Tag: France

Germany Week ???: New Hair, New Mike (new hair not represented in photo)

So, you might be asking yourself, “gosh, is Mike alright? He hasn’t been blogging for the past 3 weeks and I really miss his beautifully crafted penmanship “. The short answer is, yes, I’m doing fine. The long answer is, I am doing absolutely [insert word of your choosing] amazing. So where do I even begin? Let’s start with The McFlurry.

The McFlurry

So this weekend I was in Amsterdam doing Amsterdam things. Then I got a McFlurry but it was no ordinary McFlurry. Before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a few steps back. Amsterdam is known for it’s snack food. Why, I can’t really say, but that’s besides the point. What’s important is that there exists what is called a Stroopwaffle. It’s a thin wafer, waffle hybrid sandwich with honey in the middle. Delicious on it’s own. Now imagine a McFlurry. Now imagine a Stroopwaffle McFlurry. That is what I had. I’m not going to try to put the experience into words, but just know I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my entire life than when I was eating mein Stroopwaffle McFlurry.

So what else did I do in Amsterdam? Well, I went to the Heineken brewery and sampled some beer (4 glasses to be precise). Then the next day, I went to an ice bar, which was literally super cool! So yup, that’s Amsterdam for ya’, so let’s move on to Paris.

Paris

So the City of Love. Of course you may be asking, did I find love? The answer is yes (and ein bisschen no). It was a very romantic weekend where I got to reconnect with my inner self and really just treat myself. So what did I do? The day started with walking and ended with walking. There was a lot of walking. But… along the way there was…

20161022_113516
Arc de Triomphe

You can go inside and go to the top and see all of Paris. I did and it was absolutely gorgeous! After that, we…

20161022_163743
Notre Dame Round 2

Went to Notre Dame. The first time I saw Notre Dame was in Strasbourg and it was amazing. The one in Paris did not disappoint either. And of course…

20161022_110903
The Eiffel Tower!

You see so many pictures and pictures really don’t do it justice. Actually seeing it in person… [insert inspirational, life changing experience] It was larger than life. “Wait Mike, you said you went to Paris. Did you try Escargot (emphasis on the t)?” Yes, yes I did have snail. And you know what? It was absolutely amazing. I kid you not, it tasted so good. “wow, that’s really cool, I wish I was as bold and adventurous as you are. So did you meet any lovers”? No, but I’m sure if I had more time in Paris… So I suppose I’ll have to wait till my visit! There’s a rumor going around that I ran away from 3 girls in front of the Eiffel Tower, but I don’t comment on rumors or speculation.

That’s a wrap! Thanks for reading and stay classy friends! Also quick PSA if you’re from the US. Don’t forget to vote! That’s it [insert political commentary here].

Germany Week 2 (and 3… and 4…): Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Germany is pretty cool and I’ve left the house a few times!

The question everyone is asking, “does Mike Cole speak German?” What’s the answer. Well, that’s the debate. I say “Jaaa” but many say “Nein, Nein, Nein!”. I however, am not deterred and have strengthened my resolve to practice pronunciation every minute of the day.

In other news, I left coffee in the coffee maker back home. It’s only been a month, so I’m sure it’s fine. An evil nail also ripped my pants, but I hear ripped pants are all the rage. And I lost my health insurance card, so if I don’t post for a while it either means I’m super busy or got struck by illness and am dead.

Adventures

 Switzerland

My big adventure for week 2 was going to Switzerland, which was absolutely gorgeous! Rhein (Rhine) Falls was absolutely amazing. The Falls are 250 ft wide and 75 ft high (as illustrated beautifully by the photo below). After standing in awe for a good while, we then headed over to Lucerne, where we spent a few hours exploring the city.

20160917_070121

Lucerne was absolutely amazing. The city had a giant monument of a dying Lion carved into a rock. Of course, words and photos can only say so much, but they say enough, so here’s a picture!

20160917_100127

Then of course there was the old town… Which had murals painted on the buildings.

20160917_103911

Other than that, it was just plain beautiful. Walking around, seeing the history of the city, it really is something that has to be experience. There’s a lot of character in European cities. Then we spent 10 hours in Zurich which was more or less the same (not a bad thing). My only regret is that I am but a broke college student, so I couldn’t buy a Swiss watch.

France

This last weekend I was in France, which was absolutely amazing. I drank French wine (both red and white), ate a crepe, ate a baguette (I almost started crying it was so delicious) and had some fancy French Chicken (forget what it’s called).

And of course, the most amazing part of the trip…

20160924_142826
Notre Dame

Disclaimer: I am attending class in case any of you were concerned. First two weeks I had a crash course in the German language, last week I had a Intercultural experience course, and this  week I’ve had business law and leadership.

That’s it, that’s my week(s)! Thanks for reading and stay classy friends!

%d bloggers like this: