Days 7 - 8: You know you're in Györ...

Day 7

...when you’re on a rumbling train, trying to get ready, and the conductor shoves your validated ticket back at you. I don’t think he really liked me... It all started when I had just got on the train early, early that morning. There were already two people asleep in the compartment, but I was in no way ready for bed. I was definitely tired, don’t get me wrong, but I just didn’t have the sheets laid out and the pillow covered yet. Anyway, I was doing that with the door slightly open, since the two people had filled up that small gap between couchettes with their huge bags already, when the conductor rolls by and commands me to close the door and lock it. I respectfully oblige, motion an apology, and try to prep for bed in the dark, half crouched over. Finally ready, I crawl into bed and try to fall asleep and then stay asleep. When I wake up, I go about my business while trying to keep the door closed for the other, still-sleeping passenger. Little did I know that, by doing this and staying in the walkway (there were pull-down seats for people like me in that kind of situation), I was getting in the conductor’s way. Apparently, this was the time of morning that is when he goes about starting to clean out the compartments of the linen. So, he definitely didn’t like having to inch by me (and other people too!) with stacks of used bed sheets. Such is life...

...when you get to the train station, call the hostel, and receive no answer. Well, I wasn’t surprised at the time, since it was still very early. I got a cappuccino from a just-open café and waited for the tourist info office to open. After getting the info on local sites I wanted to see, I tried calling again. No answer, so I decided that I’d just walk to the address listed on hostelworld. Well, after walking all the way there, with all my stuff, I found just a regular apartment building. I asked the bike shop next door, and no one had ever heard of Hometown Apartments. Wtf?!? So, I walk back to the tourist office, hoping that they have another place that they can recommend and help me book. The really helpful woman there looked up this place I had booked online - same info (address and phone number) that I had - and gave them another call. No luck from her end either, so I asked for a hostel and was given directions to it. On the way to that hostel, I passed by the train station again, so the cheapskate in me wanted to try calling on more time. Success!! Apparently, the guy’s father (must be a family business?) was told that I was a guy, so he couldn’t find me at the train station in the morning. Must be the traveling alone thing? Anyway, I find out that he will meet me at the train station and then drive me to the apartment. He arrives minutes later in this beat-up looking Corolla wagon (sketchy) and then drives me past where I originally had walked to (double sketchy). It turns out that they rent out a different apartment from the address they advertise. Maybe the address is their own address and only used for business purposes? I’m not sure. In any case, I get there with only half an hour before the bus I was going to take leaves, so the father kindly offers to drive me to the bus station, which would have been almost a half hour walk. Such is life...

...when you get there and settle in just to head out of town again. I get to the bus station, and the guy helps me get on the right bus. Luckily, the stop is the very last one, so I don’t have to worry about missing it. Even before I get to that last stop, I can see my destination off in the distance: Pannanholma Abbey. This abbey was constructed in the early life of Hungary, about a century into the country’s existence. It’s still pretty much in operation today, so I really wanted to check it out. Györ is supposed to be one of the early centers of the Christian religion in Central/Eastern Europe, and this famous hill was the center of it for centuries in northern Hungary. I joined the next English language tour, which is the only way to see the still-operating abbey, and it was definitely interesting. Our tour guide showed us a video on the life of a Benedictine monk at this abbey, one of hours of prayer, hours of study (tons of reading), and teaching at one of the two boarding schools that the abbey operates in the region. We saw the typical stuff, including the church and the cloisters. She pointed out the three layers of walls of the church, the innermost one was just recently discovered and has large murals on it. Unfortunately, the second layer of wall is the structural support, so they couldn’t really remove it to uncover the original church walls. The best part of the tour though, for me at least, was the library. Benedictine monks are very focused on their study, believing (at least this is my understanding of it) that through knowledge and the truth, they can find God. In a way, very similar to the way scientists think of things, except without the faith in the unseen thing, I suppose. So, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that their library was gigantic. It was filled up to the ceiling (a very tall ceiling) with books from the time of the abbey’s construction to present day. It’s also open to the public, although only researchers are allowed to look at the older books. They had a special exhibit at the time on Bibles, and they had many of them, from various points of time and from various countries in their respective languages. It was thoroughly fascinating, and I spent most of the time just basking in the existence of such old and well-kept books. The other people on the tour were also enjoying it, but they were spending a bit more time admiring the lavish decorations in the library and the statues and paintings. I found it interesting that they gave equal representation (almost) to the scholars of classic Greece and the saints of Eastern Europe. Our tour ended with a stroll through a temporary exhibit on olden day icons versus modern day religious art. More than a bit disappointing after the amazing library though. Such is life...

