August 17th, 2010
So this morning I got up around quarter to ten. Showered and got ready to hit the walking tour. On the way I popped into this little cafe that served fresh sliced ground pork that came off a huge block on a rotisserie. It was shoved in this grilled flat bread along with veggies and bigMack like sauce. Needless to say, it was bomb and kept me going till 5 o'clock while walking around all day. The motherload cost only €3!!
The walking tour was so much fun. Our tour guide was full of energy and knew what he was talking about. It was a lot easier for me to comprehend and understand German history because it is all so recent. I love the german history. I was eating it up. We walked through the lost Jews of Berlin memorial, which was honestly somewhat of an emotional experience. From there we saw multiple other significant structures from the parking lot to where Hitler's bunker stood and what is left of the underground portion, which is a lot, has been filled in. To the berlin wall. The underground portion of he bunker was so strong that after they bombed the bunker twice, all they got was the roof to collapse. Now, like I said, it is a gravel parking lot with a path running down the middle. It is the most common path fir dig walkers, because everyone knows what dogs do on their walks. Seeing the wall and hearing some of the stories how people got in to western Berlin and over the wall was breathtaking. One particular story is hilarious. Two men hand made a cow suit and literally mooed their way into western Berlin. Lol awesome. After our guide finished with the story of how the wall came down, a bunch of us headed to a restaurant to get a good, cheap German meal. On the way I met a guy from the group who just graduated UW, played lacrosse with a good friend of mine and knows Mindi. His name is escaping me now, but I will meet him on the pub crawl tonight. And on that note, I need to change and head out to our meeting spot. Fwi, I just came back to my room, loaded photos and took a nap. I will write you all tomorrow after I visit a concentration camp up north. Today was mild with some sun breaks. Hope all is well.
Sincerely,
Kurt
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
August 16th, 2010
August 16th, 2010
Well I have been riding trains for 7 hours now. Emily and I got up early at six to shower and pack our stuff. We had a nice breakfast then got all our rain gear on to head outside and catch the underground to Midi station. Emily is heading to Bruges for the night before meeting her mom in Paris tomorrow. Her train leaves every half hour and is a one hour train ride. I got my rail pass validated and got itinerary for Berlin. I have 3 lay overs, non being longer than an hour. I was on the train fir 9 hours total, well including waiting at the train stations. When I got off the train, it was super easy to find. The hostel is vey vey nice. Probably the nicest I will see while on my trip. Huge lockers in the rooms along with a separated shower and toilet, also in the room. As soon as I got all my stuff unpacked, I headed down to the bar and met a guy who was over in Ireland for a bachelor party last weekend and the wedding is not till this upcoming weekend. So he headed off for the week by himself. He is a nice guy and we shot the shit for a while before sitting down to watch the Manchester united vs. Newcastle game. After the game, I headed up to the room to grabb my computer and jumped on to video chat with Ellie for the first time. It was so nice to be able to see her while we chatted. I went into the hall to avoid keeping my roommates up when a couple French dudes who were passing by on their way out invited me along. We caught the train to one of their hostel's for a bit and then hoofed it out to this underground bar that was super small, but very unique and was playing some hard hitting, base throbbing electro music. Everone was smoking down there and after a while, I just couldn't take it anymore and caught a cab home. It was raining all the way to and from the club. It was called edelweiss, by the way. Thought that was cool. Tomorrow is the walking tour, then pub crawl. Should be a good day. I love the whole feel of Berlin already. Talk to you all tomorrow!!!
Kurt
Well I have been riding trains for 7 hours now. Emily and I got up early at six to shower and pack our stuff. We had a nice breakfast then got all our rain gear on to head outside and catch the underground to Midi station. Emily is heading to Bruges for the night before meeting her mom in Paris tomorrow. Her train leaves every half hour and is a one hour train ride. I got my rail pass validated and got itinerary for Berlin. I have 3 lay overs, non being longer than an hour. I was on the train fir 9 hours total, well including waiting at the train stations. When I got off the train, it was super easy to find. The hostel is vey vey nice. Probably the nicest I will see while on my trip. Huge lockers in the rooms along with a separated shower and toilet, also in the room. As soon as I got all my stuff unpacked, I headed down to the bar and met a guy who was over in Ireland for a bachelor party last weekend and the wedding is not till this upcoming weekend. So he headed off for the week by himself. He is a nice guy and we shot the shit for a while before sitting down to watch the Manchester united vs. Newcastle game. After the game, I headed up to the room to grabb my computer and jumped on to video chat with Ellie for the first time. It was so nice to be able to see her while we chatted. I went into the hall to avoid keeping my roommates up when a couple French dudes who were passing by on their way out invited me along. We caught the train to one of their hostel's for a bit and then hoofed it out to this underground bar that was super small, but very unique and was playing some hard hitting, base throbbing electro music. Everone was smoking down there and after a while, I just couldn't take it anymore and caught a cab home. It was raining all the way to and from the club. It was called edelweiss, by the way. Thought that was cool. Tomorrow is the walking tour, then pub crawl. Should be a good day. I love the whole feel of Berlin already. Talk to you all tomorrow!!!
Kurt
August 13, 14, 15th 2010
August 13, 14, 15th
First off, I would like to apologize greatly to you strict followers of my blogg (Nany and Nany. Lol). The past three days in Brussels has been a lot of fun but has a little twist thrown in at the end. We will get you there soon enough, but allow me to pick back up in Bath.
