Wien/Vienna

After Prague, our next stop was Vienna! Vienna was the first city I came to in Europe back in 2006 and I really really love this city. It has very 'old European' architecture, and like all cities in Europe, it has a whole lot of history. Also the people are very friendly - it only took seconds for 2 different people at the train station to ask me if I needed help or directions!

Vienna has a great coffee culture, from relaxed cafes to very elegant elite cafes, and they are  always packed! Vienna is another city I really enjoyed walking around myself. There are so many interesting buildings, churches, and grand statues. Some of my favourite are
-St. Stephansdom Cathedral
-State Opera House
-the Hofburg's Imperial Palace (the family that ran the Austro-Hungarian empire for 800 years)
-Schonbrunn Palace (if you have time!)
-the building of the Austrian National Library

From Vienna, I left my Contiki group a day early and took a train from back to Peter's in Rohrmoos-Schladming which was about a 3.5 hr train ride. The day after I arrived it was my 20th birthday, so we went to the Dachstein Skywalk. If you are ever in this area of Austria and the weather is good, go here! It has unbelievable views overlooking snow-capped mountain peaks and deep valleys. The 'skywalk' is a glass platform where you look straight down 250 meters below! From the top you can even see the surrounding regions as far as the coast of Venice, Italy! It's absolutely stunning!

That's all for now, Auf Wiedersehen!

xx

Berlin to Prague

I am now in Berlin!

When I first got into Berlin, I kind of had a strange feeling, but after a couple minutes I realized,  it was that I wasn't in Egypt anymore! I know it sounds stupid, of course I knew I was in Germany, but it was so strange because it was at that point that it hit me how different Egypt really is. For example, when I was in Egypt I didn't really want to go into any stores or restaurants (at least not alone) because they didn't look safe, there were hardly any that looked clean, and the shop keepers were extremely pushy. But then when I was walking from the train station to my hotel in Berlin, it was the first restaurant I saw and I had this feeling like I should go eat there because it looks really clean and I might not come across one like this again for a while! In the back of my head, I had the mentality I was still in Egypt! 

Anyways... while in Berlin for 3 days, we went to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Where 20,000 people were imprisoned, and which were mainly political people. Inside the camp you can still see sites like the gallows, barracks, prison, kitchen, watch-towers, and at the back of the camp through a gate is a mass grave site for the victims. A concentration camp is possibly the most solemn place you will ever visit in your life. It's the only "tourist" site I've ever been to where there were loads of people but everyone was so quiet it was as if there was nobody there at all.

There was a quote on one of the walls near a statue as a memorial for the victims that I took a picture of - "And I know one thing more - that the Europe of the future cannot exist without commemorating all those, regardless of their nationality, who were killed at that time with complete contempt and hate, who were tortured to death, starved, gassed, incinerated, and hanged..." - Andrzej Szczypiorski, Prisoner of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, 1995.

.......

Our main points of Berlin included a walking tour throughout Berlin, going to a few museums, seeing parts still left of the Berlin Wall, going to the Brandenburg Gate, and to the Holocaust Memorial.

After Berlin, we drove to the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague. Wow, this is such a very beautiful city! The Vltava river runs through the city and is covered with many large beautiful bridges. You can get an incredible view of the entire city and river by going up to the Prague Castle, where the President of the Czech Republic resides. Other than the Prague Castle and it's view, I recommend going to the historic Charles Bridge and the famous Astronomical Clock. While out at night, make sure you go to the river bank and check out the Prague Castle all lit up, it looks so elegant! Rather than going to museums or talking a guided tour, I opted for just doing my own thing walking around Prague and seeing where the paths took me, which I really enjoyed.

Once in Prague, you definitely start to realize a more Eastern European way of life - in the architecture of the buildings, the prices of goods and services are cheaper, and not everything has been modernized like in Western Europe. It is quite interesting to see these differences for yourself. 

Well, that's all for now... gotta run!

Sbohem! (bye)

Egypt ... 'Where it all begins' continued

Egypt so far has been amazing, it's so much more than I expected it to be! This week, we've been busy checking out some of these ancient temples throughout Egypt....

