Our last day in Munich we actually didn't have enough time before our train left to visit the BMW museum unfortunately. We said goodbye to Brent and Hunter, the two KU guys we were traveling with as they headed to London, where Brent was heading back to the states. Hunter was originally going to be going home as well, but decided to meet me after London in Madrid to travel the rest of the time with me.
The train ride to Paris was a fun one. It was a a very nicem, high speed, German train and even thought it took about 6 hours, it was OK. We met a guy sitting in our cart who had just graduated from UT- Austin and it was nice to have an American to talk to for the ride.
We arrived in Paris at our hostel after a long metro ride around midnight and called it a night early as we were to have a long day on Monday. We woke up the next day and decided to go on the free walking tour of Paris, which covered all of the main sight seeing places in the city. We started off at Notre Dame, went and saw the Louve, and a few other famous castles. It was pretty fun because our tour guide not only showed us the famous buildings, but explain the history behind them as in with King Louis XIV, and Henry IV. I have plenty of pictures from Paris, dont worry. I am struggling to get a good enough internet connection to be able to send pictures back, so we will have to sit down when I get back to the states and I will show all. Anyways, the tour ended very near the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to go see that. We got there and found that there was a big screen set up right in front playing the World Cup matches, so naturally we went and watched for a little while. Our goal was to stick around until the tower lit up, as our friends in Munich had suggested. In waiting, we decided to eat at a nice restaurant very near the Eifell Tower. I got a very good salad and a lamb steak that was out of this world. After dinner, we went back to the tower to watch Spain play which was very fun as they won 2-0.
The next morning was when Becca had to leave. We said our goodbyes and she left for the airport early in the morning. This is when I made my first real travel mistake. I didnt check times for the trains from Paris to Salamanca, so I found out I was to take a train at 345 p.m. out of Paris, and arrive at 430 a.m. Twelve hours of traveling by myself was not going to be very fun. On a lighter note, however, it gave me time to eat a fantastic Vietnamese meal of egg rolls and pho right next to my hostel. The first train, which was to Irun, Spain was OK as I actually got to see the sun setting on the ocean as we arrived, unfortunately my camera was buried in my luggage of course. The next train, was the overnight train to Lisbon, but I was to get off in Salamanca at 430 am. This was the worst experience I have had on a train as I didnt have a sleeping cart, there were Portuguese guys drunk being obnoxious, smoking on the train that you are clearly not allowed to smoke on. Arriving in Salamanca would have been much better had I not had to sit in the train station for 5 hours, waiting for my hostel to open. I basically slept all day long in what so far was the best hotel I have stayed in so far. At night, I met with my friend Jasmine from K-State and also my friend Jenny from my high school. They showed me a good time and I think we were out till about 4 am. I discovered that Spain has a different sense of time than any other country, as some clubs dont even open until 2 a.m.
Next, was Madrid where I was to meet back up with Hunter at my hostel that was called Cat hostel. We got a nice snack, and actually met up with Brent's girlfriend(the KU guy that had just left back to the state). She spent the spring semester in Madrid, and decided to stay for the summer and babysit the kids from her host family. She showed us a to a place for dinner call 100 maticitos (or something) which was a place where there is a selection of 100 mini sandwiches. After that we went to a bar that was very packed, ordered a beer for each of us three, and the bartender gave us three FULL plates of tapas. Tapas are just like appetizers, they included potatoes, fritters, ham, chicken wings, and any other bar food you can think of. With EVERY drink that you ordered, came another full plate of tapas. I was soo full from dinner it was hard to even eat any of them. It was really nice to have a tour guide that night as the section of Madrid was very busy and we would have had no idea where to go if we were on our own. The next day, we slept in till about noon and went and got our first taste of Spanish paella, which was fantastic. After that, it was time to watch some soccer, so we met with three girls from our hostel room who were from the University of Oregon, and watched Brazil and Portugal at a sports bar. Right after the game, we saw that Spain was playing and decided to go to the Bernabeu Stadium to watch it. Little did we know, that there was a big screen set up in front of the stadium, with a few thousand SCREAMING Spain fans. As we arrived, it poured rain which added to the madness. We watch the first half as Spain led 2-0, we decided to leave the incredibly crazy atmosphere. That night we took it easy and just hung out with the girls from U of O.
Yesterday was the train ride to Barcelona, which went well. We arrived in our hostel, and immediately went to meet with one of Hunter's friends from his hometown. Actually as we got off our first metro ride, we ran right into the gay pride festival of Barcelona. I would imagine it was a LITTLE different than the ones back in the states. She took us to a very trendy spot where we watched the USA play, and lose. After the game, we met up with what we think are the last two people from the CIMBA program still in europe. They have been all over Europe as well, just taking a much different route than us.
Today (Sunday) is going to be a beach day. It will be nice to relax in the sun as its been a while since I have done so. Last night was our first of 5 total nights in Barcelona. We are meeting up with the people from Oregon tomorrow, and the girls from Barcelona that we met in Vienna on Tuesday. Its been very nice being able to FINALLY understand what people are saying because of my ability to speak Spanish. It amazing how much easier it makes everything.
We finally have the rest of our hostels booked and the rest of our trip is officially planned out. We leave Barcelona on the 1st of July, spend a full day/night traveling to Bruges, Belgium. Spend two nights in Bruges, one night in Brussels, then four nights in Amsterdam where I am meeting my friend Dan from Minnetonka. After that, off to London where I will hopefully will be staying with Gary for a few nights before its back to Minnesota. I will probably update again when I am in Belgium. Till then, Ill be relaxing on the beach for four more days! Que Bueno!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Vienna, Prague, Munich
The first night in Vienna was amazing as we went to an Irish Pub and watched the USA vs England game. We were very lucky to tie England in the game because they are much better. So we had fun meeting Americans and what not, overall a good night. The next day we went into the town to explore all of the castles in Vienna. We had no particular place to see, but we got off the metro and started looking for tall buildings. We saw things like the statue of Athena, Posiedon, and a few other greek gods. As we walked through a beautiful waterfall in this courtyard area, we found signs for the Vienna Zoo. At first, we shrugged it off but it turns out that it is the oldest zoo in the world! So we decided to go to the zoo and bring out the 12 year olds we all still have in us. The zoo was the my favorite part of Vienna as we got to see meerkats, ring tailed lemurs, elephants, and penguins that were hilarious to watch hopping around. Obviously we got sausages because thats what Vienna is known for as well, they basically hollow out a bun and stick a foor long sausage in it and call it a wurstel. After that we were exhausted and it stared to POUR so we headed back to our hostel and stayed in for the night, as we left early the next morning for Prague.
The train ride to Prague was not very long, only about 5 hours. We got to Prague around 6 and met with kids that we studied with in Paderno at our hostel. They had already been in town all day so we went and got dinner at a nice restaurant. Two of my friends and I split a heaping plate of chicken wings, ribs, and sausage, and paid around 6 USD each. I didnt realize everything was so cheap! That night we went out and were looking for somewhere to go when we ran into this group of 5 Sweeds. We paired up and walked a few miles to this club called roxy, which was pretty fun for a Monday night.
Tuesday was dedicated mostly to shopping, we found the main street with the museum at the top. I found a cheap watch, a cheap soccer jersey, and a new camera. Over all it was a pretty successful day of shopping! That night, we went more towards the center of town and saw the famous bridge and clock tower, all lit up. After we wandered for an hour or so, we finally found a place to sit and have a beer, for 23 krowns, or about $1.15. It was a very good time as we were able to get a taxi back pretty early and got a good nights rest.
Wednesday we went back to the clock tower area to see it during the day, and it turned out that they had a massive TV set up in the square where they were showing the World Cup games (reoccuring theme, i know) SO we watched the Spain game, and walked around a little more and took some more pictures.
Thursday we got out of Prague fairly early and went to catch the train to Munich. The train ride was long, but not too bad. When we got in, it was cold, rainy, and late, so we decided to go to a place close for dinner and all four of us got a different type of schitzel. SO GOOD.
Friday was the day that we all had been looking forward to for a while, we knew that both Germany and USA played, so we were prepared with our accessories for both teams. We watched the Germany game first, upstairs in the HUGE room at the Hofbrauhaus. It was full of about 100 people, mostly Germany fans. We were lucky and found a few Americans and sat next to them. It was a bit of a disappointment when Germany lost, but all in all it was fun. The game right after was USA vs Slovakia, and we went downstairs in the Hofbrauhaus where there was about 50 Americans piled into a fairly small area. The game was a riot as everyone was very excited that the US was able to come back and tie the game. After that game we took a taxi home and went to bed early.
Today(Saturday) in Munich we went to the famous Dauchau concentration camp. It was very very interesting. It was what you would expect in that we saw the terrible conditions they lived in and the way the prisoners were all treated. On the way back, we all picked up some souvenirs from the Hofbrauhaus and a few other shops. Tomorrow our plan is to visit the BMW museum, and walk thru the 1972 Olympic Park, which are adjacent to each other. After that, its off to Paris.
Tentative schedule for the next three weeks I have here: Paris tomorrow, Salamanca Spain for 2 nights to see firends, Madrid for two nights, Barcelona for 4 nights, Cannes France for a night or two, Luxomborg/Brussles for a few nights, Amsterdam, then London where I fly out of!
Should be interesting.
The train ride to Prague was not very long, only about 5 hours. We got to Prague around 6 and met with kids that we studied with in Paderno at our hostel. They had already been in town all day so we went and got dinner at a nice restaurant. Two of my friends and I split a heaping plate of chicken wings, ribs, and sausage, and paid around 6 USD each. I didnt realize everything was so cheap! That night we went out and were looking for somewhere to go when we ran into this group of 5 Sweeds. We paired up and walked a few miles to this club called roxy, which was pretty fun for a Monday night.
Tuesday was dedicated mostly to shopping, we found the main street with the museum at the top. I found a cheap watch, a cheap soccer jersey, and a new camera. Over all it was a pretty successful day of shopping! That night, we went more towards the center of town and saw the famous bridge and clock tower, all lit up. After we wandered for an hour or so, we finally found a place to sit and have a beer, for 23 krowns, or about $1.15. It was a very good time as we were able to get a taxi back pretty early and got a good nights rest.
Wednesday we went back to the clock tower area to see it during the day, and it turned out that they had a massive TV set up in the square where they were showing the World Cup games (reoccuring theme, i know) SO we watched the Spain game, and walked around a little more and took some more pictures.
Thursday we got out of Prague fairly early and went to catch the train to Munich. The train ride was long, but not too bad. When we got in, it was cold, rainy, and late, so we decided to go to a place close for dinner and all four of us got a different type of schitzel. SO GOOD.
Friday was the day that we all had been looking forward to for a while, we knew that both Germany and USA played, so we were prepared with our accessories for both teams. We watched the Germany game first, upstairs in the HUGE room at the Hofbrauhaus. It was full of about 100 people, mostly Germany fans. We were lucky and found a few Americans and sat next to them. It was a bit of a disappointment when Germany lost, but all in all it was fun. The game right after was USA vs Slovakia, and we went downstairs in the Hofbrauhaus where there was about 50 Americans piled into a fairly small area. The game was a riot as everyone was very excited that the US was able to come back and tie the game. After that game we took a taxi home and went to bed early.
Today(Saturday) in Munich we went to the famous Dauchau concentration camp. It was very very interesting. It was what you would expect in that we saw the terrible conditions they lived in and the way the prisoners were all treated. On the way back, we all picked up some souvenirs from the Hofbrauhaus and a few other shops. Tomorrow our plan is to visit the BMW museum, and walk thru the 1972 Olympic Park, which are adjacent to each other. After that, its off to Paris.
Tentative schedule for the next three weeks I have here: Paris tomorrow, Salamanca Spain for 2 nights to see firends, Madrid for two nights, Barcelona for 4 nights, Cannes France for a night or two, Luxomborg/Brussles for a few nights, Amsterdam, then London where I fly out of!
Should be interesting.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Adventure Begins
So sorry I have not been very good about keeping up with this blog in the past few weeks, it has been very busy. I did my best to email you all what I have done the past few weeks in Interlaken and Rimini, both amazing weekends. I just didnt seem to have the time to update my blog.
Last week on the way back from Rimini, we stopped in Bologna and went to the cathedral in the main square, it was utterly gorgeous. Basically we were only in Bologna for a few hours so we walk around and saw the sights basically. I wish I could have had a little more time, but oh well. This past week in Paderno del Grappa was a very fun week as we had a formal dinner in Castelfranco with the entire CIMBA group. We had appetizers, then spinach pasta with chicken, vegetable rissoto, veal, and ice cream for dessert. It was an amazing meal and everyone in the program was dressed up which added to the fun.
Yesterday(Friday) was our last final for classes and we said our goodbyes to many of the people here. But, a large group of people were going to Venice for the night so I followed. My group that I am traveling with for the first ten days is Hunter and Brent from KU and Becca from K-State. We ate one last meal and shared a few drinks with our friends who were in Venice with us, then hopped on the night train to Vienna.
We arrived in Vienna after about an eleven hour train ride which was very fun with us four. We got into Vienna and took the metro train to our hostel. It is SO HOT everywhere we go I would kill for air conditioning! After we checked in this morning we wandered around till we found a little restaurant and I got some sort of pork patty with tomato and tzatziki. DEVINE. I am currently sitting in the lobby of the hostel, sweating profusely, getting ready to go around the town and see the sights. Tonight is the USA vs England soccer game so we are going to watch that over dinner with some girls we met in our hostel who are from Barcelona.
Our plan is to be in Vienna tonight and tomorrow, Monday we are going to Prague and Thursday we are going to Munich. I will try to keep everyone posted as to how everything is going!
Last week on the way back from Rimini, we stopped in Bologna and went to the cathedral in the main square, it was utterly gorgeous. Basically we were only in Bologna for a few hours so we walk around and saw the sights basically. I wish I could have had a little more time, but oh well. This past week in Paderno del Grappa was a very fun week as we had a formal dinner in Castelfranco with the entire CIMBA group. We had appetizers, then spinach pasta with chicken, vegetable rissoto, veal, and ice cream for dessert. It was an amazing meal and everyone in the program was dressed up which added to the fun.
Yesterday(Friday) was our last final for classes and we said our goodbyes to many of the people here. But, a large group of people were going to Venice for the night so I followed. My group that I am traveling with for the first ten days is Hunter and Brent from KU and Becca from K-State. We ate one last meal and shared a few drinks with our friends who were in Venice with us, then hopped on the night train to Vienna.
We arrived in Vienna after about an eleven hour train ride which was very fun with us four. We got into Vienna and took the metro train to our hostel. It is SO HOT everywhere we go I would kill for air conditioning! After we checked in this morning we wandered around till we found a little restaurant and I got some sort of pork patty with tomato and tzatziki. DEVINE. I am currently sitting in the lobby of the hostel, sweating profusely, getting ready to go around the town and see the sights. Tonight is the USA vs England soccer game so we are going to watch that over dinner with some girls we met in our hostel who are from Barcelona.
Our plan is to be in Vienna tonight and tomorrow, Monday we are going to Prague and Thursday we are going to Munich. I will try to keep everyone posted as to how everything is going!
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