| May 31st, 2008 | 1681 Comment »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/31/ptm-contiki-day-21-amsterdam/Contiki%3A+Day+21+-+Amsterdam%212008-05-31+23%3A42%3A13Ryan | Contiki, Netherlands, Photography, Travel

[Last Night Continued...]

I have to say that last night was the best night of the tour. There have been some great nights on tour but this one takes the cake.

We took a 25 minute walking tour through Amsterdam with our tour manager last night and then he took us through the Red Light District as promised so that we could experience what the real RLD was all about.

The Red Light District is a lot different that I originally thought it would be. After seeing movies, tv shows, and hearing stories from different people I still had a different perception of the whole experience. It’s honestly something you need to see for yourself to understand. Whether it’s your cup of tea or not, taking a stroll through the RLD is a must for visitors to Amsterdam. Not for the sex, not for the sleaze, but to experience a culture that openly accepts prostitution. There are not many, if any other places in the world that you’ll be able to take in and understand a government that truly listens to it’s citizens and bases their laws around what the “people” want or are willing to accept in their city. Amsterdam is simply one of a kind.

After our tour through the RLD we headed for the secret Contiki Optional: “Amsterdam Cultural Show” located in the heart of the RLD. This is where the night kicked off! I won’t go into details but I will say that it was quite an experience. The crowd interaction with our Contiki group made the whole experience even better. The surprise at the end of the show was one of the funniest thing that I’ve ever seen. We laughed for what seemed like hours after the show. After leaving the show everyone was in a great mood so a group of us headed over to the famous coffee shop called “The Grasshopper” where some of the crew sampled some of the many products that the Grasshopper is famous for.

After the Grasshopper we took one more stroll through the Red Light District because at this point it was getting late and it was prime time. We walked through all of the alleyways that make for a good maze to get lost in. You might think I’m exaggerating and have the perception that these women are disghusting, trashy, ugly, and whatever else but you have to take a stroll through the RLD before you make any judgments. The women in the windows at this time of night were literally out of this world. There were people from the ages of 15 to 75 years of age walking through the RLD just to catch a glimpse of what seems like a different planet, even a different world. As we walked through we were all asking ourselves the same thing. Why are these women standing here selling their bodies when they are far beyond beautiful. It just doesn’t make any sense.

After our late night visit to the RLD we all headed back home to catch up on some sleep for another big day in Amsterdam.

–

Today we woke up, had breakfast and headed off to Edam to take our Contiki Inculded: Bike Tour of Edam. Edam is a very small countryside town about 15 mins from where our hotel was in Monnickendam. We arrived and were greeted by the bike tour operator Claudia. She was really nice, funny and loved to share her extensive knowledge of Edam. We all grabbed our own “Granny Bike” and took off on a short bike tour through Edam. The bikes were really comfortable and easy to use. They had big comfy seats, high handle bars, and even push pedal brakes to make you reminisce of when you were young! This bike tour was made for everyone, and although it was very short I had a fun time.

After the bike tour of Edam we all headed into town for some free time! As we got into the city a group of us took off to grab lunch at the Hard Rock in Liedenspiel Square. The food was great, but it took a long time to order, and receive our food so it burnt quite a bit of time out of our few hours that we had in the city. After lunch we all went our separate ways and I ended up taking off on my own. I didn’t have any set plans or things that I really wanted to do in the city. I just wanted to take off on my own, relax and explore this amazing city a little bit more.

We all met back at the bus around 4:30PM and headed back to the hotel to get ready for our Contiki Optional Dinner at the Sea Palace in Amsterdam. After everyone got dressed and ready we headed back into the city for some chinese food at the Sea Palace. I thought the food was OK, but it was nothing like the chinese food at home. I shouldn’t have expected it to be great in the first place, but it filled me up and did the job like a lot of the meals on this trip. I’ve learned that as long as it’s edible and it fills me up, then it’s somewhat worth the money. This meal did exactly that.

