Here I am sitting at my NEW desk in my NEW office looking out my NEW window! It's so exciting! I got an amazing office...somehow. I have nothing to work up to now! I am on the 25th floor and my window overlooks Smith St (the Bank of America Building and Chevron Building). So far my cabinets, desktop and bookshelves are empty but I will bring everything that doesn't fit into my apartment here to spruce it up a bit.
I got to work this morning, found my way here all by myself, walked through the huge marble halls feeling all grown up, got my security badge and bus pass and went straight to my office. My mentor is so sweet and showed me around. I met soooo many people, I have no idea their names anymore. There are 3 more new Aggies working on my floor in my department so that is a huge relief! They already invited me to have lunch with them from now on : ) My mentor took me to lunch today at Jason's Deli (where we ran into Mr. Mazz!) and helped me figure out some computer glitches. Then I went to an HR meeting for new hires (where I met 2 more Aggies - engineers though - so I won't be working with them) and have been filling out paper work/figuring out bus schedules ever since. I am actually done doing that and still have another hour to go. I know blogging on the job isn't a good ethical habit to get into but I feel like the first day is an exception. I literally have NOTHING else to do!
So that's it! Life as I know it has begun!
...pictures will come soon hopefully! Sorry for the delay!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Day After Thoughts...
Today was my first day not waking up to my best friends in Europe and the first day of the rest of my life! The past few months have been ridiculously busy but now the only thing that I have going on is work. Hopefully that will keep me busy or else I don't know what I'll do with myself.
Last night was great...Ashley and I went with our families to Los Cucos for some much needed Mexican food and margaritas. It was just what we needed to help with the jet lag : ) Then I headed off to see my new apartment and spent today moving in and organizing. I absolutely love it! I have quite a mess to unpack but I know that it will be so perfect for me! Anybody is welcome to come visit me in my humble abode!
I miss Europe already. I just can't believe that its over. I feel like I just woke up from a crazy, exhausting dream.
I know that an FAQ is..."what was your favorite place?" Wow...how do you answer that? It's like asking a parent which of their kids is their favorite. I loved them all for different reasons. Prague was romantic and I felt like I was in a fairytale; Barcelona was laid back and ecclectic; Interlaken was cozy and strangely familiar; Rome will always be my first Italian love; Berlin was a beautiful reminder of how to learn from your mistakes and turn them into something great; Salzburg reminded me to enjoy simple pleasures in life (like a gorgeous view and a chococino); Brugges showed me that bigger and newer isn't always better; and Paris was just Paris...I can't even sum it up.
At times, I felt alone and helpless and other times I felt like we could conquer the world. I have seen people begging on dirty street corners and also some of the most awe inspiring views on the earth. I have seen how history can tear places apart and cause heartbreak and destruction but have also seen people trying desperately (but successfuly) to put those pieces back together and live in harmony. In any given day, we could be speechless from exhaustion or speechless from amazement. Exhaustion could also make us hilariously delirious.
I had a moment while I was on a train somewhere between Berlin and Koln. We were sitting on a train that hadn't moved in over an hour (of course - they explained what the problem was in German so we had no idea why we were stuck). I was sitting across from a stranger, but she was sweet, polite, and tried to translate what the conductor told us. I didn't know if we would be able to make it to Brugges that night because the train delay might have caused us to miss our next train. But I had my coca cola light, paprika pringles, Ritter Sport, a good book and Matt Nathanson in my iPod so life was good. It was the most content I was on the entire trip. Elizabeth Gilbert explained it best when she said that the world changes and we must be prepared for endless waves of transformation.
I think that moment was what Oprah calls "a-ha" moment. For the non Oprah addicted readers, in her world an a-ha moment is an "unforgettable, connect the dots moments, when everything suddenly, somehow changed." Nothing in my life ACTUALLY changed at that moment but I was almost in tears as I realized how blessed I am to live the life that I do. But I take it for granted everyday because I don't put it into the bigger perspective. What I do here seems so insignificant when I see how big the world really is (and I only saw one small part of it!) but its MY life and its what I've been given so mercifully. It might not always be what I hope or what I plan but I need to make the most of the present.
I think saying that the past 5 weeks changed my life may be exaggerating a bit but it changed some things about the way I think and how I view my life. I know that I will take away a new perspective along with my stories and memories.
I still promise pictures...I just have to settle into my apartment for a few days but hopefully they will be up within the week!
I am glad to be home and hope to see or talk to everybody soon! : )
And just at my mom's request...I may blog about my first day of work. I know its not nearly as interesting as traveling through Europe but I wouldn't want to leave anybody wondering...hehe
Monday, June 22, 2009
Paris
Wow...did we sure end the trip with a bang! Paris was everything I had hoped it would be and more. We had another long day of traveling and spent a few too many hours at the Brussels train station (its a scary place...try not to go there if you don't have to!) but got to our apartment. It was so adorable and a great location in the Latin Quarter with yummy cafes, crepes, a Subway and a little grocery store nearby.
The first morning we got up to go on our last Fat Tire tour. We are now official "Junkies". We even got a free tshirt for it : ) We met pretty early under the Eiffel Tower. My initial impression of the Eiffel Tower was from far away and I wasn't too impressed. But the closer you get, the better it is. Until you are directly under it and then its AMAZING! So anyways, we went on our tour to Versailles which is the old Palace that Louis XIV built. We learned a lot of great history, went shopping in a really great market for our lunch, had a picturesque picnic on the Grand Canal (fresh cheese, baguettes, strawberries, cherries, salami and serrano ham) and toured the palace and gardens. It was a pretty long tour - this one lasted about 9 hours but it was so great! I definetly recommend any of the Fat Tire tours.
