Europe

Editor’s Note: Lara was recently in Rome on assignment, taking Viator’s After-Hours Tour to the Vatican. If you’re planning a trip to Rome, there are four dates left if your want to book this private after-hours Vatican tour: August 2, August 23, September 5, September 22.

Let’s face it, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel – holding one of the world’s richest collections of art – is one of the unmissable sights in Rome. That you must visit it is without question. How you do it is another issue, depending on time and resources.

As we stroll the 15-minute walk from St Peter’s Square, or Piazza St Pietro, along Viale Vaticano, around the colossal block that’s home to the St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, to the museum entrance, we can’t help but think how incredibly lucky we are.

Our after-hours tour of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel

Long Lines? Unbearable Queues? Not for us

Just a few hours ago, the pavement-wide line of perspiring tourists stretched over a thousand metres along this very route. Some tourists had come prepared, wearing sun hats or shading themselves under umbrellas, continually splashing on the sunscreen to protect themselves from the scorching summer sun. Others were guzzling down tepid aqua frizzante from their water bottles and munching into sandwiches they’d made from the hotel breakfast buffet earlier that morning, too scared to leave for a second to run to a caffé for a cold drink or fresh panini for fear of losing their place. While others – poor things – obviously hadn’t known about the hours of waiting in the slow-moving queue to get inside, and were wilting, no, frying, in Rome’s sweltering heat.

Around 25,000 people visit the Vatican Museums each day. Yes, that’s right – that’s not a typo – 25,000 E-V-E-R-Y day! But thankfully, for cash-rich time-poor travellers and lovers of art and architecture who want to enjoy the museums without the long sweaty wait in line, and then the constant drone of tour guides barking at their groups once they get inside, there is another alternative. And this is exactly what we’ve come to test out – Viator’s After-Hours Tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.

When we arrive at the entrance, the heavy wooden doors are closed and the small square out front is deserted, as if everyone has gone home. Have our watches stopped? Are we late, we wonder? There are two couples waiting nearby who we discover are the rest of our ‘group’. We’re not fond of big tour groups and we were assured this one would be small, exclusive, intimate. It is, and we’re relieved.

The Vatican welcomes our little group

A few minutes later our guide, Maria Ludovic, arrives and like clockwork the guards open the big doors and we’re invited in. We already feel privileged. Special. Yet we feel positively blessed once Maria leads us inside and through the enormous ticket area, which I remember from my first visit years ago, would ordinarily be heaving with a sea of sticky sunburnt bodies. Instead, we’re still feeling refreshed from our post-flight showers and we can actually feel the cool breeze of the air-conditioning, which is impossible to detect during the day. Tonight the ordinarily crowded area is empty. We can hear our heels click on the floor and the echo of our guide’s voice bouncing off the marble.

First, Maria leads us to the vast Vatican courtyard with its perimeter posted with large explanatory signs used by tour guides to describe to their groups the highlights they should look out for as they make the way through the museum. Whether they’re able to actually see these or not once inside is another thing. There are usually masses of people shuffling through and the discomfort of the experience (definitely not recommended for claustrophobics) is a distraction in itself. But if you’re small like me and you get sandwiched between a group of tall Northern Europeans, you have no hope of noticing anything until you get to the Sistine Chapel where the numbers of visitors entering are controlled.

Tonight, however, we have none of these problems. As Maria leads us through the splendid marble-floored corridors, their ceilings dripping with candelabra and extravagantly decorated with vivid frescoes, everything gilded in gold, there’s nothing to get between us and the exquisite art on the walls and the splendid sculptures that line the halls – the Galleria dei Candelabri, the Galleria degli Arazzi (tapestries), the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche (maps) – my favourite.

Maria is well-versed on the collections and as she guides us through the museum she stops at important pieces, telling us the stories depicted in the paintings and those behind their creation, as well as sharing with us the widely-held interpretations and her own decoding of their meanings. We spend some time in the Raphael Rooms (among others), once the private apartments of Pope Julius II, where Maria admits demonstrates a knowledge of the paintings that’s astonishing. She’s a PhD holder who spent several years researching her thesis here in the Vatican libraries, and it shows. She is so engaging that we agree we’d probably do any tour if she was leading it.

The Sistine Chapel, just to ourselves

From the Raphael Rooms we finally make our way to the splendid Sistine Chapel, the one everyone has been holding their breath for. And we can hear them exhale as we enter.

Our small group in the Sistine Chapel - magical

The experience would have been overwhelming without Maria to take us through each painting and explain its significance. And actually, I did find it so on my first (guide-less) visit years ago, but that was also because of the crowds, and the lack of time. While numbers entering the Chapel are paced (unlike the rest of the Museum), there were still too many people in there for my liking and the time allowed was too short to appreciate the art properly. It was also surprisingly noisy. While speaking is meant to be forbidden, all I remember was the hum of guides talking in hushed voices to their groups.

This time, we’re alone in this dazzling space – just Terry and I, our little group, our guide, and our two guards. No throngs of noisy people to disturb us. And despite visiting before, for the first time I’m truly able to appreciate the splendour of the room and the sublime art painted on every surface of this exquisite place of worship. It’s simply breathtaking.

