Bestie comes to visit

So first off: NICE TALKING TO YA'LL LAST NIGHT, FAMILIA! I make one phone call, and heard 5 different voices... much appreciated on this end :)

Now a little update about Barb's visit of MAYHEM!
I flew out of Prague in the morning to meet her in London, though we didn't exactly know how it would all work out. She was supposed to have a through flight to Copenhagen, but she only packed carry-on and we though she could basically just get off the plane on her layover, then come to meet me. Not the case, apparently.


They were mean and couldn't help her in SF, and told her to try her luck in London, and she sorta did- the guy only charged her $200 to change the flight instead of $500+ or re-booking an entire ticket. Anywho, she got off, and wandered over to the hostel right after I got there, so I came downstairs, and she was sitting there with the saddest look on her face...but we were on LONDON!

No time for sadness, it was on to fish n' chips and beer at an Irish pub. Not great, but cheap-ish and well deserved in our opinions.


We headed back to the hostel for a quick bit where we met our cool roomies, Ben Child (name-for serious.) and Arturo, 2 guys from MN who were in London looking for jobs after graduation. Good luck! Ha.

Anyhooter, Barb had seen a sign for karaoke and was pretty determined that we get'r done. Karaoke virgin that I am, I was a bit skeptical as we walked into "The Queen's head," an Irish bar run by an Indian guy with only about 7 people and a crazy DJ that was all about his karaoke. Needless to say, we got up there and sang our little hearts out, (Dancing Queen!) and made friends with some characters, one of which was an old man who wrote his number on Barb's forearm. And it didn't wash off for days. Lucky girl!

Next day we got up early ish, had a n EB (english breakfast! mmm..) and meandered down to the tourist areas, like Trafalgar Square and the Royal Gardens.

We passed this place, called "The Spice of Life," which tempted us, but was nothing more than a bar with pub food, so we quickly walked the other direction.


Laughed at an Italian boy band taking cover shots for their new album (stalker much?)


Then rolled around in the dafs for a bit eating ice cream before walking to Big Ben.

When we got back, we met up with Ben and Arturo, and went out on our search for Indian food. We tried a nice-ish hotel nearby, and walked in to a large room full of tables, though only 5 or 6 were occupied. The host came up to ask if we had a reservation, which of course we did not, and he replied that they were booked for the night. It was 8:30, and 6 full tables. Apparently we didn't look like big spenders :(

We found somewhere else around the corner, and Barb decided to order the HOTTEST INDIAN DISH, just because she thought she could. It was intense, and one little bite was all the spicy I needed for about 3 months. Either way, she powered through and only broke a bit of a sweat.

Later that night, we ended up in the hostel bar, where we met some of the coolest kids! A whole load of young gents from Cardiff, who were the silliest and most sarcastic I've met in this European world. One guy looked like Patrick Swayze, the other a skunk, and one kept taking his shirt off and we couldn't understand a word that came out of their mouths, but had a great time.

The next morning we had to move to our other hostel near by, so we walked over, carrying my new bag with which BOTH shoulder straps decided to break, and Barb's "rolling" bag that's top speed was -3.4mph and would start wobbling if you walked at anything faster than normal pace. It was an issue. Anyway, cool place and we met 2 extremely good looking Swedish blokes, and another American girl named Kelsi from Seattle who just arrived that day to start her study abroad term.

That was the day we walked up to Camden, a part of London I've always wanted to go, so I was super excited! The weather was still nice, and it was a Sunday so the place was PACKED with shoppers! There was something for everyone- it was like a giant flea market/underground shopping center/restaurant area and perfect for people-watching!

This is part of the street, where vendors exploded onto the sidewalks and walking was made virtually impossible.

We sat to enjoy some delicious coffee and take in the scene, which included not only people hassling for bargains, but some sort of "Native American"-esque band, and groups of people drinking their day away at the bars/restaurants across the little canal.

