The End!!!

I'm the worst blogger ever!! But I'm home now (well actually in NY) so read www.brookekd.tumblr.com to follow my life.. ha.

dad-ya happy now? love you ;)

Prahahahaha

So once again its been a while since I've updated and since I've actually been to where I'm writing about...so mainly this is going to be Prague in pictures....

Ever since I knew I was going to Europe, people have told me to go to Prague. The other weekend we packed up and headed north (maybe north east?) for a QUICK trip. Our flight was very early in the morning...so early that we could not get to the airport in time in the morning so we had to go Thursday night and sleep in the airport. This airport is no Hartsfield-Jackson...we were on the cement floor near the doors so that if the you actually managed to sleep on the hard surface, the cold blasts from the doors ensured it was a short-lived slumber. We were all so excited when we finally got to board the plane.

Regardless of our little sleep (which is becoming a continuing trend), we arrived in Prague ready to see the city. We went to the old town square and opted to eat lunch there. Well turns out its a huge tourist trap and we ended up paying close to 40 euro for stuff like turkey sandwiches (and it didn't help one girl scooted out on the bill). The waitress started adding extra costs in, like 20 euro for bread. And mind you, they don't use euros, they use crowns(?)...so 100 crowns is close to 4 euros. From the ATMs you get 1000 crown notes. I literally had no concept on how much anything was. For a town that we had been told was cheap, cheap, cheap, our first experience made us highly doubt that.

View from the castle.

One afternoon we did a walking tour. It was terrible and I left 1.5 hours into it for Subway. The woman knew nothing about making it interesting or the English language. But she did take us up to the castle where there was an amazing view of Prague, which is a really beautiful city.


Singing nuns

While at the castle a pack of nuns walked by singing. I couldn't help but try to change there song to "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria", my favorite song sung by a pack of nuns.


Statue

This was a weird statue we passed.

Vikings/Models

These cute little guys were modeling clothes in a store. What a choice idea for a manikin...when I see an outfit on a viking all I can do is go buy it and hope I look half as good.


Gypsy doll.

There was a window full of these in Amsterdam and I loved it. Then in Prague I passed a whole stand selling these little witches/gypsys. One stand even had motion censored gypsys so when you walked by they cackled. I have no idea why I didn't buy one.

This is the famous clock in Prague. It goes off every hour and people stand there going nuts.
I've heard from several people that its the most disappointing things to watch. Our leader told us that a man built this clock and it was the only one of its kind in Europe. Prague was proud to have it and to ensure that no one else could, people burnt out the guy who made it's eyes. Then in his blind fury he made it to the top and threw a metal rod down it it....and it took years and years to fix it. That's revenge if I've ever heard it.

Prague was such an awesome city. I'd highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Europe.

fun fact: I am currently on a bus from Valencia to Barcelona...it has wifi! how cool!

Next up: Lake Garda, Tuscany, Florence, Rome, Valencia, Barcelona...

Ciao for now :)

Amsterdamned

After Munich and Salzburg, part of the group headed north to Amsterdam. I had no idea what to expect, but from what I had heard about this town I expected hippies everywhere.

When we got there the girls headed to the hotel we booked (no way I was doing 3 Ducks again with people on drugs) and the boys headed to their place.

We had no idea what was in store for us.

The "I Amsterdam" thing thats supposedly famous.
We saw this sign after going to the Van Gough museum. I loved seeing all these works of art under one roof. He was so talented.


View from a bridge of the Red Light District.

One afternoon we went to the Red Light District. I was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. The women stand in the windows, probably drugged out, hoping to appeal to some sick person. The way the women are displayed is not as though they are people, but an item that you can buy (like a pair of shoes). We were there for maybe 15 minutes though 5 would have been enough for me.


Kari, Cameron, and me at the Heineken Brewery/museum. Note our cool hats. All of the girls got them except for Kari/lameo.
The outside of the Heineken Brewery/museum.


