Wetzlar

Wetzlar has a nice old town with a lot of half-timbered houses. Like everywhere else in Germany, Goethe lived there for a brief time. Two of his friends who lived there influenced his book The Sorrows of Young Werther, and you can visit their houses.

some half-timbered houses

Tuebingen

We went to Tübingen on one of the few summery days this year. We walked around the old town and saw parts of the university, where Kepler, among others, studied. We had lunch at a restaurant on the river, then walked around some more and up to the castle. The castle has nice views over the city and a museum that includes a prehistoric horse figurine.

Roman Germany

The Romans did make it into Germany a little. Like Hadrian's Wall in England, they built a limes marking the edge of their territory in Germany. The Romans built a fort in Aalen, and some ruins remain. We also went by a villa rustica, this one a Roman winery, in the Palatinate region. They grow grapes there today, too.

rare silver mask at the Roman museum in Aalen

ruins in Aalen

part of the villa rustica

reconstructed tower that was part of the limes

Black Forest

In April we took an extended weekend trip to the Black Forest. Our first stop was Baden Baden. It has hot springs and apparently a lot of rich people go there. It was nice enough, but didn't have too much for tourists to see. We didn't go to the hot spring spa, because it was kind of expensive. They did have a bunch of flower pots everywhere with quotes on them, which was neat. Then we went to Gengenbach. It was used in the Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie as the hometown of Augustus Gloop. It is picturesque, with a lot of half-timbered houses. Next we went to Triberg, which is one of the places where Black Forest Cake was supposedly invented. We got some cake at a cafe that claims to use the original recipe. The town is very touristy, with many souvenir shops and a little train to take people up the hill. There is a waterfall there, but you had to pay to see it, so we didn't. Not pictured below, we stopped briefly at one of the two places that claims to have the largest cuckoo clock in the world. It's on the side of a souvenir store. Towards the end of our first day, we went by one of the origins of the Danube, that is, one of the small rivers that combines with another river to become the Danube. It comes up out of the ground as a small creek. Then we went to our hotel. It was pretty neat. It's an old building now operated by Best Western, between Freiburg and Titisee. There were some cows in a field nearby, which we tried, once successfully, to feed. They seemed wary of people. For dinner we went to Titisee, to an Italian restaurant.

The next day we drove to Freiburg. It has the most sunny days of any city in Germany. It did get sunny in the afternoon. They have mosaic signs on the sidewalk everywhere that historically represented what kind of shop they were in front of. Some of them are still traditional-looking and some are newer. After eating lunch we drove to St. Blasien, which has an impressive cathedral and overpriced cafes. In the late afternoon we went to a large indoor pool complex with lots of pools and waterslides. An hour was included in a pass we got from our hotel. They had one pool with a high salt content, like the Dead See, so you could float really easily, which was fun. They also had seats that shot out bubbles, like a jacuzzi, but they were seats in a larger pool and an outdoor heated pool area with a bar, as well as a hamam-style steam room. But the waterslides were the best part and much fun was had.

On our way back home the next day we stopped by the confluence of the Danube and in Villingen, a small town where we ate in a restaurant that had booths in giant wine vats.

Fall Trips

We had the opportunity to use Ben's parents' car for a few weeks in the fall, so we took some weekend trips.

First was Bodensee (Lake Constance). We started in Lindau. It was kind of rainy and windy, but the view from the shore out to the lighthouse and lion statue was still nice. We also walked around the nice old town area. Next we drove along the coast to Wasserburg, which is more of a summer vacation town. We walked around the shore there and past a lot of charming B&Bs. Then it was on to Friedrichshafen, which is one of the larger cities on the lake, but one of the newer, more industrial ones, and is known for zeppelins. They have a nice promenade along the lake, but it was rainy and foggy when we were there, so there wasn't much of a view. All of the many cafes along the way were full anyway. We then drove on to our hotel in Meersburg. We had originally planned to stay in Friedrichshafen, but could only find a hotel in Meersburg, which turns out to be a good thing, since Meersburg is much more picturesque (also touristy). Our hotel, the Gasthof zum Baeren, is centuries old and right in the old town. The city has a medieval castle, so we went there first. Most of the rooms have medieval decor, but some have furniture and such from later centuries. After the castle, we walked down to the waterfront area. It was the time of year for "new wine" (known by many different regional names), so we went into a wine shop/bar and had a glass. The next day we moved on to Konstanz, the largest city on the lake. They, too have a nice waterfront promenade and a weird rotating statue on a pier. Next we saw 3 old churches on Reichenau. Our last stop on the lake was Ueberlingen. The weather was much nicer that day, so we stopped at one of the many crowded cafes with outdoor tables on the promenade for the popular coffee/cake combo and some more new wine (you have to drink it while you can, since it's not around long). On the drive back, we stopped in Ravensburg, of puzzle fame, and walked around the old town.

