The Wanderings of a Tourist

We arrived at Heathrow Airport around an hour later than we were supposed to and made our way directly to the tube. We were trying to figure out the ticket machine when a gentleman asked me if I needed a ticket. I said yes, both Leslie and I did, so these two men gave us their day passes! So we didn’t have to pay and headed towards home. We changed trains like experts and before I knew it, I was walking down Churchill Avenue in the pitch black wondering what my host mom and roommate would be like. I soon found out when a short, elderly woman opened the door for me exclaiming in a German English accent “Katelin! Oh she’s here, she’s here! We don’t have to worry anymore!” I was confused by this because I told her I would be arriving at 5:30 pm and it was 5:35 pm.

Chloe was sleeping on the couch, so I didn’t get to meet her right away but I got to have a cup of instant coffee with Alice. She has a coffee pot, apparently she doesn’t use it. It was at this moment I decided I’d be drinking tea for the rest of the trip. Chloe woke up and we had fish and potatoes for dinner, all covered in a nice butter sauce. I could feel my arteries clogging already. Chloe and I chatted for awhile, she’s from Michigan, junior and we got along right away since neither of us were English majors on an English program trip. We share a room on the second floor with two twin sized beds, an awesome floral chair, a giant wardrobe and a desk. Thankfully the room is big so it’s not too crowded.

The next morning we boarded our first train for London centre with our directions in one hand and tube ticket in the other. We made it two stops before our train was terminated due to a “passenger incident,” which in the London translation means that somebody jumped in front of a train… again. We luckily still made it to the school on time, which is a converted old house literally in the centre of London. We met the important people that would be running our program, but more importantly, we met each other. There are 13 of us on this trip, 12 of them are girls and the guy has longer hair than me. We had a delicious lunch and then had a presentation by a police officer of the dangers of London. He gave us some fun things that we’re supposed to use to protect our belongings, but that we’d much rather torture each other with. The presentation terrified us but at the same time we learned a lot.

We went for a walk around the area surrounding us and then were allowed to go home, or in our case, go buy cell phones. We paid a whopping one penny for the phone, so it wasn’t a large investment. We had another butter dinner with Alice, who doesn’t eat dinner with us, and then headed for a pub in the neighboring town. The pub was cheap, lots of beer selection and all locals.

The next few days went about the same as the first day. We had introductions to our teachers and the classes we could take, had lunch and then went out in the city. We went on a river boat tour of the River Thames that started right across from the London Eye and took it all the way down to Tower Bridge, which is appropriately next to the Tower of London. We spent around three hours at the tower, which is actually a castle I would say, and it was an amazing history lesson of the English culture. It mainly covered all the ways people were killed in the past, since we visited the tower were the prisoners were held and usually killed in, the place where Anne Boleyn was beheaded and also Bloody Tower. So after that uplifting day, we all went out for a pint, and this time everyone in the program went.

Classes officially started on Wednesday and I attended all of them to get an idea of what classes I wanted to take. In the end, I decided on Graphic London, Shakespeare and Tudor England. Graphic London is a class where we read graphic novels, which I have no experience with, Shakespeare is self explanatory and Tudor England is the study of the Tudor period in England. The Thursday of the week we attended our first play, As You Like It at a wonderful theatre also in central London. The performance was spectacular, and I loved it, mainly because it was my first real theatre production that I had ever seen. Our Friday event got cancelled due to rain, so we decided to head to Camden Market instead.

I can’t even put into words the size or quality of this market, it literally goes on forever and has just about anything a person could desire. We went split off into two groups and decided to tackle the market at our own rate and meet up in a few hours. My group stuck mainly to the tourist shops, shoe stores and the indoor buildings when it started to rain. It was fantastic, a place that I could visit multiple times and still never be tired of.

On Saturday we did the normal tourist route of Buckingham Palace, down through St. James Park, through the Horse Guard Area, down to Big Ben and then ended beside Westminster Abbey. All of this experience was overwhelming; it was hard to believe we were actually seeing all of this and that everything was so close! We took a double decker bus through the city, and got off when it ended. We decided that we’d had enough of a day and went home to rest, which is pretty much all that we did on Sunday too. Not the most energetic first week ever, but we sure did have fun!

When in Rome...

The day that my Germany adventure ended was the day that Leslie flew into Munich. Her plane arrived in the morning so we were at the airport bright and early! She packed much lighter than I did, which we were later really glad about since we literally carried our luggage all over Rome. We spent the day in Munich, which I deeply enjoyed since it was my first time actually being in the city. Plus we had the greatest tour guide ever, Max, who insisted we start our tour with a beer and a traditional Bavarian lunch at the Hofbrauhaus. It was here that Leslie had her first true German beer, and where she fell in love with it just like I did. We ate a giant meal and then started to walk it off. It was about -2 C, so we were freezing for most of the time.

            We basically just walked, without purpose, while Max told us the history of everything surrounding us and took us into a view churches. We went back to St. Mary’s Square and went to the top of the parliament building. You could see all of Munich, and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. I think it was at this moment that Leslie realized what she could expect from Europe in general and she just stared, speechless, over all the rooftops. After getting coffee, Leslie was in need of a nap. So we walked back to the car, tucked her in with all the blankets and jackets we could find, and then left her sleeping in a car, in a parking garage, in Munich. Epic way to start her journey I thought.

            At this point, we were all so cold Max decided the best option was to go find a good place for beer and coffee. So we did, spending a couple hours there and laughing at all the memories we had from the week. Max began speaking English a lot more at the end of the trip so we had a lot of fun in those hours before going to wake Leslie up. We were still early for our train, so Max again decided the best option was to go for a beer, or two. So an hour later, two semi-drunk American girls boarded a night train for Rome. If we had known what lay before us, we would have made sure we were drunk before we left. Max and Kathi left us with a giant bag of bread and meat and then we left.

            The beginning of our journey started out great, there were only four people in a six person cabin so we had some foot space. But at the next stop, those seats were taken and we sat like sardines with nowhere to rest our heads while sleeping. I got to sit next to some crazy old lady who not only talked out loud to herself, but also talked in her sleep. The worst part of our journey was the stops: we would stop in one town for usually about a half an hour, and during this time there would be great commotion on the train. When we reached Bologna, we sat for 45 minutes and then the train finally moved. But it only went about 200 meters before stopping and returning to the station for another half an hour, and then going the direction we had just come from. Leslie and I were convinced we’d never make it to Rome.

            In Florence, everyone left the train and we got the cabin to ourselves. We stretched out and got a good hour of sleep before the next stop. We finally got to Rome about 10 am the morning after we left and we were tired and confused. We got money, a Roma Pass and a map, figuring this would be all we would need to find our hostel. We were determined to use the Metro since our hostel was not in central Rome. Let’s just say, four hours later and a couple break downs later, we finally walked up the hill towards the greatest hostel ever. We got a room to ourselves (for cheap!) which had its own bathroom with a shower. Since it was still afternoon, we decided we should at least go into Rome and do something. So we took the Metro down to the river, looked at some of the bridges and walked around looking for a café.

            After the most delicious mocha of my life, we headed back to the hostel for dinner where our waiters had a joyous time making fun of us since we were so delirious at this point, we didn’t even know what we were ordering. We ended up getting way too much food and then going back to our room in misery. We decided to sleep in the next day in order to try to catch up on the sleep we didn’t get on the plane, and decided we’d go to the closest attraction the next day which was the Vatican.

            We finally left our hostel around 11 am the next day and headed off to the Vatican, which was even closer than we had thought! Upon arriving there, we realized it was surrounded by a market place selling everything you could ever want and had some good gift ideas. We tried to not buy too much and walked into the Vatican to get away from the vendors. What greeted us was a sight we couldn’t put into words and literally made us speechless and we both turned to each other and grinned. We knew this was only a small part of Rome and we couldn’t wait for what was to come. It was about at this moment that we realized it was a holiday, and a Wednesday, so the Pope had spoke that morning at the Vatican and we had just missed him. But even that didn’t deter our spirits.

