Vienna, Day 1-Nov. 8
Amanda and I spent 2 days at my house with my family in Helsingor before leaving Copenhagen for Vienna. We left at 10:20am and arrived in Wien at 12:25pm. We then took 2 trains to the hostel, which was a Wombats hostel near the main train station. It was such a nice hostel. We checked in around 2:30 and got settled in our rooms then went out for a walk around the city. We saw the library, some museums, and some gorgeous buildings at night with all the lights. Then we got hungry and got delicious albeit expensive pizza then went to bed so we'd be ready for our busy day.
Vienna, Day 2 - Nov. 9
We woke up at 8am after a somewhat restless night, as there were many people out and about and coming in and out of our room. We had a nice breakfast of bread, cheese, fruit and coffee at the hostel. From there we took a train and walked to Belvedere Palace, which houses a huge collection of art, including Gustav Klimt's The Kiss, one of my favorites. After we saw the paintings, we walked around the grounds and took photos. Then we walked to Vienna's famous cathedral, St. Stephensdom and went inside and shopped a bit in the area nearby. We wanted to go to Hofburg Palace, the imperial palace in Vienna, but it cost money so we didn't go in. We walked by the famous Opera house and took the appropriate photos, then went to a little place near the hostel for schnitzel! Before we left for our train to Salzburg, we had to go grocery shopping to get food for the rest of our trip, in case there was no breakfast provided, or to serve as a substitute for other meals. Our train left Vienna at 6:44pm.
Salzburg, Day 3 - Nov. 10
We checked in late to our hostel (JUFA Salzburg - a great place) the night before, which is always confusing, but again we had a nice person who helped us. That morning we woke up and had the best breakfast at the hostel to date, then took the bus to the stop for our Sound of Music Tour! Amanda said this was the best decision we had ever made and I tend to agree with her. We visited Mirabell Palace (Do Re Mi), Leopoldskron (Lake in the back of the Von Trapp house), Hellbrunn (gazebo/ actual house), Lakes and Mountains District ( Untersberg, Wolfgangsee, Mondsee and the wedding church--where we ate apple strudel also). It was an amazing experience! After that finished, we walked around Salzburg and saw more of the sights, including the Mozart bridge (Do Re Mi), Nonnberg Abbey and the cemetery where the family hides from the Nazis. We also saw people setting up for the Christmas markets which were unfortunately going to open a week after we left. We ate pretzel sandwiches and walked/took a bus back to the hostel. I loved walking around the city and seeing the mountains. I fell in love with Salzburg and I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Innsbruck, Day 4 - Nov 11
We woke up and had breakfast then caught the 8:50 train from Salzburg to Innsbruck. We could see some amazing views of the mountains and hills of Austria from the train. Austria is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been I think. We got to Innsbruck at 11am and started off by walking around the town. Actually, that was what our day essentially was. We saw the Golden Roof, completed as a royal residence in the 1450's. There are so many cute streets and we walked up and down them all, being constantly amazed by the giant snow-covered mountains surrounding us. We went to the Imperial Palace and gardens and relaxed while we watched some old men play chess. At about 3pm we stopped for some Italian food for lunch/dinner, and it was expensive (but comparable to other prices we saw) but delicious! We visited St. Jacob's Church and took some photos near the river and mountains. Overall, I took WAY too many photos of the Bavarian Alps, but I really couldn't help it because they were amazing. Our train to Munich left at 6:36 and we arrived at our Wombats hostel around 8:30pm to find that Amanda and I weren't in the same room. But it was okay, as we were right next door.
Munich, Day 5 - Nov 12
We woke up and had breakfast. It was a strange morning, as I had to wait ages to use the restroom and change and the like, and Amanda and I were in different rooms, but again it was fine. I read the Kite Runner while we waited for our "free" walking tour to begin at 1. We took our tour and it was so great! Our tour guide was a little insane, but obviously passionate and highly knowledgeable about Munich and Bavaria. We visited the Glockenspiel, Hofbrauhaus and the site of the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, among many other sites. We even got a full lunch of bratwurst and soda for €5, and it was sooo good. It was "free" but everyone was expected to give a tip which varies in amount based on the city and how well you think they did. At that point I was out of money so I gave a €5, though in Munich, since it is a wealthy city, the cost of living is high and I should have given more like €10. After wandering around a bit on our own we came back to the hostel to wait for our night train to Berlin. However, it was only 6:30, and our tour guide walked in and saw us all bored and asked us up to the bar to hang out with him and a few others from our tour. So, we ended up talking to 3 guys from Liverpool for like 3 hours. They were Neil, Phil, and Dom, and we had some interesting discussions about US policy and music and lots of other things. Neil and I got along best, Phil was really cool, and Dom was quite drunk and belligerent, particularly about US healthcare. At 9:30 we headed to the train station and caught the nachtbahn to Berlin. I slept pretty well actually, considering.
