XI: The Hills are Alive...

...with the sounds of tourists.

With apologies to Rodgers & Hammerstein, and of course, Julie Andrews:

Dough, for beer, delicious beer!
Ray, the guy who drove the bus;
Meat, something I ate for lunch;
Fall, a season of the year.
So? What punks say in high school;
La, a tele-tubby name
T, says 'I pity the fool!'
and that brings us back to
Dough, dough, dough, dough, dough!

(that was a whole lot funnier when I hadn't slept in forty hours, hehe.)

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Thanks for coming back, I know I haven't blogged much this month and the reason is simple: I didn't go anywhere until yesterday. I had a trip to Belgium planned but that night I had such a migraine that I decided that sleep was the better idea. (Oh man, was it better.)

If I haven't given you the rundown on how these trips work, let me take a second and describe the USO Bus Tour Process.

1. Payment is made in advance and you get a 7 euro discount if you pay 5 or more days early
2. Departure, at least for the trips I've taken, is between midnite and 2 am on Saturday morning.
3. Bus: uncomfortably seats, but you generally get two side-by-side per person so even though you can't stretch out, it's a lot better than it could be.
4. Drive to the destination and we usually stop a couple times, once for some breakfast. If you've ever taken a long road trip in the U.S., then you know that roadside dining is not the best food in the world; same is true in Germany.
5. Arriving at the destination means a tour. They are about an hour, maybe 90 minutes, often informative though.
6. After the tour, it's free time until the bus leaves. Every time I've gone the USO escort provided a map showing the general area, handed out an emergency contact number, and shown you where the bus pick-up location is. Then you're off on your own. This is generally the point where I go find some lunch!
7. Lunch is on you, some groups bring food (why???), but most go in search of something local. I'm a big fan of doners, which is the German equivalent of a burger joint. It's like gyro meat, but not necessarily lamb. Although I disagree with packing a lunch, I heartily endorse bringing your own beverages. (Unless you're a beer/wine drinker, that is.) A glass of soda at a restaurant was nearly 5 bucks yesterday. And, if you order water, it's mineral water and usually carbonated. Just letting you know, some people like it that way.
8. Free time is just that. You get to explore the local area and see what you want. Vienna, in particular, is full of museums, art galleries, shops, even a casino. Like many metropolitan areas, there's plenty to do. There's also plenty to avoid, but which is which is a matter of personal taste so I leave that to you to determine. I'm yet to have a problem using English, but since most of the places I go to cater to tourism, that's probably more of a function of the economy than the universality of the language.
9. Find the bus, come back. The returns range from midnite to 3am. So, if you've done the math, that's basically 24 hours for one trip. And, unless you're one of those rare few who can do it, sleeping on the bus is a terribly ineffective way to get rest. Couple that with having to work on Friday and taking more than half of Sunday to recover, and you can see why these trips are not exactly something I want to do every Saturday.

Here's some pics. I hope you like them.
I don't know if I'll be making any more of these excursions before I leave. I return to the States in less than three weeks, so there's only a couple opportunities left and I don't relish another long bus trip especially since I'm still recovering from the last one. However, the one trip that interests me is to Geneva; I'm going to have to really think about that one!

Tchuss!
David

X: Pass the Duchy

The land-locked country of The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (hereafter notated as Lux because that's a tough word to have to keep typing) is located west of Germany, east of France and south of Belgium. It is slightly less than a thousand square miles which means it is roughly two-thirds the size of Rhode Island, which makes it very small indeed. Because of its diminuative nature and centralized location, Lux has been conquered, divided, re-conquered and re-divided for nearly two thousand years by many of the larger more bullying countries that surround it. Throughout it all, the good people of Lux have survived (and thrived) by being excellent negotiators, businessmen and hosts. It was to this Lilliputian land that I was destined on a bleak rainy Saturday morning.

After a restless two hours of sleep, I arose at 1:45am and journeyed to my designated bus departure point. To my dismay, the weather was most uncooperative and the chill on this August morning was not at all pleasant. Slightly shivering, sleepily awaiting the motor coach, my thoughts turned to the recent news story of a 22 year old Canadian bus passenger who was rudely awakened by his seat mate at the point of a knife being repeatedly thrust into his torso and then beheaded. This tale of woe had recently hit the local papers, and I am certain I was not the only would-be bus tourist eyeing his fellow passengers for the outline of a machete unsuccessfully hidden beneath a T-shirt. The bus arrived promptly at 3am and I, along with my fellows, boarded, relishing the warm dry interior. Finding a seat, I stowed my gear and prepared for the long ride ahead.

After a couple of stops for food, drink and rest-room use, we arrived at an American military cemetery located in the heart of Lux. After WWII, the Grand Duchy honored the American fallen by providing a beautiful resting place for our brave sons, and one daughter. The most famous resident of this hallowed place is General George S. Patton. Fields of crosses and Stars of David line up at attention facing a stunning memorial with Patton at the head, as if he's reviewing the troops into eternity. It is a fitting remembrance of a horrific time.

We left the cemetery around 9am and travelled to the City of Luxembourg, which is, not surprisingly, the capital of Lux. Our USO escort doubled as tour guide for this trip and he took us around the city center showing us many of the old buildings as well as the entrance to the catacombs that lie beneath. We were fortunate to find that there was an outdoor market, but I found nothing of interest to buy. Rather than spend the entire day in the middle of downtown Lux, we again headed to the bus and left for a tour of a castle located a bit north.

The Castle of Vianden was built hundreds of years before Columbus landed in the New World. There are a few restaurants and tourist-y spots around the castle, but what I found most interesting was the village at the foot of the hill on which the castle sits. This is a living breathing town. Residents must contend with excessive traffic, people blocking drive ways, leaving trash, and making a general nuisance of themselves. I'm sure many of them cater to the tourist trade, but that seems like an enormous sacrifice to me. I believe if one were to look at a similar historical land mark located in the States, you would find that the castle as well as the lands surrounding it would be designated a federal park or preservation area. Of course, I haven't visited many castles in the States, so this is just conjecture on my part.
There was also a medieval faire going on at the castle that weekend and there were many people dressed in pseudo-authentic costumes trying to coerce visitors into buying hand-made crap. Yes, crap, just exactly the kind of junk you find at similar fests throughout the world.

As usual, you can find pics here!
Please enjoy and feel free to comment as you desire.
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Next week's trip is still up in the air. The USO is offering a bus tour to Poland, but I have been warned by several co-workers to avoid that particular trip as it is predominantly a 'shopping tour' and has nothing to do with the history or culture of Poland.

Until next time, Ciao!