tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27359461379436227882024-02-07T13:53:04.138-08:00A Mountain on a PlaneAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-81059953755940577532015-07-25T10:35:00.000-07:002018-03-18T00:47:53.276-07:00The Golden Ring, Part II - Sergiev Posad & Yaroslavl<div class="MsoNormal">
After a <i>long</i>
evening the day before, I slept in and caught an 11:30am train to Sergiev
Posad. I didn’t think I needed a full day there anyhow, since there was pretty
much just the monastery. The local train was slow and hot, but it got me there
after about an hour and a half. Unfortunately I had “forgotten” to eat
breakfast or lunch again, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat. My train to
Yaroslavl that evening didn’t leave until 9pm, so I had plenty of time to
visit. I left my bags at the bus station (after a bunch of sign language and
broken communication, I figured out that the left luggage lockers were indeed
at the bus station), and headed off.</div>
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The monastery in Sergiev Posad is probably the most
spectacular that I have visited, and it is well worth even a daytrip from
Moscow. The colors seem to be inspired by a drunk Russian who played too much
Candy-Land, and it’s absolutely awesome. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBrBHHFJ608YZl5EBzgnXiDYpgHfHl9QA6ytUBLSRjAMgIGOoLNHMIThAmcosHl7-cho7NWI3zXgGfqzSvpVYf9QUHz-hj2CVqSC4F_7uc_EWwRku5NWArD03_yJV2_D4Gje7maQLZtUy/s1600/IMG_8746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBrBHHFJ608YZl5EBzgnXiDYpgHfHl9QA6ytUBLSRjAMgIGOoLNHMIThAmcosHl7-cho7NWI3zXgGfqzSvpVYf9QUHz-hj2CVqSC4F_7uc_EWwRku5NWArD03_yJV2_D4Gje7maQLZtUy/s640/IMG_8746.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlooking the Monastery -- This viewpoint is on the way from the train station to the Monastery</td></tr>
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There is little else to do in the
town, but the monastery offered hours of entertainment and photo opportunities.
The changing light and changing crowds made it a great place to spend some
time, and after taking tons of pictures and wandering around every inch of the
monastery, I sat down to write a Facebook update, relaxed for a bit, and then
had dinner at an excellent Russian restaurant that was on the way back to the
station. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iLpIVRGVsikGb0ZsGT04Id-cR2b_dg0dctvaWAfHV0r9rqE4qTBE5WC3aq0qmPzumLcot1UESOmBoeWCO1z3NnmuTWJsRbBY62a-SwNwD6IvDDlkNBwn9TbFCsym8aDJVNE31Gr1o5WQ/s1600/IMG_8867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iLpIVRGVsikGb0ZsGT04Id-cR2b_dg0dctvaWAfHV0r9rqE4qTBE5WC3aq0qmPzumLcot1UESOmBoeWCO1z3NnmuTWJsRbBY62a-SwNwD6IvDDlkNBwn9TbFCsym8aDJVNE31Gr1o5WQ/s640/IMG_8867.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You cannot seriously tell me that vodka was not involved...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPgh0OrwMAoKcUdSc6n0sb8ohS1qdaF0qKV4KiWvI5OFfNAryrGMCkH1O5aKWoGBbdHEHANZV6sMvTL4_Mb1JuFiMcwo1lDEuBjM8dvFScosJv5CWW72bUpIrXKUG4aZlsfmPGwoeMJ9M/s1600/IMG_8909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPgh0OrwMAoKcUdSc6n0sb8ohS1qdaF0qKV4KiWvI5OFfNAryrGMCkH1O5aKWoGBbdHEHANZV6sMvTL4_Mb1JuFiMcwo1lDEuBjM8dvFScosJv5CWW72bUpIrXKUG4aZlsfmPGwoeMJ9M/s640/IMG_8909.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I usually run away from churches too. My sympathies, cat.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKu8cL8Gbk0rjMDKOEzHoyu16R0u4YauJHMjvXzC3M9XQSHSJs-XbTarIH4oZWxautjRtyyPnX74HNTZJsMs8-1DUKFizdgJ2xRN2XeHFnXuvoyT5ykFd5LFcR8ZU_3S0dbR_PceRMKXF/s1600/IMG_8952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKu8cL8Gbk0rjMDKOEzHoyu16R0u4YauJHMjvXzC3M9XQSHSJs-XbTarIH4oZWxautjRtyyPnX74HNTZJsMs8-1DUKFizdgJ2xRN2XeHFnXuvoyT5ykFd5LFcR8ZU_3S0dbR_PceRMKXF/s400/IMG_8952.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside one of the monastery halls. The artwork makes the Sistine Chapel look like a child's drawing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZWYCr2K_hjPLHnRgaXA0Ofx-59XAzPDqh8EqwWhFnqF9aE9R8z455DD56gIT3iSWsFuBCyUjJskR-_19rG88T4c3zeKCKMb3zUPQLvPQSiiFgM6w_BuAFWMMyaNhzhyK9fZAuc42IR8Qd/s1600/IMG_8826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZWYCr2K_hjPLHnRgaXA0Ofx-59XAzPDqh8EqwWhFnqF9aE9R8z455DD56gIT3iSWsFuBCyUjJskR-_19rG88T4c3zeKCKMb3zUPQLvPQSiiFgM6w_BuAFWMMyaNhzhyK9fZAuc42IR8Qd/s640/IMG_8826.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama of the Monastery (Not Pictured: Giant light blue bell tower)</td></tr>
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When I got back to the station, I asked a lady who seemed to
be offering “information” about my train to Yaroslavl. She looked confused, and
told me to buy a ticket to Moscow. I knew that obviously was not right, so I
asked her again in a slightly different manner. Shortly after I asked, a
15-year-old Russian boy turned around and asked if I needed help. I explained
what was going on, and after a short conversation in Russian with the lady, he
told me my train was on platform 3 and I was all set. I thanked him, but he
said “I will show you, and besides, I want to practice my English” – and so we
went out to the platform and talked for about 20 minutes before he realized his
train was about to depart (his friend called him, shouting loud enough that I
could hear) and he bolted. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to give him my
contact info, but it turns out he was one of the best young violin players in
Russia and had just gotten back from a performance in Austria. Random, but
super-cool, and he was incredibly nice. </div>
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Happy to have the help and the conversation, I waited for my
train and began to get concerned when it was 5 minutes before my scheduled
departure time and the train hadn’t arrived. I was soon relieved about 2
minutes later when a rather nice sleeper-train arrived and I boarded as the
only passenger on the platform. A short 3 hours and 15 minutes later, I arrived
into Yaroslavl, grabbed a taxi (trying desperately not to get ripped off and
failing), and headed to my hotel for the next few days: The Yubilebnaya Hotel.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ndPpOe8qJMnVKL3CpouKmixknOzpOo1bxUj_fA1KZDjv57VfcsGYfEaKReV7SIz06oOk68wonmBBPcuxr8yqyOa_fbSkf-XKQBeedrloPNlypJP1biGRLEf9z90Ny5r2DFFkm6tIZr2Z/s1600/IMG_9133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ndPpOe8qJMnVKL3CpouKmixknOzpOo1bxUj_fA1KZDjv57VfcsGYfEaKReV7SIz06oOk68wonmBBPcuxr8yqyOa_fbSkf-XKQBeedrloPNlypJP1biGRLEf9z90Ny5r2DFFkm6tIZr2Z/s640/IMG_9133.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yaroslavl Monument at the end of the park, with a view of the river intersection</td></tr>
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The next day I decided to start my exploring by just
wandering. I had a general idea where things were, and I walked along the river
bank for awhile. Yaroslavl, as it turns out, is an amazingly enjoyable place to
walk around. I spent a lot of time there just enjoying the tree-lined or river-banked
boardwalks which either were shaded or had spectacular views.</div>
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One of the main parks in Yaroslavl extends out to the
intersection of the Vega and Volga rivers, and has some neat monuments as well.<br />
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After visiting the park and the Yaroslavl History Museum
(which conveniently had a couple explanations in English and smiling
babushkas), I headed inland to visit a few of Yaroslavl’s spectacular churches.
I started with the Church of Ilya the Prophet, and was fortunate to be able to
duck inside just as it began raining quite heavily. As far as places that offer
shelter from the rain are concerned, this was pretty damned nice. In fact, it
was pretty nice even for a building that wouldn’t offer shelter from the rain,
but I disgress.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39lKLvO0TuPsZ8Lrvo8x4o6nt-BgI2oSQeuWPKl5s3fvogqptTSoH_OqYuH5YjmLQLpD7xlxR6i3g3PxBzueGC_9eEkyvaFMPM2zTqpB6KxGfxsC-lWxaaXuDbNzh9RHdgRycGTAdH4zE/s1600/IMG_9229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39lKLvO0TuPsZ8Lrvo8x4o6nt-BgI2oSQeuWPKl5s3fvogqptTSoH_OqYuH5YjmLQLpD7xlxR6i3g3PxBzueGC_9eEkyvaFMPM2zTqpB6KxGfxsC-lWxaaXuDbNzh9RHdgRycGTAdH4zE/s400/IMG_9229.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet, sweet shelter - Church of Ilya the Prophet, Yaroslavl</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDHXCIBx1Tv0M694tUbqCTv0-uucmdVg6n9SAOhI8VJPiBVcUdGvBeOFtTEJduob9oIpqW-VHCm5xt5f4cdtgGek4aj0B1aULNiLvzf43vI0_y2PnsiMPZo7A9XjICJzbUd0qq7dlT1eB/s1600/IMG_9249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDHXCIBx1Tv0M694tUbqCTv0-uucmdVg6n9SAOhI8VJPiBVcUdGvBeOFtTEJduob9oIpqW-VHCm5xt5f4cdtgGek4aj0B1aULNiLvzf43vI0_y2PnsiMPZo7A9XjICJzbUd0qq7dlT1eB/s640/IMG_9249.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warm, cosy shelter <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">- Church of Ilya the Prophet, Yaroslavl</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBKcHG5Hr3aVtODoOpoHL9m9x3F6UMXErq_lkoOQiuvXNJi4_br0rLXkruWb_AOfbA6WRluZfcG14tgYefekEJJ22S3v-ujdcbmUoD9-0HeisFpb3M9vC4eGl4jchFg15rr_A8r09gG_D/s1600/IMG_9255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBKcHG5Hr3aVtODoOpoHL9m9x3F6UMXErq_lkoOQiuvXNJi4_br0rLXkruWb_AOfbA6WRluZfcG14tgYefekEJJ22S3v-ujdcbmUoD9-0HeisFpb3M9vC4eGl4jchFg15rr_A8r09gG_D/s640/IMG_9255.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty, shiny shelter <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">- Church of Ilya the Prophet, Yaroslavl</span></td></tr>
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When the rain subsided, I continued onto the pedestrian
avenue leading toward the Assumption Cathedral, newly rebuilt in 2005 after
being destroyed earlier. Though it has been rebuilt, the interior is quite
lackluster compared to the exterior. I finished my loop back to the river-bank
and found an excellent Russian place for dinner right next to the history
museum.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMTdLImxiMol3zZ4QGYFmfMUMrRSaJp0AnnELsu_z3bIdsSNnLy4KW9Sm1zsoHcHr2LkHpuJWyy-ai792OsTxN_IfmgfoQVx85nrHd0BVbCbz55uADG80qahiBqCoQLk3A3qjTtxONo6F/s1600/IMG_9273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMTdLImxiMol3zZ4QGYFmfMUMrRSaJp0AnnELsu_z3bIdsSNnLy4KW9Sm1zsoHcHr2LkHpuJWyy-ai792OsTxN_IfmgfoQVx85nrHd0BVbCbz55uADG80qahiBqCoQLk3A3qjTtxONo6F/s400/IMG_9273.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Assumption Cathedral and Eternal Flame/Victory Monument, Yaroslavl - The church is pretty on the outside, but cleaner than Hillary Clinton's ... (No! Stop that! Get your mind out of the gutter!) second email account.</td></tr>
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My second and final day in Yaroslavl I left my bags at the
hotel’s left-luggage and headed to the monastery near my hotel, then walked
along the river bank until I had pretty much reached the city limits. I caught
a bus back to civilization, and soon enough I was back to wandering around the
picturesque town, where I revisited a few places and then headed back to my
hotel to collect my bags before catching an evening train back to Moscow. My
Golden Triangle was finished.<br />
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Here are some miscellaneous photos I thought were nice:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeHUktWWkcFE99JXvuTYXue818fn3o1SfviHl7eu7d6UACbQj8N88lR20OX1qGv3Ta_ooigfJDiDyjnp4bVUXhA-SJb3x5lZwK6Jjjj-8cV7Bj03qF1dO67FY_raVL_KkQZWonHrPzpt7/s1600/IMG_9308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeHUktWWkcFE99JXvuTYXue818fn3o1SfviHl7eu7d6UACbQj8N88lR20OX1qGv3Ta_ooigfJDiDyjnp4bVUXhA-SJb3x5lZwK6Jjjj-8cV7Bj03qF1dO67FY_raVL_KkQZWonHrPzpt7/s400/IMG_9308.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset from the window of my hotel room, Yaroslavl</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CqThNg8dcJlxQAA4feBDSOOd1cxju23Xeh-vKHgVRCu6f0Jk5keq3LUMQ0sCEwj1lZIrK1_IPHz5i8NvhlXzpevLxhpSvjEPYKu9J_C4Pa091mdzD1dFGOQ2wQWRMp1quxYisCbxl5ws/s1600/IMG_9295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CqThNg8dcJlxQAA4feBDSOOd1cxju23Xeh-vKHgVRCu6f0Jk5keq3LUMQ0sCEwj1lZIrK1_IPHz5i8NvhlXzpevLxhpSvjEPYKu9J_C4Pa091mdzD1dFGOQ2wQWRMp1quxYisCbxl5ws/s400/IMG_9295.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random colorful wooden mini-houses along one of Yaroslavl's many tree-lined walkways</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGyiSkvAr9LDj06t_LdxD-gP7nX2vSPYqEATEWWtrrRQXMAID_9RNGUDelXXGsEDjp28y8nOYPZd_mKbI959_7CZ1jirXilv5fO6GZhDNyTPgMlrXgKeQqu4jUZuxL1dF4JQgE4C4A_An/s1600/IMG_8966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGyiSkvAr9LDj06t_LdxD-gP7nX2vSPYqEATEWWtrrRQXMAID_9RNGUDelXXGsEDjp28y8nOYPZd_mKbI959_7CZ1jirXilv5fO6GZhDNyTPgMlrXgKeQqu4jUZuxL1dF4JQgE4C4A_An/s400/IMG_8966.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Epiphany Church, Yaroslavl</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5oJ-HgFmhe5umOXpO7tg_gpd0D5CtiZIobjph1KpLJjysiIYM6Q-VFcmvHEYoY3JDQejTTFFkqSg_HLszXDDZEMgt580uCpOWoekYyAk2fGRBaMsepneN5iSFNORhXho9mH2WLzk00Sl/s1600/IMG_9038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5oJ-HgFmhe5umOXpO7tg_gpd0D5CtiZIobjph1KpLJjysiIYM6Q-VFcmvHEYoY3JDQejTTFFkqSg_HLszXDDZEMgt580uCpOWoekYyAk2fGRBaMsepneN5iSFNORhXho9mH2WLzk00Sl/s400/IMG_9038.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love locks on trees, again, tree-lined walkways. Part of me thinks putting a lock on something so easily chopped down is less of a commitment than, say, announcing things on Facebook,Yaroslavl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf63VY6DC_jB8dlbClNBMrPw7gBDLqsu6C53kauKjVnWg8mwQrHMyKBTOr7UnxMZw5BoxlfzoDdPr9Xtg2ns-3tX3oWw7qEn7xvp2sM2tYombw-oV8fZFdLt5pEn1KOQhH0dJyxXaljq34/s1600/IMG_9011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf63VY6DC_jB8dlbClNBMrPw7gBDLqsu6C53kauKjVnWg8mwQrHMyKBTOr7UnxMZw5BoxlfzoDdPr9Xtg2ns-3tX3oWw7qEn7xvp2sM2tYombw-oV8fZFdLt5pEn1KOQhH0dJyxXaljq34/s640/IMG_9011.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top of the monastery, Yaroslavl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqc0eDkknVoKBPk3au4-y385YjD-VppHiBtKRabeU35TXOFJ4Kx3K8xPQNgIGDqocLpC7y-bjPUAIr4bEeNbtQI0pJbPETFCcE6L5CgMe3a0BF-C6JFAEF1lEha0BJwFdnmEd8ilMjx-2c/s1600/IMG_9348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqc0eDkknVoKBPk3au4-y385YjD-VppHiBtKRabeU35TXOFJ4Kx3K8xPQNgIGDqocLpC7y-bjPUAIr4bEeNbtQI0pJbPETFCcE6L5CgMe3a0BF-C6JFAEF1lEha0BJwFdnmEd8ilMjx-2c/s640/IMG_9348.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volga embankment, Yaroslavl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Practical Information</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Booking Russian
train tickets<o:p></o:p></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3pt;">Booking Russian
train tickets online is difficult. While Russian Railways has an English
version of their site (<a href="http://pass.rzd.ru/main-pass/public/en"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://pass.rzd.ru/main-pass/public/en</span></a>),
I constantly had problems using a credit card to pay. Of all the
third-party options for booking tickets, I found that <a href="http://tutu.ru/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">tutu.ru</span></a> had the best prices and
least significant markups. Their site is straightforward, and although I
initially had trouble using a credit card, a quick email to their support
office resolved the issue (and I still am not totally sure what the
problem was -- I think it had something to do with account verification).
The booking process was smooth and very fast, the tickets were issued
very quickly, and overall the site offers an excellent service. I highly
recommend them, and I used them for all my train tickets.<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3pt;">For local
trains, it is not necessary or possible to get a ticket in advance.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<li>Local Trains in Moscow (Yaroslavsky)</li>
<ul>
<li>Trains to/from Sergiev Posad leave from Moscow’s
Yaroslavsky Station</li>
<li>To buy tickets and get to the trains, go through
the station until you reach the platforms and then turn left. You’ll see the
ticket counter a short ways away.</li>
<li>There are a couple trains from Moscow to Sergiev
Posad you can buy tickets on ahead of time which are faster and nicer, but they
are quite limited in frequency</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span>Local trains leave from Moscow to Sergiev Posad
every 30 minutes. They are not air-conditioned and don’t have any services
onboard, but they’ll get you there eventually. I believe my trip took a little
over an hour and a half.</li>
<li>Going to Sergiev Posad is easy because it is
terminus to terminus.</li>
</ul>
<li>Sergiev Posad timing & Other stuff</li>
<ul>
<li>I highly recommend Sergiev Posad either as a
daytrip from Moscow or as a stop on the way to Yaroslavl. It’s a small town
with only one major tourist attraction, but it’s a damned good one.</li>
<li>From the train station to the Monastery is an
easy 10-15 minute walk</li>
<li>There are left luggage lockers at the Sergiev
Posad bus station (which is very close to the train station), open until at
least 8:30pm, possibly later.</li>
<li>I had an excellent and reasonably priced dinner
at Russki Dvorik on the way back from the monastery to the train station.
Leaving the monastery, it is just across the main street before going back down
the hill.</li>
<li>I arrived in Sergiev Posad around 1:15pm, spent
about 5 hours at the monastery, got dinner, and made it back to the train
station by 8:30pm for my 9pm train. While the monastery is beautiful, it could
certainly be done in a little over a half-day.</li>
</ul>
<li>Yaroslavl timing & Other stuff</li>
<ul>
<li>I loved my time in Yaroslavl, and again would
highly recommend visiting. While it may not have nearly as much as say, St.
Petersburg, I still think it is a worthwhile place to spend a couple days.</li>
<li>I spent about 2 days in Yaroslavl and felt that
was plenty. While it would be possible to visit in 1, I found the city was one
of my favorite places just to walk around and explore, and having the second
day made that easy.</li>
<li>The café next to the history museum in Yaroslavl
is excellent</li>
<li>Take some time just to walk around the city without any particular goal in mind, especially along the river.</li>
</ul>
<li>The Yubileynaya Hotel in Yaroslavl had the
fastest WiFi I have ever experienced in a hotel, and overall it was a very
pleasant stay at a reasonable price. The hotel is located about 10 minutes from
the main tourist attractions, but is still easily accessible.</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-75887760884807467012015-06-29T09:47:00.002-07:002015-06-29T12:40:51.144-07:00The Golden Ring, Part I - Vladimir and Neighboring Towns, Homeless in Moscow<div class="MsoNormal">
Russia is a cool place. It’s also really fucking big, and
most people don’t venture too far from Moscow and St. Petersburg. My original
plan was to spend 3 days revisiting Moscow and then a week in Turkmenistan
before heading into Uzbekistan, but when my visa for Turkmenistan was denied a
few weeks before I left, I had to rework my plans. Since the rescheduling was
at the beginning of my trip, my options were somewhat limited – I couldn’t
change too many flights and hotels and dates, so instead I decided to spend
longer in Russia.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around Moscow there are several cities and towns which are
excellently preserved and offer an excellent glimpse of medieval and pre-Soviet
Russia (as well as plenty of fun Soviet buildings and landmarks). The
collection of these cities is known as the “Golden Ring” and rightfully so –
The cities are spectacular. I couldn’t find much information on transportation
between cities online, so instead of doing a proper ring (and trying to find a
way to get from Vladimir or Suzdal to Yaroslavl or Kostroma), I decided to
overnight in Moscow and do everything by train.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cities I visited were Vladimir and Suzdal (from Moscow),
then I returned to Moscow and visited Sergiev Posad and Yaroslavl, also from
Moscow. It turns out I probably could have done a true ring – there are tons of
buses leaving from Vladimir, and Yaroslavl and Kostroma are served several
times a day – but I am quite happy with my route.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I left off my last post having arrived into Vladimir. The
train station has a neat old Russian locomotive in front of it, and right in
front of the locomotive are the buses from the station to the city center. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5Wvr9OGXAMCQWViYh6CYV69cPvtIy8KZ9XlLIN0ebWnKvIvNg4E9h6rbLkwNNPMX2-EyhOg5brJRuztr7XJGNRtRaQL2XzfBV3cR5psvvwbzPETFsqwhA55zW-PHpg5VqVlocowxR4dM/s1600/IMG_8217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5Wvr9OGXAMCQWViYh6CYV69cPvtIy8KZ9XlLIN0ebWnKvIvNg4E9h6rbLkwNNPMX2-EyhOg5brJRuztr7XJGNRtRaQL2XzfBV3cR5psvvwbzPETFsqwhA55zW-PHpg5VqVlocowxR4dM/s640/IMG_8217.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Locomotive, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following my hostel’s directions, I got on the bus (an old Soviet gem of
course) and got off at the Golden Gate. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmKDPZmWXLQ06VXGZxq867BSz8alMpumvmBOvWrpuFBPP7MRTT5V-gx5lnSa_pZf8s-oMzSnkVmjCfZQvAMmjynhQ6RoR3M3vliJ8fqBddhmbOvNrX1idXEroXQPCn6q0mpwuLXilkWXU/s1600/IMG_8227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmKDPZmWXLQ06VXGZxq867BSz8alMpumvmBOvWrpuFBPP7MRTT5V-gx5lnSa_pZf8s-oMzSnkVmjCfZQvAMmjynhQ6RoR3M3vliJ8fqBddhmbOvNrX1idXEroXQPCn6q0mpwuLXilkWXU/s640/IMG_8227.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Gate, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a slight ascent and very steep
descent (my phone suggested it was about 70 feet, or the equivalent of 7
flights of stairs), I reached my hostel, Samovar Hostel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As with most Russian hostels, there were a few people living
there full-time, but the hostel itself was quite nice – They have a terrace
overlooking a church and the railway station, several comfortable couches, a
working hot shower next to the kitchen (which, as it turns out, almost proved
to be an issue when I forgot to bring a towel in with me…), comfortable beds,
and free tea or coffee (read: hot water to put tea or Nescafe). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I arrived, there was nobody there. Not like “no people
in charge” but actually nobody – Turns out the owner had to run a few errands,
and so I made myself coffee and he returned a few minutes later. Since there
was nobody in my bed the previous night, he let me check in early. At this
point, I faced a difficult decision: I could collapse and sleep for a long time
(remember, this is after 39 hours of travel and very little sleep) and then
have severe problems adjusting to the time-zone change (11 hours, and it was
noon in Vladimir) or I could go out and try to explore the city a bit. I seemed
to get some sort of zombie resurgence of energy, so I set out to explore…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, part of exploring meant climbing back up the
giant hill I had just come down. By the time I reached the top, I was seriously
reconsidering my whole zombie energy thing, but I hadn’t climbed the hill just
to go back down and collapse. I loitered around the Golden Gate for a couple
minutes, then found a café to eat lunch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, a common theme when I travel is that unless I have a
clear restaurant in mind, I generally hate having to find food. I try hard to
avoid tourist trap type restaurants, and as a result I will often wind up
wandering around for a long time trying to find something that looks
“reasonable” but also not “a serious danger to my health.” I also don’t eat
pizza or most “Italian” food unless I am in Italy. This process has led to some
great finds, but also to some failures. I’m a creature of habit once I find
something good, but generally I dislike having to hunt for that place, and
TripAdvisor doesn’t have great coverage in former USSR countries. All this is
to say that I usually only eat 2 meals a day, and sometimes I’ll forget to eat
if I’m caught up in my sightseeing or traveling. This digression is to say that
I hadn’t eaten in about 24 hours when I went to the café, and after having some
reasonably good food I felt even better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After lunch, I headed out to explore the city. I found a
nice overlook and a water tower which offered an excellent view over the city:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBXCxN8eR2NSXbJj3T2VhYIWgN4CHC9upBpFi1pfusw2KrQMseNNetE8JLE-Fgnhl1PenCdFO0CH_RcQ2bc5pW8OMOgThSs-BGkB7BAOpAmqHKelsMIeYuiWWxrrZN2gfsn2F6MdoPycL/s1600/IMG_8243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBXCxN8eR2NSXbJj3T2VhYIWgN4CHC9upBpFi1pfusw2KrQMseNNetE8JLE-Fgnhl1PenCdFO0CH_RcQ2bc5pW8OMOgThSs-BGkB7BAOpAmqHKelsMIeYuiWWxrrZN2gfsn2F6MdoPycL/s640/IMG_8243.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of several churches from the water tower, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36IkI0IQMRl6nWEC0PbSTQTlgz2YbnxyuQRdr3QVzAi4Wq5ffsyS3PRRRrt8OxD0eeRjoOh3sCsAZpXvMZkI4cKNTka3HyDtGpmW7i7ZRgVkUPvsP0Nno23fSEUhtoO9pxmjvtIjtZFtx/s1600/IMG_8276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36IkI0IQMRl6nWEC0PbSTQTlgz2YbnxyuQRdr3QVzAi4Wq5ffsyS3PRRRrt8OxD0eeRjoOh3sCsAZpXvMZkI4cKNTka3HyDtGpmW7i7ZRgVkUPvsP0Nno23fSEUhtoO9pxmjvtIjtZFtx/s640/IMG_8276.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the ground, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After taking a bunch of pictures and enjoying the view, I
headed over to get an up-close look at the things I was looking at from the
tower. Vladimir has several old white-stone churches from its medieval glory
days, including one of the best examples of Russian stone-carving from the 12<sup>th</sup>
century.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybYbgcINbdG0tic5yAEvCol62C-kK7fmM0I81HC7eStPwd54mDChRuiF-5MBg-O-uqe1KUIpP4eE4HGRLOtHxB6GDfhw5Ao1bGq6MLspqCHve0gb0EjHEVp3ZnJ7sZSsne4zBHOsDl33C/s1600/IMG_8386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybYbgcINbdG0tic5yAEvCol62C-kK7fmM0I81HC7eStPwd54mDChRuiF-5MBg-O-uqe1KUIpP4eE4HGRLOtHxB6GDfhw5Ao1bGq6MLspqCHve0gb0EjHEVp3ZnJ7sZSsne4zBHOsDl33C/s640/IMG_8386.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJf6fLd5HcKgD8uRHrEwx_mv2ltJCETc3eK5Qop6gzpbwBOV8YjAMlCvamN-TTZKO5DQjJjIzVuYGWgRWatO0SmUfj7-RbrueS9VGnNPXjhCgTwES0eQCC_MD94bt9wTQF08c4cE8PKQ4/s1600/IMG_8395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJf6fLd5HcKgD8uRHrEwx_mv2ltJCETc3eK5Qop6gzpbwBOV8YjAMlCvamN-TTZKO5DQjJjIzVuYGWgRWatO0SmUfj7-RbrueS9VGnNPXjhCgTwES0eQCC_MD94bt9wTQF08c4cE8PKQ4/s640/IMG_8395.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Demetrius Cathedral, Vladimir - The exterior carvings depict the story of King David, and were carved in the 12th century.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vladimir has a funny charm to it, and the park surrounding
the churches adds a nice touch – There were even horse-drawn carriages offering
rides (no, I didn’t). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhqk411B1BHArqFrIh4-tM-twXcFt6haBB_5gCxtO-GxC97EnzccPvySBH6IP41TjeIBqDAhgEdGtNpgQSFqzUTpTJdGjlX4RMb95uhrvXG2BLdiLfAefa5GiS5OwVoj99NOY4nj6NZDx/s1600/IMG_8390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhqk411B1BHArqFrIh4-tM-twXcFt6haBB_5gCxtO-GxC97EnzccPvySBH6IP41TjeIBqDAhgEdGtNpgQSFqzUTpTJdGjlX4RMb95uhrvXG2BLdiLfAefa5GiS5OwVoj99NOY4nj6NZDx/s640/IMG_8390.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had a nice time exploring the churches and wandering
around the park, and after a bit more wandering I finally felt my crash coming
on… I headed back to the hostel (by another classy old Soviet bus) and fell
asleep shortly after getting back. I didn’t set an alarm, and I slept for 14
hours straight, but goddamn I needed it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Freshly rested and having visited more of Vladimir than I
had planned to on the first day, I decided to move my Suzdal daytrip to my
second day instead of the third. I grabbed breakfast at a coffee shop
(cappuccino is a universal language) and headed to the central bus station to
catch a bus to Suzdal. Russian public transportation is excellent and usually
quite efficient, and after buying a ticket inside for ~65 RUB, I waited a few
minutes for the bus (another old Soviet one of course) and was off. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXmyAuZnFCV3GUDB4Q4x4C06VqH9ne-pa5b74Z_ilXo04WFa7e4RQXwwbPuAjxkDrPDtpMkA2PUWElG9jXwovP_Td6vuCS575cnIJx1-40NAdbTRGt5ZcypdHLcvGb8FPrbhfs9HWXKUz/s1600/IMG_8439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXmyAuZnFCV3GUDB4Q4x4C06VqH9ne-pa5b74Z_ilXo04WFa7e4RQXwwbPuAjxkDrPDtpMkA2PUWElG9jXwovP_Td6vuCS575cnIJx1-40NAdbTRGt5ZcypdHLcvGb8FPrbhfs9HWXKUz/s640/IMG_8439.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bus Station, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ride was a bumpy 45 minutes, and
conveniently the bus goes beyond the bus station in Suzdal and actually goes into
the town. After the bus station, the driver collected an additional 18 RUB and
we continued into the town. I got off at the Kremlin stop since I wanted to
visit there first before heading to the monastery.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Kremlin has a couple exhibitions and a stunning
blue-Onion-domed church, an excellent example of a wooden church, as well as a couple other buildings and a large green
space behind it. </div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MaO36s3ixFH1sr2cKzifTCBchpZxJJeOgHrmGitBNcOx2U96Y-r7j3_lsNy2MAiMHlgjLDABQ1pCFxjtPYYrsHIMoX4cQpILSDK8yP21e3-FKD_HdBoDJEf9A8AgMAE_jRU_yhPls6RD/s1600/IMG_8537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MaO36s3ixFH1sr2cKzifTCBchpZxJJeOgHrmGitBNcOx2U96Y-r7j3_lsNy2MAiMHlgjLDABQ1pCFxjtPYYrsHIMoX4cQpILSDK8yP21e3-FKD_HdBoDJEf9A8AgMAE_jRU_yhPls6RD/s640/IMG_8537.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wooden Church of St. Nicholas & Cathedral of the Nativity, Suzdal</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA91PlIGgz9VXfE2RAbC948r0L-WmMSFdvttZ-aLhsQ8xRxJHu04mai9QtckmM4ISCAgbU7ERE7PCVQVmCkmht6sEtuHOSMCEShu6-Pk88G1quj8spv2olzItFgrrVOMam-HB7qRf93g4O/s1600/IMG_8481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA91PlIGgz9VXfE2RAbC948r0L-WmMSFdvttZ-aLhsQ8xRxJHu04mai9QtckmM4ISCAgbU7ERE7PCVQVmCkmht6sEtuHOSMCEShu6-Pk88G1quj8spv2olzItFgrrVOMam-HB7qRf93g4O/s640/IMG_8481.JPG" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of the Cathedral of the Nativity, Suzdal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I wandered around for a while, then found a great place for
lunch (“Russian Restaurant” on the left near the Kremlin – didn’t exactly fit
my bill for “non-touristy” but it seemed good, and indeed it was). I bought a
small bottle of Medovukhzal, a honey-based wine, and continued to the monastery
(stopping to wander through an entire field, yes, literally a field, of
paintings – I wish I had bought one, though I’d have had to mail it home).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the Kremlin, I headed over to the Monastery, home to
several exhibitions, churches, a bell-tower, and a nice courtyard. </div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYze8u3LYJkCkTBMMEWveP9mGcH2-R7ZJn5xp8SgVMpI-5m-BjK4BpB3xQh0F-yVRombLmas_S5k9h9xHYt4u5Ql_jY6UacZ3WD-BRpaUYfxA-0RuszSY-SGUo4rjEb-bvNcm0uNx0BC-e/s1600/IMG_8636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYze8u3LYJkCkTBMMEWveP9mGcH2-R7ZJn5xp8SgVMpI-5m-BjK4BpB3xQh0F-yVRombLmas_S5k9h9xHYt4u5Ql_jY6UacZ3WD-BRpaUYfxA-0RuszSY-SGUo4rjEb-bvNcm0uNx0BC-e/s640/IMG_8636.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church and Bell Tower of the Monastery, Suzdal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9Lm3a-ohyNNZXNPRSi-dg9KBZboWeh3g8HaElz8z2HBAktYjar1y4hpD9uHkhlTylx6f0uLSG1dzA9kVE490fd03L17aiqaVbHmKL5PJqfBMkG0LDO4yDQMmi5QXt9rI8LKYMMJljgfw/s1600/IMG_8606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9Lm3a-ohyNNZXNPRSi-dg9KBZboWeh3g8HaElz8z2HBAktYjar1y4hpD9uHkhlTylx6f0uLSG1dzA9kVE490fd03L17aiqaVbHmKL5PJqfBMkG0LDO4yDQMmi5QXt9rI8LKYMMJljgfw/s640/IMG_8606.JPG" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of the Church, Suzdal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As with most
Russian monasteries, it was rather quiet and relaxing (with the exception of
two Chinese tour groups being whisked through), and it’s a nice place just to
sit and enjoy the atmosphere. After spending awhile at the monastery, I
negotiated a cheap taxi back to the bus station where I bought a ticket for the
return to Vladimir. Unfortunately I was not so lucky this time, and I got the
dreaded “MECTO: 0” meaning that I would have to stand. The ride back was a
bumpy but pleasant hour, and I spent a few minutes wandering around Vladimir
before getting dinner at a hotel restaurant (since I couldn’t find much that
seemed good, and the place I went before was closed).</div>
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<br /></div>
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The food was decent, but I refrained from ordering their
“specialty” …</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YE0CtkLUWjO0pNlwv4lCS8oC6Xgw06XrYfdQ0GUue3OUpfaKExi9Ypb6b90bPorYQMmaurSvMVtflQkXI3_SOTqX5ae5Qz6P8tQMg0LNc9KYyOWWuV2QMwIoguc2DVoPTQX1vnG7YJwP/s1600/IMG_8681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YE0CtkLUWjO0pNlwv4lCS8oC6Xgw06XrYfdQ0GUue3OUpfaKExi9Ypb6b90bPorYQMmaurSvMVtflQkXI3_SOTqX5ae5Qz6P8tQMg0LNc9KYyOWWuV2QMwIoguc2DVoPTQX1vnG7YJwP/s400/IMG_8681.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A delicacy, Vladimir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent my last day in Vladimir wandering and revisiting a
few places I went to the first day (with a significantly less zombie-like
approach). Again, the city is fun just to walk around, and I spent awhile doing
that, visiting the Golden Gate (which was finally open after 2 days of trying,
and houses a small military museum up a large and steep set of stairs), and
just generally checking out anything that seemed interesting. I’m glad I gave
myself a bit longer in each place on this trip, since being able to wander and
revisit places is quite nice, and it’s easy to miss some things the first time
around.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the afternoon, I decided to try to visit the nearby town of Bogolyubovo, which also has several churches included in the UNESCO list. I caught a bus from the center to a nearby bus station where I changed to the Bogolyubovo bus (try saying that 10 times fast!). I hopped off when I saw the monastery, and went in for a few minutes. The inside of the church was under construction, but the outside was still quite enjoyable.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Zg9QzyBWUePSvPNwHzRmN36tfMGfW_Lup2Zb1QJgZekxfg3yNk-aWojSurrY9IViuqxUybJstjYGraUnp1lV8OoECeXWtj2KoA57ypVtIEvSVi_yjYpahn1C_dE8OwWxrJBhM4ns-ehU/s1600/IMG_8710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Zg9QzyBWUePSvPNwHzRmN36tfMGfW_Lup2Zb1QJgZekxfg3yNk-aWojSurrY9IViuqxUybJstjYGraUnp1lV8OoECeXWtj2KoA57ypVtIEvSVi_yjYpahn1C_dE8OwWxrJBhM4ns-ehU/s640/IMG_8710.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monastery, Bogolyubovo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leaving the monastery, I followed the lacking directions I found online and the even more lackluster directions offered by Google Maps to try to find the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl. Google seemed to think it was in the middle of a mess of train tracks, while my directions also sent me nowhere useful. I soon found myself wandering around abandoned train tracks and ruins along with a few small houses. After a while of wandering and not seeing any sign whatsoever of the church, I decided to give up and head back to Vladimir.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I finished up my last day in Vladimir by clambering down the
hill to my hostel, spending a bit of time planning my next few days, and
clambering back up the same hill to catch the bus to the train station (where I
had left my bag in the morning) to catch my train.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vladimir was a fun place to start my trip, and armed with my
train ticket, I headed off for my overnight in Moscow… The following day I
would take a train to Sergiev Posad in the morning and then continue to
Yaroslavl that evening, and everything seemed great until I arrived in Moscow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I was doing a quick overnight in Moscow and I knew
which train stations I would be visiting, I had booked a small hotel, the
Unicorn Leningradskaya, across the street from the train station so I could
just wake up and go. After arriving in Moscow, I took the metro to the train
station I was leaving from the following morning and after quite a bit of
searching, found the address where my hotel was supposed to be located.
