Planning, Laundry, Crepes... Just and Average Week at MUDEC

Following my weekend in Munich we had some difficult deciding on where we wanted to go the following weekend. After Dachau I really wanted to go to Normandy – I felt that it was a necessary pilgrimage and a way to connect me to one of the most important and defining elements of modern history. Mom also suggested going to a castle on the western coast of France that she always wanted to go to. Unfortunately Western France is not as extensively connected by trains and it wasn’t really practical to make the journey in only a weekend. I will have to add Normandy and Mom’s Castle to my bucket list (its not really shrinking but is actually starting to grow).  On top of planning our weekend I also had to do laundry as it had been about weeks since I had last done it (some things never change).

Tuesday was the last day of Carnaval, which is also Mardi Gras. In celebration of “Fat Tuesday” and fully embracing European food Annie, Kat and I went into the city after class for crepes at the place we ate at in January. Its great to be an adult and decide, hey I’m young, I am in Europe and hell yes – I am going to have a chocolate crepe for dinner tonight. It was absolutely delicious!

The Ash Wednesday Mass that I attended with a bunch of other students from MUDEC was very enjoyable… I got the jist of what the priest was talking about in French (It was especially challenging as he was mixing in German and Luxembourgish) although I still prefer Father Greg’s homilies.

The Only Word I Know on the Menu is Venier Schnitzel…. Oh well I guess I’ll HAVE to eat Fried Veal Again.

Weekend of March 4, 2011 Munich Germany

  After an exhaustive break to Spain and Portugal I was actually looking forward to school. To think, when at school in Ohio I look forward to breaks and weekends for rest and relaxation, now school has become more relaxing than the weekends.  The only problem to my relaxing school week was that it was midterms (I survived relatively unscathed). Everyone wanted to stay in Luxembourg however while talking to Kat I realized that she wanted to use her eurorail and therefore also wanted to travel this weekend. Therefore after about 25 minutes of planning we planned the entire weekend trip to Munich (remember when it took us 3 days to plan Bruges?)

After the previous Friday when I accidentally overslept I was really paranoid about missing my exam at 8 am on Friday morning. I managed to finish packing, shower and some last minute cramming for my poly-sci exam and still make the 7:50 bus, although I did have to give up my weekly crazy baker chocolate croissant.

Right after my Poly-Sci exam and Business class Kat and I left for Luxembourg as we had a 2:24 pm train to Munich.  As we were looking for a seat on our first train to Colon we actually ran across two other Miami girls who Kat is friends with so we sat with them, which made an enjoyable and quick three-hour journey. Today like the entire week was absolutely beautiful without a cloud in the sky. The train went along largely the same path as we took nearly two months ago when we went to St. Goar, and Bacharach except this time it was sunny and a beautiful early spring day.

After all of our train confusion over Carnaval Break with French and Spanish trains I specifically asked (in French) when Kat and I went to Esch during the week whether reservations were obligatory.  The women in French responded no. What she failed to mention was that we were on the world’s most crowded train and Kat and I had to sit on the floor (and a very crowded floor at that). As it is impossible to go everywhere in Europe in only a couple months I had to make some cuts, unfortunately a lot of them were German cities which kind of makes me feel like I am turning my back on my heritage – how can I be a ¼ German and only it to two German cities while abroad.
Its funny, unlike last week where I stood out horrible with my blond hair in Spain I fit right in sitting on the floor of a German train. Unfortunately my German is non-existent and its really frustrating not to be able to communicate… although people expect me to. Eventually the train started to empty and Kat and I were able to get seats after about an hour. Although the train was a high-speed train and at points reached speeds of 300 km/h it still took five hours to reach Munich. Around 9:30 we became absolutely famished and all we had to eat was mentos, which were not a satisfying dinner.  We arrived in Munich around 10:30 pm and promptly ate at the train station… trust me we were way past starving to find “authentic food”. Our hostel was right next to a metro stop and as Mom had give me for Christmas half a dozen maps of major European cities which included metro maps we knew exactly what lines to take and made it to the hostel without any difficulties. As it was nearly midnight after we had checked into the hostel we figured that it would be better to get a good night sleep. We talked with our roommate for a while – a girl from Northern Germany visiting the University of Munich. The only snafu was that as I packed while writing a paper and absolutely exhausted I fort to pack my pajamas which sucks!

At one point in the middle of the night I woke up and looked outside and it looked like it was snowing – luckily that was my imagination/poor eyesight … while it was snow free and bright and sunny it was absolutely freezing (especially considering I was in warm and sunny Spain only a week ago) why humans ever migrated north is beyond me.

We took the subway to the city center. where we wandered around for a bit and found somewhere to eat breakfast. Everyone in Munich is extremely nice so far, but it is so frustrating as I feel completely unable to communicate with people. However it is evident that Bavaria has placed incredible importance on languages and in particular English and most people (particularly our age) are completely fluent in English – yet I still feel rude. Germany is also great as they believe in HUGE portions. I chose to get a small coffee with a GIANT chocolate doughnut, I was shocked when I saw that the German small in many parts of Europe would be considered an extra large.

