Nürnburg, Prague

So I haven’t blogged for the last few days and I have much to write about. So where was I… After we arrived in Nürnburg, we settled in our hotel and we immediately got dinner just down the street from our hotel. We had their famous Nürnberger bratwurst, which are about the size of your finger. They were pretty delicious. Rob again tried his luck on one of the waitresses and it was actually histerical. (note to self: remember: du bist ein shurlen mädchen). After grabbing some dinner we all went back to the hotel to skype family and facebook. We hadn’t had Internet for the past few days and it was nice to actually get caught up on all that.
The day after we were on our way to a corporate visit to adidas (a-di-das: their pronunciation). After that corporate visit we would be on our way to Heidelberg! The visit itself was pretty good. I really enjoyed it and I really wanted to buy some of their product afterwards because it look so appealing even if f I didn’t have any real need from them lol. It seemed more like an advertisement ordeal instead of actually business and their organization. It was more from a tourist perspective. However they did cover some of the business aspects, which is really interesting. They have this policy of becoming transformational. They are not doing the basic stages, which everyone else is doing, but they are going above commodities, product, customized but to transformational. After about an hour and a half we went on a tour of their facilities and it was absolutely amazing. I would love to work there because first off, everyone wears adidas. Secondly, they are performance centers where they test their products such as basketball courts, and tennis courts. They were even having a huge party in another room! It was a beautiful campus that was owned once by the US military but when they left adidas bought it because that is the same town it was founded. After the visit we were suppose to go to Heidelberg but to my dismay we were behind schedule and did not managed to get out their ☹.
So we were in route to Bacharach (who really knows about this place). It is this small little town on the Rhine and it was extremely quiet. It was kind of a nice place to live if I ever did. On our way in we saw at least 4 castles on the cliff edge. It was pretty cool. We got their at least 9 at night and of course we had to park like a quarter mile from our hotel and it was poring rain (hundewetter). Anyways we had the hotel manager to come by car to pick us up and give us a ride back. However I hoofed it back with a few others, which wasn’t bad because the rain stopped for a while. After we made it back, we had this “authentic” German dinner, which was a little disappointing when it was just bratwurst and sauerkraut. I enjoyed it of course (natürlich), but I was expecting like a huge schniztel and Käsespeztle. For dessert we had this berry combination stuff that was dank! We then explored the town at 11 or so at night. It was kind of scary because nobody was out and it was completely dark.
The next morning I went up to visit the castle above the city (in my formalwear, which is important to remember and last night rain). Umm… so I decided to take a shortcut (cus I’m a genius) and sort of slipped and the mud was not so kind to me. Needless to say that was an eventful morning however I did make it to the top and saw an incredible view. After that I booked it down so I can see if I can get the mud out of my clothes :D. I got back and begin to wash my clothes, which worked better than I originally thought. I managed to get it all out in time for our corporate visit. We were on our way to Frankfurt to visit the company Norma group. It was.....ok. it was definitely not my favorite. It was dealing with pipe connection and the manufacturing part of it. I felt like they tried really hard to make it interesting but it really wasn’t. We had a tour of the factory, which was boring too. After the visit we back to Frankfurt and grabbed some snacks for our overnight train ride. We had to say goodbye to our friend Mattias, our bus driver ☹.
The train ride was interesting. We had 6 people in a “cabin.” They were probably 12 feet by 6 feet wide. Not a lot of room for 6 people and a lot of luggage. Not to mention it was really hot! There was barely any AC and if we opened our window we would get the love noise from the training moving. I tried to get some sleep right away but everyone else was up for a while. It was a rough night for us. We got little sleep and it took us 12 hours instead of 9 because we were delayed I think somewhere in Berlin. I got about 6 hours of sleep…I think. We went got in Prague we went to grab some lunch at Subway with about 200 crowns! (that’s about 10 USD). It was a really good turkey breast sandwich. After that we went back to the hotel for some more facebook and later met with Professor Sharpe to grab dinner. I had a really good dinner; it was beef tongue (and yes it was real tongue). It was quiet the taste that I probably wouldn’t have again but it was good once you got use to the spongy texture. After dinner we went back t the hotel to get ready for the night. We later went out and had dessert* around the St. Charles bridge.

