And our first post from the iPhone, so please forgive any mistakes, as well as the brevity of the post. This keyboard is less than user friendly.
We are sitting in a tiny cafe just down the street from Charlottenburg Palace, where we spent an amazing morning absorbing Baroque Architecture and Prussian history. Dan is next to me mapping out our afternoon route, and trying to figure out how we can upload some pictures soon.
The trip is beginning to feel more real, the edge is wearing off as our stress levels decrease and we become more accustomed to being completely lost and mostly confused at all times. Our last few days have been filled with blessing after blessing, and this adventure is even more fun than we imagined!
Yesterday we spent most of the day touring Amsterdam with some new friends and fellow backpackers we met up with on the ferry, Phil & Shannon. We all had gotten into London on the same day, had Eurail passes, and similar itineraries--plus we got along wonderfully, so we spent Monday evening and Tuesday touring together. We had so much fun, although Amsterdam was incredibly touristy--and frankly quite shocking we still enjoyed going to a couple museums together, and enjoying the spectacular structures.
Last night we took the train to Berlin and have rented a fabulous flat in West Berlin for the next 3 days. We love having 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a washing machine of our own; and all for 69 euro a night! A great deal!
My German is getting quite a workout, and so far I'm amazed by how much I remember, we've been able to communicate even with non English speakers very well. Hopefully, it'll just get easier too.
Next we're taking a bus tour to get a lay of the land, and tonight possibly a costumed concert in a palace. Honestly I can barely believe this is my life!
I need to go now, there is so much more to tell, but I'll save it for later.
We hope all those traveling the next few weeks to the Feast have a safe and wonderful journey! Mom & Daddy have a great flight today--we're praying for you and we'll see you next week!
Love to all!
Showing posts with label amsterdam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amsterdam. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Third Post, First Post from EUROPE!
Surreal. The only word that I feel adequately describes the feeling of the last few days.
Dan & I are here, safe, and having the time of our lives! It's such an adventure--I hope my dear readers know that word will be used to the point of over use within this post, not to mention the following ones. But have I ever experienced such a true adventure? Never knowing what will happen next, where we will eat, let alone where we will sleep? The sights are new (to me, though centuries old, with more history than my amateur historian's heart can hope to devour!), the sounds, smells, modes of transportation; everything is overwhelmingly amazing! Sensory overload much?
Everywhere I go, nearly every sight or landmark triggers a phrase/word association--be it from a play, movie, literature, or years of my obsession with history (of course in this case history pertinent to England). As we walk through Victoria Station and check our bags at the cloakroom I nudge Dan and whisper, "The cloakroom at Victoria Station, the Brighton Line" and "A CLOAKROOM?!" and many other lines from The Importance of Being Earnest. Similar reactions to our trip through King's Cross (Platform 9, Platform 10... where's Platform 9 3/4?). Seeing the Globe Theater, Buckingham Palace, Kensington--well, Kensington everything, Notting Hill, Big Ben, Tower Bridge/Tower of London, British Museum, etc. etc. etc... Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, J.K. Rowling, Shakespeare, and every other British author I have read seem to speak to me through the scenery, buildings, and essence of London.
But, of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have a tendency to do that. Here's a not so brief overview of our first 3 days in Europe.
Friday afternoon my wonderful parents kindly came over, and after watching us fly about like flustered chickens they calmly drove us to the airport. They are very understanding about the insanity one goes through planning a trip. After all, they'll be leaving to meet up with us for approximately 3 weeks next Wednesday. Is that really in 2 days? My days are so mixed up right now!
We boarded our plane as planned. Had absolutely no glitches of any sort making our connecting flight, and besides my in flight movie getting killed it was a relatively uneventful flight. The only thing of note was that, they fed us like mad this flight! After the cheapness we've experienced in the airlines we were shocked! We got multiple drink services, 1 snack, and 2 meals! All for a 6.5 hour flight. Our flight to Hawaii for our honeymoon was 12 hours, and we got 1 drink service and had to pay for any snacks we wanted (I had packed snacks thankfully, so we were saved that expense). I'm not sure why there was such a difference, since I'm fairly certain we flew the same airline, but it was a marked difference none the less.
Upon arrival at Gatwick, International the feeling of being overwhelmed did set in, for me at least. I think some of it had to do with the fact that I had not slept well on the plane (the flight attendants literally woke me up to serve me breakfast), and the fact that while I love adventure (that word again!) I want it to be a well planned adventure--or at least one where I have control over the uncertainties. I suppose all of that doesn't make me a very good adventurer, hm?
Confession time. When I get stressed--especially about travel--I take it out on Dan. Big time. Thankfully, by about the 3rd day of travel I have sufficiently loosened up, or figured the systems out enough that the stress is no longer to the point of cruelty... However, pity Dan the first few days of long holidays. He deserves it.
