Rome

Last week, I went to Rome as a chaperone teacher with Latin students from the school I teach at. It was a great experience (albeit a little tough on the old wallet...), and I'm really happy that I had the opportunity to see it, especially with other people and not alone for a change.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was definitely warmer than the weather in Berlin, where it had been raining when we left. On Monday morning I got up at 4:30, and walked down the street to be picked up by another teacher. It was dark, wet, and silent at the time, and I had the feeling that I was waking up the whole neighborhood with the wheels of my rolling suitcase bumping along the cobblestone roads. However, it was also cool to be out at that hour, especially with the rain.

It always takes forever for groups to get through all of the airport stuff. There were 36 of us: 32 students and 4 teachers (myself included). Luckily though, everybody made it there on time and no one was detained.

It was so sunny and warm in Rome that everyone was sunburnt by the end of the first day. It seemed that no one had even considered bringing sunblock.

We did a TON of walking. This was hard on me because I just had a minor surgery on my little toe the week before leaving. The doctor had to remove a tiny corn that had developed from the constant rubbing together of my toes as a result of walking everywhere. It wasn't a big deal, and had mostly healed, but between that and the two big blisters that formed, I started to limp by Tuesday night like an old, old woman.

One of my favorite things that we saw was the Colosseum. It was awesome! You see it in pictures, but don't really realize how massive it is until you actually go there. It's hard to believe that this has survived for thousands of years.


The Colosseum.


We also saw the Spanish Stairs, which lead up to the Triniti de Monti church and obelisk at the top. This is a popular place for people to meet up and hang out. It was crawling with tourists and street vendors when we were there, although I'm sure it's like that year round. To be fair, literally EVERYWHERE we were there were tourists, which was annoying (although we were also tourists). It's funny, because everyone hates tourists, but everyone wants to be a tourist. Guess we're all just a big bunch of hypocrites.


Spanish Stairs.

Anyway, on Wednesday morning we went to the Vatican and got to see the Pope deliver his weekly sermon in 4 or 5 different languages. It was cool to be so close to him, although I'm not Catholic so he's more like a celebrity figure to me. He was perched up on a little go-cart and his men drove him through the crowd so he could wave at the people. At one point I looked up and he was literally right above me, and we made eye contact for a split second. Of course, by the time I took a picture I only managed to get the back of his head.


At the Vatican.


The Pope.

Next we visited St. Peter's Basilica, which is directly next to St. Peter's Square in Vatican City (where we saw the pope). It is a spectacular cathedral, and pictures cannot convey how marvelous it is...it is something you simply must experience in person. It's the same thing with the Sistene Chapel, which is completely breathtaking. There is so much visible stimulation. Michaelangelo really did a wonderful job...although the famous "Creation of Adam" painting was a lot smaller than I expected!


"Creation of Adam."

For lunch that day, the 3 other teachers and I went to an average-looking street cafe to grab a bite and relax. I ordered a coke, and the next thing I knew the waiter slammed this massive 2-liter-sized, Oktoberfest-style mug filled with coke and half a lemon! I couldn't beleive it, and the other teachers got a good kick out of it (and I'm still mad at myself for not taking a picture of it). The food was so-so, and when we got the check we were shocked: for our small pizza and salads plus drinks it was 115 Euro ($160)! We thought there must have been a mistake. When we asked the waiter, he informed us that part of it was the massive tourist tax in the Vatican City. However, they also charged me TEN EURO ($14.50) for my coke, as well as 10 Euro for each regular cup of coffee!!!!!! We couldn't believe it. Talk about highway robbery!! We were all in a bad mood after that and snapped at a few students...oops. :(


The Pantheon.

A few other highlights we saw include: the Roman and Imperial Forums, the Museum of the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo, Vittorio Emannuale II monument, Piazza del Popolo, a farmer's market, Piazza Navona, and many others.

All in all, Rome was pretty cool to visit, and I'm glad I had the chance.

German Weeds

Spring has more or less sprung in Germany, and a few weeks ago when the weather first started turning nice, I noticed that little purple crocuses, as well as cute little white and yellow flowers, started popping up all over the place. They are so beautiful that at first I thought they were planted, and I didn't understand why someone would plant these little flowers right square in the middle of the yard (they've got to mow at some point, after all!).



However, it turns out that these grow wild here and are more or less considered weeds. NO FAIR! Why don't we get these kinds of weeds in Montana? All we get there are thistle and crappy dandelions that invade the entire yard and spread their nasty seed all over everything. (I feel like I should write some sort of punch line here, but I'll leave that to you, dear reader).



