Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City is a 110 acre enclave in Rome that is actually the smallest sovereign state in the world. It is the center of the Catholic Church, where Pope Benedict XVI resides and the home of the massive St. Peter's Basilical.

Vatican City or The Holy See was created in 1929 and has about 800 residents, granting them passports and issuing postage stamps. The Vatican Museums hold an incredible art collection and the Sistine Chapel holds the amazing frescoes of Michelangelo, Botticelli and Raphel.

While my parents were in Rome I made another visit to The Vatican. It is overwhelming to attempt to take in all of the art, architecture and extreme wealth that a visit to The Vatican has to offer. Photographing all of St. Peter's Basilica could take weeks!

As a tourist visiting The Vatican, expect long lines always- but especially on Friday and Saturday afternoons. The best time to visit is early in the morning one weekdays. The Vatican museum can take the better part of an afternoon to visit. Allow a full day if you are interested in exploring St. Peter's the tombs and the Vatican Museum.

Meeting Relatives and Tasting Olive Oil in Northern Italy

One branch of my family tree on my Mom's side runs through northern Italy. I wrote about my visit to Lago di Garda earlier in this blog. While I was in Verona with my parents, they hired a driver and we made a trip to visit the Salagno Olive Oil Co. about 15 minutes outside of Verona.

While there, we got to meet some distant cousins who run the facility and make some fantastic olive oil and olive products, including some great beauty products. Francesca Salvagno, 26, gave us a very nice tour and we were joined along the way by her father, Giovani. We also met her sister and a cousin who works at the company.

It was a really neat experience to get the chance to meet distant family in the hills of Italy! I especially enjoyed watching the process of how they make their olive oil. I thought it was especially interesting that many of the people who came in to buy olive oil while we were there bought unfiltered olive oil. Francesca Salvagno told us that she herself preferred the unfiltered olive oil as well!

I don't think that I will ever taste olive oil the same way again!

Four Hours in Innsbruck, Austria

Innsbruck, Austria, is known to most people because it hosted two winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976, more than a decade before I was born. I had already been to Vienna and Salzburg, so I knew that Austria had some amazing scenery. I was further impressed by this visit to the capital of the Tyrol region.

We decided to break up our train trip from Munich, Germany, to Verona, Italy, with time for some shopping and lunch in Innsbruck.
Nestled in the alps Innsbruck is a beautiful town with great restaurants and shopping. Be sure to have some weinerschnitzel (breaded and fried veal) while in Innsbruck!

Here are some visits of my short trip to Innsbruck...

Munich Churches and Cathedrals

Munich is a city with a beautiful skyline and some great architecture, most of it rebuilt after World War II ended in 1945.

There are many beautiful churches to visit within the city center. Here are some photographs of my visit to a few of the many churches within Munich.

Meeting My Parents in Munich

My parents came to Europe for a two week vacation and to visit me in Rome. You can check out some of their adventure's on my Dad's blog Lyke2Drink.

I caught up with them in Munich after a flight that took me from Rome to Athens to Munich -- finding an affordable flight from Rome to Munich was not easy!

As a student studying abroad for 4 months it was wonderful to get the chance to have my parents visit! Munich was the perfect city to spend some time with my father since he is a beer writer. I was happy to get the chance to see Munich during the fall when it is especially beautiful. One tip: if you only have one full day in Munich do not make it a Sunday. On Sundays practically all of the shops are closed.

My favorite beer that I had in Munich was the Augustiner Weissbier. I recommend a nice wheat beer to compliment some pork knuckle and spatzel!

Europe by Train

A Great way to travel Europe is by train. I suggest you visit the Rail Europe site before you head overseas to learn if there is a rail pass that works for you. Also keep in mind that discount airlines may also get you there faster and cheaper, making it possible to make great memories over long weekends.

Typically a first class train ticket is roughly 1.5 to 2 times as expensive as a second class ticket. On many trains there is not a great difference between traveling first class and second class. It is a good idea when traveling to consider all of your options (i.e. on an overnight train you may want to consider a sleeper car etc.. or sometimes there are high speed trains available between major cities, saving time over local and regional trains).

The train is a great place to catch up on reading or to just watch the countryside roll by. Most of the longer haul trains in Europe will have a dining car on board selling sandwiches, snacks, soda and even beer and wine. European train stations are typically in or near the middle of town, making it easy to visit top attractions or find a hotel.

One of my scariest train experiences was while traveling on an overnight train from Krakow to Prague. The train was old and we did not spend the extra money on a sleeper car -- so we were constantly worried about falling asleep, in fear that someone was going to come into our car.

My favorite train to take in Italy is the high speed train between Rome and Florence. These trains are typically new and clean, and the ride is scenic.