Europe '08

So finally here it is ... a blog post about our trip to Europe this last May. I think the pictures speak for themselves... so I'm not going to go into huge detail about everything we did. However, all I can say is that it was amazing ... it was beautiful, fun, and exciting. Definitely an experience I will always remember. It was so great to have my boyfriend Tommy and our mutual best friend Jeff with me.

We started off in Stuttgart, Germany. [that's where I'm originally from] We stayed with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, where we had a great room to stay in and Ute (my aunt) made us breakfast and dinner everyday. They were so generous. So I showed Tommy and Jeff where I grew up and what means so much to me. We visited some castles, historic sites, different towns, and went out at night. We also visited my friends Sara and Lessa, who I hadn't seen in such a long time. I love those girls and it was so exciting to see them again.

From Germany, we took the night train to Amsterdam. (I don't think we slept very much due to the symphony of snores that surrounded us) We ended up staying at a Holiday Inn in Schiphol (right outside of Amsterdam) ... Tommy works for the Holiday Inn and was able to get the employee discount of 31 Euros a night! What a steal for a room that normally would have cost over 200 a night! It was so awesome exploring Amsterdam ... none of us had ever been there before so the whole time was an adventure. We rented some Dutch bikes and rode around as the city passed us by. Let me tell you ... that's the ONLY way to get around in Amsterdam. We walked the first 2 days and were so tired and achy, so the bikes were our only option and ended up being one of our most memorable events.
Among other things, we got some neat little trinkets at a street market, admired the little houses on the canals, spent some time in the coffeeshops and really let the culture soak in. We visited the Van Gogh museum, which I was so excited about ... Vincent is one of my favorite artists and to see his work in person was really incredible.

After 3 days in Amsterdam we took the morning train to Paris. I have been to Paris before and it was nice the first time, but the second time wasn't so impressive. It was so hot, crowded, tourist-trappy and dirty. But I'm glad we went ... mainly because it's just one of those cities everyone should go see... so much history, culture and social refereces are derived from Paris.
I did realize though, that I much rather enjoy going to cities and towns that are not so popular and over-commercialized. I really like visiting a place and seeing how the people there really live and how they are, not just the certain attractions you visit just because they are popular and everyone goes to see it, half the people not even knowing WHY it's popular in the first place. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see these places but overall we really enjoyed the smaller, not commercialized places.

After Paris, we took the night train (in our own private couchette) back home to Germany to stay another 5 days.
All three of us unanimously like Germany the most - it really is a wonderful country with so much to see and the most delicious food to eat. I miss my home in Germany, and am often torn about whether or not to go back to live for a while and try something new. It inspired me to do it ... we'll see what happens.

Europe was amazing. I'm so excited because I'm already planning our trip for next spring.
Tentative plans: Germany, Sweden, & a Mediterranean cruise of southern Spain, France, Italy and possibly the Greek islands. I also really want to visit Lisbon, Portugal. Ahhhh, I can't wait :)