Jan 22, 2012

I arrived in Hamburg yesterday after a 6 hour train ride and the ride was great. The trains here are so different than those in America. This particular one was extremely quiet and traveled at over at maximum of 300km/hr. I'm not sure how fast it is in terms of mph. Two cars over was the speisekarte, which basically was like a small restaurant where you could dine in or order to your seat. They served good food, unlike the airplanes...  -_-

Haha, but here's a picture from on the train

The seats were waaaay comfortable. 

Oh, did I mention, I had to wake up at 520am? Way. Too. Early.

So yes, it was pitch dark for the beginning of the ride. But there was snow everywhere! It had snowed a lot that night (which was the same night Chicago got a crazy amount of snow).

Klosterlichfeld is the name of the small city I'm staying in is down south, by the Alps. It also happens to snow a lot, so the snow that night did not come as a surprise. But Hamburg is up north by the sea where it's warmer. During the train ride, I saw the snow slowly turning into rain and the country becoming the city. With the city, comes graffiti. And there was a lot of it.. miles and miles. It was much more colorful that the graffiti I'm used to seeing in Chicago though.

We were greeted by Anja and Sebastian when we finally arrived. After traveling on an U-Bahn (underground subway), we walked a bit to their apartment. In Germany, everyone gets around by walking, bike, or train for the most part. 

This is the mall that sits on top of the U-Bahn

We then took the U-Bahn back into the city and walked around a bit before our dinner reservation. Of course, it was raining. We stopped at a bar for drinks and then continued to the shopping part of the city.

The lounge area of the bar

After a few stores, we decided to check out the Reeperbahn on St. Pauli. You might know the name, its something that Hamburg is known for...

If not, well, its their red-light district. Containing all forms of entertainment...

From grand theaters, to strip clubs. The street is lined with pubs and bars, theaters, strip clubs, diskos, and casinos. Needless to say, there were a lot of men on that street..

BUT that's where the Beatles got their start in the music business (;

The place we had dinner was a high-end restaurant owned by a famous German tv chef who my mom idolizes. And... he was there. Oh was my mom excited.

And our waiter was my two Shawn/Sean's in one body! 

The threeish/fourish hours spent there was a good time, and the food was incredible.

Anja and I in the restaurant 

My mom and Henssler

Today, we went back to the city and did the official tour of Hamburg and went to the miniature museum, were they did cityscapes of 6 or 7 countries all in miniature size. It was incredible to see, and there were sooo many people there. 

Some pictures of Hamburg at night:

Well, goodnight :)

Jan 18, 2012

We arrived at the house yesterday evening, after a long flight. Even worse was sitting in the London airport for six hours.. unable to afford the Tiffany and Co. and Prada stores.
-_- but the London airport is massive. So there was plenty to do, I just slept.

Landing in London

View out of the airport while waiting.

Money used in London.

But, this morning we got all settled with buying groceries and a new phone and such. Understanding/speaking German is getting a lot better, and it's only been a day.

and by the way, dinner last night and breakfast this morning was literally a plate pile with meat. Being a vegetarian in Germany is ridiculous. hahah. It's not terrible.
Tomorrow I'm visiting my Oma all day. I'm not sure what were doing, but I'm excited to see her. And Germany is just as beautiful as I remember.

Jan 16, 2012

sooooooooo tired.

leaving for the airport in 2 hours. 

but I got TOMS :D

life's good.

Jan 15, 2012

Well, I leave for Germany tomorrow. The last few days have been more than I could as for (: This past Friday I was able to see so many people who have impacted my life: family, friends, neighbors... everyone. It was hard saying goodbye, not knowing if I would see them again. Overall, the night was a lot of fun. Guys really get into playing Just Dance... hahaha.

Then, last night I took Shawn with me to spend the night at Eve's dorm for the last time. It was wonderful! :D We were planning on sledding, until the temp decided it wanted to be freezing cold... I've met pretty great people there, but the hardest part was accepting that night would be the last time seeing Eve and Shawn, they're practically family. 

Shortly after coming home, I left with my family to go see the Blue Man Group in Chicago for the first time evaaah. I've wanted to see them for suuuuch a long time! It was a fun show, and those actors are talented... even though they freak me out.

I'm not good with masked or costumed people /: 

*Little side thoughts*- I'm glad I've been able to get closer to some people and spend more time with my family. But I wish I hadn't been too busy packing to spend time with others.

And now I get to sleep! have to finish packing. Joy.

The next post will be from another country. Oh the excitement :D

Im terrible at packing.

On a side note, my last day closing at work was last night. 

& I'm very excited for friday night! I get to see everyone! Literally.

I've already picked out my Batman stuff!

Jan 4, 2012

2012! I hope everyone had a great New Year! I did, with friends and lots of food haha.

I turned in my U of I application yesterday, and I just said goodbye to my hedgehog last night, who is now with Mike. Today I have to pack as much as I can. Time is flying by. 

BUT its okay, because tonight I'm going to Becky's house with everyone from our lunch table from this year. We're watching some ridiculous movie about a bear? or something... haha AND tomorrow I'm going up to Wisconsin to go boarding with Jason and a few of his friends! I've been waiting all year for this. :D

We're going to Devil's Head, which is a different mountain than we went to last year. Looks pretty good, so we'll see how the slopes are! Ah, excitement! 

Well that's an update of my hectic schedule of how I'm spending my last 12 days in the states. I should go pack now..