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Halloween Special: Cemeteries Around The World

10/31/2014

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Since it's Halloween, I thought it only appropriate to write about those spookier attractions when traveling: cemeteries. Often overlooked by travelers, cemeteries offer a unique perspective on a destination's history and culture.  Burial grounds not only honor those individuals who shaped a country, but they often physically represent an era, whether tragic (Old Jewish Cemetery of Prague), visionary (Mount Auburn Cemetery of Cambridge), or iconic ( St. Peter's Cemetery of Salzburg). Here are five cemeteries that left a lasting impression on me: 
1. La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nestled in the heart of Buenos Aires' most chic neighborhood, this exclusive cemetery is the final resting place of Argentina's elite, including Eva Duarte Perón (Evita). The intricately designed mausoleums are situated across from one another on narrow streets, making this burial ground a grand city of the dead. Many tombs have pictures of the interred in their prime displayed near the door, which give visitors a glimpse of the spirits behind the tomb walls.
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[Pictured Above]  A typical street in La Recoleta Cemetery.  Usually, there is not a super tall American named Chris standing around giving you the stink-eye:)

2. Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic
Prague's Old Jewish Cemetery is a stark contrast to Buenos Aires' luxurious city of the dead. This cemetery's tragic story is evident upon first glance.  Even before the Nazis occupied Prague, Jews were restricted to a specific area of the city. This included their burial grounds. In Jewish custom, the dead must be buried right away, and cremation is not permitted. Since they were given such little land for a cemetery, they had to bury people on top of each other. Experts suspect over 100,000 people have been buried on this tiny plot of land that spans just one city block. You can read more about our visit to Prague's Jewish quarter here. 
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3. The Necropolis of St. Peter's, Vatican City, Italy
One cannot talk about burial grounds without mentioning one of the world's most famous underground cemetery. Located under St. Peter's Basilica, the Necropolis was once an ancient above-ground cemetery filled with tombs and mausoleums of wealthy Roman families. When St. Peter's tomb was discovered underneath an ancient Roman family mausoleum, Emperor Constantine filled in the Necropolis in order to build a church over Peter's final place of rest. In order to see this subterranean burial ground you must contact the Vatican and book a tour well in advance of your visit. It's worth it. Read more about our Necropolis experience here. 
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Below these floors lie many tombs, including those of famous popes, roman families and St. Peter himself. 

4. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
I recently discovered Mount Auburn Cemetery after a trip to my local grocery store in Cambridge. It's well hidden among every day life in Cambridge - shops, buses and ivy covered brick apartments are right outside the long fence hiding this magnificent cemetery. When I walked through the main gate, the city melted away and I was immediately transported to a land from a storybook. Founded in 1831, Mount Auburn Cemetery was the first landscaped cemetery open to the public in the USA and is credited as the beginning of the American public parks and gardens movement. It is the final resting place of many historically significant people including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Winslow Homer and Isabella Stuart Gardner. The gardens are impeccable, the wildlife (particularly birds) are abundant and the setting is so peaceful that the living often temporarily rest, alongside the permanent residents. 
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5. St. Peter's Cemetery, Salzburg, Austria 
This charming cemetery became famous around the world thanks to Hollywood. It is the cemetery where the family Von Trapp hid from the Nazis in The Sound of Music. Although the movie scene was filmed in a Hollywood studio, it was inspired by the gated section of the actual cemetery. Two other fun facts about this cemetery: It is home to Mozart's sister Maria Ann and all plots are rented. Therefore families of the dead must pay rent on the lot every 10 years, or the body is removed and the plot is rented to someone else.  
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Recognize those gates? They are the inspiration for the fleeing scene in the Sound of Music.
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Vienna: Mozart, Klimt, and a Whole Lotta Hapsburgs

8/12/2013

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A Three-Hour Tour…
Our supposed three-hour drive from Salzburg to Vienna turned into a seven-hour ordeal. Austria decided to close down a 10km stretch of the main highway for a construction project without telling anyone.  This meant a highway totally full of travelers came to a complete standstill without warning.  We spent the next two hours sitting in our car, going nowhere.  Eventually, traffic began to creep slowly forward and after another hour or so, we made our way to an exit from which we could take back roads for the next thirty miles, before meeting back up with the main highway. 

At this point, we thought it would be smooth sailing.  Little did we know our GPS would lose its signal just when we needed it most.  We had unwisely become overly reliant on our trusty navigation system and had no backup maps.  We made it to Vienna, but had no clue how to find our hotel.  We spent about half an hour on the phone with the friendly receptionist at the hotel, trying to explain to her where we were, while she attempted to locate us on Google maps and walk us through the directions.  Between her shaky English and our awful pronunciation of the German street names, the endeavor proved unsuccessful. We were lost in the streets of Vienna.  At this point, it was around 11:30 at night.

