Monday, March 26, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Spring Break 2007
Back to traveling!
I boarded my plane at JFK on Friday night (3/9) at about 9pm. I had a layover in London and landed in Hamburg, Germany at around 6pm on Saturday (3/10). Svenja, Dabel, and Nabou picked me up from the bus station in Hamburg. We went shopping at a local grocery and then headed to Svenja's house for a night of Fondue and catching up. Svenja is a family friend of my grandparents and it was great to hear what she has been up to and get to know Nabou (1 1/2 years old) and Dabel. They have a lovely home in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Hamburg. Sunday, we went to breakfast with some of Svenja's friends and then spent the day in Hamburg. We went to a park and we went on a river tour. Hamburg is the major port city in Germany so it was neat to see all the different freight ships from all over the world. We had an early dinner and then I was off on a train to my next stop; Rachel! It was such a great weekend seeing Svenja and it would have been great to stay even longer. We're joking now, that when Nabou is my age she'll come visit me across the world.
Sunday night (3/11), I arrived in Wittlich, Germany at about midnight where Rachel and Tom picked me up at a dark and abandoned train station. We headed to the base, hung out for a little while, and went to bed. It had been 8 months since I'd seen Rachel and it was like no time had passed at all. I was so excited to get to spend the week with her! So, Monday (3/12) we woke up and Rachel drove her and me to Cologne. We walked around, shopped, took pics, and had a very nice relaxed day. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny and probably in the 60s. Cologne is about 2 hours from Rachel's base. We left there and went back to have dinner with all of Rachel and Tom's friends and co-workers at a yummy Italian restaurant. So now, I actually have faces to put with all the names.
Tuesday (3/13), Rachel and I packed our bags and headed for Munich. Munich is a 5 hour drive from the base. The weather was great again, and the road trip was fun. We got to Munich, checked into a hostel and parked the car... weirdest car parking experience ever! Rachel drives her car down a small alley way, where we assumed there would be a turn to a parking garage. There was just an alley way in between the walls of 2 buildings, so Rachel backed out. Then, we followed the girl working at the hostel, down the same alley way really confused of where she wanted us to park. She walks up to a set of double doors, and takes a lock off. She basically just looks at us, assuming we know what to do. So Rachel drives into this "room" just big enough for a car, parks and gets out. The girl locks the car in, pushes a button and tells us that we will meet the car down stairs. It was so cool - a car elevator. So after some crazy manuvers, Rach skillfully parked the car in the world's smallest parking lot, and we were off on our Munich adventure. (Later, we were able to ride the elevator up with the car!)
We walked around Munich, and I was able to point out things I recognized from my trip with Erika. It was cool how I quickly I remembered it all. So we walked, took some pictures, and we went to the train station for dinner. It sounds odd, but it was crazy packed with good things to eat. We're indecisive girls, so we shared a tomato mozerella sandwich and vegetable tofu stirfry. Then, we took a nap to prepare ourselves for the night. (It was probably around 9pm). Our night wasn't too exciting but we did put some makeup on and head to a nearby cafe/bar. We sat for about an hour just chit-chatting and drinking Riesling.
Wednesday (3/14), we put on our athletic gear and got ready for a bike tour. We went to meet our tour guides, and to our dismay the tour had been canceled. But the leprechan and his Australian buddy directed us to where we would be able to rent our own bikes and do our own tour. It ended up working out a lot better because we were able to just do whatever we wanted for about half the price. We rode through the Englicsher Garten, a huge beautiful park in Munich, and we rode through the city, stopping to relax on the grass, and stopping to eat at an awesome farmer's market. That day was the warmest day I think, so we were so lucky to be riding our bikes all over the city. We returned the bikes and went to the Hofbrauhaus, a famous beer hall. We ordered a Bavarian cheese platter and the biggest beer I've ever seen in my life. Also, there was a pretzel lady walking around who we of course flagged down to get the biggest soft pretzel I've ever seen in my life. We ate and drank while listening to crazy German men sing and yell and hit their glasses together. After lowering our better judgement a little bit, we thought it would be a good idea to go shopping... And 60 euro later I some cute stuff from H&M. We then, went back to the Hostel, took another preparation nap, got dressed up in our tall shoes, and hit the town... Well we tried to hit the town. Apparently the "biggest discotec area in all of Europe" doesn't move during the week. So after a crazy long subway ride, and walking what Rachel would say was miles in our heels, we came across this glowing-neon lighted area. The only places that were open were a strip club and a kereoke bar. We left, we took the trek back to the train station and the night ended with pizza and beer. (of course, we had fun the whole time!)
Thursday (3/15), we had to get back on the road. But before we did, we had to stop at a local bakery where we drooled just looking at all the elaborate things we could buy. Another 5 hour trip to the AF base. We picked Tom up and went out for Chinese food. That was like the best egg roll I've ever had, and then I ordered some crazy seafood dish with a lot of unidentifiable objects. mmm... We went back, packed again and got ready for our next adventure- Dublin!
