Happy 4th of July! Aside from my “Love USA” t-shirt, it hardly feels like the 4th in Munich, although one could argue that the biergarten atmosphere makes every day feel like the 4th of July! Today, I took a walking tour, ate in a biergarten, watched some surfing (yes, in Munich!), and got a birds-eye view of Marienplatz from atop St. Peter’s church spire.
Guten Tag! My neighbor asked me yesterday how I choose my vacation spots. Honestly? It could be anything from an episode of the Amazing Race to a picture I saw in a magazine. There’s really no rhyme or reason, and no “bucket list” I’m trying to check off. Germany and Austria have been on my travel “to do” list for a few years now, inspired mostly by the pictures I’ve seen and stories I’ve heard of my parents’ trip to Austria many years ago. Of course, both countries are pretty big, so narrowing down my itinerary took some thought and research. I finally settled on Munich and southern Bavaria along with the Salzburg region. I’d much rather stay in one place for a few days than pack up and move around constantly just to see more. My only source of apprehension for this trip comes from it being my first time driving a car in a non-English speaking country. But I have a couple of days in Munich before I need to worry about that.
Survivable. If there’s one take away from what I’ve seen over the last two days, it’s that people are capable of surviving seemingly impossible situations and coming out of it on the other side. I saw that in the survivors of Auschwitz and in Maddie Corman’s unbelievable story in Accidentally Brave yesterday. And I saw it again today.
The weather was uncooperative again today, but the sun managed to peek out for a few minutes this afternoon in between rain and thunderstorms. I think I will have a permanent indentation on my waist from tying my raincoat there every day. The highlight of today was definitely seeing Accidentally Brave tonight. Here are the rest of the day’s adventures:
I certainly didn’t plan for my summer excursion to New York City to coincide with a week of damp, cloudy weather. But such is life. After an early morning drive to New Haven and a train ride from there to Grand Central, I’m here to enjoy a couple of days of sights in the big city. Here are today’s highlights:
Today’s final Roman adventure took me to the catacombs of the Appian Way. Of course, I stopped at the Trevi Fountain on my way to the catacombs and tossed a coin in the fountain to ensure a return visit.
Today I explored the ancient ruined port city of Ostia Antica, a 30 minute train ride outside of Rome. In its heyday, the city boasted 50,000 residents. Now, all that’s left are ruins of that vibrant, bustling city. You might think there’s not much to see there, but you’d be very mistaken. Before catching the train this morning, I stopped at Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the largest Catholic basilicas in Rome. Then I grabbed a maritozzi and “hot chocolate” from Pasticceria Regoli. A miscommunication ended up with me getting a warm milk with cocoa sprinkled on top instead of hot chocolate. Hardly the rich Italian indulgence I was hoping for!
Today has been the best day in Rome so far. Not because I did anything special, but because I didn’t. I didn’t see any grand museums or visit ancient historic sites. In fact, this is the only day of vacation where I didn’t have anything specific planned. Instead, I took to the streets of Rome and simply wandered. In and through centuries-old churches, around small piazzas off the main tourist routes, and down tiny alleyways just to see where they went. It was glorious.
I did it. I climbed to the top of the dome in St. Peter’s Basilica. Given my claustrophobia, and the fact that the 321 stairs were barely wide enough for one person as they twisted up corkscrew-style (at the very top, there is a rope to help you up the final set of stairs), it was quite a feat.
From the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to ancient temples and churches only recently excavated, today was a day to imagine life in ancient Rome. My first stop of day was the Colosseum, where I had a guided tour of the Underground, Arena, and Third Ring. The tour started on the arena level where we could imagine thousands of people watching everything from gladiator contests to public executions. From there, we headed to the Underground to see the corridors, tunnels, and elevators used to transport animals up to the arena floor. Our final stop was the third ring (“mid-class seats”) to see the view spectators had of the entire Colosseum.
Traveling with Laura 