Hola, Oi, Hallo
(Hello in Spanish, Portugese, German and Dutch)
Where to start and what to say. I have been to 5 different countries in the last 2 weeks and it was an amazing experience. Let me first start off before Christmas and the experiences I had in my town.
The week before Christmas Break, everyone at school and in town was in full Christmas Spirit. At school I labeled many figures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men (which people in Europe know their names, even the young children) and other elements of the “nativity” scene. It is different learning about religion in the school system and having it be ok that this is what I am teaching. We also had a full Nativity Scene when you entered the building with plastic figures, the barn, mountains, and much more. We also spent that week coloring pictures related to Christmas and seeing the annual Christmas Play. All the children, ages 3-12 had a performance of a song or script with costumes. It was so cute to see everyone! I now realize how hard it is to keep 3 year olds in line on stage as they were facing every which way, some crying some singing already, others staring. It was hilarious! That’s probably what we all looked like at that age during plays or chorus performances.
There was also a Christmas Lunch for all the teachers. We were all meeting at a restaurant and all the teachers were going home to change cloths first and then head to the restaurant. Me and the other American girl, Emily could not figure out what was wrong with outfits until later on in the night. We were also soon to find out just how big lunch can be in Spain.
The food we had was WONDERFUL. We went to this really nice restaurant in town. There was pâté and wine waiting on the table for us when we arrived.
After all the teachers filed in (in their newly dressed up attire, while Emily and I were still in jeans) a salad arrived. Then we got cream of something in a shot glass. We mingled and ate. Then a potato dish with eggs and onions arrived. This was also followed by sautéed mushrooms. By this time I was STUFFED! But we were not even close to being finished. A waiter came by to ask if we wanted meat or fish. Since I have had bad luck with the fish and their heads still being attached here in Spain, I resorted to the meat, while Emily tried the fish. Our places came out with a big portion of meat, a zucchini (for decoration) and more potatoes. My meat was wonderful, very juicy, tender and full of flavor. However, I later found out that it was pig’s cheek. Apparently this is the best part of the meat. Haha. After dinner we then got a dessert which seemed like an éclair. Lots of food, wine and mingling. It was a great meal! Then I heard our director say … “The bus will be here in 10 minutes” (of course in Spanish).
Emily and I looked at each other … the BUS?!?!?!? Where were we going? For how long? Is this why everyone got dressed up? Next thing we knew, a coach bus pulled up to take us all (yes, ALL the teachers of ALL ages) to a discoteca (dance club). We hoped on the bus with all the intoxicated teachers and went to a club on the beach. There were not many people when we arrived but it soon got packed. The teachers were all dancing and drinking. Later in the night, the salsa and other Spanish dance moves came out and it was a great time! Emily and I even hopped the fench and ran to the ocean. We could not believe we were in t-shirts in late December on the sea. It was a great feeling. Needless to say, lunch started at 3pm and I did not arrive home until 12pm. It was a long “lunch”.
Later on in the week, I went out with some of our Spanish friends for our normal Thursday night tapas as well as a Christmas celebration. We ended up singing Christmas Carols in both Spanish and English for a few hours. It was a lot of fun and definitely put me into Christmas spirit, despite still not having any snow.
I then began for the arrival of my mother and sister. They arrived the 23rd of December. I picked them up at the airport after they almost missed their flight. We then proceeded to the rental car counter to pick up our car, and the adventures began. For starters, we could not figure out how to get the car to START. Next thing we know, the car is moving but the steering wheel is locked. We also can’t move the gear out of Neutral. We stopped in the middle of the parking lot as I ran down to ask the guy how to start the card. All along we just needed to put our foot on the break in order for the key to turn on the ignition. So previously we weren’t really moving … just in neutral down a hill. Oh the joys of European adventures! We then set out on our trek to Vera, Almería. On the way, my mom marveled at the hills, mountains and old ruins and my sister fought the extreme wind on the highway feeling slightly uneasy in a foreign car. I simply enjoyed the ride of a car and not a bus.
We checked in to the only hotel in Vera and then proceeded to walk to my apartment. They loved the town and my apartment. Their first night we went out for the best tapas in town – Bandi. We ate cuttlefish, tuna, salmon, chorizo, clams, blood sausage and more. That evening they were exhausted and went to bed early. The following morning as my Spanish roommate left, I quickly cleaned the room and made up their beds. It was like a slumber party in their room since everything was so close to each other. That morning we toured the town as the market was being held a day early due to the holiday. My sister more so than my mom went crazy at this market since everything was so cheap. They bought scarfs, shoes, food and much more! We definitely made some people’s Christmas’ in Vera.
That afternoon we relaxed, wrapped presents and played bananagrams (of course, it seems to have become a family tradition). I also took them for a hike up to the Jesus Statue. It was an extremely windy day and we almost got blown over. After that we picked up some food and relaxed indoors with wine, food and bananagrams.
The following day we woke up on Christmas morning to presents beneath the tree. We took some Christmas photos and opened presents. I also made a “tortilla española” with Spanish ham at the recommendation of my sister. It was delicious. We also indulged in some oranges which seem to be at their delicious peek at the moment. We were planning on going to church, but after staying in our pajams, getting up late and making brunch, we did not have time. That afternoon we decided to take the car for a drive and explore the surrounding cities.
We drove to the beach in Puerto Rey and climbed along the steep hills of Mojácar pueblo. It was a beautiful city with white buildings in the hillside. It is very interesting trying to navigate through Spanish road signs and steep one way streets.
