A Ramsey Reunion in Hamburg

The best part about not having class on Friday is I can frivolously waste my Thursday evening without feeling guilty that I have notes to review or homework to complete before tomorrow. So tonight I hid my to-do list, put away my books, and watched Sex and the City. After about an hour of rotting my brain out, I had an epiphany - what better way to spend my Thursday evening then by finally posting about my parent's trip to Hamburg...

Two weeks ago, my parents came to visit me in Hamburg. This was the first time my Mother had been trans-Atlantic, so I wanted to makes sure that it was a memorable visit. The first day they were here, I took them down to the harbor. My Dad is a sucker for large boats and ports, so I knew it would just tickle him to death. And sure enough, it was like watching a kid in a candy shop. Even though it was a cold and dreary day, I think everyone had fun. I even got my mom to eat fish and chips out of a paper cone with a tiny wooden fork! I considered this to be the first of many small food victories during their stay in Germany.

Dad, Mom, and me in front of the harbor

We spent the rest of the weekend visiting all my favorite places in Hamburg. I had such a great time showing them around downtown and allowing them to discover for themselves why I love Hamburg. Most of the places I took them I had been before, but we took a canal boat tour through the richest neighborhood in Hamburg which was a first for me. Did you know that Hamburg has more bridges then London, Amsterdam, and Venice combined? Who knew! Some of the wealthiest districts in Hamburg are only visible from the canals, and we were privy to a front row view. Seeing the fancy, waterfront properties made me fantasize about what it would be like to be a millionaire. I kept telling my parents that it's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as it is a poor man. My mother quickly chastised me before catching on to the fact that I was kidding.  The yummiest part of the weekend came when we toured a chocolate factory in Hamburg. Even though we had no idea what anyone was saying, the chocolate samples at the end of the tour made it worth our while. Too bad I spilt chocolate all down the front of my shirt. Apparently you can dress me up, but you can't take me anywhere. 

Inside the Rathaus

Mom & Dad in front of the Binnenalster.

Did you know that the 10th meridian east
runs straight through Hamburg? And yes, I
did crack a Where's Waldo joke while we
were standing on it.

On Saturday night I took my parents to the Reeperbahn. That's right, you read correctly - my parents partied in what's arguably Europe's best Red Light District. Not only did they drink with Kaitlyn, Daniela, and me, but Dad and I taught my mom how to do a tequila shot. The first stop of the night was our favorite 1 Euro tequila bar (where half naked women pole dance on the counter). After teaching my mom how to lick salt off her hand, shoot the tequila, and then follow it by biting a lemon, we watched her do not one...not two...but three shots of tequila! I have never been so proud of my mom! My Dad also did shots of tequila with us, but this is not so out of character for him. I was way more excited when he agreed to do a shot of Mexikaner with me (a traditional, spicy Hamburg shot made from tomatoes, chili peppers, clear liquor, and hot Mexican spices). 

Seconds after teaching my mom how to do a tequila shot...

Post tequila inside our favorite Irish pub

On Monday, I snapped back to reality and went to class. Meanwhile, my parents visited the quaint German town of Lüneburg in the morning and went to Miniature Wunderland that afternoon. All of my classes were randomly canceled on Tuesday because of a campus-wide lecture series. So, we hoped on a train and traveled two hours east to Schwerin, an old German town. What makes Schwerin super cool is the fact that it has a castle! The castle was stunning both inside and out. The gardens were immaculate, and the rooms of the castle were elegant and romantic. Every room looked like it was taken from a movie. I couldn't imagine actually living in a place like that. It must get lonely - I bet you could walk in and out of 20 rooms before seeing another living soul. I was a bit worried when we started the tour because one entire wing of the castle was filled with these creepy porcelain statues and bowls. But luckily the second half of the tour included viewing the ornately decorated rooms of the living quarters. 

Schwerin Castle with the gardens in the foreground. The
castle is beautifully situated on an island surrounded by
seven lakes. 