The following (extended) weekend we headed north to Franconia and Thuringen. First stop was Bamberg. Bamberg is a very nice city, and consequently popular with tourists. We were also there during Oktoberfest, so we think that was a popular day trip from Munich. First we saw the cathedral and surrounding old buildings, and got some lunch with more new wine, even though the city has famous smoky beer. Then we headed up the hill to Michaelsberg Abbey, which has over 600 medicinal plants painted on the ceiling. There was a new wine festival happening on the premises. Then we walked along "Little Venice" and saw the old town hall on the river. Next we drove to Bayreuth, which is where the annual Wagner opera festival takes place in the summer. We saw the old opera house, which we were lucky to see, since it closed for multi-year renovations 2 days after we were there. It is filled with elaborate wooden decorations. We had some of the local specialty, Klöße (dumplings, often potato dumplings), for dinner. The next day we saw the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which was built under Wagner's supervision and is used exclusively for his opera festival. We also saw the graves of Wagner and his dog Russ. We then drove to Coburg and saw the old town, then headed up to the large, attractive Veste (fortress/castle). Finally we drove into Thuringen to its capital of Erfurt. You wouldn't know Thuringen was part of East Germany, except for some remaining Ampelmännchen and occasional Soviet street names. We walked through part of the old town and the Oktoberfest carnival happening in the cathedral plaza, and saw the Bernd das Brot statue next to the Rathaus (town hall). The next day we went to Goethe-central, aka Weimar. Weimar was also home to a whole host of other famous Germans (see list), the Bauhaus art movement, and the Weimar Republic. Unfortunately the Goethe museum and the Anna Amalia library were closed (Mondays), but we saw many other historic locations and monuments. Weimar also has several streets with art nouveau houses, which are very nice. The next day we saw more of Erfurt, including the cathedral, paintings in the Rathaus, and Krämerbrücke (like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence or Rialto in Venice). Then we drove to Eisenach. Aside from being the birthplace of J.S. Bach, the main attraction there is Wartburg castle, so we walked up there first. Parts of the original medieval castle remain, and the rest was continuously updated. Inside, where we couldn't take pictures, are several impressive romantic-era mosaics, the music hall that was the site of a medieval minstrels' contest and the inspiration for Wagner's opera Tannhäuser, and the room where Martin Luther hid out for a while. After the castle we saw the old town, including Bach's birthhouse and one of the houses where Luther lived. Our hotel was a villa on a hill next to the city, which had many other cool villas. If it wasn't already known for Wartburg, I would consider Eisenach the City of Villas. The next day we drove home, stopping in the half-timbered town of Schmalkalden and then Meiningen.

Our last weekend, before we returned the car, we went to Burg Hohenzollern. It was originally medieval, but was mostly destroyed twice, and the current castle is mostly from the romantic era, in the gothic/medieval style. It's pretty neat.

Excursions recap

We took advantage of the fact that my parents were on vacation for a while at the beginning of October and borrowed their car in order to go on some short weekend trips. One weekend we went to the famous castles of King Ludwig, Schloss Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. From there, we stopped briefly at the Wieskirche and then went to visit my Aunt in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On the way back, we went by two baroque/rococo monasteries, Kloster Benediktbeuern and Kloster Andechs.

