Imanuel and Brenda's Travel Blog

Dachau and Enchanted Salzburg

2005-10-10T21:12:00.000-04:00

By now we have the routine of breaking camp pretty much down. After breakfast and washing dishes, we need to store away everything that isn’t tied down. Then I unhook the power and put away the cable and we move to the “camper service area”, to fill up the water tank. Normally one would also dump the “gray water” or the water from the sink in the camper service area; however, I’ve yet to figure out how to shut the valve so that the sink water doesn’t run under the camper. The attendant at the camper rental place did not include this in his lengthy orientation on all the camper’s systems. At first I thought that the water simply vanished due to some magical feat of German engineering but in Berlin, which was the first place where we used the sink a lot, I noticed a puddle under the car. I was afraid of incurring the wrath of the campground custodian since “thou shall not let thy sink water run under thy camper” was one of the commandments written by the bathhouse entrance. I studied the instructions that came with the camper but to no avail. In the end we managed to sneak by and the puddle went unnoticed until we left.

We had made the decision the previous night to stop over in Dachau, the site of the former Nazi concentration camp. We could not pass up the opportunity to visit the site of one of the greatest tragedies in human history and one that should not be forgotten. We took the autobahn towards Stuttgart and followed the signs to Dachau. The day had dawned hazy and cold, which only added to the seriousness of the site we were going to visit as if nature herself was mourning the countless lives that were burned on the furnaces of this factory of death. We parked the car near the bus stop at the beginning of the path that led down to the camp itself. As it turns out, the camp is closed on Mondays and we were not able to go inside but nonetheless were able to walk down the path and see where the SS building once stood. The SS was the political police of Nazi Germany and carried out the interrogations and much of the torture. We stood in front of the menacing gate looking up at the guard towers and imagining what it must have been like to walk through those gates to an almost certain death. We asked ourselves what would we do in that situation but I think this is an unanswerable question. God willing, may we never have to find out.

The drive to Salzburg was to be a short one and, even with the unscheduled stopover in Dachau, we hoped to be there early that afternoon. The scenery soon turned to classic alpine landscape with half-timbered houses, glacial streams, lush green valleys and rugged peaks. At every turn there was a scene more stunning than the previous one. The crossing into Austria was a non-event. The only indication that we were crossing into another country was a line of trucks parked on the side of the road and the old checkpoint being demolished by the side of the highway. The arrival at the campsite was also the smoothest so far. We left the highway and immediately turned right into a small road as per Viki’s instructions (she was working again on and off) and within a mile or so arrived at a chalet that housed the registration office and camp store.

Panorama Camping truly lived up to its name. The campsite consisted of series of terraces behind the chalet where one parked and which overlooked a field being plowed below and a sickeningly picturesque little town on the other side of the valley. In the mornings one would be waken by the melodic tones of the carillon of the bell tower from the town across the valley. The view was almost too perfect to be true. This was the second campsite with an incredible view that I thought could only exist in postcards and fairy tales. The only downside to this idyllic setting was the pungent smell on manure from the field being plowed next door (they use the real stuff here); however, the smell was also reminiscent of our childhood spent among the cattle ranches of the coastal plains in Puerto Rico.

This campsite not only had a great view but also some of the cleanest and most comprehensive facilities that we’ve encountered so far. The attendant, who seemed as efficient and knowledgeable as he was stiff, said that next year they would even have Internet access on site. The weather was also great that day, warmer than when we had left Munich, so we took out the folding chairs and table to have lunch outside. We tried to take a nap but it was too hot to sleep, therefore we decided to check out the town. We walked down the path through the valley as instructed by the attendant and arrived at a small park with a bike path running parallel to a stream with the clearest water we had ever seen. Crossing the bridge over the stream led to a quiet residential area with a pharmacy, bakery and small restaurant. It was hard to believe that we were just outside one of the oldest city in Europe and that this area had been able to remain so quaint and provincial until today. We boarded the bus that would take us straight to the center of town and along the way fell in love with Salzburg. The city had an easygoing air about it and we could easily see ourselves living here.

The bus crossed the glacial blue river and dropped us off at the Rathaus Platz, right in the center of the commercial district. We penetrated the complex of medieval cobblestone streets and small shops and were immediately transported back 500 years. Much to Brenda’s delight, the shopping was superb and the shops were filled with fine clothing and other items. There were several Christmas shops selling ornaments (on one they were made exclusively from eggs), which only added to the fairy tale mystique of the place. We stumbled into Mozart’s birthplace and the cathedral by chance as well as several squares with beautiful fountains although we did not intend to do any sightseeing that day. Salzburg was proving to be as beautiful as Prague but a lot more manageable, less overwhelming and less crowded. We ended up browsing the shops until closing (8:00 pm). The shopping in Prague hadn’t been that good and I wanted to give Brenda a chance to shop for gifts and unique articles that she would want to get for herself. I also wanted to get a sport coat for me but we could find no store that stocked my size. We found the same thing in Germany where the largest size was normally 52 or 56 at the most when I am at least a 58 in European size. I guess even though Germans are tall like me they tend to be slim and finding a jacket that will fit my broad back and shoulders over here is next to impossible.

After the shops closed, we looked around for a place to have dinner and stumbled onto a place called Zum Morhen, which offered Austrian and Italian cuisine. The place was a bit more expensive than the places we were used to in Germany and the Czech Republic (though not much more) but, according to the menu, luminaries like Mozart and Kafka were among it’s former clientele and a piece of the old city wall was still preserved inside. The name of the restaurant came from a Moore that a merchant had brought to the city and who served drinks and performed to the amusement of city’s gentry. The food was good and the place had spades of character.

After dinner, we crossed the river on foot to the bus station where we could catch the bus back to the campsite. We stopped at the main train station, called the Hauptbanhof just as in Frankfurt, and looked around for an Internet place. We found a small place and were allowed to hook up our laptop for the same rate as using their computers. We surfed for a while and met two Chinese students who were traveling on a budget and were looking online for a hostel or some other cheap accommodation in town. They had just stepped off the train and we tried to help them but most of the places we had seen downtown were probably too expensive. Finally, with the help of the attendant at the Internet place, they seemed to be able to find a place. As we said goodbye, suddenly our own journey didn’t seem so adventurous and we just had to admire the courage of two young women from half a world away and a completely foreign culture who were out to see the world armed only with backpacks and a little money.

We had to wait a long time for our bus to arrive. I guess with rush hour over, there were fewer buses running. We amused ourselves by going up and down the stairs to the train station and seeing how much the digital readout counting down the minutes to the next bus had gone down, but it always seemed to stay the same. At least we knew that the bus would take us straight to where we needed to go and that our station was the end of the line so there would be no chance of getting lost. And even if we did get lost, it didn’t seem to matter much in a city as enchanting as this.

Escape from Prague and a quick stopover in Munich

2005-10-09T21:00:00.000-04:00

We didn’t leave Prague as early as I wanted to. After the previous day’s epic sightseeing frenzy and the marathon walk to and from the campsite, we slept in a little. I checked out of the campsite and the lady said that there was a dumpsite for the waste from our chemical toilet near a shack on the other side of the campsite. When I went there it turned out to be nothing more than a smelly hole in the ground. I have my suspicions that the waste was eventually just going to end up back in the river but I dumped the tank anyway since we had been using the toilet now for a couple of days and it was a long drive. An Italian who had just arrived and was checking out the campsite looked at the dumpsite in disbelief and said, “toiletina?” I explained in English that they had said at the registration that that was the dumpsite but I don’t think he understood.

On the way out, I waved goodbye to Jeremy, a Frenchman on holiday with his friends who was on the camper next to us. I talked to him briefly in the dishwashing room and was able to practice some of my French in preparation for our arrival in France in about a week and a half. He lived in Marseille where he worked as a waiter and traveled during the off-season. He confirmed that Paris was a great place to go on holiday but very expensive. “Jeremy, ça va?” I called out from the car as we passed him. “Bien, e tu?” he replied. “Nous sont parti,” I said knowing that I probably wasn’t saying it correctly.

Viki was on the fritz once again. I thought I had downloaded all the data but was missing the key route that would take us out of the city. Since I couldn’t create new routes from the GPS, I was stuck. I studied the route in the computer briefly to orient myself. Normally, when the routes are working on the GPS, the voice prompts will tell you where to go and a close up of the map for the intersection or exit will flash briefly on the screen. As you approach the turn, you can see you position relative to the exit or intersection. This makes life much easier particularly in complicated intersections where there are more than two ways to go. Without the voice prompts, Brenda will read out the directions from the computer but it sometimes hard to know when to make the actual turn and, if the signs don’t match the labels on the maps, it may be hard to know which direction or road to take once at the intersection. Without the routing capability, the GPS helps you know where you are and tell you the roads that are coming up; however, it is much nicer with the voice prompts and the automatic zoom.

We started off well even though we were unsure of where to go and some of the roads didn’t seem to match. When it was time to get on the highway that would leads us out of the city, the directions said to keep right; however, the road branched off into three different exits. We took the extreme right, which was the wrong choice, and ended up in a long tunnel. Right away I knew we weren’t on the right road. After the tunnel, we pulled up to a median between the highway and an exit. Another car with Czech plates pulled in right behind and looked at the map for a few seconds before continuing. Perhaps Czech drivers find the roads over here as confusing as we do. We performed a suicidal (and probably illegal) U-turn to go back where we came from. Back at the mixing bowl where we had gotten mixed up before, we could only get back on the road we came from as opposed to the one we should have been on. The problem was that the road only ran in both directions for a short distance and we did not find a place to turn around.

I thought that the best thing to do would be to get back to the river and start over again; however, we arrived at a congested intersection where cars, trams and buses were all jumbled together and you could not tell where the lanes where. I tried to follow the cars the best I could and after a few turns, we were back on the road by the river. This time we took the correct road. We had to pull over to confirm it since the highway was more like a city street with cars parked on each side and intersections every block.

The southern route was much nicer than the northern route we had taken days earlier. The road was a four-lane highway and (even though it had the indentations on the right lane) we were able to make pretty good time. There were even decent-looking rest stops and we were able to stop and fix some sausages for lunch, which we ate with French bread from a Czech supermarket and spicy ketchup bought in Germany. There were mostly trucks at the rest stop and some cars stopped by for short periods. Everyone kept looking at us strange while we were cooking our lunch. Maybe they only had cold turkey sandwiches while were having a hot lunch.

I pressed on as fast as I could and soon were in Germany. We took another wrong turn near Munich but were able to get back on course relatively quickly. The first campsite we tried was Campingplatz Nord West. The book said that it had decent facilities and was easily accessible from the city. Brenda didn’t like the place as soon as she saw it. I was a bit ticked off that she would dismiss the place with only a glance at the fence and front gate. I insisted we go inside and at least take a look. The attendant was playing with his kid up front. We walked over to the office and peered inside the window, but he did not bother to ask what we wanted. I asked the lady nearby about the registration and she pointed the guy out. They thought the whole thing was a joke but I wasn’t laughing. He didn’t speak English but I motioned that we wanted to check out the facilities first. Brenda’s intuition was right on and the place turned out to be pretty run down. I agreed to drive to the next place on the list but still grumbled at having to find it without Viki’s help. There are too more campsites listed in the book for Munich-Obermenzing and Munchen-Thalkirchen. Munich-Obermenzing is very big and the book said that it could be crowded. Thalkirchen was closer to where we were so we decided to try that first.

The facilities at Thalkirchen turned out to be pretty decent. There seemed to be many rules posted all over the campsite and the attendant, although polite and helpful, had a dictatorial air about him and seemed frustrated if you didn’t understand all the instructions and asked him to repeat himself. We were worn out from sightseeing in Prague and Munich was supposed to be a short stopover. The main purpose of the stop was to visit the BMW museum, which I had passed years before in my previous trip. I was impressed by the seashell-shaped building and resolved to visit it on my next trip. I suggested that we did not go to town that evening but stay in the campsite to rest and do laundry and that we not look at the guide book for fear that we would find several other sites that we just had to visit and turn this into another epic city tour.

As it turns out, the BMW museum was under construction and only a small portion of the collection was on display showing only the most significant vehicles. I was glad we visited nonetheless and was able to buy a scale model of a BMW F650GS enduro motorcycle for the display case at home since that is the same model I currently own. While we were there, the museum was practically invaded by a group of Japanese visitors. Judging by the fact that the museum had a Japanese speaker on staff, it seemed that they routinely get large numbers of visitors from that country. I had to wait in line quite a while to get my model motorcycle as the Japanese group seemed intent in buying everything in sight. Perhaps the exchange rate was a lot more favorable for them than for us because I really had to think about it before coughing up the cash for the model. The museum is located in the Olympic Park in Munich and the architecture all around is impressive, modern and sleek, representative of the German obsession with cleanliness of lines and practicality. The BMW headquarters are housed nearby in a tall building made up of cylinders with the BMW spinning prop logo on top. There is a big complex being built nearby. Perhaps it’s BMW’s response to Volkswagen’s Autostadt.

