Report from Madrid: Day 1 November 17, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Photos , 1 comment so farNovember 6: I arrived in Madrid armed with four years of high school Spanish. Today was mostly spent recuperating from Munich, but I did have time to see a really pretty building.
I also made a quick pass through the Plaza Mayor as well as Madrid’s biggest park, though what really impressed me were the duck ladders on all the ponds. It’s funny to think that there was an actual person (or perhaps a committee?) who thought “Oh no, what if a duck lands in our pond and then isn’t able to get out?!” and then was willing to deal with all the red tape to actually get little tiny step ladders installed everywhere.
Evening finished by making some new friends over an authentic Spanish sangria. Authentic Spanish sangria is different from American sangria in that it’s got a half inch of undissolved sugar at the bottom of each glass. The sugar rush begins!
Munich, Day 5: Adventures and castles in the sky November 12, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Photos , add a commentToday was a day of adventure.
It started off slowly, with me discovering a self-service fruit washer at the train station snack stand! We don’t have those in America.
Unfortunately, while I was washing my fruit, my train was being delayed, which meant that if I had taken it I would have missed my connection, and so I decided to just miss it and catch the next one.
The train ride went smoothly and I ended up in Füssen late but in good spirits.
I had come to see Neuschwanstein Castle, the “fairy-tale castle†of the late King Ludwig, the castle that inspired Walt Disney to create Cindarella’s castle.
It turned out the walk up to the castle was almost as beautiful as the castle itself. Walking up the road through the mist and waterfalls and trees changing color, I felt simply happy to be alive.
(The moment was only sullied by the realization that the Fruit and Nut bar I had bought was actually Rum Raisin and Nut. That’s not enough to spoil this view, though.)
When I came around a corner and saw the castle, I was again a little underwhelmed. It was neat, but not exactly what I was expecting. I wasn’t blown away until later…
The inside of the castle was stunning, dedicated to Wagner’s operas, from the paintings to the chandeliers to the sinks and wall carvings. There’s even a fake cave built into the king’s bedroom. Unfortunately, photography isn’t allowed inside the castle, but the views were spectacular.
Oh, and each urinal has a little fly painted on for you to aim at. Fit for a king!
After the tour, I hiked to a nearby bridge for a better view of the castle. Technically, the hike was “verbotenâ€, which, once again, seems to be the German way of saying, “If you get hurt, it’s your own fault.†It does make me wonder how I’m supposed to know when I’m really, truly, actually not supposed to do something.
I keep a running list of the happiest moments in my life. Standing on the bridge, freezing in my heavy coat and hat and scarf and gloves, eating dubious rum raisin chocolate, alone with no one else is slight, nothing do but simply be there and watch the castle and enjoy the experience, is being added to the list.
The day had one more adventure left, however. The bus from the castle to the train station only ran once an hour, so with the next bus 40 minutes away plus a 15 minute ride to the train station, I figured I would just walk. After all, there was a nice paved pedestrian footpath through the woods back to Füssen, which was only a mile and a half away.
The sun was setting, however, and on the way back I passed a huge meadow full of mist and was obviously compelled to leave the trail to go explore. It was beautiful in the dark and. I had to leap across the tiny rivulets that crisscrossed the meadow and startled a herd of deer wandering through the mist.
By the time I got back on the trail, the sun had gone down, leaving me with only the light from my cell phone to try to read the signs on the path, which were, of course, in German so I couldn’t understand them anyway, as I realized when I got to the next fork in the path.
After several wrong turns and asking directions from locals who spoke no English (thank you, Pimsleur German language CD’s, lessons 1-7!) I finally found myself in Füssen and realized that although it had been a mile and a half to Füssen, I still needed to find the train station inside the town.
And that is how I missed my train.
The rest of the evening was spent waiting in the Füssen train station until it closed and we were kicked out, then waiting in the very cold air for a train that apparently wasn’t coming, as we were informed by a bus driver. He took us to another nearby train station where I was finally able to catch a series of (very cold - what was up with the lousy heaters?) trains to get me back to Munich, at which point I hopped back on my bicycle and shivered my way back home.
What a great day!
Munich, Day 3: Pickup, Protests, and the Residenz Museum November 9, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Photos , add a commentFirst order of business today was visiting the pickup conference and trying to get my money back for my plane flight. I arrived, hassled a bunch of people, and eventually met the guy in charge of conference. He gave me about the worst possible scenario – that they hadn’t heard of either of the two guys who contacted me, that they were completely unaffiliated with the conference, and they had no idea how these guys got their hands on an official speakers contract.
Not good. I got the phone number of the head guy and he promised me he would look around and try to track down “Eddieâ€, the guy who promised me I could expense my flight. He offered to let me stay for the conference, but I figured I’d rather see Munich than spend an entire day talking about pickup.
