84 Days of Summer

This is a 3 month trip across 3/4 of the European continent with travelers spanning 3 generations. Naturally, my family and friends are curious as to how it turned out. Here are a few statistics I have gathered from our trip as a brief summary.

Length of trip: 84 days

What we carried: 3 pairs of pants, 3 short sleeve shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 1 jacket, 1 pair of slippers, 1 pair of walking shoes, 1 umbrella, 4 pairs of underwear. (Items per person). Shampoo bar, 1 bar of soap, iphone, tablet PC, Kids' security blankets, and other toiletries.  

 
Number of hours on airplanes: 27.20 hours

Hong Kong International Airport

Number of hours on trains: 64.20 hours

On a crowded train from Berlin to Prague

Modes of transportation: Airplane, Train, Car, Bus, Tram, Ferry, Raft, Boat, Horse Carriage, Bicycle, Cable Car, Metro/Subway.   

Number of countries visited: 9

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Countries: The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary.

Number of cities/towns visited: 28

Cities/Towns: Amsterdam, Amersfoort, Gouda, Rotterdam, The Hague, Brussels, Brugge, Libin, Leuven, Charleville Meziere, Bastogne, Copenhagen, Odense, Lubeck, Berlin, Prague, Karlstejn, Cesky Krumlov, Vienna (transfer), Bratislava, Kosice, Budapest, Munich (Transfer), Frankfurt (Transfer), Nuremberg, Bamberg, Koblenz, Trier. 

Nuremberg, Germany

Number of Museums visited: 37

Museums Visited By City

Amsterdam: Maritime Museum, Bags and Purses Museum, Rembrandt House, Van Loon Museum.

Rembrandt House

Gouda: Gouda Cheese Museum

Gouda Cheese Museum

Antwerp: Fashion Museum.

Brussels: Auto world, Royal Museum of Fine Art, Margeritte Museum, Musical Instrument Museum, Natural Science Museum, Chocolate Museum.

Musical Instrument Musum

 Brugge: Fries Museum.

Copenhagen: National Museum, Rosenborg Treasury.

Rosenborg Treasury

Odense: H.C. Anderson Museum, Railway Museum.

H.C. Anderson Museum

Berlin: Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, Pergamon Museum, Museum of Technology Berlin, Gemaldgalerie.

Edouard Manet's "Im Wintergarten" at the Alte Nationalgalerie

Cesky Krumlov: Castle museum.

Wenceslas Cellars of the IVth courtyard of the castle

Bratislava: Municipal Museum, Museum of Wine Making.

Municipal Museum

Kosice: East Slovak Museum, Miklus Prison Museum.

Miklus Prison Museum dated from 13th century

Budapest: House of Terror, Transportation Museum

House of Terror

Nuremberg: Toy Museum, Albert Durer House, Museum of Nuremberg Trials.

Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Trials

Bamberg: Cathedral Treasury

The Alte Hofhaltung medieval courtyard

Trier: Karl Marx House

Rotterdam: Maritime Museum.

The beginning of his pirate phase

Number of Castles/Palaces visited: 9

Castles and Palaces: Feudal Castle (La Roche-en-Ardenne),Rosenburg Castle (Copenhagen), Amalienborg (Copenhagen), Prague Castle, Karlstejn Castle (near Prague), Cesky Krumlov Castle, Bratislava Castle, Vajdahunyad Castle (Budapest), Nuremberg Castle, Peace Palace (The Hague).

Feudal Castle (La Roche-en-Ardenne), Belgium

Number of day trips taken: 14

Day trips: Gouda (Netherlands), Amersfoort (Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium), Brugge (Belgium), Bastogne (Belgium), La Roche-en-Ardenne (Belgium),  Leuven (Belgium), Charleville Meziere (France), Odense (Denmark),Travemunde (Germany), Karsteijn (Czech Republic), Bamburg (Germany), Trier (Germany), The Hague (Netherlands). 

Brugge, Belgium

Note worthy attractions: Amersfoort Zoo, Tivoli Garden (Copenhagen), Koblenz (Ehrenbreitstein) Fortress, Singing Fountain (Kosice), Nyhavn (Copenhagen), Legoland Discovery Center (Berlin), Fisherman's Bastion (Budapest),Labyrinth of Buda Castle (Budapest),

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, Koblenz, Germany

Note worthy religious institutions: Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (Brussels), Strahov Monastery (Prague), St. Vitus Cathedral (Prague), St. Elizabeth's/Blue Church (Bratislava), Franciscan Church (Bratislava), Cathedral of St. Elizabeth (Kosice), Basilica of Constantine (Trier), The Dom (Trier).

Library of the Strahov Monastery in Prague

Note worthy architecture: Antwerp Train Station, Dancing House (Prague)

Dancing House (Prague)

Shopping: Strøget (Copenhagen), Turkish Market (Berlin), Haschermarkt (Berlin), Vaci Utca (Budapest), Central Market Hall (Budapest).

Strøget: The longest pedestrian shopping street in the world!

If I must choose...

Child friendly day trips:  Amersfoort (Netherlands) and Travemunde (Germany).

Dinosaur forest in Amersfoort Zoo

Travemunde beach

Favorite cities with kids: Amsterdam for it's many playgrounds, parks and eclectic museums. The lay back atmosphere is perfect when traveling with kids. Brussels for the food and children friendly museums. Belgian specialties: fries, chocolate, and waffles are all big hits with kids. Museums like Auto world, Musical Instrument Museum and Chocolate museum is a great way to introduce children to museum culture.  

A whimsical character on the canal

Chocolate Museum Brussels

Favorite museums with kids:  National Museum Copenhagen and Museum of Technology Berlin. The National Museum of Copenhagen with vast collections of viking culture and Danish heritage. Free entrance for all with a Junior museum located on the first floor. The Museum of Technology Berlin is a museum complex that features collections of aviation, railway, telecommunications, automobiles, textile, navigation, power engineering, etc. There is even a historical brewery and outdoor picnic space.
  

National Museum Copenhagen

Technology museum Berlin

Most scenic train ride: Koblenz - Trier. Castles sitting on hilltops and vineyards covered hills along the Rhine.

Please excuse the shadow of my creepy hand in this beautiful scene

Most eventful train ride: Copenhagen - Lubeck. The entire train goes onto a Ferry that takes it from Rodby (Denmark) to Puttgarden (Germany)

Preparing the train for the ferry

Most memorable religious institution visited: The Cathedral of St. Peter (Trier). This impressive Romanesque structure sits above the former palace of Roman emperor Constantine the Great. It is also where the Holy Robe, one of the most significant relics of Christendom is kept.
   

Favorite off the beaten path destination: Kosice is the most eastern city of the European Union. Voted as European Capital of Culture for 2013, it is a city full of promise. It is worth sitting through a 5 hour train ride, cutting across Slovakia for. Must visit before this hidden gem is discovered by mass tourism. 

The Singing Fountain

Favorite castle: Cesky Krumlov Castle. Just opened to tourists in 2011, this castle offer great panoramic views of the city and unique exhibits.

Memorable meals: Pork knuckle in Cesky Krumlov and open face sandwiches in Copenhagen.

Krcma v Satlavske

Best sandwiches ever! It tastes a lot better than it looks!

Surprise encounters:

I've seen flash mobs in movies but this is the first real encounter (Brussels)

Rodin's "Thinking Man". It's smaller than I thought.

Chanting monks on the streets of Bratislava

We live in an age of contrasts

Mind baffling moment: Learning to use the coin op washing machines in Copenhagen.

It really was harder than it looks

Cities I would love to visit again: Berlin and Trier. Berlin for its festive mood for every season, to see the rest of the hundreds of museums of anything and everything, and its boho chic neighborhoods. It is also the most affordable city to visit in all of western Europe. Trier for its fascinating history as the oldest city in Germany, founded by Augustus in 15 B.C.. There also stands some of the best preserved Roman architecture in all of Europe. 

A second hand book store in the boho chic neighborhood of Kreuzburg

Trier's main market square, in use since 882 A.D.