On Wednesday, I took my parents to the Neuengamme Concentration Camp located about 30 minutes outside Hamburg. What should have been an extremely depressing morning at the camp was completely overshadowed by a mortifying bus ride. It turns out that an entire class of 5th or 6th graders were taking the same bus as us. In general, I'm not a huge fan of large masses of children. I find them to be rather obnoxious when they're all grouped together. Come to find out, German school children are a whole lot more brazen then the kids I went to elementary school with. We're on the bus heading to the camp, and this bratty little boy asks me in English: "Do you speak English?" I respond, in English, "No, I don't speak English." Well, my sarcastic joke went right over his dumb, pin brain head. As the bus ride continued, this brat begins to say rude things and make rude gestures towards me, including but not limited to singing "I'm sexy and I know it" and making kissing noises. Meanwhile, his horny little friend sitting behind me chimes in with "ow oww" noises and flipping his tongue out at me. At one point, he makes the wildly rude hand gesture mimicking a penis going into a vagina. I'm ready to give these kids a piece of my mind, but my parents keep telling me to stay cool and be nice to them. I'm getting verbally harassed by 5th graders, and they're telling me to stay calm! Thankfully the brats got off about 20 minutes before we did, so I had some time to vent and rant before arriving at the camp. When we got to the camp, we found that many of the original buildings had been torn down after the war. Just like Dachau, pebble-filled plots marked where the  buildings used to stand. Even though the original buildings were gone, you could just tell that the place reeked of sorrow, pain, and suffering. A large museum was created in one of the main buildings. It had everything from personal memoirs, to old stripped uniforms, to images depicting the cruelty of the camp. This is now the second time I've visited a concentration camp, and I can say with utmost certainty that it will be my last. I do not have the stomach to return to another camp before leaving Germany. 

Part of Neuengamme Concentration Camp

For their last day in Hamburg, my parents climbed to the top of St. Michaelis and experienced the breathtaking, birds-eye view of the city. I thought this would be a cool way to end their trip - looking down on the city they just spent seven days exploring. That evening, I took them to the DOM - a large fair that comes to Hamburg four times a year. It's hard to explain the enormity of the DOM. It's like an American carnival on steroids. There are tons of rides, endless food stands, and a large three drop, five loop roller coaster. It's definitely one hell of an experience.

Ok, so here's the deal. No summary of a Ramsey family adventure would be completely without a mention of the food consumed during the trip. So here you have it - we ate, and ate, and ate all the amazing food that Hamburg has to offer. We had German food, Italian food, Portugese food, seafood, pastries, pretzels - you name it, we ate it. The great thing about Hamburg is that it's a really international city. Not only are the people diverse, but the food choices are as well. In fact, it's really hard to find traditional brauts and sauerkraut in restaurants. This is due to the fact that what most people consider traditional German food is actually food from south Germany, or Bavaria. Instead, the traditional food of Hamburg is seafood. Either way, I was sure to give my parents an all around delectable dining experience. And I have to say, I actually had one of the best meals of my life that week. There's this little seafood restaurant near my old language school that only serves one meal each day. You just show up and order the meal, regardless of what it is. Well, the day we went they were serving this potato, sauerkraut, salmon dish in a white, butter cream sauce. Let.me.tell.you. This was easily the best seafood I've ever had. It makes me drool just thinking about it. 

World's best seafood meal

As a final aside, trying to teach my parents how to say basic German words was hilarious. I love them, but I now understand why I'm so bad at learning foreign languages. Rather then trying to explain it, I'll leave it up to Phoebe and Joey:

http://youtu.be/DqwzvtjeYBQ

Tschüss!

Back to Reality

"Summer Break" is officially over and my classes at the Universität Hamburg have finally started. After three months of going to German language class every day, it's weird to wake up and know that I have to study something other then German. My study abroad is officially through the Meteorology Department, but the majority of my classes are from the Integrated Climate System Sciences program at the University. The degree I'm taking classes from is mandated to be taught in English, so while Kaitlyn and Daniela sweat bullets over learning in German, I get to listen to all my lectures in English. I guess being a Master's student has some perks after all...

