The three and a half months I spent abroad seem like a blur, so many new places and new experiences. People may tell you what Europe is like, but you can never attain any real understanding without actually going there, and I only scratched the surface of the cultural complexities of Europe in my time spent abroad.
My favorite places (most to least favorite)
1 Prague
2 Scotland
3 Sweden
4 Munich
5 London
6 Barcelona
7 Dublin
8 Bath
9 Amsterdam
10 Geneva
Even though I managed to visit so many different places, I feel like there were still lots of opportunities I let slip away, particularly not being able to visit Paris. If there are any lessons I could impart on a future traveler abroad, is is these:
1. Make the most of every minute and opportunity you get in your limited time, time management is key
2. Don't be afraid to try new things, get outside your comfort zone
3. Get out and socialize with local people, and make friends with people from other countries
4. Plan trips out way in advance, it is much cheaper and less hassle
The experiences and memories I acquired in London and the rest of Europe will no doubt stay with me for the rest of my life. My semester abroad has left me with a new appreciation for travel and adventure that I never had before. So what now?
I have been wanting to visit Japan for a long time, the country fascinates me. Also, David Dvorsky talked about the possibility of an internship in Prague next summer, which is something I will definitely follow up on. I felt a special affinity to the city of Prague, almost like I belonged there, which is interesting since I do have a significant Czech heritage.
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I am glad to once again see my family and friends back home, but I know that it won't be long until I once again yearn for the excitement of London and the rest of Europe. It is kind of weird being back home, everything is just the same as I left it, but it all feels different. Everything has stayed the same, but I have changed.
Showing posts with label best. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Thursday, 16 April 2009
4/16/09 GS speaker, O'Neils one last time, new British friends
In the morning we went over to the Duke of York to hear from Kevin Barkow, an SU graduate who is currently working for Goldman Sachs. Kevin wasn't a stand-out student by any means, graduating with about a 3.2 GPA, but he was very determined and used professional networking to his advantage. The GS interviewer knew one of Kevin's past clients, giving him a huge advantage. He now works 60-70 hours per week and Kevin tried to impress home the point of determination and a strong work ethic as key to success in the business world.
For our last night in London, we went as a group to the club/bar O'Neil's. For some reason all the girls have an obsession with the place, but it is mediocre at best. It was fairly crowded, and we had fun dancing the night away. I think I left around 2-3am to head back to the flats.
When I got back I met a British girl named Claire who apparently had been living across from us for the past two weeks and we never knew. We walked downstairs and I also was introduced to the receptionist Jason, who was also our age. We went back upstairs to my flat and had some great discussions about the cultural differences between Britain and the US, especially regarding word pronunciations and girls. Claire was staying in London for fashion design and loved our "American accents". They were both really cool and we stayed up past the sunrise conversing, I think I passed out sometime around 6am. It sucks that I had only just met my new British friends and I was leaving on a flight in just a few hours. Missed opportunities.
For our last night in London, we went as a group to the club/bar O'Neil's. For some reason all the girls have an obsession with the place, but it is mediocre at best. It was fairly crowded, and we had fun dancing the night away. I think I left around 2-3am to head back to the flats.
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| From London - March, April |
When I got back I met a British girl named Claire who apparently had been living across from us for the past two weeks and we never knew. We walked downstairs and I also was introduced to the receptionist Jason, who was also our age. We went back upstairs to my flat and had some great discussions about the cultural differences between Britain and the US, especially regarding word pronunciations and girls. Claire was staying in London for fashion design and loved our "American accents". They were both really cool and we stayed up past the sunrise conversing, I think I passed out sometime around 6am. It sucks that I had only just met my new British friends and I was leaving on a flight in just a few hours. Missed opportunities.
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| From London - March, April |
Sunday, 12 April 2009
4/12/09 easter, last day in barcelona
Today was a solo day since Nate and Hannah were doing their own thing. Checked out of the hostel and headed over to MacDonald's for some breakfast/lunch. I decided to start out my adventure by heading to the famous unfinished Sagrada Familia (the holy family church). The church was absolutely gargantuan in size and ornate in stature. The line to get into the church was, appropriately, also monstrously long since it was Easter Sunday after all. The architecture adorning the inside and outside of the church derived its inspiration from patterns found in nature. The ceiling held up by massive pillars that branched out at the top to support the ceiling like a forest canopy overhead.
Next stop was the Gothic Quarter and Catedral, and the various old gothic buildings in the area. After a while I decided to wander through the side streets in the general direction of the city park. After some walking I eventually stumbled onto the impressive L'arc de Triomf. From there I walked into the city park which featured a random statue of a wooly mammoth and an impressive water fountain display with dragon head statues.
By this point it was raining pretty hard and my flight time was fast approaching, so I walked back to Catalunya plaza and to a Chinese restaurant I wanted to go to the day before. It was closed for Easter (duh), but I would not be denied my delicious Asian sustinence. I realized I could risk walking all the way to Wok to Walk and back to the plaza and cutting time close for the bus to the airport, or I could get on the bus hungry and always wonder how good the Wok to Walk would have been.
Even though my back was sore from carrying around my backpack all day and it was raining like crazy, I decided that with no risk there can be no reward, and I forged on to Wok to Walk. It was a risky endeavor, but I made it there and back in record time through the endless throngs of people crowding the street. It was totally worth it.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
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| From Barcelona Trip |
Next stop was the Gothic Quarter and Catedral, and the various old gothic buildings in the area. After a while I decided to wander through the side streets in the general direction of the city park. After some walking I eventually stumbled onto the impressive L'arc de Triomf. From there I walked into the city park which featured a random statue of a wooly mammoth and an impressive water fountain display with dragon head statues.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
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| From Barcelona Trip |
By this point it was raining pretty hard and my flight time was fast approaching, so I walked back to Catalunya plaza and to a Chinese restaurant I wanted to go to the day before. It was closed for Easter (duh), but I would not be denied my delicious Asian sustinence. I realized I could risk walking all the way to Wok to Walk and back to the plaza and cutting time close for the bus to the airport, or I could get on the bus hungry and always wonder how good the Wok to Walk would have been.
Even though my back was sore from carrying around my backpack all day and it was raining like crazy, I decided that with no risk there can be no reward, and I forged on to Wok to Walk. It was a risky endeavor, but I made it there and back in record time through the endless throngs of people crowding the street. It was totally worth it.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
4/11/09 the deep blue sea
Up at 9:30 for crappy hostel breakfast, then back asleep till noon. Met the girls at MacDo for lunch and then put on some sunscreen before heading off to the beach. The weather was decent at first, but it started getting overcast and looking like rain by the time we walked down to the beach. On the way to the beach passing by the harbor were tons of street vendors selling a variety of tourist trap items.
