kfrinhamburg

[kfrinhamburg]

Hamburg Winter Dom! I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention this gem. The Winter Dom, you guessed it, is set up once the cold weather rolls around. It’s basically just a large carnival, with all kinds of food, funhouses, rides and other nonsense. We have visited a couple of times, and it’s just a lot of fun. We watched one kid walk hard face first into glass at the funhouse. Erin’s fiance played a soccer version of knock over the pyramid of cans. We rode a haunted house with “real live ghosts” (yes, they said real live ghosts) who apparently do not have rules that they cannot touch you. Needless to say we screamed quite a bit when the demon thing grabbed my shoulders haha. BUT most exciting of all, they had LASER TAG. Now fun societal/legal fact, Germany is divided into 16 states, so there are different rules between them. We read a case (Omega) about the concept of laser tag in Bonn, a city North Rhine-Westphalia. The case had an absolutely ridiculous way to describe laser tag (something like virtual reality simulated death game (not actual as I can’t find the case at the moment). Effectively, Bonn banned laser tag because it did not respect the principles of human dignity that were enshrined in the German “constitution” (Basic Law - which is a very interesting side note in and of itself). So of course, when we learned about this case and later the next day saw there was laser tag, we went all in. It was a good time, though apologies to Bonn for our disrespect. Hamburg’s Winter Dom is definitely a great way to spend an evening! 

And since they’re so short, 2 posts in one day! 

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Told you I had some random posts still in store. Though I am clearly not a food photographer, the above are the meals that I normally ate for lunch at the cafeteria (mensa). The meals at Bucerius are heavily subsidized so all the food above, well each cost under 5 euro, some much closer to 2.5 or 3. It was a great way to save some money and get access to a variety of options. Every day there was a salad bar, a soup, a pasta/hot bar, and 3 meal options (one was always vegetarian). Let me just say that the potato cooking abilities of the German is top notch. I have had a potato just about every way you can cook them and they’re always delicious. Everyday they would post the menu and prices online so you could see whether it was worth the trip (spoiler I went effectively every day I had class, which was often even if this blog doesn’t make it seem like it). To pay, and get the fully discounted price, we used money we loaded onto our student cards, which also worked at the cafe. Much of the food in the mensa features pommes (pom-ess) [fries], sausages/other red meats, or cream based sauces, so I often ended up diverting to lighter fare. Overall, the range of food offered was really great. There was always something cheap and good to eat, and I’m going to really miss having an affordable cafeteria and cafe a few steps from the classroom. 

[kfrinhamburg]

Wow, so this is it, documenting my very last big trip for my time here in Germany. Barcelona, Spain! I have to say, I was not really interested in coming to Spain my first time studying abroad. I had never had much connection to the country, and so didn’t really feel like it was a necessary trip. I’m so glad I got over that stupid notion. 

Barcelona was came onto my radar a few years ago (well not counting the time it was featured in the Cheetah Girls 2 movie) as a place well worth the visit. And now I can happily report that it lived up to and exceeded expectations. Barcelona is the heart of Catalonia (and it’s capital as an autonomous community). The language, Catalan, seems like a blend of Spanish and French, though of course everyone spoke Spanish, and English as well. My very good travel buddy, Christina, helped out on the Spanish front, which made ordering food, our most important task, a breeze! 

We arrived Friday evening, and checked into our fancy 4-star hotel. Happily Spain is not an expensive country, so I think this one actually cost less than our 2-star hotel in Bordeaux! (crazy!) We were exhausted after a day of class and travel, so we ended up flipping through the channels and turning in a little early (for Spain that is). As an aside, the variety of languages on television was by far the most expansive of all the countries I have visited. We were able to watch shows in Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian, Arabic, English, and another few we couldn’t identify; go Barcelona! We woke up the next morning with only one goal in mind, food. After realizing Saturday was actually the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (a Catholic holy day of obligation), we were sad to learn that a number of restaurants were not open. BUT, we happily found a place by the water on a top 10 list for cheap (but delicious) tapas. It Delivered (Thank you Bar Jai-Ca)! We ate what seemed like a ton of food, but given that everything is small plates, didn’t actually amount to anything ridiculous. At this first meal we had cava (Spanish champagne), pedron peppers, iberian bacon and eggs, tapas patatas, croquettas, calamari (with the thickest rings I’ve ever seen) and the tomato bread. It sounds like a crazy amount, but it actually left us feeling full but not stuffed. That’s why I love this snacking, sharing culture! 

From the tapas, we made our way to the Sagrada Familia (many of the pictures above). This is the crowning work of Gaudi, and remains unfinished to this day, though it is expected to be completed in 2026! Construction began in 1882, and once it’s finished there will be a total of 18 spires (although only 8 exist to date). The design is something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. Inspired by religion and nature, Gaudi used fantastical shapes and really told a story through the design. The different sides of the church represent different phases in the life of Jesus. Of the two main sides we were able to view, one represents the Nativity, and the other the Passion of Christ (his death). The Nativity scene is full of trees, and lifelike figures. It looks almost like a sand castle, and each arch is meant to represent one of the members of the Sacred Family (Joseph, Mary and Jesus). There is just so much detail, from a turtle and a tortoise holding up the base of the columns, to angles and wise men, down to tiny plant and bugs adorning the doors. It’s really incredible. Walking inside the church is meant to evoke the feeling of walking into a forest. The columns extend to the heavens and branch out, both for the beauty and for the function of supporting the columns that are to come. They are meant to evoke the feeling of trees, with stained glass on one side representing sunrise, and the other sunset. I have to say it was very overwhelming for me, and since my body needed to let out the excess emotion I did tear up a bit at the sight. The scale is just something I’ve never experienced before and it really is mind-blowing. The other side (with our faces in it) is meant to evoke straining muscles and bones. The Passion is a harsh view of the life of Christ, and unlike the realistic figures on the other side, this side has figures obscured and in agony. We were able to go up to the spires and look out over the city. It was great to be able to see the spires and some of the interesting mosaic work up close. He uses “Trencadis” style, which he invented and is mosaics made up of broken tiles (unlike Italian’s square tessera) and uses a variety of materials and just looks very interesting. We ended up spending much more time than anticipated here, but it was well worth the use of our time! It’s such a cool and unique place; you really have to go see it for yourself. 

