Munich, Germany...aka "the Homeland"

Guten Tag!
(hello in german)

So, I just got back from Munich and I LOVED IT! I literally was sad to be back in Madrid, even though it was considerably warmer than in Munich. It was the first country I went to that I felt really attached to and felt that 2 days weren't enough to see everything and get the full experience. Munich, Germany was by far my favorite country, but not for the reasons you might think, it wasn't exceptionally beautiful in land or architecture like some of the other places I had been, but the culture of Germany was what I fell in love with. The people were sooo nice, whether they were speaking English or German. Which, by the way, I don't see why everyone thinks the German language is ugly...I thought it was cool and different, not ugly at all. The people were super nice and friendly, there was a number of people who approached Me, Ally and Lynn to offer us help on directions. My favorite instance was getting complimented in German from a small, cute, old german woman while riding the escalator out of the metro. The lady was so sweet and while speaking in german hand motioned that she liked my braid. So...sweet! O and as most of you know I do not like escalators or revolving doors, well I loved them in Germany! lol it sounds crazy, but they moved slower and smoother. Ally and Lynn kept referring to Germany as "my homeland" bc my heritage is mostly german... lol another thing was that everyone looked similar to me and my family. Ally and Lynn were baffled at how "tall" everyone was, I was like they aren't that tall...and then i realized my entire family is tall, I'm just used to it! These are just a few of the observations we made!

So, with that introduction, I will go on with where we went...

Day 1: We were extremely tired from sleeping in the airport the night before because our flight left at 7:40 am and we didnt want to pay for a taxi. We got into Munich at 10:10 am and immediately went to the hostel to drop our stuff off. Luckily Munich wasnt as cold as it was supposed to be, altho it was 10 degrees cooler than Madrid. We learned real quick that the German language was a LOT different than the other languages and got a lot of laughs out of trying to pronounce the metro stops. We then got lunch at a local restraunt and luckily the waitress knew some english that she could read us the menu, because we had no idea what was on there! While eating a scrumchious lunch, we planned out where we wanted to visit on our map. The first stop: Konig Platz= Koenig Plaza! It was really exciting to see that our last name was a beautiful plaza in Munich, Germany. It had 3 big building around it, in my pictures I am standing under the sign :) From there we stumbled upon the german botanical gardens, some old churches, and pretty fountains. This is the beauty of not taking a tour you experience and see so much other parts of the country that aren't touristy. From there we stumbled into a church and were awed by how different the church was from the other churches, it was more open and plain with high ceilings. From there we went to Marienplatz...one of my favorites! It is the big white castle with red flowers on it, it was beautiful and inside of it was a plaque of 8 different places that were affliliated with Munich and GUESS WHAT! Cincinnati, OH was on there!! I was freaking out and so excited! I couldnt believe that little pieces of home were popping up everywhere in Munich! In the same square of Marienplatz, was Mary's Column which has Mary on it and people pray there, the last night we were there, people had a picture of the pope bendedict and were praying around it. From there we went into a more ornate church of St. Peter it had lots of gold and was very beautiful. I lit a candle there for Kevin bc he had swine and for aunt Marcy. From there we found a market full of cheese and pumpkins and then eventually found a beer garden. We went to Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer garden. It was a really cool experience we tried the beer which was really good, but I personally like Belgium's better, and had a pretzel. The waiters and waitresses were dressed up in traditional German attire, there was a band, it was really cool, so many people mingling among the large tables, we met some nice Germans there. We were exhausted by this point and went to get dinner at a traditional german restraunt. We ordered a traditional german meal too...sausage, sauerkrat, and potatoes. It was delicious...the sauerkrat not so much but I tried it! From there we mingled with some Germans, Lebanonese, Austrians, and Eygptians and had fun.

Day 2: We got up early and went to the Dachau Concentration Camp. I would like to mention that I was terrified of going, but I knew it was something that I needed to see. It was extremely eerie, overwhelming and sad...but overall worth it. I learned so much that I didn't know before and somehow seeing where all of it took place made it more real to me. I was overwhelmed at how calculated and planned the Nazi's were and how people could be so cruel. After 2 hours of being there, we all left somberly thinking we were going to the Ludwig's Castle that Walt Disney based Cinderella's castle off of. Well we got bogus directions and found out that it was actually 2 hrs away and by that time it was too late to go. We were all really bummed about that, but decided to go to The Olympic Stadium instead. That area was one of my favorite places of Munich...it was soo green and beautiful! We passed the BMW museum and saw the Olympic Stadium, the natatorium where they olympic swimmers swam...it was amazing! The stadium was surrounded by a BEAUTIFUL park where everything was green and amazing. From there we ate dinner around Marienplatz and packed to leave the next day.

