Festung Hohensalzburg (Salzburg Fortress)...

What did I do on my lovely German catholic holiday on wednesday no work day? Walked around a fortress in Salzburg with Allen. And this being my first train ride to a destination outside of Germany, I had to take some pictures. So here's some shots of the train...

The train to Salzburg...

Countryside

This heat wave across Europe has not been the friendliest to say the least, as we arrived in Salzberg around 3 or so, no bags, just ready for the day hike. The train passed over a river that gave us a straight shot of the castle...I think we pretty much had the gameplan down after that. It was about a mile or so walk to get to the fortress, not many stores open, but regardless glad to be away from the train station, trash, and filth that surrounds it. We made our way through the city streets and started heading uphill towards the mountain. 9 Euro to take the tram up and down, 6 Euro to walk up it on foot, and then tram back down. So we went the cheaper route, and I got this sweet shot of the city...

City of Salzburg.

Castle action...look waaaay in the back.

Huge Fountain at the base of the Fortress...

I don't think you realize how big these structures are, just look at how small the people are. And to think this castle has been around starting sometime back around 1100 AD? it's madness. I was blown away by how far out you can see, and how clear it was. I don't think you could have asked for better weather, aside from the heat. Yet still I kept looking for the ring of smog around the city...oh wait that's in LA, sorry. But inside the tower was room after room of history, medals, wardrobe, paintings, weaponry, torture devices, cooking utensils, you name it. Pretty crazy to think that this was part of someone's daily routine, to wake up in a castle, walk around, eat, party, flirt with women, learn how to fight, etc. All the while this place had cannon's aiming out in probably every direction and people just on lookout for an invasion from neighboring Kings.

Amazing Church...never seen anything like it...

My first fortress experience...

highest point in the city...

Raw firepower.

Big 'ole cannon...

It was a truly memorable experience, nonetheless, so now I've got the travel bug. I think this weekend we will go to the train station, pick a location, and just go. Only cost 34 Euro to get to Salzberg, just south of Munich in Austria, and it was well worth it. Oh, and here's a sweet Alfa Romeo GT V that we saw on the road on the way out...

Sweet Alfa GT

Guten Tag!

I should be working right now...

What to do with myself...no internet or tv at home. The two biggest consumers of my time for as long as i can remember. i get internet at work, but that is becoming less and less of an option as I feel big brother right around the corner. I guess work is for work, not youtube, myspace, and blogging...oops. It's all about pullin nurbs and snappin vertices...that's some computer nerd jokes for ya. But last week, thanks to Chris from work, I got 4 gigs of German hip hop, techno, happy hardcore, and drum and bass to go through, nice. That's something to pass the time with. And I traded him my old DJ Fusion mixes...he's also a DJ, but like me, hasn't found much time to do it lately. So many things I want to do now that I am out of school, but a lot of things will have to wait til January or so...

I will now try and recall the weekend...friday night, KultFabrik. The land of enchantment and magic for people who want to consume mass quantities of alcohol and have your pick at over 30 clubs and bars. Yes, 30, all in one convenient location. All we needed was the ferris wheel, indian frye bread, and maybe a churro or two and it would have been complete. we started the night in our second club...the first would not let us in when I showed my California ID...just shook his head and said no. Ouch. Denied. It was around 11:30 or 12, and the place was dead. But, we had paid 5 Euro to get it, so we got drinks and stuck it out. Bars are good because you don't have to speak German at all to order, just hold up your fingers for how many beer you want and say "Bier, bitte!" sometimes not even "bitte" (please). Formalities and niceties go out the window in a place like that, where the bartender just looks at you like the tourist you appear to be. Long story short, because there isn't much else to tell, I went with Curtis and Allen, and three guys from work, and ended up taking the taxi home, rather than walking to the subway...because, well, just because.

And Saturday afternoon spawned huge buckets of rain to be dumped on the city off and on throughout the day. My 3 Euro umbrella almost couldn't handle it...oh yeah and not to mention some guy tried to steal my umbrella while I got money from the ATM. Actually, he did steal it, I just ran after him and regained ownership in a non confrontational way, where he proceded to say he thought it was someone elses and he didn't mean to take it. yeah. Everyone owns an umbrella, it's just that no one takes it with them cuz you never know when you'll need it. and they are sold out of them everywhere. Need to get a raincoat, trashbag, something.

