Woke up - ate our favorite pastries - and went to the Eiffel Tower first thing. This is another one of those sights I have been wanting to see my entire life. It was a little foggy this morning so the top was hard to see until we got right next to it, but this actually added a little to the mood of our visit. I couldn’t believe how big it was in person. It must be thousands of tons of iron. There were a lot of people taking photos and doing silly things to get the perfect shot: jumping, holding umbrellas, timing a selfie with a friend and getting it wrong. It definitely provided me with some entertainment. Another thing that really surprised me was the number of African immigrants trying to sell knick knacks (primarily small Eiffel Towers). There must have been at least a hundred of them around the base and each one wants to come up and try to sell you the same junk.
We then walked over to the Arc de Triomphe. This was also an amazing sight with many people taking photos - even in the middle of the street. It was neat just sitting there watching the cars drive around the monument and imagining the famous people who have walked through that arch. We then made our way partly down the Champs-Élyssés to look at some of the high end shopping and also what may be the largest McDonald’s ever (on top of this it was packed with people).
We took the train over to Montmartre and right in front of us was the Moulin Rouge - complete with windmill and all. We had lunch at a cafe where Amelie was filmed (a French movie with Audrey Tautou). We climbed up to the top of the hill and saw a small art market where painters will do your portrait or you can buy other works of art. The Sacré-Couer is the main attraction as it is a large basilica built on this hill and can be seen from most of the city. I think this may have been my favorite church we have visited so far. The main dome is very impressive and there is a mural above the altar that is very well done. We happened to be there during a type of mass where the bishop and nuns walk around the chapel speaking and singing the program. I enjoyed it a lot.
We came back and took naps before heading over to a small concert in a French bar. It’s a not so well known band called Vallis Alps. It was a good show though and a fun way to end the day.
We seem to be getting up later and later each day here. We have a wonderful little bakery right on the corner by our place and every morning we get brekky there. There is a really good pain suisse and croissant au amande. We went to the Luxembourg Gardens for our first stop and just walked around and took a few minutes to sit in the chairs and listen to books. We saw people playing tennis, teenagers shooting hoops, and young children at the park. There is a nice sized palace in this garden that provide a nice place to relax.
It was lunch time and we found a little cafe in a side street to have some toast with cheese and salmon on it. The next stop was the catacombs. Right outside the entrance we saw a huge demonstration for a labor union which had started a parade in the roundabout. For some reason the catacombs were closed for four hours and then once they reopened it took forever to get to the ticket counter (one reason was there were no computers and all receipts were being done by hand). To make it better it started to rain. I sat down and just listened to podcasts.
Once we got in though the catacombs were amazing. There are a decent way down under the city and huge tunnels. Due to collapses cause by excessive mining the government had to think of a way to provide additional support. Due to the overcapacity in the cemeteries it was decided to use human bones and skulls. There are huge rooms filled with thousands of skeletons piled to the ceiling. Some of the builders were creative and made heart designs or archways our of them. We saw moss caused by the light growing on some as well as crystals forming due to the moisture. Scriptures and other inscriptions were randomly situated throughout the tunnels as well. It was interesting and kind of creepy at the same time.
We next went to the Musee D’Orsay and looked at some more artwork. This was a much less intimidating museum than the Louvre and I was able to see many artists and their works while there for a little over an hour. Van Gogh - possibly my favorite - along with Monet and Degas were all represented. There were also these gigantic clock windows on the top floor everyone wanted to take pictures of (with them in it of course). It was fun to sit in these giant baseball glove-like couches and just people watch.
We had dinner at a fancy little cafe where we all had our first escargot. Enough garlic and pesto makes anything taste good. It was nice just relaxing late on a Thursday evening enjoying the cool air and living the Parisian life.
We left lovely Vienna this morning and took flight to Paris on an airline I had never heard of before…Transavia. They were moving people around to spread load the passengers - since everyone decided to pick seats at the front of the plane - so I ended up with a whole row to myself. As soon as we were at a high enough altitude I put my seat back and slept (I don’t think any of us got more than five hours of sleep last night). The view wasn’t great out the window anyway as it was cloudy the entire flight.
We took a long cab ride to our flat with someone originally from Cambodia as the driver. It was a good hour long drive and he gave us a nice tour of the city - as well as an introduction to the crazy Parisian drivers. I had wanted to rent scooters, but am not so sure I will survive if we do. We are staying in the 18th Arrondissement near Montmartre. Not sure if it’s the nicest part of Paris, but it’s pretty easy to get to the city center. We had these weird quesadillas/tacos for lunch (from a place called O’Tacos) with a ton of mayonnaise and fries in them. I kind of liked them, but others not so much.
