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#also earlier this morning we were supposed to hike and get ready at 8am... i was up since 730am and was playing games for awhile and may
kissryuwuji · 3 years
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being tipsy is like,,,, sitting still and still feeling like ur gonna fall off the chair
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kelhirt · 5 years
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The next leg of my journey: Deutschland und Portugal
Two days later I was on the absolute worst flight of my life to Germany. That is a whole other story in and of itself, so let’s keep it short and hit the high points: 4 delays, 3 airport changes, landing 7 hours later than planned at Ulster Airport, making me take a two hour taxi ride south with strangers at 3 am to get to Cologne, my original destination.  Shout out to the Claussens, my German family, for being patient and still waiting for me to arrive via taxi at 5 am…9 hours later than planned.
The next five days were filled with both fun adventure and relaxing with the Claussens at their home in Bad Honnef, a city right on the Rhine. Jette left the day after I got there to work at a hostel in Portugal, but we were able to visit Burg Eltz and have a family picnic on the island park in Bad Honnef before she left. 
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Each day was something new; except for brekky, I always ate the fresh laugen (pretzel bread) with jam because I can’t ever get enough. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I fell off my bike on a journey with Elise to get cheap Birkenstocks because it was too big, which made for a good laugh for both us, and the people passing by. We hiked one of the seven mountains in the Rhine area, explored Köln, drank lots of Kölsch during a last minute stop at the city’s Kölsch Fest, drove the Rhine River path, and had a cookout. All this time, I was able to practice my German and look like a fool while I was doing it. The last night I had there, I helped Peter coach soccer, which was a grand time! I was playing with and against young soccer stars who wanted to practice their English with an older American woman. When the scrimmage came around, I had a young boy who was my ally and assisted in a goal I made. I tried not to get into my competitive mode and I’ll absolutely give those girls credit for whooping my butt most of the time.
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Elise and I overlooking the Rhine Valley
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Because the Claussens are family to me, leaving was really tough. Peter dropped me off at the bus stop at night and I woke up in Berlin the next morning. I used the public bathroom at the bus/metro station to brush my teeth, change, and quickly oriented myself with the metro. I dumped my stuff at the hostel and headed out for a full day of sightseeing. I started my day at 8am and ended back at the hostel at 8 pm, where I paid 5 euro for a freaking towel because I was disgusting from walking the city in high heat. I’m sure I looked like an absolute wreck, because the guy in line behind me offered to pay for my towel when I was debating spending the money or not...my desperation was evident and very real.
The day was fantastic though! At first I was overwhelmed with my map of points of interest, so I started with a boat tour through the city which helped to familiarize myself with directions in the city. Don’t worry, if you know me and my love for maps, I still had it out about 85% of the day. I was a full-blown tourist that day as I made a big loop of Berlin, hopping on and off the metro to make sure I saw all the things. I sat down in places that radiated good energy or cried for more attention. I played in a sprinkling fountain at the Berlin Cathedral with two other tourists because it was hot as hell, and we thought there was power in numbers: they wouldn’t think oddly of 3 people vs 1 cooling off in there. When I got back that night, I was exhausted but eager to journal about everything I saw that day so I didn’t forget anything. As I was journaling, a guy from Syria started talking to me.
Side note: The intro line for guys who are smoking: “do you have a lighter/want a cigarette” is NOT a great way to start a conversation. But I had that happen three times abroad.