After our dinner at the Sea Palace we all boarded our Contiki Optional: Amsterdam Canal Cruise. This was one of the best optionals yet. Everyone boarded the boat and we cruised the canals of Amsterdam for about an hour and a half. There was open bar, so everyone went pretty crazy and had quite a few drinks. Some of the group lit up a few joints as we cruised down the canals on our last night of the trip. There were cameras going off everywhere, drinks being spilt, dancing, yelling, screaming, and everyone was just having a great time. As we pulled back in to the docks everyone was disappointed that the cruise didn’t go all night, but the night was still young for most.

I headed back to the hotel with a few people as most others went into the city to celebrate the last night. I had a ton of packing to do and I am just absolutely drained from the last three weeks of this trip. When we got back to the hotel we headed to the hotel bar with a few people. I hung out, and had a beer before heading off to bed.

Overall my time in Amsterdam was great. It’s an amazing city that I’d love to come back to again soon. I don’t know if it’s a place that I could spend a week in, but I could definitely do with a weekend trip here and there. Amsterdam ROCKS!;

| May 30th, 2008 | 167No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/30/ptm-contiki-day-20-rhine-valley-to-amsterdam/Contiki%3A+Day+20+-+Rhine+Valley+to+Amsterdam+2008-05-30+22%3A35%3A51Ryan | Contiki, Netherlands, Travel

Off to Amsterdam this morning for the last two nights of our trip. Everyone is tired, yet excited. We had some breakfast this morning that was just okay. After breakfast we loaded the bags and headed off to our final destination: AMSTERDAM!

After a few hours on the coach and one service stop we finally arrived in Amsterdam. We had a couple hours for free time so Bruno, Juliana & I headed off on our own to check out the streets of the DAM. We passed many souvenir shops, coffee shops, cafe’s, canals and more. Everything that Amsterdam has to offer.

Before returning back to the bus we took a stroll through the Red Light District. What an experience that was. It was pretty interesting to walk down the street, and actually realize that you are there and it’s real. It’s somewhat weird because I’ve only seen things about the RLD in movies, on TV, etc. There are no real signs that let you know you have walked into the Red Light District, but I had a feeling we were approaching it once we started seeing more sex shops, live sex shows, and finally we were at the point where there were women in windows dancing, and smiling at us. It’s hard to explain in words what it was exactly like. It’s something you need to experience for yourself really. Not for the bad reasons, more for the experience and to see what really goes on here. We were told before arriving in Amsterdam to make sure you don’t take photos, or even have your camera in your hand. If you do, there are stories of the girls, and even the pimps themselves coming out and throwing you and your camera into the canals that you’re walking along next to the Red Light District. Pretty crazy! We were sure to keep our cameras in our pockets for that part of the walk. As much as I wanted to take some photos/videos for you all, it just simply wasn’t worth the trouble.

We hopped back on the coach to check into our hotel which is located about 35 mins from the city. I’m very disappointed with the hotel situation once again. We were booked in a hotel in the city originally but were told yesterday that the hotel had no idea that we were booked there for this weekend, and a bunch of other excuses. It’s not our tour managers fault, it’s Contiki’s fault. Now in turn, we’re located way outside of the city and there is only one bus that runs from Amsterdam out to Monnickendam where we’re staying. ARGHH!

Tonight we’re having dinner then heading off to do a walking tour of Amsterdam, (Red Light District included). After the walking tour, we’re going to a “Amsterdam Culture Show”, and then we will have free time for the rest of the night. A bunch of us will probably hang out in the city and take the bus back late. Should be an interesting night…

Tomorrow we’ll be riding the traditional amsterdam “granny bikes” and exploring the countryside in the morning. Then we’ll head off to the city for some free time!

| May 29th, 2008 | 166No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/29/ptm-contiki-day-19-prague-to-rhine-valley/Contiki%3A+Day+19+-+Prague+to+Rhine+Valley2008-05-29+21%3A30%3A07Ryan | Contiki, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Travel

Today was an early one. We woke up around 6:45 and headed down to breakfast by 7:00. The breakfast was just OKAY. Pretty much the same junk as yesterday but again, better than many breakfasts that have been served to us on the trip.