            We spent most of the day walking around the Vatican, inside St. Paul’s Cathedral and down to a castle that I’m not even sure of its name. It was sunset at this time and we stood on a bridge, looking down the street at St. Paul’s and then continued wandering this part of the city. We didn’t even know what we were looking at, but we took pictures of buildings we defined as pretty or unique, and then decided since it was dark, we should probably try to get back to the hostel.

It was during this day that we began to notice a trend in the style of clothes people were wearing, and how to most accurately describe them is “bubble jackets.” A type of jacket that not only looks like it’s inflatable and could double as a floatation device in the case of a flash flood, but is also shiny to the point of astonishment. If you want to float in an ocean and look at your reflection, a bubble jacket is the thing for you. The moment of absolute ridiculousness was when we saw a couple, waiting for the bus next to us, dressed in matched bubble jackets and pushing a stroller. Immediately, Leslie and I had made a snide comment to each other and sarcastically bet that the baby was also wearing a bubble jacket. At that moment, we glimpsed the little bit of black shininess which confirmed our hope of the complete bubble jacket family. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we realized that what we had assumed was a baby in a stroller was actually a pub in a bubble jacket vest. We lost it. This couple not only bought a stroller SPECIFICALLY for their dog, but also dressed it in a matching outfit. The next night, this same couple pushed that stroller with their pug, thankfully not in his jacket, through the door of our hostel restaurant and asked for special seating for their dog. Greatest part of the trip right there.

That night at the hostel, we had a beer and French fries at the restaurant so yet again, the waiters made fun of us. We went to bed early and decided the next day would be ultimate tourist day. We started early and decided that the Colosseum would be the right thing to start with. As we walked out of the Metro station, there it was, looming above us and stealing our breath. We used our Roma Pass to get in for free and spent almost two hours walking the inside of the legendary building. By far, the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life, even more amazing then Bubble Jacket Stroller Pug. We walked around looking at some of the other sites in the surrounding area, and then headed for the Trevi Fountain.

The place was packed, but we fought our way to the front, took pictures, threw in our coins of choice, and then ran from the massive crowd that had engulfed us. We stopped at a hole in the wall restaurant that had cheap prices so we thought, why not. Best pasta I’ve ever had! I don’t even remember what it was called but it was cheese ravioli with white sauce that had ham in it. We also got house wine, which was about two or three glasses of wine a piece. The entire meal, two giant plates of pasta and lots of wine was a grand total of 16 Euros! We saw signs saying the Pantheon was close, so wandered down a side street and there it was! We didn’t know it at first because it’s under construction and surrounded by scaffolding. It was at this moment, we realized we had done everything backwards. We should have gone to the Colosseum last because it trumped everything else we saw and so we just kind of shrugged at the Pantheon. We got gelato and ate it at the base of a column at the Pantheon and decided that we were the ultimate tourist.



YUM!



We discovered a couple plazas that were gorgeous and ended up buying a lot of postcards. We headed back to the Trevi Fountain and sat on the steps of a church across the street writing postcards until the sun went down. We headed back to our hostel, had more pasta and wine, got made fun of again by our waiters and then went to bed. The last day in Rome we bought day passes for the Metro and met up with a friend of Leslie’s that she went to high school with that is studying in Rome. We spent the majority of the day with her, walking around Rome and eating the traditional foods: pasta, pizza, gelato and crepes. Afterwards, Leslie and I headed back to the hostel, read books and relaxed for a little bit and then went to the bar. We had a couple bottles of wine, befriended those same waiters that had been making fun of us for days and meet some Australians. We got free shots from the waiters for the rest of the night and started an epic dance party with the Auzzies that lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

We woke up slowly the next morning, deciding that going to bed at 3:30 am when we had to be at the airport by 11 am might not have been the greatest idea. But we made it! We were on time, just moving at a slow pace and finding any opportunity to sneak in a quick nap. Our flight was delayed an hour, but we didn’t mind since we weren’t really in any sort of hurry. We landed in Heathrow, found our luggage and headed for our host families. This is where the London life begins!

