Amsterdam (update 0100 March 31, 2008)

Took the train from Frankfurt to Amsterdam today. It was a very slooow train. Seemed to stop in every city. It was amazing seeing the German countryside, where you'll see a small town over shadowed by an enormous cathedral.

We had quite a bit of trouble getting around in Amsterdam...First we bought metro tickets instead of train tickets... This led to a two hour effort to get them exchange, finally ending in success. We headed to the Van Gogh Museum which was very impressive, the audio tour was well worth the 5 euros.

We took the tram to Westerkerk church. I was very disappointed to see that it was closed. We walked to the anne frank house outside only. Then we headed to Oude Kerk church and walked around Amsterdam.

We ate a hot dog from a stand (behind the Van Gogh Museum) for lunch since we didn't have time to eat at a restaurant. For dinner we ate greek food this was the only place open since we took a long nap in the hostel. Tomorrow its off to Paris...

-Poon

Rui needs Info

As we were heading for the Anne Frank House and Westerkerk Church, we seemed to lose Rui for a moment. As we turned around to find him, we saw Rui looking around at the Gay and Lesbian Information stand. Like a moth to light, Rui was attracted. )

-Ed

UPDATE

It is 0100 Monday, March 31, 2008. We are still in the hostel and just saw a mouse about an hour ago running around. Poon apparently does not believe in garbage cans and thinks the floor is a suitable place for trash. I remember seeing a stray cat earlier today. I think I will go out to find him and bring him back to our room. Our house is right in the middle of the Red Light District so I might have to fight some crazies on my way out.

-Ed

Frankfurt, Germany (Update 0110 March 31, 2008)

During our planning stages Frankfurt had always been just an arrival
point. We weren"t expecting much and definitely were not excited about
it.... However when we arrived we found a beautiful city.... Very
friendly people...all of whom spoke English.

We arrived on saturday morning tired at the airport, took a train to
the city center' and easily found our hotel.

Our hotel which was a small nice place unfortunately in the red light
district surounded by strip clubs .

We then headed to oper house, several churches, and most importantly
Romer the city hall square.

We went to a flea market and purchase+d a brot werst "hot dog". Which
was very good.

For dinner we ate at a local tavern, where we tried wild boar, liver
dumplings, potato dumplings, sour kraut, boiled beef with frankfurt
green sauce as well as a locally brewed lager beer. We did not care
much for the local cuisine, the experience of being in a tavern
surrounded by locals singing gernman beer drinking songs was worth the
50 euro dinner.

As we walked back to the hotel a guy attempted to draw us to his strip
club by yelling "hello" in mandarin, while funny it did not work. As
we walked into our hotel a group of prostitutes propositioned us and
one even ran her fingers through Ed"s hair...while he didn't become a
patron he was very happy.. Hilarious ...

Thus ending our night in Germany.
The next day as we checked out Rui was double charged, for the hotel
He will dispute the credit payment and talk to travelocity.

Currently I'm on a train to Utrect, where we will transfer to Amsterdam.

I"l provide pictures and details later. See our attraction or city
list for details.

-Poon

Bratwurst should be given away during Halloween instead of Candy

Below is a picture of us eating our Bratwurst. It was the longest Brat I have ever seen. I love Bratwurst.

-Ed

A day at the airport

I'm typing this in a hurry... Rui, Ed and I are in Charlotte， North Carolina。。。 possibly the whitest place in America.

This is suppose to be a major international airport yet we are the only asians here. We first noticed this when the country folk started giving us dirty looks. Laterwe ate at the airport Chili's restaurant our table was dirty, food was horrible, food expensive and service was terrible.

More updates to come... we're about to board our flight to Germany.

Weather for our trip

This is the up to date weather for our trip...

Only ten day weather is available so I'll update this as the weather channel updates their website.


Saturday March 29th -Frankfurt - Light Rain- 49 high 39 low 60% chance rain

Sunday March 30th -Amsterdam -Light Rain 50 high 42 low 60% chance rain

Monday March 31st -Paris - Partly Cloudy 62 high 46 low 10% chance rain

Tuesday April 1st -Paris - Partly Cloudy 65 high 45 low 10% chance rain

Wednesday April 2nd -Paris - Partly Cloudy 59 high 45 low 20% chance rain

Thursday April 3rd -Rome - Partly Cloudy 63 high 47 low 20% chance rain

Friday April 4th - Rome - Partly Cloudy 65 high 45 low 10% chance rain

(source: weather.com)

Tourist Scams

Europe is famous for their pick pockets and scams against tourists.