We did end up walking the town center but our heart wasn’t really in it since we were so tired. The historic center, which is mostly reconstructed as with most German cities that were destroyed during the war, was concentrated along a main street beginning at a plaza with a large fountain under an imposing arch. It was Sunday and the street performers were out in force including, among others, a chamber music group with powdered wigs and ruffled shirts as well as a Tibetan music group in traditional garb. Of course, there were the mandatory half a dozen human statues that we had seen in every other city. We went into one church that was unique for it’s simplicity and because it didn’t look like a church from the outside. The main street ended in a grand plaza with a huge gothic church completely overloaded with statues and decorations. We sat at a small courtyard near the church for a while but did not have the strength to go in.

On the way back, we took the surface train or S-bahn instead of the subway or U-bahn that we had taken in the morning because otherwise we would have to change buses in order to get to the campsite. In the end we had to go back and take the U-bahn. Something seemed to be wrong since the S-bahn that would take us to the bus didn’t seem to be running. I’m sure I heard an announcement about it over the loudspeakers but I could not understand what it was all about. We asked a conductor that was off-duty and he pointed us to a nearby bus station but we could not figure out which bus we needed to take so we went back to the beginning. Once again we needed to rely on the bus drivers to tell us which stop to change buses at and which stop the campsite was at. The bus that went to the campsite was a small bus called a “Taxi bus” and did not make all the stops nor where they advertised. Again, the bus drivers were very accommodating and the last bus even dropped us off right in front of the campsite as opposed to the nearby bus stop.

All the guidebooks nowadays tell you that credit cards are widely accepted and that ATMs are widely available but that is not always the case. Most of the attractions and museums do not take credit cards and neither do many supermarkets or campsites. You also need cash for bus and train tickets. You really need to remember to withdraw cash so you don’t get caught down the line. That is exactly what happened to us in Munich. We forgot to get cash when we were in the city. After dinner and resting for a while, we revolved to go back to the area around the train station and get cash. The problem was that we weren’t sure whether the bus would stop at the station nearest the campsite since it was after 8:00 pm. The attendant had briefly pointed out the station that was in service after hours but I still didn’t know how to find it and didn’t feel like asking him again given his aversion to repeating himself. After half an hour of chasing the bus around, it finally picked us up somewhere and took us to the station.

We wandered around for another half an hour looking for an ATM only to discover that there was one right next to the station. It was late and there were few people around. We felt a little bit anxious even though there was no indication that this was a bad neighborhood. We sat at the bus stop to wait for the bus. The bus took a long time to arrive and, when it did, it seemed to be going in the wrong direction. Brenda decided to ask the bus driver anyway and he said to hop on. There were a group of Spaniards waiting for the bus next to us and they too followed Brenda’s lead, asking the driver and hopping in after us. Again, if it wasn’t for the bus driver we wouldn’t have known where to get off. The maze of streets was even more confusing in the dark and since there were only two parties on the bus, he didn’t need to make any other stops. He dropped us off at a station we didn’t recognize, so I asked “campingplatz?” He pointed the way and it turned out we were just a couple of streets down from the station closest to the campsite. In the end, Munich left us just as tired and without much to show for it but a scale model of a motorcycle and a load of clean laundry.

Redemption for Prague

2005-10-07T13:33:00.000-04:00

We spent the rest of the evening huddled up with the maps and guidebooks working on a game plan for the next day. We were determined to see all the sights of the city the next day and maybe do some shopping as well. Despite being worn out by the long days in Berlin, we had a long drive ahead of us and wanted to leave the following day by lunch at the latest. We got up early and it was bitterly cold. The first ferry left at 9:00 am so we started by foot down the road back to the bridge. Peter’s “little bit further” turned out to be over 2 Km. After the previous day tram debacle, we didn’t want to mess with the trams or buses, so we walked all the way back to the underground station even though there was a bus station a couple of blocks closer to the campsite. As it turns out, the subway wasn’t complicated at all. There are three lines and a couple of exchange stations. The center of town is just a couple of stations down for the station nearest to the campsite on the B train. The only problem that morning was that we didn’t have any coins left and the machines in the subway take only coins. Coins are still used widely in Europe but particularly so in the Czech Republic. We didn’t see any machines there that would take bills at all. For the subway this is not a big problem as most of the stations have small shops that sell cigarettes and other knickknacks, which also sell tickets. As always, the tickets from the shop must be validated before boarding the train, tram or bus.

We took the subway back to the Mustek station and, as soon as we emerged onto the Vaclavske Namesti, we saw the city in a different light. In the haze of the early morning and almost devoid of visitors, the city seemed at peace. We were free to stroll down the street towards the city gate as we admired the amazing architecture. The entire city is like an open air museum. Everywhere you look you see something interesting, whether it be an elaborate statue inside its niche atop a doorway, brightly colored frescoes on the side of a building, facades painted to give the impression of three dimensions or hidden courtyards or cafes in between buildings. Before we realized it, we arrived at the city gate and marveled at its size. We walked through the gate and observed the details inside the arch. We continued towards the old town square stopping to check out a couple of the many shops that lined the streets. Without the throngs of tourists everywhere, the souvenir shops and exchange houses didn’t seem quite as offensive to the character of the city as they did the night before.

Upon arriving at the old town square we had to pause for a moment and take it all in. We looked around the square with mouths open as we admired one building after another. The square is dominated by a giant statue of Jan Hus, a Czech preacher who was tried for heresy and burned for preaching against church corruption a hundred years before Martin Luther.

On one side of the square rise the spires of Tyn Church, so named because of its interior courtyard that leads inside. In fact, we had trouble finding the entrance to the church because the outside of the courtyard is populated by cafe and there is only a narrow doorway in between the tables that leads into the yard where the entrance is located. Even though the church has been rebuilt and added to, there are records that mention a church and a nearby hospital in that same site since the 1200s.

We walked over to the Old Town Hall and saw the people gathering for the show as the astronomical clock chimes every hour on the hour, but the clock was being repaired. We had heard that the mechanical figures that danced around were nothing to write home about anyway so we went inside to climb up to the tower for a view of the city. After climbing several flights of stairs, one pays the admission and there is a glass elevator that only has two buttons: one for the top and another for the bottom. After some initial grumblings, the elevator took off and whisked us speedily to the top. The view from the narrow walkways around the tower was amazing. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but old buildings. I had seen a similar view in Salzburg on my previous trip to Europe but here the old city was much larger and almost all was extremely well preserved.

We set off in search of the Charles Bridges, which we had been told was not to be missed. Walking down the labyrinth of medieval streets, we were on the lookout for a place to have lunch since we had had an early start and were already famished. All of the restaurants along the route most tourist take to the bridge were twice or more what we paid the night before for the same food! Arriving at the bridge was like a revelation. There were Postcard-perfect views of the river in every direction. The bridge itself is a major art piece with intricate statues every few meters. By this time the tourist were out in force and the bridge was already pretty crowded; however, that didn’t matter to us anymore. We were happy to take our time crossing the 1,700-foot span admiring the artwork that formed the bridge itself as well as the artwork being sold by local artists along the way and the amazing alpine landscape that surrounded us. Near the center of the bridge there was a band playing Dixieland jazz. This odd soundtrack did not seem out of place, however, since there was such a festival atmosphere throughout the entire bridge.

On the other side we ventured off the main street to find a place to eat and our theory was confirmed as less than one block from the main thoroughfare was an Italian brick-oven restaurant with very reasonable prices. The food was quite good and substantial and the place had spades of character even if it wasn’t local cuisine. We took our time during lunch and recharged our batteries for the long trek uphill to the fortress that dominates the old city.

On the way to the castle, we stopped at the church of Saint Nicholas where Mozart once played the imposing 2,500-pipe organ. The incredibly ornate interior of the church, made up of white and pink marble and yellow gold, stood in stark contrast to the austerity of the German churches we had visited before. Every inch of the ceiling was covered in frescoes depicting angels and clouds and sky making you feel like you weren’t inside a building at all. The paintings also contained arches and towers with shadowing that created a three-dimensional quality and added to the illusion that the church went on and on forever without any ceiling. I guess the designers’ intention was to give the visitor a feeling of eternity like in heaven. We checked out the chapels were multiple clergy are buried and went upstairs to an exhibit of a series of paintings depicting the passion of Christ. On our way up, we saw a lady intently looking out a window. She happened to be Latin American and, when we stopped to see what she was looking at, she explained that they were unearthing a skeleton on an archeological dig next door. We thought there was just some construction going on; however, there was in fact an almost intact skeleton, skull and all, being unearthed. Even though some of the buildings we’ve been looking at date only two or three centuries in their present form, people have been living, worshiping and dying here since the first century and there is always the possibility that any new excavation could reveal ancient artifacts or even human remains.

The walk up to the castle was monumental to say the least. We had already walked quite a ways from the campsite to the city and we still had a lot more to walk. Once on the top, we were rewarded with even more amazing views.

We decided to forgo the museum located inside the palace and went straight to the Cathedral of Saint Vitus, which was only finished in 1929 but was started 600 years before that. If the size of St. Nicholas was impressive, St. Vitus was downright gigantic. It’s spires that reach up to the heavens and are decorated with every sort of mythical demon imaginable. Our European history book says that the decoration of doorways and spires of cathedrals was where medieval artisans could let their imaginations soar and I can see why. The outside of these large churches is completely covered with gargoyles and monsters more inventive than any modern sci-fi or horror movie creator could dream up. One could spend years trying to decipher every figure on a single church and would not be able to count them all; it’s incredible.

The church is done in a gothic style which, as we have learned, is meant to let more light in with its thin structure and arches filled in with stain glass; however, because of the darker materials used inside, the church looked gloomier than St. Nicholas. The stain glass does create a nice effect and when you look at it from a distance, you can see how detailed the scenes depicted in them are. It is hard to believe that the medium is crystal and not paint.

We descended from the castle and were able to witness the changing of the guard on one the guard posts leading outside the castle. I had gotten so good at navigating now that we were able to go straight to an underground station (which just happened to be the same one we arrived at the previous day when we were lost) and take the train to our next stop which was the so called Old-New Synagogue. This 700 year-old synagogue is one of the oldest in Europe and still remains after multiple fires and many massacres. The interior was solemn and simple with rough wooden benches around the perimeter and few furnishings and artifacts used for worship. Right in the center of the temple, sat the rustic stand where scripture is read using large rolls as has been done since antiquity. The building gave a sense of being much older than 700 years since it was remodeled fairly recently in an orthodox style. One could easily imagine such a temple in Israel during Jesus’ time or even earlier.

I wanted to visit the old Jewish cemetery, where 100,000 people are buried but, by the time we found it, we discovered that there was a separate ticket that needed to be purchased that gave you access to several sites and there wasn’t enough time to see them all. I had already purchased another ticket for the synagogue and it would not have been worth it to spend the money on the extra ticket and see the cemetery alone. Besides that we were so tired by now that I don’t even know how our legs were still able to hold up. We did not go back to the camper after the cemetery, however. We wanted to leave early the next day and still had some shopping to do and wanted to get online to talk to the family. Brenda was able to find some very unique jewelry at a place called Pilgrim and we bought some souvenirs; however, the rest of the shopping wasn’t that great. Designer clothing was particularly expensive here. A polo shirt from a place like Tommy Hielfiger or Lacoste would cost what amounts to over $100! There were T-shirts that were $80 and up and jackets that were almost $500! This stuff is overpriced as it is, but the prices here were incredible.

After spending some time at yet another smoky Internet café, we went in search for a restaurant. We ended up eating at the same place as the night before since it was very good and the prices were great. By the time we got back, we had missed the last boat and had to walk all the way back. On the island the road was in almost complete darkness at times and we prayed that this was a safe neighborhood but there was virtually nobody out in the street. Needless to say, when we finally arrived at the van, we were probably as exhausted as we’ve ever been. Despite the unbelievable surroundings this campsite has facilities that are… shall we say… “rustic”. We had considered putting off the shower for the next day when we would hopefully arrive at a modern and better-kept facility; however, after such a long day we needed the shower. You needed to put in a 40-crown coin to get hot water for something like 4 min. I was too slow and did not have any more coins so I had to finish showering with cold water in the unheated bathhouse when it was something like 40 degrees outside. Ouch! At least I forgot about how tired I was for a while. In the end Prague redeemed itself and seduced us so with its charms that we ignored the throngs of tourist and walk to exhaustion in order to experience every once of the city.

