So, my time here is rapidly coming to a close (I am not too happy about this). Everyone's trying to get in things they haven't had a chance to do. For me that includes punting in the Cam and maybe a Shakespeare Festival play. For others it means jumping into the Cam and streaking across Downing College's lawn. :) I am sad to see it end.
This week I had fewer classes each day, which is another sign that not only is it coming to an end, but now I have finals (or as a friend back in the States put it, an annoying period that puts a damper on our socializing and drinking). Monday I had 3 classes, Tuesday I had 2, Wednesday 1, and Thursday none. I did however, put that extra time to good use. I got all my notes organized (since two of my three exams are open note/open book) and got them printed off so I don't have to drag my laptop with me when I want to study.
Tuesday night I did a whiskey tasting. We had 10 different ones for 15 pounds. Not too bad. It was a lot of fun, but I still don't like whiskey (sorry dad). I'm sure the guys around me enjoyed the faces I was making, lol. However, I drank them all neat (no water for this chick) so I consider that an accomplishment on my end.
Wednesday night I went out with Jesse and we studied international law over a few pints. It was actually a really good study tactic because we were a little more relaxed. :)
Thursday it was absolutely gorgeous here. I mean, 72 degrees, the sun was shining! Definitely not a day you want to be stuck inside on. So Kevin, Jesse, and I went and got a picnic lunch (sandwich, crisps, and a drink for 3 pounds) and then headed to the river to go punting. We went on a guided tour instead of trying to figure it out for ourselves though. I think it was worth it. Then, since it was gorgeous, we went and hung out in one of the many many parks here in Cambridge for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun. I was supposed to do a wine tasting that night, but since I hadn't really studied, and had been out the previous two nights I went ahead and gave up my spot.
Friday the weather was back to cloudy and 65 (really cold for England this time of the year) so I did my studying at Starbucks for the afternoon. That night a bunch of us went out to a really nice meal at a restaurant around the corner. It was one of those 2 hour affairs. It was fun getting dressed up and going out though. I think everyone had fun. :) After dinner we all headed to the college bar and continued our fun evening there. It was a great evening all around.
Overall, it has been a good week. About half studying, half fun. I'll be sad to see it be done. I will say I'm looking forward to a few things when I get back to the States (and the heat is not one of them). Finals start on Monday. I have one each day M, T, W. The farewell dinner is on Wed night, and then it'll be off to London for a long weekend. I found out last night that there's a beer festival going on in London this week, Tuesday - Sunday, so I'm sure Kevin and I will make a stop there on Thursday before he heads to the airport to go home.
As for me, I plan to hit up a show or two, go to M&M World and the Churchill War Rooms. I'd also like to go to Camden Market, and maybe back to Greenwich. We'll see.
Anyways, that's all for now. I'll try and update sometime next week, but if I don't, I'll update when I get back to the States! Have a good week everyone!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Awesome Birthday Weekend
So not much out of the ordinary happened last week. For the most part it was pretty low key: school, study, dinner, hang out, sleep, repeat. :)
On Wednesday night almost everyone went to the college bar, and after that, most of us headed off to a club to go dancing, but there was such confusion as to what we were doing and where we were going that a few of us left before anyone actually made up their mind (apparently everyone ended up at a foam party until about 2am, I'm kind of glad I left). When I got back I went by Kevin's room (he's not really into dancing in small spaces w/ lots of people, but then again, I don't know too many guys who are into that) because he had my key so he could go pick up his laundry while we went out. Since it was midnight he gave my birthday present. It is a silver necklace w/ a ruby pendant (my birth stone). It's beautiful, and I absolutely love it. :)
So obviously, Thursday was my birthday. I didn't really advertise it though b/c I didn't want it to be a big thing. I just wanted it to be pretty low key. Most people looked on facebook and saw, and it was nice to get so many "happy birthdays" on my wall and in class. :) Like I said, I wanted a pretty low key evening, so I just invited about 8 people out for dinner and drinks. The cider festival is going on at Wetherspoons around England, and so we ate there for the cider, cheap food, and cheap drinks. Plus it was curry night, and pretty much everyone I know beside me likes curry. Lol. We chilled there for about 2 hours and then headed to another local pub called The Free Press and had a few drinks there. Oh, but before we left Wetherspoons, my friend Jesse grabbed some of the balloons that were everywhere and tied them to my wrist. It made me smile. :) At The Free Press, it was again very chill, we just hung out talked, and a few drinks. We left about 10:30 because we all had to be up the next morning for a bus ride to London (another reason i didn't want it to be a crazy night). As we left, two of my 3 balloons were drained by my friends for their helium, and the third one I used as my "birthday candle" and I released it and made a wish. We'll see if it comes true.
So Friday, as I said, we all had to be up for a bus ride to London. We did something called "Legal London" and it was pretty awesome. So we loaded the bus and left about 9, getting into London by 11. We unloaded, and headed to Middle Temple. London has 4 Inns of Courts: Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. We saw 3 of them. I'm going to try and explain this as best I can, so bear with me. When you practice law in England, you either become a barrister or solicitor, and if you become a barrister, you have to join one of the Inns. You do this after you complete your undergrad (I believe) and before you do any more education. The Inn you join helps pay for your education, and you have to dues. As a student you're also required to attend 12 dinners within the year. Each Inn has their own dining halls, and a lot of barristers have their offices there, and it's literally just down the street from the Royal Courts of Justice. I'm sure I've left something out, but you get the gist.
So the first thing we did upon arriving at Middle Temple was to get a tour of Temple Church, and for any of you who have read the Da Vinici Code, this will be familiar, If you're not, check out this page for some back history: . It was a pretty cool church, and it is shared by Middle and Inner temple. The church was built by the Knights Templar too. In 1608, after many years of renting the land from the monarchy, King James I gave the land out right to the two temples forever in return for their loyalty. After a tour of the church, we got a tour of Middle Temple, and then attended a reception looking down into the dining hall (I had sherry for the first time at this reception. Not something I plan on drinking again). After the reception we were led down to the dining hall and served a 3 course meal (I had cold tomato and basil soup, trout w/ vegetables (although the trout looked like salmon), and strawberries and cream and coffee for dessert. It was all pretty good). I'm just going to say it, the ABA, needs to have something similar to these Inns of Court, b/c they're amazing. Even though the normal members didn't get served, it was still just an amazing room and an amazing opportunity. It would take entirely too long to explain everything about this system to you though, so I won't. :) After lunch we took a "Legal tour" of London. We saw two more Inns, the Royal Courts of Justice (we even got to peak into a few of the court rooms and see everyone in their robes and wigs), and then we went past a shop that actually makes the official robes and wigs for judges and barristers. Yes, judges and barristers still where the robes and wigs, although, now it's just in the Criminal courts, they have been done away with (mostly) in the Civil courts.
After that, we were free to go our own way, or get back on the bus and come back to Cambridge. I think only two or three people came back to Cambridge. Jesse, Kevin, and I had booked a hostel near King's Cross so we went there, checked in, and changed out of our suits. After that we went down to Saint Paul's, walked across Millennium Bridge, and then down along the Thames. For dinner we grabbed some of the stand food and some ice cream, and then we headed to the London Eye. We got Fast Track passes (which was totally worth the extra 10 pounds b/c the line was ridiculous even at 8pm) and basically got on in about 10 minutes as opposed to over an hour. After that we went to the other side of the Thames and went on a boat/bar. I had some pumpkin soup (which tastes nothing like any pumpkin I've had before, but I think that's b/c when I have pumpkin, it's been sweetened), and hung out there until about 11 and then headed back to the hostel. We ended up being split up into two rooms, I was not happy about this considering I had booked us all together, which kind of sucked, but we were only there for sleeping, so it wasn't too bad. Also, the hostel was in the middle of London, literally a block away from Kings Cross, so it was kind of noisy. Oh well. You pay for convenience sometimes.
Saturday we got up and had breakfast at the hostel (it was free, so why not), and then headed to Greenwich Park. Part of the park is going to be used for the Olympics, so they had a big chunk blocked off, but it was still very pretty. We went up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Prime Meridian, and looked in the free museums up there and then headed back into town. They're rebuilding the Cutty Sark (which was badly damaged by a fire a few years ago) and it should be open next year sometime. We went into an old sweet shop and got some chocolate. Then we went to Greenwich market. We ended up eating there because they had so many food stands, and it wasn't just fish and chips. They had crepes, Thai food, Mexican, Ethiopian, and specialty stands. I ended up with some red sausages in ciabatta bread w/ green leaves (it wasn't lettuce) and to drink I had some Horchata (which is kind of like rice milk, but w/ a hazelnut flavor). Kevin got Thai food, and Jesse got essentially a Philly Cheese Steak. After lunch we headed back into London and went to the Imperial War Museum. P.S. This museum used to be an Insane Asylum and the Victorian people (I'm pretty sure that's when this was) used to get dressed up and go there, peer into the cells of the insane people, and watch them in there; it was their entertainment. It is now a museum though, and a pretty interesting one at that. Although, there's not much in there from before WWI which seems kind of strange.
After the museum, we went back to the hostel, where we had left our bags, got changed for the theater that night, went to Kings Cross to store our bags for another few hours, and then headed to Piccadilly Circus. We grabbed dinner at a pub just off Haymarket St and then headed to Her Majesty's Theater to see The Phantom of the Opera. When I was looking for tickets about a week and a half ago, a lot of the shows for Saturday night had already sold out, or the three of us would not be sitting together. Both Jesse and Kevin wanted to see Phantom, and I loved it so much last summer, I had no qualms w/ seeing it again. We sat pretty much at the very back of the balcony, but it was still pretty cool. I know they both enjoyed it a lot. After the show, we had to hustle back to King's Cross, b/c the luggage storage place closed at 11, and the show ended at 10. We were leaving nothing to chance. So we were rude Americans and ducked out as the curtain went down before they all came to take their bows. We got to the store about 10:30, and after we grabbed our bags went to go get our train tickets back to Cambridge. We ended up catching the "Express" train, or rather, the one that doesn't make 50 stops, but goes via Cambridge. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. There was standing room only on that train. Luckily, we all got seats so we didn't have to stand for the 45 min ride back to Cambridge.
I had a blast this birthday. It could be one of my favorites that's for sure. Somehow, I don't think next year's will be quite as exciting, but it will be on a Saturday, so we'll see. :) I can't believe that my time here is almost up. My birthday has always signaled the end of summer, so it's a little bitter-sweet, but this time it also signals that it's time to go home. I've got two more full weeks here. This week is the last week of classes, and then next week is finals and the farewell dinner. We have to be out of our rooms by noon on the 4th of August, and most people are leaving on the 5th. :( I'll be around until the 9th in London. I've already got my hostel booked, and I've already made mental notes of things I'd like to do while I'm there (such as eating at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants). There will still be a few people around, so I'm going to top up my phone (it's a month by month phone) so I'll still be able to get a hold of people, and hang out with them some and do my own thing a little as well. I've stayed under budget very well this summer, so I'll have a little bit of wiggle room while I'm in London, so I might take a day trip or two, we'll see. Anyways. That's it from here. Hope you all are well.
On Wednesday night almost everyone went to the college bar, and after that, most of us headed off to a club to go dancing, but there was such confusion as to what we were doing and where we were going that a few of us left before anyone actually made up their mind (apparently everyone ended up at a foam party until about 2am, I'm kind of glad I left). When I got back I went by Kevin's room (he's not really into dancing in small spaces w/ lots of people, but then again, I don't know too many guys who are into that) because he had my key so he could go pick up his laundry while we went out. Since it was midnight he gave my birthday present. It is a silver necklace w/ a ruby pendant (my birth stone). It's beautiful, and I absolutely love it. :)
So obviously, Thursday was my birthday. I didn't really advertise it though b/c I didn't want it to be a big thing. I just wanted it to be pretty low key. Most people looked on facebook and saw, and it was nice to get so many "happy birthdays" on my wall and in class. :) Like I said, I wanted a pretty low key evening, so I just invited about 8 people out for dinner and drinks. The cider festival is going on at Wetherspoons around England, and so we ate there for the cider, cheap food, and cheap drinks. Plus it was curry night, and pretty much everyone I know beside me likes curry. Lol. We chilled there for about 2 hours and then headed to another local pub called The Free Press and had a few drinks there. Oh, but before we left Wetherspoons, my friend Jesse grabbed some of the balloons that were everywhere and tied them to my wrist. It made me smile. :) At The Free Press, it was again very chill, we just hung out talked, and a few drinks. We left about 10:30 because we all had to be up the next morning for a bus ride to London (another reason i didn't want it to be a crazy night). As we left, two of my 3 balloons were drained by my friends for their helium, and the third one I used as my "birthday candle" and I released it and made a wish. We'll see if it comes true.
So Friday, as I said, we all had to be up for a bus ride to London. We did something called "Legal London" and it was pretty awesome. So we loaded the bus and left about 9, getting into London by 11. We unloaded, and headed to Middle Temple. London has 4 Inns of Courts: Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. We saw 3 of them. I'm going to try and explain this as best I can, so bear with me. When you practice law in England, you either become a barrister or solicitor, and if you become a barrister, you have to join one of the Inns. You do this after you complete your undergrad (I believe) and before you do any more education. The Inn you join helps pay for your education, and you have to dues. As a student you're also required to attend 12 dinners within the year. Each Inn has their own dining halls, and a lot of barristers have their offices there, and it's literally just down the street from the Royal Courts of Justice. I'm sure I've left something out, but you get the gist.
So the first thing we did upon arriving at Middle Temple was to get a tour of Temple Church, and for any of you who have read the Da Vinici Code, this will be familiar, If you're not, check out this page for some back history: . It was a pretty cool church, and it is shared by Middle and Inner temple. The church was built by the Knights Templar too. In 1608, after many years of renting the land from the monarchy, King James I gave the land out right to the two temples forever in return for their loyalty. After a tour of the church, we got a tour of Middle Temple, and then attended a reception looking down into the dining hall (I had sherry for the first time at this reception. Not something I plan on drinking again). After the reception we were led down to the dining hall and served a 3 course meal (I had cold tomato and basil soup, trout w/ vegetables (although the trout looked like salmon), and strawberries and cream and coffee for dessert. It was all pretty good). I'm just going to say it, the ABA, needs to have something similar to these Inns of Court, b/c they're amazing. Even though the normal members didn't get served, it was still just an amazing room and an amazing opportunity. It would take entirely too long to explain everything about this system to you though, so I won't. :) After lunch we took a "Legal tour" of London. We saw two more Inns, the Royal Courts of Justice (we even got to peak into a few of the court rooms and see everyone in their robes and wigs), and then we went past a shop that actually makes the official robes and wigs for judges and barristers. Yes, judges and barristers still where the robes and wigs, although, now it's just in the Criminal courts, they have been done away with (mostly) in the Civil courts.
After that, we were free to go our own way, or get back on the bus and come back to Cambridge. I think only two or three people came back to Cambridge. Jesse, Kevin, and I had booked a hostel near King's Cross so we went there, checked in, and changed out of our suits. After that we went down to Saint Paul's, walked across Millennium Bridge, and then down along the Thames. For dinner we grabbed some of the stand food and some ice cream, and then we headed to the London Eye. We got Fast Track passes (which was totally worth the extra 10 pounds b/c the line was ridiculous even at 8pm) and basically got on in about 10 minutes as opposed to over an hour. After that we went to the other side of the Thames and went on a boat/bar. I had some pumpkin soup (which tastes nothing like any pumpkin I've had before, but I think that's b/c when I have pumpkin, it's been sweetened), and hung out there until about 11 and then headed back to the hostel. We ended up being split up into two rooms, I was not happy about this considering I had booked us all together, which kind of sucked, but we were only there for sleeping, so it wasn't too bad. Also, the hostel was in the middle of London, literally a block away from Kings Cross, so it was kind of noisy. Oh well. You pay for convenience sometimes.
Saturday we got up and had breakfast at the hostel (it was free, so why not), and then headed to Greenwich Park. Part of the park is going to be used for the Olympics, so they had a big chunk blocked off, but it was still very pretty. We went up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Prime Meridian, and looked in the free museums up there and then headed back into town. They're rebuilding the Cutty Sark (which was badly damaged by a fire a few years ago) and it should be open next year sometime. We went into an old sweet shop and got some chocolate. Then we went to Greenwich market. We ended up eating there because they had so many food stands, and it wasn't just fish and chips. They had crepes, Thai food, Mexican, Ethiopian, and specialty stands. I ended up with some red sausages in ciabatta bread w/ green leaves (it wasn't lettuce) and to drink I had some Horchata (which is kind of like rice milk, but w/ a hazelnut flavor). Kevin got Thai food, and Jesse got essentially a Philly Cheese Steak. After lunch we headed back into London and went to the Imperial War Museum. P.S. This museum used to be an Insane Asylum and the Victorian people (I'm pretty sure that's when this was) used to get dressed up and go there, peer into the cells of the insane people, and watch them in there; it was their entertainment. It is now a museum though, and a pretty interesting one at that. Although, there's not much in there from before WWI which seems kind of strange.
After the museum, we went back to the hostel, where we had left our bags, got changed for the theater that night, went to Kings Cross to store our bags for another few hours, and then headed to Piccadilly Circus. We grabbed dinner at a pub just off Haymarket St and then headed to Her Majesty's Theater to see The Phantom of the Opera. When I was looking for tickets about a week and a half ago, a lot of the shows for Saturday night had already sold out, or the three of us would not be sitting together. Both Jesse and Kevin wanted to see Phantom, and I loved it so much last summer, I had no qualms w/ seeing it again. We sat pretty much at the very back of the balcony, but it was still pretty cool. I know they both enjoyed it a lot. After the show, we had to hustle back to King's Cross, b/c the luggage storage place closed at 11, and the show ended at 10. We were leaving nothing to chance. So we were rude Americans and ducked out as the curtain went down before they all came to take their bows. We got to the store about 10:30, and after we grabbed our bags went to go get our train tickets back to Cambridge. We ended up catching the "Express" train, or rather, the one that doesn't make 50 stops, but goes via Cambridge. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. There was standing room only on that train. Luckily, we all got seats so we didn't have to stand for the 45 min ride back to Cambridge.
I had a blast this birthday. It could be one of my favorites that's for sure. Somehow, I don't think next year's will be quite as exciting, but it will be on a Saturday, so we'll see. :) I can't believe that my time here is almost up. My birthday has always signaled the end of summer, so it's a little bitter-sweet, but this time it also signals that it's time to go home. I've got two more full weeks here. This week is the last week of classes, and then next week is finals and the farewell dinner. We have to be out of our rooms by noon on the 4th of August, and most people are leaving on the 5th. :( I'll be around until the 9th in London. I've already got my hostel booked, and I've already made mental notes of things I'd like to do while I'm there (such as eating at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants). There will still be a few people around, so I'm going to top up my phone (it's a month by month phone) so I'll still be able to get a hold of people, and hang out with them some and do my own thing a little as well. I've stayed under budget very well this summer, so I'll have a little bit of wiggle room while I'm in London, so I might take a day trip or two, we'll see. Anyways. That's it from here. Hope you all are well.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Pics from Switzerland
Swiss country side
View from our room Friday night
Awesome lake
me and the Alps :)
The Alps
Another awesome lake
The Alps
Snowy Alps
Waterfall that turned into river
Lunch in Tirano, Italy
Alps from the Italian border
Lugano, Switzerland. This lake was beautiful.
Kevin and I by the lake
Across the lake at night
The boat that took us to Lucern
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Mountains, Water, and Vineyards oh my!
Again, I apologize for the long post, but I get so excited sharing these things w/ y’all. And I probably go into way too much detail, but oh well. Enjoy!
So Thursday we headed off to Gatwick, and got there and got on the plane, AND got to Zurich w/o any problems. It was amazing! When we got off the plane, Kevin’s friend Claudio was waiting for us. He took us to dinner at this fondue restaurant. Apparently the Swiss are really big into fondue. It was really good! Kevin and I split a 4 cheese, bacon, and plum brandy sauce fondue pot. We just dipped bread in it, but it was still really good. After that we headed back to Claudio’s place where we stayed the night. He has a really nice apartment.
Now, before I go any further, I want to say that Claudio is in a wheelchair and has deformed hands. So he has something called a Swiss-Track that attaches to the wheelchair and pulls him so he doesn’t have to push himself everywhere. For all of those who ever complained that the US isn’t very handicapped accessible and people are closed minded, you need to come to Switzerland. It’s ridiculous! I’m thankful that my big brother Sam was rehabilitated in the best place possible and hasn’t had too many difficulties getting around (I know he’s had some). On Friday we got up and headed to the train station to head to Claudio’s parents’ house and we had to change lines at one point. Well one guy was so mad that we made the train 2 minutes late he basically told Claudio that if he couldn’t handle the equipment then he needed to stop being so lazy and push himself. What the heck?!?!?! Who says that?!?!?! People are idiots! It is such a pain for him to get around almost anywhere as well. Only half the places we went were handicapped accessible. Switzerland needs to step it up! *steps of soapbox*
Anyways, so on Friday we headed to a small town in Switzerland nestled in the Alps where Claudio grew up and where his parents still live. We got there around 1 and headed to his house where his mom had made us a 3-course meal for lunch! I kid you not. We had homemade vegetable soup first, a traditional Swiss meal called canus (pronounced ka-noose) and salad, and then for dessert we had chocolate mousse. After that very filling lunch we headed off to a small town called Flims where they have a microbrewery. We started with a walk somewhat into/near the Alps. It was almost like we were walking right between them. We walked about an hour in and out to a platform where we got some breath-taking views (b/c the ones we saw on the way up weren’t enough). Afterwards, we went to the brewery and tasted the local brew. It was very good. After that, we came back and Claudio’s mom had cooked us this huge dinner. His dad grilled some meat too. So we had a vegetable medley, potatoes, rice, and about 3 types of meat. They kept giving us more food! And for dessert we had flan. It was amazing. So good! Then we turned in early because on Saturday we had to be up at 6 in order to catch a 7am train!
So Saturday we got up quite early, and Claudio’s mom was already up and had bread, cheese, ham, butter, jam, tea, and juice out for us to eat. Claudio’s dad had worked from 8pm to 4am, but he too was up and ready to take us to the train station. They were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I had so much fun there. So we caught the early train into Chur, and then from there boarded a panoramic train (the windows were literally from about 3 ft off the ground all the way up the side of the train and onto the roof) which took us through the Alps from the middle of Switzerland down to Tirano, Italy. It was a beautiful train ride. I have so many pictures it is ridiculous. We went to about 2,253 meters above sea level at one point. We had about an hour in Italy. So, of course, we ate pasta, pizza, and gelato!!! :-D
After lunch we boarded a bus from Tirano, Italy to Lagano, Switzerland. It was a nice bus ride, and this time, instead of mountains, we saw several vineyards. When we got to Lagano we went and checked into our hotel (which Claudio’s parents put us up in as a thanks to Kevin for all he did while Claudio was at Georgia). It was a beautiful hotel as well. Lagano is on a lake, and this hotel was literally, step out of it and there’s the lake. That night we went and had more pizza and pasta for dinner. Switzerland has 4 official languages: German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. So where Claudio’s parents are it’s the later, and in Lagano it was Italian (hence the Pasta and pizza for dinner). I think in the west it’s probably French, and pretty much everywhere else is German. I was happy that I got to break out my rusty Italian/Spanish. Also, things in Switzerland = SOOOOO EXPENSIVE!!!!! Anyways, after dinner we went for a walk along the water, and then headed back to the hotel for somewhat of an early evening since Sunday was going to be a long day.
So Sunday we got up and had a great continental breakfast: eggs, bacon (the real kind), sausage, fruit, croissants, bread, cheese, meet, cereal, juice, tea, coffee, etc… That was about 8am, and then we headed to the train station to wait for our train. So we took a train from Lagano to another Swiss town where we switched to a train with those same panoramic windows. We took that train to another Swiss town (I can’t pronounce let alone spell any of these places) where we caught a boat across a lake to Luzern. It was another beautiful ride. The water was so blue! We got lunch on the boat, and that was really good. The bad thing was it started raining when we left Lagano, and it didn’t stop until we were back in Zurich. So instead of walking around Luzern, we just grabbed the next train back to Zurich and went back to Claudio’s apartment where we chilled for about 3 hours before heading to the airport. We grabbed one last meal w/ him before we checked our bags and headed through security. By the way, I think I had the most expensive McDonald’s meal ever (12.50 chf)!
Surprisingly, everything went fairly smooth at the airport (minus the family in front of us that obviously could not read or follow directions!) and the flight was fairly smooth as well. We weren’t delayed at all! It’s amazing. We got in, got through customs (I will never understand why it takes the UK custom people 20 minutes to come to their stations and help the lines move quicker), got our bags, and got to the train station w/ 20 minutes to spare! It was awesome. We grabbed the train into London where we switched to King’s Cross and headed out to Cambridge. That’s where I am now as I write this. Mainly so I don’t have to tomorrow. :) I think we should get in around 1:30, which is the earliest we could have arrived given our schedule, but we’ll see. This train is making a lot of stops.
So Thursday we headed off to Gatwick, and got there and got on the plane, AND got to Zurich w/o any problems. It was amazing! When we got off the plane, Kevin’s friend Claudio was waiting for us. He took us to dinner at this fondue restaurant. Apparently the Swiss are really big into fondue. It was really good! Kevin and I split a 4 cheese, bacon, and plum brandy sauce fondue pot. We just dipped bread in it, but it was still really good. After that we headed back to Claudio’s place where we stayed the night. He has a really nice apartment.
Now, before I go any further, I want to say that Claudio is in a wheelchair and has deformed hands. So he has something called a Swiss-Track that attaches to the wheelchair and pulls him so he doesn’t have to push himself everywhere. For all of those who ever complained that the US isn’t very handicapped accessible and people are closed minded, you need to come to Switzerland. It’s ridiculous! I’m thankful that my big brother Sam was rehabilitated in the best place possible and hasn’t had too many difficulties getting around (I know he’s had some). On Friday we got up and headed to the train station to head to Claudio’s parents’ house and we had to change lines at one point. Well one guy was so mad that we made the train 2 minutes late he basically told Claudio that if he couldn’t handle the equipment then he needed to stop being so lazy and push himself. What the heck?!?!?! Who says that?!?!?! People are idiots! It is such a pain for him to get around almost anywhere as well. Only half the places we went were handicapped accessible. Switzerland needs to step it up! *steps of soapbox*
Anyways, so on Friday we headed to a small town in Switzerland nestled in the Alps where Claudio grew up and where his parents still live. We got there around 1 and headed to his house where his mom had made us a 3-course meal for lunch! I kid you not. We had homemade vegetable soup first, a traditional Swiss meal called canus (pronounced ka-noose) and salad, and then for dessert we had chocolate mousse. After that very filling lunch we headed off to a small town called Flims where they have a microbrewery. We started with a walk somewhat into/near the Alps. It was almost like we were walking right between them. We walked about an hour in and out to a platform where we got some breath-taking views (b/c the ones we saw on the way up weren’t enough). Afterwards, we went to the brewery and tasted the local brew. It was very good. After that, we came back and Claudio’s mom had cooked us this huge dinner. His dad grilled some meat too. So we had a vegetable medley, potatoes, rice, and about 3 types of meat. They kept giving us more food! And for dessert we had flan. It was amazing. So good! Then we turned in early because on Saturday we had to be up at 6 in order to catch a 7am train!
So Saturday we got up quite early, and Claudio’s mom was already up and had bread, cheese, ham, butter, jam, tea, and juice out for us to eat. Claudio’s dad had worked from 8pm to 4am, but he too was up and ready to take us to the train station. They were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I had so much fun there. So we caught the early train into Chur, and then from there boarded a panoramic train (the windows were literally from about 3 ft off the ground all the way up the side of the train and onto the roof) which took us through the Alps from the middle of Switzerland down to Tirano, Italy. It was a beautiful train ride. I have so many pictures it is ridiculous. We went to about 2,253 meters above sea level at one point. We had about an hour in Italy. So, of course, we ate pasta, pizza, and gelato!!! :-D
After lunch we boarded a bus from Tirano, Italy to Lagano, Switzerland. It was a nice bus ride, and this time, instead of mountains, we saw several vineyards. When we got to Lagano we went and checked into our hotel (which Claudio’s parents put us up in as a thanks to Kevin for all he did while Claudio was at Georgia). It was a beautiful hotel as well. Lagano is on a lake, and this hotel was literally, step out of it and there’s the lake. That night we went and had more pizza and pasta for dinner. Switzerland has 4 official languages: German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. So where Claudio’s parents are it’s the later, and in Lagano it was Italian (hence the Pasta and pizza for dinner). I think in the west it’s probably French, and pretty much everywhere else is German. I was happy that I got to break out my rusty Italian/Spanish. Also, things in Switzerland = SOOOOO EXPENSIVE!!!!! Anyways, after dinner we went for a walk along the water, and then headed back to the hotel for somewhat of an early evening since Sunday was going to be a long day.
So Sunday we got up and had a great continental breakfast: eggs, bacon (the real kind), sausage, fruit, croissants, bread, cheese, meet, cereal, juice, tea, coffee, etc… That was about 8am, and then we headed to the train station to wait for our train. So we took a train from Lagano to another Swiss town where we switched to a train with those same panoramic windows. We took that train to another Swiss town (I can’t pronounce let alone spell any of these places) where we caught a boat across a lake to Luzern. It was another beautiful ride. The water was so blue! We got lunch on the boat, and that was really good. The bad thing was it started raining when we left Lagano, and it didn’t stop until we were back in Zurich. So instead of walking around Luzern, we just grabbed the next train back to Zurich and went back to Claudio’s apartment where we chilled for about 3 hours before heading to the airport. We grabbed one last meal w/ him before we checked our bags and headed through security. By the way, I think I had the most expensive McDonald’s meal ever (12.50 chf)!
Surprisingly, everything went fairly smooth at the airport (minus the family in front of us that obviously could not read or follow directions!) and the flight was fairly smooth as well. We weren’t delayed at all! It’s amazing. We got in, got through customs (I will never understand why it takes the UK custom people 20 minutes to come to their stations and help the lines move quicker), got our bags, and got to the train station w/ 20 minutes to spare! It was awesome. We grabbed the train into London where we switched to King’s Cross and headed out to Cambridge. That’s where I am now as I write this. Mainly so I don’t have to tomorrow. :) I think we should get in around 1:30, which is the earliest we could have arrived given our schedule, but we’ll see. This train is making a lot of stops.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Quick week
I'm surprised this week went by so fast, but I'm somewhere b/t happy and sad about that.
I should start off w/ a note on my last post. Just so y'all know, Kevin was essentially our translator while we were in Germany. He did pretty good in all, although there was definitely some times when it was a little crazy. :)
So this week. Very quick, but very nice. Monday morning, I was up for class, and actually made it the whole day without a nap (go figure). We even had an auxiliary class that night for Comparative law. It was awesome. People showed up who weren't even in our class. Lol. Our teacher brought 8 bottles of wine for the 20 + people and we sat outside and had class. It was great. Tuesday was pretty bland. That night me and a couple of the girls went out to dinner though, and that was nice (I like girl time).
Yesterday, we found out that our middle class of the day (International Law) would be cancelled, and so one of the students went up to our Comparative law teacher and was like "we don't have int'l law tomorrow, and so you probably will be missing about half of us from class tomorrow, so you might want to cancel class." So he did. So today we only had one class, which would have been nice if we hadn't already booked our flight for 6pm tonight. Oh well. Yesterday night the college bar was open for the first time and so most of us went there for the evening. It was a great place to hang out. Very chill.
So today I went to class, packed, and am now waiting to go to the train station. Not much going on. :) We leave here about 6 and get into Zurich about 8 local time. We're meeting w/ Kevin's friend and heading back to his place. Tomorrow we're going the the friend's parent's house which is apparently in a beautiful part of the country. Then on Saturday we're taking a train through the Alps down to Lugano and staying the night there, and then Sunday we'll head back up. At some point on the train we'll go through Italy, but I'm not sure we'll be able to get off (I hope so though). Anyways, Sunday we leave at 9 local time and get back about 9:45 UK time. Hopefully we won't be delayed again, but either way, it'll be another late night for us. We'll be back sometime b/t 1:30am and 5:30am depending on the train/bus we end up catching. Should be interesting on Monday considering we're having 2 auxiliary classes for comparative law now (one already planned, and one to make up for today).
Have a good weekend everyone!
I should start off w/ a note on my last post. Just so y'all know, Kevin was essentially our translator while we were in Germany. He did pretty good in all, although there was definitely some times when it was a little crazy. :)
So this week. Very quick, but very nice. Monday morning, I was up for class, and actually made it the whole day without a nap (go figure). We even had an auxiliary class that night for Comparative law. It was awesome. People showed up who weren't even in our class. Lol. Our teacher brought 8 bottles of wine for the 20 + people and we sat outside and had class. It was great. Tuesday was pretty bland. That night me and a couple of the girls went out to dinner though, and that was nice (I like girl time).
Yesterday, we found out that our middle class of the day (International Law) would be cancelled, and so one of the students went up to our Comparative law teacher and was like "we don't have int'l law tomorrow, and so you probably will be missing about half of us from class tomorrow, so you might want to cancel class." So he did. So today we only had one class, which would have been nice if we hadn't already booked our flight for 6pm tonight. Oh well. Yesterday night the college bar was open for the first time and so most of us went there for the evening. It was a great place to hang out. Very chill.
So today I went to class, packed, and am now waiting to go to the train station. Not much going on. :) We leave here about 6 and get into Zurich about 8 local time. We're meeting w/ Kevin's friend and heading back to his place. Tomorrow we're going the the friend's parent's house which is apparently in a beautiful part of the country. Then on Saturday we're taking a train through the Alps down to Lugano and staying the night there, and then Sunday we'll head back up. At some point on the train we'll go through Italy, but I'm not sure we'll be able to get off (I hope so though). Anyways, Sunday we leave at 9 local time and get back about 9:45 UK time. Hopefully we won't be delayed again, but either way, it'll be another late night for us. We'll be back sometime b/t 1:30am and 5:30am depending on the train/bus we end up catching. Should be interesting on Monday considering we're having 2 auxiliary classes for comparative law now (one already planned, and one to make up for today).
Have a good weekend everyone!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Kevin and I ready for our trip to Salzburg
German country side
Sound of Music stairs "do re mi fa so la ti do do ti la so fa mi re do"
Me! With the Castle behind me. :)
Mary statue being crowned by two Angels on the church behind her.
"New" town hall. The old one was actually bombed, but it was rebuilt in the 50s in the old style.
Inside of the Hafbrauhaus. The stage at the other end is where Hitler used to give speeches.
Oktoberfest Museum
Bavarian dinner.
Two 1 Liter beires for me and Kevin at the Hafbrauhaus.
This was the standing wave that people were surfing on.
Olympic Stadium. It's very futuristic for the 70s when it was built...
Old BMW at the BMW museum.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Land of the Lions/What I Learned in Germany
Ok, so maybe the title isn't the best, since in all honesty, I learned so much, there would be no way to tell you what I learned. Having said that... I apologize in advance for the length of this blog post. :)
So Thursday, Kevin and I left Cambridge and headed to the airport to go to Germany! We got there kind of early and gates don't get posted until about 45-60 min before the flight, so we just hung out. I found a World of Whiskey store and made sure to get a pic for dad. :) We got onto our plane (Easyjet) and we were already to go (even got decent seats, minus the 2 annoying kids in front of us) and the pilot came on and told us we had been delayed an hour and a half, and we had to stay on the plane. When we finally did take off, all was smooth until we got almost to Munich. There was a storm going on, so we were put in a circle pattern for a half hour before we could land. As we began descending, lightning was flashing all around us (super scary). And of course the two kids in front of us were like "cool! look, i can see fork lightning!" It's a miracle no one strangled them. When we did get in, we grabbed our bag, and we were exhausted. Unfortunately, we then had to figure out how to use the German underground (U-bahn/S-bahn). When we got our tickets (finally), we got on the train, but that ended up terminating sooner than we needed it to, and so at 11:30 pm we were trying to figure out what to do. We don't speak great german, and no one speaks great English. It was interesting to say the least. We finally got to the Pension, and checked in and crashed.
Day 2 was a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. We had to be at the central train station at 9 am, so we were up at 7 and figuring out how to get there. We got there, and all was good. We only got lost once or twice (lol). :) It was rainy in the morning, and we were hoping it wouldn't rain all day. Anyways, we met w/ our tour group, and hopped on a train to Salzburg. By the time we got there (about 11:30) it had stopped raining, but was still cloudy. We got about an hour and a half tour of the city. We saw Mozart's house, the steps/gardens where the "do re mi" scenes were filmed, and this awesome castle that has never fallen (as in war time fallen, not physically fallen). We had the afternoon to ourselves to grab lunch and explore. It was beautiful. Sunny and about 75 degrees. perfect weather. So we grabbed lunch, and then headed to the castle. We went up the tram and got some 360 views of Salzburg and the Alps. After that we went to this church where there was some good statues and such. After that we went to the market area and got a pretzel. :) We met up w/ our group about 4:30 and headed back to the train station to head back to Munich. As we got on the train, the clouds started creeping up, and about half way back, it started raining again. By the time we got back it was about 7pm so Kevin and I headed back to the pension, and just grabbed dinner in the neighborhood we were staying in. I had my first kebab. It wasn't too bad, but the language barrier made it difficult to get what I was wanting. After that we just headed back to the Pension and chilled. Again, it was a beautiful day all day, and that night it stormed again.
Day 3 was time in Munich. The first half of the day we went on a Third Reich Walking Tour of Munich it started in the town center by the "new" town hall. However, they were finishing setting up for gay pride weekend when we got there so it made things extremely interesting. :) We met up w/ our tour group and headed off. It was really interesting seeing all these famous places and learning about the history.
A few things I learned: 80% of Munich was bombed; many of the taller landmarks were left alone so they could be used as landmarks; The Haufbrahaus was where Hitler began making speeches because beer halls are where everyone hung out and it's a lot easier to persuade people to do stuff when they're drunk; Hitler originally wanted to be a painter, but was turned down by university twice; After WWII, they were originally going to leave bombed out Munich as is and then rebuild about 50 miles away, but they couldn't do that, so they rebuilt, but a lot of the buildings were built w/ new materials in the old style.
That afternoon we went back to the train station to meet up w/ Kevin's cousin Jared and Jared's friend Sam who are both stationed up by Nuremberg. That proved difficult b/c they got in late, and we didn't know, and when we did find out, we had already left, so we had to go back and find them. We did, and so after that we literally just walked around Munich aimlessly for an hour and a half. So there was also apparently some sort of convention going on as well as gay pride weekend b/c we saw a lot of people dressed up in Star Wars weekends as we walked around (they could be related, but I don't think so). The good thing about the German S-bahn/U-bahn is that you can buy what are called partner tickets and they cover up to 5 people on ticket. So it was less than 10 euros total for a day ticket for us to ride around on. Also, no one actually checks the tickets. It's basically on the honor system. I don't think I saw one conductor/station person the entire time we used the S-bahn/U-bahn. Anyways, since we had this partner ticket we took Jared and Sam back to our pension for a half hour or so. Then we headed to the fun part of our evening. :)
The beer and food tour!!!!! The four of us had tickets, and so we headed back to the train station (it was literally our second residence while we were in Munich). We met up with our tour. There was about 16 of us total. We had a welcome beer and got a quick run down of what we were going to do, and then it was off to the Oktoberfest Museum. Now, I should mention here that it had been gorgeous all day, and as we went into the Museum, the clouds started rolling in. The plan was for us to be at the Museum until about 8 and then head to Haufbrakeller. We got through our guided tour of the museum, and at the end we got to sample 3 different beers (I definitely like the Weisse biere). They also gave us pretzels to eat, and not just any pretzels, but Bavarian pretzels that are like the size of your hand. Anyways, it had started raining while we were in the museum, so we had to chill a little longer until it stopped, which it eventually did. Then we caught the tram and headed to Haufbrakeller, but we didn't get there until about 8:45/9. Jared and Sam had to duck out by 9:20 in order to catch the tram back to the station. However, they got to eat w/ us first. We were served a traditional Bavarian cold dinner complete w/ different sausages/brautworsts/salamis, cheese, ham, bread, onions, sauerkraut, pretzels, and pickles. It was all really good. And of course, we all had another beer there (When in Rome). When we were all done it was about 9:45/10 and so we headed back out to catch the tram and go to the Haufbrahaus. However, the tram ended up being late, and it had started raining again as we waited. So about 10 of us (some people had left) huddled under the cover trying to stay dry. The tram came and we all hopped on and headed off. Unfortunately, the tram line was being work on and it was terminated about a mile from our destination and the rain really started coming down. So we ducked into a theater lobby to wait it out. As we were discussing what to do, the house manager came up and offered to let us watch the last 15-20 min of this 100 euro dinner show for free while we waited for the rain to stop. About 6 of us accepted, and the other 4 caught taxis to wherever they needed to go. The show was called "Move" and there was no talking, just music. So we saw the end of a Spanish dance, we saw a trapeze act (it was amazing, words cannot describe it), and then we saw the finale which involved jump roping and a pom dance. It was pretty cool. When it was done, we all headed back out, and the rain had let up, but it hadn't quit, so the decision passed to us, so the 6 of us decided to just go through the rain. So we did. Once there, 2 more left for the train. So 4 of us got a quick tour of the Haufbrahaus (it was 11pm) before we were let loose to go get a drink. Last call was at 11, so we found a table and grabbed a biere. Now, after 6pm, this place doesn't serve anything less than 1 liter beers. It was awesome. There was a band, and lots of drunk people to watch, lol. After that, Kevin and I went our separate ways and headed back to the pension.
Day 4 was our last day in Munich. It, also, started off beautiful. We checked out and went and got a luggage locker at the train station for the day. After that we went out and caught the Hop on Hop off tour bus. It took us to a lot of places we had already been, but it was still nice to see it again. So we had tickets to ride that around all day, and we had all day 4-zone tickets (b/c we had to go to the airport later). So after we rode through the whole thing once, we rode around again to the royal gardens, got out, and walked to the english gardens. We walked around the gardens and saw a standing wave where people were surfing (in Munich! go figure) and the Chinese bieregarten. We also saw a lot of people laying out b/c it was so nice, unfortunately for us, it was clothing optional, lol. Anyways. For lunch we went to one of the bieregartens and got some food. Then we hopped on the S-bahn/U-bahn out to Olympic park. It was pretty cool. They had made some improvements since they were competing for the 2018 winter Olympics (they lost to South Korea I believe). We spent a few hours there just chilling. There was also a BMW museum there that we stopped off in. We headed back to the city center so we could watch the glockenspiel go off (we ended up being disappointed, it's broken). So we caught the U-bahn/S-bahn still in and caught the hop on hop off bus around to Marienplatz (city center). It had started raining while we were underground though (go figure). Luckily, I had my umbrella. We got there kind of early so we people watched a little at the gay pride weekend thing and listened to what was going on on stage (I think it was a drag show. I couldn't see or understand what was being said). After we were disappointed, we went back to the train station, got our bags, and headed to the airport (much less adventurous this time around). We grabbed dinner there, and listened to the thunderstorm come through. It cleared off before we took off though, which was nice.
But, just because that wasn't enough of an adventure... Our flight ended up being delayed about a half hour b/c so many people brought suitcases that it wouldn't all fit in the overhead bins so they had to get some people to come out and stick them below. So Kevin and I got in at 11:10 instead of 10:45 and our bus back to Cambridge left at 11:35. Needless to say, we did not make it. We had to take a tram back to the main terminal, and then get through customs. We were like, crap, I guess we're sleeping in the airport. But, we went to the bus station anyways, just in case they had another bus going that way. Lucky for us, they did!!! Yay!!!! It left at 1am. So we had about an hour to kill, and then we took a 40 minute bus ride back to Cambridge. We got in about 1:45. Monday morning, we were both up for classes, and neither of us fell asleep in class (at least, not for the whole class) ;).
It was definitely a fun weekend, and one that will definitely be remembered. It's always things that don't go according to plan that you remember distinctly for years to come. Pics are up on facebook, but I think i'll post a few on here as well.
So Thursday, Kevin and I left Cambridge and headed to the airport to go to Germany! We got there kind of early and gates don't get posted until about 45-60 min before the flight, so we just hung out. I found a World of Whiskey store and made sure to get a pic for dad. :) We got onto our plane (Easyjet) and we were already to go (even got decent seats, minus the 2 annoying kids in front of us) and the pilot came on and told us we had been delayed an hour and a half, and we had to stay on the plane. When we finally did take off, all was smooth until we got almost to Munich. There was a storm going on, so we were put in a circle pattern for a half hour before we could land. As we began descending, lightning was flashing all around us (super scary). And of course the two kids in front of us were like "cool! look, i can see fork lightning!" It's a miracle no one strangled them. When we did get in, we grabbed our bag, and we were exhausted. Unfortunately, we then had to figure out how to use the German underground (U-bahn/S-bahn). When we got our tickets (finally), we got on the train, but that ended up terminating sooner than we needed it to, and so at 11:30 pm we were trying to figure out what to do. We don't speak great german, and no one speaks great English. It was interesting to say the least. We finally got to the Pension, and checked in and crashed.
Day 2 was a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. We had to be at the central train station at 9 am, so we were up at 7 and figuring out how to get there. We got there, and all was good. We only got lost once or twice (lol). :) It was rainy in the morning, and we were hoping it wouldn't rain all day. Anyways, we met w/ our tour group, and hopped on a train to Salzburg. By the time we got there (about 11:30) it had stopped raining, but was still cloudy. We got about an hour and a half tour of the city. We saw Mozart's house, the steps/gardens where the "do re mi" scenes were filmed, and this awesome castle that has never fallen (as in war time fallen, not physically fallen). We had the afternoon to ourselves to grab lunch and explore. It was beautiful. Sunny and about 75 degrees. perfect weather. So we grabbed lunch, and then headed to the castle. We went up the tram and got some 360 views of Salzburg and the Alps. After that we went to this church where there was some good statues and such. After that we went to the market area and got a pretzel. :) We met up w/ our group about 4:30 and headed back to the train station to head back to Munich. As we got on the train, the clouds started creeping up, and about half way back, it started raining again. By the time we got back it was about 7pm so Kevin and I headed back to the pension, and just grabbed dinner in the neighborhood we were staying in. I had my first kebab. It wasn't too bad, but the language barrier made it difficult to get what I was wanting. After that we just headed back to the Pension and chilled. Again, it was a beautiful day all day, and that night it stormed again.
Day 3 was time in Munich. The first half of the day we went on a Third Reich Walking Tour of Munich it started in the town center by the "new" town hall. However, they were finishing setting up for gay pride weekend when we got there so it made things extremely interesting. :) We met up w/ our tour group and headed off. It was really interesting seeing all these famous places and learning about the history.
A few things I learned: 80% of Munich was bombed; many of the taller landmarks were left alone so they could be used as landmarks; The Haufbrahaus was where Hitler began making speeches because beer halls are where everyone hung out and it's a lot easier to persuade people to do stuff when they're drunk; Hitler originally wanted to be a painter, but was turned down by university twice; After WWII, they were originally going to leave bombed out Munich as is and then rebuild about 50 miles away, but they couldn't do that, so they rebuilt, but a lot of the buildings were built w/ new materials in the old style.
That afternoon we went back to the train station to meet up w/ Kevin's cousin Jared and Jared's friend Sam who are both stationed up by Nuremberg. That proved difficult b/c they got in late, and we didn't know, and when we did find out, we had already left, so we had to go back and find them. We did, and so after that we literally just walked around Munich aimlessly for an hour and a half. So there was also apparently some sort of convention going on as well as gay pride weekend b/c we saw a lot of people dressed up in Star Wars weekends as we walked around (they could be related, but I don't think so). The good thing about the German S-bahn/U-bahn is that you can buy what are called partner tickets and they cover up to 5 people on ticket. So it was less than 10 euros total for a day ticket for us to ride around on. Also, no one actually checks the tickets. It's basically on the honor system. I don't think I saw one conductor/station person the entire time we used the S-bahn/U-bahn. Anyways, since we had this partner ticket we took Jared and Sam back to our pension for a half hour or so. Then we headed to the fun part of our evening. :)
The beer and food tour!!!!! The four of us had tickets, and so we headed back to the train station (it was literally our second residence while we were in Munich). We met up with our tour. There was about 16 of us total. We had a welcome beer and got a quick run down of what we were going to do, and then it was off to the Oktoberfest Museum. Now, I should mention here that it had been gorgeous all day, and as we went into the Museum, the clouds started rolling in. The plan was for us to be at the Museum until about 8 and then head to Haufbrakeller. We got through our guided tour of the museum, and at the end we got to sample 3 different beers (I definitely like the Weisse biere). They also gave us pretzels to eat, and not just any pretzels, but Bavarian pretzels that are like the size of your hand. Anyways, it had started raining while we were in the museum, so we had to chill a little longer until it stopped, which it eventually did. Then we caught the tram and headed to Haufbrakeller, but we didn't get there until about 8:45/9. Jared and Sam had to duck out by 9:20 in order to catch the tram back to the station. However, they got to eat w/ us first. We were served a traditional Bavarian cold dinner complete w/ different sausages/brautworsts/salamis, cheese, ham, bread, onions, sauerkraut, pretzels, and pickles. It was all really good. And of course, we all had another beer there (When in Rome). When we were all done it was about 9:45/10 and so we headed back out to catch the tram and go to the Haufbrahaus. However, the tram ended up being late, and it had started raining again as we waited. So about 10 of us (some people had left) huddled under the cover trying to stay dry. The tram came and we all hopped on and headed off. Unfortunately, the tram line was being work on and it was terminated about a mile from our destination and the rain really started coming down. So we ducked into a theater lobby to wait it out. As we were discussing what to do, the house manager came up and offered to let us watch the last 15-20 min of this 100 euro dinner show for free while we waited for the rain to stop. About 6 of us accepted, and the other 4 caught taxis to wherever they needed to go. The show was called "Move" and there was no talking, just music. So we saw the end of a Spanish dance, we saw a trapeze act (it was amazing, words cannot describe it), and then we saw the finale which involved jump roping and a pom dance. It was pretty cool. When it was done, we all headed back out, and the rain had let up, but it hadn't quit, so the decision passed to us, so the 6 of us decided to just go through the rain. So we did. Once there, 2 more left for the train. So 4 of us got a quick tour of the Haufbrahaus (it was 11pm) before we were let loose to go get a drink. Last call was at 11, so we found a table and grabbed a biere. Now, after 6pm, this place doesn't serve anything less than 1 liter beers. It was awesome. There was a band, and lots of drunk people to watch, lol. After that, Kevin and I went our separate ways and headed back to the pension.
Day 4 was our last day in Munich. It, also, started off beautiful. We checked out and went and got a luggage locker at the train station for the day. After that we went out and caught the Hop on Hop off tour bus. It took us to a lot of places we had already been, but it was still nice to see it again. So we had tickets to ride that around all day, and we had all day 4-zone tickets (b/c we had to go to the airport later). So after we rode through the whole thing once, we rode around again to the royal gardens, got out, and walked to the english gardens. We walked around the gardens and saw a standing wave where people were surfing (in Munich! go figure) and the Chinese bieregarten. We also saw a lot of people laying out b/c it was so nice, unfortunately for us, it was clothing optional, lol. Anyways. For lunch we went to one of the bieregartens and got some food. Then we hopped on the S-bahn/U-bahn out to Olympic park. It was pretty cool. They had made some improvements since they were competing for the 2018 winter Olympics (they lost to South Korea I believe). We spent a few hours there just chilling. There was also a BMW museum there that we stopped off in. We headed back to the city center so we could watch the glockenspiel go off (we ended up being disappointed, it's broken). So we caught the U-bahn/S-bahn still in and caught the hop on hop off bus around to Marienplatz (city center). It had started raining while we were underground though (go figure). Luckily, I had my umbrella. We got there kind of early so we people watched a little at the gay pride weekend thing and listened to what was going on on stage (I think it was a drag show. I couldn't see or understand what was being said). After we were disappointed, we went back to the train station, got our bags, and headed to the airport (much less adventurous this time around). We grabbed dinner there, and listened to the thunderstorm come through. It cleared off before we took off though, which was nice.
But, just because that wasn't enough of an adventure... Our flight ended up being delayed about a half hour b/c so many people brought suitcases that it wouldn't all fit in the overhead bins so they had to get some people to come out and stick them below. So Kevin and I got in at 11:10 instead of 10:45 and our bus back to Cambridge left at 11:35. Needless to say, we did not make it. We had to take a tram back to the main terminal, and then get through customs. We were like, crap, I guess we're sleeping in the airport. But, we went to the bus station anyways, just in case they had another bus going that way. Lucky for us, they did!!! Yay!!!! It left at 1am. So we had about an hour to kill, and then we took a 40 minute bus ride back to Cambridge. We got in about 1:45. Monday morning, we were both up for classes, and neither of us fell asleep in class (at least, not for the whole class) ;).
It was definitely a fun weekend, and one that will definitely be remembered. It's always things that don't go according to plan that you remember distinctly for years to come. Pics are up on facebook, but I think i'll post a few on here as well.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
TGIT...
One thing I love about my study abroad programs over here: 3-day weekends!!!! :-D
So this week has been pretty good. Monday was the 4th of July and so we all (all 30 of us, or however many there are) went out. We just hung close to "home" and went to The Snug (the pub next door). They gave us a ton of coupons that was like get an American Burger and get a free cocktail. Now the burger = disgusting, but the cocktail was good. :) It was a fun night though. It was so fun there were some people missing in class the next day. Lol.
The next three days were pretty uneventful. Went to class, and then studied. Lol. Last night Jesse and I headed to The Free Press (we've decided this will be our regular Wednesday night hang out) and gossiped a little and chatted w/ the locals.
Today, in fact in about an hour, I'll be heading to the train station to head to London and catch a plane to Germany. We'll be in Munich this weekend. Although Friday we're taking a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. I'm really looking forward to this trip, although I think Kevin is kind of nervous. He's not really used to travelling, but once we're there it'll be good, I'm sure.
Most of our other friends are heading to London for the weekend. Some are leaving in about an hour, and others are going later, or tomorrow. There's about 8 of them who got wristbands to.... get this.... the Harry Potter Premiere in Trafalgar Square tonight. They went right after class yesterday and stood in line to get the last few wristbands! So apparently they have Trafalgar Square fenced off, and this wrist band gets you into the square mile fenced off area where the red carpet is. I'm not sure if they'll get close to see anyone (mainly b/c I don't know how many wristbands they gave out) but someone said the red carpet is a mile long, and so hopefully they'll be able to get some awesome pics. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit jealous right now, and by a little bit, I mean a lot! :)
Anyways, that's all from here. I need to get packing. I'll post again on Monday!
So this week has been pretty good. Monday was the 4th of July and so we all (all 30 of us, or however many there are) went out. We just hung close to "home" and went to The Snug (the pub next door). They gave us a ton of coupons that was like get an American Burger and get a free cocktail. Now the burger = disgusting, but the cocktail was good. :) It was a fun night though. It was so fun there were some people missing in class the next day. Lol.
The next three days were pretty uneventful. Went to class, and then studied. Lol. Last night Jesse and I headed to The Free Press (we've decided this will be our regular Wednesday night hang out) and gossiped a little and chatted w/ the locals.
