This morning, I woke up at 7:30AM and Mike was sleeping.  I walked up to the kitchen and ate breakfast while working on the computer for a couple hours.  By the time we checked out and left the hostel, it was about 10AM.

We walked to the airport to pick up the rental car, and went as far as reserving it and paying a deposit.  While waiting to take possession of the rental car, I was doing some research and realized that even if we were driving, we would still need to pay over 250 Francs in order to be able to ascend some of the scenic mountains including Mt Riggi, Mt Pilatus, and Mt Titlus.  However, the trips to these mountains are included in the 300-Franc, 4-day Swiss Travel Pass.  It seemed like even if we rented a car, we would still end up paying for the travel pass.  Based on this information, we decided to purchase the 4-day travel passes and forego renting a car.

Shortly after, I searched online for sample 4-day Switzerland rail itineraries.  I found one on raileurope.com that looked through and we decided to base our trip on this general framework.  The general route for the first day would be starting in Zurich, then to Schaffhausen, then to St Gallen, and then to Lucerne.

The first day was a great introduction to the Swiss countryside and green, mild, non-alp terrain.  The vistas from the train were very picturesque and made me long to exit the train and wander around for a few hours.  Right before Schaffhausen we passed a beautiful waterfall, which was sort of like a mini Niagara Falls.  We would’ve loved to exit the train for 30 minutes and to walk around, but we were short on time and had to just continue on to Schaffhausen.

At around 7:30PM, we finally arrived in Lucerne and walked over to the hotel to leave our things.  We then walked around the city for about 90 minutes, including a walk along the castle walls, a walk through old town, a walk across two wood, covered bridges, and more.  Then, we showered, got ready, and went out to have dinner.  Because it was already 11PM, our only option was a local middle eastern restaurant that served pizza.

Tomorrow promises to be an exciting day.   We’re planning on visiting Mt Riggi, Mt Riggi, Mt Pilatus, Mt Titlus, and Schynige Platte.  We will the spend the night at a highly-rated hostel in Interlaken.  Should be quite an eventful day and am very excited to experience the incredible scenery in the Alps.

Screenshot of 4-day Swiss Travel Pass Itinerary

Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen

View looking outside from inside the train

View looking outside from inside the train

View looking outside from inside the train

View looking outside from inside the train

View looking outside from inside the train

View looking outside from inside the train

View looking outside from inside the train

Covered wooden bridge in Lucerne

Covered wooden bridge in Lucerne

View from the bridge in Lucerne 

Lucerne Mill

Lucerne Mill

Lucerne

Lucerne

View of castle walls and tower

View of City Center Lucerne 

View of castle walls and tower

Statue near castle walls and tower

View of Lucerne from tower/wall

View of Lucerne from tower/wall

Walking in old town

Lake Lucerne

Famous covered wooden bridge

Famous covered wooden bridge

View of old town waterfront

View of old town waterfront

View toward Lake Lucerne

View of famous covered bridge

Waterfront park in Downtown Lucerne

Waterfront park in Downtown Lucerne

Walking the covered bridge at night

Church in old town

water fountain in old town

Famous covered bridge at night 

Famous covered bridge at night 

This morning, the overnight bus arrived in Zurich at 5:40 AM.  Surprisingly, I wasn’t that tired even though I don’t remember sleeping much on the bus.  I walked from the bus station to the City Backpacker hostel, but the door and reception office were closed until 8AM.  I saw a guest smoking a cigarette outside and asked him if he’d let me enter the building to leave my luggage there.  He opened the door, and I left my luggage.  This allowed me to have much more flexibility in terms of what I could do for the next few hours.