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Leslie and I inside the most amazing place on Earth...

Loco in London and Beer in Bavaria

Link to my pictures from Germany...
http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h369/KatelinDavidson/Beer%20in%20Bavaria/

It’s hard to start a blog and accurately recall the events that have occurred over the course of the last month… It all started on a foggy day in the PDX airport where I was stranded for around seven hours due to the generator failing on the plane that was supposed to start me on my journey. I had woke up at 4 am the morning of December 28 to make sure I had everything packed that I would be needing for the next three months. My carry on was packed with the essentials, as that would be the only thing I would have to travel with for a little over two weeks.

After a miserable morning spent staring at the hideous green carpet in PDX, I finally boarded a plane to Chicago. This flight went without incident, and also without sleep. My layover at the airport was a whole hour and the gate I walked out was next to the gate where I boarded my next flight so I didn’t have a very exciting experience in O’Hare. The next flight went about the same as the first, except with movies and a meal, which was deeply appreciated.  They also fed us what they defined as breakfast, but it was more of foods I couldn’t even begin to describe so I only ate the one thing I found edible: a roll.

I went through customs at Heathrow without a hitch (which was good because I forgot the paper I needed for customs at home) and then the wait began. My friend’s boyfriend was supposed to meet me at the airport, but due to the plane delays, I wasn’t really sure what time he would be arriving, nor had I ever met him in my life. After a phone call that lasted a whopping 35 seconds, I got my point across where I was and I knew he was on his way. He arrived around 45 minutes later and my London adventure began.

We went straight to a pub in central London where we were soon met by one of his English friends with one of the strongest accents I’ve ever heard in my life. But I’m glad that I was able to understand him as he was one of the most amusing and cynical people I have ever met in my life. He was mostly amusing because of his cynicism but also for his passionate love of American television and how he incorporated American slang into his everyday English lifestyle. After a few pints, it was decided that since it was my first meal in England, I had to have a traditional plate of fish and chips. It was bought and placed before me and my new found friends watched with curiosity. Not only are “mushy peas” served with the meal, but you’re supposed to dip your chips into them. I did with hesitation, only to discover, it isn’t that bad! I would still chose ketchup any day, but for now, mushy peas are quite alright by me.

We then decided I needed to find a place to sleep that night, considering it was about 5:30 pm, I still had my entire luggage and it was dark outside. We decided that the Travel Lodge should be a decent place to stay, and affordable, plus it was next to the train station where I was supposed to be leaving from the next morning. All we knew is that it was “200 meters from the Liverpool Street Station,” in what direction, we had no idea. An hour later, we found it! Only to discover it was 120 pounds for one night… So we paid to use their internet and found a hostel a few stops away that was only 17 pounds a night but it meant I would be sleeping in a dorm. My only thought was “How many people could possibly be staying in a London hostel on a Wednesday right before New Years?” My question was answered when I discovered I would be sharing a room with 20 other girls, and yes, the room would be full. The two boys stayed with me for awhile but eventually had to catch a train back to Norwich where they live and thankfully took my luggage with them, minus my carry on. They’re troopers those guys, and I still have no idea how they managed to lug that giant suitcase around on a train.

I went to bed around 9 pm, meaning I had been up for around 33 hours straight. When I went to bed, there were only four girls in the room with me. Around two hours later, the first group of drunken girls arrived for the night. They eventually fell asleep and I got about another hour of sleep until the next group arrived, only this time, there were guys in this group (on an all girls floor) and they didn’t speak English.  Apparently, the girlfriend of one of the guys was sleeping on the bed below me and she insisted on him making her a type of fort, so no light would shine on her. This consisted of putting up a blanket over the end of the bed and tucking it under my mattress, in which the guy decided my sheets also needed to be tucked in from about my knees down. Eventually the boys were kicked out but my legs remained mummified.

