The Kaminsky's take on London

On Wednesday my family arrived in London.  The day before I had gone to the train station and designated a meeting place.  They did a great job following directions and were waiting right where I told them too.  I guided them through the tube stations to get to the hotel.  I felt bad because there was a lot of stairs to go up and down and they each had a suitcase to carry.  I felt so bad I even helped! My parents weren't tired at all which was great because I was able to show them around the city.

We started at their hotel in Mayfair and walked through Piccadilly to Covent Garden.  It was a fairly long walk.  We would have taken a tube to Covent Garden since that's the main place I wanted to get to but we couldn't find a tube station! When we finally made it to Covent Garden my family had given out.  THeir lack of sleep had him them and we had to head home.  They slept for 2 hours and I napped for an hour.  Thanks to Sam for letting me use him bed and he took the couch.  I made sure to wake them up before I left them or else they'd be up all night.

That night was the eve of my 21st birthday.  I wasn't able to have dinner with my family because my friends had put together a party!!  My parents were on their own to navigate london.

{Me and my roommate have the same birthday!}

On Thursday we started the day at changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.  I had met my family at the hotel so I could snatch some free breakfast.  Then we walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace.  The changing of the guards starts at 11:30 so we thought getting there at 10:45 was plenty of time.  We were wrong.  The streets were packed! We were able to find a pretty good place to stand with an alright view but when the guards started moving so did everyone's heads.  I was able to get a few good pictures.  After about 20 mins we found it to be overrated.  Sam explained it well saying "it's a little dramatic for just giving a guy a break."  We left early becuase nothing was happening and how long can you look at met with silly looking hats standing in a straight line.

{Sam, my mom, and me at Buckingham Palace for changing of the guards}

Then we headed to Kensington Palace.  I had previously seen this palace when I biked through Hyde Park but it was being renovated and have just opened the week prior.  The palace has two wings: the apartments where prince Will and Kate are moving into and the "museum" section where the rooms of William and Mary, Queen Victoria, and Queen Anne are being displayed.  It's very modern with lots of interaction going on.  I thought it was cool but it would have been nice to have an audio guide or more descriptions.  There was a temporary exhibit for Princess Diana that showed many of her famous dresses.

Our last site of the day was the Imperial War Museum.  I had been there before and I think it's one of the best museums.

We ran into a few obstacles on the way.  First we got on the wrong train.  We got off at the next station and then had to find the right platform to head back.  Before getting on the next train, I asked a man which direction it was going.  It was in fact that train so I said "come on family lets get on."  Sam then responded "mum and dad aren't with us!"  Immediately the doors closed.  Sam was able to hop off but I was stuck on.  Sam ran and told our parents that I had gotten on the train.  They saw me from the window and I just waved goodbye.  I got off at the next stop hoping to be able to see them come by on the next train.  I was able to find them and scolded them for wandering off.  My mom was relieved that Sam had gotten off the train otherwise they would have been looking around the station never believing that we'd get on a train without them! My dad's a wanderer and I think we need to start all holding hands.

We started at the WWI exhibit and then traveled to the WWII exhibit.  We walked through a trench from WWI and experienced the Blitz from WWII.  Then we went through the Holocaust exhibit.  We spend a good two hours there and then we needed a rest.  We headed back to the hotel before dinner.

Thursday was my birthday and we went to a restaurant called Browns in Covent Garden.  I ordered my "first" drink and it was delicious.  My mom helped me pick it out because I didn't know anything about alcohol!  For dinner I ordered a chicken and it's been awhile since I've had a very good backed chicken breast.  Then for dessert I got salted caramel cheesecake that came with a candle and my family half heartedly sang happy birthday (I think they stopped singing half way).  It was a very good restaurant.

{My mom and I with out fruity drinks}

{Dinner- Chicken, potato, green beans}

We planned a big day for Friday so I decided to sleep at the hotel instead of having to wake up extra early.  I got the couch although it was the best couch I've ever slept on!

Friday was a very busy day.  We started at Windsor Castle.  We took the train and upon arriving we discovered that Windsor Castle is closed for a memorial for the Queen mum! You think they could have told us that before purchasing the tickets! We walked around the outside of the castle but then decided to head back to London and go to Hampton Court Palace instead.

{The Outside of Windsor Castle}

I'm really glad we got to see Hampton Court Palace.  This was Henry VIII palace and I learned a lot about him in my historic London class.  We walked through his apartment, saw the Royal Chapel, and the Kitchen.  I found most interesting the history of meat pies.  They didn't have pans to cook all their meat in so pies were made as a cooking tool and the crust wasn't actually eaten.