We were pretty exhausted afterwards so we just went back to the apartment, lazed around for a little while and then tried to go out and see a little bit of the Latin Quarter at night. We didn't last long, though, until we were just too tired and called it a night.
The next morning we slept in a little bit (sleeping in for us is anytime after 8:00) and then hit H&M. We have all wanted to go there but knew that buying much wasn't a good idea because we would just be lugging it around Europe but decided that it would be ok to finally splurge and buy a few new clothes. We are so sick of looking at the exact same outfits for the past 5 weeks! I wish we had H&M's in Houston...they are so great!
After that we met our good friend, Naomi who had just gotten into town. Ashley and I met Naomi back 2 summers ago when we went to Greece and have kept in pretty good touch. We went to go visit her in Manhattan last December and she is one of the most genuinly good hearted, sweet and fun loving people I know. So it was perfect that she was able to meet up with us in Paris between going on vacation with her sister and going to visit some other friends in Budapest. We spent the rest of the day going to Notre Dame, taking a boat cruise of the Seine River and wandering the streets of Paris. We went in an adorable book shop called Shakespeare and Co by Notre Dame which was really cool because it was tiny but packed full of old books. The entire top floor of the place isn't for sale - its more like a museum! We had a delicious Italian dinner and then went to a little place that Naomi's friend who lived in Paris recommemded. Its a tiny little vaulted cave from the 12th century that invites famous jazz players to come perform. The entire place held less than 50 people probably and we got front row seats for this awesome concert. I had never seen jazz played live before and it was really cool. It looked like they were all playing three different songs but together sounded so beautiful.
The next day we went to another market because our first picnic was just so unbelievably good. It was pretty much the same as the first and we packed it all in Katie's Mary Poppins bag and headed off the spend the morning at the Musee D'Orsay. This was probably my favorite part of Paris. I LOVE Impressionism and we saw some of the most beautiful works of art, in my opinion. I could have spent hours in there but the thought of our awaiting picnic helped hurry us through. We went to the Tuilleries in front of the Louvre and enjoyed a break and our lunch. It couldn't have been morning perfect. We spent the afternoon going to Montmare which is a little bit outside of the city. We saw Sacre Coure and walked around watching all of the artists and Ashley even bought a really cool painting.
Little did we know, the biggest music festival of the year happened to be that day so there was live music on every other street corner. The streets were FILLED with people and it was really fun to walk between them and listen to some local bands. Some of them were really good. It says a lot about the talent of a band if I'm entertained by them even though they are singing in French.
Our next stop was the EIFFEL TOWER!! We got there right at dusk and it was great. We took a few pictures and got in line to go up right as they turned all of the lights on. It was neat to see it in the light and in the dark. We waited in line for a while but finally got to go to the 2nd level (the 3rd was closed - but the 2nd was so high I think the 3rd would have been too scary for me anyways!). We admired the view and waited for another while to go back down. We spent more than 2 hours there and only were inside of it for probably 15 minutes or so. It took us much longer than we expected so we didn't finish until around midnight. We decided to grab some food and get to sleep because we had another long day to follow.
This morning we got up and went to the Louvre. It was so huge and overwhelming but we saw all of the musts - Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory etc. We had a great French lunch of Croque Monsier and french onion soup then went to the Arc de Triumph and walked down Champs Elysees. Unfortunately, we had to catch a train to London so that was where our Paris adventures ended. We got here to London, went to the wrong hotel but somehow got our reservation switched and upgraded to a "club" room (I'm not sure what that really means but we get free coca cola lights, snacks, breakfast and internet). What a happy mix up!
Tomorrow morning we are waking up and getting on a plane to Houston...
...I can't believe London is where it all started 5 weeks ago and now it is ending. We literally came full circle. I am so tired right now, I will have to write more about my final thoughts and put up pictures later. But pray for a safe flight and I will be home in t minus 18 hours!
Give me a few days to upload some pictures and check back for highlights!
The first morning we got up to go on our last Fat Tire tour. We are now official "Junkies". We even got a free tshirt for it : ) We met pretty early under the Eiffel Tower. My initial impression of the Eiffel Tower was from far away and I wasn't too impressed. But the closer you get, the better it is. Until you are directly under it and then its AMAZING! So anyways, we went on our tour to Versailles which is the old Palace that Louis XIV built. We learned a lot of great history, went shopping in a really great market for our lunch, had a picturesque picnic on the Grand Canal (fresh cheese, baguettes, strawberries, cherries, salami and serrano ham) and toured the palace and gardens. It was a pretty long tour - this one lasted about 9 hours but it was so great! I definetly recommend any of the Fat Tire tours.
We were pretty exhausted afterwards so we just went back to the apartment, lazed around for a little while and then tried to go out and see a little bit of the Latin Quarter at night. We didn't last long, though, until we were just too tired and called it a night.
The next morning we slept in a little bit (sleeping in for us is anytime after 8:00) and then hit H&M. We have all wanted to go there but knew that buying much wasn't a good idea because we would just be lugging it around Europe but decided that it would be ok to finally splurge and buy a few new clothes. We are so sick of looking at the exact same outfits for the past 5 weeks! I wish we had H&M's in Houston...they are so great!
