[DENMARK]

COPENHAGEN

(Stayed : 29/3/99 – 2/4/99)

I only saw a little of Copenhagen but it is a very nice little peaceful city indeed. Unfortunately not at it's brightest I did at least get to see it in sunshine. The main sight, apparently, is this little mermaid that sits on a rock on the main river. To be brutally honest it's not that interesting but a group of Mariachis took it over while I was there and had their photo taken in front of it, so it must mean something to somebody.

The city is perfect for bicycle riding. There are bike tracks throughout most of the city, which makes for a pleasant afternoon ride indeed. The streets were busy at 6pm, but by 8 there was hardly any activity at all. In fact, the whole city went very quiet.

Denmark is one of the countries in the world to still have a queen; this may not be common knowledge. Along the river are her many palaces, surrounding a courtyard. Nothing particularly brilliant but still, they let you in to the courtyard areas. People sit along boulevards drinking beer and generally relaxing. Good idea really.

Looking for some culture, get on down to the Glyptotek where you’ll find an excellent range of paintings, and if you’re into impressionism you’ll love it. The building is quite interesting too, and from memory it’s free. The National Museum will give you a good look into Viking history, some excellent old boats and displays are worth seeing. There’s also a section on South America, which was quite fascinating. Both of these places are worth a few hours of your life.

When you’re in town and need some help – Internet, accommodation and stuff look for a place called Use – It, a bit like SOL travel in Stockholm. Maybe even meet some fellow travelers there.

[SWITZERLAND]

ZURICH.

Value for money : 2

Cleanliness : 4

Friendliness : 3.5

Noise : 2

TOTAL : 11.5/20 (Rank : 25^th / 45)

Just a brief stop on my journey around Europe, this little city in Switzerland has a bit of charm and is worth a couple of nights on anyone’s itinerary. I hope that you get better weather than I did though, it only stopped raining a few hours before I left. The streets are mainly cobblestones, Lake Zurich sits at the base of the city nestled in amongst the mountains. It feels like they had a lot to get into the buildings of the city, doorways are thin and staircases generally even slimmer.

I didn’t see a lot, running everywhere to get out of the rain doesn’t lend itself to seeing a lot of stuff. If you need to do some general shopping, look no further than the main train station. Underneath it is quite a shopping centre, although the supermarket there was packed to the max.

The Swiss National Museum is worth a looksee – being free and all. There are many many things to see. The styles of the Christian paintings back a few hundred years are of particular interest, and show you how a culture adapts their likeness to the figures of the bible. To make sense of that jargon – the characters from the bible looked Swiss. Also, once you’ve seen the quite extensive clothing section, you will find some old globes of the world, with countries different shapes and in different positions than we known them to be in today.

I had a look at the Grossmunster Cathedral also whilst in Zurich, and was greeted by a film crew making the next big Swiss blockbuster. Well, not greeted, not even acknowledged really. Still, the church wasn’t fascinating to be honest, nice but not gripping. The inside design quite plain, but there is a section you can find near the front of the church, a crypt in which a statue of a king like person rests, and some church plans in another room, if my memory serves me correctly. I just needed a decent photo from here.

[ITALY]

ROME

(Stayed 14/5/99 – 19/5/99)

COST : 25,000lire per night (dorm)

Value for Money : 3.5

Cleanliness : 2

Friendliness : 1

Noise : 2.

TOTAL : 9 / 20 [RANK : 42^nd / 45]

Rome is crazy, there’s no other way to put it. But it does have a million attractions to see. The metro is reasonably efficient but doesn’t service that much of the city, but there are many buses. The weather was immediately 12-15 degrees Celsius better that Zurich, but that is not that easy to adjust to straight away after a long train journey ending up in a train station renown for being a haven of thieves. The traffic is crazy and has no respect for the pedestrian – don’t expect anyone to ever stop for you.

But when you get past the craziness, there is a hellava lot to see. St Peter’s Basilica is the largest cathedral I can imagine, and when you look up to see the paintings on the roof many many many metres above you you can’t help but be impressed, and wonder how it was done. You do get shuffled around as it is packed which is a minus, as is the scaffolding which completely obscures the front of the building in St Peter’s Square, which is a delightful place indeed, full of pigeons. One curious thing about the basilica is its lack of decent organ. The one there is quite tacky indeed, and small.

The Vatican Museum, for a good portion of the day, had a queue so long it was unbelievable. Must have stretched over 500 metres. Then the ticket you are given is the size of a fingernail! The museum is an incredible maze of statues, paintings, baths and anything else the Catholic Church has swiped in the last 12 or so centuries. This includes some Egyptian artifacts, which include mummies and hieroglyphics. Should be in, well, Egypt really. The best part of the museum is the buildings it’s housed in which are magnificently preserved and intricate. There are halls of tapestry and huge maps of different parts of Europe and the world from times past, not to forget the Sistine Chapel. The journey to get to it is quite a trek, you go up and down stairs, through rooms done up very nicely following signs saying Sistine Chapel this way, but it takes forever and you start to wonder if it really exists. When I finally made it, (you’ll know you’re close when a message is many languages tell you : "You will soon be entering the Sistine Chapel." And then tells you not to use flashes.) I found it covered in scaffold. The Vatican, though, is fabulous, so much to learn and see. My only regret is there was no sign of the Pope mobile……..