Then we walked through the gardens.  They were full of flowers (very different than the gardens at Versailles since I saw that in the freezing rain).  We had a very good time at the palace and I was glad we were able to turn our disappointing morning into a great afternoon!!

{Sam, my mom, my dad, and me at Hampton Court Palace}

Then we headed to Harrods.  My third visit and still no purchases.  I obviously have not gotten richer on this trip.

For dinner we went to a nice Indian Restaurant.  This was my first time going to an Indian place to eat in London.  It was very good but too much spice for me.

{My Indian Dish- there was rice and chicken inside}

Tomorrow Justin joins us so I am looking forward to seeing him and going to more sites in London with my family!

Brats, Beer, Bavarian Alps

This weekend I took my last group trip to Munich from Friday to Monday.  We left Friday afternoon which was nice that we didn't have to wake up at 2:00 am.

FRIDAY
I was surprised when we landed because it looked like we were in the middle of a farm!  We took a train to the city and the train smelled so bad.  It was seriously like walking through a farm.  Besides being smelly, the train was long.  Two hours with frequent stops.  Plus there was a group of obnoxious teenagers in our carriage.  It wasn't until the last 5 minutes of the trip that we finally decided to move.  I was very happy to make it to our hostel.  Travel days are very long, filled with motion sickness.  Our hostel is very nice except only WiFi in the lobby.  I'm a WiFi snob and need it everywhere, but I made do.

Immediately we went to dinner.  We ate at a German restaurant in the Marienplatz.  The Marienplatz is the central square in the city center of Munich.  Everything on the menu was pork and there was no chicken! I was able to find beef and ordered that with potato dumplings.  I actually didn't really like the dumplings, which I thought I would.

{Marienplatz}

{Braised Beef with Potato Dumplings}

After dinner we went to a beer hall called Augustiner Keller.  We later found out that this was a very popular beer hall for the locals.  It had live music and people dressed in traditional German outfits.  They don't normally dress like that but there was an event that goes on every once in awhile.  Supposedly there's a beer fest right now but we started to think they always claim to have a beer fest to attract tourism.  It was super fun there.  They played American songs like Sweet Home Alabama, I Will Survive, and Whip It.  You order beer in liters, which is huge! I probably gave over half to Eric since I'm not a huge beer drinker.  There was a lot of interesting people there and I guess all you have to do is scream with your glass in the air then cheers and you're buddies!

{Some locals in traditional German outfits}

{Eric, Me, and Greta with our liters}

SATURDAY
Today we started at the Dachau Concentration Camp.  Dachau was the first camp started in 1933.  It was originally for political opponents but in 1936 non-political and jewish prisoners greatly increased.  It was open for 12 years and was finally liberated in 1945.  We went on a guided tour but our tour guide was difficult to understand and not very interesting.  It was a little disappointing because it may have been a better experience with a different guide.  We ended up ditching the tour and looked around ourselves, which I think ended up being better.  We started in the museum, which was originally the maintenance building where prisoners were first brought to give up their belongings and register.  Then we saw the barracks, which were taken down 20 years after the way but 2 were reconstructed for the memorial site.  We walked along the camp road where rows and rows of barracks used to be lined up.  At the end of the road was a Jewish memorial that was built in 1967 and the Crematorium area.  We walked through a gas chamber.  I was confused at first because Dachau was not a death camp.  The gas chambers were not used as mass murder but survivors have testified that it was used to murder individual prisoners or small groups.  After the Crematorium area we watched the Holocaust documentary about Dachau.  That wrapped up our Holocaust Memorial visit and we headed back to the city.

{Entrance to the camp}

{Barracks}

{Fence}

We checked out the huge market and I bought a Pretzel.  Pretzels are a big deal in Germany.  Mine was cheese with tomatoes - I called it a pretzel pizza without sauce.  Unfortunately it started to rain.  We waited it out under an umbrella and when it looked clear we decided to head to a park.  It was a very long walk and it started to rain harder and looking at the sky I could tell we were heading further into the dark clouds.  Eric and I headed back to the hostel in an attempt to stay out of the rain but we weren't quick enough.  We got caught and were very wet when we finally made it back to the hostel.

{There are street performers everywhere}

Because of timing for the day we were unable to make it on the city bike tour, which would have been fun but I wanted to stay at the concentration camp longer because it was a very interesting and unique experience.

