About time I saw Berlin...

After 6+ years of German, it was about time I saw Berlin...

This trip was alot more educational then others, because for once we really wanted to learn all we possibly could about the history of this city. We had a lot of background knowledge to begin with, but the roots of lots of our studies trace back to Berlin, so it was really nice to have everything come together before our lives. I do have so much to say about everything we saw, but unless you are into Germany history it would probably bore you if I went into depth. Plus, I am way behind writing this so I don't really have time to go into depth even if I wanted to! :)

Friday, October 21st: First stop besides our hostel and the best Currywurst stand in town, was Berlins biggest attraction (and 2nd most popular in Germany), the Brandenburg Gate. It was so cool to see this in person after seeing so much video footage as well as pictures from this monument before and after World War 2. It has been through so much history and it was just so amazing to stand in front of it.

Next stop, the Reichstag! It is equivalent to our captial buliding today and where all of the German government decisions are made. This buliding is relatively new and refurnished, but it still holds quite a large amount of history. 

We also walked along where the Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany. It was a weird feeling to be able to easily walk across where the wall stood. Only a couple of decades ago that wall seperated family and friends and led to the death of many.

Next stop, the Berlin Dom! We weren't able to go inside, but the outside of this buliding was just beautiful! You will see a better picture of it at night a little later on in the posts.

Unlike some of our other trips where it has been the whole gang, only Becca, Anne Marie and Matt were interested in seeing Berlin with me. We joined up with 3 other guys in our program, Louis (from NCC), Ben and John. The mix up was actually GREAT! We got to know the other guys better, and have a break from the constant cattiness that can sometimes accure when we have all the girls and Frat Matt together. It was also really nice that Becca and Anne Marie were the two from our group that were with me. They are from the Midwest as well and we just get along so easily because we are just much more laid back then some of our other friends.

Next stop was the Jewish memorial, the DDR museum and Dunkin Donuts. They don't have ice here in Germany (like nothing is ever cold) and all fall long we were graving iced coffee. We found a DD in Berlin and jumped at the opprounity, even if it was like 40 degrees outside it was still worth it.

After exploring the city on our own, the group of 7 of us headed to the "Tiergarden Quelle" for dinner. It was a little hole in the wall place on the other end of town, but Louis showed us it because he had been there before with our Professor from NCC. It was AMAZING! We had Kasespätzle (cheese spätzle) with bacon and tomatos. So good, yet soooo filling. We also got to try some green Berliner Kindl beer which is special to the area. Also, real good!

Saturday, Oct 22nd: The group decided to split up and explore the city on our own. Us girls REALLY wanted to take a Third Reich tour through the city and learn more about its history, while the boys decided they wanted to explore on their own. Louis knows the city so he showed them around and they ended up having a "Mans Day" filled with sampling beer and eating sausage!

We started out by seeing Checkpoint Charlie. This well known attraction is really just smack dab in the middle of a very busy street. It was weird to think business could never function the way it does now, only a few years ago.

After checking out the gift shops, which were super weird filled with all sorts of American souveniors, we headed off to KaDeWe, aka the largest dept. store in ALL of Europe. Again, we found a TON of American foods and goods. We were kinda in heaven. After that we decided to meet up with our tour. We had the best tour guide named Barry! He was from Ireland and was SO knowledgable about everything. We went all over town and saw everything and anything that had to do with the Third Reich. Super interesting and again weird that we were walking through a place with such a dark past.

That night we had some baller Chicken Döners (like Gyros, but Turkish) and hit the town...twice. Anne Marie and I decided that before we went out, it was important to get a work out in. After all, it is Berlin and the festival of lights were taking place downtown so we really wanted to see it all. Oh, not to mention...there is a famous German movie called Run Lola Run where the main character runs Berlin and with our movie theme...we had to do it. We set out and foot and ran all over downtown Berlin. All the monuments and bulidings had light displays and shows and it was beautiful to see. It was also just nice to shake out and get a good run in. We then decided to mix our work out up a bit. So...we started planking.

The picture on right is the Berliner Dom at night. Gorgeous!

