On to Switzerland
September 25, 2007 – 9:02 amFavorite people,
Guten abend (umm, good evening in German?)… well, finally able to
sit down and say a quick hello to let you all know that I’m surviving
the Euro-trip. Hopefully most of you have gotten your postcards - if
not, they should be arriving shortly (fingers crossed…I may or may
not have sent cards with Vatican stamps from Amsterdam…apparently
that isn’t kosher).
I have finally found a computer that allows me to plug in my memory
card and send pics, so I’ve attached a couple of my favorite. First is
the view from our campsite in Innsbruck, Austria (absolutely amazing -
wish you could see it in person), then the boys and I at the Berlin
wall (our tour guide suggested we take a photo of the three of us at
the wall - showing the East side and the West side - of course we
found the cheesiness of it to be brilliant), the last is of the three
of us at a windmill in Brugge, Belgium. Only a teeny tiny taste of all
the photos and the places we have been — you would not believe the
speed of travel we have been going — I have definitely gotten my
money’s worth with the Eurail pass! So far I have already seen 7
countries in 3 weeks. The boys are leaving soon, so things will slow
dramatically, but it has been a blast so far!
To keep in line with my theme, I’ll try to come up with my next
acronym…(I only have 14 minutes left - forgive my lack of
creativity)
B - Beer festival. Oktoberfest has been my latest adventure, which is
why I chose Bratwurst as my acronymical (made up word, obviously)
description. As the largest folk festival in the world (fact) that
boasts a sale of over 5.1 million liters of beer (fact, again), it was
clearly one of the more ridiculous events I have attended. There were
more beers, brats (think sausage, not children), and boobs
(traditional Dutch-wear for the women = boobs up to the chin) than I
would care to see in a day. QUITE the experience…
R - Rain. Now, this isn’t exactly something that we planned for, but
for about 4 days in northern Europe it was rain, rain, and more
rain…not the pouring kind, but the nastier, just enough misting to
be annoying. Of course, we made the best of things, and survived the
kink in our weather plan with a door to door shopping/eating/pubbing.
Despite the rain, we loved Belgium and Denmark (me because it was
quiet, quaint, and the home of my motherland — the boys because it
was filled with blondes and big dark beers).
A - Alps. We’ve spent a few days in Austria now (a country that I’ve
never thought to myself “Oh, I’ve always wanted to go to Austria,”
despite growing up with a Kindergarten Cop sort of love for Arnold
(please pronounce Ahh-nald)) and it is definitely the most beautiful
place I’ve ever been. I mean, what did I expect? Why else would they
hold the winter olympics in Innsbruck so often? Because it is
ammmazing! I’ll probably take up bob-sledding when I get home.
T - Trains. I have learned to love trains… really, I have. Where I
once had a fondness for the speed and efficiency of flying places, I
have now decided that training across the country is a fabulous thing.
We have met tons of people, taken some great naps, and seen lots of
country side that we ordinarily wouldn’t have seen if we were
thousands of miles above the ground. Not to mention that we can bring
our own food and beer, and not have to worry about going through tons
of security (a great way to save time now that Jeff made a recent
purchase of a wrought-iron antique pig. why you ask? well, great
question.)
W - World War can really do wonders for a city. Berlin is one of those
cities. After seeing three major wars and tons of devastation, the
country has been rebuilt to have amazing architecture, clean streets,
and few people. Probably my favorite city that we have seen, the
history filled capital was modern, yet preserved, with a fun and funky
liberal feel to it - way cooler than I ever expected.
U - Underestimating the power of guided tours will really screw you
over. We have taken four guided tours now and I guarantee you that I
have learned more in those tours than I have ever learned in a history
class in my life. Granted, there is a little something different about
someone saying “This exact spot is where Hitler was standing when he
and Eva shot themselves” that makes your ears perk up a little more
than in 8th grade history class…
R - Running out of time - 2 minutes left on internet and cleverness is
running out…R is the last letter I have left, but my brain doesn’t
work this fast, so I’m going to have to leave this one for the next
time
S - Switzerland. My next destination…lets just say I’m looking
forward to laundry, familiar faces, conversations with a girl friend,
and catching up with some of you on skype. Not looking forward to
trying to practice my horrendous French. Only words I know: cabernet
sauvignon and crepes (still not sure on either pronunciation…will
work on this), ohh, and of course french fries, french toast, and
french kiss (I’m nearly fluent in all these)
T - “Thanks, but we’re not homeless, we promise”…One morning we had
a really early layover in a small German town on our way to Amsterdam.
Jeff and I had curled up on the floor against a wall with our packs to
catch some extra sleep while Peter journaled in a cafe. We both had on
jackets with hoods over our heads and were rolled up in balls against
our stuff. Jeff was passed out, but I was kind of watching people pass
by, each one giving us odd stares…apparently people sleeping on the
ground isn’t common in this part of Germany? So this much older couple
passed us and I see them watching us. The women sets down her bags and
asks her husband to stay there. I watch her inch to the cafe and come
out with a hot chocolate and sandwich, then inch her way over to us.
At first I was confused, until I realized that she thought we were
homeless and she was bringing us food…It was a really sweet gesture
and she will definitely have good karma for that. And now that I look
back on it, we did look pretty rough — “that was the first time I’ve
ever been mistaken as someone in need” -Jeff
Hope you enjoy my acronym and photos — email me to let me know how you all are.
Love you miss you
Meg xx
