Henckler Euro Trip 2007

Welcome

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Friends, family, associates, coworkers, past college friends, future grad school friends, the old lady who sells lemonade on the corner of Salem and Prince streets who always yells at me, and assorted web-based delinquents who have somehow found this page, welcome to Henckler Euro Trip 2007. This site documents my two weeks of traveling through five countries in Europe in May/June 2007. Enjoy it, and let me know what you think.

Technical warning: You should be able to see all of the posts I made (42 in all) just by opening this page. If you don't just click on "2007 (42)" of the right side of the screen, that should do the trick. Also, if any photos don't show up just hit the "refresh" button on your browser (it worked for me).

Blogging disclaimer: I am not a blogger (this monstrous posting is like my second ever online). I just thought that this forum would work best for sharing my Euro adventure with the masses; providing my pictures along with descriptive text and also a few cultural observations to boot (consider this to be an Ofoto album, just with much better context).

Special thanks: Going out to none other than Mr. Ryan Field (a Maine original) who introduced me to Blogger. Feel free to check out his homeboys blog, East Coast Animals ("a collaborative blog effort of uncertain proportions"), here http://www.eastcoastanimals.blogspot.com/. They have worked out some impressive arrangement where when anyone clicks on an ad link in their blog they get paid. After about two years they got a $20 check in the mail, invested the money in a 30 rack of Bud and celebrated their Internet fame. Mazel tov!

And now, on with the show....

Henckler Euro Trip 2007

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The itinerary:

Day 1: getting there

Days 2-5: Munich, Germany

Days 6 & 7: Slovenia (Ljubljana & Bled)

Days 8 & 9: Budapest, Hungary

Day 10: Vienna, Austria

Days 11-13: Prague, Czech Republic

Days 14 & 15: getting back (via Munich)

The cast:

A. Henckler (and sometimes the Henckler): the Postmaster General of this blog, Eggo waffle connoisseur, future business school student (where my Tuckies at?), and soon to be former Analysis Group employee. Getting an early start on his first summer back in the "fake world" (ahhh, to be a student again):

like a fish to water...

Garrett M. Kephart (Gary K): newly minted Master of Public Policy, former college roommate, comrade in arms, enjoying one last go around before entering the "real world" (yet, already contemplating ancillary degrees to return to the "fake world"):

Beer: I think you two have met before:

Special guest appearances by: Matija Vodopivec (an authentic Slovenian!) and Lil' Aaron (beyond classification)

MUNICH (Germany)

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This party got started in none other than Munich, Germany, one of my favorite places to visit in Europe. Clean, modern, safe, liberal, scenic, plenty of great things to see and even more great beer to drink. I spent five days in Munchen this time around (four on the front end, one on the back end) and loved it. Activities included, as described below, drinking, museum going, park visiting, concentration camp viewing, steeple climbing and walking all over this special place.

Generally speaking your a fool if you tour around Europe and never get to Munich. While not as exotic as some other locales, and not to say that their aren't any other gems out there (like Ljubljana and Prague, as I discovered on this trip), Munich is a special place. If for no other reason consider that the average German drinks about 116 liters of beer per year (the US isn't even close), and that Munich is the beer drinking capital of Germany. Enough said, go...

The Journey Begins

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Due to shitty weather, 40s and 50s each day, torrential rain, my first couple days in Munich were less than phenomenal. To pass the time I mainly explored the city's impressive collection of museums. Two of the ones I went to (below) are definitely worth visiting if you have the time.

Shot from inside Pinakothek der Moderne (the German MOMA). A very neat place:

Shot from inside the Deutsches Museum (the German Smithsonian). Lots of great stuff in here: really old ships/boats, lots of planes, a neat mining exhibit. I read that there are 11 miles of walkways in the beast. Unfortunately, the poor lighting wasn't very conducive for photos:

The Boozing Begins

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Alas, after two days the weather cleared and Garrett M. Kephart, MPP, arrived.

