we're in EDINBURGH! and we love it. the 7 am train (with 3 hours of sleep for ruthie and 30 minutes for marianne) was so worth it. we got here at 11:30 today, got ourselves checked in to this wonderful hostel, and then went on a 3 hour walking tour that surpasses any tour we have been on yet (except for maybe the boat cruise...) scotland is so cool. if it wasn't so raining and dark and cold here, it just might have to be home.
after eating our first successful hamburger in europe, we went on a 30 minute scavanger hunt for scotland attire. successful, we ventured back to our hostel to find the michael jackson funeral on tv. after finally finding a spot that was not over taken by peopel who didn't care, we were able to watch in somewhat peace. i think everyone across the pond is sick of hearing about it, but we arent so it was pretty emotional. marianne even got out the video camera and taped it. good call.
we are going to try to hike arthur's seat (we think that's it?) in the morning to get a good view of edinburgh and then it's back to London!
love you edinburgh
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Life Behind the Iron Curtain - Budapest
Budapest was fun. The Hungarians aren't too friendly...but it's okay because the city was beautiful.
We went to the Herend Porcelain Factory and got CHINA. we are so excited!!! the victoria pattern. google it. Happy 4th of July to us. We listened to Lee greenwood on the 2 hr bus ride. Yeaaa America. After that we went to this lake, of which the name has slipped our memories (balaton maybe?), it was GORGEOUS. water so blue...loved it.
that night we went on a boat cruise down the danube (the river that separates buda and pest) and it ggot some great pics as the sun was setting and then when it was dark and teh buildings and bridges were lit up!
the following day, we ventured off to the hungarian baths. not sure there are any words for that experience. all i have to say is: speedo. when are these europeans going to get with the program? those things are not cute. we saw an old grandpa, fat as anything, in a speedo lying on a stone bench (sideways, mind you) dead asleep. he was too kind to let us see his big potbelly. we got a snapshot, don't worry.
leaving hungary was quite the challenge. flight delayed 6....S-I-X hours. we have some funny videos to document the delirium. we finally got to leave at around 8 PM and when we landed, everyone clapped. the turbulance was that bad.
needless to say, it was just LOVELY returning to beloved London.
We went to the Herend Porcelain Factory and got CHINA. we are so excited!!! the victoria pattern. google it. Happy 4th of July to us. We listened to Lee greenwood on the 2 hr bus ride. Yeaaa America. After that we went to this lake, of which the name has slipped our memories (balaton maybe?), it was GORGEOUS. water so blue...loved it.
that night we went on a boat cruise down the danube (the river that separates buda and pest) and it ggot some great pics as the sun was setting and then when it was dark and teh buildings and bridges were lit up!
the following day, we ventured off to the hungarian baths. not sure there are any words for that experience. all i have to say is: speedo. when are these europeans going to get with the program? those things are not cute. we saw an old grandpa, fat as anything, in a speedo lying on a stone bench (sideways, mind you) dead asleep. he was too kind to let us see his big potbelly. we got a snapshot, don't worry.
leaving hungary was quite the challenge. flight delayed 6....S-I-X hours. we have some funny videos to document the delirium. we finally got to leave at around 8 PM and when we landed, everyone clapped. the turbulance was that bad.
needless to say, it was just LOVELY returning to beloved London.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
''Y'all are from the South aren't you?''
we were getting on the elevator to go up to our room on the 6th floor when there it was: a frocket. for those of you who are not familiar with the frocket, it is a front pocket on a tshirt, usually, and in this case, a fraternity shirt. marianne, being the intuitive one, immediately recognized the southerness by way of the frocket (the new balances may have given it away too) and said without hesititation ''y'all are from the South aren't you?'' beauty. of course they were....atlanta, birmingham, montgomery, austin, and maryland. all students at uva. we quickly played the name game, all before exiting the elevator. come to find us walking around the city later with these great young men. it was especially nice to be able to talk to people that we knew we could trust. 2 girls in europe means always having your guard up.
this morning we headed for the freud museum, for all of ten minutes when we had to rapidly exit due to a fire alarm. we never actually heard the alarm...but the lights went out. maybe that is how they do it here?! then we ventured off to the lipizzaner museum. marianne got in trouble for petting the horses (typical), but we were amazed at how beautiful the facilities were. after wandering around for a little while we decided to go to the historical ferris wheel. we had a nice view of the city and a cheesy picture by the end of it. we came back to the hostel and just booked our place for edinburgh! off to budapest in the morning..hopefully, on the `buda´ side..we hear it's much nicer from the uva boys.
this morning we headed for the freud museum, for all of ten minutes when we had to rapidly exit due to a fire alarm. we never actually heard the alarm...but the lights went out. maybe that is how they do it here?! then we ventured off to the lipizzaner museum. marianne got in trouble for petting the horses (typical), but we were amazed at how beautiful the facilities were. after wandering around for a little while we decided to go to the historical ferris wheel. we had a nice view of the city and a cheesy picture by the end of it. we came back to the hostel and just booked our place for edinburgh! off to budapest in the morning..hopefully, on the `buda´ side..we hear it's much nicer from the uva boys.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Vienna Waits for You...
We have realized Billy Joel was right when he said in his song "Vienna waits for You..." It is beautiful here!
Our hostel , Wombat's, is very nice and the staff has already given us free drinks and towels! nice. we have a third roommate who happens to be from new zealand! she is wonderful and has been over here for months traveling around europe. watch out moms and dads-we might need to pay her a visit :) Today, we went to the palace and walked around the gardens and then headed downtown where a festival was taking place. Tonight we might go on a ferris wheel that overlooks the city. life is good.
Our hostel , Wombat's, is very nice and the staff has already given us free drinks and towels! nice. we have a third roommate who happens to be from new zealand! she is wonderful and has been over here for months traveling around europe. watch out moms and dads-we might need to pay her a visit :) Today, we went to the palace and walked around the gardens and then headed downtown where a festival was taking place. Tonight we might go on a ferris wheel that overlooks the city. life is good.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Czech It Out
we are sitting at this place in prague and with the nicest computers we have used the whole trip and somehow managed not to pay anything?! not complaining!
a lot has happened since berlin. freddie came and went, we saw "the best of mozart and strauss with ballet and singers" with the prague royal orchestra, dined at some fine establishments (but not too fine, we're maintaining our "budget"), tried some new foods that we cannot pronounce, seen baby Jesus pop out of a clock, seen baby Jesus in the form of "The Holy Infant of Prague", climbed ten jillion steps to the top of St. Nicolas to catch the view from the belltower, and attended a festival in the town square ...sort of by default, how do you miss a festival in the middle of town!? American music is undoubtedly far more enjoyable than Czech music.
we have found that one of our new favorite things is opening the windows to our apartment (which is mighty fine by the way) put on some enya and listen to the rain outside with the bells and nature sounds of the birds chirping. how can you resist? although, the other night ruthie and i were terribly disturbed to find that michael jackson has come and gone-truly the end of an era. freddie wasn't as concerned as we were as we started repeating his classic hits on our personal favorite television channel "deluxe music" (which was a lot like our favorite channel in copenhagen-disco karoke).. we quickly found that we will miss those "free willy" days...R.I.P Michael.
tonight we will climb the bazillion stairs that lead to the prague castle. there we will find the harmonious sounds of the prague royal as they serenade us with tunes from vivaldi ("four seasons"), mozart, and we forget the other one. although it is not "enya" it is sure to be quite inspirational.
OH, and we almost forgot to mention that we had the absolute worst burger today. it was the color of ruthies dress-coral if you will...but we're still having the time of our lives!!!!!
prague is the jam.
a lot has happened since berlin. freddie came and went, we saw "the best of mozart and strauss with ballet and singers" with the prague royal orchestra, dined at some fine establishments (but not too fine, we're maintaining our "budget"), tried some new foods that we cannot pronounce, seen baby Jesus pop out of a clock, seen baby Jesus in the form of "The Holy Infant of Prague", climbed ten jillion steps to the top of St. Nicolas to catch the view from the belltower, and attended a festival in the town square ...sort of by default, how do you miss a festival in the middle of town!? American music is undoubtedly far more enjoyable than Czech music.
we have found that one of our new favorite things is opening the windows to our apartment (which is mighty fine by the way) put on some enya and listen to the rain outside with the bells and nature sounds of the birds chirping. how can you resist? although, the other night ruthie and i were terribly disturbed to find that michael jackson has come and gone-truly the end of an era. freddie wasn't as concerned as we were as we started repeating his classic hits on our personal favorite television channel "deluxe music" (which was a lot like our favorite channel in copenhagen-disco karoke).. we quickly found that we will miss those "free willy" days...R.I.P Michael.
tonight we will climb the bazillion stairs that lead to the prague castle. there we will find the harmonious sounds of the prague royal as they serenade us with tunes from vivaldi ("four seasons"), mozart, and we forget the other one. although it is not "enya" it is sure to be quite inspirational.
OH, and we almost forgot to mention that we had the absolute worst burger today. it was the color of ruthies dress-coral if you will...but we're still having the time of our lives!!!!!
prague is the jam.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Clean Clothes...Hopefully!
today we went to the jewish museum and then hit up the shopping streets. we were pleased to see another part of berlin that we were fond of. ...pictures to follow later.
we are doing laundry at the hostel and we found it humorous how old the machines were and for about 10 minutes after loading our clothes, we just sat and stared at them. We still have not gotten them out of the dryer...hopefully they will still be in one piece and the color we remember them being.
after a great 2 nights in berlin, we are excited about the adventures to follow when we arrive in prague tomorrow!
we are doing laundry at the hostel and we found it humorous how old the machines were and for about 10 minutes after loading our clothes, we just sat and stared at them. We still have not gotten them out of the dryer...hopefully they will still be in one piece and the color we remember them being.
after a great 2 nights in berlin, we are excited about the adventures to follow when we arrive in prague tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Black Light Special
There really is not much to update on, we just have internet right now so we might as well post something.
a few crepes later, we ended up at our hostel and found ourselves awake after we had crashed for about 2 hours on the beds, i mean the cots. :)
we chatted for awhile about how thankful we are to be here...(THANKS MOMS,DADS, AND GRANDPARENTS)
now we are enjoying a smoke free environment - a rarity - and catching up on some e-mails.
I WISH I COULD WATCH WIMBLEDON!!! go federer and a.rod! - i don't even know what is going on with this so anyone who wants to update, feel free!
ß3ÄÖ,
mari and ru
a few crepes later, we ended up at our hostel and found ourselves awake after we had crashed for about 2 hours on the beds, i mean the cots. :)
we chatted for awhile about how thankful we are to be here...(THANKS MOMS,DADS, AND GRANDPARENTS)
now we are enjoying a smoke free environment - a rarity - and catching up on some e-mails.
I WISH I COULD WATCH WIMBLEDON!!! go federer and a.rod! - i don't even know what is going on with this so anyone who wants to update, feel free!
ß3ÄÖ,
mari and ru
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