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