In the flea market parts, there were nicknacks of all kinds, and I was tempted to buy a Swiss Army knife, but I refrained. I just want to have one not only to show how cool I am, but because they are so darn handy! Anyhooter, besides all these cool gadgets, the food was off the hook! Every corner of the world was represented. You had your choice of:

Succulent Asian drinks.


and bubbling South African pots

Thai food, Indian food, cupcakes, cookies, hamburgers, fries, waffles. Anything your heart desired! It was heavenly, heavenly I tell you!

After another long day of walking, we went out with the Cardiff boys again, if only to mock and attempt to understand their accents.

Barb, me, and Kelsi


The whole load of them, Patrick Swayze included.


It was an interesting night, but we were looking forward to more exploring the next day! It was a bit rainy so we weren't too thrilled, but we headed to get some grub, an ended up with something resembling pot pies in a random pub. (No beer, sorry G-parents.) Kelsi headed back, but Barb and I hopped on the Tube to the British Music Experience across town, located in the 02 Arena, something I've never seen in my life!

From the outside it looked like a huge white tent, but inside was almost an entire little community. There were restaurants and bars, Starbucks and gift shops. It was crazy..a person could probably live their whole life in there! Eww. The BME was pretty cool, especially since it wasn't crowded and we could spend as much as time as we wanted on every exhibit, and they give you these cool tickets that you scan for everything you like, and then can go visit all the info online! Pretty spectac.

Pretty tuckered out, so we spent the night in the bar in the hostel, watching this crazy guy dance for hours by himself, with a growing crowd watching him, though he was seemingly unphased. Met a really funny Dutch guy, and our entire conversation consisted of "yaaaaa" and "naaayy" (yes and no in Dutch, and maybe the 6 other words I could remember. But, it was an experience.)

Next day we had to check out, but we went to wander the British Museum and Tower/London Bridge area and the Globe theater, which was a total let down, but whatevs.

Pretty intense looking from the inside



and the outside!

We could only handle a brief walk around of the museum, and then it was on to the bridge!


Its weird, it's located in a completely refurbished business area that looks more like New York than anything else.


We walked by the castle nearby, took a little nap in the sun :) and then my camera died, which was really cool. NOT!

By then it was time to go get dinner and back to the hostel to pick up our things before we headed down to Victoria station where my bus left for the airport, and Barb could head back to Heathrow.

BUT THAT WASNT THE END OF THE TRIP!

No no. Just us sucking at life and logistics in general. With Barb's whole ticket fiasco, I had to book a flight out of a different airport, though they left around the same time. Unfortunately, neither of us could sleep, so by the time we met up in Copenhagen, is was exhaustion central.

We got to a Starbucks but Barb fell asleep right away. Then I tried to do the same thing, and we basically got kicked out. It was still early, but we had to wait until 6 or 7 to meet up with Troels, the guy we were staying with. This led to a myriad of cafe-hopping, in which we received multiple weird looks for sitting in one place for 3 hours, but were too tired to move or carry our obnoxious bags around.

He called around 7 and we finally got to his house to put our stuff down, and then went out with him and to meet up with some friends at the coolest little bar/performance area, with a very intimate crowd. It was a bit TOO crowded though, so we went to another place nearby that had a really loud metal band, and then a nicer Danish band that sang in English, which was cool for us. By then it was just the 3 of us, and we ended at one last local place, and tried to new April/Spring/Easter beer (a tradition for Danes- Christmas AND Easter beer) with a little chick on the label and the words "kylle kylle" which is sort of like clucking, I'm guessing.

The next day we woke up and wandered around his area of Norrebro and walked towards the city center, though the weather was MISERABLE! It was still nice to see, especially since I could sort of navigate us around. We ate dinner at the Hard Rock cafe, and, lucky for us, a group of about 30 of the most beautiful Danish boys, so life was good.

Typical Viking.

That night we went out with Troels and his friend Jacob, and the other 2 Slovakian girls who were staying with him as well. It was a long night of butchered languages and confused expressions, especially since the Slovakians were the most Russian people I've met (if you're picking up what I'm throwin down) Nonetheless, it was a good time.


