Some Final Thoughts

I wanted to share a few final thoughts on my trip to Europe that, perhaps, might be informative.

Overall:

I really enjoyed Europe.  It really is quite different from the United States, sometimes in small ways that may surprise you.  For instance, when I returned and unlocked the door to my apartment, I thought something was wrong because it only took a half turn to unlock and same to lock.  I had been used to European doors where you have to turn the key 360 degrees to lock or unlock.

The hardest aspect for me was the time difference.  Seven hours really is a long time.  This was difficult for conversations with the family, keeping up with the goings-on in the States, and sports.  Yes, I could catch early games, but for the most part I could not view the MLB playoffs unless I woke up really early.  In the unlikely event I would be offered a job in Europe, the biggest hurdles for me would be the distance from family and the time difference.

I really like driving.  I like to be in control (yes, I have issues with control: when I was working at the Tram tours at Space Center Houston I preferred to drive because I did not like relying on someone else to drive).  That being said, I loved the trains in Europe.  I realize why they do not work in the United States, but may times while I was on the trains I thought about how great it would have been to travel across the States in a train in the 19^th century (completely romanticized, of course).

Aside from one tourist restaurant in Venice, the food in Europe in amazing.  Florence was especially good, but really the others were for the most part better than in the States.  It seemed more fresh, less processed.

Speaking of food, while in Italy I never saw Italian Ice, nor did I see Italian dressing (they use balsamic vinegar and olive oil).  Also, I remember making fun of someone ordering gelato at Olive Garden saying it’s just glorified ice cream.  It is not.  Authentic gelato (I have not had Olive Garden’s but I doubt it is real) is much better, and healthier, than ice cream.  I may miss gelato the most.

Other than pickpockets, for the most part I felt much safer walking around in Europe, even at night, than I would even in Auburn.  And while I’m thinking of security, I honestly think we should allow police to carry submachine guns in major tourist areas/potential terrorist attack sights like they do all over Europe.  At first it made me on edge, but I got used to it and felt more comfortable because of it.

If you go to Europe, I would advice no more than 3 weeks, and no more than 2 cities.  And, for your own sake, if you visit Florence (which you absolutely should), make it your last stop because anywhere you go after will be a disappointment.

Paris:

People who know me know that I was not too thrilled about going to Paris, especially compared to most people.  I had said before that the only reason I would ever go to France would be to visit Normandy.  Not only was I pleasantly surprised by Paris, I was flat-out wrong.  I really liked Paris.  My apartment could not have been in a better location.  The food, especially Rue Cler, was great (though I am still a little surprised by their love of French fries).  Only the Musee d’Orsay disappointed me, all the other sights were as good if not better than I expected.  I could have spent a day, or more, in the Louvre, and almost did.  Notre Dame was perhaps a little too commercial, but still great.  I was able to walk near and see the Eiffel Tower every day I went to the archives.  Outside of the Metro ride in to town, and the occasional urine smell in the streets, it was remarkably clean.  I really miss the bakeries everywhere, and people walking around eating fresh baguettes and that not being weird.

Favorite: Louvre; Disappointing: Musee d’Orsay; Could Get Lost In: Louvre; Wow Moment: Ste. Chappelle 

Darmstadt:

There’s not much to say.  It is definitely not a tourist town, so really unless you have business at ESOC there is no reason to even think about stopping here.  It is an industrial town, with all that infers.  I had to hunt a little, but was pleased to find that the best food I could find was near the rail station, and hence my hotel.  German food consists mostly of meat, especially sausages, and beer.  Nothing wrong with that, it just pales in comparison with Paris and Italy.

Florence:

I am not exaggerating with my praise.  The churches are magnificent.  The people are extremely nice.  The food is amazing.  I had six days of legitimate sightseeing and could have spent six more.  If I ever return to Europe, I will go out of my way to see Florence again.  While in these European towns I tried to imagine myself there in their heydays.  Ancient Rome would have been something, but Renaissance Florence would have been a spectacle.  Sure it is slightly touristy, but it does not pander to you like some of Rome, nor does it lose its local flavor.  If you are lucky enough to go, make sure to head south of the Arno for at least one dinner at a local restaurant.  I could write for pages gushing about Florence, but I will stop for now.

Favorite: Santa Maria Novella; Disappointing: Science Museum; Could Get Lost In: Pitti Palace and Gardens, Wow Moment: Michelangelo’s David in Accademia

Venice:

A real disappointment, only made tolerable because of my company.  The entire town is a tourist trap.  At the very least, Gregorian Chant Mass on All Saints Day in St. Mark’s Basilica, followed by a tour of the Doge Palace, was a great few hours.  But I still cannot get over the fact that a town that survives on tourism now shuts down at 21:00!  That would be like Miami or Orlando closing up at dark.  That cannot happen!  For as few streets as there are, it is remarkably easy to get lost in that town.  And, really, I do not want to get into the food again.  At least I got to see the shooting location for the library in Venice in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, though I have to apologize to Sarah once again for that adventure.

Favorite: Doge Palace; Disappointing: Nighttime; Could Get Lost In: St. Mark’s Basilica; Wow Moment: Mass in St. Mark’s

Rome:

The Vatican was amazing.  Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum were great for reflecting on the past dominance of the empire.  The churches were great.  The food was ok.  Other than that, Rome was somewhat disappointing.  The Colosseum was somewhat lacking.  The Pantheon is vastly overrated.  The city is too large and busy.  It was my own fault that I decided to do my Pilgrims Tour on Sunday and therefore could not spend more time viewing the churches because I kept running into Masses.  Really, I think there is a lot of potential to Rome, and it was probably better than I am letting on, but I think by these last few days I was burnt out and did not appreciate what I was seeing as much as I should have.

Favorite: St. Peter’s Basilica; Disappointing: Mamertine Prison light show; Could Get Lost In: Palatine Hill; Wow Moment: St. Peter’s Basilica

Another Quick Update

So it's been awhile since my last post, and this one will have to be quick because I have to wake up for my flight back to the US in about 4 hours.

The monastery I stayed in just outside the Vatican had no internet, so I took a self-imposed internet fast for my days in Rome.  When I arrived there on Friday, I had enough time to do some sightseeing so I began with the Vatican Museum.  It is full of amazing art and beautiful rooms, and of course most impressively ends with in the Sistine Chapel.  After this tour, I walked around the walls to enter St. Peter's Square properly.  I began by walking down to the crypt, since I was not sure if I would have time to visit it after the basilica itself.  Seeing all the tombs of popes was humbling, but of course the most emotional was the very simple tomb for John Paul II (The Great).  I then walked up to the Basilica, and was blown away.  They did an amazing job of hiding the true size of the church by scaling everything up.  Some of the statues, that look about human size, are really 15 feet tall.  Most astonishingly, the canopy over the main altar, which looks large but not dominating from the back of the nave, is seven stories tall!  I was lucky enough to make it to Mass that night.

