Europe – Page 5 – Michael Rappa

My First Eurotrip, Part 3: Vienna Waits

June 19, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

This series is a look back at my very first Eurotrip in 2007, during which I visited Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I never kept a journal during that trip so I am writing this mostly from memory. All photos were taken with my old pocket camera.

April 2nd to April 3rd, 2007: After two days in Munich it was time to leave. We hopped on the bus early in the morning and headed to Vienna. Along the way, I enjoyed my first-ever glimpse of snow-covered mountains as the Alps came into view.

We broke up our six-hour drive to Vienna with a stop in a town called Mondsee, the location of the church featured in the Sound of Music. Our overall tour was actually called “The Sound of Music Tour,” so this would be the first of many sites from the movie we would visit.

After touring the church I made my way to a beautiful nearby lake framed by mountains.

We then continued on to Vienna. Our hotel was right around the corner from the main drag of the newer part of the city. I took a quick walk around the area, which reminded me of walking through New York City, and then returned for dinner. On a side note, here are a few observations about dining in Germany and Austria: everything is a la carte, including butter for bread. There are no free drink refills like in the States, but glasses have a mandatory fill line. Water is served by the bottle (ordering tap water is generally not done). The tip amount on a bill is less than in the States (I think because their waiters are paid more)—ten percent seems to be standard, and for small bills, many simply round up to the next Euro.

After dinner we headed to the Prater park and went for a ride on the famous Riesenrad Ferris wheel, which is over 100 years old. You may have seen it in movies like The Third Man or The Living Daylights.

The cars are massive; our entire 18-person group could have easily fit in one. There are also dinner cars. After the Ferris wheel we enjoyed some other attractions. An interesting feature of the amusement park was the presence of casinos, though I did not partake; I’ve never been much of a casino person.

The next morning we visited Schönbrunn Palace, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vienna. Like Nymphenburg in Munich, it was once an imperial summer residence. It looks very impressive from the outside but I can’t recall much of the inside with no photos to remind me (they did not allow photography inside the palace).

A common characteristic of palaces like Schönbrunn and Nymphenburg is a sprawling garden in the back, which must look spectacular when the flowers are in full bloom. Due to a lack of time, I never made it to the fountain or the Gloriette pictured below, one downside of being on a regimented tour. On the other hand, I saw much more in a short period of time on this trip than I would have on my own, so it’s a trade-off.

There was an outdoor Easter market in front of the palace, which I spent some time wandering through while we waited for the bus to pick us up. We then went on a bus tour of Vienna before being dropped off in the middle of the old city for free time. One interesting aspect of Vienna is a lack of skyscrapers, particularly in the old city, which is filled with historical buildings, making for a much more interesting walk than you might enjoy in some other cities.

The famous Hundertwasser house, an apartment building designed by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

The hilly, cobblestone street in front of the Hundertwasser house.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, over 800 years old.

A small group of us then went to the Hotel Sacher, home of the famous Sachertorte, a chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, coated in dark chocolate icing. Everyone else in the group ordered this treat, but I’m not a fan of mixing fruit with chocolate, so I ordered some ice cream and the house tea.

The tea was delicious. I enjoyed it so much that, after returning home, I searched online for a way to buy it. I eventually found a company, Upton Tea Imports, that sells a clone of the tea, called Sacher Blend (this also marked the beginning of my love affair with loose-leaf tea). The Sacher Blend is very close to the original and I have continued to purchase it every year since. In fact, I am drinking some as I write this.

Uncle Kipp and I then walked through the Naschmarkt, a famous outdoor food market. I know, I keep saying “famous,” but pretty much everything in Vienna is famous. 🙂

I stopped at one of the food stands and ordered my first ever döner, which is a Turkish sandwich similar to a gyro. Very tasty, and I’ve eaten at least one on each of my European trips since.

We then did some more walking around the city.

Sezession Haus
The gold leaf globe is supposedly based on a sketch by Gustav Klimt,
the first president of the Vienna Secession movement.

