In Scotland: the land of the Mann clan

Kennedy: I just read Jordan's last post and want to clarify that I really liked London, even though it was pricey. He was a bit of a Debbie Downer. London reminded me of an older version of Toronto, with a cooler accent. Really vibrant, multicultural city with tons to do and lots of delicious international cuisine - Jordan finally got to try Thai food!
I'm also loving getting to experience a lot of the 16th century history I've read so much about, thanks to Joanna letting me borrow her entire Philippa Gregory collection! (Sidenote: I'm reading The Other Queen right now, fitting as I'm in Edinburgh and heading to Mary Queen of Scot's Holyrood Palace later today).
Our last day in London was gorgeous: hot and sunny. We spent most of the day in Hyde Park, with a quick jaunt into Harrod's, the most expensive shopping mall I've ever set foot in. No souvenir purchases there, sorry kids! Later we hit up an English pub for some fish and chips and London ale, served at room temp.
Now we're in Edinburgh, which is everything I've ever expected from Scotland. Absolutely beautiful. Our hostel is located outside the city centre, on a hill right on the Firth of Forth. Next to a golf course, naturally. We walked to tiny little Cramond Island when the tide was out; in the 1800s it was a vacation spot, and in WWII it was occupied by soldiers on the look-out for attacks from the sea. The remnants of the forts still remain. Lots of sea creatures as well; apparently you can see bottle-nosed dolphins but I sadly didn't spot any.
Yesterday we took another - you guessed it - free walking tour of the Old Town. Our guide was a Nova Scotian! We finally came across a Maritimer. We saw the important stuff: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile (also known as Tourist Trap Central), the cemetery where Bloody Mackenzie's poltergeist hangs out, the sites of witch burnings, the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, the school that inspired Hogwarts, the Princes Street Gardens, and the cathedral where Sir Sean Connery was knighted. Lots of random stuff. Also heard stories about William Wallace, the Stone of Destiny, Deacon Brodie (the man who inspired the R.L. Stevenson's Jekyll & Hyde), and Burke and Hare, body snatchers from the 1800s. Yeah, Edinburgh has a crazy, fascinating history.
Lots more to do in Edinburgh before heading off to Glasgow to meet our Scottish relatives for the first time!
P.S. You're probably on the edge of your seat, waiting for new photos. Sorry to keep you waiting, but we can't get to any USB ports at the moment. Sit tight, we'll have more up as soon as we can.

This is London

Jordan: We are in London. Everybody-speaks-our-language-and-drives-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road-London. Handing-over-our-dignity-to-pay-for-bare-necessities-like-food-London. It's a nice place if you ignore the price, and though I am grossly overexaggerating, I'm also not too far off.
We arrived about three, or maybe four(five) days ago. Since we've been hitting up the main sites in and around London, with day trips to both Oxford and Bath. Totally didn't see the Roman Baths, as that would require to leave several of our toes for an admission price. Toes that neither of us are willing to give up yet.
What we have done and seen is another free tour, around the neighbourhood of Westminster, witnessing all things royal and getting some of the good stories that surround people in high places. Naturally we saw Buckingham Palace, not all it's cracked up to be, if it's cracked up to be anything. Also where our buddy Charles lives, as well as the original palace, home to Henry VIII and others. Other highlights include Westminster Abbey and the Parliament Buildings, housing the most famous Ben in the world. Not Kenobi, Big Ben, and learned how he, or it, the bell, got its name. We saw the London Eye, of course we're staying at the London Eye hostel. We are not going to take part in that part of London.
The London Eye is another of those activities that demand a virgin sacrifice just to get on. Maybe next time I come to London and am rich I won't mind handing over my dignity to the Queen just to get a look at the roof of her house. But I hear the view kicks ass.
We've also checked out the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, with a bunch of guys wandering around the lawn in medieval costumes. We ate umm, a real full English breakfast one day. It was very tasty and included all the staples of a good breakfast: bacon, sausage, egg, beans, toast and mushrooms. Kennedy didn't touch her mushrooms.
Day trip to Oxford on a Sunday, when all the students were leaving meant nothing was open. Lucky us, pay to go to Oxford and see nothing! Not quite. We got into Magdalen College, where CS Lewis attended and Christ Church Campus, with the Great Hall from the Harry Potter movies. Also went to Moo Moo's for a milkshake. Kennedy got a Snickers bar ground into hers, I had a Cadbury Creme Egg milkshake.
Today went to Bath, skipped the Roman Baths, to spend more time with our old friend Jane Austen, with a bunch of other women, on Gay Street. As you can tell I felt right at home. We love you Jane, say hello to Mr. Darcy for us. We then went to a Vegetarian Pub, just so I could be a little more emasculated. Bath Abbey was next on our list of extraordinary sites in Bath, we went there.
Had a bunch of time to kill before our bus so hung out in a park, it was very cloudy. Cloudy days are sunny days here. But as Kennedy so satisfactorily put it just now, 'But no rain thankfully.'
Totally going to a Movieum tomorrow, we don't care how many limbs we have to give up to get in.
Edinburgh in a couple days.