SUNDAY
Today Eric and I decided to break away from the group and go to Neuschwanstein Castle.  It is the world-famous fairytale castle built by King Ludwig II on an imposing rock in the seclusion of the Bavarian Alps.  It was built in the 19th century.  This was after castles were used for strategic and defensive purposes.  He wanted it to be perfect so it took longer than expected and was never finished during his lifetime.  The castle is the castle that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle in Disney Land (not to be confused with Cinderella's Castle in Disney World).

Last night was day light savings in Europe.  We thought so hard about what time to set our alarms in case our phones wouldn't automatically change.  We figured that if we set them at 7:30 we will either wake up at 7:30 (given the case that our phones did change) or 8:30 if that didn't change.  Waking an hour early is better than an hour late.  Thanks to my super smart phone it changed and I was up on time! Unfortunately, Eric set him alarm for 7:30 because his phone isn't smart and probably wouldn't change.  But we didn't factor in that his phone hadn't changed from London time so he woke up 2 hours late! At 10 when he finally answered his door from my knocking and I had an angry look on my face he was confused and showed me that it was only 8:00.  I said are you crazy! It's 10:00! We couldn't believe how complicated this got after how hard we thought about it!  He moved fast and we were out the door by 10:30 making the 10:50 train like we planned.  We were very unlucky and picked the longest line to buy tickets.  We even split up into two line and we both picked the longest lines!  We missed the train by seriously 2 minutes.  The next one didn't come for another hour.  That was really upsetting.  We ate a slow breakfast and were the first ones on the 11:50 train.  It was a two hour train ride.  By 2:00 we made it to the Bavariam Alps where the castle is.  It was a short hike to the castle.  It was a very nice day; a sunny and clear sky.  I thought it might rain so I wore my rain coat but whenever I'm prepared it never rains!  We got lots of pictures and even asked some people to take pictures of us together! That's the only downside of traveling just us two; all my pictures are of just me!

{Neuschwanstein Castle}

On our way down the mountain we bought bavarian snow covered balls.  They were like doughnut holes but lighter.  The worst part of the day happened next.  We walked past a huge frog!!  I am very scared of frogs and every hop it took I took 5 giant steps just so it wouldn't reach me. 

{Snow covered Bavarian balls-Deeelicious}

{Scary Frog}

That evening we went to The Hofbrauhaus.  It's the really touristy beer hall.  We only bought a giant pretzel and left.

{Greta and Me at Hofbrauhaus with a Pretzel rather than beer}

Monday

On Monday we check out of our hostel and Eric and I went to find and English Book store.  He had finished the second Hunger Games book on the trip and that's the kind of book that you need the next one right after finishing.  We got there 10 minutes before opening.  It was us and another girl waiting to get in.  At first we couldn't find it.  We joked about it being in the children's section so before giving up and leaving we decided to check it out and that's where it was!  We thought it was funny that we're reading a book from the children's section.  The other girl was also looking for the same book.

Then we met up with the rest of the group and saw the Glockenspiel.  Everyday at 11:00 and 12:00 it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century.  The top half tells the story of the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine.  First time around figures are dancing and the second time there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria and Lothringen.  The Bavarian knight wins every time of course.  The bottom half is a bunch of dancing figures.  It's called the coopers' dance because in 1517, the year of the plague in Munich, coopers are said to have danced through the streets to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to the king through difficult times.  I listened to a tour guide and he said its the second most overrated tourist attraction.  I thought that was really funny.

{Jousting happening in the top half; dancing in the bottom half}

Then we walked through the market again.  I bought a well known pastry called schmalznuclel at the first cafe.  It was like a doughnut and similar to the balls I had at the castle.  Then I bought dried fruit.  Greta raved about it and I needed a snack for the ride home (plus I had so much cash leftover.  That never happens).

{Schmalznuclel - It's topped with sugar before serving}

Then we headed back to the airport and back to London.  I'm looking forward to the next week:

Birthday dinner with Eric on Tuesday

Family arrives on Wednesday

Birthday on Thursday

{Me and Eric reading the Hunger Games}

From Snow to Sand... Barca Barca Barcelona!

I can't believe that less than a week ago I was in the mountains sitting in the snow and now I am laying in sand at the beach in Barcelona!!

Day 1: Wednesday
Like always we left early in the morning.  It was the easiest travel day I have had yet.  Besides having to wake up at 2 in the morning everything went smoothly.  We landed in Barcelona at 9:00 am took a short train to our hostel and were at the beach before noon.

{Brynn and Me on our way to the Beach}

It was a 30 minute walk from our hostel to the beach but a perfect walk in such great weather.  We walked along La Rambla, which is a street with lots of vendors, street performers, and restaurants.  During the day its very nice, busy with lots of tourists.  At night its super sketchy with pick-pocketers so we made sure to avoid it after dark.

The beach was crowded on Wednesday.  It was sunny and 70 degrees.  Me, Greta, and Brynn did not dress appropriately.  We were in jeans and a t-shirt and extremely hot at the beach.  All we wanted was to be laying in there in shorts.  Around 3:00 after a few good hours of sun we decided to go shopping for shorts so we'd be prepared for the next day.  I bought more things in Barcelona than I have in London.  The only problem was I had to fit it all in my backpack, which was already jammed pack.

{THE BEACH :) }

That night for dinner we went to an italian restaurant on the Rambla.  It wasn't super busy around 6:00 when we ate but as we were leaving the line was getting long.  On our first day we hadn't adjusted to their 10:00 pm eating schedule.

Day 2: Thursday
On Thursday we were super excited to wear our new shorts and be super prepared for the beach.  In the morning we got dressed, packed our books and white shower towels provided by the hostel.  We decided to stop at Sagrada Familia on our way to the beach.  The church built by Barcelona's architect Gaudi.  After leaving the hostel our day just went downhill...

Story of how we got lost on the way to Sagrada Familia: (please see picture for justification)
The map our hostel gave us had all the tourist sites as well as restaurants.  Sagrada Familia was all the way in the top right hand corner.  Right next to it is a restaurant.  All the restaurants have arrows pointing to where they are located on the map.  The top right hand restaurant makes it look like the arrow is coming from Sagrada Familia.  So we walked to that area.  It was a tiny alley.  We were super confused.  I don't know Barcelona very well but I knew there was no room for a church where we were.  Then I looked up and looked back at the map and we were right next to the restaurant that the arrow is really coming from! We had walked the complete opposite direction from church.  At this point we decided to go straight to the beach.

{Sagrada Familia and Cow Restaurant in top corner - does this justify our long excursion?}

Story of how we got lost on the way to the beach: On the map it looked like you could walk through a nice park to get to the beach.  We thought that was a great idea! We walked through a grassy area and eventually got to a dead end!  In front of us was the Barcelona zoo, which we couldn't get around.  We walked right in an attempt to go around it.  Now we ran into parliament and everything was gated in! We back tracked an now took a left around the zoo.  We reached a main road but we were still gated in and could not cross to get to the beach.  We could see the beach but unable to cross.  Finally after walking so far out of the way we found a bridge! We eventually made it to the beach but no one was there... Why? please read on...

Story of how it was freezing: So we were very hot on Wednesday and we each bought a pair of shorts.  On Thursday we all wore our shorts.  As we were walking it felt a little cool.  The sky was cloudy so no sun to warm us up and it was kinda windy.  People were looking and laughing at us in shorts and shower towels like we were complete idiots.  We even passed 2 people wearing long winter parkas, but we were laughing at them.  We were absolutely freezing but still decided to go closer to the beach.  Finally after about 30 minutes at the beach we couldn't take it anymore.  We just wanted to wrap ourselves in our tiny shower towels. We quickly made it home and dressed in multiple layers.

{So cloudy and cold}

After redressing ourselves correctly, we went to finally see the Sagrada Familia.  It is such a crazy looking church.  The Church has been constructed for over 100 years.  It has taken so long because it keeps using all its money and needs additional funds.  The back side of the church looks completely different than the front.  After seeing the whole church you can tell that it has been built at different times.  Gaudi's architecture is so different and unique.  I really enjoyed seeing this church (especially after all the hard work of looking for it)

{Front of Church}

{Back of Church}

{Another Gaudi building located right near our hostel}

That evening we met up with my friend from school who is studying in Barcelona.  We couldn't eat dinner until 8 because restaurants don't start serving dinner until then (I was so hungry!) She took us to a restaurant for Paella.  She even said that today was one of the coldest days (AHH!!!)  We got a really good deal on Paella - salad, paella, and a pitcher of sangria for 15 euros (usually paella alone is at least 12 euors and a cup of sangria usually is 5 euros).  We even got a free glass chapagne for sitting outside and being their marketing.  I really liked the paella- rice and chicken, my favorite, yum!

{Of course there's a picture}

{Me and Michelle}

Day 3: Friday
Friday was our touring day.  Today was actually very warm and I dressed perfect in capris and a t-shirt! We went to Parc Guell.  It's called the Gaudi park that was designed by him with lots of Gaudi sculptures.  It was a metro ride and then a few escalators to the top of the mountain/hill (after Switzerland I don't like calling it a mountain).