13th
Emily and I woke up to have our first real hot breakfast in Europe. She had French toast while I enjoyed a loaded omelet. We ate in the restaurant in the hostel. It cost us about €3 each. It was a great deal. After breakfast Emily was on a journey to find herself a new straightener since she blew her last one up. I still don't know how she managed to do that. When we finally found Boots and got Emily her straightener and a package of every adapter you need for around the world, we headed for the train station and en route to Brussels. We had to go back to London and catch the chunnel train to Brussels from there. That train hauled some serious ass! We were flying! I slept the entire time we were under water and a lot of the remaining trip. We arrived in Brussels just as the sun was setting and darkness quickly following. The only information we wrote down, besides the name, was the address and the bus number from the underground station. We were so lost. Only a select few signs were in English. My French has never been better, but it just wasn't cutting it. I know about 3 words and 1 phrase from the Mulan Rouge and that wasn't going to get me anywhere in this situation. Lol. After walking in circles with no map, no idea how to pronounce anything and being in what I would consider a bad part of town, we hailed ourselves a taxi. Luckily the hotel was close and didn't cost us much. We checked in and headed up to our room in the smallest elevator I have ever seen. It had a 3 person maximum and I would have to agree. The best part is, when we arrived at our floor the elevator doors opened, but there was a big blue wall that had the number 5 on it. I soon figured out that it was a swinging door we had to open. It was the most bizarre thing. Emily and I were laughing the entire time and even more when we saw our room. The description of our room said one room and two separate twin beds. It sounded perfect. It worked out just fine, but I just thought it was funny how they said two "separate" beds, because they were pushed right up next to each other and looked more like one king size bed. Lol. It was nice to have our bathroom, that's for sure. The downfall of being in a hotel room versus a hostel is there isn't anyone at the front desk who speaks good English and our age who we can ask about what to do. At the hostels, there are posters and hand made bulletins that have upcoming events and highlight what to see in that given area. We did our own research that night and I sewed on my two patches from England and Ireland, before heading to bed. Weather is cold, but not raining.
14th
Emily and I were both very shocked when we realized it was past noon when we got up. I even told her when I woke up and saw she was up, "your up early." little did I know it was half twelve. While still in disbelief, I had myself a shower that stayed running. The ones in our last hostel had a timed push button. It felt great to step out and not have to walk across the building to my clothes. We both got dresses quickly and headed out after a quick stop at the front desk for a map. We saw some sweet looking buildings and statues, most of which were built during the gothic era of architecture. We past many chocolate shops with one in particular taking my the pocket change of euros. We continued on in search of breakfast, well at this point it was lunch. What better than some good ol' Belgian waffles! They were soo good. I had mine with strawberries and ice-cream. We continued on sight seeing but still had no idea what all these great statues meant, so we hopped on the first "hop on hop off" tour bus we saw. We stayed on that for a good three hours or so and drove past this huge structure called Automium. As we got closer, I noticed there was someone on top. I thought, maybe they were doing maintenance until I saw someone slide off of it. They were zip lining from the top!!! A 250m descent!! Emily and i both said that we would do it, if the price was right. We continued on the tour and saved it for the next day Emily and I were both hungry after the tour and we spent the next couple of hours finding a place and sitting down to eat. We both ordered a pizza at a kittle hole in the wall down a skinny street full of other little other restaurants. Apperently here, one person eats an entire pizza to themselves. I had seem a couple people around me finishing up their last bites of their pizzas, so I was determined to eat all of mine. When I got my pizza, I didn't think it could be done. The pizza was delicious, and I finished it. Lol. It wasn't as bad as I thought. When we were through it took our server a long time to get us our check. I have noticed this a couple times now. We were going to try and make it to this park Emily read about called, Mini Europe that has a firework show every night. Tonight was their last night, so I was in a hurry to get there. When I asked Emily if she recalled the time of the fire works she said 7:30 and it was a quarter to seven at the time. We decided we were not going to make it, so walked around some more down town and came across a huge flower display called, Carpet of Flowers. It was laid out in the town square, which was surrounded by amazing buildings. Some covered in gold and all very Gothic looking. It was a great sight. Emily and I decided we should head back and get a good nights sleep so we don't sleep in again and are able to get up and see mini Europe and the Atomium. On our way back I stepped into a little shop and got me a Belgium national flag patch to add to the collection I have on my pack. I was downstairs making phone calls, and as soon as I got off the phone with Ellie, 4 English speking gentleman who looked my age looked like they were going out. I asked them and they responded with a yes and an invitation to join them. Knowing it was Saturday and I had only had one beer from this city that is known for their great beer selection, I told them of course. I went up stairs to change and invite Emily out. She wanted to stay in, so it was just us guys out on the town with no idea what was a good spot. We went into one bar that looked good, right in the town square, but they were super expensive. I read about a dance club disco that is supposed to be the biggest in Brussels. We asked these two girls sitting by us if they knew where Fuse was. They didn't speak English and we were not going to waist our money on this over priced brew, so we left. As we were walking down the street, one of the guys spotted a group of girls and approached them to ask the same question. One gal spoke very good English, Mathilda is her name. She threw her head back and told us ohhh, well that is 30 min away by car. So we asked where the good bars were around here and after a moment of French jibber jabber between her friends, she told us to follow them. All us guys looked at each other with an expression as to say, Score!! The first place we went into served over 2,000 different kinds of beer from all over the world. The two I had were very good. We all then. Went to a hooka bar where I of all people had to smooth talk the bouncer to let the girls in because they were 17 and you have to be 18. Only 16 to drink though. When we were done there, the guys ditched me and the girls. When we got outside, they were gone. It was supposed to be a girls night for the girls and the plan was for us guys to go somewhere else. Now that I couldn't do that, I waited through a longer conversation of French jibber jabber and Mathilda finally said it was ok if I went with them. We went to a dance club where they played some good electronic and where the girls had a lot of friends. I pretty much sat with a few of the girls while the rest danced. I tried my luck at their version of dancing and I was just getting laughed at the majority of the time, so I kept it to the table. When all the girls left, I walked with them to get a cab and thanked them very much for being so friendly and letting me tag along. I then spent the next hour hoofing it home in the rain, because I am too cheap for a cab. I made it home, no problem, and hit the sack hard. I was regretting getting up in the morning.
