Sunday, April 25th
Quick note: Germany is chock full of beer and brats. All it needed was Bucky and it would have been just like Madison. Well, a Madison with awesome castles in the countryside.
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 21st
Leah just left and I'm hanging out in Amsterdam for two hours before I catch a train to Stuttgart. It's hard to believe that this two week vacation is almost over.
After my last post, Leah, Yoann, and I headed to Amsterdam for a few days...Notable moments:
The Anne Frank house. I remember reading her diary as a kid and it really stuck with me. It was such a horrible point in history, but there were still moments of hope. Anne definitely had hope, right up until the day they were captured...it was a really moving memorial, and to see that bookcase that hid the annex, to see the walls of her room covered with posters....I really enjoyed it.
Pub crawl. Some of us were more victorious than others, let's leave it at that. Also, learned how to say "I'm wasted" in German from a bunch of guys from Frankfort.
The bikes. Amsterdam is a dangerous city. Not only do you have the cars and the people to look out for, there's also the tram and the five bijillion bikes flying at you from every direction. We went on a free walking tour and they told us that every year, twelve thousand bikes are found in the canals. Twelve thousand. Almost every resident has a bike (or two). I've never seen so many bikes in one place in my life.
The debauchery. Pot and prostitutes. It was really weird to be able to walk into a coffeeshop and just say "I'd like a joint please." just like it was a normal, everyday occurrance. Even weirder, marijuana isn't technically legal, just decriminalized and tolerated by the police. The Red Light District was even weirder to me. It was kind of sad to see these girls pretty much naked winking at guys through windows. The girls rent the window rooms for eight hours and do their thing. In some ways, I think it's a good thing to make it so open...the girls have more access to help, they have more rights, but at the same time, the fact that they gave to resort to prostitution is pretty depressing.
Amsterdam is definitely a beautiful city, the parks and the canals are great to just wander through on a sunny day (which is what we did). Also trying to pronounce the street names is great fun!!!!
Leah and I said goodbye to Yoann after that and said HELLLLLLOOOOOO DENMARK!!!! We stayed with my friend Martin from high school (he was an exchange student my senior year) that I hadn't seen in about a year and a half. He lives in Århus, a city right on the sea, and at a population of 250,000, the second biggest city in Denmark. We took a night train up to Kolding where Leah and I successfully managed the Danish railway system and got tickets to Århus. Thankfully people generally speak good English in Denmark and the don't make you feel like a fool for not speaking their language (cough like Paris cough cough). Martin's girlfriend Mia met us in the train station in Århus and we got settled in at their apartment, which was super cute btw. Martin told us that you're never farther than half an hour from the sea in Denmark, and I believe it! It was such a beautiful country, and everyone was so nice and welcoming to Leah and I. Martin's parents own a great restaurant right on the water and they treated us to a DELICIOUS meal there, complete with ocean view. Martin's family also owns a house boat right by the restaurant (they live on it about half the year) so we checked that out. The boat was super nice and HUGE.
Denmark still has a royal family and our first day there was the queen's 70th birthday. She owns a summer cottage in Århus, so we checked that out, wandered through her gardens a little bit, peeked in the windows. She wasn't there, I think she was too busy partying like a rockstar in Copenhagen, but it was cool to see.
Martin's parents also took us out to dinner to try some typical Danish food. Leah and I got this dish that was basically baked bacon with lots of potatoes. It was super good, and not that hard to make according to Martin and his dad (both chefs). Martin's mom insisted I try a Danish apple dessert too, so of course I said yes....we left the restaurant ready to explode! His family was unbelievably nice to us, I couldn't thank them enough. After dinner, Martin and his friends planned a little bar crawl for us that involved lots of dancing and singing Danish on tables (or in my case, shouting random sounds), and resulted in a massive hang over lazy day the day after. It was a lot of fun, Martin's friends definitely know how to party.
We watched probably 4 James Bond movies (all with Roger Moore) over the course of the weekend, it was great. I'd never seen an old Bond movie, and I thought they were hilarious! Martin is a chef, so Saturday he cooked us a really nice meal and he tried to show me how to do it too. I'm going to give it a try, but I'm pretty positive it's not as easy as he made it look...
Martin took us down to the beach at sunset one night and it was beautiful. I could definitely see myself living by the ocean someday....
