European Edition: A review

Being back in the states for two days has afforded me the opportunity to reflect on our trip. People keep asking me the same two questions: What were your favorite and least favorite parts of the trip. Rather than just answering these questions, I decided to write a brief summary of our journey (if only I could include some sort of montage):

Note: these are my personal opinions and do not reflect the views of any other travel companion

Favorite city: Berlin (second place: Amsterdam)
- I think this decision was influenced heavily by the fact that my favorite part of the trip was watching the Germany match. Also, I love me some brats. Food and soccer aside, Berlin had everything I could want in a city (parks, bars, good public transit) without the congested feeling you get in smaller cities such as NYC or SF. Shout out to my man Janeck for showing us a good time.

Favorite meal: Pancakes! (second place: Burgermeester)
- Pancakes are a staple of Amsterdam cuisine, and for good reason. The Dutch know how to make a delicious flapjack. I chose Pancakes! because the combination of the lemon, sugar, and bacon made for an incredible breakfast experience. Burgermeester was also in Amsterdam, and the lamb burger I had was superb. To summarize, Amsterdam has great food.

Favorite activity: Germany soccer match in Berlin (second place: Eiffel Tower light show)
- As I have already mentioned, my favorite event was watching the Germany/Denmark game along with thousands of German fans. The atmosphere was incredible, and we managed to blend right in with our wigs and Mike's face paint. Unlike the French, German fans exercise proper flare usage and avoid inciting riots (although, to be fair, they did win). Second place was in the aftermath of said French riot when we got to witness the tower's light show. I highly recommend this to anyone who visits Paris.

Acknowledgements:

Special thanks to Alice, our wonderful travel companion, tour guide, and fellow riot spectator. Without her guidance and fluency in French, we would have certainly been bludgeoned with baguettes by an angry Parisian mob (or something like that).

Miscellaneous:

Number of times a Phillies t-shirt successfully identified fellow Philadelphians: 2
Number of times said Philadelphians were eccentric: 1 (looking at you Steve)
Number of times a phone was mistaken for an ATM by Matt: at least 2, but closer to 20
Number of times a laptop was left at the Newark security check: 1
Number of thorns still stuck in my leg: 2
Number of brats eaten in Germany: 7
Cost of a liter of cola: $14
Cost of a liter of gas: $2
Cost of a Heineken from a vending machine: $2

Au revoir Europe

This post is coming to you live from a couch in Bensalem, PA. Our final day in Paris was full of tourist activities, starting with Murph and Mike ordering a bacon cheeseburger for breakfast from McDonald's (the actual name of the burger was the Royal Bacon Burger). While tempting, I opted to continue my streak of consuming fine French pastries.

After breakfast, we boarded the Metro and headed towards the Arc de Triomphe, the famous monument that also marks the beginning of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. We took an underground walkway to the base of the arc and spent a few minutes taking in the sculptures and engravings. Next, we attempted to bypass the walkway and run across the street that bends around the arc, but quickly realized that this decision was ill-advised. Upon exiting the walkway, we headed down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. In the distance, we could make out Cleopatra's Needle, and in the opposite direction, the Eiffel Tower. We walked the length of the avenue, stopping to grab a crepe before starting our exploration of the Louvre.

We entered the museum through the giant glass pyramid located in the courtyard. I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see that the entrance fee was only 10€. After paying the admission fee and obtaining a map, we proceeded to stand still and look very confused. Luckily, Murph was wearing his Phillies, which apparently doubles as a sort of bat signal for Philadelphians when traveling abroad. A fellow Philadelphia native gave us the lay of the land and we headed towards to the section containing Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. Among these works of art was the Venus de Milo, just one of many sculptures that were minus a limb. Next up were Roman and Spanish paintings from the 14th through 18th centuries. The paintings were breathtaking, especially the works that seemed to take up an entire wall. In contrast, the Mona Lisa appeared quite mundane (and very small). From here, we made our way to the Ancient Egyptian collection and lastly paintings created by French artists. 


All of our walking through the museum left us in need of a break and pick me up, so we headed to a cafe along the Seine and grabbed drinks. Mike ordered a large Coke, a seemingly innocuous order. He received a liter of soda, for which he would end up being charged an astounding 11.40€ (to break this down further, a large Coca Cola in Paris will cost you $14.25)! Taking advantage of the lovely weather, we walked along the Seine and browsed the various stands selling goods such as popular novels and comic books in French, old concert posters, and jazz cassette tapes. I purchased some books as souvenirs/gifts and we started making our way back to the hotel. We grabbed dinner, and on the way home purchased a bottle of red to celebrate the end of our stay in Paris and romp through Europe. 
 
