"Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow."
Of course, since my 2-3 day weekend trips require a ton of writing in themselves (and I still have not had time to catch up on adding pictures to some of the posts!), this post is going to come in segments. Thus, this is actually Week 9: Famous Last Words, pt. 1. And, since I have lots of work to catch up on, soccer and D&D to play, classes to enroll in, and meals to eat, this post is going to be a summary of my various days this week--to give you a taste of how exciting and exhausting it really was, haha. Here goes nothing!
Alrighty. So, first things first, on Friday the 13th we spent most of the day traveling--walking to the train station, taking a couple of trains to the Rome FCO airport, flying into London Gatwick, taking a train to Victoria, then walking to our hostel. After checking into our hostel, we promptly turned in.
Day two, Saturday 14, we started off the day by venturing to King's Cross station and searching for platform 9 3/4. (In case you couldn't guess, I'm a massive HP fan; more to come on that later, haha.) We went to the little HP store by the platform, then took our picture at the trolley. Moving on, we headed off to Green Park for a free tour of some of the big sites of London, meeting by the statue of Diana and listening to a street player playing the sax as we waited for the tour to start. We visited Buckingham palace, other royal residences, saw some guards (I even got a response from one--a nod, but better than nothing! Lol), walked to Trafalgar Square, saw Downing St, the Houses of Parliament, and the tower holding Big Ben, ending in front of Westminster Abbey. Following the tour we grabbed a quick lunch and headed off by train and bus to Harry Potter Studios, because why the heck not?! We spent hours and hours there, seeing the sets and the costumes and the props, listening to the audio tour, drinking butterbeer, and reliving our childhoods, haha. After heading back into London we went to a pub for some fish and chips then headed off to bed.
Day three, Sunday 15, we started off in Churchill's war rooms, exploring this WWII bunker and all of the exhibits it contained. We progressed from here to the Tower of London, getting an informative tour from a yeoman and then exploring the white tower, viewing the crown jewels, listening to the royal choir in the chapel, walking the battlements, passing by traitor's gate, and walking under the bloody tower. We crossed Tower Bridge having picked up some hot dogs from a street vendor, heading down towards and then crossing the London Bridge, passing an interesting band of people dancing and playing their way through 10 bridges as a 10k. We went to the Globe Theatre next, taking a tour and visiting the exhibits inside. With some time to spare, we headed to the London Bridge Experience (an interesting, interactive tour of the bridge's history ending with a horror maze, haha), passing through a cool little market on the way. We wandered around, ending up under the Shard, before crossing Millenium Bridge and grabbing some caramel-roasted peanuts as we headed off to Hyde Park. At Hyde Park we watched the sunset over the water and some birds before meeting up with some other friends for a roast dinner at another pub. Another day, gone!
Day four, Monday 16, we started off at the National Gallery, where we viewed Monet's Waterlilies and the third Battle of San Romano. (We have now seen all three parts: one in Florence's Uffizi, one in Paris's Louvre, and one in London's National Gallery! What?! Haha.) After a couple of hours there, I headed off to tour Westminster Abbey, admiring the Gothic architecture and finding the tombs of Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, various royalty and writers, and so many more. Overwhelming doesn't even begin to describe it. . . Next was the British Museum, where I started off with the Egyptian section (with the Rosetta Stone and mummies!!!), then heading off to tour the rest of the vast museum. Of course an alarm had to go off as I was finishing the Americas section, so we got evacuated out of the exhibit for a good 20 minutes or so before being allowed back in, where I randomly met up with some friends I hadn't even known would be there. From the museum, my trio rushed off to the train station, where we searched for a quick dinner before heading off to the airport for a late flight to Dublin.
Day five, Tuesday 17, we took a bus from near our bnb into the city center of Dublin, where we promptly lined up a couple hours in advance of the start of the parade. With it only drizzling for a short while (thank goodness), we stood in the crush of people to view the various bands and floats and such in the parade, heartily enjoying the creativity of the Irish community and the bagpipe bands while being astonished at the number of American marching bands, haha. From there we took a walking tour of the city which passed through castles and parks and ended up in St. Patrick's cathedral. We then asked a guard/policeman for advice on where to eat dinner, and were directed to an '80s style diner called Eddie Rocket's. After a Paddy O' Shake and a delicious burger and fries, we weaved our way through the crowds to take a bus back to where our bnb was, stopping by an Irish pub for a drink (my first hard cider!) in more of a locals' bar, enjoying the genuine Irish atmosphere. We turned in early, around 10 pm, in preparation for our departure by taxi the next morning at 5:30 am.
Day six, Wednesday 18, my friends were forced to check their bags planeside and then our plane ended up sitting on the tarmac for almost 2 hours before taking off. Thanks to another delay at baggage claim at Schonefeld in Berlin, we didn't board a train and arrive in the city itself until after 12 in the afternoon. Our hostel was surprisingly clean and nice for us staying in a 42 person room (no joke), and ended up being Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy themed, funnily enough. (Sadly I knew exactly what the "Don't Panic!" and whale and flowerpot meant, and recognized all of the quotes too. . . I am such a geek. . . ) We asked for a restaurant recommendation and ended up at a local place called Sophieneck, then wandered around, visiting a synagogue, the TV Tower, Rathaus and Neptune fountain at Alexanderplatz, the Berlin Dom and nearby bridges, the Brandenburger Tor and Reichstag, and the Tiergarten. We grabbed currywurst from a street vendor for dinner, than turned in early once again.
