Sunday, October 31, 2010
(Pre)Halloween shenanigans
I made this album completely public, so follow this link-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=244454&id=506827218
-and check out my hike with Zach, as well as pun'kin carving with my friends.
Enjoy!
:)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=244454&id=506827218
-and check out my hike with Zach, as well as pun'kin carving with my friends.
Enjoy!
:)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
A moment of honesty
Honestly,
Sometimes I feel so down,
I feel like I'll never get up again.
Honestly,
It scares the hell out of me.
Sometimes I feel so down,
I feel like I'll never get up again.
Honestly,
It scares the hell out of me.
Friday, October 29, 2010
In my room
Sorry for not posting and not getting back to you guys! I've been slightly under the weather and school's actually becoming this weird new reality that I have to adjust to.
It's Friday night and all my friends are in my kitchen playing Beer Pong but I just can't muster the interest. Usually I have enough energy to fake it, but tonight, the week is taking its toll on me.
Classes are fine- not much to say about them. All my reading is in English this week for my history class, so I'm happy about that. And! I met a girl who lived in Portland for 5 years who is also in that class, and she told me not to worry; most of what the other people are saying is complete BS because they don't understand the English readings. Ha!
New friends? Not this week. I'll keep trying though!
New experiences this week- I tried a to-die-for baked good. I went hiking and got COMPLETELY lost with Zach. I went to the Modern Art Museum of Freiburg with Chris. I went to a lesbian group and survived an all-German environment completely on my own. I joined a gym! I went to said gym and chicken'ed out of the group shower. *Shudder*
Overall, I'm very happy here. It's been sunny for the last few days and that helps immensely. I wake up smiling now, and that's a really nice change. I'm not 100% on the one semester or two semester decision, but I'm just "giving it up to God" and just seeing where this journey takes me.
This weekend-
Tomorrow, I may go to the theater and see an opera (Hansel & Grettle). Probably gonna be a day of reading and relaxing because tomorrow night is partynight and concert night and whatever other types of mischief we can find. None of that matters to me because SUNDAY is the day of days- Halloween. At Europa Park! Wooo! Roller Coasters all day, dancing all night.
This is a shameless plea for some snail mail. (I promise to be a good pen pal!)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Who refuses to get sick?
This kid!
The other day I filled out an "I'm interested in your gym" type of form, and they called me last night, and I have an appointment at 1:00! I'm heading out with Chris in about 20 minutes. At this point, I almost don't care about the cost- my ass needs to get to the gym, haha.
Hmm what else? I'm seriously concerned that my history class will be too much for me to handle, but instead of shirking away, I'm going to write my prof, my tutor, and Anja. We will find a solution to my inability to follow what's being said! =]
It's sunny! It's about 2 degrees Celsius! TIME TO GO CARPE SOME DIEM!
The other day I filled out an "I'm interested in your gym" type of form, and they called me last night, and I have an appointment at 1:00! I'm heading out with Chris in about 20 minutes. At this point, I almost don't care about the cost- my ass needs to get to the gym, haha.
Hmm what else? I'm seriously concerned that my history class will be too much for me to handle, but instead of shirking away, I'm going to write my prof, my tutor, and Anja. We will find a solution to my inability to follow what's being said! =]
It's sunny! It's about 2 degrees Celsius! TIME TO GO CARPE SOME DIEM!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Demonstrationen!
(Protests!)
Yesterday, I was bored so I decided to hop a random tram and see where it would take me. As it turned out, it took me nowhere magical, but what I did learn from it, was that there was a "Demonstration" (<-- See, German isn't that hard to learn!) in the inner-city, which might cause our trams to be slightly delayed.
So I went a'huntin'. I went to the inner-city and looked long and hard for those protesters, but alas, they were playing hard-to-get.
I read this morning that they were protesting against using nuclear energy in Baden-Württemberg.
There were also "Demonstrationen" in Offenburg, a city about 60 km North. These protests were against Neo-Nazis. I read that there were about 100 Nazis and about 500 protesters. These demonstrations happen all the time in Germany. I really don't understand the situation; maybe I'll get to talk to a German about it sometime soon.
Plans today?
- Shower, clean room
- "Cleaning party" with my floor (THANK GOD)
- Go to carnival, even if it's by myself
- Eat leftovers, watch Hocus Pocus and play cards with my girls.
THE END!
Yesterday, I was bored so I decided to hop a random tram and see where it would take me. As it turned out, it took me nowhere magical, but what I did learn from it, was that there was a "Demonstration" (<-- See, German isn't that hard to learn!) in the inner-city, which might cause our trams to be slightly delayed.
So I went a'huntin'. I went to the inner-city and looked long and hard for those protesters, but alas, they were playing hard-to-get.
I read this morning that they were protesting against using nuclear energy in Baden-Württemberg.
There were also "Demonstrationen" in Offenburg, a city about 60 km North. These protests were against Neo-Nazis. I read that there were about 100 Nazis and about 500 protesters. These demonstrations happen all the time in Germany. I really don't understand the situation; maybe I'll get to talk to a German about it sometime soon.
Plans today?
- Shower, clean room
- "Cleaning party" with my floor (THANK GOD)
- Go to carnival, even if it's by myself
- Eat leftovers, watch Hocus Pocus and play cards with my girls.
THE END!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
"Wanna get out of town?"
"Duh! When?"
"Now?"
"Let's go."
That was basically the conversation that lead to Zach, Cat, and I venturing off to Titisee, a small village about 40 minutes outside of Freiburg. Zach and I had just gotten out of our EU class at noon, and by 2pm, we were on the train with Cat in tow.
The ride was BEAUTIFUL. I forget how much I hate urban life until I get out of it. We started out seeing huge fields with cows and small farms, then we got into the mountains, where it looked EXACTLY like Oregon, and then, finally, higher elevations with small villages covered in a very thin layer of snow.
We arrived in Titisee exactly as scheduled (gotta love the Deutsche Bahn) and meandered through the streets, looking for a hiking path. Naturally, we found one in minutes (Germany is COVERED in walking/hiking trails) and yeahhh. Pictures can say more than words:
"Now?"
"Let's go."
That was basically the conversation that lead to Zach, Cat, and I venturing off to Titisee, a small village about 40 minutes outside of Freiburg. Zach and I had just gotten out of our EU class at noon, and by 2pm, we were on the train with Cat in tow.
The ride was BEAUTIFUL. I forget how much I hate urban life until I get out of it. We started out seeing huge fields with cows and small farms, then we got into the mountains, where it looked EXACTLY like Oregon, and then, finally, higher elevations with small villages covered in a very thin layer of snow.
We arrived in Titisee exactly as scheduled (gotta love the Deutsche Bahn) and meandered through the streets, looking for a hiking path. Naturally, we found one in minutes (Germany is COVERED in walking/hiking trails) and yeahhh. Pictures can say more than words:
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Hello, Thursday
A pretty morning- FINALLY
Freiburg has looked semi-apocolyptic the last week and a half; nothing but thick dark clouds and light rain. Gross. Maybe today will be better?
I'm starting the day with half a liter of water (the only good use for glasses this big) because I forgot to drink any in the last 2-3 days, and my body is rejecting me. I've got class at 10, and today's class is a babyclass. A class made with international students in mind. Cake.
Yesterday I had one of those as well. (Note: they're called DAF classes; Deutsch als Fremdsprache [German as a second language].) Yesterday's class was about Germany from the perspective of immigrants. I've taken a class similar to this, but I"m interested in seeing it taught from the German perspective, because, as you may or may not know, Germans are fairly racist as a whole. My class focused on blacks, jews, romas, asians, and turks, just to name a few undesirable groups.
I found yesterday's class to be incredibly easy. I think we have to participate and at the end write a 5 page paper. Ha! I write 5 page german papers in my sleep! lol I'm kidding of course, but these DAF classes will cause me no anxiety, I can tell you that. Another interesting thing was the background of my class. About a 1/3 of us came from US or Britian, 1/3 from South Korea, and then 1/3 miscellaneous (Poland, Slovakia, Italia, Romania etc.)
Today's class is German history, society, and culture. With a name like that, you know it's basically gonna be a gimme. Wayy too broad to be difficult. I may be dropping this class for a biology class, but we'll see.
The view outside my window. Not spectacular from the first floor. Also, note the huge CAT in the corner. lol
UGHHH. It is shortly after 8 and they are already "up and at it" outside. Just pounding and drilling away! Ugh again.
Freiburg has looked semi-apocolyptic the last week and a half; nothing but thick dark clouds and light rain. Gross. Maybe today will be better?
I'm starting the day with half a liter of water (the only good use for glasses this big) because I forgot to drink any in the last 2-3 days, and my body is rejecting me. I've got class at 10, and today's class is a babyclass. A class made with international students in mind. Cake.
Yesterday I had one of those as well. (Note: they're called DAF classes; Deutsch als Fremdsprache [German as a second language].) Yesterday's class was about Germany from the perspective of immigrants. I've taken a class similar to this, but I"m interested in seeing it taught from the German perspective, because, as you may or may not know, Germans are fairly racist as a whole. My class focused on blacks, jews, romas, asians, and turks, just to name a few undesirable groups.
I found yesterday's class to be incredibly easy. I think we have to participate and at the end write a 5 page paper. Ha! I write 5 page german papers in my sleep! lol I'm kidding of course, but these DAF classes will cause me no anxiety, I can tell you that. Another interesting thing was the background of my class. About a 1/3 of us came from US or Britian, 1/3 from South Korea, and then 1/3 miscellaneous (Poland, Slovakia, Italia, Romania etc.)
Today's class is German history, society, and culture. With a name like that, you know it's basically gonna be a gimme. Wayy too broad to be difficult. I may be dropping this class for a biology class, but we'll see.
The view outside my window. Not spectacular from the first floor. Also, note the huge CAT in the corner. lol
UGHHH. It is shortly after 8 and they are already "up and at it" outside. Just pounding and drilling away! Ugh again.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Brrr!
The high this week is in the 40s, so after class today, Kaitie and I bought scarfs.
It's happened.
I'm so European it makes you wanna puke. (And who would blame you if you did?)
Also, a special shout-out to Aly and Mary-
Thank you so much for the warm underwear! My friends were skeptical of the pants, but it was I who had the last laugh when we were waiting outside for our tram. Ha!
It's happened.
I'm so European it makes you wanna puke. (And who would blame you if you did?)
Also, a special shout-out to Aly and Mary-
Thank you so much for the warm underwear! My friends were skeptical of the pants, but it was I who had the last laugh when we were waiting outside for our tram. Ha!
First days of class
Hello everyone!
Monday was my first day of classes. I spent the day cleaning my kitchen (stressed much? haha) and putzing around my dorm. The weather here is dreadful, so none of us go outside unless it's absolutely necessary. I left over an hour early, because like I said, I had no idea where this building was. Like any good Moody, I circled the building a few times and eventually asked for directions before being smirked at and pointed in the right direction.
Another important reason that one must show up early to the first day of class is the fact that you're not guaranteed a seat. Unlike the black-and-white strict registration system of the US, the German is surprisingly sloppy. There are between 3-5 ways of registering for a class, according to my director Anja. The most common one is simply showing up early, and fighting for a seat. Not my style; I save that for football season exclusively. =]
My class ended up being about 20 people strong, all freshman (ages 20-21) and all German. My teacher wreaks of Germanness; a total Frau, so to speak. All business. From her hairstyle, to her expressions, to her voice, to her shoes. Unfortunately, she spoke just as I feared: monotone and rapidly. Yikes! After the hour (classes are generally 2 hours), my brain was fried and my comprehension rate was sagging around 20%. It's crazy because in the US, you can drift away for a few seconds and be fine: "where did I lay that homework assignment from last week?" "I should go to bed early tonight." "Where are we? I'll look at the handout." NOT TRUE HERE. haha. Private thoughts are not allowed because if I drift away for 2 seconds, I'm lost for 2 minutes.
This class is a once-a-week, two hour discussion class. We read the assigned reading at home, and we come together to discuss. Oh. My. Goodness. I'm so excited and scared for this challenge. We'll see how it goes! Also, funny fact: there's a discussion class for my discussion class. It's called "tutorium" and in this side class, I'll be taught how to read critically, how to write a paper etc etc.
I didn't sleep at all last night (that is what happens when one intentionally tries to change their sleeping habits from 3-12 to 11-8). So now it's 8am, I'm baking some rolls for my sandwhiches (no big deal) and google map'ing my class. Gotta meet Kaitie (aka Minnesota) at the tram station in 40 minutes. Better go shower :]
Tschüss!
Dinner and some news
Two of my guys- Chris and Harley
Dining room/Kitchen
Constructionnnnnnn
Monday was my first day of classes. I spent the day cleaning my kitchen (stressed much? haha) and putzing around my dorm. The weather here is dreadful, so none of us go outside unless it's absolutely necessary. I left over an hour early, because like I said, I had no idea where this building was. Like any good Moody, I circled the building a few times and eventually asked for directions before being smirked at and pointed in the right direction.
Another important reason that one must show up early to the first day of class is the fact that you're not guaranteed a seat. Unlike the black-and-white strict registration system of the US, the German is surprisingly sloppy. There are between 3-5 ways of registering for a class, according to my director Anja. The most common one is simply showing up early, and fighting for a seat. Not my style; I save that for football season exclusively. =]
My class ended up being about 20 people strong, all freshman (ages 20-21) and all German. My teacher wreaks of Germanness; a total Frau, so to speak. All business. From her hairstyle, to her expressions, to her voice, to her shoes. Unfortunately, she spoke just as I feared: monotone and rapidly. Yikes! After the hour (classes are generally 2 hours), my brain was fried and my comprehension rate was sagging around 20%. It's crazy because in the US, you can drift away for a few seconds and be fine: "where did I lay that homework assignment from last week?" "I should go to bed early tonight." "Where are we? I'll look at the handout." NOT TRUE HERE. haha. Private thoughts are not allowed because if I drift away for 2 seconds, I'm lost for 2 minutes.
This class is a once-a-week, two hour discussion class. We read the assigned reading at home, and we come together to discuss. Oh. My. Goodness. I'm so excited and scared for this challenge. We'll see how it goes! Also, funny fact: there's a discussion class for my discussion class. It's called "tutorium" and in this side class, I'll be taught how to read critically, how to write a paper etc etc.