15th
It was hard to get this morning but I did it. Emily and I went down stairs to get directions to mini Europe and while she was talking to the receptionist, I heard some silverware being clanked around and wondered if there was still some breakfast left even though it was after 10. There was, and the lady working was so sweet. She noticed I cleaned up the rest of the meat and cheese so she asked if I would like some more. I told her no thanks because I am leaving soon. Not even a minute later, she brought out a plate of ham and cheese and some coffee. I thanked her dearly, threw my meet and cheese on a croissant and hit the road. We took the underground to mini Europe and the Atomium, which was right next door. It was time to look into zip lining prices!! Only €25 each!! So we did it and it was awesome. It was kind of scary at the top, with the wind blowing hard, and by far the highest thing I have ever gone off of. I got some pictures of Emily and a short video of me, but you can't see much. After the ride, we went through the exhibit portion of Atomium. It didn't take us long and I was getting tired. Since we were as closest we were going to get to the only Starbucks in Brussels, Emily told me she would pay for the cab there so she could get their souvenir Brussels mug. €50 later, we were at the airport. Emily got her mug and we grabbed a coffee. I was so shocked at how much the cab ride cost. I couldn't believe it. When she was getting more money out I asked a teller how to get home via transit. €5 each and two train rides later, we were home. Lol. I felt so bad. I was dragging and pretty tired. Tonight is our last night in Brussels, before heading to Berlin for the next 3 days. I told Emily I wanted to get up early to catch the train, since it is about 9 hours of train riding to Berlin. It was only 8:30 but I laid down anyways to rest. With no plans tonight, I figured I would just try and sleep through the night and get some good rest. Around 10 Emily asked if she could use my iPod and skype to call her mother, and I said of course. I fell back asleep until Emily came back in the room. She asked if I was awake, because we. Needed to talk. I thought, now I am but asked her what was up. She told me her mom is flying into Paris in two days and that she won't be continuing on to Berlin with me. I found this shocking. I had no idea there was any possibility of her mom coming over. I asked her if there was something she needed to tell me or If there was any other reason why this came about and she said no. I can only assume the trip was not going as she expected and maybe was getting home sick, because it is a totally different experience traveling without family. I understand and just have to move on. I just hope I didn't offend her in anyway while we were together. I wished it could have worked out. With me wide awake now, I went downstairs to make some phone calls and sent off some post cards. Around midnight I finished up and headed back to bed. The plan is to get up at 6 am tomorrow. It has rained the majority of the day and is poring right now. Tomorrow I make my long journey to Berlin.
Hope all is well and I know the sun is shining back home. Enjoy it!!
Sincerely,
Kurt
First off, I would like to apologize greatly to you strict followers of my blogg (Nany and Nany. Lol). The past three days in Brussels has been a lot of fun but has a little twist thrown in at the end. We will get you there soon enough, but allow me to pick back up in Bath.
13th
Emily and I woke up to have our first real hot breakfast in Europe. She had French toast while I enjoyed a loaded omelet. We ate in the restaurant in the hostel. It cost us about €3 each. It was a great deal. After breakfast Emily was on a journey to find herself a new straightener since she blew her last one up. I still don't know how she managed to do that. When we finally found Boots and got Emily her straightener and a package of every adapter you need for around the world, we headed for the train station and en route to Brussels. We had to go back to London and catch the chunnel train to Brussels from there. That train hauled some serious ass! We were flying! I slept the entire time we were under water and a lot of the remaining trip. We arrived in Brussels just as the sun was setting and darkness quickly following. The only information we wrote down, besides the name, was the address and the bus number from the underground station. We were so lost. Only a select few signs were in English. My French has never been better, but it just wasn't cutting it. I know about 3 words and 1 phrase from the Mulan Rouge and that wasn't going to get me anywhere in this situation. Lol. After walking in circles with no map, no idea how to pronounce anything and being in what I would consider a bad part of town, we hailed ourselves a taxi. Luckily the hotel was close and didn't cost us much. We checked in and headed up to our room in the smallest elevator I have ever seen. It had a 3 person maximum and I would have to agree. The best part is, when we arrived at our floor the elevator doors opened, but there was a big blue wall that had the number 5 on it. I soon figured out that it was a swinging door we had to open. It was the most bizarre thing. Emily and I were laughing the entire time and even more when we saw our room. The description of our room said one room and two separate twin beds. It sounded perfect. It worked out just fine, but I just thought it was funny how they said two "separate" beds, because they were pushed right up next to each other and looked more like one king size bed. Lol. It was nice to have our bathroom, that's for sure. The downfall of being in a hotel room versus a hostel is there isn't anyone at the front desk who speaks good English and our age who we can ask about what to do. At the hostels, there are posters and hand made bulletins that have upcoming events and highlight what to see in that given area. We did our own research that night and I sewed on my two patches from England and Ireland, before heading to bed. Weather is cold, but not raining.
