It didn't take long for Dana to wander off...

The first day we primarily wandered the city taking in the major sites. One of the highlights is the Salzburg Cathedral because it provides a bit of a “Da Vinci Code” moment. Looking at the church, you’ll notice two cherubs holding a golden crown. At first they are a bit odd, but if you back up into just the right spot…

The Cherubs crown the Madonna statue

As you can see the cherubs are actually crowning the statue of the Madonna, which is set out in the courtyard in front of the church. Below is a closer shot.

A Close Up of the Coronation

The interior of the church is also very nice and the ceiling was pretty incredible. I was able to convince Perry to lay on his back in order to get this shot. He was promptly told to say 10 hail marys before being thrown out of the church by a fairly burly nun.

The Dome is like a Kaleidoscope

As we continued around to the backside of the church, we noticed this man. With the crowd gathered round, we thought he was a potential jumper. Shortly afterwards, we were informed that Salzburg is actually powered by a new technology. This man is required to run—much like a hamster in a  wheel—to power the city. He is allotted frequent breaks, and was in the middle of a break when I snapped this photo.

Don't JUMP!!

From this same square, we were able to view the castle and a historic car wash. We’d eventually walk to the top, and take in the incredible views of the city.

Ancient Car Wash (for horses)

Once atop the castle hill, the beauty abounds. We stopped for a good measure to take in the sites. Dana was able to wrestle the camera away from me just long enough to snap the following photo.

The beauty abounds!

As our panoramic continues around, we catch a glimpse  of Perry and Linda.

Taking in the sites

I’m not 100% certain, but I believe the following photo should seem familiar to all of those Sound of Mus-iacs out there. What I do know for 100%, is that I took this photo of Dana, Linda, and Perry and the castle is in the background.

The Calls take on Salzburg

Day two of our stop in Salzburg included a “Sound of Music” tour. Christian, our thrill seeking adrenaline junky tour guide, informed us that the water was emerald green because of all the minerals. We told him about the Chicago River being green on St. Pattys day because of all the dye. He told us Americans are crazy.

The emerald green water was such a sight

At some point during our tour, I busted Dana window shopping… yet again.

Busted her again

Our tour of the area was a great way to see some amazing sites. Our tour guide proved to be very knowledgeable and a fairly good driver. This is important to note because at one point we were driving on a two lane road that was just wide enough for one car with a sheer cliff on the side. I told Christian that Austrians are crazy.

Along our tour we stopped for some good ole slalom runs. Definitely one of Dana’s favorite activities. Predictably, one lap of the track wasn’t enough and she opted for a second lap round the track.

waaaaAAAAHOOOOOOOOO!

And Perry wasn’t too far behind her. After ribbing him for not being able to catch Dana, whose mass is less than his, he informed me that the starter had held him back, thus he was unable to catch and de-rail Dana.

Two hands? Hell no. FIST PUMP!

With our tour pretty much complete, we stopped for a quick snack and coffees. Our view was okay…

Our view during snack time

The following day we headed home, but stopped at a pretty awesome Salt Mine. Probably the funniest moment of the trip was seeing Perry in his coveralls. He elected to wear his “European-styled carry all” inside of his coveralls, making him look rather jolly. Despite this, the highlight of the salt mines were clearly the two wooden slides. Just sit together as a group, keep your feet up, and smile for the camera. Unfortunately, my large cranium blocked other faces within the photos—sorry guys.  At the end of the tour, we posed for a Beastie Boys inspired photo in our coveralls. Maybe Perry or Linda will email it to me so that I can post it here. All-in-all, a pretty great visit from the Call family.

Oh, and Perry, Katarina says, “Ciao!”

1. Dana’s parents were here in Brescia after spending a few days in Rome
2. We went to Cinque Terre the first weekend they were here.
3. We stayed in a single room. The four of us. It was cozy.
4. We hiked what we could of the trail (one section was closed) in a single day.
5. Perry complained about his plantar fasciitis. A lot. But he sucked it up, and powered through the trail.
6. I tricked Dana into thinking a cat we’d seen several years before was in the same place we’d previously seen it. All it took were a couple of well placed meows. I’m pretty awesome at tricking Dana.
7. We ate great and drank lots of local wine.
8. Italians are crazy. There were people hauling luggage (and complaining about people not saying hello), babies, and baby strollers. Remember that the trail from end to end is over 6 miles, and is real hiking.
9. The boat ride between the villages is pretty awesome, and a great way to get a different perspective of Cinque Terre.

