better healthcare
no gun craziness
no open container law
super easy international travel
more liberal society
crazy awesome ethnic foods
sweet public transit
accents
multiple languages for your kids to be brought up in
more exercise/walking around/walkable cities
better social services (i.e., counseling, crisis centers)
ridiculously cheaper higher education
the ability to dress like a slut without being labeled a slut
regarding family back in the states: absence makes the heart grow fonder
richer history
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Some of the most story-worthy things I've done.
If you want the whole story, you'll have to buy the book. Once I get around to writing it.
-hopping onto the back of a stranger's motorcycle at night in Athens, Greece, and riding until we found a crepes place
-watching President Barack Obama's inauguration from the National Mall in Washington, DC
-making snow angels in the front yard of the Kenyon College chapel at 1am on the way home from the bar
-belting out all the words to Falco's "Vienna Calling" to the amazement of native Viennese while riding in a car through--you guessed it--Vienna on a Saturday night
-dancing on stage in a packed Bourbon Street, New Orleans jazz club to the entirety of "Baby Got Back"
-earning so many beads on Bourbon Street that I filled up a second suitcase
-collecting more beads than anyone on Mardi Gras in a gay bar in DC, without actually doing anything
-dear God-- so much crap in Vienna
-hopping onto the back of a stranger's motorcycle at night in Athens, Greece, and riding until we found a crepes place
-watching President Barack Obama's inauguration from the National Mall in Washington, DC
-making snow angels in the front yard of the Kenyon College chapel at 1am on the way home from the bar
-belting out all the words to Falco's "Vienna Calling" to the amazement of native Viennese while riding in a car through--you guessed it--Vienna on a Saturday night
-dancing on stage in a packed Bourbon Street, New Orleans jazz club to the entirety of "Baby Got Back"
-earning so many beads on Bourbon Street that I filled up a second suitcase
-collecting more beads than anyone on Mardi Gras in a gay bar in DC, without actually doing anything
-dear God-- so much crap in Vienna
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Two weeks in Germany and Austria: Der Hinflug
Sonntag, 11.30.09
I woke up at 6am after a mere three hours of sleep (of course I was up late doing some last-minute frantic packing...as if there's any other kind) to head with Mom and Tony to the Pittsburgh airport. We had coffee at Au Bon Pain (love that place--it's too bad they're turning that location into a McDonald's) and said our goodbyes. My first flight was from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. It was with US Air and was scheduled to leave at 9:30am. I had been leery about booking with US Air from the inception of this trip, 1) because it's an American airline and the service is always inferior to a European airline's and 2) because the last time I flew US Air, nothing ran according to schedule. Well, I was right to be wary, because no sooner did I get to the gate did I see that the flight was delayed until 10am... then 10:30am... then it just went off the screen entirely.
Allegedly, the plane was there but was having computer issues, and no one working for US Air knew when or if it would be ready to fly that day. Many other people also had connections to transatlantic destinations, such as London and Frankfurt. After much waiting in line and asking many questions, the most inquisitive among us were told that the plane would take off at 3:30, *IF* it took off at all. Clearly, those of us with connecting flights couldn't take the chance of it not being ready ever, so we struggled to get on standby on other flights. Two people in front of me in line--one girl going to England and one guy going to Germany--were shit out of luck, as their connections were earlier than mine, and we learned that every other flight that afternoon to Philadelphia was already massively overbooked.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that the US Air employees invariably met our questions with the response of, "Uhh, yeah we don't know... go to the next desk and maybe they can put you on some sort of waiting list." After having lugged my many heavy carry-ons to multiple stations throughout the terminal, and almost another hour of queuing, I had two boarding passes and a proverbial game of shells lying ahead of me. The first boarding pass was for the original flight, very tentatively scheduled to take off at 3:30, and the second was for another flight that was supposed to be full that took off at 3:25. I was instructed to stay close to the gate to listen for all announcements, and, as the 3:30 time approached, if there was nothing definitive on flight #1, I had to run to the gate of flight #2 and pray to get on. I also received a $5 food voucher, which I soon discovered was not valid at any restaurants close to my gate.
At 3:15, I heard my name called over the loudspeaker, asking me to board the 3:25 flight. And so, after a day of sleep-deprived, anxious pacing, part one of my journey found its beginning. And that is the story of how I traveled all the way to... Philadelphia.
