Oslo

From July 19-22 I was in Oslo. I was really excited for this trip because I had always wanted to visit Norway because it seemed really beautiful, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it out there because I wasn't sure who I would go with  because no one else was really talking about visiting there, and it wasn't a place I wanted to go by myself because there didn't seem to be a whole lot to do there besides take in the scenery, which is sort of lame to do by yourself. So when the opportunity came up to go with Libby it was like uhhh duh of course I'll go. Also, I always heard that Norway was wicked expensive, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to go, but it all worked out thankfully, and yes, it is as expensive as they say it is.

We flew from Munich to Norway on the 19th at 1 and landed at 3, were at the hotel around 430. I was really excited to be here because Norway is so far north and gets so much daylight that I was just really excited to experience that. When we were there, the sun went down around 10pm and rose around 4am, but it was never truly dark there. Even around 2 and 3 am the sky is still blue and you can still see perfectly fine and there are people everywhere, even people in their 50's and 60's who you think should be in bed. So it was really cool to see and experience for myself. It doesn't ruin your sleep though because the hotel had really thick, good curtains.

This is the Royal Palace, taken at 11:30pm

This was taken at 4:24am. It looks like noon

Side note, this was the magazine on the place, which excited me because I love watching Million Dollar Listing NY with mom at home

Our hotel was right next to the royal palace, which was cool. We had to walk through the park that it is in to get to the hotel, so we saw a lot of the palace and the guards.

The Royal Palace

The guards. They are allowed to talk to you and move around a little

The main reason to go to Oslo is the beauty scenery, so we spent a lot of time just soaking that in, which was nice.

The path from the royal palace to the center of town

A cool fountain

The Hard Rock Cafe. Probably the coolest one I've seen. At night this thing turns into a nightclub basically, same with TGI Fridays, which there were at least three of in Oslo. Why... just why? But a lot of the restaurants and bars turn basically into clubs at night, which is cool

Some nice architecture

Norway's parliament

A really pretty park in Oslo

The main attraction was of course being down by the water, since Oslo is right on the North Sea. It is a big attraction for cruise ships and multi-million dollar yachts. It is so nice down there.

The Opera House

The view from the Opera House

A nice canal

I was a huge fan of these balconies

On Saturday we walked around a lot. There was a music festival going on and there was a ton of free food, so I gorged on that because Norway is amazingly expensive.

For example, each of these pizzas were $50

Norway uses the Norwegian Krone, which 1 Norwegian Krone is worth about 13 cents. the prices on the menus are normally about 200 krone, so around $25.

When you look at Norway from the water, the landscape is dominated by this fortress. It was built way back in the day (scientifically proven) to defend Oslo from attack. It now houses a few museums, such as the military museum, Norwegian Resistance to the Nazi Occupation Museum, and currently a special exhibition on the German attack of Norway during WWII. So that was really cool. The fortress has a neat old feel to it, and overlooks the harbor, so it is nice to just sit up there and take it all in.

Part of the fortress

Another part of the fortress

A view of the harbor from the fortress

We planned on going to get a nice seafood dinner one night since Oslo is right on the ocean. So on Saturday we went out to dinner and chose this place right on the water, which was really nice and we probably had no business being at. We were the youngest people there, and even the people a few years older than us there were with their parents, so they weren't paying. The host asked us where we we from but you sort of could tell it was more like "how can you afford to be here" and there was an American family at the table next to us who were clearly loaded and as we were leaving I heard the mom say "Are they just college students orrrrr?" 

But whatever we had a table right next to the water and it was a really nice meal. I had a glass of wine with scallops as an appetizer and whale as the main course. Wait what? Whale? Yes, whale, and it was wicked good. It looked like a giant steak and came with this cream that you dunked it in and it was delicious. Libby had the same thing, except seafood soup as the appetizer. We both agree that whale was wicked good. Whale is also expensive. Here is the dinner tab.

About $170 after the tip. Well worth it though, and would totally do it again

I was trying to discreetly take a photo from our dinner table, but it didn't go well. You can see the boats in the background. We were right next to the water, which was really nice.

Post dinner photo on the water

The next day we went out to the Viking ship museum, which I was really excited about because how could you not be. Its basically a museum that exhibits 4 viking ships that are like 1000 years old. They were first used normally as ships, but then were used as burial ships. So some rich people were buried in them and the ship was buried in blue clay, which helped preserve them really well. They were also buried with animals, food, and treasures, a lot of which was on display, which was cool.

One of the ships

Me with the ship

The next morning we had a flight out of Oslo at 7am. This is a Monday, and we landed at 9, and I had to be in class at 1030 for a test. So that was fun. But it all worked out well. Olso was a really beautiful city but incredibly expensive. It was definitely worth it though and I would totally do it again.

