“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” -St. Augustine

It has certainly been awhile since my last post. Since then, I have been on the move. I just got back from France and Germany a few days ago, two countries that were so different but equally amazing.

The first place I went in France was to Paris. I had always wanted to go because everyone says how beautiful and romantic it is. Well let me tell you, they aren't lying. I found the entire city to just be breathtaking. I will say that there were some bumps in the road in GETTING to Paris, though. First bad decision--taking Ryanair. For anyone who doesn't know, Ryanair is one of the "budget" airlines of Europe. That basically means that you can get flights for 50 to 150 euro less than the other companies charge. I guess I should have realized that something was wrong when the website stopped taking our American credit cards, and the response of the people who worked for the airline was, "Oh, hopefully it will work again soon! [click]" Still, we charged through marvelling at the good deals that we were getting with all of these cheap-o flights. Although the flight from Madrid to Paris is about 2 hours, there is no free drink service. In fact, you have to pay 3 euro (about $4.25) for the TINIEST can I have ever seen. But, Ryanair knows how to get you. They made sure that the plane was so stifling hot that we had to buy drinks by the time they came around just so that we wouldn't pass out.

Still, we got the drinks and then settled back to enjoy the flight. Things were fine until we landed in Paris. I use the term "in Paris" very loosely, since the landing strip that they called an airport was actually an hour and forty five minutes AWAY from Paris. Of course, we had to take the bus to Paris. (As a side note, we also had to take a bus to the airport from Frankfurt, and the bus was run by the same company. We think that this company exists solely to get customers from Ryanair flights).

But once we got to Paris, all of my complaints stopped. Sure, we got lost a few times. I forgot many of the words that I had learned in my one semester of French, but I kept being mesmerized by the fact that I was actually IN Paris, actually looking at the Eiffel Tower, and standing in the same room as Monet's Waterlilies, and seeing mass in Notre Dame that I couldn't fix my mouth to complain.

Sarah and me in front of the Seine


Just one part of one room of Monet's Waterlilies


Notre Dame at Mass


Arc de Triomphe

After Paris, we went to a little town in the Normandie region of the country called Caen. We stayed with the most precious older couple, Claude and Michele, and I left feeling as though I had seen what kind of love story I want to have had at the end of my life. We also went to Omaha Beach and saw the D-Day landing spot and all of the cemeteries. Seeing all of the crosses lined up as far as you could see was quite a sobering experience. My favorite part of Normandie? The chocolate cake that Claude, the husband (refer back to the older couple I mentioned), made us for lunch. The sauce that he made to dribble over the cake was to die for, and I realized that studying in France would be worth it if only for the food.

The view outside of my window in the little cottage

Sarah and me in front of one of the beaches

Omaha Beach

Cemetery

Ah, I should mention that the "we" I keep referring to is my friend Sarah and her family. They were some of the best people I've ever met. Here is a picture with the whole family, plus Claude and Michele:

The next part of my trip was completely opposite from the first, as Sarah and I headed off to Germany. First stop: Berlin. When we first landed at the airport, I was a bit freaked out. EVERYTHING was in German, the most incomprehensible language I have ever heard. It was weird to be in what felt like such a harsh and unwelcoming country. Still, we got settled in and everything was okay. The next morning we took the Free City Tour of Berlin. I have to say that it was one of the best decisions that we made. We got to see everything from Hitler's old bunker, to the Berlin Wall, to the Berliner Dom, to the Soviet Radio Tower. Berlin has so much history that it is impossible to fit it all into one blog post. Here are some of the things that I saw during the tour:

The Holocaust Memorial. It is a series of concrete blocks of varying size, left up to interpretation. Our tour guide said that perhaps the fact that the blocks start small and get larger, then go smaller again reflect the increasing persecution that the Jews faced, and also represents where we are today. When you are completely surrounded by them, it is very moving.

Me standing atop Hitler's former bunker

In front of the Berlin Wall (on the Eastern side)

Berliner Dom

Soviet TV Tower, meant to show how innovative and wonderful communism was

With one foot on each side of the Berlin Wall, one in East Germany and one in West

Later, we went to the Jewish History Museum, which ended up being a very sobering experience, but one that I am glad to have had.

The next day, we slept in and got a late lunch before going to the Berlin Alternative Tour, which attempted to answer the question of where Berlin is going today. We saw street art and visited different neighborhoods, ending at the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining portion of the Berlin Wall, and it is covered with murals depicting various aspects of the Cold War, life under communist rule, and just the importance of freedom. It was amazing.

Finally, we ended our trip in Frankfurt. I got very lost on my way to the airport and almost did not make it, but thank the Lord I finally got on the right train. Frankfurt was completely different from Berlin, as it is the financial capital of the country. It is a very modern, cute place that I would have liked to have had more time in.

View of Frankfurt

Then finally, finally we were home! I have never been so happy to sit at the table and eat home cooked food!