From Portland to Munich

Unfortunately I lost my journal, which would make updating this a lot easier. Well, it's not quite lost. Someone else in the program found it - I thought it was gone on the bus, so it's actually good news - but we haven't been able to connect at a time where I could get it. Anyways, I'll give the quick version of what's happened up to Prague (Prague in another update). There is a cut to some pictures at the bottom.

The day I left was a little hectic...as per usual, a lot to do in a little bit of time. When I woke up it had snowed quite a bit the night before. This would make getting to the airport an ordeal that would surely take at least double the time it normally should be. But we finally got everything together and I got to the airport so that I could wait for my delayed flight. The first flight was pretty boring and very cramped. At Chicago, I had to change flights because we missed the original connection. Here I met Rozie and Caitlin from my program. We then met up with someone else, Brooks - who Caitlin knew from school. So we sat together on the next flight, which was way more roomy, and all in all, a lot better. For 9 hours it went by pretty quickly - and we got there an hour earlier than planned.

On our arrival we came to Passport Immigration and everyone got through fine except Caitlin...who forgot her passport in Chicago. Needless to say, this is somewhat of a dire situation in a foreign country. So, after a long process of waiting, they finally let her through with instructions of obtaining a temporary passport from the U.S. embassy within the next 24 hours. We got our bags and headed through customs to wait for our AIFS pickup. As we were waiting (for a very long time) - a famous celebrity (maybe only in the U.K.) headed through to the exit and the paparazzi were all over her...quite amusing to watch...made me feel bad for stars though. I don't really think just cause your famous you should have your life able to be intruded on at any moment. Anyways, after more hassle we got our stuff to the hotel and were able to walk around for a while.

I'm going to keep the section on London short - the city was way charming and the public transport system (The Tube) rocked. It was also super fucking expensive (double every USD). We did a tour which was nice, but honestly, nothing struck me as absolutely amazing. My spinach and bacon salad was interesting though. It is literally that too - spinach and an absurd amount of bacon...with olive oil and vinegar.

Munich on the other hand kicked ass. But first let me tell you of an amusing story on the plane. So, I made friends with this guy Justin the morning we left and we ended up sitting next to each other on the plane. I had planned since i got up that morning to get an Irish Coffee on the plane. And well, this kid Justin, is seriously an alcoholic (but very fun to drink with...if drunk enough his native Irish accent kicks in). Anyways, after getting to altitude, the drink cart came around and I ordered an Irish Coffee but they only had Scotch...so I went with that (which was a mistake, but besides the point). And after I ordered the lady in the isle next to us actually asked the attendant to check my I.D. How ridiculous is that? First, I'm asking for an Irish Coffee!...kids who drink to get drunk and be irresponsible and all that don't order Irish Coffees. Second, why the hell is it her business? My ordering of a drink had absolutely no affect on her life - unless she assumed I'd be a drunken, annoying idiot - which is an unfair assumption. Either way, not cool.

On to Munich. We arrived at an average hostel. Nothing terrible, but definitely a hostel. Oh, and I just have to comment on the people on this trip. A good majority of them are ridiculous. Since getting to London they drink like they've never been exposed to alcohol before and it's the nectar of the Gods. Seriously, they'll be drunk for days at a time. Not that I care what they do with themselves, it's just really amusing how much a part of life getting drunk is. And it does give shitty impressions for the rest of us, but that doesn't really bother me. So after the hostel we went on a tour of Munich. This was pretty sweet but not much walking. When we did get out to walk we got to take a look at some amazing architecture and small towns.

When the tour was over we actually walked back into town (a long long walk) and went to an amazing beer hall. Really...this was pretty much straight out of Beerfest. Tables full of people that are either very drunk or on their way. And a polka band. And people in Lederhosens. And Wiener Schnitzel. It was awesome. But terribly packed. A group of us sat down at a table having absolutely no idea how to order or what to order. But a nice guy at our table, Roland, who spoke no English, figured that we all wanted beer and ordered for us. Also at our table were a father and son. The son looked about 15 and drunker than I've seen anyone in a long time - pretty hilarious. So as I continued to drink from the jumbo giant size stein and eat the Bratwurst I figured out how to order, I tried to have a conversation with Roland - the guy who helped us order. We eventually exchanged names and I told him I was from Portland. Around this time, one guy came up and asked one of the girls where she was from. When she said America there was a very audible "AAAhhh...!" and she was then asked her opinion on Bush and he got that she didn't like him. Then I chimed in with some thing like a thumbs down while saying Bush. He asked me what I thought of him and I said "Schiesse!" and he liked that. After all that, Justin and I left and messed around town for a while. Then got ourselves lost for something like 2 hours - and during this time, looped where we started around the city - then found our bearings and pretty much walked in straight line home - I guess it's easier to get lost when you've visited a beer hall....

Next morning we left for Prague by bus...

Pictures: Facebook Album 1