Germany was amazing, I was sad to leave and felt like I had just had a glimpse of what Germany had to offer. I desperately want to go back and finish exploring Munich and explore the rest of Germany. I know I'll get back there some day! I was baffled at how nice the everyone was and how much of the culture I felt attached to. It was truly a wonderful experience that I hope to repeat very soon!

auf wiedersehen!
(goodbye in german) :)

21st birthday

So, my birthday was amazing!!! Here is a tiny bit of it, at la cena (dinner time) my senora went all out ,seriously she made an entire spread, consisting of my favorite things empadadas with tuna, garlic toast with tomatoes, and these special things that are usually only for christmas dinner, that are lettuce with honey and pomegranate. she also had sangria and gave me a birthday card! lol she was so cute and excited for my birthday! She even made the dinnerware really nice. i was seriously in heaven it was soooo good! i love spanish food! then my roomies and esperanza started acting weird and five seconds later esperanza comes in with cake with candles saying 21 and melissa has a camera to document it, while they serenaded me with "happy birthday". i was serously so happy and suprised,the cake was called whiskey cake but it was really ice cream cake. i was sooo happy! then we all talked and got ready to go out. Alba my roommate that goes to slu did my hair...i loved it! she also picked out my outfit. then all of us headed down to "maria's bar" and met lynn, ally and marissa. lynn and ally brought a cake too so i got sung happy birthday again and we ordered sangria and beer. After staying there for awhile, we headed to Joy a fun discoteca and met some cool Irish and German people. It was a memorable and fun night. Couldn't have asked for a better 21st birthday! :) Friday I leave for Munich, Germany!

Venice/Real Madrid Soccer

So, this weekend I went to Venice to meet my grandma and her friend Sylvia. I flew out after one of my midterms on Wed and left on Saturday. I don't have too much positive things to say about Venice, it wasn't that pretty, there were pigeons everywhere and the people were pretty mean and rude. So, here are the positive things from the trip: 1) I GOT TO SEE MY GRANDMA! It was really nice to be able to see family after being away from them so long. 2) The food was delicious! I, of course, got pasta both nights and desserts both nights! My favorite dishes were speghetti with cream and ham and merengue pie. 3) Pretty much the only building i really liked was San Marcos Basilica. It was extremely beautiful! With gold and different kinds of marble. It is deftinately one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen! Some other places we visited were San Marcos Square, Doge's Palace, gondola ride, and other stops around the city. We also went and saw glass making at Murano which was pretty cool to see. Altho it wasnt the best city, I am happy I got to experience it with my grandma.

I got back yesterday and went to my first real madrid soccer game. I'm not into soccer, more a football girl. But, although i was confused a lot of the game with yellow card, ect it was fun to be there in the energetic crowd and to see the skill the players possessed. The rest of last night and all today i have been studying for my last midterm. So, that's all for now, pics should be posted soon. My birthday is tomorrow...big 21! I'm kind of sad that i wont be experiencing it with my family or best friends...but spain isnt bad either! I leave for Germany on Friday!

Ciao!

Life in Madrid

This weekend was pretty low key. I stayed in Madrid and studied a lot! Midterms are this week and on the next Monday. Thursday night I went with some friends to a discoteca Joy and had sooo much fun! On Friday, I went running in parque oeste and discovered more beautiful statues! :) And hung around sol for a bit. Saturday, I decided to study in parque de retiro...my favorite place of madrid! (pictures will be included). It was perfect because I studied and then wandered as my study break, got lunch and had it in the park, then studied on a park bench for awhile, then wandered down past the Prado museum and went to a cafe and studied there. After a solid 4 hours of studying and being EXTREMELY productive, I met my roomies at the famous Prado Museum (we went from 6-8 when it was free). It was really cool to see, a little overwhelming to see all the paintings and people, but I'm definately glad I went! On Sunday, Melissa, Alba and I finally got up and went to the Rastro Market, it was crazy!! We went pretty early and there were 100 vendors, MASS PEOPLE, but lots of good deals! It did get a bit overwhelming just because of the confined spaces and people, but after a solid 3 hours, Melissa made it out of there with a lot of good deals! I even used some of my spanish---it's getting better!! From there we went to a yummy chinese restraunt, nothing beats sun garden tho...then shopped in sol for a bit. Then today, in spain it is a national holiday celebrating Columbus Day. So, I got up early and went to see part of the parade. I saw the queen of spain, a lot of military men, cool jets streaming out the countries colors, tanks(and other scary weapons), parachuters, and important government people. I didn't stay the entire time because I had to study, but I did stay for 1.5 hrs. It was really cool to see! So, other than that I have been study study study mode. I have my first midterm on wed. which is psychopharmacology and then next Monday (my birthday) I have religion midterm. But an exciting reward after psychopharm exam is that I'm flying to Venice to meet my grandma and staying there until Saturday afternoon! Then when I get back to Madrid, Rosanna and I are going to a Real Madrid Soccer Game! O and just to rub it in...it's mid october here and still 75 degrees....my kind of climate ;) lol hope everyone at home is doing well!

Hasta Luego!

Belgium, Brussels and Brugge!

