Well, Natalie and I are back in the States. It feels as surreal as going to Europe did a couple weeks ago. After everything we've seen and done over the past 17 days (+ 10 for Natalie), sitting in my bedroom in Schaumburg just feels odd. I'm sure I'll fall back into the routine of home soon, but the experiences I had in Europe are certainly staying with me. They were absolutely unforgettable.
The last couple days were spent relaxing and spending time with my family. I didn't get to see all of them; I would've needed another couple weeks for that. But I got to see many of them, and it was lovely. Going 4 years between seeing people really makes you appreciate the time you get with them.
Like Natalie mentioned, I got to see my grandma. It was bittersweet. I love seeing her, but it always makes her very emotional. This was the first time seeing her in the nursing home, which also made it hard. I miss her little familiar house. She's now 95 years old, but she seems to be doing very well, and I'm very much hoping I get to come back to Germany next year with my family to see her again.
Yesterday, Natalie and I went horseback-riding. It was a lot of fun. We rode Daniello, who is a really great horse. Obedient and friendly. Natalie definitely got sore muscles from riding. After that, we went down into the basement of my cousin's house and watched USA play England on a huge projection screen. It was awesome. There's really nothing like being in Germany for the World Cup. That's all they've been talking about for weeks, and it really reached a fever pitch while we were there. Definitely a letdown to return to the US, where few people even realize the World Cup is going on.
We had one final lovely dinner up at Ravensburg Castle, near my relatives' house. It has a breathtaking view of trees and fields and the surrounding villages. Really unlike anything you can see in the US. My little cousins took us down into the tunnels underneath the castle, and I still have no idea why we blindly trusted them. Parts of the tunnel were pitch black. We couldn't see a thing, and I don't even want to think about the sorts of creatures that were down there. At the end of one tunnel was a little church, which was actually quite creepy. Apparently people get married down there. Not the venue I would prefer...
And today, the plane ride home was uneventful. We weren't able to sit together, but we were just a few rows apart, so it was fine. The 9.5 hours passed easily enough. They showed the wedding episode of The Office, which was awesome. And we had a couple meals to break up the time. And then, suddenly, we were home.
When people ask me how the trip was, I will tell them that it was amazing. I saw so much and learned so much about different cultures. I had some very unique experiences and learned the ins and outs of train travel very thoroughly. Natalie and I learned to mesh our travel styles and worked well together to figure each new country out and learn their ways. We're already thinking about our next adventure. Europe has only whetted our desire to travel the world and experience all there is to experience. So, until we do, I think that ends our travel blog. Thank you all for reading and commenting, we've really enjoyed doing this and hearing your responses!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Relaxation
This vacation has taken quite a turn in that it is more of a typical vacation with relaxing, eating a lot, and sleeping in. It's very different than the nonstop traveling, but I can't say one is better than the other. Traveling is fun to see new places and explore new territories, but this time to wind down is much needed because Krisi and I both go back to work the day after we get back :(.
I am not totally sure when the last time we updated was, but I think it was very soon after we got to Krisi's family's place. It's definitely an experience to have such a language barrier for me, but a good one. Krisi translates a lot for me, but I have also learned to pick up on social cues much more, like hand expressions, facial expressions, reactions, etc. I can kind of follow a conversation if the person speaking German is talking to Krisi because they speak slower and use more of those social cues because they know her German is not perfect, but if it is a group of native Germans, I get lost easily and tend to space out and think of other things (aka Taco Bell, Portillos, and Chipotle).
The food here is absolutely wonderful. I am very happy I decided to start eating meat again before this trip. It would have been fine to be a vegetarian in other countries, but in Germany, their diet is very meat based. I know it would be possible, but it is nice to be able to experience the typical foods that Germans regularly eat. I have enjoyed every one of the so far.
The second night we were here, we went to Krisi's second cousin's birthday party. His name is Patrick, and he was turning 18, which is apparently like the 21 in the U.S. because he can do everything legally. It was fun to see all of Krisi's family, although the language barrier was increased as everyone was German. There were a few people who spoke English quite well, though, and I talked to them for a bit. I think Krisi is getting pretty good with her German, though, and she was able to hold her own in conversations.
