10 Day - Berlin

Hey guys,

Berlin is a very modern city. As soon as the train eased to a stop, I thought to myself that Berlin could be any other American city. Walking the streets, I could have been in Washington D.C., New York City, or even Providence. Obviously, this was due to WWII: architecturally Berlin was devastated from top to bottom, making modern Berlin very modern indeed.

However, the highlight of our stay in Northern Germany was to be found at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, about an hour long train ride outside the city. Concentration camps are the kind of thing that you can't just slap words onto. I could honestly sit here into the wee hours of the morning typing away and would not come close to conveying the emotional effect that it had on me, and everyone else I was traveling with. See the pictures for more on that front.

Coming back from the camp, we toured as much of Berlin as we could with the rest of the day. We walked through the triumphant arch, the "Brandenburg Gate" as well as saw the "Reichstag Building," or the main building of the Nazi Regime. We also went out of our way to see the Berlin Wall, which was really cool. Today, Berlin allows a portion of the wall to stand, and on it painters to express the great joy of the world towards the wall's falling. Got some awesome pictures of that.

And as always, German beers are very good. Someday I want to go back and try "Bock" beer; me and Chris met a man in a bar who gushed on and on about it, and was not pleased when he found out that the bar didn't have it. That same guy, Christian, wanted Chris and I to know very badly that Germany is nothing like what it was back during the time of WWII, and that it was very hurtful for Germans when Americans come into the country expecting everyone to be marching around town in formation with Hitler mustaches.

In short, Germany was definitely one of my favorite countries over 10 day. I think I learned alot from Christian too: not that I thought all those things about Germany, but hearing from another college student about how Germany feels about WWII made it so much more real to me.

Jacimo

Pictures here.

10 Day - Amsterdam

Amsterdam, summed up in 10 pointers:

1. French Fries (some of the best in the world).

2. Indian street merchants (same as everywhere).

3. Red Light District.

4. Rembrandt's house.

5. Mad cool waterways.

6. Anne Frank's house.

7. The "I amsterdam" logo.

8. The Heineken Factory.

9. Legalized marijuana everywhere.

10. Van Gogh Museum.

Jacimo.

P.S. Pictures here.

Teaser for Amsterdam .. do they even need a lock on the door with that kind of security?

... Or even a door?

10 Day - Brussels

Hey guys,

On to Brussels. Before I get going, I just want to let you guys know that I'm cracking up as I write this, as I think it's pretty funny that I'm drinking wine and blogging instead of hanging out with the crew tonight. Not that I don't enjoy updating my blog and all, but this is not something I could picture myself doing before tonight. (No worries Dad and Mom, just a few glasses. )

From Paris, we took a 2 hour train to Brussels. We got there around 9PM, and I decided to stay with my priest friend in Leuven, Fr. Mahar, about a 45 minute train ride outside of Brussels, while my friends decided to stay in the city. Due to a mix-up at the train station, I got to the American College, were I was to be staying, around 12:30PM. Even so, Fr. Mahar took me out to dinner and we had a great time. Belgium apparently is world-famous when it comes to their beer, and I immediately fell in love with the one that Fr. Mahar ordered for me, the La Trappe Quadrupel. (No worries Dad and Mom, just a few glasses.)

The next day, I headed into the city. Brussels is also well known for it's waffles and chocolate, and both are delicious. "The Waffle Factory" probably has the best value for their waffle around town. We started off the day going to a place that was well known to be the best waffle place around for breakfast, and started walking about the city. Brussels has some amazing architecture, especially in the main square of the city. Check out the pictures.

One of the funniest things I stumbled across during my 10 day was that the national symbol of Brussels, similar to the US's bald eagle, is a peeing boy. What possessed the leader of Belgium to do something like that eludes me, but I think it's pretty funny nonetheless. Another ridiculous aspect of Brussels is a urinal built against a church, so you can urinate against one legally ... obviously a popular tourist attraction.

That night, we ended up in the Delirium, a world famous bar that boasts the "world's best beer," the Delirium Tremens, as well as more than 30 beers on tap, making it one of the largest bars in the world. It was pretty cool. Just don't try to steal one of the Delirium Tremens special cup, as they taser people outside for it. Sometimes I feel like I could summarize Brussels in 3 words: beer, waffles, and chocolate. But mostly beer. (No worries Dad and Mom, just a few glasses.)

