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Kelly's European Adventures
Well so much for keeping up with my updates. I know it's been 2 weeks since the last time I posted, but what else can I say but that I've been busy? However, since it has been exactly one month since my departure, I felt I should take the time. =)
I left off in Berlin, staying in a mixed dorm room of 16 people. When I arrived I wasn't very sure of what to expect, though as I walked through the door to my room I was a bit wary. Just as I had opened the door, a man in his 30s stepped out of the shower room with nothing on but some black underwear that resembled a speedo much too closely. He just glanced at me, smirked, and went about his business - well hello to you too. As I claimed my bed, my attention was turned to the only other person present which was a 40 something Indian man, shirtless with his bulging stomach in all of its splendid glory, a bandage around his jaw and head, and muttering to himself continually. I prayed that soon people more my age would appear, otherwise I would definitely be asking the front desk for a change of "scenery". After exploring the area for a few hours I reluctantly returned to the hostel to luckily find 2 British guys setting up their beds. YAY!! They were if not my saviors of Berlin, they were definitely the source of quite a bit of entertainment.
As I said in my previous post, I did a walking tour of Berlin the following day and got to see a ton of the sights and I left off with going to Potsdam on the 24th. Aimee and I had a great time wandering about the really cozy city. Even though we didn't go inside any of the palaces, there was an immense and spectacular garden/park that went with the main palace and we were content to wander. Making our way back to the town center we had döner kepabs (huge shaved meat sandwiches) and returned to Berlin. Aimee went on her way after hanging around for a bit because she was leaving for Munich in the morning but we made plans to meet back up in Prague. That night I had planned on spending a relaxed evening at the hostel, but when I got back the two British guys had been drinking already and had recruited 2 Canadians from our room to go out with as well. I gave in and decided to tag along even though I didn't plan on drinking. We left for what was supposed to be the best night club in Berlin, Watergate, but the guys didn't actually know where they were going and after painstakingly asking 5 or 6 Germans how to get there along the way, we came upon it. Unfortunately though the guys were being utterly obnoxious and when we got the the front of the queue, the bouncers said they wouldn't let any more guys in but Tori and I could. Well, we left with the guys in a huff and tried to find another place, wandering about East Berlin after midnight with no real direction, down a really sketchy street where strip clubs were plentiful. Finally at 3 AM Tori and I had had enough, especially since neither of us had been drinking and told the guys we were going back to the hostel as they went searching yet again for another club. Unfortunately, we had missed the train by about 10 minutes and the next one didn't arrive for the next 2 hours so we went to (yes, sadly I admit it) the McCafe McDonald's in the train station, ordered Big Macs, and waited it out. Ugh is all I can say. The only good that came of the night was getting to see the East Side Gallery, the longest stretch of the Berlin Wall that is left and I even signed my name...
The next day I spent relaxing in Berlin, visited a few more places and then went up the glass dome of the Reichstag at night which was really great. I departed from Berlin on the 26th and made my way to Prague, Czech Republic. With only slight difficulties, I got my Czech money and maneuvered my way to my graffitied but spunky hostel, home for the next 4 nights. In my room I met Jeremy, an Aussie and we went out for dinner at a Czech restaurant nearby which I proceeded to order DUCK - and lots of it! I ordered a very traditional meal of duck with sweet sauerkraut, potato pancakes, and dumplings as well as a pint of beer and a cheese platter for starters. Mmmmmmm. I took half of it home because it was so huge and enjoyed it a couple days later. After eating Jeremy and I went out onto one of the islands and just relaxed on the stone walls of the park before heading across the river and up into the hills of an immense park. At the top there was the remains of castle walls that we could explore and amazing views of the city at night. Definitely worth the climb.
On the 27th I wandered all the way from the hostel south of town to the far north of town in order to meet Aimee, the girl I had hung out with in Berlin, at the train station. After stopping in a few churches along the way I got there an hour early and it's a good thing I did. Her train coming in from Munich didn't stop at the same station where I had been let off so I had to scramble to take the metro to another station to see if she was getting in there. Luckily she was and I didn't have to search further so I got her settled at our hostel. We did a bit of planning for the next few days before heading out and it's a good thing because she realized her flight was on the 29th, not the 30th like she thought! I ended up taking her back up to the park and castle I was at the night before and we walked up even further to find the most beautiful gardens and even a few private houses up there. Sign me up for living there is all I can say. We walked back across the Charles Bridge and saw the city center and headed for bed.
On the 28th we went to a nearby town called Kutna Hora, about an hour away. We visited an Ossuary there which is basically a church that was decorated with the bones of over 400,000 people. It even has a chandelier that includes every single bone of the human body. Pictures are a must see but alas, I still haven't been able to upload. Soon though! That night we went out to dinner with Jack and Davis, two guys in our room from Colorado and once again had some amazing Czech food. We then stopped at a "night shop" and bought a bottle of champagne and white wine, took it to the city center and just enjoyed the evening.
