¡Hasta luego España, hola United States!

Now that I have been home for over two weeks, I have pretty much re-acclimated to life in the US and the jet lag has subsided.  It was a very busy couple of days arriving home right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  I had just one day to get my affairs in order before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day took us by storm.  It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone after so long.  

The response to this blog has been outstanding!  I am thrilled that so many of you have been able to join me on this unforgettable experience.  I continue to hear of new people who have read the posts, shared the links and even printed out the full edition!!  Thanks so much for the interest and concern!  It has been fun to write, but also a huge chore.  So, for the last time, I will wrap up my semester abroad and bring home all of you who have been stuck in Ireland for a few weeks :)

This past semester has been a whirlwind!!  A new university, in a new city, in a new country, on a new continent, surrounded by new faces!  The latter turned out to be one of the best parts.  While it was fun to share the experience with old friends from SLU, the newcomers made the semester exciting and different - like Freshmen year all over again.  I took a Spanish class trip with a busload of perfect strangers and by the end, we were great friends and even stayed close back in Madrid.  While there in our hometown, we explored our city, its countless cultural attractions and unique intricacies.  I desperately wanted to blend in as a native, but unfortunately that never really happened.  I did however manage to master the public transportation system and ultimately made it to the Prado, The Thyssen-Bonamisa, The Reina Sofia and the Sorolla Museums, along with Retiro Park, Parque de Oeste, Templo de Debod, El Rastro Market, Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Cibeles and innumerable other destinations.  On top of all that, I saw a movie at a Spanish cine, attended a play at one of Madrid's beautiful theaters, ate chocolate con churros at San Gines, dined at the oldest functioning restaurant in the World, received communion at the Cathedral de la Almudena, and even bought some Euro clothes and got a Spanish haircut to fit the bill.  We undoubtedly found some favorite spots to meet our friends in the evenings.  Chapandaz, 100 Montaditos, Dubliner's, Maloney's, Pecaditos and El Tigre will be sorely missed, but the painful mornings after our late night outings will not be.  

Dan, Ross, Alex and I eating dinner in our apartment

Alex, Dan and I with our señora, Pilar, and house keeper, Cosmina

We spent our free time incessantly traveling, hitting many of Europe's major countries and most popular cities.  After what I counted to be 24 individual flights, 4 bus trips and a handful of train rides, I managed to make it to: Athens and Santorini, Greece; Paris and Versailles, France; Geneva and Interlaken, Switzerland; Roncesvalles, Nevarra, Rioja and País Vasco, Spain; Munich, Germany; Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Segovia Spain; London, England; Brussels, Belgium; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Netzbach, Germany; as well as Dublin, Cork, and Galway, Ireland.  

Map of Europe with visited cities highlighted in red 

The traveling really was a blast, but now that it is all said and done, I have a few conclusions that I have drawn while sitting aboard airplanes for hours on end each and every weekend:

• People are nice: First and foremost, I noticed that people everywhere are genuinely nice and helpful. Despite language barriers and cultural differences, we encountered very nice people and had some unbelievably helpful exchanges with unexpected individuals. From a kind old lady at a bus stop, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain who gave us bus directions and then croissants because, "we looked hungry," to a friendly American couple in Paris who drug us along with them to Versailles when the train system was delayed and we were helpless with our French.  Not to mention, the British lady who asked Dan and I for directions in London, and then realized we were all three lost and hopeless, so she complimented our accents and left us each with a friendly hug.  The lifesaving Athenian taxi driver who rescued us right out of the shoot, convincing us to change hotels and providing a safer and nicer alternative cannot be forgotten. We found this kindness everywhere we went!  It just goes to show that going out of your way just a bit to speak to people and engage them, can result in some surprisingly incredible experiences!

Our friends and helpers in trying to navigate the Santorini buses

Monica and her husband, our Parisian travel guides

• You get what you pay for:  My mom always says this and it is just plain true.  A few extra dollars on a hotel or a meal can make a world of difference.  The same goes for airfare.  There is a reason some of our flights were €50.  They drop you off 100 miles outside the major cities, leaving you with 60 bucks and sometimes a couple hours in transportation charges to and from.  Often times the thriftiest option is not the best one!

