The ordeal in Frankfurt-Hahn Jan. 2nd.

My day back in Frankfurt was crazy!

The bus arrived in Frankfurt-Main at 4:50pm so I had time to catch the 5pm bus to Frankfurt-Hahn. What a miserable two hours! I didn't want to pay one euro to put my bag under the bus, and it didn't fit in the slots so I sat with it on my lap.

After I arrived at the airport in Frankfurt-Hahn, I was told that I needed to reserve a ticket on flibco.com for the bus to Trier. The receptionist at the information desk sent me across the street to the B &B Hotel to the use internet which I had to pay 2 euros to use. This turned out to be a waste of money, because the internet was not working! The hotel receptionist didn't know what to do and simply told me she was sorry. I was pissed. How was I going to reserve a ticket if the pay-computer didn't work and the receptionist wouldn't use her computer to reserve the ticket for me?!

I dragged my stuff back across the street to speak to the receptionist at the information desk. There was a different one there. She told me that I could purchase my ticket from the bus driver. Ok.

So I went to the bus stop to wait. I waited in the COLD for 45 minutes. He arrived really early so I was excited. I asked him if I could buy a ticket, and all he said was, "I don't know, it depends." He then walked off. I was pissed. So he left me there to wait. I know he meant that it depended on how many seats were left. I was so aggravated with the entire situation and just cried there in the cold. I was so mad. I listened to my music and started to walk around to warm up. This made me feel better.

He came back 45 minutes later. Another bus driver pulled up behind him. They sat in one of the buses and chatted for 10 minutes. Afterwards, the people with reservations were allowed on the bus. There were plenty of seats left. The bus driver told me the seat would be 22 euros. um, what? On the website, the tickets costed 12 euros. I didn't have 22 euros. I was so mad. I told him that I needed to run back to the airport. He pointed to his watch and said, "I leave in five minutes." The bus was scheduled to leave at 8:45pm. I was so mad. I ran with all my stuff to the airport, with my shoestrings flying all over the place and my jacket wide open. I took some money from the ATM and ran back to the bus. I was crying the whole time. When I finally made it on the bus, I just sat there with my carryon bag on my lap. I didn't take of my jacket, my hat, my scarf, or my gloves. I just let the tears stream down my face. I was so mad. I became more upset when the bus driver didn't leave for another ten minutes.

I had an hour to calm down. When we arrived in Trier, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I stepped off the bus, and a woman with curly hair walked up to me: "Bionca? It's Silvia. It's nice to meet you again." She gave me a big bear hug. I felt so much better. So safe. I walked up to the car and her husband, Bernd, gave me a big hug also. He put my bag in the car, and he rode off to go to their home.

Their home was so peaceful and lovely. Bernd is an electrician so he equipped the house with power saving devices. He showed me my room and bathroom on the top floor and all of the automatic lights. After I put my things up, I went to sit with them downstairs in the kitchen. I sat in the den with my feet on the heated floor. Silvia made me some tea, and we talked about my travels and my horrible day. She also showed me some of her photos from her travels with her husband and son. I felt so blessed to be some where warm and safe. I also felt blessed that Silvia and Bernd trusted me in their nice home.

They had to work early, so we didn't stay downstairs for long. Silvia sent me upstairs with water and boxes of sweets and encouraged me to enjoy the television. Instead of watching television, I rested for my next big adventure: discovering Trier.

Charlottenburg District in Berlin

The best part of my trip happened after I checked out of the hostel on December 29th and made my way from the Kreuzberg district to another place the in Charlottenburg district.

On my way to the Berliner Straße station

From the window of the place I was staying in Charlottenburg.

I had an awesome host who showed me almost everything about Berlin. He practically told me all the history of Berlin. It was wonderful. We took a tour of the city on the bi-level city bus. I also had a tour of the city via U bahn and S train.

The awesome bus. An all day pass for the bus and the u bahn is 6.80 euros.

I spent my days in Schöneberg at the argentine tango workshops( http://www.berlinfestivalito.com/) and I spent my nights touring the city with my host Jan (Yahn). We walked around the city a lot. I saw and toured the foreign embassies, a museum dedicated to Kennedy, the Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor), the Pergamon museum, and the Charlottenburg Palace.

U bahn station named after Richard Wagner

I also went to the Berlin TV Tower and discovered Berlin 360º. The top revolved slowly so we were able to see the entire city. While at the top, we sipped on some Spezi, a German soda that consists of Coke and Orange soda. Yummy! The price was outrageous! I mean 5 euros for a glass of soda. Really?!

We also we ate typical German food, toured Jan's university where he studies theology, and went to discotheques for free with the passcode "nightout".

On New Year's Eve, Jan invited his friends over for dinner before we made our way out to see the fireworks. They were two French guys and one German guy. We ate spaghetti, cheese puffs, and toffee candy. Yes. I remember Jan saying "this is the dinner of a single man."

As we ate, we watched "Dinner for One" which Jan said is only showed on New Year's Eve. He said that New Year's Eve is the only day when people have the duty to laugh. After the sketch, one of his friends hogged the computer and played electronic music the entire time. Ugh!

After dinner, we went to Viktoria Park to see the fireworks. On the way there, everything was crazy. It's illegal in Augusta, GA for individuals (but it happens anyway) to light fireworks on the street, so it was scary for me. People were lighting firecrackers and aimlessly throwing them on the sidewalks, on the streets, and in the U bahn station. I was afraid the first time I heard one outside my hostel in Kreuzberg, because I thought it was a gunshot.

When we made our way to Viktoria Park, we had to run up the hill and dodge firecrackers. Jan had to pull my hand and guide me up the hill until we made it to the Leipzig monument (Leipzig 1813). We lit some fireworks in a bottle and watched the show from all over the city. For the first time in my life, I wasn't looking at a clock when the New Year came in. I was looking over the city, waiting for something to happen. It was spectacular. It was maybe the third or fourth time in my life that I ever had fun on New Year's Eve.

We stayed there in the freezing cold for maybe 2 hours and then went an Indian restaurant to have some warm chicken soup. Afterwards, we went to a discotheque for a while. It was a lovely night.

The next night, Jan and I went walking around the city some more and ate some traditional German food at nice restaurant. We sat next to some Greek guys who were vacationing in Berlin. Before they left, they order us some drinks which, of course, I passed over to Jan since I hate beer.

The person who invented currywurst (sorry the photo is blurry- 1949. Here is a better picture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Curry_schild.jpg)

The meal we ate. I don't remember the name. :(

On our way home, Jan lit a final firecracker in front of the Charlottenburg Palace. It wasn't so successful. Instead of flying up, it flew sideways and a man had to run from it. Oh well. No one was hurt.

That night, I went to bed a little sad but also very content.

The next day, I woke up early to catch my early bus back to Frankfurt to reach my next destination: Trier.

Berlin

So I made it to the bus in time for my 8 hour long trip to Berlin. There was bus attendant to answer questions and check on us from time to time.

We journey was 8 hours, because we stopped in lots of towns.

I used the company Berlin Linien Bus which seems to be the only company with trips from Frankfurt to Berlin and vice versa. In one of the tons, I was able to try my very first curry bratwurst. um. wow! It's just a bratwurst cut up into sections and covered in curry sauce. It was wonderful.

When I finally arrived to Berlin, I had no idea where to go. I looked for people who spoke English, but I had a hard time. The first guy at least told me about the U bahn stop that I needed to arrive at my hostel. I soon realized that I was in the middle of no where and so had to walk for a while to a Pharmacy to ask for help. Luckily, someone there spoke English.

I made my way to the hostel which is a central place but still a little hidden. I had to go through a small alley to arrive there. This was a good hostel since they make you show your id before letting you in. I checked in and put my stuff away so that I could get ready for the dance festival.

Berlin has a large argentine tango community, and had a small festival to bring them together as well as tango dancers for all over Europe. The festival was called Berlin Festivalito. The guy who organized the festival is from Ireland. He taught workshops along with a woman from Brazil (http://cicamargo.blogspot.com/) and two couples from Berlin.

The workshops were in the afternoon and the milongas (tango dances) were at night. Between workshops there were also tango cafes which included some typical food of Argentina and practica.

I was scared out of my mind during the milongas, but I had a really good time at the workshops.

However, the dancing wasn't the best part of the trip...

So the day after Christmas...

I left Madrid and went to Frankfurt, Germany. Well, at least I thought I was in Frankfurt. I was in Frankfurt-Hahn, which is 2 hours from Frankfurt Main! What a trick! Well, I guess that's the only way that Ryainair (a cheap European airline) could make the flight cheaper.