Friday (3/16), we woke up at the butt crack of dawn, stressfully raced around trying not to forget anything (which I ended up forgetting my camera), and Rachel, Tom, and I headed to Frankfurt for our flight. We arrived in Dublin later that day, got to the hotel, realizing that there were only 2 beds for 8 people, and then we headed to the city center. We ate lunch in the hotel before we left and had some traditional cabbage and potatoes, and Tom had corned beef. In the city, we attempted to tour the Guinness storehouse but the line stretched around the building and we only had 30 minutes before it closed. So we walked through Dublin and stopped at an Irish pub for our first pint of Guinness. Then, it took us an hour and a half to get back to the hotel because the Paddy's crowds were starting to arrive. We met Amanda, Jeff, Brittany, Tom and Dan at the hotel, made some plans, ate dinner, and went back to the city center for a very fun night out! We searched through the Temple Bar area for a place that would accomodate 8 people and found this awesome place called Mercantile. They had big tables where we could all hang out and just have fun. Everyone got to know each other while we played a fun game called Eff that Hand! It was such a fun group of people and I think everyone got along pretty well.
Saturday: St. Patrick's Day in Dublin! It was everything and more that I would expect - insane in both good and bad ways. Tom V, Dan, Brittany, Tom B, Rachel, and I got on our green attempted to go to the Guinness storehouse early in the morning - to no avail. But - we did see the St Patrick's Day parade. Well actually, we walked the entire 2 hour length of the parade trying to get to the factory. The parade was cool, the streets were filled with every type of person, including tons of leprechans! We couldn't see much because of the crowds, but the music was cool. We finally made it to the Guinness Storehouse and went right in. It's a self guided tour which includes a pint of Guinness and a lesson to pull the perfect pint. It was neat learning about the beer making process and the history and tradition of the company. At the end of the tour, we all poured our own pints, got cool certificates, and hung out in the gravity bar, a 360 degree glass room with the best view of Dublin. After the factory, we met up with Jeff and Amanda in Temple Bar again. All 8 of us got kabobs (meh- the food in Ireland pretty much sucks) and then we decided to split up and do some touristy shopping. We met up again, and after pushing ourselves through tons of drunken crowds, we got outside of the Temple Bar area to a little quieter place. We found a pretty well kept secret, another awesome place that would house 8 of us! So, we sat down, ordered some drinks and got to partying! We attempted to do a little more bar hopping but the night ended early and everything was packed. We got back to the hotel after waiting in a 2 hour line for a cab at about 4am, just in time to hug Rachel, Tom, and Brittany goodbye (they had an early flight).
Sunday, I headed back to school. All in all it was well worth how tired I am now, and the fact that I'll be in debt for a few months. It was such a great Spring Break!
I boarded my plane at JFK on Friday night (3/9) at about 9pm. I had a layover in London and landed in Hamburg, Germany at around 6pm on Saturday (3/10). Svenja, Dabel, and Nabou picked me up from the bus station in Hamburg. We went shopping at a local grocery and then headed to Svenja's house for a night of Fondue and catching up. Svenja is a family friend of my grandparents and it was great to hear what she has been up to and get to know Nabou (1 1/2 years old) and Dabel. They have a lovely home in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Hamburg. Sunday, we went to breakfast with some of Svenja's friends and then spent the day in Hamburg. We went to a park and we went on a river tour. Hamburg is the major port city in Germany so it was neat to see all the different freight ships from all over the world. We had an early dinner and then I was off on a train to my next stop; Rachel! It was such a great weekend seeing Svenja and it would have been great to stay even longer. We're joking now, that when Nabou is my age she'll come visit me across the world.
Sunday night (3/11), I arrived in Wittlich, Germany at about midnight where Rachel and Tom picked me up at a dark and abandoned train station. We headed to the base, hung out for a little while, and went to bed. It had been 8 months since I'd seen Rachel and it was like no time had passed at all. I was so excited to get to spend the week with her! So, Monday (3/12) we woke up and Rachel drove her and me to Cologne. We walked around, shopped, took pics, and had a very nice relaxed day. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny and probably in the 60s. Cologne is about 2 hours from Rachel's base. We left there and went back to have dinner with all of Rachel and Tom's friends and co-workers at a yummy Italian restaurant. So now, I actually have faces to put with all the names.
Tuesday (3/13), Rachel and I packed our bags and headed for Munich. Munich is a 5 hour drive from the base. The weather was great again, and the road trip was fun. We got to Munich, checked into a hostel and parked the car... weirdest car parking experience ever! Rachel drives her car down a small alley way, where we assumed there would be a turn to a parking garage. There was just an alley way in between the walls of 2 buildings, so Rachel backed out. Then, we followed the girl working at the hostel, down the same alley way really confused of where she wanted us to park. She walks up to a set of double doors, and takes a lock off. She basically just looks at us, assuming we know what to do. So Rachel drives into this "room" just big enough for a car, parks and gets out. The girl locks the car in, pushes a button and tells us that we will meet the car down stairs. It was so cool - a car elevator. So after some crazy manuvers, Rach skillfully parked the car in the world's smallest parking lot, and we were off on our Munich adventure. (Later, we were able to ride the elevator up with the car!)
