I'm really behind on posting to this thing!

from Day 7:

And on the seventh day, God let the sun shine and the sky get blue just for us to go to the tulip gardens! The Keukenhof gardens were definitely the highlight of Holland for me! Even though a lot of the flowers weren't in bloom yet, a lot were. I'm actually kind of glad they weren't, otherwise i may never have left. Seriously. It was AMAZING!

...i took SO many pictures!! there was a greenhouse that gave a glimpse of what was to come outside and we spent almost an hour just in there! It was probably the best flower day i will ever have in my life! When we got back, we went to a grocery store (on the advice of an old guy in our sketchy ass hostel) and got tons of food for cheap and watched Mean Girls with dinner. Joe's never seen it!! Crazy! Anyway, before i go, here are some...

BITZ O WIZDUM

some things i've learned in Amsterdam

1. Check your travel paths carefully. If you don't you may wind up disoriented on a ferry crossing into Germany

2. Germans are a lot less naturally friendly than the Scandinavians (The Dutch are in the middle)

3. Mayonnaise on french fries is actually not bad (thank you Pulp Fiction)

4. When you are in the Red Light District, EVERYTHING is sex related. To assume otherwise is a mistake!

5. Amsterdam has a vodka museum. go to it.

6. TULIPS ARE AMAZING!!!!

7. You don't have to be high to have a good time in Amsterdam

8. Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam. I always thought she lived in Austria. Hmm...

9. God loves the gays. So does Amsterdam

10. Don't go to the Sex Museum. I am telling you as a friend. it is not worth it.

so we have a train to catch at 8:04 (ok, so what is the deal with trains/planes leaving at such random times? Why not just go at 8:05. Or 8? or something with some sort of reasoning behind it, rather than 'hmmm...how can we confuse our customers? I know, let's make our departure times so stupidly random that it confuses anyone who wants to travel!' But i digress...) I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 9

It's been a good day. Expensive, but good. We started off the day (at 8:30) walking around the city because nothing was open =( . we went down to Lake Zurich and took beautiful pictures then to a cafe with super good hot chocolate made with REAL SWISS CHOCOLATE!!!

...we then went to some churches, an art museum (blah), and the Swiss national museum that took forever to get through, like almost 3 hours of museum!

...It is really nice to have someone to travel with, if for nothing else, there is someone to talk to. Having it be your best friend is a plus :)

We're heading to Lucerne tomorrow. Big lake #2, beautiful mountains and more awesome Switzerlandness awaits, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 10:

Switzerland is such a beautiful country! We arrived in Lucerne at about 10 o'clock and we couldn't check into our hostel, so we walked around the city and soaked in the beautifullness! We ended up walking around the whole northern outside of the city! We saw the mountains in the mist and bought souvenirs. Joe got a badass pocket watch and I got a Switzerland mini-scarf!

...It's pretty warm here and the people were enjoying it! Apparently, the Swiss people love to practice tight rope walking. There were 4 in the park we walked by! anyway, we went to another chocolate shop and got some more chocolate (awesome!) and went back to the hostel to cook dinner. in the kitchen of the hostel, we met some people from Hong Kong and the man loved to talk! their son is 24 and has been working for an electronics company in Zurich for 3 years and they were vacationing with him until april. They were super traditional Asians! the wife was making dinner and the man was just sitting and talking to other people. One of the other people in the kitchen asked the man (the woman didn't speak English), "does your wife cook every day?" to which he responded "No...Sometimes we go out". I think the word Wow covers it! Anyway, he was telling us a lot about Hong Kong and it was really interesting how different cultures can be. Did you know that a lot of Chinese children are pretty much independent of their parents by age 18? You do now!

