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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #14: June 27-28: Rittersport Factory, Schorndorff, and Home: chocolate, family-time, and goodbyes

June 27

It was our last day in Europe as we would be flying home the next day. The last thing on our list of things to do was to go to the Rittersport Chocolate Factory in Baden-Wurttemberg, about an hour away from our Airbnb.

My uncle Markus, Joy’s dad, had told us all about the chocolate there and how much you could buy on the cheap. He explained that in his youth, nobody even wanted to eat this chocolate brand because many thought that it was just some cheap junk but that he enjoyed anyways. It was only recently that this chocolate gained popularity in the marketplace becoming an easy favorite in international stores as well. I had tried some Ritter Sport chocolate before, as my cousin Joy would always bring some back whenever she visited her family in Schordorf, so needless to say I was excited for what awaited us.

Our first stop in the factory was their Ritter Sport Chocolate museum. Located above the chocolate shop, this little walkaround explained the history of the factory and the specific types of cocoa beans used to make the chocolate. We were excited to come here because there is a section in the museum that has a chocolate lab where you can make your very own chocolate bar, only to find out that it was closed that day. On the plus side, the museum gave away free chocolate samples at the end; that really picked things up for us.

Because it was summer, they had a special sale: if you buy 10 bars of chocolate, each one will cost 69 cents instead of the original price of €1. That sale to a frugal chocolate-loving family was like hitting the jackpot. We all grabbed little rolling baskets and started stockpiling. Although the store wasn’t that big, it was chocolate paradise: aisles filled with more chocolate combinations than I could have ever thought of and they even had samples for their new summer chocolates. Picking up a mass amount of my favorite flavor, dark chocolate with marzipan, I found myself struggling to choose what to get and eventually choosing to get all my options because when was the next time I’d be coming back? Besides, chocolate from Germany is also a good souvenir to bring back to my office.

After shopping and eating samples to our heart’s content we stashed our chocolate in lockers, conveniently located right outside the shop, and made our way to the Rittersport Art Museum. Just as we pay for our tickets and enter, the fire alarm goes off and we are forced to exit. We sat with our family outside of the factory’s little cafe and nibbled on what they order while we waited for the museum to be cleared.

This quaint two-level corner of the building housed very geometric art that while colorful, was not quite up to my understanding of modern art. However, on the second floor was this cool art installation that they allowed you to stand on. This tunnel led lights that seemed to go on forever below you. My sister was freaked out by it, thinking that she might fall even though the installation was only 2 feet off the ground.

Having had our fill of the world of chocolate, we headed back to Adelburg to have some lunch and finish whatever food we had left. Joy and I heated up the raclette and were promptly kicked out right after because my family couldn’t stand the smell, so we sat right outside the door, enjoying our potatoes with cheese. Not too long after that, we had to get ready to meet up with Joy’s dad’s side of the family. Her aunts and uncles, as well as her grandma (Oma), lived in Schorndorff and we would be dropping her off there to stay for an additional 2 weeks while we went home.

We accidentally parked far and had to walk a good long while to reach Joy’s grandma’s apartment, who let us up. This cute, tiny old woman could not speak a lick of English but she was trying her best to talk to us. Joy and her mom were the only ones that could speak any German so they translated for us the whole time. She was so excited that we were there and that Joy was there that she couldn’t stop talking. We stayed there for a bit before heading to the car to go to dinner with her uncle Mats, tante Susanne, uncle Stephano, and cousins Salome and Simon. Joy had told me all about her cousins growing up so I was really excited to meet them and we had met uncle Mats a handful of times before.

Oma opted to ride in the car with us, talking our ears off as Joy translated. We went to have dinner at a schwäbisch (Swiss-German mountain) restaurant, which served Joy’s favorite German dish, käse späetzle, handmade egg noodles served with a cheese sauce. I sat next to Joy and across from her cousins. I was afraid that we would all struggle with a language barrier but Salome and Simon both spoke fluent English and even helped translate for Oma. It was so nice to be able to spend time with family, even if we weren’t blood-related to them. I grew up really close with Joy and her brother, Daniel, and their dad was like a second father to me so I felt at home spending time with his family.

We wanted one last night with Joy, so instead of staying at her Oma’s as she had planned, she went back to Adelberg with us for one more night. She helped us pack our suitcases and prepare for our flight the next day. It was difficult trying to make all of our chocolate fit in our suitcases and they were all very heavy.

June 28

In the morning, we dropped Joy off and said a tearful goodbye before driving to the Stuttgart Airport where we also returned our rental. When we checked in, the woman asked if we wanted to check in our hand baggage for free to speed up the boarding process because this was a full flight. It was awesome to not have to lug around heavy baggage through 3 different airports. Our stopover in London was short and the flight to LA flew by. My uncle Sol was waiting for us at the arrival gates with a big hug. It was good to be home.

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Adventure #13: June 25: Neuschwanstein and Mineral Pools: Storybook Castles and Shocking Saunas

June 25 - Neuschwanstein Castle and Mineral Pools

Today was the day! We were going to get to see the famed storybook castle that Walt Disney based his Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella Castles. We had initially wanted to see the castle earlier in our trip, but we found that we needed to book tickets ahead of time so that we could book a tour of the castle without any hassle because it was not guaranteed that we would get tickets if we did not purchase them ahead of time. There were hoards of people waiting to enter the castle and it was hot and humid. When our tour group was finally called, we were briefed on the rules of the place. We were not allowed to take any pictures which became evidently clear when a man tried to take a picture out a window and was escorted out of the building. The inside of the castle was AMAZING.

Built by King Ludwig II, king of Bavaria, in 1886, it was to be a place to get away from the world and served no actual strategic role. His castle was based off of Christian kingship during the Middle Ages; he wanted to rebuild the old castle ruins of Hohenschwangau. The plans for the castle were vast and elaborate and cost a lot but it was never finished after his death. In 1886, when the king refused to act rationally about the debt he was putting the country in, the government declared him insane and deposed him; he died the next day under mysterious circumstances.

The castle was so named Neuschwanstein, meaning “new swan stone”, aptly named for Ludwig’s love for the play The Swan Knight, detailed in almost every facet of his bedchambers and sitting room. Even the servant chambers had hidden references to his beloved play, as seen in the swan beaks as door handles. Perhaps the most luxurious room was the throne room, designed, painted, decorated to be the meeting place between heaven and earth itself, but covered in gold, of course. The rooms of the castle that were finished were ornate and detailed. I felt like I had stepped into a real-life Disney movie walking through the Mad King’s castle. The tour guide even said that a painting of a forest in his ballroom is what inspired Disney’s Bambi. At the end of the tour, there was a small-scale model of what the castle was supposed to look like if it had been finished. This version of the finished castle is where Walt Disney got his inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

While we couldn’t take pictures inside of the castle, we took plenty outside and around it. When the tour was over, we walked a short hike to a bridge from where you could view the castle from afar. The view overlooked the Hohenschwangau Valley, where you could spot the famed castle.

We drove back to our Airbnb in Adelberg to change into swimwear so that we could go to Das Leuze, a swimming hall filled with thermal mineral water. Joy and my Aunt Vicky knew the area well, having spent a few summers at her grandmothers only 20 minutes away from the swimming hall. She had told me all about it the whole trip and we were all excited to go. When we got to the hall and were purchasing our entrance tokens, she asked us if we wanted to use the sauna; of course, we said yes, only for her to respond that the sauna was coed and clothes were not an option. When in Germany right?

The swimming hall turned out to be just that, a swimming hall. There were 8 different mineral pools, all different in their temperature and mineral content. My cousin told me that people came there for the health benefits and relaxations. Because the water is so rich in minerals it helps rejuvenate your skin. There is also a natural mineral spring that they run through the pipes for people to drink.

When we finally entered into the sauna area of the building and removed all swimwear, my sister began to freak out because of the other men around, even though she had been warned that she would see things. We worked our way up to the hottest sauna, sweating through the towels that we brought to sit on. When it got too hot and I got thirsty, I thought I’d try a sip of this popular mineral water. It was nasty. The water was sparkling and salty with a strong metallic flavor. It honestly tasted too much like blood, but I was desperate and trying to avoid passing out so I guzzled it down anyway. In between sauna rooms, we would take a dip in the cold pool to freshen us up before we went into the next one. Conveniently outside, there was a large basin of shaved ice for people to use to help cool them down. My sister even brought some into the sauna with her when she felt too overheated. After leaving the sauna, we jumped in and out of the different mineral pools, making sure to try them all before we had to leave. My sister was most shocked by the cold mineral pool because the water was so fizzy that it felt almost as if she was being pricked by needles.

That night, Joy and I were the most excited for dinner because we had bought some raclette to scrape over some roasted potatoes. I had seen videos of this go viral at a restaurant in New York, and I was finally going to be able to try it. Little did I know, raclette is a VERY pungent cheese and everyone but me and Joy complained about the smell. That was some of the best potatoes that I had had though.

At the end of the day, my muscles were relaxed and my skin was super smooth. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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Adventure #12: June 23-24: Dachau and Ulm: the first concentration camp the tallest steeple in the world

June 23 - Dachau

Our family has had a long fascination with WWII history, but we had to think long and hard if we could stomach visiting a concentration camp, knowing what atrocities took place there, but in the end, we decided that we would go. It was particularly hard for my cousin to want to go. Joy’s mom, Vicky, had married a German-Jew whose family had largely been wiped out in the Holocaust, so visiting the camp meant something more.

When we got to the camp, we were all pretty silent. Usually, when all of us were together, we are cracking jokes and making fun of things but things were different that day. A silence settled over us. Quiet and somber, in humble reverence to the tragedies that were buried in the soil itself, the whole place carried a dark weight that demanded a listening ear.

Dachau, opened in 1933, was the first concentration camp and it functioned more as an actual work camp rather than a killing camp like Auschwitz. The entrance gate to the camp said “Arbeit macht frei”, which means “work makes you free”. The camp was originally created to hold political prisoners but eventually, other prisoner groups were sent there (Jehova’s Witnesses, homosexuals, emigrants, Jews, Sinti, Roma, and more) as the camp continued to expand. Prisoners were brutally beaten, starved, mistreated, overworked, and were executed on the spot if they tried to escape. Throughout the camp, there were small rooms, previously cell block offices, devoted to the stories its previous prisoners had witnessed. Thick binders with first-hand accounts of each hostage’s accounts, left my body feeling cold.

We walked through the building where political prisoners were held, which was vastly different from the barracks that everyone else was kept in. Political prisoners had solitary rooms that were spacious in comparison to other housing for prisoners, but even that was an understatement in itself. Typical barracks were cramped and communal and many people died of disease or starvation. Looking through the cell windows you could picture bodies trapped within each minuscule space, losing any and all hope for escape.

