Spring Break: Berlin March 22-24

We took a plane from Amsterdam to Berlin, Germany. We found our hostel pretty easily and had some time to explore. The city was very industrial-like. The streets were big. The buildings weren't very pretty. We found a pretty good pizza place to eat lunch at. Then that night we set off on a quest to find Sarah a pork-bun. Supposively Berlin has a China Town, but we were having trouble finding it. After trekking around for a couple hours we found a place.

The next day we took a free Sandeman tour. It started in Pariser Platz, which is the square in the center of Berlin. On one side of Pariser Platz is the Brandenburg Gate. The gate became one of the checkpoints on the Berlin wall when the city was divided. Down the street from here you could see the Reichstag building where parliment was held. On the top of this building there is a giant dome you could climb up into.

Brandenburg Gate

After this we walked down the street to one of my favorite sites of Berlin. It is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The memorial is the size of a street block. In it there are tons of concrete slabs. The closer you get to the center of the square the bigger the slabs get. When you enter the paths between the blocks you get lost. You can't see anyone else and you can't really hear much else. The blocks tower above you and you feel small. I think this is a great memorial because it actually makes you feel something. You reflect upon yourself.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Next we walked down the street to a little chunk of grass outside of apartment buildings. It didn't look like much. We stood in the middle of this grassy area and found out that under our feet was the bunker that Hitler had commit suicide in. This was one of those moments that felt unbelievable.

Then we walked and saw the Luftwaffe Headquarters which was one of the only big buildings to survive ally bombings during WWII. Then we saw the 17th of June memorial which was a memorial to all the fallen Soviet Soldiers. Afterwards we made our way to what was left of the Berlin Wall. The wall did not seem like much. It wasn't very high at all. The thing that made the Berlin Wall so dangerous was the guards. Also the top of the wall was rounded so it was hard to get a grip on it. The reason why the Berlin Wall was so devastating was because seemingly out of nowhere this wall cutoff people from their families and their jobs. In an instant, life was changed. We also walked past Checkpoint Charlie, where the Americans would help smuggle people from the East to the West.

Berlin Wall

Then we saw the S.S headquarters. And after that we made our way to Gendarmenmarkt. Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin that contains two identical churches. One of the churches was for the French people while the other was for the Germans. It is said that the church for the Germans was built one foot higher. Another square we saw was Bebelplatz where the Nazi book burning took place. This is where they gathered books written by Jewish authors and burned them.

Gendarmenmarkt

We also saw Neue Wache, which was an old royal guard house until the end of World War I. Inside of the building now is a sculpture called "Mother with her Dead Son". The sculpture is under a big hole in the ceiling. This is so that the sculpture is exposed to the rain, snow, and cold of Berlin; which shows how it endures suffering.

Mother with her Dead Son sculpture

The our tour ended at Museum Island. It is a pretty little place surrounded by a bunch of Berlin's museums.

After our tour we stopped at a restaurant that was under the metro and had some German Beer. I tried one of the beers that the french had brought to Berlin. It was beer that had strawberry syrup mixed into it. It was kind of gross. Then later that night we went to one of Berlin's really nice theaters and saw the "Hunger Games". We got to see it in English. The seats in the theater were super nice and they even had an intermission!

It was a nice, short visit.

Spring Break: Amsterdam March 20-22

After exams ended we had a two week spring break. We decided to visit a few places in Northern and Eastern Europe. We decided to start in Amsterdam, then go to Berlin, then Prague, and lastly Budapest. We would be flying budget airlines so we wouldn’t have any checked bags. This means that we had to fit two weeks of clothes in one backpack.

We boarded and plane and we made it to Amsterdam, Netherlands. When we got there it was a bit dark. We tried to find our way to our hostel but we got lost. Amsterdam is like a labyrinth. There are a bunch of canals in a U- shape in the city. We would be given directions that told us where our hostel was in relation to a canal and get messed up because all the canals look the same. Also in Amsterdam many of the houses look similar. 

