August 5-16

Well, a lot has happened over the past few weeks! We went to High Tea, where we enjoyed lots of teas and cakes and of course, scones! We also made a trip over to Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill spent a lot of his time. Otherwise, we just made the best out of our last weeks at Oxford! We all passed our finals, enjoyed skits, banquets, friends, and the bars! :) This summer was literally the most amazing, eye-opening, thrilling time of my whole life. I am so thankful that I was able to spend my summer meeting people, experiencing new cultures, and seeing so many amazing, different things. I learned so much. And I have made some wonderful friends! I will never forget the summer of 2009 as long as I live. :)

August 3-4, 2009

These days were so good and bad in many ways. But, they were also very eye-opening for me. I will not bore you with the details, and I will just say that they involve phone conversations, tears, Russian Standard vodka, Billy Elliot, and a letter.

August 2, 2009

We actually slept in this morning before checking out. We first walked down the Royal Mile over to the Palace of Holyrood, where Mary, Queen of Scots lived. We also got to see where she was betrayed by her husband, Lord Darnley. My favorite parts of the palace were the remains of the Abbey and the beautiful gardens! Aunt Courtney and Kelly will enjoy to know that there were ALL 3 types of columns at the Palace of Holyrood! :) We enjoyed a leisurely coffee and quick lunch at a cafe and then headed to Mary King's Close. This is basically an underground town. During the plague, a lot of people were quarantined here, because Edinburgh was SO populated. Along with that, some of the buildings used to be 12 stories tall. They were the first skyscrapers in Europe! Anyways, Edinburgh was basically then rebuilt, but they used these old streets and buildings as the foundation. It was a pretty cool tour, I thought, and fairly well preserved! We than went back to the airport, back to London, and back to Oxford! I got to Skype with my bestie, Caitlin, which, as always, was amazing! Another great weekend...only 2 more weeks, yikes!

August 1, 2009

Wow, it is August already?! 2 months just seem to fly by :). We went on a tour of the highlands today! Our guide was very knowledgeable and Scotland is just b-e-a-utiful! Our first stop was in the small town of Queensferry, where there are 2 huge bridges connecting the lowlands and highlands over the River Forth. We then stopped in the small town of Falkland for tea. We drank tea at a very cute tearoom where, I kid you not, I got a whole pot of tea for 1.75! We then headed over to the famous town of St. Andrews! We, of course, stopped at the Old Course, where the 2010 Open will take place and bought boy gifts :). Then, we explored down on the beach a bit. It was beautiful seeing the waves against the cliffs! We then found our way over to the ruins of this old cathedral that had been destroyed. It was pretty amazing, what was left of it! Some more shopping, and we were off to the small fishing town of Anstruther for the UK's best fish and chips...no really, they won a national competition! And boy were they good!! We headed back into Edinburgh then. When we got back, we watched a few street performers and headed back to the hostel. It was a LONG day, and we were tired. I took the coldest shower of my life as well, which was...exciting?! Haha, but altogether, another great day in Scotland!

July 31, 2009

We woke up early and ate a quick breakfast today before setting off up the Royal Mile! Our first stop was Edinburgh Castle, where we got a guided tour from a local Scott who was missing a front tooth! The view up there was phenominal! We got to see the smallest chapel EVER, the Crown Jewels, and the state apartments where Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI and I and was forced to give up her crown. Her son was the king who created the United Kingdom! We also got to see the war memorial and an exhibit on the prison used to house POWs in the castle. After watching a man play the bagpipes, we went over to the Tartan Weaving Mill. Wow, do they have a lot of plaid! Haha, we made a quick stop at St. Giles Cathedral and the Museum of Scotland. Then, we shopped! I met a man who also had a grandmother named Mitchell! However, Mitchell tartan was quite hard to find throughout the city. I also ended up buying a woman's kilt from a nice man who gave me a biscuit and talked to me for a half an hour. Next, we took a quick nap and then went out for a pasta dinner for a change. We went to bed early because we have an early start tomorrow!!

July 30, 2009

Yesterday must've been really tiring, because waking up was real hard this morning! Class was good. Professor Horsewood talked about Cricket for a good portion of his lecture :). We ate lunch and then headed out to Heathrow. This time, we were at Terminal 5, which is so much nicer! We got a quick coffee and then headed to Edinburgh. We took a shuttle and found our hostel, located just off The Royal Mile! It was much nicer out than we expected, so we decided to go walk around town a bit! We saw the Princes Street Monument. Then, we ate dinner at a famous, but very tiny pub. Yes, I tried some of Amy's Haggis. No, it was not bad, but I sure wouldn't pick it for my whole meal! Then, we walked up Calton Hill and saw a huge National Monument! It looked like a really old entrance to a building or something with all the pillars. We watched the sun set over the whole city, which was beautiful. Old Town Edinburgh really has kept it's character! We were tired, so we hit the hay after that.

July 29, 2009

Today started off with class, where we were given a lesson on economics, gambling, and horses. It was raining pretty hard, so I finally gave in and bought an umbrella, which turned out to be a great decision! We got ready and set off to the horse races. We all looked very nice in fancy dresses and big, English hats. The races were quite fun, and I discovered that I just might have Grandma's gambling habit...uh oh! But, I set myself a limit. Also, on the 5th race, I ended up winning 14.80! I still came out negative 5, but still, I won one! One guy on our trip actually came out big on the last race...I think he got, like, 100 pounds! We then headed back to Oxford. I decided to pack for our trip to Edinburgh tomorrow!! Ah! Should be fun!!