After we took in our fill of the Sagrada Familia, we wandered to the La Boqueria Market. This is a famous public market, where you can buy really any kind of food. Sadly, many stalls were closed for the holiday, but we did get to see a lot eat some more delicious tapas (including eggplant with bacon and honey that was delicious) as well as try zumos (juice). Sadly our juice of choice (lemon and mint) was a bit too acidic, so we couldn’t finish the whole thing. But it was cool to look at all the stalls and see a hint of the vibrancy of the city. On the plus side, we both think it was much safer as it was so empty, and we didn’t really feel worried about pickpockets and the like (though we were very careful at all times). After the market, we went back to relax at the hotel; take a siesta if you will. A few hours later, although not very hungry or willing to wander around in the dark, we decided to try to find a restaurant and eat a little bit. We found a cute little place, split a paella and some more padron peppers and just enjoyed people watching and chatting for the next hour or two. 

The next morning brought with it our guided tour of Park Guell, which is another amazing work of Gaudi’s. Although we had to climb a number of very steep staircases to get there, we had the BEST tour guide ever, thank you Jofre Pons!! He was animated and exciting and funny throughout our hour tour around the park, and we had a blast! The park was the vision of one Mr. Guell, as a way to build a haven for the rich outside of the dirty city of Barcelona. It was meant to have something like 60 houses, spread across the park, with all the markets, social, and anything you might need available to the inhabitants without having to leave. The gardens are beautiful and expansive, and I suppose happily for the public, never saw anything beyond 3 houses built. Gaudi, once again taking inspiration from nature, religion, and Catalan itself, build just some wild structures. The meant-to-be market looks like a weird Dr. Seuss Greek Temple, with wavy lines and mosaics surrounding the 86 doric columns. There are elements to make you think of health (like the open structures) and nature (the walking path is covered by an almost wave, and some columns look like trees). The front buildings, for the guard and administrative buildings, house a museum and a shop respectively, and evoke the candy house of Hansel and Gretel. Throughout the park there are only 3 houses, that were inhabited by the promoter (Mr. Guell), the architect (Mr. Gaudi), and the lawyer. Basically, the plots of land were too small for the wealthy that they were offering them to. The idea of the community was to retain 80% garden to the 20% housing. Though the city had been terrible and dirty, it was starting to make improvements, and the prospect of moving far away to an isolated hill just didn’t attract anyone. As I said, this happily leaves for us to enjoy today. Gaudi’s work, as I said, is just something else. I think the pictures say more than I’ll be able to, so I’ll leave it at that. 

Sadly, our time in Barcelona was drawing to a close, so we made our way back towards the water for our last meal. We went to El Xampanyet, which is this super cool tapas restaurant on a number of must eat at lists. The menu was totally in Spanish, and after looking at it confused for a bit, a man sitting at a nearby table asked to join us and said the best approach is to simply tell the waitress “dealer’s choice” so we did. Sahil, was a very friendly Australian man of Indian descent living in Berlin, and we had a really enjoyable conversation about everything from food, to travel, to politics to animals, to language and round again. It was really cool to do the whole, make a friend while traveling thing. After a few rounds of food (octopus, this delicious potato thing with eggs, anchovies, peppers, steak, tomato bread, mushrooms, pasta) and a healthy serving of cava, we made friends with an older English gentleman at the table next to us. Robert was an absolute delight, so we asked him to join our little group. We spent the next hour or so chatting, swapping stories, learning a bit about each other, and of course having some more cava. We talked again about politics, cool places we’ve traveled, dentistry (Robert complimented us on our lovely teeth, and guessed we were in our early 20s), what we’re studying, our desire to live abroad again, how to do a proper accent, and more. It was just absolutely lovely, and definitely the perfect way to cap off our trip. Genuinely, I can’t express how nice it was to pass a few hours with these two, but it was the perfect way to cap off our trip. I wish I had grabbed their contact information, but sadly we realized we were running late to catch our flight, so we had to make do with a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Robert. 

Barcelona was amazing, and Christina, as with all previous trips, was a fantastic travel buddy. We ate great food, saw some amazing sights, and met some really great people along the way. It’s sad that there’s only two weeks left, but I’ve definitely made some great memories along the way (and I think there’s still going to be a few more to come)! Can’t wait to visit Barcelona again someday! 

[kfrinhamburg]

Well after a fulfilling week of classes and celebrating Thanksgiving with my friends (we did in fact cook the turkey, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, gravy and pies all from scratch), I finally decided to make it to the capital of the country I’ve been living in for the past few months. 

I decided, given that it’s only a 1.5 hour train ride away, I was just going to make a day trip to the city, and avoid having to pay for a hotel when my own bed was such a quick ride away. I woke up early on Friday morning (of last week), and hopped on the train. I ended up in a cabin with 5 Germans, so I only vaguely understood what they were saying to one another, but I did get through the trip without giving my non-German speaking self away. At this point, it’s a game my friends and I like to play, seeing simply how far we can get interacting only in German before we have to ask the speaker to swap to English. 

