#4! And Best Things to Avoid

Steph and Craig's #4 European Tourist Site is ...

Pompeii, Italy. You probably know the story. Volcano erupts, engulfing Roman town in hot mud. Their misfortune is our gain. Pompeii is an immense historical site and the best way to learn about life in ancient Roman cities. Craig and I have visited twice now, for a total of about 8 hours, and I think we could do 8 more without getting bored.

List o' the day: Things to Avoid in Europe

This is the follow-up to our last list... these are the things to go out of your way to AVOID while in Europe.

1. Belgian Mud is truly car-swallowing, and cost us €70 for a tow after we spent about an hour spinning our wheels, ruining floor mats and sinking deeper, deeper, deeper!


2. Bulgarian Border Crossings are the worst in Europe (where it's often hard to tell you've changed countries). It took us over two hours to clear Bulgarian exit customs. I had no idea it would be so hard to leave.


3. Saturday Afternoon 3 Weeks before Christmas at the Galleries Lafayette in Paris has got to be the most crowded and chaotic shopping experience ever! I took refuge near the information desk and tried to stay out of the way of the endless stream (actually more like whitewater rapids) of shoppers with baby strollers and huge packages that pushed their way past.


4. Driving in Napoli was our most stressful experience in the camping car. First, it is Italy, where everyone seems to be training for the Formula 1 circuit. Add to that a busy arterial with absolutely no lane markings (I think it was supposed to be three lanes, but turned into about 6), darting pedestrians, construction barriers and really bad directional signage, and you get the picture.


5. Greek Overnight Ferries without a Private Cabin - Craig and I booked too late to get our own cabin, which isn't really that big of a deal (instead you share, dormitory style, with people you don't know), except that this particular Greek ferry had ABSOLUTELY NO DESIGNATED NON-SMOKING AREA. After suffering for a while in the lounge (it was too windy outside), we went our separate ways. Luckily the other people in our cabins did not smoke.


6. Having to take the Night Bus in Vienna - the night bus itself might be fine, the problem is finding the one that goes where you're going. We wandered around looking at bus stops with dizzying lists of places served (imagine trying to read a list of 30 germanic place-names in 8 point type with low light), and craning our necks around the closed subway barrier to try to make out the route map. After an hour or so we gave up and took a cab.


7. St. Mark's Square in Venice when Flooded is pretty disgusting. Hoards of tourists are crammed onto little portable walkways and garbage and dead pigeons float around in the tide. Definitely ruins the charm of Venice.


8. Parking Overnight on the Croatian Autoroute is something we don't recommend. The very boring route across northern Croatia has communist-era rest stops that heavy trucks roll through all night and lack modern conveniences, like toilets.


9. Trying to find a Campground in Barcelona is pretty much impossible. We drove all over the west end of town, which was quite obviously the red light district, finding one dilapidated and marginally open campground where we didn't feel comfortable leaving the camping-car. The other had been condemned. We chose to spend the night parked under the highway near a suburban train station instead.


10. The Final Push for the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Museum in Rome is tourism at its worst. Yes, of course you must visit the Sistine Chapel. Just be prepared to shuffle along with the crowds of annoying groups along the way. In my opinion, they should install moving chairs, sort of like at Disney's Haunted Mansion. The commentary could be piped in.

#5! And Best Experiences

Steph and Craig's #5 European Tourist Site is ...

Auschwitz and Birkenau, Poland. A visit to the former Nazi concentration camps is a sobering experience, and much more powerful than any museum, book or movie about the Holocaust. Both sites are preserved in park-like states, with interpretive panels throughout. And while many tourists visit, the mood is appropriately respectful and subdued.

List o' the day: Best European Experiences

These are things that you should go out of your way to experience while in Europe!

1. Albanian Hospitality
   Our guidebook mentioned that Albania's culture has firm rules dictating the gracious treatment of travelers. Even warned, we were surprised, as people in the poorest nation in Europe invited us into their homes, helped us navigate strange towns, and bought us drinks. By far our most intense European experience. Read the full story (a previous blog entry).


2. The Tour de France...
   Preferably in a camper parked along the route. But a picnic along the route would do too. Make sure you get there early enough all of the craziness, including the Caravane. Read our Tour de France blog entry.


3. Befriend an Italian
   You never know how it will happen. It might be a chance encounter, like the way we met Gaetano in Milazzo and spent a couple of hours talking even though we don't speak the same language... Or it might be your aunt's family's exchange student from 1970, which is how we met Lucy, Christian and Eric in Genoa. No matter how you meet, spend some time communicating however you can, you'll learn a ton and it will be great fun!


