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so it's been a couple of weeks since i last posted. i wonder if anyone even reads this. HI MOM.
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Greece
After my sister and I came back from Frankfurt, we sat in my room, twiddled our thumbs, and thought, 'be-jeezus, this is pretty not awesome.' With ready, adventurous hearts we set off to La Tours, a last-minute trip company in the center of Freiburg. 'Take us away!" we cried to the nice lady behind the counter. Luckily she spoke English. We left with two plane tickets leaving the next day in our pockets, significantly lighter wallets, and self-congratulatory thoughts about our cool spontaneity. unfortunately, these thoughts disintegrated into shock and dismay when we found ourselves in rainy and chilly Greece not only in a hotel where the total guest count was 11 people, but so far from the rest of civilization that we would have to take a 3 hour bus ride to get to any major city. our first day in Greece was spent sitting in our room, twiddling our thumbs, and thinking 'be-jeezus, we are pretty stupid.'
But then we remembered: wait-a-minute...we're Young sisters. While our Greece getaway was definitely not the adventure we initially envisioned, it was definitely a hilarious and memorable trip! I mean, who else can say they not only jumped into the Greek cultural dancing show, but was promptly rice-bagged and spun around by an older man in a skirt and then propositioned for an after-midnight rendezvous? And who can say they jumped out of a moving cab that smelled like urine on a dirt road? And yet on this same trip we also played darts with 3 year olds and danced the merengue with middle-aged French and German women. We met several interesting people, climbed the Acropolis, decided museums are really not all that it's cracked up to be, and seriously, how many pots can you excavate and still be jazzed about some broken pottery?
Culture? Yes please, but only in moderation.
All in all, Greece was a hilarious experience and I think I'd definitely like to go back with a little bit more planning and a little less buffets. After we returned, my sister went around Germany a bit more and then headed back to the states to begin her residency program and unfortunately, the growing up/ moving on process. too bad. she was such a good kid.
pics:
Beautiful water. The girl is ok.
Theater of Dionysos
Athena's Temple!
Cool pillar thingies. and us blocking it.------
Strasbourg
So once there were a few punks in Malaysia. specifically, in Kuala Selangor. of this group, three happened to be in Europe at exactly the same time. this is the story of an unlikely reunion. Diego goes to school an 8 hour bus ride from Boston, yet this summer, he is interning in Strasbourg, less than 1.5 hours away from Freiburg. Essentially, we are closer in Europe than we were back home. Furthermore, Tian who was studying abroad a year in Cambridge was running amuck with her fam bam in Europe as well. Miraculously even with the lack of a cell phone (sprint sucks) and show-stopping cell growth (don't ask), this last-minute trip was pulled off by a trio of fuddy duddies who began the day with high energy levels and then crashed by 11:00.
Diego and Tian are two quite amazing people. You should get to know them. Let me help you.
Tian is super patient, super clumsy, and super sleepy...yet spazzy at the same time. how is that possible? i have no idea. she manages. She has a tiny cube, takes a gazillion pictures (though less than the rest of her family she claims), and is an unnecessary tickler.
Diego loves people taking pictures of him, he has a slightly larger than medium cube, he has an absurd amount of european history tucked underneath his belt, and is pretty much the best tour guide you could ever ask for.
oh sorry. this is supposed to be a travel blog.
So Strasbourg.
After the obligatory yelping around that always begin reunions among good friends, we enjoyed the largest gay parade in Europe.
We saw lots of people.
And we made new friends.
So many flags!
Goal!
Phew. massive dump there. This summer is definitely starting off to be a fun one. Peace out.
Strasbourg
So once there were a few punks in Malaysia. specifically, in Kuala Selangor. of this group, three happened to be in Europe at exactly the same time. this is the story of an unlikely reunion. Diego goes to school an 8 hour bus ride from Boston, yet this summer, he is interning in Strasbourg, less than 1.5 hours away from Freiburg. Essentially, we are closer in Europe than we were back home. Furthermore, Tian who was studying abroad a year in Cambridge was running amuck with her fam bam in Europe as well. Miraculously even with the lack of a cell phone (sprint sucks) and show-stopping cell growth (don't ask), this last-minute trip was pulled off by a trio of fuddy duddies who began the day with high energy levels and then crashed by 11:00.
Diego and Tian are two quite amazing people. You should get to know them. Let me help you.
Tian is super patient, super clumsy, and super sleepy...yet spazzy at the same time. how is that possible? i have no idea. she manages. She has a tiny cube, takes a gazillion pictures (though less than the rest of her family she claims), and is an unnecessary tickler.
Diego loves people taking pictures of him, he has a slightly larger than medium cube, he has an absurd amount of european history tucked underneath his belt, and is pretty much the best tour guide you could ever ask for.
oh sorry. this is supposed to be a travel blog.
So Strasbourg.
After the obligatory yelping around that always begin reunions among good friends, we enjoyed the largest gay parade in Europe.
We saw lots of people.