Amy left at 5AM on the 29th in a cab which I made sure was safe before climbing back to bed. After I woke up I spent the day up at the palace, but mostly just visited the cathedral for 3 hours. AMAZING stained glass windows all over the place and I took the 287 steps up the tower to the look-out. Let me tell you, when it's 90 degrees out, humid, you're walking up a 5 foot wide spiral staircase, fighting other people coming down, breathing in other people's bodily odors for the duration, you are definitely gasping for fresh air by the time you get to the top. Great view of a beautiful city though so I guess it was worth it. That night I heated up my leftover duck and dumplings while these two super cute French Canadian guys were making pasta in the kitchen and they invited me to sit and eat with them. Who could refuse? So I sat and chit chatted and one thing led to another, one bottle of wine led to another, and we all decided to go out dancing (with another Canadian guy and 2 English girls). The club we went to was nice enough but of course was playing crazy American 80's dance music so I just jammed out. What do I care if the Czechs laugh - it's our music damnit! We left around 1:30 and took taxis back and continued to socialize until Lord knows when. Everyone else went to sleep and I meant to as well, but started talking with some Irish people at the hostel instead. Have another beer... okay.... Once they headed for bed I was sure mine was also in sight but then I got talking to a guy from Argentina and was so excited to speak Spanish that I stayed up... until 6:30 AM! Needless to say I missed my 9:15 train in the morning so I just had to wait 4 hours until the 1:15 instead. Oh well.
On the 30th I took my 6-ish hour train ride to Munich and arrived around 7. I threw my stuff down in the hostel, chatted with Jennifer, a girl from England in my room and we decided to just chill out in the bar downstairs for the night. Uneventful, but nice just to relax a bit.
The 31st Jennifer and I went out to Dachau concentration camp. It's definitely something to experience, even though it wasn't one of the death camps and was never used for mass killings, though thousands did die there. I'm really glad I went, and it still baffles me that there are people in the world who still deny the disgraceful and horrific acts of the Nazi party ever happened, even with all of the blatant proof. That night after such a somber day, we needed some cheering up so we recruited 4 guys from the hostel to go out to the Haufbrauhaus, the most famous (and I think largest) beer hall in Germany (the world?). Yes, I had my 7Euro liter of beer and the 6 of us split 2 giant pretzels. The journey back to the hostel was quite interesting with 4 very drunk guys, all needing to relieve themselves and someone else's small phobia of escalators, but eventually we made it back and spent another couple hours in the bar downstairs. We met back up with one of Jennifer's friends, Scott, whom we had seen at Dachau earlier in the day and spent the night chatting.
SEPTEMBER. In the morning Jennifer and I went on a free walking tour that our hostel does and quite unfortunately our tour guide was "complete rubbish" to borrow a British term. We did get to see a bit of the city but it was raining on and off as well so that added to the misery of listening to the guide bumbling over dates and simple words.... More wandering about the city later and then back to the hostel for a relaxing evening and a little more bar time. Hung out more with Scott since he was recovering from the previous 3 nights of much heavier drinking.
On the 2nd, our last day in Munich, Scott, Jennifer, and I went to the English gardens in the morning and although it's pretty famous for it, we did not get to see any nude sunbathers. Darn. Around 1:30 Scott and I took Jennifer back to the metro because she had to leave to catch her plane back to London. Miss you!! The rest of the day Scott and I spend lazily among cafes and even went to go see the Simpsons movie. Some of you would be so proud of me, I even laughed!
On the 3rd I left Munich and went to Fussen to see Nauschwanstein castle, the castle that Walt Disney modeled Cinderella's castle after. The castle was great and we all know how much I love Disney. I had originally planned to stay in Innsbruck, Austria that night since it was so close to Fussen, but then found out I would have to go back 2 hours to Munich and then another hour and a half to Innsbruck, completely defeating the purpose of using it as a stopover so I headed back to Munich. On the way back I met and awesome couple from Connecticut and it was like seeing into a crystal ball what my life will be in 10 years. She did a Disney internship, studied communications, minored in Spanish, etc. etc. Mark and Sheri you guys rock! After getting back to Munich, I recommended an awesome pizza place for them to eat at nearby and grabbed a slice myself as Sheri slipped a 10Euro bill into my hand, from one Disney fan to another, making the magic happen. You have to be one of us to understand...
I decided to make my way still that night to Salzburg, Vienna and arrived at my hostel at 11PM, thank god they were still open. The 4th was raining and gloomy the entire day so I caught up on rest, reading, and relaxation.
And now today, the 5th, one month since I started out. I spent the entire day doing the 4 hour Sound of Music tour and also another 4 hour tour of the Salt Mines just over the border into Germany. Very cool I must say. The hills were alive and I even watched the Sound of Music at my hostel.
Well, time is short and internet is VERY expensive here. I must be going but will try my best to update more often in the future. Miss you all!!!
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