EUROPE

I'm obsessed with backpack traveling. I don't want to return to reality. It is day 15 of the trip and Court and I have had a blast. I missed my flight to Amsterdam on December 26th. That didn't stop me from getting there though. I bought the next flight out and got to Amsterdam only two hours later than expected. Such a cute city. It is very easy to walk around. I somehow became map girl of the trip and surprisingly we haven't gotten lost yet. I have uncovered a hidden talent I didn't know I had. Amazing Race here I come. Highlights from Amsterdam: ate Gouda cheese IN the city of Gouda, stroopwafels are the most amazing treat in the world, walking around the Red Light District, and the quite/chill atmosphere when walking around crossing the canals. Bikers are CRAZY there. They don't stop...ever. And there are so many of them. The hostel we stayed at (Flying Pig Uptown) was great. People from everywhere chilling in the bar and the smoking room. We went to Berlin next and stayed with a family friend, Susanne and her son Korde. Such a cute family. Susanne walked us around Berlin and took us to the most famous currywurst stand. It was delicious. A hotdog with curry spice and ketchup. It originated in the Turkish area of Berlin. We were in Berlin over New Years and went to the huge celebration at the Brandenburg Gate. Over a million people were there. A 2 km stretch of street leading to the gate was blocked off and filled with food and drink stands and about every 100 meters there was a different stage playing music. 80's rock cover bands, djs, etc. The fireworks were beautiful. In every city Court and I have been doing these free city tours New Europe and they have been so awesome. They are about 3 hours and take you around the entire city and talk about the history of the city. They work off tips only which is a cool concept. We have learned so much about every place we've been to. It is basically an interactive, interesting history lesson but you're standing where the history happened. Pretty badass. Like we walked through the square where the book burning night happened before WWII where all the books written by Jewish authors or preached something against national socialism were burnt. We saw the hotel in Berlin where Michael Jackson held the baby out the window! From Berlin we headed to Prague. My favorite place so far. I don't know why exactly. But when I was there I felt the most connected to it. The city is so cute. The buildings are all the same but different pastel colors. The history about how it escaped communism is really interesting. It is weird because I am normally so uninterested in just about everything but being in these old cities and learning about their origins and the things they have gone through are intese stories. America is such a baby. Court and I had an unexpected absinthe night. Apparently it is a big deal in Prague. It was 5:30am until we went to bed. We partied with two brothers from Colombia. Good times. While in Prague we took a day trip to Plzen (hour and a half away) where Pilsner beer started. We went on a brewery tour of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery which supplies all over the world. It was an awesome tour. They took us down into the underground cellars where they stored huge barrels of beer and gave us glasses from the barrels. Way cooler than from a tap in a bar. Prague was SO cheap. We were buying beers for like 20 cents. Fried cheese is a traditional thing in Prague. It is like mozzarella sticks on steroids. So good. We went to Munich next. Which is where we are now. Beer, beer, beer, beer, beer. We took a day trip to Salzburg. A really cool city in Austria that has a huge fortress. Pictures will come in a week or so. It is like a fortress from a fairy tale. Walls like 300 feet tall and holes for shooting cannons out of. There is a women's ice hockey tournament going on in Fussen which is about 2 hours from Munich. We somehow got in contact with a guy that is involved in the European hockey world and he took us to the tournament. 6 nations: Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia. It was fun to watch. Sweden beat Findland. WHAT UPPPP. We were going to go to the Hofbrahaus but we went next door to the Augustiner Brewery instead. Such a good decision. No tourist. Full of old German men drinking liters of beer. We are off to London tomorrow to stay with Hiss (college teammate) until Friday. Then I'm back to Sweden. Back to the real world of hockey and school. I wish I could jump from hostel to hostel with a backpack forever. Traveling is such an amazing experience. I can't wait to travel more this spring/summer. I left so much out about my trip. I could go on forever about everything. Basically I love Europe and never want to leave. Goodbye America <3