This is where the library is...

I'd love to have a home library like this!

...when there are 5+ hours between when the bus drops you off and the next bus even comes there to return you to town. The exhibit could only last so long, so I wandered around the area to look at other things. Centuries of monks had built up a quite impressive botanical garden for studying plants and medicines, so I walked around there for a brief time. There was supposed to be a winery, where the monks have been making wine since the early centuries of the abbey’s existence, but it looked closed. It’s too bad; I would have liked to try some of their wine. I wandered even further, to a millennial monument, built for Hungary’s millennial birthday. It had vast murals inside, which were unfinished because the artist died in the midst of it. Of the several of such monuments in Hungary built for its 1000th birthday, only two including this one remains to the day. After that, I wandered on to another chapel up on the hill - also closed - and then to the glass museum. It was interesting for about 20 minutes, so I still had almost an hour of waiting before the bus came. Such is life...

...when there are tons of teenage couples making out along the banks of the Raba River. Sorry to the Rabas that I know, but this is indeed true. Being on lovers’ lane there didn’t really encourage me to keep walking, and I have to admit that the rivers weren’t that impressive. Yes, they have three of them meeting in the city, but they’re not vast rivers and the bridges across them all seem a bit precarious to walk across. So, I didn’t wander over past the other side of the river too much, but there’s supposed to be a water park there, Raba Quelle is the name. I guess the Hungarians like their water parks and bathhouses. With summers hot and humid as these, I can’t say I blame them. Such is life...

...when you point to items on a menu and the restaurant still gets it wrong. I headed to a seafood restaurant and bar that was recommended by one of the guidebooks, and overall I was satisfied with the food. But that’s a lot different from being happy with the food. I ordered from the English menu, which was merely a translation of only half the Hungarian menu, so I actually ended up looking at the German menu as well to fill in the gaps. I indicated, with a pointing finger, which items I wanted and promptly received my salad, peas and corn in some mayonnaise is what I could make of it. It wasn’t horrible, but I didn’t finish. I was very surprised though when fried catfish arrived at my table instead of the paprika Nile bass that I had pointed to. It was still good, but, if I wanted fried catfish, I would have gone to Cajun country. Fried catfish was the item underneath the one I really wanted, so maybe the waiter thought I was pointing by covering up the item I wanted. I’m not quite sure how that would be in any way logical, but, then again, maybe it’s a cultural thing. Such is life...

Day 8

...when you sleep in because you have a flat all to yourself so there’s no one else to wake you up. What can I say? It was nice, and I didn’t have much sleep on the train the day before. Such is life...

...when you can visit a whole list of religious relics and sacred places within a 5 minutes’ walk of each other. Like I’d mentioned, Györ was, and maybe still is, a religious center for the region. I visited the Carmelite temple and then the basilica, seat of the archbishop of Györ and home to one of Hungary’s most sacred relics - the skull and some bones of St. Ladislaus. Also there was the tomb of Bishop Vilmus Ador, who was shot by the Russians in the aftermath of WWII while defending women and children who were taking refuge in the bishop’s residence. This church also contained the portrait of the Weeping Blessed Virgin, a painting that was brought from Ireland by an Irish missionary and supposedly shed tears of blood on St. Patrick’s Day several decades later. After not being able to figure out where to go for tours of the Bishop’s Palace, I headed to the Diocesian Treasury and Library. Once again, there were centuries of religious articles, from chalices to monstrances, from bishop’s robes to aging texts, the latter of all those being the most interesting. I’m not that into gold. Such is life...

The relic of St. Ladislaus

...when I have to be the one to get a hold of the managers of the hostel in order to pay and check out. I would say that this makes it triple sketchy by now. After texting the manager and not receiving a timely response, I call the father, who had luckily and sensibly given me his number. I hope that international roaming doesn’t cost too much, since there were no payphones near the apartment. Anyway, he’s apparently only on bike so agrees to meet me at the train station instead of the apartment. A return trip from the apartment to the train situation is also not included in the stay, as I was later informed by a return text from the manager - one that I received as I was already halfway across town anyway. All I can say is at least the father is nice. I think that the son just hides behind the niceties of his father to cover up his horrible business sense. Such is life in Györ - I was glad I was moving on to Budapest.