You know what that meant:

(Gary K with Lil' Aaron. Lil' Aaron may be worth his own blog, but perhaps some other time)

At none other than the:

In retrospect I think I was about due to have one of those nights when you sleep with the trash can next to your bed. Our trips to the "H-House" became daily religion for the duration of our stay in Munich.

Dachau Concentration Camp

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No trip to Munich would be complete without a trip to Dachau. It's really easy to get to from the city (about 30 minutes, door to door) and can be visit in half a day. It's just about everything you'd expect: chilling, disturbing, depressing (you'll fulfill your pictures of dead people quota for the next five years in about fifteen minutes at Dachau). A crazy piece of permanent history amongst a country and people that seem so far from this horror (even though it wasn't that long ago). Overall, a powerful reminder of a cause worth fighting for.

Entrance gate into the camp. Translated this means something like "Work will set you free". Freaky stuff:

Morbid sculpture #1:

Morbid sculpture #2:

Some crematorium oven:

A shot from inside a gas chamber (apparently they didn't really use the gas chambers at Dachau but had them anyway). Someone had left a rose where the sunlight from outside hit the floor. It look a lot more powerful than this picture would suggest. Would have been a great photo in black and white, with a better camera:

Ugh, now back to the fun...

A Traveler's Observations: The German Peoples

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First, don't mess when Germans when it come to standing in lines (or the queue, Euro style). They'll squeeze into a opening and never look back. Also, be weary of letting old Germans jump ahead of you, they'll inevitably produce a posse out of nowhere which also wants to move ahead.

I flew to the former Weimar Republic with LTU Airlines (the German equivalent of Song or Ted). Without question I was the only American on these flights (apparently this airline used to strictly fly German tour groups all around Europe, I wouldn't have thought such demand was high enough to justify a whole airline for this lone purpose). Anyway flying with my German counterparts led me to a second observation. For some reason, when the plane lands all of the German start clapping (no shit). I mean, is a successful landing really cause for collective celebration? Should I have been, or were they, expecting some alternative outcome? Perhaps the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain (WWII), circa 1940, had a more lasting impression on these peoples than I initially thought.
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My plane (yes, the very one):

Surfs Up in Central Europe (Where's Chain Bill when you need him?)

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So for those that don't know Munich has an amazing and huge park called the English Garden. It is larger than NYC's Central Park and larger than London's Hyde Park (where do I get such trivial knowledge?). It is a very popular place to sunbathe without clothes as well. Unfortunately, contrary to my previous visit to the park in 2001 not too many ladies were out sunbathing this time around (there was plenty of male junk flopping around though). The English Garden also boast a nice beer garden, centered around a big Japanese Pagoda, and many streams. The feeding system of one such stream creates this continuous wave which you can surf on. Here are some snaps of the German surfers (doesn't sound very intimidating, eh?) out on the day I visited "da Garden":

Assorted Munich Photos

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Town Hall (photo bummed from Wikipedia, there was all this scaffolding on it when I was there, forgive me, please):

Frauenkirche Cathedral and Town Hall:

The Michelin Man of Munich:

Some statue near the River Isar:

Huge church right near the grounds where they have Oktoberfest every year:

The Scarlet Letter for German Bus Drivers

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Arial Shots of Munich from the top of St. Peters Church

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View of Frauenkirche Cathedral:

Munich, buildings unidentified:

Theatinerkirche (Church St. Kajetan) in the distance:

Julian Apls

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To get from Munchen down to Slovenia we had to take a train through the Julian Alps. Fortunately we had great weather which allowed us to appreciate the scenary along the way. It goes withsout saying that if you have to go through the Alps (Julian or other) while in Europe you should do it during the day.

Lovely:

Charming:

LJUBLJANA & BLED (Slovenia)

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After a great time in Bavaria's finest beer halls and an enjoyable trip through the Julian Alps (via train, see above), Gary K and I spent two great days in Slovenia. We stayed at this interesting hostel (Celica, http://www.hostelcelica.com/) which was formerly a prison. Although we did not get one of their "cell rooms" the general atmosphere of the place made it memorable. As documented below Day 1 was spent exploring Slovenia's capital Ljubljana and enjoying the nightlife. Day 2 involved moving furniture, witnessing a Slovenian "yard sale" and traveling to the majestic lake town of Bled.

