2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 3 - Prague

  Prague has an important history that dates back to the 9th century.  It became a home for Bohemian kings, some of whom sat as emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 14th century, New Town was constructed as an extension of Prague's historic center Old Town, and still exists today.  Later, Prague fell under Habsburg rule, and in 1918, after WWI, it became capital of Czechoslovakia.  The city was virtually unscathed by WWII.  After the fall of The Wall, the city's population surged to almost one and one-quarter million, and became capital of the Czech Republic after the split into two countries 20 years ago.  The West has since discovered Prague, and made it the top tourist city in Central Europe.  This is the scene I encountered Christmas night as my train rolled in from Vienna.

  When it comes to cultural features and spectacular architecture, in my opinion, Prague is almost right there with Vienna, and I will argue offers more in terms of celebrating its history .  My mind is still enthralled with what I've seen the last several days.  Where to start?  Well, I guess Prague Castle overlooking things here is the rock star:

  It is enormous; probably no other ancient castle is larger.  If Prague Castle isn't the feature attraction, then I suppose Charles Bridge, in the foreground would be.  It doesn't look like much until you get a lot closer (below); the statues lining both sides are fantastic!

  Just one example of what I guess are a couple dozen:

  I can't put a number on how many beautiful churches and other historic buildings I viewed.  From what I've learned, the Gothic-style Tyn Church is maybe the big dog:

  Apparently, the Astronomical Clock is famous.  Yawn.  My Munich tour guide said that a major travel publication recently named the Glockenspiel the 2nd-most overrated tourist sight in the world.  In the top spot was this:

  Whatever.  My personal favorite, though, was the Municipal House, a civic building and concert hall.  This is a Googled image of the Art Nouveau wonder:

  Oh, wait this is what I originally saw:

  My camera can't do justice to what my eyes saw.  I turned a bend, then caught myself moments later with my jaw dropped, mouth hanging open.  You just had to be there.  Instead of two days, I wish I had two weeks for all of the fascinating museums.  I would really need that long.  Maybe another year.  Onward to Berlin!

2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 2 - Vienna

  Vienna is the capital of Austria, and with about one and three-quarter million people, its largest city.  Celts (not from Boston) first settled there approximately 2,500 years ago, then Romans some 500 years after.  In time, Vienna became home to the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty, the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire and capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, among other entities.  It is renowned about the globe for its musical and other artistic contributions to the world.  Then I showed up.

  First-class train travel is the way to go!  I didn't have a choice but to purchase it when I bought my rail pass, but I'm glad I did.  4 hours passed by very quickly and comfortably on the way in from Munich.  I picked up some more euros, got my bearings and took a tram to my hostel, and it was a very nice one.  I crashed and woke up to the day before Christmas.  The city was pretty dead, and I chose to walk the Ringstrasse.  It is a 5km circular road surrounding the inner core of the city, something like a beltway, but it has a unique story.  The Ringstrasse was constructed to replace city walls erected during the 13th century.  It is a boulevard, and it was built for show, but there was a practical element to it, too.  Napoleon III of France had shown that wide streets couldn't be effectively barricaded by revolutionaries.  The things you learn...

  As I mentioned, the Ringstrasse was a vanity project.  The idea was to demonstrate the glory of the Habsburg Empire.  For better or worse, they succeeded, big time!  The following photos are of some of the principal structures along the way:

the Vienna State Opera:

Academy of Fine Arts (twice rejected Hitler):

Parliament:

Rathaus (Town Hall):

Burgtheater (Austrian National Theater):

University of Vienna (founded 1365):

Votivkirche (Votive Church):

Weiner Borse (Stock Exchange):

Urania (Observatory):

Österreichische Postsparkasse (Postal Savings Bank):

  There are other palaces and wonderful green spaces.  The city is gorgeous!  Next stop: I go to "Czech" out Prague (insert rim shot) - I'll be here all week, folks!

2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 1 - Munich

  Got up Saturday morning and made my way to the Casa airport with no problem, hit a bit of a snag when the officer at passport control didn't like that I had only a photocopy of my residency renewal, but eventually talked my way through to the C-15 gate.  The screen said that a flight to Amsterdam was to be the next to board.  I grabbed an airline employee who said to disregard.  I was dubious.  When my appointed boarding time passed, I asked another employee what was going on and he said not to worry.  Uh-huh.  A Dutch lady overheard my conversation and informed me that the info on the screen was accurate and that my gate was moved...to A-5!  I ran my tail off and got on in the nick of time.  At least the flight was pleasant.

  I eventually found my way to my hostel, checked in and went in search of dinner.  Shockingly, places serving sausages and beer weren't hard to find.  I went back to room and crashed in bed...for a while, anyway.  You see, I was in a 6-person room; the other 5 beds were taken by a group of young men who came in late night, loud and drunk.  Lovely.  We'll get back to them later.

  On Sunday morning I took a fantastic free walking tour of the city.  How, you ask?  It's actually a pretty interesting concept.   A marketing (not tour) company uses the services of guides who are independent contractors who earn no compensation whatsoever from the company; in fact, the guides must pay the company 2.50 euros per person in the group - they make their money by tips from the tourists.  I ran the numbers in my head - the way I figure, everyone wins big time.  My guy was great!  I walked around the city centre for 3 hours being highly informed and entertained for the duration, and paid a lot less than if I had taken a bus tour.

