Montpellier

Pictures: 1) Lies and Lauren by the carousel in Montpellier, 2) standing on the street where our hotel was, 3) at dinner, 4) by the arch of Montpellier, 5) with the opera house




We arrived in Montpellier still with no where to stay. There was not an information center in the train station, so we just walked out and started looking for a hotel. The first one we saw was 66 euros for 2 people, but they were full and the lady made Lieselotte fear that all the hotels would be full since there was a festival about to happen this weekend. Next we stopped in McDonald’s to use the free wi-fi but alas, no one had responded to our emergency CS request. Lieselotte was getting really worried that we’d have to sleep in the train station, so she left me to check internet stuff while she left to check out other hotels. I thought she might be gone a long while, but she was back within ten minutes, having found a hotel a couple hundred feet away for 48 euros a night. We decided to take it, and while it was nothing fancy in the least, it had 2 single beds, a bathroom, and a fan (which proved essential because it was HOT).

After we dropped our stuff off, we changed into lighter clothing and went to walk about Montpellier. The town was very beautiful with palm trees and sunny skies and really nice buildings. Suddenly, all our worries were gone and Lieselotte started saying “Wow, I’m really glad we came here - what a great pit stop!” I always have to chuckle at how fast she goes from being in fits of worry and pessimism to laughter and joyful optimism. It is one of her endearing traits. :)

The center of town was setting up for the festival with big open tents and an outdoor stage. People were mulling around everywhere in cute dresses and sandals. We were so excited - it was about time for some warm weather!

We looked around at all the shops and found a place to get some baguettes for lunch. Lieselotte went back to the hotel to use the bathroom while I went to the information center. Right in front of the info center was a cool outdoor market that was just shutting down, but I looked around and admired the beautiful dresses and purses.

When I got back to the hotel Lies and I took naps and then got up at 7:30 to go out. We walked around looking for a place to eat dinner, finally settling on a lovely little restaurant where we got to sit outside and enjoy the fabulous weather. It was getting dark, but we were still fine in short skirts. There were many bats flying above us - more than I’ve ever seen at one time. They are so fast and it was interesting to see them.

From there we walked around a little bit and all of a sudden saw a group of guys running as fast as they could down the road, then more guys. I thought, “they are trying not to pay for a meal,” and right after I thought that, a waiter came running. I’m pretty sure he never caught them though.

Then went back to the hotel at midnight, played cards, and went to bed.

Oh, and did I mention that before we got home, another homeless man tried to corner Lieselotte? Yeah, but this time, bystanders were laughing at us.

The next morning we woke up late and then walked around the center before we left to catch our train to Barcelona. It was so hot and sunny and I am really missing my hat - will have to buy a new one in Spain soon! We also found a shopping mall and tried some light linen dresses on, but we’ll wait for Spain to buy some of those as well because they were more expensive than we thought they should be - after all, Montpellier is a rich town.



Now we are on the way to Barcelona and very excited for Spain!

Paris

Pictures: 1) with Sophie in front of the city hall in Paris, 2) on one of the bridge in Paris, 3) yes, this is the original Van Gough, 4) in the Musee D'Orsay (old train station), 5) on top of Montmatre, 6) Notre Dame, 7) check out my sunglasses, 8) Amine with his dinner, 9) eating the fabulous food, 10) night in Paris






Our first night in Paris our host Sophie cooked pasta for us and then walked us around her area - by Notre Dame and through the Jewish quarter and past the city hall. It was a really lovely night and we enjoyed her company. She was a bit sad because of a recent breakup, so I like to think we made her day a bit brighter.

We went to bed fairly early and the next morning we figured out how to walk to the Musee D’Orsay. We got a little lost on the way, but a nice French man who could tell we were confused just by looking at us pointed out the way. We walked past the Louvre and could see the Eiffel and the Arc D’Triumph in the distance. The museum was 5.50 per person and worth every penny!

Orsay is situated in a converted train station that is absolutely beautiful. It has a huge clock inside and out and beautiful ceilings. They also hold the best impressionist art collection I’ve ever seen. Monet, Manet, Rousseau, Degas, Van Gogh, Sarat, Pissaro and many more! This is the home of Van Gogh’s Starry Night but unfortunately it was on loan. I was very disappointed. Also, you were allowed to take photos in this museum, so I got some really good ones of some of the famous works.

After the museum it was raining out, so we went to a café near the Louvre for lunch. The waiter had a crush on Lieselotte and afterward gave us his number and asked if we wanted to go to a jazz bar with he and his friend that night. We said maybe, but never ended up meeting up.


When we finished eating we met up with a CSer named Amine. He was studying in Paris for 2 months on a scholarship from Algeria where he is from. He’s studying film and doing a documentary on tango dancers! It was raining and cold when we met, so the three of us went to a coffee shop and chatted. I told him all about my experience with tango and the three of us chatted about politics and school etc. He was very nice and talkative and invited us for dinner the next night at his place (well, the hotel where the school was putting him and his classmates up for the 2 months).

After we left Amine we met back at Sophie’s apartment at 6:30 planning on going to her sister (the original CSer who we’d planned to stay with) for the night. However, Lies and I decided we’d like to stay in Paris an extra night, and Blandine wasn’t sure she could host us both nights, so after discussing our dilemma with Sophie, she said we could just stay with her for the next 2 nights as well along with a key to her apartment. I was worried that Blandine would be sad, but she was very busy anyway so it wasn’t a problem. We met Blandine for dinner at 8 pm though and got to know her a little bit over some yummy Thai food. I had steamed white rice with eggs, peas, and shrimp.




We left Blandine’s around 10:45 and took a bus through the lit up city until we got to the river. From there we walked along the river taking pictures of the beautiful sights until it started to rain, then we walked to the jazz district and found a little jazz bar. We couldn’t actually go inside the part with the live band because it was full, but the bar was nice and we just sat and chatted and watched the rain. We left pretty late (around 1 am) and walked back to Sophie’s. Luckily, she’d given us a key so we didn’t have to worry about when she’d be home or awake etc.