Kom Ombo Temple

Inside Kom Ombo Temple, there are hieroglyphic writings on the walls which is proven evidence of the first Egyptian calendar. Lines drawn represented new days and circles represented the sun rising. This is how they knew what day it was, in what month, and when it was a new day!

Edfu Temple

Edfu Temple is possibly the best preserved temple in all of Egypt! At the back of the temple you will find an original metal boat and shrine. The metal boat was used by the people to bring offerings for the god of the sky Horus, to either approve or disapprove their offerings.

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple is like a palace filled with magnificent columns and statues! In front of the temple is the Avenue of Sphinxes, which is a 3 km long stretch with statues that have the head of a human and body of a cat. You will notice the sphinxes stop at a road, and on the other side of that road they are excavating large gaps because they believe that there are more sphinxes under the ground which are undiscovered and they believe that they link Luxor Temple to another called Karnak Temple. Our group leader told us they have even evacuated people out of their own home and destroyed them to excavate underneath and that currently there is a big debate because there are 2 big religious sites, 1 church and 1 mosque, that they want to tear down in order to excavate under to find the remaining sphinxes. History and culture or religion? What's more important.... That's not a debate I want to be a part of. 

Karnak Temple

Karnak Temple is huge! It has 8 different entrances, and there is even a water reservoir inside the gates of the temple. At the end of the temple there is a statue of a Scarab beetle, which is a symbol of good luck in Egyptian mythology. So rumour has it, that if you walk around the statue counterclockwise 8 times you will have good health and luck for the rest your life! A lot of people were doing it – so we joined in too!

The Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings is totally incredible! Unlike all the temples we visited, it was built in the middle of the desert, on the west bank of the Nile, in behind the mountains as to protect the tombs. It has 63 tombs including the mummy of King Tut. I highly highly highly recommend going to the Valley of the Kings while in Egypt because this was a truly authentic tourist attraction - there is no show being put on simply to impress the tourists here. Going into these tombs where pharaohs are buried is a completely surreal experience.

A lots of the temples still had their original colorings... mainly bright blues and reds. Although you notice a lot of damage done by flooding of the Nile.

Almost everything represents something in Egyptian culture, 

- the Scarab beetle represents good luck

- a drawing of the Egyptian eye is for protection

- a Cobra snake is on the entrance of the temples so that the cobra will forever protect the temple

-the Lotus flower serves as the symbol of Upper Egypt and the Papyrus flower for Lower Egypt

- the Ankha has a straight vertical line to symbolize the Nile River and a loop to symbolize the Delta, then it has a horizontal axis like a cross to symbolize that the river is giving life to all of the land from the Nile to the Delta

Yesterday we went to the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. Out of respect and tradition, we had to take off our shoes before entering and all women have to cover their arms and legs while inside. It’s very very beautiful inside. There was a huge chandelier in the center and 365 hanging lights (one for each day of the year). The women and men each had separate areas to pray. I learnt that in mosques the wall the people pray to always faces towards Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Therefore here the people pray towards the east but any mosque east of Saudi Arabia will pray to the wall of the west.

I've had some unforgettable experiences in Egypt, but now I'm onto Berlin!

maa al salama! (bye!)

xx

Egypt ... 'Where it all begins'

From the moment I landed in Egypt, it took me by complete surprise. When people talk about having a 'culture shock', well this was that place for me. 

The first day in Cairo we went into the city, and it was somewhere just above 40˚C that day, so I decided to wear shorts and a tank top because for me that was absurdly warm! However, in predominantly Muslim countries like Egypt where the culture is quite conservative, nearly all the local women wear Burqas, covering their skin from head to toe. Despite the fact I knew this, I made the decision to still dress in my shorts and tank top... which I regret having done because I was ignorant to respecting this part of their culture. Also, by dressing the way I did I had a lot of attention drawn to me from both men and women... attention that I didn't want or need being a tourist. This unwanted attention got too much for me that later while we were at a small bazaar I bought a cotton scarf to put over my chest and shoulders. Once I did this I noticed that I wasn't getting anymore whistling by the men or stares from the women. After covering my bare skin, I felt more as though I could blend in.