It's funny, because although these weed flowers grow wild, they still manage to have a certain orderliness to them. It's almost like they choose to grow in the most logical places possible. Apparently even flowers follow the social order here that Germans are known for.

What perfect parallelism!

What Not To Wear!

Last weekend I visited my friend Nicole and her parents in Eisenhüttenstadt, my "German family". I see them quite often, and it's really nice knowing that I have a place to come "home" to on the weekends.

Anyway, Nicole and her boyfriend Adrian both needed a new pair of shoes, so we went to the mall.



At one point, Adrian asked me if I knew about New Balance shoes.

I said, "Yeah, I've heard of them, but I don't own a pair."

"Well that's good, because those are Nazi shoes."

"Uh.....what?"

"Yeah, the big 'N' on the side is taken for an abbreviation for 'Nazi', and the shoes are popular in Nazi groups. So don't wear those."



They also told me about "Lonsdale", another clothing brand that is extremely popular within neo-Nazi groups. It started when someone noticed that the shirt could be partially covered so that all that can be seen is "NSDA"... the short form of the no-longer-existant Nazi party's official title (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei). These days, however, people don't even really need to cover up part of it because the message is sent simply via the brand name and the new association that people have with it.





So yeah, don't wear that stuff, like this a-hole:



Remember...no one likes a Nazi confrontation!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only in Germany

Fulbright Conference- Berlin

This week I didn't have to work because of the international Fulbright conference that was happening in Berlin! All Fulbrighters in Europe gathered at the 37-story, five-star hotel named "Park Inn" at Alexanderplatz (directly next to the radio tower; this was the main center of East Berlin during the GDR-era). Those who had to travel had their expenses paid for, and room and board was included. I was even able to stay since I technically live in the state of Brandenburg (although Neuenhagen bei Berlin is still connected to the city). Score!

Of course this meant that my high school friend and fellow Fulbrighter Margie was also there for the week, and we had a ton of fun together!! She flew in on Saturday morning, and I took her out to Potsdam for the day to visit castles and other fun things (Potsdam is the so-called "Versailles of Berlin"...something like a twin-city). We got there in the morning, and walked around the city for basically the entire day. It was my second time there; back in the summer of '06 Nicole and her parents took my mom and I out there one day during our stay. It is so beautiful though...I'm kind of mad at myself for not going out there more often since I'm so close!




Anyway, we went to Sanssouci Palace (Schloss Sanssouci) and the New Palace (Neues Palais), taking tours of both. The weather was absolutely beautiful. There is also a huge park here, a Chinese tea-house, an orangerie, and a massive windmill. Totally gorgeous. Afterwards, we walked to the other side of the city and across the large river to the idyllic woodsy area where Babelsberg Palace (Schloss Babelsberg) is. We got there in the late-afternoon or early evening, so everything had this magical glow to it. There was basically nobody around either, so it was like we were walking around in the woods and just stumbled across this centuries-old, fairy-tale castle. It was wonderful. We were so mesmorized!




The whole week was awesome, and I really felt happy hanging out and catching up with my closest friend. We did so much. Other places we went include: the DDR-Museum (or GDR Museum), Potsdamer Platz, the Film/TV Museum, Charlottenburg Palace, the Memorial for Murdered European Jews, the Museum of German Resistance during WWII, the Victory Column (Siegessäule), the Tierpark (where 7 of us altogether went for a picnic), the Gedächtnis Kirche and Glas Church, White Trash Fast Food (best American restuarant in Berlin!), and countless other small places along the way.



We pretty much had every meal covered by Fulbright at the fancy hotel restaurant. The food was awesome. However, I have to say that the meatballs at the reception after our briefing with Berlin's mayor were my favorite! (Gotta learn how to make those).


Memorial for Murdered Jews of Europe

Fulbright really outdid themselves for this conference. We listened to speeches from American and German ambassadors alike, as well as many other "VIPs". We had great banquets with unlimited food and drinks. One night the Fulbrighters here on music scholarships performed for the rest of us in a gala, and it really made me wish I had double majored in music AND math. They were excellent. One violinist and his pianist-wife even played my Saint-Saëns piece, Introduction and Rondo capricciosso. (And it never gets old, no matter how many times I hear it! Hear Heifetz play it).



