Lost in Translation

Monday, October 19, 2009


Decided to go to Amberg and Regensburg today since the weather looked best there. So I walk out of the hotel to head to the train station and it's super cold and foggy out; I would have rather stayed in bed. Walking to the train station didn't take as long as I thought so I got there super early, buy my day pass train ticket and wait. The train to Schwandorf, where I will transfer to Amberg, finally arrives and I hop on board. It looks like the train from Hogwarts! There are little compartments with 6 seats each and a hallway on the other side of the train. Most had one or two people in them, so I just picked one at random and sat with a couple German ladies. A little while later a crazy woman walked in to check our tickets. I got yelled at because I forgot to write my name on my pass, ok maybe not really yelled at, but when you don't know the language and someone is being strict with you it really translates to screaming. Then she asked, in English sort of, what my stop was. I told her Schwandorf, she said tons more things in German that of course I couldn't understand and then left our compartment. So now I was super confused; was I even on the right train?


At the next stop it seemed like everyone got off, so of course I did too to see if I was on the wrong train. I still don't really know what was going on but I went to the front of the train and there was a sign on one of the doors that said Schwandorf so I jumped on there and looked for a seat. I found an empty compartment, yay!, and sat down. Then I noticed there was luggage in there....oops, looks like I just crashed someone else's party. I was soon joined by a large group of people with lots of luggage, I think the train continued to Prague so that's most likely why I saw so much luggage, and then the people who already had their things in the room came back. So then there was lots of back and forth in German about what was going on. As long as I got to keep my seat, I didn't care. After all this the compartment was full. Just me, half of the group of young people, and two kinda creepy looking European dudes. I guess only one from the young people group spoke English because he is the one who asked me if his group could sit in there. I was just really hoping at this point that the train would stop in Schwandorf, which just happened to be the very next stop, yay! And I actually heard the train guy say Schwandorf on the speakers so I knew it was coming up. So I get up and like crawl over everyone else to get to the hallway, the English speaking dude asks if I have any luggage, nope, and I wait with everyone else in the hall for the train to stop so I can go to a different platform and wait for the train to Amberg.


That train ride was only about 15 minutes and then I was in Amberg. The Bahnhof is right across the from the main street going into the city, I think that is what persuaded me to visit. So I walk into town, and there's not many people there, and really no tourists. It's a nice little town though with a long street running through it with lots of shopping. I walked down that main street towards the square but stopped when I saw a tourist info center. It's always a good idea to pop in there and grab a map, although I probably should have asked what there is to see in the town, but oh well. I continued on to the square, which isn't much compared to what I've seen before, just the main church in town, a tiny markets and more shops. So I continued walking down the street towards the river that runs through the town. I heard there is a bridge in Amberg that looks like a pair of eye glasses from the reflection of the bridge in the river. So that's what I was looking for, I couldn't see it from where I was so I walked to another bridge behind the church to look from there and still couldn't see it. I never found the bridge, but looking back on my pictures I think if I had just gone down the river a little farther I might have found it, oh well.


Across the bridge in the other side of the town was more shopping, not really anything different, just more of the same. I did check out a bookstore and bought a kids books about a cat. I love it! I figured it would be easier for someone (Allyson) to translate, easier than Twilight or Coraline. After the bookstore I walked around a little more before going back to the train station to grab a bite to eat and catch an earlier train to Regensburg (Reagansburg). The cafe was cute, there was even a section in the cooler for "American drinks"! After a short wait I got on my train to Schwandorf where I would have to switch trains again to get to Regensburg. Problem. I tried to get on the Regensburg train when I got to Schwandorf but there was no one on it, and then some guy approaches me and tells me I have to get off, at least that's what I guess he was saying. So no onto plan b or whatever. I go inside the station and find when the next train to Regensburg arrives, not for another hour! Yuck. That really tempted me to just stay on the train and go back to Freising, but I was determined to check out Regensburg so the day wouldn't be a total waste.
So there I sat in the crappy Schwandorf bahnhof waiting until the train finally came and I got to Regensburg an hour later than I had wanted to. The main tourist area of the city is a bit of a walk from the station, and I was told that I could take the Aldstadt bus and use my Bavaria day pass (thanks Marissa!) so that's what I did, kinda. I don't really know exactly what bus I got on, I think it said something about Aldstadt, but I do know that we went a different way than the map showed at the bus stop. Whatever. So i hopped off when we got to the river incase it wasn't the right bus. It ended up working out for the best since I wanted to see the river and the famous bridge anyway, so why not just start there and work my way back? I walked about halfway across the pedestrian bridge to take in the view of the city from the river. Very Pretty, you could just see the tall gothic towers of the town cathedral. After that I made my way to the cathedral by following a few signs and checking my guidebook.


What an amazing church, it reminded me of St. Vitus in Prague and pictures of the cathedral in Barcelona that Gaudi designed. The architecture is so frothy it appears to be dripping cement. I went inside to check it out and to have a sit and look in my guidebook for the location of the ruins of a Roman city gate from 179AD. Well, I'm fairly certain the stupid guidebook was wrong because I went to exactly where it showed me on the map and there was nothing there. I was beginning to run out of time and I hate walking in circles, but I finally found it and it really wasn't much. Still cool to think about how old the city is though. After that mess I went to the bus stop outside the cathedral, but it turns out that I was on the wrong side of the street to catch the bus to the station. Of course. So there goes one bus I should have been on. I walk across the street and had to wait ten minutes for the next one to finally show. I have no idea what the purpose of that other bus stop with the same name as the stop I needed, but whatever. I still made it to the station with a little time to spare before my train arrived. I sat in a compartment with three other women and one I think got in trouble for not having the right ticket. I wish I could have understood the situation, but oh well. I had to wait a little while for Dad and his coworker to pick me up from the Freising station, but I didn't mind after all the waiting I had done today and that meant I didn't have to walk back in the dark and cold evening!