The next day I met with an ESA archivist at ESRIN, in a small town just outside of Rome.  Outside of some photos, it was more or less a waste of half a day for me, especially since I had to waste almost two hours waiting for a train back to Rome.  When I return, I made some quick tours of sights around the train station, including the National Museum (statues and mosaics), the Baths of Diocletian (now a church and impressively massive), and three churches including Santa Susanna, the American church in Rome where I was able to attend Mass in English (a welcome sound).

On Saturday I made my Ancient Rome tour.  I began with St. Peters in Chains Church, which includes Michelangelo's Moses and the chains of Peter while he was in prison.  Next I went to the Colloseum, which, while packed with historical aura, was slightly disappointing for me (I was hoping for some exhibits).  I took a detour and walked over to the church that houses the Mouth of Truth, made famous by Roman Holiday (on the way I passed by the Circus Maximus where some kind of military show was going on).  I then back-tracked to Palatine Hill, the location of the Roman Palace.  This was my favorite stop of the day because it was less packed with tourists and allowed me to envision Imperial Rome the best.  Next was the Roman Forum, which was great but I think I would have appreciated it more had there been fewer people.  Just outside was the church/prison where Peter and Paul had been imprisoned and baptised fellow prisoners and guards alike.  Unfortunately it has been transformed into a 30 minute light show, during which you only really see their cell for about 2 minutes, which I thought was a travesty and perhaps slightly blasphemous.  But I pushed on to the Capitoline Museums with more art including the original Roman Wolf with Romulus and Remus.  I finished the day with a series of churches, my favorite of which was Gesu Church, the heart of the Jesuit order and location of the body of Ignatius of Loyola (his study was next door) and the hand of Francis Xavier (the rest of his body, I heard a priest explain, is still intact in India).  I was somewhat underwhelmed by the Pantheon, especially after I had heard it was the heart of Rome.  Thanks to Rick Steves I did find a nice international student restaurant nearby with cheap but very good food, and I got a free glass of their homemade Fragelino (strawberry wine) because of my book.  It was funny to see the owner's son excited to point out his name in the book!  I then walked back to my monastery by crossing the Tiber and passing through the Vatican.

On Sunday I decided to begin the day by attending Mass at St. Peter's again.  Afterall, when will I get the chance to do so again?  I just wanted to point out that St. Peter's, especially Sunday morning, could make for one heck of a Catholic dating service.  I wanted to make Sunday a Pilgrims Tour by visiting some of the great churches, including St. John Latern, St. Mary Major, etc., but even after I tried stalling by going to lunch and walking around, every church I visited was having Mass so I could not really visit (I guess I should not complain about that).  So I decided to take a side trip to the Appian Way, the original highway.  It was fun to walk down such a historical road, despite the painful blisters forming on my feet.  I stopped at the San Callisto Catecombs for a tour, and ran into a couple recently graduated from Auburn and now living in Rome.  I have my international War Eagle moment!  After a long wait for a bus back to town, I made my way down to St. Paul's Outside the Walls, another immense, beautiful basilica (this time in between Masses).  I could barely walk by this time thanks to the blisters, and I originally thought about just getting some pizza somewhere since it was still early for dinner, but knowing it was my last real European dinner, I decided to return to the restaurant from Saturday night.  There is no easy way to get there from the Metro, so two desperate stops asking for directions later I was where I needed to be.  I took my time with dinner, enough to rest my feet just enough to make the walk back again.

Today was mostly a day of wasting time and traveling, since I had to make my way to a hotel near the airport.  I got here early in the afternoon, but the remote location and status of my feet has lead me to an afternoon of catching up with sports and other things online, two talks with my parents (and Joey) on Skype, and preparations for my flight tomorrow.

Well, now I really should get some sleep before a very long day returning to the US.  I will try to make a few more posts with more details of my last week or so of travels and some overall impressions of my first (and hopefully not last) European trek.  See you in the States!

Ciao Italia!

Last Night in Florence

I never thought I would get emotionally attached to a city, but I truly will miss Florence.  I had a pretty good and full last full day.

I started by heading back down to the Central Market looking for an Italian silk tie, but mostly just checking prices.  It seems all the little shops have virtually the same things for the same prices.

I moved on to the Medici Chapels.  The major room is top by a dome that is a mini copy of the Duomo.  Inside is dark and garish.  A second chapel was designed by Michelangelo, and much better.  It holds the tombs of four of the "great" Medicis, including Lorenzo.  The tombs are adorned with sculptures referencing day and night, the beginning and ending of our time on Earth.  Behind the altar they have displayed some sketches from Michelangelo and his people, some of them quite cartoonish, like they were doodling on their breaks.  Overall it is much more simple, and better, chapel.

Next was the Science Museum, now called the Galileo Museum since renovations earlier this year (it has been completely changed, so unfortunately my Rick Steves tour was little to no help).  It is interesting because it holds numerous old scientific measuring devices from all branches of science.  It is called the Galileo Museum because they have on display some of the only serving tools once used by him, as well as reliquaries made by his disciples, one with the middle finger of his right hand, one with the index and thumb of his left hand as well as a tooth.  So even science has its saints.

Before lunch, I quickly walked throught the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, which is free to the public and includes a few pieces of art.  After lunch I made my way over to Dante's House and Dante's Chapel.  The house is mostly about the incredibly complex politics in Florence of his day that lead to his exile.  The chapel is probably where he attended Mass, as well as the resting place of Beatrice, his first love and muse who married another man and died young.

I also took some time to see the Michelangelo house, which probably was not his house though he did own it.  Outside of a few small pieces and some sketches, it mostly holds some art by his followers and paintings of Michelangelo.  It is a decent little museum, emphasis on little (ditto for Dante's House).  I did take the quick detour to see the door a few houses down that actually did lead to Michelangelo's house, which now is the door to an apartment.

Since I was in the area, I finally made my way down to Santa Croce Church.  The outside is impressive, with shades of Santa Maria Novella and the Duomo.  Inside they are doing extensive work on the altar and one of the main side altars, so qutie a bit was covered up.  The church is most notable for the almost 300 tombs, and the main ones could still be seen.  The three biggest names there are probably Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli.  I also found it interesting to see Enrico Fermi and Guglielmo Marconi, two big names in the history of science and technology.  It also includes a memorial for Dante who is buried elsewhere due to his exile.  Interestingly a leather school is attached since the monks had started a boys town of sorts with the leather school to teach them a trade.  I wanted to purchase something, perhaps a journal or new wallet, but the prices were a bit high for me.

I then decided to walk around and try to find a souvenir finally.  I was hoping to find a pencil sketch of the skyline of Florenice, since I had seen many of Venice while there.  Outside of one by one of the street artists, I came up short.  I did not even ask him the price for fear of the answer, plus I did not want to risk damaging it in the next week or so that I am in Rome and on the plane.  I made it to the silk market, and purchased a nice solid yellow tie made of Italian silk for only 6 Euro.  I looked around for a green tie, especially one with the Florence symbol, but no luck.  I also ducked into a basement football shop and purchased an official scarf of Fiorentina from Serie A Fiorentina, which is purple and white stripped.  I decided that, as a lasting memory of Florence, they will be my football club.

For dinner I thought about returning to the best restaurant I had been to before, a local joint south of the Arno we had dined at Saturday night.  Instead I decided to try one more new place.  Unfortunately the restaurant I wanted to eat at, which is supposed to be run by an exceptionally good chef but still low priced, was closed tonight.  I walked around the area, near the Central Market, and more or less got tired of looking and stopped at one that had pretty good prices.  The one thing I had been wanting to try since I got here was the local specialty, Bissteca Fiorentina (essentially a huge T-bone).  Most places serve it as a huge serving, a kilo, meant for many multiple people and with a price to prove it.  This restaurant, however, had a smaller sized portion for a single person.  Well, of course I had to try it!  I also ordered sauteed spinach in garlic and oil, which sounded interesting.  The steak was quite good, worth the price and the wait.  The spinach was remarkably lacking in taste until I finally tried some balsmic vinaigrette on it about halfway through to help me force it down.  Since it was my last dinner in Florence, I decided to spoil myself just a little and had some tiramisu to end the meal.  It was a little thick with the coffee powder, but overall very good.  It was not my best meal in Florence, but still very good.

After dinner I had to take one more stroll down to the Duomo.  As I said goodbye to Florence, I unexpectantly became slightly choked up.  Again, I never thought I would get emotionally attached to a city I did not live in, but Florence I think has that effect on people.  I could not help but smile when I overheard an American couple, obviously taking in their first night in Florence and talking about everything they want to do in see.  Again this may sound weird, but it made me feel a little better to know that every day someone is experiencing Florence for the first time and has the potential to enjoy it as I did.  I now know why my contact in Paris told me she was jealous of me, being able to experience Florence for the first time as she had years ago.

Tomorrow I head to Rome, the city that I thought at the beginning of this trip would be my highlight (it still may be, but it will have to pack a mighty wallop for that).  If Rome is just half of Florence, I think it will be a very good next 5 or so days.

Quick Update

I am back in Florence after a few days in Venice.  Venice, overall, was a disappointment.  The food was overpriced and very inferior to any of the other places I had been.  It is overwhelmingly touristy, yet it closes down at 9:00 so tourists like us just meander the streets unsuccessfully trying to find something to do.  It is amazingly easy to get lost, since streets are haphazard and street names mean nothing.  And to top it off, it was raining and flooding the whole time.

There were some good things.  We got to attend All Saints' Day Mass (Gregorian Chant) at St. Mark's Basilica, which is beautiful.  The Doge's Palace and adjoining prison was interesting, including the largest oil painting in the world.  And I was able to (eventually) track down the church that was the facade for the library in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Most importantly, I had some good friends to share the ups and downs.

I will try to update more tomorrow, but for right now I need to get some sleep before my last full day in Florence.  I have about 3 days left of things I want to see in that one day, so it will be interesting what I am able to pack in.  Ciao!

Friday!

I woke up this morning and tried to catch some of the game, but I had no internet in my room and did not feel like walking down to the kitchen, so I turned over and hoped for the best.  Later, when I finally woke up, I learned the worst.  C'mon Rangers!  Wake up!

I spent this morning taking care of a few things online and generally taking some time off.  In the afternoon, my friends from Auburn arrived in Florence for a fun weekend!  After we got them settled in their hotel, and took our time figuring how to get train tickets to Venice for Sunday and bus tickets to the small town of Friesole before that, we were able to do some sightseeing.

I took them to see Santa Maria Novella, and I think they enjoyed it.  I appreciated seeing it a second time and noticing some details I missed the first time.  On the way to the Duomo, we happened to notice a small church, Santa Maria Maggiore, that was open, so we stepped inside.  What a beautiful little church!  Yet another example of how Europeans have been able to pack so much art and beauty in random little churches around the cities.

By this time the Duomo was closed for the day, so we took our time walking around the Baptistry and Duomo and just taking in the sights.  I then took them down past Orsanmichel to the Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vechho, where we looked at the statues and tried to figure out where to get dinner.  We eventually settled on Trattoria Nella.  I eat a mixed salad, fettucine bolognese, and a slice cream and chocolate cake.  We also shared some delicious house Chianti.  We tried to be true Italians, and took our time eating and talking, outlasting 3 runs of other tourists coming in to eat.  We had some "small world" moments.  One couple was from Houston (Kingwood), the wife used to live in Mobile, and the husband worked at Johnson Space Center.  After I told them my research topic, he gave me their email and phone number to contact them when I return to the States.  What a nice couple!  Later there was a large family, all from Bryan/College Station!  There were not Aggies (one man admitted to being a Baylor Bear), but they again were nice and friendly.  It is amazing who you can run into.

By that time it was getting late, so we took a quick walk down to Ponte Vecchio before heading in for the night.  Tomorrow should be a very busy museum day since we have reservations at the Accademia (home of David) in the morning and the Uffizi Gallery (largest collection of Renaissance Art) in the afternoon.  I should have some more interesting stories to tell!

A Good Day

I woke up early this morning (4:00) to check on World Series Game 1.  Unfortunately, the Rangers were losing in the 7th.  I stuck around until it was out of reach in the 8th and went back to bed.

Shortly after I woke up this morning, I had to move to a smaller room in the house because the owner had overbooked.  My new room is, I am affectionately calling it, a cell.  It is also the farthest room from the kitchen where the WiFi is, so I have little to no signal there.  Hence, I am now doing my interneting from the kitchen area and making everyone else listen to my conversation with my fam on Skype!

After that, I was able to go to Confession with an English-speaking priest at the Duomo.  It was nice, because I was able to see another part of the Duomo that most tourist do not get to see since it is blocked off from them.  I did not take pictures, however, because I felt that would be inappropriate.

I then headed out to see the rest of the Florence sights south of the Arno.  This started with the Pitti Palace, which was at different times a home for the Medicis, the Hapsburgs (yes, of Austria), Napoleon, and the first king of unified Italy since Florence was the first capital.  It is now both preserved as the palace as well as an art museum, costume museum, porcelein museum, and entrance to the immense Boboli Gardens.  Unfortunately once again there were no photos allowed inside, but I took plenty in the gardens.  The exterior of the palace, while obviously huge, is also intentionally downplayed to "hide" the treasures inside.

When I made my way into the museum/palace, I happened upon a special tour of the king's apartment and bathrooms usually closed to the public, so I of course came along.  The tour guide was a nice 20-something guy who apologized for not speaking English well enough, though we did not have any problems.  I was joined by a couple from Manchester, England, the husband was originally from Scottish and still had a nice brogue.  The king's apartment was impressive, but I really marveled at the separate baths for king and queen (hers was huge, the lady on the tour with me rightly remarked it was like a jacuzzi).  Moving on, the palace/art gallery is amazing and varied.  Our tour guide had pointed out that, unlike most museums that have rooms dedicated to a period, this was preserved as they inhabitants had had it so 16th century paintings were next to 17th century furniture and 18th century walls.  Perhaps most impressive were the huge murals on the ceilings of the Medici rooms, each dedicated to a Roman god personified by the Medicis themselves.