On Wednesday evening we had our farewell party at the Alte Kantine, a club in Prenzlauer-Berg (a district of Berlin). At one point this was a church, and then it turned into a brewery. Somewhere along the way it stopped being a brewery and became a club. We had a DJ and everyone was given two drink tokens, which I used for some delicious cold apple juice (go ahead and call me lame, I don't care, lol). Margie and I left early as she had some serious tooth pain, and we had to find something. Luckily there was a pharmacy open 24/7 in the main train station!

I am really thankful for this week. It was a great change-up from my normal routine, got to see some old friends and meet some new ones, and go do some fun stuff that normally gets pushed aside. Also, nothing compares to quality time with someone you love and don't get to see very often! :)



I LOVE BERLIN!

Christmas: Märchen

One of the coolest things about being in Germany during the holidays is that classic fairy-tale movies, called Märchen, play almost every single day on TV. Many of them were made in the DDR*, and a few were even made in some other eastern-block communist countries during the Cold War era, so they've got an added nostalgic element to them. Originally filmed in black-and-white, they have now been restored in technicolor, and the effect is really cool. Think of "The Wizard of Oz".



These Märchen are extremely rich in German culture, particularly since many of these stories are derived form those of the "Brothers Grimm"**. Although they may seem a bit cheesy at times, they definitely appeal to the still-innocent inner child. Fairy tales will always be fascinating to me. They're timeless.




A few of my favorites include Das singende klingende Bäumchen ("The Singing Ringing Tree") from 1957, and Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart) from 1950. However, I haven't seen one Märchen that I didn't like! They're simply impossible not to love.



Surprisingly enough, someone has put the entire "Bäumchen" film on youtube. Even if you don't speak German, I still recommend watching it (or part of it) just to see how cool and nostalgic it is. Check it out!
Bäumchen

I also found the trailer for "Das kalte Herz." It's only about 3 minutes, and it's definitely worth checking out as well: Herz



*DDR is the German abbreviation for "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (German Democratic Republic, or GDR in English). For those of you not up on your German history, this was the communist East Germany during the Cold War era, before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

**The Brothers Grimm were two brothers who collected German folk and fairy tales in the early 1800s to form the very influential and well-known "Grimm Fairy Tales", which include Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, and Sleeping Beauty, among many others.

Christmas: The Food

Continuing my "Christmas series", I'll now move on to everyone's favorite thing about holidays...the food!

As I mentioned in the Thanksgiving post, turkey is not as popular on holidays in Germany as it in the US. Rather, on special occasions, they are more likely to eat duck, rabbit, or ham. I had actually never eaten either duck or rabbit before coming here, and I was pleasantly surprised by both. Once I got past the psychological hindrance of eating "the Easter bunny", that is. After discovering how tender the meat is though, I decided that rabbits get eaten by things all the time anyway, and I might as well claim my share.



The meat is most likely to be served with mashed potatoes, Rotkohl (literally "red cabbage"; this is rarely seen in the US, so imagine a combination of pickled beet redness and taste, and sauerkraut, and you'll have it), a gravy made from the meat, and maybe another vegetable. It's also quite likely that there will be some kind of salad of shredded lettuce, cubed apples, and special musturdy mystery sauce.



On Christmas Eve, we went to Nicole's grandparent's house for dinner. I thought it was funny because they also had sausages and potato salad! Very German! Hehehe ^^.

Of course there is also a lot of candy and sweets. Christmas cookies, or Plätzchen, are always a nice treat.

Christmas: Christmas Markets, Lights, and Pfand

One of the most distinctive things about Christmas in Germany are the Christmas markets that are held anywhere groups of people are found, from the biggest cities to the smallest villages. These markets are basically clusters of little stands that sell everything from Christmas decorations to winter clothing, smoked fish to roasted almonds and chocolate-covered fruit, bratwurst to fried mashed potatoes, and Glühwein to beer-on-tap.



For those of you who have never heard of Glühwein (literally, "glowing wine"), it is more or less a warm, spiced wine that is traditionally consumed during the winter, especially around Christmas. It is very popular, and you can find it everywhere you turn. For children or adults who don't like alcohol, there is an alcohol-free version called Kinderpunsch (childs' punch). It, too, is served warm and can be compared to a spicy cider. I have tried both, and I have to admit that I didn't care for either...but maybe it's an acquired taste.

Some of the items that I liked the most at the Christmas markets were these adorable little "smoking houses"...miniature German-style houses with chimneys, where actual smoke comes out if you place incense inside. They are so cute, and I really wanted to buy one, but unfortunately they were a bit out of my price range (i.e., under 10 euro).



