Back in Europe

Well I've been back in Europe for a month now and have settled in. Not much has changed. I do miss home and friends but I talk to them a lot and it wont really be that long till I am back home. So far I have gone to Berlin and Florance and have truly enjoined them both. Most everyday has been very hot and sunny for Holland. We have enjoyed all the sun and have gone on a bike ride and might do it again this weekend. Although I have been having all this fun I have still been doing school work. I did go to a court hearing and learned that there was no change in what was happening when I had left last year. All together its nice to be back and i am truly enjoying it.

Third and Final Day in Florence

Today was our last day in Florence, and it was a blast. Instead of staying in the city, we decided to take a short train ride to the neighboring city of Pisa so that we could visit the leaning tower of Pisa. Once we got to Pisa we walked through the city to the tower and then sat on the grass in the sun for a little. Pisa was small but very nice and it seemed like all the people that lived in Pisa all knew each other. After buying the tickets to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa we went and got a drink at a small restaurant while we waited to climb the tower. The tower was a lot of fun to be in. When you walk around in it you can tell what direction it is leaning all the time by how hard it is to walk up. The view from the first floor is nice but the view from the top is amazing you can see all over the place. The only things that were as tall as it was the church that was next to it. After all that we went back into Florence to find that it was raining really hard…like REALLY hard! We went into a gelato place to get out of the rain and get some gelato. We were getting late and needed to catch our flight as we were leaving that day so we gave up hiding from the rain and just walked back to the hotel in the pouring rain (pouring!!!) By the time we got back to the hotel we were wet to the bone, and my Aunt was getting hysterical that we were going to miss our flight. The hotel couldn’t find a taxi due to the rain and the situation was getting serious. Finally, we got a Taxi and went straight to the airport. Luckily we weren’t late for the flight so my Aunt calmed down and was not that cranky by the time we got home.

Day Two in Florence - the day of the museum

Today was my second full day in Florence. My Aunt's meetings ended yesterday so we had all day today to see Florence. This is also my first time in Italy. We started the day by going to a sculpture museum and saw The Beheading of John the Baptist along with some other really cool and very well done sculptures. There were sculptures done by Michelangelo and Rossetti and Brunachelli. All this was in the same museum where we accidentally set the alarm off yesterday because we didn't know the museum was closed and kept trying to open the door. When we got there the doors were shut so we walked all the way around it and ended up back were we started. So we tried to open the door when we heard an alarm sound inside and thought we should book it before we got in trouble so we left. Today we made it inside and it was very nice and open and the walls had different sculptures around them but my favorite one was The Beheading of John the Baptist. After walking around some more and looking at all the different sculptures we headed out. From there we headed to the major museum in Florence, Ufenzi. We had to wait in line almost 3 hours to get in. It was nice once we were in. After that we did a little shopping and i ended up getting the tie that I really liked from the day before.

Then, we headed to one more museum to finish out the day. This museum has Michelangelo's sculpture, David, in it. I have heard about the sculpture and seen photos of it, but I have to say that it is pretty amazing close up. His feet are as big as my head! It stuns me that someone could have had the kind of talent to actually sculpt like that. Even the veins on his arms and back were perfect. It was pretty amazing to see. Michelangelo's 4 dying slaves were also in this museum.

Then we went to the oldest bridge in Florence. The beach along the river reminded me of a beach board walk because it was packed and there were shops all over it and then you could see the water in the background. We didn't spend that much time there because we were hungry so we just walked over it and then back. When we found a place to eat I got really lucky and got to have steak. Apparently this is one of their specialties in Florence so my Aunt thought I should get to have one since I like steak so much. She is a vegetarian, so she just had a cheese pizza.

After that incredibly good dinner we started walking back to the hotel but on the way we went in to a "fancy" story that had lots of papers and calligraphy stuff and the wax ceals with peoples initials. It was really cool so i tried to get my aunt to get the ceal for me because it was really cool. After a little while of thinking about it she said yes so I got to get it. From there we went back to the hotel because it was getting late.

first day in florence

On Saturday, my first full day in Florence, my aunt had a work thing in the morning and then a big dinner thing for work at night so I spent the morning walking around the hotel looking at what there was to see. I didn’t want to go too far for fear of getting lost. (I had a map but I still didn’t trust myself.) After a nice long walk and getting to see St. Marks church (no I didn’t get any pictures of it sorry) and a few other cool things I went back to the hotel to wait for my aunt. After she got back we went out and started seeing the sights like the big Duomo. It really is beautiful. Inside it was huge and really just amazing to be in and see. Right when we exited we decided to climb the big campanile tower next to it. About 130 stairs later we got to the first of four levels. The view was nice from there but we knew that the view was even better further up so that is were we went. Another 95 stairs later we were at the next level which had an even nicer view but we weren’t even as high as the church we had just been in so we couldn’t see over it yet. After we climbed up the next 94 steps we reached the third floor we could see the top of the cathedral and found that the view was better then we (or at least I) thought it would be. The last 95 stairs weren’t that bad because we were so close to the top. It was nice to sit at the top for a few minutes just because the walk up was long. At the top we could see the end of the city in almost all directions. The decent from the top was fast and easy but once we were at the bottom we thought it would be a good time to get some gelato. I wasn't so sure that I would like it, but my aunt said I should at least try it, because she thought I would really like it. Gelato is a type of ice cream that is not made as much with milk as it is with ice. I found that I really liked it. I go the mint chip flavor, but my aunt got lemon, and after having a bite of hers....the lemon flavor is the best. I'm getting that one next time. After this we went to the Museum del Duomo and saw a lot of really cool Sculptures. My favorite was David and Goliath and Adam and Eve. I even got a picture with it. After we finished at the museum we walked around the streets of the town a little and I saw a tie I really liked but we didn’t get it. We had to head back shortly after because my aunt had to go to a dinner thing for work. After she left I ran out and got some pizza for dinner then went back into the hotel and ate and read because everything was closing.

I have traveled in Europe all by myself

So now I have traveled in Europe all by myself. My aunt went to Florence, Italy on Thursday for work and I was going to fly out to join her on Friday. So on Thursday morning my aunt headed out to the airport and Twiga and I stayed home. On Thursday I spent time doing home work and playing with Twiga. On Friday when I woke up I made Twiga her food and got every thing ready for Julianne, the girl who works at my aunt's court and who was watching Twiga while we were gone. Then at 3:30 on Friday afternoon I headed for the train and from there to Schipole airport in Amsterdam to catch my flight to Florence. When I got to Florence, I had to catch the bus to the main train station and from there take a cab to the hotel. I think my aunt was really nervous that something would go wrong....but it was all fine. By the time I got to the hotel I was tired and wanted to go to sleep. My aunt was at a dinner thing for work, but she had left me money at the front desk, in case I didn't have enough with me to pay for the taxi....but I did. The hotel is right in the middle of Florence so tomorrow while my aunt is working, I can explore a bit of Florence on my own.

The Beach

On Monday the Netherlands (or I guess most of Europe) celebrated a holiday....Whit Monday. I think it's some sort of religious holiday, but I actually don't know. What I do know is that Holland had the day off. Unfortunately for my aunt, who works for an international institution, she did not have the day off. However, all the kids in my youth group did, so I went to the beach to meet up with the church youth group I go to. The youth had a "Pasta feed" thing because the sun was out and it was hot and that is not common in Holland. I bussed over to the beach and then walked around for like an hour looking for the church group because it was so packed that it was almost impossible to find anyone without looking for about that long. Finally when I found them I hung out with my friends, Sinclaire and Timothy most of the time. We wanted to play Frisbee and stuff but there were WAY to many people so that idea was scratched. Although this is a beach it still doesn't seem like a real beach to me. The sand here has shells in it all over even in the parts the water is never at and they are so old that they are broken and sharp so when you step on them it really hurts. Other then that I had a lot of fun. I left earlier then most people but it was ok because I was getting a sun burn by then. All in all it was a lot of fun and I've decided that I wholly approve of Whit Monday....it rocks!

Cinco de Mayo en Ocho de Mayo

On the 8Th of may we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a party at my aunts house. It wasn't a really crazy party it was more of a stand around talk and get drunk and eat snacks. We got a bunch of alcohol to make margaritas and then some beer. For food we got 3 bags of chips and then I made Quesadillas and we had bean dip and my aunt made her guacamole. Once most the people got there I stayed more to the kitchen to make the food because people were eating it so fast but when I was out with the people I talked to a few people. I thought it went well and I had a lot of fun cooking the Quesadillas, and eating some too, and helping where I could. I talked with Shamims intern the most though and she seemed really nice. I also thought my Aunt's friend Natasha was pretty funny....she seems like this really serious feminist lawyer, and so you would never expect that she is a MAJOR Nascar fan. Guess you really should never judge a book by its cover. It was also strange to see the crowd that is at a party organized by my Aunt....people from Africa and Australia and both North and South America and all over Europe....so many different people from different places....it's pretty cool to be in a group where everyone is so different.

Kuekenhof on Cinco de Mayo

So, on Cinco de Mayo it was my first day back in Holland. I know that it is a day of celebration in Mexico, but to celebrate in Holland, I went to Kuekenhof which is the very nice bulb plant garden. When I heard about it I just thought it would be like all the other bulbs i had seen where it was just like any other farm and the bulbs are planted in long lines and you would just walk up and down and see them all. But, my aunt was pretty insistent that we were going to go, and we were going to take Twiga. She goes every year, so I figured I was stuck going. Instead it was like one big garden with a bunch of little ones in it.

When we first got there we just looked around at the stuff in the front then realized we were hungry so we went back up to the front and got a map and I realized just how big Kuekenkof gardens really is. So we started the long walk all the way around the gardens to get some lunch. The walk was really fun because of all the flowers and just how everything looked. I ended up finding my favorite tulip which is some what like the "Queen of Night" but it has a bit of a fur like feel to it. When we got to the restaurant it took a little while to find a place to sit but when we did it was nice because we had Twiga with and she was really happy and wanted to sniff everything.

After lunch we kept walking and went into the Enlightenment area and it had these really comfy beanbags to sit in on the grass that just made you want to go to sleep. After sitting there for about half an hour we realized we had to get going. We also were shopping at all the stores in the park to find the perfect bulbs to send home to CA next year. We found the best package and bought them and then we finished walking through the gardens and on the way out got a picture of me with the Poffergy sign.

Then, we drove back to The Hague and to the beach where we went to a Dutch/Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was not the best mexican food I've ever had (but I think I liked it more than my Aunt). After celebrating cinco de mayo with a mexican dinner we went to my Aunt's friend, Josy's house to watch their favorite show - Grey's Anatomy. And, this was our Cinco de Mayo! (we've planned a cinco de mayo party...but later in the week).

The Last Day in Berlin

The last day in Berlin we got up really early and went to the town were Martin Luther lived and nailed up his theses on the church door. Since our family is Lutheran, it was really exciting to think we were going to go to the place where the Protestant movement started. Wittenburg is the tiny town where Martin Luther lived and protested the Catholic Church.

The ride there was really beautiful there were little towns and flower fields and forests all the way there. When we got there we sat down for breakfast to decide were we should go first because we had a limited time there so we picked the Luther house, the monestary of Martin Luther which now houses a museum with collections of all things Lutheran. The house was huge and took a long time but was really cool to see. It even had a lot of his original writings in it. It was so big that it took us longer then we planned but once we had finished looking we went straight to the church that he used to preach at and went in there for a little to look around. It was a very old looking church which was supposed to have Martin buried under it. From there we went to the church that the thesis’s were put on and just took a few picture of it but didn’t go in because we had no time. The drive back to Berlin was long because we didn’t really know how to get back. We were so late that when we got to a rest stop we got off to call Robert because we were supposed to meet up with him before we left. When we got off we realized it was a bad idea because there was a full blown biker convention going on there. It ended up taking like 20 min just to call and leave because it was so packed. Finally we got back to Berlin, had a quick lunch and met with Robert for a few. Then we went and picked up Eleni and headed back to Den Haag. We didn't leave Berlin until after 6pm, and we didn't get back to The Hague until 4am. I slept most of the time, but my Aunt had to drive and had to get up the next morning for work...so it wasn't so easy on her. But, it was worth it....it was a great trip!

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

We are still in Berlin, but today we got up early and headed out because we were going to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. This camp wasn't a death camp it was a work camp so although many people there died it was not even close to how many people died at the death camps. I knew that the camps were big but when i got there i found that it was bigger then i thought. It was also very interesting to see where the people slept every night and sad to see just how little space they had and to hear just how bad there life was. In school you learn about the Holocaust but it is very different to hear about it when you are at the camp and see the things that they had to do and where they had to sleep. I also learned things that you aren't taught in school like if you had a deformity they would kill you just to see what it was. An example of this is when a man with a crooked spine(my guess would be he had scoliosis) was killed and took out his spine and hung it in the courtyard just because they thought it looked weird. After we were done there we drove back and met up with Robert and his girlfriend and took a boat tour of Berlin. The tour was a lot of fun even though it rained a little on us. The tour took us through parts of Berlin that people don't usually see if they just walk the city. After the tour my aunt and I went to the Holocaust memorial which was really interesting because it is a bunch of rectangular slabs that make a maze like area. From there we went back to the hotel and rested for a few minutes before we went back out to meet up with everyone for dinner. (We were supposed to meet another one of Eleni's brothers and the roommate of the brother that lived there.) When we got to the restaurant everyone but Eleni's brother and the other brothers roommate was there. Right after we ordered they both walked in. It was nice to meet them and the dinner was a lot of fun. After diner we went straight back to the hotel and straight to bed because we were getting up early the next day.

Day Two in Berlin

The second day in Berlin we went to the zoo. When we got there the line was really long so we let Twiga stand in line with us till we were about to get the tickets then I put her back in the car. Right when we got in we started looking for Knut the Polar bear. (That was my aunt’s only real reason to go there) Knut is a very famous polar bear in Europe, though in the US we haven't really heard of him. He was born last year at the Berlin zoo and the whole continent went crazy over this cute polar bear. He is now a teen ager though.

I thought it was a nice Zoo, of course I still think the San Diego Zoo is better but that is because it is :P

Before we could find Knut we decided to get some lunch so we went to one of the food courts and I got a Bratwurst and fries and my aunt got what was supposed to be potato salad and a pretzel. I loved that lunch but my aunt thought the "potato salad" was not good. After that we kept looking for the bear but it was hard to find because the signs aren't really that helpful. While we were looking for Knut we saw some white wolfs and I thought that was really cool because I love wolfs. Shortly after the wolfs we found the famous polar bear. That was the most active and fun bear I have ever seen. It actually was amazing to see.

After we saw that we headed strait for the exit and back to Twiga. From there we went back to the shops we were at the day before and I got some cool stuff. On the way back to the hotel that night we stopped at the Brandenburg Gates and got a few pictures. My aunt is such a freak that everytime we passed the gates she would say, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall." She is very embarassing to hang out in public with.

That night we went to Eleni's brothers Opera at the Berlin Opera House. It was the first real Opera I had been to and it didn't seem to be the normal kind. It was...different. I could always tell where Eleni's brother was when he was on stage. The story of the Opera was Joan of Arc, but my Aunt and Eleni said it wasn't a classic opera but a modern one so there was a lot of weird stuff going on that I didn't quite get. But, it was still fun to be there and to see it all. After the show was over, we met Eleni's brother in the restaurant for the actors and musicians and we had dinner with them and then went back to the hotel and to sleep.

Back In Europe and off to Berlin

So I have been in Europe for a total of 7 days and yet I have been having a lot of fun. Right when I got here I met up with my aunt at the airport and we went back to the house to drop off my big bag and pick up Eleni then headed to Berlin. We ended up leaving late so we didn't get to Berlin till about 1 in the morning. I slept most of the ride there so it didn't bug me too much. The next day we meet up with my aunt’s friend Robert and his girlfriend for a little tour of the city. The city is so big and fun with a lot of cool things to see and do. We started the day off with a really good breakfast at the hotel then went over to Roberts house where we had another breakfast. I didn't really eat anything at their house because I had eaten so much at the hotel. After they were done eating we went to the train station by there house and went to the city center where we met up with Eleni for a little and walked around the city looking at shops. One of the shops was a shop that sold Ampelmann which are the old stop and go signals for the crosswalk. The shop had a lot of cool things like bags and balls, pins and pens, and even more. The first time I went in I only got a pin because I didn't really know what to get so my really cool aunt said that we would go back later and look again. Shortly after that shop Eleni had to go because her other brother was coming to stay with the brother that lived in Berlin. (Elaine was staying with the brother that lived in Berlin too.) After she left we continued looking around at the cool buildings. After a long time of looking at different buildings we got to Checkpoint Charlie. (The checkpoint got the name Charlie from the communication code "Alfa Bravo Charlie") Robert and Katharina were really great tourguides of their city. It was really cool to see the checkpoint but I think my aunts favorite part was when we got Starbucks right after. From there we all took the train back to Roberts house and then met up with Eleni for dinner...pizza.....yum!