The following day, we all awoke energized and ready to explore the city. We walked around the center, checked out the easter market, and eventually headed to the Hoffbrau House, a must see in Munich. This beer hall is well known as being the starting point for the Third Reicht. Just 80 years ago, Hitler re-energized the German population in this pourhouse, which became a popular center for his Socialist counterparts. The ambiance there was absolutely amazing, and it was easy to imagine what it would have been like to listen to a political speech there 80 years ago. We had lunch (a plate of Brats, and tons of sourkraut) and enjoyed one of the same beers Adolf Hitler enjoyed in his prime.

After lunch, I set of for the Munich Airport to head to France to surprise Taryn for her birthday. Being a politics junkie, the infrastructure of Germany was absolutely amazing. After lot of Ryanair and slower trains, the travel experience I had going from Munich to Paris made it one of the most amazingly easy and comfortable trips I have ever taken. When I arrived to the airport, by their super-quick train, I found Munich's airport to be the most modern and easy to navigate I have ever been to. I was approached by a Luftahnsa representative, who asked me for my check in information. She informed me that although I had a Scandanavian Airlines flight, I would be flying Luftahnsa, as they are partners. it literally took me 5 minutes to check-in, and I continued through security and towards my gate in another ten. After realizing I had some time to kill, I wondered around the airport which was more like a mall, and was kindly informed that all of the Luftahnsa kiosks throughout the airport provide their travellers free drinks, snacks, and newspapers. I was floored. When I finally boarded, I realized that I had more leg room than I have ever had on a flight, and it was a pleasant hour to Copenhagen.

I stopped in Copenhagen for about an hour and then I was off to Paris. My flight landed at about 10 in Charles de Gualle and Taryn was waiting for me with a crepe. For the next couple days, I got a full glimpse inside Taryn's job as an Au'pair which was really cool. The two kids she watches (Winston and Chloe) are super cute, and extremely smart. After taking Winston to the Eiffel Tower for the day, we enjoyed an awesome dinner with Danielle (the kids grandmother), which included a great wine, roasted chicken and veggies, a cheese course, and an amazing dessert. Danielle was extremely complementary of Taryn's work, especially about the development of Winston and Chloe's english.

I got to spend more time with Winston and Chloe the following day playing soccer, and then Taryn and I decided to grab dinner for our last night. After reading some reviews, we decided on a restaurant called Les Papilles. We could not have chosen a better place. They only serve one 3 course menu every night, and we were lucky enough to choose the day that they serve duck. We had a great soup, duck, a cheese course, and a fabulous dessert and the environment of the restaurant was absolutely great! It was so nice to enjoy Paris without a strict time frame, and Taryn and I also got the chance to meet Karie and Louise and go out with them, and we also had a great birthday dinner at Liz's to celebrate Taryn's big day. Another treat we really enjoyed was a restaurant called "Breakfast in America," which needs no further explanation - and needless to say I felt like I was right at home in the saum kitchen for sunday brunch.

After an extremely relaxing and easily paced visit to Paris, I set off for Amsterdam as the last leg of our trip. My train took about 3 hours from Paris to Amsterdam, with stops in Brussels and Rotterdam. The train was absolutely awesome, and I had the opportunity to the see the countryside of the Netherlands with all of the tulip farms which was really cool. After a great reunion with Sean and Ben, we explored the city for the following 36 hours and then headed back to Madrid. I arrived back in Madrid on Saturday, the 3rd of April and I have never been so happy to be back in Madrid. The trip was so cool, but I was worn out and ready to be home. I have never felt that Madrid was home more than I do now which is a strange feeling, but thats what almost 4 months here will do to you.

On Easter Sunday, I attended Mass with Hansen and his cousin, which was a really great experience. Afterwards, we decided to go to a bullfight in Las Ventas, which was really cool as well. It is definitely a very Spanish ordeal, and we had a great time. I spent the past week catching up on work, and took a very easy weekend here in Madrid playing soccer midweek with my Spanish Club, and here I am getting ready for Morocco with Hansen and Karie this weekend. More updates to come!