We then proceeded to head out to the Diskos. Quite a good night if I do say so myself :)

Sunday, October 23rd: After sleeping in we decided to get the first real breakfast we had in months so we checked out of our hostel and headed into town. We found a decent place and all ordered what we thought were big breakfasts. Pshhhh. 10 Euro for 2 pieces of toast, a scoop of eggs and 2 pieces of bacon. So disappointing. Good, but not enough food. We also got ripped off when we ordered juice. All freshly squeezed juices were 3 Euro. They had like every flavor so I went for pineapple strawberry banana. We thought it was a great deal because that was the same price as normal oj. NOPE! Huge rip off. Regular orange or apple juice are an actual cup....my juice was a shot. Literally in the size of a shot glass. We were not quite pleased when we left the restaurant, but we didn't have time to get more food because we were off to meet the group at the Berlin Wall Memorial.


The memorial was definitely worth seeing. A part of the wall is still remaining and you can see just how elaborate the security was. It was very weird. That day we also checked out the Ghost Stations, and the Typography of Terror Museum.

Berlin was an awesome trip and I think number 2 on my list over all. We learned so much and just had such a good time. It was alot less dramatic then our other trips. There is so much to do and see! I will definitely be back to Berlin :)

Switzerland for lunch? Why not?

Switzerland has always been on my travel to do list and with our German Rail Passes we can get into Basil Switzerland for free. Naturally, we had to take up the opprounity; however, we only had a few days left in the month to do so. Basil is just under 3 hours from Heidelberg with the ICE train, so we knew we could use our final pass and make the trip in a day. Matt, Lauren and I had to be back for class at 5 so we decided why not just hit up Switzerland for lunch? Gotta love the life of a study abroad student!

Wonderful idea...however, we never got lunch.

Thursday October, 20th: We arrived in Switzerland around ten and went off to explore town. Basil is a really cute little city, but there was not a whole lot to see. Fall was in full force so we got to see all the beautiful trees, but aside from that and a few churches, we were ready for lunch pretty quick. Sadly, we didn't put much research in Basil and didn't even think about currency. Should have figured Switzerland would be different and not apart of the European Union, but no...we didn't. Swiss Franks is the only currency accepted so instead of enjoying a nice meal, we walked around the city starving for a few hours. We were not about to lose money just to exchange a few Euros for Franks...it was not worth it.

After a few hours, we decided just to head home. Although the country was beautiful and we had a fun little day trip, I really would not recommend Basil to other travelers unless you have alot of time. I wish I could have seen Zurich, but we couldn't use our pass to get that far.

Overall, a wonderful way to spend a Thursday.

Passport to Paris and Versailles

If you haven´t figured it out already...yes, several of my blog titles and Facebook albums are named after Mary Kate and Ashley movies. They were our inspiration growing up that we could travel the world, so now that we are actually fulfilling our dreams it was only right to give them credit. Not to mention, we got pumped up for all of our trips by watching their movies. Super cool, I know! :)

Our weekend get away started late Friday night. We were supposed to catch our overnight bus in Mannheim (the next city over) at around 11pm. We waited for 45 minutes and still no bus, or anyone to ask if the bus was still coming or why there was a delay. Typical Germany...

Finally, after an hour our bus arrived! Yes, we were taking an overnight bus again. Two actually! One to Paris and one back because we wanted to save money, even if it meant no sleeping for the next few days. Thankfully, unlike the first bus ride...I knocked out right away. It was wonderful. I woke up once when we stopped for a bathroom break and that was it. The others in my group were not as lucky, so by the time we got to Paris at 6am, they were kinda grumpy. We were supposed to arrive at 7, and we assumed we would be late...but shockingly we were an hour early. We were so confused, but happy that we got an extra hour in the city.