Sleepy day in Munich

Sunday October 18, 2009

Today we didn't do much. We slept pretty late, or at least I did, and then headed out around noon on a walk to the train station in Freising. It didn't take too long to get there and the station is a lot nicer than I thought it would be. We found the track for the S bahn line and then I had to figure out the German ticket machine. Yeah that was pretty difficult since I know like no German. But I figured something out and got a partner ticket for three zones. We had to wait quite a while for the next train, so I was playing with the ticket machine to see what I'll have to get for my travels the rest of the week. Then I realized that we didn't exactly have the right ticket since Freising is like four zones from Munich or something really confusing. So I bought another ticket to cover what we didn't have and soon after that our train showed up. It took pretty long to get into the city because of all the stops along the way, but we finally got to the Marienplatz which is the main tourist area of the city. Coming out of the subway it was so cold and wet, miserable. I was starving so we just headed to the first place we saw. The food and service was good, I had currywurst, and after that we walked around the pedestrian shopping areas. Everything was closed because it was Sunday so there was pretty much nothing to do. We stopped in a couple churches that I saw last time and then we found a starbucks. After that it started snowing, really wet yucky snow, so we decided to just give up and start heading back to Freising. We got down to the S bahn track but there weren't any trains listed going to Freising, so we took a train on the same line going the opposite way thinking we could just ride it until it turned around. Yeah, apparently you couldn't do that on this train and some train guy yelled at us that we had to get off here. Oh well, at least the next train to Freising was there right away, only it was two tracks away. So we had to quickly run down under the tracks and run up to the right track and jump on. Then we thought everything was fine till we find out that the train splits before Freising and the back half goes to the airport. Of course we're on the back half, so at the last stop before the split we had to get off and run to the front section and get on, while everyone with luggage ran to the back. We finally got back to Freising and walked around downtown a bit before heading back to the hotel. It's a cute town that seems to have a lot going on, too bad nothing is open on Sunday! So we go back to the hotel and just veg out for a bit. Then Dad's coworker Mike arrives and our group goes to dinner at some place off the town square. I guess that's about it, didn't really do much today, just trying to get the lay of the land so hopefully I'll be able to understand what's going on tomorrow when I have to go it alone...

This is something I have to do for myself

Saturday October 17, 2009

First of all KLM is one of the nicest airlines I have ever flown. The best part, besides awesome layover in Amsterdam the Venice of the north, is each personal tv comes with a little remote so you're not forced to watch whatever tv/movie is on the 3 to 4 movie channels they give you. So you get to pick your movie or show and start it whenever you want. And you get to pause and rewind/fastforward just like a dvr! Best thing ever. Why don't all international planes have this feature?? One more thing about KLM, the food is just ok but reminded me of ikea. yuck.

Alright, so flight was good. I actually slept most of the way like I wanted to so I would be able to function in the city. Side note: they sure like to drink on this airline. They kept pushing beer, wine, and after dinner bailey's shots haha. We landed early, about 7am and I made my way to the arrivals area for passport control which was a total joke. No line, took about 1 minute. The guy was cute though, and told me Centraal was just 15 min away on the train and I should be back in no time when I told him I was just here on a layover to see the Anne Frank Huis. Thanks rando Dutch guy. After that was baggage claim, which was easy since I had none, and then I just walked through a door that said nothing to claim and I was out into a train station. The train station part of Schipol is huge and open with lots of shops and people all over. There were little machines that you could get tickets from but I went over to the huge ticket booths and bought mine from a person. I just wanted to make super sure I was getting the right ticket and headed to the right platform; not like it even matter because no one ever asked to see a ticket from me. So a few minutes after I go down to the tracks the train gets there, and its a double decker...umm, awesome! The doors open to a little platform and you can either go upstairs or down to two different seating areas. It was really nice for a little 15 minute train ride, you really get your 7 euro worth haha. Next stop was Centraal station Amsterdam.

Walking out of central was little scary. It wasn't at all crowded yet, with what I hear to be beggars and drug pushers, but the sun had barely started to rise and the area around the station was under construction. So it was hard to gain my bearings, but I just followed a few people and ended up on Damrak, the main tourist street in the city. And this is where I got a little lost. I decided to go to Anne Frank first since it was the most important thing to me, and I heard the line gets super long if you wait too late. So I was just walking down Damrak looking for something bigger than a tiny/scary alley to cross over to the outer canal rings where the house is. After a while I reach the Dam Square and there was a carnival set up, probably is super cute at night. I decided then to turn right down a street bigger than an alley but after walking it for a few minutes I began to wonder why it's talking so long. So i turned up a canal to an even bigger street I could see straight ahead that looked super busy, always a good sign. I was right, the Westerkirk Church was right up on the corner and Anne Frank is like next door to the church!