Besides the obvious wearing money belts and neck wallets...

The Rick Steves Website has a great forum post outlining common scams against tourists....
http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti11.html

Some Useful Phrases

While most of the younger generation in Europe do speak basic English, here are some phrases that may come in handy during our trip, Ed and I took Spanish in high school so I skipped it on the list:

Also despite what Rui adamently claims.... Chinese (particularly mandarin) is not a global universal language that will get us around Europe (outside of European Chinatowns).

German
Es tut mir Leid= I am sorry
HALLO= hello
AOF VEE-DER-ZAYN = goodbye
BIT-TE =please
Danke= thank you
NET SEE KEN-NEN ZU LER-NEN= it is nice to meet you
BRING-EN SEE MICH ZU MY-NEM HO-TEL = take me to my hotel
Wo ist die Toilette? = where is the bathroom
VY-VEAL KOS-TET DAS =how much does this cost
Sprechen Sie Englisch? = Do you speak English?
Entschuldigung-Excuse me
Wieviel kostet das?-How much does that cost
Ich heiße... - I am called...
Es tut mir Leid- I Am Sorry
Ich spreche kein Deutsch- I don't speak German
nein- No
Wiederholen Sie bitte - Please repeat
wann-When?
Ja- yes

Dutch
Hallo - Hello
Tot ziens - Good bye
Ja- yes
Nee- No
Alstublieft - Please
Dankuwel - Thanks
Ik heet .. - My name is...
Hoeveel kost het? - How much is it?
Pardon - Excuse Me
Spreekt u Engels?- Do you speak English?
Ik spreek geen Nederlands - I don't speak Dutch
Spreekt er iemand Engels? - Does anyone speak english?
Ik begrijp het niet - I don't understand
Ik kom uit .. - I'm from...

French
Je regrette- I am sorry
bonjour = Hello
s'il vous pla - please
merci - thank you
Parlez-vous anglais? - Do you speak English?
Je ne parle pas français- I don't speak French
Répétez, s'il vous plait- Please Repeat
Mon nom est...- My name is
non- no
Où est la salle de bain?-Where is the bathroom
oui-yes
C'est combien?- How much does it cost
Au revoir- Good bye

Italian
Ciao- hello
Buongiorno - Good day
Buonasera - Good evening/afternoon - it is customary to use one of these greetings when entering small shops
Arrivederci - Goodbye
Per favore - Please
Grazie - Thank you
Mi Scusi - Excuse me
Parla inglese? - Do you speak English?
Non parlo italiano - I don't speak Italian
Dov'è il bagno? - Where's the bathroom
Quanto costa? - How much does it cost?
Mi chiamo... -I am called Non parlo l'italiano- I don't speak Italian
No-no
Mi dispiace- I am sorry

Packing List

Below Is Ed's Packing List..

Museum Passes

Paris Museum Pass

So we have options here based on our attraction itinerary we don't visit that many museums to save money on a pass in Paris.... So we can individually purchase advance online tickets (If available) for each museum or buy a 2 day museum pass.

http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php (see Site for full list of museums and attractions)

Price for Pass
2-day 30 Euros
4-day 45 euros


The only attractions covered that are included on our itinerary
are the
Louvre, 9 euros (Tickets available online)
Arc de Triomphe, 8 euros (Tickets not available online)
Musee d Orsay, 7.50 euros (Can’t tell if tickets are available online can’t speak French)
Notre Dame, 7.50 euros (Can’t tell if tickets are available online can’t speak French)


Eiffel Tower Tickets CAN NOT BE BOUGHT AHEAD OF TIME!

I'm leaning towards we should get it to save time....


