Crazy to think that my last week of student teaching is already over...doesn't seem like I've been in the school for that long at all! This last week though was quite fun. This is the last week of school for the 13th years so they have had a different theme for each day of the week. Monday they all dressed up as construction workers, wearing the blue jumpsuits and construction hard hats. They also put caution tape all over the school and locked up the teacher's entrance to the school we we all had to walk in the student entrance. During the breaks, they would all sit outside the staff room as if they were some union on strike...so in order to get in or out of the teachers' room, you had to climb over all of these studets. Every now and then they would also all stand up and chant something in German. It was pretty funny. On Tuesday, they all dressed up in a different sports outfit and would play different sports in the hallway. On Wednesday, they all dressed up like a different character of some sort, comic book, superhero, etc. Thursday, they all dressed up like nerds...and one student was the Easter Bunny. They also filled up a bunch of little plastic cups with water and placed them in front of the entrance to the school so to get into the building you had to walk all over these water-filled cups. Also on Thursday there was a program which the 13th graders put on. It was an Oscar-themed program where the 13th graders had nominated and voted on their teachers for awards like: most artistic, best in their subject, best transportation to school, etc... For some the students voted, and for other categoried the nominated teachers had to get on stage and complete some sort of task and the audience voted. It was really interesting. Friday, it was a calm day for the older students.
Wednesday was my last class with my 5th graders. The students had to fill out a worksheet dealing with vocabulary where there was a German sentence on one side and and the English translation on the other side, and the students had to fill in the missing English vocab word. I was going to go over the answers with the students and my cooperating teacher said that the students would really love it if I tried to pronounce the German sentences while I was going over the homework. So I did. The kids found it really funny, although after I read one sentence one little boy clapped for me so I think I said that one really well. But it was fun and the kids enjoyed it.
Thursday was my last class with my 6th graders. I was really sad to have to leave this class because this is the only class which I have been at every single one of their lessons since I got here in January. To start this class, we handed the students back their reports from the oral exam which they took on Tuesday...we had 9 students start crying. It sucked. Not just like a tear or two here and there, like full on sobbing...and a couple of them were boys which you don't tend to see very often. After the kids settled down from their test scores, we played a vocabulary game the rest of the class period and the students all signed a card for me with their picture in it...which is awesome! I will definitely miss this class. I also had the 7th graders Thursday and I took small groups of them into a separate room to practice their speaking. Their task was to give an oral biography of their favorite celebrity...here are some of the celebrities the students said (note the randomness): Mark Wahlberg, Bruno Mars, Homer Simpson, Johnny Depp, Kobe Bryant, and of course Spongebob Squarepants. I found this quite amusing.
Friday was my last day in general and the only classes I had were 9th grade and 7th grade. I did the 9th grade lesson completely on my own and then broke the news to them that I was going back to America and I received a round of applause from them...which was nice. The 7th graders were just watching a movie but some of them had made cake, muffins, and cupcakes and they said some farewell things to me which was really nice.
The fact that I have completed my student teaching is crazy to me in the first place, but then I also think about how I am basically done with my undergraduate degree and that is even crazier. I have a few school things to take care of when I get back, but I am done with college and it is weird!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Salzburg
A couple weekends ago, Sophie and I went to Salzburg, Austria for the sole purpose of going on the Sound of Music tour. However, we both ended up LOVING Salzburg.
We arrived at our hostel in Salzburg before 9am on that Saturday, we weren't able to check in yet so we put our stuff in the luggage room, stole some of the free breakfast and planned out our day.
We decided to first walk around the city a little and see the Mozart statue and the Mozart chocolate shops. You wouldn't believe how much chocolate they have dedicated to Mozart...it is kind of strange, but delicious. We then proceeded to find Mozart's house. That was pretty interesting to walk through, minus the fact that there was an annoying school group taking over the entire thing. The kids kept giving Sophie and me strange looks for some reason.
After we walked through Mozart's house, we found a place to eat lunch. We both ordered some traditional Austrain Schnitzel and just sat and ate for a couple of hours. The Schnitzel was delicious by the way.
We had already booked our tickets for the Sound of Music Tour for 2pm so we decided to start walking in the direction of where we would get picked up for the tour. We were a little early so we walked around the shops some and sat in the park across the street because it was an absolutely wonderful day out!
The tour was actually quite nice! We were able to get off of the bus frequently to see the sites and the tour actually took us a little bit out of Salzburg and all around Salzburg so we were able to see a lot of the countryside and it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Check out my pictures on facebook if you don't believe me. At one of the stops a little outside of Salzburg we had about an hour to kind of wander around the small town, so Sophie and I had some Strudel, which of course was also delicious.
Once we got back to Salzburg, we checked into the hostel and went to the Augustiner Brewery for dinner. This brewery was really cool...we sat outside in the Beer Garden, which was huge! There were no servers here, you went up to get your own beer by paying for the size of the beer, grabbing your own stein, washing it yourself, and then handing it to someone to fill up for you. For food, there were different stands all over the restaraunt where you just walked up and ordered your food and paid for it right then. We each ate the best half of a chicken either of us have ever tasted...SO GOOD!