Shortly after posting the photo above, an online travel guide (whose name I no longer recall), chose to feature it in the Vienna section of their guide. I wonder if it still exists.

Behind this fountain stands the Russian Heroes Monument,
an unpopular reminder to Vienna locals of post-WW2 Soviet occupation.

With some free time left, we decided to visit an art museum in Belvedere Palace. There are many paintings and artists featured here, but the main attraction is the work of Gustav Klimt. Belvedere is the home of Klimt’s The Kiss, the famous (there’s that word again!) painting you often see adorning the walls of college dorm rooms. Having only seen The Kiss depicted in posters, I was surprised at how very large the original canvas is.

The rest of the night after dinner was uneventful for me. Uncle Kipp took the students out on the town, but I wasn’t feeling well, so I stayed behind and packed. In the morning we would depart for Salzburg.

View more photos from this trip.

Photo of the Day: Cascading Falls at Krka National Park

June 17, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

Croatia has some beautiful national parks. Plitvice Lakes is the most famous, but it was too far away for us to visit on our one free day in Split, so we “settled” for Krka National Park; quite a nice consolation prize. If you ever find yourself in the area, it’s well worth a visit. I enjoyed it enough that I chose the falls as my blog’s cover photo.

Date: 11/5/2011
Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ40
Click for larger view

You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.

My First Eurotrip, Part 2: Munich and Dachau

June 11, 2014 Michael Rappa2 Comments

This series is a look back at my very first Eurotrip in 2007, during which I visited Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I never kept a journal during that trip so I am writing this mostly from memory. All photos were taken with my old pocket camera.

April 1st, 2007: Our second day in Munich began with a guided bus tour of the city.

Munich Street with the Theatinerkirche and Feldherrnhalle visible in the distance.

We also stopped outside of the University of Munich to see the Monument to the White Rose, a resistance group in Nazi Germany, comprised primarily of students, many of whom were executed by the Nazis. The members of the group are now honored among Germany’s greatest heroes for their non-violent resistance against the Nazi regime. If you’d like to learn more about the White Rose, I’ve seen two excellent German-language films that are highly recommended: The White Rose and Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.

Monument to the White Rose consisting of the group’s characteristic leaflets.

Back in the Marienplatz, we saw performers all over the square, as well as a huge anti-hunting protest march.

The city tour ended with a stop at Nymphenburg Palace, which had once been the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria. The palace is huge, but we only had time to tour a small portion. No flash photography was allowed inside (and Nymphenburg would turn out to be the only palace we visited on this trip to allow any type of indoor photography).

A wing of the palace with one of its many resident swans in the foreground.

Gallery of Beauties, a room of paintings commissioned by King Ludwig I
featuring the most beautiful women in Munich, some of whom were his lovers.

Group shot in the gardens behind the palace.

Later that afternoon we visited the Dachau concentration camp memorial. After watching a documentary about the camp’s history, we toured the grounds. Walking among the barracks, crematorium, and gas chamber was a haunting experience, impossible to put into words.

This powerful sculpture commemorates the victims.

There were originally two columns and 30 rows of prisoner barracks.
All but the first row have been torn down.

The Nazis installed fake showerheads in the gas chambers to convince victims they were entering
shower rooms. This gas chamber had not been put into operation before the camp was liberated.

The only window to the outside world in the gas chamber.

After leaving the camp we returned to the Marienplatz in Munich for dinner. We then headed to a brewery called the Augustiner to toast our final night in Munich before returning to the hotel. In the morning we would be departing for Vienna.

View more photos from this trip.

My First Eurotrip, A Look Back

June 6, 2014 Michael Rappa2 Comments

This series is a look back at my very first Eurotrip in 2007, during which I visited Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I never kept a journal during that trip so I am writing this mostly from memory. All photos were taken with my old pocket camera.

In 2007, as I approached my 36th birthday, I was given the opportunity to travel overseas for the first time in my life. Prior to that, I had never done much traveling outside of some long drives up and down the East Coast to places like Maine and Florida, and parts in between. I hadn’t been on an airplane since my high school senior trip when I was 18, and the only foreign country I’d ever visited was Canada, but that had just been a road trip over the border to Niagara Falls, so I’m not sure that even counts. The thought of traveling the world had never really crossed my mind. I did not understand what it means to be bitten by the travel bug, but that was about to change.

My uncle, Kipp, invited me to join him on a trip with his high school German class to Europe during spring break. It was a trip he made with his class every couple of years. On this occasion he had an open slot for a chaperone and asked me if I’d like to be one. My trip would be completely free except for the surcharge I would pay to guarantee a private single room. I jumped at the chance. I mean, how many times do you get offered a free trip to Europe? For me it would turn out to be twice, but I didn’t know that at the time.

At the pre-trip group meeting I met the students and other chaperones. Among the advice given was to bring a small suitcase since you would be lugging it around everywhere. I took that to heart and crammed my entire 10-day trip into a suitcase roughly the size of a carry-on with no room to spare. So of course when I got to the school on the day of the trip, everyone else had giant suitcases. 🙂

When we went through security at the airport in Philadelphia I was pulled off to the side and searched—it would be the first of three times on this trip I would be specially searched at an airport. I can only surmise that I resembled the profile of what they deemed to be a suspicious person worthy of extra scrutiny—maybe it was the goatee.

Eventually we got on the plane for a short flight to Boston, where we would connect to Germany. I had the window seat. The man sitting in the middle seat next to me decided that it was more important for him to spread his newspaper out over three seats with his elbow hanging half over my seat than it was to give me the courtesy of my personal space. It was a short flight so I just pressed against the window and endured it, though nowadays I would probably say something.

We reached Boston and boarded a Lufthansa flight for Germany. This time I had an aisle seat, which was key for an 8.5-hour flight during which I was unlikely to sleep. It was my first experience flying international and I couldn’t believe all of the food and drinks were free, so I indulged plenty, perhaps hoping that alcohol would numb the smell of the bad B.O. guy in the seat in front of me. The in-flight movie was Rocky Balboa (this was right before they started letting you choose the movie you wanted to watch on your own screen).

When we landed in Germany I had a much easier time getting through customs than in the States. I walked around for most of the first day without being able to hear properly—I hadn’t yet mastered the art of getting my ears to pop during landing. We met up with our tour guide, a British fellow named Tom, who guided us to our bus. Our group was just large enough to warrant our own private bus, but small enough that we each had an entire row of seats to ourselves—a very comfortable way to spend nine days on the road. This trip spoiled me because when we returned in 2009, the bus was filled to the brim with three groups and everyone battling for seats during the entire trip.

Before long we were on the Autobahn headed for the city of Munich. After navigating a traffic jam we arrived at the main square in Munich, known as the Marienplatz. We were unable to check in to our hotel until later that afternoon, and I hadn’t slept on the plane, so by this point I was running on fumes. In the end, I would be awake for 32 straight hours on my first day, but none of that mattered because I was standing in Europe! I honestly never thought I’d see another continent. I had never even owned a passport until this trip. Being here was sublime.

We arrived just in time to see the famous Glockenspiel spring into action like a giant cuckoo clock.

After the Glockenspiel our group split up. Uncle Kipp and I had lunch at a nearby cafe, where I enjoyed my first Euro-beer, plus sausage and sauerkraut. The next day for lunch I would have essentially the same thing, except with fries instead of kraut (the fries were so tasty; they were more like crispy fried potatoes). Besides beer and water, the drink I enjoyed most on this trip was Fanta, a popular beverage over there, which tastes a bit different than in the States–not as sweet, more refreshing and natural tasting (well, as natural as soda can taste, anyway).

After lunch we did some sightseeing.

The Feldherrnhalle (sight of the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, Hitler’s unsuccessful first attempt to seize power).

Munich has some amazing cathedrals. Here are a couple of them:

One of the massive stained-glass windows inside the Frauenkirche.

Theatinerkirche
I couldn’t fit much of the cathedral into this shot, the downside of only having a pocket camera.

