Markus and Brian's Excellent European Adventure

Cultured

Some pictures to digest! We'd like to post them more often, but it's a challenge getting to cafes that allow us to post them, plus it takes a significant amount of time -- time we need to be getting lost and planning what to do at the last minute. We also need to get better at taking more pictures.

I think Markus and I are getting a little burnt out, actually; most of the stuff we've been doing has left us feeling a little empty. Each museum and grand church are all blending into the same thing. We have the feeling that, while we recognize the incredible talent and emotional impact that went into many of these works, they just don't hold the same kind of draw to us as to many other people. We're uncultured. We don't have the background to properly appreciate and "get" the significance of what we see. It's a worthwhile experience to shuffle from one city to another every few days to see what kind of architecture, history, and culture each has to offer, but it's getting a little old, y'know? (Though we've been sure to enjoy the authentic food at least once in each place; we definitely don't feel empty then.)

So, we'll be heading out to Corfu (a large-ish island on the west side of Greece) and then the Greek Islands (a ton of tiny islands on the east side of Greece) in a few days. There, we're going to chill. Take a vacation from our vacation, stay in one place for a while, make friends with other travellers all staying in the same place, and just relax. Beaches by day, clubs by night. Read a book or ten (Harry Potter, yo), play some volleyball, swim, hike through caves, and so on. So much of what we've done so far we've done because we thought we should -- to expand our horizons, to say "I've been there" or "I've seen that," or whatever. For now, we'll do what we really, really want to do. (Yeah, I'm writing this mostly for my own benefit and self-reflection.)

Anyway, that's not to say that we haven't had some great, memorable times over the past few weeks. There are still a lot of my own thoughts I want to post on Budapest, Venice, and Florence, and I'll get to those sooner than later. But for now, pictures! Captions come first this time. Enjoy.

Pictures

1) The view way, way down the mountain, high in the Black Forest around Freiburg, Germany.
2) The narrow path I hiked through the Black Forest.
3) Flowers for sale at the daily market in Beaune, France.
4) Wine tasting in the dark, damp cellars of Beaune (see earlier posting). If you fancied the wine, you could grab it from the rack on the wall and purchase it at the exit.
5) Erm, I fancied the wine a little too much!
6) In Lyon, Matt and I ran into an impromptu salsa dance held in the Vieux Lyon part of town. It was a little dead, but some people got into it. (Spot the ghost leg for 25 points!)
7) The streets in Vieux Lyon were dangerously steep, and I stumbled across this picture almost by accident.
8) Lyon at night, as seen from the hostel bar terrace.
9) Matt and me, on the terrace in the morning.
10) From the train station in Geneva, Switzerland. I think I fell in love with the ad on the right. The girl's trying to give such a sexy, alluring look: a deep stare full of desire, plenty of make-up, and highly suggestive lip-licking. Oh, and a head covered by soft-serve ice cream. There's nothing that says "Come and get me, tiger!" better than a melting dairy product dribbling through your hair. Funniest ad ever!
11) View from Interlaken, which literaly translates to "between lakes." Not only between lakes, but also surrounded by frickin' huge mountains, including the snow-capped Jungfrau.
12) The lake on the east side of Interlaken, taken while hiking in the mountains.
13) Okay, so I'm not a sucker for originality.
14) The view across the Danube river in Budapest at sunset.
15) Me pondering the mysteries of the universe at a cafe in Budapest. Add a thought bubble to the picture, send it to me, and Markus and I will post what we get.
16) On the left, Buda. On the right, Pest.
17) I got a little mad with power after shooting a few birds out of the sky...
18 - 22) Budapest, formerly communist until the fall of the Soviet Union, had a ton of giant statues throughout the town. After the fall, they were moved to a park, which we visted. Highly inspirational! What worker wouldn't feel motivated with this kind of prime real estate across town?
23) Markus, no longer just an action figure, now has his own store!
24) Favorite Picture Ever. From Piazza San Marco in Venice. This one is dedicated to Mike & Steve. Combining the height of 11th century architecture and beauty with good ol' 21st century crass. (Or, crass.) I think there was even less material from the front, too.
25) Random shot in Venice.
26) Markus pretends he's in Amsterdam.
27) Me, enjoying my mint chocolate chip gelato over the Grand Canal in Venice.
28) Only one of over six million canals in Venice.
29) The massive, massive Duomo, in Florence.

Baked and Broiled

I have often pondered why Italians are so keen on building fast cars. What is it that compels these people to create speed machines like those slick looking Ferraris and Lamborghinis? Having been in Italy for a little while now, I bring forth two theories. One - so the guys here can date several girls from different regions at once. This would require the ability to get from point A to point B and back in as short a time as possible so as not to raise any suspicions. On top of that they have a good looking car and can get away with being even more tactless and relentless about hitting on women. I have a feeling that if the women in this country were even half as willing to engage in sex as the men, the population in Italy would be giving China a run for its money.

My second theory is that anybody that has any sensitivity to heat in any way needs to own a car capable of going about mach so that they can get somewhere where they won't be fried in extra tasty crispy fashion like the Colonels chicken. It seems only appropriate that the Italians name one of their fastest cars after the prince of darkness given that they use it to escape from temperatures equivalent to those in his domain. I know it's just a matter of me getting used to it, but for now I feel like if I don't consume my own weight in water every hour I'll end up spontaneously combusting down some random side street here in Florence and that would be a shame, because it would mean that I would be unable to eat any more Gelato.

It seems that Gelato is served on every single street corner here, and I'll have to admit that if I were to let up my self restraint in even the slightest way, I would end up depriving my future children of a college education simply to support my Gelato eating ways. There is simply no food that could be better suited for mass distribution here. It's cold, it's cheap and it's without a doubt the most delicious substance a person could ever think to put into their mouths. I don't know why substances like Prozac need to be made when food like Gelato is already in existence. Sure, we'd have a lot more fat people walking around, but at least they'd be happy, fat people.

Anyways, getting on to the trip, I think we'll finally be able to satiate all those people out there who seem to live for nothing else but see us post pictures. Brian is choosing and uploading them as I write this and I give you my personal guarantee that I will not allow us to leave this establishment until they are being displayed on the website for your viewing pleasure. [Brian's note: Haha! Sorry Markus. We're leaving the establishment now; selecting, modifying, and uploading just takes too long. We'll hit this cafe tomorrow to actually post them.] Since I last wrote we've been to Venice, Bologna and Florence. Venice was exactly as I remembered it, picturesque and beautiful with the exception of the prices there. I don't know how the locals keep from running around naked since a shirt in Venice costs about as much as one of those Ferraris I was mentioning earlier. St. Marks Square is just as charming as ever, though, and wandering through the winding streets of Venice with it's narrow alleys and hundreds of canals is an experience I would recommend to almost any interested traveler. Bologna was a little but of a let down since our hostel was 50 minutes from the city center and also had a 11:30pm curfew in effect. Since it's the only decently priced place to stay in the entire city, we decided to move on to Florence.

So now we're in Florence and we're going to see what it has to offer. We'll let you know what kind of adventures we experience and whether David is really as cool as everyone says he is. Till the next posting.

Take it easy,

Markus