Berlin, Day 6 - Nov. 13
We arrived in Berlin at 8:43am, dirty and hungry. We found the hostel and were offered breakfast since it was included! Then we asked if we could have access to the shower because there was no way I was walking around Berlin feeling that icky. We caught up with another "free" walking tour and saw the Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial, Berlin Wall memorial and "Checkpoint Charlie" among other places.
Our guide was no Ozzy from Munich, but it was still good that we went on the tour. After that we got bratwurst again for dinner and headed back to the hostel where we talked to an Aussie guy and some Finnish girls in our room then we had an early night because we had to take a 45 minute train to the bus station for our bust back to CPH at 7:30am.
The whole trip was incredible and I thank everyone who made it possible! It was awesome, but I was so tired and so glad to be home in Helsingor! Next blog, Thanksgiving in Denmark!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tales from Greece!
Sooo a couple of weeks ago my friends and I left Copenhagen for the two week travel break provided by our school. Week one we went to Greece - Athens and Santorini.
We planned the trip and paid for it ourselves (or with help from our wonderful parents) and we traveled alone in Europe, which made us feel very adult.
Here is a breakdown of the highlights of each day.
Day 1-2, Friday Oct. 29- Sat Oct. 30
We, me Amanda and Shelby, spent the night in town with our friends Sarah and Amy, so we wouldn't have to pay for a lot of transportation zones. We went shopping at H&M for some necessities, got pizza, and just hung out. The next morning we woke up and got ready and left at 2:50 for our 5:30 flight. We arrived in Athens at 12:40am and my suitcase handle broke and refused to go down. We took a bus into town then tried to search for our hostel, which we found after a while.
Day 3 Sun. Nov. 31
We woke up, after a not very fulfilling night of sleep (my bed at the hostel still had dirty sheets and it was too late to change them so I curled up in my clean sheet and tried to sleep with all my luggage in the bed), had breakfast, then Sarah and Amy went next door to buy some leather sandals from this really cool shop where this guy and his son (the poet and the artist Messinos) hand make shoes. They have had many famous clients over the years. After that, we walked through the flea market and ended up at a travel agent so we could book our trip to Santorini (round trip ferry, transfer and hotel accommodation in Fira for €110!). Then we walked over to the Olympic stadium to see the 2500th Athens marathon. It was so cool being in the stadium watching these people achieve their dreams, and it only happens every 4 years! After that we walked down to the Temple of Zeus near the Plaka, where we ended up having lunch and shopping a bit. We then walked to the Acropolis which was closed, watched the sunset from the rocks, I got hit on in french by weird french guys, then we left. We headed to the hostel and got gelato for dinner. That night those of us that drank, which means everyone but Amanda and I, played beer pong on the rooftop with the lit up Acropolis in the background. That night and then in the morning, those of us that drank got sick :(
Day 4, Mon. Nov. 1
Woke up, ate breakfast, and walked up to the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon. it was so beautiful and amazing. We walked down through the Agora to the Temple of Hephaistos. It was so cool to see all these ancient places and to imagine the people who may have walked and lived there. We stopped and had gyros for lunch, then tried to find a grocery store to buy food for dinner and failed to. Then we took the metro to the port to take our ferry to Santorini. The ferry was not so nice. We played cards and ate weird grilled cheese for dinner. We had a cabin, though it was very hot, but I guess that was good. We knew roughly that we would arrive in Santorini around 5:30 or 6am. However, what we didn't know was that it made several other stops between and that all the announcements would be in Greek. Each stop, the first at around 1:30am, had us worried that it was Santorini. I got dressed and went out to check with the girl from our hostel that we knew was on the same ferry, who said we had 5-6 more hours. So I changed back into my PJs. The next time, at about 3:40am, same thing. I was voted as the one to go check each time because my friends didn't know I had gotten back into my PJs. The next morning we pulled into Santorini in the sunrise, dirty, tired, and hungry.
