us around. We then got back in the car and headed a few miles up the road to San Giogsoinsljhfyg (San-G, for short). San G sits on top of a large hill and can be seen for miles. It is a fortress like town with no cars inside, but once inside there are a lot of shops and restaurants. There are also a lot of flats where people live. It appears to be very very old and has a number of huge towers. We got some gelato to hold us over until dinner and Megan did some shopping at one of the jewelry shops. We picked a restaurant and got seated right when they opened. We ordered Bruschetta to start, and it was by far the freshest and best I've ever had. I also ordered a salad which came after my meal, so the waiter clearly didn't understand what I said when he asked when I would like my salad to arrive. For dinner, I ordered ravioli filled with Siena sausage and topped with walnut sauce. It was great! After dinner, we got yet another gelato and hung out by the old well in the middle of the square. On our way out, we stopped at a bakery where I got a mini almond flavored cookie and a lemon bar cake.
The next day we had planned to head up to Florence, but after a late start and some stalling at a local market and shopping in a nearby town, we decided to head to Siena instead. We stopped in a few more classic Tuscan villages on our way and eventually made our way to Siena. Siena is like a really big San G. It still has a city wall and lots of towers and neat buildings, but it is much bigger and busier. We eventually came across a huge square in the middle of town with a tower and surrounded by restaurants with outdoor seating. I said we had to eat here, so we did. We enjoyed the great sunshine and my first Italian pizza while people watching everyone passing by. We walked around town, found a really weird (and old) striped church, got some gelato, and came back to the square where we sat down and took a rest. Leaving Siena was quite interesting as we got a little turned around and I ended up driving down one of the small streets within the city wall...oops! We had also planned a scenic journey home which allowed us to see a lot of the country side, including a great view from a large hill/mountain.
We ate dinner at the only place in Utown, where Guido had called ahead and made reservations for us. He had ordered pizza from them earlier that night and he recommended it with a smile on his face. We immediately liked the place upon entering; it was small and simple with green paper table cloths. We ordered bread, linguine with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, and 2 calzones. Mine had sausage, pepers and olives (with pits!). It was excellent and so was the pasta! We also got the house red wine which was served out of a huge glass jug (which we found out was very common for the rest of our trip). The best part was how cheap everything was...all of that plus dessert for 28euros! We went back to our room and watched some MTV on tv before falling asleep...the only station that we could even partially understand.
Our last day in Tuscany was a busy one, and we knew it when Guido and the other guests at breakfast laughed at us when we told them our plans for the day. We were hoping to visit Pisa, Luca and Florence. Luckily we were able to steal a guidebook (Rick Steves 2005) from the hotel which helped us plan what we should see and do in each place. First was Pisa, and our only motivation for going there was to get the classic picture in front of the leaning tower. We were surprised how nice the area around the tower was and there were a couple other really cool buildings to check out as well. We did get "the picture" which you will see. From there we got back to our car, which I'm pretty sure was parked on a road only for authorized vehicles, and headed toward Luca. We had a little trouble finding our way out of town, but we made it and the drive was great! We went over what seemed like a small mountain/pass and arrived in Luca and found a place to park.
Luca is another classic Tuscany style town with a village wall and very old buildings with towers and squares. We had heard great things prior to our visit, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. However, I really liked the big, open square in the middle of town (which was actually circular) and they had a lot of really cool shops. I even did some early Christmas shopping! It was definitely less crowded and very chill compared to the other towns we had visited and it kinda reminded me of Italy's Boulder. We decided to grab some quick food at a shop and eat it in the car on our way to Florence.
When we arrived in Florence, we immediately realized it was the first main city we have experienced so far. It was really busy and there were a ton of scooters driving crazily on the roads. We finally found a place to park and started walking toward the central area of town. Florence is full of history, with many well known museums, cathedrals, bridges and chapels. Due to our helpful guidebook, we had called ahead and made reservations to visit the Academia Museum, which is where Michelangelo's David statue is kept. Yeah, it's the one with the penis. We located the museum, which had a huge line outside (which we would later bypass), but it wasn't our time yet so we explored the area a bit more. We visited the Duomo, which is the main cathedral in town. I can't remember why, but apparently it's a pretty big deal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral). The inside was beautiful and as everywhere in Florence, the architecture was amazing. It also has a great tower as well. We also visited the Medici Chapels and the San Lorenzo Basilica. Again, these were very neat buildings but I'm not sure of their significance. We then made it to our museum, which was full of paintings, statues, musical instruments, many other museum things, and The David. Although no pictures were allowed, I did sneak one anyway. I was surprised how impressive it really was and it is actually one of my favorite things we saw during the trip. You have to think about the detail in the statue without any modern conveniences or machines that we have today; pretty impressive.
Florence is situated on Arno river and there are a number of beautiful bridges that cross it. They are also full of history from ancient times when Romans and other enemies attempted to invade and disable Florence. The most well-known bridge, the Ponte Vecchio (if you heard it pronounced correctly, you'd probably recognize it) is an amazing bridge that is full of shops, mostly jewelery. It is open in the middle, however, and has great place to snag some photographs which you will see. We crossed the river to explore the other side a bit and then decided to hit up a restaurant recommended by our book that was a little out of the way. A 15 minute walk later, we found the restaurant that sits just outside the city wall. The book called it surprisingly cheap and very traditional so we thought we'd give it a go.
We were absolutely amazing how surprisingly cheap it really was. Each course was no more than 3-5euros and the house wine was much cheaper. Everything on the menu was in Italian, so we pulled out my trusty phrase book to help us figure out what everything was. We were pretty excited to have to learn everything, but the only English-speaking waiter eventually came to use and translated the entire menu for us. It was very nice of him but probably not necessary. We definitely "splurged" for this meal. We each got appetizers, a first course, a second course, vegetables, and split a dessert and it was still one of the cheapest meals we ate. And the food was great!
During our walk back to the car, of course all I had on my mind was Gelato, but for some reason we never stopped. We got back to our car and followed the signs back to the highway, which luckily took us to the top of the a hill that overlooked the entire city. It was absolutely beautiful at night, with the cathedral domes lit up and the reflections sparkling on the river. Even better, there was a gelato shop up top as well! We got some gelato, admired the view, and I even posed in front of the fake David statue too. Fortunately for all of you, I was fully clothed. We got back to the hotel pretty late, and completely beat, but we had successfully seen everything we had planned and didn't feel like we cut ourselves short either. What a great day!
Thursday morning we checked out of the hotel and stopped at San G one more time to find an Internet Point and do some final shopping. We also got some snacks and lunch to eat on our long drive to Rome. Tuscany overall was a great experience. You could easily spend weeks roaming the country roads, visiting all of the cities, towns and villages, and checking out the vineyards and wineries. Renting a car was a great decision and it really allowed us to experience a lot that Tuscany has to offer. But it was time to leave and off to Rome we went!
See pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Tuscany#
The bus journey was actually quite interesting. We weren't exactly sure how the ticket situation would work, so we thought we would follow everyone else's lead. Some people walked right on and others validated a ticket they had already purchased. So we decided to just walk on and sit down. As the bus continued it's journey, it got rather full...very full. When we got to our stop, I had to lift my pack above my head to avoid hitting others standing in the isle. We got to the rear door and it started to close and the bus began to move! We yelled "wait!" and then an Italian man did the same in Italian for us. The driver stopped and opened the door, but the people blocking our way didn't move! Finally a lady stepped off the bus to make room but I didn't see that she just left a bag of groceries where she had been standing, so I knocked it over but had no choice to get off anyway. We made it off and walked across the street to pick up our car. We were upgraded to a manual, diesel car that was similar to my old Scion.
Megan was a bit nervous about the driving situation, so I took the wheel while she navigated with the rather poor maps we had with us. Unfortunately, the Hertz office was out of maps but he gave us pretty good written directions. It had been about 4 months since I had driven and I absolutely loved it!!! We made our way inland, into Tuscany, and arrived in the town of Uligiana (or U-town) where we would stay for the next three nights. Utown has a great location in the heart of Tuscany. Tuscany itself was much more hilly/mountainy than I had expected and was of course filled with vineyards and wineries. Most of the towns, big or small, are perched atop hills and have city walls. They are all very fortress-like and the towns are filled with old buildings, towers and archways. We also found all of the doors to be very fascinating and a lot of my pictures ended up being archways and doors. The city walls are leftover from ancient times when each town had to defend themselves from neighboring towns and the Romans. It makes the towns really unique and quaint, but hard to find ways to get in!
Our place in Utown was another beautiful B&B style hotel hosted by Guido. He spoke perfect English and showed us around. We then got back in the car and headed a few miles up the road to San Giogsoinsljhfyg (San-G, for short). San G sits on top of a large hill and can be seen for miles. It is a fortress like town with no cars inside, but once inside there are a lot of shops and restaurants. There are also a lot of flats where people live. It appears to be very very old and has a number of huge towers. We got some gelato to hold us over until dinner and Megan did some shopping at one of the jewelry shops. We picked a restaurant and got seated right when they opened. We ordered Bruschetta to start, and it was by far the freshest and best I've ever had. I also ordered a salad which came after my meal, so the waiter clearly didn't understand what I said when he asked when I would like my salad to arrive. For dinner, I ordered ravioli filled with Siena sausage and topped with walnut sauce. It was great! After dinner, we got yet another gelato and hung out by the old well in the middle of the square. On our way out, we stopped at a bakery where I got a mini almond flavored cookie and a lemon bar cake.
The next day we had planned to head up to Florence, but after a late start and some stalling at a local market and shopping in a nearby town, we decided to head to Siena instead. We stopped in a few more classic Tuscan villages on our way and eventually made our way to Siena. Siena is like a really big San G. It still has a city wall and lots of towers and neat buildings, but it is much bigger and busier. We eventually came across a huge square in the middle of town with a tower and surrounded by restaurants with outdoor seating. I said we had to eat here, so we did. We enjoyed the great sunshine and my first Italian pizza while people watching everyone passing by. We walked around town, found a really weird (and old) striped church, got some gelato, and came back to the square where we sat down and took a rest. Leaving Siena was quite interesting as we got a little turned around and I ended up driving down one of the small streets within the city wall...oops! We had also planned a scenic journey home which allowed us to see a lot of the country side, including a great view from a large hill/mountain.
We ate dinner at the only place in Utown, where Guido had called ahead and made reservations for us. He had ordered pizza from them earlier that night and he recommended it with a smile on his face. We immediately liked the place upon entering; it was small and simple with green paper table cloths. We ordered bread, linguine with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, and 2 calzones. Mine had sausage, pepers and olives (with pits!). It was excellent and so was the pasta! We also got the house red wine which was served out of a huge glass jug (which we found out was very common for the rest of our trip). The best part was how cheap everything was...all of that plus dessert for 28euros! We went back to our room and watched some MTV on tv before falling asleep...the only station that we could even partially understand.
Our last day in Tuscany was a busy one, and we knew it when Guido and the other guests at breakfast laughed at us when we told them our plans for the day. We were hoping to visit Pisa, Luca and Florence. Luckily we were able to steal a guidebook (Rick Steves 2005) from the hotel which helped us plan what we should see and do in each place. First was Pisa, and our only motivation for going there was to get the classic picture in front of the leaning tower. We were surprised how nice the area around the tower was and there were a couple other really cool buildings to check out as well. We did get "the picture" which you will see. From there we got back to our car, which I'm pretty sure was parked on a road only for authorized vehicles, and headed toward Luca. We had a little trouble finding our way out of town, but we made it and the drive was great! We went over what seemed like a small mountain/pass and arrived in Luca and found a place to park.
Luca is another classic Tuscany style town with a village wall and very old buildings with towers and squares. We had heard great things prior to our visit, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. However, I really liked the big, open square in the middle of town (which was actually circular) and they had a lot of really cool shops. I even did some early Christmas shopping! It was definitely less crowded and very chill compared to the other towns we had visited and it kinda reminded me of Italy's Boulder. We decided to grab some quick food at a shop and eat it in the car on our way to Florence.
When we arrived in Florence, we immediately realized it was the first main city we have experienced so far. It was really busy and there were a ton of scooters driving crazily on the roads. We finally found a place to park and started walking toward the central area of town. Florence is full of history, with many well known museums, cathedrals, bridges and chapels. Due to our helpful guidebook, we had called ahead and made reservations to visit the Academia Museum, which is where Michelangelo's David statue is kept. Yeah, it's the one with the penis. We located the museum, which had a huge line outside (which we would later bypass), but it wasn't our time yet so we explored the area a bit more. We visited the Duomo, which is the main cathedral in town. I can't remember why, but apparently it's a pretty big deal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral). The inside was beautiful and as everywhere in Florence, the architecture was amazing. It also has a great tower as well. We also visited the Medici Chapels and the San Lorenzo Basilica. Again, these were very neat buildings but I'm not sure of their significance. We then made it to our museum, which was full of paintings, statues, musical instruments, many other museum things, and The David. Although no pictures were allowed, I did sneak one anyway. I was surprised how impressive it really was and it is actually one of my favorite things we saw during the trip. You have to think about the detail in the statue without any modern conveniences or machines that we have today; pretty impressive.
Florence is situated on Arno river and there are a number of beautiful bridges that cross it. They are also full of history from ancient times when Romans and other enemies attempted to invade and disable Florence. The most well-known bridge, the Ponte Vecchio (if you heard it pronounced correctly, you'd probably recognize it) is an amazing bridge that is full of shops, mostly jewelery. It is open in the middle, however, and has great place to snag some photographs which you will see. We crossed the river to explore the other side a bit and then decided to hit up a restaurant recommended by our book that was a little out of the way. A 15 minute walk later, we found the restaurant that sits just outside the city wall. The book called it surprisingly cheap and very traditional so we thought we'd give it a go.
We were absolutely amazing how surprisingly cheap it really was. Each course was no more than 3-5euros and the house wine was much cheaper. Everything on the menu was in Italian, so we pulled out my trusty phrase book to help us figure out what everything was. We were pretty excited to have to learn everything, but the only English-speaking waiter eventually came to use and translated the entire menu for us. It was very nice of him but probably not necessary. We definitely "splurged" for this meal. We each got appetizers, a first course, a second course, vegetables, and split a dessert and it was still one of the cheapest meals we ate. And the food was great!
During our walk back to the car, of course all I had on my mind was Gelato, but for some reason we never stopped. We got back to our car and followed the signs back to the highway, which luckily took us to the top of the a hill that overlooked the entire city. It was absolutely beautiful at night, with the cathedral domes lit up and the reflections sparkling on the river. Even better, there was a gelato shop up top as well! We got some gelato, admired the view, and I even posed in front of the fake David statue too. Fortunately for all of you, I was fully clothed. We got back to the hotel pretty late, and completely beat, but we had successfully seen everything we had planned and didn't feel like we cut ourselves short either. What a great day!
Thursday morning we checked out of the hotel and stopped at San G one more time to find an Internet Point and do some final shopping. We also got some snacks and lunch to eat on our long drive to Rome. Tuscany overall was a great experience. You could easily spend weeks roaming the country roads, visiting all of the cities, towns and villages, and checking out the vineyards and wineries. Renting a car was a great decision and it really allowed us to experience a lot that Tuscany has to offer. But it was time to leave and off to Rome we went!
10.12.2008
Italy, Part 1 - Cinque Terra Region
Hello! I just got back from a week long trip to Italy with my friend Megan from Denver. We went to many incredible places so I have decided to split the trip up into three segments. Our first couple days were spent in the Cinque Terra Region along the north coast below Genoa. We then got a car and explored Tuscany (part 2) for three days before heading down to Rome (part 3).
See pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/ItalyCinqueTerra#
We left my flat around 6am on Saturday and had to get 4 different tube lines due to some unexpected closures, and caught the express train to Stansted airport. We were the first people on the plane since we had priority boarding and grabbed an exit row. We joked about needing an emergency evacuation and had our exit strategy all planned out; good thing since our descent ended up being pretty bumpy! After landing in Genoa, we had some time to spare before our bus came so we took a seat in the sun and had a snack. After catching the bus to the train station, we had another hour to waste before our trail left. We walked around the area near the station and finally caught our delayed train to Cinque Terra.
The Cinque Terra region is a beautiful and rugged area along the coast consisting of 5 small towns. There are no cars allowed in any of the towns and there is a coastline trail connecting each town. We arrived in Vernazza where we were staying for the night, which is the 2nd most northern town in Cinque Terra. We were immediately amazed when we stepped off the train and saw the town. It was made up of one main road that stretched from the station to the coast. It was filled with shops, restaurants and small boats rolled up from the inlet. The "side streets" were really just extremely narrow alleyways filled with random paths and a lot of stairs. You will also notice in a lot of my pics that there are clothes hanging outside most of the buildings. This is very common and we saw it throughout all of the areas we visited. All of the buildings were carved into the cliffs along the water and the town was built up on itself since it didn't really have anywhere else to go. Since our hotel was located on the main road, it was easy to find and after being buzzed in we walked up many flights of stairs to meet our host.
Megan spent a lot of time finding really great places to stay, and this was the first of many great rooms we had. Our host was an old Italian lady who spoke very little, if any, English. She greeted us like family with hugs and kisses on the cheek, and then started explaining everything about the keys, doors and room entirely in Italian. Thank goodness Megan was able to decipher most of it. The room was great and had a small balcony with a tiny view of the water through one of the narrow alleyways.
After we unloaded our packs and changed, we went downstairs to walk around town. It was just before sunset and the light was beautiful. It was the first of about 5 amazing sunsets we had over the entire trip. The town was amazing in every way. There is a very small inlet with lots of small fishing boats that are kept on the road in town. The colors, textures, stairways, and alleys are great and make the town even more beautiful. For dinner, we decided on a place up many stairs overlooking the sea and the village. It was perched atop a cliff and the floor was crooked! The food and wine were excellent and it was the first of many absolutely amazing meals that continued every day of our trip. I had spaghetti with pesto (pesto is the main local specialty for the area) and we got some of the house white wine. After dinner, we obviously had to grab some gelato, which we also had at least once every day of our trip. We then headed back to our place and sat on the balcony for a while before heading to bed.
We got up around 8am and our hostess delivered a small breakfast and Italian coffee to our balcony. We fueled up for the day, which included a hike (with our packs) through 2 towns to the southernmost town of the Cinque Terra region, Riomaggiore. The first part of our hike was between our town of Vernazza and the next town down the coast, Corniglia. The hike was pretty tough and climbed up the cliffside which included many steps. However, it felt good to be outside and the trail offered amazing views of the towns and the shoreline. Upon approaching Corniglia, we walked through a number of small vineyards that are terraced up the hillsides. These wineries fill the area and produce the most common local wine, which is a white whine. Corniglia is a bit bigger than Vernazza and sits atop a cliff directly above the water. We took a break outside a small "bar" and got some tea. In Italy, a bar is basically an Italian fast food place. Fortunately, Italian fast food is great! They offer teas and coffee, all sorts of other drinks, and many forms of fresh sandwiches, paninis and sometimes pizza; much better than McDonalds!
We continued our hike down the coast from Corniglia through Manarola and finally arrived in Riomaggiore. The trail during this portion was much easier, and busier, and stayed pretty level along the water. We took a short break at a small beach made entirely of smooth black rocks. The views were great and it was nice to touch the water! The weather was absolutely perfect yet again, with the sun shining and the temperature not too warm or cold. Upon arriving in Riomaggiore, we were supposed to call our host so she could walk down to let us in our room. Unfortunately we couldn't find the number but luckily saw the neighbor who called her for us! She came down, let us in and showed us around. Our room was amazing, by far the best place we stayed. The building sat above the town and we had a wrap-around balcony with the best view in town I think. You'll see from the pictures that we looked down on the entire town and had an amazing view of the water. We walked to town and grabbed some food and wine, and enjoyed the entire afternoon and evening on our balcony. The food we grabbed was incredible: fresh bread, cheese, salami, tomatoes, foccacia, grapes and some little cookies from a bakery.
The wine throughout Italy was surprisingly cheap and we only paid 2.50euros per bottle in town. It's also very cheap at most restaurants and it's cheaper to drink wine than beer. Restaurants are also a very interesting experience. The menus are split up into appetizers, first course (usually different pastas with sauces), second course (different kinds of meats prepared in different ways), vegetables, and desserts. As we traveled south through Italy, pizza became more popular and there would be a section for that as well. Generally, Italians order an appetizer or salad, a first course, a second course, and vegetables! We found that an appetizer and a first course was plenty of food, but we did splurge some times which you will read about in upcoming posts. Restaurants also generally close between lunch and dinner and don't open until at least 7pm. Dinner is usually eaten closer to 9pm which is when places get pretty busy. We headed down at about 10pm to the main place in town that was recommended to us by our host. Again, the food was amazing...I had penne with eggplant in a tomato sauce. Megan got a beef dish recommended by our waitress. After dinner we stopped to get some gelato and then walked down to the water for a while. On our way back to our room, I had to stop and get a 2nd gelato...it's just so good!
The next morning I decided to go for a run just after I woke up. I had my eye on a tower seen at the top of the hill above town and figured it would be a good destination. I ran up the road until it stopped and went the following way to the top using a hiking trail. The view from the top was great! After I got back and we were packed up, we stopped for some tea on the way to the train station. We got our tickets and were on our way to the town of La Spezia, and this is where I will leave you hanging until next time!
See pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/ItalyCinqueTerra#
We left my flat around 6am on Saturday and had to get 4 different tube lines due to some unexpected closures, and caught the express train to Stansted airport. We were the first people on the plane since we had priority boarding and grabbed an exit row. We joked about needing an emergency evacuation and had our exit strategy all planned out; good thing since our descent ended up being pretty bumpy! After landing in Genoa, we had some time to spare before our bus came so we took a seat in the sun and had a snack. After catching the bus to the train station, we had another hour to waste before our trail left. We walked around the area near the station and finally caught our delayed train to Cinque Terra.
The Cinque Terra region is a beautiful and rugged area along the coast consisting of 5 small towns. There are no cars allowed in any of the towns and there is a coastline trail connecting each town. We arrived in Vernazza where we were staying for the night, which is the 2nd most northern town in Cinque Terra. We were immediately amazed when we stepped off the train and saw the town. It was made up of one main road that stretched from the station to the coast. It was filled with shops, restaurants and small boats rolled up from the inlet. The "side streets" were really just extremely narrow alleyways filled with random paths and a lot of stairs. You will also notice in a lot of my pics that there are clothes hanging outside most of the buildings. This is very common and we saw it throughout all of the areas we visited. All of the buildings were carved into the cliffs along the water and the town was built up on itself since it didn't really have anywhere else to go. Since our hotel was located on the main road, it was easy to find and after being buzzed in we walked up many flights of stairs to meet our host.
Megan spent a lot of time finding really great places to stay, and this was the first of many great rooms we had. Our host was an old Italian lady who spoke very little, if any, English. She greeted us like family with hugs and kisses on the cheek, and then started explaining everything about the keys, doors and room entirely in Italian. Thank goodness Megan was able to decipher most of it. The room was great and had a small balcony with a tiny view of the water through one of the narrow alleyways.
After we unloaded our packs and changed, we went downstairs to walk around town. It was just before sunset and the light was beautiful. It was the first of about 5 amazing sunsets we had over the entire trip. The town was amazing in every way. There is a very small inlet with lots of small fishing boats that are kept on the road in town. The colors, textures, stairways, and alleys are great and make the town even more beautiful. For dinner, we decided on a place up many stairs overlooking the sea and the village. It was perched atop a cliff and the floor was crooked! The food and wine were excellent and it was the first of many absolutely amazing meals that continued every day of our trip. I had spaghetti with pesto (pesto is the main local specialty for the area) and we got some of the house white wine. After dinner, we obviously had to grab some gelato, which we also had at least once every day of our trip. We then headed back to our place and sat on the balcony for a while before heading to bed.
We got up around 8am and our hostess delivered a small breakfast and Italian coffee to our balcony. We fueled up for the day, which included a hike (with our packs) through 2 towns to the southernmost town of the Cinque Terra region, Riomaggiore. The first part of our hike was between our town of Vernazza and the next town down the coast, Corniglia. The hike was pretty tough and climbed up the cliffside which included many steps. However, it felt good to be outside and the trail offered amazing views of the towns and the shoreline. Upon approaching Corniglia, we walked through a number of small vineyards that are terraced up the hillsides. These wineries fill the area and produce the most common local wine, which is a white whine. Corniglia is a bit bigger than Vernazza and sits atop a cliff directly above the water. We took a break outside a small "bar" and got some tea. In Italy, a bar is basically an Italian fast food place. Fortunately, Italian fast food is great! They offer teas and coffee, all sorts of other drinks, and many forms of fresh sandwiches, paninis and sometimes pizza; much better than McDonalds!
We continued our hike down the coast from Corniglia through Manarola and finally arrived in Riomaggiore. The trail during this portion was much easier, and busier, and stayed pretty level along the water. We took a short break at a small beach made entirely of smooth black rocks. The views were great and it was nice to touch the water! The weather was absolutely perfect yet again, with the sun shining and the temperature not too warm or cold. Upon arriving in Riomaggiore, we were supposed to call our host so she could walk down to let us in our room. Unfortunately we couldn't find the number but luckily saw the neighbor who called her for us! She came down, let us in and showed us around. Our room was amazing, by far the best place we stayed. The building sat above the town and we had a wrap-around balcony with the best view in town I think. You'll see from the pictures that we looked down on the entire town and had an amazing view of the water. We walked to town and grabbed some food and wine, and enjoyed the entire afternoon and evening on our balcony. The food we grabbed was incredible: fresh bread, cheese, salami, tomatoes, foccacia, grapes and some little cookies from a bakery.
The wine throughout Italy was surprisingly cheap and we only paid 2.50euros per bottle in town. It's also very cheap at most restaurants and it's cheaper to drink wine than beer. Restaurants are also a very interesting experience. The menus are split up into appetizers, first course (usually different pastas with sauces), second course (different kinds of meats prepared in different ways), vegetables, and desserts. As we traveled south through Italy, pizza became more popular and there would be a section for that as well. Generally, Italians order an appetizer or salad, a first course, a second course, and vegetables! We found that an appetizer and a first course was plenty of food, but we did splurge some times which you will read about in upcoming posts. Restaurants also generally close between lunch and dinner and don't open until at least 7pm. Dinner is usually eaten closer to 9pm which is when places get pretty busy. We headed down at about 10pm to the main place in town that was recommended to us by our host. Again, the food was amazing...I had penne with eggplant in a tomato sauce. Megan got a beef dish recommended by our waitress. After dinner we stopped to get some gelato and then walked down to the water for a while. On our way back to our room, I had to stop and get a 2nd gelato...it's just so good!
The next morning I decided to go for a run just after I woke up. I had my eye on a tower seen at the top of the hill above town and figured it would be a good destination. I ran up the road until it stopped and went the following way to the top using a hiking trail. The view from the top was great! After I got back and we were packed up, we stopped for some tea on the way to the train station. We got our tickets and were on our way to the town of La Spezia, and this is where I will leave you hanging until next time!
9.27.2008
Munich, Part 2 - Oktoberfest!!
Well here it is, the highly anticipated, long awaited Oktoberfest blog. I guess that's probably not true, but I hope I can at least come close to describe what an amazing experience it was. It sounds odd to say, but I really think it was one of the funnest days I've ever had. Everything about it was amazing. Where to start...
Don't laugh at me too hard: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Oktoberfest#
And a bonus...2 Videos! Pleeeaasseeee don't laugh at me: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r01zbf4kgM8 and http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9eVEKicvovU
I guess the best place to start is when we woke up around 8am. We had been told by numerous people that in order to get a seat in a tent, you had to get there early. Without a seat, you won't get served. So we got up, got dressed in our festive German garb, and arrived at Oktoberfest by train at around 9am. The festival grounds itself was huge and we were struck with our first big decision...what beer tent to choose. The fairgrounds has over a dozen tents. When I say tents, I don't mean actual tents. These are huge buildings that hold thousands of people each. We ended up just going inside the first one we came to, which was sponsored by Paulaner (beer), and easily found a seat amongst hundreds of people that were already there. To our surprise, the beer and pretzel ladies were already walking around taking orders! So we each ordered a beer and a pretzel and got started.
The tent itself was green and white and had a raised stage in the middle for a band. All tents serve huge steins for beer that hold over 1 liter of the golden liquid, along with a huge array of traditional German food. The tent was filled with tables and benches, most of which were reserved for large parties that reserved them months and months in advance.
Within an hour or so, the place was pretty much packed. By this time we were joined by Gerald, a fellow American currently serving with the National Guard in Afghanistan. He was on a two week holiday and decided to come to Oktoberfest for part of his break. We talked for quite a while about what it's like in Afghanistan and also American politics. Not having any alcohol for the last few months, he was completely passed out on the table within a couple hours and left the tent in the very early afternoon. Our table continually cycled through people, but the 3 of us stayed put for the most part of the day. We met a couple Serbians, a group of 3 Americans on a business trip, and countless other people celebrating at the largest party in the world.
Throughout the day, Hayley and I took bathroom breaks where we would go use the toilet and then leave the tent and explore. We briefly visited a couple other tents, just long enough to see what they were like. The weather on Sunday was beautiful and sunny yet we barely saw any of it sitting in the tent all day.
Around midday, a number of marching bands marched through the tent playing music and dancing along the way. A few of them even had reserved some tables in the tent and one of the bands sat in a set of tables directly next to ours. Around this time, the tent's band also showed up and began playing traditional German music that went on all day. Many of the songs played would cause everyone to suddenly stand on the benches and tables to dance and sing along. I did learn (or at least pretend to learn) the words to one song, which was pretty much played in between every song all day long. It was stuck in my head for days after the festival.
As the day wore on and evening approached, the tent was getting louder and louder. People were constantly dancing and singing along with the music and everyone was making friends with everyone around them. The atmosphere was incredible and I don't know that I've ever experience anything like it. It was also amazing how nice, orderly and safe everything was. I never felt like I had to be careful about anything and our packs were left unattended often. Eventually, Hayley and I started chatting with members of the band on the next table and the next thing we knew, we were playing their instruments, wearing their hats and talking to the entire band. They were all high school age, but since the drinking age is 16 everyone was having a great time.
As the night continued, Hayley and I soon realized that Fran was missing! We had noticed that we hadn't seen her for a while, but we figured she was at a nearby table making friends as she had been all day. At one point I put her wallet that was sitting on our table in my pocket so it wouldn't get left behind, but her cell phone and camera were still on the table and we knew she wouldn't leave them. A while later, after there was no sign of her, the tent was slowly starting to clear out and Hayley and I knew it was time for us to leave. We grabbed our backpacks, walked around the tent a couple times to make sure Fran was no where to be seen, and finally left. Neither of us really knew what to do about her, nor were we in any state to really do anything responsible, but we did know that we could trust her to sort herself out if we got separated. After all, she did grow up in Germany!
Hayley and I decided to go to another tent since others still seemed to be open. Upon entering, we were stopped and asked to open our bags. We both slightly panicked because we had taken a beer stein from the prior tent, something that everyone tries to do but few people get away with. However, once I got my pack off and started to open it, the man waved us through! So in we went. The atmosphere at this tent was much different. The music was more mainstream and everyone was standing up dancing and singing along like crazy. And I mean everyone. Young, old, it didn't matter. We orderd another beer and joined right in, singing along with everyone else around.
Eventually we either decided to leave or the tent started to close, we're not really sure which. On our way out of the fairgrounds we ordered some bratwurst and I got some ice cream. We then managed to make our way to the train station, got on the correct train, then on the right bus, and back to the campground. Fran was still no where to be seen, and not knowing what to do about that we immediatley passed out for the night. Everthing ended up being OK with Fran. She ended up leaving the tent by accident, got a little lost and scared, and talked to a policewoman. They took care of her from there and they ended up giving her a ride to her friend's house for the night. What a mess!
Overall, the day was obviously a success. We're not really sure how many beers we had, but my best guess is around 7-8. So that's 7-8 liters of beer. That's a lot without drinking anything else, even water. We came away with 2 steins and 1 with a broken handle. I had 2 giant pretzels, a giant piece of pork with potatoes, a bratwurst, and some ice cream during the day. I also had a tired voice the next day from all the singing, and a ton of fun looking at pics which worked as entertainment and a way to put my memory back together.
I want to go back. Every year. It was just a complete blast!
Don't laugh at me too hard: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Oktoberfest#
And a bonus...2 Videos! Pleeeaasseeee don't laugh at me: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r01zbf4kgM8 and http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9eVEKicvovU
I guess the best place to start is when we woke up around 8am. We had been told by numerous people that in order to get a seat in a tent, you had to get there early. Without a seat, you won't get served. So we got up, got dressed in our festive German garb, and arrived at Oktoberfest by train at around 9am. The festival grounds itself was huge and we were struck with our first big decision...what beer tent to choose. The fairgrounds has over a dozen tents. When I say tents, I don't mean actual tents. These are huge buildings that hold thousands of people each. We ended up just going inside the first one we came to, which was sponsored by Paulaner (beer), and easily found a seat amongst hundreds of people that were already there. To our surprise, the beer and pretzel ladies were already walking around taking orders! So we each ordered a beer and a pretzel and got started.
The tent itself was green and white and had a raised stage in the middle for a band. All tents serve huge steins for beer that hold over 1 liter of the golden liquid, along with a huge array of traditional German food. The tent was filled with tables and benches, most of which were reserved for large parties that reserved them months and months in advance.
Within an hour or so, the place was pretty much packed. By this time we were joined by Gerald, a fellow American currently serving with the National Guard in Afghanistan. He was on a two week holiday and decided to come to Oktoberfest for part of his break. We talked for quite a while about what it's like in Afghanistan and also American politics. Not having any alcohol for the last few months, he was completely passed out on the table within a couple hours and left the tent in the very early afternoon. Our table continually cycled through people, but the 3 of us stayed put for the most part of the day. We met a couple Serbians, a group of 3 Americans on a business trip, and countless other people celebrating at the largest party in the world.
Throughout the day, Hayley and I took bathroom breaks where we would go use the toilet and then leave the tent and explore. We briefly visited a couple other tents, just long enough to see what they were like. The weather on Sunday was beautiful and sunny yet we barely saw any of it sitting in the tent all day.
Around midday, a number of marching bands marched through the tent playing music and dancing along the way. A few of them even had reserved some tables in the tent and one of the bands sat in a set of tables directly next to ours. Around this time, the tent's band also showed up and began playing traditional German music that went on all day. Many of the songs played would cause everyone to suddenly stand on the benches and tables to dance and sing along. I did learn (or at least pretend to learn) the words to one song, which was pretty much played in between every song all day long. It was stuck in my head for days after the festival.
As the day wore on and evening approached, the tent was getting louder and louder. People were constantly dancing and singing along with the music and everyone was making friends with everyone around them. The atmosphere was incredible and I don't know that I've ever experience anything like it. It was also amazing how nice, orderly and safe everything was. I never felt like I had to be careful about anything and our packs were left unattended often. Eventually, Hayley and I started chatting with members of the band on the next table and the next thing we knew, we were playing their instruments, wearing their hats and talking to the entire band. They were all high school age, but since the drinking age is 16 everyone was having a great time.
As the night continued, Hayley and I soon realized that Fran was missing! We had noticed that we hadn't seen her for a while, but we figured she was at a nearby table making friends as she had been all day. At one point I put her wallet that was sitting on our table in my pocket so it wouldn't get left behind, but her cell phone and camera were still on the table and we knew she wouldn't leave them. A while later, after there was no sign of her, the tent was slowly starting to clear out and Hayley and I knew it was time for us to leave. We grabbed our backpacks, walked around the tent a couple times to make sure Fran was no where to be seen, and finally left. Neither of us really knew what to do about her, nor were we in any state to really do anything responsible, but we did know that we could trust her to sort herself out if we got separated. After all, she did grow up in Germany!
Hayley and I decided to go to another tent since others still seemed to be open. Upon entering, we were stopped and asked to open our bags. We both slightly panicked because we had taken a beer stein from the prior tent, something that everyone tries to do but few people get away with. However, once I got my pack off and started to open it, the man waved us through! So in we went. The atmosphere at this tent was much different. The music was more mainstream and everyone was standing up dancing and singing along like crazy. And I mean everyone. Young, old, it didn't matter. We orderd another beer and joined right in, singing along with everyone else around.
Eventually we either decided to leave or the tent started to close, we're not really sure which. On our way out of the fairgrounds we ordered some bratwurst and I got some ice cream. We then managed to make our way to the train station, got on the correct train, then on the right bus, and back to the campground. Fran was still no where to be seen, and not knowing what to do about that we immediatley passed out for the night. Everthing ended up being OK with Fran. She ended up leaving the tent by accident, got a little lost and scared, and talked to a policewoman. They took care of her from there and they ended up giving her a ride to her friend's house for the night. What a mess!
Overall, the day was obviously a success. We're not really sure how many beers we had, but my best guess is around 7-8. So that's 7-8 liters of beer. That's a lot without drinking anything else, even water. We came away with 2 steins and 1 with a broken handle. I had 2 giant pretzels, a giant piece of pork with potatoes, a bratwurst, and some ice cream during the day. I also had a tired voice the next day from all the singing, and a ton of fun looking at pics which worked as entertainment and a way to put my memory back together.
I want to go back. Every year. It was just a complete blast!
9.25.2008
Munich, Part 1
Hey there! So I've decided to split up my recent trip to Germany into 2 posts. The first will be about my general experiences in and around Munich. The 2nd will be all about Oktoberfest. Now obviously, Oktoberfest's primary lure is the beer, so if you don't want to hear about me drinking then you can simply skip the next post. As a side note, I know that on many occasions I have mentioned that I have enjoyed a few spirits. Despite concerns from a few of you, I really don't drink that often. It's just that usually a few pints are involved around the activities that are fun, and therefore the activities that I write about. Most of my nights involve me getting off work, going to the gym for a couple hours and making dinner at home. Do you really want to hear about that all the time?
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Munich#
My trip to Germany was accompanied by two co-workers, Hayley and Fran. We caught the first tube to Heathrow Saturday morning to catch our flight to Munich. We ended up getting to the airport about 1 hour before our flight, which apparently isn't enough time. After getting seriously scalded by an unpleasant British Airways employee, we were escorted to the "Fast Track" security line and then literally ran to catch our flight. Once on board, we did enjoy a comfy flight which included free food and drinks! When we landed in Munich, we got on the train and made our way through Munich to the campsite where we had planned to stay. We set up camp, which included our large and luxurious tent complete with a deer head on the front, and got back on the train to central Munich. Fran had made arrangements to meet one of her friends from school who now lives and works in Munich. She showed us around part of the shopping district and we made our way to a German pub and restaurant that sat on a square where a market was taking place.
The first thing I drank in Munich was a great local Weiss beer (Hefeweisen, basically). The first thing I ate in Munich was a pretzel. I was in heaven. The restaurant itself was packed and we ended up being there for around 3 hours. For my meal, I ordered a gigantic platter of cold meats, sausages, cheeses, bread and salad. It was absolutely amazing and I could probably eat it every day for the rest of my life. After lunch, we were on a mission to buy our outfits for Oktoberfest the next day. We went to a number of shops filled with authentic traditional German clothing. I bought a checked shirt, a classic handkerchief, socks, and some slippers that worked as shoes. Lederhosen were just too expensive to justify. My outfit did look pretty good though and the suspenders I already had made it complete! After shopping we sat down at a small cafe, or "Konditerei," and enjoyed some cake and hot chocolate. I have to say that I didn't like the desserts as much as I thought I would. The texture of those that I had were very light like a mousse. Not really what I expected when I ordered a cheesecake. Also, Germans seem to be really big fans of gelatin. Every dessert I tried had some in or on it, and even some of the sausages on my giant platter were held together by gelatin. Those were the only two things I didn't eat. After the cafe, we went to a store and bought some food and snacks and headed back to the campground for some cards and an early night. I also had my first (of many) giant pretzels about the size of my head. Believe it or not, every pic you see with me and a pretzel was actually a different pretzel.
Sunday morning we got up and out early to make it to the Oktoberfest around 9:30am so we could get a seat. As mentioned above, the entire day of Sunday will be a separate post. However, let me take this space to talk about Munich in general. It was definitely bigger than I expected, but it was very nice and very clean. All of central Munich was filled with excellent shopping, restaurants, pubs and historic buildings. Due to the war, most of Munich is actually pretty new and modern. However, you can definitely tell when you see a building that survived the destruction, and they looked really cool. Since I didn't do any research on Munich before I left, I don't really know what any of the buildings are that we saw. Also, none of us were prepared for how cold it was! The tent and sleeping bags were warm enough at night, but it was rather cold all day long every day. The transportation system is also excellent. The trains are very nice and well kept, come on a regular schedule well displayed, and connect all parts of the city. Hopefully I'll have many opportunities to visit other areas of Germany, but I really enjoyed Munich and could definitely even see living there. I think I kinda belong in Germany. All I need to do is learn the language a bit better!
After Sunday, I felt surprisingly OK on Monday morning after some water and a Clif bar. Hayley was a different story. She has been battling a cold for weeks now, and camping and drinking weren't helping at all. She slept in while Fran and I showered and reminisced on the prior day's events. After we were all ready, we finally made our way back to the Oktoberfest fairgrounds so we could actually walk around and see everything. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy, but we didn't let it stop us. Our first stop was the lost and found. At this point, I'll just say that Fran got her mobile phone back but not her camera. Unfortunately my North Face soft shell was no where to be seen. We visited one of the tents to get lunch and I ordered a sparkling apple juice and a half chicken with potatoes. It was excellent! Hayley ordered some kind of dumpling soup that didn't taste much better than it looked. She didn't eat very much of it.
We then walked around the fairgrounds. Basically, it reminded me of a huge state fair. The only addition is beer. There are about 15 huge beer tents that aren't really tents since they have permanent walls and seat thousands of people. I'll explain more about the beer tents in my next post, but they are amazing so make sure you come back to read about them! There were also a lot of rides, some of which were pretty impressive; including a couple roller coasters, one of which had 5 loops! We decided to go in the Haunted House, which highlighted a short (and very old) mummy movie clip in German. It was amazing. Of course I couldn't leave the fairgrounds without another extra large pretzel.
The fairgrounds was within walking or tram distance to the city center, so we slowly made our way there. We passed a number of cool buildings and churches and I snapped plenty of pics along the way. We also stopped at a lovely cafe and had some tea. Fran and Hayley ordered some desserts and I tried theirs. We continued to walk around the city seeing all the sights and taking plenty of pics. I was so surprised to see how bike and pedestrian friendly the city was. Most of the main lanes in the city center are pedestrian-only, which is really amazing when you think about how big of an area it is. It was really cool. We stopped for a quick dinner at a grocery store cafe and then met up with Fran's friend again at a pub to say goodbye. We were pretty tired and made our way back to the campground to hit the sack since we knew we had an early morning on Tuesday.
We all reluctantly got up on Tuesday morning, knowing that we had to clean, pack up, and take down the wet tent. We got it all done by 8am and caught the bus to the train to another train that took us to the airport. We got there with plenty of time to spare, which I used to get some lunch, 2 more pretzels for the road and 3 bags of hard pretzels to last me a couple weeks in London. Once back in London, we all headed straight to the office to put in a half day. Needless to say we were tired, dirty, smelly, and not in the mood to work. Hayley and I have been very busy, however, and we were definitely needed in the office. I think we learned we need to minimize the time that the two of us are both gone at the same time.
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Munich#
My trip to Germany was accompanied by two co-workers, Hayley and Fran. We caught the first tube to Heathrow Saturday morning to catch our flight to Munich. We ended up getting to the airport about 1 hour before our flight, which apparently isn't enough time. After getting seriously scalded by an unpleasant British Airways employee, we were escorted to the "Fast Track" security line and then literally ran to catch our flight. Once on board, we did enjoy a comfy flight which included free food and drinks! When we landed in Munich, we got on the train and made our way through Munich to the campsite where we had planned to stay. We set up camp, which included our large and luxurious tent complete with a deer head on the front, and got back on the train to central Munich. Fran had made arrangements to meet one of her friends from school who now lives and works in Munich. She showed us around part of the shopping district and we made our way to a German pub and restaurant that sat on a square where a market was taking place.