While we were eating in the café another man came in with his Golden (which is typical for Europe). Firstly Rory would never be well behaved enough to go into a confined public space, secondly she probably would try to eat peoples pastries right off their plate, thirdly she would be jumping on top of everyone… basically Rory would fail as a European dog. 

After breakfast we went to the main square, Marienplatze, which is the heart of the Old town. We were going on another New Europe free walking tour. Which began at 10:45 am. I was happy to see that there was a significantly larger group than Madrid, maybe 150 people total – as I think that it’s a great Company and hope that it continues to be popular and successful. Shortly after the tour began it was clear why the tour began at 10:45… so that we could see the Glockenspiel ring at 11:00. The Gockenspeil is in the New Town Hall or Neues Rathaus that was completed in the 19th century. The new town hall stands along an entire side of the plaza while completed during the 19th century it was built in the Neo-Gothic style so that it would look older than the old town hall, which is on the east side of the plaza and was built during the Renaissance. Today however, the New Town Hall is actually older than the Old Town hall as the Old town hall was almost entirely destroyed during WWII and while reconstructed it is obvious that it was completed only recently.

New Town Hall with the Glockenspeil, Northern Germany

Old Town Hall, Munich Germany almost entirely a post WWII reconstruction. The middle window in the row of three is the room where Hitler & the Nazi party made their fateful decision to begin their planned extermination.

Marienplatz is bustling with activity as it is in final preparations for Carnaval (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) are the last three days and thus the biggest. They are setting up a stage for a concert and all the lamps have a whimsical clown covering. I really enjoyed seeing the figures of the Glockenspeil although they were hilarious as they simply move around in circles … it was like looking at the animation from “it’s a Small World”. I did learn however that the figures in the clock are life size and that they are dancing in celebration of the end of the 1517 plague.

Busy Town Center, Marienplatz Munich Germany

Gockenspeil, Munich Germany

The history part of the tour was very interesting as it was in Munich here the Nazi Party and Hitler first gained power during the hyperinflation of the 1920’s and where Hitler eventually overthrew the Bavarian government. You are able to see the window where the Nazi Party officially enacted their planned program of extermination of inferior races, which subsequently changed the course of history, killing over 6 million people. We also went to Odenonsplatz, which is where Hitler gave most of his speeches in Munich from. They would erect a stage on the steps of the Reldherrnhalle, which over looks the Plaza between two Golden Lion Statues. The irony of this spot was that the King of Bavaria originally had the statues designed to symbolize freedom of speech and speaking out against the church (the one on the left side of the church has its mouth open and the one on the side of the royal palace is slightly turned away)…. If only Hitler had known. My favorite part of the tour was a small ally way between Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz. During Hitler’s regime a statue was erected and it was the law to salute it whenever you passed…. If you didn’t you would be sent to Dachau (the first Nazi work camp outside Munich). Originally citizens in opposition would walk down the ally way to avoid doing the salute. When the SS guards caught on a guard was posted at the ally to prevent this  - although Germans continued to walk down the ally as a sign of political protest. Today a golden line runs down the center of “Dogges Ally” as a symbol to their political protest and speaking out against the Nazi regime.

Where Hitler Gave Many of His Speeches From in Munich, Notice the two lion statues the one on the left has its mouth open and the one on the right is turned slightly away.

Doggers Ally, became a sign and symbol of political protest during the Nazi Regime

At a quick glance Munich looks really old, however under closer examination you realize that it is all really new. Nearly 90% of the city was completely destroyed during the war. A unique characteristic of many of the buildings is that usually only a corner of buildings would survive a bombings, during reconstruction the buildings were typically rebuilt around whatever remained.

Typical building in Munich Germany mostly a reconstruction, however the one corner is the remains of the surviving original structural.

Around 2 we decided to leave the tour, while I enjoyed the history I wasn’t as crazy about our tour guide. Kat and I also wanted to go to Dachau before it closed. I have studied the holocaust intensively. I knew what occurred at camps and I prepared myself – and still it was horrifying and worst than I imagined. Dachau was the first camp opened by the Nazi’s in 1933 and was one of the last operational camps as it wasn’t liberated until April 29, 1945 (9 days before the end of the war). Today the main workshop of the camp has been converted into a museum sharing stories and personal accounts of the thousands of prisoners, and 2 of the original 36 prisoner barracks so that you can see in person the horrible conditions the prisoners lived in for years. The camp was designed to hold 6,000 prisoners when US troops liberated the camp there were over 30,000 prisoners. It was horrible to imagine the torture and suffering endured at Dachau and the 1,000 of other Nazi work camps.

Gate to Dachau Work Camp outside Munich Germany. The gate says "Work Sets you Free"

Memorial in Dachau: May The Example OF Those Who Were Exterminated Here Between 1933 - 1945 Because They resisted Nazism Help To Unite the Living For the Defense Of Peace And Freedom And In Respect For Their Fellow Men.

