Eastern Road Debriefing
I don't feel like writing an incredibly long and detailed journal entry about my trip, but I also feel like completely avoiding it would be wrong as well. So I'm just going to write some highlights from each place I visited.
Berlin, Germany:
-I found out that one of the Contikiers was on my flight from Newark to Berlin. We chatted for a while during our long flight delay and then rode the taxi together to the hotel.
-Met up with someone else in the hotel and then spent the afternoon exploring Alexanderplatz
-Had our welcome dinner and met the Contiki crew at the hotel
-Went out to a local bar for drinks with most of the crew.
-Afterwards, 9 of us wanted to hang out longer, so we found a dance club called H2O and rocked the night away. Be called ourselves the BK9 cuz we stopped for a 2am burger run on the way home and wore BK crowns on the subway ride home.
-Went on a guided walking tour the next day and got an excellent description of the history and architecture throughout Berlin.
-Wandered through the tall pillars of the Holocaust Memorial, walked over Hitler's bunker, saw the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, and then explored the Checkpoint Charlie museum that had numerous stories of people's escapes. Bought an actual piece of the wall here.
-Went to the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag, and climbed up the dome to the top for a wonderful view of the city. Ate a currywurst.
Dresden, Germany:
-This city was basically completely and utterly destroyed during the war, and most everything is a reconstruction of pre-WWII architecture. It's amazing what they have done to recover.
-Visited the museum in which Raphael's painting of the two cupids is housed (The Sistene Madonna). Was surprised to discover that the painting contains much more than the two cupids, but that's all anyone ever shows in pictures.
-Wandered through the beautiful courtyards of the Zwinger Palace.
-Ate more bratwurst and sauerkraut -- a yummy staple of Germany.
Prague, Czech Republic:
-Got stopped by the German police as we were leaving the country and they intensely looked at all our passports for a while. They took 6 passports that they had issues with and called them into authorities and we sat there for around 30 minutes wondering how long it would take...
-Finally made it into Prague and went on a nightwalking tour of the beautiful city. Went to an underground bar afterwards that smelled a little funky and had weapons and tons of animals on the walls (bear skins, boar heads, deer antlers, etc).
-Took a walking tour of the castle during the day and discovered just how beautiful Prague was from above.
-Ate with my new Cali friend Julie on a rooftop restaurant and had an excellent view of the old town square while eating amazing (and expensive) food.
-Wandered along Wenceslas Square and then purposely got lost in the tiny alleyways in order to see the heart of the city.
-Tried authentic Czech absinthe. Felt the burn immediately!
-Went to a traditional Czech dinner with music and dancing. The food was a little bland, but still good.
-Afterwards we all partied in an underground club near the St. Charles Bridge for the first part of the night.
-We then moved the party to Karlovy Lazne Dance Club, which was a 5-leveled club with lots of good music and tons of Prague locals. One level had lasers and another had a lighted dance floor that changed colors. Got home quite late and had to wake up early to leave the next morning.
Vienna, Austria:
-Rode into Vienna in the afternoon and went on a brief walking tour of the city center.
-Ate official sachertorte and Viennese coffee at Hotel Sacher with Julie. It's a delicious chocolate cake and is world-famous.
-Ate dinner at the Schönbrunn Palace with apple strudel for dessert. We then attended a concert at the palace featuring an orchestra playing Mozart and Strauss. High class!
-The next day we explored the city and went into the university and several huge churches.
Budapest, Hungary:
-Went to Heroes Square for a group photo and then went up a hill for a picturesque view of the city.
-Had an evening riberboat dinner cruise along the Danube and drank lots of wine, while seeing the gorgeous city all lit up.
-Went down to Club Rio and danced the evening away with everyone. Another late night and rough morning ahead.
-Went with a group of friends at 9:30am to explore the city by ourselves. Saw St. Stephen's Church (and his gnarled hand), the most exquisite Parliament building ever, crossed the bridge over to Buda and explored the castle grounds and Fisherman's Bastion.