One of Amsterdam's infamous "coffee" shops.
Madame Tussaud's wax museum. (we didn't go in though)


We went to Anne Frank's house one morning. The line was really long but totally worth the wait. I read The Diary of Anne Frank in elementary school, so it had been a while. In my memory the area where they lived seemed reasonable, but standing in the room that Anne shared with another person was pretty surprising. The rooms were tiny. I cannot imagine living there for as long as they did. We got to walk through the door that led to the Annex (the one that was blocked by the bookcase) and head up the stairs. Seeing where this young girl hid for her life was very touching. Throughout the house there were excerpts from her diary. It was hard to believe that someone so young was so insightful.

A-MAZ-ING Pancake (Bacon and Cheese)

After Anne Frank's house, we went down the street to The Pancake Bakery. They had soooo many pancake choices. I opted for a savory pancake with bacon and cheese...it was wonderful. Other people got sweet pancakes like nutella. Just thinking about it is making my stomach growl.

All of these experiences (Van Gough, Heineken, Anne Frank's house, etc) make Amsterdam seem like a charming town, but the in between times left me with a different mind set. As previously mentioned, I expected a hippie town. Instead of hippies there seemed to be people who lived there and rode around on bikes or drug addicts. The presence of crazy drug addicts kept me feeling uneasy for a lot of the trip.

On our last night in Amsterdam, one of the girls got pickpocketed (her wallet and passport). We got to spend some quality time at the Amsterdam Police Dept. While waiting for her paperwork to process, a man came in with no shirt on holding a plastic bag. I was terrified. He went up to the police at the desk and explained that he had too many mushrooms and mixed them with alcohol. He woke up like this (shirtless) and figured he'd been robbed (really? you have no shirt or wallet...how'd you come to that conclusion?). He went on to say that he was seeing things, his brain was not working right, and he needed a doctor. In America he would have been rushed to the ER. In Amsterdam, the police laughed and told him to wait in line.

After waiting for a while, the police said that the whole system was down in all of Amsterdam and we'd have to come back in the morning. On another note, in the police station one of the police women looked at our group and asked if we'd all been helped. We all nodded "Yes" and probably looked confused since we were all together and she pointed at me and said, "Oh I though you were Dutch." I was ecstatic that I didn't look like an American tourist like the rest of the group, but they attributed it to the fact that I am the only blonde of the group.

Though I left Amsterdam ready to get out of that town, looking back I would like to try it again. If the weather had been nicer, it would have been neat to do a bike tour through the country or see the Rembrandt museum.

Next stop: Prague!

Ciao for now!

the hills are alive...

After Munich we continued our journey to Salzburg. The town was beautiful! Its been a long time so I'm just going to tell about it through photos...


We went on the Sound of Music tour (it was filmed in Salzburg) one afternoon. In preparation for the tour, we watched the movie the night before in our hotel room. While we rode on our Sound of Music themed tour bus, we listen to the soundtrack and sang along. I loved every minute of it.

This is the church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp got married. Its not even in Salzburg.


The view of a beautiful lake on the tour. Reminds me of Jackson, my love :)


View of the city of Salzburg from a fort. It was freeeeeezing when I took this pic.



This is one of the houses that posed as the Von Trapp family house. This one was the back, but there was another one that was the front.


Tricked out Sound of Music tour bus.

"16 Going on 17" gazebo. Tragically it was not open for the public so I couldn't prance around.


On the was to Salzburg we stopped at the salt mines a did a tour. We got to go on a really neat slide and I screamed the entire time. Surprise, surprise.

This is the photo of the whole crew in our chic salt mine jumpsuits.

Salzburg was so nice and pretty. I would love to be here in the spring/summer, namely so I could run though the green hills singing.

Munich/Munchen

So it's been a while...and this trip occured weeks ago but here it goes...

Warning: events may be out of order and details may be innacurate. Just let it happen.

After our first block of classes, we took a group trip to Munich and Salzburg. All 27 of us loaded up in a bus and headed north. The bus ride was one of the prettiest drives I have ever been on. weaving through the Alps and quaint little towns.

