So Long Midterms, Hello Berlin!

On Friday, October 28th, after a week of sleepless nights and last-minute cramming for midterms, the castle kids got up bright and early and shipped out for our second required excursion to Berlin. We would be with the school until Monday afternoon, at which point Independent Travel Break began and we were free to roam about the continent. However, while we were in Berlin, we got to see some pretty cool stuff.

Upon arriving in the city (as in, before even going to our hotel) we were split into groups and taken on walking tours. We started in central Berlin and then moved into the eastern parts, stopping along the way at places like the American Embassy, various monuments and statues, and Humboldt University.

Jewish Holocaust Monument

We also got the chance to see the site of Hitler’s death…or what’s left of it. As you may know, Adolf Hitler shot himself in an underground bunker alongside his wife Eva, who ingested cyanide. Today, the bunker is concealed beneath what appears to be an ordinary, run-of-the-mill parking lot. The site does not have a plaque or any other kind of denotation of the events that took place there, the idea being that Berlin would move past the days of Hitler’s reign, rather than build on top of it.

Another of the stops we visited was the infamous Hotel Adlon. 

Look familiar? No? How about now…

I know, I know. Cultural overload. :)

Anyhoo, Friday night was pretty low-key. I grabbed dinner with some friends (currywurst!) and then just went back to the hotel and hung out before going to bed early. While lots of people went out, I was still incredibly worn out from midterms week, not to mention sick. Lame as it may have been, I certainly don’t regret it.

Saturday was all about museums. First up for me was the Neues museum, which admittedly, I had never heard of. However, though I may not have known about the history museum, I was certainly familiar with its most famous piece. She has been on the cover of numerous history books throughout my educational career, and while I was surprised to stumble upon her in Berlin, I was incredibly happy to see her!

Yep, THE bust of Nefertiti can be found in Berlin. You learn something new every day.

Afterward, Ray and I had the most beautiful lunch at an outdoor cafe amidst the lovely Autumn foliage complete with live music. Berlin and I got along nicely.

Ray carefully makes his selection…

That afternoon, my Contemporary World History class went with our professor to a former Stasi prison, aka the secret police. Due to various conflicts, there were only 7 or 8 students on the guided tour, which made it rather intimate. The tales of what had formerly taken place in the rooms that we were standing in were absolutely haunting, and while I greatly appreciate the opportunity to experience something like the prison, there was certainly a dark cloud hanging over my mind for a considerable amount of time afterward. 

Saturday night we ate dinner as one huge group (currywurst again!) and then some friends and I went out in search of a true European club experience….and we found it. I mean, Berlin is arguably the techno capital of the world according to some. 

We found ourselves in a former warehouse-turned-club (a popular theme in Europe) and spent the next few hours surrounded by strobe lights, fog machines and intense music. For obvious reasons, I didn’t think bringing my camera here would be a great idea, but here’s a general idea -

Except foggier. Much, much foggier. Haha

Sunday morning brought yet another museum, this time one of German history. It’s interesting to see things like WWII from a German perspective after having learned about it for years from an American point of view.

Dom Cathedral

For lunch, Ray, Jenna and I went in search of something quick and cheap - and happened upon a Vapiano! As a hostess and bartender at Vapiano Boston during the school year, I couldn’t resist the chance to try it out across the pond.

Then in the evening we toured the German Parliament Building, which I recognized only as the background of many of Hitler’s speeches. On the inside, however, the building turns out to be beautiful in addition to history-laden.

Inside, on one of the lower levels, there are rows and rows of boxes stacked on top of each other, each with the name of a former member of Parliament.

Guess who…

For our final night in Berlin, Ray, Kyle, Jill, Elissa and I journeyed to western Berlin and found ourselves in a cool, classy piano bar. We took this opportunity to order the cool, classy cocktails we’ve always been interested in. My choice? A Manhattan. Glad to have gotten the experience, but I don’t know that I’d order it again.

Monday morning (Halloween!) we split into groups for one last educational tour, which for me consisted of a Modern Architecture of Berlin walk with the Kasteel Well Program Director, Dulcia. Along the way, we got to stop by remains of The Berlin Wall still on display in Potsdam Square.

After this we were free to go, so I strolled back to the hotel to grab my stuff, stopping along the way to snap a few final pictures.

Then I met up with Jill, Jake, Robert, Ray, Kayla, James and Christiaan to embark on our Travel Break adventures. Up next: The Wild and Crazy Tales of One Week in Barcelona and Madrid.

Be Our Guest - Champagne Country, France

Hello all! Sorry for the hiatus, I’ve been super busy the past couple weeks, and I just returned from 10 solid days of traveling More on that later.

