So, I'm going to live in Frankfurt

Guten Abend my favorite readers! 

Thought I'd shoot you all a little update before heading to Switzerland this weekend. In case you didn't know, I'm the queen of procrastination. And since I have a German midterm in about 5 hours, I thought, no better way to put off studying than to BLOG! Right? 

 So, yesterday was our excursion to Frankfurt which I was very excited about! Frankfurt is the only city in Germany that resembles the cities we are used to in the States, and it's the financial capital of Europe. Since I am a finance major, I was very excited to visit it and feel the business vibe! First we visited the European Central Bank where we had a fascinating presentation by a "young and dynamic" speaker (I thought he was cute too, until he stood up and revealed that he was probably the height of my younger sister). Gosh, how I always get side-tracked with boys. Anyways, he talked about the history of the ECB and of the Euro and along the way discussed a lot of important economic topics that I was really interested in. I was, once again, the girl with all the questions and I probably spoke just as much as the speaker did. Typical. 

After the presentation, we were given a two hour lunch break which included "frankfurter" wursts and bread at a cute little hole-in-the-wall cafe. It was charming and beat standing outside around a table like some of the people in our group decided to do. And for dessert... ice cream! Yes, I had ice cream. And yes, it was delicious. Then Bianca and I walked around the city and I really felt a connection to it. It sort of feels like LA because of all the high rises and everything, but it's much prettier and cleaner and doesn't attract some of the unappealing things that LA does. The "Main" river runs through it and provides it with a suburban feel in a way. 

After lunch, we went to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange which I was SO excited about because I've never seen a stock exchange before and ever since I saw "Trading Places" with Eddie Murphy, I've been itching to see what it's like. However, I have to say I was kind of disappointed. We were supposed to have a "VIP tour" but I didn't think there was anything "VIP" about it. We were given a short presentation by a woman who seemed to know absolutely nothing about the stock market, and even the head of our program, Viktoria, could sense her ignorance. After Viktoria boldly asked the young woman about her experience, we found out she was a student and working at the exchange as a part-time job. No wonder she seemed to know less than I do about her own field. 

 Then we went to go look at the floor of the exchange. We didn't get to stand on it, but we got to observe it from the "visitor's room." You'd think with a "VIP" tour that apparently cost a lot of $$$, you'd at least be able to stand on the floor. Well, in any case, it was very cool to see the floor. It's not all the hustle and bustle and yelling and screaming it used to be, but I guess we can thank technology for that lack of excitement. 

Afterward, we were given the option of going to some museum or having a little bit of free time before dinner. I chose to go to a Starbucks, get a latte, and read my book. I think I've seen enough museums recently, and it turned out that the one that everyone else wanted to see was closed anyways, so I was happy with my decision. Following my coffee break, we went to a traditional Frankfurt restaurant where we all had typical German food. I had schnitzel with mushrooms and potatoes which was surprisingly good. Once we were all stuffed and tired after a long day, we boarded our big tour bus and began our two hour ride back to Bonn. We got in earlier than I'd expected, and I got home at a decent hour. 

I am definitely considering living in Frankfurt one day. I think it would be valuable work experience and I would love to live in Europe again. The only problem is the language barrier... in which case, I really should work on my German and prepare for my midterm. I feel a little unmotivated because I just switched the class to pass/fail, so all I need is a C and I'm good to go. However, if I want to live here one day, I guess I gotta step it up. 

Off I go to study... hopefully.

P.S. I'd also like to thank Stephen King for his brilliant novels that distract me from studying. Over and out.

Adventures of a (not so) Lone Traveler

Hallo!

So the weekend has passed and I am once again in my 3-hour religion class (with the 70+ year old teacher) so I will take this wonderful opportunity to tell you about my adventures in Belgium.