After that we met our good friend, Naomi who had just gotten into town. Ashley and I met Naomi back 2 summers ago when we went to Greece and have kept in pretty good touch. We went to go visit her in Manhattan last December and she is one of the most genuinly good hearted, sweet and fun loving people I know. So it was perfect that she was able to meet up with us in Paris between going on vacation with her sister and going to visit some other friends in Budapest. We spent the rest of the day going to Notre Dame, taking a boat cruise of the Seine River and wandering the streets of Paris. We went in an adorable book shop called Shakespeare and Co by Notre Dame which was really cool because it was tiny but packed full of old books. The entire top floor of the place isn't for sale - its more like a museum! We had a delicious Italian dinner and then went to a little place that Naomi's friend who lived in Paris recommemded. Its a tiny little vaulted cave from the 12th century that invites famous jazz players to come perform. The entire place held less than 50 people probably and we got front row seats for this awesome concert. I had never seen jazz played live before and it was really cool. It looked like they were all playing three different songs but together sounded so beautiful.
The next day we went to another market because our first picnic was just so unbelievably good. It was pretty much the same as the first and we packed it all in Katie's Mary Poppins bag and headed off the spend the morning at the Musee D'Orsay. This was probably my favorite part of Paris. I LOVE Impressionism and we saw some of the most beautiful works of art, in my opinion. I could have spent hours in there but the thought of our awaiting picnic helped hurry us through. We went to the Tuilleries in front of the Louvre and enjoyed a break and our lunch. It couldn't have been morning perfect. We spent the afternoon going to Montmare which is a little bit outside of the city. We saw Sacre Coure and walked around watching all of the artists and Ashley even bought a really cool painting.
Little did we know, the biggest music festival of the year happened to be that day so there was live music on every other street corner. The streets were FILLED with people and it was really fun to walk between them and listen to some local bands. Some of them were really good. It says a lot about the talent of a band if I'm entertained by them even though they are singing in French.
Our next stop was the EIFFEL TOWER!! We got there right at dusk and it was great. We took a few pictures and got in line to go up right as they turned all of the lights on. It was neat to see it in the light and in the dark. We waited in line for a while but finally got to go to the 2nd level (the 3rd was closed - but the 2nd was so high I think the 3rd would have been too scary for me anyways!). We admired the view and waited for another while to go back down. We spent more than 2 hours there and only were inside of it for probably 15 minutes or so. It took us much longer than we expected so we didn't finish until around midnight. We decided to grab some food and get to sleep because we had another long day to follow.
This morning we got up and went to the Louvre. It was so huge and overwhelming but we saw all of the musts - Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory etc. We had a great French lunch of Croque Monsier and french onion soup then went to the Arc de Triumph and walked down Champs Elysees. Unfortunately, we had to catch a train to London so that was where our Paris adventures ended. We got here to London, went to the wrong hotel but somehow got our reservation switched and upgraded to a "club" room (I'm not sure what that really means but we get free coca cola lights, snacks, breakfast and internet). What a happy mix up!
Tomorrow morning we are waking up and getting on a plane to Houston...
...I can't believe London is where it all started 5 weeks ago and now it is ending. We literally came full circle. I am so tired right now, I will have to write more about my final thoughts and put up pictures later. But pray for a safe flight and I will be home in t minus 18 hours!
Give me a few days to upload some pictures and check back for highlights!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Brussels
What a time we have had here in Brussels!
It started with a really intersting time at the train station and trying to find our way out of it. Long story short, three girls should not be wandering around there alone (even during the day!). We made it out ok and went to Grand Platz, the main center of town. We saw a few sights...nice but nothing that we haven't seen before (but bigger and better in the other places). Honsatly, we were slightly underwhelmed so we ended up finding the town park and laying down for a while. It makes me wonder why we don't lounge around in parks more in America. I guess it is too hot and there are too many bugs. But I am making it my resolution to spend more time napping/reading/laying/people watching in a nice grassy patch of a park. I'll start looking for a good one when I get back to Houston.
Eventually, it was time to meet the Tuckers (I called them the Rausch family in my last blog...same family). They brought us to their beautiful house in the suburbs of Brussels. It is gorgeous out here and we had a night that I won't soon forget. We took some great showers (compared to the hostel showers we are used to) used their fluffy, cozy towels, and looked through their house which is full of furniture and art from all over Europe. Then they whipped up a FANTASTIC dinner of caprese, spinach/mashed potatoes, twice baked potatos, macaroni salad, broccoli, lamb chops and chicken kabobs for dinner. It was a never ending feast. It also consisted of champagne, great wine, lattes and strawberry tarte for dessert. How amazing! There was music in the background and a great view of the city. It was like a scene from a movie, it was so surreal! Just when we thought the night couldn't get much better, they told us we could go in their jacuzzi. Yes please! So we spent an hour relaxing while the sun went down (at around 11:00...the sun stays out pretty late here). By the way...I have decided Brussels is a great central place to live in Europe. They are less than a 2 hour train ride from London, Paris, Amsterdam and Germany and probably several other really amazing places. Mrs. Rauch told us that sometimes they just go to Paris for dinner. REALLY!!??!!??
We are going to go back into the city tomorrow to finish up a few of the important sights but so far Brussels has been good to us. We definetly have enough momentum now to finish up our time here.
Exactly one week from today we will be back in Houston. Nights like tonight, when I have the energy to stop and think about how blessed I am to be here, are the times when I am sad that it is almost over. I knew this trip was going to be life changing but I just didn't realize in what ways. Part of me wishes that it didn't have to end! The real world can't be this great...can it? Here's to hoping!!