We woke up at 5 this morning and made our way to the airport. Taking advantage of the duty free shops, we finished our souvenir shopping and even bought ourselves some gifts (Absinthe). I want to thank both Matt and Mike for this incredible experience and awesome adventure. It would not have been the same without either of them. Check back either tomorrow or Thursday for a "best of" about each of the four cities we visited. 
  
Thanks for following our European journey. 

 

Paris in the rain

Owen Wilson's character in Midnight in Paris stated that Paris is most beautiful in the rain. While this may be true on a warm, summer night, it is certainly not true on a cool day in late June. We have been very fortunate where the weather is concerned, so a little rain was not going to deter our plan to travel along the Seine.

We started our day by devouring more delicious pastries, then made our way to the Metro. We exited near the Place de la Concorde, a museum containing Paris' version of Cleopatra's Needle. From here, we bought some crepes and headed through the Jardin des Tuileries towards the Louvre. We decided to leave exploring the museum for tomorrow and instead continued towards the Notre Dame de Paris. By the time we reached the cathedral, the rain had picked up and we were all damp, cold, and slightly miserable. The rain did nothing to shorten the line for the cathedral, so we took some pictures and started towards the Bastille. We followed our map, eventually arriving at the area of the Bastille, only to learn that the actual structure no longer exists. Thus, we were not able to storm the fortress while shouting "Le Resistance!!!!" (or whatever French revolutionaries screamed back in the day).

Cold, wet, and hungry, we boarded the Metro and headed towards our hotel. We went to a nice French restaurant for dinner, and I decided to sample the local fare. I had already ordered frog legs earlier in our stay, so I went with the escargot (snails) as a starter and the canard (duck) for my main course, topped off with a nice glass of red. To my surprise, the escargot was very tasty. After dinner, we headed to a local bar to watch the second half, extra time, and penalty kicks of the Italy/England match (Italy prevailed in the end).

Today, we will be touring the Arc de Triomphe, Champ d'elysees, and Louvre. Our flight home is very early in the morning, so the the next post will likely be delayed. Check back sometime Wednesday evening for a post recapping our final full day in the city of love.


A final note from Matthew J. Murphy

I have successfully had a pasta dish in all three countries we visited, including spaghetti bolognese in three different restaurants. I have also sampled the European styles of KFC, BK, and McDonald's, big milestones in my book. There is no shower in our hotel here, just a bathtub and a shower hose attachment. I have never felt more shame bathing myself. My final thoughts on the countries/cities: France has the smelliest people, if you own a bike in Amsterdam you are king of the road, and the Germans know how to pump up a night club.

From riches to riots

Today was our first full day exploring Paris. The plan for the day was to see Versailles and head to the Eiffel Tower to watch the France/Spain match. Upon waking, we had a delicious breakfast consisting of various French pastries and headed towards the nearest Metro station. One very noticeable difference between the US and Europe is the efficiency of public transit. The Paris Metro system makes traveling  a breeze, which is great when your destination requires traversing the entire city.

We arrived at Versailles a little after 1 and were immediately struck by the sheer size of the palace (well, that and the gold fence surrounding the property). We hopped in line and began our tour of possibly the fanciest house in the world. Every room seemed to be decorated floor to ceiling with expansive paintings, portraits of monarchs long dead, or busts of Greek deities. As we walked through the palace, the sheer opulence was astounding. If France ever needs some economic stimulus, they should start by renting out some of the rooms. After walking through the palace, we were able to sneak a peak of the surrounding gardens before heading back to the Metro and downtown Paris.
  

Our tour of Versailles left us hungry, so we grabbed dinner at a brasserie (a café/bar combo). From here, we walked over to the Moulin Rouge, then back to the Metro heading towards the Eiffel Tower. We ended up arriving just as the match was starting, so our viewing position was less than ideal. However, the poor viewing angle was trumped by the fact that the outdoor monitor was literally in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Spain scored early, but the French fans stood strong. The first half ended 1-0, but France had the momentum. The second half started slow, and that’s when things began to turn for the worse. First, we noticed that several fans had ignited flares. This would have been fine, except France hadn’t scored. Next thing I know, all the fans around us start running as some jerk began shooting Roman Candles into the crowd. Things seem to settle down for a few minutes, so everyone returned to watch the game. About 10 minutes later, Spain was awarded a penalty kick and made the score 2-0. Around the same time, the fierce loyalty of the French fans seemed to transform into a strong desire for property damage and inflicting personal injury. Bottles filled the sky as several flares, Roman Candles, and smoke bombs were burning all around us. Police sirens and cops in riot gear lined the base of the Eiffel Tower, trying (and failing) to restore order. We ducked around the police barricade, passed under the tower, and headed back towards the Metro.
 

