London for the 3rd and Final Time

After Edinburgh, I planned on taking the night bus back to London to spend some more time with my dear friends Chanelle and Linda.  I knew what I was getting myself into with the night bus and I was told that it would be full because it was a Friday night of a bank holiday weekend.  However, it did turn out worse than I expected.  It started off great and I had 2 seats to myself and I slept for the first two hours, but only to wake up to the driver saying that there was a problem with the windshield wipers and we needed to stop to transfer buses.  The worst part was that the other bus was over an hour behind us so we would wait at a rest stop for it.  I continued to sleep and at 2 we transferred to the other bus.  Since there were no assigned seats and I was comfortably sitting in the back I was one of the last to get off of the first bus and enter the second bus so I got screwed with the seat.  I got an isle seat next to someone, but I chose the one right behind the stairs so I could put my feet up over the railing and lounge out a little.  I did sleep most of the way and when I got to London about an hour late, I was relatively well rested.  I called Chanelle from a pay phone and made it to her place.  She was waiting for me and made me a lovely breakfast. 

Our plan was to go to the Portabello Market, then go to the Burrow Market for lunch, and then the Tower Bridge which was close by.  Linda was getting off of work at 3 and she worked near the Burrow Market so she would meet us there.  Linda and I planned on taking the train to the south shore of England in Brighton.  The Portabello Market was a lot of fun but a little crowded.  We got some Creps, and some Velvet Cake from a famous bakery called the Hummingbird Cafe.  The Burrow Market was also a lot of fun, and they have enough free samples for a small lunch so we just got a cup of Sangria and walked around snacking on delicious cheese, bread, granola, some sausage, and anything else we could get our hands on.  One of the only things we bought was a wheat grass shot

It actually tasted pretty good and sweet, and it contains three days worth of vegetable servings...yum

We met Linda shortly after but she was tired and went back home to take a nap, so we continued on to the Tower Bridge to snap some photos and then head back to take a nap.  Chanelle was having some friends over and then meeting up with some more of her friends at a bar that she met on a trip to Egypt.  So we had a few drinks and then went out to a bar.  It was a lot of fun and everyone she was hanging out with was Australian.  It was a little overwhelming but I love meeting new people, especially if they come from a different country. 

The next morning I planned on meeting Linda at Victoria Station around 10 to go to Brighton.  The trip was very easy and we got to our hostel around 11:30 in the morning but our room wouldn't be ready until about 2 so we walked down the street to get some lunch.  We went to a pub and there special menu was a create your own pie.  Pies are one of the few English foods so I thought it would be great to get one.  I got one with chicken, bacon, and some spice.  It turned out to be amazingly delicious.  There was also a book shelf behind our table and we grabbed a book about England and flipped to the section on Brighton.  We found out about the Salt Cliffs just outside of the city that looked like a great walk so we wanted to go there.  The bartender also gave us some great information on how to get there and exactly what it was.  There is also something called the Royal Pavilion where one of the Kings had his estate that we wanted to check out.  After lunch we put our bags in the room and headed into town, but on our way we took a detour down to the ocean.  It was very windy, cloudy, and chilly, but that didn't stop us from taking our shoes off and walking into the water.  It was cold but slightly refreshing and very enjoyable.  After we put our shoes back on we wandered down to the Royal Pavilion but by this point it was 5 in the afternoon and it was closing so we just looked at the outside.

We also got some Jelly Beans before at a candy store because Linda had never tried them.  This is the front of the Royal Pavilion, which is designed like the Taj Maha
 
There is a lovely park and garden with musicians and entertainers.  We sat and listened to two men playing some kind of plucking instrument and a clarinet.  They both had dreadlocks and the one without the clarinet was singing.  They were actually quite good and I was very impressed so I snapped some pictures and gave them some change.  Then we heard a crowd gathering behind us, and it turned out to be another street performer.  It was a lady from Canada and the show was very similar to the one I saw in Edinburgh.  The performance was different but the way she made fun of the audience, people passing by, and the way she explained how this was her living was exactly the same.  It was funny but one of the people she pulled out from the audience really made the show because he was very entertaining and didn't hold back at all. 

After a long day of sight seeing and traveling I was pretty tired, so what is the best thing to do when you are tired? Go to a bar and get a drink.  We went to a pub and got some drinks and chatted about everything from scars, dreams, and zodiac signs to people in our lives and some photos from the past.  We also had a restaurant guide so we selected a seafood place on the ocean to go have some dinner.  It was an Italian restaurant and all of the waiters were Italian.  We ordered a bottle of wine, which ended up being hard to finish because we had already gotten two drinks.  Linda is Italian as I have said in previous posts so she was talking to the waiter, asking questions in Italian.  I picked up a word here and there but overall I had no idea but I was very fascinated by it.  We got some starters and dinners.  She had Scallops and Monkfish, and I had soup and chicken with prawns.  Everything was very excellent and I was very satisfied because it was slightly out of my price range...but I was very happy to enjoy a fancy dinner with her.  They also put some olives and a crunchy pretzel looking bread down before anything came and she said it was a very Italian tradition.  This was also the first time that I had ever popped an entire olive into my mouth, and I did it without hesitation.  I have taken bites of olives, and had sauces made with them but I have never just eaten one whole.  We also got some desert.  Our dinner lasted about 3 hours and by that time it was getting pretty late so we just headed back. 