Walking around, I noticed orange/grey city bikes scattered around the city, which were operated as rentals through a smartphone app. I downloaded the smartphone app, paid a $49 deposit, and was able to enjoy a free day of cycling along Lake Zurich.  The original plan was to follow the bicycle path along the lake, and then to evaluate in an hour or so if I could ride around the entire lake.  Due to a number of factors including an uncomfortable bike seat, lower quality bike, and me not being in good enough shape, I wasn’t able to ride around the entire lake.  Instead, around 20km into the ride I took a ferry/shortcut across to the other side of the lake, and just completed the ride by cycling 15km back to Zurich.  The ride was beautiful, but I was hoping there would be a completely separate bike route, rather than just a tiny lane on the side of the major road.

I arrived back in town at around 12PM, and started following the “Green” walking tour around Old Town Zurich.  The Green walking tour follows all the must-see attractions, buildings, and scenery in the City Center, and was a great way to spend the afternoon.  About halfway through the walk, I noticed (but didn’t give much thought to) a girl sitting on a bench in a park.  About ten minutes later, I was taking a break on the side of the road, and she walked past me.  A few minutes later, I was in a church and she walked in.  I asked her if she was walking the Green Trail, and she mentioned that she was just walking around to the sites she thought were worth seeing.  We walked around and talked for the next 3-4 hours until Mike arrived, and then walked around another hour with him.

Here is some basic info about Camille:

• 22 years old, born and raised in France
• Studying pharmacy (just finished her third of six years)
• Just spent a couple of weeks interning in Serbia
• Visiting Switzerland to reunite with a few friends from France

After walking Camille to the train station, Mike and I boarded the S10 train to Uetliberg Mountain.  It reminded me a bit of Grouse Mountain in Vancouver.  The view was breathtaking, but it felt different from hiking because I didn’t feel like I earned the view.  After taking in the beautiful view, Mike took the train back to Old Town, stopped by a supermarket for dinner, and just headed back to the hostel.

Limmat River

Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Nice home near Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Cycling around Lake Zurich

Water fountain near where I took the ferry to the other side

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

Ferry across Lake Zurich

A tourist attraction on Lake Zurich

A tourist attraction on Lake Zurich

A tourist attraction on Lake Zurich

(Incorrect) trip report… Actual trip was over 35 KM of cycling

Lake Zurich

Limmat River

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Church along the green trail where I ran into Camille

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich (church courtyard)

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich (church courtyard)

Walking along the lakefront

View across the lawn to the China Gardens

Camille

Walking along the green trail in Old Town Zurich (Opera house)

Basement of “two-tower” church

In Zurich

Two-tower church in Old Town

View from top of Church Tower

View from top of Church Tower

View from top of Church Tower

View from top of Church Tower

View from top of Church Tower

Top of the church tower

Feeling like DB Cooper

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

Uetliberg Mountain

This morning, I woke up around 7AM and left the hostel shortly thereafter.  The day’s plan was to bicycle to Schonbrunn Palace and play the rest of the day by ear.

I ordered an omelette at a local diner, and then rented a bicycle from the city bicycle rental network.  For the next 30 minutes, I slowly pedaled on a worn out bicycle, slowly but surely making my way to Schonbrunn Palace.  The line was just a few minutes long and I reserved a spot for the “Imperial Tour,” a 30-40 minute, 20-room tour of the extravagant palace.  The tour was enjoyable, and the luxury/extravagance was in line with that of the Newport Mansions.  Immaculate/original wall paintings, enormous gallery rooms, courtyards, wide-open views from windows, etc.

Although the interior of the palace was stunning, the exterior grounds (including gardens) were on a whole other level.  Hundreds of acres of manicured gardens, fountains, lakes, wooded nature trails and walking paths.  It was especially beautiful that the property had a mild, yet significant upward slope toward the back of the property.  This provided a wonderful view from the end of the property toward the palace and Downtown Vienna.

Next, I picked up another bicycle and cycled toward the Judenplatz, the ancient Jewish quarter in Vienna.   The history of Jews has repeated itself hundreds of times:  Jews modestly immigrate to a new area….Jews increasingly prosper (likely because of our values and work ethic)…Jews are discriminated against because of our religion or because of jealousy…Jews are forced out of an area, persecuted, or maybe even exterminated…. A few resilient, remaining Jews modestly start over.  This is devastating, especially because it keeps repeating itself even nowadays.