5-6 hours later, we arrived in Munich and checked into our hotel (which we were ecstatic about after staying in 3 Ducks in Paris). Then Martin took us on a tour through the frigid city and, knowing our group all too well, dropped us off at the Hofbrauhaus. This is the mecca for beer lovers. We gathered in a table and had beer liters at a time. The beer was great but the food was disgusting (I am not a big sausage fan). One girl ordered some sort of sausage and it came in a pot with a lid. We all imagined a warm sausage potato mixture or something like that and waited for her to remove the lid. Her expression upon opening it told us that we were wrong. Inside of the pot were two stark white sausages, still connected, floating in tepid water. I gagged. Others described it as an aerial view of the beluga whale tank at the GA Aquarium. Needless to say, the belugas were not consumed.

After the night was over, I had consumed 2 liters of beer and felt like I was going to bust for the rest of the night. At the time I didn't make the connection that what I was drinking was the equivalent of a 2 liter bottle of coke...one that I may buy at the grocery store and nurse for at least a week, not in one sitting. Then the group wobbled back to our hotel and had a great nights sleep.

The next day Martin took us to the concentration camp Dachau. Dachau was originally a prison and work camp for male political opponents, but towards the end of the war became more extreme and included women as well. I had no idea what to expect going into it. There is just a feeling of heaviness walking around somewhere like that. Even going through the gas chambers (which were never used) was a terrible feeling. It was and still is so hard to understand how so many people were so brainwashed that they were okay with concentration camps.

After Dachau, Martin dropped some of us off at the BMW headquarters. After growing up with a car fanatic, I was very excited to see this place. We went into the showroom where a creepy lady was singing and got to look at the new cars. The cars were all so shiny and nice...we loved getting to sit in the drivers seat and imagine for just a second that this was our ride. Then we heard a motorcycle reeving. Suddenly a man on a motorcycle flew through the showroom, driving up and down the large flights of stares. Pretty interesting. Then our stomachs got the best of us and we headed for the nearest Subway (no more beluga whales for me) and then went to the hotel to rest.

That night we decided to go to a 5 story discoteca, M-Park. The description on the internet made me want to go ahead and blast Lady Gaga and flick the lights on and off. When we arrived the bouncers looked at our international student cards and said, "Nope." (and for the record, the age to get in is 18. We are all 20+ and ecstatic to be away from fake ids in Athens. We are legally allowed in this place.) They want passports. I reply, "Do you really think I would bring a passport to a discotech?" and proceeded to whip out my UGA card, debit card, credit card, health insurance card, car insurance card, and bus pass, all of which have my name and a couple have a pic. We got in.

The drinks inside were overpriced and the cheapest thing we could get was 2 euro tequila shots. I hate tequila. My feathers are already ruffled from the bouncers and now they don't even serve beer for less that 8 euros. But the music was good and I knew most of it, give or take a few German beats. The girls all started dancing, especially when "Bad Romance" came on. Then a few of us went to dance by the DJ. Apparently the spot where we were dancing was already taken because a nasty girl out of nowhere shoved one of us off the stage. We brushed it off as an accident and then it happened again. All of her friends (including a 6"4' German man) started pushing us around. I tried to be nice but it really got out of hand when the man knocked one girl completely over. Unacceptable. Finally we had enough and moved on, but not before I got my last little jab in when I yelled, "You're giving a bad reputation to your country," turned on my heels, and stomped off. Later when I told everyone my verbal accost of the girl, they laughed, just as she did, and asked if that was really the best I could do.

When we left I was absolutely livid and the bouncer was stamping each of us as we left (I guess in case you wanted to return later). When he came close to me I told him:

a. Don't touch me.

b. I hate this place.

c. I'm never coming back here again.

On the way home a few of us sang the National Anthem and The Star Spangeled Banner the whole time.

Though I had a frustrating night out, I would love to see Munich in the summer when the weather is nice.

The two towers at a church in Munich. In this church is the Devil's footprint. I proposed to Martin and the group that we all go in and see if there is a match, but he wasn't as into that idea.

BMW Headquarters. Its a 4-cylinder building!

The entrance to Dachau.


Liters of beer at Hofbrauhaus. Yum.


Munich!





Next up: Salzburg.

Ciao for now!
Brooke

Paris Part Trois: I'm Louvrin' It

So I'm finally getting around to finishing Paris...here it goes!

These are mainly just pics beacuse it has been a while since I went there. But as of now it is definately my favorite city we've been to thus far (barely beating out Siena).

Paris at sunset. Beautiful.