Koblenz, Germany

So I guess it would be two days ago we arrived in Koblenz around 6 PM after being on the train for a few hours. We didn’t stay there long but we did get to see some of the city. When we got to our hotel, we went to dinner and it was wirklich gut! (really good). It was inside the hotel and it was a three course meal, something we normally can not afford on this trip :D… after dinner a few of us went up to see the view from the fortress. I could go up there every day just to see the sun set. I left a little bit later after everyone else because I did not want to miss this chance to enjoy all of Germany. We won’t be here long and we are going to be constantly busy. I didn’t want to pass that up.
After the fortress I went down to the pool to see the others and to go swimming myself. That didn’t last long because it was really cold. After that I kind of just retired to my room for the rest of my night. I did go back out for a late McDonald run with Rob. The guy in the taxi was really friendly, another reason to love Germany. I feel like if I can’t convince you of how awesome Germany is then I must have failed :D. lol… anyways that was pretty much the rest of that day.
The next day (yesterday/gestern) we went to a two corporate meetings. One was with Compu Group. It was pretty interesting. I think this is my second favorite (right behind the Marketing store). Their objective is to unite all the health care into one system. There are problems here in the United States with doctors lacking patients background history, but in Germany they are given a card (just like a social security card) and it makes everything easier and plus it is extremely safe too. This might be what I can do to get myself into the medical field. After that visit we went to Tetra Pak, a food processing plant. It would be pretty interesting if I weren’t half asleep. We did get a tour of the plant itself. They build efficient and environment safe containers and sell them to other companies.
After these two visits, we were on the road for the next 3-4 hours. We left around 3 ish or so and got in Nürnburg around 7. It was a long drive on the bus, which will be with us until we leave for Prague. I really like our driver. He speaks little English and I try my hardest to talk to him in Deutsch. He drove 6000 km just to pick us up!!! That’s insane. Anyways we got here in Nürnburg and went to go get dinner. We had the famous bratwurst and kartoffeln salat (potato salad). After that we walked around the city and found way too many casinos. But it was a nice little/big town (500,000 people but nobody was out). I came back to the hotel and just uploaded all my pictures.
I just can’t wait for tomorrow though. HEIDELBERG!!!! I’m stoked!

Brussel, Belgium

Yesterday we spend the day in Brussel, Belgium, on our in route to Germany. We stopped in Belgium so that we can have a day of rest in which we can catch up on sleep and homework also the town was a really nice lively place. We got into the train station around 2 or so and we had to take the subway and walk 4 or 5 blocks on cobblestone streets. It was pretty rough with our luggage. However we manage to make it to the hotel upon realizing that there was another subway stop right outside our hotel. Oh and when we got off the subway we had our picture take by some natives. It was strange; I just not many people go and visit Brussel. Anyways we got into Brussel and we were given cash to go and buy lunch. It was not cheap. The cheapest thing we got was 14 Euros, close to 20 dollars a plate! However the food was absolutely amazing. I had meatballs with this delicious tomato sauce. It was strange too because our waiter was so nice and yet they spoke French (surprisingly not German considering how close we were to both). Needless to say the French were not so pleasant to us.
After lunch we went and walked around the market and saw some beautiful buildings. We were also looking for some chocolate to buy :D. We went into this hallway/walkway and I don’t know how to describe it. We did eventually find some chocolate and I was in HEAVEN! I have never tasted such good and rich chocolate in my life. I had only 4 pieces and I was set for the night! However I did drop one and Sarah just screamed at the top of her lungs. It was hilarious. That pretty much made my day. Everyone was just staring at her and it was completely silent. She said that the waste of good chocolate was just so sad (coming from a women’s perspective).
After that the night was just loads of fun. We went out and had some desserts at a bar, which we thought was a gay bar. It might of have been; we just didn’t stick around very long. We then went back to the hotel and chilled on the roof. We had a few drinks and I enjoyed my cigar with my roommate Rob. It was a very chill and relaxing day.
As of now we are on the train going to Koblenz. We left Brussel by taxi this time to leave at 12:30. We were delayed by an hour! We had to switch our transferring train from Köln to Koblenz. We missed the fast train :(… anyways that is where we are at now. Its been a long ride and a very crazy day. I do love seeing the countryside of Germany <3. This place truly is amazing!