Schloss Newschwanstein

 The following weekend, we visited two towns on the Romantic Road, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl. Then we went to Nürnberg, where we spent the night. The following day we drove to Regensburg, where we visited the city as well as Walhalla. Note: in a very brief survey of Nürnberger and Regensburger sausages, the Regensburg ones came out slightly ahead.

Nürnberg

Nürnberg

Regensburg

Finally, we returned the car, but on the way stopped by another two monasteries, Kloster Maulbronn and Kloster Lorsch (which was unfortunately being restored) and a made a quick stop at Worms Cathedral.

Worms Cathedral

Vacation in the Alps

We recently had a week of vacation, during which we rented a car, packed the tent, and traveled through the western Alps. We started out driving through Switzerland before crossing into Italy over the Splügen Pass. We then reached our first goal, the Lago di Como, nestled between mountains. We stopped at some small picturesque towns on the western shore of the lake, but the highlight was probably the Villa di Balbianello, probably known best for being the filming location of several scenes from Star Wars: Episode II and Casino Royale. After visiting the city of Como, we made our way towards the next lake over, Lago Maggiore. Here we stopped in Stresa, which has some very nice turn-of-the-century architecture. Our campsite here were, as on Lake Como, dominated by trailers and campers. Our little tent was quite lonely, but that was to change soon. The next day, after a quick stop in the small town of Orta San Giulio, we made our way to the Aosta valley, which has several impressive castles guarding the way. In the town of Aosta, we saw the Roman sights (yes, they had already settled there), and visited the well-preserved upper parts of frescoes underneath the ceiling in the church of Sant'Orso (the lower parts were destroyed in the 15th century during renovations). After seeing a branch of Grom, we couldn't resist and got some gelato. Our goal for the day was the mountain town of Valnontey, where we found a very nice campground with a fantastic view of the Gran Paradiso massif. The next day, we did a day hike to the Lake of Loie and the Alpe Bardoney, a summer dairy farm. Although we were hoping to see ibex and chamois, they were not to be found. We did see a bunch of marmots, though, and heard them whistling to each other. On the way back, we did a detour to the waterfalls of Lillaz before returning to the car and the campsite. The next day, we drove the rest of the way through the Aosta valley and through the Mont Blanc tunnel (incredibly expensive) to reach the French city of Chamonix. Although we were initially planning on taking the cable car up to the Brévent and then hiking down, that side of the valley was in the clouds. The other side though was in the sun, and so we took the cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi instead, from which there was a fantastic view over the entire Mont Blanc massif. For dinner, we went to Le Dahu in Argentière that my parents had already been to many times several decades earlier, and had a traditional cheese fondue. From there, we made our way through the foothills to Annecy, and drove by two castles nearby. Since we were determined to avoid staying in Switzerland as much as possible (because it's incredibly expensive), we found a campsite just outside Geneva but still in France. Out of the mountains, we were now unfortunately back in trailer-park country. Following Lake Geneva, we passed through several nice towns, each with its own picturesque castle, until reaching Lausanne. After a quick sightseeing tour of the city, we changed (becoming the best-dressed people at the campground) and attended the public Ph.D. defense of a friend of mine. The next morning we encountered some of the first clouds and rain of our entire trip while continuing along Lake Geneva and seeing some more castles (a highlight being the Château de Chillon near Montreux) as well as stone-age menhirs. Then it was back in the direction of home, with stops in Gruyères (where we bought some cheese, of course) and Fribourg, before spending the final night in Bern. Sunday, the weather had become completely rainy, so the sightseeing tour of Bern was rather quick and hasty. A pity really, because the city seemed very nice (if also very sleepy on this Sunday morning). Then, after two more quick stops for a castle at Burgdorf and the waterfalls of the Rhine in Schaffhausen, it was back home to Ulm.

Augsburg and Ludwigsburg

We took some weekend trips again recently, this time to Augsburg one weekend and then to Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg the next.

