My Quick Review of the Billy Joel and Elton John Concert in Philly on July 30th, 2009

I had a great day. First I took a ride down to my old digs in Clayton and hung out with my friend Bruce, then I had a good linner with him and his girlfriend at a barbecue restaurant (can't remember its name) in either Pittman or Richwood. After that I met up with my uncle and we headed to Citizens Bank Park, where I pigged out some more before the concert by eating the Schmitter sandwich (which is very good) and a large ice cream cone.

What a perfect venue for a concert. Our seats were up in the 400 level with a good view of the stage and a fantastic view of the city line in the background, which looked even more awesome after dark when it was all lit up.

As for the concert itself: awesome! As much as I love Springsteen, this was the best concert I saw this year. Billy and Elton started off playing together, then played separate sets, then finished together.

Elton's set was phenomenal: every song except for one was from his 70's heyday, including rare gems like 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding' (the highlight of the night for me) and 'Madman Across the Water.' I also loved the great rendition of 'Rocket Man' that evolved into an extended jam session at the end.

Billy was excellent, too. He opened with a rousing 'Prelude/Angry Young Man' (love that song) and played most of his hits from 'The Stranger,' as well as some of his other big hits. He also mixed in a cool, jazzy 'Zanzibar,' and even donned a guitar as his band played AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' with a guest vocalist--and sounded very good doing it.

I liked Elton's set better, but Billy was much more engaging with the crowd, so it was a tossup. The highlight of their playing together was the dueling pianos during 'Benny and the Jets,' and watching them trade vocals on some of their biggest hits was also very cool. They closed the show with the highly appropriate 'Piano Man,' during which the singing crowd (who were as much a part of the show as the performers) must have been heard all the way in Jersey.

Overall, they both delivered more than my money's worth as they played for nearly 3 1/2 hours. The only downside to the concert was the annoying college girls sitting behind us singing loudly, shrilly, and out of tune the entire time. Other than that, it was a perfect evening.

Eurotrip 2009: The Journal

I FINALLY got around to typing up the journal I kept during my trip to Europe from April 4th to April 12th, 2009. It's quite long, so I'll understand if you don't want to read the whole thing, though I have included a few pictures to help break up the monotony. To see all 600+ pictures and videos taken from this trip, check out my photo and video pages on facebook.

First, a little background. My Uncle Kipp is a high school German teacher and every couple of years during Spring Break he takes his students on a trip to Germany through this tour company called ACIS. As group leader, his trip is free, and he is allotted a certain number of chaperones depending on how large the group is, who also get to go for free. This was my second trip with his class as a chaperone (I had also gone two years ago). Both times, I paid extra to be guaranteed my own room in order to avoid having to share a room with a stranger, so my trip ended up costing $280, which is still obviously an enormous bargain for a trip to Europe, and believe me, paying the extra money to get my own room was more than worth it.

On this trip we were joined by my cousin Amber, who would be turning 18 in Munich (coincidentally, I had celebrated my 36th birthday in Munich two years ago). I wish I had kept a journal for the first trip, because it would have been interesting to compare the two trips, but this one will have to do...

Day 1: Flight


After packing all night and getting little sleep, we left the house around 12:45pm for Gateway high school in South Jersey. The airport shuttle arrived at Gateway a little after 2pm, and after saying our goodbyes to our families, we were off. We breezed through check-in at Philly airport—and I wasn't searched for a change! The flight did not leave until 6:15 and we had some time to kill, so I watched the Star Wars episode of Family Guy on my iPod. Also during this time, I learned how easy it is to misplace your passport as I had a brief panic attack when I couldn't find mine (it was under the seat I had been sitting in.) It would not be the last time on this trip that I would have a passport snafu (more on that later).

On the flight I got separated from the rest of the group and wound up with a window seat. I would have preferred an aisle seat but at least I had a nice view. I like this shot of the sun setting over the runway as the plane turned onto it in preparation for takeoff:

Turning onto the runway

The woman sitting next to me was nice and we had a good conversation for the first half of the flight. Her name was Nancy and she was headed to Germany on business for Siemens. During the flight, Lufthansa serves food and drinks (all free). The dinner was actually pretty good for plane food and I had a few glasses of white wine to wash it down.