Unfortunately, all that was there was a small gate, but when someone else went
through, I managed to run through behind them and keep the gate open.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wow, I’m lucky” I thought, as I was approached by a rather
unhappy security officer who spoke no English. I mentioned that I was supposed
to be staying in the hotel here, and he held up a piece of paper with the
hotel’s phone number on it. The paper also said to call 1.5 hours before
arrival, which, having arrived <i>at the
hotel</i>, was not all that helpful. Thankful for my data plan, I called the
number and had the following exchange with the person on the other end,
supposedly the manager (me in bold):</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“Hi, I am in the
courtyard of your hotel, can you please show me where to go from here?”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Did you call 1.5 hours before arriving?” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“No, but I am here
now. I didn’t have phone service on the train.”</b>“ </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Well, you MUST call 1.5 hours before arrival or we cannot
check you in.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“Okay, but I have a
reservation and you MUST have that, right?”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Yes, but if you don’t call, then we don’t stay at the
hotel. There is nobody there now.”<br />
<b>“Well, maybe you can
send someone over to check me in?”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“No, you did not call 1.5 hours before you got here.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“There was nothing on
my reservation information telling me to call!”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“That’s not our fault. You must call.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“Well, where do you
expect me to stay tonight? I made a reservation. I am in a foreign city and
have nowhere to sleep because I didn’t call?!”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“That’s not our problem. You must call. There is nobody here
now.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“I feel like I’m in a
Seinfeld episode. Did my reservation mean nothing?! Can you not send someone to
the hotel now?”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“No.” </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>“Well, good-bye. I
hope you like one-star reviews.”</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Good riddance to you too.”</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With that settled, I quite obviously was going to have to
find another place to stay. I left the courtyard with the angry security guard
and went to try to find somewhere with WiFi. Everywhere with WiFi was closed,
however, because it was 10:45pm by now, so I once again was thankful for my
data plan and stood outside the train station to call hotels.com. I figured
they would be able to provide me alternate accommodations near the station. I
called, explained the situation, and was put on hold while the agent called the
hotel. Amusingly, she received no response. She came back and told me she would
transfer me to reservations, and after 10 minutes on hold, the reservations
agent answered. Apparently she had not put any notes in my reservation, so I
had to re-explain my whole situation, wait on hold while the reservations agent
called the hotel, etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reservations agent returned having actually spoken to
the hotel. He said they were willing to come back and check me in, but I would
have to pay extra. I told him that was absurd, that my reservation was for a
specific price etc, and that after my previous conversation with the hotel, I
did not feel safe going there. The agent said that since it seemed the hotel
was honoring the reservation, there was nothing he could do. By now I had been
on the phone for 45 minutes, and it was 11:30pm. I realized that getting a
refund and dealing with hotels.com could wait, but finding a hotel for the
night could not. After a couple more minutes attempting to talk sense into the
agent, I thanked him, hung up, and began my search for an actual hotel (again,
using data because I had no WiFi). I didn’t find much in the area, so I
eventually decided to just book the same place I would stay later when I
returned to Moscow. It was about 20 minutes from the train station, but I
didn’t care. I booked it (having to call again, because by the time I decided
this it was past midnight, and booking sites don’t allow you to book a
reservation for that night after midnight), arrived at my hotel around 12:30am,
and decided I didn’t want to wake up in 8 hours for my train… So I cancelled my
train and decided to take a local one to Sergiev Posad instead (which run every
30 minutes).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to bed pissed as all hell, but hey, at least I had a
bed. That’s more than the Unicorn Leningradskaya offered me. Next up, Sergiev
Posad and Yaroslavl.<br />
<br />
<b>Practical Information</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Since I'm visiting places where there are not many resources on the internet about them, I'm going to try to add an information section at the end of my posts, mostly relating to lodging and transportation, along with a few other odds and ends. So...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Booking Russian train tickets</li>
<ul>
<li>Booking Russian train tickets online is difficult. While Russian Railways has an English version of their site (<a href="http://pass.rzd.ru/main-pass/public/en">http://pass.rzd.ru/main-pass/public/en</a>), I constantly had problems using a credit card to pay. Of all the third-party options for booking tickets, I found that <a href="http://tutu.ru/">tutu.ru</a> had the best prices and least significant markups. Their site is straightforward, and although I initially had trouble using a credit card, a quick email to their support office resolved the issue (and I still am not totally sure what the problem was -- I think it had something to do with account verification). The booking process was smooth and very fast, the tickets were issued very quickly, and overall the site offers an excellent service. I highly recommend them, and I used them for all my train tickets.</li>
</ul>
<li>Buses in Vladimir</li>
<ul>
<li>Local city buses run extremely regularly, and there is a stop right outside of the train station. Exit and turn right.</li>
<li>Buses are cheap and easy, and they are the best way to get around the city if you don't feel like walking everywhere.</li>
<li>The bus station in Vladimir is a fairly major hub. There are buses serving Yaroslavl, Kostroma, and most other cities in the region which leave several times a day. I don't know the exact times, but the important thing is that they exist (which, if I had known, would have potentially avoided the entire Moscow debacle)</li>
<li>Most of the short-haul buses are standard old Soviet affairs, but there are also some nicer buses which I assume serve further destinations.</li>
<li>Buy your ticket inside of the station from one of the many counters. I had no trouble, despite my practically non-existent Russian.</li>
<li>Buses have assigned seating. Your seat number is marked on the ticket under "Mesto" and if it is a 0, it means you don't have a seat and likely have to stand.</li>
<li>Buses to Suzdal leave every 30 minutes, usually from place #10.</li>
</ul>
<li>Buses in Suzdal</li>
<ul>
<li>The bus from Vladimir to Suzdal first goes to the Suzdal bus station, but you should stay on -- The driver will come around and collect an additional payment (18 rubles) before continuing into the city.</li>
<li>Same as in Vladimir, on your return, you should buy your ticket inside of the bus station. I don't know if it is possible to get on a bus in the city and continue to Vladimir as I didn't try that.</li>
<li>Buses back to Vladimir leave every 30 minutes, although there are buses every 15 minutes during a few peak periods (from 4-5pm if I recall correctly)</li>
</ul>
<li>Vladimir timing</li>
<ul>
<li>I visited for about 3 days, spending one in Suzdal. It's certainly possible to spend only 2 days total, but trying to visit both Vladimir and Suzdal in one day is probably too much.</li>
</ul>
<li>Lodging</li>
<ul>
<li>I stayed at the Samovar Hostel. The facilities, staff, and hostel are great, but the location leaves a bit to be desired. It's about an 8-10 minute walk from the Golden Gate, and down a very steep hill. Climbing back up the hill each morning was an inconvenience, but I am still quite happy with my choice to stay there.</li>
</ul>
<li>Being stranded in Moscow</li>
<ul>
<li>The best thing to do is find WiFi if you can. Don't worry about getting refunds and other logistical details -- Finding a place to stay is most important, and should be your primary focus. HotelTonight does work in Moscow and is a suitable backup option, but most of the hotels were quite pricey.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-29377105156971900982015-06-23T00:44:00.002-07:002015-06-23T00:44:09.014-07:00Getting There is Half the Battle - San Francisco to Vladimir, Russia<div class="MsoNormal">
So, a bit of backstory – I have wanted to try out the A380
for a while and haven’t had the chance to do so yet. While British Airways and
Emirates serve SFO with it, BA didn’t fly it on the day that I wanted to leave
(and leaving from SFO on it was way more expensive) – Instead, I decided to go
through Los Angeles, connecting to London on the BA A380 before going on to
Copenhagen (my technical destination) and connecting on an Aeroflot flight to
Moscow (my actual destination). It was an extra stop (and a LONG connection – 7
hours), but I figured it’d be totally worth it for a chance to try the A380.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got to the airport around 12:20pm for my 2:20pm flight to
LAX. I checked in and decided not to go through security until a bit later. As
I was waiting, I got a text saying that my flight was delayed. Normal enough,
but just to be safe I checked the inbound flight and found that it was delayed
by three hours, due to arrive at 3:30pm. The posted delay on my flight so far
was only 30 minutes. There was nobody in the AA elite line, so I figured I’d
take a moment to plan my strategy. I had a few options; first, I could do
nothing and take my delayed flight (with a first-class upgrade); second, I
could ask the check-in agent to protect me on the next flight which left at
4:40pm and keep my plans for the delayed flight if things worked out; third,
and most amusingly, BA offers a nonstop from SFO-LHR leaving at 4:40pm which I
could potentially switch onto.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Undeterred, and using the fact that the SFO-LHR nonstop was
operated by a 747 as an excuse, I decided to keep my plans to go through LAX
and ask the agent to protect me on the next flight, the 4:40pm one. When I
asked him to do so, he looked at me as if I were crazy. “But your flight has
only a 30-minute delay!” he said. I ever so politely informed him that the
inbound aircraft would barely be taking off at the time my flight was now
scheduled to leave. He grimaced and eventually was convinced to protect me on
the next flight. Fast-forward about 20 minutes and I got another email, this
time a cancellation! I immediately went back to the desk and got a confirmed
seat on the 4:40pm flight; though I lost my upgrade, it was still a bulkhead –
Not too bad, all things considered. I went through security a few minutes later
and spent a bit of time in the lounge where I amusedly watched several angry
passengers on my former SFO-LAX flight that had to be accommodated on much
later flights. Flying is the best source of schadenfreude on the planet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqovq9rlgbify29OTex7kRta2RcCiJNPbLRj8r1ywpptYJf-deEhqXtKK_neuih2Rk6F5xYJt16iKL_Xt97-m7bYXHpVlC_OvP01mXyuZRFU76dimq27NXCBasJmWdFVZ9v-_mgFByulW/s1600/IMG_8064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqovq9rlgbify29OTex7kRta2RcCiJNPbLRj8r1ywpptYJf-deEhqXtKK_neuih2Rk6F5xYJt16iKL_Xt97-m7bYXHpVlC_OvP01mXyuZRFU76dimq27NXCBasJmWdFVZ9v-_mgFByulW/s640/IMG_8064.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AA Lounge at SFO (feat. angry passengers in the background)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon I was boarding my flight to LAX, and it turned out that
my seatmate was also an aviation geek who had done quite a bit of
plane-spotting. I picked up on it when I saw him taking pictures of the
Emirates A380 as we taxied past. We spent the whole ride to LA talking, and he
left for terminal 4 to make his AA flight to LHR while I headed to the
international terminal for my hard-fought-for BA A380 flight. My 7 hour layover had dwindled to 3.5 hours, and after
dinner in the OneWorld lounge, I was off to board my flight. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiuJ3okMqZIaY84pZrkmPGwzC_yKWMUzvrwo0rFVjldQxD3-owv0yOuFm74-6pI4t1R-gT29g0pbNg1QG8YU4N1-nX2caAxD8W0qO1A3YJI4sO_V5xLRgI39n-F6IluHMdJ_HoIqf5muW/s1600/IMG_8071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiuJ3okMqZIaY84pZrkmPGwzC_yKWMUzvrwo0rFVjldQxD3-owv0yOuFm74-6pI4t1R-gT29g0pbNg1QG8YU4N1-nX2caAxD8W0qO1A3YJI4sO_V5xLRgI39n-F6IluHMdJ_HoIqf5muW/s640/IMG_8071.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OneWorld Lounge LAX, feat. my bags</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had a seat on the
upper deck, so boarded after going up an escalator in the jetway. The flight
itself was a lot of fun, and I wandered around the plane a bit when I could.
After a quick 10 hours (read: NCIS marathon), I landed in London.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I headed to the BA lounge where I once again ran
into a plane-spotter. He suggested a great place outside of the terminal, and
since I had a few hours to kill, I decided to get a passport stamp and join
him. Among the highlights were a Saudia A330 and the Kuwait Airways A300 – One of
the last of its kind in service.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vCR9L7J_H4XvrIdJOgJ5_wKFV_QDUFvgCDh5Wy5sXfYz-9hnP8QrE41DxF8ypT2Tr27p1GfZBMKFbHnaOoQVsYA12pKp4c8h7k2tkC2HmU48psnfi41vyBdOHc2D4FjW3Sm98JAR0eJ9/s1600/IMG_8134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vCR9L7J_H4XvrIdJOgJ5_wKFV_QDUFvgCDh5Wy5sXfYz-9hnP8QrE41DxF8ypT2Tr27p1GfZBMKFbHnaOoQVsYA12pKp4c8h7k2tkC2HmU48psnfi41vyBdOHc2D4FjW3Sm98JAR0eJ9/s640/IMG_8134.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connecting in Jeddah doesn't sound like the most fun...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We headed back through security and customs
and spent a little longer in the lounge before heading to our respective flights;
him to Athens, and me to Copenhagen. I got to the gate to find out my flight
was delayed an hour. This turned out to be quite nice, however, since it turned
out that sunset in Copenhagen was around 10:45pm, and we landed shortly after
sundown. I got an awesome timelapse (despite the bumpy approach) and a few
other nice pictures of the spectacular sunset.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu54_K6HkRqPTMtdPN7XG-9RarOZDp_Qf3gOsmbPBqE3EcERUSWCXhdQqPmkPp4442CUOjKaf5g0yThDreR3_liWtoTvn1Jvd9Eo2yBO2JYkYNx1uVcAAA_4YtgyLuqzCIkLt-i-Bf08fU/s1600/IMG_8192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu54_K6HkRqPTMtdPN7XG-9RarOZDp_Qf3gOsmbPBqE3EcERUSWCXhdQqPmkPp4442CUOjKaf5g0yThDreR3_liWtoTvn1Jvd9Eo2yBO2JYkYNx1uVcAAA_4YtgyLuqzCIkLt-i-Bf08fU/s640/IMG_8192.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arrival into CPH</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, as I mentioned above, in order to get the incredible
deal I got on my flights, I had to book my OneWorld ticket to Copenhagen and
add on a Moscow flight from there. I was flying Aeroflot from Copenhagen to
Moscow, and had given myself 3 hours in Copenhagen just in case anything went
wrong. Well, 3 hours turned to 2, which eventually turned to 1.5 hours. I no
longer had time to go through customs to the Aeroflot check-in desk to
check-in, and so I headed to the gate instead. At the gate, I found nothing.
Not “oh, there’s nobody here” nothing, actual nothing. It was shuttered closed,
and there were a couple people sitting on the floor nearby. I asked and was
told that the gate wouldn’t open for awhile. I resigned myself to sitting on
the floor and waiting, and eventually about 30 minutes before the flight was
scheduled to take off, an official-looking woman came over and
unlocked/unshuttered the gate. Immediately she was swarmed by about 150 Chinese
people who seemed to materialize out of thin-air. Obviously they all wanted to
board, but I had a more pressing matter – I had no boarding pass. I had managed
to check-in online successfully, but with no boarding pass, I was kinda stuck.
She tried to print it, but found that there was no ticket stock at the gate. As
she was heading off to find some, I finally managed to connect to the internet
and navigate Aeroflot’s minefield to get a boarding pass on my phone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I entered the gate area after she checked my visa, and began
waiting. Of course the entire Chinese mob hovered so close to the entrance to
the jetway that one of them got hit in the head by the door when a flight
attendant came out. Again, schadenfreude at its finest. After a little longer,
we boarded and were off – a short 2 hour and 20 minute hop to Moscow… It was
unfortunate, however, that the hop included a time zone and was effectively a
redeye: We left Copenhagen at 12:20am and arrived in Moscow at 3:40am.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am terrible at sleeping on planes. I was, however, so
tired by this point that I managed to get an hour of sleep despite being woken
up by flight attendants twice to ask if I wanted water. It turns out that no, I
did not want water. In fact, while it may seem hard to believe, when I am asleep
I don’t want to be violently shook by a Russian woman in a bright red uniform
and asked if I want water! Water and sleep are not a great mix, and thus I didn’t
sleep much more on the flight.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p8fBIOVqGKbrgnUvbMY7sdc-CVp7n6VhHsHwEZUX4LX9J8dI0MMp_RhhFVrh0MvY22Qafk5UCSQB1zjHs8joPn8ezzVDvhCNuP4FaMWVgL-VVK2Jm_UF1la6L8THJTMUHhjbWCD5i1V4/s1600/IMG_8213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p8fBIOVqGKbrgnUvbMY7sdc-CVp7n6VhHsHwEZUX4LX9J8dI0MMp_RhhFVrh0MvY22Qafk5UCSQB1zjHs8joPn8ezzVDvhCNuP4FaMWVgL-VVK2Jm_UF1la6L8THJTMUHhjbWCD5i1V4/s640/IMG_8213.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pokey-water-woman and the Aeroflot A320 business class (I had the bulkhead in economy)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, you see, it turns out that I am a cheap fuck. No, not
like that, get your mind out of the gutter. What I mean is that originally I
was supposed to take a 4:40pm train from Moscow to Vladimir, and I had booked
an airport hotel so that I could sleep when I arrived. A few days before I
left, however, seats opened up on the earlier, 9:30am train. I rationalized the
switch to myself by suggesting that it’d be nice just to get to Vladimir, and
that 6 hours isn’t that terrible, that I would be jetlagged and miserable if I
slept until 2pm the day I arrived, and that maybe I’ll have slept on the planes
beforehand (hint: no). I cancelled my hotel reservation and instead decided to
rough it for 6 hours while waiting for my morning train. Maybe that would have
been okay, but I did another stupid thing: I decided that while taking the
Aeroexpress into the city would be nice, the first one didn’t leave until 5am,
and since Moscow traffic wouldn’t be bad at 4am, I decided to take a taxi to
the train station. Why I didn’t wait at the airport with power-plugs and comfy
seats, I will never know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pro tip: Don’t spent 5 hours at a Moscow train station. The
waiting rooms were closed, so I spent an hour languishing on the ground next to
a power outlet before deciding that there had to be some better way. I headed
upstairs at that point and found an empty seat where I watched NCIS for the
next several hours. I was too tired to move, my head hurt, and I couldn’t fall
asleep because I had all my stuff with me and was surrounded by, well,
less-than-scrupulous characters. You know, the kind you might find in a
train-station at 6am. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyhow, eventually after several doses of ibuprofen, by some
miracle it was 9am. I checked the train-board and found my train was supposed
to leave from track 1. I went out to the tracks and there was no train. It was
10 minutes before departure and Moscow was the origin, so I found that a bit
odd. I glanced down to platform 11, however, and sure enough my train was
there. I don’t know whether I just missed a “1” or whether the listing was
actually wrong – By now I was mostly a walking zombie.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGmj9do8TitwTfj3YTGMiVQIpcpmqh-xw4DtTLZGo7M9RnDLkGkRnj5kXesgRnQY1kxN3Lp-sSyyb6NFjzOhQfOHqsE76pbh8WramEb9uhb4Amhh7rDP6McjYyf8g1jgddP3CIeGVme9J/s1600/IMG_8215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGmj9do8TitwTfj3YTGMiVQIpcpmqh-xw4DtTLZGo7M9RnDLkGkRnj5kXesgRnQY1kxN3Lp-sSyyb6NFjzOhQfOHqsE76pbh8WramEb9uhb4Amhh7rDP6McjYyf8g1jgddP3CIeGVme9J/s640/IMG_8215.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Moscow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a 2-hour train ride I finally arrived in Vladimir
where I got off the train, took a local bus to the Golden Gate, and walked down
a giant hill (hint: what goes down must come up) to my hostel for the next 2
days. I left Stanford at 11am Pacific time on June 9<sup>th</sup>, and arrived
in Vladimir at 12:10pm Moscow time on June 11<sup>th</sup>; roughly 39 hours of
travel. Despite my extreme lack of sleep, I had a second zombie-resurgence –
With my stomach growling (and no longer feeling as miserable), I decided to get
lunch and explore the city a bit...</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-54509582405165930392015-03-25T17:05:00.002-07:002015-03-25T17:15:32.582-07:00Summer 2015: Back in the (Former) USSR!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Okay, well I have obviously learned that I am terrible at keeping up with writing things. I had written part of several additional posts at some point and never really properly finished them. Never mind that now though, I have a new trip to plan!</div>
<br />
There are really two trips, but I will focus on the first for now...<br />
The first is June 9-August 5, and will be discussed in this post.<br />
The second is August 17-September 14, and is still somewhat TBD, but will include 2 weeks in Croatia for the junior international bridge tournament.<br />
<br />
This trip originally started out as some sort of trans-Siberian railway adventure. I really enjoyed my time in Russia last summer, and decided I wanted to go back for longer. I was originally going to go from Moscow to Beijing on the trans-Siberian railway and it was going to be long and slow and ultimately wouldn't pass through that many interesting places. The more I looked, the more I wanted to go further South. I then planned to do the Silk Road route by train, but that was going to be extremely time-consuming and still wouldn't let me visit everywhere I wanted to go in my limited time-frame. I wanted to visit a few places not on the train-route anyway, and so one by one I began replacing trains with flights. Eventually, after replacing nearly all the trains with flights, I wound up with the fun and complicated mess that has now become my summer travel plans. It may be a logistical clusterfuck, but it has been a lot of fun to plan.<br />
<br />
Over the course of nearly 2 months I will visit 7 countries, fly on 11 different airlines, and need 4 visas.<br />
<br />
My itinerary looks as follows:<br />
<br />
<b>June:</b><br />
Moscow, Russia<br />
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan<br />
Darvaza, Turkmenistan<br />
Mary, Turkmenistan<br />
Bukhara, Uzbekistan<br />
Samarkand, Uzbekistan<br />
Khiva, Uzbekistan<br />
Tashkent, Uzbekistan<br />
<b>July:</b><br />
Almaty, Kazakhstan<br />
Dunhuang, China<br />
Xian, China<br />
Beijing, China<br />
Ulan Baataar, Mongolia<br />
Tokyo, Japan<br />
Vladivostok, Russia<br />
<b>August:</b><br />
Irkutsk, Russia<br />
Yakutsk, Russia<br />
<br />
My itinerary will look like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.gcmap.com/map?P=dme-asb-taz-asb-myp-bhk-skd-tas-ugc-tas-ala-urc-dnh-xiy-pek-uln-pek-tyo-vvo-ikt-yks&MS=wls&MR=540&MX=720x360&PM=*" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gcmap.com/map?P=dme-asb-taz-asb-myp-bhk-skd-tas-ugc-tas-ala-urc-dnh-xiy-pek-uln-pek-tyo-vvo-ikt-yks&MS=wls&MR=540&MX=720x360&PM=*" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
During the trip I will fly on the following airlines (including at least 1 Russian plane hopefully):<br />
American Airlines<br />
British Airways<br />
Aeroflot<br />
S7 Airlines<br />
Turkmenistan Airlines<br />
Uzbekistan Airways<br />
Air Astana<br />
China Southern<br />
Air China<br />
ANA<br />
Ural Airlines<br />
Yakutia Air<br />
<br />
I found fantastic flights which worked perfectly with my schedule for the beginning and end of the trip. I nested flights with my second trip and found some excellent deals:<br />
SFO-LAX-LHR-CPH (start of trip 1) // CPH-LON-MCO (end of trip 2) for $720<br />
YKS-DME-LHR-ORD (end of trip 1) // ORD-LHR-WAW (start of trip 2) for $1040<br />
I added an Aeroflot segment a few hours after my arrival into Copenhagen at the beginning, and since I will finish in Yakutsk, the departure will be very convenient.<br />
<br />
So why the hell would I do this to myself? It's not simply because I have acquired an insatiable taste for mutton or ex-soviet bureaucracy; in fact, I will have to work on my tolerance for both of those. This is an area of the world not frequently visited, and after a couple years doing easier travelling, this summer I wanted something challenging and exciting. There are a lot of absolutely stunning places in Northern Asia, and I figured I'd kick off my Asian travels with my own twist on the trans-Siberian. I will hopefully manage a crash-course in Russian, and otherwise will have to rely on my ability to communicate non-verbally in a lot of places.<br />
<br />
Here are a few pictures which will hopefully convey some of why I am super-excited for this trip:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://deidresorensen.com/gallery/large/Turkmenistan-179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://deidresorensen.com/gallery/large/Turkmenistan-179.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins of Ancient Margiana from 1300BC - Gonur Depe, Turkmenistan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://image-ination.ifthisistaken.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Darvasa_gas_crater_panorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://image-ination.ifthisistaken.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Darvasa_gas_crater_panorama.jpg" height="192" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darvaza Gas Crater - Darvaza, Turkmenistan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.advantour.com/img/uzbekistan/khiva/khiva-tours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.advantour.com/img/uzbekistan/khiva/khiva-tours.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the Itchan Kala - Khiva, Uzbekistan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.crystalinks.com/MogaoCaves3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.crystalinks.com/MogaoCaves3.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mogao Caves - Dunhuang, China</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mindlesswanderings.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Ulaanbaatar-4679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://mindlesswanderings.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Ulaanbaatar-4679.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Buddha - Ulan Bator, Mongolia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://englishrussia.com/images/112012/vladivhelicopt/vladivostokfromhelicopter002-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://englishrussia.com/images/112012/vladivhelicopt/vladivostokfromhelicopter002-9.jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial View of Vladivostok - Vladivostok, Russia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://russiatrek.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/tourist-center-kingdom-of-permafrost-yakutsk-russia-10-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://russiatrek.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/tourist-center-kingdom-of-permafrost-yakutsk-russia-10-small.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kingdom of Permafrost - Yakutsk, Russia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.superjetinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/YAKUTIA_SMALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.superjetinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/YAKUTIA_SMALL.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yakutia Sukhoi Superjet 100</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This trip has presented all kinds of new challenges, and the lack of information available online is startling. I have finalized most of the logistics now, and due to issues with flights only being available on certain days, I had to change/shorten/lengthen my visits to certain cities. Skyscanner and Google Flights helped tremendously, as did Momondo and a few other booking sites. While I will cover a lot of Central Asia and Siberia on this trip, there will still be plenty more to see in the future. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b7C2o9HqqE">A ride on Tajik Air's flight from Khorog to Dushanbe</a> is definitely on my to-do list.<br />
<br />
As for now, I need to work on the logistics of obtaining all the necessary visas and figuring out how to actually visit some of the difficult-to-reach places. I will probably be spending a lot of time in SF going embassy-hopping during next quarter of school.<br />
<br />
If you will be in any of these cities over the summer (or would like to come along for part of the time), let me know!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-64321390126437448092014-07-14T15:41:00.003-07:002014-07-14T16:02:48.251-07:00Paris - My Adventures as an Art Cynic and Pickpocket Taunter<div class="MsoNormal">
As usual, clicking on the pictures will make them bigger. It will also make your mouse button happier. Try it. It might even make reading through the ~4800 words here more enjoyable.<br />
<br />
It seems appropriate that I post this on Bastille Day.<br />
<br />
I left off where I was boarding my Eurostar train from London which I made by about 30 seconds before check-in closed.<br />
<br />
I got off my Eurostar train after the 2 hour 15 minute ride
and headed to the metro to get to my friend’s apartment. Of course, the metro I
needed wasn’t directly in the station, but my phone told me it was only an
8-minute walk, so I headed out of the station (past all of the sketchy people
who hang out at the train station entrance) and started following my phone’s
directions. Unfortunately at some point one of the roads was closed, and I
wound up getting very lost (in a rather bad neighborhood of Paris). I
eventually found my way to the metro station about 20 minutes later, and I was
on my way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My friend’s apartment was very centrally located in a nice
area, and after a short metro ride, I collected the keys from next-door and
headed up to the apartment. After dropping off my bags, I headed out to find
dinner. I chose an Indian place nearby (of course), but it wasn’t great.
Heading back to the apartment, I held the door for a guy behind me, not wanting
to rudely slam it in his face. As I went to open the second door leading to the
stairs up to the apartment, I started to get a bad feeling. I noticed he stood
there waiting patiently for me to open the door, and when I tried to speak to
him, he ignored me and asked “what room?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point I knew I was in a bad situation, and there
wasn’t much I could do about it… If I tried to leave immediately, I was worried
he would simply wait for me (or someone else to return), while if I went up to
the apartment, I knew he would force his way in (or worse). I decided my best
chance was to go up to an apartment that wasn’t mine, so I climbed up one
flight of stairs with him following and tried to open one of the doors that
wasn’t mine. I kept one hand on my wallet the whole time, and after trying to
look confused and shaking my head, I bolted back down the stairs trying to get
him to follow me. Sure enough he did, and once I got him to leave the apartment
complex, he continued following me. I eventually ducked into a nearby hotel
while his view was blocked by a group of teenagers, asked to use the bathroom, and
spent 10 minutes waiting there before exiting the hotel with a large group of
people. I had lost him, and was able to safely return to the apartment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While this experience was rather scary, it was a good
wake-up call for me. I had just spent the beginning of my trip in Scandinavia
which was extremely safe. Even the UK is relatively safe, and I needed
something like this to happen to remind me to be more careful with my
surroundings (especially in somewhere like Paris). I was glad that I didn’t
need to have anything stolen to learn the lesson, and I remained vigilant
throughout my entire time in Paris. Sadly, Paris is a city where you really do
have to pay attention at all times… Once I had learned this the hard way, I was
perfectly fine. I even enjoyed teasing some of the criminals and pickpockets
toward the end of my time there – It’s all part of the experience and the fun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I continue further, I ask you to read these two fantastic
short pieces by the Onion: <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-spends-summer-having-wallet-stolen-across,2779/">Area Man Spends Summer Having Wallet Stolen Across Europe</a> and <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/going-to-tops-of-things-still-favored-by-nations-t,6217/">Going to Tops of Things Still Favored By Nation's Tourists</a>. The first is an all-around wonderful piece, and the second
is an excellent description of a lot of my time in Paris (and several other
cities).<br />
<br />
Now that you've completed your required reading, let me begin.<br />
<br />
After the apartment scare, I calmed down for a while and researched what I wanted to do over the following days then went to bed early.<br />
<br />
<b>Day 1</b><br />
<br />
Since I had a lot of time in Paris, I figured it'd be a good start to get my bearings with a walking tour. Sandeman's New Europe offers a lot of free walking tours across Europe (of course, they aren't really free -- you "tip" the guide however much you feel their tour was worth), and I decided to try out the morning one. The guide was entertaining but a bit lacking in her knowledge of history, but her glaring failure was in keeping the group together: Multiple times during the tour this one Indian family wandered off to take pictures (or took 20 minutes when the guide clearly said 5), and she continued to wait and delay the tour for them. By the time we finished, the tour ran about 45 minutes longer than planned and everyone was super-annoyed at the Indian family for delaying things so much. How much of this was the guide's vs. the family's fault isn't clear, but it definitely meant the tour wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been. Still, we covered a lot of major sights (without going inside of course), and I learned my way around some of the main touristy areas.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkNDza0bJA8XxnYi6zo_q8XXCBqtUDfeiGWdNAyiOHpf7hkk1eUql_B7wN3G4mMhKYj9lIZ1HURv-8g3MHsS3YQ790LRHZxIGNbP_6NJaoNBDkSD9HM_pUb1qDpCpe4Ya0YLlvmhTQjAx/s1600/IMG_8441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkNDza0bJA8XxnYi6zo_q8XXCBqtUDfeiGWdNAyiOHpf7hkk1eUql_B7wN3G4mMhKYj9lIZ1HURv-8g3MHsS3YQ790LRHZxIGNbP_6NJaoNBDkSD9HM_pUb1qDpCpe4Ya0YLlvmhTQjAx/s1600/IMG_8441.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We walked over the bridge with all the locks. Here's something Romantic: They have to cut off all the locks at least once a year, otherwise the bridge is at risk of collapsing from all the extra weight.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjni6lm8oglxnXGPAid0SyLXc6JCVmz20aZBirozeNv92emDNjAsbPMQHKilKuzflwyJiChCXpmNNbvinbR5xfUoaBAxVQCtU5w85p3sHhI3f6ASVLeIWFGCdQutXVMGuGmqxytrldQv6Xb/s1600/IMG_8451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjni6lm8oglxnXGPAid0SyLXc6JCVmz20aZBirozeNv92emDNjAsbPMQHKilKuzflwyJiChCXpmNNbvinbR5xfUoaBAxVQCtU5w85p3sHhI3f6ASVLeIWFGCdQutXVMGuGmqxytrldQv6Xb/s1600/IMG_8451.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The glass pyramid at the Louvre during the walking tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Since the tour ran long, I had a bit less time than I had originally planned... I decided to do the Army Museum and Napoleon's tomb for the afternoon, and that was fun. I realized that army and armory museums generally aren't my thing, but there were still a couple interesting exhibits.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxeavLmreNUrdnlTcVjS0efkJM7UqYIxQW_5wZ-jI9tfb9InuKqViUnwIznKsWHDSYfCT7iQNJvz9H7i8VQ7d46Ts4XTvtAElBtvtqVMIsfstSMFAxL1lSNs0Nqtf_FCGLKN0TSCb_raE/s1600/IMG_8480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxeavLmreNUrdnlTcVjS0efkJM7UqYIxQW_5wZ-jI9tfb9InuKqViUnwIznKsWHDSYfCT7iQNJvz9H7i8VQ7d46Ts4XTvtAElBtvtqVMIsfstSMFAxL1lSNs0Nqtf_FCGLKN0TSCb_raE/s1600/IMG_8480.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior Courtyard of the Museum (with the dome of Napoleon's Tomb in the background)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After I went through the museum, I headed across the complex to Napoleon's tomb, held in a gigantic basilica-like building.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-1D0JuRn94kYvRsZfqLjs-_SWUC-7m2cuH7mduI9uD9dJ6_Acc_vekbpbDw_vAm0tS_ISdJgFcOknjXdfDR6J_xXK1BgVG-L14fGRoc1gy4l8BNkXYbHCjRMxga7wx7ZELo4hri2YdG_/s1600/IMG_8487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-1D0JuRn94kYvRsZfqLjs-_SWUC-7m2cuH7mduI9uD9dJ6_Acc_vekbpbDw_vAm0tS_ISdJgFcOknjXdfDR6J_xXK1BgVG-L14fGRoc1gy4l8BNkXYbHCjRMxga7wx7ZELo4hri2YdG_/s1600/IMG_8487.JPG" height="400" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I die, I'll be content with a building half the size.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The tomb itself is amusingly small since Napoleon was very short, but the interior is elaborately decorated. This picture should give you a general idea of the interior, and of course I took selfies with the tomb:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSzS-4bkMIhYR9of99ahKLQaIYQzy7PqkluRCiCJdz4LP4Cb7YiKuNq2uKrlmcxwFEaaQCm_-arGt_jiPtSheTPltR8GXPLfpUCYqKFsL97ULjyOcnrWIvuurEwDfVllM6E7cSNeyQ1MCx/s1600/IMG_8508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSzS-4bkMIhYR9of99ahKLQaIYQzy7PqkluRCiCJdz4LP4Cb7YiKuNq2uKrlmcxwFEaaQCm_-arGt_jiPtSheTPltR8GXPLfpUCYqKFsL97ULjyOcnrWIvuurEwDfVllM6E7cSNeyQ1MCx/s1600/IMG_8508.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQEoRQ3MDl3OLOCmTIE1ZMXBFUrP3ueH9pNjK22jtVFbPIaEc6CspPRD38RuomEYdqJSuMyus1nY_1gYxbaUKWvQrvJ3YFWEVTDVDNA8ZazAmUFhewz3A1ZCe5PsRUX2mhCSSs1YtnMcL/s1600/IMG_2512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQEoRQ3MDl3OLOCmTIE1ZMXBFUrP3ueH9pNjK22jtVFbPIaEc6CspPRD38RuomEYdqJSuMyus1nY_1gYxbaUKWvQrvJ3YFWEVTDVDNA8ZazAmUFhewz3A1ZCe5PsRUX2mhCSSs1YtnMcL/s1600/IMG_2512.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
There isn't really much else to say about Napoleon's tomb. It's practically a temple erected for him. It was fun later on in my trip to visit some of the countries he invaded and see their drastically different opinions of him. France, however, pretty much worships him.<br />
<br />
After I finished up at Napoleon's tomb, I walked the full Avenue des Champs-Elysees, starting from Place de la Concorde and finishing at the Arc de Triomphe. It was a pleasant walk of about 2km, and anyone who knows me won't be surprised that I didn't go inside any of the stores. I wasn't even tempted in the slightest, except maybe to laugh at the outrageous price tags.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrLXnDgAcmOBZIG6PlhgaYX_95KFvtqKDH1XsJ713fd7wfoa5SSoAF1-6jEjJXInGIC64XK7Z8yuWDM2u6loPUSobjR2mz42md79-Aitpt8J7MP14zOyxtfd57eDb267Wzru09P49h4-Y/s1600/IMG_8464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrLXnDgAcmOBZIG6PlhgaYX_95KFvtqKDH1XsJ713fd7wfoa5SSoAF1-6jEjJXInGIC64XK7Z8yuWDM2u6loPUSobjR2mz42md79-Aitpt8J7MP14zOyxtfd57eDb267Wzru09P49h4-Y/s1600/IMG_8464.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Place de la Concorde, which wouldn't be complete without several large tour buses</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once I reached the Arc de Triomphe, the fun began. Since the Arc sits in the middle of a 6-lane roundabout, there are very few places to get good pictures with it unless they are from the side. The solution? Cross the Champs-Elysees halfway, then at the small pedestrian island, inch out into the median area, illustrated below:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglk9YEPKGwf1F6wZ56O2vptdsfDihEVhvmcbBZ9k_FGnp1F2tgiN_-zNcpM6pebihf7nJNoFOuwkpUadRHpK8oraKOHK_04Cqj68jP181IWxpHIclsjrp3w0lZ4v7hRhemK2z5ARF7DNT4/s1600/IMG_8541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglk9YEPKGwf1F6wZ56O2vptdsfDihEVhvmcbBZ9k_FGnp1F2tgiN_-zNcpM6pebihf7nJNoFOuwkpUadRHpK8oraKOHK_04Cqj68jP181IWxpHIclsjrp3w0lZ4v7hRhemK2z5ARF7DNT4/s1600/IMG_8541.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totally safe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After I returned to the safety of the little pedestrian island, I finished crossing the street. Then I wondered how to get across the very busy 6-lane roundabout to reach the Arc. I noticed there were chain-like barricades around almost the whole thing, which didn't really make sense at the time. I saw no crosswalks and no traffic lights to enable pedestrians to cross, and I saw no other way to get across. Of course, I now know there is an underground tunnel which takes you under the roundabout and allows you to reach the Arc safely, but I did not know that at the time. I knew there had to be a way, but I wasn't sure what it was, so I ran. Yes, I ran across the 6-lane roundabout and jumped over the barrier while a bunch of tourists turned to watch in horror. Right when I reached the other side, a very young Chinese boy said to me "You know, there is tunnel" and I contemplated jumping back into traffic.<br />
<br />
Remember that Onion article about tourists going to the tops of things? Yeah, well, I wanted to go to the top of the Arc. One of the best parts about going to the top of the Arc is the view of the Eiffel Tower, and one of the worst parts is the stairs. 284 to be exact. Well, I like going to the top of things, so off I went. The stairs steadily got narrower and narrower, but eventually I emerged into daylight with an excellent view of the city.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIe1QWCMmBKV5gqOwTc3sibdCPe6VarLV7FnN2Ab92Ej9kKgJgkR33gup1_OaDFfvSKD76au3FEcKwgOVfVOt1HKAMdP_oCe5TXB3FWaHLpHhZN_t3fUcZfL1Mp8nkE5NalLI14uKGTv7/s1600/IMG_2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIe1QWCMmBKV5gqOwTc3sibdCPe6VarLV7FnN2Ab92Ej9kKgJgkR33gup1_OaDFfvSKD76au3FEcKwgOVfVOt1HKAMdP_oCe5TXB3FWaHLpHhZN_t3fUcZfL1Mp8nkE5NalLI14uKGTv7/s1600/IMG_2521.JPG" height="240" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many tree-lined avenues, with the Champs-Elysees in the middle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIMlxN7IOVnLbqwvaF5lGIL-jIqjF4bKCrdh8TInUCOKds0Be_mY-LGTz75czVIKIqb9w6vMd7wYvfY77JIKSBtmh72UsAlhj0LJX18P5e2WaXWCdaiVh5oGmtlKLVPUQuxRAloWlMsVv/s1600/IMG_8572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIMlxN7IOVnLbqwvaF5lGIL-jIqjF4bKCrdh8TInUCOKds0Be_mY-LGTz75czVIKIqb9w6vMd7wYvfY77JIKSBtmh72UsAlhj0LJX18P5e2WaXWCdaiVh5oGmtlKLVPUQuxRAloWlMsVv/s1600/IMG_8572.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closeup of the Eiffel Tower from the Arc</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHF_CVGh9ZZmoiYbT2Itkg7_-tC_SBPqo2O2JnptjIZvyDLAqkjk_C2X5RG6cEKtidJvdmIv70m3AImTAlhDHD_ywFr3l9_h1E8phk9oPDo9trf-0aZqfVUeirvhQMsOHR_c210YxtW3c/s1600/IMG_8601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHF_CVGh9ZZmoiYbT2Itkg7_-tC_SBPqo2O2JnptjIZvyDLAqkjk_C2X5RG6cEKtidJvdmIv70m3AImTAlhDHD_ywFr3l9_h1E8phk9oPDo9trf-0aZqfVUeirvhQMsOHR_c210YxtW3c/s1600/IMG_8601.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And of course a picture with the Eiffel Tower from the top of a thing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Somehow the walk down seemed a bit more pleasant, although it was pretty easy to get dizzy.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Back on the ground, there was a ceremony of some kind going on around the eternal flame which I watched for a while, then I did a bit more walking before retiring to the apartment, where my friend had prepared a fantastic French dinner.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Day 2</b><br />
<br />
Lines, lines everywhere. I visited several of the most popular attractions in Paris on my second day, and I severely underestimated just how absurd many of the lines can get. Of course I timed these visits perfectly, since it was pouring rain for most of the day... Nothing is more <i>fun </i>than standing in line when it is pouring rain. In fact, it was so much <i>fun</i> that after 30 minutes of getting drenched at the Notre Dame (my first stop of the day), I made the brilliant purchase of an umbrella. Sure, I had a waterproof jacket, but my backpack was still getting soaked, as was any other part of me not fully covered by the jacket.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, my first stop was indeed the Notre Dame, and upon seeing a giant line to go in the main entrance, I did a lap around the building to see if there was a special entrance for holders of the Paris Museum Pass (i.e. me). Around one side I found a slightly shorter-looking line that seemed to lead inside. Only after waiting in this line for 30 minutes did I realize it was the line to go to the top of the church. Yes, more going to the top of things! Well, I had already made it to the front of the line, so I figured I'd do it. This one was 387 steps of <i>fun</i>, and once at the top, yet again, the view was pretty neat. It was actually raining so heavily that it was difficult to see the Eiffel Tower.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj951FEezlejwQHg-_BCP7AbIlezHf_HUTVO0jA4PaE6Jem7sltUyJVIVBQ5n3RTrFvlzlhDTZqmVNZnLvD5iS0-3ZZB1AopfYrB8ZWIBl7FAeH7aiN-iAx20qLAPNIttGbll0PlVMjBNsN/s1600/IMG_8635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj951FEezlejwQHg-_BCP7AbIlezHf_HUTVO0jA4PaE6Jem7sltUyJVIVBQ5n3RTrFvlzlhDTZqmVNZnLvD5iS0-3ZZB1AopfYrB8ZWIBl7FAeH7aiN-iAx20qLAPNIttGbll0PlVMjBNsN/s1600/IMG_8635.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the same rain that I had the privilege of waiting in for 30 minutes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxo5RETLzPzr4aQ8u3dFZ_lskxv3GUX9BRf2-RZu0C598bcMfR3ZL1DpO-H7pseKVJenLqxBg-qFmsP11NAeKTmfcYqCKEujllJGr74OoyggzJoV7itHZm3sOKELbHDLH8h0GRSglCH-g/s1600/IMG_8655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxo5RETLzPzr4aQ8u3dFZ_lskxv3GUX9BRf2-RZu0C598bcMfR3ZL1DpO-H7pseKVJenLqxBg-qFmsP11NAeKTmfcYqCKEujllJGr74OoyggzJoV7itHZm3sOKELbHDLH8h0GRSglCH-g/s1600/IMG_8655.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View in the other direction</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExfOGoEVkezoBbF-H7GYyRcZWb0Gxy0ABEtiK-HMO4L0IltCxaDcscbXLgO2GbLkjHdWWHKccNhF1yadduH5Ntd4Zre-Zcw_QJwDkWI2Hgup5UJJJvobYWj5Ci3NCfBGu0LM_mwRM35Wi/s1600/IMG_2528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExfOGoEVkezoBbF-H7GYyRcZWb0Gxy0ABEtiK-HMO4L0IltCxaDcscbXLgO2GbLkjHdWWHKccNhF1yadduH5Ntd4Zre-Zcw_QJwDkWI2Hgup5UJJJvobYWj5Ci3NCfBGu0LM_mwRM35Wi/s1600/IMG_2528.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pet a gargoyle</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl3G4HlUA6Oqt5OiQnrxUs4Ue-m8CA16YLoAuiXjA0JrEQoE4fkaBZtSIk8wt76NToicY_zjqGtW61RtYvm28Mvuk1aUdozrfcNDIT6lKrdaEGsx_FZJ_Pwpc5rdACxq0szAGMrq7l4_w/s1600/IMG_8433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNl3G4HlUA6Oqt5OiQnrxUs4Ue-m8CA16YLoAuiXjA0JrEQoE4fkaBZtSIk8wt76NToicY_zjqGtW61RtYvm28Mvuk1aUdozrfcNDIT6lKrdaEGsx_FZJ_Pwpc5rdACxq0szAGMrq7l4_w/s1600/IMG_8433.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken the day before -- My photos of Notre Dame on the second day didn't turn out in the rain.</td></tr>
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From Notre Dame, I walked to Sainte Chapelle nearby. It continued pouring rain, and yet again there was a long line. This one was about 45 minutes, and I was very glad to have my umbrella. The wait was worthwhile though, as the actual church is spectacular. Gigantic stained glass windows line each wall, and it is nearly impossible to photograph.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6DjwZai7sI0llIMYbXCXnt77-pOk1CYzTVhw35ZGASBhItha38LL3cu0BLjv_4y4aX_mSQ-GQH-BpFpflof3ynFOEG8sJFFaHNjEff3uFKNnIfJBc9mvp8wUs4xjcOsQ7H70C_r7sHGq/s1600/IMG_8732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6DjwZai7sI0llIMYbXCXnt77-pOk1CYzTVhw35ZGASBhItha38LL3cu0BLjv_4y4aX_mSQ-GQH-BpFpflof3ynFOEG8sJFFaHNjEff3uFKNnIfJBc9mvp8wUs4xjcOsQ7H70C_r7sHGq/s1600/IMG_8732.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one turned out decent, but it only includes a few of the giant windows</td></tr>
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The church itself is actually quite small, but the windows make it look huge. It's worth the wait and the narrow spiral staircase to see it. After I finished up at Sainte Chapelle, I decided to go over to Montmarte to see the Sacre Coeur Basilica. I had read on TripAdvisor about the various criminals, hawkers, pickpockets, and other undesirables in the area, and that they were concentrated at the main stairs and funicular up to the Basilica. I decided to avoid the main entrance on the way up, and it was equally as convenient to approach the Basilica from the side, which I highly recommend. Instead of going to Anvers metro station, start at Chateau Rouge... It will be much safer and less stressful -- I didn't see anyone shady on my walk up. The view from the hill is quite nice:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizE2cz45UbIx8hiTP5hrKGpeJkhBtLo6uMeOXa9yyeP5dBWGCB7njGbX2N0jSw-sYoM0DevsBj8GFyUNvkLIFoCPvzhwghJ48Q_aOvYcGLcthJRfEuDW9ZCtItbXEdWjpR6KA8S9u3N0Op/s1600/IMG_8765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizE2cz45UbIx8hiTP5hrKGpeJkhBtLo6uMeOXa9yyeP5dBWGCB7njGbX2N0jSw-sYoM0DevsBj8GFyUNvkLIFoCPvzhwghJ48Q_aOvYcGLcthJRfEuDW9ZCtItbXEdWjpR6KA8S9u3N0Op/s1600/IMG_8765.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on the main stairs and surrounding area</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypxi7KSFSFv65J9kVUaahCn_WW8M7Kz9zRGT5cFwI2-emXHS6UIkDBmOTnLyl6IbUuPQ0UkLzQEW39De_c2T5sf1Mp7PT39y80ScHRGSvyXwkzqHcpvAAT7goSEdo_5PIR3bOwHgBkkWD/s1600/IMG_8769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypxi7KSFSFv65J9kVUaahCn_WW8M7Kz9zRGT5cFwI2-emXHS6UIkDBmOTnLyl6IbUuPQ0UkLzQEW39De_c2T5sf1Mp7PT39y80ScHRGSvyXwkzqHcpvAAT7goSEdo_5PIR3bOwHgBkkWD/s1600/IMG_8769.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once I reached the top of the stairs, I didn't feel like climbing up a bunch more stairs to the top of the Basilica, and I had already exhausted my desire to go to the top of things for the day. I went down into the crypt first, and it was rather atmospheric because there was a service going on and it echoed around the entire crypt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJuGsIHu_UxbHOoEydHtgc_t1pTz-y7793CtAxpA6-JBTCqeuGkFoU8rg45gcVxYvQwB-cnyteitkIw1sJkOrKe6nZOZEKLyAGZ1w31kGIjYkg-x4KIf5qGg1g6fd0nfbczoq4RuMjGZT/s1600/IMG_8779+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJuGsIHu_UxbHOoEydHtgc_t1pTz-y7793CtAxpA6-JBTCqeuGkFoU8rg45gcVxYvQwB-cnyteitkIw1sJkOrKe6nZOZEKLyAGZ1w31kGIjYkg-x4KIf5qGg1g6fd0nfbczoq4RuMjGZT/s1600/IMG_8779+cropped.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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There wasn't much to actually see in the crypt, but with the service going on in the background, it was nice. Eventually I made my way back above ground and went inside the actual church.<br />
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After I finished up at the Basilica, I went to the bathroom. I didn't actually use the bathroom, but I took everything out of pockets and put it into the safest compartment in my backpack (which is a zipped compartment that stays pressed against my back) to prepare to walk down the main stairs. I then exited the Basilica and began to walk down the main stairs. Sure enough, I was quickly accosted by two small kids who were trying to pick my pocket. The poor kids must have been very disappointed that my pockets were completely empty. I stopped part of the way down to get a picture (making sure that the person I gave my camera to wasn't going to steal it -- I chose an elderly American couple):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCqeehh_jwuKkWx64ugEt0ryHsF8UIwd-e3cchuubaKRfDgYTElczU1PIsGhu_fQ3Ca3N2T9XE-iYFkX9qNPk_khVlIWVEfCPoZAOMK31E8HSQFAjnHpeQbYwdjZ6A6kCOgcyetdvJi_b/s1600/IMG_8803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCqeehh_jwuKkWx64ugEt0ryHsF8UIwd-e3cchuubaKRfDgYTElczU1PIsGhu_fQ3Ca3N2T9XE-iYFkX9qNPk_khVlIWVEfCPoZAOMK31E8HSQFAjnHpeQbYwdjZ6A6kCOgcyetdvJi_b/s1600/IMG_8803.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Success.</td></tr>
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Once I got my camera back, I returned it safely to my backpack and continued down the stairs. Many people on TripAdvisor mentioned the African guys toward the bottom of the stairs who try to lasso your arm with a "friendship bracelet" and charge you 10-20 euros for it. As I went down the stairs, this one African guy tried to get one around my arm, but he couldn't, since my hands were in my pockets and I was moving quickly. He chased me down the stairs trying to tie the bracelet. In fact, I was confident enough that after a few steps I started taunting him. I shouted "try harder" and "can't catch me" multiple times as he chased me for about 300 meters trying to tie the bracelet. When he finally gave up, I turned around and waved goodbye, laughing. Seriously though, these guys are aggressive and won't hesitate to grab you, and it's terrible that the police haven't done anything about it. Being prepared for it made the experience actually enjoyable, but it's easy to see how it could easily sour one's visit to Sacre Coeur. There are plenty of places in Paris with pickpockets or other undesirable characters, but nowhere else did I see so many of them that were so aggressive.<br />
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Once I made it safely to the metro station, I headed to the Eiffel Tower to meet my friend's niece, Juliette, since she wanted to go to the top as well. We had spent a lot of time talking in the apartment, and it was a lot of fun visiting the Eiffel Tower with her.<br />
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Since the lines for the elevator from the ground were very long, we decided to take the stairs all the way to the second floor -- 704 steps of <i>joy</i>. The stairs to the third floor are closed to the public, but they would have been an additional 1000 steps or so.<br />
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After the long hike up to the second floor, we walked around a bit, then tried to buy the ticket to go to the top floor. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they had stopped selling tickets for an hour. We got on line though, and it was an excellent decision: 15 minutes later, the line snaked all the way around the entire second floor platform. We took turns holding our place in line and walking around taking pictures, and the hour flew by.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rV96lCBOfn4PrS0m8kixm9REaHYNqbzjhcuIV8gOiEOUlZP6QJtkMpR-P9KIuNnr3siMG1VjcNmZCmCAtLJLWtd5BrDLGwsGwokTH7qgISEZI5I7yhRyWUoLQa4OB_bq1IoMLn0EYKJm/s1600/IMG_8818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rV96lCBOfn4PrS0m8kixm9REaHYNqbzjhcuIV8gOiEOUlZP6QJtkMpR-P9KIuNnr3siMG1VjcNmZCmCAtLJLWtd5BrDLGwsGwokTH7qgISEZI5I7yhRyWUoLQa4OB_bq1IoMLn0EYKJm/s1600/IMG_8818.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montmarte from the Eiffel Tower</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7C0ny7rg-JzaFBInXgQbKiPKw1naAP5uie0IrS1DOCGt1UcwCGm19FkWbS62JYjs4EAHAncc_k6hLQUTPwwfF86SlWtdzNDqqGTKdU4xCwiVfRd-mUcMrGaLoNc95VLFHbz_AgxQdJjBw/s1600/IMG_8860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7C0ny7rg-JzaFBInXgQbKiPKw1naAP5uie0IrS1DOCGt1UcwCGm19FkWbS62JYjs4EAHAncc_k6hLQUTPwwfF86SlWtdzNDqqGTKdU4xCwiVfRd-mUcMrGaLoNc95VLFHbz_AgxQdJjBw/s1600/IMG_8860.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Since we had to wait to buy tickets, by the time we reached the top, it was around 9pm. Sunset was only an hour away, so we decided to stay for it. We were very fortunate to get a perfect spot facing the Seine (and more importantly, facing west) and we staked out that spot waiting for sunset. I have so many pictures, especially since I had a lot of time to play with the lighting. There also happened to be a lock attached to the fencing near where we were standing which made for even more cool pictures. To watch the sunset from the Eiffel Tower was awesome, and I highly recommend it. Of course, it pays to go an hour or two early so you don't feel rushed and so you can secure a good spot to watch. We secured our spot about 30 minutes before sunset, and it was very worth it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DJ3hm9sF2xaXlKdjl-o2oul1hznkw0IYSqDz77VKeDbnMEadvROVJSzNCUwZpHnmKGEipWFLWL7EmQisJYQ9zyf5xyyb9aP68UX4GImkrIzztvynjZ7gTWYrXvwhZwZfjz_ow7PjxOR1/s1600/IMG_2569-Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DJ3hm9sF2xaXlKdjl-o2oul1hznkw0IYSqDz77VKeDbnMEadvROVJSzNCUwZpHnmKGEipWFLWL7EmQisJYQ9zyf5xyyb9aP68UX4GImkrIzztvynjZ7gTWYrXvwhZwZfjz_ow7PjxOR1/s1600/IMG_2569-Cropped.jpg" height="400" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best spot!</td></tr>
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We left just after sunset to beat the crowds. If we had waited much longer, I suspect we'd have had to wait 20-30 minutes for the elevator. By the time we reached the bottom and walked around for a few minutes, it was already mostly dark.<br />
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We walked around for a little while longer enjoying the tower at night, then headed back to the apartment. By the time we got back it was nearly midnight, so my second day couldn't have been much fuller, but it was fantastic.<br />
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<b>Day 3</b><br />
<br />
My third day, I planned to visit the Louvre. I actually started at the Pantheon for some reason, but that was a quick visit, and I was at the Louvre by noon. Anyhow, I planned to visit the Louvre on my third day because it was a Wednesday, and the museum stays open until 9:45pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.<br />
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The Pantheon was a very strange building. It was modeled after the one in Rome, but had a distinctly modern and sometimes downright creepy feel to it. Many famous French people are buried in the crypt which might have contributed to the feel, but the building itself is... Odd.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjTmsBCO-H6pLjFerqOIB7HI4bn3M_Q0j5rzkMC-bDQR_C53KmPpcinPmezkrPfqlRHDIO-TSMpwGDg0I-wUYQBTt2qwZQe0rOspdB6n48s5LXY6RiiT8EznASQRj3OE0tf60F24JABCy/s1600/IMG_8933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjTmsBCO-H6pLjFerqOIB7HI4bn3M_Q0j5rzkMC-bDQR_C53KmPpcinPmezkrPfqlRHDIO-TSMpwGDg0I-wUYQBTt2qwZQe0rOspdB6n48s5LXY6RiiT8EznASQRj3OE0tf60F24JABCy/s1600/IMG_8933.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, the floor is made of oversized people</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoS14LoXC0ptXbCe0lEue1wz_9thim8e63UNFNB9LqTaiCDSVpalToL12lA2N_WDBlVtQhuE9eKWrqkgv8l08V_2Qxa_hoLQ43C5Wcs2rKXPFYqCYV8h1EZe5Ahok3uD_yPdweGSg_IAJ/s1600/IMG_8921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoS14LoXC0ptXbCe0lEue1wz_9thim8e63UNFNB9LqTaiCDSVpalToL12lA2N_WDBlVtQhuE9eKWrqkgv8l08V_2Qxa_hoLQ43C5Wcs2rKXPFYqCYV8h1EZe5Ahok3uD_yPdweGSg_IAJ/s1600/IMG_8921.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So is the dome.</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_847324659"></span><br />
After I felt I had walked on enough peoples' faces, I descended into the crypt. Among others, Victor Hugo, Louis Braille, and Pierre and Marie Curie are buried here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzJLhGn4RKaCytl-2ESKBCX4-zyGHdTJ5zk-GUcw7Nl1zMx-tBhact5xn1jL35bqMHG1n16JQhKP3r6NsPG541XtL14F3HCpfrW_Rk7GcUsEHUZH5vvDDe1tl0LHgyTKb1KtKYp4Zg4rC/s1600/IMG_8949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzJLhGn4RKaCytl-2ESKBCX4-zyGHdTJ5zk-GUcw7Nl1zMx-tBhact5xn1jL35bqMHG1n16JQhKP3r6NsPG541XtL14F3HCpfrW_Rk7GcUsEHUZH5vvDDe1tl0LHgyTKb1KtKYp4Zg4rC/s1600/IMG_8949.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long, creepy hallway</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHsFO9dBuTYuTrsbM6VfkN30r4Pce9OgXTaRsXsFE3wps_fOqaDhfWjKDZim_AZQwpjoD9Zy5C_ZdeCLKyrYQC2f4NnqYZBLqShXffnkU4gR0-ylFbTVNFRVH0g99gKzDz_ddA29cmMUE/s1600/IMG_8956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHsFO9dBuTYuTrsbM6VfkN30r4Pce9OgXTaRsXsFE3wps_fOqaDhfWjKDZim_AZQwpjoD9Zy5C_ZdeCLKyrYQC2f4NnqYZBLqShXffnkU4gR0-ylFbTVNFRVH0g99gKzDz_ddA29cmMUE/s1600/IMG_8956.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pierre and Marie Curie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8nBtspUU0uI2RLsdcbZzpiW3cMidybjeUmGCt5we1shy-jR7Hcn2pwklNtTgZQ62R04iyxYGOM86c57B4Nzce9FbHuw1_SbQBzzNur2CVIQB29NWSN4JhEoRa39WJMfTCUCuT4C7N4LW/s1600/IMG_8958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8nBtspUU0uI2RLsdcbZzpiW3cMidybjeUmGCt5we1shy-jR7Hcn2pwklNtTgZQ62R04iyxYGOM86c57B4Nzce9FbHuw1_SbQBzzNur2CVIQB29NWSN4JhEoRa39WJMfTCUCuT4C7N4LW/s1600/IMG_8958.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the Curies' crypt room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWh2NmPOoArqpkFI74oVKaJCPrV6LXMVCbU2uAgWNfF0xO7crvJrDkHwukx2i_x27se7hBSEQVZofCw4hCGsNPAzmb_SYU1qDJdD8hgjtAdqAB-OwNL_h4Ix2W3i0_WcgqRlcLAt92-q5/s1600/IMG_8965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWh2NmPOoArqpkFI74oVKaJCPrV6LXMVCbU2uAgWNfF0xO7crvJrDkHwukx2i_x27se7hBSEQVZofCw4hCGsNPAzmb_SYU1qDJdD8hgjtAdqAB-OwNL_h4Ix2W3i0_WcgqRlcLAt92-q5/s1600/IMG_8965.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of Voltaire is supposedly here too.</td></tr>
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After leaving the Pantheon, I had a quick lunch at a Tibetan restaurant nearby, then went over to the Louvre. The Museum Pass paid for itself here alone: The line to enter must have been at least 2 hours long, but instead I could simply walk right in, go through a quick security screening, and begin exploring. The Louvre has an iPhone app that I downloaded, and it included a tour of all the best-known pieces of the museum. I started by doing the iPhone tour, which brought me to all of the "highlights" along with hundreds upon hundreds of other people. I managed to get photos of most things without all the people in them though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEE6TfCqbWzzZrnjqBVhuqNIDuGiBS9_3Y8k_6z0Z4SIVIMgE7jyn5uko8X0S7v59WD0rK6M3gSD5rA1y1Erdy-bJMqKuw_Q2tp7No_SFnEOxcmGLF7UAMTg4QPCIDliqqKLvos7uCnoYM/s1600/IMG_8985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEE6TfCqbWzzZrnjqBVhuqNIDuGiBS9_3Y8k_6z0Z4SIVIMgE7jyn5uko8X0S7v59WD0rK6M3gSD5rA1y1Erdy-bJMqKuw_Q2tp7No_SFnEOxcmGLF7UAMTg4QPCIDliqqKLvos7uCnoYM/s1600/IMG_8985.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got to the front!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbpCi5G1Xi_CwgXR42kT-yMV_S71sdLqx_PrW0mtgYfphpMyW-TKm0rsZwkVpYxoi7uzLuSxws1C5iHdw04ToHAAvuBwWAKPT80X80d1dH3c4YlKKYghHEib94h4d61SZV4SbqgHyaJ6X/s1600/IMG_8988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbpCi5G1Xi_CwgXR42kT-yMV_S71sdLqx_PrW0mtgYfphpMyW-TKm0rsZwkVpYxoi7uzLuSxws1C5iHdw04ToHAAvuBwWAKPT80X80d1dH3c4YlKKYghHEib94h4d61SZV4SbqgHyaJ6X/s1600/IMG_8988.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nobody ever cares about her back side</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRyFlHsAIOziMCuLr7qUZoTh3GZmIFCo0d2fbKJ6i9vSVHi9uFNUkEvhtHtbbo0dNHAAQ8KMfo4LaIXkZFSZ_oynVCnm3omRibAeFM00KaS_onaSWshTBskST_ikGxFuFZupRiVRpie3i/s1600/IMG_8975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRyFlHsAIOziMCuLr7qUZoTh3GZmIFCo0d2fbKJ6i9vSVHi9uFNUkEvhtHtbbo0dNHAAQ8KMfo4LaIXkZFSZ_oynVCnm3omRibAeFM00KaS_onaSWshTBskST_ikGxFuFZupRiVRpie3i/s1600/IMG_8975.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sphinxes are fun </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9c7QHzQ9i0XlMYOQhSNM8gLbwyPwgJXlX9LSHZEr07u4qEeJ4VnBnJrplymDAJBFUhQ3hKBs5OZo_qlqFePNf0JT6NiqDP5vpBr7bUGZ_oJvIzj6BKAboWGBXX7QdfUpk7IKXdZ88R9TZ/s1600/IMG_9004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9c7QHzQ9i0XlMYOQhSNM8gLbwyPwgJXlX9LSHZEr07u4qEeJ4VnBnJrplymDAJBFUhQ3hKBs5OZo_qlqFePNf0JT6NiqDP5vpBr7bUGZ_oJvIzj6BKAboWGBXX7QdfUpk7IKXdZ88R9TZ/s1600/IMG_9004.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gallery d'Apollon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPSKoadSTsTF0-tRF4mN6cSvDTasVDfQm82e70sufs5szlLybZC5pRx9T2beQbNf6qLnfdADn7xZIgS9931ddEoCPiAEtCeO8NpjtHmxXi2y_KyJcXF3hztjRm0y2NHacQWW_JQi_AFkm/s1600/IMG_9040+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPSKoadSTsTF0-tRF4mN6cSvDTasVDfQm82e70sufs5szlLybZC5pRx9T2beQbNf6qLnfdADn7xZIgS9931ddEoCPiAEtCeO8NpjtHmxXi2y_KyJcXF3hztjRm0y2NHacQWW_JQi_AFkm/s1600/IMG_9040+cropped.jpg" height="355" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No people in the way!</td></tr>
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<br />
After I finished the highlights tour, I visited my personal preferences of ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek artifacts, as well as a special exhibit on finds from early Christianity. The Louvre's Egyptian collection is amazing, as is their Mesopotamian collection. Ever since I was every young, I had always wanted to see the original tablet of Hammurabi's Code, and I wasn't disappointed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqgLtNTIJ1QAqw4jwVaqJPbkP0rWc7gib1nTsN0NsJ9yDSZqIWo3bNYb7ycZt8eso4WuUNLrp2NCZfclEAF_TxaWND_3QXyTMq5c7lFRyR1RPWTdq6hrfVZsyE4ZWyK34oaSKIg7_dERv/s1600/IMG_9078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqgLtNTIJ1QAqw4jwVaqJPbkP0rWc7gib1nTsN0NsJ9yDSZqIWo3bNYb7ycZt8eso4WuUNLrp2NCZfclEAF_TxaWND_3QXyTMq5c7lFRyR1RPWTdq6hrfVZsyE4ZWyK34oaSKIg7_dERv/s1600/IMG_9078.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This lovely statue is from 2250BC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwZ4eJoBhDk0ldQO9AumiOARfLirNC-WTzCKnpnUVQPOl6WETY1_MKxPFL34dxXNAe_0iSIWILrewAv_LYn9C6nhoIy428Je7pnpuUBvEqEkC8HPfdm6Zuy-SDi4bb_tk_mbu5YNMH66B/s1600/IMG_9092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwZ4eJoBhDk0ldQO9AumiOARfLirNC-WTzCKnpnUVQPOl6WETY1_MKxPFL34dxXNAe_0iSIWILrewAv_LYn9C6nhoIy428Je7pnpuUBvEqEkC8HPfdm6Zuy-SDi4bb_tk_mbu5YNMH66B/s1600/IMG_9092.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammurabi's Code!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUfTLKVzZq3WFW-_h9NidtvGTEd5nS8TcqmoL9Sb1TJq5bEyEMGzyhtyN1lSueTvw8T_uxbvoROVTmGGJfceaUaqfIeX1K447Uh0a1GBh4RcuZCoNUyzMo8fKKTdOjM1hZcn2UuP3zUZD/s1600/IMG_9119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUfTLKVzZq3WFW-_h9NidtvGTEd5nS8TcqmoL9Sb1TJq5bEyEMGzyhtyN1lSueTvw8T_uxbvoROVTmGGJfceaUaqfIeX1K447Uh0a1GBh4RcuZCoNUyzMo8fKKTdOjM1hZcn2UuP3zUZD/s1600/IMG_9119.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite guardians</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Their Mesopotamian collection had a huge room with large extremely well-preserved reliefs, sculptures, and other decorations, as well as a large variety of cuneiform tablets and other fun stuff.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityzq_Qq0Hs-stG6a779LkjbvDM4XU18YmixJsEW9zwELZ0lWWIp1SuuWirBscOgQ5wdKT7EUUGPNqt1ZlaiWph1eV6VsL9QPHCs-ES9Xp2acxcI7okrVb2NVH6UCNSC_jgX5gLkI81WmP/s1600/IMG_9143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityzq_Qq0Hs-stG6a779LkjbvDM4XU18YmixJsEW9zwELZ0lWWIp1SuuWirBscOgQ5wdKT7EUUGPNqt1ZlaiWph1eV6VsL9QPHCs-ES9Xp2acxcI7okrVb2NVH6UCNSC_jgX5gLkI81WmP/s1600/IMG_9143.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picasso or one of the earliest known Neolithic Statues of a Human? (Hint: Not Picasso)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokQ9OsRjIlAkEvBY8SKYC-UCniPxsj_a_f6Py9iDLk01bGUzR8oeHatYKdM5m6egYnI_PYCndpUe9230o1Yh9tVvOYeUuqL8cd0D9SEvxz9RWuvepa07CzpPb0kmjR5Tn3QB145VKF6s7/s1600/IMG_9174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokQ9OsRjIlAkEvBY8SKYC-UCniPxsj_a_f6Py9iDLk01bGUzR8oeHatYKdM5m6egYnI_PYCndpUe9230o1Yh9tVvOYeUuqL8cd0D9SEvxz9RWuvepa07CzpPb0kmjR5Tn3QB145VKF6s7/s1600/IMG_9174.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ramses II and I had some stern words with each other</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As always, I stayed until I was kicked out. There are still plenty more sections of the museum I'd like to visit, but I got to see many of the highlights along with many personal highlights, so I was very satisfied with my visit. I found a nice Italian place a short ways away for dinner, then headed back to the apartment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuojfA9UGYX9RvJLudMTwbBimkX3fFR1OU5hNRR7Z0jgRPePG2-6_mwEmPgQHd4EZCSFaTWNhqPXfAWdiGT2cy8xjpX2R8o33hKtfSgxSJRlElufoEnboS1SWx1lVTq4qN8rvVOFrwCpO/s1600/IMG_9193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuojfA9UGYX9RvJLudMTwbBimkX3fFR1OU5hNRR7Z0jgRPePG2-6_mwEmPgQHd4EZCSFaTWNhqPXfAWdiGT2cy8xjpX2R8o33hKtfSgxSJRlElufoEnboS1SWx1lVTq4qN8rvVOFrwCpO/s1600/IMG_9193.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pyramid at closing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Day 4</b><br />
<br />
The lines in Paris are daunting at best, and hopeless at worst. I started out my last day planning to visit the Catacombs, but I slept through my alarm and didn't get there until about 11am. When I arrived, I started walking along the entrance line to take my place. I was prepared to wait an hour, but when I reached the end of the line and asked a few people, they said it'd likely be closer to 3 hours. I waited for a few minutes just to see if the line would move at all, but when it didn't, I decided that nothing was worth a 3-hour wait in the sun, especially in a city like Paris where there is so much to see. I gave up on the Catacombs, and decided to go over to the Luxembourg Gardens and Rodin Museum. I was doubling back a bit, and I probably could have been more efficient if I had planned each day more thoroughly, but I prefer to plan the travel and leave the sightseeing more informal. This style of sightseeing means I might miss a couple things or double back a bit, but it also means I can feel free to stop if I find something interesting and it means I can adjust my schedule to fit with weather, other peoples' plans, temporary closures, 3-hour lines, etc... I prefer to have flexibility in my day-to-day plans, even if I am locked into a general schedule.<br />
<br />
The Luxembourg Gardens were nice, but I have trouble getting too excited about going to a park or garden unless there is something more to see there. Sure, it's a nice place to hang out and/or relax, but again, in a city with so much to see and do, I found it sufficient to just stroll through.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QBfMiNfWb-_WOGepyXUicRLpZJuJRpBL0L6qqqHL1s60V1ZkahuCADU8N9Txe471ahsUgMa9v009FeUk2qgVvpLrobTJx-nv0VQuiRbq_VT8vjorf-aQvFJlKL43qsMbc1blgh1RWQZd/s1600/IMG_9195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QBfMiNfWb-_WOGepyXUicRLpZJuJRpBL0L6qqqHL1s60V1ZkahuCADU8N9Txe471ahsUgMa9v009FeUk2qgVvpLrobTJx-nv0VQuiRbq_VT8vjorf-aQvFJlKL43qsMbc1blgh1RWQZd/s1600/IMG_9195.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Once I walked through the gardens, I did a bit of wandering in some of the narrower and smaller streets of Paris, eventually winding up at the Rodin Museum. While I probably wouldn't have visited the museum ordinarily, I had seen a few of Rodin's sculptures at Stanford, and had read about the museum's impressive collection of his works. I happened to be wearing my Stanford shirt that day as well, so I figured it'd be neat to visit. Indeed, the collection is fantastic, and his works are quite interesting.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6KaDNyB5zkf3bev5qXJ4Gi5mXuV_IJYEgqbLlfuo3NrQATxbGlpq0V5SdlY1JnN1koOk8vn6tLO3mXO-OD-TTpsGlcAbfoRmF730STe6c_dta7ZskAOFFKKE6TGPP__p0G1e08jc-Pzf/s1600/IMG_9210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6KaDNyB5zkf3bev5qXJ4Gi5mXuV_IJYEgqbLlfuo3NrQATxbGlpq0V5SdlY1JnN1koOk8vn6tLO3mXO-OD-TTpsGlcAbfoRmF730STe6c_dta7ZskAOFFKKE6TGPP__p0G1e08jc-Pzf/s1600/IMG_9210.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking across the courtyard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXkPEQL_W_YpQAoFkHb0mUQDHmZMESRWVZNj0JtyyHCRhb_0_-8SzhJb6WT3IaO78nCUC4G-4P-mIr8gSlrqf-3vU9LL4eDf9i_d5qu6YXNVIGBE6r0lxNynV51K_NkkajSpB_Pw4hoPB/s1600/IMG_9232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXkPEQL_W_YpQAoFkHb0mUQDHmZMESRWVZNj0JtyyHCRhb_0_-8SzhJb6WT3IaO78nCUC4G-4P-mIr8gSlrqf-3vU9LL4eDf9i_d5qu6YXNVIGBE6r0lxNynV51K_NkkajSpB_Pw4hoPB/s1600/IMG_9232.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Gates of Hell</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj_dZHf0xsflv2YqeSSnLWnCRHkSUxzSL_2eIOR0eAUlD9b6q25lg1FJjAc9REcukw0Tp0F1mwAaceFai4LnlpfQIVUnACroIjLpk4z3Ts2fFq4m7gldjy0KwfqlQA5I5swokoR4V80BX/s1600/IMG_9252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj_dZHf0xsflv2YqeSSnLWnCRHkSUxzSL_2eIOR0eAUlD9b6q25lg1FJjAc9REcukw0Tp0F1mwAaceFai4LnlpfQIVUnACroIjLpk4z3Ts2fFq4m7gldjy0KwfqlQA5I5swokoR4V80BX/s1600/IMG_9252.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie-ception: Mirror Selfie with Rodin's sculpture of himself</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1o1_25J1Epp3G6QS9nlEqX-HjZHVWTCCBOoBd8EcgjldxFhGeQ0yyq7BAeIKfzuUrzSdZKjVxB_h-elCcQLLxpzYSGYpypAac0EZdmdFBYqlhTC1CQOzFVlnTtgoLyd6HHXCwtAewVV8e/s1600/IMG_9262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1o1_25J1Epp3G6QS9nlEqX-HjZHVWTCCBOoBd8EcgjldxFhGeQ0yyq7BAeIKfzuUrzSdZKjVxB_h-elCcQLLxpzYSGYpypAac0EZdmdFBYqlhTC1CQOzFVlnTtgoLyd6HHXCwtAewVV8e/s1600/IMG_9262.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting my Thinker on</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After I left the Rodin Museum, I figured I'd keep with the art theme of the day. I headed to the Musee d'Orsay since they were open until 9:45pm on Thursdays. Now, I am a picky art person. Sure, I despise a lot of "modern" art, but that hardly makes me picky... I'd like to think it makes me sane. Anyhow, normally I don't enjoy much post-Renaissance art, but there are certainly some exceptions, and I figured I'd give the Musee d'Orsay a try -- After all, few other places in the world have such an extensive collection of 19th and 20th century artwork.<br />
<br />
I tried to go into the museum without much of a bias, but after seeing a few paintings of fruit, I had trouble maintaining an unbiased view. Sure, there are some very good paintings in the museum, but I realized after a little while that I just wasn't going to be able to force myself to enjoy the museum. I visited the Van Gogh exhibition and then walked around some of the museum and laughed at some of the commentaries. It bothers me a lot when people try to find symbolism or some deeper meaning where none clearly exists, and it bothers me even more when things are passed off as art that could have been drawn or painted by a 4-year-old high on cotton candy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://homeinteriorsdesigns.info/wp-content/uploads/famous-simple-modern-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://homeinteriorsdesigns.info/wp-content/uploads/famous-simple-modern-art.jpg" height="316" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry, if I could make it using MS Paint, there's something wrong. And yes, if you try to tell me about the deep symbolism behind the different rectangles, I will probably want to duct tape your mouth shut. Maybe I'll draw little red circles on the duct tape and put it in a museum. Hmm, this is actually a brilliant idea...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Enough about my rant, sorry. It took a bit of searching, but I actually found a fair amount of pieces at the museum that I enjoyed. It was a pleasant way to spend an evening, and once I got over my cynicism toward some of the artwork on display, I found some I liked. Their Van Gogh exhibit was pretty nice too.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceATC4g8kSVt6Ie6iSa95uy770GCETIMB0DBTAEphLMmQ5g8UdrRIYB6zBj51ScgO6_Sow95iDmRWNByGk2M4xFCjuqWuRA9DWu9zFf9MVGKu3xrSFbD1CeEVoWyez1-LrfnRTn41hjX2/s1600/IMG_9270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceATC4g8kSVt6Ie6iSa95uy770GCETIMB0DBTAEphLMmQ5g8UdrRIYB6zBj51ScgO6_Sow95iDmRWNByGk2M4xFCjuqWuRA9DWu9zFf9MVGKu3xrSFbD1CeEVoWyez1-LrfnRTn41hjX2/s1600/IMG_9270.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Old Man in Front of the Tombs of Children - </i>Osman Hamdi Bey<br />
I found this piece quite powerful for some reason I cannot quite explain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcG_q3MzosZqP-tMAnfVxLymODJHzcuNGWHczHBgcWEOrGqcCQ5zv3jo_WTzmlVk_2fJGMH5jVmWJf2yyZTGls_Pa2o8dh625hsv78jWT7nXXjmbh6Zt3Y-q7yv2aDZndp7G4m8UDRD5x1/s1600/IMG_9279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcG_q3MzosZqP-tMAnfVxLymODJHzcuNGWHczHBgcWEOrGqcCQ5zv3jo_WTzmlVk_2fJGMH5jVmWJf2yyZTGls_Pa2o8dh625hsv78jWT7nXXjmbh6Zt3Y-q7yv2aDZndp7G4m8UDRD5x1/s1600/IMG_9279.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Van Gogh's many self-portraits</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtJzdXno9bJW3J8AkSzeIY9Guhl4ws4ob8VjYFnhl7rbsx176yI170G1T2_ioqn4bo7oaHjQLnuWClnJO9k0isGhmi6oqu8xViOMMnX2zIBL986TTAhjOWj4l4Zq1nXZP4VbN9o9YNQvr/s1600/IMG_9272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtJzdXno9bJW3J8AkSzeIY9Guhl4ws4ob8VjYFnhl7rbsx176yI170G1T2_ioqn4bo7oaHjQLnuWClnJO9k0isGhmi6oqu8xViOMMnX2zIBL986TTAhjOWj4l4Zq1nXZP4VbN9o9YNQvr/s1600/IMG_9272.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the fifth floor -- The building was originally a train station</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThMILJLHjHNasOgWGtLG_5JmnPYQ9l4n2LsnRczdU8llHw8W_2oMmPehgtpaKjaso60owN6D5VtXrb8SvflFj3l_y9pg5XkeIv818gnAH8KYhN4SU2k4x6yXbEXNGpg1yiolhhKZPXJDZ/s1600/IMG_9275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThMILJLHjHNasOgWGtLG_5JmnPYQ9l4n2LsnRczdU8llHw8W_2oMmPehgtpaKjaso60owN6D5VtXrb8SvflFj3l_y9pg5XkeIv818gnAH8KYhN4SU2k4x6yXbEXNGpg1yiolhhKZPXJDZ/s1600/IMG_9275.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rodin's original plaster cast of the Gates of Hell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I left the Musee d'Orsay a short while before it closed, walked around for a little while, then headed back to the apartment to pack my things and get ready for my train to Geneva at 7am the next day.<br />
<br />
<b>Final Thoughts on Paris</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Despite my initial rocky start, I liked Paris a lot. As with any major tourist city, there are plenty of pickpockets and similar undesirables, but I felt they were more aggressive here than in many other places I visited. Keeping valuables (and myself) safe here was a bit more of a challenge than I expected, but once I realized the need to be on high-alert, I didn't have any problems (and even came to enjoy taunting the pickpockets a bit).<br />
<br />
Having friends to visit with in the evenings was fantastic, and the city itself offers such a variety of things to do. I didn't (and still don't) fully understand the stereotypical romantic image of Paris, but even without that, it is a beautiful city.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Lodging: </b>I stayed at a friend's apartment for the whole time. Her apartment was huge, beautiful, centrally located, and had everything I could have possibly wanted. Her and her family were wonderful hosts, and I had a great time visiting the Eiffel Tower with Juliette and spending the evenings talking with everyone. I can't wait to go back and visit again soon!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Duration: </b>I spent 4 full days in Paris, and of course it was not nearly enough. I didn't get to visit Versailles or the Catacombs, and I could easily have spent another day at the Louvre. There were plenty of other museums, gardens, and other places I'd have liked to visit as well, but I'll be able to do many of those when I go back next time! A week in Paris would be ideal, but it'd also be possible to visit many of the "must-see" places in 4-5 days if you planned things more rigidly (or didn't spend almost an entire day at the Louvre). I'd have liked to stay for a little longer, but at least I know there are plenty more things to see and do on my next visit.<br />
<b><br /></b>
I'll pick up with my travels in Switzerland next. I went to both Geneva and Zurich, yet spent less than 12 hours in both places combined.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-19834910204150015562014-07-10T11:09:00.001-07:002014-07-14T16:05:36.389-07:00The UK and the Day From Hell<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I'm getting better: I think I kept this one under 3500 words. Also, if you want to see any of the pictures bigger, just click on them.</div>
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So, to recap, I didn’t sleep at all during my last night in
Reykjavik. I left my hostel for the airport at 5am.</div>
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Once at the airport, I was met with a terrifyingly long line
to check in, and since my bag (although carry-on-sized in the US) was slightly
too big by European standards, I had to check it. The line took about 45
minutes, but I still made my flight comfortably. Why? Because my flight was delayed by over an hour. Eventually we boarded, and I was in Glasgow about two and a half hours later.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeP5tiIWrguioFB3CQP9jkrlmDZt-Kl7ndI2dWhcB9kZg7Ty4hwww4oypifwjTuoNXY1uKW0ELpKaI8afKJ2SlgU8baf2eaguE31YLEvKd_e8yDRzkelJbDzyzy3L01AqgnpmbOZfzmrf/s1600/IMG_2363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeP5tiIWrguioFB3CQP9jkrlmDZt-Kl7ndI2dWhcB9kZg7Ty4hwww4oypifwjTuoNXY1uKW0ELpKaI8afKJ2SlgU8baf2eaguE31YLEvKd_e8yDRzkelJbDzyzy3L01AqgnpmbOZfzmrf/s1600/IMG_2363.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final approach in Glasgow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Once in Glasgow I had to go through customs to enter the UK, and
since I was a non-EU passport-holder, I yet again had to wait in a very long line. This time I spent over an hour waiting in line. By the time I got through, my bag had already been pulled
off the baggage belt, so I had to wait in another line to find out what
happened to it (hint: damned if they know!). Eventually I found it in some
corner near the baggage office and caught a bus into the city. I took the bus
to the train station, planning to leave my bags there while I wandered around
the city for a few hours (now only about 4 hours instead of the 7 I had planned
on). Of course the left luggage was closed -- Apparently they were on strike. I couldn’t find any lockers, so
I had to carry my bags around with me. Remember, I also had gotten no sleep. I
figured if anything could wake me up, it would be a lot of coffee and a spicy
curry, so I found an Indian restaurant and had lunch before heading to Glasgow
University to wander around for a few minutes with my bags in tow. I’m traveling
light, but still lugging around a small suitcase and a heavy laptop backpack is
the last thing you want to do when you are exhausted. I had made a list of
things I hoped to do/see during my few hours in Glasgow, but I discarded nearly
all of that as I was way too tired and nothing had worked at all that day yet. Also, it had started raining. Of course. Undeterred, I finished up at the university and went to the
Cathedral and walked around the city center for a few minutes. One the rain didn't stop though, I gave up and went to the train station to wait for my train. Sometimes you have to admit defeat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxr2NY6nGzZZoYrq7jdAkKi2Iyt4gyd9m9n23AN_NY8eRPXZlfhJSr52jQqdB0XGrPl9pahLM_HriAS0ZIFcgSE2ieV3j6Kdw8M9Tf-LI2sDyKIbcSvYizyRtu0Ow1_DJ9bj5tHWDu9sp/s1600/IMG_7796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxr2NY6nGzZZoYrq7jdAkKi2Iyt4gyd9m9n23AN_NY8eRPXZlfhJSr52jQqdB0XGrPl9pahLM_HriAS0ZIFcgSE2ieV3j6Kdw8M9Tf-LI2sDyKIbcSvYizyRtu0Ow1_DJ9bj5tHWDu9sp/s1600/IMG_7796.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Complete with the original medieval scaffolding!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I was just glad all this happened
in Glasgow where there isn’t much to do anyway, and besides, by Murphy’s Law,
things in Iceland went too well – This was the collection of almost a whole
week of mostly good things happening, and it definitely came back to bite me.
After 30 minutes of waiting, I boarded the train to Inverness and slept most of
the way. I definitely needed it, and nothing too horrible could happen if I slept. Yes, I clutched my backpack to make sure it wasn't stolen -- I wouldn't have been surprised given how the day had went.</div>
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<b>Inverness</b></div>
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I got into Inverness around 9pm and made the 15 minute walk
to my hostel. I had the entire hostel room to myself for the first night, so I
slept like a rock for around 11 hours. I woke up the next day feeling much
better, ready to explore Inverness. Unfortunately, one thing I hadn’t
considered was that there was actually nothing to see in Inverness. Sure, it’s
a charming town, but the castle isn’t open to the public, and one can only do
so many churches (they have 50 of them supposedly!). I did a walking tour after having lunch at a café, and upon this realization, I went back to my hostel to submit my Stanford forms which were due the next day.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqiRAwQ7ONbyzmjm8w3-Bn3V-DBX24px9Sz3TutfMHCVdoQYCyP-M-UdLzAYRAwCptcuLVLUOjIowUWLnUpOo9rnnTjT0_7xuMrc1d0SeMUOxeUAgZ3VipVPl8r5yhglVurTeOILW_mC16/s1600/IMG_7815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqiRAwQ7ONbyzmjm8w3-Bn3V-DBX24px9Sz3TutfMHCVdoQYCyP-M-UdLzAYRAwCptcuLVLUOjIowUWLnUpOo9rnnTjT0_7xuMrc1d0SeMUOxeUAgZ3VipVPl8r5yhglVurTeOILW_mC16/s1600/IMG_7815.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The castle from across the river</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8zNLCL65jlYcS9WM40aEcmFQsAIdNRBUheSq_vfVlYSgdz4Z-IuqGVA7hRZRwOON1UdHTTklN-tK_eicDAsaVa65CtCW1zxNvBeGfbF3vXgnMO9jLAAMHWpdbEO39vPTu7c-pfyoTwjC/s1600/IMG_7824+with+doge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8zNLCL65jlYcS9WM40aEcmFQsAIdNRBUheSq_vfVlYSgdz4Z-IuqGVA7hRZRwOON1UdHTTklN-tK_eicDAsaVa65CtCW1zxNvBeGfbF3vXgnMO9jLAAMHWpdbEO39vPTu7c-pfyoTwjC/s1600/IMG_7824+with+doge.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many church. Such gothic. So gargoyles. Very Jesus. Wow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdov2PayvgKZpUMU4eKxZfdnS5tHFpfhGit4mHI4PIf4om20YgcuAQrk9Hi5rdXPoocPHAnmWBbq6EQNlfWpipN4YgjEvNhPPKZoInj0ldWAb2rHwwkWHY3_x59HYcFWO_9khJCXtSDlZ/s1600/IMG_7854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdov2PayvgKZpUMU4eKxZfdnS5tHFpfhGit4mHI4PIf4om20YgcuAQrk9Hi5rdXPoocPHAnmWBbq6EQNlfWpipN4YgjEvNhPPKZoInj0ldWAb2rHwwkWHY3_x59HYcFWO_9khJCXtSDlZ/s1600/IMG_7854.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More churches, along with the River Ness. Taken from a small island in the river.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I spent a while working
at the hostel, then looked for a daytrip out of Inverness for my second day. As
luck would have it (surely something had to go right eventually!) there was
availability on a full-day tour to Eilean Donan Castle and the Isle of Skye,
and I booked it. Unfortunately the hostel was fairly dead, but I had plenty of
work to do, so it wasn’t too bad. I went to bed early again, still recovering
from the day before.</div>
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I woke up early the next morning to go on the tour. There
were only 7 other people on the tour, and the guide had a very thick Scottish
accent. I was glad to be spending a day truly in the Scottish Highlands… We
started by driving past Loch Ness (and that was all I needed to do, honestly –
I would have a better chance of being entertained by lighting my money on fire
than doing a “Monster-search cruise”) and then continued past a couple castle
ruins until reaching the Invermorrison waterfall. Waterfalls were getting to be
like churches by this point (seriously, I had seen so many), but each one
seemed to have its own interesting story or appearance.</div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nx81kBpdtTs4UglGrIePQgqmvYMfQjPH9sy_EETRUCouFeFtDd9eOutEGaf-rtTR4PZFQZEx8S8S92USDB1H0EY8ezYUNevEgKRv72ud_3clwZTwD36ocrLPwxbtHGzKzv6MEPX2d-oA/s1600/IMG_7858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nx81kBpdtTs4UglGrIePQgqmvYMfQjPH9sy_EETRUCouFeFtDd9eOutEGaf-rtTR4PZFQZEx8S8S92USDB1H0EY8ezYUNevEgKRv72ud_3clwZTwD36ocrLPwxbtHGzKzv6MEPX2d-oA/s1600/IMG_7858.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking the box: Loch Ness</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBNmzoLoJSZikmD4jDtmOFabwKWq2ZkyDpdceNBsQOox_EizBPFo6ufs-GVwfI0P7gALQB-5D2ZmvrRzr-P9S0gubhTbMwb83nSoZkgpZb9Q18FrTIxb9tEdQbNxhzRZM460UXNeRfTeO/s1600/IMG_7867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBNmzoLoJSZikmD4jDtmOFabwKWq2ZkyDpdceNBsQOox_EizBPFo6ufs-GVwfI0P7gALQB-5D2ZmvrRzr-P9S0gubhTbMwb83nSoZkgpZb9Q18FrTIxb9tEdQbNxhzRZM460UXNeRfTeO/s1600/IMG_7867.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Urquhart Castle ruins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtECxGLe8IBl1aMk_EEBW6czxsqMq7uPJ7qXti1V8FVozvg8JFMP3WIsoxnvsN-OQXXcsdvxzBtNvUbzUBJH4KHRwPhvrI2zc1I4Qib4o1ftra7hv73KZZu1vzrrvVVd8V37fvaL1DuHoC/s1600/IMG_7886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtECxGLe8IBl1aMk_EEBW6czxsqMq7uPJ7qXti1V8FVozvg8JFMP3WIsoxnvsN-OQXXcsdvxzBtNvUbzUBJH4KHRwPhvrI2zc1I4Qib4o1ftra7hv73KZZu1vzrrvVVd8V37fvaL1DuHoC/s1600/IMG_7886.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Invermorrison Waterfall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuilAv2Sxx2AQvvMTOKCdbtAXshrbRpykfjFGqFwumfTzUPCpScOEEERDHptRCBtiPk1mogPFRTAjb_swUws3lH926IBiljOYL2pjkC_j-x3LBbyyUMDimrsPHzI-wvu903IfYZEdoRx_n/s1600/IMG_7881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuilAv2Sxx2AQvvMTOKCdbtAXshrbRpykfjFGqFwumfTzUPCpScOEEERDHptRCBtiPk1mogPFRTAjb_swUws3lH926IBiljOYL2pjkC_j-x3LBbyyUMDimrsPHzI-wvu903IfYZEdoRx_n/s1600/IMG_7881.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge near the waterfall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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We wandered around the waterfall for a short while before
continuing to Loch Duich, where we stopped for a few minutes to stretch our
legs before continuing to Eilean Donan castle. The castle is pretty much the
perfectly picturesque Scottish castle, surrounded by water on three sides.
While most tours of the area only do a photo-stop, we were given time to go
through the castle and explore. As usual, I took selfies in the elaborate
mirrors (by closely dodging the guards reprimanding anyone taking pictures),
and the castle itself was quite interesting. Speaking of pictures, I took so
many… At one point there was a bunch of mist rolling in off the water and it was
just perfect.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWsFnjOFqGFlvngyhXgZAFZZ1iXJImHj-HUEYMBnfhcN4_mNQWWd_-vKsl0tGbAxo7ZXGxJKHwhtn3uXVds7Mci8Vli3nmMsx7QMnHK-2d7R10DmgUPkF9gmgcwzNXpGaOGHkHZ4TGJSY/s1600/IMG_2391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWsFnjOFqGFlvngyhXgZAFZZ1iXJImHj-HUEYMBnfhcN4_mNQWWd_-vKsl0tGbAxo7ZXGxJKHwhtn3uXVds7Mci8Vli3nmMsx7QMnHK-2d7R10DmgUPkF9gmgcwzNXpGaOGHkHZ4TGJSY/s1600/IMG_2391.JPG" height="144" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loch Duich</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgChMZwjkPJLVxGEdMkcBQL-fGIK4NjS7BfPj6dau3o5NzE-taLLTnacuT92LASGNVMi4ufgO9kBEGPgVF3azhiACwqiujSEyZPqN-U1hk9M_FxVWQWgZhErnjxs2XaMVWr_E6kbPWFHnj/s1600/IMG_7980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgChMZwjkPJLVxGEdMkcBQL-fGIK4NjS7BfPj6dau3o5NzE-taLLTnacuT92LASGNVMi4ufgO9kBEGPgVF3azhiACwqiujSEyZPqN-U1hk9M_FxVWQWgZhErnjxs2XaMVWr_E6kbPWFHnj/s1600/IMG_7980.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loch Duich</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAdq0F1L51GoMZQaQV8q65ZZsOLAhoeL3nnM-El7nQPVfXIAQn7IgXSbPq8v3loSrCtT5eowhRkeArDAvvBMsXxiODnvOJhA-PZwubRi2LYyu0FSgWNxYSUB0zphsX8TuG5Ponn7amh_z/s1600/IMG_7999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAdq0F1L51GoMZQaQV8q65ZZsOLAhoeL3nnM-El7nQPVfXIAQn7IgXSbPq8v3loSrCtT5eowhRkeArDAvvBMsXxiODnvOJhA-PZwubRi2LYyu0FSgWNxYSUB0zphsX8TuG5Ponn7amh_z/s1600/IMG_7999.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eilean Donan Castle!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5m0P1WhjwSa-siUvSmowWH7JMblL4H_yPNCSgnhPfipp_xrTGwkfCi4buPjJmCC_KzGjxC7sDeQEVHFoeTITGQQ62MF-s44W5WKY3wRp-Hve42lf_M_dzuUtwmWzFX264DJOhqK-MdG9/s1600/IMG_2414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5m0P1WhjwSa-siUvSmowWH7JMblL4H_yPNCSgnhPfipp_xrTGwkfCi4buPjJmCC_KzGjxC7sDeQEVHFoeTITGQQ62MF-s44W5WKY3wRp-Hve42lf_M_dzuUtwmWzFX264DJOhqK-MdG9/s1600/IMG_2414.JPG" height="188" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm a panorama addict, I admit it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We left the castle and continued making our way toward the
Isle of Skye. Once we got there, we stopped for lunch at a hotel and, since I
finished early, I wandered around for a little while in the area.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07Cu9lJ336Fec030eJspdBJIAuI3kzBq5tW3nvOg9duBGjoDz6BmsiQ3bejCpm7z7ZFpuhTrrrFhzyWxXB8VBzwXIY6f_zoaZKn4lJZ2K3hyCNcK92OFdC0TEQ8T2xu1Lpt9R8yvxbZ1T/s1600/IMG_2418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07Cu9lJ336Fec030eJspdBJIAuI3kzBq5tW3nvOg9duBGjoDz6BmsiQ3bejCpm7z7ZFpuhTrrrFhzyWxXB8VBzwXIY6f_zoaZKn4lJZ2K3hyCNcK92OFdC0TEQ8T2xu1Lpt9R8yvxbZ1T/s1600/IMG_2418.JPG" height="204" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was low tide at lunch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After lunch,
we continued heading further onto the Isle of Skye, stopping a few times to
take some pictures and wander around a bit.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9rBvzmfQxSs-SGypH_VS-Cj0mvTa6jFitIg8cA01-fR7oy6ZHb2oSdEOtoUNGjkTpJAmM11Y6XatslOEbuGeLihkmbFVEJb3VKkV5_FbE6YmRdCQ2OU5jI7Lh7JjfmKhehUkiqMOY1dl/s1600/IMG_2429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9rBvzmfQxSs-SGypH_VS-Cj0mvTa6jFitIg8cA01-fR7oy6ZHb2oSdEOtoUNGjkTpJAmM11Y6XatslOEbuGeLihkmbFVEJb3VKkV5_FbE6YmRdCQ2OU5jI7Lh7JjfmKhehUkiqMOY1dl/s1600/IMG_2429.JPG" height="308" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our brief stops</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtsnyW9IwHLHdinmJRIk2QX1kZfJ-G3LbJhBqD4mUmnbrwbzkYM4GLPXVXt9QJVxGJQmEAZRzScRMbqEDEfZDjWrnJ2aoLgVHLmYnDgh0JBZyw9eVxkD7sesDirpSgnAl4zwlJihsDmBE/s1600/IMG_8130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtsnyW9IwHLHdinmJRIk2QX1kZfJ-G3LbJhBqD4mUmnbrwbzkYM4GLPXVXt9QJVxGJQmEAZRzScRMbqEDEfZDjWrnJ2aoLgVHLmYnDgh0JBZyw9eVxkD7sesDirpSgnAl4zwlJihsDmBE/s1600/IMG_8130.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Were there sheep, you ask? Of course there were, it's Scotland!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A lot of the roads on the Isle of Skye are all one-lane roads. They have "passing areas" where one car can pull in to allow a car going in the opposite direction to pass, but they don't have proper two-lane roads once outside of the main areas. We were on a rather large bus, so these one-lane roads were scary to watch, but eventually we reached a dramatic pebble beach with an extremely steep hill leading up to a coffee shop and some bathrooms. Most people went up to the coffee shop and bathrooms (or kissed the ground), but I spent most of my time on the "beach". Because the ground was all various sized rocks, it was very difficult to walk on:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStiYka4q5BL3rixmYk4PAwJiF0L10D234vopNYR0dCK83FvwDUBxboad8ZAr14sVpJsGx0IE-OC7jg9sUY1ZzN1u6e-T6Dl9FKToVp20vRbPe2_zhkvsUEeSzp4xum4jzctuZWvaFzuRr/s1600/IMG_2465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStiYka4q5BL3rixmYk4PAwJiF0L10D234vopNYR0dCK83FvwDUBxboad8ZAr14sVpJsGx0IE-OC7jg9sUY1ZzN1u6e-T6Dl9FKToVp20vRbPe2_zhkvsUEeSzp4xum4jzctuZWvaFzuRr/s1600/IMG_2465.JPG" height="232" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Beach"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKduFWF15KzXj_SqSS_hUEx9lMSlTw8uGZFQF1KZySGHbcK_FS0kC8TZ5iESeuvk1rTcdBJ-7bsKpKgtrfbZ5galhOhWP8TBDu5r-VtG6UUt_JAzCsJ7ppbyhUzu5pjw-eX79n44wpqWp/s1600/IMG_2468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKduFWF15KzXj_SqSS_hUEx9lMSlTw8uGZFQF1KZySGHbcK_FS0kC8TZ5iESeuvk1rTcdBJ-7bsKpKgtrfbZ5galhOhWP8TBDu5r-VtG6UUt_JAzCsJ7ppbyhUzu5pjw-eX79n44wpqWp/s1600/IMG_2468.JPG" height="130" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Past the area in the far right of the previous panorama there was an area of flatter rocks which are submerged at high tide. There were numerous small tide pools with various snails and other small creatures.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmgaK2TUOFYd5k19ko9DRh7TeruByhDiRRTrdgl0EVSFlHqzEd6Ny_owsBrEaEwaRllrvxSNLhk_nCiw7NeQUI0b3I4DG4y2NwuqMcMGzaMupDZsItbpxzdiqGiwq6oJCmmgFbNiJ045v/s1600/IMG_2475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmgaK2TUOFYd5k19ko9DRh7TeruByhDiRRTrdgl0EVSFlHqzEd6Ny_owsBrEaEwaRllrvxSNLhk_nCiw7NeQUI0b3I4DG4y2NwuqMcMGzaMupDZsItbpxzdiqGiwq6oJCmmgFbNiJ045v/s1600/IMG_2475.JPG" height="154" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This area was a particular challenge to walk on</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhQw0prAyl5-tbWwAP0Q8zcoyHVcXgeLbOAE08wcQlDnEFHdTZsbcCjkluuUKvNsLS9Et0SIeP9vyi0qsQcMNqA2g45TKseJk_mRKtDgvlnQgEFgRA4ijA_61TCRuPAHDSXMbFK8R1fEA/s1600/IMG_8212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhQw0prAyl5-tbWwAP0Q8zcoyHVcXgeLbOAE08wcQlDnEFHdTZsbcCjkluuUKvNsLS9Et0SIeP9vyi0qsQcMNqA2g45TKseJk_mRKtDgvlnQgEFgRA4ijA_61TCRuPAHDSXMbFK8R1fEA/s1600/IMG_8212.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took a rocky nap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwCRLJ18VjdYo8K6XnZCMxqH1V9L2kPIRhjIlfy758sOa6hOgYhhhCsyneUHLuLgg8mOHrFPJAkLZdiy9ap6gu0ryjduR4S6AmjSKSlWSp1BNHk8Fu4H6BkEJDOmQQra9_eQpM9FuimzF/s1600/IMG_8175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwCRLJ18VjdYo8K6XnZCMxqH1V9L2kPIRhjIlfy758sOa6hOgYhhhCsyneUHLuLgg8mOHrFPJAkLZdiy9ap6gu0ryjduR4S6AmjSKSlWSp1BNHk8Fu4H6BkEJDOmQQra9_eQpM9FuimzF/s1600/IMG_8175.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the tide-pool area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6FlS4H2dOZ_cwNbYohrFBqxkola2eCxQKCfJ85luJxucZwpON1qj6BZO9yPsnxA1oci1x1sv8h584lUTMLixq8WRXaKZagXZ668R_4KsLHJllOTm3KRelnm-TkZQ-B4jlWRvX-g52uXF/s1600/IMG_8219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6FlS4H2dOZ_cwNbYohrFBqxkola2eCxQKCfJ85luJxucZwpON1qj6BZO9yPsnxA1oci1x1sv8h584lUTMLixq8WRXaKZagXZ668R_4KsLHJllOTm3KRelnm-TkZQ-B4jlWRvX-g52uXF/s1600/IMG_8219.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toward the bottom of the beach </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I spent so long exploring the beach that by the time I went up the
hill, everything was already closed. Tired, hungry, and wanting to pee, I
realized that I nearly missed my bus – It was struggling up the hill to meet
me, and I stood in the middle of the road to make sure the driver couldn’t miss
me, literally.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZ8y4kL6pgQePAmHmlXe4Egb1-8RBCGBLkJP4nwkspzQxu9Y_jAtopeZNjy14KuTjfOdfYMhB-xe1ZLZ0F8sDIfEaDFwrXLZEUSTmezd2Bgj60fMM3ml8vCm-GbJapVvYW-MKE9GbtkRc/s1600/IMG_8234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZ8y4kL6pgQePAmHmlXe4Egb1-8RBCGBLkJP4nwkspzQxu9Y_jAtopeZNjy14KuTjfOdfYMhB-xe1ZLZ0F8sDIfEaDFwrXLZEUSTmezd2Bgj60fMM3ml8vCm-GbJapVvYW-MKE9GbtkRc/s1600/IMG_8234.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken just before the bus started struggling up the hill.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfI_EkgstYVyP35B5c6EtjkZqZ-ksOQNDptGxg1uiuNHexHWf3zI-MFzSoiBmHl0gDnta_OTHb-LxriHBBTm8okoBSfL4OSp3mJ_bd23ccMmWd4PFvH_Gi1cJQ_lH546ksS1FvbqKTzo_/s1600/IMG_8258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfI_EkgstYVyP35B5c6EtjkZqZ-ksOQNDptGxg1uiuNHexHWf3zI-MFzSoiBmHl0gDnta_OTHb-LxriHBBTm8okoBSfL4OSp3mJ_bd23ccMmWd4PFvH_Gi1cJQ_lH546ksS1FvbqKTzo_/s1600/IMG_8258.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was late for the bus because these wonderful sheep felt like posing for me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Kindly he stopped, and we headed back toward Inverness, stopping
at a scenic overlook at the top of one of the lochs and at a very cozy
hotel/coffee shop.</div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZaMMZaOJhEMt2hlfgJgV_HT4oTG8riu6yuzUlQfkxVzENbRxEtm5lD2Ex_vn3JaqZalRbTsQlMd5PPPUDWIqNv0sF-WA68sVg6z8QJd3oshZeqP0yvSnRmyWEWfc9DlzqlxkjciOJp6V/s1600/IMG_8273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZaMMZaOJhEMt2hlfgJgV_HT4oTG8riu6yuzUlQfkxVzENbRxEtm5lD2Ex_vn3JaqZalRbTsQlMd5PPPUDWIqNv0sF-WA68sVg6z8QJd3oshZeqP0yvSnRmyWEWfc9DlzqlxkjciOJp6V/s1600/IMG_8273.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in Inverness, although it wasn’t an expensive city at
all, I continued my habit of eating at Indian Restaurants. This time I found a
nice Southern Indian restaurant overlooking the river. After dinner, I packed
and went to bed, ready to wake up the next morning for my train to Edinburgh.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Final thoughts on Inverness:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lodging:</b> Inverness Student Hostel – The facilities were
reasonably good, although the showers left a lot to be desired. One of them was
a small closet with nowhere to put clothes or towels or anything else, and
several others were basically glorified cubbyholes with thin wooden boards on
hinges as a “door”. There were a couple better showers downstairs which I
discovered the last day, but I did have a few interesting showering experiences
before that. Socially, the hostel didn’t have much going on. I talked with a few
of the staff members, but very few other people were hanging out in the common
area, and those who did were mostly just on their laptops. The location was
pretty good, although there are few places with a bad location, since Inverness
is such a compact town.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Duration:</b> Seriously, there isn’t anything to do in
Inverness. Their claim to fame is a kilt museum where you can try the kilts on.
Inverness is a decent gateway to the highlands, but most worthwhile daytrips still require a lot of driving. I think it is a much better idea to pick
a couple areas truly in the highlands (maybe the Black Isle and the Isle of
Skye or something similar) and enjoy the local area instead of spending 2-3
hours driving each way just to reach your destination. Inverness is a nice town
and it is convenient to Loch Ness, but it is not really ideal for anything else
(except maybe a stop on the Great Glen Trail if you’re that kind of masochist).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Edinburgh</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The train to Edinburgh was rather scenic, and I did a bit of
work along the way while enjoying the views. Arriving in Edinburgh, I got off
the train one station before I was supposed to because Google Maps suggested it
would be best for reaching my hotel, the Tune Hotel Haymarket. Indeed, the
hotel was directly across the street from Edinburgh Haymarket station. I was
looking at hostel and hotel options in another city and happened to stumble
across this amazing deal at $30/night. The hotel is basic, sure, but the rate
included WiFi, TV, and toiletries (roughly a $20 value, ha). The hotel itself
was very clean, and being right across from Haymarket station was nice... It was a 20 minute walk to the Royal Mile or a 5-minute train ride. I paid
$15 to check in early (leaving my luggage would have cost $5-10 anyway) and
headed off to explore the city. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started with St. Giles’ Cathederal, then walked most of
the Royal Mile before taking shelter in the National Museum of Scotland when it started pouring rain. It is an impressive
7-story museum covering anything and everything one could possibly want to know
about Scottish history. As usual, I stayed until I was kicked out at closing time. I would have
wandered around the city more, but I had received an official Scottish welcome
(also known as 36 hours of nonstop rain). I sought cover inside once again for dinner,
then headed back to my hotel. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0C9B_XZAHVumzsvI6pm4cwE4uvux5OoQjbyJkPyBmApiHFsdzwwExpamUfo1u7qLn8Kc5CX2Ksy_0wesMwf-Iu25BC2nQTLH5mh5Sh3CeYpNxjtpwkraH2-MxtJaUjhIblYsehQo-kx-/s1600/IMG_8317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0C9B_XZAHVumzsvI6pm4cwE4uvux5OoQjbyJkPyBmApiHFsdzwwExpamUfo1u7qLn8Kc5CX2Ksy_0wesMwf-Iu25BC2nQTLH5mh5Sh3CeYpNxjtpwkraH2-MxtJaUjhIblYsehQo-kx-/s1600/IMG_8317.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Giles on my very rainy first day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMAxuThqB5ndl26b_MzqniAslDdKn-RFWj33TCQrYKgLksR0q1t-GKPIsOWRNzI1fHw9hWw0Wm7y6nuJW1xp-VlK7R4F4kOA1eYbref8NZQjQPxNFLDZ5rapnjn-gSZspF_ZGzeyuhBkA/s1600/IMG_8285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMAxuThqB5ndl26b_MzqniAslDdKn-RFWj33TCQrYKgLksR0q1t-GKPIsOWRNzI1fHw9hWw0Wm7y6nuJW1xp-VlK7R4F4kOA1eYbref8NZQjQPxNFLDZ5rapnjn-gSZspF_ZGzeyuhBkA/s1600/IMG_8285.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The interior</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_Guj6pgG60kz_BAix9itVNa6hnzii7ibDf0Ne3E8KRM09kOiv7-u2T-xcxyESQ9zutlL7tm6osP6haKqzKrh8pQz6Ur6GLJq4SGGOPPeC7L5dfgjFngKDSivxKaxpF_g1SaWgWujQr_D/s1600/IMG_8289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_Guj6pgG60kz_BAix9itVNa6hnzii7ibDf0Ne3E8KRM09kOiv7-u2T-xcxyESQ9zutlL7tm6osP6haKqzKrh8pQz6Ur6GLJq4SGGOPPeC7L5dfgjFngKDSivxKaxpF_g1SaWgWujQr_D/s1600/IMG_8289.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some very old ivory chess pieces from the Scottish Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_et9vwy5GzS4OhsGliNOgsHmvf03sqPQ1S3i09HMJaNKgFWohpzRucH-mIo3I5D9lwuRuWlwY8S6JX4ukVwsMyIwaJSCYzV4V0w4wBM3flkDSTHq2Iw9pOvjwDCUBzrALRwqodP37TnI/s1600/IMG_8307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_et9vwy5GzS4OhsGliNOgsHmvf03sqPQ1S3i09HMJaNKgFWohpzRucH-mIo3I5D9lwuRuWlwY8S6JX4ukVwsMyIwaJSCYzV4V0w4wBM3flkDSTHq2Iw9pOvjwDCUBzrALRwqodP37TnI/s1600/IMG_8307.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top of the museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day I met a friend (and he brought a friend), and
we went to the Edinburgh Castle together. Before that, however, we had to find
our way there. I wasn’t getting great cell-phone service, so we wandered
aimlessly for a short while before ending up at the bottom of the Royal Mile.
You might think it wouldn’t be so hard to find a giant castle on a hill in a
city, but you’d be very wrong. The weather had begun to improve slightly, and
by the time we walked up the Royal Mile and grabbed a bit to eat, it was midday
and the views from the castle were excellent.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVAvL8t91uobZkeWFhiyt0Us5DmKV1k1cPdquz9-rqflLOuC-9pVKjybtaVqdk3491ri7QfuCrEwHUtolbHtrCjX5y0xnqWOI0Sz_xYue-msmI1l4pk2DQ_Za9gmg2oUh5PCvaEv1irhE/s1600/IMG_2490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVAvL8t91uobZkeWFhiyt0Us5DmKV1k1cPdquz9-rqflLOuC-9pVKjybtaVqdk3491ri7QfuCrEwHUtolbHtrCjX5y0xnqWOI0Sz_xYue-msmI1l4pk2DQ_Za9gmg2oUh5PCvaEv1irhE/s1600/IMG_2490.JPG" height="284" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The museums in the castle were
decently presented, and it was fun to wander around some of the various parts
of the castle. The castle is pretty gigantic, and there are plenty of small
rooms to visit.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKDhNbxocEbqBH5j_EFthFWecQs-SqhkUwplFV0G8uGQPy8Ir89-Xb2FEgaeHEBN5y5rdkfZ4aqy5S74ibb0-v2Qx-VVndx-GXbol2YY5YMJmT8ao9TQcBSOkgAVW25ziaRhnFKsQUhRi/s1600/IMG_8353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKDhNbxocEbqBH5j_EFthFWecQs-SqhkUwplFV0G8uGQPy8Ir89-Xb2FEgaeHEBN5y5rdkfZ4aqy5S74ibb0-v2Qx-VVndx-GXbol2YY5YMJmT8ao9TQcBSOkgAVW25ziaRhnFKsQUhRi/s1600/IMG_8353.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Room housing various Scottish armor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After we finished at the castle we went to the Money Museum,
which covers the history of Scottish Money and the importance of the National
Bank of Scotland. A small museum of quirky objects and lots of money, it was a
fun visit. We then met a third friend for a short while, and then I walked
around the city a bit more before going back to my hotel.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52FSOpbJw93WU70Bvwvo8H-eNk9BAuguLuvDNpWY00T_qrHgty__BG88ncpYuJA1ZA_6wEvyXqleIWX9Xj0HAeNWawrKNLtscJ2KXiR9dCu1SfVN0Lyoax27URiqM6e-vdb8-aVHV6ASF/s1600/IMG_8370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52FSOpbJw93WU70Bvwvo8H-eNk9BAuguLuvDNpWY00T_qrHgty__BG88ncpYuJA1ZA_6wEvyXqleIWX9Xj0HAeNWawrKNLtscJ2KXiR9dCu1SfVN0Lyoax27URiqM6e-vdb8-aVHV6ASF/s1600/IMG_8370.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pounds and pounds of pounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My last day in Edinburgh, I checked out of my hotel and
brought my bags to the Edinburgh main train station so I could easily pick them
up and catch my evening train to London. After dropping my bags off, I headed
to the bottom of the Royal Mile to the Scottish Parliament. I wanted to do a
guided tour, but was told none were available until the afternoon, so the
timing worked out nicely to visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse across the
street, since I was planning to do that anyway. It is a remarkable palace with
a lot of interesting history. The Abbey Church ruins are impressive, and it was
neat to see Mary, Queen of Scots’ apartments (also, I don’t know why I even
bother using adjectives anymore). By the time I finished at the palace, I had
just enough time to get lunch (the restaurant’s bathroom had whiskey-flavored
condoms) and head over for my tour of the Scottish Parliament.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaV1wjevO39kib97i-nmVtSLk4eSOl1qHwX6vZbdKo3XQR4OdcmMgKV2P3mLCwezFL3cTVJRURrmW1mykW3vZnt5jHc86b-efV-XYWJtdi11Kd5tYKRVqBzeRpLp9-7CPJXfImpcLZNm3j/s1600/IMG_2497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaV1wjevO39kib97i-nmVtSLk4eSOl1qHwX6vZbdKo3XQR4OdcmMgKV2P3mLCwezFL3cTVJRURrmW1mykW3vZnt5jHc86b-efV-XYWJtdi11Kd5tYKRVqBzeRpLp9-7CPJXfImpcLZNm3j/s1600/IMG_2497.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary, Queen of Scots' bedchamber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HtQ_LTFvJ_h5ar9c8149OfIRxZ8UDW65fLhUsBy03D4tCvoKyL17XmlUOwKofxOE_lTsP8zE7rtk6SbqhytSrGT2IJ3VOsbX7zj3hTjbBKbA48rBw0M8JngYIDaUGGZ32nocWpVtq1CH/s1600/IMG_8380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HtQ_LTFvJ_h5ar9c8149OfIRxZ8UDW65fLhUsBy03D4tCvoKyL17XmlUOwKofxOE_lTsP8zE7rtk6SbqhytSrGT2IJ3VOsbX7zj3hTjbBKbA48rBw0M8JngYIDaUGGZ32nocWpVtq1CH/s1600/IMG_8380.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palace Mirror Selfie (as usual)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHcKiRkqyFIWioq7xylBilm3y8ab5Z7PL0FvRZgP1vtMtoEURbYe79Jkn52RgNdzFkKE-xR_TxdmUR09rM1dtvPTXb8zZmMgxKj5Bu_PMoBGAW5F5kfxkY4oKpzwd_qppRg7opfdkBhEQ/s1600/IMG_8386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHcKiRkqyFIWioq7xylBilm3y8ab5Z7PL0FvRZgP1vtMtoEURbYe79Jkn52RgNdzFkKE-xR_TxdmUR09rM1dtvPTXb8zZmMgxKj5Bu_PMoBGAW5F5kfxkY4oKpzwd_qppRg7opfdkBhEQ/s1600/IMG_8386.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holyrood Abbey ruins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The parliament itself is fairly new: It was only established
in 1999, and the building is even newer. Of course there was a Scottish
parliament hundreds of years ago, but it only recently restarted meetings. I
thought the building itself was hideous, although they seemed quite proud of
it. It is supposed to be like a tree growing out of Arthur’s Seat (the large
hill nearby), and I get the symbolism and all, but I cannot get over the
industrial-looking and downright weird design. Once I recovered from my initial disgust at
the building, it seemed to serve its purpose as a modern house for parliament
fairly well (and has a lot of neat technology). I enjoyed the tour, but I guess
the building is too… <i>deep</i>… for me. Also, in the main meeting room of the parliament, there are cutouts in the wall that are supposed to look like people, however they looked far more like whiskey bottles.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6cKEc5d3Ro8TBWm3B8Fh7ImY_aYnzPddl9-E2nQ3EgfvKFecmLAYYfPIshBfnsLpf9dnWpMJmwy3r4V8gtCHYbydFhetaEYzXYPSnhnJ8x0AfyWVlVv0zR514z-BF39Wj_pXynPm0wiZ/s1600/IMG_2500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6cKEc5d3Ro8TBWm3B8Fh7ImY_aYnzPddl9-E2nQ3EgfvKFecmLAYYfPIshBfnsLpf9dnWpMJmwy3r4V8gtCHYbydFhetaEYzXYPSnhnJ8x0AfyWVlVv0zR514z-BF39Wj_pXynPm0wiZ/s1600/IMG_2500.JPG" height="176" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main meeting chamber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a couple hours left to kill before my train, I stopped
by the Edinburgh museum for a little while, which was kind-of boring but had a few interesting things. I then wandered around another
graveyard before heading back to the train station to get my bags and catch my
train to London. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final thoughts on Edinburgh: </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lodging:</b> Tune Hotel Haymarket – About a 20-minute walk from
the Royal Mile, but directly across the street from Haymarket station, which is
just a 5-minute train ride from Edinburgh Waverley. The hotel itself was nice
enough, and their pricing approach matches nicely with my belief about most
hotels when traveling: The bed and the toilet are included, and most other
things are commonly considered extra: WiFi, toiletries, TV, housekeeping
service daily, left luggage, early checkout, late checkout, etc… The base rate
is very low because they know they can hit you with a bunch of additional fees,
sort-of like a discount airline. I booked through Hotels.com and got my $30
rate with many of the extras included.
