Around Paris

Touring Versailles can really zap a person of their energy. At 4:30 Marta and I got on a train back into Paris. For dinner we fixed pasta at Marta's friend's apartment. Her friend has lived in the same apartment for almost 3 years in Paris. I loved talking with her about her life in Paris. Her apartment consisted of a tiny one room with a fold out bed, small table with 2 chairs, a tiny sink next to 2 burners for cookies, a miniature oven and refrigerator, and a tiny bathroom. The three of us took up the entire living space of this flat, but it was a neat experience.

We left her friend around 7 with a goal to see the Eiffel Tower a night. Marta and I stopped at a crepe stand and each ordered a chocolate crepe for dessert. We came around the corner from the crepe stand, and there was the magnificent Eiffel Tower lit up at night! The tower was an amazing sight.

After snapping a few photos, we took the metro to Montmarte on the north side of Paris. The little neighborhood is situated on a hill which provides an amazing view of Paris. My only wish is that I could have seen Paris during the day from the steps of Sacre Coeur (a church on the hill) as well. We did a little shopping along the streets while finding the metro to take back to our hotel. The day of visiting Versailles and around Paris was another success!

Sunday morning brought cloudy weather with light rain. We dressed warm and went on a hunt for breakfast. Since it was Sunday, the bakeries were few and far between. Luckily, we found a place to eat croissants and coffee before the Lourve museum. The museum is huge and people were not exaggerating when they mentioned it's size. The museum had been the former royal palace in France before Versailles. As tourists our main goal was to see the Mona Lisa, which I even took a picture of!

We wandered around the massive museum for about two hours before taking a break. We got drinks and sat at a table just admiring the building itself, aside from all of the art work it contained. Lastly, before leaving Paris we walked along the Seine River (which is now my favorite) to the Notre Dame Cathedral. The buildings along the way reflect the French architecture with tan buildings, black railings, and black roofs. I loved the views from the Seine River the most! Marta and I were sad to board the train home for Regensburg. I could have easily spent several more days in Paris.

Palace of Versailles

On Saturday morning the weather man predicted rain for the day, but Marta and I woke to sunny skies and great temperatures. Our first stop was at a little bakery where we ordered chocolate croissants and coffee. Next we rode the Metro to the end of zone 3 for Paris and bought a one-way ticket for zone 4 which included the Palace of Versailles.

The walk from the train station to Versailles was a quick 10 minutes, and we were inside listening to audio guide in no time. I purchased my ticket in advance, but Marta got in free with an EU citizen i.d. We saw the Versailles Chapel, many estate apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and more. The palace had gold everywhere and paintings on the walls and ceilings. My favorite fact of Versailles is the date in which it was built: in the 1600s, making the palace over 400 years old..amazing!

After touring the inside, we headed outside for a long walk around the palace grounds. The view of Versailles from the back shows it's immense size. The Grand Canal extended far out in front of me. We explored much of the gardens and pathways. At 1:30 I was hungry so we stopped for sandwiches at a little cafe to the right of the canal. The snack break became our halfway point.

The rest of our time at Versailles was spent touring The Grand Trianon, Petite Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's quarters. I loved this area of Versailles the most. I could spend another day or so just roaming the estate of Versailles.

Paris, France

While leading up to my weekend in Paris, I began reading Julia Child's book "My Life in France," as preparatory work for what to expect in this unknown country. If you have never read Julia's book, it is a must for those who love travel, food, and a life well lived. For this weekend getaway, I had a new travel partner, Marta, who is my polish roommate. We boarded a night train in Munich that left at 10: 43 from Munich to arrive in Paris at 9 in the morning. We reserved seats earlier in the week in a cabin of 6 seats. Luckily, we sat with great people who new about Paris and gave us tips for our trip!

Once we arrived in Paris, we went straight from the train station to the hotel so we could drop our bags and hit the trail. We walked along the streets of Paris, stopping in shops and department stores along the way. Champs Elysees is a famous shopping street that also has the Arc de Triomphe at the end. From the Arc we climbed to the first level of the Eiffel Tower. Finally, I saw the much anticipated Eiffel Tower. I felt dumb for not knowing Mr. Eiffel was the architect so that is where the tower got its' name.

The view from the Eiffel tower was incredible. Even with the cloudy day, I loved looking out at the Seine River. For lunch we decided to eat French cuisine. I ordered croque monsieur which contains a sandwich with melted cheese and ham. I felt very French eating my lunch and sipping a coffee.

For our first night in Paris, Marta and I met her friend (who is also Polish) for dinner at a little cafe. I was still full from lunch so I just ordered my favorite--tomato and mozzarella. After a very long day, Marta and I took the metro home so we could wake up early.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Well, I officially have less than one month until it is time to fly home! While entering the last month of the program, I planned on visiting Neuschwanstein Castle with two friends, Kelsey and Liz. On Friday we had a group tour of the BMW Factory here in Regensburg. I'm not much into cars, but I really enjoyed watching the nice cars be assembled. My favorite fact of the day was what BMW stood for: Bavarian Motor World. I actually live in Bavaria in Germany so this was an interesting discovery for me.

Saturday morning Kelsey, Liz, and I took an 8:44 train to Fussen, Germany, where the Disney Princess Castle, Neuschwanstein is located. Once we arrived at the top of the hill where Ludwig II built his dream castle, we walked on Marienbrucke (a bridge) to view the castle from a distance. The castle was absolutely beautiful and worth the four hour train ride. After standing on the bridge that went over a small waterfall, we walked to the castle for a guided tour. Only half of the castle was ever finished before Ludwig's mysterious death. We walked around the unfinished part of the castle and gift shop before walking back down the path. My favorite part of the trip was seeing the castle during the day, at sunset, and all lit up at night. The sunset over the Alps was unforgettable.

Before getting back on the train, we stopped for a nice Italian dinner in Fussen. I ordered a margarita pizza and the girls got pasta. The day was relaxing and fun with the best fall weather!

Lake Como, Italy

Jen and I originally planned to fly from Dublin to Paris and then train home from France, but some recent rioting Paris caused us to reroute to Italy. We flew into Milan in order to take a train to Lake Como in northern Italy. Between train breaks, we shared pizza and pasta for lunch, which is appropriate for Italy. We arrived in Lake Como just as the sun went down, which happens around 5 o'clock now in Europe with the time change. The hostel provided a very friendly and entertaining environment. We met and talked with other youth from New York and 3 girls who are studying abroad in Rome. We had many stories and recommendations to share on places to visit. We woke up Friday morning to the sun rising from the behind mountains over the lake. We quickly got ready and went to the city center to look around before going back to Regensburg. The gelateries were all closed when we arrived the night before, so we got gelato at 8:30 a.m. I wish I could have stayed in Lake Como longer, but the hostel was closing that day for the end of the summer season. To complete our week of every form of transportation (planes, trains, automobiles, and the undergrounds) we took a ferry boat ride to the train station. I am looking forward to returning to Italy in just 3 shorts weeks with my mom!

Ireland

On Sunday morning, Halloween, Jen and I flew from London to Dublin but remained in Dublin long enough to take a 3 hour bus ride to Galway, which is a little town on the west coast of Ireland. The bus driver told me "how to save a few Bobs" by showing my student i.d. The Irish accent is just precious. After arriving in Galway, we navigated through the cobble stone streets until we found our bed and breakfast. The Lynburgh B&B has been owned by an older couple since 1987. They fixed us a wonderful breakfast the following morning and told us to make ourselves at home. For dinner we walked back to the city center for fish & chips at Mc Donagh's. The restaurant is a popular place in Galway with great food.

On Monday we woke up and walked around Galway. The coast was extremely windy, so we headed to town to walk in the little shops. We found a place called Griffin's Bakery, which reminded us of our program director, John Griffin. We had to take a few pictures and eat something from the bakery in honor of him. Around 2 o'clock, Jen and I took the bus back to Dublin and checked into Jacob's Inn for the next 3 nights.

Tuesday brought another free walking tour of Dublin. Our tour guide, Peter, explained much of the Irish history including the Vikings, wars with Great Britain, St. Patrick, O'Connell the liberator, the potato famine, and Trinity College. The tour ended at St. Stephen's Green and Peter suggested O'Nealls for lunch. Jen and I each got the Irish beef stew. The platter had mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, beef, broccoli, and carrots. The stew tasted wonderful and we were so full. To walk off the hearty lunch, we walked the streets of Dublin, going in and out of little shops. I noticed that in Ireland most places are mom and pop stores or restaurants with few chain stores.

On Wednesday Jen and I bought tickets for an all day tour of the Glendalough valley, Wicklow Gap, Brownshill Dolmen, and the medieval town of Kilkenny. We had one hour and thirty minutes to hike around the trails of Glendalough. Glendalough had the most beautiful scenery of trees, waterfalls, and old ruins from a monastic city. Ireland and England are amazing to see during the fall when all of the leaves are changing colors. Before loading back on the bus, Jen and I got a coffee and scone snack from the hotel in Glendalough. The driver was Irish and provided us with stories, opinions, and history all throughout the day. He was quite a character. Unfortunately, the weather was foggy to see much in Wicklow Gap, but I enjoyed Brownshill Dolmen, which is an old portal tomb weighing about 100 tons. The last stop of the tour was in Kilkenny. We took a tour of the medieval castle built by the Butler family. We wandered around the old medieval town and stopped for lunch at an Irish pub. At 3:30 we were back on the bus for a two hour drive back to Dublin. I enjoyed seeing Ireland from coast to coast, especially in the fall.

London, England

Fall Break began on October 29th and Jennifer and I planned a very busy week. We visited 3 countries in 7 days. I will post about the fall break according to the 3 locations. We began by flying from Memmingen West Airport to London. The flight lasted about one hour and by 2 p.m. we sat down at our reservations for afternoon tea. The waitress brought a 3-tiered plate with triangle sandwiches at the bottom, scones on the middle plate, and desserts on the top. The desserts were a small chocolate eclair and a mini fruit pie. We were so full by the end of the meal, but it was fun to eat like the British with tea and crumpets.

To walk off the big lunch, we went to Harrods, the well known department store. After walking around the different rooms and floors, we went on a search from discounted theater tickets. About four years ago, my mom and I took a trip to London and we saw 3 shows in 2 days. We found this little booth in the underground subway station and I hoped to find it again this trip. In the South Kensington underground, Jen and I bought tickets to see 'Dreamboats and Petticoats' from the ticket booth I am sure my mom and I had found previously. The musical is probably my favorite part of the whole trip. The show had live music from the 50s and 60s with a cute story line of love, the American dream, and great music. At intermission Jen and I noticed we were the youngest ones in the audience by at least 30 years, but we didn't care. At the end of the show, the cast played music for everyone to dance to and we joined in 'The Twist.' Couples were dancing in the aisles and old ladies were clapping their hands. It was a fun night in London at the theater.

On Saturday Jen and I went to the Victoria and Albert museum for a free tour. But before the tour, I stopped in Starbucks and asked for a peppermint mocha (because I didn't see it on the menu) and they made me a grande! A peppermint mocha is one thing I have really missed these past 3 months. The weather in London was a little cold and damp and just required my favorite warm Starbucks drink. The V&A museum also made my London visit worth while because I love English history, specifically the Victorian Age. The Young Victoria is my favorite movie and I have spent the last year learning much about English history. After the museum tour, we took a free walking tour of London. Our tour guide, Giles, showed the group Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park (includes a road with 4 lanes of traffic: cars, walkers, bikers, and horses), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Parliament building, and lots more. After the tour ended, Jen and I walked to the Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre, and the Tower of London just to see more sights. We also went on a hunt for candy corn for the traditional Halloween candy. We finally found a place near Leicester Square. We ate a few pieces and saved the rest for Halloween the following day. Although we did not go inside many places in London, we walked around most of London in just two short days.

Pumpkin Carving

Before fall break, a few friends and I wanted to celebrate Halloween the American way. I had been to a few grocery stores and saw some pumpkins and I thought carving a pumpkin would be appropriate. I bought a pumpkin for 2.99 euro and Kelsey and I met at Jessica's apartment. We all stared at the pumpkin with ideas of what to carve. In the beginning, we thought the traditional pumpkin face with triangles would be the design, but I had bigger ideas. I said, "Let's make a Regensburg pumpkin!" They both looked at me weird but I sketch a little design (looking off a shopping bag of Regensburg) that included the old stone bridge, one of the towers, and the Dom cathedral. We all took turns carving a little spot out of the pumpkin until it was finished. I am very proud of the pumpkin and kept it in my room for a few days with a candle inside. Pumpkins make great night lights!

While the pumpkin carving continued, we fixed and ate a huge pot of chili. Also, we took the seeds from the pumpkin and baked them with salt. And lastly, we made the best homemade pumpkin bread I have ever tasted from scratch. We let no part of this pumpkin go to waste and had such a fun evening making food, carving the pumpkin, and laughing at all of the American things we miss.