On a lighter note, I did enjoy riding my bike around the city on Sunday for about 4 hours...taking pictures of the streets, buildings, and cars...which I hope to have a cars page up soon to document the madness that is Europe, and all the cool cars the USA will never have...lame. I swear the weather couldn't have been nicer on Sunday...maybe one of the best Munich will see all year. Blue skies, cool breeze, fresh air, and just some unknown energy that brings thousands to the streets to eat on the patio cafes and restaurants. I am starting to see the stark contrast between life in America and life here in Germany, many things which I hope to maintain to some degree when I return. So hard to put it all in words right now...pictures and more blogging should make it clearer later. But for now, sleep.

parker

Bilbo Bloggins...

CHECK IT! so i uploaded a bunch of pictures...put them in the older posts next to where I talk about them...enjoy.

Shopping at the market (i almost said supermarket, but they are about 1/10th the size of a ralphs or safeway)is a stressful task. I went last night after work at around 740pm. they close at 8 so i get about 20 minutes to shop. and when I say shop I mean walk around looking at labels I've never seen written in a language I barely have a grasp on. Even the meat section is not so easy, as everything is in packaging and there are more varieties of meats than in the US it seems. I ended up getting pasta, some bolognaise sauce, and some (hopefully) chicken. Turns out I got the right stuff. Pretty basic dinner but i felt pretty good once I cooked it and it all came out okay. I've eaten out 95% of the time i've been here so far...so it's getting pretty pricey.


Bridge over the Isar River + Church + Sunset = Postcard.


My view at sunset...city style.


pretty empty at night...


Maximilianeum...maybe 1/2 mile from my apartment...


parker

You better like reading...

Some basic observations of the city of Munich, more closely in my area...I find that most restaurants in our are of Gartner Platz generally have two or more people eating at a time. It's very common to see them sitting across from one another so they can engage each other in private conversation over candlelight. It seems to be a very romantic city, and since the weather has been good people are out at all times of the night.

I have noticed some things that are very different from the Los Angeles lifestyle. The markets all generally close at 8, restaurants open til 12, bars til who knows when, and it stays light out til about 930 or so. Kind of reminds me of Seattle weather a little bit...especially with the rain we've been getting for the last few days. There is no smog that i can see, no dirty cars, turbo diesels are everywhere, and all the cars park within 3 inches of each other. There are naked women on the fronts of newspapers...McDonalds has a lounge in it and I believe they serve beer and wine...Bikes apparently never get stolen...most parked cars pull their side mirrors in so other cars or bikes don't hit them. Still working on figuring out if a German Shephard is still a German Shephard.

The restaurants are all very nice, too nice for me most of the time. It's just not possible to spend 15 euro on dinner every night, which is over $20 in the US. They all post menus outside and just about every one of them has a patio for people to take in the slightly cooler summer nights. I also have been seeing dogs just about everywhere you can think. Last night at dinner I saw a man walk up with three little dogs on a leash, sit down at a table outside, and have all three dogs just obediently walk under the table and lay down. It's like they know the deal around here. No begging for food, no barking. Many times you see dogs following their owners off leash...through the subways, streets, shops, wherever. But strangely there are no cats...hmmm...I'll be looking into this further. Might be a reason for the mice running around on the streets. But luckily so far I haven't encountered any rudeness by being an American walking into restaurants. It's pretty touristy out here and I try to speak as much Deutsch as I know to get by. I am good at speaking what I want to get, til they ask me a question in return then I give em the ole blank stare of fright as I wonder do I...

1. apologize and say I know little German? (Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch)
2. have someone from work jump in and speak German for me...
3. they figure it out real quick and respond in English to be accomodating.

Smoking is not as crazy as some said it might be in Germany, at least I have not noticed anyhow. But they do still smoke inside but I believe there is a Europe wide ban coming into play soon that will prevent smoking inside restaurants anywhere...might make a lot of other people mad...I think I will survive.