While passing under the belly of the tower, we were fortunate enough to witness quite the majestic event. Every hour in the evening, the tower puts on a show for those in attendance, dazzling spectators with a light show. We stood and watched the tower do its thing, watching the pulsing white lights against the yellow glow. It took several Metro transfers, but finally we made it home. Today, we are going to take a walking tour along the Seine River. Check back tomorrow for more of our Parisian exploits.  

Amsterdam to Paris

Our final day in Amsterdam involved a fair amount of walking. We got a relatively early start and headed in the direction of pancakes (a different pancake house aptly called Pancakes!). Along the way, we stopped by the John Adams house for a nice blend of American/Dutch history. After devouring a lemon, sugar, and bacon pancake, we headed to the aforementioned De Poozenboot. I had imagined it being a houseboat overrun with cats, and was surprised to see that it more closely resembled a floating animal shelter (each cat had a cage and you could adopt the furry friends).

Following De Poozenboot, we headed over towards Dam Square and the Royal Palace. We watched some street performer cracking a whip in the shadow of the National Monument and made our way back towards the museum area. At this point, Murph and I headed towards the Torture Museum while Mike did some shopping. The Torture Musuem was interesting, but ultimately it was mostly a tourist trap. From here, we headed towards Leidseplein, a popular square in the southwest part of town. We spent some time walking around the square before taking a brief detour through Vondelpark. Despite being a small city, Amsterdam has plenty of lovely squares, parks, and gardens perfect for respite from walking many kilometers.


While strolling through the park, the clouds began to look ominous so we headed in the direction of the Museumplein, Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum. The Museumplein area is a park between several of the big museums in the area. Being a good tourist, I snapped a few pictures of the Iamsterdam (I am amsterdam) sign and we headed to the Van Gogn museum to meet up with Mike. Before reaching the museum, we passed a small stall selling warm waffles and ice cream, which was quite delicious. Upon reaching the museum, we were disappointed to see that it was closing. Not wanting to test our luck with the weather, we headed back to our hotel.


It ended up raining the rest of the night, so we grabbed a burger from an excellent shop around the corner (Burgermeester) and hung around the hotel for the remainder of the evening. The next day was largely spent taking a Megabus from Amsterdam to Paris. After an inauspicious start (the driver couldn't get the bus to start) we left Amsterdam, making a brief stop in Brussels to change drivers at hotel. About 45 minutes north of Paris we hit some serious traffic, so we ended up being about two hours late. However, our lovely tour guide and travel companion Alice was generous enough to wait for us, which was especially great since the Paris Metro is quite tricky to navigate. We checked in to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed to the Latin Quarter, which is right near the Notre Dame Cathedral (think hunchback). After a delicious three course meal, we walked along the Seine for a bit before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night.

Today, we are heading to Versailles during the day and watching the France/Spain match at the base of the Eiffel Tower in the evening. Should be a great day, so check back tomorrow for a new post.

A Dam good city

 Sorry for the delay in writing the first post from Amsterdam. We didn't get in until late Tuesday and yesterday was spent exploring the city. The contrast between Berlin and Amsterdam is quite stark. Berlin was more spread out and resembled a traditional city in terms of having roads and some what of a grid. Although there were a fair number of people on bikes in Berlin, Amsterdam is by far the most bike friendly city I have ever been to. In fact, I'm pretty sure that bikes get the right of way over people. The layout of the city makes for tough navigation, with streets curving around and cutting through the concentric canals. Despite a chronic lack of directional sense, this city seemed to induce a collective sense of calm as we walked streets lined with shops and cafes and dodged cyclists (or maybe it was the effect of ambient pot smoke).








