2 Months Later

I have been home 2 months and 1 1/2 days.
I'm not really sure why I'm writing this, I guess in case anyone stumbles across it later.
When I look back sometimes it feels like it was all a dream and that I woke up from this amazing fairy tale. The best (worst now) part was I didn't have to be asleep for my dreams to come true.
I tried to reread my posts and ended up bawling my eyes out. I may have found my one true love: traveling and being in Europe. I miss that place so much it hurts. I would give anything to be back traveling and speaking German. There is still so much I didn't get to do.
Going over and the first few days I was warned of the effects of culture shock upon entering a country. I have to say I never experienced a big degree of culture shock. I have been to Europe and knew what to expect. Something that was mentioned to me that I just disregarded was "re-entry" culture shock. This is when you go back into your own culture and experience culture shock upon coming home. I think this is what I am going through and bad. I can't look at my pictures without crying and wishing I was back there.
I need new adventures to start creating new memories; not to take the place of these, but to make them hurt less and so I have other things to look back on and enjoy.

Getting Home and Now

The most difficult part of my entire journey, Barcelona excluded. I left Amy and Jordan in Amsterdam and continued on my own. For this next part a map of Europe is handy. I was in Amsterdam and I needed to get to Salzburg, because that is where my two big bags of stuff were and they needed to come home with me. Once I had the bags I then needed to get to Frankfurt to fly home. Amsterdam is on one side of Germany and Salzburg on the other. I booked my train to take me from Amsterdam to Hamburg and then Hamburg to Munich and then to Salzburg. I was to leave Amsterdam at 7 in the evening and sleep on the train until 3 in the morning when we got to Hamburg. I was really looking forward to sleeping because I hadn’t got much the last few days. This, however, didn’t happen. I got maybe an hour if I’m optimistic. I got the train tickets fairly cheap and I soon found out why. This train was slow and stopped at every city in between Amsterdam and Hamburg. What was unusual was the fact that the stop was never called out. I never knew which city we were approaching. About 2 hours into the trip we pulled into a station and sat for about an hour and then the train left or so we thought. Instead of continuing down the tracks it stops about 100 yrds from the station and backs up onto another track. When I looked out the window there were giant army tanks, about 20 of them. We sat in this position for about 30 minutes while passengers from another train got onto ours. Then we started forward only to stop and back up onto our original track. We did this for over 3 hrs. Originally I had set an alarm to wake me up about 30 minutes before the train would arrive in Hamburg. The conductor told us we were taking out a few of the cities along the way, so I had no idea what time we would arrive in Hamburg. Sleeping at this point was almost completely out of the question. I would dose just a little in between stops, but I could never completely go to sleep for fear of missing my stop. I finally arrived in Hamburg an hour after my train was scheduled to leave. Thank goodness the lady at the ticket counter was nice. She was able to get me a new train that left for Munich in a few minutes from when I got there. This next train I did sleep about 2 hours, but I was getting ansy to be in Salzburg. I finally made it surprisingly only 2 hours later than I had originally thought. This gave me just enough time to walk through the Christmas Markets one last time, head to my host families house, shower, repack and get back on the train to Munich. Once I had repacked my bags, one was a giant backpack and the other a rolling suitcase, I had doubled my body weight. These bags were packed to the max! I struggled getting them on the bus to go to the train station and then lugging them through the train station and onto the train. Being on the train was the easiest part. A shining moment came when I was in the Munich train station and saw Tim. He was one of the other guys in the program. He helped carry one of my bags and it was just nice to see a familiar face. The train that took me from Munich to Frankfurt was suppose to be 3 hrs, but ended up being 5. Once in Frankfurt I got on another train and made it to the airport around 2:30 in the morning. My flight was leaving at 8 the next morning and I hadn’t booked a hostel. I was really glad of this decision, because that would have meant lugging those bags even further. So I found a nice bench and attempted to sleep. All in all I got about 2 hrs. When I went to check in I had this fear of being charged who knows how many dollars, because of the extra weight my bags were. Luckily the flying gods looked favorable on me and I wasn’t charged extra. By the time I made it through security we were almost ready to board the flight, so I grabbed something to eat and to get rid of my last Euros. When I got on the flight I found my seat, next to the window. I laid my head on the window and passed out. When I finally regained consciousness I looked at my computer screen and we were 7 ½ hrs into the flight. I also found out that we had sat in the airport an extra 1 ½ hrs, because the lights weren’t working on the plane. So I slept for 9 hrs on my flight home. I missed all the movies and free drinks, but it sure did feel good to sleep. It had been almost 3 days since I had had a good nights sleep. (Crossing the channel I only slept about 4 hrs that night and then maybe 2 or 3 on the train and in the airport the next two nights traveling.) So we landed in Chicago at the same time my flight was leaving to go to Tulsa. One of the scariest moments happened while going through customs. I had my temporary passport and when I got up to the window the man told me his supervisor was going to have to look at it. I had to go in a back room and wait with all kinds of police officers around, not really knowing if they were going to let me in the country. Thankfully they did! I had to reclaim my bags and figure out how to get back to Tulsa. The man at the ticket desk was very friendly and got me on the waiting list for the next flight and an actual seat for a really late flight. I got some food and watched a movie on my laptop and just waited at the gate to see if which flight I would be on. I made the early one. This plane was late leaving Chicago, but I made it to Tulsa around 6:30 on the evening of December 19^th. Almost four whole months in Europe.

