Germany in Seven Days

Even thought I may have the title of my blog as "German Excursion", I hadn't truly had the "adventure" part yet, that is until about a week ago. I had a wonderful week long road trip with my roommate from college! She flew the 4,000+ miles to partake on a very crazy idea that we planned in the span of only about two months, our plan to visit the majority of the big cities of Germany

in seven days.

When it came to planning, we hadn't much time at all because this was her Spring break from college and it was coming up fast. Luckily, I had just finished up all the planning for my trip to London back in January and was getting ready to leave for that just as we began to plan. It was great how that turned out because all of the information for hostels and finding a good game plan for getting around cities was still fresh in my head. I cannot stress enough the fact that this trip was never truly planned full force. We knew what cities we wanted to go to, the dates that we would travel to them on, and where we would be staying each night, but there was never actually more than that and even that plan changed. 

Frankfurt

Bad Kreuznach

Heidelberg

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Munich

Ingolstadt (spur of the moment addition)

Bayreuth (another spur of the moment)

Dresden

Leipzig

Berlin

Hamburg

Osnabrück

Cologne

Koblenz

Bingen am Rhein (once at the front of the trip and then we ended there as well.)

The above photo is from the roadtrippers.com website. I found it to be very helpful in the long run of planning how much money we would need for gas, total hours we would spend on the road, and how many total miles we would be driving. (The website calculates it for you! There are also options to find accommodations, entertainment, food, etc. along the way of your trip.) Roadtrippers.com also has a app for smart phones. One thing I love about the age we live in now is how much technology make planning something easier, however, I am still horrible at working the technology in the first place.

Market in Munich

My budget for this trip was about €260. That budget covered my hostels, food, gas, and extra things on the side. I was at a bit of an advantage because I have been living with euros and working with its wonderful system for just over half a year now, so it made staying within this budget a bit more easy. Now, I did mention gas in the budget. We drove this whole trip. We took some trains but only to make getting around Berlin a lot quicker, but it does mean that I have to add one more section to the budget: paying for parking. Parking in big cities when you can find a good parking garage is not too bad. Our parking payments from the whole trip ranged from about €10-€2, minus the €15 parking ticket from the lovely police in Dresden. Lacey and I tried to split the cost of parking and gas. It didn't come out even of course, but how could it. One of us would just make up for it with buying the other food or whatnot. As far as food goes, we took some things with us so that if we got hungry while driving, then we had it with us; PB&J kit, oranges, apples, bananas, and some chocolate. We also ran into some pretty neat
little morning markets where we got our breakfast sometimes.

Jaegers Hostel Munich

Accommodations: two hostels and three host families. Our two hostels were in Munich and Dresden, and the host families were mine on the fist and last nights, and a family whom Lacey knew in Berlin and another family whom I know in Onsabrück. It is always fun to stay with a host family when it comes to traveling because they have all the information that you want about the place that you are visiting and some. Our host family in Berlin provided us with so many maps and books on Berlin that I though I was going to have to empty out my backpack just to be able to take them with us into the city. (We ended up only taking one map and a lonely planet book on Berlin.) They also told us great places where we could find lunch, made dinner reservations for us, bought us tickets to a musical, got us in for a tour in the Reichstag building, and bought our train passes for the day.

Our host family in Berlin welcomed us very well.

Overall, even though Berlin was killer when in came to walking for the whole day, it was the best experience I had on the trip when it came to the city. Needless to say, if you've got friends in other countries, do not be afraid to contact them and say "let's meet up." Also, in hostels, don't be afraid to talk to other people! It's how you not only make connections, but friends as well.

If you recall in my posts from London, I made some friends. One of them was from Czech and actually met up with Lacey and I to give us a small tour of his favourite spots in Dresden.

Packing: I really decided to buckle down with this trip because of how many places we were visiting, and the fact that when I went into someones house, I did not want to have to bring in a ton of stuff! I stuck to my 25L backpack and went with a colour scheme of neutrals. 