We loaded the coach and headed out around 8:00AM to head for St. Goar which is located in Northern Germany in the Rhine Valley. The trip is just over 600 Kilometers so it’s quite a ride. We expected about seven or eight hours driving before arriving in St. Goar.

We drove about three and a half hours before our first service stop in Germany. As usual with most places in Europe you have to pay to use the bathroom. Today it was 50 Cents. Through out this whole trip I’ve noticed that the prices of toliet visits have ranged anywhere from 20 Cents, to 1 Euro (approx. $1.55 Dollars) per visit. Pretty rediculous if you ask me. If you were to charge to use the restrooms back home in the US, people would burn the place down. It’s robbery!

We spent about 45 minutes at the rest stop and everyone grabbed some food and drinks for the road. We had another three and a half hours to go. The good thing is that we’re doing really well for time so our tour manager told us that he changed the plans around a little for tonight. We’ll be going to a shop in Germany where you can buy the official beer stein’s, and all sorts of other german souvenirs. After that we’ll be heading to a unexpected river cruise on the Rhine River before checking into our hotel and having some dinner.

(more…)

| May 28th, 2008 | 164No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/28/ptm-contiki-day-18-prague-czech-republic/Contiki%3A+Day+18+-+Prague%2C+Czech+Republic2008-05-28+17%3A28%3A37Ryan | Contiki, Czech Republic, Travel

Well, the breakfast wasn’t too bad this morning. The last time I was at the Ibis in Paris it wasn’t too bad either. I was definitely satisfied, which has been rare on this trip so far.

We headed out around 9:00AM to do a Contiki Optional walking tour in Prague. I was doubtful that it would be good, and I was right. It was very basic, and I didn’t get too much out of it. I probably would have been better off doing it on my own instead of wasting 6 Euro. Damnit! Our guide took us to Prague Castle (the largest castle in Europe). I assumed this would be the absolute biggest highlight of my trip to Prague but I was very wrong. The castle didn’t even seem like a castle. I guess I was just thinking that it would be built like a traditional old castle, but it looked more modern if anything. We pretty much spent an hour exploring the castle, and we didnt even go inside. We walked around the outside. It was quite boring if you ask me. Not many people seemed too interested in it. (more…)

| May 27th, 2008 | 163No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/27/ptm-contiki-day-17-vienna-to-prague/Contiki%3A+Day+17+-+Vienna+to+Prague2008-05-27+16%3A58%3A57Ryan | Austria, Contiki, Czech Republic, Travel

This morning we had breakfast at 7:15 so Ryan and I headed down and for a good hotel, I expected a pretty good breakfast. Of course it was hardly edible. There was bacon and eggs but the bacon was burnt to a crisp and the scrambled eggs were in a pan soaking wet. There’s nothing worse than soaking wet scrambled eggs. It was like they had been sitting in a bucket of water before they were plopped in to the pan. It was disghusting. I had an orange and a piece of some sort of cake. Another bad breakfast… I should be used to this by now.

After breakfast we loaded the coach and headed into Vienna to take a walking tour that our tour manager had planned to give us. We walked around to some of the most famous sights in Vienna and after we finished we had a few hours free time to roam the city. There really is only one main strip that is worth walking down in the old town of Vienna. Bruno, Juliana, Ryan, Johnny, and I spent a couple hours walking up and down the strip stopping into some stores along the way. Before heading back to the bus we sat down and grabbed some lunch at this Pizza/Pasta restaurant. We all had pasta and it was really good. A deal at that, It was 23 Euro for 3 of us to eat and that included food and drinks. The meal was great and I was really happy with the price.