My classes are all really neat, but my brain is completely overwhelmed. I'm taking 3 science classes, 1 modeling class, 1 economics class, and 2 policy classes. I've been studying pure science for so long that I think my brain has forgotten how to process something that is not physics or math based. All my classes seem pretty doable, although I'm a bit worried about my economics class. I've never taken economics before, so I have absolutely no background on the basic concepts. We'll see how that works out for me...

There are definitely similarities between classes in the US and Germany, but the differences were way more noticeable. First of all, classes in the university only meet once a week. Back in Oklahoma, most classes meet 2 to 3 times a week, so I kept feeling like I was skipping class even though I wasn't. Another major difference is that students knock on the desk at the end of each lecture. Apparently it's meant to symbolize that they've enjoyed the lecture. When it first happened, I had no idea what was going on. I just kind of followed suit and awkwardly knocked on my desk. I still feel really silly doing it, but I suppose it's a custom I'll get used to overtime.

Unrelated to school, I moved into my new room last week. Our lease expired on March 31st, and the three of us moved to new student dormitories closer to the university. Daniela and Kaitlyn were placed in the same dormitory, but I was placed in one about 25 minutes away. It's really lonely knowing that they're no longer one floor away! It's definitely been a change, but I'm sure I'll adjust soon. Before the move I lived in a 4 bed apartment, but now I live on a hall with 8 other people. I feel like I've been thrown back to my freshman year of college!! Everyone on my hall is super friendly though. They were all really welcoming and immediately made me feel at home. The people on my hall are also really diverse. A few of them are not from Germany but rather are here as Erasmus (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) students. It's been neat meeting other study abroad students who are in a simliar situation to me.

I was a little worried about my new dorm because I had heard rumors that it was the "party dorm." But, I was pleasantly surprised when I got here. Sure there's a large bar in the dorm, but it's really not that bad. It's super quiet during the week, and it only gets rowdy on the weekend. I went to the bar on Friday with a few of my new roommates, and it was super crazy! The bar is two stories tall, has a large dance floor, and a room for playing pool and table hockey.

I think that's all for now. This past week was wicked low key - I just caught up on sleep, went to class, and settled into my new place. Until next time...

Tschüss!

Italian Food Hangover

Destination: Verona and Milan

Ryan Air: a budget airline that flies you all over Europe for really cheap. The catch: They are freakishly stingy with their carry on baggage requirements. You are only allowed one carry on, and it must be less then 20 cm wide. We were in the middle of an eight day trip that included hiking in the Alps and swimming in the Mediterranean. There was no way our backpacks were less then 20 cm wide, especially once we shoved our purses into them. The fee to check a bag was somewhat outrageous, so rather then paying we decided to "beat the system" by wearing as many clothes as necessary until our bags fit within the limit. By the time we were done, I was wearing nine shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, and winter boots...and oh yeah, I had toiletries hidden in my water bottle which was shoved down the sleeve of my coat. Keep in mind that it's over 70 degrees outside and we're about to fly into one of the most fashionable cities in Europe. We looked absolutely ridiculous, and you can bet your bottom dollar that as soon as we made it to the connecting bus in Milan we were stripping everything off. The ironic part about the whole affair is that when I got to the gate, the attendant told me she liked my shirt...are you kidding me?!

9 shirts, 2 pants, a scarf, and a sweatshirt. We're bringing
sexy back.

Our hostel in Milan was easily one of the weirdest places I've stayed at. We get there, and the woman behind the desk immediately reminded me of Mrs. Meers from Thoroughly Modern Millie. She took our passports and told us to make ourselves comfortable upstairs. We then, for all intensive purposes, got thrown out of her office and told to come back in 10 minutes. So we went upstairs and found that our room was once again open to the outside world - there were no locks. Now, I was fine with this concept in Switzerland, but it's significantly stranger to be in the middle of the city and have no locks. After checking in, we went to the local pizzeria downstairs for dinner. It turns out that the pizzeria was owned by an Asian family, so our first meal in Italy was Asian-inspired Italian pizza. Our dinner was made even more enjoyable because we got to watch a prostitute stand on the corner and turn down three different men. She must have been expensive!