But what makes it so is that we’re alone. We can walk back and forth across the room, returning time and again to a particular piece of work (a Boticelli or Pinturicchio, a Perugino or Ghirlandaio) for a closer look if we want – something impossible to do during the day. We could lie on the floor on our backs and gaze up at Michelangelo’s marvellous ceiling frescoes. We could even waltz around the marble floors if we wanted to. (Well, maybe not – you better check that with Viator before taking your dancing shoes.) We also have all the time in the world. Well, not quite. But it feels that way, so that when it is time to go, we’re satisfied.

Just as we’re about to leave, we notice that Maria has tears in her eyes. Wiping her eyes, she confides: “I’m sorry, I get very emotional… telling these stories here in the Sistine Chapel. I’m very passionate about this place… this art…”

I look around at the group, and everyone seemed moved. And it wasn’t just the jet lag. The others had arrived just hours before from Australia.

“Was it worth it?” I ask them.

“Absolutely!”

“Definitely! This is a once-in-a-lifetime-experience.”

“Art is beauty is passion”.

-Lara Dunston

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Rome tours including top-rated Vatican tours where you can skip the lines altogether.

Photo: Shelley Ruelle

They say all roads lead to Rome, and hopefully the road you are on will eventually wind its way around to the Eternal City as well. A trip to Rome means coming face to face with both ancient history and modern-day European city life, as well as a pinch of some of the tastiest traditional Italian home cooking to fuel your explorations of this living museum.

Rome has defied definition throughout the ages: at once calm and chaotic, ancient and modern, metropolitan and provincial - the face that Rome shows you all depends on where you choose to look.

Day 1: Getting Oriented in Rome

There are so many different ways to orient yourself in Rome. One of the most popular is to hop on (and off) Rome’s open-top hop on bus tour, which takes in the heart of Rome in six languages. You can even get oriented in Rome on a Segway. Or see the city’s nocturnal side on a night-time tour. You can also see a lot of the city on foot: several Rome walking tours concentrate on different eras in Rome’s history, including its Classical period and its medieval and Renaissance years.

After your tour, head over to Piazza Venezia to ogle at the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, known to locals as the “typewriter” or “wedding cake” for its unusual and imposing design, which many a local will tell you is actually an eyesore! Next door, climb up the steps to Campidoglio (Capitol Hill) and admire Michelangelo’s design of the square. Then head behind Campidoglio to dig into Rome’s past at the Roman Forum.

Photo: Shelley Ruelle

Next up is the Colosseum, one of the most recognizable monuments in the world. For truly impressive views it’s enough to wander around the exterior, but if you really want to see the remains of what ancient Roman spectators saw, buy your tickets on Via di Gregorio VII (just behind the Arch of Constantine) in the Palatine ticket office. You’ll avoid any long lines that have formed in front of the Colosseum itself. Keep your eyes open for the roaming modern-day gladiators who might approach you for a picture - fine if you want to take one with them, but just know that it costs around €5!

In a city as old as Rome one would expect a few skeletons in the closet - or in this case, in the crypt. You can creep along the eerie underground Roman catacombs several levels below ground and see burial chambers dating back to the Imperial period. You can also peer into the dark heart of Rome on a ghosts and mystery tour (if you have kids, they will love this). A sight often overlooked but well worth a visit is the Domus Aurea, where you can see what remains of the extravagant palace of the Emperor Nero, near the Colosseum (reservations are required).

To keep you going through the day you’ll need nourishment - and luck you’re in one of the world’s great culinary capitals. Hit one of the offbeat districts like the Testaccio or the Jewish Ghetto. For dinner you can take in an evening tour and then dine at a typical local eatery, or cruise the Tiber River and marvel at Rome by night.

Or treat yourself to traditional Roman home-cooking at Da Enzo in Trastevere, on Via dei Vascellari 29 (tel. 06 581 83 55), a small trattoria where you’ll need to book to get a table for either the 8pm or 10pm seating. At Da Enzo it’s an authentic dining experience without high touristy prices, enjoying traditional Roman pasta dishes like amatriciana and carbonara, or the famous and hard-to-find carciofi alla giudea (fried artichoke hearts).

Day 2: Centro Storico - Rome’s Historic Center

Photo: Shelley Ruelle

Start your second day by heading over to the Pantheon — but before you go in, enjoy a traditional Italian cappuccino for breakfast at La Tazza D’Oro, thought by many Romans to serve the best coffee in the capital. If it’s hot, you might ask for their granita al caffè, a sort of coffee-flavored slushy with homemade whipped cream.

Now you’re ready to step inside the Pantheon and gaze up at that famous hole in the center known as the oculus, which if caught at the right moment lets in an artistic, hazy beam of light just perfect for your photo collection.

Of course, friends and family back home want a souvenir, so instead of any old plastic trinket, head over to Via del Corso for some of the busiest shopping in Rome. Then swing by the Trevi Fountain to throw in a coin or two (according to legend, this ensures you’ll return to Rome someday) then it’s back over to Via del Corso, taking a detour on Via dei Condotti, Rome’s most expensive shopping street. This leads directly to the famous Spanish Steps. If you like to walk, climb the steps and head over to Pincio Hill, where you’ll get a beautiful view of Rome, and then come back down at Piazza del Popolo.

Tired? Maybe just a little? Reward yourself by swinging back over towards the Pantheon area to grab a gelato on the way at Giolitti (Via degli Uffici del Vicario 40), one of Rome’s most famous gelaterie, where you can get a sidewalk table and watch the world go by (your tired feet will thank you!).

