Blogs from Germany, Europe - page 744

Where was I? Ah yes, 7am in the morning if I remember correctly after 3 hours sleep and a skinful of ale. I was drunk, dehydrated and unbelievably tired as I set off for Munich. I had no real accommodation per say, only the promise of some floor space in my American friends room, which I had no idea how to get to or in fact where it was. Up until this point I had already had accommodation booked before I set off to a new venue and never had I needed it more than now. I was completely shattered and in desperate need of a few hours shut eye. Due to the nice people of Germany deciding to go on strike on all the feeder trains to Munich I had several train changes ahead of ... read more

Hey hey! Its been a while since my last entry! The time has gone so fast.....its crazy! It is now one day until I fly to OZ. Finished my travel in Norway with a couple of days back in Oslo and then in the far south in Kristiansand. Everybody told me Norway was expensive but to give you some idea....... a Big Mac combo NZ$25! The cheapest places to eat were the 7 eleven convenience stores for a quick take away or the supermarkets. Even then it was hard going! I dont think I even had a beer in a pub. The local tradition is called the "forspeilen" or "foreplay". It means you get drunk at home before you go out. But regardless of the prices, the country is fantastic and the people are even better.They ... read more

Well, sorry for the delay in blogs. I have been a little sick this week and trying to figure out the university system here. I am going to slowly catch up on the events of the last few weeks. However, what better to begin with than Oktoberfest!! I planned the trip to Munich back in March when I found out that I would be coming this year to Germany. Going to the real Oktoberfest in Munich has always been a trip I have wanted to make. Thanks to Steve, we booked a hotel that he reccomended that was right next to the fest and then I looked up a tent and we made some reservations. I left Hamburg with my friends Austin and Robert on Friday morning at 9 am. We had a direct ICE train ... read more

So I was super excited on Friday since I was meeting up with Colleen and her sister Carrie. FRIENDS! In the morning, I had breakfast with Lindsey and actually finished A Million LIttle Pieces. Interesting. Very intense, but a good book nontheless. Lindsey wanted to go shopping to buy a dirndl (those bar maid dresses) so I went with her. We had a blast! We went into this department store and she tried on all these different ones. I had so much fun. She ended upbuying one! Then we went to a huge bookstore, and I bought yet another book, the Life of Pi. =) After, it was time to meet Colleen and Carrie at the HOTEL Europa! I was sooo happy to see them. We checked in and then walked to Oktoberfest. I was a ... read more

We head out early, planning to spend the day in Cologne, or Köln, as it’s known in Germany. There is little traffic so we make it there in two hours, much quicker than anticipated. Our first goal is to see the Lindt Chocolate Museum, or Schokoladenmuseum, but it’s not open yet so we spend some time exploring the bank of the Rhine River and enjoying the breeze. The Chocolate Museum is located just off the mainland and in the Rhine River at the Rheinau Port. It’s a historical view of chocolate, with descriptions in both German and English, and, of course, they show how modern day chocolate is produced and let you taste the fresh product. In the museum we find everything from decades-old bottles of Nigerian chocolate wine to 18th century hot chocolate pots and ... read more