Later we climbed 300+ steps to the top of the Peterskirche tower to enjoy some spectacular views of Munich. The inside of the tower, with its winding steps and dark, narrow corridors, really makes you feel like you’ve traveled back in time to the medieval era.

The photo at the top of this post was taken from this vantage point. Here are a few more:

I was too lazy to straighten this out. 😉

The Olympic Tower. On a clear day you can see all the way to the Alps.

While up here we also got a birds-eye view of the Glockenspiel in action. A little later we met up with the rest of the group and headed back to the hotel to finally check in before heading out to dinner. All dinners were included in the tour, but the best meals were in Munich because we went to actual restaurants (dinner was served in the hotels of the other cities we visited).

The first night also happened to be my birthday, so Uncle Kipp arranged for the waitress to bring out a steak with a firecracker in it and the group sang Happy Birthday. My other recollection about that first restaurant was that they served the best tomato soup I ever had, almost like eating spaghetti sauce.

After dinner we headed to the famous Hofbrauhaus for drinks and I had my first Mas beer, which is a draft beer served in a full liter mug. The beer in this region is very easy to drink; it goes down much more smoothly than beer in the States (I’m not a big drinker, so it only took 2 1/2 of these Mas mugs on the second night to give me my first hangover since college).

Later that night we returned to the hotel for a much-needed night of sleep. In the morning we would be taking a tour of Munich followed by a visit to the Dachau concentration camp, which will be covered in the next installment.

View more photos from this trip.

Photo of the Day: Split, Croatia

April 21, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

Split was the most pleasant surprise of my 2011 Eurotrip. Our primary reason for visiting Croatia had been to see Dubrovnik. We knew we would visit other places along the way but did not have anything specific in mind. A friend of my uncle’s recommended Split and when I saw it on the map, it looked like a good halfway point between Zagreb and Dubrovnik, so we booked three nights.

Built in and around the palace of the ancient Roman Emperor Diocletian, Split is one of the most remarkable cities I’ve ever visited. The old palace structure houses everything from apartments to shops and restaurants; the city is completely integrated with the usable parts of the palace. As you walk around the core of Split, inside the ancient Roman palace walls, you are often strolling on the very same roads used by the Romans, still intact and lined with ancient temples and other structures. If have plans to visit Croatia, a stay in Split should definitely be near the top of your list.

This photo was taken as we hiked up Marjan hill, which overlooks the entire city. Prominent features include the palm tree-lined Riva promenade, a great place to sit and have dinner while gazing out at the Adriatic, and the looming bell tower.

Date: 11/4/2011
Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ40
Click for larger view

Eurotrip 2011, Part 9: Palace Living (Roman Style) in Split, Croatia

Photo of the Day: Dubrovnik in the Sky

April 4, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

In honor of this Sunday’s season premiere of Game of Thrones, here’s a bird’s-eye view of Dubrovnik, a.k.a. King’s Landing. This photo was taken from the top of Srd Hill. To the right of the walled city you can see the fort that figures prominently in many scenes. If you’d like to see more photos related to the TV series, check out Dubrovnik: A Tour of King’s Landing (and other locations).

dubrovnik_birdseye — Date: 11/8/2011
Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ40
Click for larger view

Photo of the Day: Fantasy Scene at Krka National Park

April 2, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

I took this photo in November during the Croatia leg of my 2011 Eurotrip. This building, located above the main falls at Krka National Park, reminded me of something you might see in a fantasy film, the way it seemed to be one with the land and the water, like something out of Middle Earth.

My London Visit Has Become an Epic Eurotrip

February 25, 2014 Michael Rappa14 Comments

It began with a passing thought:

Monty Python is doing a reunion show in London this July. How cool would it be to go see it live? And while I’m over there I could tour some of the UK. I’ve always wanted to visit England anyway.

That was way back in the early fall. I wasn’t very serious about it at the time because I had just returned from Mexico and was a bit worn out from all of the traveling I had done since 2011: in a two year span I had visited Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Peru, and Mexico. I figured I could use a year off from international travel, so I pushed the idea to the back of my mind, where it sat for a few months, never quite going away.

Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to see if there were any Python tickets still available. I got a great deal on a mid-level seat from a ticket brokering service for practically face value, and from there my trip was born. The original plan was to stay in London for about a week, take some trips around the English countryside, and visit Scotland. However, when I realized how easy it is to travel to so many places in Europe from London, my plans began to expand: A day trip to Paris? Sure! A three-day journey to Amsterdam and Bruges? Hell, yeah!

I knew I wouldn’t have time to do all of this in a week, so I extended my stay to just over two weeks. The downside is that the cost of the trip has skyrocketed. I didn’t realize how much everything was adding up until after I had already planned everything (I was in sticker shock after my relatively inexpensive visits to Peru and Mexico). I thought about scaling back to save some money, maybe skipping the Amsterdam tour and shortening my stay, but I don’t know when (or if) I’ll ever be in this position again, so I decided to go for it.

I had considered just heading over to London and winging it, and there’s something to be said for the laid-back nature of such a trip, but I prefer to plan ahead (I guess it’s my OCD nature), so I’ve already booked all of my tours for the two weeks, leaving myself a few days of free time to explore London. I’m the type of person who functions better with some structure anyway, and these tours will force me to do much more than I otherwise would–if left to my own devices, I would probably sleep half of my days away. 🙂

I did a lot of research into lodging in London; it’s not a cheap place to stay. In an effort to keep expenses down, I eschewed traditional hotels in favor of a no-frills studio apartment near Kings Cross. I could have gone even cheaper with a B&B or hostel, but this seemed just right for my sensibilities–a decent sized room with air-conditioning and a private bathroom. Having to check out each weekend when I leave for my trips will be a pain, but it didn’t make sense to rent the apartment for the entire 15 nights when I would be away on weekends (during which the price of the room would drastically increase).

So here’s my rough itinerary:

Days 1-2: Fly in and free time in London.

After checking in to my room, I may do one of those hop-on, hop-off bus tours to get acquainted with the city. I also just realized that my first week in London will coincide with the second week of Wimbledon, so it might be neat to head over there and see if I can get into a match.

Day 3: Paris

I’ll be taking the Eurostar train through the chunnel. The trip includes a guided tour of Paris, a two-course lunch with sparkling wine on the Eiffel Tower, a cruise on the River Seine, and an optional visit to The Louvre, which I think I will skip since I’ll only be there for the day and it’s my first time in Paris. The Louvre would be really cool to see, but I’d rather spend my only afternoon in the city wandering around and soaking in its atmosphere.

Day 4: Stonehenge and Bath

I chose a sunset tour because I thought that would be a cool time to see Stonehenge. I booked special access so that I can walk inside the circle among the stones (most people must view them from behind ropes). Earlier in the day we will be visiting the town of Bath (another place on my must-see list) to tour the Roman Baths and Pump Room. After that we visit a Saxon village called Lacock, where we will have dinner in a 13th Century inn.

Day 5: Monty Python

I’ll probably do some walking around London and also packing for my trip to Scotland during the day before heading to the O2 that evening for the Monty Python reunion show, aka my entire reason (or excuse) for taking this Eurotrip.

Days 6-8: Scotland

This trip includes a tour of the city of Edinburgh, and I will be taking the second-day optional excursion to the Scottish Highlands, including Loch Ness (I’ll keep an eye out for Nessie!). I chose free time for the third day, during which I am planning to meander about the city and possibly tour Edinburgh Castle.

Day 9: Free Time in London

Maybe I’ll swing by the Battersea Power Station to duplicate the iconic Pink Floyd Animals cover (sans flying pig). I could check out Abbey Road and Baker Street as well; turn it into an an unofficial classic rock tour. Or maybe I’ll just relax and ride the ferris wheel all day. 😉

Day 10: The Cotswolds

I’m very much looking forward to this tour of the old English countryside, including visits to the historic riverside villages of Burford and Bibury. The tour originally included a visit to Stratford Upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace), but it sounds like we will now be visiting Stow-on-the-Wold instead.

Day 11: Leeds Castle, Canterbury, Dover & Greenwich

The first stop on this excursion is a private tour of Leeds Castle before it opens to the public. We then head to Dover for lunch and a photo op at the famous white cliffs. The next stop is Canterbury and a tour of the Cathedral followed by free time to explore the city. Then it’s off to Greenwich where, after a short walking tour, we will take a river boat along the Thames back into the heart of London. The cruise apparently includes a reception of tea/sparkling wine and scones. Sounds good to me!

Day 12: More Free Time in London

My last full day in London will probably be a good time to hit all of the touristy places I might have missed earlier. I’ll also be packing for my three-day Amsterdam trip.

Days 13-15: Amsterdam & Bruges

My first day in Amsterdam will include a walking tour, a canal cruise, and an optional evening walking tour of the Red Light District. The second day includes a trip to Zaanse Schanse, a living Dutch Museum, before heading back to Amsterdam in time for lunch, with visits to the Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Heineken Brewery, Anne Frank House, and Dam Square. On the final day we head to Bruges, a beautiful city I’ve been wanting to visit since seeing the movie In Bruges (I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it there). Following Bruges, we arrive back in London late in the evening, giving me enough time to check in, pack, head to bed, and wake up early to fly back home.

Looking back at the itinerary now, I can’t believe how much I crammed into it (I think I went a little nuts), but it’s going to be one helluva trip. And I’ll be doing it solo. If you had told me even a few years ago that I would be flying to Europe for two weeks by myself, I would have said you were crazy. I’ve come a long way in terms of my confidence to travel alone.

Anyway, I’m glad that all of the planning and booking is behind me so I can just relax until the summer (other than trying to learn some French and Dutch). The only things I haven’t planned out ahead of time are places to eat, so I’d be grateful for any dining suggestions, particularly in London. One of the coolest aspects of becoming more involved with the blogging community has been sharing travel stories and tips with my fellow bloggers, so any suggestions you may have about things I should do while in London would be most welcome. 🙂

This will be my first overseas trip during the summer (all of my other trips were in the fall or spring), so it will be nice to not have to worry about packing layers for a change. Hopefully that means I’ll be able to travel lighter, though I don’t think I’ll be able to do the whole thing in a carry-on like I did in Mexico . . . and speaking of Mexico, I think it’s time I got back to writing up the journal of my trip. I need to finish it before June!

London Calling

February 16, 2014 Michael Rappa4 Comments

I’ve pulled the trigger on my next trip. Well, not quite. I haven’t booked any flights, hotels, or tours, but today I bought a ticket to the Monty Python reunion concert in London this July, so now I get to organize a trip around it. I had been planning to take this year off from overseas travel, but when I heard that Python was reuniting, it seemed like the perfect excuse to make my first ever visit the UK.

I’ve been a pretty voracious consumer of British pop culture since I was a kid (at least in terms of television, music, and movies). Hell, I watch almost as many shows on BBC America as I do on any other channel . . . and probably drink even more tea than the average British citizen 🙂 , so I am very much looking forward to immersing myself in the culture while in London, and of course visiting the famous landmarks (“Look kids: Big Ben, Parliament!”).

I also want to see as much of the UK as I can while I’m over there, so if anyone has any suggestions about things to do, places to see/eat/stay, or anything else I should know about traveling to the UK (any stories you’d like to share about your travel experiences), I’d be most grateful. I’m hoping to book a tour of some sort that will take me to places like Stonehenge and Bath, and into Scotland for the second half of my stay. But if I can’t make a tour work around the Python concert, then I may just head over there and wing it.

Well, that’s it for now. Lots of planning to do. Look out, England, here I come!

Eurotrip 2011, Part 13: One More Day in Dubrovnik and the Long Journey Home

October 2, 2013 Michael RappaLeave a comment

November 8, 2011: Our final non-travel day in Europe featured summer weather and a cool cable car ride to the top of a mountain to see Dubrovnik in all its glory. But first we visited the impressive Fort Lovrijenac, which sits atop a massive rock looming over the entire city.

