Day 29 – Copenhagen – Thursday June 21st

We woke up bright and early (7am) to get ready to go to a lecture at Copenhagen University in their Computer Science department. We took an incredibly long bus ride to the university and arrived to meet the very lively professor that taught us for the rest of the day. He was a good lecturer and very interesting. He gave three lectures; the culture of Denmark, the life of Peter Naur, and mobile technology around the world. We had short breaks in between each lecture, so we never were completely restless. The cultural review was very interesting. He made a large point to say how respectful, tolerant, and trusting Danish people were compared to Americans. I thought for sure that he was just talking up his people (to some degree, he probably was), but I do have a story for later that proved his point. The lecture lasted until about 1:30 or so, and the class took a bus back towards the main square near our hotel. We caved and ate at a McDonalds which was much cheaper than any of the local places (though not by much).

Directly after that, knowing that we definitely weren’t going to be able to see the major landmarks given that all of them close by 5pm, we headed for Tivoli, the local amusement park. The place reminded me of the Pavilion at Myrtle Beach, just cleaner. They had plenty of fun rides, including two great roller coasters, a freefall, a pirate ship-style ride, and a ride that spun as it flipped you upside down. We ate at the nearby Copenhagen Hard Rock Cafe where I saw Bob Dylan’s telecaster. Then, we went back into the park and rode some more rides. I got some candy floss (cotton candy) and ate it all. Eventually, the group wanted to go back, so I stayed back with two girls from the group that met up with us and wanted more rides to ride.

During the course of these events, I must have had my camera literally fly out of my pocket because it suddenly just was not there. I thought I should try to find it just soI could know I tried. Somehow (and this relates to the trustfulness of the Danish), my camera had just been turned in when I arrived. He asked me the model, and I said, “I have no idea, but my mom made me put my name on the side. It says Ben Suitt.” That sticker actually came in handy; who knew? We finished the night by watching a light show and letting Jocelyn look in trashcans for cups since returned cups gave you a whopping $1 each.

I came back to the hotel and was convinced to go out to a karaoke bar, so I thought I’d give it a try. I sang “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash. It was pretty funny because people were clapping and cheering for me. I had two guys come up and ask me where I was from. They were from Memphis and San Francisco. Some of the guys sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and other songs. We all had a real great time. I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Day 28 – Train to Copenhagen – Wednesday June 20th

We did not have to leave until about 10am, so I finally got to sleep in a little bit. We headed for the train station, which for some reason was only reachable by a half hour walk and a ride on the S-bahn. I got Dunkin Donuts and some magazines to hold me over on the train ride. We made it near the German border and switched to a train that literally boarded a ship to cross the Baltic Sea. For those of us that fell asleep and had no forewarning, it was a little strange to wake up with the lights off on a train with no one in it slowly rocking. I ate in the cafeteria they had and went to the top deck where you could see the Denmark coast.

We had two more hours of train riding when we made it into Denmark. When we arrived around 6:30, Chris, two other guys, and I ate at what appeared to be a local family restaurant similar to a Longhorn. The food was not too great and very expensive due to Copenhagen’s high socialist prices, so I didn’t get too much bang for my buck.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a number of the five pools they had to offer. Sam, Drew, Rob, Nick, and some of the girls met us down there, and we all swam for an hour or two. We relaxed in the sauna and went to our rooms. Most everyone in the room stayed in and watched a movie, so it was a relaxing evening. I had to read some articles for Dr. Turkett’s class. As a result, I also need to include two pictures in this blog. The picture, taken in Florence, had been compressed into a .jpg file with a 20% quality factor. Can you tell the difference between the two? One is actually a much smaller file.

Day 27 – Berlin Day 2 – Tuesday June 19th

I woke up at 8:30 and had some breakfast before meeting the Computer Science class for a field trip to the German Museum of Technology. The Museum was very interesting. We saw exhibits on the first electronic computers created by Zuse and the development over the 20^th century of computers. Afterwards, I took a detailed audio tour of the ship and aviation exhibits they had. From the Kaffenkahn ships to the Junkers Ju 52, I saw the development of ships and airplanes in Germany over the past 150 years or so. After going through the exhibit, most of the class had already left. I went with Dr. Turkett back near the hotel.

We ate lunch at a pizza place near the hotel that was very good. Germans really have been the friendliest so far on the trip. The waitresses have been especially nice. The restaurant suggested we try German Cola, which ended up being very good (at least better than Pepsi).

After realizing no one was really at the hotel at this time of day, Dr. Turkett and I went to the Topography of Terror to take the free audio tour that they offered. The exhibit was very detailed and actually taught me more about the German side of things than Auschwitz did. In fact, I wish the order had been switched for when I saw this exhibit and Auschwitz because I would have understood the concentration camp much more had I known the information about Germany beforehand. Of course I knew some, but not as much as I feel I know now.