We spent another hour driving around Vienna asking people for directions (note it's midnight at this point so there weren't many folks outside who were qualified to be giving anyone directions, which may have contributed to our plight). We were about to give up and sleep in the car when we heard a familiar British accent say At the roundabout take the second exit. Hooray! Our navigation system miraculously started working agin and we found the place in about 2 minutes. To our credit, this hotel was quite well-hidden, buried in a construction zone.

We stayed at the Zeitgeist Hotel.  Chris chose this hotel and I have a feeling it had something to do with the picture on the hotel's homepage:
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We did not end up engaging in any pillow fights, as it was too hot (read on)
Zeitgeist opened within the past year and is located near the new central train station, which is currently under construction.  The area around the hotel is being redeveloped and looks like it will be really nice 2-3 years from now.  The hotel itself was great, although the air conditioning did not work that well which made for some uncomfortable nights as the hot weather streak was still going strong.

Central Vienna
The next day we went on a bit of a self-guided walking tour of the old city.  Here are some highlights:
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On the steps of the Albertina museum.
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Chris on the terrace above the Albertina museum, looking at the statue of Franz Josef I and the beautiful old buildings in central Vienna.
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Outside the Church of the Minorities. I thought these three figures looked like they were playing & dancing to music.
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The Plague Column in the central shopping street. It was designed by many of the famous local artists of the time. They worked together to erect this monument celebrating the end of a Black Plague outbreak that had devastated the city.
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St. Stephen's Cathedral. It was massive with a very cool mosaic roof.
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Hofburg Imperial Palace - This was the seat of the Hapsburg empire for 6 centuries! Today it's the official residence of the Austrian President.
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This was above the road that went through the Hofburg Palace. It's said to be the most beautiful covered roadway in the world.
That evening we had dinner back in our neighborhood outside the city center. We went to a brew pub called Columbusbräu. Chris ordered and finished a massive set of spicy ribs, which left him quite content after a long day of sightseeing.
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Chris ate every last bite of these ribs.
Biking around Vienna
Our hotel offered us free loaner bikes, so we took advantage on our second day in town and explored some other parts of the city.

Schönbrunn Palace
This massive palace was the Hapsburg summer residence and is located about 4km outside the city center. Here we took a quick tour of the main palace and learned about famous Hapsburgs who have called it home, including their beloved Empress, Maria Theresa . She was the only female Hapsburg ruler, reigning for 40 years! She had 16 children including the ill-fated Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Their other famous and beloved Emperor, Franz Josef, lived here with his controversial wife, Sisi.  Lots of drama took place behind these walls!
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Schönbrunn Palace. We couldn't take pictures inside but we saw the great room where 7 year old Mozart played for Maria Theresa. He was so excited about playing for the Empress that he jumped on her lap, gave her a hug and kissed her neck. Luckily the Empress was quite taken with the young musical genius and rewarded him with a present.
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Schönbrunn Palace plaza
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Gardens of Schönbrunn Palace
Belvedere Castle and Museum
This castle was built by Prince Eugene of Savoy who turns out to be a very interesting historical character. Eugene was a member of the French royalty who proved a military genius.  However, he was small and had several physical deformities, including a hunchback, so was rejected for military service by King Louis XIV.  Therefore he moved to Austria where he enjoyed a hugely successful military career commanding the Hapsburg armies.  Eugene built the Belvedere as his personal residence, and was also a great patron of the arts.  

Today, Eugene is known as one of Austria's great heroes and the Belvedere is now an art museum, notable for its collection of Gustav Klimt's works. Klimt is one of Austria's most famous painters, and is also one of my favorite artists, so I was very excited about the chance to finally see his work in person. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, not only did the Belvedere have a great Klimt collection, but they also had several pieces from the Impressionism (Monet, Van Gogh, Manet to name a few),  Expressionism (lots of Egon Scheile!)  and Contemporary periods. If you are ever in Vienna, definitely visit this museum!
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The Belvedere is comprised of two buildings separated by a massive garden. Chris standing by the Upper Belvedere, looking at the Lower Belvedere. The Upper Belvedere was where Eugene entertained his guests and threw parties and the Lower Belvedere is where he actually lived.
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Upper Belvedere
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One of Klimt's most famous works - The Kiss - which we saw in the Belvedere. In person, the gold is amplified by a dimly lit room and a black background. While no one truly knows it's meaning, many suspect that it's self portrait of the artist. The woman may or may not return his affection. Notice how she i s on her knees with her head turned to the side and arms close to her chest as if resisting the man's kiss. Many believe this painting represents unrequited love. Note: This image s from Wikipedia since we weren't allowed to take photos.
St. Marx Cemetery
This cemetery is one of the most famous in Vienna and many think Mozart was buried here, among other famous Austrians throughout history. We rode by the cemetery on our way home, around dusk, and had the place to ourselves, which was a little spooky! 
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The entrance to St. Marx cemetery. Note the cross and star of David on the entrance.
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While nobody knows exactly where Mozart was buried, they suspect it is somewhere in this cemetery. They built this memorial in the center of the cemetery. The angel seems to be a little confused, as if he has misplaced Mozart.
After our three nights in Vienna, we departed the next morning for our next stop - Prague.
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Salzburg: The Hills Are Alive With A Pair of Hot Bostonians

8/9/2013

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Hot as in sweaty, thirsty, too-hot-to-move Bostonians.  When we arrived in Salzburg, temperatures had reached record highs.  It was easily over 100F, sunny, and humid.  

Upon arrival, we spent most of the daylight hours in our hotel - Motel One - a modern and (thankfully) air-conditioned hotel about a 10 minute walk from the city center.  Across the river from the hotel was a laundromat, so being much too hot to walk around the city, we decided to do our laundry.  The laundromat, not having A/C, was even hotter than the weather outside.  We threw our clothes in the wash and attempted to find a bar, or bottle of water at the very least. Nothing was open, likely due to the heat wave.  Chris, who is much more tolerant of extreme temperatures than me, went on a walk to track down some water and eventually came back with a tiny bottle which we crushed in about 5 seconds.  Twenty minutes later, our wash was done.  We bailed on the dryer and walked back with the wet clothes around our arms and neck, protecting us from the sun while cooling us off a bit.  This may have defeated the purpose of washing our clothes, but we didn't care!

That evening it cooled down just enough to make walking tolerable, so we headed into town. 
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Salzburg before sunset
Fraulein Maria Bike Tour
We love bike tours because they allow you to see a lot of the city in a short period of time and you learn a lot along the way.  The only bike tour available on our second day in Salzburg was the Fraulein Maria tour which takes you to all the famous places from the movie The Sound of Music. I'm a huge fan of musicals and this one is no exception. I love it! So I was pretty excited about the tour.  Chris, who also enjoyed the movie, was hoping for a tour with a little more historical context about the city.  Thankfully the heatwave broke and it was quiet pleasant outside.  All in all we had a great time. Our guide Steffi even looked a little bit like Liesel (the capitan's eldest daughter)! Here are some pictures from our tour:
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Our tour group. Two dudes and a bunch of ladies.
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Old fashioned car wash: This is a fountain where Salzburg's high society used to drop off their horses to be washed. I guess it's in the movie but I forget when!
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Chris waiting in near the horse washing fountain. The paintings on the wall are supposedly of really nice breeds of horses.
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The back of the Von Trapp house. This was a private residence when they filmed the movie. Now it belongs to our neighbor, Harvard University.
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They used a different house for the scenes that took place in front of the house. The house appears to be much larger in the movie due to some trick photography. It is currently used as a dormitory for classical music students. How appropriate!
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This was the plaza where they filmed one of the first Nazi scenes. They hung a giant Nazi flag over the door of this building. In real life, the people in Salzburg had no idea they were filming a movie and completely freaked out. To this day, 90% of people in Salzburg have not watched the movie and some say it's because of this incident!
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The fountain from the scene where Maria sings her solo. She had to splash water from the fountain, but was too short to reach the water. So they built her a platform just for the water splashing moment.
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Cemetery where the von Trapps hid from the Nazis
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St. Peter's Cemetery
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Stopping for a quick bit along the way. Pumpkin seed pretzel!
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If you haven't figured it out, our guide made us do silly poses at different stops along the way.
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This has nothing to do with the movie. Our guide told us that the house in the background is known as the hangman's house (hence, Chris' pose). Apparently all the kids in Salzburg are terrified of this place.
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In front of the nunnery where Maria Von Trapped lived. They used the same gates in the movie.
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Yet another pose, in front of the famous gazebo that was the setting for the love scenes in the movie. We had to pretend to dance. Everyone did a ballet move, except Chris who showed off his signature spastic moves!
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So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!
Trick Fountains
The next day we went to Hellbrunn Palace before driving to Vienna.  Hellbrunn Palace was built in the early 1600's by Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. Apparently the Archbishop had too much time and money on his hands, and spent said excess time and money devising an elaborate home and gardens with hidden water fountains everywhere.  This would allow him to soak his unsuspecting guests during meals, strolls, conversations, etc.  Needless to say, we got a bit wet on this tour.
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This is where the Archbishop would soak unsuspecting dinner guests. These kids also fell for his tricks.
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This poor woman was squirted by the elk as she exited a building. At least she was prepared with a raincoat!
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Drying off outside of Hellbrunn palace.
After drying off at Hellbrunn, we began what turned out to be a painfully long journey to Vienna. Stay tuned for more!
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    Eva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world.  

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