The Return

Well, I'm back. Both to London and to blogging.

We got back yesterday from our first adventure through Europe, so I'll dive right in.

We left last Friday after my class and flew to Amsterdam. After a bit of uncertainty we got on the right train from the airport and headed into the city. We reached our hotel, and were pleasantly informed that we were receiving a free upgrade: the building is actually two hotels in one, with a 3 Star hotel and a 4 Star. We had booked the cheaper 3 Star hotel, but they bumped us up to the 4 Star for free! No complaints from us. We headed up to our room, and walked into a very nice and spacious room. We had a TV which we took advantage of to watch some of the Olympics during our down time, a nice/big bathroom, and a big and extraordinarily comfortable bed. We met up with Lauren and Michael, who made a last-minute decision to join us for the weekend, and walked out of the hotel into Rembrandt Square (our hotel's location was awesome). We found a good dinner place (Italian), which was a sign of the first surprise of the city for me: the food was incredible. The next day we went to a famous Dutch restaurant for lunch called the Pancake Bakery, and I had the best pancake (crepe, really) I've ever had. It was called the Caprese, and it had fresh mozzarella and basil, pesto, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Jillian had a sweet pancake with Nutella, bananas, and whipped cream, which was also very good, but we both agreed mine was better. For dinner that night we went to an Asian restaurant called Wok to Walk, which was surprisingly good given its fast-food nature - they made a stir fry dish fresh to order (my type of place). On our last day, Sunday, Jillian and I stopped in at a small cafe and both ordered falafel that was better than most of the falafel we had had in Israel. Who knew?

Anyway, aside from food, the city was great. We had Friday evening, all day Saturday, and most of Sunday before we left, so we got a pretty good feel for it. It was much prettier than I anticipated, with old buildings and canals everywhere. It also was relatively small, and we saw pretty much all of it by foot. Notable tourist sites we saw were: the Van Gogh Museum (not our favorite, and very expensive), the Anne Frank House (very well done), and the Heineken Experience at the old brewery (a fun time, but once was definitely enough). We also took a stroll through the Red Light District which was a combination of surreal, fascinating, and creepy. Overall, I really enjoyed the city and would definitely go back when it was warmer, as the parks are supposed to be really nice in the spring. And it was good to have some company for our first travels.

Sunday evening we parted ways from Lauren and Michael and flew to Berlin. Jillian had begun to get sick (it appeared she had caught the cold I had before we left) earlier in the trip and was thoroughly miserable by Sunday. So when we got off the bus from the airport and I spent 20 minutes in the 15 degree weather leading us in a circle (I was trying to find point A, the starting point, on our walking directions... and succeeded, before she pointed out we were in fact trying to get to point B, the destination) she was, of course, thrilled. We eventually got to our hostel, which at first was a bit disappointing after having stayed in the hotel in Amsterdam. But once we remembered the Amsterdam hotel was going to be the exception rather than the rule, we realized the hostel was also pretty nice. By the time we got in it was past 11, so we just got settled and called it a night. Our train for Prague was scheduled for 8:30 AM on Tuesday, so we only had Monday (and about 36 hours total) in Berlin. The hostel offered a free walking tour of the city, which we took on Monday morning. It was very informative, very interesting, and very cold. It took about 4 hours and most of it was outdoors. Jillian lamented the freezing of her toes (not that they were freezing, but that they had actually frozen), which seemed to happen relatively often on the trip. But considering her health she was a trooper and never stayed back or shortened our sightseeing and never complained (well maybe not the latter).

The city seemed to have a very confused identity and still doesn't really seem to know what to make of itself. It was much more spread out than Amsterdam, but had far fewer shops and restaurants near our hostel (which was pretty centrally located). I felt a bit out of place there, but not from anything said or done by the people; I guess I just felt strange being there given the history. The city was not nearly as pretty as Amsterdam, but the history was interesting (although many of the "historical" buildings are not actually historical since they had to be rebuilt after WWII). It grew on me a bit as the day wore on, but as you can tell, I preferred Amsterdam. Jillian and I made a decision to have a least one authentic meal in every country we visit (maybe not Scotland...), a mission that should be far easier over spring break in Spain, Italy, and Greece. So for dinner we found an authentic German restaurant. I resisted the urge to try the Schnitzel made from Cow Udder, and instead we both went with a noodle souffle (nudelflaufenhausenplatz... something like that. By the way, those big cursive B's in German? Not B's. Someone got confused and decided they should be S's.) The noodle dish was really good: it was penne, broccoli, onions, and mushrooms baked with a ton of cheese. It was listed under the snack portion of the menu, so Jillian and I each ordered a soup in case it was too small. The soups were also good, and came out in bowls on top of bigger bowls containing candles to keep the soup warm. Very interesting. The "snack-sized" souffles ended up being enormous, as a side note.