"This is typical of our relationship"


The whole group! Jacob is crazy, T-money is the tall guy in the back, and the haters are the Slovakians.


There was a naked butt! Better than the U2 poster next to it...


Barb by the end of the night. Umbrellas and her aren't friends, and neither is drinking and walking :)


One of my favorite sculptures in CPH..


The next day we decided to go explore Christiana, the little hippie community I wrote about before. We went to a second hand store first, which was so pricey! I don't understand how people get off charged such absurd prices for clothes that SOMEONE ELSE HAS WORN! It boggles my mind, but Barb found it fun



We went deeper into Christiana than I'd been before, and around the lake that is behind it. Still a cool place, but I felt like such an obvious tourist that it kinda sucked, but was still gorgeous.


Another long night was in store, as X-Factor (The European version of American Idol) was on, and Troels had a group of friends coming over to celebrate. We watched, cheered, and were preparing to go to a cool euro electronic concert, but got there only to find that tickets were sold out! We parted ways, and Barb and I hung out with Klaus, Troels' neighbor, and went back to all the bars we visited the weekend of my birthday, basically. It was our last night, and we just wanted to have fun!


Next day was a late start, but we made it all the way over to the little mermaid. Unfortunately, all the walking took a toll on Barb, and while she had stubbed one of her toes really bad, all of a sudden her other ankle swelled up to the size of a cantaloupe! Ok, not really, but it was big and gross and walking was not the best for it. We had a yummy pasta dinner, and when we got back to Troels the party was just starting, again. We hung out for awhile before heading to a party at one of the dorms of the nursing students, which was insane! Everyone was in black and white, and tons of people were painted. Like, all out "no clothes but this black paint will cover everything AND make me look like a Siberian tiger" sort of deal. It was so euro, we were delighted!

But it was an early night, especially with the damn time change! We slept for 45 minutes, then messed around with public transport while Barb went to the airport and I caught a train back to Aarhus. It was a long ride, and I miss Barb already :(

I know I loved Berlin and Copenhagen..but PRAGUE! ahhh...

So after a 10 hour drive in the rain from Århus to Nuremburg, Germany, and a bit of sleep, I got on a train to Prague. The weather cleared up and the German countryside was just beautiful..all these quaint little cottages and small towns with a church in the middle. I could definitely see myself living there someday, after my love obsession with big cities dies down. 

So I land in Prague around dusk, semi-exhausted and the only metro map I could find was in German, after I had to deal with getting change in the Czech koruna, which is like $1 to 25 CZK... tricky. So I wander in the direction I think the hostel is in, in a bustling area that is obviously the center, where they have all these "helpful" signs pointing you in certain directions-only in CZECH! Cool, way to ward off tourists. So I continue one way, then turn around and go the other, then turn back around and go back the other way, then back the opposite way, looking like a completely baffoon. Eventually, I ask a nice lady who pointed me to a hotel where the guy gave me  an English map and highlighted the street I need to be on... which is right in the center of the old town, straight in the opposite direction. Good enough I says, and headed off. 

The first hostel sign I saw I ran to, and bam! Happened to be the right one. The guy behind the desk was a cool NYer who lived in Copenhagen for 2 years, which was a comforting welcome. As soon as I checked in and was about to head down to use the internet, the nicest Aussie ever, Angus (tee hee hee on his name...we may have called him Beef, but...whatever.) He was such a great guy, and told me all about how he is traveling the entire world for a year, even though the friend he was with ditched him. Then walk in 3 girls from Texas that study in Masstricht, NL (homies immediately!) and a guy from NYU who studies in Madrid (ginger could speak bueno Espanol) We all clicked well, and wandered around a bit the first night before ending up at a bar called Bloody Freddy's where we met a bunch of stereotypical English guys on a "stag do"  (aka Bachelor party). They were lame, but we were not.