We walked around Munich, and I was able to point out things I recognized from my trip with Erika. It was cool how I quickly I remembered it all. So we walked, took some pictures, and we went to the train station for dinner. It sounds odd, but it was crazy packed with good things to eat. We're indecisive girls, so we shared a tomato mozerella sandwich and vegetable tofu stirfry. Then, we took a nap to prepare ourselves for the night. (It was probably around 9pm). Our night wasn't too exciting but we did put some makeup on and head to a nearby cafe/bar. We sat for about an hour just chit-chatting and drinking Riesling.
Wednesday (3/14), we put on our athletic gear and got ready for a bike tour. We went to meet our tour guides, and to our dismay the tour had been canceled. But the leprechan and his Australian buddy directed us to where we would be able to rent our own bikes and do our own tour. It ended up working out a lot better because we were able to just do whatever we wanted for about half the price. We rode through the Englicsher Garten, a huge beautiful park in Munich, and we rode through the city, stopping to relax on the grass, and stopping to eat at an awesome farmer's market. That day was the warmest day I think, so we were so lucky to be riding our bikes all over the city. We returned the bikes and went to the Hofbrauhaus, a famous beer hall. We ordered a Bavarian cheese platter and the biggest beer I've ever seen in my life. Also, there was a pretzel lady walking around who we of course flagged down to get the biggest soft pretzel I've ever seen in my life. We ate and drank while listening to crazy German men sing and yell and hit their glasses together. After lowering our better judgement a little bit, we thought it would be a good idea to go shopping... And 60 euro later I some cute stuff from H&M. We then, went back to the Hostel, took another preparation nap, got dressed up in our tall shoes, and hit the town... Well we tried to hit the town. Apparently the "biggest discotec area in all of Europe" doesn't move during the week. So after a crazy long subway ride, and walking what Rachel would say was miles in our heels, we came across this glowing-neon lighted area. The only places that were open were a strip club and a kereoke bar. We left, we took the trek back to the train station and the night ended with pizza and beer. (of course, we had fun the whole time!)
Thursday (3/15), we had to get back on the road. But before we did, we had to stop at a local bakery where we drooled just looking at all the elaborate things we could buy. Another 5 hour trip to the AF base. We picked Tom up and went out for Chinese food. That was like the best egg roll I've ever had, and then I ordered some crazy seafood dish with a lot of unidentifiable objects. mmm... We went back, packed again and got ready for our next adventure- Dublin!
Friday (3/16), we woke up at the butt crack of dawn, stressfully raced around trying not to forget anything (which I ended up forgetting my camera), and Rachel, Tom, and I headed to Frankfurt for our flight. We arrived in Dublin later that day, got to the hotel, realizing that there were only 2 beds for 8 people, and then we headed to the city center. We ate lunch in the hotel before we left and had some traditional cabbage and potatoes, and Tom had corned beef. In the city, we attempted to tour the Guinness storehouse but the line stretched around the building and we only had 30 minutes before it closed. So we walked through Dublin and stopped at an Irish pub for our first pint of Guinness. Then, it took us an hour and a half to get back to the hotel because the Paddy's crowds were starting to arrive. We met Amanda, Jeff, Brittany, Tom and Dan at the hotel, made some plans, ate dinner, and went back to the city center for a very fun night out! We searched through the Temple Bar area for a place that would accomodate 8 people and found this awesome place called Mercantile. They had big tables where we could all hang out and just have fun. Everyone got to know each other while we played a fun game called Eff that Hand! It was such a fun group of people and I think everyone got along pretty well.
Saturday: St. Patrick's Day in Dublin! It was everything and more that I would expect - insane in both good and bad ways. Tom V, Dan, Brittany, Tom B, Rachel, and I got on our green attempted to go to the Guinness storehouse early in the morning - to no avail. But - we did see the St Patrick's Day parade. Well actually, we walked the entire 2 hour length of the parade trying to get to the factory. The parade was cool, the streets were filled with every type of person, including tons of leprechans! We couldn't see much because of the crowds, but the music was cool. We finally made it to the Guinness Storehouse and went right in. It's a self guided tour which includes a pint of Guinness and a lesson to pull the perfect pint. It was neat learning about the beer making process and the history and tradition of the company. At the end of the tour, we all poured our own pints, got cool certificates, and hung out in the gravity bar, a 360 degree glass room with the best view of Dublin. After the factory, we met up with Jeff and Amanda in Temple Bar again. All 8 of us got kabobs (meh- the food in Ireland pretty much sucks) and then we decided to split up and do some touristy shopping. We met up again, and after pushing ourselves through tons of drunken crowds, we got outside of the Temple Bar area to a little quieter place. We found a pretty well kept secret, another awesome place that would house 8 of us! So, we sat down, ordered some drinks and got to partying! We attempted to do a little more bar hopping but the night ended early and everything was packed. We got back to the hotel after waiting in a 2 hour line for a cab at about 4am, just in time to hug Rachel, Tom, and Brittany goodbye (they had an early flight).
Sunday, I headed back to school. All in all it was well worth how tired I am now, and the fact that I'll be in debt for a few months. It was such a great Spring Break!
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