Andrew Christopher Todd2002
After months of waffling, I finally have a loose itenerary for this summer's tour. It's a good thing, given that I leave next Tuesday. Fortunately for me, "decisive" was not among the qualifications for the award. Here we go.... May 28th: Depart from Atlanta to Paris at 5:40pm E.S.T. May 29-30: Paris May 31-June 1: Loire Valley (must see the old host family) June 2-4: Provence June 5-6: Cinque Terre Region June 7-9: Rome June 10: Slack Day (I'm sure I'll find something to do) June 11-14: Swiss Alps (Interlaken and environs) June 15-17: Either Bavaria or Venice, depending upon whether I decide to go up or down on my route to Vienna. (And if I can get in contact with my contact in Italy.) June 18-22: Vienna (I assure you that having a free place to stay has no bearing on my decision to allocate 5 days to Vienna.) June 23-25: Prague June 26-28: Berlin June 29-30: Bonn and Rhine region July 1-2: Belgium July 3-5: Amsterdam July 6: Hamburg (only to catch a train and buy a suit because...) July 7-13: Aalborg, Denmark (Through Russell Bryant, I have been accepted to the Danish Atlantic Youth Seminar, held in Aalborg, so I'll no doubt spend this week trying to defend American unilateralism and NATO hegemony.) July 14-17: Copenhagen (compliments of the folks at the DAYS) After the 17th, I have five days to return to Paris, from which I fly to Atlanta on the 22nd of July. Although I would like to be able to see the Alsace region of France during this time, I will probably be catching Amsterdam or Brussels due to prior delays. This schedule may seem a little full, but, like a used car dealer, one can always start high and go lower. Thanks to several people, I have contacts in many of the places that I'm going. (Which might clear things up for those who were scratching their heads and saying, "Bonn???") Suffice it to say, I am extremely excited about the trip (and a little nervous). I am again so appreciative of everyone for making this possible. Please feel free to distribute this to all concerned parties. I will certainly be keeping in touch throughout. Take care and I will talk to you soon. Cordialement, Andy Hi all, I am currently in Nice on the Cote d'Azur but I can explain. I hardly remember any truly great ideas coming from this quarter of France, I am merely on a 7 hour lay-over awaiting an overnight train to Rome. Not a bad place for a lay-over, though. The trip has thusfar been everything I had hoped. Sometimes travelling alone can get pretty bad for a talker like me, but then again, I still manage to meet more people here in a day than I would at home. I started in Paris, and re-tread many of the same things that I saw last summer, while allowing myself more precious Louvre time. The Eiffel Tower was nonetheless impressive the second time, and I saw many of the museums on my first day with two girls I met-one from Italy and one from Japan (yeah, not much in common). Anyway, neither one spoke much English so I was forced to use my French the whole day, much to my delight. That night, I went to a Bach concert (no, he wasn't there) in the cathedral of St. Chapelle. Under normal circumstances, such a large dose of stained glass and Baroque music would keep me awake for hours, but jet lag kicked in and the guy next to me had to nudge me to wake me up when it was over. Anyway, the next day I met up with a contact Dr. Mayer gave me named Michel and his girlfriend. I had thought that we would just get together for a drink and that would be all, but he invited me to this concert of Spanish music that they were to be attending. I was in jeans and severely unshaven but I went anyway, and was the only toursit in a crowd of maybe 30, all Parisians. I think I met more Parisians in the two hour reception afterwards than most Americans ever will. Several said that I was the first American that they had ever met that spoke French, so I suppose that forgave my jeans and tennis shoes. On the whole, the Parisians were very nice. On the subway to the train station, I actually struck up a conversation with a Parisian who praised American economic policy. Whereas most such discussions entail me trying in my best business french to defend Laissez-faire, here was someone who agreed (He also saved me from getting on the wrong train, another point in his favor). I went down and stayed the weekend with my old host family from last summer when I studied in Tours. I recovered from Paris and enjoyed the best meals that I've had since I've been here. Tours was great, not a lot going on, but it was pretty weird being so familiar with a place so far from home. On Sunday, I took the train down to Provence. I saw Avignon- The old Pope's palace that was used for about a hundred years from Clement VII to the great schism (you all know the story), as well as the famous Pont Benzinet (famous is a relative term). Taking a walking tour of the city, I of course ran across a dozen americans who were using the same guidebook as me, but that has since happened more than once, and is an easy way to meet new people. The next day, I toured the old city of Arles, the city where Van Gogh had that problem with his ear. A very Roman city, I saw the old place du forum, and the impressive Roman amphitheatre, sort of a Diet Colusseum of Rome. It was amazingly well preserved, and they still hold bullfights there. That afternoon, I saw the remains of the impressive town of les Baux. Razed by Louis XIII in the 17th c., its remains are set at the top of a huge rock in the Alpilles in eastern Provence. Its amazing that 6,000 poeple could live in a city essentially carved from a rock that was sort of like Stone Mountain, GA, only substitute the lasers and confederates for buildings and fortifications. Anyway, I stayed there so long that I missed the bus home and thus hitchhiked back to Arles. My chauffeur was a nice guy named Pierre (how's that for typical) who had lived in Les Baux all his life, drove a little red Renault and, in true French fashion, had a huge sheepdog in his backseat (He won't let anyone else back there, I was informed). Anyway, after we talked for awhile, he insisted on going the long way back to Arles, because there were several sights in Provence that he wanted me to see. It was pretty cool getting a free tour from a local. Yesterday, I saw the perfectly preserved Roman acqueduct, the Pont de Gard, also in Provence. It was quite a spectacle and amazingly un-touristy. It spanned a river so I also went swimming while I was there. I then visited a small town called Uzes, merely because the bus stopped there and I am partial to small towns. I, along with a group of French schoolchildren, took the walking tour of Uzes offered by the office of Tourism. It lasted about 30 minutes and cost 2 euros, but it was rather charming. In any case, small town fun is over, and alas it is again time for a big city. I hear that Rome can be daunting, and I am a little nervous about the language barrier, but I'm excited. My trip has been excellent. I have met so many people from so many different countries and even continents-the mark of a good trip in my opinion. Given that this is my second time in France, I anticipate that it will only get more interesting from here. Hope things are going well state-side, sorry I've rambled on. Jay, feel free to abridge this before sending it out if necessary. A bientot, Andy Hi all, After Nice I went to Rome, which was like an attic of Western History. The Colosseum and Forum were both impressive, aöthough so familiar. (I actually thought that the Amphitheatre in Arles was in better condition). It was nice to have a look at the Roman world though, for so much of the rest of my trip focuses on more modern times in history. I spent three days total, and there was little (of the big things) that I did not get to see. I had the good fortune to see the town with a couple of guys who insisted on guided tours of everything. In the end I was glad they did for it really helped in my appreciation of all the sights (especially St. Peter´s). I was kicked out of one hostel due to my inability to read certain directions in Italian, but that happens, I suppose. Nonetheless, "I no wan' you in my house no more" is not what you like to hear at close to 11:30 at night, when you're not certain there are any more vacancies in town. After Rome I spent three wonderful days high in the Swiss Alps. My overnight train actually went to Interlaken, but after surveying the town and seeing only souvenir shops and sunburned Americans, I decided that Interlaken was NOT the Alps, and took the gondola to higher ground. I found the small town of Gimmelwald, population 150 (I asked). It was a mostly dairy farming community, in fact, the day I arrived the whole community was out to watch the cows being herded to higher ground for the summer. (Those are the kind of sights I want to see!) There was only one hotel in town- just my style. The hotel´s 10 rooms were booked, but Walter, the owner, said he could put me up in the loft. I ended up sharing the loft with three other guys from West Virginia who were also my hiking partners for the weekend. My lodgings were pretty spartan, but that gives character in my opinion. My first two days were cloudy and rainy, but that did not hinder us from taking to the woods anyway. The fog was so thick that one could scarcely see more than 20 feet, and thus the cliffs looked like they would fall off into eternity. It was pretty neat, but I had come to see snow capped peaks, and on the last day, I was not disappointed. On that day, I finally got to see the amazing view that had been hidden for the past two days. We took the gondola to one