Hello Prague?

2005-10-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

We didn’t get very far from Berlin before we had to stop for the night. Once again, we found fairly modern facility, although you could hardly tell from the thick fog that enveloped the Autobahn. Now I know why German automobiles came equipped with fog lights back when they were not common in other makes. Even with the fog people seemed to be driving as fast as ever. I cannot impress upon you the importance of staying in the right lane when driving here. Move to the left only when passing and, even then, make sure that your rearview mirror is clear of traffic. If there is any traffic at all, wait for it to pass; otherwise, before you know it a sports sedan will be in your tail following inches from your bumper and may cut you off if forced to move to the far left.

This seems to be the rule in the Czech Republic too. The only difference is that the car blowing by is bound to be a late-model Skoda (the Czech national brand now owned by Volkswagen as evidenced by their pavilion at Autostadt). When passing it is also important to gain enough momentum so you can finish passing and be back in the right lane as soon as possible. These vans don’t have big engines unlike trucks in the US and they may take a while to get up to speed after being stuck behind truck at 80 kph waiting for traffic on the left to clear.

The next morning we didn’t leave as early as expected but were in the road by 9:00 am. On paper, the entire trip was supposed to take a little less than 5 hours and we had already traveled at least an hour the night before; however, this estimate soon proved to be optimistic at best. We left the Autobahn and started climbing mountains on winding two-lane roads. Truck traffic was extremely heavy and the going was very slow. There were many construction sites along the way, some of which forced us to stop altogether for minutes at a time. It was during one of these stops that the trucker behind us felt the urge to urinate, so he just unzipped his pants and started doing it right in our rearview mirror. This is probably the third or fourth time that we have seen somebody urinating in public. The worst once was right in the middle of Postdamer Platz in Berlin when a man felt the need to irrigate some construction barricades. And these people are not bums but normal looking people. I had heard about the “pissiors” or public peeing booths such as the ones we saw in Berlin and the ones that are common in Paris where you can see people’s feet through the bottom of the partition as they do their business in the middle of the street, but this is ridiculous. Perhaps they need a few more pissiors here and there.

The delays didn’t bother us so much since the scenery was fantastic. We rode through many picturesque little towns full of yellow stucco houses with red roofs and red brick bell towers reaching towards the sky near the center. There were beautiful vistas of green fields and rugged mountains all around. Soon we were at the Czech border. We passed by the endless line of trucks being processed to the right and arrived at the checkpoint. Many of the cars were being waved by with just a cursory glance at the occupants’ papers; however, there were a couple of cars that had been ordered to pull to the side while they were processed. Even though the Czech Republic is technically part of the European Union, it is still not fully integrated and one does have to go through customs unlike when crossing national borders between other EU countries. I gave the officer my passport and he said something back in German. (Everyone assumes we speak German because we have German plates on our van.) I told him “English, please” and he replied: “Registration, please.” I managed to find the book that the attendant at the camper place said contained the registration and prayed everything was in order. It seems stolen car traffic between Germany and the Czech Republic is a major problem and I assumed that was mainly what they were looking for. A van like this would probably fetch a good price on the black market in the Czech Republic and two Americans in a van with German plates could raise some red flags in the eyes of the customs officials. He asked for my driver’s license and I asked him if he wanted my international driving permit too. I went through a lot of trouble to get that thing, so I may as well show it to somebody. He told me to pull off the road and went inside the both.

We waited for a few minutes and soon a lady in green military fatigues and tall boots came out, handed the papers back to me and said something like: “Here you go… Two weeks… Goodbye.” And just like that, we had crossed the border. I didn’t know we needed visas but apparently we got one for two weeks and had our passport stamped to boot.

The first order of business was to find a place to exchange money and buy a vignette. In the Czech Republic the currency is called the crown (Kn) and we only had euros and dollars with us. This wasn’t much of a problem since there are money changing places everywhere and credit cards are widely accepted (though not universally). Additionally, you need a vignette to traverse the highways and can face a steep fine if you don’t have one. Our European camping book said that the price of the vignette was only four euros but we would later learn that the price had doubled. We stopped at the first currency exchange place after crossing the border. The exchange rate didn’t seen to be particularly good but I still exchanged $20 just is case. I asked about the vignette and the lady, who didn’t speak English, indicated that I should tell her what kind of vehicle it was for. I said it was a van and pointed to a van in the brochure she handed me. She said it was 28 euros and I thought she was trying to rip me off since this was the first place after the border and probably a tourist trap. I decided to go on and buy the vignette later but I think that maybe she was thinking that my vehicle was over 3.5 tones and required a special permit.

Later, I stopped at a gas station and asked the young lady behind the counter about the vignette. She said it was 8 euros and I looked at her skeptically and asked if that was really the price since my guidebook said it should be half that. She rolled her eyes and contorted her body and said that that was the price everywhere and that all cars needed to buy it. A tall young man with a bold head came in behind me, put some money on the counter and said, “Amazing how the prices go up, eh?” I bought the thing anyway and, when I went outside, I saw the young man fiddling with his car. I walked up to him and asked him if that was really the price. He said that the price had recently gone up and that he himself had just bought one. He asked where we were from and, when I said we had come from America, he exclaimed: “No f---ing way! That’s where I come from.” He had an accent and I said that we were originally from Puerto Rico but that we now live in Virginia. He said that he was from the Czech Republic but that he lived in Florida. Small world… I guess. When I went to stick the vignette on the windshield, I noticed that this was the third time this van had been to the Czech Republic this year, a testament to how popular a tourist destination this country has become.

The Czech Republic looks very different from Germany. As soon as one crosses the border, the differences are evident. Things are older and more run down and everything seems to be less orderly. The roads have indentations from overloaded trucks that catch your wheels and make driving treacherous. Rest stops are few and far between at least on the E55, though they are more common on the Southern route back to Germany through the D5. The rest stops on this side are little more than a parking lot for trucks. On one such rest stop we saw a young woman standing by the side of the road and, judging by the way she was dressed; we had to assume that she was a prostitute taking advantage of the truck traffic to boost her business. In fact, there were many strip joints along the route that seemed to cater primarily to truckers.

We rode right through lunch since we couldn’t find a suitable place to stop and fix something nor a restaurant that we would want to go into. We seemed to be making better progress when we hit the four lane highways; however, the trip still took the better part of the day. Near the city, traffic was quite heavy and confused. There were several backups and the aggressiveness of Czech drivers reminded me of my homeland of Puerto Rico so I switched to survival mode and soon was honking the horn and driving as defensively as I could. It was a good thing that I had the voice prompts from the GPS because there were many tricky turns where a mistake could have gotten us hopelessly lost.

The campsite was an island not only on the literal sense but also was an isle of calm from the pandemonium of the highway. There are no words to describe how beautiful this place is. The campsite is nestled on the North end of a slender island on the Vltava River. There is only one bridge connecting the island to the East bank (the less touristy more industrial part of town) of the river and the island is over 1 Km in length. The campsite takes up almost the entire width of the narrow island and the part where one parks faces the West bank of the river (the old city) under the shadow of a large castle. When we arrived the weather was perfect, sunny and warm, and there were several sailboats out enjoying the day. From the van one could get an amazing view of the old city on the other side of the river as well as the castle and it’s wall. It was simply idyllic!

I parked the van near the entrance and walked over to the registration. The attendant, who was outside, took the island metaphor one step further by being as casual as I though possible outside of Jamaica. He said we could park anywhere we pleased and hook up to any electrical outlet and that we could take care of the registration later. Then he disappeared after saying something about the ferry. His name was Peter and he seemed like a character out of a World War II movie. Stoutly built and dressed in overalls and a stripped shirt, he was as colorful as the scenery. A few minutes later he came back and I registered. Everything was very informal and he said I could stay as long as I wanted. I told him I would only stay two nights and he proceeded to proudly tell me about the castle and the city and declared, “Who knows? Maybe you stay four nights and say, ‘yea okay’. We leave now…”

After the Berlin bus debacle, I decided to get good directions to the transportation system. Luckily, Peter was prepared and sold me a map of the city showing lines of the buses, trams and the subway; however, one thing I’ve learned by now is that usually when the campground attendant gives you directions to the city it is a vast oversimplification. There is always a hitch, such as a bus that stops running after a certain time or a change in stations on the way back or some little thing that he explained briefly and you missed that is going to get you lost. In this case I thought that the dotted lines on the map indicated the trams when they actually indicated subway lines. I also thought that Peter had said that pretty much any tram would take us to the center but in fact the tram and bus system were quite complicated and the best way to get to the old town was to take the B subway line and get off at the Mustek Station, which is the center of everything.

The other hitch was getting across the river. I knew that there was a ferry that would take us across for a small charge. Peter confirmed that the ferry left every hour on the hour until 7 pm. After 7, he said that we only needed to go one or two stops further (he wasn’t sure which) and walk a little further across the bridge. Armed with the knowledge (so we thought) to avoid getting lost; we enjoyed a late lunch and prepared to go into town to catch our bearings and maybe find a supermarket or an Internet café. I was surprised to find out that in addition to the campground attendant, Peter was the ferryboat captain. In fact, the ferry was nothing more than a noisy little barge and the crossing took less than one minute. On the other side, we quickly found the station after following the only other passenger on the ferry, who was a local, and crossing the road at the light that ticked like a time bomb and then began ticking really fast when it was time to cross (like it was ready to blow).

We were unsure of where one bought tickets for the tram and we asked at a store inside the train station but we thought that the lady said that we could buy them from the driver when she was actually saying that we could buy them from her, as we later realized. In fact, in order to buy tickets to the tram or the bus, you have to go to the underground station and buy it from a machine, which seems to make perfect sense in the Czech Republic. Also, the machines take only coins, so if you don’t have change you have to go to of the shops around the station and buy them. The tickets must be validated and are good for 75 min after validation on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm or 90 min from validation on weekends, unless you buy a day pass, which is valid 24 hours after validation. The passes come in different zones but only the three-zone passes seemed to be valid throughout the entire old city… Confused? So were we.

We got into the very first tram we came upon and the driver was locked inside a plastic and Plexiglas cage so we could not buy the tickets and, before we could figure out how to ask him what to do, we were off. We sat down knowing that we could be fined for riding without a validated ticket (and they do check here) and began to try to follow the stations looking at the wrong line on the map. Once it became obvious that we were lost (again), we began asking people. Many Czechs speak English, specially the younger ones, and many people were willing to help out; however, since we were reading the map incorrectly, the directions they gave us seemed to make no sense. We determined that they didn’t understand where we wanted to go but got off at an underground station to look for the information desk. At the station we were finally able to buy tickets; however, looking at the diagrams of the subway lines didn’t help at all. Someone finally told us to get on the A train to a certain station and change to the B train and go to another station and that there would be an information office there. We decided to give it a try since we could only get more lost by now.

The subway was quite crowded and hectic, which only added to our frustration. When we were taking the stairs to the platform, a man dressed in all black approached us and said something we could not understand. He showed us a red badge that looked like the novelty Soviet era badges that they sell here as souvenirs. We tried to blow him off saying that we were not interested, but he insisted saying “Ticket Check” in English. Luckily, we had just bought our tickets. We would get checked once more while we were in the city, highlighting the importance of having a valid ticket specially if you’re the tourist. Getting off the A subway, we met Nichole, a cheery American of Czech parents who was spending some time in Prague with her grandmother. She was very friendly and suggested we follow her. She had been there about a month and still hadn’t figured out the whole thing but knew enough to get us to the city center and point us towards the information office. Stepping off the crowded subway, even she had to take a moment to catch her bearings and determine which exit she needed to take. Nichole was doing a new walking tour that day and was taking a different route than she normally did. The underground stations are a maze and it is hard to know exactly where you are going to come out even if you know you are in the right station.

Once outside, there was an imposing red tower, the Powder Tower, under which ran one of the city gates and a building with a beautifully elaborate portico. The streets were teaming with people, most of whom were as lost as we were. In fact, the city is being overrun with tourist. The word has gotten out that this is the last place where the “real” fairy tale Europe can be found and everyone has flocked here at once turning it even more commercialized and touristy than the places that have already been “spoiled”. We began down the street in search of the Mustek station, dazed and confused, and not sure if we liked Prague or not. The architecture was incredible and there were restored old buildings as far as the eye could see; however, it was also crowded, smelly and the street level was lined with souvenir shops, Internet cafes, restaurants and every other tourist trap imaginable. The whole thing was just a little too overwhelming and left us somewhat disillusioned. Prague was supposed to be this magical land: the most beautiful city on earth, transit-able easily on foot. Thus far it was proving to be none of the above.

We arrived at the impressive Vaclavske Namesti, a long square leading up to a large domed building that houses the National Museum. Once again, the place was awe inspiring but completely packed with both tourists and vendors hawking every possible kind of ware. We located the information office, which wasn’t really a government-sponsored tourist information office like those in Germany but really an agency that books rooms and sells tours and tickets. In any case, the guy was really nice and didn’t really try to sell me anything. He showed me that I was reading the map incorrectly and that the B subway line would take us straight to the station we started from. He also pointed out how to get to the bridge that we would have to take if we missed the last ferry since it wasn’t on the map. He even recommended a very good (and cheap) restaurant.

Czech food normally consists of some type of meat, usually stewed or in a sauce, and dumplings. It is extremely filling and very cheap, although we did notice that prices could go up as much as 100% or more along the main routes that tourist take. Venture just one block off the main street and your food will be just as good and a lot cheaper. Beer is literally cheaper than water here. It is said that Czech beer is some of the best in the world. I am not a big beer drinker but, given the fame of Czech beer and the excellent value it represented, I made a point of ordering it. It was quite good but I still had trouble finishing it. A “normal” beer around here is 0.5 liter. That’s half a carton of milk full of beer! Add to that to the substantial Czech meal and you will certainly be full by the time you get up from the table. That didn’t stop some visitors from overindulging in Czech beer, however. (Maybe they skipped dinner instead.) This was particularly true of a group we dubbed “the orange crew”. They ran around in orange clothes and silly hats being loud and stopping at every bar in sight. I don’t know what they were all about but they were clearly not in Prague for the scenery. On our last night in Prague we were serenaded by a group of drunks sitting on the table behind us. They sang out of tune English rock anthems and drinking songs until the waiter finally kicked them out. There was a short one that could hardly stay on his feet. He extended his hand to the waiter as a peace offering but the waiter didn’t take it so the little guy started down the street with the help of his friends.

The meal somewhat salvaged the disastrous evening and, by the time we got up from the table, I knew exactly where I needed to go. We stopped at a grocery store in the underground station and purchased one large bread, milk, juice, eggs and several other things and spent what amounted to something like $5. As I said, food is particularly cheap here. We managed to catch the last ferry, which spared us from having to find and cross the bridge. (As we would later learn, this was a substantial walk.) We had to wait for the daughter of some of Peter’s friends who was running late in dropping the car off before going to back to the island. The ferry schedule evidently was fairly flexible and subject to the whims of the captain, which reminded us about the old joke of Puerto Rican time always being half an hour later than the appointed time. Perhaps they have the same joke here.

Our Last Day in Berlin

2005-10-05T13:20:00.000-04:00

After the previous day’s sightseeing marathon, we didn’t get out of bed until after 9:00 am. We had planned on driving towards the border between Germany and the Czech Republic later that day and then stopping at a rest stop for the night but first there were a few more sights we wanted to see in Berlin. Checkout at the campsite was at 11:00 am so we asked if we could park at a small parking lot next to the registration office while we were in the city. Once again, we boarded the X34 express bus and headed for the city. We wanted to see the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, which is famed worldwide for its collection of rare artifacts. I looked at the map that we had purchased from the tourist information desk and determined that the Egyptian collection was part of the Museum of Pre and Early History, which is located in Charlottenburg Palace.

From the main station we took bus number 145, which would take us to a part of town we hadn’t been in before. We stepped off the bus at the indicated stop and before us stood an enormous open yard backed by the palace with its ornate black and gold fence. We had no idea that the palace was so large or so beautiful. We strolled towards the west end of the palace, where the museum is located, and took in the site. The weather was gorgeous and it was a perfect day for a walk. When we finally arrived at the wing that housed the museum, we must have walked half a mile but it didn’t matter. We were too busy admiring the architecture and the grandeur of the place. We passed through the gate into another smaller courtyard with two grand statues and a small café near the entrance to the museum.

Inside the museum, we admired the intricacy of some pieces from an ancient civilization that flourished in the island of Cyprus and which predated the Romans. There were also other rooms with artifacts from the early Bronze Age up to the beginning of the middle ages. Everything was so well preserved that it was a wonder that it so incredibly old. In a room dedicated to the Stone Age, a nice lady showed us how an ancient loom was used to make weaves using hemp. We were so enthralled by all the other exhibits that we almost forgot about the Egyptian exhibit that we came to see. Realizing that time was running out, we asked about the Egyptian Museum and were told that it was closed for repairs. There was another Egyptian exhibit but it was all the way across town and we would not make it before closing. We were disappointed about missing the Egyptian exhibition but the objects in the other exhibitions somewhat made up for it. We were able to film and photograph many of the objects and learned a lot about the pre and early history of Europe as well as the development of Western civilization.

We are reading a book about the history of Europe; however, our progress has been slow since we are usually either too tired or preoccupied with shores around the camper or navigation and planning to do much reading. We haven’t even watched the movies that we brought with us for the most part. Any trip to Europe requires the traveler to be fit enough to walk quite a bit. The historical town centers are fairly concentrated; however, over here, unlike most places in America where one drives everywhere, 1 km is considered a fairly short walk. When one is taking public transportation into the city center from the outskirts instead of just being dropped off in the town center by a tour bus (as most tourist are), walks of 2 km or more may be needed to get where you are going. That’s probably why you hardly see any overweight people in European cities even though they are not obsessed with diets as we are. In fact, we have noticed that we have lost some weight over here even with the required pastry fix every afternoon and even sometimes having dessert at night. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade this mode of travel for anything. Even with the long walks and the getting lost this is a great way to see Europe. (God knows I can use the exercise.)

We ran next door to the palace and were told that we still had time to see one of the exhibitions before closing time and that we could peek at the garden from the windows in the second floor. (Sorry but no pictures were allowed inside the palace.) The variety of the artwork that once adorned the palace was incredible as well as the grand décor of the rooms. We were amazed at how elaborate the place settings at the table were and the great number of different china sets that the royal family once owned. The tableware and the art must have been meant to showcase how cultured and well traveled the owners were as they were adorned with motifs from around the world including Chinese, Japanese and Indian inspired decorations. It was a shame that most of the rooms were devoid of furniture and that the pieces (except for the banquet table setting) were not being showcased in the manner in which they would have been used in the nineteenth century; however, even the rooms by themselves were grand with their solid wood floors, candelabra and intricate crown moldings. One room in particular, overlooking the fabulous garden from a series of large windows arranged in a semicircle, reminded us of the ballroom from Disney’s “The Beauty and the Beast”.

Berlin was so exciting that we almost had a hard time leaving. We wanted to take advantage once more of the free Internet at the Sony Center, so we went back there before going to pick up the car. We were tired and hungry so we started looking around for a place to have dinner. There must have been half a dozen cafes around the fountain at the center but we looked around a bit anyway to try to find the best place. In the basement there were several shops and some small restaurants including a sushi place and Falafel stand. I wanted to try the Falafel since I had read that Berlin was a great place for it but, as happens with many cafes and sandwich shops in Europe, you had to eat standing up on a tall table. We were tired and wanted to sit down while we ate.

We should have eaten at the Falafel and sat down around the fountain while we surfed the web, but instead we sat at a restaurant by the fountain since the prices seemed reasonable. This would prove to be the only bad meal of the trip so far (and one of the priciest). The place was a theme restaurant such as those that are common in the US. This one pretended to be Australian like Outback Steakhouse and it’s menu featured dishes including Kangaroo steaks and burgers and some Pan Asian dishes. The only difference between this restaurant and those back home is that, in the ones back home, the food is at least edible. Not that those places are much better. I am still amazed how on Sundays every theme or family restaurant back home is packed. I don’t understand why people are willing to pay $10 or more per plate for mediocre mass-produced food. I would gladly trade in half those restaurants for a few sandwich shops that make things from scratch, standing room only or not.

By the time we were ready to head back, we had to hurry to catch the express bus. We were also concerned that they would close the gate at the campsite for the night and that we would be trapped there until the morning. Brenda really wanted to take a shower before leaving since we didn’t know if we would find a rest stop with clean showers that night. I didn’t know if they would let us use the facilities since we had already checked out. Anyway, I doubted we would make it back in time since we arrived at the station as one express bus was leaving and had to wait for the next one. As it turned out, there were no screw-ups this time. We made it back in time and we were even able to take a quick shower before leaving.

Our escape from Berlin was aided by the fact that Viki finally seemed to be working. Well, she was working somewhat. She would give directions as long as we stayed on the route that had been downloaded from the computer. If we deviated at all, she would freak out again and would not be able to give directions anymore. This is exactly what happened when we took a wrong turn and went off-course. Luckily, after a quick U-turn, we were back in route and I was able to reset the route and we had directions from Berlin right to our campsite in Prague on an island of the Vltava River. In good time too, since I don’t think I could have found the place by myself while at the same time fending off the crazy Czech traffic.

Arrival at Berlin and our first campsite

2005-10-04T21:55:00.000-04:00

We slept in until 9:00 am the next morning and cooked breakfast in the van. We were on the road by 10:30 am and were eager to check into the campsite, take a shower and hit the town for lunch before settling in for the night. Right away we could tell that it wasn’t going to work out the way we expected. I knew I couldn’t follow the directions from the GPS, so I tried to follow the directions in the book “Traveler’s Guide to European Camping” by Mike and Terry Church to DCC Camp Gatow outside of Berlin; however, I failed to notice that the directions called out for taking the A10 or “ring road” going west. Later, we decided to follow the ring road around the city after we realized our mistake but it took us almost an hour and a half to make our way around the city. We finally manage to get off the A10 and find Gatower Strasse, where the campsite is located. We followed the wrong camping sing and ended up in a narrow dirt road near the water and followed the sign to several run down “campsites” where resident trailers were used as vacation getaways by locals. We drove to the end of the road but saw no signs for Camp Gatow. We asked directions from two fellows coming out of a small pub and they said we needed to go back the way we came and turn right into a shady-looking campsite with a few trailers in a gravel lot and that that was camp Gatow. The place didn’t look very nice and I could feel Brenda’s “what have you gotten me into” stare burning into the right side of my face; however, I couldn’t find any registration building and could not figure out why they would recommend this place in a book primarily targeted towards tourist.

While looking for the non-existent registration building, I arrived at another dirt road behind a row of small vacation cottages where a man was doing some yard work. We asked for directions again but this time the man seemed to indicate that camp Gatow was closed, apparently for good. We decided to turn around and look for the next campground on the list, which appeared to be nearby. We got out on the main road and less than a mile from the place we’d turned is none other than DCC Camp Gatow, a modern clean facility right off the main road. We arrived just as the attendant was on his was to close the gate for the lunch break (1:00 pm to 3:00 pm). At first, I couldn’t understand why he was closing the gate but later the friendly English-speaking attendant explained everything to me. Those who may be reading this in preparation for a campervan trip of their own and are following Mike and Terry’s book should make note of the fact that you should not follow the first camping sign which takes you off the main road like I did and that camp Gatow is closed from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and then at 9:00 pm for the night. You can come in and out through a small gate if you are registered but cannot drive out after 9:00 pm.

Soon we had showered in the clean facilities and were on our way to Berlin to look for some lunch (more like dinner by this time). In a tour like this, the first day in a new city is always somewhat disorienting and Berlin was certainly no exception. By the time you have gotten used to the way things work in one city, it is time to move on to the next one. Each new city has a different set of challenges that must be overcome. In Berlin it was the buses. We have taken trains and subways many times in cities here and in American but had never been to a place were buses were such an important part of the mass transit system. It is said that there isn’t a place in the city that cannot be reached by bus and I believe it. In fact there was a bus station within mere feet of DCC Camp Gatow even though it was in a fairly wooded area in the outskirts of the city. We were told to take bus X34 since that was the express bus into the main train station from where we could go anywhere or obtain any number of services.

We managed to get on the bus and buy tickets from the driver. The bus dropped us off at the main train station after a false stop were everybody got up and then the bus started moving again almost knocking us all to the ground. The train station was overwhelming to say the least. The Haupbanhof or main station in Frankfurt had been somewhat orderly and sedate but the “Zoologischer Garten Banhof” in Berlin was just was, well, a zoo. We struggled to find our way against the tide of humanity through the grimy halls of the station. We ate a place called Nordsea, which is chain we had seen in Frankfurt that sells fish sandwiches as well as fish and ships. Brenda decided to play it safe and ate fish and ships while I took a bold leap and ordered something called a Bismarck baguette that seemed to be raw fish sushi style with onions, pickles and a sauce on French bread. I know many of you are wondering: “what was he thinking?” But the thing was unlike anything I’d ever seen with the gleaming silver fish sticking out of the French bread and I just had to try it. It wasn’t half bad actually but not something I think I’ll be having again soon.

Next, we set about the business of finding the tourist office so we could get information in English about the transit system and an Internet café so we could communicate. This will most likely be part of our routine in every new city we visit. We asked around and they told us we needed to go the Europa Center a few blocks from the station. We stepped back out into the street still hesitant and disoriented and found there were blue sign that directed us to the Europa Center and other attractions. We followed the signs and soon arrived at a square where the imposing central tower of bombed out church stood. We tried to get inside but it was closed. Next door we went into a large cylindrical structure draped in black canvas as it was being rebuilt and found that it was an actual church that was still in operation. As it turns out, the old church was never rebuilt after WWII as a reminder of the devastation and the modern building next door now serves as the church. Oddly enough the new church was covered in advertisements as it was being rebuilt.

Out in the square, there were street performers and kids playing inside the fountain. The feel of Berlin so far was much different than Frankfurt, a lot grimier and more disorganized. The Europa Center was a big mall. We had trouble finding the entrance to the tourist information office and, when we did, we bought an English city map for 1 euro but would still managed to get lost frequently while we were there. There was an Internet café there but it looked more like a place where immigrants from Africa and the Middle East come to make international calls with many small booths of yellow plywood. There were wireless hot spots all over the place but none of the ones I could connect to allowed me to log on. We began walking towards what we thought was the college but arrived at a ritzy shopping area instead. We continued to stroll down the street looking at the windows and arrived at a Dunkin Doughnuts with an Internet Café on the second floor. We logged on and Brenda started chatting online with people back home; however, we could not upload files even though there was a USB port in the front of every computer. Perhaps they disabled the ports after people started uploading viruses and doing all sorts of other mischief.

Finding our way back wasn’t as easy as we’d thought. We had failed to notice that the express bus stopped running at 8:00 pm and could not figure out the diagrams to tell us which buses we needed to take instead. On top of that we knew that the campsite was in Gatow but there were several different stations with the name Gatow in them and we could not remember which one we left from. (Not that it mattered since the station where we needed to get off on the way back wasn’t the same one.) We could have taken a taxi but decided to give the bus a chance. We looked at the chart for a while trying to decipher it when Brenda had the inspired idea of asking a bus driver from one of the passing busses. I wasn’t too hot on the idea since I didn’t want to get cursed out in German by a bus driver eager to stay on schedule but decided to let her give it a try. Well, the bus drivers were incredibly accommodating. The first driver told us the number of the bus to wait for and to tell the driver where we wanted to go. The driver on that bus made sure we knew where we needed to get off and which bus we needed to take for the final leg. The driver on the last bus kept us from getting off on the wrong stop. To add to our humiliation at not knowing which stop we needed to get off on, half the bus got off at our same station and most of the people that got off were staying at our same campsite. We were quite embarrassed but by our last day there we could follow the bus routes like nobody’s business.

On our second day in Berlin we woke up early since we had an ambitious schedule of sightseeing to complete. It took us a while to get breakfast ready, wash up and get to the bus station. We have opted for preparing simple meals such as hardboiled eggs with bread, coffee and juice for breakfast and ham, turkey and cheese sandwiches for lunch and dinner, to simplify cleanup. We found this great juice called “multi-vitamin nectar” that we first had for breakfast at the hotel in Frankfurt and have it almost every day for breakfast. It is tasty and, if the name is any indication, it should be good for us too. In addition to cooking, we’ll normally have one meal at a café or restaurant per day when we are out sightseeing. This has allowed us to normally keep to around 50 euros per day between the two of us on average, which is not to bad since most TV shows that feature budget travel, such as Rachel Ray’s “Fifty Dollars a Day” or “Five Takes Europe”, budget that same amount per person. Of course, our budget does not include lodging since we sleep in the van and the rental is already paid up for the month. Most of the meals we’ve had over here have been less that 20 euros for the two of us and most have been excellent with few exceptions. We’ve found that when we eat where the locals eat and stay away from cafes near main attractions, the food is both very good and extremely cheap.

By the time we arrived at the city center it was almost 9:00 am. We needed to get cash so we could buy a day ticket valid for all the city’s transit systems or tageskarte. The tageskarte can be bought from machines or bus drivers; however, we didn’t remember to get cash the night before so we only had enough money for two full-fare tickets from the campsite to downtown, so we ended up spending a little bit extra; however, the day pass was still the best deal even if we had to pay one full fare in order to buy it. Armed with a map of the transit system and the knowledge to read it, we took the 100 bus from the main train station, which takes the scenic route through the Tiergarten, Berlin’s central park. From the bus we saw the Siegessaule, the 70 meter column that commemorates the king of Prussia’s defeat of the French in 1870. The bus was crammed with tourist headed for the Reichstag, which is the current seat of the German senate or Bundestag and where a fire was used by Hitler as an excuse to seize power before World War II. This time I made a point of finding out the exact stop we needed to take beforehand and we arrived at the correct place. A long line was already forming in the steps of the Reichstag. We stood in line not sure what it was for but we soon found out that there was a glass dome on the roof that offered spectacular views of the city but that we needed to go through security first.

We only stood in line for an hour but it seemed longer. By the time we were getting ready to go inside, the line was much longer so it was worthwhile to get up early and do the Reichstag first. Once inside we were herded into a room that was basically a funnel for people so that the precise number of visitors were allowed in and steered towards security at regular intervals. After a few claustrophobic minutes, we were in line to go through security. The guards were quite thorough. There was a female and a male guard and they would pat people down if the metal detector went off. Once we went through security we were guided into a large elevator, which seemed to climb forever. In the roof, the view was nothing short of stunning. There were great views of the Platz der Republik as well as the bell tower built to mark the city’s 750th anniversary, the Swiss embassy, the House of Word Cultures as well as many of the other city landmarks. The dome was also impressive, although the view was obstructed by the dome’s metal framework. Inside the dome was an exhibit of the building’s history. It was amazing to see how the building had been destroyed by fire and completely rebuilt. It was also interesting that a sham parliament under the Nazis never sat in the Reichstag, thus the building is also a symbol of the restoration of democracy after the war.

Next we visited the Brandenburg Tor next door, which is the only one of the city’s doors that remains. Atop the door there’s a sculpture that was taken to France by Napoleon when he marched into Berlin and later brought back to Germany when Napoleon was defeated in the 1800s. We strolled down the 17 Juni Strasse, a street styled after the wide Parisian boulevards. The street was named after a famous worker revolt in East Berlin during the communist rule, which we would learn more about later at the Checkpoint Charlie museum. In the plaza in front of the gate, a street performer posed as statue all painted white with a wreath of roses by her feet. (A little creepy, if you ask me.) Nearby an old military truck painted white was parked as an advertisement of a museum dedicated to the victims of communist repression. The interior of the truck was laid out as a mobile prison with several incredibly cramped cells inside. The attraction’s guardians were so insistent in pulling people by the arm to get them to step inside the truck that they might as well be reminders of communist repression themselves.

We began walking towards the only remaining military checkpoint along what once was the Berlin wall as well as two of the few the remaining sections of the wall. Along the way we felt hungry and sat down at a Chinese restaurant on one of the side streets away from the gate. The food was very good and the place looked very fancy but the prices were quite reasonable. The Chinese hostess did not speak any English but they had an English menu, as did many of the restaurants we encountered and the waiter’s English was very good. This was a shame since I wanted to practice some of the new phrases I have learned from my German phrasebook. The waiter later told me that some of expressions in the book were not commonly used anymore. I suspected as much since I didn’t hear people using many of the expressions on the book. Another word of advice to would be European travelers: always ask if service is included in the bill and, if it’s not and you are paying by credit card, specify the tip amount to be placed on the card before the waiter goes to scan the card since it is not possible to add in a tip afterwards as is commonly done in America.

After lunch, we managed to find Checkpoint Charlie, which is a major tourist magnet. The guard post has been restored to the way it looked just after WWII and a young man and woman in period military uniforms stood guard and posed for pictures with visitors for a charge. The whole thing was just a little too Walt Disney World for me. The entire area around the checkpoint had been completely renovated and the lone relic looked somewhat out of context. In fact, throughout our visit to the nearby museum dedicated to the history of the wall, I would feel somewhat disconnected from the events surrounding the wall. The artifacts and exhibits in the museum explained the events that led up to the formation of the wall and showed the lengths to which people would go to in order to escape to the West; however, without the places where these events took place, I felt like I was looking at everything through a TV screen. It wasn’t until I saw the remaining portions of the wall that I would get a real sense of the history of the wall and what it represented. The wall sections, some cracked and broken with rusted rebar showing through the holes, some covered in graffiti, some covered in murals, were just what I needed to get some perspective.

We headed towards Potsdamer Platz that was originally built as a place to quickly assemble and mobilize troops. Today it is a thriving commercial center with the imposing Sony Center nearby, a huge mall with several theaters, shops and restaurants. The mall is open on one side but topped by a glass dome and bordered by tall glass buildings on the other three sides. There is a fountain in the center and cafes all around as well as a giant screen that shows advertisements along with the latest music videos. When we arrived for the first time, a video by our compatriot Ricky Martin was playing on the big screen featuring the rapper Fat Joe. We had brought along our laptop in hopes of finding a T-mobile hot spot where we could buy enough time to upload photos and updates to the Blog. We were pleasantly surprised when we fired up the computer and discovered that the Sony Center has free wireless Internet all over the building. We sat down in front of the big screen to chat online, check email and post our updates and a group of teenagers parked themselves next to us. They were speaking a language unknown to us (which didn’t sound like German either) but they immediately recognized Ricky Martin and Fat Joe. Thus far, in every city we’ve visited, we’ve seen how popular culture can sometimes form a common bond linking disparate cultures especially among young people.

After the Sony Center we were absolutely exhausted so we began the long trek back to the campsite. Luckily, we would manage to catch the last express bus back to Gatow, which meant that we only had to change buses once from the Sony Center to the campsite. Still today we had trouble recognizing the correct stop and almost got out of the bus one stop too early. Luckily, we realized our mistake before getting off and someone else climbed down at that stop, sparing us the embarrassment of having to announce that we had pushed the Stop button mistakenly. Tomorrow we would finally know which was our stop, but then it was time to move on to Prague.

Autostadt and Berlin

2005-10-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

Going to Autostadt was a pilgrimage of sorts for me. I consider myself a Volkswagen enthusiasts having owned more than my share of both old and new cars made by them. When I heard that Volkswagen had built and “Auto City” or Autostadt near Wolfsburg, I told myself that I had to go if I was ever back in Germany. Finding the place was a challenge though. This place isn’t on most tourist guides and Wolfsburg is not a “required” stop on the best of Europe. I had found Autostadt on the Garmin MapSource database of Europe and had planned the route electronically. Even though Viki was still not talking to us, we were able to get the directions from the computer; however, as it turned out, they were totally wrong. First, they made no mention of the fact that the A5 turned into the A7 1/3 of the way between Frankfurt and Hanover. Second, they told us to get off the highway several exits before the Autostadt exit. The first problem was solved easily since I had looked at the map at one of the rest stops and determined that the A7 would take us where we needed to go after the A5 disappeared. The second problem, however, required us to stop and ask for directions two times. Again, the German people were extremely accommodating. Through a combination of sign language and my limited understanding of the German language, I managed to understand where they wanted me to go. The problem was that few people seemed to know about Autostadt and it wasn’t in the road map. The first guy sent me to the Volkswagen dealership. The second guy told me to talk to his friend who knew a little bit of English but she wanted to send me back towards Hanover; however, the non-English-speaker understood what I was looking for and pointed to where I needed to go on the map. (Looking at his fingernails I could tell he worked on cars so it was no surprise that he knew the place.)

Back on the highway we soon saw a sign for Autostadt with the profile of a VW Beetle for a symbol. After that, we had no problem finding the place by following the signs. Soon we could make out the twin towers where every single model of VW currently being made in every imaginable color is housed, ready to be picked up robotically and brought down to the basement where it is transferred to a neighboring building with an indoor driving course where excited owners will test drive and take delivery of their new baby. We actually saw people in the lobby nervously clutching a set of brand new EU tags as they anxiously waited to be taken into the delivery pavilion. Wow! If VW ever establishes a European delivery program for Americans like Porsche, BMW and Volvo do, we’re definitely picking up our next car here. Right away we could tell that this visit was going to be something special and Autostadt did not disappoint. Even Brenda, who would probably rather visit “Fashion City” if there was such a place (although, I guess every city here so far has been a “fashion city”), got as excited as I was jumping into every new car in sight and wanting to visit every exhibit.