When we walked through the portion of the museum where the details of what happened to the prisoners were listed alongside photographs of dead bodies, I felt like puking. I held in my tears as my stomach twisted, feeling sick at the thought that these humans were treated like filthy animals not worth anything. People were experimented on and tortured with no remorse. Prisoners were forced to dispose of the dead bodies of their fellow inmates, burning them in the crematorium. It was barbaric. Seething with a combination of anger and sadness I pondered how people could have ever thought that this was okay, how others within the community let this happen.

Following the trail before us, we ended up crossing a little bridge that led us to the crematorium. It was there that a small monument stood, which stated: “Remember how we have died here;” a small statement nevertheless laden with fierce intensity. I never thought that empty rooms could feel so full until this day, I felt the air thicken with sweat and screams as I walked through the “bathing rooms” and in the corner of my eye, I saw the tears well up in my cousin’s eyes. The breath had been sucked from my lungs as my stomach acidified. After making my way through the building, the sky seemed to feel for me, shedding little tears for the ones that were lost here.

We went back to Burgau afterward, feeling heavy and kind of sad. As a result, we mostly just relaxed as we put on Rush Hour to cheer us up a little; goodness knows we needed it.

June 24 - Ulm

After a somber day of reflection, we were ready for a bit of cheering up. We checked out of our Airbnb and began the 40-minute drive to the city of Ulm. There, we planned on seeing Ulm Minster, the church with the tallest steeple in the world, measuring in at 530 feet tall.

The church was completed in 1890 and the view from its steeple is not for the faint of heart. To get to the very top of the steeple, you must climb 768 steps up a winding spiral staircase. The climb began in the poorly-lit basement where. As the stairs proceeded forward the stairwell got smaller and smaller until there was just enough room for one, and maybe a small child, to pass up the stairs. The higher and higher we climbed the dizzier we became, teetering on the stone steps with only the oily handrail and the walls to steady us. Feeling slightly out of breath and slightly panicked over the height, we pushed on and eventually made it to the middle deck. We stopped for a moment to catch our breaths, but we didn’t pause for long. Soon we were climbing the second half and I don’t know if it was just my imagination or if I was just out of breath, but the air felt thinner.

I didn’t think that it could get scarier, but as we climbed to the tippy top, there were people coming down, forcing us to squeeze past each other, this time, with no railing to steady us. When we finally reached the cramped viewing deck, I felt so small looking over the city of Ulm. So many had come here before attempting to leave their own mark commemorating this shared accomplishment and I took joy in this mutual sense of pride. This view was totally worth it.

It was at the very top that the alarm to feed the parking meter sounded and Joy and I had to sprint down the steps to avoid getting a ticket. After sprinting down the steps, almost losing our footing a few times, to feed the meter for the car, we passed by this hole in the wall ice cream shop. With the meter feed and spare change in our pockets, we circled back to the ice cream shop. For a cheap €1.20 per scoop, we have the best ice cream of the trip (blood orange with wild strawberry and passion fruit with lychee raspberry rose), the best ice cream of my life even. The day was so hot that the ice cream began melting before we could even start licking it. Sweaty and hungry we devoured our ice cream cones, some of it even ending up on Joy’s shirt, but we didn’t care - that’s how good this ice cream was.

To celebrate our 768 step climb, we had lunch at IKEA before continuing to make our way to our Airbnb in Adelburg an hour and a half away.

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Adventure #11: June 20-22 - Nuremberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzberg, Nuremberg (again), Ausburg: Pastries, Nazis, and Courtrooms

June 20 - Prague to Nuremberg

We made good time on the road from Prague to Nuremberg, enough time that we were too early to check into our Airbnb at 6 pm, so instead, we went into town to see what was there. For the first time on the trip, the weather was actually cold and gloomy. When we walked into the main square, the first thing that we saw was Schöner Brunnen, a golden fountain from the 14th century. There were levers all around the fountain and if you pulled on them hard, water from the fountain would flow out; a lot of the little kids were playing with it. We were just strolling through the square when it started to rain, getting harder and harder every second. We sought shelter in one of the shopping areas and stayed there until we could hightail it to the car.

By the time the rain stopped pouring, we could already check into our Airbnb which was a bit of an ordeal. My cousin had to climb on top of a dryer to retrieve the key to the building. When we finally got inside the building, we realized that we had to climb four flights of stairs because there was no elevator. Having become grumpy from having to haul tons of suitcases up, we were even more displeased to find that the place was dirty and in need of repair. Some of the light switches did not have socket covers, the kitchen sink only operated at a slow trickle, the hot water in the shower was sketchy at best and was connected to an electric water heater that did the opposite of what it said, the “beds” were basically couch cushions pushed together, the bed frames were broken, and the bedding did not look or smell like it had been changed from whoever stayed there last. We were not happy.

We rested a bit and then went to buy groceries for dinner, and stayed in for the rest of the night, glad to get some rest after our marathon in Prague.

June 21 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzburg

We woke up bright and early after having the worst night of sleep of the whole trip, backs aching and complaining about our less than satisfactory “beds”. Our first destination of the day was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany’s best-preserved wall town. Rick Steves describes this city as “Germany’s fairy-tale dream town” with its enchanting medieval look and feel which was once the second-largest city in Germany during the Middle Ages. When my mom and aunt had planned this trip, they really only wanted to go because they saw it on an episode of Rick Steves but outside of that, we didn’t really know much of the place and were content strolling through the city and wandering in and out of buildings. This was truly the cutest town.

We walked into a lot of bakeries and got something at each place. My favorite was a giant slice of raspberry pie from a small family-owned bakery where we also tried the town specialty, schneeballs, which were basically fried balls of pastry dough coated in different sweet toppings. They weren’t all that special, but the pie was delicious.

There wasn’t anything particularly amazing about the city or anything special that we saw but my whole family just seemed to be enchanted by the city and we were all just having a good time. My favorite part was freaking my sister out when we climbed the city wall. When we told my dad that she was sweaty and freaking out from the heights and us purposely scaring her so he thought that he’d take it a little further and actually swung his leg over the railing and us three girls all screamed out in alarm; he thought it was hilarious.

From Rothenburg, we drove to Würzburg at the recommendation of my aunt. We had no idea what there was to see there, just that it was a pretty town, so instead of actually going to look or go inside anywhere, we walked around the town bought ice cream, and then left. The ice cream was the best part of that stop. We headed back to the Airbnb after that.

June 22 - Nuremberg

On our last day in Nuremberg, we had an early checkout at 9 am and since we were in the city best known for the trails after WWII set out to see where history was made. Our first stop was the Nazi Party Rally Grounds.

In 1933, the rally grounds were built after Hitler had declared that Nuremberg was the city of Nazi Party rallies after reasoning that the party was a continuation of German history and Nuremberg was the city that was the most centered on those German “ideals” that Hitler was “continuing”. The building was meant to intimidate but also impress and was also a form of propaganda and while the plans of the building were extensive, not all of the plans were carried out fully. At the end of the war, the City of Nuremberg took over ownership and in 1985, the building became a museum, open to the public as a place to learn about German history and the Nazi Party.

As we walked through the building, reading over the main officers of the Party and the ideas and ideals that the Party encouraged and perpetuated, I grew angry and felt immensely sad, as if there was this weight pressing down on me by thinking about the inhumanity and barbarism of terrible men and women. At the end of the museum, there was a small tribute to the Jews that were killed, their names printed on cards and scattered over a portion of train tracks that were taken from one of the concentration camps.

After the Nazi Party building, we headed to the Nuremberg Palace of Justice where the famous Nuremberg Trials were held to try the Nazi war criminals (Nazi Party officials, high-ranking military officers, German industrialists, lawyers, doctors, and more) of World War II. It was a series of 13 trials carried out from 1945-1949 and they were tried for crimes against peace and humanity. These trials would later set the stage for an international court to deal with future crimes against humanity. Holding the trials in the same city as the headquarters for the Nazi Party was the world’s symbolic ending of the Third Reich. The actual trials were a mix of legal traditions according to British and American law but the actual sentences were given by a panel of judges.

Many of the men that were indicted for war crimes and sentenced to death committed suicide before they could be killed, while some of those who were indicted were sentenced to prison were let out early on good behavior. While reading the panels that dictated what happened to the war criminals, I couldn’t help but think that this was God punishing them.

As we were leaving the city to head to our next destination, we saw a street fair that was being held in celebration of the summer solstice. There were food stands, carnival games, small rides, and tons of people. We decided to stop by and have lunch there; I had a crepe with mushroom, ham, and cheese with a pint of beer and a crepe with strawberries, banana, Nutella, and amaretto. It was so so so good.

We were forced to eat our food fast because all of a sudden it got windy and seemed as if the it was going to start raining. Our next stop was Ausburg, another city we knew nothing about and just walked around before going to our next Airbnb in Burgau.

That Airbnb was a God-send. After bad beds that were making our backs hurt and an apartment that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months, this place seemed pristine. It was spacious, clean, the beds were plush, and the bathroom had a rain shower. That was one of the best nights of sleep that I had ever had.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #11: June 20-22 - Nuremberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzberg, Nuremberg (again), Ausburg: Pastries, Nazis, and Courtrooms

June 20 - Prague to Nuremberg

We rested a bit and then went to buy groceries for dinner, and stayed in for the rest of the night, glad to get some rest after our marathon in Prague.

June 21 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzburg

June 22 - Nuremberg

We were forced to eat our food fast because all of a sudden it got windy and seemed as if it was going to start raining. Our next stop was Ausburg, another city we knew nothing about and just walked around before going to our next Airbnb in Burgau.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #10 - June 18-20: Dresden, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic: Trdelniks and Castles

June 18 - Dresden to Prague

I was sad to leave our cute little Airbnb but I was also excited because after a stop in Dresden, we would be going to Prague. Dresden was only 30 minutes away from where we stayed. My mom and her sister were the only ones who really wanted to visit the city, mostly because they had never been and had heard the name mentioned a lot in history and on travel shows. Other than that, we didn’t actually know anything about the city. It was only after the trip that I learned it used to be the capital of Saxony and was largely destroyed during WWII by massive bomb raids. We only stayed in the city for a couple of hours before hitting the road, but the best part of the city was eating yummy ice cream (forest berry, peach, and kiwi) to stave off the stifling heat.

From Dresden to Prague (Praha), the drive was only about an hour and a half long (I slept) and when we entered the city, we were captivated. We drove around, a little lost trying to find the hostel that we would be staying at, but when we did find it, we promptly dropped off our luggage and headed back into the old city to find some lunch. Parking was really hard to find and because the street signs were in another language, we didn’t want to risk getting a ticket. Instead, we found a large mall located in the middle of the town where we could park. There was conveniently a bunch of restaurants to eat at there; we had Thai.

Because the mall was located right in Old Town, it was just a short walk into Old Town Square. It was hot that day and unbelievably crowded, enough for us to struggle to make our way through. There were dozens of street performers in the square and shops surround it all. From Old Town Square, you can see the Church of our Lady before Tyn (a gothic church from the 14th century), the Old Town City Hall (where the famous astronomical clock is located, and St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana).

While we were there, we purchased 24-hour train and bus passes that came out to about $12 each before proceeding to walk around the rest of the city. We were mostly looking at some websites that gave us the highlights of what the city had to offer, so we had no idea where we were going, but it didn’t matter because we were all feeling too drained from the heat and overwhelmed by the crowds to continue walking around. We all opted to go back to the hostel to take naps and go back out at night with the hopes that it would be less crowded if we went later.

We rested from about 6 pm to 8:30 pm; the beauty of Europe in the summer is that the sun sets really late, giving you more time to walk around). We were most surprised that my mom and aunt wanted to join us three girls for a night out on the town because they’re usually against staying out late. The tram stop was only a block from our hostel and only took less than 15 minutes to get to the edge of Old Town (no public transportation went directly into Old Town). We had eaten at the hostel but stopped for food when we saw a row of food shacks that were selling trdelniks (chimney cakes) and spit-roasted ham served with bread and gnocchi in a cream sauce. The trdelniks were especially delicious; we ordered plain one and one with a Nutella slathered inside. They roll out bread dough into a long cord and wrap it around a stick that spins when placed on a rack above a bed of wood coals and then coated with cinnamon sugar when they are done.

The city was just as enchanting at night as it was during the day, maybe even more so. However, it was still fairly crowded because now all of the younger people were out to go clubbing and there were also still some guided tour groups walking around. Because there were fewer people, we were able to see some of the sights better, like the Astronomical Clock on the outside of the Old Town City Hall. The clock was built in 1410 complete with its own legend: the clockmaker was so determined to build a better, bigger, more beautiful clock than his rival that he went insane and killed himself in the clock’s gears, cursing the clock; anyone who would try to fix it would either go insane or die. While this legend isn’t actually true, it is a testament to the beauty of the clock. It was more grand and beautiful than the clock in Rostock, and while this clock still has a parade of the Apostles, it’s calendar uses are no longer in function. It was actually really cool because when we were leaving to go back to the hostel, we saw the clock strike 11 and there was a little show.

That night we were also able to see Prague Castle in the distance from the side of Charles Bridge, however, we felt discouraged from going on the bridge because of the sheer amount of bugs swarming around the lights there. It was really gross and we took our pictures and fled from the bugs in the smaller alleyways lined with little shops filled with souvenirs and nicknacks where we bought a few things to take home to friends and family. After that, we went back to the hostel, only to find that my dad had left the window cracked and a ton of bugs had come in, attracted to the light. I slept under my blankets, slathered in bug repellent that night.

June 19 - Prague Day 2

Our plan the second day in the city was to see everything that we didn’t get to see the day before and because we already had 24-hour public transportation passes and internet on our phones, it was easy to figure out how to get to the Prague Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The castle, located on the top of a hill overlooking Prague, was built around 880 by the prince during that time in Gothic fashion but has gone through significant repairs and reconstructions since the 1920s. It was a seat of power for kings, emperors, and presidents since the 9th century.

To enter any of the buildings that were in the vicinity, you were required to purchase tickets, and this is one of the few times that we were willing to pay a fair amount of money because we had been looking forward to coming here. Unfortunately for us, the sections of the castle that we wanted to see were closed that day so instead we purchased a ticket package that allowed us to see Prague Cathedral and a few other buildings. I knew it was worth the price as soon as we entered the cathedral and saw the grand interior painted in colored light streaming in from the stained glass. I’m usually not in awe of churches or cathedrals anymore because of how many we’ve seen but this one was different. The windows were so intricate and there was so much detail in every aspect of the place from the ceilings to the floors to the votives and decorations. As I walked, around, I thought about how different the past was from how it is now. We are amazed by the grandeur and extravagance that the elite exhibited to the public then but now the elite are not so outrightly gaudy or showy like people back then were.

Around the Cathedral were smaller churches and a small village that was preserved to show the different people who would have lived there back then. Each little “house” was basically a diorama of who that person was and how they lived doing a specific trade. Above the houses was a long hallway filled with different kinds and eras of armor and weapons. It’s always fascinating to me to see how people used to live and compare to how society functions now - the change is astonishing because I could not imagine living that way. When we exited that small section we were taken to the way out where there was a spectacular view of the city. From there, you could spot Old Town and Charles Bridge that connected our side of the river to the town.

The walk down the hill from the castle was slippery and steep and when we finally made it down, my dad was grumpy about the walk hurting his knee and it didn’t help that he was hungry. We took a tram back to Old Town and settled on a vegan restaurant. My dad loved his meal saying that the meat was seasoned perfectly and when we told him that it wasn’t meat, his face was priceless. After lunch, we were on the hunt for Absintherie Jilska, a bar that specialized in absinthe and it was lucky we found it when it did because it started to pour all of a sudden. It was clear that my mom and aunt disapproved of our drinking but we ordered drinks anyways. My sister and cousin both tried different types of absinthe that was mixed with sugar and set on fire; I opted for an absinthe sperm shot (layered grenadine, lime juice, Bailey’s, and absinthe. Absinthe had that distinct flavor of licorice (my most hated candy) and it burned a little on the way down.

By the time we left Absintherie, the rain was gone and we could go to Charles Bridge. Built during the reign of Holy Roman Empire Charles IV in 1357, Charles bridge stretches over the Vltava River and has many beautiful statues. Unfortunately for us, the statutes were under restoration. We crossed the bridge to the other side of the river to find Lennon wall, wall where a mural of John Lennon was painted in the 1980s. Now the wall is just a colorful graffiti wall where tourists can pay to spray something on there. While I was disappointed that you could no longer see John Lennon’s face, the overall wall looked really cool. After that we wandered back to Old Town to get some food: we snacked on trdelniks (vanilla ice cream and pistachio) before getting dinner at a middle eastern restaurant before heading back to rest.

June 20 - Prague Day 3

Our last day in Prague, we packed up and checked out before driving to Strahov Monastery, which had a cool library that my sister really wanted to see. We didn’t know that you had to book tickets months and months in advance to get a tour of the actual rooms so we had to settle from looking through the doorways along a long hallway. You also had to buy a picture pass to even be allowed to take pictures, something that was strictly enforced. I understood why she wanted to go so badly; I felt like I had walked into the library from Beauty and the Beast.

After our time at the monastery, we began our three-hour drive to Nuremberg where we would be spending the night.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #9 → June 16 & 17: Berlin to Wachau: walls, stadiums, and a mini-castle Airbnb

June 16 - Berlin (Day 1)

We were in a bit of a time crunch to get to the Berlin airport on time because my dad had decided to sit there while we got ready and only started to get ready once we said that we were going to be late if we didn’t leave right away. This meant that he was rushed to get ready and was driving angry, which can be really scary. Did I fear for my life as we sped down the autobahn? Most definitely. Eventually, he calmed down enough that I was able to fall asleep and woke up as my parents tried to find the parking garage that we would be dropping the car off. When we finally dropped off the car, my sister and I spotted my cousin, Joy, looking around trying to spot us, and as soon as she and I locked eyes, we ran to each other and met in a joyful embrace. Not long after, my parents pulled up with my aunt, Vicky, in the new rental and we packed everything up in a game of luggage Tetris. What was a 7-seater van turned into a cramped six-seater with me crammed in the back next to all of the luggage,

From the airport, we drove in the direction of the hostel that we would be staying at, stopping for burgers on the way there. I was so excited to be reunited with my best friend/cousin and for the rest of the trip, she was truly my travel buddy. After eating, we headed straight to the hostel, right in front of the wall in what used to be East Berlin, and dropped off our luggage before heading back to the center of the city to go to Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie was established in August of 1961 to prevent citizens of East Germany from fleeing to West Germany and operated for almost 30 years. It was the only gateway in East Germany where Allied diplomats, foreign tourists, and military personnel were allowed to enter into communist Berlin. The Allies placed military police there to make sure that their officials had access to the border. The small guardhouse was a way for the Allies to show the communists that they didn’t think the Berlin Wall was an actual border or that it would be a permanent fixture. When the wall fell in November 1991, people from East Germany flooded through the checkpoint.

Across the street was a little outdoor museum about Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall. It told the story of the Wall and recounted stories of people who were killed trying to cross from East to West. It also had the section of the wall that served as the entryway from West Berlin to East Berlin. There was a stark difference from the West side (graffitied) and the East side (plain).

From Checkpoint Charlie, we walked to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe 20 minutes away. German parliament decided to build this a central memorial site in 1999 to honor those killed in the Holocaust during WWII. The memorial itself wasn’t anything that artistically jumped out at you but the meaning behind what it was built in memory of was what struck you and sobered you. Walking through rows and rows of slabs of concrete built on a sloped wave, I thought of all the people who were suffered in that war, tortured, starved, punished for their race, murdered. I was reminded of the cruelty of humans and rampant sin and just how much the world needs Jesus.

From the Memorial to the Jews, it was a short walk to Brandenburg Gate and just a little further, the Reichstag Building. Brandenburg Gate was built in 1791 and during the Cold War, it became a symbol of a divided Berlin because it stood between East and West Berlin. This “gate” is where Ronald Regan gave his speech in 1987, telling Gorbachov to “tear down this wall”. When the Berlin Wall fell, the gate became a symbol of unity for New Berlin.

There were so many tourists when we were there, and while it was clear that we were trying to take pictures, people simply didn’t care. So we did what naturally made sense and blocked those people out of the picture with our hands. While we were annoyed, we made light of the situation with a classic cousin move of silliness.

We walked to the Reichstag Building less than 5 minutes away from Brandenburg Gate. It is currently where the German parliament presides and has become an international symbol of democracy because of all the tumultuous history that it witnessed and overcame (WWI&WWII and the Cold War). The building had been burned, shot up, graffitied, and more, enduring the tests of time and war, but was finally rebuilt and restored in 1964; the city has purposely preserved traces of bullet holes and graffiti that were left by Soviet soldiers for visitors to see.

After our time wandering outside of the Reichstag, my dad began to complain about how far we had walked and that we should have brought the car because now we have a far walk back to where we parked. Taking the hint that he was tired and wanted to go rest, we began the short trek back to Checkpoint Charlie where we had parked. From there we stopped by Berlin Hauptbanhof to pick up some groceries for dinner. Grocery stores closed early on Sundays except for ones located in the train station, so of course, when we got there, it was crowded with people trying to buy ingredients for their Sunday dinner. When we finally made it out of there, we headed back to the hotel; my mum and aunt went to go wash our clothes while my dad rested and we girls prepared dinner in the communal kitchen. It was just a simple meal of pasta, salad, and breaded chicken but it took us forever to cook (about 2 hours) because the electric stove would shut off as soon as it reached a certain temperature. It was a mess.

June 17 - Berlin Day 2

We had knocked out almost everything that we wanted to see on our first day in Berlin so after a quick breakfast and checking out, we crossed the street to some of the East Side Gallery before we headed into the main city to see the Berlin Cathedral before going to the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

Unfortunately for us, the Berlin Cathedral, the largest and most important Protestant church in the city, was under restoration so most of the building was covered in blue scaffolding. We were on a bit of a time crunch so we kind of sped around the outside and the surrounding buildings and then hopped in the car to make our way to the Olympic stadium.

For as long as I can remember, my family has always had a love for sports. The Olympics is the only time we pay for cable TV, and wherever we travel, if there is an Olympic stadium or village, we always take the time to go. Berlin was no exception. It was built to host the 1936 Summer Olympic Games during WWII and designed to match the Nazi Party’s styles. This is the stadium that Jesse Owens won gold four times in the presence of Hitler. Since the games, the stadium has been renovated many times and is often used to host sporting events, concerts, and more.

We couldn’t enter the stadium without a guide so after purchasing tickets for the next tour, we entered the arena. Much like St. Petersburg, it was a slew of information as we hopped from one section to the next. We got to see the locker rooms underground as well as areas where athletes could hang out, but the coolest part was what was preserved of the original stadium. On the opposite side of the entrance, there are large stone slabs with the names of the winners of that Olympic Games and from that point, you can see the Bell Tower, which used to contain the Olympic Bell (now displayed outside), and Langemark-Halle. The guide told us that Hitler had given speeches there.

Visiting that stadium was one of my favorite things on this trip. I’ve always loved watching the Olympics and have seen countless documentaries on it. I also love WWII history, so to see both of these things come together, both past and present, it was amazing. When I looked out across the stadium, I imagined in my head what it would have been like to have attended and seen Jesse Owens run or to spot Hitler from my seat or to just witness the political ins and outs of hosting an Olympics during a war. It blew my mind.

When our tour was over, we began the long drive to our Airbnb in Wachau, 3 hours away. In my typical fashion, I slept the whole car ride, but when we did arrive there, we were kind of stunned. From the pictures on the website, the place looked kind of like a castle. It turned out that it was pretty close because our unit was looked like a mini castle, complete with a sword and ax bolted to the wall. That place was by far my favorite Airbnb to have stayed at. Ever. The place was newly remodeled and quite spacious. My only objection was the amount of bugs flying around, but everything else was perfect. From the kitchen window, you had a perfect view of the setting sun, there was an actual freezer in this fridge, and the overall ambiance was just so relaxed and laid back.

After dinner, all of us went on a walk; me with my sister and cousin in the direction of the country roads and my mom and her sister into town. My sister and cousin had taken bikes with them but gave up early 10 minutes later when they realized that these bikes were not in proper riding condition, so instead of walking around, we had ourselves a little photoshoot while watching a gorgeous sunset paint the sky.

Our night ended with bubble baths and wine coolers. It was one of the best days ever.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #8 - June 14-15: Goslar Germany: something out of a storybook

June 14 (continued)

Driving from Wittenburg, we pulled up to our hostel in Goslar around 6 pm. The hostel was a large house at the top of a hill on a culdesac, it was a bit hard to lug all of our luggage up the cobbled staircase, but a man came out from inside with his German shepherd and helped us with our luggage, bringing it straight to the room that we would be staying in. We got the room to ourselves since there were so many empty rooms in the hostel, and it was actually very spacious and clean. It turned out that he, Sven, was the owner of the hostel and his puppy was a 7-month old German shepherd named Alleia.

He helped my parents handle the paperwork as we played with the ever-curious puppy who kept asking for head pets and belly rubs. Sven came back to our room to collect his dog and he recommended some restaurants for dinner and we ended up talking with him for a while. He told us that he owned a yacht in Florida that he would rent out to tourists and was currently producing the organic equivalent of WD40 and when my dad told him that he worked in home renovation, he gave my dad a few samples of his oil for him to try.

When he finally left, we went to one of the restaurants he recommended, Down Under, an Australian restaurant 20 minutes away from the hostel. We ordered some fruity cocktails, which of course, were garnished with Haribo gummies as the Germans do. We also ordered a kangaroo pasta, kangaroo skewers, and a pasta salad. I have to be honest, that was the worst meal that I have ever had. The kangaroo pasta was meat and penne served with the saltiest sauce in the world topped with mixed green. The kangaroo skewers were alright but they were also extremely salty. The pasta salad was the worst of all; we thought it would be pasta salad like the Americans make it but it was literally hot angel pasta served with cold lettuce and a hot curry yogurt dressing. We did not finish anything that we ordered, but the actual presentations of the food were nice but the drinks were the only thing that we really enjoyed.

We headed back to the hostel where we all went to get ready for bed. We’ve been to our fair share of hostels and sometimes, they could be pretty rough, but this one was actually really nice, including the bathroom, which was large and clean, like the rest of the place.

June 15 - Goslar, Germany

I had never heard of Goslar before my mom said that we were going there, but when I looked up the small medieval town, I found that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was established in the 10th century. Almost all of the houses in the town are still the original ones. When we were walking around, we saw that most of the buildings had a carving that detailed the year that it was built, some of them dated in the 1100s or 1200s. Everywhere you looked, there was medieval architecture, transporting you to a different time in history where the streets were cobbled and people dressed differently and the common work was mining. Even the music that was being played in the main square was very medieval.

I thought that we weren’t going to have much fun there but it turned out to be one of my favorite cities in Germany. Although the day turned out to be pretty great, it didn’t start that way. While we were at the hostel, we pulled up the GPS on our phones and saw that the old section of the town was only a 10-minute walk from the hostel, but my dad would not have it. He wanted to take the car, claiming that he would be too tired to want to walk home; we knew he was just lazy and irritable because he didn’t want to go out that day. We spent 20 minutes trying to find somewhere to park the car and during that time, he only became more and more exasperated. When we finally parked the car, he was upset that he couldn’t figure out how to pay on the parking meter and that he would have to come back in 2 hours to renew the parking pass.

From the car, we came upon a stream that ran through the town, surrounded by walls and bridges, complete with a water wheel and everything; it was very reminiscent of a storybook town. There were many alleyways woven between the buildings, making it easy to lose your bearings, but we stumbled upon Goslarer Museum, a museum for the town that was established in a monastery that was built in 1514. From the outside, it didn’t look very big but it actually contained extensive collections on the history of the town, like animals from that region, clothing, tools, household items, money, weapons, and even an extensive section on the geology and mineralogy of the area. I thought that it was pretty amazing that so much of the town was preserved from the 11th century to more recent times.

From the museum, we spent the rest of the day wandering around the small alleyways that weaved through the city, letting ourselves get a little lost in the past. It was only around lunchtime that my dad started to become a little irritable from being tired and hangry. He threw a bit of a fit trying to find a place to eat, settling on a small Vietnamese restaurant in one of the smaller streets, which he proceeded to complain about, saying that the food was no good and that it didn’t compare to Vietnamese food in LA. The three of us sat there quietly and just let him talk, not wanting to further agitate him.

Once he had some food and him and was able to sit for a while, he was in a much better mood and we continued on our way, walking to the borders of the town where buildings started to look a little more modern. My favorite part about walking around was seeing people returning to their homes in buildings that were about 10 centuries old. One of the owners saw us and even pointed out where on her house you could see the date of its erection. We left not too long after that to go to the grocery store to pick up food from dinner.

There was a communal kitchen for everyone in the hostel to use so we made a quick dinner, similar to what we ate in Wittenberg and then ate it in our room. Because the sun didn’t set until about 8:30-9 pm in Germany, my sister and I went off to explore the expansive hotel. When we had first arrived, we noticed that it was quite quirky in its decorations and the actual layout of the house. It turns out, there was a tank in the backyard and hidden door in the wall that opened to a staircase that led down to a basement where Sven had basically created a little mancave, complete with a pool table, disco lights, and a bar.

Before getting ready for bed, we took pictures around the property to remember the place, since it was one of the nicer hostels that we’ve stayed at. We packed up all of our things before bed so that we were ready to leave right away in the morning because we had a 3-hour drive to Berlin to switch out our rental for a van and pick up my cousin and aunt.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #7 - June 13-14: Hamburg to Wittenburg: “Hamburgers” and Luthers Hochzeit Das Fest

June 13 - Hamburg, Germany

We didn’t plan on staying long in Hamburg. In fact, we had planned to go around Hamburg the day before but because we got left behind and had to take a later bus, we only had the morning to go around Hamburg before we had to go to the airport to pick up our rental car at 11. By 8:30 am, we were up and getting ready to head out

Our hotel was conveniently located a 10-minute walk from the city center, so we could take the town on foot. Less than 5 minutes from the hotel was Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, the central station of Hamburg. Central stations in Europe are very different than the central stations in America. The stations are more like malls or even like airports, with many food shops, bakeries, and even some shopping and grocery stores. The train stations in Europe are none like I’ve ever seen. They were so large and looked something out of the past. We grabbed a quick breakfast at the bakery (YUM) and then headed to where some of the older buildings in the city were located.

Because our time in the city was so short, we only chose to go inside the Hamburg City Hall and just walk around everywhere else. The City Hall is where the city’s parliament, senate, and mayor have their seats. The building was first built in 1886 but because of different events in Europe’s history that caused relocations and rebuilding, the current building is now the 6th edition. We wanted to take a guided tour of the place, but we only had an hour and a half to see the rest of the city. Even still, the building was my favorite part of the city. The city itself was gorgeous but City Hall was unlike any city hall that I’ve seen before, and I’ve seen plenty. The halls were large with arched ceilings, everything made from stone or metal and the architecture, both inside and outside were designed in a gothic style.

The courtyard outside of the City Hall faced a waterfront where swans were swimming; we sat there for a little before deciding that we should probably head back to the hotel to pack any last-minute things before figuring out the public transportation to the airport. While we were sitting there, my mom turned and said to us, “If people from Berlin are called Berliners, then that means that people from Hamburg are called Hamburgers”. We could not stop laughing at her comment, especially because my mom is not the kind to make jokes like that.

Lucky for us that the train station was only 5 minutes away because, from the hotel, we had to drag 2 large suitcases and 4 smaller carry-on suitcases to the station where we purchased tickets. The nice thing about Germany was that most, if not all, of the central train stations had a train that would take you to the main airport in that city, which made things very convenient for frugal travelers like my family.

It was a quick 20-minute ride to the airport with only one transfer. The car rental place was located in one of the terminals, but the line was a bit long so I created a little barrier of suitcases around me and closed my eyes while my parents took care of the paperwork; my sister took a video of me, making fun of the fact that I have no trouble falling asleep anywhere. We finally got the keys to the car and told what parking garage it was in. You see, the Germans operate their car rentals differently than Americans: once you finish the paperwork, they hand you the keys and you have to go and find the car; it was strange. The one parking garage was dedicated to the different car companies and was organized accordingly with each space numbered. The car we received was a Volkswagen that looked like a hybrid minivan and car; it was the size of a car but had sliding doors like a van.

Once we documented any damages to the car, we made our way to Wittenburg. Driving on the Autobahn, was quite intimidating but it seemed that the Germans had worked out an unspoken system on the two-lane highway: when someone wants to overtake you, you move to the right to give them the right of way. As we were driving, there was a huge accident: a tanker was on fire. Because it was only a two-lane highway, everyone pulled over on the shoulder or as far over as they could to make way for the ambulances and fire trucks. It was like watching the Red Sea part; they were all so disciplined. We were stuck there for about an hour and when we drove by the truck, it was black and burnt to pieces.

When we finally got to Wittenburg around 7, we had a little bit of trouble finding our Airbnb located outside the main city. When we finally arrived, the owner’s mom let us in and pointed us in the direction of the nearest grocery store so that we could buy ingredients for dinner and snacks for the long drive the next day. We cooked a simple meal of pre-made meatballs with bread and steamed vegetables and then went on a walk around the area. When we got back, my sister took a bubble bath and when she was done, I went to go shower and was shocked to find out that she had finished all of the hot water; my parents and I were not amused. We turned in early because we had to check out early in the morning.

June 14: Wittenburg

In the morning, after a quick breakfast of leftovers and checking out, we packed up the car and drove into the main town to find the church door that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to. As we walked into the center of the town where the church towered over everything, we noticed that a bunch of people were setting up small stalls and were dressed in medieval clothes; it only made the old town seem even older. The music, clothing, food, and even souvenirs were in medieval style. There were so many stalls and such that we didn’t even spot the church door. We had to ask one of the vendors to point us in the right direction; he also informed us that all those stalls were there because it was Luthers Hochzeit Das Fest, or Luther Fest, which was a celebration of Luther’s wedding anniversary with his wife Katharina von Bora. It was a 3-day festival that they held every year; the celebration of the anniversary began after the 700th one in 1993. It just felt like perfect timing that we were there when one of the biggest celebrations of the town was happening.

We took our obligatory pictures in front of the famous church door. In 1760, the Castle Church (All Saints’ Church) was destroyed by a fire during the Seven Years’ War, so when the castle was rebuilt, they constructed an iron door where Luther’s 95 Theses was etched. It was amazing to stand there and think about the fact that God used Luther to change the world at that very spot. A worldwide reformation began there.

Because it is a church, admission inside and around the church was free. It was early enough that there was only one couple inside the church. The inside was so beautiful and we just sat there for a moment to take everything in and reflect on the significance of this church in the history of both the world and Christianity. I really love that we were able to come here and be able to see it all in person.

We also walked around the museum part of the church that told the story of Luther and the Reformation. It was so amazing to be there and to witness where the world began to change. After the church, we walked around the rest of the town. We saw this man ordering a doner sandwich and it looked so good that my mum went and changed some euros so that we could get some. That was the best sandwich ever; I was hooked and I knew that I would eat as many as I could before we had to fly home.

After our yummy snack, we headed down the street to see Luther’s home. My dad and I were so tired and our feet hurt just enough that he and I opted to stay in the lobby while my mom and my sister went around. When they were done, we left and were walking back to the car when we passed this stall that was selling unique jewelry. We were intrigued enough that we stopped by and bought a few earrings and a ring. The vendors were nice enough to let us pay with the American dollar and give us our change in Euros.

By the time we finally left the main town, it was already mid-afternoon and we began our drive to Goslar, 2 /12 hours away.

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Adventure #6 - June 10: Sea Day June 11: Oslo, Norway: The Stinky City June 12: Copenhagen to Hamburg: We got left behind

June 10: Last Sea Day

June 10 was our last sea day of the cruise. Our family spent it like our other days at sea: sleeping in and wandering around the ship, eating from the different bars or buffets. I went to the gym for a little bit to assuage my guilt of overeating every dinner, but for the most part, I spent my day sitting in the piazza reading or on Lido deck reading. The sea days were such nice breaks in between the busy days that we were docked. My dad tends to have a hot head when he’s tired so being able to rest and get away from each other helped a lot in us not getting into any arguments.

That night was cocktail night so we dressed in the last of our fancier outfits and took pictures before dinner (of course). They had a fun greenscreen setup that they partnered with Discovery to do. They had different scenes: Big Foot, Shark Week, and Deadliest Catch.

June 11: Oslo, Norway

Oslo was our last stop and our shortest stop on the cruise; we had to be back on board by 2 pm. In terms of exchange rates, Norway was one of the more expensive countries so we only visited the free places, which worked out for us because those were the places that we had wanted to see the most anyways. Conveniently for us, Akershus Fortress and Castle were right beside where the Regal was docked.

The castle and the fortress were built in the 1300s but was modernized and converted into a Renaissance castle and royal residence during the reign of King Christian the IV in the 1600s. Now, the grounds have become a popular place to host events and concerts. While we were walking around the grounds, we saw a concert set-up where people were practicing for a performance later that night. Many sections that are usually open for tours were closed off because of the event.

Our first stop after the fortress was the Royal Palace on Karl Johans Gate, the main street in Oslo. The Palace is a symbol of Norwegian history, built in 1814, it is home to King Harald V and Queen Sonja. While it is their home, it is also where the king presides over the Council of State, grants audiences, and holds official dinners. In the summer, there are guided tours of the palace but we had already had our fill of palaces in St. Petersburg.

After the palace, we got turned around for a bit and walked around in a circle, but eventually, we were able to find Karl Johans gate again. The first thing that we noticed about the area was that it smelled like garbage. Like it had been in Copenhagen, it happened to be trash day in Oslo. It seemed as if there was a garbage truck on every street we would walk down. The street was lined with popular shopping stores but we high-tailed it out of there, covering our noses from the smell. We found our way to the Norwegian Parliament. We didn’t go inside but we read about and looked at the history of Oslo and the building on the information boards that they had situated in front.

The only other thing that we wanted to see after that was the National Opera House, which was on the bay. The opera house overlooked the city as well as the ocean. Known for its unique white marble architecture, tourists are encouraged to walk on the ceiling of the opera. The roof is slanted on two sides of the building and meet and level out at the top of the building where you can see a panoramic view of the ocean to the city. I had never seen a building like that. Inside, the windows stretched high and looked out onto the sloped section of the roof. It was a bit of a trek to get to the top but it was well worth the view and in the distance, we could spot the Regal.

Afterward, we headed back to the ship with an hour and a half to spare. My sister and I grabbed lunch at the pizzeria located in the center of the ship and agreed that we ordered way too much food at the end of it, having chosen to order two antipasti, a pizza, and a calzone; we still managed to finish it all. We spent the rest of the day in the room and wandering around the ship, before getting ready for dinner.

That night, we had our last dinner sitting next to Nina, Wade, and Fred and said our farewells to our waiters, Alberto and Ukim, as well as some of the other waiters that we made friends with.

We had our usual stint in the karaoke room with the Flores sisters and were joined by our parents. In the end, everyone stood on stage and sang Sweet Caroline and took a group picture. It was quite a momentous moment. Us girls didn’t want the night to end quite yet so we headed to the club in the center of the ship. It was pretty empty and dead when we go there but after putting in a few song requests, we were dancing and enjoying the end of a fun cruise. We said our farewells to the girls, with promises of hanging out if we are ever in the Philippines. Upon getting back to the room, we packed our bags and placed them outside our door, ready to disembark in the morning.

June 12: Copenhagen to Hamburg

After having breakfast and disembarking the ship, we collected our baggage and took a bus to the train station where we would be taking a Flixbus to Hamburg, Germany. We found our way back to the train station easily and sat down until we had to go to our bus. However, we were unaware of how the train and bus system there worked. We didn’t know that the main train station was underground or that the area where the Flixbus was supposed to pull us was not where we were waiting.

As the time to board the bus grew closer, we became more frantic, asking different personnel at the train station where to go. They kept pointing us in different directions and the signs that were posted were unclear. We eventually figured out that the pick-up spot for the buses required us to go downstairs to the train station and then up the other side where we had to cross two streets to get there. We were running, dragging all of our luggage with us. By the time we got there, we found out that our bus had left us and the tickets were non-refundable.

A Dane that worked for the company kindly let us use his phone and helped us buy new bus tickets to Hamburg. We had to sit in the cold, windy weather as we waited for the next bus to come. The ride was 4 hours long and I spent most of my time in and out of sleep as I read. When we finally reached Hamburg, it was a short walk from where we were dropped off to our hotel. The elevator to the top floor was rickety and could only fit two people with luggage at a time, jolting at random moments and almost giving us a heart attack. We settled in fairly quickly and then headed out to get dinner, leaving the windows open because our non-smoking room smelled like smoke. The area we were in had a large population of middle eastern people so there were a lot of shawarma restaurants around; we ate at one of these. After dinner, we stopped by the market to pick up some water and snacks before going back to the room to shower. The shower was a whole other nightmare. There only seemed to be one water temperature: burn-your-skin-off-hot; it was the most painful shower I have ever experienced. We all fell asleep pretty much right away after the exceptionally long and stressful day that we had.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #5: June 7, Tallinn, Estonia: Fortresses, cobbled streets, and herring???? June 8: Sea Day #3 June 9: Warnemunde, Germany: Sausages and Clocks

This stop on the cruise was one of the shortest ones (we had to be back on the ship by 4 pm), so we woke up early to have breakfast so that we could be off the ship as soon as the gangway was open for disembarkment. After purchasing shuttle bus tickets into the city we headed out to see the fortress “Kiek en de Kӧk” that the city was best known for. We got a little turned around for a bit which my dad was upset about for a bit, but eventually, we were able to locate Old Town. It was amazing to see a medieval city so well preserved in the center of a modern city; it was like a small pocket of the past amidst the present. All of sudden the streets were cobblestone instead of cement and we were surrounded by towering walls with watchtowers and old stone buildings.

Tallinn, a trading city on the Baltic Sea dates back to the 13th century and is a registered UNESCO World Heritage site. While Old Town is a historic landmark and a popular place for tourists to visit, it still functions much as it did back in the day with people living and working there as well as having commercial and religious functions.

As we wandered around Lower Old Town, we stumbled upon the entrance to the famed Town Wall. My parents didn’t want to join my sister and I, so we climbed to the top of the wall while they watched for us from down below. The steps were really steep and slightly slippery from years of being worn down by constant foot traffic. While we were up there, we were able to see this gorgeous view overlooking Old Town. We visited the Stout Margaret Tower (Paks Margareeta), a cannon tower that is best known as “Fat Margaret”. They say that the tower got its name from a large cannon that it housed or from a cook named Margaret who used to work there. It was funny going up there with my sister because she is deathly afraid of height. Every time that she thought I got too close to the railing or leaned over too much, she would start freaking out. I definitely got some butterflies in my stomach from how high up we were, but being the younger sister, of course, I had to mess with her a little bit. It’s safe to say that by the time we climbed down, she was stressed and sweaty.

After spending some time on the wall, we walked around for a bit longer, looking at the various highlights on the map before grabbing lunch at this pub. There were so many drinks that we wanted to, and since we were only going to be there for the afternoon, of course, we ordered everything we wanted: juniper beer, a le coq beer, a local pale ale, passion fruit cider, and rhubarb lemonade. We also ordered some herring, something that my dad and I had been wanting to try for a while after seeing it on various travel shows. Herring is a popular dish in Scandanavia and is served many ways, and the one that we wanted to try was raw cured herring. I was not a fan. It was served with fried potato balls and a garlic cream sauce. The flavor was salty and very fishy and a little bit slimy. The funniest bit was watching my sister try it, who is not a fan of fish to begin with. She dunked the smallest piece of fish in the sauce and was writhing as she put it in her mouth; she refused to chew it and then swallowed it whole. In comparison, the savory chicken mushroom cheese pancakes that we ordered were very yummy. They were more like crepes rather than American style pancakes.

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After lunch, we walked around some more, without anything particular in mind. Most of the buildings or landmarks worthy of note were on Toompea Hill, which was actually a bit of a steep walk. In Palace Square, there was Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church built in 1900. It looked so much like the churches that we saw in St. Petersburg.

The highlight of my day was really freaking my sister out while looking out over one of the oldest medieval towns. Next to one of the lower parts of the fortress, my family and I were looking at the Toompea Park down below and I asked my mom to take a picture of me laying on the wall, but my sister got scared and tried to pull me down. My mom got the picture mid-pull. I couldn’t breathe from laughing so hard.

After walking around a hilly, cobbled city, we were pretty tired so we headed to the shuttle so we could go back to the ship. Because we went back to the ship early, we were back in time to make it to tea-time. Princess Cruises has tea time from 3 pm to 4 pm every day. They serve finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, small pastries, and English tea with sugar and cream. On previous cruises, we always looked forward to going to tea time for the scones with clotted cream and jam. After tea time with my parents, I headed up to the pool deck to read outside, then later moved to the piazza in the center of the ship to listen to the string quartet perform.

Our night ended much like it did the other nights. At dinner, we ordered everything new (of course) and then listened to the performers in the piazza before heading to the karaoke lounge.

June 8 - Sea Day #3

Having a sea day after 3 days of non-stop touring, it was nice to be able to sleep in and get some rest. I slept into the afternoon and then grabbed some lunch with my parents. On sea days, there is usually a lot of activities to do on board but I usually like to spend my time reading or watching whatever is on the jumbotron on the pool deck. That evening, they would be hosting the formal night and everyone would dress up in tuxedos and evening gowns. Because we were grabbing dinner with the Flores’, we got ready earlier so we had enough time to take pictures before dinner.

Dinner with them was a riot and we were stuffed full of escargot and lobster. After our usual time at the karaoke lounge, we joined the dance party in the piazza and stayed there until we all headed to bed.

June 9: Warnemunde and Rostock, Germany

Our 9th day on the cruise, we docked in Warnemunde, Germany. Because the ship would be docked until 9 pm that night, we weren’t too fussed about waking up early to head into town. This port was where cruises docked so that passengers could take a bus to Berlin about 2-3 hours away. We already planned on going to Berlin after the cruise so we instead spent our time going around Warnemunde and Rostock, a 15-minute train ride from the port city.

We started our day off going to Rostock. Rostock is a Hanseatic City that is considered often referred to as the “Gateway to the North”. True to its description of being a quaint town, many of the buildings were in an older style and just overall, very European-looking. We didn’t really know too much about the city before coming here, so we spent most of our time wandering around. There were a bunch of clothing and shoe stores lined along the way, however, because it was Sunday, almost everything was closed and the city seemed a little deserted.

As we walked around, we spotted a food stand selling sausages and currywurst, both of which I am a big fan of. My aunt married a German, so growing up, I ate a lot of German food because I was always spending time with my cousins, so of course, when I saw the sign of currywurst I had to get some. Currywurst is basically sliced sausage topped with curry powder that you dip in curry ketchup; we also ordered a Rostocker, the local sausage. We were shocked when the man handed us the Rostocker because the sausage was ginormous but the bread it was served in was the size of a dinner roll. I didn’t end up liking the Rostocker because it was so porky, but the currywurst was quite tasty.

We wandered into one of the older, larger churches, Saint Marien-Kirche, where we stumbled upon my favorite thing that day: The Astronomic Clock of 1472. The clock was built by Hans Düringer, a master clocksmith from Nuremberg. The clock shows, hours, days, months, years, phases of the sun and moon, and the Zodiac. The clock had computation of the dates of Easter up until 2017 but was updated in 2018 to add on more years. This is the oldest and last working astronomical clock from the Middle Ages that still tell the time, date, and more. The highlight of the clock is at noon when there is a procession by the Apostles. The Apostles circle Christ, then file through a door that is supposed to represent heaven, and just before Judas enters, the doors close and he is left outside. It was so cool that we were actually there at noon when the procession occurred.

After our time at the church, we headed back to Warnemunde to wander around there as well. It was a cute coastal town with restaurants and cafes up and down the marina. We wandered in and out of some of the shops that were open and tried fried fish sandwiches at one of the boats docked there.

By 4 pm we were done walking around and headed back to the ship to get a little bit of rest before dinner, which was, as usual, very filling and entertaining.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #4: June 6, St. Petersburg Day 2: all the art you could ever desire

Our morning began with a quick breakfast on the ship and then Olga and Sergei picked us up at 8:30 am to take us on a driving tour of the Neva river before we followed it with a river cruise. Our first stop of the day was along the banks of the Neva where there were two large sphinxes. It didn’t seem like much until Olga told us that the sphinxes were original sphinxes from ancient Egypt that were about 3,500 years old. Of all the places I thought that I would see a relic from ancient Egypt, outside in Russia was the last place I would think of. They were bought by Nicholas I in the 1830s and they have sat there since. There is a discussion about bringing them to be displayed in the Hermitage to protect them from the harsh weather of Russia but as of now they still reside outside.

After the sphinxes, we headed to where we were going to board a river cruise on the Neva River. The boat was tiny and most of the seating were metal chairs sitting under the sun and I was the only one in my family that opted to see the cruise outside. Taking the river cruise was an awesome way to see St. Petersburg because the river runs through a lot of the main parts of the city and has hundreds of bridges connecting various parts of the city. St. Petersburg is considered the Venice of the North. There are many small canals and one of the bridges that we went under, we actually had to duck lest we hit our heads. Most of these bridges were built during the time of Imperial Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. On the cruise, our guide pointed out various landmarks that you could see along the banks of the river; she even pointed out people that were sunbathing along the banks, which was uncommon since it was rare that the weather was in the 90s in Russia.

Neva River - 10 am

Once our river cruise was over, we headed to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, which used to be the main church and largest cathedral in Russia. It was built in 1818 and took 40 years to complete. It is most impressive because of its large golden dome. The dome, 21.8 meters high, took more than 100 kilos of gold leaf to cover. The large pillars, weighing about 80 tons each, on the outside of the cathedral were erected using a special pulley system. Everything about this church was massive: the dome, pillars, doorways, windows, and even the artwork. Many of the carvings on the columns inside were gilded and the walls and ceilings were decorated with large mosaics and paintings depicting different saints and scenes in the Bible. While it is still a church, it mostly serves as a museum and has services only on significant religious holidays.

Under the main dome - 11:30 am

As we were leaving the Hermitage our group joked with Olga that she was a magical tour guide with perfect time because while we walked to meet our tour bus, 3 large tour buses were arriving to join the already massive line to enter the museum. While all those people waited to go inside the museum, we went to go have a typical Russian lunch. We were served a cabbage salad paired with borscht, a soup usually made from beets and cabbage, for our appetizer. Our main course was chicken kiev, a flattened piece of chicken breast that is breaded and fried, with mashed potatoes. My favorite was the borscht, which was surprising to me because I detest beets, but you could hardly taste them in this soup. We finished our meal up with some Russian coffee which was super strong.

Borscht soup with brown bread - 12:30 pm

The State Hermitage Museum along the Palace Embankment was right after lunch. This museum is the second largest one after the Lourve and is a highly respected art museum, housing roughly 3 million items of priceless art from all over the world over many different centuries. The collection of the Hermitage began in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased 255 paintings from Berlin and continued to grow her collection. The main facade of the Hermitage is the Winter Palace, which used to be the home of the royal families of Russia for almost 200 years. However, the whole museum is made up of six buildings, 5 of which are open to the public: the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, and Hermitage Theatre. It was opened to the public in 1852 and became public property after the October Revolution of 1917, after which its collections were expanded in the 1920s and again after WWII. Because this museum was created using the old homes of royals, of course, many parts of the museum were ornately decorated and still maintained to look like how it did before, like the throne room and ballrooms.

This museum is one of the busiest with thousands of people visiting every day; of the five open buildings, we went to the Small Hermitage and the New Hermitage. The New Hermitage houses paintings, sculptures, and other art from 15th and 16th century Italy, including the Raphael Hall where they have many of Raphael’s works ranging from the beginning of his career to the end of it.

