Odds and Ends of Berlin

And now that I am looking back on my first experience in Germany, trying to recount anything odd or peculiar or interesting or anything of that sort, one thing immediately strikes me.  The Germans drink beer everywhere.  I don't mean everywhere as in just odd restaurants like McDonalds or Burger King, but really just everywhere.  You can see people drinking on the metro or on the bench in the park.  And I am not saying this is a once in a while type of thing.  It Is very common.  Every time I was on the metro after noon I saw groups of twenty or thirty somethings with Becks in hand, casually drinking a bottle of beer like an American would down a bottle of soda in public.  They were not being obnoxious and were not drunk in public.  They were just enjoying their beer while going about their day.
Also, everything in Germany has been on time.  Typical.

Oh, and everything in Berlin is a replica.  I forget if I mentioned this, bit after the war everything had to be rebuilt.  Communist Russia wanted to show that their way worked better, capitalist Britain, USA and France wanted to do the same.  So buildings went up.  Fast.  They were all restored in their former style and made to look old, like they had been there all along.  Well, I can't complain.
Also, the Berlin wall is small.  Well, smaller than I thought.  The part that was remaining was pretty short, thing and raggedy, and not very imposing.  Apparently the barbed wire was removed because it only made it easier to get over.  It was something to grab onto.  Can you imagine?  When the wall was still standing, there were apparently actually two.  The space in the middle was the difficult part.  It was heavily guarded, there were a lot of watch towers, and there were obstacles.  All just to keep people in East Berlin.  Oh, and I know I said it was small, but that really was just in regards to the height, because it was long.  Remember how I went to Potsdam?  Well that is about 25 km outside of Berlin.  The wall went around that.  It measured 155 km or so.  That is almost 100 miles long.  Wow.

Berlin to prague train

That was mostly a lie.  I am bored and have another hour on this train until we get to Prague.  There is only so much Angry Birds I can play and I feel like I should write about what I am seeing.

Really I am torn between staring out the window to enjoy the view and writing about it, trying to capture what I am seeing in words since I can't through pictures.  I guess I could get out of the train cabin and take pictures, but photos through glass just won't do it justice.  Besides, I can't get any good angles from a train.  When I ride on trains and busses I always wish I could ask the driver to stop so I can get out and snap a few of the countryside.  I couldn't tel l you how many times in southern Spain and northern Italy I desperately wanted to document the scenery I was seeing, and until I can road trip through Europe with my own car, it will continue to happen.

Anyways, like I mentioned before, what's on the other side of the window has been very distracting.  The rolling tree covered hills and the river twisting in and out of them is almost perfect.  Add medieval cathedrals, castles or random residences crowning these hills every so often and you may think you could be on the verge of a fairytale, minus the damsel in distress (or charming prince in tights for you lady readers).  This just gets me more excited for Munich and Neuschwanstein castle in the Bavarian Alps especially.

More berlin

DAY 3

Our third day in Berlin pretty much started just like the second.  More waiting for the family to get ready.  More strudel from another German pastry shop.  More metro rides.  But this time the metro ride took us all the way to Potsdam (when I. Say metro in this case, I really mean the all encompassing light rail above and below ground that makes up the Berlin system). 

Well, Potsdam, besides being the upstate town in the middle of nowhere New York that my friend Maggie hails from, is also the home to all the Prussian kings' summer homes (read: palaces).

Now, these palaces are pretty much situated in various parks and gardens and are very spread out.  We started out in Sansouci Park and strolled around the royal grounds, passing gigantic Prussian buildings along the way, including Frederick the Great's  enormous and grand looking palace, the Orangerie, and arguably the most famous schloss in Potsdam (and most photogenic) this large, yellow palace with sprawling tiered gardens opening up below.

Hungry and exhausted from our many kilometer 

Sorry, as I type this I am on a train ride from Berlin to Prague and we are passing through this are with beautiful bluffs along a river dotted with what I think of as traditional German houses.  The scene is too picturesque.  It really is making writing this blog entry much more difficult.

... So yeah.  Many kilometers.  Well, let's see, where was I?  Hungry and exhausted we went into town which I am tempted to describe as quaint, but should really say it was touristy made to feel quaint.  Either way, we went to eat.  My mom luckily picked one of the only places that didn't have an English menu and the waiter only spoke German.  How neat!  Some of you may be thinking.  No.  Wrong.  This was not neat.  Let me put it this way.  I don't think an egg sandwich is exclusively German and I don't like egg.  Nor do I like bitter lemon drinks.
Disappointed with my lunch, my mom thought it was necessary to fix the situation with ice-cream.  It worked.