Our luxurious, budget accommodation in Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest

• Get off the beaten path:  Since many of our trips were just a few short days, we were mostly confined to touristy areas in the big cities.  However, the times when we were able to veer off the highlighted routes and find unique places that not everyone sees were some of the best.  The town of Sóller on the island of Mallorca; Windsor Castle in England; remote beaches in Santorini and small, picturesque villages in Switzerland and Germany were among the most memorable.  

The Red Beach, Santorini, Greece

Ujué, Spain

biking outside Interlaken, Switzerland

• Public transportation: is a nightmare!  Even though Madrid has one of the best metro systems in the world, being bound to trains and busses was frustrating and tiring.  Every other city was even worse.   Managing to get to and from airports was the first hurdle, but then navigating cities using metro maps, bus routes and taxi cabs really got old.  I have a newfound love for my Explorer and our wide open spaces (with navigable roads) here at home.  

Nuevos Ministerios metro stop crowded on a strike day

Navigating Geneva, Switzerland's tram system

• Cities are loud: Springfield is quiet and I like it like that.  Dogs barking, cars honking, ambulance sirens blaring, young Spaniards screaming and enormous glass recycling bins being emptied at 4 AM were the normal sounds echoing throughout our apartment in Madrid.  

Traffic accident, complete with lights and sirens, outside our apartment, Madrid

The balconies outside my bedroom where the dogs stood and barked 

• Foreign language skills are invaluable:  Having studied Spanish for over 7 years really paid off in Spain.  While English is abundant in most major cities it was a rarity in Madrid.  The Spanish not only made life easier, but it also allowed to get to know people and hold somewhat real-life conversations, which I could not get enough of.  My one wish was that I could add at least Greek, German and French to my repertoire to cover the bases in nearly every place I visited. 

Some Spanish-speaking tourists we met and chatted with in Paris

• We eat a lot!!: Europeans simply don't.  While we are used to scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, coffee and juice for a hearty breakfast, the Spanish nibble on nothing more than a scantily buttered piece of toast and a cup of crapy, instant coffee.  We were always starving by 11 and the typical lunch doesn't take place until 2.  The cheap baguette sandwiches sufficed for a couple months, until I was simply unable to tear into another loaf of bread.  Rough life!  However, we were able to find good, hearty food in England and Ireland.  We fattened ourselves up on the stews and pot pies while we had the chance.

Some breakfast sausages and two fish filets - dinner for four!

A hearty beef and Guinness stew in Ireland

• Small world: It really is a small world.  Even while galavanting around Europe, we never failed to run into someone we knew, weather another SLU student in Paris or London, friends studying abroad in Brussels or Geneva, or a couple random Americans and even some Springfieldians in Madrid.  Truthfully, the 8 hour transatlantic flight seems much less isolating after a period abroad.  The gap between the two continents has definitely shrunk in my mind.  

Friends Carly and Courtney in Paris

A fellow Springfieldian in Madrid!

• Always buy souvenirs when you get the chance: I was often called a "souvenir whore" on this trip, which is true.  I scoured every city for little nick-nacks to bring home and most certainly postcards to mail to family and friends.  If you are reading this, there is a good chance you've received one.  In reality, the purchases caused me great anxiety and it never failed that at the last minute in every city I was panicking trying to reach my junk quota.  For the record - buy the crap first!! 

Finally got my postcard

• Baby phones: I could never go back!!  We nicknamed our little, Spanish flip phones "baby phones," since at this point, they look like a child's toy compared to our big iPhones and other electronics.  The phones were invaluable for communication throughout Europe, but an absolute nightmare for texting on the old-style, number keypad.  They were prepaid phones, so it never failed that somehow someone was out of money, charge or reception.  On the bright side, those little pieces of junk could hold a charge for weeks on end, something our modern iPhones couldn't even fathom.    

• Nothing can replace a good night's sleep:  period.  We tried so hard to be on the go non-stop, many times waking up really early (or really late, ie. 3AM) to catch 6AM flights, sometimes getting only a couple hours of sleep before a day of traveling or other times virtually none at all.  We attempted to fool ourselves into thinking that a few 15 minute power-naps aboard a plane, a "relaxing" bus ride, or a horrendous night's sleep in chairs at an airport would suffice, but it never did!!  I only slept in the airport once and will never ever do it again - I'll take a bed every time! 

• Once is never enough:  Almost every city that I visited during this semester was completely new to me.  I had been to both Paris and Madrid once before, and nevertheless the cities felt new and exciting upon returning.  Netzbach, Germany is the only place I have travelled to four times now and it undoubtedly feels very comfortable and familiar.  From this, I have learned that I am not done and may never be done visiting these incredible places.  No matter how many times you stand before the Eiffel Tower, it is breathtaking each and every time.  I can only imagine that the same goes for all of the other places I have been.  I hope that I will always have the chance to keep going back and that everyone reading this blog will take the time (maybe a whole semester) to visit some of the places I have seen - they are well worth the trip!!  

Thanks again!

Hasta luego, 
Blake

Ireland - Last Trip!!

After a hellacious two day school week, we departed last Wednesday for Dublin, Ireland.  That's a joke, but in reality, last week was actually pretty rough for me.  I had three presentations to give in two days.  Art History on Monday and then Spanish and Sociology back to back on Tuesday.  On Tuesday night there was a SLU fine arts concert at a nearby university, so we all went to cheer on our fellow classmates.  Many of the visiting students take dance classes like Latin Rhythms or Flemenco, and their final project is this large performance, combined with singers and instrumentalists.  It was really fun!! A huge group of us went together and sunk in some beer and wine, making the show that much more fun!  I think we were the loudest ones there, but definitely showed the most school spirit!!  We all went out for drinks at one of our favorite bars, Chapandaz (The Cave Bar), and went to bed way too late considering the next morning's flight...

Since last Thursday was the holiday of the Immaculate Conception, the entire country was off school and work.  Therefore this type of weekend is called a puente, spanish for bridge.  It is because many of the people simply take off on Friday to complete the bridge into the long 4 day weekend.  We did the same, except we took off Wednesday too, making for a nice 5 day adventure to the country of Ireland.  Our flight left later than usual on Wednesday, around 10:30, so we had a little bit of a chance to "sleep in".  We arrived in Dublin after noon and took a shuttle bus into the city, basically right to our hotel.  We had considered going straight to the Guinness factory tour after dropping off our bags, but wanted to get the hostel employee's advice on how to best time it.  There began our first major encounter with the power of Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton!  As it turns out, Hillary happened to be in Dublin the same weekend we were.  We are still not certain if it was for business or pleasure, because evidentially she had made plans to see all of the same things we had in her free time from the congress she was attending.  Our hostel receptionist informed us that Guinness would be closed on Thursday due to Hillary's private tour, so we had to hop on the tram and get there straight away.  The factory was very cool.  The tour does not visit the actual workings of the brewery, but walks you through the entire process and explains why Guinness is quite different.  We ate beef and Guinness stew in the restaurant, which was really good (though we ended up having better stew in Ireland!).  At the top of the factory is a round glass bar, called the Gravity Bar. We went there to have our free pint of Guinness and timed it really well to see the sunset.   I have to admit I really hated Guinness before this trip, but so badly wanted to like it, since it just looks so freakin good!  Fortunately, I really grew to like it after several pints.  (Actually, we are going for burgers tonight in Madrid and a big ole Guinness doesn't sound too bad...).  After the tour, we made a pitstop in the Guinness shop, then headed back to our private, four-person room for a nap.  Later, we went out to the Temple Bar region of Dublin.  It is a very famous, Pub laden area, brimming with loud pubs and live music.  We got a good table at the actual, original Temple Bar, so we stayed put for dinner there.  They had a menu of tons of different sandwiches, so we ordered those and even tried a true Irish coffee afterwards.  It tasted of nothing more than straight whiskey, no coffee, and did not do much for me.  That was the first and I imagine last Irish coffee that I will be having.

Dublin from Guinness

Temple Bar

On Thursday, with the Guinness tour out of the way, we had the whole day to explore the city of Dublin.  We began with the old, medieval area and toured the Cathedral of Dublin.  Inside, the preserved heart of St. Lawrence O'Toole, the patron saint of Dublin, was once kept in a wrought iron cage.  Just last March the heart was stolen from the cathedral.  They have fliers inside looking for information on the robbery.  Weird!!  There were also crypts beneath the church and the wildest thing down there was a perfectly preserved cat and mouse, which were found inside the church's organ during renovation!!  Next we went to the famed Castle of Dublin where Hillary struck again.  The whole castle was closed (except from the public exterior) for her private visit.  Therefore we got to stroll around in the freezing cold, rainy weather, while they warmed up the inside for Mrs. Clinton.  We ran into a couple friends from SLU who were walking around the city on a guided tour, but quickly ditched the, to resume our own agenda.  The next stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral, a definite stop for St. Patrick's Day obsessed Americans.  We learned that St. Patrick's Day was actually not a huge deal in Ireland, until the US popularized it.  Now it is the largest celebrated saint's day in the world!  The cathedral was just like many of the others we have seen, so not much to report there, however there was a really interesting gift shop at the back of the church, which sold everything Irish/St. Patrick imaginable.  We found it strange to be able to buy shot glasses and beer tankards in a Catholic cathedral, but when in Ireland, I guess.  Afterwards, we went for lunch at a local eatery recommended by one of the guards of the Dublin Castle, whom we spoke to while trying to figure out the whole Hillary debacle.  The restaurant was good, we ordered Guinness and Lauren and I got a traditional Irish meal of chicken stuffed with black pudding (blood pudding!!).  It was a repulsive thought, but was actually quite tasty.  Across from the restaurant was a little pub called the Brazen Head, which is Ireland's oldest!  We stopped in for a second Guinness.  The place was nice and cozy with a fireplace and candles, but the waitress was rude and unwilling to give us any time to figure out our bill, so we finished the drinks and got out of there.  Our next stop was an old, famous prison in Dublin, Kilmainham Prison.  The deceiving map made it look like a short walk up the road, but in reality it was about a 30 minute trek, far off of the tourist track.  It began to rain on the way there, so by the time we arrived, I was soaked through from my coat to my Sperrys and had to pee terribly bad thanks to the two huge Guinness.  Needless to say I was not the happiest Dubliner at the moment, but we made it to the prison, caught up with the tour and really enjoyed the experience.  It was an interesting place with an even cooler history of prisoners and stories.  Afterwards, we took a cab back to the hostel, napped for a while, then headed back to the Temple Bar area for drinks and dinner.  We stumbled into a pot pie place with a super friendly guy working who helped us pick out delicious pies and hand crafted beers for dinner.  The food was great and just what we needed to warm us up!!  We stopped into a Temple Bar pub after eating for a couple drinks, but called it a night pretty early to get some rest for our day on Friday.

Dublin, Ireland

St. Patrick's Cathedral

We planned a day trip to the south of Ireland to the city of Cork for Friday.  From Cork we would transport to Blarney, the home of the famed Blarney castle and stone.  We got on a train Friday morning from Dublin (we got a hefty discount for being students) and made the 2.5 hour journey to Cork.  From there we had to catch a bus for a 25 minute ride to Blarney.  Before leaving Cork, we stopped for lunch at another small pub, then walked around the Christmas decorated shopping district for a bit.  The bus was running late to Blarney, but despite the delay we made it there and onto the beautiful grounds of the famous castle.  We really had free reign to walk around the area and ascend the tall, stone castle.  At the top, located within and underneath the battlements (the tall part that hangs over the top edge of the castle) was the Blarney stone, which is rumored to give the gift of eloquence to whomever kisses it.  To do so, we had to lie on our backs and with the help of the employee, grasp two black bars and hang over, backwards off the edge of the castle.  There we could tilt our heads back and kiss the stone, upside down.  It was wild, but definitely worth it.  Actually, doing so is one of National Geographic's 99 "Things to Do Before You Die".  I can check that one off and also hope that some of that eloquence rubs off on this blog and my upcoming finals! After the castle, we headed back to Cork for the train.  Turns out, we had just missed the second to last train back to Dublin and would have to wait another hour-and-a-half for the next.  Therefore, we stopped into yet another pub for drinks and pot pies.  I had to order three times before finding a pot pit that they actually had in stock and once my Chicken and Chorizo pot pie came, I was not happy with it.  By 11:30 or so we were back in Dublin and on our way back to the hostel to prepare for the next, two full days of travel.

Blarney Castle

Kissin' the Blarney Stone

O'Connor's

To occupy our time on Saturday and Sunday, we booked a two day tour through the Galway Tour Company per the recommendation of some friends.  It was awesome!!  All we had to do was get on the bus on Saturday morning and get off of it on Sunday night.  Much welcomed simplicity on the final trip.  The downside was that the bus departed Dublin for Galway at 7 AM on Saturday morning, so we had to get up dark and early around 5:30 AM.  Yuck!  The bus took us to Galway, a fairly large city on the western coast of Ireland.  From there, we left for the first day of our tour with the main attraction being the cliffs of Moher.  Our first stop was at a cool, old castle on a lake.  Next, we toured an area of Ireland's western coast called the Burren.  It is a rocky, barren landscape dotted with ancient burial tombs.  We stopped at one famous tomb and got to walk around, experience the landscape and observe the tomb.  The ground has huge trenches dug into it after millions of years of glacial movement during the ice ages.  We stopped for a lunch at none other than Gus O'Connor's Pub!  It was pretty cool and evidentially pretty famous in the area.  I had the beef and Guinness stew again, along with another Guinness!  Afterwards, we headed to the seaside for the famed Cliffs of Moher.  They were so beautiful!!  It is better to just explain them with some photos, that should do a better job.  It was awfully cold and rainy and the guide explained that it strangely rains "up" at the cliffs due to the strong winds blowing upward and carrying the rain with it.  We had to dodge a couple showers, but had really nice weather for the most part, got to walk all the way around the cliffs and even catch an awesome rainbow from the top of a nearby castle!  The bus then returned us to Galway where we spent the evening awaiting day two of the tour.  Lauren and I were put in one room (along with 4 other German girls), while Ross and Dan were luckily placed in a comfy 4 person dorm.  For the evening in Galway, we ran across a cool Christmas market in the town square and walked around all of the little stalls, eating our way through.  We had crepes and corndogs and ultimately ended up at a Paulaner beer tent, which was like a mini-Oktoberfest.  Complete with the 1 liter tankards and German style tables and clothing!  It was a lot of fun until they closed the bathrooms and basically drove us out tortuously as we scrambled for the nearest bathroom, after 2 liters of beer!!

The Burren

Beef and Guinness stew, plus more Guinness

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Mini-Oktoberfest, Galway, Ireland

Sunday morning did not make for the most enjoyable bus ride after the evening in the beer tent, but the beautiful scenery of Ireland's Connemara region did make up for it.  Connemara was the second day's main attraction.  It is famed for it's rolling, green hills, tiny Connemara pony, countless white sheep and world renowned, green, Connemara marble.  We got to see it all, plus a few churches, cemeteries and other interesting sights.  They ended the tour with an extended stop at Kylemore Abbey and gardens, which was a private castle built in 1867 for the family of a wealthy, English doctor.  The castle was later purchased by the Duke of Duchess of Manchester, and then later taken over by Benedictine nuns (I still saw a couple lurking around) who converted it into a school.  Today, a staggering 4 rooms of the sprawling mansion are open for public viewing (haha!) and then there is an adjacent cathedral, family mausoleum and gardens to tour.  We took a pass on the gardens and allocated time to the gift shop for some much needed Irish souvenirs.  With our hands full of trinkets, we boarded the bus back to Galway, spent our 45 minute layover chugging a Guinness and then a couple more hours by bus, back to Dublin.  Once there, we headed straight back to the Temple Bar for the delicious sandwiches we had eaten on the first night in Ireland.  We got an awesome table right in front of the live singers and made quite an embarrassing entrance with our swollen backpacks and hands full of shopping bags.  Tourists!  For Sunday night, we had arranged a plush Hilton near the airport to have a comfy 4-hour "sleep" and a convenient shuttle to the terminal at 4:30AM.  Despite the short stay, it was so great to be back in an American hotel with nice sheets, soft towels, a real shower and and ICE machine! 

Connemara, Ireland with some sheep

Kylemore Abbey

Ad of today in Madrid finals week has begun.  I had two exams today and have two more this week before returning home this coming Saturday!  I cannot wait to make it back there for the holidays, if I can just get through these last two exams!  I admit, the last few paragraphs of this post have functioned well in helping me procrastinate the unavoidable preparation for tomorrow's exam... ugh!

21st Birthday in Netzbach, Germany!

Life here in Madrid is keeping me so busy, I have hardly had time to post pictures and call home, let alone write this long overdue blog post to share my 21st birthday experience with everyone back in the States!    I think now that we are down to just over three weeks remaining here in Madrid and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, we are becoming hyper-active tourists again, roaming the city, looking for interesting things and attractions, hidden bars and good food.  We have to get it all done before we leave and doing so has left very little time for other things.  Not to mention, since my birthday a couple weeks ago, Lauren's mom and sister visited Madrid, which took us all around the city sightseeing and even on a day trip to Segovia (which was incredible and I hope to share in another post!).  Thanksgiving was last weekend, shockingly the Spanish people don't really care about the pilgrims nor the food-laden holiday, so we were forced to go out to eat at TGI Friday's for the most American food we could find, although there was no turkey or pumpkin pie.  For lunch that day, I ate microwave mashed potatoes from Jenna's care package with a side of jellied cranberries (from the American store), that I literally tore out of the can after not finding a basic can opener in my host mother's ill-equipped kitchen.  It was painful to see all of the Thanksgiving photos posted on Facebook, to Skype all of my family and to hear about their holiday, but I know it will make it that much sweeter to return home for Christmas!!

Back to Germany.  I knew when I decided to come to Spain last year, that I would undoubtedly make at least one trip back to the little town of Netzbach, Germany to stay with Bettina and Stephan Scholl and their family, Gayle's relatives whom I have visited and stayed with 4 times now!!  They have always been nothing but gracious hosts and I knew this opportunity would make for a perfect weekend away from Madrid and the hustle and bustle of big city travel that I have definitely grown to dread.  Bettina suggested the weekend of my birthday in November to be a good time to go.  She is super-busy, so no time was a good time, but she was willing to work us in.  I was able to convince Dan and Ross to join me, so we booked our tickets and headed off to Germany.  This trip was the last one in a series of five weeks of traveling; Palma Mallorca, Sevilla, London, Amsterdam and then Netzbach!!  We were worn out from traveling and definitely looking forward to the homey change of pace.  We ended up separated on the plane, because for some reason they can never just keep the seats you choose... so Ross and I sat next to a very nice, kind of strange woman who talked to us the whole time.  She worked for a German telecom company and had traveled and managed technology businesses all around the world.  She had met really interesting people, like the founders of Skype and Spotify, and had a really interesting life to tell us about.  On the plane she was pilfering through resumes to hire a new employee.  haha!  I had a terrible time with my sinuses on the flight, my head and chest had been congested for about a week and the pressure on the plane nearly popped my eyeballs out of my head.  It was actually really painful and pretty scary, but luckily only happened on the descent, making for about 15 minutes of discomfort, then 18 hours of screwed up hearing... ugh!!  In Frankfurt, since we arrived pretty late, we connected to the huge, airport train station and boarded a high-speed train to Limburg (a larger, small town about 10 minutes from Netzbach).  The ride was 17 minutes and the same trip in a car could easily take over an hour!  Super fast!!  There, Bettina picked us up and took us home.  It was so nice to be chauffeured around in a nice car, versus trapped at the mercy of untimely and miserable public transportation.  Once we got to their home, she did what she always does, cracked open a bottle of German, white wine and prepared some appetizers for us, since we were starving!!  We spent the evening drinking wine, snacking and chatting with Bettina and Stephan.  Having been there so many times, it really felt like being back at home and definitely more comfortable than any other accommodations we have had.  I think Ross and Dan were immediately impressed with the whole situation!  Since it was my birthday weekend, of course, Bettina gave me the entire guest bedroom and large queen-size bed.  It was the first time since arriving in Europe, that I had had my own room and a bed larger than a rickety twin.  Therefore, I didn't even feel bad that the boys were put upstairs on a (really nice) pull out mattress, outfitted with a clean set of towels, bottled water (without gas for the Americans) and welcome chocolate!

Bettina and Dan - talking Euro politics 

Getting the "red light" treatment

One of Bettina's biggest concerns of the trip was to make sure we got plenty of R&R, per my request.  Therefore, on Friday morning, we got to sleep in late, until around 11, and then ate breakfast.  If you have read my previous Blake News from Germany, you can probably guess the breakfast we had.  Ross and Dan were so surprised, since in Spain "breakfast" consists of coffee and a piece of toast or a small pastry if anything, but while guests in Netzbach we had a basket full of delicious croissants, Nutella, jam, lunch meat, bottomless coffee and countless other things.  After breakfast we got ready for our tour of the old town of Limburg.  We left shortly after, but not before Bettina convinced me to try a "red light" infrared treatment for my sinus issues.  She had pumped me full of holistic drugs, as well as some real chemical medication and said that her dad, Fredrich, swears by the red light.  It did feel good and I think helped to reduce the sinus pressure!  This was now the fourth time I had been to Limburg, but did really enjoy it again.  Bettina said that every time she comes to the US, she goes to the state capitol, the St. Louis Arch and to Farmersville, I guess therefore I had to do the same while in Germany. haha!  Ross and Dan really enjoyed seeing the traditional district with the half-timbered houses and the beautiful cathedral.  Dan got plenty of pictures and even got filled up with his favorite German wheat beer, Paulaner.  The three of us stopped into a little Paulaner biergarten, while Bettina did some shopping for the secret party on Friday night.  She had emailed me a couple weeks before and said that she had been invited to a James Bond Skyfall themed party at a friend's house and that we would come and would have to dress accordingly.  I was working hard to pry more information from her, but she quickly shut me down, saying that we would all go to the party, no questions asked and she would not say anything more.  After her shopping spree, we were telling her that we would likely not be dressed too accurately, since we simply did not bring the proper attire to Europe.  She suggested that we stop into H&M to pick up some cheap formalwear to make ourselves look right, blend in and be more comfortable.  I picked up some black pants, a belt and some dress shoes for just 50 euros, while Ross and Dan only needed the pants.  We had already equipped ourselves with bow ties back in Madrid!  After the clothing stop, we grabbed some "fast food" at a seafood stand.  Fish sandwiches, shrimp, etc.  We took that to go in the car, then headed home to regroup and prepare for the evening.  I took Dan and Ross on a little walking tour of the 900 year old, rural, village of Netzbach and they were super-intrigued.  It is so quaint, smelled of winter and bonfires, and is just unlike any other place we have visited.  I am so glad they got to experience it!  We got to squeeze in a little power nap before showering and dressing for the party.  Bettina still had not caved on the party information, but I had some speculations after some accidental name dropping on her part.  We got into the car and headed to an unknown location, the three of us and Bettina's sister in law, Susanne.  As we were approaching the house, she said, "Well Blake, now do you know where we are?" And I absolutely did!  Bettina's friend Tania has an incredibly beautiful home in a town called Wallmerod.  I have been to one party there before in 2009 and was taken aback by the lavish decorations, great food, classy waitstaff and kind guests.  As it turns out, Tania had arranged this James Bond party in conjunction with the new Skyfall movie release, since she celebrated her birthday away from Germany at her home on the Spanish island of Mallorca.  The party was nothing more than impressive and I think Dan and Ross were absolutely shocked!!  Once again, we were greeted by formal waitstaff, who took our coat and promptly filled our hands with our choice of a vodka or gin martini (shaken not stirred, I imagine).  Or largest problem was trying to meander through the party guests while balancing a martini in one hand and finger food in the other.  The "warm-up" party took place upstairs in the foyer, kitchen and dining rooms, while the real party progressed downstairs into the indoor pool and full bar, once people had eaten.  There was a chef in the kitchen preparing James Bond inspired dishes, like Goldfinger sausages (with real edible gold on top), another Octopussy item and a filet (we ate that, plus the sausages... haha!).  There was flaming desert and bottomless drinks all night.  I asked Tania's daughter, Carlotta, and her friends to take Dan, Ross and I on a tour of the home, so they could see the place.  At around midnight, right as my birthday was about to roll around, Bettina mysteriously disappeared and Carlotta requested that we all make our way downstairs to join the rest of the party.  I was nervous, suspecting that something shady was going on!  Next thing I know I am in the doorway to the packed bar, with Carlotta whispering in the DJ's ear and him beginning to speak in German, I assume about my birthday, while interviewing me over the microphone.  What's your name? where are you from? How old are you? etc... Then the crowd began to sing German happy birthday as Bettina and Susanne came down the hallway with a birthday cake, loaded with candles for me to blow out!  A line formed as people came to say hello, congratulations and wish me a happy birthday.  I was overwhelmed, but will never forget such a unique birthday celebration!! I could not thank Bettina enough for her obvious planning and Tania for letting me crash her top-class party for my 21st birthday!!  WOW!  What a night.  We stayed there, drinking and mingling for a couple more hours and headed home, back to Netzbach, around 3.

Half-Timbered Houses of Limburg

James Bond Skyfall and Madamme Goldfinger

"Shaken, not stirred"

Happy 21st Geburtstag

Classy Partiers

Needless to say, we slept in late on Saturday!  Bettina had piano students around 11 and we had planned lunch her her mom, Helga's, for noon.  Stephan woke be at 11:55 telling me I could "stand up" and shower, clearly Ross and Dan hadn't woken me like they said they would.  We were all scrambling to get ready, but made it over (two houses) to Helga's not too late actually!  She served a fantastic salad, along with two different types of schnitzel, some sort of potato casserole, spaetzle and dessert.  I was stuffed and still queazy from the celebration the night before.  We left Helga and Frederich's to return to Bettina to get ready to leave once again, this time for an outing with her brother Johannes.  He had planned to take the three of us on a nature walk with his friend and their younger sons.  It was actually a lot of fun.  We dressed like we were going mountain climbing and it turned out to just be a leisurely stroll along a farming path from their small village to a neighboring one.  His friend, Kai, had three bottles of pretty terrible German schnapps and each time we passed a park bench we had to take a shot alternating the flavors... there were SIX stops along the way!!  The kümel, carroway, was the absolute worst, while the peppermint and johannisberren got better and better.  We ended the walk at a little bar where we stopped for more beer and pizza to watch the Dortmund soccer match.  Saturday night was Bettina's choir concert that she had had planned long before I crashed the weekend.  We said she wanted us to come and experience a little culture during our weekend, so I was happy to do so.  We returned from the walk and drinking (thank God) to get ready to leave with Stephan and Paulina for Flacht where the concert would take place in a church.  The concert was called Voices and Light, it featured five choirs, three of which were under Bettina's direction, in a church outfitted with colored lights.  As the concert was beginning, I got the same shady feeling as the night before at Tania's party.  I began to recognize words like, United States, St. Louis University and Geburtstag, birthday.  Of course, Bettina had arranged the guy opening the concert to acknowledge my birthday as well as the three guys from SLU who had traveled the furthest to attend the concert - and the crowd laughed!  The concert was very good, with several German songs that we didn't know, but a few American songs, which were interesting to hear in a different light.  After the concert, we left with Stephan to go back to Johannes and Sonja's for his birthday party!  They had three nice fires out front, traditional German sausages with round buns, along with Bitburger beer and warm glühwein, a spiced, heated wine drunk in the winter.  After that party, we were dead-tired, still from the night before I imagine.  But regardless, we returned to Netzbach just to head next door to another neighbor's birthday party.  Sabrina had just celebrated her 20th birthday and was having the party on the night of my birthday.  It was strange to go to two other birthday parties on my actual birthday and even weirder to receive gifts at them, but it was a ton of fun.  The guests at the second party were more our age and a lot of fun to hang out with.  They have always been so kind to me when I visit, it was great to get to see them again!

Country walk with Johannes

Bettina's Concert in Flacht

Happy Birthday, Sabrina

Sunday turned out to be a completely relaxed, cozy Sunday in the house.  We had discussed a trip to Frankfurt, or to Weisbaden for Sushi, but we all just agreed to stay home, lounge around the house and enjoy the final day in Germany.  We had a huge brunch around 11 or 12, with coffee, bread, croissants, Nutella, meats, cheeses, etc.  We laid around for the next few hours, Dan and Ross watched TV shows, I chatted with Bettina and Stephan, and used Stephan's iPad to check all of my Facebook birthday notifications.  Around 5PM Stephan began to make his awesome homemade pizzas.  He prepared the dough and sauce and we got to choose the toppings... it was a lot of fun!  We did the same thing last summer with Jenna and we really enjoyed it!  After dinner, some of their family and friends came over for a little get together in honor of my birthday... again.  We all sat around and chatted, drank some German wine and enjoyed the company.  After everyone left, Bettina decided it would be fun to call Gayle, so we did.  We both got to talk to her and laugh with her, as usual!!  After one last red-light treatment, we all went to bed to rest up for the return home on Monday.

Sophia, me and Paulina

Renate!! 

Us with Sonja, Leon, Johannes and Yamila

Die Oma Helga

Susanne, Marcus, the boys and me

It was a nice change of pace to have a later flight on Monday.  Fortunately, we got to eat one last good breakfast before heading to the airport relaxed.  No rushing, fighting public transportation, etc.  Just a smooth ride at 600 MPH on the Autobahn.  It was sad, as always, to leave Germany (to see Bettina shed a couple tears) and return to Madrid, but I left knowing that I will, of course, return and that I spent a very special birthday there, surrounded by great friends and near family, which was the absolute next best thing to being at home!!