14th
Emily and I were both very shocked when we realized it was past noon when we got up. I even told her when I woke up and saw she was up, "your up early." little did I know it was half twelve. While still in disbelief, I had myself a shower that stayed running. The ones in our last hostel had a timed push button. It felt great to step out and not have to walk across the building to my clothes. We both got dresses quickly and headed out after a quick stop at the front desk for a map. We saw some sweet looking buildings and statues, most of which were built during the gothic era of architecture. We past many chocolate shops with one in particular taking my the pocket change of euros. We continued on in search of breakfast, well at this point it was lunch. What better than some good ol' Belgian waffles! They were soo good. I had mine with strawberries and ice-cream. We continued on sight seeing but still had no idea what all these great statues meant, so we hopped on the first "hop on hop off" tour bus we saw. We stayed on that for a good three hours or so and drove past this huge structure called Automium. As we got closer, I noticed there was someone on top. I thought, maybe they were doing maintenance until I saw someone slide off of it. They were zip lining from the top!!! A 250m descent!! Emily and i both said that we would do it, if the price was right. We continued on the tour and saved it for the next day Emily and I were both hungry after the tour and we spent the next couple of hours finding a place and sitting down to eat. We both ordered a pizza at a kittle hole in the wall down a skinny street full of other little other restaurants. Apperently here, one person eats an entire pizza to themselves. I had seem a couple people around me finishing up their last bites of their pizzas, so I was determined to eat all of mine. When I got my pizza, I didn't think it could be done. The pizza was delicious, and I finished it. Lol. It wasn't as bad as I thought. When we were through it took our server a long time to get us our check. I have noticed this a couple times now. We were going to try and make it to this park Emily read about called, Mini Europe that has a firework show every night. Tonight was their last night, so I was in a hurry to get there. When I asked Emily if she recalled the time of the fire works she said 7:30 and it was a quarter to seven at the time. We decided we were not going to make it, so walked around some more down town and came across a huge flower display called, Carpet of Flowers. It was laid out in the town square, which was surrounded by amazing buildings. Some covered in gold and all very Gothic looking. It was a great sight. Emily and I decided we should head back and get a good nights sleep so we don't sleep in again and are able to get up and see mini Europe and the Atomium. On our way back I stepped into a little shop and got me a Belgium national flag patch to add to the collection I have on my pack. I was downstairs making phone calls, and as soon as I got off the phone with Ellie, 4 English speking gentleman who looked my age looked like they were going out. I asked them and they responded with a yes and an invitation to join them. Knowing it was Saturday and I had only had one beer from this city that is known for their great beer selection, I told them of course. I went up stairs to change and invite Emily out. She wanted to stay in, so it was just us guys out on the town with no idea what was a good spot. We went into one bar that looked good, right in the town square, but they were super expensive. I read about a dance club disco that is supposed to be the biggest in Brussels. We asked these two girls sitting by us if they knew where Fuse was. They didn't speak English and we were not going to waist our money on this over priced brew, so we left. As we were walking down the street, one of the guys spotted a group of girls and approached them to ask the same question. One gal spoke very good English, Mathilda is her name. She threw her head back and told us ohhh, well that is 30 min away by car. So we asked where the good bars were around here and after a moment of French jibber jabber between her friends, she told us to follow them. All us guys looked at each other with an expression as to say, Score!! The first place we went into served over 2,000 different kinds of beer from all over the world. The two I had were very good. We all then. Went to a hooka bar where I of all people had to smooth talk the bouncer to let the girls in because they were 17 and you have to be 18. Only 16 to drink though. When we were done there, the guys ditched me and the girls. When we got outside, they were gone. It was supposed to be a girls night for the girls and the plan was for us guys to go somewhere else. Now that I couldn't do that, I waited through a longer conversation of French jibber jabber and Mathilda finally said it was ok if I went with them. We went to a dance club where they played some good electronic and where the girls had a lot of friends. I pretty much sat with a few of the girls while the rest danced. I tried my luck at their version of dancing and I was just getting laughed at the majority of the time, so I kept it to the table. When all the girls left, I walked with them to get a cab and thanked them very much for being so friendly and letting me tag along. I then spent the next hour hoofing it home in the rain, because I am too cheap for a cab. I made it home, no problem, and hit the sack hard. I was regretting getting up in the morning.
15th
It was hard to get this morning but I did it. Emily and I went down stairs to get directions to mini Europe and while she was talking to the receptionist, I heard some silverware being clanked around and wondered if there was still some breakfast left even though it was after 10. There was, and the lady working was so sweet. She noticed I cleaned up the rest of the meat and cheese so she asked if I would like some more. I told her no thanks because I am leaving soon. Not even a minute later, she brought out a plate of ham and cheese and some coffee. I thanked her dearly, threw my meet and cheese on a croissant and hit the road. We took the underground to mini Europe and the Atomium, which was right next door. It was time to look into zip lining prices!! Only €25 each!! So we did it and it was awesome. It was kind of scary at the top, with the wind blowing hard, and by far the highest thing I have ever gone off of. I got some pictures of Emily and a short video of me, but you can't see much. After the ride, we went through the exhibit portion of Atomium. It didn't take us long and I was getting tired. Since we were as closest we were going to get to the only Starbucks in Brussels, Emily told me she would pay for the cab there so she could get their souvenir Brussels mug. €50 later, we were at the airport. Emily got her mug and we grabbed a coffee. I was so shocked at how much the cab ride cost. I couldn't believe it. When she was getting more money out I asked a teller how to get home via transit. €5 each and two train rides later, we were home. Lol. I felt so bad. I was dragging and pretty tired. Tonight is our last night in Brussels, before heading to Berlin for the next 3 days. I told Emily I wanted to get up early to catch the train, since it is about 9 hours of train riding to Berlin. It was only 8:30 but I laid down anyways to rest. With no plans tonight, I figured I would just try and sleep through the night and get some good rest. Around 10 Emily asked if she could use my iPod and skype to call her mother, and I said of course. I fell back asleep until Emily came back in the room. She asked if I was awake, because we. Needed to talk. I thought, now I am but asked her what was up. She told me her mom is flying into Paris in two days and that she won't be continuing on to Berlin with me. I found this shocking. I had no idea there was any possibility of her mom coming over. I asked her if there was something she needed to tell me or If there was any other reason why this came about and she said no. I can only assume the trip was not going as she expected and maybe was getting home sick, because it is a totally different experience traveling without family. I understand and just have to move on. I just hope I didn't offend her in anyway while we were together. I wished it could have worked out. With me wide awake now, I went downstairs to make some phone calls and sent off some post cards. Around midnight I finished up and headed back to bed. The plan is to get up at 6 am tomorrow. It has rained the majority of the day and is poring right now. Tomorrow I make my long journey to Berlin.
