Time flies. FLIES. Not to sound too cliche, but it does.
Okay everybody, I'm on a timed computer. Let's see if I can get through three cities in one go.
You already know Berlin was amazing. After Sarah's we stayed with my cousin Kai (in Berlin) who was hilarious and hospitable. Thursday we left for Prague.
Prague gave Berlin a run for its money. We were back in a hostel which was wicked, it was so clean and organized, our roommates were unreal, and the staff was always on our side. They worked reception during the day and partied with us at night.
Thursday in Prague we met up with my friend from Ottawa, Mireille, who is here studying her masters for the next two years. She filled us in on the Czech ways and a lot of little known facts, and history. For instance, did you know that Budweiser beer was actually a CZECH recipe without a patent and the Americans STOLE it? Yeah. News to me too.
Beer in Czech was just as great as beer in Germany. If I had to choose though, I'd choose German beer...(staying true to the roots!) Except for maaayybe this delicious and cheap beer they sold at Johnny Drama's, our Prague hostel's bar...Entourage fans at that! We loved it! The staff at Hostel One was so great, Ben from the States, Rod "like God with an R" from Montreal. Rod played hiphop for us any chance he could. (But no Drake. pfffffff. don't even get me started.)
Friday night in Prague led to an unplanned night out--always interesting to say the least. We partied with our English roommates and the entire hostel at an underground bar. Hallowe'en costumes were encouraged. Beers were cheeeaaap.
Saturday was our real Hallowe'en bash. We didn't have costumes, but luckily our FABULOUS roommates went as dead cheerleaders and had fake blood to spare. THIS PARTY WAS TO DIE FOR. EXCUSE MY BAD HALLOWEEN PUN. But seriously it was so much fun. We danced the night away with a trillion other people, since I'm pretty sure one trillion was the capacity of this venue. My notes for this night are: Hallowe'en. Bloody Sexy. Dead. Hilarious.
Sorry for those who are itching for details. I'm on a time limit. I'm leavin' it at that.
Aaaand Sunday is the day of rest (for good reason you know.) At 5pm we did an underground tour of the old city of Prague; eerie, beautiful, historically fascinating.
Today is Monday. We cringed saying goodbye to Prague, we fell in love there....with the city moms and dads, not with the Czech men!
Now we're in Vienna though and we've been here for like 5 hours and I already love it more. How? I don't know. Europe is so great.
I'm sitting in our Vienna hostel's lounge. It's called Wombats, it's so central to everything great going on, it has an excellent bar attached to the lobby that's currently hosting a screaming Hallowe'en party. No puns this time, everyone in there is literally screaming.
WOOOOO HALLOWE'EN IN VIENNA!
It is something to scream about.
Our room is big and wonderfully clean, with a lovely bathroom and cute old wooden bunk beds with fluffy pillows and crisp white sheets. Mm. The kitchen is big and organized and functional. We have two roommates so far, an English girl called Hannah and a nice man we don't quite know yet. Our hostel luck is astounding.
Tomorrow we venture into Vienna to see the sights-- really see them this time, early mornings and routes planned: Museums, palaces, marketplaces, and the oldest zoo in the world. Ash and I have become professionals at navigating new cities...pros I tell you! She's the best travel buddy by the way...the other day I was in bed and sleepy and freezing and she dug through my big bag, found my warm wool socks and put them on my feet for me. I didn't even have to move. Best gf ever.
Heading to bed if I can, but it's hard to tear myself away from the wayback-playback happening in the bar beside me. 90s pop and Hallowe'en zombies anyone?
Marking the halfway point of our trip with incredible memories, a million laughs and nothing but more excitement to come.
Love from Austria!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Berlin unsafe making.
Ahh, Berlin. You beautiful city, you. You've snapped us out of our food-comas and the lazy lifestyle we embraced in Plön and brought us back to the wonderful world of travelling Europe. This weekend in Berlin has been brilliant.
We arrived to the main train station in Berlin with much better luck than our expeditions in Charles de Gaulle (please refer to Ashley's blog if you don't already know this story). We found Sarah and Maui and headed to their cozy apartment in southern Berlin to make dinner and catch up.