Feeling accomplished I sat down on a little bench outside the church to look at my map and see what went wrong...I just went too far south on Damrak. I should have turned at another street that was hidden by the stupid carnival set up. Oh well. So I walked up the block to Anne Frank and there were already people in line, and it was 30 minutes before it opened! I wandered up the street a little and took a few photographs before settling into the line behind them. The people in front of me were in Ams on a layover as well, on their way home to New Jersey from Africa. It rained a little off and on until the house opened, and the line was pretty deep behind me. The museum is awesome. You start in the warehouse and offices and then make your way up to the secret annex. It's a self guided tour, but there is so much to read, watch, and look at. Something I really liked about the museum were the quotes from Anne's diary on the wall that pertained to whatever was on exhibit in that room. After going through all the office rooms and up some steep stairs it was time to go behind the moveable staircase and up to the annex. The stairs up were extremely steep and very tiny and led to what was Anne's parents and sister's room. Otto Frank, Anne's dad kept a map of Normandy on the wall and tracked attacks made in the war, and he marked Anne and her sister Margot's height as they grew in the annex. The next room is Anne's that she shared with the dentist. The walls are still covered with all the photos and postcared she put up to make living there more bearable. Being in her room where she sat at her desk and wrote her diary was unreal. Up another set of stairs, again unbelieveably steep, narrow and tiny, was the main room/kitchen of the apartment which was also room to the Van Pels. Their son Peter lived in the stairwell to the attic next to their room. After leaving the annex and finding out the fates of all who lived there, they have Anne's actual diary on display. Anne had plans to turn her diary into a novel after the war, so there is a section in the diary room where you can see revisions she had typed up in preparation for publication. Another cool part of the museum is right at the end there is Shelly Winters Oscar she won for her portrayal of Mrs. Van Pels in the movie based on Anne Frank's diary. She told Otto that she would give it to the museum if she won, and she actually did. Leaving the museum and walking past the front of the little brownstone that contains the secret annex, you can't help but look at the canal and think about the face that this is the last thing Anne saw of Amsterdam as she was being taken from her hiding place to Auschwtiz.


On that note it started to rain. Of course I didn't put my umbrella in my carry on bag, wasn't sure if it could come through security, so I put the hood up on my jacket and headed back to the main part of the city. A few times it really started pouring so i hid under store overhangs until it let up. At one point I ran into the people from New Jersey, it was funny seeing familiar faces in a city where you know no one. Eventually it stopped raining and I turned a few corners and found the cat boat!


De Poezenboot is a house boat on the Singel canal that gives refuge to stray cats in the city. I'm guessing there are a lot because I saw two earlier at the church next to Anne Frank Huis. I didn't see any cats in the boat, but I just had to go check it out. You can even go inside and play with the cats, but I wasn't there the right day. By then I was feeling pretty tired but it was only like 10:30, so I made my way back to Damrak. I had to take a few scary alleys, that probably aren't so scary as I think they are, but I made it to one of the main pedestrian shopping streets which was super crowded by now. I checked out a few stores, but I still wasn't feeling great so I continued to Damrak and then it started randomly hailing/sleeting. I had just crossed the street behind this tram and I thought it was just the tram kicking up rocks, it took a minute to realize it wasn't.


It only lasted a minute and I made it back to Damrak where I saw a bunch of canal tour places. I picked one at random because it was fairly cheap and looked like it was about to leave. I thought this would be a great way to see more of the city and kill some time. It was alright. I got a window seat but my window couldn't slide open so a lot of my photos have a glare. The tour went around the main canal of the city and pointed out many interesting sites, we even went by the cat boat! It was a round trip so at the end we were brought back to Damrak and I decided to just go back to Schiphol.


This time Central was much more crowded, but I was able to look at the boards and find my platform right away. The train came not much later and I hopped on like a pro. I started a conversation with the lady sitting across from me, i figured she was doing a layover like me since she was looking at a boarding pass. She thought I was European haha! We talked a little bit about where she was from (Seattle), where she was going (Dusseldorf, Germany) and how this was her first time overseas. We split up at the Schiphol train station because she had to go find the locker she had stored her carryon bag. Security wasn't too bad, and I didn't have to go through passport control since I was just going to Munich. Ummm, ok whatever. Dad and I landed in Munich around the same time, met up and caught a cab to the hotel. We planned on walking around after dinner but it was super busy and took too long and we were exhausted after the trip so it was time for bed.


***sorry this is sooooo long, and it took even longer for me to type up! I might not get another one done before I get back, but eventually I'll post all my entries...***

6 months lata

So here we are, six months after my first journey to Europe, although it feels like years ago, and I am preparing to do it all again. The whole thing is pretty spur of the moment, I bought my ticket like a month before I was scheduled to leave, and here I am a little over a week before I board a plane and hop over the pond back to the motherland. I decided to go because my dad will be going over for business, and this way I can go and get out of paying for a hotel! The type A personality in me has everything pretty well planned out, so here is a little preview of what you'll be reading/seeing in my blog while I am overseas......


8 hour layover in Amsterdam

train day trips to Lindau Amberg Regensburg and Salzburg

and of course a full day or two in Munich! Even though I was just there in March, there is still plenty to see and do, and you know I love just sitting on a bench and people watching :)

dad and I will be staying in Freising, a little town just north of Munich with the oldest brewery in the world!

the great thing about Germany/Bavaria is the Bayern Ticket. It's like a day pass to ride any regional train in Bavaria (Bayern) for only 20 Euros! That's how I'll be getting around to anywhere outside Munich, I hope it's not too confusing haha.

guess that's all....wish me luck!

Jenny


ps...this time around I am determined to buy a swatch of felt from the felt store! We saw the store back in March and I stepped in and snapped a pic and I must get some this time. Not sure what I will be doing with the felt, but I love that only in Germany is there an entire store devoted to felt haha!