After lunch we headed back to the coach and headed straight for Prague. We stopped once on the way at a gas station and I took up a Coke, a Kitkat, and an Ice Cream bar to the counter and then realized that they don’t accept Euro in Prague. Damnit! The total price for those three items? 64 Czech Korun! I tried paying with credit card but they had a 200 Korun minimum. I ended up throwing my items in with a bunch of girls and paid them back afterwards. After getting my snacks I headed to the exchange office next door to the gas station and exchanged 30 Euro into Korun. I got 657.00 Korun for 30 Euro. You feel rich until you realize the Czech Korun is worth absolutely nothing. Haha. The conversion rate was 1 Euro = 21.9 Korun. A bottle of diet coke was 26.00 Korun. Kit Kat was 17.00 Korun. Pretty interesting huh?

We boarded the bus and after a few more hours of driving due to traffic we finally arrived in Prague at our hotel (Hotel Ibis). I love the Ibis hotels. They are a modern hotel chain, like Holiday Inn, Best Western, etc yet they are much nicer. They are modern, and the rooms are very nice. I really recommend the Ibis hotels, in any city that you visit. The Ibis in Paris was great too! Only slight issue with this Ibis here in Prague is that it’s about a 40-45 minute walk into the new town of Prague. If you’re a fast walker, it will take you about 30.

We chceked into our hotel and again were rushed for time because we needed to be down at our included dinner in 30 minutes. Ryan and I both took quick showers, got dressed and headed down to dinner. Dinner wasn’t too impressive tonight. Some dry steak, and rice that tasted like it hadn’t been cooked. Very dry! I wasn’t satisfied with it at all.

After dinner we headed to a place called the Beer Factory, a popular nightclub/bar here in Prague. The local beer here in Prague is the Pilsner Urquell. It’s dirt cheap too. You can get a pint of Pilsner Urquell for 47 Kroun, which is a little under 2 Euro’s, or $3.00. Believe me, that is VERY CHEAP for beer here in Europe. I’ll also remind you that I’m here in Eastern Europe where prices are much cheaper than most countries in Western Europe. Hmm, I think I like Eastern Europe!

After the Beer Factory Bruno, Juliana and I walked back to the hotel to have an early nights sleep. Tomorrow we’re doing a walking tour through Prague and we’ll be visiting the Prague Castle, the largest castle in Europe!

| May 26th, 2008 | 162No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/26/ptm-contiki-day-16-munich-to-vienna/Contiki%3A+Day+16+-+Munich+to+Vienna2008-05-26+16%3A42%3A04Ryan | Austria, Contiki, Germany, Travel

The drive from Munich to Vienna was another long one. Ryan and I woke up pretty early to grab breakfast and it wasn’t too bad. The only problem was that once again there were two separate rooms for breakfast and as usual we get sent to the room that has a lot less food, drinks, and more. On the way through the first room I snagged a few pieces of fruit and a few glasses of juice, the staff wasn’t too happy. Oh well.

After breakfast we headed off on what was supposed to be a somewhat short journey turned long journey to Vienna. We made 1 stop along the way in a small town but unfortunately I don’t know the name of it because I slept pretty much the whole ride. When we arrived in this mystery town I stumbled off of the bus like a zombie and didn’t even know what country I was in. I had to ask a few people where we were before I realized we were in Austria again. I’m pretty sure that I just needed to catch up on the lack of sleep that I’ve been getting on this trip. It’s not even that I’ve been out late or anything. It’s the fact that I’m sleeping in a different bed mostly every two nights, and sometimes we’re in a city for one night, then another city the next.

After we left the mystery city we drove straight to Vienna. On our way we stopped to drop a few people off at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna if they weren’t going along on the Contiki Optional: Schnapps Museum. I’m not a big fan of Schnapps myself but I figured I’d go to see how it was made, what types this company produced, etc.

We arrived at the famous Austrian Schnapps Museum and Mr. Fischer greeted us as we walked in. Mr. Fischer is the proud owner of the Schnapps Museum and also still to this day produces austrian award winning Schnapps. He explained the history behind the Schnapps factory and it was somewhat interesting. His personality was great, and he made a bunch of jokes through out his talk with us. After talking with us, he took us to the store out back where everyone was allowed to take 3 shots of any type of Schnapps that they would like to try. He was pretty laid back and most people had more than 3. I only tried one, it was called “Vienna Blood” and it was 56% alcohol which is around 112 Proof. Let me remind you that everyone was taking shots and it was only about 2:30 in the afternoon.