We slept until 11 on Thursday and then slowly got ready, not leaving until about 2. First we went to the main train station to book tickets to Toulouse for Friday; however, all those trains were completely booked. Not having another choice, and not wanting to be on a train all day to Barcelona, we decided to go to Montpellier instead for a night. It is sad that Lieselotte won’t get to see her cousins who live in Toulouse, but it couldn’t be helped and Montpellier is supposed to be beautiful. Figuring all this out took a very long time, and by the time we were done we went back to Sophie’s to look up hostels in Montpellier. We couldn’t find anything that looked decent with a good price, so we posted an emergency couch surfing request on the CS Montpllier sight and then left to meet Lies’ friend Jessica who is studying in Paris.

We met her in front of the Sacre Coeur (which is a huge church on top of a hill that overlooks Paris in Monmatre). The view from the top was amazing and (thank goodness) the weather was sunny, though not hot. When we got there we listened to some singer/guitar players playing Wish You Were Here and then we went into the church and looked around. Back outside there was a violinist who was so amazing! Lies gave him money and I took a picture of her sitting next to him. While we waited for Jessica we listened to him play while we looked out over Paris and watched a newly married couple pose for photos. It was really wonderful.

Jessica had worked with Lies at Benetton and also graduated from UNC. She was very nice and we walked around the area a little bit, then went to a restaurant where we sat outside and had snacks. From there we took the metro to another nice area where Lies and I bought playing cards and then walked to the Notre Dame again. The sun was hitting it just right, and we got some great pictures. Jessica left us from there to finish a paper, and Lies and I went back to Sophie’s (picking up some wine for her on the way). We said our good-byes and thanked her before heading to dinner with Amine at 9. He met us at the nearest metro stop and then brought us to the hotel where he was living. He’d almost finished cooking, but while we waited we enjoyed the view and the breeze from the balcony and chatted about music.

Dinner was amazing! It was some sort of rice dish with tomatoes, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, and beans. He also made a salad of avocado, cream cheese, tomato, tuna, green pepper and some sort of olive oil or pesto sauce. For dessert we had a parfait of fruit, chocolate mousse, cream cheese, and fruity yogurt. Everything was absolutely amazing!! He doesn’t even use recipes either - everything is just invention. Wish I could cook like that!

We left at 10:45 and enjoyed the metro ride back very much. The new metros have a glass shield on the front and if you sit up there you can see the lights pass by as you are inside the dark tunnel and in some spots even feel wind on your face. It is so cool! I said it felt like an EPCOT ride, and so on the way back we sat there with our faces up against the glass. I tried to restrain myself from making vroom vroom sounds. :)

As we transferred metro lines on the way back to Sophie’s, we were on a very long moving walkway (it was a big station). All of a sudden I hear Lieselotte behind me whisper in my ear “That guy just grabbed my butt!” She wasn’t sure if he was trying to get money out of her back pocket or what. I looked at him and he was a really creepy looking man, probably homeless, who kept reaching out for Lies, and then started coming toward me. There were other people on the moving walkway, but it was still a creepy. We started walking faster and he was following us and Lies was saying, “Si vous ple, No!” By the end we were seriously speed walking and got off and practically ran to the next escalator we had to take, not looking back. We ran up the escalator stairs and jumped in the middle of a group of standing people, but kept running when we got off. I don’t know why we were so worried, but I had been freaked out ever since Jessica told us a creepy story earlier. When we finally made it to the other metro we jumped on and sat down, panting. It was sort of laughable after the fact - that we were running so frantically from a homeless guy when there were so many other people around.

Back at Sophie’s we packed up and got ready for bed, but we had to set our alarm for 5:30 am because our train left for Montpellier this morning at 6:57 am. EW!

Now we are in Lyon waiting for our connecting train to Montpellier. I slept very little on the first train so I am very tired. We haven’t heard anything about CSing in Montpellier yet, so hopefully we’ll be able to find a hostel when we arrive.

Amsterdam and arrival in Paris

Pictures: 1) Lies and Me with the train station behind us in Amsterdam, 2) with a giant chess set in Amsterdam with the Hard Rock behind us, 3) finding Jif PB in an American food store - score!!, 4) with one of the canals, 5) biking in Holland

Yesterday Lieselotte and I went to Amsterdam to meet her friend Sjors (pronounced Shores) who is studying at the university there. He met us at the station in Amsterdam (only 10 minutes away from Haarlem by train) at 11 am. First Lies and I wanted to make reservations for our train to Paris the next morning, but after waiting in line for over 30 minutes, we got up to the ticket desk and they told us that the reservation costs were 33 euros per person, instead of the 13 our Eurorail guide told us. The lady, who wasn’t very friendly, said that we could go for free though, and printed us out a route. We took it and walked away, then, after looking at it, we realized the free option was 9 hours long, whereas the 33 euro option was 4 hours. We figured it would be worth the extra money, but we didn’t want to wait in line all over again, so we resolved to come back after the day spent in Amsterdam.

We wanted to go to the Rijksmuseum (which has many famous Dutch paintings including The Night Watch and The Milk Maid). We decided to walk since the day was lovely with sun (which it hadn’t been for some days). Sjors pointed out different buildings of importance as we went, and then we stopped in a grocery store to get lunch before going to eat in a park. I was amazed at how beautiful the buildings are in Amsterdam and there are many lovely canals.

I really appreciated that Sjors did his best to speak in English even though Dutch is his first language. Lieselotte’s parents grew up right near his, so they’ve been friends for a long time, but he still made an effort to include me. After eating lunch in the park we finished our walk to the Rijksmuseum and had a nice time looking at all the fascinating paintings. So many of the people in the pictures were so life-like they seemed as though they would reach out and touch us. It was pretty pricey at 11 euros but very enjoyable.

After that we walked to a fountain and sat on a bench, talking as we observed a man throwing a ball for his dog. The dog often ran through the fountain which was very amusing to watch, since he’d leap like a gazelle through the shallow water. From there it looked like it might rain (the sun had dissipated in favor of dark clouds), so we went to an Irish Pub and got some drinks. I was a bit sleepy since we hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before so I ordered hot tea. However, I realized that, though I try to deny it, I hate tea. Even mango flavored tea cannot mask the disgusting tea flavor. I drank half of it.

We sat in the café for some time, talking about school and cultural differences, and abortion legality and genetic counseling, and all sorts of strange but intriguing subjects. Around 5:15 Sjors’ brother came to meet us and sat with us for a while until we left. Outside there were some break dancers in an open square and we watched for a while as we waited for Sjors’ girlfriend Lotte to join us to go to dinner. When she did we found a pizza place where every kind of pizza was 5 euros. I got cheese pizza with pineapple.

