Part 2: Just Czeching some more places off my “Want to Travel” list (Prague & Amsterdam)

Kelsie, Matt, Andy (or Glue as we call him), and I all arrived in Prague on Monday evening and trekked to the hostel with all our stuff. We got slightly lost on the way there, but finally made it. The hostel we stayed in – Sir Toby’s – was amazing. Not only was the staff super nice, but the rooms were spacious, clean, and the breakfast (only 4 euro) was delicious. And it was cheap! Best decision to room there. The first morning we were there we went on an “off the beaten track” tour of the Castle district of Prague with one of the guys at the front desk, Richard. The tour was great and even though it was a very overcast day, I quickly fell in love with the city. 

The outside of a little café we passed – it was really pretty with all the fallen leaves. 

I honestly don’t remember what this building was but it was in the Castle district and the outside was quite pretty.   

Everywhere we turned we bombarded with fall images – some of the leaves were just starting to turn and fall off the trees, which didn’t happen as much in Denmark. Needless to say it reminded me of home in October. 

Petrin tower. We didn’t actually go up to the top since Richard told us we could a great view from another spot as well so we didn’t have to pay. The architecture certainly reminded us all of the Eiffel Tower. 

View of Prague with Prague Castle in the background. Stunning (even when overcast)! 

One of the sights we all really wanted to see was the Lennon Wall. The Lennon Wall is a wall in Prague that is filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and art as well as lyrics. I took a few pictures of my favorite parts, including this one from the song. 

MUSIC NEVER DIES...so true. 

Matt and Glue signing the Lennon Wall. One of my favorite pictures of the entire trip for sure. 

More locks! 

On our way back to the tram station we stopped to see this creepy alien babies that are just chilling in a park by Petrin. Of course we had to jump on the opportunity to take some hilarious pictures. 

The park by Petrin is also very close to the Charles Bridge (absolutely beautiful at night) and we were just standing by the railing appreciating the beauty. The penguins were a nice little addition. 

Trdelnik, a sweet pastry, is basically just dough that is rolled around a stick and then grilled and topped with copious amounts of cinnamon sugar and nuts. We all know how much I love cinnamon sugar and this dessert definitely lived up to my expectations. 

This was a picture of Old Town Square that reminded me so much of fall at home. I wanted to go jump and play in the leaves!

We ate at this amazing vegetarian restaurant – Lehka Hlava. It was the most hyggeligt experience of the entire break. Not only was the food delicious, but the ceiling had little lights as stars and it was dimly lit with a little flower and candle for each table. It also happened to be quite cold that day, so we stayed a while after finishing lunch just so we could chat and stay warm. The best. 

Karlovy Lazne – the biggest music club in central Europe. Enough said. We went on our last night and it was an absolute blast. It has 5 floors (only 3 were open because it was a random Wednesday). My favorites were obviously Oldies and Dance music.

Old Town at night is a magical sight.  

This is the infamous “I amsterdam" sign where we took numerous pictures (see Facebook). I think the best part was climbing up to sit on top of the m and then getting stuck between the a and m as I tried to get down. Typical.

After seeing the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh museum, Matt, Glue, Kelsie and I hit up the Heineken brewery for the “Heineken Experience.” For only 16 euros we got 2 free beers, a beer tasting, and a ride (it was actually just us standing on a moving platform as we were “made into the beer”...lame, but funny). 

Amen?

All the different Heineken bottles. I’d never seen of these before so it was kind of cool to read what they were all for and how many of each were produced. Who knew beer history could be so interesting?

The second night that we went out in Amsterdam we stumbled upon this drumming band in the middle of the square by our hostel. I was so excited and insisted on taking pictures and videos while my friends looked on rolling their eyes. 

A man of mirrors! Luckily we ran away super quickly after taking this picture so we didn’t have to pay.

Hello Amsterdam! We met up with Becca and Sarah (two of my friends at Bowdoin) – it was so great to see them. We also ran into two other kids from Bowdoin as we were walking back to our hostel. It is such a small world and traveling throughout Europe has only made me even more aware of that (also ran into my Danish teacher and a bunch of people from my DIS program). 

The Bulldog...there were so many coffee shops all throughout Amsterdam it was crazy. You could smell them from miles away (literally). 

Pretty Amsterdam! All the little canals reminded me of Denmark, which made it a nice transition to come back home here. 

On our last day in Amsterdam we went on a bus tour to three different cities. This was the first where we enjoyed hot chocolate and a beautiful view of the water. 

Sarah and I spotted these waffles right before we left to get on the bus and we couldn’t resist. We got one with chocolate and strawberries. It was possibly the best waffle I’ve ever had (but no I’ve never had Belgian waffles). 

This was our second stop where we watched as a guy explained how to make traditional Dutch clogs. I honestly do not understand how people wear them since they appear to be 100% uncomfortable, but hey...to each his own. Plus there were some really pretty ones around the shop.

Our last stop included windmills and a cheese tasting. The scenery was stunning – everything was so green (sometimes it even seemed fake). 

Cheese factory! A woman explained how the cheese was made and then we had the pleasure of tasting 15 different kinds of cheese. Clearly I went back through the line approximately 3 times. One of my favorites was sheep cheese – omnomnom.

Phew. I’m just as exhausted captioning all these as I was being there. That’s all for now! 

Part 1: The Stogsdill Family Takes Europe (Paris & Italy)

I just returned from my whirlwind 2-week vacation throughout Europe. After taking my Danish oral midterm on Friday afternoon I hopped on a plane with Jennifer and Kelsie to Paris. We arrived in the evening and made our way into the city to stay at my friend Evan’s apartment for the night. The next day I met up with my parents and brother! We spent a few more days in Paris and then ventured to Venice, Cinque Terre, and Rome for the rest of the week. Post-eurotripping with the family, I met up with Kelsie and two of my friends from Bowdoin and we explored Prague and Amsterdam for the second week. There a lot of pictures so if you make it to the end of this...props. It was a fantastic (and totally exhausting) two weeks – so great to see my parents, to explore so many amazing places, and to travel with my friends.  

My parents arrived on Saturday morning and before I met up with them (and before Matt arrived) they wandered around the Luxembourg Gardens by our hotel. 

Meet Skype, the adorable and playful cat who lives at Hotel St. Paul. He became our new best friend for 3 days. He loved coming into the room and hiding in the desk or just sitting in the shower. One night he even played with my dirty tissue...I’ve been animal deprived for the past 3 months so it was great to have Skype around.

We tried to visit the Catacombs, but the line was infinitely long so we instead we went to Cimitière de Montparnasse. 

 

The graves were beautiful, especially with all the trees around it – the most notable was probably Jean Paul Sartre. People left all kinds of things on the graves – letters, pictures, and Metro tickets.

My friend Eliza (from Bowdoin) is studying abroad in Toulouse, France and happened to be traveling to Paris with her program so we were able to meet up. It was so great to see her! 

Our next stop was the Champs-Elysées and L’Arc de Triomphe. 

This is the view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Also, funny story...I was under the distinct impression that the only way to cross the roundabout to get to the Arc was to cross the road and pray cars didn’t hit you. I found out soon after risking my life and crossing that there is an underpass. Oops. At least it was an adrenaline rush! 

This was a cute little French restaurant we my parents and I went to with Eliza (Matt was too sick with the flu for the few days to join in the fun...so unfortunate). The waiter at this place was so classically rude. But the food was good! 

The Eiffel Tower by day...

The Eiffel Tower by night...We made sure to time it right so we could see it light up – it does so on the hour every hour for about 5 minutes. It was so much more beautiful at night. 

As we walked to the Louvre for our tour, we crossed this bridge and it was so pretty so I made us stop so I could snap a picture. 

The Mona Lisa. (In all honesty...slightly underwhelming. But cool to say I’ve seen it!)

My dad and I outside the Louvre after our tour. We were a bit tired after walking for 3 hours and hearing all the stories about each piece of artwork, but ready to see Notre Dame. 

And voila! Notre Dame. After the Louvre my parents went back to retrieve Matt from the hotel and bring him back to tour the inside of Notre Dame. Meanwhile I wandered around the streets of Paris and explored.

I’ve never been a big fan of macaroons, but I tried one in Paris and it was delicious. I had to keep going back to a store by our hotel to get coconut macaroons...I just couldn’t resist.

The day my parents and Matt arrived in Paris, my friends and I abandoned them after dinner to go to the Pitchfork Music Festival where Bon Iver was headlining. He was AMAZING. Legitimately. 

On every bridge that we crossed there were always locks hanging from the railings. They’re supposed to signify everlasting love and they always looked so pretty glistening in the sun.

Apple Store in the Louvre. That’s normal. 

Just a pretty fountain outside of the Paris City Hall that I stumbled upon while wandering and waiting for my parents and Matt to return. 

Our last night in Paris we took a boat tour on the Seine. Seeing everything at night was gorgeous (though most of the pictures were blurry), but my fingers were frozen from the cold by the end. Luckily we got a classic French meal afterwards in a hole in the wall restaurant that Eliza found. 

One of my first glimpses of Venice as we sat on the water boat on the way to our hotel.

Our hotel was so nice - each room got a complimentary champagne bottle which we proceeded to take with us on the train the next day. A nice little treat. 

From the airport we got a ride in a van and then a water taxi to our hotel. Just casually arrived by boat and climbed through the water gate. LOVE.

Venice! We were only there for less than 24 hours, but we had our first taste of delicious Italian pasta, took a Gondola ride on the canals at night, and took a walking tour of the city. It was quite the adventure. 

After dinner at an amazing restaurant, my mom and I walked around the city before heading back to the hotel for bed. We wandered around San Marco Piazza, which was wicked pretty at night. 

This is the clock tower in San Marco Piazza. It took us a little while to figure out how to read it, but we eventually got it. 

Venetian canals...just as pretty as all the pictures I've seen depicted.

We never got a chance to go to the islands off Venice because we had so little time, but they looked beautiful and I will definitely be back for a second and longer adventure in Venice.

Cinque Terre, which consists of 5 small towns, was by far the most beautiful place we went to throughout the week. The week before we got there the last 2 towns were flooded, so we could only walk along the paths for the first 3 (Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Corniglia). 

Along the path, there were hundreds and hundreds of locks on the railings as well as writing on all the rocks and walls (and plants actually). It was fun to stop and read what we could (most was in Italian). It was a lot “Hilary & Jack” forever with a heart around it, etc, etc. 

Matt and I.

My dad, Matt, and my mom with Cinque Terre in the background. One of my favorite pictures of the trip! 

Gorgeous walking path! 

People write on the plants...intense.

Artsy!

These are the Spanish Steps in Rome. Our hotel (which was more of an apartment style room) was located right in this Piazza and my balcony actually looked out onto the top of the steps. Great location to say the least. 

Throwing a U.S. penny into Trevi Fountain. Woohoo – it means I’ll be back to Rome at some point (I really do hope to return someday). 

Our first day in Rome we hit most of the major sites, including Piazza Navona. The square was really pretty and the statues were so intricate. 

On our last day in Rome we were walking along a street in the direction of the Colosseum and we stumbled upon this marching band in a nearby square. They were so good! 

 Mom and Dad right before we went to the Colosseum. 

Beautiful Roma

My Danish roommate went on a similar Euro adventure and recommended this place to me before I left. It was absolutely delicious - 3 euro for a whole pizza?! Can't get better than that. Thanks Morten!

The Pantheon. It was honestly so cool to be standing in a place filled with so much history and the inside was beautiful. 

This guy was just sitting in the square and I couldn’t resist taking a picture. So funny.

Greetings from St. Peter’s Basilica!  

Also on our first day we took a tour of the Vatican. Our tour guide was definitely one of the best I’ve ever had – she engaged the group and clearly loved every bit of the history she was sharing. I thought I wasn’t really going to like the Vatican, but I ended up really enjoying it (though I was again exhausted by the end of the tour). 

The Roman Forum with the ruins of various ancient buildings. 

More pictures of the Roman Forum - what used to be the "heart" of Ancient Rome.

Matt in front of some random arch that was on the map (I don't remember the name) that we happened to stumble upon on our self-guided walking tour. 

One morning my parents and I went on an Angels & Demons tour, so Matt and I were left to fend for ourselves. We legitimately wandered from one end of Rome to the other and stumbled across so many different churches and cool streets, Basilica Di Santa Cecilia being one of them. 

The Colosseum. The day we went started off with bright blue skies and streaming sunlight, but by the time we got in line to get tickets for this landmark the sky was getting really dark and it had started to rain. Oh well – at this point I’m used to the bipolar weather! Here again it was quite amazing to be standing in a place with so much history. 

We took a stroll along the Ponte Sisto bridge. I just thought this was a cool picture J

I literally ate my weight in pasta in Italy. I don’t think I’ve ever had that much pasta in 5 days than I have before. Luckily we got some to bring back so we can continue eating it when I return. They had all kinds of fun shapes of homemade pasta, including bikes, airplanes, and more! 

White chocolate Nutella?!? My friends and I were supposed to patent that...guess we were a bit too late.