Days 68-70

Friday we arrived in Berlin. We also had the luxuary of experiencing an hour late train! it wasn't so bad waiting for the train with someone but it's getting so cold in Deutschland!!
Once we arrived our politics professor Herr Mattis met us at the trainstation and took us to where we would spend our next 10 nights. It used to be an old girl scouts home and it was turned into a seminar house slash hotel? I'm not really sure.
From there we had a small lecture and went straight to meet our "tour guide" Maria who would be showing us around the city during most of our excursion. I ate a pigs leg which I will never eat again. It was so fatty and salty I wanted to eat a salad the next day and chew on carrots.
Su and I were so tired that we just went to bed after dinner. For Saturday Maria had us walk all around Berlin so that we could get an idea of where we would need to go for the week. Since Su lived in Berlin before and I had been there it wasn't as magicall to see the city like it was the first time but it was still really fun and exciting. Later that night we also had another lecture with Herr Mattis about German government and what we would give our oral presentations on.
Sunday Su and I met Maria in Alexanderplatz so we could go to Potsdam to visit a couple of palaces. First we visited the palace of Fredrick the Great, Schloss Sanssouci. Built in a very rococo style and the fact that he had no kids it was easy to tell Fredrick was pitching for the other team. Our tour guide let us in on his life and how much Fredrick loved his dogs. Like my puppies (sorry mom!) Fredrick allowed his dogs to sit on the couches and sleep in beds like his other guests. His dogs are also laid to rest next to him in the couryard. The courtyard was really pretty but I can't imagine how nice it must look  in spring or summer. There were grapes/berries growing all around (since Fredrick loved wine!) and we helped ourselves to a little snack. to keep with the theme most of the decorating inside the palace had to do with grapes. Fredrick was also a great collector of art and had tons of paintings throughout the palace.

After Sanssouci, we headed to Schloss Celieienhof, the place where the Potsdam conference was held. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Conference
I really liked the palace, it was like a really extravagant cottage. It was really cool to see the pictures of the American president (Franklin D. Roosevelt/Truman) with Stalin and Churchhill. Crazy to think we were all on same terms at one point before the cold war. I didn't really like our tour guide she wasn't as personable as the one at Sanssouci and you could tell she didn't like her job, but she repeated herself a lot whiched helped me understand more about the palace.
We didn't have class today so Su and I went and picked up some groceries. The next day we would head to the DDR Museum, which deserves its own post along with our visit to Check point Charlie!

Tschüß!!!

Day 65-67

Work Work Work. This week was a little hectic. I did some more work on the electronic insurance, finished editing the website, did more translating and got a new project. I also went into Dusseldorf with a collegue to write down more of the company's server hardware and things. There has been a lot to do and a lot to keep me busy. I am really interested in my new project. I have to create a business plan as to how Tourism and Congress can try to reach out to American companies and integrate with the US tourism market for business meetings. This area of business is totally new to me and I really look forward to learning more.
I've been getting close to one of the interns here. Josefine and I go to my place for lunch almost every day since I live only five minutes from where we work. Thursday she took me to Köln to experience some specific Rheinland culture: Karnival!
People dress up like we do for Halloween except the costumes are all funny and creative. I ran into Wilson from Tool Time, saw american football players, tons of cows, pirates and Josefine and I went as and angel and a devil. We went down to an old bar with her boyfriend and her boyfriend's best friend and got right into the celebration. Köln was CRAZY that night. I couldn't believe how many people were out and about! It was a great night. heres some info on Karnival!
http://www.koeln.de/cologne_tourist_information/events/cologne_carnival
On Friday Su and I travel to Berlin for a 10 excursion for our politics class. Should be fun.

Tschüß!

Day 63-64



Facing the entrance from the inside



Sunday started very early. I caught a train from Salzburg to St. Valentine at around 7 in the morning. The ride lasted around an hour or so and brought me to what I felt like was the middle of nowhere. Bad idea on my part to head to a suburban area on a Sunday. Sundays in Germany and Austria are very quiet, most (all) stores are closed and trains don't run as often as they do on weekdays. I was stuck in St. Valentine unless I wanted to take a train that would go way out of my way, lasting an hour (after I waited another hour) or I took a taxi to Mauthausen. I talked to someone who worked at the station and had him call a cab to see how much it was. Heres where I wish my German was a little better. He said it would cost me sieben und zwantzig Euros and I thought 7 Euros and 20 cents.. fail... it was 27 Euros. All the same I got to where I wanted to go. This place was Litterally in the middle of nowhere on the top of huge hill. I was in awe.





I walked in and could not believe how big the camp was.

wailing wall

Right through the gates were numerous placs along what is known as the Wailing Wall. Here prisions got a taste of the brutality to come. They were lined upand chained facing the wall and forced to stand there for hours or even days while being whipped and screamed at.

Though not all of the baracks are still in tack a few still remain for viewing. Inside I saw how the prisoners lived and also some interesting exhibts. I really liked this set up since the baracks mostly were the same, having a few used as informational areas was a great idea. The exhibits talked about stagged suicides from the electric fence that inmates were pushed into or since the fence was unmarked from the inside as electic those who ran to to excape were electricuted.

camp w/ remaining barracks

I was really freaked out inside of the barracks. I was the only one on sight beside a few French visiters. When I was inside the barracks I was all by myself and I heard the creaking of the wood as if people were still walking around inside. It didn't sound like heavy footsteps and it could've been mistaken for the moaning and grouning of the old wood but it still freaked me out. I felt very uneasy.
  

 



leading to the gas chambers

I walked into every building and got a feel for the camp. There were memorials everywhere. I was still alone and it was so quiet I felt like I was in a ghost town. Though I was really on edge I went into the cremitorium and to the execution rooms as well as the old political prison. 

camp prison

The feelings I had walking through those places are so hard to describe. I felt hollow, scared, angry and hopeless. Seeing the freezer where bodies were stored in heaps, the table where people were cut open.. it all just made me feel so empty towards humanity. It was really creepy to say the least.

close up



I

Outside the execution room I found a memorial commemorating 40 Dutch and 7 Brittish special agents who were captured and put to death in Mauthausen. Their ashes were burried by other prisioners, at the risk of their own lives. Here I felt some comfort towards humanity. It's amazing how terrible things can bring people of different backgrounds together, and the things peopel do for others even after were dead.



Cemetary errected by Americans



I also walked to the old women's quarter where inmates were brutally treated and where the sick were also housed. Here the American troops who liberated the camp dug up mass graves and gave the people a proper burial. this area was closed off but I did feel a sense of peace rather than disturbance.

Past the area where the rest of the barracks used to lay i saw where the ashes were laid from the cremitorium. It's sad to think that the people who died here never get to leave, though there is comfort that no one will forget what happened.



where the ashes were laid





 





 







 








Exhibit showing the death tolls





In the eyes of the liberator

 In the old working courters of the Nazis officals there was a massive exhibit explaining what happened at Mauthausen and its history. There were tons of pictures and many different perspectives were shown. There was a piece written by one of the generals of the US army who explained what he saw when he arrived at the camp as well as a piece that showed who was directly involved in the murders at Mauthausen.


Exhibit



Murderers are looking at You

After walking through the exhibit I walked down towards the quary where the inmates were forced to lift 5 kilo stones up and down very trecerous steps.  Along the way there were very large monuments errected by all nationalities for those who were in the camp.



memorials



 It took me so long to get to the steps i remember looking at the scenery thinking how could something so ugly happen in such a beautiful place. When I came up to the edge of the quary I was speachless. the area was unbelievable. I kept wondering and picturing what it must have looked like when during the war. I guess that's a little selfish of me to wish that some of these places were like they were during the war. Most of the camps were used by the soviets as prisioner camps after the liberation so they were changed right away and as I rationalized if it was left alone it would almost be a monument to the Nazis and Hitler's work rather than for the inmates.