At dinner it was easy for them to slip into Dutch with only one full American there, but one time when Sjors realized what they were doing, he said, “We really need to speak in English guys, it’s rude.” And they tried harder after that. He speaks much better than his brother or girlfriend, so I appreciated that they all three made an effort.

As had happened the night before at dinner with Lieselotte’s Aunt Nicolette and her family, the discussion turned to the difference in American vs. Dutch education and the price of college. It was a general consensus among the Dutch that Dutch kids are spoiled since they don’t usually have to work to pay for their education. Also what a shame it was that parents like mine had to work so hard to pay for a college education without the government giving aid. Lies and I generally agreed, but as she pointed out, it is just a different mentality. The kids who work every summer don’t feel particularly disadvantaged since that’s just the way it is, and parents usually start a college fund early on. Plus, housing in the US is SO much cheaper.

After dinner we got McFlurrys at McDonald’s nearby and then Sjors’ brother left us as he and Lotte walked Lies and me to the train station. I chatted with Sjors most of the way about his studies in astronomy (he’s getting his masters in that right now) and about the places he’d been to in the U.S. We talked about the differences between NY and London, and I said I’d much rather live in London as NY is way too hectic.

After saying our good-byes at the station, Lies and I went to get a numbered ticket to wait for our turn at the ticket reservation counter. We were number 561, and they were on number 544, so we thought it shouldn’t be long, but 35 minutes later, they were only on 552. As the number flashed on the screen nobody got up (we assumed number 552 had already given up and left), so Lies and I ran up to the desk (as they don’t check your ticket number).

Lies explained to the guy in Dutch our dilemma - the book said reservations were 13 euros and we needed to go to Paris but didn’t want it to take 9 hours. He was very helpful, as it was the end of the night (we made it in 2 minutes before they made the cut off at 9 pm for the last person to receive a numbered ticket for waiting in line). After a lot of effort, he found us a route that was only 4.5 hours and cost 10 euros each. We were very happy with this, and finally got back to Haarlem around 10:15.

It took us a while to pack up our stuff, do laundry, etc, so we didn’t get to bed until about 1:30 am, and then got up at 9 to finish our getting ready process and give us plenty of time to walk to the station and get a few groceries before getting on the train. I bought some Dutch cookies that I’d had at Lieselotte’s house before that are so yummy - sort of gingerbready.

Now we are on the train to Paris and we should arrive in 45 minutes. We will stay with a CSer named Blandine who seems very nice.

We are now in Paris staying with Blandine's sister Sophie because Blandine had to go out of town for work unexpectedly. Sophie is very nice - she made us pasta for dinner and then walked us around her area to Notre Dame and the Jewish quarter. She is 22 like us and we had a lovely time with her. Goodnight for now!

3 days in Haarlem, Netherlands

Pictures: 1) me in the center of Haarlem, 2) with Esther's youngest baby, 3) playing in the yard with the other 2 kids, 4) sitting with some of Lieselotte's family before the scavenger hunt, 5) Lieselotte, Yeniza, Nedina, and me on the bus to the volleyball match, 6) Lies with Haram at the picnic, 7) Haram, Cos, me and Daan (the winning team for the scavanger hunt!), 8) Daan and me at the picnic table, 9) Lies and me in the fishing town, 10) the windmill town, 11) with the biggest wooden shoe in Holland, 12) wearng big Dutch shoes! :)



I arrived at the station in Haarlem (which, btw, the Harlem in NY was named after because the Dutch were the first settlers of that area) at 2 pm. As I walked toward the front of the building in search of Lieselotte (we were supposed to meet at 2 pm), I heard someone behind me say “Lauren!” I turned around and there was Lieselotte. I was so excited to see her I left my bag and ran to hug her. Everyone around was smiling at the happy reunion. Lol

We stored our stuff in lockers at the station and walked through the center of town, going into stores, stopping to get lunch, and catching up. It was very funny because Lieselotte and I so often are drawn to the same piece of clothing or say the same things.

In one store we each got something - she got a really cute dress for 15 euros and I got a skirt for 10. Everyone we told afterward was like “wow, what good deals!” Lies and I also realized that we can share our shoes and clothes now, which is very exciting (of course she can’t wear my pants and I’d have to roll hers up since she’s so tall). We even have the same exact shoes, but hers are black and mine are brown. Haha

At about 5 we got our things and went to her aunt and uncle’s house so she could pick up the rest of her things before we went to her old neighbor’s house (we were staying with them). The old neighbors are named Kristy and Ton and they have three kids, one of whom is studying abroad, one girl (Mica) lives nearby, and their son (Koonz) lives in the house. Homes here are very tall and narrow. For example, this one is three stories (as are most) with a kitchen, dining, toilet, and living room on the first floor, then 3 rooms on the second floor plus a bathroom, then the third floor has 4 more rooms. We are in the a bedroom on the 3rd floor in the girl who is studying abroad’s room. It is very comfortable and Kristy and Ton are so nice. When we first arrived here Mica was visiting her mom and she’d brought over some sort of pasta casserole stuff which we ate for dinner. We then watched a short film of them riding African elephants when they were in Cape Town a few weeks ago, and then we watched a movie of them going into a cage in the middle of the ocean with GREAT WHITE SHARKS!!! It was so scary looking - I would never do something so crazy. Lol

The next day (Friday) we rode our bikes to Lies’ cousin’s house - we got a little lost so it took us about 45 minutes, but it was a nice ride. However, finding a bike to fit me was rather difficult considering my legs are shorter than everyone’s here. In the end I had to borrow 17 year-old Koonz’s bike and I had to start pedaling before I could sit on the seat and then get off the seat and hop down before I actually stopped otherwise I’d fall off. Lies’ cousin Esther has 3 little girls, 5 months, 3, and 5. I got to hold the baby most of the time and I was sooo happy! Lol I haven’t held a baby since I left home, so I was in 7th heaven.