On Tuesday, we traveled two hours east of Milan to the town of Verona. Francesca, a really good friend from our German language class, met us there for the day. Verona was a really cute town. It had a good mix of traditional and modern Italian architecture. The most famous building in  Verona is the Arena Di Verona. They were setting up for a concert while we were there, and it was really cool to see how something so old and historic can still be so practical in the modern world. As we were walking by the Arena, Francesca warned us to stay away from the Romans because they would try and get you to take pictures with them. As soon as she said this a Roman came over and started hugging me and walking with me. It must have been fate!

Francesca, Kaitlyn, and me in Verona

Unwanted attention from a random Roman man

Arena Di Verona - built in AD 30 this arena started as a theater.
Today, it is still used as a venue for concerts and operas. 

Inside the Arena Di Verona. They were setting up for a concert,
so we just sat there for a while taking pictures.

The other major tourist attraction in Verona is Juliet's house from Romeo and Juliet. The house itself has nothing to do with Shakespeare's make believe characters, but it's still fun to go and take pictures of the balcony. There is this statue of Juliet outside the house, and they say good luck will come to anyone who touches her right breast. Poor Juliet is basically raped all day every day... You can also write letters to Juliet asking her for love advice, so on the train ride to Verona, Kaitlyn and I both composed our letters. It was kind of silly but fun none the less. I assumed that the letters would be thrown out at the end of the day, but apparently a bunch of volunteers in the Juliet Club respond to them. I almost wish I put my address on the letter just to see what kind of response I would have gotten!

Touching Juilet's breast in the hopes of getting good luck. 

The famous balcony from Romeo and Juliet.

Getting ready to mail my letter to Juliet.

When you think of Italy, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? For me it's the food - pasta, pizza, cannolis, gelato, wine, etc. Kaitlyn and I both made sure to get our fill of Italian food while in Verona. I'm too embarrassed to admit how much I ate that day, but let's just say we really enjoyed ourselves. In summary: Florence has the best pizza, Verona has the best pasta, and Barcelona (surprisingly) has the best gelato. The uncontested food winner of the day came from a local pastry shop. I went into this small bakery just outside the town square, and I might have tried one or two or three or four (or more) pastries... I struck gold with the last one. I have no idea what it was called, but it was this flaky pastry filled with chocolate cream and topped with a hard chocolate glaze. It was seriously the most amazing pastry I've ever tasted. It was so good that I may have lost control of myself for a moment. Hopefully Kaitlyn isn't permanently scarred...I guess we're even now after the whole Barcelona hostel stripping incident.

Enjoying the most amazing pastry ever.

Even though I'm allergic, I couldn't go to
Italy and not have a glass of wine.

I'm generally not a big fan of cannolis, but this one was
actually really good. It easily surpassed the ones served at
Mike's Pastry Shop in the North End.

Kaitlyn and I were both in a food coma by 5 pm. Unfortunately our train back to Milan wasn't until 8 pm so we just kind of meandered around Verona until we finally collapsed on a park bench. We ended up entertaining ourselves by having a mini photo shoot in the park for an hour. We struck gold with the photo below - I have never seen a picture that so accurately captures the personality of everyone involved.

Favorite shot from the shoot

Showing off our pearly whites.

On Friday, we walked around Milan for a few hours before catching our flight back to Hamburg. Honestly, we didn't see much of Milan. After eight days of traveling and sightseeing we were pretty burnt out. We went and saw the Duomo (Catholic Church) and Castello Sforzesco, but other then that we really didn't see much. Surprisingly, the 10 minutes we spent at the Duomo were probably the most stressful 10 minutes of the entire trip. We stepped out of the subway station and were immediately bombarded by gypsies trying to sell us braided bracelets and corn kernels to feed the birds. It was unreal. I thought the gypsies in Barcelona were bad...apparently I had never experienced gypsies from Milan before. They kept draping their weird braided bracelets across my arm and shoving kernels in our face. We seriously could not get away from them. They just kept following up and attacking us. It was so bad that our only option was to seek shelter in the church (I never thought I'd utter those words). After that, we spent the rest of the day eating Italian food. I'm fairly certain I gained 5lbs during my time in Italy. I've been going through massive food withdrawals since I got back to Hamburg. It's amazing how a normal amount of food no longer satisfies me and my stretched out belly!

