21 in the 21st Century

The week after our excursion was a good time to rest from both our excursion as well as in preparation for midterms the following week. On Friday we went to a handball game in Cologne which was actually really entertaining. On Saturday, a few of us went back to Cologne and I didn't get home until 7:00 the next morning (if the music doesn't stop I won't either). Then, unfortunately, it was time for midterms. I had 3 during the week...2 of which were on my birthday. Not only did I have 2 midterms on my birthday but a full schedule as well. I spent the entire day from 8:45am to about 8:45pm doing some sort of class activity. (I mean, I got to go to a palace in the morning and was at the UN in the afternoon interning, but it was still class) I didn't think anyone would be up for going out after class to celebrate my 21st. Fortunately (and unsurprisingly knowing my friends) everyone was and I spent the entire night bar/club hopping with my friends. It was a lot of fun and it worked out because had I been at home in California, it would have been more difficult to go out because I'm older than most of my friends who are still 19 and 20. Over here it was really easy for all of us to go out together. About half of our program (something around 20 kids!) celebrated with me. I'm really fortunate to have found such a large group of friends I get along with really well and who also care about me enough to celebrate my special day with me even if it was during a week of midterms!

Epilogue

I really enjoyed our first excursion. I felt like we were in a band or something; spending the day in one place, then hopping on the bus and ending up in a completely different country. By the end however, I was ready to get back to Bonn. I missed its familiarity. I missed my room and my own bed. My "home." I can maneuver my way around Bonn pretty easily now and being away made me miss how I can just hop on the subway without really thinking about where I'm going. I've also become fairly familiar with the language. I really missed semi-being able to understand what people are saying to me. It's funny how only after a couple of months Bonn is home to me. I guess home really is where the heart is.

Paris Part 2: Paris, Je T'aime

On Thursday, the 9th we left the city temporarily to go to Vaux le Vicomte which is a palace that was apparently a model for Versailles. It was ok. The views from the gardens were gorgeous, but that's really all it had to offer. Oh, and it's where Eva Longoria and Troy Parker got married too. We got back into the city, got some lunch and then made our way to Monmarte and finally down to the Moulin Rouge. After that, we were given some free time. I tried to take a nap again but when there are people to talk to, that doesn't usually work out for me. So I didn't sleep and then met up with everyone so that we could get on the boat for our cruise of the Seine. It was a lot of fun. Paris is utterly breathtaking at night. After the cruise, a few of us me up with my friend Paola's ex-roomie who lives in Paris. She took us to an amazing club that was 1. free, 2. had a live dj, and 3. was playing electro all night. Needless to say I was in heaven. I didn't want to leave but all good things must come to an end, especially when you have to be up and ready by 9:00 the next morning.

The next day we went to the Musee D'Orsay which was cool but I was really tired from the previous night and had already been there before so I got over it really quickly. After the museum it was time for those heading back to Bonn to depart. So we said goodbye to them and got some lunch. Before we left for our excursion, my friend Natalia and I decided that we wanted to check out EuroDisney in Paris so after lunch we made our way to our hotel. It was terrible. I'm going to leave it at that. The next day we made our trip to EuroDisney! It was a lot smaller and not as magical as the park in Anaheim of course but it was a lot of fun regardless. It was funny because it was Disney but everything was slightly European about the park. For instance, smoking is allowed throughout the park which is alarming, but I guess not so much at the same time. Also most of the rides are spoken in both French and in English. I think European kids are much more into thrills than American ones because the rides at EuroDisney were way more intense than the Disneyland ones...especially for me. After our day at Disney, Natalia and I met up with our friends Katie and Courtney at the Eiffel Tower. We sort of just walked around, ate at a really good restaurant and called it a night. Natalia and I were tired from our long day and had to take the train back to Bonn really early in the morning. Overall I'd say our excursion was quite successful albeit exhausting. To make it worse we had to start preparing for midterms. Sometimes I forget I'm here to go to school!!!




P.S. Don't forget you can visit http://picasaweb.google.com/tderodeff to view all of my pictures from Paris as well as my other travels!

Paris Part 1: Je suis en Paris!

PARIS is (and I think always will be) my favorite city in all my travels. When I was 17, I fell in love with the city, and 3 years later my love continues to grow. I was really excited when I found out that we'd be spending the majority of our excursion in "The City of Love."

From Reims we got into Paris at around 2:30pm and checked into our hotel. There we met our tour guide, Julianne and then took the metro to Fat Tire Bike Tours where we began our bike tour through the streets of Paris. I have never thought I was going to die on a bike more times in my life than I did that day. I'm not really sure what the rules are in Paris but in America we're not really ones to bike through oncoming traffic at will. The other thing that made it difficult was the fact that there were 20+ of us to keep track of an dsome of us clearly had more experience with bikes than others. Furthermore, it decided to rain on us so it cut the tour a little short. Don't get me wrong through all of my griping though, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Even though I had seen all of the sights we saw, I think being on a bike gave me a fresh perspective. To be perfectly honest, I think I felt more Parisian bicycling through the city. I just had to forget the 20 of my peers trekking along behind me.

Paris is an architectural masterpiece and I wanted to take more in, however the did not permit it so we returned our bikes and made our way to the restaurant where we'd be having dinner. We assembled into this tiny restaurant our program had booked for us, so we were the only ones eating there which was pretty cool. They try and take us to restaurants with cultural significance so the one we were at tonight was a creperie. In France, crepes are an all day thing- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have no problem with this. I had a crepe with cheese, potatoes, cream, and ham for dinner. It was really good but super filling. Of course I had to save room for dessert though. I ordered a crepe with strawberry jam. Yum. Once again, it reminded me of being home on Sunday mornings when my mom would make my sister and I crepes with jam. It was a nice way to end the day and it was only day number 1.
On day 2, we took a walking tour of the Louvre which was cool but I'd already seen most of the works our tour guide was pointing out. I really wanted to go off and explore on my own. The Louvre is massaive, and there is so much I've yet to see. It just gives me all the more reason to return someday. After the Louvre, we took a walking tour of the Latin Quarter which I was really excited about because it was a part of Paris I had never seen before. I really liked it. It was very bohemian and certainly a lot different than everything else we had seen thus far. Afterwards my plan was to take a nap but that didn't really go as planned so I got a bite to eat and (because we thought we were late) raced with my friends to the Eiffel Tower, our meeting point for the night. Once there, our group made our way up the Tower and took lots of pictures together. I'd already been up before 3 years ago but it was definitely a new experience with the new group. On top of the Eiffel Tower I couldn't help but to think a) how lucky I am to have this experience and b) how glad I am to be with such a great group of people. I'm a very lucky boy.

Days 2 & 3: Brussels and Reims

The next morning we were told to be in the lobby of our hotel at around 7:45 am so that we could make our way into Brussels. We got into Brussels at around noon and were told that we'd be having free time on our own to figure out lunch. Off course I bee-lined for the infamous Belgian waffles and it was a really good choice because eating it literally made me feel as though I had died and gone to heaven. I now know the meaning of that colloquialism thanks to Belgium.

After finishing my delicious waffle it was time to go to Parliament of the European Union which is partly housed in Brussels. We were given a short little information session on how the European Union is governed and the different parts of their government. I was surprised at how little I knew about the government of the European Union (the only question I could answer was that there are 27 countries within the Union) and at how little my fellow class mates knew as well. It's a shame that we don't learn more about Europe in our schools because all of us found the lecture we were given very interesting.

After the lecture, we were invited into one of the meeting rooms of parliament where they were setting up for a discussion on concerns about the environment. We were invited to stay and listen but of course we had to move on. I really wanted to stay and listen to learn first-hand of Europe's take on our global climate crisis and their prospective solutions but I had to be satisfied with simply the new knowledge I'd taken away from the visit.

After the European Union it was time for us to get back on the bus and head to Reims, a city in northern France. Our bus driver got a little lost so we got there quite late and ate dinner at "Hippopotamus" a restaurant I would have to equate with France's version of an "Applebee's." After dinner we took initiative and decided to explore Reims. Reims is relatively small and all we really wanted to find were clubs so it wasn't that difficult. We found one on the same street as our hotel so it was super convenient. It was like 11:30 pm when we went in so literally we were the only ones there which was fine with me because there were lights and music which is all I need. We went out to get more of our friends and when we came back we decided to partake in the karaoke that was going on on the second floor. Everyone was karaoke-ing in french and taking themselves way too seriously and I got really tired of it so my friend Katie and I decided to sing "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. We really brought the house down and afterward a French man in leather pants who I saw sing before came up to me and started speaking to me in French. All I could make out was "très bien!" and gave me a thumbs up so I'm assuming that he told me that I did a really good job.