-Accidentally took the tram one stop too far, and ended up discovering a church carved into the mountain that must've taken forever to create. The neatest places are always discovered accidentally.
-Climbed up to the Gellért Monument and then posed as Roman gods for a day. Best.Photos.Ever!
-Ate lunch on Pedestrian Street among all the kitchy souvenirs, and then explored Central Market. Went to Vajdahunyad Castle and the Turkish baths before going back to the hotel for dinner. Mmm... more goulash!
Banska Bystrica, Slovakia:
-This was just a short lunch stop on our way to Poland. We stayed here for a couple hours and ate some cheeeeeeap food, which was lovely.
-Wandered around the town square for a while and relaxed in the sun.
-The countryside in Slovakia was absolutely gorgeous -- some of the most quaint and beautiful houses and landscapes ever.
Krakow, Poland:
-Got into our hotel in the evening and ate dinner there. Then we went out to a labyrinthine club and had a wonderful time there. You could totally get lost in the maze of small rooms there. My roomie and I bonded during this night and we became good friends during the rest of the trip. We stayed there in the club dancing well past 2am and were the last ones from our group there.
-Went on a walking tour the next morning and saw the Jewish Ghetto (which is where they sequestered all the Jews and walled them in) during the war.
-Went up to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill.
-Walked to Market Square, the largest town square in Europe, and it is well-deserving of its name. Ate pierogies for lunch in the square -- yummy Polish delicacy.
-Went to the Wielicza Salt Mines. The mines had gigantic rooms with many sculptures and art throughout them, and you could lick the walls! You have to walk down a ton of stairs to get to the mines, which are around 150 meters beneath the surface. Then you take a quick and rickety elevator ride back up.
-Went to a beerhall for dinner and we ordered the meat platter. We ate veal schnitzel, horse meat, blood sausage (yuck!), pork, chicken, and regular sausage. Quite the variety.
Auschwitz, Poland:
-This was a very sobering day. It was freezing and drizzling the entire day. We started off by watching a very sad film about the concentration camps.
-Entered the gates into Auschwitz, inscribed with the saying "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Sets You Free). Quite the lie.
-Couldn't take photos within the barracks. They were filled with roomfuls of displays of human hair, children's shoes, luggage with names on them, toiletries, etc.
-Saw the crematorium at Auschwitz.
-Drove 3km to Birkenau, which was Auschwitz II. This is where most of the killings occurred. They would ship people here on the train, and most would immediately be sent to the gas chambers to "shower up". The weather worsened and the rain came pouring down, soaking and chilling us to the bone, which seemed all the more appropriate considering where we were...
Warsaw, Poland:
-Stopped in the town of Częstochowa to see the holy relic -- The Black Madonna -- which was painted by Luke in the presence of Mary.
-Arrived in Warsaw in the evening and wandered through some downtown bars after dinner.
-The next morning we went on a tour and visited Łazienki Park which has a heart-shaped lake dedicated to the composer Chopin, and many WWII memorials. This town was also obliterated during the war and completely rebuilt.
-Explored the Old Town district and played among all the bear statues that were dedicated to the countries throughout the world.
-Went into the Holy Cross Church with Chopin's heart (his body is buried in France).
-Went to the Wilanow Palace, which was another gorgeous building with peacocks freely wandering outside. We went into the palace for a private piano concert of Chopin's works by a proficient pianist, while sipping on champagne.
-Had dinner in Old Town and ate a candlelit dinner with Julie. The veal was amazing.
-Went to a bar on the 40th floor of a highrise and got a magnificent view of the city at night.
-The bar was way too pricey, so we then went to Mono, a busy nightclub that played awesome beats. Danced the night away again with good friends and cheap beer.
-The next morning we drove alllll the way back to Berlin for one last night together. Then I had to get up extremely early the next morning and catch my flight back to the States.
Tour ended. I'm sad :( Looking forward to my next one already!!! I made some awesome friends on the tour, and we're going to definitely keep in contact, and hopefully meet each other again in the future. It's always nice to have places to stay in other states/countries.