I had to catch a bus to Frankfurt, and find my hostel. It was cleaner than the hostel I used in Madrid, but the customer service was horrible. Oh, well. It was cheap.

I only stayed in Frankfurt one night, because my real destinations was Berlin. That Monday night in Frankfurt (Dec. 26), I mostly walked around looking for food. To my surprise, the train station was right across the street and included everything. Someone could live in the train station. I had my very first Bratwurst. A long piece of meet on a little piece of bread. Wow! Such bliss. It also was very cheap. Afterwards, I went back to the hostel and went to bed early as I had to rise at 7am to catch the 8am bus to my destination.

The next morning, I discovered that the hostel included a wonderful breakfast! Something redeemed the hotel. The morning receptionist was also better and more attentive.

I ate my breakfast, checked out, and made my way across the street for the bus to Berlin.

And the most important person in Spain is...

From Elpais.com

King Juan Carlos I. When Franco died, the king discontinued the authoritarian state of Spain which greatly angered Franco supporters like Lieutenant Tejero. Tejero interrupted a meeting at the Congress of the Deputies in Madrid in 1981 and held hostages. The next day, the king appeared on television in his military uniform and declared that Spain would transition to a democracy. Tejero and his men surrendered.

Christmas trip 2011

Hello all,

So finally I am back on blogger. I've been too busy to sit down and write about my travels. I also haven't had much inspiration to write much of anything. Now that I have some quiet time, I can tell you all the details about my Christmas vacation.

My very first stop was Madrid. I caught a ride on Friday December 23rd with a student to Madrid, and I stayed in a hostel. I am not a big fan of hostels, because I am not accustomed to sharing a room with so many people. It was cheap so I tolerated it.

I mostly relaxed over the Christmas weekend. I ate some good tapas, saw a movie at the cinema, and went on a wonderful free walking tour.

I was very content with my peaceful and sunny Christmas. The real fun was to come later...


Christmas 2011 in Puerta del Sol. I promise that I was not looking at the camera.Puerta del Sol. The center of Madrid. The Center of spain. The buildings are constructed in a way to imitate the shape of the sun. The side streets represent the rays of the sun. So beautiful on Christmas. It really was the "Gate of the Sun" as the center was so bright.
When statues are constructed this way with two legs of the horse off the ground , it means that the person on the horse died in battle. Galileo helped the Spaniards figure out that this statue would stay in this position with the use of solid bronze at the rear of the horse. This statue (King Philip IV) is in front of the Royal Palace (Palacio Real). Of course, the royal family does not live there. It is used as a museum and a place for official functions. The flag is up when the king is there.
This monument commemorates the victims of the assasination attempt of King Alfonso XIII of and his new wife in 1906.

The window from which Mateu Morral threw the bomb at the wedding procession of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenburg. He would have avoided punishment had he not gone around town celebrating in the most expensive restaurants. Villains. So predictable.

Certificate that proves that this restaurant is the oldest in the world: Casa Botín
A poet who was killed during the times of Franco for being against his views and exposing homosexuality in his writings.
This statue (King Philip III) is in Plaza Mayor. There once was a horrible smell in the plaza due to the accumulation of bird carrions inside the belly of the horse. The birds flew up through the horse's mouth and could not escape so they starved to death. The mouth has been sealed to prevent a repeat of this event.

Christmas rastro in Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor on Christmas

Once was the number one spot for suicide in Madrid. Now the plastic makes it harder to jump from the bridge.
The cathedral. The gated portions shows aspects of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism: the cathedral, the remains of the muslim walls, and the star of david.

The street named after Miguel de Cervantes, the second most important person in Spain. In my next post you will see the most important person in Spain.

I have a cold (catarro) and one of these places is the culprit.

Points:

A. Logroño

B. Madrid (arrived by bus)

C. Frankfurt (arrived by airplane)

D. Berlin (arrived by bus)

E.Frankfurt-Hahn (bus)

F. Trier (bus)

G. Luxembourg (bus)

-I then flew back to Madrid on Jan. 6 for a couple of days and arrived back in Logroño last. night.

I'll tell you the details of my trip later!

Tschüss! Au revoir! Chau! Hasta Luego!