July 28, 2009

We had lots of class today, because we had a make-up lecture. Ugh...but it was still pretty entertaining! Later, I studied outside, since it was a really nice day. After dinner, we all went to another concert over at Exeter College. Following that, we all hung out in the Jesus College Pub for the rest of the night. I still can't get over the fact that every college at Oxford has their own, internal pub! So cool! ;) This week is going so fast! And it's to Edinburgh Thursday already!!! :)

July 27, 2009

Today, I had a bit of trouble getting out of bed. But after class, we went to a park to play a football tournament! I was on a team of all girls...and David :). We won our first game with two overtime penalty kick matches, and I kicked the winning goal! yay!! The next was against all boys, so we really had no chance, but it was still way fun. We only ended up losing by 2, but I think they went pretty easy on us haha. :) I came back and studied a bit, then we all watched Notting Hill! I just LOVE that movie...and Hugh Grant! I slept after that long, surprisingly hot day!

July 26, 2009

We woke up this morning, surprised to see that it was not raining like the weather had been forecasted! We had some time before our tour, so we went to check out St. Stephen's Green. We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was! After walking around there a bit, we made our way over to Trinity College. The tour was really good. My favorite story was the one about the man who would "only permit women to enter Trinity over his dead body." Well, he died and was buried behind the school. When women were admitted, they had to go in through the back entrance where they literally walked over his dead body. :) We also got to see the Old Library and The Book of Kells, which is an old, illustrated manuscript of the 4 gospels. Next, we made our way over to the Guinness Storehouse! We got to see how it is made, stored, dispensed, and poured. Also, there were some really cool advertisements. And we got to learn how the Guinness Book of World Records came about! At the top, we enjoyed a complimentary pint and a great view of Dublin! We then stopped at the store and made our way back out for a late lunch. We got some great grilled wraps at a cute little cafe. We then walked over to Dublin Castle, but didn't really want to pay for entrance. Instead, we looked at some sand sculptures they had outside. I don't know how they stay together with all the rain Ireland gets! We then headed out to the airport. Our flight home went much smoother than the one there. We took the bus out to Oxford and made it back to school fairly late. All in all, it was one great weekend!

July 25, 2009

Today was a MUCH better day! We went on an all day tour of the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough. It was beautiful! Our company had a smaller bus, so we got to go to some really cool places that the big tours don't get to go to! My favorite had to be a tie between Guinness Lake (a view from the top of some cliffs over this huge lake) and the waterfalls. Dad will be excited to know that there is a St. Kevin! He built a lot of the churches, etc. at Glendalough, another of my favorites! When we got back, we got a beer at a pub and cooked pasta for dinner. We went to sleep early after that long day and the late night before!

July 24, 2009

I woke up this morning, and I thought it was 6:30, but it turned out to be 5:30, so I set off on a run. I was going to run around Christ Church, but seeing as it was early, it wasn't open yet :(. So, I found a nice trail down by the river. The thing is, the trail didn't end for quite awhile, and I ended up getting slightly lost. I found that I was over where the concert was the other night haha! I finally made my way back and found that I'd been gone for an hour! I got showered and went to class. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for our flight! We left for the airport and everything seemed to be going great! Boy, were we wrong about that...apparently, there was super bad lightning in London this afternoon and a lot of flights were canceled. Then, to top it off, Gatwick closed and was sending all of their flights out of Heathrow. We didn't actually end up getting out until 2 hours later than planned. I did meet a very nice Russian lady who had been on standby for a few hours. Sadly though, we didn't get to our hostel until 2:30 a.m. Another fun adventure though...we got off the bus from the airport and this drunk, Irish man starts yelling at me, calling me names. Then, he was following me, telling me that I should be more respectful of the Irish. He also thought that I was British, and I told him I wasn't. Then, he said I was his mom's first cousin from Boston, so everything was okay. At that point, I had made a point to stand near an open grocery store. Then, the drunkard said I just needed to respect him, and then I think he said he wanted to have sex with me...and then he said, "I just want some respect, okay?" I said, "Alright, good night, sir" and went on my way after he went into the grocery. Very odd first experience in Dublin! Sad day that we didn't get to see Jordan Black though!!! :'( Oh well, another time!

July 23, 2009

We only had one class today, so that was nice. Melissa and I went out and got our British hats for the horse races! I took a nap and studied a bit then. We had our group picture. It was a bit windy, but we definitely preferred that to the rain we had earlier! The rest of the night was devoted to getting ready for Dublin tomorrow! :D Jordan Black, you'd better be ready!!!! :D:D

July 22, 2009

Today was very eventful. I actually woke up early, which is good, and I went for a run. It's amazing how peaceful Oxford can be if there are no tour groups out! :) After that, was breakfast, class, then lunch. In the afternoon, one of the student program helpers took us on a walking tour of Oxford. It was really cool! I didn't know that Oxford had so much bloodshed associated with it! We went all over, to all the big buildings and parks, etc. After that, we went and got ready for the concert!!! There were actually 9 of us that ended up going, which was awesome! We first went to a little pub for beer and fish & chips, which was quite good. Then, we headed to the O2 Academy. It was a cool venue...small, which was perfect for Joshua Radin! We got awesome spots right in the center about 3 rows back!!! A girl called Meiko opened. She was good...and all the guys liked her ;). Joshua was AWESOME! He played a few new songs for us too that he had just written that week! After the concert, we got some merch and we got to meet him! Oh my gosh! He was way cool, and he agreed to come back to Nebraska in a couple of years, so senior year, we're going again! Ah!! It was such a great night! :D

July 21, 2009

Today was very rainy. We had class and then I decided that it needed to be a laundry day, considering that I was on my last pair of undies! :/ I was quite productive, and I even got some studying in :). We ate dinner, and then went across the street for a candlelight concert. It was very unique: 2 Baroque Violins, a Baroque Violincello, and a Harpsichord! My favorite songs were some medleys of Scottish Folk Songs by Haydn. After that, we went over to a bar for one of the student helpers' birthdays! It was fun, and then we hit up a kebab stand on our way back! It was SO good! Went to bed a little later than planned, but it always seems to go that way, doesn't it?

