Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Munich/Munchen, Germany and Amsterdam
MUNCHEN. I was impressed with Munich. Didn't think it would be too amazing but it was great place to end our trip (or so we thought, get to that later). Can you guys guess where we went first? If you guessed city center for the christmas market, then you're right. Marienplatz, city center.
Gluhwein and the best brat ever. I had to get sauerkrat and ketchup and the best brat. It was our last night in Germany. Nick was a trooper and helped me find the best one too. Got our mugs of gluhwein as well, walked around again. Looked at all of the beautiful steins and clocks, never got one. I really wanted a big beautiful stein, but ended up not because the outrageous price of anywhere between fifty euro and up to like 130 euro. Went to thee Haufbrau Haus in Munchen, like the original first one. It was huge and beautiful. We each only had one liter of beer, walked around to see the lockers (lockers for steins of famous people or people who rent them, but it can take years and years to be on a list for that), heard the band, and then left. Walked around a bit more and that was it. Oh, he ended up getting his mom a gift the last night, after myself reminding him since day one. You could say he is a procrastinator.
Next morning, we left for Frankfurt at 4am. He drove the entire way. I offered, felt bad. A four hour drive.
AMSTERDAM. Well, with standby you can also not get a seat. We woke up to head to the frankfurt airport and there were negative six seats on the plane, but we tried anyway. Went through security and such and ended up watching our plane take off with out us. Nick was doing his little thing of looking at different flights and seats and departures or whatever. Ended up getting a train to Amsterdam from Frankfurt because the next day there were three flights to Detroit with like 30+ open seats.
Got a great hostel, I recommend: Flying Pig Hostel. Perfect location. Right in front of the Amsterdam Centraal Station. Since this was my third time in Amsterdam, it felt so familiar being back. No christmas market there, no mug for us, which made my luggage happier. We just ended up walking around after dinner at a pizza and pasta spot. Walked through the red light district and had a few Heinekens. Flugels. A chocolate waffle. Rained that night.
Went to bed early that Saturday night and left very early for the airport again. Once we got to our gate, it was filled AGAIN. I felt like I was about to live in Europe at that point. The lady came up to us and said to Nick "Do you want to get a seat? But she cannot have one." and there was no way to switch due to his priority. But through all of that headache, right before they closed the door they threw a ticket at both of us and we got on. Just like that. Last freaking minute. Felt as soon as I sat down and buckled up, we were in the air five minutes later. We both flew to Detroit, an eight hour flight and then split up once in Detroit. He went to Omaha for the family and I went to Milwaukee.
It was a wonderful two weeks in Europe! April, I will be back!
Vienna, Austria
Wien (pronounced vine). Or Vienna. Austria. Driving straight from Prague to Vienna. Nick and I were wanting to stop in Brno however, it just wasn't realistic due to it being our only day to see Vienna Austria and we had almost a four hour drive ahead, starting around 9am. Grabbing breakfast at a rest stop right out of the city. One of those cold sandwiches they have everywhere. Nick actually drove the whole way to Vienna without any help. We did get stuck in some traffic as well, to the point of Nick getting out and walking around. 130km is also the speed limit in Austria, which is like 80mph. Which, side note: when I was driving back in Germany I was going at the very least 170km which is about 105mph. Crazy scary at first but I got use to it later. Hence giving me the nickname scoots.
Austria, neither of us had data. So getting around was a little difficult but we figured it out. Got on some trams and subways. First was the Belvedere Museum, where The Kiss by Gustav Klimt is kept. It was bigger than expected, beautiful too. I was so happy, jumping up and down. Nick said he never knew someone could get that excited over a painting, smh. Before, we had a bite to eat at Art Corner next door, I had some halloumi. Really good cheese I can only ever find in England.