Memorial at Dachau, outside Munich Germany

A Grave an Unidentified Victim. Memorial States: Never Again

Between the workshop and the barracks is a large grave year. This is where roll call was held twice a day and hundreds if not thousands of prisoners were tortured and killed. It was eerie walking across the yard and imagining what had transpired there years before.

Standing in the Role Call area of Dachau looking at the the 2 reconstructed barracks 

A lane runs down the middle of the camp between the two barracks lined with trees. In videos and photos of the camp from during the war you can see that the trees are only saplings so the now mature trees stand as a symbol of the amount of time that has passed. Following the war 34 of the barracks were torn down leaving only their foundations… ghosts of what once stood there and the lives that were lost amongst them.

Foundations where the other 34 barracks once stood.

In the rear of the camp over a small creeks is where the camps crematorium was located as well as the gas chamber. Walking through the gas chamber (the same as Auschwitz concealed as showers) it was absolutely horrifying, although no records show that Dachau’s gas chambers were ever operational. Following the end of the war the Nazi Party stated that the Gas Chamber and Crematorium were staged by the US army although it was merely a last ditch effort by the Nazi Party’s propaganda machine. I left the camp with literally a heavy heart and sick feeling in my stomach. To actually see what happened… where it happened was terrible. It was simply mindboggling to imagine that humans were capable to doing this to other humans.

The train ride back to Munich was completely different and a 180 as it was packed with people dressed for Carnaval and already partying. When we got back to the city we stopped by Marienplatz to take in the insanity and excitement of the celebration. We hen quickly went back to the hostel and changed for dinner.

We went over towards the university section of town for dinner as our guidebooks had recommended several restaurants (when in doubt find the local college kids, that’s where the cheap food is). We ended up going to a typical German Beer Hall and had a delicious dinner of Shnitzel… as I now know that it is fried veal and it was literally the only word on the menu that I recognized.
After dinner we headed to the Hofbrauhaus, which I am pretty sure, will be the highlight of Kat’s experience in Europe. The historic beer hall was originally built for the King and his friends. Today it is absolutely massive - hundreds of tables with people drinking and shouting with a band playing traditional German music in the center. It was absolutely packed and as usual with German beer halls you sit down wherever there is room. Kat and I joined a table where we sat between a couple from Portugal and two friends and nice guys from Germany. They were incredibly nice and we talked all evening. We found out later when he friended her on facebook that his name is Wolfgang, which makes it a true German Experience.

Kat enjoying the traditional liter of Beer at the Hafbrahaus in Munich Germany

Kat and one of the German guys we talked with all night.

 After literally hailing the waiter down like a taxi we ordered our drinks, which of course were a liter (which is heaver than you might anticipate). The craziest part of the Hofbrahaus was that I knew my Father had visited there years earlier with his friends from college. I am sure that he drank from the same enormous beer steins, shouted over the same loud music and had a great night with the “Scranton Crew”. It is odd that in 30 years by child on a study abroad experience may be sitting in the same room having the same experience as his or her grandfather and mother.

Me outside the Hofbrauhaus, Munich Germany

The only odd thing about the Hofbrauhaus is that for a place that makes a ton of money (it has multiple gift shops) and was absolutely packed it closes at 11:30. As most bars were starting the wind down and we didn’t feel like going to a club given we had an early morning we headed back to the hostel.
In an insane and overly optimistic idea when planning Munich Kat and I had planned on taking the 6:51 am train to Neuschweinstein, which is the castle, that Disney based Cinderella’s castle off of. It is apparently the definition of a European “princess castle”. The only problem is that it is a 2 hour train ride from Munich and as we had to be back to Munich by 2 pm in order to make a 2:30 train back to Luxembourg. Basically anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t exactly spring out of bed in the morning and with some alarm clock difficulties we overslept. We attempted to make the 7:51 train to Neuschweinstein but as it would have stranded us in Luxembourg City for the evening (getting us home after the last train) we had to eliminate the trip to Newschweinstein… it will have to be added to my future bucket list.

We were both disappointed, that we would not make it to Neuschweinsten. Two months ago when first arriving in Europe the prospect of planning weekend trips was overwhelming, we had so many possibilities and so much time. However in the last week since returning from Carnaval break the overwhelming sense that we are running out of time and almost done with the semester started becoming more oppressive and imminent. There is simply too much to do and see. Even if I had five years to wander around Europe I wouldn’t be able to see everything. I have to look at each trip, city, country, moment and experience as a once in a lifetime opportunity – an amazing and special gift. I highly doubt that this will be my only time in Europe or abroad, I even hope to have an opportunity to work abroad at some point during my career. The world is continually shrinking and one of the greatest advantages of this is that we can explore and see more than previous generations.
We ended up wandering around the city for a couple hours. At which point Kat and I decided and promised that if Munich wins the 2018 Winter Games Olympic bid that we would go to the Olympic games (as going to the Olympics is on both of our bucket list). As it was early on Sunday morning the streets were completely deserted with the exception of the people setting up booths for carnival. Unfortunately it was absolutely freezing (-17 degrees Celsius) and by the time we found an open café at 9:30 we were absolutely frozen. We decided that we would rather take an 11:30 train so that we could get home a little earlier in the evening.