My Slovene synopsis is that the country is a great place. It was easily one of the best destinations of the entire trip. Ljubljana, while smaller than other "major" cities, is incredible. It has a great riverfront and happening social scene (at least on Friday nights). Plenty of other things to check out in the country as well (see Bled below). I'm looking forward to getting back there to visit Piran, on the the Adriatic, and do some rafting on the Soca River. If your going to Eastern Europe, hit up Slovenia, you won't regret it.

Ljubljana by Day

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Shot of Tromostovje and Preseren Square

(photo bummed from Wikipedia):

Shot of Preseren Square:

Some cathedral:

Garrett M. Kephart, MPP, below Ljubljana Castle:

Garrett M. Kephart, MPP, giving the stink face at Ljubljana Castle:

Shot of one on the dragons on the, ready for this, Dragon Bridge:

Shot of the Ljubljanica River:

An authentic Slovenian! Our personal tour guide, and my former coworker, Matija Vodopivec. Note: stock photo from Analysis Group's Knowledge Network:

After meeting up with Matija we headed out for dinner at this great place along the river. We split the two largest and best pizzas I have ever had (Gary K has a great picture of their size). Here is a shot of Gary K after consuming about two pounds of pizza and three liters of giggle juice (beer):

Ljubljana by Night: Going Global

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"Slovenia's greatest night club" and the "only bar in the country with a cover charge" is none other than Global (http://www.global.si/). I found this description of it online:

"Up on the roof of the Nama building, this is without doubt the hottest night-spot in Ljubljana. The security can be a little picky about who gets in, so try not to roll up to the queue so intoxicated that you need to have your arms held by your companions to stop you from falling over! Once inside, you'll find that the music is good, the crowd is young and extremely good-looking, and the drinks are pretty expensive. Friday night is definitely the best time of the week in Global, with the DJ spinning all the latest house beats, but if you can't make it on a Friday, there is something going on here whenever the sun is down. Let your hair down a bit!"

Despite the allegedly strict entrance criteria (see above) we were granted access to the wonders of Global after a little pub crawl along the river which included numerous pints, several Slovenian "slammers" (Gary K has video of this I believe), and going briefly to this pseudo goth bar which looked more like an ossuary than a place I'd like to get my drink on in.

Overall Global is a worthwhile cultural experience. It was great to see some trendy young American guys there who had clearly struck out with all of the women in Western Europe, the Baltics and every other other former Yugoslav republic. Also, given its location atop of one of Ljubljana's "skyscrapers" (we were about 10 floors up) you great a view of the town's castle, all lit up at night.

A Traveler's Observations: Slovenian Yard Sales & Ethnic Cleansing (sidebar)

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After raging like Slovenian rock stars (please see Fredi Miler, an authentic Slovenian rock star, seriously: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-3ifKd6wUM&mode=related&search=) the night before we began day two in Ljubljana by heading out to Matija's parents place to help them move some furniture and do some house cleaning. In the process of moving Matija's mother mentioned to us that they have to put everything out for the trash as there "are no yard sales in Slovenia". As the locals took all of the "trash" (cardboard boxes, nonfunctional lamps, bikes without wheels, ripped tires, scholarly papers on the post-Yugoslavian labor market, Matija's dad is an economist) we put out within five minutes of leaving it near the dumpster the rationale for the no yard sale culture became immediately clear: The Slovenians know that if you are selling something (yard sale) you don't really want it anyway. If you don't really want it anyway you'll throw it out if it doesn't sell. Thus, there is a collective social agreement by which no one purchases yard sale materials because they know that imminently such yard sale materials will become free "trash". Why pay for a bike without a fork when if you wait ten minutes you can grab it for free? This collective market mentality has helped make Slovenia the strongest and most successful former Yugoslavian territory, I'm convinced.