It started with a really intersting time at the train station and trying to find our way out of it. Long story short, three girls should not be wandering around there alone (even during the day!). We made it out ok and went to Grand Platz, the main center of town. We saw a few sights...nice but nothing that we haven't seen before (but bigger and better in the other places). Honsatly, we were slightly underwhelmed so we ended up finding the town park and laying down for a while. It makes me wonder why we don't lounge around in parks more in America. I guess it is too hot and there are too many bugs. But I am making it my resolution to spend more time napping/reading/laying/people watching in a nice grassy patch of a park. I'll start looking for a good one when I get back to Houston.
Eventually, it was time to meet the Tuckers (I called them the Rausch family in my last blog...same family). They brought us to their beautiful house in the suburbs of Brussels. It is gorgeous out here and we had a night that I won't soon forget. We took some great showers (compared to the hostel showers we are used to) used their fluffy, cozy towels, and looked through their house which is full of furniture and art from all over Europe. Then they whipped up a FANTASTIC dinner of caprese, spinach/mashed potatoes, twice baked potatos, macaroni salad, broccoli, lamb chops and chicken kabobs for dinner. It was a never ending feast. It also consisted of champagne, great wine, lattes and strawberry tarte for dessert. How amazing! There was music in the background and a great view of the city. It was like a scene from a movie, it was so surreal! Just when we thought the night couldn't get much better, they told us we could go in their jacuzzi. Yes please! So we spent an hour relaxing while the sun went down (at around 11:00...the sun stays out pretty late here). By the way...I have decided Brussels is a great central place to live in Europe. They are less than a 2 hour train ride from London, Paris, Amsterdam and Germany and probably several other really amazing places. Mrs. Rauch told us that sometimes they just go to Paris for dinner. REALLY!!??!!??
We are going to go back into the city tomorrow to finish up a few of the important sights but so far Brussels has been good to us. We definetly have enough momentum now to finish up our time here.
Exactly one week from today we will be back in Houston. Nights like tonight, when I have the energy to stop and think about how blessed I am to be here, are the times when I am sad that it is almost over. I knew this trip was going to be life changing but I just didn't realize in what ways. Part of me wishes that it didn't have to end! The real world can't be this great...can it? Here's to hoping!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
More Berlin and Bruges
Ok, I know it is still too early to commit myself to this, but I think Berlin has officially topped my list of favorite places we have gone. It just kept getting better and better. After my last post, we walked along the Eastside Gallery which was soooo cool. Its a really long piece of the wall that is still up and has graffiti all over it. But for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall, they are having painters from all over the world come in a repaint the wall with murals. It is so cool to see how each artist makes such a beautiful and meaningful piece of art on the wall. Then we went to Treptower park, had a picnic, laid in the grass and did cartwheels. I love seeing all of the little kids here. Especially the ones who were about the age of the kids at work when they are just learning to talk. It is so funny to hear them spaek a differnt language. I try to picture my little kiddos saying things in German and I just can't! Hah...
The next day we went to the German Parliament building again and got to go inside this time. It is the original building from before the war but they added a dome afterwards and its a glass dome. Its a perfect representation of the city. Old and new combined. It is supposed to symbolize the fact that anybody can look into the German government now and they will have nothing to hide from the world. We also went to an art exhibit which was the strangest thing we had ever seen. We heard it was going to be something different but when we got there, it was 7 or 8 real, live people laying on the ground. The description told us that the people were asleep on ambien and would have a "choreographed awakning" later. Yah...I know that doesn't make sense but I promise that is what we saw.
We traveled the entire next day and arrived to Bruges around midnight. Rick Steves raved about this sleepy little town and I must admit it is quite charming, although not much to do. We climbe to the top of the belltower, went on a tour of a brewery (Belgium apparetly has the most famous beer in Europe), ate some amaaaazzzzing chocolate (heard of Belgian chocolate? from here!!), had some french fries (also from here), went on a boat tour of the canals (Bruges is considered the "Venice of the North") and laid in another park. The Flemish architecture makes this town very diferent than the others. We also saw Michelangelo's Madonna with Child which is the only statue to have made it out of Italy in his lifetime.
Tomorrow we are going to Brussels where we are going to spend the night with a friend of the Flynn's. They sound excited to have us and we can't wait to stay at a real house! We greatly appreciate it. Thanks Flynn family and thanks in advance to the Rausch family!
After that we are on our way to Paris and then London for our flight home. I can't believe that in exactly one week I will be back in Houston. I know that I will miss Europe so much. It has become home to me in the past 5 weeks...
The next day we went to the German Parliament building again and got to go inside this time. It is the original building from before the war but they added a dome afterwards and its a glass dome. Its a perfect representation of the city. Old and new combined. It is supposed to symbolize the fact that anybody can look into the German government now and they will have nothing to hide from the world. We also went to an art exhibit which was the strangest thing we had ever seen. We heard it was going to be something different but when we got there, it was 7 or 8 real, live people laying on the ground. The description told us that the people were asleep on ambien and would have a "choreographed awakning" later. Yah...I know that doesn't make sense but I promise that is what we saw.
We traveled the entire next day and arrived to Bruges around midnight. Rick Steves raved about this sleepy little town and I must admit it is quite charming, although not much to do. We climbe to the top of the belltower, went on a tour of a brewery (Belgium apparetly has the most famous beer in Europe), ate some amaaaazzzzing chocolate (heard of Belgian chocolate? from here!!), had some french fries (also from here), went on a boat tour of the canals (Bruges is considered the "Venice of the North") and laid in another park. The Flemish architecture makes this town very diferent than the others. We also saw Michelangelo's Madonna with Child which is the only statue to have made it out of Italy in his lifetime.
Tomorrow we are going to Brussels where we are going to spend the night with a friend of the Flynn's. They sound excited to have us and we can't wait to stay at a real house! We greatly appreciate it. Thanks Flynn family and thanks in advance to the Rausch family!
After that we are on our way to Paris and then London for our flight home. I can't believe that in exactly one week I will be back in Houston. I know that I will miss Europe so much. It has become home to me in the past 5 weeks...
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Things I miss....
I am in no way complaining or wishing I was back at home. I enjoy every minute I am here but there are some conveniences that I have a hard time living without:
1. Cars - going wherever whenever I want
2. Having clean feet - between walking so much and wearing sandals, I am in desperate need of a pedicure
3. Not having to pay for water at restraunts
4. Mexican food
5. My iPhone - I have it with me but it just isnt the same when I cant text or call at my leisure
6. Non smoking
7. Fruits and vegetables - I eat several meals a day off of a cart (pretzels, sausages, pizza etc.) and none of them have much nutritional value
8. Stella - I miss her pretending that she doesnt care about me
9. TV - I have lots of TiVO to catch up on!
10. Having soft, clean clothes that smell like Downy Clean Breeze
Dont take those things for granted : )
1. Cars - going wherever whenever I want
2. Having clean feet - between walking so much and wearing sandals, I am in desperate need of a pedicure
3. Not having to pay for water at restraunts
4. Mexican food
5. My iPhone - I have it with me but it just isnt the same when I cant text or call at my leisure
6. Non smoking
7. Fruits and vegetables - I eat several meals a day off of a cart (pretzels, sausages, pizza etc.) and none of them have much nutritional value
8. Stella - I miss her pretending that she doesnt care about me
9. TV - I have lots of TiVO to catch up on!
10. Having soft, clean clothes that smell like Downy Clean Breeze
Dont take those things for granted : )
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Berlin
Berlin is so cool! I dont remember if I have mentioned this already but its pretty cold here. We had a few hot days in Barcelona but since then its been in the 50s and 60s. We have been told that winters usually last longer here anyways but they had a particularly long, cold winter so its still not warming up yet.
We got here yesterday morning and went straight to the Fat Tire bike tour. We had a really great guide from Canada and met some really interesting people on the tour. It was supposed to be 4 hours but we got 2 flat tires and it started pouring on us a few times so it ended up being more like 6. Its not very fun to ride a bike in the cold, wind and rain. But we survived and it was worth it! Today we are taking it easy. We had a pretty strenuous day yesterday so we decided to renig our Copenhagen plans, spend an extra day here in Berlin then spend a few days in Bruges, then Brussels and finally end with Paris! So that gives us more time here because there are so many cool museums and things to see.
The city is so intersting because it is SOOO modern! Everything that we saw on the tour has basically been destroyed and rebuilt after the war and the fall of the wall. I didnt really know much about the history of Berlin so I feel like a more educated citizen of the world now that I know what happened. Did you know that fall of the Berlin wall was basically a mistake? A German politician slipped up during a televised press conference and said that anybody could get a visa into West Berlin starting immediately so everybody basically got up and destroyed the wall. Interesting, huh?
So on our tour we saw Checkpoint Charlie (like a toll booth where you had to go to get through the wall), Hitlers Bunker, the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, where the Nazis had their huge book burning, Reichstag (the German parliament building), Potsdamer Platz and the Soviet War Memorial. It doesnt sound very interesting in a list but when you hear about the history its a lot better. I feel like I need to read a book about the history of the entire world to piece together all of the stuff that I am learning in each city we go to.
And on a different note...I officially have an apartment now! My lease started this week and my very gracious parents and sister are moving me in today!!! I am so lucky that they are doing that for me so I can come back to Houston and move right into my big girl apartment!
We got here yesterday morning and went straight to the Fat Tire bike tour. We had a really great guide from Canada and met some really interesting people on the tour. It was supposed to be 4 hours but we got 2 flat tires and it started pouring on us a few times so it ended up being more like 6. Its not very fun to ride a bike in the cold, wind and rain. But we survived and it was worth it! Today we are taking it easy. We had a pretty strenuous day yesterday so we decided to renig our Copenhagen plans, spend an extra day here in Berlin then spend a few days in Bruges, then Brussels and finally end with Paris! So that gives us more time here because there are so many cool museums and things to see.
The city is so intersting because it is SOOO modern! Everything that we saw on the tour has basically been destroyed and rebuilt after the war and the fall of the wall. I didnt really know much about the history of Berlin so I feel like a more educated citizen of the world now that I know what happened. Did you know that fall of the Berlin wall was basically a mistake? A German politician slipped up during a televised press conference and said that anybody could get a visa into West Berlin starting immediately so everybody basically got up and destroyed the wall. Interesting, huh?
So on our tour we saw Checkpoint Charlie (like a toll booth where you had to go to get through the wall), Hitlers Bunker, the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, where the Nazis had their huge book burning, Reichstag (the German parliament building), Potsdamer Platz and the Soviet War Memorial. It doesnt sound very interesting in a list but when you hear about the history its a lot better. I feel like I need to read a book about the history of the entire world to piece together all of the stuff that I am learning in each city we go to.
