Still Competitive

The sports leisure and tourism program at school hosted an event where you could get a team of 5 and compete in different games and that whole thing had an 80's theme. Through what turned out to be a lot of trouble we found people to play. We also ran into trouble when one of the girls on our team was very hungover and refusing to get out of bed this morning, but thankfully she pulled through. It was a pretty good time. It was nice to actually compete in something. We ended up 4th out of 18 teams which I am not thrilled about, but there were a few competitions that left us exposed.
Dodge ball was not one of them. We killed it in that, not even coming close to tasting defeat. Ryan nailed a girl in the face right off the bat. It shouldn't be funny I know, but I love head shots. Apparently the rules were if you hit someone in the face, you are out, so that's the only reason Ryan ever got out. We were fine without him that game. Most of the people did not have strong arms so it was easy to catch anything lobbed up at you. I maybe got a little to into it, the referee talked to me and told me tone it down and take it a little easier on the team we were playing, but its dodgeball. You have to be merciless. I really hate to lose and I don't like being bad at something so there was a little competitive fire that came out. During the basketball game I basically got tackled and that set me off a bit. I started throwing elbows and sort of looking for people to hit with those bows. Those games were definitely our strong points, but we had to play soccer and badminton.
Soccer is obviously not a strong point for us and we won one and lost one. I see why people go nuts when they score, because I scored the only goal in our win and I went nuts. Well enough bragging, because we got our ass's handed to us in badminton. Of course, we got matched up against Chinese students. One was wearing a badminton jersey. They were amazing. This was obviously a training match for when they head to London for the Olympics. Seriously, they made us look stupid. They crushed the birdie and were doing drop shots and stuff. It was really a beating. We took a little anger out when we played the same team in dodgeball but were left a bit dejected after badminton. This aside I wish I could have looked at the official results because I feel we did better than 4th, but I guess winning isn't everything. Yea right, who am I kidding. It was a fun day and good to get off the futon on a sunday afternoon. I just finished the first season of Glee and was so mad that they didn't win regionals I cursed my computer. I thought about throwing it, but I refrained. I already broke my phone when I heard Pujols signed with the angels so I may have learned my lesson. Until next time. I have much to discuss in the problems we faced returning from Luxembourg, it was madness. Au revoir.