The following day we headed off to Alicante to catch our flight to Barcelona. Once we arrived in Barcelona, my mother and sister fell in love with all the old architecture. And I fell in love with Hard Rock Café … aka American food. It was delicious. During our time in Barcelona we visited La Rambla, Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, La Boquería, Olympic Stadium, Casa Batlló, and the magnificent Pabellón Mies Van Der Roche Museum! This museum had a whopping 2 pieces of furniture and a sculpture that was not done by Mies Van Der Roche himself! I am so happy we visited that …. NOT! It was hilarious after the fact that my mom and sister wanted to visit this museum and when we asked the bus tour guide she didn’t quite understand their excitement. Haha. We jam packed a lot into those semi 3 days in Barcelona. We then headed off to Lisbon, Portugal.
In Lisbon, we also decided to hop on a bus tour to take us around the city. I cannot remember all the names of the places but two that we visited were the Monastery of St. Jerome and Torre de Belem. Lisbon is a beautiful city with old ruins, castles and towers around. We also took a day trip to the town of Sintra where they have a big castle as well and a small village. It was very cute. We hiked all the way up to the top of hill where the castle was located, only to find out it closed early and we could not enter without tickets which were bought at the bottom of the hill. So we proceeded to walk back down the hill in the rain. We did find a nice café and to enjoy a traditional Sintra dessert. Then there was New Years. I can’t remember the last time I spent a New Years with my mother, but it was definitely back in the day when she used to turn the clock back an hour or two just so I would go to bed earlier. Thanks Mom. Anyhow, we went out for a lovely dinner and then walk to the water’s edge for the fireworks. We watched as fireworks shot off from buildings and over the water. It was the best firework display I have ever seen, and it lasted SO long! It went on for a solid 20 minutes or more. So we stood there ringing in the New Year with our arms around each other in Portugal under the fireworks. Very picturesque. Since we all had flights to catch in the morning, we walked home with the fireworks fading behind us. The next morning was bitter sweet as I watched my mom and sister leave our hotel room at 7 am while I caught a few more hours of sleep before catching my flight at 1pm. I think in all it was a successful family vacation.
The first continued and I flew to Munich, Germany to meet up with a friend. I arrived late that night so we did not do anything until the following morning. However, I had the biggest smile on my face when we landed as it was the first time I saw snow! The next day we went to the Dachau Concentration Camp. It was a very interesting yet terrifying experience. To see what the people went through and the conditions they were in. Being at the camp almost felt as if you could see what they saw. And to think the trees that lined the Bunkers were there when they were here.
We moved on from Dachau to the famous beer and sausage place, Hofbrahous. We had liter beers and I tried some homemade sausage. It was DELICOUS. I would love to return to Germany to try more of their “wursts” (sausages). The beer was also very delicious as it is actually from a brewery and not just Cruzcampo. We later walked around Munich and tried the Mulled wine. This is hot red wine with rum and cinnamon. I did not enjoy it too much but I do think that red wine drinkers would love it! I did steal the cup though since I put a deposit down for it J The next day we got up at 5 am to begin our train trek to Interlaken, Switzerland.
We had printed out our intinerary at the hostel in Munich, however it was lacking connecting trains that we had to catch. We took a total of 5 trains and between each train we often had less than 6 minutes lay over. We did lots of running between platforms with our luggage and trying to figure out where our sits were. Most of the time we simply sat where we wanted because our seats were nowhere to be found. We finally arrived in Interlaken. Our last train ride or so were very scenic and when we arrived, the view was breathtaking! The mountains and snow were everywhere and I was in heaven! However after a lot of traveling and lack of sleep the trek to our hostel seemed to last forever. We arrived to a great hostel with fresh spring water.
We walked around Interlaken and went to the grocery store to make some pasta. Things in Switzerland are NOT cheap! The following day we took a hike to one of the lakes and took numerous amazing pictures. After returning to our hostel and warming up we took an adventurous turn and went paragliding off the Swiss Alps!!!! It was the greatest feeling ever! I did not even realize that I was flying!
I was nervous at first but then once up there it was home free. We were so high and could see the mountains, the surrounding towns, the lakes and we even got to see the sunset on the mountains! I got to steer a little and we did some turns. I was definitely a lot of fun and very cold!
Later that night we met up with other Americans from our hostel and another and went out for some Swiss food. They are known for fondue and Rosti. I got a Rosti which is like hash browns, cheese and other veggies or meat. It was good, even though it was cheese less in Switzerland. The waiter thought I was crazy when I asked for it without cheese. Haha. Then we proceeded to to ask the waiter a good place for drinks was and his recommendation was … Hooters! He said it was the cheapest. So my first time in Hooters was in Interlaken, Switzerland. It was pretty hilarious.
The following morning we were on our last leg of our journey to Amsterdam. We arrived in Amsterdam after dark (seeing as it got dark at 4pm there) and all of the old building were lit up and it looked amazing! I did not realize how many old buildings were in Amsterdam!
We got to our hostel (which was huge) and then go dinner at a tapas restaurant down the street. It was delicious. The entire time we were in Amsterdam it rained but we managed to walk around the town and go to the Heineken Brewery. It was a great adventure and you see so much of how the beer is made, all the old items and commercials of Heineken and you lots of free beer. I even got a bottle with my name on it. I just hope I don’t mistake it for an empty one and throw it out.
After traveling around for 2 weeks (which seemed like months), I am happy to be back at home in Spain. I am exhausted. And for most of my travels I had a bad cold but no time to sulk when you’re in a million different countries for limited time. I hope everyone enjoyed my forever long entry about my adventures. They seemed to get less detailed as I went along because this became extremely long and I began to get tired. Here are also links to my pictures:
Munich
Interlaken
Amsterdam
Dachau Concentration Camp
Paragliding
ENJOY!
Besito,
Julie
Sadly I do not have any pictures with my family as they have mysteriously disappeared from my camera.
