catching up
Been a while. I don't know if anyone even checks this anymore, but here goes.
So, two weekends ago I went to Barcelona. Beautiful city, amazing ass sculpture, delicious Sangria. All those years of Spanish came in handy when I actually managed to say "gracias" to a real live Spanish person. It was quite a moment.
We did lots of fun stuff -- there were palaces, gardens, ghetto playgrounds. I got to duck under ever turn-style at every metro stop because the four day pass I bought didn't work and the replacement they gave me didn't work either. Advice for anyone wishing to travel to Barcelona: really cheap boxed wine on the beach at night = good idea, 35 minute walk home to smelly hostel room when you have to pee really bad because of the boxed wine = bad idea. Also, waking up to a Creotine drinking Danish boy standing very near your bed in his tighty-not-quite-whities will put anyone off males for a little while, so that's where I'm at right now. Still, all in all, a great time.
Four days after returning from Barcelona, I set off again for Germany to visit Heather. Erin, Kait, and I put forth a solid effort. We navigated German airports, buses, and trains - well, until we hit Offenberg, that is. You see, after 15 hours in transit, it is easier than you might think to miss a stop in the middle of nowhere in the dark of night. We were supposed to get off the train. We failed. What can I say, our reaction times were slow. Picture this scene in slow motion:
The train stops, many people get off.
Time elapses.
Me: Guuuyyyss... what... time... were we supposed... to get to... Offenberg?
Kait: 7:57.
Me: Ohhhh... But... it's 3 minutes... past 8.
All of us: Ooohhh nooo... Offenbeeerrrg...!!!
And as we stand up, the train begins to roll away.
Well, we eventually rectified the situation, and at that moment I knew I would never again forget Offenberg.
Freiberg was a tiny but beautiful town. And it was so cheap! I mean, Ireland is so expensive, so we walked around all day going, "you can get a chocolate bar for 75 cents?? You don't know how lucky you are!" I'm sure this got old for Heather, but believe me, each and every price tag was a beautiful revelation.
As wonderful and inexpensive as Freiberg was, I enjoyed our little unplanned side trip to Strasbourg, France the most. Because of Germany's brilliantly efficient and cheap! railway system, it was only 10 euro to get to France and back! Strasbourg was beautiful, and if the French didn't live up to all that talk of snootiness, I would want to live there. The Germans, by the way, are a surprisingly jolly people given their not-so-distant past. Although they did ask a lot of challenging questions at passport control, including, "Are you with this one?", referring to Kait. I had to think about the consequences of that answer.
Anyway, overall, a great trip. And this coming weekend, we set out again for Italy and pasta, and more French snootiness, and the always amusing British. Cheers!
So, two weekends ago I went to Barcelona. Beautiful city, amazing ass sculpture, delicious Sangria. All those years of Spanish came in handy when I actually managed to say "gracias" to a real live Spanish person. It was quite a moment.
We did lots of fun stuff -- there were palaces, gardens, ghetto playgrounds. I got to duck under ever turn-style at every metro stop because the four day pass I bought didn't work and the replacement they gave me didn't work either. Advice for anyone wishing to travel to Barcelona: really cheap boxed wine on the beach at night = good idea, 35 minute walk home to smelly hostel room when you have to pee really bad because of the boxed wine = bad idea. Also, waking up to a Creotine drinking Danish boy standing very near your bed in his tighty-not-quite-whities will put anyone off males for a little while, so that's where I'm at right now. Still, all in all, a great time.
Four days after returning from Barcelona, I set off again for Germany to visit Heather. Erin, Kait, and I put forth a solid effort. We navigated German airports, buses, and trains - well, until we hit Offenberg, that is. You see, after 15 hours in transit, it is easier than you might think to miss a stop in the middle of nowhere in the dark of night. We were supposed to get off the train. We failed. What can I say, our reaction times were slow. Picture this scene in slow motion:
The train stops, many people get off.
Time elapses.
Me: Guuuyyyss... what... time... were we supposed... to get to... Offenberg?
Kait: 7:57.
Me: Ohhhh... But... it's 3 minutes... past 8.
All of us: Ooohhh nooo... Offenbeeerrrg...!!!
And as we stand up, the train begins to roll away.
Well, we eventually rectified the situation, and at that moment I knew I would never again forget Offenberg.
Freiberg was a tiny but beautiful town. And it was so cheap! I mean, Ireland is so expensive, so we walked around all day going, "you can get a chocolate bar for 75 cents?? You don't know how lucky you are!" I'm sure this got old for Heather, but believe me, each and every price tag was a beautiful revelation.
As wonderful and inexpensive as Freiberg was, I enjoyed our little unplanned side trip to Strasbourg, France the most. Because of Germany's brilliantly efficient and cheap! railway system, it was only 10 euro to get to France and back! Strasbourg was beautiful, and if the French didn't live up to all that talk of snootiness, I would want to live there. The Germans, by the way, are a surprisingly jolly people given their not-so-distant past. Although they did ask a lot of challenging questions at passport control, including, "Are you with this one?", referring to Kait. I had to think about the consequences of that answer.
Anyway, overall, a great trip. And this coming weekend, we set out again for Italy and pasta, and more French snootiness, and the always amusing British. Cheers!