As you can tell, we've been having the same problems with the WiFi on the second half of the bus tour. If we do have WiFi, we're usually at a restaurant for lunch or about to run off somewhere, so we haven't had any time to really post anymore. However, today we are done with the tour and in a Hampton Inn outside of Amsterdam. We'll probably post a lot today to catch up on everything, but I'll start with catching up on the second half of the trip since my last post.
The second half of the trip was just as busy, if not busier, than the first half. In addition to our previous place listings, we've now been to Rome, Venice, Austria, Munich, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the Rhine Valley, and Amsterdam. I'm officially going pro in the sport of packing suitcases quickly and efficiently. So, here's the summary of all of the wonderful places we've seen.
1. Rome- Rome is hot. It's beautiful, but hot. We began the second day in Rome on a walking tour. We threw pennies into the Trevi Fountain, walked up the Spanish Steps, and ate lunch right outside the Pantheon. It was the perfect tourist morning. After lunch, we walked around lost for a while (Robert thought it would be "fun" to tell me he knew where he was going while actually having no idea) and, after a few wrong turns, found our way back to our hotel via trains. We spent the afternoon by the pool. Some may say that spending an afternoon by a pool while in Rome is a waste of the surroundings, but those people have probably never been to Rome in the summer with minimal sleep. The afternoon by the pool was EXACTLY what we both needed, and we followed it by an early night asleep while everyone else partook in yet another "party night." This party night was themed "I Love Roma" and you had to buy a very cheesy-looking tourist shirt from the hotel lobby to participate, so we opted out.
2. Venice- The most beautiful place on our trip. Venice is small and has very narrow roads, and it is the cutest place I've ever been to in my life. We started the morning in Venice like the one in Rome- with a walking tour. We had a hilarious old woman as a tour guide who was very racist against Asians. Her honesty was so refreshing. After our walking tour, Robert and I decided to branch off from the group for the first time all tour. We walked around all of the fresh food markets and ate lunch at a small local restaurant where we had the best seafood pasta. We then walked through the major shopping market and found the group again for a nice ride in a gondola. There were three other people in the gondola in addition to the two of us, so it wasn't really the romantic experience that is depicted in the movies, but we still had a great time. Our gondola driver (I guess?) was hilarious and sang to us while rowing. After the gondola ride we went back to the hotel for yet another party night.
3. Austria- Austria's climate was the exact opposite of Rome's-freezing cold. It has been incredibly odd experiencing so many different climates in such a short period of time. We started our Austrian adventure by white water rafting down a river that was in the middle of the Austrian Alps. The trip wasn't as adventurous as it sounds, but the views were incredible. When we finished, we ate Goulash Soup. The Goulash Soup was the first meal on the trip that was just absolutely delicious. That sounds weird, but we had been very used to gas station and "budget" meals, so to have delicious food again felt great. After our soup, we made our way to our hotel in Hopfgarten, a very small town in Austria. There was pretty much nothing to do in Hopfgarten, so we just lazed around all of the next day with friends and slept.
4. Munich- We only spent a total of about 6 non-sleeping hours in Munich, but it was still so fun. Germany is the cleanest place that I've ever seen in my life! We arrived in Munich around 5pm and took a bike tour (not walking this time!) around the city. Our bike tour was through a company called Mike's Bikes whose target audience was definitely 20-somethings. We had a tour guide from California who was incredibly sarcastic but still very funny. The tour concluded in one of the biggest Beer Gardens in Germany, and everyone had the opportunity to drink a liter of beer and eat pork knuckles. We then went to a Beer Hall that looked like something out of the movie Beerfest. There were beer wenches, huge tables where everyone sat next to someone they didn't know, and a band that played traditional German beer drinking music. I have never felt so manly in my life! We still had a great time, and those of us who didn't have any pork knuckles finally had the opportunity to eat dinner. Munich was one of mine and Robert's favorite stops on the trip.
5. Liechtenstein- Robert already posted about Liechtenstein, and yes, it is as terrible as he made it sound.
6. Switzerland- The best way to describe Switzerland is that it looks exactly like the postcards make it look. It's so beautiful that it's amazing. Our first stop in Switzerland was in Lucerne, the most beautiful little Swiss town you could imagine. We walked around the little town for a few hours and bought some authentic (and delicious) Swiss chocolate. After Lucerne, we hopped back on the bus to head to our hotel in Lauterbrunnen. Our cabins were in a small valley surrounded by mountains. The views were incredible. We spent the second day in Lauterbrunnen with a large group and climbed up a waterfall in the mountain. The waterfall looked a lot like Ruby Falls, but it was still awesome getting to climb up a Swiss mountain. We had a picnic with our group, and spent the remainder of the day lounging around.
7. St. Goar- We then left Switzerland to head back into Germany in route to Amsterdam. We first stopped in Heidelberg, where we sat at a Starbucks to enjoy some American style down time. We then went to St. Goar, which is (again) a very small town in Germany. We had a wine tasting that consisted of 2 different types of Reisling- my favorite! We also got to try Ice Wine- a wine that is made from grapes that stay on the vine longer than harvesting and have to spend 10 days at -7 degrees Celsius to work. The ice wine tasted like fruit juice. It was delicious!
8. Amsterdam- Last, but certainly not least. We had a great time in Amsterdam.
I cannot believe the first leg of our trip is over! I'm going to leave it at that for now, but I'll post again later and we'll both make sure to put pictures up! :)
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