After we got back to Kristy’s she made us dinner which was really great - tomato soup with meat in it, garlic bread, and salad. Right before we ate I ran upstairs to get something and smacked my left shin and knee into the wooden part around the bed really hard and was in so much pain. My shin has been rather painful ever since (especially walking up and down stairs). After dinner Lies and I rode the bikes to her aunt and uncle’s house (from the day before) and we sat around chatting with them and her cousins Nadina and Yeniza as well as her uncle from Hamburg who Lies had never met before. It was funny because they were speaking a mix of Dutch and English and occasionally her uncle would start speaking German and only Lies could understand since she took German in school. Eventually they were all just speaking Dutch and it was getting so late that I fell asleep. At about 12:15 Lies touched my leg to say it was time to go and I jumped and everyone laughed. Luckily Kristy and Ton’s house is right around the corner so even though it was dark and cold, the ride was only a minute.

We slept in on Saturday and then got ready and rode the bikes to the Haarlem centre where we met almost her whole dad’s side of the family. There were about 40 people total. We were split up into 6 groups of about seven and sent on a scavenger hunt sort of thing (answering questions and following a specific route around). Of course all the questions were in Dutch, so I wasn’t much help, but occasionally they’d say “we need to count the shudders” or the trees or whatever, so I’d do that. Lol My team was made up of two aunts and 3 cousins (Daan, Haram, and Cos). Daan is 20 but looks 16, Haram is his 18 year old brother who looks 20 and Cos is their cousin who is almost 22. I mostly talked to Daan and Cos, and their English is pretty good, though definitely not great.

Our team was the first done by about 20 minutes (because, though I couldn’t speak the language, I was the team cheerleader encouraging us to write the stuff down and keep moving). We thought the hunt was about who got one first and had the right answers, but apparently it was just about the right answers, so we killed time waiting for the others by walking around the outdoor market. I got a hot waffle thing - it is basically two large round flat waffle cones with caramel inside (a Dutch specialty) - and some fresh orange/kiwi juice. Later at the picnic we learned that our team won the scavannger hunt (getting the most questions right). :)

After everyone reunited we took a bus to Lies’ Aunt Nicolette’s house. Cos (one of the guys on my team) is her oldest son of three. They have a large field by their house and when we arrived some of the others were already setting up the volleyball net. Yes, we played volleyball - a bunch of Dutch people who pretty much only play soccer were trying to play an American beach sport. Needless to say, it was pretty funny and pathetic. Of course, I can’t talk because I suck at volleyball too. My team was #1 so we played first and then Lies and I were bored so we grabbed an extra ball to kick around. Eventually some of her cousins joined us and we were playing keep away and just messing around. It was a lot of fun, even though I’m terrible at soccer. I liked running around and getting energy out. Of course, since we were the only two girls, we were roughed up a bit (I fell flat on my back twice - both due to Daan I believe, who is quite the joker and doesn’t understand that girls are more fragile than guys). Since it was a field it didn’t hurt though and by the time we went back to the house I was sweating and we were all laughing and feeling more comfortable with each other. They’d more or less accepted me as a cousin, which was fun.

When we got to the house all the cousins around our age gathered very tightly around one long picnic table. Lies was across from me next to Haram and Daan was next to me and I can’t remember everyone else’s names around us. I do remember looking at all of them and noticing how beautiful all their eyes were All their eyes were either blue, but all looked different. Haram’s were probably the most amazing being a turquoise color, but all were very lovely. Of course, none had hair dark like mine. Oh, and guess what? Lana from Smallville is their second cousin - her last name is Kreuk like Lieselotte. How cool is that?? Throughout dinner (which was hamburgers (no buns) and grilled chicken on sticks and fresh fruit and potato salad) Daan was teasing me and punching me and such and all his cousins were teasing him in Dutch about how he had a crush on me. At one point I had something he wanted (a piece of bread maybe) and he was trying to get it and I started falling off the bench and instead of helping me up he kept pushing me and I fell flat on my back between the two picnic tables on the cement and all the adults at the table behind me turned around and were looking down at me and trying to figure out what just happened. I’m pretty sure I turned beet red. Some sort of yelled at Daan for being a bully, but in general Lieselotte said “that’s so Dutch” - I.e. they play jokes and sometimes take things too far.

After dinner Nicolette brought out ice cream popsicles. I had a pear flavored one and I was so enjoying it and all of a sudden I caught Haram giving me an odd look and I said “what?” and he said “You eat your ice cream very sensual.” hahaha After that they all started talking about this, in Dutch, and the entire table looked at me, and again I felt my cheeks turn all red. Later we had little chocolate sticks and Haram gave me the same look and I just glared at him. Those are the only 2 foods I don’t wolf down because they are my two favorite desserts to I like to savor them. Around 9:30 pm Lies, Nedina, Yeniza and I left to catch the bus back to Haarlem.

As we walked along the very narrow sidewalk toward the bus I said to Lieselotte, “I had a really nice day to--” and right then my left foot fell off the curb and I went down on my right knee and palms hard. It hurt really badly and took me a minute of half laughing half crying to even stand up again. My hands had a little road rash, and my knee got a bit skinned through my jeans and no doubt started to bruise. I felt like Anne of Green Gables when she twisted one ankle and then the other one a little later (since I’d hurt my other leg in almost the same area the day before). Anyway, I limped on to the bus stop and by the time we got back to Haarlem I was feeling well enough to ride the bike back to Kristy’s with Lies. Overall it was a really fun day though, and it was so nice to be involved in a family reunion, even if it wasn’t mine.

That night Lieselotte went to a disco Tec with her cousins, but I stayed here because I didn’t want to stay out so late. I’m sure glad I did since she didn’t get back until 4:30 am! Today we didn’t wake up until 11:30 and then around noon Kristy and Ton took us to two little Dutch towns. The first was a former fishing village 100 years ago when the South Sea of Holland (which is really to the west) was still salt water. It was dammed 100 years ago and is now a huge fresh water lake, so the fishing village turned into a tourist village. The homes are very old and classic Dutch style and there is still a harbor with many sailboats. I bought some great souvenirs for fairly cheap and I tried this thing called a frikondale which is basically a fried hot dog, and a bite of eel (which as cold, oily and really gross), and real Dutch Gouda cheese from the town of Gouda and these other things which were like fried mozzarella balls but instead of mozzarella inside it was like a creamy mixture of milk, wheat and corn with meat. After that we went to this other town that has the biggest wooden shoe in the world and many windmills. We got to watch the shoes being made and take pictures with the big one.