Here is where my trip takes a turn for the worse...we get back the dorm and my intention is to stay up for the UK Final Four game, so Sophie and I play around on the computer for about an hour or two. We then realize it is 2am and we both fell asleep on the couch, so we decided to go to bed. I set my ipod alarm for 2:45 since the game started at 3am Salzburg time. Since I would be waking up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to set my phone alarm because that would be loud and annoying and wake everyone up. So I had my ipod alarm set and ready, and my headphones in my ears. Next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 6 freaking 30 in the morning...COMPLETELY MISSED THE GAME! My alarm did not make noise when it went off for some reason, which completely defeats the purpose of an alarm. I immediately grabbed my computer and ran upstairs to see the outcome of the game...disappointing that we lost. Although, if we had won the game and I had missed it I would have been pissed!
I went back to bed after the terrible way I was woken up. We only really had time for breakfast on Sunday before we had to catch the bus back to the airport. It was a really fun trip, we were able to fit a lot into basically just one day of Salzburg. I would love to go back and even live there, it was just so pretty. No matter where you were in the city you could see the surrounding mountains and it was just perfect!
We arrived at our hostel in Salzburg before 9am on that Saturday, we weren't able to check in yet so we put our stuff in the luggage room, stole some of the free breakfast and planned out our day.
We decided to first walk around the city a little and see the Mozart statue and the Mozart chocolate shops. You wouldn't believe how much chocolate they have dedicated to Mozart...it is kind of strange, but delicious. We then proceeded to find Mozart's house. That was pretty interesting to walk through, minus the fact that there was an annoying school group taking over the entire thing. The kids kept giving Sophie and me strange looks for some reason.
After we walked through Mozart's house, we found a place to eat lunch. We both ordered some traditional Austrain Schnitzel and just sat and ate for a couple of hours. The Schnitzel was delicious by the way.
We had already booked our tickets for the Sound of Music Tour for 2pm so we decided to start walking in the direction of where we would get picked up for the tour. We were a little early so we walked around the shops some and sat in the park across the street because it was an absolutely wonderful day out!
The tour was actually quite nice! We were able to get off of the bus frequently to see the sites and the tour actually took us a little bit out of Salzburg and all around Salzburg so we were able to see a lot of the countryside and it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! Check out my pictures on facebook if you don't believe me. At one of the stops a little outside of Salzburg we had about an hour to kind of wander around the small town, so Sophie and I had some Strudel, which of course was also delicious.
Once we got back to Salzburg, we checked into the hostel and went to the Augustiner Brewery for dinner. This brewery was really cool...we sat outside in the Beer Garden, which was huge! There were no servers here, you went up to get your own beer by paying for the size of the beer, grabbing your own stein, washing it yourself, and then handing it to someone to fill up for you. For food, there were different stands all over the restaraunt where you just walked up and ordered your food and paid for it right then. We each ate the best half of a chicken either of us have ever tasted...SO GOOD!
Here is where my trip takes a turn for the worse...we get back the dorm and my intention is to stay up for the UK Final Four game, so Sophie and I play around on the computer for about an hour or two. We then realize it is 2am and we both fell asleep on the couch, so we decided to go to bed. I set my ipod alarm for 2:45 since the game started at 3am Salzburg time. Since I would be waking up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to set my phone alarm because that would be loud and annoying and wake everyone up. So I had my ipod alarm set and ready, and my headphones in my ears. Next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 6 freaking 30 in the morning...COMPLETELY MISSED THE GAME! My alarm did not make noise when it went off for some reason, which completely defeats the purpose of an alarm. I immediately grabbed my computer and ran upstairs to see the outcome of the game...disappointing that we lost. Although, if we had won the game and I had missed it I would have been pissed!
I went back to bed after the terrible way I was woken up. We only really had time for breakfast on Sunday before we had to catch the bus back to the airport. It was a really fun trip, we were able to fit a lot into basically just one day of Salzburg. I would love to go back and even live there, it was just so pretty. No matter where you were in the city you could see the surrounding mountains and it was just perfect!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
IRELAND!
Finally made my trip to Ireland a couple weeks ago! LOVE IT! I arrived in Dublin right before 11 pm and took the bus to the hostel. I was immediately grateful to be in an English speaking country...I didn't have to convert to a different language and I could understand what people were saying around me...it was glorious.
I met up with Chris Lee and his friend from FSU at the hostel...then Chris and I went in search of a place to watch the UK and FSU sweet 16 games. Sadly, no place would be open long enough to watch the entire game so once I ate some Subway we just made our way back to the hostel. Luckily, the one computer that the hostel had was open that late at night for our use...so we watched the two games side by side on Espn.com. When UK one Chris and I were screaming and jumping up and down and were yelled at by the hostel dude...whoops. FSU sadly lost, but honestly I was just excited about UK.