Quary

I walked down the stairs with my backpack and was exhausted!! I can't even imagine walking up and down them having nothing to eat with huge stones on my back! Unbelievable to think what the human body can endure. To the left of the Quary picture was the parachute cliff. Here many suicides were staged as the guards would push inmates over the cliff walking to and from the quary. The picture below shows the cliff.







Parachuter's cliff, where inmates were pushed over





 My visit to Mauthausen was very powerful. For once I felt filled with the information shared at the camps and annoyed that I wasn't so surprised by the things I read, as I did when this topic was new to me. I think I'm starting to take a different approach to this topic and so far my interest has lead me on a very interesting path I wonder where this new turn will take me.

















 



After visiting Mauthausen I needed to figure out how to get back to the train station to get home. I would be taking another night train, which I wasn't really looking forward to. I didn't want to take a taxi so I walked down the mountain through a ghost town of a suburb and tried to get to the train station. I got lost several times and was really worried I would miss my train but luckily I gave myself more than 2 hours to find my way.  I walked along the Danube River and finally made my way back to a train station only to find that no one was there for another hour. I waited and waited and finally another traveler showed up and he helped me find my way and by his suggestion I bought a ticket to Linz rather than head back to St. Valentine since I had to change trains there any way. I made it to Linz with an hour or so to spare. Once on the train I realized that I needed to change trains in Hannover but the train I was on went to Frankfurt. A fellow passenger and I tried to see if I could get off at another stop instead of heading in the opposite direction of where I needed to go but I didn't have any luck and followed my train route as scheduled.

Monday I arrived and spent the rest of the day catching up on some much needed sleep. I changed trains 4 times that night after doing some major hiking. I guess you can say it was a very full weekend.

Tschüß!!



Day 62

Finally arrived in Salzburg at around 9 in the morning. boy oh boy was that a hectic journey.  You can see from my train ticket how crazy the night travel is. I also ran into a small problem between Munich and Salzburg where I had to swtich trains take a bus and then get on another train which (as u can tell is NOT written on the ticket). Luckily I asked some fellow travelers and got on the right track, which made me feel really grateful that I knew German!

After that little mess up and lack of sleep I hurried off to find my hostel and hopefully grab a quick nap. Unfortunatly for me check in is at 12 not 9 so I failed to get a little shut eye. Instead I paid for a locker in the hostel, locked up most of my things and then figured out how I was going to tour the city. (TIP: In most major cities they offer a welcome card for around 20 or so euros that includes local transport and every museum in the city for 24 hours. Perfect if you just plan on spending the day in the city!!)http://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/salzburg_card/

 I bought one of these welcome cards and ventured off to find Mozart's house, birthplace, a castle, churches and cemetaries, and a couple of museums. If I spent 20 euros I was going to use it to the max!

The first sight was a beautiful cemetary connected to the Church of St. Sesbastian. I wandered around, checking out the dates on the tombstones and crosses and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. In German cemetary is Friedhof, which litterally translated is composed of the words peace = Frieden and yard or court = hof. Cemetaries in Germany aren't as creepy but rather peaceful which probably has to do with the close ties to religon.

Next on the list was Mozarts House. I walked through the house and learned a lot about the composer. Sadly most of the house was destroyed during the war. the city did their best to try and rebuild and create the house. It's so sad to think of all the history that was lost with the war. I guess this ties to the theme that there is more history beyond WWII but WWII left a huge mark on the now and then.
However I think the thing I remember most is the famous candy that shares his name. The Mozart Kugeln (or Balls). http://www.mozartkugeln.biz/

I only bought a couple but they were truly delicous!!

After Mozart I headed into the heart of the city to find some churches and make my way to the castle that over looks the city.

On the way to the city



I walked into the Salzburg Cathedral and was floored by beautiful it was! This is probably one of my favorite churches so far. It was a little to Rococo but still the style and colors, light and details made it an amazing place to be. Not to mention the Cathedral is right next to an open square with a life size chess board and a great view of the castle.