Also while moving furniture, Matija's parents talked to us about the different ethnicities which made up the former Yugoslavia and how they really had nothing in common (unless your name was Tito, history lesson). It was very interesting to hear what they had to say and provided some valuable perspective in understanding why/how all of that ethnic cleansing took place over there (Serbia, Kosovo, etc.) a few years back....

Sidebar: While once in Chicago I met an entertaining and unassumingly brilliant kid (acted like Bluto from Animal House yet went to Stanford, yada, yada, yada). After some conversation he posed the following question to the group I was with: If you could cleanse one ethnicity, what would it be? It didn't take long before a consensus was reached: the CANADIANS!!

Bled, Slovenia

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After moving furniture we drove about an hour north of Ljubljana to Bled, a small lakeside town in the lower Julian Alps. Really lovely stuff (see below). After doing a bike ride around the lake we stopped off for some traditional Slovenian dessert cake (delicious). On our way out of town we found this sweet little ski mountain that had retrofitted it's slope with a track on which individual carts with little wheels rip down (apologies for the poor description, I've tried to find a picture of these little vehicles are they are worth seeing) to the bottom. We took the ski lift to the top each flew (rolled) down and then headed back to L-town. No pictures of the roller cart adventure, unfortunately.

Island on Lake Bled (foreground), Bled Castle (background) and the Julian Alps (background to background). Interestingly enough this is Slovenia's only island (or so I've heard). Perhaps surprising for a country which has some coastline and is about the size of New Jersey:

Island on Lake Bled:

Bled Castle:

Analysis Group's finest:

BUDAPEST (Hungary)

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After good times in Slovenia we took a night train to Budapest (via Croatia). We spent two days in Hungary's capital exploring the Buda Castle, Terror Museum, Great Market Hall, Szechenyi Baths, and Gellert Hill (probably some other stuff too which I have since forgotten). Evenings were spent searching for the elusive Hungarian beer, the seem to defer to Czech beers, and finding a cheap bite to eat (the costs of meals seemed disproportionate to the average annual income of Hungarians).

In general, I enjoyed Budapest quite thoroughly. It definitely felt more "Eastern European" (i.e., post communist) then a lot of other cities and countries, which clearly have their shit more together (see Slovenia & the Czech Republic). Perhaps not as much to see and/or social excitement to offer (i.e., party scene) as compared to some of its rivals on the Eastern Euro circuit but none the less, worth a few days time. I think the public baths themselves justify a trip to Budapest. Bring your floaties....

Obligatory Photos of the Hungarian Parliament Building

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Only about one-eighth of this building is used by the government (true story).

Parliament from afar:

Parliament from a near:

Parliament from a peephole:
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Other Assorted Budapest Pictures

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Some statue, some steeple, near the Buda Castle:

Shot of the Liberty Bridge from outside the Cave Chapel in Buda, looking toward Pest:

Shot of the Danube from Gellért Hill in Buda:

The Postmaster General himself before some fountain near the Buda Castle. Note the unshaven face, receding hairline, slight pouch from beer drinking, cliche tourist guidebook (in hand), hangover fighting Diet Coke (on ground), and Tuck School of Business Class of 2009 t-shirt (on body). I ask you, does this look like a future business leader of tomorrow? Methinks not.

Shameless Promotion: A Great Budapest Read

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A must read for anyone Buda-bound, or any one in general, is the Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein. This next image pretty much gives a synopsis of the action:

Most of the book takes place in Budapest. One of the craziest and funniest stories you'll ever read, period. Gary K timed his reading perfectly so that he wrapped up the book while in Buda-town. My sense is that it contributed to his appreciation of the city, as it did for me.

G, post a raving testimonial, if you feel so obliged.

Great Market Hall: Hungarian Agricultural Commercialism at its Finest

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Below is a shot of the Great Market Hall. Pretty much a huge Hungarian farmer's market. Well worth a visit to, as it is quite an experience and it has the cheapest food in town:

"I'm looking for some pepper and paprika, any idea as to where I could find some?"

