Starnberg is famous for being where King Ludwig died (under mysterious circumstances) and also where rich people like to hang out. It's absolutely beautiful.
And it was an absolutely beautiful day. I walked for a while, but all the damn rich folks build right on the water so your view is jacked. Damn richies! But there are geese and ducks and there was a whole family of sparrows frolicking in the bushes behind me.
I had hoped to find a hot and rich German boy there, but no luck. Ah well.
The old man sitting across from me started talking to me, and I told him I don't speak german. So he came over and started rubbing on me and saying what sounded like dirty old man talk to me. Ewwwww!! Ich verstehe nicht! Kein deutsche! Ach!
Ok, gone now. Check please!
I am such a bonehead for not bringing my big jacket (stupid weather report lied).
*street
*Jesuit church
*grafitti (there was an anarchy sign drawn nearby, too- don't mess with the Austrians!)
*Imperial Palace (and inflatable slide!)
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Also entertaining was the older couple posing with the figures on the fountain. They were cute
Anyways, I'm sitting on the banks of the Inn River (Innsbruck meaning bridge over the Inn) as I write this. In a patch of sun. With my knit cap pulled over my ears. Still freezing.
What have I done today? Left the flat at about 10, wandered down to Altstadt (old town). Today is a national Austrian holiday -yes, I'm excellent at planning trips- so most everything except the super touristy stuff is closed. So I wandered down more than a few empty cobblestone roads to escape the tourists. Fun fact: the French have invaded Austria. I passed no less than 3 groups of 30+ people each, all French tourists. Someone should be alerted, there could be a coup underway!
I digress...
Saw Annasaule and the Goldenes Dachl. Ate breakfast by Leopoldsbrunnen looking at the Alps. Wandered some more and passed the City Tower, some churches and various random sights. Went to the Swarovski store...I had originally planned on going to the Swarovski Kristallwelten, however due to technical problems I was unable to figure out how to get on the damn shuttle, so the Swarovski store had to suffice. They had a little exhibition downstairs, so that satisfied my curiosity. And it was free :) I also started my Christmas shopping in there today. And a couple other places. Figured it was time to start working on it.
I'm going back to Andi's soon to finish packing up and trying to get warm. I'll probably catch the train back to Munich around 1830, which will get me home around 9. Jen and Juliana are at the spa today, so I just hope they're home when I get there (especially as I left my key there). I'll upload pics separately...I took a lot. Patience!
So I went back to the Hbf for food and a map. They think I speak German here-it's funny. So I got some potato wedges (epic) and schweinbrauten mit kruste on a roll...it was like a meatball made of pork, breaded, fried and tossed on a roll with ketchup. It was fantastic. Seriously. Then got my map from the adorable guy in the store, who apparently I agreed with about something, who was then surprised when I asked for the English version of the map. Yay me! Nodding, smiling and a few well-placed "gruss gott"s and "danke"s go a long way.
So I wandered the streets some more and took my time finding Andi's place. They're religious here also, so everything not in the Hbf is closed for Jesus. But I still wandered down the most famous street in Innsbruck, Maria-Theresiastrasse, and passed some cool stuff. It's really lovely here-it's so cool being surrounded by the mountains.
Speaking of cool....goddamn it's cold here!! I took a nap after getting to Andi's and couldn't feel my toes the whole time. They've warmed up now, but oof...I thought they were goners.
I haven't gotten to meet Andi yet still...he has to work late but should be back soon. He seems like a cool guy, so I'm anxious to chat with him.
Oh, and Mom? Haven't seen all those hotties yet...some definitely good looking guys, but not as consistent as Germany. The men here have dark hair, unlike the blond Bavarians I'm accustomed to. Which is pretty hot. And unlike Germany, they aren't afraid to check a girl out :-D I'm also anxious to see what's wandering around tomorrow...
Now that I'm on the road to Innsbruck, which is in the Austrian Alps, am I actually getting a chance to see them.
And ohhh boy, they're beautiful. We're still 120 km away from Innsbruck, and I'm seeing more and more of them. They already have a nice coating of snow. (I'd attach a picture here, but I don't want to take one from the car and look like a total doofy tourist).
Oh, and the ride share? Working out beautifully. It's a lady who's probably in her 50s, driving to visit her daughter who's at university in Innsbruck. There are 2 other people getting a ride, too, both younger than me. I like listening to them speak German-it's like listening to soft music.
I am considering ditching Salzburg on this trip and staying in Innsbruck. Of course, if Andi (the couchsurfing guy) will let me stay an additional day. It'd be cheaper to just catch the train home than going to Salzburg and staying in a hostel. So we'll see.
Also....I'm super excited by the good looking men that I've heard roam wild in Austria. Fingers crossed ;-)
Everyone, meet Dickmilch. Dickmilch, meet everyone.
I have now come across 2 of the top 10 funny foods in just a few days. I feel so accomplished!
(Dickmilch means thick milk, btw)
I haven't figured out what to do there, but I'm just seeing the sights that I can.
And I've heard the men are hottt, so I'm looking forward o that, too :)
More later!
In other news, Jen is in Italy earning her scuba diving certification until Saturday night, but her friend is coming to stay for a few days, so I have a replacement lol. I was looking forward to having the place to myself, but oh well. She speaks English, so all is well.
Also, I applied for 3 jobs online today, and I have 3 newspapers in front of me so I can search through their classifieds. I want a job, dammit!
I'm also working on my German skills. The newspapers help. Therefore, expect to see more German used on the blog.
I'm still a little weirded out by the Bayerische (Bavarian) greeting of "Gruß Gott", which means something like "god is good". Bayern (Bavaria) is über Catholic. Kirche (church) bells ring throughout the day, und die Stadt ist geschlossen am Sonntags (the city closes on Sundays).
That's all for now. Ich brauche lesen die Zeitung jetzt. Tschüss! (I need to read the newspaper now. Bye!)
This should be common knowledge, but apparently it isn't. Not everything I do gets put on the blog, for a variety of reasons. If I share something else with an individual person, it should remain between me and that person. A lot happens that is more personal, and honestly, it's no one's damn business except my own. If I wanted everyone to know, it would be on here. Simple, right?
So, a request from me to those people that I have shared additional information with...please, if you don't see it readily available on here, facebook, or whatever other site I use, consider it confidential and don't gossip about me to everyone. I am not a celebrity, and you are not Perez Hilton, so shut your piehole and find something else interesting to talk about.
If you want to know my drama, just ask me directly. If I'm in the mood to share, I will. Otherwise, let me live my life as I see fit. Keep your judgments and your catty bullshit to yourself.
I'm no longer a tourist.
When I was in Paris, I didn't buy any silly little souvenirs for myself. I didn't have a guide book to tell me where to go. I tried to speak in the local language. The pictures I took were either because I found something randomly interesting or beautiful, or because I wanted to show my friends and family.
It's the same in Munich. I take pictures of new things, not just anything I happen across. I buy souvenirs with the intention of sending them to others. And...
While in Paris, I missed being home. But not home in Vegas...home in Munich.
I am still curious, and I am still traveling around, but it's different now. I feel that living here has changed me- I appreciate things more, and see them in a different way.
I really don't want to leave. This week will be "find a damn job" week so I can stay. I want to go to Vegas for Christmas, then back home after the holidays. That's right...home in Munich.
That's not to say that things aren't difficult here. I miss my babies (my animals) every day, and that gets harder with time, not easier. I struggle with the language. I'm quickly running out of money. I don't have a big group of friends or family to rely on. But this is my home now.
It's a little scary! But also awesome and exciting and a major learning experience. I'm excited to see what each new day brings.
Man oh man...
I just spend a few days with you, and I have to get some things off my chest. I say this with nothing but the best intentions. Here goes...
You're lovely, but can you clean up some more? You're like a hot guy that smells bad. A quick shower would do you wonders. And the litter is like that funky stubble that grows outside of the regular boundaries of your beard. Clean that up and we're good.
Also, your Metro. In a word... it sucks. Crazy timetables, beat up trains, cramped spaces, vandalism, the stupid little tickets (aka litter) and of course, the stench. Oy. You'll hate me for this, but talk to the Germans. They'll redo your underground and it would be just as sexy as theirs. Call it reparations, call it sharing best practices, call it whatever you want, just call them immediately.
Also, the militia with rifles in the train stations? A bit creepy. An explanation would be nice. Its not exactly a warm greeting.
However, your people were quite nice for the most part. A few rude bitches won't ruin that for you. The men are polite (though short and not as consistently good looking like the Germans), but they're understanding. I'm sorry that I didn't get to know your men better (hahahaha *wink*). Except for that creepy black guy shouting at me through the plastic as we sat in the cafe last night. You can eliminate him-thanks!
Your Louvre is lovely, but way too busy. And the closing hours are extreme- 1730 on a Saturday...really? Also, way too many stairs. Fat girl was hurting after walking up at least 15 flights worth in the space of 2 hours. Ever heard of an escalator? They're this hip new thing-look into it.
Your food is fan-frigging-tastic. The bread, the cheese, the chocolate milk, the delicious crepes made by random street vendors....oh my god, they were good! And the "frites"....wow. Just wow. They were consistently awesome. But tell your chefs that "medium well" means just a little pink, not dark red and chewy. I think they're confused about that.
All the traffic and construction? Not ok. Plan ahead. Not every street should be blocked off at the same time so that cars bottleneck and start being a big risk to those of us on foot. And having street signs in big letters in easily visible places wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
Your young punks/chavs/mecs/whatever they're called? Yeah, them...they can kiss my big white ass. People like them make me sick. Defacing an already hideous subway train I can understand, even though I still disappove. Vandalizing the catacombs though? That makes me want to stick lit matches on their eyeballs. Seriously. How the hell can they think that's ok? The catacombs had to be closed down because of them! Not only are the bones of your collective relatives there, but it's a historic site that has lasted for centuries. That they feel it's ok to do that makes me feel sick inside. I was really excited about visiting the catacombs, now all I have is a brochure about them in French that I had to flirt with a gross old tour guide to get. *sigh*
Your biting wind? Also not a fan. The blue skies and sun are deceptive, cause that wind feels like it's straight from the Arctic.