 There was also a small market in the square where I managed to pick up a few gifts for Courtney and Haley. I spent a lot of time in the church, taking my time to look at everything and absorb everything. Afterwards I headed towards the castle and managed to run into another famous cemetary which also had catecombs. (unfortunatly they were closed until next weekend so I just missed them!!)

 The cemetary was called St. Peters Cemetary and was connected to St. Peters church. Its located right underneath the castle and was just as beautiful as St. Sebastians. I think this cemetary was a little bit larger but at the same it was really nice to walk through. Afterwards I used my lovely welcome card to get a "free" ride up to the castle. The view was amazing. Now I understand why Beethoven left Bonn (and Germany) for Austria, the mountains and senary are just gorgeous. The whole time the sound of music was playing in my head.."The hills are alive with the sound of music..."

Pretty lame huh? (thats another big tourist thing in Salzburg. The sound of music was filmed in Salzburg and everywhere you turn there are tours offering to show you where everything was and to point out certain areas for filming and where the actors ate and everything.)

Touring the castle ws pretty cool. I felt like I was walking through Lord of the Rings or something, since the castle was also like a fortress. I got to see strange puppets, an old chapple and even some old bedrooms and stables. Most of the area isn't exactly the same as what it used to be but it was close enough. The view was, once again, incredible. I couldn't help but go into tourist mode and snap shot after shot from every side of the castle.

Afterwards, in my attempts to find Mozart's birthplace, I wandered to a museum dedicated to Austria. At this point I was super tired and just trying to see everything I could with the Welcome card. I walked through the museum pretty fast. I was a little disappointed that most of the museum was closed but also a little thankful since I knew I had to be on my way inorder to see everything on my list. Outside the museum was a lovely statue of Mozart kind've like the one we have in Bonn for Beethoven. Being the tourist that I am I snaped a shot.
From there I ran around trying to find Mozart's birthplace and was having no luck I kept stopping in shops to ask for help but still messed up directions and wandered in circles around the place. At one shop I even made the mistake of asking for Beethoven's birthplace since I'm so used to hearing about Beethoven in Bonn.

After I finally found it I went in, did a tour and got out. I can't believe how tiny the rooms are! There were instruments in the building belonging to Mozart and his sister. I learned that both children were prodigies to music but Mozart's sister was always in her brother's shaddow.

To finish the day I walked through the gardens of the Marcipal Castle. I wish I could see the gardens in spring or summer. It was missing a lot of color due to fall but the leaves surrounding the garden were very pretty. There were two wedding parties taking pictures in the gardens. It was really cute!
I headed back to the hostel and decided that I would treat myself to an Austrian dinner and enjoy some wine. Only a small problem arrose. I couldn't find anywhere to eat that wouldn't swallow my wallet whole. I walked into a souvonier shop to ask a local where I should go and told him about my issue and he helped solve my wine problem by selling me a 9 Euro bottle of white wine for 5 Euros. He also gave me a Mozart Kugle on the house. ;)
I was so tired that I just decided to head back and go to sleep for the night. Thats when I ran into some kids from the AIB program..
We grabbed some beers at the hostel and actually had an exciting night. I met a guy from the Netherlands who is studying in Munich and a bunch of other people. (TIP: If you are traveling by yourself pick a hostel (using hostel world) that has some good ratings for meeting people and for travelers. You can most likely meet up with other students in your situation and end up having a good time. Just be careful and make sure you lock up all important documents and items in the hostels!!)

The next day I was off to St. Valentine and Mauthausen. This deserves another post! Salzburg was a great experience I did the city in a day with little sleep and managed to have a good night, I almost wish I could have stayed another night!

Tschüß!!!

