night sledding=WWIIIIPPPPPPEEE OOOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTT!

1.30.2010

let the games begin!
waiting our turn for the gondola.

The first night in interlaken we had the chance to go night sledding. What an opportunity (and an experience)! So after bundling up and renting the proper snow gear we head out in the van. We were taken to a 'gondola' lift and headed up the mountain.

Literally my first step out of the van I busted. I laced my boots up wrong and left a hook open so the loop on my other foot caught it, and created a 'falling tree.' I tried taking cydney down with me, but it didn't work. Then we caught the gondola up the mountain to begin sledding. This ride in the gondola was foreshadowing the evening. I was the only person that didn't get a seat so I had to stand, and then I when I was leaning out of the lift on the door (not the smartest move I admit-but I wanted a picture), the door made a weird noise which freaked everyone out in the gondola. whoops.

my crazy friends.

trying to take a picture of the scenery.
this didn't work out to well- good thing i risked my life.

At the top of the mountain the 2 instructors gave us a crash course in what to do and not to do while sledding. Let's just say I pretty broke every rule/piece of advice they gave me. After another 'quick' aka 20 minute hike up the mountain I let go of sled. This first cardinal rule of sledding was 'NEVER LET GO OF YOUR SELD.' I caused the instructor to give us an additional lesson about never letting go of our sled. Cydney and I decided to be 'buddies,' and took off down the mountain. A whole 5 seconds down the mountain I had already fallen off my sled, caused a multiple sled pile up (which messed up the whole beginning) and I let go of my sled and had to waddle (due to too many layers-and trying not to trip on my snow boots again) down the mountain after my run away sled. I have never laughed soooo hard in my entire life. I got back on my sled and began again on our 1 hour trek down the mountain. We had a few' 'stops,' during one we had the chance to hike a little further up the mountain and see a frozen waterfall. Unable to get a picture of the waterfall (due the falling snow), I settled on a group picture.

checking out the frozen waterfall.
me, norton, mikus and cydney.

Then when the group met up we would start again.

the top picture is the whole group beginning to sled after looking at the waterfall.
the bottom picture is me, cydney and zooey finishing so early! go USA (and australia!)

Another sledding 'mshap' included cydney and I pinning norton into the 2 foot snow bank. 'sorry' (this only works as an appropriate apology if you use your SNL Gilly voice) I learned on this sledding trip that I am usually aerodynamic, creating a hazard for myself (and obviously others).While sledding like a bat out of hell, in the dark, with a snowstorm in my eyes I could not tell where the bank started when i was coming around a turn. I ended up sledding head first into a 2.5 ft deep bank of snow. But for my first time I (well it was actually cydney, zooey and i) finished 7,8,9! so proud.

post sledding. face was frozen and covered in snow.
check out my frozen hair!

after the exhausting trip down mountain we made it to a great little place for dinner. It had a salad and fondue (which I learned was a traditional swiss dish).

yum!
cheese fondue :)

we were also served a dish that was similar to hashbrowns and it came with a fried egg on top. All of it was very delicious.

crazy good.
cut it all up and smoothered it with ketchup- waffle house style.

after an exhausting day and evening we headed back to the hostel for a good nights rest.

'a 5 hour tour.' -l.norton

beautiful church? cathedral? building?
in munich's unofficial shopping district. just happy that the sun was out!

*explanation of title: when we started planning out personal walking tour, norton made fun of how long it would take and said 'a 5 hour tour' to the tune of gilligans island. i guess you kind of had to be there- but cydney was still in bed an unable to provide an interesting title.

today started out with another breakfast at the hostel and then switching to a dorm room at the hostel to save money because we decided to stay an extra night (so cyd would have time to rest up for our train trip tomorrow morning). After getting her situated I headed out to another snowy day in munich with the laurens. We mapped out a walking 'tour' and then we were off for the longest walk of my entire LIFE. We walked through the shopping district again in hopes of finding a pair of earmuffs with no luck.

a frozen fountain!

later we ended up wandering around the virtualien-market and admiring the produce and the prepared food.

this cool little shop in the market sold wine made out of honey (yes, the honey that bees make). I havent had the chance to try it yet. Ill let you know the verdict).

the open air food market was wonderful. Fresh and amazing food EVERYWHERE. This olive bar looks sooooo good!

We stopped for lunch and I ate my packed salami sandwich (thank you hostel for the all you can eat breakfast so I can pack my lunch) and got a glass of my favorite new drink. ADELHOLZENER(the 'watered' apple juice). The laurens and I decided to sample a dish. It was a grilled german sausage covered in a ketchup and curry. It sounds very strange but I loved it. Surprisingly curry and ketchup went well together.

this sculpture was on some random side street – it reminded me of 'the nest' at the bejing olympics.

eventually we made it to the museum - Residenz. it was very tricky trying to enter, with multiple entrances to gardens, schools, and other places we shouldn't have gone (whoops!) we finally were able to purchase our ticket and walk through the palace turned museum. Housing royal bavarian families until around WWII, the museum had a lot of history. Some of the palace was preserved from the original installation (1530's I believe).

original palace decor! whoa....

this amazing part of the palace is decorated completely in shells!
this picture demonstrates the intricate detail.

leaving the museum we all wanted to invest in some german 'gummys,' and with our departure day quickly creeping ahead we finally managed to find an undergronud candy store! and i almost managed to get kicked out of the candy store. apparently this chocolate is really special? or a top secret perhaps?

little hedgehog chocolates! so cute.

after a lengthy walk (I think I climbed close to 20 flights of stairs in that one museum alome) we were all exhausted and headed to the 'ale house.' that excursion was interesting. The locals are not a fan of my constant request for mustard, they have been rude when I politely ask for it. Wish I would have taken a picture of the interiors! My last dinner in germany consisted of the world's largest pretzel and a glass of the house beer.

took my picture too early (because i didn't have my beer yet).
great pretzel. even better when i finally helped myself to the mustard.

outside the ale house, Hofbrauhaus.
im sure this courtyard would be beautiful in the summer!

the medex card- 1.28.10

more snow!
this was in a 'median garden' that we found walking down the street.

cyndey woke this morning and felt worse than before (not sure I mentioned- but she had been feeling bad since the 1^st night in brussels). She decided we needed to seek medical help. After a confusing conversation at the dr office, I proceeded to call the 'germany' number on the back of the medex card issued by the school as our abroad 'medical insurance' turns out after a 15 minutes phone call that the crappy print out ultimately covers nothing but political evacuation and the emergency room at a local hospital. Went to a local doc and she has bronchitis. Yuck! Taking it easy today...letting her recover. L.Mikus, L.Norton and I walked around a local shopping district. Hopefully tomorrow we can go on a tour (that the hostel offers), and possibly another brewery...

me! entering the bizarre shopping district of munich.
they have like 5 H&M's on the same street. doesnt seem very efficient.

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'we are from the south...of america." - tribute to c.davis

the BEST juice ever!

*explanation of blog title: this was cydney's answer to a german who was asking where we were from. i know that she meant to say 'we are from the southern region of north america' or something similar, but the way it was worded was really confusing!

Today (1.27.10) was my first 'hard-core' train experience. We woke at 5:45 AM to get the rest of the room packed and make it to the metro by 6:30 AM. Somehow we even made it to the train station early – and caught a train 30 minutes earlier.

Train-ing 101 (trust me- its worth the read)
We got on the train at its first stop. With plenty of room available and almost all vacant seats we sat at a table that had 4 comfortable seats around it. Cydney and I decided to get some breakfast, and lucked out with a great 'American' option. Scrambled eggs and german sausage (okay maybe not totally american) and a bread basket. For my beverage I chose what I thought to be apple juice, my taste buds were quickly intrigued after the first sip.
Europeans are not fond of sugary sweet juices(nor am I), so they 'water' the juices down with mineral water. This creates a great taste and fun fizz! Soon the landscape became quaint towns with adorable architecture (I felt like I was training through peter pan!). All the snow outside the train looked so pure, fresh and white – I was dying to frolic in it with my boots! But all great things must come to an end. After the gentleman sitting across the aisle realized that we were not native he began practicing his english. A few minutes into the small talk he politely asks where we are from. Cyd decides to answer with, “We are from the South...of America.” (thanks for that catchy title!) After the laughter had subsided he informed us that our seats said at the next stop the window seats were reserved. Cydndey and I moved across the aisle so L. Mikus and L. Norton could still be close by. After having two people awkwardly crawl over us to the reserved window seats, the train began to move. Our new younger german friend informed us that our train was 'defective' and having 'electrical issues' which was requiring us to be rerouted to a new station to switch trains. GREAT. Not only was it a complete chore and near death experience lifting a 50lb bag above my head – I was unsure that I would have the proper strength to control lifting it back down in an orderly fashion. Somehow with teamwork (and help from the ever so friendly europeans!) we made our way on the platform.

