Germany and Austria

Well, this post is long overdue, considering I've been back in Ireland for about three weeks. But here's a recap of our five-day adventure to Germany and Austria!

We took a taxi from Maynooth to Dublin at 6:30 to catch our flight to Munich that left at 8. I couldn't sleep the whole night before, I was too antsy to start the day, so I just stayed awake, straightened my hair, cleaned my room, had two cups of tea, googled how not to look like an american, and listened to a lot of ingrid michaelson and beyonce (you know, to get pumped up traveling with four girls and being awesome). Ryanair was a lot less chaotic and hectic than I thought it would be, so going through security and boarding the plane was relatively harmless.

Marienplatz

We finally got to Memmingen and... found out that it was about an hour and a half train ride to Munich. And when they stamped our passports, all it said was 'Memmingen,' not even Germany. Just 'Memmingen.' There was absolutely nothing in Memmingen except cheap pizza, mean Germans, and a shabby train station that looked like what i would've guessed a homeless man's bachelor pad looked like. We took the bus from the airport to the train station. It was packed. So when two old women got on, Liz and I gave up our seats. Even though there was this jerk of a guy who was taking up one seat and his bag was taking the other and he, if he were a gentlemen at all, would've gotten up and given his seats. That's when I realized Germans were not country boys.

So after trying (and failing) to communicate with the grouchy, bearded tall man-woman at the train station, we booked a train ticket to Munich, got cheap pizza, hopped on the train and fell asleep looking out the window at... rolling hills.

German flag!

Needless to say, we weren't that impressed with Germany at first. Then, we got to Munich, took a left when we should've turned right, and finally were on our way (and also the last time we really got lost). We found our way to the city centre, looked around until it got dark, and then got beers at a famous beir hall where Hitler frequented (not for the beer, he didn't drink alcohol, but to socialize). He also was a vegetarian, didn't drink alcohol, or smoke. Fun fact. On our way back to the train station, we watched a demonstration take place outside the Marienplatz.

Drinks at Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall

There were hundreds of armed German military and police standing guard, watching with their AKs ready to do serious work. It was overwhelming and a little scary. We didn't know what was going on, so we decided not to be obviously tourist and definitely not American. Of course, Becca tried to get a closer look (really to take a picture - dumb. American. tourist. ha) and a German police office yelled something mean at her and she backed. the. eff. up. in a hurry, too. Because they don't play. He legitimately looked ready to beat her. And all these German militia were about 6'4", looking like UFC fighters with the most hateful looks on their faces. Men you don't want to mess with! So we quickly walked away after that.

Neuschwanstein Castle

We caught the latest train out of Munich to Füssen. Thankfully I had done research before the trip and knew Bavaria pretty well. Leaving for a random small-ish town in the middle of the night, though, was a little bit unplanned. As our train went on for a couple hours, getting darker and darker, not only did Liz and Cat get nervous, but I was beginning to doubt myself, too.
Finally, the last stop, our stop, was the only one well-lit, with a few people, not dodgy-looking, around, at 11 p.m. We found a gelato shop with, luckily, a map of the city and two of the nicest Germans that knew bits of English (compared to the two words I knew in German, none of which appropriate) and were able to give us the name of a hostel. After the first was closed, we kept walking and came to a second. The Bed and Breakfast was a little pricey, but still able to work around our budget. It ended up being perfect. We were able to take showers, have a luxurious night's sleep and wake up to a healthy German breakfast.

The plan was to visit Neuschwanstein, the castle that inspired Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty. To be honest, I didn't think we would have time, even though it was something I was really wanting to see. But we got up around seven, and the rest just worked perfectly. We paid four euros for a round-trip ticket to the castle, about five miles away. Once we were there, we could either hike an hour up the paved side of a mountain or spend 30 euros (each) to take a bus. Since we were young, eager, and cheap, we decided to hike it. So we hitched our 40-pound backpacks, pumped ourselves up and started our hike around 9:00. It was long. It got hot. But it was so incredibly worth it. The pictures don't do the view justice at all. It was gorgeous. GORGEOUS. Ah, I wish I had words. The mountains with the castle and everything. So worth it.

Innsbruck

After we hiked back down the mountain, took a bus back into Füssen, we held our breath that we could use our Eurail pass to get into Austria (the ticket we paid one price for and were able to travel all around Austria with). That ended up working out, so we took it into Innsbruck, a long train ride, but with amazing views of the Bavarian and Austrian Alpine Mountains along the ride, so well worth it! Not to mention we had Nutella and wheat crackers for our trip, so it was a great ride.

Stiegl, made in Salzburg

We got into Innsbruck, a city surrounded on all sides by the Alps. It was spectacular! So gorgeous, I couldn't believe my eyes. Each way I turned, you could see a view of the mountains. Glorious! I am convinced I have to live in or around the mountains now. We stayed in Innsbruck for dinner after walking around the town and then decided to just take a train to Vienna. We figured it would be easier to find a cheaper hostel in a bigger city. We had dinner at this small place that wasn't crowded or too expensive, but had a great view of the city. I had a Stiegl, which is a beer brewed in Salzburg. It was pretty good, I enjoyed it. I chatted with the owner for a little while about Austrian beers. He ended up being a really nice guy with decent English and when we were about to leave, he gave me the glass!

Karlskirch

We caught the two-hour train and headed to Wien (Vienna). I jotted down the directions to a hostel and we caught a couple inner-city trains to our stop. Vienna, since it was a bigger city, had a couple stops that seemed a bit dodgy. But, luckily, we were right on the money and found it with no problem. It was a chain of hostels, so it was really nice with a ton of people in their 20s just traveling. After we paid for our rooms, we got free drink tickets. Since we had been going nonstop, we decided we would just have a glass of wine and then off to bed and get up early the next day to explore Vienna.

Belvedere

Beethoven's grave

We woke up, had breakfast, grabbed a map and circled a couple places we really wanted to see. Then, we just started taking the train. Vienna is so amazing! It has some of the most incredible architecture I've ever seen and is a renowned musical place.
Everywhere we went, people were playing beautiful renditions of classical music by Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and more - all men from (or who spent the most of their life in) Austria!

Schonbrunn Palace

I don't know too much about classical music, but I know that it makes a beautiful sound and I was in the presence of great men. So we toured the city, going to some really cool places, visiting the graves of these world famous composers and having the most amazing time while walking our feet off. It was great! We were able to see most all of what we wanted and afterwards we met Becca's friend, Lisa, for dinner. She turned out to be so sweet and took us around the city and to a genuinely Austrian place. I ended up getting wienerschnitzel (it was delicious, duh, had to get it) and feeling supes Austrian. Afterwards, we got gelato and sat down for a good chat, then went back to the same hostel and stayed a second night.

I loved Vienna, it was definitely one of the greatest cities I've been to.

Opera house

OH! I forgot to say that, while running to catch our train, Becca and I made it, but the doors closed before Liz and Cat could get on the train. It was probably the funniest/scariest part of Vienna. It was something you really just have to witness to be able to laugh as hard as I am thinking about it. Thank goodness Liz was listening to me rambling on about where we were going while I was looking for the right train. But as we stood there, Becca and I inside the train and Liz and Cat looking in, it was crazy. Cat looked oblivious (as always), Becca was punching the button so the doors would open (resistance was futile), Liz was looking straight at me, like she was about to pass out (there were definite tears popping up) and I was screaming the name of the train stop that they needed to get off (praying that Liz understood what I was saying and had been paying attention earlier).
So Becca and I sat down, took a couple breaths, then burst out laughing. And laughed all the way until our stop, the second to last. We sat down on the benches in the train terminal and just waited, still laughing at each of our reaction's while the doors closed. Finally, the next train, Liz (her eyes puffy, she still was trying to catch her breath) and Cat (still looking oblivious) got out and then we were all able to sigh with relief and then laugh about it some more.

On Tuesday, we woke up, had breakfast, checked out of the hostel and headed to Linz. It was cold and dreary. And most definitely sobering. Because Tuesday was the day we visited Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration Camp. It was one of the main things we wanted to do (Becca and Liz being history major buffs, and I've always been really interested in the Holocaust).
We'd originally wanted to do an entire World War tour - see the beaches of Normandy, go to Poland to Auschwitz, see it all. But when that didn't work out, we knew that we were going to find a camp in Austria or Germany to visit. We had two months to prepare ourselves. But you can never really prepare yourself for something like this..

"As a resident of many camps, I can say that Guzen was the worst. This is not to say that the conditions at the other camps were not dreadful. Compared to Guzen, however, one might almost say that those camps were paradises. The proof of this might be that Guzen was one of the least known camps. This was not because it was smaller than the others - it might even have been the largest. It was unknown simply because very few of the tens of thousand of prisoners sent there remained alive to tell the story of its horrors."

- Rabbi RAV YECHEZKEL HARFENES (when back to Auschwitz) in "BeKaf HaKela" (Slingshot of Hell)

International Remembrance

Even decades later, it haunts you, the Holocaust. We got to the train station and had to take a taxi about five miles through winding countryside to get to the camp, in the middle of nowhere. The walk that prisoners took, from that same train station to the same camp. We got a map and headphones, took a deep breath, and started our walking tour around the camp. Looking at the front gate, where so many thousands of people entered and fewer ever came out, it takes your breath away. And you don't even realize the enormity of it. Or maybe you do, but you're so struck, you have that feeling inside your gut. And your heart hurts. Bitterness, hate, pity, guilt, sadness, despair. You feel everything in a matter of seconds, standing at that gate.

From crematorium to memorial

Gates are symbolic. The gates that guard heaven and hell. Gates used to keep men in or make sure they stays out. Those gates that are pearly and golden and the others that are rusted, black, cracked. Symbolic entrances into new worlds. Gate and threshold. Passages. Life and death. One world and the next.
Once we stepped past, there was no more green countryside, no more picturesque Austria. There was hardly anyone there, so when we walked inside the main courtyard, it was deserted, barren. The rest of the tour, we just had our headphones in, just being there. Walking, silence, standing, silence, more walking. We saw the prisoners would all stand upon coming to the camp, disrobe, be beaten, embarrassed, harassed, have to sleep all night, dehumanized. We saw the gas chamber, the crematoriums, the bunks, the barbed wire.. we saw everything. It's hard to write about, much less re-visualize. And there are never words that seem to do enough.

 After we left the camp, we were tired and it was rainy, cold and wet, so we just took a train to Salzburg, found our hostel and went to sleep early. The next morning, we were schedule for a Sound of Music tour. We had all been looking forward to it, but the best part was that it was Sing-A-Long! And the only tour of the Sound of Music in all of Austria (because, since it's an American film, only filmed in Austria, about an Austrian family, a lot of Austrians don't really know what it is). Our tour guide was incredible! She was witty, charming, with a plethora of terrible jokes told in the most endearing way you had to smile to yourself and give her props.

The tour first took us around the city (unfortunately no stops in Salzburg to take pictures of Nonneberg Abbey or anymore, but I got a few shots from the moving bus) and then into the countryside (where most of the movie was filmed).

It was a perfect day (we were seriously the most blessed with the weather, the whole time it was just glorious) and we even met some other Americans on the bus who were studying in Ireland, also, so we had a great time chit-chatting at the back with them. But we went around to Salzburg, singing the sound of music, and the views were just out of this world. I wish we could've taken a gondola to the tops of a couple mountains, though, but I'm happy nonetheless.

After spending the day on the tour, we came back to Salzburg and went straight back to Munich. Once there, we decided to reward ourselves on having the most amazing trip, rarely getting lost and everything just seeming to fall perfectly in place. We went to dinner and had a few cocktails and just went back to the hostel bar, met some lovely people, had a great night, went to sleep and got up the next day to catch a train to Nowheresville, Germany and catch our plane back to Dublin. Everything went off without a hitch. And we ended up having such a wonderful trip!

EUROTRIP.

sorry about not blogging about my travels for awhile. we've been laying low, just around ireland, waiting for our BIG trip that we start exactly one week from today! so my americana friends and i booked our flights to and from Munich and rail pass around Austria for our midterm "study" break at the end of october. let me just fill you in on my life right now:

october 30th (sunday), we leave dublin and get to munich, germany. we're going to spend a day in the city, touring the sights. what are the sights? well, glad you asked. i didn't really have a clue, either. (look, we're going for cheap here, okay.) so i googled the best places to go:

Marienplatz

• Hofbräuhaus beer hall, one of the beer halls used by the Nazi Party to declare policies and hold meetings. Here, Hitler held his first meeting and many others, gave numerous speeches, and came regularly to socialize (FUN FACT: Hitler did not drink, eat red meat, or smoke). not to mention Mozart was rumored to have written his opera Idomeneo after frequenting the beer hall. Not to mention JFK, Thomas Wolf and other famous people who have visited. Can't wait to get a beer stein! Souvenir!
• Marienplatz, Munich's largest public square, where the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall) dominates the square. its central clocktower features a splendid Glockenspiele with medieval knights hold a jousting tournament and the townspeople dance afterward holding the city's banner aloft. the bells chime and the figures dance at 11:00 Am and 5:00 Pm.
• Munich Residenz, the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. it's the largest city palace that's open to visitors. The first couple of buildings were built in 1385, and Maximilian I commissioned the entire West Wing and Court Garden to be built during his reign in the mid-1600s. the Winter Garden was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria. After the king’s death in 1897, the Winter Garden on the roof was dismantled because of water leaking from the ornamental lake through the ceiling of the rooms below. Later, courtyards were built and much renovation were done inside the building. Albert V the house jewels of the Wittelsbach are today on display in the treasury.



Inner hall of Munich Residenz

• Deutsches Museum, one of the world's largest science museums. I. love. museums.  

Belvedere Palace

after we're done in Munich, we're going to take a train to Salzburg, Austria and begin our week-long rail-jumping extravaganza all over the country. freaking out, i'm so excited! we'd originally planned on a week-long, three-country trip to Poland, Germany, and Switzerland. turns out it's wicked expensive, country rail passes didn't correspond, and the trip was not really feasible for anyone. so after having dinner (Liz cooked pasta, Becca made the zalad, Anne brought apple pies, and Cat brought the drinks, of course), we got our thinkin' caps on, our computers out, and got down to business. (to defeat the Huns). SO we decided on Austria (at first, I was a little bummed, because i really wanted to go to Switzerland, but Austria's a pretty ballin' substitute, and they have Alps, so I'm content). a rough overview of what all we need to see:

inmates in Mauthausen

• Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. Since the trip was supposed to be a tour to all the major historical events in central Europe (then condensed to Munich and Austria), we decided that we absolutely have to go to a concentration camp. By the summer of 1940, the Mauthausen-Gusen had become one of the largest labor camp complexes in German-controlled Europe, and its death toll, while mostly unknown, is figured to be between 200 and 400 thousand. whoa. i get chill bumps just thinking about it...

• Vienna, the capital of Austria and on the River Danube. It has the 3rd highest quality of living in European Union. People from Vienna are called Viennese. The major religion of the people is Christianity. The major language spoken in Vienna is German. Surprisingly the voting age in Austria is only 16 years old.Vienna is known worldwide as the city of music and is home to great music hall with excellent acoustics. 

Sound of Music filming - East Alps

• Salzburg, the fourth-largest city in Austria and located on the Northern edge of the Alps. Salzburg was capital of an independent principality until the Napoleonic Wars; it became part of Habsburg Austria at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. It is famous for mainly four things: its Baroque architecture and general prettiness; as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the world-class Salzburg Festival, a series of opera, concerts and theatre performances during the summer; and as the place where "The Sound of Music" was filmed. 

• Innsbruck, situated between the Alps

Salzburg Castle

• Bregenz, located on the eastern shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the west and Germany in the northwest. The city is situated on a plateau falling in a series of terraces to the lake at the foot of Pfänder mountain. The first settlements date from 1500 BC. Celtic tribe named Brigantii is mentioned by Strabo as a sub-tribe in these region of the Alps.

•  Salzkammergut, a region in Austria. It is located near the Hallstätter See. allstatt is a village perched on the rim of Lake Hallstatt with salt mines that have been in operation since the iron age, 7000 years ago.