Hope all is well and I know the sun is shining back home. Enjoy it!!
Sincerely,
Kurt
Friday, August 13, 2010
August 12th, 2010
August 12, 2010
Today has been a substantially good day. Everything worked out for it being thrown together last minute. We got up with time for me to send some things home that were taking up too much room in my pack. I got rid of some shirts and a rugby ball I bought at Trinity College. From there we made our way to the train station to book our tickets for bath. With our tickets booked, there was some time to spare. Guess where we spent it? Let me give you a hint. There is a Starbucks in the train station. Lol. Our train left a little late, but we arrived with plenty of time to check into our hostel. It was a little misleading, because the bar tender and receptionist were the same person.lol Once we made the journey up the smallest and steepest stairs ever, we headed to the ancient Roman Baths. The experience was amazing and purely unfathomable for me. I have the hardest time putting history into a time line and to where I can understand just how long ago emperors and slaves used these baths. It is getting easier with learning more European history and putting a date with events. I was able to enjoy these baths so much, because it is the only thing I remember from my world history classes. Lol. I just remember learning about how all the naked Romans would take baths together. Lol. Of course it had a greater purpose than that, which I now know. Even though some pools were used mainly for pleasure, the main reason why the rich and the poor would travel long distances to visit the baths were to seek healing and worship the goddess, which the Romans believed provided the hot springs. Another reasons was to request vengeance through the hands of this goddess, on the people who have hurt them or stolen from them (I can't remember her name or what exactly she was the goddess of). They would write their requests on thin sheets of lead and throw them into the bath. For example, someone may have a suspicion that someone had stolen some of their money. It was believed the more specific you were with naming the parson, the more likely it was for the request to be answered. Some would even have the messages written fir them, because they could not write in Latin themselves. There would be wounded warriors to children to princesses sharing these baths. It was simply breathtaking to witness the same pools that were used by high priests and roman princesses hundreds of years ago. There is still water flowing into the pools today. I was surprised how hot it was. Like a hot tub. All around, it was a great museum and great experience. I am glad things turned out the way they did and we had to come over here. It is only about 20 min east of Whales.
After the baths and getting lost trying to find our way back, Emily and I went out for tapas and a drink. It was soo good to enjoy some Mexican food. I feel like all I have been eating over here si far is sandwiches. Knowing we still hadn't made reservations for where to sleep tomorrow night, we headed straight back to the hostel bar to use the Internet. A few hours later, we decided we are going to take the train back to London, the Chunnel train from there into Brussels. We also completed booking for three days in Brussels and three more after that in Berlin. It felt good to have the next week planned out and the only thing to worry about is transportation from Brussels to Berlin, but that will be easy enough to do when we arrive at the train station in Brussels. I will get all the information I need for a train to Berlin three days later.
With all that figured out, we were both able to relax. Emily headed up to shower and ended up going to bed, while I stayed in the pub and enjoyed a couple drinks with two of our room mates. They are both from Sydney. It is now one a.m. and i am off to bed. Talk to you all in Belgium!! We will see how it goes not speaking English for the first time in Europe. Wish us luck!
All the best,
Kurt
P.s. Enjoy the hot hot weather that is coming your way. Oh and it was sweatshirt weather still.
Today has been a substantially good day. Everything worked out for it being thrown together last minute. We got up with time for me to send some things home that were taking up too much room in my pack. I got rid of some shirts and a rugby ball I bought at Trinity College. From there we made our way to the train station to book our tickets for bath. With our tickets booked, there was some time to spare. Guess where we spent it? Let me give you a hint. There is a Starbucks in the train station. Lol. Our train left a little late, but we arrived with plenty of time to check into our hostel. It was a little misleading, because the bar tender and receptionist were the same person.lol Once we made the journey up the smallest and steepest stairs ever, we headed to the ancient Roman Baths. The experience was amazing and purely unfathomable for me. I have the hardest time putting history into a time line and to where I can understand just how long ago emperors and slaves used these baths. It is getting easier with learning more European history and putting a date with events. I was able to enjoy these baths so much, because it is the only thing I remember from my world history classes. Lol. I just remember learning about how all the naked Romans would take baths together. Lol. Of course it had a greater purpose than that, which I now know. Even though some pools were used mainly for pleasure, the main reason why the rich and the poor would travel long distances to visit the baths were to seek healing and worship the goddess, which the Romans believed provided the hot springs. Another reasons was to request vengeance through the hands of this goddess, on the people who have hurt them or stolen from them (I can't remember her name or what exactly she was the goddess of). They would write their requests on thin sheets of lead and throw them into the bath. For example, someone may have a suspicion that someone had stolen some of their money. It was believed the more specific you were with naming the parson, the more likely it was for the request to be answered. Some would even have the messages written fir them, because they could not write in Latin themselves. There would be wounded warriors to children to princesses sharing these baths. It was simply breathtaking to witness the same pools that were used by high priests and roman princesses hundreds of years ago. There is still water flowing into the pools today. I was surprised how hot it was. Like a hot tub. All around, it was a great museum and great experience. I am glad things turned out the way they did and we had to come over here. It is only about 20 min east of Whales.