Our second day in Cairo we went to the Pyramids of Giza. Two words: absolutely incredible. One of the highlights while visiting the Pyramids was going inside. You can go inside Kahfre's pyramid (the middle one) to his burial chamber for an additional fee of something like $6. You enter in from the second row of blocks and go down a ladder for about 40 feet in a tunnel about 3 feet wide, and then the next 40 feet you go up a ladder until you reach a massive room that has a scripture on the wall and an open tomb of where the famous pharo's son was buried. This was such an awesome experience, but not recommended for those who are at all claustrophobic! 

All around the Pyramids you can find people selling camel rides. After having done it, I would say that I do think it is worth it and it's pretty safe, however just make sure to check yourself afterwards for ticks (especially if you are wearing shorts or capris), because I found a tick on the back of my leg after I had jumped off the camel. Luckily though, it was only on the surface of my skin and I was able to flick it off right away. 

No visit to Cairo is complete without going to the Egyptian Museum. Here you can see thousands of pharaonic artifacts, royal mummies, and even the mask of King Tut. I quite enjoyed this museum!

The people of Egypt are very friendly however many of us on the tour experienced something we were not used to - people expecting you to tip/pay them for everything, and sometimes (more often than not) they came across quite rudely about it. Some were for normal things like the bellman at the hotel but the bellman at my first hotel in Cairo had actually just taken my suitcase out of my hand and brought it to my room without me even asking him to, and when I got into my room, the man was standing there refusing to leave until I tipped him. This I did not appreciate given I was rooming by myself and a female. 

Then yesterday we took the train from Cairo to Aswan, and when I got off the train we had to go down a few stairs to go to another platform, and when I went to put down my suitcase handle and carry it by the side handle in order to get down the stairs an old man (who was waiting at the top of the stairs) came up to me and put his hand right over top of mine and quickly swung my suitcase up on top his shoulder and just started carrying it down the stairs infront of me. I thought this man might be running off with my suitcase, so I chased him down the stairs, and when we got to the bottom, I tugged on my suitcase and had to tell him to put it down, and when he did he put out his hand and asked for a tip! I was so mad because I had not asked him or implied I wanted him to do that and he just took it upon himself to do it and wanted me to pay him! I said “no, I didn’t ask for this” and he stood there with his hand still out and gave me an angry look. I just grabbed my suitcase and continued walking with the rest of my group. Many of us on my tour have experienced this. 

Make sure to check out some bazaar's while in Egypt, but be prepared to bargain! You'll find the shopkeeper quote you a price and you can always bargain it down lower! If they act like they won't take you lowest offer, all you got to do is start walking away and they will practically sell it to you for dirt cheap. Also, be prepared for some to literally stand in your way and not let you pass until you come into their shop. Many of them will lure you in with “come on, it’s free to look” and as soon as you leave after looking in their shop, they will literally follow or chase you down the street until you have to repeatedly ask them to leave you alone or until you get really frustrated. One girl on my tour was looking at a belly dancing costume and when she left without buying anything, the man chased her down the street holding the manikin in his arms! Also, be careful when they use their young and cute children to try to sell you anything they can.

Safety is pretty good right now in Egypt. There are police and security literally on every street corner and in every building. I’ve even had to go through a metal detector at all my hotels and each tourist site.

Some of our other sights in Egypt included 

- the High Dam, which has the largest man made water resevoir in the world

-the unfinished obelisk, which was basically an obelisk not yet completely carved out from the rock but totally unusable anyways because of a massive crack that has formed

The final part of our tour in Egypt is on a 5 star cruise up the Nile River from Luxor to Cairo. The cruise is not your typical "North American" cruise as it only holds about a 150 passengers. The one we are on though is beautiful - so modern and clean, and all of the staff are extremely welcoming and helpful. For anyone wanting to see Egypt in a different and unique way, try one of their river cruises... this is the kind of views you can expect!

Anywhos, that’s all I have to update for now

salām! (goodbye)