Augsburg is less than an hour away by regional train, and is probably most famous for being the home of the Fugger family. In the late middle ages and Renaissance, Augsburg was one of the wealthiest cities due to trade routes with southern Europe, especially textiles and banking (the Fuggers bankrolled popes and emperors). The wealth of that day can still be seen in the massive Rathaus, and some impressive churches. In addition, Augsburg is home to the oldest social housing complex still in use, the Fuggerei. To this day, inhabitants pay less than one Euro in rent per year, as well as three daily prayers. In modern times, Augsburg might be best known as the birthplace of Bert Brecht, one of the greatest playwrights of modern times.

The next weekend, we visited some friends in Stuttgart and took advantage of the proximity to Ludwigsburg, home of an impressive palace (sometimes called the Swabian Versailles). The palace itself is much too big to take in in just one afternoon, so we restricted ourselves to the ceramics museum (including a room full of Italian maiolica), as well as to the fantastic and expansive castle gardens (formal English style in the front, and "wild" French style in the back).

Activities recap

It's been a while since I've talked about our weekend trips and activities on the blog. While we haven't been as active as we were in Italy, we have had the opportunity to explore some of the surroundings of Ulm. So let's take it in chronological order...
Back in April, my parents came to visit for a weekend, and while we spent Saturday visiting furniture stores, we took a day trip into nearby Bavaria on Sunday. The town of Weißenhorn had an old castle in the town center, which was unfortunately being renovated at the moment. Another negative point was that none of the restaurants in the town center were open for lunch. So we stopped on the way to Roggenburg, another small town nearby, which boasts an impressive baroque monastery.
A few weeks later, it was Easter, and we visited my parents for the long weekend. One of the days, we went to Mosbach, where my aunt celebrated a big birthday with a big lunch. On Easter Sunday, we visited Schwetzingen Castle, which is located quite close to my parents' house. There, we wandered through the gardens, where a lot of beautiful flowers were in bloom, and looked at the 18th century interpretations of classical temples, as well as the mosque.
At the end of May, my parents came again for a weekend. This time, we visited the nearby town of Blaubeuren on Sunday, along with what seemed like thousands of other people. Blaubeuren is located at the source of the river Blau, which flows into the Danube in Ulm. The river is a bit unusual in that the source is not just a trickle, but in fact an entire river coming out of the "Blautopf", a series of underground caves that collect water from a large region of the Schwäbische Alb. We also visited the monastery in Blaubeuren, which has a nice gothic altarpiece, and ate a good meal in the old town. We then drove a few miles to visit the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle, a cave that's open to visitors which takes you up to 55 m underground.
Finally, on Ascension Day (a holiday in most parts of Germany), we went to a medieval market (similar to a Renaissance Faire) at Wiblingen monastery. Kristen wore her medieval costume and didn't look out of place at all.

München

Last weekend, we finally took a trip to München (Munich for all you English speakers). Finally because it's only an hour 15 minutes away by train, and because Kristen hadn't been there before (although she did go right by during her high school trip to Europe, even stopping in Dachau). Anyway, we took the train and then walked into the city center, where we were just in time for the moving figures in the clock on the Rathaus (town hall). We then wandered a bit through the old town before heading over to the "Englischer Garten", the München equivalent of Central Park, where we had lunch in the beer garden at the Chinese tower (originally from the 18th century). The weather was fantastic, and many other people, both native and tourists, had the same idea. After satisfying our bodily necessities, we were keen on also stimulating our intellects, so we walked over to the Alte Pinakothek, one of the great art museums in Germany (and indeed the world). The nice thing, being a Sunday, was that admission was only 1 Euro, although we paid extra for a special exhibition on Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance (which turns out to have been a loan from the National Gallery in Washington, so we had probably seen it before). From there, we headed back into the city, walked through the Platzl quarter (part of the old town), and relaxed some in a cafe in the pedestrian area before heading back to the train station and taking the train back to Ulm.