Leah and I also visited Old Town Denmark (a lot like Old World Wisconsin) and pretended we were back in the old days, played on stilts, pet a horse, and learned about some rare chickens. Pretty sweet. Martin, his friend Jonas, Leah, and I also went mini golfing on a roof. I sucked and came in last. But we saw some of the Danish national soccer team players (they were playing mini golf too and of course I papperazi-ed them) and I do enjoy a good game of putt putt. Another Danish pastime: drinking øl (beer) in parks. Martin and his friends do that a lot I believe, any time, any day of the week. It's a great way to spend the afternoon.
We also went out to the country and met Mia's family. Again, they were so nice to us. We made dinner and the played soccer and jumped on a trampoline with her brother and sister. We even taught them how to play crack the egg on the trampoline (I think Martin really liked that one). Mia's family lives out in the country and they have horses and it was just a really pretty place to be!
Yesterday, Martin drove us to Copenhagen so we could catch our train. It was, of course a really pretty drive because of all the ocean views. We got to take the longest bridge in the world because Denmark is so split up by water. Before the bridge they had to take a ferry to get to Copenhagen.
We had really crappy weather, but the morning was nice and we got to eat in the sunshine before it started pouring! I think Denmark was just sad to see us leave. The little mermaid statue is in China, so we didn't get to see it, but I think Leah made a great Ariel...we saw the queen's palace and Christiana, a big hippie commune where the Red Hot Chili Peppers lived for awhile. The weather was a bit disappointing, but it was still a pretty town.
Martin and Mia were so great, it was a little sad to say bye. I really liked Denmark, even though Danish seems imposible. I do, however, know how to count to ten and say thank you. I can also ask for a boys number and for some ice cream...Leah and I had fun making up what people (like Martin and his friends) were saying when they were rambling off in Danish. Also, their currency, the kroner, was confusing to figure out at first (1 dollar = 5.5ish kroner) but super cool. I will admit though, Denmark is expensive. A sandwich meal can cost over ten american dollars...But, in any case, the people were great and it's a beautiful place. Jeg elsker danemark!
Now I'm on my way to see Hank in Stuttgart, Germany. On the agenda: the zoo and a beer festival! Should be fun!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Leah just left and I'm hanging out in Amsterdam for two hours before I catch a train to Stuttgart. It's hard to believe that this two week vacation is almost over.
After my last post, Leah, Yoann, and I headed to Amsterdam for a few days...Notable moments:
The Anne Frank house. I remember reading her diary as a kid and it really stuck with me. It was such a horrible point in history, but there were still moments of hope. Anne definitely had hope, right up until the day they were captured...it was a really moving memorial, and to see that bookcase that hid the annex, to see the walls of her room covered with posters....I really enjoyed it.
Pub crawl. Some of us were more victorious than others, let's leave it at that. Also, learned how to say "I'm wasted" in German from a bunch of guys from Frankfort.
The bikes. Amsterdam is a dangerous city. Not only do you have the cars and the people to look out for, there's also the tram and the five bijillion bikes flying at you from every direction. We went on a free walking tour and they told us that every year, twelve thousand bikes are found in the canals. Twelve thousand. Almost every resident has a bike (or two). I've never seen so many bikes in one place in my life.
The debauchery. Pot and prostitutes. It was really weird to be able to walk into a coffeeshop and just say "I'd like a joint please." just like it was a normal, everyday occurrance. Even weirder, marijuana isn't technically legal, just decriminalized and tolerated by the police. The Red Light District was even weirder to me. It was kind of sad to see these girls pretty much naked winking at guys through windows. The girls rent the window rooms for eight hours and do their thing. In some ways, I think it's a good thing to make it so open...the girls have more access to help, they have more rights, but at the same time, the fact that they gave to resort to prostitution is pretty depressing.
Amsterdam is definitely a beautiful city, the parks and the canals are great to just wander through on a sunny day (which is what we did). Also trying to pronounce the street names is great fun!!!!
Leah and I said goodbye to Yoann after that and said HELLLLLLOOOOOO DENMARK!!!! We stayed with my friend Martin from high school (he was an exchange student my senior year) that I hadn't seen in about a year and a half. He lives in Århus, a city right on the sea, and at a population of 250,000, the second biggest city in Denmark. We took a night train up to Kolding where Leah and I successfully managed the Danish railway system and got tickets to Århus. Thankfully people generally speak good English in Denmark and the don't make you feel like a fool for not speaking their language (cough like Paris cough cough). Martin's girlfriend Mia met us in the train station in Århus and we got settled in at their apartment, which was super cute btw. Martin told us that you're never farther than half an hour from the sea in Denmark, and I believe it! It was such a beautiful country, and everyone was so nice and welcoming to Leah and I. Martin's parents own a great restaurant right on the water and they treated us to a DELICIOUS meal there, complete with ocean view. Martin's family also owns a house boat right by the restaurant (they live on it about half the year) so we checked that out. The boat was super nice and HUGE.
