A Tour Through Munich and Berlin

Hello Everyone,

So I am getting down to the last few stops on my Eurotrip, and as much as I don't want it to end I feel my body might need it. However I am enjoying every minute that I have here traveling because it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So after getting on my flight from Venice, my Easyjet flight took me back to Stuttgart. It was a short flight so I slept the whole time, which after my time in Italy I really needed (Go read my Italy post to find out more). But after I got into the Airport I found Beth and we headed off back to her place. After a bit of catching up, and putting together Beth's new TV we headed down to her local and got some food. I got to meet some of her coworkers and have a nice meal with them. I also met Gina, who would be traveling with us over to the Bavarian city of Munich. So we all left early because we all knew that we had an early train to catch to get over to Munich in the Morning.

After getting up, and making our way to the train station, I got an underground ticket to get on the same train with them to Stuttgart HBF. There were two things I learned at this point. First no matter where you are in Germany the rail infrastructure is amazing. Second HBF stands for Hauptbahnhof which in English means Central. So there you can say you learned something from reading this blog. The train wasn't to long to Munich, and once we were there it was a hunt for food.

Once filling our stomachs we headed off to my Hostel so I could drop my bag to walk around. It was a quick stop at my hostel after spending a half an hour to find it. I couldn't get in my room yet so I just dropped my bag in a locker and we were off to explore. Just as we left both Beth and Gina seemed shocked at how nice a hostel can be.

But we all walked around for a while going into churches, and enjoying the atmosphere of Munich on a rainy Sunday. We ended up seeing the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. We timed it right so we could see the Glockenspiel move around, which actually was really cool. At this point I was hungry again, and I wanted to get out of the rain, so our next stop was the probably one of the most famous beer halls in the country, Hofbrauhaus.

So I ordered some sausages, and a liter of beer. Now I can finally say that I have had a stein of beer at the Hofbrauhaus. The food and the beer was great, but there was a lot of it. However right as I finished my stein one Beth's Bosses met us there. He wanted to drink and no one else was drinking, so he turned to me and said he was buying me a beer. When he said that I was kinda hoping for a small one, but another liter was put in front of me. Yeah it was a long time at the Hofbrauhaus.

After chatting for a bit we headed off to see some more churches, and said farewell to Beth's Boss. It was a nice afternoon walking off all of the food, and beer from earlier. We all saw some amazing churches and landmarks from around the city. But just as they had shown up we were at the train station saying goodbye. I won't see Beth again until a month before I graduate, so Beth enjoy your time there and I can't wait to see when your home. After that I headed back to the hostel and called it a night since I had a tour the next day.

Up early, and back to the train station to meet my tour guide. We then hopped on a train to get us to where the tour would start. It was only a short ride on the train before we got off at the Dachau train station. As some of you might have guesses at this point I did take a tour of the first concentration camp used by the Nazis during the second world war Dachau. It was amazing to see this, and was a valuable history lesson for me. We need to make sure that something of that scale will never happen again. I found out that every student in the Bavarian region has to go to a memorial of the holocaust to remember that something like the holocaust will and can never happen again. I was very humbled I had saw as we were leaving, and learned a valuable lesson.

From there it was back into the city, and I walked all around. I did find myself walking around the english garden, and found the man made wave that gets surfed in Munich year round. I must have stood at the wave for a good solid hour or two to watch these surfers. After wishing I could do that I headed back to the hostel and called it a night since I had another early and long train to Berlin the next morning.

I got on my train at 9 am and I didn't get to Berlin till 3pm. Yes, the train sucked and it was crazy long. I didn't have any trouble getting from the train station to the hostel. I really didn't go out that night, so I grabbed dinner and met these German guys and watched Germany win their last group stage match of the Euro's. I spent the rest of that night watching those matches. The next morning I was up and off to see the sights.

First it was the Berlin TV Tower, then to Berlin Cathedral and then from there it was only a short walk to the Brandenburg Gate. I stood there for a moment to soak in the importance of that monument to the German people and the world. But to the left of that monument there is the US embassy, and in front of it was one of the most amazing things that I saw during my travels. In another country people are mourning the tragic loss of life that happened in Orlando with candles, flowers, flags, and handwritten letters. It was a moment I won't forget because it was the moment I realized we are all people of the world no matter the flag we stand behind.

From there I saw the Holocaust Memorial, the Berlin Wall Monument, and Checkpoint Charlie. I then proceeded to get lost in a massive park before seeing the Reichstag Building. That building is amazing! I wanted to take more time to see if I could get in to see it all, but that will have to be for the next trip, because I had an early train the next morning, that would take me to one of the destinations I've most looked forward to, Amsterdam.

I am a bit behind on the blog so I will try and get on that soon. I hope you are all enjoying these posts because I love telling you all about my travels. But remember to stay safe and have fun!

-Tucker        

Tucker and Beth Take on Stuttgart

Hey everyone,

So this past weekend (and into the beginning of the week), I caught a flight to see my Step-Mother Beth. She started work over in German about a month ago, so I though I would go and visit her this weekend. We ended up going all over the map, and almost crossing into Austria thanks to our GPS. It was a great adventure and I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as we enjoyed doing it.

Well my journey to Stuttgart started with a red eye sleeper train from Plymouth up to London to caught my flight early Saturday morning. My train left Plymouth at almost midnight, and I don’t think that I will be traveling by night train anytime in the near future. I didn’t sleep at all and my train got me to London at 5:12 am so yeah it was a long train. When I got to Paddington I realized that the tubes wouldn’t get me to Heathrow on time so I managed to get an (expensive) ticket on the Heathrow express that would get me to the airport well before my flight.

After another quick train journey I ended up at the airport and since I already had my boarding pass I made my way straight through security. Once on the other side I found the closest stop to my gate and waited for my gate number to be announced. Then after it was announced and a transit ride to the gate I was on my way to Stuttgart. And yes I slept the whole way there. My ears didn’t like me when I woke up.

When I landed in Stuttgart it was a lovely day, and I managed to get through passport control with ease. Then it was through the gate and Beth was right there waiting for me. It was great to see her since it will be one of the last times I see her before I head back to the States. So after getting a quick bite to eat and trying to get some Wi-Fi, (free Wi-Fi in Germany is really hard to come by) we made our way out of the airport walking by car rental places and of course an adult store in the airport. Who knew right? So we got back to Beth’s apartment, and as we were there I had to turn her phone into a hotspot to make sure one my paper was in which it was. Two to make sure my last post was up. And three to let people know I was here and made it from my flight. After that and a quick change of shirt, Beth gave me a quick tour of her area of Stuttgart.

The area around where she lives is really nice and to my surprise really quiet for being in a city, and so close to all the stores she needs. So she showed me all the stores that she was close to and this little local market that happens every Saturday, which was really nice. I was so glad she lived in this little area, and that she was happy there.

After Beth’s guided tour of the area we wanted to do something more because there was still daylight to do things. So we made a plan to see Birkenkopf or Rubble Hill. The backstory to this place is that after WW2 ended Stuttgart was mostly untouched, however of what was destroyed the people of Stuttgart piled all the rubble on to this one hill and this was it. At the top you can still see pieces of the rubble that was created from the conflict that ravaged the continent for so long.

So after our history lesson we made our way over to see two things that I was jealous of Beth for being able to do, which were the Mercedes-Benz Museum, and the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The Museum itself was amazing! The amount of cars that they had in the museum, which ranged from the first car ever made to some of the iconic Benz models throughout the ages. I was so glad I got a chance to see it! Then it was a quick little run down to see the Mercedes-Benz Arena, which is where VFB Stuttgart play. Unfortunately they were relegated from the Bundesliga this season so the arena will be hosting 2.Bundesliga football next year, but I still hope Beth goes and catches a match there.

After our afternoon journey we made it back to the apartment where I got to meet Beth’s landlords. They are lovely people who make Beth feel at home which makes me really happy.

So after Beth changed and a quick call to Dad we went off to find dinner. We went to this little Irish Pub which was close to Beth’s and got some food. There I got my first taste of German Hefeweizen, and I think that I will miss Beer in Europe quite a bit to be honest. We sat there eating, drinking, and watching both the FA final, and the DFB Pokal Cup final, so needless to say it was a good dinner.

So after a good night's sleep we managed to get up and get moving around 10am (Thanks to me sleeping in. I still blame the sleeper train.), and headed off on our journey into the Black Forest. The Black Forest is an area that spans south from Stuttgart as far down as Freiberg, and is this beautiful forest area. Beth wanted to see this shopping center in the black forest, but after not being able to find it we managed to get to Nationalpark Schwarzwald. The park itself is amazing and I wish I could go back some day. However we managed to get to the top of the mountain it sits on by ski lift, and then take a hike around the top.

On the top of this mountain we managed to find a beer garden called Darmstadter Hutte. Although they didn’t speak any English, but both Beth and I managed to get our food and drink. I will say that after that hike the food tasted better because we earned it! After we made our way down and then went on another adventure to the Black Forest Museum. 

It took us a bit to get there due to the long and winding roads in the German mountains, as well as the fact that bikes pass whenever they want on German roads. But when we got there we got there with an hour left, and we thought that we didn’t wanna rush it so we got some food instead. I managed to get a beer and the glass it came in for 5 euros, which I thought was a great deal. Got the glass I wanted to get well I was here so all worked out. We managed to make it back to the house in one piece, and have a home cooked meal. I had really missed that so it was nice to share a meal like that with Beth. Then it was to bed early so we could get up early to make it a castle that both Beth and I had wanted to see.

So up around 8, and out the door by 10 we put in the directions to the Schloss Neuschwanstein, and we were away. For those of you who don’t know what the Schloss Neuschwanstein is I’ll try and summarize it really quick for you. Neuschwanstein was a castle that was commissioned by the German King Ludwig the 2^nd, which sits high in the mountains overlooking Bavaria on the border with Austria. Some say it is the castle that gave Walt Disney the inspiration for Cinderella’s castle.

But the drive there was long, but the both of us wanted to see the castle so we didn’t really mind. However as we got close to the castle the GPS had us going into Austria then back into Germany to get to the castle. I had to do some navigation to make sure we stayed in Germany, and got to the castle. We managed to stay and Germany and get to the castle in one piece.

After we parked both Beth and I looked up to the top of the mountain’s and we saw the castle that we had come here to see. We made it to the ticket center and fought the line to get our reserved tickets, and then hopped on a shuttle that would take us to the castle. We got there about 20 minutes before our tickets would let us into the castle for our tour.  So after the wait in the rain we got in and got an English tour. Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures inside the castle, but I got one with a great view on one of the castles balconies.

After our tour we went back into town and got some food. After a quick meal we made our way to see one of the mountain feed likes that are all around the region. The water was crystal clear, and made the lake even more beautiful. But after braving the rain for far too long we got back to the car to head back to Stuttgart.

I have to admit that I slept most of the car ride back to the city, and once we were back I studied for most of the night. I did get enough sleep tonight to make sure that I was able to function this morning to get on my flight. There was nothing really of note to mention this morning minus going to a Starbucks. But now I’m waiting for my flight to get me back to the UK for my exam this Friday.

But I wanted to take this time to thank Beth for her hospitality, and for being a tourist with me. I hope you had as much fun as I did. I know that you're going to be working there for a bit, but let me know if there is anything I can do when I get home to make the adjustment there easier. There will be some Dunkin Donuts coffee in your future I can tell you that. You have been amazing helping me through the whole study abroad process and one of my biggest cheerleaders when I need it. So thank you for being there well I have been studying abroad, and know that I will be there for you for anything you need well you're in Germany. Love you!

But that’s it for my adventures for the week. There will be some more adventures in the coming weeks you don’t want to miss, so stay tuned for those. But other than that remember to stay safe and enjoy the day!

P.S. Thank you for 2000 views I never thought I would get that many!


-Tucker                 

Family

Hello Everybody,

So I've been quiet on here the past few days, and that's because well I went back home. Yes, I went back home to the US for a bit to see family, and friends. During my time home I did get to finally see some snow which instantly made me feel at home. And the first thing that I did when I got back to the US was go to Sonic's and get a burger. I missed american hamburgers.