Vianden

Being responsible lads we chose to call it an early night so we could wake up at a reasonable hour to have optimal time in our next voyage. We honestly had no idea of where to go, but we are scholars, so we did research. We didn't have our encyclopedias with us so we used this new tool Google. I don't know if you have ever heard of it. Through diligent work we devised our research question. we Googled things to do in Luxembourg. Ryan ran across a post of a small town called Vianden, which was near the German border, so we did it.
To start our morning off, we went to an American cemetery. Of course you have to jump on the opportunity to visit one of these if you are anywhere near one. I visited the American cemetery in Normandy in late December when my parents came, and it was absolutely incredible. The weather was not the greatest this day in Luxembourg, but the cemetery was still kept up in pristine condition. It was not the spectacle that Normandy was, but it still amazing to realize that you are in an area where such an atrocious war occurred. To think, it was not that long ago. 70 years or so, in reality, is not that long ago and it is great to see how these areas have rebounded. This particular cemetery was under a bit of construction. I realize this is probably not the main tourist time in being the beginning of March. Walking through these cemeteries can be a bit overwhelming. Obviously you have no real connection to these fallen heroes, but it really puts things in to perspective and makes you proud to be an American. Lee Greenwood lyrics were definitely going through my head. I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. I won't forget the men who died, and gave there lives for me. I proudly stand up...you know the words. I think that main attraction to this cemetery was that it was the final resting place of General George Patton. We almost missed it, but they had a bit of a chain linked fence surrounding the white cross bearing his name. You do keep your eye out for Iowa graves and we saw a few. Well, we walked around a bit, mainly in silence, but decided we had seen what we needed to and decided to head out to Vianden.
For those wanting to know, we named our little Renault Twingo Gary. Just in case you were wondering. Once out of Luxembourg city, there was a lot of wooded area. It was very cool and to be honest, it was fun to drive. The roads were winding in every direction. We had wondered why we had lost time coming on the GPS and Ryan figured it was probably because the GPS thinks we will be driving 110 km through these areas and we obviously can't. Challenge accepted! I said that, but I really didn't try to drive that fast. We went through many small towns and they were definitely different than anything I have ever seen. The houses were all very nice and I wonder what the main jobs were in Luxembourg. Our GPS lady took us on quite the scenic route. We entered this little cow town and we were basically driving through fields. Definitely did not know if it was right since this crazy lady got us lost many times on the way to Luxembourg, but she got us there.
Just pulling into this town we could see why it had such high reviews. Although it was for sure a tourist spot, it almost seemed unscathed from modern development. Like most old towns, there was a river in the middle and you could look up and see a castle on top of this mountain. First thing first, we needed to eat. A lot of places were closed, because some of these restaurants seem to be closed more than they are open. It makes me miss great wall and fast food Chinese that is open till 4 am. We went to a pizzeria as it was the only thing open. The waitress approached us in German. We were very close to Germany and as I mentioned previously, they speak both French and German. Not knowing German we asked Parle vous anglais. She said no and responded with Parle vous Francais. Good enough, we were able to order in French and I ordered a calzone that was bigger than my head. The food was great, but we found out later that it gave us gas. Fully bellys and happy, we were ready to explore.
Vianden was the last place in Luxembourg to be freed from German occupation. We saw some photos and much of the city was bombed. This city is known for their castle and there is a lookout on top of the mountain which provides an amazing view of the castle and the town. There is a ski lift that leads you up to it, but it was closed for the winter. Once again, challenge accepted. We were getting to this damn lookout. We drove up the mountain and found a trail that we decided would for sure lead us to our destination. We were right, but this was a trail and not a road. It was very narrow and winding and if we went off the edge we were for sure plummeting to our death. We got up most of the way and there was a bit of a washout, but an area to perhaps turn around so we went for it. Ryan got out to help so I didn't drive off a mountain. I think once you reach a certain age you become more cautious and I was. When I was making this 16 point turn, I took off my seat belt and opened the door just in case I drove off so I would be able to jump out and spare my life. I am becoming so responsible. We got the car turned around and decided to walk the rest of the way. Risking our lives was worth it, because the lookout was fantastic. Looking down on this town and looking out at a castle was truly incredible. We were up there for awhile. Long enough that we pissed on the building because the bathrooms were closed. If you ever get the chance and can take the lift, do it. You will not be disappointed.
After soaking in the views we decided to check out the castle. It was fine, but looking down on it is much better than actually going into it. We saw some replicas of how it was supposed to look and we tried our best to understand what was being said in French. It was a very nice castle and has had a lot of work done to restore it since it had almost been left for dead and deteriorating. Our gas was a bit of a problem. We walked into these rooms with other tourists and Ryan was dropping some bombs, and I know that I was not the only one who was smelling it. One of the rooms was dedicated to famous people who have visited this castle. There were many political leaders and things of that nature, but I am proud to say that me hero had visited this castle. The man himself, Patrick Swayze. He was filming a movie there or something and signed a photo. This guy is a legend. This last summer my brother and I practiced jumping into each others arms like baby in dirty dancing. The man is a amazing.
The scenery in this town was unbelievable and I feel fortunate enough to have been able to see it. Luxembourg is a great place to stay as you can go anywhere on such a short drive. Literally, in a 24 hour span, I was in 4 countries and had only driven a couple of hours. On our way back we were driving through what seemed to be like national parks and took some time to walk around and enjoy the views. It smelt amazing. I know it sounds weird, but nothing smells better than nature. In Ryan's words we were able to see some babbling brooks and some awesome rock formations. It was incredibly cool to get out of the city and venture to places that we had no business in visiting. Amazing trip. We had some car troubles on the way home, but I will discuss that later. Go to Luxembourg if you have the chance and especially Vianden, you will not be disappointed. Well since I am a loser an staying in on Friday night to watch Glee, you can have your assumptions, but I have a football in my arms, a fat dip in my lip, and just got done watching East Bound and Down, so think what you will. If anyone besides my family reads this I have one thing to say. Travel. There is no better feeling than discovering new things. Au Revoir.