July 20, 2009

This was the first day in 2 months that I have blow-dried my hair...and it was AMAZING!!! We had a full breakfast and went to our first day of class. I really enjoyed lecture, and I feel like I will do alright in the classes. After lunch, we all went to play Rounders, which is very similar to baseball. It took us awhile to get the rules, but we finally got the hang of it. It was very fun! Melissa and I then got some necessary shopping done :). We ate a really good dinner and then walked over to see Twelfth Night at an outdoor Ampitheatre! It was quite a good time, and the show was very well done. I was tired after the long day, so I called it a night!

July 19, 2009

I woke up, made a quick breakfast, and headed over to Jesus College with all of my stuff! Emily, the program director, showed me to my room...first of all, I unpacked everything, which was definitely a nice change from the last 5+ weeks! I ran into Katrina and David Lopez as well. Later, I went shopping at Next for a belt...and jeans...and a sweater :). David and I then went to go get some coffee before orientation. At orientation, we met our professor, Dr. Martin Holmes. He is quite funny. We also met the student coordinators. We then ate an awesome meal, which is another nice change! Later, we all went to the Jesus College Pub for Emily's birthday...yes, the college actually has a pub IN it! I am so in love with Oxford!!

July 18, 2009

My day could be summed up as...sweaty :). I woke up early and headed back to Borders to get the books. Success. I went back, we got our stuff, and we headed to Heathrow. It was a long, sweaty journey, but we made it after almost an hour. Logan, Annie, and I then headed our separate directions. I went downstairs, bought lunch, and quickly caught a coach over to Oxford. My hostel was real close to the station, but I couldn't check in yet, so I left my luggage and went to walk around. It was real crowded today for some reason. I ran over to Boots for some toiletries. Then, I listened to these two guys who were playing FOTC in the street. I then got checked in and took a much needed shower! I then went out again and ran into Melissa and her parents on the street!! We went and saw Harry Potter (so I got my Rupert Grint fix in :D). Then, we went to an Irish Pub across the street for fish & chips. After that, I headed back to the hostel to hang out a bit before moving in to school tomorrow!

July 17, 2009

We said Goodbye to Brussels this morning and headed to the Eurostar station. A lot of waiting and then border control, and we were on our way to London. We were a bit nervous about one of Logan's souvenirs getting past security, but all was fine. A quick ride, and a few tube stops later, and we were at Hostel 639 again. We immediately went to Borders. However, this one did not have a full selection. So, I picked up my stuff from Suzanne's and we headed to a larger Borders, only to find that they were closing. Then, it began to rain. So, I resolved to get Mom and Claire's books in the morning. We went back and had a farewell dinner at the pub The Mason's Arms by our hostel. We came back and hung out the rest of the night with our French couple roommates. They slept in the same bed...a bit awkward, but whatever...It's off to Oxford tomorrow for me, home for the other two! Yay!!!

July 16, 2009

The other two slept in this morning while I enjoyed free breakfast, a shower, and my book. When they woke up, we headed over to the comic strip museum. Who knew that so many famous comics, like TinTin and The Smurfs, originated in Belgium?! Then, we finished up our souvenir shopping :). We went to McDonalds to utilize their free Wi-Fi. Later, we had a wind-down day. We charged cameras and ipods, read our books, and packed everything up! I can't believe Oxford is already here!!

July 15, 2009

Today was a travel day. The first part of the trip from Berlin to Koln went very smoothly. The next part, however, did not. The route we were on was apparently under construction, so we had to take another route. The train ended up sitting for an extra 1.5 hours. Thankfully, it didn't matter to us, but there were some angry passengers near us who were missing their connections! Once we got into Brussels, we headed to the hostel. I only had a very vague idea of how to get there, but we made it without a problem! After checking in, we headed over to the Grand Palace Square, a.k.a. tourist heaven! We went to a famous bar that got in the Guinness Book of World Records for having 2004 beers to choose from. They have 25 on tap! We had the famous Delirium Tremens, which was voted the best beer in the world in 1998! And boy, was it good. Then, we got some famous Belgian french fries with curry ketchup and sat in the square. Later, we went to see the famous peeing statue. Surprisingly, the statue is much smaller than I expected. We almost missed it. We then all tried a piece of handmade Belgian Chocolate! I had White Chocolate with buttercream! SO GOOD!!! Travel days are incredibly tiring, so we called it a night after that.

July 14, 2009

We got a good 8 hours of sleep last night, which rocked. We headed over to a really good shopping street here in Berlin. We made quite a few good purchases (sad for my bank account, but happy for my closet!). Also, we saw this old church that was damaged during the war. It was pretty cool, especially in the middle of all these department stores and office buildings. We came back, ran to the grocery, and played some cards. Later, we cooked some free pasta at the hostel and we packed up our stuff. It's off to Brussels tomorrow! Man, this trip has gone fast...

July 13, 2009

We were clearly tired, because we slept about a total of 12 hours last night! We headed first to the Tiergarten. There, we ate bratwurst for breakfast! We saw the victory monument with the statue looking towards Paris, to signify the conquering of it. Then, we saw the Brandenburger Tor. This was the old gate that separated East and West Berlin back in the day. Then, we walked over to the Reichstag, where the German Parliament meets. The building was cool, but the line was super long, so we decided not to go in. We sat out on the grass for awhile. There was some guy filming a commercial or something, so maybe we'll be on TV! Then, Logan wanted to see this weird looking TV tower, so we headed that way. On the way, we hit Museum Island, so we just decided to do that today too! First, we went to the Berliner Dom, a big cathedral. We were able to climb all the way up to the top, where there was a great view of the city. Next, we went to the Pergamonmuseum. This houses many ancient runes and stuff from Greece, Rome, Babylon, etc. It is quite remarkable! After that, we were parched and a bit tired, so we stopped for smoothies! We had Mango today, and boy, were they good! We found our metro station and headed back. On our way, we stopped for some groceries. We basically got dinner, breakfast, and lunch tomorrow for like, 7 euro! Gotta love the grocery! We relaxed and made some pasta for dinner. We also met some people from England and Australia who were really nice! The next few days, I expect, will be full of relaxation after a busy 5+ weeks!