Day 2: Drinking & Dining
Just before dinner head over to Piazza Navona, picture-perfect in the evening glow, and indulge in the Italian tradition of an aperitivo (before-dinner drink) at the charming and elegant Bar della Pace (Via della Pace 5). Continue your people-watching at one of the ivy-shaded tables and then dine at Navona Notte (Via del Teatro Pace 44), a delicious neighborhood pizzeria.

Day 3: The Vatican, the World’s Smallest Country

Even though you won’t need your passport to visit 0.2-square mile Vatican City, for a 3-day visit of Rome it’s best to see the Vatican Museums on a guided tour to beat the lines. Along the way you’ll see Castel Sant’Angelo, a former papal refuge with Rome’s most stunning and artistic bridge. Its angels line the way across the river to the Castel. Once outside, trace the wall containing the popes’ secret passageway back to St Peter’s Square and then down Via della Conciliazione to St Peter’s Basilica. Here you can admire the inside and (for a small fee) climb to the top of the cupola (or pay a little extra to take the elevator if you’re worn out). The views from up here are like nothing else in the world, and you can see the Vatican Gardens below.

Got some energy left? Then walk up to the Janiculum Hill (or take a load off and take the 118 electric bus), where you can “ooh and ahh” at the Roman skyline panorama in front of the Fontanta dell’Acqua Paola, known to locals as the “Fontanone” (the big fountain). If you’re here in the summer you might catch an outdoor concert in the evening.

Coming back down into Trastevere, you can have a drink at Friends, a “molto trendy” bar in Piazza Trilussa. And if you want an elegant dinner in a casual atmosphere, meet Romeo over at Spirito di Vino, who, if you’re lucky, will give you a tour of his wine cellar, which sits at the street level of ancient Rome and houses over 1,000 different labels.

–Shelley Ruelle

Postscript: If you’re looking for more things to do, our complete list of Rome tours and activities should give you a good starting point. And when in Rome… there are some excellent day trips worth checking out. You could spend a whole day in Naples and Pompeii, explore the Tuscan villages of Assisi and Orvieto, or explore the Hellenophile splendor of Hadrian’s villa.

Here’s a quick quiz for the Eurocentric among you:

• Massive port? You’d probably think Rotterdam.
• Great galleries? You’d probably think Paris.
• Crazy red light district? Amsterdam perhaps?
• Plenty of space and shots of modern architecture amongst the works of old? Berlin.

How about… Hamburg. Not what springs to mind for most perhaps and the locals will probably tell you it rains here 300 days of the year. It probably does, too, maybe just for five minutes on some days and a more decent attempt on others - but in these days of climate change where can you think of that has “normal” weather anymore?

Hamburg’s Docklands: A little odd-looking

Give a place a bad reputation and it’ll keep those space-hogging travellers away - say it rains and it poured, so the saying could go. So why not look at Hamburg as that rocking city to the north of Deutschland, up between Kiel and Rostock and a gateway to Scandinavia, too. It’s the home of the infamous St Pauli soccer team, in-and-out again of the national league, a kult phenomenon, with its skull and crossbones insignia, bold left-wing politics and playing of AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” at the start of every home game. Not exactly the mark of a town that just sits on its hands while the world around it turns.

Quietly Hamburg manages to be the second-largest city in Germany - at around 1.8 million it’s bigger than Munich and nearly twice the size of Koln, which may come as a surprise as Hamburg doesn’t trumpet this from its roof tops. Straddling the mighty Elbe River, Hamburg is the second-largest port in Europe and the largest city not to be a capital. So apart from the stats, what is really there to brag about?

Hamburg: Quietly bizarre

Apart from the architectural boastings of the Netherlands, the docklands area of Hamburg - accessible from Landungsbrucken and easily visible from a ferry ride of the harbour or one of the Rundfarht (round trips) - offers a host of architectural eye-candy, and frequently in the least suspecting forms.

Hamburg’s Elbphilhamonie: Also a little odd-looking

The HafenCity (Port City) development offers a wealth of the quietly bizarre and overwhelming - like the new Science Centre, somewhat like a muscular and circular arrangement of duplo-blocks on steroids. Or the currently underway and “now famous before it is built” Elbphilharmonie, itself resembling a flaming crystal curtain, ablaze atop the existing and already distinctive Kaispeicher (an old harbourside storage warehouse).

These bold developments will at least garner an opinion for those that venture up to the north to see them. Even the septic tanks have an otherworldy feel to them with their patterned steel expansive orbs, yet this and the many others on show by the water, somehow preserve a warmth that is often absent in modern architectural muscle flexing.

One thing that hasn’t changed over the decades is the infamous Reeperbahn, the red-light district of the city by St Pauli; the host of churches, if that’s your thing; and a plethora or theatres and some 79 museums. There is a healthy choice of musical venues, of the classical, operatic and contemporary kind, though locals would argue there isn’t enough.

Let’s not forget, too, that the world may be a somewhat musically different place if it wasn’t for the Beatles spending those important years in Hamburg in the early 1960s, cutting their musical teeth at the Indra Club and the Top Ten Club among others.

Since the 1980s the city has also produced the Hamburger Schule (Hamburger School) notable in particular for the resurgence of interest in German-sung lyrics. Among this wave is the popular band from the mid-1990s Tocotronic, whose relaxed pop sensibilities continue to headline at festivals in the German summer.

Mark Rothko in Hamburg: It makes complete sense

If you visit Hamburg now until the 24 August, the overwhelmingly impressive Mark Rothko retrospective awaits at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. This is an encounter with art that only really speaks in person - quite a far cry from the clumsily sized reproductions of his works found in books and even on posters. There is no shortage of people ready to extol Rothko’s virtues as an artist and its been said that the his large-scale paintings pulse or resonate - the larger part of the collection being mostly over two metres and slowly worked, hand painted surfaces, which make them starkly unlike the postmodern machine- or screen-printed super-sized works found in many modern galleries.

Five of these pieces in a room do more than just pulse: from the corner of your eye they readily seem to flicker and demand your attention. More than just a rare chance to see 70 works on display, the Kunsthalle’s unique architecture allows a place to comfortably sit and contemplate these works over the top two floors of its relatively newer wing, overlooking a central courtyard that shifts and glows with the sun’s passing rays.

The highlight of this experience is the constantly changing, yet always sonorous, sound installation from the permanent collection in the basement floor below: six pairs of aluminium pipes, each with a speaker and microphone at opposite ends, triggered by motion sensors to record the movements of visitors in this room and play them back a minute later, with beautiful counter-point by sensor triggered, small pneumatic hammers that gently resonate the pipes.

This warmly responsive and dedicated space echoes throughout the Rothko exhibit, in some places almost resonating more strongly three floors higher than in the basement from where they issue; adding the perfect undertone to a major experience in an approach to a unique series of artworks. As you will find on the internet, the Rothko oeuvre might not look like much at a small size, but when the original works are approached, it becomes apparent that the focus is not the undulating block colours themselves , but the slow spaces in between. Perhaps there could be a reason why this exhibition has come to the city of Hamburg. A slow unfolding of a quietly kept secret.

-Robert Curgenven

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Hamburg tours and things to do in Munich and Berlin.

So what is Viator’s Traveler of the Month?

Recently we started publishing photos over on the viator.com website. These are photos taken by actual Viator travelers, photos of themselves on elephant treks, helicopter tours, desert safaris, private tours of the Vatican — and on hundreds of the other 5,000+ tours and things to do available on Viator.

So we’ve started giving props each month to an individual Viator traveler who makes us laugh, makes us smile, or who inspires us to make that next trip. It might be the prettiest traveler photo, or the funniest, or most inspirational, or just most plain weird.

What do you win? A $100 gift certificate (or the equivalent in pounds or euros) to use on Viator.com! So get traveling, take photos and submit them to viator.com when you return. If you want to participate, simply submit your travel photos (see below for how this works) and you are eligible. Each month we will chose a new winner.

This month we’re pleased to honor Theresa and her family for their London trip photos.

June’s Traveler of the Month - Theresa N, USA

Theresa traveled with her family to London and took her kids on the Harry Potter Black Taxi Private Tour. Theresa submitted some fun photos of her kids dressed up like Harry Potter and visiting the sites that were made famous by the series on the Harry Potter Black Taxi Private Tour. Yes, Theresa put a spell on us, so we’re crowning her the traveler of the month in June.

May’s Traveler of the Month - Alviera N, Australia

Alveira traveled with her family to Singapore and enjoyed the Imperial Cheng Ho Singapore Harbour Dinner Cruise during their travels. Alveira submitted some neat photos of them in front of the famous replica of the Imperior vessel of the Ming Dynasty on the Imperial Cheng Ho Singapore Harbour Dinner Cruise.

April’s Travelers of the Month - James & Michelle, United Kingdom

Michelle and James went on a trip to Cairo, Egypt and had a wonderful time exploring the different pyramids on their private tour to the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis and Sakkara. James submitted some really fun photos of their trip to the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis and Sakkara in Cairo. This is a great tour to get the full pyramid experience in Egypt.

James said, “This was a great day out. We had a few laughs along the way. The guide was brilliant.”

March’s Traveler of the Month - Alexandra S, Australia

Alexandra S and her family recently went on a trip to Fiji and based on her photos and captions, they had a blast. The photo above is from the South Sea Island Day Cruise where they snorkeled and relaxed by the pool. Alexandra submitted some great photos of the South Sea Island Day Cruise in Fiji. If you’re looking to relax and have a fun trip with the kids in Fiji, Alexandra recommends this tour.

Alexandra says: “Kris has given his thumbs up for this experience. This is definitely a trip to take especially if you have kids.”

February’s Traveler of the Month - James A, UK

Here’s a shot taken by James A in Rome, on the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Rome Walking Tour. James submitted some great photos of Rome and the inside of the Vatican. And, according to James’ review he’s glad he booked ahead because the line to get into the Vatican was over 2.5 hours long!

James says: “We were enjoying our tour within 15 minutes, and the guide brought the Vatican alive. There is so much to see you simply would not enjoy any other way as it would not mean much without being explained. The headsets you are given for the tour are fab, and you can hear loud and clear what your guide is saying. We normally do our own thing on holiday; however, this is one of the rare places which the tour works very well.”

January’s Traveler of the Month - Sumit B, USA

Sumit B seems to be having a good time at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Las Vegas, which he visited after purchasing the Las Vegas Power Pass. Sumit, his wife and his two embarrassed children met Beyonce, the Terminator, Johnny Depp, George Bush and Jenna Jameson, among others. Hopefully his wife forgives him for all of the photos with other women.

