I am now back at home in Spring, TX sitting in my bed, and am in total disbelief that this is all over. Daniel and I had such an adventure coming home yesterday, mostly because I am a sick as a dog and Daniel had to constantly take care of me. Momma Daniel did such a great job:-) I am indeed incredibly happy I have antibiotics and my family's TLC now. After two long flights and customs, we ran to baggage claim where we knew our families would be waiting. Seeing everyone was like getting a cold glass of water after an entire day of thirst. It was so weird to leave Daniel after having been with him non-stop for an entire month. But we indeed did depart, and the TresAmis Trip offically came to a close. By the time I got home it was 4am Europe time, and I felt very sick and very exhausted. After giving my family their gifts, I knew I needed to get to bed fast. Much to my dismay, my nose started bleeding uncontrollably. It bled for so hard and for so long, I had to go to the EMERGENCY ROOM!! So I was, just home from Europe and off to the emergency room. In the end, they finally got it to stop, and gave me medicine for my sore throat/ear infection/ intense sinus infection/ cough. ...Yay! Thank you so much to my family and Gared for taking care of me.
So if you rewind to our last day in Rome, it was very relaxing. We woke up early to see if I would feel good enough to make it to Assisi, and unfortunately I wasn't feeling so hot at all, so we just stayed in the whole day. We ventured out to the pharmacy in the morning, and went to the market to get some yummy pasta and vegetables to make for lunch in our hostel. After I took a VERY long nap, and Daniel just relaxed until it was time for dinner. Courtsey of my parents, we had a LOVELY last dinner at our cute little Italian cafe. Daniel had the most amazing Spaghetti and clams in butter sauce! After, we made a trek over to the Trevi fountain to see it in all of its glory at night, while enjoying one last gelato.
Daniel, Tim, and I had so much fun. Our personalities were so amusing together. Tim and I butt heads, but at the same time had so many funny moments. Daniel and Tim are so alike and loved competition and good ol' fun. Daniel and I both love France, that's enough for me to be great friends with anyone:-) And it all culminates in the fact that all three of us love to see the world and experience it's richness. This trip has shown me many new things, but most importantly, it has reinforced who I am and who I was before I left for Madrid. It has inspired me to see the rest of this amazing planet. God, nature, food, photos, epic architecture, people, and the exhilaration of travel have made this experience unforgettable. I would do it again in a heartbeat. This is Maria, checking out:-)
Thanks to everyone who read our blog it really means so much to us. All the rest of the pictures from our trip will be on facebook today!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Europe by the Numbers and an Attempt at Poetry (Daniel's Sign Off)
Days Away : 30
Times I Brushed My Teeth : 27
Hostel Reservations : 11
Hotels Booked : 4
Walking Tours Taken : 6
Day Trips Taken : 5
Countries Visited : 8
Rude Europeans Encountered : 12
Time Spent Lost : 3 hours 36 minutes
Churches Visited : 107
Protestant Churches Visited : 3
Laws Broken : 243
Times The Law I Broke Was J-Walking or Other Traffic Violation : 242
Souvenirs Bought : 26
Liters of Beer Consumed : 19
Clubs/Pubs/Bars Visited : 22
Days I Was Clean Shaven : 4
Tim and Maria Fights Endured : 17
Sick Days : 3
Missed Trains : 2
Games of Catan : 7
Games of Cards : 48
Loads of Laundry : 3
Loads of Laundry Where Nothing Went Wrong : 1
Bottles of Wine : 13
Skype Calls Home : 14
Items Lost/Stolen/Broken : 4
Important Items Lost/Stolen/Broken : 2
Train Rides : 29
Videos Made : 23
Videos Posted : 16
Blog Entries : 13
Languages in which I Can Speak at least 2 Words : 8
Statues Seen : 56,728
*Notes about Europe by the Numbers
1) These numbers are pretty much completely made up. But we'll call them rough estimates.
2) These are my numbers. Not Tim's or Maria's. For instance, to find Maria's bottles of wine consumed, divide by 736. To find Tim's liters of beer consumed, multiply by 736.
3) I started "counting" from the time I met up with TresTresAmis. My other travels and study abroad are not included.
4) I thunk that are all.
My Attempt at Poetry (don't judge me)--Into a Tuscan Sun
As we ride North into a Tuscan sun,
I think to our trip, both moving and fun.
I remember Madrid when we all met,
And the rain in France that made us so wet.
I reflect on Lourdes and the prayers we prayed,
And missing some trains, the prices we paid.
The camp at Auschwitz, the Krakow ghetto,
The puppets in Prague made by Jepetto.
The beaches in Normandy : sacrifice,
And the chocolate in Belgium : our new vice.
Beer in Munich is the best in the world,
But after the Hard Rock we almost hurled.
Nice was nice, much better than Toledo,
Speaking of day trips, we saw Saint Pio.
Thanks Mom, thanks Dad, thanks Maria and Tim,
I'll end now, as my Tuscan sun turns dim.
*Notes about Into a Tuscan Sun
1) Written on a train from Foggia to Rome.
2) Unedited.
3) Amsterdam is not included (sorry, Amsterdam).
4) Michael is not the only poet in my family.
Hope you've all enjoyed reading my entries here and watching my FB video blog. Be sure to stay tuned for Maria's sign off!
Until then, this is Daniel, signing off ;)
Times I Brushed My Teeth : 27
Hostel Reservations : 11
Hotels Booked : 4
Walking Tours Taken : 6
Day Trips Taken : 5
Countries Visited : 8
Rude Europeans Encountered : 12
Time Spent Lost : 3 hours 36 minutes
Churches Visited : 107
Protestant Churches Visited : 3
Laws Broken : 243
Times The Law I Broke Was J-Walking or Other Traffic Violation : 242
Souvenirs Bought : 26
Liters of Beer Consumed : 19
Clubs/Pubs/Bars Visited : 22
Days I Was Clean Shaven : 4
Tim and Maria Fights Endured : 17
Sick Days : 3
Missed Trains : 2
Games of Catan : 7
Games of Cards : 48
Loads of Laundry : 3
Loads of Laundry Where Nothing Went Wrong : 1
Bottles of Wine : 13
Skype Calls Home : 14
Items Lost/Stolen/Broken : 4
Important Items Lost/Stolen/Broken : 2
Train Rides : 29
Videos Made : 23
Videos Posted : 16
Blog Entries : 13
Languages in which I Can Speak at least 2 Words : 8
Statues Seen : 56,728
*Notes about Europe by the Numbers
1) These numbers are pretty much completely made up. But we'll call them rough estimates.