of the highest peaks from which one could hike, and began a greuling descent. The snow was knee deep at first, but it gradually morphed into rock, and then dirt and mud, and finally grass. That is what has always fascinated me about the Alps, how they can at one time be so green and yet so rugged. (That, and the fact that people still live up there and make cheese even at 10,000 ft). In any case, I left the Alps reluctantly on a night train (yes, more night trains = less showers, in case you were wondering) to Florence. It was nice, wonderful art and architecture, but I really only had a day. Using Gimmelwalds only phone booth, I had made reservations to see the Uffizi gallery and Michaelangelo's David, so I got my Renaissance fix. After Rome and Florence, though, I still can't say that I'm the Italiophile that many European travelers become. Maybe I'll understand when I get older. The next day I went to Bavaria and saw several of King Lugwig's fantastic castles there. They were as impressive as the pictures, and their location was perfect. Yesterday, I rented a bike and rode all over that region, crossing the Austrian/German border at least a dozen times. I saw three German kids playing basketball and asked if they wanted to play two-on-two, and for once in my life I was the best player on the court. Anyway, we went swimming afterwards in the Alpsee at the base of Neuschwanstein castle. It was their favorite spot, and they had constructed this rope swing from which they like to jump off of the cliffs, a la Tarzan. I, being 21 yrs. old, also joined in, and as a result got to experience what a German hospital was like. It seems that I swang too far and went George of the Jungle-style into a tree. They insisted on taking me to a hospital for a cut on my head, and I ended up with four stitches. One of the guys, Christian, had to act as an interpreter between the doctor and me, so I was grateful that I almost killed myself among locals. I am okay, though, and my trip to Venice has gone on as planned. I am currently there, and can honestly say that this is the most unique city that I have visited. It's a bit sad, given how everything look as though it is in decay, but I guess that's part of the charm. Well, tomorrow I'm on to Munich, where I hope to visit the Dachau concentration camp. I had planned on going to Vienna next, but I just re-read with alarm John Harris's last E-mail to me, saying that "July" 18-25th would be fine. I worry that there may have been a misunderstanding, so I suppose I will keep calling until it is cleared. If any of you know how I can get in touch, do let me know. Anyway, I am having an excellent time in spite of a few bruises, and I look forward to having more, less painful, news in the near future. Ciao, Andy Gruß Gott to all from Vienna, Pay no attention to the panic from my last letter, I got in touch with John shortly after writing and have since spent a lovely week in Vienna. Before, however, I had a day to spend in Munich. I took a sweltering train from Venice to Munich. Evidently, many Europeans would rather have Turkish-bath conditions than wind blowing in their faces. This was worsened by the fact that I had not been able to get a sleeping compartment, so instead tried to sleep in my upright chair in a compartment with six other people. It wasn't happening. Munich was a nice town, I had wanted to go to the Dachau concentration camp but the camp was closed on Mondays, something that struck me as kind of humorous. Munich was much like an American big city, however, something that was kind of a nice change of pace. In the evening, I struck up a conversation with a man on the subway, and told him I was looking for the famous, touristy-hokey Hofbrauhaus beer hall, just to see it. He said he felt like a beer, so invited himself to come with me. We go there and, halfway through the second biggest beer I've ever had, I finally get around to introductions. His name was Ferenc, and he was a Hungarian who had lived in Munich for the last 20 years. He was 64 years old but did not look it, and had no family, only a doberman named Caesar. I was going to eat something, but he told me that we MUST go to this other place that had the best pork knuckle in Munich. After dinner (which wasn't bad) he wanted to go get a beer in the untouristy part of town. I said okay, and thus commenced the first 6 hour pub-crawl between a 64 year old Hungarian and a 21 year old Alabamian in world history. It feels good to know that you were part of something special. I arrived in Vienna the next day and met up with John about 2 in the afternoon. His appartment is by far the nicest place I've stayed on my trip, I'm still getting used to not having to sleep in a room with 17 strangers. My first evening in town we went to one of the many Viennese heurige on the outskirts of town. A