Day 5 Tues. Nov. 2
We got off the ferry and into the shuttle to the hotel, hoping for a bed and a shower. However, the room was not ready yet and we had to wait until 11:30 (it was like 7 at the time). So we changed our clothes and walked into town for breakfast. Then we walked around the town and bought our first souvenirs (mine is a gorgeous painting of Santorini). When our room was ready finally we took turns showering then headed to town, then caught a bus Oia to watch the sunset after we ate gyros. Oia is the town where they filmed some of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and we made it a point to plan to see many of the spots while there, though that was a different day. The sunset was incredible, especially with the light on all the white houses.
Day 6 Wed. Nov. 3
This day, the other girls wanted to take ATVs around the island, but as I was nervous and couldn't really afford it anyway, I stayed on my own. We woke up and ate breakfast on the balcony then split up. I walked around where we had the day before and took more pictures and I stopped to analytically sketch some buildings. I walked into Fira and ran into the girl from the ferry, who I found out was from New Zealand and whose name is Anna. We walked a bit and were going to get something to drink but it was too expensive, so we walked more. Then she said she was going to go to the black sand beach and asked if I'd like to join her. So we took a bus to Perissa. There was no one there, as it was off season, and the water was so clear and so warm. After we got back to town, Anna had to move hostels, so I helped her find the right one after some trouble, then I went back to the hotel to shower and then I came back out to watch the sunset from my favorite spot. When the girls came back we walked down to town to eat gyros at our favorite place called Lucky's. After dinner we found a bakery and I got the best baklava I have ever tasted.
Day 7 Thurs. Nov. 4
Woke up early and watched the sunrise from the balcony. For breakfast I finished my baklava, then we took the bus back to Oia. When there, we explored the other side of town and walked down to the harbor from Sisterhood where Lena falls in and Kostas jumps in to save her. Then we walked up the steep, rocky 300ish stairs to the top where we had wonderful views. After that we took the bus back again at Lucky's for the last time, and left to catch our 3:30 ferry. We played cards and slept a bit on the ferry, then took the metro to our new hostel near the Temple of Zeus.
Day 8 Fri. Nov. 5
Woke up and ate breakfast, then stored our bags. We walked back to our old hostel because Amy thought she had left something there, then we ate gelato and walked to the National Archeological Museum. It was so hot and it took a while to get there, but it was worth it. I saw Agamemnon's mask and sculptures from my art history books, as well as some jewelry and pottery and weapons from about 4300BC! After that we went back to pick up our bags and left for our flight at 4:45. We got into Copenhagen late so Amanda Shelby and I stayed at Sarah and Amy's again, since they had stayed in Amsterdam when we had our layover.
The next couple of days were spent in Helsingor with my host family and Amanda, relaxing and gearing up for week 2. More on that later!
We planned the trip and paid for it ourselves (or with help from our wonderful parents) and we traveled alone in Europe, which made us feel very adult.
Here is a breakdown of the highlights of each day.
Day 1-2, Friday Oct. 29- Sat Oct. 30
We, me Amanda and Shelby, spent the night in town with our friends Sarah and Amy, so we wouldn't have to pay for a lot of transportation zones. We went shopping at H&M for some necessities, got pizza, and just hung out. The next morning we woke up and got ready and left at 2:50 for our 5:30 flight. We arrived in Athens at 12:40am and my suitcase handle broke and refused to go down. We took a bus into town then tried to search for our hostel, which we found after a while.