The next morning we had to check out and we planned to go to the Salt Cliffs and actually go inside of the Royal Pavilion.  We had a nice English Breakfast and checked out.  We had to leave our bags in the reception room and pay 1 pound for them to "watch" our bags but when we got them later they didn't ask any questions or really notice that we took the bags so it was kind of ridiculous that we had to pay.  We took the bus out to the Salt Cliffs and they were really cool.  Fist we went down to the bottom and the cliffs were actually chalk so I wrote a little message on the pavement, and took one as a souvenir.  There wasn't much to see down below so we just walked along the top and took some pictures.  I was expecting to see some amazing cliffs but there was a fence about 20 feet from the edge so you couldn't really get close or get any really good pictures of it.  On the way we met some puppies and a squawking Seagull and then stopped at a nice place for lunch.  This is really the best view  that we could find of the cliffs

Then we went to the Royal Pavilion and went inside.  They gave us the audio-guide to listen to which was very informative and told a great history of the place.  We were not allowed to take pictures so I don't have any of the inside, but it was spectacular. 

After that we had seen everything we wanted to see so we decided to see a movie.  Linda really wanted to see Kung Fu Panda 2 but it was not out for another few days so we saw The Hangover Part II.  It was really funny but the movie was exactly the same as the first with different details.  I hadn't seen a movie in theaters since 127 Hours in January, and I love movies so it was awesome.  Then we just grabbed our luggage and headed back to London.  There we got a quick bite to eat near her house.  She got an appetizer with raw meat and I tried some.  I had never tried raw meat of planned on it but I actually liked it.  She had to wake up at 6 in the morning for work so we just called it a night after dinner. 

Even though the sites were no where close to the best in Europe and English culture is nothing I am really interested in, this was my favorite part of my trip after Barcelona.  The main reason for this is because of the people I was spending time with.  As I have said earlier it sometimes gets a little lonely traveling by yourself and even some of the people I meet and spend time with are just not that interesting.  Here in London, I couldn't have asked for two nicer, warmer, friendly, and giving people to spend time with.  I am extremely happy that I came back to London because I never would have if it were not for a reason but because I came back I have made two friendships that will last a lifetime, and I really couldn't as for something more rewarding on my trip than that.  So Linda and Chanelle if you are reading this, thank you so much.  I will never forget you.

In the Land of My Name; Edinburgh, Scotland

First, the internet blows here and I can't upload pictures which is really pissing me off...but in the mean time I wrote this so enjoy and hopefully I can get the pictures of my last two posts up soon.

I would like to start by saying I am writing this blog post in a cafe called The Elephant House.  This is the cafe where JK Rowling started to write her extremely famous book series, Harry Potter.  She wrote it here in order to save money on heat in her apartment because she was broke...now she is one of the wealthiest women in the world, and worth more than the Queen of England.  So I thought it would be cool to write my post in this cafe.

The first day I was here I started off by taking the Sandemans free tour that I took in Prague, Berlin, and Hamburg.  The tour guide was very good.  He was from Portugal and came to Edinburgh to study performing arts and storytelling.  Storytelling and tour guide go together nicely and I knew from the start that it would be good.  He showed us the sites such as the castle, a church that Sean Connery was knighted in, and taught us a lot about the history of Edinburgh.  My hostel was also right near the castle and this is what the view looked like from my door

(Picture of Castle)

The tour ended in the middle of town and there was a pub near by that we could get a slight discount on for being on the tour.  I got a beer and some Haggis.  Now you might be asking yourself, what is Haggis? and I will tell you but you might want a garbage can near in case you get a little sick.  Well it starts with the fact that there are about 10 times as many sheep than people in Scotland so that is a major source of food.  Once all of the good, normal meat is gone there are a bunch of leftover parts of the sheep like the brain, heart, liver, stomach, etc...  They take all of these parts and grind them up, add some barley, oats and a ton of spices like pepper.  Next they toss it all in the stomach and boil it for a few hours.  What comes out is a mush of black stuff which is put on top of Nips and Tatties (Turnips and Potatoes) and a whiskey sauce is poured on top.  It sounds like the grossest thing you could possibly make but it was actually really really good and I am extremely glad that I tried it because I was slightly hesitant.

Our tour guide also mentioned a ghost tour that he was doing later that night at 9:30 and I planned on going.  Ever since I took a class at UNH called Folklore and Folklife, I have been somewhat interested in ghost stories.  One unit was on ghost stories and urban legends and one thing the professor mentioned was that it does not matter whether the story is true or not or you believe in ghosts or not.  What is really important is the way the story is told, because storytelling is an art form.  I agree 100% and since the tour guide is a "professional" storyteller, I thought it would be an interesting tour. 

After I ate the Haggis I went back to the hostel for a bit and then went across the street to The Whiskey Experience.  It is a ride that takes you through the process of how to make Scotch Whiskey, the regions of Scotland, and how to taste/what to look for in Scotch.  It also included a taste. 

The tour was very informative and I can now say a thing or two about scotch.  The place also had the largest collection of Whiskey in the world with 3300 unopened bottles.  The most expensive was bought for $1000 US dollars in the 60's and the oldest was from the 1880's.  His favorite, very surprisingly was Johnny Walker Red Label.  Here is a photo of a corner of the room filled with bottles.

(Whiskey Room)

After the tour and the drink I was very tired so I went to take a nap before dinner and the ghost tour.  For dinner I went to a bar called Maggie Dicksons.  This was also the name of my bed in the hostel.  The rooms are numbered, but also have a name and my room name was Pubs of Edinburgh.  On the free tour our guide also told the story of Maggie Dickson before I could ask the question about her importance, but apparently she was hung for concealing a pregnancy (because that was illegal in the 1600's), but after they thought she was dead and put her in the coffin she woke up.  They tried to hang her again but a young man saved her by saying that you can not convict and punish someone for the same crime twice.  She then married that man and he bought her a pub, which is now called The World Famous Maggie Dicksons Pub. 