Day 6: Meeting Mozart in Salzburg

OK, so I didn’t really meet Mozart, but his face was plastered on everything, so it was pretty close. He was on packages of chocolate, something with pistachio cream in the middle - I didn’t try... He was on postcards, of course, on handbags, on vials of perfume (two scents), and he looked amazingly like Cartman in a period outfit on this kids’ T-shirt. Ahhh... Mozart must be rolling in his grave to see so much of him being marketed. But, I’m getting away from myself here.

Salzburg! Home of Mozart and the Sound of Music. Close enough to Bavaria to still be good on the Bayern Ticket, but far enough away to be another country, Austria (no kangaroos). Julia and I caught a morning train to Salzburg and got there around noon. We picked up Salzburg Cards, which provide free entry to various attractions and free transportation, and headed to the old city. We started off headed for the elevator that takes us up to the Modern Art Museum. Not that we were entirely interested in that - we were more concerned with the elevator up instead of the hike. Although later on, we discovered that we could have taken the funicular too. Next time! We saw a sign that claimed that Hohen Salzburg (I’m not quite sure if that’s one word in German or two) Fortress was only 1 km away, so we decided to walk. What the signs didn’t say was that it would be uphill the whole way and that it was quite warm that day. We found out anyway, and by the time we finished the last 100 m or so of dusty, under-construction, 30-degree incline “hill,” we were so ready for the tour.

On this tour of the fort, we learned how the Salzburg princes, who were also bishops, built and retrofitted the fortress, as their power and wealth, from the salt trade, grew. In fact, the fortress was so impenetrable that it was never taken by force, just surrendered once, when Napoleon came knocking on the door. To protect their power, of course, there were implements of enhanced interrogation, otherwise known as torture. Among these was a wheel that would be dropped on the detainee until bones and, ideally the spirit and fight, of that individual were broken. Then, the person was tied to the wheel and left out to die, if he hadn’t already. Sounds like those ecclesiastic leaders knew what they were doing! After the tour, we wandered around Aldstadt (old town) for a while, looking for a decently priced meal - not to be found when you’re hungry in a touristy spot though. We eventually went to the “regular” part of the city and got some pizzas.

One of various implements of torture on display

Next on the agenda was Mozart’s birthplace. Now, remember that we’ve already seen his crazy mug all over the city, and we were headed for more. Luckily, it wasn’t all portraits of Mozart! There were letters written by him or members of his family. There were paintings of his family members, among whom was his sister, a brilliant pianist who performed alongside Wolfgang when he played violin for royalty as a child prodigy. There were notes on music and sheet music by the great composer himself. Most impressive for me though were the clavichords that were used by Mozart for his performances and several violins that belonged to him - one from his childhood and two adult-sized. It was awe-inspiring just to see the instruments that were the conduit for this man’s genius!! And, for the opera fan, there were a couple of rooms dedicated to his operas as well. These included original set designs for the opera premiers, darwings of sets and costumes from various productions through the centuries, and one particularly shiny-looking flute sitting atop the sheet music for none other than Die Zauberflaut (The Magic Flute... I hope I spelled the German correctly).

The Magic Flute!

After Mozart’s birthplace, we headed to the Cathedral, where they were to have a performance of Mozart’s last work, his Requiem, in a couple of nights. That poster alone made me sad that I had not planned a couple of nights in Salzburg. Luckily, I had also seen a poster for the Seimens Nachtspielfest, for Das Rhinegold, an opera by Wagner, that night. While we were wandering through the cathedral, Julia realized the time and had to go. We said our sad goodbyes, she left to return to Munich for a week of work, and I stayed to wile away the hours, consulting with the flowers, and to wait for my train.

I did part of that in the other Mozart museum, his residence. They were about to close, so the guy let me in without paying, even though the card would have covered it, but I ended up without the audio tour. I think the tour itself was an hour long, so that’s why he told me not to bother. After that, I grabbed something to drink from a grocery store and headed to the residenzplatz (plaza in front of the old Bishop’s residence) to find a seat for the opera. I found out when I got there that it was to be a screening of a late 1970s performance of the opera, so that was a bit disappointing. But, then again, it was free and kept me (mostly) awake until midnight. I’m not sure I can say I’m a fan of Wagner... Especially when there are no supertitles, since it was in German, and Austrians speak German, although a very different dialect of it compared to High German, the official/standard dialect in Germany. After the show, I found my way to the train station and sat for an hour before the train arrived. Luckily, night trains arrive with almost an hour before departure to allow you to find a spot and settle in for the night before the roaring of the train and the rumble of the tracks set in.

