Bonsoir! (part deux)

My first full day in Paris was exceptionally packed with things to do. Rachel and I first met Lisa and her friends for lunch at a French cafe close to Notre Dame. The French really love their bread... and so do I. So much baguette, crepe, and croissant. Mmmm. I also decided that breakfast is by far my favorite meal. (You seriously just CANNOT go wrong with chocolate-almond croissants.)

After lunch, Rachel and I parted from the girls for the rest of the afternoon and our first stop was the Gallerie Lafayette, a HUGE (seriously, it's GINORMOUS) department store. It's multiple levels, maybe six or seven, and takes up three blocks. I thought I could handle it, but after two floors and only one block, I was completely overwhelmed. The first floor had little boutique rooms for all the designers, and to go in them, you have to be let through the rope by a security guard. Crazy!

Rachel continued to give me her personal tour of Paris at the Opera House. We couldn't go inside, because it was too much moolah and apparently it would have made more sense to just go see an opera, but from the outside it's totally gorgeous. I would love, love, LOVE to go see an opera... especially after this trip, because I've talked to so many people who have actually gone, and they have all loved it. And I think it would be so cool for it to be in a different language, in a different country.

Dinner on Saturday night was definitely an experience. All six of us girls went to this place called the Refuge of Fondue (except that it was in French of course) and it was amazing. The restaurant is this tiny rectangle, only big enough for two long tables that seat probably about 10 people on each side. But the tricky thing is that if you are sitting against the wall on the booth side, you have to CLIMB OVER the table to get there. I was definitely one of the climbers. First, we started out with a Sherry cocktail, followed by a plate of appetizers. Then they brought out these two fondue pots of melted wine cheese, and you just dipped bread in them. And the craziest thing about this restaurant is that they serve you wine... in baby bottles! I'm not even joking. It's totally random, but that is what made dinner so much fun. The restaurant was actually located in the red light district of Paris, so afterwards we strolled the main street to see the famous Moulin Rouge. But it doesn't really look like the Moulin Rouge in the movie.

We finished off the night by taking a couple bottles of wine to the Eiffel Tower, which is always packed with people at night. It's so much fun, and so pretty. Especially when the tower sparkles every hour.

Sunday I actually got to sleep in for the first time this entire trip. It felt so good! That afternoon Rachel and I went to the Musee D'Orsay, which is one of the coolest art museums that I have been to. It has all the impressionist stuff, from Monet, Manet, VanGogh, Degas, etc. Everything is so pretty, so I enjoy looking at it all. The building itself is actually an old train station, and it is set up beautifully.

Sunday also happened to be the day that the Tour de France ended in Paris. From the museum we saw a stream of bikers whiz by, and after we attempted to go see the finish, but basically just got eaten by the crowd. There was an unbelievable amount of people, and trying to walk down the street definitely reminded me of Halloween on State Street at midnight. I thought I was going to die. Seriously.

That night, we had a traditional french dinner (crepes!) with Rachel's boyfriend and her friend Sara from school. The food was SO good. My dinner crepe had cauliflower and cheese in it. Yum. I am also a huge fan of the nutella + banana crepe. I'm thinking I need to buy a crepe pan. After we went to this little lounge bar called Charlie Birdys and ordered a peach beer. Extremely delicious, and it basically tasted like juice.

My last morning in Paris we spent climbing the Eiffel Tower. You can't even climb the whole thing... once you get to the second level you have to take an elevator to the top. But even so, we climbed over 700 steps! I think my legs are hating me right now. I should probably drain them of all the lactic acid build up, but I am sure that my hostelmates would look at me funny.

As it turns out, I am in Barcelona right now for my second night, but there is always a line for the computers and I am already over the time limit. Oops. Barcelona parte uno will just have to wait!

Bonsoir!

After two very busy weeks, a long, relaxing day in Nice was the perfect way to end this part of the trip. Line and I woke up super early yesterday to get to the beach for some prime sun time. We literally laid out ALL day. The weather was perfect. The water is gorgeous... so blue, and there was not one cloud in the sky.

Our hostel wasn't as busy as some of the others we have stayed at in the past. There was a "chill out" room (a.k.a. the bar) but sadly it was being renovated. Lucky for us, we had two very nice roommates from Holland on summer holiday in Nice. They had friends who played in a band, who were actually playing at a bar by the beach. They invited me and Line to go to the show, so we met them there later that night. The band was actually a cover band, but it was really fun because we knew some of the music. The girls were so nice, and so were their friends. We were able to chat with them for awhile in between sets, and it was such a great last night in Nice and with Line.

The original plan was to go to the bar for a little bit, and be back by 1am because Line had to catch a 6am train. But OF COURSE we didn't get home until 3am, running to make it back to our hostel before curfew. (seriously... curfew?!) And then surprise, surprise, neither Line nor I woke up on time, and it wasn't until 8:30 that I had woken up and realized that Line had missed her train. We booked it to the train station to hopefully get her a ticket on the 9:30 train to Paris with me, but for some reason most train station employees in France seem fairly incompetent when it comes to finding a route for Line to make it back home. After lots of stressing and too many euros later, Line was finally able to make it on the same train as me.

