and so begins a long entry...don't feel the need to read it all, but brownie points for those who do ^__^
DAY 2: SAT APR 11/09
REUNION
Nick and I had the most hilarious conversation on the phone when he got off the bus in Seoul. He arrived around 1am and couldn't find the subway station. So I heard him talking to people in Korean and when he finally did find it, it was closed :( He decided to take a taxi and I met him at Anguk stn. It was so awesome to see him again. This is yet another instance where Korea brings people together. I hardly see Nick in Toronto, if at all, and now we can hang out all weekend! SCORE! Last time Jos and I came to Korea, we hung out with our cousin Janelle more frequently than back home too.
So we walked back to the guest house and drank some HITE beer, then headed out to meet his friend Matt in Hongdae. We stumbled across some crazy graffiti throughout the night. Of course, no one knew where Club Saab was - which was our destination. So we spent a lot of time walking around and finally we found it. Matt hooked us up, so we didn't have to pay cover. Shweet!
OH TEQUILA...
All I can say is that there weren't a whole lot of girls there hahaa. Nick bought us some drinks and he caught up with Matt. They introduced me to their other friends, Aaron and some other guys. I guess I can say that I danced the night away?! I was having a great time and everyone was dancing. I was never able to escape the dance floor as I kept being pulled back on...probably because there weren't too many other girls haha. Then came the tequila shots...dot dot dot. Let's just say that when I woke up this morning I was greeted by sunshine and a wicked headache. Sadly, I could not find the aleve/advil that I thought I brought with me. Anyway, back to it...at some point we moved to a bar and Nick played darts while I talked with some other people. We also took pics of the graffiti inside. I believe we were out past 5am haha - the sun was coming up. Nick told me that several guys approached him checking to see if I was his girlfriend and he assured them we were just friends. Haha good times, good times.
THE RISE OF THE DAWN & INSADONG
The next morning, I woke about 10:30amish and woke Nick up around 11 something or other. I went to the store to buy to cans of the Dawn, which is like a hangover drink. I also ordered delivery of black noodles and dumplings for us, as it was around lunch time. I asked about the English tours for Chandeokgung Palace, as Nick has never been there and we planned to go a little later. We decided to go to Insadong first. The weather is beautiful! We were walking in the right direction but then we took some detours ahhaa...we ended up asking different people for directions and they all gave us totally opposite directions ahhaa
We finally arrived and we shopped around. Nick bought a paintbrush and postcards. I tried to stop myself from spending all my money... good thing I divide my money into daily budgets! We took some fun pictures while we were there (with funky shades and cut out magazine ads where you put your face in) and wrote on the walls like everyone else did. I was able to go back to Nani Show, which is a jewellery store and the woman running it remembered me. Sunny says hi, Jos. She gave me good discounts and a few freebie buttons yea yea. Because I'm not sure what my schedule is like, I didn't make any concrete plans with her. If we don't hang out this time, it will be next time for sure. She was quite smitten with Nickster and would not believe me that he is just my friend. kekeke...what the heck ppl, we're just friends! She was totally teasing us and asked him to teach her English.
NICK THE CELEBRITY/WANGJA
Nick is like a celebrity/wangja (prince) for the Korean girls ahaha... So many of them take pictures of him. He's supertall and stands out, so girls are always turning their heads. There was this one hilarious moment when a group of school girls asked him to take a picture and he was getting ready to take it for them and they were like no, we want to take it with you. He's like "alright" and he lifted his arms and they seriously mobbed him. They had their arms around him and were posing. I couldn't stop laughing and one of the girls dragged me into the pic too. It never occured to me to use my camera too, so after we had walked away, I walked back and asked them if I could take another one. One girl thought I meant just her and Nick and she was ecstatic and then she realized group pic...I think she was a tad disappointed..lol. They were so happy to take another photo with him.
When we left that shopping centre, we witnessed a live dance performance for dancecal (like a dance/musical?) Wickedawesome b-boys! After that, we ran into Nick's friend SHR. We walked with her and her two friends. They are extremely nice and easy to talk to. While we standing there talking some little girls came by and asked Nick for his autograph! As he was signing people walking by kept looking at him like they were trying to figure out which celebrity he was! AHAHAHAHA... the rest of us were also asked for autographs, but Nick's signing caught the most attention.
ITAEWON
We went with SHR and her friends to Itaewon, because one of them left something at a restaurant and because Nick wanted to buy shoes. We made plans to see SHR later on and I will also meet up with her on Thursday. They went back and Nick and I went shopping for his shoes. We tried Athlete's Foot - their equivalent to Athlete's World and they didn't have his size. I suggested we ask them to check at one of their other stores, but he said it was fine. We left the store and within 10 steps, we see the Reebok store and they happened to have the size he wanted. SCORE! So Nick has new shoes and he bought a new shirt too. We ran into a couple that Nick knows and we chatted on our way to Anguk.
SURROUNDED BY POLICE
We went back to the guest house to drop some stuff and I made a few phone calls. I'll be seeing my friend Robin Thursday night and he will be bringing his friend Gus, who I met last time with Jos. Nickster and I headed to Myeongdong for food and a bit of shopping. As soon as we arrived we saw a crazy amount of police everywhere. They looked ready for a riot! Nick noticed that some of them looked even younger than us. There was some form of demonstration going on and people were sitting with signs and then began to sing a song in Korean. They really inconvenienced everyone because there was no room to walk and we were all squished into a walking moshpit. Luckily we got out of it without too much trouble.
We decided to do seafood korean bbq. Nick had a great idea that we should both eat something we haven't had before. I ate some new things...anemone I think and some other things I'm not sure of...as well as shrimps, mussels, etc etc. The food was alright, not the best..but then the seafood pancake came...oh my gosh...so goood! We had soju and makkoli as well...we quickly fell under the spell...again...haha. Nick schooled me in some Korean and also taught me two drinking games which we played. I won, but we both drank. I'll teach you guys when I come back ahah. Good times.
The Korean woman who owns the restaurant was talking to me in Korean. She asked me where I was from and then told me that I look Korean and that I'm beautiful. I laughed and waved my hand saying no, but thanked her and she smiled. We walked around for a bit, but the store I wanted to go to was already closed so I'll have to go back. I decided not to go out tonight as I'm still not feeling all that ready to party again. I told Nick to go on without me and I wandered around for a bit before going back to Beewon guest house. I crashed...so tired...I woke up around 2amish..watched a bit of TV and then tried to phone home, but the card didn't work...so I'll have to try again another day. I came downstairs to write the travel journal, but I'm gonna go back to sleep.
Good night. Pls forgive misspellings and bad grammar...I'm still drowsy...
-Sam
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
SEOUL Searching Pt 1
note: How did I not realize that I didn't post my previous travel journal emails from the last time I was in Korea?! So I will post them now, until the most recent journals are experienced and written!
original date written: April 10/09
Yes, you know what this means...the subject of this email is a clear indication that Sam is travelling...again!!! You know the drill, if you would rather not get the emails, pls let me know and I shall cease to harass you (and no hard feelings)...
This is actually the first time, I'm going completely solo on a trip! Hopefully I don't cause too much trouble! Get well soon Melbs! now...on to the adventures...
Airport Shananigans
As soon as I got off the airport bus, I realized that one of my luggage handles broke off. I found a stain on my jacket and have no idea how it got there and this reminded me that I had forgotten my tide pen...boo-urns! What else? I went to the wrong gate in Vancouver, but I noticed that pretty fast.
I made a new friend on the flight to Seoul. His name is John and he was studying in Victoria. He's very nice and we had some good conversations. He has been with his girlfriend for 9 years and hopes to move to United States to be a vet and start his family. We might hang out for a day next week :)
Smouldering Seoul
As soon as I got off the plane I was greeted with a bright sun and heat. The pilot had told us the weather is 19 degrees celcius. SHWEEET! Good thing I packed a lot of short sleeved shirts in case the weather was nice. It took me more than an hour to get to Beewon Guesthouse where I am staying. My room is on the third floor, so I had to carry my luggage up with the help of the receptionist.
