Dublin

Once again, we had another great weekend. The trip to Dublin ended up going great, and was a lot of fun. 10 of us took a flight out of the Bremen airport to Dublin on Friday afternoon and checked into our hostel upon arrival. Our accomodations were very nice for a hostel (the one we stayed at was voted one of the top 10 in the world), though anything beats sleeping on the street again! It was already getting late, so we went to an Irish pub called O'Shea's, where we went through quite a few pitchers of Guinness while we played cards. After that, we walked through the center of Dublin, checking out a few bars and pubs, most notable the Temple Bar, along the way.

After a night of rest, we woke up to a big Irish breakfast, then headed out for the day. The weather, of course, was rainy, but at least, unlike in Germany, we did get to see some sun! We visited a number of sights, including the Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Phoenix Park, before going to the Guinness Storehouse. The Guiness Storehouse was really neat, and we took a tour of the building, followed by a pint of Guinness at the top of the Storehouse in the Gravity Bar. For lunch, one member of our group wanted to see the Captain America Grillhouse, so we all ate there. It was actually pretty good.....very similar to a Hard Rock Cafe. We did a bit of shopping, then went back to the hostel to regroup, before heading out to another Irish pub for dinner, Guinness and Smithwick's, and cards. Before calling it quits for the nights, we went back into Temple Bar for a couple of final drinks in Ireland.

We had an early flight back the next morning, and all went well. The trip was a lot of fun, and I'm sure I'll be back to Ireland again to check out more!

I'm not sure what the plans are for this weekend coming up. I might just stay in Braunschweig and take it easy for the final weekend before Christmas break, but there is also talk of Venice, Pisa, and Rome as well. So, we'll have to see how things iron out!

Amsterdam

It was another pretty interesting weekend. Six of us rode the train about 7 hours to get to Amsterdam in Holland, Netherlands. It was a beautiful city, and the trip was ok, but not quite as fun as we had hoped. Upon arriving in Amsterdam, we went to tour the Heineken Brewery, only to learn that it was closed for rennovation. So, we went to take a canal tour, but we missed the last ferry by just a few minutes. I guess that goes to show how important planning is! Anyways, we went to a couple of small museums instead, then walked around the city just checking our some neat sites. The city itself is beautiful, covered in canals and lights. For supper, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam, which was terrific. The downside about the city had to be the overwhelming amount of drugs. Everywhere we went, we were approached to buy, which got pretty old fast, but was what I guess you had to expect when going to Amsterdam. We walked around for a good portion of the night, which was absolutely perfect weather-wise, until it started to pour. Unfortunately, we didn't have a place to stay, as the trip was last minute, and the booking of a hotel fell through. So, we made shelter in a pub for a couple of ours, to at least get out of the rain. But, everything began to clase down around 2:00 am, and we were stuck on the street in the cold and rain. We went to the train station to try to set up camp there out of the elements, but even that was closed. So, we were forced to sit out side under an ovehang until the train station reopened at 5:00 am. At least it was only a few hours, but it sure started to get cold towards the end. In the morning, since it was Sunday morning and so early, the only place open for breakfast was Burger King, so we grabbed a bite to eat and walked through the rain to the Maritime Museum, just to find that it was closed for rennovations as well. But, we were able to pass the morning until our train. I don't think any one of us has ever been so excited to get on a 7 hour train before! Overall, the trip was alright, but just didn't live up to what we had hoped.

I only have three days of class, and then it's off to Dublin Friday afternoon for the weekend. Hopefully everything goes well!