The surreal life/it was all a dream

Friday March 27, 2009
I truly can not believe that we have already been back from our European vacation for a week already. Going back to “real life” was hard at first, but the routine is getting easier now that we are a week out. It really feels like the whole trip was just a dream and that we never left and came back. I hate how I felt so stressed and unprepared before the trip and so I kept telling myself it’s only a week; I wish i would have like calmed down and enjoyed the whole experience more. Not to say that I didn’t, because I certainly did have a great time, but I know that it could have been even better. I guess that is what return trips to Europe are for! At least with this trip all we had to do was show up, and I think I miss that the most! Being told what time you had to be somewhere, not having to worry about breakfast and dinner, always having transportation, and knowledgeable guides to show you around the city.

Once we actually got the hang of the trip it was relatively stress free, at least for me haha. I really miss seeing most of the people everyday. Most, not all haha. Some of those people I can certainly do without seeing for a long time! We were very fortunate in that we had an excellent driver and tour director. They really went above and beyond what I think was considered their job requirements, and our tour was so much better because of that. And the kids! I would have never thought before going on this trip that I could have so much fun with people 5+ years younger than me, but I did. It just feels so strange to me to be friends with people who aren’t as independent as my older friends. Oh well, maybe the group will have a reunion or something, but I know it won’t be the same. It’s just like with my Hong Kong group. Once you leave the crazy living together, sleep deprived, foreign bubble, the group’s not as tight when you see each other after returning. Its funny what happens when you go on big trips with a group or people you don't know too well. You end up banding together and becoming friends with and meeting people you would have never talked to normally because the situation is special and calls for it. Then you come back and it’s just not the same. Ok enough with the Debbie Downer moment!

The trip was amazing and I can’t wait to go back someday. I would really love to go back and explore more of Eastern Europe like we did on this trip, like Poland, Hungary, and Austria. The most fascinating aspect of these countries is all their recent history with World War II and communism. I think that even though I didn’t love it at first, Berlin was one of my favorite places on the trip. I definitely feel like I need to go back there and explore it more. Prague of course was amazing and I would go back there in a heartbeat. There was so much more to see in that city! Munich was lovely, but I feel like I saw pretty much everything I wanted to. I would go back of course, but I would plan on spending more time in other places. There is way too much to do and see and never enough time or money!Well, I guess that brings my little email blogs to an end for now. I’m working on making a movie thing using some of our pics and German music of course as well as a book with select photos to show everyone. But really, you just gotta go there to fully understand it! Next trip: hopefully back to Asia! I love that I am now able to compare Asia and Europe, and appreciate each for their pros and cons. I’ll have to get back to you on which I prefer haha!

Into the Alps

Thursday March 19, 2009

Today we took the bus to Oberammergau, a small town in the alps best known for it's passion play. During the 17th century the town was spared from the plague so they vowed to give thanks to god by performing the passion play. The next play is in 2010, and all the actors are locals who must live in the town for a certain period of time and I think you have to start preparing for your part three years in advance. The town was cute and had snow on the ground. It also had great views of the nearby mountains. The road leading up to the town in the valley was quite scary, very narrow and winding roads in our large bus. We spent an hour in the town shopping, looking around, and trying to avoid snowball fights. I actually bought something for myself! I found a sparkly hair barette/broach that looks kinda like a star or a snowflake. I love it :) we spent a little more time shopping before getting back on the bus to head to the castle.

We drove farther into the german countryside towards Neuschwanstein and ally and I began to get nervous about the hike up the mountain we were about to do to get to the castle. When you buy your tickets they give you group a set time that you must be up at the castle and inside the gate to start the tour. We had heard it was about a 40 min hike and we were very worried about how long it would take us, since we barely did that hill the other day. So we ate our spatzel lunch in a little bit of a nervous hurry so maybe we could get a head start, but we still had to wait on our group. We started up the mountain around 12:45 with the group but soon got left behind. We took several stops along the way to take in the views, and to catch our breath and rest our legs. We reached what we thought was the halfway point after about 25 min and stopped for a longer break. We started back up again, rounded another corner and took another break. As I was looking around to see where we were I turned my head to look behind us and right above us just a little farther was the castle! What a great motivation. We could see the entrance and didn't have that much farther to go. We rounded another corner and stopped for a short break where I just had to call dad to tell him that we had done it. We felt litterally on top of the world :) the castle was so beautiful, and the views below were awesome. We got there far before our time so we were able to look around the outside and catch our breath and cool down. Even though it was freezing, we were hot and clammy after the hike. The castle belonged to a king who only lived there for 100 days, and it was never even finished. The areas we saw were beautiful, lots of painted walls, mosaic tiles, ornate wood carvings, and even running water in the kings bed chamber. The king also had a room the looked like a cave, don't know why but it was cool. They don't let you take photos in the castle bc it's all been copyrighted, but I really wanted to. The tour was pretty short since very little of the castle was finished, but the parts we saw had mostly original funishings and tapestries which was very cool. After the tour we walked back down the mtn which was a lot easier than going up haha and ally and I did a little more souvenier shopping. Then it started to snow! How picture perfect.

Soon it was time to board the bus back to Munich for our last group dinner. We got to the restaurant an hour too early to go in so we hung out in the train station across the street till it was time bc the neighborhood we were in seemed kinda sketch. Then it started pouring huge snowflakes. Biggest I think I've ever seen! We had a little fun with that while the canadians made fun of us. Dinner was just ok, very touristy brats and potatoes. Then we got back on the bus headed for the hotel. This was to be our last real bus ride :( so of course we had to listen to our mixed tape the tour guide made. Then before we got off we tried to sing deep in the heart of Texas but no one really knew it. We said danke to our driver one last time and headed inside where we hung out in the lobby for a bit before going up to pack and sleep for our 3am wake up. Right as we were leaving the lobby one of the boys from the other group came up to ally to get her name so he couldtalk to her on facebook. How cute! Ok guess that's it. I'll write one more summing up my last thoughts when I get home, I'll get to use a real keyboard!!