Snow in Florence, the sequel

Last year, we got some snow in Florence the weekend before Christmas. Well, it seems that sometimes history repeats itself. Friday morning, after I had gotten to work, the first snowflakes started falling, and continued to do so during the entire day. What this meant is that transportation basically completely broke down. Roads were blocked with traffic jams, buses and trains had stopped running, the airport closed down, and everyone was worried about how they would get home. At 5:30pm, I left work on my bike, and while it took me longer than usual to get home, I was probably still significantly faster than anyone out there in a car. It stopped snowing sometime in the late evening, and I would guess that the overall snowfall was something like 20 cm (8 inches).
Saturday, I awoke to a beautiful winter landscape. The sun was shining and the snow was still there. Since I didn't think that buses were running again, I walked through Cascine park to the center of Florence (I had to get a panettone to bring my parents from a bakery there), and then continued on to Piazzale Michelangelo to take in the view from there. Back in the city, I stopped briefly at the Christmas market in Piazza Santa Croce for lunch, before making my way to the Duomo. I had been planning to go up to the cupola, but was waiting for a weekend with nice weather, and this was the day. The view from up there was spectacular, all the more so with all the roofs covered in snow. I managed to make my way home by taking a bus that was going in my direction -- apparently a minority the buses are equipped for snow, but there's not enough capacity in those, so they're very crowded.
We'll see how the situation develops -- I'm planning to fly back to Germany for the Christmas holidays.

Rome, take 3

After the concert the previous day, I decided to spend Saturday visiting some of the sights of Rome that I hadn't seen the two other times I had been in the city. I started out walking to the Basilica di San Giovanni di Laterano, the official seat of the Bishop of Rome (the guy that's usually called the Pope). Inside, it had an impressive baldachin over the altar and a beautiful mosaic in the apse. Of particular interest is also the baptistry, one of the oldest in existence, along with the adjoining chapels of St. Venantius as well as St. Secundus and St. Rufina, with 5th-7th century mosaics.
From here, it was a relatively simple metro + bus trip to Via Appia Antica, the ancient road connecting Rome with Brindisi. The first few miles have some interesting sights, and the bus drops you off a short distance from the tomb of Caecilia Metella, about 3 miles from the city walls. Unfortunately for me, the road is still in use (except for Sundays), so for most of the way you have to contend with car traffic. I made my way to the Circus of Maxentius, apparently one of the best preserved Roman circuses still in existence. The massive scale was pretty impressive, and it must have been even more so in antiquity when the starting gates and stalls were still standing. From here, I walked on, taking a quick look into the church of San Sebastiano on the way, to the catacombs of Callixtus. Unfortunately, they were just closing for their lunch break, so I walked further until the next bar to get a sandwich, then walked back and waited until they reopened. Since you have to go with a tour (included in the admission), I went with the German group, which was relatively informative. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the Etruscan necropolis of Tarquinia more, since you could go at your own pace (and take pictures). After the half-hour tour, I walked back into the city, past the Baths of Caracalla and the Coliseum, until I reached the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, famous for the tomb of Pope Julius II, which occupied Michelangelo for much of his life (and remained unfinished, as well as unoccupied by Julius himself).
From there, it was past some anti-Berlusconi protesters to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, to which I had been before but wasn't able to visit properly due to the Madonna of Lourdes. The mosaics here were magnificent, reminiscent of the ones in St. Mark's basilica in Venice. Since I still had some time left before my train back to Florence, I walked back to the train station, and took the metro to Piazza del Popolo, where the church of Santa Maria del Popolo contains some more artistic masterpieces. Among these are the Chigi Chapel, designed by Raphael, two paintings by Caravaggio, and two frescoes by Pinturicchio (including some of the earliest grotesques since antiquity). From there, I returned to the train station and a short time later, returned to Florence.

Spello and Gubbio

The next day, we visited two other hill towns in Umbria: Spello and Gubbio. First up: Spello, just a few miles away from Assisi, but much quieter and less crowded. I would guess it's probably one of the prettiest towns in the area. There's not that much to do other than wander its picturesque streets and visit two churches, but that's pleasant enough. In addition, the area is famous for its olive oil, which we had a chance to taste (and buy). There's also some nice art by Pinturicchio in the two churches: a finely frescoed chapel in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, and a Madonna with Saints in the church of Sant'Andrea.
Afterwards, we drove to Gubbio, stopping on the way to have a picnic in the hills with a view of Perugia. It's larger than Spello, and with more sights, but without the sunny hill town vibe of Spello. That doesn't mean it's not hilly, though: to get to the main square, we took a public elevator. Further uphill, we visited the cathedral and the Palazzo Ducale, where we were lucky enough to get free admission (it was the day of culture, or something like that), and saw a nice exhibition of Umbrian maiolica. Finally, it was off to the cable car up to the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo. Described by the Lonely Planet as looking "frighteningly like an open-topped human birdcage," that seems like an apt description. The church at the top was decent enough (more remains of a saint!), but the ride up was definitely the highlight. Afterward, it was back to Florence.

Assisi

My parents came to visit last weekend, and since they've been to Florence several times now, we decided to go out and see something new. We decided on Assisi and surroundings, so Saturday morning we drove down from Florence, hoping that the weather would stay nice (it did for the most part). Assisi is, of course, the home of St. Francis of Assisi, where he preached, and is now the goal of many pilgrims.
The city itself is much like many other hill towns in Umbria and Tuscany: steep streets, bare stone houses, many churches. The highlight here is the Basilica of St. Francis, where the saint's remains are stored. Consisting of an upper and a lower church, both decorated with some fantastic frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto, among others, it really is a sight to see. We then went to see some of the other churches in town, among them the Romanesque Basilica of St. Clare (with her remains) and the Duomo di San Rufino. The town is nice enough, but I do wonder what St. Francis would have to say about the crass commercialization.
In the late afternoon it started to rain, and since we still had plenty of time before dinner, we drove down the hill to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, which was built around the Porziuncola chapel, where the Franciscan movement started. I liked the small chapel, but like with the sights in town, I'm guessing they have much more significance to true believers.
After a mediocre dinner in town (note to self: make reservations for the recommended places), we walked up to the Rocca, from which we had a great view onto the monuments of the city, lit up in the night.

Last suppers

Italy abounds in depictions of the Last Supper. Of course, there's the famous one in Milan by Da Vinci, but every convent or monastery (there are a lot of those) has a refectory, and the popular motif to decorate it is a scene of the last supper. Also in Florence, several famous ones exist, and since I've seen pretty much everything else a tourist would think of visiting here, I decided to go to the ones I hadn't been to.
Already last year, I visited the Cenacolo (refectory) of Ognissanti for the fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio, directly next to the church of the same name (but not with the same opening times). A fairly traditional take, though the birds in the background add a nice touch.
Last weekend, I took the bike across town to the monastery of San Michele in San Salvi, where there's another fresco by Andrea del Sarto. This one is a bit unusual in that Judas is sitting next to Jesus (instead of across the table, isolated).
Finally, yesterday I went to the final ones missing in my collection, all conveniently close to the market where I had to go anyway to get produce. First stop was the Cenacolo di Fuligno, with a fresco by Pietro Vannucci, known as 'Perugino'. No pictures allowed here, though the sign only prohibited flash. I've noticed that the rules concerning taking pictures in churches/museums/etc. are not very consistent, so usually it's better to just take pictures and not ask. The worst that can happen is that they'll ask you to stop. The last supper, by the way, was pretty standard.
Next stop was the Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia, with a fresco by Andrea del Castagno. The people here looked less realistic (Judas looks like a satyr), and the background has fake marble insets. From there, I went to the nearby Chiostro dello Scalzo, which features some beautiful monochromatic frescoes by del Sarto depicting the life of John the Baptist. (No pictures here, either)
All of the places described here can be visited without an admission charge, though the opening times can be limited, so check the museums site of Florence first. It goes without saying that these places are off the radar for most tourists (and don't appear in most guides), so you'll likely encounter few other visitors.