There are also a lot of woodwork decorations. These seem to be quite popular here as well, as I have noticed that quite a few people place wooden arches that hold candles in their windowsills, which look really pretty at night.

Christmas lights aren't as such a huge phenomenon in Germany as they are in the US. It's just an American thing. Perhaps an explanation of this (beyond the difference in cultures) is the higher cost of electricity. Most people either can't afford it, don't believe in wasting so much energy for something like that, or just think it's stupid and unnecessary. However, thanks to the Americanization that's been taking place over the last few decades in Germany there has been a rise in the number of homes with Christmas lights (more on Americanization later).

Something cool about buying warm drinks at Christmas markets is that they serve it to you in actual ceramic mugs. Here's how it's different than anything in the US: There is a "Pfand" system, which gives you two options...either you may take the mug home with you as a souvenir, or return it to the stand and receive half of the cost of the drink back. I don't think it is unique to Christmas markets though, as I have seen this before at outdoor beer gardens (like at the Ritterfest I went to with Julia in Bavaria last summer).

Christmas Time: Advent and Nikolaus

Continuing with my belated holiday theme, I will now go on with the most magical time of year, Christmas!

Christmas (Weihnachten) in Germany is something truly special that I'm happy I had the chance to experience. The season here is based on Advent, which is the time spent in preparation for and anticipation of the nativity of Jesus, or Christmas Day. Advent is measured in two ways. First, by use of the Advent calendar, in which every day has a special door to be opened as that day comes, often hiding a piece of candy or small gift to be enjoyed on that particular day. Next, Advent is also followed using 4 candles, representing the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. Four Sundays before Christmas, the first candle is lit. On the next Sunday, a second candle is lit, and so on.


Example of an Advent calendar.

Santa Claus takes a slightly different form in Germany. Here, it is "Sankt Nikolaus" (Saint Nicholas) who plays the role of the generous old jolly fat man. Nikolaus comes not once, but TWICE during the Christmas season. First, he comes on Sankt Nikolaus Tag (Saint Nicholas Day), which is celebrated on December 6th. On the night of the 5th, children put their shoes in front of their door, and during the night Nikolaus comes and fills them with candy if they were good in the last year...otherwise they just get a small tree branch (not coal like in the US).


Advent candles.

For some children, this is also a fearful thing, as Nikolaus is often accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht (a servant equipped with 8 deer legs), who would threaten to beat the children if they misbehaved. In Switzerland, he even takes the children, puts them in sacks, and either drags them into the forest or throws them in the river to drown them. (These legends can be quite gory....something tells me that this would not go over as well in the US...too bad! lol.)

Of course, Nikolaus also comes on Christmas Eve to bring toys for good little boys and girls.

During this time, chocolate Nikolaus men are also sold. My neighbor put one at my door for me to find on my way out to work the next day. It was really sweet. I couldn't eat any of them because they are so cute...and they are still all sitting on my windowsill today, March 10th. Hahaha.


My collection of chocolate Nikolaus men.

More to come!

Pamela

So, I really miss my sweet friend Pamela Raggl from home! She's a fabulous lady, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again when I get back. Unfortunately her plans to visit me in Berlin fell through, but that's ok...she's here in my heart!

Pamela, you're a smart, strong, courageous, beautiful person who is very loved!! Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. You deserve the very best! :) See you this summer! <3

Thanksgiving in Germany (all together now: "You are so behind!!!!")

Ok, so as you have probably noticed, I am incredibly behind with my blog. I apologize to those of you who enjoy reading it and have been waiting patiently for a new post.

So, I have to go all the way back to November, because I never wrote anything about Thanksgiving. Well, as you probably know, Thanksgiving is only really celebrated by Americans (and Canadians in October!). There is a similar holiday in Germany called "Dankfest", but it's not as widely celebrated im comparison with Thanksgiving in the US.

I went to a special Fulbright Thanksgiving celebration in Berlin-Kreuzberg for our regional chapter. A chef from Louisiana who emigrated to Germany runs a bar/restaurant there, and he kindly offered to roast a big turkey to help us celebrate. That was really generous of him, because actual turkey seems to be rather difficult to find here, or at least the type of turkey that us Americans are used to eating.

The rest of the meal was pot-luck style, and I made a potato salad. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but no one else seemed to care, because it was completely gone at the end of the meal.

As I was walking through the dimly-lit streets of Kreuzberg with my potato salad trying to find the "New Orleans Haus", a woman came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and scared the living hell out of me. "Are you goin' to the Fulbright Thanksgivin' thang?" she asked, with a strong southern twang. Relieved that it was simply another American going to the party and not a drugged-up prostitute looking for trouble, I said yes, and introduced myself.