This past weekend I went to Belgium and saw the cities Brussels and Brugge! It was an amazing experience, that was completely different than my experience in Spain. For one, it was FREEZING!! I'm talking winter cold, where in Spain it's barely fall. It was an interesting experience coming back all bundled up from Belgium with 3 layers, scarf and fall coat to the Spain weather and changing into shorts and a t shirt! The thursday night before I left my dance class had a "practice" session at a local latin club. Melissa, Alba and I went and it was so much fun! There were the very advanced couples, but there was a place for everyone to try. The ages ranged from young to old. I practiced my merengue and salsa. Some locals taught me the bachata. Overall, it was a success! :) The next day I left for Brussels, Belgium. It was a bit chaotic getting to the airport, but we made it! When Ally, Lynn, Bianca and I all arrived Belgium we were shocked at how crisp, cold and clean the air felt. We were all very hungry after we dropped our luggage off at the hostal, so we found a restraunt with reasonable prices. This is where we recieved another shock...everything was in french! (Note: the 2 languages in Belgium are french and dutch). On top of that, no one spoke english or spanish, so we did what anyone would do...ordered what we knew. I got speghetti bologanise, lynn got pasta, and ally got pizza. We were so stuffed, but it was well worth it! We also realized that Belgium people make everything from scratch..it takes a bit longer but you can literally taste the difference! From there we went exploring in Brussels. The first place we went was the "atomium" which is their version of "the eiffel tower" it basically looks like a bunch of molecules, but nevertheless we can say that we have been there! From there we went exploring around the city around downtown and eventually ended up in the main tourist area of Brussels. We saw a church, shopped, and tried all of Belgium's musts. Including...french fries(the belgium way), belgium waffles, stella artois beer and chocolate! The french fries were topped with ketchup, mayonnaise(europeans are crazy about this...) and onions, they were amazingly fresh, and a direct quote from a couple locals we met "they are amazing, fresh, not frozen". They were very good! The next thing we tried was the belgium waffle, they were huge and topped with sweets. Lynn and I split one with strawberries and chocolate...yea it was pretty much amazing! By then we were extremely stuffed but happy! We found my favorite part of Belgium...The Grand Place. It is a huge square with gigantic buildings with the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen! It was magical and astounding at the same time it left all 3 of us in awe. From there we went to see Manneken Pis, this statue had a huge build up because there were huge sounveniors dedicated to this monument, and when we got there he was extremely small...it is basically a little boy peeing, with many different legends of why it is Belgium's national symbol. We ate dinner at a restraunt and tried Belgium's beer Stella Artois and it was amazing! I was suprised, but I found out that Belgium's beer rivals Germany's... By then we were ready to go to bed.

The next morning we left for Brugge, which is on a train 1.5 hrs away from Brussels and is termed "Northern Venice". It was extremely beautiful! We wondered around the city got lots of pictures of churches, canal and the beautiful architecture! We frequently saw horse drawn carriages and wooden shoes as well. We even stumbled upon a wishing well. :) Then we were all famished and freezing, not entirely sure where we were stumbled into an awesome local restraunt! It was the most amazing food for nothing at all! And on top of that the owner and waitress spoke english and kindly read us the menu. I was able to get hot chocolate and scrambled eggs! Note: I have not been able to get scrambled eggs since coming to europe, bc everything is fried eggs. The owner kindly pointed out where we wanted to go next, which was a cheap souveniors place--this took forever to find and was not that exciting. Then we went to see one of the panorama views, the cheapest one, which consisted of climbing a hill by a huge windmill and looking at the view. It was definately an experience! From there we headed toward the touristy part of Brugge and saw the church of the holy blood, which was a church dedicated to worshipping Jesus' blood, the church was beautiful, but the concept was a little creepy, nevertheless we all went up to see the vial of the supposed Jesus' blood. Then we went to find a cannon left over from the war of 1631 left behind upside down stuck in the ground. No one knows how or why it is like that, at first we couldn't find it, but after asking a few other people, we found it! Just a quirky thing we saw. From there we went to a chocolate store where an american artist bought chocolate and had people run around naked covered in chocolate for pictures in the Vlamingstraat and the opera house. There lynn introduced me to the yummy chocolate covered orange peels...yum..! Throughout Brugge there were numerous kissing spots marked with red hearts painted on the ground. From there the 3 of us went back to the hostal exhausted to get ready for our flight in the morning. Overall, Belgium was amazing, random and different. There wasn't one set nationality there, there were many different people. I wouldn't say that Belgium was my favorite country or city this far, but it has the best architecture so far! As of now, I'd say Barcelona is my favorite. Upon returning home and promptly changing from layers to tshirt and shorts, I discovered that the men who are working on our plumbing, did something wrong and that we couldnt use the shower. So, Melissa and I feel gross did what we had to do and washed our hair in the sink. Lol it was definately an experience that I never thought would happen in Spain. Overall, I had a great trip and I am happy to be back in Madrid! :) This weekend I'm staying in Madrid because Midterms are next week, then the week after I am off to Venice with my grandma!

Hasta la vista!