Sunday, September 16, 2012

Arriving in Germany!

Day ???/One:

 Ashley and I arrived to the Chicago Airport via my wonderful Mom. We took the airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and they were fantastic. They always made sure we were well fed, well watered, and overall well satisfied. Our seats had their own built-in entertainment system with the screens right in front of us (they even gave us headphones to listen with!) . The second flight was also through KLM but only lasted an hour. At noon we arrived to our final destination: Hamburg, Germany.




         Benny was very kind to pick us up from the airport and let us crash at his place for the weekend. When he picked us up he toured us around Hamburg for a little while. We didn't do much in Hamburg, just walked around and grabbed coffee. But it was a very beautiful and refreshing walk.

                                         Benny and I in front of a harbor view of Hamburg.

After a few hours we left for Bremen to grab some food. And our choice of our first meal in Germany? A Turkish dish called "Rollos" which were basically a pita wrap around cucumber sauce, a tomato sauce, lamb meat, veggies, and cabbage. It was soooooo good! After this we just went to Benny's where we played FIFA, ate junk food, drank beer, and slept (picture at right). What a good night!

Day two:
                                                                                                               
A tour around Bremen! Benny took us to the stadtmarkt, which is like a farmers market. There were so much fresh and delicious looking fruit! I wanted to buy it all! We just walked around, took pictures, and really enjoyed ourselves. (We also got cell phones! #overseascommunications!)

For lunch/dinner we had currywurst from this chic restaurant where you can add spice to your dish! If you haven't had currywurst before it is just bratwurst with a topping sauce made of ketchup and curry sauce. It is very delicious. At this restaurant I had a spice level of 3 of 41 (after level 10 they make you sign a waiver that if you pass out from the heat that they WILL call you an ambulance and YOU will have to pay for everything) at level 3 it was spicy enough to give me the sniffles!
                                    
  Below: "The Bar Street" at night

  

Above: Dome of Bremen (S'Petri Dom). 

At night we went around to the different pubs/bars. The first one was this street along the river just lined with bar after bar after bar. Each bar had outside seating where they had to have different colored tables, chairs, and awnings because they are so close to each other (some chairs end up and different tables). But you just go with your friends, sit around the table, and enjoy a beer. It was a very relaxing set up. From there Benny's friend Fabien joined us and we went to a little micro brewery with good beer. We didn't stay long because it was loud and crowded, also, Benny wanted us to go across the street to an old bar to take this shot called an "Oil Lamp".... SO FREAKING GROSS!!!!! It tastes JUST like oil lamp! Gross! Luckily I nabbed some free tic tac handouts earlier and was able to get rid of the taste. Benny says the shot was a part of the "ultimate Bremen experience" (blah, blah, blah, gross... ). After the shock of the shot we bounced around bars and nightclubs until 3am. Then we just went home cause we were tired. (Duh.)


The stadtmarkt in Bremen

 So, our Travel tips?:

1. Get a money purse for the flight and keep your passport, air line tickets, money, phone, head phones, etc. It comes in handy and it makes the security and flight a lot easier and more safe!

2. Review your airline before you book the flight. This way you are able to see how decent they are with service, luggage, and flight time. That is how we decided (and loved) KLM.

3. When in Europe: DO NOT stir the foam into your cappuccino. You keep it the way they give it to you unless you want to add sugar, then you put the sugar onto your spoon and slowly dip it into the coffee. Then you stir underneath the foam and bring out the spoon in the same spot you lowered it.

4. At night it is O.K. if men wear glitter, it does not mean they are gay! It is just remnants of a techno club they partied at. XD


                                                Ashley and I found the Bremen musicians!

TSCHUSS!! :)  ~ Emily

1 comment: