A Weekend in London

The story of my weekend in London all started in June 2014, when I met a friend of a friend back home in Baton Rouge. Over the summer I was introduced to "Josh from England" through a mutual friend, Caroline, whose family was hosting him for a week. On a few occasions all three of us hung out over the summer; we went hiking through some waterfalls , watched a movie, ate some beignets at Coffee Call, and ate at America's most prestigious restaurant, Waffle House. Turns out Josh and I had many similar interests including economics, politics, current events, and music. At some points, Josh and I were nerding out over things, leaving Caroline in the back of the car sleeping (sorry Caroline, BUT you were exhausted after Tunica!). After only one week in Louisiana he headed out to finish the rest of his American Summer "Road Trip," but we knew we would keep in touch and possibly meet up again once I arrived to Europe and became settled.

Fast forward a few weeks while I'm still living in the US and the best opportunity arises: one of my favorite musical groups, Bonobo, has a concert lined up in London on the last weekend of November. Add to that the fact that Simon Greene (whose stage name is Bonobo)  is from London and is actually closing out his international tour during this concert, a tour which has lasted around a year or so (in fact, I had already been to a concert a year prior in Baton Rouge for the same tour. Now I would be able to see the last and final concert in his tour). I contacted Josh to see if this is something he would want to do and he was all for it. We bought our tickets later that night. 

The Weekend in London experience was hatched in late July, marking the only planned thing of my first semester in Europe. Needless to say I was counting down the days to attend the concert and fly over to experience a city I had not yet had the pleasure of seeing. As many of my blogs imply, I didn't have to wait too long since the time is literally flying by, but it couldn't come soon enough. Similar to the Berlin post, I'll break the three days down by section since there was just so much that happened!

Day 1, Friday: Bonobo's concert

 I'll start this section off with a joke: Getting anywhere in London on a Friday afternoon. 

I flew out from Cologne in the afternoon and landed in London only 50 minutes later (yes, travelling in Europe is that fast). I went through security and got my passport checked where I was greeted with a passport checker who insisted on me having an address for the person I would be visiting. Having only communicated through Facebook and not even thinking to ask for this piece of information, I left the section blank but assured the woman that I knew what I was doing. After a minute or so of working on her she replied, "You're one lucky guy that I think you're smart enough to navigate this city by yourself. Get a bloody move on" and then with a smile and wink, she opened up the gate to pass through. Because I didn't have enough money to take the train into the city I was instead forced to take a charter bus. This is where the joke comes in. Josh and I had agreed to meet at a McDonald's at a specific train station for 5:45 which would leave us enough time to drop my bags, grab something to eat, and make our way to the concert for the two openers and the main performance. I didn't get to the McDonald's until 6:45 and I had no way of letting Josh know I would be late. I felt so bad! The traffic was absolutely horrible and I hadn't planned for these delays when deciding on a meeting time. In the end it all worked out, but we rushed through, taking tubes (the subways) until we got home where we dropped off my stuff and headed out. We took an Uber cab (Uber is a service where private drivers rent out their cars as taxis; car-sharing program) to get to the concert and were again delayed in getting there on time. We showed up to the concert having missed the first two openers and only having 15 minutes to spare before Bonobo started. Fortunately that went according to plan and it was a great concert! He pulled out all of the stops and had every contributing artist from the album there for a live performance, even having a 10 piece string ensemble play parts from the album. 

Roughly 30 feet away from the stage at Bonobo's final concert

After the concert we headed back to the city and walked across Millennium Bridge. The only setting I knew this bridge from was the Harry Potter movie, but it was really cool to see in person! We also walked around the campus of the London School of Economics, where Josh is enrolled, before heading back to the dormitory for the night. The next day would be jam packed with activities! 

Day 2, Saturday: Playing Tourist in London

Jam packed puts this day lightly. While writing this post, I had to get back in touch with Josh to see if I left anything out (which I did) from the list of activities. Here goes nothing.

We woke up early on Saturday and were out of the door by 9 am by foot. We headed to the local market, the Borough Market, and got some fresh fruit before starting our day. Right around the corner from the market was a docking station for London's Barclays bicycle-sharing program (often called "Boris bikes" after Boris Johnson, the mayor of London). These docking stations are scattered all over the city with the purpose of providing citizens and tourists options for getting around the city; all one must do is pay 2 pounds for a 24 hour period and then the bikes are completely free in 30 minute time increments. Because there are so many docking stations all around town, it is feasible that you could get anywhere you needed to for free by way of the Boris bikes. In fact, that's what we did! We took off riding through the streets of London, weaving in and out of cars and city buses. The first thing on our to-do list was hit Westminster Bridge to get a view of Parliament, Big Ben, the Eye, and the Elizabeth Tower. We paused for a photo-op before continuing along.

Ta-da!

We continued riding until we docked in the area of Buckingham Palace where we again paused long enough for the photo-shoot. Josh filled me in on all of the history while we were riding bikes. Ever had a conversation on a bike, riding at breakneck speed in the city of London? It pretty much involved a lot of shouting and the oft-repeated "WHAT WAS THAT?" The points came across though. 

Me and Josh in front of Buckingham Palace

Onwards we continued. We walked along the Mall to see Horse Guards Parade and continued along to see 10 Downing Street, the residence of Prime Minister David Cameron, before making a u-turn to see Charing Cross, Chinatown, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, and Leicester Square before pausing long enough to catch our breath and munch on some raspberries and bread. We took a (much needed) break at Convent Square where we watched a street performer, wrapped in chains, put his entire body through a tennis racket. This was a good lesson in British culture; Josh had to keep explaining to me why certain things the performer said were and were not funny. I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt, but Josh commented on the sternness of the other Brits around us for not laughing or smiling. "Typical Brits." We continued on, walking through sections of Soho and walking around the campus of the London School of Economics (LSE) one more time before pausing in Pret, a cafe chain. We relaxed long enough to finish our drinks, looked down at our watches and noticed it was just about time for lunch, where we were to meet up with a friend of a friend from Germany. Side story: When I was in Luxembourg the first time (see post titled "Introduction to University Life and a Trip to Luxembourg") I met a German named Kathrin. During our talks while hiking through the woods of Luxembourg, Kathrin told me I reminded her of a friend she knew while living in London and China, and that our related interests in economics, politics, and public service would make us really great friends, if ever we were to meet. She told me her friend, Chris, lived in London and was actually an Economics PhD student at LSE. I knew by then that I was going to London two months later, so Kat gave me his contact info and we emailed back and forth, eventually deciding to get lunch on Saturday at 1 pm. End of side story. Chris, Josh, and I got together over some authentic Chinese food and conversed for 1.5 hours, covering all of the topics as varied as economics, policy, master's programs, PhD programs, and the weather ("My, isn't it unusually warm this weekend in London?"). What a great conversation we had. Unfortunately we had to cut the cord in order to make our way back to Parliament in time for our scheduled tour, so we parted ways. Josh and I walked down Regent Street (consumerism at its finest, second only to Oxford Street), across Green Park, and made our way to Parliament in time for our scheduled 3:20 tour. The tour was absolutely amazing and many times left me speechless. It was so interesting to learn about the history of the building itself while also seeing the actual places where policy was written, topics debated, and history made. I could go on and on about this, but I would probably never finish this blog post! The real highlight of the day (and for that matter, the weekend) came right when we finished the tour. Josh had booked two free tickets for the filming of a UK show called "Get Your Act Together" which is essentially a talent show competition filled with British celebrities. 

When we got out of the tour, Josh texted his friend Fleur who works at ITV, the studio who puts on the show, asking what time we should arrive. It was 4:40 pm at that time, with the doors opening around 6:15. Fleur texted back saying "The line is getting bigger." Not thinking much of it, Josh and I walked around looking for a bite to eat to kill some time before heading over to the studios, when all of a sudden Fleur texts back with "Now the line is huge, if you're not here in 15 minutes don't show up, you won't get in." Instantly, Josh looks at me and says "We're going now!" and starts off in a sprint towards the nearest Boris bikes docking station. Confused, I sprint along too asking what the deal is! He's yelling back at me something along the lines of "Need to get there now, hurry!" We find a station, grab two bikes and take off like there is no tomorrow. The whole time Josh is checking his phone's maps for where the studio is, where the nearest docking station is, etc while riding at breakneck speeds. We're swerving in and out of cars, pedestrians, other bikers, city buses sandwiching our lanes together, and through stop signs and red ligh--I mean.....waited patiently at red lights because we were well-behaved youth and respected the laws of the city. NOT! We tore that city up on those dingy little bikes! Rushed, panicked, and fearless, we cut a 30 minute ride by half and found the nearest docking station...but wait....NO!....there weren't any free spaces. We rode down a few more blocks, now pushing us further away from the studio. We found another docking station where there was only one free spot, but I took that one and was told "Don't move! I'm going to go find another one and meet you back here." Josh took off, leaving me walking in circles on a brisk London night. A few minutes later here comes Josh sprinting back pointing forward saying "This way!!" We run forward, find the studio, and hop in line. First impression: we are definitely not going to make this, look how many people there are! Immediately we hope for the best, but start planning alternatives to the night..."I guess we could go out to eat and see a British pub......" A few minutes later a ticket checker lady comes around and verifies Josh's e-tickets. Pumped up on adrenaline we think "okay, she would have told us for sure whether this was a lost cause or not." The lady comes back a few minutes later, leans into us and whispers quietly, "Listen, don't repeat anything about I'm to say, but since you guys look like you're bubbly and full of energy, we want to put you two on the front row. No one in this line is getting in except for you two. Take these tickets, go stand in that other line, and don't tell anybody." I think both of our jaws just about dropped to the floor upon hearing that! We did as we were told and tried to hide our excitement, but it was really hard. I mean the turn of events that we just experienced, from being frantically texted, swerving through London traffic on bikes, convincing yourself you're too late...all to be given front row tickets to the live studio audience?!? Are you kidding me?! And it didn't end there.

We were let into the studio and given our seats where we were given a small packet of Haribo gummy bears (shout-out to my university town, Bonn, for being the hometown of Haribo!) to munch on. Early on, the MC of the studio audience, the comedian who entertains the crowd off camera while the sets were being changed, came out and led the audience in chants and applause. He gets the audience to clap, where instantly he turns to me and Josh and points out our clapping style (which, by the way, was totally normal), mocking us! The audience erupts in laughter, us included. I mean the guy is a real "London geezer," as Josh said. From then on, from the first 5 minutes of being in the studio through the whole 3.5 hours of taping, we became the stars of the audience, with Andy, the MC, making jokes with us every chance he got. At first Josh and I wondered how long he would keep it up before moving on to the next "victims," but it turned out that he just stuck with us the whole set! At the end, Josh and I got our own applause from the 200 person studio audience and got a picture with Andy. "Oh of course I've got to get a picture with my two favorite audience members!"

Picture looks kind of blurry....that's how it felt too...absolutely surreal experience

In complete disbelief with the way the night unfolded, Josh and I left the studio on Cloud 9 and went to get some Nando's to eat as a late dinner. Still pumped up with excitement, and well hey it's only 10:30 pm!, we went for a walk to see London by night. We hit Soho again, the National Gallery, and more, before hopping on the Boris bikes and riding across the London Bridge.

London Bridge by night

We got back to the dormitory around midnight, completely exhausted. Totals for the day: 20+ miles of walking, 7+ miles of bike riding, 15 hours of near non-stop touring. A great day!

Day 3: Karl Marx Tour, Primrose Hill, Camden, and goodbyes

  After 7 hours of sleep we woke up for the second installment of touring. Josh had booked a tour, called the "Karl Marx Tour" a few days prior, so we started our day with that. It was a 2.5 hour tour through London's center and Soho, recapping major points in Marx's life in London. Not only was it very informative, it was also a great opportunity to see a part of London up close and personal. We had a lady in our tour group who was born in East Germany. It made for an interesting dynamic, and at the end of the tour, which ended at the British Museum, I held conversation with her and her friend in German for a minute or two about Marx and the tour itself. It was all very cool. Afterwards Josh and I hit up a corner store for some lunch before making our way via the tube to Regent's Park to see Primrose Hill, an excellent location to view London. After spending the entire day before in the city center, it was nice to get into an open area with greenery.

Panorama from Primrose Hill. Man pictured in center has a whole head in real life...no worries

We then walked through a neighborhood which was having its annual community event with booths, bands, food stands, and more. Walking through it was a nice touch to the weekend. We walked to Camden and checked that out, which was really cool! The Camden market was super busy with people (although I think this is usually the case), but Josh and I walked around window shopping the clothes and foods being sold. After wrapping up in Camden, Josh and I found another Boris bike station for the last ride of the weekend--from Camden back to the dormitory. We made the ride in 20 minutes, which Josh said was pretty quick, but after the events from the day before, I wouldn't put it past us to shatter some biking records. I packed up my things, in passing met one of Josh's good friends, Josh, and then parted ways to make the journey to the airport for my return flight. I made it home safely and in bed with 12 hours to spare before my class started later the next day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My weekend to London was absolutely fantastic and I owe so much of its success to Josh for organizing close to all of it. Josh, here's a shout-out to you dude! In a previous post I mentioned that I've stopped trying to place certain experiences this year into a first, second, third place category, but rather, to view them for what they are as part of a tapestry of experiences in my year abroad. Between all the big ticket items like the list of 20+ things we did, saw, and ate in London and the small things like having to look left instead of right before crossing the road, or taking the tube and hearing "Please mind the gap," or speaking English in a guilt-free environment, this weekend was one for the history books. My first trip to London was marked with physical exhaustion, but it was also marked with so much fun that I am already planning my return trip. These are the types of experiences I'm here for and I couldn't be more satisfied with the results.

P.S. Once the episode of "Get Your Act Together" comes out I will try to find a link to it and share it through this blog and my Facebook page. Stay tuned!

Boulder Trip and a Potluck Thanksgiving

The day after returning from the hustle and bustle of Berlin, I received an invitation from some friends in the rock climbing community for a trip "outside" (you could also say "outdoors:" rock climbing language for going to climb out in nature instead of in the gym) the next day. I was really excited to get outdoors after having just spent a week in Germany's capital, so I gladly took the invitation. It was also mentioned that it might be the last outside trip until Winter ended, so I definitely wanted to go before it was too late! I tagged along with Cody, his wife Chantelle, Simon, Sash, Anne, and Guillermo for the day. It was about an hour's drive south, but we held conversation the whole way there, talking about Thanksgiving plans, Thanksgiving football (Cody is a Dallas Cowboys fan), and the like. We arrived to Glees with a few hours of sunshine left. It was unusually warm again this Sunday, but we weren't complaining! For my climbing inclined readers: the bouldering problems and hiking trails are all in the valley of a once-active volcano whose lava run off created a sheer wall of climbing problems. Over time, the wall eroded and chunks of rock fell away leaving standing boulders for crazy people like us to climb on. We were climbing inside the valley the whole day with little sunshine actually reaching us, but once we popped above the lip of the drop-off and went for a hike, we were drowned in warmth and sunshine.

Hiking along the trail above the valley. Not pictured is the volcano off to the right

The valley floor was still beautiful in its own right with little remnants of Fall still clinging on for dear life before Winter came and made everything gray.

Valley floor with red and mauve colored leaves littering the ground

The climbing problems were challenging but rewarding, and in the end of the day, it didn't really matter (to me at least) how successful I was. It was a great way to unwind after a week in Berlin, spend some time in the outdoors with friends, and get one last trip in before getting locked in for Winter.

A few days later me and a group of around 30 or so other international students celebrated Thanksgiving, potluck style, on a student budget. The majority of the group came from the US, but we also had several students from France, Spain, Ireland, the UK, and Taiwan celebrate their first Thanksgiving with us. It really went on to show that, despite putting the event together under a budget, what was most important was the company. Each student from the US had stories to share of past Thanksgivings with family, and it of course brought back great memories from the Thanksgiving I have come to love and appreciate with my grandparents. I was lucky enough that my parents and younger sister (the Skype guru in the family) were visiting my grandparents the night before Thanksgiving, so I was able to Skype with my grandmother for the first time all year long! It was fantastic to hear her voice and catch up with the happenings in her town.

The spread at the Thanksgiving potluck had everything you could wish for. I prepared a mashed sweet potato side dish (interestingly enough with pears that were sauteed in white wine....yum!) with added cinnamon and it turned out great. I can't list or explain everything that we had, but suffice it to say that it was also atypical; the foreign students celebrating their first Thanksgiving brought foods typical of their homeland and it was all delicious. In fact Claire, one of my LSU classmates who is studying here, brought jambalaya!

One table's spread of our potluck Thanksgiving. Not pictured is another table with just as much food!

The above picture was also taken when only about half of the people had arrived, so we had plenty  of food. It was an especially great Thanksgiving, albeit nontraditional, spent with friends old and new. Although cliche, it helped me appreciate everything I've been blessed/lucky/fortunate to do over this past year. Studying abroad has been the best life-changing experience and I'm saying this with only 4 months under my belt!

From left: Eduard (France), Deirdre (Ireland), Claire, John, Marius, Megan

Academic Update
All of my classes are still going well! Due to the 6 day Berlin trip (and subsequently missing an entire week of classes) I have had my work cut out for me trying to play catch up, but slowly and surely I'll get back on track.

My two Economics classes (Behavioral and Game Theory) are proving to be challenging with the math-heavy presentations, but the topics of the courses are things I couldn't be more interested in. I'm having to find the right balance between academics and leisure (sometime they overlap!) so that I can dedicate the necessary time to staying on top of the subjects, but other than that things are still good.

In my English literature class "Green Utopias/Dystopias" we just wrapped up our third book on the reading list: Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake." We also read Kim Stanley Robinson's "Pacific Edge" before that. The class discussions are very interesting and help me appreciate the literature in a different context. What might be interesting for my peers back in the US to learn is that we had a pop quiz in class on whether we had finished reading the book prior to class. Many of my classmates here have many other books to read for their English classes, so they don't usually all get around to reading the books in time for class. This set off a debate of sorts between my peers and the professor, with the students decrying this act of "high school nanny-ism" as unfair, while the professor noted that this was not graded, but for his interest. The students that were crying out obviously hadn't read the book, but I write this example to illustrate the perceived differences among high school and the university here as compared to back home in the US. As a student from the US, I give the professor the benefit of the doubt to grade us at his/her choosing (in fact, I expect it!), but here in Germany, the university is viewed more as a "Life of the Mind" environment where grades and routine assignments are deemed unnecessary in favor of electrifying discussions and debates.

My Republican Party class is still going well, although class discussions are becoming dominated by the professor, myself, and one other student. I feel bad about always putting my two cents in, and I do wait to see if other students would like to speak, but because the students might feel uncomfortable speaking in English, the discussions aren't as lively as I would like. I am trying to find time each week to meet with the professor individually to discuss the readings, so at least there is that.

Things here in Germany are great and I couldn't ask for much more! I have had so much fun travelling, seeing new places, meeting new people, and in general, exploring. The next post will be a recap about the unbelievable weekend I spent in London, so check that out!

BERLIN!

I had the great opportunity to visit Berlin, the capital city in Germany, through a 6 day program with my University. Each semester the International Office at the University of Bonn organizes a trip for the international students to tour the city, visiting all of the essential Berlin sights, museums, tours, and more. I've decided to break each day down by section because there is simply too much to just lump it all together in one.

Day 1: Bus Tour and Marienborn Checkpoint
  We woke up early to board our double-decker charter bus to Berlin. Without stops the ride is between 6 and 7 hours, so we had a long day ahead of us already. We got out before the Sun rose and practically every student went back to sleep as soon as boarding. I ended up sitting next to my two classmates from LSU and we talked for the better part of 2 hours about back home. We were lucky enough to get to sit in the very front of the bus where we had the entire window in front of us with which to look out of. This was great for me, as I always enjoy looking out of windows during travels, and for me this was the farthest east I had been in Germany, so there were definitely new sights to see. To sum up what I saw: tons of windmills! Germany has a great reputation for green energy policy and if anyone doubts this I would recommend touring the same Autobahn that we drove on. Hundreds upon hundreds of windmills close and far away.

Sunset off the Autobahn with a windmill in the distance

Later on in the drive we stopped at the Marienborn Checkpoint, which from 1945-1990, was used as a checkpoint between West and East Germany. Because this route offered the most direct access to West Berlin, this former checkpoint was always filled with traffic. We got to tour the old facilities used during its time of use, including the offices where passports and IDs were checked behind closed doors.

Marienborn checkpoint, Autobahn crossing set further back

We arrived to the hostel around 6 pm, right in time for a bottomless dinner at the hostel's cafeteria. We were all ready to stretch our legs out and explore the city on our own. Marius, Viktor, Megan, and myself decided to do a night tour ourselves, so we set out with a Google Maps image of the city and enough money in our pocket to buy a bus ticket. We ended up finding City Hall, the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), and Alexanderplatz, an iconic market of the city. After wandering around for 2 hours we made our way back to the hostel and crashed for the night--alarms set for 7:30 am!

Berlin's Rathaus, or City Hall

Day 2: City Tour by Bus and Sachsenhausen
  We woke up to an early breakfast and headed out of the hostel to begin our city tour by bus. We got to use our double-decker charter bus once again and passed a handful of embassies and museums before making our way to the Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag.We stopped there and were allotted 15 minutes to walk between the two and take pictures.

"Dem Deutschen Volk", the Berlin Reichstag

The Brandenburger Tor

After getting back into the bus, we headed to tour parts of East Berlin, namely the East Side Gallery. Here one can see the Berlin Wall, decorated in collages by artists from all around the world. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, artists from around the world were summoned to join in on this international art project of decorating the former symbol of division, into pieces of art. We stopped off right at the iconic mural of "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love," the (in)famous rendering of Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. 

"My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love," taken up close and personal

After finishing the tour we headed to Sachsenhausen, a former concentration camp used during the Nazi rise to power. The weather was particularly cold, dreary, and gray this day, but it made for a much better interpretation of the surroundings at the camp. We toured former prisoner quarters and the assembly grounds. I decided not to take any pictures during this portion of the day simply because I thought it might take away my ability to appreciate being in the moment. It was an incredibly dense topic that left many if not all of us speechless and reflective. 

We got back to the hostel in time for dinner and then afterwards decided to unwind in the hostel's game room for the night. A few of us walked down to grab some of the local beers (Berliner Pilsner, if you were wondering) and spent the rest of the night playing ping-pong, fussball, and billiards. I entered into a series of 3 games against Mark, a student from Michigan, and had a blast "brushing up."

Staring down the cue for a side-pocket shot......success!

Day 3: Jewish Museum, Jewish Quarter, and touring the Stasi prisons

 Today was marked with more museum touring and walking. We were exhausted from the previous day of walking and many of us spent every minute of the bus rides to and from sleeping! We woke up on the bus to tour the Jewish Museum, somewhat famous for its architectural interpretation of the events that transpired between 1933 and 1945. The museum was much more than just an exhibit on what happened during the Nazi's rise to power; it did an excellent job of starting with the beginnings of Judaism and tracing them to the present day. In fact, our tour guide made a point of noting that much of Judaism is a success story in the context of Germany, where their assimilation into a Christian-dominated country was met with legal securities and more acceptance. It was great touring a museum which had such a dynamic presentation of a topic (that I had not formerly been presented with through previous history classes). The structure of the building also offered powerful reflections for the history of Judaism, but it would be in vain to try to explain these emotions over a blog. You'll just have to experience them for yourself!

A robot writing the Torah on a continuous scroll; estimated amount of time needed: 24 hours per day for 3 months

After touring the Jewish Museum, we made our way over to the Jewish quarter of Berlin where we stopped for lunch. We all broke into groups and interpreted the two hours of free time differently. Myself and a few others decided to check out a nearby Jewish synagogue. In our group was Mark, who is Jewish, and was a huge supporter of checking it out (okay, he was the main reason, but it was really cool!). It was called the "New Synagogue" and was partially destroyed in World War II. We were able to see an exhibit about the history of the synagogue and also climb the stairs to the top of the dome, at which point we were able to overlook a good portion of the city. Afterwards, we headed to find lunch and stopped off at an American-themed diner called "Route 66." It was....okay....but nothing like back home!

The New Synagogue

To finish off the day we toured the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial. Here, political prisoners of the then-current regime were taken and detained. Much of what actually went on here remains a mystery since files were destroyed after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but through accounts of prisoners, it's safe to say that psychological manipulation bordering on the edge of torture was carried out. It was another point of incredible density, where many students were left speechless. 

A cell at the former GDR prison

We got back to the hostel exhausted, but after a nice dinner and getting some energy, we were ready to tackle the night. We were told that the Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas Market, was open for business 10 minutes away. I had been hearing a lot about Germany's appreciation of Christmas traditions, with their Christmas markets being the huge staple of the season. Here you can buy an assortment of flavored drinks, sweets, dinner, and trinkets. A large group of us ventured out, all with the intent of tasting Glühwein. It's a special German drink served only during Christmas time, and it's spiced red wine that is served warm. 

Glühwein.....Prost!

I think it's a taste that might take some getting used to, but hey, it's a German tradition!

After wrapping up at the Christmas Market, we decided to get something to eat. Cat, one of the two other students from my University back home, felt very strongly that we all check out her favorite food stand in Berlin: Mustafa's Vegetable Kebab. Cat had previously stayed in Berlin in a hostel adjacent to this food stand and swore that it served the best döner ('dewn-eh: essentially a Gyros wrap with veggies, sauces, and added deliciousness--very inexpensive and tasty!) in all of Germany. If there's one thing you can't go without doing while studying in Germany, it's sampling döner from all around! We all obliged and took a few subways to get there. We were met with a nice 30 minute line, but Cat reassured us that this was a "slow" night for them; usually you'd have to wait between 40-60 minutes just to order your 3.20 euro snack!

Cat, double fisting her favoriteee food in all the world

Cat had already been to Mustafa's the night we arrived in Berlin. So this trip marked her second voyage, to my knowledge.....she could have unknowingly sneaked out one night to feed her addiction and we would have never known. The above picture perfectly captures her excitement. It seemed only fair that I attempt to recreate the picture when we went:

Double the Trouble: recreating an iconic photo

I had to give it to her: it was the best döner I had ever eaten. Shoutout to you, Cat, for the suggestion! Mustafa's went where no other döner stand ventured to go, I mean where else are you going to get complimentary eggplant, soy sauce, and feta cheese? Nowhere, that's where. It was a great end to the night that left all of us full and content.

Day 4: Exploring Potsdam

Today we woke up and boarded our bus for a 45 minute drive down south to Potsdam. Here we toured the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, called Sanssouci Palace. Fred's summer palace here was a winery, so unfortunately for us, touring during the winter time, our landscape views were of withered wines and leafless trees. The palace didn't lose any value though, and walking inside was really interesting. The palace was built during the Rococo style, and this was quite apparent once you got up close with the columns and statues on the facade of the palace.

Sanssouci Palace, south facade

After our tour ended we were given the day to walk around Potsdam and explore. It also happened to be Jake's birthday, so we all went out to get Thai food at a local restaurant. Seating 16 of us was no easy task, but we were lucky enough to get a table inside and away from the cold. The delicious lunch was followed with a tour of the Nikolaikirche, or Church of St. Nicholas. Later we boarded the bus and made our way back to the city. We arrived in time for dinner at the hostel, followed by some birthday celebrations for Jake. We went back to the game room in the hostel and played ping pong, billiards, and card games through the night.

Day 5: Neues Museum and free day
The last official day of the trip began with the division of our 71 person group into 3 smaller museum groups. Berlin has a "Museum Island" with a few popular and world famous museums. I toured the Neues Museum which had exhibits highlighting the Egyptian time period all the way through the Bronze age. I was able to see the bust of Nefertiti and "The Golden Hat," as well as read about certain artifacts from the time periods and engage in an interactive exhibit about the evolution of written language, starting with hieroglyphs during the Egyptian period.

It was 12 pm when we finished with the museums, and we had about 6 hours to kill, so a small group of us charted up a walking tour of the city, ending at the hostel right in time for another bottomless dinner. It was nice just walking through the city to begin with, but in our itinerary we included the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Tiergarten (equivalent of Central Park). On our way to Checkpoint Charlie, we ran across a large group of German police who were seemingly blockading a bank. I went up asked a bystander what all the commotion was about, and it just so happens that we were in the presence of the Prime Minister of Holland! I use an exclamation point because although who he was and represented was pretty irrelevant at the time, but I mean still, a world diplomat, woo-hoo!

A shoddy picture of Mark Rutte, PM of Holland

 I mean for all we know he was making a deposit at a bank, who knows? Still, it was a little 'spice' to the day. We continued walking and made it to Checkpoint Charlie. We bumbled around a bit before making our way to the Reichstag.

Checkpoint Charlie. Translation unnecessary

We walked through the park and made our way to the Reichstag, where we had not so long ago booked a free tour online. Upon arriving, we learned that admittance wouldn't be granted since it was too 'short-notice' which was a total bummer! Oh well, maybe next time I visit Berlin I'll be able to go inside! We walked back and came across a free museum called "The Topography of Terror," so we ducked inside, thinking we'd kill 20 or so minutes looking at the exhibits. Turns out we stayed for a little over an hour, taking in all that the museum had. It turned out to be an entire exhibit dedicated to the years 1933-1945 in both Berlin and Germany, and was very captivating. It made for a nice surprise end to the day.

The day ended back at the hostel, where we were too tired to go out on our last night in Berlin, so we resorted to playing more cards. I can't complain though...we all had a lot of fun! We went to sleep that night  ready for an early wake up call for our bus ride back to Bonn.

Day 6: Return Home
The last day of the trip was marked with a lot of uncomfortable bus sleeping. Berlin left us exhausted and sleep deprived, and I took full advantage by taking 3 naps on the bus ride home. Later, a few of us passed the time with card games before making it back into the city.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The trip to Berlin was exactly what the doctor ordered. It was great getting out of Bonn, seeing the countryside, experiencing a new culture and people of Germany, learning a lot, and making new friends. I came back from the trip refreshed and ready to tackle on new problems (many of those problems being missed work from my absence from a week of classes!). I'm not sure if I'll be back in Berlin anytime soon, but there is still some unfinished business left. If anything, this trip taught me just how fast time flies by and how little time I really have here in Germany. At this point I have 8 more months, which sounds like a lot, but considering 4 months are already in the books, I know the time is going to fly by!

Start to Karneval and visiting the Harry Potter Exhibition

The German equivalent to Mardi Gras, Karneval, officially kicked off on November 11th at 11:11 am in Cologne. Karneval is only celebrated in the Rhineland region of Germany, where the city of Cologne is the 'capital'. It's here where all of the festivities, bands, and major costume parties take place. One of my German professors cancelled class on this day so that we could all make our way to Cologne to celebrate, noting that we had to wear a costume to kickoff the season of Karneval. I had a friend from my language school days, Chris, who still lived in Cologne, and we decided to meet up and walk around the downtown area of the city. I woke up earlier than usual to catch a train from Bonn to Cologne, and the streets were empty as I walked from my apartment to the train station, all the while sporting my pair of lederhosen and Bavaria-esque shirt (this is a typical costume for Karneval. Lederhosen attire in southern Germany, Bavaria, is pretty common, but everywhere else in Germany it remains to be a special-occasion costume of sorts). Needless to say, my walk through the city to the train station was filled with odd sights from business men and women on their way to work; I was definitely the odd man out, but as soon as I reached the train station I became part of the majority. Hundreds of similar-minded students were decked out in random costumes waiting for the train to Cologne. Once the train came around, we packed into the aisles like sardines and made our way to the city. It was only 9:30 in the morning and people were already on their third or fourth beer, but it made for a fun environment. Everyone in the train started joining in on German drinking songs and classic Karneval tunes. Unfortunately I didn't know any of the lyrics or else I would have joined in too, but what a funny act to be caught up in the middle of. I joined Chris and we made our way to the downtown portion of the city. You would have been hard pressed to find anyone who wasn't in a costume, and that is why it was so much fun! We saw some Mario and Luigis, monks, clowns, safari men, zoo animals, and more. Chris and I walked around, killing time until it was close to 11:11 am, at which point Karneval season is officially opened. Everybody drinks and sings the whole day through. We grabbed a drink and found a group of drummers in a market square.

Group of Karneval drummers wearing typically colorful attire

Unfortunately Chris and I both had to cut our Karneval festivities short; Chris's heating had gone out and had a meeting with a technician, and I had to get back home for another course at the University which hadn't been cancelled! The real celebrations come in February where things get ten times crazier than what we saw today, so neither of us felt too bad leaving prematurely. At least we got to help kick off the season!

Later than week I went on another long bike ride. The weather has been postponing getting too cold, so I've been taking advantage of all of the outdoor time I can get. Instead of going north along the river like I had become accustomed to doing, I decided to ride south as far as I could (or until the sun gave out). I rode through little villages and train stations, all the while riding along the Rhine river, which surprisingly opened up once outside of the city limits. The topography of the city is flat, but as soon as I got out 30 minutes from the city, the landscape changed to valleys and hills all along the river. Looking out across the river into the landscapes I could see the steady toll of a chilling temperatures; much of the landscape was brown or gray.

View of the Rhine river

 

Rare glimpses of sunlight hitting hills across the river

I kept going further and further with the bike, pushing to see new villages and landscapes. Due to the short winter days and small amount of daylight, I  had to turn back around after 30 km in one direction and make my way back home before it got too dark. I was hungry and needed more energy to get myself home, so I stopped off at a little cafe along the river and ordered a coffee alongside a waffle covered with Nutella and powdered sugar.

Mhmm.....sugar........

It was refreshing, delicious, and just what I needed to get home. By the time I stepped out of the cafe I realized I had only one hour of sunlight left (it gets dark around 4:30 now)--one hour to make a 1.5 hour bike ride! I didn't have any lights with me so I sprinted the whole way home. I got home exhausted and ready to spend the rest of the night in my bed. To date, it was the longest and most tiring bike ride, but worth it!

Later than weekend I re-united with one of my old classmates from the language school, Synthia, in Cologne. The city was hosting the international Harry Potter Exhibition, and well, both of us being Harry Potter fans, we decided to meet up and see what it was all about. It was great! We got to see props and costumes from the movies and read descriptions about each article. The exhibit had fans of every age group represented, but it was especially cool to see the little kids' eyes light up over every detail.

Exhibition goers could pull up potted Mandrakes 

Quidditch uniforms 

Synthia and I left the exhibit and parted ways, agreeing to meet up again in each other's cities to play tourist. It was a great day catching up with a not-so-old friend in a city we both had the opportunity of living in for two short months.

Day trips to Münster and Luxembourg

It's been a little while since my last post, but things here are starting to slow down. I've gotten into the groove of the classes, but now my time in Germany, aptly, is being characterized by happenings with the University instead of adventures across the continent. More adventures will come with time, but the first month of classes definitely required attention in order to secure a footing. I'll throw in an academic update later in this post. First, I'll write about some of the excursions I have been fortunate to make.

Since my last post of seeing Luxembourg for the first time, I visited another climbing gym in the area with Guillermo and Isa. It was definitely a lot of fun and I'm glad I got to see it. The building was spectacularly large and filled with dozens of climbing routes. Everyone there was very helpful and friendly. Here's a picture of this climbing gym, for perspective.

Climbers tackling 10 meter high routes with partners on the ground, belaying

The next day I went to my economics class and got out around noon. I stepped outside and was surprisingly greeted with warm weather. I had no other plans that day so I packed my backpack with a full water bottle, a few carrots, and an apple, and set off on my bike north-bound along the Rhine River. I had already ridden this section of the river a number of times (however I was always going in the other direction, visiting Bonn) so I couldn't really call this jaunt an exploration by any stretch of the imagination. It took me about an hour of riding to reach the village I used to live in, at which point I still felt great and continued going forward. I rode for about 40 minutes more to reach the center of Cologne. It was about 2:30 pm at that point, but I still felt great so I continued going forward to parts along the river I had not yet explored. I continued going north-bound, through the industrious part of the city, problem solving all along the way. Sometimes the river-path cuts out and you are forced to figure out where the path starts back up. This always gives you great excuses to go exploring in villages and taking in all of the little, individual specialties which make up each community. I continued going forward, for about one more hour. I knew by this point that getting back home by bike was out of the question because the remaining sunlight wasn't going to allow me a return trip of 3 hours! A bit saddened, I turned around in the middle of the path and made my way back until I found the nearest train station. Luckily my knowledge of Cologne's inner-city transportation routes was shaped in the two months of having lived there, so when I found a subway station way out in the boondocks of the ports north of the city, I knew exactly how I was going to get home. It took over an hour to get back home via subways and transfers, but it was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon: out on a bike, exploring Germany, and seeing nature. In total, it was about 3 hours of riding (including snack breaks and a pit stop to a favorite food stand in Cologne) with uncharacteristically warm weather. I ended up riding past a giant Ford Motors production plant. The plant was so large that it spanned three subway stops and came out to be 5 miles long (rough estimate.

I woke up early the next day to take a 2.5 hour train ride to Münster, an historic city located near the top of the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia. This meant I was going to be able to take the train for free; all students enrolled in the University system in North-Rhine Westphalia have unlimited, free, transportation to any part within the state. Not only does this mean I can take free trains to other cities in the state, it also means that once I arrive in those cities I can use the bus and rail systems of that city, free of charge! It's a great incentive to travel around the state and I took advantage of the opportunity of visiting my friend Pia in Münster. She studies there and was able to show me around the city. At her suggestion I brought my bike so that we could ride around the city together. This ended up working out for the best because as I was finishing some reading on the train, in my haste, I departed the train one stop too early! This was a trial-by-fire if there ever was one, because I was forced to go up to strangers and ask them for directions to the next train station. I rode my bike from intersection to intersection, asking strangers to point me in the right direction until I made it! I was proud that I never once got turned around or confused, but instead, had enough confidence with the language to make it there as instructed. On reflection, it was a great experience (although slightly annoying at the time) because it helped me see and experience the city first-hand. I jokingly told Pia that she didn't have to show me the city because I had already seen the majority of it! When we met up, we walked around the downtown portions and through the huge fruit and veggies market which sets up shop every Saturday. We also saw the Münster Dom, the port, and chatted in a coffee shop for a while. I left later that day and made it home for dinner time.

To end the weekend I traveled back to Cologne on Sunday night to reunite with some friends that I made while studying at the language school. We were going to share a dinner prepared by one of the members. This time it was Neha's turn to cook some Indian for everybody! We've tried to put ourselves into a rotation of cooking foods from the places we identify with, so next up is supposed to be Colombian food. I'm not sure if I come after that or not, but it should be Gumbo season by the time it's my turn. Neha cooked a delicious chickpea curry and aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes). I made sure to stick close to the chef on this one because I've been wanting to learn some new recipes, especially Indian. Neha was a great teacher and a few days later I replicated the recipes at home for a few friends. Delicious!

Neha juggling the tasks of cooking, chopping, and storytelling

Dinner spread of chickpea curry, aloo gobi, lentil soup, and basmati rice

I was fortunate enough that the next Saturday Guillermo and Isa were heading to Luxembourg for the day, and I was able to tag along. I got a bit of climbing in, but really, I was excited to see Guillermo try a really hard route that he had been working on. It's called projecting, and Guillermo was actively working on completing this. With the sun setting in the sky and temperatures dropping, Guillermo was pressed for time, but as if it coming right off of a movie screen, he accomplished the route with 10 minutes to spare. We hiked back to the van, loaded in, and headed back home. It was a Saturday packed with excitement yet spent like time was irrelevant.

  Academic Update
Since my last post, all of my classes have become extremely interesting. Both of my Economic classes have proven to be more math based, if anything. This is in stark contrast to the direction of my Economic courses back home, but I know the challenges that arise with these courses will make me a better student when I return from my year abroad. Before leaving the US, I heard that undergraduate courses here are taught at a pace more representative of Masters of PhD classes back in the US. In Spring 2014 I was allowed to enroll in a PhD Economics course at LSU. It was an incredible opportunity, but the pace set forward in this course was unlike anything I had yet experienced as an undergrad. Adapting to that style and pace was great, but in comparison I can say that my two Economics courses this semester are more like that course than a regular undergrad course. They are both keeping me on my toes, that's for sure and I'm learning a lot, which is great. Regarding my English course, "Green Utopias and Dystopias," we wrapped up our first book discussion on The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin. Maybe some of the readers of this blog have read Le Guin before and can offer their opinions in the comments or by privately messaging me. I found the book to be very thought provoking and enjoyable. We also watched James Cameron's Avatar and will be critically discussing the movie in the coming weeks. This class is really great and I look forward to attending the sessions every week. I just wish we met more than once per week! Another class which I wish met more than once per week is my "America's Republican Party" course. Each week's lecture is themed, and so far we've gone through 'Right-Wing Populism,' 'Race and its continued centrality in American politics,' and 'George Wallace--Godfather of the modern Republican Party?' Each session is very academic, which I like, because often times I feel that this course's presentation could never survive in a classroom in the US. I feel lucky to have this opportunity. Following the results of the 2014 Mid Term Elections, one entire class is devoted to presentations on several states across the country. I have also volunteered myself to give an additional, independent, presentation on the results in Louisiana. So all in all, the content of the academics is great. In contrast to college back home, we have no busy-work, homework, or required assignments. Aside from article readings prior to class, there seems to be little accountability between the students and the professors. All of this is reconciled at the end of the semester when 15-20 page term papers are due!

Although my adventures this time around weren't grandiose or extravagant, I've found a lot of joy from the little things which hardly, if ever, make it to the blog. After one month of moving to Bonn (and thus 3 months in Germany) things are great. I'm not looking forward to the winter, but there's no getting around that. I do have a few big trips planned before 2015 rolls around and I'll be sure to document it all here!

Introduction to University life and a trip to Luxembourg

After returning from Munich, it was time to start classes at the university; my summer vacation which started the second week of May and lasted through the first week of October was officially over! I was ready to start classes, but of course was not ready to give up the freedom of summer!

A few days before leaving for Munich I moved into my room and got situated. The living situation here is a bit different from the standard dormitory setup I was a part of my freshman year of college: instead of sharing a room with another student (like in the US), I have my own room, complete with a desk, dresser, and a few book shelves. Although I have my own room, I share a hallway with 4 other students, and together we share a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a shower. I live with two girls from Germany, one girl from Japan, and one PhD student from Austria. Although we share an apartment, more or less, I hardly ever see any of them--even though I leave my door open! I'm also pretty sure I'm the only person who uses the kitchen, although the fridge and pantry are filled with food. I'm not sure what everybody does all day, but I know they aren't spending their time in the apartment! So, the social living scene isn't all that exciting, but I live in a great area of the city. I live in a 5 minute radius of: the main library, the Economics library, all of my classes, the multi-purpose field, the main University building, a few cafes, the central bus and train station, and my favorite, the cafeteria! I really lucked out with the location of the apartment, being central to the city where I don't even need to take a bus or train to get where I need to go. The grocery stores are within 5 minutes by bike, as well as other important stores, so all is well!

The Hofgarten, with the main University building behind

Academically speaking, I will be taking five classes this semester. Below, I've provided a brief summary:

1. Verhaltensökonomik(Behavioral Economics): This course is taught in German and is a Monday/Wednesday course lasting for 1.5 hours each day. It is taught in a large lecture hall with around 90 enrolled students (although only 60 attend the lectures). Content wise, this class deals with the psychological and social aspects that economics seeks to explore. It is a relatively new branch that is viewed as "soft" in the economic realm and "hard" in the psychology realm; many academics view this branch of the field as a hybrid between economics and psychology. To my economically-minded readers: We are taking a rather mathematical approach to the topic and proving theorems in class, not sticking strictly to psychological theory and vocabulary words.
2. Game Theory (Economics): This course is taught in English and is a Wednesday/Friday course lasting for 1.5 hours each day. It is taught in the same lecture hall as the above course with relatively the same attendance. The professor looks and talks like Ralph Fiennes, so the first day in the course I couldn't shake the fact that Lord Voldemort was teaching me Economics, but rightly so because the first class kind of scared me anyways. This course is inherently mathematical, so at times I just feel like I am in a math course where economic terms get thrown around randomly. I am excited to see how this course goes this semester.
3. Deutsch in Wirtschaft und Handel (German in Business and Commerce): This is a German language class which will help me improve my grammar and vocabulary through conversation homework. Some of the goals of the course are to prepare students with writing CVs in German, writing professional emails, and learning the right vocabulary for various other tasks. This is a class which meets just for 2 hours each Tuesday and is a 9 person class, and it's proven to be a light work-load with a great payoff!
4. Green Utopias/Dystopias: Literature from the Anthropocene: This is my English literature course which meets once a week for 2 hours. The class is limited to 30 students, but we break into small groups to discuss reading assignments. We have a reading list of five novels which deal with Earth as imagined in a utopian/dystopian future where human actions have considerably changed the Earth's ecosystems. This class has already proven to be very thought-provoking and I look forward to further discussions.
5. Changes in America's Republican Party with the advent of the Tea Party: To be honest, this is probably the class I have looked forward to most since learning of my schedule. It's a 9 person class which meets once a week for 2 hours. The content of this course deals with a highly detailed academic review of the Republican Party, and specifically, what influences the Tea Party has had and will continue to have going forward in American politics. Each class has a themed lecture and we will also be covering the Midterm Elections and presenting on several key states. I will also make an additional presentation on the results of Louisiana's midterm elections.

I am very excited for this semester, both between the courses I am enrolled in and the various programs sponsored by the University. I think this semester might be filled with the most interesting courses I've yet to take in college, and that isn't meant to be a knock to LSU, but after 4 semesters of working hard, I've earned the right to take a few fun General Education credits here in Germany. I will have to work hard in the courses, but I also have a great deal of liberty which I hope to exercise when I choose to do some travelling abroad in Europe. We'll see what the coming months hold!

After settling in Bonn, I began to look for some ways to branch out and meet new people. The University has a well-organized sports program and offers groups/classes ranging from soccer to Nordic walking, mixed-dancing classes to Capoeira, and everything in between. Unfortunately for me, I was late to the game and found that, out of all of the relevant 10 or so sport classes I would have wanted to sign up for, all were booked! I went ahead and just started Google searching things to do and came across a rock climbing group in Bonn full of international people who don't speak German. This was great for me because I flew over some of my climbing gear and didn't know where to start. It also helped that I would be meeting people from all over the world who preferred to speak in English rather than German. I contacted the head of the group, Guillermo (from Argentina) and he was more than willing to help me out. The next day I met him and some other climbers at one of Bonn's climbing gyms. We climbed for about 2.5 hours, and as I was leaving, Guillermo asked me if I had any plans for the weekend. He told me they climb every night of the week in gyms, but try to make an excursion to the outdoors every weekend for more practical climbing. This weekend, they were going to Luxembourg to a world-famous climbing place and said I could tag-along if I was free. I quickly became free!

Climbing gym in Bonn

We met early on Saturday morning, where I was introduced to the climbing group for the weekend: Guillermo would be heading the group with his wife Isa (Spain), along with long-time friends Vasiliy (Russia) and Kathrin (Germany)....and then there was me, 10 years younger than the youngest! We loaded into the van and headed out for the 2 hour ride. When we arrived we immediately hit the trails with all of our gear and started to climb.

View of fields in Luxembourg after an ascent

Before the 2 hours at the climbing gym days before, I hadn't climbed in nearly 4 months. Needless to say I was really out of shape, but I was surprised that I was able to go 6/6 in all of the routes I tried out. I attribute a lot of the unexpected success to the great encouragement from the others, who were always yelling down from below "You've got this, you can do this!" and then, it just happened! We spent our time hiking through the fairy-tale-esque forests, fields, and valleys before heading back to the campsite and starting the BBQ.

Mid-hike picture of a cow pasture

Each person threw in a contribution to the potluck dinner and we ended up having a variety of sausages, cheeses, and kebabs of onion, bellpepper, tomato, zucchini, and mushroom for dinner. It was great. To boot, we bought a few Belgian beers from the bar nearby. Afterwards, just when we all thought we were full, Vasiliy busted out two bags of marshmallows and skewers. Add that to some new-found chocolate that Isa found in her bag and we were close to making the smores trifecta, but alas, no graham crackers were to be found.

"Rocky Mountain Marshmallows," "Made in the USA," "A True American Tradition," "Classic"

 After having a great fire and feeling as full as could be, we all headed to sleep. The next morning we woke up to a breakfast of breads, cheeses, peanut butter, coffee, tea, and chocolate milk. We then headed out to climb for the remainder of the day. We climbed for the next 6 hours before heading back to Bonn.

A Luxembourg Sunset

As we were sitting above the valley watching the sunset above the routes, we said "How crazy would it be if a climber just poked their head up here?" No more than 10 seconds later, as if on cue, Vasiliy poked his head up and said "Hey guys!" You couldn't have scripted it any better!

Isa, with Vasiliy who just completed a route

My trip to Luxembourg was short, but it felt like time passed so slowly that it was easy to live in the moment and take in everything that I was experiencing. It really was a great weekend, not only because of the friends I made, but because of the little things too. The first day we were climbing on a face that had several routes nearby for other climbers. Along that face we were sharing the area with 3 other groups, and what I found really interesting was that every group was speaking in a different language. On the far left we had French, then to the right of that Luxembourgish, then Spanish, and we were speaking in English. By the end of the weekend though, in addition to those languages I also heard Russian, German, Italian, and Flemish spoken. Call me a tourist, but I still get goosebumps being surrounded by all these different cultures.

I am tempted to say that my trip to Luxembourg beats out my trip to Munich for "Best Weekend in Europe," but it's comparing apples and oranges at this point. I am seeing every experience for what it is and am not trying to compare against experiences; each experience is just adding to the tapestry of my short time here in Europe.