Amsterdam, Netherlands

First off rule number one of visiting Amsterdam: Don't get yourself killed by a bicycle. They will dart out at you from various directions and at various speeds.

Despite the fact that bicycles are a rather dangerous hazard to your well being, our time in Amsterdam was very enjoyable. We left Berlin for Amsterdam very early in the morning so there was a lot of craziness on the part of me and my sister. Insanity at its finest on what was the most relaxing day of the trip. We got into Amsterdam early in the afternoon where we met up with Dave and Alison, my dad's best friend from grade school and his wife. They lead us to our houseboat and we relaxed by shopping or sleeping as the latter was the choice of my parents while shopping was the choice of my sister and myself. We then went out to dinner with Dave and Alison.

The next day was our final day of both Amsterdam and the trip. As a family was all headed out to the Van Gogh Museum. The sunshine beating down on us as we trekked out to the museum. Unfortunately for us the nice weather disappeared and we were left with pouring rain. So we headed for lunch hoping that the rain would let up a bit before Karlena and I stood outside in the rain to get into the Anne Frank House. That was something that we both wanted to do but since both our parents had been there the last time they were in Amsterdam we were on our own. It was not too bad of a wait since it moved rather quickly.

After spending a good chunk of the afternoon waiting to get into the Anne Frank House we decided that we were more or less out of time to go and do anything else due to time constraints. We just ended up hitting the shops looking for clogs to give as gifts before we headed back to meet up with Dave and Alison for our final dinner in Europe.

With the end of dinner came the end of the trip and it was time to pack up and head home.

Berlin, Germany

With the trip winding down we made it to Berlin, Germany. Again with the overnight train rides we ended up in Berlin early in the morning. Once again check-in time wasn't until 2 in the afternoon so we were faced with the challenge of doing more with ourselves than sitting around the lobby and passing out. With that not being an option we headed out to Potsdam.

In Potsdam we saw the Sanssouci Palace. This was the summer retreat of Frederick the Great so that he could "enjoy life without a care". Frederick's New Palace was another one of the palaces of Potsdam that we saw. This particular palace's servant's "palace" is being turned into a building for the University. The third palace that we toured was the Cecilienhof Palace. We then went on to tour the New and Old Towns. A tad bit sluggishly we managed to make it both through the day and the tour. After our day in Potsdam we headed back to Berlin to eat and prepare ourselves for the following day.

The next day we started the day off by heading out to the T.V. Tower, continuing with our tour of the tallest buildings in various cities.

In the afternoon we ended up taking a walking tour. It was something slightly different but I am not sure that the idea of walking for four hours was something that was of interest to the family which by this point in the trip had been walking quite a fair bit. However that morning the troops were rounded up and together we headed out on foot to take a tour of Berlin in both rain and shine due to the crazy weather that would later ensue for the day. Despite the fact that it was a walking tour that lasted four hours I think this was definitely one of the tours that every member of the family enjoyed. On this tour we enjoyed the sights of:

-Hitler's bunker, which is now nothing more than a parking lot with a tiny sign stating that is where the Hitler's Chancellery and bunker used to be.

-We stood in front of what remains of the Berlin Wall. We saw the bit of wall that was left standing beside the former SS and Gestapo Headquarters.

-We saw Checkpoint Charlie. Though one does not want to get to close to the actors portraying the guards because they will charge you for a picture.

-There was an exploration in the rain of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe.

-The was the walk of the final battlefield of WW II in front of the spectacular new government quarter and we found out about the particular events that surrounded the Reichstag fire of 1933 which led to the Nazis' ride to power.

-There was the spot where President Reagan spoke his famous words 'Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!' and JFK was confronted with the Iron Curtain.

-We stood before the ruins of the Berlin Palace and the shell of the Politburo's 'Palace of the Republic'

-We traced the footsteps of Napoleon, Bismarck, the German Kaisers, Nazis, and Allied forces underneath the Brandenburg Gate and over the Deathstip.

