Prague: THATS not normal

Frankfurt turned the waterworks on us after that one sunny day (during which I got a slight tan, thank you very much Calum MacLeod, it is possible...). Rose and I killed time drinking coffee in a cafe (of the weird European variety – nowhere near as good as home) and in the Jewish Museum.

I’ve discovered I am a sucky tourist. Museums and history of buildings don’t interest me one bit. So far anyway. All that really fascinates me is culture, people, architecture, food and fashion. Needless to say the Jewish Museum has been cemented in my memory as a place where i got very sore legs and gravity was about twice as strong as it is in shops. Panel after panel of long paragraphs and fuzzy black and white photos. It was all about the Jewish settlements in Frankfurt. I’m fine with that stuff if it hits me in one swift blow : Jews were more welcome in Frankfurt than in other parts of Germany and therefore there was a large settlement here, which suffered persecution in the 1900s.

Anyway, got our staple food of gelato at the mall and discovered that no shops were open. Also encountered Bratwurst for dinner, of the cheap train station variety. I had high expectations of German meat but nothing compared to meat at home. Everything tastes like luncheon sausage. Everything. We sheltered from the rain under an umbrella in a beer garden, with amazing heaters and blankets, and sickly hot chocolate that was nothing less than runny cocoa icing...

The next morning we embarked on the Europabus tour of the Romantische Strasse. Hoping to leave the rain behind. Bus driver was a very funny man... “I like to have wine in the morning before I drive the bus. Red wine. But this morning I sad, because it’s rainings. And I forgot my wine. I sad.” Long pause, “Just keeeding!”
We passed many many tiny villages, clusters of roofs amoungst the hills, and a steeple indicating where each one was. Rain didn't stop. Villages emerging from dense fog when you are high up in the mountains is amazing. The architecture of these houses made them look exactly like Cuckoo Clocks. I still find it wierd that people actually live in them all over Germany.

Rothenburg was the tiny medievil village we stayed at - tiny and old and full of tourists. Cars and tourists in all our photos. Still raining. Killed time in the museum of Crime (a building full of original instruments of Medievil torture and executions. I didn't take any photos in there. Mainly because I didn't think they deserved it. Creepy.) and at a restaurant which was very German. Getting things like "cheese balls" for dessert (cheesecake dumplings with plum filling).

Next day we headed to Fussen. Still raining. At this point my ONE pair of jeans and ONE hoody are permanently damp. It's remarkably freezing. Colder than NZ winter. We are wondering what summer is. I had nothing else warm so started dreading getting dressed every day into those clothes. I still can hardly look at them.

Serveral days later we arrived at Munich in the rain and in the same clothes and shoes. Relieved the hostel was nice. Ate in the basement restaurant because couldn't face going outside. We had a BATHTUB which got well used. We met Rashi there. Woot.
Following day we explored Munich in the rain and in the evening cheered ourselves up by going to the famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall (literally several hundred people in that place, food and beer going back and forth at amazing speed, waitresses running around, old German music playing) and a ride on one of those little bike-with-seats-on-the-front things. And late night gelatos. In the rain.

Next up Berlin - train station an insane mess of 5 floors plus underground floors, hundreds of shops, uncountable platforms when we arrived in the late evening. I was utterly lost and train maps make no sense to me here. Too big. Like looking at a matrix. Rose was more in control being a Londoner (almost) and we got the 2 trains in the tube to our hostel, supposedly. Turned out the hostel people's directions were rubbish and we were on the wrong side of town. After standing outside in the dark on a street corner an old couple miraculously appeared and asked where we were going and sent us packing in the right directions. Several train rides later we hit our hostel which didn't comfort us much with its flight of stairs to drag luggage up, its cold tiled floors, shared bathroom and rather crap bedroom.

The sun came out.
Berlin is massively insanely huge and I never did get a hang of the train system. Which we had to use for everything. Its so spread out. We went on a walking tour around the city which I have to say was one of my most boring experiences in Europe because the guy was a history nut and all I wanted to do was people-watch and take pictures. It went from 10am to 4pm because he just couldn't quit it with the details. By then we are well sunscorched and gravity has tripled. My swollen right foot from a muscle sprain (probably from lugging luggage around) has swollen more and my toes are fat too. I'm kinda intrigued by this. I can't help wandering off from the group and trying to scan for things of more interest.

We went out in Berlin on saturday night with an organised group to experience the nightlife. Certainly it was good times all around inspite of the lacerated feet from stupid high heels and the amount of smokers in European cities. Who smoke inside. Gack.

Next day we explored some more and said goodbye to Rose who headed back to her day job. Rashi and I continued on in the hopes of becoming Czech Republics next top model. Unfortunately we had to settle for being the only normal people in Prague. Good enough.
Once again we arrived late at night which I'm starting to think is a bad idea. We got lost once again by getting on the wrong tram and landed up in the dodgey side of town. First impression of Prague was dirt, graffiti, old buildings, bogans. Second impression of Prague was AMAZING beautiful apartment we are staying in and very very kind lady at another hotel near where we got lost who insisted "Don't be worried, don't be worried, it's not too far" and measured out on the map exaclty which tram stop would be closest for us to get off at.
Third impression of Prague the next morning was fat tanned men with no shirts on and disgusting gold chains, more dirt, more graffit, more bogans, more 90s fashion, more 90s music, beautiful old buildings amoungst scummy falling apart ones, great food at a local hotel, cheap food, expensive clothing, stunning river.
Tonight we plan to hit the theatre for some mozart just so we can say we did.