Revision week 2014

So I didn't really want to post this blog because I have gotten bored of all this blogging, I knew the time would come. I am going to power through though since I only have a few weeks left here in Dublin. Well I am at the airport waiting for our flight home from our revision week extravaganza so I will write about that! We were able to hit up 3 countries in a little under a week! 

Munich

Our first stop on our trip was Munich. Springfest was starting on Friday so we thought it would be fun to be there for that. Munich was really great and so pretty! It reminded me of the Germany that is in Epcot because it was just so cute looking. When we got there we went to a cute market where of course I got a real German bratwaurst and it was delish!  Later we went to the English gardens which were super weird because there were old naked men laying and walking around! Who know that was even legal, it was very strange. We walked past a few more of the sights to see in Munich but overall this trip was a lot more relaxing than the others that I have been on. I think it is because we were all tired of seeing all the museums and such and Munich also did have less famous must sees. Anyway while in Munich we were able to get a lot of traditional food and beer. Our friend Anika who is from Germany was also able to come with us which was helpful to have a translator while she was around! Springfest was just like a giant carnival with huge beer tents. The Germans were also dressed on their traditional outfits which was fun to see! 

While in muncih we were also able to see a concentration camp. Dachu was a little outside the city and was the first concentration camp formed. It was really eye opening and sad to see this in person and hear about all the horrible things that happened there. It hardly even seems real. I learned a lot from being there and even though it was really disturbing I am still glad I was able to see such a big part of history. 

Salzburg

Another city that we were able to see was Salzburg in Austria! Me and Erica decided to take a day trip there because we thought it would be worth it to go since we were in the area. Salzburg is where the sound of music was filmed an it is really small and adorable. You could see the mountians surrounding the city and all of the buildings were really old but still well kept. We went up to a fortress which had a gret view of the city and on the other side a great view of some country and the most amazing mountians. I think this was definitly one of the most beautiful things I have seen. It just was so picture perfect. Anyway we did a tour of Salzburg and were able to walk around and see some things before heading  back to Munich. 

Prague

On Sunday we departed for Prague and embarked on a 6 hour train ride. Getting to the apartment that we rented was  a bit of a hassle because the lady gave us the wrong phone number. Thinking there was something wrong with the phone we wwere using we attempted to use a pay phone. We obviously looked like big idiots with 10 of us surrounding a pay phone trying to figure out how to use it. Luckily we were eventually able to meet up with the lady and get into our really cute apartment. We went to a traditional Czech place that they suggested and it was great! We also went on a walking tour which covered a lot of the main points. The Prague castle was also dry awesome and huge so we looked around that for a little. Throughout our stay we saw a few more sights like the John Lennon peace wall and the Charles bridge. We also went on a pub crawl and did a lot of eating and enjoying the cheap food. Prague was another city that was really cute. It was so different from all the other cities I have seen so it was a nice place to have my last trip. It was also interesting since the Czech rebulic has a really unique history compared to other countries so it was cool to see how that impacted the city. Like I said we were pretty tired of muesuem after museum so we didn't really hit up any of those in Prague.

This trip was nice because it was a lot more relaxing than some it the other trips where we were running around like maniacs. I think Eastern Europe is so beautiful and this may have been one of my favorite trips so far! 

Hola Madrid

I am just on my way back from Madrid so I will continue with my en route blog! I am actually going to try and proof read this one before I post it though so that might be nice for readers (lol). I am experiencing some great views on my flight since there are no clouds! It's really very cool I think I have begun to take advantage of the views I get when I am flying since this is actually my 10th flight since being here. That is so crazy I can't hardly believe all the places that I have been! I just have one more trip to Munich and Prague at the end of April so I am excited to spend a few weeks in Dublin without leaving. After that I will be almost done with my time here. It's weird how fast it seems like everything is coming to an end so I am going to try and take advantage of my last 40ish days left in Europe as much as I can. It is really easy to get caught up doing nothing all day but now that the weather is getting better that is not a good excuse! Also I need to try and finish all my last homework assignments. Okay well enough rambling I will continue on about my trip to Madrid.