I checked my facebook and noticed there were msgs from my friend Melbs and Nick, my friend who worked at HPL with me when I was a Page. Nick is teaching in another part of Korea and is meeting me in Seoul to hang out for the weekend. We managed to find him accomodations here, so when he arrives he'll be staying in another part of the guesthouse. It takes him 4 hours to get to Seoul and the earliest bus he could take was the 9pm one.
Spending like a Spendthrift
I went to Myeongdong (a shopping district) to kill time. I also checked to see if my friend Song, still owned the music store I would frequent every time I visited. I found another store and bought a few things...I continued to walk around and found his store! I guess my other friend was mistaken when he told me the place closed down @_@ Anyway, he recognized me right away...I wasn't sure if he would and we made plans to have dinner on Monday night. I shopped around his store and he gave me discounts and a ton of posters to go along with it. I also made sure not to go too crazy shopping, because I can easily blow all the cash in my wallet.
Bought two pairs of earrings and some random stuff and window shopped. I plan to go back before I leave. The stores are calling me!
Too HOT to Handle
I was getting a bit hungry and decided to have some vendor food. I like eating dukbokki, which is rice cakes in hot sauce...the dukbokki the lady makes is WICKED SPICY. I really tried my best not to make it obvious that I was starting to sweat and my tongue was burning! I tried to drink a little of my flavoured water but alas, it did not cure it. I had to politely ask the lady if I could pay and come back to finish my food. She was very nice and I got to a store and bought some milk tea. Ahhh the cure of all woes....I love milk tea. It saved me...
After eating I walked around more and at midnight, I headed to the subway to go back to the guesthouse. I don't know what time the subways close but I didn't want to take any chances. So here I am...writing the travel journal and waiting for Nick to arrive. We'll be hanging out the whole weekend, which is the most we've seen each other since I left High Park. It seems to be a trend...I hang out with people out of the country than when we are in the same city...
Until tomorrow,
Sam ^__^
original date written: April 10/09
Yes, you know what this means...the subject of this email is a clear indication that Sam is travelling...again!!! You know the drill, if you would rather not get the emails, pls let me know and I shall cease to harass you (and no hard feelings)...
This is actually the first time, I'm going completely solo on a trip! Hopefully I don't cause too much trouble! Get well soon Melbs! now...on to the adventures...
Airport Shananigans
As soon as I got off the airport bus, I realized that one of my luggage handles broke off. I found a stain on my jacket and have no idea how it got there and this reminded me that I had forgotten my tide pen...boo-urns! What else? I went to the wrong gate in Vancouver, but I noticed that pretty fast.
I made a new friend on the flight to Seoul. His name is John and he was studying in Victoria. He's very nice and we had some good conversations. He has been with his girlfriend for 9 years and hopes to move to United States to be a vet and start his family. We might hang out for a day next week :)
Smouldering Seoul
As soon as I got off the plane I was greeted with a bright sun and heat. The pilot had told us the weather is 19 degrees celcius. SHWEEET! Good thing I packed a lot of short sleeved shirts in case the weather was nice. It took me more than an hour to get to Beewon Guesthouse where I am staying. My room is on the third floor, so I had to carry my luggage up with the help of the receptionist.
I checked my facebook and noticed there were msgs from my friend Melbs and Nick, my friend who worked at HPL with me when I was a Page. Nick is teaching in another part of Korea and is meeting me in Seoul to hang out for the weekend. We managed to find him accomodations here, so when he arrives he'll be staying in another part of the guesthouse. It takes him 4 hours to get to Seoul and the earliest bus he could take was the 9pm one.
Spending like a Spendthrift
I went to Myeongdong (a shopping district) to kill time. I also checked to see if my friend Song, still owned the music store I would frequent every time I visited. I found another store and bought a few things...I continued to walk around and found his store! I guess my other friend was mistaken when he told me the place closed down @_@ Anyway, he recognized me right away...I wasn't sure if he would and we made plans to have dinner on Monday night. I shopped around his store and he gave me discounts and a ton of posters to go along with it. I also made sure not to go too crazy shopping, because I can easily blow all the cash in my wallet.
Bought two pairs of earrings and some random stuff and window shopped. I plan to go back before I leave. The stores are calling me!
Too HOT to Handle
I was getting a bit hungry and decided to have some vendor food. I like eating dukbokki, which is rice cakes in hot sauce...the dukbokki the lady makes is WICKED SPICY. I really tried my best not to make it obvious that I was starting to sweat and my tongue was burning! I tried to drink a little of my flavoured water but alas, it did not cure it. I had to politely ask the lady if I could pay and come back to finish my food. She was very nice and I got to a store and bought some milk tea. Ahhh the cure of all woes....I love milk tea. It saved me...
After eating I walked around more and at midnight, I headed to the subway to go back to the guesthouse. I don't know what time the subways close but I didn't want to take any chances. So here I am...writing the travel journal and waiting for Nick to arrive. We'll be hanging out the whole weekend, which is the most we've seen each other since I left High Park. It seems to be a trend...I hang out with people out of the country than when we are in the same city...
Until tomorrow,
Sam ^__^
Monday, January 4, 2010
And so the travelling begins...yet again
It is less than a month before I am off to Asia again. This time, it is for relaxation before 8 years worth of school and a birthday/christmas/graduation for two years gift to my sister Chris, who I call My-chan. We will be in Japan (mainly Tokyo) from Feb 3rd - 11th, Korea (mainly Seoul) from Feb 11th - 18th and last but not least Philippines from Feb 18 - Mar 5th! I am SUPEREXCITED!!
Normally, as you have probably noticed from previous entries, I just pack the day/night of or just before I leave. It's because I am absent-minded and just know that if I pack early, I'll forget something or will keep packing and unpacking, etc. For some reason, I feel a little bit of finality in this trip - like it's going to be the last big one for a while. Most likely I'm feeling this way, as school is a giant thing looming over my head. I'm going back for something I'm interested in, so I'm happy about that but it will be for soooo long. It'll be worth it in the end I'm sure, but it's a huge thing for me to give up travelling so often. Travelling is my S-A-N-I-T-Y.
With that said, I will eagerly anticipate my trip and fully live by the notion: "GO BIG OR GO HOME"...translation: exactly what it says...I'm not going to not do something because I don't want to spend so much money, etc...I'm going to enjoy this trip!! (like I always do)...but more so because it will be the last EPIC adventure for a bit!
I always like to try something new...so a few things I'm thinking of (and also keeping in mind that my sister's budget is smaller)are: visiting Yokohama, *gulp* trying out a ryokan - i need a lot of courage for that one... I'm still thinking of other things. It would also be nice to cross something off my 26 List, so I'll see what I can do
Normally, as you have probably noticed from previous entries, I just pack the day/night of or just before I leave. It's because I am absent-minded and just know that if I pack early, I'll forget something or will keep packing and unpacking, etc. For some reason, I feel a little bit of finality in this trip - like it's going to be the last big one for a while. Most likely I'm feeling this way, as school is a giant thing looming over my head. I'm going back for something I'm interested in, so I'm happy about that but it will be for soooo long. It'll be worth it in the end I'm sure, but it's a huge thing for me to give up travelling so often. Travelling is my S-A-N-I-T-Y.
With that said, I will eagerly anticipate my trip and fully live by the notion: "GO BIG OR GO HOME"...translation: exactly what it says...I'm not going to not do something because I don't want to spend so much money, etc...I'm going to enjoy this trip!! (like I always do)...but more so because it will be the last EPIC adventure for a bit!