cydney bringing to everyone's attention that she is from the USA.
i feel i should note that her blue bag weighs 50lbs.

L.Norton looking glam getting off the train,
while L.Mikus brings up the rear.

The was covered in chunks of snow and cold while we waited for the new train. Once it arrived the passengers returned to their previous seats. It wasn't long until I was informed that we were switching trains AGAIN. Our first german friend was the most help out of everyone we met today. He got us off the train and helped us to our connection! I was sure we were home free (this was the only original connection we were supposed to make – it would take us straight to munich). Once again I was WRONG. After running down two flights of stairs with all our luggage to go directly back up we were all out of breath and exhausted (like we didn't already draw enough attention to ourselves), and we quickly realized that a bunch of people we crowded around the terminal where the train to munich was coming. Long story short they ran out of seats – so we literally sat on our bags in a corridor on the train, while the workers yelled at us in german (no comprende, habla ENGLISH!) probably telling us to move to a non-existent seat.

traveling in style.
'titanic' style that is. here cyd and nortold sleep on their bags in the hallway.
riding 3rd class...

Thankfully we only rode like that for an hour (a large chunk of the people on the train were simply going to the frankfurt airport). We thought we would try our luck at attempting to get a seat. With only cydney and I lucking out. The people I sat with were friendly (just as expeceted) and helped us find our way all the to munich! Predicted arrival time was 2:00PM and we arrived to a 20degree temp around 3:30 – I wonder if we would have taken a later train(like we had originally planned) if we would have had a much smoother experience. Hummmmmmm

LOVE the hostel in munich. Its called wombats, ive only been here for 30 minutes and I would already recommend. They take plastic (hard to find people that take cards), have a cool 'interior design,' and the rooms are clean. Cydney and I did some immediate exploring on the deck of the rooms...

yay! snow!

the evening consisted of L.Mikus and L.Norton and I going to to bar and getting a beer for happy hour and then heading out into the cold and grabbing some local bavarian food. and i sampled a native beer that is served mixed with lemonade. initially i thought it was a strange combination, but i actually like it and would order it again.

first 'bavarain' meal.
german sausage over 'sour cabbage' aka sauerkraut with boiled potatoes

Then back to the wombats hostel for a shower and an early night to bed.

'A. cat. pooped.' - tribute to c.davis

some chocolates I got from Leonidas (the 'A' was called antionette so I HAD to get it and it was a dark chocolate ganche, the 'cat' was a milk chocolate with cream center (mmmmmm), and then the 'poop' was a dark chocolate truffle (dusted in cocoa just like I like it!)

today (1.26.10) was a later start than the previous day. Everyone slept in to 11:30, although true to form and an obvious fan of consistency my body woke up brussels time at 8:00 AM. Our first trek of the day was to the royal palace. Shortly after making our 20 minute walk there I realized I forgot my gloves and, which was no big deal until I also remembered I didn't wear socks. Soon I was FREEZING. Literally the temperature was in the mid 20's but with the wind chill I would almost swear it was in the single digits.

LOVE the architecture!

my punishment for attempting to play with my camera settings. everything turning blue. me, L.Norton and L. Mikus in brussels.

I quickly learned that if I stuck my hands in my arm pits(thanks Mary Katherine 'Superstar' Gallagher) i could de-frost them . We made it to the palace, and our hopes and dreams (of touring its splendor and get out of the cold) were quickly crushed. The palace is only open for viewing during the summer (guess ill have to come back!). We decided on a museum option, that highlighted the history of Belgium and the royal family- which was very interesting and informative.

fun fact: did you know belgium is famous for the comic strip?
neither did i!