Lazio

Kristen is doing a "stage" again with her school in the region of Lazio, south of Tuscany, so this weekend I rented a car and went to visit her. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very good (it rained most of Saturday and some of Sunday), but we nevertheless had a good time. Saturday, we went to Tarquinia, where we first visited the Etruscan necropolis. In contrast to the one we visited near Sovana, this one is famous for its painted underground tombs. While most were simply decorated or had feast or hunting scenes, some others had ... ahem ... expressions of different standards, shall we say.
Afterward, we went into the town, where a medieval festival was supposed to be taking place. The expected equestrian events and battle didn't take place though -- I'm guessing due to the weather. So we headed towards Viterbo and picked out an agriturismo in which to spend the night. For dinner, we went to nearby Tuscania, a pleasant little medieval town. We ate at the ristorante "Kyathos", where we had a good dinner, and probably the best value meal we've had in Italy (25 Euros for two people, multiple courses, wine and cover).
The next day, we went to visit Viterbo, which was also pleasant enough. The highlights were the frescoes in the town hall, as well as the well-preserved medieval quarter. We only saw the papal palace from the outside, where several popes were elected. We then went to the hot springs, again opting for the free variant at Bullicame. Here we bathed in the waters that Dante had already described in the Divine Comedy.

Tacendo divenimmo là 've spiccia
fuor de la selva un picciol fiumicello,
lo cui rossore ancor mi raccapriccia.
Quale del Bulicame esce ruscello
che parton poi tra lor le peccatrici,
tal per la rena giù sen giva quello.

Speaking no word, we came to where there gushes
Forth from the wood a little rivulet,
Whose redness makes my hair still stand on end.
As from the Bulicame springs the brooklet,
The sinful women later share among them,
So downward through the sand it went its way.

Not many people were around, and we almost had the springs to ourselves. Finally, after a decent lunch, I dropped Kristen off again in Tolfa, and drove back to Florence.

Galicia

Last week I attended a conference in Ourense, Spain. I actually had never heard of the city before the conference, but it's a pleasant place in a beautiful region of Spain. The conference was very well organized, even if the program was quite full -- I usually only had about 10 or 20 minutes a day of free time in between talks, group lunches and dinners, excursion, receptions, etc.
After the conference, I spent a day visiting Santiago de Compostela, an hour away, and location of the airport. While I myself didn't walk any of the Camino de Santiago, I saw plenty of pilgrims there. I did attend the pilgrim's mass in the cathedral, mostly in order to see the botafumeiro being swung at the end. It's quite the spectacle for a liturgical celebration. The city itself is small and cozy, and there's a lot of life in the evenings when the local student population comes out. I stayed in the very nice Hotel Pombal, having been moved there since the original hotel I had reserved was overbooked.
Getting home was a bit of a challenge, but I was quite lucky. Due to the volcanic ash cloud, most flights in Europe have been canceled and airports closed, as I'm sure you've heard. I was booked on a flight to Bologna via Madrid on Sunday. When I found out Saturday evening that Bologna would also be closed on Sunday, I immediately called Iberia. After about an hour on hold, having the call dropped, and having to call their German call center since no one in the Spanish call center spoke English, I was finally able to change my destination to Rome, which was still projected to be open. I did make it to Rome, where a large crowd of people were trying to make arrangements to travel to their home countries -- Germany, England, the Netherlands, etc. I managed to get a train to Florence a few hours later, so I had better luck than the many people who were affected by the announcements that all trains from Italy to Northern Europe were fully booked until Friday! I was extremely glad to be back home, even if it was a few hours later than planned.

Egypt

For the Easter holidays this year, we wanted to go someplace warm, relatively cheap, and preferably not all too Catholic (so that the holidays wouldn't interfere with the vacation). So when we found a good fare to Cairo, we took advantage. It would also be my birthday, so we'd be celebrating in Egypt.
In the end, we spent a week traveling through the country (that's the absolute minimum of time, in my opinion), stopping in Luxor, Aswan as well as Cairo. Luxor surely had the most monuments: as the site of ancient Thebes, there were many temples, including the famous Luxor, Karnak, and Hatshepsut temples, as well as pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings, among others. In Aswan, we visited Philae temple as well as the old quarries, took a felucca ride on the Nile and took a quick trip to Abu Simbel on the morning of my birthday. Finally, we took in the crazy and crowded city of Cairo in two days, seeing the Egyptian museum and the Islamic monuments of the old town, as well as seeing a multitude of pyramids -- the famous ones at Giza of course, but also the older ones at Saqqara and Dahshur. In Dahshur, we even got to climb down into the Red Pyramid, which was an Indiana Jones style adventure, and ensured that our legs were sore for a few days afterwards.
All in all we had a great time, even if traveling in Egypt can be frustrating at times: as a tourist, you're of course prey for all the touts trying to sell you camel rides, felucca rides, taxis, and any kind of souvenir. Then there's the haggling, which is necessary for almost anything -- certainly for taxis and at the souq. In Cairo, we were tired enough of this that we specifically sought out metered taxis, and a fixed-price fair trade shop, and I'm convinced that we saved money in this way. Finally, there are constant demands for baksheesh from most anyone, and I'm sure there are a few corners of the monuments that we avoided seeing because there was a guard there who we were sure would try to point out some obvious things ("face... cow...") and then ask for some baksheesh. Nevertheless, the beauty of the country and its sights more than balance out these inconveniences, and we're happy to have had the opportunity of going there.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