This past weekend, my friend Bianca and I were supposed to go to Belgium for the entire weekend and stay in Ghent. However, she has been ill for weeks and got a new dose of her sickness and had to cancel last-minute. I wished her well and decided that I would take a day-trip to Belgium alone. Everyone else in the group already had travel or other plans for the weekend, and I didn’t want to miss seeing the country. Plus, I don’t really mind being alone. Sometimes when you are with the same people for an extended period of time, you just want to get away a little bit. So I planned on going to Brussels since it is a major city and I thought there might be more for a lone tourist to do there. 

 I woke up early on Saturday and got ready for my adventure. I boarded the two-hour train to Brussels and again ran into a problem with my Eurail pass (I blame it on the snobby French train I decided to take). Apparently, I needed a 24 euro reservation WITH my Eurail to be on the train, but since I had failed to get it before I got on the train, I had to pay 34 euro (charged it to the card, thanks Dad). The snobby French guy said I should be glad that he wasn’t charging me for the full price of a ticket, and after I apologized, commented on how us “Americans always say ‘sorry’”. Welp, can’t say I’m all too excited to meet these nice French people next weekend in Paris.

Anyways, finally got to Brussels. I walked into the main part of town, eager to get my hands on a traditional Belgium waffle. I passed by what looked like an extremely tourist-y place that offered waffles, deciding that I’d find a more authentic restaurant. I finally found a little coffee shop/waffle house called “Aroma” where I got a cinnamon-flavored latte with whipped cream and a waffle “natur” with powdered sugar on top. I will say that the employees moved at quite a glacial pace, and there was my American temptation to walk out while muttering, “I don’t have time for this.” But I stopped myself and stayed, realizing that I obviously did have time since I had nowhere to be that day. Observing my surroundings, I realized that everyone was speaking French. Apparently Brussels is divided into different parts, and I was clearly in the French part. I didn’t expect to be in Belgium hearing “Bonjour” all around me.  In any case, I enjoyed my snack and headed out in search of chocolate, chocolate and oh yes, more chocolate. 

 

Not surprisingly, it’s rather easy to find chocolate in Belgium. Streets are littered with infinite chocolatiers, including GODIVA! Did you know Godiva was born in Belgium? I sure didn’t. I guess that explains why their chocolate is so exceptional. Anyways, while I was deciding which chocolate to get, I came across a chocolate museum. I thought I’d take a spin through since it looked pretty interesting. I learned lots of interesting facts about chocolate and the harvest of the cocoa bean, as well as the fact that Switzerland consumes 11.6 kg of chocolate per person, compared to 5.6 kg per person in the United States, per year. Crazy, right?! Swiss chocolate, Swiss cheese… it’s a wonder they are one of the more healthy countries. 

So I enjoyed my self-guided tour of the museum and once I got out, I stumbled into conversation with some Americans who were also coming out of the museum. I introduced myself to all of them, and then one of the guys asked me if I was traveling alone. I told him I was and found out he was also a lone traveler from Madrid (but originally from Riverside). He said he’d met the rest of the group at the hostel he was staying at, and I was welcome to join them for the day if I wanted. I accepted the offer gladly and was told the plan was to visit a few more museums and then get beer. Fine by me! 

 We went to an underground ruins museum next to see the remains of what used to be a very large palace in Brussels. It was destroyed by a fire and excavated hundreds of years later. It was interesting, but I’ve seen lots of that kind of stuff in Bonn, so it was nothing really new for me. Then we went to see the Mannequin Pis, that famous tiny statue of the little boy peeing. It’s kind of like the Mona Lisa; everyone is standing around taking pictures of this small statue which just doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. Oh well. Next to the statue was a street-stand that was selling escargot. I have had escargot multiple times back home, but this kind was very different – it was boiled in a broth and served plain and simple. Well, when in Belgium, do as the… French do? I mean, when else am I going to see escargot sold on the street? I had a serving, but decided I like it the non-authentic way it’s done at home: sautéed in garlic cream sauce. Mmm. 

Following that experience, we went to a beer museum/brewery and saw the brewing process of one of the most original beers: Lambic. This kind of beer is made by spontaneous fermentation, which is a natural way of fermenting the beer - it takes three years. The beer is flat with no bubbles and has a sour taste. It’s almost like beer-meets-wine. After our walk through the brewery, we got to taste a few different kinds of beers. They were very tasty! 

