Christmas and New Years: Adventures and Misadventures

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Well, unfortunately, I have not been in the blogging mood since my Christmas adventures, so I am adding this rather late. Sorry! The following is a summary of my adventures in Berlin, Paris, and Marseille. I am leaving out the majority of the misadventures because a) I'd rather not remember them and b) I dont' want my family to read them and worry! I'm alive and well so there you go haha. For some reason, when I uploaded photos they were out of order. Spent some time trying to fix them, but it was taking way too long! Most of them are entitled, so it's easy to figure out!

"Dude, do you realize that I just ate a 1/2 m. long bratwurst in under 3 minutes?"

Oh Berlin. So Shannon and I decided to spend our Christmas vacation in Berlin since there were supposedly 60 different Christmas markets available for our festive enjoyment. However, we only really went to 4. Oh well. Shannon also happened to have a friend named Chris (the two of us have since redone the lyrics to "The Grinch" and inserted the words Mr. Chris in place of Mr. Grinch), with whom we were supposed to stay with, but who, incidentally, tried (almost successfully) to ruin our vacation. So, we took a train to Ventimiglia (just over the Italian border), took a train from Ventimiglia to Milan, and then flew from Milan to Berlin. Since we flew RyanAir our flight was late, as per the usual with the most horrible airline company in the world, and we got into Berlin later than originally projected. So, long story short, and I am sparing you lots of gory details here, we finally made it to the hostel around 4:30 in the morning. We stayed at the Heart of Gold Hostel--Shannon found it. Seriously, it was quite possibly one of the weirdest places I have ever been to in my life. There were posters of Jager everywhere, they would sell you little bottles to go, they ahd the weirdest people working the front desk who knew absolutely nothing about Berlin, and they ALWAYS played strange weird old 80s grunge music. So odd.

Anyway, Shannon and I slept in a bit the next day since we had gotten in so late. The weather was fairly miserable almost the whole time we were in Berlin, so it was dark and cloudy most of the day--making it even harder to wake up and get going. Basically we went and picked up bus/metro passes so we could get around, and we went and grabbed brunch/linner at a little restaurant close to the hostel named Keyser Soze. The food was absolutely wonderful. It was a really small restaurant, not at all pretentious and very under stated. I was starving since I had eaten nothing but two slices of pizza at the Milan airport nearly 24 hours prior, so I had a big piece of toast with fried eggs and ham, and a pancake (which was actually a crepe, BUT they gave me maple syrup!!). Oh, and two huge beers. I was in Berlin after all.

The second day in Berlin, which was actually my birthday, Shannon and I actually made it out. We went up to Potsdamerplatz since we had heard there was a fairly decent Christmas market there. Unfortunately, it was freezing, windy and raining outside, so after making a quick loop through the market we ducked into the mall that was right next to the market. Shannon's used-to-be friend Chris met us there and took us to a Singaporian restaurant close by. The food was wonderful. I had a mango soup and something similar to a chicken curry with peanut sauce. After that Chris took us around and showed us a few of the sites. We saw the Brandenburg Gates, the window from which Michael Jackon hung his baby (duh, you can't miss that), Checkpoint Charlie, and a few other sites. AND, we went to one of the most magical Christmas markets ever--the Gendarmenmarkt. It was absolutely gorgeous, and entirely festive. I had a big mug of gluwhein--vin chaud--which was fantastic, and we saw a bet of a concert of Christmas carolers. Afterwards, Shannon and I went back to the hostel to get ready (insert altercation with the biggest French asshole I have ever met in my life--the details of which will not be enumerated upon here because I am trying to force them from my memory). Shannon's ex-friend Chris came to pick us up, along with the two South Korean girls staying in our hostel room who wanted to come out as well. The night basically ended up being rather disasterous, but there were a few funny moments worth remembering, although in the interest of taste and class I will not mention them here.

The third day was spent recovering. Oh, and taking care of credit card business since mine was stolen.