Kristy and Ton dropped Lies and me off at the train station where we then caught a bus to Aunt Nicolette’s house to help them eat the left-overs from the day before for dinner. First we had wonderful homemade chicken soup and then the hamburgers, chicken and potatoes from the day before. I talked to Cos about all the places he should visit in America and we explained couch surfing to the whole family. After dinner they taught me how to play this Dutch card game which is like a cross between bridge and spades. I thought it was rather confusing since the J and 10 were often worth the most and there were other weird rules, but it was interesting. Kristy and Ton picked us up after dinner and now we are home. Lies has been downstairs chatting in Dutch with them and some other neighbors as I write this. Now I’m very tired and tomorrow we go to Amsterdam so I should get going.

Freiberg and the Rhine

Pictures: 1) the river we were biking along in Freiberg, 2) Aunt Sarah and me on the overlook in Freiberg, 3) the view over Freiberg all the way to France, 4) one of the castles along the Rhine, 5) the view over St. Goar from the castle we climbed there, 6) in the vineyards on the way up to the castle, 7) Ben, A. Sarah and me on top of the castle in St. Goar

After I checked into my hostel in Frankfurt, I walked across the street to meet Aunt Sarah (mom’s best friend) and Ben, her husband. They decided to take a trip to Germany rather unexpectedly thus why I decided to go to Frankfurt. I’d e-mailed Aunt Sarah requesting that she meet me in the lobby of their hotel at 8 pm so we could discuss our plans for the next couple days, but they weren’t there at 8 so I wasn’t sure she’d gotten her mail. I told the receptionist to look out for them and if they came in to tell them I was in the hostel across the street.

After I got back to my hostel, I’d only been there about 10 minutes when one of the hostel workers knocked on the door and said that Sarah and Ben were waiting for Lauren below. It was so nice to see them! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a face from home. We chatted about their time in Munich and their visit with Ben’s cousin in Frankfurt earlier in the day.

Our accommodations were only three minutes from the train station, which was great, but they were in the red light district. I already knew this, as I’d read it online when I looked for a hostel close to their hotel, but the web assured me that while it might look a little gritty, it is plenty safe. Aunt Sarah however was NOT happy with the location, and thus they had booked a different hotel for the next two nights. I looked into moving to a new hostel closer to them, but it just wasn’t worth it for me since 1) I like to sleep late and being 3 min from the station is ideal, and 2) I was only planning on sleeping there and not walking around after dark.

We decided to meet the next morning at the station at 9:30 and catch a train to Freiburg which is on the edge of the black forest and is the biking capital of Germany, as well as the sunshine capital of Germany. Aunt Sarah and Ben love to bike, so we planned to take the 2 hour train there, then bike around the area for a few hours.

When we arrived in Freiburg we had a bit of a time finding a call shop (so A. Sarah could talk to her travel agent about the hotel stuff), then we had to find a bathroom (in the McDonalds), then the bike shop which required a 100 euro deposit for the 3 bikes, and thus we had to search for an ATM which took forever. Thus, we didn’t start biking until about 2 pm. The bike shop guy pointed out a big hill on the map right inside the forest where one can see all the way to France. We started biking in what we thought was that direction. We followed a bike right along the river which was quite stunning and the weather was perfect temperature; however, every time we stopped at a cross road, we couldn’t find it on the map. At one point we stood there looking at the map and big rain drops started falling on us, so I pulled out my umbrella and held it over the three of us as we gazed at the map. Finally a guy pulled up in a car and asked if we needed help, then proceeded to tell us where we wanted to go was in the opposite direction. This is why three directionally impaired people should not travel together. Lol Actually, I think I’m pretty good with directions now (compared to how I was) but I hadn’t even been listening when the guy gave Ben directions to the overlook, so I was really no use in that situation.

As we biked back where we’d come from, the rain started pouring harder and harder. Ben yelled up to us to stop under the next overpass where we put all our important things in a waterproof bag Ben had. To protect my backpack, they had an extra poncho that I wore over my bag. I looked like a giant orange, wet pumpkin - in the sunshine capital of Germany. Go figure. We started out again, but my capris, shoes, and face got really soaked. It was the oddest feeling, having what felt like tears running down my face but knowing I wasn’t crying. After about 30 minutes of rain it stopped and suddenly the sun appeared. Off came the ponchos and from thereon out it was warm and lovely.

We finally made it to the bottom of the hill with the overlook, so we parked our bikes there and hiked up. On the way there was a beer garden and (according to the Rick Steves book that Sarah and Ben had) all beer gardens are required to allow the public to use the restroom free of charge because they replaced the public restrooms. Well, Rick pulled through on this one because we used it once on the way up and once on the way down without anyone getting mad at us.
From the overlook we really could see all of Freiburg and all the way into France. It was a great view! Oh, and we also stumbled upon a couple making out hard core in the grass on the way up. This seems a common public practice in Germany, but the fact that they didn’t care at all that we walked by was really the funniest thing.

Back at the bottom we got our bikes and rode around the little suburb of Freiburg that was right there. The town was so quaint with cobblestone streets and people playing live music and everyone outside, eating ice cream and chatting with friends. We made it to the center with a big cathedral and open square, found some ice cream, and sat down enjoying the atmosphere as we ate. One of the interesting things about this little town was that there were little gullies running through it with water inside. Some were bigger than others. Some kids had their feet splashing in one, another was being enjoyed by a dog, some just had plastic ducks floating in them (placed there with anchors by local shop owners). Apparently the legend is that if you fall into one you will marry a Freiburger.

When we finished our ice cream we started biking back toward the station/bike rental place. We arrived about 5:20 and thus had plenty of time to return the bikes and make our 5:49 train back to Frankfurt. We arrived back in Frankfurt about 8 pm, and got sandwiches from the station, checked the train schedule for the next days trip, and then went our separate ways. I never felt scared going to and from my hostel and no one ever said anything to me (though if I were a guy perhaps I’d be solicited, who knows). Also, it doesn’t get dark here until about 10 pm.

The next morning I had to meet them at the station at 8 am (yeah, I was thrilled about that, let me tell you); however, we needed to catch the 8:12 train to this little town along the Rhine where we would start our river Rhine cruise. This was free with my Eurorail pass, which was really great, and we cruised down the river from 10:15 until 11:55 seeing castle after castle lining the river from when the area used to be about 90 individually owned areas run by robber barons. Apparently they used to put chains across the river and taxed people who tried to sail by - which means at one point you could be taxed every couple hundred yards. Crazy! Anyway, these castles were not bombed during WWII, apparently because they were recognized as being beautiful, old, and historically important.