The Judenplatz still exists today but is vastly different than how it was nearly a millennium ago.  It mostly blends into its surroundings, except for a holocaust memorial dedicated to the 65,000 Austrian Jews who perished in the holocaust.  Interestingly, the memorial is built above the location of the original medieval synagogue in Judenplantz.  The foundation of said synagogue still exists and can be visited through the basement of the nearby museum.

Next, I slowly walked through Downtown and along the river toward the hostel.  The plan is to pick up my stuff, take a break for a couple hours, and then walk toward the bus station for the overnight bus ride to Zurich.

Biking to Schonbrunn Palace

Biking to Schonbrunn Palace

Biking to Schonbrunn Palace (near Museum Quarter)

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace

Walking in Downtown Vienna

Holocaust Memorial at Judenplatz

Judenplatz

Holocaust memorial at Judenplatz

Foundation of original 12th Century synagogue at Judenplatz

Model of original 12th Century synagogue at Judenplatz

Nice building in Downtown Vienna

Fish and potato salad

Hip restaurants along the river

This morning, I woke up at 7AM and walked through Downtown Prague to the Florenc bus station.  I really enjoyed walking through the city early in the morning.  Most of the people on the street are runners and just some mellow “morning-people” taking a stroll.

The bus arrived in Vienna at around 2PM, and I walked about 3 miles to the Meininger Hostel at the edge of Downtown.  At the recommendation of the receptionist, I walked along the river to Stephenplatz and then walked to the center of Downtown Vienna.  Like many other cities, the center of Downtown Vienna is an enormous, extravagant cathedral, St Stephens Cathedral.

Next, I continued walking through Downtown while it was raining, eventually taking refuge in a mall at the edge of Downtown.  Here are some things I noticed about the mall:

• Very accessible:  Ground floor entrances from three directions
• Interesting use of entire basement floors of mall.  One basement floor (with a ceiling opened to the entire mall) was used as a grocery store and another was used as a Bed, Bath, and Beyond-type tenant.
• Mall seemed like it wasn’t doing too well, especially for a rain, Saturday afternoon.  There’s a good chance that the performance of European malls is similar to that of US malls.

Next, I walked over to Hofburg Gardens, the museum quarter, and Rathausplatz (where 2017 Film Festival was being held).  The atmosphere at Rathausplatz was energetic and lively.  A large part of the lawn was covered with hundreds of tables and chairs, and the pathway leading to the entrance of the building was lined with dozens of street food vendors.

At this time, it was already 8PM, so I walked back to St Stephens Cathedral, and back to the hostel.  In the room, I met Rayane Jacabson and she had some great recommendations about Brazil including that one night in Zurich is enough, and we should buy a Switzerland unlimited bus pass for 300 francs.

At around 11PM, I walked over to an interesting nightclub near the river and before I knew it I had paid the 10-euro cover and was in an electronic dance club.  The dance club had just opened and was scheduled to continue until 6AM.  It was a nice experience, especially seeing this partier on the stage dance in such an extreme way.  After about an hour, I just walked back to the hostel and slept.

River near the hostel

River near the hostel

River near the hostel

St Stephens Cathedral

St Stephens Cathedral

St Stephens Cathedral

St Stephens Cathedral

St Stephens Cathedral

Interesting mall near Downtown Vienna

Interesting mall near Downtown Vienna

Statue of Goethe

Hofburg Gardens

Nice building around Hofburg Gardens

Hofburg Gardens

Butterfly observatory at Hofburg Gardens

Hofburg Gardens

Hofburg Gardens (Mozart Statue)

Museum Quarter

Veal Sausage and Fries

Film festival (Rathausplatz)

Film festival (Rathausplatz)

Concert hall across from Film festival (Rathausplatz)

Garden across from Film festival (Rathausplatz)

Nice example of Downtown Vienna architecture

View of St Stephens Cathedral from the back

Seamless underground parking (very common in Vienna)

View of the river

View of “Beat it” bar and electronic dance club

View of “Beat it” bar and electronic dance club

View of “Beat it” bar and electronic dance club

This morning I woke up at 7:15AM.  It’s been a regular occurrence that I sleep later than most people in the hostel, and wake up earlier than most people.   I always feel bad entering and leaving the room while people are sleeping, because it usually takes a few minutes for me to gather my things and leave the room.

