Hope all is well! I am just coming off a super busy week, so hopefully this will be a semi-interesting post. Theme song of the week: If I ever leave this world alive--Flogging Molly
So. Where to start. Last Wednesday, those of us doing internships this summer in Germany headed to Essen, which is an industrial town in West Germany. It was a jam packed trip where Prussian efficiency was the main theme. Thursday was our big day where we had to dress up uber professionally to go to the Krupp Mansion. The Krupp Foundation is what sponsors our internship program and every year the Stanford interns go to meet with the leaders of the foundation, including Berthold Beitz, who is 95 and still running the foundation. It was such a strange feeling to be dressed up in a mansion with finger foods at my disposal. There was this odd, "I'm not mature enough for this" sentiment but I managed not to embarrass myself. It was really cool to meet with the people who make our internships possible...I feel really lucky to have my job this summer. After our lunch we went to Dusseldorf for a walking tour. Dusseldorf has some pretty interesting architecture but is still pretty industrial. A highlight however was going to see one of Germany's most famous jazz musicians at night. A lot of people ended up sleeping but I had a blast. Anyhoo...Friday we were able to tour the Krupp Steel Factory (they're a big industrial family name) and I have to say I was slightly disappointed because I didn't get to see any molten steel. The schedule happened to be off so mainly I just got to tool around in a hard hat for a few hours. Not bad. Overall it was a really fun trip and I always love when we get to spend time together as a whole program.
After Essen/Dusseldorf I went with a small group of friends to Dublin! We flew out really late Friday night and had a fun picnic in the lobby of the airport. We had to put on several layers of clothing to make our checked bag light enough, making my friend Aria look like she was dressed for more than winter. Some would say getting in late to a new city is ideal because you can go straight out, however we were all pretty exhausted and saved exploring for Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we took the free walking tour of Dublin and it was an interesting overview of Irish history and modern day culture. After, we went to the Guinness Factory, which is undoubtedly the most popular attraction in Dublin. Arthur Guinness originally got the lease for 9000 years and they obviously still have a secured location for years to come. The factory itself is kind of interesting, especially the advertising section of the factory. I've never been a huge fan of Guinness but I have to say it was fun to have it at the factory in the top floor seating area overlooking Dublin. We saw a woman feeding her baby Guinness and I am appalled to say that she is from the midwest.
Anyway, for dinner we were able to listen to some live Irish music and the duo happened to play an irritatingly familiar song that I was positive was from some movie. My friend Lily went to ask what movie the song was in and the man replied, "it's in Napoleon Dynamite...that's not how you know this song is it?" Sad, but yes. This was how I knew the song. We lingered for a while before going to find a pub of some kind. We found a busy one on a corner with several Hen and Stag parties...Ireland is notorious for hosting Bachelor and Bachelorette parties. We sat down in a corner and I was singing some oldie and saw that an older lady was laughing/smiling at me. I noticed she wasn't really with anyone so I went down to say hi. Her name is Val and she's 65ish from England. Her travel companion is a born again Christian and refused to go out with her so she told her to shove it and came out on her own. She was so much fun and definitely in a not trying to be young kind of way. We had a great conversation about her life and family and she offered to buy me a drink...this is the first time anyone has bought me a drink and it was a 65 year old woman. Choice. She was so generous and eventually sat with all of my friends and bought us a round. I have promised to write her and now have her address since she refuses to get an email. We eventually parted ways as she was tired and we still wanted to explore. We next went to a place with live music that the police officers on the street recommended to some group of girls (we eavesdropped on the convo). I went down to the bathroom with Aria and Lily and all of a sudden someone starts talking about Minnesota in the stall next to me. Lily mentions that her friend is from Minnesota (me) and asks where she is from. She says Edina. I'm like HOLD UP. I come out of the stall and it is Kristi Cronin. My first froggy friend (big sister) on my high school synchronized swim team. It was so bizarre! What a small world. I literally have not seen her in years and it was absurd to meet up in the bathroom of a foreign country. I'm still not over it.
Sunday we decided to get out of the city and see some countryside. We took this great bus tour through the Wicklow Mountains and saw some beautiful landscapes (where Braveheart, Far and Away, and PS I Love You were filmed) and a monastery from the 10th century. Most of the buildings are still in tact and the stone combined with the green and the rain made for a beautiful atmosphere. We were able to hike around this area and see a waterfall as well. I loved it! Following the tour my feet were permanently soaked and I am happy now to be at home with clean socks after almost 48 hours of disgusting feet. We spent the night at the airport last night so I am also looking forward to my own bed after almost a week of being away. We made a makeshift cave under a counter and apparently I slept most of the time. On another note, it always feels good to get screwed by Ryan Air before 6 in the morning...should've read the effing fine print.
And I'm spent,
Ellen
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