Ummmm, fruits and vegetables. Probably should have ate more of such manifestations during my two weeks abroad:

Co-traveler Gary K with Mr. Vecsesi Savanyu. "And you want to be my Kaposzta salesman!":

Széchenyi Baths

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A must do while in Budapest is to visit the baths. We went to the Széchenyi Baths, which are the biggest and arguably the best (I hear the Gellért Baths are sweet too, but I understand they are both more touristy and expensive). For perhaps obvious reasons no cameras are allowed inside, thus, I bummed these photos off of Wikipedia. Here is a shot of the main building and entrance:

A shot from inside the baths:

Unfortunately we were unable to relive our memorable experience at the Blue Lagoon thermal baths in Iceland, which we visited on a Spring Break trip in 2003. On that momentous occasion the Icelandic Bikini Team showed up and kept us company for a better part of the day. Fantastic!

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While bringing down the age demographics (see next post) we had an excellent time. We hit up saunas and pools with temperatures ranging from about 40 to 140 degrees (no joke). If you are ever in Budapest throw personal hygiene to the wind and visit a bath, well worth the forints (Hungarian currency).

A Traveler's Observation: Expand Your Personal Empire

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If unlawfully annexing foreign countries is your cup of tea (or bowl of goulash), I'd put Hungary high on your list. Everyone is really old and weighs at least a deuce (a.k.a. 200 pounds,women included). I can't imagine their population would put up much of a fight (see the Hungarian Revolution of 1956). Once establishing control you can bask in the unique cuisine, excellent baths (as aforementioned), and a huge lake (Lake Balaton, the "Hungarian Sea").

VIENNA (Austria)

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After our time in Budapest, Garrett M. Kephart, MPP, and I jumped a train for a one day trip to the former bastion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna. Now known more for its Boys Choir than anything else (speaking of which, how would you like to be an aspiring Austrian rapper from Vienna, what kind of street cred could you possibly have?) Vienna is a study in contrast. So many impressive old offerings (palaces, museums, etc.) from such a presently inconsequential city (and nation). If contemporary Whitney Houston was a city she very well might be Vienna.

Generally speaking, Vienna is at best worth just passing through. I've now been to Vienna twice and I think that that is enough trips there to last me until I'm at least 75 (which is probably the average age of the tourists there anyways). By that time I'll be old and past my prime, just the like city itself. I'm sure by then I'll have a much greater appreciation for sitting around and drinking coffee and attending classical musical performances. I still think even at that age the Boys Choir will be remain out of the question.

A Traveler's Observation: Pommes Frites

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I think there is a national joke in Austria where if an American orders pommes frites (fried potatoes, crunchy on the outside, and soft inside, a.k.a. french fries in German speaking countries) he gets a plate of rice instead. Clarification of what pommes frites is prior to ordering is futile in diffusing this Austro-laugher. Gary K was not too pleased to get rice in place of his fries, although he did clean his plate, regardless.

Photos of Wien (Vienna)

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The Rathaus (town hall):

St. Stephen's Cathedral (a.k.a., Gothic Stphansdom), in a perpetual state of repair (seriously, they've been fixing it since 1147, look it up):

Profile of a building in the Hofburg (imperial palace):

Fountain at the Hofburg:

Some square near the Ringstrabe (note the annoying women who wouldn't get out of my picture, even after profanities in German were exchanged: "Shizer!"):

Kids, Don't Drink Absinthe in Austria

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Mr. Garrett M. Kephart, MPP, and I before the faithful moment. Let's just say I thought it tasted better on the way down. I can only suspect that the girl in the background is reacting to our collective body odor after we wore the same clothes for several days.

P.S. the photo doesn't do this justice but those little sugar cubes are actually on fire.

