British Tour Diary

Ok, So we're back in England. The flight this morning wasn't too rough save for the fact that we literally got no sleep last night. We had to be on a bust tot he airport (which was over an our away plus take the metro to the bus) by 3am since our flight was at 630am. I don't know why I book such early flights. After some issues with the weight of my bag, we got all checked in and now we are in London again. We're at a hostel near Notting Hill Gate and we got naps on the couches so we are a little bit more together right now. We plan on venturing to the grocery store later to get some food and such. It was raining really hard earlier but I think it has let up now.

Last night was awesome though. We went to an FC Barcelona match. Our seats were really high up but then we managed to steal some other ones down closer and so we watched the 2nd half of the match from the bottom level (4 levels down from where we were). We also had a great time because Nancy and I polished off a bottle of whiskey between us. We're making our parents proud. Haha. After the game we went with some people from the hostel and got some tasty tapas at a little restaurant and then headed back to the hostel where we had to pretty much grab our stuff and head for that bus.

Overall, Spain was pretty awesome. The weather turned out to be great and it was really pretty. Plus, we got tasty falafel for cheap because the guy liked us. What more could a girl ask for?

Estoy en Espańa!

Ok, contrary to popular belief, we are not dead. We are in fact in Barcelona, Spain having a grand time. We flew here on the 22nd and nearly missed our flight. Whoever said you had to be over 2 hours early to international flights is lying because we were only about 20 minutes early. Haha. Oh well. We ran, but made it. We got to our Hostel in Barcelona right at check in time and took naps after getting some delicious falafel. We are only about a 10 minute walk from the beach so we walked there and looked at it. The water is gorgeous, but it was cloudy and cold and rainy so we didn't really stick around.

Yesterday we tried really hard to sight see but it was soooo rainy and we were really unprepared for it. I wore flip flops which proved to be challenging since the ground was very slippery. I have a nice neat red bruise on my foot to prove that it was slippery. We managed to go out a little bit though. We saw La Sagrada Familia and then got some souveniers. We then went back to the hostel for lunch and a nap. (Had to do the nap thing...its cultural) Later that evening we went on a pub crawl. It wasn't nearly as crazy as the others, but we were out from 930pm to 5am. Crazy long time.

This morning (afternoon) we saw the sun so we went out walking. We saw some of the sights via metro and then went shopping on La Rambla. Its a big shopping district. I managed to buy 3 pairs of pants today. One is comfy and will be for the flight home. And then I got a pair of jeans and a pair of cords for only 16 euro each...and they are SOOOO long. It's amazing. I couldn't pass them up. So now I don't know where they are going to go in my pack, but I will make it work because they're cute and new. We didn't go out tonight, just hung around the hostel talking to some people here and we are going to see the rest of the sights tomorrow. We may even go to the beach if its still sunny! THEN we are going to go see FC Barcelona play. I'm really excited for the game. It should be fun. The stadium is absolutely huge and seeing soccer in Spain should be unforgettable. Our flight is at 6:30 in the morning and so we have to catch a bus at 3am to get to the airport. Should be interesting since we don't really get to sleep that night. Hopefully we make it. Haha. Then it's off to London for 2 nights before heading back to the states. Sad...But exciting to be back on home turf!

burrrrrrrrlin

I want to put pictures on here but I can't. Not that there's any ones in particular to show. Haha. I feel like these entries are getting redundant. Maybe that's just because I am really tired right now. Nancy and I are doing Laundry. Kind of boring, but it will be nice to have clean clothes. Last night we went on the pub crawl. It was interesting because we got there and including our group of four, there were only 6 people. We joined another crawl though and then there was a bigger group. It was a lot of fun and a lot of alcohol for very little money. It was €10 to join the crawl and then I had to buy drinks and 2 places to get the free shot, so for a total of about €15, I had 12 drinks. Haha. So, as you can imagine, it was a good time, and I am tired today.

Yesterday we also saw the TV tower. It is pretty tall. I don't know what else to say about it. Haha, but when we were over by it, we got 'Californian Burritos.' They were similar to burritos from Chipotle, but it was nice to have a burrito...haven't had one in a long time. It was funny to see a 'Californian Burrito' place in Berlin. I drank my tea from Starbucks and ate my burrito...I felt very American.

Today we are just doing laundry and hanging out. I might catch a nap after our stuff is finished in the washer and dryer and then we may go bother Tor later and play some ping pong. We are getting lazy about getting out and seeing things. It's weird though because Berlin doesn't feel like its a place to go and look at things...but it does kind of feel like home. Not in the sense that it looks like California or anything like that, I just feel really comfortable here. It's nice. Nancy and I were discussing how it feels like We live at our hostel and Tor lives over at his and we just take the metro to our friend's house. It sure would be nice to have a metro....

It's still cold today. 40s and 50s. Yikes.

Berlin!

