Innsbruck, Austria (June 2005)

We dropped on in to Innsbruck, Austria after spending a late night out at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany. Needless to say our two hour train ride to Innsbruck was less than desirable. We arrived in Innsbruck around 11am. The Tyrolian village was cool and quiet, with a dense fog just beginning to lift off the city. As the fog dissipated, the massive, gorgeous Tyrol mountains began to peek through. The entire city of Innsbruck is nestled in a valley between these snowy peaks, you feel like you are completely surrounded by mountainous terrain. It doesn't take long to explore the city center; there are pretzel shops, antique prints, and plenty of options to try a local brew for the beer enthusiast. We strolled through the Altstadt (old town) which sweeps around along the Danube. I don't know if it was that we were taken by the famous "Danube" name or the fact that the river was accessible, but my friends and I decided to climb down to the river and dip our feet in, just to say we did. Well, we climbed down the rocks into the gray clay-like sand, and found that the river is FREEZING! Even in the height of summer! After relaxing by the river, we found ourselves some traditional Austrian grub and retired to our room as the city was overcome by a tremendous lightning and thunder storm.

Venice, Italy (second trip, June 2005)

Venice speaks for itself. Every turned corner yields a discovery; young lovers kissing in the shadows...families walking together while slurping cones of gelato to avoid paying the fee for a table...elegant gondolas cruising beneath sloping footbridges, a hint of Italian melody hummed by the gondolier. Venice is of course also overrun with tourists in the summer, and pigeons as well: they even sell pigeon food so that tourists can seize that quintessential Venetian picture...or at least an entertaining one. We fell for this, and purchased a handful of pigeon food, outstretched our arms and were overrun with a flock of aggressive pigeons. While it was a little bit gross, it did make for some really funny pictures.
Venice is the perfect city to get lost in, it is even somewhat of a challenge to lose yourself, as most of the canals end up winding back to Piazza San Marco. My friends and I stayed close to the Piazza, but attempted to walk deep into the city, as far away as our tired soles would take us. We stumbled across unknown canals, small gated parks and alleyways strung up with laundry lines, where dozens of garments were left out to be air dried. As we moved away from the tourist hub of Piazza San Marco, the locals seemed to come out in droves, we saw kids kicking around soccer balls in the dirt and old women leaning out their shuttered windowsills, chattering away to their neighbors in rapid Italian. As we found our way back to the city center, dusk was settling in and there we saw a new side of Venice. All the lampposts came to life, and the lights that run the length of the piazza created a dazzling light that accented the stars. My friends and I ate at an outdoor bistro, drank wine, and spent the rest of our evening dancing across the piazza, laughing and singing together.

Windsor, England (June 2004)

Windsor is famous it's castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world, where Queen Elizabeth II spends many a weekend. It's a quick train ride out of London, and a breath of fresh air from the bustle of the city. While the castle is off limits to visitors, pedestrians can stroll around the perimeter, taking in the hourly changing of the guard ceremony and a few information museums about the castle and its function and purpose. Despite the grandeur and impressive size of the castle, my sister and I found the town of Windsor to be much more entertaining and enjoyable. The streets are quiet, cozy, and idyllic, reminiscent of a storybook. Antique century-old storefronts host a plethora of shoppes; selling everything from meats and fresh cheeses to baubles and souvenirs. There are tourist-pleaser's as well; women dressed in traditional English garments and bonnets stroll the streets carrying baskets of flowers, requesting a few quid in exchange for a picture. My sister and I stumbled upon a "crooked tea house," a tea and crumpet shop that was built to appear off kilter, complete with furniture and accessories that tilted slightly to the right. We also happened upon a new restaurant that was debuting its menu for review. We were seated and told to draw a number out of a hat, upon which they brought us the dishes those numbers corresponded to. Luckily we liked our selections, so we ended up with a free, gourmet lunch only at the cost of our food critiques. Overall Windsor was an relaxing day trip out of London; I wouldn't recommend staying the night as you might find yourself bored without any nightlife or without enough sights to keep you occupied. Either way, it is definitely a worthwhile jaunt into the country.

Rome, Italy (second trip, June 2005)

Navigating Rome is like navigating a jungle. Narrow alleyways twist and turn, opening into oval piazzas, from which pathways stretch beyond like fingers into the depths of the city. Rome is chaotic but enchanting. Where else can you find Greek and Etruscan ruins preserved in the midst of the city? In addition - the food is amazing; delectable pizzas, pasta carbonara, and mouthwatering gelato, everywhere you look, if ever the hint of hunger should succumb you. My friends and I tried to check out the best of what Rome had to offer, energized by frequent espresso breaks. At the Trevi Fountain, we cast our wishes by tossing a penny backward over our left shoulder into the massive, tiered fountain. We perused the Forum, walking amidst remnants of columns and buildings that still hold the glory of ancient Rome. Fragments of statues dot the forum, saturated with symbolism and legendary stories (you must take a tour, otherwise you will not know what you are looking at). Later we dared to put a hand a inside the Bocca della Verita, "the mouth of truth," at the Church of Santa Maria is Cosmedin, made famous by Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Legend has it that Romans took their spouses here to test their fidelity, the truth tellers were spared, but the all-knowing river god would bite off the hand of those who had sinned. Afterward, we continued past the Spanish steps, through the Pantheon, across Piazza di San Pietro - leading up to awe inspiring wonder that is Saint Peter's Basilica. Since we were in Rome in June, shortly after Pope John Paul II's death in March, we were able to view his tomb in the basilica's crypt. Four days in Rome is not nearly enough to cover all that the city holds - but you must see and tour the Vatican and the Coliseum. Walk through the Arch of Constantine where Roman soldiers would march through after returning to the city victorious after battle. Take note of the monstrous cobblestones that are marked by deep cuts in the rock, a memento from the days of chariots (truly!). Rome's chaos is perhaps overwhelming in the midst of your journey, but it is an experience that will award you many memorable moments. I still think back to the memory of a perfect baguette, a cat sunning itself in an open window, a local family strolling and socializing through the piazza under the setting sun.