During the second half of the flight I tried to sleep to no avail thanks to the guy behind me kicking my seat the entire time. I finally gave up and decided to watch a movie. They now have touch screens on every seat where you can choose from a number of movies, TV shows, and music channels. The movies are edited for content, but it wasn't too noticeable. I decided to watch "Twilight" just to see what all of the hype was about. After the first 90 minutes I was not impressed; the whole teen angst vampire thing was already done much better in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I didn't see the final 30 minutes because we landed, but I figured I could finish watching it on the return flight. I bought a pair of earplugs supposedly designed to help relieve the pressure during the landing, but they didn't work; I pulled them out about halfway through the landing.

Day 2: Frankfurt and Rothenburg


We arrived at Frankfurt airport around 8am, met up with our tour guide, Keith, and hopped on the ACIS bus. The other two groups had arrived before us, so there wasn't much choice in terms of seating (it would be the first salvo in a week-long battle for seats on the bus). The drive to Rothenburg, a charming medieval town surrounded by a perfectly preserved city wall, took around two hours.

First shot of the wall surrounding the medieval city of Rothenburg.

We were unable to check in to our hotel until 3:30 in the afternoon so we hopped right off the bus and embarked on a walking tour of the city with our full plane carry-ons in tow. I had not been to sleep since the previous day. After the walking tour we split up and went off on our own. I ate lunch with Uncle Kipp, Amber, her friend Sam, and Sam's grandmother Elizabeth. This was the group I hung out with for most of the trip. We sat outside at a restaurant in the town square. The lunch I had was fantastic, and would prove to be my best meal of the trip. It was a pork steak in a dark beer sauce topped with onions and thick bacon, with a large pile of awesome fried potatoes on the side.

After that we stopped for gelato—very good creamy Italian ice cream. Then we walked around the city streets, on the wall, and took lots of photos. Here are a few:

Rothenburg.

High shot of Rothenburg street.

Amber and Me with Sam (the girl Amber befriended and hung out with for most of the trip)

I was finally able to check into my room around 4pm, at which time I crashed and got about an hour of sleep before dinner at the hotel. Dinner that night was decent, a beef pot roast. That night we walked back into town for more gelato and to see the town crier, who was dressed in full period costume.

The town crier in full costume.

After that I went to bed early, around 11:15pm, but not before I realized that I had forgotten to bring my contact case, so I was forced to improvise a container to store my contacts for the evening.

Day 3: Rothenburg, Dinkelsburg, Nordlingen, and Munich


The next morning I awoke before the wakeup call (after waking up several other times throughout the night) and went down to breakfast in the hotel. Then we had to be packed and ready to put our suitcases on the bus by 8:30. Amber was late and wound up having to store her suitcase at the hotel front desk after the bus driver left, which led to a scolding from Uncle Kipp :-)

That day we had some free time before leaving town, so I walked around Rothenburg by myself. First I toured the historical museum in the town hall devoted to the 30 Years War, which had a cool dungeon complete with cells and instruments of torture.

Hanging torture device (foreground), stocks (background)

I wanted to climb the town hall tower to get a bird's eye view of the city, but it was closed for the day >:-(

After that I did some shopping and then ate at the same restaurant that I had the great meal at the day before. This time it wasn't as good, but it was ok: a pork chop, sauerkraut, and my first beer of the week. Then I was disappointed to discover that I could not use my credit card to pay for the meal because there was a $25 minimum (this would be a recurring theme throughout Europe). Later I bought a chocolate covered snowball (a local specialty for which I can not remember the German name).

Soon after we left for the bus ride to Munich. On the way we stopped at two more medieval towns with city walls like Rothenberg: Dinkelsburg and Nordlingen, and spent some time in each.

Dinkelsburg.

For film buffs, Nordlingen is the town that can be seen from the glass elevator at the end of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (most of the movie was actually filmed in Munich) I did not know this during the time I was there, though, or I might have taken more pictures. While in Nordlingen I was thankfully able to buy a new contact case at a grocery store.

Nordlingen.