After the baths and getting lost trying to find our way back, Emily and I went out for tapas and a drink. It was soo good to enjoy some Mexican food. I feel like all I have been eating over here si far is sandwiches. Knowing we still hadn't made reservations for where to sleep tomorrow night, we headed straight back to the hostel bar to use the Internet. A few hours later, we decided we are going to take the train back to London, the Chunnel train from there into Brussels. We also completed booking for three days in Brussels and three more after that in Berlin. It felt good to have the next week planned out and the only thing to worry about is transportation from Brussels to Berlin, but that will be easy enough to do when we arrive at the train station in Brussels. I will get all the information I need for a train to Berlin three days later.
With all that figured out, we were both able to relax. Emily headed up to shower and ended up going to bed, while I stayed in the pub and enjoyed a couple drinks with two of our room mates. They are both from Sydney. It is now one a.m. and i am off to bed. Talk to you all in Belgium!! We will see how it goes not speaking English for the first time in Europe. Wish us luck!
All the best,
Kurt
P.s. Enjoy the hot hot weather that is coming your way. Oh and it was sweatshirt weather still.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
August 10th & 11th
So I have to make up for the past two days.
The 10th was a great day. Emily and I got up early to eat our free breakfast and set out on our free walking tour. We got down stairs with, what we thought, plenty of time to get her, oh so precious, Starbucks coffee. The tour started 45 min earlier than what we thought and by the time we got down stairs, the group was about to leave. We saw many different things and had a great tour guide who told many great stories of t history on England and the city of London. Even some not so good stories of Grim the Reaper. I wish I could tell you of all the places we saw, but frankly, I don't remember the names. A few were: a quick glimpse of Buckingham palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abby, The House of Parliament, and the other royal house where the Queens son lives......Can't remember the name. We got up close to the guards, but since 2002, no one is allowed next to them. I was thoroughly disappointed when I heard this news and saw my dreams of posing nearly naked next to and English guard fade away. We saw the 2 guards change with 2 fresh guards,which was very cool to see. We made our way around London and saw the building where Rugby Union was first established. We started at quarter past 10 and didn't have a break till 2 in the afternoon. We were very hungry. The cereal and toast just didn't stick with us. The tour guide suggested a place where we can go to eat with a discount and where he will be having lunch. Almost everyone popped in for lunch and a cold Brew. Emily and I bought our tickets to the pub crawl while we were there as well. It was raining cats and dogs when we left for the Hostel. We both had a nap and were off again. The first place was in a very nice shopping part of town. Emily and I were able to see 2 very cool bars and 2 clubs. I drank Emily's share of drinks, while she kept the good ol English Brew to a minimum. We didn't get to bed till late and we booked one more night here in London. We are having a very hard time finding a hostel in Amsterdam to accommodate 2 people for 6 days. We are not quite sure what we are going to do yet. We were up fairly early for check out. At least earlier than "I" would have liked.
August 11th
I ran over to get some water, juice, and loaf of bread to kick start and replenish the system for the morning. After we checked out and locked up our bags till we could check in again at 2. In the meantime, we walked to the Starbucks down the street to get the princess her Starbucks. lol. We both had a little bite to eat with our drinks and spent the next few hours figuring out where we are going to sleep the next couple of days. It really isn't that serious, but I was starting to get very worried. Amsterdam is busy, and what we hear is full of high hippies. I decided I could probably spare a day or two of the 6 to go somewhere else. We decided we are going to go up to Bath for the day and one night. The hostel we are staying at here in London has a branch up there.
After we got our sleeping arrangements established, we headed out to see the Eye of London, Buckingham palace and St. John's Cathedral. All of out stops were breathtaking in their own respects. The great view from the eye, pondering what exactly is in the palace and what one person needs all that room for, and the outrageously huge cathedral. Since we got a late start on our outing today, we had dinner at an American/Italian restaurant, which was much needed. We were both very hungry and craving something cold to drink. OH yeah, So I have noticed all the runners around here wear backpacks. I pointed this out to Emily and she started pointing out non backpack runners. She couldn't get past one. EVERYONE wears a backpack. We were wondering if it was for weight or if they are running to and from work. When we were walking from Buckingham Palace to catch the underground to St. John's I decided I am going to ask this lad who was running toward us why he wears his backpack while he runs. I politely put my hand out as he was approaching and said, "Excuse me sir, I have a question for you."
At this point he was right next to me. He said without breaking stride "yeah?"
When he kept on running away from me, I hesitated and didn't know what to say or do.
Luckily he read the look on my face quickly and told me to come along.
I jumped on my horse, to now catch up with him, and asked was able to ask my question as we ran together. He told me he runs to and from work. I just said, "ok, that's what I thought. Cheers" then about faced to make my way back up to Emily.
I got a couple souvenirs, but they are a surprise. lol.
The weather was much nicer today, but got chilly quick when the sun went down.
After the tube ride home, Emily and I started a load of laundry and have been charging our electronics in the meantime. Our clothes are probably well done by now and Emily went up to check on them quite some time ago, while I stayed down here to upload my photos, finally fill out my post cards from Ireland, and catch up on my Blogger! Wish us luck on finding a place to sleep!