We took the metro to Notre Dame and proceeded to get poured on. I think this is the first bad weather day we’ve had on this trip. In a way it kind of adds to the whole atmosphere of Paris. However I don’t like having soaking feet, which happened rather quickly. There was a line getting into the chapel - probably so people could escape the rain. The short wait - including some young school girls practicing English on us - was definitely worth it. Inside we were rewarded with a dimly lit room playing hymns/chants softly in the background. There are huge ceilings and some of the most beautiful stained glass windows especially behind the organ pipes.
We got hot chocolate after as a way to warm up a little and then made our way to the Louvre. It was fun finally seeing the famous glass pyramid in the middle of the palace courtyard. There weren’t that many people walking around outside - unsurprisingly - but inside was a different story. The inside was impossibly big - and there must have been thousands of people walking around the various halls. I can’t even imagine what it’s like on a weekend or during the summer. There are thousands of pieces of sculpture, paintings, tablets, from all time periods focused primarily on the European continent. In addition to this the building itself was a work of art on the ceilings and walls. I made a point to see some of the famous works like Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, The Raft of the Medusa, etc.
I tried to get money out and an ATM decided to eat my debit card (I later found out the bank decided to cancel my card for some reason). I may have been in a little bit of a bad mood after that. We went to a Japanese restaurant, and then a creperie for dessert, and after getting home proceeded to pass out on the couch because I was so tired.
We went to our favorite place again for breakfast…a little bakery on the street. But a croissant and orange juice isn’t a terrible way to start the day. We spent the entire day walking around Vienna and I still can’t believe how many palaces, museums, churches, parks, and statues there are. I was actually probably most surprised by the number of salesmen in Mozart outfits trying to get us to go to random concerts. One of the interesting finds was a huge monument to Soviet soldiers thanking them for liberating Austria from Nazi control. Our main attraction for the morning was the Hofburg Palace which has since been turned into a museum. We rented the audio tour devices and walked through the first area. This was entirely dedicated to thousands of pieces of silverware, dishes, and centerpieces for the various feasts throughout the dynasty of this family as rulers of Austria. I wonder at the great opulence of these meals and how the peasants would view this.
The main part of the tour though was through Franz Josef and Elisabeth’s living quarters. Hearing about the life of Sisi, seeing the way they lived, walking through what was once their home was an eye opening experience. I didn’t know that they would have running water and electricity during their life times. It was not expected to see an empress with a pull-up bar in her room or hear that it took two hours every day to do her hair. Royalty are a fascinating group of people.
We followed this up with a couple of cathedrals. One had Tuesday afternoon mass going on. I wonder what it would be like to try and have a spiritual experience and commune with God while dozens of people are walking in and out taking photos the whole time. We had lunch at a very large market (Naschmarkt) in the middle of the city. There were a lot of Egyptians selling hummus and olives and falafel, which is what I ended up having. Meghan and I had an interesting run in with one of the vendors. He joked about her being his girlfriend and asked if I would give her to him for a couple of thousand Euros. Then his friend was saying things about Afghanistan attacking America and how he hated me because I had been there with the Marines. I ignored him and left at that point.
The afternoon was spent at the Belvedere Palace looking at some famous pieces of artwork such as The Kiss by Klimt. There were also some works by Monet and Picasso. In the lower part of the palace we saw some modern “art” and toys. I wasn’t super impressed and breezed through that part somewhat quickly. Looking at the various pieces of art I think I prefer bright painting of nature or gardens especially for something I would hang in my house.
Our final activity was to see an opera. We went to the last act of Wagner’s Lohengrin in the standing room section. It was my first opera and I was very impressed with the performances. I find it amazing that someone would be able to compose for instruments and voices while also telling a story. It was also neat to think that - although this building was rebuilt after a bombing in World War II - was where royalty and maybe Sigmund Freud went to see operas. We finished up the evening with some famous chocolate cake (Sachertorte) and hot chocolate. All in all one of the best days of the trip. Vienna is an amazing city.
We left our not so nice place in Salzburg as quickly as possible this morning. It was not the nicest place we have stayed so far to say the least and definitely a lot different from our lodge in Erlenbach. We randomly came across a small bakery for breakfast and then made the short drive to Hallstatt. This is another one of those postcard perfect places. It sits right next to a lake with mountains rising all around it. The homes have these beautiful little yards and there is plenty of delicious food and shopping for knick knacks. We started with a cable car ride up the side of the mountain (which seemed to be almost straight up) and had a great view of the lake and surrounding area from a platform that jutted out over the town. There is a salt mine tour we didn’t do - salt is why this town even exists - but did walk up to the entrance and saw some of the historical buildings, fountains, and a skeleton.