At 9:15 I showed up to the ghost tour and there were a few people from the earlier tour that I had talked to before so it was nice to see some familiar faces.  The ghost tour didn't turn out to be that great and there really were not that many stories but it was interesting and I am glad I did it.  There were more stories about wiches, a few about cursed places in the city, and grave digging.  The tour ended at a bar where we got a free drink and a few of us got a table and chatted for a while.  I left around 12:30 because I made plans to Skype my brothers and I was already running a bit late.  I also made plans with someone in my hostel who was on the earlier tour to go on a hike to Arthurs Seat (a park/hill in the city) and I would meet him in the breakfast room at 8:00. 

So in the morning I woke at what I thought was about 7:30 or 8 but it turned out to be 6 so I went back to sleep for a while.  I really haven't been sleeping well lately.  Every night for the past week I have woken up more than once during the night and haven't slept past 9 in the morning.  I am not tired though so I guess I am getting enough sleep.  The sun here also rises at about 4:30 and sets around 10 because it is close to the summer solstice and far up north. 

Anyway I met up with my friend, checked out of the hostel, and put my stuff in the luggage room and headed off toward the hill.  The hike up to the top was incredible.  This area is pretty much just some untouched land just outside of the city and perfectly resembles the Scotish countryside.  Here are some pictures

(Arthurs Seat)

A little later we went and grabbed some lunch and watched a street performer who was actually hilarious.  My bus leaves back for London at 10:00 PM so I have a lot of time to kill so I am just relaxing now and writing.  This hostel, like many others, has a book exchange where you can leave your book and take one of theirs.  I guess you don't really need to leave yours but I am not an ass hole so I left The Shit My Dad Says for someone else to enjoy.  There was not the best selection so I grabbed another comedy about the life of Billy Conelly, written by his wife. 

London and Manchester

I got to London around 7 at night and just relaxed, got some dinner, and went on the internet to find out how to get to Stonehenge.  I have been to London twice and I feel like I have seen most of the important things to see there so this time I only wanted to see Stonehenge and meet up with two of my friends that live there. 

Online it said that you could get to Stonehenge by bus from the main bus station in London.  My plan was to leave there around 9, stay for a while, and come back.  I got to Victoria Station in the morning only to find that there was really no easy/cheap way to go to Stonehenge.  After walking around for a while and getting frustrated, I found a place that had transportation there and back and admission to the site.  Since that was my only plan I figured my other option was to aimlessly walk around London and wait till later to see some people, so I bought my ticket.  The only problem was that it was 9:00 in the morning and the tour didn't leave until 12:45.  So I decided to go to Harrods.  Harrods is a very famous store in London that has almost everything.  I had some time to kill and it was close by so I went.  It was very fancy and expensive.  They have a bunch of different rooms, such as electronics, pets, toys, chocolate, etc... My favorite room was the Millionaire room.  The coolest thing there was a set of four framed pictures that you could buy that contained the robes worn by The Beatles on the album cover of Sergeant Peppers Lonely Harts Club Band.  They wouldn't let me take a picture but it costs 70,000 Pounds. 

12:45 finally came around and I got on the bus.  Everything seemed to be running smoothly until they stopped and told us that we had to take another bus to Stonehenge and it would be there in about 20 minutes.  An hour and a half later, the bus picked us up and everyone was in a pretty bad mood.  I was frustrated because that is the only thing I really wanted to do and I also made plans to meet my friend, Chanelle, at my Hostel at 7:00.  After a little less than two hours on the bus I saw a sign for Stonehenge and I knew we were close.  Then just past one hill the huge monument came into view.  It looked enormous.  At that moment my heart almost skipped a beat and I felt like all that waiting just made me appreciate it more.  We had an hour and a half at the site and they gave us audio-guides.  I walked around and listened to the history and facts and snapped some photos

(I have some pictures but they won't upload because the internet sucks here)

There really wasn't that much to see and we surely didn't need an hour and a half there.  I started talking to some people on our bus, one of whom was wearing a Buffalo Sabers hat and they happened to be from Interlaken, NY, about 30 minutes up the lake from Ithaca.  Small world.  They knew some of my teachers at IHS and their son played Hockey and the name sounded familiar but I don't think I know him. 

I got back to the Hostel around 7:30 and went on Facebook hoping that my plans would fall into place.  About 10 minutes after sitting down, Chanelle walked into the room and sat down with me.  I was extremely relieved because I had no way of contacting her and she had been trying to call me but it was not working.  We walked over to a restaurant and got a drink while we waited for her roommate, Linda, to finish work.  We went to a bar near the London Bridge where she works and got some food and drinks.  This weekend is a bank holiday in London so they don't have work so I altered my plans to come back to the South of the UK for the weekend to spend some more time with them.  It was nice seeing them again and getting to hang out with some people that I knew.  I have been on my own for just over a week no and although I love traveling on my own, at times it can get a little lonely. 

After the drink we parted ways, planning on seeing each other again in a few days.  Then in the morning I booked a bus to Manchester and then from Manchester to Edinburgh the next day. 

I got to Manchester at 2:15 in the afternoon, put my stuff down in my hostel, and got a map.  The receptionist suggested a few places to see and all the museums are free.  I went to the art museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the People's History Museum.  They were not that interesting but they were free and I just glanced at the exhibits.  Later that night I went to a restaurant and had some Ribs that were not that great, and went back to the hostel to book a hostel in Edinburgh and relax. 

I did not do too much in Manchester, but it was just a stop over so that my bus to Edinburgh was not excessively long.  I liked it though.  It is pretty small and I got the feeling that there is a lot to do there. 