The flight to Munich went according to schedule and doesn't make for much of a story, except that I bought two mini bottles of red wine, took three Tylenol PM, and snapped awake a few hours later, only to wonder and silently freak out if I'd been talking in my sleep/spilling the cup of water that I'd sworn was in front of me when I dozed off. That's the danger of solo travel. I guess I'll never know.
I woke up at 6am after a mere three hours of sleep (of course I was up late doing some last-minute frantic packing...as if there's any other kind) to head with Mom and Tony to the Pittsburgh airport. We had coffee at Au Bon Pain (love that place--it's too bad they're turning that location into a McDonald's) and said our goodbyes. My first flight was from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. It was with US Air and was scheduled to leave at 9:30am. I had been leery about booking with US Air from the inception of this trip, 1) because it's an American airline and the service is always inferior to a European airline's and 2) because the last time I flew US Air, nothing ran according to schedule. Well, I was right to be wary, because no sooner did I get to the gate did I see that the flight was delayed until 10am... then 10:30am... then it just went off the screen entirely.
Allegedly, the plane was there but was having computer issues, and no one working for US Air knew when or if it would be ready to fly that day. Many other people also had connections to transatlantic destinations, such as London and Frankfurt. After much waiting in line and asking many questions, the most inquisitive among us were told that the plane would take off at 3:30, *IF* it took off at all. Clearly, those of us with connecting flights couldn't take the chance of it not being ready ever, so we struggled to get on standby on other flights. Two people in front of me in line--one girl going to England and one guy going to Germany--were shit out of luck, as their connections were earlier than mine, and we learned that every other flight that afternoon to Philadelphia was already massively overbooked.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that the US Air employees invariably met our questions with the response of, "Uhh, yeah we don't know... go to the next desk and maybe they can put you on some sort of waiting list." After having lugged my many heavy carry-ons to multiple stations throughout the terminal, and almost another hour of queuing, I had two boarding passes and a proverbial game of shells lying ahead of me. The first boarding pass was for the original flight, very tentatively scheduled to take off at 3:30, and the second was for another flight that was supposed to be full that took off at 3:25. I was instructed to stay close to the gate to listen for all announcements, and, as the 3:30 time approached, if there was nothing definitive on flight #1, I had to run to the gate of flight #2 and pray to get on. I also received a $5 food voucher, which I soon discovered was not valid at any restaurants close to my gate.
At 3:15, I heard my name called over the loudspeaker, asking me to board the 3:25 flight. And so, after a day of sleep-deprived, anxious pacing, part one of my journey found its beginning. And that is the story of how I traveled all the way to... Philadelphia.
The flight to Munich went according to schedule and doesn't make for much of a story, except that I bought two mini bottles of red wine, took three Tylenol PM, and snapped awake a few hours later, only to wonder and silently freak out if I'd been talking in my sleep/spilling the cup of water that I'd sworn was in front of me when I dozed off. That's the danger of solo travel. I guess I'll never know.
Things I'm thankful for from my Munich/Vienna trip
Things I’m thankful for about this trip:
lockers in train stations
boys who carry my heavy bags
no open-container law
Weissbier/Hefeweizen
friends I can stay with
Hiro’s phone
meeting Hiro
Hiro’s generosity
Kaesekrainer Hot Dogs
Punsch und Gluehwein
Christkindlmaerkte
Viennese accents
Christine, Jordan, and Melissa
their tea
their flashlight
their food
their Prosecco
their generosity
their desire to spend lots of time with me
gently falling snow
Bussi from Melissa
how excited Melissa was to see me
how nice Christine is and how much she cares
Uno und Spongebob spielen
nostalgia
beautiful architecture
das erste Bezirk
new experiences that, while not particularly my cup of tea, made me more aware and well-rounded (i.e., whorehouse)
getting hit on
how much my friends back home missed me
peoples’ excitement for me
living fast and by the seat of my pants and in the moment, thus not ruminating on shit of the past
jeans tucked into high boots
my new coat
my other bar/club conquests
my boldness
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
seeing how boys live
making boy friends
getting more comfortable around boys
David
HP
free Wi Fi
being able to show Ty around my old haunts
Renee
planning my next steps in life
free drinks
being able to spend money on going out because I’m not paying rent
the Thai restaurant in Munich
Wiener Deewan
Taschentuecher
feeling progress with my German
being told my German is good
Melissa’s progress in English
how pretty she is!