After the Schnapps Factory we headed off to pick the others up at the Schonbrunn Palace and head to the hotel (The Pyramide?) to check in. When we arrived at the hotel we grabbed our room keys and ran down to our rooms. Everyone just wanted to relax, and not be stuck on the bus. Ryan and I walked into our really nice room. The walls were covered in glass, two nice big beds, a really nice bathroom and all. I was really happy with the hotel but of course it seems that when ever we get a really nice room we only stay one night in the hotel. I found out that the hotel had free WiFi which has been such a rarity on this trip so I was really pumped about that.

We had about 1 hour before we were back on the coach and heading into Vienna to walk around while the others enjoyed the Contiki Optional: Mozart Concert & Dinner. I didn’t participate because I’m not a big fan of classical music, but my room mate is and he really enjoyed it. I ended up walking around with a few of the girls and we went to an Australian Pub located right off the main road in the old town of Vienna (Kartenstrasse). The meal was really good, it was the first really good hamburger that I’ve had in a while. We chilled out and had a relaxing dinner for once, so that was nice.

After dinner we walked around a bit more and visited St. Stephan’s Cathedral on Kartenstrasse. I have to admit that I’m pretty sick of seeing churches on this trip, I feel like I’ve seen 300 of them at this point. I don’t even bother going into them much anymore because I feel like a lot of the churches in Western Europe have been really similar. Not St. Stephan’s though. St. Stephan’s was a really gothic looking church. The pollution in the city has turned the bottom half of the outside of the chuch a charcoal color and the top of the church is the original white sandstone. We walked into the church and I was even more amazed. The architecture was amazing and I was really impressed. I couldn’t believe how different this church was to the others that I’ve seen so far in Europe. It’s a must see in Vienna!

After St. Stephan’s we headed back to the coach and drove back to the hotel. I was glad to be back home. I’ve spent too much time on that bus lately! When we arrived back I jumped on the internet and made some calls back home. Tomorrow we’ll be doing a walking tour around Vienna and then we’ll have free time until around noon time before we head of to Prague (Czech Republic) for the next two nights.

| May 25th, 2008 | 160No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/25/ptm-contiki-day-15-hopfgarten-to-munich/Contiki%3A+Day+15+-+Hopfgarten+to+Munich2008-05-25+23%3A34%3A32Ryan | Austria, Contiki, Germany, Travel

This morning we awoke to another great breakfast at Haus Lukas. On the menu today was Pancakes, toast, yogurt, and pretty much everything else we had yesterday. I can’t complain, it’s the best food we’ve had all trip! It gives you a great start to your morning.

After breakfast we loaded up the coach to head to Munich! Our first stop on the way to Munich was only about 45 minutes from Hopfgarten. Before leaving Austria, we had to see the Swarovski Factory here in Austira! The girls were freaking out due to excitement of being able to visit the actual Swarovski Factory. I was just envisioning the prices the whole time. We unloaded the coach and headed inside for a closer look. We had an hour to waste so I walked around the shop a bit and window shopped. Supposedly the prices are lower than the actual retail value, but I wouldn’t know the difference. All I know is that that stuff is crazy expensive!

After daydreaming of my trip to Europe ending today due to being absolutely broke, I decided to walk towards the exit. We all loaded the bus and now we’re headed to Munich. Our next stop will be Dachau?, a concentration here in Germany. I’m really looking forward to visiting the concentration camp because I was hoping to be able to make it to Krakow later this summer to see Auschwitz.