Later that day we arrived in Munich. The hotel had an interesting feature in which your room card was needed to activate both the elevator and the electricity in your room. That night we walked to dinner at the Augustiner restaurant. What was supposed to be a 15 minute walk turned out to be a half-hour walk, and by the time we got there people were starving. Dinner began with a basket of pretzels (which you see more often in Munich than bread). The dinner was good, pork chops and a Mac & cheese type of dish for which I cannot remember the German name. I also ordered a Radler (which is a beer mixed with lemon soda). It's a tasty alternative to beer and was my drink of choice for most of the trip.

On the way home that night we went to the Augustiner beer garden, where I had my first Mas beer of the week: a one-liter beer in a giant mug. Uncle Kipp had bought Amber her first beer earlier in the day (a radler), but she had not tried real beer yet, so I let her taste mine, to predictable results:

Amber's first taste of real beer.

Then a couple of German guys (who we thought worked there) came over and talked a few people from our group into going up on stage to dance and sing. The kids who went up soon discovered that the guys did not work there after a real employee came and yelled at them. I took video of it with my camera, but it was pretty dark and far away.

That night I fell asleep pretty easily a little after midnight, though I woke up a couple of times once again during the night.

Day 4: Munich


That morning for breakfast I had some outstanding croissants with the tasty (i.e. more fattening) European style butter, as well as a good chocolate-frosted pound cake. That day we went on a bus tour of Munich with the same guide that we had two years ago. Our first stop was Nymphenburg Palace:

Nymphenburg main palace across water.

The gardens behind Nymphenburg palace

While inside, I briefly leaned against one of the pillars in the picture below to take a photo of the ceiling mural when a little old lady came over and yelled at me, then proceeded to follow me around for the rest of the tour.

Nymphenburg interior

Next we stopped by a river where Germans surf the rough waters created by a mini waterfall.

Surfer on the Eisbach in Munich.

We finally ended up in the town square known as the Marienplatz to watch the Glockenspiel in action.

The Glockenspiel with statue in foreground.

After that we split up again and I bought Amber lunch for her birthday—we ate with Sam and her grandmother. Like the previous evening, we were supplied with a basket of pretzels. However, unlike the previous evening, they charged us for them this time—and neglected to mention this until after we had already eaten them. That was kind of annoying and deceptive, but what are you going to do? The lunch was good anyway: sausage and potato salad.

That afternoon Uncle Kipp let me skip the excursion to the Dachau concentration camp since I had already seen it two years ago. I decided to walk to the famed English Garden (Munich’s version of Central Park). It's a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city complete with mini waterfalls and babbling brooks.

Mini waterfall in the English Garden.

Before going I bought a t-shirt (the first of many because the weather was so much warmer than I was expecting and I had mostly packed heavy clothes) and changed into the only pair of shorts I brought. By the time I got to the English Garden I realized it had taken me an hour to walk there, and it would take me another half hour to walk to the beer garden at the back of it. While in the park I discovered firsthand how much less prudish Europeans are than Americans when I saw a naked guy running around playing Frisbee with himself. There were tons of people there; including children, but nobody cared. It was certainly a jarring site for someone who grew up in a country that freaked out over a Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction.

I made my way to the back of the park, first stopping at a gazebo on a hill overlooking the entire park with the city line in the background:

Munich city line behind the English Garden.

I then continued on to the beer garden, at the center of which stands a large Chinese pagoda:

Chinese pagoda and beer garden in the English Garden.

I sat down and drank a Radler and ate a giant donut type of pastry, soaking in the beautiful sunny day. I also took this time to call Jen at work. On my way out of the park I stopped and had a chocolate gelato (yes I was pigging out on this trip). While walking back through the city, I saw an accident happen in front of me in which a motorcycle wiped out. The guy was ok; he had jumped off the bike. Interestingly, we had also seen a motorcycle accident on the trip two years ago.

When I got back to the hotel I stopped and spent a few minutes on the pay-per-minute internet computer to check email . . . facebook was down so I couldn’t check that (perish the thought!). I then went to Uncle Kipp's room and we spent time talking only to realize that we had lost track of time and were late for the bus that was taking us to dinner. Oh well, everyone took turns being late on this trip, but Amber now had some ammunition to fire back at Uncle Kipp :-)

Dinner that night was roast chicken and fries, and once again we fell victim to the pretzel bait and switch, only this time it was more egregious because our dinners were supposed to be all inclusive except for drinks, not too mention the fact that the pretzels at the previous day's dinner had been free. It wasn't a big deal for me, but many of the kids were there on limited budgets and were not expecting to have to pay money toward their dinners.

For dessert, Uncle Kipp gave Amber a very good birthday cake that our table shared. I also discovered that night that German women have no problem coming into the bathroom to clean while you are still using the facilities. Later that night we went to the famed Hofbrauhaus for drinks and got home a little after 11.

Amber & Me with Mas beers at the Hofbrauhaus

Day 5: Munich, Neuschwanstein, Innsbruck


We had a (gasp) 6:15 wakeup call that morning, though I actually woke up on my own at 5:45. After breakfast we were on the road to Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale castle of Ludwig II, which the Sleeping Beauty castle of Disneyland is modeled after . . . and for you Spaceballs fans, it was also used as Castle Druidia in that film.

Neuschwanstein from down below.

The long climb to the top of the mountain where the castle sits was much easier for me than it had been two years ago when I was carrying around 30 extra pounds. We toured the amazing inside of the castle (Ludwig was like an overgrown child; all of his rooms were extravagantly themed on Wagner operas, and he even had an indoor cave built just off of his bedroom). Unfortunately, they don't let you take any pictures inside (I tried to sneak a few pics from under my jacket but they didn't come out), so here's an exterior shot from the Castle.

One of my favorite scenes near Neuschwanstein.

After the tour we made our way to the bridge over a gorge that normally provides a stunning view of the castle, but unfortunately the entire side of the castle was covered in scaffolding. Luckily, I got great pictures two years ago, so it wasn't a huge loss.

The bridge where we went to take photos of the castle.

Neuschwanstein unfortunately covered in scaffolding.

Amber and I crossed the bridge and began climbing the path to the top of the mountain, during which I took my obligatory Karate Kid on a tree stump photo.

The obligatory karate kid pose

After a short climb we decided to make our way back, but were separated from the rest of the group, so we started walking back down the mountain on our own. We got to a fork, at which a sign appeared to indicate that we could get to the bottom taking either path, but one was shorter than the other. We took the short path which was steeper than the traditional path. About halfway down we reached a dead-end. We had to climb back up to an intersection where the path appeared to continue on down the hill, but we didn't want to take anymore chances and wind up late for the bus, so we climbed all the way back up the steep path to the original fork, an arduous climb with the clock ticking—Amber had never heard me curse so much in her life :-)

Eventually we got back to the original path on which we had climbed up to the castle, but way too late for lunch, so I grabbed a Bavarian hamburger and munched it on the way down. We made it back to the bus just in time, putting a little scare into Uncle Kipp, but as it turned out, the leader of the NY group was 15 minutes late, so we would have been fine.

Our next stop was at the Wieskirche (also known as the church in the meadow). Here's one shot of its amazing interior:

Wieskirche interior

Following that we stopped in Oberammergau, a town famous for its Passion Play, as well as its wood carvings and painted buildings. I was still worn out from our mountain experience, so I just explored the town briefly before sitting down with a radler at an outdoor cafe, relaxing, and enjoying the view:

Alps in Oberammergau

We arrived at our hotel in Innsbruck, Austria around 6pm. My room had a beautiful view of the alps:

View from my Innsbruck hotel room

After unpacking and eating a pork dinner, we went on a brief walking tour. The kids wanted to find a nightclub, so Uncle Kipp befriended a group of local kids and had them lead us to a bar. A few of the girls did not want to stay, so I led them home, which was fine with me because the smoke in the bar was disgusting. Everyone who stayed at the bar apparently had a great time, but as my uncle is fond of saying: "To each their own." After a very long day, I slept like a log for most of the night.