Hallstatt

never trust the leprechauns.

this weekend was so good in so many ways! erika, mariah and i decided to hang out for mariah's remaining days in ireland. so after my classes on thursday (and a quick nap), mariah and i took a train to dublin and walked to erika's house. wouldn't you know, that lady had been cooking up a storm the entire day for our belated birthday dinner. it was the cutest thing ever. earlier that day, she went to the store and picked up some birthday plates, a banner, wine, a bottle of coke, and made spaghetti. it was wonderful. mostly because she made it with love and a dash of honey. ha. that night, we finished off the wine with her roommate, safia, and had the neighbors over (two intelligent, charismatic, charming and cute Spaniards).

the next day, we slept in until around ten, only to wake up and find that it was a downpour outside. now, we're used to ireland being rainy and mildly chilly, but this was an awful rain, cold and wet. so we scrapped our plans for the day (a couple museums, a trip to the park, tea) and opted to stay inside. i ran across to fresh, a local grocery nearby, and loaded up on breakfast essentials for brunch while erika booked our Galway tour and mariah took a shower. we cooked brunch (it was delicious - rashers (bacon, not a fan), eggs, toast, jam, and juice) and then lay around watching the best episodes of Grey's Anatomy while it was a constant downpour outside. i wasn't complaining. sometimes you just need those days to catch up on sleep, lay around, play on pinterest and be all-around unproductive. it's good for your health.

on saturday, we got up early to catch a bus to Galway, about three hours away from Dublin. we finally got to Galway, off the bus, and to the city centre around 2:30 and we were starving. so we grabbed some food and headed for our B&B/a little shopping.
Galway has the cutest little city. all old buildings on a cobblestone path with a fun atmosphere and bustling city centre. we stopped in a toy shop (can't resist, life of a camp counselor), grabbed some hot chocolate, drooled over engagement rings, and erika bought a Claddagh ring, a traditional Irish symbol for love, friendship and loyalty, for herself and her sister. we are such girls.
afterwards, we grabbed a taxi and headed all of three minutes to our B&B (we had no clue it was so close), but, unfortunately, were told that they didn't have our reservation. i don't know how, but we didn't spend anymore time arguing with the old Irish lady about it. so we started walking, hoping to find a sign for availability or a hostel or a cardboard box. just something to sleep in for the night. finally, a couple streets over and in a random house with a purple door,
we found the Delta B&B and basically pleaded with the lady to let us have her last double room for the three of us. "we love to snuggle!" we said, nodding a little too cheerfully. there's no clue what she was thinking as three American girls in their early twenties stood in front of her, giving her a sob story about a misplaced reservation and pleading to all sleep with each other. but we won her over, apparently, because she gave us the room with 20 euro apiece.
so we took a few minutes to put our bags down, relax, plug my phone in, and we headed to find the beach. in the cold rain. well, we found it. it was beachy. with a nice view of the atlantic, the entire 20 feet we could see in front of us. then, we took a taxi back into the city centre, went to dunne's stores, bought scarves for the next day, and went to go find an authentic Irish pub. but our hunger got the best of us and we took a slight detour to an Asian restaurant that looked like something we'd find at home (anything that reminds us of home, we are such suckers for). but after that, we found a pub with local Irish music, got bulmer's and enjoyed our night.

the next morning, we woke up and took a tour through the Burren National Park and to the Cliffs of Moher. the word "Burren" comes from an Irish word "Boíreann" meaning a rocky place, with the largest karst landscapes in Europe. there are more than 90 megalithic tombs in the area. the major portal tomb we visited was Poulnabrone dolmen, dating back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC to 2900 BC. excavations found that between 16 and 22 adults and 6 children were buried underneath. personal items buried with the dead included a polished stone axe, a bone pendant, quartz crystals, weapons and pottery. with its dominating presence on the limestone landscape of the Burren, the tomb was likely a centre for ceremony and ritual until well into the Celtic period or it may have served as a territorial marker in the Neolithic landscape.

what we should've seen...

what we saw...

unfortunately the Cliffs of Moher were covered in a dense fog (apparently the first in months, just our luck). so, no big deal, we just stood on top of the eighth wonder of the world, hung out for a little while, and left. didn't see anything. thanks a lot, weather. but the cliffs of moher rise 390-702 feet above the Atlantic, varying in different places. it is possible to see 300 million year-old river channels cutting through, forming unconformities at the base of the cliffs. FUN FACT: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Princess Bride, to name a few, had scenes filmed here.

thankfully, our tour guide, a flirty, little old Irish man who kept going on and on about leprechauns, took us to "baby" cliffs, which were much more clear and visible. we were able to get some good pictures and the entire time at the cliffs wasn't a waste. all in all, it was such a fantastic weekend. pearl and honey convinced me to stay Monday, too. (whoops, about class...) and we did a little shopping, hung out, and then i caught a train back to Maynooth. so now for my normal life to start.. it's been great.