But I came home because in January I got some news that both my step-mother and father would be doing some traveling over the next year, and I won't see them until after they get back from their travels. So I made the decision to fly to the US after I spent some time in Dublin. I felt that I needed to see everyone before we all went our separate ways. But this trip from the beginning felt slightly bittersweet.

I was overjoyed when I landed in Boston from my flight from Dublin, and since I went through customs in Dublin and because of that I got to skip it in Boston. I found Haley and we ended up making our way up to Epping to see everyone. The week went great, I hung out with family, I got a very much needed date night in Boston with Haley, and then I got to have a huge bonfire with the whole family before we all left.

I think it was the night of the bonfire that I finally realized how much family meant to me and what they have given to get me to where I am today. I really am so proud of everyone in the family. I am so proud of the adventures that my Step-Mother, and Father are about to embark on and I wish them the safest journey possible, and the most enjoyable time where they go. I'm so proud of my little sister, and what she has accomplished this year, and what she is going to accomplish in the months to follow, and for once she got a someone by her side that I actually like. So if you're reading this treat her right. Also of Haley for sticking with me through all the BS, stress, and especially my Enactus stuff. I know you're proud but you don't wanna hear about it anymore, and I'll be taking a break from it all when I get home, but for right now you'll still be hearing about it. And finally for all of you who I didn't get a chance to see, thank you for your support over this past year and for the rest of the time that I am there in the UK.

But I know that although we're going to be spread across the globe we'll be supporting each other through it all. Like I said before I wish everyone safe travels and the enjoyment of their trips. I'm proud to be apart of this family and everything that we have accomplished, and what we are going to accomplish over the coming year. I love you guys!

                                          Photo Credit: Haley Hamerstrom (@706Hales)

So I will be off traveling again here soon. I will be filling you all in on that as soon as I can once I've got settled at my next stop. I have just a little bit more traveling before I head back to Plymouth to continue my studies. Then it's just a few more months and I will be traveling Europe and then back home. But till next time stay safe and have fun.

-Tucker

Being a Tour Guide and Adventuring Around England

Hey everyone,

So it's taken me a bit longer on writing this post because I wasn't sure how I would be going around writing it, but I think I have figured out how I want to write this, well I think. But I'm still playing a bit of catch up from the holiday season for writing in the blog, but I'm back at it now.

So after Mama Liz and Ed left London on New Year's Day me and Haley were left to adventure on our own before we had to get our train down to Plymouth later that day. We made our way around the city and over to Paddington Station. After dropping some bags off at the Left Luggage booth we explored the area, which there wasn't much. We ended up seeing 221b Baker street, and great Beatles store, but the best thing we saw or I saw was a Dunkin Donuts, which I haven't seen since I left. We then made our way down to Plymouth after a bit of a wait in Paddington. After spending the money that I did it was nice to just be able to know I was headed back to Plymouth where things were a lot cheaper.

So the next morning after a bit of a pause with not having anything to do but be a tour guide for Haley, we headed out to see what Plymouth had to offer us that day. It was great to see the city through Haley's eyes because she had the same reactions to when I saw the city for the first time. One of the first things that we had to do was head to see the Mayflower steps it, Haley made sure of it. Then we made our way around the rest of the Barbican. After we headed to the Co-op to get some food for dinner and when Haley saw some the brands I think I saw her mouth the words "Why don't we have this in the States?"

 The next day we ended up taking another large walk around the city and this time it was sunny which felt like a first, due to all the cloudy weather. We took quite a bit of a walk and headed over to Royal William Yard where we got dinner and called it a day.

The next day was a rather low key day we started late and then we went to the National Aquarium. I was surprised at how large the place was, but still not as big as the Boston Aquarium in my book. But we walked around for a bit then went and got some local seafood right next to the Aquarium. I got mussels and Haley got fish tacos which she told me I need to go back and get, cause they were so good. We then made it to the hotel and called it a night in preparation for our trip to Bath the next day.      

We awoke early the next morning to catch our train to Bath, to see the Roman Baths. I had gone to Bath before the holidays, but wanted to save the Roman Baths for when Haley made it over here. So it was a nice simple train journey to Bath Spa and then we went exploring around the city. After getting some awesome bagels for Breakfast/Lunch we ended up in one of the many parks in Bath enjoying the views of the River Avon, that flows through the city. We then finally got into the Roman Baths, which really took me back thinking that there was a civilization here thousands of years before I was even born, and I think it took Haley back too, although she became a tour guide for me showing off all the Latin she learned in high school or what she remembers. After that we got dinner and we made our way back to the train station and got the train home.

The next day was the in between day where we found ourselves having a bit of R&R between all of our traveling and seeing what's going on around the city to just take a day for ourselves. It was nice we got some food and beer at a local pub and just kept it a nice low key day, for tomorrow we were going to see Stonehenge.

After getting up extremely early we caught our train to Salisbury. I booked first class tickets, (cheaper than normal tickets and we have no idea why) and we got everything complementary on all the trains to Salisbury. Once we arrived we found our bus which took us from the station around the medieval city of Salisbury, which along the way we found out the Magna Carta was in Salisbury Cathedral. After a short ride on the bus we found ourselves on a windy hilltop getting our audio tour guides, and it was off to see one of the wonders of the world. For the first 10 minutes I kept finding myself thinking that I was actually seeing something with my own two eyes, that some people only see in textbooks. But it eventually rubbed off and I enjoyed the moment that was filled with a lot of wind and large stones.
After seeing Stonehenge we then found our way back to Salisbury and then to the cathedral. The cathedral was beautiful, but it was the Magna Carta which I was most intrigued about. Being I want to go to law school after I get back to the states, it was a moment that I won't forget seeing the document that basically started my future profession. After seeing so much history for the day Myself, and Haley got a nice Italian dinner in town and got back to our train. We ended up making it back to Plymouth in one piece all nice and happy in first class.

But just as it seemed that Haley was here she was gone as we headed back to London to get her on her flight home the next day. We stayed the night before her flight in London, and although it was raining it was a nice night. We took the tubes into Heathrow and after about an hour or two wait we had to say our goodbyes, or as I like to say it see yah laters. It was a bittersweet moment as we both didn't want to leave each other, but we knew we had to. Although with her time here I will never forget some of the things I got to experience with her. Haley, I know you read every single post so thank you for coming here and being my travel buddy, my partner in crime, but most importantly my best friend, and I look forward to traveling more with you when I'm home.

So now some housekeeping. I know this post was a bit behind as well as I have been a bit behind the eight ball as it has been said recently. But I have a few more posts that I will be posting through the next week to two weeks so keep your eyes peeled for those. Other than that have fun in the snow back home in New England!

-Tucker

 

 

Happy New Years......Three Weeks Late

Hey everyone!

Well I first want to say thank you to everyone who reads this because I just recently hit over one thousand views on the blog. When I started this I never thought that I would hit this many readers so I just want to say thank you all and I hope the new years will bring more stories that you want to read about.

Now that's out of the way I need to address something else I haven't posted anything for a bit. Well more like three weeks and it's because of a massive travel spell, so now it's time to update you all. I hope to not leave so much of a gap from when I post. So thanks for not getting on my case for an update, so for now on I'll try and make then a regular thing.

So the last time I wrote to you all was christmas day, so I'll pick up from there and see what I can fill you all in on. I guess this post will start on Boxing day and again we ventured out into the city, Mama Liz, Ed, and myself. We took the tubes from Greenwich to all the way to Westminster once again, but this time we ended up getting off at a different stop. And after a short walk we ended up in front of one of the most noticed buildings in the UK as well as the World, Buckingham Palace.

It's amazing to see something that has so much history as that Palace has in the scheme of things. That building is older than my country! (I've found myself saying that time and time again since I've been over here.) But once we say that Mama Liz was on a mission to see Harrods, so we made the walk from Buckingham Palace to the famous Harrods, seeing embassy upon embassy on the way there and not to mention a Ferrari dealership. But we made your way there, but when we got there no one cared to tell us that Boxing day in the UK is like Black Friday back in the US. Needless to say it was a madhouse, but we managed to fight the crowd to get the the Tea Room that Mama Liz wanted to eat at. We had some great tea's and then we headed back to Greenwich to call it a day.

