goodbye england, hello europe

So, we're currently in Berlin. We've hit Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam so far, and tomorrow Elise and I are heading to Prague while Catrina heads to Rosenheim.

I was actually kind of sad to say goodbye to London. Andrew and company got me a keychain, pair of earrings, and a purse/shoulder bag as going away gifts. It was stressful writing my feature piece at the end (I actually went in to work although the internship was officially over) but I think I left it in pretty decent shape. Saying goodbye to the flatmates was especially sad. Caitlyn, Amanda and we had a pretty good run together. We're already planning to roadtrip out to Penn State to visit them. Hopefully Julie can pop down from NJ to visit at the same time.

Leaving London was of course a hassle, with me on a different train from Catrina and her friend Kevin. I also just barely made my train as I hadn't really taken into account the long walk to the tube avec my stupid suitcase, having to buy a tube ticket since my card had run out, delays on the Picadilly and just basic slowness in general. However I made it to Paris and finally got to see Elise again. YAY.

Paris was nice, but the London weather seemed to follow us, but the sun appeared while we were in Montmartre and I even managed to burn my nose again. A quick tour of the Louvre, climb up Notre Dame, journey up la Tour Eiffel (which I abstained from, once was enough), some bread and cheese, and we were saying goodbye to Kevin and heading to Brussels.

Due to some train issues, we had to nix Bruges from the plans, but Brussels turned out to be beautiful. Catrina and I were amazed by the wide selection and cheapness of the beers at the supermarket and might have bought six while Elise's back was turned. After consuming several, we ventured out to find delicious chocolate-covered waffles and the Delirium Bar. Once again we were overwhelmed with choices. There might also have been a glass theft involved, but I'm not saying anything. The next morning we woke up wondering what all the excitement was about. Turns out by freak chance, we managed to end up in the capital of Belgium for their national holiday. Go us. After hanging out in the park full of little booths, we bought some chocolates and headed to Amsterdam.

Once there we decided we should get our tickets to Germany sorted out. We attempted to queue but were told we had to take a number to wait instead (and we had gotten so good at queueing too). I was standing under the tv showing the list of numbers up next. My balloon from Brussels attached to my backpack happened to float in front of the screen and just as Elise was about to move it, some trainstationman came over and told me "maybe you should go away now." I, of course, had no idea what was going on but finally figured out the balloon problem. Due to the time it took waiting, the tourist info closed and we had no idea how to get to our hostel. With the help of three different guys and a map the actual size of Amsterdam, we managed to make it there. Late as it was, all we managed to do was find food and fall into bed. The next morning we headed to the Anne Frank house, where we of course had to queue. After that, Elise and Catrina went on a wandering around trip that resulted in bagels and coffee and parks and happiness. I jumped on a waterbus and got a tour of the canals on my way to the Van Gogh museum. It was fascinating seeing how his work changed as he moved from Antwerp to Paris to the south of France. After a little more canal busing, I met up with C and E and we jumped on the train to Berlin.

We got in pretty late, so we were thrilled that our friend Ed met us at the station and took us to our hostel. There was some confusion with the room and with the bedding, but we eventually got it worked out. The next morning we walked to the train station to get out tickets worked out and then lay in the Tiergarten before heading to the Brandenburg Gate to meet up with Ed. However, there was some timing issues and we missed each other, so we got bizarre Mexican lunch and then lay in the Lustgarten. We're big fans of napping in parks. We met up with Ed later and ate some delicious Turkish food. After stopping by the apartment Ed is staying at, we headed back to the hostel. Again confusion with the room and the beds, but we thought it was all figured out and sent Ed on his way. FALSE. It was not worked out; they tried to put us in a room that was already occupied. We got our money back and headed out to try and make our way back to Ed's. We thought we might be able to make it, but by thankful freak chance, we ended up on the same tram as Ed. We crashed on his floor and got to meet the actual flatmates the next morning. Both Jeffs were really nice. We're not quite sure where we're staying tonight, maybe here again.

Anyway, tomorrow it's Praha and then Elise and I are joining back up with Catrina in Rosenheim. Yay the south of Germany!