Berlin, Germany

After my university finals were over, I took a short 3-day trip to Germany with my friend Greg. We woke at 3 in the morning to catch our flight to Berlin.

The menus were mostly in German-- but we ate really well anyway!

Berlin Christmas Market

Throughout the city, there are markers showing where the Berlin Wall once stood, separating East and West Germany.

Here is the largest existing piece of the Berlin Wall.
Holocaust Memorial in the city centre

The Holocaust Memorial is made up of differently-sized concrete blocks on an uneven ground, which makes visitors feel disoriented.

The Reichstag

Inside the Reichstag-- the public can watch the government workers at any time of the day. This is a statement made by the German government about being open and honest with their people from now on.


There was a ton of interesting graffiti in Berlin, most of which had political undertones.



Downtown Berlin

Greg and I in front of the Brandenburg Gate

We went on an 8-hour walking tour, where we saw most of the main sights in Berlin. The walk was specifically set up for English speakers, which was definitely appreciated, and we ended up getting to know some people from Canada, Australia, and England during the tour.
Berlin is a very interesting city with a lot of history behind it, but we found it to be a very quiet and grey place for the most part, especially after living in Edinburgh and visiting Dublin. But it was such a worthwhile visit-- and I discovered that I actually do like sauerkraut!

Dublin, Ireland

This past weekend, I took a three-day trip with a few friends to Dublin.

Sunrise over Ireland from the airplane

There has been a big push for preserving Irish heritage in the last several decades, so all of the street signs throughout the country are written in both English and Irish Gaelic and students are required to take Gaelic in school.

"Baile Átha Cliath" is the name "Dublin" translated into Irish Gaelic. It was first officially called Baile Átha Cliath in 1368.

On our first night, we explored the city centre and took in all of the festive Christmas decorations. For dinner, we went to a little pub and had Irish stew while sitting next to a cozy fireplace. The city was absolutely packed with people the entire weekend-- and I'm pretty sure the majority of them were tourists.

Dublin was originally founded as a Viking settlement, and it's one of those towns where everything you see seems to have some kind of intriguing history or mystery that accompanies it.
The city has produced a ton of writers, so it was fun to walk around and see the monuments and birthplaces of literary figures such as William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce.

The city is built around the River Liffey. Most of the older buildings are on the south side of the river.

Temple Bar is known as Dublin's cultural quarter, and the cobblestone streets of medieval times have been preserved. There are countless pubs, music venues, and art galleries, which make the area popular with the younger crowd.

Temple Bar

The construction of Christ Church Cathedral began in 1038 by a Viking king.

On Sunday morning, we went on a guided historical walking tour, led by a history major from Trinity College. After the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, King John of England decided that Dublin needed a better defensive strategy. In 1204, construction began on Dublin Castle. Not much of the original building still exists today, but it is still used for ceremonies and governmental meetings.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest church in Ireland and was founded in 1191.

There were pleasant little parks throughout the city, where very tame swans were more than willing to get up close to us and investigate their visitors.



On Saturday afternoon, we went to the Guinness Storehouse, where we learned all about brewing through a guided tour. Here is some barley, which is one of the four ingredients included in beer, along with yeast, water, and hops.


Lots of Guinness brewing

Later that evening, we went to a pub called "Legends" in Temple Bar, where we had a fantastic dinner and got to hear live traditional Irish music while we ate. After dinner, stepdancers performed some very high-energy routines. This evening of food and music was my favorite part of the trip!

House of Commons on the bank of the River Liffey

Our weekend adventure to Ireland was the perfect way to celebrate the end of classes and provided us with a little break before finals begin. We were all so glad we made the trip.
And I had several people ask me for directions throughout the weekend, saying that I looked just like a local!

Glasgow

Last weekend, I headed to Glasgow, which is about a 50-minute train ride away from Edinburgh. The city is much more industrial and less overtly historical than Edinburgh, and is situated around the River Clyde. Although Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, Glasgow is the most heavily populated city in the country.