After, we headed to the city center. Stephansplatz. Christmas market time and new mug time. Sixth mug. This one was a red boot. Super cute, still not as great as my favourite Praha one. Saw St. Peter's Catholic Church and a bunch of others surrounding. However, the best one (and the one we got to go inside and walk around in) was St. Stephen's Cathedral. Gorgeous. Only wish we could have seen it in the daylight. After that, we kind of just wandered. Kept walking toward the next beautiful building to the next. Found another christmas market that was just better than the one in the city center. It was bigger, with a ice skating rink, so many lights, etc. etc. This was in Rathauspark. I decided to get drunk on gluhwein this night. It was a lot of fun, a little difficult ice skating at that condition though. Yeah, we ice skated. Finally. In New York City we were so close to ice skating at Rockafeller and I think one other time. We talk about it all the time. And it's hard to because of his damn big feet, size freaking sixteen.
Getting back was amusing. Drunk and drooling for kebab. Yeah, my first time having kebab, with my vegetarian butt.
Woke up in the morning to snow falling. Our Airbnb had a beautiful view on the 5th or 6th floor (no elevator!). We had the Katholische Kirche Breitenfeld (St. Franziskus Serphicus) right there. It was really beautiful with the snow falling (I still hate snow).
Leaving Vienna we were starving. Finding food was the hardest it has been. We both had zero data to look places up. It was early, we wanted breakfast food. We basically wasted an entire hour walking around. Ended up getting one of those cold sandwiches at a rest stop/gas station. Then off to Munich/Munchen for one day...
Prague/Praha, Czech Republic
You could say I am a little obsessed with the word PRAHA. Praha is just another name for Prague hence my constant comment of "PRAHA" on my photos. I just thought it was a fun name and we kept seeing it on our drive, on the road signs. Every time I saw a sign with it on, I said it, maybe shouted.
"Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic, is bisected by the Vltava River. Nicknamed “the City of a Hundred Spires,” it's known for its Old Town Square, the heart of its historic core, with colorful baroque buildings, Gothic churches and the medieval Astronomical Clock, which gives an animated hourly show. Completed in 1402, pedestrian Charles Bridge is lined with statues of Catholic saints."
-https://www.google.com/search?q=prahgue&oq=prahgue&aqs=chrome..69i57.1303j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
After Berlin, we stopped in Dresden and then came to Prague. Two days in Berlin and now two days in Prague. Coming in at night it was gorgeous. I found the most wonderful spot for us in the city center or the Old Town Square. Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12910001?guests=1&adults=1 . It was an entire apartment within walking distance to everything. The hosts even had a welcoming beer in the fridge for us with a cold glass to pour in, Victoria (one of the hosts) said it was a custom of theirs. Also, the beer (Pilsner Urquell) is a very popular Czech beer. The Airbnb was very cheap considering everything we got, eighty american dollars each for the two nights spent there. Including a perfect bar right around the corner for Nick called "Hangar Bar". Airplane themed. Pan American Airline. I found my favourite mixed drink ever there too. Raspberry Spice, includes: grey goose vodka, raspberry puree, chilli, and dried raspberry bits for a garnish. I kept grunting after every sip because it was just so damn good.
Before the Hangar bar, we had dinner at Pasta Fresca, an italian restaurant. And walked around the christmas market of course. Didn't do very much that night. Kind of exhausted from all of the driving and Dresden stop. I did get a Trdelnik, same thing as the one I got in Germany. This time I had to get Nutella in it, I was craving Nutella. Nick and I were on a mission, hahaha. I'm surprised he made it this far with me, to the point where I am whining for Nutella for ten minutes.
Oh! We also saw the famous clock tower ring, the Medieval Astronomical Clock. Firstly, I noticed this huge crowd before I noticed the clock. They all had their phones out and staring up, this huge crowd of like fifty or more people. I was just amused looking at them, they looked so silly until Nick pointed out the huge beautiful clock that was about to ring in three minutes. So we joined the silly crowd and I held my phone up as well just like everyone else. Three minutes later, there were little horns and saints dancing around, then the huge bells were ringing and ringing and ringing.
Next day was our full day in Praha. I was extremely excited, not knowing truly why. Just had a good feeling for Prague. Nick knew just from my constant shouting of "PRAHA!". So food was our priority when walking out to our day, he found the best place, "Home Kitchen". Food was so good and fresh. After, we went off to the art museum but ended up not going because "The Maiden" by Klimt wasn't on show. Then decided to go up into the top of the clock tower. Saw the saint statues up close and went to the tippy top for a beautiful view of not only the city and the Old Town Square, but also the christmas market surrounding us. After, we walked into Church of Our Lady before Tyn and St. Nicholas' Church (which had this huge beautiful chandelier).