We had a great time together the entire evening, and as it turned out, the southern woman was in fact German. Huh?

Well, she spent 2 years in Atlanta, GA and managed to pick up that accent really well. Talk about fascinating! I will never be able to perfect my German that well, no matter how hard I try. (Curse you, American school system, for starting foreign languages so late...)

The meal was a patchwork attempt at the traditional American Thanksgiving feast. People tried as best they could, but certain things just aren't available in Germany. For example, since Campbell's soup is an American product, as well as French's French Fried Onions, no one was able to make Green Bean Cassarole. American-style pies also don't exist in Germany, so unfortunately we didn't have pumpkin pie (my favorite!). All in all though, the food was still good and the spirit of Thanksgiving was there.

And that's something to be thankful for. (Awwww!)

Heidelberg

This weekend I went to Heidelberg for the Fulbright Winter Conference/Winter Ball, and it was so wonderful! I’ve never been to this area of Germany before, and I was really pleased by how beautiful it is, even in February. There are vibrant green hills and trees, light blue rivers and streams, and little red-roofed villages scattered about. Appreciating the scenery gave me something to do for a while during the 6-1/2 hour train ride from Berlin (although I did just happen to sit next to another American, so at least I had someone to talk to for a while).

I stayed with a German couple who were also members of the “Fulbright family”, Anja and Christian. We were placed together by the event coordinator, and so I wasn’t sure how it would go, but luckily they ended up being really nice, not to mention super smart. They lived in Washington D.C. for a year working on graduate degrees in American History and Literature, although Christian taught German in Oklahoma for 2 years before that. Their English was so perfect that I thought they were American when they picked me up from the train station. It gave me a sense of familiarity that was comforting after being away from home for so long.

Later that evening, our Fulbright group had a get-together at a place called “Das Bootshaus”, a rowing-themed restaurant right next to the river. I met some new people, ate too much shrimp scampi, had some great meaningful conversation, and enjoyed the evening.

On Saturday morning we went to a meeting that was pretty much the most boring thing ever (read: worse than school board meetings). Anja and I left with another new friend Kasey, and walked around the original part of the town looking in stores and taking some pictures. We also walked across the river to “the other side of the bridge”, a large hill with beautiful vintage homes. However, this is only for the elite, who can either pay millions of Euros for one of these homes. There is a pathway to the top of the hill called the “Professor’s Walk”, because it was where professors and intellectuals used to go to think for a while without distractions. Of course, I’m a little out of shape, at least by European standards, so this walk was a bit of a challenge for me…but we did have a great view.

After eating Falafel for lunch and stopping by a chocolatier, we went home to get ready for our super-exclusive, invite-only dinner/ball at the House of Congress. It was probably the most amazing thing I have experienced since being in Europe….I felt like a princess! Everyone was dressed like royalty, the Bürgermeister and other VIPs were there, and even the press was there snapping photos. It was comparable to eating dinner at the White House with the president. We had an amazing three-course meal that was very upscale. Afterward, everyone moved to the ballroom and danced waltzes, tangos, jitterbug, and all other possible things imaginable. Too bad my feet were killing me thanks to my stupid heels!!

The party lasted until 4 am, although I didn’t stay that long. Europeans are hardcore like that.

Today, everyone wrapped up the weekend by having brunch, but afterward there were also tours that people could go on. I did the castle tour, which was awesome. It sits on a hill above Heidelberg. The castle itself is now more or less a ruin…but a pretty one. It’s not super ornate or anything, but still interesting. We also had an amazing view of the town.

What a great weekend!

Paris, Part Trois

Sunday, our last full day in together, was dedicated to the Louvre, one of the biggest and most famous art museums in the world (home of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and my other well-known pieces), as well as the Arc de Triomphe, the famous avenue Champs-Élysées, and the cool big graveyard Père Lachaise where Jim Morrison, famous French singer Édith Piaf, classic writer Oscar Wilde, and other notable people are buried.

We got up extra-early so that we could get ready, eat, and get to the Louvre by 8:45 (right before opening at 9) and beat the lines. Of course, we weren’t the only ones with this idea, and still had to wait in line for a while….but it was nothing like it was when we left.

The Louvre is so massive that a person needs a full week to really look it over thoroughly, and we only had 4 hours. However, unless you are an art history person, this is about all you can take at one time before you get “arted out”.