Now I am on the bus to Edinburgh and I got a book called The Shit My Dad Says.  It is a non-fiction about a guy who gets dumped by his girlfriend at age 28 and moves back home with his parents.  He is a writer and noticed the humor in what his dad said and started a twitter about it.  Before he knew it he had a few hundred thousand followers and was being contacted by important people and he wrote a book.  It is more like a collection of short stories but it is very funny, and every story has some sort of positive life message in it.  It is very similar to the show Modern Family.  I feel like both of the Dad characters are in fact the same people, and Modern Family also ends every episode with some kind of message about life.  I finished the entire book on the bus and this was the first time that I have ever read an entire book in one day.  Then I just put some music on and glanced outside at the beautiful Scottish countryside and the rolling hills go by.  I don't think I have ever seen so many sheep in my whole life. 

Then when I got to Edinburgh I walked to my hostel and was completely blown away by the buildings and architecture. 

I will tell you more about Edinburgh in my next post though

Hamburg and Brugge

I got to Hamburg around 9 at night and went to check into my hostel.  When I checked into my room I was the only one there for the night.  That night I just stayed in, wrote my last blog entry, and figured out what I was going to do in Hamburg. 

The next morning I went and ate breakfast near by and then went into town to take the free walking tour that I have done before.  Surprisingly there were only about 10 people that wanted to do the tour.  Usually there are about two groups of 30 people doing the tour.  I don't think Hamburg is very touristy but I was all for the small tour group.  The tour was informative and interesting but the tour guide was very plain and didn't make it fun.  The good tour guides make it a performance, adding humor, information, and cool facts.  This guy just had the information so it was more of a history lesson than a tour.  After the tour I walked back to the hostel, which was about an hour walk.  Hamburg is a very nice city.  Although it is one of the largest in Europe, it really doesn't feel like it. 

Here are a few pictures from the tour

Supposedly if Swans are in this area than everything will be okay in Hamburg

This is what is left of St. Christopher's Church. Hamburg got bombed really badly in WWII and 60% was destroyed in a fire 1500 feet high

And this is the new Symphony hall in a new part of town that is not finished yet

I got back to the hostel and took a nice nap.  Then since they had a kitchen I decided to go to the supermarket and cook myself some dinner.  I bought an onion, some potatoes, and some chicken.  It took me a while but I made some good chicken and some Bravas (fried potatoes).  Some people were in the room now and I met a kid traveling with his mom.  They suggested to go to some Japanese gardens near bye so I decided to take a nice walk down there.  They turned out to be pretty amazing and if they had not told me about the garden I would have had no idea about it. 

On the way back I stopped at a bar at watched a soccer game.  I didn't know either team but it was a pretty exciting game.  The only problem was that the people next to me were smoking cigarettes the entire time.  Between the two of them they must have had 30 cigarettes...then my hair and shirt smelled.

When I got back I did some research about a concentration camp near bye called Nuengamme.  It was about 50 minutes away and free to enter.  I had to take a train and then a bus through the german countryside.  The countryside is beautiful with lush grasslands, forests, farms, and red brick houses.  When I got to Nuengamme I was not sure what to do but I found a card with a map and self guided tours.  I chose to do the long one which was three hours.  This camp was not a major one and it was a working camp.  They mainly made bricks at this one but towards the end, private companies were buying the factories for slave labor.  It was a little spooky being here.  It was a very sunny day and there really were not that many people around.  About 10 minutes after I got there a crow started chirping at me.  This was an evil crow chirp though, not some cute little bird.  Then it started swooping down towards me and flying right above my head.  I don't know if is just because I am scared of crows, or I have seen the movie Birds, but it got to the point where I started running as fast as I could to get away from this bird.  That was a strange first impression and I started to associate this negative place with this negative experience. 

On the way there was a memorial section of the camp.  It had this large statue that I thought was kind of disturbing.  I forget what it was called but it had a specific name.

 I did enjoy the camp overall.  This was the first time I had actually visited one but I think it is an important thing to do if you have the opportunity.

When I got back I wanted to go to a street that the tour guide recommended for lunch but they were all closing.  So I just grabbed some cheap chinese food.  I also gave my leftovers to a homeless woman and she was speechless.  It made me feel good about myself.  I will never give homeless people money but I will be happy to give them some food.  I just went back to the hostel for the night and cooked the rest of my chicken.  I also grabbed a bottle of wine and booked a flight home for the 8th of June.

The next day I had to check out and I went back to the same place for breakfast once again (I went the day before too).  My plan was to go to the airport but I didn't book a flight and didn't really have any plans.  I have always wanted to just show up at the airport and get one of the last minute deals.  It didn't really turn out the way I wanted though.  All of the flights were like 400 euros and the round trip flights were cheaper than the one way ones.  So I just got on the internet and booked the flight to Brussels that I was looking at earlier that was a quarter of the price they were giving me.  I also booked a train to Brugge and a hostel there.  Everything turned out great and I got to my hostel in Brugge around 10:30 PM. 

I walked from the train station.  Brugge has been described to me as a magical medieval city and that is exactly what it is.  I checked in, went to an ATM, and then went to the bar next door to get a snack and a drink.  It was a nice local bar and very quiet.  The owner/bartender suggested a beer called Westwallen Tripel and some finger food.  It was great.  Belgium supposedly has the best beer and after being in Brussels for two days and Brugge for two, I can say that I agree.  Wherever I went I tried a different beer and they were all so so good.  The bartender also told me what to see and do to see all of Brugge in a day and he suggested some not too touristy things. 

I woke up early and started walking around Brugge.  It is very small and I had a somewhat planned route to see some of the cooler buildings.  I eventually got to the main square where there is a very high tower.  I decided to go up to the top for only 4 euros.  It was 366 stairs up to the top and there was a bell up there.  The top was cool but not as sweet as I imagined.  I snapped some photos and started to head down but stopping at all of the rooms.