Amsterdam Pass
Includes free use of public transportation system

From our itinerary admission to Van Gogh Museum, Oude Kerk, Rijksmuseum (not on our itinerary but we may want to add.

http://www.iamsterdamcard.com/


I amsterdam Card for 24 hours - €33
I amsterdam Card for 48 hours - €43
I amsterdam Card for 72 hours - €53


Rome
Received this tip
Colosseum: GET YOUR COLISEUM TICKETS AT PALATINE HILL! Apparently the same ticket gets you into both places... but theres no line at Palatine Hill for tickets.

March 1st Meeting Minutees

Ed’s sister to take us to airport
Who will pick us up?

March 28th Friday 5:30-6am leaving from Ed’s house

Once we get to Europe reserve other trains….

Plan Possible Practice Trip (Next Weekend March 8th)

City Itinerary (Subject to change)

Frankfurt
Some local Cafe
City Hall (Romer)
Open time

Amsterdam
Dam Square (5min Central Station)
Van Gogh Museum *10 euros can be purchase online *4 euros audio tour
Anne Frank House
Westerkerk
Oude Kerk
Red Light District


Paris
Eiffel Tower (Up the Eiffel Tower )
*Alternative Rather than go up http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d314450-Reviews-Tour_Montparnasse-Paris_Ile_de_France.html)

Louvre - Venus de milo, Mona Lisa, Egyptian Mummies- The museum is open every day, except on Tuesdays, from 9:00 AM to 18:00 PM. There are also evening openings until 9:45 PM, on Wednesdays and Fridays. Entrance is the pyramid.

Moulin Rouge (See outside only) too expensive to see show
Luxembourg Gardens
Notre Dame
Arc de Triomphe
Champs Elysees
Musee d'Orsay
*RESEARCH MUSEUM Pass

Rome
Vatican – Sistine Chapel, Piazza San Pietro, Basilica di San Pietro
Colliseum
Pantheon
The Forum
Trevi Fountain (Night)

Florence
Piazza del Duomo
Accademia and David statue
Uffizi Museum
Giardino di Boboli

Venice
Basilica di San Marco and Piazza di San Marco
Murano

Milan
Open Day * Only Partial day

Barcelona
Get Tapas
Gothic Quarter
Las Ramblas
Plaça Reial
Ed to follow up with Additional Locations.

Madrid
Plaza Mayor
Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real)


Each person to prepare Assigned City Dossier

For each city:
Includes information on how to get to the city and out of the city
To/From Hotels
To estimate Checkin time and notify hostels
Look up cost of local passes
Order of all attractions
How to get to Attractions
Purchase tickets a head of time if possible
To/From Attraction to Hotel
Attraction summary.

Ed
Frankfurt
Paris
Florence

Poon
Amsterdam
Venice
Madrid

Rui
Rome
Barcelona

Awesome! STRIKES in Germany

Public Workers including Airport Workers and Bus Drivers are on strike.

Hope these subside before our trip!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aB4zvdHTrCGQ&refer=germany

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/764ca70c-ead9-11dc-a5f4-0000779fd2ac.html

Practice Trip

Saturday, March 8th.

Hiking Trip in San Luis Obispo... FULL EUROPE GEAR REQUIRED... If your not bringing it to Europe, you can't take it and If your bringing it to Europe you better bring it on this trip.

Montana del Oro or Bishops Peak.


To celebrate our triumphant return, Smash Bros Midnight Launch at Gamestop... Followed by Smash Marathon at Van's house!!!

I Found the Perfect Way to keep us from losing Rui

I was looking for a harness for my dog... when I stumbled upon this stylish thing. Now Ed and I
can feel safe knowing Rui will always be secured to us...

Believe or not the Ad says its great for kids too.... Interesting target demographic... china men and kids... they're geniuses!

Meeting Schedule Till our Trip

Proposed schedule is below... Please confirm attendance...
March 22nd meeting and/or March 26th meetings based on necessity.

March 17th, 6:30pm- longer meeting to review our city summaries.

March 20th 6:30pm (really 7pm) - Meeting to discuss Poon's itinerary.

March 22nd, 10:00am Follow up on any items from City Summary.

March 26th, 7:30pm Short Meeting make sure everything is in order...******Canceled******


March 27th, Thursday Arrive at Ed's house (Online Check In, Check Flight Status, Documentation Check, items Check, Notify Credit/Debit/ATM Companies, ).

March 28th, 6am arrival at LAX.