Paris Day 1 & Day 2

So I am getting behind on my blog and I have a homework assignment due in a few days that I haven’t read for yet. Oh well I am in Paris as of this moment and the past two days were insane.

The first day we got into Paris and got into our hotel. Right after that we went into the subway and went from there on a bike tour around the city. It was really funny to see al the sights I have not yet to see and to see the ones I have missed seeing. That took about 3 hours and he showed us some of the hidden secret of Paris. For dinner we went to the Eiffel Tower and had baguette sandwiches. It was a perfect night. From there we went to the Eiffel Tower and instead of going up it, we decided to go to the “Box the Eiffel Tower Came In.” Essentially it is the last skyscraper in the Paris area and is 69 floors, which is taller than the Eiffel Tower. I had some amazing shots! Thanks MOM!! From there we went back into town and found some crepes. That would conclude that day. There was too much that I couldn’t remember all that we saw on the bike tour.

The second day (today May 22, 2010 now yesterday), we were so wiped from walking around everywhere yesterday we didn’t get up until 10 ish and got “breakfast” at McDonalds. We decided to have a man-day and left at 12 for Versailles. However we encountered a Gypsy and she followed us for a while until she decided to give up. We went to go buy our tickets for the subway to take us to Versailles but we didn’t leave until 1 because it took forever to figure out how to get the tickets we needed. We got to Versailles at 2 ish. We saw as much as we could and decided to go into the garden but there is a fountain show that would cost more to go into the garden and we had much to see still so we decided against it. We left Versailles at 4 and went to go get lunch, which took us an hour because we tried to find the train station, which took forever. We ended up going the wrong direction. After we found it, we went to a near by café and had “lunch” (at 4:40). We had the best lunch ever; I had roasted chicken that fell right off the bone. Needless to say I finished the whole thing :D… we then hopped on the train and went back into the city.

We then went to the Arc de Triumph and got there at 7:30 and stayed for 2 minutes and then bounced to the Louvre (we only had about an hour and a half until our boat ride). Oh! I forgot to mention that :D (we had bought our tickets the day before after the bike tour. The gentlemen, Paul, gave us a cheap rate on them). At the Louvre we just went outside the pyramid and took some pictures and then bounced.

We made it to the dock at 8:15 (it leaves at 9) so we can meet the girls before hand and for us to actually find it because we always have a delay somewhere. We met the girls at 8:30 and got on the boat. I must of taken 200 picutes on that bat alone because there was much to see and the beautiful sunset (yes the sun set was at 9 even a little later).

We got off at 10:30 and then went to get some gelato ice cream. I of course got chocolate and it was the best I ever had. I wouldn’t mind getting another one. After that we went to go chill by the river edge until 11 or so. After that we took off to Notre Dame to see it for one last time. We ended up seeing some street performers and they were fire dancers. It was pretty awesome. After that we got on the subway and went home around 11:45. The subway was packed; there was probably a soccer game of some sort because there were a lot of people in jersey with flags. It was pretty exciting to see because they were all drunk. We didn’t all make it on the same train(?) but we all got back safely (don’t worry mom we were fine). And that was Paris! It was too much to see in two days but I think we made the most of it. But now I think I must go because my eye is irritated and can’t really see out of one eye (again don’t worry mother). But I must say I am so excited to go to Germany in a few days. I can’t wait! Ich gehe Deutschland!!!!!!! Sehr TOLL!!!!! Das ist meine leblings und es hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Aber guten Nacht alles oder guten Morgen. Ich will dir später sprechen. Shön Nacht!

:D

London Day 3

So yesterday was a very very successful day. It was our last day in London and we are now on our way to Paris. We had to wake up at 5:30 to catch our Eurostar train at 7:15, which we will take through the English Chunnel. Yesterday we had a corporate meeting with The Marketing Store. I really enjoyed this corporate meeting and have some interesting in doing marketing now. I am not sure if I want to switch majors or if I just want to take classes that qualify as marketing classes. Beside the point, this corporate meeting showed us case studies in which they did advertisement for McDonalds and what the process is in doing a campaign such as the Big Win Monopoly. We got a tour around the office and it was a very inviting work place and a very interesting job. After the corporate visit we went to go to lunch. We were given the rest of the day to ourselves and a handful of us took off down the street to a Thai/Chinese restaurant.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to change. By this point we were all scattered doing different things and planned on meeting up later on in the city. Rob and I went to the Hyde Park and I went to take pictures while he went on a run. Half an hour later I was back from getting some very nice shots and we headed down town with Brandon to meet the girls near the London Eye. The girls were running around crazy around town because they were going to see a play tonight, which we declined because we wanted to see the city. After finding them an hour after we were supposed to meet, we end up going to Buckingham Palace (where I quietly said some Christopher Titus jokes…hehe).