PRAGUE (Czech Republic)

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After our brief sojourn to Austria Mr. Garrett M. Kephart, MPP, returned to the states as I ventured solo to Prague in the Czech Republic. Prague, simply put, is a tourist's Disneyland containing all of the cliche things such a venturer would look for: castles, ornate bridges, churches, sweeping vistas, lovely public squares, and an abundance of McDonald's. A great social scene (i.e., lots of good bars) to boot as well (although I must confess, I did not heavily indulge after my preceding week of moderate to heavy boozing w/ Gary K).

I spent two and a half lovely days in Prague (sunny and about 85 degrees each day), before beginning the long trek home (night train to Munich, flight to and night in Dusseldorf, flight to NYC, huge delay at JFK, flight to Boston). Effectively, Prague marked the end of my journey and was a great "final" destination. I would highly recommend the "City of a Hundred Spires" to anyone who hasn't visited it before.

A Traveler's Observation: Czech Women (Czech them out!)

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Czech women seem to reside pleasantly at the intersection of attractiveness, self confidence and revealing clothing. In summary: "Very Nice".

Visions of the Old Town

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Tyn Cathedral:

Old Town Hall:

View of the tower on the west side of the Charles Bridge:

Church of St. Nicolas:

View of the Old Town from Kampa Island:

Powder Tower (no idea where the name came from):

Some Supplementary Prague Photos

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St. Vitus Cathedral, inside Prague Castle:

Random church, near Josefov (the Jewish Quarter):

The National Museum. In need of a sand blast I think:

Sculpture: How I Feel After A Night of Heavy Drinking

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Various Shots of Prague Castle...

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...after all it is so photogenic.

Views from the Charles Bridge:

Views from the Old Town:

View from Charles Bridge over the the Little Quarter to the castle:

Televizni Voz (a.k.a. TV Tower)

2007-06-12T20:02:00.000+05:00

So I ventured off the "beaten path" to this TV tower in West Prague (Prague 3, technically). Apparently this was used to screw with the transmission signals of Western European countries when Czechoslovakia was under the "Iron Curtain." Right now its just a huge TV tower with freaky sculptures of infants climbing all over it. Interesting, in a confusing sort of way.

Pole Vaulting in Wenceslas Square

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Pretty neat to run across this in Wenceslas, Square which is pretty much like Times Square of the Czech Republic.

The Greek Connection?

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I interpreted this sign to mean one of three things:

1) I have some latent Greek heritage

2) I must soon make a pilgrimage to a certain Mount...

3) It is time for me to buy a new digital camera, perhaps from this namesake store

Roofs in Prague

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Shot taken from a hill in the Vysehrad district. Lovely, don't you think?

Petrin Park Lookout Tower

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Petrin Park is a lovely little spot on the west side of the Vltava River. On the top of the park's Petrin Hill is the Czech proclaimed "Prague's Eiffel Tower". It's real name is something less ambitious, like the Lookout Tower. Either way the 299 steps to the top are well worth the views they ultimately afford.

View of the Lookout Tower from Prague Castle:

View of Prague Castle from the Lookout Tower (reversal, eh?):

View of the Charles Bridge and the Old Town from the Lookout Tower:

View of the Old Town and Josefov from the Lookout Tower:

View of the Old Town from lower Petrin Hill:

How they tow cars in the Czech Republic:

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Ginger & Fred - Prague

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Officially called the Rasin Building, this little ditty design by architect Frank Gehry, is commonly referred to as "Ginger & Fred". Apparently these buildings are structured on the dancing of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Do you see it? I think our modern day Gaudi, Franky G., had one too many cocktails before hitting the drawing board (kind of like I did, see Absinthe above).

John Lennon Wall - Prague

2007-06-12T03:03:00.000+05:00

So, word on the Czech street is that after John passed the Czechies started to spray paint tributes to him on this wall on. The Prague Police would cover the wall up but after a few months or years they realized the futility of their effort and let the wall be. The result:

The man himself...

Can't we all just...

Ahhh, what tranquil note on which to end this blog.

And thus the journey came to an end. Thanks for viewing, post comments, and keep in touch...