Satisfied, we went to Babelsberg, a town just to the east of Potsdam and walked in another park.  Meghan really wants to see castles while in Europe, and saw a castle like tower in the distance.  We walked toward it through fields and along the river up a hill to the tower, which was attached to this magnificent... it wasn't attached to anything actually.  In Meghan's opinion it was a "castle tease" but I can't imagine what she was expecting.  Not all castles are the fairy tale type with whole towns inside.  Yes, some are, but we probably aren't just goin to happen upon something like that.

Back in Berlin I bought my Interrail pass and we confirmed our reservations when something really awesome happened.  To skip some personal medical details, I ended up spending my last few waking hours in Berlin on a hospital getting treated for a really fun skin itch that I thought I handled in Spain a few weeks ago.  Luckily signs of my traveling are staring to show.  Sadly it's not in the form of being more cultured and worldly, but rather in the form of a very itchy rash.


On that note, I'm off to Prague for Easter weekend, hopefully without any more health problems.

One last thing.  I didn't get a currywurst in Berlin.  How upsetting.  Hopefully in Munich I can get one.

Last thing I swear.  I am getting really good at keeping up with my daily activities on this trip.  Yea for blogging the day of (or at least right away the following day)!

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!

Cliffs of Moher & Western Ireland

Dublin Photos

Northern Spain Photos

Leon, Oviedo & Updates

I went to Leon and Oviedo awhile ago. Like over a month ago. With Erasmus. I should update you guys about that first.

That was a lie, I should tell you guys first about probably one of the most quintessential study abroad nights I have had first. So I mentioned before that I met the Polish kids from our class for drinks and a concert. I also said that we agreed that we would have an international potluck. Well that potluck happened on the Friday before I left for Leon.

Not knowing what I could make that represented American and could also feed a good number of people (I was not prepared to make 25 cheeseburgers), I decided I would fall back on an easy favorite: Chili and Cornbread. Yea, I guess it is kind of Mexican, but I consider it TexMex cuisine over anything else, which means it is at least part American. Actually, a quick Wiki search just now informed me that it was first made by Spanish Canary Islanders in San Antonio, Texas. I feel like that means it is wholly American.

Anyways, I made chili and cornbread and it was actually a hit. The Italians especially liked it. I was surprised, especially after having eaten the other food made. The Italians made lasagna and pizza, a Hungarian made goulash, and admittedly, I forget what else was there. Regardless, it was all very delicious. I was in food heaven. Either way, I impressed some people and they made me promise to make more chili. Only as long as they make me more Italian food.

LEON

First I would like to point out that after seeing probably around 20 cities in Spain, a lot of them being only for a day or two, Spanish cities are starting to blend together. I do remember a bit about Leon, though.

Leon, like a lot of cities in Spain, has a beautiful cathedral. The one in Leon has pretty incredible stained glass throughout the building. Leon also has the MUSAC, a contemporary art museum that is full of a lot of random things. A few of the exhibition halls displayed what I would describe most accurately as what would happen if everything from a dorm building was emptied into a room and haphazardly organized. There were also one or two Guadí buildings on Leon, but nothing at all compared to those in Barcelona.

Probably the most memorable aspect of Leon is the nightlife. Leon does tapas like they are meant to be done, by which I mean you order a corto of beer (a small glass) and with it you get a small thing of food like a slice of pizza, bread with chorizo, or even octopus (gross and chewy), all for slightly more than a euro. Caitlyn, Hillary and I met some students from Germany also on the Erasmus trip and headed out to a few bars to try their tapas. It was a lot of fun. Like I have probably mentioned before, one of the best aspects of studying abroad and traveling is meeting people from such different cultures. Did you know you have to pay several hundred euros and take intense tests to get just about any license? This includes fishing licenses. That is ridiculous considering obtaining a fishing license in Wisconsin involves paying $20.00 annually.

After drinks and tapas with the Germans we also met up with a group of Italians (the same that hosted the potluck). We partied it up until the wee hours of the morning. I could tell that eventually this group of Italians was going to be the death of me. Luckily they are helping me practice my Spanish.

Oh, did I mention we went for churros con chocolate with the Italians? Delicious.

Anyways, we woke up late into the morning, ate breakfast, and boarded the bus to Oviedo.