–The Viator Travel Team

Editor’s Note: We’ve posted the photos submitted by our Travelers of the Month over on the Viator Flickr site. Hop on over for some inspiration for your next trip.

How can you submit photos to Viator’s Traveler of the Month contest? It’s simple: book a tour with Viator and, when you return, you will receive a “Welcome Back” email. This email will invite you to submit reviews and photos of the tours and things to do on your trip. Tell other travelers what you loved, what you hated and show them in a photo. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Editor’s Note: Loyal readers will remember Jeff Gates’ posts from last summer, when he took his family on an all-American vacation to Yosemite, Las Vegas and the Sierra Nevadas. Happily Jeff is hitting the road again this summer, first to Spain and then to the Pacific Northwest with his family. This is his first post (of many, we hope). In case you forgot, Jeff is the New Media Lead Producer for the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Managing Editor for its blog, Eye Level.

Jeff’s next stop: Spain! Vamos a empezar.

Ok, true confession: I am a neurotic traveler. Well, to be more specific: I am a neurotic pre-traveler. With one week to go before heading off to Aranjuez, Spain, to give my first international talk (El uso de los blogs dentro de los museos de corte tradicional/New World Blogging in a Traditional Museum Setting), I’d sleep much better if I was entirely packed and ready to go. I’m always afraid I’ll forget something. A MacGyver I’m not.

Spanish-translated PowerPoint: check (on thumb drive, on CD, on .mac drive and ftp site —yeah, that should cover it); clothes decisions made (hot weather, casual conference they tell me): check. Laptop: check and already nestled in my new international trip backpack. While not entirely a “light” traveler, I like to travel as light as I can: unencumbered both physically and mentally. Until now I’ve managed never to have taken my laptop on any trip, business or pleasure. But then again, I haven’t traveled out of the country for nine years. Yes, I’ll admit to that too.

When I started to consider international calling plans to keep in touch with the family, I suddenly discovered Skype. For someone who’s supposed to be on the technological cusp this was a long overdue revelation. Free PC-to-PC telephony —a new tech development since my last international trip. That, alone, made taking my computer irresistible. Tested on our laptops, my two girls now think they have an in-house walkie-talkie. It’s not that I haven’t traveled to far-flung places: the interior of China twice, way way off the beaten tourist paths. I’ve just been focused on domestic issues for a while. Yeah, that’s a good way of spinning my isolationism.

Oh yeah, don’t forget your opening remarks in Spanish (although I need to practice). I had fantasies of giving my whole talk in Español but I only got through the first 20 lessons of Coffee Break Spanish. Should it come up I can say with confidence: Tengo dos hijas. I have two daughters. I guess I haven’t come to the lesson “So you’re giving a talk on museum blogging in Spain” yet.

What’s really funny about these language lessons is that I learn more useful phrases when they talk to you in Spanish about the lesson itself. I experimented with Pimsleur a bit and came away remembering that most useful phrase Escuchar y repetir: listen and repeat. Well, they repeated so often I couldn’t help but remember it. And in Coffee Break Spanish I will be able to weave into my presentation. Vamos a empezar. Let’s begin.

So, there’s a pile of travel stuff starting to grow in the corner of our bedroom. And I keep some paper and a pencil next to my bed so I can write down additional items I need to take when I suddenly remember them in the middle of the night.

Forget the excitement of arriving in Madrid. I can’t wait for the excitement at my airport arrival for takeoff. By then I’ll have remembered everything or not. And I can just relax and enjoy the trip. Geez, Jeff, it’s only a week.

-Jeff Gates

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Madrid tours and things to do in Spain.

If you’re going to go somewhere, first you have to leave somewhere. Makes sense don’t it. To get to Belgium first I had to get out of the Netherlands. And the Netherlands is a funny place, all flat and below sea-level, 10 metres of dikes holding back the ocean to the north and all these little canals wandering around the place like an odd relative at a family gathering, who everyone can see but no one admits is actually there.

Last Exit to the Netherlands

Another impossible angle in Amsterdam

Well you can see them, but it’s their everywhereness that ultimately makes these canals almost invisible after a time.

But that’s not what gets me from the road – it’s that the “built” Nederlande landscape all looks like its been made in the last 20 minutes (well, except for the photocopy and repeat tall licorice-allsort terraces in the city centres). It’s kinda like you’re stuck in some architect’s idea of an over-ambitious airport terminal, which adds up to an excess of architectural statements all over the place.

“See here, I made this” (covered in green glazed glass).

“Look, another impossibly acute angle at the edge of a building” (which nearly takes your eye off even the freeway).

“Not enough room? See how I effortlessly straddle this canal” (for the buildings on stilts that step over obstacles).

Even the common garden-variety shed looks like it just landed from some neighbouring solar system, leaving the place looking like a Looney Tunes idea of Legoland – all paint-on roads and urban spaces with not a right angle to be seen in the post-psychedelic meltdown of it all.

