den shambly begyndelsen.

i think it's finally time to start talking about travel break. i say "start" because travel break covers two weeks of unforgettable adventures with the wonderful brittany bailey and will absolutely not fit in one post. also, the first 36 hours of the trip deserve their own entry. so here begins the first installment.

 the first two weeks in april were given to us as a sort of extended spring break. DIS offered some organized trips that a lot of people took advantage of, but i think the majority of students planned their own european tour. because we love each other and each thought the other would be a fantastic travel buddy, brittany and i decided to travel together. after tons of deliberation and extensive research, we finally settled on a travel plan that both of us were ecstatic about. our two weeks would be split between two countries. the first week would be in spain with three days in madrid followed by three days in barcelona. for the second week we would fly to italy for two days in rome, one day in florence, and two days in venice. from venice we would fly to copenhagen and crash hard.
needless to say, we were pretty pumped for our journey. most students opted for more of a complete european tour with one or two days in tons of major european cities. brittany and i both valued the opportunity to get to know a country relatively well so the idea of spending more time in one place appealed to both of us. since we both have a background in spanish, spain and italy seemed like logical choices. also, after months of darkness and frigid days, we were ready for some time in the south of europe.

after tons of midterms and last-minute assignments, our break finally arrived. on the morning of april 2nd, we set out on our journey with andy, our large shared suitcase. we took the metro out the airport, checked our bag without incident and went to board our flight. our first stop would be madrid with a connection in geneva, switzerland before arriving at our final destination. we got on the plane in high spirits and couldn't wait for our arrival in spain that evening.
we passed the time during our layover in switzerland playing cards, enjoying sparkling conversation, and purchasing swiss chocolate. at this point i was still on my lenten fast from desserts and sweet things, but i didn't miss the opportunity to add to my international chocolate collection.
when it started getting closer to our departure time, we rechecked andy, went through security, and sought out a departure screen for our gate information. since it was more than an hour before our flight and easyjet doesn't post gates until an hour before departure, nothing was listed. so we sat, read, journaled, and waited for more information.
with an hour until our flight, we went and checked the screen for our gate. oddly, nothing was listed. we went to the information desk and asked if they knew what gate we were flying out of and they said they didn't currently have any information but that they would let us know when they knew something. we went back to waiting and got up periodically to check the screen. when there were only 20 minutes left until take-off, we began to get a little worried. finally the flight board showed "more information at 9:30" which was about when our flight was set to leave. we figured this meant our flight had been delayed and since we had no further connections, we weren't too concerned about a late arrival. however, when 9:30 came and went without an update, we got a little suspicious. since our arrival in the waiting area, they had cancelled virtually every out-bound flight and all other flights were delayed. eventually the sign changed to read "more information at 10:30", so we continued to sit and wonder what was going on. 10:30 came and went, 11 rolled around, and our flight was officially cancelled. trying to stay calm, we made our way to baggage claim with the rest of the stranded passengers to reclaim andy and make our way to the easyjet help desk. during our 45-minute wait in line, we gathered that there was a strike in france which had ultimately prevented planes from arriving in switzerland which meant there was no way to get everyone out of geneva. i eavesdropped on the spainairds behind us in line and gathered a few ideas to get us out of our predicament and commiserated a little bit with students trying to get home or travelling to see family. positive outcome: an opportunity to practice my spanish.
we finally got our turn with the easyjet agent who looked exhausted at this point and felt quite comfortable telling us so. we asked him if he could book us on another flight to madrid. he could, but not until april 13th. considering the complex travel plan we had already established, that wasn't an option. he attempted to reroute us through london but there weren't enough seats. after relaying this information to us, he promptly just stood and stared at us. in an attempt to find an alternate solution, we asked if there was a train we could take to spain. he curtly replied, "yes" and required further probing as to how we would go about securing seats on said train. at this point it was midnight so he informed us that the ticket counter would be closed but we could show up right when it opened the next morning and likely book a train for 200 euros. considering the amount of money we'd already poured into travel and hostels for the rest of our travel break, it seemed we had no choice but to suck up the extra expense in order to save the dream.
we asked where they'd be able to put us up for the night. he replied matter of factly that we needed a new booking to be given a hotel. insert a good bit of grumbling about budget airlines and rude/largely unhelpful airline employees here.
we rolled andy up the escalator, found a good patch of floor, and plopped down for the night. before journaling and going to bed, we made a game plan: wake up at 5am, make our way to the train station, buy train tickets, try to get back on track. then i broke my lenten fast and ate some chocolate since it was the only food we had on us and we hadn't eaten much in the way of dinner. i think swiss chocolate deserves a great deal of credit for keeping morale high.
we passed the next three hours rather restlessly on the airport floor and were rudely awakened by someone driving a floor cleaner about a foot from my head at four in the morning. we groggily got ourselves together, ate some chocolate for breakfast, and began to make our way towards the train station. the doors to the train portion of the airport didn't open until five so we spent some time standing with the rest of the miserable, stranded people waiting for the revolving doors to start spinning. when they finally opened, we had trouble figuring out how to get to the station.