I’m pretty sure it was a mistake rate, since most other days the hotel
was showing as $70-$100/night, but I managed to get it for 2 nights which was
perfect.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Duration:</b> Edinburgh seemed like a fun city, and I probably
did myself a disservice by not staying in a hostel there. I technically was
only in Edinburgh for one full day, although I had another half-day and almost
full-day as well. I felt a little rushed at times, but overall was pretty happy
with the amount of time I chose to spend there. I felt like I had seen a decent
amount of the city while I was there, but I could have spent another day if I
had it available.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>London</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t arrive in London until nearly midnight, but managed
to catch the tube to get to my hotel, the Melia White House. They have toilet
paper folded into fancy triangles, and probably a bunch of other cool amenities
I didn’t try and also have absolutely no use for. So, why did I stay there? It
was a short tube ride from King’s Cross, and I figured it’d be nice to have
absurd amounts of luxury for one night, but in reality, I was too tired to
enjoy much, and it mostly just felt unnecessary. To make matters even
better/worse depending on your point of view, I was upgraded to a suite for the
9 hours I spent in the room. It was spacious and nice, although it’d have been
nicer if the air conditioning worked properly: I boiled for most of the night. I still haven’t answered the question though:
The real reason I was staying there because Melia was giving away around 12000
hotel points per person sometime back in April, and those points were set to
expire (since they were only part of the promo, and it was originally probably
supposed to be targeted). I figured I didn’t want a hostel in London, so this
was the next best option – I booked using a points and cash rate and saved
about $125 off of the $225/night room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVdxVXObQ-J5SV7UoSkfFctT8HOR1cYk4DI-2eXDcMzigfxbRgBm4M-uppjm7_46KNr3RqfnjZV0t_cuf9U6lWJBGB5V2xqQvjmCcLi1hLIGLMjJy1PmrBGOpicKbHDoQ4qyQ3RoRRPyV/s1600/IMG_8425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVdxVXObQ-J5SV7UoSkfFctT8HOR1cYk4DI-2eXDcMzigfxbRgBm4M-uppjm7_46KNr3RqfnjZV0t_cuf9U6lWJBGB5V2xqQvjmCcLi1hLIGLMjJy1PmrBGOpicKbHDoQ4qyQ3RoRRPyV/s1600/IMG_8425.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My giant suite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I checked out just as quickly as I checked in, and after
leaving my bags at the front desk, I headed over to the British Museum to meet
a friend for the day. I checked on my favorite artifact in the museum, and I am
happy to report it is still there:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1onFbt5Q6vLi_n6-7e_sB1wCS19VMwFLnCtaE8LcCRTqdtUgPhYsRpJKXR_ywLQQkWNXdy2ZbYze_fVE1QhqBdv_7YQNepn3fb6g4ZfrYrH8lLwb82mUHFJWrY_3jfL8KMfqJ4gwqS1HL/s1600/IMG_8428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1onFbt5Q6vLi_n6-7e_sB1wCS19VMwFLnCtaE8LcCRTqdtUgPhYsRpJKXR_ywLQQkWNXdy2ZbYze_fVE1QhqBdv_7YQNepn3fb6g4ZfrYrH8lLwb82mUHFJWrY_3jfL8KMfqJ4gwqS1HL/s1600/IMG_8428.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If the text is too small to read, click the picture to enlarge it. I wonder if that'd work for their pieces of clay too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We explored the museum for a while, and then decided to get
lunch and just walk around. We spent a relaxing few hours walking around the
city and chatting, and then he had to go, so I caught the tube back to the
Melia to get my bags and switch to a cheaper hotel outside the city center, the
Holiday Inn London-Bexley. It’s way out in the middle of fucking nowhere, and I
cannot recommend it for anything other than a 60th wedding anniversary party
(since that was what was going on there that night). Google Maps suggested it
would take an hour and a half to reach St. Pancras station the next morning, so
I left early enough to leave myself plenty of my time to make my train. I
forgot about the 30-minute check-in for the Eurostar train, so I actually had
significantly less time than I had thought. Construction work on the tube line
I needed to take meant that I made the 30-minute check in by about 30 seconds after
quite a bit of running, pushing, and shoving. After I calmed down, it was a
pleasant 2 hour 15 minute ride to Paris, and I spent a while chatting with the
American tourists sitting next to me who were in Europe for their first time. I
was a bit surprised the Eurostar didn’t have WiFi access available, but it was
otherwise a pleasant ride. I was just glad to be on the train instead of stuck
on the platform with my nonrefundable ticket.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final Thoughts on London:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lodging:</b> Melia White House (first night), Holiday Inn
London-Bexley (second night): Both hotels weren’t great, but it felt good to
have a bed to myself. The Melia was nice, but the air conditioning didn’t work,
which was really annoying. I spent a total of 9 hours there though, so I can’t
really say much more. The Holiday Inn was nice enough, but the fact that it has
London in its name is misleading… In my opinion, it’d be better off calling
itself the Holiday Inn Tokyo-Bexley… At least the name would be more accurate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Duration:</b> I really just stopped in London for a short
relaxing break after my marathon first part of the trip. I definitely enjoyed
having a rest, especially in a city I was already familiar with (from my trip
last summer). Since I spent a week there last summer, I didn’t really want to
spend much time there this time… It was just a good excuse to rest and take the
Eurostar (which I wanted to try). Obviously if actually visiting London, it’d be
nice to have much longer (I think 5-6 days is probably ideal, but it’s easy to
occupy yourself for at least 10 days there without even going outside of the
city).</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next up: Paris (complete with a charming Parisian welcome)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-41758979167767982522014-06-28T13:56:00.000-07:002014-07-14T16:00:46.111-07:00I Love IcelandThis post comes in at around 4000 words, so it took a while to write. I have a lot to say about Iceland apparently.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll start by saying that I really want to go back to
Iceland. I absolutely loved it, and so far it has definitely been my favorite
place that I visited. The combination of the people and the amazing landscape
made it a fantastic experience, and I will definitely be going back soon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Day 1</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After waking up super-early in Oslo, I made my flight with
no complications or especially amusing things happening.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtiwusqy8EXzNckcxGHlCSD03cyYb9azRBmZVNGZW0TJW7NLeNoYHBUw1TdleKMwLMV0afZT8P5MqDtmK9HEDdSpWhZGVT3zlLbVeZuFD4s4P2PDj6QL63XwslafyqcGnDId4DhGgEMfG/s1600/IMG_2084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtiwusqy8EXzNckcxGHlCSD03cyYb9azRBmZVNGZW0TJW7NLeNoYHBUw1TdleKMwLMV0afZT8P5MqDtmK9HEDdSpWhZGVT3zlLbVeZuFD4s4P2PDj6QL63XwslafyqcGnDId4DhGgEMfG/s1600/IMG_2084.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View out my (slightly dirty) window</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Passport control in
Reykjavik was quick, and after a short wait for my bags, I was ready to go. I
had booked a transfer from the airport to Reykjavik via the Blue Lagoon, so I
met the bus and hit the ground running. Well, OK, soaking not running. After a
bit of confusion getting started at the Lagoon, I wandered around for a little
while before actually getting in the water. There is an area with similarly
blue water with even more striking landscape and lava fields, and I walked
around that first.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKODs8sfBgwTD7NN0RiQL8uJbbXT3k-sVIUbimIm2yYBpCjAAc4vo5W-dNznO3ahxt1XAW8j0v2pFqNnHWAcJ3jQgEGZoQw-LYVyTvu8LYvoROJ5C9Jwk5thExU-p-JfrqzBrNVYBliZ9X/s1600/IMG_6600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKODs8sfBgwTD7NN0RiQL8uJbbXT3k-sVIUbimIm2yYBpCjAAc4vo5W-dNznO3ahxt1XAW8j0v2pFqNnHWAcJ3jQgEGZoQw-LYVyTvu8LYvoROJ5C9Jwk5thExU-p-JfrqzBrNVYBliZ9X/s1600/IMG_6600.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water isn't warm though!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Hw2yjTeoDnR4nWo7mDPSuCCs6oPcDjnLjj7Nq1a43-EXEigVu3pXRvIYKv2k83Vw0par4eBF4ESgCdUI933nqFD4nejzLRKP_3X_sY6dLqgzl7er8kH21qRfVb_BUQJasSeghxwLwlTB/s1600/IMG_6609.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Hw2yjTeoDnR4nWo7mDPSuCCs6oPcDjnLjj7Nq1a43-EXEigVu3pXRvIYKv2k83Vw0par4eBF4ESgCdUI933nqFD4nejzLRKP_3X_sY6dLqgzl7er8kH21qRfVb_BUQJasSeghxwLwlTB/s1600/IMG_6609.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Then I rented a bathing suit and towel and went into the
lagoon. The water varied in temperature as I moved around, but most of the time
it was around the same temperature as a hot tub or something similar. A few
places were unpleasantly hot or cold, but most of the time it was very
comfortable. I smeared the silica mud on my face like a good tourist and swam
around looking like a ghost for 10 minutes, and I spent a while just relaxing
in the lagoon. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbdAnUjsRdBdkYsHWfQEjwsVsFyYBplNB0-cDUVcy6iHlV8BIBhLLxh1wrwOcx9ajwYjB-ESeOpNvCGhXxQlxpa6-s0q3jobcNsrXs2p3lckF05c7n7Q-M4ykJjplwmWbMFpFpRwcdJDM/s1600/IMG_6642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbdAnUjsRdBdkYsHWfQEjwsVsFyYBplNB0-cDUVcy6iHlV8BIBhLLxh1wrwOcx9ajwYjB-ESeOpNvCGhXxQlxpa6-s0q3jobcNsrXs2p3lckF05c7n7Q-M4ykJjplwmWbMFpFpRwcdJDM/s1600/IMG_6642.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJZv9alNIlGsaEpWTPOQa4eHgW82fn6iXw_PBvLqcljwSeR_MtDJ0pw2bLy63_9ZzcuQNLiyqulFp7W9Htu3JhtSu7CP5_tgbSwYSLyA-TgpK5kaG_3lPUh6woRa1t54iQGn772haaPrG/s1600/IMG_6621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJZv9alNIlGsaEpWTPOQa4eHgW82fn6iXw_PBvLqcljwSeR_MtDJ0pw2bLy63_9ZzcuQNLiyqulFp7W9Htu3JhtSu7CP5_tgbSwYSLyA-TgpK5kaG_3lPUh6woRa1t54iQGn772haaPrG/s1600/IMG_6621.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s really neat at first, but after a couple hours there wasn’t
much to keep me entertained, so I got out, showered, got my bags from the left
luggage, and realized that I had missed the bus transfer by about 10 minutes.
The next one wasn’t for another 2 hours, and I wasn’t about to waste 2 hours
just sitting there doing nothing. I managed to find another tour operator who
was willing to take me for only about 12 Euros, and 2 hours of my time was
worth way more than that, so I went for it. I have no idea if the other company
waited around for me at some point, but at least I made it into the city
without waiting for an absurd amount of time.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The driver dropped me off in front of Kex Hostel, where I
was staying for 5 nights. The hostel itself fell short on a few things, but
overall was pretty nice. My biggest gripe was the general facilities: The
lockers were too narrow to fit any sort of bags (they were basically school
lockers), they made a lot of noise, and the bathrooms weren't always the
cleanest. The other thing was that they had communal showers. I seriously felt
like I was back in 8th grade (that is, if I ever went to 8th grade, ha). The
hostel bar was located in the lobby which was nice, although it closed early
and was a major hangout spot for a lot of local Icelanders. While that’s neat
in theory, in practice it meant a mostly unwelcoming environment since very few
people at the bar were actually staying at the hostel. Despite that, I still
met some fantastic people who were a lot of fun to hang out with in the
evenings. I won’t write about them all (especially since it’s awkward
describing people I now have on Facebook), but they were great. I spent about 5
hours one night talking with one guy whose name I still don’t know, and since
he checked out the next morning, I probably won’t ever know. Such is the
problem with meeting people in hostels, but fortunately I have managed to keep in
touch with several of the people I met (remembering to ask their name is a good
start!)</div>
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Anyhow, I arrived at the hostel around 3:30pm instead of 5:30pm if I
had waited for my “real” bus to take me. Since I had paid extra for these two
hours, I figured I’d make the best of them… I dropped my bags in the room,
chatted with my roommate (a mid-20s Canadian guy running a
startup and living in Qatar who was a lot of fun – he was there for the same
amount of time as I was, although he had to switch rooms after a few days due
to his last-minute booking), and left the hostel to wander around downtown
Reykjavik. I started at the giant church at the highest point in the city, t<span style="background-color: white;">he <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Hallgrimskirkja</span>. It is an
</span>odd-looking building, believed to be modeled after an arrangement of basalt
columns similar to ones I saw the next day. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4nXEDYOj1UicjFOMfCRR2I_mhitgzrxW-qruxqAt0uSt97X2kIVMhpgeK9o0nKTBjk8rrRskLggaEFV5UCl0hII8IA35ifXuVyNrJGt-8OvoYAheNb20-aRAwGWJYBBqhPwe7f3oehls/s1600/IMG_6680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4nXEDYOj1UicjFOMfCRR2I_mhitgzrxW-qruxqAt0uSt97X2kIVMhpgeK9o0nKTBjk8rrRskLggaEFV5UCl0hII8IA35ifXuVyNrJGt-8OvoYAheNb20-aRAwGWJYBBqhPwe7f3oehls/s1600/IMG_6680.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Complete with a statue of Leif Erikson!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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Architecturally it is very neat,
and the inside is rather barren. Since it is (by far) the tallest building in
Reykjavik though, I figured I’d go to the top since it was clear outside. The view
from the top is remarkable, especially on a clear day. I could see almost all
the way to the airport, as well as the entire city and surrounding area. It was well worth the small entry fee.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFG5AGK_EUnLB0gLGXC0RTh1X2EeJ8O77j0jS94JLz66XWbNyuO7d8rDJVbNckcSqQr0IVfxFlS8I2xSXGvif_yEyo_KxlQVy9tuy9vS99MVnc9UKa1Q9OQvompmbjdO2GZwAQQ9aqwLRk/s1600/IMG_6731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFG5AGK_EUnLB0gLGXC0RTh1X2EeJ8O77j0jS94JLz66XWbNyuO7d8rDJVbNckcSqQr0IVfxFlS8I2xSXGvif_yEyo_KxlQVy9tuy9vS99MVnc9UKa1Q9OQvompmbjdO2GZwAQQ9aqwLRk/s1600/IMG_6731.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eH4Xm-F8mAKIE4CbTgGHw4RH5KJFfAl11buMfXcESGblj4Rtzrfee9dd0IfjUWgZUuRS7OFUmeF6HCKREe3358O8NcrXaYWemL9xuG_vNHZQKD-vCR7BNqNSOfK9X2RzGzLroW7LJdQ8/s1600/IMG_2119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eH4Xm-F8mAKIE4CbTgGHw4RH5KJFfAl11buMfXcESGblj4Rtzrfee9dd0IfjUWgZUuRS7OFUmeF6HCKREe3358O8NcrXaYWemL9xuG_vNHZQKD-vCR7BNqNSOfK9X2RzGzLroW7LJdQ8/s1600/IMG_2119.JPG" height="276" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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It was
a convenient way to get my bearings, and after I finished taking way too many
pictures, I headed down one of the shopping streets toward the water. Near the
harbor area there was a very modern-looking opera house with an entire glass
wall and all sorts of interesting interior architecture. In terms of modern architecture, this was one of my all-time favorite buildings. It has a really fun
feel to it, and I took a selfie in the ceiling.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9VMk4gGzvphcL0VaEyiyaSzTbBtprMX-gpyb3KM_F58X6cgyhN0TVq3A1nlcww9zrlZmF5HUC4k2paqJZZ7jIUJA-xY7AdZwUGGuSrFfD8hADmZNzJPh6I_2el7q7SG6k-HAFMxaduEu/s1600/IMG_6760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9VMk4gGzvphcL0VaEyiyaSzTbBtprMX-gpyb3KM_F58X6cgyhN0TVq3A1nlcww9zrlZmF5HUC4k2paqJZZ7jIUJA-xY7AdZwUGGuSrFfD8hADmZNzJPh6I_2el7q7SG6k-HAFMxaduEu/s1600/IMG_6760.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRNLiloqp64tsPVwEmqDp6lOBp-7amb8J0Sz_8i54FWkxWD80Mhp8JPhIHjv3gh-T0mw_hRxZadzdrxaYiKRh5wpGdypOCTPVAdzKAlZJ6yVexQXTGhKYTCNBlMCFT2CMtuIYcn4drGTj/s1600/IMG_6769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRNLiloqp64tsPVwEmqDp6lOBp-7amb8J0Sz_8i54FWkxWD80Mhp8JPhIHjv3gh-T0mw_hRxZadzdrxaYiKRh5wpGdypOCTPVAdzKAlZJ6yVexQXTGhKYTCNBlMCFT2CMtuIYcn4drGTj/s1600/IMG_6769.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrUN3y_iAArrtuc9KLHu9MF7nO3YItdkpfZEZZ1vYEK2x-gE9ToeTooEun-IOrN0t4q6PFpVZrfXCuV5BxSDMVWcYLcs2RgT6ppzHKzbCY-zGENc7b71fOS6LjR7kKCNcpGIQLd6rSp1R/s1600/IMG_6785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrUN3y_iAArrtuc9KLHu9MF7nO3YItdkpfZEZZ1vYEK2x-gE9ToeTooEun-IOrN0t4q6PFpVZrfXCuV5BxSDMVWcYLcs2RgT6ppzHKzbCY-zGENc7b71fOS6LjR7kKCNcpGIQLd6rSp1R/s1600/IMG_6785.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Leaving the opera house, I
walked along with water until I was back to my hostel, passing the Sun Voyager sculpture.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitekmo4xLg_RzBjJyf45v6ujnDP-Hx_mb9e06e-WjdYtYVLqTm_3VFZgg-JbyG__TgbkA7snks0ApBZpkgN3to5Q3nb7LRIhWdvZMdK6RiSOM0opj9tx0v3I3ekJWybUxmOO9i_iBWWqZH/s1600/IMG_6810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitekmo4xLg_RzBjJyf45v6ujnDP-Hx_mb9e06e-WjdYtYVLqTm_3VFZgg-JbyG__TgbkA7snks0ApBZpkgN3to5Q3nb7LRIhWdvZMdK6RiSOM0opj9tx0v3I3ekJWybUxmOO9i_iBWWqZH/s1600/IMG_6810.JPG" height="218" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty good for self-timer!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I then went up past the
hostel to the main shopping street to find dinner. Following Tripadvisor’s
rating, I opted for a Nepalese/Indian restaurant not far away. Since it was
still early I was the only person there, so I had the opportunity to chat with
the owner for a few minutes after ordering his suggestion of the Nepalese
Masala (A creamy curry with a lot of spices and a bit of honey). He moved to
Iceland about 20 years ago, and runs a fantastic restaurant with very
reasonable prices – Instead of advertising and trying various other methods to
get business, he lets the Tripadvisor reviews speak for themselves and lowers
the prices a bit. In any case, the food was among the best I have ever had, and
I returned two more times during my stay in Iceland. If you ever find yourself
in Reykjavik, definitely check it out – The name of the place is Kitchen
Eldhus. After I finished dinner, I went back to the hostel,
eventually going to bed fairly early after a very busy day. </div>
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<b>Day 2</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day I went
on the first of several guided tours around Iceland. Since I couldn’t rent a
car (too expensive, not old enough, etc), exploring Iceland via tour groups was
my best option. I went with GeoIceland, which runs smaller and more detailed
tours, and tried to schedule the tour so we could dodge the giant tour buses
which arrive and dump hundreds of people at each place. They did a great job,
and I actually had the same guide for both days – He was strict on times in
each place, but that allowed us to beat the big tour buses each time, making
for a far more enjoyable visit. My first day I did the South Coast and there
were a total of 12 people on the tour. The drive from Reykjavik to the far end
of the tour was about 3 hours, and we started there, working our way back
toward Reykjavik. We did stop once, near Mt. Hekla, often considered the
gateway to hell. Honestly, if this is hell then I need to work harder to make
sure I get there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCdX07BPVh5aF7zQ-dE6_8pC5nmo8G122TGWwfTtUyvgariRh8gXG58DwUM9eMT8PnLvxWFvHlUQQ5kMHPEPMLlwbK8TmcRvVaXUksGpXrkldBqhkVfhJv4zTbbmrFVzhNueP-H4GHdVu/s1600/IMG_6874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCdX07BPVh5aF7zQ-dE6_8pC5nmo8G122TGWwfTtUyvgariRh8gXG58DwUM9eMT8PnLvxWFvHlUQQ5kMHPEPMLlwbK8TmcRvVaXUksGpXrkldBqhkVfhJv4zTbbmrFVzhNueP-H4GHdVu/s1600/IMG_6874.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Hekla, due to erupt sometime soon!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sO8CLfiGI_iv2G4SF3CbJ3953pgDlHfV_o5ivG60-t3wp0CxxG-eUc6P-lDSRN3GubYNL4TGmGicrhp3I1d483YVv0FG0KbPaVh5ovbEIQo9PugKMlOjO1adpKbgUwk9CSgo0shJXFQa/s1600/IMG_6939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sO8CLfiGI_iv2G4SF3CbJ3953pgDlHfV_o5ivG60-t3wp0CxxG-eUc6P-lDSRN3GubYNL4TGmGicrhp3I1d483YVv0FG0KbPaVh5ovbEIQo9PugKMlOjO1adpKbgUwk9CSgo0shJXFQa/s1600/IMG_6939.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the drive...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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The first official stop was the “Pebble Beach”, a beach-like
area on the coast with large pebbles instead of sand. Running alongside the
beach, there were giant basalt columns and other interesting geological
formations. It looked pretty clearly like the church in Reykjavik, and made
sense that the church was modeled after those basalt columns. When we arrived
we had the entire beach to ourselves, and as we were leaving, several of the
giant tour buses arrived. It was remarkable how different the beach seemed when
swarmed by people, and I was very glad we had avoided the madness. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgva9Fz9T7BCvw6ty4Ky3NC0ZmovZI_LBIZNA2agBSgnRHHKMx88nYg3zEO8bSKr6cdL0RNLeBUuN7YQlB_WNnM6HbitD8xpJeSwamYXQGO9mkYjtUmne0BeygR1RLIXpKIKGBH6fXg8bkA/s1600/IMG_7021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgva9Fz9T7BCvw6ty4Ky3NC0ZmovZI_LBIZNA2agBSgnRHHKMx88nYg3zEO8bSKr6cdL0RNLeBUuN7YQlB_WNnM6HbitD8xpJeSwamYXQGO9mkYjtUmne0BeygR1RLIXpKIKGBH6fXg8bkA/s1600/IMG_7021.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost to ourselves!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhqimocF_KZ4ykWP_rU_QFt7cDIV5G33CiZidnVherjBg5yUF-7RyWRtEn_A2_phfRNQKt7lciX0dsSPbLsGeAn543VqJEwE198ROIkQzSRR7s14LI_89SP1tfeWtOOTJcV2PgN7XRhmE/s1600/IMG_7025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhqimocF_KZ4ykWP_rU_QFt7cDIV5G33CiZidnVherjBg5yUF-7RyWRtEn_A2_phfRNQKt7lciX0dsSPbLsGeAn543VqJEwE198ROIkQzSRR7s14LI_89SP1tfeWtOOTJcV2PgN7XRhmE/s1600/IMG_7025.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See what inspired the church architecture?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5LdAzIP9ZnNKZBAfUJMW_g4S6Xk8_Qfn6EkBSaVQI2R4iIua1Ila7aRVGL6e337_tNTt6vuHOHFmzyntq6kck-2eUNQ8Ys2k5SWTdd9EMZt0-J9ppbFY9ABC0PmKO5j9dtDzO3giLnf9/s1600/IMG_7030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5LdAzIP9ZnNKZBAfUJMW_g4S6Xk8_Qfn6EkBSaVQI2R4iIua1Ila7aRVGL6e337_tNTt6vuHOHFmzyntq6kck-2eUNQ8Ys2k5SWTdd9EMZt0-J9ppbFY9ABC0PmKO5j9dtDzO3giLnf9/s1600/IMG_7030.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Supposedly it wasn't safe to go further under in case the rocks fell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpc0ohXn2kGGUxPAkhP8GN0mq35OlYNQBbrjyG-8W4Y0ffD3fFv-9akxa4gkMQhLPgJhOr1_19xTcyAUcXZCZhn8_u_belINPgFFtKJCSGwS-XAxHQlrDtBK9IoCNyvBKZi8INxxo5XZ7/s1600/IMG_7053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpc0ohXn2kGGUxPAkhP8GN0mq35OlYNQBbrjyG-8W4Y0ffD3fFv-9akxa4gkMQhLPgJhOr1_19xTcyAUcXZCZhn8_u_belINPgFFtKJCSGwS-XAxHQlrDtBK9IoCNyvBKZi8INxxo5XZ7/s1600/IMG_7053.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basalt columns are actually really comfortable </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We left the
beach and headed for a glacier where a few people were doing a glacier-walk. We
walked over some of the glacier and on an iceberg covered in volcanic ash. Most
of the grey and dark parts of the ice are not pollution; rather, they are ash
from recent volcanic eruptions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUaMXNkXo0-eNDQysz3M7UqaPmsKQ1PnFuN2AcZNh4BBFq5OD140Mos7LXIp35mSAYxIX3LVFo1Wkkr_2QeHKh4mnt3I66VIIRhRJzeHbcPu2aJv_lhK8M9FMQ3k1zZPVEGo8gQZd5LEO/s1600/IMG_7138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUaMXNkXo0-eNDQysz3M7UqaPmsKQ1PnFuN2AcZNh4BBFq5OD140Mos7LXIp35mSAYxIX3LVFo1Wkkr_2QeHKh4mnt3I66VIIRhRJzeHbcPu2aJv_lhK8M9FMQ3k1zZPVEGo8gQZd5LEO/s1600/IMG_7138.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjuQM7ypoo1g7_zr5tRos45JAn7FEwarxgV_Ai_uGL8pOwVaZbxGfrTYUQxGS03AbPnbQFmFXsEHwGMIrGM-WmN4nU928-2KWC2UPakSm4wtjN82VmIGsFyWuPZ8z2Kd4I0smxyNiip51/s1600/IMG_7130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjuQM7ypoo1g7_zr5tRos45JAn7FEwarxgV_Ai_uGL8pOwVaZbxGfrTYUQxGS03AbPnbQFmFXsEHwGMIrGM-WmN4nU928-2KWC2UPakSm4wtjN82VmIGsFyWuPZ8z2Kd4I0smxyNiip51/s1600/IMG_7130.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were a few areas of the iceberg that had
begun to melt, and I drank a bit of the water – It was supposedly clean and
safe, and volcanic ash probably has some vitamins or something. It turns out
sneakers are not the best footwear when walking on a glacier… Who would’ve
thought? Anyhow, I slipped and fell once and cut up my left knee a bit, but it
made for a good story later. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZsPYRk7xyBbS-wgpY5Hj9Eh2rWlM-uzOFuk7kxUKHcaraLq-vh_tchoCLNT-K27jlBcbCruACNsYzypkA-FvFPzdr4lVCfXE0mlBcHz_4wKRr8KsfMSGfC5U_wFlmr4UHwNsIDQTCIvN/s1600/IMG_7107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZsPYRk7xyBbS-wgpY5Hj9Eh2rWlM-uzOFuk7kxUKHcaraLq-vh_tchoCLNT-K27jlBcbCruACNsYzypkA-FvFPzdr4lVCfXE0mlBcHz_4wKRr8KsfMSGfC5U_wFlmr4UHwNsIDQTCIvN/s1600/IMG_7107.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vitamin V: Volcanic Ash</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We continued by visiting a huge waterfall. It was
possible to climb up to the top of the waterfall by going up 400+ stairs, so I
went for it. The view from the top was nice, and it was high enough to see a
lot of the surrounding area, although it was a bit cloudy. Climbing down the
stairs was a lot easier than climbing up, and after I reached the bottom, I
went up close to the waterfall, where I got very wet. Fortunately I had my
waterproof jacket on, but the rest of me was soaked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNSIyTj4Q8w7nebYAGJcwBhPlP9-2AJZtWBJ3OEr8ZEBeiA_vMLOH3h5RidOizv3QXL2D71dHdgwKxVghOeiQx8XKpo5TegKYSnuGXZlm1pUF7_EmmronkefXP7n9hmiqdKBmlRlTasct/s1600/IMG_2185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNSIyTj4Q8w7nebYAGJcwBhPlP9-2AJZtWBJ3OEr8ZEBeiA_vMLOH3h5RidOizv3QXL2D71dHdgwKxVghOeiQx8XKpo5TegKYSnuGXZlm1pUF7_EmmronkefXP7n9hmiqdKBmlRlTasct/s1600/IMG_2185.JPG" height="134" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama approaching the waterfall -- Yes, those little tiny dots are people!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_4n3osv3dgWPVfyDRnJ62d4zt-cMernTREYz0kSsDlOmJQ01SK8vn5leMNFZGy-f_ye8H1UQLezgQKV9XWGfmNv68fXdCBckNPLeLsDqgRkoi3HTay7M1k39-El-ohes8MlEPOBawFWB/s1600/IMG_7162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_4n3osv3dgWPVfyDRnJ62d4zt-cMernTREYz0kSsDlOmJQ01SK8vn5leMNFZGy-f_ye8H1UQLezgQKV9XWGfmNv68fXdCBckNPLeLsDqgRkoi3HTay7M1k39-El-ohes8MlEPOBawFWB/s1600/IMG_7162.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZU5uuk6fLBPAs9VcV8L4HKrZZ_TKlI83hkNxXq_UK-KXxb3KoU52tRVc7phIfL879CUl2_FFoP8FKnmq3eji2vmJuYbp6nfRCFwOUxyL4qY9NjuYMb3XOX9RWxJDmTnxLBwiFXJJ_XNx/s1600/IMG_7179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZU5uuk6fLBPAs9VcV8L4HKrZZ_TKlI83hkNxXq_UK-KXxb3KoU52tRVc7phIfL879CUl2_FFoP8FKnmq3eji2vmJuYbp6nfRCFwOUxyL4qY9NjuYMb3XOX9RWxJDmTnxLBwiFXJJ_XNx/s1600/IMG_7179.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the bottom!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the waterfall we
stopped by a few traditional turf-houses and then stopped to feed some
Icelandic horses.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpOyTJfxQuOPJJpXBBlEY-qqGN-k1enJs667PdqlEei_-EelfpTa-VfejAeAFGHfMCKKMstQGfWq9gSHLiVavaqMvIyeqDe2jMo8OYlR4kBgliiFMaPB1Sr13KmCpx7w3uBny3BNBNhSy/s1600/IMG_7219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpOyTJfxQuOPJJpXBBlEY-qqGN-k1enJs667PdqlEei_-EelfpTa-VfejAeAFGHfMCKKMstQGfWq9gSHLiVavaqMvIyeqDe2jMo8OYlR4kBgliiFMaPB1Sr13KmCpx7w3uBny3BNBNhSy/s1600/IMG_7219.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know if the horse liked me, but it definitely liked the food I had</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After feeding the horses, we headed to another waterfall. This waterfall was a bit smaller, but the mist formed a nice
rainbow, and it was possible to walk <i>behind</i>
it. I got wet again, but it was a lot of fun. We stopped there for a while and
then headed back to Reykjavik after a very full day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2ZlF8QmNqNVDCYORFtDRv1OdENH5XjIRSgTKGhM5G6PdluvFhGxygaQ_G7kwkjo2Xr1_cTmQU5If4k6LkZATzTWMI5-SGK5rvEUCC5lEpeS0YduYygvuAfObpes3DLUfMXRvp7aimUwa/s1600/IMG_7238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2ZlF8QmNqNVDCYORFtDRv1OdENH5XjIRSgTKGhM5G6PdluvFhGxygaQ_G7kwkjo2Xr1_cTmQU5If4k6LkZATzTWMI5-SGK5rvEUCC5lEpeS0YduYygvuAfObpes3DLUfMXRvp7aimUwa/s1600/IMG_7238.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO81_JYiHDWeAqh_J_HqfTMf0ms2DGPw0CcVh0KfXHY-jPgKOgstfg7j6XSQ9fixLH6E7dC6jJ-rSZyB_jV3FYQB-mXaPIsJumSTUHjJdfgY2cLzdamd8fFVm5o6I5kKjpBenbmNiauRHR/s1600/IMG_7247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO81_JYiHDWeAqh_J_HqfTMf0ms2DGPw0CcVh0KfXHY-jPgKOgstfg7j6XSQ9fixLH6E7dC6jJ-rSZyB_jV3FYQB-mXaPIsJumSTUHjJdfgY2cLzdamd8fFVm5o6I5kKjpBenbmNiauRHR/s1600/IMG_7247.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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<br />
Back in Reykjavik, I went to a sub-par Greek restaurant (I should have gone to Kitchen Eldhus every night!) and spent a while hanging out at the hostel. I was pretty dead after the full day of sightseeing.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><b>Day 3</b></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day I had another tour with GeoIceland booked, and
this one was the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle route is extremely popular,
but we dodged most of the giant groups yet again. We started by visiting the
“Golden Waterfall”, Gullfoss. Since it was cloudy it was not very golden, but
it was still huge and awesome to walk around and watch. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIpt1jNThEovF-pE7_l5RDJEszFSQoefyaY1JlpjSmAlevhiLk0HTSqKjb8JJ05D4yg9XiVco56uqrsgktb7yie6HrAN7QDqdbSKmFgvbiNE7kjfXzYcBSGV5q9M5Zwcpjt3ZRUFWoTnc/s1600/IMG_2198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIpt1jNThEovF-pE7_l5RDJEszFSQoefyaY1JlpjSmAlevhiLk0HTSqKjb8JJ05D4yg9XiVco56uqrsgktb7yie6HrAN7QDqdbSKmFgvbiNE7kjfXzYcBSGV5q9M5Zwcpjt3ZRUFWoTnc/s1600/IMG_2198.JPG" height="292" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love panoramas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0w3FB1IhGMsoH6AfUn4ggglk4TAvsvVb31PlkyyNGXBsR-cJliGD-H8-tP5KKaHsIB1cIH8WRQcQJa9GLdj2cMnJDSmdwkgK5IJRFRuYlQEKfLqFUljUWTm6A4a10PCOs80nQ3swrEfA/s1600/IMG_7405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0w3FB1IhGMsoH6AfUn4ggglk4TAvsvVb31PlkyyNGXBsR-cJliGD-H8-tP5KKaHsIB1cIH8WRQcQJa9GLdj2cMnJDSmdwkgK5IJRFRuYlQEKfLqFUljUWTm6A4a10PCOs80nQ3swrEfA/s1600/IMG_7405.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next we continued to the original Geysir. Although the
original one doesn’t erupt often anymore (due to pollution and other problems),
there were numerous other hot springs in the area with varying degrees of
eruptions. By far the biggest one was very close to the original Geysir, and it
erupted well over 100 feet into the air roughly every 5 minutes. I wandered
around some of the other hot springs as well, then settled in to watch the
bigger Geysir erupt a few times before getting lunch.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeisT-aafJjDg6o_8V1HYIE7nXyVgEJyW2is0yIG_i0Z4jQONf_TVWDmfDx5TL69fnD8SqPoU8eIzHETd-JzIt99lL0T6CN9bdBONKzinoODeTz1XzrrkTN5Fk7JhMQoOKQz3M0yvVbk1/s1600/IMG_7459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeisT-aafJjDg6o_8V1HYIE7nXyVgEJyW2is0yIG_i0Z4jQONf_TVWDmfDx5TL69fnD8SqPoU8eIzHETd-JzIt99lL0T6CN9bdBONKzinoODeTz1XzrrkTN5Fk7JhMQoOKQz3M0yvVbk1/s1600/IMG_7459.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geysir at work</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oj2diq7QUcLSZ11PFwcAtvrfDNsuIKula85dtkIZ8vWceW8kFtOJvJ1UQtaqlsyad-z8VckQ2Jwdc88Xfp5KwFguJIwjWK7buFVQnet6ottAgnOreqRTqP8IMI8iMBOrr_C4y4jXbviC/s1600/IMG_7470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oj2diq7QUcLSZ11PFwcAtvrfDNsuIKula85dtkIZ8vWceW8kFtOJvJ1UQtaqlsyad-z8VckQ2Jwdc88Xfp5KwFguJIwjWK7buFVQnet6ottAgnOreqRTqP8IMI8iMBOrr_C4y4jXbviC/s1600/IMG_7470.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the calmer springs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After lunch, we headed to Thingvellur national park, between
the North American and European tectonic plates. The natural landscape yet
again was spectacular, and it was possible to very clearly see the area between
the places. Apparently it was possible to snorkel or scuba dive there, but the
idea of a dry suit and extremely cold water didn’t seem all that appealing, even
though it would’ve been very cool.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FDN7QcKDVv0mtZHwYCvhLFTu2qx1_LJYM3T56QFnOwSUi-7Gwaz3LX4PaRb42g3uYARJhmO82nUnd-oaKvmjlDH_Gi8EggDYldq6Q35NVlhbZUZZ9tpj_sNH0gt5KLlTiJp3cuXydvFr/s1600/IMG_7509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FDN7QcKDVv0mtZHwYCvhLFTu2qx1_LJYM3T56QFnOwSUi-7Gwaz3LX4PaRb42g3uYARJhmO82nUnd-oaKvmjlDH_Gi8EggDYldq6Q35NVlhbZUZZ9tpj_sNH0gt5KLlTiJp3cuXydvFr/s1600/IMG_7509.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between the plates (and on a ledge)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CgPMa05ZjXZH6LVp00zcwZFsThwjg9QoO-b1EXPuxEoiUvziL4NpS83E-uIFVfFOOmemjGtub4pMkr9kX4-eHCDZ0srUgmMaRfvmS5y9JSFSwB0oXPXN7mbu13iE8p5W_YN4LKMWcn4M/s1600/IMG_7495.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CgPMa05ZjXZH6LVp00zcwZFsThwjg9QoO-b1EXPuxEoiUvziL4NpS83E-uIFVfFOOmemjGtub4pMkr9kX4-eHCDZ0srUgmMaRfvmS5y9JSFSwB0oXPXN7mbu13iE8p5W_YN4LKMWcn4M/s1600/IMG_7495.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
After a short hike up to the top and onto
the North American plate, past the place of the first “althing” held in 932, we
headed back to Reykjavik. Both tours were great, and although I’d have liked to
rent a car and explore everything at my own pace, this was still a very
reasonable alternative.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0TnTs7fC-gn5m1g66_J2b1Dz0pJfoVYtFnxb3Q8wi3n8FhZfeQKWAZnimnqrUkTTUofM6xgUR4fKkiwoGY-JwNTsNCCxvibiWCh8T1blCcYhP_hbDAJqIH4nIKrhrGsVqSI7N16pVnI5/s1600/IMG_7529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0TnTs7fC-gn5m1g66_J2b1Dz0pJfoVYtFnxb3Q8wi3n8FhZfeQKWAZnimnqrUkTTUofM6xgUR4fKkiwoGY-JwNTsNCCxvibiWCh8T1blCcYhP_hbDAJqIH4nIKrhrGsVqSI7N16pVnI5/s1600/IMG_7529.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Icelandic Flag marking the site of the first althing, and North American plate in the background</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34nqVNn9oHFsuG0nzwznhPu1-IRjC2C_RXAEGQjXktiz_2UbydI6GSHHcmCyqFSH3Y6p8TPYqb1ZWm5w7viisjfiRawPhbDiuJcEczCTv4S5Pyw42h6XP_7y5STURqBBxUYnsJpVlKmrq/s1600/IMG_2220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34nqVNn9oHFsuG0nzwznhPu1-IRjC2C_RXAEGQjXktiz_2UbydI6GSHHcmCyqFSH3Y6p8TPYqb1ZWm5w7viisjfiRawPhbDiuJcEczCTv4S5Pyw42h6XP_7y5STURqBBxUYnsJpVlKmrq/s1600/IMG_2220.JPG" height="188" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thingvellur National Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Day 4</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day was the craziest of them all – I went inside of
a volcano. After a 30-minute drive outside of Reykjavik, we got out at the edge
of a giant lava field. I had brought long pants and both my regular and
rainproof jacket, and they provided a bright yellow rain jacket to go along
with the others. With these three layers, I was still a bit cold, but once we
got started walking, it wasn’t bad. Although the weather in Reykjavik was sunny
and around 60 degrees with no wind, the weather here was drastically different
– It was 40 degrees, cloudy, and very windy (20-30MPH). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZAPUHqsSahjAriTHy0nrXtCO40rxoFmcG1iiskNXvqMQC1zvn-Ch5LZH_saHQ4oaZoQtlBFv08oOCYvwhdqJ1xLr_Spmuv5ns3F_oplw6gSL5aaud8OpbiQf7L_EbsVD5GZMPVrGyyY8/s1600/IMG_7586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZAPUHqsSahjAriTHy0nrXtCO40rxoFmcG1iiskNXvqMQC1zvn-Ch5LZH_saHQ4oaZoQtlBFv08oOCYvwhdqJ1xLr_Spmuv5ns3F_oplw6gSL5aaud8OpbiQf7L_EbsVD5GZMPVrGyyY8/s1600/IMG_7586.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 layers, complete with radioactive yellow. I won't be winning any fashion awards, but at least I'm visible from space.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8QZ9jMW0T6QZbdznqGjj8Mz_ATiW_UJgEmfNljCn3BYIbQ7DrMk2eKmVGqZRxj1uWEcpnjt9ZW9MCGu4O9wb-HQKDcHy-mclEmXzzjE189Vq4a2yPsEZO9ajaAXE9dSeCprzzGMeQz7Y/s1600/IMG_7587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8QZ9jMW0T6QZbdznqGjj8Mz_ATiW_UJgEmfNljCn3BYIbQ7DrMk2eKmVGqZRxj1uWEcpnjt9ZW9MCGu4O9wb-HQKDcHy-mclEmXzzjE189Vq4a2yPsEZO9ajaAXE9dSeCprzzGMeQz7Y/s1600/IMG_7587.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view getting off the bus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The hike over the lava
field was roughly 1.5 miles, and only a small part was paved. The rest of the hike
was either on the lava itself, or on rocky pebble pathways with pieces of lava
occasionally jutting out. Since it had rained earlier in the day the hike was a
bit slippery, but with the wind at our backs, it was not too bad. It took around 45 minutes to reach the “base
camp”, and during the hike we again crossed between the European and North
American tectonic plates, although they were much closer together here. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSysxh5BpMaTW_Gj76quFw0eY-E7LAyjeBPdPftPbur5CJrax5OvHEHyko_TWU6DkbmS3nvhDeg_S4EyU8RvNhVQ1KPxJwJSIETu4biHcyXlHtePoGPkKBNJguGNFHxU1-VZKTlRGJ6bJ/s1600/IMG_7617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSysxh5BpMaTW_Gj76quFw0eY-E7LAyjeBPdPftPbur5CJrax5OvHEHyko_TWU6DkbmS3nvhDeg_S4EyU8RvNhVQ1KPxJwJSIETu4biHcyXlHtePoGPkKBNJguGNFHxU1-VZKTlRGJ6bJ/s1600/IMG_7617.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lava field, with the volcano in the background!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhbpcb_qcoQqqBKaHIvudiynVBiJSJFfTQP899Qxj9zOfSFeohZZqJIRjVpG6hliOBwrMT0hLaD6_EpHPrsfcs7DuYuNVxYj_bDn3ZvJMf1JkqvbHHi2HkkefsuxT2jkGk-7_KRPd3k60/s1600/IMG_7649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhbpcb_qcoQqqBKaHIvudiynVBiJSJFfTQP899Qxj9zOfSFeohZZqJIRjVpG6hliOBwrMT0hLaD6_EpHPrsfcs7DuYuNVxYj_bDn3ZvJMf1JkqvbHHi2HkkefsuxT2jkGk-7_KRPd3k60/s1600/IMG_7649.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1.5 miles of this</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpRs7AGoadjorZKi-Xepx5tsbCjkv72nULLlxGB9s9GDu1mEzqO7EyoNeSUECWA0Rob7mYvpAKiEMbjUuRvKJF2N8lGAl3A6ulJk0HTXbyc_6h04Dh9Nw_5EFR4TYlEhgsJ5C-Rd-XAmD/s1600/IMG_7661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpRs7AGoadjorZKi-Xepx5tsbCjkv72nULLlxGB9s9GDu1mEzqO7EyoNeSUECWA0Rob7mYvpAKiEMbjUuRvKJF2N8lGAl3A6ulJk0HTXbyc_6h04Dh9Nw_5EFR4TYlEhgsJ5C-Rd-XAmD/s1600/IMG_7661.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gap between plates was a lot smaller here (here I am standing on the European plate)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I was
part of the first group to reach the base camp area, so I was also in the first
group of 6 to go into the volcano. From the camp we walked up a steep hill
where it was even windier (30-35 MPH) and there were no guardrails over the
edges. After a few minutes we reached the entrance to the volcano with a small
window-washing lift to take us inside. With harnesses attached, we descended
into the volcano slowly, reaching the bottom about 5 minutes later. Since the
company that runs the tours is committed to impacting the environment of the
volcano as little as possible, the floor of the volcano is all lava rocks and
mud. Unlike the lava field outside, much of this lava is sharp and jagged, and
you have to climb over some of it to move around. There is also a chamber that
drops off another 80 meters further down with only a small rope to stop you
from falling. Of course I managed to fall very close to this area (again,
sneakers were not the best footwear for wet lava, surprise), and in my haste to
catch myself, I cut up my right knee and my wrist pretty badly. Later on when I
looked at my wrist, it looked as if I had tried to slit my wrist but had done
it the wrong way. My injuries notwithstanding, the volcano was spectacular. The
colors of the walls inside are vibrant, and looking up at the now-tiny hole in
the ceiling from where we entered provided perspective as to just how giant the
volcano actually was. Because of the lighting it was difficult to take many
good pictures, but suffice to say it was totally worth the cuts, bruises,
money, and effort of the hike to get there. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-i9-JUjoFgTZ9rh0ckLpwxLAaUbHUMmEkrZh1Gedd-uqgC7zwCVn9vrYJCaQaWNLmfgPr2fjfVDNKwDGCjMMgGfyvlxeRSe0BvU-RsIJ2hiP4u3Wu8AAHu1F_M4HFt7FSnfFONnNpfBU3/s1600/IMG_7686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-i9-JUjoFgTZ9rh0ckLpwxLAaUbHUMmEkrZh1Gedd-uqgC7zwCVn9vrYJCaQaWNLmfgPr2fjfVDNKwDGCjMMgGfyvlxeRSe0BvU-RsIJ2hiP4u3Wu8AAHu1F_M4HFt7FSnfFONnNpfBU3/s1600/IMG_7686.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The small bridge leading to the lift where we entered the volcano</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU5Xa9SR2vT4d3hzv2ZTAA-QwyjyOE3qLfHaZMfOgvPgIirWvRwcl5RY7poc3wFUooEIFTAOQM8N5iXM-hKx9SKg7DTWFq91jp9KyHggMmwsZXF-cfP1QQBzExrsd8kkJPPBScWGIWZjO/s1600/IMG_2289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLU5Xa9SR2vT4d3hzv2ZTAA-QwyjyOE3qLfHaZMfOgvPgIirWvRwcl5RY7poc3wFUooEIFTAOQM8N5iXM-hKx9SKg7DTWFq91jp9KyHggMmwsZXF-cfP1QQBzExrsd8kkJPPBScWGIWZjO/s1600/IMG_2289.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside! The little light at the top is the hole in the volcano we entered from</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WNbAv5tgYVgA9lp3r9rwj0mN6-KR73AmzxPWHbAInt_bJAI-BqLqvZG6dtq3ni3lASw-JHJhJ0Da4zrIWh_cn73VmeLq-IxHO28kazGtLPY6B4v-fMUpQRYIyUGhE4mwAn_1c2Yy9b6r/s1600/IMG_2300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WNbAv5tgYVgA9lp3r9rwj0mN6-KR73AmzxPWHbAInt_bJAI-BqLqvZG6dtq3ni3lASw-JHJhJ0Da4zrIWh_cn73VmeLq-IxHO28kazGtLPY6B4v-fMUpQRYIyUGhE4mwAn_1c2Yy9b6r/s1600/IMG_2300.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cavern leading down another 80 meters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvtfsmG9xzTu4D7orE9Ei5T1QzqTqSvcoDOGSFxlN7rPUcCSc3LxGZUxDOoMea_BMFMIh3hhMfS4JGGXcXWtyr_oi50phulexdzCSTXIVlDvFCZ5aoQ78-qUVsIOsrffnvFPNXyQn-hED/s1600/IMG_2256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvtfsmG9xzTu4D7orE9Ei5T1QzqTqSvcoDOGSFxlN7rPUcCSc3LxGZUxDOoMea_BMFMIh3hhMfS4JGGXcXWtyr_oi50phulexdzCSTXIVlDvFCZ5aoQ78-qUVsIOsrffnvFPNXyQn-hED/s1600/IMG_2256.JPG" height="400" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the colorful rock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICyX6c8mZGd3OoelTCilZET0fmi7cGi88BOwWkH7KK-3ZVR3kLEpgwjDGnk26ngYhCUAduAyeDgjoR4XnIyKAUzHd3xbRwYmQJrxyHSAGwqKra-BY7hbAU8ZvE3d1fSIpkI0CZELRMGRr/s1600/IMG_2282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICyX6c8mZGd3OoelTCilZET0fmi7cGi88BOwWkH7KK-3ZVR3kLEpgwjDGnk26ngYhCUAduAyeDgjoR4XnIyKAUzHd3xbRwYmQJrxyHSAGwqKra-BY7hbAU8ZvE3d1fSIpkI0CZELRMGRr/s1600/IMG_2282.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Non-selfie in the volcano!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since we were the first group into the volcano, we were also
the first group out (although I didn’t want to leave!) and when we came back
out, the weather had changed again dramatically… Now it was pouring rain with
even stronger winds (35-40MPH). We went back down to the base camp house (which
was now shaking a bit) and had some Icelandic meat soup and coffee while
waiting for the others to return. I didn’t realize how much I was bleeding from
my wrist until I got back to the base camp, where they washed it off and gave
me a tight waterproof bandage for my wrist. The waterproof part turned out to
be very important. Once everyone was back and had warmed up a bit, we headed
back across the lava field. Unfortunately the weather hadn’t improved, so we
were hiking back into the 30-40MPH wind and driving rain across slippery rocks
and mud. It was exhausting and took a lot longer to make it back to the end of
the lava field, but eventually we all made it back to the bus drenched from
head to toe. It was difficult enough to stay standing up that I didn't take any pictures, and besides, it was pouring rain, so my camera might not have liked that very much. Even having two supposedly waterproof jackets on didn’t help keep
my shirt dry. The bus came a few minutes later prepared with plastic coverings
for all the seats, and after a short ride we were back in downtown Reykjavik. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztSpfij5HIOQjMrAEUdqP8YDK27XMfOmtW-SHmcUZLALR6euK5OTvwTZqQW-XbIYhAGKloq9bwoG6tVbOD4OPMmINQozEr0UBeuy6xNazhXfIKzVz_OPe0ZhKPEYlSpLPYNtR6j_0Ptip/s1600/IMG_7725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztSpfij5HIOQjMrAEUdqP8YDK27XMfOmtW-SHmcUZLALR6euK5OTvwTZqQW-XbIYhAGKloq9bwoG6tVbOD4OPMmINQozEr0UBeuy6xNazhXfIKzVz_OPe0ZhKPEYlSpLPYNtR6j_0Ptip/s1600/IMG_7725.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That mist is rain being blown around. It feels like little bullets when hitting your face.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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I needed to do laundry anyway and both my jackets were
soaking wet and dirty, so I put in a load of laundry at the hostel (rather, I
handed my clothes to a staff member in the laundry room because they don’t let
guests do their own laundry). I also had a problem with my shoes: They were
also drenched and muddy. After rinsing them, I asked if I could put my shoes in
the dryer (remember I only have one pair for the entire trip). I was told it
was “hostel policy” not to put anything in the dryer that hasn’t been in the
washer. So I started to put them in the washer, only to be told it was also
hostel policy not to put shoes in the washer. So I offered to wash my shoes by
hand and then put them in the dryer, and was told that it is also their policy
not to put hard objects in the dryer. After playing the world’s least fun (and
possibly wettest) game of 20 questions, the guy finally suggested putting my
shoes on the radiator to dry. I should have just used a hair-dryer, but that
didn’t occur to me for some reason until someone suggested it on Facebook. He
put them on the radiator (right above the sign that said not to put things on
the radiator), and I was confined to the hostel for a while – After all, I had
no shoes and no jackets. I met a few fun people while at the hostel which made
the wait far more bearable, and eventually around 10pm my laundry was finished
and my shoes were dry-ish. I went back to the Indian place for dinner and then
went out with a few people from the hostel. I used a hair-dryer to finish the
drying the next morning.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Day 5</b></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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The next day was my last day in Reykjavik and I didn’t have
much planned. I went around to a couple museums and visited the city hall. The
first museum I went to was a bit unusual: It contained an Icelandic longhouse
from the late 9<sup>th</sup> century and detailed Viking customs, history, and
achievements, as well as the archaeology surrounding the longhouse discovery.