We headed back to the train station and happened upon a drum circle with break dancers. It really wasn’t anything special, but it was very entertaining.

As soon as I got to the hotel, I found out that everyone was over at the Sony Center, where I just was. I went back with a group of people and met up with the guys. We saw Ocean’s Thirteen. It was in English, but the theater experience was very different from America. Seats were assigned, the screen was covered in a red curtain, and previews lasted for 30 minutes exactly before they shut the curtain again and sold ice cream. The movie was an entertaining heist movie, but for all its style, it lacked a conflict. In a summer of sequels, this one was nothing special.

Full off of movie food, I came back to the hotel with rob and did my Computer Science homework. I went to bed after a very fulfilling trip to Germany.

Day 26 – Day 1 in Berlin – Monday June 18th

I met a large group of girls downstairs in the lobby of the Hotel California at about 10am. We went straight for Zoo Berlin. There they had the largest number of species of any zoo in the world. We saw a large variety of monkeys first. It always makes me sad to see orangutans though because they appear so sad usually and very humanistic.

We saw elephants, lions, tigers, wolves, tapirs, flamingos, camels, giraffes, polar bears, seals, penguins, hippos, rhinos, and jaguars to name a few. They had a baby polar bear which was a main attraction at the zoo. It came out between 11 and 12 for public feeding. They had to move the crowd out in fifteen minute shifts to make the crowds reasonable. The zookeepers literally were tackling the bear and rolling in the dirt with it. They made it seem like polar bear bites just didn’t hurt.

We met with Dr. Bob at 1pm to go see the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. It was very interesting with all of its stories of daring escapes out of East Berlin. The most creative, I thought, was a homemade scuba tank and accompanying gear that was made from scrap metal and tubing. We were rushed a little to get through, so I missed some of the museum. I got the gist of it though. From there, we saw the last remnants of the Berlin wall. They were mostly chipped away, but they were an impressive part of history nonetheless. The Topography of Terror was literally right next to the wall, but I had to breeze through it in order to stay with the group. We walked to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. The gate was beautiful and so was the Reichstag. We did not go inside the Reichstag, but apparently the view from the top was great.

Next was the Holocaust memorial across the street from the gate. It seemed almost plain from the street. It appeared to be just black slabs of different sizes all thrown together. Once inside, however, I realized that the slabs were over ten feet high in places. I lost sight of everyone I was with in seconds and the instant feeling of loneliness in a maze of black towers was almost frightening. The memorial really showed how something so innocent looking from the street could be a maze of solitude and terror.

Rob and I met in the lobby of the hotel at 6pm to grab dinner. I had a duck salad and a rack of lamb tat was both affordable and delicious. We met Dr. Turkett and Dr. Bob at 7pm and headed to the playhouse down several blocks from Checkpoint Charlie. We saw the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. It was in German, but they made it very visual. They changes quite a bit to the story. The figurines were made of ice instead of glass and they cut several scenes with Tom. They even changed the ending slightly. It was still worthwhile though; the acting was engaging and well-crafted.

We headed back to the hotel, but since Rob was sick and the other guys had gone, I was left with little to do. Luckily, there was a large group of people in my room (maybe 12 or so), so I took everyone to “Klo” (the toilet bar Dr. Rast suggested to me). It was very fun. The novelty of the bar was that they played pranks on you while you sat there and they played funny videos and had fun paraphernalia all around. Seats shook or changed heights, spiders and foam hammers fell from the ceiling, and the waiters would sneak up on the table and scare us. We all had a good time and left happy.

Day 25 – Train to Berlin – Sunday June 17th

We got up at around 8am to get ready for a day of traveling. After breakfast, we had to take a metro over to the train station. The ride to Berlin was noticeably shorter this time around (4 hours compared to our usual 12).

We arrived at the Hotel California around 3ish, unpacked, and rested for a while. We then headed to look for an ATM and an early dinner. We happened upon a lovely German restaurant. I had a gorgonzola sauce steak that was excellent. Most everypne got a schnitzel.

We headed back to the hotel and really just relaxed for the rest of the evening. The day felt long for some reason, and the hotel had free internet. I called Dad, worked on some homework, and checked my mail. Nothing too exciting today, but tomorrow should be incredible.

Day 24 – Prague Second Day – Saturday June 16th

We woke up at about 9:30am. Breakfast was the same, and afterwards, I met up with all the guys, Lanny, Chappie, Amelia, and Ginna. We walked once again to the main square with the astronomical clock. It was lunchtime by this point, so we ate at a nearby restaurant. I had the ribs for the third day in a row and continued to believe they were the best ribs I had ever had. We made the walk over the Charles bridge, which was beautiful and lively with its statues and performers and caricature artists. We headed up to the castle on the hill and happened upon Greg and Scott who we were walking to meet anyway. Graber took us over to the cathedral within the castle walls. It was like a smaller Notre Dame, so it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already seen better somewhere else. The castle was really a bit of a disappointment since there was little to do. It was very much unlike the castle in Krakow which was meant for tourism.