heurige is a sort of 'restaurant' located among the vineyards from which its wine comes. A true heurige serves only its own wine, and only this year's vintage. For the next two days, I saw many of Viennas more touristed sights. The palaces and museums were great, I especially like the gardens surrounding Maira Theresa's wannabe Versailles, Shönebrunn palace. One museum in particular was really cool, it was called the Haus der Musik, and besides offering display to the hometown composers, it traced the "evolution" of sounds into notes into music. Very interactive and quite interesting, they had to ask me to leave when thaey closed. My favorite activity, however, was going to the old Vienna coffehouses and sitting there among locals drinking strong coffee and reading my complimentary copy of the _International Herald Tribune_. On thrusday night, I went to see Bizet's _Carmen_ at Vienna's main opera house. Not sure how long I would stay, and uncomfortable with how I was dressed, I bought a standing room only ticket for 2 euros. Besides having to stand the whole time, and only being able to see half of the stage, it was quite an interesting experience. However, I'm more of a symphony guy, so three and a half hours is a LOT of opera. If they had just read throught the subtitles, the opera would've finished in ten minutes, but the singing went on and on. In the end, Carmen got what was coming to her, though, and I was proud that I had stayed the whole time. The next day, I took the train to Linz, Austria, with the intention of making a quick, half day trip to the Mauthausen concentration camp close to there. Logistically, however, it was harder than I thought, and it took all day. Besides changing trains three times (all of which were late) I arrived in the lonely town of Mauthausen with no idea how to find the camp. So, I walked to the highway, held out my thumb, and the second car to pass stopped. I told him in my 101 level German that I wanted to go to "die Camp für die Juden." He must've understood, because he motioned for me to get in. He spoke no English, so we went back and forth, he saying things I didn't understand while I blurted out questions and facts about myself like a three year old Austrian with a speech problem. After fifteen awkward minutes, he dropped me off at a little fortress on the top of a hill in the middle of a wheat field. It was amazing how unassuming the camp was, just perched out there like it was. Mauthausen was a death camp, one of the last liberated and, interestingly enough, contained more Spanish republicans and Soviet P.O.W.s than Jews. Going in, the camp was desolate- practically no tourists, very much preserved, and, save for a small museum, practically nothing to indicate to the visitor that the facility wasn't used last week. I had always thought that, given how much press the Holocaust gets, I could be nonchalant in the face of such a sight. However, when I saw the living quarters, the gas chambers, and the incinerators, it was VERY sobering. Especially when one considers how recent this history was. After staying for a few hours, I began my hike to the main road, to hitchike back to the train station. Again, I was picked up by the second car that passed. This time, it was a van hauling a small, enclosed, trailer. My chauffeur had gray hair, in sort of a shag, disco era style. He was wearing nothing but Bikini briefs and listened to Maharishi style Indian sitar music on the radio (when I told him I like his music, he looked at me and said, "Indian, man, Ohhhh yeeeeeaaaaah!" and turned it up really loudly). Evidently, he was not a local, for he stopped to ask for directions three times, and his accent (in English) was different. It turns out, he had moved from Israel about twenty years ago, has two kids in Austria, and was on his way home to a town I had never heard of. He was a little bizarre, but at least we could speak English. Finally yesterday I went for a bike ride with John and Susanna along the Danube. The weather was perfect and it was a great ride. A word of advice, though, if you go bike riding with an owner of a fitness center, no matter what his age, have no illusions about being able to keep up. He and Susanna rode circles around me, I think I caught up twice without them slowing down. It was a freat ride nonetheless, the highlight of which was swimming among the nude bathers in the Danube, that was quite the ahem...cultural experience. In any case, last night I had a great dinner at John and Susanna's, even thought they wouldn't let me help with anything. They have both been amazing to me during my stay here, and that, coupled with the fact that I've had time to relax for a bit, is why Vienna has been one of my nicest stops so far. Well, thanks to those of you who are still reading after this far. I will try to be more