Next day we got up early because Angus wakes at 730, yippee! Either way, we wandered for a bit before meeting for a free tour. There we met some other cool kids, a Canadian and another NYer working in Stockholm. Good times, more bonding.

We started at the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Center:

The clock is pretty awesome- it goes off every hour starting with the bells and a skeleton ringing one and shaking his head, as if to say "your time is coming," representing the sin of death. The 4 other figures are vanity, greed, and infidelity. At the same time, the 12 apostles move through the windows above. Below, the calendar shows the 12 months of the year, as well as everyday and changes at midnight when the day is over.




Old Town Square with Tyn Church

From there we went to the oldest Jewish synagogue in Europe, I believe, and the graveyard that is overflowing with headstones toppled on each other. This leads to one of the wealthiest shopping streets, packed with every Italian designer you could ever dream of. We also saw Charles Bridge, the main passage way for tourists over to the castle on the other side of the river. Peddlers and artists set up booths and sell everything from jewelry to photos to paintings to caricatures. I even saw a guy with a cute dog laying on the ground..but upon closer inspection, there was a fat rat and smaller mouse on top of the dog, on their back legs, little freaky hands reaching out to him as he crouched over them, presumably talking. I may have to steal that trick when I get back to SF just to pay rent.


Then we hit up the Lennon wall, dedicated to John Lennon because the Beatles were banned during the Communist regime's rule.



We also crossed a little bridge that had the beginnings of a little love monument... when people get married, they come down here and lock a lock engraved with both of their names, and then throw the key in canal below. So cute!


(Yea, people love me.)

From there we saw a sculpture from this crazy artist David Cerny, who made 2 men who swivel and pee on a pool shaped like the Czech Republic.


Then it was on to the CASTLE! I thought riding a bike was hard. But 2,754 steps later I thought differently. Awesome views of the city, and an amazingly huge Cathedral that's still free of charge, and houses all of the CR's famous crypts, as well as a secret room that has 7 locks with 7 different keys all held by the most important people in the country.



The tour ended there, so we headed back down to eventually get some dinner. WOW. Greatest experience. This was my plate:

Beef goulash and an original pilsener to wash it down..for like $10. I love Prague!

After that it was decided that we would go on a pub crawl, mostly because the guy running it was hilarious, and he and the other chick missed all the Aussies, and since we had one in our company..we got a discount and Angus went for free! The first bar left us in an attic in the dark because the light didn't work...but unlimited beer was the upside, so we didn't complain. Then the 2nd place was boring and expensive, but we made our mark on a graffiti wall with '205 2009' for our room number.

The 3rd place, Chapeau something...was so euro! I loved it. The top looked like a normal, nice bar, but downstairs were foosball tables and a live band with a crazy dancefloor, and cheaper beer. Then, the 3rd level down was where it got cool. It was like being in a cave, with all rock walls, and loud dj music from one small room, and then a tiny bar in the back with beer for like 1 euro. It was an oddly magical experience you only expect in movies...i loved it! The 4th place was lame, but it was 3am and we decided it was time for home anyway!

Sunday, we woke up early again and I split off with the girls for a bit more exploring, and then they left later in the day. Angus, me and Domenick from Stockholm took another walk later on, saw a cool statue of a guy hanging from a building, and explored some of the Churches that were still open. Later, Domenick and I found the original Budvar (Budweiser, suckas!) and met some cool kid with a girlfriend in Copenhagen.

Monday I went to meet up with my German girls, Hanna and Nina, and then dinner with Angus before he left for Berlin! Lucky guy :)

I know it sounds lame and I can't explain it, but I really had the time of my life that weekend. Meeting people from all over that I actually had so much in common with (could be the American side of things...) and just being able to have a good time and not stress about school yet was much needed. Like I told my mom, it felt like I was walking on clouds, I was in such a good place. Hopefully I'll feel that way again soon :)

Tuesday I did some more exploring and prepared for interviews later in the day, meeting with the editor in Chief of one of the biggest papers in the CR, and then a freelancer from New Jersey who has lived her for 17 years. Wednesday I had an interview with the editor in Chief of Prague's biggest (and only??) English speaking paper, and then Nina and I ventured out to watch a film at a festival I wanted to go to. It was called One World, and focuses on Human Rights issues around the world, and this year had an emphasis one the 20 years since Communism (basis of my article, fyi.) We got really, completely, utterly lost, but it was worth it :)

Thursday I went out to take more photos and some video for my assignment, then met up with Hanna so we could climb the mountain opposite the castle. Btw, she did this while suffering from kidney stones. TROOPER!