-There was the memorial of the Nazi book burning along with where Marx and Einstein taught.

Despite the rather crazy weather that rained like cats and dogs on moment and was sunny the next this tour was probably the one most enjoyable and very informative at least to the younger generation on the trip.

Warsaw, Poland

After a rather rocky start in Poland things finally settled down enough for us to enjoy the city for the day before we headed off into the unknown known as Berlin, Germany. We had most of the day to see the sights that the city had to offer. Continuing on with our usual routine we booked a tour of the city. On our tour we saw:

-The Old Town, included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.

-The Royal Castle with its Square, residence of monarchs from 1596 to 1795, as well as the residence of the Polish President in 1918. We also had the chance to see King Sigismunds's Column-the first secular monument in Poland.

-St. John's Cathedral, a Gothic Church and witness to some of the most important events in the history of Poland with sarcophagi containing the remains of eminent Poles.

-The Old Town Market Square and Barbican.

-The former Jewish Ghetto, the Memorial to the Heroes of the Ghetto, Umschlag Plaz and Mila Street, site of the bunker where Mordehai Anielewicz, the leader of the Ghetto Uprising, committed suicide.

-The Royal Route, with superb aristocratic residences and famous monuments, including the Holy Cross Church with its urns containing the hearts of Fryderyk Chopin and Wladyslaw Reymont, the first Polish winner of the Nobel Peace prize for Literature.

-The Royal Park, a walk in the most beautiful park in Warsaw commonly known as Lazienki or 'The baths' and a visit to the interiors of the so-called 'Palace on the Water', the lavish summer residence of the last King of Poland, Stanislaw August Poniatowski.

-The tomb of the Unknown Solider, The monument to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and the Monument to the Victims of Katyn.

-We also on a slight detour to program we climbed up the clock tower with a beautiful view of Old Town.

After the tour we headed out to find a place to have a sit down dinner before we headed back to the hold to pick up our luggage and head to the rail station to catch our final overnight train to Berlin, Germany at 11, which turned into 11:30 since it turned out to be an half-hour late.

So our time in Poland was quick with only a tour of the city, a pastry shoppe, two dinners, and a McDonald's later time was up.

Getting to Warsaw, Poland

Probably our most adventurous train ride and part of the vacation. This was our first of two overnight train rides. To be frank and honest it was not the most of luxurious of train rides. Even though we were in first class and not sharing the space with four other people I can't say that it is what I would have called first class accommodations. That of course was the least of the little hiccups in our train ride up there.

The train ride up there was a bit rocky in addition to our less than stellar accommodations. There were many jerky stops along the way. Our longest stop had to have been for passport control that occurred at about three in the morning. They actually stopped the train while they went through the cars doing passport control. Again that was just a slight disappointment in the whole traveling overnight by train process.

Our biggest hiccup probably was the train connection from Krakow to Warsaw. We all were aware of the fact that we had to switch trains in order to continue our venture up to Warsaw along with the fact that we had only seven minutes. Unfortunately for us there were no signs that would indicate which platform we needed to be on so we at six in the morning missed our connection. Figuring that we would be okay by catching the seven o'clock train up to Warsaw.

So our saving grace wasn't completely our saving grace since there wasn't any open seats left on the train and it was a completely first class train. In the end we ended up sitting on our suitcases in between carriages since no one working on the train seemed to be up to helping us out which again shows the different in cultures. We finally made it to Warsaw though at about ten. We headed straight to the hotel. We were all ready after that rather stressful trip to just merely hit a bed and sleep until dinner. Much to our dismay though the hotel wasn't ready for us, so our rooms weren't ready. We however weren't ready to go out and explore the town. We made it as far as lunch and that was as far as we got before we made it back to the hotel and camped out in the lobby until the receptionist finally took some pity on us and allowed us to have one of our two rooms. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the hotel room and then making our way out to dinner.

More to come from our adventures in Warsaw...