I started the day off walking, and boy did I walk across this city. At the end of the day I walked about 43,000 steps (which is something like 17 miles!). I did not set out in an attempt to do this, but when I could walk and have it be about 7 minutes slower than public transit, walking always felt like the better option. This post is also going to be more just what I did and less history, as this was mainly a self-guided tour of the city. I went in with an idea of the main locations I needed to hit and just set off. My first stop was to get my free reservation to visit the Bundestag, the seat of the German Parliament. It’s super cool, and all you have to do is have a form of identification (at least for an American citizen). They give you a time to return and then you’re able to enjoy the experience, but I’ll get to that later. 

In order to fill the time until my spot opened up (4:45), I walked over the the Brandenburg Gate. I think many of you are familiar with the image of this gate, which effectively represented the divided Germany, and again since this was me giving myself a tour, I won’t go into crazy details. From the gate I made my way to Checkpoint Charlie, which is the most famed of the checkpoints between East and West Germany, and is so named for the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha (A), Bravo (B), Charlie (C)). The reason it’s so famous, is that this was the only spot that foreigners could cross between the East and West. The area is now quite touristy (but since I’m a tourist I didn’t mind), and while I enjoyed seeing it, I didn’t spend too much time here. I took a few photos, and read some things about the divide and some of the attempts to escape the East. From here I attempted to make my way to the DDR museum, but after walking the wrong way, and rerouting, I happened upon the first of the Christmas markets I visited at Gendarmenmarkt. I grabbed a quick Thuringer sausage for lunch and found a free museum on the history of German Parliament. This was, unfortunately, only in German, with some pamphlets in other languages scattered about. But I did get a cute comic on the government, and was able to admire some of the exhibits. The pamphlets explained a great deal about the different phases of the government, and overall it was really interesting, They even had a replica of the chambers of the Bundestag. I wandered back through the market, and resolved to find the DDR museum. 

The museum is located just on the other side of the river of the Berlin Dom (Cathedral) located on Museum Island. Museum Island hold a complex of just really incredible museums with incredibly rich stores of artifacts and history. I was not in the city long enough to experience them all, but someday I hope to go back, even if just to see the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and Nefertiti’s Bust! I was distracted on my quest to the DDR museum, and decided to take the tour of the Berlin Dom. It was definitely worth it. I absolutely love exploring the grand churches of Europe. The scale of these is just really beyond anything we have in the US. So I spent about an hour exploring, and climbing through the church, and as is my habit at any churches I have visited, I lit a candle for those loved ones we have lost. The views from the rooftop were really cool, and I got to enjoy the full 360 view of Berlin. The crypt below also houses many of the former royals of Germany. It was kind of wild to see all the coffins laid out across the basement of the building, and it really did contain a ton of fascinating history. 

After the few detours, I finally made my way to the DDR museum. You may be thinking, dance dance revolution, but in fact this is a museum dedicated to exploring what life was like in East Germany (or Deutsche Demokratische Republik) during separation. The museum itself is highly interactive, you can watch films, listen to audio, turn cranks, press buttons, simulate driving the car of the era, use typewriters, sit in at an interrogation, and more. The museum does a great job of showing what the world was like for the people living under the socialist regime. You are able to understand what day to day life looked like for these people by looking at their food, clothing, toys. The museum describes a day at school, the importance of sports (to the point that many kids were doped to increase their performance), their leisure time, voting, and the fear and oppression and want that permeated much of the population. The coolest thing there (and the main reason I wanted to visit) is that the museum houses a life sized model of an apartment from the time. You’re able to look and touch everything. Tidbits of information are hidden in drawers, and a touch screen was in the fridge! There was a propaganda video in the washing machine, and you could even tune the tv into programs aired in that era. It was kind of wild to step into a world like that. This museum was 100% worth the visit and I would highly recommend to anyone interested in Cold War Era history. 

From here I made my way to my appointment to visit the parliament. The tour took us up into the dome that rests on top of the building, and comes with an audioguide that can sense your location in the room (even how high up on the ramp you are) and discusses points of interest you can see from there. Since this post is already crazy long, I won’t go into too much detail. It was absolutely fascinating, and there was even a session happening that we could see through the glass paneling down into the chambers of parliament! 

My last major stop on the checklist was to see the Wall Memorial. I stopped to charge up my phone a bit and get some tea, and then headed to the Memorial. I was not here super long, because it had gotten darker and rainy, but it was really something wild to behold. Imagining the wall in tact and the people trying to run to escape to the West stopped me in my tracks. The modern history of Berlin is just so very present in the city, and as far as I experienced, they do a really good job of acknowledging the hardship and calling out the atrocities that occurred within their borders. Of course it’s not perfect, but it is something that’s very present in the city. 

I spent my last few hours wandering around the various Christmas Markets, which basically means I just looked to see what food I wanted to eat and tried a bunch of different things...well one or two things. By the time I visited my 4th market of the day, it was about 9:30, and time to head back towards the central station to catch my bus.Berlin was so very different than what I was expecting. Berlin has a very unique feel that no other city I’ve been too has come close to. There’s something very strange about seeing only post-war architecture; it has all the feel of an old city with everything being slightly too new. The history is also very troubled, and there are markers of that all throughout the city (and believe me I’ve walked a heck of a lot of it so I know). Overall though, this city is definitely a must do if you have any interest in coming to Germany. I only spent one day here, and there is so much left for me to explore, but I do feel like the day was very well spent, and I’m really glad I was able to hit all the major touristy things. I did however, barely move the next day because my poor legs were protesting so much. 

This weekend is my last trip; I’ll be in Barcelona! I can’t believe this is all coming to an end. I’m hoping to post the rundown of my Barcelona trip right when I get back, and then I will hopefully give you some tidbits about the less exciting parts of my life these last few months, when I explored Hamburg, and what I did when I was in school or hanging around with my friends. 

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Just in case you want to see the cat follow me around for a bit. She was very needy, but I have to say I really enjoyed the love (even if it was only because she thought I had food). 