The walk from the parking to the park entrance seemed interminable. We were brimming with anticipation and could not wait to get in. The lobby of main building, where the main cafeteria, ticket office and several exhibits are housed, was an enormous hall with nothing inside of it but a circular counter where tickets were sold and a hollow globe. There were also globes representing planets inside the floor visible through Plexiglas. The entire complex was one giant modern art piece that epitomizes German design with its simplicity, sleekness and practicality. Even the bathrooms were unique, each one with it’s own particular décor according to the pavilion which housed it.

Upon entering the park we were enthralled by the exhibits on the main hallway. There were several floors of displays explaining the innovations in safety that Volkswagen has pioneered as well as the design process of the cars, including a chair where a test subject could be spun around in any direction like a fighter pilot as well as a new beetle cut in half. I know that VWs have gained a reputation for being somewhat unreliable in the US lately; however, the cars are incredibly advanced and well thought out and they are everywhere here, by far one of the most popular cars. That leads me to believe that VW of North America has dropped the ball somehow in training technicians and handling recalls. Also, the models being introduced into the North American market now are usually the expensive ones and not the reasonably priced practical cars that nonetheless feature advanced German engineering and for which they are known.

We had lunch at the wonderful cafeteria where one could select from an amazing variety of food and drink at reasonable prices. At every station the attendant would serve you and scan your personal food card (which you were handed upon entering). When you were ready to leave, you took the card to the cashier and she would scan it and give you your total. Even though we were practically the only foreigners there, the staff was very well trained and almost every single person we spoke to knew how to explain everything in several. It was also in the cafeteria were we witnessed a rather sad occurrence but one that hopefully ended well. We were standing in line to get a delicious roast when a man in a nearby table started having an epileptic seizure. A staff member who was in line before us to get his own food immediately sprang into action and took hold of the man wrapping his arms around him so he wouldn’t hurt himself and gently guided the man to floor. He laid the man down and made sure his airway was open. He clearly had some training in first aid. Within minutes the paramedics arrived and even before we got our food the man was being loaded into a stretcher as the heroic staff member comforted him and made sure he was calm. How is that for German efficiency! Brenda and I said a prayer for the man before enjoying our lunch and hope that, wherever he is, he is doing well.

The rest of the day at Autostadt was great. We walked the entire park and saw every single exhibit until we could not move. Some of the pavilions of the different brands owned by Volkswagen were nothing more than elaborate artsy commercials for the brand; however, the antique and exotic car collection more than made up for this. They even had a World Rally Championship (WRC) car. Rallying is a motorsport that is virtually unknown in US but famous almost everywhere else. As a fan of the WRC, seeing the car up close was the next best thing to attending a rally.

At the end of the day, we went back to our camper and took a short nap. We were worn out from all the walking and hadn’t slept well the night before but were eager to get back on the road towards Berlin. In the end Autostadt was totally worth the extra effort. We drove west toward Berlin and got to within 50 km of the city where we stopped at a rest that, even though it was nowhere near as nice as the one we had stayed in the previous night, had its own police station so we figured we would be safe even if the services and showers were not up to our standards. We managed to get a full night sleep despite the busload of rowdy teenagers that stopped by late that night.

First day on the road

2005-10-02T03:00:00.000-04:00

I am writing from a very fancy rest stop by the A7 in Germany on the way to Hamburg. This place is incredible! Showers, clean state of the art restrooms, full service cafeteria, Internet hot spot, etc.… There is .50 euro charge for the rest room but you get a voucher for .50 euro that you can redeem for food or products, as the idyllic-sounding voice in the restroom reminds visitors in both English and in German. The place is somewhat expensive but the facilities merit a stopover here. BTW: I have stopped attempting to put accent marks on the Spanish posts since, from now on, we will have to write the posts beforehand and port them as text into computers at the Internet cafes and the special characters don’t translate well into plain text.

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Estoy escribiendo desde un area de descanso en la carretera A7 en Alemania en ruta a Hamburgo. Este lugar es increible! Duchas, servicios sanitarios modernos, cafeteria, Internet hot spot, etc…. Hay un cargo de .50 euro para usar los servicios sanitarios pero te dan un cupon .50 euro que puedes redimir con la compra de productos o comida, como te recuerda una voz electronica en el bano en ingles y aleman. El sitio es algo caro pero las facilidades ameritan una parada aqui. BTW: He dejado de tratar de ponerle acentos a las palabras en espanol ya que de ahora en adelante tendremos que escribir los reportes y pasarlos a las computadoras en los Internet cafes como texto y los simbolos no se traducen bien cuando uno hace eso.

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Today has been a very eventful day. As you may be able to tell, we have hit the road a day early (and we are awake in the middle of the night). Our original plan was to stay at a campsite near Frankfurt to get use to the van before heading Northeast to Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen plant; however, a kindly couple at the camper rental place told us that we did not have to stay at a campsite in Germany but that we could pull into any rest stop and spend the night. Armed with this knowledge we set about to save time and drive as far as we could tonight before turning in for the night. With any luck we will be in Wolfsburg by the time we post this. We are about halfway between Frankfurt and Wolfsburg. We arrived here around 9:00 pm local time after stopping at a few other rest stops that looked run down and isolated. We went to bed but only managed a few hours of sleep before we were wide-awake. Perhaps we are still jet-lagged or may all the excitement just got to us. Let me back us a minute and tell you about it…

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Hoy ha sido un dia lleno de actividad. Como podran ver, hemos iniciado la jornada un dia antes de lo que planificamos (y estamos despiertos en medio de la noche). Originalment nos ibamos a quedar esta noche en un campamento cerca de Frankfurt antes de partir hacia de noreste para Wolfsburg y la planta de Volkswagen, pero una amable pareja en la agencia de renta de campers nos dijo que en Alemania uno podia estacionarse en cualquier area de descanso y pasar la noche, por lo que decidimos llegar tan lejos como pudiesemos antes de dormir. Estamos como a la mitad del camino entre Frankfurt y Wolfsburg. Llegamos como a las 9:00 pm hora local y dormimos por unas horas pero pronto nos encontramos bien despiertos. Quizas todavia nos estamos acoplando al cambio de hora o quizas la exitacion del dia fue demaciado para nosotros. Dejenme contarles…

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We woke up late, around 9:00 am, and we needed to pick up the van at 10:00. We hurried to pack our tons of stuff and went down for breakfast. We took a cab for Offenbach, where McRent is located, at around 11:00 am. We happened to catch the cab of a Venezuelan o French descent named Felipe and had a nice chat in Spanish during the ride. When we told him about our plan of traveling around Europe for a month in camper, Felipe exclaimed: “That’s why you have so much baggage!” We had our doubts at one point that Felipe knew where he was going but he found the address printed on the van rental receipt I gave him easily. Finding the rental depot, however, proved more challenging. The place was hidden behind other businesses and the McRent sign was only visible from the opposite direction we were traveling in. After a few seconds of confusion, Brenda spotted the sign and we arrived at our destination.

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Nos levantamos tarde como a las 9:00 am cuando debiamos recoger el camper como a las 10:00. Nos apresuramos a empacar nuestras toneladas de equipaje y bajamos al desayuno. Para las 11:00 am tomamos un Taxi rumbo a Offenbach, donde McRent esta localizado. Da la casualidad de que abordamos el Taxi de un venezolano de decendencia francesa llamado Felipe y tuvimos una charla muy amena en el camino. Cuando le contamos a Felipe de nuestro plan de viajar por Europa durante un mes en un camper, el exclamo: “Por eso es que tienen tanto equipaje!”. Teniamos dudas de que Felipe sabia para donde iba pero pronto encontro la direccion que estaba impresa en el recibo de renta que yo le di. Encontrar la oficina de McRent fue algo mas complicado. El lugar estaba escondido detras de otros negocios y el letrero no se veia de la dirreccion en la que viajabamos. Depues de unos segundos de confusion, Brenda vio el letrero y llegamos a nuestro destino.

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Checking out the van was complicated by the fact that Monday is reunification day here in Germany and many people are on Holiday for the long weekend including, of course, the secretary at McRent’s Offenbach depot. A pudgy young man named Leiman was practically the only one left. His English was very good and he made every effort to serve us to the best of his abilities; however, we was not at all familiar with the paperwork needed to check out a van. The first issue was that the secretary had left a credit card slip for me to sign for a 1,000 euro charge that was to be held a security deposit. I was not expecting them to actually charge my credit card but just to verify that I had the credit or something and necessarily charge the card and hold the funds. After interminable minutes of looking nervously at the paper and then at the computer, Leiman determined that the computer system was on holiday too and that there was nothing he could do. I asked if there was anyone else there that could help and he retrieved an older man, whom I assumed was his supervisor. (This was the same man that later with his wife would give us the tip about the rest stops.) The man said everything was okay and that we were paid in full and left, but later Leiman insisted that again that I sign the credit card slip. We brought the older man back into the office and he said that the credit card must be charged in order to release the vehicle. I yielded thinking that was probably the normal process even though I never heard about it before and nobody seemed really sure how everything worked.

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Finalizar la renta del camper se complico porque el lunes es el dia de la reunificacion en Alemania y mucha gente esta de vacaciones durnate el find de semana largo incluyendo, por supuesto, la secretaria del despacho de McRent en Offenbach. Un amable gordito de nombre Leiman era practicamente el unico que quedaba alli. Su ingles era muy bueno y el hizo todo lo possible por ayudarnos, pero no estaba familiarizado con el papeleo de entregrar el camper. El primer problema fue que la secretaria habia dejado una factura a mi tarjeta de credito por 1,000 euros como deposito de seguridad para que yo la firmara. Yo no estaba experando una factura ya que todo estaba pago de antemano y pensaba que solo podian verificar mi credito o algo asi en vez de cargar a la tarjeta y retener los fondos. Luego de minutos interminables de mirar el papel y la computadura nerviosamente, Leiman determino que el sistema de computadora estaba de vacaciones tambien y no habia nada que se pudiese hacer. Yo pregunte que si habia algien mas alli que pudiera ayudar y el fue y busco un homber mayor quien asumi que era el supervisor. (Este seria el mismo que junto a su esposa nos aconsejaria luego acerca de las areas de descanso.) El senor dijo que todo estaba bien y se fue, pero luego Leiman insistio que firmara la factura. Volvimos a buscar al senor y el dijo que habia que retener los fondos para poder sacar el vehiculo. Yo cedi viendo que probablemente ese era el proceso normal aunque era la primera vez que escuchaba de eso y nadie parecia estar seguro de como funcionaba todo.

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Next Leiman gave me a very thorough demonstration of the van and showed me how everything worked. The van is in pretty decent shape even though it does have a few dents and scratches and the interior rattles quite a bit. I was very impressed with the design of the interior and how all the systems work. The interior layout is very well thought out and offers plenty of storage and everything seems very efficient. Since it was raining, we asked if we could stay in the garage for a while until we had a chance to unpack and store everything. Brenda set about to sanitize everything while I unpacked the gear and set it on the bed for her to organize and store. It took almost an hour for us to be ready to leave.

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Proximamente Leiman me dio una exaustiva demostracion del vehiculo y me mostro como todo funcionaba. El camper esta en muy buenas condiciones aunque si tiene unos cuantos choques y rayazos. Yo quede muy impresionado con el diseno. El interior esta arreglado de tal forma que ofrece mucho espacio de almacenaje y todo parecia funcionar my eficientemente. Como estaba lloviendo, preguntamos si nos podiamos quedar en el garaje para desempacar y acomodar todo. Brenda procedio a desinfectar todo mientras yo sacaba el equip y lo ponia en la cama para que ella lo organizara y guardara. Nos tomo casi una hora antes de que estuvieramos listos para partir.