Right below the bells there is a room with a large contraption that make the bells ring.  I am not sure what it is called but it was a giant cylinder with pegs that play notes as it rotates.  It is like one of the lullaby machines that play a nice tune but on a massive scale.  It also started to ring while I was in the room. 

Brugge is such a beautiful city.  It really does feel magical and from a movie.  There are tons of canals and old medieval buildings

 
Then I went to get some lunch at a place that was recommended by the bartender.  I sat down and ordered a drink and then realized they didn't have food.  So I had a beer for lunch and it was also a very strong beer so I basically had two beers for lunch and I was kind of tipsy.  I also needed to move to a different hostel which was about a 20 minute walk and slightly out of town.  On my way I got a sandwich, and I took a little nap when I got there. 

When I woke up I wanted to rent a bike and bike around the other half of Brugge that I didn't see but one bike place was closed, and the other was out of bikes so I just walked around some more.  I went to some wind mills, an exhibit about how the people lived for the past 200 years, and walked around for a while.  I also went to an internet cafe and figured out how I was getting to London.  I found a bus for 45 euros that goes directly from Brugge to London.  It was very convenient.  After that I went to get some dinner.  Nothing special, just some pasta and Brugge beer.

I forgot my shampoo at the first hostel and was in the area so I stopped by and saw that my mom was on skype so I chatted with her for a bit.  By this time it was kind of late and I was exhausted.  I started walking back and stopped at a beer store with 380 different beers.  I grabbed two of them and went back to the hostel.  There was a soccer game on so I watched that and relaxed for a while before going to sleep. 

In the morning I ate some breakfast and then randomly bumped into my Canadian friend from Berlin.  It was very random and the first time I ran into someone I knew in Europe.  We were both checking out and headed our separate ways.  I had a few hours to kill so I went to a laundromat  and washed my clothes.  At 1:30 I hopped on the bus towards London.  The ride was easy and not too long.  The Chunnel was kind of cool.  I thought it was a tunnel like any other but it is actually a train that you park inside.  I also got the chance to write this on the bus.

Ill post again in a few days.  Tomorrow I am going to Stonehenge.

Adding Two New Countries to the List; Prague and Berlin

Prague and Berlin

I had to leave Brussels pretty early in the morning to catch my flight.  I actually got there with an hour to spare but it was worth getting up.  My first flight was delayed a little. without notifying the passengers, and we stayed on the runway for a few extra minutes.  This was very inconvenient for me, since I only had 45 minutes to transfer flights.  We land when my plane starts boarding and I start to panic a little.  The plane unloaded and a bus took us to the terminal, then we had to go back through security and I am rushing.  I thought I did the same thing that I always do but somehow this is the first time I set the metal detector off while in Europe, just when I am in a huge rush.  I finally get through to my gate and the attendant said that she didn't think that we (me and someone else on the same flight) would make it on time but a special bus has been arranged to take you to the plane.  Thank god I took Swiss Air and not some crappy airline like RyanAir.  I managed to get to Prague and met Becca at the bag check just as we planned.  Then we took a long bus into the city and found our hostel.  It was a long journey but we made it. 

For a while we just relaxed in the hostel, got some food and drinks, and checked the internet.  We also asked the receptionist to suggest some places and she recommended a Chech place not to far away.  We decided that we would check it out and see if we liked the menu.  We ended up going there and it was a great meal.  I got chicken with leeks, mushrooms, and cheese on top with some steamed vegetables on the side, and Becca got some chicken with smoked apple on top with some sauce.  I was blown away, especially since I have only herd bad things about Chech food.  We went to sleep relatively early and I planned to wake up early to do laundry and then go on a tour that left at 10:30 from the hostel

Laundry sounds very easy right? I have done it many times and didn't need to do anything special.  I started the laundry and went back to sleep while it finished.  When I went back down it said something like water failure, and then I couldn't get the washer open to switch machines.  I went to reception and he didn't know what to do so he gave me more coins and told me to try again.  The same thing happened again.  Then he decided to tell me that if you hold the button for 10 seconds it pops open but I did this and switched machines just before the tour left so I would have to finish after we got back.  We ended up doing two tours, didn't have a lot of time between that and dinner, and I didn't get to fold my stuff until the next day.  Basically between that and the flight, and the sandwich place on the tour that forgot about my lunch order, I was in a terrible mood.  Everything else was great though.

The tour picked us up and at first I didn't like our tour guide.  His jokes were not that funny and it didn't seem like he knew what he was talking about.  But that was just the walk to where the actual tour started.  After that he got much better and in the end he was actually a great tour guide and knew everything about the city and history.  The tour was through a company called NewEurope tours and in each city it offers a free tour that is on a tips only basis so the tour guides have a lot of incentive to do a good job.  Then they have a bunch of other tours that you have to pay for, and we did one of those as well.  We started the tour in the Old Town Square where there is a church and this world famous astronomical clock

I don't even want to start explaining how it works because it tells time in about 5 ways, and I forget.  I thought it was really cool though.  This was our tour guide too, Michael.  The second tour we took was in the Castle.  It wasn't as good but maybe I was just tired and there wasn't as much to talk about up there.  One interesting fact though was that their president was the guy who stole the pen and he was in one of the buildings when we were there.  I thought that was funny.

Becca's cousin is studying in Prague so we planned on meeting him for dinner at this Cuban place and then go to his apartment for some drinks.  We also made some friends with a Brazilian girl and a Canadian girl on the tour who were in our hostel and we invited them to come over for drinks as well.  They found the place and we were all having some fun, and getting to know eachother.  Then we went to a club that was closer to our hostel and got back around 3 in the morning.  It was a very fun night and it was cool to do some partying in Prague. 

