We then took the chunnel to Paris and Paris was even better than I expected!!!! :D Everything was so quaint and lovely. There was a lot more color than London and the buildings were not as highly built (five or six stories maximum but mostly four). We went to Notre Dame, had paninis and beer along the Seine river, explored the Louvre, saw the Arch de Triomphe, and went to the very top of the Eiffel Tower.
We then went to the beaches of Normandy and fell in love with the French country side and southern french people. After that we were off to Nice and swam in the Cote d'Azure. Next we took a night train to Munich (which was no fun at all because it was cramped and kind of dirty :s). We arrived in Munich at 7am and quickly changed from shorts to long sleeves and jackets. :D We had no idea we were only an hour away from the Bavarian/Swiss Alps. We explored the city which was the third largest in Germany but still had the feel of an alpine village. We saw the Glochenschpiel (I have no idea if I spelled that right), went to the Deustche Museum (the history of science/modern technology museum), and strolled through an open air market.
The next day we took a train into the alps and visited two castles called Schweinstein and Neuschweinstein. We had so much fun in the Bavarian part of Germany. Everyone was so nice and boisterously in love with life, our kind of people. ;) The food was so good. The basics to every meal were the following: meat, potatoes, cabbage (usually in the form of sour kraut), bread, and beer. German food was by far the best I have ever had (even better than in France).
We were so sad to leave Munich, which was our favorite stop during the entire trip. But, we hopped on another train to Berlin and rode first class through beautiful forests. Berlin was my least favorite stop. The city was cold and dreary. This effect was partially due to the gray cloudy weather and rain, partially due to the big and cold/imposing buildings, but mostly due to the sad/depressing history that haunted this city. The city had very little to celebrate other than the tearing down of the Berlin Wall within recent history. First there were the Kaisers, than Nazi Germany, than the division of Berlin and the occupation of East Germany by Soviet Russia.
We visited Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, the remnants of the Berlin Wall, and Check Point Charlie. But, everything was just so sad that by the end of the day, Andrew and I only wanted to go back to the hostel and watch a movie on his iphone (yes, it was that bad :P). But, we picked up our spirits enough to go to this little Greek tavern nearby which we were so glad we did. It was delicious food served by the sweetest little German lady.
Overall, the trip was amazing with plenty of excitement along the way. This is only a short narration but I don't want to bore you. :D
Next stop...Washington D.C. and the East coast.