Best Regards,
Kurt Haisch
The 10th was a great day. Emily and I got up early to eat our free breakfast and set out on our free walking tour. We got down stairs with, what we thought, plenty of time to get her, oh so precious, Starbucks coffee. The tour started 45 min earlier than what we thought and by the time we got down stairs, the group was about to leave. We saw many different things and had a great tour guide who told many great stories of t history on England and the city of London. Even some not so good stories of Grim the Reaper. I wish I could tell you of all the places we saw, but frankly, I don't remember the names. A few were: a quick glimpse of Buckingham palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abby, The House of Parliament, and the other royal house where the Queens son lives......Can't remember the name. We got up close to the guards, but since 2002, no one is allowed next to them. I was thoroughly disappointed when I heard this news and saw my dreams of posing nearly naked next to and English guard fade away. We saw the 2 guards change with 2 fresh guards,which was very cool to see. We made our way around London and saw the building where Rugby Union was first established. We started at quarter past 10 and didn't have a break till 2 in the afternoon. We were very hungry. The cereal and toast just didn't stick with us. The tour guide suggested a place where we can go to eat with a discount and where he will be having lunch. Almost everyone popped in for lunch and a cold Brew. Emily and I bought our tickets to the pub crawl while we were there as well. It was raining cats and dogs when we left for the Hostel. We both had a nap and were off again. The first place was in a very nice shopping part of town. Emily and I were able to see 2 very cool bars and 2 clubs. I drank Emily's share of drinks, while she kept the good ol English Brew to a minimum. We didn't get to bed till late and we booked one more night here in London. We are having a very hard time finding a hostel in Amsterdam to accommodate 2 people for 6 days. We are not quite sure what we are going to do yet. We were up fairly early for check out. At least earlier than "I" would have liked.
August 11th
I ran over to get some water, juice, and loaf of bread to kick start and replenish the system for the morning. After we checked out and locked up our bags till we could check in again at 2. In the meantime, we walked to the Starbucks down the street to get the princess her Starbucks. lol. We both had a little bite to eat with our drinks and spent the next few hours figuring out where we are going to sleep the next couple of days. It really isn't that serious, but I was starting to get very worried. Amsterdam is busy, and what we hear is full of high hippies. I decided I could probably spare a day or two of the 6 to go somewhere else. We decided we are going to go up to Bath for the day and one night. The hostel we are staying at here in London has a branch up there.
After we got our sleeping arrangements established, we headed out to see the Eye of London, Buckingham palace and St. John's Cathedral. All of out stops were breathtaking in their own respects. The great view from the eye, pondering what exactly is in the palace and what one person needs all that room for, and the outrageously huge cathedral. Since we got a late start on our outing today, we had dinner at an American/Italian restaurant, which was much needed. We were both very hungry and craving something cold to drink. OH yeah, So I have noticed all the runners around here wear backpacks. I pointed this out to Emily and she started pointing out non backpack runners. She couldn't get past one. EVERYONE wears a backpack. We were wondering if it was for weight or if they are running to and from work. When we were walking from Buckingham Palace to catch the underground to St. John's I decided I am going to ask this lad who was running toward us why he wears his backpack while he runs. I politely put my hand out as he was approaching and said, "Excuse me sir, I have a question for you."
At this point he was right next to me. He said without breaking stride "yeah?"
When he kept on running away from me, I hesitated and didn't know what to say or do.
Luckily he read the look on my face quickly and told me to come along.
I jumped on my horse, to now catch up with him, and asked was able to ask my question as we ran together. He told me he runs to and from work. I just said, "ok, that's what I thought. Cheers" then about faced to make my way back up to Emily.
I got a couple souvenirs, but they are a surprise. lol.
The weather was much nicer today, but got chilly quick when the sun went down.
After the tube ride home, Emily and I started a load of laundry and have been charging our electronics in the meantime. Our clothes are probably well done by now and Emily went up to check on them quite some time ago, while I stayed down here to upload my photos, finally fill out my post cards from Ireland, and catch up on my Blogger! Wish us luck on finding a place to sleep!
Best Regards,
Kurt Haisch
Monday, August 9, 2010
August 9, 2010
Last night I stayed up till about 3am loading pictures and talking to Ellie. I wasn't too concerned because I wanted to be able to sleep the 5 hours on the bus. Adam woke me up a quarter after 6 to head to the bus station. Him and I were both getting worried when I got out of the shower with little time left to get me to the bus station on time. I had to pack all my stuff yet. A few quick burnt liters of diesel later I was at the bus station with plenty of time to spare. Adam made sure I was at the right gate before we said our goodbyes. I tried to think of what I had to look forward to, instead of the great people I had met and was leaving behind. Nothing could hold back the tears, though. Lol. Jk. I am sure Adam thinks I am a proper cry baby anyways like his brother and his shoulder injury. Ha ha. Jk Dan. Anyways, after I pulled myself together, I had to wait at the gate till half seven for the bus. It was supposed to depart at ten after, but the driver claims he was stuck in accident traffic. I got myself a window seat and 4 hours later I woke up as we were pulling into London. Still had another hour of stops and working our way down town though. When I got off at Victoria station, the sun was shining and fairly warm, 70's maybe. I only knew the address of the hostel. So the first thing I needed to do was get a map. I went to the first booth I saw. It was some travelers agent and he wanted 3 quid for a bloody map. He warned me that if I wanted to get a free one I would have to go across town to get one. Well, without a map there was no way I was going to make it across town and I could tell this guy did not want to spend the time to write me out directions. In disbelief that I couldn't find a free map, I took another look around the station and found someone sitting behind the ticketing booth. I asked him for a map and as he quickly spun around to grab me a map, he asked me where I was going and extended me the map. I told him London bridge. He pointed me in the right direction of where to catch the underground, and I was on my way. On my way out I passed the first booth. As I passed I made eye contact and simply raised my