I always like to try something new...so a few things I'm thinking of (and also keeping in mind that my sister's budget is smaller)are: visiting Yokohama, *gulp* trying out a ryokan - i need a lot of courage for that one... I'm still thinking of other things. It would also be nice to cross something off my 26 List, so I'll see what I can do
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Sam Explores Germany & Switzerland Pt 11
Sam Explores Germany & Switzerland Pt 11
Mon Sept 7/09
-AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GERMANY-
Woke up at 4:22am…Pat and Margaret were already awake. I got ready in 12 minutes haahha. We were all dead tired and we dragged ourselves out for the taxi. We were a little concerned that our taxi might not show up, but it did. We had to transfer for this one, so we were a little stressed out. We barely slept in the first train as we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss our stop at Stuttgart (sp?). Luckily it wasn’t too bad, but we had to make it to 2nd class and it was a bit of a ways down the platform and these trains leave on time or even a bit before, so we were panicky. Anyway, we made our connection.
Once we arrived in Zurich, we considered heading to the tourism office or going right to the hotel. We chose the latter and went to the taxi line. The first driver was an ass, he didn’t want to take us and our luggage and tried to force us on another guy. He then pointed to the end of the line, but the other taxi driver was nice enough to take us.
Our hotel room is supernice and very comfortable. If anything, we chose a good hotel! I was so tired…after checking in, we needed to eat and explore a bit. We went to Tapas, which was a southern Italian, southern Portuguese and German restaurant. We ordered from the special menu and I had Portuguese chicken with roasted potatoes. It was HEAVEN. I also decided on a fruit juice instead of a dessert. After that we walked down the hill to the main station area. I was kind of delirious from fatigue…it just felt like too much to take in right away.
-TOURS AND FATIGUE-
We went into the tourism office and I basically told Margaret and Pat to choose whatever tours they wanted and just to tell me how much to pay. The sun is very hot in Zurich…it feels like it is so much closer than in Toronto. While we walked around, we felt like we experienced three seasons…first it was cool like autumn, then the sun would be so hot and then warm again. This is not the fake sun that appears in Toronto – you know the one that you see outside the window and think, oh it’s hot outside and then you go out and it’s freakin’ cold! I think the weather and the fatigue got to me. We booked our tours to the Top of Europe – Jungfraujoch for Wednesday and Heidiland on Saturday. We have no idea why none of us prepared clothing for the Alps, but we decided we’d have to shop a little bit. Sandeep had told us that a windbreaker over our clothes should be fine. We didn’t shop much as I told them that I wanted to go back to the hotel to rest. I told them that they could go ahead and shop, but we were all pretty zonked.
-PRICEY FRIES-
After resting I felt a bit better. We ate at the pizzeria across the street and shared a margherita pizza and a plate of French fries. The fries alone cost $7. Oh well, what could we do? We enjoyed the lovely view on the terrace where we ate and then slept early as we were all exhausted.
Mon Sept 7/09
-AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GERMANY-
Woke up at 4:22am…Pat and Margaret were already awake. I got ready in 12 minutes haahha. We were all dead tired and we dragged ourselves out for the taxi. We were a little concerned that our taxi might not show up, but it did. We had to transfer for this one, so we were a little stressed out. We barely slept in the first train as we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss our stop at Stuttgart (sp?). Luckily it wasn’t too bad, but we had to make it to 2nd class and it was a bit of a ways down the platform and these trains leave on time or even a bit before, so we were panicky. Anyway, we made our connection.
Once we arrived in Zurich, we considered heading to the tourism office or going right to the hotel. We chose the latter and went to the taxi line. The first driver was an ass, he didn’t want to take us and our luggage and tried to force us on another guy. He then pointed to the end of the line, but the other taxi driver was nice enough to take us.
Our hotel room is supernice and very comfortable. If anything, we chose a good hotel! I was so tired…after checking in, we needed to eat and explore a bit. We went to Tapas, which was a southern Italian, southern Portuguese and German restaurant. We ordered from the special menu and I had Portuguese chicken with roasted potatoes. It was HEAVEN. I also decided on a fruit juice instead of a dessert. After that we walked down the hill to the main station area. I was kind of delirious from fatigue…it just felt like too much to take in right away.
-TOURS AND FATIGUE-
We went into the tourism office and I basically told Margaret and Pat to choose whatever tours they wanted and just to tell me how much to pay. The sun is very hot in Zurich…it feels like it is so much closer than in Toronto. While we walked around, we felt like we experienced three seasons…first it was cool like autumn, then the sun would be so hot and then warm again. This is not the fake sun that appears in Toronto – you know the one that you see outside the window and think, oh it’s hot outside and then you go out and it’s freakin’ cold! I think the weather and the fatigue got to me. We booked our tours to the Top of Europe – Jungfraujoch for Wednesday and Heidiland on Saturday. We have no idea why none of us prepared clothing for the Alps, but we decided we’d have to shop a little bit. Sandeep had told us that a windbreaker over our clothes should be fine. We didn’t shop much as I told them that I wanted to go back to the hotel to rest. I told them that they could go ahead and shop, but we were all pretty zonked.
-PRICEY FRIES-
After resting I felt a bit better. We ate at the pizzeria across the street and shared a margherita pizza and a plate of French fries. The fries alone cost $7. Oh well, what could we do? We enjoyed the lovely view on the terrace where we ate and then slept early as we were all exhausted.
Sam Explores Germany & Switzerland Pt 10
Sun Sept 6/09
-OHHH BOYYY-
When I woke up the next morning, I felt so sick. Although Pat and I were laughing about the events of last night, we weren’t feeling so great. I was the worse of the two of us. The whole time I was getting ready for our castle tour, I kept thinking, maybe I should just bow out of this one – I feel terrible. I had already paid for the tour though and I didn’t want to miss it. I forced myself to get up, take an aleve and go to it.
-DON’T LOOK!-
Pat and Margaret could tell I was in pretty rough shape. They were quite concerned, but I thought I could make it. I was still able to navigate despite it all. When we go t to our main station, we bought our tickets and suddenly the nausea came. As Pat and Margaret started to walk away from the ticket booth, I rushed to the trash can and DOT DOT DOT. I somehow managed to turn my back away from them, but you know, when you’re sick it’s hard to do it without making a sound…*awkward!!* They were very nice about it and gave me napkins and gum. They asked me if I was alright and I decided to soldier on.
We got on the train and headed to the haupbanhof where the buses were going to pick us up. While we rode the train, I closed my eyes and told myself that I would be fine and that I would not get sick again. Before the train stopped on the platform, I was already looking to see where the trash can was… As soon as we got off, I made a beeline for it and well…sorry people who saw me get sick in the trash can!! There was no time to cover it…I just sat down on the chair on the platform and without looking up much, I told Pat and Margaret that I couldn’t go anymore. They understood and asked me if I would be alright to go back to the hotel myself (the bus was leaving in 10 mins or so)…I said that I would wait for a bit and then head back. I told them to get going or the bus would leave and they reluctantly went.
-MIND OVER MATTER-
I sat there, silently cursing myself for putting myself in this kind of position. I’m a Dizon…how can I be defeated by all that beer?!?!? I had already paid for the tour and what would I do the whole day other than sleep and possibly shop? After five minutes of reasoning with myself, I quickly stood up – much to the surprise of the people who had seen me make friends with the trash can only moments ago – and rushed out of the station.
Pat and Margaret were nowhere to be seen, but I had a pretty good idea of where the buses would be. I would find them wherever the buses were. I hurried outside, ignoring my stomach’s protests. I met up with them and they were surprised to see me there. I was terribly worried about being sick on the bus and our trip would take 10.5 hours!! Pat went to get something for breakfast and I knew it was not a good idea for me to eat anything, so I asked her to buy me some water and make sure to get a plastic bag, should I need it.