I tried to include some helpful links to the historical places I mentioned. Plus, if you click on the headline name of each city, you can go to my photo album from that city.
Berlin, Germany:
-I found out that one of the Contikiers was on my flight from Newark to Berlin. We chatted for a while during our long flight delay and then rode the taxi together to the hotel.
-Met up with someone else in the hotel and then spent the afternoon exploring Alexanderplatz
-Had our welcome dinner and met the Contiki crew at the hotel
-Went out to a local bar for drinks with most of the crew.
-Afterwards, 9 of us wanted to hang out longer, so we found a dance club called H2O and rocked the night away. Be called ourselves the BK9 cuz we stopped for a 2am burger run on the way home and wore BK crowns on the subway ride home.
-Went on a guided walking tour the next day and got an excellent description of the history and architecture throughout Berlin.
-Wandered through the tall pillars of the Holocaust Memorial, walked over Hitler's bunker, saw the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, and then explored the Checkpoint Charlie museum that had numerous stories of people's escapes. Bought an actual piece of the wall here.
-Went to the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag, and climbed up the dome to the top for a wonderful view of the city. Ate a currywurst.
Dresden, Germany:
-This city was basically completely and utterly destroyed during the war, and most everything is a reconstruction of pre-WWII architecture. It's amazing what they have done to recover.
-Visited the museum in which Raphael's painting of the two cupids is housed (The Sistene Madonna). Was surprised to discover that the painting contains much more than the two cupids, but that's all anyone ever shows in pictures.
-Wandered through the beautiful courtyards of the Zwinger Palace.
-Ate more bratwurst and sauerkraut -- a yummy staple of Germany.
Prague, Czech Republic:
-Got stopped by the German police as we were leaving the country and they intensely looked at all our passports for a while. They took 6 passports that they had issues with and called them into authorities and we sat there for around 30 minutes wondering how long it would take...
-Finally made it into Prague and went on a nightwalking tour of the beautiful city. Went to an underground bar afterwards that smelled a little funky and had weapons and tons of animals on the walls (bear skins, boar heads, deer antlers, etc).
-Took a walking tour of the castle during the day and discovered just how beautiful Prague was from above.
-Ate with my new Cali friend Julie on a rooftop restaurant and had an excellent view of the old town square while eating amazing (and expensive) food.
-Wandered along Wenceslas Square and then purposely got lost in the tiny alleyways in order to see the heart of the city.
-Tried authentic Czech absinthe. Felt the burn immediately!
-Went to a traditional Czech dinner with music and dancing. The food was a little bland, but still good.
-Afterwards we all partied in an underground club near the St. Charles Bridge for the first part of the night.
-We then moved the party to Karlovy Lazne Dance Club, which was a 5-leveled club with lots of good music and tons of Prague locals. One level had lasers and another had a lighted dance floor that changed colors. Got home quite late and had to wake up early to leave the next morning.
Vienna, Austria:
-Rode into Vienna in the afternoon and went on a brief walking tour of the city center.
-Ate official sachertorte and Viennese coffee at Hotel Sacher with Julie. It's a delicious chocolate cake and is world-famous.
-Ate dinner at the Schönbrunn Palace with apple strudel for dessert. We then attended a concert at the palace featuring an orchestra playing Mozart and Strauss. High class!
-The next day we explored the city and went into the university and several huge churches.
Budapest, Hungary:
-Went to Heroes Square for a group photo and then went up a hill for a picturesque view of the city.
-Had an evening riberboat dinner cruise along the Danube and drank lots of wine, while seeing the gorgeous city all lit up.
-Went down to Club Rio and danced the evening away with everyone. Another late night and rough morning ahead.
-Went with a group of friends at 9:30am to explore the city by ourselves. Saw St. Stephen's Church (and his gnarled hand), the most exquisite Parliament building ever, crossed the bridge over to Buda and explored the castle grounds and Fisherman's Bastion.
-Accidentally took the tram one stop too far, and ended up discovering a church carved into the mountain that must've taken forever to create. The neatest places are always discovered accidentally.
-Climbed up to the Gellért Monument and then posed as Roman gods for a day. Best.Photos.Ever!
-Ate lunch on Pedestrian Street among all the kitchy souvenirs, and then explored Central Market. Went to Vajdahunyad Castle and the Turkish baths before going back to the hotel for dinner. Mmm... more goulash!
Banska Bystrica, Slovakia:
-This was just a short lunch stop on our way to Poland. We stayed here for a couple hours and ate some cheeeeeeap food, which was lovely.
-Wandered around the town square for a while and relaxed in the sun.
-The countryside in Slovakia was absolutely gorgeous -- some of the most quaint and beautiful houses and landscapes ever.
Krakow, Poland:
-Got into our hotel in the evening and ate dinner there. Then we went out to a labyrinthine club and had a wonderful time there. You could totally get lost in the maze of small rooms there. My roomie and I bonded during this night and we became good friends during the rest of the trip. We stayed there in the club dancing well past 2am and were the last ones from our group there.
-Went on a walking tour the next morning and saw the Jewish Ghetto (which is where they sequestered all the Jews and walled them in) during the war.
-Went up to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill.
-Walked to Market Square, the largest town square in Europe, and it is well-deserving of its name. Ate pierogies for lunch in the square -- yummy Polish delicacy.
-Went to the Wielicza Salt Mines. The mines had gigantic rooms with many sculptures and art throughout them, and you could lick the walls! You have to walk down a ton of stairs to get to the mines, which are around 150 meters beneath the surface. Then you take a quick and rickety elevator ride back up.
-Went to a beerhall for dinner and we ordered the meat platter. We ate veal schnitzel, horse meat, blood sausage (yuck!), pork, chicken, and regular sausage. Quite the variety.
Auschwitz, Poland:
-This was a very sobering day. It was freezing and drizzling the entire day. We started off by watching a very sad film about the concentration camps.
-Entered the gates into Auschwitz, inscribed with the saying "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Sets You Free). Quite the lie.
-Couldn't take photos within the barracks. They were filled with roomfuls of displays of human hair, children's shoes, luggage with names on them, toiletries, etc.
-Saw the crematorium at Auschwitz.
-Drove 3km to Birkenau, which was Auschwitz II. This is where most of the killings occurred. They would ship people here on the train, and most would immediately be sent to the gas chambers to "shower up". The weather worsened and the rain came pouring down, soaking and chilling us to the bone, which seemed all the more appropriate considering where we were...
Warsaw, Poland:
-Stopped in the town of Częstochowa to see the holy relic -- The Black Madonna -- which was painted by Luke in the presence of Mary.
-Arrived in Warsaw in the evening and wandered through some downtown bars after dinner.
-The next morning we went on a tour and visited Łazienki Park which has a heart-shaped lake dedicated to the composer Chopin, and many WWII memorials. This town was also obliterated during the war and completely rebuilt.
-Explored the Old Town district and played among all the bear statues that were dedicated to the countries throughout the world.
-Went into the Holy Cross Church with Chopin's heart (his body is buried in France).
-Went to the Wilanow Palace, which was another gorgeous building with peacocks freely wandering outside. We went into the palace for a private piano concert of Chopin's works by a proficient pianist, while sipping on champagne.
-Had dinner in Old Town and ate a candlelit dinner with Julie. The veal was amazing.
-Went to a bar on the 40th floor of a highrise and got a magnificent view of the city at night.
-The bar was way too pricey, so we then went to Mono, a busy nightclub that played awesome beats. Danced the night away again with good friends and cheap beer.
-The next morning we drove alllll the way back to Berlin for one last night together. Then I had to get up extremely early the next morning and catch my flight back to the States.
Tour ended. I'm sad :( Looking forward to my next one already!!! I made some awesome friends on the tour, and we're going to definitely keep in contact, and hopefully meet each other again in the future. It's always nice to have places to stay in other states/countries.
I tried to include some helpful links to the historical places I mentioned. Plus, if you click on the headline name of each city, you can go to my photo album from that city.