To catch up where I left off: The weekend after Ireland, I took a much needed break from travel and stayed back at the castle. It was lovely; I caught up on homework, did laundry, and Ray and I had a Disney Movie marathon. What could be more perfect?

The following weekend, Jenna, Jasmine and I went to France. Jenna has longtime family friends that live in the small town of Avize, up in Champagne Country. They invited her to come stay, and when Jenna offered me a chance accompany her on a quiet weekend right before midterms nestled away in a small French town, I didn’t hesitate to accept!

So we left Thursday night from the castle and took a train to Rotterdam, in the western part of The Netherlands. Well, that is, we tried to take a train…but our plans were briefly interrupted by yet another person throwing themselves in front of a train. Apparently they weren’t kidding, this happens all of the time here. I don’t get it. 

However, we eventually made it and then got on a night bus from Rotterdam to Paris. While certainly a cheap and efficient way to travel, night busses are not what I would recommend to anyone looking for luxury or comfort. But hey, we’re young, we’re broke, why not?

We arrived in Paris at 7:00 am and, after sneaking into a hotel lobby and stealing their internet in order to get our bearings, we decided to go into the city for a brief stroll and breakfast. Though we were only there for a few hours, we managed to see the entrance to the Lourve and, albeit from a distance, the Eiffel Tower. Plus, we got to watch the sunrise in Paris…not a bad thing to wake up to.

 

After breakfast we headed to Gare de L’est and boarded a train to Espernay. Here we were met by Monsieur Paul Sugot, whose family we would be staying with for the weekend. We loaded our things into his car and set off on a beautiful drive through one of the most picturesque places I have ever been. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a huge lunch prepared by Madame Sugot. We would soon learn that there was nothing especially large about this meal….every meal in France is just massive.

After lunch, I was given a tour of the cellar by Jenna and Charles, one of the two Sugot children. Why on earth would we be touring the cellar? Because it is not simply a cellar. Instead, it is home to the Sugot family’s private champagne factory. That’s right, I spent a weekend drinking champagne in a champagne factory in champagne country.

 

(blurry…oops!)

Nothing too crazy happened this weekend. There was a lot of cheese, a lot of champagne and a lot of low-key hanging out. We spent one night playing poker with Charles and a bunch of his friends (I won!), and our days were spent strolling about the village. 

I had some of the best food I’ve ever had - crepes, homemade pizza, quiche, and homemade chocolate mousse, just to name a few. I also successfully spoke a great deal of french. While I’ve only been in the class for a few weeks, I managed to retain a surprising amount! Plus, spending time in a household with very few english speakers definitely helps. Sink or swim, ya know?

Monsieur Sugot and his crepe art.

While it wasn’t quite as crazy as some of my other weekends, it was exactly what I needed right before midterms!

On the way home we stopped through Paris again for dinner and to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower at night.

France was absolutely perfect and while I can’t wait to return for a real Paris experience, I wouldn’t have had my first time there go any other way! 

Return to the Homeland: IRELAND

I posted a while ago about planning a massive trip to Ireland and the stressfest that was. Well, it all came to fruition last weekend, and I am happy to say that it was worth every bit of the effort!
Thursday evening, immediately following the final class, I left with 9 of my friends for the airport (Kayla, Jasmine, Ray, Robert, Jake, Jill, Chase, Jenna and Christiaan for anyone who’s keeping track).

We landed in Dublin around 11:30 local time, checked into our hostel, and immediately headed to the famous Temple Bar to toast the last few minutes of Jenna’s birthday. The whole place was completely packed, with live music and just as many tourists and locals. It was the perfect place to celebrate our arrival in Ireland.

After this we strolled The Temple District for a while, found ourselves briefly in an 80’s dance club called Madonna’s, and then decided to call it a night.

Friday morning we got up bright and early, most of us took advantage of the free hostel breakfast, and then split up into a few different groups. Jake, Kayla and myself opted for a free walking tour of the city - an excellent choice if I may say so. Our tour guide, albeit slightly insane, was lively and extremely well-informed, and our 3 AND A HALF HOUR tour included all the famous spots - Castle Dublin, Trinity College, Irish Parliament, National Museums, Cathedrals - and all sorts of fun facts. Did you know that the red-head gene is actually NOT Irish, but Norwegian? Did you know that vikings never once wore horned helmets, that that was simply a myth created by Irish monks who thought the vikings were the devil’s workers? Well, now you do. You’re welcome.

Dave the crazy tour guide.