Cities I probably won't be visiting again: Prague and Budapest. Once the hidden gem of eastern Europe, these cities are now over populated by tourists and prices has also been inflated as a result. It has lost some of it's authenticity and character. For those who would like to avoid the problems caused by mass tourism, I strongly encourage going in the winter months where crowds are thinner and hotel prices are more reasonable. Warning: Hungarian winters are unbearably cold.

Charles Bridge

On top of St. Stephen's Basilica

Beautiful sunsets: Prague, Budapest, Copenhagen.

Hungarian Parliament

Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest

Copenhagen

Little Mermaid, Copenhagen

Charles Bridge Prague

Well, this pretty much summarized our 84 days of summer. I was a little sad when it came to an end, but there were also plenty to look forward to once we're home. This will not be the only post of our amazing trip. I will try my best to upload more info about the places we've visited and things we've done. 

Slovakia: The Road Taken

The plan to go to Slovakia formulated over a memory of my recitation of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" in 7th grade literature class:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

The choice was between Vienna and Bratislava. Vienna I have already been twice. Where as Bratislava...only impressions of a very vague mention from the movie "Eurotrip". There were moments when I found myself sitting on the train thinking: "Couldn't I have gone to Vienna again instead? Bratislava? What am I going to do there?" But regardless, I'm still going. I just had to. Hate to use cliches when I write, but this one is especially appropriate. Curiosity kills the cat. Others have told me that there is nothing to see there. Nothing interesting compared to the rest of Europe. It might or might not be true but I had to find out for myself. I just had to. And I did... 

Bratislava
Bratislava is no Vienna. Although separated only by 60km, it might as well be a world away. While Vienna's inner city is lined with high end retail shops and its palaces exude the air of grandeur, Bratislava is anything but that. Bratislava is humble, practical, buoyant, and taciturn. It has a sense of authenticity that makes Prague feel staged. It has an atmosphere of a forgotten city that relishes in being forgotten. One would need an artist's eye for color and a hunter's sharp instinct for game to fully appreciate this city in a way it deserves. This city makes the perfect playground for a scavenger hunt. Look for a blue church, the remains of an eighth century saint, 5 Euro buffets, etc...Travel guides are good references to navigating this city but by no means is it a reliable source for putting a grade or rating on the sights of the city. That, one must do with the heart. Each place leaves a different impression on a person's heart. Furthermore, the surprise of exceeding or falling below expectations when seeing the sights for the first time is the real fun in exploring the city. But unlike a scavenger hunt, one must throw all logic and planning out the window and just let the heart sing its song. 

Kosice
Walking onto Kosice's main street must be how Alice feels upon entering wonderland. At dusk, the sky is a royal blue dotted by cotton candy pink clouds. One can easily get lost in time listening to the sounds of water splashing from the singing fountain and taking in the overwhelmingly intricate detail of the gargantuan St. Elizabeth Cathedral on the main square. Even at the height of summer, there are no traces of tour groups or loud, obnoxious howls of stag parties. Sitting at the bottom of the Tatra mountains, Kosice is like a graceful maiden cradled on the arms of a doting mighty warrior. It's innocence and beauty protected and cherished. It is also like the Garden of Eden partly surrounded and hidden by communist building blocks. The true beauty of Kosice however, lies in its simplicity. There are no signs of tacky gimmicks or desperation to lure tourists. Grab a seat in one of the many outdoor cafes and restaurants and watch as the flow of people going about their lives.  A woman taking her baby out for a stroll after dinner, an old time communist movie playing in an outdoor movie theater, kids carousing and laughing by the singing fountain, friends having a lively conversation over a glass of wine... Observe and witness the joy derived from these simple activities spread like a wild fire, setting warmth to all those in proximity. Feel the joy of simplicity that is extinct in big cities. Lastly, breathe in the evening breeze and take in the traces of musty and earthy undertones from centuries old architecture; emanating its age through the wind. Live in the moment. Take it all in, because who knows how long a treasure like this can stay hidden.  

My heart is racing as I pound away on my keyboard, scrutinizing over every word I have to describe these two cities. My words just don't seem to do justice to the triumph I have felt after exploring these hidden gems. I chuckle a little thinking back that I have defied all logic in coming to Slovakia; but to think that I almost didn't makes my heart ache. Finally, I would like to end this off the beaten path adventure with this afterthought:  

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.   
 

The Day Started With a Bang

Dawn appeared as a sliver of light sliced through the curtains. It was quiet inside the train as passengers have not yet woken from their slumber. The rhythmic whistling and clanking of the train provided a stable, soothing lullaby. I stirred as I heard creaking and swishing from the bunk above me. Suddenly there was a big thud followed by another bang against the cabin door. I jerked up suddenly from fright and scanned the cabin. Sitting on the floor is my mother-in-law staring wide eyed from her unexpected tumble. Getting out of bed as soon as my mind can register what had happened, I went to help her stand up. It turns out the ladder between the bunk bed had came off while she was trying to climb down. Fortunately, the ladder had not detach from the rail until she was nearly inches from the floor and she was not hurt. As soon as I breathed a sigh of relieve, I felt a dull ache on the side of my head every time I blinked. when I saw the ladder lying next to my bed I realized that the steel ladder had hit my head on its way down. It's just my luck that a heavy steel object should fall out of nowhere and bonk me on the head while I was sound asleep. I chuckled at my own "unluckiness" while my mother-in-law looked at me with concern; wondering how hard the ladder had made its landing on my head. I assured her I was fine. For those who know me may recall: while clumsy is my middle name, jinx should really be my first, as I always have a way to jinx myself into unfortunate situations.

The day went on as planned; no more accidents or falling objects. Just the banalities of arriving in any new city: settling into a new apartment, unpacking the few items I carried. After the kids had settled down for their afternoon naps I went out for groceries. Stepping outside in a strange city alone  for the first time after saying good bye to a city and a family who I came to love and feel attached to is no easy feat. Although I have arrived to a warm and sunny day in Copenhagen, there was a chill that seemed to follow me at every turn. The streets were full of activities and pedestrians, yet I felt like a falling leaf in autumn, floating aimlessly in the wind.

The grocery store feels more foreign to me than I thought it would. After nearly a month of reading (or trying to read) labels in Dutch and French, seeing Danish on everything somehow caught me off guard. I began sobbing softly at first while still struggling to figure out whether the carton I was holding in my hand was indeed milk. Suddenly all reason and sanity eluded me. I burst into tears in the dairy isle, unaware and uncaring who would see me. A concerned store clerk came over to check on me.
"Can I help you?" The store clerk asked while afraid of getting too close to me.
"I...I..don't know..what...this...says!" I managed to let out in between sobs and pointed at the carton I was holding in my hand.
"Sorry? I don't understand." The store clerk said meekly as if careful not to provoke me further.
At my own incapability of further communication, I sat on the floor and cried my heart out, all the while mumbling:
"Je veux du chocolat! Beaucoup de chocolat!"
why in French? I have no clue! I don't even speak French! Why I asked for chocolate? No clue about that either!
Sensing defeat, the store clerk quietly slipped away to leave me to wallow and sulk at my own pity. Some minutes later I walked myself out of the grocery store still sobbing and pouting. At a lost of where to go or what to do, I sat on a side walk like a wondering gypsy and watched cars go by.

For some of you who do not know me personally may think that I am either an amateur traveler or plain crazy. But I'm neither. In fact, I'm quite a seasoned traveler. I have encountered the bombing in London some years ago, countless bomb threats, floods, shootings, and even interrogation by the military junta (in a country that shall remain unnamed). But never have I had a melt down of this scale anytime in my 30 years of life.

I waited until my sobbing became more and more infrequent. I dried my tears and smoothed my hair. I looked back at the grocery store defiantly as I remembered a Chinese maxim: get up from where you have fallen. I took a deep breath and gathered up all the strength and courage I had in me, then walked back into the store and went about my shopping with not a care in the world how long it took for me to decipher the labels. Nor did I avoid the same store clerk that tried to help me earlier. Instead I walked past her and whispered "thank you".

On the way home, holding a bag of groceries in hand I smiled out of content for the first time since leaving Belgium, finally feeling the warmth of the Scandinavian sun slowly coursing through my body.