One of the Canals

The next day we took a Sandeman tour. We started the tour outside of the Royal Palace. The Palace is interesting because at one point Napolean's brother ruled the Netherlands and stayed there. Then we went to the Red light district. You could see a few girls in the windows of the buildings here. The funny thing about the Red Light District is that in the middle of the district there is the “Old Church”. The church was in a prime location because when sailors came to Amsterdam and enjoyed the women they would not want to get back on their ships as sinners because it could bring bad luck to the ship. Because of this the sailors would go to the Old Church in the center of the district and ask for forgiveness. If they didn’t have time to talk to a priest they would buy indulgences. 

Royal Palace

After this we went and visited the old headquarters of the Dutch East India Company. This was a multinational company that took care of colonies in Asia. Although the company ended up bankrupt, at one point they had a monopoly on spices. After this we saw the Jordaan district where the painter Rembrandt had lived. We also walked along the canals and saw the widest bridge in Amsterdam and the narrowest house. 

Houses on the Canal

The reason why houses in Amsterdam are extremely tall and skinny is because the wider the building, the more taxes you had to pay on it. Because of this you could tell which houses were wealthier because they would be the widest houses. The houses lean in towards the canals and have a hook on the top. This is because the canals would flood sometimes so you couldn’t store goods in your basement. Ships would come in with goods and the house owners would hoist up the items using the hook on top of their house and store the items in their attic. The reason the houses lean in towards the canals is so that when the items are hoisted up they don’t hit the house next door if the wind starts to blow.

Next we visited the Begijnhof Convent. The convent is on a little island that used to be encircled by water. Inside the convent there are beautiful gardens and the oldest wood house. Afterwards we heard the story of the Miracle of Holland. A man was dying and was given a host during his last rights. He puked up the host and it ended up in the fire. The nun was surprised to find that the host did not burn up. She reached into the fire and was not burned and grabbed the host. The host was placed in a holy room in the church. The church set fire but curiously the host did not burn. You can no longer find this magic host because a thief broke into the church and stole the fancy box that contained the host. He didn’t know the host was magic and ended up throwing it into one of the canals.

We learned about how the Dutch people have always been tolerant. At one point the protestant religion took over. The Catholics were told that they would not be able to practice their religion. The people began to hold services in hidden churches in the attics of houses. Everyone knew what was going on but decided to leave them alone because they weren’t hurting anyone. The same tolerance is applied with Marijuana in Amsterdam. Smoking marijuana is actually illegal; but no one has been arrested for smoking it in over 30 years. Certain places called “Coffee Shops” can apply for a permit that lets them sell marijuana.

We ended the tour with a visit to the Jewish district, and afterwards we saw the Anne Frank house. After our tour we got the “best pancakes in Amsterdam”. They were actually more like giant crepes but they were still pretty good.

Overall Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities that I’ve visited during my time in Europe. The city is beautiful. The streets are skinny and there are people riding bikes everywhere.

Valencia, Spain April 5-7

I am currently behind on the blog. I should have posts up about the cities I travelled to during Spring break; but I wanted to blog about my recent Valencia trip first because I don’t want to forget the details.

I met this boy named Justin in my grammar class, plus I played soccer with him every Tuesday. Somehow, something happened between us and now we are practically inseparable. We really enjoy spending time together and decided to do some traveling together.

We didn’t have school on Thursday or Friday because it is Semana Santa (Holy Week). During this week there are series of processions until Easter. The processions are a bit solemn. The people in the processions wear pointy hats and robes. They look like KKK members. Also they beat big bass drums as they process down the streets. 

Semana Santa Procession

On Thursday we got on a train to Madrid and then in Madrid we got on a train towards Valencia, Spain. The train tickets we got to Valencia were pretty cheap but because of this it would take the train about 5 hours to get to Valencia. This was because the train had to make many stops, and it went slower.

When we finally arrived, we had a little bit of trouble finding our hostel. Once we found it I was pleasantly surprised. It was one of the nicest hostels I’ve been in so far. We did some exploring, found dinner, and then went to bed. 