2) These are my numbers. Not Tim's or Maria's. For instance, to find Maria's bottles of wine consumed, divide by 736. To find Tim's liters of beer consumed, multiply by 736.
3) I started "counting" from the time I met up with TresTresAmis. My other travels and study abroad are not included.
4) I thunk that are all.
My Attempt at Poetry (don't judge me)--Into a Tuscan Sun
As we ride North into a Tuscan sun,
I think to our trip, both moving and fun.
I remember Madrid when we all met,
And the rain in France that made us so wet.
I reflect on Lourdes and the prayers we prayed,
And missing some trains, the prices we paid.
The camp at Auschwitz, the Krakow ghetto,
The puppets in Prague made by Jepetto.
The beaches in Normandy : sacrifice,
And the chocolate in Belgium : our new vice.
Beer in Munich is the best in the world,
But after the Hard Rock we almost hurled.
Nice was nice, much better than Toledo,
Speaking of day trips, we saw Saint Pio.
Thanks Mom, thanks Dad, thanks Maria and Tim,
I'll end now, as my Tuscan sun turns dim.
*Notes about Into a Tuscan Sun
1) Written on a train from Foggia to Rome.
2) Unedited.
3) Amsterdam is not included (sorry, Amsterdam).
4) Michael is not the only poet in my family.
Hope you've all enjoyed reading my entries here and watching my FB video blog. Be sure to stay tuned for Maria's sign off!
Until then, this is Daniel, signing off ;)
San Giovani Rotondo, Italia
Another crazy day. If you're ever in need of a trip planner don't ask Tim, Maria, and I for any help unless you enjoy :
a) exhaustion
b) illness
c) frustration
Because we thrive on these three things (we learned that trick together at Klein Oak) it works out pretty well for us though.
Maria and I woke up at 6 AM this morning to be on an 8:20 train to Foggia after which we would catch a bus to San Giovani Rotondo, the location of the shrine of Padre Pio. To make a long story short, we travelled for about 11 hours today to stay in San Giovani for less than 2. As if that wasn't enough, Maria is still getting sicker (our trip to Assisi tomorrow may or may not happen at this point). She's a trooper though, and I know if you asked her, she would say that today was worth the fight.
When we arrived at the shrine, we knew we didn't have much time so we took a quick walk around to see where we wanted to spend our few precious moments. We saw the church where Pio said his masses, his confessional, the new church that has been built to better accommodate the pilgrims, the crypt where Pio is buried, and the crucifix before which he was praying when he received stigmata. It was all very cool, but I particularly liked the crypt. While there, I personally felt closest to Pio. Definitely turned out to be my best prayer of the trip.
Another thing that seemed to be unique about this shine was pictures. In his confessional, by statues, in his cell, and in several other spots pilgrims had left photos : presumably of people for which they wanted to ask Padre Pio to pray. While in the crypt, I remembered that I had brought a small family photograph to show to my host family on my study abroad. I decided that this would be a good place to leave it :)
When we got home from the shrine Maria was exhausted and headed straight to bed, which is exactly where I'm headed when I finish blogging for the night. It's my turn to sign off and I have a few more things if like to leave you with. Stay posted for one more post ;)
TheTresAmis
a) exhaustion
b) illness
c) frustration
Because we thrive on these three things (we learned that trick together at Klein Oak) it works out pretty well for us though.
Maria and I woke up at 6 AM this morning to be on an 8:20 train to Foggia after which we would catch a bus to San Giovani Rotondo, the location of the shrine of Padre Pio. To make a long story short, we travelled for about 11 hours today to stay in San Giovani for less than 2. As if that wasn't enough, Maria is still getting sicker (our trip to Assisi tomorrow may or may not happen at this point). She's a trooper though, and I know if you asked her, she would say that today was worth the fight.
When we arrived at the shrine, we knew we didn't have much time so we took a quick walk around to see where we wanted to spend our few precious moments. We saw the church where Pio said his masses, his confessional, the new church that has been built to better accommodate the pilgrims, the crypt where Pio is buried, and the crucifix before which he was praying when he received stigmata. It was all very cool, but I particularly liked the crypt. While there, I personally felt closest to Pio. Definitely turned out to be my best prayer of the trip.
Another thing that seemed to be unique about this shine was pictures. In his confessional, by statues, in his cell, and in several other spots pilgrims had left photos : presumably of people for which they wanted to ask Padre Pio to pray. While in the crypt, I remembered that I had brought a small family photograph to show to my host family on my study abroad. I decided that this would be a good place to leave it :)
When we got home from the shrine Maria was exhausted and headed straight to bed, which is exactly where I'm headed when I finish blogging for the night. It's my turn to sign off and I have a few more things if like to leave you with. Stay posted for one more post ;)
TheTresAmis
Tim Signing Out
Hey Everyone!
This will be my last blog so hear we go! Today we had a full day in the beautiful city of Rome. We started with the Colosseum which despite being in ruins was still an amazing structure considering it was built about 2000 years ago. It was very easy to imagine the crowds roaring to the fighting of the gladiators.
Next after about an hour searching in the heat (did I mention Rome is hot?!?) we found the Roman Forum, whose greatest feature was the free water.
Later we ventured to the Trevi Fountain (which was beautiful) but before we stopped for gelato! Italy's gelato is the best yet! After we stopped for a cheap but delicious Italian lunch. We ventured to the Pantheon and saw the tomb of the artist Raphael.
Afterwards we went up to the top of Castle Saint Angelo, which had an amazing view of Rome, but Daniel and Maria complained the whole way up ;).
We went to the vigil at St. Peters so Daniel finally got his mass at the Vatican! There were 14 Priest, 6 Bishops, and 3 Cardinals residing! By chance we ventured into the crypt after mass and venerated Pope Paul VI!
We made it back to the hostel and had a great free dinner, while meeting lots of people!
So I have to say that this trip has been absolutely amazing and easily my favorite summer in my life thus far. Daniel, Maria, and I have learned a lot about each other and how to live with one other (sort of). I want to thank our parents for making this trip possible and providing support a long the way. Anyways I love you Daniel and Maria and I will never forget the memories we formed. Dont have too much fun without me!
This is Tim signing out!
This will be my last blog so hear we go! Today we had a full day in the beautiful city of Rome. We started with the Colosseum which despite being in ruins was still an amazing structure considering it was built about 2000 years ago. It was very easy to imagine the crowds roaring to the fighting of the gladiators.
Next after about an hour searching in the heat (did I mention Rome is hot?!?) we found the Roman Forum, whose greatest feature was the free water.
Later we ventured to the Trevi Fountain (which was beautiful) but before we stopped for gelato! Italy's gelato is the best yet! After we stopped for a cheap but delicious Italian lunch. We ventured to the Pantheon and saw the tomb of the artist Raphael.
Afterwards we went up to the top of Castle Saint Angelo, which had an amazing view of Rome, but Daniel and Maria complained the whole way up ;).
We went to the vigil at St. Peters so Daniel finally got his mass at the Vatican! There were 14 Priest, 6 Bishops, and 3 Cardinals residing! By chance we ventured into the crypt after mass and venerated Pope Paul VI!
We made it back to the hostel and had a great free dinner, while meeting lots of people!
So I have to say that this trip has been absolutely amazing and easily my favorite summer in my life thus far. Daniel, Maria, and I have learned a lot about each other and how to live with one other (sort of). I want to thank our parents for making this trip possible and providing support a long the way. Anyways I love you Daniel and Maria and I will never forget the memories we formed. Dont have too much fun without me!
This is Tim signing out!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Roma, Italia
Hi everyone!! I feel like its been a while since I got a really good blog entry in!! I do believe Tim wrote one yesterday, especially since it was his last day, but somehow it didn't get posted. Hopefully he will be able to repost it when he is aafe an sound in the United States. I must say yesterday was soo incredibly epic, and its going to be such a great blog entry.
This morning, very early, Tim set off to catch his flight back home. We were soo sad to see him go!!! Daniel and I only have 2 more days on this beautiful continent, one of which will be spent in San Giovanni Rotondo, and the other in Assisi!! They are both going to be incredible.
Today Daniel and I had fun going to smaller churches throughout Rome. Its amazing how in Rome, art is not kept in museums, it totally belongs in the churches. We had a long list of churches we wanted to visit. The first one was beautiful and we soent so much time sitting in the pew, admiring the frescoed ceilings and larger than life statues of saints. The second...third..and forth churches wetent so sucessful. We figured out later then sooner that they all close between noon and 4pm. Nevertheless, we took a long pizza and gelato break, and then got right back to it. We saw five more churches that BLEW my mind, becausr they wete all filled with art that I studied in my art history class. There were sculptures by Michaelangelo and dramatic paintings by Caravaggio everywere!! I loved praying with all of this artwork, it was glorious!!
We finished the night at the most amazing cheap Italian restaurant, and I definitely had the most amazing spaghetti of my LIFE!!! We had bruchettes for an appitizer, and tiramiseu for dessert all for soo cheap!! Whoo!!
Were so excited to see Tims confirmation saint tomorrow, but were sad we have to go without him!!!
Loveeeee!!!! TheTresAmis
This morning, very early, Tim set off to catch his flight back home. We were soo sad to see him go!!! Daniel and I only have 2 more days on this beautiful continent, one of which will be spent in San Giovanni Rotondo, and the other in Assisi!! They are both going to be incredible.
Today Daniel and I had fun going to smaller churches throughout Rome. Its amazing how in Rome, art is not kept in museums, it totally belongs in the churches. We had a long list of churches we wanted to visit. The first one was beautiful and we soent so much time sitting in the pew, admiring the frescoed ceilings and larger than life statues of saints. The second...third..and forth churches wetent so sucessful. We figured out later then sooner that they all close between noon and 4pm. Nevertheless, we took a long pizza and gelato break, and then got right back to it. We saw five more churches that BLEW my mind, becausr they wete all filled with art that I studied in my art history class. There were sculptures by Michaelangelo and dramatic paintings by Caravaggio everywere!! I loved praying with all of this artwork, it was glorious!!
We finished the night at the most amazing cheap Italian restaurant, and I definitely had the most amazing spaghetti of my LIFE!!! We had bruchettes for an appitizer, and tiramiseu for dessert all for soo cheap!! Whoo!!
Were so excited to see Tims confirmation saint tomorrow, but were sad we have to go without him!!!
Loveeeee!!!! TheTresAmis
Friday, August 5, 2011
Roma, Italia
I is exhausted. This are why :
Shortly after composing our last blog entry, we hopped on a night train to Rome. We decided to try something new and go without a couchette for this ride (hard to be a 4€ train ticket.) in hindsight, we really should have just paid for the couchette. Total, we slept about an hour a piece (coming in 10-15 minute intervals). Needless to say, we were exhausted upon our arrival in Rome.
Nonetheless, we checked in at the hostel, grabbed breakfast, and began our day. After all, Tim only gets two days in Italy. Much to our dismay, we could not find a ticket to St. Giovani Rotundo so Tim will not get to visit the final resting place of his confirmation saint, Padre Pio. However, Maria and I still plan to go after Tim flies out, take some pictures, and photoshop him in so it's basically the same anyway...
We did not want to lose anymore time so we quickly headed to the Vatican. My favorite part of any building, I have learned, is the ceiling. You can only imagine how much I loved the Sistene Chapel. The rest of the Vatican museum was cool too. We especially enjoyed taking pictures with the statues, in the positions that the statues were in.
We spent 2 or 3 hours in the museum before grabbing a quick lunch and heading to St. Peter's Basillica. The Basillica was definitely the most impressive church I have ever seen. Maria especially liked seeing Michelangelo's Pietà and going to mass in St. Peter's. Tim also enjoyed going to mass in St. Peter's. I, however, did not enjoy going to mass in St. Peter's because NO ONE TOLD ME THEY WERE GOING. It's okay. I am making Maria go back with me for Sunday mass (I didn't have go twist her arm too much for that one).
We left the Vatican and headed back to our hostel for a round of much needed showers. After that, we headed over to the colussium to eat our last fancy dinner of the trip. Courtesy of Mom and Dad, we each ate a pasta plate, shared lamb ribs, drank some classy white wine, and polished it all off with some gelato. Thank you :)
We're calling it a night early tonight--we really our exhausted and have one last (maybe) big day ahead of us tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and expect to hear from me at least once or twice more before I return to good ol' American soil ;)
TheTresAmis
Shortly after composing our last blog entry, we hopped on a night train to Rome. We decided to try something new and go without a couchette for this ride (hard to be a 4€ train ticket.) in hindsight, we really should have just paid for the couchette. Total, we slept about an hour a piece (coming in 10-15 minute intervals). Needless to say, we were exhausted upon our arrival in Rome.
Nonetheless, we checked in at the hostel, grabbed breakfast, and began our day. After all, Tim only gets two days in Italy. Much to our dismay, we could not find a ticket to St. Giovani Rotundo so Tim will not get to visit the final resting place of his confirmation saint, Padre Pio. However, Maria and I still plan to go after Tim flies out, take some pictures, and photoshop him in so it's basically the same anyway...
We did not want to lose anymore time so we quickly headed to the Vatican. My favorite part of any building, I have learned, is the ceiling. You can only imagine how much I loved the Sistene Chapel. The rest of the Vatican museum was cool too. We especially enjoyed taking pictures with the statues, in the positions that the statues were in.
We spent 2 or 3 hours in the museum before grabbing a quick lunch and heading to St. Peter's Basillica. The Basillica was definitely the most impressive church I have ever seen. Maria especially liked seeing Michelangelo's Pietà and going to mass in St. Peter's. Tim also enjoyed going to mass in St. Peter's. I, however, did not enjoy going to mass in St. Peter's because NO ONE TOLD ME THEY WERE GOING. It's okay. I am making Maria go back with me for Sunday mass (I didn't have go twist her arm too much for that one).
We left the Vatican and headed back to our hostel for a round of much needed showers. After that, we headed over to the colussium to eat our last fancy dinner of the trip. Courtesy of Mom and Dad, we each ate a pasta plate, shared lamb ribs, drank some classy white wine, and polished it all off with some gelato. Thank you :)
We're calling it a night early tonight--we really our exhausted and have one last (maybe) big day ahead of us tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and expect to hear from me at least once or twice more before I return to good ol' American soil ;)
TheTresAmis
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Munich, Germany!!!
Today really was soo much fun!!! When we woke up this morning it was indeed again raining cats and dogs, so it took us a while to get started. The minute the rain let up, we made a run for the metro to grab some amazing German lunch. Daniel and I had some really great mushroom, potato, and onion soup, and Tim had MEATBALLS!!! We decided to them check out the BMW museum. I took about 20 minutes looking around and checking out the cars, then I sat in the corner for 40 minutes and read some great Franz Kafka (quite the interesting human being). After Tim and Daniel satisfied their sports car craving, we checked out the Olympic Stadium where the games were held in 1972. It was huge, and the architecture was very interesting and modern. We spent the rest of the day wandering through gardens and going through local markets. Munich was soo relaxing, we all absolutely loved it. We leave for Rome so soon!!! I cant believe it!!! Sorry this blog is short, I have to call my mom with the rest of my internet minutes!!! Chao!!
München, Deutschland
So we had an awesome day in Munich! We started the day with a four hour walking tour of the city. Our tour guide took a different approach than the traditional tour guide. Whether than delving very deeply into the history of a few locations around the city, he strove to impart the culture and history of the Bavarian and Munich people. I will never forget that Bavarians are hardcore Catholic, very conservative, have a lot of money, make good beer, drink a lot of good beer, make amazing pork sausage, and most importantly wear Lederhosen! In the middle of the tour we ate a fantastic beer garden in the middle of a market. Maria was amazed by all of the fresh vegetables and Daniel and I enjoyed our beer and suasage. After the tour, we tried to go up to the top of St. Peters Church, but the skies opened up, ending our short reprive from the rain. We took shelter in the nearby Paulaner Beer Hall and later played cards for a while. For dinner, we went to Munich's famous Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall and Garden! There were probably 500 people there enjoying the truly Bavarian atmosphere of great music, food, and beer. We had another fantastic meal courtesy of our parents (thank y'all so much!) including a multitude of different sausages, pasta, bread, Bavarian desserts, and our favorite cheese and pretzels! We all agreed that it was our favorite dinner of the whole trip!
Well, we are heading out to explore the city for one last day, and then we leave for Roma tonight!
Well, we are heading out to explore the city for one last day, and then we leave for Roma tonight!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
München, Germany
Yesterday was without a doubt the funniest day we have had on our trip thus far. We woke up early (much to the dismay of Tim and I) to eat the delicious 2 boxes of shortbread cookies that I purchased the night before, take a walk across the Charles Bridge, rub the plaque of a lady watching someone being thrown over the bridge (not the plaque of the soldier and the dog!), and find more food. For those of you unfamiliar with the Charles Bridge, it's a long, old, tourist infested piece of architecture that may or may not actually have any historical significance. Really glad we hit that spot.
Also, when we were walking across the bridge, something really strange happened. For at least a few minutes, the clouds opened up we were able to see this big, bright, shiny thing in the sky. I feel like I used to know what that was, but I don't remember anymore.
After crossing the bridge, we found (by mistake) the John Lenon wall (pictures to come soon). Maria particularly enjoyed this monument and added 4 or 5 quotes to the wall. We then found a nice park called Little Venice (hey, we actually did make it to Venice... :p) and just chilled for a while. After a quick, Czech lunch we headed to the train station.
We were really hoping to find a laundomat on the way (we and our clothes smell terrible) but, alas, we didn't. Instead, we played some rummy and I downloaded Catan in preparation for our long train ride.
The train was uneventful except that Maria got uncontrollable giggles and Tim's infamous weezy laugh came back. 6 hours later we arrived in München, checked in at our hostel, chilled in the common room for a few hours (playing rummy, of course), finished our cookies, found some pizza, and hit the sack. Today promises to be another long one (duh) but with Tim's flight only 4 days away, we're really trying to squeeze as much Europe as we can out of the home stretch. Gotta go check on my (clean!) laundry. There may be a video involving that...
TheTresAmis
Also, when we were walking across the bridge, something really strange happened. For at least a few minutes, the clouds opened up we were able to see this big, bright, shiny thing in the sky. I feel like I used to know what that was, but I don't remember anymore.
After crossing the bridge, we found (by mistake) the John Lenon wall (pictures to come soon). Maria particularly enjoyed this monument and added 4 or 5 quotes to the wall. We then found a nice park called Little Venice (hey, we actually did make it to Venice... :p) and just chilled for a while. After a quick, Czech lunch we headed to the train station.
We were really hoping to find a laundomat on the way (we and our clothes smell terrible) but, alas, we didn't. Instead, we played some rummy and I downloaded Catan in preparation for our long train ride.
The train was uneventful except that Maria got uncontrollable giggles and Tim's infamous weezy laugh came back. 6 hours later we arrived in München, checked in at our hostel, chilled in the common room for a few hours (playing rummy, of course), finished our cookies, found some pizza, and hit the sack. Today promises to be another long one (duh) but with Tim's flight only 4 days away, we're really trying to squeeze as much Europe as we can out of the home stretch. Gotta go check on my (clean!) laundry. There may be a video involving that...
TheTresAmis
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Prague, Czech Republic
After a GREAT night's rest I am so ready to write this blog. Yesterday TheTresAmis had the largest dose of Prague that you can possibly imagine. As you've noticed, we've found that free walking tours are the absolute best way to discover all these awesome European cities, because we get to see so much of the city along with an explaination of tons of the city's HISTORY!!! All three of us have proved to be very intense history buffs which is good because Eastern European history is SOOO complicated. It was amazing how the tour guide explained to us yesterday how one lady who was born in Prague in 1908 and lived in the same house her entire life, but indeed lived in eight different countries during her life.
So we did TWO walking tours yeaterday from 11am-6pm. On our way there we grabbed breakfast from a locel market and Daniel made an all time AMAZING value purchase of 2 bread rolls for 6 Czehk korona, which is only 26 euro cents and 35 American cents!! I on the other hand spent 50 korona on some yummy white peaches and plums!!:-) The walking tour began and we saw amazing churches, a million types of architecture, and the the huge Prague Castle. One church had a particularly interesting story that I would love to share with you. Roaming through Old Prague was this theif who would do absolutely anything to get money, but the problem was he had a very hard time stealing enough to get by, so therefore he was very hungry. At a point of most excrutiating hunger around midnight, he went banging on doors in the square pleading for ANY morsel of food. Approaching St. James church, he thought he had a good chance because he thought the priest would have compassion upon him. As he banged, the priest did not come, so he forced his way in. As he looked at the church he thought of a better plan, he wanted to steal the Madonna at the front of the church. He reached up to grab her, but at that moment the Lady Madonna grabbed him. As he wiggled, her grip became tighter and tighter. He stood there all night long in her tight grasp, and finally the priest came early morning. The preist was so amazed that the Madonna came alive and so he summoned all the clergy in town to come see it. They decided to set the man free they had to take drastic measures, so the preist pulled out a sword and cut off his arm!! The great part is that the arm is still hanging there today to warn off anyone who thinks they can too steal from the church. Prague is full of myths and legends such as this. Prague is filled with breathtaking cathedrals, but it is so sad because no one will go to worship in them. The Czech Republic is 90% athiest. Horribly sad. After the 7 hours of walking around we stopped for an amazing Czech meal. Daniel and I had Beef stew with bread dumplings and potato cakes. Tim had some incredible Czech SAUSAGE!!
Today we are seeig a few more things in Prague, but mainly the most important thing is getting LAUNDRY done, one last time. Talk to you soon in Munich!! Big hug, TheTresAmis
So we did TWO walking tours yeaterday from 11am-6pm. On our way there we grabbed breakfast from a locel market and Daniel made an all time AMAZING value purchase of 2 bread rolls for 6 Czehk korona, which is only 26 euro cents and 35 American cents!! I on the other hand spent 50 korona on some yummy white peaches and plums!!:-) The walking tour began and we saw amazing churches, a million types of architecture, and the the huge Prague Castle. One church had a particularly interesting story that I would love to share with you. Roaming through Old Prague was this theif who would do absolutely anything to get money, but the problem was he had a very hard time stealing enough to get by, so therefore he was very hungry. At a point of most excrutiating hunger around midnight, he went banging on doors in the square pleading for ANY morsel of food. Approaching St. James church, he thought he had a good chance because he thought the priest would have compassion upon him. As he banged, the priest did not come, so he forced his way in. As he looked at the church he thought of a better plan, he wanted to steal the Madonna at the front of the church. He reached up to grab her, but at that moment the Lady Madonna grabbed him. As he wiggled, her grip became tighter and tighter. He stood there all night long in her tight grasp, and finally the priest came early morning. The preist was so amazed that the Madonna came alive and so he summoned all the clergy in town to come see it. They decided to set the man free they had to take drastic measures, so the preist pulled out a sword and cut off his arm!! The great part is that the arm is still hanging there today to warn off anyone who thinks they can too steal from the church. Prague is full of myths and legends such as this. Prague is filled with breathtaking cathedrals, but it is so sad because no one will go to worship in them. The Czech Republic is 90% athiest. Horribly sad. After the 7 hours of walking around we stopped for an amazing Czech meal. Daniel and I had Beef stew with bread dumplings and potato cakes. Tim had some incredible Czech SAUSAGE!!
Today we are seeig a few more things in Prague, but mainly the most important thing is getting LAUNDRY done, one last time. Talk to you soon in Munich!! Big hug, TheTresAmis
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Prague, Czech Republic
Today was....long, but rewarding:-) The reason it was particularly rewarding is because last night we «missed» our train from Krakow to Prague. We were there at the train station 45 minutes before our departing time, but the problem was we do not know one lick of Polish. So we did what we usually do and looked at the departure board to figure out our platform. It prompted us to go to platform 1, but we decided to ask a nice Polish man who worked at the train station, just to make sure. He proceeded to just point in the general direction of platform 1. So we waited....and our departure time arrived and there was no one else at the platform and most importantly, there was no train!!!!so we asked another Polish lady and sher just spread at us in Polish. At that moment or hearts dropped because there was a train from platform 2 that was pulling out of a station. The most frustrating part was running to another man who worked there, showing him our tickets and getting a response of a shrug...FROM A MAN WHO WE WORKS THERE!! Shrug after shrug....despair. Daniel was very upset, Tim was trying to figure out a solution, and I was frustrated. We knew the train had left so we got last minute tickets out to Prague in the morning. There was not one hostel left that had availabe beds so...we stayed in a hotel:-) Good thing we were in Poland, or else it wouldve cost an arm and a leg.
The train ride was probably the most exciting and interesting one yet. We met a med school student named April who is studying in Poland. We had this great conversation about traveling, people, books, and funny stories aboutour lives. She gave us some great tips about Prague which have already proved to be great suggestions.
When we got here, FINALLY, we checked into our hostel, decided to grab a quick dinner (yummy sausage), and then we went yo mass in a gloriously beautiful church at 9pm at Our Lady of Tyn. I wish I could understand the homily because the priest looked soo joyful!! After we went to get some yummy hot chocolate which tasted like chocolate pudding soup. It was quite lovely. We had a great conversation about opportunities in our lives and having the courage to seize them!
Now were in the hostel playing cards, and im drinking a giant carton of orange juice because I have a sore throat:-(. More mystical, medieval Prague tomorrow!!
The train ride was probably the most exciting and interesting one yet. We met a med school student named April who is studying in Poland. We had this great conversation about traveling, people, books, and funny stories aboutour lives. She gave us some great tips about Prague which have already proved to be great suggestions.
When we got here, FINALLY, we checked into our hostel, decided to grab a quick dinner (yummy sausage), and then we went yo mass in a gloriously beautiful church at 9pm at Our Lady of Tyn. I wish I could understand the homily because the priest looked soo joyful!! After we went to get some yummy hot chocolate which tasted like chocolate pudding soup. It was quite lovely. We had a great conversation about opportunities in our lives and having the courage to seize them!
Now were in the hostel playing cards, and im drinking a giant carton of orange juice because I have a sore throat:-(. More mystical, medieval Prague tomorrow!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Krakow, Poland
Hey guys! We had a fantastic day in Poland! I started the day by filling out at police report for my stolen iPhone. It took a while because we used a translator and the secretary used 2 fingers type. Because my phone was stolen, I unfortunately won't be able to post anymore pictures, but don't worry Daniel will be replacing me. Even more importantly, we have lost the ability to play Catan. Hopefully we don't go insane on the remaining train rides!
Meanwhile, Daniel and Maria started part 1 of out walking tour extravaganza. I caught up to them after I took care of business. We learned about St. Mary's, the bishop palace (where JPII lived), the Wawel (royal castle), Royal Cathedral, and a dragon.
In between our tours, we hade some delicious pierogis and a restaurant recommended by our guide. We also stopped for Kosher ice cream before part 2 of the tour!
Fun fact: Maria drys her hair with paper towels.
For the second part of our tour we walked through the Jewish quarter (or old Jewish quarter, since there only 200 of the original 68000 Jews before WWII). We saw synagogues, Broadway Street, a corner where you could see different times of the area, the alley where the famous scene of the boy saving the woman in Schindler's List was filmed, the old Jewish ghetto and part of the wall surrounding it, and Oscar Schindler's factory. We really enjoyed this walking tour because our guide was native to Poland and was super knowledgable. He also founded the company and is only 25!
We ha great time in Poland, partly because it is so cheap, but mostly because of it's uber Catholic and has a vibrant history.
We still need eat dinner before we catch our train for Prague!
The Tres Amis (Tim)
Ps: we all may come back with annoying accents!
Krakow, Poland (29.7.11)
Sorry for the delay on this post! Because it is a day late, today's post will immediately follow (yay!)
On the 29th of July, 2011, Tim Norman, Daniel Harrison, and Maria Landry woke up at 5:30 AM. They proceeded to walk towards their hostel. They walked for about 30 minutes in the rain without a map. They later discovered that the hostel was about 10 minutes away from the train station (yay 2X!!).
On a serious note, yesterday was awesome. We got to our hostel, checked our bags, and (without a shower) headed to Auschwitz (which I will not attempt to spell in Polish. In fact, I will not attempt to spell anything in Polish for the duration of our stay here. I still do not understand how you can put the letters S, C, H, Z, and P next to each other in a word and still make a word. Where are the vowels?)
Since probably middle school, I have been particularly interested in the concentration camps, death camps, and the Holocaust in general so I had been anxiously anticipating this day for our whole trip. We toured both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau), which took about 4 hours all together. Auschwitz I was not at all as I expected it to be. It was small, had brick buildings, and only one gas chamber. Birkenau is the death camp most Americans imagine : massive, 4 gas chambers, wooden barracks, and a train track running through its center, where Holocaust victims were separated : those fit to work, and those deemed "unfit" who were taken directly to the gas chambers.
