2009 Adventures

Because I am lazy, mentally bankrupt, and physically exhausted, I’m going to take the easy way out and do a vacation version of the BsAs by the numbers post from a few months back. And I promise–PROMISE–that one day in the not too distant future, the entertaining posts will be back. Watch for updates on that front!

Days that Corey and Dee (friends from college) were in Europe: 8
Days they were with me: 7
Countries we visited: 3
Additional countries I’m claiming because I got off the bus at a bathroom stop in Belgium en route to Paris: 1
Days spent in Berlin: 1
Days spent in Dortmund: 2
Days spent in Amsterdam: 2
Days spent in Paris: 2
Additional days I get in Paris: 6
Hours spent on trains and buses traveling between those countries: 21 (at least)

Hours spent on public transportation in search of Potsdam Palace in Berlin: 1.5
Hours spent returning to Berlin: 1.5
Visits to Potsdam Palace: 0
Train stops we missed the Palace by: 1
Hours it took to realize we weren’t anywhere near the Palace: 1
Neon blue Christmas trees we settled for instead: 1
Sledding runs in the middle of Berlin: 1
Cost of sledding run (in Euros): 1.5
Sausages eaten in Germany: 10000000000
Marriage proposals we watched near Alexanderplatz: 1
Minutes the guy waited on an open lawn before his girlfriend showed up: 25
People gathered to watch: 50+
Schnitzels I consumed in Germany: 5
Schnitzels that were turned into a kebab by the Turkish restaurant dude: 1

Changes to get to Dortmund by local trains: 5
Hours spent on trains that day: 8
Connections missed: 1
German/Yooper friends visited in Dortmund: 1
Punk rock concerts attended in Dortmund: 1
“Boots” of glüwhein consumed in Dortmund: 3
Boots stolen for souvenirs: 6

Deposits paid for those boots that made the stealing legal (in Euros): 12

Hours spent discussing common Yooper friends with Christoph: 2+
Hours everyone else was bored by that discussion: 2+

Pairs of skinny jeans tried on by Dee and Corey: 4
Pairs of skinny jeans that made them look more European: 0

Hours spent on public transportation to get to the Essen mine: 1.5
Minutes we had before we had to return to Dortmund: 30
Hours we actually spent at the mine: 0
Pictures taken of the mine: 1
Minutes spent at the tram stop in the cold: 30
Pictures taken at the tram stop: 15

Hours on trains from Dortmund to Amsterdam: 5
Countries visited after the addition of the Netherlands: 31
Friends visited in Amsterdam: 2
Hours spent ice skating in Amsterdam: .5
Falls on the wet ice: 1
Very dramatic falls: 1
Space cakes consumed on the trip: 1
Space cakes consumed by me: 0
Van Gogh paintings viewed: 100
Van Gogh paintings I adored: 100
Hours spent in Anne Frank House: 1

Cost of train from Amsterdam to Paris (in Euros): 250
Cost of bus from Amsterdam to Paris (in Euros): 44
Hours spent on bus: 8
Hours slept on bus: 2
Time we arrived in Paris in the morning: 6
Hours spent in the Louvre: 5
Glasses of water spilled on Corey by French waiter in Louvre cafe: 1
Times I circled the room with the Mona Lisa before I realized where it was: 2
Pieces of artwork seen: 10000000000
Pieces of artwork adored: about half that

Hours I’d need to feel like I really saw the Louvre: 100

Thanksgiving picnics beneath the Eiffel Tower: 1
Ridiculous signature arms-out photos taken: 100000000000
Jumping photos taken to get successful shots in front of the Eiffel Tower: 100000000000000000
Times I thought of the phrase, “Jesus H. Christ” in Notre Dame after seeing the wall patterned with Hs: 20+
Times I felt mildly sacrilegious for those thoughts: 20+

Historic sites viewed in two days in Paris: 100000000
Days it will take to recover from my vacation: 7
Days I have left in Paris: 4
Sights I still want to see before I leave: 2 (Shakespeare & Co. books and the Moulin Rouge)
Yoopers I get to see on Tuesday: 1
Friends coming in on Wednesday: 2

Days until I fly to Dublin: 4
Days until I fly to Chicago: 5
On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready I am to stop traveling: -10
On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited I am to see family and friends at the holidays: 20

On a scale of 1 to 10, how bored are you after reading this lonnnng list?