Day 6: Innsbruck, Liectenstein, Lucerne


After breakfast the next morning we went on another brief walking tour, culminating in a visit to a church with cool statues:

Innsbruck church statues

After that I did a little shopping with Amber, as well as Sam and her grandmother. I picked up another t-shirt (which I would only get one use out of because it shrank to nearly a half-shirt after I washed it). This was the same store where I bought my nephew Jamie's t-shirt, so I hope his fared better than mine did. A little later I bought a small bottle of absinthe, just to see what all the fuss was about. After shopping, Amber and I walked down to the river, where we got some great photos:

View of Alps from Innsbruck

Alps over Innsbruck river

Innsbruck over river

We then ate lunch at an outdoor cafe where I had a good spaghetti bolognese—even though I was enjoying the German food, I couldn't go a whole week without eating Italian :-)

Following lunch we hopped on the bus for a very long drive to Switzerland. On the way we stopped briefly in Liechtenstein, the world's smallest principality, basically a tiny independent kingdom complete with its own royal palace:

Liechtenstein palace

Our guide Keith pointed out that Liechtenstein has three political parties: the conservatives, the more conservatives, and the ultra conservatives. I thought to myself: sounds like Texas. We didn't have time to tour the palace or anything, so after taking a few photos we were back on the bus.

On the way to Lucerne we passed by some of the most beautiful scenery you are likely to gaze upon, including giant lakes surrounded by tall mountains and rolling green hills like something out of The Hobbit:

Giant Swiss lake from bus

Swiss countryside from bus

Right outside of the city we got stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident that had people rubbernecking, so it took us a little longer to get in. After finally reaching the city we were dropped off in the town center for shopping. I bought lots of chocolate and picked up my free souvenir spoon from the Bucherer. I also picked up another t-shirt and a postcard, which I had been collecting from every country for a friend of Jen's.

We later checked into a very nice hotel right along the lake, of which I had a nice view from my room when I stuck my head out the window. The room had motion sensor lights for the bathrooms that I thought were pretty cool until I realized that the lights would often go out when I was in the middle of doing something like brushing my teeth. The hotel served a good dinner that night: a cheese ravioli appetizer followed by a beef dish with hash browns. The dinner portion was a little on the small side, but this wasn't America where everything is supersized. That night we walked to the Lion Monument, and then around town and the lake, which is all lit up at night:

Lucerne at night

The covered pedestrian bridge in Lucerne

Lucerne at night

We ended up at a cafe where we sat in the outdoor balcony overlooking the lake drinking a beer that cost 8 1/2 franks! One thing you learn about Lucerne is that it's kind of a tourist trap; everything is very expensive. Nevertheless, it is my second favorite European city that I have visited (after Salzburg). The views of the giant lake surrounded by the Alps (especially Mt. Pilatus, which towers over the city) are phenomenal, and the town itself exudes old world charm with its pedestrian streets, old buildings, and covered bridges.

After our beer we walked to McDonald's for the late night munchies (sort of a tradition in that we did the same thing two years ago), where I had a Cheeseburger Royale (for you Pulp Fiction fans). During the long walk back to the hotel we bumped into a couple of local a-holes. First, an old guy cut in front of our group, holding his hand up like a stop sign as he crossed in front of us. Later, a young guy with his friends mocked us for having cameras. Oh well, it's all part of the experience of travel. That night I finally got to bed around 1:30am.

Day 7: Lucerne


The next morning the hotel served a nice breakfast that included bacon! Most of the breakfasts on the trip were more of a continental style, so this was a treat. After breakfast we hopped on the bus for Mt. Pilatus. To get to the top of the mountain you take two sets of cable cars. The first is a small four-person car, then about halfway up you transfer to a large car that holds roughly 30 people standing. At one point the car is skimming along the land and then the land suddenly drops from beneath the car and you find yourself dangling over nothing but air—this always elicits a "whoa!' from the crowd. On the way up the mountain you get to watch the terrain gradually change from green to snow. The top of the mountain is breathtaking; no picture or description could ever do it justice, but here are a few:

View from the top of Mt. Pilatus

View from the top of Mt. Pilatus

The Alps from Mt. Pilatus

That afternoon I had some time to myself so I decided to drink the bottle of absinthe I had previously bought. No hallucinations for me, but I definitely got quite tipsy considering it was such a small bottle.

The small bottle of Absinthe I drank just to see what all the fuss was about

I then walked along the lake toward town taking photos. I stopped for a Doener, a popular Middle Eastern sandwich over there that is similar to a gyro. I decided to join the other lunching Europeans by eating my doener down by the lake with my feet hanging over the edge, enjoying the beautiful day and the incredible view:

Mount Pilatus over Lake Lucerne

Lake Lucerne

After lunch I walked into town to take out more francs in order to pay for the boat ride our group was supposed to be taking that evening. Unfortunately, the boat ride would later be canceled, so I took out all of those extra francs for nothing. Anyway, I went to a place called the Tea Room and ordered a cup of green tea for five francs—that's right, a $5 cup of tea. They really fleece you in Lucerne: I had earlier bought an eight-franc Fanta on Pilatus, and two years ago Uncle Kipp and I shared a cheese fondue lunch that cost around 50 francs.