We departed the ship in St. Goar to actually get out and explore the castle there. It was pretty cool which excellent views over the river valley, other castles, and the vineyards that ran up and down the hillsides. This particular castle was built in the 1200s. After the castle we were really hungry so we went into the town and found a little restaurant. I had goulash soup with bread and split spaetzel (a sort of thick, sweeter noodle dish) with Aunt Sarah as well as potato pancakes (which were basically latkes) which apples sauce on top. It was all very yummy. :)

From there we went to a bakery to buy some dessert and after wandering around the very small town a bit more (Aunt Sarah and Ben bought wine for family and I bought post cards), we caught a train to Mainz and from Mainz back to Frankfurt, arriving about 6:30 pm. Here we said our good-byes and I went back to the hostel to get ready for bed very early and use the computer. I checked out all the train times for today since I am now on my way to Amsterdam and then Haarlem (right outside of Amsterdam) where I will meet my friend Lieselotte. I am nearly ecstatic with the idea of seeing her and knowing we will be together the rest of the trip. First we will spend some days in the Netherlands visiting with her family and friends, then we’ll go through France, Spain and visit a friend of hers in Lisbon, Portugal as well. Her boyfriend Frank and my boyfriend Tommy are both going to try and come to Spain for a week to visit us depending on flight prices, so that would be really nice.

Wurzburg

Pictures: 1) in the gardens with the Residence behind me, 2) in the gardens, 3) hiking through) the vineyards on the way to the fortress, 4) with Aleks on top of the fortress wall, 5) with Christoph in a park near the university, 6) with Aleks on the lion bridge with the church we are about to climb up to behind us, 7) the Käppele church, 8) inside the church, 9) the main bridge with the town hall in front (the building with the big clock)

I arrived in Wurzburg at 4:30 on Saturday and my hostel was literally right across the street from the train station, which was great. I checked in and put my stuff down, then decided to ask for a map to start exploring the town. I waited for the hostel worker to check in the some guy first, and I heard that the guy would be in my room, so after I had the hostel guy circle some stuff on the map for me, I went back to the room and introduced myself. His name is Aleks (yes, it is spelled like that) and he looks eerily like my cousin Brian. He is traveling Europe studying cultural wines for his job (taking notes and sending emails back all the time). He didn’t have anyone to hang out with either, so we decided to explore together.

First we went to the grocery store and after dropping the stuff in the hostel we walked toward the Residence. This is where the Bishop once lived and then some king, but neither occupied very long (this was in the 1700s). It is a very beautiful palace, but the inside was closed so we just walked though the amazing rose gardens. From there we walked through the main town square with an outdoor market and wine fest (Aleks was very excited about that!). Eventually we made it to the start of the wine trails that led up through the wine vineyards to the top of a hill with the Marienberg Fortress on top. The fortress was closed as well, but we walked around inside the courtyards of the fortress and then climbed on a wall and sat with a view over the city and the hills to our left to watch the sunset. The whole time we chatted and sung random musical songs. Yes, I’m serious. Aleks was a theater major and he knows the songs in My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Sound of Music, etc. It was actually really funny, because one of us would start humming a song, and the other one would start singing the words, then we would both break into song. At one point, as we sung “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” and got some odd stares, Aleks said, “This is why theatre kids shouldn’t hang out together.” I said, “I’m not a theater kid!” and he said, “I beg to differ.” lol I should have been a theater kid.

After the sunset we walked to a beer garden that the hostel guy recommended and I had spinach and ricotta pasta and he had stake that, as he put it, could come out mooing and he’d be happy. Dinner was really good, and afterward we walked it off on the way back to the hostel. Crossing the bridge over the river was very beautiful, and then we heard the music from the African festival and went to check that out. Unfortunately it was 5 euros to get in, and it was already 11:15, so we didn’t want to pay that much, and we walked home. We looked for ice cream on the way, but didn’t find anything open.

The next morning we woke up at 9:30. I ate my banana milk with chocolate muesli that I’d gotten from the store the day before (they didn’t have normal milk), and Aleks went to get coffee. We met back around 10:15 and headed out. First we went to the market square again and I texted a CSer who had said he could show us around on Sunday. We agreed to meet on the steps of a nearby church in 30 minutes, so in between times Aleks and I went to a coffee shop where he had 2 cappuccinos and I had a bowl of fruit.

After meeting Christoph (the CSer), he walked us to the Residence again (where we’d seen the gardens the day before). Since it was 6 euros, Christoph didn’t go in with us, but waited in the garden while Aleks and I went inside. It was first built in the 1700s and it was really beautiful - most of it has been restored due to damage in WWII, but some of it remains the same. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but I’m sure you can find it online. Inside there was also an exhibition about the effects of WWII on Wurzburg and it really harrowing. Almost all of the buildings were gutted, but the walls remained standing, so it looked like some sort of unfinished model town. Aleks said that sort of thing leaves him feeling a bit depressed, and I agreed.
Read this from Wikipedia about it: During World War II, on March 16, 1945, about 90% of the city was destroyed by some 225 Lancaster bombers in 17 minutes by a British air raid. Most of the city's churches, cathedrals, and other monuments did not survive, while the city center, dating from medieval times, was totally destroyed in a firestorm in which some 5,000 people perished. During the next 20 years, the buildings of historical importance were painstakingly and accurately replicated. The citizens who rebuilt the city immediately after the end of the war were mostly women. Men were either dead or POW. Relatively, Würzburg was destroyed more completely than was Dresden in a firebombing the previous month.

Christoph met us outside afterward and we went to get a lunch of bratwurst in the marketplace followed by ice cream. Then we walked to the main church (the Dom) which was holding mass, but we could stand just inside and look - it was very beautiful. After the at he walked us to the old and the new university buildings (even the ‘new’ one is over 200 years old). He pointed out many things in the town that were interesting and then took us across the ‘Lion Bridge’ so we could hike up this big hill with a beautiful church called the Käppele on top. The church was built by the same architect as built the Residence but Christoph thinks that this wasn’t bombed in the war because it is too far outside the town. The view from up there was very lovely and you could see the fortress well along with all the vineyards for miles around. When we left we walked across the main bridge (Alte Mainbrücke) with statues lining it. The bridge offers a wonderful view of the town hall and walking toward our left we saw this old crane that was built to load and unload boats by the son of the guy who built the Residence and the church on the hill. It is still there and looks pretty technologically advanced for the time but still antique.

