In two days I sold all my furniture and moved in with my best friend (and her husband and cat) then I packed my bags and boarded a plan to France to see Shannon, my friend from college. Also on my European adventure was my favorite travel friend Melissa, I traveled with her two years ago when we went to Paris and London with Shannon. Melissa is a history buff, a killer map reader and fun! This trip turned out to be extra special because we got to celebrate the engagement of Shannon and her boyfriend, Alexis. Shannon studied abroad in Italy and found a sexy French man, Alexis. Who just happened to be her soulmate or "lovaaaa". The trip to Paris was a whirlwind, jet-lag, engagements, mustache parties, museums and of course wine. After four days in Paris we took a plan to Hamburg, German. Hamburg is a port city with not many tourist, although a fine city. We were actually amazed by the lack of tourist. The beer of choice in Hamburg is Astra. This beer is like nothing I have ever tasted. So good, so smooth....If you think you never want to travel abroad, I hope you change your mind, if for nothing else, go to drink this beer. In 1634 (give or take a few years) there was a LAW made in Germany that breweries could only use 4 ingredients in beer Hops, Water, Barley, Malt. Well, that rule doesn't exist anymore but many breweries still adhere to this tradition. Ok, enough about the beer. Basically to sum up Hamburg: Ports, Bridges, the best mustache ever, train to a mall...I mean a Castle, but the mall was nice too. After Hamburg, we took a train to Berlin. Something I should mention about trains in Germany, you buy a ticket but no one ever checks if you really have one. The Germans are such "rule" followers that they just have people occasionally ask if you have a ticket...we honestly were only asked to check our tickets three times and we rode the train over a dozen times. Helpful Tip if you go to Germany on a budget! (wink wink) Last stop Berlin: The wall, check point charlie and graffiti. Berlin is vintage, hipster with a German flare. A thing to know about Berlin: If you find yourself in a dark place with graffiti on the wall, don't panic, despite everything you know from after school specials and basketball movies, you are safe. Berlin is very friendly and full of tall/helpful people. We did a bike tour around Berlin, went to Potsdam to see another castle and a cute little Christmas shops....well actually they were just regular shops but every shop in German looks like it is a Christmas store. :) The trip was amazing:seeing Shannon, celebrating her engagement, traveling with Melissa, everything I learned about German history (the good and the bad), the people we met and the places I saw...I am so lucky to have this experience. I can't wait to share many more. Thanks for the memories Shannon and Melissa.