4. The Baths in Budapest
   First, of course, you'll have to decide which of the baths to go to. Craig and I opted for the co-ed bath in the city park so that we could share the experience, which is best described as part spa, part municipal swimming pool, all housed in beautiful buildings. There were steam rooms, saunas, cold pools, hot pools, mineral pools, and fountains, but we thought the best was the whirlpool, where about 20 people were shoved along in a perpetual current. (Play Strauss' Blue Danube to enhance this visual.)


5. Drink Local Beer in Belgium
   Find the smallest town you can, and try to taste the beer in the pub closest to the brewery. It's best if you go around 5:00, when everyone is stopping by on their way home from work (at the brewery, of course). Our favorite place for tasting is the tiny town of Tourpes. Read the full story.


6. Stroll the Champs d'Elysees on a Pleasant Saturday Evening
   Join the crowd of tourists and Parisians who are out to see and be seen! Pop into the crazy car dealerships lining the boulevard and drool over their latest concept cars. And, if you can, grab a seat at a cafe for some wine and crepes, sit back, and watch the flood of exuberance pass by.


7. Shop in Palermo
   Sicily's biggest city has the best Saturday market we've seen anywhere in Europe. Blocks and blocks are crowded with temporary stands selling fish, fruit, vegetables, toys, clothes, and the best olives we've found in Europe. The areas around the street markets are filled with small alleys of shops. We found the "outdoors" alley, where you could buy bikes and camping and fishing supplies at various tiny shops, and the "home improvement" alley, where we bought a custom-made curtain for our camper. Even better, Sicily seems to be immune to the Euro-inflation that plagues the rest of Italy.


8. Take a Break in a Vienna Coffee-House
   Their ambiences are varied; you can go upscale or beatnik, but no matter where you stop, you'll find Vienna's coffee-house tradition alive and well. You can stay as long as you'd like. Read the newspaper, play billiards even. Just don't ask for your coffee to go, and stay away from Starbucks (who, inexplicably, has a huge presence in Vienna).


9. Flamenco Dancing in Sevilla
   We opted out of the tourist shows and went straight for the club with the reputation for "serious" Flamenco. (Well, not exactly straight, Sevilla is full of crooked streets that somehow all converge on its enormous cathedral.) It's Spain, so nothing starts until at least 9:00, but here the act doesn't started until about 11:00. We waited, and were treated to some of the most emotional (not to mention physical) dancing we've ever seen.


10. Bastille Day Fireworks in Carcasonne
    Carcasonne stages the most dramatic fireworks we've ever seen on the walls of its well-preserved medieval fortress town. Unlike the American shows, which seem to be about filling the sky with as much spectacle as possible for as long as possible, this show had pauses without any big fireworks, where it looked like the old town was on fire, or that showers of liquid gold were pouring from its walls. Amazing. (And of course, pretty much impossible to get a good picture.)


11. Number 11?!
    Yes, number 11, because not everyone will want to do this one, but it is, after all, our reason for coming to Europe... Ski the Alps
    You can pick. Zermatt, Chamonix, the Dolomites, St. Anton... Check out Craig's review from last season if you need help. But if you are a snow-sports person by all means, do it! You will be blown away by the scale of the Alps, and of the snow-sports development here.

...So those are the things you can plan to do. Some of our favorite experiences though, are completely unplanned, which is what made them fun. These include:

• Stumbling on a Medieval Festival in Elche, Spain, where we followed a belly-dancing/story-telling/unicycle-riding/club-juggling troupe leading the crowd with a giant puppet and fireworks. (There's a bit more about Elche at this blog entry.)


• Being in the right place at the right time for a performance of Mozart's Requiem in one of Budapest's cathedrals


• Being bold enough to check out the William Arne Motorcirkus when we were intrigued by it at the tivoli in Malmo, Sweden. (See previous blog entry for more.)

#6! And Best Churches

Steph and Craig's #6 European Tourist Site is ...

The Meteora, Greece. The landscape alone is spectacular, with its spires of rock on the edge of a forested plateau. Add picturesque monasteries perched high above the valley, great rock-climbing and hiking, and you've got a must-see attraction!

List o' the day: Best Churches

Christianity, and especially Catholicism, dominates Europe, and makes its mark in some incredible buildings. Here are our favorites:

1. The Pantheon, Rome, Italy
   Perhaps the single most impressive building we've been inside. The giant ancient Roman dome was spared from demolition during the building of St. Peter's only because it had been converted into a church.