July 12, 2009

I woke up to more loud snoring today! I got up to get ready. I was washing my face, and Mister Loud Snorer totally asked me to go do that in the bathroom. Ironic, huh? Anyways, more pastries and we checked out. We walked over to the Church of Our Lady Lutheran Church and attended service! It was all in German, but it was still really cool! We sat up in the balcony, and the old man next to Logan totally fell asleep during the sermon! After that, we grabbed some bratwurst and headed to the train station. I finished another book while waiting for the train a bit. We took a 2.5 hour train to Berlin, where we found our hostel pretty easily, despite how big Berlin is! We dropped off our stuff and ran to an ATM. On our way, we spied a woman with a smoothie, and I suddenly got a craving for one. Thankfully, on our way back, I was able to get one :). We got to the hostel and drank a beer on the terrace. We were way tired, so we called it a night...

July 11, 2009

So I couldn't sleep this morning because someone was snoring. I got up, showered, and went to get some pastries. I found a little bakery where a nice old German lady was working. The importance of body language was very apparent in our encounter with each other. I don't think either of us spoke each others' language (besides "Danka" or "Guten Morgen"), but we got the order fine. I went back and ate while waiting for the other two to wake up. Logan joined me. Then, Annie woke up thinking we left her haha. We finally got out and headed toward the historic end of town. We only got lost once, and made our way into town. We saw the opera house, and we got our tickets for Sommernacht, the big museum night here. Then, we saw the world's largest porcelain picture. The story is that August the Stron locked up the alchemist, Bottger, to find out the formula for gold. But, he accidentally found the formula for porcelain, meaning they didn't have to import it from Asia anymore! We also saw this group of soldiers/singers and an accordionist! They were so good, we bought their CD! We got hungry, so we headed over to Curry & Co. for currywurst! This place for 3rd place in the German currywurst competition, and boy were they good!! We came back to the hostel and relaxed before going to Sommernacht! Logan called Derek and his dad, and I finally got to talk to Jared :). Then, we headed out for the night. We arrived first at the Zwinger, Dresden's HUGE art museum. There were so many floors, hallways, and rooms! Many pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus are at this museum. Logan and I somehow lost Annie though, and had to wait awhile for her. We also viewed the sculpture hall...there was one that had a bunch of pipes and hair clogging them. It was a bit gross, but we thought Dad might just appreciate that ;). Then, we walked through pouring rain to the transportation museum. There were all of these cool old cars, bikes, motorcycles, planes, etc. Also, there was a Lego room!! Annie and Logan created a sweet car and the lady in charge put it in the display cabinet! It was very cool. After that, we went over to the Hygiene Museum. The first exhibit was about work and stress. It was very modern and artsy and quite "out there," I'd say! Cool, though. The next exhibit was all about the body...everything from body parts to the whole pregnancy cycle to sexual intercourse. Everyone else seemed pretty unphased, but us immature Americans got a bit uncomfortable :/. Then some guy raised his eyebrows at me in the section on the sexual intercourse, so we finished the exhibit quickly...awkward! We went downstairs for some coffee then. We got on the bus to go back. After a while, though, we found that we were going the wrong direction. Needless to say, it took us a bit longer to get back to the hostel. What a fun night!!

July 10, 2009

I woke up and said goodbye to Mom and the aunties early this morning. Then, we slowly packed up and made our way to the train station. We boarded the train with about 500 German school groups, which made for quite an interesting time finding seats. See, with the Eurail pass, you can go anywhere (besides Slovakia...surprise!), but you do not get assigned seats. We had to squeeze through 2 cars with people (and their suitcases) going both directions. It was basically chaos. We finally got seats and ate our lunch. Sad day though, because my watch got lost somewhere in the chaos that was that train :'(. I began my studying for my actuarial exam in August :(. We made it to our hostel in Dresden pretty easily. The hostel is called "Kangaroo Stop" and only costs about $12 a night! Our room looks like a little girl's room. Flower decorations, bunk beds, yellow walls, etc. We headed out to have a picnic at a park. About halfway there, it began to rain. We loitered on a street corner to wait it out. When we got to the park, we realized that it is not fun to have a picnic on wet ground! So, we walked around a bit, got yelled at by a crazy old German man, and it started to rain...again. We just sat down under a tree and ate our picnic in the middle of the path. I planned our day tomorrow, and we decided to got to this 70's themed coffee bar. It was pretty cool, and the bartender makes a mean coffee with Bailey's! We also got gunny bears with it! We decided then to head back to the hostel. My three favorite things I've seen so far on the streets of Dresden have been, 1: a man smoking from a bong at a Middle Eastern coffee house/restaurant, 2: the traffic lights (fat men wearing hats...they are apparently a unique, German thing!), and 3: a guy drinking a beer while riding his bike down the street...no big deal...So far, I'm liking Dresden, even if just for the entertainment in the streets! :D

July 9, 2009

Everyone went to bed real late, and therefore, woke up late too! We made a quick trip to the Communist Museum to get some funny postcards. Then, Mom and I did a quick shopping spree :). We got some food from the Tesco department store and went over to an island on the river for a picnic. We played at a park and sat down to eat. Unfortunately, rain decided to hit then. So, we had a picnic in the rain. The clouds were a bit bipolar, so we decided to go see a movie. We wanted to see Transformers 2...that was a bad choice. Oh, my, God. Such bad writing...and no plot! I just can't describe how bad it was. We then went for pizza at Mom's favorite place and tried to clean out the fridge since we're all leaving tomorrow! :) I can't believe this trip is almost over!

July 8, 2009

The cold has been caught full force here in Prague. So we slept in. When we finally made it out to the streets (in our matching "Prague: Czech Me Out" shirts), we headed to the old Jewish Quarter. We saw a synagogue that had all the names of Jews that died or went missing. It was simple, but a nice exhibit. Then, we walked through the Jewish Cemetery. This was the only place they could be buried for like, 300 years. Also, Jews believe that the body can't be moved once it is buried, so the cemetary was just PACKED with tombstones! I mean, there was no space. Tombstones were on top of each other. Crazy! After that, the aunties went to the Kafka Museum. The rest of us wanted to eat, so we went to a good Italian place! After that wine, we decided to go nap. But not before Mom finally decided to buy a necklace she'd been looking at! We relaxed, packed, and then felt refreshed, so we went out for another Irish coffee! :) We came home, met the aunties, and relaxed with wine and pizza for the night.

