15 May: Weird, this website is in English in America

Hey there :) Yeah, that confused me. SO. Wanna hear about spring break?

I'm going to tell you about spring break a little differently (and probably more vaguely) from how I've done it in the past, because it was quite some time ago now and I am doing it off of my notes that I took from Christina's extremely detailed journal back when we were in Spain, so I don't even remember what some of these notes mean.

Day 1: March 30
I met Jess, Andrew, Andrew, Luke, Madison, Abby, and Christina at the train station at 6 am to begin our adventure together! We trained to Madrid, where we split up to go on different trains, and then took a hi-speed train (which was awesome) to Barcelona where we would reunite for the next leg.

 In Barcelona there are two train stations and they are not close to each other so we had to take the metro from the train station we arrived in. From there, we decided that we would walk to the beach "on the way" from the metro station to the train station, which was extremely not on the way, and recall that we are carrying everything we need for 10 days on our backs (I just had my regular school backpack) and it's our first day so it is SO heavy and hot and we are a little crabby. We finally reach the ocean, and collapse on a bench to people watch in front of the beach while eating the sandwiches our host parents had packed us. After resting there for awhile, we start again on our trek to the train station (which is the opposite direction from the metro station we arrived in). On the way we stopped in a little Russian grocery store (so random) to get some cheap snacks before we reunited with our friends at the train station. From there we took a train hotel (yeah, it was pricey) where they gave us a kit of a blanket, water bottle, tooth brush and paste, an eye mask, and earplugs! The chairs were big, comfy, and they reclined, and so between all of that, we slept very well.

Day 2: March 31
I woke up around 6:30 the next morning to some beautiful, foggy French scenery! It was so magical looking with the haze. I put my headphones in and woke up to Florence + the Machine as I enjoyed the view. Christina came and picked me up around 7 to get breakfast in the restaurant car, where I had to argue in Spanish with a bitchy worker who gave me the wrong change. We arrived in Paris! Woohoo! Our first destination! We immediately ran to the booking area to try to figure out our way home, because we hadn't been able to do that until this point. After a long time and many unintelligible French people, we finally found someone who spoke English who explained to us that it was going to be impossible to return on the day we had originally planned and we needed to get tickets for another day. [Only 5 of us would be returning and the other 3 were going to Vienna at the end]. We had to buy the tickets together, and the person who was planning on paying for them realized he didn't notify his credit card company that he was leaving Spain, so it didn't work. My card worked in all of the EU and we were running out of options, so I charged the 555€ on my card to pay for our train hotel on the way back and we finally got out of there. We figured out how to get to our SWEET hostel on the other side of Paris right along a little river, but check in wasn't until two, so we used their stiflingly hot bathrooms to change clothes and put the rest of our stuff in lockers in the basement and went into the city! We split into smaller groups to do what we wanted to do, and the people I was with went to see Notre Dame (we didn't go in, it was very crowded),

walked some back streets to find some cheaper food (I got a crepe and coffee at an adorable little cafe),

and then went back to St. Michel's square to take a tour with a bunch of people from Iowa who were visiting through Sandeman. Quick plug for Sandeman tours-if you're EVER in ANY big city, check to see if there's a Sandeman tour! They are 3-3.5hr long walking tours given by fantastic tour guides and at the end, you decide how much they're worth and pay them accordingly! We had a fabulous tour of Paris, during which we learned lots of history of the city and got a great overview of where everything was so we knew where to return later! After that, we went back to the hostel where we checked in and moved into our room and then stopped at a little grocery store to pick up salami and cheese before heading to the Eiffel Tower for the night. There, we met some Minnesotans who shared bread and bottle openers with us. Christina, Andrew, Madison, and I decided to go halfway up the tower.

Madison and Andrew were planning on going all the way up, but halfway up, Andrew got an urgent sounding call saying to call his parents. It was extremely stressful for everyone, but they were just worried about his credit card. After that we were all a little shaken up and decided to go back down. We parked ourselves in a garden to drink champagne and wait until the tower sparkled on the hour, which was a truly magical sight.