The best,

Jacimo

PS. PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=564095&id=824235363&l=a30861dade

10 Day - Paris

Hey Guys,

Sorry about the wait. Truth be told, there's so much to tell I don't think I could do justice to my trip even in one massive blog post. So I've decided to break it down to a blogpost for each city; this way I can get it done in more manageable slices, and it'll keep you guys on your toes.

Well, well, well. I'll start by saying Paris is ridiculously expensive. While this wasn't wholly Paris's fault, as admission to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower did take it's toll, food is very pricey, as are hostels. No complaints on this end as to the quality of either, but the price-tags did have me thinking about the joining the strikes there for a bit.

From the top, we arrived in Paris with a bang. Literally. The landing of our flight there was the worst one I've ever been a part of. I was fast asleep right before the landing, and as I woke up to it, it felt like bouncing up and down on a trampoline. I guess that's to be expected when you fly with RyanAir, the cheapest flying service of Europe.

Our first day, we started by taking the metro to the Louvre. The metro was the nicest I've seen in all of Europe, and according to my man Rick Steves, most certainly is. We walked in the back entrance to the Louvre, and accordingly, were not impressed in the slightest. After wandering around in the back courtyard for 10 minutes or so, we finally walked out into the middle of things. The front of the Louvre is stunning, as is the famous glass pyramid. We toured the Louvre for 3 hours or so, and saw the Mona Lisa on the way. My friends were letdown by it's small size (it's probably about 3 feet by 2-ishy) but I enjoyed it nontheless. The museum was filled with thousands of stunning works of art, and was a real pleasure to see.

From there, we walked across the city to Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a spectacular church from head to toe. The inside, however, is dark and gloomy. As I walked around, I slowly started to appreciate the church's design: the material world around us, at eye level, is not fulfilling, while raising one's eyes to God, and the heights of the interior of the church, is much more satisfying. The stain glass windows are dazzling.

Grabbing some ham crepes on the way out, we took a metro to the Eiffel Tower. It's alot bigger in real life than you think. As we approached the city via bus from the airport, my initial viewing of the tower from a distance had caused it to appear minuscule. By foot, however, the thing was a skyscaper. Standing directly underneath it was really cool: it spanned hundreds of feet over my head in every direction. We rode the elevator up to the 2nd floor, and then to the top. The first floor consists of a snazzy restaurant, about 300 euro per person too snazzy. The views from the top were stunning; we caught an awesome French sunset.

Our second day there, me and Nico journeyed out to the Palace at Versailles, as our friends weren't really feeling up to the challenge. It was a rainy, cloudy day, but it turned out to be an awesome decision. The palace was more ornate than any other building I've ever seen in my entire life. It was almost sickening how lavish the life of the French kings was; no, it was sickening. While the people starved, King Louis XIII and his successors built one of the most sumptuous buildings in the history of man, if not THE most. The Hall of Mirrors was unbelievable. Words cannot describe it. Even the gardens were eye candy to the max: they are so large, it would take an hour to walk their length at a good, steady pace.

On our way back, we went to Sainte Chapelle, the church where the crown of thorns lies. Unfortunately, after a 45 minute wait to the front of the line, we were told that the main part of the church was closed for renovation (a common theme throughout Europe, this renovation business) but we went to see the sacristy anyway. More beautiful stain glass windows, blah blah blah. I hate how traveling around Europe so much and seeing so many beautiful things has a habit of desensitizing you to them, but it's true.

Being at these sites which were the center of so many movies, books, and lives was powerful. I just wish it didn't cost so much.

Ciao,

Jacimo

P.S. I know I spell Jacimo wrong. Deal with it.

P.P.S. PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=563418&id=824235363&l=0df87232a9

A Canonization Situation

Hey guys,

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend a canonization at St. Peter's. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The canonization was on Sunday, so I spent Saturday night in Rome with family friends. I had brought one of my good friends from UD to stay also. They took us out to their favorite pizzeria and gelato places in Rome, and we called it an early night. At 7:30, we caught the bus into St. Peter's, a 3 minute bus ride away. However, we didn't have tickets to get into the ceremony, so we wandering around the crowd, asking anyone who spoke English if they had extra tickets. Luckily, after about 10 minutes, an Italian nun had a few extras and we were in. Scampering as close as we could to the main altar, we were camped out in our seats around 8. After a two hour wait, the Pope came out on his Popemobile and all 90,000 of us in attendance went absolutely berserk. The Pope said mass, and 3 hours later, proclaimed the 6 beautified people all saints. Just being a part of the ceremony was an amazing feeling.