July 7, 2009

We managed to drag ourselves out of bed this morning and to the train station. Annie forgot her Eurail Pass, so she had to go back (and I should mention that she tried to go into the wrong apartment building). WE all met at the station and looked like tourists trying to figure our train out. We got there in the nick of time and were off to the small town of Kutna Hora. A few funny train moments and, again, impeccable timing happened and then we were there. We walked around a bit and decided to do an early lunch (Oh, we had our Kolachis for breakfast too). We ate at the famous restaurant, Dacicy something...They brew their own beer there, and boy is it good! Our waiter was real cute, and Mom wanted Annie to get with him :). He also told us if we ordered the right things or not...quite funny! After lunch, we roamed over to the bone castle. Basically, this guy got soil from the Holy Land, and he sprinkledit here, so everyone wanted to be buried here. Then, the plague hit, so there were a lot of people. They decided to build this bone church, but to do so, they had to dig up bodies. They used about 40,000 skeletons to construct all these chandeliers and cellars and such in the building. Creepy, but super cool too! We went back to the train station (it looked more like a bus stop), and we got back to Prague again with another close call on the timing. We got back and did some more shopping. Then, we came home. We had pizza and beer and...a Czech puppet show! Video will come later :). We also played Pass the Pigs and Euchre, our favorites! We love Prague!!

July 6, 2009

Today started with a trip by Mom and I to the underground supermarket for pastries and fruit. We had a slower start because everyone is catching a cold. We got down to Old Town Square right in time to see the astronomical clock chime. Every hour, the clock opens and the disciples all show out the window, one at a time. We wound our way through the crowd and headed down some road. We got quite a bit lost, but eventually, we found a tram station. We took that up the hill to the castle. If there is one thing Europeans like, it is for their castles to be up on top of big hills! :) First, we went into Saint Vitus' Cathedral. We got to go in the exit because we had audioguides! This cathedral was sweet. There are a bunch of cool stories, but I won't got into them now. Then, we went to the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of Saint George, and on Golden Lane. Then, we walked down the hill. We got lunch on the way. More Czech food! Yum! Oh, and we had these wafers...they are flovored...and SO good! Anyways, more shopping happened, and then we made a trip over to the John Lennon wall. When he died, people painted this wall, but the Communists would paint over it. But then overnight, it would get painted again. We added our two cents and went on our way. We got some Irish Coffee and cake then. After that, the aunties made their wishes on the bridge, and we headed home. Another great day in Prague!

July 5, 2009

Today, we woke up and tried to navigate through the streets of Prague. Our first stop was at a really cool Czech crystal place. I got a sweet vase, so Jared, you'd better be getting me some flowers! ;) just kidding! We shopped quite a bit, then we went down an alley. There was a multitude of strip clubs, but we found a sweet English pub. We then went to the Mucha Museum! Mucha was a Czech man who moved to France as an artist and drew illustrations for books and magazines. He got a call from the actress, Sarah Bernhardt, needing a poster quick, and everyone was gone. This poster made him famous. We all bought posters and such, then we headed home. Annie and Mom went to the station to pick up the aunties. The train was like, 75 minutes late though. I took a nap. Then, they got here, we had a beer, and we called it a night!

July 4, 2009

Well, all of mom's travel karma has fallen on us now :(. Haha, it's a good thing I wanted to leave early, because we went to the station the book had printed, and were told that it was the wrong one. We were fine, and were going to go by metro to the other station, but no, a taxi driver said it was closed for construction. I didn't believe him, but we didn't want to chance it. He told us it would be a bit more than we wanted because we had more people. I said I didn't care, but just to get us there. He had also told us the train left at 9:15, not 9:28 like my book said. So, long story short, he took a back way, charged us way too much money, and successfully duped some dumb tourists. I don't care, because we made the train...he'll get his karma. Then, we totally realized we were sitting in 1st class...whoops! I moved my stuff then as opposed to moving later, but Logan and Annie didn't want to be bothered. So, I sat by myself for awhile. Soon, we found that Eurail passes don't work in Slovakia. And we didn't have enough cash to cover it. Basically, we were screwed, but the wonderful ticket man let us pay what we had and stay on the train. His exact words were, "We're here for you." May God bless that wonderful, wonderful man. Logan and Annie still pulled off 1st class, and so the ride continued, problem free...until we got to the Czech border, where Logan and Annie had to move to 2nd class. Thank goodness Mom met us at the station, because I don't know if I could handle much more :(. We relaxed a bit and showered, then we were ready to go out. I should also mention that the whole way back from the station, Annie had to pee...then Mom couldn't get the door open...it was quite the comedy. We walked over to Old Town Square where there is a statue of Jan Hus. He had many of the same ideas as Martin Luther, but a bit earlier. Anyways, his ideas didn't get across for the main reason that he didn't have access to a printing press. He was tortued and killed in this square. We then walked over to the Charles Bridge. King Charles actually started the first university in all of Eastern Europe. The Czech people weren't a strong military people, and they viewed intellectual strength higher. The statue of King Charles has the four colleges represented under it. The bridge itself has a ton of statues on it. Our favorite is of Saint John of Nepomuk. The Queen at the time confessed all of her sins to him. Then, the King wanted to know them, but Saint John wouldn't tell, so the King had him tossed off the Bridge. According to legend, he came out of the water with 5 golden stars above his head. Anyways, it is said that if you rub this statue, you can make a wish and it will (hopefully) come true. But you only get one wish your whole life! Mom and I made ours, but Annie and Logan said they would just come back one day :). We then had to have a beer after that day, so we got some real Budweiser Budvar and some good Czech food! After that, we all had a good rant session at each other. Logan and I went for a quick walk and Mom couldn't hear the buzzer when we got back. She didn't answer that or her phone for a good half hour, so we just went to the square. We finally got in and hit the hay. Oh man, what a day, what a day!