We've all read about what happened during the Holocaust, in fact, some people reading this blog were alive while it happened, so I won't go into all the details of what we learned and relearned on our tour. I will talk about a few of the things that were special to TheTresAmis in general. St. Maximilian Kolbe is very important to me because he was my confirmation saint. He died at Auschwitz I, either from lethal injection or starvation, in the place of another man who had a large family. On our tour, we passed by the cell where he died, which has been transformed into a sort of sanctuary. We did not get to spend as much time with my confirmation saint as we were able to with St. Bernadette or we will be able to with Padre Pio, but I will never forget the moments in which I came as close to Kolbe's life as I probably ever will.
We were particularly moved by the remains of the victims of Auschwitz. In one of the barracks on our tour we saw piles of suitcases, children's shoes, and even human hair that had been confiscated by Nazis before their possessors were executed. Hearing the details of the "experiments" that some of the victims were put through and even the amount of time that some spent in the camps (as little as a few hours before being led to the gas chambers) was also difficult.
Visiting Auschwitz was exhausting. Mentally and physically. However, none of us will regret this stop on our trip.
With disregard to our fatigue (after a poor night of sleep on a train) we made an impromptu stop in at the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy. We only learned that this even existed a few days before our arrival in Krakow (good work Maria!), and are very lucky that we got to have this experience. We went to mass in the same chapel that houses the remains of St. Faustina. We were ugly, smelly, and improperly dressed (Maria was given a cloth to wear over her legs because she was in shorts... whoops...) Also, we didn't speak Polish. Also, we were in the front row. Also, we were on live TV. We got over all this reasonably quickly (the cameramen just didn't put their cameras on us when we should have been moving our mouths). At the end of mass, we said the chaplet of the divine mercy (in Polish) and venerated the relic of St. Faustina that was on display in the chapel.
Okay, this blog is too long. I'm ending this quickly. Later, we had dinner. It was good and Polish. Tim lost his phone. Maria dried her hair with paper towels. I am still the perfect (Tim disagrees). That is all.
Love you. Miss you.
Daniel
On the 29th of July, 2011, Tim Norman, Daniel Harrison, and Maria Landry woke up at 5:30 AM. They proceeded to walk towards their hostel. They walked for about 30 minutes in the rain without a map. They later discovered that the hostel was about 10 minutes away from the train station (yay 2X!!).
On a serious note, yesterday was awesome. We got to our hostel, checked our bags, and (without a shower) headed to Auschwitz (which I will not attempt to spell in Polish. In fact, I will not attempt to spell anything in Polish for the duration of our stay here. I still do not understand how you can put the letters S, C, H, Z, and P next to each other in a word and still make a word. Where are the vowels?)
Since probably middle school, I have been particularly interested in the concentration camps, death camps, and the Holocaust in general so I had been anxiously anticipating this day for our whole trip. We toured both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau), which took about 4 hours all together. Auschwitz I was not at all as I expected it to be. It was small, had brick buildings, and only one gas chamber. Birkenau is the death camp most Americans imagine : massive, 4 gas chambers, wooden barracks, and a train track running through its center, where Holocaust victims were separated : those fit to work, and those deemed "unfit" who were taken directly to the gas chambers.
We've all read about what happened during the Holocaust, in fact, some people reading this blog were alive while it happened, so I won't go into all the details of what we learned and relearned on our tour. I will talk about a few of the things that were special to TheTresAmis in general. St. Maximilian Kolbe is very important to me because he was my confirmation saint. He died at Auschwitz I, either from lethal injection or starvation, in the place of another man who had a large family. On our tour, we passed by the cell where he died, which has been transformed into a sort of sanctuary. We did not get to spend as much time with my confirmation saint as we were able to with St. Bernadette or we will be able to with Padre Pio, but I will never forget the moments in which I came as close to Kolbe's life as I probably ever will.
We were particularly moved by the remains of the victims of Auschwitz. In one of the barracks on our tour we saw piles of suitcases, children's shoes, and even human hair that had been confiscated by Nazis before their possessors were executed. Hearing the details of the "experiments" that some of the victims were put through and even the amount of time that some spent in the camps (as little as a few hours before being led to the gas chambers) was also difficult.
Visiting Auschwitz was exhausting. Mentally and physically. However, none of us will regret this stop on our trip.
With disregard to our fatigue (after a poor night of sleep on a train) we made an impromptu stop in at the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy. We only learned that this even existed a few days before our arrival in Krakow (good work Maria!), and are very lucky that we got to have this experience. We went to mass in the same chapel that houses the remains of St. Faustina. We were ugly, smelly, and improperly dressed (Maria was given a cloth to wear over her legs because she was in shorts... whoops...) Also, we didn't speak Polish. Also, we were in the front row. Also, we were on live TV. We got over all this reasonably quickly (the cameramen just didn't put their cameras on us when we should have been moving our mouths). At the end of mass, we said the chaplet of the divine mercy (in Polish) and venerated the relic of St. Faustina that was on display in the chapel.
Okay, this blog is too long. I'm ending this quickly. Later, we had dinner. It was good and Polish. Tim lost his phone. Maria dried her hair with paper towels. I am still the perfect (Tim disagrees). That is all.
Love you. Miss you.
Daniel
Friday, July 29, 2011
Krakow, Poland
The last day in Berlin was bittersweet, because we all didn't want to leave, but we knew we would be back in a few days to see Munich. Our last day of Berlin was rainy like usual, but nevertheless we got to see some exciting things. We started the day by going to see the portion of the Berlin wall in the east, where artists around the world painted murals of triumph and passion. It was beautiful to see the strong feelings of those who had experienced the wall first hand. Some of these artusts could have been trapped in the Soviet occupied side for more than 20 years, seperated from their friends and family. I loved Berlin so much because there is soo much history that makes its identity. Its gone through two World Wars, The Berlin Wall and Cold War, and recent reunification. It has changed so much, but all of its scars and bruises are still visible.
Later we visited the Olympic stadium where the 1936 Olympics were held and where the world cup took place in 2006. It was really cool to see where an actual Olympics took place. The 1936 Olympics was indeed hosted by Nazi Germany with Hitler at its head. Hitler was excited for this opportunity to prove that the Aryan race was superior to the rest of the world. It was a very beautiful thing that that year, Jesse Owens, a black man from the United States earned more gold metals than any other athelete.
After a very long overnight trainride, we finally arrived in Krakow. Today we will be be going to the concentration camp of Auschwitz which we will definitely blog about later. Tim, Daniel, and I are doing great. Its been a long journey!! Big hug! TheTresAmis
Later we visited the Olympic stadium where the 1936 Olympics were held and where the world cup took place in 2006. It was really cool to see where an actual Olympics took place. The 1936 Olympics was indeed hosted by Nazi Germany with Hitler at its head. Hitler was excited for this opportunity to prove that the Aryan race was superior to the rest of the world. It was a very beautiful thing that that year, Jesse Owens, a black man from the United States earned more gold metals than any other athelete.
After a very long overnight trainride, we finally arrived in Krakow. Today we will be be going to the concentration camp of Auschwitz which we will definitely blog about later. Tim, Daniel, and I are doing great. Its been a long journey!! Big hug! TheTresAmis
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Berlinstratte Van Housen, Germany-Faderlandenstein
Today we tried a new a lot of new things. Here they are :
Woke up early (okay, so that's not new)
Ate breakfast at our hostel (wait, that's not new either)
Took a walking tour (it was only our third with the same company!)
Saw a monument (monument number 254 of our trip)
Saw another monument (255!)
Got on the metro (we are metro champs)
Ate local cuisine (like brisket and hot dogs. wait, what?)
Went back to our hostel to get wifi (gotta text mom! running out of money...)
Okay, so it was a pretty typical day, but it was a good day. We saw some cool stuff (Tim really liked Paris Platz : a plaza dedicated to making fun of France). Maria liked the hot air balloon and bought a butterfly lanyard (...) And I really liked the holocaust memorial. I'm really pumped to see Auschwitz (only 2 days from now). We also saw what's left of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Dom, Reichstag, the War Memorial, museum island, the opera, gendarmen platz, the site of the nazi book burning, and probably some other things we've already forgotten.
It's time to play cards so I'm wrapping this up. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our pics from today ;)
Daniel
Woke up early (okay, so that's not new)
Ate breakfast at our hostel (wait, that's not new either)
Took a walking tour (it was only our third with the same company!)
Saw a monument (monument number 254 of our trip)
Saw another monument (255!)
Got on the metro (we are metro champs)
Ate local cuisine (like brisket and hot dogs. wait, what?)
Went back to our hostel to get wifi (gotta text mom! running out of money...)
Okay, so it was a pretty typical day, but it was a good day. We saw some cool stuff (Tim really liked Paris Platz : a plaza dedicated to making fun of France). Maria liked the hot air balloon and bought a butterfly lanyard (...) And I really liked the holocaust memorial. I'm really pumped to see Auschwitz (only 2 days from now). We also saw what's left of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Dom, Reichstag, the War Memorial, museum island, the opera, gendarmen platz, the site of the nazi book burning, and probably some other things we've already forgotten.
It's time to play cards so I'm wrapping this up. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our pics from today ;)
Daniel
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Berlin, Deutschland
Wowwwwwwwww Amsterdam. Hate to love it and love to hate it. Lets just say as soon as I stepped off the train I was ready to get the heck out of there. I feel like I could just not open up my heart even enough to give Amsterdam a chance. Walking through the city on the way to the hostel, all that consumed me was the stench of cannabis and the smell of greasy food joints, there to satisfy the "munchies". I felt like everyone roaming the streets were on a search for something to satisfy a deep hunger within. I was at peace from my panic when we walked into our hostel that was very self declaringly Christian. While I was there I talked to many people about what they thought about Amsterdam, and how it has effected them. I particularly enjoyed talking with two UT students I met that are spending their entire summer working at this Christan hostel as sort of a mission trip. One of them is going to law school and wants to work with social justice issues such as human trafficking. I began to see Gods love through her as she passionately told me about groups in Amsterdam that are working hard to help prostitues by providing counceling and a way to get passports so they can get out of The Netherlands. Nevertheless I learned that out of every bad situation, God is always working for good. With all this said, out of all the cities we've visited so far Amsterdam definitely is the one the tres amis have the most differing views on. This is only Amsterdam through Maria Landry's eyes.
Today was a very special day for us because it was indeed Tim's birthday!!!!! We had yumny Dutch pancakes this morning, did some last minute shopping and hopped on a train to Berlin!! The train was alright. The only problem wasthere were three very obnoxious teenage Brits that felt like the train was all theirs. It wasnt too big of a bother to us though. I was so excited when we arrived in Berlin. Tim and Daniel navigated us sucessfully through the very confusing Berlin metro system to our hostel. By then it was 10pm and I was sooo hungry. We headed off for a FABULOUS birthday dinner at the Hard Rock cafe. It was soo awesome to have a good ol American hamburger and to see a menu in English!! Thank you sooo much mom and dad!!!
Tomorrow we have a busy day of seeing Berlin, with a fabulous walking tour in the morning! Thanks all of you for reading our blog.
Love to the top,
TheTresAmis
Today was a very special day for us because it was indeed Tim's birthday!!!!! We had yumny Dutch pancakes this morning, did some last minute shopping and hopped on a train to Berlin!! The train was alright. The only problem wasthere were three very obnoxious teenage Brits that felt like the train was all theirs. It wasnt too big of a bother to us though. I was so excited when we arrived in Berlin. Tim and Daniel navigated us sucessfully through the very confusing Berlin metro system to our hostel. By then it was 10pm and I was sooo hungry. We headed off for a FABULOUS birthday dinner at the Hard Rock cafe. It was soo awesome to have a good ol American hamburger and to see a menu in English!! Thank you sooo much mom and dad!!!
Tomorrow we have a busy day of seeing Berlin, with a fabulous walking tour in the morning! Thanks all of you for reading our blog.
Love to the top,
TheTresAmis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)