The first thing I drank in Munich was a great local Weiss beer (Hefeweisen, basically). The first thing I ate in Munich was a pretzel. I was in heaven. The restaurant itself was packed and we ended up being there for around 3 hours. For my meal, I ordered a gigantic platter of cold meats, sausages, cheeses, bread and salad. It was absolutely amazing and I could probably eat it every day for the rest of my life. After lunch, we were on a mission to buy our outfits for Oktoberfest the next day. We went to a number of shops filled with authentic traditional German clothing. I bought a checked shirt, a classic handkerchief, socks, and some slippers that worked as shoes. Lederhosen were just too expensive to justify. My outfit did look pretty good though and the suspenders I already had made it complete! After shopping we sat down at a small cafe, or "Konditerei," and enjoyed some cake and hot chocolate. I have to say that I didn't like the desserts as much as I thought I would. The texture of those that I had were very light like a mousse. Not really what I expected when I ordered a cheesecake. Also, Germans seem to be really big fans of gelatin. Every dessert I tried had some in or on it, and even some of the sausages on my giant platter were held together by gelatin. Those were the only two things I didn't eat. After the cafe, we went to a store and bought some food and snacks and headed back to the campground for some cards and an early night. I also had my first (of many) giant pretzels about the size of my head. Believe it or not, every pic you see with me and a pretzel was actually a different pretzel.
Sunday morning we got up and out early to make it to the Oktoberfest around 9:30am so we could get a seat. As mentioned above, the entire day of Sunday will be a separate post. However, let me take this space to talk about Munich in general. It was definitely bigger than I expected, but it was very nice and very clean. All of central Munich was filled with excellent shopping, restaurants, pubs and historic buildings. Due to the war, most of Munich is actually pretty new and modern. However, you can definitely tell when you see a building that survived the destruction, and they looked really cool. Since I didn't do any research on Munich before I left, I don't really know what any of the buildings are that we saw. Also, none of us were prepared for how cold it was! The tent and sleeping bags were warm enough at night, but it was rather cold all day long every day. The transportation system is also excellent. The trains are very nice and well kept, come on a regular schedule well displayed, and connect all parts of the city. Hopefully I'll have many opportunities to visit other areas of Germany, but I really enjoyed Munich and could definitely even see living there. I think I kinda belong in Germany. All I need to do is learn the language a bit better!
After Sunday, I felt surprisingly OK on Monday morning after some water and a Clif bar. Hayley was a different story. She has been battling a cold for weeks now, and camping and drinking weren't helping at all. She slept in while Fran and I showered and reminisced on the prior day's events. After we were all ready, we finally made our way back to the Oktoberfest fairgrounds so we could actually walk around and see everything. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy, but we didn't let it stop us. Our first stop was the lost and found. At this point, I'll just say that Fran got her mobile phone back but not her camera. Unfortunately my North Face soft shell was no where to be seen. We visited one of the tents to get lunch and I ordered a sparkling apple juice and a half chicken with potatoes. It was excellent! Hayley ordered some kind of dumpling soup that didn't taste much better than it looked. She didn't eat very much of it.
We then walked around the fairgrounds. Basically, it reminded me of a huge state fair. The only addition is beer. There are about 15 huge beer tents that aren't really tents since they have permanent walls and seat thousands of people. I'll explain more about the beer tents in my next post, but they are amazing so make sure you come back to read about them! There were also a lot of rides, some of which were pretty impressive; including a couple roller coasters, one of which had 5 loops! We decided to go in the Haunted House, which highlighted a short (and very old) mummy movie clip in German. It was amazing. Of course I couldn't leave the fairgrounds without another extra large pretzel.
The fairgrounds was within walking or tram distance to the city center, so we slowly made our way there. We passed a number of cool buildings and churches and I snapped plenty of pics along the way. We also stopped at a lovely cafe and had some tea. Fran and Hayley ordered some desserts and I tried theirs. We continued to walk around the city seeing all the sights and taking plenty of pics. I was so surprised to see how bike and pedestrian friendly the city was. Most of the main lanes in the city center are pedestrian-only, which is really amazing when you think about how big of an area it is. It was really cool. We stopped for a quick dinner at a grocery store cafe and then met up with Fran's friend again at a pub to say goodbye. We were pretty tired and made our way back to the campground to hit the sack since we knew we had an early morning on Tuesday.
We all reluctantly got up on Tuesday morning, knowing that we had to clean, pack up, and take down the wet tent. We got it all done by 8am and caught the bus to the train to another train that took us to the airport. We got there with plenty of time to spare, which I used to get some lunch, 2 more pretzels for the road and 3 bags of hard pretzels to last me a couple weeks in London. Once back in London, we all headed straight to the office to put in a half day. Needless to say we were tired, dirty, smelly, and not in the mood to work. Hayley and I have been very busy, however, and we were definitely needed in the office. I think we learned we need to minimize the time that the two of us are both gone at the same time.
9.24.2008
I heart Germany
So I just got back from Germany and I loved it. Everything about it. Especially the food. Here are a couple pics to show you what's to come in my massive Oktoberfest blog coming soon!! PS - There are also new pics posted in the Camden post below!
9.17.2008
There is no College Football in London
This past weekend was absolutely beautiful in London. Crisp autumn air filled the mornings and evenings, and there were cloudless skies all day. It really reminded me of college football season and made me a little sad that I had no games to watch or anyone to watch them with. But I did get out a little and enjoyed a great London weekend!
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Camden#
I ended up going out with a couple co-workers on Friday night. It had been a long week and we needed a good time. Unfortunately the night went a bit late and I didn't feel too motivated to do very much on Saturday. I did get a lot of stuff done around the flat that I've been putting off for weeks, and I also made it to the gym in the afternoon. Then I went over to Hayley's for a movie and some movie snacks. It was a nice, chill day. When I got home that night, I checked out the Oregon score on ESPN and saw that they were in overtime! They ended up winning in double overtime...GO DUCKS!
On Sunday I went for a great run in the morning and then met up with a co-worker, Fran. We had tickets to see The Dark Knight at the London IMAX Sunday night so we thought we'd make a day out of it. We went to the Camden Markets which were really cool. Sunday is definitely the day to go and the streets, alleyways and buildings are filled with endless booths of market goods. Lots of clothing, jewelry, sunglasses, food, etc. Camden is also a really neat area and known for it's cultural atmosphere and fun nightlife. It made for some really good (and interesting) people watching!
I ended up buying a pretty sweet hat that you can see a pic of in this post. I also found a mexican food stand that served giant burritos! Mexican food here is really just brown people pretending to serve food similar to what Mexicans eat, but it was good nonetheless. However, it was nothing like Qdoba. I feel like I could open a real Mexican food restaurant here and it would be amazing!
We then headed down to Central London and randomly found out that it was the River Thames Festival. The banks of the river were surrounded with more booths, entertainment and even a parade! We walked around quite a bit along the river and views were great. It was a really nice evening and it was so nice to finally have some great weather. We stopped for some coffee before the film and then headed to the IMAX to see the movie.