    

After that, the rest of the group broke off and went to go find food, while I stayed with the guy who had brought me into the group in the first place. I said good-bye to the rest of my new American friends, and Mike and I went to go beer tasting at different bars. He knew a lot about all kinds of beers, obviously had a passion for it, and shared some of his knowledge with me. I had a blonde beer at one bar and a white beer and the other, and liked them better than his dark, harsh beers. In the midst of our bar-tour, we stopped for some original Belgian fries! They are very proud of their fries, claiming THEY were the first to make them, and damn… I will say they are quite tasty – especially topped with garlic aioli sauce. What diet? 

After my long day of exploring Brussels, I finally got a box of typical Belgian chocolates from a place called Leonidas. I dug into the box right away and let me tell you something - You know how at home, whenever you get a box of chocolates, you are halfway disappointed with the box because quite honestly, half of them suck? Well in Belgium, it’s the exact opposite of that. Every single chocolate from that box was AMAZING (yes… past tense, because they are long gone by now). One more beer and a few chocolates later, I said good-bye to my new friend, got on my train, and headed home after a full day of adventuring. The only bad part about my day was how my train decided to stop at a station for over 5 minutes, apparently for no reason at all. This caused my train to be six minutes late to my stop, which caused me to be one minute late for my night bus. Since it would be a whole hour since the next bus, I begrudgingly hailed a cab and paid 12 euro to get home. Unfortunate too, since I had just stayed within the budget I had set for myself for the day. Ah well, I couldn’t stay mad for too long after the lovely day I had enjoyed. 

 After that day of waffles, fries, chocolate and beer, I was definitely in need of a loooong workout on Sunday. Which was all right, because I just joined a gym! It’s called McFit and it’s like the 24-hour fitness of Europe. Open 24 hours a day, with plenty of cute German guys in tight shirts, it has everything I need. You can imagine my excitement.

Tomorrow we go to Frankfurt to visit the European Central Bank and the German Stock Exchange. I am VERY excited and am even considering the idea of one day working in Frankfurt for a year or so (40% of people in Frankfurt are not German…). Then this weekend, it’s off to Switzerland where I will be paragliding and enjoying the Swiss countryside of Interlaken! Honestly, I still can’t believe I am here. SO grateful.

So I guess with all of this excitement, it’s only fair that I have an entirely boring theology class to sit through. I mean, it’s a subject I am really interested in – history of the church in Europe – but I just can’t understand what this guy is saying. I don’t think I’m the only one either. Wish me luck.

Tschuss!

Prague & Budapest: A Tale of Two Cities

Hi y’all! (Don’t think I can pull that off, but I need a little American slang after so many European languages). Get ready for one heck of a novel, cause I have loooots to talk about! 

Last week we finished our excursion with a visit to Prague. Oh, Prague. Beautiful city, it really is. Charming in every way, with little antique shops and coffee shops and churches with men who play their trumpet every hour. Darling. We spent Wednesday walking around Prague for a little while, and then heading out to an opera for the night. There were 5 girls in our “apartment,” which really should have been called “three rooms pushed together,” so you know all of us getting ready in front of one mirror was an interesting sight. And of course, I thought I’d be a little bored during the opera, so I cozied up to a bottle of wine before and four glasses of champagne during the intermissions. Hey, that’s why they offer it right? To make their performance more entertaining? Well, in any case, I was entertained plenty, even though it was all in Italian. Apparently, on account of my drunkenness, I missed the nudity in the second scene. I was obviously disappointed. After the opera we made our way back to the hotel with the intentions of going out. Everyone else might have gone out, but my bed looked way too comfortable and I passed out before midnight. 