And with that summary, here are a few photos:

At the start of our hike from Vernazza

Looking back at Vernazza

Our first glimpse of Monterosso al Mare

Corniglia ... and Perry's elbow

Vernazza in the evening

After dinner in Vernazza

Pastaceria ... and Gelateria

Start of our boat ride looking at a Nazi pill bunker in Monterosso al Mare

A different look at Vernazza

Corniglia from the sea

Manarola

End of the line at Riomaggiore

Not a bad place to stop for lunch

After arriving in Zurich, we headed to a museum that had some post-impressionists’ works. I think. I’m not an art guy.

Afterwards, we toured the city, stopping at Spruengli. Spruengli makes the world’s most awesome chocolates. Unfortunately, it was the end of the day and most things were pretty picked over. But we were still able to get some good stuff. For the rest of our city tour, we walked with sweet, sweet chocolate euphoria. One of the great sites in Zurich is Europe’s largest clock face. As we made our way to view it, I spotted this beauty.

Dana offered to buy—er—take my photo.

Per the usual when visiting such a sought after European landmark, the clockface was overrun by tourists. I was just able to snap this photo over the crowd.

Tourists, tourists, everywhere!

With our city tour complete, we grabbed a few drinks and then dinner. The next day we headed to the zoo. Zoos in Europe are a bit different in the States. Some animals are left to roam free. For example, this peacock was just wandering around looking for something—what? I don’t know.

"Hey Mister. Where's the tiger exhibit?"

Second, you can get as close as you want to the tigers. Of course, my pants were soaked after taking this photo. From being in the water!! I swear!!

Who wants some Spruengli???

All-in-all, it was a good, albeit, short trip. After the zoo, we headed back to Brescia. Since my parents were flying out the next morning, we dropped them off in Milan. After having guests for two weeks, it was nice to have the flat to ourselves. But, we only had a few days before there was more family knocking at the door…

As you all know, Amsterdam is best known for the Red… er, marij… er, waterways and bicycles! Right out of the gate we started with a water canal tour. One of the first things pointed out to us was a bicycle parking deck with 2,000+ bicycles crammed into it. In fact, it was so overly crowded that they were in the process of expanding the parking deck. No joke. Bicyclists and bicycles are everywhere in Amsterdam.

Just a small example of the bicycle craze in Amsterdam

And I would venture to say that bicyclists in Amsterdam are more dangerous than an outbreak of the plague. There appears to be absolutely no rhyme or reason as to whom has the right-of-way. And should you hear a bicyclist hit the deck, you can be sure that person is from out of town. I think we all witnessed our fair share of wrecks by camera toting tourists. Oh, and the bells. You hear bicyclists dinging their bells every 5 seconds. It could drive a person mad. For me, it drove me to creativity.

Bikes and Canals... what Amsterdam is best known for???

After our boat tour, we headed to our flat for the weekend. Mom and Dad rented a pretty sweet place that was typical Amsterdam. Narrow with steep, steep steps connecting the floors—of which there were four. Because the stairways are so steep and narrow, it is pretty much impossible to carry furniture up them. So the front of the homes have huge windows and the gable has a pulley system. Have a new couch that needs to go on the 3rd floor? Open up your window, raise you couch to the 3rd floor, and pull it in.

Of course, I’ve been a bit coy in the article. I know that most don’t think of canals or bicycles when thinking of Amsterdam. You, of course, think of… the “I Amsterdam” sign! Here’s Dana with the D:

D is for Dana

And me with the M:

My favorite letter

After our photo shoot, we headed into the Van Gogh museum. We expected to spend no more than 30 minutes in the museum, but we were in there for hours! Of that time, only about 7 minutes were spent looking at art. When we arrived, there was an open bar, couches, and a “stage”. So we settled in for a few drinks, philosophizing, and some of the craziest music I’ve ever heard. There were two groups. The first were all stationed at keyboards, and made music by pecking away at the keys. Sounds weird, but here’s a sample:

By the end of the show, one of the guys was half naked and they were all soaked with sweat. They definitely put it all into the performance. Throughout the first show, I kept seeing this one guy wandering around while talking on his cell phone. He was acting a bit curious so I thought that maybe he was part of a second show. I was right.