-ON THE WAY TO BAVARIAN CASTLES-
We all separated on the bus for several reasons:
1. I wasn’t sure how sick I would be and didn’t want to trigger their gag reflexes
2. Window seats ensured the best scenic views
3. Sitting on the first floor of the bus would make me less sick, than going to the 2nd
Pat wanted to sit at the top, so she headed up there and Margaret sat in the row in front of me. I closed my eyes, popped a candy in my mouth and listened to my ipod. Thank you, Mom , for training me to eat a candy when I felt nauseous. So off we went on a quite full bus, which would be picking up more passengers.
-MICHAEL: THE MOST QUIRKY TOUR GUIDE EVER!-
Michael, our tour guide, was so memorable. If only I had videotaped his voice and the way he talked. He was tall, wore a baseball cap, had his shirt tucked in his pants, carried a computer bag (but never took out a computer) and walked quickly. He was so quirky!! He was quite entertaining, as he narrated our tour with his Bavarian accent and his weird comments. Michael also apologized to us for having to take the time to do all the housekeeping things like taking our money for the tours, etc and would often take breaks from narrating to make calls to reserve our table for lunch and make reservations for our tours.
At one point, he talked about cuckoo clocks, but he said it totally different. When he said it, it sounded like CACKCOO. It was so hilarious, because he demonstrated the sound…”You know these CUCKCOW clocks? The ones that say CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO …” Normally someone would imitate the sound, I don’t know, three times perhaps, but Michael did it nine times with this totally serious expression. How could we not laugh? He also would describe these wonderful places and scenes that we could see and then follow it with, “unfortunately we don’t have time to see it today, but you should come on your own and see it.” We all kept thinking, why bother telling us then? Haaha… I guess it was like getting our hopes up and then disappointing us.
Michael also talked about may poles and how the flags on them described what the village had there, like seamstress, blacksmiths, etc. He also told us about Oktoberfest and how it was the best time for a young boy around the ages of 10-12. There are so many people and then you get drunk for the first time and meet people and things happen. There’s kissing and other things can happen…DOT DOT DOT...lol
-SCHLOSS LINDERHOF-
Michael impressed on us that we should be on time. Once doing the tour, there was a bit of time to walk around, but we were on a schedule. He walked with us to see some of the beautiful things on the way to the castle including a Moroccan House. Because the tourists all walked at different paces he would explain what it was, pause and then repeat it again like six times in a robotic kind of voice. Pat just laughed her head off haha.
There were no pictures allowed at all inside the castle due to copyright. This was quite disappointing, because it was so beautiful!! I ended up buying a guide because it had the pictures and I wanted a souvenir.
Out of Ludwig II’s three castles, this is the only one that was completed. It was dedicated to the Sun King, Louis XIV. It was absolutely gorgeous! Ludwig spent the most time here, but unfortunately did not receive any visitors. There was a secret table in one of the rooms that lowered down into the kitchen where the servants would put food on it and send it back up, therefore allowing Ludwig to eat undisturbed.
I really had to bite my tongue during this tour, as some of the tourists with us were so disrespectful! One American lady actually LEANED on one of the exhibit tables!! There were antiques on it and she was using it to prop her elbow and the table was tipping! I wondered whether I should say something, but we quickly moved ahead. A few other tourists were touching things they shouldn’t…ack what’s wrong with people!!!
The tour ended in the gift shop, where we made a few small purchases. Then we walked through the exquisite gardens and took photos. There was another place that was worth seeing but it was a bit far off and we were pressed for time. I told Pat and Margaret that I would run to take a picture, however, while I was heading in the direction I realized it would mean running uphill. With time ticking, I waivered, but a girl from a tour told me it was worth it, so I ran over and took the picture.
-NEXT STOP, Oberammergau!-
Michael explained how the small town of Oberammergau was known to specialize in three things. The best wood carvers in Germany live there. They have Passion of Christ plays called…. Lastly they have house frescoes that are absolutely stunning. There is the Hansel & Gretel Haus, as well as Little Red Riding Hood Haus…though I’m not sure if the latter name is correct.
This place was very interesting and there were many interesting things to buy. Michael had also mentioned that this place had Hummel figures and that the last factory had closed down. All of the figures would become collector’s items. I decided to check out the prices and maybe buy one. I ended up buying two and the nice lady at the counter gave me a gift from the store as well. She gave me a bumblebee pin. How appropriate, as bees had been all over Berlin and Munich! It was very nice of her. I quickly shopped and finished on time, but I didn’t have my watch with me, so I just kept an eye on Michael. He was standing outside this other store and said he was waiting for two more passengers, so I waited around him and took pictures. Finally, they came out and we were late. Apparently people on the bus were annoyed with the tour girls and one lady gave them hell upstairs…I hope no one that it was me…no one said anything…
-Schloss Neuschwanstein-
This castle was the inspiration for Disney Castle, built and dedicated to Richard Wagner, but he died three years before Ludwig II who died at 41 (conspiracy, drowning/suicide and doctor also floating in the water). I felt a bit of sympathy for Ludwig II, who never had any visitors to his castle and didn’t see much of it finished. His bed alone, took four years to make as it was crafted to look like a cathedral. This thing was crazy…you’d have to see it to believe it. Once again, people were touching things and taking pics when they shouldn’t….oh well. The more our tour guide narrated, the more we believed that Ludwig was in love with Wagner and we just loved the way she said their names. Pat now wants to buy two dogs and name them after the two hahaha.
We had taken the bus up to the castle, but because our tour was later in the day, there were no buses going down and so we had to walk down ourselves. On our way down, there were numerous souvenir stores and food. We bought a few guides and ice cream. The ones we had wanted were sold out, so I ended with a cherry kind of ice cream that actually kind of tasted like there was alcohol in it. We also passed by a stand selling deep fried cream cheese balls. I decided to pass on that but Sandeep, one of women on the tour who we’d had lunch with, Margaret and Pat decided to go for it. I tried a small piece. Michael passed us as he walked down and we laughed about all the quirky moments on our tour, as he sped down the mountain. We made it in time and were back on the bus on the way back to Munich.
While we headed back to Munich, Michael and our driver Slotko were selling beverages including beer on the bus. I couldn’t even look at beer ahah…I bought a bottle of water.
-SANDEEP & DINNER-
Pat and Margaret invited Sandeep for dinner with us. She is really charismatic and was actually the person that told me it was worth it go take a picture of that structure at Schloss Linderhof. We had ended up at the same table for lunch and from there we all became quick friends. We toured Schloss Newschwanstein together as well.
Sandeep looked through her guide for restaurants and many of them did not have any stars hahaa…we did find one with one star and decided to try it. I don’t exactly remember the name, but I took a picture of it. As we entered I heard someone call out, “hey Toronto gals”…and I looked over to see the other Toronto girls finishing their meal. We talked about the beer challenge and how the morning was not so great haha. They had woken up at 11am though and we had woken up at 6am. They wished us a safe trip and headed out.
Margaret and I shared a plate of small sausages and then two side dishes – homemade pasta and rosemary potatoes. It was quite good and since it was our last night there, I ordered a Radler. Pure beer would have made me sick. I only drank half of it and Margaret kindly drank the rest. We had some really great conversations with Sandeep, who lived in New York City, but was moving immediately to Washington D.C. when she came back from her trip. She invited us to visit her. After dinner we said goodbye and wished each other a safe journey. We headed back to get ready for long journey the next day.
-OHHH BOYYY-
When I woke up the next morning, I felt so sick. Although Pat and I were laughing about the events of last night, we weren’t feeling so great. I was the worse of the two of us. The whole time I was getting ready for our castle tour, I kept thinking, maybe I should just bow out of this one – I feel terrible. I had already paid for the tour though and I didn’t want to miss it. I forced myself to get up, take an aleve and go to it.