It has been years since I've been to a beach, and walking barefoot with sand between my toes felt really good, even though there was a cool ocean breeze abound. The ocean view was absolutely spectacular. Attempting to frolic in the water was not very fun, since the water was still freezing cold.
After getting sandy on the beach we headed over to the Barcelona Aquarium to see some sea creatures. The aquarium was packed with people, mostly grade school age kids. The best part by far was walking through the underwater tunnel as sharks and fish swam above.
After a nap and shower at the hostel we once again set out for the sea shore, this time trying to catch ourselves a nice seafood dinner. The number of restaurants near the shore was staggering, and we were constantly being interrupted by workers trying to advertise and hustle us into their establishment. We eventually settled on a place and decided to order a 4 person meal of paella. I got to see sea creatures swimming around in the aquarium earlier and now I was going to eat them, how exciting!
Now I am really not much of a seafood fan, and was somewhat intimidated by the giant bowl filled with a plethora of mussels, shrimp, crayfish (scary looking), oysters, and even calamari mixed in between vegetables and rice doused in sauce. However, my fears were quickly abated after sinking my teeth into the first bite. I had never quite experienced these sensations before, as the complex combination of salty seafood set loose a cascade of flavors that danced along my taste buds. Of course I was completely stuffed by the time we were done.
It was time to follow up the salty dinner with a sweet desert, and we found a gelato place not far away where for only 2,70E we got a large gelato cup with two different flavors. I got strawberries and cream and it was glorious. Being a fat kid can be a lot of fun.
It was dark out so we headed to some random bars off of La Rambla for a few drinks. We ended up in some kind of touristy bar that had us sitting around a wooden barrel with two candles on it. At some point I got the brilliant idea to put out the candle by turning my empty pint glass upside down over it, thereby suffocating the oxygen supply to the candle. Despite my impeccable scientific proposition, I had left one variable unaccounted for, ie the couple drops of beer left in my glass.
Upon inverting the pint glass, the candle intstantly erupted into a huge sizzling fireball that reached halfway to the ceiling. I feared that I would have to help one of my friends stop, drop, and roll, but luckily no one was hurt. Well my feelings were hurt since the ENTIRE bar looked at our table to see what the hell had happened. Oops. I looked down at the now burnt out candle. Hey I was still right after all!
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| From Barcelona Trip |
It has been years since I've been to a beach, and walking barefoot with sand between my toes felt really good, even though there was a cool ocean breeze abound. The ocean view was absolutely spectacular. Attempting to frolic in the water was not very fun, since the water was still freezing cold.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
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| From Barcelona Trip |
After getting sandy on the beach we headed over to the Barcelona Aquarium to see some sea creatures. The aquarium was packed with people, mostly grade school age kids. The best part by far was walking through the underwater tunnel as sharks and fish swam above.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
After a nap and shower at the hostel we once again set out for the sea shore, this time trying to catch ourselves a nice seafood dinner. The number of restaurants near the shore was staggering, and we were constantly being interrupted by workers trying to advertise and hustle us into their establishment. We eventually settled on a place and decided to order a 4 person meal of paella. I got to see sea creatures swimming around in the aquarium earlier and now I was going to eat them, how exciting!
Now I am really not much of a seafood fan, and was somewhat intimidated by the giant bowl filled with a plethora of mussels, shrimp, crayfish (scary looking), oysters, and even calamari mixed in between vegetables and rice doused in sauce. However, my fears were quickly abated after sinking my teeth into the first bite. I had never quite experienced these sensations before, as the complex combination of salty seafood set loose a cascade of flavors that danced along my taste buds. Of course I was completely stuffed by the time we were done.
It was time to follow up the salty dinner with a sweet desert, and we found a gelato place not far away where for only 2,70E we got a large gelato cup with two different flavors. I got strawberries and cream and it was glorious. Being a fat kid can be a lot of fun.
It was dark out so we headed to some random bars off of La Rambla for a few drinks. We ended up in some kind of touristy bar that had us sitting around a wooden barrel with two candles on it. At some point I got the brilliant idea to put out the candle by turning my empty pint glass upside down over it, thereby suffocating the oxygen supply to the candle. Despite my impeccable scientific proposition, I had left one variable unaccounted for, ie the couple drops of beer left in my glass.
Upon inverting the pint glass, the candle intstantly erupted into a huge sizzling fireball that reached halfway to the ceiling. I feared that I would have to help one of my friends stop, drop, and roll, but luckily no one was hurt. Well my feelings were hurt since the ENTIRE bar looked at our table to see what the hell had happened. Oops. I looked down at the now burnt out candle. Hey I was still right after all!
Friday, 10 April 2009
4/10/09 mountains, castles, pubs, and prostitutes
We headed up to Montjuic by cable car and the castle up at the top was quite impressive. On one side was the massive city of Barcelona spreading out as far as the eye could see, and on the other side was the beautiful pristine blue ocean trailing off into the horizon.
Next, we walked down through the mountain park towards the Olympic Stadium and saw some interesting buildings along the way. For dinner we went to Spain's equivalent of Applebee's (Happy) and I ordered a lamb curry meal and a water. Of course they brought out carbonated water that tasted like crap in a glass bottle that I had to pay for. Dicks.
After a nap and shower it was time to head out to TravelBar for their infamous 1 Euro meal, which for the day was a moderately tasty pasta + chili. While waiting for the pub crawl to start an entire rugby team, obviously hammered and very loud, came into the bar, but after causing a commotion they were told to leave before the pub crawl even started.
The pub crawl was very cool and they had this game where you had to find your "partner" who had the same piece of paper catchphrase as you, and mine was "Not Tonight Princess". I met a lot of interesting people from all over the world including some guy from London who reminded me of my friend Leslie, some guys from France, a guy from Toronto, some girls from Cali + Jersey, and a couple of cute Welsh Girls.
Nate and Hannah left before going to the final club because Nate was feeling sick, so Jackie and I soldiered on. I danced with some random girls for a while but it wasn't working out so we left and tried to navigate our way back through Barcelona's sketchy nighttime streets to Jackie's hostel. We finally got there past 3:30am and I made the long walk back to my hostel alone.
I had the brilliant idea that my return trip would go much smoother if I avoided all the guys trying to sell beer in the middle of the La Rambla street by walking on the far sides of the street. Genius. Little did I remember is that the edges was where all the prostitutes hung out. Less than 5 minutes into my walk back a short dark skinned lady of the night had her arms on me and was complimenting me on everything from how I was dressed to my manly physique.
Now as much as I love ego-stroking it was starting to get a little ridiculous when she would not leave me alone after I made it very clear I wanted nothing to do with her. She must have seen my dismissiveness as me trying to negotiate her cost of services to a lower price... so she proclaimed that since she liked me I could get a blowjob for "only 10 Euro". Damn, the girl really knew how to drive home a sale (I guess in her line of work you have to get good at it). However, my resolute principles were not swayed by her hard bargain.
Instead I proposed a counter offer, of "if I give you the 3 Euro in change in my pocket will you leave me alone?" Big mistake. That was the equivalent of throwing bread crumbs in front of a pack of seagulls... once they know you have food they are never going to leave. Of course she continued pressing for more and telling me about how bad it was for people who had to work the streets. That sucks, but I won't be swayed by your jedi mind tricks.
Eventually I made it back to my hostel where a group of other people my age were going inside... Freedom! Of course she protested and said that I should go with her, but I was steadfast. I firmly pushed her off of my arm, looked her in the eye and said "good luck", then walked inside without looking back. On the bright side, at least I had 10 more Euro to buy me breakfast at McDonald's in the morning.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
Next, we walked down through the mountain park towards the Olympic Stadium and saw some interesting buildings along the way. For dinner we went to Spain's equivalent of Applebee's (Happy) and I ordered a lamb curry meal and a water. Of course they brought out carbonated water that tasted like crap in a glass bottle that I had to pay for. Dicks.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
After a nap and shower it was time to head out to TravelBar for their infamous 1 Euro meal, which for the day was a moderately tasty pasta + chili. While waiting for the pub crawl to start an entire rugby team, obviously hammered and very loud, came into the bar, but after causing a commotion they were told to leave before the pub crawl even started.
The pub crawl was very cool and they had this game where you had to find your "partner" who had the same piece of paper catchphrase as you, and mine was "Not Tonight Princess". I met a lot of interesting people from all over the world including some guy from London who reminded me of my friend Leslie, some guys from France, a guy from Toronto, some girls from Cali + Jersey, and a couple of cute Welsh Girls.
Nate and Hannah left before going to the final club because Nate was feeling sick, so Jackie and I soldiered on. I danced with some random girls for a while but it wasn't working out so we left and tried to navigate our way back through Barcelona's sketchy nighttime streets to Jackie's hostel. We finally got there past 3:30am and I made the long walk back to my hostel alone.
I had the brilliant idea that my return trip would go much smoother if I avoided all the guys trying to sell beer in the middle of the La Rambla street by walking on the far sides of the street. Genius. Little did I remember is that the edges was where all the prostitutes hung out. Less than 5 minutes into my walk back a short dark skinned lady of the night had her arms on me and was complimenting me on everything from how I was dressed to my manly physique.
Now as much as I love ego-stroking it was starting to get a little ridiculous when she would not leave me alone after I made it very clear I wanted nothing to do with her. She must have seen my dismissiveness as me trying to negotiate her cost of services to a lower price... so she proclaimed that since she liked me I could get a blowjob for "only 10 Euro". Damn, the girl really knew how to drive home a sale (I guess in her line of work you have to get good at it). However, my resolute principles were not swayed by her hard bargain.
Instead I proposed a counter offer, of "if I give you the 3 Euro in change in my pocket will you leave me alone?" Big mistake. That was the equivalent of throwing bread crumbs in front of a pack of seagulls... once they know you have food they are never going to leave. Of course she continued pressing for more and telling me about how bad it was for people who had to work the streets. That sucks, but I won't be swayed by your jedi mind tricks.
Eventually I made it back to my hostel where a group of other people my age were going inside... Freedom! Of course she protested and said that I should go with her, but I was steadfast. I firmly pushed her off of my arm, looked her in the eye and said "good luck", then walked inside without looking back. On the bright side, at least I had 10 more Euro to buy me breakfast at McDonald's in the morning.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
4/9/09 Easter Break in Barcelona
On the Gatwick Express train Nate found a return ticket in the tray table for the Stansted Express that I could use and not have to pay the ~13 pounds, maybe my luck is getting better? After landing in Barcelona we realized it was really sunny and hot out, but the nice weather was just a tease as it quickly turned overcast.
Our hostel was located just off the famous main street, La Rambla, which was quite the sight to behold. La Rambla was covered with swarms of people, there were open market pet stores on the street and people dressed up like painted statues and famous characters like Edward Scissorhands.
We got to the hostel and learned to our dismay that the hostel wouldn't take credit cards and wanted the payment to be in cash. So much for our plan of covering that part of my expenses with Nate's credit card. We walked to the bank on the other side of the main street, La Rambla, and hoped beyond hope that my atm card would come back from the dead and magically work. It has an option for savings account and colored Euro bills come out, muchos gracias! I guess my luck is getting better. Ironically, I end up covering Nate's hostel fee.
We meet Hannah and her friend Jackie at the Catalunya plaza and walk with them to their hostel, which is in a somewhat sketchy looking side street off of La Rambla. We wandered around looking for food and I stumbled upon what may be one of the greatest finds ever, Wok to Walk. It was full of terribly unhealthy and terribly delicious Chinese food, and I ordered a container of noodles and beef slathered in sweet and sour sauce.
At night we went out to see some nightlife, and hit up MyBar and TempleBar for a few drinks. There was some unintelligible creeper guy who got hilariously thrown out of the one bar. Walking back to the hostel at night was kind of sketchy, as there were guys standing on the sidewalk selling beer cans out of 6 packs, not to mention that there were prostitutes on street corners whistling as you walked by. Little did I know this was only the beginning of my experience with how sketchy Barcelona could be at night.
Our hostel was located just off the famous main street, La Rambla, which was quite the sight to behold. La Rambla was covered with swarms of people, there were open market pet stores on the street and people dressed up like painted statues and famous characters like Edward Scissorhands.