In other news, this Friday I leave for Switzerland to start off my 10 day trip, traveling around Europe. From there, I go to Brussels to stay with Fr. Mahar, Amsterdam for a night, then Berlin, Prague, and Munich. I can't wait.

Additionally, instead of going to the men's retreat, I've decided to make a pilgrimage to Monte Casino, the site of one of the first monasteries in the world, as well as tour as many churches in Rome as I can.

Ciao.

James

You can see the pictures here.

Greece.

Hey guys,

Greece is absolutely amazing. There's not really much more to it. The mountains and the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas provide a glorious backdrop to some of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen. The trip lasted 10 days total; on day 1, we drove down to Barri and saw the Basilica of St. Nicholas, where Santa Claus is buried. His bones secrete this liquid called manna, which many revere to have sacred properties. They sell it in the gift store, but it's really expensive (sorry to get your hopes up like that, Mom).

Interestingly, Barri, for the small port town it is, has a rich history. Not only is it the resting place of St. Nicholas, but it was one of the last places in Europe that crusaders would pass through on their way to the Holy Land. Both on their way and coming back, they would give gifts to the town. Thus, over the years, Barri grew in wealth and power.

From Barri, we took an overnight ferry to Greece, to a small town called Patras. When we arrived in Patras, we took the bus first thing in the morning over to Olympia. There, we went to the Archaeological museum of Olympia, went to mass, and called it an early night.

The next day, me and my roommates all slept through our mandatory wakeup time, at 8, till 11. We were told we would have a wake-up call in the morning, but we were the only room not to have a phone in the room. We missed seeing the Temples of Hera and Zeus, as well as the ancient Olympic stadium. And we now have to write a 6 page paper. I tried arguing that missing those sites was more than enough punishment in itself, but they wouldn't buy it. Ugh.

After lunch, we took another bus over to Delphi, the site of the ancient Oracle. Delphi was really cool, as it was where I met the the culinary masterpiece I like to call the gyro. Gyros are worse for you than a Big Mac but better tasting than anything else I have ever had in my entire life, and believe me, we got along really well. But on to more important things. At Delphi, we saw the main temples and the place where the Oracle would tell her prophesies, as we walked in the footsteps of thousands of travelers before us throughout the ages.

Right after we were finished seeing the Oracle, me and my good friend, John Bascom, decided to climb Mt. Parnassus. At the top, waited the Cave of Dionysus, an ancient cave dedicated to the worship of the God of Wine and Revelry. Our English Professor told us it was up there, and only one other student had ever made it. We basically ran up the mountain for about 3 hours, following the only path we could find. We didn't make it, but the views up there were incredible.

The next day, we left for Athens. Athens is both one of the most aesthetically pleasing and ugly places I've been to yet in Europe: surrounding the beauty of the Acropolis, Pnyx, and Agora, lies a city jam-packed with concrete, where every building is the same and it's easier to get lost than in a labyrinth. Flatten the landscape and subtract the Acropolis, and Athens would get no tourists. At all. Furthermore, anyone that decided to go would get so lost in the city they would never find their way out. However, the food is to die for (GYROS!!) and the shopping there is a good time. My only regret is that I wanted to spend more time on the Acropolis than the alloted hour and a half. We also went to the Theater of Dionysos at the foot of the Acropolis.

From Athens, we journeyed to Mycenae, the ancient palace of Agamemnon. Excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, the famous archeologist of Troy, the site boasts the alleged tombs of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, as well as one of the world's oldest still-standing entrances, the "Lion's Gate," from 1250 BC. Not mentioned on the list of famous items there, but just as notable, is the unmarked grave shaft that me and my friends decided to climb down. 10 minutes and a dead flashlight battery later, I encountered the freakiest experience of my life. I swear, Indiana Jones would have cried.

After Mycenae, our last stop was the town of Nafplion, one of my favorite towns we went to on the trip. It was fairly touristy, but not crowded by any means. At the top of the hill that looks over the city is an ancient fortress, the wall of which me and my friends climbed. It's about 20-25 feet tall, so it was pretty scary. No worries, I made it over ... I know how many of you guys would be devastated if I couldn't update my blog anymore.

All in all, Greece, in my opinion is much more beautiful than Italy (from what I've seen, at least). Don't get me wrong, Italy is pretty sweet, but it's too flat for me. Put a gyro in my hand and put me on the top of a Greek mountain, and I would be happy. Until I finished the gyro, anyway.

Until next time,

Jacimbo

P.S. The internet here is terrible. I can't even send emails 99% of the time, so hang with me.

You should be able to see the pictures hurr and hurr. Ciao.