This dude was NUTS!

And pretty darn funny to watch

The second group was even better than the first. Their instruments were made out of junk, but they made some incredible music. Here’s a sample:

After the show, we made a lap of the museum—literally finishing in about 7 minutes. Apparently, neither of us greatly appreciates art.

The following day was museum day for us. First we stopped at a museum of the city. Dana saw a bike and hopped on for a quick ride.

Pedal WOMAN!

Later that day, we visited the Anne Frank House with Derek and Katie. Having read her story, it was interesting to see the house that she so often referred to. Definitely a worth while stop, if just a short one.

On our final day, we spent the entire day together as a family. We started by visiting a number of museums—including the handbag museum (YEAH! ladies choice!). We also went to the Resistance Museum. This museum posed a basic question: Nazi Germany has invaded and now occupies your town. What do you do? Resist, leave, or assimilate? A rather simple question that isn’t very easy to answer. Dana was the most intrigued with the museum, and was several yards behind me when Katie came looking for us. I was almost finished, but Dana was only about 2/3 through the museum. The others were getting a bit impatient with us, as we had previously decided to get pancakes.

Here the family is all smiles because we’ve decided to get pancakes for lunch.

The Fam in Amsterdam (this is all smiles for my family)

Pancakes in Amsterdam are the quintessential stoner food. More like like crepe in thickness, they are piled high with whatever you can imagine (eggs, ham, onions, feta cheese, ice cream, pineapple, etc.); they sound strange, but are delicious. Derek and Katie loved them so much, they went 3 different times.

PANCAKE EUPHORIA!

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing in getting our pancakes. You know you are in trouble when there are two maps and Dana in play to determine the best route.

I don't think we're going to get pancakes.

I told Katie that she wasn’t going to get pancakes. She wasn’t happy.

No pancakes for YOU!

Dana saved the day by telling Katie she knew the way to the pancakes shop.

Pancake savior

After our pancakes, we took the long way to the flat. Big mistake! AJAX (the local pro FIFA team) had literally just won the Championship against their rival, and we had routed ourselves through the city’s celebratory grounds. Everywhere we turned was a screaming drunk carrying a half empty 6-er sporting an AJAX jersey. Normally, ecstatic fans don’t phase me, but when I saw the riot police and water cannons on standby, I began to worry. Luckily, we made it through untouched.

I would be remissed, if I didn’t at least mention coffee shops and the Red Light District. Dana and I were the only ones to venture into the Red Light District. Coffee shops (the kind that would be illegal in the US), however, were everywhere. I naïvely assumed that illicit activities were limited to the Red Light District. I was wrong. Walking down a quiet street in a peaceful neighborhood, and BAM! There’s an 80 year old woman with a walker smoking a doobie blowing her smoke every which way.

I will say that the Red Light District is pretty interesting. We saw women of all shapes, sizes, colors, and prettiness. Apparently, whatever your taste, they’ve got you covered. But, we all know the million dollar question: Did Dana proposition a prostitute? Well, I am not at liberty to say…

I pulled up to the police officer, and told him that I lived in the center, that my parking spot was beyond the blockade, and that he should let me through. He disagreed. After a bit of back and forth, he told me that it wasn’t possible to get through as the demonstrators had a tent placed in the road that I needed to access. I then suggested that I perhaps take the first right, where there weren’t any people. He objected, noting that the road I wanted to travel on was one way—opposite of the way that I would be traveling. In typical Italian fashion, I scoffed, and said, “Non c’é nessuno!”. Basically, “you’re not letting anyone through—it will be okay”. He agreed, but offered a warning by pulling down on the skin just below his eye: “I didn’t see anything”.

So, not only did I talk my way through a police blockade, I also talked a police officer into letting me drive the wrong way on a one way street.