Especially considering that half the speeches were in German.
Instead, I decided to go to ZAM (the Zentrum fur Aussergewohnliche Museen - Center for Unusual Museums)and do it right. I had woken up early, got the address, and upon arriving discovered that the museum closed two years ago. This is where it used to be.
I pondered the tiny spaces that people parallel park in over here. EVERY space is like this!
Just as I started to feel really disappointed about ZAM, a huge protest wandered by. I couldn’t understand what it was about, so I joined in.
Afterwards, I was thirsty, so I got a soda. I still don’t know exactly what flavor it was. Mmm… “holunderâ€.
I marveled at Munich’s “Call a bike†program. Apparently there are bikes just left standing all over the city that you can rent out by swiping a key card.
Next was a trip to see the stunning opulence of the Residenz museum, the former home of very important Münchners.
This room was particularly interesting. The ceiling was an optical illusion, painted to make it look as though the room was much taller than it actually is. But the perspective only works in you’re standing in the exact center of the floor…
On the way home, I discovered a store devoted to completely useless items. Tiny magnetic pieces of plastic that cling together to make a wall hanging, blankets that were 50% wool, 50% cotton, and 100% uncomfortable, USB-powered reading lights, bicycle inner-tube belts, futuristic forks - the store had it all. What a brilliant concept!
And I finished the day at the Atomic Café, where I discovered that loud live concerts are difficult places to carry on conversations with people who don’t speak your language.
Munich, Day 2: Biking, surfing, and freezing November 8, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Photos , 1 comment so farAfter freezing my ass off yesterday, I started today the smart way: by buying a long wool coat, a hat, gloves, and a scarf. That was followed by a visit to the Viktualian market to sample traditional German tourist food. You can have anything you want, as long as it’s brown. Bonus points if it’s fried or tube-shaped.
I saw a street performer… playing the piano!
And watched the glockenspiel (a glorified mechanical cuckoo clock in the town hall tower) at Marienplatz. It was… underwhelming. 15 minutes of my life I will never get back. As my tour guide later tells us, “Don’t bother. You can’t un-see the glockenspiel.â€
After that came my day’s big event – Mike’s Bike Tour! Recommended by both my host and the MTV Guide to Europe, how could I resist?
I rode around Munich on a sweet cruiser bike.
I took many lopsided photos while riding, some over my shoulder.
I dined on sausage and fried dough in an outdoor combination beergarden/Chinese teahouse.
I watched surfers ride the “endless wave†in the Englischer Garten. I love the “surfing and swimming forbidden†sign. As my guide explained, it’s not that surfing is forbidden – the cops come and wave to him while he’s surfing every morning – it’s just so that if someone hurts themselves the city can say they told the surfer not to. This will be a recurring theme in my visit…
After the tour I soaked up more local culture, including the European version of “Forever 21â€.
The streets are filled with the scent of hot cinnamon candied nuts.
And I saw my first German protest. More on German protests tomorrow.
Munich, Day 1: Sleep, wienerschnitzel, and David Beckham November 7, 2007
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Photos , add a commentThis whole trip to Europe was sparked by an invitation to speak at the first-ever European Pickup Conference, or more formally, “The Art of Seduction and Personal Development.†Unfortunately, the invitation was later rescinded, along with the offer to pay for my flight and accommodation, leaving me with a non-refundable plane ticket to Munich.
There are worse things in life than being forced to take a European vacation.
I found lodging in Munich from a friend of a friend, arrived early Wednesday afternoon and promptly fell asleep until Thursday morning. I’m a little behind on my travel journal, so here, approximately a week late, begins my report from Munich…
Day 1
Friday was spent sightseeing. I meant to go to the ZAM, or Zentrum fur Aussergewohnliche Museen (Centre for Unusual Museums, including a chamber pot museum, easter bunny museum, and museum of scents). Instead, I discovered instead how tourist-unfriendly Munich is. I didn’t find the ZAM, but did run into the Viktualian Market (a huge expanse of food stalls, closed today for a national holiday), Marienplatz (tourist central), and David Beckham. Watching the entire block grind to a standstill to stare at him made me very glad that I am only a has-been D-list celeb.
The road to Marienplatz is a huge pedestrian thoroughfare, lined with shops. And with today a national holiday, the street was packed with people. Interestingly, since today was a national holiday, every single shop was closed. Apparently in Munich, people enjoy being outside just for the sake of being outside.
On my way home, I saw a crowd of people waiting outside a hotel to catch of glimpe of the other celebs in town for the evening’s MTV Music Awards.
For dinner, I stopped at a bar and ordered wienerschnitzel. I asked for tap water, which I got, but I was told I could only have a small glass since it was free. The picture doesn’t do the cup justice. It was marked as a 0.1 L cup, or approximately two shots of water.