The next morning we we started the day off just walking around Dublin. We went to some book stores, walked through some historic neighborhoods and open-air markets abd saw Christ's Church. After walking around for awhile we made our way towards the Guinness Factory...which was awesome. When you first walked in you were standing in a giant pint class that was like 7 stories high and would hold 14.3 million pints. The you walked around the museum to see how Guinness was made, then the history of Gunniess and the different packaging and ads it has gone through since it was first established. There was a bar at the top of the factory that overlooked Dublin, which is where you could claim your free Guinness! Once we got our free drink, we went back downstairs a couple of floors to the restaurant to eat lunch, which was delicious.
After the Guinness Factory we went to the Leprachaun Mueseum. How can you go to Ireland and not go to a museum of leprachauns? Our tour guide had the most Irish name ever: Shamus O'Rielly. He was great. The museum was really cool...we went through a bunch of differnet rooms with different themes. There was a room where everything was sized so you felt as tall as a leprachaun, a rainbow room, a pot of gold, a wishing well, and stuff like that. It was actually pretty fun and interesting.
After we went back to the hostel to drop our souvenirs from the day off, we found an Irish Pub to have dinner in. I had fish and chips for dinner and they were delicious. Towards the end of the meal, these three girls got on stage at the pub and started doing some Irish dancing which was really cool to see in person.
That night we walked around the city with some girls that we met in the hostel that were from Connecticut. We went to a couple places before we ended up somewhere in the Temple Bar district that had a live band. Lindsey and I worked our way up to right in front of the stage and stayed there and listened to this band, who was really good, for the rest of the night. The lead guy was pretty cute too...which didn't hurt anything.
Sunday, we walked around Trinity College and had a tour of that. It was gorgeous! We also went inside library and looked at the Book of Kells (the oldest book in history, the four gospels). The book and the library were very impressive!
After our trip to Trinity, we took the train out to Howth, which is a small, seaside village right outside Dublin. This was the quintessential little Irish town. It was right on the Irish Sea and had BEAUTIFUL views of the sea and coast. First we just walked around the town a little and tried to find somewhere to eat lunch. We walked along the harbor to find somewhere to eat and passed a couple of seals right near the edge. We found a little seafood place to eat that was really nice. After we ate, we walked through the town some more and then headed the cliff path. This was gorgeous! We walked along the path for a couple of hours and were able to see the sea views and country views and cliff views and island views and I absolutely loved it! When I go back to Ireland, I want to go to a smaller town like that instead of Dublin, while Dublin is great...it is just like another big city and I think you lose some of the key characteristics of a country in their largest cities.
Once we got back to Dublin, we did not have a lot of time to waste before the UK v. UNC game. We went to a sports bar that was showing the game on one tv to watch it. There were 4 other people watching the game, and one was also a Kentucky fan! We were watching the entire game and then with about 4 minutes left the people told us we had to leave, but the 2 Irish people that were watching the game talked them into letting us watch the rest of the game since it was almost over and there were 7 of us watching it. Apparently with a minute and a half left in the game they decided that we had to go...so Chris and I literally sprinted back to the hostel and got on espn.com right as the game was over and FREAKED OUT in the hostel because we were FINALLY in the Final Four! I then proceeded to depress myself by looking at how crazy Lexington was wished I was there!
Chris and Lindsey left really early the next morning so I was on my own for the day. I walked around the city some and went shopping! I bought the shoes I am wearing for Julia's wedding...they are really cute! Then I went and bought my Ireland souvenirs...I went a little crazy but I've been dying to go to Ireland for over 2 years now, so I think thats okay! I stopped and had a real Shepard's Pie for lunch before I headed back to the airport to head back to Cologne. This Shepard's Pie was MUCH better than the one we serve at Cheddar's...which I guess would be expected.
I loved Ireland and I cannot wait to go back! I have to afterall since I didn't find my husband during this trip!
I met up with Chris Lee and his friend from FSU at the hostel...then Chris and I went in search of a place to watch the UK and FSU sweet 16 games. Sadly, no place would be open long enough to watch the entire game so once I ate some Subway we just made our way back to the hostel. Luckily, the one computer that the hostel had was open that late at night for our use...so we watched the two games side by side on Espn.com. When UK one Chris and I were screaming and jumping up and down and were yelled at by the hostel dude...whoops. FSU sadly lost, but honestly I was just excited about UK.
The next morning we we started the day off just walking around Dublin. We went to some book stores, walked through some historic neighborhoods and open-air markets abd saw Christ's Church. After walking around for awhile we made our way towards the Guinness Factory...which was awesome. When you first walked in you were standing in a giant pint class that was like 7 stories high and would hold 14.3 million pints. The you walked around the museum to see how Guinness was made, then the history of Gunniess and the different packaging and ads it has gone through since it was first established. There was a bar at the top of the factory that overlooked Dublin, which is where you could claim your free Guinness! Once we got our free drink, we went back downstairs a couple of floors to the restaurant to eat lunch, which was delicious.