Alirhgty...We're in Berlin. Our Rail passes have expired so our country jumping has slowed down significantly. So far we haven't done anything too exciting here. The first night we pretty much showered and went straight to bed because the train ride the night before was killer. Then the next day we met up with Tor (our kiwi friend that we met in köln and then hung out with again in Amsterdam) and he showed us part of the Berlin wall and then we walked around, went back to his hostel and tried Berliner (beer of course). We played ping pong and darts and hung out with smoe other people at his hostel. Yesterday we had high hopes of pub crawling but everything was conspiring against us. OK, that's not entirely true. We were lazy in the morning. This was mainly my fault because I didn't sleep well since my cough got worse and throat has been sore due to that. We got a late start going out and then went shopping. Nancy got a new coat and scarf and I got some sweet boots. I was feeling really defeated though because I have monster siyed feet and so its difficult to find shoes in my size, let alone cheap and attractive ones. Anyway, by the time we got ready, got lost twice and then got to Tor's, we were too late for the püub crawl so we drank and watched German TV there. Good stuff. Today we're going to go look around and give that pub crawl another go. Hopefully it works out.

I got to use a hairdryer today sdo it should be a good day!

Kassel

After 19 hours on the train we have arrived in Kassel. Not too many opinions about it yet since we got here super early and nothing was open. We managed to lock up our stuff and get to the tourist office so we could get a map and then a trip to the internet was in order since Nancy needed to look up her dad's old address. I'm hungry right now but at 12 theres a lunch buffe at pizza hut..I know, I am really getting into the culture. Whatever, I have a week to stuff my face with half meter brats and currywurst.

Good news: I went to the 'Apotek' (pharmacy) and managed to communicate to get some nasal spray that cleared up my congestion! Now I have no fears of flying. Plus, they gave me a free pack of tissues! Yay. Anyway, I don't really have anything to say and I'm kind of out of it from being on trains for so long.

PS- Christina: I don't eat scrambled eggs, but I do enjoy fried rice from thai places with them in it and hard boiled eggs in potatoe salad & other salads and also eggsalad sandwiches. Maybe someday I will be into scrambled eggs....if they have cheese on them....and I get bacon too.

2 posts in one day!

I know, I know...this is really exciting for you all. Anyway, it gets dark really early here and so Nancy and I are saving the real sightseeing for tomorrow. Thus, you get 2 entries but this one is probably not going to be that interesting. Perhaps I shall divide it up into two parts.

Part one: Things I do now, that I didn't before
1. Run up stairs with more than 30lbs on my back and be out of breath for less than 5 minutes. This has been achieved by running for trains (that are sometimes not there to begin with) and trying to get on them in time.
2. Eat Breakfast. I love Breakfast. Before, I hated it. I would rarely eat it and if I did I wouldn't have much now I eat tons for breakfast because most of the time its free in the hostel and that means that it may or may not be the only thing I eat that day depending on the amount of trains we're on.
2a. Cereal WITH Milk. I know, shocking...no more dry cereal for me. I'm all about cornflakes with milk right now. Delicious.
2b. Drink Orange Juice. For the longest time I wouldn't drink it, now I love with with my cereal and milk.
3. Order Drinks at the bar. Not that I didn't do this before, I just didn't like to. Now I know it means I get beer faster.
4. Eat Lettuce on Burgers and sandwiches. This started because I didn't know how to say 'no lettuce' in various languages but now I like it.
5. Put mustard on my Brats. I know mom, your mind is probably exploding right now. By the way I also now eat mushrooms, pineapple, and various other foods that i didn't before.

Ok so there's more than that most likely but I can't think right now so moving on to...

Part Two: Things I miss (people not included because that's a given)
Hair straightener, showering without shoes on, hair dryer, full size bed, korita potatoe chips, del taco, in n out, mashed potatoes, my shoes, my clothes, coats, my gloves (I lost them somewhere), cold solda, root beer, cheap prices, an income, my computer, staying in one spot, driving, new tv shows, movies that arent dubbed, reeses, cheap peanut butter, nail polish remover, pumice, bacon, pancakes r us, the doxies & reagan, not having a lockout time, not having to carry all my stuff on my back, being able to not have to guard my purse with passport at all times, dresses., cold medicine/antibiotics..this list could go on but I will stop it here.

Ok, yeah so I'm loving free internet right now. This hostel is awesome.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEDEN!

Nancy and I just got to Sweden...we haven´t really seen anything but our hostel, but the hostel is so precious. It has the cutest decorations and its super clean. we actually are going to book another night a skip out of Norway and then spend some time in Kassell where Nancy´s dad lived in Germany instead. Our country count will be lower but I get more time in the homeland this way and since its gets dark so damn early this high up in the world, we can see more. We´re going to head out soon to see some stuff around here and then tomorrow we´re going to hit up the free museums and such. So exciting! But....yikes only 2 more weeks left I think. If today is the 13th and we leave on the 28th....sad. I´m looking forward to pj pants though...and more than just my trainers for shoes. And del Taco...and in n out...and people...and my phone, i miss my phone...

In the Homeland!...Scandinavia!