October 15th: Our first impressions of Paris were not great. The train station smelled horribly and for the first time, we actually had to deal with the language barrier. In Germany, everyone knows English, and we know German so we don't normally have too many issues. In France, that is not the case. Most Parisains don't know English (or at least acted like it...stereotypical, but true). We tried using German, but that was even less helpful. After about an hour of trying to figure out how to get to our hostel, we just picked a train and went. We are def spoiled with the German transportation system and the Tube in England, because Paris was not nearly as clean, or "pünktlich" (on time) as we are used to. When we made it to our stop it was still dark out and not a sign anywhere to lead us in the right direction. After a little wandering, we stumbled upon the beauty of a hostel we booked, "The 3 Ducks". You all will read more about our hostel experience later, but all I can say for now was that we were not impressed. We dropped our stuff out and headed out looking for some food. It was now around 7:30, yet it was still dark and nothing was open. No little cafes, no grocery stores..nothing! We wandered around until we found the one place we knew would be open...McDonalds. Yes, we did it...yes, we were ashamed....yes, we looked like Americans, but we were starving! It ended up being probably the best Egg Mcmuffin I have ever had honestly. The Paris McDonalds was impressive.

We headed back to the hostel, cleaned up a bit and were off to the Louvre. One great thing about Paris is that they really value their students. All students studying in the EU got in fo freee :) Yes, saved 10 Euro. The Louvre was beautiful. So much history, it is kinda overwhelming. We wandered and admired the art, specifically the Mona Lisa for around 2 hours and then were off to Notre Dame. By the way, the Mona Lisa is tiny! Compared to all the art in the Louvre she really doesn't stand out. She is gorgerous in all, but I found quite a few other paintings and sculptures that I admired more than her...

 

We then wandered along the Seine River and stopped along one of the many bridges. I have no clue what the name of this bridge is...I simply refer to it as the Love Bridge, but it was the bridge with the most "Locks of Love". Gosh, I was fascinated by the locks. So many. Each with their own story, their own history. I really think this was my favorite part of the city. This bridge alone is where you can just feel all the romance in Paireee. Gorgerous! For those of you who don't know the story of the locks, it goes something like this. After a wedding, the bride and groom stand on opposite sides of the bridge, walk toward the middle, lock their lock on the bridge and throw the key over the edge to symbolize a never ending love. They are not meant for just couples, although alot of dumb tourists tend to believe that and lock their locks to the bridge anyway. Regardless if all of the locks are "authentic" they are something to see. I love a good artsy photo and this was just the prime location.

Next Notre Dame! So beautiful! The architecture outside is just unbelievable, and the inside just has such like a mysterious side....we couldn't help think of Quasimodo! Def was the best church we have seen thus far! A must see in Paris!

Next stop, Arc de Triomphe! Again...totally felt like I was in Passport to Paris. All that was missing was the cute boys in the mopeds! Such a beautiful part of the city. It was packed with tourists, but still so pretty to walk down and soak in the culture.

After a full day of exploring the city we headed back to the hostel to change for our romantic night ahead. We planned to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and then enjoy a nice dinner downtown, but due to the line for the Eiffel Tower, we never made it to dinner. Fine by us! We spent the evening above the city of Paris!

I have to admit, I was freaked out! I am not normally scared of heights, but I have never been so high and out in the open. It is not like the Sears Tower where you stand within the glass windows, rather you are out with Mother Nature and the elements. This particular night was very windy and I was def not excited about that. Thankfully, my fears were quickly subdued as soon as we made it to the top! It was just so beautiful and so romantic. Shucks...

The only down point to the evening besides my slight fear and the cold, were my bunions. Yep, as always causing a problem. They slowed me down tremendously over the first part of our journey, but after standing in my heels for hours in the cold...they made it known that they were unhappy. Instead of heading out for dinner, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed home. Not only were my feet not up for the journey, but surprisingly Paris really does not have a great night life past around 11pm when we got down from the Tower. Public transportation doesn't run past midnight, so we decided to take it easy and just enjoy a glass of wine back at the hostel.

Sunday, October 16th : Off to Versailles. Totally worth the 45 minute trip outside the city. The castle by far wins the "Best Interior" category of the trip. There is no toping the Hall of Mirrors (pictured below) and the King and Queens bed chambers. They are covered from floor to ceiling in gold and it really is a spectacular site.