Saturday we headed back into the heart of the city. We saw Pariser Platz and the monumental arch that is there (don't ask me to pronounce it, I always forget), parliament buildings, beautiful parks and streets, and holocaust and Berlin Wall monuments and memorials. The city is big and beautiful and the history here is haunting.
The biggest holocaust memorial was a square of grey brick stones; like a street square of brick maze. The day was sunny and bright and people were using the stones as benches, soaking up the sun, laughing and relaxing. But as people climbed the bricks and posed for pictures, I couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable...here was a place to remember the Holocaust, the monstrosity of Hitler and the millions who were killed. It seemed weird to me to hang around in such a place so casually. But it's true; the bricks get so high at some points that it's like Harry Potter's Goblet of Fire maze, and it's easy (and not uncommon) to play hide and seek or tag within the monument. While I feel as though you history nuts are cringing, without knowing the story of the memorial it just looks like a fun place to play.
Once a person is filled in, however, the site looms with undeniable significance, and a new light is shed on the gradually growing stones.
The monument starts with shorter, smaller bricks, identifying the first thoughts that Hitler's movements would pass quietly, that it was only a rough patch in Germany, that everything was perfectly under control. As you move toward the centre of the monument the stones surround you, towering and ominous, indicating that at the breach of WWII people were in over their heads. With high stones all around you it's easy to lose your sense of direction, just like the people got lost within Hitler's reign.
Aside from being historically fascinating, Berlin is also a bustling, beautiful capital. Streets and shops are full, different languages ring out everywhere, and fashion hits the streets with a little more oomph than Toronto. It's a student city. It's a business city. It's a music-on-the-sidewalk-pretzel-in-the-park city. It's fantastic.
Saturday came and went in a flash, we bummed around all the touristy areas and soaked in as many free attractions as we could. We were going to go up Berlin's TV Tower but the wait was long and we had plans in the evening and a cookie and a coffee sounded just as nice.
At 9pm we went to the university's med student party...and it was already packed. We waited in line for 45 minutes to get in the door, and then another half an hour for coat check...and this was at 9pm! At home, we wouldn't even head out the door until 11.
Beers were 1€ and shots were 0.50€. The dance floor was huge and sweaty and full of people from all over the world. The music was 1-30 years old. It was brilliant.
Sarah, Maui, Ash and I danced until 2am, a normal time to finish clubbing at home. When we left people were still streaming in from outside, checking their coats and just beginning their nights, as ours was ending. Sarah said the party would continue until 8 or 9 in the morning and it would be just as sweaty and just as crowded the entire time.
Sunday was a perfect end to the weekend. We slept in and had a relaxed breakfast and then headed to the artsy side of the city. We flea-marketed all afternoon and ended in a cafe that served chili hot chocolate and hot apple juice. We met Sarah's closest friends, all of them brilliant, and I caught up with another girlfriend from New York, sweet + saucy Tony. It was a gooooood afternoon.
Dinner tonight was hilarious. Don't ask me why--it was for no particular reason. We burnt the potatoes. And Sarah dropped the mustard...AND ate garlic dip by itself out of the bowl. We made delicious salad. We did dishes and danced for the people at the bus stop across the street. We laughed in gales--collapse-on-the-floor-teatowel-in-hand kindof gales... we seem to do that a lot.
I don't think we could ask for a better pair to stay with this weekend; Sarah and Maui have been hospitable to the max, everyone's comfortable and happy and glad to be with each other. Tomorrow they go back to class and we go back to the heart of Berlin to see what other kind of trouble we can find.
There happens to be a German expression for gallivanting around a place...since we're in Berlin, it goes like this: "Berlin unsicher machen!"
Directly translated, it means
Berlin unsafe making.
We arrived to the main train station in Berlin with much better luck than our expeditions in Charles de Gaulle (please refer to Ashley's blog if you don't already know this story). We found Sarah and Maui and headed to their cozy apartment in southern Berlin to make dinner and catch up.
Saturday we headed back into the heart of the city. We saw Pariser Platz and the monumental arch that is there (don't ask me to pronounce it, I always forget), parliament buildings, beautiful parks and streets, and holocaust and Berlin Wall monuments and memorials. The city is big and beautiful and the history here is haunting.