Days 3 - 5: Me and München

Day 3

Well, days 3 to 5 are definitely better grouped together (especially once I get into Munich) because I just haven’t had time to sit down and type for days! Don’t worry... I was at least having fun instead! So, on day 3 (soon I will start to forget numbers for these days), I woke up early to head off to the Neuschwanstein castle. The Bavarian morning was incredibly misty, which I found to be absolutely beautiful. There was a dense coat of white over everything, and it was especially glorious where the tops of the mountains skimmed the mist. After a quick search for an ATM that would let me use it at 7am in a smaller town, I got the cash I needed for my second Bayern Ticket. This ticket lets you use almost any mode of transportation throughout Bavaria for the full day (well, 9am to midnight). I then caught a bus to the ticket sellers for the castle, where I enjoyed the morning mist some more while waiting for it to open. Once I got my ticket and headed up the hill on the bus, I took a brief hike up to the bridge that has an amazing overlook onto the castle and an equally stunning one of the gorge below with its thundering waterfall. A friendly German guy in liederhosen (he was there to collect money from people who wanted to take pictures with a genuine Bavarian) even offered to take a picture of me on the bridge. I hope that one turned out!

The inspiration for Cinderella's castle at Disneyland

After that, I wandered around the outside of the castle area, awaiting my tour to begin. Once the bell chimed for the #415 tour (yay 415), I was the first through the gates, eagerly awaiting a look inside the castle built by a supposedly crazy king. Once getting inside, I realized that King Ludwig II was definitely crazy. For two things... Swans and Wagner, to whom he had dedicated this castle! Inside, the servants rooms were better decorated and much nicer than any dorm room or apartment I’d ever lived in.

Further upstairs, the king’s bedroom was a work of art. Or rather, the work of 4 woodcarvers for several years (I think it was years... more exciting that way). The wood paneling was intricate and even included a couple of secret doors to his bathroom and to his sitting room. The most amazing wood art there though was the king’s canopy. It was painstakingly carved to resemble Gothic steeples. And, if you’ve ever seen one Gother steeple, just imagine it about a hundred times shorter, with almost a hundred times as many, and carved out of wood!

Sadly, pictures weren’t allowed to be taken inside the castle. Another fascinating aspect of the castle was its sheer dedication to the Bavarian folk tales that Wagner had written operas about. Each room had a different folktale as a theme. And, not just in terms of paintings on every wall related to the story! The room that was dedicated to the tale of the Swan Knight had 100 swans total in the room, painted or as statues. One story involved a protagonist who lived briefly in a stalactite cave, and thus the Venus Grotto hallway was built and was a pretty damn good representation of such a cave, especially for the mid 1800s!

Finally, in the throne room, paintings were reminiscent of Byzantine churches instead. There were paintings of the typical Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, and 12 Apostles, all in their Byzantine garb with their iconic golden halos, and also 6 European kings who had been canonized, including St. George, the one that is always depicted slaying a dragon. The best part about the throne room though is that by this point in time (in other words, WAY after the Middle Ages), monarchs no longer met their guests or advisors in such elaborate environments anyway! It was all just part of Ludwig’s fantasy world. It’s little wonder that his ministers were able to declare him mentally unfit to rule Bavaria, but it’s still a big mystery how he ended up dead in a lake the very next day. The castle was never finished after his death, and, within 6 months, it was even open to the public as a museum and a way to make back all the money Ludwig had funneled into his palace projects.

After an amazing morning, I headed back down to Fussen to properly check out of my hostel and to grab lunch before my train to Munich. I had what I can best describe as a German-style hamburger. Same concept with a meat patty on a sliced bun with lettuce and ketchup, but the meat was deliciously spiced and very tasty. The train back to Munich was rather uneventful, and the first people I see off the train are Julia and her boyfriend, Jevgeni. Awesome timing! They were both a bit hungry, so we first grabbed some doner kebabs or falafel near the train station. Then, as we were headed to Aldstadt (old town) Munich, I get smacked on the back of my head with a baseball cap belonging to no other than Jason. Jason, luckily, was also the one holding the cap, so I didn’t have to throw down or anything (kidding...). So, fortuitously, we were just headed away from the area when Jason had finally got tired of looking for his friend, who was also in town.