-DON’T LOOK!-
Pat and Margaret could tell I was in pretty rough shape. They were quite concerned, but I thought I could make it. I was still able to navigate despite it all. When we go t to our main station, we bought our tickets and suddenly the nausea came. As Pat and Margaret started to walk away from the ticket booth, I rushed to the trash can and DOT DOT DOT. I somehow managed to turn my back away from them, but you know, when you’re sick it’s hard to do it without making a sound…*awkward!!* They were very nice about it and gave me napkins and gum. They asked me if I was alright and I decided to soldier on.
We got on the train and headed to the haupbanhof where the buses were going to pick us up. While we rode the train, I closed my eyes and told myself that I would be fine and that I would not get sick again. Before the train stopped on the platform, I was already looking to see where the trash can was… As soon as we got off, I made a beeline for it and well…sorry people who saw me get sick in the trash can!! There was no time to cover it…I just sat down on the chair on the platform and without looking up much, I told Pat and Margaret that I couldn’t go anymore. They understood and asked me if I would be alright to go back to the hotel myself (the bus was leaving in 10 mins or so)…I said that I would wait for a bit and then head back. I told them to get going or the bus would leave and they reluctantly went.
-MIND OVER MATTER-
I sat there, silently cursing myself for putting myself in this kind of position. I’m a Dizon…how can I be defeated by all that beer?!?!? I had already paid for the tour and what would I do the whole day other than sleep and possibly shop? After five minutes of reasoning with myself, I quickly stood up – much to the surprise of the people who had seen me make friends with the trash can only moments ago – and rushed out of the station.
Pat and Margaret were nowhere to be seen, but I had a pretty good idea of where the buses would be. I would find them wherever the buses were. I hurried outside, ignoring my stomach’s protests. I met up with them and they were surprised to see me there. I was terribly worried about being sick on the bus and our trip would take 10.5 hours!! Pat went to get something for breakfast and I knew it was not a good idea for me to eat anything, so I asked her to buy me some water and make sure to get a plastic bag, should I need it.
-ON THE WAY TO BAVARIAN CASTLES-
We all separated on the bus for several reasons:
1. I wasn’t sure how sick I would be and didn’t want to trigger their gag reflexes
2. Window seats ensured the best scenic views
3. Sitting on the first floor of the bus would make me less sick, than going to the 2nd
Pat wanted to sit at the top, so she headed up there and Margaret sat in the row in front of me. I closed my eyes, popped a candy in my mouth and listened to my ipod. Thank you, Mom , for training me to eat a candy when I felt nauseous. So off we went on a quite full bus, which would be picking up more passengers.
-MICHAEL: THE MOST QUIRKY TOUR GUIDE EVER!-
Michael, our tour guide, was so memorable. If only I had videotaped his voice and the way he talked. He was tall, wore a baseball cap, had his shirt tucked in his pants, carried a computer bag (but never took out a computer) and walked quickly. He was so quirky!! He was quite entertaining, as he narrated our tour with his Bavarian accent and his weird comments. Michael also apologized to us for having to take the time to do all the housekeeping things like taking our money for the tours, etc and would often take breaks from narrating to make calls to reserve our table for lunch and make reservations for our tours.
At one point, he talked about cuckoo clocks, but he said it totally different. When he said it, it sounded like CACKCOO. It was so hilarious, because he demonstrated the sound…”You know these CUCKCOW clocks? The ones that say CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO, CACKCOO …” Normally someone would imitate the sound, I don’t know, three times perhaps, but Michael did it nine times with this totally serious expression. How could we not laugh? He also would describe these wonderful places and scenes that we could see and then follow it with, “unfortunately we don’t have time to see it today, but you should come on your own and see it.” We all kept thinking, why bother telling us then? Haaha… I guess it was like getting our hopes up and then disappointing us.
Michael also talked about may poles and how the flags on them described what the village had there, like seamstress, blacksmiths, etc. He also told us about Oktoberfest and how it was the best time for a young boy around the ages of 10-12. There are so many people and then you get drunk for the first time and meet people and things happen. There’s kissing and other things can happen…DOT DOT DOT...lol
-SCHLOSS LINDERHOF-
Michael impressed on us that we should be on time. Once doing the tour, there was a bit of time to walk around, but we were on a schedule. He walked with us to see some of the beautiful things on the way to the castle including a Moroccan House. Because the tourists all walked at different paces he would explain what it was, pause and then repeat it again like six times in a robotic kind of voice. Pat just laughed her head off haha.
There were no pictures allowed at all inside the castle due to copyright. This was quite disappointing, because it was so beautiful!! I ended up buying a guide because it had the pictures and I wanted a souvenir.
Out of Ludwig II’s three castles, this is the only one that was completed. It was dedicated to the Sun King, Louis XIV. It was absolutely gorgeous! Ludwig spent the most time here, but unfortunately did not receive any visitors. There was a secret table in one of the rooms that lowered down into the kitchen where the servants would put food on it and send it back up, therefore allowing Ludwig to eat undisturbed.
I really had to bite my tongue during this tour, as some of the tourists with us were so disrespectful! One American lady actually LEANED on one of the exhibit tables!! There were antiques on it and she was using it to prop her elbow and the table was tipping! I wondered whether I should say something, but we quickly moved ahead. A few other tourists were touching things they shouldn’t…ack what’s wrong with people!!!
The tour ended in the gift shop, where we made a few small purchases. Then we walked through the exquisite gardens and took photos. There was another place that was worth seeing but it was a bit far off and we were pressed for time. I told Pat and Margaret that I would run to take a picture, however, while I was heading in the direction I realized it would mean running uphill. With time ticking, I waivered, but a girl from a tour told me it was worth it, so I ran over and took the picture.
-NEXT STOP, Oberammergau!-
Michael explained how the small town of Oberammergau was known to specialize in three things. The best wood carvers in Germany live there. They have Passion of Christ plays called…. Lastly they have house frescoes that are absolutely stunning. There is the Hansel & Gretel Haus, as well as Little Red Riding Hood Haus…though I’m not sure if the latter name is correct.
This place was very interesting and there were many interesting things to buy. Michael had also mentioned that this place had Hummel figures and that the last factory had closed down. All of the figures would become collector’s items. I decided to check out the prices and maybe buy one. I ended up buying two and the nice lady at the counter gave me a gift from the store as well. She gave me a bumblebee pin. How appropriate, as bees had been all over Berlin and Munich! It was very nice of her. I quickly shopped and finished on time, but I didn’t have my watch with me, so I just kept an eye on Michael. He was standing outside this other store and said he was waiting for two more passengers, so I waited around him and took pictures. Finally, they came out and we were late. Apparently people on the bus were annoyed with the tour girls and one lady gave them hell upstairs…I hope no one that it was me…no one said anything…
-Schloss Neuschwanstein-
This castle was the inspiration for Disney Castle, built and dedicated to Richard Wagner, but he died three years before Ludwig II who died at 41 (conspiracy, drowning/suicide and doctor also floating in the water). I felt a bit of sympathy for Ludwig II, who never had any visitors to his castle and didn’t see much of it finished. His bed alone, took four years to make as it was crafted to look like a cathedral. This thing was crazy…you’d have to see it to believe it. Once again, people were touching things and taking pics when they shouldn’t….oh well. The more our tour guide narrated, the more we believed that Ludwig was in love with Wagner and we just loved the way she said their names. Pat now wants to buy two dogs and name them after the two hahaha.
We had taken the bus up to the castle, but because our tour was later in the day, there were no buses going down and so we had to walk down ourselves. On our way down, there were numerous souvenir stores and food. We bought a few guides and ice cream. The ones we had wanted were sold out, so I ended with a cherry kind of ice cream that actually kind of tasted like there was alcohol in it. We also passed by a stand selling deep fried cream cheese balls. I decided to pass on that but Sandeep, one of women on the tour who we’d had lunch with, Margaret and Pat decided to go for it. I tried a small piece. Michael passed us as he walked down and we laughed about all the quirky moments on our tour, as he sped down the mountain. We made it in time and were back on the bus on the way back to Munich.