On Wednesday night, we took a lap around the city seeing some of the show cars on display. Not cars for the race, but cars that the manufacturers want you to see. Mercedes broke out the F800 concept car. The door handles were flush with the door panels. Press them in to release the handle, pull to open the door. Take no action, and the handle automatically closes itself. The rear doors looked like they were suicide doors, but they actually slid alla minivan style.

Mercedes F800 = Awesome

Not to be outdone by Mercedes, Bugatti brought a Veyron. If you haven’t heard of the Bugatti Veyron, let me paint a picture. 1,000 horsepower, top speed of  over 250 MPH, and a price tag of over $2,500,000.

Dream car...

There was also a Bentley, Jaguar XKR, Audi R8 Syder, and Porsche 911 Black Edition. But who cares??!! There was a Bugatti Veyron!

Thursday was the start of the race and we headed to our usual spot. Right in a curve where the cars usually fly by. This year, a number of rowdy teens were staked out in the middle of the road. As every car would pass, they would slap the drivers high fives and yell, “VAI, VAI, VAI (GO, GO, GO)”. This also included the drivers of scooters and bicycles. When modern cars came by, they’d try to get the car to stop, and encourage the driver to put the hammer down. A couple of Ferrari drivers obliged, and it was awesome. The first driver fish tailed to start and probably scared the living daylights out of spectators 100 yards down the road. The second guy was a bit brighter, telling the kids he’d let ‘er rip if they would step back a bit. Below is a video of the kids—albeit, very blurry—encouraging a driver to put the hammer down. He didn’t, but you get a feel for the excitement. Of course all good things come to an end, and the local police staked out our corner; thus, ending the kids’ enthusiasm.

Below are a few photos of the classic cars.

BMW Row

Old Bugatti

A Triumphant Katie upon finding a Triumph

Visiting Auschwitz is an eye opening experience. In school, you study the Holocaust and learn of the numbers of victims, but the number is so so large it’s hard to really imagine. Seeing the scale of the grounds helps you to better understand magnitude of what actually happened. We stayed with our tour guide throughout the course of the day to learn as much as we could about the camp.

Probably one of the more famous sites of the camp is the entrance into the first camp. The words translate to, “Work will set you free”.

"Work will set you free"

If it weren’t for all of the razor wire, you might mistake the camp for run of the mill dormitories. However, you run into signs like the following at most every turn.

The point of no return

As you are guided through the dormitories, you are faced with reminders of the scale and merciless of Auschwitz. Cases and cases of different items: Children’s toys. Eye glasses taken for the metal. Toiletry items. One of the most ghastly discoveries when the Allies entered the camp was a warehouse with seven tons of human hair. Seven tons! It had been packaged to be sent to Germany for the production of pillows and jacket linings. The glass cases continued. One case was filled with luggage that had names and ages of the owners. Our tour guide pointed out several that belonged to infants and young children. Another case was full of shoes.

Just a mere fraction of the shoes within the case.

Everywhere you turn there is a reminder of the brutality that occurred within this camp. The next photo was taken in the courtyard of death that is adjacent to Cell Block 11—where the most brutal actions took place. It was in front of this wall where the victims faced the firing squad.

Courtyard of Death

Next were the gallows in front of the dining hall. Victims were left hanging as a reminder to the others of what would happen to them if they did not obey.

The Gallows at Auschwitz

This was such a brutal place. You can’t help but feel intimidated when wandering around.

A pathway between cell blocks

The final stop at the first camp was the crematorium. Prisoners were lead into “showers” where they were then gassed. These specially built furnaces were used to burn the bodies.

The Crematorium

Upon completing our tour of the first camp at Auschwitz, we then went to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Many of the buildings at Birkenau have been destroyed or disassembled over time. However, the grounds are preserved and the scale of this camp is staggering. Cattle cars full of people entered through the main gate. Once stopped, the cars were emptied, and the arriving people were then sorted—those strong enough to be fit for work, and those not. Those that weren’t fit for work were killed. The next photo is taken from were the sorting took place, looking back at the main entrance to the camp.