Day 61

What a busy weekend!!! Salzburg was amazing!! But first I have to talk about class in Köln on Friday, which was also really interesting. :)

Su and I met Hartwig around 10 am to go to an old Gestapo building where prisioners against the state were held (often innocent people).

http://www.museenkoeln.de/ns-dok/default.asp?s=218&tid=134&kontrast=&schrift=

There I met with Frau Dr. Becker-Jàkli, who works at the building( which is now a museum and research center for the National Socialism Time) as a researcher, to discuss my thesis and gain some reading materials. The meeting was truely interesting, I'm learning that the rumors that Germans hate talking about this time is truly rumors. Of course it is a little difficult but there are a lot of Germans who are interested in the time and don't mind sharing their connections (and opinions) to the time to those who are interested. 

I learned a little bit about current work against extreme political parties and working to keeping them out of parliment. Germany's political system is a little comparible to the US  but one major difference is the proportional party system. This means that when the citizens vote they vote for representatives and for parties, the proportion of the parties that are voted for are then allowed (proportionally) into the Bundestag(an excutive branch of the government). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundestag

After the meeting Su, Hartwig and I visited the museum and old prision of the building. It was a really powerful experience. There were inmates from all over Europe.. French, Russian, German, Polish and both men and women. All over the walls there were little inscriptions from what people would write during their captivity. 40 or more people were crowded into tiny cement cells and treated with terrible brutatity. There were also over 400 executions that took place int he buildings courtyard. Two stories that interested me involved a French woman who was put under arrest while she was pregnant and a Russian man who actually managed to escape. The French woman gave birth to a baby girl while being held in the prision and had her baby taken from her and given to a nunnary. Her inscription on the wall of her cell talked about how she would not give up to the temptations of death because of her little girl. 

Give me 5 years and you will not recognize Germany again. -Hitler and a memeber of the US Army 



The Russian man fell in love with another inmate in the prision and managed to escape without her through a break in the ceilling in the boiler room. He was never recaptured and the woman he fell in love with survived and was released from the prision. The two ended up getting married and lived a long life.



Cell

After touring the prision we headed upstairs and walked through the vast museum. I was truly impressed with how it was put together. There were all sorts of artifacts from the Nazis and tons of photos and information everywhere. They even displayed a timeline on the ground to show how things progressed through each exhibit leading to the liberation. This museum was specifically devoted to the wars effect on Köln and its citizens which was truly amazing to see so much history in one place. We mostly think of the Holocaust in a big group of Germany and Europe but to see it broken down in so much detail for 1 city was truly astounding.

Door leading to Executions

Film posters



Propoganda



Book with names of lost  Köln Jewish citizens



Art which also showed who the figures portrayed



After the museum we went to meet our Art professor at the Köln Cathedral. We spent two hours going through this cathedral and the Church of St. Maria. I had no idea that the Köln Cathedral housed the relic of the Three Wise Men! The Church of St. Maria was very different from the Cathedral but still held its own charm. There we analyzed the differences between a cross in the Cathedral (one of the first human figures after the dark ages) and the cross in St. Maria. I was really taken aback by how violent the cross in St. Maria was portrayed. I had never seen anything like it, it really disturbed me.

After class Su and I grabed a bite to eat and I was left to wait for my train to Salzburg, that left at 10 at night. I traveled the whole night and barely got any sleep but I have stories to tell about Salzburg in the next post!!

 Tschüß!!

Days 58-60

This week I’ve had a ton of work to do.  I’ve started three projects and continued with more translation work. It’s nice to have a place to sit down and work but I think I enjoy the work I do around the office collecting numbers and talking with the other employees. Everyone is very nice to me and helpful.

I was a little frustrated this week because most of the work I did was copying but I understand that it’s all a part of the process.  Next week I will be going to Dusseldorf to take down more information for the insurance project. I’m looking forward to finally closing one project and working on the next.

Tomorrow after class in Köln, I’m headed to Salzburg for a weekend in Austria. I'll arrive on Saturday to check out Salzburg and on Sunday I’ll go to Mauthausen concentration camp. http://en.mauthausen-memorial.at/index_open.php

Should be fun. I’ll give you an update soon, but for now I have to catch my train! J

Tschüß!!!

Night 55 / Days 56-57

What a night!!! We didn’t get home till 5 in the morning!!!!! Ruslan and I met Tara and Bri at the train station in Köln around 6/7 and sat on the steps leading to the cathedral while we thought about where to go and I waited to hear from Josephine, a fellow intern. When she met us Ruslan and I left Tara and Bri and wandered with Josephine and her boyfriend and friends to go play some foosball.  It was a lot of fun and nice to get a German perspective of having fun. J

We then met up with Tara and Bri to go find a dance club. Ruslan took us to Diamonds, a very ritzy club. It was interesting but not our style. We stayed since we paid 10 Euros to get in. Afterwards we wandered and heard something about a place called gold finger, finger gold, finger place? Lol. When we finally found it we went crazy and danced the night away. It was a great night, in a great city.

Sunday was spent lounging around, cleaning and getting ready to celebrate Halloween. J We started in my room and from there went out to clubs. I called it an early night since I was exhausted from all of the excitement of the weekend. Monday I didn’t have class so I did some grocery shopping and spent the day in my room.

Tomorrow is another work day. J

Tschüß!!

Day 53-55: AMSTERDAM!!

What a trip! I need to get my things together! Though a couple of mishaps occurred I couldn’t be happier with my trip.

One thing that’s great about taking a later train is that it’s easier to meet people, since a lot of people are either travelers or heading home, like the two Hollanders I met. Both were engineers (or on the way to becoming one) and had internships in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. It was nice to have someone to talk to on the ride but little did I know it would be the guys sitting next to us that I would end up hanging out with.  Rick and Jeroen, are two upcoming business men who just finished a conference in Köln and they offered to show me some of the night scene in Amsterdam. I was so excited since I thought I was going to miss out and just go to bed that night.

This is when my first problem occurred. Since we were going out I decided to try and get some money out. (Tip! Its best to get money out at the main train station if you are using an American card because it’ll be harder to find an international ATM in the middle of the city.) This ATM took my card from me because I falsely entered my pin number. X(

That didn’t stop me from heading out with Rick and Jeroen, I took down the ATM’s phone number and continued on. First I checked into my hostel, which was right around the corner from the Red Light District (which made it easily accessible to the train station and most of the sights in Amsterdam.  (Tip! Use Hostel world for your bookings I saved money on a cheap bed and got a great location! Also if there aren’t lockers do NOT leave your things in the hostel take them with you! So pack light!!) From there we walked deep into the city to a bar where most tourists don’t happen to catch that was filled with Dutch students. I hit the jackpot.

I can’t believe how lucky I was to have met these guys. For one they took me around the city, to an amazing bar, and bought us some drinks and for two networking! I got really lucky that I didn’t miss out on the nightlife in Amsterdam because that city comes alive at night better than Vegas.

We stayed out until closing time and were literally pushed out of the bar.  Our trek back was a fun one, as we walked through the red light district all I kept noticing was the gaggles of swans in the canal! There were so many! The guys took the time to tell me about the city and how if you look closely you can see that the buildings are leaning forward due to the foundation. The city is below sea level and is literally built on water.

They took me back to my hostel and headed on their way, but they did take the time to give me their business cards, so maybe we’ll see each other again some day.

As I stumble into the hostel at 3-4 in the morning I remember about my card, how I have to wake up in 3 hours to head to the Anne Frank house and that I still need to print my train ticket (since I suck and left them in my room in my rush to catch the train). I set my alarm and hoped tomorrow wouldn’t prove to be too stressful.

I wake up and hustle to get out into the city.  (Tip! The best resources to a city are the people that live there. J) I ask how to get to the Anne Frank house at the front desk and venture out into the city. It’s so dark that the pictures I take make it look like it’s the middle of the night. I was one of the few on the street and it was awesome.  J

However it was not so awesome when I wasn’t sure where I was going. Haha

Luckily I ran into a woman who worked around the corner from the Anne Frank house and she walked with me to where I needed to go. I was very impressed with how many and how well the Dutch speak English. The woman talked to me about how some Hollanders are still upset about the war and don’t really take much interest with the Germans. I was a little taken aback by this but I can understand why considering how destructive WWII was.

