STRUCK

london, england: been there

amsterdam, netherlands: done that

freiburg, germany: gotcha

berlin, germany: yup

munich, germany: uh huh

budapest, hungary: check

vienna, austria: got it

innsbruck, austria: oh yeah

venice, italy: ok

florence, italy: and, … check

hey everybody, i’m finally staying at a hostel with free computers and wanted to give you some updates on my travels. from the above list, you can see that i have made it to 10 cities in my first month and have no intentions of slowing down. well actually, i do. nick, you were right and my rail pass is running out quickly. any whosey-what’s-it, i wanted to tell the tale of the travels with a few photos from my last few cities.

the wilten basilica

this big guy was really impressive. towering above the innsbruck landscape, this building was built in the 1650′s, and more recently, in 2008 it served as a beautiful backdrop for a picture of brandon knowlden.

wow, how cool is this?

so this picture is of an art installation slightly off the beaten path in downtown innsbruck. apparently, the bulbs of large stadium jumbotrons have pixels the size of a three month old baby (its a fact, google it). so whomever said artist of this piece is, they took said jumbo pixels and arranged them much closer to humans than ever needed, hence the level of excellence demonstrated above. the piece changes colors and pulsates like digital raindrops.

venice is everything you think it would be

i left from innsbruck, austria south for venice, italy the other day. the ride was amazing and the train went through the heart of the bologna wine country. mile after mile of buildings forcing themselves upon the rugged landscape only to be confronted by acres of aspiring grape vines. i got to venice as the sun was going to sleep and immediately hit the town. as you can see, venice is amazingly beautiful. its difficult residential lifestyle is evident by it’s population of only 60,000 (compared to its 7 million visitors per year. wait, correction, 7 million + 1).

some fresh ass wine son

so i heard italy was known for great wine and great food, not true. its known for slap you in the face, knocked that touristy american smirk off your face kind of food and wine. case in point, the image above. i met a few australian girls in the supermarket and before our picnic in the parco de publica (public park), they took me to the little gem seen above. tip for travelers, in venice, when you see a store filled with awkward casks and tubes, its typically a fresh-wine bar. this man and his shop represented a vineyard from the bolognese region of italy. the great thing about this wine is that it is never bottled until you get it in your hands, so no preservatives or sulfates or anything. the large casks are different varieties of the freshest wine available. sure it isn’t mature, but it tastes like squeezing heaven into your mouth. and best of all, its only €2/bottle (about $3 USD).

don’t mess with mythology

the first picture in this post is from atop the duomo in florence, italy. if you ever have an opportunity, its one of the most impressive things i have ever done. the cattedrale (cathedral), built in 1296, boasts a 463 step walk up a narrow winding staircase to an inspiring view. the cathedral was designed to be so impressive that the massive dome was ignored during construction because the technology didn’t even exist to construct it. but on to the picture above, the perseus statue. this 18 foot statue was artfully constructed by cellini and depicts perseus slaying medusa and standing on her contorted body. the wings perseus is known for (can be seen on his feet and head) are a constant symbol in greek mythology. and although it is based on the goddess nike, greek mythological wings are the interpretation in the most recognizable lgoo on the planet, the nike swoosh. its called knowledge son, get some.

so goodbye for now, until next time my friends.