The other exhibits were not particularly interesting to me, though I did think it was interesting that they had on display the burial garments of one Medici couple (a long story as to how they got them).  They were historically important because they are some of the few remaining garments from their time period.

I then moved out into the Boboli Gardens, which begin with a large fountain then move up a steep hill to a giant Neptune (I think) statue which affords an amazing view of Florence.  I also walked over to the Bardini Gardens, but they were much smaller and not nearly as impressive.  Unfortunately the Forte di Belvedere, which had commanded the eastern approach to Florence, has been closed for a few years so I was not able to see inside that.  Apparently at a certain spot numerous animals had died, and after a girl fell to her death the populace was in an uproar until the town was forced to shut down the entire fort until something can be done to fix the situation.

After making my way back to the entrance of the Pitti Palace (I had been there over 3 hours, so imagine the last few paragraphs taking much longer than I typed), I decided to move on to see the Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato Church.  On the way, I did stop in a small bakery and had a pastry with sugar coating and chocolate filling, somewhat like a donut though much better than any I had had before (my apologies to Dunkin' Donuts and the Triple Chocolate Imperial in Quebec).

On the map, it looked like a rather short walk.  In truth, it was anything but.  To get there, you have to walk up a hill/mountain on an almost straight up grade until you have about passed out.  Then, you get to walk up some more steep steps to the church/still working monastery.  It, however, was worth it.  From the outside, it looks almost like a mini Santa Maria Novella.  The inside is quite small, but filled with beautiful but simple artwork.  It must have been something for the Benedictine monks who originally lived there, on top of a hill away from the rest of the city.

More recently, the grounds have been filled with the tombs and crypts of some of the wealthiest families of Florence.  This only started in the late 19th century, so many of those buried here still have close family nearby, and therefore many had fresh memorials.  These tombs and crypts are absolutely remarkable, I could not help but take pictures of some of them.  I really wish I could share all of them, because the artwork rivals that in the museums.  One that struck me was two life-size statues of a man in uniform and his wife, standing like they are greeting each other.  I noted that she died in 1942 and he in 1944, both in their 20s, so I can only assume because of the war (you can see them on the right side of the picture).

I made my way over to the Piazza Michelangelo, which other than the view of Florence was a pretty big dud for me.  So I made my way back down the hill, thinking about catching dinner at one of the restaurants on the south side of the river.  When I reached the one Rick Steves had told me to eat at, I noticed that the menu had upped in price considerably since his writing.  I decided to head back to the house and rest my feet for a few minutes before catching dinner nearby.

I was going to go back to the first restaurant I had stopped at my first night, but I lost patience waiting for it to open.  Instead, I ventured toward the Piazza di Republica.  I was escorted into a restaurant there with an outsiding eating area but heaters since it was getting cooler.  I say escorted because they have a hustler working outside the restaurant urging passersby to eat there instead of the restaurant next door (I was going to eat there anyways because I had seen the menu, but I still thought it was funny).  I had a rather large dinner, deciding to splurge a little for my birthday dinner.  I started with a salad of shrimp, ham, and avocadoes on greens and tomatoes.  Next came my main course, pasta with sausage and tomato sauce.  I also had to have some cake, so I had a piece of cream cake with a chocolate frosting.  I should add that I had a delicious glass of the house chianti with my meal.  It was a good feast.

When I made it back to the house, I was happy to be able to talk to Mom (again) and Dad for over an hour, perhaps the last time I will be able to for a few days.  Overall, it was a very good, if tiring, birthday.  Thank you to everyone who remembered me!

Any More Information?

Yesterday I spent most of the day in the archives, getting what information I can from their holdings.  It is not much, but something.

In the morning I had ventured over to the Central Market and purchased some food for dinner.  I made a salami sandwich with fresh made salami, tomatoes, and a kind of baguette.  It was good, and tonight I plan on doing something similar.

Today was more of the same in the archives, though I finished early, around 1:30, because I had seen everything that they had to offer for me.  Yes, I am done, for now.  Oh, I did take a picture of the outside of the villa that houses the archives for now until they move into a new (and better) place next year.  I guess I will have to find something to do in Florence to keep me occupied for the rest of my stay.

I started by checking out the inside of the Duomo (after a dark chocolate gelato).  It is somewhat bare inside, but the dimensions are truly astounding.  The front of the church, under the dome, is blocked off with chairs for Mass, but you could still look up into the dome and see the frescos.  Really, more than anything, the size is hard to comprehend.  It is even more difficult to think that, since they did not have the knowledge at the time they built it to make the dome, it sat there with a hole in the roof for over 100 years!

I then went to the Baptistry infront of the Duomo.  Apparently they think it was originally a Roman temple, which does not really surprise you when you walk inside.  The true highlight is the golden roof with Christ at the center.  More than anything, for me, it is fun to think about the history of such places and who would have been in the same spot as I was able to stand.

I made my way back to Santa Maria Novella to see the museum and cloisters which was closed on Sunday.  To enter, you walk through an open space, the green cloister, with frescos on the walls depicting creation, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  They also have a chapel built for Spanish Dominicans with amazingly detailed frescos on the walls.  Luckily, they have a well-written description to help you understand all the symbolism.  One thing I had not known: Domicans were often represented as dogs, watch dogs, safeguarding the Church.  They even had one depiction of St. Dominic commanding his dogs to destroy a fox, representing heresy and sin.

They also have a museum and treasury in another chapel.  I found their reliquaries especially interesting.  They included St. Catherine of Siena, St. Sebastian (a golden arm with an arrow through it), Dominican priests, and thorns and purple cloak from Christ (third class, I believe).  I always marvel at these and wonder about the stories they could tell.

So, it looks like I will not need to return to the archives.  I plan on trying to wake up early tomorrow morning to catch some of Game 1 of the World Series.  Then, I should have a good day of sight seeing.  I am not sure my plans, I will have to do some research tonight.  Hopefully I will have some more good stories tomorrow!

Another Side of Florence

I went to the archives today for the first time, and it was somewhat interesting.  I decided to walk there, which I believe Google said is a 2 km walk, both ways.  That translates to about an hour walk.  It is on the extreme northwest side of Florence, so I had to walk through the domestic areas, places most tourists have no reason to see.  It was interesting, they are not quite "bad" parts of town, but obviously not the best either.

I finally made it to the Piazza Edison, and found my way to the entrance to the archives villa.  On the website, it says to walk through the stone pillars and up the steps to the villa.  When I read that, I thought 5, maybe 10 steps tops.  Boy was I wrong.  I took a picture of the scene as I turned corner number two, and that was not the end.  I started to question where exactly I was heading, as it seemed something out of a horror movie, or maybe Big Fish.  I finally made to the top, and the villa was actually quite nice.