  A little about Munich...it is the capital of the state of Bavaria, and at about 1.5 million people, the 3rd largest city in Germany, with a documented history back to 1158.  I can't begin to detail here the very lengthy and fascinating history of this city.  But, I will give you a few tidbits that will give you a new perspective on some things you thought you already knew.  I know I was quite surprised at some things I learned.

  3.5M bombs dropped on Munich in WW2 - how did several prominent churches along one stretch and a main road perpendicular to them survive?  Easy - they formed a cross which was used by Allied bombers for navigation.  You've heard of Mad King Ludwig, right?  Yeah, well, he wasn't crazy in the least.  But, he was gay, which was legal for everyone...but the king, who had to produce an heir.  It is most likely that he was the victim of a political assassination.  You should check out the history of his family - what a crew!  You know that Hitler guy?  And the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall on Earth?  They have a very interesting connection that is not widely spoken of.  Hitler re-branded the political party he spoke for as the Nazi party at a meeting there.  I could go on and on forever.  What a time I had!  How about some pics?

  I took this one after paying 1.50 euros for the privilege of climbing about 300 steps to near the top of Saint Peter's, the oldest church in the city.  The church on the left with the iconic twin towers is Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady), and the one in the foreground is the Neues Rathau (New Town Hall), with its world-famous Glockenspiel.

The Hofbrauhaus:

  The Nationaltheater, the renowned opera house.  You MUST read up on its history; it's one of the most riotously funny stories ever, esp. the fire suppression system that was 2 centuries ahead of its time...and failed (because, um, water freezes in winter).  Check it out

Just a glimpse of one of the famed Christmas markets:

  Apparently, Verona, Italy is a sister city to Munich.  There is a statue there of that Juliet gal, Romeo's squeeze.  If you give her a flower and rub her you'll be the recipient of luck in love.  Verona gave one to Munich.  It seems that people are quite fond of rubbing one particular part of her anatomy...

  Back to those rambunctious boys.  They could not seem to use their access card to enter the room, and didn't think of, oh, I don't know, getting it redone at the desk.  They had to knock and wake me up to let them in.  I plotted my revenge.  I got a small measure of payback in the morning.  At 9:45 a.m. I went to get my stuff from my room so I could check out before 10.  When I walked in, the lads roused a bit and asked if checkout was 10 or 11.  Hee hee hee...

At the train station to ride the rails to Vienna - bye bye, Munich!

Settlin'

Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends
I've been leaving it up to fate
It's my life so it's mine to make...

Easy for Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland to say...I've been back here for 4 months and have taken 10 flights in visiting 5 countries.  I'm flying out in a week so I can take the train through 4 more nations.  And the year is young.  The way I figure, I don't how long I'm gonna be here, so I'm going to take full advantage and see the wonders of the world with my own 2 eyes.  I want to view in person the things that have only ever previously existed on a page or screen.

In the meantime, I continue to live in the midst of the never-ending circus that is the "white city" of Casablanca.  Despite my best efforts, I've yet to get run over.  Yet.  I'm glad I did a double-take on a still-dark Friday morning when a city bus barreled the road with its lights off as I crossed in a pre-dawn stupor on my way to my pick-up point.  The way people drive here is crazy, which also defines how people cross streets seemingly without a care in the world.

I'm also not certain why perfect strangers have absolutely no problem whatsoever asking me to just give them my hard-earned dirhams.  If you want to sit on the street with a hand out, OK.  If you approach me in a reasonable manner, I don't like it but can live with it.  Don't approach me as if you have a right to my money, and certainly do not give me grief and/or follow me when I decline.  I'm not the biggest or baddest, but I stand 6'3" 250.  Why would you voluntarily choose to mess with me?  Guy came r-e-a-l close to getting put to sleep last night, and would've if not for the presence of cops.

I think I have an answer to that question, and it is rooted in the culture.  I already knew such things as that if 2 men are having a very animated conversation, they are not necessarily having a heated argument.  I've seen a couple of incidents this year that expand on that concept.  I was at Derb Ghallef (the city block-sized black market) one afternoon when I saw 2 men jaw-jackin' at one another.  I stopped to witness the impending fistfight.  Alas, no such luck.  In the States they'd have been throwin' dukes in a heartbeat.

Very recently, I left a grocery store to see a man whose vehicle had been pulled over by a policeman.  They were along a busy road at rush hour.  What the man was yelling I have no idea.  What amazed me was the fact that he was doing it literally face-to-face with the officer.  And this was allowed to happen?!  There is not a single cop in the U.S. who wouldn't have, at a minimum, cracked his head open like a ripe melon when the guy got within reach.  He would very possibly kill him.  Guess the rules are different here.  Still amazes me, though.

I bet the guy wouldn't mess with Marines!  And that's who I was with last night.  Well, I was with colleagues at the Marine House, where the aforementioned (Men's) Dept. of the Navy personnel who work at the consulate live.  They were good enough to host a Happy Hour for us expats.  Tons of fun.  Been eating out way too much.  Sushi last night, Chinese last week, etc.  Too easy to do here.  City living isn't quite my cup of tea, but it has its advantages, I suppose.  My guy at the hanoot is cool.  The kid at the KFC is determined to teach me a new French word when I come in.  The parking guy on my block seems decent.  Almost takes my mind off of the 2 bodies I came upon at the Piss Corner a week ago.  I have to assume that contributed to someone's decision to just have that corner painted.

Ah, the fun never ends here.  The are few certainties in life.  Death, taxes and Casa cabbies will try to cheat you.  I wish I knew what the future held for me.  I used to, until I didn't.  But I do know I'm going to accept an offer to return here next year.  Heaven help me...

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain't enough this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything...