And here's picture #3

So I took a picture especially for my Grandma Oakes. Sorry it accidentally got deleted! 

"Happiness isn't happiness without a violin-playing goat."

London certainly didn’t fail me today… it rained just about the entire time I was out before my flight to Berlin. After I ate my free breakfast in the hostel, which really only consisted of cereal and toast, I packed up all my stuff to leave in the luggage room and was on my way to, what I thought would be, Kensington Gardens. As I made my way on the Tube, which I wish I could boast I’ve become a pro at using, I saw that just a couple stops past where the stations for the gardens was the stop for Notting Hill. Due to my (almost) shameful love for Julia Roberts films, I decided to go there. I legitimized this past just wanting to see the area because of the movie by telling myself I haven’t been in that area anyways.

When finally arriving at the station I noticed the fact that there was a crowd of people shuffling about, and realized that I was probably going toward the same place they were.  That place would be Portobello Market. Apparently world famous, so world famous I had never heard of it? The station at Notting Hill had exits toward Notting Hill Gate North and South... but I never found actual gates, sadly. I thought they would be rather picturesque.

As I followed the crowds I found myself walking along an EXTREMELY busy market, because not only is it world famous but it was also Saturday morning - shopping prime time. There were all different kinds of shopping: retail shops, antique markets, outdoor fresh flower and fruit vendors, food booths, and just about everything you could think of. 

Walking along, the smell of tobacco was everywhere and old Beatle's records were playing through speakers for the whole block to hear. At one point, I heard a vendor who was selling jewelry say, "Last time I lied to a woman, it cost me a lot of money, so I'm not lying to you." I bought a strawberry with cream crepe at a vendor who made it in about 2 minutes right in front of me for 3.50 GBP, it was scrumptious.  Honestly, it was exactly what I needed for the amount of time that Ineeded to kill... There were people from all over the world there to shop and barter, so although I wasn't really shopping myself (though I did find one treasure - see pictures), it was great to just walk and people watch. 

After finding my way to a metro station, hopping on a train, thinking I had the system down, I panicked thinking I got on the wrong train. Turns out I didn't. Smooth. So, as I said before, I wish I could boast that I'm a pro at the metro thing, but I am most definitely not. Eventually I got back to my hostel, packed my things, hung out for a few, and made my way to London Heathrow once again. This time I only rode the metro to Paddington Station, therefore only having to by a day metro pass for zones 1 and 2 rather than zones 1-6 (a $5.00 difference), which I very quickly compensated for by buying a Heathrow Express train ticket (18 GBP). Having only a 15 min ride on a nice train with shelves for luggage and comfortable seats, compared to trying to juggle my (approx.) 100lb of luggage on a hot metro train for almost an hour was well worth the money. As usual, I have my oldest brother to thank for the advice. 

My disdain for airlines and their money sucking ways was only heightened when I got to the desk for BMI and had to pay 11GBP for ever extra kilo of luggage I had past the set limit of 20kg for checked luggage. I managed to figure my luggage so I only had to pay for 7 kilos instead of 12. I will not make the mistake of checking two bags on the way back. For. Sure. My flight was slightly delayed, but a nice quick one that still arrived on time... German customs was quick and easy. The customs officer did not say one word to me, but thankfully stamped away in my lovely passport. I have an affinity for stamps in my passport. 

Once I juggled my luggage once again, I quickly realized how dead Berlin Tegel was. Which, kind of reminded me of how difficult itwas when Matt and I flew into TXL in 2004. The buses are not easy to find and there were no currency exchange counters open. I understand that it was about 9:00 pm, but JFK and LHR definitely had all of their offices open that late... people are still flying out! Anyways, I got money out of the ATM and had decided prior to even arriving to Berlin, based on how tired I was, that I would take a taxi to my dorm instead of try and navigate two or three different busses. I thought it would be dark, but it doesn't get dark here until closer to 10:00 pm. The cab, again, was well worth the money. 

The Schlactensee Student Village is easy to navigate, and I got the my key from the drop box (since I arrived after hours) finding out I was thankfully in house number one. A couple guys were at the door to greet me and help me move my luggage to my room which is happily on the first floor. They essentially told me to drop my stuff and run to the supermarket because it was going to close in a half hour and nothing is open on Sundays, so I did. My grocery list consisted of: chips, bananas, water without gas, bread, peanut butter, Special K cereal, milk, strawberry jam, plastic baggies and most importantly 1.5 liters of Mezzo Mix Zero. My FAVORITE German drink (besides their beer). My groceries cost under 15 euros, which isn't too bad for all the essentials! 

I came back and unpacked all my things, which I promised myself I'd do before anything else. I also spent some time getting to know everyone who's staying in my building... mostly all Americans, some from Canada, but everyone is in the same program as I, so that's nice. About 8 girls share one bathroom in our hall with 3 showers... my room is all to myself, though, about very comparable to a Tower C room (woo woo Pitt!) The two floors share one kitchen with a couple fridges, dishes and pots and pans we can use, etc., a big dining room table in its own little space, and a lounge with couches, a table, a tv, and lots of places to sit. Perfect. The student village has its own computer lab, club/bar, laundry (I think), and tons of dorm facilities. It's essentially the college campus without the actual class room buildings. Another frustration of the night is the wireless, which now obviously works, but wasn't last night... I made sure the maintenance men who were working on it today knew the troubles we were having. 

Anyways, it's cozy here. I need to go buy some tape so that I can hang the posters I brought in my room, and then I can post pictures for everyone to see! Everyone is friendly an anxious to start and I am, too. I'm beginning to realize I'm in the minority for the amount of people who are conversational in German here... interesting. It's chilly and kind of rainy, so I'm hoping that'll change. Also, I feel it's important to point out that I am staying no where near the center of the city. I'm probably 10 miles out of the middle of Berlin. This was probably the biggest shock for me. I have yet to go into the city...

As for anyone who hasn't lost interest, sorry this is so lengthy, but I think that's all I have. Stay tuned for more!

Pictures:

1. Lyons' Tea: This is my one purchase. It's perfect for so many reasons! a. It's Lyons, duh. b. That family drinks tea like it's their one job in life.

2. Picking the perfect flowers: This older man is a vendor and Portobello Market. Probably has been for forever. He was selecting a flower pack for one of his customers.

3. Sewing machines: For Grandma Oakes. There was a pretty fashionable store with walls decorated with hundreds of old Singer sewing machines!

4. The crowds at Portobello Market.

5. Beautiful houses at Notthing Hill.

Minding the Gap

So, I'm really excited about starting this blog... For those of you who don't know, I'm going to be in Europe for the next 2 1/2 months partially studying abroad and partially being a frivolous nomad. I've never been away from home this long. I love going away and visiting other places, but I'm a true Dorothy when I say that there's no place like home. Or really, that there's no one like those who are home. Anyways, this is my fifth time to Europe... When did that happen? But, I haven't been to London (my first stop) in 6 years. Only my second trip in my life, though, that I didn't begin my journey from my hometown airport, PIT. Not ironically, the other two trips began directly from JFK, after arriving there by automobile. 

Yesterday, after driving all day (well I rode/slept), I found myself at JFK once again, ready to fly. I enjoyed a typical airport meal with my mom and step-dad before going through security and off to my gate. It was lightening outside - always a good sign for flying. As I was going through security, I watched the TSA worker who was checking the contents of all carry-on bags through that special machine, pause his work and text someone. His attentiveness to his actual task at hand should make everyone feel 100x safer in the airport... ha. Anyways, I was flying Virgin Atlantic for the first time, which my older brother described as sassy. I could not wait. We walked into the airplane straight to a bar... I knew this had to be good. But, because of the storms, we didn't leave until 2 hours after our scheduled departure time, even though we boarded on time. I ended up sitting next to a girl in Columbia Law School who just got done with her first year. She is spending her summer working for a human rights group in Delhi, India. Despite the fact that she went to UNC-Chapel Hill for undergrad, I enjoyed her company. Truthfully, I slept the entire flight. I did not eat, or drink, or watch a movie, I slept. And 6 1/2 hours later, I was in London. 

This trip I decided to bring my cash in the means of Traveler's Cheques. Best. Idea. Ever. Because of that, I exchanged it right at an American Express place in the airport and it was therefore commission free. I wish all my money could have been brought this way, it's the first time I've ever done it, and I HIGHLY recommend it. 

Getting to my hostel was h-e-double hockey sticks. The hot 1 hr. train ride on the tube with luggage that collectively weighs almost as much as I do followed by the confusion of finding my hostel just about put me over the edge. When I finally found my hostel, I wasn't terrible surprised with anything. It's swanky and fun... called St. Christopher's Village, and recommended by Lonely Planet. And it's at a great location, about a 5 minute walk from the London Bridge tube station. It has free wireless and breakfast, along with the room of 8 bunks for about $20-25 a night. I was just finally glad to crash for an hour or two once I got here... until I realized I hadn't really eaten in almost 20 hours. I very unashamedly went to the Subway across the street for my meal. I needed carbs, I needed food I know I'd like, and I wanted it fast. While I was eating, I was looking through a couple maps, etc. they passed along at the hostel and came upon a tour of the East End in London. 8 pounds for a student and it started in an hour. Looking for something different, I was on my way. 

A two and a half hour long walking tour that met at the sun dial outside Towel Hill. I met a couple of grad students from Kansas City, and a third year student at British Columbia University who also took the tour. It's fun being that age, the one that everyone goes abroad around for school and for fun. Anyways, the tour I went on was the last time our guide would be giving this tour and was fairly nostalgic about it after two years. I could empathize to say the least. He was ridiculously entertaining as we learned about the death and prison sentences in medieval England and went to all the places where Jack the Ripper committed his 5 murders. We also learned simply about the horrors of living in the East End in the past. Even now it holds a lot of welfare housing and minorities and immigrants, but it's a lot safer than what it used to be. We passed the hospital that the government began to excavate until they realized that underneath it was over 80,000 bodies of people who died of the black plague - so they stopped, just in case there were germs still down there. We saw a work house where they used to put people to who didn't have a home or work... someplace miserable. It is now student dorms for the the London Economics University (I think is the correct name), where are tour guide actually resided while getting his Master's Degree. He said he didn't have the heart to tell the little korean girl who lived two doors down that she was living in the room where one of the victims of Jack the Ripper lived. All in all, it was a terribly interesting tour, kind of off the beaten path. It costs 8 GBP for a student, plus I tipped the guide, so a little pricey - but definitely enjoyable. We also passed a pub that's been around since 1666 - impressive. I plan on going there when I come back to London in August. 

After the tour I wandered around, making my way back to London Bridge to take a few pictures at dusk, which, by the way, seems to last for hours. I hopped back on the Metro to go back to my hostel, which apparently turns into quite the hot spot at night. There's a bar and a dance floor with a DJ. Ok. I just wanted the hostel special of 3.95 GBP for a bowl of pasta. Sadly, by the time I got down there, they had closed the kitchen. So I settled for Strongbow (shout out to Mike Kaiser) on tap and a bag of potato chips - I'm sure my body loves me by now. People are dancing and drinking all around. Thankfully, those who are residing here have a "chill" room that I'm sitting in right now, which is pretty quiet, and I can't even feel the base of the music. Sadly, I think my room is right above the bar, and there I can, in fact, feel the music. 

I must say, for 2 cents a minute, Skype is my new best friend. If you have it, please let me know so we can chat. I'm love it more and more every second I use it. 

All in all, London hasn't let me down. True to par, when I was getting ready to head out, I was wearing a t-shirt, packed a sweatshirt, wore sunglasses and brought an umbrella. I thankfully used everything but the umbrella, even though the clouds were dark. Suddenly I find myself looking the wrong direction when crossing the street, walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk, thinking the up escalators are on the right not left, and misunderstanding heavy British accents. I thought one lady told me the "cheap station" and really she meant the "tube station". Awesome. I feel like spending a day and a half in London in between home and Berlin is a good thing. It's the gap between being away and feeling like I'm someplace foreign. Even though I've been taking German for 8 years, I still do NOT feel prepared to live there for the next month and a half. Nonetheless, Berlin tomorrow!

Pictures: 

1. Tower of London and London Bridge at dusk.

2. The pub that's been in operation since 1666. (sorry it's sideways, I can't figure out how to rotate it)

3. Coulston St.: Where Jack the Ripper left his first messages for the police.

4. St. Katharine's Harbor: This is where the slaves would come in and out. And those who were banished to Australia for their punishment for their crime. ALSO, did anyone know that British Parliament didn't ban slavery until 2009?

5. Our super cool tour guide talking to us outside the Tower of London.