At about 7:30AM, I left the hostel to Divoka Sarka, a cute, low-key nature park on the outskirts of Prague.  The park consists of a lake, numerous rivers, public swimming pool, restaurant/bar, and meadows.  I had low expectations for the park, which were probably barely surpassed by my experience.

After a 30 minute tram ride, I returned to the area of Little Quarter and started heading toward the Mala Strana park south of the Little Quarter.  I entered the park at Hellicova and started walking/hiking my way up to Ruzovysad, an observation tower/deck overlooking Prague from way up on the mountain.  The view was beautiful and so was the walk down.

I then continued south until a local, cafeteria-style restaurant in southwestern Prague.  The food was extremely authentic, lower quality, and the clientele were 100% working-class Prague-ians who didn’t speak any English.  I ended up ordering a veal stew with a spinach side, a dumplings side, and a vegetable salad with feta cheese.  The food was average but I’m glad I was able to experience a local, working-class Prague meal.

Next, I continued south for a bit before crossing the bridge to Eastern Prague.  I noticed a modern architectural building which was specified as an attraction on the Prague city map.  I entered the hotel and they directed me to the glass rooftop bar.  I ordered an Americano, enjoyed the view, and headed over to Old Town Square for the 2PM walking tour.

The walking tour was guided by Terry, a local pride-filled Czechoslovakian.  The highlights of the tour were as follows:

• Explanation of the Jewish Cemetery and how/why there are 12 layers of bodies. (Prague city government refusing to provide land)
• Explanation of holocaust markers in front of buildings in the Jewish quarter (specifying Jews who perished in the holocaust and lived in the buildings)
• Explanation of Prague citizens demonstrating and attaining democracy for their country in 1989

After the tour, I walked over to the Little Quarter and had a vegetable pizza (spinach is an amazing topping on pizza; almost as good as extra cheese).

After dinner, I showered and got ready and went to a bar crawl.  It was mostly guys and there were no English speakers but it was a decent night.  One of the highlights was when this song “Take me home… West Virginia” came on and everyone started singing along.  After looking up the song online, I realized its a John Denver song which makes me like it even more.

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka (children riding on a handicap child’s mobility scooter)

Divoka Sarka

Restaurant/bar at Divoka Sarka

Divoka Sarka

Mala Strana

Walking up to Ruzovysad

Playground overlooking Prague

Walking up to Ruzovysad

Walking up to Ruzovysad

Walking up to Ruzovysad

View from Ruzovysad

View from Ruzovysad

View from Ruzovysad

View from Ruzovysad

View from Ruzovysad

Ruzovysad

Church near Ruzovysad

Tram heading down Ruzovysad

Garden at base of Ruzovysad

Communist memorial at Mala Strana

Communist memorial at Mala Strana

Local cafeteria-style restaurant

Food at cafeteria-style restaurant

View toward Southern Prague

View from glass bar

Glass bar

Glass bar

Czech old city hall building (where independence papers were signed)

Markers of holocaust victims who lived in buildings

Raised Jewish cemetery (12 layers of corpses)

Czech government building

Charles Bridge

Senate building

Fountain at senate building

Senate building

Peacock at senate building

senate building

Senate building

dripstone wall (man-made)

dripstone wall (man-made)

Senate building

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo

This morning I woke up early and took the Subway to the bus station in Berlin.  I boarded the bus to Prague and arrived in Prague around noon.