I would say that going to the Hermitage was the highlight of my day. I’ve always loved art and going to museums to see them, and to think that so many centuries and cultures were compiled and put on display is simply amazing. What shocked me the most was that none of the priceless paintings were properly protected. There was light streaming in from the open windows directly on the paintings and the air was not controlled so the paintings were exposed to the humidity outside. People could step as close to painting as they wanted; the palaces were better protected and maintained than the artwork here! For a place that houses thousands of paintings by renowned artists, I just couldn’t believe that the artwork wasn’t very cared for. Although the collection of paintings was stunning, my favorite exhibit was the Peacock Clock, built in 1777 and still working today. The golden clock is housed in a gold and glass cage with a peacock perched on a tree with a rooster and an owl on either side of it as well as various small animals scattered around. When the clock chimes on the hour, it begins with the owl turns its head and the peacock turns and opens its tail feathers to display a fan of gold and ends with the rooster crowing; this display is supposed to represent the end of the night and the rise of the sun to show the continuity of life. The clock is only winded once a week and unfortunately, we missed the show by just one day so we only saw the display in a short video the museum provides.

Peacock Clock - 1 pm

As we were leaving the museum, we joked with Olga that she was magical and timed everything perfectly because there was a ginormous crowd waiting to enter the museum as more tour buses arrived to join the line. While those people waited in that monstrous line, we stopped by a souvenir store before heading to The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, also known as The Church of Resurrection or “Savior on Spilled Blood”.

The church was built in memory of Tsar Alexander II and was named so because the church stands where he was murdered in 1881 when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. It took 24 years to complete the church and is best known for having jeweled-looking domes that are colorful; this decorative style is much like the Kremlin in Moscow. Unfortunately, the main dome was under renovation while we were there, so we couldn’t see the building in its full beauty.

Just like all of the other places we’d seen in St. Petersburg, the inside of the church was opulent. There were saints and religious reliefs, mosaics, and paintings everywhere: the columns, the arches, the ceilings, the walls, and of course, everything was accented with gold.

Interior of The Savior on Spilled Blood - 4 pm

After leaving the church, we headed back to the port to say our goodbyes to Olga (in the stripes) and Sergei (not pictured).

After a long day in the hot sun, we unwinded in the room and then prepared for our nightly dinner at the fine dining with our waiter Alberto. Almost every single night of the cruise we sat in his section, getting to know him well, as well as a couple, Nina and Wade, and their church friend Fred. Wade has Alzheimers and Fred is an old widower and both were hard of hearing, so during dinner, Nina kept leaning over to tell us stories of her having to wrangle two old men both during the tours and around the ship. It was such a fun dinner. Afterward, my sister and I enjoyed the rest of the night in the karaoke room, bumping into Isabella and Lousie, before heading to bed.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #3: St. Petersburg June 5 - “60 days of nice weather and you came on the 2 hottest”

June 5th and 6th of the cruise were spent docked in the ports of St. Peterburg, Russia because the city was too big to properly see in one day. There were special visa laws that only allowed passengers of the ship to legally be in Russia for the two days that the cruise was in the port and in addition to that, it was mandatory to book a tour with a company or through Princess Cruises. To save some money, we booked with a tour company that placed us on a tour with 8 other people. In the other cities we had visited before this, we didn’t focus too much on the history and significance of the places that we visited. However, because this was a guided tour, we had a barrage of information thrown at us in a matter of only two days.

Upon leaving the ship, we were required to go through Russian immigration and customs; the Russian officers were very stoic and a little bit scary. Once our full tour group had gathered, Olga, our tour guide for the next two days, passed out our listening devices and took us to our first stop, the train station. St. Petersburg is a large city with an elaborate underground system that was decorated with intricate carvings and beautiful architecture. We were dropped off at Narvskaya station where we took a short train ride to Avtovo station where we were greeted with marble columns and columns ornately decorated with glass in images of the Soviet Union and a large chandelier in the center...at the train station!!! Olga informed us that the different stations in St. Petersburg were decorated with a theme in mind. The Avtovo station’s theme is the defense of Leningrad during the Siege of WII.

After our little adventure in a Russian train station, our bus driver, Sergei, picked us up and we headed for Peterhof Palace in Petergof, about 45 minutes from the main city. As we rode there, Olga told us a little about the palace as I drifted in and out of sleep, still fighting my jet lag.

After arriving, we waited in front of the gates of the palace while waiting for Olga to pick up the tickets. Now, when we were preparing for this trip, we thought that because it was the end of spring, it would still be a little cold so we packed thicker clothing, mostly pants and clothes that could be layered. As we stood in a hot blanket of humidity, baking under the sun that only seemed to get hotter by the second, Olga came back with tickets in hand and led us through the gates to see the gardens of the palace. As we were walking, Olga was telling us that the weather was strange because most of the year, it is cold in Russia, but in the summer there are 60 days of good weather that is just right and we happened to come on the two hottest days.

As we strolled through the elaborate gardens, Olga informed us that Peterhof Palace, commissioned by Peter the Great, was a summer palace that was designed after the Palace of Versailles. He had extensive gardens and parks built with large, ornate fountains with gilded figures depicting different scenes from Roman or Greek mythology. The most notable thing about the palace gardens was the Grand Cascade right in front of the main palace. There were bronze statues, busts, vases, grand stairs, grottos, and more decorating the picturesque ensemble. There were so many people that day that everywhere was crowded and loud, making it difficult to really enjoy the cascade in its entirety. It was difficult not to get annoyed because so many of the Chinese tourists were very inconsiderate of the people around them, pushing people aside and not respecting personal space. My family and most of our tour group just took our pictures from a distance to avoid the huge crowds.

After the cascade, Olga took us to Peter’s extensive gardens and pointed out the various landmarks and buildings that Peter the Great and the royal family, as well as friends and dignitaries, would stay or have activities around the park. It was crazy to think about how obsessed rulers with displaying their wealth and power through the grandeur of their palaces and gardens. By the time we were done with Peterhof, we had shed as many layers as we could and were feeling tired and exhausted.

Sergei picked us up and we headed to the small meat pie shop to have a quick lunch before heading to Catherine Palace. I have no idea what those meat pies were called but they were delicious. We ordered a mushroom one, a chicken one, and a beef one. I’ve never had meat pies that good before. We proceeded to inhale our food so that we could rush to make it to Catherine Palace before it closed.

It was lucky that we all ate so quickly because we arrived at the palace gates only two minutes before they were closing admittance for the day. A lot of being let into the palace so late was because the people who managed the ticketing knew Olga and held the gates for her. It also just so happened that because the museum was going to close soon, it was virtually empty, giving us the whole place to ourselves.

We were given little booties to wear over our shoes to protect the floor of the palace since a lot of the flooring was still the original from 1717. The palace was painted this cute doll-house blue and trimmed with yellow and gold accents. While the outsides of the palace was not overtly ornate, the insides of the palace were the opposite. The rooms were designed baroque style, with intricate wooden carvings and moldings that were all gilded. Everywhere you looked, there were gold and expensive-looking decorations that were almost over-the-top. The palace was built for Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great, to be a home to visit in the summer to get out of St. Petersburg when the royal family didn’t want to be at their main home, the Winter Palace.

My favorite parts about the palace were the ballroom and the famous Amber Room. The ballroom was this large room with large windows and mirrors both trimmed with gold moldings and a mural on the ceiling. This ballroom is what the ballroom in the animated movie Anastasia was based on when Anastasia is dancing with her father. It was so cool to see something out of one of my favorite childhood movies in person.

The Amber Room was the only place in the palace that we were not allowed to take pictures but it was so beautiful. The room was a gift from Frederick William I, king of Prussia, to Peter the Great and was initially installed at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The entire room was made from amber including the walls and mosaics. Years later, Peter’s daughter Elizabeth had it move to Catherine Palace in Pushkin where they made the room bigger using additional amber from Berlin. The room was looted by the Nazis during WWII and the crates that it was packed into went missing. In 1979, Russia began to restore a replica of the room; it took 25 years to complete. At first glance, the room looks like it is warm and glowing and the amber looks cohesive, but upon closer inspection, you can see that different pieces of different types of amber were put together to create the room. I would have never thought to create walls and mosaics from amber but it was such a sight to see!

After our visit to Catherine Palace, our tour group was taken back to the ship for the rest of the day. We were back on the ship by 4 pm. It was nice to get a little bit of rest before dinner so I changed into my swimsuit and took a dip in the hot tub while a taping of an orchestral concert conducted by John Williams played on the jumbotron. After a relaxing time in the jacuzzi, I headed back to the room to get ready for dinner at 8 with the Flores family, who we befriended in Sweden.

One of my favorite things about cruising is the food. The reason that we ate at the fine dining every night is that every night, the menu changes and each dish is so delicious. So of course, that night we spent our night like all of our other nights onboard, we went to dinner and ordered every dish at least once. My family is big on food and trying new things, so usually, when we went to dinner, we would all order something different and try each other’s plates. It was quite funny to see the reaction of our waiter, Alberto, and the Flores’ as we ordered everything and managed to put it away every single night. It was actually a really fun time to grab dinner with people we didn’t know well. We became fast friends and they ended up being who we would hang out with every night after dinner.

After dinner, my sister and I joined by the two Flores girls, Isabella and Louise, we headed to the karaoke lounge. We were able to convince my sister to go on stage and sing to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. We all stayed until karaoke was finished for the night then headed back to our rooms, ready for an early morning.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #2 - June 3&4: Stockholm, Sweden: always expect something to go wrong; and Helsinki, Finland: best meatballs ever

On the morning of June 3, Monday, we woke up to the ship docking in Nynäshamn, Sweden, just 45 minutes outside of Stockholm by train. After purchasing 24-hour transportation tickets and riding into the city, we set out to walk around Gamla Stan (Old Town). It took us a bit of figuring out, but we were able to locate Old Town where we found small, quaint cobblestone streets surrounded by medieval buildings and small stores.

Old Town paradise

Old Town - 11 am

There wasn’t anything in particular that we wanted to see in Old Town, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We saw the outside of the Nobel Museum and roamed around the outside of Kungliga Slottet, or the Royal Palace. We even took pictures with the guards!

Lion statues at the entryway to the palace grounds

Guard at the Royal Palace

After walking around Old Town, we grabbed a quick lunch and then made our way to the train station to head to the Vasa Museum, something that my mum had really wanted to go to since she had seen it on an old Rick Steves travel show. A short tram ride later, we were at the Vasa Museum, seeing a great Swedish ship that lasted the test of time.

The Vasa was a warship built in 1626 and completed in 1628. The Swedish king, called the “Lion of the North”, commissioned the ship to show neighboring kingdoms and their enemies the formidable power of the Swedish Navy. It’s a majestic ship that was well decorated with intricate carvings and bright paints, and even featured a large gilded lion as the figurehead at the bow of the ship. On the day that it set sail, everyone in Stockholm came to see the ship off, looking at two levels of gundecks with all of the open gunports to show off the canons that were firing in honor of the king. Fifteen minutes into its maiden voyage, there was a gust of wind that leaned the ship to the left and water flooded into the gunports. The crew tried to pull the canons back but they were too late and the ship sank only 120 meters from land. The ship had been too tall but not bottom-heavy or wide enough, causing the ship to tip over and sink (226 ft long and 172 ft tall).

In 1956 divers discovered the ship at the bottom of the ocean, sitting upright and looking almost untouched. 3 years later they began trying to free the ship from the mud and bring it closer to the shore. It was in April 1961 that the Vasa was finally pulled up out of the water after 333 years at the bottom of the ocean. The ship’s bolts (5,000 of them) had to be replaced underwater before they could bring it up out of the water and once again in the early 2000s due to severe rusting. It was a long process cleaning the ship but eventually, it was displayed to the public. Some parts of the ship had to be replaced but 98% of the ship is still original. As we wandered around the museum, it was amazing to see the grandeur of the ship, and I can only imagine what it looked like on the day that it set off. There were 7 different floors to view the ship on, and each level had different artifacts that they had recovered from the ship, including skeletons of crew members. While I had a lot of fun in Gamla Stan, the Vasa was my favorite part of the day. It is so amazing to think that something from the 1600s was submerged for more than 300 years and is still so intact and well preserved, giving us an insight into Swedish life in the 1600s.

After the museum, we were pretty tired and the midday jet lag feeling was starting to set in, so we made our way back to the main station. My sister, having kept quiet during our trek back, was suddenly upset that we still had 3 hours to explore and were already heading back to the Regal. She decided that she was going to go find the underground train caves and stomped off, causing us to miss the train back to Nynȁshamn. Eventually, she came back and we took the next train, meeting a family from the Philippines while we waited. We all boarded the train together and were sitting happily when all of a sudden, the train stops at a station and tells everyone on board to get off because the tracks were closed. We only had a little over an hour to get back before the ship was scheduled to leave. Everyone was saying that our only option was to take an expensive taxi to get to the ship because taking the public bus to Nynȁshamn would make us miss the ship. We still took our chances and hopped on a bus, overcrowded with fellow cruisegoers that were trying to get back to the ship too. While we were on the bus, we passed a bunch of police cars next to the railroad tracks and the driver told us that someone had tried to commit suicide and that was why the tracks were shut down.

The bus driver dropped us off at the next train station where we saw that a train was waiting, and after asking around a bit, the locals said that the tracks were open from that point forward and the bus was departing soon. The 9 of us rode the train back, anxiously checking the time to make sure that we weren’t going to miss the ship. When we got to Nynȁshamn, a man was ushering us onto a big tour bus, telling us that the cruise ship had sent buses to shuttle people because they heard what happened with the trains. We made it back to the ship safely and with minutes to spare.

We spent the rest of the night unwinding after a long, eventful day. The cruise had given us complimentary dining at one of the paid specialty dining restaurants on the ship. It was this fancy Italian restaurant with handmade pastas and specialty dishes that were delicious. However, it happened to be a really choppy night at sea and I was feeling a bit green. The food was so delicious and had it been any other night I would definitely be enjoying every single delectable bite, but I was so queasy that I was having trouble finishing my food, let alone keeping it down. I sped through my courses as quickly as I could and only took a bite before I needed to go lie down. I took a shower, some seasickness medicine and headed straight to sleep.

June 4 - Helsinki, Finland

The next morning, we woke up bright and early in Helsinki, Finland. We promptly ate breakfast at the buffet and then headed out for the day. We bought tickets to a 4-stop shuttle and set out to the first stop on the route.

We ended up at Helsinki’s Market Square, their version of a farmer’s market. There were stores set up along the waterfront selling various handmade goods, food, fruit, and vegetables. There were also many outdoor cafes in the surrounding area, but we chose to venture through the Market and boy oh boy were we not disappointed. The vendors were extremely kind and friendly, used to seeing American tourists wandering around. At one of the stalls, we found some delicious looking fruit and decided to buy some. I had never had blueberries that were so sweet and juicy but also so big. Some of them the size of my thumb!

Blueberries from the Market Square - 10 am

After our snack of yummy blueberries, our noses drew us to a series of stalls selling local Finnish food, like fish or meatballs served with finger potatoes and different sauces. We chose to order something a little daring, moose meatballs. We also ordered a plate of these small fried fish called vendace. Both were served with potatoes and veggies with this delicious garlic cream sauce that I still have dreams about. That was the best lunch of the trip so far!! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the meatballs, especially because I expected them to be gamey in taste.

Moose meatballs from the Market Square - 12 pm

After Market Square, we wandered around the area without any particular destination set in our minds. We happened upon the Uspenski Cathedral which looked nice on the outside but was rather unimpressive on the inside. After the cathedral, we next entered the City Museum which seemed to be more for children, but that didn’t stop me and my sister from having loads of fun there. While the history of the city was interactive, I didn’t retain much of what we read and saw.

For the most part, we stopped at popular spots in Helsinki and took pictures, not taking too much care to know or understand the significance of the spots. We saw the Senate Square and the Helsinki Cathedral. We saw the outside of the Temppeliaukio (Rock Church) but didn’t care to pay to go inside. We also saw the Sibelius Monument, which I quite liked because of its artistic structure. After visiting the monument, we walked around the area for a while and then headed back to the ship.

Helsinki Cathedral

Sibelius Monument

We were back on the ship by 4:30 pm and grabbing dinner at the fine dining by 6 pm. Like every night that cruise photography, we had some family pictures taken. After dinner, I sat at the Piazza and listened to some of the performer’s music for a while before heading up to the Lido deck to watch a movie under the stars.

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its-abroad-world · 4 years

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Adventure #1 - May 30/31/June 1&2: LA, Heathrow, Copenhagen, and The Regal Princess: The Start of a Journey

When you travel as much as my family does, you get really good at it; squishing everything you can into your luggage, the long travel times, sleep deprivation, time zone changes, jet lag.

For as long as I can remember, my family has taken a trip every summer. We started off with road trips around America and then later moved on to trips to other countries. Since then, we have been to almost all 50 states and over 20 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. My mum decided to take a cruise on the Baltic Seas and then take a road trip around Germany after the cruise. We figured out a long time ago that cruising is the best way to travel because you’re essentially living on a floating hotel with gourmet food and turndown service; the next morning, you’re in a new destination; if you do it right, you really get your money’s worth!

On May 30, we began our day hurriedly packing and repacking our luggage. The week leading up to the trip, we had family visiting from the Philippines and were too busy taking her out to focus on packing. I do not recommend this; you’ll forget to bring a lot of things. This trip was the first trip that we were extremely underprepared for and we were mostly winging our itinerary.

May 30, packing up the car to head to the airport

Growing up with parents that felt the need to have a big family vacation at least once a year means that I have grown to love (and hate) traveling. For example, I love having the opportunity to experience a new country and culture, but I hate the flight that you have to take to get to that country; in this case, we were flying from LAX to London Heathrow to Copenhagen. We’re quite used to flying long flights so a 10-hour flight was nothing: my parents fell asleep almost as soon as we were seated on the plane, and my sister and I spent the whole flight watching movies and drifting in and out of sleep. Through years of experience, I’ve found that on a flight with a stopover, you should sleep on the first flight and not on the second if you are arriving in the morning; you won’t be super jetlagged.

Before we left for the trip, we were booking all of our hotels and AirBnBs, only to find that the Danish Kroner was much bigger than the US dollar and would cost us $300 for one night at the cheapest hotel. In frugal Asian speak, this means that you spend the night at the airport after about 24 hours of traveling -- it’s kind of the worst feeling. We arrived at 11 pm but could not check in to board the ship until 10 am, so we spent the night tossing and turning on unforgivingly hard airport chairs, unable to actually stay fully awake or get any actual sleep.

June 1 At about 6 AM, feeling too cooped and restless just staying in the airport, we bought bus tickets and headed out with high expectations and excitement for Copenhagen. It was one of the cities that we had wanted to go for a long time; suffice to say, it did not live up to our expectations. Just walking out of the airport, the city smelled awful; it seemed to be garbage day (of course) and it looked as if the city had spent the night partying and littering in the streets. We took the bus to the main train station where we used these traveler’s lockers beneath the main terminal of the station to store our suitcases. Priced at about $11, it was very helpful to have somewhere to store large suitcases while roaming the city. While walking down the street to find breakfast, we noticed that there were still clubs open at 6 am and drunk people were stumbling out and finishing their beers on the sidewalk; it was definitely unlike anything we have seen in Europe. The only food store that we found that was open was McDonald’s which was a treat to us because for some reason American fast food always seems to be better in other countries; McDonald’s in Denmark did not disappoint.

June 1, our first taste of Denmark

We finished eating around 7:30 AM and spent the rest of the morning walking through the city, exploring whatever places were free and open, which meant we mostly looked at the outsides of buildings. We got to see the Christiansborg Palace, where Denmark’s Supreme Court, The Prime Minister’s office, and the Danish Parliament are all held. While we were walking through the palace grounds, we happened upon the gardens in front of the library and all of the flowers were in full bloom. So pretty!! None of us were really paying attention to the buildings around even though we fully should have because at that point, we had been awake for more than 24 hours and were starting to feel a little under the weather. We all gave up trying to see more of the city and headed back to the train station to just sit and rest until we could begin making our way to the cruise ship.

It took some figuring out but we were able to figure out the public transportation to get to the cruise terminal. The process of going through security and checking in was fairly quick. While we were checking in, the cruise personnel informed us that our room had been upgraded to a family suite with a balcony at the front of the ship on the 15th (Lido Deck) floor. As soon as we got to the room, we all took naps, really starting to feel a cold coming on; we slept through lunch and the beginning of the festivities of the launch party. We had a quick dinner at the buffet and went to sleep right after.

View from our stateroom balcony

June 2 The next day, June 2, sea-day #1, we spent resting in bed. Three out of the four of us were sick with a cough and cold and all four of us were extremely jetlagged. It was nice to get some rest and relaxation in and we spent most of the day resting in bed or roaming around the ship to see what activities were going on.

After taking a look at the cruise’s itinerary for the day, we realized that Captain’s Night, a formal night where the captain and his crew are introduced to the guests of the ship at a big party, was that night. This was a bit strange because on previous cruises that we had been on, Captain’s Night was always in the middle of the cruise. This cruise was a little different because not everyone on the ship had the same embarkation and disembarkation dates. While it was strange to us, we got ready quickly and headed downstairs to where the party was; my dad opted to stay in bed and order room service. We took pictures at the professional booths, then had dinner in the formal dining. Most of the night was just such a blur because we were all a little seasick, jetlagged, and on cold medicine. We ate a three-course meal as quickly as possible and headed straight to the room to sleep right after.

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