A security guard came over to us afterward and started speaking in French. We shook our heads and he asked, "English?" and all four of us answered, "Sí... I mean yes!" all together! It was quite amusing, but he told us we were in a forbidden area and we had to leave.We returned to the hostel. Christina, Luke, and I were sharing a locker in our room, and he had the key and was still out, so Christina and I chatted with our cool roommates-one was from Australia, another from Germany, and then a NYer and a Californian studying in the Netherlands were there too. Everyone was super nice and very interesting. When Luke returned, Christina and I showered and chatted and then went to bed. It was a marvelous first day.

Day 3: April 1
We got up at 7 and had a free breakfast at the hostel of coffee, juice, baguettes, and cereal, and then headed out to stand in line for the Louvre because on the first Sunday of every month it is free for everyone! It was awesome. You can't tell in this picture, but it was a beautiful day too!

So we spent the morning there until we were starving, but we were stubborn about wanting to find cheaper food, which was further from all the famous stuff so we walked around foreeeverrr to find it and ended up getting really yummy sandwiches at a little street vendor. I still wanted coffee, so we continued to look for a cafe. We found one whose prices looked decent and we sat out on the porch. The café au lait came with a cookie! It was delightful!

Theeeen we found out that sitting outside raises the prices, which we should have known because that is not unusual, and it ended up being like 5€ for the coffee, but oh well. We were happy. Then we walked to the Arc du Triomphe which was...triumphant! ha.

We sat on the chain around the edge of the roundabout and watched for cool cars for about a half hour and then walked back to the Eiffel tower because Christina wanted "day pics" of it from all different angles. hahaha but they turned out really nice.

...and it took like 25 tries to get that picture. After this, we went to the Moulin Rouge area!

So cool! But this is the red light district, so there's not really anything else to do there. But our tour guide had told us that the area behind the Moulin Rouge was where the movie Amèlie took place, and where it was more like "old Paris" so I really wanted to see it. Quickly, we happened upon a GIANT, steep staircase, which we decided to take. At the top there was a big church, a Greek Theater-like staircase on which was sitting a huge group of people watching a live band, and an amazing view of the city of Paris.

this is Luke's picture, but it was too cool not to share

There was also a guy doing amazing soccer tricks on a little platform behind the band, so it was a double show! It was so nice to sit for awhile after all our walking. Afterward, we went into a little souvenir shop that was cheap and the people were nice to us although we didn't speak French (always a concern there). We returned to the hostel where we just chilled in the dining area for the night and we went to bed early.

Day 4: April 2
We got up at 7 again and had breakfast at the hostel and packed up and took the metro to the train station. It was a two story train which was cool, so we sat up top and watched the French countryside go by. At our first transfer, we got off, quickly walked to our next train, got on, and before we even sat down, the train left-such a close call! Our next stop was in Lille Flandres (a little town in France-so cute!), where we ate food we had brought outside at a fountain and even got a glimpse of a beautiful church before we left again.

Then we watched the Belgian countryside go by, which was actually very different from the French-more brick and more solitary looking. I'm going to be real with you, I think we all did a lot of sleeping on these trains too. We arrived in the most beautiful train station I have ever seen in Antwerp, Belgium.

Yeah. We had some time here (intentionally) so we could go get some Belgian waffles :) we walked around this town and finally found a place with waffles-but they didn't have enough for all of us! Our boys were very gracious though, and had pancakes instead. Belgian waffles are a lot fluffier and less heavy than the ones we have here, and quite delicious.

It was a very nice town, but we were soon on our way again! We finally arrived in Amsterdam, where we had to walk very far to find our hostel, which was called the Shelter Jordan, a Christian, smoke- and alcohol-free hostel, which was a blessing. However, the girls stayed in an 18-person all girls room, which was quite annoying. We dropped our stuff in lockers and were out again where I had my first ever kebab, frankly one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. Later, I split fries with Curry sauce with Andrew, because although I was super full they were yummy and apparently Amsterdam is known for it's fry sauces? I don't know, the other Andrew read the tour book and that's what he said. Then some of our group split off to... you know, do the Amsterdam thing, and the rest of us went to a quiet smoke-free bar and then trekked back to the hostel for bed.