Day 3 Sun. Nov. 31
We woke up, after a not very fulfilling night of sleep (my bed at the hostel still had dirty sheets and it was too late to change them so I curled up in my clean sheet and tried to sleep with all my luggage in the bed), had breakfast, then Sarah and Amy went next door to buy some leather sandals from this really cool shop where this guy and his son (the poet and the artist Messinos) hand make shoes. They have had many famous clients over the years. After that, we walked through the flea market and ended up at a travel agent so we could book our trip to Santorini (round trip ferry, transfer and hotel accommodation in Fira for €110!). Then we walked over to the Olympic stadium to see the 2500th Athens marathon. It was so cool being in the stadium watching these people achieve their dreams, and it only happens every 4 years! After that we walked down to the Temple of Zeus near the Plaka, where we ended up having lunch and shopping a bit. We then walked to the Acropolis which was closed, watched the sunset from the rocks, I got hit on in french by weird french guys, then we left. We headed to the hostel and got gelato for dinner. That night those of us that drank, which means everyone but Amanda and I, played beer pong on the rooftop with the lit up Acropolis in the background. That night and then in the morning, those of us that drank got sick :(
Day 4, Mon. Nov. 1
Woke up, ate breakfast, and walked up to the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon. it was so beautiful and amazing. We walked down through the Agora to the Temple of Hephaistos. It was so cool to see all these ancient places and to imagine the people who may have walked and lived there. We stopped and had gyros for lunch, then tried to find a grocery store to buy food for dinner and failed to. Then we took the metro to the port to take our ferry to Santorini. The ferry was not so nice. We played cards and ate weird grilled cheese for dinner. We had a cabin, though it was very hot, but I guess that was good. We knew roughly that we would arrive in Santorini around 5:30 or 6am. However, what we didn't know was that it made several other stops between and that all the announcements would be in Greek. Each stop, the first at around 1:30am, had us worried that it was Santorini. I got dressed and went out to check with the girl from our hostel that we knew was on the same ferry, who said we had 5-6 more hours. So I changed back into my PJs. The next time, at about 3:40am, same thing. I was voted as the one to go check each time because my friends didn't know I had gotten back into my PJs. The next morning we pulled into Santorini in the sunrise, dirty, tired, and hungry.
Day 5 Tues. Nov. 2
We got off the ferry and into the shuttle to the hotel, hoping for a bed and a shower. However, the room was not ready yet and we had to wait until 11:30 (it was like 7 at the time). So we changed our clothes and walked into town for breakfast. Then we walked around the town and bought our first souvenirs (mine is a gorgeous painting of Santorini). When our room was ready finally we took turns showering then headed to town, then caught a bus Oia to watch the sunset after we ate gyros. Oia is the town where they filmed some of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and we made it a point to plan to see many of the spots while there, though that was a different day. The sunset was incredible, especially with the light on all the white houses.
Day 6 Wed. Nov. 3
This day, the other girls wanted to take ATVs around the island, but as I was nervous and couldn't really afford it anyway, I stayed on my own. We woke up and ate breakfast on the balcony then split up. I walked around where we had the day before and took more pictures and I stopped to analytically sketch some buildings. I walked into Fira and ran into the girl from the ferry, who I found out was from New Zealand and whose name is Anna. We walked a bit and were going to get something to drink but it was too expensive, so we walked more. Then she said she was going to go to the black sand beach and asked if I'd like to join her. So we took a bus to Perissa. There was no one there, as it was off season, and the water was so clear and so warm. After we got back to town, Anna had to move hostels, so I helped her find the right one after some trouble, then I went back to the hotel to shower and then I came back out to watch the sunset from my favorite spot. When the girls came back we walked down to town to eat gyros at our favorite place called Lucky's. After dinner we found a bakery and I got the best baklava I have ever tasted.
Day 7 Thurs. Nov. 4
Woke up early and watched the sunrise from the balcony. For breakfast I finished my baklava, then we took the bus back to Oia. When there, we explored the other side of town and walked down to the harbor from Sisterhood where Lena falls in and Kostas jumps in to save her. Then we walked up the steep, rocky 300ish stairs to the top where we had wonderful views. After that we took the bus back again at Lucky's for the last time, and left to catch our 3:30 ferry. We played cards and slept a bit on the ferry, then took the metro to our new hostel near the Temple of Zeus.
Day 8 Fri. Nov. 5
Woke up and ate breakfast, then stored our bags. We walked back to our old hostel because Amy thought she had left something there, then we ate gelato and walked to the National Archeological Museum. It was so hot and it took a while to get there, but it was worth it. I saw Agamemnon's mask and sculptures from my art history books, as well as some jewelry and pottery and weapons from about 4300BC! After that we went back to pick up our bags and left for our flight at 4:45. We got into Copenhagen late so Amanda Shelby and I stayed at Sarah and Amy's again, since they had stayed in Amsterdam when we had our layover.
The next couple of days were spent in Helsingor with my host family and Amanda, relaxing and gearing up for week 2. More on that later!
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