The view was gorgeous.  We first walked around a pathed area and went to the highest point at the park.  You could see the whole city.  Then we walked into an open area that contains a lot of the touristy Gaudi things such as a bench and two buildings (I see it in all my friends pictures that go to Barcelona).  There's a bench that is lined with people sitting on it.  We had to hover in order to get a spot to take a picture!  The area was so pretty and it was such a nice day I could have sat there all day (but we had to get to the beach eventually right?)  At the park we ran into our two friends from AKPsi that are studying in Paris.  They were in Barcelona for the weekend as well.  It was so ironic running into them!

{Me and Brynn at Parc Guell}

{The View}

{Greta and Me at Parc Guell}

{Me and Brynn at the bench}

After the Gaudi Park we went to lunch.  My friend had suggested this sandwich place on the way to the beach called Bo Da B.  It was the place to be.  We got there around 2 (adjusting to Barcelona eating time) and there was a line out the door with Americans (we weren't the only ones who heard of this place).  The sandwich was amazing.  They cook the meat fresh in front of you and then you add whatever sauce and veggies you want.  It was huge- comparable to a chipotle burito.  I ate it all and felt huge afterwards.  We layed in the sun and then headed home for our siesta (nap time).

We slept from 4-6 (it's what the Barcelonas do) then ate dinner at 8.  The restaurant was completely packed at 10:00 pm! (I don't understand late night eating!)  That night we went out and attempted to stay out as late at the Barcelonas do but we hit the hay around 2:00 am.  We went to a local bar called the Black Sheep where you can get pitchers of Sangria.  We met our AKPsi friends there.  Its meant for huge groups because they sell 5 liters of Sangria that is brought to the table in a huge jug.  It was a very fun atmosphere.  I couldn't believe that I saw old couples like my grandparents walking around at midnight! Crazy Crazy!

Day 4: Saturday
Saturday was another beach day.  We started the morning/afternoon since we didn't get up till 11 at the market.  Its a huge market with fruit, candy, meats, fish, breads, etc.  We all got juices since everyone has told us to try them and they were so fresh and delicious.  Then we headed to the beach.  My friend had told us about going to The W (super fancy and expensive hotel on the beach) and sitting in their chairs because they are open to the public.  So we attempted that.  We walked into the hotel and tried to make it look like we were super rich and belonged there.  No one kicked us out so it must be true that anyone can sit on their chairs.

{Juuuicesss!!}

Then our travels were done.  We headed back to London where the sky is grey and it rains.  Although the beach life is great, I am more and more happy with my choice to study in London.

Paragliding through Switzerland

Today was our adventurous days to go paragliding.  After my events from yesterday I didn't think I'd be able to go but I was feeling much better.

We started the day walking though the town since our time to paraglide wasn't till 1:00 pm. There were many cute shops.  I wish I could have bought a swiss army knife but that would never make it through airport security.

1:00 pm hit and the 4 of us boarded the little bus to take us up the hill.  I packed myself a water bottle to keep my stomach settled.  On our way we picked up our 4 pilots (as they were called).  They were goofsters.  Once said he was a student pilot still in training and had only flown 3 times.  We picked straws for who was stuck flying with him and unfortunately Brynn lost.  We said our goodbyes to her and we parted to a different cliff for take off.  After the flight we learned that he likes to fool the flyers and has actually been doing this for the longest time.  Such tricksters!

My first good sign was surviving the 20 minute bus ride without throwing up! Yay me!  Then we hiked for 10 mins to get to the cliff.  My pilot hooked me into the harness and we were soon ready for take off.  I was pretty nervous but I thought I'd be worse.

In order to fly you walk for a little until the parachute is in the air then run until the wind picks you up.  My legs are so short that I couldn't run all the way and they were in the air early.  Once we got into the wind it was so relaxing.  My harness was a seat so I felt like I was laying in the air.  The hooked in our cameras so I was able to take lots of scenic shots.  There was also a company camera that took shots of me in the air.  The view was amazing.  We flew right alongside the mountains.  It was about a 20 minute flight.  When we were close to landing, my pilot asked if I liked roller coasters and he did a lot of spins.  It made my tummy turn but was very fun.

I was the last of my group to land and rather a not so graceful landing.  Our pilots were awesome and we were so glad we did this.  The most amazing experience ever!

Me and my Pilot Paschi before take off