It was a beautiful night, but then it started to rain, but luckily we were all under two tents. Krisi and I were talking about whether or not there were tornadoes in Germany, and a few other people were joking about how the weather might take a sour turn, but no one thought it was possible. Moments after our joking around, a huge gust of wind came and not knocked over the tent we were all under, all of the drinking glasses (of which there were many), chairs, and everything else. I ran closer to the inside, only to get clotheslined (spelling?) by the other tent, and almost pinned to the wall. Luckily, that didn't happen, but there was commotion everywhere . Glass was breaking, and people were trying to take cover. For the next ten minutes or so we all tried to gather what we could of the tent and other things during this viscous storm. The storm ended up only lasting about fifteen minutes, though, and then walking outside was like entering a war zone. I really am not exaggerating here. It was quite the experience. Also, Krisi and I were informed there are, in fact, tornadoes in Germany.
Yesterday we slept in until 10 (woo!). We went to see Krisi's Oma in the nursing home, and it was really good for both of them, I think. Her Oma was crying, and was clearly very happy to see Krisi, as well as shocked at how she had grown up. I guess it isn't the best for me to retell this moment, but from the outside looking in, it was a very special moment. Although, I didn't understand much of what anyone talked about.
Today we are going shopping and to a castle to eat dinner (awesome!). Saturday we get to ride the horses. I am so excited for this. I have fallen in love with the horses. I am seriously contemplating buying my own at home and building a stable. I don't think my dad would approve, nor do I have the money, but it's nice to dream. For now, I have my best friend Daniello (one of Martina's horses).
I am not totally sure when the last time we updated was, but I think it was very soon after we got to Krisi's family's place. It's definitely an experience to have such a language barrier for me, but a good one. Krisi translates a lot for me, but I have also learned to pick up on social cues much more, like hand expressions, facial expressions, reactions, etc. I can kind of follow a conversation if the person speaking German is talking to Krisi because they speak slower and use more of those social cues because they know her German is not perfect, but if it is a group of native Germans, I get lost easily and tend to space out and think of other things (aka Taco Bell, Portillos, and Chipotle).
The food here is absolutely wonderful. I am very happy I decided to start eating meat again before this trip. It would have been fine to be a vegetarian in other countries, but in Germany, their diet is very meat based. I know it would be possible, but it is nice to be able to experience the typical foods that Germans regularly eat. I have enjoyed every one of the so far.
The second night we were here, we went to Krisi's second cousin's birthday party. His name is Patrick, and he was turning 18, which is apparently like the 21 in the U.S. because he can do everything legally. It was fun to see all of Krisi's family, although the language barrier was increased as everyone was German. There were a few people who spoke English quite well, though, and I talked to them for a bit. I think Krisi is getting pretty good with her German, though, and she was able to hold her own in conversations.
It was a beautiful night, but then it started to rain, but luckily we were all under two tents. Krisi and I were talking about whether or not there were tornadoes in Germany, and a few other people were joking about how the weather might take a sour turn, but no one thought it was possible. Moments after our joking around, a huge gust of wind came and not knocked over the tent we were all under, all of the drinking glasses (of which there were many), chairs, and everything else. I ran closer to the inside, only to get clotheslined (spelling?) by the other tent, and almost pinned to the wall. Luckily, that didn't happen, but there was commotion everywhere . Glass was breaking, and people were trying to take cover. For the next ten minutes or so we all tried to gather what we could of the tent and other things during this viscous storm. The storm ended up only lasting about fifteen minutes, though, and then walking outside was like entering a war zone. I really am not exaggerating here. It was quite the experience. Also, Krisi and I were informed there are, in fact, tornadoes in Germany.
Yesterday we slept in until 10 (woo!). We went to see Krisi's Oma in the nursing home, and it was really good for both of them, I think. Her Oma was crying, and was clearly very happy to see Krisi, as well as shocked at how she had grown up. I guess it isn't the best for me to retell this moment, but from the outside looking in, it was a very special moment. Although, I didn't understand much of what anyone talked about.
Today we are going shopping and to a castle to eat dinner (awesome!). Saturday we get to ride the horses. I am so excited for this. I have fallen in love with the horses. I am seriously contemplating buying my own at home and building a stable. I don't think my dad would approve, nor do I have the money, but it's nice to dream. For now, I have my best friend Daniello (one of Martina's horses).
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Family time!
We're now in Sulzfeld, a tiny town in the south of Germany. It's not at all along the lines of our more big-city, touristy stops. Instead, we're here to see my family!
Before arriving here, we had about a day to spend in Munich. Getting there was slightly hellish. We got on the train in Prague and met with some uncomfortable conditions. Our train car had no air conditioning and was very crowded. It was miserable. The windows were all fogged up, people were sweating, and it was just like being fully-clothed in a sauna. Which is probably why nobody really fought it when, halfway through our trip, the train unexpectedly stopped and we all had to get off and board buses.
Nobody explained to us what was going on, at all. We all just got on buses (which had air conditioning!) and rode along for half an hour. Then, the buses stopped and we were told to get on another train. Again, no idea what was going on, but we just followed everyone else. Luckily this train had air conditioning, so we passed the rest of the trip in relative comfort and got to Munich just 20 minutes behind schedule.
Those 20 minutes really mattered to us, though. We had been trying to catch Mike's Bike Tour, which everyone had been recommending to us. Couldn't do it since we got there late, though. So we went to the Hofbrauhaus, Munich's famous beerhall, and had some very large beers. One liter mugs. And we met some interesting characters. One old man seemed kind and grandfatherly at first, but then things took a turn when he told us he was alone and "had no girl" and that we could stay with him instead of the hostel. No, thank you.
While that was happening, a table full of older men noticed my sunburn and literally all turned around to point and laugh at it. And then one of them actually came over, sat next to me, and his friend TOOK A PICTURE of us. Which I can only imagine they will bill to their friends as a picture of the most sunburned American they've ever seen.
After all of that, we found a new table in a different part of the hall to eat our giant pretzel and finish our giant beers. And then we played mini-UNO.
The next morning, we took in some of the Munich sights. We wanted to go on a walking tour, but it would've ended too close to the time we had to take the train. So we saw the Glockenspiel and walked around Marienplatz before eating lunch at a little outdoor cafe right by the clock. Then, we made the long walk to our hostel to get our backpacks, followed by a long walk to the train station with our backpacks, and then finally got on the train to Heidelberg.
Now we're here, with my relatives. It feels very surreal. I haven't seen most of them in 4 years, and it's crazy how much the kids have grown. Tonight, we're going to the 18th birthday party of one of my second-cousins, so I hope to see many more of my relatives there. Tomorrow, we will go see my grandma. Natalie seems to be enjoying herself despite the language barrier. My cousin who we're staying with has 4 horses, and Natalie's really been bonding with them. I had to tear her away from them.
The language barrier isn't as bad as I'd expected. With their limited English and my limited German, along with many hand gestures, we're making it work. It's really nice to just be in one place without trains to catch or hostels to worry about finding. We're just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. Four more days of Europe!
Before arriving here, we had about a day to spend in Munich. Getting there was slightly hellish. We got on the train in Prague and met with some uncomfortable conditions. Our train car had no air conditioning and was very crowded. It was miserable. The windows were all fogged up, people were sweating, and it was just like being fully-clothed in a sauna. Which is probably why nobody really fought it when, halfway through our trip, the train unexpectedly stopped and we all had to get off and board buses.
Nobody explained to us what was going on, at all. We all just got on buses (which had air conditioning!) and rode along for half an hour. Then, the buses stopped and we were told to get on another train. Again, no idea what was going on, but we just followed everyone else. Luckily this train had air conditioning, so we passed the rest of the trip in relative comfort and got to Munich just 20 minutes behind schedule.
Those 20 minutes really mattered to us, though. We had been trying to catch Mike's Bike Tour, which everyone had been recommending to us. Couldn't do it since we got there late, though. So we went to the Hofbrauhaus, Munich's famous beerhall, and had some very large beers. One liter mugs. And we met some interesting characters. One old man seemed kind and grandfatherly at first, but then things took a turn when he told us he was alone and "had no girl" and that we could stay with him instead of the hostel. No, thank you.
While that was happening, a table full of older men noticed my sunburn and literally all turned around to point and laugh at it. And then one of them actually came over, sat next to me, and his friend TOOK A PICTURE of us. Which I can only imagine they will bill to their friends as a picture of the most sunburned American they've ever seen.
After all of that, we found a new table in a different part of the hall to eat our giant pretzel and finish our giant beers. And then we played mini-UNO.
The next morning, we took in some of the Munich sights. We wanted to go on a walking tour, but it would've ended too close to the time we had to take the train. So we saw the Glockenspiel and walked around Marienplatz before eating lunch at a little outdoor cafe right by the clock. Then, we made the long walk to our hostel to get our backpacks, followed by a long walk to the train station with our backpacks, and then finally got on the train to Heidelberg.
Now we're here, with my relatives. It feels very surreal. I haven't seen most of them in 4 years, and it's crazy how much the kids have grown. Tonight, we're going to the 18th birthday party of one of my second-cousins, so I hope to see many more of my relatives there. Tomorrow, we will go see my grandma. Natalie seems to be enjoying herself despite the language barrier. My cousin who we're staying with has 4 horses, and Natalie's really been bonding with them. I had to tear her away from them.
The language barrier isn't as bad as I'd expected. With their limited English and my limited German, along with many hand gestures, we're making it work. It's really nice to just be in one place without trains to catch or hostels to worry about finding. We're just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. Four more days of Europe!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Prague
Dear Readers,
Krisi and I really appreciate that all of you read our blog. However, it is really exciting to see when people comment on it, and lately, you seem to have stopped. It makes us think no one reads this. If you do, please comment with your thoughts, it makes us very happy. :)
Yours Truly,
Natalie and Krisi
Okay, now for the real blog part. Last night I met up with some friends from high school who are studying abroad in Vienna. It was nice to see some familiar faces, and I enjoyed having them show me around the Vienna nightlife. We ended up going to this club that had a swimming pool in it, although no one was allowed to swim in it, which seems a bit taunting to me. Anyway, it was an enjoyable night, and I am really happy I was able to see where my friends study.
We left early this morning for Prague and arrived around 1:30. We started sightseeing immediately, as we only have one night here. It was definitely an adequate amount of time, though, because everything is in a very central location. Unfortunately, our hostel is about a 15 minute walk from that central location, but I suppose exercise is never a bad thing.
Before sight seeing, we found an ATM to take out cash because they use a different currency than the rest of Europe (I don't understand why they can't just get on board, though). Anyway, they use Czech Crown, and it is really confusing to use. They numbers are much, much larger and so it throws us off a bit. For instance, a meal at McDonald's (a McChicken meal) was 115 Crowns. It was so weird to be charged 5 Crowns for a packet of ketchup! Despite how confusing it is, the dollar is currently stronger than the crown, which is definitely to our benefit.
Prague is a beautiful city, as most European cities tend to be. The buildings are very old and historical, and they also tend to have a lot of statues of heads and/or faces coming out of them, which we found a bit interesting. The city center, though, is surrounded by beautiful buildings, and Krisi and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch of goulash and dumplings (a true Czech treat) in the midst of them.
We went to the Charles Bridge afterward and the sight from that bridge is truly breathtaking. It is possible to see a lot of Prague all at once, and our pictures resemble a postcard because they are so pretty. The bridge was also very lively with all different types of street performers and vendors. I think my favorite was the man who had a puppet playing guitar to music...clever.
Out next stop was the famous astronomical clock. While it is almost impossible to try to figure out how to read it, it's neat to look at. Every hour it does a little performance, and we watched that. It wasn't super exciting, but I suppose worth seeing. While we were waiting for the little show, there was a group of kids that were being videotaped by a few different people, as well as photographed, and we are convinced they are the Jersey Shore of Prague (we were thinking Prague City...or Prague Field). Either that, or they were some famous people that we have never heard of.
That was pretty much the sum of our sightseeing, in addition to walking around an exploring a bit. We just got back from the store to try to get rid of our last few Crowns, and we got some Kinder chocolate, which I am in love it (actually, I got chocolate, and Krisi gave me hers to eat, too). We got these chocolate eggs that have toys in them. I like European fun things like that. I also really, really like Kinder products.
Well, tonight we might just relax, but we are headed to our last hostel tomorrow in Munich! This trip is really flying by. I have been here for 3 weeks now, and I feel like I know so much about Europe already, so I am very content with that. It will be nice to get to Krisi's family, though, and be able to have a real shower, our own beds, etc. Hostels are a fun place to meet people and whatnot, but nothing compares to a home cooked meal and your own bed and shower.
Krisi and I really appreciate that all of you read our blog. However, it is really exciting to see when people comment on it, and lately, you seem to have stopped. It makes us think no one reads this. If you do, please comment with your thoughts, it makes us very happy. :)
Yours Truly,
Natalie and Krisi
Okay, now for the real blog part. Last night I met up with some friends from high school who are studying abroad in Vienna. It was nice to see some familiar faces, and I enjoyed having them show me around the Vienna nightlife. We ended up going to this club that had a swimming pool in it, although no one was allowed to swim in it, which seems a bit taunting to me. Anyway, it was an enjoyable night, and I am really happy I was able to see where my friends study.
We left early this morning for Prague and arrived around 1:30. We started sightseeing immediately, as we only have one night here. It was definitely an adequate amount of time, though, because everything is in a very central location. Unfortunately, our hostel is about a 15 minute walk from that central location, but I suppose exercise is never a bad thing.
Before sight seeing, we found an ATM to take out cash because they use a different currency than the rest of Europe (I don't understand why they can't just get on board, though). Anyway, they use Czech Crown, and it is really confusing to use. They numbers are much, much larger and so it throws us off a bit. For instance, a meal at McDonald's (a McChicken meal) was 115 Crowns. It was so weird to be charged 5 Crowns for a packet of ketchup! Despite how confusing it is, the dollar is currently stronger than the crown, which is definitely to our benefit.
Prague is a beautiful city, as most European cities tend to be. The buildings are very old and historical, and they also tend to have a lot of statues of heads and/or faces coming out of them, which we found a bit interesting. The city center, though, is surrounded by beautiful buildings, and Krisi and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch of goulash and dumplings (a true Czech treat) in the midst of them.
We went to the Charles Bridge afterward and the sight from that bridge is truly breathtaking. It is possible to see a lot of Prague all at once, and our pictures resemble a postcard because they are so pretty. The bridge was also very lively with all different types of street performers and vendors. I think my favorite was the man who had a puppet playing guitar to music...clever.
Out next stop was the famous astronomical clock. While it is almost impossible to try to figure out how to read it, it's neat to look at. Every hour it does a little performance, and we watched that. It wasn't super exciting, but I suppose worth seeing. While we were waiting for the little show, there was a group of kids that were being videotaped by a few different people, as well as photographed, and we are convinced they are the Jersey Shore of Prague (we were thinking Prague City...or Prague Field). Either that, or they were some famous people that we have never heard of.
That was pretty much the sum of our sightseeing, in addition to walking around an exploring a bit. We just got back from the store to try to get rid of our last few Crowns, and we got some Kinder chocolate, which I am in love it (actually, I got chocolate, and Krisi gave me hers to eat, too). We got these chocolate eggs that have toys in them. I like European fun things like that. I also really, really like Kinder products.
Well, tonight we might just relax, but we are headed to our last hostel tomorrow in Munich! This trip is really flying by. I have been here for 3 weeks now, and I feel like I know so much about Europe already, so I am very content with that. It will be nice to get to Krisi's family, though, and be able to have a real shower, our own beds, etc. Hostels are a fun place to meet people and whatnot, but nothing compares to a home cooked meal and your own bed and shower.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Vienna!
I'm updating again, even though it's Natalie's turn. She's out on the town in Vienna with some friends she knows who are studying abroad here, so I've decided to stay in and have a relaxing evening. After a week of being out late, going to bed early just sounded too tempting.
I'm sitting outside of our hostel in a courtyard right now. It's a beautiful night. It's been beautiful all day, actually. We're finally in a place where we don't have to wear jackets all the time. It was 75 without a cloud in the sky. We took advantage of the weather by exploring Vienna on foot.
We let ourselves sleep in a bit for once, after many days of waking up early. Once we were up, we had our first real shower in a while. We have our own room here, along with our own bathroom. It's more like a hotel than a hostel. Even our own TV! Positively decadent after the places we've been in lately. Seriously, when we walked in our room last night, we could not get over how wonderful it was.
So this morning, after sleeping in, we walked over to one of the main streets of Vienna and sat in a little cafe. We got brunch, which consisted of 2 rolls each, with ham and cheese and an egg. Natalie got a little cappucino, which she declared to be delicious.
Then, we set off along the road, heading towards the city center. Along the way, we came across a very random Vegan Festival. Booth after booth of vegan food, some of which we tried. I was surprised how delicious it was. There was also a band, who may or may not have been singing vegan songs. Couldn't be sure.
After experiencing that, we hit the main touristy spots. Hofburg, where the Hapsburgs ruled. The Parlament building (yes, that's how it's spelled here). The Rathaus. Stephansdom, which is a beautiful cathedral. Really, the buildings in Europe is just beyond anything you can find in the United States. So much history to them, and all so wonderfully crafted. I've taken millions of pictures of them.
While at Hofburg, we got another random treat: there was a parade going down the road that so many people were gathered for. Something called the Bladmusikfest. It was pretty much a marching band playing Austrian music while people twirling batons followed. Very interesting. People were dancing in the streets to the music.
On our way back, we decided to get a real Wienerschnitzel for dinner. Easier said than done. It took almost an hour to find a place that served them. We were very surprised, considering that's one of the foods they're known for. But once we finally did get to a restaurant that serves them, it was delicious. I'm glad we were so persistent.
Our third random surprise of the day was hearing Kesha blasted along the street while we were walking. We could not for the life of us figure out where it was coming from. We kept walking, but the music wasn't getting any closer. Finally, we discovered a bus being escorted by police vehicles, playing music. Not sure why... Must've been some sort of Vienna music day.
And now, it's time to relax. We spent 10 hours traveling to get here yesterday, so the thought of getting on the train tomorrow is a little depressing. But the trains here are very nice, and yesterday we had a flawless train day for once. Our train luck is turning around! So tomorrow, 5 hours on the train will bring us to Prague, where we will spend the afternoon and night.
We're loving the pace of our trip. It can be exhausting, but we're seeing so much in a short amount of time. Jumping from culture to culture and language to language. We've been learning along the way. Like, tipping etiquette differs from country to country. (Natalie got lectured by a very rude train stewardess yesterday.) So does willingness to speak English to us. They also speak a lot more quietly and closer to one another than we do. We're loud in comparison. Oh, and then there's the seating in restaurants. We've had many a confused moment, not knowing whether to seat ourselves or wait. A lot to pick up on and remember, from country to country.
So, it's been a grand trip thus far. One more week to go, with Prague, Munich, and visiting my relatives in Germany!
I'm sitting outside of our hostel in a courtyard right now. It's a beautiful night. It's been beautiful all day, actually. We're finally in a place where we don't have to wear jackets all the time. It was 75 without a cloud in the sky. We took advantage of the weather by exploring Vienna on foot.
We let ourselves sleep in a bit for once, after many days of waking up early. Once we were up, we had our first real shower in a while. We have our own room here, along with our own bathroom. It's more like a hotel than a hostel. Even our own TV! Positively decadent after the places we've been in lately. Seriously, when we walked in our room last night, we could not get over how wonderful it was.
So this morning, after sleeping in, we walked over to one of the main streets of Vienna and sat in a little cafe. We got brunch, which consisted of 2 rolls each, with ham and cheese and an egg. Natalie got a little cappucino, which she declared to be delicious.
Then, we set off along the road, heading towards the city center. Along the way, we came across a very random Vegan Festival. Booth after booth of vegan food, some of which we tried. I was surprised how delicious it was. There was also a band, who may or may not have been singing vegan songs. Couldn't be sure.
After experiencing that, we hit the main touristy spots. Hofburg, where the Hapsburgs ruled. The Parlament building (yes, that's how it's spelled here). The Rathaus. Stephansdom, which is a beautiful cathedral. Really, the buildings in Europe is just beyond anything you can find in the United States. So much history to them, and all so wonderfully crafted. I've taken millions of pictures of them.
While at Hofburg, we got another random treat: there was a parade going down the road that so many people were gathered for. Something called the Bladmusikfest. It was pretty much a marching band playing Austrian music while people twirling batons followed. Very interesting. People were dancing in the streets to the music.
On our way back, we decided to get a real Wienerschnitzel for dinner. Easier said than done. It took almost an hour to find a place that served them. We were very surprised, considering that's one of the foods they're known for. But once we finally did get to a restaurant that serves them, it was delicious. I'm glad we were so persistent.
Our third random surprise of the day was hearing Kesha blasted along the street while we were walking. We could not for the life of us figure out where it was coming from. We kept walking, but the music wasn't getting any closer. Finally, we discovered a bus being escorted by police vehicles, playing music. Not sure why... Must've been some sort of Vienna music day.
And now, it's time to relax. We spent 10 hours traveling to get here yesterday, so the thought of getting on the train tomorrow is a little depressing. But the trains here are very nice, and yesterday we had a flawless train day for once. Our train luck is turning around! So tomorrow, 5 hours on the train will bring us to Prague, where we will spend the afternoon and night.
We're loving the pace of our trip. It can be exhausting, but we're seeing so much in a short amount of time. Jumping from culture to culture and language to language. We've been learning along the way. Like, tipping etiquette differs from country to country. (Natalie got lectured by a very rude train stewardess yesterday.) So does willingness to speak English to us. They also speak a lot more quietly and closer to one another than we do. We're loud in comparison. Oh, and then there's the seating in restaurants. We've had many a confused moment, not knowing whether to seat ourselves or wait. A lot to pick up on and remember, from country to country.
So, it's been a grand trip thus far. One more week to go, with Prague, Munich, and visiting my relatives in Germany!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
In the Alps!
Natalie and I are currently in a hostel up in the Swiss Alps in the tiny village of Gimmelwald, and it is beautiful! Like a made-up place, surrounded by mountains and trees and blue skies. (In theory. We got in very late, so the blue skies were gone.)
Today has been a very long day. It got off on the wrong foot when our alarm did not go off at 4 am as it was supposed to. I woke up at 7:30, immediately realized that the sun should not be out, and woke Natalie. We had to do some major restructuring of our travel plans, since our train had left at 6:30. Long story short, we had to take a more roundabout path, involving briefly stopping in Germany, until we finally arrived 10 hours later than planned. After three trains, a bus, and a gondola. We are exhausted.
But! The French Open! One of the best days of my life. I got to see Serena Williams lose to Sam Stosur in 3 sets, and then Rafael Nadal beat Nicolas Almagro in 3 sets. Such high-level tennis, it was amazing to see. And my seat was really good. All in all, worth every penny and I need to go to another Slam soon.
The one negative is that I got positively scorched. It was a beautiful day, and I spent 6 hours in the sun without sunscreen. While wearing sunglasses. So you can probably imagine how that worked out.
After I got back from the match, I met Natalie, Brandon, and a group of others at the Eiffel Tower. It looks beautiful at night, all lit up. And it sparkles every hour, which is a sight worth seeing. After hanging out there for a while, we hit the Paris night scene again, and got to watch part of the Hawks game. We got back to our hostel around 3, and went to bed for what we thought would be an hour. And that's when we overslept majorly.
But we're here! And tomorrow, we have 10 hours of travel to get to Vienna. But we'll have 2 nights there, so things can be a little slower paced.
That's all for now. Tomorrow, I've been here a week! It feels a lot longer. I'm starting to miss home, but there's still so much to see and do that it's not something I dwell on. 3 more countries to visit!
Today has been a very long day. It got off on the wrong foot when our alarm did not go off at 4 am as it was supposed to. I woke up at 7:30, immediately realized that the sun should not be out, and woke Natalie. We had to do some major restructuring of our travel plans, since our train had left at 6:30. Long story short, we had to take a more roundabout path, involving briefly stopping in Germany, until we finally arrived 10 hours later than planned. After three trains, a bus, and a gondola. We are exhausted.
But! The French Open! One of the best days of my life. I got to see Serena Williams lose to Sam Stosur in 3 sets, and then Rafael Nadal beat Nicolas Almagro in 3 sets. Such high-level tennis, it was amazing to see. And my seat was really good. All in all, worth every penny and I need to go to another Slam soon.
The one negative is that I got positively scorched. It was a beautiful day, and I spent 6 hours in the sun without sunscreen. While wearing sunglasses. So you can probably imagine how that worked out.
After I got back from the match, I met Natalie, Brandon, and a group of others at the Eiffel Tower. It looks beautiful at night, all lit up. And it sparkles every hour, which is a sight worth seeing. After hanging out there for a while, we hit the Paris night scene again, and got to watch part of the Hawks game. We got back to our hostel around 3, and went to bed for what we thought would be an hour. And that's when we overslept majorly.
But we're here! And tomorrow, we have 10 hours of travel to get to Vienna. But we'll have 2 nights there, so things can be a little slower paced.
That's all for now. Tomorrow, I've been here a week! It feels a lot longer. I'm starting to miss home, but there's still so much to see and do that it's not something I dwell on. 3 more countries to visit!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
On the go.
As Krisi said in the last update, there is really not a lot of time to update the more we get into this trip. I will attempt to shortly brief over everything since Amsterdam.
We got to Paris, and it is an amazing city. Our hostel is really nice, and we are sharing a room with some girls who are our age, so it works our great. We met up with Brandon yesterday pretty much right away and went to see Notre Dame, which is beautiful. There was a service going on, too, which was neat to watch. Then, we went to this cute little cafe where we attempted to use all the French we knew to order. We tried some very French foods, though: oysters and escargot! The oysters were just really salty, so not too great. But the escargot was really, really good! I will definitely try to order that again before we leave. Then we hit the town with Brandon and his roommate, Nathan. We just drank some French wine and hung out, and it turned out to be a wonderful night.
This morning we went to see the Arc de Triomphe, then to Versailles. Both very beautiful and both very huge. Krisi just left for the French Open and I am going to meet Brandon as soon as I am done here.
Paris is a dreamworld, though. I love it. I love the culture, I love how proud the French are of their culture, and I love the language. It has been very different than the other places which tended to be very eclectic. I am sad to leave tomorrow morning, but excited to see Switzerland!!
We got to Paris, and it is an amazing city. Our hostel is really nice, and we are sharing a room with some girls who are our age, so it works our great. We met up with Brandon yesterday pretty much right away and went to see Notre Dame, which is beautiful. There was a service going on, too, which was neat to watch. Then, we went to this cute little cafe where we attempted to use all the French we knew to order. We tried some very French foods, though: oysters and escargot! The oysters were just really salty, so not too great. But the escargot was really, really good! I will definitely try to order that again before we leave. Then we hit the town with Brandon and his roommate, Nathan. We just drank some French wine and hung out, and it turned out to be a wonderful night.
This morning we went to see the Arc de Triomphe, then to Versailles. Both very beautiful and both very huge. Krisi just left for the French Open and I am going to meet Brandon as soon as I am done here.
Paris is a dreamworld, though. I love it. I love the culture, I love how proud the French are of their culture, and I love the language. It has been very different than the other places which tended to be very eclectic. I am sad to leave tomorrow morning, but excited to see Switzerland!!
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