The second day in Prague was more eventful. We had a tour around the city with a guide named Ladi. He was interesting and showed us famous parts of the city like the Charles Bridge and the castle that the head of state resides in. We even got the MOST beautiful view of the city at the top of a hill. After walking around in the cold weather, we all needed a break and thankfully we found a café where I tasted the best hot chocolate of my life. After our tour, we had a few hours of free time, and since the hotel had a gym…. Yep, you guess it. I went and worked out. Haven’t lifted weights in a month and let me tell you, I could barely move the next day. That night we had a “farewell dinner” at a traditional Czech restaurant and since our coordinator was buying, I got the most expensive thing on the menu: steak. It was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.! Pleased with dinner and ready for the night, we went back to the hotel and got ready for another night that I was DETERMINED to actually make it out for. Our group of about 15 people had gotten pretty far away from the hotel but without a particular destination, most of our group headed back to the hotel to go to the same bar they had been the night before. However, about 5 of us decided we’d already walked so far, we would just go to where we thought the clubs were and Czech it out (see what I did there?)  :) anyways, we finally made it to the five-story club we’d heard about, and spent the rest of the night dancing. The club was a blast and I was even approached by two guys who said they were police officers (super comforting) who asked me, “Would you like to have fun with two guys tonight?” “Umm… no thanks,” I replied, and walked off. Good to know that there are some wonderful police officers in Prague.
  

The next morning was kind of brutal since I slept for only a few hours, but we made it out of the hotel and I was ready to go to Budapest. The other nine people that were going to Budapest went by plane, but I have a Eurail pass so I took the train. Let me tell you what an adventure that was. I took the bus the wrong way in my attempt to get to the train station, but I quickly realized my mistake and got on the right one. So proud of myself for getting to the train station by myself, I got on the train and was ready to go. That is, until I had some problems in Slovakia. I didn’t even know the train was passing through Slovakia on our way to Hungary, and I had even asked one of the people at the train station if I would be okay using my Eurail pass. Yes, she said, no problem. Welp, that’s not what the guy on the train said. He checked my pass in Slovakia and told me that the Eurail is not valid in his country and that I’d have to pay $19 euro or get off the train. I told him I had absolutely no cash on me since I got rid of my Czech money and hadn’t gotten Hungarian money yet. I pleaded with him to let me stay on the train since the next one to Budapest would be hours away, and finally he took my address and let me stay on.

Once I got to Budapest, it was late and I was kind of freaked out about being by myself. This cab driver on the platform greeted me and helped me with my bag, took me to a bank so I could get money, and took me to the hostel that I told him to take me to. He totally ripped me off, I paid $30 for a cab ride that should have cost less than $10. Sweet. Whatever, I was just glad to be at the hostel. I dragged my 50+ pound bag up 5 flights of stairs (no elevators), only to find out that I was at the wrong Carpe Noctem. Oh really? Yes, really. Freaking out, I called five of my friends, and none answered their phones. The guys at the first hostel were really nice though – they gave me the address for the right hostel, called me a cab, and I was on my way. The next cab driver dropped me off on a street that didn’t look right and drove off. I was in front of a sex shop, among other random stores, with no signs of a hostel anywhere. All alone, with my five bags, in Budapest, at night, in the rain, I did what any girl would do – I started crying. Finally I saw an obscure sign that indicated I was at the right place. And at least this one had an elevator. I got to the top floor of a pretty rinky-dink building and was overwhelmed with relief when I found all my friends at this hostel. I put my bags down, caught my breath, ate the plate of food I was handed, and calmed down for a while. I did have to admit that the hostel we were staying at was pretty cool; it’s a party hostel so every night the people that work there take you out and show you a good time. They even give you a wristband with the address of the hostel and a key that goes around the wrist as well to “make everything as drunk-proof as possible.” Hey, works for me.

Then I was told we were all going to a pub-crawl and I had to be ready in 30 minutes. And just in case I thought 5 girls getting ready in front of one mirror was bad, try 10 people getting ready in front of one mirror. While it was nice that all 10 of us in the group were staying in the same room, getting ready was an interesting task. Finally relaxed and ready for a night out, some Belgian guys asked me if I would like to join them drinking. “HELL YES,” was my only reply. We drank a little and went out on the town. We visited multiple bars; I of course got a little tipsy (which I desperately needed after my day) and had a good first night out in Budapest.