[kfrinhamburg]

Athens continued

Day two in Greece started off pretty rainy, though not bad enough that we needed an umbrella. We headed out to explore and visit some of the other sites included on our all access pass. Our first stop back around the other side of the Acropolis to the Arch of Hadrian (Hadrian’s Gate). Although now it’s just an arch it once was the gateway to an ancient road that spanned the length of the city. We were highly amused by the inscriptions; one side state “this is Athens the ancient city of Theseus” while the other says “this is the city of Hadrian, and not of Theseus”. I just like that they had to label it “not Athens”. I believe, however, the point was to show that the once divided city was now united due to the might of Emperor Hadrian. The arch itself is impressive and quite Roman in feeling (made to look like a triumphal arch). From here a quick walk led us to our second stop the Temple of Olympian Zues. 

This is a simply massive structure, although of the original 104 columns, only 15 remain standing, with one lying as it fell after a storm in 1852. I actually really loved seeing this column laid out as you could see the almost domino effect and the stacked pieces of marble. It also is just mind boggling to imagine the structure as it once was, and to try and understand just how old it is. Construction began somewhere in 520 BC (!) but due to changes in government (tyranny made way for democracy)  the building wasn’t completed until something like the 2nd century AD after a few attempts to begin it again. Imagine, over 630 years passed between the start and finish of this project! This meant, that the Romans were heavily involved in the project, including the massive statute of Zeus as well as Hadrian himself. Eventually, invasions caused the temple to go into disuse and in particular Christian emperor Theodosius II banned the worship of the gods. This led to years of removal of the pieces of stone to build elsewhere, hence the missing 88 columns. I really enjoyed walking around the foundation and just soaking in the history of the place. 

We continued on and went to the Acropolis Museum. Thanks to our handy EU student cards, we got in for free! A lot of the facts I told you yesterday, I learned at this museum. To put it simply, this is an incredible display of Grecian artifacts, from pottery and coins from daily life to the adornments to the Acropolis (statutes to metopes and pediments). The museum does a great job of telling the ancient history of Greece, and showing you what the full glory of the Parthenon was meant to look like. We spent a number of hours here and only left because we were so hungry. If you ever make it to Athens, I cannot recommend this stop highly enough! 

We stopped for a leisurely lunch at a nearby favorite, Liondi Traditional Greek Restaurant. We got the greek sampler as well as baba ganoush and the most delicious tzatziki I have ever eaten. It was a huge amount of food, and we definitely couldn’t finish it all, but it was not for lack of enjoyment. I swear everything I ate in this country was absolutely incredible! Even the fancy meals were about the standard price of a regular meal in Germany or back home, which I still can’t wrap my hear around! Full to the brim we made our way out to the Lyceum aka Aristotle’s Lyceum (school). Unfortunately, after winding our way through the streets of Athens, we learned that the area was closed. It did make a little bit of sense as we’d seen a large number of police vehicles. As we wandered back towards the hotel for a recharge before the evening, we came across more and more police blockades and officers in riot gear. We were not too concerned, though we were a bit wary and decided to make our way back and not linger. Eventually, we came up on the largest contingent of officers, and heard shouting as many hundreds of Greeks shouting (something I didn’t understand) made their way up the street. Everything was completely fine, and we didn’t find ourselves threatened or really uncomfortable at all, but we made sure to head the other direction. After consulting a friend who is Greek (as in her parents immigrated to America), we learned that this is an annual march to commemorate the Athens Polytechnic uprising of 1973. Students at Athens Polytechnic went on strike to protest against the military regime, but on the morning of November 17, 1973, the government crashed a tank through the gates of the school which then led to around 24 deaths, though no students by official account. While super interesting in the abstract, it was definitely not something I wanted to participate in. 

Instead we stopped into a nearby church and heard the start of some sort of service. Although we both would have liked to stay because it was very interesting, the incense was a bit too strong for us both. After a little bit of shopping, we stopped to freshen up in the hotel and to relax before another fantastic dinner with a beautiful backdrop of the Acropolis. 

Our last morning was an absolute downpour, but we were determined to explore the Ancient Agora before our flight. While we ended up absolutely soaking wet, the experience was well worth it! The agora is rich with history and ruins, but most incredible of all is the fantastically preserved Temple of Hephaestus. The whole area was the beating heart of the ancient city. From administrative and judicial, to religious and social the agora held it all. An ancient road led up to the Acropolis, and it was also the site of the start of the annual procession up to honor the goddess. This road was also where the chariot racing events took place that was depicted on the Parthenon. But what is really wild is that the competitors were supposed to jump off the moving chariot and jump back on (which I imagine often resulted in serious injury or death). This site housed an ancient gymnasium, a number of different administrative buildings, and was the site of theaters and bulletins. I honestly cannot easily explain everything that I read and everything that’s there so this is a link if you’re interested in learning more. But ignoring the beautiful and ancient history, I made friends with one of the many cats that live around the city of Athens. It came up crying and (probably believing I had food) followed me around for about 5 minutes before it decided the rain wasn’t worth it if I didn’t give it something to eat. 

After heading back and changing, we sadly had to leave this beautiful city behind. I cannot express how utterly amazing it was to see this place in person. The history of Greece is something I had learned about and thought was fascinating ever since I was young, and to experience it in person was really something else. I’m so grateful I was able to take this trip, and that I had a friend who was equally excited and ready to geek out and read every single sign they had. Athens is a fantastic city, and I really think everyone should get out there someday; I personally can’t wait to go back!