After we finished we wanted to make our way across town to a Gueuze brewery. through the more 'undesirable' neighborhoods of brussels (lil wayne reminded me that I should walk with confidence and 'mean mug' through the rough streets), filled with all sorts of sketchy characters. i think lil waynes advice helped...

would you steal from someone who looked like this?

after an extensive tour of where NOT to live in Brussels we made it to our destination! The Cantillion! Brewing fresh Gueuze since 1900. Great pictures and info about this native beer. Post to follow (when i am done with pre-trip and get better and more consistent internet access).

additional note- i was unsuccessful getting a belgian waffle. apparently ALL the shops/vendors are located by the 'peeing boy' statue. totally missed out on my window of opportunity! better luck next time...

Ho on the Go - tribute to Kris

cyd, mikey and nortold distressed on the streets of brussels.

Today was the first day in brussels. It has been an interesting 'all nighter.' with little sleep on the MILLION hour plan ride... we arrived in brussels, bright and early at 8AM. Packing with manageable bags is an understatement. Stairs, stairs and more stairs followed by narrow train cars with absolutely NO storage was rough on the upper body. Direct quote getting off the train and then proceeding to walk down a few flights of stairs ' carrying these bags (two small rolling bags) I should look like Rocky Balboa when we make it to the hostel...' After walking around the same block a few times we finally made it to the hostel (thanks to the friendly people of brussels!).

cydney is really enjoying taking in the sights of brussels!

We stored our bags, freshened up (aka rubbed wipes across our faces), found a confusing map (which aided in more circling the area) and then headed out to our day of roaming the city. Saw many beautiful churches while braving the elements (it's overcast in the low 30's here but the wind is awful, you can't hide from it anywhere).

love all the little local buildings!

wish we were here to catch the bird ballet!

resting our feet and getting some lunch.

We then stopped at a great little local place for a bite, and had the opportunity for a lunch date with a cat. (picture to come on next post)

ham and cheese, with this crazy 'jelly' cheese dressing that was
...interesting.

After a great ham and cheese, we made our way to a local to very anti-climatic statue of a peeing boy.

smallest landmark in the history of landmarks.
we still are not sure the significance of this statue...

During our trek to this infamous- and ultimately overrated excursion- I was determined to find some 'crème fresh' truffles (a recommendation from my world traveling aunt), with no luck. I will not give up! I have hope for tomorrow.

Coming back to the hotsel and unpacking our stuff we learned that the tsunami in atlanta had saturated some of our luggage! Almost ALLLLL of cydney's things (clothes, food, and beautiful leather gloves) were soaking wet. L.Mikus then realized her bag was wet and most of her books for school were wet and so were some of her clothes. I noticed that some of my checked bag was wet and upon further investigation I found my toiletry KS bag was SOAKING WET!!!! I am very sad considering that pattern is discontinued :( hopefully it will dry with a slight water stain and thankfully only a few of t-shirts got wet.

hostel room pre-laundry nightmare

trying to dry all the wet clothes!

this evening we walked to the square and found a GREAT local restaurant with awesome local cuisine and a helpful server (all around the best meal EVER- and they were even able to do separate checks!). also had the chance to sample a local beer i had been reading about all day (picture and more details to follow). i had a beef dish served with potatoes, similar to a pot roast. very, very, very good. and then when we were walking back we gave in to our sweet tooth and got some amazing truffles. and i found the ones with creme! yay! mission accomplished. definately going back tomorrow, i am hooked.

food goal tomorrow - eat an authentic belgian waffle!

arrivederci!

(belgium, brussels)

in atlanta getting ready for my european adventure - which starts tomorrow. leaving for belgium (spending 2 days there) and then heading to munich and finishing up a 3 trip to interlaken (hopefully full of fresh snow and sledding adventures). and these exciting destinations are just the beginning of my 3 month stay.

(yummmmmm belgian chocolate truffles!)

i skipped a chance for truffles at godiva today to save all my 'chocolate calories' for brussels on monday!

(munich, germany - not a very good picture. i will have better!)

(interlaken, switzerland)

do know how much i will be able to post during my pre-trip, but as soon as i am situated in the Chigi Palace (yeah...thats right i am living in a palace for 3 months. be jealous), i will update with pictures.