Jenny

Ps. Last nite we were almost back to the hotel when our tour guide alba turn around and handed me something. I figured it was just a chocolate, but it was her bracelet! I had made a comment earlier in the week about how I liked it, and so she gave it to me! Made me want to cry, I really hope I can see her and everyone else again someday. It's good to know that there are still nice people in the world, and all over it. :)

I feel so accomplished!

See that tiny looking castle up on the mountain? I totally climbed all the way up there to get to it :D

Aaand it's totes snowing right now! I'll write more later, we're about to watch a movie on the way back to Munchen (Munich)

Das alles ist Deutschland! Das alles sind wir

Wednesday March 18, 2009



Today began with a bus tour of Munich where we saw a lot of the major sites. It wasn't as good as the Berlin and Prague tours, but we still saw some very interesting things. We drove around the outside of Munich's city center and saw what remains of the wall and gates that used to enclose the city many years ago, then we went out to the summer palace which was so beautiful. The palce has an interesting history and several swans that live in the ponds and canals in front. There is also a shallow canal along the road leading up to the palace which freezes over in the winter for ice skating, and it was still partially frozen.

After the bus tour we were dropped off at the opera house near the marienplatz where the town hall and glockenspiel are. It was super sunny and i was sad i forgit my sunglasses, my eyes suffered all day! We got there just in time to watch the hourly show put on by the clock, again another pickpocket opportunity. The show was cool and I loved how at the end the Bavarian jouster defeats the French guy haha! Then we broke into groups for lunch. We headed down to a nearby market to enjoy a cheap meal of brats and potatoes. I loved taking photos of the people shopping and eating and of course all the market offerings. We had a little time before we had to meet back up so we shopped a little on the way and found an awesome hat shop. I really wanted to buy one but it was 300€ :( they were all so cute!

Then it was back on the bus for the short ride to the Dachau concentration camp. That was amazing. I mean everyone who takes a history class knows the basic story of what happened to prisoners sent to the camps during Hitler's regime, but to be there and see it for yourself makes it feel so much more real. Not much of the original building are left, but they have rebuilt two barracks for tours. There is also a museum inside the original main office building where you can watch a short video about the history of the camp and the war. After taking in the movie, we headed to the far back corner of the camp for the crematorium and gas chamber. Standing alone in the chamber, although it was never used at this camp, was probably one of the eriest moment of my life. I'm so glad we got the chance to experience this piece of history. It really makes the trip come full circle. From the bombings and communism in Berlin, to the Jewish quarter in Prague, to the nuremberg riot colliseum, and now to one of the longest running concentration camps; I really feel like I've seen it all.

After that humbling experience, we headed back to marienplatz for some free time. As a group we went to a few churches, one if which you can pay a couple € and climb the tower and get a great view of the city. Yeah I didn't do that. The stairwell was about a million yrs old and tiny and steep so I kept a couple kids with me and we hung out at the bottom. I finally bought something for myself while we waited! This candle store across from the church sold little gold pigs with a 1cent coin in them, they are supposed to bring good luck so I bought one its so random and cute :) then we walked to a couple more churches and ended up at a saturn store to look for a couple cds. We didn't find one of the ones we wanted, but we got the other one and we even got to listen to it on the bus later!

After Saturn we broke into our smaller groups (go team captain crunch!) to get some shopping done. We went in several stores and walked all over the oldest parts of Munich, but ended up not really finding much of anything that I was dying to have. Makes me wish I had spent more of my money in Berlin when I saw things I liked :( oh well! We met up and went to dinner as a group to the hard rock cafe, yay American food? I hate when the kids complain about wanting a hamburger and stuff. I mean we are only here a week, I think you can deal. After dinner we didn't have enough time to go into the hoffbrauhaus to drink, but I did go inside and look around and take a few pics just to say I've been there. We walked back to the bus and as soon as we pulled away from the curb everyone wanted to hear our favorite german song haha. It is a really catchy song, the title of this blog is the chorus of the song, we were kinda sad when we couldn't find that cd bc we know it has a few songs on it that we liked. Guess we'll all try iTunes when we get home! It was off to bed after a round of uno, that I almost won, and a few Chuck Norris jokes. Tomorrow we climb a mountain to a famous castle. Wish us luck!


Jenny


Sorry if you notice any misspelled places in any of these, I'm doing this on my phone and don't have my guidebooks handy!

Autobahn through the german countryside

Tuesday March 17, 2009



Today was mostly a bus day. We left Prague early and all fell asleep, while I should have been writing! After a rest stop break where ally and I spent the last of our crowns on random Czech candies, we played games and listened to more german music. Everyone loves this one song and a few of the others so I was able to use my iPhone to identify the artist and title and I think ally might buy a couple of the CDs in Munich.

Then we arrived in Nuremberg. What a beautiful town! It was heavily bombed during the war bc this is where Hitler had riots gathering the Nazi people. It's also where the Reichstag passed a law to make the Jews no longer citizens. We started at the castle which is at the top of a hill and gives a great view of the old town below. We walked down to the main town square from the castle and it was a steep hill with cobblestones so of course I was the last one all the way down bc of my photo opp stops and carefully trying not to fall on my face/camera. The square was adorable. This is exactly what you picture when you think Germany/Europe. I think I say that about everything though haha.