[kfrinhamburg]

I finally made it to Athens! After Bordeaux, I had one 12-hour class day, and on that Friday hopped back on a plane to the beautiful country of Greece. This was with the same friend who went to Bordeaux, and we were both ready for the ancient history (and cheap food) the city had to offer. And let me just say, Greece did not disappoint. Over the course of the trip I did not eat anything that I didn’t enjoy; literally everything was the best version of that food I’d ever had. We also stayed at a nice hotel right in the middle of all the action, so it was less than a 12 minute walk to the Acropolis and everything else was just around the corner. We arrived Friday afternoon and decided to check, grab some food, and head up to the Parthenon, in part because the rest of the weekend was supposed to be super rainy. We purchased a ticket that let us into a few of the different historical sights, and started the hike up, even though this was wonderfully mild compared to the monster hike in the Alps. 

I don’t think I need to go into the history of Athens and the Acropolis, but there is such a rich and colorful past to everything there. It’s kind of incredible to stand on top of the Acropolis and look out at the city to see the blend of modern and ancient. Many of the structures there have foundations in BC years (Athens has been continuously inhabited for something like 7000 years, maybe more), and it’s almost impossible for me to fathom how something can be that old. Athens survived occupations from Spartans, Persians, Romans, Franks, Ottomans, Italians. These temples and buildings are nowhere near their former glory, after bombing, looting, and the wear and tear of time, but they are still awe-inspiring. Athens is the birthplace of democracy! Of art and culture and maths and science that we still read, watch, and perform today. Needless to say I was really geeking out at the majesty of it all.

A little history because you can’t escape it entirely. The Parthenon itself is of course the symbol of the Athens, and really Western civilization. The structure sits on top of the Acropolis, which is dedicated to the patron goddess of the city, Athena. As the mythology goes, Athena and Poseidon competed to gain patronage of the city. Although the intense debate almost led to war between the god and goddess, Athena in her infinite wisdom decided to hold a contest in which the two would each offer a gift to the people of the city, to be judged by King Cecrops (a man who is also part snake). Poseidon began by striking his spear into the ground to produce a burst of water, but the water was salty, and thus could not be used as the people needed. Athena chose to plant an olive tree, and won as the tree could be used for food, oil, boats and houses. She obviously won. Construction began in 447 BC, and this story would eventually adorn one of the pediments (The large triangular portion). The other pediment depicted the birth of Athena (from Zeus’s head after eating her pregnant mother (because Greek mythology is often violent and disturbing)). The Parthenon bears many of the scars of the occupations and sacking of Athens, and these only exist in fragmented form in the Acropolis Museum, though they do have some fantastic reconstructions. The Acropolis was once the site of an annual procession with a special procession every 4 years (Panathenaic procession) where the people would offer gifts and sacrifices to honor the goddess. This became the inspiration for the frieze running around the entire structure. The middle section, was covered by metopes which depicted Gigantomachy (battle between the gods and the Giants), the sacking of Troy, Centauromachy (where a centaurs were invited to a Lapith wedding, got really drunk, and started stealing women and attacking), and the Amazonomachy (where the gods battled the Amazonian warriors). Inside was a massive sculpture (37+ feet tall) of the goddess, created of olive wood and adorned by ivory and gold, after she won in combat (besides being the goddess of wisdom, she was also the goddess of war). She is said to have held Nike (winged goddess of victory), a shield, her spear, and was helmeted. She also wore the head of medusa on her breast plate after being gifted it Perseus. The statute has sadly been lost to time and looting, but there are a number of smaller copies and representations to give you an idea of what it might have looked like. One thing that I always find shocking, is that few of these sculptures (including the ones directly on the building) were actually white. Although we think of Greek (and Roman) artwork as plain marble, during the actual time of use, these items would have been painted in blues, reds, whites, and yellows. The Greeks preferred bright colors and painted intricate patterns, and its super cool to see the recreations of the building as it was meant to be (also at the Acropolis Museum). After reading every sign on the acropolis, admiring all the temples, and taking some pictures, we headed back to the hotel to recharge a little before dinner. Dinner also provided amazing views of the building. We were one of very few diners (again we’re hitting the height of off season) and so got a lot of attention and were able to chat quite a bit with our waiter, who provided us with recommendations for food (which included some amazing cheese, olives, moussaka, risotto, and baclava) and drinks (local wine and Chios Mastiha (which is a delicious palate cleanser that is made from special trees, mastic tree, that only grow on Chios, on a particular part of the island)). We were absolutely stuffed and wandered back happy and exhausted to fall asleep and prep for the next day!

I think I’m going to stop here for now, so next post will be about our second day in Greece!

[kfrinhamburg]

From Ireland, mom returned home, and I hopped on a plane to meet my friend in Bordeaux! This trip, not surprising to anyone that is familiar with wine, was basically for an epic full day wine tour of the region. I didn’t get in until the evening (after some serious flight delays), so I made it just in time for an early (6pm) meal. We had a delicious 3 course meal with a lovely Bordeaux and then went home for an early evening to be ready for the next day. Our tour was on a Tuesday, and we joined a group of 3 couples (1 newlywed Irish couple, an obnoxious Long Island couple, and an adorable Israeli older couple who were in town to visit their granddaughters). We were given an introduction to the region, from the different appellations within Bordeaux, as well as the wider varietals found around France. We were next treated to a variety of different blends to start to get a feel for how to taste and what we actually enjoy drinking. This portion ended with a blind tasting to see if we were able to identify the different wines we tried over the course of the “lesson”. After acing our “test”, Christina and I joined the group continuing on for a lovely light lunch of quiche and salad (and lots of bread!) and more wine, of course. The lunch itself was nice and we got a chance to chat more with our fellow tour mates. The really exciting part of the day, however, was when we actually made our way out to the wineries themselves. Bordeaux is an absolutely beautiful region. The fields are full of grape vines, and because we were slightly off-season, we were really one of the few groups of tourists there! We walked around the old town of St. Emille and were treated to two tours of two different wineries. The people that worked there were super passionate about their blends, the weather was pleasantly warm and sunny, and we were able to enjoy the company of the other wine novices. And of course, we got to enjoy delicious French breads and cheeses! There isn’t really a ton more to say, other than if you’d like a relaxing and informational day, Bordeaux is a great place to whet your appetite for some delicious wines! 