We are staying at the Hotel Hortus, located in the eastern park of the city near the Hortus Botanical Gardens. The hotel has certain old world charm to it, but this is likely due to it having been built many years ago (not like when I would say this about my apartment in Philadelphia). In the main reception area is a vending machine that dispenses Heineken, one of the local beers. From our place, its about a 10 walk to the downtown area. Amsterdam is known for two things, which I will briefly touch on now. 1) Pot shops (aka coffee shops) are located all over the city. These shops usually contain a juice bar that serves soft drinks, smoothies, and milkshakes and a counter in the back for buying weed, hash, or spacecakes. 2) The red light district is quite the sight to behold. Imagine a setting where groups of men, most of them appearing to be quite creepy, gather together to solicit sex from beautiful/slightly trashy women dancing in windows. From what we observed, the process is a little like shopping at a flee market: You shop around, you find the product you want, you haggle over the price, and finally you get what you paid for. Taking pictures in this area will result in an incognito bouncer/bodyguard roughing you up and throw your camera in the canal.

Despite the Dutch having already been eliminated from Euro 2012, vestiges of football fandom could still be seen throughout the city. We ran into some bad luck during our adventures yesterday. First, we tried going to a pancake house that had been recommended by a friend (Patrick) and the tourism guide I had, but they were renovating until the 4th of July. Since pancakes are a staple of Dutch cuisine, we walked around some more and eventually found a suitable replacement in a nearby cafe. Second, we headed in the direction of the Anne Frank house (pictured on left). We did not stop wait to go inside the house, just snapped a picture and kept moving towards our real destination: De Poozenboot. However, we missed visiting hours in addition to it being closed on Wednesdays. No need to panic, we will be returning this afternoon.

Today's plan is as follows: 1) get pancakes 2) head to De Poozenboot 3) get bikes 4) head to Vondelpark 4) spend time at Leidseplein Square 5) head to the Van Gogh museum. The next post will likely occur while on a Mega Bus to Paris. 

Bike tour of Berlin

Our final full day in Berlin was spent riding around town on possibly the least comfortable bikes ever. We headed in the direction of the Reichstag again and rode down the Unter den Linden, which was quite clean considering the madness that had occurred just 12 hours prior. From here, we headed into the Alexanderplatz/Museum Island area. While walking to the restaurant, we passed this gem. The Germans appear to be quite fond of JFK (there is also a Kennedy museum in Pariser Platz). We grabbed lunch right next to the Berliner Dom, a beautiful church that we decided to tour after eating. This area of the city is dominated by stunning architecture, open air plazas, and a wide array of art and historical museums.

Upon entering the Berliner Dom, we walked into the congregation area and found our gaze being drawn to the ornate dome sculptures and stained glass. After exploring the main room, we headed up a series of steps to the "dome walk", an outdoor walkway affording a 360-degree view of downtown Berlin. Before exiting the church, we walked through a crypt located in the basement which is the final resting place of many prominent German folk (not sure of the actual title held by these people).

After leaving the Berliner Dom and walking around the museum area for a bit longer, we hopped back on our beach cruisers and headed east. Our destination was the East side Gallery, home of the longest remaining part of the Berlin Wall. Not wanting to miss a once in a lifetime opportunity, we each carved our names into the wall. Before you judge our behavior, know that we carved our names on the other side of the memorial which was covered in random German graffiti art. We walked along and took in each artist's interpretation of the wall's demise before finding a little beach bar for respite along the riverside. We headed back to our bikes and made our way back to Alexanderplatz for a quick Doner, and then we headed back to the hostel for much needed rest and showers.

Drained from our bike tour, we hung around the hostel and watched the Spain/Croatia match in our room. We were surprised to see so many Croates, and couldn't help but feel bad when Spain scored near the end of full time to steal a victory. Soon after the match ended, we started watching a movie of Mike's iPad and fell asleep. We just finished an underwhelming breakfast at our hostel (came with the bike rental) and have some time to kill before heading to the airport and Amsterdam. My goal is to eat one more brat before leaving Germany behind, a feat that should not be difficult to accomplish.





























More from Matthew J. Murphy

My best memory from our time in Berlin is pushing Tim into a thorn bush. Every time he complains about the two thorns still stuck in his leg it makes me smile. Two things I have learned during my time in Germany: it is difficult to get normal water in a restaurant, everything is sparkling, and it is impossible to open a bottle of soda without having the plastic ring come off with the cap. I got some chicken fingers at a KFC ("crispys" over here) and the woman was surprised that I asked for honey mustard, apparently that's only used as a salad dressing over here. Although it may not seem like it, I have eaten a lot of real German food, not just German-American food.

Auf Wiedersehen