We went from there past the Charles bridge to go pedal boating. On the way, I spotted the locations from Mission Impossible where the car explodes, the girl gets stabbed, and Tom Cruise runs down a flight of stairs to see it all happen. It was pretty cool to recognize an onsite location like that. The pedal boats were very cheap to rent for an hour, so we had no problem getting out on the water. I was in a boat with Rob, Greg, and Graber. We just pedaled on up to the higher boundaries of our boating area and drifted down the river for an hour. It was the most relaxing part of the trip so far.

We went straight to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner at Graber’s house. We took taxis over and had no problem getting into the house. We were told security would be pretty tight and that we needed passports. It really wasn’t that big of a deal once we got there. The Graber’s did a wonderful job of making it feel comfortable. The house of the ambassador was beautiful; I can’t believe Graber lives there every day. We took a brief tour of the house and then went swimming in their outdoor pool. For dinner, we had hamburgers, taters, salads, and fruit. Afterwards, we just relaxed in the library and listened to beach music. I really had a wonderful time.

We left after several hours to go have Graber show us some bars and clubs that he liked to go to at night. I had a great time that night. I got back to the hotel late with a large group of people and went to bed after a wonderful day in Prague.

Day 23 – Prague First Day – Friday June 15th

We woke up at about 9:30 and had breakfast. It wasn’t anything special, but it did the job. We mostly just waited for Brent, Greg, and three other girls to come from London to meet us to tour the city. I had some more laundry done and went to an internet cafe. They came right around lunch time. It was great to see Greg, who I hadn’t seen since he left for London, and Brent, who hadn’t come to visit since Interlaken. We ate at the town square with the huge astronomical clock that moved during its hourly chime. I again ordered ribs, but these were exceptional compared to the ones from the day before.

We watched the chiming of the city clock, but it really wasn’t too special. Some carved figures circled the top, and a figure of Death next to a musician danced next to the clock. We decided to climb the clock tower next. While buying tickets, however, we had yet another experience where not having small change was an issue. I don’t understand how a change-based company cannot supply enough change to break larger bills. We made it to the top at any rate. It really looked almost Italian from the top. The castle was in clear view at the top, and we decided to head in that direction the next day. We did walk to the Charles Bridge. It was beautiful at the bridge, but it was not overwhelming or anything. I think after seeing the beauty of Western Europe and Krakow, nothing in Prague could really stand up against the competition.

It began to pour on the way back. During the storm, some of us made it into a bar, some made it into a souvenir shop, and Greg and I made it into a grocery store. Eventually the hailstorm let up, and I picked up my laundry and updated my blog.

I went to get ready for the opera Carmen in the evening. Dr. Turkett, Peter, Jocelyn, and I left for the opera at 6:30. It was a wonderful show with a beautiful rotating stage. Carmen was beautiful and had a marvelous voice. The toreador was a little too stiff to seem like a natural, but he still did very well. I was as blown away by the live music in this production as I was by the music in Budapest. It was just perfect. I had seen the show in Atlanta, but it was much better here. Once the show was over, I thought it was a bit too late to go out, so I had a small dinner with Dr. Turkett, went to my room, and went to bed.

Day 22 – Train to Prague – Thursday June 14th

We woke up very early to get to the train station in time for our 7:10am travel time. The hotel was kind enough to leave us breakfast in baggies. The train was not air-conditioned again, but the windows opened this time, so we did alright. I sat with Nick, Sam, Drew, and Rob. The train, during the course of the 6 hour ride, split into two parts, with one part leaving for Prague and the other for Vienna. Two of our students were asleep on the wrong part of the train at the wrong time. Luckily, they had their tickets and passports with them, so they made a daytrip out of the experience.

We arrived at the hotel, only to find out it was the hotel from Mission Impossible. Also, it had a beautiful dining room that was the original inspiration for the dining room on the Titanic. The one on the sinking ship was much larger of course, but it was still similarly beautiful here at the hotel. The hotel was beautiful, but the halls were so long and cavernous, it felt very much like we were at the hotel from The Shining.

The guys and I headed for lunch at a place recommended by Dr. Bob. You would think I had ordered some medieval dish, but the pork ribs I ordered were huge and proudly displayed on a slab of wood. We just sat and ate and drank at the restaurant for several hours. Upon our return, we got ready for a free dinner in the famous dining room. I had the lamb and the Vienna chocolate cake.

Afterwards, we just headed out and went to several bars before calling it a night. We had a good time though.