And on a different note...I officially have an apartment now! My lease started this week and my very gracious parents and sister are moving me in today!!! I am so lucky that they are doing that for me so I can come back to Houston and move right into my big girl apartment!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Vienna
We are in Vienna now. Its so much different than Salzburg was! Its such a big, bustling city. There are some really pretty historic buildings but not much else to look at.
The first day we were here was a Tuesday and most things happened to be closed so we ended up having an American day. We ate at McDonalds. It was a really cool McDonalds though! They have stands where you can put in your own order, pay and then just pick up your food at the counter and a section called McCafe which had some of the most delicious desserts and pastries Ive seen here. And it was great to have as much Coca Cola light as I wanted. It is a splurge here to get one. In times of desperate need I have been known to pay up to 3 dollars (around 4.50 American) for a bottle. Crazy right? So I got a refill a few times. At least enough to satisfy my diet coke cravings until I get home hopefully. After that, we hung out at Starbucks and then saw Angels and Demons. It was soooo good! I loved the book and the fact that we had just been in Rome might make me slightly biased but we really liked it. And it was just good to be around a bunch of Americans and eat popcorn and candy like we were at home.
But if the day before was not cultural enough, yesterday definetly was. We went to the Hofburg Palace, which is where the Hapsburg family lived in the city, the Sissi museum, Schonbrunn Palace which is where the Hapsburgs lived in the summer, and saw an opera. Yes...a real live actual opera. We manged to get standing room tickets but I didnt even mind standing because it was so amazing. The opera house was beautiful and the performance was of Anna Karenina, which apparently is pretty famous. We also went to the Belvedere Palace yesterday and saw the famous painting by Gustav Klimt, The Kiss. It was really impressive and one of Ashleys favorites.
Another cool thing that happened yesterday was that we met the boys from One Nation Under God. I know most of you probably dont know what that is but its pretty cool if you want to check it out I would at OneNationUnderGod.com. Its basicallz 4 guys (2 from Texas A&M and 2 from Baylor) who took a road trip last summer and videotaped themselves interviewing people about what they believe. They put it together into a really awesome movie that they played at a few of the theaters in College Station and Waco and raised enough money to do the same thing this summer, except in Europe. So let me set the scene...we are standing outside of St. Stephens where I had just gotten scolded by a man dressed up as Mozart for not wanting to buy tickets to a concert that night when Katie said that she though she saw them pass by. So I immediately decided we had to follow them and started running, chasing after them. By the way...I dont know any of these boys personally. They are probably completely freaked out by this stranger running after them. But they were totally nice to us, told us that they are staying with some guy from Austrian Idol, invited us to lunch and made us feel like we didnt just make a fool of ourselves. They (luckily) didnt have their video camera so I wont be appearing in their next movie. They said it would be out in December and will be called Beware of Christians. Or something like that.
We are taking another night train tonight to Berlin. Onlz 4 more cities to go! Wow...its going by so fast!!! Ill be home before I know it.
The first day we were here was a Tuesday and most things happened to be closed so we ended up having an American day. We ate at McDonalds. It was a really cool McDonalds though! They have stands where you can put in your own order, pay and then just pick up your food at the counter and a section called McCafe which had some of the most delicious desserts and pastries Ive seen here. And it was great to have as much Coca Cola light as I wanted. It is a splurge here to get one. In times of desperate need I have been known to pay up to 3 dollars (around 4.50 American) for a bottle. Crazy right? So I got a refill a few times. At least enough to satisfy my diet coke cravings until I get home hopefully. After that, we hung out at Starbucks and then saw Angels and Demons. It was soooo good! I loved the book and the fact that we had just been in Rome might make me slightly biased but we really liked it. And it was just good to be around a bunch of Americans and eat popcorn and candy like we were at home.
But if the day before was not cultural enough, yesterday definetly was. We went to the Hofburg Palace, which is where the Hapsburg family lived in the city, the Sissi museum, Schonbrunn Palace which is where the Hapsburgs lived in the summer, and saw an opera. Yes...a real live actual opera. We manged to get standing room tickets but I didnt even mind standing because it was so amazing. The opera house was beautiful and the performance was of Anna Karenina, which apparently is pretty famous. We also went to the Belvedere Palace yesterday and saw the famous painting by Gustav Klimt, The Kiss. It was really impressive and one of Ashleys favorites.
Another cool thing that happened yesterday was that we met the boys from One Nation Under God. I know most of you probably dont know what that is but its pretty cool if you want to check it out I would at OneNationUnderGod.com. Its basicallz 4 guys (2 from Texas A&M and 2 from Baylor) who took a road trip last summer and videotaped themselves interviewing people about what they believe. They put it together into a really awesome movie that they played at a few of the theaters in College Station and Waco and raised enough money to do the same thing this summer, except in Europe. So let me set the scene...we are standing outside of St. Stephens where I had just gotten scolded by a man dressed up as Mozart for not wanting to buy tickets to a concert that night when Katie said that she though she saw them pass by. So I immediately decided we had to follow them and started running, chasing after them. By the way...I dont know any of these boys personally. They are probably completely freaked out by this stranger running after them. But they were totally nice to us, told us that they are staying with some guy from Austrian Idol, invited us to lunch and made us feel like we didnt just make a fool of ourselves. They (luckily) didnt have their video camera so I wont be appearing in their next movie. They said it would be out in December and will be called Beware of Christians. Or something like that.
We are taking another night train tonight to Berlin. Onlz 4 more cities to go! Wow...its going by so fast!!! Ill be home before I know it.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Salzburg
One more city down...5 more to go!! We altered some of our plans. We decided after Berlin to go to Copenhagen for 2 days then Brussels then Paris. It wont throw anything off so we figured why not add another country?