I decided to be adventuresome and try a unique and different looking pastry, however I was disappointed when I realized that it wasn’t chocolate filled but instead filled with fig (I think). Kat and I talked for a longtime which is when I got really excited for Spring Break.
Just as we started walking towards the train station around 11 Carnaval was just starting as all the stands and booths were opening. Beer, shots, giant pretzels, Crêpes, candy basically anything that you can imagine. It was evident that in a couple hours the streets around Marienplatz were going to be crazy and one giant party.

We managed to find two unreserved seats next to one another and we then sped through the German countryside. Unfortunately our train arrived in Colon a couple minutes late and we missed our connecting train to Luxembourg. Rather than waiting 3 hours for the next train (it would have been the same train that we would have taken if we had left Munich at 2 rather than 11) we jumped on a train to Trier Germany as I knew that there was a train every 45 minutes from Trier to Luxembourg. The only problem with this was that we managed to get on the most local train in the world (seriously bus would be a more accurate description for this mode of transportation). We proceeded to wind our way through the smallest German cities in the world. Kat and I both had moments of panic where we envisioned getting stuck in one of this towns and having to call the school or Kat’s host family to be rescued. We eventually made it to Trier and then had an uneventful ride back to Luxembourg. In hindsight I wish that we had just stayed in Colon for the 3 hours as I know that Kat would of enjoyed a couple hours of Carnaval fun rather than a ride on the world’s slowest train! Oh well… hopefully Munich wins the 2018 Olympics so we can experience all of Carnaval.

It was a great weekend, an interesting combination of somber history, immersion in an absolutely insane European cultural experience, and a great sampling of the fun Bavarian culture!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Sunday February 27, Day 9

In case you ever want to know it takes 12 and a half hours to get from Madrid Spain to Oberkorn Luxembourg. We departed at 10:30 am we then took the metro to the Madrid train station. We then took a bus from the train station to the Madrid Airport. We then flew from Madrid to Frankfurt-Hahn. We then took a bus from Frankfurt-Hahn to the Luxembourg train station. I then took a train from Luxemburg City to Differdange Luxembourg and then a bus from Differdange to Oberkorn and finally around 11 arrived home! 

A Final Gelato for the Road

Saturday February 26, Day 8

 We woke up early in order to ensure that we would make it down to breakfast in time to eat crepes – which was a very smart decision! A couple great crepes later we headed out to explore Portugal for a couple more hours. We mostly wandered around the city center that still seems maze like. We also went shopping (or in my case window shopping) as Portugal was relatively cheaper than other European Cities (although its still on the euro so its still expensive). Caroline found a really cute coat and Megan found really cool boots.

We had sandwiches and went back to our favorite gelato shop. Shortly after lunch we went back to our hostel picked up our bags and headed to the airport. On the way to the airport I basically had a panic attack (god bless Caroline and Megan for not killing me) we accidently got on the local bus to the airport not the express and I was paranoid that we were going to be on this bus for hours and subsequently not get to the airport in time.  We however made it to the airport and couple uneventful hours latter we were landing in Madrid. 

landing in Madrid Spain at sunset

 We met Annie at the train station and with relative ease (its nice being in a city where you generally know how to get around). We went back to the hostel where we had stayed earlier in the week and then went out for a final meal in Spain … and of course we chose TAPAS!!!!! After we finished an enjoyable meal where we reflected on our amazing trip.

I May Never Leave This Hostel

Friday February 25, Day 7

After an amazing nigh sleep we woke up in our amazing hostel… it smelled like there was something baking for breakfast, however we apparently missed the crepes and instead had hard rolls and cereal which is always delicious. The hostel offered a free walking tour on Fridays so we took advantage especially after how much we enjoyed Madrid’s on Wednesday.

The tour led us back to the old part of town (where we were lost the previous day) and went into the castle, which was really cool and had a beautiful panoramic view overlooking the city. The red roof building slopping down the steep streets and the glistening ocean in the distance. After exploring for a couple hours we left for lunch. We went to a delicious traditional restaurant that was down an extremely winding ad narrow street. It was a type of rice with codfish, eggs and some other things, it sounds gross and if I had known in English I probably wouldn’t of tried it but it was absolutely amazing. It was so good… I am going to try and find it in Luxembourg as Luxembourg has a huge population of Portuguese immigrants I have to be able to find it somewhere. 

View of Lisbon Portugal and the sea

Left to Right: Megan, Me, Caroline in Lisbon Portugal

View of Lisbon Portugal form the Castle St. Jorge

Amazing traditional Portugal dish - Rice, Codfish, and some other delicious ingredients

 After lunch we split off from the tour, it wasn’t that great, and started wandering around Alfama, which is the old town and is like a maze. Portugal is really difficult to explain and describe. It is entirely different than any other part of Western Europe that I have been to so far and in many ways more 2^nd world in compression to other cities. There is absolutely no design or organization to the streets as they were added to and built up over the centuries. The streets are narrow and steep sometimes there are stair cases that seem as if they lead nowhere but are actually the way that you are suppose to walk in order to stay on the road that you want to. The city of Lisbon still operates the original Tram cars that date from before WWI so anytime you go anywhere you feel as if you are riding on history. The sidewalks are really interesting as they are blue and white mosaic tiles. Overall Lisbon feels as if you are stepping back in time. 