2. St. Mark's, Venice, Italy
   Exceptional on the exterior, as well as the interior, St. Mark's is a greek cross plan church gone wild with mosaic walls and ceilings spanning centuries.


3. The Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
   Gaudi's legacy lives on in his massive cathedral, still under construction! Even partially finished, this building is exceptional for its immense scale and ornamentation.


4. The French High Gothic Cathedrals
   OK, we're cheating here because we could not decide which one was best. Visit any of these cathedrals in France: Amiens, Strasbourg, Chartres or Notre Dame de Paris to see incredible gothic architecture, carvings and stained glass.


5. Duomo at Monreale, Sicily, Italy
   The interior of this Romanesque cathedral is decorated entirely in mosaic, much of it gold. Incredible.


6. St. Nicholas, Prague, Czech Republic
   One of the most ornate baroque churches we saw, St. Nicholas is full of exuberantly curvy carved decoration inside and out.


7. Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy
   Brunelleschi's famous Renaissance dome, and the striking green and white striped marble exterior make this one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe.


8. San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
   Unique for its octagonal plan, this Byzantine church houses some well-preserved early Christian mosaics in its multiple domes.


9. St. Mary's, Krakow, Poland
   The stand-out feature in this cathedral is the insanely gaudy and enormous gothic altarpiece, carved in wood and covered in gold leaf.


10. St. Peter's, Rome, Italy
    How could we not include the most enormous cathedral in the world? Imagine a football stadium inside a richly decorated building and you get the idea.

PS. Even though they lost to England, France won the 6 Nations Rugby Tournament yesterday by beating Scotland with a big enough point differential to give them the edge over Ireland.

#7! And Best Museums

Steph and Craig's #7 European Tourist Site is ...

Le Mont St. Michel, France. This monastery and town are built on a rock in a bay between Normandy and Brittany in northern France. For a great experience, arrive at night and tour the monastery the next morning. (This helps avoid the worst tourist crowds.) The town is incredibly preserved, down to minute details (like roof shingles) and the monastery has, in our opinions, the most spectacular cloister in Europe.

List o' the day: Top Ten Museums in Europe

Disclaimer! We didn't spend a lot of time visiting museums, so this list is limited greatly by which museums we decided to visit!

1. The Louvre, Paris, France
   No surprise here. Although I guess were were a little surprised that we could still be impressed by the Louvre after all of the hype. With its important and enormous collection and its elegant buildings (worth the price of admission alone!) the Louvre easily takes our number one pick.


2. The Vatican Museum, Vatican City (Rome), Italy
   Like the Louvre, it really would take multiple days to explore this collection. Most people head straight for the sistine chapel, but the Vatican museum also has impressive collections of medieval religious art and paleo-christian sarcophagi.


3. The Uffizi, Florence, Italy
   The Uffizi is so full of high wow-factor paintings, like Botticelli's Birth of Venus that is can be easy to overlook the rest of its collection. Particularly nice are the galleries illustrating the evolution of Italian painting before the Renaissance.


4. The National Archeological Museum, Athens, Greece
   This museum has the greatest collection in the world of Greek art, the sculpture is beautifully displayed, and is a great place to escape the Athens heat for hours on end.


5. The Capitolini Museum, Rome, Italy
   The museum is housed in a Renaissance palace overlooking the Roman Forum and highlights exquisite sculpture, as well as archeological findings from the Temple of Juno unearthed during its expansion.


6. The Judisches Museum, Berlin, Germany
   This modern museum presents Jewish history in Europe. The design and architecture of the interior, exterior and (many interactive) exhibits work conceptually with the subject matter. The best example of integrated museum design I've ever seen!


7. The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
   Frank Gehry's building is a piece of art in itself that works extraordinarily well on the Bilbao riverfront. Inside, there are several knockout art pieces in the permanent collection.


8. The Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde, Denmark
   This museum is built around five viking ships found under the mud near Roskilde. The ships are impressive, but the museum's strong point are its live displays of viking maritime techniques and technology, like rope making and boat building.


9. The Historial de la Grande Guerre, Peronne, France
   This World War I museum does an amazing job of presenting nine viewpoints throughout the events of the war -- those of the military generals, the soldiers and the civilians, in Germany, France and Great Britain. (And in German, French and English.) A moving experience.


10. The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
    The Kunsthistoriches' painting collection is impressive, with Durer, Van Eyck, and a ton of Rubens, and some complete surprises (like the small paintings by Arcimboldo). They've also got a great collection of Bruegel paintings. And all of it is housed in a typical Viennese-style fancy building.