[kfrinhamburg]

Sorry for the additional delay, I just haven’t been feeling up to writing much after classes and whatnot. 

After my crazy week of travel with Spenser, I had to go back to classes. Because I had already taken finals, the return to class brought with it a whole new set of teachers and courses. Shockingly enough, I’m already coming up to the end of this. After that first week, Mom arrived in Hamburg (somewhere ! As the only person who is really going to be able to see Hamburg, I did my best to show her around the city I’ve been living in for the past few months. It’s always fun to have someone to get you to do the touristy things and see parts of the city you don’t get out to. Unfortunately it was too early for the famed German Christmas markets so we had to make do with the town hall (Rathaus) and an old bombed out church, St. Nicholas, that has been left in its blackened states as a reminder of the bombing in Hamburg during the War. 

The next day however, brought us to the Motherland of Ireland! As it was both of our first times in Dublin, and the country generally), we were super excited to explore and enjoy the Green Isle. We had two full days, so prior to arriving we booked some of the highlight options (Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail) Guinness Storehouse tour). Everything worked out super well despite the not entirely pleasant weather. We started off our first day with a fantastic breakfast that was recommended by the Aer Lingus magazine. Like the flight, the food did not disappoint and the atmosphere was really cute. The walls were decorated by local artist’s work (one of which I definitely want to buy but don’t want to pay shipping on) and the food had Turkish flavors (way to go mom on being adventurous!) Because we were already on our way into the city, we walked to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Trinity College itself is a beautifully storied old campus. The cobblestone walkways were passed by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, Jonathan Swift, Edmund Burke, and for the modern reader Niall Horan (of 1D fame). Since we pre-purchased our tickets, we were able to skip the line and get right inside. You may or may not have heard of the Book, but its one of the biggest cultural treasures of Ireland. The exhibit itself discusses some of the other treasured works contained within Trinity, including other medieval manuscripts even older than Kells. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels of the New Testament. The reason it’s so special is it is more highly decorated than other books of the age. The detail of the work is so ornate and detailed and colorful; it’s truly an impressive sight to behold. The exhibit also details the way in which the folios (pages) were put together, from creating the vellum to the ink to the process of crafting the letters. Interspersed throughout were details about the monks lives (how bored they would be at times), poetry they wrote (like Pangur Bán), and just general impressions of medieval Ireland. The exhibit culminates with the Book of Kells itself (which is just really incredible) and the Old Library of Trinity College. The Library is the one of your dreams. It’s lined with over 200,000 books and has a repository of every book published in Ireland and the UK. Overall it was just a really cool experience and a great way to start our exploration. *You should also watch the film The Secret of Kells to get some flavor for the art style and stories surrounding its creation. 

We then hopped on the CitySightseeing Tour Bus to get out to the Old Gaol. This, in my opinion, is a must do if you go to Dublin. The jail has a super rich history mainly surrounding the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. Many of these men (and a few women) were imprisoned and/or executed (either by hanging or firing squad) on the premises. The jail originally was built to only house 900, with the modern idea 1 person per cell. Unfortunately, the jail was not always able to provide the space it needed and during the Famine, as thousands were crammed into the jail for all sorts of offenses from stealing bread to murder. If you don’t know anything about the Revolution or the figures it’s really interesting, but as I can’t get too much into it here, I’ll leave you to your own research. The jail ended with a museum portion which had exhibits all across the history of Ireland, and the role the jail played at various times throughout. 

We continued on with our tour, got some food (including a delicious Bannoffee pie) and hopped back on the bus for a night tour where we were treated to the musings of the incredibly amusing Martin. The man needed no prompts to give a tour, complete with his own laughs and fantastically effusive hand motions. Overall, he was a super enjoyable guide to the city at night. We were pretty tired after wandering all day, so we walked back to the hotel after a little shopping to get ready for the next morning. 

Day 2: We had another delicious breakfast at a Dublin institution, Bewley’s and had an amazingly good scone, croissant, porridge, and the best Chai Latte I’ve ever had. Fueled up and ready to go, we went back to check out Trinity and purchased some special items before making our way out to the Guinness Storehouse to see how the beer is brewed. We spent a good chunk of time here, wandering around, sampling, reading about how things are made. It was just a good time, and we even got to see some really cool rooftop views of the city. After Guinness we hopped back on the bus and heading back to wander around the city some more. We basically just spent the day soaking in the city, seeing the various churches and enjoying the accents. We decided to end the day with a visit to the famed Temple Bar, but when that was way too crowded we wandered into the Merchant’s Arch and were treated to a great meal and amazing live music! We were easily there for 2.5 hours just listening and enjoying the night. After we felt we could no longer extend our stay (and our band was switching out for a new one) we headed back to the hotel for our last night, watched some great British TV (I know Ireland is a separate country, but they do air a lot of BBC channels). 

Overall it was a great trip! Besides being just an awesome country, it was my first time being back in a primarily English-speaking country in 3 months! I can’t wait to get back to Ireland and was so so happy I got to share it with my mom. So thanks mom for making the trip! Can’t wait for the next one!

[kfrinhamburg]

Ah Oslo, I did not think I’d be coming back so soon, or so exhausted. Our last day was really a travel day fueled only on caffeine and sugar (because there was definitely no time for sleep). Our flight took up to an airport about 2 hours away from Oslo central, so after a super early flight a few coffees (for me) and some pastries, we took a train in to central station. Given that Spenser had not been to Norway, and because we were absolutely exhausted, I gave him a slightly random tour of the city. We climbed to the top of the Opera House, saw the fjords (particularly the spot where I jumped in a few weeks back), the palace, and some government buildings. It really is a nice city, and easily walkable (that was really necessary for us as we were dead on our feet)! We got some school bread and tickets for the train. But no! My terrible train luck returned and the train was broken down or something. The staff was simply grouping us together in fours, giving us vouchers, and sending us to find taxis. Spenser and I were matched up with a woman from London and a grandmother from Norway who didn’t speak English. After complaining about the mess, feeling generally confused, and trying to fight our way to the taxi, the grandmother came through (because no one was going to push her out of the way). We all made our flights with more than enough time to spare! 