Madrid from Above

Airplane View

Since we had a field trip to the grave yard  on Friday I had to go on Saturday morning. Even though I didn't have that much time in Madrid I think it was the perfect amount of time and we were still able to see so much. I arrived around 11 and Allison luckily met me at the airport so I could go drop my stuff off at her apartment. It was so nice and easy meeting a friend there since she knew what she was doing and I didn't have to worry about getting lost or finding my hostel or anything of that sort. After we refueled with a quick snack we set off on a tour. First we went and saw the royal palace and the church that was next to it.  The church was big and very nice on the inside like most of the European churches I have seen. We then went to a plaza that I think is famous but once again I forgot the name of it. We got a delish sangria and lunch. After that we continued our tour seeing more of the city. Even though Madrid is the capital city it didn't feel like a huge city. The buildings were all really cute and reminded me of Italy a lot. On one of the streets we saw a Dunkin donuts and I couldn't resist getting an iced coffee. A great taste of home. Later we went on a gondola ride over the outskirts of the city that led to a park that was the old royal hunting grounds. It was much bigger than we imagined it would be and looked like a forest. We didn't want to wander too far since we were afraid we would get lost. Later we picked up Katie at the airport since her flight got in at 10 and we got some churros con chocolate since it is a staple Spanish treat. Apparently you are supposed to drink the left over chocolate which I started I do but it was so rich I could only have a few sips. I can't imagine how people drink the whole cup. Anyway I was pretty surprised at the late night shenanigans of Madrid. I know they do things differently in Spain but it was just so surprising to be wandering the streets at midnight and see so many people out like it is 8 in the evening. There were so many cafés still open. Very weird to me since things are much quieter in Dublin at that hour except for the drunks. 

Tortilla Espanola

Yummy

Our Gondola

Well we ended up sleeping a little later than we planned the next day but things also seem like they start a lot later in Spain. Since this was Katie's only full day in Madrid we had to cram a lot in. In the morning we went to a flea market that I forgot what it was called in Spanish. They had some pretty great deals and I got a really cute scarf for 2 euro! It was so big though it seems like it went on forever. Later we hit up the Prado and we were able to get in for free with our student ids!  I actually enjoyed this art museum more than most, it was very very big. For lunch we went to a cute Spanish restaurant and had something like al menu dia where you pick different courses so that was nice. We also went to the retiro park which I loved! It was a Huge park and there was a place to rent rowboats and a bunch of fountains and statutes. We had some ice cream and laid in the park soaking up the sun. On the way back we viewed a few more Spanish buildings and  sights and got to see a beautiful sunset with the mountains in the background. When we finally got back at 10 we were pretty hungry so we went back to Tierra which was a yummy burrito place that me and Allison went to the night before but couldn't resist. I couldn't believe the crowd that was there at 10! 

Churros con Chocolate

Sangria

Me at the Palace

Street in Madrid

The next day we just went to the park and soaked up the sun since it was in the 70s and did some shopping and I was finally able to get some tapas. I really loved the tortilla esponola (?), very yummy!  Unfortunately then I had to make my way to the airport.  

Turtles

Palace

Us at the Retiro

One thing I was really surprised about in Spain was how little English they spoke. In most of the countries I have been to a lot of the people spoke English so I was still able to communicate but most people in Spain didn't even try and talk to us in English . So luckily I knew a decent amount of Spanish and I had Allison there to help communication otherwise it would have been very difficult to understand them since they talk so fast and seem to expect you to be on their level which I was not. Overall I really liked Madrid and I think it seemed a lot less touristy then a lot of the places I have been. It also was a lot safer feeling than I expected. I was luckily that I had Allison to show me around and be a great host! I am sad that I was only to go to one city in Spain though since all the cities seem so diverse but at least I was able to go! Okay that seems all for now ! Adios 

Having some Visitors

Its me again. Since I am putting off my assignments I am going to update a quick blog entry on my weekend. I was really excited because Alex was already here for her spring break and Megan was flying in on Friday!

On Friday night after megan arrived we all went on a musical pub crawl with Ericas mom and Logan. The pub crawl was fun and I liked seeing the live Irish music and hearing the stories but I think since we were all catching up we spent alot of the time talking. Anyway it was still really fun. The next day we did some more touristy activities starting out with a walking tour that I really wanted to do. Unfortunetly the tour was very strongly centered around history and after 40 minutes we had moved about 100 feet so we decided to abort that. We then hit up the Guinness Factory which I had already been too but I saw more this time since I wasnt chasing around our tour guide and I could go at my own pace. We enjoyed our Guinness as much as we could and then headed back. We hit up an Irish pub that night.

On Saturday we did a Paddy Wagon tour to the Cliffs since Megan and Alex insisted on seeing them. I was not too excited since it was a long drive but the trip actually ended up being really fun! It was a perfect day and after being in a few other countries I had a new appreciation for the Irish Landscape. There really is nothing else like it. We made a few sight seeing and photo stops along the way and then finally made it to the Cliffs. This time we got to walk further than last time and I even went closer to the edge. We even were able to take a great pyramiding photo although this did involve us climbing over the wall that said do not climb. Its not like other tourists were going to yell at us for breaking the rules. Anyway we did get some onlookers as we did our pyramid but I think they were looking on with Jealousy! Overall great day trip. Along the way we also stopped at a Panini shop which made me remember my dream about opening up a Panini shop someday! When we got back to Dublin we had a nice burrito dinner and then I had to say goodbye. It was great to have Megan and Alex visit because it is very comfortable having them around, I was sad when they left.

For now these next few days are trying to finish a paper due Friday and start some other assignments that are due in the next few weeks. It is a little overwhelming but I know all the work will eventually get done. Having to write all these papers has reminded me why I am a business major.

okay ta ta for now!