Lunch was at a little cafe by the lake and I had some amazing lake trout. We went to a little shop with wood carvings - particularly nativity scenes - and I was going to buy one until I found out that they were from Poland (including the wood). So some of my friends bought a couple of things but I decided to pass. We got ice cream (today was a particularly warm day) and then made our way back to the car for the not so short drive to Vienna. Traffic made it even longer but the views and good company make it more than bearable.
We turned in our car, which was a kind of sad moment. She was a good little Skoda and took us on some fun adventures. We then walked around for a little bit and happened upon a massive Indian wedding at the Belvedere Palace. The music was wonderful and there were so many people wearing brightly colored clothes. The palace grounds were so nice with massive hedges and statues of Greek gods and goddesses. After about thirty minutes of walking around we happened upon yet another pizza place. I may have eaten more pizza on this trip than I have ever before in my life. We also had our first run in with a sketchy homeless person harassing us even in the restaurant.
Obviously we have wonderful working internet again as I am posting these. This place is much better than Salzburg. We even have towels.
We said goodbye to Erlenbach and our host this morning. The valley we stayed in was such a magical place and I feel I could've gotten lost for many weeks just walking the hills and along the rivers. We went to an English speaking branch in Zurich and enjoyed a really nice Mother’s Day sacrament meeting. There was a Mexican woman talking about red carnations and each bloom represents a new generation, the Primary children singing “I Often Go Walking” (this song always gets me right in the feels), and other uplifting messages. We found an American diner to eat greasy burgers at for lunch followed by a drive to our next country - Liechtenstein.
Obviously there wasn’t much difference between there and Switzerland. Our goal was for some of us to run/walk across the entire country. I stayed in my church clothes and just walked enjoying the beautiful scenery and warm weather. I actually was drawn back to memories of walking through the fields of Ireland when on lazy days my family and I would cut across farmlands or dirt roads to explore. There were fields of grass, plowed plots, horses and cows, churches and small roads. I met my friends on the other border and we made the long drive to Salzburg.
Walking around after settling in we found the river and crossed over to the big square with the palace and horse fountain. There were lots of shops with stuff for Mozart and traditional Austrian clothing. We had terrible Japanese food for dinner and then Italian desserts. We were even serenaded by our waiter pretending to be Shaggy singing “You’re my Angel” and Pavarotti singing who knows what. Very entertaining.
All four of us are crowded into one room and it’s bed time. Hopefully I will have internet and be able to post these one day.
I’ve really enjoyed the few days we have had in Switzerland as they are very lazy or relaxed. We wake up, have a nice little breakfast of toast or fruit or eggs, and head out to explore a new town. We drove through the valley and up a winding road once again rewarded with expansive views of the farmlands and mountains that envelop us. We had to stop and take some photos of course. We always like to find someplace random to park and then just walk around to our various destinations - today was no different. The town of Lausanne is a beautiful place next to Lac Léman very close to the French border. This of course means we are now in the French speaking part of Switzerland. We enjoyed a baguette sandwich for lunch and then walked around one of two chapels we would explore today. Apparently this first one was built in the 1200s. I am still impressed we can build anything that lasts that long.
We walked up winding steps and along cobblestone streets lined with cozy little shops and homes. There are also lots of old style spigots constantly flowing with cold drinking water. This was also the first place I saw a brightly painted statue on a fountain…it may have been a little too colorful. The Swiss really do enjoy having their buildings and structures brightly painted, even down to the shutters on windows. The next chapel was a much larger - although less old - church. This was the first one I had ever visited that had sarcophagi for buried saints and royalty. Some were normal above ground ones while others were flush with the floor or built into the walls. Most had a life-sized carving of the individual buried on top of the tomb. All of the statues were apparently painted at one time although they have long since faded.
We then made our way to a chocolatier and had truffles and hot chocolate. This is much richer and creative than the chocolates we usually come across in the States. On our way out of Lausanne we saw a small clock in a little square putting on a show and playing music at 3 o’clock. Dancers and guards came out of the clock to tell us a short story.
We left Lausanne and drove to another place to visit…another chocolatier. This was supposed to be a much nicer and more well known one. It had many different samples and so I had more than enough chocolates to enjoy without actually buying anything. There was a sesame one that was particularly delicious. I always prefer the dark chocolate.
Our last stop for the day was a tulip festival doing on in a park right next to the lake. There were thousands of flowers - hundreds of different types of tulips - many arranged in symbols or patterns. I have never seen so many colors of flowers. I think my favorite was a dark purple - almost black - one. While looking at sailboats Meghan accidentally dropped her sunglasses in the water. It was kind of scummy water and it was about six feet deep. This didn’t bother her though as she simply put on her swimsuit and jumped right in the cold lake water.
Dinner was pizza in town. I believe we have eaten Italian almost every meal since arriving in Switzerland…not that I’m complaining as it has all been good. We made the long drive back, sang some country tunes, and called it a night.
