okay, so....
Vienna:The orchestra in Vienna was good, they had singers sing opera as well. the next morning we saw the Vienna boys choir and they were so good. well, I should say sat very high up behind some poles and listened to the choir... we couldnt exactly see them. oh well! We went and saw the graves of Beethoven, Strauss and Brahams later on.
okay Munich: we arrived sunday night and I had some sort of pork and potatoes covered in gravy... in fact I think it was a plate of gravy with some meat on top... anyways it was good. we tried to go to Dachau the next day but we got all the way there on the S bahn only to find that its closed on mondays... boo! As are all the museums in munich, so we went back to the hostel and had a nap. then we went to the big Garden they have there, and went for a paddle boat ride on the lake (yes we're ridiculously touristy... and it was fun!) there were a million different kinds of ducks and geese, and even swans, and they all had babies and there were a million baby ducks and babies of every kind. it was so cute! one duck was unsure if he was a fish or a tree or what and we named him Identity duck and mocked him for the whole boat ride.
The next day in Munich we made it to Dachau, and it was very moving. we saw a graphic documentary of the concentration camp, with pictures of piles of bodies and everything. the crematorium was the worst. we saw the actual ovens they used to burn the bodies, and a gas chamber. there were memorials outside, one on a giant piece of land where they would dump the ash, and it said 'the grave of unknown thousands' also there were other memorials engraved with 'dont forget' and 'never again'. I was also very moved hearing about the infirmary where they performed experiments. it was a very somber thing, but Im glad we went. it was very well done, and was free.
Zurich: we spent alot of time in Zurich trying to figure out the damn trams and get to our hostel. we finally did and met a nice girl from florida who grew up on a farm with pigs and animals and had the most adorable southern accent. we then went backdowntown for dinner, and we called natalia. we got back to the tram station at 12 36, and the last tram left at 12 32. boo. boo boo boo. we had to pay 25 franks for a taxi. not nice!!
The next morning however.... LINDT CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! They dont give tours of the factory, and the little exhibit with cheesy documentary they're supposed to give was under renovations, so basically all we got to see was the shop.... but we smelled alot of chocolate, and the shop is a giant room just full of chocolate.... every kind of chocolate bar, chocolate mountains, bags of chocolate, just..... lots and lots and lots of chocolate! it was awesome!
We hopped on a train to Luzerne and took a cable car up a mountain. it was gorgeous!! there was a hotel and stuff at the top... crazy! I didnt like going back down as much, its scary casue it feels and looks like you're falling. We were on our way to a town called Spiez, because Jenn's family friend got us a B&B there for cheap, because he knows the owners. so we were on a train to Interlaken where we would switch and go to Spiez.
That was the plan, of course, until every train in switzerland lost power and couldnt move. no kidding... every train in switzerland just couldnt move. we were still in the station, but some people were stuck in the middle of nowhere on tracks and stuff... crazy!! It was insane... then a man comes along and says there will be a bus going to Interlaken. now, jenn and I didnt have a down payment on the B&B so we didnt have to go, we could just stay right there in luzerne for the night. but no.... we decided what the hell, why no, well just go to interlaken. would we get to spiez? we figured most likely not. We all got on the bus. a city bus... yes... a city bus where we sat in the back on the ground halfway to interlaken. they made us get off at Giswill (which is nowhere) and then a coach bus took us the rest of the way to interlaken. our train was supposed to get into luzerne at 700. we got there at 1100!! it was nice though, the trip on the bus was right through the mountains, it was pretty and we were actually in much higher spirits than you'd expect. there was no pressure, wed just end up where we end up! so we enjoyed it.
we got to interlaken and even though the trains were running again, there was none going to spiez. the train company actually called us a taxi and paid for it to take us to spiez! cool!!
The bed and breakfast was gorgeous, so comfortable, the most amazing bathroom and the view from our private balcony was a couple of mountains and a lake... yeah.... it was awesome!
the next day we got on the train and landed in luxembourg. it was national day. the one day we spend in luxembourg and its one of their only national holidays. everything was closed, but we got to hear a band play in a big square while we were having dinner so it wasnt an entire loss.
next stop: Amsterdam!
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