Overall, Paris, I liked you but I didn't love you. We'll talk again, and maybe hang out some more, but only on a casual basis. I think it's best if we see other people and cities. If you can address those issues though, we might have a great relationship. Just sayin'.
Love and Kisses,
Vesta
The hostel we wanted to stay at was booked, so they referred us to BVJ on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau (right off the Rue du Louvre, ooh la la). We walked by it like 10 times until we finally spotted it. After we dropped our stuff off, it was time for light window shopping (Christian Louboutin! Louis Vuitton! Ack!) and we hit a cafe.
Oh my, the cafe was good! I got steak with herb butter, fries and a salad with some tasty yet unrecognizable dressing on it. Jen got majorly hit on by the waiter (the dessert of the day is me! I come with caramel sauce!) and he was cute and funny. Then back to the hostel to sleep.
Me+hostel bed=unhappy fat girl. I got maybe 4 hours sleep. And the truckload of 16 year olds that were staying here also have no respect for stairs and started banging their way past our door at like 7. Boooooooo. And the shower was an epic fail. It was pulses of water. But I'm clean, at least. We rented a room for just us 2 to share tonight.
Pictures to come later. I'll be doing some touristy things later, after the chocolate convention. Eiffel Tower, here I come!
I've been on the train for around 5 1/2 hours, and my ass is done with sitting. Done.
And it was an early morning...up at 8 to catch our train, which went from Munich to Stuttgart, where we switched, then from Stuttgart to Paris. With a variety of stops along the way. We haven't stopped since Strasbourg, and we are flying right now.
I thought we were going slow for a while, through urban areas, but now that we're rural...holy crap. High speed FTW!
So in that picture up top, you can see in the corner a slanted pole. Well, the pole is really straight, that is just what they look like since we're going so damn fast. Even to me...they look like they're going sideways with speed. Wow.
More later after my first night in Paris :)
I am so damn excited! I've wanted to go to Paris for years, and to finally be able to see the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Louvre, Arc de Triompfe...oh so frigging excited. Should be incredible :-D
But damn, its expensive. The train alone is expensive, then hostel and sights...I might smuggle food so I don't have to buy stuff to eat there. Watch for Paris pictures!
Also, I bought elbow length fingerless gloves. I ROCK!
Amazing what you see at Penny Markt (the German Wal-Mart).
And it hailed on me earlier. I ran out to buy groceries in the (cold) sunlight, and 20 minutes later it was dark gray, freezing and HAIL came from the sky! Luckily, I had worn my slippers on my quick trip :( so I got to run across the street and down the block in hail. In slippers. With 2 big bags of groceries.
Supposed to snow every day this week.
But Paris is supposed to be sunny...cause oh yeah, I'll be in Paris Thursday through Sunday! Attending the Salon du Chocolat (http://www.salonduchocolat.fr/) and doing all the lovely touristy stuff. And then tearing up the clubs at night. Woo hoo! I'm so excited, I've wanted to go to Paris for years!
But the arena is cool looking, and the scenery was nice.
It was 100 degrees below 0 today though...I almost got frostbite. We might have the first snow tonight-supposed to be flurries overnight. And I got hailed on this morning. The weather is schizo. Fall in Germany probably makes weathermen commit suicide.
Also, in breaking news...we just found out that we can fly to Dublin AND Stockholm for a round trip price of 8 cents. Yes, 6 cents (that's American cents, too!) I love Europe!
I desperately needed more time to travel and get things done, and Jen is extending her ticket, too. We're going to do some traveling together, but also some solo. Here's the tentative travel plan for the next 2 months:
*Paris-October 14-18th
*Austria-Jen will be going to Sardinia near the end of October, I don't know yet if I want to go. I'll most likely end up going to Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck solo instead.
*Dublin-beginning of November
*Stockholm-after Dublin (the flights to here and Dublin are incredibly cheap...we're talking 20 euros round trip!!!)
*Amsterdam-December 1st. Not sure if I'll be solo or not. I'm using part of my original ticket home to visit lol!
Also to come (just not sure when)...
*Berlin (with Jen)
*Frankfurt (solo)
*Prague (probably solo)
On the wish list, even though it probably won't happen...
*Dusseldorf
*Cologne
*Warsaw
*Budapest
*Minsk
And there's still a ton of stuff I want to do in Munich. I really, really want to be able to stay in Germany. There's some things I don't like here, of course, but honestly, other than my family and friends, I don't miss Vegas at all. And maybe Bavaria isn't where I want to stay either (their damn accent will be the end of me!), but I'm enjoying the European life.
Except it keeps raining here. Apparently fall=constant dreariness (Mom, you would love it lol). It was like as soon as fall hit, it was raining very day. And it's been quite chilly out. It's like Vegas winter here right now. Jen laughed her ass off at me when she saw my winter boots...it seems like they're overkill. I will have the warmest feet in all the land!
Giesing and Untersbergstraße are much more boring.