We got up bright and early on Tuesday for our train (very relaxing and stress-free: a nice change from flying/figuring out how to get from airports to the city). We got in in the middle of the day, and headed to our hostel. The room was huge, a lot bigger than either of our previous two rooms, and was nice enough. Prague as a whole is very cheap, and the hostel was no exception: 12 Euros each. Eager to take advantage of the rest of the day, we headed out. First we walked through the major street in the New Town, which was lively and modern and filled with restaurants. Then we made our way to the Old Town Square, which is breathtaking as it first comes into view. It is surrounded by beautiful buildings, including two churches and a clocktower. We checked out the churches and then walked to the famous Charles Bridge for an incredible view of the city - the Old Town on one side of the river, and the Castle Quarter on the other. Our big sightseeing day was Wednesday, though, and we forced ourselves awake early once again (no small feat for those who know me) to head out to the Jewish Quarter. There we saw 4 synagogues, a ceremonial hall, an old cemetery, and another synagogue that serves as a Memorial to all of the Czech Holocaust victims. The last site was the most powerful to me, as the inside of the synagogue has each and every single victim's name handwritten on the walls.

Our next stop wasn't quite so somber, as we crossed the river and headed up to Prague Castle. We went inside the St. Vitus Cathedral, which was absolutely HUGE. It was Notre Dame-esque, and the interior was decorated with an incredible amount of gold and stain glass - definitely a memorable cathedral. We also checked out the rest of the castle grounds and the Golden Lane, which was a small, quaint street lined with old storefronts and buildings (Kafka apparently lived in one of them). Our last stop after the castle was the Lennon Wall. Apparently after Lennon's death, graffiti artists were inspired to commemorate his legacy by tagging a wall. The city was not impressed, and a drawn out battle ensued of spray painting, removal, spray painting, removal, etc. Eventually the city gave up and allowed the graffiti to remain, and now it has become a tourist attraction. The wall wasn't huge, and I was surprised at how much of the graffiti now seems to be completely unrelated to Lennon, but some of the work was very cool. After 8 hours of sightseeing and walking, we headed back to relax before going to a nearby restaurant to experience our Czech meal. Czech cuisine can essentially be described as meat and potatoes. The meal was fine, but nothing spectacular.

So there is my roundabout, meandering description of our trip. I guess to sum up I would say I enjoyed Prague and Amsterdam more than Berlin, but all three had their pros and cons. I presume visiting all of them in spring would also have been different. Amsterdam was the most touristy, while remaining beautiful and interesting. Berlin was interesting historically, and I think would be a very different city to visit if I returned in even as little as 5 years (since it changes so much). Prague might have been the most beautiful city I've ever seen, and had a sense of history that was truly incredible. So all in all, not bad for a 6 day trip. By the end I had gotten into a pretty good rhythm for traveling and sightseeing (we think we might have legitimately walked close to 50 miles in the week), but it was definitely nice to get back to London. It's weird that when we got off the subway at Warren Street that it felt a bit like home.

But now we've got one trip's worth of experience under our belts (with no major problems) before our big trip in April. This trip was definitely tiring, and I'm sure that one will be too, but they will be somewhat different. First, the weather will make a big difference. Sightseeing for hours and walking 8 miles in a day will always be tiring, but doing it in 60 degree vs. 20 degree weather will make it a lot more enjoyable. Secondly, we have longer stays in each city in April. Having 3-4 full days in cities means we won't have to cram everything into one absurdly long day, and will allow us more time between actual travel. So in some ways, even though it's 3 times longer, I think that trip might be less tiring.

Anyway, now it's back to life here in London. We had dinner last night with Jillian's neighbor and family friend Andy Orent (Jillian grew up with Andy's daughter Jaime), who was in town for business and gracious treated us to a delicious meal at a Japanese noodle restaurant called Wagamama. Today, Jillian has been working all day on a paper we have due on Monday. My progress is predictable: no progress. I'll do it tomorrow or Sunday. The trip definitely made us realize how similar London is to the US. Yes, there are differences, but they are small. Things we don't even think about in the US (like free water at restaurants) don't exist in places like Germany and the Czech Republic, but do in London.

So I'm just spending today getting organized again here and what not. Visitors start coming in soon: Mom and Dad and my friend Travis both in a couple weeks or so, my friend Ashley from Penn before that. Time is flying by!

Well, time to wrap this long entry up. I'd be happy to talk about the trip more in depth via Skype or email, so just say the word.


Time for this week's cultural difference:

In the London version of the Super Bowl, the Colts won.

Goodbye, January.

It's hard to believe that February has arrived - I'm coming up on a month that I've been here already. Time flies.

Another week in the books, and only one more full one before the travels begin. I am glad to say I am continuing to enjoy my time here, and although I do miss friends and family and certain aspects of life in the States, I haven't had to deal with any significant feelings of homesickness or tiredness of being here - having Jillian around certainly helps with that. It will be nice to have visitors in March beginning with Mom and Dad, though.

Classes are in full swing now. International Security continues to be my favorite class of the bunch, and we have moved into the section on nuclear proliferation and terrorism which interests me. Developmental was a bit better this past week, as was Psych and Education. Art History... remains Art History.

Early in the week Jillian and I met up with her friend Lauren for another half-off dinner at Pizza Express to welcome her to London. When Jillian and I went there the first time, we finished up and asked for a box for our leftovers, but the waiter informed us they couldn't do that since they didn't have a "take-out license." Very odd. So he asked if we wanted him to leave the leftovers after all, to which we agreed. We finished them off, and he returned and said "So you won, eh?" Well, this time around, Jillian was not to be denied. She smuggled a Tupperware container in her purse, and then when she was done eating with three pieces remaining, cautiously looked left, then right. In a flash of quickness the pizza was shoveled off her plate and into her Tupperware, which was then jammed back into her purse. A content and mischievous smile crept across her face. And the pizza crept into her stomach for lunch the next day.

On Wednesday Jillian and I went with two of our flatmates (who brought another friend and a boyfriend, respectively) to see Avatar. George (Rosie's boyfriend) and I had already seen it once, and Rosie had actually seen it twice before, but the other three hadn't seen it yet. It was just as good the second time, and remains the best movie I've seen in a while. Jillian, despite an initial lack of interest when it first came out, seemed to enjoy it. Continuing her smuggling ways, Jillian had us stop at a convenience store en route to the theater so we could all stock up on snacks for the film. Han Solo would be proud.

Other than that, during the week we passed the time with some online games (The Game of Life was a brief hit before we couldn't find any more free 60 minute trials) and more of The Wire. We finished Season 1 and are half way through Season 2 - for those who haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it. I've also found that I can watch episodes of Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption on ESPN.com, so I've been watching the previous day's episodes.

Over the weekend, we attempted to go out to eat at a Mexican place called Wahaca, that was supposedly Chipotle-esque (and some people online dared to claim it was even better). It's right by Trafalgar Square, so we walked down only to find that there was an hour wait. Jillian didn't feel like waiting (yeah, I just threw you under the bus on that one) so we headed out to find a different place to eat. We settled on the Spaghetti House, which was a decent chain restaurant. Nothing special, but it was good enough. Afterward we hung out with Lauren for a bit at the UCL Union's Pub. Sunday we did our weekly grocery shopping, including some items at a different store called Mark's and Spencer's. A bit pricier, but with some different options. After that we walked up to Camden Market to walk around and check it out. It's a HUGE market with all sorts of flea market type stalls with food, clothing, etc. Many offers for free samples and for "4 pound mix and match" Asian food. Also an offer from a British kid around my age consisting simply of the word: "Marijuana?" Right in the middle of the street. Very interesting. But the market was cool, and we'll definitely head back sometime.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Lauren and Michael (he got in yesterday) to a place called Yo! Sushi. We had 40% off coupons (even with those it was expensive... upwards of 5 pounds for two pieces of sushi) and had heard it was a fun place to go. The sushi comes around on a conveyor belt like at Pod in Philly. It was a good and fun dinner, and in a part of town we hadn't been to yet (Russell Square) that was really nice. The restaurant was part of an outdoor mall, which included a grocery store called Waitrose that was even bigger than the main Sainsbury's we usually go to. We walked around and Jillian and I eventually decided to get a delicious looking Apple and Blackberry pie. We had some when we got back for dessert with ice cream - indeed, delicious.

So tomorrow, back to class bright and early. I did a big chunk of reading today, so I think I'm finally getting back into school mode - or at least something resembling that. No big plans yet this weekend except to watch the Super Bowl at Lauren and Michael's since they have a TV. I'll be monitoring Freeney's ankle...

If there is a long gap between this blog post and the next, it's probably because the Colts lost and I fell into a mild depression. Only slightly exaggerating. Go Colts.


This week's cultural difference:

No Cheetos. How could you not have Cheetos growing up?!