 The next morning I woke up early, went for a run, had breakfast and showered all before anyone else had gotten out of bed. I felt productive. Then the 10 of us went out for a little exploring in the city. Budapest is actually two cities “Buda” and “Pest” and we were on the Pest side. We crossed the bridge to the more historical Buda side and had an adventure visiting different sites and taking lots of pictures. It was nice to finally be able to walk around a city without a tour guide and hearing “And this building here was built in the twelfth century…”

 Our second and last night in Budapest was definitely one to remember. We went to a rave in a bathhouse called “Cinetrip.” None of us even knew it was going on that weekend, but apparently we picked a good time to go because it’s a pretty big deal. Since us girls hadn’t brought bathing suits, we improvised with some leggings and bras and got ready for a wild night. I can just say that I’ve never seen anything so insane in my life. There were two major pools that were both dark; one was lit up by disco lights and was the kind of rave scene you would expect, and the other one was warmer, more relaxed with sensual music and a calm atmosphere. This bath was called the “Turkish bath” and since it was nice and warm, I spent most of the time in that one. There were also multiple bars and dance floors spread across the bathhouse – everything we needed to have a good time. Halfway into the night there was a belly-dancing show in the Turkish bath which was mesmerizing (yes, even though I’m a girl). At about one or so in the morning, a friend and I decided to take a cab and head back since we had gotten pretty tired. I made it back and passed out, and let me tell you, there was definitely no running the next morning.

The next day was really relaxed; we got food and mostly chilled and recuperated from the night before. I was a little bummed to pack up my things and head home since we had such a good time together, but I was also very excited to go back to Bonn. Being in Eastern Europe made me realize how thankful I am to be studying in Germany. It just feels like the States, at least more than any other place.

I made it to the train station alone, and this time with a more reasonable cab fare. I made a silent vow to never travel alone again. After some confusion and frustration, I found the train I was supposed to be on, and was relieved to be heading home. Switched trains in Austria and took a 10-hour night train home to Bonn. With the help of a few Tylenol p.m., I was able to sleep pretty decently on the train. I got back at about 9 in the morning, and had German class at 10:15. Another silent vow to never come home that late again.

And now, it’s back to reality here in Germany. I’m happy to be home but not so happy about a business test I have to take on Thursday. I guess it can’t always be parties and traveling. I’m currently in a theology class and I haven’t listened to a word the professor has spoken for the last hour and a half. Cheers to that? Alright.

Peace out loved ones, miss you all!

Burrrrlin!

Guten Tag! Long time, no talk, I know. Between being sick all last week and traveling around Berlin since Saturday, I have had neither the time nor the energy to blog. But that’s alright, because I am on yet another five hour long train ride, so we can talk for a nice long time. 

For starters, not much happened last week. For the most part, weekdays are pretty boring. My days last week were a mix of doctor’s appointments and classes, mixed in with an occasional run. Nothing that interesting. Saturday morning we left for Berlin and that’s when things got exciting. We took a five-hour train there, and upon arrival had an interesting tour with a young tour guide (always better than the boring old history majors). It was supposed to be a bus city tour, but he thought it would be more interactive if we could get out and walk around. I’d be all for that, minus the rain and intense winds that we were greeted with. We saw a lot of the major sights the first day, including the Berlin Wall, the German Parliament, the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. That night we all enjoyed dinner at a favorite Berlin pizzeria and subsequently went out for a night on the town.

Most of our large group went out to a club called “Weekend” together. It cost 12 euro to get in, but I’d say it was worth it as it seemed to be a local hotspot. The only unfortunate part of the club was that it was a lot of electro music the whole night, which I have a hard time getting into. But after a while of drinking my water (hah), I finally found my rhythm and danced for hours. I didn’t get home until 5 that morning, which meant only one hour of sleep for me. Who would get up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday, you ask? Well, we did. It was well worth it, but also meant that I would was exhausted for our long next day. 