Currently I am in Copenhagen, Denmark. We got here this morning around 10am after a night train from Bruges, Belgium. Bruges was gorgeous. We walked around (sampled the beers...of course) and were in awe of the place. On the morning before we left, we laid in the sun in the town square for about 3 hours. It was really nice. Our hostel had a bar and restaurant and if you ate dinner in the restaurant, you got a 3 beer sampler for free. So, I had a delicious pizza and 3 beers for €10. Awesome. Then we hung out with a guy in our dorm and had a couple beers in the bar. Bruges is beautiful though...go there.

Our night train was alright. I'm not going to complain too much about it because it was only €4 for the night and we chose to sit in chairs rather than get couchettes. But the trains before were fun. On our 2nd train (from Brussells to Cologne, where we got the night train) we met some canadians and they shared a bottle of wine with us. Also, one the train employees said to me (in German) "Please move, Alabaster Lady." I was reaching up to get my bag and apparently he thought I was super pale. What else is new? Anyway, the night train would have been fine but there were 2 more people in our little room and they were drinking the whole time and taking up space. After they got off though we got some solid sleep. For some reason they were only on there from 1230 to 6am. Oh well.

Today we have walked all around Copenhagen and are planning on going to Stockholm tomorrow. I have an address of some family in Sweden but I don't have a phone number so that is probably out. We have a hostel though. We're going to stay there one night, go to Oslo the next morning and then get the night train out of Oslo back to Sweden before hopefully heading to Kassel, Germany and then getting to Berlin on the 17th. We are going to be in Berlin until the 22nd when we fly to Barcelona. We will be in Barcelona until the 26th when we head back to London before flying to NYC for one night of mayhem and heading back home. The trip is winding down. I'm pretty bummed about that, but I think Barcelona and Berlin are going to be a lot of fun.

Owned.

Amsterdam is owning me. We did a pub crawl last night which was out of control. Too many bars and drinks, not enough sleep. I managed to get about an hours worth of a sleep and a cold shower (not by choice...hostel shower sucked) before checking out fo our hostel an hour late. Also, I got pooped on my a pigeon.

I don't think Amsterdam likes me. That's ok though. I don't know where we're going tonight. The plan was Bruges, but now we're going to hang out with our new friend Tor at 3 so I don't know if we will get there. I don't know...its like a mystery suspense story! You don't know where we will end up. Hopefully the city will start liking me a bit more. Haha.

We booked tickets from NYC to California on the 29th though....so we're definitely coming home. Also, we are going to fly from Barcelona to London on the 26th. I don't know how we're going to get to Barcelona...should be interesting!

Amsterdamaged..

So I'm in Amsterdam right now but here's what's happened since then. Nancy and I went to Oktoberfest. That was one interesting place. Oktoberfest is pretty much like the OC fair + liederhosen and LOTS of beer. We got there around 11am and then walked around kinda of confused as to what was going on since there were already people stumbling all around. We walked into a couple tents..(you have to be seated at a table in the tent to be served beer) and while we were standing in the Hofbrau house, some Italian guy asked us to sit with his friends. Naturally we knew this was probably a bad idea...but beer is 10.50 euro a stein (1 litre) and we figured we could get some free beer out of it. Anyway, the guys were sleazy but we each got two steins and then ditched them. Hooray for free beer!

Here's the math on that one:
2 steins each at 10.50 = 42 euro which is approx $65!

Ok, so after we ran far far away from the sleazy italians, we managed to find our way into another tent and each buy another stein. We were sitting with some Australians who told us the Aussie lyrics to the Prost song that gets played constantly in the beer tents. (I'm aussie, I'm aussie, I'm drinking a stein!) Trouble sets in right about now...3 litres of beer means you need to pee...I went to the bathroom and returned, Nancy went, and never returned. I waited and waited, and wandered and called and waited and then finally I walked around, took some photos, got a brat (sooo good!) and then some crepes (delicious!) and then sis and interview of myself on my camera. (Awful) and then I called her some more and then finally around 10pm (after being searated for almost 5 hours) I got on a train to Salzburg. Some woman puked on the train and a man in liederhosen kept taking up all the room in our compartment. Gross.

ANYWAY! Nancy did return the next morning and she said that she spent the evening walking into every tent asking if they had seen her friend. But that was all the description given. Haha. She also missed the last train and had to spend the night in the train station and then go back in the morning. All worked out! We went back the next day and bought some souveniers and then headed back to salzburg and went to bed early.

After Salzburg, we went to Cologne, Germany. Nothing too interesting happened there. Of course we sampled the local beer and went to dinner with one of the guys in our hostel and I tried Currywurst. It was good...kinda like BBQ sauce on a big hotdog. Haha. The next day we walked around a bit of Cologne and then headed to the timeshare in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is awesome. We have this cute cabin in the woods and we've been eating and resting (in attempts to thwart our illness....not working) and watching TV in ENGLISH! They have 2 movie channels that show awesome movies allll day. Love it. Today we're in Amsterdam because our attempts to get to Bruges were killed when a woman told us that no trains were going out...some strike or something. We've already seen some titties in the Red Light District. Amsterdam is an interesting place. Haha.