Munich !

May 22-24. 2010

So I really really enjoyed Munich. It is one of my favorite cities in Germany so far. I feel like everyone in Munich has so much pride for there state. Also it was during the final game of Bayern Munich against Milan so I think that had something to do with it as well :) It was nice to see everyone in lederhosen and there outfits, true Munich. Everyone loves to drink here and they have a great time. It was Kim, Chenin and I that were on this trip. Ryan came to join us as well. The first night we got settled into our hostel which ended up being ok. It was the majority males, but it didn’t bother us too much. We didn’t hang out at the hostel so it wasn’t a problem. We had our first German meal on Friday night, which actually wasn’t so good, but at least we ate German food. Then Saturday we went to Dachau Concentration Camp. Which actually was the first concentration camp, and all the rest were followed by this design. It was neat but also weird to go there. The grounds are empty and most of the buildings that held people (living quarters,etc. ) were not there anymore. Only 2 which showed an example of what it used to look like. There bunks were 3 beds high, and I think in 1 building it was made to house I think around 200 or a little more, but when they kept bringing people in there ended up being 2000 in a building. Way over crowded. It was really weird going to the crematory, and how the process from one room to the next. There was this one room, that they disguised to look like showers. So they had the shower tops on the ceiling, and in the room they had secret areas, a peep hole, a area where they would have the gas come out, and a water pipe to flush out the room and clean it for the next group. Going to Dachau took the whole day because its train ride from Munich. At night we participated in a Beer Crawl which was a lot of fun! There we went to 3 places and had beer, and our last stop we watched the soccer game in a beer garden. We actually met up with two guys that Kim, Ryan and I met in Switzerland, so that was fun! On Sunday our day was planned for Neuschwanstein. That was another full day activity. We went with a group, because it was cheaper, only 30 euros and that included transportation round trip, which is 2 hours away from Munich, so well worth it. Also we had a guide, which he told us lots of information on the castle and the family. King Ludwig II built this castle. He actually built several castles and I think only was able to complete one. He liked to keep building but was in a great amount of debt. For the Neuschwanstein castle, he had someone create a sketch of it, and then was like build it. Haha, seemed very difficult, but was done. This is the “Sleeping Beauty” castle that Disney based it off of in Disneyland. It was one of the prettiest things that I’ve seen, naturally beautiful.

Later on in the evening when we came back to Munich we went to the famous Hofbräuhaus. There were many stories of the building, but the main floor is where most of the fun is! There are tons of long tables, so your sitting next to those you don’t know, and everyone is drinking and having a good time. The standard beer is 1 liter; you won’t get anything smaller than that, haha. We watched the Oompa Band playing all night, which brought a lot of character to the place! I ended up buy a souvenir 1 liter glass! Its so heavy J I order Pork Knuckle which is a common thing to eat in Munich so I had to say I had it. It wasn’t too bad, but I’m not a fan of pork, sooo… Then on Monday morning we did a free walking tour, around the city. I wish we did it before on Friday or Saturday but there was no time. It was really interesting everything we saw. I have to say I want to go back to Munich. I didn’t see all that I wasn’t too, so it will be another trip for me in the future!

So I have been gone for sometime now, and need to catch up on all my trips and events till now.

Hello...Switzerland finally called me : )

So Kim and I went to Switzerland last weekend, it was a very short trip but way fun. But first to start off the trip we had to sleep in the airport Friday night because our flight was too early for anyone that would want to drive us, and too early for the trains to be running. So that was an experience. Then our flight was at 7 ish in the morning, barley getting any sleep we were out of it haha. Once getting on the plane ready to take off, we were taxiing on the run way. We noticed that the seats were moving quiet a lot. Then we heard an announcement from the pilot saying we aren't going to take off and we need to go back and check things out with the brakes or something. It was suppose to take 5-10 mins to check and fix. It ended up taking 1 hr 15 mins! And then we found out they had to change the front tire, and actually needed to add more gas to the plane, oh my! So I get nervous on taking off and landings, but now I was extra nervous because all of this had happened. We finally landed, thank goodness! Then we were in Zurich. I was soo excited to be in Zurich and heard it was beautiful and everything.