Looking back at the main entrance

As you can see, it is a long way to the entrance, and we were only about half way to the back of the camp. To the left and right, as far as you could see, were brick foundations of the wood buildings that have since rotted away.

Foundations outline former buildings

As we continued through the grounds, we were able to enter some of the buildings that served as barracks for the prisoners. Earthen floors with wooden bunks. Freezing in the winters, boiling hot in the summers.

The more we saw, the better understanding we gained. Hopefully, this post has exposed you a bit more to what was, and inspires you to visit Auschwitz or the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. to learn more. Auschwitz serves as a memorial to those lost, but we still have much to learn as genocide continues in more modern times:

• 2,000,000 killed in Cambodia during the late 1970s
• 800,000 killed in Rwanda in 1994
• ~430,000 killed in Darfur since 2003

A normally bustling square

Faced with few options, Dana and I wandered the streets looking for an ideal place to get traditional Polish fare. As we strolled, we came across this famous Warsaw statue of a mermaid.

Mermaid with sword and shield = cool

We eventually found a Rick Steves’ recommended restaurant, so we went in and sat down. When Dana tried to order, the waiter said, “No, not available.” I tried to order something while Dana searched the menu for another option. “No, not available”. The waiter then grabbed a napkin, and drew a map for us. Essentially, he told us, “Get OUT. NO SOUP FOR YOU!” Thoroughly confused, we headed around the corner and ducked into a tiny restaurant that was willing to serve us pierogi—traditional stuffed dumplings served with gravy or butter. Dana opted for butter and I opted for the gravy. Their gravy is really just bacon and butter; and, we all know that bacon and butter makes everything better.

With our lunch complete, we continued strolling the streets and eventually made it to the Polish Uprising Memorial [warning: educational content]. Poland, due to its flat landscape, has been subject to invasions throughout the course of time. In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded and took Poland (Russia would eventually take the eastern lands of Poland). Rebels went underground—literally. In 1944, with Russia advancing towards Warsaw, the Polish Rebels came out of the sewers and fought back the Nazis. The Russians sat, waited, and watched while the Nazis stumbled and then eventually crushed the rebellious uprising. Warsaw is now a very modern city as most everything was destroyed by the Nazis after this uprising. The memorial below commemorates those soldiers who came out of the sewers to fight for their country’s freedom.

Polish Uprising Memorial

With little else to do, Dana and I decided to head to a chocolate shop. You can get hot chocolate with just about anything. I opted for the hot chocolate with cayenne and Tabasco.

Tabasco and Chocolate? Yes please.

Unfortunately for me, my intended, “drip, drip” turned into a “glug, glug”. After a few sips, my mouth turned to fire and I couldn’t really taste anything. The chocolate would cool my mouth and the cayenne/Tabasco would reset it ablaze.

With our day pretty well complete, we headed to check out Stalin’s famous building. The building dominates the area, and served as a reminder to the Pols that Moscow was always watching.

Palace of Culture and Science

Our time in Warsaw was officially over. The next morning we were heading to Krakow. We headed to the train station early to purchase our tickets. I was pumped when I attempted to purchase tickets because the ticket vendor understood my “Kroc-oof”. I was quickly knock off my high horse when she asked me what time I wanted to leave. Luckily, numbers are numbers and you can just write them out.

We arrived in Krakow about 3 hours later and were greeted by grey skies and rain. After checking into our hotel, we ventured out into the old town. There isn’t a whole lot there, but we did get to see the major sites and snap a few photos.

What time is it?

Because of the rain, we headed indoors to get some food. We ended up in a cozy wood room near the drip of a leaky roof. Sounds ghetto, but actually was a pretty decent place. The service was a bit slow, but considering the leak was getting more and more intense as we waited, we figured the weather outside was pretty terrible. So we sat, ate, drank and philosophized—my favorite activity on trips.

Since we were headed to Auschwitz the next morning bright and early, we decided it best to make a quick lap of the city, grab some food to take to the hotel and call it an early night. The day after Auschwitz (our final in Poland) was gorgeous. We headed a salt mine in the morning (boring) before grabbing some lunch and hopping on a train. While walking around the city, Dana spotted a giant beer, but couldn’t get a hold of it.