After that we went to this little town within the town - it is sort of walled-in and looks medieval. Finally we went to this church that looked old-style architecture on the outside, but inside it was a strange blend of modern minimalism but there were still old paintings and statues - very strange. Around 5:30 Christoph left us (after giving us pieces of his homemade blueberry cake) and Aleks accompanied me back to the hostel to pick up my stuff and walked with me to the train station. I was sad to say goodbye for we’d had a very nice time together (and who else will sing musicals with me? Lol) but perhaps I we will see each other again in the Netherlands (he plans to go there while I’ll be there with Lieselotte).

The train to Frankfurt was only about an hour and I arrived at 7:30 pm, and walked to my hostel which was very close (three minute walk). However, I was almost asleep when the train arrived, and in my sleepy confusion I left my big black sun hat under my seat. I’m SO pissed because I have been carrying that thing all over Europe thinking “it will be worth it in Spain because it will be so hot and we’ll go the beach and such.” Urrg.

Berlin

Pictures: 1) Ulee, Eily, Mary-Jo, Me, Noel at our Italian dinner, 2) Noel, Mary-Jo, Me, Emily outside the restauarnt, 3) the arch thing, 4) on the Holocaust Memorial, 5) Me, Emily, Mary-Jo in the TV tower, 6) Emily and me in front of the TV tower, 7) Emily and me in front of the cathedral, 8) with the giraffs, 9) Mary-Jo and me with the flamingos, 10) Mary-Jo and me with the seal fountain, 11) me with the lions, 12) a pic I took in the aqarium

When I arrived in Berlin at 9:30 pm Liana met me at the station. She is the girl I was to stay with through CS. She was very nice and we walked to her flat and then sat in the kitchen talking until about midnight. She told me that the next afternoon (Friday) she would be leaving for the weekend to visit a friend in the countryside, but she would give me her keys and I could stay in her room until I left Sunday. She does have two female flat mates, but still, what trust! The next morning she got up before me for class, and then I headed out around 11:30, taking the S-bahn to the central station looking for an information point. The main station in Berlin is beyond impressive - it is absolutely huge with about five stories and glass elevators and escalators everywhere. However, due to its grandiose scale, it took me about 20 minutes to find the tourist information office. When I got there I heard two girls speaking English and waiting in line with maps to purchase (yes, they cost 1 euro). I asked where they had gotten the maps, and then started talking to them. After our purchases we talked a bit more, and found out that they were from Canada, but one had been studying in Poland and the other in Hamburg for a semester. They decided to meet in the middle (Berlin) for a few days before one flew home and the other traveled around for the summer. They had also just arrived the night before, so I asked if we could all hang out together to see the sights.

First we walked to the parliament house with the big glass dome in the middle. We could have gone inside and probably paid to walk in the glass dome, but we decided to keep moving. Next we saw the arch that represents the unity of East and West Berlin. According to one Berliner (yes, that is what they are called, along with Hamburgers and Frankfurters - not kidding!), the arch is the most important thing in all of Berlin - it is their icon. Well, we took pictures with this icon and moved on. Next we walked to the Holocaust Memorial. It looks a bit like Arlington cemetery, but instead of crosses on grass-covered hills, there are huge cement blocks of varying heights in neat rows on brick-covered rolling hills. Standing in the middle is a bit eerie and gives one the sense of being lost in a labyrinth. Inside kids were running around playing hide-and-go-seek and others were jumping from block to block across the top. I couldn’t decide if this was a good thing (like we have learned from the past and that is why today they are free to be happy and playful) or if was sort of sacrilegious to be playing in a memorial. It reminded me a bit of the new FDR memorial in DC where kids climb all over the blocks and fountains.

From there we walked past a piece of the Berlin wall and took a couple pictures (I’d forgotten to put my memory card back in my camera and thus Mary-Jo and Emily took pics for me). There was a tube station near there, so we took that to Alexanderplatz where this big glass covered piazza is (I think it might be called the Sony center or something). We had lunch there at an Australian restaurant and I had a kangaroo meat wrap. I’d never had kanga meat before, but it was really good. From there we went to the TV tower (which, in my opinion, is the real symbol of Berlin). We bought tickets to go to the top for 10 euros each, and then waited for our time slot at the Starbucks next door.

Mary-Jo, Emily, and I all got along so well - we just talked and talked and I don’t think anyone ever felt like a third wheel. We laughed about getting lost in foreign countries and having local people offering to help us, talked about the different cultures and customs we’d experienced, about Canada, America, all the places we want to go and all the places we’d been. In general, it was just really nice to spend the day with them.

At 5:10 we went to the top of the TV tower and stood in the huge ball on the top looking out the windows at the panoramic view of Berlin. I found one thing very interesting - when you looked out there were many beautiful, red roofed buildings and old churches, etc. until you got to one side where all the buildings looked relatively new, where white, and appeared like office buildings - all the same. I’m thinking this was what used to be East Berlin because so many of their buildings went to ruin during the socialist reign and had to be rebuilt after the wall came down in ‘89.

Berlin is a very politically-active city and very aware of it’s relatively recent history. There are always some sort of demonstrations going on near the arch and most of the newer architecture features a lot of glass creating a very open environment. I feel like the reason for this is to contrast with the times when the socialist government had so many secrets and when political protesters were shut up and never heard from again.

After the TV tower we walked to the main cathedral of Berlin. We paid 3 euros to get in, and it was very beautiful, though rather recently reconstructed (probably like the one in Dresden). We got to climb to the top and there we could walk around the dome on the outside and look at all the people below and got a slightly different view from the TV tower because we were lower.
I have to interrupt my blog for a moment to mention what is going on right now. I’m on a train from Berlin to Wurzburg and there is a woman sitting next to me who smells so bad I am breathing through my mouth, and she picked up the brochure telling about where this train is going and all the connecting trains at each stop etc. which had about 20 panels, and she wrote all over every single flap. Random words and numbers and symbols - even without knowing German, I know it was absolute craziness. When she would finish writing all over one flat (on top of the other words mind you) she would put the pamphlet down, and put her pen away, then three seconds later grab it again and write on another flap. When she finally filled the entire thing with scribble, she tore the whole thing up and put it in her bag. Then she started writing on another pamphlet that only had 4 flaps, so now she had nothing to write on, so she started writing on her arm and then talking to herself. It is really rather freaking me out. I can’t believe I have another 2 hours on the train…I hope she gets off before me.

Anyway, Mary-Jo, Emily, and I didn’t get out of the church until about 7:45 p.m. and then we decided to go to the area where their hostel was to find a place to eat. This may sound easy enough, especially given the number of restaurants around there, but Emily is allergic to: nuts, gluten (which is in wheat), apples, dairy, and is a vegetarian. Thus, she can pretty much only eat potatoes, corn, rice, and vegetables. Germany is all about the bread and meat, so yes, it proved difficult. She eats a lot of Indian food, but that is pretty much the only food I don’t eat since it is all very spicy. Finally we found a place called “Asian Deli” which had meals from all different countries all over the Asian continent. Emily got veggies and rice in some sort of curry sauce. I got chicken in mango sauce with pineapple, green beans, peas, onions and rice. It was very yummy and only 4.90.

After that we went back to Liana’s flat because she texted me saying she left cake for me and I wanted to put the girls’ pictures on my computer.

When we got there I saw that Liana had left a rhubarb and strawberry crumb cake and another cake that looked like cheesecake with oranges on it but tasted like angel-food cake. Both were quite yummy. The girls left for their hostel about 12:45 and I got ready for bed.

The next day I slept in and then met Emily and Mary-Jo at the train station around 2:30 to go to the zoo. The Berlin zoo is supposed to be one of the best in the world. It was 14 euros a piece for students to go to the zoo and the aquarium, but I’m pretty sure Mary-Jo would have paid 50 - she was so excited since she had never been to a zoo before EVER! It was like watching a kid at Disneyworld. I was amazed at how many of the animals both girls had never seen before - I think I’d seen all of them at some point.

We had a good time watching the elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, apes, monkeys, rhinos, etc. My favorite were the orangutans - they were having so much fun swinging from the ropes and ceiling of their enclosure. There was one guy who was HUGE and looked like he was wearing a Halloween costume. His fur was so long and matted into dreadlocks and really looked like some sort of cape or costume. He also carried a blanket around with him wherever he went. Everyone else deferred to him, you could tell. As Mary-Jo said, they would have to, otherwise he could just sit on them. Lol

After seeing the aquarium, it started a torrential downpour, but there was still an hour until the park closed and we still had things to see, so we kept trudging. After a bit, we seemed to be the only people left in the park. Most of the animals were under shelters, except the African penguins, the seals, and the water birds like the flamingos. We passed the kangaroos and I was saying “jump, jump” but they stayed under their covering. Mary-Jo said they wouldn’t listen to me because I’d just eaten their cousin. As we stood watching the zebras, it started to rain very hard, and they all took off under their shelter as we huddled under our 2 umbrellas. It was now almost 7 pm, so we decided to find the exit. To get back to where we’d entered we had to cross this large puddle. I walked through the grass next to it, but both girls had open toed shoes and didn’t want to go through the grass so they tried to walk along this small curb. Mary-Jo made it, but when she jumped to safety Emily lost her balance and fell into the puddle, almost on her butt, though luckily she managed to only get her feet/shoes wet. As we walked it started raining even harder (which we didn’t think was possible), and we found a little covered shelter to take refuge. We were now all drenched from under the knees down.

We finally made it to the entrance at 7:10, and the gates were all locked. There was a sign that said exit with a moon and stars on it pointing in a different direction, so we figured that must be where you could leave in the evening from, but as we walked, and walked, and walked, the exit did not appear and we started getting a bit nervous. We hadn’t seen another person in quite some time, not even zoo personnel. We discussed the possibility of living out a Night in the Zoo movie (as opposed to Night in the Museum). At long last we reached the exit and escaped. We were supposed to meet two CSers at the main train station at 7:30 to get dinner and hang out, but I had to text the girl and let her know we’d be late. When we arrived, we looked like drowned cats.

Ulee (a girl) and Noel (a guy) were from different parts of Germany, but had come into town to say goodbye to a friend of theirs who was leaving for a year long treck across Russia and the Asian continent. They’d driven 6 hours that morning just to surprise him and see him for 20 minutes before he got on the train. That is friendship right there!
They had been told about a good area for restaurants, so we drove there in Noel’s work BMW (yeah…it was pretty freaking cool - I need a job that lets me take personal trips with the company car on company gas money). We found an Italian restaurant that had a large menu and one that Emily thought she’d be able to find someone to eat on. I had a huge cheese pizza for 4.90. Emily got a dish with rice, veggies, and tomato sauce, but when they brought it, there was parmesan cheese on top, so she had to have them take it back and make a new one. I don’t understand how a person’s body could be allergic to SO many things. I would die if I couldn’t have peanut butter, or ice cream, or bread, or chocolate! Those are pretty much my favorite things ever!

Over dinner we talked about the way Germany dealt with WWII history, and how well-taught the students are about the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazis. We then talked about the Japanese kamikazes in WWII and the Japanese war mentality. Noel said he found it amazing that those who ordered the kamikazes were never persecuted for war crimes like the Nuremburg Trials persecuted the Nazis. He thought the trials were a very good lesson and way of dealing with their crimes, but that it should have extended to other WWII evil-doers. I really enjoyed talking with Noel for he reminded me a lot of my cousin Michael and as it turns out, was the same age.
After dinner we went to a Jazz bar to meet 2 other CSers, and it was really cool to hear live jazz music (since obviously they were singing in English). It made me really want to blues dance, but of course no one was blues dancing, so I didn’t get the chance. :( I was very tired, so I left at 11:45, taking the S-bahn back to Liana’s flat.

Overall, it was a really nice day and I do hope that Emily, Mary-Jo, Ulee, and Noel will come visit me in Charlotte at some point.

Today I got up at 10, got my stuff together, and left at 11 to catch the 11:37 train to Wurzburg. I wanted to go there because my Uncle Tom grew up there and said it is very beautiful. I will stay there tonight and spend the day tomorrow, then take the train in the evening to Frankfurt.