Mindful

Though I should be writing on a different subject at the moment, I felt the need to post a quick update, since it might be my last one in Germany before my adventure starts with my family.   

The mind is such an incredible thing... you give it time and it fills it. You give it silence and it flies.  The past 4 months have been the most incredible gift for my mind.  I am so used to the rushing, the running, the stressing, and the schedules that make up my life at home, that I forget what silence and time do for my mind.  Being almost alone in a new place has taught me so much.  Until this semester, I had never really lived alone (without roommates), been stuck inside because of a hurt foot, or had to manage my time and research without having to report to anyone.  It has taught me so much.

Being in my room, Starbucks, or any other corner of this world alone has taught me to appreciate the little moments that we witness each day.  Although I have been chased daily by my books and blank pages that need to be filled with historical facts and analysis, the chase has allowed me to witness so many precious moments.  Whether it is looking up from my computer to catch a glimpse of the moon's reflection on my window or waking up to the choir of birds outside my window, I am repeatably at awe of my surroundings. My mind just tries to take the beauty in. 

My days are sprinkled with little inspiring acts of kindness that occur everyday in Potsdam and Berlin.  I have seen a man offer to help a young mom carry a child and her stroller up the stairs, I have seen women making small talk with bored kids on the train, I have seen tired citizens gladly carrying on a conversation with a homeless man that was clearly in need of interaction, and I've seen countless people going out of their way to help struggling stranger on the street.   Although there are constantly more and more horrifying and saddening things reported daily on the news, these people easy my mind and assure me that no matter how different we all are, there are sprinkles of kindness everywhere.

The long walks, bus rides, and trains also are decorated with voices of all sorts.  I have heard a mother explaining to her children in German why the monument to honor the Holocaust survivors exists and I also heard the 6 year old child respond with an incredibly sad face, "so Hitler did that too?"  I have heard a dad playing with his child and teaching him how to use the bus.  I witnessed the streets full of happy teenagers enjoying the beginning of their break and filling every moment of silence with stories about the last days of school. The trains entertain me by providing the accounts and first impressions of the city by people from all over this world.  My mind plays with the bits of conversations I hear and I imagine the lives and experiences that led to these opinions.

Then come the minutes of silence, the minutes that are supposed to be spent on work, and that  is where  my mind shuts down.  I have sat working longer than I wished, and every time I get stuck I get more and more mad at myself for not being out experiencing things outside my studies.  My self imposed expectations, fears, and nerves make everything stop flowing and I'm stuck.  Why can't I just write? Why do I care so much about what the person reading my final paper will think?   I certainly don't worry about that when I write here!!! Can't I just get it done, I am already wasting my time abroad! As time passes, I start to get more and more disappointed.  My mind was used to hard work and my busy schedule at home, but my mind was also used to this concentration taking place with breaks of friends and family.  My current location, however, does not allow for short breaks of interaction with friends.  Here, in order to see people, it has to be planned and coordinated with bus and train schedules... so without losing 1 to 2 hours, human contact for a break is out of the question.  This predicament let me to an incredible appreciation for the people in my life. 

If I think of the support I have gotten from my friends and family since I got here, it really brings me to tears.  Every time I needed to talk to get my mind back on track, to work through an idea, to resolve a problem, to ask a question, or simply to talk.... someone was there.  My parents have listened to countless stories and distracted me when my mind was just too tired of thinking.  In the past two months, I have friends that noticing that I am under stress to finish everything, make it a point to call me or message me daily to just catch up and distract me for a few minutes. They send me messages reminding me that the end is near and constantly remind me how excited they are for me to come home. They know me well enough not to even consider judging me for staying inside to study and write while being abroad.  They support me and laugh with me.  There is nothing more heartwarming and calming than being reminded by the people that love me that these grades and papers don't really matter .  There's nothing more amazing than getting messages from people I haven't spoken to in years that follow and encourage me through my blog.  I am so grateful for you. My mind is grateful, because if it wasn't for you, it would be too preoccupied to notice the little things.  If it wasn't for you, it would have been impossible to make it through all of the newness that goes along  with studying abroad.  I learned a long time ago that distance shows you what you truly have, and in my case it has made me immensely aware of the incredible people that I love and how much I appreciate them.  Thank you for your constant support these months and know that I love you all so very much.

Quick Update from under my Pile of Books

Hey friends!!! I'm back!!! I probably shouldn't be... but I am!

I can't attempt to catch you guys up on everything that has gone on since my last post but let me just give y'all some idea before I tell y'all some fun stories from these weeks!

Picture this:

When I stopped posting my to do list looked a bit like this: 

• 1 presentation for German class on a song representing the American generation
• 1 presentation in English about the Edict of Expulsion in Spain in 1492
• 1 ten page paper in German talking about why Jews still continued to convert after the 1812 emancipation edict in Germany. 
• 1 fifteen page paper in German having to do with the Nazi party, its rise, its opponents, between Jan 31 - March 31 1933. (yes... just 2 months)
• 1 Final in German covering ALL VERBS, ALL CONJUGATIONS (regular irregular and everything in between), prepositions (dative, accusative, genitive), all adjective endings, articles, ANYTHING my little mind could even imagine
• 1 Interview and Newspaper article to write (German of course) 
• 1 German final covering a semesters worth of new German knowlede
• 1 Paper (5 pages) covering Ethics in the Talmud.
• Sending all "check out" papers to DAAD
• Sending all "check out" papers to the University 
• Setting up appointment for the checkout process with my landlord
• Closing bank account, "unregistering" with the city, and much more.

Now... it looks pretty much the same, with a bit of progress in all sectors.  The major change is that my sweet wonderful awesome teacher has allowed me to write my 15 page paper in English!!  I knew the name Irene meant she was awesome!!! No worries, I am not getting German credit for this class soooo no cheating here! The paper thesis I've come up with is:  Though the Nazis are known worldwide for the atrocities that they inflicted on the Jews, what role did the Jews play in the formation of the Nazi party, their rise, and the first 2 month of Hitler's power.  Does that sound crazy?  I'm not very good at coming up with thesis topics, but I hope this one will work.  The fact that it's in English makes me feel better, but I have 6 books to read... Oh well!   I am so greatful for getting to write it in English that I feel sooo much better about the rest of my life!

Big events in my life since my last post:

• Colby left... he should be arriving in America in the next 10 hours
• I learned how to make a delicious quiche. 
• I discovered pretzels WITH mustard (life changed)
• I unfollowed Miranda Sings on twitter (yes... you read that correctly)
• I bought 2 pairs of colored pants (red and TOO bright pink) that I will probably only wear on this side of the pond
• We had 2 days of such unbearable heat that I went to buy clothes and showered 3 times in 1 day and people didn't know how to behave themselves. 
• I had a class in one of the other campuses, which is beautiful and super modern and by a lake. My precious Rabii teacher walked with me to see a lake after class. He's from Boston! 
• I used my heater again because it's freezing
• I learned that there is no point in studying German grammar because you'll never master it.
• I read 3 books from cover to cover (yes... you read that too... and they were history books)
• I listened to two 14 year olds gossiping about everyone in their classes and about died of embarrassment.  Since it was in German.... I counted it as homework. 
• I missed 3 concerts in the park with fireworks, because I was inside reading... 
• I went to the Frei University Library and the Humbolt University Library
• I got kicked out of the Humbolt University Library after 2 hours
• I searched for 3 hours throughout Berlin (over 4 bookstores) for books I never found
• I deep cleaned my apt once or twice...
• I've gotten eaten alive by mosquitos
• I've been an obsessive customer at Starbucks
• Overslept for class
• And probably lots of dumb things I don't remember at this moment. 

Now picture this: 
In exactly 2 weeks, I will be crying with joy. DONE!!!!! All of these nightmares will go away in 2 weeks! Amazing, huh?  Scary, but awesome!!!! In a week and 2 days I will be picking up Maia from the airport!!!

So what has my life looked like since my last post and will look like until then:
- Dirty room, until I stress out enough to deep clean... then dirty room again
- Lots of junk food (stress rises and my standards for food decrease exponentially)
- Not put together outfits (like that doesn't happen everyday)
- Lots of unnecessary complaining


Ok... With this post and a picture of Starbucks, books, my computer, and my face, you have the right idea!! I'm off to be a little bit productive before I go to sleep!!! 

A perfect sunny day!!

The rain is gone, the sun is out, the sky is blue, and I'm so excited that I had to share!!!!

Monday, however, was still very gray... which could be the explanation for the fact that I woke up for my 8 am class at 12:15 pm.  I'm blaming it on a migraine I had, but I bet the weather had something to do with it.  I stayed inside all day and used my extra time (since my afternoon class was cancelled) to do some research.  My first presentation/paper I am targeting is on the Edict of Expulsion in Spain in 1492.  Though it is in English... it will take some time.  My goal is to be done with the presentation by this week.  My other presentation I have been working on is on a song that describes the generation or a political issue in the United States.  Unlike the Spanish students that are presenting on songs dealing with the student protest or the Italians with the government chaos going on... my options involved pretty shallow songs about love and alcohol... So instead I chose "Pumped up Kicks" my Foster the People, which talks about a troubled mentally ill youngster that gets a hold of a gun.  My group, which is made up of an Irish girl and an Australian, will present on the debate of mental illness and gun control in America... Therefore.... I have had a bit of research to do! Turned in my script for my section on Tuesday for correction, so I am off to a good start! 

Tuesday involved a late start, class, and a very productive afternoon!!  After finishing class, I rushed back home grabbed two VERY stuffed IKEA bags with dirty laundry and finally headed to the Waschbar to do my laundry!  I had been putting this off since I didn't want to pay to dry my clothes only to walk outside and get soaked again.  My experience there was wonderful as always.  I feel like my little laundromat bar is going to be one of the places I remember the most! I ordered some nachos for lunch not really knowing what to expect, and I got back Doritos with that cheese sauce you get in a jar at walmart... I was thoroughly surprised.  After that, I went home and put away all my clothes!  Then... I headed back out to Kaufland to do my grocery shopping for the week! After getting a variety of food (and ingredients to make tacos!!! Whoooo!! Makes me feel like I'm in Mississippi!) I was ready to walk out, but the Greek little stand caught my attention.  While I drooled over the olives, feta cheese, sauces, and stuffed grape leaves they had to offer, the salesman came back out of nowhere.  Before I could compose myself, three girls walked up as well.... and then... he started feeding us. He made us try all sorts of stuff (hey... this is DEFINITELY NOT a complaint) and joked.  He kept talking to the girls talking about how his German wasn't good, blah, blah, blah... too funny. After they ordered (nearly 5 or 7 minutes later), it was my turn.  And for the first time since I got here, he asked where I was from before I even opened my mouth!!! Excuse me???? Anyway, he got really excited when I said the US and Mississippi, and he started speaking in English trying to use slang like: darn, man, oh my gosh, etc.  I died out laughing and tried to get my stuffed grape leaves as fast as I could.  But there was NOOOO getting around it now.  He gave me his card (he gave the girls before me his card too) and was like "please call me if you ever have parties, I'll cater."  I could not stop laughing! Parties, I thought, "parties with whoo???" Bahaha, which you were back home, you would cater for me ALL the time! Hahaha! After a dragged out conversation, I walked away with my 3 leaves.  Oh wait, before leaving I also stopped by the Chinese stand and got some of his noodles with vegetables, chicken, and sprouts!  Ok, ok, quit judging! It was not all for that day!  The Chinese noodle, which is meant as a meal, lasts me 2 meals, and the grape leaves are another!!! Seee!!! Not tooo bad! Anyway, after that, I returned home, read some more, and hit the hey!

Today, was the perfect day that inspired me to write a blog post!!! I was woken up at 6:30 by the sun!!! I woke up thinking... "what is that shinning on my face! Can't be the sun!??! I must be dreaming!!!"  With that thought, I woke up, showered, cleaned my room, swept, made breakfast, and had some hot tea ALL before leaving to catch the 7:58 am bus to class!! When I walked out at 7:52, I saw a bus (clearly running late) heading for my stop, so I got a little jog in and caught it! Early to class and thrilled with my productive morning!!! Class flew by and so did my second one!  After class, at noon, I checked my emails and found out that my afternoon class was cancelled (my teacher is sick). 

Sooooo.... I headed home! It is unbelievable how wonderful a day can be, simply because it is noooottt gray!!!! Instead, the temperature is perfect (not shorts yet)!  I had a quick lunch at home enjoyed the kids playing outside my window, while I watched an episode of 7th Heaven.  After my lovely hour of rest, I started my walk to Starbucks to do my homework!  I figure this incredible day could not be wasted!  I took a new path through the palace gardens and enjoyed my book on tape as I walked for over an hour.

 At Starbucks, I ran into my teacher from my German class.  She was so excited to see me, because she said she had my corrected script in her bag! After hurrying over and bringing it to me, she continued off with her friend.  She is sooo sweet and lively.  I think, from what she has told us, that she studied abroad in Argentina, and I can totally see how she would fit in!  After finishing an analytical analysis of my Edict, I headed back home on my walk... With an ice cream cone... (not my fault, the Germans in Potsdam (AKA not tourists) do not walk outside on nice days without an ice cream come... So I couldn't help myself!!!)   I decided, after finishing the walk through the gardens, that instead of walking the main road, which I usually walk, I would walk the side roads that house all of the little houses I have previously written about.

After more than 3 months here, I have yet to get a straight explanation about what these houses are!! They really look like houses out of a fairy tale and they are accompanied by exquisitely laid out gardens that are taken care constantly by owners.  I have seen people raking, weeding, planting, watering, and laying out... but these houses are REALLY not big enough to live in... right?? Well... I don't know.  I have been told the houses are like sheds and that people only have these plots to garden and spend time outside.  This makes sense, because Germans really value time outside and green space... But... some of these houses have satellite dishes and ... I'm guessing those aren't decoration for a shed.  Sooo... others say that they are weekend houses.... I have been told that if their flags are up, it means the families are home... Truthfully, I'm not sure what they are, but I can tell you I walked by over a hundred (no exaggeration, I promise) and EVERY single one had someone outside either gardening, laying out, sleeping, reading, or just sitting there enjoying the wonderful weather.  I tried to sneak some pictures to share with you guys, but it was kind of awkward, because the little streets that they are built around are just for walking and bikes... so they can see you clearly as you walk....  and as I said, everyone was outside!  Some of the streets are fenced off and some aren't, but the little communities are everywhere, and the one between me and the palace is HUGE!!! Without exaggerating I estimate way over 100!

One of the locked gates to a street

This is what most of the streets bordering the little houses look like

One of the garden/houses

A garden

Attempt at catching them from above

As I said, umm... would you have a satellite dish on a shed?

Some of the doors are adorable

Another cute gate

These are HUGE houses in comparison to all the others.

I hope the pictures helped you guys see the amazingess that is today in Potsdam!!!

Gratitude

In preparation for a lack of posts and a predicted flood of complaining, I wanted to make a final post before school officially takes over my life.

These past few days I have spent a large part of my days thinking about my life and how lucky I am.  I don't think that I express my gratefulness as much as I should... I have had an incredible life full of love, friendships, family, and incredible experiences.  I wanted to record just a few things that I am eternally grateful for, so that in the coming month, as I stress over my studies, I can look at this list and see that it is just a small part of an incredible life that I have been blessed with.  Just looking at the past 9 years of my life....

8th grade:  I was able to travel with  my Latin class to Athens, the Greek Isles, and Turkey

10th grade: I was able to travel with my family and my best friend to Uruguay.

11th grade:  I was able to travel with my best friend's family to Hawaii and then finish the summer with the Startalk Chinese Program at Ole Miss. Oh and no big deal... my best friend's dad gave me a car he fixed up!

12th grade:  I had an incredible last year of high school.  I was able to participate in the Fringe Theater Festival. I traveled to London and Edinburgh with that group and had the pleasure of being surrounded by these incredible people for 2 whole weeks.

Freshman Year:  After a rough first semester, I was led to a major that I grew to love! I got to travel with my family to Spain and France.  I got to visit Berlin with my mom.  I finally made it to New York City for the first time and I fell in love with it!

Sophomore Year:  I was selected for an accounting leadership conference, I received the Barksdale Award, and I was able to spend almost 3 months in Uruguay with my family while studying and researching my grandmother's history.   I also got to return to New York with my best friend and got to watch her fall in love the same way I had! Then I got to go back with my sister and spend new years in the Big Apple!

Junior Year: I got to go to New York 3 times!!!! Once to interview for a summer internship with a big four company, once to enjoy the city with my sister and my best friend, and finally to INTERN for a whole 2 months! I made awesome intern friends! I was able to watch over 20 Broadway shows! I was able to travel with the honors college to Boston. I got to coordinate the Honors College Freshman Retreat and got to act like an event planner, my dream job!

Senior Year: I helped plan the incredibly successful first year Dance Marathon at Ole Miss.  I was able to take another best friend and her mom to New York! I got to return for a second time to New York with 3 of my wonderful friends.  And now I get to study abroad in Potsdam, live in Berlin, and travel around Europe.

All of these things happened while I spent my days in classrooms or working at my amazing jobs and my nights studying.  All these things happened while I was surrounded by the most amazing family and friends.  Whatever the situation, whatever the time, I have always had someone by my side.  Someone to cheer me on, someone to shut me up, someone to travel with me, or someone to just sit quietly while we study.  What more could I ever dream of?  Everyone wasn't always healthy, but we ended up ok.  No, I don't still have everyone that I wish was still with me... yes there are a lot of people I miss... but I have memories that I will cherish forever.  Yes, I have come to understand that I will never be able to be in all my homes at once or together with all of my friends and family at once.  But I get to have more than one home! And I get to introduce my friends and family to my other homes! How amazing is that!!! All in all, I could never say enough thank yous to all the people that deserve them... but I wish I could, because I am who and where I am, because of the people that surround me.  THANK YOU!

As I go into my last month and a half of school, I know that the stress and expectations will drive me crazy and make me a lot more pessimistic than I wish, but I will try to keep in mind that it is JUST school and means close to nothing in comparison to the rest of my life.  Whew... Now I have written proof and something to look at to bring me down to earth!!!  With all that said, I'm heading to bed!! Hope everyone has had an amazing weekend!

Budapest: A 12 hour Marathon

Before I begin with my Budapest adventure I want to tell y'all about my exciting surprise last week!  When I got home Tuesday afternoon, I found a note from my postman in my mailbox.  I wasn't one hundred percent sure of what it said, but I knew it said that I had not been home when my package arrived! WHAT?!?! I got a package?? Exciting.  I was going to finish figuring out what the note said, but when I arrived at my door I found another note! It was from my neighbor!  She had my package!!! So I went over and I picked it up from her!!! And it was a lamp from my parents!!! Knowing that my room is pretty dark, they ordered me a lamp!!! Rough part... I needed a screw driver! But... since I am the new MacGyver, I used some cuticle nippers and put it together!!! I am sooo excited!!!

Now... On to Budapest!

On Thursday I slept in and went to class. Then I went back home, had some left over gnocchi, showered, and got ready to go.  My goal: got to H and M, get some more of my cheap comfy shoes, and make it to the station in Berlin early enough to grab some dinner.  On the bus from my dorm I encountered a wonderful woman. I sat there listening to a family trying to figure out where to get off for something and the woman helped them!!! I haven't seen this in a long time!!!! Also... She talked to their little son when he asked to stop for ice cream and assured him that there would be some where they were getting off.  Then... Two men got on and couldn't figure out which ticket to buy... And she got up to help before I even noticed they needed help.  When getting off, she stopped to help a woman with her walker.  I was sooo thrilled to see her exemplary behavior that I couldn't stop smiling.  I wish more people were like this woman.   Once at HM I had some extra time to try on some pants.  My goal was to lose some more weight and get cute clothes for the summer. But.... This diet I've been following (aka enjoy everything while you can) hasn't been working ! Haha. So... I'm still set on getting some mint colored pants.  I saw some and had to try them on. Didn't like the cut of the first and the color of the second. ... So the search must go on!! After that I stopped at Starbucks to download a podcast about Budapest ad then headed to the station.  At the station I barely caught the overpacked regional train and before  I knew it I was in Berlin at the station. Once I found where my train would be departing from, I headed to McDonalds... It was the closest thing!!! Unfortunately they didn't ask me what I wanted to drink and just gave me a coke!!! Nooooooo!!! I haven't had a coke or diet coke or anything of the sort in over 5 months!!! My plan was not to drink it, but after eating a vote, I knew I had to.... Ugh. Two sips later I was done!!! No more for me!!!

Once on the train, the awkwardness began.  So now they are going to speak to me in Hugarian?? Great!!!! Well... I got what I thought was a bed and for to a wagon with my cabin. Two beds on the very top and six seat. I then realized that the seats made into 4 bed. Woah!

