A bit of life, a bit of Europe, and a bit of Harry
I've just finished re-reading Order of the Phoenix for the 4th time and have taken Half-Blood Prince off my bookshelf. As I sat down to mark off the date in my reading journal, I noticed that todays date, July 16, was oddly familiar. I've just glanced at my bright green bracelet. The one that I've worn everyday since the midnight release of Half-Blood Prince and found that the date was the same. Isn't it odd that I'm beginning to read Half-Blood Prince exactly 2 years since the last time I read it, even to the day? This is my second time reading it and I've been very excited to delve back into this one and find loads of new things. I just think it's kind of, I don't know, noteworthy that its exactly two years later.
Do you want me to continue where I left off last time? I think we were last at Venice...
Italy
Venice
Venice was beautiful, but an easy place to get lost in. The problem lies in the fact that there are no roads. Everytime a footpath gets diverted around a canal you wind up turned around and lost. Josh and I got lost every night we were there. It took hours to get back to the hotel. Other than being lost, we did manage to ride in a gondola. It was really neat and I enjoyed all the history our gondoleer gave us. Venice was also excrutiatingly hot. I honestly don't remember what we saw in some of the churches because I was sure I was going to either faint or throw up from all the heat. It was awful. The city was very nice, but I think I would have prefered to be there in the fall.
Germany
Berlin
It was very strange for me to get off the plane in Berlin. I'm the first person in the entire extended family to have ever gone to Germany and it was just a very odd sensation. I loved it though. Germany was the only place we didn't have nearly enough time for. Our hostel in Berlin was in the former East and it was one of the nicest we stayed at. We did a walking tour, walked in a gay pride parade, and saw the German History Museum (quite possibly one of the most well-done museums I've ever seen). We also went out to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but we think its because so much is reconstruction. I have lots of pictures though.
Munich
Munich is like walking into a giant stereotype. Think of every German stereotype you can think of (excluding anything pertaining to WWII) and that is Munich. I'm not even kidding. They wear leiderhosen and those little green hats with the feather, there are oompah bands, they have loads of pretzels and the smallest beer you can order is a litre! The city looked like something out of Hansel and Gretel. It was just bizzare, but lots of fun too. We went to the Hofbrauhaus twice which was really fun and had some great history as well. Mainly they only served litre beers, but they had one white beer that could be served in a 1/2 litre. I had that one both times we went--and I wound up drunk both times we went. We also went to the castle that Cinderellas castle in Disney is modeled on. Cool!
Belgium
Belgium was really just a relaxing stop before we left. We saw the few things that you are supposed to see in Brussels, but for the most part we stayed in a hotel, slept in, relaxed, and didn't worry about much. We did worry about our peepshow shower though. The clear bathroom door in the hotel was a problem, but it was fun to deal with nonetheless. Oh, and we ate lots of chocolate.
London
We ended our trip back in London. We saw two plays (Les Mis and Loves Labour Lost) and went out to Hampton Court Palace. The highlight at the end was the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premier though. It rained on and off during the 4 hours that we stood in Leicester Square but it was so worth it. We saw nearly all the people in the film (plus Tim Burton!!). The only ones we missed (because they weren't there) were Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Gambon. Darn it. I was so impressed with how good Josh was about it all. He never complained, he was interested in who was there, and he held the umbrella over me when it rained so I could take pictures even though he said he was going to leave if it rained. I was really grateful to him for being there for me. The last day we stayed at Hell's house and hung out with her and Matt for a bit before oversleeping and rushing to our 9.30am flight. We made it just fine though. All in all, it was a great trip.
In non trip related news, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was a great movie. Go see it. In Imax 3D if possible. The 3D was probably the best 3D I've ever seen of anything. It didn't make me dizzy or split back into the two images like it usually does for me. Maybe it was just really great quality or it may have been because a lot of the 3D went backwards instead of popping out at you. Hallways had depth that seemed to go beyond the screen instead of into your face. I don't know, but it was so good. I'm getting really excited about Deathly Hallows (obviously). I've got 4 days to re-read Half-Blood Prince, but I think I can do it. I'm also trying to pack up my entire apartment while reading. I hate moving so this is crap. Plus, Josh isn't here yet so I have to hold off on some parts because I'll need his help due to weight that I can't lift and things like that.
