Heading to Amsterdam

Kevin, Brady and I headed to the bus stop at 8:30am. The rest of the group had an earlier flight then us so they had already left. It took about 45 minutes to get to the airport. We checked in and everything went alright except for the fact that my bag weighed too much and I had to check it. It was only 20 Euro so it wasn’t too big of a deal. We got through security really fast and grabbed some breakfast. A restaurant in the airport actually had a real breakfast so we ate there. It tasted really good! Then we boarded the plane around 11:30. I slept the whole way which was really nice so it felt like a really short flight. We got to Amsterdam at 2:20pm. Once I got my bag we had to figure out how to get to our hotel. Luckily they had a kiosk where you could call the hotel directly. It turned out they have a free shuttle. When we got to the hotel everyone else was already there so it worked out well. The hotel looked really bad from the outside but the inside was pretty nice. I shared a room with Kate and the guys were paired up in three other rooms. We then all headed into town which took forever! We had to take the bus back to the airport and then get tickets for a 20 minute train to Amsterdam central. It was kind of a pain but we had no other choice. We walked around town a bit. The city is actually pretty neat with the buildings and canals. The group decided to go to a coffee shop where Kate and I split a piece of space cake. Interesting experience to say the least. Afterwards we found a pizza place for dinner. Then after dinner we headed over to the red light district. Absolute craziness! First of all there literally are red lights all over the place. Second, it is basically just a bunch of girls selling themselves in windows. It was a really strange thing to see. Then something happened which pretty much ruined Amsterdam for me. The guys wanted to go to another coffee shop so we found one which was right by one of the canals. It was incredibly smoky and I could not handle the smell so I went outside and Dan and Sean came outside with me. After awhile Brady and Jeremy came outside because they claimed they needed some fresh air. Brady started walking towards the canal and all of a sudden started falling forward. There was a light post about a foot away from the canal and he fell forward, his arm wrapped around the light post, he hit the ground and started shaking uncontrollably.  We all ran over to him to try to keep him from falling into the canal and he looked absolutely horrible. His face turned instantly yellow and he had the blankest stare on his face. It was so scary! Once he stopped shaking we tried moving him away from the water and over to the steps but before he got there he fell again and started shaking again. A guy from the coffee shop came out and gave him some sugar water. He said he sees it all the time and apparently smoking weed makes your blood sugar really low. He eventually stopped shaking and we got him to sit on the steps and drink a lot of water. Afterwards I was the one who couldn’t stop shaking. It was probably one of the scariest things ever. So many things were going through my head – what if he fell in the water? How are we going to get him to the hospital? We are in a different country, are they going to understand what happened? So many things all at once! It was a terrible feeling. It reminded me a lot of the time I saw Kristin wipe out on her skies. Just not knowing what happened is really frightening. After things calmed down a bit he seemed fine but had scratches down the side of his face from when he hit the ground. When he felt ok enough to get up and walk we went back to the hotel. It was our first night in Amsterdam and I had already seen enough.

How do 8 people all oversleep?

The group in front of the Guinness factory

What an interesting morning we had! Our whole group overslept and woke up 15 minutes before we were supposed to catch our bus to Dublin. Some of us were pretty much packed so we threw on some clothes and headed to the bus in hopes of catching it. That didn’t work. We were five minutes late and the bus left without us. Luckily they let us catch the 10:15 bus without having to pay again. So we waited in the coach station for an hour. As I was waiting I realized I had left my iPod in the room. So I had to run back and grab it. It wasn’t fun being so rushed but everything turned out alright. We got on the bus and made it to Dublin three hours later. We walked a bit of a ways to our hostel which was a nice hostel. It was called the Four Courts hostel and we all got a room together with our own bathroom. After we dropped off our stuff we headed to the Guinness factory which was so much fun! The factory was a lot bigger than I thought and it looked really cool. At the end we each got a free pint of Guinness which was great! Funny story – at one point I went to the bathroom and when I came back the man at the bar got on the microphone and said “There is a girl here who forgot to tell us it was her 21^st birthday. And that girl’s name is Nickie!” Kevin had told him it was my birthday and it was so funny! Of course I just started cracking up and once people realized it was my “birthday” they all started clapping. Of course my face turned bright red too. He gave me another pint of Guinness and throughout the time we were there people just kept giving us there tickets for more beer. A ton of people came up and wished me a Happy Birthday and gave me their ticket. It was great! And so funny! We ended up getting 18 free pints between the 7 of us. It was so much fun!