After we got a taxi to the hotel (because hey, it was 4 AM our time, and we were not up to figuring out the bus system for a hotel that had no street number, just a street name and borough) we were informed that check-in wasn't allowed until after noon.
Confession time 2: When I get stressed, have incredibly low blood sugar levels, a 28+ lb backpack that I thought would be a breeze to carry and now want to cry because it's just too much, and am running on little to no sleep I really take it out on Dan. In fact, he is so familiar with this he promptly says, "Katie's grouchy, hungry, and sleepy." and goes straight to work on fixing as many of those things as possible. Could I have a more wonderful husband? No, it is utterly impossible, because I was blessed with the most loving and caring man on earth!
We started to walk to a restaurant for a meal, but quickly abandoned that plan. Frankly when we're running on no sleep (it 6 AM our time) and the directions are given, "past mini-roundabout, to big-roundabout, then roundabout to your left and straight on to the next roundabout" we decided it just wasn't going to happen.
We walked back to the hotel and that was when things really started going our way (as my dear Steph would say "It's a God thing!").
The front desk clerk, presumably seeing our jet-lagged bodies carrying around bulging backpacks, and weary looks took pity on us and let us have our room early. What a blessing! We defied all of the recommendations and took a nap that lasted until 9 PM London time (about 10 hours). Frankly, we could have slept more, but after that hunger became more of an issue. We went to the front desk where the most friendly and helpful clerk told us where to get the best local food (after we expressed we weren't really looking for McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, TGIFridays, or Pizza Hut--which were our other options). We took a taxi, with an incredibly interesting and kind taxi driver. He had the solution to every problem (much like my husband seems to!) and all of his were food related. We were told the cure for jet-lag, hangovers, and the common cold. It was quite informative, and entertaining.
After yummy dinner of fish'n'chips at Ye Olde Six Bells (a 500 year old pub--and total tourist trap!) we headed back and slept easily the rest of the night.
Sunday started with us trying to get to London. Again, remember this was only Day 2, so my stress levels and not fully understanding the British rail system were high. However, a free taxi ride because the driver enjoyed our company so much helped my mood and my faith in Great Britain--she has some of the kindest and most helpful people, even if seemingly everything costs an arm and a leg! We finally got to Victoria Station, and began exploring London for what was planned to be only 1/2 a day.
Immediately after leaving the station (and our obscenely heavy backpacks at the excess baggage check!) we were confronted with London. The London. You know, the one I have spent my entire life reading & dreaming about. (Dan is reading over my shoulder and just told me I write dramatically. He's right; however, I do everything in my life dramatically, why shouldn't I write dramatically?!)
We decided since we had the day to kill (our first train to take us to the ferry to Amsterdam didn't leave until 20.00--8 PM for you Americans) we'd do an overview of London and see as much as we could. We signed up for a double decker bus tour of London, and hopped aboard to start our London Experience.
The bus tour was amazing! We ended up getting off at Madame Tussauds because we thought it was one of the few things we'd have time to actually 'check' off our list. We enjoyed it, although it wasn't quite as exciting as I thought it would be. When we got back on the bus tour (you could get on and off as much as you wanted for 24 hrs, with buses running every 15-20 min) we began to realize our hopes of making the overnight crossing to Amsterdam were slim. London rush hour + a road diversion (read: construction) will do that to you. Resigned, we enjoyed the rest of the bus tour, went to pick up our bags, and find a place to stay that night.
After a very frustrating hour or two of trying to find a hotel in a decent price range (we weren't really keen on spending $700 American for one night!) we were blessed (another "God thing" without a doubt!). I had been calling hotels near the Liverpool Street Station, since we'd be leaving out of there at 6 the next morning. The prices were absurd. Finally there was a hotel with a hard to understand middle eastern man who told me that a double queen room would be £148. Jackpot! We rush off to try to find said hotel, only to get there and find out that there had been some mistake. The number we had been told was the Great Eastern Hotel was obviously being miss-routed. Their cheapest room would be 2.5 times the quoted price.
I was close to tears. However, God worked it out beautifully. The front desk clerk was so sympathetic to our plight (as backpackers we were obviously not looking to spend £350--almost $700--on a room) and he insisted on calling some contacts of his in the hotel industry for favors. He ended up getting us a very nice room with an en suite bath for £101. Plus, it was only 10 min walk from the station! He went above and beyond, even though we were not able to stay at his hotel. Then he refused the tip we tried to give. He was just .so. kind!
Every step of the way I have been floored by how kind and helpful the British people have been!
Oh, I suppose that brings us to today. Is this post long enough for you? What can I say, I've been itching to journal about all of this!
Today we got up a 4:30 AM. Yes, the Ambroses. Are you sufficiently amazed? We made our train, connecting train, and are right now on the "ferry" to Amsterdam (about 3 hours left).
