As you can see, the frequency of blogs rapidly decreased our last week in Europe. This was attributed to our lack of internet in Vienna and Venice as well the increasing amount of things we wished to see in Italy. To summarize, we had an amazing time and were blessed with beautiful weather and no major setbacks. On to where we left off...

We returned to Munich after a brief trip to the Neuschwanstein castle and spent the day near the Mariepnlatz until our train departed that evening. There we visited the Royal Residenz, the Hofgarten, Odeonplatz, and roamed the streets some more.

Once in Vienna, we stayed at a charming hotel near the Belvedere gardens and palace. The next morning we learned about the life of Franz Joseph at the Schonbrunn palace followed by a little stroll through the beautiful gardens.

Now Steph and I aren't exactly opera connoisseurs, but we thought it fitting for Stephanie to see her first at the place arguably the most renowned opera. We watched Die Tote Stadt about a man who struggles between his dead wife and a new love. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but won't be purchasing any opera glasses anytime soon.

We finished our time in Vienna up with Stephanplatz, Rathaus, Hofburg palace and our second night train. The lotto-bahn was good to us as we shared a car to Venice with an American from Colorado teaching English in Vienna. We enjoyed talking with her and thank her for the tip on the chocolate covered Leibniz I am eating as I type this on the plane.

After experiencing City Night Line’s trade embargo on cleanliness, we headed to our Munchen accommodations expecting to drop off our bags. We were elated to find we were able to check into our hotel and take a much needed shower even though it was only 8AM. We have been very busy and still haven’t gotten on a good sleep schedule since our arrival, and took this opportunity for a lengthy nap.

Our afternoon consisted of experiencing German engineering at its finest at the BMW Welt (BMW World). It was very interesting, explaining how much of their technology works. They especially know how to make science and numbers more fun with a plethora of plasma televisions, colored mood lighting encased in intriguing architecture. More on this later… 

BMW Welt

Olympic Stadium

Steph and I returned to the Louvre today to finish going through all the different sections, the bulk of which was spent in History of the Louvre, French sculptures, Asian antiquities, and Napoleon’s apartment where he lived when the Louvre was still a palace. The next stop was Notre Dame on the isle of Cite. It was not dissimilar to other European cathedrals but distinct in its gothic influenced exterior complete with gargoyles. Unfortunately, my Quasi Motto impression was thwarted when the bell tower tour line was estimated to be roughly 2 hours. Say la vie.

The Louvre

After refueling, once again with a banana and Nutella crepe, we roamed the streets while Stephanie got her Paris shopping fix. We finished up the day at Les Invalides admiring narcissistic-sized tomb of Napoleon. Les Invalides is also a tribute to the French military with weaponry ranging from jousting armor, marble laden muskets, and numerous canons.

Les Invalides

Napoleon's tomb

In the spirit of frugalness, Stephanie and I bid au revoir to Paris with our first experience on a night train. It wasn’t exactly fit for a James Bond movie and more of a hostel on wheels, but we endured our snoring Frenchman companion, thankful we were not bunking with the body odor looming down the hall.

Stephanie and I hit the ground running, or walking, rather. Trying to make up for lost time and being on a backwards schedule, we were wide awake at 4AM. We began our day combing the streets for a place to eat so early in the morning. We soon found a small diner just opening and were briefly satisfied with our croissants and espresso. Then it was off to watch the sunrise at the Eiffel Tower. 

We continued on to the Arc De Triomphe as we looked for another cup of coffee, which was harder to come by than expected. Being our first day and full of energy, we were eager to explore Paris on foot, which we later regretted. Yet, we saw a lot of the city and most of the quintessential Parisian icons.

Having finished our coffee, we became accustomed to the life of a tourist by renting a toilette for a small fee. The rest of the early afternoon was spent at the Louvre, crossing off the must sees of the Mona Lisa and Vinos de Milo.

Other highlights included the medieval Louvre and a Greek granite bath we found highly comical. Although, the Mona Lisa did have a paparazzi like environment, we have been pleased with our timing. It has been the perfect combination of lack of crowds but still warm weather. After a prolonged nap we finished up the day with at the Pompidou (modern art museum) which also had great views of the city and Sacre Ceour at sunset.

 Centre Pompidou

Our experience with Parisian food was somewhat lacking early today. Having gone to a small open café at the Louvre, we were dismayed to have our waiter bring our sandwich in a prepackaged box. Our brick oven pizza made up for it later.