Luxembourg City

This is my place to vent. Although I doubt anyone has read any of these posts, it keeps me sane. So, today I think I am about 95% sure that I sat in urine. I had an early appointment so I did that and was heading home for a nap around 10 AM. The metro was not extremely crowded, but there was no one sitting down in a section of 3 seats. The optimist I am, I was like, "Hell Yea, I never get a seat." I took my seat and rode home to the nearest metro stop Republique. Side note, the other day someone committed suicide by jumping off a building about a block from my apartment. Kind of crazy, but it almost made me respect cub's fans. They have gone 100+ years without giving up, but I still hate them. So back to my story, on the escalator up out of the metro station I realized my jeans were wet. It wasn't raining and hadn't for a day or so, but then it hit me. I probably sat in a seat where a drunken bum relieved himself. No wonder no one was sitting there. Son of a biscuit. The first thing I actually thought was, what if my brother had been the one to sit in urine. He would have gone on a rant. I will never tell him, but his pissed off approach on life really cracks me up. That is why I try to piss him off all the time. It really is funny. So, I sat in piss. O well, I am a glass half full kind of guy. It was a catalyst for me starting laundry. Although, I could have worn this pair of jeans for another week, it was probably a good starting point for laundry.
OK, to the real point of the story. We woke up in Achouffe Belgium and had breakfast at the hotel. Complimentary, or we would not have eaten it. We had some chips or something in the car so we were prepared. We went to the nearest town to check out the scenery and it was pretty cool. It was a little town in a valley with a big church in the middle. You could see the entire town from the winding road that let us in the town. It was cool, because we realized, we literally have no business being here. I think that is my favorite part about traveling is seeing a place that I never thought I would have ended up before or even know it existed. We found out later that allied troups gathered in Houffalize, the town mentioned, for the battle of Ardennes. You learn something everyday.
Well, we had a short drive of about a little over an hour to Luxembourg, Luxembourg. It is the capital city. Like I mentioned before, It is cool to go to places you never think you would go. I was talking to Ryan when we planned this trip. Why don't we go to Luxembourg. Why the hell not. How many people do you know that have been to Luxembourg. For me, it wasn't too many. I actually met some students when I was traveling in Madrid a few years ago that studied in Luxembourg, but besides that, I don't know anyone. We had no plan and literally no idea what there was to do in Luxembourg. Hey, that's the way I travel, spontaneous. It is the most fun. Worry free is the way to go.
We got to our budget hotel near the airport and took a a bus into the city centre. We just walked around having no expectations and were pleasantly surprised. Luxembourg, if you didn't know, is an incredibly small country. Luxembourg city is only around 100,000 people. Very small for a capital city of a country, but who am I kidding I grew up in central Iowa. It happens to be a very rich country as well. There GDP is ranked third in the world. A little worrisome for two students traveling, but it worked out alright. The city was very nice and didn't seem to have a bad part in the city. Elvis would have nothing to sing about because there was no ghetto as far as I could see. The entire city surrounded this park region. It seemed this town was built around this valley of natural beauty, I can only imagine what it would look like in the spring or summer. The valley went very far down and the coolest thing where the bridges. You wouldn't notice going across driving, but walking you could see all the bridges crossing this valley and they were remarkable. They were very rustic looking, made of brick, and extremely tall. I have honestly never seen anything like it. We walked around for hours, basically taking pictures of the same things because we thought it was astounding.
Walking around became a bit monotonous, so we did what any young men outside of the church of latter day saints would do, we found a pub. Luxembourg has two national languages. They speak French and German as they are surrounded by both. During WWII there was an act by the Nazis called Germanization of Luxembourg. This was the attempt to wipe out the French language, culture, and all French traditions out of Luxembourg. They could wipe one out in France where grocery stores close at 8 PM. C'mon, a brother gots to eat. I am still getting used to that, but the Germanization never completely worked. We had no idea which language was going to be spoke to us, and although we could order in French, I can only say thank you and train station in German, so we took the easy road out and found an English pub. We sat around and had a beer discussing our future plans. In future, where the hell were we going next.
A beer turned into 4 and we finally decided we were hungry. We pulled up Google maps to find an area of restaurants with the free WiFi and set off on what turned out to be an hour journey. The streets were completely crazy. Iowa is easy, some streets run the length of the town, and I don't even know the street names. I just say got Ben's house and take a left, you will come to Megan's house take a right, and right in between Green and Aaron's house your there. Ok, that was not accurate, but you get the point.
We were reaching our boiling point of frustration, and almost committed the ultimate sin. We almost went to McDonalds. Just as we were walking in, a light caught our eye. The sky's opened, the seas parted, and the cubs won a world series. Not really,anything to describe a miracle. There was a freakin Chi Chi's. For those who don't know, it is an amazing Mexican restaurant that I thought had closed. This is how my parents conned us into taking family pictures in Waterloo where we would stop at Chi Chi's after. I just found out that my parents want to take family pictures for their 25th wedding anniversary. Newsflash parents, we have gotten older, not matured. It is still going to quite the spectacle. Chi Chis, by the way, was amazing. Thank you Ryan's parents. Hadn't had a margarita in a long time. We did a little more wandering and caught the last bus back to the airport. Luxembourg is not a crazy city to go party, but I do recommend checking it out. It is a good place to stay and you are close to like 3 countries and plenty of places to see. I will discuss the next part of our stay tomorrow or when ever I get bored.