The house is preserved in situ, which is just how I like it; I feel it’s far
more powerful to see things in their original resting spot rather than on
display at a museum… I know some objects must be removed for conservation, but
I’m strongly for preserving the original context of the object as much as
possible. I could go on about this for a while, but I don’t want to go too
off-topic. Regardless of your opinion on the matter, <i>Finders Keepers </i>by Craig Childs is a very interesting and
worthwhile read. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYP9u7S-YEhbbrQuXmCnY9PV59L9N2GkLtN82sbEAuG18zlnORTA_e3ys1Fpsb24Nxd-HHn28RZrIogqpIo4YcUA9D6gQiGLk3n7wAhG3BuuIKJQFz1cxdi25b6t3s2mTGgNX0OSOurOu/s1600/IMG_7736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYP9u7S-YEhbbrQuXmCnY9PV59L9N2GkLtN82sbEAuG18zlnORTA_e3ys1Fpsb24Nxd-HHn28RZrIogqpIo4YcUA9D6gQiGLk3n7wAhG3BuuIKJQFz1cxdi25b6t3s2mTGgNX0OSOurOu/s1600/IMG_7736.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the ruins of the longhouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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Leaving the first museum, I went to the city hall and
surrounding area and watched people feed a variety of birds for a while (to be
perfectly honest, airplanes were flying overhead and I wanted to get a picture
of an Air Greenland plane which was supposed to land around while I was there,
but it wound up approaching on a different path due to weather).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8PcpC2rcNVDW92pPyAuJwLLcgqKn9qGO9qVTSqubPBmw9kviq3nPeAsfngsEmH1H0NSot3K-vE0rzJKigm-K5smtTqO1GgP01IgD32X9s8oacGQ2ugU2SmRRgmmjq2L1ghj6odHgFmyi/s1600/IMG_7749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8PcpC2rcNVDW92pPyAuJwLLcgqKn9qGO9qVTSqubPBmw9kviq3nPeAsfngsEmH1H0NSot3K-vE0rzJKigm-K5smtTqO1GgP01IgD32X9s8oacGQ2ugU2SmRRgmmjq2L1ghj6odHgFmyi/s1600/IMG_7749.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, the city hall is on/in the lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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Although I missed
the Air Greenland flight, I found some smaller flying things to keep me entertained.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMO9hYgXFWbYWMBVnJe3K95SPAoT0gJVHwePJJ7emxNJwO56oNhjvy_tLmuasJsoWI-L0nYLPNIyhQhz4ahh7aIUR9AluYMpFX4x1ew8QQOe0Hl7mr4behhAuvmdpECUanicaQAa_A1dRV/s1600/IMG_7762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMO9hYgXFWbYWMBVnJe3K95SPAoT0gJVHwePJJ7emxNJwO56oNhjvy_tLmuasJsoWI-L0nYLPNIyhQhz4ahh7aIUR9AluYMpFX4x1ew8QQOe0Hl7mr4behhAuvmdpECUanicaQAa_A1dRV/s1600/IMG_7762.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy made friends quickly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I headed to the National Museum of Iceland where I spent a couple
hours before being kicked out at closing time. As I was leaving, I ran into one
of the people from the first tour I took – We were each other’s designated
photographers for the tour, and had spent a while talking as well. She was
headed to a nearby graveyard to wander around for a few minutes, so I joined
her and we spent an hour exploring the graveyard and talking. Strangely enough
I found myself in several more graveyards in the following few days, although
those weren’t as, um, enjoyable. After that, we walked back to the city center
where I ran into a few other people from the hostel and left her to do some
shopping and exploring. I wound up going out with a few people from the hostel
for my last night, and once it reached 2am I figured it would be silly to try
to sleep since I had to catch a bus to the airport at 5am, so I drank a lot of
water and went back to the hostel around 4am to pack my stuff and have some
coffee before leaving. </div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJJ-sD6XIuVWokRoTcIoHnQTrOS9zBBT_6Lai-FMUUHaGP9U_clENYKPmXCiBdB8zcTUTBad2Zaz_rkicVt93QDHmqKRrVvA2DOmMOlw3O152km9s4dg81SqSqit9ccozfvLEQdV2Fyd0/s1600/IMG_2334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJJ-sD6XIuVWokRoTcIoHnQTrOS9zBBT_6Lai-FMUUHaGP9U_clENYKPmXCiBdB8zcTUTBad2Zaz_rkicVt93QDHmqKRrVvA2DOmMOlw3O152km9s4dg81SqSqit9ccozfvLEQdV2Fyd0/s1600/IMG_2334.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant Puffin at 3am, a couple hours before heading to the airport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Final thoughts on Reykjavik:</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Lodging</b>: Kex Hostel – I met some great people at the hostel
and for me that made my stay worthwhile. The actual facilities of the hostel
and the staff working there were far from ideal however, and it’s a shame,
because they have the potential to be a fantastic hostel, especially given
their excellent location. The communal showers were a bit weird, the bathrooms
could have used more cleaning, and I’m still annoyed by the runaround I got
regarding my shoes. I would probably go back, but I hope some of the problems
will be improved upon since Kex has the opportunity to be a great place to
stay. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Duration</b>: I spent 4 full days and one half-day in Reykjavik.
Of those days, I spent 3.5 of them outside of Reykjavik (during the day). The
city itself doesn’t have that much to do, and I spent a couple evenings
wandering around and only one full day of visiting museums and exploring. I
felt like I had seen all the “must-see” things in Reykjavik, but I really
enjoyed the atmosphere in the city, and I could have easily spent a few days
just relaxing there. Outside of Reykjavik, there is tons to see and do. Renting
a car and driving around Iceland via the Ring Road is definitely on my to-do
list, and that would probably take between 7-10 days. I could have easily done
at least 1 or 2 more daytrips from Reykjavik as well, if not more. I think 2
days in Reykjavik and 4 days day-tripping from Reykjavik would be about the
ideal amount of time to spend, although if it is possible to rent a car, I
heard great stories from everyone who had driven the Ring Road, and that should
take a minimum of a week to fully enjoy it. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>TL;DR:</b> Go to Iceland. Stay about a week. Leave Iceland
amazed and happy. Vow to go back soon.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Final note:</b> Icelandair offers free stopovers in Reykjavik,
meaning that if you fly Icelandair to/from the US to/from Europe, you can spend
as long as you’d like in Reykjavik for no additional flight charge: The ticket
is priced the same whether you spend 2 hours or 2 weeks in Reykjavik.
Icelandair’s prices are generally competitive with most major airlines, and
being able to visit Iceland along the way is a great bonus. Their frequent
flyer program is practically worthless and they don’t have any partners to
credit their flights toward, but that isn’t really much of a consideration for just one
flight. Something to consider is that you don't have to fly Icelandair both ways: If you book a one-way on Icelandair, you can fly
back to the US (or Canada) with Norwegian or a few other airlines who don’t
charge extra for one-ways. Another option would be to book a roundtrip flight <i>from</i> Europe, leaving you with the same
problem of getting back home at a future date, but potentially saving hundreds
on a second trip to Europe depending on the situation (and time of year)</div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ll pick up with Scotland (and my adventure getting there
while running on no sleep) soon.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-30429381370902853462014-06-24T09:18:00.001-07:002014-07-14T16:00:14.807-07:00Two Days in Oslo (and a Mystery Sandwich)Sorry yet again for the delay – I haven’t had much time (or
have been too tired after full days of sightseeing and/or travelling) to write
blog posts. While it seems a long time ago now, it’s a bit strange to think
back and say “Oh, two weeks ago I was in this other country”. Anyhow, I am now
in Amsterdam for one more night before beginning the Russian part of my trip.<br />
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<br /></div>
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I’ll pick up where I left off: </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Oslo</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Having just spent several days surrounded by amazing natural
scenery and in smaller towns, it was strange to be in a larger city again. Oslo
isn’t huge by any means, but compared to other Norwegian “cities”, it is giant.
It is also more expensive, and it was in Oslo that I began my tour of India.
No, I didn’t fly to India, I just began eating a lot of meals at Indian
restaurants, which, while sometimes more expensive than Thai restaurants, still
were reasonably priced (i.e. only 1.5x what I would pay in the US). I like
spicy food as well, and Indian food certainly delivers. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon arriving in Oslo around 11pm, I found (read:
deliriously stumbled) my way to my hoste<span style="background-color: white;">l <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">(Oslo Hostel Central)</span> and w</span>ent to bed. Strangely,
it was only me and two other people sharing an 8-bed dorm. After a good night
of sleep, I woke up and got started wandering around the city. As I said, it
was a bit strange being back in a city, but one can only enjoy fjords for so
long before they all start to look the same.</div>
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<br /></div>
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One thing I learned quickly about Norwegians is that they
love putting giant boats into museums. If they find a boat that won’t fit
inside a building, they’ll find a bigger building. If they find an empty
building, they’ll put a ship in it. Since it was supposed to rain most of the
day, I figured I’d try to get all the museums out of the way first, then wander
around later. I started by visiting the Viking Ship Museum which housed 3
original funerary Viking ships that were unearthed in burial mounds. Two of the
ships were still in excellent shape, while the third wasn’t nearly as complete.
The museum essentially had 4 wings, 3 of which held ships, and one of which
held the various archaeological finds from the ships and surrounding area. The
museum was nicely presented, and wasn’t completely overrun with people. I don’t
think Oslo’s tourist high season had begun yet, something I am quite thankful
for. </div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjIRNlAA3OcN7-_S41Z8ILQoAnrbxyQxf9tvbxRr-I937-46XCWFU3BdYA2QwXBPYu7PwQTRqOP4OFkskAN7Zlrf0pIAgo8W2egGpxOf_d9va0p9cyK4uAcvVppvfOmENV1_heXGkHjfS/s1600/IMG_6335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjIRNlAA3OcN7-_S41Z8ILQoAnrbxyQxf9tvbxRr-I937-46XCWFU3BdYA2QwXBPYu7PwQTRqOP4OFkskAN7Zlrf0pIAgo8W2egGpxOf_d9va0p9cyK4uAcvVppvfOmENV1_heXGkHjfS/s1600/IMG_6335.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I later bought a shirt with this ship on it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaND5aV5zj2afSWfoKpAQ_gvSYkAsMjxPiN4cfwmKp-8ANaL-v7LGKOJYLpn5VsT_PoCdPr_0dup1zBAr8afLvnd28mBpupPBOjCSELdrJS6jMCukkAZPCYRw_erKCWtvhapwFvgGhwpd/s1600/IMG_6371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaND5aV5zj2afSWfoKpAQ_gvSYkAsMjxPiN4cfwmKp-8ANaL-v7LGKOJYLpn5VsT_PoCdPr_0dup1zBAr8afLvnd28mBpupPBOjCSELdrJS6jMCukkAZPCYRw_erKCWtvhapwFvgGhwpd/s1600/IMG_6371.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full view of one of the ships</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE97pI3M2esnT_4r6KKhOuaDiBJamfoRI6f_RodvSZXLJnKWf-18OKcSNk6ej7-BdNn6RG9XUUERn0Vr1wEaL2H-OOWtnGqW9ii2YjVEiGdrppRMRPKdJZyPTHMeSj5MTAhGcz3mV0YYdI/s1600/IMG_1986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE97pI3M2esnT_4r6KKhOuaDiBJamfoRI6f_RodvSZXLJnKWf-18OKcSNk6ej7-BdNn6RG9XUUERn0Vr1wEaL2H-OOWtnGqW9ii2YjVEiGdrppRMRPKdJZyPTHMeSj5MTAhGcz3mV0YYdI/s1600/IMG_1986.JPG" height="167" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chariot found buried in one of the ships</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My next stop was the Kon-Tiki museum, and… Can you guess
what was inside? If you said ships, good job, you’re catching on. This time,
the museum contained the Ra, a giant ship built of reeds according to Egyptian
hieroglyphics and depictions of seafaring Egyptians from ancient times, and the
Kon-Tiki raft, built out of materials available to ancient South American
people. Both were the creatio<span style="background-color: white;">ns of <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Thor Heyerdahl</span>, </span>who wanted to test whether it was possible that
ancient civilizations could have had contact with each other. The Ra was built
to test whether the Egyptians and ancient South American civilizations could
have had contact with each other, and the Kon-Tiki raft to test whether the
South American civilizations could have had contact with Pacific Islanders
(such as those on Easter Island). It was very interesting stuff, and also quite
fun to read about the reception of his experiments. The museum also had a
collection of artifacts from the Pacific islands… Even if it doesn’t sound that
amazing, it’s definitely worth a visit. I wasn’t originally planning to go, but
I decided at the last minute to give it a try, and I don’t regret it. Unfortunately my camera died during my visit to the Kon-Tiki museum, so I had to rely on my phone from then onward.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jaESa6TMnB5pyD5stu1qdiaYKsQ_YT9iiUEM_QE-0kNErXKaz0Fv68c0_mra5-FypGI8hGK1kVUm60G80G1vsJ-eu-y3bKfg9ZXdtbzgXGHBU4dACJImwlMVWor6hG44L407NdkiJYno/s1600/IMG_6400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jaESa6TMnB5pyD5stu1qdiaYKsQ_YT9iiUEM_QE-0kNErXKaz0Fv68c0_mra5-FypGI8hGK1kVUm60G80G1vsJ-eu-y3bKfg9ZXdtbzgXGHBU4dACJImwlMVWor6hG44L407NdkiJYno/s1600/IMG_6400.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ra in all of its glory</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9y5nQF-tUtdgeuPxu1Z0Q9q9HCjK-qa6UGn_YPDIbZZpVvQf_HeOFb77oc1SRKcaw20xCKrSFdm0K3RgBKMe6R2hiBYEjmt0ic_JqIc7H5a2y5lkkUbvjzGgMmjslUrIduDNmH9pwAW9Q/s1600/IMG_6421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9y5nQF-tUtdgeuPxu1Z0Q9q9HCjK-qa6UGn_YPDIbZZpVvQf_HeOFb77oc1SRKcaw20xCKrSFdm0K3RgBKMe6R2hiBYEjmt0ic_JqIc7H5a2y5lkkUbvjzGgMmjslUrIduDNmH9pwAW9Q/s1600/IMG_6421.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kon-Tiki Raft</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ0ltFfkCMzr0zocfxuSMF0TXnwrHiOrRzwgIw-L7YxsKrob0m1StH66ro7oo1f8h9d9zLTMLkAhMkn3XedTXs32eFib75u_RYc8GZwKB7agYuiukazlwqMK3YVrBZE8W9aPGmm6E_xsN/s1600/IMG_6415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ0ltFfkCMzr0zocfxuSMF0TXnwrHiOrRzwgIw-L7YxsKrob0m1StH66ro7oo1f8h9d9zLTMLkAhMkn3XedTXs32eFib75u_RYc8GZwKB7agYuiukazlwqMK3YVrBZE8W9aPGmm6E_xsN/s1600/IMG_6415.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awkward Easter Island selfie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After finishing at the Kon-Tiki museum, I had a terribly
overpriced panini and went across the street to the Fram Museum, which,
surprise, surprise, is home to yet another ship: The Fram, a ship built to
explore the polar regions and to withstand extremely cold and harsh conditions.
While a lot of the information and displays were not that interesting,
following various Polar expeditions and explorers through their journeys was
quite neat, and actually being able to go onto the ship was also a lot of fun.
The ship is ridiculously huge, and honestly I have no idea how they managed to
get it inside of a building, but like I said, if there is one thing Norwegians
know how to do, it is definitely how to put ships inside of museums. By the
time I finished my third ship museum, it was closing time, so I wandered around
for a while, then caught a bus back from museum-land to central Oslo. The
hostel was really dead when I went back, so I wrote a bit of a blog post and
went to bed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLQ4-Gd_prZPBYfLCZwGlpmM0f-7BEa8eZ_BImrQkFmsqAsCWK8cfmEkvhG9_744ntne9uMZSBW4uINurXG24aLWWp7N1jhp-6Aw7wQXMrGpFgqOxNxVguAH8i0AC0THu3ocjLE3Lxjlt/s1600/IMG_2043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLQ4-Gd_prZPBYfLCZwGlpmM0f-7BEa8eZ_BImrQkFmsqAsCWK8cfmEkvhG9_744ntne9uMZSBW4uINurXG24aLWWp7N1jhp-6Aw7wQXMrGpFgqOxNxVguAH8i0AC0THu3ocjLE3Lxjlt/s1600/IMG_2043.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blurry selfie about to board the ship from the third floor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YPOB66-4uKon3lNsN31HJkwsXwY2AKm7f0ftesa7D5uc1SoTo2eeMqGwRrx4iLJsUk44VsqkgTtiNZTIrcyXCSeuAMClKF-ymu_lEdWyD8_JVroabXVmw8YT14I-Imw6Yn34ejyvMgko/s1600/IMG_2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YPOB66-4uKon3lNsN31HJkwsXwY2AKm7f0ftesa7D5uc1SoTo2eeMqGwRrx4iLJsUk44VsqkgTtiNZTIrcyXCSeuAMClKF-ymu_lEdWyD8_JVroabXVmw8YT14I-Imw6Yn34ejyvMgko/s1600/IMG_2016.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neat lighting effects</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day I visited the fortress overlooking the city,
which contained the Norwegian Resistance Museum and the Royal Residence. The Resistance Museum didn’t have any big boats, but it did have a lot of
fascinating information on some of the darkest years in Norwegian history – The
Nazi occupation of Norway. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HOX-w_kKKQ07oLzxe4kWgJF-IjN0NzV_wiOO5Z5zko4S_7Qh5VSOXF1xdy9gj9zO8lLJKMDe2z3LfZCuEHrLeWQ2jyFyPYX4mNTNBhO5WS8nu9yWN0f6UqMP4CEqVj7rzCiPkTdyATo6/s1600/IMG_2062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HOX-w_kKKQ07oLzxe4kWgJF-IjN0NzV_wiOO5Z5zko4S_7Qh5VSOXF1xdy9gj9zO8lLJKMDe2z3LfZCuEHrLeWQ2jyFyPYX4mNTNBhO5WS8nu9yWN0f6UqMP4CEqVj7rzCiPkTdyATo6/s1600/IMG_2062.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the underground resistance newsletters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a sobering hour or so in the museum, I headed
for the Royal Residence, which was modest compared to many others that I have
visited. There were some nice tapestries and a crypt, but it didn’t have the
same over-the-top extravagance as many other Royal residences. I found it
refreshing actually. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzPyo0e77ElGFvE_LpmXvZir2dGfSLbGxOVMuxTwSSV22zVHU2Jh1O5M75sKQonA910TlcV_xWq7qMsvuCgn2h_XctK-4LreiBDiG1GVKoP9br3sG7j2KCgq_SbaRnnw7vdeC1xNGUfIT/s1600/IMG_6482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzPyo0e77ElGFvE_LpmXvZir2dGfSLbGxOVMuxTwSSV22zVHU2Jh1O5M75sKQonA910TlcV_xWq7qMsvuCgn2h_XctK-4LreiBDiG1GVKoP9br3sG7j2KCgq_SbaRnnw7vdeC1xNGUfIT/s1600/IMG_6482.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few tapestries in the medieval hall </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSO84Du6l6mjjih7kW3jPHACdPsNY9-L26TjSQ5RRfPo4gZhNo029DkldrYAA1DPdEBorisDUAkKdFhxkImJa7bUPS7VyMVQBtR6MRkAlw8g9TomK4DwQcfaNdLnh7tYCZ5_SdCNy2YfC2/s1600/IMG_6491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSO84Du6l6mjjih7kW3jPHACdPsNY9-L26TjSQ5RRfPo4gZhNo029DkldrYAA1DPdEBorisDUAkKdFhxkImJa7bUPS7VyMVQBtR6MRkAlw8g9TomK4DwQcfaNdLnh7tYCZ5_SdCNy2YfC2/s1600/IMG_6491.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reception room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzG91gD2cD-EguGQsOO6XP-NGUrw-UABIrGbdNupSM1f1AcNVl-zyO9jH81X8S5kWrrrnXl_LooRdiw1oYAjb4r9V_YoBsZNVANHO0c52TfJOnX8ITSa1sHCc3WppZnXhN-w9_tyL-bzjr/s1600/IMG_6494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzG91gD2cD-EguGQsOO6XP-NGUrw-UABIrGbdNupSM1f1AcNVl-zyO9jH81X8S5kWrrrnXl_LooRdiw1oYAjb4r9V_YoBsZNVANHO0c52TfJOnX8ITSa1sHCc3WppZnXhN-w9_tyL-bzjr/s1600/IMG_6494.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirror selfies in richly decorated rooms will become a common theme</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that, I wandered around for a few hours before
meeting a friend for coffee. We talked for a couple hours, and then he had to
go, so I caught the tram over to Vigelund Park, home of a bunch of insane
sculptures. Some of them were creepy, some of them were funny, some of them were
disturbing, and all of them were crazy. It was a beautiful green space with
sculptures scattered around, although many of them were concentrated around an
obelisk at the center of the park. It’s tough to describe most of the
sculptures, but hopefully a few pictures will do. Visit the park though, it's awesome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM24KiBYm-Mrz81j5GM6GHugqhW5H-zMk5A_0DXpGPDHcVIkFwVd_5q3SS1V9_3J-BZfkRAyeme-7ZjiwgWJEKZmdR9wDmcQG7HzX1hOCX1NCVFIevfYw3IFYC7I0lbJ9WYBYIHN3ELbnY/s1600/IMG_6531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM24KiBYm-Mrz81j5GM6GHugqhW5H-zMk5A_0DXpGPDHcVIkFwVd_5q3SS1V9_3J-BZfkRAyeme-7ZjiwgWJEKZmdR9wDmcQG7HzX1hOCX1NCVFIevfYw3IFYC7I0lbJ9WYBYIHN3ELbnY/s1600/IMG_6531.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The famous man-being-attacked-by-babies sculpture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KZXUGB-N5C7yovQ9zV4twG4cvYUxQSb9pXbw1vKCQAkTtJGD7taVoGandPM_MrjLM9IStAq3kFmhBz3P6MpOb3chFWnYJRm126R_WKuHnvGFF0PJMTGiSagxHI-15BnNYLZp9VvgvhXF/s1600/IMG_6560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KZXUGB-N5C7yovQ9zV4twG4cvYUxQSb9pXbw1vKCQAkTtJGD7taVoGandPM_MrjLM9IStAq3kFmhBz3P6MpOb3chFWnYJRm126R_WKuHnvGFF0PJMTGiSagxHI-15BnNYLZp9VvgvhXF/s1600/IMG_6560.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, the babies are evil. I agree.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-H7dGONouS4NfT20JABfj0hHDwmBaCOlVZIRfV_sAWWnz_tbnRoqiDB2F9AtBTMw5rHazn44pkTHwER5Q9VEQDfjbeYHbh_qF05CYGEEff_YcvZKqNBHazVJ9EWG77rJcJuGcL2WaKCN/s1600/IMG_2076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-H7dGONouS4NfT20JABfj0hHDwmBaCOlVZIRfV_sAWWnz_tbnRoqiDB2F9AtBTMw5rHazn44pkTHwER5Q9VEQDfjbeYHbh_qF05CYGEEff_YcvZKqNBHazVJ9EWG77rJcJuGcL2WaKCN/s1600/IMG_2076.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the center of the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs7J9_jQdyRIZpgsEndDJq2o_HVVfzmxBPx3cqdUfoOvWsJetGSNI03aQ8m0WTLEwqndwfJzpmonlOmmquxu3JBi_qhKQQ3jTaFtTQiTvqCH1NBlw4CVdEkFfNM9JDDGOKSrAHzH3p2gt/s1600/IMG_6578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs7J9_jQdyRIZpgsEndDJq2o_HVVfzmxBPx3cqdUfoOvWsJetGSNI03aQ8m0WTLEwqndwfJzpmonlOmmquxu3JBi_qhKQQ3jTaFtTQiTvqCH1NBlw4CVdEkFfNM9JDDGOKSrAHzH3p2gt/s1600/IMG_6578.JPG" height="222" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-timer? Yes, I do believe so.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next morning I woke up ungodly early to catch my flight
to Reykjavik. Since I was missing breakfast, the hostel kindly offered to
prepare a to-go bag with breakfast for me, which I accepted. When I looked
inside though, there was a yogurt, an orange juice, and a mystery sandwich. The
mystery sandwich looked rather terrifying, and I decided I didn’t want to start
my day off with mystery meats and god knows what else. I took it with me
anyway, and on the way to the train station, I figured I’d try to give it to
one of the homeless people whom I had seen digging through trash cans looking
for food the day before. I found a guy along the way who was weeding through a
trash can and offered him the sandwich… He took it, looked at it, sniffed it,
and threw it in the trash can. I guess I probably made the right call to not
eat it, but I definitely should have taken a picture of it. Anyhow, I’ll pick up next time
with Reykjavik, and hopefully that won’t be too long from now – I need to get
caught up with my trip!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final thoughts on Oslo:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Lodging:</b> Oslo Hostel Central – the hostel was very
conveniently located and easy to find, and the facilities were impressive.
Everything was very clean, the breakfast was great, the dorms were big, and the staff were friendly.