In Bruges... well, not anymore...

Kennedy: We arrived in London last night, we are now officially on the last leg of the trip. This is depressing.
Our last day in Amsterdam was lovely - checked out some photojournalism at FOAM, drank tall cans and soaked up some sun in Vondelpark while listening to a random guy play Bob Marley, and ate meat croquettes and hamburgers out of a vending machine. Weird, and probably toxic, but very tasty.
Next stop: Bruges, Belgium. Famous for beer and chocolate...my kind of place! Bruges was added to our trip late in the planning stages after we heard it was an awesome party town. Yeah, that wasn't really our experience. Maybe because we were there in the middle of the week? Who knows. Last call at the bars was at 1 a.m., earlier than at the Fish in Clinton. However, we had an even better time the one night we stayed at our hostel's bar and played a few rounds of Kings with our Bruges buddies.
The weather was lovely in Bruges, warm enough for tank tops again. It's quite small but very beautiful. We could walk around the city centre easily, and had seen most of the sights within a few hours of arriving. The main square houses the famed Belmont Tower, which we didn't climb. We opted to visit the Chocolate Museum instead. After learning about cocoa beans and looking at some interesting chocolate art (they had a life-size chocolate statue of Barack Obama), we got to witness a demonstration and taste the final product. Mm mm good.
We also visited the Church of Our Lady, where Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child statue lives. A bit strange to see his work in Belgium; apparently it is one of the very few pieces of his outside of Italy.
Two kind of annoying things about Bruges: the locals don't like tourists and all the stores open and close at random. It made trying to get meals difficult. Especially when the place is open, practically empty, and the owner STILL refuses our business. Jordan and I did not make the 'cut' at a restaurant that sells spaghetti for 3 euros. Thankfully we were good enough for the guys at the fries stand down the street. Random fact: Did you know french fries were actually invented in Belgium? I didn't either. I also didn't know there was a movie called "In Bruges" starring Colin Farrell. A line from the movie: "If I grew up on a farm and was retarded, I might think Bruges is interesting. But I didn't, so I don't." Damn that Colin Farrell. Don't worry Bruges, I'm not too good for you.

We will walk 3 km in a downpour for beer, would you?

Kennedy: Yes, mom, everything is fine, we haven't run into any issues the past week except maybe some pricey internet rates. Having just spent three days in Copenhagen, we ran into a LOT of higher-than-average expenses. We did a lot of walking around (at least you don't have to pay to use your feet), and stumbled across a free museum too, Copenhagen's National Museum. It had lots of interesting artefacts from ancient Danish history, including stolen goods from the Viking era and some really old skeletons. There was also a pretty cool exhibit called Stories from Denmark, which spanned from the 1600s to 2000. Random paraphernalia included a protective child's 'hat' from the 18th century next to a modern-day pink bike helmet; old dollhouses still pimped out with tiny furniture and chandeliers; and a hut from the neighbourhood of Christiania, where, in the 1970s, hippies tried to create their own city within Copenhagen. This neighbourhood still exists today, across the canal. We hear it's lovely but didn't get to see much of it due to the crappy weather.
It rained a lot in Copenhagen, so we did things like climb winding, narrow church spires outside on very slippery steps, and get absolutely drenched while making our way to the Carlsburg Brewery (which is probably the coolest brewery in the world...). On our last day, it was almost sunny out, so we walked up to find the statue of the Little Mermaid... everyone's right, it's totally overrated. Just a little bronze statue, looking sad, sitting on a little rock, being ogled by a crowd of tour groups. Poor Ariel...
Oh yeah, we stayed in our largest dorm room to date, a 24-bedder. It was kind of annoying, but they had put up little dividers throughout so you felt like you were in a 4-bed with a lot of noisy neighbours nearby. Thankfully not the military barracks I'd been picturing. Not the cleanest place out there though, so other backpackers, maybe steer clear of City Public Hostel...
We took our last overnight train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, two nights ago. SO happy I never have to do that again. Human beings are just not meant to sleep sitting up, bumping elbows with people on either side of them.
As soon as we dropped our bags off at our hostel, what did we do? Nap? No. Not us. We headed to Dam Square to meet up with the New Amsterdam Free Tour, and walked around the city for 3 hours, with our (Torontonian!) tour guide Allie. Stops included the Red Light District (yeah we went there - it's just like you all picture it), the Anne Frank House (we can't justify paying the outrageous fee to go inside though), and the Dampkring, one of Amsterdam's finest "coffee shops." People may recognize it as the setting of a particularly psychedelic scene from Ocean's Twelve. The scene where Matt Damon breaks into Kashmir. That's right ladies, I sat in the same seat as George Clooney. Too bad I wasn't sitting on his lap :(
Today we are heading to FOAM, a museum with works from a lot of famous photographers, including Annie Liebowitz. Might also hang out in Vondelpark, if weather cooperates, as it's also still free to sit on grass.
Until next time :)