After the Guinness Factory we went to the Leprachaun Mueseum. How can you go to Ireland and not go to a museum of leprachauns? Our tour guide had the most Irish name ever: Shamus O'Rielly. He was great. The museum was really cool...we went through a bunch of differnet rooms with different themes. There was a room where everything was sized so you felt as tall as a leprachaun, a rainbow room, a pot of gold, a wishing well, and stuff like that. It was actually pretty fun and interesting.
After we went back to the hostel to drop our souvenirs from the day off, we found an Irish Pub to have dinner in. I had fish and chips for dinner and they were delicious. Towards the end of the meal, these three girls got on stage at the pub and started doing some Irish dancing which was really cool to see in person.
That night we walked around the city with some girls that we met in the hostel that were from Connecticut. We went to a couple places before we ended up somewhere in the Temple Bar district that had a live band. Lindsey and I worked our way up to right in front of the stage and stayed there and listened to this band, who was really good, for the rest of the night. The lead guy was pretty cute too...which didn't hurt anything.
Sunday, we walked around Trinity College and had a tour of that. It was gorgeous! We also went inside library and looked at the Book of Kells (the oldest book in history, the four gospels). The book and the library were very impressive!
After our trip to Trinity, we took the train out to Howth, which is a small, seaside village right outside Dublin. This was the quintessential little Irish town. It was right on the Irish Sea and had BEAUTIFUL views of the sea and coast. First we just walked around the town a little and tried to find somewhere to eat lunch. We walked along the harbor to find somewhere to eat and passed a couple of seals right near the edge. We found a little seafood place to eat that was really nice. After we ate, we walked through the town some more and then headed the cliff path. This was gorgeous! We walked along the path for a couple of hours and were able to see the sea views and country views and cliff views and island views and I absolutely loved it! When I go back to Ireland, I want to go to a smaller town like that instead of Dublin, while Dublin is great...it is just like another big city and I think you lose some of the key characteristics of a country in their largest cities.
Once we got back to Dublin, we did not have a lot of time to waste before the UK v. UNC game. We went to a sports bar that was showing the game on one tv to watch it. There were 4 other people watching the game, and one was also a Kentucky fan! We were watching the entire game and then with about 4 minutes left the people told us we had to leave, but the 2 Irish people that were watching the game talked them into letting us watch the rest of the game since it was almost over and there were 7 of us watching it. Apparently with a minute and a half left in the game they decided that we had to go...so Chris and I literally sprinted back to the hostel and got on espn.com right as the game was over and FREAKED OUT in the hostel because we were FINALLY in the Final Four! I then proceeded to depress myself by looking at how crazy Lexington was wished I was there!
Chris and Lindsey left really early the next morning so I was on my own for the day. I walked around the city some and went shopping! I bought the shoes I am wearing for Julia's wedding...they are really cute! Then I went and bought my Ireland souvenirs...I went a little crazy but I've been dying to go to Ireland for over 2 years now, so I think thats okay! I stopped and had a real Shepard's Pie for lunch before I headed back to the airport to head back to Cologne. This Shepard's Pie was MUCH better than the one we serve at Cheddar's...which I guess would be expected.
I loved Ireland and I cannot wait to go back! I have to afterall since I didn't find my husband during this trip!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Brussels
This is a long over-due post but I figured it was about time to share with the world (or just the people that read my blog) my day trip to Brussels. Tori, Sophie, Branwen, Emilie, and I got like a 7:30 am train to Brussels a couple of Saturdays ago...the trip took mayabe an hour and a half (I don't quite remember actually).
When we got there we just kind of walked around and took in the sites...and it was beautiful! There were chocolate shops with the most delicious looking chocolate EVERYWHERE! The first thing we set off to find were waffles...it was the morning, we were in Belgium...no brainer! We found a waffle place and these waffles were like a work of art...with fruit and whipped cream and chocolate and caramel. It was the best waffle I ever had...delicious!
We realized that we were right beside the Mannequin Pis (the famous little peeing boy fountain). None of us really knew why this little peeing boy was so famous, but he is for some reason.
After we annihilated our waffles, we just walked around Brussels some more. The city was really pretty and it had a lot of character. Emilie noticed that outside of the train station, we didn't see one McDonald's or Starbucks or any big chains, which was kind of nice.
I think every city in Europe has an impressive cathedral that has been there forever, so we found the one in Brussels and had a stroll around that one. Afterwards we just kept walking around and found ourselves in a very interesting part of town. It was very similar to a Chinatown, yet it was all Indian....so it was an Indiatown. It was off of our map so we decided that we should probably find our way back to the city and find a place to eat.
We found a little restaraunt for lunch and I had a Stella to drink, since it is from Belgium. The we just walked around some more and eventually made our way back to the train station to go back to Cologne. It was a fun day just wandering around Brussels and it was a really pretty city.
The next day, Branwen invited us over to her flat for a traditional British Sunday Roast. It was delicious! We had chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies, sweet potatoes, and yorkshire pudding. My first Sunday Roast experience was a success!
When we got there we just kind of walked around and took in the sites...and it was beautiful! There were chocolate shops with the most delicious looking chocolate EVERYWHERE! The first thing we set off to find were waffles...it was the morning, we were in Belgium...no brainer! We found a waffle place and these waffles were like a work of art...with fruit and whipped cream and chocolate and caramel. It was the best waffle I ever had...delicious!
We realized that we were right beside the Mannequin Pis (the famous little peeing boy fountain). None of us really knew why this little peeing boy was so famous, but he is for some reason.
After we annihilated our waffles, we just walked around Brussels some more. The city was really pretty and it had a lot of character. Emilie noticed that outside of the train station, we didn't see one McDonald's or Starbucks or any big chains, which was kind of nice.
I think every city in Europe has an impressive cathedral that has been there forever, so we found the one in Brussels and had a stroll around that one. Afterwards we just kept walking around and found ourselves in a very interesting part of town. It was very similar to a Chinatown, yet it was all Indian....so it was an Indiatown. It was off of our map so we decided that we should probably find our way back to the city and find a place to eat.
We found a little restaraunt for lunch and I had a Stella to drink, since it is from Belgium. The we just walked around some more and eventually made our way back to the train station to go back to Cologne. It was a fun day just wandering around Brussels and it was a really pretty city.
The next day, Branwen invited us over to her flat for a traditional British Sunday Roast. It was delicious! We had chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies, sweet potatoes, and yorkshire pudding. My first Sunday Roast experience was a success!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Amsterdam
The Tuesday that my parents were here we got a super early train to take us to Amsterdam! My sister made up the most annoying song about this place that now I automatically think of when I say or type the word Amsterdam...great. Anyway once we got to Amsterdam we bought tickets to have an all day pass on another hop-on hop-off boat tour like we had in Paris. The first stop of the day was Anne Frank's house.
The line actually was not that bad when we got there since we were fairly early. But, Kim had led us to believe that it was going to be nice and sunny and not freezing. She lied. The wind was horrendous and it was all gray and cloudy out, and it was freaking freezing. So we were more than excited to finally get into the house and out of the weather. The house was super interesting...this was the house that she stayed in while she was in hiding. We got to walk throughout the house and see the secret annex where she and others hid. All the information was given in German and English which made it super helpful. Again, its just a crazy feeling to me standing in Anne Frank's room with the same posters she hung up on the wall still there...sometimes things like that just make me stand in awe. After we walked through the museum I bought the book because I don't actually think I have read it. I know the story clearly, but I don't think I have ever read it. After being in the house I think it would be super interesting to read because I have been to those places. So I plan to start that soon.
We had lunch after the house and did our Amsterdam shopping before we got back on the boat that was going to take us to our next location! Since we were only in Amsterdam a day, we had to split up and decide what we really wanted to do. Kim and Emmy went to the Van Gogh museum, while Ron and I opted for the "Heineken Experience."
The Heineken Experience was really cool actually. First of all they spoke English everywhere inside and all the information was only in English, so that was just a nice change of pace. The museum was really high-tech. It was the first Heineken brewery, but its not brewed there anymore. It started off by informing you of the history of Heneiken and how it came to be. Then you got to see how it was brewed. Then there was a little ride that you went on where you were "brewed." That was really cool, after the ride they took you into a room where they gave you a free beer and taught you the proper way to taste a beer. Then there was all this stuff about the promotion of the beer. There were individual lounge chairs with personal tvs where you could just sit and watch all of the Heineken commercials throughout the years, there was a place with a bunch of foosball tables, then you reached the bar where you got 2 free Heneikens. It was really cool and it would have been nice to have had more time in there but we had to rush a little to catch the boat bus back to the train station.
We had a little time once we got off the boat before the train, so we tried to find the Red Light District. Apparently it was right next to the train station, and I think that we eventually found it and were walking around in it but it was still light out so nothing was really happening. Although a guy at school said that they have recently made the Red Light District only two streets...so who knows.
We caught our train and came home. I definitely would have loved to spend more time in Amsterdam, eventually the sun did come out and it was nicer. There is just so much to do there that one day doesn't do the city justice.
The line actually was not that bad when we got there since we were fairly early. But, Kim had led us to believe that it was going to be nice and sunny and not freezing. She lied. The wind was horrendous and it was all gray and cloudy out, and it was freaking freezing. So we were more than excited to finally get into the house and out of the weather. The house was super interesting...this was the house that she stayed in while she was in hiding. We got to walk throughout the house and see the secret annex where she and others hid. All the information was given in German and English which made it super helpful. Again, its just a crazy feeling to me standing in Anne Frank's room with the same posters she hung up on the wall still there...sometimes things like that just make me stand in awe. After we walked through the museum I bought the book because I don't actually think I have read it. I know the story clearly, but I don't think I have ever read it. After being in the house I think it would be super interesting to read because I have been to those places. So I plan to start that soon.