 Sunday we visited a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. It was a bleak, gloomy day, which was fitting for the environment we were in. The sights of the camp were intense to say the least. We saw the horrible condition of the barracks that hundreds of innocent people were forced to live in. We saw the methods of punishment they suffered and the trenches they were murdered in. We saw gas chambers and ovens used for burning the bodies. We also learned that in the many barracks that the camp had, only three of them were used for Jews. Many of the others were full of homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and even Protestants. It was a brutal sight and a shocking reminder of the horrors that occurred in Germany not too long ago. 

After our tour of the camp, we were all drained physically and mentally. Walking around a concentration camp for three hours will exhaust just about anyone. So needless to say, I don’t think we were in the mood to have a painfully dull tour of the German Parliament building. Our tour guide was an old, rude, snobby woman who yelled at me for “wandering off” to go to the bathroom. Sorry for needing to pee. The building wasn’t that interesting, so I wasn’t upset that my camera had died by that point. I was glad to get back to the hotel, drink chocolate milk for dinner, and hit my pillow. 

Monday was another long day of tours. We first visited the Hohenschonhausen Memorial Site, which used to be a prison that was used by the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and subsequently by the Stasi (Soviets) after the war. The conditions were ghastly, as one would expect. The most shocking part of the prison was the methods that the Stasi members would use to torture anyone who opposed their regime. They arrested non-communists and would use brutal techniques such as Chinese water torture and threats to one’s family to get innocent people to confess to crimes they never committed. It was interesting to see that even though Germany committed many heinous crimes during the war, the Soviets weren’t much better after the war was over. 

Later that day we had a choice of whether we wanted to see the Pergamon Museum or a Jewish museum. Most everyone in our group besides me chose to see both. I went to the Pergamon museum, which is most famous for having a large part of an original Pergamon altar, which dated back to a few hundred B.C. The museum also houses the original city gate of the ancient city of Babylon. It towered so high that one can only marvel at how such an intricate structure was built so long ago and still stands today. After walking around the museum for an hour or so, I decided to head back to the hotel because I wanted to run more than I wanted to see the Jewish museum. 

On my way back, I grabbed a döner for lunch because I kept hearing about how AMAZING they were and I wanted to see for myself. The rumors are true – it is literally mouth-watering. It consists of grilled pita bread, lamb, garlic spread, onions, lettuce and tomatoes. Sounds rather simple and maybe even mundane, but my tummy and taste buds were pleasantly surprised. I then had energy for a run and was happy because it was (finally) a beautiful day outside. After 8 miles, I was again exhausted. Bianca and I had dinner at a nearby restaurant, then I watched Friends (obviously) and fell asleep. 

Tuesday. Tuesday was a “My Berlin” day where we split up into four groups with different topics and went to explore the city. My group’s topic was the Cold War, which I was interested in mainly because of our tour through the Checkpoint Charlie museum. We had a fascinating tour guide who had spent ten years in a Soviet prison. He showed us all the different ways that people used to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin. Some used hot air balloons, others dug tunnels, and still others curled themselves up into the loudspeakers or suitcases and were smuggled across the border. It was amazing to see how people were so desperate that they would risk their lives to get out of the communist regime of the East. Later that day, we visited the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Wall Park, and the East Side Gallery, which is a section of the Berlin Wall that artists from around the world have painted their messages. I wrapped up the day by going to the city center for (another) amazing döner and was knocked out by 10 p.m. 

After walking and running for days on end, I feel like my feet are literally bruised and I’m thankful for this long train ride to Prague. I’m glad that I got to see Berlin as there is a lot of history in the city, but I’m excited to move on. Berlin is interesting, but also COVERED in graffiti, kind of grungy, and not as comforting as Bonn is. I’ve heard Prague is beautiful, so it will be a nice change of pace. After two days in Prague, most of our group is moving on to Budapest, which I think will make for a crazy weekend. 

Hopefully I’ll update more regularly, so look out for the adventure stories to come – there’ll be lots, I’m sure.  

Sbohem! (bye in Czech)