But even though we were exhausted, and ready for a good full nights sleep, this was of course the part where I had to go back to Hamburg to start my new classes and Spenser had to leave for America. It was an amazing trip, truly the best kind of whirlwind vacation one could have. 

By the time this posts, I will likely be finished with my next trip. Mom is currently here and we’re heading to Dublin tomorrow! I only have one day of classes next week so I’m taking full advantage before a full week of 5 hours of classes per day. Can’t wait to let you know how it all goes!

[kfrinhamburg]

Milan! We were only there for maybe 5 hours of waking time, but it was lovely. I don’t have much to say, but the Duomo is an absolute work of art, the Galleria was remarkably grand. We got the BEST pizza I had in all of Italy (maybe ever?) at Rosso Pomodoro. Oddly enough it’s a chain restaurant that you may have come across in Eatly. But it was a fantastic last meal to have in Italy. We had to get up super early (4am) to catch our final flight to Oslo. 

[kfrinhamburg]

Two households both alike in Dignity... 

And Verona was indeed as fair as Shakespeare described. I absolutely loved this city; I honestly want to move there. The sun was shining, the food was great (and not very expensive), and it was everything you’d imagine a northern Italian city to be. We got in by train around 8, just in time for dinner. We wandered around the streets that looked more like alleys and happened upon a place with open seats and live music. The bartender was really friendly, and without seeing a menu (or prices) we ordered a pumpkin porcini lasagne, and some sort of pasta that was delicious as well as two glasses of local red wine. The food was amazing, and I was very pleased, though nervous about the bill. But we enjoyed the atmosphere, and were pleasantly surprised to find the whole thing cost less than 20 Euro! The next morning we got up to get an Italian breakfast of pastry and a cappuccino and visit the sites. I included a picture of the bakery because it was just so good. Spenser got some ricotta pastry and I got a blueberry croissant, and it was absolute perfection to the point that we got some extras to go! 

We accidentally happened upon Romeo’s House and from there made our way to Juliet’s. Now you may be thinking, they were not real people, how do they have actual houses. Well for Juliet “The house was bought from the Cappello family by the city of Verona in 1905, and the similarity of their name to Capulet (Juliet's surname in the famous play) resulted in the city burgher's declaring that it was 'Juliet's House' and so the famous tourist attraction was created.” From here a team of Juliet’s answer the Letters to Juliet, and you can go out on her balcony or touch the statue’s right breast to help find your true love (we did neither, but I’m amused by it). Romeo’s House, on the other hand, appears to just be a name for tourists. It’s currently a private house and can’t be toured, but there is a plaque outside “Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo”. Juliet also has a tomb in the city, but given that she is not real Spenser and I didn’t make the trek out there. Instead we walked up to the top of the Castel San Pietro to get the beautiful panoramic views of the city. I cannot more highly recommend this city. We went inside the Basilica di Santa Anastasia which was really three church areas, and it was just as beautiful as the others. Sadly, we didn’t have very much time left until we had to head out to Milan to catch our last flight. We had another amazing lunch at an old church that had been converted into a restaurant. I loved everything about the city, and I was sad to leave, but I was excited to get to see the famed Duomo of Milan! 

[kfrinhamburg]

Glass horse in a minute in Murano!

[kfrinhamburg]

Murano, Burano, and Torcello. We took a lovely half day tour which took us to these three islands, known for their glass-making, lace-making and Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta a church with Venetian-Byzantine mosaics respectively. On Murano we were treated to a glass-making demonstration of a bulb and a horse. I’ll post the video next, because it was absolutely incredible how nonchalant and skilled these masters were. Next we sailed over to Burano, the lace-making island. This island is also know for its colorful houses. It’s said that this was to help fishermen find their way home after a long time out at sea. Each house is meant to be a different color to represent the different families that lived there. We were able to see a woman making lace the old-fashioned way, and of course got a little gelato. Even in the rain, the island was absolutely adorable. Lastly we went to Torcello, which used to be a large hub of the area, but is now only home to 11 residents. Even still, the area was buzzing with visitors to the church, taking pictures of the so-called “Devil’s Bridge” and Atilla’s Throne (that likely doesn’t actually have anything to do with the Hun himself).  We went back to St. Mark’s at actually got to go in the Basilica (as it wasn’t underwater anymore). Again, just WOW. The amount of work and opulence and just everything that has been poured into that church over the centuries is incredible. The museum upstairs is worth a visit to get a closer look at the mosaics and textiles, and just generally get a better view of the square from above. It was really something special. We got a late lunch and caught the train out to Verona. Venice was really something special, but I was definitely happy to throw my soaked shoes away and head to drier land.  

[kfrinhamburg]

After the lovely day of hiking in the national park, we drove another three hours (on genuinely the most terrifying road I’ve driven on, though Spenser handled it like a pro) to the city of Rijeka where we dropped off the car with an extremely Croatian man (although we scheduled the drop-off at 8 and arrived about 15 minutes early, he told us he stopped working at 8 so he couldn’t meet us where he was supposed to, and we had to drive to a random supermarket to meet him). We spent the night before boarding a bus to Trieste, Italy via Slovenia (my second passport stamp!). At Trieste we boarded the train to Venice, and my first trip to Italy officially started.