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| From Barcelona Trip |
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| From Barcelona Trip |
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| From Barcelona Trip |
We got to the hostel and learned to our dismay that the hostel wouldn't take credit cards and wanted the payment to be in cash. So much for our plan of covering that part of my expenses with Nate's credit card. We walked to the bank on the other side of the main street, La Rambla, and hoped beyond hope that my atm card would come back from the dead and magically work. It has an option for savings account and colored Euro bills come out, muchos gracias! I guess my luck is getting better. Ironically, I end up covering Nate's hostel fee.
We meet Hannah and her friend Jackie at the Catalunya plaza and walk with them to their hostel, which is in a somewhat sketchy looking side street off of La Rambla. We wandered around looking for food and I stumbled upon what may be one of the greatest finds ever, Wok to Walk. It was full of terribly unhealthy and terribly delicious Chinese food, and I ordered a container of noodles and beef slathered in sweet and sour sauce.
At night we went out to see some nightlife, and hit up MyBar and TempleBar for a few drinks. There was some unintelligible creeper guy who got hilariously thrown out of the one bar. Walking back to the hostel at night was kind of sketchy, as there were guys standing on the sidewalk selling beer cans out of 6 packs, not to mention that there were prostitutes on street corners whistling as you walked by. Little did I know this was only the beginning of my experience with how sketchy Barcelona could be at night.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
4/5/09 Stirling Castle and William Wallace Monument
Today I headed out to see the sights at the Stirling Castle, which was an important power stronghold in Scotland during medieval times.
Next I headed out to the William Wallace monument and climbed up the hill and then all the way up the narrow staircase on the inside to the very top. Standing on the top of the tower was breathtaking as the wind was whipping from all sides and the view was spectacular.
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| From Scotland Trip |
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| From Scotland Trip |
Next I headed out to the William Wallace monument and climbed up the hill and then all the way up the narrow staircase on the inside to the very top. Standing on the top of the tower was breathtaking as the wind was whipping from all sides and the view was spectacular.
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| From Scotland Trip |
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| From Scotland Trip |
Saturday, 4 April 2009
4/4/09 Tour of Edinburgh, off to Stirling
In the morning after finishing packing JJ and I headed out to a New Europe walking tour of the city, starting at the King Charles Cathedral. Ironically, our tour guide was actually from Melbourne, Australia and was quite funny. We learned important things such as the origin of the word shit-faced and saw where JK Rowling got inspiration for and worked on Harry Potter.
Sadly, we had to leave the tour early to head off to Stirling with the rest of the London Program. Once in Stirling we went to the location of the Glenturret Distillery for the Famous Grouse Experience. They really pulled out all the stops for us, as we were greeted with a real Scottish bagpiper as soon as we stepped off the bus.
I sampled several different whiskeys as we got an in depth look into how and where different kinds of whiskeys are made. After the tour we were treated to an elaborate Scottish dinner, and I tried haggis, which was really quite good. The bus ride back was interesting to say the least, as our bus driver had quite the unique taste in music.
At night a few of us went out to a random bar in Stirling and just chilled out for the most part, It seemed like the city had a decent nightlife despite what we had been previously told.
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| From Scotland Trip |
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| From Scotland Trip |
Sadly, we had to leave the tour early to head off to Stirling with the rest of the London Program. Once in Stirling we went to the location of the Glenturret Distillery for the Famous Grouse Experience. They really pulled out all the stops for us, as we were greeted with a real Scottish bagpiper as soon as we stepped off the bus.
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| From Scotland Trip |
I sampled several different whiskeys as we got an in depth look into how and where different kinds of whiskeys are made. After the tour we were treated to an elaborate Scottish dinner, and I tried haggis, which was really quite good. The bus ride back was interesting to say the least, as our bus driver had quite the unique taste in music.
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| From Scotland Trip |
At night a few of us went out to a random bar in Stirling and just chilled out for the most part, It seemed like the city had a decent nightlife despite what we had been previously told.
Friday, 3 April 2009
4/3/09 St Andrews, pub crawl
What visit to Scotland would be complete without a visit to the famous St Andrews? Now I am not really a fan of golf, but it was still really neat to see a place with such a storied history. We heard about the business aspects of St Andrews from some of their representatives and then toured around the practice range and the facilities. I walked on part of the old course, and stood on the famous footbridge near the last hole.
In the free time we had at St Andrews, JJ, Nate and I went on a little expedition to explore the rocky shoreline.
We got on the bus back to Edinburgh since we didn't want to play golf. At night JJ, Nate and I embarked on the Insomniac Pub Crawl. Nate felt sick to his stomach shortly after starting and had to walk back to the hotel. At the next stop we met some cool German guys and I talked to them about my recent trip to Munich. The night wore on and our last stop was the club Hive. Apparently some other SU kids were there and quickly came over to join us. JJ was dancing with some girl and so I had to play wingman and stop the SU kids from cockblocking him by holding them back and saying "it's alright!".
After a bit I lost track of JJ and wandered around the club looking for him to see if he wanted to leave. I didn't find him, but as I was walking around by the bar some random girl touched my arm and said I smelled nice. So I walked with her arm in arm and asked if she had seen my lost sexy Swedish friend. She hadn't and we started dancing. After some dancing she was obviously impressed with a)my sexy dance moves and b)my impeccable style, so she asked "are you gay?" I smiled as I looked into her eyes and said "No", and then I kissed her. After some making out and whatnot, I noticed that the German guys were making their way towards me. Random girl wandered off but I didn't really care.
Of course the German guy interrogated me as to why I wasn't drinking a beer at that exact moment. I told him I had already drank a lot, which probably perpetuated the stereotype that Americans suck at drinking compared to Europeans, especially Germans. The German guy said in his thick accent, "I am going to be your teacher and teach you to drink beer. B...E...E...R...BEER!" He put his arm around me and we walked back towards the bar. However, he made a quick turn onto the three shallow steps that led down to the dance-floor. I wasn't expecting this and the steps were slippery and covered in spilled drinks so I slipped and fell right on my ass and side. Basically everyone on the dance-floor looked over at me as I was on my ass, but I thought it was funny and laughed at myself as I stood up, only slightly hurt. I figured that was probably my queue to leave and said goodbye to the German guys and walked back to the Apex hotel. I still have a small mark/scar on my side from those steps, what a night.
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| From Scotland Trip |
In the free time we had at St Andrews, JJ, Nate and I went on a little expedition to explore the rocky shoreline.
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| From Scotland Trip |
We got on the bus back to Edinburgh since we didn't want to play golf. At night JJ, Nate and I embarked on the Insomniac Pub Crawl. Nate felt sick to his stomach shortly after starting and had to walk back to the hotel. At the next stop we met some cool German guys and I talked to them about my recent trip to Munich. The night wore on and our last stop was the club Hive. Apparently some other SU kids were there and quickly came over to join us. JJ was dancing with some girl and so I had to play wingman and stop the SU kids from cockblocking him by holding them back and saying "it's alright!".
After a bit I lost track of JJ and wandered around the club looking for him to see if he wanted to leave. I didn't find him, but as I was walking around by the bar some random girl touched my arm and said I smelled nice. So I walked with her arm in arm and asked if she had seen my lost sexy Swedish friend. She hadn't and we started dancing. After some dancing she was obviously impressed with a)my sexy dance moves and b)my impeccable style, so she asked "are you gay?" I smiled as I looked into her eyes and said "No", and then I kissed her. After some making out and whatnot, I noticed that the German guys were making their way towards me. Random girl wandered off but I didn't really care.
Of course the German guy interrogated me as to why I wasn't drinking a beer at that exact moment. I told him I had already drank a lot, which probably perpetuated the stereotype that Americans suck at drinking compared to Europeans, especially Germans. The German guy said in his thick accent, "I am going to be your teacher and teach you to drink beer. B...E...E...R...BEER!" He put his arm around me and we walked back towards the bar. However, he made a quick turn onto the three shallow steps that led down to the dance-floor. I wasn't expecting this and the steps were slippery and covered in spilled drinks so I slipped and fell right on my ass and side. Basically everyone on the dance-floor looked over at me as I was on my ass, but I thought it was funny and laughed at myself as I stood up, only slightly hurt. I figured that was probably my queue to leave and said goodbye to the German guys and walked back to the Apex hotel. I still have a small mark/scar on my side from those steps, what a night.
Monday, 30 March 2009
3/30/09 tour of Munich
I got up early enough for breakfast, and then headed out to Marienplatz (central square) to go on a New Europe walking tour of the city. Ironically, my tour guide was actually from Scotland, and he was quite outgoing and hilarious.
We learned lots of history about the city, and apparently the name Munich comes from Munchen, the word for monks, since monks founded the city. After the tour we went to a bar where the tour guide knew the owners, which ironically was the Sunset Travel Bar, where my pub crawl had started on Saturday night. I conversed with some other college age kids who were also on the tour, and ate some tasty German stew.
After the tour I went back to the Olympic Park and BMW showroom to get a better look at them during the daytime. I also went to the English Gardens, but the outdoor beer gardens were not open since it was raining out.
I then got on the train back to the airport and headed back to London.
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| From Munich Trip |
We learned lots of history about the city, and apparently the name Munich comes from Munchen, the word for monks, since monks founded the city. After the tour we went to a bar where the tour guide knew the owners, which ironically was the Sunset Travel Bar, where my pub crawl had started on Saturday night. I conversed with some other college age kids who were also on the tour, and ate some tasty German stew.
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| From Munich Trip |
After the tour I went back to the Olympic Park and BMW showroom to get a better look at them during the daytime. I also went to the English Gardens, but the outdoor beer gardens were not open since it was raining out.
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| From Munich Trip |
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| From Munich Trip |
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| From Munich Trip |
I then got on the train back to the airport and headed back to London.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
3/28/09 Part 2: Hofbrauhaus, Pub Crawl
After Dachau we went back into the city of Munich to grab some food and drink. We went to some random bar (psychorr?) and had a pint, but it was lame there so we left in a hurry. Next we went to the famous Hofbrauhaus where the waiters walk around in traditional German laderhosen (think yodeler) and serve you beer and giant pretzels. I got a liter of dark German beer a sausage w/ sauerkraut, and a big soft pretzel.
After that we went back to the hostel and I got changed before heading out to the starting point for the Insomniac Pub Crawl. I got sort of lost so it took me a while to find it, but it was all good because when I got there they extended the free drinks for another 1/2 hour till 10pm since the stew wasn't ready yet.
There were about 20 people there and I started up some conversation. I talked to two Swiss guys from Zurich and then talked with this group of American military guys who were stationed in northern Germany. The military guys (Gavin is the only name I remember) thought I was awesome and hilarious, so they kept buying me drinks all night. I met tons of random people that I will never remember. I think the pub crawl went to five different venues, but I only remember two of them. One was a big Irish themed pub place. I vaguely remember having tequila shots at the last bar, and that never ends well for me. After that the military guys wanted to go to the Red Light District, but luckily for me there wasn't enough room in their cab (what ever happened to never leave a man behind?).
I followed some random people to the tram stop, but I thought that I took it the wrong direction and so I got off and started walking. I must have looked really lost as a cab driver pulled up and asked if I needed a ride. In retrospect it was probably really stupid to get in, but the cab looked legit (as far as I could tell) and I had no idea where I was. Apparently, I wasn't that far from Hauptbanhoff, as the cab fare was only 4,70 Euros. I stumbled back into my room and passed out. The Pub Crawl only cost 10 Euro and despite not spending anything else, I certainly got a lot of drink. Germany rules.
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| From Munich Trip |
After that we went back to the hostel and I got changed before heading out to the starting point for the Insomniac Pub Crawl. I got sort of lost so it took me a while to find it, but it was all good because when I got there they extended the free drinks for another 1/2 hour till 10pm since the stew wasn't ready yet.
There were about 20 people there and I started up some conversation. I talked to two Swiss guys from Zurich and then talked with this group of American military guys who were stationed in northern Germany. The military guys (Gavin is the only name I remember) thought I was awesome and hilarious, so they kept buying me drinks all night. I met tons of random people that I will never remember. I think the pub crawl went to five different venues, but I only remember two of them. One was a big Irish themed pub place. I vaguely remember having tequila shots at the last bar, and that never ends well for me. After that the military guys wanted to go to the Red Light District, but luckily for me there wasn't enough room in their cab (what ever happened to never leave a man behind?).
I followed some random people to the tram stop, but I thought that I took it the wrong direction and so I got off and started walking. I must have looked really lost as a cab driver pulled up and asked if I needed a ride. In retrospect it was probably really stupid to get in, but the cab looked legit (as far as I could tell) and I had no idea where I was. Apparently, I wasn't that far from Hauptbanhoff, as the cab fare was only 4,70 Euros. I stumbled back into my room and passed out. The Pub Crawl only cost 10 Euro and despite not spending anything else, I certainly got a lot of drink. Germany rules.
3/28/09 Part 1: Dachau
In the morning I went downstairs to get breakfast, and randomly Andrew, Ian, Greg, and Eric were there at my hostel. We headed out by train and then bus to Dachau, the famous concentration camp which all other German concentration camps were modeled after. There was a very large museum that went in depth into all aspects of the historical events of the time period and the workings of the camp, and the medical experiments section in particular really got to me.
There were several of the original buildings still standing, including the living quarters, which were severely cramped. Dachau also holds the only undamaged gas chamber left in the world. It was a very somber but nonetheless important and moving experience. A plaque inside Dachau reads:
“May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945, because they resisted Nazism, help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and respect for their fellow man.”
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| From Munich Trip |
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| From Munich Trip |
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| From Munich Trip |
There were several of the original buildings still standing, including the living quarters, which were severely cramped. Dachau also holds the only undamaged gas chamber left in the world. It was a very somber but nonetheless important and moving experience. A plaque inside Dachau reads:
“May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945, because they resisted Nazism, help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and respect for their fellow man.”
Friday, 20 March 2009
3/20/09 roman baths, thai food, poonans
We headed out to eat an English breakfast at the Boston Tea Party, which was tasty but the portions were too small and we had to wait forever for the food. Our next stop was the Roman Bath Ruins that the town of Bath is named after and famous for.
Walking around the ruins was like stepping back in time, and seeing how the Romans used the temple to worship and relax was very interesting. The natural springs underneath still feed water up into the pools, and the water is warm to the touch. After the tour we sampled some of the natural spring water in the pump room, and it tasted similar to blood, because of the high iron and other mineral content.
For dinner we went to the Thai restaurant “Shang-Ri-La”, and I had some chicken type thing in sweet and sour sauce, which was tasty. We went back to the apartment and got ready to go out to the club Po Na Na. We headed out, and I was disappointed that Joey's other (and cuter) friends there didn't want to go with us since they all had to leave by 9am for their trip to Oxford.
We danced for a while at the club and then attempted to do karaoke. I chose the song Just Dance by Lada Gaga, and found out that it is really damn hard to attempt to dance while simultaneously singing at the same time, especially while inebriated.
After some more dancing Joey and I needed a break and we randomly sat down next to some girl and some drunk guy started taking his shirt off and dancing in front of us, which was slightly disconcerting. However, the girl sitting next to us said she was from Liverpool and that he was one of her drunk marine friends, and we started a conversation. I found out that she was 25 and has been obsessed with the Spice girls since she was young. She also apparently met her boyfriend on hotornot.com, which surprised me. After a while the conversation got stale so I headed back to the dance floor since the club was closing in like ½ hr (3am?). We left the club and got some Mr. D's, a fast food stand, on the way back.
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| From Bath Trip |
Walking around the ruins was like stepping back in time, and seeing how the Romans used the temple to worship and relax was very interesting. The natural springs underneath still feed water up into the pools, and the water is warm to the touch. After the tour we sampled some of the natural spring water in the pump room, and it tasted similar to blood, because of the high iron and other mineral content.
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| From Bath Trip |
For dinner we went to the Thai restaurant “Shang-Ri-La”, and I had some chicken type thing in sweet and sour sauce, which was tasty. We went back to the apartment and got ready to go out to the club Po Na Na. We headed out, and I was disappointed that Joey's other (and cuter) friends there didn't want to go with us since they all had to leave by 9am for their trip to Oxford.
We danced for a while at the club and then attempted to do karaoke. I chose the song Just Dance by Lada Gaga, and found out that it is really damn hard to attempt to dance while simultaneously singing at the same time, especially while inebriated.
After some more dancing Joey and I needed a break and we randomly sat down next to some girl and some drunk guy started taking his shirt off and dancing in front of us, which was slightly disconcerting. However, the girl sitting next to us said she was from Liverpool and that he was one of her drunk marine friends, and we started a conversation. I found out that she was 25 and has been obsessed with the Spice girls since she was young. She also apparently met her boyfriend on hotornot.com, which surprised me. After a while the conversation got stale so I headed back to the dance floor since the club was closing in like ½ hr (3am?). We left the club and got some Mr. D's, a fast food stand, on the way back.
| From Bath Trip |
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
3/18/09 girl talk concert
Headed out to the Girl Talk concert in Scala around 10 or so. The music wasn't really live as GT just hit a few buttons on his laptop and then stood on the table and danced around the rest of the time. It was basically just a huge dance party. The venue was really crowded and obscenely drunk dbags kept bumping into me constantly, which really pissed me off. I danced with some random girls for a while (from Chicago I think?) and overall I had a decent time.
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| From London - March, April |
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| From London - March, April |
Saturday, 14 March 2009
3/14/09 walk around camden, fabric at night
In the early afternoon JJ, Nate, and I ventured into Camden Town to do our research for our British History and Culture presentation. JJ randomly decided to get his ears pierced, and we ate at a really terrible Thai restaurant, which we found out afterwards was actually all vegetarian food and that is why it tasted like crap. Walking around the streets of Camden markets on the weekend was an interesting experience, as there were lots of younger kids obviously into the alternative kind of lifestyle, with ridiculous hair and lots of body piercings and tattoos. What was really interesting was that the residential areas of Camden were almost completely devoid of people, even though they were only a block or two away from the main markets. We also walked through Hyde Park, which had like 10 million different football(soccer) fields and then headed back to the flat.
At night we made our way to the infamous London club, Fabric, around 10pm. But we had to wait outside for a while since it actually opened at 11pm. We had a couple of beers while we waited and two random Russian girls came up and asked us if we were going inside. We started a conversation and the two were apparently flight attendants on some Russian airline I had never heard of before.
After getting inside we all found out that the people who you have to pay to get in are total dicks. They wouldn't accept our international student ID cards for the student discount rate, so we had to pay full cover (16 pounds wtf). The club was very good, but not the best I have been to so far. It had three different dancing areas with a decent amount of dance floor space, and was moderately crowded. JJ and I randomly ran into the Russian girls again on the dance floor so we danced and hung out with them for a while and then headed back to the flat after waiting forever to get on a night bus and having a deep conversation.
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| From London - March, April |
At night we made our way to the infamous London club, Fabric, around 10pm. But we had to wait outside for a while since it actually opened at 11pm. We had a couple of beers while we waited and two random Russian girls came up and asked us if we were going inside. We started a conversation and the two were apparently flight attendants on some Russian airline I had never heard of before.
After getting inside we all found out that the people who you have to pay to get in are total dicks. They wouldn't accept our international student ID cards for the student discount rate, so we had to pay full cover (16 pounds wtf). The club was very good, but not the best I have been to so far. It had three different dancing areas with a decent amount of dance floor space, and was moderately crowded. JJ and I randomly ran into the Russian girls again on the dance floor so we danced and hung out with them for a while and then headed back to the flat after waiting forever to get on a night bus and having a deep conversation.
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| From London - March, April |
Thursday, 12 March 2009
3/12/09 Stonehenge and Hampton Court
We traveled to Stonehenge, and learned some of its lengthy history, as it was apparently used as some kind of burial ground and/or calendar. Stonehenge was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. We were able to go up right into the circle and touch the stones, which was pretty cool.
Next we headed to Hampton Court, which was a psuedo-castle where royalty lived in medieval times. It had very elaborate architecture and a massive garden complete with fountains and lots of wildlife. There was also a hedge maze to walk around in, but it was very easy and we figured it out in like 5 minutes.
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| From Stonehenge, Hampton Court |
Next we headed to Hampton Court, which was a psuedo-castle where royalty lived in medieval times. It had very elaborate architecture and a massive garden complete with fountains and lots of wildlife. There was also a hedge maze to walk around in, but it was very easy and we figured it out in like 5 minutes.
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| From Stonehenge, Hampton Court |
Saturday, 7 March 2009
3/7/09 Lund, night out
This morning Rikard showed us around the college town Lund, that has over 40,000 students going to school there. We saw parts of the campus and went into the monstrous 14th century Cathedral, which had an ornate and intricate clock that had seasons, days, and more on it similar to the one in Prague. There was also a crypt downstairs where some ancient royalty were buried. We walked around the streets some more and I tried Swedish hard candy but didn't like it.
Rikard drove us back to Monica's after picking up his apartment keys from JJ's mom at Brit's place. For dinner we had grilled chicken and I tried some brie cheese on a flat cracker with marmalade on top, which was pretty good.
We headed back to Rikard's apartment and had a few drinks before heading out to Anna's apartment. We got there and talked for a while, and apparently one of her friends worked for Carlsberg as some kind of manager and gave me his business card in between him high-fiving everyone. Anna suggested going to Debaser, a club near the center of Malmo that catered towards a somewhat older crowd. Apparently some woman there was having her 30th birthday party, so it was a little awkward being there with mostly older people and we then headed over to a club called Rumble, which was nearby and catered to a younger crowd more our age.
The club was good overall, and had two separate main dancing areas, one with more electronic/techno music and the other one with more chill/reggae music. JJ, Nate and I danced for a while in the techno area. We met some cool Swedish girls, a redhead (Johanna) and blonde (Emily), who we talked with for a while. Johanna was 23 and studying in Malmo as a student and had taken a road trip in the United States a few years back. Her friend Emily was 21 and was studying in Lund, where we had been earlier that day. We didn't realize that the club closed around 3am, so we ended up waiting forever in the coat check line before we could leave.
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| From Sweden Trip |
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| From Sweden Trip |
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| From Sweden Trip |
Rikard drove us back to Monica's after picking up his apartment keys from JJ's mom at Brit's place. For dinner we had grilled chicken and I tried some brie cheese on a flat cracker with marmalade on top, which was pretty good.
We headed back to Rikard's apartment and had a few drinks before heading out to Anna's apartment. We got there and talked for a while, and apparently one of her friends worked for Carlsberg as some kind of manager and gave me his business card in between him high-fiving everyone. Anna suggested going to Debaser, a club near the center of Malmo that catered towards a somewhat older crowd. Apparently some woman there was having her 30th birthday party, so it was a little awkward being there with mostly older people and we then headed over to a club called Rumble, which was nearby and catered to a younger crowd more our age.
The club was good overall, and had two separate main dancing areas, one with more electronic/techno music and the other one with more chill/reggae music. JJ, Nate and I danced for a while in the techno area. We met some cool Swedish girls, a redhead (Johanna) and blonde (Emily), who we talked with for a while. Johanna was 23 and studying in Malmo as a student and had taken a road trip in the United States a few years back. Her friend Emily was 21 and was studying in Lund, where we had been earlier that day. We didn't realize that the club closed around 3am, so we ended up waiting forever in the coat check line before we could leave.
Friday, 6 March 2009
3/6/09 helsingborg and helsinger
In the morning we had eggs and Swedish flat bread for breakfast and then met another family friend, Brit, who drove us out to Helsingborg. Nate, JJ, and I first walked over to the main shopping street and wandered around into different stores. Then we walked up the hillside to see the keep that overlooked the city. The view of the city was great from there, even though the keep wasn't a full size castle or anything.
Next we took a short ferry ride over the water to Helsinger in Denmark. We walked around the streets for a bit but everything in the shops was relatively expensive because of the exchange rate. We also saw Hamlet's castle from a distance, but it looked like there was construction going on near it so we didn't get closer. We traveled back to Helsingborg by ferry and walked along the docks until we found a small Swedish restaurant. I ordered sill – traditional Swedish marinated red herring – and it was fairly spicy but I enjoyed it.
We walked up the hillside for a while until we got to Brit's apartment and met JJ's mom and Brit there. After talking with them for a little bit we headed back to the train station and took a train to Malmo and then a bus from there to Looma. At Monica's house we had this tasty quiche pie kind of thing for dinner, which had ham and mushrooms and broccoli inside it. Over dinner conversation I found it interesting that Swedish students take 9 years of English in school because no other countries speak Swedish. They also learn up to 2 other languages in school, usually French or German, but Spanish is becoming more popular. We were all tired so we decided to not go out and watched Snakes on a Plane on TV instead.
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| From Sweden Trip |
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| From Sweden Trip |
Next we took a short ferry ride over the water to Helsinger in Denmark. We walked around the streets for a bit but everything in the shops was relatively expensive because of the exchange rate. We also saw Hamlet's castle from a distance, but it looked like there was construction going on near it so we didn't get closer. We traveled back to Helsingborg by ferry and walked along the docks until we found a small Swedish restaurant. I ordered sill – traditional Swedish marinated red herring – and it was fairly spicy but I enjoyed it.
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| From Sweden Trip |
We walked up the hillside for a while until we got to Brit's apartment and met JJ's mom and Brit there. After talking with them for a little bit we headed back to the train station and took a train to Malmo and then a bus from there to Looma. At Monica's house we had this tasty quiche pie kind of thing for dinner, which had ham and mushrooms and broccoli inside it. Over dinner conversation I found it interesting that Swedish students take 9 years of English in school because no other countries speak Swedish. They also learn up to 2 other languages in school, usually French or German, but Spanish is becoming more popular. We were all tired so we decided to not go out and watched Snakes on a Plane on TV instead.
Monday, 2 March 2009
3/2/09 jewish quarter, prague presentations, night out
At 9am we left for a tour of the Jewish Quarter of Prague. We stopped at a few museums and synagogues along the way and were given way too much background history information for so early in the morning. In particular the inside of one had the names of all the people who were taken to extermination camps in World War II written on almost every wall from floor to ceiling and it was a very daunting and somber sight. 90% of the Jewish population in Prague were exterminated, but the Nazis chose to leave most of their synagogues in tact and collected Jewish artifacts in order to make a museum for the “exterminated race”. We also visited the Jewish ghetto graveyard, which had 12 different levels of graves underground because the Jews were not given any other area to bury their dead. This graveyard was very unique because it had a multitude of tombstones basically leaning on each other.
After we headed back for lunch at the hotel, it was finally time to do the Prague Presentation. Overall I felt our presentation went well, we went a little bit too long and it was fairly boring at some parts, even Davis was nodding off, but we did the best we could with the material we had. My group performed well on making sure to speak slowly and clearly so the LEROS manager could understand us. The LEROS manager was very nice and after commenting on our recommendations he gave us a sample bag of a variety of LEROS teas.
For the most part I felt that the Prague Projects gave some valuable experience of problems that would come up in a real-life business consulting project like vague objectives, hard to find research, stressful deadlines, less than helpful group members, and presentations to the client. However, if we did something wrong it wasn't a big deal, since we couldn't be fired or anything. At the end Dvorsky said that there would likely be internship possibilities to live and work in Prague for a month next summer, and I definitely am interested in doing that.
After a nice nap I headed out with Andrew, Neil, Peter, JJ, and Nate to the Olympia Restaurant again to have a celebratory dinner. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed down for some re-flooring and so we headed to the nearby restaurant “Stara Praha”. I got a traditional Czech potato soup (“Bramboracka”), beef goulosh (“Hovezi Gulas”) with dumplings, and a dark beer (“Staropramen Tmave”). It was all tasty but not completely filling. After paying our bill we found out from Nate that Neil had been charged for his ketchup and garlic and the box he used to take home his ribs, and since Nate had to pay for it the guy at the counter said “your friend, he screwed you” which was hilarious.
We all got back on the tram towards the train station, but right as Neil was reaching for the pole to hold on to, the tram sprung to life, and Neil was instantly thrown onto the floor and crumpled into a ball. It was absolutely hilarious to see, and all of the Czech people sitting next to us were laughing too.
In the train station we briefly talked with a Bulgarian woman who was visiting Prague with her friend about how Prague was always grey and where we went to clubs. She was fairly fluent in English and had visited Boston and Washington DC in the United States.
The Beer Factory was really neat, in that you sat at a table as a group with a central tap, and each table could compete against other tables to see who could drink the most, and also the bar as a whole could compete against other bars. We played some drinking games and enjoyed the music. A bit after 11pm a huge group of young Czech teens, probably high schoolers, came in and started partying like crazy. They started an almost mini mosh-pit in the center of the floor and there was some crowd surfing. Czech people really know how to party hard.
We headed back to the hotel and then found out that there was a student bar in the basement floor of the hotel. This bar was pretty big, had 2 different areas a pool table and stuff and served pints of beer for only 25 krona (like $1.05 US!?). This was an astonishing discovery and we lamented over the lost opportunities we would have had if we knew this bar existed when we got here. I headed up to bed soon after.
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| From Prague Trip |
After we headed back for lunch at the hotel, it was finally time to do the Prague Presentation. Overall I felt our presentation went well, we went a little bit too long and it was fairly boring at some parts, even Davis was nodding off, but we did the best we could with the material we had. My group performed well on making sure to speak slowly and clearly so the LEROS manager could understand us. The LEROS manager was very nice and after commenting on our recommendations he gave us a sample bag of a variety of LEROS teas.
For the most part I felt that the Prague Projects gave some valuable experience of problems that would come up in a real-life business consulting project like vague objectives, hard to find research, stressful deadlines, less than helpful group members, and presentations to the client. However, if we did something wrong it wasn't a big deal, since we couldn't be fired or anything. At the end Dvorsky said that there would likely be internship possibilities to live and work in Prague for a month next summer, and I definitely am interested in doing that.
After a nice nap I headed out with Andrew, Neil, Peter, JJ, and Nate to the Olympia Restaurant again to have a celebratory dinner. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed down for some re-flooring and so we headed to the nearby restaurant “Stara Praha”. I got a traditional Czech potato soup (“Bramboracka”), beef goulosh (“Hovezi Gulas”) with dumplings, and a dark beer (“Staropramen Tmave”). It was all tasty but not completely filling. After paying our bill we found out from Nate that Neil had been charged for his ketchup and garlic and the box he used to take home his ribs, and since Nate had to pay for it the guy at the counter said “your friend, he screwed you” which was hilarious.
We all got back on the tram towards the train station, but right as Neil was reaching for the pole to hold on to, the tram sprung to life, and Neil was instantly thrown onto the floor and crumpled into a ball. It was absolutely hilarious to see, and all of the Czech people sitting next to us were laughing too.
In the train station we briefly talked with a Bulgarian woman who was visiting Prague with her friend about how Prague was always grey and where we went to clubs. She was fairly fluent in English and had visited Boston and Washington DC in the United States.
The Beer Factory was really neat, in that you sat at a table as a group with a central tap, and each table could compete against other tables to see who could drink the most, and also the bar as a whole could compete against other bars. We played some drinking games and enjoyed the music. A bit after 11pm a huge group of young Czech teens, probably high schoolers, came in and started partying like crazy. They started an almost mini mosh-pit in the center of the floor and there was some crowd surfing. Czech people really know how to party hard.
We headed back to the hotel and then found out that there was a student bar in the basement floor of the hotel. This bar was pretty big, had 2 different areas a pool table and stuff and served pints of beer for only 25 krona (like $1.05 US!?). This was an astonishing discovery and we lamented over the lost opportunities we would have had if we knew this bar existed when we got here. I headed up to bed soon after.
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