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Suommenlinna, in Helsinki.

I’m behind on my spring break logs again

Crying tears of blood. I’m in Stockholm right now! I need to write about Munich, Berlin, and Copenhagen. Blah!

Shamrocks and Shepherd's Pie: Amsterdam: A Place in the World to Call my Own (Post 1 of 2) →

cassie-go-ie:

First and foremost, I want to state a few things:

1) Amsterdam is the most beautiful and wonderful place I have ever been. My heart has been broken since I have been away from her, and it’s hard to put the pieces back together.

2) The food was absolutely spectacular, and honestly, the food ALONE…

I’m entirely too lazy to write my own recap of Amsterdam. YAY reblogging other people’s work! Only the pics from the first half is remotely relevant to Janet though.

YAY having no patience to update my own blog because holy shit how much do I have to write??

Day 4 - the Alps and Neuschwanstein Castle (2012.04.05)

I’m so tired! So today, we woke up bright and early to catch a train to the Hohenschwangau region (up in the Alps). We had two goals in mind: a) see the Alps and b) see the castle Neuschwanstein, which was the basis for Disney’s Cinderella castle. Even though we had very clear and relatively simple goals in mind, we met quite a few, shall we say, obstacles.

The first challenge came about when we found out that Hohenschwangau does not, in fact, have a train station. This problem was easily solved, of course, by inquiring at the information desk. We find that instead of a direct ICE train (it’s expensive) to Hohenschwangau, we must take the regional train to Munich (where we also dropped off our bags—yay no hiking with heavy bags!), transfer for a train to Fuessen, and then pick up the 73 bus from Fuessen to Hohenschwangau. The good thing about this is that it costs much much less money, because there is a magical 5-person all-day pass that costs €20 - €30 and it lets you board all U-Bahn, Regional DB, and trams (that’s basically any subway, suburban train, or tram). Since it was an all-day ticket, it also guarantees our return trip. Long story short, we paid €6 each to go up into the Alps!

We set out at 9AM and did not arrive in the village of Hohenschwangau until 2PM. We walked to the ticket booth only to find that the next tour was at 3:45PM—a very long wait. But there was also a smaller castle nearby, the Hohenschwangau Castle. That tour started at 2:50. We figured we could make the 3:45 if we did the 2:50 first, but the ticket seller suggested that we take a small break and instead take the 4:55 tour for Neuschwanstein. So we listened to him and decided to take the 2:50 tour of Hohenschwangau Castle and 4:55 tour of Neuschwanstein castle. 

The first castle, Hohenschwangau, was named such because of its location. It was up in the mountains near the Schwangau region, where there were many lakes and where, during the building of the castle, many swans lived (schwans, swans, yeah?). It was a small, rather compact castle, which was big enough to be comfortable but not so big that it was a hassle to walk through. It was more of a VERY fancy mansion than a legit castle. But really, I would consider myself blessed if I could live in something like that. It was the Bavarian royal family’s vacation house, essentially, so it wasn’t particularly grand but very comfortable and served its purpose well, I’m sure. 

After touring the first castle, we had nearly an hour and a half before the next tour. We got some very delicious bratwurst and fries, did some souvenir shopping, and then sat by the lake near Hohenschwangau castle (the sign called the lake area “Alpsees”). My, what a beautiful view! If I ever had trouble finding a good place to propose to my girlfriend (and supposing I’m the one who proposes!), I would choose that spot by the lake to pop the question. It was THAT good. It was quite foggy though, so the pictures didn’t come out as well, but the atmosphere was fantastic. 

We then headed to the other castle, Neuschwanstein, on which the Cinderella/Disney vastle was based. We first explored the bridge known as Marienbrücke, or Marie’s Bridge. It was made by Maximillian II for his wife Marie for her convenience so that she can hike more easily in the Alps. Another spot where I would bring my potential girlfriend or wife (and another potential pop the question place :P). Gosh, the view is gorgeous. It was also very, very high up, so not recommended for someone with a fear of heights. Hell, the damn bridge creaked! I wasn’t too concerned though, so it was alright for me. 

The castle itself was, might I say, ambitious. From the moment you stepped in, you can tell that whoever wanted it built (Ludwig II) wanted it to be fabulous. And fabulous it was! It was never finished though because Ludwig II died before construction ended. Apparently, only a third was done. Every room was meant to dazzle, and dear god, apparently the master bedroom alone took 4 years for carpenters to work on the bed and walls! The details were exquisite. Gosh. So overwhelming. 

We got off the mountains and promptly missed the last direct regional train to Munich. Sad :( luckily, we could transfer and still get to Munich somehow. We did so, picked up our bags, ate at a beer hall (where I got a cream puff!), and checked into our Etap and crashed. Woohoo! Awesome day :)

Day 3 - Nuremberg

I write this as I leave Nuremberg via train. Wow, Nuremberg was such an adorable Germany town! I know, it’s really a small city raher than town, but central Nuremberg is a tiny little thing with medieval walls surrounding it. It was rather stereotypically German/European I suppose? But it was a quaint little town! I think I fell in love the moment I stepped off the train. 