Day seven, Thursday 19, I decided to walk with my one friend all the way across the city to Schloss Charlottenburg--a good hour and a half long walk to start off the day, haha. Then I split off on my own to visit my grandma's cousin--my cousin twice removed, in case you were wondering about the relation, haha--navigating the U-bahn on my own. (So many metros in so many different countries and cities, I could write a book about my experiences, haha.) My "cousin" was amazing, so kind and smart and engaging, and I am so glad I had the chance to meet her. She took me up through Pottsdam, across the bridge where they exchanged spies in WWII, past the spot where a conference between Johnson, Stalin, and Churchill took place, up to Sanssouci--another palace, though probably prettier than the first and with more extensive gardens. Plus there was a random flute player (because Frederick the Great, whose summer palace this was, placed the flute), a windmill that looked like it belonged in the Netherlands, and Frederick the Great's grave covered by potatoes next to the graves of his 11 dogs. We ate a delicious lunch at the Drakenhaus--outside of course, since it was a beautiful day--and then headed back to her house where she made me tea and rhubarb pie as we talked some more before I had to leave to meet back up with my friends. Another friend had joined us in Berlin at this point, so the four of us headed off to dinner at a bierhall before turning in.
Day eight, Friday 20, sitting in the hostel eating breakfast, I learned in an email from my "cousin" that there was to be a solar eclipse over Berlin, starting in, oh, 15 minutes or so. Of course we all rushed down towards the Brandenburger Tor and the Tiergarten, buying some dorky-looking glasses we could stare at the eclipse through and watching the passage of the moon over the sun from a bunch in the garden while drinking Starbucks (hey, why not? haha). We then took a Sandemann's tour of Berlin, learning lots of neat stories about places and people and the history of the city, seeing the hotel where Michael Jackson Simba'd his infant child, learning about Napoleon stealing the statue off the Brandenburger Tor, seeing the Holocaust memorial and the site of Hitler's bunker, visiting the Berlin wall and the former headquarters of the Luftwaffe (now a finance office, fittingly, haha), and passing by Checkpoint Charlie back towards a beautiful square. Once again we grabbed a currywurst off the street as we headed back to the Holocaust Museum where we spent a few hours before going to the Topography of Terror museum/exhibit. By Checkpoint Charlie once again, we grabbed bratwurst and Coke from a schoolbus (they literally sold food out of a converted schoolbus with a California license plate, lol), then headed back to the hostel before splitting off in two pairs for the night. I went with one friend to an Irish bar in a cool district by the one train station, where we drank hard cider while listening to live country music and getting hit on and dancing with drunk English guys there as part of a bachelor party--a fun and hysterical experience, haha.
Day nine, Saturday 21, I went out walking on my own in the morning, where the streets were oddly deserted and most places closed though it was already 8:30, 9am. I saw a cute miniature bookstore that I resolved to go back to when it was open and found a cute street of artsy stores and restaurants and cafes. Meeting back up with my friends at the hostel, we headed out for a tour of Sachsenhousen concentration camp, a depressing tour (to whose atmosphere the sudden persistent rain added), though an intriguing and emotional one. Our tour guide was also phenomenal, but of course after that experience we needed cheering up so we went to. . . a chocolate store!! And not just any chocolate store, but one with sculptures and a chocolate lava volcano and lots and lots and lots of premium chocolate to buy. So, after buying tons of chocolate, I headed off on my own to explore again the street of shops I had found in the morning (now that the stores were open!) and buy some souvenirs. After lots of exploring and a few purchases, I wandered back past Alexanderplatz to meet my friends for dinner at the Hofbrau Munchen bierhall, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner while listening to a German band dressed in liederhosen and drinking a half-liter of beer (my first full beer, and surprisingly good based off of the few sips of beer I'd had in the past, haha--though a bit much). Following that rowdy experience we headed back to the hostel, and by 10:30 the next morning we were heading by train and bus to Tegel airport, from which we flew back to Italy.
Day ten, Sunday 22, was thus spent traveling. Metro, bus, plane, bus, train, and then finally a short walk back to my apartment back in Arezzo. Following this was hours of Skyping family, unpacking, and a bit of homework before bed--in my own bedroom, without tens of snoring strangers, haha. And that was that--my spring break, survived and enjoyed!!!
So, after that long spiel that is indeed a shortened version of my spring break adventures, you can see why I might be a little exhausted. But, of course, there is much to catch up on and even more to do, so we shall see if I can manage to survive the semester without keeling over, haha. More to come on spring break later (hopefully including lots of pictures)!
Hope you all had a fantastic spring break! Arrivederci!!! :)
"Now I can cross the Shifting Sands."
Image Information. Personal photo from March 20th, showing a helicopter flying over the Berlin Wall at sunset.
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