Duomo of Milan - we ended up going inside to escape the
Gypsies roaming around the square.

Shopping in Milan: Prada on one side. Louis Vuitton on
the other. Those are my two favorite stores to shop in! ;)

Castello Sforzesco - the "castle" actually looked more like
a fort.

We flew Ryan Air back to Hamburg, but this time we were under the influence of a nasty food coma, so we couldn't care less about the bag restrictions. We packed our bags as tightly as possible and just hoped for the best. Thankfully, the guys in front of us tried to get these massive tennis bags on the plane, and they ended up annoying the gate attendant so bad that by the time we got to her she was too flustered to care. I'm not even sure she looked at our bags. My sincerest thanks to those two men for trying to carry on enormous bags. You saved us each 40 Euro!

Well folks, that just about wraps up our eight day "Last Hurrah" trip. We had an amazing time, but I think both of us were excited to get back to Hamburg. In the word's of Dorothy: "There's no place like home."

Tschüss!

Girly drinks in Barcelona

Destination: Barcelona

After our amazing experience in Switzerland, Kaitlyn and I were both flying high when we finally got to Barcelona on Sunday night. This excitement quickly ended when we realized we had no idea how to get to our hostel. Luckily these two American exchange students overheard us talking and offered to help. Thanks to them, our trip from the airport to the hostel went from potentially catastrophic to somewhat orderly (relatively speaking). When we got to our hostel, we discovered that they put us in a 2 bed room instead of the 4 bed dorm we paid for - lucky, right? The only problem was that the AC didn't work so it was super hot and stuffy. This was apparently a huge problem for Kaitlyn....(Background: we were way overdressed for the warm Spanish weather, and we had just walked over a mile from the airport drop off point.) We weren't in the room for more then two seconds when all of a sudden Kaitlyn started frantically throwing things off her body. First her bag. Then her boots. Then her clothes. I just stood there completely dumbfounded because she gave me no warning whatsoever. Plus, she looked like a complete maniac so it was hard to look away. It's like when you pass a car accident on the highway - you know you shouldn't look but you can't help it! Anyways, that little "incident" left us giggling for hours.

Our hostel was in a really cool part of town. It was right off of La Rambla (a famous street in Barcelona) in a hip Plaza filled with restaurants and bars. The best part about the Plaza was that it contained this awesome tapas and cocktail bar with the most amazing girlie drinks. Something about being in Barcelona made us really want fruity frozen drinks. Hands down the best girly drink of the evening was the frozen Passion Fruit Daiquiri....cue the drooling...

Someone wrote a love letter to me on the bottom of my bunk.

Beach Town = Girly Drinks

Plaza Reial - a prime location for our hostel

We spent most of Monday walking around the city getting a feel for Spanish life and Spanish culture. There were a few famous sights we wanted to see, so we made a point to walk by those. The one downside to visiting Barcelona during the week is the fact that there were school field trips everywhere. A new pet peeve of mine is screaming children who stand in masses blocking the road so you can't pass. We have a really good friend who grew up in Barcelona, and she recommended we meander around Barri Gotic and Born, two historic districts in downtown Barcelona. We took her word for it and got intentionally lost in the intricate maze of alleyways. It was really fun to just walk down a street having no idea what you would find at the other end.

There was a ridiculous number of mopeds in
Barcelona.

Gaudí, a famous designer from Barcelona,
designed a bunch of odd looking houses
throughout the city. These are just two examples.

There were a lot of fountains and tree lined streets in the
city center.

Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sangrada Família - a large
church that was designed by Gaudí. Construction on this
church began in 1882. It is projected to be finished by 2026.
This church is a source of contention among the artistic
community in Barcelona because many feel it no longer
reflects Gaudí's original vision. Rather, they feel it is
now being built as a tourist attraction.

We had to visit a bullfighting ring while in Spain...

Barcelona Beach

A typical street in Barcelona

One of the many alleyways we explored

Hands down the best part about Monday was eating paella at a legit Catalunya restaurant near the beach. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made from rice and seafood. It was fantastic! As an added bonus, I got to shell shrimp for the first time in my life. I have to admit, having the shrimp's black beady eyes staring up at me while I was doing it made me feel like a horrible person. But no worries, I powered through the emotional pain and relished in my victory ;). Keeping with our desire to experience Spanish culture, we returned to our hostel after lunch for a siesta, or afternoon nap. Perhaps it wasn't a true siesta since we spent most of the time having girl talk, but it's still fun to say I partook in the Spanish tradition of napping.

Amazing, delicious, out of this world Paella

Like I mentioned in my blog about Switzerland, Barcelona was Kaitlyn's city of choice. Thus, she had a lot of control over what we did during our visit. Before we left Hamburg, she found something called "Nasty Mondays" online. The only thing she could tell me was that it took place at a random club in downtown Barcelona. Reluctantly, I promised her we could go. Well, Monday night rolled around and we decided to go to a bar before tackling Nasty Mondays. We ended up meeting these people from Germany, so while Kaitlyn pre-gamed off cheap drinks from the friendly bartender, I practiced my German. Good deal, yeah? I've gotten really good at telling people: "Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch." A few cheap tequila shots later we finally make it to Nasty Mondays. It turned out to be this really big club with everything from house to rock to indie to garage music. I honestly wasn't a huge fan, but Kaitlyn was having such a blast that I let her do her thing. On the way home, we kept getting berated by gypsies trying to sell us these red cans filled with an unknown substance - I was convinced that it was Coke, but Kaitlyn thought it was beer. Regardless of what these cans contained, it was super annoying. Every 10 steps another gypsy would approach us trying to sell us beverages. I finally just told them to bugger off.

On Tuesday, Kaitlyn decided that she wanted to go to a nude beach. So, we hoped on the subway and headed north of the city. When we got there we were greeted by a sea of really old, droopy men. Needless to say, we booked it out of there asap and headed to the beach just to its south. Both of us were somewhat disappointed with the beach. It was kind of dirty, and the sand was really uncomfortable. It wasn't the soft, silky sand that you might expect. Rather, it was more of a mixture between sand and rock. Either way, we sat on the beach basking in the sun for a few hours before going on a hunt for more seafood. One positive thing that came out of our beach day was I finally got to put my toes in the Mediterranean Sea. Even though the water instantly numbed my feet and legs, I can check "wading in the Mediterranean" off my bucket list.

A beach just to the north of downtown Barcelona

On Tuesday night, Kaitlyn and I met up with some friends from Hamburg who were also visiting Barcelona. We went out to eat, visited the Magic Fountain, and then finished the night at our our favorite frozen cocktail bar. Funny story about Tuesday night: we were sitting on the steps behind the Magic Fountain when this gypsy (carrying the mysterious red cans) came up to us and started saying things in Catalan. After about a minute of confusion we realized that he was trying to tell Kaitlyn to keep her clutch in her lap. Apparently, pickpocketing is a huge problem in Barcelona, and he was warning her that she was an easy target. How nice of him! He started to walk away, but about 2 minutes later, we saw him bolt back up the stairs with the red cans hidden under his coat. Behind him were two cops on motorcycles. The cops passed him but stopped his fellow gypsy friends. He then hid the red cans in the bushes and took off. Apparently, it's illegal for gypsies to sell things, so he was basically running from the cops. After the cops left, he came back and started looking for his red cans. Ironically, he couldn't remember which bush he put them under! So, being the kind folk that we are, we directed him to his cans.