Last night, Curtis, Allen, and I went to a place called the Atomic Cafe. Apparently it is a place for all the 'kids' to go on a Wednesday night. And I do mean kids...I would say the average age was about 18-19...I saw one girl with braces...a lot of tight pants...everyone was sweating....and drunk. Pretty much what I did at that age only I had to do it at someone's house since it was impossible to get into a club or bar...or i'd be DJing the party. But nonetheless the place was packed...chairs, couches, barstools, dancefloor and every walkway in between. Even before we got into the club as we waited in line people were walking in the streets rediculously drunk, knocking over other peoples bikes accidentally and not stopping to pick them up. I felt a little out of place...althought the music was interesting, mostly english from what i remember, even some rolling stones at the end of the night. But if you are into Indie music you probably would've loved it. But the place seemed pretty cool, maybe just need to go there on a different night.

Atomic Cafe


Basically a lot has happened, it would be easier to describe it with pictures...but I've been not able or not wanting to take my camera with me everywhere. I really just need a camera phone! iPhone?

parker

the perfect tango

the band was called "Neil On Impression"...they were from italy...it took and hour and half to get to them...it was well worth it.


but, i am in the need to meet more people out here, need to reach out and find them. so i am going to make a shirt that reads...'americaner for borrow...please show me the city and all there is to offer'. but seriously, i just need to get a mattress, buy a few things at the market, and just get into a routine. i've been out of place for around two weeks now...just looking for some stability...ahh Monday, here we go...

oh, and here's a little tidbit for ya...our house...


parker

Wish you somethings...

who would've thought...four days into munich and i've already had a liter of beer at the englischer garden...and rode throught the Olympic Stadium. All made possible by the fact that i bought a bike...pretty much found the Walmart of bike stores in Munich and bought a new bike for 200 euro, which basically means i spent about 300 US dollars. Ouch. But i have a bike, sweet.

Englisher Garden Tower


Englisher Garden...soooo many people.


Big ole beer at the Englisher Garden


Big Gulps.


The neighborhood we live is in right near the GartenPlatz Center. Tons of bars, clubs, cafes, and people just hanging out all over the street in general. We hung out on the steps in the center near this building with huge pillars, kind of the local hangout for people, mainly younger. But all in all, riding around town drinkin' a beer...something you'd probably get a DUI for in the states, is somehow okay over here. Awesome. But for now time to get back to Da Ali G show on DVD.

a view out my 4th floor window to the right...

On the bridge over the Isar River...



oh and the neighbors had a party that lasted til 6 in the morning...no joke. I gotta get on board with some of that party action...

parker

Half way around the world...

so the first thing I realized after getting to germany…packing your bag full of all your crap is NOT necessary. ..but I will get back to that. Curtis and I stood in the international line for two hours before making our way to the gate, all the time thinking we might be at the wrong terminal. But low and behold, we made it on the plane. Economy class is just that, economy. Although, they did serve alcohol and did not charge once, not a dime, and I took a measured advantage of that situation. But again with the bags…we boarded the S-Bahn to get to Munich from the airport. Not so bad, but when we got off the train we had to walk for awhile to find the RTT building. Mind you I’m carrying a backpack, dragging a 70 pound duffle, and my garment bag. I should have just been wearing a shirt that read “tourist”.

My First Ride in a Train...I think.


Non-emotional baggage.


Well we live in a nice apartment on the 6th floor in the GartnerPlatz neighborhood. Not having a car has not proven to be a problem…I actually find it nice to walk around the city with everyone…although it did take us an hour and a half to get to work today, I guess having a map would have helped a little. First night here on Wednesday we went to a BBQ with the RTT crew, about 50 or so of em…nothing like bratwurst and steak slapped on a bread roll and just goin to town. Plus they had plenty of beer, which they brought in crates and just put in the river to keep cold. Spent the rest of the night there, caught a train home, hit the bar across the street from our apartment, and caught some well needed sleep.


First night BBQ style...


So tomorrow I’m gonna try to buy a bike, get a phone, do some shopping, get a subway pass, and just breathe in this Munchen air as much as possible. I’ll try to get some photos on here when I get around to taking some…

parker