The next day we had a relatively late meeting time in the morning (9:30 am) and made our way to the Champagne Pommery Winery because apparently Reims is famous for it's Champagne. The tour was far from what I had expected. Apparently this Winery also doubles as an art gallery so there were various works of art throughout the factory. For instance one room looked sort of like the inside of the barn and had really nice electric guitars and speakers in it but also little birds who apparently play the guitars from time to time. In another room there was a cross that lit up and looked like a series of flourescent lights reminiscent of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and if you looked up to the ceiling there was a picture of Jesus but as an alien. It was pretty trippy for a champagne factory. The tour was pretty cool and informational and at the end we all got to taste the champagne we'd learned about. It was a lot of fun but of course we had to leave so that we could go back to our hotel gather our things and make our way to Paris!

Day 1: Amsterdam

I'm really glad that I got to go to Amsterdam the weekend before we went as a group because when we got there the weather was miserable. I barely have any pictures because i spent the majority of my time trying to keep my umbrella from going inside-out.

We travelled by bus from Bonn to Amsterdam and got there at around noon. We checked in at the hotel and then were given some free time before we were told to meet up at the central station so that we could take a canal cruise located nearby. It was kind of worthless because it was raining so all of the windows were shut and no one could really take good pictures but we were tired and wet so we were happy to be in a place that was dry and where we could sit and rest.

After the canal cruise we walked to a little cafe where we had chocolate, coffee, and tea to warm us up. Then we went to the Anne Frank House where we were given the history by one of the novices. Personally I really enjoyed the museum. I remember reading the biography over and over when I was younger and it was incredibly surreal being inside the building where the events of the biography actually took place. An interesting thing about the museum is that it is barely furnished. There are only pictures on the walls to indicate what the rooms looked like at the time the families were living there in hiding. I thought that this created so much more of a presence than having the furniture actually inside the museum. It was so stark, so vacant. Sort of like a prison cell, which is most likely what the Frank family felt they were in as they hid from the Gestapo. The museum also had a cool exhibit on civil rights. On a big screen they projected highly controversial current events and questioned whether or not our "inalienable" rights should ever be surrendered in a given situation and then they had the audience privately vote. It was interesting to see the results of the group and I was quite surprised by some of the results as well. I found these questions really important to ask and thought that the Anne Frank House was a really relevant place to hold this exhibit.

After the Anne Frank House we split up and I decided to go back to the hotel so that I could chill for a little bit before dinner. Dinner in a word was uitstekend (excellent in Dutch). We went to this little restaurant where the walls were covered in pictures of mothers (I think it had something to do with the restaurant's name)
The food was amazing. The best part was they kept bringing more and more out. There was potatoes and meat and apple sauce and cooked pears and sweet potato fries and I could go on and on but I'm getting hungry right now just thinking about it. The funny thing about it was that it tasted almost exactly like the way my mom prepares meat (last time I checked she isn't Dutch? I could be wrong though). So basically I felt like I was getting a home cooked meal. We didn't do too much after dinner because we were tired and it was wet and the next day we had to leave for Brussels in the morning.

Whirl-Wind Tour

So I just got back from a week-long trip to Amsterdam, Brussels, Reims, and Paris. It was a lot of fun but exhausting to say the least. A lot was jam packed into our little adventure so it makes the most sense to me to create a separate entry for each location.

The Netherlands

Germany is great and all but I really wanted to get out of the country so I rang up my best friend Gabby and told her that I needed to come visit her in the Netherlands. Gabby is studying abroad in Utrecht which is only a short distance from Amsterdam and about a 3 hour train ride from me. So I booked my train and left for the weekend.

I thought that The Netherlands would be really similar to Germany being that they are neighboring countries. It's not. I would to describe it as being Canada and Germany the US. The Netherlands is much smaller and obviously has a lot less rules than Germany. I got off of the bus and I'm pretty sure I saw more people riding bikes than I did walking. I got in at night so I couldn't really see any of the buildings around me but I could definitely feel the difference in atmosphere between the 2 countries.
I met up with Gabby at her quaint university and at around 12:30am we decided to go out dancing. Everyone rides their bike in the Netherlands so before I came Gabby rented me a bike so that we could ride around. So at 12:30 we rode our bikes to a club where me met up with some of her friends. It was fun riding my bike but I gained a new respect for the reliable subway system in Germany. After we had our fill of music and dancing we rode home and slept for a long time.

The next day we decided to go into Amsterdam. Gabby said that it would be better if we waited until mid-day to go because we'd be too tired if we spent the entire day there. We went to the train station booked a ticket and were in Amsterdam about a half of an hour later.

