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.

I want my own castle

Kennedy: Arrived in Salzburg last night. It's cold and rainy here, so we're taking a break from sight-seeing for a bit to catch up on important current events, i.e. hockey playoffs.

Last we left you, we were hanging out in Munich's beer gardens. We also took a day trip to Fussen, where King Ludwig II's famous Neuschwanstein Castle stands. It was the inspiration for Disney World's Fantasyland Castle, and it was easy to see why. It looks like your standard Disney princess castle. It sits among the cliffs of tree-covered hills, with views of three lakes and lots of green countryside. Walking up to it, you venture through a forest which I'm convinced is enchanted. Could have sworn I saw some animated chipmunks talking to each other.

On our last day in Munich, we went to the Deutsches Museum, the world's most-visited science and technology museum. Though we expected busloads of schoolchildren wandering about, it was surprisingly quiet. We got to check out exhibits of old machinery, the first airplanes, bridges, tunnels, glass-blowing, agriculture, film and photography, radio and television, and astronomy in peace. I could feel my mind expanding...

Later, we took a train to Salzburg (that's in Austria, for those who aren't Sound of Music buffs). Had a schnitzel dinner at a tiny local pub and met some very welcoming folks. Though none spoke English, the waitress (as well as several patrons) bid us 'Auf Wiederhesen' as we left.

And now, we wait til the sun comes out so we can check out the Old Town...

Beer halls are way better than the bar

Jordan: We are now in Germany, Munich to be exact. We arrived on May 25, and have spent the last couple days soaking up the German culture. This means we´ve been drinking our share of beer. Apparently the Germans, Bavarians, really do consider beer a food. Our beer-brewery tour guide explained they consider it liquid bread.

So we´ve checked out the city centre area of Munich, including Marienplatz, their famous square, and watched their glockenspiel. I guess it was cool, but I wouldn´t travel to Munich just to see that. The French knight does get his ass kicked by the Bavarian knight though. Hung out briefly in the Englischer Gartens with all the penises and boobs. It is the only remaining place in the city where ordinary people can be nudists. It´s a park and a river and there are naked old men bending over everywhere.

Had a free city tour with Ralph, toured a brewery and beer tasting with Jeff. That tour ended at the Hofbrauhaus, a real Bavarian beer hall. I think it was a relatively quiet night but it was still loud and rowdy and everything you´d expect from a beer hall. We´ve also spent some time in the beer gardens. We capped the night off with a Mas, or one litre beer. We had a dark lager that was 8 per cent alcohol. It was delicious.

Today we saw Dachau, one of the first concentration camps established by Hitler just two months after seizing power in 1933. It was pretty interesting and very crazy. Kennedy did not spend much time in the gas chamber. I have to say it was very uncomfortable to stand in there myself. We´ve eaten sausage, drank beer and that´s most of Munich for ya. Running out of time, going to see Neuschwanstein Castle tomorrow and then head to Salzburg.

Switzerland: like Canada but a little better

Kennedy: Jordan's been Bogarting the blog, and I'm sick of it. Let me tell you about why I want to move to Switzerland.
First, and most important, you can go anywhere and you'll always be able to see snow-capped mountains, clear blue lakes, and green, green grass. It is absolutely beautiful. We have photos that will prove this but, as usual, we are having technical difficulties. Will post as soon as we can.
Second, people are great here. Truly friendly, easy-going people, much like ourselves. As pedestrians, we are appreciating the fact that drivers actually stop for you at crosswalks. Every single time! It's a big change, when you're used to looking both ways at least 8 times before slowly and carefully venturing into the street, as per Naples or pretty much any other city in Italy.
Third, the weather is perfect. Maybe we are lucking out but so far, it's been sunny and warm. Today was actually almost as hot as Italy. In any case, it's better than southwestern Ontario's schizophrenic spring weather.
Fourth, there are limitless options for spending time outdoors. And even if you can't drop loads of cash on extreme sports like sky diving, you can still see a lot of cool stuff on a hike, or spend some time (not a lot though, you rent by the minute) pedal-boating around the lake.
Anyway, I'm sure there are far more reasons to love Switzerland, but being as we've only spent one full day here, that's all I've got for now. Yesterday we arrived in Lucerne, checking in to a very unique hostel just a few minutes from the water. We walked around our area for a while, then found an English version of Angels and Demons playing at the local theatre. We finally got to see Tom Hanks running like a madman through Rome. It was cool. More than once we pointed at the screen saying things like, "We were there!" "I remember that!" and "Hey everybody, Bernini designed that fountain."
We woke up early this morning and set off in search of a good hike. We sure found one. We climbed Mt. Pilatus, all 2,400 metres of it. No, I'm just kidding. We weren't allowed. We climbed to Frakmuntegg, a respectable 1,440 m up the mountain. It was impossibly hard at times, more so for me than Jordan. I guess I'll have to kick it into high gear in spinning when I get home. Jo, get ready!
It took us about 2.5 hours to reach the top, which included a half-hour stop for a quick bite to eat and some picture-taking. The views from the top were breathtaking, with Mt. Pilatus' peak towering over us at one side, a valley and more mountains to another, and the town of Lucerne below us. It was crazy! After hanging out for a bit listening to some traditional Swiss alpine horns, we took a cable car down to the bottom. I was petrified. As we climbed up, they looked really scary... but as it turns out, they're harmless. Just another way to enjoy the picturesque mountain-scapes.
Off to Mr. Pickwick's for some pub grub with my Canadian roommates. Stay classy.
P.S. Birthday shout-outs to my home girls Emily and Cathy! (Bday season is in full swing now). I've raised several pints to you both in the past few days. :)