In my backpack:

1 pair of dark red skinny jeans

1 pair dark wash jeans (as backup, I never actually wore them)

1 red dress (I use this a lot because it can also be made into a cute skirt)

1 pair grey leggings

1 pair black short leggings (to sleep in)

1 pair black shorts (to sleep in, I get hot easily)

grey v-neck tee

grey long sleeve tee

dark grey tank

nicer white tank

blue jean button up shirt

grey and blue stripped cardigan

toiletries

socks

underwear

*On a side note I would like to say that I had made a list of things to check off while putting them into my backpack. I was, however, doing laundry while putting things into my backpack and forgot some things. 

On this trip, in the beginning of March, I would like to say the things that went wrong. Number one being that I forgot to bring both my jacket and my scarf with me on the trip. I had them in my hands and then sat them down to take something else to the car, started talking to my host father, ate breakfast and then left without them. I did not realise this until we were already in out first city and an hour from the house. I had to decide if I wanted to brace the sort of nice mornings with cold breezes or buy a new jacket/sweater. I chose sweater because I've already got enough jackets to dehydrate and Eskimo. The other that I forgot were my two bras. I always travel with three bras (one nude, one black, and one sport), that is where the earlier comment of forgetting things in the laundry comes into play. It was still a great trip nonetheless!

Another something that is great to do while traveling with friends is to have one thing that you have to do in every city. In this case it was Lacey breaking me out of my "I hate taking touristy photos" mist that I was in. We decided to take photos of the two of us with things that we truly thought would not only be fun, but also some of the big monuments. Long story short, we took a ton of selfies....

I think I got pretty good at taking selfies after this trip and I don't regret one second of it!

Bis bald!

I wish I had an iPad. AKA I'm going to England!

Today marks two weeks until I finally get my lifelong dream to come true! I finally get to go to England! I have wanted to go to England and France for as long as I can remember. I went to France about a year and a half ago (I get to go back with my mom this year!) and I am finally making my way around this world!

I started to plan this trip in a completely hypothetical way. I made up a travel budget which included hostels, flights, trains, buses, etc. I made a spending budget which included food, extra drinks in pubs, and a small portion for books. I looked up prices for all of these things and had everything sorted, but nothing actually booked or paid for. I haven't got a credit card, I still can't decided if it's a good thing or not, so I cannot book flights or hostels or anything of the like. I talked to my host family about wanting to take my first vacation, this was in early December just after Stefan arrived back home, and they said that I could do it! The original layout was for me to have one week to travel through England, Scotland, and Ireland. Well, then I found out that my dad was buying my mother a plane ticket to come visit me as a Christmas present. So I talked to my mom, who has this odd obsession with Scotland, about us possibly going to Scotland for a few days or even just spending half the time in Germany and Half in Scotland, well that quickly flared into us somehow doing to Paris, Scotland, and Ireland. Leaving me with doing just England this time. I think it'll be a blast to go to the others with her though, she has been to Scotland three times, after all.
Here are the hypothetical plans that I made.

I am posting this not to talk about my love of travel but about the inner workings that I go through when I want to travel. I know that a lot of you out there reading this probably aren't as OCD as I am when it comes to having every detail (large ones) planned out before you even purchase anything for the trip, but if my ways can help you at all...yay! First I want to list a few of the resources that I used in planning.

For housing on this trip I am staying in a hostel in London and will be making day trips to other places, such as Oxford and possibly Canterbury, then returning to London to sleep. It is cheaper to find one good place and day travel instead of staying at five different places in the span of one week. I used hostelworld.com for searching for a good hostel. They all have reviews, very good descriptions, and they only charge you about 10% of the total cost to book the hostel, then you can pay the rest with card or cash when you arrive to check in! I managed to fins one that had breakfast included and was somehow close to the center of London. What luck!

 For flights I used ryanair.com because they have the best prices for flights within Europe. I am not sure exactly how much my flights cost because they were given to me by my host family as a Christmas present, but the last time I looked them up it was about 14 Euros for each. You really can't beat that!

I used nationalrail.co.uk for seeing exactly how the trains worked and how easy it would be to get from one place to another. It automatically gives you the cheapest fare right from the off, so you don't have to spend hours searching!

Okay. Now, my plan is to only have my backpack with me. It is a 25L Outdoor Product Day Pack. It's got the waist and chest buckles for extra support, which also makes it great for hiking! I think that my favourite feature is that it still has the small pencil pocket in the front, easy for journaling. Because I will not have any checked baggage, it will be harder for me to take toiletries with me. I hope that everything that I have researched about it though will help me in the long run. I will have two small toiletries bags, one clear quart sized bag with shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, lotion, contact solution, and toothpaste (everything considered to be liquid); the second will have my hairbrush, toothbrush, contacts, etc.
As for clothing I am hoping to fit:
two flannel button up shirts
two v-neck shirts (used for undershirts)
one short sleeve t-shirt
one long sleeve t-shirt
two pairs of skinny jeans
one wool cardigan
Leggings for pajama bottoms
seven pairs of underwear
one extra bra
four pairs of socks (I know what you're thinking, "why only 4?" I'll be wearing them twice. A little gross, but it saves space.)
one towel (my hostel doesn't provide one)
two toiletries bags
chacos (for in the shower)
I will also have my winter jacket and one infinity scarf
Also my hiking boots

All of this in my little day pack is actually possible!
See?

All clothing, along with some outfit ideas.

Toiletries, journal, and everything electronic.

And that is what I call packed!

See you on the other side!

How I Made It In London For One Week On A Budget Tighter Than Your Average Skinny Jeans

Natural History Museum

Alright everyone! I know that my last post about England wasn't very full of info, but this is the post that I would like to give you the low down on everything! I am a very organised person, but I really wanted this trip to be "unplanned". I love that I was actually able to pull everything off that I did on the budget that I had, but there are still some things on my list that I did not get to mark off. That being said: I do plan on going back to continue working on that list. 

My budget for this trip was about £160. I say that because my hostel money was also in that budget. I do realise that it is not a lot of money, but you have to think about the city that I traveled to. All museums in London are FREE! They are a great experience and also a fantastic getaway from the rain if you just happen to forget you umbrella back at the hostel (true story). I think that, as much as I love are and loved seeing real Van Gogh works hanging on walls in from of me, I loved the Victoria and Albert museum the most. I believe that I had a post about always touching old buildings and how much I love doing so, so the fact that the thing I saw most in the museum the most were the signs stating "Do Not Touch",made going through the museum hard but it was to be expected. I only paid to get into one museum and that was The Globe Theatre. It was well worth the money too. It was pouring down rain that day and it was amazing. I actually got to sit in on one of the main actors of the theatre recording some sort of commercial. It was almost like watching a performance, or at least I got to hear just how great the acoustics could be. Even though the building that I was sitting in was finished in about 1993, it is an original "remake". They took Shakespeare's works and what they said to remake his original theatre. I really suggest making this part of your list even if you are not into Shakespeare or theatre, it was a great bit of history to learn about and they also have a museum inside with costumes and set designs, and my favourite...more history!!!

Costume from The Globe Theatre

Victoria and Albert Museum

For all of you music lovers reading, there are SO many different items that you could add to your list! A few that I went to were to the theatres around town. If you're having trouble finding some, you clearly are either looking too hard or you're one street over. Theatres are everywhere in London! I think I mistakenly found at least five! My favourites being Covent Garden and the Royal Albert Hall. The Royal Albert Hall is right across the street from the Royal College of Music. (Which just so happens to be on the backside of the Natural History Museum!)

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal College of Music has a small museum inside it and it is well worth going into. I stumbled upon an original painting of Haydn that I had seen in my Music History textbook at one point and nearly screamed from excitement! There are also abundant churches where they have recitals on different instruments, most of which, if not all, are free. I attended an organ recital at St. Paul's Cathedral and it was not only a great recital, but the church itself was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

For me, this trip was not about going into every place that I came upon, but to be able to be near some of these buildings that, if you're like most, are only seen in movies or on the internet. It was incredible to stand next to them and just have that moment of realisation of "holy crap! I am in London, England and just so happen to be taking a photo of Big Ben". Or you could walk down Baker St. and see 221B and just sort of giggle to yourself as you look for Cumberbatch and Freeman to come walking round the corner. 