Traditional Street Tram in Lisbon Portugal in operation since before WWI

 I am sure that this description really isn’t that helpful but it’s the best I can do (I thought about it for a long time). After we explored for a while we decided to go on an adventure to find a tower that Caroline had read about and said that we had to go to see. It was an adventure and a half just getting to this tower we had to find the right tram and then had to find the right bus (I was having bus 82 flashbacks). We eventually made it Belem (where the tower is) the water was beautiful as it was almost sunset however the tower was very anticlimactic… it was maybe a 50 feet tall on a small rock island maybe 10 feet from shore. It didn’t help that we had no idea of the historical significance of the island so it was basically a tower. Oh well we win some and loose some but it was still a great afternoon.

The tower of Belem at sunset, Lisbon Portugal

 On our way back to the bus stop I did the one thing that I had promised myself that I would not do in Europe… I went to a McDonalds. I needed to break a 50 euro bill in order to have coins for the ticket machine for the bus so it was more out of necessity, but I sill can’t believe that I went there.

After we found our way back from Belem we went back to the hostel who employs a chef. For 9 euros we got homemade soup, salad, bread (didn’t charge us extra) lasagna, pasta with a rally incredible sauce, dessert and wine!!! AMAZING!!!!! At dinner the craziest thing happened. A couple other girls sat down next to us. We started talking and we eventually discovered that her random freshmen roommate and now friend at Syracuse is Kelsie Testa who was a friend of mine from High School. Talk about a small world… what are the chances of that happening. We even called Kelsie on Skype it was too great of an opportunity to pass up!

Our amazing dinner at the hostel

 In the end it was an amazing day in Portugal and we had an amazing time!!!! 

We’re Like Legit Backpacking… Okay lets Call A Taxi

Thursday February 24, Day 6

 After braving yet again another subway with our backpacks we headed to the train station and said goodbye to Annie. Annie went to Southern Spain to visit her best friend from home who is studying there while Caroline, Megan and I (the Blonds we finally managed to get rid of all the brunets) were heading to Portugal for the rest of the trip. We decided to go to Portugal as Caroline’s mother is from Brazil and she therefore grew up speaking some Portuguese. So with that we hopped on a bus at  the train station and headed to the airport.  

There had apparently been a slight computer glitch with Megan’s ticket as it printed as Megan Fett5 and we were nervous that there would be a problem as her name wouldn’t match her passport, however no one really noticed / cared and we have subsequently started calling her Megan Fett the V. The flight went perfect and because Portugal is an hour behind the rest of Europe the hour and five minute flight was actually only five minutes long when we finally arrived.

When we got to the airport in Lisbon we decided to go to the tourist center, as I couldn’t find where our hostel was on the map. We then found out from the very nice Portuguese woman that we were in the wrong city. My initial reaction was denial… we had flown here it wasn’t like we had gotten off at the wrong train station. We realized that we must have booked the wrong hostel accidently (it was actually located 300 miles away from Lisbon in Porta Portugal). After some quick thinking we called and canceled our original hostel and started calling hostels off the sheet that the woman at the tourist center had given us. On the third try Megan found one with three available beds and we then got directions to our hostel that was now in the right city. After taking a bus and a tram we got off at the stop that the woman told us to. It is in the old medieval part of the city. The streets wind and twist almost without reason or logic. We proceeded to get lost and the city started to become kind of sketchy. I was starting to think to myself that I was not staying here when Carolyn turned to me and said “ABSOLUELY NO”. We then went to plan B, while taking the Bus I read my guide book and had read a couple good hostel recommendations, we called the one and they amazingly had 3 beds! At this point Megan cheerfully goes “we’re like legit backpacking making this up as we go along” when Carolyn went, “yep its great, and I’m getting the hell out of here and taking a taxi”.

Five minutes later we were in the nice part of town and had arrived at the world’s nicest hostel. The hostel was extremely nice with high ceilings, freshly painted, hardwood floors and eclectically decorated. If you ever travel to Lisbon don’t pay for a hotel stay at this hostel. 

The best hostel in the world, living room and reception

living room and looking into dining room

cozy dinning room, the chandelier was made out of tea cups

really nice kitchen

sitting room outside our room designed to look like a park

 After dropping of our bags we headed out to find some dinner and explore. The city has a lot of open squares with narrow streets. We decided to eat at a cute little restaurant that had delicious fish and was absolutely amazing. I however didn’t like it as they charged us for the bread (I had let my guard down I though we were far enough away from Italy for that madness to have stopped). 

delicious dinner in Lisbon Portugal

 After dinner we went on a wild goose chase for gelato (its not hard to find gelato but its hard to find quality gelato which we have now grown accustom to). We ended up finding the most amazing homemade and unique gelato. I decided to be adventurous and try the pineapple-mint, which sounds absolutely disgusting but was absolutely amazing. We then headed back to the hostel and as we were all enacted we decided to stay in for the evening. Carolyn even fell asleep at like 9 pm (which was really 10 pm in the time zone that we are use to but still). I took the opportunity to catch up with my blogging which is where all of my previously blogs that were filled with all kinds of spelling mistakes were written. 