Go rural, go Belgium

Heading away from the northern ports, Rotterdam being Europe’s largest, where the huge metal crabs lay on their backs ready for arriving container ships - or maybe they were just cargo cranes and I had been letting the old hair down a bit hard with all those “coffees”. Anyway, so the metal crabs and the giraffes play by the seaside, meanwhile the urban sprawl remains unrelenting to the Belgian border. The architectural angles remain obtuse and the land flat and wide, but then enter Belgium – it’s a welcome surprise. It’s like someone dropped a flag that said “Go rural!” and then things go all back a few years to when innovation didn’t just mean Brand New.

Belgium is a change of pace, shifting back a few gears as the landscape slides into Belgium, which only became independent from the Netherlands back in 1831. It’s got a more “country” kinda feel to it, the train stations look like they haven’t changed in 30 years, the villages and cottages look as though they used to be housing for farmers who got about puffing on their pipes of tobacco. It’s like a dose of reality where the old and the new are a bit more integrated.

The northern half, Flanders (or Vlaanderen, as its known in the local version of Dutch, although some people might try and sneak some French in too), is your entry to Belgium. Now that you’re here, and if it’s a little moment away you fancy, then perhaps Ghent is the place for you today?

Gentse Feesten: More fun than you can poke a stick at

It’s a quiet old town, all bricks and mortar with none of that fancy looming glass and steel creations they are fond of over the border. It’s a University town, but smaller than somewhere like Leuven. That doesn’t mean its crawling with dreadlocked students. Ghent is a relaxed place that’s very easy on the eyes - it’s got loads of nice architectural touches and details, cobblestone streets and canals, hushed open spaces and quaint back lanes. The buses here are on electric leashes, tying them to overhead power lines - I’m starting to get used to seeing them but it still feels like a public transport system that could break free just about any moment.

Gentse Feesten?
It’s Belgian for beer, mate

If the buses did manage to run amok, then it’d be straight to the cafés to sample some of the famous Belgian beer, Duvel, which I’ve heard is Flemish for ‘devil’ even though it is made by Trappist Monks. It is a nice strong little number (starting at 8%) that’ll have everyone your friend in 10 minutes or less. A couple of Duvels and even the coldest winter will melt away into obscurity. If the monk’s beers have you inspired in a religious direction then there’s no shortage of places to go – set out on the plein (that’s Flemish for plaza) and then choose from the three grand cathedrals listing at your feet, before or after your alcoholic inspiration. These buildings are enough to make you believe in something bigger even if it might just be a festival of colossal proportions.

Gentse Feesten is that festival. It runs this year between 19-28 July, which is, as they might always say, 10 days and 10 nights. I’ve heard say that the days are almost an excuse for the near out-of-control craziness of the nights… one party just cut and mixed into the other. Within this great snarling beast of a festival there are several smaller festivals, or sub-festivals if that makes you feel more diverse.

Rest easy, finger puppetry is on the Gentse Feesten agenda

For example, Ghent is known for its theatre, including some well-supported experimental theatre, and holds a street theatre festival within the Gentse Feesten, which as you can imagine takes in places all over town. How about a comedy festival, or a puppet busking festival? There is also a techno festival, Ten Days Off, and a jazz festival (no less than the famous Blue-Note), just so if you fancy you can chop and change between boom-boom and da-ti-dah (like boom-ti da-ti-dah-boomda).

And if you’re still charging after midnight, then as the bigger parties get closed down piece by piece, there’s a more exotic quarter that starts up round 4am and goes through til 9am. Just in time for work when you have to rock up to the day-events. The final day is called the Day of Empty Pockets, as everyone has spent all the hard earned of course, which probably goes to include faculties of thought. At over 2 million attendees over the festival, there’s bound to be more than a few empty pockets.

-Jack Brown

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and things to do in Belgium.

Imagine my surprise: I got on a train in Bratislava, Slovakia, bound for Vienna, Austria — the land of mountains and snow, high lakes and skiing skiing skiing!

Austria: More than just Alps

But out the window all I saw was flat land. As far as the eye could see, it was flat. And covered in wind turbines generating electricity. What was going on? Was I on the wrong train? Lesson number one about Austria: it’s not all alps. Eastern Austria (officially called Lower Austria), bordering Slovakia, is in fact flat – hence the name, I guess. Another time, I approached Austria by train from Slovenia, headed to Graz. Slovenia was mountainous and gorgeous, we hit Austria and suddenly it was flat! So, south-eastern Austria: also flat. As, apparently is some of the north.

It’s the centre and western Austria , including the south-west, which contains the Alps. The area with Salzburg in it. And it is magnificent. Flying over this part of Austria is magical. You feel like you can reach out and touch the snow blanketing the ragged peaks. Like you want to jump into its gleaming white softness – or maybe not…

Why & how have I visited Austria so many times?

Austria was never a country I thought about visiting. It had none of the big attractions I’d dreamt of – I don’t ski, you see, and I got over the Spanish riding school horses around the age of 12. Mozart was so jammed down my throat at school that I think I deliberately set out to avoid his hometown. Then again, when I studied art history I loved the work of the Vienna Secessionists, and I am obsessed with chocolate. Why was it not on my list?

Anyway, suddenly I was living and working in Bratislava, Slovakia, and I was a little culinarily challenged – try being a vegetarian and having to eat pasta with sugar for lunch! (I do I love Bratislava in other ways, though.) But Vienna was just up the road by train and I was sure that I’d find a feast for a vegetarian easily enough. My first surprise was the train itself: one carriage – could this be right? Yes, the two cities are so close, it was like catching a small commuter shuttle, but with a border crossing in the middle. (A note: if you book a cheap flight to Vienna they often land you at Bratislava airport and then it’s a bus to Vienna itself – takes about an hour and they are quite regular.)