Day 5: April 3
We got up and had free pancakes at the hostel and then we had our first daytime sights of the gorgeous city of Amsterdam.

this was just a few blocks from our hostel! It was incredible. We walked around the city for awhile and had plans to meet Jess and Andrew at the I AMsterdam sign later. Some of the girls wanted to go to H&M so we did that, and then we slowly made our way to the sign. On the way we stopped at this amazing tulip market and an incredibly delicious and authentically Dutch cheese shop, in which I bought some cheese for my (real) Mom- it was SO good!

Then we spent a good chunk of time at the I AMsterdam sign, waiting and taking pictures. Too iconic to miss!

Yeah, Andrew and Jess didn't end up joining us, but look how we accidentally color-coded! 

So now we're starving so we go to this adorable and delicious bakery that we passed on the way there, where we got yummy sandwiches and cookies and then we returned to the park in front of the sign to eat, where there was a million school children running around, but it was a lovely lunch. It looked like it was going to rain, so we were a little nervous, but we also wanted to catch a 1pm Sandeman tour and were running out of time. We illegally hopped on a train, but were very anxious about it, so we got off too early. We're racing through the city, when we happen upon a sign outside a truck that says it is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. Well, we stop and they say it isn't open yet, but Christina knows how to get what she wants, so within a few minutes, the guy is breaking open crates in the back of his truck and we each get a little carton of Apple Pie Ice Cream. It tasted like America and we loved it. We raced to the point where the tour was supposed to start, but we were late and it was empty. Luke was very disappointed, so we went to a tourist office where they told us we might be able to catch up with them at the main square. We went to the main square and hopped into an English-speaking tour, but a manager guy came over and said they were overbooked and we couldn't join them because of some new rule about parades (?). We sat down on the steps not very far from them looking very dejected. In a few minutes, the tour guide came over and said, "I couldn't say this in front of the manager guy, but our tour is going down x street. So if you just happened to be there, maybe we'll meet again?" We thanked her and went to lurk down the street waiting for them to come by.

We didn't look casual. At all. And we were waiting in like a truck area, so it wasn't anywhere anyone would ever be ever. It was quite amusing. We lurked there for about ten minutes waiting, but they finally came and we had another amazing 3 hour Sandeman tour where we learned so much about Amsterdam! Check out our adorable Dutch tour guide.

Haha, still color coordinating. So strange. Then Christina went back to nap and the guys and I went to look for tickets to the Anne Frank House, which we decided we just had to go there. So Luke waited in line while Andrew and I went back to get Christina. He had gone through the line 4 times by the time we got back-it wasn't as long as it looked. The Anne Frank house was really cool and we were glad we did it.

 This is it. Sorry it's so crooked.

Then the four of us went to a grocery store to get food, and we had a precious little family dinner back at the hostel. A truly lovely night.

The Christian hostel ended evenings with prayer, so we did that and then went to bed!

Day 6: April 4

So. This day we woke up to the part of the Lion King where Timon and Pumba are singing/yelling "When I was a young warthog... When he was a young wart HOOOOOOOGGGGGG!" every 2 minutes. for an hour and a half. IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE. 18-girl hostel rooms. They'll getcha. So that was fun. And they ran out of breakfast like super early? So the morning was a little rough. We hustled the long walk back to the train station where we boarded our train out of Amsterdam and arrived some 3ish hours later in Köln, Germany! We stepped out of the train station and BAM! There was the most impressive looking church I saw during my time in Europe.

