World wind tour

Finally after a long hard semester filled with papers and exposes I had a week free to "revise" for my upcoming exams. However, I saw revision week more as a week for travel, and travel I did!

But, before the fun travel stories, a quick word about the inauguration. How amazing!!! I can tell you, I feel so differently about being an American: I feel proud! I went with some friends to an American bar near the Opera and we watched the CNN coverage (in English, thankfully). The bar was really cool, as you can see in the picture. Lots of personality.

Hooray!

Okay, back to the week of travels... I left right after my last class on Friday for Karlsruhe to see David. We had such a great weekend. Saturday we went to Baden Baden and did a couples spa day at the Friedrichbad which was fantastic. It is the only thermal powered spa left in the world, so they say, so after 17 rooms of hot wet air, hot dry air, pools, scrubbing, showers, an icy cold bath, lotion rub down, nap and a quick gossip magazine I felt like a million euros!

Sunday David and I joined a few friends for a nice horseback ridding adventure in Alsace. Quite unlike in the States, we were put to work right away brushing the mud off and saddling up.

Here we are on the trail. We were so lucky to have a clear day, however, as you can see rain was in the not so distant past. Yes, muddy pants were had by all.

The tour was great. The day was clear and we could see far off into the distance. We galloped quite a bit, which was a nice break from the bruising pain of the cantering. Ouch!

Here we are after the ride, helmet hair and all. We finished the afternoon in a cute cafe/restaurant, which was a part of the farm; we had hot chocolates and homemade cakes. We were dotted on my a very friendly, (and very happy about Obama) server. It was such a quaint place filled with dogs and friendly faces.

After such a nice weekend with David, I was off to Dublin. I arrived and found a great hostel right by the city center. I settled in and went out in search of dinner. I came across Madigan's, a pub on the main street. I had a nice dinner and a good Irish beer. Then I sat at the bar and made friends with a few ladies. Well, I got to try lots of Irish beverage specialties that night...

The next day, after a nice Irish breakfast, I went to see the Bodies exhibit... fantastic! Absolutely incredible! If you haven't already seen it... go!

They had a few things about being healthy, and after seeing black lungs some people decided to quite then and there.

The next few pictures are just things I came across while walking around...

Here is the city center with it's (rather phallic) spire to mark the spot! I was incredibly lucky to have been there on a perfectly clear, warm day! Not a drop of rain my entire stay of two days!

Traveling alone, one must find creative ways to document you were really there...

This was the best tea and pie in the whole of Dublin!

More of Dublin...

Then I was off to...

Stockholm! Here is a photo of our hostel on the river. Stockholm was incredible, and incredibly cold! I know, I know... what was I expecting visiting Sweden in January? But it was still worth the visit!

Some cool modern art from the National Museum. Love the textures.

Again, our boat hostel on a clear evening.

I really enjoyed seeing the fashion in Stockholm. It is so authentic and original. I must admit that I guilty of doing a bit of shopping, but just a bit. Love it!

So, after a few days in the city, we made our way home, back to the reality of exams. A great week has come to an end...