Finally, these little guys, cause why not?

Berlin

So June is a jam packed month for me.

The first weekend of June was Stustaculum. The second weekend of June I was in Berlin. The third weekend of June I was in Oslo. The last weekend of June I am going to be in Prague. Rough life.

So this blog is about Berlin, as the title says. One day I am going to title a blog that has nothing to do with the contents just to mess with you guys.

Blake, Libby, and I took a trip to Berlin from June 11-14. It was originally supposed to be 8 of us, but a ton of people dropped out, but we were like whatever we are still going. We had all visited Berlin before, so we decided that it would basically just be a trip to take it easy and relax.

We got on an 1130 pm bus in Munich to Berlin Thursday night. We arrived in Berlin at 7 am. The ride actually wasn't bad because I just slept the whole time, with exception when we stopped at the rest stop around 3am, and I bought gummie bears and twix, and then proceeded to pass back out.

When we arrived we just went over to the Bundestag and Brandenburg Gate area and went in search for coffee. We found this nice little street cafe and just chilled and drank coffee. I also brought rum and spiked everyones' coffee at like 830 am. When in Berlin I guess.

This bird kept landing on my water and drinking out of it. Got a pretty cool action shot of him taking off

Bundestag

Brandenburg Gate

Checkpoint Charlie

A memorial outside the Bundestag

Some Berlin Wall stuff in a shopping mall

Berlin is famous for its mascot, the bear. You see him everywhere. Here he is inside the US embassy

The parking lot where Hitler had his bunker and committed suicide during the final days of the war

Riding the Berlin Ubahn

After coffee we walked around some more and ended up at Alexanderplatz. There was an African Festival happening there for some reason, which featured live music, dancing, african cuisine, and drinks. The weather was beautiful so we decided to just hang there. I got some sprite mixed with lime and vodka, which hit the spot on a hot day, and for food I got zebra, kangaroo, and samosa. The kangaroo and zebra came on a stick, like a kabob. It was actually delicious. Really well seasoned and the kangaroo was really tender. The zebra was really chewy, but oh well, it was still good.

Eating zebra or kangaroo

Some cool dishware at the African festival 

After this we ended up walking over to this place we were told about where you pay a couple euros and get to do a wine tasting and eat some pasta, soup, and bread. That was a good time and was delicious. Along the way, we ran into the Berlin wall memorial, which was cool because it was something I didn't get to see last time I was in Berlin and wanted to this time.

The Berlin Wall

The memorial to those killed trying to cross the wall

We also went to the Ampelmann store. The Ampelmann is the little green dude that is on the pedestrian crossing lights. So the guy that tells you if you can cross the street or not. He is really famous in Berlin because the one Berlin uses was used in east Berlin, and when the wall fell they continued to use him, also in west Berlin. So there is a little store completely dedicated to this guy and you can buy a ton of stuff in his form, for example, Libby bought him as a wine opener and wine cork.

Blake at the Ampelmann store

David Hasselhoff signed this wall. Has anyone figured out why the Germans love him so much yet?

The next day we went to an ice cream festival. It was really cool It was in an old Berlin factory with no roof and there were a ton of ice cream stands and even a pool and sand where people were eating, drinking, swimming, and tanning. It was an unexpected find, but definitely really cool.

The ice cream festival

After the festival we went to the Olympic Stadium, which housed the 1936 Olympic Games. If you can remember, the last time I was in Berlin I tried to go here, but got there too late so it was closed. This time though, it was not, so we got to go inside. It was pretty crazy to see. It is very big, and is actually pretty cool looking. They honored the Germans in all the games in the years past who won medals the building was grand. It was really neat. It also started pouring while we were there, one of the most insane storms that I have seen in an while, but thankfully the stadium has a glass covering over the seating now, so we were protected.

Olympic Stadium

Inside the stadium

The pool

The bell that was hanging in the Olympic Tower

Complete with a swastika

Names of the winners of different events during the 1936 Olympics. Jesse Owens was famous for being an African-American athlete who went to Berlin and stole at the show at an even supposed to demonstrate Aryan supremacy. You can see his name several times here

That night we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and it was amazing. I had some lamb, and everyone was happy with their meal. We then met up with one of Libby's high school friends and got drinks and then went to a club. It was a really good time.

The next day we woke up and went to a brunch buffet. That is my jam. We had bread, yogurt, granola, cheeses,  eggs, bacon and coffee, all for only 9 bucks. I had like 3 plates and it was amazing. We then went to this place called Mustafa's, which is supposed to have the best Doener in Berlin. We each got one and it was definitely the best Doener I have had in Germany. Would definitely recommend it to anyone going to Berlin. You do have to wait in line for a while though since it is so famous, but it is worth it.

Mustafa's

The line for Mustafa's

By this time, we had to go to the bus station for out 5pm bus back to Munich. We arrived in Munich at midnight. The bus ride was fine again because I just slept. It was funny though because they played a Michael Jackson performance on the bus but there was no volume. So you are watching this dude dance his heart out but there is no music, so he just looks like an absolute maniac so it is hilarious.

So there we go. Spiked coffee to Michael Jackson. Berlin is a good time.

General Life and Stustaculum

So now time for a narrative on my general life in Munich lately.

I had forgot to write about this, because it was so long ago and so much has been happening, but Mr Levesque and Colby Roy were leading a class trip for the high school and they actually stopped in Munich, so I got to meet up with them, which was really cool. On a Monday I ran into them on Marienplatz and so Levesque and I went a grabbed a beer at Hofbräuhaus. The next night I took him to this thing called Frühlingsfest,which is basically just like Oktoberfest, only in April and smaller, and not as many tourists. Bayern Munich was playing in the Champions League Playoffs against Portugal, so we got to watch that game in the Augustiner tent, over beers, which was absolutely amazing. Bayern won 6-1 if I remember correctly, and the place was a mad house. It was so cool.

Some friends and I at Frühlingsfest

Left side front to back: Julia, Blake, Eva, Libby, Me

Right side front to back: Gabriel, Ben, Julissa, Allister, Cam

Cam and I are the only old JYMers in this photo, which I just noticed

So yea Frühlingsfest is a good time and it was cool seeing Levesque and Colby.

We have also been doing a lot of sitting around in the English Garden and tanning on the Eisbach, which is a part of the Isar. Basically people bring sports balls, frisbees, food, and beer and we just sit on the river and tan, swim, play, eat, and drink. It has been a lot of fun. I bought this blanket that is just a giant American flag, just to spite the Germans.

Dallas, me and Josh on the riverbank

In the river

Left to right: Libby, Me, Josh, Dallas, Blake, and Tim

As you can tell, you can just stand in the river. The current is also strong enough where you can just lay down in the water and float downstream and eventually get out again. It is a lot of fun and makes for a relaxing day.

The same weekend those photos were taken was this event called Stustaculum. Stustaculum is basically a big music festival that happens right in the courtyard of Studentenstadt, the apartment complex where I live. There is a main stage, with several other stages, tons of food, and of course beer. It lasts 4 days, Wednesday-Saturday, and is a really good time. You basically just sit around, eat drink, talk, and listen to music.

Flammkuchen. Basically a potato and bacon pizza

Entry bracelet to Stustaculum. We have to pay to enter despite the fact that we live here

Stustaculum and the main stage on the right. It was a popular event as you can see

Earlier in the year there was also a street festival on Ludwigstrasse, which stretched from Odeonsplatz to Münchner Freiheit, which is like 2.5km. So it was pretty big. There was music, food, beer, soccer, and all these organizations promoting their causes. It was pretty cool. I watched the soccer because it was super intense. 3 on 3 in a cage. It was awesome.

Soccer in the cage

A live stage

Bratwurst sandwich with mustard

French fries and ketchup. Side note, most of the time you get mayo with fries in Europe, and at first I refused to try it, but it is actually wicked good. Works well with salt, so I was actually disappointed that this place comes with ketchup. This kick of mine started in Brussels, which is known for its fries, where I ate the best fries of my life.

Steak, onion, and mustard sandwich. I went in on food at this event

So that is pretty much it for excitement in terms of general life in Munich lately. It has been a lot of fun. In early July I am taking a test that will give me a language certificate saying what level German I am, so that is cool.

The other day in class we did a beer tasting. We are taking a trip to Prague and you had to guess which beer was the Pilsner and which was the Bavarian beer. I got it right. I tasted the Bavarian beer and just thought "oh yea, that tastes like long nights and regrets" and immediately knew that was the Bavarian. I haven't really had Pilsners so that just tasted foreign.

Bavarian on the left, Pilsner on the right

The blind taste test

Also a couple weeks ago I came in my room, put down my groceries, stood back up and cranked my head of the corner of the door of my cabinet. It immediately started bleeding. A lot. It also stopped bleeding fast, which left me plenty of time to take a picture to freak some people out. It started bleeding so fast that I even had to clean blood up off my cabinets.

It looks bad but really wasn't. When you consider that I had time to stop and take a photo, you realize that it couldn't have been that bad.

Now time to write about some trips