Catedral de Santa Maria de Valencia

The next day was busy. We peeked our heads into La Lonja de la Seja, which is where the silk exchange occurred. The building has beautiful gothic architecture. Then we saw the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Valencia. This is also in gothic style. Supposively this church holds the Holy Grail that was used at Christ’s last supper; but I didn’t see it. Then after this we made our way to the Torres de Serranos. These towers are the gateway to the city. 

Torres de Serranos

Across from the Torres de Serranos there are bridges that go over what used to be a river. This river bed is now filled with trees, fountains and paths. We descended into the river bed and walked along the paths. The sun was shining and the trees were so pretty. As we made our way down the river bed we ran into a bunch of fair tents. Inside the tents they had a beer stand and they also had fresh seafood. We ordered a mixed plate of seafood and as we were waiting for it to be cooked Justin saw one of the preparers pull out an octopus from a big steaming barrel. The man took scissors and cut the legs into little pieces. Justin’s eyes lit up and we had to order one; I was a little apprehensive about this. We got our plates of seafood and some coca-cola and tried everything. In our mixed plate we had scallops, the head of squid, squid legs, some sort of long clams, and lastly big shrimp/prawns. We also had our big plate of octopus. The octopus was kind of a dark purple/maroon color. It still had its sucker-cups on it and if you pressed the sucker to the plate it would stick. I was a bit nervous to try it but it was actually really good. All the seafood was great, except for the weird clam things. They kind of tasted like seawater. We both thoroughly enjoyed the food, and this was the happiest I had ever seen Justin. It was pretty funny.

Octopus

Justin and our Seafood

After this we continued down the river bed. We ran into a wall of beautiful purple flowers and also a great big fountain. Then we reached a great big playground. It was in the shape of a giant man. There were slides down the guy’s arms and legs, and climbing ropes on the side of him. Justin hadn’t been down a slide in years so we had to join the kids and go down one of the slides. 

The park

Farther down the river bed we made it to the Palau de Les Arts, Museum of the Sciences, and the City of Arts and Sciences. The buildings were really cool because they were spherical and surrounded by pools of water. This made it seem like the buildings were half under water. We decided to go to the Oceanografic, which is a giant aquarium. We waited in line for awhile but when we saw the price to get in we decided to go to the beach instead. 

City of Arts and Sciences

We took the city bus to the Playa de Levante o de Las Arenas. This beach is on the Mediterranean Sea. I expected the sea to have a greenish tint, but it was actually pretty blue. It wasn’t warm enough to swim but it was warm enough to dip your feet in the water. The sand was very light in color. We walked the beach and saw a man making a giant sand sculpture of Winnie the Pooh and we also saw people fishing. The sun was shining and so after our walk we decided to hangout on the beach. We spent hours sitting on the beach, listening to music, and talking. It was so relaxing. Then we found dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach. We had Sangria and paella Valenciana. Strangely this paella was not seafood paella; it had chicken and rabbit in it. 

The Beach!

The beach was on the exact opposite side of the city so we tried to find a metro or bus to bring us back. We got a bit lost and it was getting late. We ran into one of the Semana Santa processions. It was actually kind of creepy because it was dark out and the beating of the drums made everything so solemn. In the end we just decided to get a taxi.

The next day we had time before our train left so we went to the Botanical Garden. The garden was full of plants from all over. They had palm trees, cacti, and vegetables. I especially liked the garden because it was full of cats. I was ecstatic to find a cat nursing newborn kittens in one of the bushes. 

Justin acting like a Cactus

We left two hours early to get to our train home. We hopped on the metro in the wrong direction. Then we got on it again and started to go the right way. But then we got lost again when we needed to switch metro lines. We finally found the right line but realized that we were going to the wrong train station. Luckily we realized this early enough that we could back track a few metro stops in order to get there. We got on our train in the nick of time and made our way back to Salamanca. This time we had a faster train that didn’t make any stops so the ride was only two hours long.

Final thoughts: Valencia was a pretty nice city. The river bed walk and the beach are really what made Valencia shine. But more important than the city was the company. Justin was a really great travel buddy and we had an amazing time together.

