Amsterdam: The City with Amazing.. Architecture?

Oh Amsterdam. I think every lost child only dreams of one day making it to the El Dorado known as Amsterdam. At one point in my youth, I probably would have sold my first born child just for a day there. Thank goodness those years have passed. But really. Amsterdam gives more than just drug tourism. Nevertheless, I was happy we only had an 8 hour layover there. The perfect amount of time to spend in the city where everything flys.

Thumbs up on the train to Centraal Station

Here's Centraal Station. Actually really pretty.

 We arrived at 8 am on a Sunday. Really, not much was going on. Most people had just gone to bed and wouldn't wake up for several hours. We walked around and looked at the architecture. Amsterdam is situated on a river, and many beauitful canals run through it. Some houses are on stilts. They are really nice.. It's actually a UNESCO world heritage site since many of them were built hundreds of years ago.

 Really-- Amsterdam is everything they say it is. The streets are really dirty, and everyone is lighting up as they please. We stopped at this cafe for lunch. Thinking we were safe because we didn't go to a "coffee shop", about twenty minutes into our meal the table next to us starts rolling up a joint. Great.

We really didn't do much. Just walked around, had some coffee, and looked at buildings. I'm definitely glad I got to see it. I'm sure in my younger days I would have had someeeeee time there. However, we left a little early, re-sold our metro ticket (Hollla!) and did what I do best:

Thank you Amsterdam for having the world's most comfiest airport!!!

THIS. IS. SPARTA!!!! (or Athens.. shhh don't ruin it)

It's crazy, compared to America, how close I am to so many remarkably different countries. After being here three months, I finally was able to take advantage of that. Elise and I booked a weekend trip to Athens, Greece. Sounds crazy, but it was only a short flight. We arrived a four PM, and were greeted by this:

 Just a few police with riot shields. No Big Deal. There was a big group of protesters.. but I was a little scared to take pictures of them, considering the last few weeks Athens has been burnt to the ground. This next picture is what used to be a Starbucks until it was hit with Malitov Cocktails:

 I've always wanted to Couch Surf, but never had the courage. Athens was my first time. We were hosted by this amazing girl Despoina. She is a University student. We hit it off, and I'm sure we will be forever friends. She lived really close to town, and down this awesome street:

 She spoke perfect English and had fun teaching us Greek. She was a great host. Friday night we cooked a yummy dinner and then dressed up for Carnival. We went out to the bars, had a drink, then came home. We were so exhausted from traveling, that we called it an early night. Plus, we had a lot to see the next day. Like this awesome sign... thanks for putting it in English!!:

 Saturday morning we woke up... very early! We had a yummy breakfast of Greek Yogurt, honey, and fruit. Then we were off to the Acropolis! The Acropolis was.. well.. very old. It was pretty cool, because its on this hill right smack dab in the center of Athens.

 You can see the entire city of Athens from the top of the hill. Athens is huge. It's like a city that just keeps going. It was really beautiful.

 Here's a sign that tells you what you're not allowed to do. Singing and making loud noises is one of them. I almost asked for a refund.

 Thank goodness we found this:

 After all the hiking through ancient time, we really wanted to see the beach! Both Elise and I miss seeing the ocean everyday (she's from New Zealand.. i dunno if I've mentioned that) So we took a dodgy train to what we thought was the beach. An hour later, we ended up at the Pier... We got to see the ocean, but sadly, no beach. It was still nice. We stopped and had a traditional Greek Frappee.. which is watered down coffee with too much sugar, and sweet and condensed milk (not so tasty if you ask me). Then we decided to go home to Despoina. She made us popcorn and we hung out and.. well.. did what girls do best: talked about hair, boys, and makeup.

 Since it was Carnival in Athens, everyone was getting dressed up. Despoina had the great idea to make signs that say "Free Hugs" and walk around the club area. Are you kidding me? It's like we were made to be best friends.

 Here's a picture of my favorite costume:

 We walked all around town, and got some really great reactions. The best was when someone said, "Hugs? whats that?" and I went in for the hug, and he screamed and ran away. We met some really interesting characters, and I learned a lot about Greek culture.

 Here's a view of the Acropolis at night:

We had to get on the bus in the wee hours of the morning and catch out flight to Amsterdam. I was so sad to see Greece go. I really had a great time there, and hope I get to go back someday.

Footloosin' it Around Munich

Happy Ash Wednesday everyone, and welcome to my first Tanzverbot. Germany, the rule-loving country that it is, officially bans dancing on high-holy days, where no music is allowed to be played, and people are not allowed to dance. Burn the sinners!! After seeing the movie Footloose starring Kevin Wormwald, I was really excited. I mean, I'm no Juliane Hughes, but I've been known to shake my booty on the dance floor when the mood strikes. I was imagining these secret meetings that started at mid-night Tuesday, where all the rebellious youth of my generation was going to gather together and have a big dance off in the high school parking lot... Obviously protesting this hideously archaic rule. So I put my dancing shoes on, and dressed for the occasion:

Officially the end of "Fasching", everyone dresses up as if it were Halloween. Some people get really into it, and it's great. Eagerly awaiting the stroke of mid-night, we went out to a club and started dancing while it was still legal.

 Wahoo! We were stoaked. Quite a few people were out at first, and we were having a really good time.

But lets get back to reality. I'm in Germany. GERMANY Stephanie. The land of the U-bahn where no one checks to see if you bought you ticket.. because why wouldn't you buy a ticket? So sadly, mid-night came and went, and nothing exciting happened at all.... Who knows. Maybe all the German Youth went home and prayed.

Carnival, German-Style

Many people are familiar with the Latin-American tradition of "Carnival". It takes place from the end of February to the beginning of March, and basically is an excuse to party all the time. Well, Germany decided they didn't want to be left out, and started their own version of Carnival. It's basically like Halloween, with lots of alcohol.

Serving Cocktails on the streets

Alcoholic Crepes. Serving at 11 am

Booths set up in the street, people dress up as vikings, and everyone throws confetti at one another. There is live music, and live dancing, and thank goodness, men in Lederhosen. This guy was selling fish on a stick. Literally. Fish. On a stick. Even he thought it was funny because he smiled when I took a picture of him.

Despite the hail, it was really fun to walk around. We saw lots of great costumes, and it was fun to see the city decorated festively.

 

 This is just the beginning. On Tuesday the real "Carnival" events begin. My host made made it clear to me that I did not have to work that night, because it was in fact, necessary to me to be out partying. Okay, I told her. You don't have to tell me twice!!

Frankfurt Friends and Swiss Boys

Frankfurt. What a city. It sure was nostalgic to be back there. I was surprised at how well I remembered the city and was able to navigate my way around, considering I really only spent two days there. I mean, I only got lost once, and for only 40 minutes! For me, that's some kind of record.

Seeing Birgitte was great. It's a shame she had to work early in the morning, but it was so nice to be able to catch up with her and talk Californian!! (btw, I never realized how strong my Californian Thug talk was until a room full of foreigners asked me what a "baller" was. All I could say is, "I'm a baller cain't nobody hustle harder than me.") Anyway, maybe the next time I see her, we will do something else besides talk a mile a minute and eat peanut m and m's... but then again. Maybe not. It sure was nice to have a relaxing day.

Two of my favorite Swiss Boys were flying into Frankfurt after spending a month abroad.

They left before the cold hit, so neither one of them brought jackets. Phil even had his flip-flops on when he got off the plane!! It was 4C (roughly 40F) outside, which for me, was practically summer. Considering they were coming from 20C (roughly 70), they were very cold. It sure was a change of roles. Normally I'm the "freezing Californian". I felt very European... haha.


We went for a nice walk along the Main. And I'm pretty sure they were frozen. So we found a nice church to warm up in.

Then we got Apple Strudel in Romers Platz. MMhmm tasty.

While it was a short visit, I'm so glad I got to see them. They are so pleasant and amusing. Really just a riot. We always end up doing something whacky and it's great.

Bad News is, I had to be back in Munich for VISA stuff. Good news is, this prolongs the period I have to find a European Guy (or girl in some countries) to marry me. But that's another story. So off I went, back to Munich.


Frankfurt, you'll be seeing more of me soon.

P.S. If this picture doesn't explain why I loves these boys, I don't know what does.

Nope, I'm not embarrassed by this post in the slightest.

Some people fall in love in a hopeless place. Other people fall in love at Starbucks.

I was at Starbucks studying for my exam on Wednesday, when the most beautiful man I have ever seen walked by me and sat down. My heart skipped a beat. I froze and I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped. He was an Aryan Deity, of that I'm certain.

Wanting to keep it cool, I got up and went to the bathroom. I fluffed my hair and put on some lipstick. Then I went back to my seat, collected my stuff, and moved directly across from him. He looked up from his book and smiled. I shyly smiled back.

This guy was gorgeous. I had to document it. So being the sly cat that I am, I got out my iPhone... put it on silent..

Snap!! I got a photo!! Though I was sad.. because it really didn't do him any justice. I HAD to get another. Pretending to text while reading my book, I gave it one more shot...

Yep. That's right! He looked DIRECTLY at the camera. Thanks random German hottie. You made my day.
Needless to say, he won't be calling.