So a guy was sitting in my seat... So I just picked another.  So.... When do we let the beds down? A girl came in and went straight to the bed up top. I had the bottom bunk... The train worker came and asked us what we wanted with our breakfast... And since I thought they would charge us I said, "no thank you!" At around 9 they came around and put up the beds.  Six people in a tiny room.  Door got closed.  One man went to sleep. Immediately started snoring.  Seriously???? I just had to go to the restroom. Thought I would look past it but at 1130 I gave in and awkwardly opened the door.  Then... To find the bathroom... Found it. Got back in bed and we had stopped in Prague. I knew Ryan and the twins were getting on here! And I heard Ryan's voice! But I couldn't open the door!!! So I just laid here (by the way ... I'm writing this from my bed.  The snoring man (Hungarian) got awakened by the other Hungarian man, who clearly told him to turn around ( disclaimer, they don't know each other). He turned around and clearly couldn't get to sleep. So he went the restroom... the Hungarian girl above me just reached her arm down and threw somethig down.  By the time i realized it was her chewed gum, the man had gotten back stepped on it. Yikes, im sorry sir!!! The other Hungarian man (not the 20something year old that woke ip the snoring man, but the one that is sleeping on the third bunk on top of them) just went out for a smoke. (We are still stopped in Prague.  Ok.... so now that I got this ridiculousness down on paper, im going to try to sleep so i can enjoy my time tomorrow!!! goodnight!!!



In the morning I was awakened by a man bringing us breakfast.  Little did I know, the breakfast was free! Darn it, should have asked for coffee!!!!!  I quickly sneaked out of the cabin and found Ryan!!! He was just 2 cabins away, and he only had 4 people in his cabin!!!!! Later Beth came by and told me they had a cabin to themselves.  They had woken up at like 3:40 and couldn't go back to sleep.... why?  Because they had read horror stories about wagons and people being taken on overnight trains while being stopped at a station. Well.... around that time we were stopped for an hour apparently.  The train worker had told them to lock all their doors...  soooo... they panicked.  Too funny.  I must have been listening to my bunk mate snore and missed it.  When we arrived in Budapest we were faced with some ugly looking weather.   I was expecting rain, but had inconveniently lost my rain jacket the night before...

After getting some money exchanges and visiting an ATM, we followed Rick's (Rick Steves' tour book) advice and got in a taxi with a yellow tag (the legitimate ones).  Our driver was super sweet and we were to their hostel in no time.  The "homemade hostel" was super cute!  Super homey! Just one common room and lots of bedrooms.  It was like a big apartment! They left their stuff there and we headed walking to the meeting point for some free walking tours of the city.  On the way, we passed the opera house and a place where we bought ourselves some pastries for breakfast.   When we were getting close to the meeting point, we noticed Beth was struggling to keep up... And then we asked if her foot was still bothering her. They had mentioned to me that they spent their last afternoon in Prague resting, because she had hurt her foot.  After realizing that she wasn't saying anything, because she wanted me to be able to do what I wanted during my 12 hours, we decided that walking was not an option.  As I told her, I know exactly what it feels like for your foot to hurt while you are trying to get to know a city... We paid for a hop-on-hop-off bus tour for the day that included a boat tour through the Danube! 
 

Waiting for our bus!

At this point it was sprinkling and the man told us that most of the buses would be covered buses, due to the rain.  The bus that picked us up was NOT covered, which was fine at the time, but after about 10 minutes it started pouring on us!!! Well... Kate had asked if she should take her raincoat... and I said, "No girl! We will have umbrellas and be fine!!"  Boy was I wrong.  We got soaked!!! There was no way for our umbrellas to survive the wind!!!! The guide came around bringing us hats, but there was noooo point!!! 



Sooooo... at Heroes Square we got off the bus to wait for the next bus (which would be covered).  Once there we started to walk through the park and found the baths and a castle.  Oh! What did we find outside the castle... just some Latin Americans playing pan flutes and selling homemade stuff. I do not like pan flutes that are out of their natural settings... at all.... Ryan was loving seeing the different types of architecture and it was nice to see him in his element.

Heroes Square

The Baths

The Castle -- pan fluters on the left!!!

The walk was lovely, but ended up being more than 30 minutes... Which meant our next bus was also NOT covered.... Which was again fine, because it wasn't raining .... 5 seconds after we got on the bus.. it started pouring down!!!! SOOOOO HAARRRDDDD!!! We didn't see a thing! We just hid!!! Once we got to stop 9, we got off the bus and headed to the boat.  Since we were early, we stopped and got some drinks at a cute little cafe. 