Early the next morning I successfully took the tube to Liverpool Street and got a train to the airport. Carry on’s are weighed at this airport and mine was too heavy, meaning I had to pay 35 pounds for it but at this point, I just wanted to be in Germany. After a short flight, I arrived in the snow covered country that serves my favorite beer. Peter and Kathi met me at the airport and we started our drive back to Straubing. When we arrived, I was greeted warmly by the entire family and we had a big, traditional Bavarian feast. I had a few Weissbiers with Peter and Max with/after dinner and apparently made history because after that, Peter introduced me as “The American who drank three Weissbiers with dinner.” I guess that’s something to be proud of.  

I got to sleep in Peter’s old room the entire time I was there which meant that I had a giant room and my own bathroom in the basement of the house. I slept for an obnoxiously long time and awoke to realize, it was New Years Eve. Kathi and I walked down to the soccer field where the New Year’s, or Silvester, event would be held and watched Peter attempt to build an ice bar. I saw some old friends that I had met five years previous yet barely any of them would speak English with me.

We spent the rest of the day walking around in the snow and walked down to a frozen river and watched some drunk guys play the Bavarian version of curling. It was quite amusing, but girls aren’t usually allowed to play so we kept walking the river. Later, Robert (now known as Oily) stopped by and I thought that he would speak English with me since he had the last time I was there but he also refused. We went back to Peter and Susa’s apartment and had a giant meal with fondue. We then walked down to the soccer field and the festivities began. There were two fridges of beer and hard alcohol and only about 20-30 people that attended. Yet, not the surprisingly, a majority of the alcohol was consumed.  I got to meet Kathi’s boyfriend and he spoke English to me the most, which was greatly appreciated. He later became “Fire Devil” when he began lighting off massive amounts of fireworks at midnight. As soon as it hit midnight, all of the people I had met five years ago all came up, gave me a huge hug and said “Happy New Year” which made me extremely happy, even though that was all the English they spoke with me. We went home around 5 am and passed out, not waking up until late the next day.

This day was the shortest, waking up late only to discover that Kathi and Franziska had both puked the night before. We spent more most of the day at home and then met some people at a bar later that night. It was at this bar where I met my future husband, a strange Canadian man that strangely resembles Harry from Dumb and Dumber. He wrote me a wonderful note and Peter finally said we had to leave because he was so creeped out by this guy, just imagine how I felt.

 The next day was one of the best days of my trip so far: the day that I went sledding in the Bavarian forest. We met up with a group of about 10 people and hit the slopes on traditional Bavarian sleds that I think have been around since the invention of sleds. My first run by myself, I successful clipped the sled of a small child and he fell off the sled and face first in the snow. He didn’t move for about three minutes and then sat in the middle of the sled run so we figured this wasn’t the first time it had happened to him. We had hot wine after being there for about two hours and discovered another slope (unmarked) and decided it would be a good idea to go there. This is where all the injuries occurred. Conie and Kathi successfully crashed and Kathi hurt her shoulder, Kathi lost control of her sled and ended up in the trees, and the rest of us got bruises when our sleds went from the slick snow to the deep snow, throwing us off and into the two foot deep snow. We went home after many hours, and after enjoying a few beers, and watched a movie since we were so tired.

The next day was the lowest key day because Kathi, Franziska and I decided to travel to Regansburg to see where Kathi goes to school and to do some sightseeing. We had coffee at the oldest café in Germany and everything in the town was gorgeous, especially with all of the snow and Christmas decorations. We went home decently early and went out to a traditional Bavarian dinner with the family, including Oma. The next day would be my last day in Bavaria and the day that my friend Leslie would finally be arriving for our journey to Rome.