The Coliseum is one of Rome’s most recognized landmarks, and it is a lot bigger than I expected. I didn’t go inside, but from outside it’s impressive enough. They should play an AFL practice match there next year. The Pantheon is really an unsung attraction of Rome but one I liked a lot. There is a lot of paraphernalia (no idea how to spell it, no spell check) inside which is worth a look, (and it’s FREE) but like so much of Rome, the most impressive thing is the building itself. Lovely old dome. There are plenty more things to see in Rome, and who has the time to go to that sort of detail? But also the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps were certainly worth a look. Or two.

[FRANCE]

PARIS

(Stayed 30/5/99 – 3/6/99)

Value for Money : 5

Cleanliness : 3

Friendliness : 2

Noise : 2

TOTAL : 12 / 20 [RANK : 23^rd / 45]

Paris, capital a la France, certainly one of the most beautiful cities there is. The streets are very grand and wide, the traffic nearly as chaotic as Rome, there are gardens and trees throughout the entire metropolis and so of the best sites and museums you can possibly find anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with good timing on this trip. In fact, I probably couldn’t have timed it worse. All the museums were on strike, which meant I never saw the Louvre and that painting of, what was it…. Dogs playing poker I think.

Well, there was still plenty to see indeed. Notre Dame, possibly the second most famous church in the world (behind Sacred Heart, Sandringham of course) is a truly beautiful structure indeed – from behind. Unfortunately the front is two thirds covered with disgusting scaffolding which apparently been there for ages. This makes me pose the question, the two most famous churches in Europe covered in scaffolding whilst I was there - what’s going on? A plot, I say. Inside is brilliant stain glass windows, and breathtaking artwork. Also about a billion people walking around with a centimentre or two between them taking shots of everything. Then a service started and people proceeded to video tape that. Honestly!

One of the best parks in the city is the Jardin de Luxembourg, serene, peaceful, lovely fountain, easy to while away an afternoon there. Not too far away is the Pantheon, but that was closed at the time, although the building is quite impressive. (I’ve heard some excellent reviews on it too)

The Arc de Triomphe is an amazing structure in itself, at the middle of a massive intersection of twelve or so roads, it is an arch on four sides, which I was unaware of until I made it there. A flame burns underneath for an unknown soldier. A bit of I hike away is a structure occasionally associated with Paris, the Eiffel Tower. I took the challenge and walked up the first two levels – that is a lot of steps let me tell you! I discovered it was only 17 franc to the top on the left (you can’t walk the rest) and so I whipped up to the top and saw the premier view of Paris. There is little you can’t see from this point, and despite the smog (nothing compared to Cairo) the city looks quite magnificent.

Finally, Sacré Coeur seems to be the most underrated sight in Paris. I spent a long time inside…. It sits on a hill and you can get a good view on the city from there. Inside is very dark, and nice and quiet, not nearly as many people as Notre dame, and a magnificent organ on the entrance wall watches the church.

The metro service in Paris is very efficient, and works out to around two aussie dollars a ride, taking you most places in the city, certainly you are always within easy walking distance of whatever you might want to see. Of course, when for two of your four days the metro is on strike this is not that useful. But the city, despite its size, is a great one to see on foot.

[BELGIUM]

BRUGGE

(Stayed 3/6/99 – 5/6/99)

Value for Money : 3

Cleanliness : 2

Friendliness : 4

Noise : 2

TOTAL : 11 / 20 [RANK : 29^th / 45]

Brugge is a beautiful little town in Belgium, filled with a network of canals and cobblestone streets, it is said it is one of the best-preserved medieval towns. This isn’t a bad call either, taking a tour around the canals displays this, there is a bell tower to get a great view of the town from, and a walk around the town (getting in some ice cream and beer) is a good way to spend a day. There is a wonderful little pub where you can sample over three hundred different types of beer (how can you go wrong?) so cheers to all those I met in Brugge – we unanimously all agreed that, believe it or not, the banana beer was the best. So cheers to Mike, Andrew, Garret, Leah, Jeff, Becky, Jochan (Wally…..sorry bout that) Joanna and anyone else I ran into there. Brugge is a top place, so don’t overlook it. There are many windmills encircling the city which, are, well, nice, but I can’t really expand on that. It’s a perfect city to cycle in and around – in fact it’s an easy ride from the Holland border.