We had lunch after the house and did our Amsterdam shopping before we got back on the boat that was going to take us to our next location! Since we were only in Amsterdam a day, we had to split up and decide what we really wanted to do. Kim and Emmy went to the Van Gogh museum, while Ron and I opted for the "Heineken Experience."
The Heineken Experience was really cool actually. First of all they spoke English everywhere inside and all the information was only in English, so that was just a nice change of pace. The museum was really high-tech. It was the first Heineken brewery, but its not brewed there anymore. It started off by informing you of the history of Heneiken and how it came to be. Then you got to see how it was brewed. Then there was a little ride that you went on where you were "brewed." That was really cool, after the ride they took you into a room where they gave you a free beer and taught you the proper way to taste a beer. Then there was all this stuff about the promotion of the beer. There were individual lounge chairs with personal tvs where you could just sit and watch all of the Heineken commercials throughout the years, there was a place with a bunch of foosball tables, then you reached the bar where you got 2 free Heneikens. It was really cool and it would have been nice to have had more time in there but we had to rush a little to catch the boat bus back to the train station.
We had a little time once we got off the boat before the train, so we tried to find the Red Light District. Apparently it was right next to the train station, and I think that we eventually found it and were walking around in it but it was still light out so nothing was really happening. Although a guy at school said that they have recently made the Red Light District only two streets...so who knows.
We caught our train and came home. I definitely would have loved to spend more time in Amsterdam, eventually the sun did come out and it was nicer. There is just so much to do there that one day doesn't do the city justice.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Paris
So like I said, we took a break from all the Karneval madness and went to Paris for the weekend. Our train left on Saturday morning and it took about 3 hours to reach Paris. The train was actually really nice...comfortable seats...free food. What more could you ask for? Definitely think America should invest in the same public transit systems, they are so easy and much nicer than driving for that long of a time.
Anyway, when we got to Paris we got a cab to take us to our hotel. The hotel was in a pretty nice location...surrounded by street markets and some really nice cafes. On the drive to the hotel I was just taking in Paris and it is really beautiful. All of the buildings have that traditional French style that you always think of and the city just seemed to have a lot of character. Once we put our stuff in the hotel, we wanted to go hit up some museums before they closed. Ron thought he was really cool downloading this new thing for his GPS, yet it did not work well at all. So once we looked at a regular map instead of the GPS we started walking towards the Louvre. It was a really pretty day out which was nice since it was pretty cold. The Louvre is freaking huge and we hit up the most famous pieces like the Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo. We took a break after walking through the Ancient Egyptian area to go have some wine at the cafe there. The whole point of taking the wine break was to figure out where to go next...but that didn't happen. So after a while of just sitting and drinking as a family we decided to go to the Museum d'Orsay since the museums were closing in like an hour or two and we wanted to make sure we were able to make it to that museum. We saw Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, and all kinds of other famous artists' work in there...but those were the main guys.
We headed back to the hotel after that and went to the cafe right next door for dinner. I had a delicious omelet and mimosa. After dinner we went to go find the Eiffel Tower. It was really pretty because it was all lit up at night. Then we went in search of the Moulin Rouge...because lets face it, thats a fantastic movie. Again we found it and it was all lit up and kinda looked like it did in the movie! The line to get in was crazy long...we just took pictures then left.
The next morning we were walking around the markets by our hotel and found a little place to eat breakfast...where I had another omelet. Then we bought tickets for a boat bus thing where it would take you along the river to the different touristy sites and you could just hop on or hop off at any of the sites. The first stop we got off at was Notre Dame. That was a pretty impressive building I would have to say. Inside was really impressive...it is just crazy to see how some of these buildings are adorned...and knowing the historical significance of the place you're standing in. Then we went to the surrounding area to try and do some shopping but everything was closed since it was a Sunday.
We hopped back on the boat bus and got off at the Arc de Triomphe stop. There was like a flea market thing right when you got off the boat so we looked around there for a bit. I found a copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in French, which I thought was interestig. So I bought it for 2 euros. Then we walked down Champs de Elysee to get to the Arc. Luckily for us, these stores were open...so we were able to do a little shopping in Paris. Once we got to the Arc we walked up to the top, although Kim almost didn't make it up there. The view was really pretty but we were a little rushed because we had to get back to the hotel so we could get our stuff and head back to the train station.