Castle Dublin

Trinity College

For lunch we took advantage of the discounts our tour got us at a local restaurant, where I had my first taste of beef and Guinness stew…to die for. Seriously. So after that we were inspired to head to the legendary Guinness Storehouse for a tour. On the way, we stopped and checked out St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As in, THAT Saint Patrick. Who was, incidentally, not a leprechaun.

The Guinness Tour ended with a free tasting on the 7th floor of the building, which featured floor-to-celing windows and a panoramic view of the city. To top things off, there happened to be a rainbow at the moment we reached the top. Perfection.

Friday night the group split up again, and a bunch of us decided to hit up the Oktoberfest taking place that weekend. Through a series of random events, Jenna, Jill and I somehow found ourselves in a large tent blaring dance music and filled with Irish people brandishing enormous tankards of beer. Less than 5 minutes after being in the tent, we witnessed one of said tankards being shattered on the back of a woman’s head - that’s right, we got there just in time to see the girl barfight of the century. Glass flying. People yelling. Irish slurring. Security guards scurrying. And yet the party never stopped. It was truly a sight to see…I’m taking in so much culture here, hope you’re proud mom. ;)

But okay back to being an intrepid traveler. Saturday morning I got up super early and went by myself to check out the National Museum of Ireland, which featured one of the coolest exhibits I have ever seen. Known as the “Bog Men,” there are 5 or 6 bodies recovered from bogs in Ireland on display. Why on earth would this be worth viewing? Well, in addition to each of them being victims of ritual sacrifice, the bodies are all more than 2,000 years old. However, due to the neutral alkali levels of the bogs in which they were deposited, their exteriors are still perfectly preserved. Clothes, fingernails, even hair is all still perfectly visible. As I was one of the first people in the museum that day, I had the entire wing to myself, and I can honestly say it was one of the most memorable educational experiences I’ve ever had.

Then I went and checked out the Natural History Museum, which was really only because I have to go to one for a class, so we’ll skip over that. I met up with some of the boys for lunch and then we hopped on a bus to cross the country to our next destination: Galway!

Galway is basically the opposite of Dublin. It’s a quaint, coastal town known for its beautiful cliffs and great local pubs. Oh, and rain. Lots of it. Unfortunately, our beautiful weather streak came to a halting start the moment we reached Galway. But that’s okay. Once the whole group was assembled, we went for some more traditional Irish food (fish and chips this time…a classic choice that did not disappoint), and then took our hostel receptionist’s enthusiastic advice and signed ourselves up for a pub crawl. With 4 bars and one nightclub included, it was quite the experience. Irish moonshine, hot whiskey, live music, a Guinness drinking game (won by our very own Ray!), an Irish Coyote Ugly bar, a mechanical bull…just some of the highlights. :)

Jenna, me, and Jasmine model the “Pouring Rain” look.

Sunday morning we had to check out pretty early from the hostel, but the weather still had not improved and we weren’t scheduled to leave until pretty late. So the group split up one more time, some to go shopping, some to eat, and I found myself off walking around with Jake and Kayla yet again. We strolled down to the shore in the rain, which was beautiful, but after a while we were soaked and chilled to the bone and in desperate need of warmth and sustenance. Thankfully, our problems were easily solved by a cozy restaurant with delicious potato leek soup. Mmmmmmm.

Admitting defeat to the rain, we met up with a few others and headed for the Galway movie theatre. It sounded lame until we remembered that THE LION KING 3D was still playing….so of course we opted to relive our childhood, and I don’t regret it one bit!

After the movie we made a few last minute stops to prepare for our long night ahead, then took a bus to Shannon Airport, where we ate our last Irish meal before flying to London Stansted Airport. “Long night ahead? What do you mean?”
Well, in an effort to save some serious cash, we opted for a flight with a layover in London…an 8 hour, middle-of-the-night layover. I can officially cross off “sleep in an airport” off of my bucket list. However, as you can see, we did it in style. I’m the yellow lump on the far left.

When 7:00am rolled around, we boarded our plane and made it back to the castle before lunchtime! Well, except Kayla, who, due to a series of unfortunate miscommunications, had to stay in London for a few more hours before flying to Amsterdam, catching a bus to Well, and arriving later that evening. But she made it!

Though we hit a couple of bumps in the road, overall, Ireland was absolutely everything I wanted it to be, and considering it was the first BIG trip I planned, I was pretty proud of how it all turned out. Dublin reminded me very strongly of Boston, Galway was beautiful, and best of all - EVERYTHING WAS IN ENGLISH! I had my first experience with driving on the “wrong” side of the road, and I pointed out SO many things with “Murphy” on them that I’m convinced there’s no one left in that country who does not know my surname. Dublin is the first city I’ve visited so far that I know I will return to one day, but until then, I’ve got pictures and memories of the perfect first time.