The biggest holocaust memorial was a square of grey brick stones; like a street square of brick maze. The day was sunny and bright and people were using the stones as benches, soaking up the sun, laughing and relaxing. But as people climbed the bricks and posed for pictures, I couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable...here was a place to remember the Holocaust, the monstrosity of Hitler and the millions who were killed. It seemed weird to me to hang around in such a place so casually. But it's true; the bricks get so high at some points that it's like Harry Potter's Goblet of Fire maze, and it's easy (and not uncommon) to play hide and seek or tag within the monument. While I feel as though you history nuts are cringing, without knowing the story of the memorial it just looks like a fun place to play.
Once a person is filled in, however, the site looms with undeniable significance, and a new light is shed on the gradually growing stones.
The monument starts with shorter, smaller bricks, identifying the first thoughts that Hitler's movements would pass quietly, that it was only a rough patch in Germany, that everything was perfectly under control. As you move toward the centre of the monument the stones surround you, towering and ominous, indicating that at the breach of WWII people were in over their heads. With high stones all around you it's easy to lose your sense of direction, just like the people got lost within Hitler's reign.
Aside from being historically fascinating, Berlin is also a bustling, beautiful capital. Streets and shops are full, different languages ring out everywhere, and fashion hits the streets with a little more oomph than Toronto. It's a student city. It's a business city. It's a music-on-the-sidewalk-pretzel-in-the-park city. It's fantastic.
Saturday came and went in a flash, we bummed around all the touristy areas and soaked in as many free attractions as we could. We were going to go up Berlin's TV Tower but the wait was long and we had plans in the evening and a cookie and a coffee sounded just as nice.
At 9pm we went to the university's med student party...and it was already packed. We waited in line for 45 minutes to get in the door, and then another half an hour for coat check...and this was at 9pm! At home, we wouldn't even head out the door until 11.
Beers were 1€ and shots were 0.50€. The dance floor was huge and sweaty and full of people from all over the world. The music was 1-30 years old. It was brilliant.
Sarah, Maui, Ash and I danced until 2am, a normal time to finish clubbing at home. When we left people were still streaming in from outside, checking their coats and just beginning their nights, as ours was ending. Sarah said the party would continue until 8 or 9 in the morning and it would be just as sweaty and just as crowded the entire time.
Sunday was a perfect end to the weekend. We slept in and had a relaxed breakfast and then headed to the artsy side of the city. We flea-marketed all afternoon and ended in a cafe that served chili hot chocolate and hot apple juice. We met Sarah's closest friends, all of them brilliant, and I caught up with another girlfriend from New York, sweet + saucy Tony. It was a gooooood afternoon.
Dinner tonight was hilarious. Don't ask me why--it was for no particular reason. We burnt the potatoes. And Sarah dropped the mustard...AND ate garlic dip by itself out of the bowl. We made delicious salad. We did dishes and danced for the people at the bus stop across the street. We laughed in gales--collapse-on-the-floor-teatowel-in-hand kindof gales... we seem to do that a lot.
I don't think we could ask for a better pair to stay with this weekend; Sarah and Maui have been hospitable to the max, everyone's comfortable and happy and glad to be with each other. Tomorrow they go back to class and we go back to the heart of Berlin to see what other kind of trouble we can find.
There happens to be a German expression for gallivanting around a place...since we're in Berlin, it goes like this: "Berlin unsicher machen!"
Directly translated, it means
Berlin unsafe making.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
we are old ladies.
Wanna know what we've done in Germany so far?
Eat.
And sleep.
And eat and sleep.
Annnnd eat and sleep. Just saying, it's a tough life.