...After dinner, we went back to our room (did i mention we have a private room? Awesome!) and watched the new episodes of family guy and South Park, then A Bug's Life. Great night! We are going to see some sights, then walk around the other side of the lake tomorrow. Fun awaits, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 11:

I feel like a badass today! we literally walked off the map! we went so far around the lake that we left the city proper! It took a couple of hours and my legs are dead tired, but it was worth it. we got some awesome pictures of the mountains and a cool castle near the lakeside. the sky was way clearer in the distance today, so the pictures turned out awesome! we also went to the Cathedral of the Canton and walked around. it was pretty cool. We watched Fern Gully and were basically room bums the rest of the day. We were appreciating having a private room, so i feel it was justified! Cooked dinner and Chatted and ate TONS of Swiss Chocolate!!! It's been a great day and we're off to Bern tomorrow! I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 12:

We woke up at 9ish and left beautiful Lucerne for the big city! Bern, the capital of Switzerland is very much city. much more than the rest of Switzerland. It is also rainier. We went to Einstein's house in bern (in the rain), the History museum (in the rain), and shopping for food (again, in the rain). Our hostel here is at least nice. the Swiss do know how to put their guests up! All the hostels in Switzerland have been really nice (though a bit pricey), as all of Switzerland has been. We'll do more tomorrow, but for now, not much exciting. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

More to come!

Jojo

More Craziness...

From Day 4:

Starting off early (with every school child in Copenhagen, apparently) at the National Museum. If I don't go to jail for killing a child in the next few hours, I'll tell you how it goes.

God it is great to sit down! So i didn't kill any wee-ones in the museum. i just avoided them by being on different floors at all times. It has been a day! I've walked about 15km (no joke) total today and my legs are killing me! I walked from the museum to the harbour, then up the waterfront to the Gerin fountain and still further to 'the little mermaid' every travel book, guide and person told me not to waste my time on it, but i did. it actually wasn't as pathetic as everyone made it out to be. That little lady is really photogenic! After that, i walked to Rosenborg Castle and the King's Gardens...the Danish crown jewels are there and my God, they are an extravagant people, the Danish!

...The end of my day has been less eventful. Copenhagen overall has been a good time. i wish i had planned 3 days in each place instead of 2, then i wouldn't have to cram seeing so much in so little time! Well, before i go, here are some...

BITZ O WIZDUM (Some things from Copenhagen)

1. The hello rule is even more important in Denmark, cause their hello sounds like 'hi'

2. The Danish have come up with the best drink EVAR!!! Hot chocolate w/ ice cream!!!!!!!!!! the ice cream cools down the HC enough to make it drinkable as well as adding delicious ice cream flavour to the hot chocolate! Awesome!

3. It is much better to give yourself more time, rather than going more places. i have discovered this.

4. Scandinavians are nice! Ask for help if you need it!

5. Always check the train station before just showing up for your train on the day of travel

6. Before you plan a trip, see when all the really cool stuff opens up

Only 6 for Copenhagen. Maybe i'm getting more cultured...or less stupid...or just can't think of anything else. well, train at 7:45, so I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

From Day 5:

Well, that was a fun day. 11 hours of trains, accidentally boarding the subway, oh, and more trains! I left Copenhagen at 7:45AM and checked into my hostel in Amsterdam at 8:15PM.

...On my way, i apparently got on the metro. don't know how, but i did. When i came out, a policeman stopped me and started yelling in Dutch and i was really confused. apparently, the subway works the opposite way in Amsterdam; you pay when you come out. So i didn't have a ticket (since i got on it from a train) and technically took the subway through 3 zones and didn't pay for it! the policeman gave me a warning, so that's good.

...When i got to the hostel, i can see into the bar (yes the hostel has a bar. and a 'smoking room') and see a bunch of high Americans watching college basketball. really funny sight! they don't even react to the game, they just sit there open-mouthed staring at it!...Joe gets here tomorrow and i am worn out from the trains, so I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

From Day 6:

Well, today started off with a bang...or shall i say a flash. at 4:30 in the f&%!ing morning, some douche-bag decides to get ready -loudly- and to turn on the room light! so of course, it takes me a while to get back to sleep and then i have to get up in a few hours, but whatever. ANYWAY...I went to the science centre (I know, 2 science centres in 2 cities. yes i know i am a music major) and it took me by surprise how mature it was and how mature European kids are. there were some rather 'older' scientific things that were just open for everyone and the kids were very mature about it. there was a little puberty film and i was giggling more than the 10 year olds. i felt immature. but i realize that it is because they are able to see it, and have it explained maturely and scientifically, at such an early age that they turn out to be ok with stuff like sex, drugs and alcohol. It was an eye opener. After the science centre, i got on the City Sightseeing bus and went around the city.