Prague, Czech Republic

Country number three. We were moving along at a rather rapid pace through the countries. On our first day in the city we went to see the Infant Baby Jesus of Prague, which is a wax statue of Jesus as a child given by the Spanish. After that we went souvenir shopping and then off to dinner at a Steakhouse. A very relaxing Sunday for the family.

The next day we took a tour of the city. We saw:

-Prague Castle
-Prague's version of the Eiffel Tour
-The Astronomical Clock, which has become a running joke with the family due to it making on our list of things to do in Vienna when it actually is in Prague and not Vienna
-New Town
-Lesser Town
-We strolled down Golden Lane
-St. Vitus Cathedral
-Old Town Square
-Old Jewish Quarter
-Wenceslas Square
-Main Train Station
-State Opera House
-National Museum
-National Theatre
-The Klementinum

So on our second day we definitely saw a lot and we went on to see a few more things the following day before we embarked on our first overnight train to Krakow. The following morning we trekked out to the T.V. Tower, the tallest point in Prague. In the afternoon we set out on what turned out to be a scavenger hunt for the Kafka Museum. After finally managing with many inquires to various business to find the place we headed out onto the Vltava River for a pleasant afternoon boat ride. On the boat ride we were able to see the Charles Bridge and to see the various sights such as Prague Castle from the river. Dad thought that it was a bit on the short side and it was but Karlena and I both enjoyed the tour guide and the tour.

After the boat ride we headed back to the hotel to retrieve out suitcases and then headed off to the rail station to have dinner and to wait for our overnight train to Krakow.

Vienna, Austria

Since our arrival in Vienna wasn't until about eight that night our adventures didn't begin until the following day. We took a city tour. On the tour we were able to see:

-St. Stephen's Cathedral (there seems to be a few of these around the world)
-The Hofburg Palace
-The State Opera House
-Heroes' Square
-Parliament (which looks very Grecian)
-Succession Building
-Schonbaunn Palace

That was day one. After the tour we seemed to have worn ourselves out and headed back to the hotel for a rest before we headed over to Prata Park to take a ride on the Big Wheel which is mentioned in the film "The Third Man". A relaxing and enjoyable ride. Very similar to the London Eye in London.

One our second day in Vienna we trekked off to see the Terra-Cotta Warriors, which were on display for the first time in Austria. An interesting experience especially since one of my friends had gone to China and saw them there as well so we basically saw them at the same time. Crazy huh?

Before we went off to see the Terra-Cotta Warriors we set off to the Danu Tower. Our biggest problem seemed to be finding it. We ended up in the local park walking around looking for the entrance to the tower only to find that we had to exit the park and walk further down to reach the tower. We finally managed, after being within a stone's throw of it numerous time, to make it to our destination. An interesting aspect of the Danu Tower is that you can bungee jump off of it. None of the family members, however, were feeling terribly adventuresome and so we keep that off our list of things to do before we left Vienna.

After our excursion to the Danu Tower we went back to St. Stephen's Plaza to wrap up the last minute souvenir shopping. As we were there a protest rally marched through the plaza. Apparently they were protesting the closing of a home for the homeless that the government was trying to close down. Shall we say that it was a interesting close to our time in Vienna before we hopped a train to Prague that evening.

Budapest, Hungary

Today the family took a guided tour of the city, learning that Buda was the hilly part of the city and Pest was the flat part. Our tour guide was Daniel. On out little tour we saw:

-the second largest synagogue.
-Szent Istvan Bazilika-St. Stephen's Basilica
-Orszaghaz-The Parliament House
-Budai Var- Castle Hill
-Gellert-Hegy(Citadella)-Freedom Bridge
-Hakasz Bastya-Fisherman's Fortress
-Hosoktere-Heroes' Square
-Matyas Templom-Matthia Church
-passed by Varosliget-City Part.