The Magic Fountain in the foreground with the National
Museum of Art of Catalunya in the background. The Magic
Fountain combines color, light, and music in a water show.
I'm guessing it's similar to the fountain at The Mirage.

Our friends from Hamburg

Kaitlyn and me in front of the Magic Fountain

Wednesday was a complete bust - 100% fail on our part. We decided that for our last day in Spain we would go to Montjuïc, a large hill just outside Barcelona that is home to Anella Olímpica (the Olympic Ring from the 1992 Olympics), large botanical gardens, and Castell de Montijuïc. We took a cable car up to the Olympic Ring, and when we got inside we found ourselves staring at a large, boring stadium. I think I was more impressed the first time I walked into OU's football stadium then I was seing the Anella Olímpica. We then tried to walk around the gardens and up to the top of the hill, but we couldn't find the entrance. We seriously walked around the perimeter for at least 30 minutes, but it was completely blocked off on our side. We finally found a cable car that would take us directly to the Castell de Montijuïc, so we decided to take the easy way out and ride to the top. Well, we finally got there and I could not figure out how to get into the damn Castle. After about 30 minutes of failed attempts I was hot, frustrated, and ridiculously annoyed with yet another group of screaming school children. So, completely discouraged and about to pull my hair out, Kaitlyn decided that it was time to get me away from Montjuïc...probably a good idea in hindsight. It was a dismal end to our time in Barcelona, but at least we can look back fondly on Monday and Tuesday. Tschüss!

Hiking & Paragliding in the Swiss Alps

Background: 

Last week, Kaitlyn and I went on an eight day trip in western Europe. We visited the Swiss Alps, Barcelona, Verona, and Milan. We each chose a destination (my pick for the week was Switzerland and hers was Barcelona) and then decided the third place (Italy) together.

Destination: Switzerland

Sorry boys, but Switzerland has officially stolen my heart. I have now been to thirteen different cities and towns across Europe, and Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland is the first place I have liked more then Hamburg. It was love at first sight. This small, quaint town in the heart of the Alps looks like it was cut out of a magazine. There are only four restaurants, and the town is surrounded by towering cliffs and snowcapped mountains. The valley it sits in boasts 72 breathtaking waterfalls that seem to magically appear out of the cliff's facade. One of the most famous waterfalls, Staubbach Falls, sits just outside Lauterbrunnen. So, not only do you have gorgeous mountain views, but also get to gaze up at this towering waterfall from town. 

View of Staubbach Falls and the snow capped mountains
from the village of Lauterbrunnen.

Alternative view of the waterfall and mountains.

Staubbach Falls - the amount of water in the
falls varies based upon snow melt and rainfall

On Friday, Kaitlyn and I explored a small gravel road
that led out of town. The road was lined with large
open fields, rundown barns, and small farm houses.

We stayed at this super quaint, wood-paneled hostel, which was more like a camp ground for backpackers and hikers. Example 1: we had to walk outside to use the bathroom. Example 2: three minutes of hot water cost 0.50 Frank. People had warned us that Switzerland was an extremely expensive country, so we opted for the cheaper 16 bed dorm option. We seriously lucked out and had the entire place to ourselves both nights. (No joke: Switzerland is crazy expensive. A personal sized pizza from the local restaurant cost more then a night in our hostel.) Lauterbrunnen is such a small town that no one locks their doors, so our bedroom was wide open to the outside world. This didn't bother me, but Kaitlyn was definitely not accustomed to being in such a rural setting. The first night we were there, she was completely freaked out that a bear might come in and eat us during the night.

During our Friday afternoon exploration of Lauterbrunnen Valley, we saw a bunch of paragliders over the mountains. Kaitlyn and I are both extremely adventurous souls - aka our first thought was "How cool would that be?!" So, Saturday morning before beginning our hike, we walked into a local coffee shop and booked a paragliding trip for later that afternoon. Rather then hiking up and down the mountain, we would hike up and then paraglide down. Sounds like a good plan to me!!!