How I ended up Jacketless in Sevilla and Granada

This week we had our final exams for our classes. We finished up our first term of classes and now we have a two week long spring break. On Friday we had a trip planned with the school that went to Seville and Granada. On Friday the taxi would pick me up and bring me to the bus bright and early (at 6:15am). I almost didn’t make it; and here’s why:

I kicked butt in all of my classes and ended up with good grades. This was a cause for celebration, so on Thursday night we went out. You all probably know by now that the Spaniards party a little differently. They start their fiesta at midnight or later and party until 4 or 5am the next day. It was an awesome night. We were also out because it was the last weekend that my Japanese friends were here. They left back to Japan today. This makes me extremely sad because they were the nicest and most fun people I have ever met. So, in Spanish style I arrived home at 4:30am and went to bed. At 5:30am my alarm rang but I shut it off. At 6:15am my host mom popped into my room and asked if I had to go. I said no, I had time and kept sleeping. A minute or two went by and I realized I was late! I sprang out of bed at 6:17 (two minutes after the taxi was supposed to be here) and threw on clothes and ran out the door. I didn’t even put on my shoes; I had them in my hand. Luckily my friends made the taxi wait a few minutes for me. I made it on the bus in time and realized I never grabbed a jacket or sweatshirt on the way out.

Sevilla

After a 6 hour bus ride we made it to Seville. Seville is a beautiful city. The city is filled with old ornate houses, and orange trees line the streets. Because of this the whole city smells like oranges. Also there are horses and carriages that you can ride around the city. After finding our hotel we went to the Real Alcazar. This is the Royal Palace. It is filled with Arab influence and beautiful gardens.

The next day we visited the Catedral. There used to be a mosque at this site until it was knocked down in order to make the cathedral. You can tell that it used to be a mosque because they still have a plaza area filled with fountains. The Catedral is huge! It is said to be one of the biggest in the world. Inside this church is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The reason his tomb is here is because this is where Columbus started his travel to the Americas. There is some speculation as to if Columbus really is inside the tomb because before he died he stated that he didn’t want to be buried on Spanish soil, this is because he was angry with the Spanish at this time. The next thing we did was climb the Giralda.

Giralda

The Giralda is a giant tower that was built connected to the Mosque. The tower was used by the Muslim people for oration. Multiple times a day someone would climb to the top of the tower and yell prayer. In order to get to the top of the tower we had to climb a bunch of ramps. The reason there are ramps in the tower instead of stairs is because in order to get to the top, the person that said the oration would ride a horse.

After this we got on a bus and headed to Granada. Granada is a not as pretty as Seville but is still really nice. The first thing we did when we got here was visit the Capilla Real. This is the mausoleum where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand are. Also we were able to see their weapons and jewels. 

Alhambra

The next day we visited la Alhambra. It is hard for me to explain what the Alhambra actually is. First of all, it is huge. It is almost like a little city that sits atop the highest hill in Granada. It is made up of many different sections. But, all in all, I think the best way to describe it is that it is a big palace. The reason the Alhambra is so large and has so many little parts is because throughout the years different rulers added different parts onto it. It started being built in the year 900 and the last big part of it was added in 1527. The Alhambra is one of the prettiest places I have ever been. It is full of fountains and gardens and Muslim architecture. One of the most famous places in the Alhambra that we saw is the Patio de los Leones. It is a little plaza or patio that has a fountain with twelve marble lion statues around it. The area was under construction when we were there in order to fix some of the area, but it was still really cool to see. My favorite part of the Alhambra is not very pretty at all. In one section of one of the palaces there is an area full of little rooms with very oval ceilings. The acoustics are so good in these little rooms that one person can go to one corner of the room and whisper into the wall and the person standing in the opposite corner is able to hear what you whispered. 

Patio de los leones

All in all, I enjoyed Seville and Granada because of all the Islamic influence. It was really different from anywhere that I’ve been in Spain. The Tuesday after this trip my Spring Break adventure started. I would be traveling to Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, and Budapest in two weeks time.