Sadly for us, Venice was a bit underwater. Apparently winds off the Aegean blew the water up to the highest levels in a decade. The day before we arrived, water in St. Mark’s Square was at least waist-high. When we got off the train, there were platforms set up and a thin layer of water covering the ground, but still it was beautiful. There’s just something so old and romantic isn’t exactly the word I want but it’s the best I have, about the city that you just know you’ve stepped into something unique. There is nowhere else in the world like it. Since the history of the city is well beyond my capacity to discuss, I’ll leave that to your own research.

At this point in this trip I was pretty darn exhausted. Lots of early mornings and very long distances had been travelled in the last 5 days. However, I was super ready for some delicious Italian food, aka carbs on carbs on carbs, with a lovely side of carbs and some delicious gelato to finish it all off. So we struck out after dropping our things at the hotel to find some pasta and perhaps pizza. Spenser was also ready to test out his Italian, after a few years out of practice since he studied in Rome. Happily for us, he did quite well! We got a delicious meal on the canal and watched the water slowly overtake the sidewalk, which was a bit upsetting, but we’d accepted we were going to soak our shoes. Of course, we had waded through some puddles to get to the restaurant, so it’s not like we were dry anyway. Happily fed, we wandered back into the streets, laughing to ourselves about the plastic boot covers everyone seemed to be buying (though apparently they were really effective). We booked a tour for the next morning for the three nearby islands (Murano, Burano, and Torcello) and then headed to the glass museum on Murano. The ride across the Venetian lagoon was a bit misty, but nice and we came to the lovely little island known for its glass-making. We went to the museum, and it was really cool to see all the old methods of glassmaking, how they get the different colors and whatnot. By the time we left we were absolutely exhausted/starving. We walked through St. Marks at night, and just WOW. I know it’s touristy and everything, but it’s just absolutely beautiful, even though we weren’t able to go inside as of yet. We walked from there to the Rialto Bridge, eating gelato and ended up getting a meal at a random place somewhere along the way. After dinner we walked back to the hotel, through the canal lined streets and took a much deserved sleep.

[kfrinhamburg]

Sadly, we had to move on from our time in Split. On Halloween morning, we got some groceries, jumped into the car and started the 3(ish) hour drive to Plitvička jezera (Lakes) National Park. The drive there was actually really beautiful. Croatia is surrounded by mountains, so we had some lovely views of canyons and hills and tiny little towns. I couldn’t help but wonder what these people do, out in the middle of nowhere, with only 4 or 5 buildings in the whole village. We drove past one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones (Klis, Croatia was one of the places used for the outside of Meereen), and through a number of fairly terrifying switchback mountain roads before finally arriving at one of the most beautiful parks I’ve ever seen. 

The park itself isn’t actually hard to hike, although you can do much longer paths. But it was absolutely beautiful, and I think I’ll more or less just let the pictures speak for themselves with just a little bit of fun facts. The park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia, and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. The park is a protected area that is somewhere around 73,350 acres. The lakes in the area are the result of small rivers and so-called “karst” rivers, which are subterranean rivers that just kind of pop up above the ground. The really amazing part of this park are the natural travertine dams, which start from bacteria, moss, algae and other things. The barriers lead to the bizarre result where on your left the water would be touching the bridge and on the right there’d be a steep drop off in water level (but not really a waterfall or anything). It was just a really nice day of walking around and seeing beautiful water which was just the most beautiful cerulean shade (something to do with the minerals in the water). So yeah, after that I’ll leave you to the pictures, and I highly encourage you to make the visit someday if you can! 

[kfrinhamburg]

Split is the second-largest city in Croatia, with somewhere around 200,000 people. It also has a very ancient history that was easy to feel when wandering the tiny streets and visiting the old town. The old town itself is centered around Diocletian’s Palace, a Roman Emperor from the year 300 or so, and the palace is one of the best preserved Roman remains in the world. Diocletian intended for the palace to be his retirement home because apparently across the ages Split has been seen as the place to live out the remainder of your days. However, the palace is more like a fortress with grand courtyards, and pieces taken from different areas of Roman conquest, including some Sphinxes from Egypt (tiny ones though). The old town is now home to shops and homes themselves, and has been that way for a very long time, since the 7th century when refugees flooded the fortress to escape invaders. The area is surrounded by a wall which you enter through one of four gates the eastern gate (the Silver Gate), western gate (the Iron Gates), northern gate (the Golden Gate), and southern gate (the Brass Gate). However, despite their lofty names, they are not actually made of the metals they’re named for. The central courtyard leads to Jupiter’s Temple, underground vaults (that were formerly for torture but now house flea market esque stalls) and the Cathedral of St. Dominus. 

We took our car for a little jaunt out to the mountains and canyons of Omis early in the morning. Sadly, because we arrived late in the season, the fancy restaurant on a hard to traverse mountain road we drove up to was closed. We then drove out to the canyon area and looked around a little. While there we found a rock that was shaped like a heart (adorable I know). We then went to the beach (which was much more rocky than I thought it would be) and enjoyed the sunset over the water and a nice little stroll. It was really a beautiful sight. After all that, we wandered around the old city and got a great dinner, and just generally enjoyed the sights. I definitely would be happy to go back someday. 

Some random takeaways: As the first Mediterranean location I visited, I was super pleased with the weather, and the cheap price of basically everything. There were also a ton of cats everywhere, which also made me very happy. Our hotel was absolutely lovely, we got a huge haul of groceries for less than 10 euro (although they use the Kuna as they are part of the EU, but not the Schengen Zone), and a very large seafood dinner was also about 25 euro for two. I was also very excited to get my first stamp in my passport since arriving in Iceland! Although the ease of travel between the EU countries is fantastic, I have been a little sad that I haven’t gotten any stamps since my arrival, but now I’ve added Croatia and Slovenia (because we passed through to get to Italy!).