new "free" map in the air and gave it a sarcastic shake. What a wanka! I followed the second mans directions and was blown away by how many people were in this massive station/food court combination. I felt like I was in NYC. I had a difficult time finding an info booth, so I followed my map to buckingham palace. I didn't see any guards where i was, but I did see a pole with a bunch of arrows on it, one of them reading, tourist information. I followed that back to where I started. Lol. I had made a complete circle. But at least I ran into a man that worked for the transit that was very helpful and let me know exactly what ticket to buy and which train to catch. After talking with him, it all made sense and was quite easy getting to London bridge. I made my way down the street my hostel is addressed to when a red sign in a window caught my eye. It was a Seattle's best coffee advertisement. I snapped a quick picture, took two steps and was at the front door of my hostel. I checked in and found my room. I quickly made friends with a Brazilian, named Ciro, who is staying in the same room. We agreed to head out and find a place to eat together, but I let him know I had to be back at 8 to meet Emily back at the hostel. We walked along the river and snapped some pictures in front of Tower Bridge, which I was really looking forward to seeing. We walked across the bridge and I saw a fish and chips stand. The fish was literally a half of a full size fish. A huge fillet and chips. I do have to say it was very good and tops the Ivers dish. There was just so much meat and the perfect amount of batter. We then walked along the river on the other side, crossed the London bridge, saw Globe theater and headed home. We went to the bar in the hostel where they were serving 2 quid pints. That is a good deal here in England, especially London. I was relaxing in bed talking to Karl when Emily walked through the door. She looked exhausted, and respectively so, for she had been traveling for the past 24 hours. She dropped her bags and we went downstairs to get the starving girl some dinner. After Emily's dinner, I was pretty beat and it was getting late. We decided to call it early so we can get up early enough in the morning to catch free breakfast and a solid days worth of site seeing. Now after writing this blog it is 12:30, but still fairly early. Probably my earliest night yet. Talk to you after a day in London. My main goal for tomorrow is to find a London flag speedo. My plan is to wear in under my shorts and when I see a guard to strip down to the bathing suite and snap a picture. Lol. You will enjoy this one Ellie, since I know how much you like speedos.
Till then,
Kurt
Till then,
Kurt
August 8th, 2010
Today has been very uneventful. We woke up around 9 and went over to Emma and Matt's to get some things and hang out. After about 10 minutes on the couch, I was counting sheep. I didn't end up waking up till noon. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on getting my transportation down to London figured out and how and where I am going to meet Emily. I called the hostel to confirmed our reservations and look up directions from the bus station to the hostel. I leave tomorrow at 7:10 for London and arrive 12:30. Check in is not till 2 and Emily doesn't get in till 8. I figure I will just have a walk around town and have some lunch before Emily arrives. Adam has been raving about England's fish and chips. We will see how it compares to our NW, fresh catch, Ivers fish and chips. By the way I have just remembered that I have not been telling you all about the weather here. Both days I have been here it has been cold. Jumper(jacket) weather for sure. It has even rained a little bit.
Around 6pm, Adam and I went to his dads house for Sunday tea, which is Sunday dinner. His dad lives in this huge 300 year old castle looking house. I put pictures on Facebook. Supposedly, there are still hidden underground tunnels in the yard from when the monks lived there, for sneaking people in and out of the property. They still haven't been found. After a tour, many pictures and meeting up with Dan and his girlfriend, we stepped out the backyard door into the middle of this small little village center. It was the coolest thing! All these little restaurants with hotels above them now, which I assume only sleep a dozen or two. There two small streets that fingered up and continued up the hill. It was so spectacular. I literally felt like I had gone back hundreds of years. I found myself stopping, looking around and thinking of what was going here hundreds of years ago. A bunch of people walking around coming to trade goods and food? Knights and their swords. I don't know, but it sure is cool to wonder. After trying to eat at two different places and getting refused, we jumped in the restaurant that was directly behind their dad's house. I had some pesto pasta, which was excellent, and everyone else either had beef or lamb. Even though their dad did not come to dinner, he treated all of us and I made sure to tell him twice how much I appreciated it. It was getting late after dinner and I have an early bus ride in the morning, so we loaded up for the 40 min ride through the beautiful country of farm land, back to his mothers house.
I am up in Dan's room now typing away and loading pictures. I will try and make some phone calls before heading to bed. Next time you hear from me, I will be in London!!!!!!! So stoked!!
All the best,
Kurt
Around 6pm, Adam and I went to his dads house for Sunday tea, which is Sunday dinner. His dad lives in this huge 300 year old castle looking house. I put pictures on Facebook. Supposedly, there are still hidden underground tunnels in the yard from when the monks lived there, for sneaking people in and out of the property. They still haven't been found. After a tour, many pictures and meeting up with Dan and his girlfriend, we stepped out the backyard door into the middle of this small little village center. It was the coolest thing! All these little restaurants with hotels above them now, which I assume only sleep a dozen or two. There two small streets that fingered up and continued up the hill. It was so spectacular. I literally felt like I had gone back hundreds of years. I found myself stopping, looking around and thinking of what was going here hundreds of years ago. A bunch of people walking around coming to trade goods and food? Knights and their swords. I don't know, but it sure is cool to wonder. After trying to eat at two different places and getting refused, we jumped in the restaurant that was directly behind their dad's house. I had some pesto pasta, which was excellent, and everyone else either had beef or lamb. Even though their dad did not come to dinner, he treated all of us and I made sure to tell him twice how much I appreciated it. It was getting late after dinner and I have an early bus ride in the morning, so we loaded up for the 40 min ride through the beautiful country of farm land, back to his mothers house.
I am up in Dan's room now typing away and loading pictures. I will try and make some phone calls before heading to bed. Next time you hear from me, I will be in London!!!!!!! So stoked!!
All the best,
Kurt
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