A LOT GOING ON IN EVERY WAY

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The last week and a half or so has been pretty jam-packed. Tons of things going on, tons of things to see, and somehow I haven't crashed from a lack of sleep or lack of energy.

Organs on the Inside

Last Tuesday I went to a Kölner Dom organ concert, the last one of the summer. They put it on for free every week in the summer for people to come and enjoy the beautiful music in such a beautiful, historic building. That was my first time in the Dom, and I was definitely amazed by the grandeur from the inside. That paired with the amazing music that we were able to enjoy, it was quite the treat. I took a video towards the end, but it can't quite capture the experience of being there. It was really something.

CBYX/PPP - 8 - Kölner Dom Organ Konzert

After School Fun

Then the day after that, I took a little bike trip with my friend Zack. Once we got out of class, we jumped on the S-Bahn and went south for a while. Being the hardcore rebels that we are we got off one stop after our tickets were valid. I know, so hardcore.

Then the fun and exploration began. We wanted to get to the Rhein and head south, but first we ended up meandering our way through a series of single track, paved trails, and general nonsense that ended up being quite the beautiful ride on a sunny day. We rode along a small estuary down towards the Rhein and ended up taking a little ferry to get across. It was pretty awesome.

We really hit a perfect day, it was hot, but absolutely gorgeous for a day ride. After we crossed the river, we made our way down to Bonn. Once there, we did some quality perusing and walked around Bonn's Innenstadt. Quite the quaint little city. A lot of beautiful things to see and it (at least when we were there) didn't give off the impression of a huge tourist trap, adding to the delightful feel.

Sidenote: I plan on using delightful a lot more because of its optimism and overall pleasantness.

After walking around for a while, and indulging in some quality ice cream, we started making our way back up to Köln. A nice relaxed ride right around sun down really accentuated the quality day we were able to enjoy.

CBYX/PPP - 9 - Kleine Reise nach Bonn nach Unterricht

Roadtrip, Eurostyle

This past weekend, however, was an amazing experience that I hope can translate into endless adventure not only for the rest of the year, but for the rest of my life. Friday morning I skipped class with 3 other friends (Zack, Dawn, and Katherine, total rebels) and we hit the road. We rented a car, picked some cities and sights we wanted to see, and plowed ahead with a full tank of gas and homemade peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Shoutout to Dawnmom on that one fo sho.

Friday

From Köln, we made our way over to Aachen. There we walked around the inner city, checked out their Dom, some Roman ruins, and saw some other cool stuff.

After that, we moved on to the Three Land Point (Dreilandpunkt). This is where Deutschland, Niederland, und Belgien meet, and is also the highest point in the Netherlands. This was really cool. Not too often can you say you've been in three different countries at the same time! When we were there, we went up in the tower at the point were able to see some amazing sights of all three countries. And of course, I got my souvenirs penny, but in Europe they use a 5¢ piece.

From the Dreilandpunkt, we headed out to the coast of Belgium. At Knokke-Heist we had some fun on the beach. Despite the rain and grey skies, it was a beautiful day at the beach! Of course some shenanigans were had. What did you expect?

From the English Channel, we made our way to Brugge. And what can I say, that is one beautiful city. Also not so packed with tourists, the atmosphere was amazing. We did a fair amount of walking around here and got to see a small portion of the beauty that city has. Before we left, we walked up and down the canal downtown and ended up going to a little restaurant for beer and mussels. Goddamn I love seafood, and these mussels were absolutely delicious!

From Brugge to Brussels. We got into Brussels just after dark. And thanks to the navigation system in the car and Dawn's prior knowledge of French, we were able to find a place to stay. That was a huge relief and ended up being a very pain free process. We unloaded our chariot, got a little settled in, but then got ready and hit the town.

First stop: Delirium. I think Dawn had heard of or been to this place beforehand, and apparently it was the bees knees. Turns out it is. It holds the world record for most commercially available beers for a single establishment at 2004. Yes, over 2000 beers in one place. Almost overwhelming, almost...

We got there and I was pumped. First up was the Frolic Strawberry Lambic. Ho. Ly. Sh. It. It was easily in the top three best beers I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. I was blown away. Ugh, if I could have a permanent tap of that in any residence I ever had, I don't know what I'd do with myself.

Knowing that would be impossible to top, I toyed with getting it again but decided against it and got one of deliriums home brews. Pretty good. Along with the delicious beer, we talked to some random people, and Zack hit the double whammy. Not only did he call someone's city boring right to there face, he got showed up by the bartender as he was trying to learn how to whistle with his fingers the loud way. Sorry Zack, but that was durn tootin funny. Then we ended up doing a little bit of night exploring in Brussels and saw the little peeing man. It was cool, and looked exactly as it sounds. Then, sleepy thyme.

Saturday

In the morning we did some more exploring of Brussels. We saw their version of the Arc D'Triomphe, stumbled upon a small air and space museum (ZOMFG I SAW AN F-16 IT WAS AMAZING HOLY COW!!!!!), and saw the European Parliament building (which had quite the astounding campus and structures). Next, off to faraway lands.

So last summer, I went on probably my favorite trip to date with my boi Zach Tobin. When we were in Amsterdam, we stumbled upon this quaint bar/lounge called Langendijk, and I had an amazing beer from a brewery called La Chouffe. Turns out this brewery is located in Belgium, so guess where our next stop was...

...but wait, surprises abound! On our way to La Chouffe, we stumbled upon the European Space Center. I'd never even heard of the place, but we pulled in to see what they had going on. We were too cheap to pay the entrance fee, but we made the most of the playground and the exhibits outside of the building. Quite the cool random find!

Next was La Chouffe and it made me happy. What a great place to share with friends, drinking good beer. It was quite a refresher, and I ended up getting a sampler pack, that came with a free glass. What what!?!

From there, we went to Bastogne. Having Zack on the trip was quite an asset, not only due to his delightful nature, but his wealth of history knowledge. I never would've known half of the stuff we saw without his total enthusiasm for what has happened in the past.

We went to Bastogne and visited an amazing memorial built by the Belgians to recognize and thank the USA for the work and support that we provided their country during WWII, namely the Battle of the Bulge. Very few things have made me truly proud to be an American and proud of what our country has done. But the words inscribed on this memorial showed the resilience of our country in the face of adversity, and the dedication we showed to ridding the world of evil for the good of all. It was truly a humbling place.

Going through Bastogne, we stopped off and got some Belgian waffles. DAYUM they're good.

My only beef with Belgium is that French people are kinda dicks. If you don't speak their language, they pretty much have no respect for you. That doesn't really make for a pleasant experience trying to get a taste of their land and people when all they have for you is disdain.

From Bastogne, we went to Luxembourg. And all I can say, is I had no idea that Luxembourg would be such a beautiful place! Luxembourg city is absolutely gorgeous. It sits on a canyon, and has part of the city on top of the canyon, and part of the city in the bottom of the canyon. Naturally, this makes for an absolutely wonderful and picturesque location. Not only was it quaint, it was gorgeous. I really want to go back here and really explore this city and country. Even though it is small, from what I saw, it really is quite a beautiful place.

Saturday night we met up in Saarbrücken with some other PPPlers and had a helluva time. After getting in, we met up with Jenny, Mike, Kelsey, and Louisa, and got some drinks at a little bar, then we headed off to a wubstep party. Yes, wubstep is the same as dubstep. I just say wubstep because I think it sounds way cooler. But that was a blast, just dancing and going crazy and having a damn good time.

Sunday

We all stayed the night with PPPlers, and Sunday morning we had a big German breakfast with Jenny's host family. Holy cow are they delightful! So bubbly, excited, homely, and welcoming, they were extremely gracious to allow four random strangers into their home for such a wonderful morning! And the food was delicious.

Because we were so close, we made a pit stop in France.

From Saarbrücken, we made our way to Trier. Home of Karl Marx's birthplace, and the oldest known gate in the world, Porta Nigra. That was fun, more walking around, more cool old buildings to see, oh, and another thing. Between Luxembourg and Trier, there was an 'Elephant Parade'. In both cities, there were a ton of painted elephant statues for an outdoor art exhibition to raise money for Asian Elephant preservation. They were pretty cool looking, my favorite one was in Luxembourg next to a church. It was the Fire Elephant, and it looked awesome. So that was cool seeing those in both cities.

We got some wine and currywurst there before we headed off. Then we made our way to the Nürburgring!!! I never thought I'd actually ever be there, but I was. And the place was huge! We ended up going to the go-kart track and having some fun. Proud to say I tore it up. I absolutely love that kinda stuff, and so did everyone else. That was an absolute blast.

After that, we were making our way back to Köln, and randomly pulled off to a side road, and had an AMAZING sunset to send off our awesome weekend. That pretty much capped off such a beautiful trip in the perfect way. I couldn't help myself but just stare at the beautiful landscape that was in front of me. It's moments like that you wish would just last forever.

Sidenote: I officially broke my previous landspeed record. Last year with my boy Zach Tobin we hit 210 kmh. This trip I got up to 236 kmh. Which is about 142 mph. That was pretty exhilarating. And don't worry Mom, I was really safe, just ask everyone in the car. :-)

CBYX/PPP - 10 - Roadtrip, Eurostyle

People Make the Difference

The trip was an absolutely amazing experience. And one of the reasons was the amazing people I was able to share it with. Dawn, Katherine, and Zack are great examples of truly genuine people and I am honored to have shared this trip with them. We had a ton of fun, and were able to really connect extremely well. As with most things in life, the people around you really make or break what's going on. This past weekend, they made it in every way.

Frisbee Update

Had practice last night for Frisbee, and this weekend I will be playing in the Deutsche Meisterschaft im Ultimate . Essentially the German Frisbee Club National tournament. WHA?!?! Thankfully last night I was able to practice the entire time without too many problems coming from my hamstrings. Not sure what was the trick, but I think it was either the massage I got beforehand form one of the players who is a physical therapist, or being bundled up like crazy trying to keep my legs really warm. Either way, I hope I can keep this good mojo going for the whole weekend!

Original Publish Date: September 11th, 2013