(Hehe, I love that 'ñ' is on the keyboard here XD as it should be, since it's in the Spanish alphabet. Anyway...)
Eep, I know I'm in need of a super update--I've gotten to see and hear and taste and feel so many amazing things in the past week! (er, the past 10 days, I guess) London was a lot of fun, and Lisbon was small but charming. Sevilla, though, is one of my favorites. I just left there today (and am in Granada now), and I just had such an amazingly wonderful experience the past two days. A lot of it had to do with a few new friends that I made :) praise God! (More on them later, for sure.)
I remember seeing these benches at train stations in the Netherlands with a lot of inspiring quotes about traveling...and the one that comes to mind and applies here, I couldn't find online (although I did find this! Which is awesome...read it if you have a few minutes :D)...but it basically said, "The distance we travel matters far less than the people we meet along the way." So, so true. It's easy to see why I liked Berlin and Sevilla so much, I guess (plus, those two cities are just awesome to begin with).
Anywho, I will stop myself here for now (and will update later), or I'll be super exhausted tomorrow :( Time to sleep so I can be energized for exploring Granada tomorrow :D España, te amo! I can't believe I'm leaving in four days.... :(
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
madurodam/the hague (7/12/11)
Earlier today, I went with Saskia's family to visit the Madurodam in the Hague. It's a pretty cool miniature park, filled with places in the Netherlands, but everything is on a 1:25 scale replica. We also saw a short laser light show about the Netherlands and its fight against the water, which was pretty cool and informational. We walked around the park for a few hours, took a lunch break (I had typical Dutch food--croquettes and fries with mayo!), and then walked out to the beach. By then, it had gotten pretty gray/cloudy and windy. It still felt really nice, though. :)
copenhagen (7/11/11)
Thank You, Jesus, for safe travels. I'm now writing from the living room of the house of Ad and Ann, Saskia's aunt and uncle. Their first floor layout actually reminds me of my house last year in Buenos Aires, haha. We're in Delft, Holland, and we'll be here until Friday morning, when we go to Brussels and then London! But yes, this week is for Dutch exploration. Jesus, thank You also for hospitality in the form of Ad and Ann--it's really nice to have a home base again after a week of traveling and before my last ten days here. :)
So before I forget, Copenhagen update time. After we pulled into the station, I wandered around a bit in search of my hostel. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away, since my backpack is heavy! I found Saskia in the lobby, dropped off my things, and off we went on an early evening stroll. We were located right next to Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in Denmark (and in Europe?). It looked fun but expensive, so we didn't end up visiting, although we passed by it quite a few times. We walked down Stroget, the longest pedestrian street in Europe, but most of the stores were closed by then (but not the candy store! where we made a stop). There were tons of crepe stands along the street, too. For dinner, I got a Danish hot dog (they translate it as "sausage wagon", haha), after which we walked around some more.
The next day, we got up and set out to explore Copenhagen on foot. We walked down Stroget to Nyhaven again, which is a really pretty port area, and then we kept walking down to the Queen's Palace to watch the changing of the guards at noon. It was less than impressive, but still fun to watch. There was so much construction going on in the palace square but also around the city in general. It made for some poor picture-taking, sadly. We continued on to see the statue of the Little Mermaid, which was even less impressive, and we also walked to see the old fortress, which didn't seem very fortress-like but was still pretty. On our way back to the city center, we stopped by a fancy bakery, where I tried my first flodeboller, this chocolate-covered marshmallow cream dessert. :) We also passed by some market tables, one of which had funny elf hats.
So there's something going on in Copenhagen called the Elephant Parade involving many "art elephant" statues all around the city, and it's to raise awareness and money for Asian elephants, which are endangered. Since Saskia's mom really likes elephants, we stopped by one of their stores, which had small replicas of all the statues around the city--cute! After a short rest-break at the hostel, we crossed the river to get to Christiania, the "free-town" of Copenhagen. It's known for its open sale of drugs and hippie atmosphere--kind of like the Amsterdam of Denmark. That's a pretty fitting description; overall, I personally felt pretty uncomfortable as we were walking around it, and I was glad Saskia was with me. Afterwards, we headed back to the center in search of dinner. After much searching for a decently-priced restaurant that was open, we settled on a bookstore cafe, where I got a big, pricey, but delicious sandwich. After dinner, we walked back to the hostel and chilled for a while. I met two of our roommates, these two guys from Taiwan (one was Taiwanese but the other was from England). One of them had just come from Norway where he'd been hiking in the fjords--he had some amazing pictures! I'd love to visit there someday. :) Downstairs, we caught the tail end of one of the women's World Cup games, Germany versus Japan. It was intense! Japan scored a beautiful goal in second overtime and won the game.
For breakfast yesterday morning, we made Ramen with the packets Ann had given to Saskia for the weekend. After checking out, we went to the Town Hall for the free walking tour offered by New Europe. Jonny, our tour guide, was very funny and energetic. He also does tours in Berlin, but he's originally from England. He took us around to Nyhavn, the Queen's Palace, and a couple of old churches. After the tour finished, we visited the King's Gardens and Rosenberg Castle as well as the Botanical Gardens, which had some cool greenhouses (they reminded me of the Butterfly Gardens at HMNS, hehe). We grabbed ice cream and also stopped by the Glyptothek, a nearby art museum, before picking up our things from the hostel and heading to the airport. We decided to be super awesomely cheap and use Starbucks' hot water to make Ramen and tomato soup...and we spent our remaining DKs on a fancy and apparently common Danish dessert, some sort of strawberry cream tart. Then we were off to the Netherlands. :) We landed a little over an hour later and took the train to Delft. Ann picked us up from the station and brought us back to the house. Okay, dinner time! First meal with the family--I just met Ad and Aiden a bit ago.
Dinner was fun and yummy :) we had spaghetti and fun conversation. I love their family! Now I'm watching HP1--everything is so primitive and everyone is so young! Ahh, I can't wait to see HP7 tomorrow night. Earlier, we also watched the King's Speech, which is really good. I can see why it won an Oscar. Another aunt and uncle of Saskia's came to visit, and we had tea and cake with them before coming back to the TV.
Today was a good day, too. I slept in, ate a late breakfast/lunch, and then headed out to explore Delft for a bit on my own. It's a pretty town; a bit quiet, but it's nice. I went to see the Town Hall, the Old and New Churches, and Pathe, the movie theater. I also looked at the library next door, which had a cool design and set-up. Afterwards, Saskia found me, and we came back. It's been a fun few days so far with her :)
Overall, Copenhagen wasn't my favorite city so far, I have to admit. It's pretty and has some nice architecture, but it's also pretty expensive and doesn't have much to offer in the way of food, haha. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the city.
So before I forget, Copenhagen update time. After we pulled into the station, I wandered around a bit in search of my hostel. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away, since my backpack is heavy! I found Saskia in the lobby, dropped off my things, and off we went on an early evening stroll. We were located right next to Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in Denmark (and in Europe?). It looked fun but expensive, so we didn't end up visiting, although we passed by it quite a few times. We walked down Stroget, the longest pedestrian street in Europe, but most of the stores were closed by then (but not the candy store! where we made a stop). There were tons of crepe stands along the street, too. For dinner, I got a Danish hot dog (they translate it as "sausage wagon", haha), after which we walked around some more.
The next day, we got up and set out to explore Copenhagen on foot. We walked down Stroget to Nyhaven again, which is a really pretty port area, and then we kept walking down to the Queen's Palace to watch the changing of the guards at noon. It was less than impressive, but still fun to watch. There was so much construction going on in the palace square but also around the city in general. It made for some poor picture-taking, sadly. We continued on to see the statue of the Little Mermaid, which was even less impressive, and we also walked to see the old fortress, which didn't seem very fortress-like but was still pretty. On our way back to the city center, we stopped by a fancy bakery, where I tried my first flodeboller, this chocolate-covered marshmallow cream dessert. :) We also passed by some market tables, one of which had funny elf hats.
So there's something going on in Copenhagen called the Elephant Parade involving many "art elephant" statues all around the city, and it's to raise awareness and money for Asian elephants, which are endangered. Since Saskia's mom really likes elephants, we stopped by one of their stores, which had small replicas of all the statues around the city--cute! After a short rest-break at the hostel, we crossed the river to get to Christiania, the "free-town" of Copenhagen. It's known for its open sale of drugs and hippie atmosphere--kind of like the Amsterdam of Denmark. That's a pretty fitting description; overall, I personally felt pretty uncomfortable as we were walking around it, and I was glad Saskia was with me. Afterwards, we headed back to the center in search of dinner. After much searching for a decently-priced restaurant that was open, we settled on a bookstore cafe, where I got a big, pricey, but delicious sandwich. After dinner, we walked back to the hostel and chilled for a while. I met two of our roommates, these two guys from Taiwan (one was Taiwanese but the other was from England). One of them had just come from Norway where he'd been hiking in the fjords--he had some amazing pictures! I'd love to visit there someday. :) Downstairs, we caught the tail end of one of the women's World Cup games, Germany versus Japan. It was intense! Japan scored a beautiful goal in second overtime and won the game.
For breakfast yesterday morning, we made Ramen with the packets Ann had given to Saskia for the weekend. After checking out, we went to the Town Hall for the free walking tour offered by New Europe. Jonny, our tour guide, was very funny and energetic. He also does tours in Berlin, but he's originally from England. He took us around to Nyhavn, the Queen's Palace, and a couple of old churches. After the tour finished, we visited the King's Gardens and Rosenberg Castle as well as the Botanical Gardens, which had some cool greenhouses (they reminded me of the Butterfly Gardens at HMNS, hehe). We grabbed ice cream and also stopped by the Glyptothek, a nearby art museum, before picking up our things from the hostel and heading to the airport. We decided to be super awesomely cheap and use Starbucks' hot water to make Ramen and tomato soup...and we spent our remaining DKs on a fancy and apparently common Danish dessert, some sort of strawberry cream tart. Then we were off to the Netherlands. :) We landed a little over an hour later and took the train to Delft. Ann picked us up from the station and brought us back to the house. Okay, dinner time! First meal with the family--I just met Ad and Aiden a bit ago.
Dinner was fun and yummy :) we had spaghetti and fun conversation. I love their family! Now I'm watching HP1--everything is so primitive and everyone is so young! Ahh, I can't wait to see HP7 tomorrow night. Earlier, we also watched the King's Speech, which is really good. I can see why it won an Oscar. Another aunt and uncle of Saskia's came to visit, and we had tea and cake with them before coming back to the TV.
Today was a good day, too. I slept in, ate a late breakfast/lunch, and then headed out to explore Delft for a bit on my own. It's a pretty town; a bit quiet, but it's nice. I went to see the Town Hall, the Old and New Churches, and Pathe, the movie theater. I also looked at the library next door, which had a cool design and set-up. Afterwards, Saskia found me, and we came back. It's been a fun few days so far with her :)
Overall, Copenhagen wasn't my favorite city so far, I have to admit. It's pretty and has some nice architecture, but it's also pretty expensive and doesn't have much to offer in the way of food, haha. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing the city.
berlin, part 2. (7/8/11)
Yesterday was a great day and great way to end my stay in Berlin. God, thank You for sovereign and for providing for me. You knew I was getting lonely, even though I'm seeing Saskia in less than an hour, and You provided. In the morning, I wandered a bit around my hostel area, in the suburbs of Berlin, and I eventually found the few remnants of the Wall Nina had told me about. On my way back to the hostel, I even got hit on/asked out to coffee by a random German guy! >.< lol. Thankfully, he was pretty friendly and let me leave when I told him I was leaving today...lol. Anyway, after that, I headed back to Brandenburg, where I watched some breakdancers for a bit. There were also people dressed up as a Native American chief, Yoda, Darth Vader, and USSR soldiers on the plaza. I then headed to the Reichstag for my 12:45 reservation, where my day took a turn for the better. On my way in, I met Tahir and Jacob, two guys from London who are traveling through East Europe for a few weeks, starting in Berlin. They were really friendly and talkative (and knowledgeable!), and I ended up sticking with them for the rest of the day.
We checked out the Reichstag Dome (I thought it was really cool that the audio guides were triggered by sensors in the ramp!), which was pretty cool and had a pretty good view of Berlin and its landmarks. Afterwards, we passed through Potsdam Platz and went to the Topography of Terror, a free open-air museum on the Wall and Berlin in times of propaganda and terror. We then visited the Pergamon Museum, since Tahir really wanted to see the gates of Babylon, which were impressive, but not incredibly so.
Our last destination of the day was the East Side Gallery, which contains the longest strip of the Berlin Wall still standing. It was quite a ways away on foot, but the guys wanted to walk, so we did. It wasn't exactly the nicest walk, but it was definitely worth it to us to see East Berlin today, which still seems in need of much improvement. The East Side Gallery was filled with artwork (reminded me of Buenos Aires street art), some good and some not so much. We grabbed dinner at a kebap place (those two are the least hungry guys I've ever met!) and then went back to their hostel. After chatting a bit, they needed to sleep, so I headed back and did the same. I really liked talking to and listening to them--thank You for surprise awesome travel buddies, God :) I hope to keep in touch with them, especially since they're studying medicine in London.
This morning, on the way to Hauptbahnhof, I actually met a guy named Alex who lives in Dallas! He goes to Richland and might transfer to UTD or UNT, so maybe I'll see him again. Small world, indeed.
Whoo! Done, and with a few minutes to spare. I'm excited to see Saskia and Copenhagen!
We checked out the Reichstag Dome (I thought it was really cool that the audio guides were triggered by sensors in the ramp!), which was pretty cool and had a pretty good view of Berlin and its landmarks. Afterwards, we passed through Potsdam Platz and went to the Topography of Terror, a free open-air museum on the Wall and Berlin in times of propaganda and terror. We then visited the Pergamon Museum, since Tahir really wanted to see the gates of Babylon, which were impressive, but not incredibly so.
Our last destination of the day was the East Side Gallery, which contains the longest strip of the Berlin Wall still standing. It was quite a ways away on foot, but the guys wanted to walk, so we did. It wasn't exactly the nicest walk, but it was definitely worth it to us to see East Berlin today, which still seems in need of much improvement. The East Side Gallery was filled with artwork (reminded me of Buenos Aires street art), some good and some not so much. We grabbed dinner at a kebap place (those two are the least hungry guys I've ever met!) and then went back to their hostel. After chatting a bit, they needed to sleep, so I headed back and did the same. I really liked talking to and listening to them--thank You for surprise awesome travel buddies, God :) I hope to keep in touch with them, especially since they're studying medicine in London.
This morning, on the way to Hauptbahnhof, I actually met a guy named Alex who lives in Dallas! He goes to Richland and might transfer to UTD or UNT, so maybe I'll see him again. Small world, indeed.
Whoo! Done, and with a few minutes to spare. I'm excited to see Saskia and Copenhagen!
rest day, part 2.
Wow, I only have two weeks left in Europe...! This time around in two weeks, I'll be on my plane back home >.< but that also means two weeks of fun and adventure and learning left :) Lord, prepare me!
Yesterday turned out pretty well. I was able to book the rest of my hostels (five, lol) and catch up on emails. Saskia and I walked to the town center and back, stopping at a candy store on the way. It was cloudy and gray but not raining, so it felt really nice. By this time next week, I'll be in Spain in pretty hot weather, haha...Dinner was delicious and a lot of fun--there were eight of us i total. Yay for family dinners! We had homemade chicken curry with rice and a variety of desserts. After dinner, I got to skype with my mommy :) It's always good to get to see her face and talk to her. She's moving so soon!
Well, we were supposed to go to Amsterdam today, but that got cancelled due to the crazy heavy rain that has literally been coming down for the whole day. It's still really rainy and windy right now :( so we're taking a second rest day and watching Harry Potter! :) Watching the sixth movie right now (again), following the third, fourth, and fifth. Hehe :) and it turns out we're on our own for dinner...that should be interesting, haha.
Yesterday turned out pretty well. I was able to book the rest of my hostels (five, lol) and catch up on emails. Saskia and I walked to the town center and back, stopping at a candy store on the way. It was cloudy and gray but not raining, so it felt really nice. By this time next week, I'll be in Spain in pretty hot weather, haha...Dinner was delicious and a lot of fun--there were eight of us i total. Yay for family dinners! We had homemade chicken curry with rice and a variety of desserts. After dinner, I got to skype with my mommy :) It's always good to get to see her face and talk to her. She's moving so soon!
Well, we were supposed to go to Amsterdam today, but that got cancelled due to the crazy heavy rain that has literally been coming down for the whole day. It's still really rainy and windy right now :( so we're taking a second rest day and watching Harry Potter! :) Watching the sixth movie right now (again), following the third, fourth, and fifth. Hehe :) and it turns out we're on our own for dinner...that should be interesting, haha.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
berlin, part 1. (7/8/11)
Whoo! I'm on a boat! But not for much longer, haha. I'm currently on my train to Copenhagen, and we just took a ferry across the (...?) sea, so now we're in Denmark! Exciting. I guess it makes sense, but I hadn't thought enough about the route beforehand to realize we would be taking a ferry of some sort along the way. No worries--being up on the deck and feeling the ocean breeze was wonderful. It's just a beautiful day in general :) and going up was a nice break from sitting for the past 4.5 hours. Wow, I can't believe it's already been that long on the train...the time seemed to pass more quickly today, which is nice (and I didn't even sleep very much, which I normally do to pass the time). I realized while up on deck that I don't know a single word of Danish (or Dutch, for that matter), not even hello or thank you. Sigh...just as I was getting a grasp of basic German, haha. Thank goodness I'll be with Saskia :) God, thanks for planning my trip perfectly based on everything else but also on my language (in)capabilities. I'm actually sitting by a Danish mom and her two daughters. Wow, we sure are passing a lot of windmills...Anyway, here I am once again, on my next train to a new city with a couple of hours left of the ride, in need of updating my journal. It seems to be becoming a trend, haha...but it works! I do so much wandering/sightseeing each day that I'm pooped by the time I get back to my hostel. Plus, there's just not much to do on the train. It's a good system. Time to update!
Berlin is big and beautiful, and it's filled with culture and historical importance. It makes sense, given WWII happenings and especially everything with the Berlin Wall. There's so much to see--I think I definitely could have spent another day there, since there's a few things I didn't get to, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time there.
It started with my arrival. Whew, and I thought Munich's Hauptbahnhof was big? Berlin's is even more massive. I'm no connoissuer of train stations by any means, but I think it's now the biggest one I've been to. It hosts not only regional and international trains, but the U and S lines run through it as well. It has maybe five or six stories total and a ton of shops/eateries. It's also pretty new, so the glass architecture looks quite nice. Needless to say, I was in awe.
After getting a transport card, I headed to my hostel. It's so cute and homey! I really liked it; it might be my favorite one so far. Nina, one of the workers, was really nice, plus my room was nice and clean (and empty for most of my stay...in my four-room bed, I only had roommates my first night and last morning), and a pretty good breakfast was included! It was a buffet, and they provide sandwich materials so you can make some to take with you (which is what I did yesterday and today). My thrify side cheers. Also, the walls were decorated like in a children's home. Overall, very cute. It definitely wasn't central, but a 20-minute train ride got me there.
After dropping off my things, I went back to the city center to check out the Brandenburg Gate. It's a beautiful arch, and, as I soon learned, it has a lot of historical significance, one thing being that the Wall ran by it. (Sigh, I realized while in Berlin how little I knew about its/Germany's history, especially post-WWII...things like the Wall and the DDR >.< but I'm learning now!) Right behind the gate, there was a Mercedes Benz Fashion Week going on, so I stood outside for a bit and got to see real paparazzi in action. It was quite entertaining.
Then I walked down to the Memorial for Mudered Jews in Europe, which was pretty cool (and free!). The public part is just a bunch of stone columns of various heights, but it covers a considerable area. The info center underground provided more details about the persecution of the Jews during WWII...so terrible. It was a good memorial, though.
Afterwards, I wandered over to the Reichstag, Germany's cool-looking Parliament building, which has a huge lawn in front. There were even a few guys there practicing frisbee tricks, haha. Since it was getting late and I was getting hungry, I set off in search of currywurst, a popular German snack, but it was surprisingly hard to find a stand. I finally found one, and it was pretty tasty. Naturally, I topped off my meal with ice cream and then wandered back to the Reichstag. They told me that visits to the dome were free but required reservations, so I kept walking until I hit the House of Culture and Art, which was hosting some classy music event. Back at the Brandenburg, there was a street performer making big bubbles with a net, haha. The gate is so pretty at night! :) I also saw this fun-looking multicycle vehicle that looked like a lot of fun, but only with a big group of friends. I went back to my hostel, used the Internet, met my roommates (two girls from Latvia), and went to sleep.
The next morning, I got a sweet surprise after breakfast. When I got back to the room, my roommates were gone, but they had left a short note with their FB info plus two Latvian candies on my pillow. :) It made me smile. When I got to Brandenburg, I decided to walk through the Tiergarten to Victory Column, which was further than I thought, but still a nice walk. After seeing it, I kept wandering, got a little lost, and then found the art/culture house I saw the night before. For lunch, I stopped at a currywurst shop by the main station. This time, I made it complete with Fanta and fries with mayo, which I actually quite like, despite my general dislike for straight-up mayo. Satisfied, I wandered back across the Spree River and, after a short break at an art exhibit (sadly, all in German) one of the government buildings, I wandered down Unter den Linden, the main street coming off Brandenburg towards the Berlin Cathedral. I stopped for a bit in a bookstore and read up a bit on Berlin's history, although I'm not sure how much I retained. Next to the cathedral (which was very pretty) was the DDR museum, an interactive museum exhibiting what life was like in the DDR. I went inside and liked it, but not extremely so, but I think I was just tired of absorbing information after a while.
By the time I left, I was craving noodles for dinner, for some reason, so I found a noodle shop nearby. The owners were Chinese, so I chatted with them for a bit before I left. I crossed the street and entered a church and was pleasantly surprised to find a free choral concert going on. It was called "Life has loveliness," and the last song they sang was Sara Teasdale's "Barter", which I sang in high school choir. Their version was different (and not as good) in my opinion, but it was still awesome. Afterwards, I wandered a bit around Nikolaiveirtl, Berlin's old center, which was kind of neat. As I was going back to the square by the church, storm clouds were quickly rolling in out of nowhere, so I called it a night and headed back early. I chatted with Nina for a bit at the hostel, and I found out she likes Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers! Haha.
Berlin is big and beautiful, and it's filled with culture and historical importance. It makes sense, given WWII happenings and especially everything with the Berlin Wall. There's so much to see--I think I definitely could have spent another day there, since there's a few things I didn't get to, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time there.
It started with my arrival. Whew, and I thought Munich's Hauptbahnhof was big? Berlin's is even more massive. I'm no connoissuer of train stations by any means, but I think it's now the biggest one I've been to. It hosts not only regional and international trains, but the U and S lines run through it as well. It has maybe five or six stories total and a ton of shops/eateries. It's also pretty new, so the glass architecture looks quite nice. Needless to say, I was in awe.
After getting a transport card, I headed to my hostel. It's so cute and homey! I really liked it; it might be my favorite one so far. Nina, one of the workers, was really nice, plus my room was nice and clean (and empty for most of my stay...in my four-room bed, I only had roommates my first night and last morning), and a pretty good breakfast was included! It was a buffet, and they provide sandwich materials so you can make some to take with you (which is what I did yesterday and today). My thrify side cheers. Also, the walls were decorated like in a children's home. Overall, very cute. It definitely wasn't central, but a 20-minute train ride got me there.
After dropping off my things, I went back to the city center to check out the Brandenburg Gate. It's a beautiful arch, and, as I soon learned, it has a lot of historical significance, one thing being that the Wall ran by it. (Sigh, I realized while in Berlin how little I knew about its/Germany's history, especially post-WWII...things like the Wall and the DDR >.< but I'm learning now!) Right behind the gate, there was a Mercedes Benz Fashion Week going on, so I stood outside for a bit and got to see real paparazzi in action. It was quite entertaining.
Then I walked down to the Memorial for Mudered Jews in Europe, which was pretty cool (and free!). The public part is just a bunch of stone columns of various heights, but it covers a considerable area. The info center underground provided more details about the persecution of the Jews during WWII...so terrible. It was a good memorial, though.
Afterwards, I wandered over to the Reichstag, Germany's cool-looking Parliament building, which has a huge lawn in front. There were even a few guys there practicing frisbee tricks, haha. Since it was getting late and I was getting hungry, I set off in search of currywurst, a popular German snack, but it was surprisingly hard to find a stand. I finally found one, and it was pretty tasty. Naturally, I topped off my meal with ice cream and then wandered back to the Reichstag. They told me that visits to the dome were free but required reservations, so I kept walking until I hit the House of Culture and Art, which was hosting some classy music event. Back at the Brandenburg, there was a street performer making big bubbles with a net, haha. The gate is so pretty at night! :) I also saw this fun-looking multicycle vehicle that looked like a lot of fun, but only with a big group of friends. I went back to my hostel, used the Internet, met my roommates (two girls from Latvia), and went to sleep.
The next morning, I got a sweet surprise after breakfast. When I got back to the room, my roommates were gone, but they had left a short note with their FB info plus two Latvian candies on my pillow. :) It made me smile. When I got to Brandenburg, I decided to walk through the Tiergarten to Victory Column, which was further than I thought, but still a nice walk. After seeing it, I kept wandering, got a little lost, and then found the art/culture house I saw the night before. For lunch, I stopped at a currywurst shop by the main station. This time, I made it complete with Fanta and fries with mayo, which I actually quite like, despite my general dislike for straight-up mayo. Satisfied, I wandered back across the Spree River and, after a short break at an art exhibit (sadly, all in German) one of the government buildings, I wandered down Unter den Linden, the main street coming off Brandenburg towards the Berlin Cathedral. I stopped for a bit in a bookstore and read up a bit on Berlin's history, although I'm not sure how much I retained. Next to the cathedral (which was very pretty) was the DDR museum, an interactive museum exhibiting what life was like in the DDR. I went inside and liked it, but not extremely so, but I think I was just tired of absorbing information after a while.
By the time I left, I was craving noodles for dinner, for some reason, so I found a noodle shop nearby. The owners were Chinese, so I chatted with them for a bit before I left. I crossed the street and entered a church and was pleasantly surprised to find a free choral concert going on. It was called "Life has loveliness," and the last song they sang was Sara Teasdale's "Barter", which I sang in high school choir. Their version was different (and not as good) in my opinion, but it was still awesome. Afterwards, I wandered a bit around Nikolaiveirtl, Berlin's old center, which was kind of neat. As I was going back to the square by the church, storm clouds were quickly rolling in out of nowhere, so I called it a night and headed back early. I chatted with Nina for a bit at the hostel, and I found out she likes Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers! Haha.
munich, part 3: blade night. (7/5/11)
Then came the fun part of my Munich experience: Blade Night. So all I knew about it (from reading a blurb about it on my hostel map) was that it happened every Monday night during the summer, involved rollerblading (not knives, haha), and was free. Sounds cool, right? That's what I thought, too, so I headed over around 7:30 p.m. Now, realize that I haven't rollerbladed since the good old days at Mark 6 when all of the kids skated around the complex, purely recreationally. I also hadn't seen many people rollerblading around Munich--mostly just cyclists. So what I didn't expect is exactly what I saw when I got there: tons of people just hanging out or skating around, apparently waiting for something.
It turns out that Blade Night is basically a ton of people (mostly from Munich or Germany, I'm guessing) getting together to rollerblade a certain route around the city. It's kind of a race, but not really. It's pretty intense--they block off all the streets for two hours and have a ton of "safety skaters" (that's what I call them) who skate at the back, followed by an ambulance-type vehicle. Naturally, I got pretty excited, waiting in line to rent skates...until I put them on. It was harder than I remembered to balance and move around on them (and stop, too!), so that was a bit of a surprise. I made the smart decision to also rent all of the safety equipment offered (helmet, wrist, elbows, and knee guards), which I had actually never worn, other than the helmet. I actually put on the wrist guards backwards at first, haha. I eventually got all suited up, and all that was left was to wait until 9 p.m., when the race started. I was too scared to skate at the front or the middle, so I waited until pretty much the last group to start skating. Not gonna lie, it was a little scary starting off. It didn't help that I was essentially with all the security skaters, who kept telling me to skate faster, though I tried to explain that it had been quite a while. It got a little better as I continued to skate, although I pretty much stayed near the back the entire race.
I realized that I really didn't like two things: people skating in front of me relatively close, and going downhill. In both cases, I didn't really know how to brake well, so it was a little freaky. I fell a little way into the race on one of the slight downhills, but it wasn't too bad. The route actually took us through most of northern Munich, and it was pretty cool because the sun was setting, and sometimes people who were waiting for us in their cars would honk and cheer as we passed by. :) However, I probably would have been able to enjoy the race a bit more if I hadn't been so focused on staying alive--no joke. Everyone around me seemed so smooth on their skates--people were on their phones, smoking, or even eating gelato! I felt like the noob I was, but I just wanted to finish. Most of the race went pretty well, as sweaty and thirsty and scared as I was, haha...until the end. We were actually pretty close to the finish line when we hit a downhill point, and I lost control once more. My first fall, on my butt again, wasn't too bad, but as I got up and tried to regain balance, I ran into the sidewalk and fell again, this time forward. Unfortunately, my water bottle in my purse knocked the wind out of me as I went down, so I just lay there for a few minutes, breathing deeply. The security skaters helped me back up, and two of them helped bring me down the rest of the slope, which helped enormously. After that, it was a short stretch of flat ground, and then we were done. I made it! PtL, for real.
A lot of people were still skating around, so I just sat and recovered for a bit before returning all my equipment. I decided to buy a wristband that they were selling to commemorate the night. You could exchange them for a drink, but a liter of Munich beer, which was probably high quality but not tasty to me, or a souvenir of an unforgettable night of skating with hundreds of Germans? I say the latter. :) What a great night--I felt like a champion. Now, onward to Berlin!
It turns out that Blade Night is basically a ton of people (mostly from Munich or Germany, I'm guessing) getting together to rollerblade a certain route around the city. It's kind of a race, but not really. It's pretty intense--they block off all the streets for two hours and have a ton of "safety skaters" (that's what I call them) who skate at the back, followed by an ambulance-type vehicle. Naturally, I got pretty excited, waiting in line to rent skates...until I put them on. It was harder than I remembered to balance and move around on them (and stop, too!), so that was a bit of a surprise. I made the smart decision to also rent all of the safety equipment offered (helmet, wrist, elbows, and knee guards), which I had actually never worn, other than the helmet. I actually put on the wrist guards backwards at first, haha. I eventually got all suited up, and all that was left was to wait until 9 p.m., when the race started. I was too scared to skate at the front or the middle, so I waited until pretty much the last group to start skating. Not gonna lie, it was a little scary starting off. It didn't help that I was essentially with all the security skaters, who kept telling me to skate faster, though I tried to explain that it had been quite a while. It got a little better as I continued to skate, although I pretty much stayed near the back the entire race.
I realized that I really didn't like two things: people skating in front of me relatively close, and going downhill. In both cases, I didn't really know how to brake well, so it was a little freaky. I fell a little way into the race on one of the slight downhills, but it wasn't too bad. The route actually took us through most of northern Munich, and it was pretty cool because the sun was setting, and sometimes people who were waiting for us in their cars would honk and cheer as we passed by. :) However, I probably would have been able to enjoy the race a bit more if I hadn't been so focused on staying alive--no joke. Everyone around me seemed so smooth on their skates--people were on their phones, smoking, or even eating gelato! I felt like the noob I was, but I just wanted to finish. Most of the race went pretty well, as sweaty and thirsty and scared as I was, haha...until the end. We were actually pretty close to the finish line when we hit a downhill point, and I lost control once more. My first fall, on my butt again, wasn't too bad, but as I got up and tried to regain balance, I ran into the sidewalk and fell again, this time forward. Unfortunately, my water bottle in my purse knocked the wind out of me as I went down, so I just lay there for a few minutes, breathing deeply. The security skaters helped me back up, and two of them helped bring me down the rest of the slope, which helped enormously. After that, it was a short stretch of flat ground, and then we were done. I made it! PtL, for real.
A lot of people were still skating around, so I just sat and recovered for a bit before returning all my equipment. I decided to buy a wristband that they were selling to commemorate the night. You could exchange them for a drink, but a liter of Munich beer, which was probably high quality but not tasty to me, or a souvenir of an unforgettable night of skating with hundreds of Germans? I say the latter. :) What a great night--I felt like a champion. Now, onward to Berlin!
munich, part 2 (7/5/11)
(Breaking up Munich into several parts because otherwise it would just be one GIANT post...lol)
Yesterday (Tuesday, my only full day in Munich) was a long but good day. After breakfast, I first went to the train station to check timetables, and then I took the U (the underground) for the first time to the University. From there, I wandered over into the English Garden, where I saw some of the park's "sights"--the Chinese Tower (random), a Greek-style temple, and a Japanese tea house that was closed, sadly. There was even a nudist area on one of the fields o.o But yeah, all of the open green space made me really want to play ultimate with my high school group of friends. I miss frisbee.
Afterwards, I wandered through parts of the Residence and its gardens, and at Odeonsplatz, I joined an English tour group for a bit. I really liked the tour guide. I also realized how fail my European history is...like I heard a passing tourist say to another that morning, I wish at least some was required to learn in school. Apparently, the reverse is true, as young as America is. Anyway, the tour guide talked for a bit about Nazi Germany and how the Nazis would congregate at that plaza by the thousands. We also passed an opera house (which also burned down at one point), and when the group went into a beer garden, I split. we also pased Hofbrauhaus, one of the oldest and most famous beer houses in the world. I got a falafel sandwich for lunch and wandered around the Viktualienmarkt, a big open-air market, which was fun. I took a break inside St. Peter's Church (which had a very gaudy altar, but it looked like St. Peter was at the center...hmm), and then I walked over to see the Isar River. Next to it, there's the Deutsches Museum, which focuses on science and technology, and it is giantic. Probably the biggest museum I've ever seen? Sheesh. After walking along the Isar for a bit, I came to St. Luke's Church, which had some impressive stained glass windows inside. Then I walked until I hit the Maximilaneum, which has a cool facade and name but whose function still is unknown to me. I took the tram back to Mariensplatz, the main square, to see the Glockenspiel go off at 5, but with some time to kill, I visited one of the big churches near Odeonsplatz. Its interior was filled with amazing white rococo. Around 5, I headed back to the Glockenspiel, where a decently sized crowd had already gathered, all gazing up at the church tower. It made me think of waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve, haha. Apparently, the Glockenspiel is famous for its bells and moving wooden figures, which go off three times a day (at 11, 12, and 5). It was kind of cool to see the figures moving, but I personally wasn't too impressed. It's funny--I was passing another English tour group afterwards, and the guide was saying that in his opinion, the Glockenspiel is one of the top three most overrated things to see in Europe, haha.
For dinner, I got a smoked (?) fish sandwich thing that had caught my eye in the market earlier, and I'll just say that I'm glad it was pretty small and cheap. It tasted weird and pickled and not good. Sigh. You win some, you lose some--that's what I get for being adventurous (with food). I also went to look briefly at a couple more churches, as well as the Munich Cathedral, which has an alleged "devil's footprint" near the entrance. Not sure of the significance of that...
Yesterday (Tuesday, my only full day in Munich) was a long but good day. After breakfast, I first went to the train station to check timetables, and then I took the U (the underground) for the first time to the University. From there, I wandered over into the English Garden, where I saw some of the park's "sights"--the Chinese Tower (random), a Greek-style temple, and a Japanese tea house that was closed, sadly. There was even a nudist area on one of the fields o.o But yeah, all of the open green space made me really want to play ultimate with my high school group of friends. I miss frisbee.
Afterwards, I wandered through parts of the Residence and its gardens, and at Odeonsplatz, I joined an English tour group for a bit. I really liked the tour guide. I also realized how fail my European history is...like I heard a passing tourist say to another that morning, I wish at least some was required to learn in school. Apparently, the reverse is true, as young as America is. Anyway, the tour guide talked for a bit about Nazi Germany and how the Nazis would congregate at that plaza by the thousands. We also passed an opera house (which also burned down at one point), and when the group went into a beer garden, I split. we also pased Hofbrauhaus, one of the oldest and most famous beer houses in the world. I got a falafel sandwich for lunch and wandered around the Viktualienmarkt, a big open-air market, which was fun. I took a break inside St. Peter's Church (which had a very gaudy altar, but it looked like St. Peter was at the center...hmm), and then I walked over to see the Isar River. Next to it, there's the Deutsches Museum, which focuses on science and technology, and it is giantic. Probably the biggest museum I've ever seen? Sheesh. After walking along the Isar for a bit, I came to St. Luke's Church, which had some impressive stained glass windows inside. Then I walked until I hit the Maximilaneum, which has a cool facade and name but whose function still is unknown to me. I took the tram back to Mariensplatz, the main square, to see the Glockenspiel go off at 5, but with some time to kill, I visited one of the big churches near Odeonsplatz. Its interior was filled with amazing white rococo. Around 5, I headed back to the Glockenspiel, where a decently sized crowd had already gathered, all gazing up at the church tower. It made me think of waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve, haha. Apparently, the Glockenspiel is famous for its bells and moving wooden figures, which go off three times a day (at 11, 12, and 5). It was kind of cool to see the figures moving, but I personally wasn't too impressed. It's funny--I was passing another English tour group afterwards, and the guide was saying that in his opinion, the Glockenspiel is one of the top three most overrated things to see in Europe, haha.
For dinner, I got a smoked (?) fish sandwich thing that had caught my eye in the market earlier, and I'll just say that I'm glad it was pretty small and cheap. It tasted weird and pickled and not good. Sigh. You win some, you lose some--that's what I get for being adventurous (with food). I also went to look briefly at a couple more churches, as well as the Munich Cathedral, which has an alleged "devil's footprint" near the entrance. Not sure of the significance of that...
munich, part 1 (7/5/11)
Geez, I barely just finished writing about Brunnenburg in here, and now I'm already almost at Berlin?! Crazy. Let's try to knock out my thoughts on my brief time in Munich before my train arrives.
So I arrived in Munich on Sunday afternoon and was overwhelmed by the train station. It is giant, and it's much bigger (or at least it seems that way) than any other station I've been to in Europe yet. It has 30+ platforms! And right as you get off the train, there's two whole stories of restaurants staring at you. It wasn't very helpful, given my hunger level, but I wanted to get to my hostel first. After getting a three-day transportation pass, I ended up taking some time to look at a series of award-winning photos on display near the entrance. The categories ranged from nature to everyday life to horrific situations--mostly leaning toward the last category. I saw glimpses of disasters that I both knew and didn't know about, going on all over the world: Pakistan, Thailand, China, the U.S.., Africa, and the Middle East. The photos were excellent, but it was also heartbreaking and even sickening to think about the things people do to each other or to themselves. Jesus, our world is more broken now than ever before. Please come back soon.
As I took the tram to my hostel, I wasn't that impressed by what I saw of Munich on the ride there. It probably didn't help that the sky was gray and we weren't in the city center, but still. I guess it also wasn't very pedestrian (at least from what I saw), which isn't the case of most cities I've been in so far, and that's a minus in my book. Anyway, I got to the Tent, my hostel, and it literally is just three big tents with a ton of bunk beds and lockers inside, haha. But it's not too bad, especially for only 10 euro a night. Plus, I'm a low-maintenance girl anyway :)
After checking in, I was really hungry, so I made the mistake of eating a pasta dinner at the hostel. It was pretty cheap, and I appreciated the veggies in it, but it was so tasteless! Boo. However, the rest of my night turned out well--on one of the hostel workers' recommendations, I went to check out the Tollwood Festival at Olympic Park, and that was a lot of fun. It was like BISA Fest meets International Fest (and Renaissance Festival a bit, even?)--just a ton of market stalls selling either food or other products from different countries. The products ranged from jewelry to house decorations to other things. There were also a lot of bars and a few big tents with performers inside. In one of the tents, there was a BISA Fest-like thing going on--different ethnic youth groups performed cultural dances, with costumes and everything. There were even three judges giving feedback. I'm not sure if there was a winner, but it was enjoyable to watch. It made me realize also that America isn't the only melting pot out there. That's probably pretty ignorant of me, but I'd never seen proof of it, I guess (other than tourists, which doesn't quite count). It's also cool to see tha tregardless of where you are, people are still fascinated by and celebrate other cultures :) yay multiculturalism! I also had a spinach pancake to make up for my tasteless pasta, and it was so good--kinda like thousand-layer pancake. So worth 5 euro. I think the novelty of eating something also enhances my enjoyment of it, so if I really am set on eating something, work up the appetite, and eat it, I'm extremely content.
Overall, the festival was a lot of fun, even by myself. Sadly, it started to rain pretty hard and get chilly after a while, so I headed back (and received grace from strangers once again in finding my tram stop!). Once I got back, I opted to just go to bed (yep, at 11 p.m.). Three blankets for the win!
So I arrived in Munich on Sunday afternoon and was overwhelmed by the train station. It is giant, and it's much bigger (or at least it seems that way) than any other station I've been to in Europe yet. It has 30+ platforms! And right as you get off the train, there's two whole stories of restaurants staring at you. It wasn't very helpful, given my hunger level, but I wanted to get to my hostel first. After getting a three-day transportation pass, I ended up taking some time to look at a series of award-winning photos on display near the entrance. The categories ranged from nature to everyday life to horrific situations--mostly leaning toward the last category. I saw glimpses of disasters that I both knew and didn't know about, going on all over the world: Pakistan, Thailand, China, the U.S.., Africa, and the Middle East. The photos were excellent, but it was also heartbreaking and even sickening to think about the things people do to each other or to themselves. Jesus, our world is more broken now than ever before. Please come back soon.
As I took the tram to my hostel, I wasn't that impressed by what I saw of Munich on the ride there. It probably didn't help that the sky was gray and we weren't in the city center, but still. I guess it also wasn't very pedestrian (at least from what I saw), which isn't the case of most cities I've been in so far, and that's a minus in my book. Anyway, I got to the Tent, my hostel, and it literally is just three big tents with a ton of bunk beds and lockers inside, haha. But it's not too bad, especially for only 10 euro a night. Plus, I'm a low-maintenance girl anyway :)
After checking in, I was really hungry, so I made the mistake of eating a pasta dinner at the hostel. It was pretty cheap, and I appreciated the veggies in it, but it was so tasteless! Boo. However, the rest of my night turned out well--on one of the hostel workers' recommendations, I went to check out the Tollwood Festival at Olympic Park, and that was a lot of fun. It was like BISA Fest meets International Fest (and Renaissance Festival a bit, even?)--just a ton of market stalls selling either food or other products from different countries. The products ranged from jewelry to house decorations to other things. There were also a lot of bars and a few big tents with performers inside. In one of the tents, there was a BISA Fest-like thing going on--different ethnic youth groups performed cultural dances, with costumes and everything. There were even three judges giving feedback. I'm not sure if there was a winner, but it was enjoyable to watch. It made me realize also that America isn't the only melting pot out there. That's probably pretty ignorant of me, but I'd never seen proof of it, I guess (other than tourists, which doesn't quite count). It's also cool to see tha tregardless of where you are, people are still fascinated by and celebrate other cultures :) yay multiculturalism! I also had a spinach pancake to make up for my tasteless pasta, and it was so good--kinda like thousand-layer pancake. So worth 5 euro. I think the novelty of eating something also enhances my enjoyment of it, so if I really am set on eating something, work up the appetite, and eat it, I'm extremely content.
Overall, the festival was a lot of fun, even by myself. Sadly, it started to rain pretty hard and get chilly after a while, so I headed back (and received grace from strangers once again in finding my tram stop!). Once I got back, I opted to just go to bed (yep, at 11 p.m.). Three blankets for the win!
afterthoughts on brunnenburg. (7/3/11)
Once again, since I'm really behind on updates, I'll be dating my entries based on when they were written. Thankfully, at least I've been keeping up in my written journal :) which is where these entries are coming from. Here we go!
--
(on the train to Munich last Sunday morning)
...that brings me to today (finally!). I was really thankful that I got to see Sizzo and Brigitte this morning on my way out and say bye to them as well. :)
Wow, I really am going to miss Brunnenburg--the people, the food, the animals, the views, everything about it--so much. I usually don't like to repeat places or experiences, but I think I would be willing to make an exception in this case, at least for a brief visit. Haha, Sizzo mentioned that I should come back as a farm hand, seeing my interest in everything farm-related, but I'll have to see. Looking back, I'm trying to think/decide if this month was indeed a learning and enriching experience, as it was supposed (and I hoped it) to e. At first, I wanted to say not really, since it wasn't my first time abroad (Argentina last year). But I think it still has been. Maybe I haven't quite surprised myself with the things I've learned, but I'd still say I've learned and grown during my month at Brunnenburg. I legitimately traveled by myself (to the castle, to Switzerland) for a decent bit of time, which I think (and hope!) helped prepare me for my travels. I did so in a land where I really didn't know either language (German or Italian), but I was able to pick up some of both and figure out how to adapt when I still didn't understand. I learned more about myself--that I can handle myself in those situations--and also more about farm life, living eco-friendly, the value of branching out and getting to know new people (aka the de Rachewiltz family)--and I'm thankful, because I think being LG coordinator last year helped me a lot in this, as well as some McD skills--the magic of afternoon tea with an extremely cultured and respectable lady, how I spend (and don't spend)--an ongoing learning process that I started in Argentina...so much more. My faith was also tested and renewed. :) God, thank You for all these things and for this opportunity in general. Thank You also that my time in Europe isn't over yet. Munich, here I come!
--
(on the train to Munich last Sunday morning)
...that brings me to today (finally!). I was really thankful that I got to see Sizzo and Brigitte this morning on my way out and say bye to them as well. :)
Wow, I really am going to miss Brunnenburg--the people, the food, the animals, the views, everything about it--so much. I usually don't like to repeat places or experiences, but I think I would be willing to make an exception in this case, at least for a brief visit. Haha, Sizzo mentioned that I should come back as a farm hand, seeing my interest in everything farm-related, but I'll have to see. Looking back, I'm trying to think/decide if this month was indeed a learning and enriching experience, as it was supposed (and I hoped it) to e. At first, I wanted to say not really, since it wasn't my first time abroad (Argentina last year). But I think it still has been. Maybe I haven't quite surprised myself with the things I've learned, but I'd still say I've learned and grown during my month at Brunnenburg. I legitimately traveled by myself (to the castle, to Switzerland) for a decent bit of time, which I think (and hope!) helped prepare me for my travels. I did so in a land where I really didn't know either language (German or Italian), but I was able to pick up some of both and figure out how to adapt when I still didn't understand. I learned more about myself--that I can handle myself in those situations--and also more about farm life, living eco-friendly, the value of branching out and getting to know new people (aka the de Rachewiltz family)--and I'm thankful, because I think being LG coordinator last year helped me a lot in this, as well as some McD skills--the magic of afternoon tea with an extremely cultured and respectable lady, how I spend (and don't spend)--an ongoing learning process that I started in Argentina...so much more. My faith was also tested and renewed. :) God, thank You for all these things and for this opportunity in general. Thank You also that my time in Europe isn't over yet. Munich, here I come!
chill day.
So. First things first--Harry Potter 7 Part 2 was AMAAAAAAAAZING. Really well done, in my opinion, and I really enjoyed the movie :) The theater ended up being completely full, but the excitement that would have been at an American theater wasn't quite there. We did see some people dressed up in costume, though I must say that they weren't the best at it...for the most part, I couldn't tell who they were trying to dress as, haha.
Secondly, the weather is still gray here in Delft and also in Amsterdam, apparently, so we decided to take today to just rest/chill in the house and in Delft and also plan for this weekend (and for next week, in my case)'s travels. Sigh, so much to research. But! I just finished booking my last hostel :) I'll be visiting six more before I go back to the U.S., haha, which seems kinda crazy. I can't believe I only have two weeks left here...better make them count, like Evonne said. :)
I'm supposed to go grab Saskia, who's semi-napping, so I guess I won't get to blog until later...? We might go visit a candy shop that she wants to go to, haha. We'll see; I'm going to make it a goal to finish updating this blog by tonight, which means lots of new and long posts! Whoo. I also get to skype with my mommy tonight :) excited!
Secondly, the weather is still gray here in Delft and also in Amsterdam, apparently, so we decided to take today to just rest/chill in the house and in Delft and also plan for this weekend (and for next week, in my case)'s travels. Sigh, so much to research. But! I just finished booking my last hostel :) I'll be visiting six more before I go back to the U.S., haha, which seems kinda crazy. I can't believe I only have two weeks left here...better make them count, like Evonne said. :)
I'm supposed to go grab Saskia, who's semi-napping, so I guess I won't get to blog until later...? We might go visit a candy shop that she wants to go to, haha. We'll see; I'm going to make it a goal to finish updating this blog by tonight, which means lots of new and long posts! Whoo. I also get to skype with my mommy tonight :) excited!
Monday, July 11, 2011
harry potter (in europe)!
So I'm currently finishing up the first Harry Potter movie before going to sleep, and it's amazing to watch a film from ten years ago and see how much things have changed. So many of the special effects are really primitive, it seems, and even more striking is how young all of the actors were. Can you believe the Harry Potter movie saga has been ten whole years? That's crazy.
What's equally or even more exciting is that in less than 24 hours, I'll be at the Pathe theater in Delft, Holland (which is the city where I currently am), watching the last Harry Potter movie! :D Ahhh, so excited. Yay for midnight premieres, hehe.
I'm currently staying at Saskia's aunt and uncle's house and super thankful for their kindness and hospitality. I hope to update either tonight or tomorrow or sometime this week before we head out to London on Friday...I'm so behind, haha XP It's been so much fun in Munich, Berlin, and Copenhagen, and we're off to see the Hague tomorrow. Wheeeeee!
What's equally or even more exciting is that in less than 24 hours, I'll be at the Pathe theater in Delft, Holland (which is the city where I currently am), watching the last Harry Potter movie! :D Ahhh, so excited. Yay for midnight premieres, hehe.
I'm currently staying at Saskia's aunt and uncle's house and super thankful for their kindness and hospitality. I hope to update either tonight or tomorrow or sometime this week before we head out to London on Friday...I'm so behind, haha XP It's been so much fun in Munich, Berlin, and Copenhagen, and we're off to see the Hague tomorrow. Wheeeeee!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
farewells to dorf tirol.
Oops, I haven't updated in a few days...here's one last post before I leave Dorf Tirol (hopefully not forever!).
Well, it's finally time to say goodbye to Schloss Brunnenburg and everything that I now associate with it--breathtaking views, funny classmates, tea with Mary, amazing food, the super friendly de Rachewiltz family, farm animals (including Dino the dangerous one), and so much more. I've had such an amazing, unforgettable month here, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be able to be here. There really is something magical about this place. :) There's probably much more I could say about my experience/time here, but we'll see if I get time to add that in somewhere.
The past few days have been a lot of fun. Our last day of class was really easy (our quiz was an evaluation, yay!), and our last lunch with Brigitte's cooking and Frank's dessert was delicious as always. The weather that afternoon (which has continued over the past couple of days) was calling me to come outside, it was so beautiful. I ended up hiking up to Vellau, a scenic overlook a little way away from here, which took about three hours round trip. I got back just in time to join the rest of the bunch for dinner at Lindenwirt, our staple restaurant (lol), after which we headed to Lana with a few Tirolean girls that Kayla and Lauren had met earlier in the trip. They had a fun and bustling main street with live music and food (they had funnel cake, called strauben...yum!), where we hung out until later in the evening, when we went to a discoteca and danced the night away. Thank goodness for the shuttle that took us back!
It was a nice feeling to sleep in yesterday. Half of our group left in early afternoon, so we spent the first half of our day seeing people off. The four of us who were still remaining went to tea with Mary, which was fun as always. Afterwards, we went with Frank down to Merano's botanical garden, which was beautiful and big and a lot of fun. They had a museum about waiters, as well as a ton of flowers and scenic hiking trails. We climbed up to a couple of viewing balconies, visited the aviary (where one of the birds took a great liking to my hair, haha), and just marveled at the natural beauty :) We had a late dinner in Merano, and then...we had to hike back up to the castle >.< But it's all good--we made it back not TERRIBLY late, haha.
Today was a good last day :) In the morning, Frank took us up to Sammy's ice cream shop (which has the most delicious handmade gelato!), and we went grocery shopping. After lunch, we went around with Frank and said goodbye to all the animals. Our last tea with Mary was a delight once again (and I sang "Da Hai a Gu Xiang" to her! Fun stuff :D hehe). For dinner, Dr. Redman very kindly set up a pasta dinner for us with everyone who was left at the castle. I'm so glad I stayed! It was a lot of fun and deliciousness and good conversation. :) I'm going to miss everyone a lot. Maaaaaaan...leaving never gets easy, does it?
Alright, time to finish packing and sleep. Off to Munich tomorrow!
Well, it's finally time to say goodbye to Schloss Brunnenburg and everything that I now associate with it--breathtaking views, funny classmates, tea with Mary, amazing food, the super friendly de Rachewiltz family, farm animals (including Dino the dangerous one), and so much more. I've had such an amazing, unforgettable month here, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be able to be here. There really is something magical about this place. :) There's probably much more I could say about my experience/time here, but we'll see if I get time to add that in somewhere.
The past few days have been a lot of fun. Our last day of class was really easy (our quiz was an evaluation, yay!), and our last lunch with Brigitte's cooking and Frank's dessert was delicious as always. The weather that afternoon (which has continued over the past couple of days) was calling me to come outside, it was so beautiful. I ended up hiking up to Vellau, a scenic overlook a little way away from here, which took about three hours round trip. I got back just in time to join the rest of the bunch for dinner at Lindenwirt, our staple restaurant (lol), after which we headed to Lana with a few Tirolean girls that Kayla and Lauren had met earlier in the trip. They had a fun and bustling main street with live music and food (they had funnel cake, called strauben...yum!), where we hung out until later in the evening, when we went to a discoteca and danced the night away. Thank goodness for the shuttle that took us back!
It was a nice feeling to sleep in yesterday. Half of our group left in early afternoon, so we spent the first half of our day seeing people off. The four of us who were still remaining went to tea with Mary, which was fun as always. Afterwards, we went with Frank down to Merano's botanical garden, which was beautiful and big and a lot of fun. They had a museum about waiters, as well as a ton of flowers and scenic hiking trails. We climbed up to a couple of viewing balconies, visited the aviary (where one of the birds took a great liking to my hair, haha), and just marveled at the natural beauty :) We had a late dinner in Merano, and then...we had to hike back up to the castle >.< But it's all good--we made it back not TERRIBLY late, haha.
Today was a good last day :) In the morning, Frank took us up to Sammy's ice cream shop (which has the most delicious handmade gelato!), and we went grocery shopping. After lunch, we went around with Frank and said goodbye to all the animals. Our last tea with Mary was a delight once again (and I sang "Da Hai a Gu Xiang" to her! Fun stuff :D hehe). For dinner, Dr. Redman very kindly set up a pasta dinner for us with everyone who was left at the castle. I'm so glad I stayed! It was a lot of fun and deliciousness and good conversation. :) I'm going to miss everyone a lot. Maaaaaaan...leaving never gets easy, does it?
Alright, time to finish packing and sleep. Off to Munich tomorrow!
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