I didn't sleep at all last night (that is what happens when one intentionally tries to change their sleeping habits from 3-12 to 11-8). So now it's 8am, I'm baking some rolls for my sandwhiches (no big deal) and google map'ing my class. Gotta meet Kaitie (aka Minnesota) at the tram station in 40 minutes. Better go shower :]
Tschüss!
Dinner and some news
Two of my guys- Chris and Harley
Dining room/Kitchen
Constructionnnnnnn
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Hooray!
My passport was found in my dorm room back in Tübingen. How in the heck I left that behind is beyond me. It wassss 6:45 am when I left... Anyway, just wanted to share that bit of good news.
More later!
More later!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Kultur!
Tomorrow, I may go to a orchestral performance of three pieces:
Joseph Haydn: Sinfonie Nr. 100 G-Dur »Militärsinfonie«
Luigi Boccherini: Sinfonie d-Moll »La casa del diavolo«
Hector Berlioz: »Harold in Italien«
No idea what they sound like, but I don't care! I'm gonna get dressed up and go =]
AND! Friday night the Stadtoper (city opera) is performing Puccini's famous Tosca opera. (Sounds familiar? It was featured in the movie "Milk.")
I think I can get tickets for both for less than 10 euro each. Hell yes!
Joseph Haydn: Sinfonie Nr. 100 G-Dur »Militärsinfonie«
Luigi Boccherini: Sinfonie d-Moll »La casa del diavolo«
Hector Berlioz: »Harold in Italien«
No idea what they sound like, but I don't care! I'm gonna get dressed up and go =]
AND! Friday night the Stadtoper (city opera) is performing Puccini's famous Tosca opera. (Sounds familiar? It was featured in the movie "Milk.")
I think I can get tickets for both for less than 10 euro each. Hell yes!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday already?
Hello all!
Somehow this week has gone by, though I have nothing to show for it. With no money and no idea what this city has to offer (for free), I expected this week to drag. However, with a little help from my friends, we muddled through.
What's new? What's new?
Well, the annual "Herbstmesse" or "fall fair" has come to town and much to my dismay, I still haven't made it out there. At the Herbstmesse, one will find huge rollercoasters and other obligatory fair rides, live music, beer tent after beer tent, and booths selling gingerbread hearts and foot-long brats. I. Can't. Wait. Our excuse for not having gone yet? As much as we'd all like to deny it, we're scared of venturing off into the unknown and we're all more-or-less homebodies.
Although I don't feel the feelings of love and friendship for Freiburg that I have for Eugene, I see it more as a sibling relationship: Freiburg may like me, may even want me around, but it will still trip me on my way to class and make me feel crappy. I, in return, will try to find out all its secrets and tell everyone I know, and eventually, I will triumph. In the end, I think we'll both look back with fondness.
In other news...
School starts tomorrow!
My first and only class of the day is an American history class at 6pm. It's about one of my favorite eras- 1930s-1940s. So much was happening at the time! I can't wait to see how it's taught from a different cultural perspective.
Ok, that's all for now! Let me know who's actually reading this- comment your name. (The link is directly below this post; it's a pencil.)
Somehow this week has gone by, though I have nothing to show for it. With no money and no idea what this city has to offer (for free), I expected this week to drag. However, with a little help from my friends, we muddled through.
What's new? What's new?
Well, the annual "Herbstmesse" or "fall fair" has come to town and much to my dismay, I still haven't made it out there. At the Herbstmesse, one will find huge rollercoasters and other obligatory fair rides, live music, beer tent after beer tent, and booths selling gingerbread hearts and foot-long brats. I. Can't. Wait. Our excuse for not having gone yet? As much as we'd all like to deny it, we're scared of venturing off into the unknown and we're all more-or-less homebodies.
Although I don't feel the feelings of love and friendship for Freiburg that I have for Eugene, I see it more as a sibling relationship: Freiburg may like me, may even want me around, but it will still trip me on my way to class and make me feel crappy. I, in return, will try to find out all its secrets and tell everyone I know, and eventually, I will triumph. In the end, I think we'll both look back with fondness.
In other news...
School starts tomorrow!
My first and only class of the day is an American history class at 6pm. It's about one of my favorite eras- 1930s-1940s. So much was happening at the time! I can't wait to see how it's taught from a different cultural perspective.
Ok, that's all for now! Let me know who's actually reading this- comment your name. (The link is directly below this post; it's a pencil.)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Happy "International Suit Up" Day!
Because I love "How I Met Your Mother," and because I love to dress up... I did today!
Karaoke bar tonight!
Karaoke bar tonight!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A hike with Zach
I've been absolutely itching to get out of the grime and noise of the big city and go hiking, and my friend Zach, who has lived in Freiburg previously, came to my rescue. We hopped a tram, crossed a busy street, went up some steps, and within minutes, we were out of sight of the city.
I'll admit, I've done a lot of two things since arriving in Tübingen over a month ago: eating and not moving, so today's hike was a wake up call for my body, haha. He first took me up to a tower overlooking the city, and then we trotted off on any trail that looked interesting; no destination, no route. I think we were gone for a little over four hours. We ended up on a mountaintop where a small restaurant, church, and playground lay tucked away, forgotten by time. If I read the church wall correctly, it was first made in the seventh century. No big deal.
On our way back through town we ran into Minnisota, and decided to have dinner at my place. I made 1000 grams of Kässpätzle, which, for you non-metric users, is a crapton of noodles. My plan is to live off of it for the next 3-4 days. Being poor is fun! =]
I forced Let The Right One In upon them, and of course, they loved it. But! Much to my horror, I found out they're making a re-make of that film (which comes from Sweden) and Americanizing it. This basically translates to: stripping down all of the complex issues and emotions in the film, taking out all the graphic murders, killing the backstory, simplifying the script, and Hannah Montana-fying the main character. Gross.
I'll admit, I've done a lot of two things since arriving in Tübingen over a month ago: eating and not moving, so today's hike was a wake up call for my body, haha. He first took me up to a tower overlooking the city, and then we trotted off on any trail that looked interesting; no destination, no route. I think we were gone for a little over four hours. We ended up on a mountaintop where a small restaurant, church, and playground lay tucked away, forgotten by time. If I read the church wall correctly, it was first made in the seventh century. No big deal.
On our way back through town we ran into Minnisota, and decided to have dinner at my place. I made 1000 grams of Kässpätzle, which, for you non-metric users, is a crapton of noodles. My plan is to live off of it for the next 3-4 days. Being poor is fun! =]
I forced Let The Right One In upon them, and of course, they loved it. But! Much to my horror, I found out they're making a re-make of that film (which comes from Sweden) and Americanizing it. This basically translates to: stripping down all of the complex issues and emotions in the film, taking out all the graphic murders, killing the backstory, simplifying the script, and Hannah Montana-fying the main character. Gross.
Stuttgart 21
For those who don't know, Stuttgart, the capital city of Baden-Württemberg is in the midst of its biggest political struggle in decades. The government wants to rebuild Stuttgart's main train station to modernize it and to help it become the new business center of Europe. Sounds great, right? Wrong. The original estimated cost of the project was 2.6 billion euros has no escalated to a estimated cost of 18.7 billion euros. Although some of the cost is being paid for by Deutsche Bahn and the EU, most of the cost has been put on the state of Baden-Württemberg, who is already struggling with finances. Money is not the only issue here, however. I think one of the main things pissing Stuttgarters off is the fact that the government went over their heads with this project. I'm not entirely sure whether there simply was no vote, or if the government simply ignored the results. Regardless- this project is wrong on many levels.
Stuttgart is also a city with relatively little natural beauty. After being torn apart in WWII, it was rebuilt to look modern, but somehow they forgot to put in parks. Yes, there is one major park- directly across from the train station. If/when they rebuild, most of the park will be ripped up and built upon, with no plans for replanting anywhere else.
The 21 issue isn't new (it actually dates back to the late 80s), but the demonstrations growing more and more violent, placing Stuttgart front and center in European news. My posse was just a few days away from missing (at the time) the biggest demonstration, where thousands showed up and even chained themselves to the station.
More recently, protesters are being injured by the police. One man, a 66 year-old Stuttgarter was hit full-force by a fire hose which knocked him unconcious and blinded him, possibly for life.
This issue affects me, in that nearly all trains heading anywhere (to Paris, to München, to Frankfurt etc) must pass through the Stuttgart train station. Our directors both here and in Oregon have warned us to stay away from Stuttgart. And! To top it all off, since Al Qaeda is threatening most of Western Europe, we can't travel to Berlin either.
[Note: I have no passport and I need to go to Berlin or Frankfurt.]
I have no way to conclude this post, because there is, as of yet, no ending to these stories. I'll try to keep you posted.
Stuttgart is also a city with relatively little natural beauty. After being torn apart in WWII, it was rebuilt to look modern, but somehow they forgot to put in parks. Yes, there is one major park- directly across from the train station. If/when they rebuild, most of the park will be ripped up and built upon, with no plans for replanting anywhere else.
The 21 issue isn't new (it actually dates back to the late 80s), but the demonstrations growing more and more violent, placing Stuttgart front and center in European news. My posse was just a few days away from missing (at the time) the biggest demonstration, where thousands showed up and even chained themselves to the station.
More recently, protesters are being injured by the police. One man, a 66 year-old Stuttgarter was hit full-force by a fire hose which knocked him unconcious and blinded him, possibly for life.
This issue affects me, in that nearly all trains heading anywhere (to Paris, to München, to Frankfurt etc) must pass through the Stuttgart train station. Our directors both here and in Oregon have warned us to stay away from Stuttgart. And! To top it all off, since Al Qaeda is threatening most of Western Europe, we can't travel to Berlin either.
[Note: I have no passport and I need to go to Berlin or Frankfurt.]
I have no way to conclude this post, because there is, as of yet, no ending to these stories. I'll try to keep you posted.
Monday, October 11, 2010
A proper introduction
Hello friends and family-
Since iWeb doesn't look promising at the moment, I'm going to post everything on this blog. I'll still try to figure out podcasts, I'll post pics and give you little anecdotes about how I continuously embarrass myself over here.
I'd love to hear from you, so if you've got questions or responses, please leave me a comment!
Also, my mailing address:
Bethany Moyer
40 Sundgauallee
Zi. 40-01-09
79110 Freiburg
Germay
For packages:
Bethany Moyer
c/o Anja Hausmann
Akademisches Auslandsamt
Fahnenbergplatz
79085 Freiburg
Germany
Since iWeb doesn't look promising at the moment, I'm going to post everything on this blog. I'll still try to figure out podcasts, I'll post pics and give you little anecdotes about how I continuously embarrass myself over here.
I'd love to hear from you, so if you've got questions or responses, please leave me a comment!
Also, my mailing address:
Bethany Moyer
40 Sundgauallee
Zi. 40-01-09
79110 Freiburg
Germay
For packages:
Bethany Moyer
c/o Anja Hausmann
Akademisches Auslandsamt
Fahnenbergplatz
79085 Freiburg
Germany
Moving in Tim
31.08.10, on a train to Dublin
So much to report; I’ve really been slacking recently. After an hour and a half, Tim returned to me, a grin on his face, and a key in his hand. We walked with a purpose towards 27 Kilmurry Village, his new home. We walked into his apartment to find that we were the first to arrive. Upon trying to unlock his bedroom door, Tim realized they had given him a faulty key; it opened his roommate’s bedroom, not his own. Fast forward about half an hour- Tim has keys to his bedroom and his roommate’s… for now. Tim’s room… where to begin? The walls are a horrific shade of orange, and his comforter is an equally grotesque shade of maroon. It’s like they took the two worst possible colors, and put them together: a nightmare for any gay man. (heh <3) After examining the room, we set off to explore the rest of the house, which consists of two floors, a decently sized kitchen with mini appliances (seriously, the oven is at Easy Bake status), and a very small “living room” separated by maybe 2 feet of wall. By American standards, this apartment was left in a fairly shabby state- you can see sticky left on the walls, the floors need a mopping, there are cobwebs in every room, the toilet leaks and the freezer was completely frozen over. However, after a new hostel every other night, we thought it was brilliant!
The weather God’s blessed us with another 17 degree day (AKA sunny and gorgeous, but not too hot), so we explored campus, made a few U-turns, and drank Cokes on what we later learned was the Gaelic football field. Like any respectable college students, we ordered pizza to be delivered, and there we sat, two Oregonians in Ireland, sitting in an empty house, eating American pizza. At this point, we’ve lost all our shame, and no longer think twice about proving American stereotypes.
I nervously spent the night in Tim’s roommate’s bed, hoping I wouldn’t be caught and thereby offending whoever he has to live 3 feet away from for 4 months. Of course it happened. His roommate, Evan (from Tualatin, Oregon!) and Evan’s parents showed up at 8:15- fifteen minutes before my alarm was scheduled to go off. Fortunately for me, Evan and his parents are the nicest people one could hope to meet and live with. I felt immediately at ease with them when I saw that Evan’s mom was wearing Keens, just like me. J Unbeknownst to us, Tim apparently had orientation at 9am (this later turned out to be false, but they went anyway, and even got some free food out of it). While Evan and Tim went off to their orientation, I stayed back with Evan’s folks, and together we thawed the boys’ freezer. After lunch, they were generous enough to offer to take Tim and me with them on their shopping adventures, so away we went! We hit up Dunnes (think K-Mart mixed with a grocery store), TK Maxx (I’ll give you one guess what this store would remind you of), PC World, and two other home and garden type stores. Starting over, especially in a new country is quite the task- so much is needed!
That night, after hundreds of Euro had been spent on towls, sheets, pillows, toiletries, and food, we all made Tacos together, and it was quite the heartwarming moment. With these four people, all my worries and homesickness went away, if just for a little while. Later, we kidnapped Natalie, Tim’s friend from Pacific, and watched a bizarre British sitcom before retiring for the night.
I spent a magical night on Tim and Evan’s couch. It’s approximately 3.5 feet long, hard, and as of yet, pillow and blanketless. I went to bed at 1:00. At 3:00, there was a burst of LOUD party music, and drunken singing. At 3:30, it ceased. Hour after hour I lay there awake, and by the time Evan’s parents came to collect us for a Paddywagon bus tour, I felt like hell, and opted out of going. The rest of the day was spent in Tim’s house, only leaving to eat. Much to my dismay, realized that my flight was scheduled to leave today, not tomorrow as I had previously thought. Enter huge wave of panic, self-loathing, frustration, and then calmness. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this trip is that nothing is ever certain, more often then not, you can’t change what’s frustrating you, there’s usually a solution, and you gotta let things go.