Our traveling to Salzburg went well. I had another first...sleeping on the floor of a train station. It sounds a lot worse than it was though. We had 3 hours between trains and I was exhausted from getting an early start that morning so I just layed my head on my bag and took a little nappy nap : )
And this may come as a shock but I had never seen The Sound of Music before. My mom claims to have shown it to me as a child but I cant recall. So we snuck into a nearby hostel that plays it every morning and spent the first half of the day watching the movie and the second half visiting the actual places it was filmed. It was good to see right before because otherwise I probably would have forgotten some of the scenes that were mentioned. We went to the Von Trapp house, the church they were married, the gazebo, the lake where the canoe tipped over and a few other smaller places. And we stopped for some amaaaazing apple strudel. It made the tour just perfect!
Afterwards, we rode a little car thing to the top of the fortress and had dinner with an amazing view. We also did a little bit of shopping here. Why dont we have any H&Ms back home? Can we all write them letters and maybe they will open one in Houston? Tomorrow we are going to go to Mozarts house and then head to Vienna. Overall, Salzburg was another beautiful city. It was very small but charming.
At breakfast this morning we met a couple from Kingwood. Katie was wearing an Aggie tshirt so they came over and told us that their son goes there and their daughter went there as well. So we talked for a few minutes and it turns out now their daughter is a teacher at John Cooper and the dad is the basketball coach at The Woodlands Christian Academy. What a small world it is!
I feel like we are on the downward slope of things now. I think the majority of the busiest cities have been done and we are basically experts at traveling by this point : ) It is so bittersweet knowing that our time is winding down!
I so wish that I could be posting pictures of these things on my blog but there is no way for me to load them onto a computer so I will try to put up a few highlights when I get back to the states. You cant judge me in the pictures because I wore the same outfit too many times though. Hah...Its impossible to put together new or cute outfits when you basically wear the same 4 or 5 shirt and short/skirt combination. And we dont consider something "dirty" unless it has a visible stain or smells bad. I might have to bury all of these clothes at the back of my closet for a while!
I love and miss all of you and are thinking about you!
Our traveling to Salzburg went well. I had another first...sleeping on the floor of a train station. It sounds a lot worse than it was though. We had 3 hours between trains and I was exhausted from getting an early start that morning so I just layed my head on my bag and took a little nappy nap : )
And this may come as a shock but I had never seen The Sound of Music before. My mom claims to have shown it to me as a child but I cant recall. So we snuck into a nearby hostel that plays it every morning and spent the first half of the day watching the movie and the second half visiting the actual places it was filmed. It was good to see right before because otherwise I probably would have forgotten some of the scenes that were mentioned. We went to the Von Trapp house, the church they were married, the gazebo, the lake where the canoe tipped over and a few other smaller places. And we stopped for some amaaaazing apple strudel. It made the tour just perfect!
Afterwards, we rode a little car thing to the top of the fortress and had dinner with an amazing view. We also did a little bit of shopping here. Why dont we have any H&Ms back home? Can we all write them letters and maybe they will open one in Houston? Tomorrow we are going to go to Mozarts house and then head to Vienna. Overall, Salzburg was another beautiful city. It was very small but charming.
At breakfast this morning we met a couple from Kingwood. Katie was wearing an Aggie tshirt so they came over and told us that their son goes there and their daughter went there as well. So we talked for a few minutes and it turns out now their daughter is a teacher at John Cooper and the dad is the basketball coach at The Woodlands Christian Academy. What a small world it is!
I feel like we are on the downward slope of things now. I think the majority of the busiest cities have been done and we are basically experts at traveling by this point : ) It is so bittersweet knowing that our time is winding down!
I so wish that I could be posting pictures of these things on my blog but there is no way for me to load them onto a computer so I will try to put up a few highlights when I get back to the states. You cant judge me in the pictures because I wore the same outfit too many times though. Hah...Its impossible to put together new or cute outfits when you basically wear the same 4 or 5 shirt and short/skirt combination. And we dont consider something "dirty" unless it has a visible stain or smells bad. I might have to bury all of these clothes at the back of my closet for a while!
I love and miss all of you and are thinking about you!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Nice and Interlaken
We have had a great week. Once again...I am on a keyboard that I dont really understand so my punctuation is limited.
Nice was amazing. We had a GREAT apartment in the perfect location. The beach was 2 minutes away, we were around a ton of great restaurants and we had a lot of space to spread out all of our backpacks. And it was so relaxing to be able to sleep in and lay on the beach without feeling like we need to go to a museum or go on a tour. Being a beach bum is what people do there. It was a great halfway city to do some laundrz, get some rest and gear up for the second half of our trip. And it was just gorgeous. I would love to go back sometime for a longer relaxing vacation.
And another cool thing there...we met an Aggie. We were trying to mail some postcards so were standing around the typical confused tourists and this older gentleman came up and we discovered he went to A&M and was class of 59. How cool. He told us that he was there during the time of Earl Rudder and Bear Bryant. Which sounds like so long ago. But then he told us that he lived in Hart Hall which is still around. Even though is seems like so long ago there are some things that dont change. And his ring was sooo worn down...I hope mine can look like that someday. None of us brought our rings and we miss them terribly.