We had to check out in the morning but Becca's flight was not until later and I was taking an overnight bus to Berlin.  Check out was at 11 and then we walked around.  The tours from the day before were supposed to go to the Charles the fourth bridge but they didn't make it so we decided to walk on it. 

We walked along it and it was packed with tourists.  At each end there are soldiers with swords, and I saw some guy have a sword fight with one of them.  I was amazed and decided to do the same thing.  It was extremely fun. 

Then on our way back a bunch of people were leaning over the bridge taking pictures of something.  We were curious and decided take a peek.  On the ground there was a big cat chained to a fence.  This wasn't just a big house cat, but an actual big cat.  We walked down there and I am pretty sure it was a Lynx, and it turned out to be some ladies pet.  I was totally shocked. 

There were tons of people around and that thing could probably take someone's arm off with its claws and I am sure it could easily kill a human.  After that we just walked back but then realized that the Lenin wall was on the other side of the bridge again so we went back.  We both signed it and I wrote the first Beatles quote that came to my mind "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." (at the end of Abbey Road).  So we ended up walking over the bridge 4 times.

Next we wanted to go to the Communism Museum.  It was only a few Euros and we had some time so we checked it out.  It was actually quite interesting and I realized that Prague was the first place I had been in that was actually communist at one point. 

After that Becca left and I had a lot of time so I just relaxed, got some dinner, and went on the computer to book my hostel and bus.  By 11:30 at night I was on my way to Berlin, scheduled to arrive at 5 in the morning.  At first I thought it was a good idea because I was basically getting transportation to Berlin and a nights sleep for 12 euros.  The bus ended up getting in an hour early and I couldn't check in until 2 in the afternoon.  I could lock my stuff up though and I caught up on the office while I waited for the free tour to start at 11:00.  I also met another Brazilian girl while waiting and talked to her for a bit before leaving.  I did the same tour program that I did in Prague and once again the tour guide was great. 

 
One of my favorite things in Berlin was the Holocaust Memorial.  It is basically a bunch of cement blocks that get taller and taller as you get into the center.  The tour guide said that the architect didn't say why he built it the way he did but it makes you interpret it in your own way.  As you get to the center it gets colder and the blocks get taller and it is really easy to lose people.  It also doesn't have any signs saying what it is, which forces you to venture inside.  On the tour we also went to a parking lot where Hitlers bunker was, supposedly, the last standing Nazi building, a piece of the Berlin wall, and learned a lot about Frederick the Great, and Prussian history. 

Before my grandmother passed away last January, I got the chance to ask her about where our family comes from, at least what she knew.  She said that the name Littman is a German name that means Light Maker and that we came from a Prussian family that sent their son, her husbands Gradfather, over to the USA, but when he tried to send for his family they were nowhere to be found.  After learning about the Prussians in the tour and the constant war in this region, it all really makes sense and I felt a stronger connection with the history of this area than before. 

After the tour I went and checked in and took a nice little nap.  A few hours later I was woken up by someone coming in who was staying in the same room.  He was a Canadian from outside of Victoria Island on the West Coast named Mike.  He was also traveling around Europe alone so we went and got some dinner.  We went to a German restaurant.  I got some Schnitzel and Potatoes...very german.  It was really good and it seemed like he was living a fascinating life.  This was actually the 40th country that he has visited.  I didn't go out in Berlin at all because I wanted to do a lot in the day and I was pretty tired. 

The next day I went on another tour, but this time in Potsdam.  Potsdam is just outside of Berlin but was inside of the wall and it is home to the many palaces of the Prussian Kings.  Potsdam has a small town feel and it has lakes, woods, palaces, gardens, and more.  It is extremely beautiful.  Luckily it was raining because if it was really nice it might have been my new home.  I also took a small chunk of Berlin wall that we found on the side of the road.  We had an interesting mix of people on the tour.  Out of 8 people there were no groups from the same country, and every continent was represented accept for Africa.  I thought that was really interesting and it shows the diversity of people traveling.  Here are some pictures of the tour.

We also went to see Fredrick the Great's grave site

The potatoes are there because he introduced the potato to Prussia.  After hearing a lot about him, I think his name is very fitting.  He got the name as a war hero but he was very open to other religions and cultures, knew 8 languages, and wrote philosophy and symphonies for the flute.  I thought he was very interesting and I think I might look into him a little more. 

I got back around 5 and there were two more people in the room.  This time two Australian girls.  I feel like everyone I meet in my hostels are either American, Canadian, Brazilian, or Australian.  We all went out to get some Thai food and made it back to the Hostel to go to the bar on monday night where they give out free beer until one keg is dry.  I can't turn down free beer but we all only managed to get one before it was gone.  Later that night I also booked my hostel and train to Hamburg for the next three nights. 

In the morning I had to check out so I did that and then headed over to the Jewish Culture Museum.  My train didn't leave until 7 PM so I had a lot of time to enjoy the museum.  I tried to look at everything and I actually learned a lot about Jewish Culture.  Some cool things that I learned was how to write my name, and the numbers in Hebrew.  Well, I didn't learn but I took pictures of both.  There is also this famous Jewish woman who lived in Hamburg so maybe I can find some of her past when I get there. 

I enjoyed Berlin but I don't see myself coming back.  It is a really interesting place with a lot of history and a lot of different people.  One of my tour guides said that it is always changing and always becoming Berlin, and rarely ever being berlin.  He phrased it in a much better way and I wish I remember but I thought it was a cool quote.  I think it was also a great place for me to start because while traveling alone I will be doing a lot of "soul searching" and finding out who I am as a person.  So thank you Berlin for starting me off on a meaningful path.