We arrived into Paris around 3 this afternoon to be greeted by Rachel at the train station. She took us back to her apartment where we were able to hang out and basically raid her fridge and eat an entire baguette that was sitting on her counter. Then we were off to meet Lisa and some of her friends downtown!

Shortly after, we had to find Line a taxi so she could catch her connecting train to Hamburg. Talk about an emotional day. I am so happy to be in Paris with Rachel and Lisa, but it was so sad saying goodbye to Line today. This past month has been indescribable. Totally crazy, yet so much fun. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I know that after this summer we can't let another two years go by before seeing each other again. I seriously can't wait to come back to Europe.

Once the tears were dried and the mascara was smudged all over my face, Rachel and I went to the Louvre museum. On Friday nights students get in free! (sigh... such a relief) It's such a cool museum. We saw all the famous artwork, and then on the way out of the museum it leads you through the old Louvre. Kind of creepy actually... very low lighting, and old cracking bricks. But once you make it out of that, you get to exit the museum through this huge glass pyramid. Pretty neat.

Following the Louvre, we went to see the Eiffel Tower, which is beautiful to see at night. Every hour on the hour it lights up with sparkling lights. We're saving the climbing for tomorrow. We got crepes with nutella, but Lisa trying to order in french, actually ordered hot chocolate. Oops.

I am actually pretty surprised by how much French I know. OK, it's not actually that much. But compared to German, Italian, and Danish, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. I'm less embarrassed now trying to speak different languages to native speakers, and now I just want to be fluent in the languages of every country that I've visited so far.

Tonight, Rachel, Lisa, and I spent hanging out at Rachel's catching up on each other's summers. It is so nice to be in Paris with my friends from home, and I am looking forward to enjoying the rest of my weekend here!

Florence is the saving grace of Italy

I love Florence. Florence was my favorite city in Italy by far, and we encountered no thieving ATMs or large bridges with only steps. PLUS, we got to meet up with Joel again!

Line and I woke up super early yesterday morning to go wait in line at the Uffizi museum. We made it to the museum by 8:05, but still had to wait TWO HOURS to get in. When we got there, the museum hadn't even opened yet, but the line was unbelievably long. But the two hours was definitely worth it. The Uffizi itself is amazing, and reading about some of the artwork it is crazy to think that some was actually put in the museum over 300 years ago and is still hanging there today.

After the Uffizi we met Joel for lunch at the Piazza Republicana (sp?) where we ate at this little cafe. Lunch was so much fun... Joel was actually in Rome the same weekend as us, so it was great to share stories and catch up even though it has only been a week since we last saw him in Bonn. And seriously, SO MUCH has happened since then, and it was really nice to see someone from home.

After lunch, Line and I made our way to Ponte Vecchio, which is this really cool, old-looking bridge. On the bridge are all these really fancy/expensive jewelry shops, but the coolest part of Ponte Vecchio is the bridge itself. If you look at it from the side (as if you were standing in the river and staring straight at it) there are these houses built on the side of the bridge. Well, they aren't actually houses, but they look like houses, and they look pretty cool.

Then Line and I trekked to the opposite side of the river to Piazzale Michelangelo, which is up on a hill, and overlooks the entire city of Florence. The view was so beautiful, and totally worth the walk. You can see all of downtown, and then also the hills (or maybe they're mountains? yea, I'm not actually sure...) of the rest of Tuscany.

Unfortunately, we were not able to make it to see the statue of David... all the reservations had been sold out for Tuesday before we even got to Florence. But I am already planning to go back and also visit some of the surrounding parts of Italy.

Tuesday night we met up with Joel again and some of his friends from his program at this semi-sketchy bar called the Fishpub. Apparently the nightlife in Florence doesn't quite compare to nightlife anywhere else (anywhere else being Germany, Interlaken, Madison...) but we went out nonetheless and of course, had a great time! Joel is already planning on Line visiting Madison next summer, even if he has to make her his sponsor child so she can get a plane ticket.

Today we arrived in Nice, after an actually quite pleasant train ride. Our first train to Genova was empty, so Line and I had an entire room/cube thingy to ourselves. The second train wasn't so bad either, especially since the ride lined the Mediterranean the entire way. Immediately after we checked into our hostel, we headed straight for the beach to get the last few hours of good sun.

Also, I am not really sure if I am following the budget that I had originally planned, food-wise. Sometimes I think we aren't eating out that much, but then again, there really hasn't been one time where we made our own food on this trip. So in an attempt to save money, Line and I went grocery shopping and only spent 24 euro for two and a half days! We walked back to the hostel and went to the kitchen, only to find out that it had CLOSED for the night. Seriously, who closes a kitchen at 8pm? In southern France? Thank God for Subway... good meal always guaranteed.

Tomorrow we will be beaching ALL DAY, which will be SO nice to be able to relax after these past two, hectic weeks. One thing about Nice however that no one informed us about, is that although the beach is beautiful, it is made up entirely of ROCKS. Really BIG rocks! Laying out definitely takes some getting used to, but the tan is definitely worth it.

That's the way the cookie crumbles

And so it seems that is the theme to our time in Italy so far. I really hope that throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain works, because today we spent only attempting to sightsee, and not actually doing it.

Yesterday actually was really a great day in Rome. As we found out the hard way, everything in Rome is closed on Sunday... so we went to all the free attractions. We started out on the Spanish Steps, and at the bottom the streets are all lined with designer stores. When we were there I was trying to remember all the history that Ashley told me after her trip to Rome, and what I remember about the Spanish steps is that the building at the top, is actually not in the center. But, the way that the steps were designed, the building is made to look like it is in the center. Pretty cool. Another little fact I learned was that in Rome you can drink out of any of the fountains. So in an attempt to refill my water bottle, I actually almost slipped and fell in a fountain in front of the Spanish Steps. Oops.

We made our way to the Trevi Fountain after that, and I had NO idea that it was so big! I thought it was going to be a fountain in the middle of some square, but it is actually is this huge structure on the side of a building with all these big statues standing on it.

After the Trevi Fountain was the Pantheon. But first we had to make one of our two daily gelato stops. I of course had to order the biggest one with three scoops, which actually was more like six scoops. And with it being SO hot yesterday, it was melting so fast that I looked like a 5-year-old with dripping ice cream ALL OVER my hands. Seriously, it was everywhere, even on my legs. I ended up not being able to finish it (sadly) and had to throw most of it away. But the Pantheon on the other hand (the clean, non-drippy ice cream one) was really cool to see. I think that it is so amazing that so long ago people were able to build such a thing.

Then we walked all through the Roman Forum, which I think was one of the most impressive sights in Rome (although a lot of it IS in shambles...). Everything is so old and historic... it is just really neat to see that is how ancient Rome actually was.

I really wanted to see the mouth of truth, because I remember it from the movie Roman Holiday. The story behind it is, you put your hand in its mouth, and if it gets bitten off, then you are a liar. We finally found it, but it cost money to put your hand in the mouth, and as we had NO cash whatsoever, I guess we will never know if I am a liar or not.

Our last stop of the day was the Colosseum. We didn't actually go inside, since it cost 11 euro, but seeing it from the outside was actually pretty amazing.

And then today, we finally figured out the whole money situation. Line went to the bank and was able to get her card back. I was able to get some cash from a Western Union that was actually open. But we were kind of in a time crunch since we had to be in Florence by 5:30 to get to the AmEx office. The plan was to go to the Vatican, but only go to see the Sistine Chapel, and then go see St. Peter's Basilica and then catch our train at 2:30. Well, no one told us that the line to get into the Vatican would take THREE HOURS + to get through, so after waiting for two hours, we had to abandon the sight and go back so we wouldn't miss our train. It was sooooo disappointing. The whole time we kept doing the "what if" stuff... what if the ATM didn't steal our cards, what if we didn't try to go to Vodafone only to find out that it was closed on Monday at 10:30am and wouldn't open until 3pm, what if, what if, what if. Line and I threw pretty much the only change we had into the Trevi Fountain yesterday, so hopefully...

Luckily we made it to Florence on time, and so far from the only half day that I have been here, I really, really like the city. Our hostel is in a perfect location, and I am excited tomorrow to go see the museums and the rest of the city. Today I have actually been in Europe for 4 weeks, and the time has gone by so fast! We have run into so many problems and mishaps (especially in Italy) that it is actually pretty funny. But seriously, despite all the craziness/stressfulness, I am sad that I only have a week and a half left!

There are no words to describe what I am about to post...

The last three days Line and I have spent in Italy, and they have been by far the most stressful three days of my Eurotrip.

Well, to start. Thursday, Line and I woke up at 6:55am at our hostel in Interlaken, to realize that our train to Venice left the station in exactly half an hour. I seriously have never packed so fast in my entire life... but we were out of there in five minutes, and surprisingly made it to the train station with 10 minutes to spare!

We had a connecting train in Milan, and the train from Milan to Venice was AWFUL. First of all, we almost missed it. Trains in Europe are usually exactly on time, except ours apparently was 11 minutes late, and arrived one minute after our next train was supposed to leave. Line and I got off of the train as fast as we could and literally ran (except it was soooo hard for me... I am SO incredibly sore from canyoning) and luckily we were able to catch our train. HOWEVER, this train was SO crowded and SO hot. There were no seats available for the first hour, so we had to stand in the holding area with a ton of suitcases and sweaty people. And these suitcases weren't normal suitcases either. There were at least six suitcases... and all of them made mine look like a carry-on. I could have seriously fit myself into one of those suitcases. And every once in a while the food cart guy would try to get through, and of course there was no possible way. So he would just ring his bell and shout at everyone, and look at me like those huge suitcases were mine. FINALLY we were able to sit down, but we had to sit in these weird pull-out seats in the aisle and were constantly standing up for people and the food cart guy to get through.

