I Did It!

I ate dinner. Sitting. In a restaurant. By. Myself. BY MYSELF!

I’ve had this fear of eating alone for the longest time. It’s been the one aspect of solo travel I haven’t been able to embrace. Sitting alone at a restaurant was in my mind just so uncomfortable and awkward that I couldn’t bring myself to dine alone (in a restaurant – cafes were fine) on any of my travels. But, finally, I did it! I sat down at a restaurant last night, ordered some pasta (pesto – mmmmm) and wine, and sat and ate it completely alone.

Mission: accomplished.

Danke!

Is the only word I know in German.

Goal for tomorrow: learn how to say “can I please have tap water?”

Walked almost 9 miles today and spent at least 10 euros on water.

Can’t escape the heatwave, even in Berlin.

When London Becomes Home

Now that my semester abroad is over, here’s a re-cap of the things I will miss most about life in London.

1. Camden Market. Still my favorite spot in the city. Not even Hyde park and the German Christmas markets can top it. I wish I took a video walking around in Camden, the pictures I have cannot begin to capture what it’s like.

Horse tunnel section of Camden Market

 

International food stalls

Where Christmas is Done Best: Germany!

My final trip of the semester was to Germany for three days to visit my friend Jeff in Eichstatt and my friend Jess in Munich. I flew into Munich on my first day there and explored the city with Jeff and his friends. On day two, Jeff and I took the train to Nuremberg (Eichstatt is conveniently located halfway between Munich and Nuremberg) for Christmas markets, Nazi parade grounds and the city’s old historic center. On day three Jeff showed me around Eichstatt and I took the train back to Munich to meet up with Jess. Here’s a three day re-cap of my German adventure!

1. The Food. Like everywhere else I visited this semester, Germany had delicious food! Meat is a huge part of German cuisine. Normally I don’t enjoy most meats but this was not the case in Germany. Bratwurst, sausage, beef, everything was just delicious!

Hofbrauhaus, famous Bavarian beer hall where I ate my first German meal.

 

Giant pretzel bigger than my head!

 

Shoes, Canals & Windmills: Amsterdam!

I like this list format for blog posts, so I think I’ll keep it going for Amsterdam! The city’s reputation precedes it, but there’s a lot more to Amsterdam than Eurotrip would have you believe.

1. Canals. Amsterdam is made up entirely of canals. They surround the city in rings, with bridges periodically connecting the land on both sides. We went on a canal tour of the city on our second full day there, which gave us a chance to see the house boats and slanted buildings that line the canals.

Boat tours, and the Amsterdam train station in the background

Bucket List: UK Edition

The last month of my semester abroad was absolutely crazy. In addition to traveling out of the country three times and writing five papers, I also tackled a long bucket list of things I needed to do and see in London before I left.

1. The Natural History Museum. Visited the weekend my cousin Versailles came to visit. The most impressive thing about this museum isn’t the exhibits themselves, but the architecture in the main hallway. But the dinosaur exhibit was also good for a few laughs.

Main hallway in the Natural History Museum

Christmas with London is the best

From November through the middle of December, London was transformed into a magical Christmas paradise. I have never loved Christmas more than I did this semester. Earlier I wrote about the Piccadilly Christmas lighting…well, Christmas in London only got better from there. My favorite Christmas attractions in London included:

1. Somerset House Ice Rink. There were ice rinks everywhere in London: outside the Natural History museum, next to the Tower of London, in front of the London Eye, but Somerset House was my favorite one. I might be a little biased because it was literally right next door to King’s Strand campus.

Somerset ice rink and tree

Roaming Around Rome

Back in November I went to Rome for a weekend. I loved Rome almost as much as I love Madrid (I say almost because no one spoke Spanish in Rome). Rome had numerous large plazas, amazing ancient architecture, and yummy Italian food. If I wasn’t obsessed with ancient Rome before, I am now. Here’s a re-cap of everything I saw/ate:

Four rivers fountain with Egyptian obelisk at the center

Host UK Weekend: Day 3

Sunday morning Jenny took me for a walk around the outskirts of Malmesbury. The view of the city from the surrounding countryside was very pretty.

Scenic view of Malmesbury

Host UK Weekend: Day 2

I started off the morning with a quick walk around Malmesbury with Jenny. The town looked much different in the daylight and I finally had a chance to check out my surroundings.  On average, the homes in Malmesbury are about 300 years old, which completely blows my mind. The only 300 year old buildings we have in the US are preserved in historic villages. England just has layer upon layer upon layer of history.