Denmark still has a royal family and our first day there was the queen's 70th birthday. She owns a summer cottage in Århus, so we checked that out, wandered through her gardens a little bit, peeked in the windows. She wasn't there, I think she was too busy partying like a rockstar in Copenhagen, but it was cool to see.
Martin's parents also took us out to dinner to try some typical Danish food. Leah and I got this dish that was basically baked bacon with lots of potatoes. It was super good, and not that hard to make according to Martin and his dad (both chefs). Martin's mom insisted I try a Danish apple dessert too, so of course I said yes....we left the restaurant ready to explode! His family was unbelievably nice to us, I couldn't thank them enough. After dinner, Martin and his friends planned a little bar crawl for us that involved lots of dancing and singing Danish on tables (or in my case, shouting random sounds), and resulted in a massive hang over lazy day the day after. It was a lot of fun, Martin's friends definitely know how to party.
We watched probably 4 James Bond movies (all with Roger Moore) over the course of the weekend, it was great. I'd never seen an old Bond movie, and I thought they were hilarious! Martin is a chef, so Saturday he cooked us a really nice meal and he tried to show me how to do it too. I'm going to give it a try, but I'm pretty positive it's not as easy as he made it look...
Martin took us down to the beach at sunset one night and it was beautiful. I could definitely see myself living by the ocean someday....
Leah and I also visited Old Town Denmark (a lot like Old World Wisconsin) and pretended we were back in the old days, played on stilts, pet a horse, and learned about some rare chickens. Pretty sweet. Martin, his friend Jonas, Leah, and I also went mini golfing on a roof. I sucked and came in last. But we saw some of the Danish national soccer team players (they were playing mini golf too and of course I papperazi-ed them) and I do enjoy a good game of putt putt. Another Danish pastime: drinking øl (beer) in parks. Martin and his friends do that a lot I believe, any time, any day of the week. It's a great way to spend the afternoon.
We also went out to the country and met Mia's family. Again, they were so nice to us. We made dinner and the played soccer and jumped on a trampoline with her brother and sister. We even taught them how to play crack the egg on the trampoline (I think Martin really liked that one). Mia's family lives out in the country and they have horses and it was just a really pretty place to be!
Yesterday, Martin drove us to Copenhagen so we could catch our train. It was, of course a really pretty drive because of all the ocean views. We got to take the longest bridge in the world because Denmark is so split up by water. Before the bridge they had to take a ferry to get to Copenhagen.
We had really crappy weather, but the morning was nice and we got to eat in the sunshine before it started pouring! I think Denmark was just sad to see us leave. The little mermaid statue is in China, so we didn't get to see it, but I think Leah made a great Ariel...we saw the queen's palace and Christiana, a big hippie commune where the Red Hot Chili Peppers lived for awhile. The weather was a bit disappointing, but it was still a pretty town.
Martin and Mia were so great, it was a little sad to say bye. I really liked Denmark, even though Danish seems imposible. I do, however, know how to count to ten and say thank you. I can also ask for a boys number and for some ice cream...Leah and I had fun making up what people (like Martin and his friends) were saying when they were rambling off in Danish. Also, their currency, the kroner, was confusing to figure out at first (1 dollar = 5.5ish kroner) but super cool. I will admit though, Denmark is expensive. A sandwich meal can cost over ten american dollars...But, in any case, the people were great and it's a beautiful place. Jeg elsker danemark!
Now I'm on my way to see Hank in Stuttgart, Germany. On the agenda: the zoo and a beer festival! Should be fun!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, April 12, 2010
Waffles and peeing boys
Leah, Yoann, and I are heading to Amsterdam this morning after three days in Brussels. It's been fun, we've seen the sights, drank lots of Belgian beer, and eaten waffles everyday. We checked out a comic book museum on Saturday that was really neat (especially for Yoann). They had lots of Tintin stuff (a well known comic book from back in the day), and Leah and I each bought one titled Tintin in America. I started reading it and so far he beats up Al Capones gang. Pretty sweet. We hung out by this statue of a peeing boy that is super famous; they even dress it up in costumes! It was a vampire rabbit on Saturday.
It's been nice in Belgium because people speak French. The signs in Flemmish are pretty awesome though. Lots and lots and lots of consonants....