Unfortunately, there weren't many younger or solo travelers staying there, so
it was fairly dead socially. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Duration:</b> 3 nights, but only 2 full days – I thought 2
full days was enough for Oslo, especially since I had just come from fjord
country. The Oslo fjord isn't that impressive, and since I was not interested
in doing any further fjord cruises or something similar, 2 days was enough to
visit some of the interesting museums and wander around the city. I suppose I
could have spent a third day in the city and been occupied, but my wallet
thanks me for doing otherwise... Oslo is so expensive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hopefully in the next couple weeks I'll start to catch up on my trip. I have posts written for Reykjavik and Scotland, but I haven't sorted through the pictures yet.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-82905993537382412502014-06-04T00:33:00.003-07:002014-07-14T15:59:53.110-07:00Western Norway: Fjord Country<div class="MsoNormal">
Sorry this has taken so long to post, I'm having trouble finding any time to do much blogging because I'm busy exploring each city! I'm pretty sure most of these posts will be very picture-heavy, especially this one. I took an absurd number of pictures during this part of my trip, and I still haven't fully sorted through them. Honestly though, it's impossible to capture the natural beauty in a picture. Before this past week, I thought all the pictures of various fjords must have been taken by professional photographers on a perfectly clear day, but having visited these fjords, this could not be further from the truth... Even with my camera that fits into my pocket I managed some great pictures, and the landscape really is as amazing as it looks in some of the pictures. I took a number of videos as well, although I don't know if I will include as many of those.<span id="goog_788496530"></span><span id="goog_788496531"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Through Oslo, I had not spent more than a single night at a hotel. Even in Copenhagen where I was for two nights, I split my time between two places, and otherwise I have spent one night in each place I visited. It is exhausting doing all one-night stays, and I really wouldn't recommend it for very long... It's not practical to unpack anything, and doing laundry is borderline impossible. Even spending two nights in Oslo felt like a luxury: I had to restrain myself from taking over the entire dorm room while unpacking my stuff!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyhow, I'll pick up around where I left off: Leaving Snasa</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Getting to Alesund</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started in Snasa, and by the end of the day (after 11
hours of trains and buses), I made it to Alesund. My journey began with the
train back to Trondheim, which was scenic, but familiar. After 30 minutes in
Trondheim, I boarded my train to Dombas. The beginning of the ride was nothing
special, but the scenery toward the end was fantastic. Once in Dombas, I had an hour or so before my next train, so I wandered down into the small town. There wasn't much to see or do, but it was nice to walk around for a little while, especially since I was spending so much time sitting on buses and trains.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdT6KFsn8qMdLP8Pv8bRUi1OaJdNvofWAYz80rtLOuzOGhcHS26cel__YC3AnOzAivwoed8rVovPRrb31wMQ1u-gwQyPeHBxc7usI98uiKimqaPjhqF7UEIlqDxniRp9ODWUPq3qwG_DUO/s1600/IMG_4786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdT6KFsn8qMdLP8Pv8bRUi1OaJdNvofWAYz80rtLOuzOGhcHS26cel__YC3AnOzAivwoed8rVovPRrb31wMQ1u-gwQyPeHBxc7usI98uiKimqaPjhqF7UEIlqDxniRp9ODWUPq3qwG_DUO/s1600/IMG_4786.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dombas Hotel -- No, I did not stay there</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I headed back to the station a few minutes before my train to Andalsnes. The train ran alongside the Rauma River going through various fjords, and the hour-long ride flew by.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqCd3YBBKWu7qNRr3foaXlznAo5Nvh50kczUeT71xAgq1HKwPApxo4x9BihCKyIdi1WP21sQErEiQ75pYYvQp-Adt0mMMaYi8qcbjau4_a01zdxAwhdvisH5w6iw0sE5HRLEnL5LEujmj/s1600/IMG_1629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqCd3YBBKWu7qNRr3foaXlznAo5Nvh50kczUeT71xAgq1HKwPApxo4x9BihCKyIdi1WP21sQErEiQ75pYYvQp-Adt0mMMaYi8qcbjau4_a01zdxAwhdvisH5w6iw0sE5HRLEnL5LEujmj/s1600/IMG_1629.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-VVw6BTfZZqX0FrXFnZoeaxqIzC_eUF-nM4k6MiExjb4-7OnJNXz8OgT9XAavbXO_L6JrSECO-1ccpSmkdVZi9YnnAPK6aH6-GBxYRA0GcHWw07c1ZuDmilan6FJSGxDlQ4h3RxNlwAa/s1600/IMG_4910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-VVw6BTfZZqX0FrXFnZoeaxqIzC_eUF-nM4k6MiExjb4-7OnJNXz8OgT9XAavbXO_L6JrSECO-1ccpSmkdVZi9YnnAPK6aH6-GBxYRA0GcHWw07c1ZuDmilan6FJSGxDlQ4h3RxNlwAa/s1600/IMG_4910.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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When it arrived, I transferred to a waiting bus to get to Alesund (after having my passport checked by a policeman -- apparently I look sketchy. I even shaved before I left!). At this point, pretty much everything could be called "scenic"... The bus went through fjords and plenty of other landscapes before dropping me off across the street from my hotel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjldFfs0kQvnnuVVMSELkKjORIS7ThN2ogs9RoHwdJiGe8uGgE_ioOZOHGEBnyJqUMaIJDgJN_MAUoHgX8DGg9ScqQzj4MvC6q8XXbdKSbaqUHqijxNrEZ8maVv1k5m9PQjwJ4UduPagLE/s1600/IMG_5005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjldFfs0kQvnnuVVMSELkKjORIS7ThN2ogs9RoHwdJiGe8uGgE_ioOZOHGEBnyJqUMaIJDgJN_MAUoHgX8DGg9ScqQzj4MvC6q8XXbdKSbaqUHqijxNrEZ8maVv1k5m9PQjwJ4UduPagLE/s1600/IMG_5005.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ugh, that smudge on my camera is pissing me off</td></tr>
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Since I was the last person on the bus (riding it from terminus to terminus), the driver asked where I was staying and simply dropped me off there. By that time it was around 10:30pm, and after I checked in, I set off in search of dinner, finding a bar/restaurant that seemed adequate enough. I walked around the city for a while after dinner while it was still light outside (around 11:30pm), exploring most of the center within a relatively short walk. I wandered down the ferry pier for an unobstructed view of the water and surrounding area at dusk, and found a few nice canals to relax on for a few minutes. About half past midnight I headed back to my hotel, the First Hotel Atlantica (booked via Hotwire -- Very central, good breakfast, and adequate WiFi) and went to bed.</div>
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<b>Geirangerfjord</b></div>
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I woke up early, left my bags at the hotel's reception, and met the bus to Hellesylt at the bus station across from my hotel. After an hour in Hellesylt, I'd board the ferry which cruises through Geirangerfjord, eventually dropping me in the small town of Geiranger at the end of the fjord. I was one of about 6 people going to Geiranger, and there were far more Norwegians using the bus than members of the "tour".</div>
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Now, "tours" in Norway are a misnomer. When you book a tour on a Norwegian website, it is not a tour. It is a series of public transit tickets. I actually enjoyed this, since I am allergic to being herded like a giant flock of sheep, but it was a bit unexpected at first: There is no tour guide, and especially no signs. The no signs part would later lead to all sorts of fun. </div>
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The public buses are far more glamorous than they sound. They are essentially coaches with air conditioning and comfortable seats. Some of them even have power ports at each seat. As before, all of the ride was beautiful, except for the part where I stared at the walls of an 8km-long tunnel. Only in Norway would there be roundabouts in tunnels. Anyhow, part of the bus ride was on a 10-minute ferry (considered part of the bus route!) where we could get off and take a few pictures. God only knows I needed even more excuses to take pictures... My poor Dropbox can't handle all of this!<br />
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After the ferry ride, the bus dropped us at Hellesylt, where it was windy and raining quite heavily. In my never-ending brilliance, I left my rain-jacket in the room and had brought sunglasses instead. I was cold and wet, but I'd sooner be dead than let my eyes get blinded by the super-bright rainclouds. I think I deserve a Darwin award.<br />
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I wasn't going to let any rain or wind or sunglasses stop me though, so I wandered around for a few minutes, then found a warm and dry place to eat. Such an adventurer I am. Hey, at least the restaurant had bright lighting, so I put my sunglasses to use. After lunch, I boarded the next ferry which made the spectacular cruise up Geirangerfjord. The ride lasted about 80 minutes, and it flew by. There were waterfalls everywhere dotting the mountains, along with crazy farmhouses built way above steep cliffs, hundreds of thousands of trees, giant fjords, and snowcapped mountains. It's rather difficult to do it justice in a picture, so I'll try 3.<br />
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Eventually the cruise had to end though, and we were dropped in the small town of Geiranger at the end of the fjord, where we had about 3 hours to visit. The "Fjord Center" with a small exhibition was somewhere up the hill, but it seemed silly to stare at pictures of fjords while standing at the end of one of the most beautiful ones. Google can tell me the rest later. I followed some signs to a small trail that led to a large waterfall, and I climbed the stairs to the top. Apparently I was actually very close to the Fjord Center, but I had no idea. The waterfall was nice, especially framed by the mountains and fjord.<br />
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Afterwards, I wandered back into the town and perused one of the tourist shops selling cheesy T-shirts for $50-$80. Instead I did my usual and picked up a small rock alongside the fjord. $0, and one more rock for my (small) collection from various neat places I have visited. After all of this, I still had over an hour to kill, so I walked along the main road leading into the town, giving fantastic views of both the fjord and the town.<br />
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After my walk, I returned to the city where I met the bus back to Alesund. The bus drove up the Eagle Road, a series of 11 switchbacks climbing up one of the mountains. At the top, we made a brief photo stop overlooking both Geiranger and the fjord.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbH1Q1-vfusZvRm_oHLwX87G4WVrT0ZfEMfPFQN90pSwnE8AeFCCxQdw_V_7EcXlMkpJLYq6nrvtKTVNtd5XSNCRraO3N9mC3fv3OH3if0cleliOL7lPFw7SEcOYTXhFjUUOt0Y9P_ADs/s1600/IMG_5342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbH1Q1-vfusZvRm_oHLwX87G4WVrT0ZfEMfPFQN90pSwnE8AeFCCxQdw_V_7EcXlMkpJLYq6nrvtKTVNtd5XSNCRraO3N9mC3fv3OH3if0cleliOL7lPFw7SEcOYTXhFjUUOt0Y9P_ADs/s1600/IMG_5342.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geiranger at the end of the Fjord</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSOUC2QXxLKSk7btvOGbJqiJhBdO7Y_4pfnwgR40M0ZE89BQFuPanJDMWsjgTr_ulHCjxLP7OK6Bojvdt_n0y4se3ZbspGpoAz3r-GYCIg-_kqL5XL2rC6Ss_3zz4EaJuQuK5WCVUhYux/s1600/IMG_5338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSOUC2QXxLKSk7btvOGbJqiJhBdO7Y_4pfnwgR40M0ZE89BQFuPanJDMWsjgTr_ulHCjxLP7OK6Bojvdt_n0y4se3ZbspGpoAz3r-GYCIg-_kqL5XL2rC6Ss_3zz4EaJuQuK5WCVUhYux/s1600/IMG_5338.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the tiny boat going through the fjord for perspective</td></tr>
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After the photo stop, the bus dropped me back in Alesund around 7pm.<br />
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<b>Hurtigruten: Alesund to Bergen</b><br />
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Back in Alesund, I had dinner, walked around the city a bit more, and went back to my hotel to get some work done before the ferry departure at 1am. Around 11pm, the Australian gentleman, John, who was on the Geirangerfjord tour with me happened to walk by the hotel, so we chatted for an hour or so (turns out he is a travel agent and tour operator in Australia -- he has led some pretty awesome tours!) before heading toward the ferry docks. Docks. Plural. DOCKS. Maybe you see where this is going?<br />
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See, there were no signs. He asked the reception at his hotel and was told one place, and the reception at my hotel told me a different place. A site online mentioned a third place on the opposite side of the town (this is why islands and peninsulas can be annoying). Google was no help, so we figured we'd try one dock and if that didn't work, we hoped we'd either find other people going on the same ferry or we'd be able to spot the ferry arriving around 12:30am. I was very glad not to be doing this alone, and when we reached the first dock, it was completely dark and practically closed down. A short distance away, however, there were a few people: A young Russian couple and a Norwegian couple. The Russians were just as confused as us, and the Norwegians were not very confident that we were in the right place. The Norwegians had a car they were bringing on the ferry, which turned out to be very useful.<br />
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... Around 12:30am, we finally spotted the ferry coming into our side of the harbor, which was encouraging. We were, however, rather discouraged when it sped right past the dock we were waiting at and eventually docked further into the harbor. Of course the direct pathway to that dock was blocked by several gates, so we had to go back out to the street and find a way to reach the other dock. Remember, no signs anywhere. The Norwegians went ahead to hold the ferry for us while we tried to find a path that would lead us to the right dock. Eventually we found a dark alleyway that connected, and we met the ferry about 5 minutes before departure. At one point the Russians said that it was worse than Russian transit... At least there they had a sign or two.<br />
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The ferry is basically a cruise ship, and it runs up and down the Western Norwegian coastline. Being a cruise ship, it had cabins with beds and stuff... Not that I'd know: Getting a cabin was over 3 times as expensive as traveling without one, and for a 12-hour trip, I figured I'd survive. Relieved to finally be onboard the ferry, I spent a short while on my laptop in the lounge, then found a small bench/couch to lay down on. Using my jacket as a pillow with one of the sleeves as a blindfold (it got bright outside before 4am and there were no shades in the lounge!), I went to sleep. I actually slept for over 7 hours, waking up after 9am as the ship was going through a narrow strait. As usual the scenery was great, and I spent most of the remainder of the trip reading Stanford stuff and watching various islands and small houses go by.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClIcjvdrAtOonE_lfQaWzwjj_-MRAzZg6r25z4TssuFfGYcyb8RKlnhtAhkqHOlnT3cI1YxJvsXq3HywSrmS4ppv9GUuwzuYDHifDEZOXgDXsMjngYP_sLIKrXl9HwJyyZGjyElwjErWd/s1600/IMG_1828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClIcjvdrAtOonE_lfQaWzwjj_-MRAzZg6r25z4TssuFfGYcyb8RKlnhtAhkqHOlnT3cI1YxJvsXq3HywSrmS4ppv9GUuwzuYDHifDEZOXgDXsMjngYP_sLIKrXl9HwJyyZGjyElwjErWd/s1600/IMG_1828.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My moderately uncomfortable bed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmIiA2BtSkqY03QK8yCu2AC_-YoNZxPTcCOO4ZA7LL2BJFcPeQu2hBcASUnNNVhtcVFT5wJI3blz_x9ukVKsQqbjKMB61-BYtZRbVGqXCGKwQXE_gzV0g90TMc-KVKpopTFFU4oDutSAG/s1600/IMG_5417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmIiA2BtSkqY03QK8yCu2AC_-YoNZxPTcCOO4ZA7LL2BJFcPeQu2hBcASUnNNVhtcVFT5wJI3blz_x9ukVKsQqbjKMB61-BYtZRbVGqXCGKwQXE_gzV0g90TMc-KVKpopTFFU4oDutSAG/s1600/IMG_5417.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very overcast in the mid-morning</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many islands we passed by</td></tr>
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When we docked in Bergen there was some problem with the disembarking process, and, along with about 150 other people, I waited to leave the ship. After an hour (and the room becoming hotter than Florida), we were finally let off. While I had originally planned to have a half-day in the city, by the time I got to my hostel, it was after 4pm... Leaving me very little time to actually go inside any tourist attractions. I walked around the town for a while, eventually returning to the hostel after some Thai food (what a surprise).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2bKYwA9NfBn9j8cE9Kpp0SAtbKyUICUBsR5w_cCWbRCcWT4CSP2JODd-d02crFhnf1TgBh7ATjVvZfQu6fJW_bddl5NbIbmgrkC_7_m0tI2Dx2AZrSBsLd0igl8BOIve0Kh7VYNwLA-W/s1600/IMG_5526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2bKYwA9NfBn9j8cE9Kpp0SAtbKyUICUBsR5w_cCWbRCcWT4CSP2JODd-d02crFhnf1TgBh7ATjVvZfQu6fJW_bddl5NbIbmgrkC_7_m0tI2Dx2AZrSBsLd0igl8BOIve0Kh7VYNwLA-W/s1600/IMG_5526.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the alleyways off of Bergen's main street</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SLVRsWHETF1v8ITXUZLMFnHjoX7blljw1EC8jwUuksYG2Ke-ydRJibyTTaTrkO2XCzC9s3dcJ1bdDosPgPZzuXk8WycjCwCtrfrg93KaL-3BHhNrDRmBmnAQ1dDfX6sj2u_Rfjg0UIAM/s1600/IMG_1850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SLVRsWHETF1v8ITXUZLMFnHjoX7blljw1EC8jwUuksYG2Ke-ydRJibyTTaTrkO2XCzC9s3dcJ1bdDosPgPZzuXk8WycjCwCtrfrg93KaL-3BHhNrDRmBmnAQ1dDfX6sj2u_Rfjg0UIAM/s1600/IMG_1850.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset! I guess I was finally far enough South.</td></tr>
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Eventually I got to talking with a few people at the hostel, and one of the people was an Australian street musician... Later that evening a few other people and I went to watch him perform (and chase off hoardes of angry Polish and Romanian immigrants trying to steal his audience). It was an offbeat but fun way to spend my evening in Bergen, and it seemed to fit with the strange sequence of events over the past day and a half. I went to bed before midnight, trying to get in a few hours of sleep before my extremely full day traveling to Oslo.<br />
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<b>Norway in a Nutshell: Hardangerfjord, NoSleepEverfjord, and getting to Oslo</b><br />
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Okay, maybe not the second one, but my sleep schedule definitely left a lot to be desired. I woke up at 6am to go to the bus station to meet my "tour" which would eventually take me to Oslo: The Hardangerfjord in the Nutshell. The first bus left at 7:45am, and I eventually reached Oslo around 11pm. Essentially the day was a daytrip to Hardangerfjord which would connect me to the Bergen Railway reaching Oslo.<br />
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Like the other daytrip, the scenery was incredible. I have seriously given up on trying to describe it because there's simply no way I could do so. This time the boat trip was over 2 hours, which offered even longer to absorb the surroundings (and take enough pictures to overload my Dropbox account). Onboard the ferry I met a group of students from Texas who were finishing up studying abroad, and I spent a lot of time during the trip talking with them.<br />
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We got off the ferry and boarded a bus to Eidfjord, where we stopped at the visitor's center for a dizzying presentation of flying over the fjords (a neat idea that was poorly executed), and a stop at a very high lookout point over a waterfall and the surrounding area before heading back to meet the ferry.<br />
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Almost everyone on the trip was returning to Bergen the same way they came, but since I was going to Oslo after the roundtrip bus tour of Eidfjord and the surrounding area, I only took the ferry back one stop, where I met a bus to take me to Voss, where I'd meet a train. I had to carry my bags around with me the whole time, but fortunately I was able to leave them sometimes during a short part of the trip. I probably could have left them in the middle of the street and thrown all of my cash on the street around them and they still would have been safe, but I digress.<br />
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After an hour in Voss (where I was starving and left with no option but a gas station for lunch), I returned to the station to meet my train to Oslo on the Bergen Railway, one of the most scenic rail routes in the country which reaches its highest elevation at over 4000 feet. A few stops before that though, the Australian guy, John, happened to board the train. Not only was he on the same train (which we originally thought was the case), but he was also assigned to the same coach. He had an empty seat next to him, so I switched over for most of the ride. A few hours in, we went to the dining car and each tried the Reindeer stew. It didn't look great, but had a nice gamey flavor. Eating Santa's transportation never tasted so good.<br />
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The train was delayed a few minutes due to construction work, and eventually I arrived in Oslo at 11pm, meaning I spent roughly 15 hours traveling. I went to my hostel and slept VERY well.<br />
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I'll try to write a short post on my time in Oslo, as well as a much longer one on Reykjavik so I am caught up on my travels. I am currently writing this from my train from Inverness to Edinburgh, where the weather is extremely warm compared to Reykjavik and Norway!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-43684432778040004022014-05-21T06:32:00.003-07:002014-07-14T15:59:19.805-07:00Copenhagen, Trondheim, and SnasaWarning: This post is image-heavy!<br />
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<b><u>Copenhagen - Day 2</u></b><br />
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After my first day wandering around Copenhagen, I retired to my very comfortable bed at the First Hotel Mayfair. The hotel included breakfast, which was a bonus in a city like Copenhagen which is rather expensive. I checked out and left my bags at the hotel, since I was moving to a hostel for my second night. They were a bit surprised when I told them I'd be back around 9pm for my bags, but it turned out to be fairly accurate.<br />
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My second day I started out by going palace-hopping. First up was Christiansborg Palace, which had two parts: The Royal Reception Rooms and the Ruins. I did the Royal Reception Rooms first, and after putting on bright blue shoe-coverings, I entered the rooms. Many of the rooms were full of "typical" palace riches, however, the great hall stood out as unique (and seriously awesome)... All the walls were covered in brightly-colored tapestries detailing over 1000 years of Danish history. The tapestries were only recently woven (within the past 15 years, I believe), and they are stunning. They cover everything from Danish Viking history to the black death to the reformation to the Nazi occupation, all in a gigantic rainbow tapestry. In my opinion, the great hall was worth the price of admission alone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapestry-filled Great Hall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapestry!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapestry and me!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKR1YcqnbL8AylVqAvXMYeHVjIbGeWG3lZbpOdANiRD3kuqfX9Nsju1vb8EX5WFYPo46YND6FJWtG3_3zV7zKNR7bZ5E9TA42zvmU8LQycEU68BuXTk8JzlTks3q-TCMtz-ZzH7ZakhO8/s1600/IMG_4483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKR1YcqnbL8AylVqAvXMYeHVjIbGeWG3lZbpOdANiRD3kuqfX9Nsju1vb8EX5WFYPo46YND6FJWtG3_3zV7zKNR7bZ5E9TA42zvmU8LQycEU68BuXTk8JzlTks3q-TCMtz-ZzH7ZakhO8/s1600/IMG_4483.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christiansborg Palace</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3zz9fYCcnGpEJpy1seE35ZCY624T0eqjUixKL2d3HRMj9N79dX3TxA_Us6IeoKP2gQPvnVb31JY0uHd9SqjHyownZozCxA4eeyVudlmJMo47p0bmZ3GfiBQt1NTTyrcKXKRYyMz_U-XX/s1600/IMG_4495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3zz9fYCcnGpEJpy1seE35ZCY624T0eqjUixKL2d3HRMj9N79dX3TxA_Us6IeoKP2gQPvnVb31JY0uHd9SqjHyownZozCxA4eeyVudlmJMo47p0bmZ3GfiBQt1NTTyrcKXKRYyMz_U-XX/s1600/IMG_4495.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the classier selfies!</td></tr>
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<br />
Next up was the ruins, which were interesting, although sadly not very well preserved due to the fires which created the ruins in the first place. The ruins included the infamous Blue Tower (now a small, indistinguishable pile of rubble) and some various other relics from the old palaces dating back to 1167. I joined the tour of the ruins a few minutes late, and I highly recommend it -- The ruins themselves aren't that much to look at, but the stories behind them are very cool.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsIdovbLk3W8jvfJ92kJAGjIcInl9jSRE0Amr2a5U5DN4WBmcQtUHRB-lOZVLnOfaSJI_7IOQfZFk5bmidYRgcr_UNS95PMm59Xj_DTr2twmhDMpuVLw1IHwRUlTjWPL81WJ07mK3R6Oo/s1600/IMG_4522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsIdovbLk3W8jvfJ92kJAGjIcInl9jSRE0Amr2a5U5DN4WBmcQtUHRB-lOZVLnOfaSJI_7IOQfZFk5bmidYRgcr_UNS95PMm59Xj_DTr2twmhDMpuVLw1IHwRUlTjWPL81WJ07mK3R6Oo/s1600/IMG_4522.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The remains of the Blue Tower</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Leaving Christiansborg, I caught the bus to Frederiksborg Castle, which houses many of the royal storerooms, including the Crown Jewels. Again, much of it contained typical palace riches which were very neat, but the room housing the glass collection, as well as the coronation chairs were both especially nice. I also took a lot of selfies in all the various highly decorated mirrors:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-YvVU-78fSlZiwWAxRrImkfaLrDWiGnxtQSgIlpKNe_dSzp2MOOPnXvZAzLvqjfAbFpsqZWuMRryBwtWAq6wqWKrR5pY0bB7D15XuZzqzx1h3cdJWCWXcbGGB2sXXMKVrGBIwNXlbndw/s1600/IMG_1427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-YvVU-78fSlZiwWAxRrImkfaLrDWiGnxtQSgIlpKNe_dSzp2MOOPnXvZAzLvqjfAbFpsqZWuMRryBwtWAq6wqWKrR5pY0bB7D15XuZzqzx1h3cdJWCWXcbGGB2sXXMKVrGBIwNXlbndw/s1600/IMG_1427.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frederiksborg Castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHlAqKZuBYz51WKrd_m_FwkTrygPQbjGh44JyLgG24BvzmIHAhJS_l2U7B3DBaxuz2Ei4DDUJfN70yx-V6RBDDb3KbgPEpld354b8wOVWUD7H_n5_CKP24wvguwPejqF2h9ZafeXqXZWz/s1600/IMG_1362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHlAqKZuBYz51WKrd_m_FwkTrygPQbjGh44JyLgG24BvzmIHAhJS_l2U7B3DBaxuz2Ei4DDUJfN70yx-V6RBDDb3KbgPEpld354b8wOVWUD7H_n5_CKP24wvguwPejqF2h9ZafeXqXZWz/s1600/IMG_1362.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy Mirror Selfie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1RxjaRhdVaF7toTJE34BIVpbvr4k2UgD-FTGPmICJT62MxNbbYsE1hFEHrWBXcb7II5Uz80KUUO5Ro6RhGZH7MrycEjT2HqfgWOveX-HQzYPkFnwXhSFqKB4fz1FuOfQesqY3YbZ6T9Y/s1600/IMG_1366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1RxjaRhdVaF7toTJE34BIVpbvr4k2UgD-FTGPmICJT62MxNbbYsE1hFEHrWBXcb7II5Uz80KUUO5Ro6RhGZH7MrycEjT2HqfgWOveX-HQzYPkFnwXhSFqKB4fz1FuOfQesqY3YbZ6T9Y/s1600/IMG_1366.JPG" height="142" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the storerooms at the castle</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3Y4ZZ-lTRT7Y9RlWE54GMgu5GdZYAfwNtRb_7h1I15zJZP7xkyNHWyY82QqSMF_SQKmVTfXW5q6IH0MOKH-MlSg2TSsnh7ncEahBr062zYYd8BvjXiSnWjHGk8wJ97QonXbzcCsKdF0a/s1600/IMG_1421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3Y4ZZ-lTRT7Y9RlWE54GMgu5GdZYAfwNtRb_7h1I15zJZP7xkyNHWyY82QqSMF_SQKmVTfXW5q6IH0MOKH-MlSg2TSsnh7ncEahBr062zYYd8BvjXiSnWjHGk8wJ97QonXbzcCsKdF0a/s1600/IMG_1421.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crown Jewels!</td></tr>
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<br />
After touring the Castle and Crown Jewels, I continued into the adjoining park, which was packed with people -- Mostly Danes enjoying the weather. Across the street at the far end of the park was the David Museum, which houses a collection of Islamic art from the 8th century to the 19th century. The collection is extensive and well-presented, and I stayed until closing time at 5pm wandering through the exhibits.<br />
<br />
When I finished, I headed over to Malmo, Sweden to meet up with a fellow Stanford Class of 2018 member who lives there. We spent a few hours wandering and talking, then I headed back to Denmark to check in to my hostel. Unfortunately, before I could go back I had to buy a train ticket, and of course the machine didn't accept my chip+signature card (I'm working on getting a chip+pin card, but I don't have it yet unfortunately) and since I was only popping over into Sweden for a few hours, I didn't have any Swedish Krona, only Danish Krones. Eventually I found an ATM and all was well though.<br />
<br />
I had dinner at a Thai Restaurant (a.k.a. traditional Danish food) which was excellent and reasonably priced, then picked up my bags and went to the hostel. After checking in, I spent several hours talking with a few fun people from the hostel, and eventually went to bed.<br />
<br />
<b>Copenhagen Day 3</b><br />
<br />
My final day in Copenhagen was spent wet and amused. I started in Nyhavn, wandering around the harbor area before running into (ha, no) the Copenhagen Marathon, around which a massive crowd was gathered.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQKRxLAXHo6QwQKRXXt-uKEwb6-loN2fwG0s4892P1X7MqVJQJIsKzDnlPOcYxWmoubfIwpfUA75qoYlIULUCtLwoAEEgkVK_kmscxDRxLb_zyVep73RAn8DKZ4VhR1cZjhxxu8tHips4/s1600/IMG_4533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQKRxLAXHo6QwQKRXXt-uKEwb6-loN2fwG0s4892P1X7MqVJQJIsKzDnlPOcYxWmoubfIwpfUA75qoYlIULUCtLwoAEEgkVK_kmscxDRxLb_zyVep73RAn8DKZ4VhR1cZjhxxu8tHips4/s1600/IMG_4533.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marathon passing through Nyhavn</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFHnJhr0mIUgcPNb1Z6hKeSzc4sLPW0h9NXmsD6BcoVAMfbaOPokq5w1Q2hgWqKd9wafb1TibBSFJageztx7gZsVoKOhgTNs6FdRE5N-4F1zd7Hqe2TUOWd4o-1m3UiqrkLpAwcAEDyOn/s1600/IMG_4528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFHnJhr0mIUgcPNb1Z6hKeSzc4sLPW0h9NXmsD6BcoVAMfbaOPokq5w1Q2hgWqKd9wafb1TibBSFJageztx7gZsVoKOhgTNs6FdRE5N-4F1zd7Hqe2TUOWd4o-1m3UiqrkLpAwcAEDyOn/s1600/IMG_4528.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The harbor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I watched for a while, had lunch, and then decided to go to the Danish National Museum. The museum is easily accessible by bus, but is not near any metro stations. Naturally, because of the marathon, all the buses were running significantly behind schedule -- I decided a 1km walk in the rain wouldn't be as bad as waiting 30 minutes for the bus to potentially (never) come. Shortly after I committed to the walk, it started raining heavily, and I got drenched... Fortunately both my jacket and my Stanford-shirt were both made of quick-drying material, and the museum was interesting enough to distract me from the awful wet and damp feeling. I only covered from prehistory to the Viking Age, but the exhibits were neat. By the time I left the museum, I was mostly dry... Just in time for more rain while walking to the Ny Carlsborg Glyptotek for more ancient stuff.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKVbpjHO1Wh57qIBxiXddiRvl4VRdWnveJ-FCL_iYmaiuF6e8xBRo3y0bkDNg_D64Coen-OhXSCMXiEH_TCbhPBysEmn62Ni6jWwUZgCxWtg2VEV37FniQjDJrRIx-B4Ns8flWueQvzUa/s1600/IMG_4558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKVbpjHO1Wh57qIBxiXddiRvl4VRdWnveJ-FCL_iYmaiuF6e8xBRo3y0bkDNg_D64Coen-OhXSCMXiEH_TCbhPBysEmn62Ni6jWwUZgCxWtg2VEV37FniQjDJrRIx-B4Ns8flWueQvzUa/s1600/IMG_4558.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runestone at the Danish National Museum</td></tr>
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<br />
Again, since I was short on time (5pm closings are rough!), I decided to start with the Ancient Egyptian collection, then continue into the Greek and Roman collections. The museum's Egyptian collection was pretty good, with a massive relief of Ramses II, multiple false-doors, and several mummies, including one from Roman times without a traditional Egyptian head-mask. Though their Greek and Roman collections were lacking, sadly. I'm probably just spoiled from having visited both Athens and Rome relatively recently, but aside from their massive collection of busts, the Roman and Greek portions left a lot to be desired (read: a head, in the case of the many headless torsos, and a body, in the case of the many torsoless heads).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57UMNIVZ-0cWoDhux9n4kEjxcMiK8ruSoK1PfWnBHrM84nn1WLj2lWLkxuS4EsWNXzv8uBguhyphenhyphenoZ1_d12-JWS9IqdyhPl2zIV82TpOjRAkK3avCwhvIFw1SDQDea_jDpZj8ZQDarULZ-e/s1600/IMG_4648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57UMNIVZ-0cWoDhux9n4kEjxcMiK8ruSoK1PfWnBHrM84nn1WLj2lWLkxuS4EsWNXzv8uBguhyphenhyphenoZ1_d12-JWS9IqdyhPl2zIV82TpOjRAkK3avCwhvIFw1SDQDea_jDpZj8ZQDarULZ-e/s1600/IMG_4648.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bet this is what France looked like during the revolution</td></tr>
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So, I was wondering how to make my walk through the Roman collection more fun, when I realized that I had an opportunity to do something completely tasteless but fun: Selfies with the busts. Many of the rooms were fairly empty since it was later in the day, and I managed to take a bunch of selfies. I posted them on my Facebook, but I'll spare you the horror, since I am too lazy to collect them into a single collage at the moment.<br />
<br />
When I left the Ny Carlsborg Glyptotek, it had finally stopped raining, so I stopped by the Thai restaurant again, then headed to the hostel to get my bags and go to the airport for my evening flight, which was completely uneventful... The approach to Trondheim by air is awesome, and while it isn't exactly bright at midnight, it was still plenty light enough to enjoy the scenery. Get a window seat and leave your electronic devices in your bag... I know I should have.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts on Copenhagen</b><br />
Copenhagen was a fun city to visit, and I felt like I chose roughly the right about of time to visit -- 2.5-3 days was enough to cover the major sights, visit some museums, and still have time to wander around and enjoy the city. If I could, I might add another half-day, but otherwise I think ~3 days is a good amount of time to see the city. I stayed at the First Hotel Mayfair for my first night, then at Copenhagen Backpackers on my second night. My favorite place was the Christiansborg Palace, primarily because I absolutely loved the tapestries.<br />
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<b>Trondheim</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZgHCY27SGkiDqh-3OOYeVqZqBJZ5z95pZ0CqLBb3qODy_EariGy16N1hLrCBVBLb1VpJb80BO5R0VaagZol38WGTwIyybTORbX0CDbf2zBdHj5CauzCu-7xQQ4Kx1XdPfH4gYbkJ9PkL/s1600/IMG_1476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZgHCY27SGkiDqh-3OOYeVqZqBJZ5z95pZ0CqLBb3qODy_EariGy16N1hLrCBVBLb1VpJb80BO5R0VaagZol38WGTwIyybTORbX0CDbf2zBdHj5CauzCu-7xQQ4Kx1XdPfH4gYbkJ9PkL/s1600/IMG_1476.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trondheim airport</td></tr>
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The airport bus passed through a city apparently called Hell:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl4myMRLWLMzbotvs6zLMLYFeBybybHR-wijrcI2nJZDgxGP28UlY5Gj3rxBqtqzItB5NMhvO6UjiQtYd4ZO6fdC-jrdjbWlR6U6EWNHrQNs5KoN_3vFAFQIJ3Bgenufx6zx8GFnVE3ip/s1600/IMG_1478.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl4myMRLWLMzbotvs6zLMLYFeBybybHR-wijrcI2nJZDgxGP28UlY5Gj3rxBqtqzItB5NMhvO6UjiQtYd4ZO6fdC-jrdjbWlR6U6EWNHrQNs5KoN_3vFAFQIJ3Bgenufx6zx8GFnVE3ip/s1600/IMG_1478.PNG" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weather is pretty good in Hell</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqS3S_kPoFdkiirm8Xv2cVxtwQvBOfATtsq9cXvUqVEg6GC9sTpM1hon0lmC8JZwC6MkaLl3I3xHxdMixfo1HbWefd0q-X1os1jKVw5J2Rp-bx3wC392WnMBckiX5xjq7SNd6jTFv9sr_/s1600/IMG_1481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqS3S_kPoFdkiirm8Xv2cVxtwQvBOfATtsq9cXvUqVEg6GC9sTpM1hon0lmC8JZwC6MkaLl3I3xHxdMixfo1HbWefd0q-X1os1jKVw5J2Rp-bx3wC392WnMBckiX5xjq7SNd6jTFv9sr_/s1600/IMG_1481.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We also passed by Trondheim fjord shortly after "sunset"</td></tr>
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<br />
I got to my hotel, P-Hotel Brattora, just before midnight (a.k.a. dusk). It is the closest hotel to the train station, and was a nice base for visiting the city the next day. They also have a great outdoor sun-deck with tables and chairs, and I was able to get a lot of work done with the great weather and fantastic views of the harbor to my left and the fjord (and train tracks) to my right.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF_DM5__qWoLjrXW3632RO5z2Kgj00m-d4ByJVTIOFpxgLo2ks9WNOBBj8ivbwQ7Yoc8LrCoH2PvCfUju89Biic8FLc-VfYkxQ6lJaH2hN0ip5pc-nFNE9NKKRy5BwFtYE6AmEYZ-200N/s1600/IMG_1532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF_DM5__qWoLjrXW3632RO5z2Kgj00m-d4ByJVTIOFpxgLo2ks9WNOBBj8ivbwQ7Yoc8LrCoH2PvCfUju89Biic8FLc-VfYkxQ6lJaH2hN0ip5pc-nFNE9NKKRy5BwFtYE6AmEYZ-200N/s1600/IMG_1532.JPG" height="136" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama taken without getting up from my seat</td></tr>
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My first stop in the morning was the Nidaros Cathedral, a large stereotypically Gothic church, and the Northernmost medieval cathedral. Normally I am not a church person (usually I believe once you've seen a few, you've seen them all), but this one was different for some reason. I can't place why, but I really liked this church -- I think it might have been because of the archaeological exhibits alongside the church, in addition to having the place mostly to myself. The West end has been restored and has a variety of religious sculptures, and the interior is nicely decorated and again, stereotypically Gothic. There is a large sitting area facing the West end which is a great place to sit and relax and admire the architectural work, and next to the church is the Archbishop's Palace with the Norwegian crown jewels and an exhibit of the original sculptures and decorations of the church from 1050-1250.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwICAorLt7-cOyU100xDuzASuCR9lTPYhmQJKi0pMIjbud0BXoW6BR7q8MqmUmUIBkrCIeghHIxgz9puKwHDPRhgjgpWKkh4NUOl4RAwltsMEdaecb7B5XoVdX2xkkwpr5yEvHRuNQuE9/s1600/IMG_4764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwICAorLt7-cOyU100xDuzASuCR9lTPYhmQJKi0pMIjbud0BXoW6BR7q8MqmUmUIBkrCIeghHIxgz9puKwHDPRhgjgpWKkh4NUOl4RAwltsMEdaecb7B5XoVdX2xkkwpr5yEvHRuNQuE9/s1600/IMG_4764.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-timer!</td></tr>
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I spent a long time at the church and exhibits, then wandered around town for a while before heading back to an Italian restaurant in the main square.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U_nys73H24fGN7X-t4-GMNwqfZAB8ivz7mpQd7SIz8u2jQhph01rsPo2NG0IMzXRlimYJyNyT6FTzt0s_yzXFcq83Q97CASHAncvNSEvsXjsiDfdNoLyo1zy1NnAb1EJbscJquUi6Sv2/s1600/IMG_4755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U_nys73H24fGN7X-t4-GMNwqfZAB8ivz7mpQd7SIz8u2jQhph01rsPo2NG0IMzXRlimYJyNyT6FTzt0s_yzXFcq83Q97CASHAncvNSEvsXjsiDfdNoLyo1zy1NnAb1EJbscJquUi6Sv2/s1600/IMG_4755.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Old Town Bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJRkXkx2OkHsk9mj3V6usoQi_dPjzz062G3uesBrXYDxvFUEGMuhbs7mYyJTQq58adrAnho3wRDVDwNTr-bHSPJj9gl-yokuIoPxpmndqsF-yQ3O1xNrS-F2lWi5oYghuTdaN4w8RPN_W/s1600/IMG_4760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJRkXkx2OkHsk9mj3V6usoQi_dPjzz062G3uesBrXYDxvFUEGMuhbs7mYyJTQq58adrAnho3wRDVDwNTr-bHSPJj9gl-yokuIoPxpmndqsF-yQ3O1xNrS-F2lWi5oYghuTdaN4w8RPN_W/s1600/IMG_4760.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Houses on the Water</td></tr>
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I had a pizza at the restaurant, and afterwards I felt like shit. Italian food and being active and sightseeing really don't mix well, and after doing a bit more wandering, I went back to the hotel to work for a while. The hotel had an open deck overlooking the harbor, so I spent a while working there until I had recovered and completed a few of the Stanford forms. I found another Thai restaurant rated highly on Tripadvisor, and I set off. The food was great as usual, and I realized just how big of a difference it made when a few minutes later I felt good as new. I wandered down to the Harbor for a while, walked past a few barricades for some pictures, and then went back to my hotel around 11pm to pack and set my alarm for my early train to Snasa.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55AeURuM8D-q89_Mxw7CS1-gtl1DQ3SDDqWvwxuBIaivccpYW_iYDg7g1i8hLawYxNR85DOYhLROz7LuXfyXq7koDYknKlqYUHkyn9hxVjHbLm7LEv9kP7lKeJ7-VeNcBEFhayUYNlNnC/s1600/IMG_4775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55AeURuM8D-q89_Mxw7CS1-gtl1DQ3SDDqWvwxuBIaivccpYW_iYDg7g1i8hLawYxNR85DOYhLROz7LuXfyXq7koDYknKlqYUHkyn9hxVjHbLm7LEv9kP7lKeJ7-VeNcBEFhayUYNlNnC/s1600/IMG_4775.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was worth the barrier-jump!</td></tr>
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<b>Final Thoughts on Trondheim</b><br />
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I really enjoyed Trondheim, and again, I felt like I chose a good amount of time to visit. A day was enough to see the church and explore the city a bit, and I had enough time that I could have visited a museum or two if they were open. I'd happily go back to visit again and spend a few days relaxing, although that wouldn't be ideal for this trip, given my time constraints. My favorite place was definitely the Nidaros Cathedral... For a church, it is toward the top of my list of the ones I have visited.<br />
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<b>Snasa and Public Transit Extraordinaire</b><br />
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I wrote this post while heading back to Trondheim on the morning train from Snasa, where I went to visit a friend. He was a great host, and we played bridge last night which was a lot of fun. It was my fifth bridge club outside of the US (the others were in England, Czech Republic, Austria, and Greece). The views from my seat on the ride both ways were/are great, and Norwegian farmland is quite picturesque... Everything is ridiculously green, and together with various fjords, it has made for very enjoyable train trips. I have a few videos from the ride, but I'll save those for when I have more robust WiFi than is available on the train. Here are a few pictures:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeHAKAnqZA28bZnnHruKrUK0si3jQ2A_pC4YC1ePKei0eR1axTXMh76KuslwceZiS5rG5hMo5F1EOnF7x1T7H5zVyXLNwoWKfXdOKi4n0VIMpactD2IhhDDmSv58ARNrJ3Y9wc_qC9d7I/s1600/IMG_1543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeHAKAnqZA28bZnnHruKrUK0si3jQ2A_pC4YC1ePKei0eR1axTXMh76KuslwceZiS5rG5hMo5F1EOnF7x1T7H5zVyXLNwoWKfXdOKi4n0VIMpactD2IhhDDmSv58ARNrJ3Y9wc_qC9d7I/s1600/IMG_1543.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx2OJY-wvxIF7IhgBtqwepT4Wf5qwyIOvGq_SqH-uNzNwkIK4kBGkUuWwcjZmfVhEnIju6FYysoDA6Wg0LqMhkR1m5dFDb7bb4ZBjg1WhfkJMndoBSMJPbU6fuyyLTrrwo4EOHb2ttSXA/s1600/IMG_1591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx2OJY-wvxIF7IhgBtqwepT4Wf5qwyIOvGq_SqH-uNzNwkIK4kBGkUuWwcjZmfVhEnIju6FYysoDA6Wg0LqMhkR1m5dFDb7bb4ZBjg1WhfkJMndoBSMJPbU6fuyyLTrrwo4EOHb2ttSXA/s1600/IMG_1591.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX5-xPTgq7CK6Eqs22vEEwNeHTZxzcxfwhx542qQF6lZAKvxFYaBuqaqqFZd5b8heQxhKIi_AsmSDoCLbkrFSEZOItqIUkJW8cLqUYq90DFUlpwGBcFyYgKhDqqYRQcCYsPJUY9lwhybA/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX5-xPTgq7CK6Eqs22vEEwNeHTZxzcxfwhx542qQF6lZAKvxFYaBuqaqqFZd5b8heQxhKIi_AsmSDoCLbkrFSEZOItqIUkJW8cLqUYq90DFUlpwGBcFyYgKhDqqYRQcCYsPJUY9lwhybA/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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This train trip is the beginning of nearly a week of using trains, buses, and ferries to get around. I'll be spending all day from 11am-10pm today on trains and buses, but hopefully the scenery will be worth it (so far so good!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-67443279755486125362014-05-16T12:19:00.002-07:002014-07-14T16:05:13.478-07:00Random Musings<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday was spent traveling -- I met my grandfather at the airport, had lunch with him, then handed him my car keys and headed off. I was very fortunate to escape many of the travel debacles that affected a lot of flights: The weather in Tampa was awful, with heavy rain, wind, and thunderstorms, and the weather in Chicago was supposedly pretty bad too. My flight left on time, and upon arriving in Chicago, I immediately set out on a quest to top up the charges on all of my devices... Which would have been wonderful, except there were no plugs available anywhere. Eventually I went over to the international terminal and found a bench next to two empty plugs. It felt like a godsend until I actually sat on the bench and realized why nobody was using these plugs: The bench could have won an award for world's most uncomfortable place to sit. Even if it wouldn't win, it would probably only be slightly behind a cactus. Or a cactus in the behind, whatever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent a while on this wonderful bench, then about 2 hours before my flight, I figured I'd go through security, grab some dinner, and board my plane. I eventually did all of these things, but not before a 45-minute wait through security. There were plenty of TSA agents and staff available, but they only had one lane open... The rest of the staff seemed to be having a conference of some kind where they stand around in a circle and laugh at all the poor travelers waiting for them to do their jobs. Eventually the conference finished and instead of attending to the massive line of travelers anxious to get through security (many of whom were about to miss their flights), the wonderful agents decided to have dinner. The poor guy in front of me made it through security only 15 minutes before his flight took off, but hey, <a href="http://nypost.com/2012/03/19/uniformed-tsa-screener-busted-in-drug-raid/" target="_blank">at</a> <a href="http://rt.com/usa/tsa-stealing-from-travelers-358/" target="_blank">least</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601360.html" target="_blank">I</a> <a href="http://www.sptimes.com/2004/09/17/Hillsborough/Tourist_s_crime_Totin.shtml" target="_blank">felt</a> <a href="http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/05/24/i-team-priest-removed-from-ministry-due-to-sex-abuse-allegations-works-at-phl/" target="_blank">safe</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After my security debacle, I had just enough time to get food and board my flight. Onboard, I got to my seat which was broken: The reclining button was stuck, so any time I leaned back at all, my seat would violently jerk backwards. A technician came and fixed the seat, and then things ran a bit more smoothly from there... I even got a little sleep before landing in Copenhagen at 1pm today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon landing, I took the metro to the central station and walked to my hotel which was a short distance away. I'll be moving to a hostel for tomorrow night, but when I found this mistake rate, a night in a 4-star hotel for $32 was too good to pass up. <a href="http://extremehoteldeals.com/" target="_blank">This site</a> is a great resource for finding mistake rates around the world, and sometimes the stars (and dates) will line up for one of the deals to work!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight's Hotel Room</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After checking in, I wandered aimlessly around the city for 5 hours. When I arrive somewhere and only have a half-day for my first day, I like to use it to wander around and explore -- Often I stumble on the coolest things just by walking. I walked down to the waterside and explored the area for a while, eventually stumbling upon a greenhouse dome which housed a bunch of plants along with a two-story sustainable house. I then wandered into the Christanshavn neighborhood, best known for its anti-establishment and pro-weed-smoking rules. While I didn't partake, it was an interesting area to explore. A bunch more wandering later, and I started to get kind-of tired. Since I have this nice hotel room for the night, I figured I'd come back, relax, and write up a blog post while I work to shake off any lingering traces of jetlag.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-EjOaOn6q-1pcgB3vxJV_snIGtNYeZrf3me-JevUHhxkoXoq-IvmhhZHIIL1P62mlTPd9m_m8-_ATpUBo68BHRylpDVMnVaQUQNIRITuvdpxHqC-TroAuUvCsGZV5Oz3pFAzHN0ZoggC/s1600/IMG_4469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-EjOaOn6q-1pcgB3vxJV_snIGtNYeZrf3me-JevUHhxkoXoq-IvmhhZHIIL1P62mlTPd9m_m8-_ATpUBo68BHRylpDVMnVaQUQNIRITuvdpxHqC-TroAuUvCsGZV5Oz3pFAzHN0ZoggC/s1600/IMG_4469.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selfie Numero Uno</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sustainable Dome-Thing</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.S. Speaking of jetlag, I seem to be able to adjust to a new time-zone quite easily when traveling, but I have a really difficult time adjusting back when I get home... Oh well, at least I've got 7 weeks of this time-zone (+/- 2 hours) to go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.P.S. Writing blog posts is a bit more time-consuming than I thought, but I'll try to post something in the next couple days.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-4686329742097991562014-05-13T00:53:00.001-07:002014-05-13T00:57:38.573-07:00On Accommodation<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most important aspects of any trip is sleep. Sure, sightseeing, visiting friends, and experiencing a new place are all wonderful, but it is impossible to do any of these without sleep. Travel is tiring, and after a full day of exploring a new city, often nothing sounds better than collapsing on a comfortable bed for the night. This post will cover how I like to approach the process of finding a good place to sleep for each night during my travels. In general, I have five goals for each place I sleep:</span></div>
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<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To stay well-rested</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To stay somewhere safe</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To stay somewhere central</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To meet other travelers or friends</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To avoid paying twenty-nine metric fucktons for the previous four criteria</span></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes not all of these goals are possible, but they are a good baseline to strive toward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the absolute best options, if possible, is to stay with friends who live in the city you plan to visit. Meeting up with people who live in your destinations not only offers an opportunity to reconnect with friends, but also to learn about good places to eat, drink, and sightsee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many places, however, staying with a friend isn't possible. When this is the case, there are a multitude of accommodation options, from hostels to hotels to real BnBs to AirBnB to couch-surfing, and trying to decide which one is appropriate for each destination can be difficult. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll try to give a run-down of each type of accommodation and some other tips. In all cases reading TripAdvisor and any other reviews of properties is absolutely vital! Learn to trust the masses: There will always be one or two people who have bad experiences, but if the majority overwhelmingly recommends a property, it is likely to be good. Look at customers' pictures, and don't let your opinion of a property become tainted by a single review claiming the property is the equivalent of the Bates Motel. As always, the more reviews the better -- I avoid staying at properties with only one or two reviews if I can help it. Tripadvisor is a great start, but branching out to other sites (such as Hostelbookers or Kayak) for reviews can also be a good idea if Tripadvisor is lacking. </span><br />
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My approach to this trip has been as follows:</span><br />
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1. Use hostels or hotels for one-night stays.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. If planning to take tours and do day-trips, avoid types of accommodation where I might feel obliged to spend more time with my host. This means hostels or hotels for busy and tightly-packed stays.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Try to find friends to stay with when possible, provided I won't just be showing up for one night and then disappearing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Use AirBnB or Couchsurfing for longer stays if reasonable options are available</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. For some longer stays, stay at a hostel if it is in a fun location (or if the hostel is much more convenient)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Include one hotel night for every 10-15 days of alternative accommodation to enable me to recharge</span><br />
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While following these six guidelines, my secondary goal is to keep my average spent per night below $60. Considering the extensive amount of time I'll be spending in expensive destinations (Scandinavia, London, Paris, Switzerland, St. Petersburg), this seems like a reasonable target. Hopefully I'll get it even lower than that.</span><br />
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While most of the places I will be staying aren't especially exotic or interesting, I do have a couple lodging plans I am really excited about: </span><br />