So we reach the square and there is a fountain on the side near the road to the church. The story with the fountain is that there is a gold ring on one side of the gate and if you turn the ring and make a wish it will come true. These Europeans and their obsession with paganism desguised as Christianity. Of course I had to turn the ring and make a wish :P then we broke into our groups to have a few hrs of free time to eat and shop. My group of girls, dubbed team captain crunch, decided to eat first. So we headed over to bratwursthausle for their famous bratwurst. It was very good, I highly reccommend it. We also met a fellow Texan while waiting for a table. The owner was super nice and explained all about the restaurant to us. They butcher their own pigs under the place! We all got potatoe salad with our brats bc none of us can stand the smell of saurkraut haha. After we filled our bellies with yummy food, we headed across the square to the year round Christmas store kathe wohlfahrt. So many beautiful things but very fragile and expensive. I bought something for our ornament exchange at grandmas, so hope you get my bag! Ally bought something for grandmas kitchen, and another girl bought some Easter items bc the store also has seasonal things besides all the Christmas.

Then we went to the gingerbread, lebkuchen, store and ally bought a variety pack, mainly bc it came in a cute blue tin with kittens on it! After the shopping we walked around the square where they were having a market with all kinds of flowers, fruits and vegetables. I loved taking photos of this and I know I got some great ones to print and frame when I get home. We also went into the church on the square, I took a few pics but it was nothing too special so I snuck out to take more photos of the market. Then it was time to head back to the bus. My legs almost fell off my body and waved a white flag of surrender when we heard we would be climbing up that steep steep hill back to the castle to the bus. Ally and I finished last and had to take a couple pauses but we did it! Hopefully the neuschwanstein hike Thursday won't kill me! Dad you did it right? I'm scared haha.

After we all made it back to the bus our guide alba informed us that our driver was willing to take us to the place where Hitler gave speeches and comanded his armies. That was amazing and I'm so glad we got the chance to see it and climb the steps.I wonder why they haven't torn it down since it is a part if Germany's darkest history. Irregardles of that it is an amazing piece of architecture. We then got back on the bus for another two hours to Munich. We played a little quiz game and I got one right so I got a chocolate, and then of course we had to listen to our favorite german songs again haha! Our hotel is pretty nice this time, even though it is pretty far from any part of the city. Tomorrow we are doing a bus tour of the city and then going to Dachau and then back to Munich for sight seeing and shopping. Ok time for a shower and bed. Danke for reading!


Jenny

Praha is "poor but sexy"

Monday March 16, 2009

I really wish I could have visited Prague a few years ago, bc now it is kinda a tourist trap haha! It's become very westernized but it still retains most of it's old world charm. Our day in Prague started out on our bus. We picked up our tour guide for the morning and headed up to the castle and st vitus cathedral. Our guide today was from Denmark but lives in Prague during the busy season. The cathedral was started in the 14th century and took like 600 years to be completed. I think it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I'm so glad I spent too much money on my camera bc my photos of those stained glass windows will be worth it. The castle or palace was kinda lame, but the location gave a fantastic view of the city below. The we walked down about a million steps, thank god we started up there and didn't have to walk up to it later! Prague is very hilly, which I think makes it more beautiful and scenic, but it also can be a huge pain.

So we walked down and around a few corners to the famous Charles bridge. It's a walking bridge across the Vltava river from the lesser town to the oldest parts of the city. On the bridge are several people selling things and drawing pictures. Not so much today bc it was wet and drizzling, but normally. The story of the bridge is that this king didn't trust his wife and he wanted her priest to tell him if she had confessed anything. The priest refused and so the king had the priest thrown off the bridge, and when he hit the water five stars flew up from the spot. Some locals pulled his body from the rice and buried him against the kings wishes. Many years later catholic officials needed saints for the Czech people so they canonized that priest, dug up his remains and placed them in the cathedral, and put a statue of him on the Charles bridge. Now they saw that if you touch a certain place on his statue and make a wish it will come true :)

After we walked across we turned and headed towards the Jewish quarter. We turned down another street into the quarter and a few blocks later arrived at the old town square. The weather was finally starting to clear up but it was still wet which means slippery cobblestones :( I felt like bella swan in twilight, super clumsy! At least I didn't trip or slip and my camera survived the day. In the square there was another st vitus church, beautiful but not nearly as grand as the first, another church, the astrnomical clock and what was left of city hall. At the end of WWII CZ was occupied by the Germans and the Czech people thought they were about to be liberated by the Americans so they picked a fight with the german soldiers that ended up lasting a few weeks and killing like 6 thousand Czechs before the Americans got there. All that's left of the city hall is a little piece of wall connected to the astronomical clock tower.

The astronomical clock was cool, I don't think anyone knows now how it really works. It keeps track of moon cycles, the days and months, and every hr it puts on a little show. According to our guide the government didn't want the man who made the clock to go to another city and copy the clock so they gouged his eyes out. Yuck! The show was cute and we took a movie of it, but during the show is prime pickpocket time bc all the tourists are too busy looking up at the clock show and taking movies to mind their bags. We caught a couple at work during the noon show, they were very good looking haha. After the show we had free time so our whole group went back across the bridge to find a pizza place we had passed earlier, but half the group wanted to walk up that giant hill to look up there. Um, why are we walking all the way up there to get the same tourist pizza we could get down here? There were a few others who just wanted to eat and not go back up the hill so I became the adult in charge, scary, and we turned on our heels and found a sit down pizza cafe. They led us down to the basement/dungon to a table big enough for the whole group. The room we were in was awesomely tacky. It was decorated like a cave under the sea! The pizza was delish though. So we figured out how many crowns everyone owed and we headed for the bridge to meet up with the rest of the group.