After Nice, we spent another FULL day traveling to Interlaken, Switzwerland. It took us 2 trams and 5 trains but we finally made it. Just barely. Some good news though...I finished my second book yesterday during our 13 hours of train rides. So far I have read The Wednseday Letters and The Shack. I wasnt very impressed by the first one but the Shack was really interesting. I would like to go back and read it sometime and underline things and think more about it. Sometimes it seems like it helped me understand things but really I think it just made me have even more questions. Ashley and Katie got slightly annoyed that I kept telling them things that I read about but its a great book to talk through. Next on my book list is Eat Pray Love. I know that will be a good one too.
Today we are in Interlaken which is equally beautiful as Nice but in a completely different way. Everywhere we turn there are mountains around us. It is so cozy. And the houses are so adorably Swiss. We got in pretty late last night and things around here close pretty early so we ended up having to eat dinner at Hooters. I have actually never ever been there before so it was probably about time that I had that experience. I ate wings...they were pretty good. The onion rings were my favorite part though.
It was rainy when we woke up. This place is known for their extreme sports (bungee jumping, skydiving, hangliding, rock climbing, canyoning) and even though we most likely wouldnt have done any of those things, we didnt really have the option to. But we found a place nearby where they have caves so we went and toured those. It was cool just to know that we were literally in the middle of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. Then we rode a boat back in the pouring rain. Now we are just looking for some decently priced food. This sure is an expensive city. I think we ended up spending around 70 dollars at Hooters last night and none of us got anything extravagant. Oh well...its just part of the experience I suppose.
Jessica left us yesterday to go back to the states. We will miss her terribly. She got the award for most improved traveler due to the fact that the rest of us have studied abroad and done other extensive traveling and she had never been overseas. She was a great traveling buddy though. The trip definetly would not have been the same without her and we will miss her cute East Texas accent that makes us feel right at home, her silly jokes and laugh and how excited she would be to see all of the amazing things here.
Tomorrow is yet another day of trains all day. We are going to Salzburg, Austria and arent sure quite what to expect. Ill try to keep you updated...
Nice was amazing. We had a GREAT apartment in the perfect location. The beach was 2 minutes away, we were around a ton of great restaurants and we had a lot of space to spread out all of our backpacks. And it was so relaxing to be able to sleep in and lay on the beach without feeling like we need to go to a museum or go on a tour. Being a beach bum is what people do there. It was a great halfway city to do some laundrz, get some rest and gear up for the second half of our trip. And it was just gorgeous. I would love to go back sometime for a longer relaxing vacation.
And another cool thing there...we met an Aggie. We were trying to mail some postcards so were standing around the typical confused tourists and this older gentleman came up and we discovered he went to A&M and was class of 59. How cool. He told us that he was there during the time of Earl Rudder and Bear Bryant. Which sounds like so long ago. But then he told us that he lived in Hart Hall which is still around. Even though is seems like so long ago there are some things that dont change. And his ring was sooo worn down...I hope mine can look like that someday. None of us brought our rings and we miss them terribly.
After Nice, we spent another FULL day traveling to Interlaken, Switzwerland. It took us 2 trams and 5 trains but we finally made it. Just barely. Some good news though...I finished my second book yesterday during our 13 hours of train rides. So far I have read The Wednseday Letters and The Shack. I wasnt very impressed by the first one but the Shack was really interesting. I would like to go back and read it sometime and underline things and think more about it. Sometimes it seems like it helped me understand things but really I think it just made me have even more questions. Ashley and Katie got slightly annoyed that I kept telling them things that I read about but its a great book to talk through. Next on my book list is Eat Pray Love. I know that will be a good one too.
Today we are in Interlaken which is equally beautiful as Nice but in a completely different way. Everywhere we turn there are mountains around us. It is so cozy. And the houses are so adorably Swiss. We got in pretty late last night and things around here close pretty early so we ended up having to eat dinner at Hooters. I have actually never ever been there before so it was probably about time that I had that experience. I ate wings...they were pretty good. The onion rings were my favorite part though.
It was rainy when we woke up. This place is known for their extreme sports (bungee jumping, skydiving, hangliding, rock climbing, canyoning) and even though we most likely wouldnt have done any of those things, we didnt really have the option to. But we found a place nearby where they have caves so we went and toured those. It was cool just to know that we were literally in the middle of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. Then we rode a boat back in the pouring rain. Now we are just looking for some decently priced food. This sure is an expensive city. I think we ended up spending around 70 dollars at Hooters last night and none of us got anything extravagant. Oh well...its just part of the experience I suppose.
Jessica left us yesterday to go back to the states. We will miss her terribly. She got the award for most improved traveler due to the fact that the rest of us have studied abroad and done other extensive traveling and she had never been overseas. She was a great traveling buddy though. The trip definetly would not have been the same without her and we will miss her cute East Texas accent that makes us feel right at home, her silly jokes and laugh and how excited she would be to see all of the amazing things here.
Tomorrow is yet another day of trains all day. We are going to Salzburg, Austria and arent sure quite what to expect. Ill try to keep you updated...
Monday, June 1, 2009
First almost problem...
We ran into our first minor setback today. We had a great day going to the Gaudi museum and hanging out at the beach and Las Ramblas and then we thought we should probably go to the train station to check on our train for tomorrow. We knew that there was only one train tomorrow going to Nice and it turns out it is full. We had about 30 minutes of panic/brainstorming until we finally figured out an alternate plan tomorrow with the help of the girl working at the station (who we think deserves employee of the year!) and found a plan that will work. It involves taking 4 different trains and we don't get in until after midnight but it is better than being stranded in Barcelona while an empty apartment in Nice awaits us!
Pray that it works out!!
Pray that it works out!!
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