Ps--> this Glee shit is crazy. I am getting so pumped up for regionals its silly.
Call JG Wentwort 877-cash-now

Brasserie D'achouffe

J'aime la bière. Which means I like beer in French. It is no secret. I have been to a few bars in Rennes to get acquainted with the local culture. France is not known for beer as we all know it has traditionally been known for its wine consumption. They have a few fairly large producers, but the French beer is beer pong quality at best. I have taken a liking to Belgian beers. Their unique, almost sweet taste, makes them very recognizable. Being very close to France many of these beers are readily available. Towards the beginning of the semester, one of our Canadian friends who studied a semester here for his undergrad took us to a little bar that sells a micro brew called La Chouffe. Instantly, I was in love. It is very good, but a little pricy. We frequent this bar just to grab a Chouffe or two when nothing is going on or a place to start out the night.
During a class where we were not listening about SPSS and how to enter statistics into a special program to help our research, or something like that, my roommate and I got a wild hair up our ass's and decided to make the trip to Belgium to check out this brewery. We rented a car and woke up at the ass crack of dawn to begin our voyage to Belgium. I was so excited that I didn't sleep at all the night before. Maybe not the best idea, as I am the only one who can drive a manual transmission. We drove through a majority of France, no thanks to our stupid GPS, who was not aware of half the roads we were traveling. After some select words aimed at GPS lady, which I will never let my mother hear or deny to the grave of ever having spoken these words, we saw the sign to Achouffe Belgium.
We had finally made it. There was a wooden gnome pointing down a hill. Before I move forward, the gnome is the symbol for the beer. The brewery is located in the Ardennes mountains, which is known for their fairy tales of gnomes and elves roaming the forests. They are not what you would think of as a typical US mountain like those in the Rockies, but more of very large wooded hills, which even in the beginning of March proved to be beautiful. Back to the story, we drove down this hill not knowing what to expect. We finally reach the bottom and basically our mouth's dropped. It was almost if this was out of a picture book or fairy tale. This entire town seemed to be dedicated to the brewery. Not only was there a small brewery, but a lake, chapel, tavern, and restaurants all bearing the Chouffe name. We were a little early for our tour, so we decided to find our hotel which was supposedly located in this town.
We walked into the tavern, and in basic French, asked if they spoke English. The girl at the bar did and pointed us in the right direction. Hey, it was an 8 hour drive, we did not feel like structuring a French sentence together. We drove up this winding hill to the top. Here sat our hotel, L'Hotel Espine. It was a Thursday, so we were the only guests to this point. This hotel sat at the top of a large hill and you could see for miles. There were little houses with smoke rolling out of the chimneys and there were rolling hills of forest as far as the eye could see. It was truly a spectacular sight. Rennes is not extremely huge, with a population of a little more than 200,000, but being a small town boy it was good to be in the country. We checked and took the short stroll down to the village.