While we headed back to Munich, Michael and our driver Slotko were selling beverages including beer on the bus. I couldn’t even look at beer ahah…I bought a bottle of water.
-SANDEEP & DINNER-
Pat and Margaret invited Sandeep for dinner with us. She is really charismatic and was actually the person that told me it was worth it go take a picture of that structure at Schloss Linderhof. We had ended up at the same table for lunch and from there we all became quick friends. We toured Schloss Newschwanstein together as well.
Sandeep looked through her guide for restaurants and many of them did not have any stars hahaa…we did find one with one star and decided to try it. I don’t exactly remember the name, but I took a picture of it. As we entered I heard someone call out, “hey Toronto gals”…and I looked over to see the other Toronto girls finishing their meal. We talked about the beer challenge and how the morning was not so great haha. They had woken up at 11am though and we had woken up at 6am. They wished us a safe trip and headed out.
Margaret and I shared a plate of small sausages and then two side dishes – homemade pasta and rosemary potatoes. It was quite good and since it was our last night there, I ordered a Radler. Pure beer would have made me sick. I only drank half of it and Margaret kindly drank the rest. We had some really great conversations with Sandeep, who lived in New York City, but was moving immediately to Washington D.C. when she came back from her trip. She invited us to visit her. After dinner we said goodbye and wished each other a safe journey. We headed back to get ready for long journey the next day.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Sam Explores Germany & Switzerland Pt 9
Sat Sept 5/09
-Munich Walking Tour-
One of the main attractions of Munich is the Glockenshpiel, as I had mentioned in the previous entry. Our tour guide, Sonja, is totally jaded by it. She’s seen it a bazillion times and so had a very dry humor towards the whole shabang. Feel free to look it up on youtube. Apparently they hired a guy to start up the Glockenshpiel three times a day…and he doesn’t always do it on time. Our tour started there and just got better.
Several facts & sites of interest were:
- a church with a legend about the devil’s footprint inside…I’ll have to look it up if you’re interested b/c I don’t remember the name. This same church also has a sign for “no hands in your pants”…dot dot dot…you’ll see the photo later.
-Dachau Memorial – though we didn’t see this site, it was the first concentration camp and was well known for its Nazi training camp
- Teddy Museum – which was the setting for Kristallnacht and a coordinated attack on Jewish people and their properties by Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbles-the man responsible for all the Third Reich propaganda
- 9 Jews were estimated living in Munich in 1945
- The Jewish Community Centre requires visitors to do a background check before entrance is approved
- Maypole stealing is indigenous to Bavaria. If a town’s maypole is stolen, the only way to get it back is for the victim town to throw a party for the stealing town and pay for all of it. Last time a may pole was stolen in Munich was in 1995, when the Munich Airport Security realized their city’s may pole had been stolen. They called the police, only to hear laughter on the other end. The police had stolen the may pole and the airport security was now forced to throw them a party!
- Not cleaning up dog poop is 1,000 euro fine
-There have been Beer Riots
-At one point, when Germany was in crisis, they started printing money and the value went down…$1usd = 4.3 trillion deutsch marks
We continued on the tour and I wrote a lot more info in my books. One of our last stops was the Hofbrauhaus, which consisted of a biergarten, festivity hall and mail hall called “the wash.” Initially there were no toilets, so people went in the gutter. Then at some point liederhosen under the table became normal. Excuse the inappropriateness of this, but she literally said, “plop out the lieder and take out the hosen…” Everyone laughed hysterically. The men also carried a special wooden stick to “direct the flow” and decrease “splashback”…enough said.
Sonja also mentioned the Beer Challenge…which entitled one selected person to be the Beer Champion and receive a voucher for a free paid tour. Chugging one “mass” (1 litre glass) of beer in under 5.3 seconds apparently automatically gives you this title…
Were we up for the challenge?...we thought so…
-Beer Challenge-
After our walking tour, we shopped for an hour and had a break/snack at a café. After this we checked out early and booked a taxi, since we would not be a breakfast the next two days. Back to the beer challenge…
We met at the Starbucks in the haupbanhof (main station). Sonja was in charge again and we saw the other Toronto girls, another Sam, Ryan and some other guys – Phil, Matt & Amanda, Travis and another guide. There was quite a big group!
Sonja bought us all our first beer at the station and we drank, talked and then headed to the first venue. The Augustiner Biergarten… on the way, we briefly talked to Travis (another one of the tour guides). We tried the Edel (something or other) and talked to Jeananne and later Sonja. We only had 45mins to drink the mass and eat the pretzel…and we had not eaten dinner and this was our second beer (1 litre huge, no less). By the time we left, Pat and I were drunk. Margaret was still sober…I don’t know how she did it! I definitely had to link arms with her…
-HOFBRAUHAS & SHALL WE DANCE?-
Next was Hofbrauhas which is the best Beer Hall in the country or even perhaps the world…no joke! Margaret and I shared a mass of dark beer and Pat had a Radler (sprite and beer mix). Sonja told us that we were very lucky, because on this night, there were mostly local Bavarians there. The performers were dancing on stage and we were all singing in German. At some point Ryan really wanted to dance, but no one wanted to go up with him. Sonja said no, but then pushed me up and said “Get up there, Sam!” Ryan grabbed my hand and we ran up on stage. One of the Toronto gals was up there too and so were all the Bavarian dancers.
After the dance, we went back to the table and continued to flip & catch the coasters without letting them touch the table. The best I did was 7…I think the other guys did up to 11 or 13. I stupidly chugged a small amount of beer, though I thought it was more…I probably shouldn’t have…I was already pretty wasted by then…I was still able to walk though.
The last stop…well I have no idea where it was. The last beer and a shot of Jaeger….I really should have stopped..but I was having too much fun! Poor Margaret had to deal with me and she was sober. I’m pretty sure that we were the last ones to leave, followed shortly after by Travis and this other guy. We took a cab. Our hotel room lights blew and we had to change in the dark…yikes…the morning was not pretty...ahahaha…but you’ll have to read about it in the next journal…
Soberly Yours,
Sam ^__^
-Munich Walking Tour-
One of the main attractions of Munich is the Glockenshpiel, as I had mentioned in the previous entry. Our tour guide, Sonja, is totally jaded by it. She’s seen it a bazillion times and so had a very dry humor towards the whole shabang. Feel free to look it up on youtube. Apparently they hired a guy to start up the Glockenshpiel three times a day…and he doesn’t always do it on time. Our tour started there and just got better.
Several facts & sites of interest were:
- a church with a legend about the devil’s footprint inside…I’ll have to look it up if you’re interested b/c I don’t remember the name. This same church also has a sign for “no hands in your pants”…dot dot dot…you’ll see the photo later.
-Dachau Memorial – though we didn’t see this site, it was the first concentration camp and was well known for its Nazi training camp
- Teddy Museum – which was the setting for Kristallnacht and a coordinated attack on Jewish people and their properties by Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbles-the man responsible for all the Third Reich propaganda
- 9 Jews were estimated living in Munich in 1945
- The Jewish Community Centre requires visitors to do a background check before entrance is approved
- Maypole stealing is indigenous to Bavaria. If a town’s maypole is stolen, the only way to get it back is for the victim town to throw a party for the stealing town and pay for all of it. Last time a may pole was stolen in Munich was in 1995, when the Munich Airport Security realized their city’s may pole had been stolen. They called the police, only to hear laughter on the other end. The police had stolen the may pole and the airport security was now forced to throw them a party!