I also had set aside about £35 to make a small day trip to Oxford. I am so glad that I did! I did not have a set day on which I would travel there, but I did look up ticket prices and journey length beforehand. It only took about one hour by train to get there. (I actually almost missed the train. I was the last to board and they shut the doors behind me.) But I made it! I met some very nice people while I was there as well! I am a HUGE C.S. Lewis fan, so to be that close to Oxford and not make the trip would have just been silly! I wanted to go to everywhere that had to do the Lewis and I was able to, but only just. I could not have accounted for the pub that he and Tolkien frequented to be under work, but all was well. I did however get to see his home. I WALKED IN C.S. LEWIS' HOME!!! I was trying so hard to hide everything that was so eagerly trying to burst out, but it did not end up staying in... If you're ever in Oxford...just go to Oxford. Just go. It's a beautiful city and I think everyone should go there at least once. The above photo is of the common room of Lewis' home (AKA where he and Tolkien would pace and discuss life, literature, and Christianity.) Only freaked out a bit on that one.

And on the note of trains and trips, I will speak briefly of the London Underground! Riding that thing was so much fun! It made me feel local! It is, however, rather expensive. When I was in Paris two years ago, a oneway ticket for the metro was about €1.40. For the Underground it is about £4.00. I strongly suggest getting some sort of Oyster card. I was able to use one from Stefan that he had from when he performed in London. It was just the one that you can refill with whatever amount you want, but it cuts the cost in half! There are also other options with Oyster! You can get a card for about £37 that will let you ride endlessly on anything that will allow Oyster card payment. (Most of the buses that you see in London take Oyster, and all Undergrounds, DLR, etc.) I would also like to state that having maps out while walking around the streets is not a very good idea. I usually pulled off into a local cafe or something of the like before pulling out maps to start thinking of where to go next. It was easier and you weren't interrupting the everyday lives of those around you. (Tube maps are in every station and city maps can me found just about everywhere including your average hostel.)

My food budget was a little scary. I ended up only doing about £10 per day. I know that it sounds bad, but for about £3, you can go into a market and buy a sandwich, a yogurt with granola, and a drink, so it really isn't bad. My hostel did include breakfast which was very nice! It was just a small spread of some cereals, toast, and tea (would you expect anything less from and English breakfast?). I am, however, a very big coffee fan and even though I can go days without having coffee, I choose not to. I did enjoy going to the local coffee shops! The coffee is great and it is much cheaper than your average Starbucks! I will confess that I stopped at some Starbucks joints just to sit for a bit and use the internet. The local shops, however, are where you'll find really cool people and get to just sit and relax in a different atmosphere. I ended up finding one coffee shop in Monmouth where they had communal tables! I met a couple from Boston, two people from England, one guy from Ireland who traveled between NY and London as an actor, and an Australian! The tables were "Mobile free zones", which made you talk to one another! I loved it! Overall, my favourite coffee shop in the world right now, and to top it off, the coffee was absolutely AMAZING! Monmouth Coffee Co., if you're ever in the area check it out!

All in all, the trip was not too bad. If you would like to have more of a social experience other than that at a hostel, which is great for making new friends, then I would just tell you to have a bit more money than I had. If you really just want to experience the city and see the amazing sites that it holds, then you do not need much money. I hope this post helps! Have fun on your next adventure! I know I will!

On a very different side note: I got to see my best friend today!

He is on his way to Israel and had a layover in Frankfurt! So good to see him again!

Bis dann!!

New Places, New Friends, and New Passport Stamps!

Well, I made it successfully to and from England! It was everything I could have ever hoped for and I am still in a bit of awe that I was actually there. I keep looking at the photos I took and some of them help me realise that I really was there...because they are very blurry. HA! But all in all I had an absolutely beautiful time and cannot wait to go back with my mom! I ended up stumbling upon most of the things that I wanted to see and having a completely wanderlust experience! My only regret is not really looking for all the famous people who live there. Better luck next time, I suppose!

