This e-mail is the fourth mailing of 2 year's worth of monthly mailings.
Sorry about the length, but more than one month racing around 25 European cities gave me a lot to say.

Essentially, since Spain, I have done somewhat of a mad dash around Europe. I stayed in Madrid for a total of 3 weeks, but that was the last city I really relaxed in.  Since then I have BLAZED through 25 European cities and towns in probably only 40 days!  Some towns received only an hour of my attention (like Montreux, Switzerland), while Berlin demanded a week.  All in all, I felt way too rushed, but really only had a fixed amount of time and money I could afford to spend and I really wanted to see all these places.

My replacement Eurail pass, which had been stolen in Madrid, still hadn't arrived after 3 weeks.  They claimed it was stuck in customs in Barcelona.  So I decided to go to Barcelona to look into this problem.  "The Fellowship" had long gone, but the French girl, Stephanie, whose wallet had been pick-pocketed, was still there, so we hung out for my last week.  The day before I had decided to go to Barcelona, Victor, the crazy Mexican exchange student, showed up in the kitchen.  He, too, had decided to check out Barcelona, so the next morning we were off to new surroundings.

Ah Barcelona!  This is THE tourist destination in Spain, and rightly so.  This city is packed with sights, sounds, history, and old-town charm.  We showed up and quickly met some Canadian girls who we followed to a hostel.  The hostel was right on La Ramblas and had a cool nightclub feel on the first floor, so I didn't mind that I had to barter for my room rates.  However, this was the most infuriating hostel I'd stayed at.  They charged for everything from sheets, to blankets, to a plastic cup.  I suspect the employees were not paid, and were told to make their money by surcharging guests for everything.  This may sound unlikely, but things are just different there.  I was spared the sewage smell emanating from the bathroom, but those sleeping anywhere near found it unbearable.  Upstairs in our unlocked room (permanently broken door) we discovered about 30 British blokes celebrating a stag party (bachelor party).  These guys were very well trashed, and livened things up by throwing bottles around and breaking a window.  Victor and I passed on their invite to a strip club, and went in search of another hostel for the following nights.

Another Canadian I met in Madrid, Kristin, was staying at a great hostel, so we went to say hi and check the place out.  It was settled that we'd switch hostels the next day.  Back at the crap hostel we met some Oregon college students who'd been studying in Germany for the semester.  They were cool, and when we bumped into them twice on the streets of Barcelona the next day, we knew it was a sign.  They also switched hostels, and though we got bounced around to a 3rd hostel, there were the Oregonians!  So obviously we had to start hanging out.  Molly, Kelly, Nick, and Matt appreciated the same kind of cheap travel, and good times that Victor and I do, so our first priority was anything FREE.  Consequently, there was much walking, beach lounging, and park visiting.  We made an exception on Kelly's birthday when we found an excellent, but incredibly cheap, restaurant in the main square.  After 3 or 4 courses, and plenty of beer and wine, we made the somewhat drunk decision to get a bottle of wine EACH, and wander the back streets of the Gothic area.  Well, as it goes, one drink turned into 3 or 4, and the last we saw of Victor, he was wandering past the eternal flame yelling something (or was that one of the crazy Italians?).  At any rate, we made it back to the hostel that night, and went to bed after misguidedly thinking it was a good idea to throw all our empties onto an apartment balcony across from ours.  The inhabitant was kind enough to correct this "cultural" misunderstanding.  Victor finally made it home 3 hours later (did I mention his poor sense of direction) swearing he'd never do that again.

Kelly's birthday dinner - Kelly, me, Matt, Nick, and Victor

Nick, Kelly, and Molly flew back to Germany the next day and Matt, Victor, and I lounged at the beach for a day.  The day previous, I had spent about 6 hours trying to get to the bottom of where my Eurail pass was.  It never happened, so I decided to continue my journey without a pass.  Ryan Air is famous for giving away airfare, so I scored a last minute flight from Barcelona to Venice for 19 Euros!

As it happens, my family had planned a short trip to Italy.  I met up with them in Venice, and my dad extended his stay so we could travel around Italy together.  Venice became my favorite European city in 2001, when I first visited.  If you haven't been, I would recommend this city above any other I've been to in Europe.  The canal-lined streets and ornate bridges duck in and out of alleys like a Dali painting.  You'd never believe the size of some of the streets - some less than a meter wide!  The water is always lapping, and the negative press you might have heard about the supposed smell is probably just to discourage more tourists, because I haven't smelled anything either time I've been there.  The crowds exist, but are easy to get away from outside the major squares.  There is no other city like it, and I can't recommend it enough, but like true art, I feel inadequately poetic to do justice to Venice in words.  It should be seen.  Ironically, my pictures have been destroyed both times I've been to Venice, so I have no first-hand proof of its beauty.

From Venice, my dad and I continued alone to Florence.  My feelings about Florence are that it's the worst kind of tourist trap.  I find myself heading for the hills (literally) every time I arrive.  The museums are unsurpassed in Italy for sculpture in particular, but even then, the 3-hour lines make it a dreadful job to see more than one museum per day (of course guidebooks like Rick Steves offer tricks to minimize lines, but the tricks themselves are as tedious as The Da Vinci Code to unravel).  All in all, the "must see" museums only need to be seen once.  And having accomplished that on my first visit in 2001, I bypassed Florence and relaxed in the flowering hills north and south of the town centre.  A whole day was spent up in Fiesole, admiring the view of Firenze (Florence) from the warmth of the guest house we were at.  I felt like a character right out of Under the Tuscan Sun, sitting at the top of my "Etruscan wall" sipping grappa, and eyeing the plump olives in the orchard... well, actually there was no wall, I never got to try grappa, and it wasn't olive season.  But I still saw the similarity to Mayes' Tuscan story.

The house of Shakespeare's Juliet in Verona smattered with thousands of love notes

For the following 2 weeks, we drove around Tuscany, Umbria, and Tirolia exploring and relaxing in the smaller towns the regions have to offer.  It was especially nice to have a car, and not be slave to train schedules (or stolen tickets!), and simply go where we pleased.  See the pictures here.  At the end of our time together, my dad caught his flight from Munchen (Munich), Germany, and I continued on my own.

The first thing I did in Munchen was meet up with Marc (from "the Fellowship"), who lives there.  We had a great time, and the usual fantastic conversations.  I only stayed with him for 1 night, but I was able to see some completely new parts of Munchen I hadn't seen on my previous trip.  He cooked up a delicious Munchen specialty dinner of traditional sausages and we toasted to travel.  The next morning it was yet more sausage - this time traditional white sausage and mustard, served with a pretzel and beer.  "Always between 11AM and 1PM," I learned.  He headed off to his class, and I caught my train to Salzberg, Austria.

I arrived in Salzberg an hour after leaving Munchen.  Salzberg is a very small town.  The reason we know of it at all, in fact, is due to pop culture.  This small town is both the childhood home of Mozart, and the backdrop for the well known true story and Hollywood musical, The Sound of Music.  The Von Trapp family came from Salzburg and have been known to us all since Maria sang from the mountain tops.  Both these musical icons are exploited to their fullest in Salzburg, but it's still just a small cliff-side town at heart.  The people are very "small town" and uber-friendly, and there's tons of old-town charm and walking to be done.  The sightseeing is primarily Mozart or S.O.M. inspired, but there are some salt mines, a magnificent castle, and other attractions to choose from.  See the pictures here.  I stayed for 2 nights, and it was a nice relaxing place to roam around before heading to the capital, Wien (Vienna).

Public gardens in Salzberg world known from The Sound of Music

I was told to save my time and energy for Wien, so I had allotted 3 days for the formidable city.  I quickly made some hostel friends, and had the usual great conversations.  I tried very hard to see a symphony or musical performance of some sort, but the only shows available were far too expensive (understandably, as this is home to the best orchestras in the world).  Ironically, after wandering and being turned away from several shows including the free Vienna Boys Choir, I stumbled into a rock concert rehearsal at the city hall.  So, despite never seeing a classical show in Wien, I wasn't entirely disappointed.  The city is extremely livable with all its shopping, and availability of real amenities.  Outside the old city, the tall buildings house shopping plazas, and the pedestrian plazas are packed with restaurants and clubs.  The only thing a visitor should be prepared for is the uncanny sense of fashion everyone has.  This city is filled with some of the most beautiful, fashionable women in Europe (second only to Tallinn), so bring something nice to wear!  See pictures here.

I left Wien and headed for Budapest in the new EU member, Hungary. Unfortunately, I was coming down with a flu that I caught from someone in the Wien hostel. By the time I arrived in Budapest I only had the energy to walk to my hostel and fall into bed. But when I got to the hostel, they said they were full. They offered a place nearby, but I had read about a hostel in a castle at the top of a huge hill. It sounded interesting so I set out to climb the hill. In retrospect I was probably too sick to be climbing such a steep hill for the next hour. By the time I got to this "hostel" I didn't care that it was in fact a sleazy motel with no heating and loud rats in the walls. They had a crap room packed with sagging, stained, lumpy mattresses. Needless to say, I was the only one there that night. Not a high point of my travels thus far.

The next morning I headed out to explore the town (still feeling quite sick). Budapest is actually 2 cities split by the Danube river. The older town, Buda, is home to the castle and walled town that has been there since the 13th century. Pest is the huge newer city on the other side of the river, and is comparable to Manhattan. Budapest is still very dirty, and poor, since the withdrawal of the Soviets. While I was visiting there was some festival going on, and a lot of the people from the city were either there, or on holiday in the country, so I was visiting an uncomfortably empty city. Consequently, I ended my stay early. Most things were closed and if you can imagine Manhattan with no people, it was uninspiring at best. On my way out of town I walked through the park and found all the missing people. It was Budapest Day, and all sorts of concerts, speeches, marathons, and fairs were going on. Nevertheless, I felt done with the city, so I caught an overnight train to Innsbruck, Austria. (Since then, I have met many people who say Budapest is their favorite city in Europe, and almost everyone said it was one of their favorites. So I'll be going back to give it another go.)  See the pictures here.

I actually had no intention of seeing Innsbruck after hearing how boring it is, but I did want to see a small town next to Innsbruck. The town's name is Hall, and it's cute as a button! I only spent the afternoon there, but as you can see from the pictures, its the perfect Austrian Alp town, surrounded by 360 degrees of snow-capped mountains, and filled with little castles and spires. There was a tourist office there, but no tourists that I could identify. After shopping at the little open market and having a light lunch I hopped back on the train through tiny Luxembourg, to Switzerland.

The Austrian Alps looming behind the small town of Hall

From Innsbruck onward, the trains were amazing, modern, clean, fast machines. The windows were huge. The seats were comfortable. And the dining cars were roomy and clean. I loved the Austrian and Swiss trains! ...and it's a good thing, because I spent quite a lot of time on them for the next week. I went to Chur first. I didn't mean to stop here, but I got stuck in the town because my train was the last to arrive that day, and nothing was leaving again 'till the next morning.  The town is a real Swiss town with no tourist market, so I was lucky to find a hotel, let alone a hostel.  The hotel I finally found was a nice place that I couldn't afford, but they said they had a dorm available.  The "dorm" turned out to be their attic where they stored extra mattresses.  I pulled one off the top of the pile, and tried to fall asleep despite the hornet nests buzzing their threats.  I woke up late the next day and was feeling worse than in Hungary, so only took a short walk through town before catching the next train to Zurich.

I only stopped in Zurich for 2 hours because I was told it was a big city with no charm, and cared about nothing but banking and money.  Well, there was certainly enough wealth, but this was no big city, and it had plenty of charm.  I had already made my plans, so I had to leave, but Zurich was a town-sized city with no big buildings, and a nice river splitting it down the middle.  One side was particularly cute perched on a hillside and packed with restaurants and courtyards among hundreds of old winding streets.  I couldn't say anything about the people except that they seemed to be even more wealthy than the mean in Switzerland (which is already very well-off by European standards).  After only 2 hours of poking into churches, and walking Zurich's streets, I had to rush to catch my train - the first leg of The Golden Pass.  See the pictures of Zurich here.

The Golden Pass is probably the most beautiful train ride in the world.  It runs from Zurich to Montreux and to all the Swiss mountain towns in between.  It is built to give the best views of the Swiss Alps and at times has to be attached by cable gears to climb or descend impossible slopes.  The train is spotless with huge windows, and everything is brand new.  But by far the best part of the journey is the remote areas it takes you through.  The villages we passed seemed undiscovered yet almost too perfect to be real.  The time of year I went was probably the best time, because everything was as green as you can imagine, but the mountains were all still heaped with snow.  It was surreal.  See the Golden Pass pictures here.

I got off at Luzern for lunch and had a look around.  Yet another perfect image of a Swiss town.  It had its castle, its river filled with swans, ancient covered bridges to get you across, and the wide assortment of Swiss chalet houses all around town.  Restaurants and shopping were abundant, and everyone seemed like they were on vacation even though plenty were just on lunch break from work.  All of this, of course, was surrounded by 360 degrees of Swiss Alp backdrop.  A perfect picnic town. See the pictures here.

After lunch I got back on The Golden Pass train and headed to Interlaken, my favorite town in Switzerland.  Interlaken is by far the coolest, and yet quaintest, town I'd seen.  It was laid out a little differently than the others, but in an even more fairytale way.  I would equate it most with a model train set.  The train headed straight through town on 1 track with shops backed up to within half a meter of the tracks, so the train would just appear out of nowhere when crossing roads.  There was, of course, a river running through town, but this river was at the exact same level as the land!  About 1 or 2 centimeters below only!!!  The Swiss chalets were all very old, but extremely well-maintained and often more ornate than any others I'd seen.  But the most valuable part of the town was undeveloped.  It was a cow field, and had signs all around depicting a cow saying "Sorry, access for me only".  This was perfectly in keeping with the ideals of the town.  The message was 'we don't need to grow too much; we're happy living the simple life'.  This town became very popular in the 50s as a mountain resort town, and ever since then has been pushed to grow to meet tourist demands, and while they've bent a little it seems most of the town has remained grounded and changed little. See the pictures here.

Umm... is that a Swiss Army Knife with a built-in radio 
in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

What makes the town even more exciting is that it's an outdoorsman and extreme sport Mecca.  Climbers, skiers, hikers, hang-gliders, bikers, kayakers, and sailors around the world know Interlaken as a seriously fun town.  The outdoors here is just too beautiful not to take part in it.  While I was too sick to partake in anything too exciting, I went for a little hike in a valley up towards Jungfrau Mt ($180  hour-long train ride to the top!!) and the sights were breathtaking.  While walking around some fields, a hang glider landed just meters away before quickly packing up and walking off.  Well, after 2 days of trying to fight off the illness I began feeling in Budapest, it finally hit me, so I was bedridden for a couple days in my somewhat strange hostel.  The place seemed completely normal and very well-run, but for a very very subtle presence of religion.  The first thing I noticed was a homemade book on a string hanging next to my dorm door.  It was inspirational thoughts that all seemed kind of... Biblical.  I didn't see the need for it, and I'd never seen anything like it in a hostel or hotel before.  And I mean, who comes a beautiful place like Interlaken and feels sad?  Well, the next morning for breakfast we all saw more "uplifting thoughts" on cards at our tables.  I felt a little infringed upon at this point, as the hostel was way more expensive than usual hostels, and now they're telling me to go upstairs to their "meditation room" to a Bible study session.  Whatever.  To their credit it was all just subtle signs posted and no one ever said anything (until I asked about their affiliation to the church), and at the very least it was one of the best-run hostels I'd ever been to.  Just kinda weird.

Well after a little less than 1 week in Interlaken, I got back on The Golden Pass and finished my last leg of the beautiful train ride, which ended in Montreux.  I only left 1-hour for Montreux, as it is mostly just a resort town for the extremely wealthy (leaving nothing for me to afford).  But I did take a walk along the waterfront to their Castle.  It turned out that even the castle entrance fees were too much for me to afford, so I looked around and turned back to catch the next train to Heidelberg, Germany.  See pictures here.

After a quick stop in Bern, Switzerland for an hour, I transferred onto my first German ICE train to Heidelberg.  Wow!  What a train!! Everything in the train has been carefully thought about, and designed.  The seats alone were straight out of Star Trek, and little aesthetic designs were everywhere, just to make the cars look glamorous.  Having come from Austrian and Swiss trains, I would have expected nice cars, but the ICE went above and beyond the call of duty.  I took that ICE to Heidelberg and since I had been all the way in Interlaken that morning and stopped in Montreux and Bern, I didn't get to Heidelberg until that evening. I'm sure glad I got to see the town at night though.  Heidelberg is one of the #1 tourist destinations in Germany, but it's also a university town.  I'd been there in 2001 but was under impressed by the sheer volume of tourists crowding the tiny streets.  This time, however, there wasn't a single tourist in the streets, and the dense crowds of guidebook zombies had been replaced by a trendy young German student crowd.  All the souvenir shops had closed, but the bars and clubs were thriving.  I wandered the streets as long as I could just to people watch, but by 11 o'clock I was feeling the pressure to find a bed for the night.  It was late, and the few places listed in my Lonely Planet were fully booked and refused to even answer their doors.  I started chatting up local passersby in the hopes I could weasel my way into someone's flat for the night, and though I didn't get an offer, I did get advice on a new hostel that had opened up on the university campus.   Once I finally found it at 1 in the morning, I was pleasantly surprised by it's cleanliness and size.  I was only sharing my 6 bed room with one other guy, and our window looked out onto the zoo.  The next day I was disappointed to find the student crowds replaced by even bigger tourist crowds.  I tried to make the rest of my day in Heidelberg short and was on the afternoon ICE to Hamburg.  See Heidelberg pictures here.

On my first morning in Hamburg I headed down to the Fischmarkt 
to find it full of people still partying from the night before!!

Last time I'd been to Hamburg (1998) I was unimpressed by the dirty city seemingly still rebuilding from WWII.  I found one cool neighborhood but overall it was a flop.  This time I was encouraged by Heather's praise for the city after living there for a year, and wanted to give it a second chance.  At the same time, I only had 7 days left on my Eurail pass, and didn't like the idea of sitting in Hamburg wasting those 7 days of potential free travel.  I decided I'd give Hamburg 2 days chance, and then make up my mind.  Well, what a surprise!  I arrived on a Friday and discovered Hamburg to be one of the biggest party towns I'd ever been to!  Not only was MTV hosting a party on the hedonistic Reeperbahn, but the alternative Sternchanze area was packed with funky artist parties.  Again, I had to tear myself away from these gatherings to find a bed for the night.  Sternchanze's cheaper dwellings had been booked solid by Germans coming to the city for the weekend, so I tried the seedy areas.  I quickly realized only junkies stay in the seedy areas of Hamburg when a "receptionist" at a down- and- out motel stared at me dumbfounded when I asked for a room.  I ended up paying a little more than I'd like for a private room on the Reeperbahn, but the convenience was nice for one night.  There was no way I was going to miss the whole night of partying, so I went out in search of a few areas I'd heard about.  The Reeperbahn is a notorious street that used to be exclusively strip bars, brothels, and sex shops.  Once it hit the mainstream, however, the brothels were relocated and many strip bars were replaced with more "legitimate" bars and discos.  Nevertheless, the Reeperbahn is still a sex addicts dream come true, and only a short walk away is the relocated brothel district.  It has been resized to just 2 streets exclusively for the brothels, and what makes Hamburg's red light district so unique is that only men are allowed on those streets.  There are high walls at both ends, and a zigzag hallway to enter.  Compared to the Amsterdam red light district this is a pretty depressing place - namely because whereas Amsterdam's district is filled with tourists, families, and all walks of life, Hamburg's is strictly limited to a handful of "serious buyers" (umm... except me... ...).  It was uncomfortable to wander around like everyone does in Amsterdam so I went to watch the concert.  After watching the MTV concert I caught the subway up to Sternchanze for some late-night dining.  Sternchanze isn't as popular or infamous as the Reeperbahn, but I think it's popular with the alternative, artist crowd which attracts all the right kinds of eateries, markets, and shops.  See pictures here.

After a second day spent at the few tourist areas and another night of partying on Saturday and hanging in Sternchanze, I decided to put my Eurail pass to work, and make a quick trip up to Copenhagen.  I took a train, but the cool thing about the train ride to Copenhagen is that you also get a ferry ride... and so does your train!  After a couple hours from Hamburg to the Baltic Sea, the train literally drives onto an enormous cruise ship.  The cruise ship has train tracks on its garage level and the train fits right inside!  The cruise ship was similar to a Carnival Cruise complete with restaurants, super markets, elevators and many many levels.  I ended up running into a crazy religious zealot I had the misfortune of rooming with in Interlaken, but he introduced me to a Danish girl he was sitting with on the train, so we could both ignore him together.

My train inside the ferry to Denmark

I arrived in Copenhagen at night again, but this time had luck with my first try at a hostel.  It was late on a Sunday, so I stayed in and got some rest.  The next day I tried to see all the cool places I remembered from my last visit a few years previously so I got up early and made it through the various pedestrian malls to the Queens Palace for the changing of the guards.  I met an old man who had come to see his son lead his first changing of the guard.  He explained every detail of the customs when he saw me leaning against a column (apparently touching the palace is exactly what the guards are there to stop anyone from doing, as it is considered "part of the queen").  After a long lesson on do's and don'ts in Danish culture I made my way through some of the many parks and gardens to my favorite area of Copenhagen: Christiania.  Christiania was an abandoned naval base in the 70's - the same time there was a serious housing shortage in Copenhagen.  Well, since no one was using the land, a small group of hippies decided to move in as squatters.  Very quickly they developed a following from around the world, and the community started to restrict immigrants.  The Danish government has never looked favorably upon Christiania, so they had to be self-sufficient from the very beginning.  The plumbing, recycling, composting, community works, and school system are all conducted in an environmentally, globally aware way.  Houses are still being built along the river, and the community has grown to include such luxuries as an equestrian park, restaurants, bars,  and night clubs.  Everyone including the government has praised it as a successful experiment.  The problem now, is that the new government has focused on the land as a viable income from corporate buyers.  They are using the free use of marijuana in Christiania as an excuse to shut it down.  Though the community has responded by being harder on hard drugs than the government, and putting an end to public marijuana use, the government has set it's target, and doesn't seem to be letting go.  While I was there, the police were everywhere, and the police state mentality was in the air as if these peaceful hippies were an actual threat.  Shame on the government!  See the pictures here.

After a few hours in Christiania I road one of the free Copenhagen bikes back to the Hostel and went to bed early so I could catch the first train back to Hamburg.  I arrived in Hamburg with plenty of time left in the day to take a trip into the country and relax in Sternchanze for hours.  As my Eurail pass was about to expire, this had to be my last day.  The next day I wandered some neighborhoods Heather recommended and walked around the enormous lake before catching an afternoon train to Berlin.

I had never been to Berlin and didn't know what to expect.  My knowledge was limited to miscellaneous facts about The Wall, East Berlin, and Michael Jackson's recent "baby dangling" incident.  I stayed at the Heart of Gold hostel, recommended by Heather, which was a very modern place with a strange Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy theme.  It's in a neighborhood called the Mitte that looks down-trodden and derelict, but turned out to be the coolest artists neighborhood in Berlin.  Everything from open artists studios to funky cafes and Ù
Hber cheap street food is available in the huge district.  I spent much of my time in this area for the remainder of my stay in Berlin and everyday I would find something new to delight the senses.  I decided Berlin, particularly East Berlin, was worth as much time as I could afford so I spent a solid week exploring various areas and museums.  By far the most interesting area is the Mitte but other areas have merit for such sights as sections of The Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, loads of shopping, Sunday markets, and amazing restaurants.  Even after 7 long days of seeing the city, I've only seen a few neighborhoods.  People say New York City is a one of a kind, and I agree, but if anything comes close, it's Berlin.  The variety of people, places, architecture, and of course history, combined with the sheer size of the place make me feel very small and unsophisticated just like New York has a tendency to do to anyone who's seen it.  That's one reason people either love it or hate it.  I for one love it, and would consider it on the top of the list of places I'd like to live when I finish traveling.  See the pictures here.

Part of The Wall

After 7 days I've got to tear myself away for budget and visa reasons and head to Warsaw, Poland.  My Eurail is expired but Eastern Europe is reputed to be extremely cheap.  Having already blown my budget, I desperately need to half my spending.  The only question was whether Poland will still be as cheap after their recent acceptance into the European Union.

The next month could be very interesting.

Take care at home, and on your travels,
Christian