One city down and on to the next! Can't wait to see the canals of Amsterdam!!!!
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It's been nice in Belgium because people speak French. The signs in Flemmish are pretty awesome though. Lots and lots and lots of consonants....
One city down and on to the next! Can't wait to see the canals of Amsterdam!!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
LIVE from France
Since I have my iPod with me and this new app to write blogs, I figured I'd try writing bits and pieces this weekend as I go. Effectively it's a live blog! Woooo!
I'm on the bus to Bordeaux watching the rain pour down outside (thanks Bretagne). The forecast isn't looking too good, but I'm still excited to see a little bit more of France. From now til mid May it's nothing but travel travel travel...
Also, the bus has started dripping rain on me (thanks Bretagne).
It's funny how music can take you back...trip down memory lane. I'm listening to the Kooks and I can just remember exactly the first time I saw them in concert in Milwaukee. Everytime I listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers I can't help but imagine myself in Jake Edwards' basement junior year of high school. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now reminds me of a certain evening three years ago when I watched the stars from the roof of my high school with some amazing friends. I've decided math is not the international language, it's gotta be music. When you can have French teenagers singing Bob Marley at their friend's house at the same time as a man in Florence plays it in front of El Duomo, and they both play with the same feeling (whether or not they really get the lyrics...), it's pretty cool.
---------------
So. Go France. We arrived in Nantes no problem. Ran into two CIEE kids too! Awesome. Then we notice our train car isn't listed on the board. Hmmmmm. Sali and Eduardo have tickets that make them take buses and other trains. Hmmmmm. They were told there were issues with this train. Hmmmmmm. We asked a worker if there was a problem with the train. "Nope." Cool. We look at the board. No stop at Bordeaux St. Jean. Hmmmmmm. We ask another worker. "I don't know, ask someone else.". Thanks SNCF. We finally got help from a nice little old French lady who told us that part of the line was down due to storms a little while ago. We're taking a train to La Rochelle and getting off. We don't have tickets for all of this but oh well. So, we're just going to have to follow the crowd and hope there's place on the bus at La Rochelle. From there we'll have to ride to some random town and take another train to get down to Bordeaux. Great.
--------------------
Currently on the last train of the day, about an hour from Bordeaux. So the SNCF didn't plan for the huge surplus of people needing to take the random train down to Bordeaux because of the rail problems and there aren't enough seats for everyone. Not even close. There are people standing in the aisles, in the doorways...people are pissed. Some guy was yelling about how it's scandaleuse. Way to go SNCF, way to go. Positive thoughts....
-------------------
It's Monday and we're heading back to Rennes in about an hour. We have to make the same train bus crazy stuff on the way back. Should be fun. This has been a good weekend, except for the rain. The first day we explored a bit on our own until it was time to meet up with Tristan (Taylor's friend). His roommate made us Iron Chef inspired cheesburgers and we hung out for a bit. Then Tristan took us out to his favorite bar in Bordeaux, Calle Ocho. Him and his roommate have been going there for years, so we got lots of free mojitos and shots up the wazoo. The bar played lots of Latin music and there was lots of dancing. It was a really great time!!!
The next day we went on a little tour of Bordeaux in the rain. It's a really nice town with lots of open green space. It also has the longest pedestrian street in France. The weather cleared up in the afternoon, we ate some cannelé, a traditional snack from Bodreaux and wandered over to La Locale. Tristan is a member of Ultramarines, the fan club for Bordeaux's soccer team and la locale is kind if like their headquarters. It's where they organize andmake banners and such. It kind of reminded me of a frat house basement. From there we went to the game. we were interviewed by some random press dude that ambushed us before we got into the stadium and asked questions about Yoann Gourcuff (about his looks more specifically). I responded with a "he's so sexy!" Maybe i got on the radio lol. There was a great ambience for the majority of the match, a lot of cheers led by the ultramarines and some good soccer. At the end, Nancy scored a second goal and Bordeaux fell apart. They lost 2-1. Sad.
The next day Tristan drove us out to St Emillion which is a town super famous for it's wine. We took a free tour of a wine cave and attempted to have a wine tasting...except I think the owner of this place had been having his own wine tasting all day. He was nuts. The man was speaking some bizarre franglais poured us a little bit of wine and then disappeared. We got ignored for awhile and then just decided to leave. The town itself was super cute and old and cobblestoney. After walking around a bit we left and Tristan showed us his grandpa's winery. It was outin the country and really pretty. Tristan's mom is American so when we went tibia parents house she chatted with us for awhile. It was a nice relaxing day. When we got back to the apartment we watched some CSI and went to bed.