And we made new friends.In the middle of the parade, a man (which Diego claims to have had nipple piercings) was walking down the middle of the street, looked at me, and then left his group to walk straight at me to hand me a brochure advertising the infamous RubClub. (in actuality, another man had the piercings) Diego was jealous. This was either flattering (RubClub guys want me to hang w/ them!) or ego-busting (do i look like a gay guy?). In either case, this approach was much more welcome compared to later on when a couple of French women came up to me speaking in Chinese. 1) their chinese was better than mine. 2) they suggested converting to Christianity. (do I look like I need to be converted? I think the RubClub guys liked me just fine)
After more walking around, we climbed the famous cathedral! (392 steps?) We met an American couple who traveled all over the world (the woman was a dentist in the American navy). It's so inspiring and amazing how much they accomplished and how much the woman sincerely wants to work in healthcare and make a difference! It's really people like that who keep me excited about the path I'm heading on as well as show how down to earth they can be while still go on so many adventures even after graduating and starting the dreaded "real life"
At the top of the cathedral!
After more walking around, we climbed the famous cathedral! (392 steps?) We met an American couple who traveled all over the world (the woman was a dentist in the American navy). It's so inspiring and amazing how much they accomplished and how much the woman sincerely wants to work in healthcare and make a difference! It's really people like that who keep me excited about the path I'm heading on as well as show how down to earth they can be while still go on so many adventures even after graduating and starting the dreaded "real life"
At the top of the cathedral!After that, we also visited the European Parliment:
So many flags!By the end of walking around to all these places, we were all pooped (so old) and ready to call it a day. I headed back to Freiburg on the midnight express, and Diego and Tian headed back home.
Tian and her family also came to Freiburg the next day to chill w/ me (unfortunately after I gave them the wrong directions to Baden Baden the day before) and we went into the beautiful Black Forest going up a cable car thingy! Nature walks are fun. It was even more fun seeing Tian and her family taking a bajillion pictures. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera and I am now running out of steam for this section. poo.
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World Cup: Germany Vs. Australia
MIT is a little bit (and when i say a little bit, i mean a lot bit) apathetic about sporting events. In actuality, I think everywhere I've been to, no one has been really that ridiculously enthused about watching a team of sweaty people run around kicking or throwing any sort of bag of air. Germany is decidedly different.
Tonight I met up with several PHD students from my lab and from the lab next door to see my first ever soccer game....the first 2010 FIFA World Cup Germany game against Australia. Germans love their sports and it beats my high school's family fair by miles (or should I say kilometers?) In several parks around Freiburg, huge LCD screens were set up and hundreds upon hundreds of people poured onto the grace to watch Germany trounce Australia. Booths lined the perimeter and it is amusing to note that the beer booths greatly outnumbered the two food booths. In all honesty, I don't know anything about soccer and I really don't have that much interest in it. I came for the experience and this is what I learned:
1) it would be impossible to say what my favorite type of German is...but the drunk German easily makes top five.
2) i think in order to become a German citizen you not only need a healthy appetite for soccer, but you also need to learn all the cheers and songs they scream during soccer games
3) you would also need to know the rules of soccer and know when to boo/cheer
4) you might not like beer. you might not like drinking. but if you are surrounded by (drunk) germans watching soccer on a field you will drink and you will get drunk.
5) beer tastes better when mixed with sprite but it still sucks
I still don't know squat about soccer but screaming for Germany was still fun (4-0. ouch, Australia....ouch) However, regardless of the novelty, I still hate crowds and I still hate being enveloped in cigarette smoke. Thus going to another one of these public games is a big iffy probably not maybe. oh well.
ugh. worst than Disneyland
Check out Nele's fingernails!
Tian and her family also came to Freiburg the next day to chill w/ me (unfortunately after I gave them the wrong directions to Baden Baden the day before) and we went into the beautiful Black Forest going up a cable car thingy! Nature walks are fun. It was even more fun seeing Tian and her family taking a bajillion pictures. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera and I am now running out of steam for this section. poo.
----
World Cup: Germany Vs. Australia
MIT is a little bit (and when i say a little bit, i mean a lot bit) apathetic about sporting events. In actuality, I think everywhere I've been to, no one has been really that ridiculously enthused about watching a team of sweaty people run around kicking or throwing any sort of bag of air. Germany is decidedly different.
Tonight I met up with several PHD students from my lab and from the lab next door to see my first ever soccer game....the first 2010 FIFA World Cup Germany game against Australia. Germans love their sports and it beats my high school's family fair by miles (or should I say kilometers?) In several parks around Freiburg, huge LCD screens were set up and hundreds upon hundreds of people poured onto the grace to watch Germany trounce Australia. Booths lined the perimeter and it is amusing to note that the beer booths greatly outnumbered the two food booths. In all honesty, I don't know anything about soccer and I really don't have that much interest in it. I came for the experience and this is what I learned:
1) it would be impossible to say what my favorite type of German is...but the drunk German easily makes top five.
2) i think in order to become a German citizen you not only need a healthy appetite for soccer, but you also need to learn all the cheers and songs they scream during soccer games
3) you would also need to know the rules of soccer and know when to boo/cheer
4) you might not like beer. you might not like drinking. but if you are surrounded by (drunk) germans watching soccer on a field you will drink and you will get drunk.
5) beer tastes better when mixed with sprite but it still sucks
I still don't know squat about soccer but screaming for Germany was still fun (4-0. ouch, Australia....ouch) However, regardless of the novelty, I still hate crowds and I still hate being enveloped in cigarette smoke. Thus going to another one of these public games is a big iffy probably not maybe. oh well.
ugh. worst than Disneyland
Check out Nele's fingernails!
Goal!Phew. massive dump there. This summer is definitely starting off to be a fun one. Peace out.