OVIEDO

One of our Spanish friends, Pelayo, is from Oviedo, one of the two large cities in Asturias (an autonomous community read: Spanish equivalent of states). He raved about how great the city was. It was clean and much nicer than Santander. It even won a golden broom (or something along those lines) for being the cleanest city. Right, Pelayo. We therefore made it our mission to find as much garbage as possible and take pictures of it. Luckily it was the weekend before Mardi Gras and there was a fiesta the day before. The streets were slightly littered, and we made sure we told Pelayo. Besides being clean, Oviedo, and Asturias in general, is known for its cidra, or cider. You have to pour the cidra from above your head to a glass near your waist. You waste a lot of cidra, get it on the floor and other objects around you, and also aerate it, enhancing the taste. I don’t see the point, because it still is pretty disgusting.

Anways, Oviedo has a cathedral too. It has a street full of cidrarias (cider houses). It has some nice squares. It also has a statue of Woody Allen. That is about it. All in all, a fine city.

Eating with the Italians

After our night out with the Italians, we promised each other food. They promised to make panzerotti, a deep fried calzone popular in Bari and the region around Bari. We promised something American (we would think of something). Well, I still haven’t had panzerotti, but they did make us pasta, chicken, pizza, and risotto. All of this was outstanding. I made Luca promise to show me how to make this chicken. Seriously, all of it was the best Italian food I have ever made. So far we have made them pancakes and apple pie. We will be making them chili con carne and white chili after Semana Santa and hosting an American night of drinking chock full of beer pong, flip cup, quarters and kings. I think we are getting the better deal here.

Friends Visiting

I mentioned earlier that Sabrina (with friends in tow), Ben and Eve visited. I went to dinner with Sabrina and her friends one night. The other night I had everyone over to make tortillas. This was my first time being in charge of the tortillas. It might be my last time, too. The tortillas tasted great, but they weren’t exactly how they are supposed to look, and honestly, Hillary and Caitlyn make a better tortilla (not to mention Manila, the restaurant with the best tortilla in Spain, or second best if you ask Manuel). It must have been decent though, because when Sabrina got back to Oxford she told me she made tortilla.

Then day after was Saint Patrick’s day. Being a little bit Irish (one eighth, which is not mostly, Dad), I had to celebrate. I made some of the Spanish kids celebrate too. Well, I invited some of the guys over the drink and then go out with Ben, Eve and I. A few bailed, like usual, but we enjoyed our time. We met up with the Italians (as we are apt to do) and they dragged us to more and more clubs. We ended the night at The Indian, this American themed club, at 6 in the morning. Ben and Eve were tired, I was exhausted. I had class at 9:30 the next day and only got two hours of sleep. This is what Erasmus is all about, isn’t it? I cannot handle Erasmus.

Besides that, I brought Ben and Eve around the city. We did the naturally tourist things to do in Santander (there are not many). We ate kebab and Doner King. We walked along the port. We saw the palace with the penguins and we went to the beach. Eventually their (very) short stay came to an end and before I knew it I was dropping them off at the bus stop.

Sadly it was kind of poor weather for my visitors, especially Sabrina. The next week, though, was fantastic! It got well into the 80s and we went to the beach several times. And before I knew it…

I WENT TO IRELAND

(This will get its own post)

I got back from Ireland and the weather was crummy. Oh well, the beach could wait, by which I mean, stop distracting me and let me concentrate on homework and studying.

Since Ireland, we finalized our exam schedule. This in itself isn’t very exciting, but meant we knew when we could travel, and we are going to NORWAY! Yep, Kristine will have three eager Americans rocking Haugesund and the fjords in June. How lucky she is.

Also, Hillary and I met up with some Spanish kids for tortilla at Manila (the really good tortilla, remember?) and then made apple pie for a second international potluck.

Now I have three days until I see my family. It has been 238 days (or just short of 8 months) since I have seen my parents and sister. I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to finally see them. Being able to travel like a normal person instead of a poor student won’t hurt either. That is right! No hostels. Being able to eat in restaurants. Paying to see things. Taxis. I can’t fathom the difference between the way I have learned to travel and how travelling with my family will be.

Upcoming Travel Plans

Family Trip:

Berlin, Germany

Prague, Czech Republic

Munich, Germany

Budapest, Hungary

Vienna, Austria

Bratislava, Slovakia

Post Semana Santa:

Porto, Portugal

Madrid, Spain

Haugesund & Fjords, Norway