Now

I’ve been home for almost a month and I miss Europe like crazy. I’m ready to go back. It is so weird being home. It is almost like time stood still while I was over there. Not a lot has changed, especially at OSU. I also went back to Camp for a weekend and this is where I really noticed how things hadn’t changed.

Amsterdam

Me and Amy arrived in Amsterdam around 11am and met up with Jordan, one of the guys from our program. It was a crazy thing that we found him. He was waiting for us at the station and we just happened to bump into him. It turned out his phone wasn’t working and if we hadn’t seen him in the station we may never have found him.

            It had snowed in Amsterdam the day before and there was about 3-4 inches on the ground. For Amsterdam this was the first snow in over 100yrs. It was throwing the city off a little bit and mainly effected the transportation systems. But for us it was fun to see the snow. We hadn’t really gotten that chance before.

            The first place we went to was the Heineken Brewery. Of all the breweries we went to this was the best. It was hands on and the attractions were well put together. Afterwards we found lunch and just walked around. The city is very unique in its style and there was plenty to just look at.

            We visited Anne Frank’s house and took a tour. When she says they lived in an attic this is only partially true. It was more like a flat or two story house on top of the warehouse. It was a lot bigger than I had anticipated.

            When it started getting dark Jordan took us to the red light district. I was really glad to have him along. There was about a 20 to 1 guy girl ratio. There wouldn’t have been any problems, but it was nice to have a guy along. Of all the things I’ve seen this may be one of the saddest. It hurts your heart a little.

Edinburgh

Amazing!!! If I had known I was going to like Scotland so much I would have stayed there they entire week after. The feel, layout and style of the city are hard to describe. Hopefully you can see pictures. It was just spectacular. I didn’t even get close to seeing everything worth seeing in just Edinburgh in a day and a half. That city needed at least 3 in itself and then the countryside and other surrounding cities needed a few days as well. I think I could have spent 2 or 3 weeks in Scotland and not have seen it all. It is always wet, not so much rain, but moisture in the air and everything has moss growing on it. Edinburgh is also so high on the globe that it is only light from 9-3ish. In the summer it is the reverse though.

            When we first arrived in town it was dark, but you could just see the castle looming over the city in the distance. The outline against the dark blue sky gave it a medieval, mystical feeling. After checking into the hostel we walked around and then did a walking tour. This one was fantastic! The guide was James and he knew a lot about Edinburgh and did a great job at presenting the city. It is old and full of history. I realized on this trip that I’m beginning to like history more and more and that I want to know more about Scottish history. I also decided that I’m going to watch Braveheart. I also learned an interesting fact. JK Rowling is credited with getting the idea for Harry Potter while sitting in The Elephant House in Edinburgh. From the windows in the café you can see Edinburgh castle and a school. The school was founded with the intent of letting at least 2 orphans be admitted every year. It also has four towers and “houses.” I ate in the café, but no great book ideas yet.

            That night we went on a ghost tour. It was great! Edinburgh has a lot of dark history and most of the stories of creepy things happening were explainable, some weren’t. We got to hear histories stories that are most of the time left out of textbooks.

            The next morning we visited the Scotch Museum and did a few last minute things, such as getting a picture with a man in a kilt and playing bagpipes. We then got on a train that took us to Glasgow. In Glasgow we walked through the city and got on another train that took us to the airport. From the airport flew back to London. Then another train to London’s central station and then from the central station another train to the coast. Once we got to the coast we then took a ferry, a really big hotel on the water, across the English Channel to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands we took two more trains to Amsterdam. All in all I do not suggest trying to get from Edinburgh to Amsterdam taking cheap transportation. Added up we might as well have gotten a flight. Oh well, I know for next time.

            Scotland surprised me. Of all the places in Europe it was not one that I thought I would enjoy or want to go back to. But I must say besides Germany it was my favorite place. I really want to see the Highlands and go to Inverse and see the Loch Ness monster. There is still so much to do there I hope to be able to go back and see more.

Dublin

We left London the next morning and took the train back out to the airport. The lines were much longer than I had anticipated and we ended up speed walking/almost jogging through the airport. We arrived just in time and still got a seat next to each other. We flew Ryan Air the whole trip and they have first come first serve seating. We landed in Dublin and took a bus to our hostel. It was called the Four Courts and I think they guy at the front desk was a leprechaun. Lunch was the first order of business and we went to the oldest pub in the city The Brazen Head founded in the end of the 10^th century. Our first stop after lunch was Jameson Irish Whiskey Museum. It was a pretty good tour and they had a taste test at the end so you could compare the differences of whiskeys through out the world. The unique feature of Jameson Whiskey is that it is triple distilled. It is suppose to give it a smoother taste. I’m not a fan of whiskey, but you could tell a difference between it Jack Daniels and a Scottish Whiskey they had. They Scottish one had a smokey taste. You’ll learn why later. Then we headed to Guinness. This tour/museum had to much information and after seeing the Stiegel Brewery and the Whiskey and then Guinness they all start to sound the same. But Guinness did have a really good section on their marketing through the last few decades. At the very top of the brewery is the Gravity Bar and it is all glass and lets you have a great view of the city. We saw the city all lit up at night. We went down town and walked around and got our tourist shopping done and then got groceries from the Spar for dinner. I really like cooking in the hostels, because you meet all kinds of people and you get the opportunity to talk to people from all over. We made nachos and rice. Our room was all girls and has the capacity to hold 16, but there were only 4 other girls in there besides us.

            To give our legs a rest we did a Hop On Hop Off bus tour. This was nice, because the bus driver told you things while he drove around the city and he would stop occasionally and point out special places of interest and if you wanted to you could get off the bus and explore more on your own. A bus came about every 15 to each of the stops. It worked out nicely, but wasn’t as informant as the walking tours are. A main place rebellion actions took place in Dublin is the central Post Office. In some of the statues near it you can still see bullet wholes. Ireland only gained its independence in 1922. Next to it is a shopping strip with booths very similar to Hong Kong, but a lot more expensive and not quit as close together. Trinity College is the oldest university in Ireland and holds one of the oldest intact copies of the Gospels. It dates back to the 800s. It is beautifully written with calligraphy and pictures all over it. This was another place you could take pictures. There is also a library on the campus that houses some of the oldest books in Ireland and is full of old books from everywhere. We ate lunch in a restaurant called the Alamo. I found it a little bit ironic, but their Mexican really wasn’t to far off. Dublin Castle is located right in the middle of town. It also is right next door to the police station and a library. They don’t really let you see it without paying, but we did get some good pictures in the garden and next to the Cathedral. Our next stop was probably the most exciting in Dublin. Kilmainham Goal is a prison located outside of town. It was the most innovated of its time and has killed quite a few people. The people of Dublin feel it closely correlates with British control. The prison was built in 1798 and the British gained control in 1800. The last person to be executed was in 1924 and the British left in 1922. The original Italian Job has a few scenes from the prison. Dublin also has a park near the prison that is over 1000 acres and is called Phoenix Park. The inspiration for the book Dracula came from St. Michan, but we could never figure out how to get in. Dinner was sandwiches and more rice. I talked to a guy from Germany for a while, then me and Amy went looking for traditional music and dancing. There wasn’t a lot going on since it wasn’t tourist season, but we did get to hear so music and the people who danced were good and lived up to our expectations. They music was still a little too modern, but nice to listen too.

            Overall, Dublin is not anything special. I think the country side and smaller towns in Ireland have more to offer. I could be wrong, but Dublin wasn’t impressive at all and everything can be seen in 2 days.

London

Me and Amy left for our week after trip on Friday morning, the 11th. Sabine took us to the airport and said good-bye to us then. I was doing alright holding back the tears and then she hugged me and I saw the tears in her eyes and I lost it. I bawled from then until we landed in London and then it took a lot of effort to hold back the tears then. I’m fighting it right now. She was an amazing host mom and I’m really going to miss her. She said that I need to come back and visit her someday. Hopefully, I can do that.

            When we arrived at the airport it was a little ways out of town and we had to take a train in. The woman at the ticket desk was really nice and told us to make sure and show our student cards everywhere, because you never know who will give you a discount. She even did 25% off. It was the beginning of a lot of discounts.

            We checked into our hotel and began exploring. The first afternoon we walked around and explored the Tower of London. The first part of it was built in the 9^th century. It was really cool and a great place to just explore and look around, we even got to see the royal jewels. NO pictures, please, though. We were then in a perfect location to walk over the London Bridge and then down the Queen’s Walk. We also went into the reconstructed version of the Globe Theatre. Go when it’s warm outside, because it is an open air theatre. The next stop on the list was Kings Cross Rail Station. It was probably the most disappointing part of the whole trip. In Harry Potter they have to go in between platforms 9 and 10 onto platform 9 ¾. There is no platform in between the train tracks of 9 and 10. The trains are right next to each other. I have a picture of where they could potentially “get on the train,” but even that is a little iffy. Dinner was enjoyable though. We went to Hoops and Grapes and I had fish and chips. The place had a pet cat and it snuggled up next to Amy and fell asleep. The hostel we stayed at is next to a bar, but the actual hostel is behind a locked door. Our room had 20 other people, but surprisingly we were able to get a decent night’s sleep. Everyone else in our room wanted to sleep as well and the lights were off by midnight. The craziest part of the night is I’m talking to Amy and I crawl into my bed and the girl next to me asks where I’m from. I told her Oklahoma and she gives me this look and goes “No way me too!” It turns out she went to Union and graduated the same year as Jessica. It is truly a small world.

            There is a company called New Europe that gives tours of major European towns. They use hostels to solicit their tours. I went on one in Berlin and it was excellent. They give you the basic facts of the major historical places, but they also tell you side stories that aren’t always in normal tours. They keep them funny and entertaining, because they work off of a tips basis. So I drug Amy along with me for the tour of London. We started off in Hyde Park and the Wellington Arch. It was made to rival the French Arc de Triumph, but the British version lacks a little. We then headed to Buckingham Palace and our guide Ed told us a few funny stories about people breaking into the palace. In the 80’s a group of Germans intending to camp out in Hyde Park actually ended up sleeping in the Queens private garden! They were as surprised as the guard who they asked directions from the next morning. We then saw where Prince Charles and William and Harry live. They have those guards with the funny hats outside of their house even when they are not home. Then a few more random places. It actually started sprinkling on us about half way through. It was one of those rains that you can see the sun shining a few feet away, but you are getting wet from a random rain cloud. We saw Big Ben and learned that that is not the name of the tower, but the bell inside the tower. The tower is just called The Clock Tower. Westminster Abbey and Parliament are both beautiful. The architecture is so different and intricate. We didn’t go in either, because of our time restraint. Oxford the largest shopping street in London and it is packed with people. What was nice was about half way down it there was a Christmas Market that they had tried to make look like a German Market. It was cute and little, but it was like being back in Austria for a few minutes. The London Eye is the world’s largest ferries wheel and looks nice with all its lights on at night. Big Ben also is worth seeing at night. Amy and I also went Ice Skating that evening right next to the Tower of London. So we skated while looking at a castle. Only in Europe! They only let you skate an hour at a time and the session had already started when we got there so we asked the guys working there a good place to eat that was close and good so that we could come back for the next session and both of them suggested Wagamama’s. It was an Asian noodle restaurant and the name means naughty child. The food was good and the name is fun to say. Our last mission of the night was to get pictures in a phone booth after that was completed we went back to the hostel and crashed. It had been a really busy day and we had accomplished a lot in London in 2 days. It is possible to see everything you need to in two days, I wouldn’t recommend it, but it is possible, just walk fast.

Packing

I'm beginning to pack and I'm not sure where everything came from!! There is so much stuff that I still haven't packed, where did it come from? I'm about to have to weed out some unwanted clothes and things... I'll be home in 9 days and the countdown begins.
I'm not 100% ready to leave. I feel like 3 months was just enough to finally get settled in. I know my way around and I'm getting comfortable and learning more and more German. I'm bound and determined to come back for a long stay some how in the future. Still working those details out... The last few days and this evening have been really sad : ( We have all been saying bye to each other and promising facebook every now and then. It is weird to think I won't see any of them probably ever again. We have spent the last 3 1/2 months together and now we are going our separate ways.
I leave for London in the morning!