feigning confidence until I feel it
developing socially in new/different circles
setting off independently and getting around on my own
getting more interpersonal experience to continue teaching me the big life lesson that I can’t change people
Eleanor
Brittney
teaching myself to live by Brittney’s religion of believing you deserve great things and that great things will come when they are supposed to
the hilarious story of my Christmas mugs and umbrella being in Zsolt’s apartment
the crazy coincidence of going out at Alser Strasse
the crazy coincidence of Ty coming to Vienna
crazy coincidences period
The world is open to me. It can be terrifying if I approach it as something that is terrifying. It can be Sturm-und-Drang if I approach it as something that is Sturm-und-Drang. It can be amazing, exciting and fulfilling if I approach it as something that is amazing, exciting and fulfilling.
the influence of being around/talking to people who demand what they want and what they believe they deserve
lockers in train stations
boys who carry my heavy bags
no open-container law
Weissbier/Hefeweizen
friends I can stay with
Hiro’s phone
meeting Hiro
Hiro’s generosity
Kaesekrainer Hot Dogs
Punsch und Gluehwein
Christkindlmaerkte
Viennese accents
Christine, Jordan, and Melissa
their tea
their flashlight
their food
their Prosecco
their generosity
their desire to spend lots of time with me
gently falling snow
Bussi from Melissa
how excited Melissa was to see me
how nice Christine is and how much she cares
Uno und Spongebob spielen
nostalgia
beautiful architecture
das erste Bezirk
new experiences that, while not particularly my cup of tea, made me more aware and well-rounded (i.e., whorehouse)
getting hit on
how much my friends back home missed me
peoples’ excitement for me
living fast and by the seat of my pants and in the moment, thus not ruminating on shit of the past
jeans tucked into high boots
my new coat
my other bar/club conquests
my boldness
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
seeing how boys live
making boy friends
getting more comfortable around boys
David
HP
free Wi Fi
being able to show Ty around my old haunts
Renee
planning my next steps in life
free drinks
being able to spend money on going out because I’m not paying rent
the Thai restaurant in Munich
Wiener Deewan
Taschentuecher
feeling progress with my German
being told my German is good
Melissa’s progress in English
how pretty she is!
feigning confidence until I feel it
developing socially in new/different circles
setting off independently and getting around on my own
getting more interpersonal experience to continue teaching me the big life lesson that I can’t change people
Eleanor
Brittney
teaching myself to live by Brittney’s religion of believing you deserve great things and that great things will come when they are supposed to
the hilarious story of my Christmas mugs and umbrella being in Zsolt’s apartment
the crazy coincidence of going out at Alser Strasse
the crazy coincidence of Ty coming to Vienna
crazy coincidences period
The world is open to me. It can be terrifying if I approach it as something that is terrifying. It can be Sturm-und-Drang if I approach it as something that is Sturm-und-Drang. It can be amazing, exciting and fulfilling if I approach it as something that is amazing, exciting and fulfilling.
the influence of being around/talking to people who demand what they want and what they believe they deserve
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Trial-sized musings
I was in CVS the other night picking up some things and glanced down the aisle, catching a glimpse of one of the item signs--you know, those signs that are intended to help you zoom in on what you're looking for, but instead end up being practically as numerous as the products they're guiding you to. Anyway, the sign said "trial-sized." As I turned my head my eyes scanned over the sign marking the hair color products. In my mind, the two signs blended together and I thought, hmm, wouldn't it be interesting if there were trial-sized hair dye. Then I got to thinking, what if everything in the store came trial-sized? After all, aren't trial-sizes created and marketed based on their convenience? And don't we, as a society, like things that are convenient and, not only that, but things that don't require a real commitment? What's stopping companies, then, I ask, from marketing trial-sized reading glasses? Trial-sized diapers? Or how about trial-sized condoms: "1/3 the size of regular condoms"? Non-committal and easier to travel with. This consumer doesn't see any drawbacks.
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