Munich, Germany

First of all, the language barrier was a serious problem today. With the exception of the tour I was on which was given in German and Germenglish, no one spoke English. So many people walked up to me and started speaking German, and I just give them my most sincere apologetic smile and say, "English." My first regret about this trip was not cutting my hair before I came. My second, and bigger, regret is not learning the languages.

Anyway, I got off my train and got a chocolate croissant (1.95 euros) at the train station. I also got a banana!! Halelujah!! Fruit exists on this side of the world. It was one euro which, if you think about it, is extremely expensive. But it was worth it. I enjoyed my breakfast while I waited for the tourist information place to open. I also bought a huge bottled water for 1.70 euros which is the most decent price I've seen thus far.

I decided to pay 13 euros for a hop on hop off bus tour of Munich. It was a double decker bus, and I enjoyed the first half from the top floor. I saw "Our Lady's Cathedral," one of Hitler's Administration Buildings, a million museums, a huge monument of King Ludwig, the Bavarian Ministry building, the Angel of Peace, and lots and lots of designer stores. Unfortunately, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays in Germany.

I got off at the fourth stop to see the designer stores window displays (Chanel, Jimmy Choo, D&G, Louis Vuitton, etc.), the Residenz Museum, and the Opera House.

This is where I found a Starbucks with wi fi and got the messages from my dad threatening to come to Europe if I did not answer soon. Haha. Apparently I'm not allowed to go 24 hours without contacting them. I'm glad someone cares, but I laughed.

I "hopped" back on the next bus and "hopped" off at Marienplatz, Munich's main square. Here I saw the Glockenspiel/City Hall, the Old City Hsll with Toy Museum, a Cathedral, and St Peter's Church. Oh and the Mariensaule which is a religious monument built for Mary in 1638 to celebrate the end of the Swedish occupation during the Thirty Years War. It is topped with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon. At each corner of the column's pedestal, there is a statue of a boy. Each depicts a different beast symbolizing the city's overcoming of adversities: war (lion), pestilence (cockatrice), hunger/famine (dragon), and heresy (serpent).

I went into the cathedral and looked around. That was cool. Then I didn't know what else to do so I headed back to the bus stop. It hit noon and all of a sudden bells were ringing all over the place. That was a special treat!! Munich was very quiet and reverent...mostly because it was so empty and all I did was go to a church, but still.

I "hopped" back on the bus and rode back to the train station. I found a train leaving to Wurzberg in five minutes so i hurried to the platform and got on there. I fell asleep sprawled out on the table in front of me, but so what? I was exhausted!!

I woke up every time we stopped, but I never heard nor saw "Wurzburg" anywhere. We arrived in Nuremberg where many people got off and in. Then, the train headed back in the direction we came so now I was really freaking out (in my mind) because I had no idea where I was or where I was headed.

The views out the window were pretty...lots of tall skinny trees and fields covered in snow. I realized that we were not actually going the way
we came, and I was indeed headed in the right direction.

I read some more of my book on the train, but I mostly just looked out the window. I am amazed that I stay entertained for the long hours on the trains just by looking out the window. Even the every day architecture of this place is so different from America. At the same time, there are many beautiful places on my home land that I take for granted. I have been thinking about what a tourist would want to see if they came to Kaysville. There's nothing TOO historical, but every place has a story...including little old K town.

Overnight Train to Munich

I got to the train station around 19:00 for my 19:41 overnight train to Munich. At about 19:30 someone/something over the intercom said it was delayed TWO hours! I checked the monitors and sure enough, I'm stuck in Amsterdam Centraal Station freezing my butt off for two extra hours. Boo. So I went to Starbucks and got me some hot chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. It was delicious. I headed back to the platform and some worker was rounding up the passengers for my train. So I followed him, and we ended up in the international train information area where other passengers were already camping out. I found a spot on the floor near an outlet and charged up my iPod while I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for about an hour. Thus far, I love it. I will want to see it a well as The Hunger Games when I get home.

After sleeping on the floor of the train station for another hour, people suddenly started grabbing their bags as someone was speaking in Dutch over the intercom. Of course, I followed because following the crowd is what I do best. The train had finally arrived. Even though my ticket was in Dutch, I figured out my car and seat # and we left around 22:45. I was going to pay for a bed which was 27.50 euros, but I just couldn't do it an instead paid the 17.50 euros for a reclining chair. It reclines more than an airplane seat but not by much.