We also crossed the Danube via the Chain Bridge and saw the 0 stone. That is what the tour entailed. After the family was a bit wiped out due to jet lag and the fact that it had been a three hour tour so we headed back to the hotel to relax, eat, and freshen up for the dinner at Pertu Station where Mom and Dad were looking to try Hungarian Goulash. Sadly though it wasn't what they had expected though they weren't completely sure what the criteria was for good Hungarian Goulash soup. Now this was a restaurant that was more than determined to make sure that when you went to the washroom that you didn't walk into the wrong restroom. There were at least six different means of indicating which restroom depending on your gender you were supposed to use.

The following morning was used as a means of doing all that everyone still wanted to do before we trekked onto Vienna at 4:10 that afternoon. With all four of us moving at about nine that morning we headed out to the Vaserley Museum. It was where one would consider the middle of nowhere leaving the taxi driver none to happy at the fact that he now had to go back into town without a fare. It was also where were failed to have shall we say the ability to convey meanings for we spoke no Hungarian and they spoke no English when it came down to buying tickets for the museum. Eventually though we managed to at least pay something and receive tickets in exchange but for all we know they could have jipped us horribly. As Dad would say well fine.

After the Vaserely Museum we headed back to Buda and the the Budai Veri Labyrinth. That was and interesting experience. Supposedly throughout the years it had been torture chambers, arsenal storage, etc. Indicating that over the years it have served many different and not always related purposes. That didn't always seem to come across though. Every once in awhile you would find yourself staring at statues wondering there meaning or you were flat out staring at a brick wall questioning the same thing.

The most interesting part of being down there had to have the been the Labyrinth of Courage. It is called that on the basis that it the labyrinth that is in complete darkness. Now the family had not intention nor desire to go through this, but quickly came to the conclusion that we must in order to get to the exit. We had two gos at it. The first time we were unsuccessful and came back out trying once more for a less darkness filled exit. Once more we seemed to have come to the conclusion that it was the only way to go so with some guidance and studying of the map we managed to make it out only to find once we were out that the doors which we made the assumption of being locked were actually the more lighted way out.

After that little adventure we headed back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage and hop onto our 4:10 train to Vienna, Austria.

Let the trip begin....

On June 25th, 2007 The Matthews family headed off into the great unknown commonly known as Central Europe. To the observer's eye and to those involved it was a vacation that started off a bit bumpy. Having made it to the car park with fairly good time we unloaded our shall we say rather extensive pile, one luggage plus on carry-on person with an additional one or two bags for four people comes out to about ten bags, out of the car. Once that was done Dad goes into the office to leave the keys with them only to learn that they want him to leave the keys for the car in the car. Makes sense. That is until Mom turns around to him asking him where he put their set of keys for the car. The answer is...in the car, which she has just locked manually. Well they had two weeks to get into the car considering that it was in a place that they most probably would have wanted to move it at some point in time.

A minor setback that has two weeks to work itself out. After telling the car park people the situation it is a quick drive to Newark Liberty International Airport. Now the question was which airlines? With a quick stop at the United Airlines Terminal we find that we are in the wrong terminal because though there is a United Airlines Number we will be flying on Lufthansa Airlines, which along with United Airlines is part of the Star Alliance. Off to Terminal A which houses Lufthansa Airlines.

Lufthansa still does check-in "old school style" where you still have to go up to the counter and they are ones to check you in unlike some of the other airlines like Continental which allows you to do that via "self-check in". Making it to the front of the line and up to the counter we in encounter what appears to be a trainee. Upon further observation it appears that the whole Lufthansa Airlines counter is being run by trainees with supervisors watching from behind. This little fact turns outs not to be in our favour as time it turns out that the trainee makes a mistake that leaves Dad with two tickets out to Frankfurt, Germany and Mom without one. Just a minor problem one would think. Not the case it seems. We now have to have the whole check-in cancelled and we have to go back to Customer Service to have the whole thing sorted out. This is fine except we are slowly running out of time and we still have to go through security and to still have our bags checked in. Finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel and by 4:30, forty-five minutes before departure, everything is solved...at least in the sense that we are all on the plane.