The best gelato in the world - I think that is what the window says in Portuguese

Free? Seriously…. We’re There!!!

Wednesday February 23, Day 5

Annie had taken a free walking tour in Berlin through Sandemans, which is a company that believes in offering free walking tours throughout major European cities so that everyone has an opportunity to learn and experience Europe. They had just restarted in Madrid as the Spanish government had refused to give them tour permits (because the free tours were unfair competition for the state organized “official tours that were between 15 and 20 euros) and subsequently discontinued their operations. However the company was able to successfully sue the city for permits as in the EU charter there is apparently a clause that made this illegal and they were subsequently allowed to restart operations in January – GO EU!!! 

Outside the Royal Palace of Madrid with our tour guide. Left to Right: Me, Megan, Matt (tour guide) Caroline and Annie

 The tours are lead by tour guides that are a native speaker (in the language that they are leading the tour in) and who have a degree from university relating either to the history, culture or language of the country, which makes them very informative, accurate and good as they are also geared more towards our age demographic.  The tour was over three hours long and too us through the major sites of the city. While the main streets are not as wide as Barcelona the buildings also aren’t as tall and matured trees (not palm trees) line both sides. Most buildings are only five stories tall soothe streets don’t feel as cramped as Barcelona however in may ways the two cities are very similar in feel, vibe, and predominating sense of architecture.

Typical City street in Madrid Spain

Royal Palace in Madrid Spain (the largest in Western Europe)

The tour was the perfect amount of fun facts, trivia and legends. Our tour guide was great and really energetic and easy to follow and listen to. I loved the tour as it was a great way to get a feel for the city, culture history in a quick dose.

Afterwards the tour had a promotion for a lunch for 6.50 euros. As we weren’t starving the 4 of us split 2 meals (hard to beat a decent amount of piaya and Sangria for only 3.25 euros). After lunch we wandered around for a while. In the evening in Madrid they open the two largest museums for their final 2 hours for free, which is the perfect amount of time for a museum (enough to enjoy, and no need to feel obligated to stay longer in order to get your money worth and subsequently burning out).

In the evening we decided that it was absolutely necessary to gain perspective on Madrid’s thriving nightlife. The company that ran the free walking tour also ran a program in the evening that took you to good bars / clubs and that way we didn’t have to search for places with cover, or pay ridiculously expensive cover and worry about getting lost or wandering into the dangerous part of town. I had so much fun, one of the places we went to was a salsa club and a really sweet guy attempted to teach me how to dance (don’t worry I am equally as uncoordinated at Salsa as I am at every other form of dance).  The evening was so much fun and resulted in the four of us laughing more than at any other part of the trip. It ended with us going to a 24 hour churro restaurant and having chocolate churos at 4 am which is always a great way to end a day / evening. 

Ready for a fun night out in Madrid. Left to Right: Annie, Me, Caroline, Megan

Eating churos at 4 am (horrible photo of me though) but they were delicious

Gaudi… Wow that’s so Gaudy (not sure if the two are actually related)

Tuesday February 22, Day 4

 We slept in this morning till 10 figuring that our bodies needed to recover. We then went and grabbed some stuff for a picnic at the market again – I told you that I loved the market. I tried another juice this time raspberry banana they are so delicious and refreshing. We then hopped on the metro to La Sagrada Familia. I really had no idea or concept of Gaudi architecture and therefore didn’t know what to expect. The cathedral is absolutely amazing and huge. People had recommended that we go inside, as the stain glass is incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately the line wrapped around two sides of the cathedral and we decided that we didn’t have time or want to wait to go inside. 

Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's most famous design, still under construction scheduled to be finished in 2026. Barcelona Spain.

 I originally thought that the cathedral was under major reconstruction / renovations. However I realized /earned later that the cathedral is still under construction and hasn’t been completed yet. Only 8 of the 18 towers are completed which is why there were 4 massive cranes. They are planning on completing the cathedral by 2026 (125 years after beginning). It was somewhat interesting – when you tour cathedrals, the Vatican they all took over a century to build but is weird to consider the intervening period while they were being building. It is cool when I consider that I am witnessing the construction of a landmark that tourists will probably visit for centuries.

Gaudi architecture can be a little bit over the top /over kill but it can also look magical and beautiful. We then went to Parc Guell, which was also designed by Gaudi. The park was originally designed / landed in the early 20^th century to be an exclusive community for the wealthy Barcelonans. However because of a financial crisis the park was never completed and was eventually purchased y the city as a large public park. 

Parc Guell, Gaudi Park over looking the city the perimeter is all covered in beautiful mosaics.

Caroline and Me in front of some of the beautiful mosaics in Parc Guell

One of the houses built in Parc Guell in the Gaudi Style - kind of looks like candy-land.

 The park is an interesting combination as the winding paths, stone bridges, tunnels, caves, mosaics are obviously designed and planned and yet they fit so well into the slopping hills of the park that in a strange way it actually works. Parc Guell sits onto of a steep hill on the western side of the city looking out towards the ocean. It is here that I absolutely feel in love with Gaudi architecture / style the colors and designs are whimsical and add cheerfulness to anything. I have decided that when I have a house some day I will decorate a small bathroom in the style.

By the time we finished shopping for postcards we realized (and by we I mean Megan remembered) that Parc Guel was actually the site of an America’s Next Top Model finale was located! 

Parc Guell Barcelona Spain, Site of an America's Next Top Model Finale.

 On our way back to the hostel we stopped at a restaurant and tried chocolate churros which are exactly like regular churros except that they are served with a type of thick hot chocolate that you dunk the churro into. They were delicious but I mean how can something friend with sugar dunked into chocolate be bad? As it was already late afternoon we went back to the hostel grabbed our bags and headed to the train station.

            After some confusion on whether or not we needed reservations (we did) we were on our way to Madrid. Spanish train stations are more like airports they are new and you even have to go through security and have identification checked. This is probably a result of the 2004 terrorist attack in Spain but I kind of agree with their logic. It takes a couple seconds to scan a passport and run it through the international programs (they then asked me for my residency papers) its not fool proof but its better than nothing. After going through security you go down to the tracks where you greeted by a very friendly man who checked your ticket for our seat assignment and will take you there. When he realized we were English speakers unlike the French who make you play charades he got the designated English speaking seat assigner finder who was very friendly, asked about our journey, where we were headed… such a more enjoyable way to travel. Once on the train there was a movie playing and they even gave us free headphones. We later learned from someone in Madrid that the high-speed train between Barcelona and Madrid is brand new and is the model for train travel in the future. However it is extremely expensive and the ticket are priced more like airline tickets 300 euro which basically means that this one train covered what I spent on my Euro rail. The train ride was an enjoyable nonstop and 3 hours later we arrived in Madrid at 20:45.

After checking into our hostel, which is nice but not, as nice as Barcelona we went out for dinner. We went to a restaurant that the guy at the hostel had recommended. We struggled with the menu and I reserved myself for picking something at random. When the waiter came back and we asked him a couple of questions, “what is in this” etc hi goes “you know that there is an English menu in the back” which subsequently made ordering drastically easier. 

Delicious restaurant in Madrid Spain and our great waiter who helped us find the English menu.

 I had (I think) some form of a traditional Spanish omelets, eggs, potatoes, ham and delicious sangria (with large chunks of fruit and ICE CUBES!!!) After dinner we went back to the hostel we figured that we would explore / go out tomorrow night when we had our bearing, it was also after 12:30 and w were exhausted after a whirlwind experience and 36 hours in Barcelona.

I Got Lost in A Cemetery…. Don’t Ask How

Monday, February 21, Day 4

After waking up around 8 am we all showered and got dressed and were ready to go by 9:30. We started out by having a quick breakfast of coffee and a chocolate pastry – nothing glamorous but absolutely delicious – and thus began our experience of eating our way through Spain.

The Streets of Barcelona remind me of New York, wide busy with cars and throngs of tourists. The buildings lining he street are primarily early 20^th century that but still with amazing and beautiful details that establish and set a distinct personality. Its an interesting mix between wandering tourists referencing maps to people on their way to work and who know exactly how to get there. Barcelona however is beautiful as palm trees line the sides of the road, vibrant flower beds, beautiful fountains make the busy active city feel like a tropical escape. 

 We first went to St. Josep La Boqueria, which is an enormous market with stands selling everything from delicious fresh fruit, seafood, meats, breads, spices, nuts. It was a total sensory overload and absolutely incredible. I wish that I could shop here everyday we did get a fruit juice that the girl on the train had recommended. There ere so many to choose from and so many interesting combinations. I was brave and tried her favorite “Mona” blackberry and banana. It was so good and refreshing. We the hoped on the subway to go to Monjuic and the castle as everyone says that it is beautiful. We got off the subway and started heading up the mountain. Beautiful gardens and fountains line the stops. As you climbed higher up the mountain you get to a museum (I skipped this as I only have a day in Barcelona not enough time to go there plus its way too nice to be indoors). We then continued u to Olympic park where the 1992 Olympics where held. It’s in a beautiful spot overlooking the city. It is around here however that we made a wrong turn that resulted at us ending up at the entrance of the cemetery. We were hoping that there would be an exit on the other side so that we could “cut through” so we went in. One the cemetery was huge, I am pretty sure that anyone who has ever died in Barcelona is buried there. Secondly everyone is buried on “shelf’s that are built into the side of the mountain. The cemetery kept going and going and going… it was incredible. After accepting the fact that the cemetery wasn’t continue to have an exit that would be right by the castle we started searching for the exit. 

St. Josep La Boqueria, the enormous outside market in Barcelona

colorful inside of St. Josep La Boqueria, Barcelona Spain

Delicious and extensive variety of fresh fruit juices at St. Josep La Boqueria

Olympic Torch of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona Spain

Steps leading up Mont Monjuic, a series of museums and the Olympic park are built into the side of the mountain.

 It was an absolutely beautiful day – bright blue skies – nice warm sun. After several miles (we made some kind of a wrong turn) we were starting to get desperate and jokingly even considered catching a ride from a student driver. We eventually made it to the castle, which was ell worth the journey. I had no idea of how large the city o Barcelona was until standing onto of the mountain. It is smushed between the mountain range on west and the sea on the east. After exploring for a while we headed back down. Along the way we passed amazing parks and charming playgrounds. When we finally arrived back in the city we attempted to find the restaurant that the girl on the train had recommended. We quickly discovered that her map was neither drawn to scale and was missing some major streets. Caroline eventually went tint a hotel where the concierge found the map hilarious; he told us that it was about a 15minute walk away. As we were all famished we decided that we would go to a restaurant in the area. This ended up being a brilliant decision as the food was absolutely amazing. We all chose three Tapas where are different types of small dishes so you can combine different ones to make your own customized meal. (We learned a couple days later in Madrid that story behind Tapas. Apparently when Spain was mainly small towns with poor farmers the Farmers would come into town for Lunch and wouldn’t be able to buy both lunch and a drink at the bar so they did the next logical thing and just got a drink. This inevitably began to hurt the local productivity of farmers so the king at the time made it a law that if a bar tender served an alcoholic beverage he also had to serve a small amount of food – hence Tapas.

Monjuic Castle, a fortification over looking the city of Barcelona & the port

Left to Right: Annie, Caroline & Megan overlooking the city of Barcelona Spain

View from the top of Mont Monjuic over looking the city of Barcelona Spain

Attempting to orient ourselves using our hand drawn map that the girl on the train drew for us

 I chose green pepers, which were amazing, asparagus and squid. The best tapas however were the fried potatoes. The outside was crispy and it literally melted in your moth. It was one of the best things that I have had in Europe thus far. We also got a pitcher of Sangria, which was delicious and officially my new favorite drink. All and All not a bad afternoon. After lunch ended I was ready for a siesta however we keep exploring as we had such a small amount of time in Barcelona. After a quick stop for gelato we began to just wander around the city.

My favorite spot was the Placa Reial. I though that it encompassed the culture entirely – very laid back and intellectual with people causally sitting around and chatting. I loved Barcelona the man streets lie La Rambla are wide bright an airy with shops lining the sides, pedestrians walking everywhere. It’s colorful, energetic and vibrant. And then when peering downside streets they were narrower, buildings having tons of balconies covered with plants, flowers, laundry. They seem more mysterious and yet oddly charming. 

Placa Reial a beautiful square off La Rambla in Barcelona Spain

Typical side street off La Rambla in Barcelona Spain

 The highlight of the afternoon was stumbling upon the best park in the world (none of us have been able to figure out what it was called) It had an incredible fountain that was actually reminded me of a pond with plants and trees incorporated into it with cascading stone waterfalls. 

Our favorite park in Barcelona, and beautiful fountain.

 If I were to describe Barcelona’s defining characteristic it would be parks – which is something that I absolutely loved about the city. After this I was ready to head home and enjoy a quick siesta, everyone else wanted to see the ocean (not like we weren’t just in Nice, however they all live in landlocked states so I’ll let them see the ocean). Overlooking the ocean at twilight was beautiful and I fell absolutely in love with Barcelona as it is the perfect mixture of university, city and ocean.

Enjoying one of the beautiful parks in Barcelona by writing in my journal

The beach at dusk in Barcelona Spain.

We got home around 7 pm and took a quick rest as we had dinner plans! A good friend from high school is studying abroad this semester in Barcelona. We made plans to meet up with her and her roommates for dinner. Claudia and her friends (one girl was also from Cornell and the other girl was from Greece) met us at our hostel at 10pm (I have decided that the Weinschenk Family isn’t weird but is instead just Spanish. In Spain restaurants don’t open till 8:30 at the earliest and most people eat dinner around 9 or 10 pm. The reason why you should always met up with a friend who is studying locally is that they know the bet local haunts with amazing food at an even better price. I had a delicious dinner of Paella, an appetizer, wine and desert for only 10 euro. It was a great group and everyone got along with everyone else great so it was a great opportunity to meet other people.

We got back to the hostel around 12:30, Caroline really wanted to go out however because Annie wasn’t feeling well I stayed in with her while the other two went out (I also don’t like clubbing enough to spend 20 euros on it). Staying in actually turned out to be a really fun experience. There were seven or eight other people and we were literally from all over the world. With the exception of one other guy from California everyone else was from a non English speaking country. However as everyone spoke different languages (there were people from Belgium, Germany, France, Hungry, Brazil, Slovenia) everyone spoke in English. It was an amazing evening and I really enjoyed myself this is every bit what I imagined my time in Europe to be like. Meeting up with old friends halfway around the world, meeting people from around the world – seriously when will I ever be able to do that again in my life?