While in the tea room I bumped into Keith and the adults from the Virginia group, so I sat with them. I decided to go up to the bakery counter and order a chocolate mousse cake to go with my green tea. About halfway through my delicious desert, one of the store employees came up to me and asked me to come to the cashier at the bakery counter—I had left my wallet, passport, and return plane ticket (which had been inside the passport) on the counter!!! Everything that identified me as me was sitting on that counter for anyone to take. I would have been stuck in a foreign country with no money or identification. Thank god for the honesty of the cashier. That was the second time I had misplaced my passport on this trip—two years ago I never had that problem because I kept everything in one of those fanny packs, but this time I had decided to just use my pockets. Lesson learned—the fanny pack is coming back with me the next time I travel abroad.

After dessert I made my way back to the hotel following a quick stroll through the underground pedestrian mall. After getting back to the hotel we had about an hour before dinner so I decided to take a walk along the other end of the lake taking more photos, with Amber and Sam tagging along:

Me with Amber in Lucerne, Switzerland

Amber and Sam looking over Lake Lucerne

Lake Lucerne

Dinner at the hotel that night was roast chicken with french fries and ice cream for dessert. I also had some white wine. That night the students decided that they didn't feel like going out; they just wanted to hang out at the hotel, so I took Amber out and we walked around the town:

Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus at dusk

Amber in Lucerne

Lucerne at night

We stopped at a small bar off the beaten path and I bought Amber a radler—only when I ordered the drinks, the waiter looked at me like I had two heads because they call it something different in Switzerland. At this point I still had 20 francs left and since it was our last night in Switzerland, I needed to blow through them. Sure, I could have exchanged them later, but where's the fun in that? So I decided to take Amber to her first casino since the legal age there is 18. There was a cover charge to get in, which left us each with only five francs to gamble with, but that was fine, because I'm not a gambler myself, and it was enough to give Amber a taste (and bragging rights to her friends who still have to wait three years to legally enter a casino). I snapped a quick picture without flash because I wasn't sure if they let you take pictures in there:

Amber in her first casino (18 age minimum in Lucerne)

We stuck to the slots, and needless to say, we lasted about 15 minutes before running out of money. A guy from the NY group named Mark had actually won $200 the night before, but no such luck for us. After leaving the casino we went back to the hotel. Amber went to bed while I stopped in the hotel bar, where I bumped into Mark, and we hung out for about a half hour talking before I finally went up to bed myself.

Day 8: Lucerne, Rhine Falls, Black Forest, Heidelberg



My wakeup call was late that morning, so I had to rush getting ready and packed to make sure I got downstairs for the bus on time, but I still had time to hit the restaurant and get some more of that awesome bacon. Our first stop that morning was the Rhine Falls. It's no Niagara, but it is still quite spectacular and powerful.

Rhine Falls

Side view of Rhine Falls

We didn't have long to stay, and I had already wasted some time just sitting on a bench and staring at the falls, so I ran around the far side of the river where a path and steps lead to the top of the falls, climbing as high as I could while taking photos before time ran out and I had to book it back to the bus.

Our next stop was in the fabled Black Forest to see the world's largest cuckoo clock in action. It was kind of kitschy (it's no Glockenspiel), and I think I would rather have spent more time at the Rhine Falls than rushing so we didn't miss the 12pm cuckoo performance.

World's Largest Cuckoo Clock in the Black Forest

After that we went inside for a demonstration of how they hand-make their famous cuckoo clocks. Then we stood in line for 45 minutes to get some crappy cafeteria food for lunch because we thought it would be faster than going to the sit-down restaurant across the way. This was my least favorite stop of the trip, but the rest of the trip was so wonderful that it's hard to complain about one little bump in the road.