The fourth day in Berlin, Christmas Eve, was spent mostly doing a bit of wandering since a lot of things were closed. We got Dunkin Donuts for breakfast--the first of many days because there were Dunkin Donuts EVERYWHERE and I have never seen them anywhere else in Europe and my goodness they're good! We walked over to Alexanderplatz to the Christmas market there, but, unfortunately, it was closed. So we wandered around a bit more, past the Berliner Dom, around Humboldt University, and we attempted to find other pieces of the Berlin Wall since we'd only seen the portion in Potsdamerplatz. It actually ended up being a kind of running joke--"Where is the effing wall!?!". Finally, we ended up back at Potsdamerplatz, and I ate my first bratwurst of the trip. Seriously, it's a good thing I don't live in Germany because I would be grossly obese (I realize France is not much better since all I am doing is eating carbs and cheese and drinking wine, however, I am convincing myself Germany would be worse). Anyway, it was freezing cold, so we eventually headed back to the hostel. Shannon had met a few of the other people staying at the hostel the day before, and we ran into a few of them in the lobby. Long story short, we ended up getting pretty ridiculous and playing flip clip in the hostel dormitories for a couple of hours and then going out to a bar. Interesting night--to say the least--and Shannon walked away with some great stories. Again, skipping over the details.

SO, Friday, Christmas day and our last full day in Berlin, we went to the Alexanderplast market, saw the iceskating, and went to another Christmas market over by Humboldt University. Lots of Gluwhein and Christmas festivities.

We left on Saturday, but we had the morning and afternoon free so we went to the National Gallery and wandered around to see some of the sites. The National Gallery was really interesting and very well done. We saw an exposition of Carl Gustav Carus' work. It was actually pretty interesting--some of his work was pretty mediocre, but he did a lot of nightscapes and a lot with churches and old ruins. Those were absolutely breathtaking. The way that he worked with light was amazing, it was like the paintings emitted their own light. They glowed and the leaked leaked out from the background. After the museum we ran by Alexanderplatz again, and this time I got a 1/2 m long bratwurst--thus the title of this section of my blog. Yes, I really did eat the entire thing in under 3 minutes. Yes, it was fantastic. I also ate a chocolate covered banana. Also fantastic.

That evening we began our rather heinous trip home. First, the metro to the airport. Then flight to Milan and a bus to the train station. Then, we ended up staying in the train station--long story, and one of the most horrible experiences of my entire life. Will never do it again. I won't even begin to discuss all of the horrors--particularly the bathroom situation. We hopped on a train to Ventimiglia around 6:20 a.m., and got a train from Ventimiglia to Nice. I finally made it home that afternoon, totally exhausted. Then, I had to pack and get ready to head to Paris the next day!

The city of lights of love

and Martine
I took a train to Paris...took about 6 hours because the cheapest way was to take a train to Marseille and change there to take the train to Paris. Absolutely gorgeous trip though, and I got to see a little bit of the Provence region. The countryside really is just amazing. All of the mountains and the fields and the olive orchards and the vineyards and the little villages. I can't imagine how gorgeous it is once you get away from the train tracks. I finally got into Paris around 8:30 or so, and headed over to a friend's apartment--she was away for the holidays but had spoken with her landlord and I was going to stay there for a few days. Unfortunately, I got there and there was no key. Figures--really just about everything that can go wrong on a trip went wrong these past two weeks I'm telling you. So after calling a few people in the States to get her number, and after a few failed attempts to get in touch with her, I started really worrying that I was going to end up spending the night in the hallway of a random apartment building. So, I called the woman I had stayed with when I studied abroad junior year, Martine. Thank God for Martine. She is probably one of the best people in the entire world. I explained my little predicament and she immediately says, "OH! Well come right now, stay with me!" Like I said, best person in the world. So, I hopped back on the metro and went back to my old home. That night I was tucked into my old bed, watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle. What a wonderful feeling.

The next day Martine and I went out to lunch and walked around the neighborhood for a bit. It was so great to catch up with her and hear about all the crazy kids she'd had stay with her since me. Then, I went over to the Latin Quarter, where I spent most of my time when I was studying, and walked around a bit. I went into Saint Sulpice and the church behind the Pantheon, Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, which was absolutely gorgeous. There were two large spiral staircases on either side, and everything was done in white...I guess marble. It was neat going into some of the places I had never been into, and definitely worth it.

The next day, the 30th, I went to the Rodin Museum (one of my faves) to see the exposition on Rodin and Matisse. Definitely worth it. It was really interesting to their work side by side--to see how much Rodin influenced Matisse, to see how much they were influenced by similar things, and to see how much their techniques had in common. I never realized how many similarities the artists shared. It was crazy looking at some of their sculpture pieces side by side and not being able to tell whose was whose. Of course, some of their works are so unique that you know immediately who the artist is, but, nonetheless, they share a lot of similarities. After spending a few hours at the Rodin museum I walked around Paris a bit, through the Luxembourg gardens, and around some of the other places I frequented when I last lived in Paris.

On the 31st I went and saw Sainte Chapelle because I hadn't done that before either. Apparently, it is supposed to be one of the best examples of high gothic architecture, but I thought it was kind of a bust. The stained glass windows are gorgeous obviously, but nothing more special than I've seen elsewhere. Then, I went to go meet my friend Bernadette and her best friend. The three of us, along with 5 other Americans, spent New Years at one of Berna's friend's houses. There were about 10 or so French kids who threw a party. It was actually pretty cute. The guys had prepared an entire dinner--duck with rice and they had even baked a cake! I definitely missed being with my friends and family though; New Years isn't quite as much fun when you aren't spending it with the people that you love the most.

The next day I grabbed lunch and finally made it back to Martine's. She had her nephew and his wife over, and two of her daughters also came--one with her husband and one with one of her daughters, Daphne. I spent the day with everyone, speaking French, eating and celebrating the New Year. It was a lot of fun--speaking French and also just listening them debate about everything. They had some pretty strong opinions about the U.S. and American culture which were pretty interesting and quite funny.

The last day I spent in Paris I met up with Hannah, who had just gotten back from the holidays. It was so wonderful to get to see her! We went and ate at one of our old restaurants close to the Pantheon--although, they didn't have vin chaud which was nearly heart breaking. Then, we went back to Hannah's apartment, and we went out on her roof! AMAZING! It was so neat, and she has such an amazing view of Paris--thus, all of the many pictures I took. It was a wonderful way to end my trip to Paris, and I really can't wait to go back! It really does feel like a second home now.

A day in Marseille

I had a flight out of Paris fairly late at night, and got into Marseille after midnight. I had to take a bus to the train station, and then ended up having some problems with my hostel. Long story short I ended up staying at a hotel because I absolutely refused to spend a night in a train station again and especially not alone. Not to mention there was an older man on the bus to the train station with cigarette mouth who hit on me and wanted my number--definitely didn't want to take the chance of running into that one again. So the first night was fairly heinous. I slept in a bit in the morning, had a big breakfast and took a nice long shower--definitely took advantage of the fact that I have much less money to spend on food this month ahha.

I spent a few hours or so in Marseille, so I walked down to the Vieux Port and took a bus up to Notre Dame de la Garde--the huge cathedral on the hilltop that you can see from just about everywhere in Marseille. It was absolutely breathtaking. The church is one of my favorites I have ever seen, due to the nautical theme, and I took maybe 50 pictures. Church services were being held when I got there since it was Sunday, so I sat in for church as well which was really nice. Then I wandered around town a bit more, saw a few more churches and walked along the coast. I ended up hopping on a train a couple of hours earlier than anticipated and got home around 7ish which was great.

The past couple of days I have spent recovering. Yesterday, I hardly moved from bed and watched movies all day long! Saw Blind Side and Where the Wild Things Are which were both good--Blind Side is definitely a new fave. Today I tried my hand at making a Boeuf Bourgignone which went amazingly well. Looks like my cooking abilities have definitely improved! I go back to work tomorrow, and I am thoroughly unexcited, but it will give me something to do!

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Photos

Berliner Dom
loved the statues by the river

Berlin Wall
In Potsdamerplatz

Gendarmenmarkt
One of the most amazing Christmas markets ever, and, quite unfortunately, the only one at which I did not eat a bratwurst

Icesled
Prices in Euros for the rides or Fahrten. Seriously, how are you supposed to pronounce that? It looks just like fart. So obviously when I read it I started giggling uncontrollably and took a picture.

Pyramid
At the Christmas Market in Alexanderplatz

Christmas Market
In Alexanderplatz--Gluhwein is what they call vin chaud. Best drink in the world.

Bratwurst!!!
So good.

Bratwurst
Look at that look of pure joy and bliss.

Hannah's roof
Sitting with the chimneys!

Eiffel Tower
View from my old room!

Sunset
So gorgeous...