concise in the future. My head is mending well, my stitches come out on Tuesday. I head to Prague on Wednesday and am having a great time. Ciao, Andy Hi all, I'll go ahead and warn you that, due to my slackness in writing recently this one will be kind of long, so if you have plans for the afternoon, you may want to just skip reading it. From Vienna I took a day and went to Budapest, I liked it well enough but could really have used another day to form an informed opinion. I left Vienna after having my stitches removed by John's girlfriend Susanne, who's an optic surgeon. The looks one gets when he goes into a foreign hospital's Emergency eye surgery ward and asks for the top eye surgeon to remove four stitches is one of confusion at best. Anyway it was accomplished no sweat. After Vienna, I went to Prague for two days, expecting to have to return to my previous mode of travel, one of Youth hostels, unwashed clothes, calling bread, cheese and and a tomato 'dinner,' and infrequent showers. Well, most of that persisted in Prague, but the meal situation upgraded tremendously. I had the good fortune to be contacted by Jim and Sally Caldwell, Ramsey board members as you know, who were also in Prague, and thus commenced two days of absolutely self-indulgent dining experiences. ("Wine AND beer AND a rooftop view?!!") Ive been such a charity case on this trip, Im gonna owe somebody big someday. Prague was absolutely magnificent, an eclectic mix of well preserved architecture with occasional hints of its communist past. It was much more compact than many of the cities Ive visited as well. On my first evening, the Caldwell's took me to a concert in the Jewish quarter of town that was a excellent mix of 19th and 20 century composers, a nice change of pace. After a canalside dinner, and several pilsner Urquells, it was hard to retreat back to my barracks style hostel. The next day I saw more of the tourist sights, (By the way, I usually group 'the tourist sights' together in my updates not to belittle them, they are usually wonderful, but its impossible (and perhaps not very interesting) to describe each palace and each composer's birthplace that I see). Rest assured, I see all I can. Anyway, I had a typical Czech lunch at a local cafeteria that was originally for the Prague public transportation workers, but now can be frequented by the public. I sat across from a lady who I think sold subway tickets, and here is the essence of our meaningful conversation: Me: MYOOL-VEE-TEH AHNG-GLITZ-KEE? (Thats someone from Piedmont, Alabama asking in Czech "do you speak English?") Her: Neh. (no) fhfhalmcnölruaskcnxcnyyörwü#drßfdjsd Me: Great! but Im sorry, I dont speak Czech. Her: Ah! woruäpscndalöfnmxnspökeliaüsöadisd.... And so on she went for the next 45 minutes while I just smiled and nodded politely. Later that afternoon, Jim took Sally and I out to where he is currently working, and I was able to see the assembly of fighter planes for the Czech airforce essentially from the ground up. Its certainly not a typical Prague tourist site, but those are what I relish to find. It was quite interesting, especially when Jim showed us the "before" and "after" tour of the facilities - meaning before and after the modernization of the plant. After another nice dinner, this one accompanied by one of Jim's co-workers, a nice Czech girl named Pavla, I lamented that I had only booked two nights in my hostel. (John Harris, I can feel your "I told you so!" look all the way from Amsterdam. The last morning in Prague I got up a 5AM (much to the dismay of my hostel roommates) to take some pictures of Prague, which really was magnificent, sans tourists. It seemed like a good idea then, but I didnt realize then that I would be up for the next 25 hours straight. Read on. Next stop, Berlin. By far the most interesting and least touristed big city that Ive visited. The constant construction is frustrating but the energy of the place is really exciting. I stayed with a guy named Roderik, a really guy with whom Russell Bryant placed me in contact. He's about 30 or so and lived in the old East Berlin. His apartment had anti communist graffiti all over the stairwell and was in an old, dank, Stalin era building (some would call it disgusting, but I call it charming). I walked in and quickly noticed that the shower was in the kitchen (where the kitchen sink doubled as a bathroom sink). THats not important, but kind of interesting. That night, Roderik and a bunch of his Berliner (and "Berlinerin", to use politically corrent bad German) friends came over and we had dinner. All of his friends spoke perfect English and so it made a potentially awkward evening comfortable. We went out after that, I guess it was about 11:00. Well, 7 hours later (I think) we came back in. Man, those Germans were wired all night long. It was weird, though, a