We arrived at Dachau and walked about 5 minutes until we arrived at the entrance. The words in german on the iron gate to enter Dachau say: Arbeit Macht Frei which means with work comes freedom. I will only say that Dachau is a place that you need to experience for yourself. I won’t get into it because explaining the camp doesn’t do it justice. We watched a 30 minute film about Dachau after walking through different parts of the camp. Dachau admission is free, and everything inside is free, including the 30 minute video in the theatre. This is a must see if you’re in the area. (more…)

| May 24th, 2008 | 159No Comments »http://www.pausethemoment.com/2008/05/24/ptm-contiki-day-14-hopfgarten-austria/Contiki%3A+Day+14+-+Hopfgarten%2C+Austria2008-05-24+21%3A10%3A06Ryan | Austria, Contiki, Travel

This morning we woke up expecting a great breakfast because that is what we were promised. I have to say that the breakfast at Haus Lukas is probably the best breakfast you will get anywhere on your trip. I’m happy to say that we received our first breakfast of Bacon & Eggs! Everyone was going crazy. I couldn’t believe that we weren’t having croissants this morning. I piled on the bacon and eggs and enjoyed every single bite. They also had strawberry yogurt, all sorts of cereals, toast, granola and more! For drinks there was orange juice, apple juice, and milk. Ahh, this breakfast was heaven!

After breakfast most people met out front for the Contiki Optional: Mountain Biking tour. It was a guided tour by mountain bike and small BBQ lunch at the end of the ride for around 30 Euro. Bruno, Julieana and I decided not to do the optional but decided that we would rent our own bikes and explore at our own pace. We grabbed our helmets, hopped on our bikes and took off into the valleys of Hopgarten! It was such a great time. We felt that we made a good decision because renting a bike was only 15 Euro, half of what the Contiki guided tour cost. Plus, we grabbed a map of our own and headed off on our own excursion for the day. It was one of the best decisions we’ve made all tour, for sure. We had a ton of fun, got some great photos and went all sorts of places that the guided tour did not. We stopped by the river that runs through Hopfgarten and splashed our faces with the clean, absolutely freezing ice melt water coming straight for the mountains. It was great! We arrived back at the hotel at just about the same time as the contiki crew did, and we must have rode about 20-25 kilometers. Again, renting your own bike is something I would really recommend. It’s cheaper, and you have much more freedom to go wherever you would like for the day. There is nobody telling you what to do, and where to go. Cruising around Hopfgarten is really easy, all you need to do is grab a map from the mountain bike rental company and you’ll be fine!

After biking some people were going on the Contiki optional: Paragliding experience over Hopfgarten. I opted out on this one too due to the fact that I’ve been skydiving twice and all paragliding really is, is a parachute ride. It definitely wasn’t worth the 110 Euro, for me at least. Yes, the scenery would be nice, but I’d rather spend my 110 Euro on another adventure sport, or something later on this summer.

For the rest of the day we pretty much sat around and hung out. Again, you don’t have much of an option when you don’t do some of the optionals. Especially in Hopfgarten! Everything closes here at 1:30PM on Saturdays. And when I say everything, I mean the 5 stores that exist in town. There is nothing here! We hung out for a bit and then went to the supermarket to grab some food for our late lunch. The one good thing about Hopfgarten is that it’s fairly cheap compared to the other cities I’ve been to on this trip so far. You can buy a 2 liter bottle of Diet Pepsi or a 2 liter bottle of Evian Water for 1 Euro. The fruit is great and also CHEAP! Your best bet is to hit the supermarkets instead of going out to a restaurant. Unfortunately you can’t really buy anything that needs to be heated up because there are no such thing as microwaves, stoves, etc at Haus Lukas. But, cold food, snacks, drinks, etc always work!

Tonight dinner was Goulash Soup, Salad, Turkey Schnitzel, and Apple Strudel for dessert. It was very good. I thought the Goulash soup was okay, nothing too exciting, and the turkey schnitzel was really tasty. After dinner everyone hung out at the hotel bar and had a few drinks. Bruno, Julieana and I headed over to the Silver Bullet Pub to shoot some pool for a bit. When we got back everyone was heading out to the Silver Bullet so we turned around and went back for a beer. I promised myself that I would have one beer and that I’d get home to get some sleep because we had a somewhat long travel day tomorrow morning. And that’s exactly what I did…

Swarvoski Factory first thing tomorrow morning, then off to Munich!