Fran has this joke that something bad always has to happen when she goes out. Up to this point, everything went really well - other than our excursion in Camden trying to find an ATM. When we finally found one there was a passed out drunk guy pretty laying right beside it. As the movie went on, we realized that it was getting pretty late. Soon we realized that it was getting late enough that we were probably going to miss the last tube home. The movie started at 9pm and the tubes close around 11 or 11:30 so we thought we would have enough time. Once we got out of the movie after 11:30, we ran to the station to find that it was shut down. Neither of us knowing London very well, we had to figure out the bus system to get home, which is always a fun venture. I felt pretty good that I got us to a central area where we then found bus stops with buses that would get each of us home. After making sure Fran was at the right place, I walked over to my stop and got on my bus home. Fran ended up getting freaked out by a homeless guy and getting a taxi. Wimp! :-)
Moving on to a different subject, this week has been pretty exciting at work. As most of you know, I work for a company called RegOnline based in Boulder. However, about 10 months ago we were purchased by a much larger company based in San Diego called Active Network. RegOnline and Active share an office in London and there are also Active offices in France and Australia, among other individuals scattered around the world. This week a number of executives from the States have been here to visit, along with employees from the other international offices. All of the "Active" people left Wednesday for France to hold the rest of their meetings there. The CEO of RegOnline also left on Wednesday to finish the week vacationing in Paris with his wife. Our direct manager from RegOnline will be here all week. It was really great having our CEO (Attila) and our direct manager (Eric) here so they could see what I've been trying to communicate with them over the past few months. It was also a great opportunity for them to discuss and approve these changes with the director of Active International and an Active Senior VP who was here as well. Some of those changes include a different/larger office and better office organization.
With all of that said, it sounds like my stay here could be considerably extended if I'd like it to be. It's still too early to know exactly what will happen, but if all goes well I will be here at least another 6 months and more likely another 1-2 years. We are still researching legal implications of extended my stay, especially tax implications for me and the company. Further, we can't apply for an extension until 3 months before my current permit expires (which will be October) and then I'll have to wait to see if it is accepted. And of course we still need to discuss my specific position and the organization of the office itself. A lot of you have been asking how long I'm staying, so I thought I'd give everyone an update on what is happening. If things go wrong I'll be back in December. If they go really well then I'll be back in 2010...???
It was really nice to talk to Attila and Eric about my position here. It was great to hear that hey wanted me to stay, and it was especially nice to hear Attila say that he completely trusts me and thinks that I'm the perfect person for the job. It's nice to know that I've made a difference here and that they see the benefit of having me stay.
The last few weeks I wasn't sure how I felt about the opportunity of me staying longer. However, now that it's actually a possibility, I feel pretty good about it. I think a lot of my hesitation has to do with the fact that my future here has been unknown. It's really hard to settle somewhere when you feel like it's temporary. It's hard to justify spending time making friendships and things that can tie you to a place. It's also hard to purchase things like a mobile phone due to contracts or more expensive items like a bike. If I knew I was going to be here for a while, then I would be able to make more of a life for myself here which would be really nice. So for now I think I like the option of staying for a while. We'll see if things change between now and November and I'll keep you all updated!
I'm heading to Munich this weekend to celebrate Oktoberfest. I'll be blogging about it when I get back!
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Camden#
I ended up going out with a couple co-workers on Friday night. It had been a long week and we needed a good time. Unfortunately the night went a bit late and I didn't feel too motivated to do very much on Saturday. I did get a lot of stuff done around the flat that I've been putting off for weeks, and I also made it to the gym in the afternoon. Then I went over to Hayley's for a movie and some movie snacks. It was a nice, chill day. When I got home that night, I checked out the Oregon score on ESPN and saw that they were in overtime! They ended up winning in double overtime...GO DUCKS!
On Sunday I went for a great run in the morning and then met up with a co-worker, Fran. We had tickets to see The Dark Knight at the London IMAX Sunday night so we thought we'd make a day out of it. We went to the Camden Markets which were really cool. Sunday is definitely the day to go and the streets, alleyways and buildings are filled with endless booths of market goods. Lots of clothing, jewelry, sunglasses, food, etc. Camden is also a really neat area and known for it's cultural atmosphere and fun nightlife. It made for some really good (and interesting) people watching!
I ended up buying a pretty sweet hat that you can see a pic of in this post. I also found a mexican food stand that served giant burritos! Mexican food here is really just brown people pretending to serve food similar to what Mexicans eat, but it was good nonetheless. However, it was nothing like Qdoba. I feel like I could open a real Mexican food restaurant here and it would be amazing!
We then headed down to Central London and randomly found out that it was the River Thames Festival. The banks of the river were surrounded with more booths, entertainment and even a parade! We walked around quite a bit along the river and views were great. It was a really nice evening and it was so nice to finally have some great weather. We stopped for some coffee before the film and then headed to the IMAX to see the movie.
Fran has this joke that something bad always has to happen when she goes out. Up to this point, everything went really well - other than our excursion in Camden trying to find an ATM. When we finally found one there was a passed out drunk guy pretty laying right beside it. As the movie went on, we realized that it was getting pretty late. Soon we realized that it was getting late enough that we were probably going to miss the last tube home. The movie started at 9pm and the tubes close around 11 or 11:30 so we thought we would have enough time. Once we got out of the movie after 11:30, we ran to the station to find that it was shut down. Neither of us knowing London very well, we had to figure out the bus system to get home, which is always a fun venture. I felt pretty good that I got us to a central area where we then found bus stops with buses that would get each of us home. After making sure Fran was at the right place, I walked over to my stop and got on my bus home. Fran ended up getting freaked out by a homeless guy and getting a taxi. Wimp! :-)
Moving on to a different subject, this week has been pretty exciting at work. As most of you know, I work for a company called RegOnline based in Boulder. However, about 10 months ago we were purchased by a much larger company based in San Diego called Active Network. RegOnline and Active share an office in London and there are also Active offices in France and Australia, among other individuals scattered around the world. This week a number of executives from the States have been here to visit, along with employees from the other international offices. All of the "Active" people left Wednesday for France to hold the rest of their meetings there. The CEO of RegOnline also left on Wednesday to finish the week vacationing in Paris with his wife. Our direct manager from RegOnline will be here all week. It was really great having our CEO (Attila) and our direct manager (Eric) here so they could see what I've been trying to communicate with them over the past few months. It was also a great opportunity for them to discuss and approve these changes with the director of Active International and an Active Senior VP who was here as well. Some of those changes include a different/larger office and better office organization.
With all of that said, it sounds like my stay here could be considerably extended if I'd like it to be. It's still too early to know exactly what will happen, but if all goes well I will be here at least another 6 months and more likely another 1-2 years. We are still researching legal implications of extended my stay, especially tax implications for me and the company. Further, we can't apply for an extension until 3 months before my current permit expires (which will be October) and then I'll have to wait to see if it is accepted. And of course we still need to discuss my specific position and the organization of the office itself. A lot of you have been asking how long I'm staying, so I thought I'd give everyone an update on what is happening. If things go wrong I'll be back in December. If they go really well then I'll be back in 2010...???
It was really nice to talk to Attila and Eric about my position here. It was great to hear that hey wanted me to stay, and it was especially nice to hear Attila say that he completely trusts me and thinks that I'm the perfect person for the job. It's nice to know that I've made a difference here and that they see the benefit of having me stay.
The last few weeks I wasn't sure how I felt about the opportunity of me staying longer. However, now that it's actually a possibility, I feel pretty good about it. I think a lot of my hesitation has to do with the fact that my future here has been unknown. It's really hard to settle somewhere when you feel like it's temporary. It's hard to justify spending time making friendships and things that can tie you to a place. It's also hard to purchase things like a mobile phone due to contracts or more expensive items like a bike. If I knew I was going to be here for a while, then I would be able to make more of a life for myself here which would be really nice. So for now I think I like the option of staying for a while. We'll see if things change between now and November and I'll keep you all updated!
I'm heading to Munich this weekend to celebrate Oktoberfest. I'll be blogging about it when I get back!
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