I use the term "ferry" loosely! This is really just a small cruise ship! We're having a blast, catching up on the internet, watching a movie (we saw the Bourne Ultimatium again), eating, and chilling out. It's wonderful!
Sitting at the computer I must look like I work here. My third "Dutchie" has asked me for directions.
Now my hubby is cold and wants to cuddle, and frankly, while Ih ave about 10+ more pages to write, I think hubby time is more important!
I have no idea when the next time I get such unfettered internet access, so hopefully this will suffice until then.
Cheers!
P.S. We've taken tons of pictures, but no way to upload them now. Perhaps next time. Just imagine us looking quite european/cosmopolitan and in artsy London locations and you'll pretty much have your pictures right there! ;)
P.P.S. Many apologies if this is difficult to read. I got up at 4 this morning, which I have no idea what time that is "my time" since my body has no idea what time zone it is in. Hopefully the next post will be shorter and easier to read.
Dan & I are here, safe, and having the time of our lives! It's such an adventure--I hope my dear readers know that word will be used to the point of over use within this post, not to mention the following ones. But have I ever experienced such a true adventure? Never knowing what will happen next, where we will eat, let alone where we will sleep? The sights are new (to me, though centuries old, with more history than my amateur historian's heart can hope to devour!), the sounds, smells, modes of transportation; everything is overwhelmingly amazing! Sensory overload much?
Everywhere I go, nearly every sight or landmark triggers a phrase/word association--be it from a play, movie, literature, or years of my obsession with history (of course in this case history pertinent to England). As we walk through Victoria Station and check our bags at the cloakroom I nudge Dan and whisper, "The cloakroom at Victoria Station, the Brighton Line" and "A CLOAKROOM?!" and many other lines from The Importance of Being Earnest. Similar reactions to our trip through King's Cross (Platform 9, Platform 10... where's Platform 9 3/4?). Seeing the Globe Theater, Buckingham Palace, Kensington--well, Kensington everything, Notting Hill, Big Ben, Tower Bridge/Tower of London, British Museum, etc. etc. etc... Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, J.K. Rowling, Shakespeare, and every other British author I have read seem to speak to me through the scenery, buildings, and essence of London.
But, of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have a tendency to do that. Here's a not so brief overview of our first 3 days in Europe.
Friday afternoon my wonderful parents kindly came over, and after watching us fly about like flustered chickens they calmly drove us to the airport. They are very understanding about the insanity one goes through planning a trip. After all, they'll be leaving to meet up with us for approximately 3 weeks next Wednesday. Is that really in 2 days? My days are so mixed up right now!
We boarded our plane as planned. Had absolutely no glitches of any sort making our connecting flight, and besides my in flight movie getting killed it was a relatively uneventful flight. The only thing of note was that, they fed us like mad this flight! After the cheapness we've experienced in the airlines we were shocked! We got multiple drink services, 1 snack, and 2 meals! All for a 6.5 hour flight. Our flight to Hawaii for our honeymoon was 12 hours, and we got 1 drink service and had to pay for any snacks we wanted (I had packed snacks thankfully, so we were saved that expense). I'm not sure why there was such a difference, since I'm fairly certain we flew the same airline, but it was a marked difference none the less.
Upon arrival at Gatwick, International the feeling of being overwhelmed did set in, for me at least. I think some of it had to do with the fact that I had not slept well on the plane (the flight attendants literally woke me up to serve me breakfast), and the fact that while I love adventure (that word again!) I want it to be a well planned adventure--or at least one where I have control over the uncertainties. I suppose all of that doesn't make me a very good adventurer, hm?
Confession time. When I get stressed--especially about travel--I take it out on Dan. Big time. Thankfully, by about the 3rd day of travel I have sufficiently loosened up, or figured the systems out enough that the stress is no longer to the point of cruelty... However, pity Dan the first few days of long holidays. He deserves it.
After we got a taxi to the hotel (because hey, it was 4 AM our time, and we were not up to figuring out the bus system for a hotel that had no street number, just a street name and borough) we were informed that check-in wasn't allowed until after noon.
Confession time 2: When I get stressed, have incredibly low blood sugar levels, a 28+ lb backpack that I thought would be a breeze to carry and now want to cry because it's just too much, and am running on little to no sleep I really take it out on Dan. In fact, he is so familiar with this he promptly says, "Katie's grouchy, hungry, and sleepy." and goes straight to work on fixing as many of those things as possible. Could I have a more wonderful husband? No, it is utterly impossible, because I was blessed with the most loving and caring man on earth!
We started to walk to a restaurant for a meal, but quickly abandoned that plan. Frankly when we're running on no sleep (it 6 AM our time) and the directions are given, "past mini-roundabout, to big-roundabout, then roundabout to your left and straight on to the next roundabout" we decided it just wasn't going to happen.
