JACOB ROMAN'S
TRAVEL BLOG
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I'm studying at Roehampton University in London, and will be taking periodic trips to who knows where. Forgive the current lack of pictures, I'm working on it! Otherwise, enjoy the tales of adventure...
| Jacob Roman's Travel Blogs and Reviews | ||
| Travel Blogs and Reviews | ||
| Title and Date | Location | |
 | Europe | |
 Unity through alcohol and fire alarms? Sep 15 '06 "The central theme at Biola: community, through Christ. At Roehampton: community, through Carlsberg." | London, England | |
 Kebab Stands "The kebab is Turkish food, a kind of wrap that normally consists of lamb or chicken, and plenty of vegetables, with a really good garlic-ish sauce. Sooo good, and about the cheapest food you'll find in the streets of London, unless you want McDonald's." | London, England | |
 Thames South Bank/Waterloo Bridge "I think it's because we were there during some sort of festival, but the South bank of the Thames from Parliament Bridge to Waterloo was full of crazy street performers and lots of people. Even a crazy polka band, which had gathered quite the crowd, including an 80ish older guy who was busting out some hardcore polka moves. And under Waterloo Bridge, we found this random "bookseller": tables and tables of used books for very cheap. Quite fun!" | London, England | |
Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park "Incredible. The pearl of London's parks so far, it's absolutely enormous and 100% beautiful. Featuring the Princess Diana memorial fountain, Kensington Palace, and the Albert Memorial, it's a must-see. So refreshing to find such an expansive piece of nature in the middle of one of the world's greatest cities." | London, England | |
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond... Sep 21 '06 "I was heading out of London on a large touring bus, bound for adventure. Adventure, however, decided not to wait until Scotland..." | Glasgow, Scotland | |
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park "Great scenery, trails are well marked and maybe moderately hard at best, there's only a few tough climbs. A great dose of Scotland's natural beauty." | Glasgow, Scotland | |
Kember & Jones "Apparently last year Alison went on a search for the best scones in Glasgow, and after tasting them, I'd have to agree. If you're ever in the west end there, look it up, the coffee was great too!" | Glasgow, Scotland | |
Life in London Towne Oct '06 "I’ve been able to taste a sampling of one of the greatest arts scenes available on this planet" | London, England | |
Wicked at the Apollo Victoria "What can I say? The headliner of the original Broadway cast, the beautiful and extremely talented Idina Menzel (she’s also married to Taye Diggs), is back for the West End run of one of the biggest musicals in years. Heralded as the first “Broadway blockbuster”, this show was simply amazing, and I’ll probably throw down to go see it again while I’m here." | London, England | |
Notting Hill/Portobello St. Market "If you enjoy antiques, knick-knacks, and a random selection of clothing stores, Notting Hill and Portobello Street Market is the place for you. Go there on a Saturday, when the market is in full swing, and wait until an hour before closing for the prices to start tumbling. Fun place to just walk around and take in whatever catches your eye." | London, England | |
Tate Modern "A comprehensive spectrum of the notable British painters through the past five hundred years, the Tate Britain has plenty to see, and is currently housing a “Holbein in England” until January. Don’t ask me how it was, I refused to spend the 8 pound entrance charge, haha." | London, England | |
In Extremis at The Globe Theater "We saw the final performance of In Extremis, on the final weekend of the season at the Globe. The play is a darkly comedic take on the tale of Eloise and Abelard, a story of forbidden love between an influential theologian and his student in the 12th century. Very well directed, performed, and produced, it was a treat to see at the Globe!" | London, England | |
Tate Modern "Housed in the old Bankside Power Station, the Tate Modern holds in its permanent collection some of the most famous works of Modern art in the world. Lichtenstein, Dali, Picasso, Pollock, Picasso, Warhol, and the list goes on…and the best part, it’s free!" | London, England | |
Biola comes to London... Oct 14 '06 "Think of a locker room, then cut it in half, in half again, tone down the sweat and the towel fights, and you’ve got the idea" | London, England | |
National Museum "I hadn't been before, and found the National Museum extremely interesting, and probably could've spent a few more hours there than we ended up staying. The Rosetta Stone, about half the frieze from the Parthenon, and great Egyptian and Assyrian exhibits rounded out one of the most enjoyable museum experiences yet." | London, England | |
Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace "Way overrated. This was up there with the Glockenspiel. They don't know how to march, there are frequent 5 minute intervals of silence for no apparent reason, and if this says anything about the quality of the spectacle, the highlight was when they struck up Phantom of the Opera. So not worth it; save yourself an hour and a half and take a walk in the park." | London, England | |
Barcelona: why not? Nov 06 '06 "My time in Barcelona was an amazing reminder of why I wanted to do this in the first place" | Barcelona, Spain | |
 Hostel Sant Jordi "Clean, helpful staff, great location. They also have a mostly-functional kitchen." | Barcelona, Spain | |
Mt. Tibidabo "This is the highest mountain overlooking Barcelona, and on the top it has a cathedral, an amusement park, and a massive communications tower constructed for the 1992 Olympic games. Thanks to early shutdown of the tram system, we didn't get to the top. However, we found a bar with an excellent open-air view that sufficed just fine." | Barcelona, Spain | |
Museum of Catalonian Art "We didn't want to front the entrance fee, but hey, it's got a great view of the city that's free!" | Barcelona, Spain | |
Las Ramblas "The melting pot of Barcelona's culture, this street, lined with cafes and clubs, goes all the way down to the ocean. This is where you'd find cheap tourist trinkets, drug dealers, pickpockets, and hookers. Yeah, it gets a little sketchy after midnight." | Barcelona, Spain | |
Txapela "The best tapas place we found, it runs about 1.25 euro per dish, and all of it was good!" | Barcelona, Spain | |
Deutschland! Sep 11 '06 | Germany | |
Beer halls, beer gardens, and pub crawls: life in Munich Sep 11 '06 "thankfully, not everything in Munich is overrated. Actually, the Glockenspiel was the only thing" | Munich, Germany | |
Jaeger's Hostel "Not as much of a party place as the C&B back in Prague, this hostel was definitely nicer. It almost felt like a hotel. Bring your own food though, unless you want to survive on free "breakfast" that consists of two pieces of toast and crappy coffee." | Munich, Germany | |
Schloss Nymphenburg "This palace is rather small, as palaces go, and a little pricey as well. The best part of it is the extensive gardens and fountains out behind the palace, and those are free." | Munich, Germany | |
Viktualienmarket-Open Air Market "This is the biggest open-air market near the city center (Marienplatz), this is the place to experience really good German cuisine. There's also a huge variety of fresh produce, and a great beer garden of course. So bring your beer or buy it there, but don't go without a bratwurst mit kraut and some good potato salad. My mouth is watering as I write." | Munich, Germany | |
Alte Pinakothek "One of Munich's premier galleries, the Pinakothek houses an amazing variety of paintings, including the most impressive collection of Rubens I've ever seen. Overall, there are over 800 paintings from the 14th through the 18th century." | Munich, Germany | |
| Czech Republic | |
Naked Missions and the like... Sep 07 '06 "“We don’t know…but we think…we think it’s chiefly about the beer.”" | Prague, Czech Republic | |
Clown & Bard Hostel "Not a bad hostel, staff was extremely helpful, great pub." | Prague, Czech Republic | |
Tommy. Sep 07 '06 "His name was Tommy. When I met him, I thought he was dying. Honestly." | Prague, Czech Republic | |
Prague. Sep 07 '06 "Prague is a city of aged, quiet beauty, one that anyone should jump at the chance to tour, if ever the opportunity arises." | Prague, Czech Republic | |
Staromestske Namesti: Old Town Square "Prague’s Old Town Square was definitely the best-looking town square I’ve ever seen. Ringed by infamous architectural gems from several of Europe’s architectural periods, it’s an excellent place to soak up the historical atmosphere and have a cappuccino." | Prague, Czech Republic | |
Prazky hrad: Prague Castle "Fantastic-the largest castle in Europe, this is actually an entire walled city that's built on a large point that rises above the rest of Prague. It contains St. Vitus's Cathedral, the most beautiful church I've seen yet over here, as well as the old Czech Royal Palace, which is definitely worth touring for a basic lesson in Czech history. And if the touring gets to be a little much, the Royal Gardens are close by for a chill option." | Prague, Czech Republic | |
National Gallery in Prague "Not a bad gallery if you enjoy a lot of the Flemish and German/Austrian artists: Breugel, Holbein, Cranach, etc. There's also some Durer, a Rubens, and El Greco's "Praying Christ". Also, go outside to the sculpture garden, it's a great place to chill after walking through it all." | Prague, Czech Republic | |
An Epic Pilgrimage: The Beer-Drinker's Hajj Sep 10 '06 "Ask just about any man, and he’ll choose the same thing. Gallery, or brewery? Brewery wins every time." | Plzen, Czech Republic | |
The Big Synagogue of Plzen "Overall, kind of a let-down for claiming to be the second-largest synagogue in Europe and third-largest in the world. Definitely smaller than most cathedrals in Europe, it's still in the midst of reconstruction, which sort of spoils the holy atmosphere. But for $3-4 American dollars, it's something of interest, that's for sure." | Plzen, Czech Republic | |