Visit from Kris and Sue

This last week has been an amazing end to my journey in Barcelona. 

On Monday Kris and Sue arrived in Barcelona, so I went and met them at the airport to take them to their hotel.  Kris is married to my brother Adam, and Sue is her younger sister.  I also finished school on Tuesday at 5 in the afternoon.  Kris and Sue didn’t really have much of a strict plan and we just played everything by ear.  Most of my friends were also still here so we went out with them to.  On Wednesday I didn’t meet up with them until later for a flaminco show. 

This performance was awesome.  We got tapas and wine, and just watched these people dance.  I was shocked that this was the first time I went because it is very popular and something that everyone should go see when visiting Spain…sorry mom and dad.  After that we went to a bar, which happened to have beer pong.  The beer was also very cheap so we got a lot of it.  We played for a while and then decided to go to a place up the street called BroadBar to go dance.  We all had a ton of fun and stayed until it closed. 

The next day I went to sell my bike in the morning.  It was a little sad but its not like I could keep it or ship it back to the US.  It is probably way cheaper to just buy a really good used bike in the US.  This was also our last family dinner together so Adela asked us if we wanted anything specific.  We suggested Spaghetti con Gambas.  She made it a little differently this time, taking out the special dishes, using some fresh ingredients and adding some special love and care.  It was one of the best home cooked meals that I have ever had…once again sorry mom and dad.  It was perfectly cooked and the shrimps were delicious. 

In the morning Jourdan and many other people went home and my friend Ruthie was still in town for a few days so I made plans to meet up with her.  I also finished packing.  I left my large rolling suitcase there and a bag of gifts and took my hiking backpack and day backpack and said goodbye to Adela.  Our home stay period ended and I probably could have stayed there for a few more days before leaving but they are already keeping my stuff and I am spending a night when I come back, so I didn’t want to extend my invitation. 

Kris and Susan were at Montserrat so I went and met up with Ruthie at IES and then we went to go chill in the park and get some food.  We ended up walking around for a while looking for an internet café and I realized that we were really close to a leather shop.  I really wanted to get a nice belt that will last for a lifetime so I went ahead and did that.  I had no idea what to expect but I completely customized the belt and then she made it for me.  I picked it up a few days later and I love it.  Simple, authentic, and perfect.  Then we went to Starbucks to check the internet while I waited for Kris and Sue to get back.  They were staying in Barceloneta in an apartment so I could just crash on the couch for a few days. 

We got some dinner near bye, Paella I think.  It was pretty good and not too expensive.  Then Kris and I went to the W hotel to get a drink.  I had always wanted to go get a drink up high overlooking the city and the beach.  The drinks were pretty pricey but they were definitely worth it.  I don’t even remember what we ordered but they were very tropical and colorful and had lots of garnish.  It took about 5 minutes to make the drinks.  Then Ruthie met up with us and we went to a bar right near the apartment that Kris went to the past night.  Ruthie is an art history major at IC so I knew they would have a lot to talk about and over the course of the few days Kris gave here some really good advice about how to be successful as an artist.  Ruthie loved her and actually told me that Kris is the definition of chill. 

It was really cool having Kris and Sue visit me because I really haven’t spent that much time with them alone.  We all had a lot of fun and they got to do most of what they wanted but Sue had a flight back on Sunday so she left early.

After Sue left Ruthie, Kris, and I really didn’t do that much accept for chill on the beach.  Ruthie’s friend Carlos also came to visit so he joined us on the beach.  On Monday we went to Park Guell and Kris thought it was spectacular, which it was.  At the highest point in the park is a little pyramid type structure where a man always hangs out and plays the guitar.  This is no ordinary guy but a crazy rocker who wears leopard print pants.  When I took my parents here he was casually sitting mingling with a few people, but Kris got the pleasure of seeing him in action.  Words cannot describe what we saw.  He was playing the guitar, dancing, and screaming fuck you to the tourists and said he would kill everyone if he wanted to.  At this moment you would think that he is a crazy lunatic that needs to be removed from society but in reality he is more like a middle aged man who lost his way and spends all day at Parc Guell entertaining tourists and probably making a ton of money in the process.  I tipped him some change for the unique performance. 

Sitting on the beach and being in Barceloneta was awesome.  I had never really spent that much time doing either so I am really glad I got the chance to live there for a few days.  Barceloneta is very calm, but exciting, and has a unique local atmosphere.  Kris fell in love with this and Adam doesn’t know that one day they will be living there.  We really didn’t leave Barceloneta other than to go to the park and go to dinner one night.  The streets are very small and it has a bunch of really small shops, restaurants, and a market.  The main street is pretty touristy but most of the tourists don’t actually go into the fabric of Barceloneta so it is a weird transition from extremely touristy and a beach to pretty much as local and Catalan as you will find, and all of this happens in a span of about 100 feet. 

On Tuesday we left for Brussels but not until 4:00 in the afternoon so we spent some time at the beach.  Even thought we were both extremely sad to leave Barcelona and considered never leaving at all, we were pretty excited to go to Brussels.  We had a place to stay that was smack dab in the center of the city, about 3 blocks from the main plaza.  When we got there we checked the Internet and went to find a place to eat.  We stumbled upon a BBQ place and got some appetizers and some ribs.  Then since our hotel is so close to the central plaza we decided to go have a drink there and taste some of the finest Belgian beers.  We walked into the plaza and were both completely blown away.  Here are some pictures from the next day when we went back. 

We sat down at a place and got a taste of 5 beers.  I was very at peace sitting there.  We went to sleep shortly after with plans to see all of Brussels the next day. 