Margie and I bought these little English audio guide things so we could learn more about the art work as we went (unfortunately for us, all of the descriptions next to the paintings and sculptures were in French). They were recommended to us by a roommate at our hostile, who was very enthusiastic about the necessity of having them. However, we weren’t as pleased because only a few items actually had numbers that corresponded to descriptions on our guide (very lengthy, detailed ones at that), and it wasn’t worth the 6 Euro a pop that we had to pay for them. You get just as much out of it just by walking around and looking at things (again, unless you are an art historian). Oh well, that’s life.

Next, we walked down Champs-Élysées , the historically-rich avenue that leads up to the Arch de Triomphe. Unfortunately, at this point my boots had become completely saturated because we had walked through so much deep slush and water that was everywhere, and even the protective coating I sprayed over them wasn’t enough to block it out. My socks were soaked, and every step I took went “squish…squish…squish…”. It was absolutely miserable. I believe “soggy” is right there next to “sticky” on the list of most uncomfortable conditions a person can be in.

Champs-Élysées is probably the most famous avenue in all of Paris. It extends from the Louvre to the Arch du Triomphe, which is approximately a mile and a half. Since the late 1700s, this avenue has been known for being fashionable, and people would dress up in their finest to come here and shop. Champs-Élysées was also the site of several famous military marches, including that of German troops celebrating the fall of France in 1940, as well as French and American soldiers celebrating the city’s liberation from German control in 1944. Today, it is full of extremely expensive stores that only rich people can even afford to look at.

After walking down Champs-Élysées, Margie, Nate, and I approached the Arc de Triomphe. Of course it is surrounded by a very busy roundabout, so we contemplated how to best cross it without being killed. There were maybe a dozen people under the arch, whom we estimated to be hobos, what with their garbage-barrel fire presumably lit for warmth in the cold December wind. Soon we discovered there was an underground bridge that would take us to the arc, and when we got there, we realized that the people weren’t actually hobos, but tourists….and the hobo fire was actually a memorial lit for the “unknown soldier.” Oops!

Next we took the subway to the famous cemetery Père Lachaise. Unfortunately, all of the gates were locked shut. We went into a little café nearby to ask someone, and apparently it was closed thanks to flooding caused by all the snow melting. That sucked, but oh well.

At this point, I was so uncomfortable thanks to my stupid wet boots and socks that I just had to go back to the hostel and dry off. Luckily, this was ok with Margie and Nate, since I told them they could keep going to check out a few other smaller things on the list. I went back, dried off, and relaxed for a while until they came back a few hours later.

We ate dinner at the bar/restaurant downstairs in our hostel, and Margie and I shared a pizza and apple pie a la mode. It was really good. Nate got a cheeseburger, and we just chilled out for a few hours until we went to bed. Margie and Nate had to leave by 9 in the morning to make it to the airport and fly back to Sweden together (Nate will be checking out Margie’s place next).

The next morning, we all got up and ate breakfast together before they left. I had to stick around for another 6 hours or before going to the airport, so I just skyped and messed around online until 4, when I realized my flight back to Berlin was cancelled….and that’s where the nightmare began….

Paris, Part Deux

On Saturday, the 3 of us got up early so do some more sight-seeing. None of us slept very well, unfortunately, but that's life. Someone was snoring loudly in our dorm, and people kept coming in and out at all hours of the night, opening up the creaky lockers under the bunks and waking us up. Oh well, that's the price you pay for saving a little money and staying in a 10-person room.

The first thing we did was go to Montmarte. This is one of the most famous areas in Paris, as it was the center of the Bohemian Revolution during the late-1800s and early 1900s. It is also the location of the infamous Moulin Rouge and Paris' red light district. The first thing we checked out was the Moulin Rouge. It was cool to see it in person, especially after watching the movie probably hundreds of times in the last 10 years (I can't believe it has already been that long since its premier...my mom and I saw it in the theater! And I don't care what anyone says...it's one of my favorite movies of all time!).

Anyway, it would have been amazing to catch dinner and a live show there, but unfortunately this costs a minimum of 150 Euro per person, which doesn't exactly fit into a teacher's salary. Instead, we took lots of pictures of the outside and also read the history that was posted in the facade. We stepped inside for a few minutes to ask where the gift shop was, and saw some of the original, personal items from some of the first women of the Moulin Rouge. There really was a "Sparkling Diamond" who was the star of the show...and her shoes, elaborate diamond necklace, and perfume bottles were on display.

The gift shop was definitely a disappointment. It was tiny, and everything was locked up in cases and extremely expensive. Don't bother going there if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods.

Just down the street (still in the red light district), there is the "Museum of the Erotic," which had been recommended to Margie as something we should check out. It was definitely a unique adults-only display...something you would never find in Montana! Needless to say, there were many sexually-explicit objects, sculptures, artworks, gadgets, pictures, paintings, films, etc. from cultures all around the world and from the earliest times to the present. My favorite was the French section from the late 1800s-early 1900s, especially about their brothels. For some reason, this is always fascinating. We also watched parts of a pornographic 1920s silent film...hahaha. It is a legitimate museum over 7 floors that is worth checking out if you aren't too prude and can handle it with a mature and open-minded attitude. Otherwise, it may be too uncomfortable.

Next, we were off to the Catacombs. Back in the 1700s and 1800s, the cemetaries of Paris were overflowing. There were too many people and not enough enough space, which led to unsanitary conditions and disease, causing even more death. The solution: to exhume over 6 million bodies and place their bones in catacombs, or special underground cemetaries with tunnels, rooms, and other recesses dug out as a second resting place. This saves a ton of room, and frees up space in the normal cemetaries for the "more recently dead." We were quite surprised at how far we needed to go underground and how long it took us to get through the series of tunnels that led to the bones...and I was starting to think it was just a hoax. However, just around this time we found them....and it took us an hour to walk through the corridors. The bones were arranged in patterns, alternating leg and arm bones with skulls, while the rib, spine, hand, foot, and pelvis bones were scattered over the top. It is hard to fathom 6 million dead, but walking through the catacombs helps give you an idea. Read more about it here, it's really interesting! Catacombs

After this, we walked through the Luxembourg gardens....although it was a little bit dead due to it being winter. I think that's more of an activity for any of the 3 other seasons in the year.

Next was the Notre Dame cathedral. It was unbelievable how many tourists were crammed into this church...it kind of made it a little bit harder to enjoy, but oh well. It really is a beautiful gothic cathedral...so beautiful in fact that it even inspried Victor Hugo to write his classic, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." There was a house next to it that appeared to be part of the church, and Nate was convinced that this was where the hunchback lived. Who knows?

Achieving our goals for the day, we headed back to the hostel. After relaxing for a few hours, we went to a very quaint, very French bar/cafe. Margie and I wanted to try some French cuisine that wasn't crepes, so we ordered foie gras (duck liver) in an egg sauce, as well as veal with mushroom sauce and noodles. This was way too much food. I wasn't so much a fan of the duck liver...it basically dissolves as soon as it falls in your mouth, but the veal was good. Nate stuck with steak and fries, although he couldn't escape some Frenchness thanks to the bleu cheese sauce over the top.

The waiter was really nice to us, which was nice. He must have thought we were Canadians.

Oh, that reminds me...on the subway, we accidently made some people a little mad because we sat down in the chairs before them, even though we were there first. They ended up getting some seats next to us anyway, and were obviously talking about how much they hated us in French. At this point I loudly said, "I GUESS WE SHOULD JUST GO HOME TO ENGLAND NOW....".

I hate being slightly embarassed to admit that I'm an American thanks to the douche bags that ruin our reputation. It's not fair, but hopefully someday the damage can be undone? I don't know. Whatever. Europeans will continue to simultanously love and hate us until the end of time.

Paris, Part Un

On Friday morning, I flew to Paris to meet up with Margie and Nate for the weekend. I was really worried that my flight would be cancelled because of the snow and cold weather, but luckily it wasn't. However, I did have to wait an extra 2 hours for the plane to be de-iced, which sucked...especially because we just had to sit in the plane the entire time and wait. Oh well....it gave me a chance to read a few more chapters in my mystery novel, "Die Zahlen der Toten."

Going through security was a pain in the butt this time, but just because I had my purse with me in addition to my backpack. This has never been a problem for me in the past, so I was a little irritated when the man at security told me (rather rudely, I might add) that I could only have one bag, and that I would have to put my purse inside my backpack if I wanted to continue. Otherwise I would have to check my backpack. This wouldn't have been a problem if my small backpack wasn't already stuffed almost as full as physically possible. Luckily, I managed to squish everything in a little tighter, and just barely jam my purse in without it exploding. Stupid easyJet.

The flight was fine, and I didn't care about being a few hours late, because I was still at the hostel over an hour earlier than Margie and Nate were.

My first impressions of Paris were lukewarm. It smelled kind of disgusting and the metro system is totally dirty and ghetto compared to Berlin's S-Bahn (although you never have to wait longer than 3 minutes for a train, so that part is great). I was also really surprised to see so many ethnic peoples...I mean, even though I know Paris is a major metropolitan city, I still expected that there would be more white people. (I'm not saying I have a problem with it, and I don't intend to sound racist at all. I'm only making an observation, so don't get too excited.)

Margie got to the hostel before Nate, and while we were catching up, we had ordered a pizza in the bar/restaurant that was also part of our hostel. It was good, except that they try too hard to be "hip" and appealing to young people by playing their music WAY TOO LOUD. It really irritated me, because you couldn't ignore it if you wanted to. And heaven help you if you didn't like the song, which I didn't 90% of the time.

After Nate arrived and we all had a chance to relax a bit, we headed out to the Eifel Tower. It is so beautiful at night, and took our breath away. It was glowing with yellow-orange light, and looked stunning. There was a cool Christmas market along the way that we walked through, which also had some beautifully lit, vintage-style merry-go-rounds.

All around the Eifel Tower, there are men who try to sell you small knick-knacks and souvenirs, and they pester you at every stop. You literally have to yell "No!" at them and keep moving. There we so many of them, wandering aimlessly around in the cold and dark with their giant key ring of little metal Eifel Towers, muttering some half-English, half-French nonsense, that they reminded me a lot of zombies. And of course, my first gut instinct to zombies is SHOOT THEM ALL!, but unfortunately they weren't real zombies and I didn't have a gun, so I just had to ignore them instead.

We waited in line for about 20 minutes before getting up to the 2nd level via elevator. We actually wanted to climb the stairs, but they were blocked off for some reason, and the top was closed. Probably had to do with the weather, because it started to snow. It was cold, but also very beautiful. The view from the 2nd level was breathtaking, especially with the snow and all of the Christmas lights.

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at a tent in the Christmas market for some hot chocolate. Unfortunately, we didn't speak much French and they didn't speak much English. This resulted in 1) us making a few French-sounding noises that we hoped would make sense to them, 2) all of us looking confused at each other and pointing at various things, and 3) EPIC FAILURE. Eventually, the lady just chose a cup size, poured in some hot chocolate, and asked for 4 euro. lol.

We stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner along the way, and had some awesome food. I might eat there again today before I leave, actually...

More to come.

Manneken Pis

One of the coolest things about Brussels is the little peeing boy statue named "Manneken Pis", probably the most famous Belgian landmark of all time.

In pictures, he looks like he is life-sized, but in actuality he is really only less than 2 feet tall. My first reaction when I saw him was, "This is it??" That's ok though...it is still pretty cool, even if he is small. Size really doesn't matter when it comes to this little guy. Here's a run-down:

In 1618, a French sculpter created the statue out of bronze, which was based on a similar stone version that had been stolen years before. No one knows the exact significance of the boy and his peeing, although there have been many theories. For instance, according to one legend, a rampant fire was raging through Brussels many centuries ago, and in an attempt to help extinguish it, a small boy started peeing on it. Another legend says that an infertile couple finally conceived a child, and right after he was born, he peed on the pastor who baptized him. Yet another legend suggests that the boy actually symbolizes a 2-year-old duke in the year 1187, whose troops were battling an enemy group. Supposedly the infant was placed in a basket and tied to a tree as encouragement for the troops, and as nature called, he answered.

Another widely accepted version is that a small boy was often seen relieving himself in this particular corner, whose acidic urine eventually burned a whole in the stone wall. When it rained, water would pour down and come out of the hole, and this looked as though the wall was also peeing. (The last part seems like a bit of a stretch to me, but whatever).

Every now and then on special occasions, the water in the fountain is replaced with beer, and people can go get their drink from his "flow". People get really excited about this...

One of the coolest things about Manneken Pis is that he has special costumes made for him that are changed every couple of weeks. His very first costume was made for him in 1698 by the prince of Bavaria: velvet with the royal blue Bavarian print. Since then, he has received an additional 800-some costumes through the years, many of them donated by other countries. You can see 100 of them at a time at the Museum of the City of Brussels at the Grand Place. They are switched out every couple of months. It really is quite fascinating.

This statue is a symbol of Belgium's unique culture and history. It is a statement of rebellion towards the many occupiers of Belgium throughout the years, as in, "You may be here and try to boss us around, but we'll still do wherever we want to." That is another reason why the statue has so much support and has weathered the centuries so well: people believe in his message, as unconventional and ridiculous as it may seem to us non-Belgians.