until i shoot the craic another time,

 FMS and the little leprechauns.

anyone care for a little gaelic football?

i started classes monday. after spending two and a hour hours registering. there was a queue of internationals sitting, waiting to be called. apparently you were supposed to have the classes you wanted to take, a slip of paper about releasing your grades to your home university, and your passport. i had two of the three. of course. and then it said that one of my classes wasn't even available (which is false, because it definitely is). sooo talk about frustration city.

finally, i got all registered and sturff and started classes. they're okay. they are huge class sizes. not a huge fan, though, because i want one-on-one, you know. i want a teacher to know my name, to realize that i have thoughts about what he's lecturing on, and then i want him to expect me to pitch those to the class. that may sound obnoxious, but that's just how i roll in class. and it mostly gets me A's. this is a whole new ball game. i guess i'll just have to go introduce myself and be the innocent, but smart, American girl with the sweet smile and occasional attentive nods. dadgummit.

so yesterday i saw all of my ole miss friends' statuses (stati?). it was how they all just wanted to sleep because it was rainy and blah and meeh, blah blah. and i was right there with them this time last year. heck, i would've been right there with them this year, if i would've been in oxford.

but instead, i am in the middle of THE rainiest, cold rainiest, place. have i mentioned it rains? i'm not complaining in the least - i'm definitely the one who decided that i was going to come to ireland! but i do like this weather. i'm sure once i get used to the weather, it will be much better, but all i want to do is just lay in bed! because cold rain = lazy weather, right? NO. it means.. get used to it, sucka, you're here for four months!!

my 'merican frands are great. becca (from texas, plays softball at trinity), liz (from rhode island, goes to assumption, wherever the h-e-doublehockeysticks that is) and i found the gym yesterday. it was great fun. i ran a couple miles (can you say out. of. shape), did about 10 minutes on a piece of weight equipment specifically for rowing (daaaannngg, stuff is real! real hard), some free weights and then just cardio stuff. and then we played a little basketball (i made them play, they're not big fans. I JUST WANT TO PLAY BASKETBALL WITH PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO PLAY.) and then we did an aerobics class. too much looking like an idiot for my taste, though.

there were posters up about joining different teams. think i've narrowed it down to basketball, kayaking, and gaelic football (ha!). a girl was trying to explain it to me yesterday. apparently it's a mixture of soccer and rugby and gets INTENSE. in tents? i wish i was somewhere in a tent. so i guess we'll see how that goes. i'm going to get out there with 30 of the most manliest irish women and just be taken to the house.

tonight we're going to some fresher's ball thing at a pub. because everything is at a pub. seriously. all meals, drinks, nights - all spent in pubs. you win, ireland. you win.

until something else interesting comes about, love love you all :)

my goodness, my guinness!

tomorrow marks officially one week since i've been across the pond. it has been absolutely terrific. full of new friends, lots of walking, a new appreciation for public transportation, and pints of beer. talk about growing up. adjusting to the local culture has been a smoother transition than i thought it would be. everyone is so nice and welcoming. i'm excited to get settled, start classes and get into a groove.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS WEEK:

-honey came to maynooth on friday and we toured the town and campus. (i like it much more!) and later that night, we watched a movie and had pizza with the american girls i met

- pearl and i went to the guinness storehouse. we both poured the "perfect pint." it was really neat - you go through all 7 steps of pouring guinness, and then you drink it. and do you know what guinness tastes like? vomit. put into a blender with tar and other terrible things. and then blended into a thick smoothie. it. is. gross. but pearl and i were determined to finish. she owned it. and the guinness owned me.

- we went shopping in dublin. there's a place called penney's that's a lot like forever 21. so that was fun.

- honey moved into her apartment. it's a cute, little loft above the light shop of an old man. old and so dublin.


- pearl and i almost got hit by the bus illegally crossing the sidewalk, after she dropped a euro in the gelato - that was behind the glass, and, when we got to maynooth, she pulled out her mace and threatened me with it. i'm sharing a two-foot space with a crazy. #getmeoutofhere hahaha