We later went back into Green Park, where we got off to see the Buckingham Palace and rest a little bit (The British love to sit in the park). A few of us decided to check out Harrods, a huge department store with pretty much anything designer. It was pretty epic to see how expensive some of the items were. After that we pretty much wandered around trying to find a sight we saw the night before. We ended up at a restaurant to have a break. Rob left his number on a USD for the waitress, which was really funny.

We then went to Piccadilly Circle and sat out on the monument where we could see Big Ben and relaxed. We got there around 9 PM after running around since 1. I managed to get my camera to work and I am starting to figure out some of the settings (more sweet pictures to come). I wanted to take some pictures of Big Ben, so we all went there and walked along side Parliament. I also snapped a few of the London Eye at night and the next thing we were back at our hotel tired. It was 12:30 by the time we got back. It was a very good day!

Now on our way to Paris! We are almost there… (Now 9:52 with the hour time change).

London Day 2

I finally managed to get a good night sleep! I only woke up a few times last night but I still am really tired. To recap yesterday, we had our corporate meeting with PepsiCo and that went pretty good. We talked about how their business is ran and looked at their mission purpose and how they are trying to be more economically efficient and how they are planning on making healthier snacks. The drive out their to the meeting took forever… but it was make up for when we went to oxford and walked around in the shopping area. Oh I forgot to mention the breakfast was bomb! We had an English breakfast and it was sooo good. We spent a few hours in Oxford before going to Blenheim Palace. This is where I believe Winston Churchill grew up or something like that. We didn’t really get a tour but just looked around. The garden in this place was gorgeous, photography heaven. It was a clear day and I absolutely loved it. I just wish we had some more time to walk around there because I missed so much.

After going to the palace we took a quick stop at the Pleasure Garden (hehe)… and went into the maze and placed chess on their massive chessboard. After going to the Pleasure Garden (hehe) we were on our way back home. I feel asleep all the way back. We got back and had 15 minutes until dinner, and I was not able to change out of my business dress because it was a dress dinner… (I walked through the palace and the huge garden with my dress shoes…not fun). We had some Indian food and it was pretty taste. After that we were on our own and a few of us too a cab down to the London Eye and Big Ben where we walked around until we found a club. What a great way to end the night! :D

London Day 1

So on Monday, May 17, we left for the LAX airport at 5:15 PM. We took a shuttle from APU to the airport and it turned out that the early arrival at the airport did not help us much. We got through security around 7:30 and our plane would be departing roughly at 9:30. Surprisingly our flight was only delayed by 30 minutes because of recent activity of the volcano in Iceland. Once we got on the plane, and left, we were given free headphones to watch about 20 different movies. I manage to work my way through two movies that I really wanted to see, Brothers and The Hurt Locker. Both of the movies were very good. By the time I finished The Hurt Locker, I was getting really tired and tried to sleep for the rest of the flight. There was roughly around 6 hours left in our 11 hour flight and I probably managed to get 3-4 hours of sleep.

Once we landed in London, England, we got off the plane and went through customs with no problem. We met up with Professor Sharpe and left for our hotel. Our hotel was called St. David Hotel and is located in the West Minster borough. The High Park is located right down the street from us. This is where the Buckingham Palace is located (just on the other side of High Park). In front of the hotel was is also a small garden that we all went to before we left for dinner. I was proud to say that I had my first Doner Kebab in a long time! After dinner a group of us went out around town. We end up finding a nice coffee shop that had one of the best hot chocolate ever!

When we got back from our little excursion, we all tired to go on the Internet to say hello to family and Facebook, but our Internet was too slow so we all just used one computer and then went to bed. I woke up at 4 and haven’t been able to fall back to sleep… everyone else soon woke up. We are so excited to be here!!