The Hall of Beer

Ahh, where have I left off!? I have not been able to find ANY wifi lately, so I am typing my blogs as I go so they are fresh in my mind, and then copying them into blogger whenever I can reach wifi, hopefully soon! Therefore, you may find a lot of blogs up all at once. Oh well.

Anyway, I think I left off finishing our night in Heidelberg? Yes. Next day, we were on the road again to Munich, Germany! I was pretty excited because I had heard a lot of good things about Germany, especially the baroqueness of Munich and how beautiful it was…. As a photographer, many of my friends told me I would love it there. And I did, it was nice, for pictures. We ended up getting there way later than expected because of an unfortunate traffic jam, so we missed an opportunity for another bike tour through Munich. So we were at least able to enjoy about an hour of daylight in Munich, walking around the streets.

Some street shots:

We all turned the corner and were sort of just like....woah.

I tried really hard to capture this girl posing all tres chic on her bike, but this was the best I could do...

Special moment! On the subway ride into Munich from our hotel, I got separated from my group of friends. So I sat alone and then random local germans started sitting around me, which I didn’t mind of course—I just stuck to myself and didn’t say a thing. Which was funny, because my friends were all speaking English to each other (obviously) and I wasn’t speaking to them, or listening, so no one could really tell I was an American. So then this old lady enters the subway, and is having a hard time walking. I didn’t notice this until someone next to me gave up their seat so she could sit down, which was so nice. But then for the next 25 minutes I could feel the lady staring at me, intermittently. But it wasn’t an intense stare, it was more of a curiosity stare. I think she was trying to figure out where I was from. After the end of the subway ride, and after I got up, I realized she was still having trouble standing up from her chair. Now this reaction is only natural, as I work with the elderly all the time at work, so I leaned in to help her stand and helped her walk safely to exit the train, and then said goodnight and she smiled. She didn’t need me anymore and so I caught up with my friends. Then I turned behind to look if she was OK, and she came up to me, and spoke a long phrase in german. Due to the fact that I only know how to say “Hello, thank you, excuse me, sorry, etc.”, I obviously didn’t get any of that. So I had to make a really sad face and shrug and say, “English” and pointed to myself. She was sad too, and smiled and walked away to exit the station.  Turns out, two of my friends speak some German for their Opera training, and they told me that she said, “Thank you, Love.”  So sweet!!!! Ahh! Special moment indeed!

A small group of friends and I were then starving. I started to notice that the people of Munich were a lot more “Sketchy” than any other city we had visited prior, even more so than New York City. As dark approached, men outnumbered women on the street, and then men were teenagers to about age 35-40, and all really not trustworthy-looking. Everyone looked at us as if they were waiting for their moment to launch—Looking at the “American” tourist women. So I wasn’t really a huge fan. Being so, I decided it was definitely best if I stuck with my friends that night, regardless of what we would be doing. We decided to grab dinner in one of Germany’s (and certainly Munich’s) most famous “Biergarten", where its just this gigantic hall of wooden tables, and you just sit down and they bring beer to you as if it were the bread before a meal, and then you order food. In case you are having trouble visualizing this, picture walking into Gaston’s bar from Beauty and the Beast, where its loud and rowdy and all the men are clanging their beer glasses together for a toast, and singing, lots of singing. Another friend of mine described it further as the opening scene to Lord of the Rings, but I cannot verify this as I don’t really follow it. So, it was definitely a fun atmostphere. The menu was completely in German and no one in the whole place spoke English, so it was pretty much up to us to just try and pronounce what we wanted over the rowdy hall. It was interesting. We all got served a huge liter of beer. Lets review the fact that being that I don’t drink often, I especially don’t drink beer. I’ve had It once or twice and wanted to spit it out, its just undesirable to me. I’ve heard it gets better after a few, but I had my doubts. However, I ordered a little bit more “girly” version of beer and it was called, “RaBn” pronounced “Rassen”, and it was a mix of beer and lemonade. Suprisingly enough I was able to finish the entire liter by myself, even it took me as long to finish that as it took my friends to finish three. But regardless, I was still pretty surprised I finished. When I looked at it when it came, I certainly didn’t think I would be making a dent. I didn’t even want beer but you are sort of shunned for not getting beer in a beer hall! But it was funny because even after a liter, nothing changed. I expected to fall over when I stood but nothing was any different.

This was after I had 1/4 of it to drink! This is a lot bigger than it looks.

The Ceiling...so cool....

Everyone else then decided to hit a few more bars for the night but I honestly can’t keep up with all the drinking so I decided to split off with a separate group (another couple) and we went off for some German ice cream, and went to this music festival that was actually city wide! It is a festival that goes every Saturday night, and lasts a month long. Every month they change what they celebrate. This Saturday it was the “Night of the Music”. Five tours went separately in different ends of the city and made up to 20-30 stops at local cafes/clubs where different types of bands were playing. Our first area was in a small corner underground of Munich and it was swing dancing! All of the sudden we left the streets of Munich and found ourselves transported in time. It was just like out of a movie, old fashioned swing singer, old and young couples swing dancing with perfection….it was surreal. We then went to a collection of other cafes and heard some lovely different types of music and really got to see the atmostphere of Munich.

Swing dancin' :-)

And then we totally navigated the subway system by ourselves on our way home! This is an accomplishment for me. And its funny because when on that subway, this older gentleman comes up to us, and is like, “You’re American? I’m from Manhattan.” And we were like, “Yes!” And it was funny because I told him Manhattan subways were so much harder, and he said that actually Munich as harder. So, not sure on the level of hardness of public transportation in Munich.

Tomorrow we travel to Innsbruck, Austria (In the swiss alps!) on our way to VENICE, Italy!!! So excited!

~A Writer in a Nurse’s Body

PS- my spellcheck here is only in Switzerland mode so these are not spellchecked. Sorry for my grammar loving friends!!! :(

Hitting the College Town!

Greetings from the bus on our way to Munich, Germany! It’s Germany’s third largest city!

So picking up where I left off yesterday, after our extremely long and intense bus ride to Germany, we settled our happy feet in the lovely town of Heidelberg, Germany. I must say I had rather mixed feelings over coming to Germany. It sort of just came with the package. If I want England that badly and everything else, then Germany just had to come with it. Also, my tour guide is from Germany so she obviously knows a lot about Germany and was trying to prep us for the country on the way. She was teaching us proper etiquette unique to their culture, hand gestures, common phrases, facts & info, and information about their food. Although she thought their food is amazing as did most of my friends, the thought of “sausages bigger than your plate” scared me a little, considering I have grown up not really accustomed to eating any type of sausage. Also any of her other suggestions did not sound appealing to my picky and bipolar stomach. I rely on chicken when I do eat meat and she said chicken is not that common in Germany, and turkey is “cheap” (as in for the lower class?).

She also warned us that Heidelberg is not as big of a tourist attraction and is not a “city”, therefore not as many people would speak English. She taught us that it was rude to assume people speak English, and that we got  lucky by starting in Amsterdam where most people did. She was right. Most employees that I talked to in order to buy something or order dinner spoke no or very little English. It makes it kind of fun though—learning how to get your message across with what little german words you know and lots and lots of hand gestures. Lots of hand gestures, and making a fool of your American self. Also, you learn german a lot faster when its really your only option. Learn German or don’t eat. Also, I looked really silly reading off from my trifold phrase sheet, but it got the message across and they appreciated the fact that I was trying.

However, aside from all my Germanic pre-jitters/fears, I absolutely fell in love with Heidelberg. It was fantastic and amazing and lovely and loving and accepting and warm and happy. It was just awesome. Heidelberg is known for being a college town, and therefore encases a much younger population. We first went to visit the Heidelberg castle, which was…….I don’t have words for it. It was beyond fascinating. A step above Incredible.

Part of the outside-inside walls

standing at the entrance

From the very bottom of the town you can see the castle up on the mountain. When walking to the base (still on ground level), we could see one staircase ahead. My tour guide gave us the option to walk up the stairs or take some sort of elevator. Well, after sitting for 8 hours on a bus and spending a lot of calories on drinks the night before, I was definitely up for some stairs, as well as about 10 others.

A gorgeous view of the first staircase

Those stairs kicked my ass. Maybe it was because I was tired, but I forgot that that little staircase ahead was not going to get me to the castle. Not even the staircase after that. In fact, it was like 20 staircases. Because I forgot the castle I was trying to get to was the same castle that was a wee incredible sight atop the huge mountain.

But I made it, didn’t die. And it was SO WORTH IT! First of all the VIEW from up there was beyond magnificent ( I need to find some more heavy duty adjectives!).. The people looked like little ants from that high up! The town was gorgeous to look down on, with the houses, the university, the river, the bridge, the sky, the clouds rolling in, the sun fighting through, it was incredible. I will post a picture right below this as soon as I can find a way for my phone to communicate to the computer and vice versa…!

A view from the top of the castle...

another view of our view!! Incredible!

So not only was the view incredible but just walking around the castle inside was earth-shattering. I got so many amazing pictures. I cant wait to show you.

 I realized during this tour that I need to hire a clone or really just anyone- to actually listen to the tour guide speak so that I could go take pictures. I really am interested in both- the history and the stories, as well as the photography. But I guess the photography is a big reason why I came to Europe, and the photography is more important to me than the history lessons. So when the tour guide is speaking, I am only picking up a couple words because I am busy taking so many detailed pictures (there is so much to take pictures of!) . But then I get a little disappointed when I return to my group and everyone is laughing at a story or interested in the history and I missed it all. And I don’t have any cool facts to share with you all about the castle or Heidelberg because I wasn’t listening. BUT, I have lots of pictures! If that counts…So I need someone to listen for me while I take pictures, any volunteers ?? I guess the good news is I can never (or at least not likely) ever come back to take PICTURES, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. However, I’m sure all that information is available on the internet, and I promise to myself to research more about the places I have visited once I get home.

But the actual town of Heidelberg once I got down from the castle, was just lovely. The tour split up into lots of groups and most of my friends were going to a wine cellar to buy/taste wine and then hit up a brewery for dinner. Wine doesn’t interest me and I still had fears about dinner- and I was enjoying taking pictures of the city way too much to go with them, so I split away, all on my own. As scary as it is to be on your own in a foreign country, where 5% speak English, it is actually liberating and freeing to say goodbye to your comfort zone , take a deep breath- and say, “I’m on my own. What now?” So I went window shopping (I actually bought things! WooT!), went to the university, walked around town, went up to the main bridge, walked down the streets and just took pictures, and….last but definitely not least, enjoyed a fabulous gelati (dairy free WOOT!).

Some pictures of walking around:

Translates to, "The soul lives on what is looking forward"

I'm pretty sure I fell in love with this guy and listening to his music was incredible. I will try and post a video sometime...maybe after we're married? Pshh. Lols.

I was disappointed in myself for dinner. Really disappointed. I was starving, as my version of lunch was a 50 cent Euro piece of bread on the bus. So that really hindered my vision and acceptance of trying new food, being so hungry,  I just wanted to eat anything I knew and was comfortable with. Well, lucky for me—American fast food chains are everywhere in Europe and I settled for my favorite- Subway. I saw it at first, and thought, “oh, thank god. I can eat Subway.” But I knew I would be disappointed in myself for not having tried a German delicacy, so I tried really hard to keep looking around town for anything else. But all the menus were in German, and I also didn’t want to sit down in a restaurant by myself, and  I couldn’t find any cute Internet cafes to sit by myself. So I settled for Subway. At least I got the experience of ordering food in German.

I ate really quickly—to avoid eternal personal shame—and got back on the town. I still felt guilty for not trying new food- but I guess I’d rather feel guilt then extreme nausea/sickness on the bus or in the hotel room, or in the city. Bathrooms are not free and not easy to find, so I have been avoiding any reason that would have to make me go any more than the usual.

Well, I think this blog has reached its readability limit. I can still talk and talk and talk but then you wont read and read and read because you will be tired of reading. So that’s it for now, I will continue on my thoughts hopefully tomorrow!

LOVE YOU ALL!

~A Writer in a Nurse's Body

Get the Popcorn Out

Hey guys, so I'm going to try and cover the Awesomeness of my last day in Amsterdam and my first day in Germany, so get ready for a blog thats most likely going to be a tad long!

Yesterday was our last day In Amsterdam. I had a continuous debate with myself (I literally changed my mind for very good reasons and asked a lot of people on their opinions) on what I should do for the farewell of Amsterdam. I’ll explain later.

For the morning adventures, a special select group of us got to experience a bike tour about an hour away from Amsterdam. This was definitely the classic “Dutch” experience…I mean, cows, windmills....wind, more cows, big open fields, more cows, some horses...It was like a Dutch Ice cream commercial. But an awesome one.

My bike was too big (Im REALLY short- but "not short enough" to have qualified for a kids bike ((but even that was big)) so I had to go on a huge adult bike. I was definitely the first to fall off, and we weren't even RIDING yet. And I just went down.  I sort of just lost my footing on one side while standing, and since my feet couldnt touch the ground, I couldnt grasp the other side, but then I couldnt get my leg over quick enough to catch myself...and then it all was downhill from there. It was definitely a crawl inside a hole moment.  But after that, i got the hang of it, and learned how to stop without killing anyone. The funny part is I bike all the time at home and there are absolutely no issues.. But then give me one that is too big for me and uses back-pedal breaking.....not so much. And it was comical because since everyone bikes here more so than cars, the cars sort of just don't care.  THey just drive and assume you'll get out of the way. They assume the bikers are skilled enough to know what they are doing, and those that don't know- must be tourists and they want to run them over anyway. So Here we are- very beginner bikers, crossing major highways. It was good times. 

But then we got to the real countryside, and got to see a windmill and go inside. We had lunch as a picnic in a barn, and lunch was jam and bread and apples! Hah! At least I could eat it...

Favorite.

The countryside was so different from the city of Amsterdam. We were riding right around the time that the school systems were letting out, so we got to see a lot of schoolchildren riding their bikes home (so cool!). Also, a LOT of parents ride with their babies in front, and the babies get a little shield to protect them from the wind. So adorable.

So as I mentioned before, I wasn't sure what to do at night. My options were 1) stay in hotel by myself, get my suitcase packed, shower, and relax, go to bed early (I was super tired) or....2) go with all my friends out on the town on our last night in Amsterdam to celebrate my tour guides birthday but doing this "Pub Crawl". Apparantly all of Amsterdam participates....And by god they participated. You pay 20 Euro, get a free teeshirt, and get a free drink at every bar. Every 45 minutes, the whole group switches to a new bar until the group is no longer coherent and functional OR too rowdy OR it is morning. Also, unlimited shots at each bar, and at least one shot is "required" to get into the bar. And there was lots of dancing.

So, if any of you know me at all, this is TOTALLY not my scene. Not even in the SLIGHTEST. Drinking, no. I don't drink. I can't drink. It causes hell for my whole body. And bars? Not my thing. Smoking? No. So my first reaction was, "I'll definitely be skipping that". But when I realized that my only other option was to sit in my hotel room by myself doing nothing while in AMSTERDAM, I figured I should just go have fun with my new friends and live every minute in Europe to the fullest. Well, it got full. A very long and rather interesting funny story made short, lets just say we all finally got back and went to bed at 4:20 am. I would never do it again, but I'm really glad I made the experience and it will always be something I'll remember.

Its startingly funny because everyone in Amsterdam so far that I have met is exceedingly interested in America. The question everyone wants to know, is, "Where YOU from?" People ask us this and we ask locals this. People come to Amsterdam from all over Europe, so last night we met a lot of people from England, Norway, Finland, France, Ireland, America, India, etc.  When they find out were from America, they go so excited and are all like, "OoOo, what STATE?" My friends and I are almost all from NY or NJ and when they learn that they are fascinated with with New York City and get Ubbbberrr excited and jealous (I'm serious!-Jealous!) that we are not only from America but close to the big apple. They tell us of how much they aspire to go to NYC or America in general one day which I find hilarious- Because I've always wanted to go to Europe! I guess the grass truly is greener on the other side.

TODAY, we spent 8 hours on a bus ride to Heidelberg, Germany! Eight hours is not fun when you literally slept 2 hours and fifteen minutes the night before, but it was also funny because my other drunkenly new friends were all in the same boat and we all sat together and it was fun. ALSO, we got to ride on the AUTO BONN (sp?) today! It was so funny, because our tour guide came over the loudspeaker and told us we were getting on the Auto bonn as we spoke. Well, lets review the fact that I do not know my European history OR any common geographic knowledge. First of all, I did not know the Auto bonn was in Germany. Second of all, I thought it was this special highway that only really fast cars were allowed to go on if they passed special fast tests...and once on, they could do like over 100 mph and everyone just went crazy. I mean, I had DREAMS of one day driving a corvette on the auto bonn at 150mph. Well, that obviously wasn't it at all, considering my BUS was on it going 60mph. The only cool thing we saw was a lot of fast cars in the fast lane, which I would have seen on any other highway, really....But it was funny because she announced, "Occaisonally you will hear a car go by but you will not see it." I thought that was funny.

WELL, my battery is dying, my roomie wants to sleep, I want to sleep, I need to shower, and sleep. As you can imagine from my ridiculous Amsterdamian adventures last night.

To any people from Holland or the Netherlands (Its the same thing apparantly), I LOVED your country, I really did! It was absolutely gorgeous and I would come back to visit any day. You guys are certainly on the right track in terms of being environmentally friendly! Thank you!

Tomorrow, or the next day or whenever, I will pick up sharing with you how awesome Heidelberg was!!

~A Writer in a Nurse's Body

Following Your Dream

Well, I leave tomorrow! WHAT? I cannot believe I have waited for this day, longed for this day for so long, in dreaming and in actuality-and it is actually finally here!

I can confidently say that I have dreamed about the day of setting foot in Europe more so than my own wedding day. I have really only given minimal thought to the aspects of my wedding day, but Europe....I have dreamed about this for as long as I can remember.

Which reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies of all time, Tangled, that really hit home with me. It is when the two main characters, Rapunzel and Flynn are sitting in the boat waiting for the moment when she finally attains her lifelong dream of seeing the lanterns that are lit for the princess (her) every year.

Flynn Rider: You OK?
Rapunzel: I'm terrified.
Flynn Rider: ...Why?
Rapunzel: I've been looking out of a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?
 Flynn Rider: It will be.
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?
Flynn Rider: Well,that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.
Here is a lovely video of it, on youtube:

This scene PERFECTLY describes everything that is racing through my head. I mean, this is my DREAM.  My life long dream.....I can completely relate with her fear of, what if its not everything she dreamed it would be? And, what if it is? Then what?.... I guess I can say I am blessed enough to be reaching one of my dreams at the age of 22 (and I'll be turning 23 in Paris!) and I can pick a new dream from there...probably something more to do with travelling the world!

I am so excited . Of course a volcano has decided to erupt today next to the Airport I am scheduled to connect in 6 am Tuesday, and the airport is closed until tomorrow noon. So, fun. Hopefully that won't be our first disaster. Luckily though (thank all my guardian angels) that I am flying with a couple others in the tour scheduled to leave from NY. I don't know what I would do if my flight was cancelled and I had to rebook for another time...or wait in the airport for a whole day like some stories you hear on TV. Ah!

Anyway, All stress aside, lets focus on the POSITIVES! 

1) I will get to see a VOLCANO on my trip from the air! WOOT! 


No really though In all seriousness- Hopefully I will be able to blog every night-providing that my hotel I'm in has wifi. If it doesn't, then, no blog for you. My goal is to blog every night even if its just to touch in, announce I'm alive, post a picture and a little blurb. BUT, do expect and prepare (get some popcorn maybe?) for some really long blog entries. One of my flaws is that I can talk  type and talk type and talk  type forever and forget that my blog entry is astronomically long and painful to read. So I will TRY to find a happy balance of not too long but long enough to adequately describe my experiences :-)

If you would like to know where I'll be at and what I'm doing each day just in case I won't be able to blog every night, here is my itinerary:

Day one (5/23): 830 pm flight. Yay day one!
Day two: arrival in Amsterdam, hotel by 3pm. Dinner scheduled tentatively at their version of the Hard Rock Cafe. After that, relax hotel time/free time in Amsterdam/walking tour.
Day three: Sightseeing tour of Amsterdam.