I did some research on what to do and had the hotel receptionist circle the stuff on the map.  We started by walking to an open-air flea market and having breakfast at one of the café’s on the outside.  I had an omelet and Kris had a sandwich that the waiter recommended.  Then we walked around the market glancing at the array of random crap that people had.  I got a really old bottle opener that I will use for my keychain and Kris got a few other things including a really old key for a key chain.  I love that idea of some crazy old key for a keychain. 

Then we walked to this giant building called the Justice Palace.  It is enormous, has a gold dome, many statues, looks kind of Roman, and of course is covered in scaffolding.  There is also a really old neighborhood so we circled around to there and passed the “5th avenue” area with designer store after designer store.  The old neighborhood was beautiful.  Brussels is very calm, cute, and old.  The people are also much older.  It was a strange transition coming from Barcelona, which is very young and has a wild nightlife culture.  Brussels is basically the complete opposite.  We stopped and got a few beers and then walked back to the hotel after about 6 hours of walking around seeing pretty anything that you would want to see in a single day. 

We took a little nap and then got some dinner close bye.  Our plan for the night was to go to this place called Delirium Café, which was recommended to me.  It has 2004 beers and a list that is about 200 magazine pages. 

I wrote down the names of the 5 rounds that we had.  First we got the two Delirium beers.  I wanted Duff but they were out.  They were called Delirium Tremens and Delirium Nocturnum.  After that we stuck to the Belgian section.  I had no idea where to start and they were organized by alphabet rather than style so I pretty much chose randomly.  They were all really good.  The other 8 beers that we ordered were Kasteel Red, Chapeau Abricot, Triple Pale Ale, Kosberger Witte, Watou’s Wit Biere Blanche, Ter Dolen Tripel, Saint Bernardus Prior 8, and Saxi Chili.  I think my favorite was the first (Delirium Tremens) because it had a fresh smooth taste and also had 9% alcohol.  The most increadible part about the bar was that the bartenders could get your beer in about 1 minute, and they knew exactly which glass (maybe out of 20 different glasses) to pour it in.  I was shocked.  I don’t know what that bar is doing, but what ever it is, it is working very well.  It was definitely the coolest bar experience of my life.  The only thing that bothered us was the smoking.  The next morning I smelled my shirt and it wreaked of cigarettes. 

Now I am in Prague for a few days and met my friend Becca here.  It should be really excieting. 

Chao for now

Catalan Culture Studies, News

So I was supposed to blog about 3 news articles (Local, National, International) for class but I have yet to do that so here it is. 

First I will start by saying that it has been very interesting being here for everything that has happened in Northern Africa.  I think that I have gotten a completely different perspective than people in the USA because Spain is one of the closest countries to where the problems are. 

One of the most resent articles that I read in El Periodico, a Spanish newspaper, was that Gadaffi's son died in Bombings by NATO.  I still try and read the news in the USA and stay on top of current events and I get my new from the Yahoo buzz feed.  The buzz feed shows the top articles of the last few hours and lists about 30-50 articles.  On the Yahoo list it was listed as the 33rd most popular article, where as in El Periodico it was the 3rd article from the top.  However, on official websites such as the NY Times, it was right up on the top of the webpage.  One thing I like about yahoo though is that the articles on the list are listed as the most clicked on, and not what professionals think is the most important news.  Basically, in my mind the Spanish public cares more about what is going on in North Africa more than the American public because of the distance.  It is difficult for the Spanish to ignore what is happening because the EU is having a lot of issues with immigration and some other issues related to North Africa.  I also glanced down through the comments in El Periodico and noticed one person with a Catalan flag as their profile picture.  They said that the one responsible for the deaths is in fact Giddafi, and this is the result of the war provoced by the dictator.  I couldn't agree more.

I looked at El Pais for some National news.  El Pais means the country so I thought this would be the best source.  One thing that I noticed right away was that Zapatero's name was on about half of the articles listed on the home page.  It made me realize two things.  The first is that this is a political newspaper, and the other is that the average Spanish person pays attention to politics, which I don't do in the US.  Now after translating and reading a few articles, the reason for the heavy politics is that the elections are on May 22 (which I should have known).  I read an article that was titled "It would be terrible for people to stay home on May 22."  The main issue was unemployment which is in fact a major problem in Spain.  We, in the US think that unemployment is a problem but compared to Spain, it is hardly a problem.  Here is another major difference between the USA and Spain and even Catalonia and the rest of Spain.  Catalan people work hard and most of the money comes from Barcelona.  This is one reason for the Nationalist movement in Catalonia because they don't want their taxes to be given to the poorer areas in the South where not that many people work hard.

I went to El Punt (the point) to look at the local newspaper because it is a Catalan newspaper out of Barcelona.  The first article listed was about futbol, of course.  Futbol here is way different than any sports in the USA.  Imagine the best players from every sport, all playing one and all of the fans only follow one team.  That is what it is like in most of Europe and Barcelona especially.  People follow it religiously.  Practices of soccer teams cancel practice because no one shows up, and teachers talk about it in class.  The article was about last nights loss to Royal Society, or Real Sociodad.  I am surprised that it didn't mention the upcoming game on Tuesday against Real Madrid.  The rivalry between Barça and Real Madrid is like the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox but backing up the rivalry is the general "hatred" between Catalonia and the Royal Crown in Madrid.  Lionel Messi, the 23 year old Argentinian Superstar, is like a god here.  Earlier this year he broke the record for most goals in a season with 50 something and he has won the European player of the year award the past 2 years.  I guess futbol is so popular because they are really good.  If they were not as good it probably wouldn't be so present but I love it and I have gained an appreciation for the sport from being here.