Munich, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, & London

Coming soon! (probably all at once in a day or two when I'm home, might have been better to blog while I was in Europe, but it's hard to find the time and internet. Still, people will be able to view out exploits even if they could call us and hear the same, at least I won't have to tell the same stories over and over [not that I mind])

Asphalt? Nah, just put in another canal.

Yeah, I know the title isn't that witty. So I figured I'd finally sit down and give it my best effort to finish this Europe blog more than two weeks after I've returned to Europe and now that Matt is already gone and started work. If not for the people that have long since stopped reading it, then at least for my own personal record, that I did, in fact, travel to Europe. Or maybe it's just because I have this awkward month where all my friends go to college, and I sit at home. Whatever the reason, if you're reading this, then I guess you have some interest. But, due to my laziness and other extraneous variables, I think the rest of the blog will be more of a photo caption journal, rather than the whole experience. That stupid rambling having been said... VENICE!

The first night we got there, we kinda just walked around. The canals are so gorgeous at night. If anyone is familiar with Van Gogh's "Starry Night over the Rhone", I consistently thought of that painting when I was marveling in the light reflections off the water. (I actually got to see that painting later in the Louvre, it was amazing)



So pretty much the reason you go to Venice, is to check out the city. It's not really home to any famous museums, or monuments, but it's so toured simply for the fact that it is Venice: a city built entirely off canals where roads should be. It's definitely the most unique looking city and the water provides gorgeous views, as well as a break from the normal city, loud car congestion, and instead provides just a peaceful floating boat experience.


So yeah, here are a couple shots that I am particularly fond of. It's hard to take a picture of Venice and not have it be beautiful.















The gondolas. Yes, the famous Venice gondolas. We never went in one. And you might be saying to yourself "Are you kidding me?, How can you go to Venice and not experience the famous Venetian gondolas?" I'll tell you why. 80 Euros/hour. Plus, they don't sing, you still get to see a lot of the city from the buses (that's what they call the water metro system), and we were with a group of about six dudes. Just overall, not really worth it. Plus, if or when I go back, I want to have something new to do, possibly with my lover/girlfriend/wife/whatever, and I think I'd get more bang for the buck. (no pun intended, bah!).

Oh yeah, so everything you every image in car form, in Venice, is in boat form. Ambulances, police, taxis, whatever, it's kinda funny. Here's a nice floating fruit stand. Pretty cool.


After wandering around the city for a bit, we got like two or three day bus passes, again, Venice's equivalent of metros, I don't really remember. And yeah so here's a pictures of us on it heading out to Lido for the day, this little island that about a 20 minute ride out from Venice.



So it turns out that Lido doesn't suffer from the tourism of Venice, or at least the part we visited. We were walking along the closest thing there is to a beach, looking for a good spot to relax, and we found some people had set-up their own little Robinson Crusoe style shelter.

Finally, we find a decent little cove, walk around this fence that warns that trespassing will get you arrested in like three different languages. But we figure it's ok, because there's alright a good number of people out there, including some nude tanners.


So, having finally found some water, we head out into the Adriatic Sea. Which, like the Mediterranean, is crazy salty. Then we find this pole stick in the water just a bit off the coast and everyone decides it's a question of their manhood to climb up it, while in the water. This pole is covered in some crazy spikey, sharp crap, but that doesn't stop it from being really slippery. Just about everyone gave it a shot to get up, and I got the closest, as I managed to pass my hand over the top of it, right before falling. However, my accomplishment did not go without a cost. Every time you'd get close to reaching the top, your feet and legs would slide down the pole, ripping open your skin and then throwing you into the salty water. So here's a picture of my battle wounds. Hurt to walk for a few days, but it was worth it.

A shot of the view on the way back from Lido from the bus.







On the last day, we finally managed to get a good deal on food. Food in Venice is insanely overpriced. But we stopped at this little meat store, picked up a bunch of types of meat, cheese, some bread and ate for probably 5 euros each.



One of the things we missed in Venice was the Venetian glass blowing, so the last day we tried to wonder through some stores and check it out. Some of the stuff was really amazing. I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was getting kinda burnt out. We spent our last moments doing that before having to catch the train out.