Then the whole group made our way back to old town across the Charles bridge, but first we stopped for photos and to touch that statue of a saint and make a wish :) as we headed back to the jewish quarter one of the girls and I decided we really wanted to see the jewish cemetary, where over 100,000 Jews were buried over hundreds of years on top of each other bc they were only allotted a tiny area of land in the city in which to bury their dead. Since only a few of us wanted to pay to see it, we broke off again and I was the adult in charge. First we had to find an ATM or a change place to get cash for tickets to the cemetary. That was interesting. Then we entered the cemetary, and I'm so glad we did that. It was such a special place in the midst of a bustling city. Some of the graves there were marked from the 1400's and I'm sure there were older. After walking through the cemetary we did a little souvenier shopping in the area before heading back to the old square to hang out and pretend like we live here.

Then it was off to the crystal store to look around, and ally wanted to look at the garnet jewelry bc Prague is known for crystals, amber and garnets. She bought a cute little ring for 1200 crowns, only 60$. We bummed around the square taking photos and going in random stores after that till it was time to meet up and head to the bus, thankfully parked closer than where we had left it! Back at the hotel for a quick rest before dinner and then a few rousing rounds of apples to apples and me playing big sister to all the girls. They wanted to know about what I did at bl and how college was and things like that. They all tell ally how lucky she is to have a cool older sister come on this trip with her. I think they just like having a not so adult adult around. :)

Ok that's all! Sorry it was a freakin book! We didn't even do everything there was to to in the city! And I definitely must come back in the warmer months!

Jenny

German Countryside

Tuesday March 17, 2009

Windmills!! Looks like the panhandle! Haha

Neunundneunzig Luftballons!

Sunday March 15, 2009



Today we got an early start to head out to Dresden, a stop before we got to Prague. Dresden was bombed by allied forces in feb 1945, so much of it had to be rebulit but it's still a very beautiful city. We went to the main tourist area and it was so amazing. It looked like storybook Europe. Cobble stone streets, very hard to walk on especially when it's wet, old palaces, churches and courtyards. It was raining off and on and just being dreary and gross so that part was not fun and we mostly used ally's camera bc mine is a hassel to get out and I don't want to get it too wet.

So we went to the art museum in Dresden where their most famous painting is the madonna of Sistine, you probably don't recognize the name but the painting has two very famous angels in the lower half. Google it and you'll see haha. So anyways, after walking around for awhile and going to the museum we got a break for lunch. I went with ally and some of her friends to a german cafe and had soup. I tried to get her to order in german but there was something lost in translation I guess. After lunch ally and I explored the area, took a few pictures, and went inside one of the churches that had been destroyed in the war. It was rebuilt about 20 yrs ago so it was kinda lame, but the outside was very pretty. Then ally wanted ice cream. In the middle of winter in Europe. So we found a bakery with a gelato stand and she ordered in german and the ice cream girl was so impressed, it was really cute. And then she convinced ally to get chocolate too. It was pretty good for 2 euros, although it was supposed to be only 1 oh well.

After that it really started to rain and I was tired of using my umbrella, I so tied my scarf around my head like the gypsys do here. We walked what felt like forever back to the bus and then it was off to the Czech Republic! It didn't take very long to get to the border, and we didn't even know we had crossed it till we started seeing signs in Czech and the driver said welcome to the Czech Republic! All day on the bus we were playing games with the tour leader, like naming all the European countries and then we listened to german music and had a sing along to 99 luftbaloons! Like the only famous german song haha.

Pretty soon we arrive at the hotel and find it is actually pretty nice. It has a bowling alley(!) and so everyone went down for what was supposed to be texans against canadians, but it ended up just being random teams and not really competition. It was random fun, the best kind, and ally was even ahead at one point but after a few gutters she fell too far behind to catch up. The hotel rooms are super nice too, way better than our dorms in Berlin. I love watching random shows and commercials in Czech and german. Today we saw pieces of the simpsons, friends, and I just saw the cutest kitten commercial in Czech. The kitten was talking to it's owner about kitten food and it was adorable. Kittens are awesome in any language! Ok I think thats about it, sounds like a lot but it really wasn't haha. Btw, yesterday morning I dropped my contact lens case lid down the drain! Luckily it didn't go all the way down, but it was pretty stuck down there and there was a metal bar making it hard to get it out. I worked on it in the morning and then later after dinner and finally got it out. So complicated! At least I didn't have to find another one :)
Tomorrow we explore Prague! Time to hopefully get our shop on!!



Jenny



Ps ally already misses Mex food and sonic drinks! We've only been out like three days silly bee!!
Email me all you want if you have time! I'd love to hear from everyone since I have internet :) sorry if these emails are kinda long, I'm treating this as a kind of journal blog thing... Enjoy!

Gutentag from the Berlin Wall!

Sunday March 15, 2009

Yesterday (Saturday) we took our bus to west Berlin with our guide for the day who is a Berliner. Omg I guess I shouldn't have judged the city based on the eastern block that we saw Friday, bc the westeren areas are sooo much better. There was this one area that was so cute. Lots of shops and bars/cafes with apts on top. Very French quarter I thought.