It was quite shocking, really, and we all just stopped and stared for a minute. Then we began the long hot hike to the Black Sheep Hostel (our hostels got progressively further away from the train stations, if you haven't noticed). Right next to the hostel (which was like a hippie dorm, it had lots of character) was the most amazing and cheap bakery with the sweetest employees (who didn't speak a word of English). The pastries were divine and they had BIG COFFEE (nonexistent in Spain) and we probably sat in there for an hour and a half the first day, enjoying each others company and the cleanliness of Germany. Hello there is Halloo! And it is the friendliest sounding, sing-song word, and we loved greeting everyone as they greeted us :) Then we slowly meandered back to the church by way of an awesome and huge outdoor mall, kind of like a huge outlet mall. We went to a bookstore and hung out in there for quite some time, and then went to a lego store, where we spent about as much time. We had fun being little kids for awhile.

Then we went to our first German bar, where the people were very nice! We met a German who was very interested in talking to us and he told us that just a few blocks away was Germany's first jazz bar if we wanted to check it out later.

But we needed food first, so we went to an authentic German restaurant where I had my first German brat. It was delicious.

Then we headed to the jazz bar! It was the coolest thing ever! It was Wednesday night, but packed with people, jamming to an aging jazz band. It had so much character. The guy who had told us about it was there, and he bought us all a round of beer and peanuts. Then an adorable old guy came up and gave each of the girls a rose and a kiss. He was adorable. It was my favorite thing I did over break.

It was a blast! Then we trekked back to the hostel and went to bed.

Day 7: April 5
We were woken up early by the girls in our room packing up and checking out, and then we got up and went back to the bakery for breakfast. We checked out the bike rentals and it was 5€ for 3 hours so we did that! If I didn't mention it before, Köln is RIGHT on the Rhine River, so we biked up, down, and across the river. It was so fun! We stopped at the chocolate museum, a beach, and a pretty park.

Then we went into the cathedral, which was cold as usual, but cool. We also went to St Andrews church because Andrew had a thing about churches. I don't really remember much about it, so it mustn't have been very special. This was our last night with all 8 of us together, so Madison and Abby went to the grocery store, and then the two of them and I made a feast of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, veggies, fruits, and pudding for all of us to eat together at the hostel. It was really fun.

Afterwards we played a game of spoons with chopsticks and just hung out. We went to bed early.

Day 8: April 6 (Good Friday)
We woke up at 7 and said farewell to Madison, Andrew and Jess who headed to Vienna. Abby and other Andrew were just going to explore the city, while Luke, Christina and I did a Rhine River boat tour. We got to do it all day for just 21€ because we got a student discount! It was awesome. It was so fancy and they had fun basket seats that we cuddled up in to keep out of the wind.

Then we went inside to get warm and get some food-and we got to sit front and center! Our view was awesome. We made a quick stop in Bonn, where Beethoven was born, and Christina ran out onto the dock to put her foot on the ground to say she did before we were off again. Then she and I split a waffle and we all three just chatted and took in the sights.

We decided we were just going to take a restful day and not get off at any of the sights. The boat tour started telling us about Köningswinter and we listened with mild interest, enjoying our coffee. Then one of us starts talking about maybe getting off. We're very wishy-washy about it, and very calm, no sign of movement. The boat stops. We look at the timetable, in no rush at all, and figure out how much time we'd have. People are getting off. We discuss the pros and cons. And decide to go. Christina runs to the bathroom. We gather our belongings, realize we haven't paid for our food. We can't find our waitress anywhere. We run up and down the levels looking for her. Finally find her, pay. Rejoin with Christina, and run off the boat. We are the last people off and they pull the bridge out literally as we're stepping off. It was a close call, but we're exhilarated by our spontaneity. We start walking around and find a cheap kebab place for lunch where we get Schwip-Schwaps, a coke and fanta drink.

We're calmly walking around, enjoying the Germanness and the town, slowly making our way to the castle.

So cute, right? But we realize we're running out of time and end up asking some German people who don't speak any English how to get there. Somehow, although no one understands a word of what the other is saying, we are able to communicate! We start hiking up an EPICALLY STEEP hill. Very high. It is a serious work out, with seriously awesome views.