A very long 3 hours later, we made it to Venice. The hostel we were staying at was actually located on the mainland, so we had to take a bus from Piazzale Roma to get there, which actually was just across the canal from the train station. BUT, there are three bridges to get to Piazzale Roma. And the bridges are all stairs. And it was on the third bridge that in the unbearable heat and with my weak arms that I decided that I was going to abandon my suitcase, and finally buy a backpacker's backpack.

And I actually did. We spent the entire next day looking for one, and could not find one anywhere. Venice is actually a small city, but a total maze, which makes it super hard to get around. I kept asking people in different stores and tourist offices where I could go, and either they directed me to a store that sold cheap, fake luggage, or tried to sell me a preschooler's size backpack. I was getting so frustrated, that I actually started to not enjoy being in Venice, which was so sad because it was one of the cities that I was looking forward to the most. And Venice is actually really beautiful. It is unlike any city I have ever visited... and they have some of the prettiest glass jewelry ever (yea, I couldn't resist buying some. Shopping always makes me feel better. And, to justify myself, Line bought FOUR pairs of earrings that were virtually the same). I just felt completely lost because I can't speak Italian, I had no idea where anything was, and I just kept thinking how much easier this would be if I were back at home.

It wasn't until the walk back to the bus where my prayers in the Basilica di San Marco were answered. I literally almost walked right past the store... but there in the window were the most beautiful backpacks I have ever seen. I walked right in, tried a couple on, and bought one. And I actually fit everything in it... I didn't even have to throw anything away! I was going to try to sell my suitcase on the streets of Venice hoping to make some extra Euros, but I actually just left it at the hostel. I took out the tags though, so no one will know that it was mine.

So in the end I really did enjoy Venice. We had dinner on Per Rialto, and I ate some of the best pesto pasta ever. And I definitely want to go back. We only took a water bus, so now I need to try a gondola.

Today we arrived in Rome, fairly early too, and were planning on doing a little sightseeing this evening. However, as our luck would have it, when Line and I went to take cash out of the ATM, BOTH of our cards were taken by the ATM terminal. Goodbye American Express. We walked back to the hostel and only had enough cash to pay for one night here. Over the entire trip, we have encountered our fair share of mishaps, and actually they have all been pretty funny. But this time, unfortunately not so much. After lots of phone time with Dave and AmEx, we figured everything out, and hopefully tomorrow sightseeing will make everything better.

Although Italy has been a rough start, I really am excited to see Rome and then in two days we will be in FLORENCE! I am so excited to go, and also to see Joel again!

Canyoning

I hate to say it, but I am not really surprised that we missed our train to Switzerland. We were supposed to take the 7am train so we could spend most of the day in Interlaken, but I definitely didn't wake up until 8. Consequently, we didn't make it to Interlaken until 8pm after a supremely long day of traveling.

After our connecting train in Luzern, the ride to Interlaken was absolutely amazing. We rode through the Swiss Alps, and everything is gorgeous... from the houses to the lakes. Interlaken is actually a fairly small city, at the foot of the Alps, and in between two lakes. I am seriously in love with Switzerland. We walked out of the train station and the scenery is breathtaking. As we walked to our hostel, everything was so quiet and peaceful. It was only 8pm and NO one was even out. Apparently here there are designated "quiet hours" which start at 10pm.

The hostel we are staying at however, is completely the opposite! It is HUGE. Our room alone sleeps 32 people. (yes... THIRTY-TWO!) But, it is amazing. We are meeting so many awesome people, and everyone is so nice and super chatty which is great. I love meeting all these new people from all over the world and I find it so interesting to hear all about their travels. Everyone swaps stories so we are getting great tips on what to do in the cities to come. Something that is very common with everyone I meet however, is that whenever I say I am from Wisconsin, they immediately go "Wis-caaahhn-sin" and I KNOW that I don't say it like that!!

Also, at our hostel particularly, everyone talks and shares stories about their awesome day. Interlaken is supposedly the extreme sport capitol here in Europe, and that is no exaggeration. You can do ANYTHING here. Skydiving, bungee jumping, canyoning, hiking, biking, paragliding, hanggliding, rafting, etc. SO, after being inspired by everyone's amazing stories, we were really excited for our first full day in Switzerland.

This morning Line and I actually woke up early for once to go canyoning. I had never heard of canyoning before until I got to the hostel, but it is crazy. Canyoning is basically extreme hiking through the canyons of the Alps. Everyone is wearing really thick wetsuits, with harnesses and helmets. First, we had to rappel down these really steep rocks to even get into the canyon, which was actually pretty scary! Once we were in the canyon, we had to weave our way through rocky rapids, jump off cliffs, slide down rocks, and it was pretty intense. For all the jumps we had to follow specific instructions on where to put our arms and legs, and which way to jump towards the water, and sometimes I thought I was going to hit the rocks! I was actually the first to go on the highest jump... talk about anxiety! But seriously, it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. By the end of the excursion, I was doing somersaults off the jumps, believe it or not. I loved every minute of it, and the canyoning experience was completely exhilarating!

This afternoon Line and I rented vespas with a couple people from our hostel to ride around to the cities close to Interlaken. Riding along the winding roads with the amazing view was awesome! We actually rode to one of the biggest waterfalls in Interlaken, and then we were even able to climb up underneath it. I seriously cannot get over how beautiful everything is here. Everytime I look outside I am so amazed by what I am looking at. Luckily, the past week of our trip we have had great weather (sometimes, even too hot... i.e. train ride to Munich) except that unfortunately for us, we got caught in a downpour on the way back to the hostel. We were completely soaked by the time we got back, and it even kind of hurt to ride in the rain. But I am so in love with everything here, that I cannot wait to come back. And when I come back, I can guarantee that I WILL go skydiving. Not even kidding, if we had one more day in Interlaken, tomorrow would be the day to go. There is something in the air in Switzerland, where everyone's adventurous personality shines, and I love it.

Bonn there, done that!

After a quick train ride from Cologne, Line and I arrived to Bonn on Friday to visit Shar and see Joel! Shar is staying at the university in Bonn, so the three of us packed into her dorm room for the weekend. It is actually a very nice dorm... Shar has her own room that is fairly big and she even has her own bathroom and a mini kitchen.

Our first stop in Bonn was lunch at a traditional German restaurant. Shar has been taking German classes since she has been here in Germany, so she was able to order for us. I ordered something called Devil's Pan... it was basically meatballs in a spicy paprika sauce with potatoes and this amazing salad. And it was SO good!

After lunch Shar had to go to her culture class so Line, Joel, and I went to visit the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are actually located at the university behind this HUGE and beautiful castle called Poppelsdorf Palace. The gardens were absolutely gorgeous, and had over 50,000 different species of plants and flowers. In one of the greenhouses there actually was the biggest flower in the world. I can't remember the name of it now, but it blooms every twenty years and has the biggest bloom of any flower. And I actually didn't know this, but apparently one of these flowers actually is in Birge Hall at Madison.

Later in the afternoon, the four of us and a bunch of other people from Shar's summer program went to the Haribo factory store/museum. I was kind of expecting something similar to the chocolate museum, but it was really just a big store with every single type of gummy candy that exists. Needless to say, I bought a lot of candy, and I hope that I don't eat it all before August so I can share back home.

Unlike the UW, different departments hold huge parties at the actual university in Bonn. Friday night we got tickets to attend a party held by the department that Shar is working for this summer (yes, it IS the biology department). The party was actually held in the courtyard at Poppelsdorf Palace (the huge castle where the botanical gardens are). It was BY FAR the best night yet in Europe. Kölsch beer, which is the beer brewed and drank in Rheinland , was served all night, for only 2 euro! There was a live band and SO many people. Niels LOVE :)

On Saturday Shar had an excursion all day with her program, so Joel, Line, and I set out to discover Bonn for the day. Our first stop was the Beethovenhaus. It's this house right in downtown Bonn, where Beethoven was actually born. It has been converted into a museum, and really cool to see. It had some original compositions written by Beethoven, along with his instruments, and tons of pictures. After we toured the house, we were able to catch a digital music display, which actually took one of the operas composed by Beethoven, and put it to a light show which we watched with 3D glasses.

After the Beethovenhaus, the three of us walked down the Rhein river to see the parliament buildings. Bonn was actually the original capitol of Germany before Berlin, so it was very cool to see the original buildings.

In the evening we were able to meet Shar and the people of her program in Dernau for a vineyard tour and a wine tasting! The train ride to Dernau was gorgeous. It was very hilly, and all amongst the hills were all these old castle-like buildings. Once we got close to the vineyard we were able to see all the grape trees, which was also an amazing sight since they were all located on these really steep hills. We learned that the grape pickers don't use any sorts of machines, and they actually climb the really steep terrain to pick all the grapes.

The actual wine tasting was extremely classy. We tasted six different wines, two white and four red, and were also served a cheese/meat/bread plate. The white wines were soooo good, the red not so much... (goal for the end of the Eurotrip: acquire the taste of wine)

Saturday night was kept pretty low key. Shar, Joel, Line, and I went to a bar called Spitz in the Bonn city center, where we sat outside and drank Kölsch and just chatted the night away. We all had such a great time, and I was so happy that I was finally able to introduce Line to Shar and Joel.

Sunday was a sad day since we were leaving Shar, Joel, and Bonn, where we had such a great time. Bonn is a beautiful city, pretty comparable to the size of Madison, and actually very much a college town.

After the kinda-sorta emotional departure from Bonn, Line and I trained it to Munich. We had a connecting train in Mannheim, and our first train was the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE ride EVER!!! The air conditioning on the train was broken, and the train was full. It lasted for two hours and everyone was dripping the entire time. Gross.

Finally, we made it to Munich! And unlike our hostel in Cologne, our hostel was only one block away from the train station. Our room actually has 16 beds in it... but we actually spend very little time in our rooms. Our hostel had a really big/busy bar downstairs too! Last night we spent the entire night at our hostel, meeting a bunch of people from all over the world. We even met up with some people that stayed at our same hostel in Cologne!

Since today was our only full day in Munich, we got up early and took a bike tour around the city. The bike tour was free, and SO much fun. We got to ride these old school bikes, with huge handlebars and backpedal brakes. It lasted four hours, where we got to see all of the main sights in the city. We rode through the English garden, where actually part of it is a nudist meadow. There is a river running through the the city that has a strong current, so people can just ride the river, very similar to a lazy river with no inner tubes. There is also one part of the river where a huge surfing wave was created so people can actually surf on this tiny part of the river! It was really fun to watch. Near the end of the tour we stopped at the second largest biergarten in Germany. When full, it can actually fill a capacity of about 9,000 people! We stopped for an hour to order beer and food... I ordered this HUGE pretzel, but sadly with no nacho cheese sauce to dip into.

Tonight we are hanging out in the bar at our hostel as I am typing this, and will most likely end up going to another bar. Tomorrow will be another day of travel, but I can't wait to go to Switzerland! Everyone that I have met so far has said the best things about Interlaken... from the hostels to the attractions to the train ride. Although it will be sad to leave Germany, I am really looking forward to continuing our Eurotrip!!

Seriously, where are all the street signs?

I have a love/hate relationship with my suitcase. I love that every time I pack it, I pack it better each time, making room for all the things that I bought. I HATE that it is huge, heavy, and EXTREMELY inconvenient during all this intercity travel.

Yesterday Line and I arrived to Cologne after a very long day of traveling. We left Aarhus at 9am, and were supposed to have to switch trains three times before arriving to Cologne. And once again so many people reserve their seats in Denmark! Which means, we have to move whenever someone tells us that we are in their seat. In the first half hour, we had to move three times. Not easy for a girl with a big suitcase.

After we arrived to Fredericia (our first train switch) we found out that our next train had been cancelled! We then had to take a bus for two hours to a different train station, and then once we arrived there, we still had two more stops before Cologne.

Finally about ten hours later we made it, but ended up getting pretty lost on the way to our hostel. We started out really well actually. We figured out how to use the U Bahn (subway) and even got off at the right stop. But then we were supposed to walk to our hostel, and we just ended up going in circles for over 30 min. I maybe should have printed out a better map, but there are NO street signs anywhere here! And if they do exist, they are really small on the side of buildings, making it close to impossible to read them. After asking about five different people for directions, we found our hostel. And now today my arms are so sore. Stupid suitcase. But then again, could you really see me walking around Europe with a backpacker's backpack?

Our hostel is actually really nice. There is a bar downstairs, where we ended up meeting people from Canada, England, and Australia who we went out with last night. It's really cool to talk to everyone and find out where they're from, where they've been, where they are going, etc. And everyone is so friendly, too.

Today Line and I went with our new Australian friends to do some sightseeing in Cologne. First we went to the Dom cathedral, which happens to be the largest cathedral in Germany. It also is one of the only buildings that survived WWII bombings. It is incredible! It is so big, and so old... it is hard to believe that so long ago people were able to build it. We actually walked up the entire tower, which just so happens to be 500+ steps! After we got back down, my legs were actually shaking. It began to get a bit claustrophobic after awhile... the staircase is so narrow, and all the walls are concrete and you can't even see out of the windows. But from the top, the view was amazing!

After we visited the cathedral, we went to the Schokolademuseum a.k.a. chocolate museum. It was basically a chocolate factory with free samples of course! It had a bunch of history about chocolate, and we were able to see them make chocolate bars and truffles while we were there. There was also this really big chocolate fountain where we dipped wafer cookies... mmmm.

Tonight Shar and Joel will be visiting us in Cologne! I am so excited to see them, and I can't wait to go out with them tonight! Then tomorrow Line and I will be joining them in Bonn for the weekend.

I apologize for any misspellings. This German keyboard has the Z and the Y switched.

Hello sunshine...

FINALLY it has stopped raining. The last two days have been the first without rain since I arrived in Denmark. It is still not ideal summer weather, but it's much better now that we can actually get some sun!

Yesterday was my last full day in Århus, and Line and I actually woke up early to make breakfast for her parents. We opted for a traditional American breakfast, complete with french toast, maple syrup, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Sadly, I was unable to make my reputable chocolate chip pancakes because Aunt Jemima's help (a.k.a. the mix where all you add is water) is unavailable in Denmark.

Sunday nights are usually a big family dinner at the Harck household, and last night Line's parents made dinner for me, Line and her brothers Jakob and Jeppe, Jeppe's girlfriend Anna, and Line's boyfriend Pierre. Everyone is so nice and easy to talk to and we all had such a good time, that it makes me sad that it was the last night we were all able to eat and hang out together until the day I am able to return to Denmark.

Today Line, Jakob, her parents, and I took the ferry to Copenhagen to spend two days before Jakob goes back to Thailand and Line and I trek off to Germany. We had to wake up so early (yes, I was up and actually in the shower by 6:45am) and we have been out and about until about 11:30 tonight.

From what we have seen today, I already love the city. Copenhagen has such character... from the different colored buildings standing side by side to the taxis which all happen to be Mercedes' (seriously, every single taxi I have seen so far has been a Mercedes). We did a lot of sight-seeing in the early afternoon. We walked down the canal by the most expensive part of Copenhagen where one beer costs approximately 12 dollars and a cheeseburger and fries equals about 24 dollars. Afterwards we went to see the royal palace, the marble church, the king's gardens and the round tower. The round tower is actually pretty cool... it is basically this round tower (surprise, surprise) but there are no stairs or elevators. It is a long, spiral ramp that you have to walk up the entire way, and then there is an extremely narrow spiral staircase that takes you to the top of the tower. When we finally made it to the top, the view was amazing! We could see the entire city from all sides, and also had a great view of the water.

Tonight we went to this park called Tivoli, which is an amusement park in downtown Copenhagen. It's actually very nice, and you don't even have to go on any of the rides and can just enjoy it by walking around. Tivoli is really pretty, especially at night with all the lights.

Tomorrow we have another busy day planned in downtown Copenhagen, but I am really looking forward to it. I've been taking a lot of pictures, but still can't figure out how to post them...

Skål! (it means "cheers!" in Danish, and it will probably be the only phrase I will remember once I'm back in the US)

The Tall Ships' Races

It's finally the weekend, which means there's even more to do in Århus. These past couple of days (well, nights actually) have been really busy, but so much fun. Thursday night was Line's graduation party, which she actually threw with her friend Michelle. The venue was a clubhouse in Michelle's neighborhood, which actually was fairly big and therefore not a problem to fit the 140 guests that Line and Michelle had invited. The three of us spent the early evening setting everything up, decorating, doing last minute drink runs, etc. People started arriving probably a little after 9pm (or 21:00) and everyone helped themselves to a welcome drink of white wine with a raspberry in the glass. (OK, I'm making it sound a tad classier than it was. The raspberries were frozen and the cups were plastic, but nevertheless, I really like the idea of a welcome drink.)

Everyone at the party was very nice... it was great to meet all of Line's friends! And lucky for me, everyone speaks English very well. Some of Line's friends were very interested to hear about the differences between this graduation party and ones in the US. The school system in Denmark is actually very different in itself. Line just graduated from the Gymnasium, which is probably most similar to high school in the US. However, students only attend for three years, and the course work is more difficult and also more specialized. Everyone is my age too, maybe one year younger. After graduation, it is really common to take time off and go travel. Almost everyone that I talked to is leaving to travel this fall. One girl is spending four months in South America, and another is just taking off for Málaga, Spain. After their travels and usually about a year later, it's common for people to attend a university. When I tell people that I go to the University of Wisconsin, everyone is pretty surprised that I am so young and will already graduate next May.

Yesterday, after a LOT of sleeping in, Line and I went to her boyfriend Pierre's place, where he made us dinner. After dinner and before going out, we hung out there, playing cards, drinking, and smoking hookah... basically the exact same pregame routine we use in Madison. Except they call the hookah a water pipe.

This weekend in Århus there is a huge event called the Tall Ships' Races. Basically, these HUGE ships (honestly, they all look like pirate ships) come and dock at the harbor. I don't actually know if there is a race... I think there might be, but it might just be with smaller sailboats. It lasts for four days, and during the day you can walk around the harbor, and actually go inside and tour some of the ships. Most of the ships are from Europe, but I did see that one is from the US, and one was actually from Mexico. There are a ton of people, with lots to eat and drink, and then at night they have free concerts. Last night Line, Pierre, and I went to the Nik & Jay concert... apparently they are this really popular Danish group that all the girls love and all the guys hate. Being at the concert totally reminded me of Summerfest, but maybe a little less craziness and surprisingly a lot less people. There are no bleachers or picnic tables to stand on, which was actually great because we could see the stage extremely well. But just like summerfest, all the drinks are very expensive, and I don't even want to disclose how much we paid for beer.

After the concert, we met up with some other friends downtown. There is a river that runs right in the middle of the city, and all along the river there are cafes and bars that everyone goes to. We went to three different ones throughout the night, and my favorite one was called The Bridgewater... probably because it reminded me most of the nightlife in Madison. They had live music, and it was very crowded and hard to get a table, but once we did, we ended up having a really good time.

Once again, 2am bartime does not exist, so we didn't end up getting home until 4:30am. Before we left downtown, we went to go get food, and unlike Madison, there are only like two places open and they serve the exact same thing. We ordered these things called shwarmas (ok, I KNOW that my spelling is wayyy off) but basically it was a hot wrap with pork, lettuce, tomatoes, and dressing... REALLY good!

Tonight is another graduation party, and then we will most likely go to a club near the harbor and then back downtown to the river for another late night. Also, tonight Line's mom is making a traditional Danish dinner. I actually have no idea what we will be eating, but I can smell her cooking right now and it seems very promising!

Takin' it back to the old school

Tomorrow night is Line's graduation party and right now we are making some mixed CDs for the party. We are going through CD after CD and it is all music that I haven't listened to since high school, which is kind of fun because it is all the same music that was popular when Line was in Cedarburg. Just a little bit of nostalgia for you.

We've spent the last two days getting stuff ready for the party. We went shopping yesterday to get drinks, decorations, etc. Supposedly a lot of people are coming... so I am excited to meet everyone and I hope that no one minds speaking English with me.

Last night Line and I had dinner at her brother Jeppe's and his girlfriend Anna's apartment. Anna is actually Swedish, and when she talks to Jeppe and the rest of Line's family she is not speaking Danish, she's actually speaking Swedish. Apparently the two languages are so similar that they can understand each other with out having to speak the other language. Anna told me that the difference between Danish and Swedish is that Danish sounds like you have a potato in your throat.

Jeppe and Anna live in downtown Århus in a high-rise apartment, which is probably one of the few tall buildings in the city. Most buildings aren't tall at all. But in their apartment there are views from both sides, and it is amazing! It overlooks the Århus harbor and all of downtown.
This morning Line, Jeppe, and I had breakfast at a hotel downtown where Anna works. The buffet wasn't really traditional food from Denmark, but I had eggs, bacon, fruit, and a danish! (except they don't call it a danish here... just a pastry)

After breakfast Line and I visited the old town of Århus. Basically, the old town is a small little neighborhood that was transplanted in the middle of downtown Århus. It is kind of like an outdoor museum, where there are all these old buildings from about 500 years ago, but you can go inside and look at how people lived way back when. It was actually pretty cool... they had people dressed up that were doing things like giving carriage rides, making food over a little stove, chopping wood, or really anything that people would do in those days.

After the old town, Line and I met the rest of her family to go to the Moesgård museum and the beach. The museum's main attraction is the Grauballe Man, which is this man that was found about 60 years ago in a bog believed to be older than 2000 years. He was supposedly the victim of some sort of sacrificial rite to the goddess of fertility. But the weird part about it is that he still has all his skin and hair, except his skin is black and his hair is orange. Apparently bogs are really good at conservation, apart from the fact that he is now different colors.

The beach was really neat to see as well, except it rained today (actually, it has been raining since I got to Denmark...) so we didn't stay for long. But right near the beach is the Queen of Denmark's summer house, and normally you would be able to go into the grounds and walk right up to the house, but the Queen was living there now, so the gates were closed.

OK, I have been trying to post pictures this entire time that I have been writing, but have failed miserably. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. Actually, I really have no idea what I'm doing in the first place because it's all in Danish.

Happy 4th of July!

I Need a Calculator

Apparently I didn't do very good research before I left for Europe since I had no idea that they don't use euros here. They use something called a kroner (sp?) and 5 and a half of those equal one dollar. I first realized this when I was buying my train ticket and the guy told me the price was 322... I was like whaaaaaaat??!! But being the smart blonde that I am, I quickly realized that euros are not the currency used in Denmark.

The kroner system actually makes shopping really confusing. Not only are things much more expensive, but it takes me so long to figure out what I am actually spending, and then after I pay, I forget how much I've spent. Speaking of expensive, something that shocked me... is that drinks (just soda, even WATER) are almost as expensive as the food. Yesterday when we went out for some appetizers, the nachos were 49k. and my coke was 35k. AND NO FREE REFILLS!

Today Line and I went shopping in downtown Århus. The style here is very different from the US. Since I've been in Europe, I have been trying to adopt a more European style with the kinds of clothes that I wear. I am still apprehensive, however, since I am not sure I will be wearing the same things back in the US because... some of it reminds me of coasties!!!! (GASP... I KNOW!) I actually bought leggings today, and I plan on wearing them by themselves, and not using them as long underwear which is what I would normally do. But don't worry, I don't plan on wearing them with Uggs, an ankle length North Face, HUGE sunglasses, equipped with a venti Starbuck's and a ratty, messy, side bun/ponytail. And if anyone questions me, I will say it's European, definitely NOT coastie.

Tonight I accompanied Line to one of her classmate's graduation parties. Graduation here in Denmark is somewhat different than in the US. They don't wear caps and gowns, but instead wear these hats, that kind of remind me of something a boat captain would wear. Another Danish tradition is that the day before the graduation ceremony, the class rents this truck for the entire day. They decorate the truck with signs and school colors, and ride around in it screaming and cheering at everyone they see. They stop at every student's house for about 30min, where they go inside, eat a little food, and drink a lot. Line told me that the next day at the ceremony everyone was falling asleep due to the craziness from the day before.

Tomorrow will be another busy day... we have to go shopping for Line's party on Thursday, do some more Eurotrip planning, and then we have dinner plans with her brother and his girlfriend. I'm loving it here in Denmark, and although it is seemingly different than life in the US, it surprisingly feels very much like home.