Shunned by a feisty beer.

After it seemed that everyone from the next group had filed in, I asked if it would be okay for me to enter. I was told yes, so I headed down the corridor ready to awed by da Vinci. Upon entering the room, I couldn’t believe it. The Last Supper. In a ginormous room and only 15 people! Really? Can’t squeeze anymore people in? I understand they want to limit the number of people in at any given time, but that is pretty ridiculous. The painting was pretty incredible, and I am glad that I was able to see it, and snapped a photo (at the bottom of this post).

After our viewing and reflection time, we then wandered the streets stopping at a castle for a photo op:

A picture of us both? No way!

While Dana rolled her pant legs up (it was blazing hot), I got a stellar photo of the castle.

Castello

We eventually made our way to the Duomo and stopped inside before heading up onto the roof. While inside, I noted a couple getting a bit too grabby for the interior of a church. Little did I know, they were soon going to take things to a new level.

While inside, I started playing with the camera settings and got Dana to stand still.

Time passing her by?

Next we climbed to the top of the Duomo, which is pretty incredible. You get a great view of the city, and an up close look at the incredible architecture. And if you’re a horny German couple, you start taking some discreet, but still blatantly obvious naughty photos. Did I mention we were on a church? Because of the pitch of the roof, she was able to sit with him sitting on a lower part of the roof snapping photos up her skirt. They continued snapping photos of her lady parts throughout the entire time we were on the roof.

With our tour of the Duomo complete, it was time for a gelato and a tour of the high fashion district. In my book, no trip is complete without a photo of Dana drooling over Italian leather.

Caught in the wild again!

Looking for a photo of the Last Supper? Sorry, but no photos allowed. However, please feel free to visit us, and we’ll take you there. Oh, and why don’t you share this or post a comment below.

Berber cow.

They served us tea picked from their fields across the street.

Their farmland

It is important to note that when serving Berber tea, you must let the tea flow from very high to get the proper amount of froth. We eventually had to pour our own tea in the traditional manner. Amazingly, we spilled none!

Remember, pour from a high altitude

After our stop for tea, we continued on our way learning about the Three Valleys. Boujma would periodically stop so that could hop out of the van and get a look around. Not only was he incredibly knowledgable about the area, he was also pretty good with the camera.

Green land and green coats... a theme.

We continued up the mountain as we were slated to have lunch in a Berber house. Little did we know, it was going to be freezing! Lucky for Dana, she had a sweater on under her jacket. I was wearing just a polo under my jacket. Once at the Berber house, we were amazed to see snow covered mountains.

Snow covered mountains. In Morocco???

Our lunch was in a freezing room, but we were served tajine. Warm, tasty tajine. I was so cold, I considered just pouring the warm food into my pockets just for the additional heat. Instead, I warmed my stomach and ate entirely too much. After our lunch, Boujma suggested that we go for a quick stroll to get a better look of the lands. I think he realized it was unlikely for us to squeeze back into the van without burning off a few calories first.

Trekking to stay warm

After spending a couple days in a desert, it is incredible to see lush, terraced lands.

Terraced lands near where we ate lunch

With our lunch complete, it was time for Morocco’s landscape to change once again. We headed onto the plateau and into the fog. When the fog wasn’t swallowing us whole, you’d swear you were in the Midwest. I’ve never seen such extreme changes in the landscape in such a short period of time.

With our tour almost complete, there was one thing left to do—ride a camel. Boujma had done an excellent job of managing Dana’s camel expectations. Throughout the day, he told her that he wasn’t sure that they would be operating because the weather was so poor. As we arrived, there were no camels to be seen. But Boujma stopped anyway and asked if it would be possible for us to ride a camel. The camel owner replied that it would take about 10 minutes to prep the camels, if we didn’t mind waiting.

Dana: “I’LL WAIT!!! YES!!!! I’M GOING TO RIDE A CAMEL”.

She was literally giddy with excitement. You’d think she had just gotten a 50% off coupon for shoes she was so excited.

Perma-grin Dana

Journey officially complete. All that is left is a picture of Boujma—the best tour guide around.

Dana and Boujma