So tiring. SO WORTH IT. The castle was straight out of a fairy tale!

But we were seriously out of time. So we SPRINTED down the hill, which sounds fun, but was really terrifying. I honestly didn't know if I could stop! We got down a million times faster than we got up, so we had time to get (really cheap!) ice cream and Christina got a weird shirt? But yeah, and then we got on the boat and headed back! Quite the adventure! When we got back, we met Abby and Andrew at the cathedral where there was some really pathetic and confusing "flash mob" going on and then we went to a brat stand we had visited before. On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at a pub to get "dark beer." The lady gave us Malzbier, which she assured us was dark beer, but I swear to you tasted like watered down molasses and honey. It tasted like a cookie, and probably had as many calories. It was so good, but so weird. We weren't (and aren't) altogether sure if it was alcoholic?

Afterward, we went to a convenience store where someone got another dark beer to see if it tasted the same. It didn't. Then we got back to the hostel and realized our train was leaving at like 630 am, much earlier than we had previously thought. There was huge drama with whether or not Andrew should ask his host dad to pick up our tickets for us in Barcelona, because we didn't know if we would be able to do it later, but we decided to wing it. We went to bed late after having started to pack for the morning because it was going to be an early one!

Day 9: April 7
We got up at 5 and had a quick breakfast and literally RAN the entire way to the train station with all of our stuff on our backs, in the rain. It was intensely uncomfortable, but it's a good thing because we literally arrived at the train ONE MINUTE before it was supposed to leave. AND we accidentally boarded the wrong train first, fortunately realized it, and ran further down the track to catch ours. We got ourselves locked in a little tiny car accidentally but were too nervous to get out and go further down because we were so late. It was quite stressful. When we finally got unlocked, we had to walk down about 15 train cars until we reached ours, a little 8 seater that held the 5 of us and a mother with her two obnoxious kids. We arrived back in Paris where we snuck back into our old hostel and used their downstairs lockers so we could enjoy another day in Paris! We went to a grocery store to get lunch, where I got the MOST Delicious yogurt ever. It was truly divine.

Also, real orange juice, because that doesn't exist in Spain. Then we decided to go to Versailles, where we got in for free with our student IDs! It was very cool and we were glad we got an extra day in Paris than we were expecting.

We went back to that same grocery store and got dinner and ate on the river outside that hostel, then grabbed our stuff and metroed back to the train station. We got on our train hotel, where we actually had beds this time! Abby, Christina, and I shared a room with this beautiful lady who didn't speak a word of English or Spanish, but had a huge fan club who was constantly calling her. We think she was maybe an Arab Princess. We hung out for a little while, but turned in early.

Day 10: April 8 (Easter)
We had originally planned to be home for Easter, but obviously that didn't quite work out. We woke up at 6 and Christina asked me to open the curtains in our room, and I'm so glad we did! We had a gorgeous sunrise view of the ocean as we got close to Barcelona! What a lovely way to wake up. We made the train station transfer in Barcelona again and reserved our tickets to Madrid. On the train to Madrid, Christina acted as a translator for some poor Asian girl who had left her passport in a taxi and wanted to talk to the Madrid police about it. We were so excited to watch the Spanish countryside go by. It is a truly beautiful country and we were happy to be almost home. We weren't able to get a train back to Cáceres until 5 hours after we had arrived in Madrid, so we set up camp and hung out, eating, reading, and doing crossword puzzles. Because our trains got so messed up, we ran into Andrew, Jess, and Madison who were returning from Vienna and actually beat us back to Cáceres! But, we finally made it back to Cáceres by around 9 pm :)

What an incredible week! I hope you enjoyed reading about it, I sure had a wonderful time experiencing it. I feel so blessed to have been able to have a spring break like that and I know that God had his angels watching over us all week, as we were safe and we all still liked each other at the end.

I'll write about my trip back to the States and the transition soon, but I'm going to go enjoy this beautiful Minnesota day!

Hablamos Pronto!