Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Vienna - More on the City
I have some time to kill before I head out to the airport so I thought I would fill you guys in on some slightly interesting observations-occurances of the last 24 hours.
To begin, last night I stayed at a hostel called Wombatz. It's a pretty nice hostel as the standards go, more like a hotel with minimal furnishings than a hostel. On the bottom floor of the hostel there is actually a bar, and when you check into the hostel you get a ticket for a free drink so I thought I would go down and check it out. I ended up striking up a chat with a nice German guy named Theo and after a bit of talking we decided to take the train to the center of the city (about 10 minutes) and check out a historical-heritage wine bar. Oddly enough, when we were leaving the train we ran into another group of folks from the hostel who were going in the same direction and since there is always more fun in a crowd we decided to hang out with these guys (2 americans, 2 aussies & 1 canadian). The two Aussie had guitars with them so we found an area near an empty bench and they started playing music and singing. It was really good...until...The Austrian Polizi showed up. You see, there is a law in Austria that you cannot play music outside after 10pm. The police informed them that they would have to pay a fine of 21 euro per person. And, they wanted to see the passports of those guys. When the Aussies told them they did not have their passports or 21 euros on their person the Politzi told them that thez would take them to jail for 21 hours instead. Wow, luckily for those guys the Politzi accepted their driver's license for identification and everyone loaned them enough euros to pay the fine so thez would not have to go to jail! I have pictures of this occasion (before and after the politzi, i'll post them later today)
Another interesting thing in Austria is the recycling. There are actually people who work in the dining room at KFC and it's their job to pick up the trays with the rubbish on them, and then rinse off the paper dishes and sort them, cups in one bin, food in another bin and plastic in the other bin. Isn't that pretty intense?
Something in Budapest that was interesting was the grocery store. It will cost you about 50 forint to use a buggy in the store or you can use a hand basket for free. When it comes time to checkout, you must purchase the bags to put your groceries in unless you brought some from home, and you take all of your purchases out of your cart and put them on the belt, then the cashier rings it all up and puts them back in your buggy, you pay and then you push the cart over to a counter area where you self-bag your groceries. Surprisingly enough, it's a rather efficient process and because people pay for their bags (which are big like shopping bags) they tend to be conservative and there is likely less waste as a result.
So, my time in Austria or (Österreich) is about up, so I will leave this blog for now.
Hope everyone is doing well. Take care.
Jennifer
To begin, last night I stayed at a hostel called Wombatz. It's a pretty nice hostel as the standards go, more like a hotel with minimal furnishings than a hostel. On the bottom floor of the hostel there is actually a bar, and when you check into the hostel you get a ticket for a free drink so I thought I would go down and check it out. I ended up striking up a chat with a nice German guy named Theo and after a bit of talking we decided to take the train to the center of the city (about 10 minutes) and check out a historical-heritage wine bar. Oddly enough, when we were leaving the train we ran into another group of folks from the hostel who were going in the same direction and since there is always more fun in a crowd we decided to hang out with these guys (2 americans, 2 aussies & 1 canadian). The two Aussie had guitars with them so we found an area near an empty bench and they started playing music and singing. It was really good...until...The Austrian Polizi showed up. You see, there is a law in Austria that you cannot play music outside after 10pm. The police informed them that they would have to pay a fine of 21 euro per person. And, they wanted to see the passports of those guys. When the Aussies told them they did not have their passports or 21 euros on their person the Politzi told them that thez would take them to jail for 21 hours instead. Wow, luckily for those guys the Politzi accepted their driver's license for identification and everyone loaned them enough euros to pay the fine so thez would not have to go to jail! I have pictures of this occasion (before and after the politzi, i'll post them later today)
Another interesting thing in Austria is the recycling. There are actually people who work in the dining room at KFC and it's their job to pick up the trays with the rubbish on them, and then rinse off the paper dishes and sort them, cups in one bin, food in another bin and plastic in the other bin. Isn't that pretty intense?
Something in Budapest that was interesting was the grocery store. It will cost you about 50 forint to use a buggy in the store or you can use a hand basket for free. When it comes time to checkout, you must purchase the bags to put your groceries in unless you brought some from home, and you take all of your purchases out of your cart and put them on the belt, then the cashier rings it all up and puts them back in your buggy, you pay and then you push the cart over to a counter area where you self-bag your groceries. Surprisingly enough, it's a rather efficient process and because people pay for their bags (which are big like shopping bags) they tend to be conservative and there is likely less waste as a result.
So, my time in Austria or (Österreich) is about up, so I will leave this blog for now.
Hope everyone is doing well. Take care.
Jennifer
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sunday in Vienna
So, almost EVERYTHING is close on Sunday in Vienna, it's a good thing I have a few hours to kill tomorrow before my flight back to London.
I walked down to the Central area of the city and walked around the Museum District. This is a city with a LOT of museums. I took several pictures of the buildings in that area but I didn't take the time to figure out the names of the buildings I was photographing. I think I am finally feeling the exhaustion of non-stop walking around European cities. I took the metro a fair bit today but still I walked a lot too.
Vienna is a pretty city where most people are fairly friendly and speak English. The museum area had a lot of rose gardens and other pretty places to sit and relax. There are lots of guys dressed up as Mozart peddling tickets to various operas and concerts (which I probably should have purchased but I didn't).
Of the entire trip I would rate the food the best in Budapest. I had a lovely veal dish that was very interesting, but the name of this dish escapes me. I am considering taking another trip to Budapest before I go back to the states because I didn't get a chance to go and tour the castles on the Buda side, I only took pictures of what I could see from the Pest side which was still pretty impressive.
I would recommend to anyone planning on doing a tour of this part of Europe to try and stay at least 3 days in Budapest, i.e. 2 entire days where you are not travelling because I think there should be a minimum of one day spent on each side of the river.
In addition, I think that it is better to plan those days to be a Friday and a Saturday because of the early closing of places on Sundays (if they are open at all).
In all, I think I have still spent less money on this 5 day trip then I did in my two days in Norway if you don't count the airline tickets.
Also, something to note. To get from Ljubljana to Budapest takes 8-9 hours by train and to get to Vienna from Budapest by train is about 3-3.5 horus.
Ok, well I am running out of time in this internet cafe so I will close this for now. Hopefully something interesting happens tomorrow.
Until then, Take Care.
Jenn
PS I have a ton to do this weeks so I probably will not update until after my trip this weekend to Amsterdam. Except to upload this trip's pictures of course!
I walked down to the Central area of the city and walked around the Museum District. This is a city with a LOT of museums. I took several pictures of the buildings in that area but I didn't take the time to figure out the names of the buildings I was photographing. I think I am finally feeling the exhaustion of non-stop walking around European cities. I took the metro a fair bit today but still I walked a lot too.
Vienna is a pretty city where most people are fairly friendly and speak English. The museum area had a lot of rose gardens and other pretty places to sit and relax. There are lots of guys dressed up as Mozart peddling tickets to various operas and concerts (which I probably should have purchased but I didn't).
Of the entire trip I would rate the food the best in Budapest. I had a lovely veal dish that was very interesting, but the name of this dish escapes me. I am considering taking another trip to Budapest before I go back to the states because I didn't get a chance to go and tour the castles on the Buda side, I only took pictures of what I could see from the Pest side which was still pretty impressive.
I would recommend to anyone planning on doing a tour of this part of Europe to try and stay at least 3 days in Budapest, i.e. 2 entire days where you are not travelling because I think there should be a minimum of one day spent on each side of the river.
In addition, I think that it is better to plan those days to be a Friday and a Saturday because of the early closing of places on Sundays (if they are open at all).
In all, I think I have still spent less money on this 5 day trip then I did in my two days in Norway if you don't count the airline tickets.
Also, something to note. To get from Ljubljana to Budapest takes 8-9 hours by train and to get to Vienna from Budapest by train is about 3-3.5 horus.
Ok, well I am running out of time in this internet cafe so I will close this for now. Hopefully something interesting happens tomorrow.
Until then, Take Care.
Jenn
PS I have a ton to do this weeks so I probably will not update until after my trip this weekend to Amsterdam. Except to upload this trip's pictures of course!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Budapest Hungary
I made it into Budapest about 5pm tonight. All I have been able to do so far is check into my hostel and have a bite to eat. The city has a lot to offer for my short stay and I am going to have to work tonight to build an agenda so that I can see as much as possible because I will be off to Vienna first thing on Sunday morning. It's just rush rush rush. In the morning I know I am going to check out the central market, but after that where? Maybe Hero's Square, The Turkish Baths or the Palace District. Not sure yet but at least one of those places will be photographically documented.
Last night I had a blast with these great Irish kids who were staying at the hostel. We went out to a Slovenian restaurant and had some authentic Slovenian cuisine and then we did a couple of pubs. I drank Smile beer which I think is Corona by another name.
Anyways, I don't want to tie up this computer too long since there is a que, but I will write again tomorrow evening to discuss the adventures of the day.
Take Care,
Jenn
Last night I had a blast with these great Irish kids who were staying at the hostel. We went out to a Slovenian restaurant and had some authentic Slovenian cuisine and then we did a couple of pubs. I drank Smile beer which I think is Corona by another name.
Anyways, I don't want to tie up this computer too long since there is a que, but I will write again tomorrow evening to discuss the adventures of the day.
Take Care,
Jenn
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Ljubljana part 2
Today I spent the day walking around Ljubljana. It is a really nice little city.
My hostel is very close to the center of town, just 10 minute walk down some neighborhood streets and I am there. The morning was pretty brisk but not nearly as much as last night where it got to -2(c). The city is very pretty, clean and open.
The first thing I did this morning was go to a bookstore because I had already devoured the book that I brought with me that I thought would last the entire trip. Afterwards I walked down the cobblestone lanes to the center of the city which is a square with a monument in the middle with three bridges intersecting on one side. The square is next to the Ljubljanica River.
Across the river and atop a hill you can see the Ljubljana Castle. I didn't get a chance to go up to the castle (sigh) but it was a beauty to behold from the ground view so I can only imagine that it was even more spectacular from up there atop the mountain.
When you cross the three bridges you arrive at the Central Market. It was an interesting little market. All of the stalls were arranged by what they were selling so that similar craftsmen were located together. It started with glassware (mostly candle holders) which were painted to look like stained glass then it moved onto pottery and finally to wooden handicrafts. The items were pretty and relatively low priced and they weren't like the junk that you find in a lot of markets. Further down there were stalls selling fresh fruits. There were several stalls selling fresh sauerkraut and fresh fruit. You should have seen the beautiful green grapes, they were massive! After that came the area with the clothing and shoes, nobody was really selling exactly the same thing and it was nice, it seemed like an outdoor department store. The biggest bargain (which I didn't take because of size) were the candles and lanterns. For less than 2€ you could buy a decent sized colored glass candle holder filled with a candle (about the size of a mayonnaise jar) it was really cool, but the size and weight of those items deterred me from a purchase. The last area of the market had flowers. Beautiful roses and sunflowers, daises and others. They all smelled so good.
After the market I walked down a quaint little lane and window shopped. These stores were built in a place that I assume was a stable or something in years past. The ceilings were all curved up and it reminded me a bit of the stables at Camden Market in London.
This evening I went to the grocery store and had dinner in their restaurant. The food is good and relatively inexpensive. I had lasagne, some peas/corn/carrots and fresh bread. Now I am retiring to the hostel to get some rest prior to my excursion to Budapest early tomorrow morning.
I think that Slovenia is a beautiful country and think it would be a beautiful place to retire one day if it weren't for the cold. I am relatively certain that if it was a few degrees cooler here that they wouldn't be able to hold the hordes of tourists back.
That's all I have for now. I'll write again tomorrow from Budapest!
Take Care,
~Jenn
My hostel is very close to the center of town, just 10 minute walk down some neighborhood streets and I am there. The morning was pretty brisk but not nearly as much as last night where it got to -2(c). The city is very pretty, clean and open.
The first thing I did this morning was go to a bookstore because I had already devoured the book that I brought with me that I thought would last the entire trip. Afterwards I walked down the cobblestone lanes to the center of the city which is a square with a monument in the middle with three bridges intersecting on one side. The square is next to the Ljubljanica River.
Across the river and atop a hill you can see the Ljubljana Castle. I didn't get a chance to go up to the castle (sigh) but it was a beauty to behold from the ground view so I can only imagine that it was even more spectacular from up there atop the mountain.
When you cross the three bridges you arrive at the Central Market. It was an interesting little market. All of the stalls were arranged by what they were selling so that similar craftsmen were located together. It started with glassware (mostly candle holders) which were painted to look like stained glass then it moved onto pottery and finally to wooden handicrafts. The items were pretty and relatively low priced and they weren't like the junk that you find in a lot of markets. Further down there were stalls selling fresh fruits. There were several stalls selling fresh sauerkraut and fresh fruit. You should have seen the beautiful green grapes, they were massive! After that came the area with the clothing and shoes, nobody was really selling exactly the same thing and it was nice, it seemed like an outdoor department store. The biggest bargain (which I didn't take because of size) were the candles and lanterns. For less than 2€ you could buy a decent sized colored glass candle holder filled with a candle (about the size of a mayonnaise jar) it was really cool, but the size and weight of those items deterred me from a purchase. The last area of the market had flowers. Beautiful roses and sunflowers, daises and others. They all smelled so good.
After the market I walked down a quaint little lane and window shopped. These stores were built in a place that I assume was a stable or something in years past. The ceilings were all curved up and it reminded me a bit of the stables at Camden Market in London.
This evening I went to the grocery store and had dinner in their restaurant. The food is good and relatively inexpensive. I had lasagne, some peas/corn/carrots and fresh bread. Now I am retiring to the hostel to get some rest prior to my excursion to Budapest early tomorrow morning.
I think that Slovenia is a beautiful country and think it would be a beautiful place to retire one day if it weren't for the cold. I am relatively certain that if it was a few degrees cooler here that they wouldn't be able to hold the hordes of tourists back.
That's all I have for now. I'll write again tomorrow from Budapest!
Take Care,
~Jenn
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Slovenia - Day 1
I am in Ljubljana.
Beautiful so far. It is located in a valley surrounded by mountains (some with snowy peaks). The hostel I chose to stay in is pretty cool too. Free Internet, clean and funky (located in an old house that has been totally redone).
I'll take some photos and such later.
Jenn
Beautiful so far. It is located in a valley surrounded by mountains (some with snowy peaks). The hostel I chose to stay in is pretty cool too. Free Internet, clean and funky (located in an old house that has been totally redone).
I'll take some photos and such later.
Jenn
Travel Update
Hey Guys,
I'll be in Ljubljana, Slovenia tomorrow and Thursday,
Budapest Hungary on Friday & Saturday and Vienna Austria on Sunday & Monday.
I hope that everyone is doing great and that I will get a chance to pop online and let you know how it goes while I am there.
If I find really cheap calls somewhere I'll give you all a ring.
Take care,
~Jenn
I'll be in Ljubljana, Slovenia tomorrow and Thursday,
Budapest Hungary on Friday & Saturday and Vienna Austria on Sunday & Monday.
I hope that everyone is doing great and that I will get a chance to pop online and let you know how it goes while I am there.
If I find really cheap calls somewhere I'll give you all a ring.
Take care,
~Jenn
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Days - 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 - WSOP, Bergen Norway & London Life
I am embarrassed by the fact that it has been 5 days since I last did a proper update to this blog. I have just been SO busy since getting back from Norway and I couldn't find any places to do an update in Bergen.
So, I guess to fill in the gaps I'll tell you about the second day I was in Norway. On Saturday morning I woke up around 6:30 to go catch a train for the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. The first leg of the trip was a 3+ hour ride on a high speed train through the lovely countryside towards the town of Myordal. On the way to Myordal we stopped ever so briefly at the highest point on the Bergen Railway 1222 meters above sea level. At that hight the weather was quite cold and misty -- essentially we were in a cloud. Shortly after that we made it to Myrodal. In the little town of Myordal we switched trains to the Flam railway. This train was very cute, it was green and had a wood grained interior and it took us from 842 meters down to 2 meters. The ride was relatively spectacular. I saw an amazing waterfall (check out the photos) and several glaciers etc. When we reached Flam, we transferred over to a boat and took a cruise around the fjords. They were equally amazing. The ship twisted along through the little valleys between the peaks and the edges of the cliffs were nearly 90 degrees straight up and very very high! We passed by a few different villages that had a couple of houses in them and within 2 hours we were at Gudvagen.
From Gudvagen, we boarded a bus to go back up the mountain. That was the most harrowing ride ever! The road was SO steep we literally had to drive about 200 feet...take a VERY sharp turn and drive 200 feet in the opposite direction. We did that 13 times before we made it to the summit of the mountain. On the way we saw beautiful waterfalls but I was pretty busy gripping my seat as I am quite terrified of heights and this was VERY high.
From there, we drove on to the town of Voss where we boarded our last train of the day and took it to Bergen. By the time I made it to Bergen I was hungry and exhausted. I found a cab to take me to the hotel and crashed.
Sunday morning I decided to go to Bergen for the day before my flight. The first thing that I did was take a cable car up to the summit of the mountain that boarders the town. It was neat, 7 minutes going straight up and you reach an observation deck where you can view the entirety of this lovely seaside town. After taking photos of the city (which was covered in a cool fog) I went back down the mountain and walked around the annual market. The market sold primarily foods (lots of vendors selling something that looked like a pancake that people were eating with jam on top) and fish etc. It was very interesting. I also walked through the shops that were selling various local wool items (sweaters & hats mainly) and bought a minuscule amount of gifts for friends. Norway is so expensive that everything was ridiculous when you do the conversion. Basically you can divide everything by 5 (exchange rate is 5.50kr to $1.00) so for example McDonalds was 72kr just under $12.50.
The least expensive thing I ate there (which is very popular thing to eat) was a hot dog...to be more specific...a foot-long hot dog with cheese inside wrapped in bacon. A cardiologist nightmare but it was quite tasty!!
So, after a couple hours in Bergen I had to get to the airport to get back to London. The airport was not too far away and on the bus I made small-talk with the kid sitting next to me in his Norwegian Air Force uniform. He was talking about being in town to party with friends and having to go to Stavenger. We talked about the states and he had been over a few times and said he liked it a lot. Especially because everything is so CHEAP!!
When I got back to London, I just slept and tried to play catchup on my homework assignments.
Tuesday though, I went to the Empire Casino to see if I could run into any Celebrity poker players. I was in luck and met two HUGE names in the poker arena: Doyle Brunson & Daniel Negreanu. I got photos with each of them and Doyle even invited me to his private party last night but I had to decline since it started at 7pm and I didn't even get off from work until 10. Oh well...next year I won't turn down any offers like that.
So, that was basically my week in a nutshell. Next week I have HUGE plans. I was planning on going to Stockholm but after seeing the price of things in Norway decided that I would try someplace cheaper. Everyone advised that I try Eastern Europe so that's what I am going to do. I will head out on Wednesday to Ljubljana, Slovenia and spend 2 nights there...take the train to Zagreb, Croatia and spend a night there, then train to Budapest, Hungry for 2 days and finally home via Vienna, Austria where I will spend 2 days as well. I hope that I remember to pack enough memory cards and batteries so my camera will be sorted for the entire trip!
So, I have a lot of work to do on my classes before then so I will probably not blog much in the meantime, however as soon as I get a chance I will tell you all about my amazing trip to Eastern Europe.
Until then,
~Jenn
So, I guess to fill in the gaps I'll tell you about the second day I was in Norway. On Saturday morning I woke up around 6:30 to go catch a train for the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. The first leg of the trip was a 3+ hour ride on a high speed train through the lovely countryside towards the town of Myordal. On the way to Myordal we stopped ever so briefly at the highest point on the Bergen Railway 1222 meters above sea level. At that hight the weather was quite cold and misty -- essentially we were in a cloud. Shortly after that we made it to Myrodal. In the little town of Myordal we switched trains to the Flam railway. This train was very cute, it was green and had a wood grained interior and it took us from 842 meters down to 2 meters. The ride was relatively spectacular. I saw an amazing waterfall (check out the photos) and several glaciers etc. When we reached Flam, we transferred over to a boat and took a cruise around the fjords. They were equally amazing. The ship twisted along through the little valleys between the peaks and the edges of the cliffs were nearly 90 degrees straight up and very very high! We passed by a few different villages that had a couple of houses in them and within 2 hours we were at Gudvagen.
From Gudvagen, we boarded a bus to go back up the mountain. That was the most harrowing ride ever! The road was SO steep we literally had to drive about 200 feet...take a VERY sharp turn and drive 200 feet in the opposite direction. We did that 13 times before we made it to the summit of the mountain. On the way we saw beautiful waterfalls but I was pretty busy gripping my seat as I am quite terrified of heights and this was VERY high.
From there, we drove on to the town of Voss where we boarded our last train of the day and took it to Bergen. By the time I made it to Bergen I was hungry and exhausted. I found a cab to take me to the hotel and crashed.
Sunday morning I decided to go to Bergen for the day before my flight. The first thing that I did was take a cable car up to the summit of the mountain that boarders the town. It was neat, 7 minutes going straight up and you reach an observation deck where you can view the entirety of this lovely seaside town. After taking photos of the city (which was covered in a cool fog) I went back down the mountain and walked around the annual market. The market sold primarily foods (lots of vendors selling something that looked like a pancake that people were eating with jam on top) and fish etc. It was very interesting. I also walked through the shops that were selling various local wool items (sweaters & hats mainly) and bought a minuscule amount of gifts for friends. Norway is so expensive that everything was ridiculous when you do the conversion. Basically you can divide everything by 5 (exchange rate is 5.50kr to $1.00) so for example McDonalds was 72kr just under $12.50.
The least expensive thing I ate there (which is very popular thing to eat) was a hot dog...to be more specific...a foot-long hot dog with cheese inside wrapped in bacon. A cardiologist nightmare but it was quite tasty!!
So, after a couple hours in Bergen I had to get to the airport to get back to London. The airport was not too far away and on the bus I made small-talk with the kid sitting next to me in his Norwegian Air Force uniform. He was talking about being in town to party with friends and having to go to Stavenger. We talked about the states and he had been over a few times and said he liked it a lot. Especially because everything is so CHEAP!!
When I got back to London, I just slept and tried to play catchup on my homework assignments.
Tuesday though, I went to the Empire Casino to see if I could run into any Celebrity poker players. I was in luck and met two HUGE names in the poker arena: Doyle Brunson & Daniel Negreanu. I got photos with each of them and Doyle even invited me to his private party last night but I had to decline since it started at 7pm and I didn't even get off from work until 10. Oh well...next year I won't turn down any offers like that.
So, that was basically my week in a nutshell. Next week I have HUGE plans. I was planning on going to Stockholm but after seeing the price of things in Norway decided that I would try someplace cheaper. Everyone advised that I try Eastern Europe so that's what I am going to do. I will head out on Wednesday to Ljubljana, Slovenia and spend 2 nights there...take the train to Zagreb, Croatia and spend a night there, then train to Budapest, Hungry for 2 days and finally home via Vienna, Austria where I will spend 2 days as well. I hope that I remember to pack enough memory cards and batteries so my camera will be sorted for the entire trip!
So, I have a lot of work to do on my classes before then so I will probably not blog much in the meantime, however as soon as I get a chance I will tell you all about my amazing trip to Eastern Europe.
Until then,
~Jenn
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
2007 WSOP London - Empire Casino, Fifty Casino, The Sportsman Casino
Wow, I went down to see the big dogs play poker today in the 1st ever European World Series of Poker. It was so cool!! I got a photo taken with Doyle Brunson & Daniel Negreanu and saw Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer and others. So cool.
Norway Photos
I don't really have time to write a blog. And these pictures aren't notated or in specific order YET. But I will get that squared away SOON.
I had such an interesting time in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. And the MOST expensive.
Hope you like the pictures:
I had such an interesting time in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. And the MOST expensive.
Hope you like the pictures:
Monday, September 10, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Days 84 & 85 - Oslo, Norway
This week has really flown by! Last night I hung out with the roommates and some other students in the Study Centre {about 12}, we had a pretty good time. So good in fact that I didn't bother trying to go to sleep last night since my flight was so early. Perhaps we will consider that to be a minor mistake. I am pretty tired now. It's about 4pm in Norway and the sun is very low now. Oslo is located at 59'57" North Latitude, Roughly about a half a degree south of Juneau, Alaska. The weather is very mild outside right now and I am starting to wish that I packed a second short-sleeved shirt. It's a very interesting little city.
I have spent the day walking down the Karl Johans Gate which runs from the central railroad station to the Palace. It's a pretty street with some very nice European style buildings and cobblestone streets. The city is having elections on Monday and I walked by a park which had numerous political parties all out campaigning for their candidates. I thought it was really cute that each party had a little shack-building setup and some were sort of interesting. One had a green canoe with their party's name on it. I took quite a few photos because it's much easier to show you then to describe them but since I am not presently able to upload the photos you will just have to hold tight and wait until I get back and find the time to do it.
Tonight I am staying at the Anker Hostel, it's a friendly place and the room is sparce but clean. The mattresses on the beds are hardly much, but it will work for one night. I will try to get by without the duvet because it looks like it is 100 years old...and the pillow is in roughly the same condition.
When you stay at the hostel, you actually have to bring your own sheets or rent them. It's pretty interesting. Tonight I got a private room with a bathroom, however tomorrow I am going on a train+bus+boat tour across the fjords to Bergen where I will be staying at the YMCA which didn't have any private accomodations and I will be staying in a room for 6 with a shared bathroom....hmmm......Wish I had a friend come with to share this interesting experience.
Next weekend (18-24) I have booked flights to Stockholm and intended to go there and to Copenhagen, but I am not positive because Scandanavia is VERY expensive!! I had a chicken nuggets meal at McDonald's today and it cost me 12.50...sheesh!! In London, where things are expensive that meal would have cost me about 8.00, so you see how this beautiful city is simply outrageous. . . And it's scaring me away from doing the Stockholm thing since I know that things are as bad or worse there.
I am contemplating trying to find something much less expensive, i'll let you know how that works out.
Wow, the fact that the sun is pretty much down now has me getting VERY sleepy. I think I will go back to the hostel and get some rest.
Hope that you are all doing well, write me back!!
Jenn
I have spent the day walking down the Karl Johans Gate which runs from the central railroad station to the Palace. It's a pretty street with some very nice European style buildings and cobblestone streets. The city is having elections on Monday and I walked by a park which had numerous political parties all out campaigning for their candidates. I thought it was really cute that each party had a little shack-building setup and some were sort of interesting. One had a green canoe with their party's name on it. I took quite a few photos because it's much easier to show you then to describe them but since I am not presently able to upload the photos you will just have to hold tight and wait until I get back and find the time to do it.
Tonight I am staying at the Anker Hostel, it's a friendly place and the room is sparce but clean. The mattresses on the beds are hardly much, but it will work for one night. I will try to get by without the duvet because it looks like it is 100 years old...and the pillow is in roughly the same condition.
When you stay at the hostel, you actually have to bring your own sheets or rent them. It's pretty interesting. Tonight I got a private room with a bathroom, however tomorrow I am going on a train+bus+boat tour across the fjords to Bergen where I will be staying at the YMCA which didn't have any private accomodations and I will be staying in a room for 6 with a shared bathroom....hmmm......Wish I had a friend come with to share this interesting experience.
Next weekend (18-24) I have booked flights to Stockholm and intended to go there and to Copenhagen, but I am not positive because Scandanavia is VERY expensive!! I had a chicken nuggets meal at McDonald's today and it cost me 12.50...sheesh!! In London, where things are expensive that meal would have cost me about 8.00, so you see how this beautiful city is simply outrageous. . . And it's scaring me away from doing the Stockholm thing since I know that things are as bad or worse there.
I am contemplating trying to find something much less expensive, i'll let you know how that works out.
Wow, the fact that the sun is pretty much down now has me getting VERY sleepy. I think I will go back to the hostel and get some rest.
Hope that you are all doing well, write me back!!
Jenn
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Day 82 & 83
Last night Spamalot was incredible. It was so unexpectedly good. I would recommend this to anyone who ends up coming to London. Some of my fellow students actually got a chance to meet ERIC IDLE who was sitting in the audience. They even took pictures with him...lucky them.
Tonight I went to Bodean's BBQ where we watched a replay of the FSU/Clemson game. Major disappointment but it was totally expected...entirely. Afterwards we did the pub thing..it was fun too...very fun.
Funny thing happened on the way back to the club, these two guys on bikes were riding down the street...first one stopped second didn't realize what happened and slammed right into the back of the first and his back wheel came completely vertical while and he slid down the front of the bike and hurt the "jewels"...he was in pain but also laughing hysterically as was his friend who he rear ended and the rest of my little group I was out with. It was totally schadenfreude! Fun stuff. It's totally London.
Anyways, time to get ready for bed. I'll catch you guys later! :-)
Night,
~Jenn
Tonight I went to Bodean's BBQ where we watched a replay of the FSU/Clemson game. Major disappointment but it was totally expected...entirely. Afterwards we did the pub thing..it was fun too...very fun.
Funny thing happened on the way back to the club, these two guys on bikes were riding down the street...first one stopped second didn't realize what happened and slammed right into the back of the first and his back wheel came completely vertical while and he slid down the front of the bike and hurt the "jewels"...he was in pain but also laughing hysterically as was his friend who he rear ended and the rest of my little group I was out with. It was totally schadenfreude! Fun stuff. It's totally London.
Anyways, time to get ready for bed. I'll catch you guys later! :-)
Night,
~Jenn
Monday, September 3, 2007
Day 80, 81 & 82
So, I am back after a few days delinquency. I guess i'll catch you up on things.
Friday night I had a fun night with the new roommates and some neighbors. I was introduced to a weird/funny drinking game called "Ring of Fire" it was cool as it involved a bunch of random silly things and a deck of cards and was a great ice breaker. Add some alcohol to the mix and everyone was just bubbly friendly and we had a good time.
Due to a subsequent hangover I took it easy on Saturday morning and didn't make it to the Tate Modern as previously mentioned. The afternoon was spent walking around the city and finally finding my way to a nice park where I sat for a while and fed the pigeons my Rolo candies. Those little birds will eat anything.
Sunday I had to work and started cracking out the books and getting caught up on my studies because I am going to Norway this weekend. It should be an interesting trip.
Tonight we are going to see Monty's Python's Spamalot. I'll let you know how that is. Some of my fellow students who already saw it said it was pretty interesting.
That's it for now,
~Jenn
Friday night I had a fun night with the new roommates and some neighbors. I was introduced to a weird/funny drinking game called "Ring of Fire" it was cool as it involved a bunch of random silly things and a deck of cards and was a great ice breaker. Add some alcohol to the mix and everyone was just bubbly friendly and we had a good time.
Due to a subsequent hangover I took it easy on Saturday morning and didn't make it to the Tate Modern as previously mentioned. The afternoon was spent walking around the city and finally finding my way to a nice park where I sat for a while and fed the pigeons my Rolo candies. Those little birds will eat anything.
Sunday I had to work and started cracking out the books and getting caught up on my studies because I am going to Norway this weekend. It should be an interesting trip.
Tonight we are going to see Monty's Python's Spamalot. I'll let you know how that is. Some of my fellow students who already saw it said it was pretty interesting.
That's it for now,
~Jenn
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