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After trying unsuccessfully to find a place where Leiman said we could find a new shower curtain, we hit the grocery store. This was our first experience outside the tourist areas and, as is to be expected, most people did not speak English. The supermarket, which is called Hit, was huge and packed with people as most grocery stores back home on a Saturday. There was a deli near the entrance and we decided to have lunch before going shopping. The lady at the counter did not speak English but gladly gave us samples and explained through signs what everything was. There was another man behind the counter making what looked like gyros so we pointed to him and motioned that we wanted two of whatever they were. I still don’t know the name but, whatever it was, tasted absolutely delicious. The lamb (cooked just like gyro meat) was shaved paper-thin so that every piece was crunchy. The bread was some a round pocket bread toasted to perfection and it was stuffed with vegetables and a garlic sauce. We sat at a tall table nearby where a lady was eating the same thing. She scooted over to make space and when we thanked her, she replied in perfect English. We began chatting and she told use about her travels and how she loved Offenbach because it was so diverse and how she would come every Saturday from her job to that grocery store just for that sandwich. Despite the hassles that we would later experience, that lunch perfectly embodied the spirit of this trip, to go outside our comfort zone in order to experience serendipitous encounters with other cultures.

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Despues de tratar sin exito de buscar un lugar donde Leiman dijo que podriamos hayar una cortina de bano, llegamos al supermercado. Esta seria nuestra primera experiencia fuera del area turistica y, como es de esperar, pocas personas hablaban ingles. El supermercado, llamado Hit, era enorme y estaba repleto de gente al igual que los supermercados en casa cada sabado. Habia un deli cerca de la entrada y decidimos almorzar antes de empezar nuestras compras. La senora del mostrador no sabia ingles pero alegremente nos dio a probar de las cosas que tenia y por senas a mostrarnos lo que cada cosa contenia. Vimos a otro hombre haciendo lo que parecia como un gyro y senalamos que queriamos dos de esos. Todavia no se como se llamaba pero, sea lo que sea, era delicioso. La carne era como de gyro pero cortada muy fina de forma tal que quedaba tostada y crugiente. El pam que era un pan redondo de “bolsillo” estaba tostado a perfeccion y lleno de vegetales y una salsa de ajo muy rica. Nos sentamos en una mesa alta junto a una dama que comia lo mismo y ella se echo para un lado para que cupieramos. Cuando le dimos las gracias, ella respondio en ingles perfecto. Empezamos a charlar sobre sus viajes, nuestros planes y lo mucho que le gustaba Offenback porque era tan diverso. Ella nos dijo que venia cada sabado desde su trabajo para comer ese sandwich. A pesar de las complicaciones de la manana y las que sufririamos luego, ese almuerzo encarno perfectamente el espiritu de este viaje: salirnos de nuestra zona de comodidad para experimentar encuentros expontaneos con otras culturas.

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Grocery shopping proved more difficult than we thought. Deciphering the German labels of even household products was a daunting task, even after we consulted our handy “German for Travelers” phrasebook. Hit offered just too much variety and it was difficult to know what to choose. For example, the German word for salt is simply salz; however, there were ten different kinds of salts for different purposes. We managed to find all of what we needed but it took a lot longer and was far more tiring than we ever thought possible. Once we were done, I simply assumed that they would take credit cards as they do at home. Wrong! After the cashier had scanned all my stuff I had to run to the ATM to get cash while the long queue of Saturday shoppers waited for me. Brenda thought that the cashier and the lady behind me in line were upset that we couldn’t speak German and were holding up the line but when I came back to the line I excused myself to the lady in German (which was one of the expressions I had just learned prior) and she smiled and I heard her say “no problem”. Up to now we have found Germans to be very friendly and extremely patient with our ineptitude about how things work around here. I prefer to think that Brenda just misunderstood what they were talking about.

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Las compras probaron ser mas complicadas de lo que criamos. Decifrar los nombres de aun los productos mas basicos fue muy dificil. Hit tenia demaciada seleccion. Por ejemplo, la palabra en aleman para sal es simplemente salz pero habian diez tipos de sal differentes y era dificil saber cual era la sal de mesa. Pudimos encontrar todo lo que buscabamos pero tomo mucho mas tiempo y energia de lo que ambos pensabamos. Cuando terminamos, yo asumi que acceptarian tarjetas de credito como lo hacen en casa. No! Tuve que salir corriendo para el cajero automatico mientras la fila de clientes esperaba por mi. Brenda penso que la cajera y la senora que estaban detras de mi se enojaron de no podiamos hablar aleman y de que deteniamos la file pero cuando you regrese me disculpe en aleman (una de las pocas frases que se) y la senora sonrio y la oi decir que no habia problema. Hasta ahora los alemas han sido muy amigable y pacientes ante nuestra ineptitud al no saber como funcionan las cosas. Yo prefiero pensar que Brenda malinterpreto a la senora y que ellas estaban hablando de otra cosa.

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After grocery shopping, we visited a nearby internet cafe to check email and let relatives know that we were okay and soon would be on the road. The place was very cheap (1 hour for 1 euro) compared to the 24 hrs of wireless service available at the hotel. The only downside was that the place reeked of cigarettes, a common problem over here. We were eager to get on the road; however, we encountered a problem. The fancy electronic equipment that we were counting on to guide us around wasn’t working. The data from the electronic maps had been loaded into the GPS unit; however, the routing capability did not work. The electronic voice, which we affectionately named Viki, was silent. No only that, but the routes were not being displayed on the GPS unit at all. This meant that Brenda would have to read off the directions to me from the computer. But first, we had to get onto the highway which was harder that it sounds given that we were not at the place where the directions started from. It took only a couple of U-turns to get us on our way but our confidence was shattered after realizing that the pride we took in being well prepared for the trip was just an illusion. I had relied too much on the fancy electronics and had not studied the routes well at all.

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Despues de el supermercado fuimos a un Internet cafe cercano a leer nuestro email y a dejarle saber a nuestros familiares que estabamos bien y que pronto estarimos en la carretera. El lugar era muy barato (1 hora por 1 euro) comparado for el “wireless” que habiamos tendio en el hotel pero apestaba a cigarillos que lamentablemente es un problema comun en Europa. Estabamos deseosos de emprender el viajepero encotramos un problema. El equip electronico tan avanzado que queiramos usar para guarnos no funcionaba. La data de los mapas electronicos habia sido tranferida al GPS pero la capacidad de trazar rutas no funcionaba. La voz electronica, la cual habiamos nombrado Viki de carino, no decia nada. Peor aun, las rutas no aparecian en el GPS del todo. Brenda tendria que leerme las direcciones de la computadora, pero primero teniamos que llegar a la autopista. Esto fue mas dificil de lo que parece ya que las direcciones empezaban en un lugar differente al que estabas. Solo tomo un par de vueltas en U para orientarnos pero nuestra confianza estaba danada al ver que nuestor orgullo de ser viajeros bien preparados era solo una ilusion. Habia dependido demasiado del equipe electronico y no habia estudiado las rutas lo suficiente.

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Once in the highway things started looking up. Driving here didn’t feel much different than back home. The highways are excellent and the signs are very informative. Rest stops abound, though we found that some seemed isolated and the facilities were run down and covered with graffiti. It is best to stop at the ones that have the food sign since these are manned 24 hours a day and have clean bathrooms with showers. Even though our rig has a bathroom, we have decided to try not to use it since dump stations for the waste are not as common as they are back home. The main difference driving over here is the speeds at which people drive. Back home on I-95, for example, people routinely drive 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit. In fact, if you drive right at 65, you are liable to get run over by a semi. Over here, on the other hand, you cannot even be on the middle lane if you drive below 120 kph (around 70 mph) or people will start honking their horns at you and flashing their lights. I normally tried to keep my speed between 110 and 120 kph. This is the speed I normally drive at home with my truck and camper to keep fuel consumption down. Also with this tall bus-like rig I thought it would be safer to keep it under 70 mph. Every few seconds an Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen or BMW would blow by like I was standing still. They were going so fast that our van (which is twice the size of the cars) would shake from side to side in their wake. They must have been going over 100 mph! We’ve all heard the stories about how there is no speed limit on the Autobahn; however, there was a posted speed limit in most places and the speeds people were driving were still insane. We never saw a traffic cop in a full day of driving in the Autobahn.

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Una vez el la carretera las cosas se veian mejor. Conducir aca no es differente a conducir en casa. Las autopistas son excelentes y estan muy bien rotuladas. Las areas de descanso abundan aunque algunas son mas apartadas y estan en mal estado y llenas de graffiti. Lo mejor es parar solo en las que tienen restaurante ya que en ellas has gente a todas horas y los banos son muy limpios y hay duchas. Aunque nuestro vehiculo tiene bano tratamos de no usarlo ya que las estaciones para vaciar el tanque so pocas. La diferencia principal es la velocidad a la que la gente conduce. En Virginia en la carretera inter-estatal la gente normalment guia a 5 o 10 mph mas que el limite. De hecho si vas a 65 te arriesgas a que un camion te pase por encima. En Alemania no puedes ir a menos de 120 kph (alrededor de 70 mph) aun en el carril del medio o la gente empieza a tocar bocina y a dar cambio de luces. Yo trato de mantenerme entre 110 y 120 kph. Esta es la velocidad que normalmente conduzco en casa con mi pickup y camper para ahorrar gasolina. Ademas pense que como el vehiculo es tan alto seria mas seguro conducir a menos de 70 mph, pero a cada rato un Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen o BMW me pasaba por el lado como si estuviera parado. Los carros pasan tan rapido que el camper se mueve de lado a lado con viento de su estela. Deben ir a 100 mph por lo menos! Todos hemos oido historias sobre como en el Autobahn no hay limite de velocidad pero habia limite en muchos lugares de 120 kph pero aun asi la gente iba volando. Nunca vimos un polocia mientras estuvimos en al Autobahn.

-Imanuel

On the Road again!

2005-10-01T04:50:00.000-04:00

We picked up our van and everything went fine. The camper is great and we should be on the road soon. Everything is just taking longer than we though: picking up the car, grocery shopping, etc. We will post more on this later and photos of the van also.

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Recogimos el camper y todo fue bien. El camper esta bien "gufeao" y estaremos de camino pronto. Solo que todo tomo mas tiempo de lo que creiamos: recoger el van, comprar comida, etc. Mas sobre eso luego y tambien fotos del camper.

Sightseeing in Frankfurt - Visitando Frankfurt

2005-09-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

Our day began at the hotel where we enjoyed a wonderful complementary breakfast in a dining room with Asian inspired decor with a great view of a lush garden. We relaxed for a while in the cowhide living room chairs before heading out for a day of sightseeing. It will be hard to get use to the austerity of the van after all this luxury even if does mean that we will not have to pack and unpack everything every couple of nights. I am a bit nervous about driving and finding our way in strange country. Staying in hotels like this would be the comfortable thing to do; however, this trip isn't about being comfortable. It's about getting over our fears and insecurities and experiencing Europe to the fullest!

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Nuestro dia empezo en el hotel donde disfrutamos de un maravilloso desayuno complementario en un salon comedor con decoracion inspirada en el lejano oriente y una gran vista del frondose jardin interior. Nos relajamos por un rato en las butacas de piel de vaca que hay en el lobby del hotel antes de salir para un dia de visitar las atracciones de Frankfurt. Va a ser dificil acostumbrarse a la austeridad del camper despues de todo este lujo aunque quiera decir que no tenemos que desempacar todo cada dos dias. Estoy un poco nervioso por tener que guiar y navegar en una tierra extrana. Lo mas comodo seria hospedarse en hoteles come este, pero este viaje no se trata de comodidad sino de soberllevar nuestros miedos y experimentar a Europa al maximo.

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We again took the U2 to the historic town center, the Romberg, where we visited the Cathedral or the Dom. The Dom happened to be closed so we peered at the altar from behind the gate and tried to snap a few pictures that did not come out too good. We then walked around trying unsuccesfully to find the Romer, which has been city hall since 1405, and the entrance to the Kaisserhal or "Emperor's Hall", where there are portraits of the 52 emperors from Chalemagne to Franz II. Instead we arrived at the waterfront where we were awed by the wonderful vistas.

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Abordamos el U2 una vez hasta el centro historico de la ciudad, el Romber, donde visitamos la catedral o el Dom. El Dom estaba cerrado hoy por lo que tratamos de tomar fotos del altar desde detras de la rejo, pero las fotos no salieron muy bien. Caminos la plaza tratando de encontrar sin exito el Romer, que ha servido de alcaldia desde el 1405, y la entrada al Kaisserhal o "Sala de Emperadores", donde se encuentran las fotos de los 52 emperadores desde Chalemagne hasta Franz II. Llegamos a la orilla del rio donde nos maravillamos ante las hermosas vistas.