On our way back to the hotel we got lost. Like really lost. Ron was relying on his GPS...big mistake. We had no idea where we were going and Ron would just walk in the middle of the road and cross the street when cars were coming and leave the rest of us behind. Eventually we tried to get a cab but we could not get one for the life of us. After a long, LONG time of aimlessly walking around Paris we started heading in the right direction. Ron completely left the rest of us so we couldn't even see him anymore...Kim was way in front of us...and Emmy and I were just walking slowly behind because we were pissed and our feet were hurting. Finally we made it back to the hotel and then tried to get another cab to take us to the train station, but that attempt failed as well. So luckily there was a really nice lady who spoke English that helped us figure out the metro to take.
We made it there in just the right amount of time...but it was hectic geeting there needless to say. It was a fun trip though and we got to see a lot...it would have been nice to have spent more than two days there.
Anyway, when we got to Paris we got a cab to take us to our hotel. The hotel was in a pretty nice location...surrounded by street markets and some really nice cafes. On the drive to the hotel I was just taking in Paris and it is really beautiful. All of the buildings have that traditional French style that you always think of and the city just seemed to have a lot of character. Once we put our stuff in the hotel, we wanted to go hit up some museums before they closed. Ron thought he was really cool downloading this new thing for his GPS, yet it did not work well at all. So once we looked at a regular map instead of the GPS we started walking towards the Louvre. It was a really pretty day out which was nice since it was pretty cold. The Louvre is freaking huge and we hit up the most famous pieces like the Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo. We took a break after walking through the Ancient Egyptian area to go have some wine at the cafe there. The whole point of taking the wine break was to figure out where to go next...but that didn't happen. So after a while of just sitting and drinking as a family we decided to go to the Museum d'Orsay since the museums were closing in like an hour or two and we wanted to make sure we were able to make it to that museum. We saw Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, and all kinds of other famous artists' work in there...but those were the main guys.
We headed back to the hotel after that and went to the cafe right next door for dinner. I had a delicious omelet and mimosa. After dinner we went to go find the Eiffel Tower. It was really pretty because it was all lit up at night. Then we went in search of the Moulin Rouge...because lets face it, thats a fantastic movie. Again we found it and it was all lit up and kinda looked like it did in the movie! The line to get in was crazy long...we just took pictures then left.
The next morning we were walking around the markets by our hotel and found a little place to eat breakfast...where I had another omelet. Then we bought tickets for a boat bus thing where it would take you along the river to the different touristy sites and you could just hop on or hop off at any of the sites. The first stop we got off at was Notre Dame. That was a pretty impressive building I would have to say. Inside was really impressive...it is just crazy to see how some of these buildings are adorned...and knowing the historical significance of the place you're standing in. Then we went to the surrounding area to try and do some shopping but everything was closed since it was a Sunday.
We hopped back on the boat bus and got off at the Arc de Triomphe stop. There was like a flea market thing right when you got off the boat so we looked around there for a bit. I found a copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in French, which I thought was interestig. So I bought it for 2 euros. Then we walked down Champs de Elysee to get to the Arc. Luckily for us, these stores were open...so we were able to do a little shopping in Paris. Once we got to the Arc we walked up to the top, although Kim almost didn't make it up there. The view was really pretty but we were a little rushed because we had to get back to the hotel so we could get our stuff and head back to the train station.
On our way back to the hotel we got lost. Like really lost. Ron was relying on his GPS...big mistake. We had no idea where we were going and Ron would just walk in the middle of the road and cross the street when cars were coming and leave the rest of us behind. Eventually we tried to get a cab but we could not get one for the life of us. After a long, LONG time of aimlessly walking around Paris we started heading in the right direction. Ron completely left the rest of us so we couldn't even see him anymore...Kim was way in front of us...and Emmy and I were just walking slowly behind because we were pissed and our feet were hurting. Finally we made it back to the hotel and then tried to get another cab to take us to the train station, but that attempt failed as well. So luckily there was a really nice lady who spoke English that helped us figure out the metro to take.
We made it there in just the right amount of time...but it was hectic geeting there needless to say. It was a fun trip though and we got to see a lot...it would have been nice to have spent more than two days there.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Karneval
So yes..I am aware that it has been quite some time since I last blogged, but really nothing new or exciting was happening for a couple weeks and then my life turned crazy hectic so I'm just now catching everyone up...sorry for the delay!
Karneval = crazy madness all over Cologne, Germany where kids and adults and grandparents dress up in strange costumes for 5 days straight and participate in "heavy celebrations." Karneval started 2 weeks ago on Thursday, March 3rd. Everyone dressed up for school on that day, and school was actually cut short because of Karneval. Students only had their first 3 lessons Thursday, then a big Karneval party in the auditorium. The party was a little odd for me, Karneval is a very traditional German thing, but the party had a lot of American and British music. So, I think it just ended up being an excuse to have a party that didn't really pertain to Karneval.