Amsterdam is an interesting city. Pretty much everything is legal there but it's no proverbial Sodom and Ghomorra. It's very clean and, like most of Europe, the people walking around are very fashionable. We tried to stray away from the typical tourist things to do because I told Gabby that I'd be coming back with my school in about a week and we'd probably be doing those kind of things so we leisurely walked through the city and took a canal tour. It was nice because I know when I go this weekend we'll be doing non-stop stuff.

After dinner Gabby wanted to take me to the Red Light District and then dancing (not in the same place). So we had a nice pizza dinner and then walked around the Red Light District for a bit and then went out dancing.
It seems like everywhere we go we meet Americans because in the club we met this girl from USC studying at the University of Amsterdam who happened to know a close friend of mine. The more I travel the more I feel the world is actually a lot smaller than I had originally thought.

We didn't get back to Utrecht until about 4am so we slept in again the next day. Gabby really hadn't been home in a lot of weeks so we spent a nice day riding our bikes around her city. Even in Utrecht they have canals so it was a welcome change from Germany, but again I like being home and was ready to use those good ol' subways so I left once again for Deutschland. Tomorrow I go back to Amsterdam and it will be interesting to see how different my experience is this weekend from the last.

P.S. I have a number of photo albums on picasa web. The url is: www.picasaweb.google.com/tderodeff for your viewing pleasure!

OKTOBERFEST!!!!!!

So we decided to go to Oktoberfest a little last minute. Many people plan the event out months or even an entire year ahead. We, however, finalized our plans about a week before. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't entirely sure whether or not I really wanted to go to the fest because I didn't really know what to expect.

Let me just say I'm glad I decided to go.

Because we're young and dumb, we decided to book a night train so that we'd get to Munich at 7 in the morning and then we'd be able to party at Oktoberfest all day. So we took the midnight train from Bonn to Munich and slept on the train. We got to our hotel in Munich at about 7:30 and got ready for the day. We took a taxi to the actual grounds of Oktoberfest and waited outside of the Paulaner tent with hoards of others. Once they opened up the doors it was a mad rush to find a table. After about 20 minutes of no success, we finally found a table and sat with 2 german girls and 4 Texans dressed in lederhosen (I know right?).

They don't actually tap the kegs until 12pm so we had to wait about 2 and a half hours to actually get our first beers. The beers came just in time too because we were all tired from traveling and ready to start this party. Finally the tent livened up, people started to yell and stand on tables and music started playing; it was time to tap the keg. After a 30 second countdown in German (which I was very proud to be able to do) the party began and the beer was brought out in droves. I have no idea how the waiters and waitresses were able to carry 10 beers 1 liter each to each table but it was surely a sight to be seen.

After the first beers were brought out, we had reached the point of no return. More live German music was played, people continued to dance on tables and the day just got crazier and crazier. Women were walking around with breathalyzers so that people could find out their blood alcohol content and even get a certificate to show off their high score. It was seriously one of the most fun places I had ever been to; after people started to dance on the tables I knew I wouldn't have a problem fitting in.

We pretty much partied in the tent all day and in the evening walked all around outside looking at the carnival rides. After we were done walking around we decided to go back into another tent (the other Paulaner one) and see what it was like. This time we found a table with some Italians and proceeded to dance on these tables as well. Each of the tents have a different feel and even though this tent was owned by the same owner as the one we were at earlier, it definitely seemed more American. The singers in this tent were definitely German but played a more classic American playlist with songs like "Proud Mary" and "No Woman No Cry" we obviously enjoyed this very much but got tired out really quickly and left for our hotel at around 10pm.

The next day was a little bit more relaxed. We just walked around and looked at all of the tent. Gabby and I had been talking about the Hippodrome for months so we went in and decided to take a look around. The tent is known for being super exclusive but somehow we got in and were seated by a hostess. It was fun but I was happy that we had spent the previous day in the Paulaner tent. After the Hippodrome, we walked around and met up with some friends who were also at Oktoberfest outside the Lowenbrau Tent. It seemed as though we picked the interntational tent because there were so many people from other countries surrounding us. We sat in between some Australians and a few Englishmen. Finally it was time to head back to Bonn. We took another night train and returned to Bonn at around 5 in the morning. Luckily I had no class all day and was able to sleep and reflect on what an awesome time I had and how lucky I am to be able to experience all this!