I had contacted the brewery earlier and they said we could take the tour, but the catch, it would be conducted in Dutch. They gave us an English text and the tour guide spoke to us before and after in English to clear up any questions, as we had no idea what the hell was said in the tour. After the tour were were given a complimentary Chouffe glass and a token to have the first beer on them. The rest of the Freaky Deaky Dutch went to a separate place, but since we were starving we went to the Chouffe tavern that was a restaurant as well. The place was modern, but very cozy and given the old feel. There was a fire in the middle and a few old men sitting around talking to the Chef. We had a few beers and decided to order. All of the food in this place had a Chouffe theme. At first glance, we saw the menu was in Dutch. In Belgium French and Dutch are the primary languages spoken. We were pissed, why couldn't it be in French. We discovered it was as well. We may not be learning much, but hey, at least we can figure out a menu when it is in French so we are learning something. I ordered rabbit in a Chouffe sauce. It was amazing. I have never had rabbit before, but I chased plenty of those little bastards in my Geo Metro in high school. Actually, I drove into someones back yard to chase one and then saw the patrol car sitting in the back driveway so I got the hell out of dodge. To be safe, I left my lights on so my car would die and I could drive my mom's car to school the next few days. Anyways, that is an entirely different story.
We sat around for the better part of the afternoon, enjoying our food, La Chouffe, and checking out the scenery around the little town. Being a Thursday, things closed down fairly early. We took a little nap, and then realized not much would be open, so we just chilled at the Hotel bar. We actually played chess. Neither Ryan or myself know much about chess, but we are extremely competitive. The game took like an hour and a half as we strategically analyzed each move, but I am proud to say I was victorious. I know you will want to compare me to Bobby Fischer, but I will humbly decline. I'm just an average guy, with the will to win in anything. It was nice to relax and check out this amazing place. We checked out the next town over a bit in the morning, but that about concludes our stay in Belgium. We then made our next adventure to Luxembourg which will be discussed later because I am tired of typing and I have to pee, but until next time, Au Revoir.
PS----> I need to get this off my chest and I am pretty sure no one will read this so it is better to do it here. I ran out of TV shows to watch online so I decided to try Glee to see what the hype was about. The first episode was OK and then the next thing I know it I am on episode 8 and it is 4:00 in the morning. I don't care what you think, those f**kers can sing. I am hooked. I don't know why I played sports in high school this seems much cooler. I guess I can't sing and when I dance I look like an awkward duck, but alright I wrote a novel check you later.

I will give this blog stuff a try

I have been living in Rennes France since the beginning of September. Out of the blue on a train back to Rennes, I decided, why not blog? This is probably something I should have been doing since my arrival, but I am a dumbass and like to figure things out on my own. I recently gave up Facebook and Twitter for lent. I am being a good Catholic right? I did slip up and ate Mexican food last Friday while I was in Luxembourg. Sorry mom, but we found a Chi Chis. I didn't know those things were still around.
Well, why would someone give up their only means of communication to the United States one might ask? I think the aforementioned dumbass line sums it up. I have no idea why I did not start this during the Amazing run the St. Louis Cardinals had in their epic world series run. O well, the first spring training game starts today. You know what that means, baseball is almost here. I can't wait to blow up twitter with jackass comments about the Cubs and their stupid fans. I get excited, but most of my comments are a rebuttal to ignorance that is the North Side of Chicago.
Ok, enough is enough. I am starting a blog basically for some of my family to see what I am up to. I have been lucky enough to travel a lot at a young age and I need to document some of this cool shit along the way before I get wrinkly old balls and can't remember a thing. I just got back from a road trip through Belgium and Luxembourg so when ever I decide to do this again that will be the premise of my next entry. Au Revior