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We crossed a bridge to other side where we strolled down the tree-lined pedestrian path looking for the Stadel museum, which houses many works by master like Monet, Degas, Renoir Picaso, Beckmann and Kandinski. The walk to the museum was pleasant and we passed many other museums like the Communications, Architecture and Film Museum. The Stadel museum was excellent and we took our time browsing the exhibitions. A word of advice to budget travelers in order: most of the museums and attractions have an entrance fee and it can be expensive to visit all the sights. Some sights may be a better "value" than others depending on your interests. For example, given the volume of master works contained within, the Stadel was in our opinion and excellent value at 2 euros per person; however, the Kaisserhall costs the same but it is basically one room with 52 portraits. The Frankfurt history museum was even pricier at 4 euros per person.

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Cruzamos el puente para llegar al otro lado del rio y caminamos por un paseo cubierto por arboles en bœsqueda del museo Stadel que contiene obras de maestros como Monet, Degas, Renoir Picaso, Beckmann and Kandinski. El paseo fue plasentero y nos llev— por varios museos como el de communicaciones, arquitectura y cinematografia. El museo fue exellent y pasamos un largo rato admirando los trabajos que contiene. Una advertencia al viajero de fondos limitados: casi todas las atracciones tienen un precio de entrada y puede ser costoso visitarlo todo. Algunas atracciones representan un mejor valor por su dinero que otras. Por ejemplo, el Stadel que cuesta 2 euros por persona es una ganga dado el gran nœmero de obras renombradas que contiene. El Kaisserhall, que cuesta lo mismo, consiste de una sola sala con 52 retratos.

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After visiting the museum we walked back across the river on the suspension bridege, which rocked noticeably when the wind blew. The long walk back to the Romerberg left us tired and hungry and we sat down at the first cafe we encountered besides the plaza, which turned out to be twice what we paid for dinner the night before for less food plus a tip for the waitress. Another tip to budget travelers: stay away from Restaurants near major attractions. After lunch we visited de Kaisserhall, which added to food and transportation expenses blew the budget for the day.

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Despues de visitar el museo, volvimos a cruzar el rio sobre un puente de suspencion que se movia perceptiblemente cuando el viendo le daba. La larga caminata hasta el Romberg nos dejo cansados y hambrientos y nos sentamos en el primer cafe que encontramos cerca de la plaza. Otro consejo sobre finanzas: alejense de los restaurantes cercanos a las atracciones principales. Luego de almorzar visitamos el Kaisserhall que junto as los gastos de comida y transportacion nos puso fuera de presupuesto por el dia.

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After lunch, we visited the Museum of History of Frankfurt where we learned about the origins of the city which has been a crossroads since medieval times. We also saw a model of how the city was completely destroyed by allied bombing during World War II. Only the church spire remained standing. It was impressive! Considering the destruction of the city it is incredible how they've managed to recreate and preserve the area around the Romber.

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Luego de almorzar, visitamos del Museo de Historia de Frankfurt donde aprendimos acerca de los origenes de esta ciudad que ha sido un importante puerto comercial desde tiempos mediavales. Ademas observamos un modelo de como la ciudad habia quedado despues del bombardeo de la Segundo Guerra Mundial. Todo fue destruido excepto la torre de la iglecia. Considerando la devastacion, es increible que hayan podido reconstruir y conservar el area alrededor del Romerberg.

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One of the most intriguing things about the Frankfurt History Museum was this exhibit dedicated to the works of a local author. In it was included a book about the traditional music of our native land of Puerto Rico. I am often amazed at how far reaching the music and culture of such a small Caribbean island can be. Today, a new generation of performers from all over Latin America are breaking new ground worldwide. So far we've heard works from Shakira and Juanes blaring over the loudspeakers at department stores and on German television and Puerto Rican rappers like Daddy Yankee and Don Omar are busting on the scene in the US and elsewhere.

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Una de las cosas mas interesantes del Museo de Historia de Frankfurt fue este exhibit dedicado a un autor local quien escribio un libro sobre la mœsica folklorica de nuestra tierra natal de Puerto Rico. A menudo me maravillo de cuan lejos puede llegar la mœsica y cultura de una isla caribena tan pequena. Hoy una nueva generacion de artistas de toda latinoamerica esta abriendo nuevas brechas en el mundo de la mœsica internacional. Hasta ahora hemos escuchado canciones de Juanes y Shakira por los altavoces de la tiendas y en la television alemana y raperos puertorriquenos como Daddy Yankee y Don Omar estan sonando en el mercado norteamericano y alrededor del mundo.

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We hiked several blocks to the shopping area where we had dinner the night before. The streets seemed even more chaotic although most of the farm animals were gone (only the bunnies were left) and we saw a craftsman carving a huge owl right on the street.

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Caminamos varias cuadras hasta el centro comercial donde centro commercial donde cenamos la noche anterior. Las calles estaban aun mas revueltas aunque casi todos los animales domesticos habian desaparecido (solo quedaban los conejitos) y observamos un artesano tallando un buo grande.

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Next we wandered into Kaufhof, a giant department store where one can find anything and everything.

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Despues vagamos hasta Kaufhof que es una inmensa tiendo por departamentos en donde uno encuentra todo de todo.

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Kaufhof has something like six floors packed with everything from clothes to electronics to jewelry, groceries and an excellent cafeteria. The cafeteria has a terrace that offers an amazing view of the city so Brenda and I had dessert as we marveled at the sights.

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Kaufhof tiene como seis pisos llenos de ropa, equipo electronico, joyeria, comestibles y una tremenda cafeteria. La cafeteria tiene un increible de la ciudad asi que Brenda y yo nos comimos un postre mientras admirabamos las bellezas the la ciudad.

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From the terrace one could appreciate the size of the Esprit store across the street. Esprit is one of Brenda's favorite boutiques and she took great pleasure in browsing there the night before. I all her years as a retail manager and avid shopper she had never seen a Esprit store that big. They even had men's clothes, which is not available in the 'States.

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Desde la terraza se puede apreciar el tama–o de la tienda Esprit que hay al cruzar la calle. Esprit es una de las marcas favoritas de Brenda y ella se dio tremendo gustazo alli la noche anterior. En todos sus anos como gerente de ventas y compradora no habia visto un tienda Esprit tan granda. Hasta habia ropa de hombre la cual no esta disponible en Norteamerica.

All the walking left us so tired that we stayed in tonight but the wonderful vistas of the city of Frankfurt will remain with us forever and we hope to see more when we return at the en of October.

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Tanto caminar nos dejo tan cansados que esta noche nos quedamos en el hotel pero las hermosas vistas de Franfurt se quedaran con nosotros por siempre y esperamos ver mas cuando regresemos a fines de Octubre.

-Imanuel

First day in Europe - Primer dia en Europa

2005-09-29T23:50:00.000-04:00

We were up at 4:00 am this morning. At least we got 5 good hours of sleep. After yesterday's long flight and chaotic airport experience, this is an accomplishment. As you can see, I was finally able to upload some photos. Here's a photo of the security line at the airport yesterday so you can see what we went through. Notice how far away the entrance to the terminal is and that was when we were more than halfway through!

Our first day in Europe was a success! We arrived at Frankfurt early in the morning and soon discovered that we had packed way too much. Some of it is due to the fact that we'll be living in the camper for a time. We planned to ship some of the stuff but did not have time. All the baggage meant that we had to take a Taxi to the hotel (one that was a minivan as the cars would not take us). In the end it wasn't too bad since it was just a 25 euro ride and we did not have to figure out how to buy tickets for the train from the machine (more on that later).

I was surprised at the speeds our cab driver was doing on the way to the hotel. I was expecting to see aggressive driving in Italy but not so much in Germany. At one point I saw him going up to 160 Km/h in the highway. We arrived at the hotel too early and our room was not ready, so we went for a walk. The hotel is in a very trendy neighborhood and there are many funky hotels and bars around. Without knowing, we wandered into the main train station, which is the hub of activity in Frankfurt. It is not only a station but also a mall and an arcade. We roamed the shops for a while looking for a place to have lunch and sit for a while. BTW: The food here is wonderful and very cheap! We had a couple of bratwurst and a soda and I think we paid less than 5 euros. Later that night, we had a home cooked German meal for 10 euros. (There was a 2 euro deposit to make sure we brought the plate back!)

Feeling tired and jet-lagged, we headed back for the hotel around noon hoping that our room was ready. (And it was!) We went up to our room which was small (bigger than most rooms in New York City, though) but quite cozy and stylish:

We woke up around 3:00 pm and decided to go looking for a place to have dinner and walk around. We asked at the front desk and they told us that everything was near the historic center so we went back to the station. We were told that the U2 would take us directly there but using the machine to buy tickets proved more challenging than we though. After long periods of staring at the machine like idiots and a couple of trips to the information desk, we finally had our tickets. After all that work we were surprised to learn that the transport seems to run mostly on the honor system since we were never challenged for our tickets. At the city center, we were greeted by a fairy tale scene of half-timbered houses and domed buildings around a cobblestone plaza. Exploring further down the street, we came onto the city's main shopping area where upscale department stores and boutiques flanked a street where stalls selling traditional fare and German beer were mixed in with small corrals containing handfuls of farm animals. (I still don't know what the animals were for.) There were also stalls with portable wood-burning ovens where fresh bread was being baked as well as a street-corner preacher shouting loudly in German while holding a sign with the name Jesus in bold red letters. We had dinner in outside by one of the stalls served by a German lady who spoke "poquito" Spanish. In fact, we were amazed at the large number of Spanish-speakers we heard in the streets. And it wasn’t only Spaniards but people from all over the Spanish-speaking world, many of who looked like residents and not tourists. After dinner we browsed the shops until closing time at 8:00 pm. Brenda, always the fashionista, was impressed by the selection and quality of the clothes in the stores. All in all it was a great first day!

Here are some more pictures of the area around the town center:

PS: I'm writing only in English today because I have not time and this turned out to be a long one.

-Imanuel

We made it! - Llegamos

2005-09-29T10:30:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know we made it safe. The airport was a zoo and the security line seemed interminable but we made our flight on time. I could not get an isle seat so was cramped in a middle seat for most of the 7-hour flight.

Franfurt is cool and the hotel we're staying at is very cool. We're missing an electrical adapter for the computer so there may not be any photos for a couple of days since I'm using the free computer in the hotel lobby.

Later,
Imanuel

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Sepan que llegamos bien. El aeropuerto fue un zoologico y la fila de seguridad parecia interminable pero llegamos al gate a tiempo. No consegui asiento de fila por lo que estuve incomodo las 7 horas, pero no fue tan malo como parecia al principio.

Frankfurt esta bien cool y el hotel donde nos estamos quedando es bien funky. Nos falta un adaptador electrico para la computadora por lo que no podemos poner fotos por un par de dias.

Nos Vemos,
Imanuel

Europe 2005! - ¡Europa 2005!

2005-09-27T22:53:00.000-04:00

For years we have been dreaming of European vacation; however, we wanted to do something more adventurous than a guided tour or luxury Mediterranean cruise. We wanted the freedom to roam around and explore on our own schedule, but didn’t want to do the whole Eurorail backpacking thing. We wanted to have somewhere to keep all our stuff and a safe retreat from life on the road. The answer was a rental campervan. Camping is how many Europeans choose to travel the continent. Europe has an extensive network of campsites accessible to major cities via mass transit. The rigs in Europe are smaller but campsites have extensive facilities, including showers, Laundromats, supermarkets and restaurants. Traveling by campervan would allow us to actually “live” in Europe for a season. Deciding to travel by campervan was just the first step, much research and preparation was needed. See Imanuel’s (Camuyano’s) article in ExpeditionCampers.com for details on our preparations for the trip. Also, stay tuned to this Blog for updates from the road in Europe beginning September 28 through October 28, 2005.

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Hace años que soñabamos con un viaje por Europa, pero queríamos hacer algo más exitante que una gira o un crucero de lujo por el Mediterráneo. Queríamos tener libertad para explorar en nuestro propio itinerario pero no queríamos hacerlo por Eurorail cargando una mochila. Queríamos un lugar donde guardar nuestras pertenencias y un retiro seguro de la vida de viajero. La respuesta era alquilar un camper. El camping es cómo muchos Europeos eligen viajar por el continente. Europa tiene una red extensa de campamentos cerca de las ciudades principales. Los vehículos son mas pequeños que en los Estados Unidos pero los campamentos tienen amplias facilidades como duchas, Laundromats, supermercados y restaurantes. El viajar por camper nos permitiría “vivr” en Europa por una temporada. La deccisión de viajar por camper fue sólo el principio. Aún habría mucho que planificar y muchos preparativos por completar. Vean el artículo de Imanuel (Camuyano) en ExpeditionCampers.com para más información sobre los preparativos para el viaje. Además estén pendientes a este Blog para informes desde el camino en Europa comenzando desde Septiembre 28 hasta Octubre 28 del 2005.