It was great to walk through this hall and close your eyes for a few minutes and picture yourself standing there a few hundred years ago. The King and Queen held masquerade balls there and it felt like you were really in a fairytale. Such a cool atmosphere. It really didn't help with our already overwhelming Princess Problems we have developed on this trip though. How are we supposed to go back to real life?

After a few hours touring the castle (not the Gardens, they were not nearly all they were cracked up to be. Germany truly kicks ass in the garden department) we headed back into the city for some food. I enjoyed a nutella and banana crepe (the best by far) while relaxing in the middle of the city. This was my point to take it all in and really appreciate where I was. We always try to take on hour or so out of our traveling just to sit and enjoy everything around us. With our hectic schedules, we don't always take the time to appreciate the culture we are in; however, in Paris..it was a must. Not to mention it was a beautiful day. One of my favorite parts of the trip was right here. Everything kinda came together for me that this point.

Our last stop before dinner was the Catacombs. And god, was it cool. So creepy, but so cool. The Parisian Catacombs are one of the less talked about attraction in the city, but definitely one of the coolest. During the plague, when thousands lost their lives, the city ran out of places to place the bodies. This huge underground tunnel was bulit and in it, millions of bones were stored. It was so CREEPY, but if you know me at all..you know this was right up my alley. It had a spooky, creepy, haunted feeling to it..so naturally, I loved it. I have to admit though, I would never go down there alone. NO WAY!

The last stop on our tour of Paris was a cute and affordable romantic dinner on the river. Well, I mean...technically it was a street over from the river...student budget afterall, but it is well known in town for great food and an awesome environment. We got a three course meal and wine for only 11 Euros. Really not bad, and just what we needed to wrap up our weekend getaway in Paris.

Overall, I have to say Paris has been my favorite city thus far. It really does just have its own feel, that we have not experienced anywhere else. It is so romantic and I would love to come back with my husband sometime and get to experience it all again. Great weekend, even with our horrid overnight bus home. Can't wait to get back! :)

School Bells!

Wow, actually back to school after almost two weeks of exploring the world. Normally I am always excited to head back to school, but not quite so much this year. Unlike college back at home where you have your schedule set months in advance, Germans don't actually finalize a schedule until 2 weeks into the year. The first two weeks students are allowed to "test out" classes they might be interested in. You are not really on an official roster or class list until the "testing" period is over. I was originally kinda ticked about this; however, I am actually so thankful the system works this way. I ended up going to twice as many classes Weeks 1&2 just to test out Professors and hear some more German. One class I originally planned to take I hated because it was so boring, so I never put it on my "offical schedule" and instead I added two new classes.

I was also not super excited for school, because the reality that I would actually be in a college classroom with real German students at a real life pace (instead of foreign language class) kicked in. Not to mention, I would be trying to understand the history of business and phonetiks, etc from real German Professors who were not going to hold my hand through the language. Thankfully, it has all worked out. My classes are challenging, but not overwhelming and my professors are relatively easy to understand. I wouldn't say I understand every aspect of their lectures, but enough to get by and write the papers.

The down side to classes, is that we have gotten to know as many German students as we would have liked to. We get the opprounity to talk to more Germans; however, they are not overwhelmingly friendly. Bummer...thankfully, I have Julia and a few other girls in my classes who I have met and see on a regular basis so that I can practice my German.

For those of you who claim you can't believe I actually go to class, here is my schedule.

Monday : Theorie und Praxis der Phonetik und Intonation (The Theory and Practice of Phonetics and Intonation) ----11:15-12:45

Tuesday: Das System der deutschen Wirtschaft nach 1945 (The System of German Business/Economy after 1945) --- 14:15-15:45

Wednesday: Practicum at Hölderlin Gymnasium --- 9:20 to 11:40. Then Gesellschaft und Literatur um die Jahrhundertwende 1871-1914 (Society and Literature around the turn of the century from 1871 to 1914) -- 13:15 to 15:30

Thursday: Übungen zum Lesen, Verstehen und Schreiben (Exercises in Reading, Understand and Writing) -- 17:00 - 19:30

Friday: Practicum at Hölderlin Gymnasium -- 7:40 - 11:40

Although, I am not in class for as many hours as I would normally be in the US, the amount of work expected outside of class is generally higher. Universität Heidelberg is a large school, so unlike NCC, we don't have much homework on a weekly basis, but anything the Professor says in class you are supposed to have memorized the following week. My Monday and Tuesday classes do not require much work out of class yet; however, my Wednesday and Thursday classes do. My biggest workload doesn't really come from classes, but rather my practicum. I have a minimum of 6 lessons to prepare a week and am given the material anywhere from 1 to 4 days in advance. It is rough, but more like the life of a teacher so that I like.

Overall, I am loving the free time I get and I don't know how I am going to go back to my crazy schedule back at NCC! I have quite a bit a work to do during the days, but also more freetime then I have had in my last 2 years of college combined! :)

Study Abroad Tips: How to Sleep in an Airport...

It was around midnight when we arrived at London Stansted. We were exshausted after our week of travels and just wanted to get a few hours of sleep in before our plane back to Germany. We looked on sleepinginairports.net (yes, it really exists) and it warned us that this airport was the worst in the world to sleep, but we figured it couldn't be that bad. Little did we know...

Hannah, Cait and I wandered the airport for a bit until we found open spot (the rest of the walls were covered with other sleepers). We then bundled up with every last layer we had in our bags hoping that would keep us warm and comfy. We had our scarfs wrapped around our heads like Mother Mary and at least three pairs of socks on a piece. With our backpacks as pillows and our coats as blankets we tried to snuggle together and fall asleep. FAT CHANCE. The ground was FREEZING! We were inside, but it didn't feel that way. After a few hours of trembling, we all got up and walked around hoping that would help. Nope...still cold. Then Momma Nel had a great idea...lets do what the homeless do...USE NEWSPAPERS. Other people in the terminal were sleeping on them, so we figured it must work. We grabbed all the free newspapers available and laid down our fort. It actually WORKED! It was spectacular.

We snuggled up (still in all of our clothes) and actually got a full hour of sleep! Sadly, we were then woken up by staff telling us we could go through security. We did just that, and then found some benches to sleep on for the last remaining hours while we waited for Lauren, Becca and Matt. We fell asleep alone, and woke up with the airport packed! It was kinda a scary feeling. Thankfully, we had all of our stuff together and made it on the plane safely...but it was not an easy night.

Enjoy...

Sleeping in Airport Tips:

1) Get newspapers! As many as possible. The thicker the layer the better.
2) Keep your passport, ticket and 20 Euro/Pounds/Dollars in your bra or pants...just in case.
3) Sleep on your bag and lock it if possible.
4) Make sure you are not alone.
5) Bring an eye patch if possible, works wonders.
6) Don't sleep with your ipod in...if something happens, you need to be able to hear.
7) Bring a Parka...

Winning London!

Before our adventures could begin, we first needed to get from Scotland to England. The cheapest way was by overnight bus so without question, we booked it. Because it was the cheapest I still don't regret the decision, but I'm not sure if my friends would agree. This was QUITE the trip. We were able to sleep for the first hour, but then the bus got PACKED! It was originally freezing on the bus, and then with all the people it got super warm. Then they put the air on, and it once again got freezing. We were convinced that most of the bus had the plague because they were hacking up their lungs left and right. Our bus driver also almost had us killed a few times as well. I'm not sure if he was new on the job or what, but we had to do quite a bit of reversing and reattempting turns through out the night. We arrived an hour late, but HEY! we were in London..I couldn't really complain. Overall, it was not fun. I had been on a 17 hour bus ride to New Orleans, so for me...this bus was not the worst, but it was def not enjoyable.

Now to the good stuff...

#43 - Wednesday, October 4th: We were in LONDON! After the bus, all we really wanted was a shower and a new change of clothes. Instead of sightseeing first, we headed straight over the places we were staying to relax a bit...afterall, it was only 7 in the morning...so we couldn't do much anyway. Cait and I stayed with her Elon friends in this adorable little posh neighborhood, and the other girls split up amongst their friends studying abroad in England too. Caits friends were great! They were all so nice and I am so happy we got to stay with them. Not only were they fun, but it was FREE!

