Prekestolen- Pulpit Rock

So, Norway is SPECTACULAR. It is a land of mountain and sea which makes for an interesting combination of feeling very grounded (by the mountains) and very open and free (because of the sea)- very cool.

We took a day trip to Prekestolen (Pulpit Rock) which is about 1hr away from Stavanger and involves taking a ferry across the fjord. Actually lots of travel in Norway involves taking a ferry across the fjord because the country is criss-crossed with them.

Emma's friend Tom told us before we went that it was a really easy hike, "practically wheel-chair accessible," he said. Um, check out the picture of Emma and I on the way down the mountain- does that look wheelchair accessible to you?

The three of us headed out together- Tom in his professional hiking boots, Emma in her Converse sneakers, and me with my beloved Chalie Chaplin-esque shoes to undertake this 4 hr hike. Luckily after carting our backpacks around for a month Emma and I were fit for the challenge!

We got to see some great views on the hike but nothing compared to what awaited us at the end. Prekestolen has a surface of 25 x 25m to stand on and looms 600m above sea level (sorry no idea what the conversion to feet is).

Photos from top to bottom: Tom and I looking over the edge, longview of Emma and I standing on the edge, Emma and I triumphant!

Norway- 1st stop Stavanger

Aug. 1st-3rd

On August 1st I flew from Budapest to Norway to stay with Emma and her family. I was very excited about going to Norway because I had never been there. We spent the first couple days in Stavanger where Emma's uncle Ove lives.

We visited the old town where all the houses are painted white, the streets are cobblestone, and there are pretty flowering gardens and window boxes galore.

Stavanger also has an oil museum- did you know that Norway has the 2nd largest oil source after Saudi Arabia? The oil museum is geared towards kids, with lots of colorful and interactive displays, so of course Emma and I really dug it!

In Hungary

After our night out, Emma got up early the next morning to catch her flight to Norway. I spent the next 3 weeks hanging out with my parents, relaxing, digesting everything that had happenned so far and generally recharging my batteries.

I got to take a day trip into Bratislava (Slovakia) which was very interesting. There was a public art project happening which showed all these different acrobats on strings which I thought was awesome.












One of the best things I got to do was go down to check out an alternative theatre festival that was happenning in the city of Szeged, in the southeastern part of Hungary. My mom and I hopped on a train down there and got to see a movement theatre piece by a Croatian theatre company. It was great!

Statue Park & the World Cup FINAL

July 9th

About 40 min outside of Budapest there is a place called "Statue Park" where they took all of the old communist statues in the city and placed them on exhibit for people to see. Look at the size of that giant one!

After visiting the park that day, Emma and I headed out to an open air screening of the World Cup final that evening (see picture below). I was rooting for France but it seemed like almost everyone in the crowd was rooting for Italy. We have no idea why the Hungarians would be cheering for Italy but there it was. Oh it was a heartbreaking end! My favorite player, Zidane, totally lost his cool and head butted one of the Italian players and was red carded out of the game. The Italians won in penalty shots and then it was all over.

After the game, Emma and I went out to a bar where we found some devastated frenchmen drowning their sorrows and some over the moon Italians and Hungarians partying away. Ever the peacemakers we convinced a couple frenchies and some italians to go out dancing at a club all together- what better way to create goodwill and peace for all?

Land Ho! Home in Hungary

July 4th- Aug. 1st
To get to Budapest Emma and I took an overnight train from Venice to Vienna, spent a couple hours in Vienna, then hopped on a train from Vienna to Budapest to arrive there on July 4th in the early evening.

While we were in Vienna Emma and I took the opportunity to rush over to the Belvedere Museum and check out Gustav Klimt's artwork. When we arrived there we found out there was also a special exhibit about the work of Egon Schiele. It was the the best curated exhibit I have ever seen, very informative and fascinating.

After all that running around it was great to be home. I was really excited about being able to share the objects and "things" of my childhood and past with Emma. In fact, I was so happy I didn't even notice my wallet had been stolen until the following day- DOH! Wouldn't you know it, I can make it all the way across Europe without any major mishap, but within reach of Budapest I fall asleep on the train with my bag on the chair opposite me- and whoop, there goes my wallet. So much for appearing totally together and responsible in front of my parents, (sigh). Luckily, it was the only time when I could lose my wallet and not be stranded, so it was not a total disaster.
On my dad's birthday (July 8th), we drove out to a vineyard a couple hours northeast of Budapest to have dinner. Emma was very excited to visit her first vineyard. It was a beautiful day and on the drive home we drove through fields and fields of sunflowers- sooo beautiful!