Heidelberg, Germany (June 2005)

With its baroque charm, and views of the River Necktar, Heidelberg is a charming German town off the Romantic Road. We rolled into Heidelberg and camped out at a family run B&B, just off the main pedestrian thorough-fare. The town's most notable site is the Heidelberger Schloss (the castle atop the hill). And with a city center, Heidelberg is easily accessible by foot, with plenty to explore. We toured the city with a German native, who gave us the inside scoop on University history. Turns out that the Universität Heidelberg used to have a "student jail," for student's who disobeyed curfew and essentially broke the rules. Over the years, this jail burgeoned to house many, many "delinquents" and became a popular fraternity of sorts, as everyone wanted to do wrong to get into the jail. We were lead through the student jail which is covered wall to wall with murals, signatures, and autographs from those students who were considered too disobedient to live without supervision. Eventually the jail was disbanded, but the gates and murals remain - a nostalgic testimony to some of the first students who identified college life with more than just academics. Also in Heidelberg, in addition to narrow streets and picturesque houses we found legal absinthe and hookah bars, definitely a college town!

Civita de Bagnoregio, Italy (July 2004)

I had heard about this obscure Umbrian hilltown, Civita through my university's study abroad program. Unfortunately the program had been retired a year before I was eligible, but I was determined to seek out this little off-the-beaten-path corner of Italy. My sister and I based ourselves in Orvieto, and went through a challenging ordeal to find Civita. We asked many a local on how to find this seemingly mysterious town. After many blank looks and shrugged shoulders we got some sort of answer in broken Italian. Following this stranger's advice, we uncertainly boarded a bus to Bagnoregio, supposedly nearby. We were two of three people on this enormous blue bus, and definitely the only ones who spoke English. With a hope and a prayer, we stayed on board for about an hour, driving through gorgeous rolling hills of vineyards and fields of sunflowers. Once off the bus we followed handwritten signs toward Civita. One sign read "Il Paese Che Muore," which we later found out to mean "the dying village," referring to Civita's dwindling population of 15 year-round residents. We followed these signs through Bagnoregio's dusty streets until we came upon a fantastic clearing - and there it was! The plateau of Civita rises above a sweeping valley. The town is charmingly medieval in every way, its only connection to the modern world is accessibility to Bagnoregio via a steel footbridge. Standing on the bluff overlooking Civita was both exciting and exhilarating. Once across the footbridge, it was like stepping back in time. Almost all of the architecture is carved from the stony earth. The sleepy town was almost completely deserted, even at midday on a warm, summer afternoon. Everything about Civita hearkened back to medieval primitivism, one church, one B&B, one tiny cafe. There seemed to be amazing views from every vantage point, of the valley below and beyond. Civita seemed like a pocket of Italy that had defied modernity, everything about the town felt so untouched, It was truly rewarding - not only to finally find it after all that, but I felt like we got to experience Italy the way Italy was meant to be seen. Finding this corner of the Umbrian countryside definitely satisfied our appetites for discovery.

Versailles, France (second trip, July 2005)

Extravagant is the word that comes to mind when describing Versailles. The palace, the decor, the gardens, every part of the estate was built with Louis XIV's mindset of wanting to be bigger and better than anyone had ever imagined. Keep in mind when visiting that the palace is closed on Tuesdays, I experienced this the hard way on my first visit. While the Hall of Mirrors is fantastically decadent and dripping with gold trimmings, the crowds are huge and undesirable. My friends and I grew so claustrophobic from the swarms of people at midday that we rushed through the palace tour and spent the majority of our time exploring the gardens. The gardens are HUGE and stretch as far as the eye can see. Everything is clearly organized into a grid of rose gardens, statues, and fountains. Directly down the steps from the Palace of Versailles is a huge pond where you can rent rowboats by the hour and cruise around Louis's private lake. Kind of a leisurely, lazy way to spend an afternoon - which is exactly what we did. We rented a row boat and cruised around, half rowing, half sunning and talking, with the occasional paddle splash to each other and our neighboring boats. It was really fun afternoon just relaxing, taking a little time out from go-go-go travel to just enjoy the spectacular scenery and great company.

Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 2005)

Amsterdam has got a little bit of everything to offer its visitors. A little bit of culture; Van Gogh's masterpieces, more canals than Venice. And a little bit of the latter; "coffee shops," oozing with recreational drugs, colorful sex and condom shops. Red Light District display windows where women of every shape and size lean against the glass in their lingerie, saucily enticing the next customer.
Amsterdam is also home to a literary martyr Anne Frank. The three story "Anne Frank Huis," located on the Prinsengracht canal, houses the original hidden rooms where Anne Frank and her family and four others hid from Nazi persecution. Visitors can explore the Achterhuis ("secret annex" in Dutch) where Frank and her family camped out for almost 2 years without surfacing. The Achterhuis was located above a packing warehouse storefront - that stayed in business throughout the Frank's hiding. It is a humbling experience to view the small space where the family lived, sometimes in silence as to avoid being discovered. When walking through, you notice that while most of the original furniture was removed when soldiers raided the house, the wallpaper and papers tacked on the wall have been preserved behind a layer of plexiglass. Anne Frank's own original diary entires are distributed throughout the Achterhuis, and more artifacts are on display in the museum space adjoining the house. The museum hosts an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank. For anyone that has read this moving diary, I highly recommend visiting Anne Frank's house, it allows those of us who read along with Anne Frank's diary entries to experience her world and struggles with new dimension.