Well Saturday when we were there, it was terrible weather, and there was NOTHING to do there. Our plan was to stay for the whole day and then go to Interlaken. We stayed in Zurich no more than 2 1/2 hrs. We ate at McDonald's which was expensive. And then we took the train to Interlaken, it was about 60 something swiss franks, and a 2 hour train ride. Stepping out into Interlaken was so beautiful, it was what I thought Switzerland was suppose to look like. This is the location where there are a ton of extreme sports, where the Red Bull Air Races are held. It is really a site to see. We walked around trying to find our hostel for the longest time in the rain. No luck, so we finally took a bus and made it to our cute, fun hostel called Balmers. This was Kim and I's first real Hostel experience. We were in a room with 6 other girls, and they were all really nice! The 3 things that Kim and I wanted to do on this trip was to have Swiss Chocolate, Cheese Fondue, and go Canyon Jumping. So Saturday night we went to have Fondue down the street. It was a little pricey but, we had to do it! It was so good and worth the price for an amazing experience. After dinner, I had talked to Ryan Troha about him coming to Switzerland and he was thinking about it. So he ended up staying at the same hostel which was cool to know someone. After we met up, I bought my large Toblerone chocolate, and by the end of the 2 days I mostly ate all of it, Ryan and Kim did have some~ Then we went to the Hostel's bar, for 2 for 1 drinks. We ordered this cider- I guess it's a type of beer, it was good though. Ryan said he has it a lot in England. After that we ended the night.

On Sunday morning, we got free breakfast which was nice. And then after we went on a "hike" but it really ended up being a walk. We saw a ruined castle, and cows with actual bells attached to them. We got some lunch, and souvenirs and played some ping pong. At 4 pm we were going to do Canyon Jumping. So Kim convinced me to go, and I guess I didn't really pay attention to the You Tube videos or pictures because I really had no idea what to expect. So you really jump off a ledge and free fall for 290 feet, then you swing in the canyon until you slow down. It was the scariest thing to jump off. Plus there is a woman taking pictures so its like you have to look at her to get a good picture......ahhhhhh. After the free fall though (which was a crazy experience) the swinging was fun. I really learned a lot about myself and how vulnerable you can get when faced with that experience trying to jump off. I almost cried but I couldn't so I could get a good picture! After that, I was shaking and my hands were freezing! And then I was like I deserve my chocolate! I went 2nd out of 4 people, Kim went after me. The other 2 guys in our group were originally going to do bungie jumping but then changed there minds. The guys working there said its 1 of 3 places in the world that has canyon jumping, so that was really cool! Haha the thing that psyced me out was that they were like, with canyon jumping you fee the free fall more than the bungie jumping, that was scary to hear.

Oh so on Saturday night Kim and I decided that we wanted to stay an extra night at Balmers instead of staying at the hostel we originally booked back in Zurich. Since there wasn't anything to do in Zurich and it was a Sunday we thought we would be very very bored. So we changed to stay Sunday night, which was the best choice~ We got to meet people we would of otherwise not of met, and we got to hear what they were doing on there European trips, and what they did in Interlaken.

Once we got back to the Hostel, and got our cool photos, Kim, Ryan and I made spaghetti in the kitchen at the Hostel. This was a way to save money, we just had to buy the sauce, since we brought the noodles. After dinner we wanted to play cards, so we asked to join a group that already was playing. There were all so nice, 2 of them were guys we were talking to while making dinner. They were from Canada, then we met 2 Australians, 1 guy from Miami, and 2, a couple from Dallas. We learned this game called Presidents and Assholes, which was really fun! We actually hope to meet up with the 2 Australians in Munich this weekend, and Ryan is also joining Kim, Chenin and I. So Sunday night we stayed in another 8 room dorm, with new people, who we didn't get to meet, and weren't really fun, but oh well, haha. Then Monday morning Kim and I left at 6:30 am! And we were off to the train, then the airport and then another train all to get back home in time for German! Gotta love how school is still in for us

:). Next weekend we are off to Munich~ can't wait!