I met the archivist in charge of the ESA archives, a pleasant Italian who showed me how to search their holdings, "fonds", and how to request documents.  You have to fill out a special card, and can only request three at a time.  They also have a form I have to fill out if I want to use my digital camera to take photos of the documents (which I usually do instead of paying for copies), but you are limited to 500 for your entire visit.  Just as a reference, when I was at the National Archives in Fort Worth I took at least 300 a day for the 3 or 4 days I was there.  Needless to say, I have decided to just take notes and only take photos if necessary.

During one of the breaks of waiting for them to bring me more documents, I took some time to look outside the window and enjoy the Tuscan countryside.  I dutifully took a picture to share with you.  As you can probably tell, it had rained a lot last night and was cloudy/rainy all day today.

I finished in the archives a little after 4, since they close at 5 and I did not think I would have enough time to request more documents and look through them.  On the way back, I stopped off at Grom again and tried the apple gelato for my lunch/snack.

For dinner I headed over to a restaurant nearby that Rick Steves suggested, Trattoria Marione.  I got there 5 minutes before it opens at 7, but there was already a line of other tourists waiting for it to open.  Apparently it is so popular that it has a line all night, so I was happy to be able to get in right away.  I had a mixed salad, just greens, tomato, and carrots, and the lasagna, which ended up being a white lasagna (i.e. no tomatoes).  It was all very good, as usual.

 Tomorrow should be another fun day at the archives, though I am going to actually try and wake up early enough to get over to the market before I go to the archives.  I guess that means I have to get to sleep soon.

Wow

Today ended up being much more busy than I expected. I slept in a little because I was so tired from yesterday, but I was able to get to 1030 Mass at Santa Maria Novella. I will talk more about it a little later.

After Mass I headed over to the Medici Chapels, one of the few places supposed to be open on Sundays. I walked past what I thought was the entrance, but it did not look open, so I kept walking around the building until I got to the Basilica di San Lorenzo. I was able to peek into it, but they were having Mass so we could not go all the way in. Yes, unlike Notre Dame, the Florentines get it right: all active churchs are closed during Mass so people cannot just meander around. The lady working there informed me that the Medici Chapels are closed every other Sunday, and of course this was that Sunday.

Undeterred, I walked toward the Duomo to check out the Duomo Museum. This was more than worth the price of admission. This museum holds the majority of statues for the Duomo, since most of those on the outside now are replicas. By far, the highlight for me was Michelangelo's last pieta, which includes Niccodemus sculpted in his own image. They also have a reliquery with John the Baptist's severed finger. These are just a few of the many beautiful pieces in their collection.

After that, I walked around to the Duomo's Bell Tower and decided to walk up to the top. I read that it is perhaps not as bad a climb as the Duomo Dome, since it is 50 steps less, but that still means it is 414 steps, and believe me you feel them. There are 4 or 5 stops along the way, each one teasing you that you are there, but not quite! The final flight of steps are so tight, it is extremely difficult for two people to squeeze through. But, once on top, the view is worth it. You really can see all of Florence (save some blocked by the Duomo itself), and miles in each direction to the hills surrounding the town. From up there, you can see how the street layouts make sense, of course when you are down among them, like last night, they are slightly more complicated.

After that hike, I decided to treat myself to lunch at a local gelato shop Grom, which was highlighted in my tour book. I can definitely tell why. I had to ask what their Flavor of the Day was, it was something like cream, yogurt, fig, and something else. He asked me if I wanted to taste it, who was I to say no? It was surprisingly good, since none of the individual flavors appealed to me. Once I saw the Extreme Dark Chocolate, however, I could have no other. I hardly think I have ever spent a more worthy 2 Euro. I may just have to stop by Grom again to taste some of the other flavors (I am especially intrigued by Apple).

Sufficently decadent, I decided to head back to Santa Maria Novella to visit as a tourist. This church is even more beautiful when I got to see the detail than I first imagined. I was very glad to have my book which included a tour of the church. Unfortunately they do not allow photos inside, but I can say with great conviction that no words, or images, can begin to describe this piece of art. The frescos are amazing, especially three walls to a side sanctuary depicting Dante's Paradise, Purgatory, and Hell. Now, I understand and respect people who differ with my religious beliefs, but I truly feel that places like Santa Maria Novella are proof positive of God, because He is the only reason for such beauty. Renaissance Florence must have been an amazing place to live.

After that, I decided to head back to the house (only a couple blocks away) and rest for a little while before venturing out again.

Rested, I decided to take the Renaissance Walk from Rick Steve's podcast that I had downloaded to my iphone. This walk starts with the Duomo and Baptistry, walks down Via dei Calzaiuoli to the Piazza della Signoria, past the Uffizi Gallery to Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River. The tour had a good mix of Renaissance history while pointing out the highlights along the way.

One of the highlights is the Orsam-michele, a grainery transformed into a church. The inside includes a huge altar built to fit inside the space perfectly (again, photos not allowed inside). As the tour guide says, seeing a piece of art like that can only be truly appreciated in the space where it was made to be housed, museums cannot convey the true power of the image as a whole.

The Piazza della Signoria includes the Medici's palace (Palazzio Vecchio) and was a popular spot for nearly anything during the Renaissance, including beheadings and pyres. More famously, it was the original location of Michelangelo's David, guarding the entrance to the palace. A replica stands there today. There are a number of other statues in the square, including a Neptune fountain, a three-in-one sculpture of a Roman stealing a wife from a husband, and Perseus beheading Medusa.

The courtyard for the Uffizi includes statues in the recesses of the pillars of some of the most famous Florentines, including Donatello, Michelangelo, Amerigo Vespucci, and Galileo. I then had my first view of the Arno, at this point a nice, peacefully flowing river. The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge spanning the Arno in Florence. It was famously saved by a Nazi General in WWII, who was ordered to destroy all the bridges, but could not make himself destroy this piece of history. It used to be lined by merchents like tanners, but more recently it has become the place for gold and silver shops.

My tour ended on the other side of the Arno, and I had no plans from there. I saw a number of signs for points of interest, so I somewhat randomly decided to walk towards the Santo Spirito. I was infinitely glad I did. I was able to walk in, though it would soon close in preparation for Mass (again, no photos). The tour book said the only real piece of note in this church was a crucifix sculpted and painted by an 18-year old Michelangelo, but I hardly felt that justified it. Again, the church itself was an amazing piece of art, with numerous side altars and tombs along the walls. And of course the crucifix was worth an extra mention, especially considering the age at which he made it and the amazing detail spent on a piece intended for high up the top of the altar where no one would be able to see the detail.

Recharged, I decided to venture further west toward the San Frediano gate, the original Roman gate and wall. It was impressive, though I did not linger long in a somewhat questionable neighbor. On the way back, I stopped in Santa Maria del Carmine, but the rosary was being prayed so I did not want to desturb. I also stopped in a pizzeria/ristorante Tratorria Pizzeria Dante, which was suggested by my tour book. I decided to try the ham pizza. It was quite good, though I was surprised when they served as a whole pie, no slices, so I had to eat it with knife and fork.