One last thing before I get in bed, read for a bit, and go to sleep. Friday, before I leave for the bookstore, I will be turning off my internet and my phone so that I don't accidentally stumble upon any spoilers, so if you call or write don't expect a reply until probably Saturday night or Sunday. Just so you don't think I'm ignoring you...I'll be ignoring everyone :)
That's it for now.
--Hils
Do you want me to continue where I left off last time? I think we were last at Venice...
Italy
Venice
Venice was beautiful, but an easy place to get lost in. The problem lies in the fact that there are no roads. Everytime a footpath gets diverted around a canal you wind up turned around and lost. Josh and I got lost every night we were there. It took hours to get back to the hotel. Other than being lost, we did manage to ride in a gondola. It was really neat and I enjoyed all the history our gondoleer gave us. Venice was also excrutiatingly hot. I honestly don't remember what we saw in some of the churches because I was sure I was going to either faint or throw up from all the heat. It was awful. The city was very nice, but I think I would have prefered to be there in the fall.
Germany
Berlin
It was very strange for me to get off the plane in Berlin. I'm the first person in the entire extended family to have ever gone to Germany and it was just a very odd sensation. I loved it though. Germany was the only place we didn't have nearly enough time for. Our hostel in Berlin was in the former East and it was one of the nicest we stayed at. We did a walking tour, walked in a gay pride parade, and saw the German History Museum (quite possibly one of the most well-done museums I've ever seen). We also went out to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but we think its because so much is reconstruction. I have lots of pictures though.
Munich
Munich is like walking into a giant stereotype. Think of every German stereotype you can think of (excluding anything pertaining to WWII) and that is Munich. I'm not even kidding. They wear leiderhosen and those little green hats with the feather, there are oompah bands, they have loads of pretzels and the smallest beer you can order is a litre! The city looked like something out of Hansel and Gretel. It was just bizzare, but lots of fun too. We went to the Hofbrauhaus twice which was really fun and had some great history as well. Mainly they only served litre beers, but they had one white beer that could be served in a 1/2 litre. I had that one both times we went--and I wound up drunk both times we went. We also went to the castle that Cinderellas castle in Disney is modeled on. Cool!
Belgium
Belgium was really just a relaxing stop before we left. We saw the few things that you are supposed to see in Brussels, but for the most part we stayed in a hotel, slept in, relaxed, and didn't worry about much. We did worry about our peepshow shower though. The clear bathroom door in the hotel was a problem, but it was fun to deal with nonetheless. Oh, and we ate lots of chocolate.
London
We ended our trip back in London. We saw two plays (Les Mis and Loves Labour Lost) and went out to Hampton Court Palace. The highlight at the end was the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premier though. It rained on and off during the 4 hours that we stood in Leicester Square but it was so worth it. We saw nearly all the people in the film (plus Tim Burton!!). The only ones we missed (because they weren't there) were Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Gambon. Darn it. I was so impressed with how good Josh was about it all. He never complained, he was interested in who was there, and he held the umbrella over me when it rained so I could take pictures even though he said he was going to leave if it rained. I was really grateful to him for being there for me. The last day we stayed at Hell's house and hung out with her and Matt for a bit before oversleeping and rushing to our 9.30am flight. We made it just fine though. All in all, it was a great trip.
In non trip related news, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was a great movie. Go see it. In Imax 3D if possible. The 3D was probably the best 3D I've ever seen of anything. It didn't make me dizzy or split back into the two images like it usually does for me. Maybe it was just really great quality or it may have been because a lot of the 3D went backwards instead of popping out at you. Hallways had depth that seemed to go beyond the screen instead of into your face. I don't know, but it was so good. I'm getting really excited about Deathly Hallows (obviously). I've got 4 days to re-read Half-Blood Prince, but I think I can do it. I'm also trying to pack up my entire apartment while reading. I hate moving so this is crap. Plus, Josh isn't here yet so I have to hold off on some parts because I'll need his help due to weight that I can't lift and things like that.
One last thing before I get in bed, read for a bit, and go to sleep. Friday, before I leave for the bookstore, I will be turning off my internet and my phone so that I don't accidentally stumble upon any spoilers, so if you call or write don't expect a reply until probably Saturday night or Sunday. Just so you don't think I'm ignoring you...I'll be ignoring everyone :)
That's it for now.
--Hils