Berlin has sobered us up?

Jordan: Kennedy has filled you in on the cheapness, or inexpensiveness, of the beer we've been coming across lately. We are now in Berlin, and I am absolutely thrilled to let you all know, the beer keeps getting cheaper. I can't say the beer quite rivals that which we experienced in Munich, maybe not even Prague.

So we arrived in Berlin a couple days ago now. We have spent the last two days enjoying all anyone can about the extermination of Jews and the division of a city for more than 20 years resulting in many a poor soul being shot trying to cross a wall. Maybe some of you heard of the wall that existed in Berlin? Anyways, to fill you in, it was called the Berlin Wall. The Holocaust and the murdering of the city's own citizens, I don't think this needs to be said but Berlin is a riot.

OK so we have found the free tour company, New (name of the city you are in) tours, this one the New Berlin Tour, to be awesome. We enjoyed another free walking tour of Berlin's best sites and learned much of the city's most intimate stories thanks to our tour guide and Berlin expert, a rapping Irishman named Stu. Stu provided us with great insight into things like the Holocaust Memorial, and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, all the while keeping us entertained with such self-composed classics as 'The Berlin Wall Rap,' 'The Berlin Rap,' and 'The Hitler Rap.' Believe me, you haven't experienced the Third Reich until you've heard the Hitler Rap.

So of all the stops we've made so far, Berlin is absolutely the most sobering. In more ways than one since we're trying to save money, and though the beer here is cheap, we've vowed to hold off until Amsterdam, where I'm convinced the price of a pint will double. Everything in Berlin marks either the scars of the Second World War or the Berlin Wall. Berlin has ultimately been completed rebuilt since the bombings of WWII and much of the time after was spent under Soviet control, which wasn't even good for the Soviets.

The sites around Berlin are iconic, from the Brandenburg Gate, to the Victory Column right down the street. We took a trip up the Reichstag, the new Parliament buildings, as there is a glass cupola at the top which gives OK views of the city. I'm leaving most details out from the tour, it should be sufficient for you to know that Stu rapped three times for us. We checked out things like the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's bunker, Bebelplatz (the site of the first book burnings) and lots of other crazy stuff that could only be in a German city. Germany is great.

We checked out the Memorial to the victims of the Berlin Wall today and saw the exhibit Topography of Terrors, about the SS and all the shenanigans Hitler got himself up to for his 12 years of rule. Also went to the Jewish Museum of Berlin and again, quite the sobering experience. Running very short of time. Needless to say the Jews have had a bit of a tough go in Germany. Actually there were a lot of accounts of Jewish people who were murdered at Dachau Concentration Camp, the one we visited near Munich. Just shows how connected so much of Germany is to the Holocaust.

No joke, a pint here is to be had at 1.40 euros during happy hour, what more reason do you need to enjoy Berlin. We head for Copenhagen tomorrow and then Amsterdam. Weather has been cold lately, hope we don't run into snow. Forgive spelling and grammar seriously no time to read through this and still need a title. Take care.

"This little mother has claws"

Kennedy: First and foremost, thanks to all for the birthday wishes! Had a lovely day touring around Vienna, but I think Jordan already filled you in on it.
Have spent the last three days in Prague, an absolutely awesome city. If you ever have the chance to go here, take it! Apart from the cobble-stone streets and stunning architecture, the city's history is overwhelming. It is a tourist's dream.
We spent a good portion of our first day on a walking tour, where we got a crash course in both Prague and Czech history while seeing the sights in the Old Town, New Town ("new" being the 1300s), Jewish Quarter and Mala Strana (Little Quarter). Among those, highlights included Old Town Square, with the towering Our Lady Before Tyn Cathedral, Old Town Hall and the statue of Jan Hus, the Powder Tower, which we later climbed for great panaromic views of the city, the John Lennon Wall, the famous Charles Bridge, and St. James' Basilica, where you can look at the mummified hand of a thief. Yeah, we heard some pretty crazy stories about people in Prague.
The next day, we went to Prague Castle - beautiful to look at but not so interesting on the inside. Maybe it was because we didn't spring for the audio guides, but aside from the gorgeous stained-glass windows in St. Vitus' Cathedral, we didn't get a whole lot out of it. Although the Daliborka Tower was pretty cool. It was a medieval prison, and there were a bunch of old torture devices on display. How would you like to hang out in a "body cage?" Let me assure you, you would not.
We also checked out the Kafka Gallery. I didn't know much about Franz Kafka before this, other than that he was a famous writer. After visiting this museum, I really want to read his books. Has anyone read The Castle?? It sounds really messed up; I'm so looking that up in the library when I get home. Sidenote: Did anyone guess where my blog title came from? If you said Kafka, you are correct! He is said to have made this comment about his beloved city. I think it's pretty accurate.
Today we went to the Jewish Quarter to check out the Cemetery and some of the old synagogues. We got down there and realized it was Saturday, the Sabbath, and it was all closed. So instead we went to the Museum of Communism. Yet another history lesson. From Marx, Lenin and Stalin to Jan Palach, the protests of thousands of Prague citizens through the 60s-80s, and some really crazy propaganda. To see the results of decades of Cold War documented in a few rooms in a museum was pretty overwhelming.
But I run short on time... let's just say, we have a lot more stories to share from Prague. We head to Berlin tomorrow.
p.s. Will post pics soon, promise!

In Austria, looking forward to Prague

Jordan: OK, so just to clear up for everyone, or perhaps just mom, those extra large iced teas we're drinking in the photo of us at the Hofbrauhaus beer hall, just so happen to not be iced teas. We only feel compelled to address this because, mom, we're not sure if you're joking about the whole iced tea thing or not. So just to clear up the murky waters, those iced teas are frothy, eight per cent alcohol, one litre mugs of a little something we like to call DARK LAGER. Very, very tasty.

Now to bring you all up to speed of the goings on in Austria. First we spent a couple days in Salzburg. Needless to say, if you've been there, there isn't a damn thing to do unless you're a Sound of Music fanboy or have a bit of man love for Mozart. Neither Kennedy nor I give two hoots about the Sound of Music, and the only things Mozarty there are his house and birthplace. Have you seen a house before? I thought so. So I'm being a little overly negative here. Salzburg is lovely enough, I guess. We weren't there long, a couple days, and the rain outlasted our own stay.

We thought we'd go up to the top of the hill, as Salzburg is all about the hills, and see the fortress. I knew we had to pay to go in, but I thought we'd be able to check out the grounds for free. I must have forgot, this is a fortress. Nobody gets in or out without paying. We didn't pay. We didn't get in. So we climbed to the top of Salzburg for nothing. But there were some cool views. But that's kinda the thing about Salzburg, everything there plays second fiddle to everything else we've seen. Maybe we're stuck up. Kennedy says "everything else we've seen?" as though she can't believe it. Believe it sister. Check this out, the views from atop the hill, didn't match those of Florence's, the statues aren't as cool as Rome, and Salzburg is a small, beautiful place, but it's got nothing on Luzern.

So in Salzburg we went to Mirabell Gardens, where you guessed it, part of the Sound of Music was shot. We walked right past Mozart's house, and we left Salzburg after crashing the city's soccer team homecoming or something.

On to Vienna. Vienna is a lot like Salzburg only bigger. The cool buildings are bigger, the gardens are bigger, and some of the people are bigger. We checked out the Freud Museum, set up in his Vienna residence/practice. It housed some of the original furniture and was decorated with scores of photos, statuettes, and various other things that littered his office. It was very informative.

Today we roamed through the Schloss Schonbrunn, the royal family's summer palace. It's like a mini, Austrian Versailles. The gardens were enormous and the home to many statues, cool fountains and beautiful flowers. People were also setting up for an orchestral performance of some sort, and one of the rose gardens was cordoned off as a film was being shot.

Other cool sites we took in, in Vienna are the Hofburg Theatre, the Austrian Parliament buildings, which outside of it has a bunch of statues of guys laying knockout punches on their horses, and also the Imperial Palace and St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Going to have a couple drinks for Kennedy's birthday now, and then we're off to Prague in the morning.