No but seriously, all we've done since we got here is nothing. We get up around 8:30am and eat breakfast, and then we lay around and drink coffee or tea, maybe we'll read a book or mess around on the computer or catch up on our writing. Around 1:30pm it's lunch, but lunch is really dinner here, meaning the biggest meal of the day. So we eat again. Potatoes and fish and beet salad and carrots and meatballs and sausage and flöte and dill sauce and green salad and...everything. At 3pm is coffee, always accompanied by cake, cookies, marzipan, chocolate, or candies, and sometimes on special days (and it's always a special day when we're here) all of the above. Afterwards the mums send us downstairs to rest, because oh, such a difficult day we've had. So then we'll nap on the couch or listen to some tuuunes, and if we're feeling really ambitious we might even get out for a stroll before dinner. Yes, dinner. Dinner comes between 7&9pm and consists of the best homemade bread you've ever tasted, cheese of all sorts, cold meats, and salad. Or giant sandwiches. Or deep-dish-melt-in-your-mouth pizza. Considering we ate dry baguettes for dinner in Paris, I'd say we're nothing short of spoiled rotten.
Now this week we happen to be sick, the both of us coughing and sneezing and needing extra rest. Laziness is a luxury. I'd like to tell you it'd be much different if we were healthy, nobody would be waiting on us hand and foot, cooking all our snacks and meals or letting us get away with doing absolutely nothing. I'd like to say it'd be different. I just don't like to lie.
Plön has been a blessing and a pleasure after two weeks of hilarious independence. We conquered Galway, Cork, Cobh, Dublin and Paris all on our own, hardly resting, always laughing, and watching eachothers' backs. Ashley and I make a great travel team. We've met amazing people from all over the world along the way and there is so much more to come. Tomorrow we leave Plön for Berlin, where we'll stay with my friend Sarah for the weekend and Tuesday or Wednesday we'll catch up with my cousin Kai, who also lives in Berlin. Then on to Prague!
Here's to being at home away from home.
stay posted!
sammy k.
Eat.
And sleep.
And eat and sleep.
Annnnd eat and sleep. Just saying, it's a tough life.
No but seriously, all we've done since we got here is nothing. We get up around 8:30am and eat breakfast, and then we lay around and drink coffee or tea, maybe we'll read a book or mess around on the computer or catch up on our writing. Around 1:30pm it's lunch, but lunch is really dinner here, meaning the biggest meal of the day. So we eat again. Potatoes and fish and beet salad and carrots and meatballs and sausage and flöte and dill sauce and green salad and...everything. At 3pm is coffee, always accompanied by cake, cookies, marzipan, chocolate, or candies, and sometimes on special days (and it's always a special day when we're here) all of the above. Afterwards the mums send us downstairs to rest, because oh, such a difficult day we've had. So then we'll nap on the couch or listen to some tuuunes, and if we're feeling really ambitious we might even get out for a stroll before dinner. Yes, dinner. Dinner comes between 7&9pm and consists of the best homemade bread you've ever tasted, cheese of all sorts, cold meats, and salad. Or giant sandwiches. Or deep-dish-melt-in-your-mouth pizza. Considering we ate dry baguettes for dinner in Paris, I'd say we're nothing short of spoiled rotten.
Now this week we happen to be sick, the both of us coughing and sneezing and needing extra rest. Laziness is a luxury. I'd like to tell you it'd be much different if we were healthy, nobody would be waiting on us hand and foot, cooking all our snacks and meals or letting us get away with doing absolutely nothing. I'd like to say it'd be different. I just don't like to lie.
Plön has been a blessing and a pleasure after two weeks of hilarious independence. We conquered Galway, Cork, Cobh, Dublin and Paris all on our own, hardly resting, always laughing, and watching eachothers' backs. Ashley and I make a great travel team. We've met amazing people from all over the world along the way and there is so much more to come. Tomorrow we leave Plön for Berlin, where we'll stay with my friend Sarah for the weekend and Tuesday or Wednesday we'll catch up with my cousin Kai, who also lives in Berlin. Then on to Prague!
Here's to being at home away from home.
stay posted!
sammy k.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
a note to the newbies...
Hello friends and fam! It's good to be back. Ironically I already had this site titled "postcards" to keep everyone updated from New York. While those days have come and gone and those stories have circulated as massive emails, a postcard blog still fits for our adventures across Europe!
So as we sit at the 19th of October, Ashley and I are a quarter of the way through our trip. It's never too late to start keeping track, right? Pass on the url and stay posted.
xsk.
So as we sit at the 19th of October, Ashley and I are a quarter of the way through our trip. It's never too late to start keeping track, right? Pass on the url and stay posted.
xsk.
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