This past May after finals week, me and two of my amazing friends traveled to Europe (shout-out to Meg and Ty). In 12 days, we saw 5 countries, danced in countless gay bars, ate unfathomable amounts of bread and brie and made lifetime memories. I was a newbie coming into this trip and I had no idea what to expect. Here are some things you should expect when traveling to Europe….
On long flights, you are apparently served real food, not just those lame peanuts or chocolate chip cookies. This was my first flight over the Atlantic and I certainly did not know what I was in for. On our flight from Boston to Amsterdam, I can remember eating a mini, sad looking bagel right when we landed. They came in these little folded cardboard boxes and have individual compartments. Not gonna lie, I felt like I was eating space food. I did not fully appreciate this aero-dining experience until our flight returning to Boston. On the flight home, we had limp pasta accompanied by some mystery meat along with ice-cream cups with wooden spoons. I have to admit, I was never so excited in my life. After sitting on a plane for almost 8 hours, that little plastic cup of ice cream was pure bliss (which lasted for about 5 seconds after basically inhaling the whole thing).
Jetlag is SUCH a thing! The first day in Europe, we were all so excited that we wiped away our exhaustion and ran around Amsterdam for about eight hours straight. Rather than plopping onto the hotel beds, we ate lunch, found the IAMSTERDAM letters and had a tastefully obnoxious touristy photo-shoot, stumbled upon an amazing park lined by various monuments and fountains, dined at a traditional Dutch restaurant and hit up the Ice Bar (which I would 10/10 recommend if you want to sip on some cocktails dressed in a burlap sack in about 15 degrees Farenheit). After our first full day gallivanting the wondrous city of Amsterdam, the jet lag caught up to us. Safe to say we spent the next couple of days recuperating with several naps throughout the day. I’m not trying to scare anybody about time-difference issues but, the excitement of being in Europe alone will for sure crush your jetlag in no time!
Discoteks! If you’re asking yourself what the heck is a “discotek,” it is pretty much the European equivalent to the American “night club.” My first discotek experience was in a little place called Stuttgart, Germany. After searching Google for the hottest “discotek” in this small town, we found a place called “Climax Institutes.” After reading the club’s name aloud, I could not help but feel like Stefon from SNL.
I could only imagine what this “discotek” had in store…
Well, we went to the club at around 11:30 but were we mistaken. We were the only people in there! For us Americans, 11:30 is considered a decent time to go out into the night time. Oh, no no no. See, European night life is a whole "'nother animal." Let’s just say when we were leaving the club at 4:30 a.m. (sorry mom), the line to get into the club was just starting to form…
Another important thing to note about discoteks is dancing. PEOPLE, LEAVE YOUR TWERKING AT THE DOOR. Europeans do not twerk. I know right? Instead, they “shuffle”. Us Americans were doing our thing booty popping and getting down while the true discotek regulars were shuffling their feet to the intense Electro music. I felt like I was in an 80s movie at the high school dance. The way we were dancing, we definitely stuck out like sore thumbs but who cares, we got to twerk in Germany!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKaL16KWi84 (not kidding)
FOOOOOOOD. For every college student who has studied abroad or went to Europe over the summer, food is a big deal. How can you show off your cultured eeeeeeats without a casual insta of gelato in the Coliseum or a pint of good quality German beer at Oktoberfest? Among the many things I ate in Europe, I will highlight three of them (god this will be hard)
When we got to Amsterdam, I knew I wanted one thing: a stroopwafel (trust me, I did my research on all food one should eat while in Europe) Stroopwafels are thin, wafer cookies sealed with sticky, caramel syrup. In search of our stroopwafel, we found a cute place, owned by a married couple, specializing in the cookies along with homemade ice cream. We watched the owners ladle the batter into the waffle irons, thinly slice the cookie open and slather each side with the hot, bubbling caramel goo. Literally, to die for. I never tasted something so delicious in my life. Imagine a flat, cinnamon-y Belgian waffle but even better.
Next on my list has to be fondue in Lucerne, Switzerland. After a long day of hiking Mt. Pilatus and wishing we brought a selfie stick, we dined ourselves along lake Lucerne. The restaurant patio was on the cobblestone, right next to the lake (and the swans, who are not very nice creatures by the way). The fondue came with a bowl of potatoes and unlimited bread. I repeat, UNLIMITED BREAD. Another thing about Europe is that all of their bread is unreal. Carbs never tasted so good OMG. Anyways, I was super stoked because I never had cheese fondue before and what better place to have fondue than Switzerland. I have no idea what kind of cheese it was, but this stuff was literally liquid gold. After this meal, all I remember is wobbling back to our hotel feeling like the Pillsbury Dough boy.
Last but not least, Swiss chocolate. By the end of our trip, we found ourselves in Bern, Switzerland. Bern was a quiet and beautiful city and my favorite part was their chocolate. We stopped by a chocolatier shop called “Läderach” in search for some delectable treats. We certainly found them all right! The shop had incredible truffles and colorfully designed chocolate bark that smelled just like how you would imagine Willy Wonka’s factory to smell. That day, I bought $20 worth of chocolate and I did not regret it one bit. We had pistachio white chocolate, dark caramel bark and dark raspberry swirl chocolate just to name a few. My only memory before this chocolate induced food coma is lying in bed and tasting each piece we bought. Swiss chocolate is definitely an experience but remember, do not eat all 12 pieces at once (or do, YOLO).
Welp, these fun stories sum up a majority of my Euro-trip. I still can’t believe I was there and I would not trade those 12 days for the world. Ugh, what I would give for another stroopwafel right now…