this still might be my favorite photo of the trip.

after carting andy up and down flights of stairs and going outside the airport to re-enter the terminal and get some help, we finally figured out that we had to take another train from the airport to the train station. we were less than pleased at this point with two-ish hours of sleep under our belts and a seemingly endless barrage of challenges. but at least we had completed step one.
step two: buy train tickets to madrid. the ticket counter at the train station didn't open until six, so we did some more loafing until the station employees showed up. after some waiting in line, we finally got a chance to talk to one of the most helpful swiss people we met during this incredible fiasco. the travel agent found us the cheapest route from geneva to madrid and gave us a detailed explanation of the five trains we'd have to take to get from switzerland to spain. it was a pricey affair, but we sucked it up. again, for the sake of the dream. however, we realized that the train from barcelona to spain was single-handedly responsible for jacking up the price of the whole journey and after a brief conference, we decided it was in our best interests to scrap the madrid portion of our trip and just stop in barcelona. since we were ultimately going to end up there at the end of the week, we decided to just go straight from the train station to the hostel we had booked to see if they had any room to keep us for a couple extra nights. plus we liked the idea of not having to travel again for another five days. so we opted to purchase only the first two tickets on our journey. the last two would have to be purchased during our layover in montpellier, france. we were desperately hoping there'd be space on the train. thankfully, at this point we were too exhausted to be stressed out.

tired and apathetic. so it goes.

feeling much more calm with a plan and train tickets in our hands, we grabbed some breakfast and headed to the platform to await our first train to lyon, france. while we waited, we met some lovely pakistani professors en route to large political/economic conference. we chatted american politics with them and enjoyed their company before boarding the train. once on the train, we journaled for a bit and then crashed hard. i honestly remember very little of the trip from geneva to montpellier including the transfer in lyon. tiredness blackout.
once our train arrived in montpellier, we headed straight away to the ticket counter to buy the rest of our tickets. there was plenty of space on both of our remaining trains and we got a student discount so the rest of the journey only cost us 40 euro. praise the Lord. we breathed a huge sigh of relief and decided to venture out into the city with andy to find some lunch since we had a relatively long layover.

keeping it together.

at this point i decided to put my contacts in and change my clothes to make myself feel a little more like a real person. we were disgusting. and i smelled awful. but i did feel better with a clean shirt and a skirt on.
we happened upon an adorable french bakery and purchased some delicious sandwiches and a baguette for a ridiculously low sum. the sandwiches brie, tomato, and lettuce on an olive baguette. YUM. things were starting to look up.
after one more train transfer, we were on the last leg of our journey, traveling across the french/spanish border and into barcelona. to get in the spanish zone, we spoke spanish to each other the entire train ride. the spanish version of girl and boy scouts overran our train and we enjoyed being serenaded with spanish camp songs. looking out the window and experiencing the vitality on the train, we were already falling in love.
once we arrived in barcelona, we managed to purchase some metro passes and made our way to the hostel. little did we know it was located on the top of the hill. and that spanish streets change names at every curve. so we carted 20 kilos of andy around while getting lost in a spanish neighborhood. we eventually stopped to ask a group of runners for directions and they pointed us in the right direction. we got the impression this happened a lot. since as we approached them dragging a giant suitcase they asked, "youth hostel?"

the beautiful (but rather wet) patio at our hostel.

we entered the hostel, explained our predicament to the polish girl working the reception, and asked if she had any room for us. i think we both almost cried tears of joy when she told us she had exactly two beds left for the night in the same all-female dorm room. she said people had been calling all day asking for a room but it hadn't worked out either because they needed too many beds or needed beds for males and females. we thought it was pretty obvious that God was watching out for us. and to top it all off, the same beds were open for the next night AND we wouldn't have to change rooms when our previous reservation kicked in. yesssssssss.

a room with a view.

after checking in, we found ourselves in urgent need of a shower. so we took the most glorious, satisfying showers of our lives. we were staying in an eco-friendly hostel but we ignored the infinite number of signs telling us to conserve water and took some relatively lengthy showers. it felt like coming back to life.
we got some directions to an internet cafe from reception and ventured out to notify our families of our safety and to relay the events of the last 36 hours. on our way to the cafe, we stopped at a small tienda and got some eggs, vegetables, and apples for our breakfast the next day. the hostel had a kitchen and we were pretty excited about the opportunity to cook ourselves real, healthy food. this particular tienda ended up being a regular stop on our trips to and from the metro and we developed an extremely pleasant relationship with the owner. ahh, barcelona. therapy for the weary, traveling soul.

and so began our two weeks of adventures. we proceeded to have a fantastic time but nothing nearly as thrilling happened. which we honestly didn't mind.

next time: our five days in barcelona. here's a sneak peak.

kærlig hilsen,
kati

amsterdam.

so now, after another obscenely long delay, it is time to talk about amsterdam.

just some young ladies, sitting in a shoe.

 over a month ago, i ventured to the city of aggressive cyclists and space muffins with my dear roommate taylor and our friend elise. took the night train again and became friends with a lovely swedish couple. i had another experience this weekend that confirmed my great appreciation for the swedish. they look very similar to danes, have many of the same habits, but want to get to know you much more aggressively than any other dane i've met. this particular couple chatted us up for a great many hours and shared some swedish easter soda with us. and then showed us pictures of their children and pets on their iphones. then took a video of all of us in the train car. sweet people.

we we we so excited.

once our train rolled into the station, we hit the ground running (errr...rolling. bah. pun.) with a bike tour. our guide took us all over the city, showing us all the major sights. honestly, i think bike tours are the most awesome thing. i can't rave about them enough. they're fun, they're a quick way to see all the major sights, and they give you a good understanding of the lay of the land. i think i'm going to be a lifelong advocate.
i was told amsterdam is a city best enjoyed by wandering the canals, so wander we did. and we had our first taste of dutch cheese. holy canoli. the stuff is unreal. and this coming from a girl who usually wants to implode after eating dairy.
we bought tickets online for the anne frank house (BEST DECISION EVER.) so we got the skip the line. absolutely the best way to go. it requires you to show up at a specific time but saves you one to two hours of miserable line time.

the museum was incredible. so powerful. very well done. the tour takes you through the house as it was when the frank's were hiding there and you're guided by plaques with just the right amount of text and large quotes from anne's diary on the walls.
the tour ends in a room with some general frank family paraphernalia and world war II artifacts. then you're ushered into a room showing a video highlighting modern day forms of discrimination. the whole experience is very sobering and extremely educational. i absolutely loved it. i just read the diary of anne frank this weekend. finally got my hands on it from the DIS library. that girl just reaffirms my opinion that society underestimates the potential of young people far too frequently. sure, she had her whiny, self-centered moments, but she also wrote with a level of introspection and philosophical understanding well beyond her years.

nomnomnom.

i don't like posting pictures i didn't take, but i found this one far too moving not to share it with you. this is otto frank in the secret annexe after the war. i had to buy a postcard of it.
the anne frank house is conveniently located right down the street from the pancake bakery. and we were in need of a pick-me-up after the museum. nutella and cherries on a whole wheat pancake? don't mind if i do.

the next morning we made our way to the van gogh museum but stopped along the way at the i amsterdam sign on museumplads for a photoshoot. insider tip: at 10:30am on a sunday morning, there's virtually no one at the sign. our pictures contained minimal amounts of randos. donecheckdone.
again, we got our tickets ahead of time for the van gogh museum. another wise decision. zipped right in there and began perusing. fabulous museum.

ALL THE FLOWERS.

i heard a lot of mixed reviews in the weeks leading up to the trip. some people think it's great but others are pretty disappointed because it houses very few major works. instead, it includes some of his earliest pieces to give complete coverage to his progression as an artist. i thought it was phenomenal. i left feeling like i had a greater understanding of van gogh's art instead of just having looked at famous stuff.
we found our way to some lunch after the museum, did some more wandering, visited bloemenmarkt (the most famous flower market in holland), and lounged in vondelpark until it was time to make our return to the station. however, we didn't board the train before stocking up on bread, jam, and three wheels of dutch cheese. it made for a lovely dinner.

 a special shout out/shower of thanks to my high school friend monique. this fine lady studied in amsterdam last spring and stayed for the summer so she provided me with a rather extensive list of things to do during my brief time in the city. i feel i can safely say her suggestions made our time what it was. thanks, monique!

now enjoy a few more photos of amsterdam. because we all know how much i love weighing my posts down with pictures.

that's all, folks.

kærlig hilsen,
kati

p.s. before we left for this trip, sweet taylor had a birthday. there was a fine little shindig in celebration and an impromptu photoshoot in our matching outfits. i feel i would do both of us a disservice if i failed to share at least one of the products of said shoot.

we decided this one looks a little like a birth control ad.

ok, now i'm really done.