St. Mungo's Cathedral

The inside of St. Mungo's Cathedral, also known as Glasgow Cathedral, is a stunning example of medieval architecture-- and I really appreciated that admission was free, because many churches ask for an outrageous fee before visitors can enter.

I got to visit Greg, a friend who graduated a few years ago from Allegheny. He's attending a graduate journalism program at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Eating lunch beside a fountain in downtown Glasgow

Glasgow is known throughout Scotland for being a pretty fantastic place to shop, so I had to stop inside one of the shopping centres.

Outside the Museum of Modern Art, lights are strung between all the buildings. The next day, Greg and I toured the museum, which was an interesting mix of local and international artists.

In the city centre, Glasgow hosts a "Winter Shindig" every holiday season, complete with live music, storytelling, ice skating, lots of food, and carnival rides.

Rosslyn Chapel

Last Friday, Ian and Jean Wilson took me out on another day trip to Rosslyn Chapel, which is about a 20-minute drive from Edinburgh. The church was established in 1446 by Sir William St. Clair and was never completely finished, but the part that was completed is amazing.

There was no photography allowed inside the chapel, but the stonework inside is extraordinary and if you have a few minutes, Google "Rosslyn Chapel images" to get an idea of how much craftsmanship went into constructing the building.

There is scaffolding around much of the chapel now because the stone needs to be dried out-- the constant precipitation over the last several hundred years is causing the stonework to weaken. The carvings inside are accompanied by endless legends and symbolism, and the chapel has strong ties to the Knights Templar (apparently, after The Da Vinci Code was released, the number of visitors to Rosslyn Chapel increased astronomically).

It was great to see Ian and Jean again, and the tour around Rosslyn Chapel was so cool. It was really interesting to see such a variety of symbolism in such a small place-- hundreds of Bible stories are portrayed, Pagan representations decorate the walls and ceilings, and there are frequent references to the Knights Templar and Freemasonry.


On Thanksgiving, my flatmates and I made a dinner together and invited some others over to share with us, and it was fun to introduce a few international people to their first Thanksgiving dinner. That same evening, Edinburgh began its "Winter Wonderland" on Princes Street, so the city centre is now filled with lights, Christmas trees, a skating rink, carnival rides, and a German food market.

Weekend in York

On Thursday, I headed down to England on a bus with my friend Kyle. We arrived around dinnertime, finding the city of York completely decked out for the holidays.

The B&B where Kyle, Tom and I stayed-- a five minute walk from York Minster.

The view from our top-floor room.

Kyle, Tom and I in the middle of the Christmas Fayre in downtown York, where vendors were selling crafts, flowers, and produce.

At night, the narrow streets were all lit up with Christmas lights. It was verrrry chilly, but there was no snow until Sunday. We were amazed by the hundreds of small Christmas trees attached to the store fronts throughout the city... they were all real trees!

York Minster at night.

We found so many great pubs and cafes while we were in York-- I found the best pot of chai I've ever had in my life at a tiny Mexican cafe called El Piano.

It started to rain, so we took shelter in the Railway Museum-- which ended up being pretty cool.

Our first morning, we got on a boat and headed up the River Ouse for a little cruise around the city.


...Here's that pot of chai I mentioned earlier! Everything served on the menu could be vegan and gluten-free-- interestingly, we found a ton of cafes and restaurants that offer gluten-free menus.

A few more shots of the stunningly enormous York Minster Cathedral


When I returned home on Sunday evening, I was swept off with my flatmates to a James Morrison concert in downtown Edinburgh at the Picture House. We heard some really great music and it was a fantastic end to my long weekend (although I still had a paper to write by Monday afternoon!).

Sunset view out my flat window.

Still no snow in Edinburgh! It's actually quite warm today-- about 45 degrees and sunny. But Old Town and New Town look like Christmas already with a large outdoor skating rink set up in Princes Street Gardens, a ferris wheel right on Princes Street, and Christmas lights draped all over the Royal Mile.