Venice

July 2nd-4th

Venice was ENchanting. Our time there was very short because we were only there for one night, but the vibe there was like no other city we had been to.


It's hard to describe the quality of beauty; there is water everywhere, the buildings have a crumbling loveliness to them, the air is salty, the sun is hot, and there are good looking older Italian men in beautiful suits walking around. (Note to all who would be interested in hooking up with men in their fifties and beyond.)


Emma and I took a vaporretti ride out to the island of Murano to check out the glass blowing factories. All the glass blowers were banished to this island because their furnaces kept causing fires in Venice.
Our other key Venice experiences included eating gelato on the Rialto Bridge, strolling through the Piazza San Marco, getting lost in the narrow winding alleyways of the city, and going into the Dolce & Gabbana store (where we had to be escorted by someone to shop) to buy underwear for my bro Santi's birthday.


I really loved our time in Venice. I have to say that of all the cities we visited Barcelona does take the cake but Venice was my second favorite. It was also interesting to see it because the last time I was there was when I was 9yrs old- at that time the highlight of my trip was feeding the pigeons at San Marco.

This time, I was just blown away by the melancholy magnificance of the sinking city.

Florence

June 30th-July 2nd

Florence was a huge relief after the hecticness of Rome.



We spent a lot of time just walking around and taking everything in. It was beautiful!!

While we were in Florence we witnessed Italy's win against Argentina and Brazil's surprise defeat to France. The night that France beat Brazil we came upon one of the most amazing things we saw on our trip- Brazilians gathered in a parking lot with huge boom boxes in their trunk blasting sad samba songs, singing, dancing...it was the most incredible response to disappointment we had ever seen.

Rome

June 29th-30th

Emma and I spent one night and 2 very hectic days in Rome. Being in Rome was definitely one of the most difficult times we had on our trip- it was HOT, the city was crowded with tourists, and the one night we spent there we were eaten alive by mosquitoes.
But we persevered: we made a wish at the Fontana di Trevi, heard about the gladiator fights at the Colosseum, and learned the true meaning of the early bird gets the worm at the Vatican- where the line to visit St.Peter's and the Sistine Chapel was over 4hrs long...

Turista Photo Shoot

Because we are total dorks Emma and I got matching World Cup t-shirts while we were in Germany. Here we are in full glory:

Before we left Christine's we asked if she wouldn't mind taking a few photos of Emma and I in full turista gear. Notice we have our big backpacks, our little day packs, our giant "Let's Go Europe" tourist book, and one extra handbag which carried our essential food provisions!

GER-many

June 23-26th

After Geneva and Paris we headed to Pfozheim (1/2 hr outside of Stuttgart) to visit Emma's friend Christine. Christine went to UConn with Emma and was in Germany for the summer visiting her family. We stayed in her father's 1 room art studio in the middle of town, which was really neat.

Emma and I were very excited to finally be in GER-many, for 2 reasons. 1) It was the hot center of the World Cup. 2) Emma and I had been breaking out our fake German accents every once in a while to crack each other up and we were excited to hear the real thing.

With Christine, we went to visit a medieval cloister in the nearby town Maulbronne.



















We also took a trip out to Heidelberg to visit a famous castle ruin. It was a steep climb up, but when we got there it was worth the view.

The Paris Runaround

Paris is a 4hr train ride away from Geneva so Emma and I decided to run in and have a look.

We arrived at 4:30pm and headed straight for the Notre Dame cathedral. Then we went to the Eiffel Tower and rode the elevator to the top- although Emma doesn't like heights she said "only a wuss would come this far and not go to the top." That night we headed to the Latin Quarter and had a delicious cheap meal (thank you "Let's Go Europe").

The next morning, we got up early and went to the Louvre where we moved through the museum at lightning speed to see the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, and some Vermeer. We also ran through Egyptian wing and saw a lot of ancient artifacts. At 2:30pm we hoped on the train back to Geneva.

The Swiss Experience

It was nice to be back in Geneva. The last time I was there was 5 years ago. We stayed with my friend Seb from high school and were once again blessed with wonderful care and hospitality during our stay.

Thats Emma sunbathing and reading "The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss" on Seb's lawn.

I got to take Emma on the memory lane tour of Geneva and my old high school which was a lot of fun. Seb lent us his scooter so I also got to drive Emma around through the swiss countryside- wheeee! One night, after a swiss victory in the world cup, we had to drive through a parade of cheering swiss people- honking their car horns, waving their flags. While I nervously navigated the crowd Emma got to joyfully wave to everyone and yell "Allez les Suisse!" Fun.