Hallo Deutschland :)

We went to Munich, Germany last weekend. It was so amazing! I immediately fell in love as soon as our train left the airport and I had the chance to see the beautiful German countryside! The first couple train stops seemed to be in the middle of nowhere: only a few trees, a handful of cottages, and a couple overflowing bike racks were in sight. As we entered the downtown part of the city of Munich, the city grew much more dense, with tall buildings and sky scraping clock towers. Once we checked into our hostel, we walked down to a famous city square where town hall is: Marienplatz. Town hall is a gorgeous German building, not only full of classic European detailing, but also full of color! The building has a colorful front piece of detailing which stands out against the normal stone walls. Looking around the skyline in Marienplatz there are about six clock towers, each adorned with golden hands and roman numerals, as well as different colored rooftops! You can’t help but smile when you look around the city; it’s so full of color and cute [what I thought looked like] Dutch-inspired buildings!

That night we went on a beer tour to three of the best beer gardens/beer houses. Each place brews their own kind of beer, and let me tell you, they know what they are doing! Don’t get me wrong, I’m no beer connoisseur, but German beer is by far better than anything we have in the states. One of the places the tour took us was the most famous beer garden in Munich called Hofbräuhaus. The place is gigantic! It has the classic “beer garden” as a courtyard in the middle of the building, which reaches two or three stories, I believe (we didn’t get to explore the whole thing it was so large). This ‘garden’ is where they used to keep the beer cooled before fridges were invented. It’s covered in chestnut trees for shade, and is now used as a terrace for dining. They maximize their space with long wooden tables, which customers share with others, and it creates a fun, friendly, outgoing atmosphere! There is a band constantly playing classic German tunes inside, and not only do the waiters and waitresses wear lederhosen and beer girl outfits, so do the some of the customers! In one room of the building, they even have a stage for performing little German skits and such! Despite the enormous size of this place, it was completely packed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, even during the lunch hour there was a large crowd there! The food here, as well as in all of the restaurants we tried in Munich, was amazing. During that weekend, I had the best bratwurst, weiner schnitzel, sauerkraut, and potato salad! My mouth is watering just remembering it!


One of the days we went on a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp. It was a very interesting experience, one that I cannot completely explain. The tour guide was insanely informative, expanding on the details I’d previously learned in school, and giving insight to how everything ran, how the people of the town felt, etc. The craziest part was the location of the camp. I had always pictured them like desolate, isolated, ominous things sitting in the middle of nowhere. I was wrong to say the least. Less than 5 minutes on a bus there is a school, with little children playing outside, surrounded by more residential area. It’s astonishing to think that people lived so near to such a disastrous place. The dead winter trees set the tone of the tour, and seemed to give a much more realistic feel to the place. Most all of the buildings have been reconstructed, but they have simulated the camp as it used to stand in 1933.


After that little tour, we needed a something a more uplifting, so we went back to Hofbräuhaus and soaked in the happy German music, ate some fantastic food, and sipped on a tall house brew. Experiencing this amazing vacation made me realize how badly I would love to come back for Oktoberfest! :)

The Luck of the Irish

This weekend I chased the leprechaun's in Dublin, Ireland. This was probably one of my favorite cities so far. The people are extremely nice, everyone spoke english, and the food was amazing (very American)! It rained the entire weekend, but luckily was never too cold. Once we arrived, I realized how the Irish are complete drunks. There are small pubs everywhere around the city. I asked the front desk of my hostel where we should go this weekend, and he said the Guinness factory, whiskey distillery, and pub crawling (everything he recommended had to do with liquor). Naturally, I listened to exactly what the guy told me and we added a couple other things! My friends and I bought a hop-on-hop-off 3-day bus ticket so we could tour the city. The first place we decided to go was the Guinness Factory. It was very interesting how they brew there own beer. Did you know they consider water there most important material in beer? This factory alone supplies all of the United States, along with 71 other countries with Guinness. The exhibition takes place over 7 floors, in the shape of a 14 million pint glass of Guinness. For dinner, we went to a local Irish pub where they brew there own beer. This place was so good that we ended up coming here everyday.

The next day rained all day, which put a damper on our activities. We ended up hanging out in the hostel with some other people we had met the night before. Then when we attempted to go outside, we got dumped on. We jumped on the hop-on-hop-off bus and rode it for the entire 3 hours. We got off the bus at St. Patrick's cathedral. This is the largest church in Ireland and we ended up spending many hours inside. Then we got back on the bus and rode it back to our hostel.

On our last day it was a wonderful, sunny day. We decided to take a free walking tour of the city. This was very interesting learning about the history of Dublin. The guide was very entertaining and informative. Then we went to the Jameson whiskey distillery. This distillery produces over one million gallons of whiskey per year. It was our last night in Dublin, so we did an official pub crawl. We met with a tour guide and he lead us to the most "popular" pubs in Dublin. I had such a great time in Ireland and was very sad to leave. But I am back to Alcala for two days then I head to Germany! :)

Halloween Weekend in Amsterdam

This weekend I went to Amsterdam. I decided to fly stand-by because the flights were extremely expensive. Unfortunately, the day before I left all of the flights filled up! It was a nail-biter getting on, but after being in the airport all day, I got on the last flight of the day. I landed in Amsterdam at 11:00 PM and was planning to meet my friends at the hostel. As I was walking down the jet-way I was thinking how RETARDED I am for flying to a foreign country, finding transportation from the airport, and trying to find my hostel all by myself. Luckily, my good friend Kendal had an inkling that I was on the flight and waited at the airport for me! I was so happy to see her when I walked out of security. We found a taxi and drove right to our hostel. We got there so late that we ended up just going to bed.

The next morning we began just walking around the city. Amsterdam is absolutely gorgeous. Since it was fall, the trees were bright yellow/orange with leaves falling. There are many rivers/canals that flow under all the streets. The only bad thing about it being in the fall was that it was freezing. It was about 4 degrees celcius (which equals about 40 degrees farenheit… I think). We went out for a nice breaksfast at a little bakery. We rented bikes and toured the city. But since it was so cold, we ditched the bikes and found warmer things to do. That afternoon we went to the Heinekan factory. We got to see the inside story on how beer is made. After that we went to dinner at an all you can eat Chinese restaurant.

The next day, we wondered the streets again. We got lunch at the Hard Rock Café to satisfy our craving for some American burgers, and boy did they taste good!! After lunch we went to the Anne Frank house. The line was extremely long but it was worth the wait. It is amazing to see what Anne Frank and her family had to live in for over 2 years. The Anne Frank house displayed photographs, film images, the diary, and original objects that belonged to her. After this museum we went to the torture museum. This was sad to see all the horrible ways they used to punish people in the day. That night we went to a little bar to celebrate the first day of Halloween!

On Sunday, I headed straight to the airport because I was flying alone and was attempting to take the public transportation to the airport to save money. I had no idea how long it would take me, so I wanted to go with plenty of time. I ended up getting to the gate 2 hours early. But there was NO ONE at the gate. So I just thought I was a little early. When it was one hour before departure, I began to get a little suspicious so I went to talk to a ticket agent at a different gate. I soon realized that it was daylight savings and the clocks had been set back an hour. So I was actually at the gate 3 hours early. But the flight was empty so I had no problem getting on.

Sunday night was Halloween. As soon as I got back to Alcala, I headed straight to Madrid to celebrate the festivities. Kim and I met up with some of our spanish friends. The first thing they did was paint our faces. In Spain, they celebrate Halloween but not like Americans. Everyone dresses like the dead, with blood running down their faces. No one was a princess or wearing a cute minnie mouse outfit. They painted black circles around our eyes, with a spider web coming from our forehead, and blood coming from our eyes and mouth. We ended up just hanging in the park with other local spaniards and then we went to a discoteca. I had a great halloween, and it was a great finish to my weekend.

San Sebastian

Sorry it’s taken me a week to post about my last weekend’s adventures! This week was midterms, so I was studying for exams and didn’t have much time to write about my fabulous weekend! My parents took Kim and I up to Northern Spain to the Basque country.

We stayed in San Sebastian for two nights, in a gorgeous little apartment with stunning views of rolling green hills. First of all, I must explain that San Sebastian is relatively near the boarder of France, so the french influences throughout the city were very prominent. The city lies on the northern coast of Spain so it has great views of the Mar Cantábrico, but at the same time it has stunning green hills that reach toward the sky. The people dressed so classy every day with dresses, pea coats, heels, and collared button up shirts! The old ladies dressed up in their sunday best, every single day… It was adorable. There was significantly less smokers around compared to Madrid, which was a huge plus! Also, every family walking the street seemed to have a fancy stroller pushing their newborns on a walk around the promenade, my favorite strollers were the vintage looking carriage types. 
The first day we were there we walked around the historic district a bit, and saw a gorgeous neo-gothic cathedral (from the outside) lit up at night. The way they had the lights shining on the church made it look amazing at night! We didn’t stay out too long because it had been a long day of driving, so we went back and relaxed at the apartment.

The next day we headed into downtown. Luckily we hit tapa time just right! The streets in the historic district were flooded with people, and we were a little hungry, so we decided to check out a couple tapa bars. The food was amazing. They display their tapas on the bar (unlike Madrid), so it was very nice to see exactly what you’re getting to eat! We went to three different places, and the food was amazing at all of them! They had lost of salmon items, some kind of cooked mushrooms (they were SO good!), but my favorite of all is a dish I’ve already had before. The pimientos rellenos (stuffed peppers) were amazing! I found out that the Basque country in Northern Spain is where these peppers became popular, so it was nice to get a taste of the original delicacy! After tapas, we climbed a huge hill to the top where there lies an old castle and a huge statue of Jesus. The view from the top of the hill was stunning! You could see the whole city, the sea, and an island off the coast. After we climbed down from the steep hill, we were hungry once again. We found a little place and got some food and churros and hot chocolate for desert. Churros and chocolate is a classic dessert or breakfast choice here! After eating we wandered a little and found another gorgeous church. We saw tourists entering, so we walked inside as well. As soon as we step in, we hear a priest speaking, so naturally we sat down to experience a little Spanish mass. As we sat down in the back of the church, I looked down the aisle, and what did I see you may ask? A bride and groom kneeling at the alter! We had crashed a wedding on accident! We couldn’t believe that we just walked into someone’s wedding celebration! Oops! We snuck back out the back, and no one saw! That was pretty much it for the night. We went back to the apartment and played some cards, then went to bed!

The next day we drove back to Madrid, but we stopped in Burgos for some lunch along the way. We found a little chinese restaurant to eat at, and it was so good! I hadn’t had chinese food in probably two months at that point, so I was happy to eat a little something other than the Spanish food or fake American food that I’ve been having! 
I loved San Sebastian so much, it was such a gorgeous city and it had amazing food. After our trip, I decided it is one of the cities I must live in, at some point in my lifetime!

Semana de Padres

It was so great to see my parents. I was skeptical if I would be able to find my parents (since they do not have cell phones), but the meeting point worked out. The appartment that they rented for a week was in a great location and seemed very new. On Friday, my parents and I met up with Kim and her parents. We walked through Retiro park and the moms and daughters got a row boat on the lake. In early afternoon, my parents had to take a Siesta from their long days of travel.

The next morning we visited Toledo, a city about an hour outside the center of Madrid (only 30 minutes by train). Toledo was the old capital of spain until the 16th century I believe. They’re known for their metallurgy, and more specifically their swords and armor, so the streets are lined with stores that sell swords and knives! The cathedral in the center of the city is gigantic! It took over 250 years to build, and it is insanely intricate outside. We didn’t get to go inside because there was construction/restoration going on, so that was a slight bummer. Toledo was so pretty with lots of hilly, narrow cobblestone streets, but we did a lot of walking up and down hills, making it a very long day on our feet! The views from the top of the city were gorgeous, looking down on the river that surrounds the city! After we finished with touring Toledo, we went back to madrid and got tapas with Kim’s family. The place we went was so much fun, and we got to try a lot of different kinds of spanish bocadillos (sandwhiches) and pints of beer were just one euro! This place ended up being a common hangout for my parents and I.

On Sunday, we slept in pretty late. My parents went to a bull fight and I headed back to Alcala for school the next day. On Monday after my classes, I went back to Madrid. We toured the Palacio Real and then went back to our bocadillo shop. On Wednesday, my family came to Alcala to meet my Spanish family. My house mom cooked homemade Paella and Spanish tortilla. I was worried lunch was going to be awkward because of the language barrier but it went really well. My host mom even brought out the China and we sat in the dining room table (which I have never done before). It was quite funny watching my mother fling her seafood on my dad’s plate when my house mom was not looking. After lunch, I showed them my school and some points of the city that I had been shown on my tour of Alcala. We sat down on Calle Mayor and got tapas, a common occurrence for my friends and I during the week! My parents got to meet a couple of my new friends that I have met in Spain. It was so great for my family to be able to see the city that I have lived in for the last 3 months.

Marbella/ Medieval Festival

Yay we had a five day weekend. This weekend I went to Malaga with my best friend Kim, and her parents. It was so nice to see a familiar face. When we got to Malaga, Kim’s dad rented a car and we started driving to our resort without a map or any sense of direction whatsoever. Luckily we found a gas station and got a map, and we were already on the right road going towards Marbella! Unfortunately, we got a little lost on the misleadingly marked roads, but we eventually found the resort, right on the beach! Kim and I immediately went down to the beach to soak up some sun because it was supposed to rain all weekend! That night we went to a restaurant at the hotel and got some drinks and appetizers, then we walked the beach at night, it was so much fun!! Since back home at U of A the tucson-ers were celebrating family weekend, we celebrated a Spanish family weekend of our own :) The next day was cloudy and drizzly, so we drove to a little town called Benehavis. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records (supposedly) for having the largest number of restaurants in the smallest town. It reminded me a bit of San Fransisco with steep hills and gorgeous views! The next day in Marbella, it surprisingly stopped raining and there wasn’t even a cloud in the sky! Kim and I headed down to the pool for the day while her parents went to meet up with their friends who were staying in a nearby town. The next day we drove through Malaga and took a hanging tram tour of the city, kind of like a ski lift with beautiful views of the Mediterranean sea! Then I headed back to Madrid, while Kim and her family went to Barcelona.

During this long weekend, Alcala was having a huge Medieval festival. It was supposedly the second largest festival in southern Europe. The market was over 6 kilometers long, and consisted of street vendors, tents, various animals, and LOTS of good food and beer. On Tuesday, I spent most of my day at the festival just walking around and people watching. On Wednesday, after classes finished up I went to Madrid with Kim’s family. We walked around the city and we showed them Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, and the cathedral at the Palacio. I had never been inside the cathedral, but I’m so glad I got the opportunity! It was absolutely gorgeous. The architecture is very gothic with classic gothic arches and grey concrete/stone, but the ceiling and the artwork on the walls is unbelievable colorful! The contrast of the grey stone walls with the vibrant, patterned ceiling was amazing! It was strange to me how many different centuries of art were represented inside: Baroque, Modern, Manneristic, Gothic, etc. Tomorrow my parents come into town! I am so excited to see them!

Corrida de Toros

Yesterday the girls and I went into Madrid for our first bullfight (corrida de toros). Everyone told us girls we were going to hate it and Kendal’s host mom was worried we were going to end up crying at the match. It ended up being one of the coolest things I have done in Spain so far! First, a brief introduction to bull fights…There are 6 bulls in total that are killed, and three toreros (matadors) so each gets to fight with 2 bulls. There are four rounds I believe, in the first, the bull is let out into the ring and “warmed up” by a series of amateur toreros so the main torero can get a feel for the bull’s movement and actions. Then the picadores come out, they are men on horses with lances. When the bull attacks the horse it gives the torero a clue to which side the bull favors to attack. After this round, the amateur matadors work with the bull again, and then the banderilleros come out. These men have “banderillas,” colorful sticks in which they run and stab into the bulls back muscles. Finally the main torero is the only one in the ring with the bull. He does a series of passes trying to impress the audience, and if he has a good pass the whole crowd will yell “¡OLE!” Finally the torero finishes the bull off with a sword into his back. If the audience thinks it has been a good match they wave white handkerchiefs in the air. If the torero has a good match he can ‘win’ one or both of the bulls ears. Receiving the bull’s ears is a sign of good luck in Spain. (Sorry if that explanation was a little graphic).
The first bull we saw was killed so cleanly, it died instantly and (I think because of his clean kill) the torero won BOTH of the bull’s ears. The Spanish people sitting around us kept talking about how uncommon it is to win both! The next bull of this torero, he won another ear so three all together for the day. At the end of the whole fight, people raised this matador on their shoulders cheering and taking pictures; it was an awesome celebration. None of the other bulls were killed as cleanly (which was sad) but the first one was so amazing to watch. The two other matadors each won one ear total, so they were alright compared to the other torero. I feel kind of terrible for actually enjoying the bull fight since everyone says how horrible it is and such; I’m hoping this doesn’t make me a terrible person, but it was so awesome to experience a tradition that has been around forever, something that all the spaniards got so into cheering/ shouting “Ole!” from the stands, waving their white flags, throwing clothing (jackets and hats) into the ring, it was awesome. It’s probably cliché to say, but I felt like I absorbed so much traditional spanish culture just by being a part of the crowd, and by seeing a good fight.