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In Interlaken, I'll be <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1803604-d2658598-Reviews-Balmer_s_The_Tent_Village-Matten_Interlaken_Bernese_Oberland_Canton_of_Bern.html" target="_blank">staying in a tent</a>. A tent hostel surrounded by mountains of course. Each tent contains several beds, complete with sheets, pillows, and blankets.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/d5/6a/fc/balmer-s-the-tent-village.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/d5/6a/fc/balmer-s-the-tent-village.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be sleeping in one of these!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last night in Stockholm, instead of having to wake up extra early to get to the airport which is 30+ minutes outside of the city, I'll be <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g189852-d1383550-Reviews-Jumbo_Stay-Stockholm.html" target="_blank">staying on a plane</a>. There is an old 747 which is now grounded and has been converted into a hostel/hotel called JumboStay and I'll be staying there for my final night. While I didn't book the Cockpit Suite or Black Box Suite (I was tempted!), I'm still really excited about it.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">... Because I won't already be spending enough time on a plane flying home.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also have a mistake rate at a 4-star hotel in Copenhagen for my first night, but I have a bad feeling about it. $32 instead of $295 might not fly, but I'm going to give it a try! If it falls through, I'll probably try to extend my hostel stay for the next night or rely on Hotel Tonight.</span><br />
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Throughout my planning process I have learned new tricks for finding and booking hotels. Here are 8 assorted tips on the process:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Tripadvisor is my best friend, and it should be yours too. I can't say this enough. No matter what sort of accommodation I am looking at, Tripadvisor is my first stop. In the cases of AirBnB or Couchsurfing where Tripadvisor doesn't have information, I trust the reviews and avoid places with 1-2 reviews or references if possible. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions about the accommodation as you feel are necessary.</span><br />
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2. Just because you can't find a hotel in one place doesn't mean you should give up. There have been times when I found a hotel on Tripadvisor and wanted to book it, but Tripadvisor told me it was sold out. A quick check of Kayak showed that there was a site that still was showing rooms available, and I jumped on it. The same thing goes for flights -- Don't just stick to searching one site! (A great example of this is my Amsterdam-Moscow and St. Petersburg-Stockholm flights -- I found options with perfect times, but I waited until I had confirmed I had my Russian visa before trying to book. They disappeared from all US-based booking sites when I looked a couple days later, but I was still able to find them on ebookers!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. The blind-bookings on Hotwire and Priceline can be good resources for hotels, but only when you are OK with any of the potential options. In many European cities, this is not the case, since there are often a few really poor 3 or 4 star properties you'll want to avoid, and you wouldn't be able to do so through Hotwire or Priceline (although they now show you the Tripadvisor rating for the property usually -- A very useful thing to look at before booking). The best places for Hotwire or Priceline are smaller cities and places like Scandinavia, where all the options are high-quality. Yet again, Tripadvisor is also good way to judge when Hotwire or Priceline could be best: When all the possible options are very close together (if you care about location) or when they are all rated highly (if you care about quality), often using either site can be a good option.</span></div>
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3. For chain hotels (see my rant below), avoid using booking sites like Orbitz or Expedia because those rates often are ineligible for any loyalty program rewards directly from the hotel. Instead, try to go through a portal found via <a href="http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/" target="_blank">Cash Back Monitor</a> and book directly on the hotel's website.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. If not booking a chain hotel, always make sure you are getting some sort of benefits or rewards back if possible. Especially for a longer trip (or if you are staying in places for one night), going through cash-back or other reward portals can add up, and they have offers for almost every major hotel booking site (as well as the Hotel's own site in many cases too). Use a site like <a href="http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/" target="_blank">Cash Back Monitor</a> to find a suitable portal. You can get 3% back on Hostelbookers, 5-7.5% back on Orbitz, and 5.5-7% back on hotels.com. My preference is hotels.com, which I explain in tip #6.</span><br />
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5. Best rate guarantees can be an a great way to score free or discounted hotel nights. Many sites and hotel chains have their own variation of a best rate guarantee, and if you can get your claim approved, it can be an easy way to heavily subsidize your stay. Unfortunately, getting these claims approved can sometimes be a pain, but in many cases it's worth the effort. I don't have too much experience here, but I did manage to get one approved with Orbitz: Expedia was offering a hotel for $110 and Orbitz was offering the same room for $159.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Many major booking sites have their own loyalty programs which offer even more money back... My preferred choice is hotels.com, which effectively gives 10% back on every booking through their Welcome Rewards program, and that rate is the best in the industry that I am aware of. Many sites offer bonuses or discounts for bookings of multiple nights, and often these are worth $20-$100 as well. For example, Orbitz currently gives 15% off all eligible hotels (until June 1st) by using the promo code "GETHAPPY" in addition to their usual 3% back through Orbitz Rewards, and Hotels.com currently offers $20 off a 3-night booking by using the promo code "REBATES14". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can usually get a hotel at a minimum of a 10-15% discount, not counting the 3-7% back I get through tip #4. For hostels, it is more difficult to get much back, although sometimes the major booking sites will offer rooms at hostels too. For example, I booked my night at JumboStay (the 747 hostel/hotel) through Hotels.com for the same price I could have gotten through a hostel booking site.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though it might not sound like it is worth the trouble of going through these steps when booking hotels, the benefits add up quickly, especially when booking close to 54 nights worth of lodging! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using my JumboStay booking as an example, the private room I booked cost $108. I will get 10% of that back from Hotels.com's loyalty program, and 5.5% of that back from the portal I used to click through to Hotels.com. After both of these, it will really only cost me $91.26... And that's without any promo codes. Not bad!</span><br />
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7. Other noteworthy sites I haven't mentioned yet include Rocketmiles and PointsHound which offer airline miles for hotel stays. Rocketmiles offers a minimum of 1000 miles a night, while PointsHound offers 100-1000ish... Rocketmiles has a more limited collection of hotels, but they usually offer a lot more miles than PointsHound. Both are worth checking out depending on the circumstances, and although I still feel I can do better on balance by booking through Hotels.com, I do use both sites from time-to-time. </span><br />
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If you do decide to join either site, you can earn bonus miles for being referred by an existing member:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Rocketmiles, you can get 1000 bonus miles on your first booking by using my referral link: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.rocketmiles.com/refer/MTVESUVIUS729" target="_blank">Join RocketMiles</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Pointshound, you can get 250 bonus miles on your first booking by using my referral link: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://pointshound.com/hjibtz" target="_blank">Join PointsHound</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you do happen to join using either link, thanks! I get the same amount of bonus miles (1000 or 250 respectively) for a referral after you book your first hotel.</span><br />
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8. I'm still learning new tricks and options all the time, and you'll learn new tricks as you go too. There are more booking sites than stars in the sky, and there are always new complications and ways to maximize each hotel booking. I learned a lot by messing things up, and while I kind-of hope that isn't the same for everyone, it is a learning curve and you will miss out on some opportunities... Don't let that discourage you at all.</span><br />
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<b>Now, a run-down of different accommodation options and some of my thoughts on them... Most of these thoughts are in the context of traveling in Europe, although they mostly still apply elsewhere:</b></span></div>
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<o:p><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hostels</span></u></b></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p>Hostels are fun, but it can often be difficult to get a good night of sleep when you are staying with multiple other people in the same dorm, and if you stay out drinking until three in the morning every night, you <i>definitely </i>won't get a good night of sleep. Of course, ironically, these same people who may be preventing you from sleeping also may be the reason you are at a hostel in the first place: </o:p>Even if you go out and actively seek other people at hotels, nothing can compare to the social environment of a hostel, and as a single traveler, meeting other people along my travels is an important consideration. Finding an affordable centrally-located hostel is also much easier than finding an affordable centrally-located hotel, especially in some of the bigger European cities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hostels have a stigma associated with them that suggests they are only for dirty partying backpackers. There are some hostels that cater toward that audience, but there are tons of hostels which are clean, quiet, friendly, and open to people of all ages. Staying in a hostel doesn't mean staying in a dump, especially if you do your research. There are even options with en-suite bathrooms in many places.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pros:</b> Excellent social scene, cheap, often centrally-located</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cons:</b> Sometimes difficult to sleep, lack-of-privacy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For how long?:</b> I have overnighted at a hostel and spent an entire week at a hostel. Spending more than a day is better if you really want to get involved in the social scene, but hostels can also make a great crash-pad for a one night stay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Price per night:</b> Depending on the location, good hostels are usually $20-$40/night for a dorm and $50-$100/night for a private room. Cheaper options are often available, although for hostels I care far more about quality than price provided it is under $50/night.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the best hostels I ever stayed at: Hostel One Home in Prague. The facilities were great, the beds were comfortable, the location was central, and the people were amazing!</span></td></tr>
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<b><u>AirBnB</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p>AirBnB is a relatively new and rapidly growing resource for short-term rentals of apartments and houses. The term BnB may give an incorrect impression: While there are some properties whose owners offer fantastic BnB-like service, there are many others which offer a more hands-off approach. There are listings for everything from a converted 18-wheeler to </o:p>a couch or private room in an apartment to to an entire beach house. AirBnB is a great compromise between staying in a hostel and staying in a hotel: You get to meet a local host who usually can offer advice on the destination you are visiting, you get to see the destination from a very different point-of-view by staying in an apartment or house, and you get the privacy of having your own room. Different hosts have different levels of involvement, and AirBnB has their own rating and review system set up for guests to provide feedback on their stays. There are over half a million listings around the world, and AirBnB can often be cheap option to enjoy the privacy of having your own room while not compromising on safety or the social aspect of travel.</span></div>
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<b>Pros: </b>Opportunity to meet a local host and experience the city from a different point of view, budget-friendly, centrally located options available, private rooms (or entire apartments!), laundry facilities often available</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cons: </b>Requires communication and coordination with a host (especially to pick up the key, which may be difficult if you arrive very early or very late), less formal than a hotel, may lack certain facilities that would be standard at a hotel, unless renting a full apartment it can be difficult to find space for more than two people, short stays are generally inconvenient</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">For how long?: </b>While one-night stays are feasible, I personally feel it is both inconvenient and rude to only stay for one night. The process of conversing with a host and meeting to get a key to the apartment isn't bad, but it's not something I am willing to do for one night. I think two nights is the absolute minimum for AirBnB, and I tend not to consider it unless I am booking at least three nights in a destination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Price per night: </b>Depending on the location, AirBnB options are generally $20-$50 for a shared room or bare-bones couch, $50-$125 for a private room, and $80-$300 for an entire apartment or house.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you decide to sign up, I'd appreciate it if you used my referral link. I get a $25 credit when you book your first stay, and you get $25 credit toward that stay: <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/c/akaplan8">Sign Up for AirBnB!</a></span></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Couchsurfing</span></u></b></div>
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Couchsurfing is an extremely economical way to find a place to sleep at your destination: It's free! Before you suddenly think you have found a ticket to a free lunch though, couchsurfing is very community-oriented, and you should only consider it if you have an interest in interacting with and spending time with (usually very friendly) strangers: To participate, you need to be willing to dedicate some time toward finding a potential host, checking on what type of accommodation they have, and getting to know your host beyond a few awkward exchanges of pleasantries. Couchsurfing is more about meeting other travelers and fostering a community of generous (and not free-loading) people. Remember, these are people inviting you into their homes. Couchsurfing is like a no-frills version of AirBnB with more social emphasis -- It certainly is not for everyone, but can be a fascinating way to see a destination from a very different perspective and an amazing opportunity to meet locals and fellow travelers.</span><br />
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Because couchsurfing is very informal, there are very few standards for any sort of host. Some people might have a bed, some might have a floor, some might have something in-between. Some might host more than one couchsurfer per night, others may have multiple other housemates, and others may have twenty-seven cats and a gerbil named Harold. Hosts may live two minutes from the central station, or they might live multiple miles from the nearest metro station. Know what sort of situation you are getting yourself into beforehand, and make sure you are comfortable with all of the arrangements. Be sure to read profiles, and remember that you want to be someone a host might be excited about meeting and spending time with for a few days (and you should be excited to meet your host too!), not someone who is solely in it to save a bit of cash.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pros: </b>Opportunity to meet a local host (and sometimes other travelers) and experience the city from a different point of view, free (aside from a gift from your hometown or somewhere else outside of your host's country/state -- usually a great way to say thanks), centrally located options sometimes available, laundry facilities sometimes available</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cons: </b>Requires large amounts communication and coordination with a host (both to pick up the key, which may be difficult if you arrive very early or very late, and to establish a relationship of some kind before you are invited into the host's home), much less formal than a hotel, can be bare-bones accommodations, sleeping arrangement may make it difficult to get good nights of rest (i.e. sleeping in the living room sofa or on the floor), short stays are rarely worth the time and social investment</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For how long?: </b>I personally feel it is both inconvenient and rude to stay at a couchsurfing host's house for less than two nights, and I usually aim for at least three nights. The process of getting to know and trust a host and meeting to get a key to the apartment is rewarding but time-consuming, and it's not something I am willing to do (or would want to make someone else do) for one or two nights. Personally I feel two nights is the absolute minimum for Couchsurfing, and I tend not to consider it unless I am planning at least three nights in a destination. In addition, staying for at least three nights allows you time to become comfortable with your host, and may even mean they'll have time to show you around their hometown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Price per night: </b>Free. While you aren't expected to pay to stay at a host's house, bringing a gift or buying a drink or two is a polite and friendly gesture.</span><br />
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If you are interested in Couchsurfing, there is a great post on it <a href="http://milevalue.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-couchsurfing/">on MileValue's site here</a>.</span><br />
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<o:p><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hotels</span></u></b></o:p><br />
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Hotels are, of course, the most common option for most trips. They're convenient, they're reliable, they offer privacy, and they get old quickly. I like to be able to look around wherever I am staying and be able to figure out if I am in Oklahoma or Paris, and all too often, hotels don't cut it. There are some great hotels out there that I'd love to stay at, or that I have really enjoyed my stay at, but they are rarely Hiltons, Hyatts, or Marriotts, or if they are, they are way out of my price range (read: upwards of $500/night). Sure, chain hotels offer reliable value, but they rarely offer the feeling that you are somewhere exotic or interesting. I can definitely understand redeeming hotel points for a few nights at a unique or luxury hotel that is part of a chain, but I don't like the sterile feeling of being in "just another Hilton".</span><br />
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I prefer smaller, non-chain options whenever I am considering staying in a hotel. Non-chain hotels with good reviews on TripAdvisor often provide great experiences beyond just comfortable and private beds, and they are more likely to help immerse you in the culture of wherever you are visiting (inasmuch as a hotel can do so).</span><br />
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Maybe I'm just a stingy budget traveler, but I prefer to aim for 3-star (or extremely well-reviewed 2-star) hotels when I do opt for a hotel. I don't need overwhelming luxury, I need a comfortable bed in a reasonable location that won't cost me a fortune. I find it hard to justify having my toilet paper folded into a neat little triangle when I plan to spend the entire day out of the room anyway. For me, hotels are necessity to recharge, but outside of recharging they are not my go-to option unless my other choices are very limited. I don't feel like I need to say too much more about hotels other than getting on my soapbox about staying in boring chain hotels in far-flung destinations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />So, with that said, let's play a little game (Hint: One of these rooms costs over $300 less than the other two):</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.parisinfo.com/var/otcp/sites/images/media/1.-photos/07.-tourisme-d'affaires-630-x-405/h%C3%B4tel-paris-marriott-champs-elys%C3%A9es-%7C-630x405-%7C-%C2%A9-otcp/9951129-1-fre-FR/H%C3%B4tel-Paris-Marriott-Champs-Elys%C3%A9es-%7C-630x405-%7C-%C2%A9-OTCP_block_media_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://en.parisinfo.com/var/otcp/sites/images/media/1.-photos/07.-tourisme-d'affaires-630-x-405/h%C3%B4tel-paris-marriott-champs-elys%C3%A9es-%7C-630x405-%7C-%C2%A9-otcp/9951129-1-fre-FR/H%C3%B4tel-Paris-Marriott-Champs-Elys%C3%A9es-%7C-630x405-%7C-%C2%A9-OTCP_block_media_big.jpg" height="256" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marriott Paris, Marriott Rome, or Marriott Tampa?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/05/ce/62/4d/king-guest-room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/05/ce/62/4d/king-guest-room.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marriott Paris, Marriott Rome, or Marriott Tampa?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn4.agoda.net/hotelimages/166/1660/1660_0908181034001679700_STD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn4.agoda.net/hotelimages/166/1660/1660_0908181034001679700_STD.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marriott Paris, Marriott Rome, or Marriott Tampa?</span></td></tr>
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Sorry, I lied about getting off my soapbox. The correct answers are (highlight to see): 1. Marriott Champes-Elysees, Paris - Starting at only $485 a night! 2. Marriott Tampa - Starting at only $129 a night! 3. Marriott Grand Hotel Flora, Rome - Starting at only $430 a night!</span><br />
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The moral of the game? Even if you got all three right, chain hotels tend to have relatively standard offerings. You know what you are getting -- Chain hotels offer a reliable product, but it's unlikely you'll have a fun story to tell after you check out. In fact, it's unlikely you'll even remember the hotel at all, since it'll blend in with any other hotels you stayed in. </span><br />
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I'll try to put up one more post before I leave, but for now let me just offer a friendly reminder that it always pays to double-check your reservations whenever possible: I happened to glance at my SAS reservation for Thursday and noticed that I had somehow been reassigned to a middle seat for the long-haul portion of my trip! A quick phone call sorted it out, but it'd have been a far more unwelcome surprise at the airport. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-30611319900764268722014-05-08T09:09:00.000-07:002014-07-14T16:10:43.516-07:00Destination: Pompeii<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I get started on this year's trip, I want to share one of my favorite destinations from my travels so far. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I visited Pompeii last summer at the end of my last Europe trip. While I went to a lot of awesome places during that trip, nowhere stood out as much as my visit to Pompeii. Why? I'm not sure, but I absolutely loved it. The town itself is a typical small Italian town, and they rely heavily on tourism from day-visitors. The remarkable part was that it seemed none of these visitors ever spent the night! This meant that after about 5pm every day, the town was deserted. It was mid-summer, and I felt like one of the only tourists there. I did a lot of things backwards or wrong, but I still had an amazing time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would recommend the following itinerary, which is what I did when I visited:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 1: Pompeii</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 2: Hike Mt. Vesuvius in the morning, visit Herculaneum in the evening</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 3: Train to Naples, visit the Archaeological Museum</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I left Rome around 6pm on a train to Naples which took just over an hour. It was a comfortable ride, and after getting off the train, I followed the signs to the Circumvesuviana Trains, which connect Naples with the surrounding area (including Pompeii, Sorrento, Sarno, and countless other towns). These trains are privately-owned and therefore a rail pass does not work for them. Tickets are cheap though, so it's not a major inconvenience (beyond knowing to buy tickets!). I caught one of the last trains of the day from Napoli Centrale to Pompeii, and it was pretty obvious I had ventured into Southern Italy: People were smoking all over the train platform, the train cars were covered in graffiti, and although the train cars are supposedly new, their insides looked like something from the 1950s.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Graffiti-ed Circumvesuviana Train </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the car I rode in, the station announcement system was broken, and it seemed each station had their signs covered in graffiti. Since it was nighttime, the combination of graffiti and darkness made it even harder to identify where I was. I tried asking a couple people, but they were no help. I tried counting the stops relying on the route map, but that was no help either, because I was tired and lost track of the stops. After a while, I started to think I had missed my stop, but I decided to keep going. Sure enough, one stop later was Pompeii Scavi. Great, right? ... Well, not so much. I didn't see the sign until after the train doors had closed, because it was all the way on the far end of the station. I got off at the next stop, planning to take the next train back one stop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great plan, right? Nope! That was the last blue-line train of the day, and there was not another soul in sight. The train station was deserted, and I appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. I called my hotel in Pompeii and explained what happened. After a few minutes, I managed to figure out where I was, and the hotel sent a taxi to pick me up. After the rocky start, I was very glad to get to my hotel and sleep. I stayed at <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187786-d4232095-Reviews-Hotel_del_Sole-Pompeii_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html" target="_blank">Hotel del Sole</a>, and it was quite nice. The staff's English wasn't great, but they were very friendly, the rooms were clean and comfortable, and they offered a nice breakfast in the morning. The best part was that I could see the ruins from my bed, framed in the background by Mt. Vesuvius. The view probably wasn't unique to my hotel, but it was probably one of the best in the city, given the hotel's location directly across the street from the ruins.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 1 - Pompeii</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a hard-earned night of sleep, I spent my first day exploring the ruins of Pompeii. While the hotel was located directly across the street from one of the entrances to the Pompeii ruins, this entrance was not the main one. As I later discovered, it was not an ideal starting point to explore the ruins since I was working backwards. I highly recommend starting at the official entrance across from the Pompeii Scavi station, since audio-guides can only be found there (and they must be returned there too!), and there are guided tours available as well. The lines are longer, but there are more resources available than at the smaller entrance. Also, once you enter the site, you cannot leave without buying another ticket. There is a cafe inside the site, but it is pretty overpriced, so I'd recommend bringing something for lunch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course I did none of these things, and armed with my 1.5L bottle of water, backpack, and camera, I entered through the back entrance, bought a ticket without realizing I couldn't leave again, and forgot to bring anything for lunch. There is very little shade available, so bring sunscreen, hats, and whatever else you might use to avoid sunburn. I wouldn't know, since I was burnt to a crisp. Oh, and make absolutely sure you bring a large water bottle... There are water fountains scattered across the ruins, and although they look kind-of disgusting, the water is cold and safe. They are a godsend, especially in the sweltering summer heat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being the do-it-yourself-er that I am, I wandered aimlessly for a while, eventually winding up at the main entrance where I chose to rent an audio-guide and continue wandering on my own. The audio-guide is a must-have, as it brings the ruins to life and offers lots of interesting information about each site. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the best findings from Pompeii have been removed unfortunately, but they are exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, which is definitely worth a stop on your way back North. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The audioguide has a fairly extensive range of tracks to guide you through the ruins, although there are a few places it paid to linger for a while (and this is yet another reason to do Pompeii on your own!):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My personal favorite was the brothel house. Sure, the wall paintings are pretty cool, and it's an interesting building, but the real fun begins when a tour group enters. The brothel is a very popular stop for all the tour groups, and listening to each tour guide try to explain the brothel, its art, and the walls covered in ancient graffiti, was better than a Comedy Central special, especially when there were kids on the tour. The awkward censoring, parents trying to shoo their children away, and shocked old women only made the experience better. It never got old, but after about 20 minutes I felt a little weird just hanging out in the brothel house, so I moved on.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9he_1xTf68pnnBJGI1x-EZ-BAJ0ZGbQt_ayevBMZCFa6sjxvfbg5rI4kTms54_QVP076YiGRT0Dv8I3sgdMaXJw6Zt3o2oJVpMr7RNQLv9CovFTP31WtG8k016RrogzTT01Rt5p3tVTPt/s1600/IMG_0815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9he_1xTf68pnnBJGI1x-EZ-BAJ0ZGbQt_ayevBMZCFa6sjxvfbg5rI4kTms54_QVP076YiGRT0Dv8I3sgdMaXJw6Zt3o2oJVpMr7RNQLv9CovFTP31WtG8k016RrogzTT01Rt5p3tVTPt/s1600/IMG_0815.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't move on before taking a couple selfies though!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, onto the reason why I feel it is so vital to spend the night in Pompeii: After about 5pm, all the tour groups go home, leaving the city deserted. Most of the popular buildings that all the tour groups visit are empty, and the evening breeze feels great after a day of sweltering 95-degree heat. Take advantage of the emptiness and visit some of the more popular sites in the evening -- You'll have a lot more space to enjoy them, and they're far more authentic when not crowded with fanny-pack-toting cruise-ship tour groups. It's difficult to convey just how different the atmosphere at an ancient site can be when you have it to yourself, but it really is an amazing feeling.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gqNztdBcSNmRrfKRzGTFpmMRRRcJ9j8XKWr18D1exkqNywr6KPt8WDYX1PjHdv3cIeFJLKtSmAAXfZNfOHEl800s3ZSNaq9_Uh-fTwWK65aolF3quZ7KJrWTfWgwdN08-p7Ocw4MF3wM/s1600/gtselfie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gqNztdBcSNmRrfKRzGTFpmMRRRcJ9j8XKWr18D1exkqNywr6KPt8WDYX1PjHdv3cIeFJLKtSmAAXfZNfOHEl800s3ZSNaq9_Uh-fTwWK65aolF3quZ7KJrWTfWgwdN08-p7Ocw4MF3wM/s1600/gtselfie1.jpg" height="552" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the Pompeii Amphitheater -- Ah, the wonders of self-timer!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Archaeological site closes at 7:30pm, and when I got kicked out, having spent nearly 10 hours exploring the ruins, I was absolutely exhausted. I grabbed dinner at a pleasant local cafe, wandered around the town square a bit, and went to bed. Yes, I was more sun-burnt than an albino in a tanning salon.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 2 - Hiking to the Crater of Mt. Vesuvius and Herculaneum</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For my second day, I planned to hike up to the crater of Mt. Vesuvius. It can be done on a tour, but there are also buses that operate from near Pompeii Scavi station which bring you to the highest point that vehicles can go. I arrived at Pompeii Scavi and bought tickets with Bus Vesuvius. After buying tickets, I boarded the bus that takes you to meet the 4x4 bus that takes you to the highest point. Yes, a 4x4 bus. The roads are in horrendous condition, and there are some potholes that are several feet deep. In fact, lucky me, I found this out when the bus hit one of these mega-potholes and blew a tire! We had to wait for 30 minutes on the steeply inclined road halfway up the mountain while a rescue bus was sent to retrieve all the passengers and bring them the rest of the way up the mountain. To their credit, the bus company handled the situation very well, but it was still a bit frightening.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The view from where our bus was stranded</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The buses give you 90 minutes from when they drop you off, and although it feels a bit rushed at first, the timing is actually about right. 30-40 minutes is plenty of time to walk around the crater, take pictures, and absorb the scenery. It might be nice to have a little longer, and it might have been possible to miss my bus and take a later one, but I didn't want to risk it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the point where the bus left us, it was still another 30-minute hike in slippery volcanic sand at roughly a 15% incline. The sand and dust is particularly brutal, and it's a tiring trek. On one side is the mountain, and on the other is a relatively steep drop. It's a good thing they had a sturdy rope handrail to ensure nobody fell, because as we all know, rope is extremely difficult to pass under or over. Once I reached the top, I walked about 3/4ths of the way around the entire crater. It's impossible to do the crater justice in photos, but suffice to say it was absolutely amazing. There were even a few active vents which were giving off steam. The view of the crater is amazing, but the view of the Bay of Naples and the surrounding cities is also fantastic, especially on a clear day.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCl5P6psaTHY4InEt6AthByCfYkBfO17gk_t900o6TBWgaOQl0rOqypqs7GEGHmP4Sz_c3DJIuTEKhajEFvfCBq1xz7p4IpytH_Km8Q3_cH0SHufensoNfVdYtgmnW-dpd5h41ecCOsRG/s1600/IMG_2989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCl5P6psaTHY4InEt6AthByCfYkBfO17gk_t900o6TBWgaOQl0rOqypqs7GEGHmP4Sz_c3DJIuTEKhajEFvfCBq1xz7p4IpytH_Km8Q3_cH0SHufensoNfVdYtgmnW-dpd5h41ecCOsRG/s1600/IMG_2989.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, a selfie. How creative.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoouIl1B-PMEnmKbFv8-I4jBOzgdhNPjHBVBMYCzKr2xRZmi9Lqu14t2RdAt5Gw7JLL6Mr_CzXCvdwszPTMlqcBRoLFCdxm1J9O4gNsdAp5WpgDJctPIBX76yfhYBjLaKSrH6beSz6183/s1600/IMG_0830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoouIl1B-PMEnmKbFv8-I4jBOzgdhNPjHBVBMYCzKr2xRZmi9Lqu14t2RdAt5Gw7JLL6Mr_CzXCvdwszPTMlqcBRoLFCdxm1J9O4gNsdAp5WpgDJctPIBX76yfhYBjLaKSrH6beSz6183/s1600/IMG_0830.JPG" height="208" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The crater! For scale, those are people on the left.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hike back down from the crater was much easier, although because of the volcanic sand, it was still rough. I picked up a small rock of pumice laying along the trail as a souvenir (which I later wrote a college essay about!), and met the bus for the journey back down the mountain. I made it back down to Pompeii Scavi around 3pm, and although I was tired, I wanted to visit Herculaneum. As I learned from Pompeii the day before, the best time to visit was in the afternoon when it was cooler and after many of the tour groups and day-trippers had left. After having lunch, I caught the next train from Pompeii to Herculaneum, taking care to actually count the stops this time. Of course, counting the stops wasn't actually necessary, since the train-car I was in had a working announcement system.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coming out of the Herculaneum train station, I walked down the hill on the main road, which dead-ends into the archaeological site. After buying tickets I descended into the city, and... Surprise, surprise, it was almost empty. There were about 10 other people in the entire city.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNjsHCB_0xicT7b3psQ7oqwNM92PkKB-PECQ5q30ImRtWmE2nGsilgTYOsRQ1f5AlnED6qCGCDaxRQWEAxx3X8GQ6DDPY2-dG8S3W-vwun8AjC7Oa0kQ2YSx4f3msF3a_-YvxwNLa6y5f/s1600/IMG_3173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNjsHCB_0xicT7b3psQ7oqwNM92PkKB-PECQ5q30ImRtWmE2nGsilgTYOsRQ1f5AlnED6qCGCDaxRQWEAxx3X8GQ6DDPY2-dG8S3W-vwun8AjC7Oa0kQ2YSx4f3msF3a_-YvxwNLa6y5f/s1600/IMG_3173.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Empty ancient cities are my favorite kind!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Herculaneum is much smaller than Pompeii, and I managed to explore almost the entire city in about 2 1/2 hours before being kicked out at 7:30pm. It is actually better preserved than Pompeii, and many of the two-story buildings remain intact. Yet again, all the best finds from the city have been moved to the archaeological museum in Naples, but there are still plenty of hidden gems scattered throughout the city. I really enjoyed visiting both cities, but preferred Herculaneum since it was better preserved (and less crowded!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the end of my second day, I was exhausted, but it was totally worth it. It's a lot to do in one day, but very manageable as long as you get an early-ish start to visiting Vesuvius. I had dinner at a small local restaurant and went back to my room, packed up my things, and crashed. Not even another eruption of Vesuvius could have woken me up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 3 - The Archaeological Museum in Naples</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After breakfast, I checked out of the hotel and caught the next train back to Naples. I left my bags at the train station in Naples (Left Luggage at train stations is a wonderful thing!), bought a metro ticket, and headed on the M1 to the Museo stop which is connected to the museum. The museum houses an unrivaled collection of artifacts from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the entire surrounding area. I recommend doing the museum last because the museum is even more interesting having just visited the ancient cities where many of the items on exhibit came from.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't bother giving too much more detail here, although the museum does have a special room dedicated to all the Roman artifacts that excavators were too embarrassed to exhibit elsewhere. This room has several paintings from the brothel house in Pompeii, a statue of Pan and the goat, and countless phallic Roman relics. It's quite an entertaining exhibit which is worth the price of admission alone.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIP5e8UHfid5uAX-kmDWBnu_P7Hxd56TdOz2dTF0my7F6o7bas_D9DRQiLTsJeJpX6ZO3B1lVqfEJws1B2QtPs8Af_vlr_JbXHGdNBZQsyJyWjt3AtFDQJ3AUGlbFiMAORVwnuk9RaQhOq/s1600/penetrateTHIS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIP5e8UHfid5uAX-kmDWBnu_P7Hxd56TdOz2dTF0my7F6o7bas_D9DRQiLTsJeJpX6ZO3B1lVqfEJws1B2QtPs8Af_vlr_JbXHGdNBZQsyJyWjt3AtFDQJ3AUGlbFiMAORVwnuk9RaQhOq/s1600/penetrateTHIS.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See? Fun relics.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent the whole day at the museum, leaving around 6pm to catch my train back to Milan for my flight home the next morning. While I visited a lot of cool places during my trip last summer, Pompeii and the surrounding area stood out as the most memorable and the most interesting, and if you'll be in Italy any time soon, I'd highly recommend taking 3 days to visit -- It's an experience unlike any other.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620511843952771518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2735946137943622788.post-82218622186720640982014-05-06T21:33:00.001-07:002014-05-06T21:33:20.072-07:00Introduction and Itinerary - Europe 2014<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi everyone, I have decided to start attempting to write a blog because I am hoping to have a place to share some of my trip reports beyond the short updates I send
out via email or Facebook. Before I head off to Stanford in the fall I have two major trips planned, and I figured this would be
the best way to offer some insight into my planning and allow you to
participate in some armchair travel. I have no idea how often I’ll be updating
this, but as new ideas and details come to mind, I hope to make a few posts regarding some of the logistics and planning that is going into the trip before I actually leave on May 15</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you may have gathered by now, most of my writing here
will primarily be travel-related, but I may throw in a post about something
else from time-to-time. At some point I’ll probably go back and write about a
few of my past trips, but for now, I’ll be sticking to talking about my
upcoming trip(s). I’ll start at the beginning – From planning an itinerary to
booking hotels and airfare, I hope to offer some insight into my methodology
when researching and planning a trip, then a bit of a travelogue (and tips) from each
location once I have visited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, onto my trips: The first is a 7-week trip in Europe, visiting
primarily Northern destinations. The second is a 3-week trip to Istanbul and a
couple Baltic countries. The former begins on May 15<sup>th</sup>, the latter
on August 7<sup>th</sup>. I haven’t fully planned the latter trip yet, so I
will be focusing on the former for now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, first things first…</span></div>
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<h2>
<u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The Itinerary:</span></u></h2>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew I had a large chunk of time available to travel,
since I had no plans between when I graduate (May 10<sup>th</sup> or so –
nothing official really) and the summer nationals in Vegas in July. I was
considering visiting Asia or Australia, but the combination of being too
expensive and my traveling alone made me decide to stick to Europe for this summer.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the entry of Norwegian Air Shuttle into the US market,
airfares to Scandinavia have dropped tremendously. In the past, flights like
New York to Milan were often the cheapest option, but now many cities in
Scandinavia are cheaper, even for summer travel. Since I am crediting my
flights to Aegean Airlines now (more on that another time – they are the
shortcut to Star Alliance Gold status), I wanted to fly either US Air or SAS. I
found cheap flights on SAS that fit my schedule perfectly, so I was all set: I
had a start date of May 15<sup>th</sup> in Copenhagen and an end date of July 9<sup>th</sup>
in Stockholm… The challenge was filling in 54 days of blanks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As usual, I started my planning by exploring Google Maps and
deciding if there was anywhere I wanted to ensure I could visit no matter what.
This time around, those places were Reykjavik, Paris, and St. Petersburg. With
those cities in mind, I started building an itinerary playing connect-the-dots
on Google maps. Initially I thought I would spend time in the Baltic countries
before/after Russia, but due to logistical and time considerations caused by
needing a Russian visa, I decided to save those for my August trip. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though my destinations were not geographically close
together, getting around Europe is super-easy thanks to the combination of
budget airlines, great train systems, and the extensive network of many regular
airlines. In many cases, it is almost as quick to go from Paris to Amsterdam by
train as it is to fly from Copenhagen to Madrid – Just because places seem far
apart doesn’t mean they are difficult to get to. Of course, I still tried to
optimize my itinerary to avoid doubling back a bunch, but even places like
Reykjavik and St. Petersburg really aren’t far-fetched at all when taking full
advantage of the wide variety of transportation options available across Europe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won’t go into all the details of how I eventually wound up
with my current itinerary, but I mostly pieced it together using Google Maps,
picking out cities and places that seemed interesting and then considering the
practicality of reaching that place. Picking cities was the easy part though…
The hard part was deciding how long to stay in each place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m a fast-paced traveler. I try to maximize my time in
each city by avoiding mid-day transit options, and I usually try to hit the
ground running in each place I visit. It is a very tiring style of travel, but
it is also extremely productive and rewarding. Of course after a week or two of
this, I need a couple days to really relax and just enjoy whatever city I am
visiting. Since I know my travel-style, I knew I needed to add a day or two of
down time for every couple weeks of travel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tripadvisor is my best friend. It is an invaluable
trip-planning resource, and I spend countless hours browsing information for
each city I plan to visit. While I usually have a general idea how long I want
to spend in each city, Tripadvisor helps me adjust that to be even more
accurate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s impossible to plan everything perfectly though, and
depending on flexibility, it can even be fun not to plan at all! For my summer
trip last year, I planned a start city and an end city and a general route, but
didn't do much beyond that. Since I had a rail pass, I was completely flexible,
and I wound up visiting several places I never would have visited if I had
planned extremely rigidly. Unfortunately this luxury of flexibility isn't
always possible, and for this year since I’ll be relying a lot more on flights,
last-minute plans simply weren't an option. Over-planning definitely is a
problem, but sometimes you have to lock yourself into certain dates or
locations. As always, when planning, being flexible is vital: Be open to
changing dates, rearranging itineraries, cutting cities that are inconvenient, and
adding cities that you stumble upon in your research. My initial itinerary was
very different from the one I have now!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With all that in mind, after several weeks of rather intense
planning, I now have a working itinerary and am in the process of booking
hotels, trains, planes, buses, tours, and countless other things. Here’s my
itinerary:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Copenhagen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/16/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/18/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trondheim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/18/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/21/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alesund<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/21/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/22/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hurtigruten Ferry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/22/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/23/2014 (Afternoon)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bergen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/23/2014 (Afternoon)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/24/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oslo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/24/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/27/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reykjavik<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5/27/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/1/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glasgow (Day), Inverness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/1/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/4/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Edinburgh<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/4/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/6/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">London<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/6/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/8/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paris<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/8/2014 (Afternoon)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/13/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Geneva (Day), Interlaken<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/13/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/15/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucerne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/15/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/17/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frankfurt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/17/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/20/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trier<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/20/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/21/2014 (Afternoon)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amsterdam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/21/2014 (Afternoon)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/25/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moscow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/25/2014 (Afternoon)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/29/2014 (Overnight Train)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Veliky Novgorod<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/29/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/30/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">St. Petersburg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6/30/2014 (Evening)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7/5/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stockholm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7/5/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 2.25pt 0in 2.25pt;" valign="bottom"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7/9/2014 (Morning)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can see, I will be relying heavily on morning and
evening transportation options, and will be making a few very short overnight
stops. I don’t like sleeper trains, so I tend to avoid those even though they
save time. I will be forced to take one to Veliky Novgorod, but otherwise will
likely steer clear of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An approximate visual view of my itinerary:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gcmap.com/map?P=CPH-TRD-AES-BGO-OSL-KEF-GLA-INV-EDI-LON-PAR-GVA-BSL-FRA-AMS-MOW-LED-ARN&MS=wls&MR=360&MX=720x360&PM=*" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gcmap.com/map?P=CPH-TRD-AES-BGO-OSL-KEF-GLA-INV-EDI-LON-PAR-GVA-BSL-FRA-AMS-MOW-LED-ARN&MS=wls&MR=360&MX=720x360&PM=*" height="320" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm drawing a bat-figure across Europe! (drawn using <a href="http://www.gcmap.com/" target="_blank">GCMap</a>)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm really excited about
this trip actually happening, and given the amount of time I have devoted to
planning it so far, I hope things go off relatively smoothly. I'm a firm
believer in Murphy's Law when applied to travel though, so if I make my first 5
or 6 transportation connections, I'll start to expect a worker's strike, a flat
tire on a bus, or maybe even poor WiFi at one of my accommodations... Oh, the
horror.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll try to share some more details soon, but given that May 15th is rapidly approaching, I have a lot of details to work out before then!</span></div>
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