- Not cleaning up dog poop is 1,000 euro fine
-There have been Beer Riots
-At one point, when Germany was in crisis, they started printing money and the value went down…$1usd = 4.3 trillion deutsch marks
We continued on the tour and I wrote a lot more info in my books. One of our last stops was the Hofbrauhaus, which consisted of a biergarten, festivity hall and mail hall called “the wash.” Initially there were no toilets, so people went in the gutter. Then at some point liederhosen under the table became normal. Excuse the inappropriateness of this, but she literally said, “plop out the lieder and take out the hosen…” Everyone laughed hysterically. The men also carried a special wooden stick to “direct the flow” and decrease “splashback”…enough said.
Sonja also mentioned the Beer Challenge…which entitled one selected person to be the Beer Champion and receive a voucher for a free paid tour. Chugging one “mass” (1 litre glass) of beer in under 5.3 seconds apparently automatically gives you this title…
Were we up for the challenge?...we thought so…
-Beer Challenge-
After our walking tour, we shopped for an hour and had a break/snack at a café. After this we checked out early and booked a taxi, since we would not be a breakfast the next two days. Back to the beer challenge…
We met at the Starbucks in the haupbanhof (main station). Sonja was in charge again and we saw the other Toronto girls, another Sam, Ryan and some other guys – Phil, Matt & Amanda, Travis and another guide. There was quite a big group!
Sonja bought us all our first beer at the station and we drank, talked and then headed to the first venue. The Augustiner Biergarten… on the way, we briefly talked to Travis (another one of the tour guides). We tried the Edel (something or other) and talked to Jeananne and later Sonja. We only had 45mins to drink the mass and eat the pretzel…and we had not eaten dinner and this was our second beer (1 litre huge, no less). By the time we left, Pat and I were drunk. Margaret was still sober…I don’t know how she did it! I definitely had to link arms with her…
-HOFBRAUHAS & SHALL WE DANCE?-
Next was Hofbrauhas which is the best Beer Hall in the country or even perhaps the world…no joke! Margaret and I shared a mass of dark beer and Pat had a Radler (sprite and beer mix). Sonja told us that we were very lucky, because on this night, there were mostly local Bavarians there. The performers were dancing on stage and we were all singing in German. At some point Ryan really wanted to dance, but no one wanted to go up with him. Sonja said no, but then pushed me up and said “Get up there, Sam!” Ryan grabbed my hand and we ran up on stage. One of the Toronto gals was up there too and so were all the Bavarian dancers.
After the dance, we went back to the table and continued to flip & catch the coasters without letting them touch the table. The best I did was 7…I think the other guys did up to 11 or 13. I stupidly chugged a small amount of beer, though I thought it was more…I probably shouldn’t have…I was already pretty wasted by then…I was still able to walk though.
The last stop…well I have no idea where it was. The last beer and a shot of Jaeger….I really should have stopped..but I was having too much fun! Poor Margaret had to deal with me and she was sober. I’m pretty sure that we were the last ones to leave, followed shortly after by Travis and this other guy. We took a cab. Our hotel room lights blew and we had to change in the dark…yikes…the morning was not pretty...ahahaha…but you’ll have to read about it in the next journal…
Soberly Yours,
Sam ^__^
Sam Explores Germany & Switzerland Pt 8
Fri Sept 4/09
-GUTEN TAG, MUNICH-
This morning we left our hotel at 5:45pm to get to the train station to Munich. Our train was at 6:08am. Thanks to Dave the German, we were comfortably seated in our own special car box. We mostly had it all to ourselves and the people in the other boxes were so desperate for sleep that they were lying down across all the seats in their box and on the ground and also tried to maneuver around the table as well. I was tempted to take a picture, but yeah, probably not a good idea to do something like that.
-TRAIN TICKET: 74 EUROS, TRAIN LEAVES WITHOUT YOUR FRIENDS….PRICELESS-
When it was close to our stop on the train, we all started to get ready. Pat got her stuff first, followed by Margaret and myself. They were a little bit ahead and when I got to the doorway they weren’t there. All of a sudden, I heard Margaret yelling and the sound of the door closing. Guys, no joke, this was like something out of a movie. The door closed just as I got to it with Pat and Margaret on the platform in shock. I was hitting the door with my hand and trying to press the button to open it. An American guy beside me tells me to pull the emergency latch, but I was worried that I might get in trouble. I tried anyway, but the train was already moving. I motioned to them to stay there. They had actually gotten off one stop early!! The next stop was Munich! Oh man…and I was the one with our ticket. I had thought they were going to wait to get off and didn’t realize they actually had.
Anyway, I was panicky and when I got off the train I called Pat from a payphone. Thank goodness for the following: 1. Pat had her cell ON 2. I actually had memorized it 3. Another train was coming shortly from there to Munich stn. What a morning! Pat eventually came to find me on the platform and told me about how she had initially thought I was the dumb one who didn’t get off on time and then realized that it was her that got off to early. Ah well, what can you do but laugh once the crisis is over.
-NOT YET OKTOBERFEST-
The place we are staying at is literally across the street from Theresa’s Field, where OKTOBERFEST happens. They are setting up and it looks like a crazyawesome time. The background behind it is King Ludwig I wanted to give his love, Theresa, a gift and so he gave her a field. They married in 1810 in this field and had horse races and festivities. It was such a good time, they decided to do it every year and this became Oktoberfest. Munich has a population of 1.3 million and when Oktoberfest happens, the population swells to 7.6 million!!! That is insane!
*interesting facts (from the Munich tour we did): The Aussies love Oktoberfest so much they have a special tent there. The worse thing you can do while travelling is lose your passport – and many do. There is no Aussie embassy in Munich, so they set up a little table in the British embassy for people who lose their passports. You hear that Kathryn? You have a huge tent to share with your peeps at Oktoberfest! Apparently a 10-year-old was on one of these tours and when the tour guide asked what the most important thing you could lose while travelling, he said “your life”. The second thing for him was “his brother’s life.” Hahaa…kids are hilarious.
-PLANNING AHEAD-
After we had checked into our hotel, we considered catching the tour with NEW EUROPE which is the same company that had the walking tour in Berlin. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to make it, so we decided to go to the Tourist Information Desk. Margaret had mentioned that she would like to see Schloss Neuschwanstein and when we checked in, the manager of the place told gave us a pamphlet of a tour that visited two of Ludwig II’s castles. We decided to get tickets to go to the tour on Sunday, since everything is pretty much closed on Sundays except restaurants and emergency services.
We’ll go on the free walking tour tomorrow at 10:45am and then later do the Beer Challenge with the same company. For the beer challenge, it costs 14 euros, but two beers and a free jagermeister (sp?) shot is free. We bought our tickets to the tour and decided to shop and eat. Pat and I immediately went into shopping mode. Margaret was very patient while we checked out various shops. We were starting to get hungry so we searched for foodage.
-SITES & SMELLS-
The first site we saw was the Glockenshpiel. It is a part of a clock that has figures which depict two stories and rotates. It rings every day at 11am, 12pm and 5pm. I got a bit hungry as we walked around so I bought a sandwich with cheesebread, soft dill cheese of sorts with cucumber and peppers. We dropped by the Drager Munchen tent that had ½ meter bratwurst and other types of sausages. We all got the regular bratwurst. We explored Marienplatz and did more shopping. I drooled over all the places that displayed food in the windows. I literally wanted to EAT my way through Munich. We also went up the Glockenshpiel tower and took pictures of the city. It was cold and rainy but there weren’t a lot of people, so it worked out okay. There was something like a guest book and we drew in it and signed. Magaret drew pictures of us and I was watching her, I realized that the first letters of our names spell out PMS ahhahahaa. I told them that and we laughed hysterically. So Margaret drew us in that order and signed it. There were some famous chefs doing a book signing, but I don’t know who they are and I was shopping while they were signing so I missed taking their pictures.
-NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER & HORSE RADISH SCHNITZEL-
We ate at zum Spockmeier where the benches were sturdy and high up. It is also the first time we noticed that often, if there was room at an occupied table, random people will ask if they can sit there to eat too. The Bavarians are quite friendly people. Spockmeiers classics included, Bavarian lung (veal), Fried calfs head, baked pork tongue, and roasted suckling pig in salavator-paulaner-beer gravy and some other side dishes. YUM! I ordered a Paulander (non-alcoholic) beer called Muchner Hell Alcoholfrei, since I was taking Reactine for a bug bite I got in Berlin. I ordered the Munich “Schnitzel” which was made with pork in mustard horseradish crust and potato-cucumber salad. Pat ordered pasta, which she didn’t like because the tomato sauce was like Campbell’s Tomato Soup. Margaret had Spinach Oyster Mushroom strudel. She said she liked the mushrooms, but guess what “sauce” they put in it... By the way, in their menus they have numbers in brackets beside the dishes to indicate what kind of additives are in the food. We ended our meals, by having strudel which was delicious.
-THE THINGS THAT CAN BE CAPTURED ON CAMERAS-
Pat has been entertained by the fact that I love taking pictures of food. On this trip, I’ve taken pics of my food, her food, Margaret’s food and random people’s food coming by on trays. The food can look pretty interesting. Pork knuckle is especially well-loved here. While I was taking pics of food, I also noticed that there were two sets of people at the bar. One set were twins who were dressed identically and beside them, two women who also looked identical. Pat and I had fun trying to figure out what the story was behind it.
-GUTEN TAG, MUNICH-
This morning we left our hotel at 5:45pm to get to the train station to Munich. Our train was at 6:08am. Thanks to Dave the German, we were comfortably seated in our own special car box. We mostly had it all to ourselves and the people in the other boxes were so desperate for sleep that they were lying down across all the seats in their box and on the ground and also tried to maneuver around the table as well. I was tempted to take a picture, but yeah, probably not a good idea to do something like that.
-TRAIN TICKET: 74 EUROS, TRAIN LEAVES WITHOUT YOUR FRIENDS….PRICELESS-
When it was close to our stop on the train, we all started to get ready. Pat got her stuff first, followed by Margaret and myself. They were a little bit ahead and when I got to the doorway they weren’t there. All of a sudden, I heard Margaret yelling and the sound of the door closing. Guys, no joke, this was like something out of a movie. The door closed just as I got to it with Pat and Margaret on the platform in shock. I was hitting the door with my hand and trying to press the button to open it. An American guy beside me tells me to pull the emergency latch, but I was worried that I might get in trouble. I tried anyway, but the train was already moving. I motioned to them to stay there. They had actually gotten off one stop early!! The next stop was Munich! Oh man…and I was the one with our ticket. I had thought they were going to wait to get off and didn’t realize they actually had.
Anyway, I was panicky and when I got off the train I called Pat from a payphone. Thank goodness for the following: 1. Pat had her cell ON 2. I actually had memorized it 3. Another train was coming shortly from there to Munich stn. What a morning! Pat eventually came to find me on the platform and told me about how she had initially thought I was the dumb one who didn’t get off on time and then realized that it was her that got off to early. Ah well, what can you do but laugh once the crisis is over.
-NOT YET OKTOBERFEST-
The place we are staying at is literally across the street from Theresa’s Field, where OKTOBERFEST happens. They are setting up and it looks like a crazyawesome time. The background behind it is King Ludwig I wanted to give his love, Theresa, a gift and so he gave her a field. They married in 1810 in this field and had horse races and festivities. It was such a good time, they decided to do it every year and this became Oktoberfest. Munich has a population of 1.3 million and when Oktoberfest happens, the population swells to 7.6 million!!! That is insane!
*interesting facts (from the Munich tour we did): The Aussies love Oktoberfest so much they have a special tent there. The worse thing you can do while travelling is lose your passport – and many do. There is no Aussie embassy in Munich, so they set up a little table in the British embassy for people who lose their passports. You hear that Kathryn? You have a huge tent to share with your peeps at Oktoberfest! Apparently a 10-year-old was on one of these tours and when the tour guide asked what the most important thing you could lose while travelling, he said “your life”. The second thing for him was “his brother’s life.” Hahaa…kids are hilarious.
-PLANNING AHEAD-
After we had checked into our hotel, we considered catching the tour with NEW EUROPE which is the same company that had the walking tour in Berlin. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to make it, so we decided to go to the Tourist Information Desk. Margaret had mentioned that she would like to see Schloss Neuschwanstein and when we checked in, the manager of the place told gave us a pamphlet of a tour that visited two of Ludwig II’s castles. We decided to get tickets to go to the tour on Sunday, since everything is pretty much closed on Sundays except restaurants and emergency services.
We’ll go on the free walking tour tomorrow at 10:45am and then later do the Beer Challenge with the same company. For the beer challenge, it costs 14 euros, but two beers and a free jagermeister (sp?) shot is free. We bought our tickets to the tour and decided to shop and eat. Pat and I immediately went into shopping mode. Margaret was very patient while we checked out various shops. We were starting to get hungry so we searched for foodage.
-SITES & SMELLS-
The first site we saw was the Glockenshpiel. It is a part of a clock that has figures which depict two stories and rotates. It rings every day at 11am, 12pm and 5pm. I got a bit hungry as we walked around so I bought a sandwich with cheesebread, soft dill cheese of sorts with cucumber and peppers. We dropped by the Drager Munchen tent that had ½ meter bratwurst and other types of sausages. We all got the regular bratwurst. We explored Marienplatz and did more shopping. I drooled over all the places that displayed food in the windows. I literally wanted to EAT my way through Munich. We also went up the Glockenshpiel tower and took pictures of the city. It was cold and rainy but there weren’t a lot of people, so it worked out okay. There was something like a guest book and we drew in it and signed. Magaret drew pictures of us and I was watching her, I realized that the first letters of our names spell out PMS ahhahahaa. I told them that and we laughed hysterically. So Margaret drew us in that order and signed it. There were some famous chefs doing a book signing, but I don’t know who they are and I was shopping while they were signing so I missed taking their pictures.
-NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER & HORSE RADISH SCHNITZEL-
We ate at zum Spockmeier where the benches were sturdy and high up. It is also the first time we noticed that often, if there was room at an occupied table, random people will ask if they can sit there to eat too. The Bavarians are quite friendly people. Spockmeiers classics included, Bavarian lung (veal), Fried calfs head, baked pork tongue, and roasted suckling pig in salavator-paulaner-beer gravy and some other side dishes. YUM! I ordered a Paulander (non-alcoholic) beer called Muchner Hell Alcoholfrei, since I was taking Reactine for a bug bite I got in Berlin. I ordered the Munich “Schnitzel” which was made with pork in mustard horseradish crust and potato-cucumber salad. Pat ordered pasta, which she didn’t like because the tomato sauce was like Campbell’s Tomato Soup. Margaret had Spinach Oyster Mushroom strudel. She said she liked the mushrooms, but guess what “sauce” they put in it... By the way, in their menus they have numbers in brackets beside the dishes to indicate what kind of additives are in the food. We ended our meals, by having strudel which was delicious.
-THE THINGS THAT CAN BE CAPTURED ON CAMERAS-
Pat has been entertained by the fact that I love taking pictures of food. On this trip, I’ve taken pics of my food, her food, Margaret’s food and random people’s food coming by on trays. The food can look pretty interesting. Pork knuckle is especially well-loved here. While I was taking pics of food, I also noticed that there were two sets of people at the bar. One set were twins who were dressed identically and beside them, two women who also looked identical. Pat and I had fun trying to figure out what the story was behind it.
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