The four of us then headed to old town, where we wandered around for a while, admiring the rebuilt old buildings and people-watching. We then headed up the many flights of stairs to a church steeple, where we could see all of old town Munich and some of the new. We also stuck around long enough to see the Glockenschpiel work on the Aldat Rathaus (old town hall... Translation good, spelling questionable...). Afterwards, we wandered through the English Gardens and ended up at a Paulaner biergarden for “mas”es of beer. A “mas” is a full-on liter... Whew! We picked a spot pretty close to the lake, so that was nice. After that, we headed off to another biergarden for some more breze (pretzels) and beer, although I have to admit I wussed out. My bladder and liver just can’t take a full liter and then have another - especially without the training! So, alcoholically fulfilled, we all headed back for a good night’s rest.

The Rathaus square from atop a steeple

Day 4

This morning we all slept in, since I was still a bit jetlagged and Julia definitely was. Julia, Jevgeni, and I met up with Jason (wow... all Js except me!) at Olypmiazentrum, the station next to Olympic park, where the Munich games of 1978 were held. First, we went to the BMW museum, where we checked out the fantastic German engineering of the stylish range of beamers. There was everything new, from sports cars to SUVs to cross-over vehicles, and we marveled at the owner program, where you can pick up your car there and get a personal tour of your own car from an expert before driving it off to your own home. I don’t know if it’s worth that price tag still... The store there had BMW or BMW Wult (world) branded everything: die cast cars, jackets, golf equipment. Upstairs, you had a grand view of everything below and a glimpse at some new owners on their tours. That’s also where the BMW motorcycles were. Hot...

After we were done drooling, we decided to head over to Olympic Park but found ourselves stuck behind a barrier on the bridge. Apparently, there was to be a venue that evening, and they were setting up for that starting in the early afternoon. By then, hunger called, and we went to a place near the University recommended by Jevgeni. Julia and I shared the weinerschnitzl, which was a very good thing because it was gigantic!!

After food, we headed off to a monestary/brewery (the name escapes me right now) for some more beer. We got there off-schedule of the bus, so we wandered about a bit and checked out the lakeside resort area before catching the bus to the hill where the brewery was. We picked another picturesque spot, one overlooking rolling grasslands and fields, and ordered liters of beer all around. After getting pissed at the mugs because they were still holding beer, we got some pretzels (if only they were this good in the states) and finished off the good stuff. We then began our trek downhill towards the bus station. Everyone was just passed out on the Ubahn back, and I was the first one awake, just three stations before Hauptbahnhof. We said goodbye to Jason for the night after we decided on a time to meet for Regensburg, and the rest of us went home for another good night’s sleep.

Day 5

Well, most of today was spent outside of Munich, but it’s still a night I spent at J&J’s (not to be confused with just J for Jason) so I’ll count it. Jason and I met up at the train station, me with a Bayern ticket in hand. These things are definitely handy! We read the Financial Times (we like to feel smart?) on the 1.5 hr train ride to Regensburg. Jason drinks there with some frequency, or at least used to, so he was my tour guide for the day.

We walked around Aldstadt for a while and admired the old buildings, part of one of the few old towns in Bavaria to survive WWII bombings. We got lunch at this Parisian restaurant and people-watched while enjoying our meal. After that, we walked over to the Dom (cathedral) again - there was a Sunday service the first time before lunch - for some more churchiness. After that, we headed over to a museum they had adjacent and strolled among glass cases of chalices, monstrances, and other ceremonial items. Done with the religion, we wandered eventually to a grassy area across the Danube and enjoyed the sun, the bugs, and the barking dogs for a while. We were going to head to the weiswurst stand for a small dinner, but it was closed, and so we ended up at a café in old town instead, for salads.

The Regensburg Cathedral is the "home" church of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

Jason and I said our teary goodbyes (ok, not really teary), and I tried reading Waldon on the way back to Munich. It doesn’t do much for keeping me awake! J&J met me at downtown station, and we headed home again. I had to pack this time, since I was on my way out of Bavaria the next morning.