We walked back to the hotel and that was when things really started going our way (as my dear Steph would say "It's a God thing!").
The front desk clerk, presumably seeing our jet-lagged bodies carrying around bulging backpacks, and weary looks took pity on us and let us have our room early. What a blessing! We defied all of the recommendations and took a nap that lasted until 9 PM London time (about 10 hours). Frankly, we could have slept more, but after that hunger became more of an issue. We went to the front desk where the most friendly and helpful clerk told us where to get the best local food (after we expressed we weren't really looking for McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, TGIFridays, or Pizza Hut--which were our other options). We took a taxi, with an incredibly interesting and kind taxi driver. He had the solution to every problem (much like my husband seems to!) and all of his were food related. We were told the cure for jet-lag, hangovers, and the common cold. It was quite informative, and entertaining.
After yummy dinner of fish'n'chips at Ye Olde Six Bells (a 500 year old pub--and total tourist trap!) we headed back and slept easily the rest of the night.
Sunday started with us trying to get to London. Again, remember this was only Day 2, so my stress levels and not fully understanding the British rail system were high. However, a free taxi ride because the driver enjoyed our company so much helped my mood and my faith in Great Britain--she has some of the kindest and most helpful people, even if seemingly everything costs an arm and a leg! We finally got to Victoria Station, and began exploring London for what was planned to be only 1/2 a day.
Immediately after leaving the station (and our obscenely heavy backpacks at the excess baggage check!) we were confronted with London. The London. You know, the one I have spent my entire life reading & dreaming about. (Dan is reading over my shoulder and just told me I write dramatically. He's right; however, I do everything in my life dramatically, why shouldn't I write dramatically?!)
We decided since we had the day to kill (our first train to take us to the ferry to Amsterdam didn't leave until 20.00--8 PM for you Americans) we'd do an overview of London and see as much as we could. We signed up for a double decker bus tour of London, and hopped aboard to start our London Experience.
The bus tour was amazing! We ended up getting off at Madame Tussauds because we thought it was one of the few things we'd have time to actually 'check' off our list. We enjoyed it, although it wasn't quite as exciting as I thought it would be. When we got back on the bus tour (you could get on and off as much as you wanted for 24 hrs, with buses running every 15-20 min) we began to realize our hopes of making the overnight crossing to Amsterdam were slim. London rush hour + a road diversion (read: construction) will do that to you. Resigned, we enjoyed the rest of the bus tour, went to pick up our bags, and find a place to stay that night.
After a very frustrating hour or two of trying to find a hotel in a decent price range (we weren't really keen on spending $700 American for one night!) we were blessed (another "God thing" without a doubt!). I had been calling hotels near the Liverpool Street Station, since we'd be leaving out of there at 6 the next morning. The prices were absurd. Finally there was a hotel with a hard to understand middle eastern man who told me that a double queen room would be £148. Jackpot! We rush off to try to find said hotel, only to get there and find out that there had been some mistake. The number we had been told was the Great Eastern Hotel was obviously being miss-routed. Their cheapest room would be 2.5 times the quoted price.
I was close to tears. However, God worked it out beautifully. The front desk clerk was so sympathetic to our plight (as backpackers we were obviously not looking to spend £350--almost $700--on a room) and he insisted on calling some contacts of his in the hotel industry for favors. He ended up getting us a very nice room with an en suite bath for £101. Plus, it was only 10 min walk from the station! He went above and beyond, even though we were not able to stay at his hotel. Then he refused the tip we tried to give. He was just .so. kind!
Every step of the way I have been floored by how kind and helpful the British people have been!
Oh, I suppose that brings us to today. Is this post long enough for you? What can I say, I've been itching to journal about all of this!
Today we got up a 4:30 AM. Yes, the Ambroses. Are you sufficiently amazed? We made our train, connecting train, and are right now on the "ferry" to Amsterdam (about 3 hours left).
I use the term "ferry" loosely! This is really just a small cruise ship! We're having a blast, catching up on the internet, watching a movie (we saw the Bourne Ultimatium again), eating, and chilling out. It's wonderful!
Sitting at the computer I must look like I work here. My third "Dutchie" has asked me for directions.
Now my hubby is cold and wants to cuddle, and frankly, while Ih ave about 10+ more pages to write, I think hubby time is more important!
I have no idea when the next time I get such unfettered internet access, so hopefully this will suffice until then.
Cheers!
P.S. We've taken tons of pictures, but no way to upload them now. Perhaps next time. Just imagine us looking quite european/cosmopolitan and in artsy London locations and you'll pretty much have your pictures right there! ;)
P.P.S. Many apologies if this is difficult to read. I got up at 4 this morning, which I have no idea what time that is "my time" since my body has no idea what time zone it is in. Hopefully the next post will be shorter and easier to read.
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