When we reached the starting location of our hike, we were greeted with a surprising amount of snow. In some places, the snow banks were double my height. The trail we had chosen to hike cut through open fields as well as dense forests. All along the way we were overwhelmed with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. The most famous mountain peak in the area is Jungfrau, which boasts the highest railroad in the world. Some parts of the trail were already down to bare mud while other parts were snow covered and slippery. Our hike ended in the small, rural town of Murren. This town is very unique because it is completely car free. The only "cars" you will see in the town are small vehicles used to transport luggage from the train station.

Our hiking trail

Breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain peaks

I was seriously obsessed with all the snow

We found this really cool mountain stream
that formed a meandering path through the snow.

After lunch we met up with our paragliding guides. They were super easy to spot because of the enormous 30kg packs on their back. Beni, my tandem partner, was a native to the area. He told me that as a kid he used ski to school - how random and cool is that? After a short ride up the ski lift and a somewhat treacherous climb through 18" of powdery snow down the side of the mountain, we finally reached our takeoff location. The guys went about their business opening up the glider while Kaitlyn and I stood their awkwardly asking questions about how it was all going to work. Surprisingly, I never felt nervous or anxious. I was just a bundle of excitement and adrenaline. The glider was huge. It was like a massive sheet with tons of strings attached to it. At the base of the strings was the harness. I was strapped into the front, and Beni was strapped behind me. In order to take off, we literally started running together down the side of the mountain towards this super steep drop-off. I was running on solid ground, and then all of a sudden there was nothing beneath my feet. It was such a strange feeling because I didn't even feel the glider pick us up - the transition was unexpectedly smooth. After take off, I just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the ride! You can check out one of the videos at: http://youtu.be/enRivG0Taz0

Beni and me seconds after take off!

Look at how high we are! 

Flying conditions were ideal, so what should have been a 25 minute flight turned into a 40 minute adventure. Immediately after taking flight, we caught a ride on an upward thermal (shout out to meteorology!). We ended up at the same altitude as Shilthorn Mountain (2970m or 9744ft) which is the sight of the panoramic restaurant featured in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. For 40 minutes I got to experience awe inspiring 360 degree views of nearby mountain tops and far away valleys. Even Beni was in awe over the view - according to him days like that only come around once in a Blue Moon. Towards the end of the flight, Beni did some spinning acrobatics with me. Now, I can go up and down all day long, but as soon as you put me on the tea cups I get sick. So, as soon as he started spinning me around in circles, I knew it was over. I had to get down otherwise I was seriously going to be ill. The ironic thing was, earlier in the flight I asked him how often people got sick, and he said on average 1 out of every 100 people throw up on him. I refused to be that person!! Thankfully he got us down pretty quickly, so no harm, no foul. The experience was absolutely amazing. It will definitely be something I never forget. Only a small fraction of people have ever seen what I saw from the perspective I saw it. I have a hard time believing anything will ever top it...except perhaps sky diving...

Look at me go - no hands!

Beni and me with Kaitlyn in the background

That's right...he actually trusted me to
fly it! 

On Sunday morning, Kaitlyn and I reluctantly checked out of our hostel and headed back to the airport. On the way, we made a pit stop in Interlaken, which is a super touristy town about 20 minutes north of Lauterbrunnen. The town was nice, but you could definitely tell that its entire goal was to cater to tourists' needs. It was a far cry from the rural, secluded atmosphere of Lauterbrunnen. I could not be more pleased with our trip, and I can say with utmost certainty that I will one day return to the Swiss Alps. Tschüss!

Side Note:

1. Swiss chocolate is absolutely, positively amazing. It seriously lives up to all the hype. If you ever go to Switzerland, skip the food and just eat chocolate...it's.so.worth.it.
2. The weather was amazing. So amazing that I managed to get a pretty nasty burn while hiking. Temperatures were in the 60s and the skies were bright blue. I couldn't have dreamed of better weather. Seriously, Kaitlyn and I have the best luck with weather while traveling. With the exception of the extreme cold in Prague and the snow at Neuschwanstein, we've had amazing weather for all of our trips.