We also drove around and saw all the foreign embassies, which was cool bc they are all very distinct bldgs. The nordic one is big and green and has a sauna inside. The Chinese and Arabic ones are very oriental/desert palace looking, and the Egyptian one had a bear, berlin's mascot, dressed as a pharoh outside. Then we made our way to the eastern gallery where they still have a substantial piece of the Berlin wall up. It was very cool to see such an important part of the city's history. After the wall was opened, the city comissioned artists to paint on the wall. Now it's mostly covered in graffiti, like everything else in the city, but they are thinking of having this section repainted for the 20th anniversary this nov.

Then we went to checkpoint Charlie in the old American sector of the city. This is also where the American and Russian tanks had a famous standoff. We ate a quick bite there, currywurst mit pommes, and bought a few souveniers, and then it was off to Potsdam. The road we took used to be a racing strip, and there are still bldgs with specific views for watching the race and even like stadium stands on one of the road for viewing. Potsdam is a nice city, used mostly by Berliners in the summer for it's beaches and lakes. We saw a couple palaces that were very pretty, and one was where the Potsdam treaty was signed after WWII I think. Berlin was such a mess from allied bombing, and it still is 60 yrs later, so they had to sign the treaty outside the city. One of the palaces we saw had a working Dutch windmill and the city itself has a cute little Dutch quarter bc the king wanted to attract the Dutch to move to Potsdam. It didn't work but I loved that area, it finally felt like Europe is supposed to.

We came back to west Berlin for dinner at some chicken place and then we walked like a mile down this big shopping street, which was very crowded. Reminded me of hong kong, except not as good ;). So we had some time to walk around and ally bought a shirt with a black cat on it, maxo! And we went to like five h&m stores, but mostly everything closed at 8 so we didn't have enough time to do as much as we wanted to.

Then we met up and took the s bahn to alexanderplatz then took our tram back to the hotel. Trams run only in east Berlin, and no subways run there, so that's why we had to switch. Also, the mass trans is on a kind of honor system. You never have to show a ticket, but you have to have one and you have to validate it or else you have to pay a fine if they catch you. I think that's about it, we're on our way to Dresden right now and then it's off to Prague! So hopefully this will give my legs a break haha. A couple more things, everything here is mercedes. Like taxis, buses, even tow trucks! And I've seen so many cabrios! That's my little vw convertible. I really need to get a pic of one before we go!

Jenny

Ps everyone on the trip has a snuggie!

Jess- you would LOVE all the graffiti here! It's on everything, and some of it is so cool. We tried to take as many photos of it as we could. And there are so many goth and punk ppl. All the young ppl here are so cool and interesting looking. I don't think they like us though. Haha

Friday the 13th in Berlin

March 13, 2009

Ok here goes a kinda blog email thing I'm going to try to do everynite, but we'll see haha. Flight was good. Sooo much better than flying to Asia. Kinda wish it was longer so we could get a lil more sleep, but oh well. Our connection in London was insane. Like 45 min, and we had to go through security again! We literally ran. What a great wake up call at 8am London time, like 3am Dallas time. So we barely make our flight and ally and I ate like last to get on and someone's in our seats! And they won't move bc they have a baby or whatever. So luckily there are two seats together in the very back and we just grab them and sit down. What a crappy flight. It was only like an hr and a half, but it just sucked being so tired and hot and exhausted. Whatever.

We finally arrive in Berlin and go through customs, and let me tell you that was the easiest thing ever. Besides the officers talking to me in german and only being able to say hallo and danke. Immediately after that is baggage claim which is made easier by the fact that we all have gold ribbons on our bags. We grab everyone's bag off the belt except poor little ally. Her bag wanted to stay in ldn a lil longer, I don't blame it after seeing Berlin but more about that later. So we go down and meet up with our tour director alba and she takes aly and a Canadian boy to report their bags. I didn't go, but aly said that she had a hard time telling the counter lady her name and addy bc in german the e makes an i sound when you say it, or something like that. Anyways they told her it would be at our hotel by tonite, and it actually was. Way to go British air!

So we put all our suitcases on the bus and we're on our way to the hotel in east Berlin. Wow. This place doesn't really feel like Europe at all. Even walking around later and taking the tram to the alexanderplatz, it just doesn't feel all Europe-y like you would think. Omg and the weather this afternoon, barf! Cold, which I don't mind at all since it could be worse, but the sporatic rain makes it so much worse! I'm hoping and thinking that Prague and Munich will be better. They made us do tons and tons of walking today to get used to the time diff, but tomorrow we'll be mostly on buses and then dropped off for awhile and then back on. Thank god bc I already have a huge blister! We are also going to Potsdam tomorrow, idk what's there but I'm glad we're going bc it cuts down Berlin time which I don't mind at all. Then Sunday we'll travel to Prague via Dresden. I'm really excited about Prague so yay! So in conclusion: british air = awesomeness and berlin=not so much. I think that's all, I might read a bit and then it's off to bed for a kinda early rise tomorrow at 8. Talk to you guys tomorrow hopefully!

Love, Jenny

Omg I just realized that I didn't talk at all about the rooms. They are like cutie lil dorms. A door in the hallway opens to a lil mudroom thing with open closets and four doors. Two wc and two are the rms. We, the trip leader and I, share with a Canadian couple incharge of the other group with us. I'll take pics for sure! Ok g'nite!

blaaaah first post

Alright, so basically the only reason I am starting this is because I needed a way to organize my email blog project from my trip to Europe in March; and I'm going back to Europe in a couple weeks and want to do the same type of thing, only now it'll be more official I guess. So I'm thinking it'll mostly be a travel/photo blog, unless something interesting actually happens or non creepy people actually want to read things I write. So enjoy, or not, it's whatever. :P