Once I got to the Anne Frank house I waited outside with some other tourists for the museum to open. Thank goodness I got there so early because the line was growing rapidly after I arrived. (When I left the museum it was around the corner of the building and down the street!)

It was really surreal for me to be there. I mean I have waited almost ten years of my life to see this place and to finally be there it was just unbelievable. I was also a little conflicted given that I chose to speak German because (originally) I wanted to read her diary in German but her diary was actually written in Dutch. It made me think about a lot of things and really made me realize how much German had grown on me and added to this reoccurring theme that there is more to Germany than the Holocaust and WWII. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures inside of the house but it was really amazing to walk in the hidden rooms and learn more about Anne’s father, Otto Frank, who helped make this museum come to life. I never realized how much work he put into fighting racism and anti-Semitism. I was astonished by how much I had to think about after visiting the house. I spent an hour inside and when I left I realized it was only 10 am and that I had until 7 till my train left.

I decided to try and find the Rijin museum where many Rembrandt and Vermeer paintings are housed. Man was that a hike! I got so lost! No matter how many times I asked for directions I still managed to mess things up. The canals through me off since they are not straight but rather curve like a u in the city. It was around noon when I finally got there and found out that not all of the museum was opened due to some construction. It wasn’t that big of a deal since I still wanted to see what was inside but the price for a ticket was super high (12 Euros!!!).  I went in and spent about another hour touring the exhibits. Once again I wasn’t allowed to take pictures but it was still a really cool museum.

I thought about going to the Van Gough museum but decided it probably wouldn’t be a good idea, since I didn’t know what money I had the card that wasn’t eaten by the ATM. This allowed me to experience the city and just wander around, shopping and enjoying the sights. I took lots of pictures and stopped into tons of shops. No I did not try any brownies or mushrooms, haha. Guess I’ll save that for the next time I visit ;).

I then walked all the way back to the train station to see if I could call the ATM and get my card back. Since this wasn’t possible I had to then call the US and cancel my card and ask for a new one. After all of this calling I was left with no money on my phone, leaving me a little stranded in Amsterdam. (Tip! Put more money on prepaid phones before traveling, there are roaming charges and minutes dwindle quickly!) After the fiasco I found an internet café and printed my train ticket and sent some emails to let my parents know what was going on. (Tip! Always keep at least SOMEONE informed about what you’re doing or where you’re going just in case. (duhhh but still J ) )

I decided if I was going to spend the money I had I was going to spend it on something cultural for the area, and what better than food! J I went into a store dedicated to cheese and bought some 10-year-old cheese. It was actually really good and went perfectly with the bread I brought along. (Tip! Trains aren’t like airplanes; you can bring food and drinks with you to where you travel, which is a good way to save money. It’s also a good idea to carry around a water bottle and refill it wherever you can since “free” water at restaurants and coffee shops isn’t really practiced.)

7 Rolled around pretty quick and I was on my way to Prague.. or so I thought. Since I took the night train I reserved a seat in a cabin and was able to turn out the lights and had some room to stretch my legs. It was really hard for me to sleep on the train but I did manage to catch some Z’s. In between dozes I heard that one of the stops was Düsseldorf. I was super confused since Düsseldorf is about an hour from Köln. I thought I was on the wrong train and asked someone and found out the next stop would be Köln! It was then that I made the decision not to go to Prague (lame!!!) but to get off in Köln and head home. I was super tired and didn’t think it would be wise to spend 24 hours on a train and only 6 in Prague. 

In Köln I had to wait about 45 minutes for the next train to Bonn and managed to get home at about 2 in the morning.

Today, Saturday, I slept  till about 12 or 1 and I’m now finalizing plans with Tara, Bri and Ruslan about our adventure in Köln tonight. I can’t wait to have a little fun with some friends. I’ll get an update on how it goes! J

Tschüß!!