Brandon O'Brien

Monday, September 23, 2013 @ 9:19 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 89

I slept really well last night after the sleeper train the night before and hiking around with my backpack all day. This morning I got up, had a cup of coffee and then went out to get some food. Since all the markets were closed yesterday I didn't have a chance to pick up any breakfast food.

I went to Lidl and got an apple pastry for breakfast, lunch stuff (bread, strawberry preserves and fake Nutella) and some pasta for dinner. Back at the hostel I ate my breakfast and had some more coffee then set off for Checkpoint Charlie. Even though I have an unlimited train card, I wanted to get some fresh air and the walk was pretty nice.

Checkpoint Charlie is in the middle of a busy street surrounded by all kinds of restaurants, shops, street food vendors (Checkpoint Curry anyone?) and souvenir stands. There was also an outdoor museum with a lot of information about Checkpoint Charlie, the wall and the history surrounding it all.

From there I headed north and then got diverted over to Museum Island due to road construction. I saw the Berlin Cathedral and walked around some of the museums. I didn't go in any of them due to the entry costs being so high. Maybe later in the week I'll venture into one though.

One thing to note... for some reason there are a lot of... for a lack of a better word... gypsies, out around Berlin. I'm not sure what the scam is but I walked around enough today to pick up a sense for something not being right. Basically what happens is a young boy or girl will come up to you asking if you speak english. They have some kind of leaflets in their hand as well. All of this takes place in busy areas and their parents/cohorts aren't usually too far away.

I never acknowledged them so I'm not sure how the scam plays out, but I'm assuming they find out you speak English and either try to sell you some kind of leaflet or use it to distract you while someone else conveniently "bumps" into you and makes off with your valuables. I've read about those scams enough online to think that's probably what's going on.

Anyway, after museum island I went back to Alexanderplatz where I ate lunch and walked through a huge electronics store called Saturn. I was hoping I could get an actual European plug for my laptop so I didn't have to keep using my adapter. Unfortunately they didn't sell just the cord I needed.

I came back to the hostel and worked for several hours before making dinner. I overheard some people at the hostel today talking about how every Tuesday and Friday there's a huge Turkish outdoor market. It's within easy walking distance from my hostel so I'm going to head over there tomorrow and check it out.

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Tags: daily journal, germany, berlin

Posted from: Germany

Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 4:41 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 88

The train ride last night went pretty well. I watched the countryside go by until it got dark, read for a bit and then went to sleep. I got up around 6 to get ready for the arrival into the Berlin HBF. The first thing I did when I got to the train station was buy a 7 day unlimited card for use on the S bahn and U bahn (underground and above ground trains).

I had a chai tea latte and a muffin for breakfast then started walking around the area near the train station. I saw the Reichstag (German Parliament building), the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. All in all it was about 4 miles of walking first thing in the morning.

I got on the train to Alexanderplatz and walked around there for a bit. I saw the Berliner Fernsehturm (a giant tower in the middle of town). I ended up having some beer and tried some currywurst. I've been trying to try some of the local food wherever I go and currywurst was recommended for Berlin. It's basically a bratwurst cut up and covered in a curry/ketchup sauce and served with a roll. It was pretty good.

I got on the train to the area near my hostel which ended up being a really lively area full of Turkish restaurants, cafes, bars, markets and people everywhere. I eventually found the hostel and got checked in.

I walked over to a Lidl to get some food for the next few nights but unfortunately I forgot that most groceries are closed on Sunday. I'm getting pretty hungry but I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet for food. I'll probably have to give one of the turkish places a try since another food that was recommended to try in Berlin is a Doner (basically a Turkish version of the gyro).

I'm already feeling tired as well so I don't think tonight will be a late one. Tomorrow I'll set out to do some more exploring around the city.

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Tags: daily journal, berlin, germany

Posted from: Germany

Sunday, August 31, 2008 @ 11:00 PM in 2008 Europe Wedding

A recurring theme with our planning of this trip was being overly ambitious in regards to seeing as many sights as we could. That being said, we spent today mostly on trains traveling from Frottstadt to Venice, via Munich.

We said goodbye to all of our friends in the morning as everyone was going their separate ways. Patrick and Chrissy were heading off to spend some time with Tobias while Scott and Stefanie were going to their honeymoon in the Greek islands.

We left Frottstadt around 1:30pm and after several connections got to Munich around 6:40pm. We had a couple hours to kill before we had to catch our overnight train to Venice which left a little after 9pm. We walked around the main square area of Munich and had dinner while waiting for our train.

The train wasn't too bad. We were in a room with 6 beds that were stacked hostel style. I remember waking up quite a bit, but that's to be expected on sleeper trains.

Note: This post was written about 13 years after I went on this trip. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal so this is pieced together from our itinerary and photos.

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Tags: germany, frottstadt, munich, venice, train

Posted from: Germany

Saturday, August 30, 2008 @ 10:00 PM in 2008 Europe Wedding

Today is the wedding day! We started out heading up to the Wartburg Castle which isn't too far from Frottstadt. The castle was in great shape thanks to some restorations in the past. We were all pretty hungover from the night before but it was a fun time seeing and exploring the castle. Scott and Stefanie had some photos taken here before we went to the equivalent of their city hall for the official marriage signing.

After the wedding vows were done in front of a small group, everyone gathered in the town square for some traditional ceremonies and champagne. One thing they had to do was cut a giant heart out of a sheet with some dull scissors and then Scott had to carry Stefanie through it. After this, they got in a horse drawn cart and were taken to the reception venue.

Once we got to the venue, Scott and Stefanie had to saw a log in half using an extremely long and flexible saw. This was supposed to represent the give and take in a marriage. It was pretty funny watching them try to keep the saw moving.

As the night carried on, there was some delicious food, a huge variety of desserts and even more booze. This was followed by a lot of dancing and celebrating late into the night.

Note: This post was written about 13 years after I went on this trip. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal so this is pieced together from our itinerary and photos.

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Tags: germany, frottstadt

Posted from: Germany

Friday, August 29, 2008 @ 9:00 PM in 2008 Europe Wedding

We all checked out of the hostel by 6:00 this morning (tough after all the drinking yesterday) so we could catch our first train in the journey up to Frottstadt. Our first train left Munich at 7:22am with a connection in Saalfeld and Neudietendorf before finally arriving in Frottstadt at 11:30am.

We met Scott and Stefanie at the train station and they drove us through town and to the hotel we'd be staying at for the ceremony.

The main event of the day was the big reception / party that Stefanie's family threw. There was an overwhelming amount of beer flowing and everyone had a great time hanging out and catching up.

Note: This post was written about 13 years after I went on this trip. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal so this is pieced together from our itinerary and photos.

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Tags: germany, munich, frottstadt

Posted from: Germany

Thursday, August 28, 2008 @ 9:00 PM in 2008 Europe Wedding

Most of today was spent on a bike tour that hit several beer gardens and took us through several of the sights in Munich. We got to see people surfing in the river in the Englischer Garten too.

We ended the night at the Augustiner brewery where we all had some delicious beer.

Note: This post was written about 13 years after I went on this trip. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal so this is pieced together from our itinerary and photos.

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Tags: germany, munich

Posted from: Germany

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 @ 9:00 PM in 2008 Europe Wedding

We arrived in Munich a couple weeks before Oktoberfest, but there was still a lot of beer to be drunk! Our train from Paris departed at 7:25am and got us into Munich at 1:30pm after a transfer in Stuttgart. The train systems throughout Europe are incredible and do a great job of getting you around. This trip was my first time using the trains and I really came to appreciate how easy they were to use.

After we got to Munich, we checked into our room at the Euro Youth Hostel and then set out to meet up with Patrick, Chrissy, Scott and the rest of the gang that showed up for the wedding. Our meeting spot was the Hofbrauhaus! I tried ordering a half liter of beer but was shamed by the waitress into ordering a full liter, haha. We also had some sausages with good German mustard. All in all the experience was fantastic.

After beer and food, we wandered around Munich and somehow ended up at a playground. We goofed around on the ropes for a while before we stumbled on the Oktoberfest grounds and walked around there as they were setting up.

We finished the night at another beer garden before heading back to the hostel to call it a night.

Note: This post was written about 13 years after I went on this trip. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal so this is pieced together from our itinerary and photos.

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Tags: germany, munich

Posted from: Germany