I had a terrible nights sleep hit did get at least some. I gatherer blankets. One on my head and two on my legs. They didn't even provide pillows. My limbs kept losing circulation when they leaned up against arm rests ad what not.

I got up at 8:45 to get ready. After the tossing and turning from the night, I did not think it would be possible for me to even look presentable. I used the washroom and was able to somewhat salvage my hair while performing some kind of crazy balancing act.

As it got light I saw that there is snow on the ground here in Germany. I put my long johns on under my pants and also my leg warmers.

Emma, my first hostess, will be picking me up at the Schweinfurt station at 17:40. That gives me four hours to see Munich!

Amster Amster Dam Dam Dam

Fun facts about Amsterdam/The Netherlands:

• Amsterdam is the largest city and capital of the Netherlands
• There are over 1 million bikes but only 700 thousand Amsterdammers
• I kinda want to be an Amsterdammer just because they're called Amsterdammers
• There are over 300 coffee shops which can legally sell up to 5 grams of drugs to each person
• Amsterdam boasts more museums of any city in the world per square meters (40 museums from famous painters to museums on the history of sex and marijuana)
• The Dutch people are the tallest in all Europe and second tallest in the world
• Amsterdam is below sea level.
• It has the largest Van Gogh collections in the world
• Over 70% of the world's bacon comes from the Netherlands (Which is why there are so many pig farm workaways...I could NOT bring myself to do that)
• 7 of the world's top 500 companies including Philips and ING are based in the city
• 3.66 million visitors annually
• Been around since at least 1275
• More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps
• Anne Frank hid here!

I went to bed at 12:30. For once I was not the first person in bed! I shared the hostel room with thirteen other girls. Maybe five were in bed before me. I was so totally OUT that I didn't even hear the other nine girls come in throughout the night, and my bed was right by the door!!

I woke up at 8:40, got ready, and ate more toast for breakfast. I snuck an apple in my bag for later. Shh! The milk here is disgusting. So is the yogurt. Ew! It tastes sour.

I took my time packing my bags and hung out in the lobby for a bit after I stripped my bed. I was going on a free walking tour at 10:40 and they had a pick up right at my hostel!! I knew there was no way I could show myself around Amsterdam, and I'm glad I went on the tour because it was fantastic!! Side note: it was freezing today.

My tour guide was Angel, and he was from California. He knew Utah, obviously, and we chatted about how pretty southern Utah is as well as Mitt Romney. I made two friends in the tour group...a nice girl from Korea but living in Germany and a girl from California but living in Brussels doing an internship with the US Embassy. She goes to Duke. I lied and told her I went to BYU when she asked because I knew she would have ZERO idea where/what UVU was..she even knew that BYU was in Provo. They were both traveling alone like moi. There were thirty people in my tour group.

We went all over the main parts of Amsterdam. Dam Square. The Red Light District. Spuiplein. Leidseplein. The Anne Frank house. Etc. Angel, the tour guide, was hilarious. He warned us about pickpocketers and said, "you know you're in trouble when you feel a hand in your pants, and you didn't pay for it." He also called the locals "cycle-paths" which is exactly what they are. Apparently they own the roads. And the bike paths. And sidewalks.

We started on Dam Square where the City Hall/Royal Palace, National Monument, and New Church stand. These buildings are from the 14th and 15th centuries. If they're grand now, I can only imagine how grand they were back then. The Royal Palace was once considered the 8th World Wonder of the World! Amsterdam was once the financial center of the world! This place has history written all over it. Dam Square is full of two things: tourists and pigeons. I wore my hood cause it was cold but also just in case I got pooped on.

We went on to the Red Light District...i was nervous. We stopped at the Old Church (1306) and were told that it was built with the money that sailors paid when confessing their sins...which is why it's so huge. We were headed to the scary part and were warned about taking pictures of the ladies in the windows. Apparently they chase you down and throw your camera in the canal or stomp on it. Some even keep a jar of pee close by and give you a nice golden shower. Here my tour guide said, "and you really don't want that because you don't know how many countries are in that jar." :/ Prostitution is straight up legal in Amsterdam, and ladies 18+ years old rent rooms for 75-150 euro/day. They make about 50 euro in 15 minutes!! The oldest prostitute that my tour guide knew of (I don't know or want to know how he knows) is 84 years old. He pointed out that she wouldn't be here if she wasn't getting business. And with that I will stop grossing you out. :) I won't post the details of my journey through this part of town, but feel free to ask me later if you're a perv. ;)

There are approximately 1,281 bridges and 100 km of canals in Amsterdam. We probably crossed 100 on the tour today. The canals are just 3 meters deep. Flood, fire, and disease are the three enemies of Amsterdam which is why the buildings are brick and also why they lean. They have hooks at the top because people would store their goods on the top level to avoid damage in floods. They tied a rope to the hook and pulled the goods up from outside. They lean forward because they didn't want the stuff to hit windows on the way up!

Like I said, there are around one million bikes in Amsterdam. 25,000 bikes are pulled out of the canals each year. Drunk people throw them overboard simply because they're drunk. My tour guide has asked around 30 locals why they do it and they all said it's just because they're drunk.

We stopped for a snack at a place called Febo. They have burgers and chicken sandwiches and things callled Roquette's vending machine style. I can't even explain...i got a Roquette with ragout from veal for 1.50 euros. If someone wants to google that and let me know what it is, that would be great! ;) It was deep fried somethin. Also, we ate cheese at one stop and it was delicious! I was surprised because the other dairy products have beyond sucked.

Next, we learned about the coffee shops. Selling/buying/smoking marijuana is not legal in Amsterdam, but it is "tolerated." Whatever that means. You can buy five grams at a time (If you're 18 and older) and you can have up to 30 grams in your possession. Since it's illegal to buy/sell, the shops get it just as illegally as anyone else. They have a phone number. They call. It's delivered. They pay. There were marijuana plants in a few windows. I guess one in three tourists come to Amsterdam wanting to try some...I'm glad I'm one of the sane two people. As we were talking about this, the tall English guy next to me pulled out a roll (or whatever they're called) and started smoking away. Haha! It was interesting. I was warned about buying any baked goods because they most likely have marijuana baked right in!

Angel kept reminding us of the three rules of businesses in Amsterdam: 1. Be private/anonymous, 2. Be respectful, and 3. Most importantly, make money/good business.

The highlight of the tour for me was the ending at the church across from the Anne Frank Museum. We talked about WWII and the deportation of the Jews. It was here that I finally caught the spirit of Amsterdam: the true land of freedom. The people in Amsterdam were the only ones to stand straight up to the Nazi's and tell them that what they were doing was wrong. This bravery and the belief that everyone is equal is just inside the people of Amsterdam. The East India Trade Company shared their wealth with everyone instead of just making themselves bigger and richer. Prostitutes have rights and are respected. Anyone can marry/love anyone. Anyone can smoke/drink anything. Anything and everything is tolerated. Every person is just as important as every other person.

While I still do not necessarily agree with those practices/ideas, i'm glad i was able to experience all that I did today. It was scary, and my nose, ears, and eyes have all been corrupted. But it was still awesome, and it was something I could never experience anywhere else. Maybe I'm high ;)

Remember when I said my posts wouldn't be as long as that first one? Well, I lied. I've decided that this blog is more for me than for you so I'll continue to write as much as I want, and it will be detailed because I want to remember this trip for forevers.

So the tour ended at the Anne Frank Museum. I got in line and waited a long forty minutes to get inside. I heard the church bells that Anne Frank heard while she was hiding. The museum cost 9 well worth it euros. There were pamphlets in about twelve languages. The actual building that her father's warehouse was in is now inside of another building. It is plain-no furniture-because that is how her father wanted it to be. The museum took you through the building and history of the Frank family, the Jews, and the Secret Annex. You don't know how much I wish i could have seen this back in seventh grade when I read The Diary of Anne Frank in school. it was absolutely amazing. I will be re reading that book when I get home. They had her actual diary on display, and I walked through the secret bookcase entrance and stood in the rooms she hid in for all those years. She put a face to the six million Jews that suffered during those years. She represents a lot. It was her dream to write/publish a legendary book, and I think she was pretty successful considering her book has been translated into over 70 languages.

After that life changing experience i headed back to my hostel to pick up my backpack. I stopped and got dinner at a little Italian place called Asiaggo. I got a Carpaccio on ciabatta which had
rundercapaccio, Parmesan cheese, balsamico, citroensap, and pjinboompitjes. As you can see, I was only able to translate the Parmesan cheese (an I assume balsamico is balsamic vinegar or something). Someone can google that one too and let me know what the heck I ate today. They don't have menus in English anywhere! I seem to be eating a lot of sandwiches. They're the best value I guess. It was good, whatever it was. The sandwiches here are all bread...there are like two slices of meat and one of cheese (if you get it). Headed to the train station now!

Thanks for skimming!! Enjoy the pictures since I know that's what you're really here for! ;)

"I know what I want, I have a goal, I have opinions, a religion, and hope."
-Anne Frank, 11 April 1944

"To build a future, you have to know the past."
-Otto Frank, 1967

Intro to Amsterdam

The train to Amsterdam was ridiculously long. I was expecting two hours, but it actually took three. There were some funny Europeans in my cabin for part of the time though. One guy's sweater alone was enough to entertain me for half the time!

I walked over to the library because 1. It was the only thing I knew the location of, 2. It has a pretty view of Amsterdam, and 3. It has a cafe, and I was hungry. I wasn't hungry hungry, I just wanted fruit or vegetables. Stupid, I know, but the super markets only have oranges for like 3 euros each, and for those of you without your calculators...that's like five bucks for one stupid orange. So yeah...I've been lacking some vital nutrients for sure.

Anyway...I went up there and yeah, the view was great, but the balcony was closed so I couldn't get a picture.:( It was cool to see all sorts of students studying, but I don't know how they got anything done with all the people everywhere. I got a small salad bowl, a grapefruit, an a water for like 8.50 euro. Total rip off. Especially cause they don't tell you when water is free so I bought a bottled water for no reason.

I had delayed long enough and I really needed to find my hostel at this point. I had two maps but neither made sense. I had directions to the hostel and that involved riding a tram so I bought a one hour ticket and found my hostel. (It's tons bigger and nicer than the last one.) I wanted to hit up the Van Gogh Museum before my tram pass ran out because the museum is kinda far away. I went hunting for a tram station by the tram I needed. No luck. So I hauled butt back to Centraal station on foot. I may or may not have passed a sex museum as well as some sort of strip club. While everyone else's heads were turning towards these things, little innocent me just kept my eyes on the road as best as i could. I ended up buying a 24 hour tram pass for 7 more euro. The original plan was to rent a bike, but I'll tell you why that idea instantly failed in just a minute.

I got on the right tram and got to the museum. It was awesome! I didn't think I'd like the museums as much as I am! I learned a lot about Van Gogh and art. He loved nature and flowers, and he killed himself thinking he was a failure when really he was an epic success. No pictures were allowed in this museum, and I followed the rules this time.

Because I don't know where the tram stops and goes, I rode all the way back to Centraal station and took the tram that goes near my hostel. I was starving so I got a second dinner. All this walking is wearing me out! I tried a couple of supermarkets but I didn't want chips or cookies. I found a place called Shanghai Noodle and I got me some sweet and sour chicken. It was delicious. They only gave me chopsticks and there were legit Chinese kids in there so I didn't want to ask for a fork. I sucked it up and used the chopsticks. There was a big spoon thing that I had no idea what to do with (I'm sure it was for sauces), but I saw a Chinese girl using it to scoop up rice and my chopsticks were being so unsuccessful that I copied her and used my spoon thing like she did. That was a really long run on sentence. Sorry. The second they left, I ran to the desk and asked for a fork. My dignity. My pride. I couldn't let them go. Haha. That meal took me a good 45 minutes to eat. Stupid chopsticks.

I walked back to my hostel where I will stay the rest of the night. Whoa! It's ten pm! No wonder I'm so tired.

So overall I have not liked Amsterdam all that much. The architecture is beautiful, but there are so. Many. People. So many stupid people!! I hate the language (Dutch), I hate the traffic, I hate the smell (it's either cigarette smoke or pot), and I hate the transportation system (mostly cause it makes no sense to me). like I said, I wanted a bike, but I'm so scared of getting KILLED by a car, bus, tram, or another biker!! Seriously!! People are everywhere. I swear there's no such thing as a road. There are bike paths but people just go wherever they can fit. People cross the tram tracks even if a tram is just five feet away from hitting them. It's just madness!! Stinky, foreign, madness. I couldn't get any pictures cause it's been dark since I got here, but tomorrow you shall see Amsterdam!

Brussels, Belgium

I got off the train in Brussels and wandered in search of a map. I couldn't find one anywhere, but i did find a wafel in the station...it was beyond delicious. Seriously. I'm not lying. I finally found a place called travel centre, but it was for international trains and what not so they didn't have a map. I made the reservation for my overnight train tomorrow night from Amsterdam to Munich while I was there. That cost 17.50 euro which is about the same as a hostel...probably a little less...but it does save me a lot of time. And time. Is. Money. Right?! The guy that helped me there was great, and he told me where to go. What I was looking for was pretty much right across the street.

So...I walked over. On the way, a scary man stopped me and asked me for money. I gave him .02 euro. A penny basically. Then i got away from him.

I turned the corner and BAM!! The Grand Place. Ho. Ly. Cow. Everything was so...huge. And ornate. And detailed. And amazing. And awesome. I remember reading that this place was voted the most beautiful square in Europe in 2010. Rightfully so. I got a few pictures, then I found the TI with a map. .50 euro.

Brussels is big. Much bigger than Bruges. It has a lot more everything. I didn't think this was possible, but it has more chocolate shops than Bruges. There were many waffle stands including little trucks selling them. The places I went were very touristy, but everyone was really friendly and happy. Except the guy I bought my souvenir magnet from.

I headed to the Manneken Pis which I had heard so much about.  Manneken Pis means "little man pee," and that's exactly what it is.  A small (2 feet) bronze fountain sculpture of a naked little boy peeing into the fountain's basin.  It's pretty crazy that I paid all this money to come see a peeing statue. Okay, so this wasn't the ONLY reason I came...but it was on my list of must sees! He has many costumes that he is dressed up in according to a certain schedule. I got to see him wearing Monaco's outfit.  The other outfits are in the city museum...the orignal Manneken Pis is also in there.  The one I saw was a copy (1695) because the original (1618 or 1619) got stolen a couple times and they needed to lock it up. There are several legends behind this statue. I was going to post them all but decided to just link up. They're kinda funny if you have a minute and want to read them!

Anyway...It was tiny. Like I had to squint to see it. Haha. He was cute. Even better were all the souvenir Manneken Pis' and the life size or chocolate Manneken Pis'. I just think it's hilarious. I'm so immature. :)

I wandered to the Place de la Chapelle, Palais d'Egmont, Musee Magritte, and Place Royal. The pictures don't do this place justice. Everything is ten times more grand than it looks. I walked down the Mont des Arts and back to Centraal Station. I found the next train to Amsterdam and went to the platform to wait. Two hours in Brussels is no where near enough time, but I'm glad I stopped by anyway.

I was never scared of getting robbed in Bruges, but Brussels was different. There were lots of suspicious guys around. I was a little nervous. I would always try and have my back against a building or post. Then I'd look up and see what I was leaning against and be totally fascinated. I dropped my "look like a local" facade in Brussels. Partially because I had my big backpack and partially because I just wanted to have my camera and map out the whole time.

My train left at 13:22. This train is like the Harry Potter trains. There are separate cabins with six chairs and a door in each. A lady even came by with a food/drink cart!

This place is truly magical.

Enjoy more scattered, random, unlabeled pictures:

Leaving Bruges

Sorry about the mix up with the Bruges post. The day and night are out of order, but I'm not going to mess with it anymore. I stayed up until midnight trying to figure it out!

I took a shower last night. They were private showers, but I had to pull down on a chain when I wanted water to come out. My microfiber towel was awesome except it's not very quick to dry. It's a good thing I showered at night because it took pretty much all night to dry.

I got in bed at midnight. I slept in the bottom bunk this time. At 1:15 there were a bunch of thirteen year old girls being all loud and junk. They were speaking English though so I didn't even care! It was so nice to be able to understand what was going on around me.

I got up at 7:45 and got ready. There were about five ladies also getting ready, and they were with the group of girls so we got talking. They're from Germany...they're American but their husbands are in the Air Force so they live in Germany for three years. They were in Bruges with the group of irks for a girl scout trip. How sweet is that?! They knew I was from Utah because of the BYU shirt I was wearing. A couple of them asked if I was LDS. They must have known a bit about the church because they asked "So, you didn't go on a mission?" they also asked me if my mother knew that I was sleeping in a room with a bunch of strangers, including men strangers. Haha. I laughed and told them she knew. :)

I ate toast for breakfast, checked out of my hostel, and went on my way. I took a video as I was leaving Bruges so check Facebook for that since I can't post it on here as far as I know. Maybe I will try later. I stopped by the two parks I went to last night on my way to the train station. They were pretty. I got better pictures.

I activated my Eurail pass so today is my first of fifteen (nonconsecutive) days I have on the trains. I caught the 9:58 train to Brussels and that's where I am now!

I had to ask the ticket stamper guy on the train which stop to get off at to see the Grand Place. He said Brussels-Centraal. Nice guy.

Like I said, I'm on the train, but I will not be able to post this until I have wi-fi tonight. Bruges was amazing, and I'm getting the hang of things and am excited about the rest of my trip.