Besides our gypsy encounters and nightmare hostel, we did do some tourist-y things, like go to the Louvre. It is probably the most overwhelming museum I have ever been to. I think I would need several weeks to take it all in. We went on Friday night (which for people between the ages of 18-26 is FREE!). We did the audio guided tour that took you through the highlights (Mona Lisa, etc).

The ceiling leading into the Ancient Rome area. (Tragically I didnt make it in there)

Me in front of the Mona Lisa...no flash was used, no worries.


The Statue of Venus.

On Saturday night we went to a resturant called Refuge de Fondue. There are only 2 tables that you literally have to climb over to get to your seat. 9 of us sat in a space that would typically hold 4. You don't order except for red or white wine. Then they just bring the fondue pots of cheese and oil, for cooking meat, and let you go to town. Maybe it was a long day or our gypsy instincts kicked in, but it was everyman for himself when the food came out. The people on either side of me had me pinned against the wall because they wouldn't let go of their skewers. Meat was stolen out of the pots, hot oil burned skin, and cheese was everywhere, but at the end of the meal everyone was full and happy sipping on their baby bottles.

Cameron and me with our baby bottles.

After not being able to shower for the entire weekend, the crew, looking slick as can be, was more that ready to be back in Verona preparing for our next adventure.

The Louvre

Ciao!

Paris, Part Deux: Gypsies

For some reason our group has become infatuated with gypsies. It all started in Venice, when people (who we decided were gyspies) kept coming up to us and trying to sell roses or "chicky chickys". One poor girl actually bought a "chicky chicky". Lucky for her she has since lost it and fully regained her soul.

I digress.

While at a bar in Paris, Frog and Princess, a creepy gypsy man kept following the group around. I didn't notice as much because I, along with Kari, were on a mission to have a Parisian drink. While we struggled to get to the bar and order this man kept creeping on the group. Eventually he got so close that one girl nicely put up her hands in the STOP position and shook her head "No." The gypsy then goes on to pull out a lighter.

Meanwhile...

Kari and I finally get to the bar and ask the bartender to make something. She ended up being American. What we got was not some authentic Parisian drink but rather a flaming shot of Sambuca.

This is our reaction when she pours out the nasty liquid and lights it on fire. As you can tell from our expressions we are saying "WHAT?!" The bartender was most likely a gypsy as well because she liked to light stuff on fire.

Post flaming licorice shot, Tess (victim of the gypsy) comes up and through all the noise I comprehend that the gypsy man lit her on fire. So naturally we leave. The next day I wanted to see a burn mark in her jacket but, alas, it was just a missunderstanding on my part, though she was threatened.

On Saturday (night after fire-gypsy) we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. It was supposed to be rainy and snowy, but instead it was a beautiful, freezing day. En route to this landmark, and unbeknownst to me, again, there was another gypsy encounter. The gypsy pulled the classic gypsy trick: "The Gold Ring". This is how it works (pay attention to avoid being gypped!)

Gold Ring Trick
1. Gypsy hides a ring along a pathway
2. Gypsy lunges at ring as victim nearly steps on it and stops them mid-stride.
3. Victim looks down at gypsy holding ring, confused.
4. Gypsy mumbles "It's solid gold. You can have it. Good luck for you, good luck for me."
5. Gypsy puts ring in victim's hand. Victim, still confused, holds ring and tries to shrug away.
6. Gypsy stops victim and rubs belly either saying "Baby" or "Hungry".
7. Victim tosses a few coins if they are feeling nice and gypsy snatches them up and scampers away.
8. Victim looks at ring and thinks "Why would gypsy give me a 'solid gold' ring and then beg for 50 cents?"
9. Victim thinks a minute more and realizes, "I fell for the gypsy trick!!"
10. Victim a) throws the ring aside immediately, or b) keeps the ring and loses soul.

Despite the gypsy, we made it souls intact to the Eiffel Tower. It was very windy and cold, but we still went to the top and got to see all of Paris! It was so beautiful! Even on a frigid day we were waiting in lines the whole time. I don't even want to imagine how it will be when the weather warms up.

Me in front of the Eiffel Tower

After we got back to the ground we found a great little cafe and had chocolate crepes and french fries...hey, when in Paris!