It was a beautiful day! (though it snowed in the morning, hmm...) This is taken near the Charles Bridge.


Near the beginning of our hike, a statue dedicated to the 'victims of Communism,' showing the destruction of people.


View from near the top, before we slipped in mud :(


View over the river, dusk-ish


Another Cerny design, the BABIES!

After this, we met up for coffee and dinner with Tomas, a Czech guy who lived above me last semester in Utrecht. He is a really smart guy, and so sweet and polite. I'm glad we got the chance to catch up!
Then it was our "brilliant" idea to climb to the castle at night, but the views from below up at the castle are much more astounding than in the opposite direction.

It was my last night in Prague, and a very good one. Can't wait to go back one day :D

Things

So I was just sitting here looking through photos, (not at ALL procrastinating on packing...) and decided these are some of my favorites that need to be shared!


Hee hee hee...wearing giant wooden clogs in Amsterdam

KFOG KABOOM! 2008

My fam at my going-away party

  Winner for "most awkward photo EVER" award

Barb, Pat and I in Seattle at the Troll

Pat is a creative photographer...

Bob's Babe's Bitchin' Birthday Bash! (BBBB!)

Giants game for Nikki's 21st birthday

      Mojito in North Beach on my 21st with my favorite girls :)

Sombreros and mustaches=Cinco de Mayo

Mustaches without Cinco de Mayo=even better

I just love everyone's expression!

We made him look like a cat...with a beard.

Pat and I at his brothers wedding, 2007

Despite the cold...

Denmark has some of the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises I've ever seen!

The colors (when it's not overcast..) are so much more vibrant than any place I've been, and much more varied. One night its a deep purple, the next night pink, and tonight a crazy shade of aqua. 

It's worth risking the numbness in your fingers and toes just to see it.

In shock

About many things. The first of which is that there is SUN outside my window today! We took a bike ride to the Bazar market, and it rained on us the whole way home, and then the sun of course came out right when we got inside. Story of my life...

I'm also in shock as to how this chick next door can incessantly play her stupid flute without getting ANY better. I really don't think she has improved at all in the last 2 months.

Which brings me to my next point...its been 2 months since I've been here! And it's March, means I only have about 3 1/2 more months here...and that scares me. And makes me sad. I am missing home, but thinking about leaving everything I know here and all my amazing friends...I just don't know how I'll do it!

Speaking of friends, this month is going to be awesome! I'm leaving Thursday to drive to Nuremberg with my 2 German friends, then from there I will catch a train to Prague. I'll spend the weekend alone, then the girls are meeting me there on Monday, and we're renting an apartment for dirt cheap for the week. I'm working on an article about media in the 20 years since the fall of Communism, and how its changed. That Friday, I fly to London to meet up with Barbie! We'll stay there for a bit, then fly to Århus for a few days, then some time in Copenhagen before she leaves me :(  Then its back here to Skjoldhøj to perfect my articles...

On a different note, I think I need to make a dedication to Lee Walton, who I have known since elementary school. He died this past week (service was yesterday). The worst part is, he committed suicide. When I think back to him, all I can see is a huge smile across his face (and possibly a cast on his arm, or leg, or wrist..) I know I wasn't close to him, but I wish I could have done something to help him. Who knew if he was reaching out to anyone, or had anyone to reach to in the first place. I hope my friends know they can always talk to me if they feel unhappy or depressed... it's just not worth it to take your life or have to suffer when someone else does. I hope he is in a better place now.