Lukey and Louisey's Round-The-World Adventure

Suddenly Salzburg...

Well it, as always, has been a very full-on week. We are now in the picturesque town of Salzburg after a last minute decision to skip Vienna (after we spent four hours on the train travelling there... the things you do!) and just come straight here. And a fabulous decision it was. Luke and I have started to feel the strains of travelling, not eating well and just generally doing too much, so we decided we needed some R&R and hense the decision to skip Vienna was made! We have just been chilling and taking it easy for the last couple of nights, with a bit of fortress watching (Hohenwerfen Fortress to be exact) thrown in for good measure. The view from the top was absolutely magnificent, with clear view of the Alps in the background it was oh so romantic! And the fortress itself was gigantic. Quite fun for a lazy day!

As for the past five days it has been a whirlwind of sights and cultures. We came to Austria from Prague and that, in my opinion, was a bit overrated. Maybe it was because we were in the main city and probaby because of the fact we kept getting ripped off with the exorbant prices. (I thought Prague was supposed to be bargain central in Europe. SOOO not. I guess they figured out they could make a lot of money out of all the tourists there.) But, we didn't let this stop us (we just bitched and moaned in the background) from taking a look around. We started with the anatomical clock which was kind of cool. At every hour little men come out and dance and the skeleton man rings his bell. It lasted all of 10 seconds. (After waiting 15 minutes with a good 75 other people I was sure this thing was going to last at least one minute.) Ah well. At least they didn´t charge us! Next was a bit of a wander through the old town and the markets. Then, we checked out the old Jewish Quarter, which was both complex and interesting. Apparently Hitler started sending over Jewish stuff to this area in order to create a 'Museum of an Extinct Race'. Charming! We finished off the day with a look at the Prague Castle. A very long walk to the top I would like to add. But cute and fit for a princess! By that stage I was ready to go look at the shops to be honest!

Berlin, however, was absolutely fantastic. Both Luke and I have a bit of a softspot for Berlin. It is the one place so far where I really wish we had more time (like a lot more time) there. We were only there for a couple of nights, but credit to us, we did heaps. We went on the world famous Brewer's Berlin Walking Tour, which is over eight hours of Berlin's famous and fabulous spots! It is probably one of the biggest days we've had in Europe yet. We met our guide at 11am (funnily enough there were only three other people on the tour and one was Australian and the other two were Brazillian, but one of them had been on exchange in Australia and lived in Collaroy of all places! And went to Pittwater at about the same time Luke and I were still in high school! Uncanny!) and started a long, wet and cold day. (The grounds were covered in ice and sludge... We ended up sliding through a park trying to get to our next destination. Never again.) But so interesting. We went to the Berlin Wall (of course), the Place of Tears, Brandenburg Gate (again, of course), Checkpoint Charlie, the New Synagogue, Reichstag (parliament house), Gendarmenmarket (I think that was the Soldier's Market), the French and German Cathedrals, the Nazi Air Force Ministry, Humboldt University, Bebelplatz, the Jewish Girls School, the State Opera House, Museum Island, the US & Russian Embassies, Potsdamer Platz, the Topography of Terror, the Site of Hitler's Bunker (it's just at the back of an old carpark... poetic really), the Berlin Cathedral, the Soviet War Memorial, TV Tower (you really can't miss it), the Victory Tower, The Palace Bridge, the Crown Prince's Palace, The Jewish Holocaust Memorial (just a bunch of concrete slabs... a bit of controvery there too as said concrete slabs attract the abundant amount of grafitti artists Berlin has to offer. To stop this from occuring, the authorities coated the slabs with a chemical that allows the spraypaint to be hosed off... the company that produces this chemical is the same company that made the gas used in the extermination of the Jews during the Holocaust. Ironic!), an old department store which is now used by artists (and which was probably my favourite place out of them all. Really unusual.) and more that I can't really remember. But a lot. Although, a lot of the places we couldn' t really go in and explore due to the sheer volume of things we were to see (see being the operative word...). It was a good tour to do with the short amount of time we had in Berlin. I was disappointed we didn't have time to actually go and have a good look at some of the stuff we saw, but you get that on organised tours. Next time we'll know where to go! And there will definately be a next time!

So now Luke and I are tired and would like to sleep without being woken up by an alarm! I guess we will have to wait until we get home for that. Tomorrow we are going to Munich and will probably go visit the concentration camp at Dachau and just see the general sights of Munich. And after that, ROMA! I am so excited about Rome it's becoming a bit of a joke! But most things are exciting really. So far we are having a really great time. Sleep? Who needs sleep?!

posted by Louise and Luke @ 4:35 AM