At this point it was getting late and dark and I was somewhat exhausted, so I walked back to the house via the Duomo (I have not quite got the hang of the city, so I have to use landmarks to guide me). I was happy to be able to talk to most of the fam on Skype, and now I need to look ahead to tomorrow and figure out where I have to go for research. It should be an interesting first venture into the archives. Ciao!

The Long Road to Firenze

It has been quite a long day. I woke up just after 400, in time to see the 7th, 8th and 9th innings of the Rangers clinching the first AL pennant. I was very happy to be able to see the end of the game before I had to catch my train at 613.

Waiting in a train station is one thing. Waiting in a train station in the cold is another. Waiting in a train station in the cold at 600 in the morning is a whole other world. Waiting in a train station in the cold at 600 in the morning with a bunch of weird Germans is something one must experience.

So I got on the train having not eaten breakfast, since the train from Paris had served breakfast I assumed the same for the German train. Boy was I wrong. I think they once came by with some drinks and food stuffs to sell, but I did not want to venture the price, so I decided to stick it out. One thing that was nice, when we stopped in Stuttgart a couple got on and sat next to me with 2 oversized bags and roughly 6 other assorted bags. I heard them talking and knew they were Americans, so I struck up a conversation. Turns out they are from DC, he is an engineer (PhD Industrial Engineering) over on business, and she met up with him to see Stuttgart, Zurich, and Geneva. They were quite nice, and we both agreed it was nice to talk to another American. He also gave me interesting advice for writing a dissertation that his advisor had given him: write for two hours a day, solid, then take the rest of the day to recoup and think about tomorrow. We did eventually get a tiny snack bag of pretzels and stuff, my breakfast. All three of us enjoyed watching the scenery pass by. Rural Germany is quite a nice scene, lots of trees and there was a small brook following the tracks most of the way.

They stayed behind in Zurich as I moved on to catch the next train. I was a bit worried since I had 20 minutes between trains, but the Germans are punctual and I actually got to the platform before the train to Milano. So now I was on an Italian train. Most importantly, I got my first view of the Alps. I tried taking some pictures, but trains windows do not like to cooperate. I did nap for a good part of the 4 hours down to Milan. What I did see of Switzerland, however, was amazingly beautiful. I have to say that it is by far the most beautiful countryside of the countries I have seen. The varying topography, sometimes quite drastic, is a marvel, and the land is dotted with amazing lakes. As we neared Milan, I noticed that the time for our arrival came and went, with no signs of us slowing down or getting closer. We finally pulled into Milan with quite literally 5 minutes before my connecting train to Florence. Needless to say I, as well as most of the people from the train ran through the station to the train which was, of course, on the opposite side. I think the conductor saw the herd of crazy running people and decided to hold up the train for a few minutes. I hopped on as soon as I could, fearing it would take off, and of course I found out my seat was on the far end. I had to wade through about 8 cars to get to mine, only to find my seat filled by a father and young boy. Not wanting to confront them, and knowing I was the second stop, I crashed in another seat.

The scenary down to Florence was very nice as well. I loved seeing the miles of farmland dotted by Italian villas that look exactly as you would imagine them. The Italians sure have a flair for the dramatic. They came by and served a drink and a snack, so I had some hot tea and a small bag of some kind of dry bread niblets in a bag, my lunch. We finally arrived in Florence a little after 500.

When I walked out of the train station, it was like a whole other world. Very busy, somewhat closed in, people everywhere. Luckily the house I am staying in was only a few blocks away. The lady who owns the house showed me and and brought me to my room. I will actually be staying in a double for the majority of the time because the single was full. I say most of the time, because she told me she overbooked between Thursday and Saturday, so I will need to move to a smaller room for those days. I told her it was no problem, but she said she would charge me 10 Euro less for those days because of the inconvenience. I will not argue that!

The house is nice. There is a long corridor leading to each of the room, with a bathroom at the end of the hall, then a kitchen leading to the courtyard in the back. The kitchen looks nice, though I will be sharing it with a few other people, but I should be able to make dinners here after I go to the Central Market (perhaps tomorrow?). I did not go in the courtyard yet, but it looks like a nice, peaceful get away. We talked for awhile, and then I settled in a little before finding dinner. Italians like to make a big deal of dinner, and in fact most, if not all, restaurants do not open until 700. Dinner usually consists of an antipasta, a first course of pasta or soup, a second course of meat, perhaps another antipasta and then dinner. Of course you do not have to get all the courses, and if you do the bill will add up very quickly (5-9 Euros for the antipasta, 8+ for the first course, 12+ for the second course, etc.)

I looked in my guidebook and marked on my map a couple of restaurants close by to check out. It ended up the map was no help, because I was easily turned around but ended up at the restaurant I was looking for originally, so I guess it worked out. When I arrived at Trattoria al Trebbio, there were already about a dozen other tourists waiting in line outside. After they opened the doors, I was taken to one of the smaller rooms (there are, from what I could tell, 4 or so different eating areas). I ordered the Bruschetta (toasted bread with tomatoes) for antipasta, the Spaghetti alla polmadora (I think, it was a tomato sauce), and a glass of the house red wine. The wine was absolutely perfect, smooth and no aftertaste. The bruschetta was quite good, and even had a small salad with it. The spaghetti was very good as well. I was very hungry, and probably did not enjoy them as much as I should have. So hungry, I realized I had not taken a second to take a picture of the food. Nevertheless, it was an excellent first taste of Florence.

Fairly full, I walked back to the house past Santa Maria Novella, where I think I will attend Mass tomorrow. It is a beautiful structure from the outside, and I can only imagine the inside. I made it back to the house in time to see some of Joseph's birthday! It was great to see the whole family, though it only made me wish to be home more.

I am not sure my plans for tomorrow, after Mass. I probably want to check out the Central Market and get some food for the week. I will probably also wonder around and take in the sights. Not sure now if I will go in anywhere or not. I am excited about my first full day in Italy!

And This Is How We Say Goodbye...In Germany!

Ok, I could not pass up the chance to quote one of the best movies ever (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for those who might not know - Mom!).

I slept in a little today since I thought today was going to be an "off" day. Around 1100 I checked my email and found an email from a retired man who said he could meet with me today for an interview. Of course I said yes!

I quickly learned why, when some of the other men had mentioned that I should talk with him, they asked if I had the next few weeks open. He is quite a talker. I think it took him about 90 minutes to give a long and winding explanation of his work history at ESOC, which was just a fraction of what he could have talked about. It was great to hear him and all of his stories, but slightly difficult to get him to focus and talk about the questions I had. Our conversation when on for almost three hours, at which point he realized that he had another person waiting to meet with him, so we had to part. I think I got some good information from him about some of the early days at ESOC. Overall, I am not complaining about this interview, just wishing I could have learned a little more specifically for my project.