Honorable Mentions
There are a few individual objects that are worth seeing, even if the museums that house them do not make our list. These are:

• Michelangelo's David, at the Academia in Florence, Italy


• The Bayeux Tapestry, at the museum built to hold it in Bayeux, France


• A minutely detailed Model of the City of Prague made out of paper(!) at the City of Prague Museum in Prague, Czech Republic


• A fantastic Mechanical Boat with dozens of mechanically animated figures playing music and ending with a blast of the ship's cannon, at the National Museum of the Renaissance in Ecouen, France.

Watching Rugby

Yesterday we watched France versus England play in the 6 Nations Rugby Championships. The six "nations" that compete are: France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy. It was a big deal, because if France won against England, they would clinch the title, even though there are still games to be played. Unfortunately, France did not win.

I think rugby might be the second-best TV sport (after basketball). There is lots of action and the play never stops.

To make sense of it all, though, we had to look up the rules on the Internet.

Here is an excerpt from the BBC Sports Academy about Feeding the scrum:

"The scrum-half is the player who gets things going in the scrum. It's their job to feed the ball into the scrum for the hooker to strike back to the number eight. The scrum-half must roll the ball in from left-hand side, or the loosehead side as it is called. From there, the scrum-half cannot handle the ball until it has come out of scrum. The six other backs must be at least five metres behind the last forward of their team. If they are not, the referee will penalise the offending team."

It's all perfectly clear now, isn't it?

Craig has recovered from his crash and feeling much better now (although he is still taking advantage of the prescription the doctor wrote him for massage with the kinesotherapist). He never did get a black eye. In the photo, you can see him tearing up the Val d'Isere backcountry.

-SK

#8! And Best Campsites

Steph and Craig's #8 European Tourist Site is ...

The Acropolis, Athens, Greece. One of the big name attractions, this site does not disappoint, but the wow-factor is somewhat diminished by the hoards of people, the continuous construction/restoration and the fact that you are not allowed to go into any of the temples. (The only Greek temple we've been able to walk through is at Segesta, Sicily.) Still, it is impossible to describe the magic of seeing the Acropolis for the first time, especially if you've studied art history or Greek classical literature.

List o' the day: Top Ten Campsites

These are places where we parked and stayed in the camper overnight (outside of official campgrounds).

1. Parking Lot, Verbier, Switzerland
   Free parking with a free bus to the ski lifts, walking distance to the supermarket, with a heated and clean public toilet on one side, and the recreation center, where you could get a shower for 3 francs on the other. We stayed there for three days!


2. Beach, Kato Zagros, Crete (Greece)
   We think Crete might be one of the few places in Europe where you can still park a camper on the beach. We took advantage of it! We could walk to the little town, a Minoan ruin, an impressive gorge, and, of course the beach was out the front door.


3. Parking Lot, Venezia, Italy
   Lodging is expensive in Venice, and everyone has to park their car at the huge lots near the train station just onto the island, so we took advantage of their camper parking. Yes, you have to pay, but they have electricity and water, and, at about €30s a night, it sure beats hotel prices (and parking is included!).


4. Roadside near le Col du Galibier, France
   ... when the Tour de France is riding the col! Actually, any parking spot along the Tour de France route would make our list, this just happened to be the prettiest! And you can imagine the hype and the party...


5. Parallel Parking on the Lakeside Promenade, Ohrid, Macedonia
   Macedonia is still underdeveloped for tourism, especially for camping. So when we rolled into Ohrid for the night, we really didn't know where we were going to stay. It was Friday evening, and the parking lots in town near the lakeshore were pretty much full, but we drove another few blocks and found a perfect spot!


6. Municipal Parking Lot, Bergheim, France
   Bergheim is a charming medieval town in the Alsace region of France with (at least) two fabulous wineries where we tasted amazing wines, and slept in a nice little parking area just outside of the old town wall with clean public toilets.


7. Beach Parking Lot, Vai Beach, Crete (Greece)
   Vai Beach, unique with its date palm groves, is usually crowded by 10am, but if you stay overnight in the parking lot, you can virtually have the place to yourself in the morning. Toilets and showers are available.


8. Parking Lot, Cervinia, Italy
   Cervinia is the ski resort on the Italian side of the Matterhorn. They have a special lot for campers with shuttle service to the lifts, drinking water, and a fantastic view of the Matterhorn's rock pinnacle.