Day 2: Bring on Bavaria

Today, I left bright and early from the hostel in Clichy (an area just outside Paris proper) and headed for the airport. Luckily, I did get up so early because the process of finding the airport shuttle was confusing and then the line at the check-in was endlessly slow. My experience with Air Berlin improved though, once I got onto the plane. If I read German magazines or newspapers, I could have because they were provided free. They even had a sandwich for me! Not just the standard peanuts and soda for this budget airline!

The main drag in downtown Füssen

Upon arriving to Munich airport, I caught the train for Fussen, the city at the end of the Romantic Road in Bavaria. This is pretty close to the castles that King Ludwig II lived in, the more famous of which is Neuschwanstein, the inspiration for the famous Disney castle. The castle though was to wait for the next day, since the lines are less hectic in the mornings, when day-trippers from Munich aren't quite
there yet. Instead, I toured the city of Fussen, and found several gems there as well. The High Palace, Hohes Schloss, was particularly spectacular. It's a fairly large complex that used to house the Augsburg prince bishops, since Fussen used to be the seat of a bishopry. That history is still seen in the adjacent large complex of the St. Mung monestary and basilica. The basilica was very large and lavishly decorated in, what I think is, baroque period paintings and sculptures. There was a chapel downstairs that held several statues depicting the various stages of Christ's life, from him coming out of the desert on a donkey to him bearing the cross. One statue though that I felt was especially eerie was one of Christ lying on a bier or bed of some sort, with all the wounds from the crucification, covered with a real shroud. That room made me feel like I didn't belong, like I was intruding on someone's personal collection of life stories, and so I ended up not taking any pictures there.

My detour to a Franciscan Monestary

After that, I continued my wandering through the city. I strolled along the River Lech, which I found to be a really strange color. It was chalky with a greenish tinge to it. I'm not quite sure what would cause the water to be that way though. I definitly was not tempted to take a swim, or even wade in the water. On the way to food, or rather as detours from it since I'm easily distracted, I saw the Franciscan
monestary and the nearby St. Benedict cemetary. Afterwards, my stomach finally prevailed, and I sat down at a local German restaurant, ordered up some schweinschnitzl (pork cutlet) and home-made schpetzl (egg noodles). I also had some german off-dry white wine to go with it, one from Franken, I believe. After that, the wine kicked in, and I realized that the light sleep the night before was not nearly enough to recover from the complete change in time zones. I eventually returned to the hostel, and, as I write this in bed, I am so ready for a peaceful night's sleep! Gute nacht!

Day 1: un peu de Paris

As promised, here are the emails/postings about my trip! 23 Juillet, my first day in Europe ever! I started it off by paying more than €8 for a train ticket out of CDG airport. A bit much, if you ask me, but with a fairly efficient and plentiful system (this was the RER), you get what you pay for, I suppose. After dropping my big bag at the youth hostel I was staying at, I hopped onto the Metro and enjoyed a free concert by a "street" musician on the train. I don't think that could have ever happened on BART!

I headed to the Arc de Triomphe, the famous monument commissioned by Napoleon to memorialize French soldiers. It's pretty big, but I think that the being in the middle of traffic takes away from the grandeur. Nonetheless, I was very diappointed that the day's sun was already very bright and the skies were too hazy for good photographs. I will have to save a trip up to the (near) top for some time in the (near?) future.

The EU and French flags flying at l'Arc de Triumphe

I then strolled down l'Ave des Champs Elysees, quite possibly the most famous section of street in the world. Well, let's just say that it's famous enough for a whole lot of luxory (and more and more, mainstream) retailers to have heard of it and set up at least one home on it. It's Cartier and Louis Vuitton, Gap and Claires. I pretty much didn't do any shopping, but there were definitely many Socles (sales) going on. I did get tempted to step into a McDonalds for a Coke though. €1.60 for a 25cL Coke is definitely not worth it, even if it's pretty hot and humid outside. I kept strolling from there, and eventially I wandered into La Place de la Concorde, former home of the infamous guillotine and current home of an obelisk gifted to France by Egypt. After that, I wandered on to the Jardin des Tuileries, full of fountains and the kids playing with sailboats in them.

And, to top off my long day (awake since before the plane left SFO on the 22nd), I toured the Denon wing of the Louvre for several hours. I said hello to the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, the self-crowning Napoleon, the stranded sailors of the Medusa, plenty of Madonnas with their plenty of children, and, of course, the Mona Lisa, known as La Joconde in French.

This proves that I actually went inside La Musée du Louvre

From there, I was about ready to call it a day and head back to the hotel to ready myself for Bavaria!