[getbak]

Went there last year and loved all of them.

London was probably lowest on my list because it's so expensive and was pretty gloomy when I was there. I did a day trip from London to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath which was really good. Westminster Abbey is pretty amazing just because it's the final resting place of virtually every significant British person of the last 1000 years. Seeing Newton and Darwin's tombs positioned on either side of the main altar made me laugh in light of the whole Science vs Religion debate.

Oktoberfest will probably occupy most of your time in Munich, but if the weather's nice, go for a stroll or rent a bike and go through the English Gardens. It's a huge inner-city park (I think it's bigger than Central Park in New York, but I could be wrong on that), and there's even a beer garden in it (so you don't have to get too far away from the Munich experience).

Prague is a gorgeous city (full of gorgeous women, if you're into that sort of thing). Cheap beer and no such thing as last call (if you're into that sort of thing). The cabbies can be pretty shady, so make sure you have some idea how much it should cost to get from place to place and make sure you ask the cabbie how much it'll cost before you close the door, and if his number is too high (whether he has a meter or not), get out of the cab. It's one of the few cities that was primarily unscathed during the wars, so a lot of the amazing gothic architecture has survived.

Berlin is incredible. So much of the history of the 20th Century happened in Berlin, everything from the Nazis burning books at the University and Hitler's marches through the streets, to being split up after the war, to eventually being divided by the Wall during the Cold War, to finally being reunited to become one of the most vibrant cities in Europe today. The Reichstag has been rebuilt and is once again the home of the German parliament. It's free to visit and climb to the top of the glass dome. There are quite a few WWII memorials around the city. The Holocaust Memorial is close to Brandenburg Gate and is quite powerful. The East Side Gallery is a small stretch of the Berlin Wall that was preserved and mural artists from around the world were invited to contribute to the display. There's a Berlin Wall museum beside where Checkpoint Charlie used to be (a small booth still marks the spot where WWIII almost started a couple of times). Potsdamer Platz is the big new commercial section, where some large corporations have built their world (Dailmer) and European (Sony) headquarters.

Be sure to go to the Starbucks at Brandenburg Gate and think about the fact that 20 years ago you would have been shot on sight for standing in the same spot where you just bought your Frapuccino. Go capitalism!


If you think there are a lot of construction cranes in downtown Calgary, wait until you get to London and Berlin. Calgary looks positively stagnant compared to those two cities.