The Globe Theatre

While I was on the train to Oxford I saw a man writing music in a notebook with a pen. That could only mean one thing, right? He was a composer. Only composers have the guts to actually notate in pen. We started talking and he said that he was on his way to hear one of his piece live for the first time. Now, when arriving in Oxford I had a agenda to visit everything that had to do with C.S. Lewis. He is my favourite author! I went to his house and got a tour. (My day in Oxford was the best and worst day of my life.) Everything that I wanted to do that had to do with C.S. Lewis was closed, but there are nice enough people in the world that when you knock on doors crying, they help you. Needless to say, it was a pretty good day by the end.

I really don't want to post pictures from everything that I did and saw, but  above are some of my favourites. If you would like to see more photos or have any questions about anything, I would be happy to answer them and show you more photos! You can email me! My info is under my Keep In Touch at the top of the page. 

Cheers! Bis Dann!

Forgotten Heidelberg

You probably thought that from the title, this post would bring some sort of new insight on some lost treasure or other, and it is! Well, to me anyway. This post was supposed to be published back in October, but somehow it got saved and overlooked. There isn't really a treasure, I am sorry. The treasure was my finding of the post. Here you are.

My first trip to Heidelberg! One of the most beautiful cities that I have seen and one of the most amazing castles!!! It is a bit of a hike to the top, you can however, take a small train type transportation to the top. I decided to take the hike and I am so glad that I did. It was beautiful! It's just in the midst of the Fall season! The leaves are full of colour and laying all over the ground! I could write about it all day, but I will just leave you with the fact that if you're ever in Germany, you really need to make it one of your stops! This city is huge, and has every shop you could ever want when it comes to holiday shopping! I think I even managed to see a Pizza Hut and a Subway somewhere in there. Who would have thought? I believe that I managed to buy quite a few things including the first of the Harry Potter books in German, a new calendar, some Christmas presents, and a new watch! I think my favourite part of all of it were most definitely the castle and the cathedral. Now on to the castle!!!!

Well worth the hike up there I think! Ta ta for now! Bis dann.

Stille Nacht

I hope that you all had as good a holiday season as I did! Having Christmas and New Years in another country was a little scary, but there is so much going on all the time that it took my mind off of it a bit. Being away from my family is alway a hard thing to take in, but during the holiday season, it was even more difficult. I do,however, have the privilege of living in the always fabulous technology age and can see my family through facetime and skype quite often, so it made the season a bit better. As you may have seen from my previous post about Christmas markets here in Germany there was plenty for me to do this season!

I cannot believe that I am living in another country! I do believe that during this season it is just now dawning on me. As a Christmas gift from my host parents I was given a 2 way flight to England. I had discussed wanting to go at the end of January and told them the dates, and as my gift they bought the tickets! How completely amazing is that?! I got two homemade blankets, a huge puzzle (that I finished in 6 days), a new jacket, a very pretty candle, and oh did I mention that the gift to my mother and myself from my father was that my mother gets to come over here for two weeks? Yeah, completely out of this world! I am pretty sure that we already have the majority of the trip planned. We are going to be in Germany, Paris, Scotland, and Ireland in those two weeks and I could not be more excited!!!! (You'll notice the four exclamation points, one for each country.) I also got the conformation that my friend Lacey will be coming here in March and we are going to make a round trip of Germany! (I am never allowed to complain about wanting to travel again.)

Anywho, back to Christmas!

During the month of December there were many people in and out of the house, including Stefan coming back from Australia! I decided to throw a small party for Sophia and a few of the friends that she chose to come. What did we do? We, and by we I mean they, built gingerbread houses! It was a blast! Each of them made at least three small houses, and ate half the decorations, had a small break between and came back for more. I will most definitely be doing this again in the future. This was also my first Advent. I am not Catholic like my host family, I am Christian, just not Catholic. I thought it was really cool to be able to see two different religions in two different places. Going to the Church mass, where I also found out that Stefan is an extremely talented organ player as well singer and pianist, was an exciting moment in my life and I will never forget it. Ending the service with "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night), just like my university ensemble directer said that he had experienced when he was stationed in Germany. I cried... It was absolutely beautiful! I cannot wait to experience more of this world and the many different customs that it holds.

