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A smattering of my German colleagues, nice outfits, guys!

So this post will be short, since the majority of my time in Munich was spent hanging out in the Waggener Edstrom office and getting to know my German colleagues better. The train ride from Rožnov to Munich was a painful 11+ hours, which included an unexpected layover in Nuremberg when one of the trains left without me. Along the way, I met Alex, a really cool Vancouverite who has been spending the past month or so touring around Europe solo, exploring cities via bike.

The weather in Munich was relatively miserable, although I continued to dress in sandals, thinking my will would sway the weather to change (for some reason that power does not seem to be one I possess).

My last night in Munich I hung out with Mandy, one of my German colleagues, and we ate pizza and drank lots of good white wine. It is fun to get to know co-workers in an informal setting and realize how similar your life can be to someone who lives 4,000+ miles away.

 
A non-tour of Munich from Keely Johnson on Vimeo.

Last stop, Barcelona!

Yikes!

My last day in Stockholm was a typical Swedish day — rainy and grey. I was able to fully explore the Royal Palace, including seeing the ridiculously spectacular changing of the guard. Check out the video to get a general gist of this daily occurrence. 

 

Stockholm: Changing of the Guard from Keely Johnson on Vimeo.
  

After walking over a mile in the pouring rain, I arrived at the Nordiska Museet, which covers Swedish culture and life from beginning times to present. It was pretty fascinating, minus the creepy fake people that were everywhere and the weird section on funerals in Sweden.

My attempt at a rainy self-shot at the Nordiska Museet

Other than that, I did a lot of walking around and getting to know the beautiful city. I have to say for the country that gave me three of my most favorite things (IKEA, H&M and most importantly the Shout Out Louds), I have walked away wanting more, and will definitely be back soon!

After, Stockholm I headed to Berlin for a night pit stop before taking a train to Prague. The hostel I stayed in, The Circus, was very nice, clean and extremely cool. And since I have basically resigned myself to my hot dog fate, I was not surprised to find out the hostel offered a special at the New Hot Dog World restaurant next door. I took a pic to add to my “hot dogs around the world” collection.

Unfortunately, it was closed when I was in Berlin

My perfectly German meal

Well, my trip has officially commenced. I landed in Frankfurt with no problems, except that I am still getting used to the whole “swing the 30 lb. backpack over your shoulders” thing. I am hoping to come back with super strong arms, but more likely will come back with a really sore back.

On the flight over, I met a really cool girl who is the epitome of a cultural ambassador. She is originally from Austin, but is going to grad school in Edinburgh. She is studying archeology, and told me about how she was visiting a site in Cyprus when she got bit by a viper! She went to the ER there, and said they were really nice, even though there was a huge language barrier. It is exciting to see how the randomest things can help us get to know the people around us better.

As for me, I kept it tame today, I walked around a couple different parts of Frankfurt (since the weather could not be any more perfect), starting in the Römer square, where I had the sweet meal seen above of Frankfurter Würstchen (from which we get American hot dogs) a Brötchen and a glass of Radler, which is beer + lemonade. Later, I hit up the Fressgass, a huge café area, the Zeil, the shopping district (where they were having an awesome Spanish festival, with authentic food and wine) and of course, my favorite, the scenic stroll through the sex shop area right next to my hotel.

Not a lot of interactions today, since I used today to mostly relax and prepare for my trip to Sweden. Check out my attempt to shoot video of Frankfurt, and try not to throw up from the shakiness! 

Day 1: Frankfurt from Keely Johnson on Vimeo.

More tomorrow!