Bruges? Brugge? Brugges? BELGIUM

Hello friends!
I’m sorry it’s taken 12 years for me to update, but it’s not for lack of trying. The internet here at the castle is not exactly state-of-the-art. Better late than never though I suppose, so here we go.

September 30th I set off for Belgium with my friends Kayla and Ray. It turned out that actually 20 or so castle students were going the same place that weekend, some of whom we met up with later, but only the three of us were traveling and staying together.

So on Friday we got up bright and early to catch a bus to Venlo, the nearest station from which we were to board a train, make one transfer, and be in Bruges by lunchtime! Right? Wrong.

We made it on to the train no problem, but had only made it 2 stops before the train…stopped. We sat there for a few minutes while some vague announcements were made in Dutch, but no one around us reacted so we payed it no mind. 10 minutes went by…then 20…then 45. Finally we asked the German tourists next to us what was going on, and they replied cheerily, “Oh, someone’s thrown themselves in front of the train.”
We thought they were kidding.
Guess what?
They weren’t kidding.

I got up to speak to a train conductor, who calmly explained that we’d be getting off at this stop (Helmond. Have you ever heard of Helmond? We sure had not) and that we could either catch a bus or wait, because, “these things usually take about 2 hours to clean up.”
WHAT?
Apparently “these things” are commonplace in Europe. Who knew.

Anyway. We ended up getting off in Helmond, waiting for a while before finally taking a bus to Eindhoven, boarding a train to Rosendaal, then transferring at Tilburg, then transferring at Antwerpen, having ANOTHER 45 minute delay (this time fortunately not due to suicide) before finally arriving in Bruges. WHEW.

After a very long day, we were exhausted and starving, so we ate at an adorable outdoor cafe and had our very first taste of Belgian beer, which made the day worth it! We then stopped for some Belgian ice cream, which is also fantastic. Our first night out began with a hole-in-the-wall bar recommended to us by some locals, where we sampled beer brewed in Bruges. Afterward we met up with our other friends and did sort of a mini pub crawl before retiring for the night.

The next morning we awoke bright and early and started our day off with - you guessed it - Belgian waffles! Totally worth the hype, let me tell you.

Then it was off to explore the city. Somehow me had managed to choose THE most perfect weekend, weather-wise, to visit, so our morning was spent simply strolling around taking in the sights.

We then went on a canal cruise all around the city before stopping at an outdoor street fair full of vendors of all different types.

Following the fair we made our first official stop into a chocolate shop, then paused to enjoy our Belgian delicacies before going to visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood.

What on earth is that? you ask. Well, it’s a beautiful church located in Markt Square of Bruges, where, legend has it, a small vial of Christ’s blood was brought and stored following the crucifixion. The “Holy Relic,” as it is called, is stored behind a massive tabernacle in the center of the church. The entire building was gorgeous, with an amazing presence that could be felt by anyone who set foot inside, regardless of religion.

That night we met up with the group once again to check out a restaurant we had heard about that served full plates of spaghetti for 3 euro. Sounds terrifying, but ended up being delicious and exactly what we needed. Round 2 of bar hopping commenced afterward, this time ending up in an underground (literally) place that offered MORE THAN 300 TYPES of beer. How to order? Close your eyes and point.

Sunday we slept in a bit before heading out for lunch and then a tour of De Halve Moon (The Half Moon) Brewery, the only still-operating brewery in Bruges. The tour allowed us to go on the roof of the building for gorgeous panoramic views of the city, and ended, of course, with a free glass of Bruges Zot, the beer the brewery is famous for.

After the brewery, we stopped at yet another chocolate store, this time choosing a more well-known chocolatier, Dumon. The word “heavenly” does not begin to describe what that experience was like.

In an effort to work off some of the thousands of carbs we had ingested, our next feat was to climb the Belfrie, the massive bell tower located in the heart of Bruges. We happened to make it to the top just as 5:00 stuck, so we were able to see the bells in action.

From here we split up, and I spent my solo time exploring The Church of Our Lady, another beautiful 13th century building that was part church, part art museum.

I then proceeded to stroll along until coming across another large square we had yet to discover, this one complete with a large fountain and lined by dozens of quaint outdoor cafes. The group and I reconvened, grabbed some ice cream, and revisited this square to watch the sun set over Bruges and wrap up our final evening.

The next morning we left at the crack of dawn to avoid any more train fiascos, but this time everything went smoothly and we made it home with plenty of time for afternoon class. All in all the city was beautiful, and not at all like “In Bruges” had led us to believe it would be. It truly is a fairytale city, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect weekend holiday!