July 3, 2009

Today started off with a latte macchiato (which Mom called a caffe mochino?!), some Hungarian poppy roll, and a trip over to Parliament. We had just missed the tour, so we decided to come back later. Instead, we walked over to St. Stephen's Basilica, Hungary's largest cathedral. It was beautiful, and full of pink and green marble, statues, and gold everywhere. They said it took about 250 years to build! After that, we stopped for some sandwiches. We got this really good wrap that I want to recreate. We headed back to Parliament just in time for the English tour. However, to get in to buy tickets, you must stand outside a gate where a guard will let each group in, one by one. We missed the English, so instead, we decided to go on the Spanish/Italian tour! :) It was kind of a bummer that we couldn't hear about it, but hey, at least we got to see it! After that fun adventure, we went back to the apartment to change...The aunts, Logan, and Annie went to one of Kelly's friend's houses for dinner. Mom and I wanted to get to bed earlier, so we stayed behind and packed. We had heard about an organ concert over at St. Stephen's, so we decided to chick it out. Before, we went to a really nice meal that was quite reasonably priced for what we got.The waiter recommended a great wine for us, and we shared a Hungarian duck leg with cabbage, and chicken with gnocchi! For dessert, we had this French toast thing with cinnamon apples and ice cream! Yum!! The concert was phenomenal. Besides the organist, there was a trumpeter, a violinist, a soprano, and a tenor. They sang some classics (I knew a lot of them from my high school choir!) and a few others. Our favorite was one where the trumpet and violin played together. I can't describe how cool it was, especially with the acoustics of that church! The others had a great time too with all of Kelly's friends. A great last night in Budapest!

July 2, 2009

After sleeping in a bit, we headed out for another day. Logan stayed home...he is probably a bit burnt out after last night ;). We took the metro over to the Chain Bridge and walked across. Aunt Kelly and I were disgusted by the amount of graffiti on it, though. Dumb kids. Across the bridge, we took a train (sort of) thing up to the top of this hill to the castle district. The view was beautiful, but boy was it hot out! We got some fagyi (ice cream) to cool down and took the bus over to Vaci Street. We went to the Old Market and bought all necessary Hungarian knick-knacks. We then went out for real Hungarian food. It was AWESOME, yet again! We were hot and sweaty, so we went back to shower. Much to Logan's surprise this morning, his laundry had turned...pink! Annie's red shorts somehow made it into his wash. Needless to say, he was very mad at the Hungarian wash lady. Zsolt and his friends picked us up and we headed out to a concert. These guys were a big Hungarian group in the 80's. It was so fun! We all tried Unicum as well...it basically tastes like cough syrup, but we had to try it. After the band, there was a DJ and it became more of a dance party for teens. One old French man tried to dance with mom, but she was not liking that! :) We left and got some amazing gyros! We had a great last night with Zsolt! He is totally our new favorite person! We really must start going to bed earlier. :) Oh well, you only live once, right?!

July 1, 2009

Mom and I got up early today and went out to get some breakfast. After searching all over for an ATM, we found, once we got to the store, that there was one in the store :(. We brought back fresh fruit, juice, and pastries for everyone. We took it easy and headed out. We saw Heroes Square and the Millennium Monument. Then, it was to the baths! Basically, the baths are these heated pools inside and outside of this huge building that looks like a palace. We sat in those healing water for hours! I got my tan on while others got more of a burn on ;). We also really enjoyed the European modesty at the baths...everywhere you went, you couldn't avoid an old, fat man in a speedo. It was hilarious! Afterwards, we headed to Aunt Kelly's favorite salad and Falafel bar. It was SO good! Logan basically ate hummus soup...the rest of us had more of a salad ;). We then took ourselves over to the Holocaust Memorial. It was a very well done museum! I had no idea that so many of the Jews were Hungarian. In fact, I out of every 10 Jews killed at Auschwitz were. After that, we went over to Zsolt's for dinner. He made us homemade bread, a traditional (paprika filled) Hungarian spread, peppers, and fresh tomatoes. It was amazing! I am so in love with Eastern European food! Zsolt told us more about WWII and Communism in Hungary. Then, we got to meet his mother and his daughter, Alma. It scared my mom a bit because his mom looked JUST like her grandma and her aunt Irene! Also, Alma looked very much like I did at that age (facial features), so we're thinking that I got more of my looks from the Czech side of my ancestry! Later, Zsolt's mom taught us some fun, Hungarian drinking games, and gave a ballet lesson. Oh yeah, she doesn't speak a word of English, so it was a real fun time! Little Alma played with Logan and Annie and the night came to an end...at one in the morning. Altogether, it was a wonderful, Hungarian evening!

June 30, 2009

We woke up and packed our things up this morning. My extra bag is getting a bit heavy...good thing Mom is going to take some home! :) I went to the grocery for some breakfast and lunch (only 6 euro for both!). While Logan and Annie went for a goodbye Bosna. We parted with our awesome roommates, and headed to the station. For the next 6 hours, we sat on a train to Budapest. We got off and met our aunts (on our dad's side) outside. We also met Kelly's friend, Zsolt (pronounced like Jolt...kind of). Aunt Kelly lived in Hungary for 3 years teaching English, so we get to meet lots of fun people this week! We dropped our stuff off at the apartment and went to dinner. Zsolt took us to a good Turkish place. We had Gyros with all these great veggies and sauces. It was awesome. Mom then finally got in after her awful travel luck, and we went out for a drink. A round of drinks here is only...a couple thousand Forint, which is only something like 20 or 30 bucks. Things are much cheaper here! :)

