Berlin Day 2

Our second day in Berlin was perfect weather. 70s and sunny. I did not expect Germany to be like this.

We wake up early and... wait around. Unlike when I stay with friends at a hostel, we have one bathroom and everyone needs to look good (Meghan)with their hair did and make up on. I am not used to this after traveling with just a backpack for 8 months now. Nobody chooses a curling iron over an extra tee. Oh well. Instead of waking up, showering and heading out (or evev skipping the shower now and again and just smelling a little), I wait around, yearning to. Go explore Berlin more.

Finally we are on the road! We stop at this little pastry shop and I eat the best apple strudel I have ever had. I guess waiting around a little bit can be fine. We then catch a metro into town to meet up for the free tour at Brandenberg gate.

Like usual the free tour was great. Our guide was really informed... although he did have an abundance of awkward pauses. I think he thought this helped the really heavy stuff sink in a little. And there was definitely a lot of heavy stuff said. After the tour I said that Berlin had a lot of history, more than a lot of cities I have seen. This isn't really true since Seville, London, Madrid, Barcelona are all much older places. I think I got this impression because all the history was so tangible. World War II, the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain. It all happened so recently and its impacts are still felt.

But on the tour we saw a lot. Brandenberg Gate, the wall, Chechkpoint Charlie, Hitler's bunker, the Holocaust Memorial, Humboldt University where Einstein was once a professor, gendarmenmarkt and Museum Island. There was so much history and sites, I was tired. We ended with a beer behind Berliner Dom with our guide and the Richards. A perfect introduction to Berlin.

Hungry, we found a German restaurant and finally I ate some good beef. Sorry Spain, you just don't cut it when it comes to beef. We then walked Dow, to the Reichstag and the Teirgarten for sunset and headed hom tired and satisfied.

The next day: Potsdam.

One disappointment, I found out that we will have class following Semana Santa, instead of the class going on field trips which means no Portugal. Sad.

Berlin 1

4:30 I restlessly wake up, nervous that I will miss my flight. I toss and turn for an hour before I really have to wake up.
5:20 I wake up to my pleasant cell phone alarm. I go to the kitchen and grab the strawberries, yogurt and milk... The fixings for a great breakfast. I make sure Hillary is awake and then proceed to devour my perishables before I he ad on m y fifteen day (or so) journey across central Europe.
6:05 I make it to the meeting point ten minutes early. Luckily Hillary is five minutes ahead of schedule. Drowsily we make our way towards the bus stop to catch one headed for the airport.
6:45 we make it to the airport way ahead of schedule and pass through the Santander security without a scratch (except for Hill's lost fork.
8:05 we start to board our plane to Madrid. Here I come family!!
9:30 I see my family through the glass doors waiting on the other side. We hug. We exchange hellos and I missed yous and Meghan quickly brings me to see the spoons. There was an arrangement of spoons with all different faces drawn on them.
11:25 I board the plane to Berlin.
12:30ish We fly over the Alps. I debate with Hill if they are French or Swiss.
2:30 Our plane touches down in Germany.
3:30 We get to our apartment after a few mishaps with directions. The place is NICE. I could get used to this.
4:00 We walk into downtown Berlin. We pass Alexanderplatz, Berliner Dom, Museum Island and arrive at Brandenburg Gate after enjoying some bratwurst on the way.
7:00 I sit down to share my first beer with my parents. Note: I do not mean my first beer ever, but rather the first I shared with my parents.
10:00 Jetlagged my family falls asleep as I write my first post the day of, trying to set a precedent for this trip.

Plans for tomorrow...
Free walking tour of Berlin
Meet the Richards
Eat a currywurst
Drink more German beer

It's a Lovely Day for a Guinness

In order to not have a good baker’s dozen worth of places to write about in the future, I have to stay current and write up one Ireland. Although the excitement for my 5 country, 6 city adventure with my family is mounting, I have to concentrate and try to learn for one more day. Impossible.

DUBLIN, IRELAND

For anyone who has ever flown on Ryanair before, you know that upon touching down in a timely fashion, they will play a recording congratulating themselves on arriving to the destination on time. I always expect to hear “… another on time flight…” serenading me in an Irish accent as we land in our next destination. Well, as usual, we land on time, but this time the accent rings a little truer. After all, this Irish accent is now in its home country. It cannot be said to be peculiar sounding anymore. NAY! It is the norm here! Let the Irish accent begin.

Ireland has been one of the hardest countries to get into to date. That isn’t saying much, seeing as usually I don’t even need to show my passport to any customs or boarder control whatsoever. At customs, Hillary and I were the only two passengers out of 100+ to go into the Non EU line. I approached the desk and handed over my passport.

“Why are you visiting Ireland?”

“Tourism.”

“Where are you staying?”

“With a friend.”

“What is your friend’s name?”

“Uhhh… Will.”

“What is his surname?”

“Well, actually it is a friend of a friend, I don’t know his surname.”

“Do you have a contact number?”

“Only for my friend.”

“Where does he live?”

“I don’t know.”

At this point I am starting to feel suspicious of myself. What are my motivations for entering Ireland, really? Oh wait, no, I am not here to smuggle leprechauns out of the country. I am innocent. Act cool.

“What are you studying in Spain?”

What? How did you know… oh, my visa. “Civil engineering.”

“When are you leaving Ireland?”

“Sunday the 10^th.”

“Do you have proof?”

Seriously? “Yeah, I have my boarding pass.”

“Can I see it.”

I show him my boarding pass. The stamp hits my passport. YES! Not only am I in, but your stamp is green (just what I expected) and it takes up half a page! I am that much closer to filling my passport (which in reality is not very close, this open boarder deal is not helping me out).

With that over I board a bus into Dublin with Alex (a friend from Austria, see my Belgium trip) and Marcus (Alex’s German friend). I listen to Dropkick Murphys as we drive through Irish countryside and suburbs and wear a green Cornell tee with a shamrock on it. Yes, my first time in Ireland and I am a walking cliché. But hey, it’s fair! I am an eighth Irish! That basically implies that I am part leprechaun. Back off. I watch out the window, desperately hoping I will be able to find the Spire that I am to meet Iona at.

Then I see it. If anyone can miss the Spire they were honestly not trying. In fact, they would have to be trying to not see the Spire. As you can see from my posted pictures, it is the tallest thing around in Dublin. It is, if I remember correctly, the tallest free standing monument in Europe, or possibly the world. Really, it is just a really, really tall needle poking the eye of God.

Well, with the Spire in sight, I dismount the bus and spot one of the only brown people around. IONA! (Yes, the same one I met up with in Madrid.) Having been in Dublin for a day already, Iona walks me around to all the sights she has seen. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Dublin Castle. Christchurch. Saint Stephen’s Green. Trinity College. Temple Bar District. We pretty much see everything there is to see from the outside in Dublin. Eventually we grow tired and hungry and head out of town to Santry, where we are staying with Iona’s friend’s friend Will. Will is studying abroad at DCU, Dublin City University and has an apartment/dorm nearby. Graciously, he lets us stay in his living room area, saving us some money for Guinness. What a great guy. Seriously though, he was a great host.

The next day Iona and I head into Dublin for a free tour of the city. Like usual, this was a great tour. Our guide was funny and informed and entertaining. I love these tours. I think Iona liked it a little bit less as a bird left a present in her hair at the end of the tour. Well, I heard that that is good luck, that must count for something…

After the tour, we head to the Guinness Factory. The Guinness Factory tour is kind of expensive. I think it was about 11 euro, which is steep to see a factory if you think about it, unless you count the “free” Guinness that you get at the end of the tour. Oh, and a great view (probably the best view) of Dublin. You know I am a sucker for views. So we make our way through the factory. We saw the 9000 year long factory lease, all the ingredients that go into the stout, the different means of advertising over the years, and finally make it to one of the best parts: the crash course on pouring the perfect pint of Guinness. You may think, easy, I can pour a pint. And you are right, it is easy. But you do need to know the steps first. It isn’t like pouring a normal pint. A stout takes to steps. First you have a fast pour down the side of the glass. You have to wait about a minute and a half for the beer to settle. Then you have a slower pour to top off the drink. You are left with a creamy head and your perfect pint of Guinness. We drink our pint and then head up to the Gravity Bar, the bar on the 7^th floor, to see the city. Let me tell you, it is worth it.

Iona and I then spend a little more time walking about Temple Bar district until we grow cold and hungry and head back to Santry for dinner and rest. Tomorrow we have a big day! We booked a tour to the Cliffs of Moher and western Ireland!