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Memorial to the Murdered Jews
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Berlin Cathedral
Back to Berlin and the Syrian guy that disrupted my journaling to ask for a lighter (though he ended up having one, go figure!)  He and his family were refugees and he opened up to me about living in Syria during the war. It was one of the most eye opening conversations I’ve ever had the privilege of having. I ended up being speechless because I had a human being telling me what their “normal” was, which involved bombings a village away and death being a constant. I could never imagine what that was like, a topic I later reflected heavily on. I mean, how blessed are Americans that our (whole) country has not been destroyed physically and socially. (I might argue it’s on its way to social destruction but eyyy, I’m not about to get political. Please just be a genuinely kind person, honestly).  Because he was so open, I felt comfortable asking questions, which led to some pretty intense conversations. He surprised me when he casually showed me where he was shot one morning while enjoying breakfast outside. Holy man. Three weeks earlier I was sitting outside enjoying tea and biscuits, listening to the birds and the ocean on an Irish island, worried about absolutely nothing. Again, I felt overcome with deep sadness for him and the countries that are war ladden and overwhelming gratitude for what I had at home. He moved to Berlin to get a college education in IT, and disclosed that if he hadn’t been shot in the shoulder and taken to a Turkish hospital, he and his family would have died in a bombing that annihilated their village just days later. I can’t make this stuff up you guys. Talk about humbling and opening your eyes to different perspectives.
 On a lighter note (no pun intended), I did the same thing the next day. Started with some laugen (OBVI!) Jumped on the metro and got off near the Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery. I walked it twice and found something new each way. I sort of got scammed, which was absolute crap because I’ve spotted every trap on my travels. Needless to say, all I wanted to do was sit down and cry for being an idiot, but what good would that have done me? None. So I took a hard lesson, got back on the metro and headed to a beautiful little city just outside of Berlin called Potsdam. I saw most of the palaces, relaxed in the gardens, and chatted with other visitors. I still had lots of negative self-talk that I fought with all day for the morning’s unfortunate happening, but I persevered in site seeing anyway. This is one of my favorite things about travel. Making a really stupid mistake and being able to acknowledge it and move on.
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Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery: a mile of amazing art!
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Potsdam Palaces
 Berlin was so unique; it was equally as exciting and huge as it was cozy and welcoming. Definitely a place I would love to spend an extended period of time in! But I had places to be; namely Portugal with my German bestie, so the next day I hopped on the plane and headed to Faro, Portugal on the Algarve Coastline. My hostel room had 8 beds and was filled with Spaniards my age to a 40 year old Italian men. Quaint and homey, the hostel was not ready for what it would experience during the upcoming week. Brekky everyday was fantastic in the sense it was a time for connection and community. Everyone was eager to learn something new about everyone. I usually ended up eating with two Belgians, one of whom was a pilot, so my fears of flying were squashed when he gave me some very helpful information on planes. It was when I could talk to the people I shared a room with and through that, the Italian man, Luigio, took a liking to me. He was genuinely concerned that I had a great time in Faro, always asking if I slept alright, making sure I knew about the best places to go and reminding me that it is super easy to burn, so make sure I applied sunscreen regularly. When I burned like a tomato, he said: “Kelli, I warned you. What happened?” then told me about his prescription sunburn relief that was in the fridge. He was my acting dad for a few days. He always made me smile.I stayed a week, so people came and went, and later ended up meeting a Brazilian that lives in Dublin. Fast forward three weeks and I’d be staying at her apartment with a friend. Cool how that stuff happens.
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Breakfast was also where I met two guys from Austria and Azerbaijan who seemed discombobulated and grumpy the first time I interacted with them. After I got to know them, I realized they were both just to the point and was hangry. Both can attest to that, and they soon became good friends. Wherever Jette and I would go, they would decide to come along. I can only describe them as lost puppies or the background noise you needed on your adventures; I say this in the most endearing way and they know I called them that, just to make sure we are on the right page. I refer to the friends I made in Faro as “a dysfunctional family” because that’s exactly what we were. We went to different beaches every day, out at night, hung out at brekky and on the roof of the hostel playing cards and made up Eastern Europe geography quizzes.
I was supposed to leave on a Wednesday, but Jette and the guys not only talked me into staying, but also found me cheap flights, because obviously money was the only thing holding me back. Nothing but a few solo days in Belfast were waiting for me in Ireland. So, in a last minute move, I extended my trip to spend four more days baking on the beach with a group of really great people.  In that time I was able to: perform at a bar with a musician, learn a new Brazilian dance, see another city, eat what some people might consider a sickening amount of falafel kebabs, attended a boujee rooftop pool party, and spend time with one of my favorite people. Faro was the epitome of the things I love about travel. Connecting with new people and hearing their stories and making friendships that continue beyond the trip. Also a bonus I got to lay on the beach an extra couple days. Thankfully it is easy to stay connected this day in age, and I talk to the friends I made somewhat often.
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Germany and Portugal were two spectacular weeks. I know I’m not alone in the feeling of being a goddess following a day at the beach where your skin smells like the sun and sea salt. I experienced so much and built strong connections with others in this time. I still thank God for the people and experiences he brought into my life in these two weeks and for the adventurous soul I was born with.
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Luckily, I wasn’t headed back to America yet; I still had four weeks to dog sit in NW Ireland and a visit from my best friend.
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fionnphotoblog · 7 years
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Jeremy's Run Shenandoah
REI overnight backpack/camping trip. Started at Jeremy's Run in Shenandoah about noon after meeting my REI trail team at 8am. We did a gear check, a trip summary and headed out. The drive was uneventful but as we arrived into the park the fog started to fill in. Upon arrival at the park entrance the rangers warned us about high water on the river. We were planning to hike not paddle but we did have between 11-14 river crosses ahead of us. The ranger said as high as waist deep. Those of in the front of the bus groaned. Getting wet crossing a river is one thing. Waist deep and getting the bottom of my pack wet was not appealing. Michael decided to hike down to the first stream to see if it was passable. It was. He came back about 45 minutes later to find us with our pack ready to go. The day started out great with a relatively step downhill and the first of 11 stream crossings. It was a bit of a shock. I had visions of streams like I've crossed on Sugarloaf; one big step or a rock in one step and a you're across. This was step into the water. Get your feet soaking. Then start navigating the crossing. After the first you get used to it. This is the first time I've regretted waterproof boots. They don't drain. The trail kept crossing the Run. 11 times. It would have been 13 but at 6pm we stopped at an earlier camp site. The planned site was 2 more Run crossings and about another hours hike. Some were game but some were getting cold and hungry. In the end the decision to stop was made and I can't say I was remotely upset. I was cold and getting hungry. Setting up tents was uneventful but fun. Figuring out the set up was a bit like searching my memory from the first and only time I set it up. It went up in the end and then sleeping pad and sleeping bag were done. We sat around a little got a lecture about boiling water to treat it and drank hot chocolate. One of the best things about REI trip planning is the provisioning. Panera lunch on Saturday. A huge Tupperware of snacks to take all you want including hot chocolate and the all important coffee for the morning of day 2. Dinner was also REI-provided dehydrated meals which we chose on Saturday morning in the store. While the 12 cups of water that was needed for is all to eat dinner was being boiled in parallel on 3 stoves we got a great demo on bear bags. It was cool to finally see the implementation of what is supposed to keep bears away while you sleep. A few things I didn't know. Trash, all toiletries including deodorant, toothpaste and sun block all go in the bear bag. After hearing the story about a stray Snickers bar, I searched for crumbs. Bears. Bears scare the hell out of me. I've no idea why. I've never met a bear that wasn't at the zoo. I think I've read too many stories inspired, probably, by Bill Bryson's reading list as he prepared to hike the AT. Everyone has a bear story they've heard and they are scary. Dogs running off and leading bears back to humans. Snickers Bars buried in the bottom of packs seem to also be an aphrodisiac for the bear. This is probably a case where reality is way worse than the stories and that was enough to keep me in my bag long after I would have gone to the toilet at home when the need to pee hit me about 2 in the morning. By 2:45 the desire not to wet my bed took over my fear of what might be out there. In reality I found nothing except relief. Cold. I didn't sleep well. I should have brought my heavier weight sleeping bag but I didn't. My summer bag goes to 50 degrees but my sleeping bag liner should provide and additional 20 degrees of warmth, i.e. Down to 30 degrees and the low was supposed to be 40. No idea what happened but I never really got warm And snuggly. I used the pack and the liner but my butt just wouldn't warm up. I was wearing my tech T, smartwool zip up, my Patagonia jacket and long underwear bottoms. I finally took off my jackets wrapper it around my waist and zipped it provided g an extra layer where in beaded it and added a long sleeve tech shirt under the smartwool and hunkered down for a chilly night. Both my bag and liner have a head wrap and with my hat I started to warm up. I have to admit that by the time I was desperate for a wee, the warmth was an additional consideration to bears. I didn't want to get out of my bag but like I said. Didn't want to wet the bed either. Day 2 was warmer, sunnier and up hill. Turns out there were 11 river crossings not 12. We were back at the van by 12:45. The hike back up the last mile wasn't terrible but I'm tired. Felt good but was moderating water and would have loved an extra liter. All in all great trip. Just need a tick check.
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smoodytravels · 7 years
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Settling In
The first few days have been nothing but busy and full of walking around the city. I can’t believe how fast this week has gone - I have met so many amazing and incredibly outgoing people and its only just the beginning! Here’s a recap of my first few days in Florence:
First full day: Wednesday, January 25th, 2017
I woke up to the sound of people bustling in the streets early in the morning, as well as heard the bell from the Duomo ringing at around 8am. It rings every single morning at the same time. The first full day in this amazing city consisted of orientation for my school, which meant no sleeping in after being extremely jet lagged and tired. We sat through orientation, and during my break, my friend Shelby and I decided to go have lunch together with some other friends. But as since we are still unfamiliar with the city, we (of course) got lost trying to find the restaurant that we were supposed to be going to. We were so incredibly close, but the streets here are so confusing, and Maps on the iPhone was really not that helpful. So we picked somewhere near by and had pizza - this was my first pizza in Florence and it was delicious! We then made our way to her apartment, which took us 40 minutes to get to because we got lost again (lol) and took our time strolling the streets along the River Arno. I can’t believe it took us 40 minutes to reach her apartment, when we could've been there in probably 20 minutes, but its something we both laugh at now. We had an appointment for orientation in which we had to be back at our location anytime before 5:30pm, and instead of sitting in auditorium for 2 hours (which was what we were supposed to be doing), we were walking around the city, taking pictures and seeing the sights. So, we ended up getting to the location around 5pm, our appointment was finished in about 10 minutes, and we went our separate ways to our apartment. 
That night, me and a few of my roommates went to the welcome dinner provided for us through our program. We had some good but interesting food - pumpkin risotto, vegetarian lasagna, turkey with artichoke, and a dessert which seemed to be an apple type pastry with chocolate on top. Wednesday night was our first night of going out and seeing what night life is like here. We went out to a “shot cafe” which is a bar, and then “space” a fun night club that mostly American students were at. I had the opportunity to meet more people who are in the same program as me, all of which are sweet and fun to be around. 
Thursday, January 26th, 2017:
This day was for relaxing and taking it easy. Trying to adjust to a new place has been a little difficult, but I’m learning to take things with a grain of salt and to try my best to stay positive even when it gets a little tough. Both my roommate and I slept in pretty late and caught up on resting. We went to a coffee shop that’s near our apartment, “Arnold Coffee”, and inside they play American music and consider themselves to be the “American Coffee Experience” - perfect for people like us. 
Later on in the day, we made our first trip to the “conad”, which is Florence’s version of a grocery store. It was a pretty small store, and the aisles are tight. When we were checking out, the woman at the counter could probably tell we were american.. the camera probably gave it away. At the store, we had to put all of our own groceries on the counter for the person to scan, and then bag it as well. The woman scanned our food items so quickly, I hardly had time to get the euros out to pay for it. I paid, and she immediately started to quickly scan the next person’s groceries, meanwhile i was struggling to put everything in the grocery bags. 
That night my roommate (Ashlyn) and I went to go buy blankets for our beds in our apartment because it gets so cold at night. Once again, we got lost trying to find this place, and it took us about 40 minutes to get there (lesson learned so far: don’t ask me for directions, since I obviously get lost everywhere I go). When we finally found the store, we went down a road that had the Duomo at the very end, which we have decided is our main location to go back to if we get lost. I couldn’t believe we had missed one street that could've taken us to the store so much quicker, but you live and you learn right? Later, we had dinner with her friend Nick, who’s also studying abroad here but through a different program. We went out to dinner with him, and went to a cute Italian restaurant, where I ordered spaghetti noodles with garlic and olive oil (pretty simple, I know, but I couldn’t resist), which had a ton of garlic in it. Regardless, it was still pretty good! The staff that worked there were nice, and even helped me to order my food in Italian (I tried my best, it wasn’t very good). After dinner, we walked back to our apartment, and I decided to stop for my first gelato. However, the gelato I ordered was 9euro, because it was by the Duomo which is more expensive because of the tourists (rookie mistake #2). By the time we got home, it was around 11 and we were ready for bed. 
Friday, January 27th, 2017: 
Today, Ashlyn and I woke up earlier in the morning (and by early I mean 9), and we needed to run some errands. We headed out, trying to find the main building of the school that we’re going to (Florence University of the Arts). Yet again, google maps took us in the wrong direction to the wrong place shown on the map. We ended up walking all the way there, and found ourselves at a door that looked nothing like what we were looking for. We had to turn in important paperwork before 3pm, so we were worried that we would never find the paper in the next few hours. We decided to turn around and try to head in a different direction, and thankfully we ran into two girls who go to WSU (Rylee and Emily), and by chance they were looking for the same thing we were. We ended up walking in circles in the same area looking for this hidden office. Our feet were starting to hurt, and we were getting more confused when the streets started to all blend together (which they do all the time because they all look the exact same). We FINALLY found the office after about an hour and a half looking for it, which was incredibly close to the location where we met them the very first time. Every time Ashlyn and I get lost, we always kick ourselves because we’re so close to where we need to be (like last night). Ashlyn and I split off and I hung out with the girls we ran into, and we went to Zara for some shopping (dangerous because they have super cute clothes that are affordable). I split off with them, and headed back to my apartment. Later on that day we had a walking tour of the city with students who live in the same area as me and my roommates. It was so helpful to see the certain locations, as well as buildings my class is in. In the evening, I went out to dinner at this amazing restaurant called Trattoria Za Za, located right by the San Lorenzo market (huge market with everything you can imagine from leather goods to food). I had dinner with the 4 girls I met from WSU, as well as one of my roommates, Haley. It was so fun to get to know new people through a meal (and a couple glasses of wine of course). We ended up staying there for about 2 and a half hours talking our heads off and planning trips with each other - so exciting! I love being able to meet new people and share in the excitement while we’re here. 
Saturday, January 28th, 2017: 
Today has been quite the day.. my roommates Haley, Ashlyn, Caroline, and I decided to head out and look for the buildings our classes are in, which are pretty close to our apartment which is great! After that, we met up with Caroline’s friend Ross, and grabbed some lunch. I had a panini at this great place called Pugi’s, so delicious! The paninis are absolutely amazing, with cheese and mortadella meat (so good, my mouth is watering just writing this). After that we went on a walking tour/hike to the top of the Piazza Michelangelo with other students from our program. The view from there is absolutely incredible, you can see all of Florence from the top. After that we went to the conad (grocery store) to buy groceries for dinner. Caroline cooked us spaghetti and we had a small salad on the side (with a olive oil and vinaigrette dressing on it of course). Afterwards, we went and got some gelato, which was thankfully  only 2 euro for a small cup instead of 9 this time. I ended up getting nutella flavor, which was delicious! I’m trying to branch out of my comfort zone with foods and try as many flavors of gelato as i can. That probably won’t be a problem in the next 3 months! It was another fun and busy day, my legs and feet are tired. Looking forward to tomorrow - wine tasting and touring in Siena, Chianti and San Gimignano! Ciao for now!
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