My second surprise was discovering Vienna Sudbahnhof train station is not right in the middle of the old town; imagine! I came out of the entrance and had no idea where the centre of town was; I had to ask. Talk about being ill-prepared! A nice man pointed me in the right direction, gave me the look that told me I was extremely strange and then walked away, fast. But I found the centre of town and it was beautiful. As was the walk past the Botanical Gardens and Schloss Belvedere to get there – definitely worth a visit.

Old Vienna, I do love thee

Old Vienna is contained within the ring road and you can just wander and wonder at its beauty and history. Also the hot chocolate is very good. As are the shops. I found a great little market (Spittalberg Market), just by following my nose and stocked up on lots of delicious treats to last me the week. Grocery shopping in another country: how decadent! Then it was back on the train to Bratislava.

The next time I got hungry, I went up to Vienna by boat along the Danube River. This promised to be romantic but wasn’t really – the boat was very serviceable and not made for viewing as much as getting you from A to B. But we did pass through some locks on the river which always makes it exciting! Again, I landed nowhere near the centre but this time I was more prepared and caught the Metro – very easy to negotiate. Like a creature of habit I returned to the same charming outdoor market, bought food, then wandered around the magnificent museum quarter appreciating the architecture.

Vienna is beautiful. I was propelled there by hunger, next time I will take the time to actually stay and see the sights more thoroughly. I do regret not going to the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School) but it was July and August and the horses, being typical Europeans, take their summer holidays then. But next time I will definitely indulge my 11- year-old self: you’re never too old to spoil the kid inside.

What?! Graz is beautiful

My next visit to Austria was to Graz in the south-east. I was spending a weekend at the fabulous and eccentric Bad Blumau Spa resort about an hour’s drive outside Graz and caught the train there from Croatia.

Graz and its beautiful river

Graz is beautiful! I had no expectation, only a few hours to kill but I am so pleased I have been to that town. It is the second-biggest city in Austria at a population of about 250,000 and has UNESCO World Heritage status. I think it might be the prettiest town centre I have ever seen, with colourful and quirky Renaissance, Baroque and modern buildings. It also has an amazing cultural life with festivals, opera and galleries galore. The modern Kunsthaus (art house) is known as the Friendly Alien and does indeed look like a blob of a spaceship has landed in the midst of the historic buildings. And inside the gallery spaces are great, showing impressive exhibitions of international art. It’s next to the river, and suspended in the middle of the river, overlooked by the looming hill of the Schlossberg, is the Murinsel, a manmade ‘island’ of metal and plastic where you can drink a coffee, see a show or let the kids play. Magic!

To really see Graz, you must climb the Schlossberg, or, if you like strange public transport as much as I do, catch the glass lift from Schlossbergplatz, then catch the funicular back down. Don’t miss the famous clock which overlooks the town: the Uhrturm.

I also have to recommend at visit to the spa at Bad Blumau. If just for the crazy architecture. Designed by the famous Austrian architect Hundertwasser (1928-2000) (who ended his days in New Zealand), it does not have one straight line in it. Even the bottom of the walls curve and wave; it can be quite disconcerting after an hour floating in the thermal pools. But to see these crazy, colourful, organic buildings in this rural setting is fabulous. And, as a bonus, you get to have massages, lie in the sun, and float in thermal waters or play in the wave pool. Did I mention that grass grows over the top of many of the buildings? Or that there is a forest of plaques naming all the people who got married there. A lovely place. You can reach it from either Vienna or Graz - they even sent a driver to pick us up from Graz.

Salzburg - finally, the Alps

Salzburg, so many things to do

My final Austrian city experience is Salzburg. Hello Alps. And lakes. I arrived there by train from Munich – a nice journey that passes through some great scenery. Salzburg is another experience again – smaller (145,000), quainter, dominated by churches and with the white Festung Hohensalzburg castle overlooking it all – which by the way you can travel up to by Funicular – yay!

Another cultural city with a great modern art gallery on a cliff above the town; visit the restaurant there for a meal with a hard to beat view. I was told there is a civic program in Salzburg which enables local artists to live and work in the castle which makes me feel very warmly towards the local government. Sadly, I believe it is only for Austrians but I may investigate further.

Salzburg is a great place for taking tours out into the Alps and seeing lakes and mountains and small pretty villages. Also cows, if you like cows, which I do.

Naturally Mozart has a big presence in Salzburg – he lived here for the first 17 years of his life. I relented on my school-scarred attitude and ate Mozart Balls – great chocolates. I admit I did not visit his houses though I walked past them often. It really is a battle of the musical greats throughout Salzburg; Mozart and the von Trapp family vie for greatest number of souvenirs and tours. I fear the von Trapps and The Sound of Music win. Alas for high culture. (See my other blog for a shameful wallow in the joys of that film …)

So, that is my Austria – a country I inexplicably forgot for so many years then visited three times in 18 months. And loved.

-Philippa Burne

* Apologies to Linz…

Editor’s Note: Recently we’ve been hearing a lot about ’staycations’. So we asked Viator’s founder (Rod) and one of Viator’s most travel-loving staffers (Kelly) to ponder the following resolution. Resolved: That staycations are the new hot trend in travel. In true Lincoln-Douglas debate style Kelly argues the affirmative, Rod argues the negative. (What, you didn’t take debate in high school?)

The Case for Staycations

“With the price of gas soaring, a staycation is what most Americans
will experience during the summer of 2008…”
–Urbandictionary.com

I am not one to argue against heading out of town for a trip away, for an escape from the cares of home life. I do it plenty of times a year myself. But I also acknowledge that, unlike Rod, not all of us are jet-set company chairmen who can afford to take off on a whim. Airline travel is dreary at best, downright aggravating at worst. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and have you been in weekend Bay Area traffic lately?

I admit the rewards for all the security lines and grouchy flight attendants can be immense once you’ve arrived and are enjoying lying on a tropical beach or rambling through an interesting neighborhood, but the motivation can be hard to summon up. And, to being with, we’re all busy people with fairly meager amounts of vacation time.

Staycation pro: Kelly saw this SF transit mural for the very first time

I almost always travel the weekend before or after my birthday. Mostly, it is to avoid having a birthday party, which I view as a horrible punishment for turning a year older. But this year, I just couldn’t get away, friends are visiting and I am traveling over the 4th of July holiday instead. But I really, really wanted to be on vacation. Having heard so much about staycations lately I decided to give it a go.

I admit mine might be an extreme form of staycation, I think generally people travel a bit, to a nearby big city or national park or something like that. I chose to embark on a staycation tour of San Francisco, specifically a MP3 walking tour of the Castro & Mission that starts three blocks from my house, at 14th St and Market, so close that I had just finished the two-minute intro to the tour by the time I walked there from my door. Partially I chose it because the tour covers the Castro, San Francisco’s famous gay neighborhood, and last weekend was Pride, a celebration of all things LGBT in San Francisco.

Overall the tour was great, I won’t spoil all the details, but I learned a lot about the history of a neighborhood I walk through all the time. I saw murals I had no idea existed (shamefully, I have walked past one of them maybe a dozen times), climbed up hills I normally am not motivated to scale, and toured the inside of Mission Dolores, which I had never entered. I took lots of photos. And I had a surprising amount of fun. The MP3 tour was superb, really good directions and commentary –it even motivated me to tackle a big hill that I thought I might just skip over. There are places I walk past all the time and think someday I’ll go in there or check that street out, and I finally did.

On the down side, walking past your dry cleaners and remembering you have a sweater to pickup is not quite embracing the vacation spirit. To get away from it all, you physically have to get away from it all or there are reminders around every corner of things to do. I really enjoyed my MP3 tour, and if budgets or time are tight, I’d do something like it again, but I don’t think I achieved the total sense of wonder and bliss that a really good vacation stimulates.

PS: Should you find yourself on the Castro District and Dolores Heights MP3 walking tour when you get to the Mission High School stop at 18th St and Dolores, take a detour to the Bi-Rite Creamery (cross Dolores and head a couple stores up from the corner), you will not regret trying a scoop of their homemade rocky road. Consider it an advance reward for the hill at Liberty in about 10 minutes.

-Kelly G

The Case against Staycations

Let’s not start out by thinking that the staycation is some sort of new idea. It’s not. Before Thomas Cook got the travel industry started back in 1841, everyone staycated. Our 18th-century forebears were dedicated stay-at-homers: French writer Xavier de Maistre penned Voyage Around My Bedroom in 1794, and followed up a few years later with Night Voyage Around My Room. Here’s what the good folks over at Wikipedia have to say about the former work:

He praises this voyage because it does not cost anything, for this reason it is strongly recommended to the poor, the infirm, and the lazy. His room is a long square, and the perimeter is thirty-six paces. He travels rarely in a straight line; from the table he goes towards the corner, and then obliquely to the door, but while he initially intended to return to the table, should an armchair be found en route, he settles down on it immediately, and falls into a reverie. Later, proceeding North, he encounters his bed…

You get the picture. And of course you immediately think “that’s just silly.” Well, yes and no. There’s plenty to be said for economising; and who knows what hidden gems are still to be discovered in our own home towns. But let’s not kid ourselves that a New Yorker is going to get the same buzz from a New York harbor cruise as they would from a tour of Alcatraz in San Francisco. Or that a family from the Midwest would learn as much about the world — and themselves, perhaps — on a trip to the Wisconsin Dells as they would during a week in Europe.

Ask the kids what they prefer - a staycation or a real vacation??

Bottom line, a staycation is an admission of defeat. It’s staying home, which is what you do the other 50 weeks of the year. It’s boring, it’s dull, and it’s a poor, short-sighted decision for you and your family.

Oh, you don’t agree?

Well, let’s look at some stay / go options, and see what we can agree on; maybe I can convince you that deep down, you know what’s best for you. So, which of these would you prefer, really?

• Starbucks coffee, or coffee from any one of the 4,800 coffee shops within a 5 mile radius of the Colosseum in Rome?
• Your current sex life, or your sex life at the Marriott Resort on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where you can take moonlit walks on the sand, have cocktails by the pool, and they have those special Marriott beds?
• Your local amusement park or Disneyland Paris — which, by the way, is near Paris, where you are spending the day shopping while your partner has fun with the kids?
• More Law & Order — or, God forbid, Seinfeld reruns — or the Moulin Rouge cabaret?
• Denny