Our next (and final) stop of the trip was Heidelberg, Germany. The bus took us straight to the castle ruin that overlooks the city (we would not check in to our hotel that night until after 8:30pm). While not as magnificent as the intact fortress in Salzburg that I saw two years ago, the Heidelberg castle is still very impressive and provides a nice view of the valley below:

Heidelberg square, bridge, and river taken from Heidelberg Castle

Some of the sections with open windows kind of reminded me of the Colosseum.

Heidelberg Castle ruins

Heidelberg Castle ruins

We stopped in the castle courtyard for a group photo, and then went inside to view the world's largest wine barrel.

World's largest wine barrel in Heidelberg Castle

After walking around the grounds and taking lots of photos, we headed back to the bus, which dropped us off in the middle of town for an hour of free time before dinner. I took a few photos of the castle from down below...

Heidelberg Castle

Uncle Kipp & Amber in front of Heidelberg Castle

...and then did some shopping and bought a chocolate gelato. One of the stores had tons of absinthe, of every kind imaginable. I thought about getting a big bottle to bring home, but decided I didn't feel like smuggling it in my suitcase.

We ate dinner at a charming place called Zum Sepp'l, which has apparently been a hangout for university students since the 1600's, complete with thick wood tables entirely covered in carved names.

Carved table at the Zum Sepp'l

This was the best dinner of the trip, a nice way to spend our last night in Europe. The tomato soup appetizer was fantastic (and I'm not usually a fan of it), but this tasted almost like spaghetti sauce. The bread was great. For the main course we had these awesome large German raviolis topped with ham and onion. They were so good that I didn't hesitate for seconds when they offered them. Here's a picture of our mini group at the dinner table:

Me with the people I spent the most time with during the week (Uncle Kipp, Amber, Sam, and her grandmother)

After dinner, a group of guys from the NY group bought a giant three-liter beer boot, which they passed around and chugged in short time.

The giant beer boot that a group of the NY guys chugged



I finally got to settle in my hotel room after 8:30pm, but then we were right back outside at 9:30 for an extended walking tour of Heidelberg. The castle looks beautiful lit up at night:

Heidelberg Castle lit up at night

Heidelberg Castle at night

After the tour, our Gateway group stopped at a pub for a final round of drinks. On the way home we stopped for our last European gelatos. That night at 12:30 I helped Uncle Kipp do a final room check.

Day 9: Flight Home


The following morning we hopped on the bus with the Virginia group for a long drive to Frankfurt airport (the NY group had already left very early that morning because they had a different flight). At the airport we said our goodbyes to Ollie, Keith, and the Virginia group and, after a fairly short wait (especially compared to two years ago), we boarded our plane. I had my seat switched from a window to an aisle, thinking that I would have a nice relaxing flight home, able to get up whenever I felt like it without walking over people.

Little did I know that the girl sitting behind me would think that the touchscreen on the back of my seat was a punch screen, so you can imagine how fun that was for eight hours (though I did finally get up with about 90 minutes left to show her how to use the screen without punching it). The movies really helped pass the time, though. I watched the last half-hour of Twilight (it didn't get any better), Australia (it was ok, nothing to write home about), Marley & Me (surprisingly good, and a real tear jerker if you're a dog lover), and some kids' movie called Inkheart (not too bad).

We had a pretty rough landing in Philly, just like two years ago. Is there something about landing in Philly? Oh well. We got the shuttle back to Gateway, where Jen picked me up, and after saying our goodbyes, we began the long drive back to central Jersey. I couldn't wait to get home and get some rest, especially since I was beginning a new job in a couple of days.

Overall, I had a great time on the trip, though I would rank it slightly behind the trip from two years ago, primarily because on that trip we visited Salzburg (my favorite European city so far), we did not have to share our bus with any other groups (which gave us plenty of room to stretch out on long bus rides and we didn't have to worry about losing our seats every day), and we stayed two nights in every location, which made for a more easy-going trip.

On the other hand, because of the more hectic schedule we visited more cities on this trip, we met some nice people from the other groups, and I had fun hanging out with Amber. I also took nearly twice as many photos on this trip, and some other aspects of the trip and flight were easier this time around since I had already gone through it once before. In the end, both trips were fantastic and left me with a lifetime's worth of memories . . . and if Uncle Kipp asks me to go one last time before he retires, I'm there!

Our Entire Group (NJ, NY, and Virginia)