Iramalama Europe Travel Blog

Bangkok, Thailand
October, 2007

Despite Kuala Lumpur's frequent great airfare deals, I ended up finding a great rate on Kuwait Airways that would take us from Bangkok. So we used that as an excuse to go to go to Bangkok for a day or two. Mostly, I spent the time trying to get some work done from the hotel room. This was really a horrible time to be taking a large trip like this, but it was already booked. So I made it work.
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Brussels, Belgium
October, 2007

Brussels, the administrative capital of the European Union, is truly a ghost town at night. Everything closes, and there are few people around. But in the day it has some pretty sections to it. I mostly enjoyed walking around the residential areas, where you can see some picturesque row houses. The people are friendly and very helpful. Brussels' main train station is quite large (almost too big for the city). And the food was pretty good too. I think I would need to take another trip here to catch all the things I missed the first time as time was short.
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Paris, France
October, 2007

I was impressed with the architecture in Brussels. But when I got to Paris, I was blown away. It is quite pretty. The Eiffel Tower is nice in the day or at night. The museums number in the 'too many to count' category, and most of those would be classified as great museums, each with their own individual history. There are some great scenic views throughout the city as well. You will know it as soon as you see it. The only thing that bugged me a bit was the lack of a shopping district or, dare I say, mall. Indeed, there were shops all around town, but I couldn't identify a single place that had a large number all in one place. It would annoy me to have to go all over town to run errands which could all be done in the same area. Although, I loved the fact that the financial distrcit did not consume the historic parts of the city.
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Cologne, Germany
October, 2007

Cologne was definitely a nice city to visit. The city center is compact enough to walk around. The Dom Cathedral is quite impressive (if not macabre) and offers good photos from all different sides of it. The shopping district, Neumarkt, is lively and full of variety and is worth visiting both in the day and in the evening to see the changes it undergoes. There are plenty of cheap places to eat if you don't want to shell out the usual fare for food in Europe. Note of caution...watch out for the numerous cyclists!
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Dusseldorf, Germany
October, 2007

I actually had higher expectations for Dusseldorf, but I can't say I was disappointed either. The Altstadt is worth at least 3 or 4 hours of wandering around during the day. And at night, parts of it become very lively with restaurants and clubs. It even tries to bill itself as the largest single entry club crawl area. The part of town between the central station and the Altstadt was also a nice walk. Konigsallee was good for shopping, but Cologne's Neumarkt was better. The large communications tower ranks as the world's largest decimal clock. And the tram network here is OK, but doesn't seem as extensive as other cities.
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New York City, New York
October, 2007

From Dusseldorf we flew direct to New York (JFK). The flight on Air Berlin was interesting and, oddly enough, even had a bit of a European feel to it. I don't know how, but even the flight (service, food, drinks, etc.) felt different. Haha! From here, we visited family in North Carolina by driving down! I know...it's a bit crazy to drive long distances immediately after a trans-Atlantic flight. But this was the plan so as to be able to see more on the way down. Eventually, we made our way back to Kuala Lumpur again (not driving).
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Bangkok, Thailand
July, 2008

Once again, we found some great travels deals for flights going into Europe from Bangkok instead of Kuala Lumpur. So, with a good excuse, we took the short flight up to Bangkok and stayed for the night before continuing on to Munich direct. This trip was more relaxed than the previous Europe trip as a small hole in the work schedule magically opened up to coincide with these travels. It was also timed to be during a slightly warmer climate that the previous trip, which was a big plus for me and my weather preferences!
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Munich, Germany
July, 2008

When I arrived here, Munich was in preparation for its 850th anniversary of its founding. The city was very livable and had a very impressive historic district. Getting around Munich was fairly easy too, though taxi fares go up quickly. The Olympic grounds were still well-maintained and is definitely worth the three plus hours I spent there just relaxing and taking in the scenery. As with most large centers in Germany, English-only folks will not have a difficult time here. The central attraction here, aside from several fairy-tale-looking buildings and a healthy shopping district, is the clocks atop city hall, which every hours performs a whole animatronics ballet of sorts.
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Vienna, Austria
July, 2008

Vienna is a bit of a cultural bomb in that when you arrive here, you know you are going to be bombarded with Viennese and/or Austrian culture. A walk through its historic city center will certainly attest to this. The buildings all seem to match each other and walking down a side lane oftentimes wields a pleasant surprise at the other end in the form of an ornately-decorated church or monument. A classical music concert is a must-do here and be sure to explore the inner ring on foot. You'll miss too much if you don't. There are some grand foundations and monuments to enjoy and the street entertainers are scattered throughout the center of the city. Its parks and gardens are clean. And even the toilets in the subway plaza that runs underneath the Statsoper plays opera music.
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Venice, Italy
July, 2008

Venice is an icon for uniqueness in city planning and design. But despite the cleverness of engineering, it is really difficult to get around the city. And in going from one side to the other, it takes a long time...an hour on the overcrowded water taxi. I got lost many times in the maze of narrow alleyways (there are no streets or cars). And even though I like the concept and like to wander aimlessly, after several hours of doing this and wanting to find my way back to even a main alley, it became quickly annoying. And staying on the main paths is a lesson in patience as the hordes of tourists moving at different speeds and directions makes enjoying the city a bit more challenging. But Venice does offer a lot of hidden corners to escape the crowds and just relax canalside. Great city to visit...but I would not want to live there.
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Treviso, Italy
July, 2008

Treviso as a city has enough to keep the residents happy from what I saw, but most people use its airport as a gateway to nearby Venice. There are some good budget airlines that fly in here, making it a cheaper, but still quick, way to get to Venice. Depending on traffic, it takes between 30-60 minutes to get between Treviso airport and Venice via bus, but some of the scenery along the way is entertaining enough to keep you busy looking out the window. The architecture here can be almost as charming as its more famous neighbor and its history of occupation by Romans, Venetians, Austrians, and French give it some added flavor.
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Rome, Italy
July, 2008

After some travel in Europe, it was refreshing to get to Rome, a city that actually has a vibrant nightlife. Scores of cafes open till late hours paired well with the impressive ruins of millenia past, which were impressive to see in the day and at night. Italians were hit/miss when it came to English but it never felt difficult communicating. I did not find much variety in food choice, though. Go figure, most cafes and restaurants served pizzas, pastas, and gelatos. Talk about living up to the stereotypes. And while some meals were nice, I could easily say that I'd had nicer Italian food outside of Italy altogether. Needless to say, the ancient history of the city is well documented around every corner and is truly inspiring.
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Vatican City, Vatican City
July, 2008

I'm sure most visitors here are Catholic, but tourists of all shapes and sizes were drawn here...in large numbers. The line to get inside St. Peter's Basilica was long and all under the hot sun. Once inside, the crowds were distracting from the beauty of the ornate designs and paintings and statues. If wandering around the site when it was empty, I would say it would border magical/mystical. But not so with the hordes of people. The tombs of the popes below the basilica was worth a walk through. Some tombs were downright evil looking, while others, like that of JP2, were still receiving offerings from followers. Still, any trip to Rome is not complete without a stop in the Vatican.
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Newark, New Jersey
July, 2008

From Rome we flew to New York (well, New Jersey technically, but who's counting?). We stayed in the city for a few days then returned to Newark to catch the flight down to Florida. Work was calling so I had to get back on to it. But then...the flight was canceled because of bad storms. And the airline was only going to put us on a flight that left 2 days later. So...we drove down to Florida again. Yep, still crazy the second time. And the jet lag did not help the 24 hour drive. But hey, I like the sights along the way. Live a little.