•  Anne Frank House
• Dam Square
• Amstel River
• Rembrandtplein

Day Four: Biking the dutch countryside!!!! WOOT!  2 1/2 hour Bike ride! OMFG! :D
Day Five: Transferring over to Heidelberg, Germany's oldest college town.

• Heidelberg's Palace
• Neckar Valley
• Marktplatz (where witches were burned at the stake back in the day....)
• Heidelberg Castle Wine Barrel

Day Six: Transfer to Munich, walking tour of Munich.

• Frauenkirche
• Marienplatz
• Hofbräuhaus (Germany's most famous beer hall)

Day Seven: Travelling to Venice, stopping midway in Innsbruck for a small tour.
Free time in Venice at night.
Day Eight: Touring through Venice

• St. Mark's Square
• Grand Canal
• Doges' Palace

Free time in Venice at night
Day Nine: Traveling to Switzerland, while stopping in Verona for a couple hours.  Arrive in Lucerne at night.
Day Ten: Tour of Lucerne!

• Löwendenkmal
• Kapellbrücke

Day Eleven: Travelling via train from Zurich, to Paris.  Arrive in Paris at night.
In Paris:

• Latin Quarter
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• Evening Seine Cruise (woot!)
• Climbing the Eiffel Tower at night

Day Twelve: Walking tour of Paris, mostly just free time.
Day Thirteen: Eurostar train to London!!!!! OMG!!

• Walking Tour of London
• Haunted Pub ghost walk- So excited for this.

Day Fourteen: Double Decker bus tour in London all day. Free time in london at night.
Day Fifteen: Last Day, flying home :-(


I AM SO EXCITED!!!! TOMORROW!!!  <3 my NEXT blog entry will be live from Amsterdam (probably). Unless I'm drastically bored in the airport and something strikes me as interesting enough to write about.

< 3 Wish me luck, see you when I get back!


~ A Writer in a Nurse's Body

LOVE

An Amazing Conversation

So yesterday I went to the library to study for my huge test coming Monday, and this guy sits down at the same table as me and we study for about 30 minutes or so. Then I needed a break and took my iPod off and sort of just sat there staring out the window. He made a comment about my med/surg book and asked if I was in the nursing program and how the program was. So we got to talking, small talk. I asked about his major and whatnot, (and noticed he had a thick German accent) and he told me he was a German transfer student and was here in America for his degree and then law school, hopefully. Well, through talking I learned so much about...the world! It was funny because the first thing he said was that in Europe, people see America as a place for new adventures and an interesting place to be. I told him that was really funny because everyone in America sees Europe as the place to be, and somewhere for new adventures. He said that he was very surprised when he cams here because everyone here was "normal" and it was "just like being in Germany except everyone spoke English." I thought that was funny.

Then he brought up a rather interesting point (later on in conversation) that he felt sorry for Americans because it was harder for them to be more cultured. Most americans never make it out of the country, because it is so big. He was saying that for him it is a 3 hour day trip to Italy, and that him and his friends go all the time for the day or weekend. I told him the equivalent type trip here was going to the end of our own state, the jersey shore (~3 hours). That is just unbelievable. So he said that it is normal for many Europeans to travel to other world cities for a day or weekend, and that many europeans were well versed in other cultures and languages because of it. It is nice that America is so big but I am rather jealous that he could reach so many places in Europe so quickly. It takes multiple days just to drive to the other side of my country. Half the time I can't even identify what state goes where on the map or the capital of each state or anything. Our country is rather big. I learned a Lot of other unique culture aspects from him and I am so glad I got to talk to an out of country transfer student! Very very cool. I love learning about other cultures from someone who had actually lived it, rather than just from a text book. :-)