We're slowly making our way towards the end of the list of sights in Florence we think are worth seeing. As today was a warm but rather cloudy day and seeing that this was one of the Sundays the Bargello is closed, we opted for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. It also helped that Kristen had a combination museum ticket from one of her school trips that was also good for this site. In fact, when we got there, Kristen showed her combo ticket while I was getting my money out, but the attendant had already given us two free tickets. Good deal.
The palazzo was originally the residence of the Medici family before they moved to the much grander Pitti Palace. Today, there's some space for temporary exhibitions and a small collection of Greek and Roman marble statue heads, but the main reason (and really, the only reason) for visiting is the Chapel of the Magi, with its exquisite frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. These depict (of course) the magi, but are more aptly a family portrait of the Medicis living up to Gozzoli's time. There's a lot of animal life in the scenes (of course most of it on a leash, or being hunted), and it's very finely detailed. Still, if you're in Florence, you can probably spend your 7 Euros admission in a better way.

Rome again

Even though we didn't throw any coins in the Trevi fountain during our last visit, we nevertheless made it back for a repeat visit last weekend. This time, my parents were visiting the city, and so we joined them over the weekend. Friday evening, we took the fast Eurostar train to Rome, where we arrived in time for a nice dinner at a Tuscan grill restaurant. Saturday, we started out by going to the Vatican museums. Note the plural: apparently there are around 7 kilometers of hallways in there. We saw all the highlights, including the Pinacoteca, the Roman sculptures, the frescoes by Raphael, and of course the Sistine Chapel. Saving us 45 minutes of walking, we then took the secret door out of the Sistine Chapel and went over to St. Peter's basilica. Kristen and I waited in the square while my parents climbed to the cupola, then we all walked into the city together. We went in some churches near Piazza Navona, including the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, in which the first act of the opera "Tosca" takes place. Our attempt at going into the Pantheon was foiled -- yet again -- by a mass going on inside. After a brief rest at the hotel, we went back to the center to have another good dinner at a restaurant that Kristen and I had been to last time.
On Sunday, we all walked across the city to the Isola Tiberina, from which we took a bus to the Villa Borghese gardens, where Kristen and I had reserved tickets for the Borghese gallery. (actually, we had all wanted to go, and since the museum was included in the Roma Pass that my parents had bought, we tried to make a reservation on Saturday afternoon for the museum. Alas, this is Italy, and so even though the museum is open Saturday and Sunday, the call center for making the mandatory reservations is only open until 1pm on Saturday and not at all on Sunday. Kristen and I got tickets online, but it's not possible to apply the Roma Pass discount online) We were a bit disappointed by the museum, which was small, yet high quality. Several of the most famous works (about one or two per room) were on loan to other exhibitions, including Raphael's Lady with a Unicorn and some of the Caravaggio paintings. On the other hand, the decoration of the villa itself, including the Roman mosaics installed there, was spectacular. We then took a bus back into the city to finally make it into the Pantheon and then went back to the hotel, where we met my parents (who had gone to the Museum for Modern Art in the Villa Borghese gardens) and pick up our luggage for the train trip back to Florence.
I've added some pictures from this weekend to the album of Rome pictures on Picasa.