Well here I am in Leon, Spain, for my final quarter of UW. I'm done with all my engineering classes but I have 15 credits left for my minor, so this program fits perfectly. I'm here until mid-December, at least, but I haven't bought my plane ticket home yet, so we'll see when I come back. Regardless, though, I'm here for a while and this is my third time on a major trip abroad, hence the blog title. If I'm not posting enough here and you still want to read about my travels, you can read my old blog! www.ecuadorandgreece.blogspot.com.
Anyway, I left Seattle on Thurdsay evening and got to Frankfurt Friday afternoon. I chose a flight with a long layover intentionally, and since my luggage was in the care of Lufthansa, I left the airport for a few hours to explore. I've never been to Germany but I looked up the metro system and read a little about the sights while I was waiting at Seatac (thank you free Wifi!), so getting downtown wasn't too hard. I strongly disliked not being able to communicate in the local language though... Everything in the airport had English translations, of course, and my impression was that everyone spoke English anyway, but I hated being "that American" that didn't speak the language! However, the excursion was definitely worth it. I got off the Metro at a stop in the city center and saw a gigantic train station (it's odd to think that cities were built around transportation infrastructure... so unlike Seattle), the Main River, a number of beautiful buildings, ate a meal (I don't know if it was actually authentic or just looked that way for tourists) and lastly went to the top of a skyscraper for a great 360 degree view of the city. By then I had walked around for a while and I was satisfied to recognize lots of landmarks.
I made it back to the airport without incident, save dozing off a couple times on the train. I found a quite boarding area and took a nice nap as soon as I got back through security! Then, when I was waiting for/on my plane to Madrid, I heard a lot more Spanish, which was much more comfortable. In Madrid, I found what was I think the only bench without any bars separating the seats on the outside of security. It wasn't the best sleep I've ever had, but I did finish my book. Now I need to find a bookstore with some English books because I only brought one! The next morning I met up with Olivia and Stephanie, who made slightly wiser choices in flight selection, and we found a train easily to get us to Leon in time for our 6pm meeting. I was awake for a total of 5 minutes during the train ride, but it seemed like a great way to travel, and much cheaper than flying. Of course, nothing will ever compare with buses in Ecuador... At a dollar per hour, they were certainly the most economical means of transport, which I miss!
Anyway, I left Seattle on Thurdsay evening and got to Frankfurt Friday afternoon. I chose a flight with a long layover intentionally, and since my luggage was in the care of Lufthansa, I left the airport for a few hours to explore. I've never been to Germany but I looked up the metro system and read a little about the sights while I was waiting at Seatac (thank you free Wifi!), so getting downtown wasn't too hard. I strongly disliked not being able to communicate in the local language though... Everything in the airport had English translations, of course, and my impression was that everyone spoke English anyway, but I hated being "that American" that didn't speak the language! However, the excursion was definitely worth it. I got off the Metro at a stop in the city center and saw a gigantic train station (it's odd to think that cities were built around transportation infrastructure... so unlike Seattle), the Main River, a number of beautiful buildings, ate a meal (I don't know if it was actually authentic or just looked that way for tourists) and lastly went to the top of a skyscraper for a great 360 degree view of the city. By then I had walked around for a while and I was satisfied to recognize lots of landmarks.
I made it back to the airport without incident, save dozing off a couple times on the train. I found a quite boarding area and took a nice nap as soon as I got back through security! Then, when I was waiting for/on my plane to Madrid, I heard a lot more Spanish, which was much more comfortable. In Madrid, I found what was I think the only bench without any bars separating the seats on the outside of security. It wasn't the best sleep I've ever had, but I did finish my book. Now I need to find a bookstore with some English books because I only brought one! The next morning I met up with Olivia and Stephanie, who made slightly wiser choices in flight selection, and we found a train easily to get us to Leon in time for our 6pm meeting. I was awake for a total of 5 minutes during the train ride, but it seemed like a great way to travel, and much cheaper than flying. Of course, nothing will ever compare with buses in Ecuador... At a dollar per hour, they were certainly the most economical means of transport, which I miss!
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