Now I’m on my own, on a train to Dublin, with the help of no less than 5 very sweet, very helpful Irish people. I’m deeply touched by the people I’ve met in this country, and I will not soon forget their kindness.
If you’re religious, please send some prayers my way that tomorrow will go without a hitch. If you’re not, send me some positive energy. I’m confident in my abilities, but at the same time, it’s pretty scary to travel by one’s self.
So much to report; I’ve really been slacking recently. After an hour and a half, Tim returned to me, a grin on his face, and a key in his hand. We walked with a purpose towards 27 Kilmurry Village, his new home. We walked into his apartment to find that we were the first to arrive. Upon trying to unlock his bedroom door, Tim realized they had given him a faulty key; it opened his roommate’s bedroom, not his own. Fast forward about half an hour- Tim has keys to his bedroom and his roommate’s… for now. Tim’s room… where to begin? The walls are a horrific shade of orange, and his comforter is an equally grotesque shade of maroon. It’s like they took the two worst possible colors, and put them together: a nightmare for any gay man. (heh <3) After examining the room, we set off to explore the rest of the house, which consists of two floors, a decently sized kitchen with mini appliances (seriously, the oven is at Easy Bake status), and a very small “living room” separated by maybe 2 feet of wall. By American standards, this apartment was left in a fairly shabby state- you can see sticky left on the walls, the floors need a mopping, there are cobwebs in every room, the toilet leaks and the freezer was completely frozen over. However, after a new hostel every other night, we thought it was brilliant!
The weather God’s blessed us with another 17 degree day (AKA sunny and gorgeous, but not too hot), so we explored campus, made a few U-turns, and drank Cokes on what we later learned was the Gaelic football field. Like any respectable college students, we ordered pizza to be delivered, and there we sat, two Oregonians in Ireland, sitting in an empty house, eating American pizza. At this point, we’ve lost all our shame, and no longer think twice about proving American stereotypes.
I nervously spent the night in Tim’s roommate’s bed, hoping I wouldn’t be caught and thereby offending whoever he has to live 3 feet away from for 4 months. Of course it happened. His roommate, Evan (from Tualatin, Oregon!) and Evan’s parents showed up at 8:15- fifteen minutes before my alarm was scheduled to go off. Fortunately for me, Evan and his parents are the nicest people one could hope to meet and live with. I felt immediately at ease with them when I saw that Evan’s mom was wearing Keens, just like me. J Unbeknownst to us, Tim apparently had orientation at 9am (this later turned out to be false, but they went anyway, and even got some free food out of it). While Evan and Tim went off to their orientation, I stayed back with Evan’s folks, and together we thawed the boys’ freezer. After lunch, they were generous enough to offer to take Tim and me with them on their shopping adventures, so away we went! We hit up Dunnes (think K-Mart mixed with a grocery store), TK Maxx (I’ll give you one guess what this store would remind you of), PC World, and two other home and garden type stores. Starting over, especially in a new country is quite the task- so much is needed!
That night, after hundreds of Euro had been spent on towls, sheets, pillows, toiletries, and food, we all made Tacos together, and it was quite the heartwarming moment. With these four people, all my worries and homesickness went away, if just for a little while. Later, we kidnapped Natalie, Tim’s friend from Pacific, and watched a bizarre British sitcom before retiring for the night.
I spent a magical night on Tim and Evan’s couch. It’s approximately 3.5 feet long, hard, and as of yet, pillow and blanketless. I went to bed at 1:00. At 3:00, there was a burst of LOUD party music, and drunken singing. At 3:30, it ceased. Hour after hour I lay there awake, and by the time Evan’s parents came to collect us for a Paddywagon bus tour, I felt like hell, and opted out of going. The rest of the day was spent in Tim’s house, only leaving to eat. Much to my dismay, realized that my flight was scheduled to leave today, not tomorrow as I had previously thought. Enter huge wave of panic, self-loathing, frustration, and then calmness. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this trip is that nothing is ever certain, more often then not, you can’t change what’s frustrating you, there’s usually a solution, and you gotta let things go.
Now I’m on my own, on a train to Dublin, with the help of no less than 5 very sweet, very helpful Irish people. I’m deeply touched by the people I’ve met in this country, and I will not soon forget their kindness.
If you’re religious, please send some prayers my way that tomorrow will go without a hitch. If you’re not, send me some positive energy. I’m confident in my abilities, but at the same time, it’s pretty scary to travel by one’s self.
Cork & Limerick
29.08.10
Upon scanning Rick Steves’ Ireland book and not seeing a single paragraph dedicated to the town of Cork, I had apprehensions about spending two nights there. However, Tim had his heart set on the Blarney Castle and it’s infamous stone, so away we went, without even so much as an address for Sheila’s Hostel. The train ride was… well, there isn’t even a suitable enough positive adjective to put here. “Lovely,” “remarkable,” “inspiring,” “beautiful,” are close, but not quite strong enough. Ireland is definitely my Motherland, the country of my people: the pales, the sickly, the loud and talkative. Haha, love it. Cork itself is cute- it’s supposedly the secondlargest city in Ireland, but from what we saw, it felt more like a Eugene. The town is situated around the River Lee, which Tim and I nicknamed the River Wee/Pee; you can probably infer why. After a bit of a walk and asking for some directions, we found our hostel, at the top of a very cruel hill, next to other hostels. We were put in a five-person room, and for the first night, we had it all to ourselves. After showering, we headed to explore. It seems that each town we visit have a disporportionate amount of one type of store. For example
Amsterdam- sex shops, duh.
Berlin- Souvenier stores
Füssen- Women’s boutiques
Madrid- gold pawn shop things
In Cork, they have far too many men’s suit stores. Seriously, every fourth store is a suit store, and it appears that Cork is a fairly formal town. We awkwardly stumbled upon a flock of well-dressed men, but we couldn’t figure out what they were waiting for. Also! For reasons unknown to us, Tim and I also came across about 150 13 year-olds, skankily dressed, waiting for something. I’d assume a concert of some sort, but they were all lined up outside a mall? I guess some things shall remain a mystery. Cork also is having a steamy love affair with cheap friend chicken places. I was mildly surprised we didn’t see any KFC’s. Instead, we saw about 3 “Hillbilly’s,” which is basically the same thing.
Fast forward to Saturday!
We got up in time to shower before getting kicked out for the day, asked the front desk man where we could find a grocery store and set out.. What we found was like, at least 85 times better. We found a farmer’s market type place, and apparently it’s been going on for a few hundred years! It’s hard to describe it, so Tim and I took a bunch of pictures, which I already posted. He ended up getting some turkey meat, cheese, and a loaf of Foccacia bread, and I bought two chicken legs, a loaf of “duck” bread (so named for its shape), and a cookie, reccommended to me by the old lady selling sweets. It’s places like this that make me wish I had a kitchen. And an ounce of domestic ability.
Then it was off to Blarney Castle. Blarney is a nothing town about 15 minutes from Cork. On this little trip, I saw my first megastore, and I breathed a sigh of relief: finally! Something familiar! Haha, I’m not sure what “Dunness” stores are, but Costco’s got nothin’ on them. We arrived, and the weather gods blessed us with another day of 16 degree weather, we paid our 8 Euro (I grumbled a bit), and headed in. The first thing we came across was a little stream, a picnic area, and a small wooden bridge leading to the other side. We followed the path, took another, cut across a meadow, and ended up in our very own, private picnic spot. I was basically in heaven. This grounds of Blarney Castle alone were were the entrance fee. Hopefully I took enough pictures to paint you a sufficient picture. We ate, adventured, and eventually found the castle. I’ve seen a few castles in my day, but none that were this run down and skeletol. It’s a different castle experience to say the least. Also, I love middle-aged travelers; they crack me up. They’re afriad of heights, have a harder time problem solving, resistant to ask for help/directions, and they whine to their spouses in the most adorable tone. Kissing the stone was kind of moot, since Tim and I do not need “the gift of eloquence” by any stretch of the imagination, but Tim the Tourist demanded it, and I complied. :]
After that magical moment, we hunted down the Poison Gardens we heard so much about from Jen & Jacob. It was about half the size I was expecting, and man, it contained some silly specimens. With a cage around it, and a large warning sign, we saw poison oak. In a cage was a cousin or something of the cannabis plant. The kind, I assume, that doesn’t produce buds. We also saw a tobacco plant, salvia, the drug behind heroein, and even a juniper tree (wtf?!). All in all, it was a “lol”worthy experience. Tim and I then set out for a romantic lake walk. Indeed, it was romantic; the only other people on our path were couples. Hmph.
When it was all said and done, we headed back to our bus stop, realized we had to wait an hour and half for the next one, and set out to the nearest park to read. We finished our evening by meeting one of our roommates Julia from Conneticut, with whom we went out at night for a few pints and live music. The bar we went to caused Tim and me to laugh until it hurt. They were showcasing bands that were metal or something. Song titles include “Scorpions in the sand,” and “Fuck stick.” I then demanded a prompt exit, and we headed to another bar and listened to an accoustic cover band play songs from The Police and Fleetwood Mac etc.
We’re now on a bus, finally in Limerick. We’re gonna move Tim in, find him some sheets and hopefully meet his roommates. More later!
(Later)
Ok, the line to check-in is outrageous, so I’ve dumped Tim in exchange for a patch of grass in the sunshine and some wireless. Sorry, buddy. And it’s been settled: I want to live here. Actually, I’d like to uproot his village and the surrounding grassy fields, and plop it down where my 10 story ghetto dorm lies in Freiburg.
Upon scanning Rick Steves’ Ireland book and not seeing a single paragraph dedicated to the town of Cork, I had apprehensions about spending two nights there. However, Tim had his heart set on the Blarney Castle and it’s infamous stone, so away we went, without even so much as an address for Sheila’s Hostel. The train ride was… well, there isn’t even a suitable enough positive adjective to put here. “Lovely,” “remarkable,” “inspiring,” “beautiful,” are close, but not quite strong enough. Ireland is definitely my Motherland, the country of my people: the pales, the sickly, the loud and talkative. Haha, love it. Cork itself is cute- it’s supposedly the secondlargest city in Ireland, but from what we saw, it felt more like a Eugene. The town is situated around the River Lee, which Tim and I nicknamed the River Wee/Pee; you can probably infer why. After a bit of a walk and asking for some directions, we found our hostel, at the top of a very cruel hill, next to other hostels. We were put in a five-person room, and for the first night, we had it all to ourselves. After showering, we headed to explore. It seems that each town we visit have a disporportionate amount of one type of store. For example
Amsterdam- sex shops, duh.
Berlin- Souvenier stores
Füssen- Women’s boutiques
Madrid- gold pawn shop things
In Cork, they have far too many men’s suit stores. Seriously, every fourth store is a suit store, and it appears that Cork is a fairly formal town. We awkwardly stumbled upon a flock of well-dressed men, but we couldn’t figure out what they were waiting for. Also! For reasons unknown to us, Tim and I also came across about 150 13 year-olds, skankily dressed, waiting for something. I’d assume a concert of some sort, but they were all lined up outside a mall? I guess some things shall remain a mystery. Cork also is having a steamy love affair with cheap friend chicken places. I was mildly surprised we didn’t see any KFC’s. Instead, we saw about 3 “Hillbilly’s,” which is basically the same thing.
Fast forward to Saturday!
We got up in time to shower before getting kicked out for the day, asked the front desk man where we could find a grocery store and set out.. What we found was like, at least 85 times better. We found a farmer’s market type place, and apparently it’s been going on for a few hundred years! It’s hard to describe it, so Tim and I took a bunch of pictures, which I already posted. He ended up getting some turkey meat, cheese, and a loaf of Foccacia bread, and I bought two chicken legs, a loaf of “duck” bread (so named for its shape), and a cookie, reccommended to me by the old lady selling sweets. It’s places like this that make me wish I had a kitchen. And an ounce of domestic ability.
Then it was off to Blarney Castle. Blarney is a nothing town about 15 minutes from Cork. On this little trip, I saw my first megastore, and I breathed a sigh of relief: finally! Something familiar! Haha, I’m not sure what “Dunness” stores are, but Costco’s got nothin’ on them. We arrived, and the weather gods blessed us with another day of 16 degree weather, we paid our 8 Euro (I grumbled a bit), and headed in. The first thing we came across was a little stream, a picnic area, and a small wooden bridge leading to the other side. We followed the path, took another, cut across a meadow, and ended up in our very own, private picnic spot. I was basically in heaven. This grounds of Blarney Castle alone were were the entrance fee. Hopefully I took enough pictures to paint you a sufficient picture. We ate, adventured, and eventually found the castle. I’ve seen a few castles in my day, but none that were this run down and skeletol. It’s a different castle experience to say the least. Also, I love middle-aged travelers; they crack me up. They’re afriad of heights, have a harder time problem solving, resistant to ask for help/directions, and they whine to their spouses in the most adorable tone. Kissing the stone was kind of moot, since Tim and I do not need “the gift of eloquence” by any stretch of the imagination, but Tim the Tourist demanded it, and I complied. :]
After that magical moment, we hunted down the Poison Gardens we heard so much about from Jen & Jacob. It was about half the size I was expecting, and man, it contained some silly specimens. With a cage around it, and a large warning sign, we saw poison oak. In a cage was a cousin or something of the cannabis plant. The kind, I assume, that doesn’t produce buds. We also saw a tobacco plant, salvia, the drug behind heroein, and even a juniper tree (wtf?!). All in all, it was a “lol”worthy experience. Tim and I then set out for a romantic lake walk. Indeed, it was romantic; the only other people on our path were couples. Hmph.
When it was all said and done, we headed back to our bus stop, realized we had to wait an hour and half for the next one, and set out to the nearest park to read. We finished our evening by meeting one of our roommates Julia from Conneticut, with whom we went out at night for a few pints and live music. The bar we went to caused Tim and me to laugh until it hurt. They were showcasing bands that were metal or something. Song titles include “Scorpions in the sand,” and “Fuck stick.” I then demanded a prompt exit, and we headed to another bar and listened to an accoustic cover band play songs from The Police and Fleetwood Mac etc.
We’re now on a bus, finally in Limerick. We’re gonna move Tim in, find him some sheets and hopefully meet his roommates. More later!
(Later)
Ok, the line to check-in is outrageous, so I’ve dumped Tim in exchange for a patch of grass in the sunshine and some wireless. Sorry, buddy. And it’s been settled: I want to live here. Actually, I’d like to uproot his village and the surrounding grassy fields, and plop it down where my 10 story ghetto dorm lies in Freiburg.
To the Motherland!
27.08.10
I’ve got some catching up to do!
The day Jen and Jacob left was a pretty rough day for both of us. We were both quieter than usual, and the silence was odd, as Jacob would always seem to fill it with made up songs and awkward questions. I turned around while heading to the airport, and for the first time, Jen wasn’t behind me keeping Tim company. After a rushed and admittedly confusing goodbye (come on, it was 7 in the morning!), Tim and I put on our iPods to fall back asleep, woke late, checked out, and looked for the nearest McDonalds. I know, I know, you’re all shocked and ashamed. However, until you’re a poor backpacker who can’t particularly read spanish, and have been cheated in spanish restaurants before, don’t judge us, haha. At this point, Tim and I had no idea what to do. It was approx 1:30, and our flight did’t leave until 6. So we decided to start our journey then, and spend 4 hours at the airport. This actually worked out quite well because I had downloaded The Pagemaster, a movie from our childhoods, and after that we just read. Haha, I like airports; they’re prime for people watching. There was an entire wall of layover-sufferers who were curled up and sprawled out sleeping. There was another wall of grumpy-looking travelers who were trying to busy themselves with reading, but were too tired/bored to do so.
Blah, blah, blah we get on our flight, we are lucky enough to sit next to a friendly Irishman named Peter who told us all the best pubs to go to, and even made sure we knew how to get to our hostel. The flight, I was told, was two hours and 20 minutes long. For me, however, it was one nap and 30 minutes. I would like to illustrate to you how victorious this nap was: fact 1: I cannot sleep on planes, fact 2: this flight was approximately 45 degrees Fahrenheit, fact 3: the seats do not recline at all, and they’re smaller in every way, as Ryanair is a budget airline. Despite all this, I put on my jacket, turned down my tray table, and slept through Ryanair’s constant advertising. Woo!
I felt instantly better when I looked out the window and saw Dublin. From the air, it looks like a slightly smaller Portland. Trees! Hills! Varied neighborhoods! We had scads of fun in Madrid, but I could never live in a place where I couldn’t see more than 100 yards in front of me. (The view is always skewed with large apartment buildings etc.) With the help of Peter, finding the proper bus was simple, and the walk from Trinity College to our hostel was almost too easy. Our hostel is in the south of Dublin, not really near anything, but we don’t mind because we love walking. We agree this is the best mode of transportation because we can actually experience and feel the city we’re staying in. By the time I showered and we had settled in, it was nearing 9:30, and after a desperate search for Irish food, we ended up at a 1950s themed American diner. How shameful! Unfortunately, pubs stop serving food at like, 8, so we were up a creek.
The next day we woke, ate our free toast, and headed out to another free walking tour. This one proved to be my favorite, not because the history is more interesting, but because of the group. I think Tim and I met and talked to at least 10 people in our 30 person group. There was even a pair of sisters from Seattle, Washington. Small world, eh? Our guide was James, the loudest person I’ve ever met, but it’s endearing because he has that adorable Irish accent. The tour lasted about 3 hours, and afterwards, about half of the group went to a pub together where we got a choice of four meals for 10 euro- a steal in Dublin. I chose the Guinness stew and Tim got the fish-n-chips. Holy moly I’ve never seen stew or fish like this before. As soon as I can, I’ll post pictures. From there, we headed to the Guinness Factory with an English girl from the group, Louise. The factory was huge and old and FILLED with tourists. Wall to wall. Most people would find this place interesting and worth the 15 euro they charge for admission, but I simply cannot take a brewing process that seriously. This museum was by far the most epic museum ever made. It put the Pergamon (ancient greek museum in Berlin) to shame with how epic and important every sign was. We passed a wall of TVs showing the ingredients of Guinness: BARLEY! HOPS! WATERRRRRRRRR! (something else too, but it’s slipped my mind) I laughed through all seven floors of history. On the fourth floor, we ran into the Seattle sisters from the tour, and spend the rest of our time with them. On the fifth floor we all learned to pour the perfect pint. I saw the six steps on the wall and snorted, while Tim nervously anxiously them aloud, hoping he wouldn’t scerw it up. Did you know, it takes exactly 119.5 seconds to pour the perfet Guinness? hahaha Thew view from the seventh floor was spectacular, and I even got to chat up a group of 30 middle aged women who were traveling together. It was a buffet of accents: Australian, English, and American. After leaving the factory, we parted ways with Louise, Laura and Anne, and headed for our hostel. We thought we were going to a pub crawl that night, but Tim sensed my homesickness and we just kicked it at the hostel and watched a movie instead. <3
Today we’re gonna fix my earring situation, find the trainstation and mosey on over to Cork. Based on pictures I saw on Google images, Cork is beautiful, but I’ve been warned by two different Irishmen that they’re kind of snobby down there in Cork. Whatever, Cork. Whatever.
On a more personal note, I’ve been having a bit of a rough bout with homesickness the last few days, which pops up routinely around 7pm. I think it’ll be better when I’m in my dorm in Tübingen, and great when I’m finally in Freiburg. It’s not that I miss Roseburg or any one person, per se, but I know that if I was home right now (Eugene or Roseburg, it doesn’t matter) football season would be getting started, leaves would be changing, school shopping would occur. Fall! My favorite time of year!
I’ve got some catching up to do!
The day Jen and Jacob left was a pretty rough day for both of us. We were both quieter than usual, and the silence was odd, as Jacob would always seem to fill it with made up songs and awkward questions. I turned around while heading to the airport, and for the first time, Jen wasn’t behind me keeping Tim company. After a rushed and admittedly confusing goodbye (come on, it was 7 in the morning!), Tim and I put on our iPods to fall back asleep, woke late, checked out, and looked for the nearest McDonalds. I know, I know, you’re all shocked and ashamed. However, until you’re a poor backpacker who can’t particularly read spanish, and have been cheated in spanish restaurants before, don’t judge us, haha. At this point, Tim and I had no idea what to do. It was approx 1:30, and our flight did’t leave until 6. So we decided to start our journey then, and spend 4 hours at the airport. This actually worked out quite well because I had downloaded The Pagemaster, a movie from our childhoods, and after that we just read. Haha, I like airports; they’re prime for people watching. There was an entire wall of layover-sufferers who were curled up and sprawled out sleeping. There was another wall of grumpy-looking travelers who were trying to busy themselves with reading, but were too tired/bored to do so.
Blah, blah, blah we get on our flight, we are lucky enough to sit next to a friendly Irishman named Peter who told us all the best pubs to go to, and even made sure we knew how to get to our hostel. The flight, I was told, was two hours and 20 minutes long. For me, however, it was one nap and 30 minutes. I would like to illustrate to you how victorious this nap was: fact 1: I cannot sleep on planes, fact 2: this flight was approximately 45 degrees Fahrenheit, fact 3: the seats do not recline at all, and they’re smaller in every way, as Ryanair is a budget airline. Despite all this, I put on my jacket, turned down my tray table, and slept through Ryanair’s constant advertising. Woo!
I felt instantly better when I looked out the window and saw Dublin. From the air, it looks like a slightly smaller Portland. Trees! Hills! Varied neighborhoods! We had scads of fun in Madrid, but I could never live in a place where I couldn’t see more than 100 yards in front of me. (The view is always skewed with large apartment buildings etc.) With the help of Peter, finding the proper bus was simple, and the walk from Trinity College to our hostel was almost too easy. Our hostel is in the south of Dublin, not really near anything, but we don’t mind because we love walking. We agree this is the best mode of transportation because we can actually experience and feel the city we’re staying in. By the time I showered and we had settled in, it was nearing 9:30, and after a desperate search for Irish food, we ended up at a 1950s themed American diner. How shameful! Unfortunately, pubs stop serving food at like, 8, so we were up a creek.
The next day we woke, ate our free toast, and headed out to another free walking tour. This one proved to be my favorite, not because the history is more interesting, but because of the group. I think Tim and I met and talked to at least 10 people in our 30 person group. There was even a pair of sisters from Seattle, Washington. Small world, eh? Our guide was James, the loudest person I’ve ever met, but it’s endearing because he has that adorable Irish accent. The tour lasted about 3 hours, and afterwards, about half of the group went to a pub together where we got a choice of four meals for 10 euro- a steal in Dublin. I chose the Guinness stew and Tim got the fish-n-chips. Holy moly I’ve never seen stew or fish like this before. As soon as I can, I’ll post pictures. From there, we headed to the Guinness Factory with an English girl from the group, Louise. The factory was huge and old and FILLED with tourists. Wall to wall. Most people would find this place interesting and worth the 15 euro they charge for admission, but I simply cannot take a brewing process that seriously. This museum was by far the most epic museum ever made. It put the Pergamon (ancient greek museum in Berlin) to shame with how epic and important every sign was. We passed a wall of TVs showing the ingredients of Guinness: BARLEY! HOPS! WATERRRRRRRRR! (something else too, but it’s slipped my mind) I laughed through all seven floors of history. On the fourth floor, we ran into the Seattle sisters from the tour, and spend the rest of our time with them. On the fifth floor we all learned to pour the perfect pint. I saw the six steps on the wall and snorted, while Tim nervously anxiously them aloud, hoping he wouldn’t scerw it up. Did you know, it takes exactly 119.5 seconds to pour the perfet Guinness? hahaha Thew view from the seventh floor was spectacular, and I even got to chat up a group of 30 middle aged women who were traveling together. It was a buffet of accents: Australian, English, and American. After leaving the factory, we parted ways with Louise, Laura and Anne, and headed for our hostel. We thought we were going to a pub crawl that night, but Tim sensed my homesickness and we just kicked it at the hostel and watched a movie instead. <3
Today we’re gonna fix my earring situation, find the trainstation and mosey on over to Cork. Based on pictures I saw on Google images, Cork is beautiful, but I’ve been warned by two different Irishmen that they’re kind of snobby down there in Cork. Whatever, Cork. Whatever.
On a more personal note, I’ve been having a bit of a rough bout with homesickness the last few days, which pops up routinely around 7pm. I think it’ll be better when I’m in my dorm in Tübingen, and great when I’m finally in Freiburg. It’s not that I miss Roseburg or any one person, per se, but I know that if I was home right now (Eugene or Roseburg, it doesn’t matter) football season would be getting started, leaves would be changing, school shopping would occur. Fall! My favorite time of year!
Madrid, ole!
24.08.10
Hola from Madrid!
We love Madrid. And Madrid loves dogs, rollerblading,longboarding, mackin' in the park, and the gays. It's been in the mid 90s since we got here, but it's much better than the sticky Oregon heat. We haven't done much since we're all tired from traveling.
Basically, our MO is find food, goto the park and nap, and repeat.
Tim and I cracked about two seconds after getting into our room and we bought air conditioning, which neither of us regret even for amoment. This is our nicest hostel by far, and somehow we haven't gotten lost yet, though that is not to my own credit by any stretch of the imagination. I am so utterly lost in Europe, haha. We are about 20 meters from Plaza Mayor, which is a tourist attraction but Ihave no idea why. I really like the vibe of Madrid; it's laid back anddon't-worry-be-happy-esque. However, we're not entirely pleased by the food;it's good, but in small portions and very different from what I'm used to.Example: for breakfast yesterday I ate hot dogs, french fries and fried eggs; I thought that sort of nonsense was confined to the walls of Denny's!
25.08.10
Today was our last day as a foursome, and nobody is really ready for tomorrow. We woke and left the hostel by noon, found some fairlydecent food, and headed off in a new direction.
One thing I don't enjoy about Madrid (or, to be fair, about any big city in general) are all the street performers and employees of various businesses forcing their agenda upon you as you walk by. If we don't get handedat least 5 business cards, have 3.2 fans waved in our faces, and get propositioned to sell our gold every 17.3 seconds, I would think we were no longer in Madrid. Some of the street performers are scarier than others:yesterday we came across a shiny devil-goat/pinata thing that caused Jacob to let out a quiet little girl shriek.
Anyway, our travels led us to the royal palace, behind which lies a vast and beautiful foresty-garden. After finding a (seemingly) hiddenentrance, we wandered down a few paths, ended up at a fountain, and somehow spent the next two hours there. It felt like we were in the land of Fern Gully or something. The walk home sucked, so to reward our efforts, Tim and I boughtsome gelato, which seemed to quiet down the whining.
As I had said before, the Spanish diet doesn't agree with us, and we're too ashamed to return to the safe halls of McDonalds, so we gotthe European version instead: Döner Kebobs. These turkish fast food joints havebeen on every street in every country we've visited. Their the one common link.We love them because they're fresh, delicious, and dirt cheap: the perfectcombo. After snagging dinner, we headed back to the hostel to watch "Bill &Ted's Excellent Adventure," which was too much for all of us. Then we took one last walk together through the very much alive streets of Madrid. 11:30 at night, and people are outside at cafés drinking wine and chatting with theirbest friends. Such a different lifestyle from Eugene-ians. After a few longing looks exchanged between Jacob and me and some hugs, Tim and I bid Jen & Jacob adieu. I'm pretty bummed; it's amazing how close you can get to someone after having to wear the same 3 pairs of underwear for 2 weeks. . .
Hola from Madrid!
We love Madrid. And Madrid loves dogs, rollerblading,longboarding, mackin' in the park, and the gays. It's been in the mid 90s since we got here, but it's much better than the sticky Oregon heat. We haven't done much since we're all tired from traveling.
Basically, our MO is find food, goto the park and nap, and repeat.
Tim and I cracked about two seconds after getting into our room and we bought air conditioning, which neither of us regret even for amoment. This is our nicest hostel by far, and somehow we haven't gotten lost yet, though that is not to my own credit by any stretch of the imagination. I am so utterly lost in Europe, haha. We are about 20 meters from Plaza Mayor, which is a tourist attraction but Ihave no idea why. I really like the vibe of Madrid; it's laid back anddon't-worry-be-happy-esque. However, we're not entirely pleased by the food;it's good, but in small portions and very different from what I'm used to.Example: for breakfast yesterday I ate hot dogs, french fries and fried eggs; I thought that sort of nonsense was confined to the walls of Denny's!
25.08.10
Today was our last day as a foursome, and nobody is really ready for tomorrow. We woke and left the hostel by noon, found some fairlydecent food, and headed off in a new direction.
One thing I don't enjoy about Madrid (or, to be fair, about any big city in general) are all the street performers and employees of various businesses forcing their agenda upon you as you walk by. If we don't get handedat least 5 business cards, have 3.2 fans waved in our faces, and get propositioned to sell our gold every 17.3 seconds, I would think we were no longer in Madrid. Some of the street performers are scarier than others:yesterday we came across a shiny devil-goat/pinata thing that caused Jacob to let out a quiet little girl shriek.
Anyway, our travels led us to the royal palace, behind which lies a vast and beautiful foresty-garden. After finding a (seemingly) hiddenentrance, we wandered down a few paths, ended up at a fountain, and somehow spent the next two hours there. It felt like we were in the land of Fern Gully or something. The walk home sucked, so to reward our efforts, Tim and I boughtsome gelato, which seemed to quiet down the whining.
As I had said before, the Spanish diet doesn't agree with us, and we're too ashamed to return to the safe halls of McDonalds, so we gotthe European version instead: Döner Kebobs. These turkish fast food joints havebeen on every street in every country we've visited. Their the one common link.We love them because they're fresh, delicious, and dirt cheap: the perfectcombo. After snagging dinner, we headed back to the hostel to watch "Bill &Ted's Excellent Adventure," which was too much for all of us. Then we took one last walk together through the very much alive streets of Madrid. 11:30 at night, and people are outside at cafés drinking wine and chatting with theirbest friends. Such a different lifestyle from Eugene-ians. After a few longing looks exchanged between Jacob and me and some hugs, Tim and I bid Jen & Jacob adieu. I'm pretty bummed; it's amazing how close you can get to someone after having to wear the same 3 pairs of underwear for 2 weeks. . .
Paris
20.08.10
What a scheissmorgen (crappy morning). Woke up at 6:30,packed, ate, headed to the trainstation, only to find out that we couldn't makethe 9 am train or the 1pm train to Paris. Nope. Booked. Has been for days andhow-could-you-not-know-that,-stupid-Americans? We attempted to get on a trainand find standing room, but there wasn't even that. We were a hot mess beforethe goddess behind the Deutsche Bahn ticket counter helped us find analternative route. So off we went to Mannheim, a crappy little city 30 minutesnorth of Stuttgart. In Mannheim, we had a 3 hour layover, with which we didvery little. Now we're safely on a high-speed train to Paris, goingapproximately 180 mph. I was in a bad way earlier, but with a little help frommy friends (and McDonald's), things are fine again. We'll be getting into parisaround 4:30, I already figured out our route to the hostel, and we've made apact to not eat out at all, since Paris is notoriously expensive, and ourhostel FINALLY has a kitchen. We've also promised each other (at least Jacoband I) that we will sleep only minimally and we will see everything we possiblycan, no matter what.Also, everyone has shared and battled a cold on this trip... except me... so far.You can bet that I am knocking on wood as I type this, haha. More later!
20.08.10
We are getting pro at navigating new train stations Once weleave the sanctuary of clearly marked hallways and exit signs and enter themean streets, it's another story entirely, haha. Paris kind of reminds me ofAmsterdam in the sense of very separate districts making up the city as awhole, as well as the busy street life at night+ narrow streets and evennarrower sidewalks. After we all showered we immediately hit the streets andheaded to the Eiffel Tower (yes, we realize how original and creative we are).To my surprise, Paris is much bigger than maps give it credit to be. From ourhostel to the Eiffel Tower, we had a 30+ minute commute. I also would like totake this opportunity to give some love to the Deutsche Bahn; their publictransportation is clean, efficient and fairly spacious. The french metro systemis dirty and people are practically on top of each other.
Anyway, the tower! It was breathtaking. We turned a corner and there it was, glowingagainst dusk. It is so much more thanany of us could have predicted. We walked under it to a grassy area wheretourists of every persuasion took touristy pictures of each other, and overlyaggressive black men try to sell beer and water and little souveniers. I'm notone for lines, but the line to climb up didn't take to long, and by the time wewere ascending, the tower began sparkling, just as I hoped it would. The viewwas incredible! We stayed up there for an hour, not even talking, just soakingit all up. It was here that I felt my first real pang of homesickness. Whiletalking to a friend who spent a year in Austria about missing America, Iscoffed at her and couldn't fathom what she was talking about. I know now. It'sthe little things; in fact, we've come up with a list of things the four of usmiss most: 1) free water 2) free toilets 3) free ketchup 4) milk 5) kitchens 6)not being stared at. As soon as I get back I'm going to pee everywhere Ipossibly can, while drinking at every water fountain in town and then, I'll gointo McDonalds and pump out all the ketchup in every tub. Just because I can.Because I'm Uh'merrcan!
21.08.10 Paris, day 2
Today, Tim and I woke early to do laundry, which naturallyin Paris, raped us in the wallet. I spent 6 Euro on clean underwear and socks,and Tim spent 7. Gross. Then, we meandered towards the Notre Dame and found alongthe way the manga/japanese district of Paris. Hahaha, what a hilarious andsurprising discovery. I humored Tim through the first shop, but beyond that, Ihad to draw the classy line. On the way, we found a bakery and a grocery storewhere we picked up lunch, for a grand total of 2 euro each. I love eatingcheaply.
The Notre Dame is about half the size I imagined it to be.In the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," they made it seem enormous,but compared to the Köln Cathedral, it's not that spectactular. Germany 1,France 0. What France lacks in the city, it more than makes up for incountryside. I can't really compare it to anything in the States, but I lovedthe ride between Mannheim-Paris more than any ride I've experienced in Oregon.For those who might someday visit Paris: do not waste your time on the ParisMuseum Pass. It's a waste of money. All old churches and all old castles arethe same. Why spend 9 Euro on a church you could see in somewhere as unknown asFüssen? After circling the Notre Dame and poking fun at the dedicated touristswaiting for hours in line, we headed towards the Fountain of St. Michael, whichwas surprisingly impressive for a fountian. I can't imagine something thatgrand and beauitful on the side of my apartment complex. This is where our 3 hours tour began. This time,we had a Canadian as a tour guide. Though he may have sounded like us, hecertainly had the French snobbery. He was interesting, mildly funny, andinsightful, however, he did not receive a tip from Tim and me.
Being the history nerds we are, Timothy and I had hugehistory boners during this tour. I actually got to see the square where KingLouis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded! It's hard to imagine today, sincehundreds of cars pass through it every minute, but thinking about what hadhappened in the centuries before gave me goosebumps. I loved being able toshare this with my best friend. He, like me, can be quiet and appreicate wherewe are, and how important and special that moment is. No matter where we are, Ialways feel safe and secure with my Tim. After the tour, we navigated a route back to the hostel where we foundJ&J, and decided to pack and prepare for tomorrow's stressful jouney toMadrid, Spain.
Tonight we did another bar crawl, and although this one wasfilled with friendly foreigners, it wasn't my favorite. Call me biased, butanything that is offered in both France and Germany will always be infinatelycooler in Germany. Bwahaha.
Anyway, early morning tomorrow. Gotta sleep. Bis bald!
What a scheissmorgen (crappy morning). Woke up at 6:30,packed, ate, headed to the trainstation, only to find out that we couldn't makethe 9 am train or the 1pm train to Paris. Nope. Booked. Has been for days andhow-could-you-not-know-that,-stupid-Americans? We attempted to get on a trainand find standing room, but there wasn't even that. We were a hot mess beforethe goddess behind the Deutsche Bahn ticket counter helped us find analternative route. So off we went to Mannheim, a crappy little city 30 minutesnorth of Stuttgart. In Mannheim, we had a 3 hour layover, with which we didvery little. Now we're safely on a high-speed train to Paris, goingapproximately 180 mph. I was in a bad way earlier, but with a little help frommy friends (and McDonald's), things are fine again. We'll be getting into parisaround 4:30, I already figured out our route to the hostel, and we've made apact to not eat out at all, since Paris is notoriously expensive, and ourhostel FINALLY has a kitchen. We've also promised each other (at least Jacoband I) that we will sleep only minimally and we will see everything we possiblycan, no matter what.Also, everyone has shared and battled a cold on this trip... except me... so far.You can bet that I am knocking on wood as I type this, haha. More later!
20.08.10
We are getting pro at navigating new train stations Once weleave the sanctuary of clearly marked hallways and exit signs and enter themean streets, it's another story entirely, haha. Paris kind of reminds me ofAmsterdam in the sense of very separate districts making up the city as awhole, as well as the busy street life at night+ narrow streets and evennarrower sidewalks. After we all showered we immediately hit the streets andheaded to the Eiffel Tower (yes, we realize how original and creative we are).To my surprise, Paris is much bigger than maps give it credit to be. From ourhostel to the Eiffel Tower, we had a 30+ minute commute. I also would like totake this opportunity to give some love to the Deutsche Bahn; their publictransportation is clean, efficient and fairly spacious. The french metro systemis dirty and people are practically on top of each other.
Anyway, the tower! It was breathtaking. We turned a corner and there it was, glowingagainst dusk. It is so much more thanany of us could have predicted. We walked under it to a grassy area wheretourists of every persuasion took touristy pictures of each other, and overlyaggressive black men try to sell beer and water and little souveniers. I'm notone for lines, but the line to climb up didn't take to long, and by the time wewere ascending, the tower began sparkling, just as I hoped it would. The viewwas incredible! We stayed up there for an hour, not even talking, just soakingit all up. It was here that I felt my first real pang of homesickness. Whiletalking to a friend who spent a year in Austria about missing America, Iscoffed at her and couldn't fathom what she was talking about. I know now. It'sthe little things; in fact, we've come up with a list of things the four of usmiss most: 1) free water 2) free toilets 3) free ketchup 4) milk 5) kitchens 6)not being stared at. As soon as I get back I'm going to pee everywhere Ipossibly can, while drinking at every water fountain in town and then, I'll gointo McDonalds and pump out all the ketchup in every tub. Just because I can.Because I'm Uh'merrcan!
21.08.10 Paris, day 2
Today, Tim and I woke early to do laundry, which naturallyin Paris, raped us in the wallet. I spent 6 Euro on clean underwear and socks,and Tim spent 7. Gross. Then, we meandered towards the Notre Dame and found alongthe way the manga/japanese district of Paris. Hahaha, what a hilarious andsurprising discovery. I humored Tim through the first shop, but beyond that, Ihad to draw the classy line. On the way, we found a bakery and a grocery storewhere we picked up lunch, for a grand total of 2 euro each. I love eatingcheaply.
The Notre Dame is about half the size I imagined it to be.In the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," they made it seem enormous,but compared to the Köln Cathedral, it's not that spectactular. Germany 1,France 0. What France lacks in the city, it more than makes up for incountryside. I can't really compare it to anything in the States, but I lovedthe ride between Mannheim-Paris more than any ride I've experienced in Oregon.For those who might someday visit Paris: do not waste your time on the ParisMuseum Pass. It's a waste of money. All old churches and all old castles arethe same. Why spend 9 Euro on a church you could see in somewhere as unknown asFüssen? After circling the Notre Dame and poking fun at the dedicated touristswaiting for hours in line, we headed towards the Fountain of St. Michael, whichwas surprisingly impressive for a fountian. I can't imagine something thatgrand and beauitful on the side of my apartment complex. This is where our 3 hours tour began. This time,we had a Canadian as a tour guide. Though he may have sounded like us, hecertainly had the French snobbery. He was interesting, mildly funny, andinsightful, however, he did not receive a tip from Tim and me.
Being the history nerds we are, Timothy and I had hugehistory boners during this tour. I actually got to see the square where KingLouis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded! It's hard to imagine today, sincehundreds of cars pass through it every minute, but thinking about what hadhappened in the centuries before gave me goosebumps. I loved being able toshare this with my best friend. He, like me, can be quiet and appreicate wherewe are, and how important and special that moment is. No matter where we are, Ialways feel safe and secure with my Tim. After the tour, we navigated a route back to the hostel where we foundJ&J, and decided to pack and prepare for tomorrow's stressful jouney toMadrid, Spain.
Tonight we did another bar crawl, and although this one wasfilled with friendly foreigners, it wasn't my favorite. Call me biased, butanything that is offered in both France and Germany will always be infinatelycooler in Germany. Bwahaha.
Anyway, early morning tomorrow. Gotta sleep. Bis bald!
Heyyy... let's go to Stuttgart
18.08.10
By some act of God, we made it to Stuttgart and even found a4 person hostel room. This was by far the longest and most stresfull day we'veshared, but we got through it. Stuttgart is not what I would call a beautifulcity; it has a very dry, urban look to it. The upside to being here is thatJ&J met a girl from Stuttgart and she and her boyfriend took us aroundtoday, and tonight we met a bunch of her friends. The social culture here isshockingly different, at least in my opinion. I feel like in America, we don't communicate. Sure, we can text until thecows come home, and kids like to get retardedly drunk together and basicallytake turns courting the toilet, but here, groups of friends sip beers and talkfor hours. Not to mention smokecigarette after cigarette. I think it'll be really difficult at first to adaptto this, because I assume I'll always be tired in the evenings after havingtranslated stuff in my head all day, but I love the idea of face-to-faceinteraction. Tomorrow I'm going to buy some jeans and a jacket because my pants(and belt) are literally falling apart at the seams, and it's raining too muchto continue with one grungy sweatshirt. I truly never thought my body couldproduce these types of odors. Ah, the things we discover about ourselves whenwe're far from home!
19.08.10
Today was simply bliss: we woke up without an alarm,casually ate breakfast, showered, and lazily walked towards the inner city.First thing on Tim and my's to-do list was to shop, perhaps until we dropped(which we nearly did). As I stated, my favorite pair of Levis simply tuckeredout, and let's be honest, I don't need much more reason to go shopping,especially with Timothy. He ended up getting a sweatshirt and some kicks, whichimmediately made him look like a preppy European, and I bought the first pairof men's pants that fit. As is our fate, we got perfectly matching white shoes,haha. We then grabbed our first Chinese food of the trip. It was hilariously difficulttrying to communicate with chinese-germans, but we managed. From there, werendezvoused with J&J and headed to a park, where we basked in the sun (andshade) for a few hours. This was our first day of real sunshine; we barely knewwhat to do with ourselves we were so giddy.
Fast forward until eveningtime, just at dusk: we met up withLena and Daniel and a few of their friends, who's names, I'm embarrassed toadmit, still escape me. Ourevening plan was to "sip wine and play cards on the steps of the opera house."So we did. I appreciate how 20-somethings spend their free time with friends.So far from what I'm used to: watching movies at a friend's house, facebookchatting, house parties where everyone's too drunk to actually talk to eachother etc etc. I took Tim to get Maultaschen, a swabian filled-pasta dish thatI LOVED the last time I was here. He of course loved it, too. J&J? Not somuch, haha.
By some act of God, we made it to Stuttgart and even found a4 person hostel room. This was by far the longest and most stresfull day we'veshared, but we got through it. Stuttgart is not what I would call a beautifulcity; it has a very dry, urban look to it. The upside to being here is thatJ&J met a girl from Stuttgart and she and her boyfriend took us aroundtoday, and tonight we met a bunch of her friends. The social culture here isshockingly different, at least in my opinion. I feel like in America, we don't communicate. Sure, we can text until thecows come home, and kids like to get retardedly drunk together and basicallytake turns courting the toilet, but here, groups of friends sip beers and talkfor hours. Not to mention smokecigarette after cigarette. I think it'll be really difficult at first to adaptto this, because I assume I'll always be tired in the evenings after havingtranslated stuff in my head all day, but I love the idea of face-to-faceinteraction. Tomorrow I'm going to buy some jeans and a jacket because my pants(and belt) are literally falling apart at the seams, and it's raining too muchto continue with one grungy sweatshirt. I truly never thought my body couldproduce these types of odors. Ah, the things we discover about ourselves whenwe're far from home!
19.08.10
Today was simply bliss: we woke up without an alarm,casually ate breakfast, showered, and lazily walked towards the inner city.First thing on Tim and my's to-do list was to shop, perhaps until we dropped(which we nearly did). As I stated, my favorite pair of Levis simply tuckeredout, and let's be honest, I don't need much more reason to go shopping,especially with Timothy. He ended up getting a sweatshirt and some kicks, whichimmediately made him look like a preppy European, and I bought the first pairof men's pants that fit. As is our fate, we got perfectly matching white shoes,haha. We then grabbed our first Chinese food of the trip. It was hilariously difficulttrying to communicate with chinese-germans, but we managed. From there, werendezvoused with J&J and headed to a park, where we basked in the sun (andshade) for a few hours. This was our first day of real sunshine; we barely knewwhat to do with ourselves we were so giddy.
Fast forward until eveningtime, just at dusk: we met up withLena and Daniel and a few of their friends, who's names, I'm embarrassed toadmit, still escape me. Ourevening plan was to "sip wine and play cards on the steps of the opera house."So we did. I appreciate how 20-somethings spend their free time with friends.So far from what I'm used to: watching movies at a friend's house, facebookchatting, house parties where everyone's too drunk to actually talk to eachother etc etc. I took Tim to get Maultaschen, a swabian filled-pasta dish thatI LOVED the last time I was here. He of course loved it, too. J&J? Not somuch, haha.
Neuschwanstein
18.08.10
Füssen-Stuttgart
Tim and I are now on day 13 of our takeover of Europe, andfinally, finally we are feeling it. My body aches from hiking the alps, Ididn't get breakfast or a shower this morning, the ATM only gave me 50 eurowhen it charged me for 100, and our train was delayed for about five minutes,causing us to probably miss our transfer train back to München. How long willthat set us back? Two hours. Prior to yesterday, I was pretty content where Iwas, even if I did run out of clean socks a week ago and have been wearing thesame two shirts for an equal amount of time. Jen and Jacob speak of home atleast a handful of times a day, so I in turn, also am also doing something thatI didn't want to do on this trip: look back. I'm not homesick, per say, but Iam ready to be settled somewhere. All three of my companions will be home in aweek's time, but I won't be "home" until October 1st. It'simpossible to look more than a few days ahead at a time; it's just toodaunting.
Anyway.
We got up early to see King Ludwig's two castles:Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, which are located about 3 miles outside ofFüssen. To my surprise, we could actually see Neuschwanstein from our patio.None of us were willing to shell out 10 Euro to go inside the castle, but Timand Jacob definitely did sneak in and get quite far before they were caught.Jen and I opted to stay outside because the insides of castles don'tparticularly interest us. The surrounding countryside is breath-taking. Thegrass is simply a different, more vibrant shade of green, and there weresmatterings of small huts and cows everywhere. What I did not anticipate,however, was the thousands upon thousands of overly eager tourists that WILLget that perfect tourist shot, even if it takes 10 minutes and they'recompletely blocking the walkway. I'm a people person, but crowds cause mystomach drop to my knees and my brain to cease functioning. We more or lessplayed a game of keep away with the tourists. What was also surpising to me wasthe fact we were the only american tourists. Actually, there was an americancouple from our hostel that werealso there, but that's it. Everyone else was asian, german, or italian. Gofigure, eh? We had a picnic after ignoring a "do not cross" sign, about 20 metersabove the crowds at the Marienbrücke (the bridge that gives the view that everypostcard and poster has of Neuschwanstein). Jacob and I were literally a footaway from death (the ground was impossibly far below us) while eating, butdon't tell my mom!
We spent the rest of our day bumming around town: I boughtsocks, Jacob and I looked for some books in English, Tim took a nap etc. Also,my culinary tour of Germany is now complete, with our dinner of Döners, aturkish sandwich made of Kalbfleisch (calf meat), tomatoes, lettuce, a yogurtsauce, and unknown spices. To round out or time in Füssen, Jacob and I went ona walk, where we found a small graveyard and a lake.
I guess that's it for now. Oh wait! I forgot- we decided tochange our route last night. We are no longer going to Koblenz, we are insteadgoing to Stuttgart. Here's to hoping we actually find a hostel.
Füssen-Stuttgart
Tim and I are now on day 13 of our takeover of Europe, andfinally, finally we are feeling it. My body aches from hiking the alps, Ididn't get breakfast or a shower this morning, the ATM only gave me 50 eurowhen it charged me for 100, and our train was delayed for about five minutes,causing us to probably miss our transfer train back to München. How long willthat set us back? Two hours. Prior to yesterday, I was pretty content where Iwas, even if I did run out of clean socks a week ago and have been wearing thesame two shirts for an equal amount of time. Jen and Jacob speak of home atleast a handful of times a day, so I in turn, also am also doing something thatI didn't want to do on this trip: look back. I'm not homesick, per say, but Iam ready to be settled somewhere. All three of my companions will be home in aweek's time, but I won't be "home" until October 1st. It'simpossible to look more than a few days ahead at a time; it's just toodaunting.
Anyway.
We got up early to see King Ludwig's two castles:Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, which are located about 3 miles outside ofFüssen. To my surprise, we could actually see Neuschwanstein from our patio.None of us were willing to shell out 10 Euro to go inside the castle, but Timand Jacob definitely did sneak in and get quite far before they were caught.Jen and I opted to stay outside because the insides of castles don'tparticularly interest us. The surrounding countryside is breath-taking. Thegrass is simply a different, more vibrant shade of green, and there weresmatterings of small huts and cows everywhere. What I did not anticipate,however, was the thousands upon thousands of overly eager tourists that WILLget that perfect tourist shot, even if it takes 10 minutes and they'recompletely blocking the walkway. I'm a people person, but crowds cause mystomach drop to my knees and my brain to cease functioning. We more or lessplayed a game of keep away with the tourists. What was also surpising to me wasthe fact we were the only american tourists. Actually, there was an americancouple from our hostel that werealso there, but that's it. Everyone else was asian, german, or italian. Gofigure, eh? We had a picnic after ignoring a "do not cross" sign, about 20 metersabove the crowds at the Marienbrücke (the bridge that gives the view that everypostcard and poster has of Neuschwanstein). Jacob and I were literally a footaway from death (the ground was impossibly far below us) while eating, butdon't tell my mom!
We spent the rest of our day bumming around town: I boughtsocks, Jacob and I looked for some books in English, Tim took a nap etc. Also,my culinary tour of Germany is now complete, with our dinner of Döners, aturkish sandwich made of Kalbfleisch (calf meat), tomatoes, lettuce, a yogurtsauce, and unknown spices. To round out or time in Füssen, Jacob and I went ona walk, where we found a small graveyard and a lake.
I guess that's it for now. Oh wait! I forgot- we decided tochange our route last night. We are no longer going to Koblenz, we are insteadgoing to Stuttgart. Here's to hoping we actually find a hostel.
München-Füssen
16.08.10, Füssen
Yesterday, Jacob, Tim, and I attempted a free walking tourof Europe, only to find ourselves bored with the Irish/Scottish tour guides. Westuck with them until they forced public humiliation upon us, and then we splitfor the English garden, just a few subway stops north. All I knew of theEnglish Garden was that it was huge, beautiful, and for some reason unknown tome, there was a large chinese-style tower somewhere in the middle. So! Wehopped the nearest U-Bahn and hoped for the best. We somehow ended up at thenorthmost end, where we immediately turned back into 10 year olds: climbing onplayground equipment, playing in the creek (which caused many germans to stareat us), and giggling in one of the many grassy fields. It was the cutest thingI'd seen so far: old couples walking hand-in-hand, a little boy being taughthow to ride his bike, a man playing the accordian, paddle boats scooting aboutin the lake. Mmm. The only thing missing was Jen, so we left to collect her,but unfortunately, the sun had gone away by the time we got her back to thepark. This time it was Jen, Jacob and I, and we decided we needed to visit thefamous beer garden for dinner. Once again, all we needed to do was to followthe "oom-pa-pa" music to the flock of half-drunk Germans. To my delight, therewas a fair number of germans wearing the traditional german garb. The foodthere is served cafeteria style, including the beer. Collectively, we ended upwith some Wurstchens, mashed potatoes, chicken wings (wtf?) and two big beers.I, Beth Moyer, former beer-hater, finished my first beer at this beer garden;there's even pictures to prove it! The rest of the night was spent at thehostel, watching the Little Rascals before going to bed. Haha, we enjoy livinglife in the fast lane.
Today we headed even deeper south into Bavaria to a smalltown named Füssen, which, as far as I can tell, has been around since the early1300s. It's sole reason for continuing to exist is to feed and entertainforeigners who are on their pilgrimage to the Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangaucastles. From München, we took a decently small train with adorable HarryPotter-esque cabins to Büchloe, and from there we got in a tiny, slow-movingtrain to Füssen. We fell in love with Füssen before the train had even reacheda complete halt. Finally! We've escaped the city, and not a moment too soon; Ithink that if any of us had seen one more Häagen-Dazs advertisement, we mayhave kicked a small child. We've spent the evening wandering the city,exploring the area around the local castle, and eating dinner. Tim and I hadreally delicious German food at a hole-in-the-wall bar, and J&J had pizza...I think . Now we're just sitting around pondering if this tiny town has anysort of nightlife. If not... netflix?
Yesterday, Jacob, Tim, and I attempted a free walking tourof Europe, only to find ourselves bored with the Irish/Scottish tour guides. Westuck with them until they forced public humiliation upon us, and then we splitfor the English garden, just a few subway stops north. All I knew of theEnglish Garden was that it was huge, beautiful, and for some reason unknown tome, there was a large chinese-style tower somewhere in the middle. So! Wehopped the nearest U-Bahn and hoped for the best. We somehow ended up at thenorthmost end, where we immediately turned back into 10 year olds: climbing onplayground equipment, playing in the creek (which caused many germans to stareat us), and giggling in one of the many grassy fields. It was the cutest thingI'd seen so far: old couples walking hand-in-hand, a little boy being taughthow to ride his bike, a man playing the accordian, paddle boats scooting aboutin the lake. Mmm. The only thing missing was Jen, so we left to collect her,but unfortunately, the sun had gone away by the time we got her back to thepark. This time it was Jen, Jacob and I, and we decided we needed to visit thefamous beer garden for dinner. Once again, all we needed to do was to followthe "oom-pa-pa" music to the flock of half-drunk Germans. To my delight, therewas a fair number of germans wearing the traditional german garb. The foodthere is served cafeteria style, including the beer. Collectively, we ended upwith some Wurstchens, mashed potatoes, chicken wings (wtf?) and two big beers.I, Beth Moyer, former beer-hater, finished my first beer at this beer garden;there's even pictures to prove it! The rest of the night was spent at thehostel, watching the Little Rascals before going to bed. Haha, we enjoy livinglife in the fast lane.
Today we headed even deeper south into Bavaria to a smalltown named Füssen, which, as far as I can tell, has been around since the early1300s. It's sole reason for continuing to exist is to feed and entertainforeigners who are on their pilgrimage to the Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangaucastles. From München, we took a decently small train with adorable HarryPotter-esque cabins to Büchloe, and from there we got in a tiny, slow-movingtrain to Füssen. We fell in love with Füssen before the train had even reacheda complete halt. Finally! We've escaped the city, and not a moment too soon; Ithink that if any of us had seen one more Häagen-Dazs advertisement, we mayhave kicked a small child. We've spent the evening wandering the city,exploring the area around the local castle, and eating dinner. Tim and I hadreally delicious German food at a hole-in-the-wall bar, and J&J had pizza...I think . Now we're just sitting around pondering if this tiny town has anysort of nightlife. If not... netflix?
Dachau, KZ and city
Dachau, 14.08.10
Yesterday, we all magically woke up simultaneously (probablydue to the lack of clean oxygen in our room) and left for Dachau about 30minutes later. We had very little idea how to get there, and I still considerit a miracle that we figured out which S-bahn it was—trying to keep all the S'sand U's straight here is difficult, haha. For those of you who don't know,Dachau is a small town located about 20-25 minutes outside of München, andsince we're all small town kids- we loved it immediately. We first paid ourrespects at the KZ for two hours or so, and then we explored the actual town ofDachau, which according to our wanderings is a town full of female clothingboutiques, apothekes, and ice cream shops. Of course, we located a grocery store,bought some food and looked for the nearest park. We found a little path and afountain and followed it to-get this- the Dachau city celebration. It was thecutest quaintest damn thing I've ever seen, it was practically out of astorybook. The first thing we heard was the oom-pa-pa german band, which leadus to an enormous beer hall tent, complete with thousands of Dachau residents-no tourists. Most of the Dachau...ians were dressed in traditional Bavarianattire, and I think we spotted a wedding party, because they were all drunkenly(at 5pm) dancing on a table, and one of the people had a little veil/hat thingon. I had to get out of there before I mauled the girl with the giant prezels,so we left out the other door and we found a carnival, compltete with a farriswheel, booths where kids throw darts at balloons, and food booth after foodbooth. I think at this point we were all in total shock and before we knew it we had piled intoa ferris wheel cart. It was so cute. When I was young, I didn't really ride theferris wheel, especially with friends, so this was fantastic for me. Yes, there were shrieks of fear (Jacob),we made it rock and shake (group photo attempts) and we even could see the TVtower from München.
Bavaria is flatter than I remember, and coming from atourist-who-can-speak-german perspective, I don't find it to be anyfriendlier/less friendly than northern Germany. This trip has been differentthan my GAPP trip in one important way: when I attempt to speak german togermans, they speak it back! Last time they basically refused an I was stuckspeaking english. It's also hilarious that I've seen so many people inLederhosen und so weiter because many Bavarians hate that stereotype, haha. And for my parents and teachers thatread this, you'll be pleased to know that my comprehention so far has beenright around 100%, and communicating with germans has come surprisingly easy.
After we revisited our childhoods, we attempted to locatethe castle looking thing on top of a hill we saw from the ferris wheel. Wenever found it, but we certainly tried, and enjoyed zipping between less-than-amused natives,I forced us to hop a small wall into a grassy field (read: someone's back yard-oops!), and naturally, we ended up at a park. Love it. We rounded out our timein Dachau at a small café, eating schnitzel (coughandburgerscough) outside asthe sun was setting. What a perfect day, and it happened more or less byaccident.
Last night we decided to do a free bar crawl, and much to mydelight, it was a very small group and we all got along famously. We hit up asmall bar, the Hofbräuhaus, another non-descript bar, and after that it getsfuzzy. It was really fun though, and everyone got home safe and sound. What Iloved most about the evening was talking to local germans- they're so nice! Andreally open and talkative. I guess I've always had some degree of anxiety wheninteracting with men, but I don't have to here.
Now we're waiting to find Jen and then we'll head out to theEnglischergarten, have dinner in a famous beer hall there, and then give thenightscene one last shot (pun fully intended!)
Yesterday, we all magically woke up simultaneously (probablydue to the lack of clean oxygen in our room) and left for Dachau about 30minutes later. We had very little idea how to get there, and I still considerit a miracle that we figured out which S-bahn it was—trying to keep all the S'sand U's straight here is difficult, haha. For those of you who don't know,Dachau is a small town located about 20-25 minutes outside of München, andsince we're all small town kids- we loved it immediately. We first paid ourrespects at the KZ for two hours or so, and then we explored the actual town ofDachau, which according to our wanderings is a town full of female clothingboutiques, apothekes, and ice cream shops. Of course, we located a grocery store,bought some food and looked for the nearest park. We found a little path and afountain and followed it to-get this- the Dachau city celebration. It was thecutest quaintest damn thing I've ever seen, it was practically out of astorybook. The first thing we heard was the oom-pa-pa german band, which leadus to an enormous beer hall tent, complete with thousands of Dachau residents-no tourists. Most of the Dachau...ians were dressed in traditional Bavarianattire, and I think we spotted a wedding party, because they were all drunkenly(at 5pm) dancing on a table, and one of the people had a little veil/hat thingon. I had to get out of there before I mauled the girl with the giant prezels,so we left out the other door and we found a carnival, compltete with a farriswheel, booths where kids throw darts at balloons, and food booth after foodbooth. I think at this point we were all in total shock and before we knew it we had piled intoa ferris wheel cart. It was so cute. When I was young, I didn't really ride theferris wheel, especially with friends, so this was fantastic for me. Yes, there were shrieks of fear (Jacob),we made it rock and shake (group photo attempts) and we even could see the TVtower from München.
Bavaria is flatter than I remember, and coming from atourist-who-can-speak-german perspective, I don't find it to be anyfriendlier/less friendly than northern Germany. This trip has been differentthan my GAPP trip in one important way: when I attempt to speak german togermans, they speak it back! Last time they basically refused an I was stuckspeaking english. It's also hilarious that I've seen so many people inLederhosen und so weiter because many Bavarians hate that stereotype, haha. And for my parents and teachers thatread this, you'll be pleased to know that my comprehention so far has beenright around 100%, and communicating with germans has come surprisingly easy.
After we revisited our childhoods, we attempted to locatethe castle looking thing on top of a hill we saw from the ferris wheel. Wenever found it, but we certainly tried, and enjoyed zipping between less-than-amused natives,I forced us to hop a small wall into a grassy field (read: someone's back yard-oops!), and naturally, we ended up at a park. Love it. We rounded out our timein Dachau at a small café, eating schnitzel (coughandburgerscough) outside asthe sun was setting. What a perfect day, and it happened more or less byaccident.
Last night we decided to do a free bar crawl, and much to mydelight, it was a very small group and we all got along famously. We hit up asmall bar, the Hofbräuhaus, another non-descript bar, and after that it getsfuzzy. It was really fun though, and everyone got home safe and sound. What Iloved most about the evening was talking to local germans- they're so nice! Andreally open and talkative. I guess I've always had some degree of anxiety wheninteracting with men, but I don't have to here.
Now we're waiting to find Jen and then we'll head out to theEnglischergarten, have dinner in a famous beer hall there, and then give thenightscene one last shot (pun fully intended!)
München
After dragging our butts out of bed at 6:30 in the morning, we packed up and headed to the Hauptbahnhof (but not until after we stole breakfast food for lunch later!), were there an hour early, and had no problems getting down here. We are now champs at sleeping in public transportation, so the ride went by quickly. When we got to München, I immediately got pulled over by a drunk german man who held my hand and sang to me. Why? Keine Ahnung; he thought I was from Texas? Oh Bayern...
Our hostel is okay, there's nothing special or horrible about it, but we all wish we were situated in a neighborhood, as opposed to busy industrial areas. I think we're all excited for the countryside of Füssen in a few days.
Last night consisted of climbing the tower in Sankt Peterskirche, getting gelatto in the Marienplatz, visitng the Viktualienmarkt, and getting horrendously lost trying to find the Hofbräuhaus, which we didn't even eat at because it was so busy. I won't even tell you what I did end up eating, lol.
Today we're heading to Dachau and then to the Olympiapark or the Englisher Garten. Weather's grey, it'll probably rain, but we're Oregonians, so es macht nichts!
Bis Später!
Our hostel is okay, there's nothing special or horrible about it, but we all wish we were situated in a neighborhood, as opposed to busy industrial areas. I think we're all excited for the countryside of Füssen in a few days.
Last night consisted of climbing the tower in Sankt Peterskirche, getting gelatto in the Marienplatz, visitng the Viktualienmarkt, and getting horrendously lost trying to find the Hofbräuhaus, which we didn't even eat at because it was so busy. I won't even tell you what I did end up eating, lol.
Today we're heading to Dachau and then to the Olympiapark or the Englisher Garten. Weather's grey, it'll probably rain, but we're Oregonians, so es macht nichts!
Bis Später!
Berlin, days 3-4 and arriving in München
Berlin, days 3-4
Wilkommenzurück, dear readers! We're now on a train to what I thought was going toMünchen, but since they're so very intent on freezing us to death, perhapswe're going to Ireland or Scotland or somewhere else up north where people wearwool year around. Seriously, it's kind of hilariously sad to watch: Jen'scurled up in a ball trying to sleep, and I'm actually shivering. It looks a lotlike Oregon where we are right now (somewhere North of Nürnberg): cloudy, athreat of rain, lots of trees, and it's somewhat hilly.
When last we left off, I think we had just gotten done withour walking tour, after which we had some chill time and valiantly attemped todo laundry. When it was apparent we wouldn't be getting clean underwear anytimesoon, we ventured back out to the Tiergarten (a large park-like area near theBrandenburg Gate and our hostel) to check out what there was to play on/climbon. We had heard about a memorialto the gay victims of the Nazis, and when after a little bit of hunting wefound... something. We had no idea whether it was another fancy public toilet ora random large rock or perhaps the memorial. I think I took at least onepicture of our group circling the structure with "wtf?" expressions on ourfaces, haha. It had no plaque, no inscriptions, nothing. It had a small windowto look through, and on the inside, there was a 30 second looped video of twomen kissing in a park. That's our memorial? For the unestimable people thatwere harrassed, tortured and killed by the nazis, and all we get to commemoratethem is an unmarked rock with two MEN kissing? Bollucks, says the dyke. After that letdown, we played a littlein the park, and then went out for authentic german food, per request of Jen& Jacob. Ironically enough, Tim was the only one of the other three thatactually enjoyed his meal. We had Currywurst, Weisswurst, and the boys had somethick, beefy stuff with some delicious potato. We're not giving up, though!I'll be forcing traditional bavarian food upon them tonight. Being the foody Iam, I'm already jazzed about eating Spätzele and Schitzel tonight.
Anyway, back to Berlin- that night we decided to do a pubcrawl, and after reading about a few of them, we chose the "alternative" pubcrawl, which unfortunately for us was on the other side of town. By this timewe had more U-Bahn confidence and didn't have much problem locating the firstbar, which was a 70s Flower Power bar, hahahaha. We all ordered drinks and satdown at a flower and mushroom filled booth, while the Stones sang to us aboutbrown sugar. Through the course of 8 hours, we visited that bar, a "deathmetal/goth" bar, an absinthe bar, a live-band (aka fairly non-themed) bar, abeer garden, and ended at a hip hop dance club. It was so much fun, even for agirl who doesn't enjoy drinking. We befriended Illinois and her german partnerfrom Essen, some Dutch 30somethings, a couple of Aussies, an Irishman, and ayoung gayboy studying in Bombay. We basically crawled home at 5am, crippledfrom exhaustion.
The next morning I was woken up around 9 because our windowis directly above the outside eating area, and people were loud. At 9am. Rude.I knew the second coming of Christ would not rouse my posse so I headed out ona walk without a destination. I ended up in Potsdamer Platz, which I didn'tspend much time at, as I wasn't hungry and had no money to blow. There was abatch of cultural buildings not far from there- where the Berlin Philharmonicis located, as well as the State Library, and a few other things. I found avery hidden museum for the Germans who tried to resist Hitler, including SophieScholl, her brother and a lot of other people who of course were killed.Unfortunately for my tired brain, everything was exclusively in German, so Idid not linger long. When I got back, the dead were still dead, but we had toget our butts out of the room so they could clean it (read: change ourcomforters).
The rest of the day was just fail after fail. I know youcan't win them all, but damn did Berlin slap us hard across the face. The firstthing we attempted to do was see the East Side Gallery, which if you don'tknow, is south and pretty far east from where we were. We took a U-Bahn to getto another U-Bahn, which took us to a bus because of contruction, which took usto another U-Bahn, which we got off on the wrong stop, and FINALLY we ended upacross the river from the wall. It was muggy and windless, and needless to say:we were not amused, lol. The wall was great, of course, and after a short restby the Spree (river), we trekked back to Alexandersplatz to see thePergamonmuseum. (Note: I saw this museum, which is dedicated to ancient Greekart/statues etc, and did not particularly enjoy it, so going back was quite odd).The line was Disneyland-esque and we were given false information about freeentrance between 2-4. So! After another 40 minute commute from the ESG-themuseum, we stood in line for 30 minutes and were then given the bad news. Moralwas low, and only the promise of ice cream could get us to keep going. The nextstop was the Jewish Museum (which is located back down by the ESG) and by someact of God we made it there in one piece and without killing anyone. The museumwas incredible, even the second time around; I got to look at all/some of thethings I missed the first time. Seriously, that museum is amazing- there's somuch to see and learn, and it's literally impossible to do it in one trip. Theevening was spend in our hostel: we had dinner, did laundry (Gott sei Dank),and hung out with a young guy from Finland, who was on our walking tour the daybefore.
Not much new to report otherwise. Jen's battling a cold,Tim's doing great for his first time out of the country, Jacob is my rock, andI'm doing surprisingly well for not having gotten more than 6 hours of sleepany night so far. Hopefully our hostel won't suck in München!
Hostel doesn't suck- continuously being lost does.
Wilkommenzurück, dear readers! We're now on a train to what I thought was going toMünchen, but since they're so very intent on freezing us to death, perhapswe're going to Ireland or Scotland or somewhere else up north where people wearwool year around. Seriously, it's kind of hilariously sad to watch: Jen'scurled up in a ball trying to sleep, and I'm actually shivering. It looks a lotlike Oregon where we are right now (somewhere North of Nürnberg): cloudy, athreat of rain, lots of trees, and it's somewhat hilly.
When last we left off, I think we had just gotten done withour walking tour, after which we had some chill time and valiantly attemped todo laundry. When it was apparent we wouldn't be getting clean underwear anytimesoon, we ventured back out to the Tiergarten (a large park-like area near theBrandenburg Gate and our hostel) to check out what there was to play on/climbon. We had heard about a memorialto the gay victims of the Nazis, and when after a little bit of hunting wefound... something. We had no idea whether it was another fancy public toilet ora random large rock or perhaps the memorial. I think I took at least onepicture of our group circling the structure with "wtf?" expressions on ourfaces, haha. It had no plaque, no inscriptions, nothing. It had a small windowto look through, and on the inside, there was a 30 second looped video of twomen kissing in a park. That's our memorial? For the unestimable people thatwere harrassed, tortured and killed by the nazis, and all we get to commemoratethem is an unmarked rock with two MEN kissing? Bollucks, says the dyke. After that letdown, we played a littlein the park, and then went out for authentic german food, per request of Jen& Jacob. Ironically enough, Tim was the only one of the other three thatactually enjoyed his meal. We had Currywurst, Weisswurst, and the boys had somethick, beefy stuff with some delicious potato. We're not giving up, though!I'll be forcing traditional bavarian food upon them tonight. Being the foody Iam, I'm already jazzed about eating Spätzele and Schitzel tonight.
Anyway, back to Berlin- that night we decided to do a pubcrawl, and after reading about a few of them, we chose the "alternative" pubcrawl, which unfortunately for us was on the other side of town. By this timewe had more U-Bahn confidence and didn't have much problem locating the firstbar, which was a 70s Flower Power bar, hahahaha. We all ordered drinks and satdown at a flower and mushroom filled booth, while the Stones sang to us aboutbrown sugar. Through the course of 8 hours, we visited that bar, a "deathmetal/goth" bar, an absinthe bar, a live-band (aka fairly non-themed) bar, abeer garden, and ended at a hip hop dance club. It was so much fun, even for agirl who doesn't enjoy drinking. We befriended Illinois and her german partnerfrom Essen, some Dutch 30somethings, a couple of Aussies, an Irishman, and ayoung gayboy studying in Bombay. We basically crawled home at 5am, crippledfrom exhaustion.
The next morning I was woken up around 9 because our windowis directly above the outside eating area, and people were loud. At 9am. Rude.I knew the second coming of Christ would not rouse my posse so I headed out ona walk without a destination. I ended up in Potsdamer Platz, which I didn'tspend much time at, as I wasn't hungry and had no money to blow. There was abatch of cultural buildings not far from there- where the Berlin Philharmonicis located, as well as the State Library, and a few other things. I found avery hidden museum for the Germans who tried to resist Hitler, including SophieScholl, her brother and a lot of other people who of course were killed.Unfortunately for my tired brain, everything was exclusively in German, so Idid not linger long. When I got back, the dead were still dead, but we had toget our butts out of the room so they could clean it (read: change ourcomforters).
The rest of the day was just fail after fail. I know youcan't win them all, but damn did Berlin slap us hard across the face. The firstthing we attempted to do was see the East Side Gallery, which if you don'tknow, is south and pretty far east from where we were. We took a U-Bahn to getto another U-Bahn, which took us to a bus because of contruction, which took usto another U-Bahn, which we got off on the wrong stop, and FINALLY we ended upacross the river from the wall. It was muggy and windless, and needless to say:we were not amused, lol. The wall was great, of course, and after a short restby the Spree (river), we trekked back to Alexandersplatz to see thePergamonmuseum. (Note: I saw this museum, which is dedicated to ancient Greekart/statues etc, and did not particularly enjoy it, so going back was quite odd).The line was Disneyland-esque and we were given false information about freeentrance between 2-4. So! After another 40 minute commute from the ESG-themuseum, we stood in line for 30 minutes and were then given the bad news. Moralwas low, and only the promise of ice cream could get us to keep going. The nextstop was the Jewish Museum (which is located back down by the ESG) and by someact of God we made it there in one piece and without killing anyone. The museumwas incredible, even the second time around; I got to look at all/some of thethings I missed the first time. Seriously, that museum is amazing- there's somuch to see and learn, and it's literally impossible to do it in one trip. Theevening was spend in our hostel: we had dinner, did laundry (Gott sei Dank),and hung out with a young guy from Finland, who was on our walking tour the daybefore.
Not much new to report otherwise. Jen's battling a cold,Tim's doing great for his first time out of the country, Jacob is my rock, andI'm doing surprisingly well for not having gotten more than 6 hours of sleepany night so far. Hopefully our hostel won't suck in München!
Hostel doesn't suck- continuously being lost does.
Berlin, days 1-2
Hey kids-
Tuesday morning two alarms failed us and we slept in an hourand a half later than we had intended, and had to take the 11am train toBerlin. What's nice about this group, is that none of us are stressers orworryers. Even Tim has learned to chillax and enjoy the ride! We checked out ofour hostel, hopped onto a waiting tram, rode it to the south train station,grabbed cheap food, and hopped onto the very prompt Deutsche Bahn. It was a 6 hour ride, and the mostanyone slept was 10 minutes at a time, which made for a long trip. As far asbeauty goes, I personally think that the south has northern germany beat, handsdown. When we finally arrived in Berlin (about 5pm), we found the correctsubway, rode that to the Brandenburg gate, and then walked about a half mile toour hostel.
Our hostel is situated directly in the midde of theinnenstadt (inner city); I don't think there's another hostel that's closer toall the major sights. It's unfortunate because there's no young feel to ourneighborhood, in fact, there's no neighborhood feel to our neighborhood, butthe convenience makes up for it. Berlin has not lost its poop smell,unforunately. They doubted me when I vented about it, but the stench isundeniable. The weather here has been pretty much like Oregon: sunny, cloudyfor a spell, light rain, and back to sun.
Last night we did nothing. Literally. We walked our"neighborhood," found a grocery store, ate dinner at Subway (our only optiondue to our tiredness), and hung out in our room. To justify such a lazyevening, we got up early and did a 9am FREE walking tour. Our guide was this very sweet Irish guyabout our age named Finn. Everyone but Jen had a major crush on him by the endof our 4 hours together. We saw the important sights of East Berlin- many ofwhich I had seen and knew about already, which of course made my head grow asize or two. Tomorrow I may go on the West Berlin tour myself, since thesethree are whiney little kids in the morning. Our tentative plan for tomorrow isto buy all day passes for public transportation and just go. No concrete plansexcept that I'm dragging them through the Jewish Museum in southwest Berlin,and we'll hopefully at some point locate Kreuzburg. The subway systems hereconfuse me to no end; we wanted to go to a gay club last night, but since I'mthe only one that really makes an effort with directions and logistics, itdidn't happen.
Right now, Tim's listening to his iPod, Jacob's reading,Jen's showering, and I'm doing photo/blog stuff for you guys. After we do somelaundry, we're gonna check out a memorial to the gay victims of the Nazis, walkthrough a free museum about the Jewish victims, eat authentic german food, andgo to a bar crawl, which will end in a club that was voted #8 coolest club inthe world. Wish us luck!
Tuesday morning two alarms failed us and we slept in an hourand a half later than we had intended, and had to take the 11am train toBerlin. What's nice about this group, is that none of us are stressers orworryers. Even Tim has learned to chillax and enjoy the ride! We checked out ofour hostel, hopped onto a waiting tram, rode it to the south train station,grabbed cheap food, and hopped onto the very prompt Deutsche Bahn. It was a 6 hour ride, and the mostanyone slept was 10 minutes at a time, which made for a long trip. As far asbeauty goes, I personally think that the south has northern germany beat, handsdown. When we finally arrived in Berlin (about 5pm), we found the correctsubway, rode that to the Brandenburg gate, and then walked about a half mile toour hostel.
Our hostel is situated directly in the midde of theinnenstadt (inner city); I don't think there's another hostel that's closer toall the major sights. It's unfortunate because there's no young feel to ourneighborhood, in fact, there's no neighborhood feel to our neighborhood, butthe convenience makes up for it. Berlin has not lost its poop smell,unforunately. They doubted me when I vented about it, but the stench isundeniable. The weather here has been pretty much like Oregon: sunny, cloudyfor a spell, light rain, and back to sun.
Last night we did nothing. Literally. We walked our"neighborhood," found a grocery store, ate dinner at Subway (our only optiondue to our tiredness), and hung out in our room. To justify such a lazyevening, we got up early and did a 9am FREE walking tour. Our guide was this very sweet Irish guyabout our age named Finn. Everyone but Jen had a major crush on him by the endof our 4 hours together. We saw the important sights of East Berlin- many ofwhich I had seen and knew about already, which of course made my head grow asize or two. Tomorrow I may go on the West Berlin tour myself, since thesethree are whiney little kids in the morning. Our tentative plan for tomorrow isto buy all day passes for public transportation and just go. No concrete plansexcept that I'm dragging them through the Jewish Museum in southwest Berlin,and we'll hopefully at some point locate Kreuzburg. The subway systems hereconfuse me to no end; we wanted to go to a gay club last night, but since I'mthe only one that really makes an effort with directions and logistics, itdidn't happen.
Right now, Tim's listening to his iPod, Jacob's reading,Jen's showering, and I'm doing photo/blog stuff for you guys. After we do somelaundry, we're gonna check out a memorial to the gay victims of the Nazis, walkthrough a free museum about the Jewish victims, eat authentic german food, andgo to a bar crawl, which will end in a club that was voted #8 coolest club inthe world. Wish us luck!
Amsterdam
Hi everyone-
Here's a really quick reflection on Amsterdam, since mylaptop is flirting with having a dead battery:
Tim and I arrived in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport about 40minutes early, successfully made it through customs, and snagged our bags.Unfortunately, we could not locate Sideori. So we paid for some internetprivilages (what the heck is that?!) Facebooked her cell number, and then tookanother 10 minutes figuring out dutch payphones. Technology has not been ourfriend on this trip, especially since my webpage won't upload any of mypictures. BOO.
After rendezvousing with Sidoeri, we found a train back toAmsterdam, and then a tram to our hostel. Figuring out public transportation?Another 30 minutes. We're slowly learning how things work, but we were ashelpless as toddlers those first two days.
Our hostel was actually a hotel and hella nice by teenagers'standards. It was in a quiet street with literally no street noise. We were astone's throw from a massive park called Vogelpark, which we revisited nearlyevery day we were there. It's hard to describe how awesome this park is, but itdefinitely provided excellent people watching opportunities. Favorite story: Wesaw a guy (assumably) on mushrooms trying to make his way through the park and failingmiserably.
Getting around in the city is a learned skill. I had truefear the first day or so: one has to dodge thousands of other aggressivepedestrians, even more aggressive bicyclists, moped riders, cars, and trams. Wewere all near death at least 10 times a day.
Pride was definitely an experience. Never in my life have Iseen so many gay men, or so many beautiful people. Europeans are gorgeous. Menare allowed to primp and be pretty, unlike in america, and they take fulladvantage of it. Everywhere I looked: hairgel, immaculate white shoes, pressedshirts, matching jewelry. Damn, boys. Pride events were mildly scary, giventhat I don't like crowds, but we learned how to push through people. WE SAW THEVENGABOYS! Completely by accident, and it was awesome. (For those of you whodon't know: The Venga Boys are a European pop group; they would never make inthe US, but I love their over-the-top ridiculous style. We even pushed our wayto the front row! We also tried hitting up a few street parties and even alesbian bar, but unfortunately, there aren't 20-year old gays, gaynessapparently begins at age 35 in Europe, and it comes with a partner. Hmph.
For nights 3 & 4 we were in a real life hostel, completewith it's own bar & smoke room, a sketchy smell in the stairwell, andshowers that you don't wanna touch the walls in. Love hostel living, haha. For27 euro a night, it wasn't bad- it was as centrally located in the red lightdistrict as you can get. We were neighbors with a "magic mushroom" shop andthree bars. Tim's and my window view was a canal and central station, threefloors up; we were lucky.
On day 3 we rented bikes for 10 euro and we rode all day.The first thing we did was take a free ferry that I heard about in my travelbook. We took it to an suburb-style island and learned to ride through mildtraffic. A warm-up ride, if you will. Then we just went for it- we rode east ofthe Red Light District, and then south back to Vondel park, and everywhere inbetween. We picked up bread from a bakery, some OJ from a vendor, and stuff forsandwiches (and chocolate) from a little grocery store and had a picnic at apark.
Last night Jen and Jacob did the pub crawl, but Tim and Iwere tired and not feeling upto spending more money on alcohol, so we had aquiet night- we grabbed dinner, hit up a few coffee shops, and hung out at thehostel. I find coffee shops really interesting- no two are the same. Some havereally upbeat vibes, some are really chill, some are for bros, some are forolder people, some really focus on cushy seats, some feel more like actualcoffee shops. I liked trying to find the perfect one- one with window seatingin a high-traffic area.
So! As of now: no one is sick, injured, missing any of theirpersonal items, and no one hates the rest of the group... yet. We'll be inBerlin in another few hours,hopefully I'll have time to update again soon.
Bis bald!
Here's a really quick reflection on Amsterdam, since mylaptop is flirting with having a dead battery:
Tim and I arrived in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport about 40minutes early, successfully made it through customs, and snagged our bags.Unfortunately, we could not locate Sideori. So we paid for some internetprivilages (what the heck is that?!) Facebooked her cell number, and then tookanother 10 minutes figuring out dutch payphones. Technology has not been ourfriend on this trip, especially since my webpage won't upload any of mypictures. BOO.
After rendezvousing with Sidoeri, we found a train back toAmsterdam, and then a tram to our hostel. Figuring out public transportation?Another 30 minutes. We're slowly learning how things work, but we were ashelpless as toddlers those first two days.
Our hostel was actually a hotel and hella nice by teenagers'standards. It was in a quiet street with literally no street noise. We were astone's throw from a massive park called Vogelpark, which we revisited nearlyevery day we were there. It's hard to describe how awesome this park is, but itdefinitely provided excellent people watching opportunities. Favorite story: Wesaw a guy (assumably) on mushrooms trying to make his way through the park and failingmiserably.
Getting around in the city is a learned skill. I had truefear the first day or so: one has to dodge thousands of other aggressivepedestrians, even more aggressive bicyclists, moped riders, cars, and trams. Wewere all near death at least 10 times a day.
Pride was definitely an experience. Never in my life have Iseen so many gay men, or so many beautiful people. Europeans are gorgeous. Menare allowed to primp and be pretty, unlike in america, and they take fulladvantage of it. Everywhere I looked: hairgel, immaculate white shoes, pressedshirts, matching jewelry. Damn, boys. Pride events were mildly scary, giventhat I don't like crowds, but we learned how to push through people. WE SAW THEVENGABOYS! Completely by accident, and it was awesome. (For those of you whodon't know: The Venga Boys are a European pop group; they would never make inthe US, but I love their over-the-top ridiculous style. We even pushed our wayto the front row! We also tried hitting up a few street parties and even alesbian bar, but unfortunately, there aren't 20-year old gays, gaynessapparently begins at age 35 in Europe, and it comes with a partner. Hmph.
For nights 3 & 4 we were in a real life hostel, completewith it's own bar & smoke room, a sketchy smell in the stairwell, andshowers that you don't wanna touch the walls in. Love hostel living, haha. For27 euro a night, it wasn't bad- it was as centrally located in the red lightdistrict as you can get. We were neighbors with a "magic mushroom" shop andthree bars. Tim's and my window view was a canal and central station, threefloors up; we were lucky.
On day 3 we rented bikes for 10 euro and we rode all day.The first thing we did was take a free ferry that I heard about in my travelbook. We took it to an suburb-style island and learned to ride through mildtraffic. A warm-up ride, if you will. Then we just went for it- we rode east ofthe Red Light District, and then south back to Vondel park, and everywhere inbetween. We picked up bread from a bakery, some OJ from a vendor, and stuff forsandwiches (and chocolate) from a little grocery store and had a picnic at apark.
Last night Jen and Jacob did the pub crawl, but Tim and Iwere tired and not feeling upto spending more money on alcohol, so we had aquiet night- we grabbed dinner, hit up a few coffee shops, and hung out at thehostel. I find coffee shops really interesting- no two are the same. Some havereally upbeat vibes, some are really chill, some are for bros, some are forolder people, some really focus on cushy seats, some feel more like actualcoffee shops. I liked trying to find the perfect one- one with window seatingin a high-traffic area.
So! As of now: no one is sick, injured, missing any of theirpersonal items, and no one hates the rest of the group... yet. We'll be inBerlin in another few hours,hopefully I'll have time to update again soon.
Bis bald!
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