Time to Study Time for Chocolate~

Tomorrow is my first final for the semester, I am a little nervous on what to expect on how difficult the test is going to be. I already had a group presentation/project which is 30% of my grade in this class. So the final is worth 70%. The grading scale is different here, they have a 1-6 scale. 1 being the best, and 6 the worst. You can get a 4 or above to pass. My classes here are going to count as credit/no credit for SDSU. So wish me luck!

Also this weekend Kim and I are going to Switzerland! I am sooo excited. I know its going to be an expensive trip for only 2 days but it will be well worth it. I want to get cheese fondue, and then my Toblerone chocolate, which is my favorite! We fly into Zurich Saturday morning, then stay there and enjoy it while the shops are open (because Sunday's everything is closed), then we are going to take a train to Interlaken and stay the night. Sunday we plan on doing this canyon jumping, like bungee jumping but the harness is around your body and not attached to your feet. Its like your free falling but you are still attached. I am really scared, but its supposed to be really fun! Interlaken is a place where there are many extreme sports, and those who go for adventure. Its suppose to rain the whole weekend so hopefully it doesn't mess with our plans, and I hope to get a lot of pictures. Then we are going to take the train back to Zurich, and spend the night, and leave Sunday morning. Can't wait!

Berlin for the weekend

I went to Berlin on May 7-9, and it was soo much fun. We stayed at this cute Bed and Breakfast called the Berliner. Which only has I think 6 rooms. There were 5 beds in our room, the biggest of all of them. There were four of us, and we only spent 20 euros a night each, which was very good! We also got breakfast, Maria the lady who ran the Berliner was so nice, she gave us a ton of options for food. Where we could cook our own food, have break, coffee, etc.. I would definatly recommend it to anyone on a budget. For dinner that night, since we came off of the train around 7 ish, we chose to eat at an Italian restaurant which was great!

The next day of our trip we had a wonderful breakfast, then we went on the Fat Tire bike All city tour around Berlin. It was 5 hours and we stopped at a Beer Garten and had lunch. We got to see all the cites, and know history and information on where we were stopping. We saw some cool places that I don't think you would find. We saw where Hilter had his bunker that he hid in, now its a parking lot haha. Also knowing the different guys in the walk signals was pretty cool. For dinner we wanted Mexican food (maybe it was only me that really wanted it), so our awesome tour guide Cate told us of a place to go to. Its called Maria Peligro! It was so good! At the time we were seated we were the only customers there. We were giving free water! And chips and salsa! Then the cook asked us if we could have our food photographed, because a couple of guys were there doing an article for the NY Times. Which means, food photographed, food looks even better than it might of AND bigger portions! So our food is famous! And they made a margarita for the shoot, which we were given for free, and also a Corona, and chips and dip! We were in heaven, and it was the best Mexican food that I have had outside of California and Mexico! So that says a lot about the quality because in Germany the Mexican is not good. Later that night we went back to some sights to take pictures. There is the Hotel Aldon, which is the hotel that Michael Jackson hung his son out of the window. We asked the people at the hotel if they knew which room it was, and they showed us! Now we have pictures : ) Then we were craving ice cream and had some! Yummm... At one of the tourist shops near by I saw these cheesy visors for sale! 50 cents! So I convinced Kim to buy one with me and we started taking funny pictures at every know cite! It was soo much fun! Berlin was not what I expected, I liked it and loved hearing more english (because its a bigger city).

On our last day we went to more cites, and took pictures. I finally tried a Berliner in Berlin, and now I can finally say I have! It was nice to get a taste of it, but not sure if I need to go back again for a longer amount of time. I did like seeing the Berlin Wall, and I even bought a piece of it to take home.

Berlin for the weekend

Off to Berlin today! I hope the weather clears up a little bit. We plan on doing a bike ride tomorrow, so I really hope its not raining!

Rain, Thunder, Lightning and Hail... What a day

So today there was a rain storm, where it started raining lightly, then pouring. While pouring it started thundering and lightning, then hailing. Maybe 15 minutes later, there were blue skies : ) So Chenin and I still wanted to go on our walk that we had planned, and we left at a good time. We walked 5 miles along the Rhine. But walking back we could see those dark, mysterious clouds coming our way. Well it was still beautiful on the way back.. for a little bit. Then it started pouring! We had to go under a tree for a while until we could continue back home. All in all it was a good day despite the rain on the way back from our walk.