Just after Christmas we took a trip around to some of the nearby cathedrals to see the nativities that they had displayed. Now, surprisingly enough, I seem to not have any pictures of what we actually went for, but I do have plenty more!

There was also a time just after Christmas when our power went out for over four hours and I have never had a more beautiful night! Sabine had a friend over that night (one of the loveliest women I have ever had the joy of meeting!) whilst she was on her way back to Holland. We lit over 60 candles that night and just sat around reading stories and drinking red wine. It was absolutely wonderful!

Well, not to cut Christmas short, but I would like to add in a bit about New Years. I cannot even begin to try to explain a German New Years Celebration, but I can tell you that it is something similar so America's Independence Day. I met many new people (I am still freaking out a bit because there is an American family currently here and the wife is an Opera singer with the Met, I live with Stefan one of the worlds best Tenors, there was a friend of Sabine here from Holland who is also a Soprano, and I met an opera/theatre director on New Years. The oddest part of all of it is that I get to call these people by their first names!!! Only freaking out a little.) in the span of just a few weeks! Life is just so magical sometimes! (This is how you cool beer in Germany.)

(My first ever taste of mead!! Very good!) Hope that your new year is going well and all your days were merry and bright before that! Until later. Bis dann. Bis später!

Christmas Markets

I know there have been a few people breathing down my neck trying to get me to post some pictures from the Christmas season. Well, here you are! I got to stop by about six Christmas markets this season, and I am already excited for next Christmas. (I would love to come back, don't know if possible, but eventually.) As for now, I will write this post and share what I've seen with you! (Sorry that some of the pictures aren't the best quality, but they were taken with an iPhone in one hand and, more than likely, a crepe in the other.)

The first stop for Christmas markets was Bad Kreuznach! It is the city in which I am currently living and a friend of mine here was bored one day, so we thought we would go into the city. We did not know that the market was already up and running and decided to stop by when we saw it. This was the sign that gave us the hint of there being a Christmas market.

NOW! At these wonderful little hoedowns there are so many different booths! Some of them sell food, some of them sell clothes, and some sell just about the most random things you could think of! My favourites were the booths that had all of the wooden handmade items!

The second stop I made was just down the road in the village that I live in! It was small but still very festive!

Third stop was made in Wiesbaden! One of the largest that I got to see other than Heidelberg. The market as a whole took up about four or five blocks of space. There was a concert going on, a huge carousel, great smells from every direction, and just about every type of gift you could ever think of getting for someone.

Forth stop was in Mainz! Now before coming to this market, I had never been to Mainz. I ended up driving there alone, in the dark, and by myself. Needless to say I got lost. It wasn't the first time that the cars GPS had led me astray, but thank God I have a phone with a GPS! I looked up the market on the internet, searched for a parking house near the market, and started driving. I found the parking house, but still had no idea which way to walk to find the market. If you're ever in a large city alone after dark always look for the large main roads!!! They will literally save your life! Long story short, I managed to walk in the right direction and find the market. It was just outside the most beautiful cathedral that I have seen in Germany so far! (I said this to my host family and they replied with the fact that I have yet to be to Koln.)

Fifth on the list is Rudesheim! Just a ferry ride away from Bingen am Rhein! If you're a fellow musician like me then you will join me in the fact that I still get happy when going to Bingen, not only because it is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful there, but also because of Hildegard von Bingen! Speaking of Bingen, I promise to return to number six, but because we are already in the area, I'll just tell you that I did in fact stop by the Bingen's Christmas market, but I was shopping at the time and had no free hands for pictures.

And as promised, my number six...... Heidelberg! One of my favourite cities visited thus far! Words cannot express how beautiful it was, so I will let my pictures (no matter how poorly taken) show you! There is also a lovely drink that is sold at all of these shindigs called "Gluhwein"! It is similar to a mulled wine and is absolutely perfect for walking around in the cold weather! The wine is served in a cup that has something to do with the city in which the market is being held, it has the name of the city, and of course, something Christmassy! I tried to get a cup from each of the markets even if I did not have the wine (not a very good idea when you've to drive back home), and I have a very cute collection of three cups!

Those are my markets but I promise a second post on Christmas and New Years! Bis Dann!!