Today, in fact in about an hour, I'll be heading to the train station to head to London and catch a plane to Germany. We'll be in Munich this weekend. Although Friday we're taking a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. I'm really looking forward to this trip, although I think Kevin is kind of nervous. He's not really used to travelling, but once we're there it'll be good, I'm sure.
Most of our other friends are heading to London for the weekend. Some are leaving in about an hour, and others are going later, or tomorrow. There's about 8 of them who got wristbands to.... get this.... the Harry Potter Premiere in Trafalgar Square tonight. They went right after class yesterday and stood in line to get the last few wristbands! So apparently they have Trafalgar Square fenced off, and this wrist band gets you into the square mile fenced off area where the red carpet is. I'm not sure if they'll get close to see anyone (mainly b/c I don't know how many wristbands they gave out) but someone said the red carpet is a mile long, and so hopefully they'll be able to get some awesome pics. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit jealous right now, and by a little bit, I mean a lot! :)
Anyways, that's all from here. I need to get packing. I'll post again on Monday!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Proof that Subway is better than McDonald's
So this weekend was another good one. However, I kind of consider any weekend with my English family a good one. This one was particularly good though because I also got to go to Harlaxton for a night (can I just go take my law classes there please?).
So Thursday evening I headed off to Harlaxton and got in a little before 9. I spent the first hour or so running around taking pictures, remembering all the awesome places to hang out, and just generally enjoying being home again. I spent a good 15 minutes looking for where I signed my name on a pipe down on the ground floor, but everyone signs the pipes, so there were hundreds of names to look through. Luckily, I had an idea of where I had signed, but that actually only helped a little. That night I vegged, and ordered pizza (really, I can't go to Harlaxton and not order Pizza King). However, I forgot that all the pizzas were buy one get one free, and so I ended up with a lot of food. I was able to pawn some of it off on some summer students though. When I was over there in 2006, the big clock on the tower, didn't work, but they were raising money to have it restored. Well, it has been restored, and it's beautiful, except when it chimes all through the night (1am, 2am, 3am, 4am, etc...). Oh well, it was great to be back.
The next day I headed off to Coventry. I met up with Uncle Stephen and Lynne, and was immediately accosted in order to get some passport photos taken (long story). After that we headed to the post office, sent them off to dad, and then headed into town for dinner with some of their friends. It was fun. They have a friend who's my age, her name is Lillian. She's very sweet, if not odd at some times, but was fun to talk to. For dinner I had two pints of Weston's cider, which I think I've had before, but it was delicious, and a burger and chips. It was really good.
On Saturday we got up and headed to Birmingham. In Birmingham, I kid you not, there are Subways on every corner. The Subways there are like Starbucks in America. There's always one near by. Turns out, Subway is now the leading fast food chain in the world. That's right, they surpassed McDonald's. We hit up a museum first, and that was pretty interesting. Next we went to Subway (well, it had been on my mind since we passed 3 of them in the mile to the museum) for lunch. Oh and the Subways over here, actually have ranch. Not salad cream, but actual ranch. If I need a fix, I know where to go. :)
That afternoon we went to a Back to Backs tour. It was basically a tour of how housing used to be in Birmingham, and it too was really interesting. I really enjoyed that. A back to back is literally, two houses, back-to-back. Instead of the front house having a back door or windows on the back, it has a brick wall and a house built on the other side, so the house on the back has an address that says back of number 24 Abbey Rd. Each house had 3 floors, but they were tiny houses, and the beds were extremely uncomfortable. Although I couldn't get any pics, I was allowed to touch everything, go figure. By the way, in the mile or two from the museum to the back to backs there were 3 Subways. After that I was let loose to go shopping for an hour, and spent some of my birthday money from Uncle David on a new dress. It's really pretty. :-D
That night we went to go see a play, "Dunsinane". It is the sequel to Macbeth. It was really good, there were some really funny parts to it. :) Before the play, we went to a fish and chip shop and got some dinner. In Stratford they were having a river festival, so across the river from the theater there was a bunch of long boats docked, and there was a stage, carnival booths and food, and a few basic rides (nothing mechanical). It was fun to watch. After the play we went to the pub and I had a glass of wine (I should really not drink wine, it makes me so sleepy). As we were having our drink, the river festival set off some fireworks, so I did get a little bit of a Fourth of July celebration this weekend. :)
The next day we had a lazy morning, and then they took me to the train station, and I headed back to Cambridge. My entire goal in getting back was to get back early enough so I could get my laundry started before everyone else got back (success). It was a pretty easy rest of the evening, because one good thing about train rides, is their excellent time to get work done. :)
Not much going on this week, just class, but next weekend is Munich and Salzburg. :-D
Oh, and Happy Independence Day!!! (first one I've ever missed I think).
So Thursday evening I headed off to Harlaxton and got in a little before 9. I spent the first hour or so running around taking pictures, remembering all the awesome places to hang out, and just generally enjoying being home again. I spent a good 15 minutes looking for where I signed my name on a pipe down on the ground floor, but everyone signs the pipes, so there were hundreds of names to look through. Luckily, I had an idea of where I had signed, but that actually only helped a little. That night I vegged, and ordered pizza (really, I can't go to Harlaxton and not order Pizza King). However, I forgot that all the pizzas were buy one get one free, and so I ended up with a lot of food. I was able to pawn some of it off on some summer students though. When I was over there in 2006, the big clock on the tower, didn't work, but they were raising money to have it restored. Well, it has been restored, and it's beautiful, except when it chimes all through the night (1am, 2am, 3am, 4am, etc...). Oh well, it was great to be back.
The next day I headed off to Coventry. I met up with Uncle Stephen and Lynne, and was immediately accosted in order to get some passport photos taken (long story). After that we headed to the post office, sent them off to dad, and then headed into town for dinner with some of their friends. It was fun. They have a friend who's my age, her name is Lillian. She's very sweet, if not odd at some times, but was fun to talk to. For dinner I had two pints of Weston's cider, which I think I've had before, but it was delicious, and a burger and chips. It was really good.
On Saturday we got up and headed to Birmingham. In Birmingham, I kid you not, there are Subways on every corner. The Subways there are like Starbucks in America. There's always one near by. Turns out, Subway is now the leading fast food chain in the world. That's right, they surpassed McDonald's. We hit up a museum first, and that was pretty interesting. Next we went to Subway (well, it had been on my mind since we passed 3 of them in the mile to the museum) for lunch. Oh and the Subways over here, actually have ranch. Not salad cream, but actual ranch. If I need a fix, I know where to go. :)
That afternoon we went to a Back to Backs tour. It was basically a tour of how housing used to be in Birmingham, and it too was really interesting. I really enjoyed that. A back to back is literally, two houses, back-to-back. Instead of the front house having a back door or windows on the back, it has a brick wall and a house built on the other side, so the house on the back has an address that says back of number 24 Abbey Rd. Each house had 3 floors, but they were tiny houses, and the beds were extremely uncomfortable. Although I couldn't get any pics, I was allowed to touch everything, go figure. By the way, in the mile or two from the museum to the back to backs there were 3 Subways. After that I was let loose to go shopping for an hour, and spent some of my birthday money from Uncle David on a new dress. It's really pretty. :-D
That night we went to go see a play, "Dunsinane". It is the sequel to Macbeth. It was really good, there were some really funny parts to it. :) Before the play, we went to a fish and chip shop and got some dinner. In Stratford they were having a river festival, so across the river from the theater there was a bunch of long boats docked, and there was a stage, carnival booths and food, and a few basic rides (nothing mechanical). It was fun to watch. After the play we went to the pub and I had a glass of wine (I should really not drink wine, it makes me so sleepy). As we were having our drink, the river festival set off some fireworks, so I did get a little bit of a Fourth of July celebration this weekend. :)
The next day we had a lazy morning, and then they took me to the train station, and I headed back to Cambridge. My entire goal in getting back was to get back early enough so I could get my laundry started before everyone else got back (success). It was a pretty easy rest of the evening, because one good thing about train rides, is their excellent time to get work done. :)
Not much going on this week, just class, but next weekend is Munich and Salzburg. :-D
Oh, and Happy Independence Day!!! (first one I've ever missed I think).
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