Of course, by the time we were done with the drinks we were running too on time (close to late) and had to run on the boat, but once on it... it was amazing! At that point it was kind of sunny. The tour came with detailed descriptions of what we were seeing, so it was wonderful!!!

From the boat

It was sooo cool being on the Danube... Like the blue Danube! Sooo incredible!!! After our boat tour we decided to follow Rick's advice to a lunch spot. The city is full of construction (like every other city I've been in Europe) so it was hard to cross the street.  At one point we couldn't figure out how to cross a wide street, but the girls and I found the underground crosswalk and pointed it out to Ryan (or so we thought).  Under the tunnel we found two older men playing a song I remembered from my favorite gymnastic movie on the clarinet and the violin.  Once we made it to the other side, we realized Ryan hadn't followed.  From the other side I found him and his bright yellow raincoat, but due to the construction and traffic, he couldn't hear us.   Soooo we ran back under the tunnel, passed the very out of tune duo, and surfaced to find Ryan gone!! Where was he?? How would we find him?? After a few minutes I found his yellow jacket and ran to him! Once reunited we headed to the restaurant.  

The food was delicious!!! I enjoyed a corn salad with goat cheese and walnuts that ended up having NO corn and a goulash   (typical Hungarian goulash).  It was delicious!!! Our waiter was hilarious and had a blast laughing at Kate and joking with us about Monty Python.  Sooo strange! And after some gelato we were ready to get back on the bus. 


We thought we were on the bus that would finish out the route we started, but instead we got on one that re-toured the part we had seen.  This was actually perfect, because the first time... we had been too distracted by the amount of water falling from the sky to notice what we were seeing.  This time around, we also noticed large amount of trash, furniture, and garbage bags filling the street.  After realizing that these scenes were repeated in each street... we started wondering why.  Our tour guide informed us that twice a year in Budapest, the people put out all items that they no longer need or use and people go around and take what they want.  The next day, crews come and take what is left over.  It is a nice idea, but it makes the city look quite dirty.

Synagogue

House of Terror

After retracing our steps, we finally crossed over from Buda to Pest  ( I think... or the other way around...) and went up to castle hill. The view was amazing!!! And so was the castle! As you can imagine,  me and my fear of heights did not enjoy the trip up... and then we went even higher all the way to the citadel!!! The view was priceless, but.... not so fond of the heights!!!  After that, we went all the way down and crossed the bridge to the Parliament.  

Castle Hill

From there, I got on a metro and rode back to the train station to catch my train back to Berlin!!! After being spoken to by a Hungarian in Hungarian for a good 2 minutes (wish I knew what he was saying to me), buying some chocolate, and getting a slice of pizza for dinner, I headed to the train!  

This time the beds were already pulled down! I got the bottom bunk, across from me a Hungarian guy, on the very top two Hungarian drummers with their cymbals,  and on the middle bunks two Hungarian girls (one who was so well dressed that she reminded me of my aunt Elena and her conference attire and the other one was clearly finishing up a thesis or something of the sort).  As I laid in my bed, I had to force myself to stay up until they came and took my ticket at around 8.  The man also asked me (in Hungarian) to see what I wanted to drink and I responded (in Hungarian) with what I thought sounded like coffee.  After that... I was asleep!!! I woke up once at around 10, when my cabin mates decided to shut the door and close the blinds.  It was beautiful and dark (and quiet!!! no snorers!!!!).  I woke up a couple of times when people left and got off the train at around 6 and 7, but aside from that... I slept until 8:45 when they brought breakfast! I was soooo glad to have gotten my rest! When I got to the main station in Berlin, I ran 3 flights of stairs to barely catch my train to Potsdam! Before I knew it I was back in Potsdam! On the walk from the train station, I stopped by my little asparagus stand on the corner of my street and bought some asparagus and some strawberries and then I was back on my bed doing homework!! It was soooo fast and sooo worth it!!! I spent the whole day doing homework and Sunday too!!

Except... Sunday night I ventured to Berlin to watch a Cabaret theater piece about East Berlin! Our family friend Christiane was in town for the weekend and performing in it.  I am sooo glad I went! Five beautiful voices, a piano, and a lot of history packed into just 2 hours! The audience was amazing and recognized a lot of the songs from "back in the old days."  It was an awesome experience and I also got to see Christiane's mom! I hadn't seen her since 2003 when she came to Oxford to watch Christiane graduate with her Masters! Man time flies!!!