kristinj's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member kristinj on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kristinj en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 01 Jul 2007 14:08:39 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Berlin´in — Berlin, Germany http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181147160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181147160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181147160/tpod.html Sun, 01 Jul 2007 14:08:39 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Berlin, Germany

We are stayed here two nights. This town has tranformed into a modern city since the fall of communism 17 years ago. This town has it all, from old cathedrals to glass dome parliment buildings; and we tried to see as much as possible. Had a great time. Thanks for reading...
Later, J and K
]]> Little daytrip on bikes — Potsdam, Germany http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181226660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181226660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181226660/tpod.html Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:36:12 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Potsdam, Germany

We rented bicycles yesterday(12km) and today (17km) to cover the vast area and see more of the city above ground vs. underground on the metro. Got a little exercise. Wish more cities had bike lanes in the U.S. It ends up being faster than the metro for short distances.
Potsdam: It is definitely a rich suburb area for Berliners. Lots of green parks and old palaces. It is historical where the decisions were made on how to divide Berlin and Germany after World war II.
Of coarse, I found a university botanical garden that had lots of interesting stuff. Cactus garden, palms, and greenhouses. Even got some starts from the curator.

Later, J and K
]]> Little medieval bavarian town — Rothenburg ob der tauber, Germany http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1183059300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1183059300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1183059300/tpod.html Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:59:35 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Rothenburg ob der tauber, Germany

We stop by this town for one night. The town is unique because it was never modernized or built any new trendy buildings after the 30 year war, so they happily maintained the town for 250 years. Well, that worked out for them now. Many people flock to this town to see all the old buildings within its medieval walls.
Just don't try the sneeballs (a.k.a "Snowballs"). I do not know why I bother to say it, because we were warned not to try them and guess what we bought two different kinds to see how bad they really could be. It is one of those old traditions that should have died with the past. Yet, every pastry shop has them proudly displayed in the front windows. The plain dough balls are not appealing, but they do come in various other coatings that help cover the dough ball flavor. Hmmmm.....salty dough, my favorite.
Definitely worth a stopover. It was peaceful here to just walk around and look at the green pastures and forested hill beyond the city. This is part of the "Romantic Road" and I can see why. If you had a car, bike or bicycle it would be a a good couple days of scenery and little towns.
]]> Creepy Bone Crypt — Kutna Hora, Czech Republic http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1180983660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1180983660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1180983660/tpod.html Fri, 22 Jun 2007 05:38:32 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

We went on a daytrip to a ossuary about 1 hour outside of Phana (Prague). An ossuary is a bone crypt. This one is one of the biggest in Europe, 40,000 skeletons stacked in ornate patterns. 4 large pyramids, a chandelier and strings of skull drape from the ceilings. Have some great pics, hope to post one of these days.
More later, hopefully
Later, J and K
]]> Another night train, wish us luck :) — Amsterdam, Netherlands http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181479080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181479080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181479080/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:43:12 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Amsterdam, Netherlands

We are off to the city of sex, drugs and prostitutes, but we will likely avoid most of that part. Rent bikes and do what the Hollanders do. Should be fun.

<Later, J and K
]]> Visting Tommy! — Eindhoven, Netherlands http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181763180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181763180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181763180/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:00:37 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Eindhoven, Netherlands

We managed to work out a time to visit Tommy and Paul. It was great to visit Tommy and meet his partner Paul after all these years. He is just as crazy and fun as I remember him back in Washington. Paul was good fun to talk to, he loved to tease Kristin right of at the start. It was easy to talk to them as if we had just seen each other just the other week.
Had a coffee, drinks and dinner. One of the biggest dinners of our trip. Three course meal for 15 euros, good deal and a nice active location.
We found a hotel to stay in a place that was looking a little questionable to Tommy and Paul, but not any worst than most of the places we have stayed.

The town of Eindhoven was nicer than we had expected. We had met some students from there in the Netherlands that didn't have the greatest things to say about the town. They were wrong though. Lots of lively restaurants, cafes and bars spilling out onto the streets. Wish we had more time to visit.

Thanks, Kristin and Jake
]]> Capital stop for couple hours — Brussels, Belgium http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181838600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181838600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181838600/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:56:47 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Brussels, Belgium

Just a couple hour stop to have something to compare to Brugge. We found some interesting stuff here. Had to taste the caramelized crusted street waffles with nutella spread. Found a nice park with very comfortable chairs, may have to build some at home. Never found the little boy peeing statue that is now world famous, since torrential rain came down and we decided to get going instead of getting any wetter than we were already. There is also a little girl peeing in a ally way, but could not find this one either. Not worth fighting the crowds.
This is the usual stop for people going to Belgium, but we would suggest skipping out on it for Brugge.

Thanks for reading. Jake and Kristin
]]> Chocalate and Waffles... — Brugge, Belgium http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181856600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181856600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181856600/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:40:41 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Brugge, Belgium

We made it to the little quiet version of Brussels. This town is so mush nicer than Brussels. It is full of old buildings (missed the major allied bombings of WWII), little pubs, restaurants and far less tourist shops. The hostel was great and plenty to do here.
Re-met some people at dinner, that we originally had met on a free bike tour in Munich, GR. They invited us to join them for happy hour at a different hostel. That was good fun 1 euro beer, people from around the world and card games. Can't go wrong with that.
We had such a good time the first night we returned again the next night, but it was much tamer since some had over drank the night previous. The penalty of 1 euro beer is you tend to order 2-3 times as much, especially that last 5 minutes of happy hour :)
Kristin and I found lots of thing to do it the day time. Old canal lined streets, historical buildings, parks and even a tour of a brewery.
This is also the true beer capital, when it comes to brewing. Belgium still has 600 actives breweries that operate like micro breweries with many following strict quality standards and consistently winning taste test award throughout the world. I had beers here that were nothing like anything I have tried before.
We could come back here again, much more to explore.
]]> Vast city of Paris — Paris, France http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181998800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181998800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1181998800/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:33:35 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Paris, France

This city is vast. We have heard it would take months to see what this city has to offer, but after 4 days, we realized that is an understatement. The Louvre Museum alone would take 3 month to see ever thing and read all the signs.
We saw everything that we really wanted to see, but very visit to Europe should have this town added in, if possible. The districts vary so much. We stayed in the Belleville area (China Town) and it had a lot to offer for those willing to look.
We had visited this city briefly 3 years before, but it was so nice to hang out for hours around the Eiffel tower, wander the main boulevards and back alley ways. This city has it all and really is one of the greatest cities in the world for good reason.

Thanks for reading and following along, Jake & Kristin
]]> Going Home: Paris to Seattle — Paris, France http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1182371400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1182371400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristinj/europe_2007/1182371400/tpod.html Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:10:40 -0400 Our trip of a lifetime! Backpacking trough Europe while strengthening our relationship...what more could we ask for.
Paris, France

We are heading home.
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