I spent the rest of the afternoon packing and realizing that I have to catch the train at 600 tomorrow morning, which means a (hopefully) early night. For dinner I decided to have a bit of a smorgasbord of German food. There are a number of little food places in the train station, somewhere between a food court (but with fresh food rather than fast food) and a market. I ended up sampling a little from a number of places, including a real German pretzel (I had to get one), a bratwurst sandwich, a mozerella and tomato sauce sandwich (almost a mini-pizza), and a double chocolate muffin as the piece de resistance (or whatever the German equivalent is). It was a good, and quite filling, dinner.

And so I leave Germany. It would be interesting to come back some time to a larger city (Berlin perhaps) so that I could compare the experiences. I doubt Darmstadt is a good example of Germany, but if it is I have to say it was a bit disappointing. I understand why so many ESA people see it as not the best place to work. But that's ok, I got some good information, and my next post should be from Florence! I just hope that my personal hype will not mean that it cannot live up to my expectations. We will see.

A Day in the Library

Ok Rangers fans, and Yankee haters (i.e. smart people), you can blame me for last night's game. I had not watched any of the other games, but I was able to catch the first few innings last night. I decided to stop watching and go to bed when it was 4-0 and I realized how much damage I had brought to them. Unfortunately, they were not able to make up for my bad mojo.

Last night, I did go to the Italian restaurant (Vapiano). When I entered, the hostess gave me a card and asked (in German) if I had been there. I told her no, and when she started to explain in German, I asked if she spoke English. She did not, but she was nice enough to take me to one of the bartenders who told me how it works. Basically, they have a line of cooks for pasta, pizza and anti-pasta, and salads. You order what you want and they make it in front of you. They put what you ordered on the cards, then you pay when you leave. It's actually pretty cool. I got some bologonese spaghetti, which was quite good. I walked up to the bar and ordered rotwein (red wine). When the bartender (a different one) asked me what kind, I just said "house" and he seemed to understand. The wine was pretty good as well, somewhat like a quite not as dry pinot noir. The seating was not my favorite. The majority of the restaurant was a series of long tables where different groups sit together, and next to the bar there were smaller tables, which of course were all filled up. I eventually found a corner of a table next to the window, so it was ok. What was really interesting was that they were playing house disco music. Overall, I really liked it, especially the price (5.50 Euros for the dinner, though 6.50 for the wine!).

Today I woke up a little bit later than I wanted, so I got to ESOC a little later than I wanted. But it was ok, because all I had for today was as long as I needed in the library. I was reading through one of the books when the librarian showed up. I told her my research interests and asked her for help. She did the best she could, but they really do not have a lot there. I asked if they had any archival material, and she looked at me quizzically. She did take me downstairs to a seperate area where they have older books and journals. So I spent the rest of the day combing through their journals and the few books that could help me. I did find a few interesting things, like the documents for the creation of ESA, as well as a pdf file with floor plans for the control centres, but again it was very limited. It was a slightly disappointing day, but not a total waste. That, however, completes my time at ESOC since I have no reason to return tomorrow.

Tonight, I walked back down to the town square to check out a German restaurant/brew house I had been told was the best in town. When I walked in, it was completely filled, standing room only. I immediately turned around and left. I looked around for another restaurant, but all they have are cafes and a few American restaurants (McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut), which I am avoiding at all costs. Disappointed, I decided to walk back to Vapiano from last night. I figured I could try one of their pizzas, so I ordered the Salame pizza. It ended up being basically pepperoni pizza, which was not a disappointment. It was quite good, very thin crust, though slightly burnt. Again, I will not complain for their prices.

I was just able to talk with Mom and (surprise) Dad, which is always good. Since I am not going to ESOC tomorrow, I think I will take most of the day to sort through what I have and perhaps begin to write a few things down. I would do siteseeing, but I think my walks down to the town square means I have seen the site. I will not lie, I am eagerly anticipating Saturday morning when I will be heading through more interesting sites (Zurich and the Alps) to a warmer climate.

Roaming Free

I realized that yesterday's post was too long, so I will do my best to make this short and sweet.

Last night I went to dinner at a local German restaurant, Braustabel. It was kind of interesting. When I took my seat, the waiter asked me what I wanted to drink. All I said was "beer" and he returned with an English menu. It's pronounced the same in English and German, how could he know? Anyways, I ordered the Darmstadter, a mound of gound beef in onion sauce with bread. It was pretty good, though it did not have that much taste. What was interesting was, when I ordered it, the waiter looked at the kitchen as if to find out if they could make it, then shrugged and somewhat reluctantly said "OK". Then, not 5 minutes later, it was on my table! I have literally never had food served that quickly in a restaurant. German efficiency!

When I got back to my room, I figured since the router is sitting in the hallway, I might as well give it a try, so I simply unplugged it and plugged it back in. Viola! It works! Now I have internet access in my room. I probably would have done it sooner, but I was somewhat reluctant to mess with their internet. Anyways, I was able to get on Skype and have a long conversation with Mom, which was great.

This morning was one of those mornings where you just do not want to get out of bed. I forced myself up and got to ESOC only about 30 minutes later than I had said. I was immediately escorted to their library where I encountered a very new phenomenon: no librarian. On top of that, a completely different system for shelving and no guidance. There was a sign that there should be a librarian between 1130 and 1500, so I had free reign in the morning. I meandered through the shelves and found a few interesting titles before my lunch appointment with another interviewee at 1230. The librarian never showed up.

After a nice lunch of peanut sauce chicken skewers with rice and mixed veggies, followed by the customary coffee (or green tea), I had another interview with someone in navigation celebrating his 30th year at ESOC. Both interviews were interesting, though I am not sure how much they will help me. Anyways, after that interview, I called it a day.

I should mention that, after my main contact's secretary dropped me off at the library, I was pretty much walking around by myself all day. This is not that big of a deal, except that to get in anywhere you need a badge, and my visitors badge does not grant access to anything since I am supposed to be accompanied by someone at all times! That means when I had to go into a building, I basically had to stand around outside the door until someone else came by and opened the door. I felt a bit like I was sneaking around into places, which was interesting.

Tonight I think I am going to try an Italian restaurant that multiple people have told me to try. I guess I will see how it is. My main contact will be out the rest of the week, but he assured me I could have free reign of the library again tomorrow (and presumably Friday if needed) for more research. It should be interesting.

A Super Bouncy Ball

Well, I have been quite busy the last day or so, despite (or because of) limited internet access.

Let me begin by saying that I failed to mention yesterday about my first train ride. What an experience! I now understand why so many people have fallen in love with rail travel. I was a bit nervous when I got to the station since I had never been on the train before, but I quickly learned that, at least at Paris Gare de l'Est, it is more about finding somewhere to sit around and wait. Since they do not release the location of the trains until 20 minutes before they are scheduled to leave, and I was there 90 minutes early, I had plenty of time to stand and sit around, feeling cold in the 30-40 degree weather. I soon realized why so many people were standing huddled around the space heaters sticking out the floor at intervals near the boards. Once my train location was announced, I followed the herd to my car, and was suprised when there was no one there to greet me or ask for a ticket. So, I found my seat.