First of the many free Guinness!

After the factory we did some souvenir shopping. There was a free BBQ for those staying at our hostel but I didn’t go because I really wanted to shower. Looks kind of go out the window on long trips like this so I was in desperate need of a shower. Everyone else who went said the BBQ was kind of lame anyways. That night everyone took it pretty easy and hung out at the hostel for a bit. Some of us wanted to go out so Dan, Sean, Jeremy and I went to find a good bar. We went to the Brazen Head which is the oldest bar in Ireland. It is from 1198. There was practically no one there so we left and tried to find another place. The second place we went to had live music which was cool but the place was packed. There was no room for us so we left. Finding another bar was kind of a bust so we headed back to the hostel. We ended up playing pool, foosball, and darts at the hostel. It was actually a lot of fun. We went to bed pretty early because we definitely didn’t want to risk missing our bus to the airport in the morning! It was really sad having to leave Ireland. I really enjoyed my time there!

I Can Sleep When I'm Dead

This morning I got up and got ready and went down to the reception desk to figure out our day. It was about 9:00am when I went to go check and the guy at the desk said the bus left for the Aran Islands at 9:30am. Everyone else was still sleeping so I went back upstairs to see who would want to go and people were not really excited about getting up after being up so late the night before. I definitely didn't want to sleep the day away so we headed to the bed. It ended up being Kate, Jake, Brady, Kevin and me that went and I am so glad we did! It was absolutely beautiful! We caught the bus at the last minute and it was an hour bus ride to the ferry. We then got on the ferry and headed to the island. The ferry ride was a lot of fun because we went to the back of the boat and the waves were huge! It was fun but cold. When we got to the island we grabbed a sandwich for lunch and then took a van tour around the island. We were thinking about getting bikes but it started to rain. The van tour only cost 10 Euro and it took us to the fort which was on these really tall cliffs. It was amazing! I had heard that people have blown off the cliffs before but we were pretty safe. I of course had to look over the edge but we crawled and held on to the rocks. It was so cool and I am so glad that I went. We spent about an hour and a half at the cliffs and then got back in the van. Our guide showed us some other things like a really old church which was neat. The island was just gorgeous all around because you could see water on all sides and luckily the weather cleared up right when we got to the cliffs. It was perfect! After the tour we had about 2 hours before the ferry left so we went in some stores and then sat in a bar for awhile. It was really cold at that point so it felt nice to be inside. The ferry ride back was absolutely nuts! It was so very rocky and at some points it was a little scary but in the end everything was fine. We got back to our hostel around 7:00pm. It was a long day but a lot of fun! We got some dinner and then just hung out in the room for awhile. We then headed to The Quays again for a drink. They had a really good band there so it was fun to dance and sing to the songs. It was nice that they actually played songs we knew. We had to get everything cleaned up in our room and leave early in the morning so we took it easy.

Gotta Love Galway!

Cliffs of Moher

We all started the day off at about 9:00am and had breakfast. The free breakfast which was included in our hostel was a piece of jelly toast. It was alright but it was madness in the kitchen when everyone was trying to make toast with just two toasters. Afterwards we went to the reception desk to buy our tickets for the Cliffs of Moher tour. We decided to take the tour that took up the full day since we didn’t have anything else planned. We walked to the coach station and boarded the bus. It was a big coach bus and it was pretty full. It took us to a lot of other places like an old castle and an old church. The tour was SO much fun! We had a crazy bus driver named Desmond who was hilarious. He kept cracking jokes the whole time and it was amazing. We stopped at multiple places to take pictures which was great. The countryside of Ireland is absolutely beautiful! It is just what people picture with the green fields and rocks. It is so strange because there are just limestone walls all over the place. I do not know how they got there or why there are so many of them. We eventually made it to the Cliffs of Moher and we got an hour and a half to be up there. There was a wall and sign that said “Please do not go beyond this point”. Well, we definitely did not listen to that. We followed the path to the top of one of the cliffs and it was great! It had amazing views and I am really glad we went. It was a little windy which freaked me out but otherwise the path was pretty wide so we were ok. We were really lucky because it was rainy the whole day but once we got to the cliffs the sky opened up. It was perfect! I couldn’t have asked for it to be any better. The tour ended at about 6:30pm which was a little later than expected but that was ok. The tour was definitely worth it and I am so glad we did it. After we got back we were all pretty tired so I relaxed a little bit, showered and got some dinner. When we were all rested up we ran into the guys in the room next door to us and they were a lot of fun. We hung out in there room for a bit and had a drink. They were from Dublin and it was fun talking to them. They were going to Club K so we went along. We all danced and it was great! It was crazy because the club was really crowded and it was a Tuesday night. After awhile people kind of went their own way and we met up later at the hostel. I was really tired so I went to bed at about 2:30am. I didn’t really sleep though because everyone was coming back at different times throughout the night. It wasn’t a big deal but it was a little crazy! Overall it was an amazing day seeing Ireland and meeting some locals!



I'm sure the sign is just a suggestion



Trains, Planes and Automobiles

After finding out the Vikings lost to the Packers, (yes, I got up for the game but was so tired I went back to sleep after the first quarter) we woke up and packed up our stuff. We checked out of our hostel at 10:00am. Jake for some reason wanted to see the Lion Monument again even though it was pouring out. So we took a long way to the train station and saw the lion. It was kind of a pain dragging all of our luggage around especially since everything was getting really wet. We then made our way to the train station. Our train didn’t leave until 12:10pm so we had some time to kill. We got lunch and sat at some tables outside the café for about an hour. We went to the platform a little early and luckily our train was already sitting there so we got on board. I was happy because sitting in the train station was freezing! The train took us right to the Zurich Airport. The ride was about an hour so that wasn’t too bad. The airport was a lot bigger than I expected and the set up is really strange. There were to Check-in places and they were all spread apart. Of course the one we were supposed to go to was the last one we checked. When we got to the check-out counter no one was there to help us. It was the weirdest thing! We asked someone where we should go and he said “Come back in about 5 to 10 minutes and someone should be there”. I just couldn’t believe that they would all just leave at the same time. Well about 15 minutes later people came and we got to check in. Check in went well but of course my bag was too heavy! Why does this always happen to me? So I moved some things around and luckily the guy who helped us was really nice because it came to 11.4 kg when it was supposed to be 10 kg. It was also really nice because all four of us got seats next to each other. After that we followed the signs to our gate and it took us all over. We went through a passport thing which I wasn’t expecting and then we had to take a subway thing to our gate. It seemed really weird because we had been there so long and still hadn’t gone through security. After the subway ride we went through security. I absolutely hate going through security because all it is is a mad rush but everything went fine and we all go through without any problems. Then we headed to the gate and had about a 40 minute wait before we started boarding. I was glad my luggage fit in the over-head compartment because I didn’t want to have to check it and it is a rather large bag. A really funny thing happened on the plane. I fell asleep for a little bit and when I woke up it was 5:30. This worried me because our bus was supposed to leave at 6:15. So I told the guys and we were all getting worried and we thought it was weird because it didn’t even seem like the plane was on its way down yet. So Kevin went and asked one of the flight attendants and she said “We are going to land around 5:15pm.” There was a time change!!! I laughed so hard when we found that out! We were all really relieved. We landed at 5:05pm and going through customs was a breeze. We found Kate and Jeremy right away which was good and then we stopped to get a sandwich for dinner. It was nice we found Kate and Jeremy right away because they knew where the bus was and everything. We all got on the bus without any problems. The bus ride was about 3 hours and I pretty much slept the whole time. We got to the tourist center and headed to the hostel. We got a little twisted but found it without a problem. The hostel is nice and the lady at the desk was really helpful. Our group is pretty big with all eight of us but it all worked out well. We all paid and got our room keys and headed to the room. It was pretty much a maze trying to get to our room. So many hallways and stairs. It is so confusing! After we all got settled we went out to a bar right across the street. It was a really cool place called The Quay. It was really neat and had live music. I had my first real Irish Guinness! It was pretty tasty! Afterwards we went back to the hostel to try and plan out what to do tomorrow.  

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Hofkirche

We got kind of a slow start this morning but it ended up being ok because it was absolutely pouring when we woke up. We were all really sad because we planned on going up the big mountain which is called Mt. Pilatus. We took our time hoping it would clear up and made breakfast. The rain was not picking up so we decided against going up the mountain and tried to think of something else we could do. There was not much to do that wasn’t outside besides a museum but no one was really interested in going to that. After a while we just decided we had to go out and do something. We braved the rain and went to the Hofkirche which is a church. It was really pretty! I love going to churches (as you know!) and they had a really pretty cemetery. We walked down a couple roads we hadn’t been down and went in some souvenir shops. I bought a Switzerland and Luzern pin to add to my collection! I am really excited to put them on my backpack. It made me realize I have been to five different countries already on the trip which is just crazy! I am so lucky! After walking around a while we went and got some lunch at the same place we went to yesterday. It is generally cheap food so we went there again. Normally I wouldn’t worry so much about the price of something but it is crazy how expensive things are. A slice of Pizza was 7 francs which is about 8 U.S dollars. That is crazy! We all decided it was a good thing we weren’t spending our whole week in Switzerland because we would be broke! Although I would love to stay longer I don’t think anyone could afford it! The rain stopped for a little bit after lunch but we were out of ideas of things to do. We headed back to the hostel and it started to pour. :’( It is frustrating having the rain stopping you from doing something but it wouldn’t have been all that enjoyable. We contemplated still going up the mountain but we knew we wouldn’t be able to see much and it would be cold.  The boys took a nap and I started writing my blog. Then at 5:30 I left and went to church at the Hofkirche. It was a really nice mass and I think I actually understood it. It was very interesting because a woman gave the homily. I don’t know who she was but I know she was saying something about discrimination towards women. I wish I could have understood all of what she was saying. It was still pretty rainy out so we watched a movie and made hot dogs for dinner. This day was a little pathetic but it didn’t help that a lot of things were closed. On Sundays it is really difficult to find things that are open. It was still a lot of fun spending another day in this beautiful city. We have a big travelling day tomorrow so hopefully everything will go well! I am excited to get to Ireland!

Brady, Jake, Me and Kevin

Falling in Love with Luzern!

Dying Lion Monument

We woke up this morning at about 9:00am, made a really good breakfast of bacon and eggs and went exploring! Our plan for the day was to just do a self-guided walking tour which turned out to be really nice! The first stop was to the Dying Lion of Luzern monument. It was only a block away from our hostel so we went there first. It is a giant lion that is carved into a rock face. It is pretty cool because it is really detailed and it is crazy to think about how they created it. Apparently it was a memorial of the Swiss people who died in some battle back in the 1700’s. There is water around it and a lot of trees which was pretty. All of the leaves on the trees are changing so it is gorgeous. Then we walked to the Musegg Wall which goes along the northern part of the town. We walked around the wall and went into the towers. There are a total of nine towers but you can only go in three of them. Going in the towers gave really cool views of the city. I took a lot of pictures and we just kind of took our time. We walked some of the roads and went in a few stores. Afterwards we went to a place to get pizza for lunch. It was really good pizza. After walking around town all day we headed back to the hostel to take a little rest. As we were doing that the weather began to clear up so we thought we should go back out. There was blue sky and everything looked amazing! The sun started to set and it was the perfect time to take pictures! It was gorgeous! The pictures I took do not give it justice but they still are pretty! We walked across the two old bridges in town. One is called the Chapel Bridge and I forgot the name of the other one. They are pretty much the same. There are pictures on the ceiling of the bridge and there is a tower thing connected to it. When it started to get darker we went back to the hostel and made dinner. It was really fun all cooking together! We made pasta which crème sauce and frankfurters. We all made it together with music blaring and everything. It was fun and it actually tasted good!

Then we decided to go out and we went to a bar just down the road which was called Mindblowers. They had good music playing and we just hung out there. Then later that night Kevin, Jake and I went to go find the bar they went to the night before but we never found it. It was getting late so we just decided to go back to the hostel and go to bed. It was a fun day exploring the city and the whole time I couldn’t believe how beautiful everything is!

Chapel Bridge