June 29, 2009

Overnight, we got a strange roommate. He only had a small bookbag, and he slept in his jeans and a jean jacket. Then, he got up early and left before anyone else got up. It was very odd. We left to get some breakfast before our tour. Logan, I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear, ordered a Bosna. Annie and I had coffee and rolls. That Bosna stand has gotten some good business from us these past few days! We boarded our bus and were on our way for The Original Sound of Music Tour! It hit all the big sites: the house, the pond, the gazebo, the "confidence" wall, Nonberg Abbey, the wedding chapel, and a few other places. To top it off, the bus played the soundtrack and we got to eat really good Applu Strudel! We also went to the town of Mondsee (where the wedding was filmed), and they have the most pretty lake I've ever seen. They don't allow any boats with engines in it, so the water is extemely still and clear. We saw some leiderhosen that cost 730 euros! Yikes! At least Logan got his hat already :). We got dropped back off at Mirabell Gardens. There is a funny dwarf statue garden there too! It was a lot nicer out this afternoon (of course), so Annie and Logan decided to hit the zoo. They said they got to pet the baby snow leopards and have little monkeys play with them. While they were there, I went to Getreidegasse, a big shopping street where all the shops must have guilded signs to be on that street! There, I went to the Mozart Museum, located in Mozart's old residence. There was old sheet music, sets from his operas, his violin and pianos, and other cool things there. It was a very interesting stop. We met back at YOHO and Logan and Annie were hungry, so they went for...Bosnas!...and ice cream for Annie :). Then, we hung out for awhile and did pizza and beer at the hostel for dinner. We hung out with our roommates and had a great last night in Salzburg! It's off to meet the fam tomorrow!

June 28, 2009

Today could be summed up in one word...rainy! It didn't look too bad when we left, but it got real bad. We ate breakfast at a cafe. A pigeon also decided to eat his breakfast there. The same health code doesn't seem to apply here in Europe like it does in America :). We bought our Salzburg Cards and then we were on our way. I was the only one who thought to bring my rain jacket, thank goodness! We took the bus over to Hellbrunn Palace. It was the summer home of the Archbishop Markus Sittikus. He built it there specifically because it was a spot where all of these natural springs met, and he really liked hunting. He turned the gardens into a huge area with trick fountains for amusement. We went on a tour of these. They are really quite amazing! After that, we caught a bus back into town. Logan and Annie decided to skip the zoo because of the weather. We then climbed up a mountain to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It was quite the climb! I get why they built it there, because it sure would be hard to take over! Inside, we got to see some of the old stoves, weapons, and musical instruments from way back in the day. My favorite part was the Marionette Exhibit that they had in the Fortress! I even got to control one! After that, we headed down to the Salzburg Cathedral. It is, again, enormous! We just don't have anything quite like these churches in America! The human chess game was closed because of the rain :( and we were pretty well soaked (okay, Annie and Logan were), so we decided to call it a day. We got more Bosnas on the way back and then showered. Later, downstairs, we met another girl and got talking to our roommates a bit. Our group of 6 was a mix of 3 oldest siblings and 3 younger. The other 2 oldest were pretty much my soulmates! :) They totally understand the whole planning thing I have. Our roommates were told by a family friend about a cool Biergarten in town, so we went with them to check it out. It was so fun! We drank our liters of beer and ate soft pretzels. This place was like a big food court, but all wood and more authentic looking, obviously. Afterwards, we hiked up the hill and got a great view of the fortress and the cathedral, right as the sun was going down. Then, we went to check out the cathedral at night and, to our surprise, the chess set was unlocked! We played a game (Logan's team won) and even got a couple of spectators! It felt a bit like Harry Potter :). We then headed home and hit the sack. We have a busy day tomorrow, too!

June 27, 2009

So Logan told me that the snorer came back with a girl last night. He also passed out in the bed under his. Haha, but no worries, he eventually made it up to the top bunk. This guy had the locker next to mine, and it was the smelliest thing I've ever smelled. Ugh. We headed out and ate our peaches at the station. I finished my book on the train, but thankfully, a girl had left one at the hostel, so I still have something to read. Another two train rides, and we made it to Salzburg. We found our way to YOHO Hostel. They were on a shift change, so we went exploring. We finally found Bosnas! It is basically two brats, curry powder, mustard, and onion in one bun. Annie and I had to share one. We then got ice cream and headed back. We have no roommates, which is pretty cool, I guess. We then got to the planning. Annie and Logan did their version of planning...it's not too specific, but it works for them. They want to go to the zoo...I would rather do other things, so my schedule is a bit different. We got a couple beers, Logan laughed at my planning, and we met some girls from Wisconsin! They were real nice and we are probably going to hang with them tomorrow night too! So far, we're totally liking Salzburg!

June 26, 2009

We were awoken this morning by the loudest snoring I have ever heard! This guy puts Dad to shame. We got up and out, not really knowing what we were going to do. We headed in one direction and ended up hiking up to a castle that overlooked the whole city of Ljubljana. It was really quite a nice view. After that, we followed the receptionist's advice and walked over to Tivoli Park. We went and ate some phenominal ice cream next to a nice duck pond. Also, nearby there was an outdoor library which we thought was pretty cool. We found a pretty fountain and an outdoor exhibit about space. It was quite interesting because they had it in English as well! Apparently, 2009 is an official year for Astronomy or something...who knew! We then went to an outdoor market and bought some honey and...honey liquor! Then, we decided to buy some fruit. Logan went up to an old couple and paid one euro. The man then put about 15 more peaches into a bag and gave it to him! All while speaking Slovenian, of course. Logan had adopted the old couple as his Slovenian grandparents! We then came back to discover that Michael Jackson and Farah Faucett died! Shocker! We then went out, had some pizza, and ran to a pharmacy for some cold meds (for me...lame!). We got some groceries and made dinner while talking to a guy from New Jersey who has been working in Prague for the past few years! He gave us some recommendations and ideas for when we are there. We're gonna call it an early night for our train to Austria tomorrow!!