Thursday night we all dressed as sailors and went to the Live Music Hall. It opened at 6 that night, so we left at like 4:30 to start waiting in line. It actually wasn't bad, we were near the front so we get in pretty quickly once they opened the doors. However, we were standing in line for over an hour and it was freezing. The Live Music Hall was fun as always. It was decorated all for Karneval and playing all German Karneval music, so it was very festive. Our group got there early enough to get a table for all 11 of us which was nice. So on Thursday night we just stayed there and had a lot of fun.
Friday my parents and sister came to visit me! Once they got here we got checked into the hotel, they were able to freshen up some since they just traveled for quite some time, then we went to eat dinner. I showed them around Cologne some after dinner, then we came back to the dorm and met up with my friends. They were all getting ready to go out again so we got to see all of them dressed and ready to go, but we decided to stay at the dorm Friday night since we were all so tired.
Saturday we decided to bail on Karneval all together and go to Paris! We were in Paris Saturday and Sunday...there will be a separate blog post dedicated to this trip...don't worry!
Monday was the big Karneval parade. It was the longest parade of my life! 5 and a half hours...of parade! We got there about 30-45 minutes before the parade started so that we could get a good spot because they throw candy! Now, they throw serious candy...like boxes of stuff and whole candy bars. It's kind of dangerous, I got hit in the head with a candy bar and it really hurt. But it was an interesting experience for sure. The floats were pretty impressive but after a while, it just got old. Not even halfway through the parade, although it had been going on for about 2.5 hours by this point in time, some of us decided to go back to the dorm for a break and then catch the end of the parade. My family had already bailed on the parade about an hour into it and they were headed back to their hotel for awhile. After the parade was over, some of my friends and I started walking around some and found a little fair in the middle of town, so of course we participated in that and rode rides. Once we were done with fair, we started the search for food...every place was packed with people dressed up in costumes. There was music playing the streets and random, open-air, dance parties everywhere. We eventually found a little pizza place down by the Rhine that we ate in and just hung out in for a few hours. Everyone was so tired from all the Karneval festivities that after dinner we all just went to the dorm to chill for the rest of the night. I went to my parents' hotel and hung there for the rest of the night.
Overall, Karneval was a very interesting experience. Something that we definitely don't have in the States, but I was very glad to be able to experience it here!
Karneval = crazy madness all over Cologne, Germany where kids and adults and grandparents dress up in strange costumes for 5 days straight and participate in "heavy celebrations." Karneval started 2 weeks ago on Thursday, March 3rd. Everyone dressed up for school on that day, and school was actually cut short because of Karneval. Students only had their first 3 lessons Thursday, then a big Karneval party in the auditorium. The party was a little odd for me, Karneval is a very traditional German thing, but the party had a lot of American and British music. So, I think it just ended up being an excuse to have a party that didn't really pertain to Karneval.
Thursday night we all dressed as sailors and went to the Live Music Hall. It opened at 6 that night, so we left at like 4:30 to start waiting in line. It actually wasn't bad, we were near the front so we get in pretty quickly once they opened the doors. However, we were standing in line for over an hour and it was freezing. The Live Music Hall was fun as always. It was decorated all for Karneval and playing all German Karneval music, so it was very festive. Our group got there early enough to get a table for all 11 of us which was nice. So on Thursday night we just stayed there and had a lot of fun.
Friday my parents and sister came to visit me! Once they got here we got checked into the hotel, they were able to freshen up some since they just traveled for quite some time, then we went to eat dinner. I showed them around Cologne some after dinner, then we came back to the dorm and met up with my friends. They were all getting ready to go out again so we got to see all of them dressed and ready to go, but we decided to stay at the dorm Friday night since we were all so tired.
Saturday we decided to bail on Karneval all together and go to Paris! We were in Paris Saturday and Sunday...there will be a separate blog post dedicated to this trip...don't worry!
Monday was the big Karneval parade. It was the longest parade of my life! 5 and a half hours...of parade! We got there about 30-45 minutes before the parade started so that we could get a good spot because they throw candy! Now, they throw serious candy...like boxes of stuff and whole candy bars. It's kind of dangerous, I got hit in the head with a candy bar and it really hurt. But it was an interesting experience for sure. The floats were pretty impressive but after a while, it just got old. Not even halfway through the parade, although it had been going on for about 2.5 hours by this point in time, some of us decided to go back to the dorm for a break and then catch the end of the parade. My family had already bailed on the parade about an hour into it and they were headed back to their hotel for awhile. After the parade was over, some of my friends and I started walking around some and found a little fair in the middle of town, so of course we participated in that and rode rides. Once we were done with fair, we started the search for food...every place was packed with people dressed up in costumes. There was music playing the streets and random, open-air, dance parties everywhere. We eventually found a little pizza place down by the Rhine that we ate in and just hung out in for a few hours. Everyone was so tired from all the Karneval festivities that after dinner we all just went to the dorm to chill for the rest of the night. I went to my parents' hotel and hung there for the rest of the night.
Overall, Karneval was a very interesting experience. Something that we definitely don't have in the States, but I was very glad to be able to experience it here!
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