After we got cleaned up, Darien, one of Caitlins friends, showed us around. He is like a walking history book, so we got a FULL tour of the city. He explained the different roles of royalty and all aspects that were related to them, as well as what specific details went along with each buliding we saw. We took the Tube all over and managed to cover the main 'downtown' of the city in only a few hours. We started in Hyde Park and walked along The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Walk and then turned down by Buckingham Palace and took the Mall all the way down to around Big Ben.

Buckingham Palace. The Queen was not in, but we did see Prince Charles arriving!

The Horse's Guards Parade Square. This is where the Queen celebrates her birthday!

After a quick bite to eat, we headed over to the Tower of London to see the Royal Jewels. Although it was one of the more expensive tours, it was SO worth it. The Tower of London has so much history and unless you pay for the full tour, you really miss out. Our tour guide, dressed in Beefeater attire, showed us around the estate and was the best guide we had had thus far. He cracked the typical American jokes with us and you could tell he really enjoyed his job.

Inside we saw all of the old armour, the royal jewels, and the touture chambers and then headed over to the Tower Bridge for a few pictures as well. The jewels were amazing and we all wished we could be Kate after we saw them.

That night we took it easy and got the sleep we had been lacking.

Thursday, October 5th: Off to see the changing of the guards. We made it there bright'n early to make sure we had good seats. We were right up against the fence and got to see the whole ceremony up close. It was a little long, but very cool to see. Thankfully, Darien was there with us again to inform us all about what the guards were doing and why.

After our tour, we were hungry. Rumor had it that here was a Chipotle in London...therefore, I was on a mission. We figured we would have fish and chips for dinner so Chipotle was a must for lunch. After a few wrong turns we made and I was like a little kid in a candy store! The burritos were normally made with brown rice instead of white rice and a few different ingredients, but we mentioned we were Americans and they said they would make it to "our" standard. It was amazing :) Craving cured!

Next stop..Platform 9 & 3/4. When in London, you have to do the Harry Potter thing...plus I knew Morgan would be mad if I didn't go. We were disappointed to learn that the platform was not really in Kings Cross Station, but actually outside. Kinda disappointing, but still cool. I tried realll hard to get to Hogwarts....but it didn't happen....

 

Next up, Camden Market. This side of town is not always on the normal tour hit lists, because it is a little out of the ordinary, but I loved it. Its a mix of Indian men trying to bargain with you for cheap tourist gifts, gothic clothing and accessory stores, as well quite a few interesting ethnic little shops. It is a very well known area for cheap shopping, but also druggies and pick pocketers. Needless to say, we were careful, but I am glad we went. It was an experience and it reminded me of Wicker Park, but with a darker edge. Any reminder of Chicago is a welcome one :)

After Camden Market, we headed to Westminister Abbey! We hoped to get inside; however, it was like 15 Euros and it was closed for the rest of the day to the public. Then we learned one of our favorite study abroad tips....if you can't pay to go see the church, go to mass instead! It is free, you get optimal time to sit and enjoy the architecture while getting some quality time in with the man upstairs. Brilliant! We sat in on the traditional Evening Song at Westminister Abbey and couldn't be happier afterward. It was beautiful! Not to mention we got to daydream about Will and Kate...it made the life of royality so much more realistic. :)

That night we went out with all of the Elon kids and experience the nightlife in London. So much fun, and for once we didn't have to buy all our own drinks! Winning!

Friday, October 6: On our last day in England we made sure to finish up our sight seeing, but also take a break from the hustle to just enjoy the world around us. We went for a stroll through the very posh area of Notting Hill, and then through the very famous Portabello Market. I have to say this was one of my favorite parts of the day. The markets in England are just so interesting and there is so much to see. The markets helped us see the more normal side of England and the true aspects of culture outside of the big and bold tourist attractions. These markets are directed at tourists, but if you really take the time to observe what goes on at the markets, one can see a little bit more of the natural British culture. 

Cait and I then decided that we could not leave London without seeing the Peter Pan Statue. We believed the statue was a very well known part of the city, but it actually is not as popular in London as we imagined. We had to do quite a bit of asking around until we found which park it was in. Mary Kate and Ashley gave us a misconstruced view of London...how is that possible? ;) We spent the afternoon strolling through the park until we eventually found Peter. He was not nearly as exciting as our journey to find him was. He was not placed in the most elegant of places and this park was not like Hyde Park. It was a little more natural. We learned as well, that parks are one of the best attractions to see in London. They are beautiful and just so elegant. A must see in London if you ask me.

After Peter, we were off to Harrods. Wow, talk about clothes...expensive clothes. We wandered through all the floors and after about 2 hours I had to basically pull Caitlin out of the store. Harrods is so fascinating and the whole point of the store is to get lost. We were in fashion heaven...but also fashion hell. So many beautiful dresses and clothes we which we could buy, but being study abroad college students, that was NOT  happening. We did however grab a  few sweets from the amazing bakery downstairs. You have to buy something in Harrods when in London.

Our last stop of the day was Piccadilly Circus. This is the new up and coming part of town , really well known for the Fine Arts. It reminded me alot of Chicago, which is perhaps why I loved it. Both Cait and I love people watching so I enjoyed my chocolate covered-red sprinkle-covered-raspberry filled donut and she enjoyed her brownie (I think?) on a bench while we took it all in. We were actually in LONDON, and in only a few short hours we would have to leave the fantasy world we were living and head back to Germany to actually start classes. 

We grabbed some dinner and than headed back to the apartment to gather our things. Becca and Lauren went out that night, but Cait, Hannah and myself were more concerned about getting home safely and cheaply so we took a late night bus to London Stansted airport. That evening is a blog instelf, so I guess I will end here. 

Overall, London was amazing! I got to meet all of Cait and Hannahs Elon friends, as well as experience one of the cities I have always dreamed of visiting. We survived a week of backpacking through the UK on our own and the feeling of independence was overwhelming as we headed off to the airport and discussed all we did during that week. Unbelievable. Simply Unbelieveable.

When in Scotland...

#38 Sunday, October 2: Fall break officially began when we arrived safely in Edinburgh and had the opprounity to explore. One of Caits friends from home, Katie, studies in Scotland, so she met us in Edinburgh and showed us around. We were starving so we decided to stop for food at "The Elephant House". This little cafe was where J.K Rowling wrote the first three Harry Potter Books. It is very much a touristy spot in town, but the food is pretty cheap so we were game. We enjoyed lunch and then where able to see "her spot" in the cafe, as well as her view of the Edinburgh castle from that "spot". Her vision of Hogwarts was very clearly modeled after the Edinburgh castle and we all felt like we understood the story a little bit better after seeing it. All of Edinburgh has a burnt look on the exterior of the bulidings. It is a very different architecture then what we have seen in Germany, and it kinda made the story come alive for us...as dorky as that sounds.

This picture does not do it justice, but the jagged rocks and little windows defintely made it look like Hogwarts.

After lunch, we decided to walk up the Royal Mile to the Castle. Although the Castle was under construction, it was still cool to see.  On the way down, we stopped in all the cashmere and wool giftshops looking for the cheapest price for plaid scarfs. When in Scotland, ya gotta get some plaid. Finally a success! We continued all the way down the Royal Mile until we came across quite the interesting street performer. He was an American, dressed in all Orange, who DEMANDED the attention of those passing by. We watched him for a good hour because we were too scared to have him embarress us if we tried to leave. He was pretty funny, but he started making Nazi jokes, and that killed it for us. Finally we were able to sneak off, and tour the rest of town. Around 5 we all split up. The girls were headed off to St.Andrews to visit friends, and I had to catch a bus to Glascow to visit Michelle.

Although my ipod died, the ride was really enjoyable. I loved seeing all the countryside of Scotland. There were tons of sheep (now, I get why they are known for wool), cows, horses, and beautifully green rolling hills. Michelle met me at the bus station and I think I scared her when I came running full sprint to hug her. ha It was so excited to see her! It was like being back at NCC. We walked back to her dorm, and swapped stories about Germany and Scotland for hours. We had a lot to catch up on. We then made Stirfry with Alina, and headed off to bed.

Monday, October 3: Time to explore Glascow! Michelle, Alina and I headed into town to see their University, but first we stopped for breakfast. #39 PORRIDGE with bananas and honey, toast and a Mocha, great way to start the day! It felt good to have some healthy hearty food on that cool fall day. Once we got on campus, I fell in the love with the city of Glascow. I'm not sure if it because I so happy to hang out with Michelle, or because it finally felt like Fall for the first time...but I loved it. There were tons of students around, and for the first time since I have been at home, it felt like I was on a college campus. The main buliding looks more like Hogwarts than the Edinburgh castle and it we had fun exploring all the little passageways, and walking paths. The leaves were starting to change colors and were crunching underneath our toes....I was in heaven! Michelle and Alina headed off to class so I took up exploring on my own. I walked through their HUGE campus park for about in hour, and also toured the Kelvingrove Art Museum.

Then Mother Scotland decided to hold true to character and it started to rain. Michelle said typically it rains everyday in Scotland, but it was normally just a mist. Of course with my luck, today was not a "normal" day and it poured. After a few misfunctions with the umbrella, I decided just to dodge into one of the cute coffee shops for some shelter.

I have been drinking alot more coffee on this trip, and I am not happy with it. I really like coffee now, but I don't want to get addicted. Therefore, instead of coffee I decided to be like the real Scots and try IrnBru.

#40: IrnBru was probably the most interesting Pop I have ever had. The minute you open the cap, an overwhelmingly bubblegum scent fills the air. Although it is orange, IrnBru smells and tastes just like Bubblegum. It is the weirdest thing, but actually pretty good. It was a  little too sweet for me, and I am not the biggest fan of carbonation, but it was def worth trying.

Around 5 Michelle and Alina got out of class, so we headed back to the dorms to get ready for our night ahead. They wanted to make sure I got the full Scottish experience, so we went to a cool little pub for #41: Fish and Chips, Hard Cider and to try out some #42: Haggis. Here is a picture of our lovely Haggis BonBons. They were actually pretty decent. They tasted like stuffing. I probably wouldn't order them again, but I am glad I got to give them a try.

After dinner, we headed out to a bar called "Campus". The Universitys in Scotland sponsor tons of clubs for students, and the girls got a bunch of coupons to this bar so we decided to check it out. We got in for free, and had a bunch of coupons on these random drink specials. Worked great for our college student, study abroad budgets. We danced the night away and ruled the dance floor. I am really not just saying that, the DJ loved us and we won all the little dancing competitions they had. So much fun! We danced like fools..it felt just like being back home at the PV house :)

Tuesday, October 4: The next morning we headed into the City Centre for a bit, and then had to say our goodbyes so I could get back to Edinburgh to meet up with the girls. I was sad to leave, but I HAD a blast in Glascow and could totally see myself studying abroad there.

The girls arrived in Glascow about an hour before me and went to go tour the inside of the castle. I decided I wanted to do a little bit more, off-the-beaten track exploring, so I ventured out alone. I just started wandering in hopes of finding the castle, but instead came across a huge hill with lots of Monuments. I decided that would be a good place to explore, and if it was tall enough, I might be able to find the direction of the castle and go from there. It was a little hike, but so worth it. I was able to see the entire city as well as out over the water. BEAUTIFUL!

After the monuments, I headed out across town and back up the Royal Mile to the castle. From there I decided to check out all of the little "closes" in Edinburgh. Closes are like little alleyways all over the city, that lead either to other roads, or private homes. They are very well known in Edinburgh and so much fun to explore. I also found some very creepy cemetaries in these groves and they got me all excited for Halloween. After 3 hours of wandering the town, I decided to meet up with the girls again. We had some time to kill, so once the rain died down we wandered a little more together and then stopped for food before our 9 hour bus ride.

Overall, Scotland was beautiful! So green and just such a different enviornment from Germany. We loved it, but we were also really excited to head off to London!!! If only not for the bus ride....