June 25, 2009

Today was fairly uneventful. We slept in and got ready. We ate some really good paninis for breakfast. They had eggplant, zucchini, and mozzarella on them! Yum! The nice receptionist let us use the wireless internet out in the garden for a couple hours. Then, we headed over to the train station. We still had a bit of time and didn't want to carry our stuff everywhere, so we just sat and read for a while. Annie and I had our last gelato :(. Logan and Annie also played with the pigeons a bit. Soon, we got on our train. On this one, we got to sit in a room with a nice 3 person Russian family. The little boy had a sweet rattail and he asked us our names in English. His mom then told us, "He hasn't learned his English yet." It is amazing how many people understand and speak English in Europe. I wish we could learn other languages starting at a younger age. I would be so much better at French if I had started in elementary school! Logan made good friends with that boy by playing that game where you pretend to be separating your finger. It was real funny. Anyways, we only had to switch once in Villach, and we arrived late in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Our hostel is fairly close. It is pretty shady, but we each have luggage lockers and there is a kitchen. I am feeling a bit under the weather, so I think we will sleep in tomorrow! :)

June 24, 2009

We woke up and found that the owner had very sweetly showed up and set the table for our breakfast. After getting ready, we set off for Venice. We just made a train that was leaving in 5 minutes. Once in Venice, we managed to find our hostel. It is a sweet little place down in a secluded little side street. I was hot, so I changed into a dress and then we were on our way. We set off in no particular direction. Soon, we managed to find some signs pointing to St. Mark's Square. We followed them and found the square. Unfortunately, they are doing some major construction and so there really wasn't much to see. We met a family of 9 from Phoenix who needed some people to share an extra gondola with, so we only had to pay for half of it! Our gondolier was very nice. He told us all about Venice and the buildings we saw. He said there are something like 420 bridges and over 100 islands in Venice alone! Venice used to be it's own republic for something like 1100 years. We got back and headed another direction. We got lost down a coupld of streets and back alleys, but we managed to get back on track. I got some shopping in and we ate more pizza and gelato! Next, Annie and I went to check on how to get over to Burano tomorrow. We were looking at a map and this couple comes up to us and says, "Hey, do you want two free tickets?" Basically, they were leaving and gave up two tickets that worked for the rest of the day on any boat in Venice! We ran back, told Logan, and headed out. We took the bus boat over to Burano and walked around town a bit. This town is full of colorful houses. This is because apparently, back in the day, some fishermen got drunk and went to another house and slept with some woman who was not his wife. After this, people started to paint their houses different, bright colors to signify which was theirs. We then came back and got some Fanta. It's off to Slovenia tomorrow!

June 23, 2009

We went to bed fairly early last night, so it was easy to wake up early. We let Logan sleep in while we went over to the market. After cappuccinos and cream-filled croissants, Annie and I took the metro over. We got there right when it opened, so it wasn't too crowded at all. A few purchases later, and we headed back. The first train we saw was so jam-packed with people, we couldn't even fit, so we took the next one. We got back, checked out, and we headed to the station. Unfortunately, the train didn't leave for another hour, but we entertained ourselves with hangman and beef jerky. Annie is a bit upset, because she has already finished her book and has to wait to get the next one till mom gets here. The train was hot! Italy in general is a pretty warm place. It is definitely a change from Switzerland. We got to Verona and to our hostel, the B&B Rigoletto, which, surprise, happens to be an apartment that some man rents out. There are 3 rooms, a bathroom, and kitchen. We didn't find out about this right away, though, because the owner was not there when we got there. We had to wait on the street for about a half an hour for him to show up. He was extremely friendly though, and it is quite nice here. It is amazing how much quality just a couple of bucks will get you! Soon, we went to check out the town. It's a pretty cute place. We went over to the Roman Ampitheatre and the river. Then, we smelled pizza, so we had to go find it. It was a cheap walk up place! We could not pass that up (not even for McDonalds...cough cough Logan and Annie cough cough...) so we got pizza slices and calzones! I dripped some grease on my pants :( but the tide pen helped a bit. I hope it'll be able to come out. We sat at a park for a bit and watched a massive amount of drug deals go down. It was pretty hilarious. Later, we got gelato! I had melon and vanilla this time. Logan had green apple/melon and Annie had sweet cream/mango. Again, it was SO good! It rained a bit, and we headed back to the hotel. We are now watching Italian TV and relaxing for our trip to Venice tomorrow!

June 22, 2009

We awoke really early today to catch our train. Then, somehow, we almost couldn't find the station! But, we made it in time. We ate croissants for breakfast. Then, we took three different trains and finally arrived in Milan around 11:45. For anyone who is traveling, I totally recommend noise-reducing headphones! They have been so great. Our hotel in Milan is very nice and quite close to the train station! It was quite hot in Milan today, so we relaxed a bit before going out again. Then, we headed to the Duomo! It was about a 20 to 30 minute walk, but not too bad. Once we got there, we were instantly bombarded by guys who basically stole our money for a string bracelet. Whatever, I gave them 50 cents. The Duomo, I must say, is quite remarkable! It is all gothic architecture and the ceilings/pillars are so tall! I was extremely impressed with all of the stained glass windows. At the back of the cathedral, there are three huge windows depicting stories from the old testament, the apocalypse, and the new testament. I think each big window had a few hundred little windows but only something around 60 are originals. We also really liked the statue of Saint Bartholomew. He was one of Jesus' followers and was tortured for standing up for his beliefs. Apparently, all of his skin was ripped off. The statue was of him, skinless, wearing his skin as a shawl almost. It was very interesting to see in the cathedral next to the more modest statues and altars. Altogether, it was extremely cool. Logan is having a bad time with all the smoke, so tomorrow, we are going to shop in the morning, and then head off to Verona so we can just relax by the lake. We also got our gelato! I had a combo of melon and lemon. The melon was easily the best gelato I've ever had! I don't know how they do it, but it is so good! Now, we are eating at a pizza joint. It actually is an Italian/Japanese place...but that's okay because they have Gnocchi!!! Ciao for now!