First, we visited the DB Museum, or the Nuremberg Transit Museum. The biggest reason I went was because my dad said to go. Every year, this museum has some kind of temporary exhibit or fair displaying some very special models or something. That wasn’t what I saw—I only looked at the permanent collection, but I know Dad would’ve wanted me to go.  I told him I was going and he was so excited he sent me stuff to take pictures of. I’m really happy I went. I think I would love to take him there one day. Too bad Spencer is too young. I can take Dad around, but I’d want Mom to come, too, and that’s not possible without Spencer. But screw the sentimental stuff. Let’s move on.

Afterwards, we went into the center of the city, which still had fortress walls around it! I personally found that really cool. We were aiming to visit the Town Hall and the Nuremberg Castles (Kaiserburg), and we could hit both up if we walked directly north from the central station (hauptbahnhof), so we figurd we would stop at anything we passed by. We first got to St. Lawrence’s Church (Lorenzokirche) and took a look around. Then, there was the main market area, Hauptmarkt, where there was also a historic fountain. I liked the market, but it wasn’t as fun as the market we went to in Amsterdam. I also passed by a creperie, but we didn’t have time to stop for food. We had to go to the Town Hall to tour the medieval dungeons. 

We got to the Town Hall only to find out that the dungeon tours were only in German. Disappointing! My camera also died at that point, and one of my travel buddies were exploring the St. Sebalde Church, so we figured we would spend half an hour looking around and reconvene at 3:30. So guess what I did? I went back to the creperie. 

I swear, after Amsterdam and meeting some crazy bitches, creperies will forever remind me of this one girl Cassie. She literally had a crepe every day she was in Amsterdam. Even my old friend Raisa wasn’t that much of a pig. (I say that with love, regarding both. More love for Cassie than for Raisa though. Considering I met the former a weekend ago, that says a lot about my friendship with the latter.) But yes, so I figured: what would Cassie do when she walks by a creperie? Go in and grab a crepe, of course! I also needed to sit down to charge my camera. So now that I was armed with a million excuses to get fat, I got myself a nutella crepe. IT WAS SO PRETTY. ALSO DELICIOUS. Yes. Janet was happy for that moment :)

After we met up again, we headed straight for the Castle. Hot damn, it was on a freakin’ hill, and a steep one at that! Because I insisted on going to the DB Museum in the first place, I didn’t get a chance to drop off my bag. So I climbed that bloody hill with a bag “half [my] size.” Blurgh :(

The castle was interesting, but a bit of a let-down compared to the one in Prague. I was expecting something slightly more spectacular. Alas. It was nie to have seen though! At one point, we looked at a well that was 47 meters deep! Oh, how I wish to push Irvin down that bloody well. More on that later though.

We grabbed some pasta (yes, in Germany) for dinner. Ray and I decided to grab waffles afterwards, hehe. The waffle wasn’t as good as the one I shared with Carolyn in Amsterdam. Yes, basically Amsterdam was awesome. (Or maybe I just miss having girls around. Or even just I miss people I trust, which is weird.)

Finally, we arrived at our hotel and got our shit together. I slept on the floor. I was so comfortable. At least I was warm! So the group came to the consensus that we all dislike Irvin as a sleeping buddy. We might shove him onto the floor soon. I’d rather sleep with half naked men I rarely talk to than with a blanket hog who thinks he’s too good for the floor.

Thus ends our Nuremberg adventures!

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twosaltshakers:

Look at all this chocolate I STILL CAN’T GET OVER IT AHHHHHHHHH

I WANT THE BUNNY FOR CUDDLE PURPOSES THO

Day 2 - Cologne/Duesseldorf!

Day two of spring break! God, I already miss the company of the Amsterdam girls. To be fair, I miss having trustworthy people around me, period, and as far as I know, I don’t trust these guys yet. I don’t know if I’m just that gay or if my trust issues are making a comeback, but I’m having trouble trusting them. Actually, on a more realistic front, I probably don’t trust them because they didn’t plan shit for the trip while Irvin and I did the majority of the work. To be fair though, one of my travel buddies, Kevin, brought along travel guidebooks, so I think we’ll be fine either way. Between my obsession with planning shit in advance via internet and his guidebooks, I think we’ll be fine. 

God, traveling with these people make me nervous. Two of them are too laid-back to really do much intense adventuring, one is too eager for adventure, and one has regressed to being a gelato-craving five-year-old. I feel like their mother. 

And if anyone wants to argue that traveling with girls would cause chaos because “girls will be girls”, yeah, no, guys like their sleep too much to move. According to my travel companions anyway.

Anywho! About today :D Irvin and I first visited the Lindt Chocolate Museum by the Rhine in Cologne. A must-see for all chocolate lovers! There was of course the interesting history behind the cacao bean as well as the production of chocolate, but there was also the history of chocolate itself. They also showed you generally how chocolate was made, from the bean to the mould to the wrapping to packaging. They also had a greenhouse growing the cacao tree! And of course, they offered a small sample of chocolate. They also showed how the Lindt bunny could be wrapped.

By the way, have I told you guys that I’m in love with the Lindt bunny? It’s SO CUTE AHHHHH. If someone buys me a stuffed Lindt bunny for me I’d probably marry them (well if they’re female …). 

After that, we went to the Sports/Olympia Museum. I wasn’t too intrigued because I was too concerned with being late, but hey, it was kind of interesting … Irvin certainly had fun. Whatever keeps him happy and not complaining. God knows he’s got a fucking temper and acts like he’s five. But I digress.

We walked through the Dom after that and met up with our other travel companions. The Dom in Cologne was beautiful! I wasn’t quite as impressed as I was with the Notre Dame in Amiens, but maybe it was because when I visited the Notre Dame in Amiens, it was early morning and therefore there wasn’t anyone in there besides myself and Alice (there might’ve been one other tourist and there was service going on). We then left to visit Duesseldorf!

Duesseldorf was underwhelming, actually. Sure, it was nice, but it didn’t speak to me like Aachen did. Aachen was quaint and friendly, while Duesseldorf was a small city of some kind. I liked the Rhine Tower and sme of the churches we visited, but that was about it. The Benrath Palace and Garden was really pretty, but had a bit of a somber feel to it despite the bright pink and teal architecture. It made me feel depressed. Though to be fair, I wasslightly annoyed at the people I was traveling with, so there’s that. I’m sure that had we embarked earlier, we would’ve been able to see more. I really wanted to see the EKO-Haus there, but it was too far. Long story short, it was a pleasant day, but not too interesting.

We grabbed some authentic German dinner back in Cologne afterwards, and damn, it was good! I quite liked the beer, which I took a sip of from a friend. Totally recommend it. Too bad I didn’t get to try the beer in Duesseldorf. Apparently the two cities dislike each other, especially when you compare their beers. So there’s that.

I’ll write more tomorrow! Tomorrow is Nuremberg :) Hope the trip gets more adventurous! I certainly still loved Amsterdam the most so far :) But that was partly because of the company I had. Maybe if I had time I’ll try to visit them. But they’re probably better friends with Irvin than with me, so … ah well. I’m such an awkward turtle comparatively. 

Day 1 - Aachen!

Oh my godddd. Okay, so let me rewind and talk about Aachen because something must be said about the wonderful town of Aachen.

So we went to Aachen yesterday after dropping off our stuff in Cologne. When we got there, our first mpression was that oh boy, the people here are so freaking nice! The lady at the train station gave us a map for free, and then whenever we jay-walked, the cars stop for us! Oh dear. Ans everyone else who stood obediently waiting to cross looked on in terror as the New Yorkers jay-walked. Anyway, onward.

So our first stop was the tourist information center. We picked up some maps and headed towards the townhall and cathedral. The cathedral was nice—not too impressive, especially compared to the Notre Dame in Amiens (nothing will ever compare…maybe except the Bath Abbey), but glad I went. The town hall was very informative. But the main attraction was really the following—THE LINDT STORE.

Holy. Shit. People shop there with grocery carts. Imagine that! And the chocolate is, of course, much cheaper in the main store. I bought €30’s worth of chocolate yesterday. Picture to come in the next post! I died in chocolate heaven. My food-loving friends should be jealous. :P

Our final destination was a mountain. Oh boy, what a hike! Our goal? The three-country border point. Aachen was, at one point, a vey important town because of its location right on the border of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. The border between the Netherlands and Germany was hilarious because it was complete with thorny bushes and hedges and the works. But the three-country border itself was beyond boring. But hey, we were there! Ha!

Thus ends my recap of Aachen. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the time to go, honestly. If only for the Lindt store.

Hey guys!

So updates on the travel thing: I left some beautiful girls this morning in exchange for the four guys I will be traveling with for the rest of spring break. Sad. :(

I will still write/eventually publish detailed recaps of my London adventure times, but in the meantime, you’ll have to deal with mini updates. Anyway.

So in Amsterdam, we were in a tour group and all except one person (my travel partner) were girls. Believe me, the little lesbian in me was in heaven. I also was unfortunately attracted to one of the girls on the tour. She’s cute, okay. But woefully straight. As they all tend to be.

But yeah, left that behind and am now in Cologne for the night. We didn’t see much of Cologne today though and instead ended up in Aachen to go to the Lindt store! Muahahahahahaha! So much chocolate!

Amsterdam! (2012.03.31)

Walked thru Red Light District, ate a lot of food, made new friends. Tulips tomorrow!