I'm technically not in Germany anymore, but it was easier to blog on this page. Today was a travel day. I had some thoughts about traveling alone... Sometimes it's uncomfortable, but I think it helps you get to know a place and its people much better. You are forced to pay attention to your surroundings. Luckily for me I've rarely felt unsafe. I'm really grateful that I get to experience a few European cultures this way. I took a train from Frankfurt to Hamburg this morning. From Hamburg I got on a train heading to Copenhagen. The trip to Copenhagen was pretty sweet. We had to board a ferry, they parked the train in the basement. Then all the passengers went upstairs. The upstairs level they had a bunch of different shops, two different cafeteria-style restaurants, and a viewing deck. I thought it was pretty awesome. The trip on the ferry took 40ish minutes and then we had to get back on the train. I had more schnitzel and frites. And this time they served it with pretty good lemony-white sauce. The currency here is DKK and it's a little harder to figure out conversions on the top of your head. 449 DKK is like $60. Did you guys hear about the U.K. Leaving the EU? Big news right? The hostel I'm staying at is the closest to camping I've been on this whole trip. Luckily I came prepared :) Actually I met someone in Pompei who said camping was the way to go (instead of hostels) she had a really cool experience camping about an hour outside of Rome. It was cheap and she showed me pictures and videos of her accomodations. She had a bed and a toilet... So technically it wasn't really camping. But it was cheaper than a hostel. Maybe I'll try that next time? The more I see the more I want to see. I didn't get to see countries in Eastern Europe, and there are a few cities I would love to hit again. And that's just Europe! Alright. I've rambled on long enough. Until tomorrow! next post will be on this page-------------------->
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I took a train to the town of Heidelberg this morning. Train traveling is awesome.
Though I know not everyone has a good experience. A German guy got on the train a stop before Heidelberg and sat down in an empty seat in first class. He was telling me that when they came around to check tickets they fined him €15 because he got on the 9:04 train and his ticket was for the one at 9:14, also he was sitting in first class. I felt kind of bad for him, because his stop to Heidelberg was literally 8 minutes. Usually when I flash my train pass they don't say anything else. They respect the pass. The reason I chose Heidelberg is because of the famous Heidelberg castle. I took a train, a bus, and then a funicular to get to the castle. When I went to pay for an audio guide I showed the guy my driver's license and he said, 'Utah! That's where the Mormons are!' And then he told me how Arthur Conan Doyle wrote interesting stuff about Joseph Smith? I hadn't ever heard of that. The world's largest wine barrel is located in the basement of the castle. It was built to collect a wine tithe from the citizens of Heidelberg. It was huge. Well I just looked it up and apparently some guy built one bigger in February 2016. But the one in Heidelberg is older so it's cooler. Remember that kids, older means cooler #ClassicHistoryTeacherQuotes. I also had a pretty good German lunch. I tried currywurst. It was sausage cooked in a sauce that tasted like tomatoey bbq sauce with a hint of curry. It was good. I've definitely eaten the most meat in this country. Today was hot. "It's really hot these days. And I feel really underestimated" (gotta throw in an Ashley quote). Like 90. That's something that is a little annoying. People will say, 'it's 30 outside you're going to roast!' I have no idea how hot 30 celcius is. *sigh* why does the United States have to be so different? Also another woman in the hostel was talking about how she had walked a certain number of kilometers and I didn't know how impressed to be. I was thinking about that today. At what point do you call someone a 'woman' vs. a 'girl'? Or a 'man' vs. a 'guy'? I don't think there's a general rule I think it depends on the person using the word. It's interesting to me. I think it says a lot about what a person thinks of you. Anyway... After the castle I walked down to the little market street. I bought more gelato. I've been eating gelato like crazy. And this time it was one of the best I've had. It rivals Venchis in Rome. It was this place called AMORINO on Hauptstraße. I asked for one scoop and they said it was €3,50 (I'm trying to be European and use the comma) and I thought, 'that's a little steep for one scoop...' But then. Then she told me to pick 3 flavors. I don't mean to brag (or do I?), but I consider myself extremely well-versed in the art of mixing flavors and mix-ins. That was literally my job for like.... 4 years? 3 years? Man I don't remember now. Sorry I don't mean to keep you in suspense. I chose caramel, hazelnut, and speculoos. And then. And then the lady behind the counter sculpted a ROSE for me. Out of gelato. Not only was it a wonder to behold, but it was a wonder to injest. The market street in Heidelberg is also really cute. German towns are pretty cute. The walk from the castle to the train station was about 40 minutes. So I was planning on taking my time and catching the train at 14:46 (I'm trying to be European again). But then I checked my handy-dandy notebook and I had written that there was also a train leaving at 13:46. I decided to go for that one. Even though it was 13:30. I looked around and figured out I was in Bismarkplatz. So I get on a bus that I'm pretty sure was going to the train station (I wasn't 100%, but I had to make a quick decision) and it did in fact pull into the station at 13:45. I figured I had missed the train, but I look up at the departure board and it was 5 minutes late! So I run to the platform and just as I get there, the train pulls in. Talk about tender mercies. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if I had to wait another hour, and if the bus was the wrong bus I would just have to get on a different one... But it was still cool how well it worked out. (I apologize for not sticking to one tense past and present... I'm no Englsih teacher ;) (as evidenced by the comma splices, run-on sentences, and incomplete sentences. Poetic license. I have one. Plus I'm writing on an iPad and I don't really proofread) (I love parenthesees. It's like a whisper to a friend in the middle of a conversation) I was was thinking about how many metros and city buses I've navigated. I've been on London's and New York's but those don't count fully because my dad was navigating. I mastered the street cars in New Orleans, the metro in D.C., Brussels, Paris, Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Vienna, and now Frankfurt. I didn't really use the metro in Marseille. They only had 2 lines (I used it once or twice) but the bus system went a lot more places. Also in Dublin I mostly walked. Though I did take buses a couple of times. I feel pretty comfortable winging it now. Even in a foreign language. I guess I'm in a bragging mood. "Well, pin the blue ribbon upon his chest! That totally tops my wisdom tooth tale!" For all those taking notes: I'm good at flavoring matching ice cream flavors and navigating public transportation systems. I've got a couple more for the list if you're interested ;) When I got back to Frankfurt I decided to give it another chance (Frankfurt that is). I think I mentioned before, I am not a fan of the area where my hostel is. So I went to the town hall. Or the Römer. I discovered that Frankfurt is cute too! The square had those gingerbreaded store fronts. I explored a little bit down there. I found a pretty cool market. One of the store owners was a little bit annoyed with me for looking around for so long. Also when I stopped for a snack at a wine place the owner was frustrated that I came to 'eat' and not drink wine. If you have food on your menu, why do you care what I order? He was not a particularly nice person. I thought 'I will not be returning to this establishment...this wine bar... 5200 miles away from where I live....' I sure showed him. I bought some some snacks for tomorrow because I'll be on the train all day. You know how people talk about how hard it is to find food that's healthy, cheap, and tastes good? Well I was trying to find something that fit all those things plus would fill me up, and something that was fairly light. Also that doesn't need refrigeration. Bread and apple chips. For the win. Tomorrow I leave for Copenhagen! Then Brussels for a night, then Dublin for a few more days... Then I fly home??? That is, if I don't decide to apply for a visa and stay... Just kidding mom. I realize I just bought a townhome. Can't afford to live in Europe when you have a mortgage to pay #AdultLyfe. But perhaps in adult life you should spell correctly in your hashtags? FYI I realize how hashtags work, I misuse them on purpose. #rebel. I'm staying in Frankfurt, but so far I haven't spent very much time here, thus the title of the whole country. I arrived yesterday but I didn't really do anything exciting enough to blog about.
This morning I went out to see construction on the Frankfurt temple, which is actually in Friedrichsdorf, which is maybe 20 minutes south of the city center. When I got back to the train station I was famished. I had eaten at a pizza place at the station the evening before and was sorely disappointed. It was like freezer pizza. I mean they had a McDonalds and a Burger King but I wanted something at least a little authentic. So I walked in this place called 'M bar'. Inside I was treated by a very jovial white haired man. He had one of the bushiest the mustaches I've ever seen. I ordered a burger and potato salad (I know, ironic after what I just said about traditional food). This guy brings me out a huge patty with no bun and some pretty delicious potato salad. I didn't realize homemade potato salad was a big deal here. I knew that potatoes are a big deal in Poland. The 'burger' was really good. I'm not sure what kind of meat it was but it was juicy stuff. Then I hung out for about 40 minutes and watched people. Then I took a few trains to a town called Rothenburg. I am pretty good at navigating trains. Some of the locals have even asked me for help. Of course when it's in German I don't understand them. So Rothenburg has this 'Old Town' in the center which is a pretty good representation of a medieval German town. It's real cute. Definitely a big tourist attraction for such a small town. But probably not a 'tourist trap' because I bought a bag for €3. Holla. It's not a trap when it's worth it. I spent all day there. All day long. I realized today on the train that I had by accident bought rose-colored sunglasses. Back in Napoli my sunglasses broke so I bargained for some new ones and it turns out they turn the world a lovely shade of pink. I giggled to myself a little bit at the subtle life lesson. And then at the word subtle because I think it's funny how the letter 'b' is subtle in the word subtle. Now for a list of word I've learned in German: bitte (please and thank you) danke (thank you) ausgang (exit) links (left) recht (right) nöchste halt (next stop) beiß mich (thanks to Shane for that one, though I haven't used it yet) bahn (train/road.. I'm not really sure. All the main stations are hauptbahnhof) straße I also learned about ß, it's like an 's' and it's called 'eszett'. I originally thought it was a 'b' but it's not. Oh for dinner I had döner and I learned about that too! I might get get shot for saying this... but döner is better than bacon. Like 100 times better. And as my wise younger sister once pointed out 'bacon is just a fad'. So döner is like the #1 choice for fast food in Germany. There's a little bit of controversy on where it started. Turkey has had a tradition for a long time of roasting lamb by rotating it on a fire. The claim is, that a man from Turkey moved to Berlin and decided to put slices of lamb on a kebab in an upside down cone shape and then rotate it vertically to roast it. To serve it you shave off pieces of the outside and you can put it on a sandwich, or tortilla, or I suppose whatever you want. This guy also invented this delicious tangy yogurt dressing to go on top of the meat. I did all this research as I was eating #nerd, so if any of it is wrong friends, feel free to correct me. I ordered a döner box which was a pile of fries, döner, and this delicious dressing. I've had pretty good food today. And a pretty good day overall. ooh. I forgot to mention the one awful thing about dinner. I bought a water bottle. It was carbonated water. Gross. Who would do that to water? Every time I was thirsty I would wince before taking a sip. And then I would regret it because it would burn my throat. How do you people drink carbonation? Last thing I'll say about Germany for today is that it surprised me a little how everyone says 'ciao!' Or they double it up with a 'ciao ciao!' |
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