...i got off and went to the Amsterdam tulip museum, which is basically a room in the basement of a flower shop with info and a video. but it was cool nonetheless. i also got some cool stuff from the shop. after that, i got caught in a rianstorm and took refuge in a cafe, where i got some lunch, turkey bagel sandwich. yummm. then Joe called and said he was here, so i went back to the hostel and met up with him. we went walking around the red light district, providing immense entertainment and a REALLY FUNNY story, then the sex museum, then the vodka museum. the vodka museum was definitely the better of the two. we got free shots (Awesome) and learned about vodka. i am now determined to brew my own at some point.

...We're going to the tulip garden awesomeness in the morning and i am SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!! but for day 6, so long. I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

More soon!

Jojo

The Madness begins! (excerpts from my travel diary)

BAH!! so it is finally happening! Spring Break, travelling through Europe AMAZINGNESS IS HERE!!!! so i will treat you for the next few weeks with insights into the mind of Joe Johnson and give you excerpts from the soon to be published (haha) travel diary of the 5 weeks of awesome!

from Day 1:

overall, i would say it's been an amazing day! my day started at midnight, catching the bus from oxford to stansead airport wherei had to wait for a few hours, but successfully booked, paid for and made a flight on time all by myself (It's the little things that make life grand!)!! i arrived in stockholm and proceeded to have trouble with my credit card, so what do i do? stand there trying for 5 minutes and then stand there some more. this, for some reason, looked shady to the security personnel, who felt it necessary to check my bags once more before letting me leave from baggage claim. other than that, it has been smooth sailing!

...i decided to check out Gamla Stan, the 'old city' and proceeded to get lost. but not the bad kind of lost. i mostly just walked around and checked outt he city. it was pretty fun.

...if you know me, you know i am obsessed with money from around the world. the Royal coin museum was perfect for this need of mine!!!! it was basically the best 2 hours of vacation EVER!!...so as you can see, my first day was rather awesome...but also long. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

from Day 2:

...i kept seeing this little cafe in Gamla Stan and finally decided i would go in. Great choice! I am eating a Brocolli and Ham quiche that is awesome and having hot chocolate because it is F*&£ing FREEZING here!! i mean it's Scandinavia, so i don't know what i was expecting, but still.

...today i got lost in the 'new city', not as fun as Gamla Stan. i went to the Nobel Museum and the Swedish Music Museum, both of which were pretty stellar!

...i ended up not doing much else the rest of the day but here are some.......

BITZ o WIZDUM from Joe Johnson

1. the Swedish love moose (mooses?)...i don't even know. it's just a thing here.

2. Hej (pronounced 'hey') is 'hello' in Swedish. if you say hey back to a store clerk, ticket person, etc. they will assume you speak swedish. ALWAYS SAY HELLO!!!

3. Americans are so behind the rest of the world! most of the people in my hostel are tri-lingual (their native language, English, and enough Swedish to get by) and it makes me sad i can't even understand numbers in swedish. Suck less America!

4. don't slip on ice. it hurts more when you already have an injury.

...6. Walk around, you never know what you'll find!

7. Swedish people are nice and friendly (and most of them can speak english!)

8.Swedes love asian food! Sushi, chinese, thai places EVERYWHERE!!!

9. burritos and chocolate...strangely awesome combination. Quiche and hot chocolate...better!

...Well, i have an 8:21 train to catch in the morning, so I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

from Day 3:

Denmark is way warmer than Sweden!...i got turned around getting to my hostel, but a nice homeless woman and a random passer-by helped me get to it ok.

...i didn't have time to do much today, but i did go to the Ripley's Believe it or Not in Copenhagen and (more the reason for going) the connected Hans Christian Andersen MiniMuseum! it was really cool. there were interactive exhibits and storytelling with robots (always awesome!). my favorite story by him, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, had a little interactive toy room where you could make the toys come to life. LOVED IT! after that i went to the planetarium to waste some time. cool stuff, space.

...i caved and had chinese food for dinner. but hold judgement, i passed up 2 McDonald's, a Burger King, and a KFC (plus all the stuff, including a TGI Fridays in Stockholm) so i feel it's ok!

...i got internet, so i figured i would update my blog while i was at it. I'm gonna turn in early (recurring theme?) and get started fresh in the morning. I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

More to come...

Jojo