Just like the previous day when we walked the city walls, the fort was devoid of crowds (the advantage of being there in November). In fact, we basically had the entire fortress to ourselves, as you can see in the photos below. If you viewed my post about Game of Thrones filming locations, many of these photos will look familiar (click on any image to view a larger version):

The fort is a great place to enjoy spectacular views of the walled city:

After our visit to the fort, we headed to the other end of the city to catch a cable car ride to the top of Srd Hill.

This is where you get the iconic view of Dubrovnik from up high.

Here’s a panorama of the landscape behind Srd Hill:

While up there I visited a war ravaged building called Fort Imperial. Inside is a museum dedicated to the 1990’s Croatian War for Independence. After visiting the museum I walked around the outside of the building where there are signs saying to do so at your own risk, due to the structural damage and leftover debris.

Outside of Fort Imperial, looking down toward the outskirts of Dubrovnik.
Our hotel was somewhere in the middle of that.

Here are a few more photos from on top of the hill:

After descending Srd Hill, my uncle returned to the hotel while I decided to stay in the city. We agreed to meet up later for dinner. I thought I’d to visit the city aquarium but unfortunately discovered that it was closed. Instead I headed out to the rocks on the shore outside of the city walls. There was not another soul in sight so I was able to sit back and relax as if I had the entire city to myself. I sat beneath the rock in the picture below and gazed out into the sea as the water crashed against the rocks. Simply sublime.

Being alone also allowed me to get a little goofy, as I used the self-timer to snap my traditional Karate Kid photo, which I do on almost every trip:

I then decided to check out a café that serves drinks on the rocks along a different part of the wall. It can be easy to miss if you don’t know to look for it; it’s basically through a little hole in the wall. I had a couple of drinks there and watched the sun set. Here’s a photo of the café taken from up on the wall (it only seems to be open in the early evening):

Later I met up with my uncle and we had our final dinner in Europe at nice a place just outside of town. We then headed back to the hotel to pack for two days of planes, trains, and automobiles until we finally made it back home to New Jersey.

We awoke early the next morning to catch a cab to the bus station, where we hopped on a bus for the four-hour ride back to Split. When we arrived in Split we once again had to fend off all of the people at the train station looking to rent us rooms. We had a long layover before the train to Zagreb was due, so we stored our luggage in lockers and headed into the city. I was glad to be able to pay one final visit to Split; our stay there had been the most pleasant surprise of the entire trip. We had lunch at an outdoor café in the square pictured below, where I had a very tasty pork dish.

This square in Split was modeled after St. Mark’s square in Venice.

The train to Zagreb ran very late, so we didn’t arrive at our hotel until late that night. We had a super early cab ride to the airport the following morning, and thus did not have time to go into the city for dinner; I just had a panini in the train station, then packed for the flight.

From Zagreb we flew to Amsterdam for a 3-hour layover, where they were already celebrating Christmas in early November—there were decorated trees all over the airport. From there it was a long flight back to JFK Airport. I mentioned in Part 1 my desire never to fly out of JFK again, and the return trip only reinforced it. On a good day you could probably drive from JFK to my house in about 90 minutes, but between ridiculously long customs lines, a disorganized shuttle service (which I will also never use again), and bumper-to-bumper traffic on the roads, it took us roughly 7 hours to get home from the time we landed. Finally, we made it to my front door, where I was greeted by my wife and dog after a month apart. It was good to be back home.

And with that, our epic 28-day Eurotrip was over, as is my two-year odyssey of writing this journal. But before signing off I need to give a shout-out to my Uncle Kipp, who made the entire trip possible, first by organizing our group’s two-week stay in beautiful Tuscany that helped me realize my dream of touring Italy, and then by inviting me to accompany him to Switzerland and Croatia after the rest of the group went home. Croatia might never have been on my radar as a place to visit if not for Uncle Kipp, but I’m so glad I went. What an amazing country. The entire trip was an incredible experience that I’ll always cherish. It truly was the trip of a lifetime—lord knows I’ll never be able to take that much time off from work again. 🙂