Oktoberfest: 200th Anniversary

On September 17th, 60 Miami students embarked on what should have been a 7 hour bus ride to Munich.  10 hours and 1 speeding ticket later, and we were finally at the opening day of the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest.  We got in line for the tents at 8:00 AM, and finally were able to grab a table at 9:00.  We had to wait until 12 for the first keg to be tapped.  Our tent, Augustiner-Brau Muchen, alone held about 8,000 people.  It was absolutely crazy.  We all decided to order some food, and you can see my giant pretzel below.  Some people also ordered chicken, and were literally served a whole chicken.  Everything was delicious! When it was finally time for the kegs to be tapped and the beer to flow people went nuts.  It was the best thing I've ever been a part of.  Everyone is cheersing, saying "Prost!" and people from all over the world all mingling.  A few hours and steins later, and we decided to walk around and find a bathroom.  That proved to be the most difficult task of the day.  The lines were so long!  Later that night we decided to have one more pint before we left, and settled into the Löwenbräu for a drink.

It was such a fun day, and truly a bonding experience for us all.  I walked away with a sore arm (those steins are heavy) and some great memories.  But wait, the biggest drama of the night was about to happen.  We were told that the bus was going to leave at 12, and when it pulled away at 11:45 we realized to late someone got left behind.  The simple solution would be to call his cell phone.  Except that was sitting in my pocket.  So the bus driver took us back to the train station (where he was last seen) and we started running through the train station.  No one could help us and we ended up admitting defeat.  The one left behind eventually made it home, after sleeping in the train station for 3 hours and buying a 90 Euro train ticket.  

So there was some drama, but it was an unbelievable night! I will definitely be making a trip back in future!

The Netherlands: Den Haag and Amsterdam

The weekend of September 10th, we took a trip up to the Netherlands. There were eight of us, and we decided to share one hostel room. We arrived in Den Haag around 8:30 pm and checked into StayOkay Hostel. It was actually really nice and located on the river. After we made our beds, we headed out to a Mexican restaurant the hostel worker recommended. They had the BEST margaritas ever, and even brought us tap water! We headed to bed early and got up at 8 to head to Amsterdam for the day.

We walked around the streets for a while, searching for the I AMSTERDAM letters. Once we found those and took some pictures, we headed to the Heineken Brewery to for the Heineken Experience. It was so much, and we even got 3 beers out of it. It was much more then just a tour, with interactive tastings and "rides" it made for a great afternoon. After that, our group split up and we headed to the Anne Frank House. It was incredible to go to a place that I had read about previously. it was a heart breaking place, but served to promote justice throughout the world. Our next stop was to find the worlds narrowest house, only 6 feet wide! We got lost on the way an ended up in the red light district. It was...interesting. And completely surreal. We did finally find the tiny house and proudly took a picture in front of it.

We headed back to Den Haag later that night and wanted to walk around sunday morning before we headed home. We should have known that our luck with the weather would only last so long. After seeing that there was no stopping the rain, we admitted defeat and started our 6 hour trip home.

Belgium: Ardennes, Brussels, and Bruges

We covered some serious ground this weekend.  Our trip started on friday afternoon as we loaded buses to head to the Belgium region Ardennes.  There, we went on a two hour tour of the caves.  They were amazing (and a little creepy).  That was the second time in a week I has gone underground, and I think I'm done for a while.  After that we headed to the train station to go to Brussels.  We arrived around 9:00 PM, and immediately headed to The Hotel Queen Ann to change for a night out.  Our hotel, even though inexpensive, was super nice and clean.  Our group consisted of Meghan and Lauren (my roommates), Shelby, and I.  However, about 30 other Miami kids were touring the same cities, and so we met up with them later.  We grabbed dinner at Subway (I know) and then went to a pub called Delirium where 90% of the beers has an alcohol content of 10%.  It was a really fun night, and we got to know a group of people from Canada.

The next morning, we got up bright and early and ate the continental breakfast provided by our hotel.  Then we headed out to tour the city, and headed to the Grand Place first.  The buildings are stunning and there is so much history there.  It was actually Belgium Beer week while we were there, so there were dozens of white tents in the center.  We kept walking through the streets and found Manneken Pis (the little peeing boy).  The first time we saw him, he was wearing a military outfit, but then had a wardrobe change into a navy suit.  Our little group covered the entire city in three hours, all the while toting our huge hiking backpacks.  After we tired ourselves out, we decided to try a belgium waffle.  I got mine with whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate.  It may have been the best thing I've ever had (next to my mom's cooking :)) Once we were full, we headed to the train station to go to our next destination.

In Bruges, we checked into our hostel Charlie Rockets.  And it was definitely a hostel.   Although it was clean, the beds were precarious and the rooms super loud (it's above a bar).  We got what we paid for though, so it wasn't too bad.  Once we were settled, we headed to grab some dinner.  Lauren and I got a glass of wine and some fajitas.  They were delicious! After that, we met up with some other Miami kids to bar hop for the evening (one happy hour to the next!)

We got up early again the next morning, and headed out to breakfast where we got waffles again.  This time with powdered sugar.  And again, they were AMAZING! Our feet were hurting from the day before and we still has a lot of ground to cover, so we rented bikes.  I forgot how long it had been since I had been on one, and they were high off the ground so getting on and off was quite an experience.  But we were able to ride to the outskirts of the city along the canals where we found a flock of swans.  It was  beautiful.  We made a point to walk up the 366 steps of the Belfry Tower for a panoramic view of Bruges.   After that we decided to stop into some of the churches; my favorite was Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Dutch).  Inside, is Michelangelo's sculpture Madonna and Child which was exciting to see. Sadly, we had to head home and decided to grab some frites (fries) on the way.  


It was a great weekend and we covered a lot of ground.  Somehow, we had no major mishaps and I am so excited to go back to Bruges and Brussels with my Chocolate class!

Welcome to Luxembourg!

I have finally arrived in Luxembourg! We landed on Wednesday and were immediately taken to the Chateau in Differdange where were greeted by our host family.  Andre (the dad), Lucie (the mom), and their sons Jim and Jo are all very welcoming and helpful.  Andre took my roommates (Meghan and Lauren) and I into the city for a tour of Luxembourg’s history.  The entire city is built around an ancient fort, with most parts remaining today.  There are great shops, cafes and pubs in the city. 

Thursday was our first day of scheduled events, which included lectures at the Chateau and a scavenger hunt, which we all ditched in favor of headeding to the local pub called Das Boot.  It is the place where you will find most Miami students after classes.  They serve their beer in huge glass boots.  But don’t let the name confuse you, “Das Boot” actually means the boat.  On Friday we had more lectures and then headed to the American and German cemeteries for WWII.  It was really interesting to see the differences between the two cemeteries.  The bus then dropped us off in Luxembourg City where we had to complete another scavenger hunt.  We ditched that too when it suddenly started pouring! That night all of the students and their host families met at the Chateau and enjoyed a BBQ prepared by our chef. 

On Saturday all of the Miami students met up for three separate field trips.  Our group went to three countries over the course of the day.  It started with a picnic on the Moselle River in Luxembourg where the Schengen Agreement was signed (on a boat).  It created a borderless zone of 25 countries covering 400 million people that makes travelling from Luxembourg to France as easy as crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky.  From there, we went to Chateau de Malbrouck in Manderen France.  They were housing art from Niki de Saint Phalle.  The art was not really my thing, but the castle was gorgeous and the views amazing.  After that, we headed to the Wellenstein Winery in Germany.  We got a tour of the winery and then went on to wine tasting.  They taught us proper tasting technique and allowed us to sample three of their Riesling wines and one sparkling wine.  All of them were delicious! After that, the bus took us back to Luxembourg City where we had a traditional meal of sausage and fries at the Schueberfouer  (the Luxembourg city fair).  This is no normal fair! They sell everything from candy to pots and pans.  And their rides are better suited for somewhere like six flags.  After that we walked to the city and went to a pub called Fire and Ice.

Sunday is a traditional family day in Luxembourg, and so we spent the day with our new host family.  Andre took Lauren, Meghan and I out to the European center and we say all of the governmental buildings.  We also took a stroll through the old Luxembourg fortress.  We then went back to the house for lunch (which is as big as our dinners), and took a quick break.  Then Andre whisked us off to the old steel mines.  I was a little apprehensive about going down into the mines, but it was so much fun(if not a little cold). 

It was a great first week in Luxembourg! Our host family is great and I am so excited about the other trips in my future. Next weekend I am headed to Brussels and Bruges!