I walked through town and across the Charles Bridge to the hostel, checked in, dropped off my things and started walking around Prague.

http://www.pragueczechtravel.com/information/prague-history-story.php

My thoughts on Prague:

-Beautiful, unique architecture.  The typical building in old town is about 4-5 stories high with nice ornaments and designs on the buildings

-Finally feels like I’m in Eastern Europe.  It probably has to do with the former communist rule (democracy began in 1989)

-there is some interesting geology here (something which I haven’t seen much of since Ireland).  There are hills, mountains, and cliffs, which means beautiful views from many parts of the city

-For some reason there aren’t any Muslims in Prague (<.1% of the population).  That’s odd considering that the Czech Republic is part of the EU, and is near Germany and other countries which have been welcoming a lot of refugees.

The first stop of the day was Prague Castle. Prague Castle itself isn’t anything too exciting but the view from Prague Castle and the surrounding square is incredible. You’re looking down and across the red roof tiles and spires of Prague.

Next, I was en route to the Metronome and ended up noticing an entry to a garden.  I entered the Prague Gardens, a group of five multi-leveled/tiered gardens near the Prague Castle.  The combination of the gardens, architecture, and view made for a great experience.

I continued on to the Metronome is located atop a hill in a beautiful park across the river from Old Town Prague.  I walked up the many steps until arriving at the Metronome.  The Metronome and surrounding skateboarding area seem to be frequented by both locals and tourists.

Next, I walked to Old Town Square, passing through the Jewish Quarter on the way.  I spent a few minutes in the New-old Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the world.  The synagogue was built in the 1400s and seems to be mostly in original condition.  One thing I noticed is that all the seats lined the perimeter of the room, rather than having many rows of seats.  This may seem trivial, but I think it has a huge effect on the atmosphere because it eliminates the seating hierarchy.  All seats seem to be equal in terms of status, views, etc.  This seating arrangement also makes the congregants feel less like schoolchildren, and more like active/independent participants in the prayer service.

After walking around a bit more, I heard back to the hostel, got ready, and then went on an evening walk.  By the river, there was s cover band playing American songs which I really enjoyed.  Then, I went to a restaurant and had some Goulash soup in a bread bowl.  Goulash soup is a beef stew which tasted ok.  However, ordering soup right before a restaurant closes probably isn’t the best idea, as the soup was probably prepared much earlier in the day and you’re likely having the bottom of the pot.

Potato/cheese snack

Potato/cheese snack

View of Prague from Prague Castle

Guards at Prague Castle

Cathedral near Prague Castle

Cathedral near Prague Castle

Cathedral near Prague Castle

Prague Castle

View from Prague Castle

Prague Castle

Beautiful Starbucks with a view

Beautiful Starbucks with a view

View from near Prague Castle

Stairs down from Prague Castle

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Prague Gardens

Bridge near stairs leading to Metronome

Stairs leading to Metronome

Bridge near Metronome

Stairs leading to Metronome

View from Metronome

Metronome

Skateboard area near Metronome

Metronome

Football Arena

Metronome

View of Old Town Prague

Old-New Synagogue

Old-New Synagogue

Old-New Synagogue

Charity box inside synagogue

Entrance foyer in synagogue

Exterior of Old-New Synagogue

Czech snacks/desserts (Trdelnik)

Trdelnik menu

Tempeh (Trdelnik)

Jewish quarter museum

Jewish quarter museum

Jewish cemetery

“Adam and Eve” cathedral towers

Street performance

This morning, I woke up at 5:30am and spent the next couple of hours working on my laptop in the common room.
At about 8AM I started walking toward Brandenburg Gate where I would be meeting the tour to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The tour consisted of taking a one hour subway from Brandenburg Gate to the end of the Oranienburg line. From there, we walked about 20 minutes through the middle of the town until reaching the gates of the concentration camp. On the way, I met Farhad Khan (a graduate student from Montreal), Fernanda and Brother (18 and 20 year old siblings from Brazil).
The tour guide was very thorough, concise, and informative. Here are some thoughts that arose during the tour:

• Humans are capable of twisting reality and performing mental gymnastics to justify gruesomely killing over 10 million innocent people. Use that perspective to not be shocked when someone wrongs you and not to underestimate the need to protect yourself and not leave anything up to chance
• Social proof is much stronger than I originally thought. People living in a populated city endured six years of innocent people being tortured, murdered, and starved within daily view of their homes. This is similar to the experiment where bystanders who thought other people were also witnessing a crime, were less likely to report it
• Part of the reason why Jewish identity is generally strong may be due to the persecution we’ve endured. The tour today left me with a stronger Jewish identity and pride than I’ve had in a while.
• The tour guide suggested that the refugee crisis during ww2 (when other countries should have accepted Jews but didn’t) is comparable to the Syrian refugee crisis today. However it isn’t because:
  • Syrian refugees pose a danger to the security (Islamic extremism). Jews didn’t pose a danger
  • Syrian refugees aren’t being murdered by the millions by a genocidal regime. Not comparable
  • Muslim countries should be stepping in to take refugees. Not western countries with extremely different values and lifestyles
  • The writing is on the wall. Muslim Imams have clearly stated their intention of taking over Europe and it seems like they are on the path to success. It’s simple math that if Europe continues accepting refugees, Europe will be an extension of the Middle East.

On the way back from Sachsenhausen, I asked the tour guide for a recommendation for how to spend the afternoon. He suggested I visit Schlachtensee, a peaceful lake in the suburbs of Berlin. Although it was raining, I rode the train for 45 minutes to arrive at the lake, and worked at a local cafe for a couple of hours. Then, I walked across the street and walked the 7km loop trail around the lake in about an hour.

Front gate/watchtower at Sachsenhausen concentration camp

“Work will set you free”

Neutral zone (enter the gravel and you’ll be shot)

Sachsenhausen concentration camp (gravel is where former barracks stood)

Sachsenhausen

Sachsenhausen (prison section)

Looking toward the front gate (watchtower)

Sachsenhausen

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

Schlachtensee

This morning, I arrived in Berlin at 6AM and started making my way over to the hostel.  One hour later, I arrived at BaxPax in Downtown Berlin and left my luggage in the basement.

By 7:30AM, I was out-and-about on the way to the parliament building.  The parliament building is supposedly beautiful inside (especially at a part of the building that has a glass dome), but reservations are required a few months in advance in order to be able to enter the building.  It was a nice building and not much out of the way, so I’m glad I added it on a list of things to do.

From there, I walked a block to Brandenburg Gate.  Brandenburg Gate is a historic gate which has been involved in many historical events including figures such as Napoleon.  The gate is similar to the main gate that opens up to the long road leading to Buckingham Palace.

Next, I walked about a half a block to the Jewish memorial.  At this point, it was still before 9AM, so the museum wasn’t open yet.  There were Muslims who were jumping from concrete block to concrete block.  This seemed to be extremely disrespectful but the last thing I want to do is tell Muslims that they are being disrespectful or not doing anything right.  The young muslim guys in their teens and twenties, just have a very arrogant/angry/violent predisposition that I don’t want to mess with.

I then walked to Tiergarten Park.  Tiergarten Park didn’t have anywhere near the amount of activity as Voldenpark did (and other European parks did), but it was a nice park in an urban part of the city.  In the center of the park (and in the center of Berlin) was the Victory Column, a 60 meter tall, monument to how victorious the Germans were in the mid-1800s.  It was a nice monument, and I enjoyed walking all the way to the top and enjoying the view from all four directions.

After walking through Tiergarten, I returned to the Jewish memorial, and waited in line for about a hour to be able to enter the free underground museum.  The museum provided plenty of information about Jewish life in Europe between 1935 and 1945.  It’s extremely heartbreaking, and I try not to dwell too much on what actually happened in the holocaust.  It’s too painful to think too much about how people were able to hate/treat each other in such a disgusting way, while the world stood by for 10 years.  Sadly, stuff like this is still happening today (to a lesser degree) in countries like Syria, Iraq, and parts of Africa.

Next, I walked to Charlie Checkpoint and the Eastside Gallery.  The Eastside Gallery is a 1.5km stretch of the Berlin Wall, which is now pained in murals and street art.  It was a nice walk, and it’s interesting to see how much development is taking place near that stretch of the Berlin Wall.  One luxury residential project is called “Upside Berlin.”

After visiting the Berlin Wall, I walked a few kilometers to Museum Island.  Museum Island contains a cathedral and many museums (including one major one currently under construction).  It was a nice place to nap for a hour before walking back to the hostel.

At the hostel, I met two roommates from Melbourne Australia.  I also met Keenan, a sole-traveler from near Dublin, Ireland.  She was traveling with a friend, but got into an argument with her friend and is now traveling alone.  We talked for about a hour, and then went downstairs to the bar inside the hostel.  We had a drink and then joined up with another group of 3-4 people from Dublin, Ireland.  Half an hour later, we were also joined by the two Australian guys.  It was a nice night and we had a great time chatting, socializing and getting to know each other.

Parliament Building

Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate

Jewish Memorial

Monument in Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park

Victory Column

Victory Column

Victory Column

Victory Column

Victory Column

View from Victory Column

View from Victory Column

View toward Brandenburg Gate

Shopping mall in Berlin

Charlie Checkpoint

River in Berlin

East Side Gallery

Mercedes Corporate Offices

Eastside gallery

Eastside Gallery

Eastside Gallery mural (about world peace between all creatures)

Eastside Gallery

Walking toward Museum Island

Walking toward museum island

Museum Island

Museum Island (cathedral)

Museum Island (cathedral)

This morning was pretty much an extra day in Amsterdam.  I spent the first few hours in a coffee shop near the hostel.  After, I went on a walking tour which started at about 11AM and ended at 1:30pm.  The tour guide, Natasha, did a great job and showed us many things about Amsterdam I otherwise wouldn’t have known including:

• Rooms in the red light district rent for between 80 and 200 Euros/day.  Rooms facing alleys are more expensive than rooms facing the Main Street (for privacy reasons).  Average visit is 8 minutes and average price paid by a guy is 50 euros for full service 
• Amsterdam is a tolerant city because it has historically been lived in by Jews, christians, and muslims. If people weren’t tolerant of different faiths and sects, than they wouldn’t succeed business-wise
• The location of the Jewish district and history of Jews in Amsterdam. 90% of Amsterdam Jews died in the holocaust, the Jewish quarter was destroyed/looted, and Dutch citizens that turned in Jews, took ownership of their homes
• History of drugs/prostitution in Amsterdam (sailors needing prostitutes, hippies bringing weed and heroin into Amsterdam, and hippies being a large part of the reason that the city has remained a bicycle city

The tour was a bit more interesting because I was high.  During the tour, I branched away for a few minutes and smoked.  After the tour, I ate a lot of food including an ice cream cone, coffee, Greek yogurt, fruits, vegetable focaccia and many more things I can’t remember.

I walked to Vondelpark, spent a couple hours in a coffee shop there and then walked back to the hostel to pick up my luggage.  Now, I’m waiting in the station for a red eye bus ride to Berlin.

Today was a good example of why I don’t like weed.  It makes me unproductive, too short-term oriented, and have too much of an appetite.  I’m concerned about Marijuana becoming legal recreationally, and all of the additional temptation I’ll have to withstand.

Like smoking marijuana, there are many other vices which can be traced back to much deeper/inner issues.  For example, excessive smoking, porn, eating, etc can be traced to the following deeper issues:

• Inability to maintain control over oneself through positive self-talk
• Lack of self confidence
• Avoidance/ignoring of deeper issues/problems that need attention 

Instead of addressing the surface issues of dozens of addictions, it would be smarter to just focus on the deeper/root issues.

Also, I need to better plan my activities in each city.  Otherwise, I’ll end up scheduling activities in an inefficient way.

University of Amsterdam (former sailor building)

University of Amsterdam (former sailor building)

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