ITALY, Cinque Terre, Riomagiorre

Saturday , September 23, 2006

I left Florence early this morning to go to Cinque Terre. On the way I stopped in the town of Pisa to take pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Tower was my only reason to visit here so my entire trip lasted one hour. 20 minutes to the tower, 20 minutes at the tower, and 20 minutes back to the train station. Then to Riomaggiore,  one of the 5 villages that are called Cinque Terre. 

In my RICK STEVES guidebook he mentioned Cinque Terre and that he was reluctant to mention this jewel on the Mediterranean which was mostly unknown in 2006. Upon arrival I fell in love with these colorful villages. Trains run to all the villages which are only minutes apart. There is also hiking between the villages.

Today I began hiking the trails between the villages. A lot of up and down on the cliffs along the Mediterranean. The views made it all worthwhile. Unfortunately I did not spend enough time in the other 4 villages.

ITALY, Florence, Piazzale de Michelangelo Views

September 22, 2006

Florence was my favorite city in all of europe. I went to the Academia to see the Statute of David and I also went to the Uffizi Gallery. There was a 2 hr. wait in line at both. My favorite thing was sitting in the piazzas, grabbing a bite to eat, having a glass of wine and watching the people go through their every day lives. I especially love the Piazzale de Michelangelo which overlooks Florence from a high hill. Many tour buses go there especially at sunset. There is also a copy of the Statute of David there. It is just a very beautiful city and the piazzas are washed with soap from street machines every night. There is also great music and street performers in the piazzas and in front of the Uffizi at night.

ITALY, Florence, Statute of David

September 21, 2006

The Statute of David picture (above)  was taken in the Academia. You are not allowed to take pictures but I carefully snapped a few pictures without being noticed. The other statutes were in various piazzas.

AUSTRUA, Salzburg, Vienna

I went to Salzburg on a day trip from Munich to see the sights. I visited the Horse Fountain, walked up to a castle and witnessed a bike race in downtown Salzburg with several International teams competing. The scenery really is that Sound of Music kind of atmosphere. A puppet museum was located inside the castle.

GERMANY, Munich, Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest in Munich was quite an experience. The festival always starts in September which is kind of strange being that it is Oktoberfest. The Bavarian breweries brew beer fro 4 months just to have enough beer for the 12 day festival.

GERMANY, Munich

I took the train from Venice and headed to Munich for Oktoberfest for several days. I stayed at the Jaegermeister Hostel which was only a few blocks from the Olde Town Center and the Fairgrounds where the beer gardens were located. The . Glockenspiel Clock is one of the highlights of Olde Town . After World War II , most of Munich was destroyed. The people were give the choice of rebuilding as it was or rebuilding in newer. They chose as it was before.

GERMANY, Neushwanstein Castle

When I arrive in Munich at 7am I was told that my room at the hostel would not be ready until 2pm. I got back on the train and went to Neuschwenstein Castle outside of Furren, Germany, which was the prototype used by Walt Disney for Sleeping Beauty and the Magic Kingdom. This was one of three castles built by Mad King Ludwig and was built on an isolated rock ledge amid heart-stopping scenery. The Hohenschwangau is nearby and where Ludwig lived while overseeing the work of Neuschwanstein.