billion miles away and the Friday night procedure was pretty much the same as in Tuscaloosa (albeit with tighter clothes, much more hair gel). I will say this though, given that I packed 5 shirts and 2 pairs of pants, my selection of clothes suitable for a night out in Berlin is quite slim, so I'm grateful that I couldnt understand all that was said around me. On saturday morning, with about 3 hrs of sleep, I took a great, guided walking tour of the city. It was VERY interesting. I won't go into the details of all the sights, but Berlin really has some top notch things to see. All European cities abound with history, but few have such important recent histories. I rank it really high on my list, thats for sure. In the afternoon, I saw the Pergamon museum, and was very impressed by the 2500 year old Ishtar gate, and all the "Old Testament" art of the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hittites. In the evening, I climbed the new cupola of the Reichstag and had a spectacular view. On Sunday, the whole city shut down as Germany played Brazil in the World Cup final. I went with Roderik and his friends to a local biergarten that was packed with drunk Germans (at 11 in the morning). Although there was barely room to breathe and Germany lost, it was one of the most fun things I've done. After I knew I was gonna be in Berlin, I had rooted for the Germans the whole time just so I'd get to see the final there. It was funny, before the game, Roderik's girlfriend leaned over and asked if I knew the rules. I lied and said of course. That evening, I had dinner with Roderik's father, who was extremely nice, and had the most frank discussion I've ever had with a German person about the difficulites in constantly being reminded of Nazism (As anyone living in Berlin would be). It was intriguing. From Berlin I spent the last couple of days in the small town of Bonn, in the west on the Rhine river. I stayed with Georg Rienartz, another contact via Russell who was my age and a student there. There wasnt an abundance of toursit sites in Bonn (although I've gotten progressively more negligent of my tourist obligations with each city I've visited), so I just mostly hung out and loitered around the town. For dinner, Georg took me to his home home where his mom cooked dinner for us. On the way, Georg and I tlaked about the game and he said something that troubled me, that, during Sunday's game, he felt like he was doing something wrong by cheering "Deutsch-land!" It sort of went along with what I had talked about with Roderik's father, the sort of sad, self loathing that many Germans seem forced to harbor in the wake of Nazism makes all demonstrations of national pride seem suspect. Very interesting and very sad if true. Anyway, Georg's mother was very German (interpret that how you like), speaking almost no English. I mostly just sat there and smiled like a big dork while they visited with each other. Since I speak German about like a three year old, theres no telling what I actually said to her when I attempted to speak. That night, I went out with Georg and a bunch of his friends. They were all really friendly, and, again, willing to include me by speaking English. One highlight of my time in Bonn was getting to eat at the Bonn university cafeteria (Im obviously easily pleased). Georg's girlfriend ate there everyday so I asked if I could come along. She was Polish, and her accent sounded like one of the girls out of any James Bond movie. Anyway, it was really cool, eating German government food among German students, all eager to grill me about American foreign policy, of course. This morning I said Tschuss to Bonn and took the early train to Amsterdam. It rained both days in Bonn, and its been pouring here. Nonetheless, with only two days here, Ive plodded through it. I saw the excellent Rijksmuseum, blah, blah, blah..and then went to the red light district. Its kinda funny, all those tourists cramming that small area just to see the prostitutes...and then acting like theyre not there to see the prostitutes. You know its surprisingly hard to walk by those windows with big 40 year old women in them making...er..suggestive gestures at you without smirking just a little bit. At least it was for me. Anyway, Amsterdam is really a quite charming 17th century town, sort of like Venice with neater architecture and fewer rotting buildings. Well, tomorrow I spend my second consecutive 4th of July away from the motherland. Given that there are more Americans in Amsterdam than in Alabama, there should be no shortage of celebrators. I'll shut up now. Cheers, Andy |
|
UA Home <
JFR Award <
The Great Ideas Tour
:
Tourees
|
Destinations
|
History
|
Specifics
©2001, The University of Alabama. All rights reserved. Official Disclaimer This page was last updated on 05/15/03, 01:08 PM CDT |