From Paris to Prague, in two weeks...I have a lot to talk about. I have actually been putting this off, cause there is so much that has happened, that it will take a little time to remember all of it. Although, due to my mother's persuasion...here I make an attempt.
The first place we ventured to was Paris. Yes, we are going to make another attempt at the city, even though last time wasn't that pleasant. The journey started with a little mess up. The plan was to fly out of shannon to Paris, on Ryanair, on the 28th of April. So, we went home to book our tickets, and successfully got a way to Paris...butttt, Max bought his and Chris' ticket out of Dublin instead of Shannon. So, I was going to fly by myself to Paris, and find my way to the hostel be my lonesome. Not too big of a problem, just got confused by their metro station a couple times. After finally arriving to Caliencourt Square, our hostel, I met up with Max and Chris, who had already been in Paris for awhile. I don't really know how to write this to make it interesting...so i will just ramble off what we saw and did as quick as possible...We saw the basilica, which is a pretty white building on a hill that overlooks Paris, the Eiffel tower lit up at night (which sparkles once every hour), the Moulin Rouge, the catacombs, Arch de Triumph, and the Louve. Out of all these places I really enjoyed the catacombs. The catecombs are an underground cemetery. There was this cemetery back in the day causing infection because of the over saturation of bodies, so they dug up the bodies and put them in a query then years later they organized the bones, which is now the Catacombs...its a bit creepy, but really cool. You walk underground a while before you even reach it. Then you enter and there are walls of human bones and skulls- taller than me, and pretty deep. This goes on for awhile...basically, there are a lottt of bones here. It was definitely a new experience.
One night we decided to go out with people we just met at the hostel. They were from all over- some from the states, some from Australia, and one from South Africa. That is one thing I love about hostels, the great diversity in the people. Well, we all went out- and ended up at this one bar. I ordered what I thought would be the cheapest drink cause I am on a budget- a beer. Welll, he pours it, everything is going well, then he is says the dreaded words, "9.50 please." WHattt! I felt like a fool, so I just paid and was grumpy then after. I now knew that I was in Paris. Well, the night went on, we were having fun talking, some dancing, and then decided to go to another bar because the one we were at was closing. The owner recommended a place and gave us "VIPs" , whatever that means really. We got there, and one of the girls was told that the first round of drinks was free...sweet deal. So we all got our drinks, and then someone found out that she was misinformed, she fell to the trap. One of the guys there took care of the bill. Whoopsies. So that was my night out in Paris.
Soon enough, it was time to move on to Munich, Germany. We took a night train there. When the lady at the train station asked if we wanted reclining chairs or sleeper beds (the sleeper beds costing about 20 euros more), we decided on the recliner chairs cause she said they leaned back (and did this stretched out motion). Well, let me tell you...they reclined an inch. It was the most uncomfortable sleep ever, five of us packed into this tiny compartment with our knees touching the person across from us. Hehe, I think next time i will opt for the beds. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we reached Munich, but we still explored. It was rainy, so the city wasn't as lively as usual. We walked in the English Gartens...where there is a nude beach. Remember: it was rainy and cold...and this old guy just stripped down and jumped in the freezing water when we walked by. I could have done without that site. For lunch/dinner, we went to the Hofbräuhaus, which is a famous restaurant serving traditional German food, and the famous huge beer mugs. I shared a Radler (which is lemonade and light beer) and had some pork thing...I hope I didn't get swine flu(so far so good though). The next day we went to Dachau concentration camp. It was a great learning experience. To see the gates they walked through, the barracks, and cremation ovens, was a really sad. Having a memorial like this, where many come to visit, hopefully we all can learn from history. After spending several hours there, we went back and explored the beer gartens, now that it was sunny. We went to the Chinese beergarten...which was a neat experience. There were people everywhere, music playing. There were men wearing Lederhosen, knee-length trousers or short-pants made from leather are worn with rustic shoes and wool socks, traditional German dress. This is the first point I realllyy felt in Germany.
We then moved on to Brugge, Belgium, only three train rides, and 6 hours away. When we arrived, we wandered the city. It was beautiful; there are canals everywhere, cobblestone streets, horse and carriages, and amazing architecture. They speak Flemish, but most speak English too. Actually, it is called by some "the Venice of the North," which is a name that suits it very well I think. I have never been to Venice, but people say it is quite dirty...Brugge on the other hand, is quite clean. :) We went into the Cathedral, which houses Michelangelo's Madonna with Child. We went on a boat tour, which was really cool to see the city from this angle. Known for waffels and beer...we of course tried both. The second night we met girls from Australia that were also staying at the Bauhaus. We decided to hang out with them a lot. Luckily, the bartender had a crush on one of the girls, so we got to try all these Belgium drinks for free all night. Thank you Jessie!! hehe. I got to try the voted #1 beer in 2008- Karmelite. It was pretty gooddd.
The next big city we hit was Amsterdam. I still cannot really comprehend this city. It was the oddest place I have ever been. We stayed in a hostel in the Red Light District the first night, called "The HEart of Amsterdam." The Red light district is the strangest place. You walk down the streets, red lights everywhere, with prostitutes in windows, trying to get the guys I was with attention. Another strange part of Amsterdam are the coffeeshops. Coffeeshops are not like what most think . Here, they are a place to smoke weed?? So, if you want a brownie...make sure you go to a cafe, not a coffeeshop, or you might be in for a weird surprise. Despite these less than wholesome activities(as my mom would say), Amsterdam had a lot to offer. We went to the Van Gogh museum, where I got to see Starry night. However his early work really caught my attention. You could see every stroke, but he used very dark colors in the beginning. Fun fact about Van Gogh: he was only seen in three photographs throughout his entire life...and it was the back side of him. We also went to the Anne Frank house, which was probably my favorite part. The way the museum was designed was great. It used quotes from her book on the wall, to create the story as you walked through. We saw a replica of the bookcase that covered the passage way. We saw her family's room. It is amazing that they lived in this tiny space with little light for two years before they were betrayed over to the Nazis. It was quite a moving experience. One random thing I learned about Amsterdam is: watch out for the killer bikes. They don't stop, just ring their bell obnoxiously if you are in the way, followed by a dirty look.
I think I am going to take a break for awhile....to be continued.
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