9. In the Woods, near Notre Dame de Pre, France
   This was a beautiful spot and one of our most natural campsites, but its real draw is its proximity to the rock climbing areas of Notre Dame de Pre!


10. Anywhere on the French Autoroute
    The "Aires" along the French Autoroute are great places to stop for the night. They always have clean toilets, restaurants and mini-marts, and the fancier ones have nice landscaping, and sometimes even fountains!

The first casualty...

Today Craig took a big wipe-out on an easy (but icy and badly groomed) run. He lost both skis and fell on his face, then somehow flipped over to land on his back. He got hauled off in the snowmobile by the ski patrol, and then via ambulance to the local medical center at Tignes. He's fine, but has some nasty cuts and abrasions on his face (no stitches though), a fat lip and a really big headache. We're expecting a really nice black eye to show up tomorrow. Luckily, Craig faired better than his sunglasses, which ended up in four pieces.

In other news, we've had a ton of snow, it's been warm, and yesterday the entire slope opposite our town avalanched into the lake. We saw it happen, and it was quite impressive! It's hard to tell what's going on in this photo. The lake is at the bottom of the photo, and those dark spots around the lowest rock band (which comes in from the right of the photo) are decent-sized trees, and the horizon line at the top of the photo is about 1500 feet above us, the entire slope below that slid out.

And, finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBY! For your birthday your uncle Craig crashed so you could see this funny picture of him!

-SK

#9! And Best Campgrounds

Steph and Craig's #9 European Tourist Site is ...

Le Grotte de Font-de-Gaume near les Eyzies, France. This is the only place where us regular people can go to see real polychrome cave paintings (Lascaux is closed except for research). We were lucky enough to be the only people on our tour and our guide showed us how the prehistoric artists used the natural curves of the cave walls to create 3-D illusions in their paintings. Amazing. (We did our tour in French, but I think it's available in English. No photography in the caves. Photo here courtesy of hominide.com, and drawing courtesy of Monum.)

List o' the day: Top Ten Campgrounds

These are our favorite "real" campgrounds in Europe (as opposed to our favorite places that we parked the camper overnight).

1. Camping Jungfrau, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
   This huge campground had it all! Beautiful setting with views of multiple waterfalls, fancy restaurant and store, major tourist information at reception, new facilities, activities and the biggest RVs we've seen in Europe.


2. Autocamp Vira, Hvar, Croatia
   A new campsite on Hvar Island, Camping Vira has a spectacular location (prettier than Hvar-town!) and top-notch sites and facilities (with prices to match).


3. Campix, St. Leu d'Esserent, France
   We love Campix because of its fabulous setting - in an old quarry - with all sorts of nooks and crannies for sites. We stayed there for almost a week while we were buying our camper, and watched the construction of an impressive new swimming pool nestled into the quarry rock.


4. Le Parc Isertan, Pralognan la Vanoise, France
   Spectacularly located in a high mountain valley, and with excellent (and warm!) new facilities, this campground offers ski-in, ski-out access in the winter, or rock-climbing and hiking from your "doorstep" in the summer.


5. Camping Michelangelo, Firenza, Italy
   Camping Michelangelo gets our vote for best city camping! It is located on a hill right next to the Piazza Michelangelo in Florence, with a the classic view of the city and its Duomo, and within walking distance of everything.


6. Camping Vrachos Kastraki, Kastraki, Greece
   The big attraction is this campsite's proximity to the spectacular landscape and monasteries of the Meteora. You can see the impressive rock towers from many sites, and can bike or walk to many hikes and climbing routes.


7. Lisboa Camping, Lisboa, Portugal
   Located in a huge city park on a direct bus line (or only a €7 taxi ride) from downtown Lisbon, this campground had the most spacious campsites we've seen in Europe.


8. Nube d'Argento, Sorrento, Italy
   This campsite has a beautiful location overlooking the coastline, and is walking distance to Sorrento. The helpful staff told us where to get the best fresh mozzarella in town!


9. Camping Toblacher See, Dobbiaco, Italy
   A pretty campsite located on a lake in the Dolomites near the Italy/Austria border... The thing that puts this campground on the list is its amazing sanitary facilities. You get key-card access to private bathrooms, each with its own toilet, sink and mirror, and finished in marble and tile.


10. Camping Eggishorn-z'moosji, Fiesch, Switzerland
    Another full-service Swiss campground with great access to hiking, rock-climbing and paragliding that has absolutely everything. It makes our list because it has something we wish we could find more often: a self-serve camper wash station with vacuum!