Setback this time around is that because it took them so long to correct the mistake everyone else on the flight had been more or less checked in leaving us with seats with two seats together and two seat scattered. The only solution to that minor dilemma is to go up to the desk at the gate and see if there are any available seats together. The answer turns out to be a no. Option two ends up being asking people to see if they would mind exchanging seats with you. A process that definitely complies with all airline safety regulations I am sure. The end result being that Dad managed to get the woman sitting next to him and Mom to exchange seats with me and leaving Karlena on the other side of the plane several rows up.

The good news is that we managed to make it to Frankfurt without any more little upsets. From Frankfort we flew into Budapest, Hungary, again with no more little "annoyances". Now the journey really begins.

The Matthews Family's Rough Itinerary is in

Monday, June 25th: The Matthews Family will depart Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight headed towards Frankfurt,Germany. After a short stop over in Frankfurt we will transfer from the international flight to a domestic one headed towards Budapest, Hungary.

Tuesday, June 26th and Wednesday, June 27th: Those two days will be spent taking in the sights that Budapest has to offer. Nights being spent resting at the Grand Hungaria Hotel.

Thursday, June 28th: On this day we are taking a train from Budapest to Vienna, where we will be staying at the hotel Atlanta.

Friday, June 29th: This day is set aside for touring the city and trying to educate ourselves culturally.

Saturday, June 30th: The last day of the month will be spent on a train traveling from Vienna to Prague.

Sunday, July 1st: We welcome the new month in Prague at the Vysehrad Hotel.

Monday, July 2nd: Sightseeing of the city with the possibility of taking a side trip to Dresden.

Tuesday, July 3rd: The first of two overnight train rides. This one from Prague to Warsaw.

Wednesday, July 4th: Happy Fourth of July to the Americans from the Metropol in Warsaw, Poland!

Thursday, July 5th: Overnight train ride number 2 from Warsaw to Berlin. We will be staying at the Hotel Nova.

Friday, July 6th and Saturday, July 7th: Dad will be taking us around the city that he used to live in with my older brother and sister.

Sunday, July 8th: The last of all the train rides. This one taking us to Amsterdam from Berlin.

Monday, July 9th: Enjoying the city from the houseboat we have rented for our stay in Amsterdam.

Tuesday, July 10th: Time to return home. The first of two flights going from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. Then the final flight is from Frankfurt to Newark Liberty International Airport. Then we are finally home.

Now the question is who will survive in the end.

And the Journey Begins...Here with an Introduction

By request of my mother I have started this blog. It will be my testament to the family's travels. Apparently she felt comfortable enough to leave the sharing of the family's endeavors in, what we shall see whether or not as, my capable hands.

In two weeks time the family is off to yet another trip together. Once again proving that the family, for at least two weeks a year, can do the family togetherness thing quite well. Though past trips have included various excursions to Western Europe this time around we are going to tackle more of Central Europe.

One the itinerary this time are six country's capitals: Vienna, Budapest, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague. As usual the family isn't about laying on the beach somewhere. So we, in true Matthews fashion, are going to basically be running country to country to see all that we can see in a three day time span in each city. Once again causing others to wonder how it would be classified as a vacation, but to us it will be.

That along with where we are staying in each city is as far as the itinerary goes at this point in the game. Oh right we do also have the dates when we will be traveling by train overnight. I think you get the point though that, at least to my current knowledge, the itinerary is a little on the scant side. We have two weeks to remedy that situation though and it can also be fixed on the fly. However, my mother, ever the prepared one, would prefer that the latter didn't occur. Then of course it becomes a case of the blind leading the blind as we sit in our hotel room flipping through guide books to try and figure out the day's activities. We shall see how well we do at filling in the blanks before we leave.

That is all for now. See you Soon.