Got on a caterpillar, what I call the trams, and a big ride up a hill in this tube thing. i don't know how else to describe it, I'm sure there is a word for it. Pause. Just googled it. It's called the Petrin Funicular. Anyway, we took this to the Petrin Tower, or what I called it, the Eiffel Tower. It really does look like the Paris Eiffel Tower, a miniature one. Or the tippy top of it. Climbing the spiral to that really made us sweat but it was worth it.
As we were walking from the Petrin Tower to the Prague Castle, we ran into what Nick was calling it, the monk's brewery. So we just had to get a beer from the monks, also it was an award because after the spiral staircase up the tower, Nick's watch told him congratulations on his workout. Hahaha. The Strahov Monastery. After a quick beer, we got to the Prague Castle. Which had a christmas market right next to it, so of course we needed a brat. I got a chilli brat while he got cheese. Watched some soldiers do a little march or dance to change guards. The inside of the Castle was beautiful. We both lit a candle for our parents again.
Walking out and around the castle, we found.. guess it. Gluhwein. With the best mug of all. Out of all of our collection of christmas mugs, this is by far my favourite. Just blue and white porcelain, with the word PRAHA on it. As we walked with our mulled wine, we decided to make our way to the Charles Bridge. Half way there, once I was done with my wine, I poured my mini shot of Absinthe I bought the previous night. Looks like Absinthe is very popular there for some reason.
The Charles Bridge was beautiful. We made it on right during sunset. Walking across as the sun set, and walking back across while the guy was lighting the lamps on the bridge at dark. The birds there are terrible. If you know me, I am petrified of birds flying at me. If you relate, just beware. Ornithophobia to ornithophobia.
Later, being a little buzzed or a lot. Found Hard Rock Cafe and stuffed ourselves. Stuffed. To the point of hurting. And then we ran, or rather crawled in pain, to the apartment to watch our new show, Dogs of Berlin and passed out hard.
Oh, Czech money is so confusing. It feels like you're rich, carrying thousand dollar bills in your wallet but really one thousand Czech korunas is actually forty-four american dollars. It was thee most confusing currency I have delt with.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Berlin and Dresden, Germany
Next day, we kind of made a list. First things first, the Berlin wall. Nick and I walked along it and took photos for most of the morning and then found Checkpoint Charlie. Next, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a must see. Brandenburg Gate. Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe. A cheese pretzel break, this time it was warmed up! The Reichstag Building (didn't go inside). Ampelmann store (the cross gaurd figure). Unexpected visit to Error Exhibition in a car shop, only went in to see his dream car that he saw in the window. The History Museum filled with all of the War stuff. Berlin Cathedral. Then, BACK to the christmas market of course for some more gluhwein of course. Another mug. (Spoiler alert, we came back with seven christmas mugs!) Then, we went to the Haufbrau Haus. That's when things got crazy. We met a british couple our age (Sam and Shone [Sean]) and we all just drank and drank in this big drinking hall with liters of beer. I ended up having three whole big liters to myself and Nick had four. I couldn't believe it. I'm surprised we got back to our hostel in one piece.
Morning came unfortunately. Hungover and trying to pack up for our drive to Dresden and Prague. Got breakfast at our spot next to the hostel. Drove on the Oberbaum Bridge (Bruke) towards Checkpoint Charlie for our passport stamp.
Stopped in Dresden really quick to walk around and get something to eat. If you love architecture, go to Dresden. The amount of beautiful buildings are endless. We walked through a few christmas markets of course, got our fourth (maybe fifth) mug full of gluhwein. Walked into several churches. Dresden Frauenkirche I know we definitely walked into. Dresden Castle. Got myself a ring here and tried a hot pocket looking food which wasn't that good but they were everywhere in this city and every one was eating them. Found a Peruvian stand with Cusquena beer and pisco sour drinks, that was really cool I thought. Then back on the road to enter Czech Republic where there was snow around on the highway. And a speed limit for 130km.
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