A few minutes later, a young Japanese boy started talking to me in French and pointing at my seat. It seems as though he wanted my seat. I simply said "English," and he told me I was in the wrong seat. Long story short, I was. You see, each seat had two numbers, one of them lit up. I had found the seat with my number (62), but it was not lit up, so it was actually seat 21. After this was explained to me, I sheepishly acknowledged my error and found my seat further down the car. Now, to my defense, as a first-time rider it is awfully confusing when each seat has two seat numbers.

Firmly settled in my real seat, I sat back and enjoyed my first experience. There is nothing quite like watching the scenery flash by at 150 miles per hour (or however fast they go). Do not get me wrong, I love driving, and flying is good too, but I may be converted after this first trip. After an hour or so, we were served lunch. I say "we," but I really me "everyone but me," and I am not making that up. Apparently they ran out of food just before they got to me, and the guy (train attendant?) simply walked away. I was confused, especially since I was literally the only one without food. Did I do something wrong? Was it because I was American? After a half hour or so, he came back to pick up the trash. He did not speak English very well, so I tried to ask him to the best I could about food. He told me they ran out and he might be able to get a roll or something. To be fair, he did eventually return with a full meal and some quite good tea. Still, I wonder why I did not get that food in the first place?

Four hours on the train passes surprisingly quickly, even when all your doing is listening to music (in particular Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, apparently I was in a WWII reflective mood moving from France to Germany) and looking out the window. Before I realized it, we had arrived in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt Hbf is an interesting place, when you have an hour layover and there are about five benches in the entire station. Luckily, I was able to get a seat rather quickly, so I sat there and was intrigued by the people walking in and out. If I did not quite get French style, I certainly do not understand the Germans. Roughly half looked as if they were on their way to a metal concert. Another quarter were dressed in business attire. The rest looked as though they basically threw on whatever they found laying around their room. One thing is common: almost everybody wears black, or at best a dark gray. Now, I get wearing black, and am doing so as I type this, but it does not exactly add to the already dreary surroundings (perhaps that explains it?). Alas, around 45 minutes before my train was to depart the track number came up, so I started to head that way, if nothing else to get my blood flowing again (it was even colder here).

As I boarded the train, I saw an attendant and made sure it was the train stopping in Darmstadt. She said yes, then quizzically said "in 40 minutes?" I smiled, said yes, and took my seat. I forgot to mention about tickets. I was surprised that, on the train from Paris, they only asked for my ticket once, about 10 minutes after we left the station, and never asked for my passport. I was even more surprised that, even though it was only about a 20 minute trip, they never asked me for my ticket to Darmstadt. Oh well.

So, I got to Darmstadt, and I pretty much mentioned what happened after that. I had a hard time finding someone who could give me a map to the town, since they barely spoke any English (a recurring theme in this rather small town). After struggling with the whole no wifi thing, I decided to make my way to the town square to see if it was any better. Yes, there were more people there, and some stores, but the overall dreariness did not change. I understand that the town was heavily bombed by the Allies in WWII, and had to almost completely rebuild, but they did not have to get the worst Soviet "architects" to do so! I kid, of course, but it does not seem much different from what I imagine those Soviet industrial cities look like.

I eventually stopped for dinner at a Greek/Italian restaurant (I know, I know). The man barely spoke any English, but they did have an English menu, so that helped. I had the Sovlaki Special, two pork skewers, with a salad and tzatziki and rice. It was quite good, the pork was very tender and juicy. I also had a lighter German beer, that was also pretty good. After dinner I made my way back to my hotel, was able to speak haltingly on Skype with dad and later mom in the stairwell as people gave me funny looks, and eventually went to bed (which I should mention consists of a cover and a blanket not large enough to cover the bed, but I was warm enough after I turned the heat on in the room).

During breakfast this morning, I mentioned to the girl at the desk about the wifi not working upstairs. She said "that is not good," and explained that she would tell the owners but, since they live in Frankfurt, it may take until tomorrow to fix. I also was able to see on my iphone that the Rangers had beaten the Yankees 8-0 (!) and check up on a few things before heading to ESOC. To get there, I actually walked through the train station, taking a slight shortcut rather than finding a bridge over the tracks furthers down. My main contact at ESOC is the Mission Operations Director, meaning he is basically in charge of the operations side (control) of all missions currently in flight. This is quite the job! He is extremely nice, and began by sitting me down and showing me four powerpoints he had made up on ESA in general and the control centre in particular, all of which he copied onto my flash drive! He then took me on a tour of the computer centre, the main control room, and the various mission control rooms. I have to say that, aside from talking to the guys who work here, actually getting to walk into the sites and see them up close and personal is definitely the biggest perk of this research.

I mentioned to him that the men I had talked to at Headquarters and mentioned I should talk to a certain individual, so he was nice enough to call him up. Unfortunately this contact was getting ready to leave on a job this afternoon, but he was nice enough to sit down with me for 30 minutes or so and try to give me other contacts of people who could supplement him since he will not be around. Did I mention ESA people are extremely nice and helpful?

After this, my main contact invited me to lunch with a couple of guys who just happened to be here from NASA's JPL to talk about how ESOC runs (copiers). I blush to say that the lunch was in a private room with a waiter and everything. I further blush to admit that, since I was an invited guest, I did not have to pay for my delicious lunch of a half rosemary and lemon chicken, pommes frites (French fries), and a glass of red wine (I also had a green tea while the rest, in European fashion, had coffee or expressos). It was quite interesting to hear them talk in detail about the nitty-gritty of their work, like I was eaves-dropping on some relatively important international relations. My contact even convinced the JPL guys to give me their contact information (unlike the Europeans, they were very reluctant to do so).

I do have to mention that after lunch, since it was raining outside, my contact walked me back to his office through a series of underground walkways between buildings. I hope that was not a security secret. He then had me ushered to another meeting with two men who had worked for ESA at both Johnson Space Center and JPL, so they had intimate knowledge pertaining to my interests. Again, both were very nice and helpful. We had a good hour-long talk, after which one of them walked me over to the public relations people. The main lady was not there, and I finally found out why so many of the contacts people had been giving me were gone this week: it's a student holiday this week! So basically I came here at the worst possible week (other than, as one of them noted, the week between Christmas and New Years). That means my personal contacts will be limited this week, but at least I have so many emails of people to contact later.

The public relations lady that was there was nice enough to give me a bag full of copies of materials on ESOC. I gladly thanked her for these, all the while wondering about how I am going to get them back to the States. Well, I guess I will find a way. That about concluded my day. After walking back to my hotel, I grabbed my computer and am currently sitting in the breakfast area downstairs, drinking some more green tea, and pretending I am in a German cafe. I will probably try one of the German restaurants that my main contact told me about, so I can test out the local cuisine, such as it is. Tomorrow I am supposed to start in the centre library before bouncing around again in the afternoon between interviews. Hopefully they will be just as good.