Now it's back to Rennes for three days of school and then off to Brussels on Friday! It's the start of our two week spring break. Wow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I'm on the bus to Bordeaux watching the rain pour down outside (thanks Bretagne). The forecast isn't looking too good, but I'm still excited to see a little bit more of France. From now til mid May it's nothing but travel travel travel...
Also, the bus has started dripping rain on me (thanks Bretagne).
It's funny how music can take you back...trip down memory lane. I'm listening to the Kooks and I can just remember exactly the first time I saw them in concert in Milwaukee. Everytime I listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers I can't help but imagine myself in Jake Edwards' basement junior year of high school. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now reminds me of a certain evening three years ago when I watched the stars from the roof of my high school with some amazing friends. I've decided math is not the international language, it's gotta be music. When you can have French teenagers singing Bob Marley at their friend's house at the same time as a man in Florence plays it in front of El Duomo, and they both play with the same feeling (whether or not they really get the lyrics...), it's pretty cool.
---------------
So. Go France. We arrived in Nantes no problem. Ran into two CIEE kids too! Awesome. Then we notice our train car isn't listed on the board. Hmmmmm. Sali and Eduardo have tickets that make them take buses and other trains. Hmmmmm. They were told there were issues with this train. Hmmmmmm. We asked a worker if there was a problem with the train. "Nope." Cool. We look at the board. No stop at Bordeaux St. Jean. Hmmmmmm. We ask another worker. "I don't know, ask someone else.". Thanks SNCF. We finally got help from a nice little old French lady who told us that part of the line was down due to storms a little while ago. We're taking a train to La Rochelle and getting off. We don't have tickets for all of this but oh well. So, we're just going to have to follow the crowd and hope there's place on the bus at La Rochelle. From there we'll have to ride to some random town and take another train to get down to Bordeaux. Great.
--------------------
Currently on the last train of the day, about an hour from Bordeaux. So the SNCF didn't plan for the huge surplus of people needing to take the random train down to Bordeaux because of the rail problems and there aren't enough seats for everyone. Not even close. There are people standing in the aisles, in the doorways...people are pissed. Some guy was yelling about how it's scandaleuse. Way to go SNCF, way to go. Positive thoughts....
-------------------
It's Monday and we're heading back to Rennes in about an hour. We have to make the same train bus crazy stuff on the way back. Should be fun. This has been a good weekend, except for the rain. The first day we explored a bit on our own until it was time to meet up with Tristan (Taylor's friend). His roommate made us Iron Chef inspired cheesburgers and we hung out for a bit. Then Tristan took us out to his favorite bar in Bordeaux, Calle Ocho. Him and his roommate have been going there for years, so we got lots of free mojitos and shots up the wazoo. The bar played lots of Latin music and there was lots of dancing. It was a really great time!!!
The next day we went on a little tour of Bordeaux in the rain. It's a really nice town with lots of open green space. It also has the longest pedestrian street in France. The weather cleared up in the afternoon, we ate some cannelé, a traditional snack from Bodreaux and wandered over to La Locale. Tristan is a member of Ultramarines, the fan club for Bordeaux's soccer team and la locale is kind if like their headquarters. It's where they organize andmake banners and such. It kind of reminded me of a frat house basement. From there we went to the game. we were interviewed by some random press dude that ambushed us before we got into the stadium and asked questions about Yoann Gourcuff (about his looks more specifically). I responded with a "he's so sexy!" Maybe i got on the radio lol. There was a great ambience for the majority of the match, a lot of cheers led by the ultramarines and some good soccer. At the end, Nancy scored a second goal and Bordeaux fell apart. They lost 2-1. Sad.
The next day Tristan drove us out to St Emillion which is a town super famous for it's wine. We took a free tour of a wine cave and attempted to have a wine tasting...except I think the owner of this place had been having his own wine tasting all day. He was nuts. The man was speaking some bizarre franglais poured us a little bit of wine and then disappeared. We got ignored for awhile and then just decided to leave. The town itself was super cute and old and cobblestoney. After walking around a bit we left and Tristan showed us his grandpa's winery. It was outin the country and really pretty. Tristan's mom is American so when we went tibia parents house she chatted with us for awhile. It was a nice relaxing day. When we got back to the apartment we watched some CSI and went to bed.
Now it's back to Rennes for three days of school and then off to Brussels on Friday! It's the start of our two week spring break. Wow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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