The next day we ended up seeing Trafalgar Square, and we began to go through the museums. First it was the National Gallery where we saw some Van Goghs in person, and sat in front of the same painting that Bond did in Skyfall. (For those Bond fans you know what one I'm talking about.) After that we made our way to the British Museum to see some really amazing artifacts, but before we did that we found a restaurant that I haven't seen since I left and we stopped right when I saw the words "Chipotle", on the door. Once we were filled with mexican food we made our way to the British museum and then made our way back to Greenwich, but not after having a pint or two along the way.

  The next day all three of us were up early and we made our way over to see the London Tower, and for those of you who don't know that's where the Crown Jewels are, but with the line so long we didn't get a chance to see them. But we did manage to take a boat cruise of the Thames, but not after seeing Tower Bridge and all of its glory. But after our cruise we wandered around Westminster till we got tired and then we headed back to Greenwich.

Again the next day we all got up early to get our day off on the right foot. As Mama Liz and Ed got breakfast, I went to a local barber in Greenwich and got my haircut, which was probably the best cut I've gotten so far since I've been here. But then once again after breakfast we went back into the city. This time we ended up going to see Churchill's War rooms, which was a very interesting experience to learn the history of the UK from that time period. We also saw 10 Downing street, but didn't get a chance to see the Prime Minister though. But after all the fun and games in Westminster we got back on the tubes and headed to West London to see Fulham FC take on Rotherham United in a league fixture. It was Mama Liz and Ed's first proper football match and it didn't disappoint at all. it was a five goal thriller seeing Fulham come out on top. At the end of the match we saw how close the stadium was to the Thames and it was beautiful. We hurried back because the next day I had to get up super early to pick Haley up from the airport.

So I got up at the crack of dawn and made my tube journey to Heathrow to get Haley, and once I got her we headed back to drop off her stuff to head back into the city to explore. We went back to see all the places that I had seen earlier in the week, but I didn't care because Haley loved every minute of it. But we headed back to Greenwich and called it a night. The next day was New Year's Eve Day, so we went back into london (see the theme here), and we ended up in King's Cross Station and got a little wizardly as we saw platform 9 3/4, and from there we went to Piccadilly Circus so Haley could get her Hunter boots. But we walked around the Piccadilly area for a bit, then headed back to Greenwich where we had dinner and went out to celebrate the New Year. We went to the bar called the Gypsy Moth and right before 12 we went to the Thames and saw the London sky light up with fireworks.

The next morning Mama Liz and Ed flew back to Florida and me and Haley made our way down to Plymouth. Needless to say my time in London was great, but there was still more trips to come which I will get to those in my next post. But that was the holidays here in the UK. It was a lot of fun and I hope you all had great holidays as well. I will keep you all posted on the rest of my adventures as the following weeks progress. But as always have a great day, and keep smiling!

-Tucker 

 
 

Happy Christmas

Hello Everyone,

So since I last talk to you all I have since moved from the Waggett's home in Bristol to a Hotel in London with my Grandparents. I made the 3 and 1/2 hour journey from Bristol to London on Tuesday to meet my Grandparents in their hotel in Greenwich. I had to get off my train straight onto the tubes and that to be honest was quiet easy with an oyster card to be honest. It was a good move to get an oyster card before coming into the city. But I made it to Greenwich in no time in the under ground and then I met my grandparents in their hotel. We ended up getting dinner that night, where I stood true to my word were the first round was on me, and well I got dinner as well, which they yelled at me for but I was glad to buy it.

So after a first quiet night in London, we got a nice fry-up in the morning and then we headed into the city. Once Mama Liz and Ed figured out how to get an oyster card it took no time to get onto tubes and into the city. Once we got onto the tubes the decision was made that we were to get off at Westminster, and see Big Ben. For me and Ed since it was the first time we were in the city we finally got to see Big Ben for the first time. But I didn't realize that Big Ben was right outside of Westminster station. So you know that scene in movies where the actor was blind when they got off the plane or train then got to see where they were, that is what I experienced when I out of the tube at Westminster, and it wasn't until I could finally see after sun blindness, Big Ben and it was a moment I could never forget.

But the three of us made our way around Parliament Square seeing Churchill and the rest of his gang of statutes that were in Parliament Square. We made our way over to Westminster Abbey, and Saint Ann's Church, both even more beautiful than I could have even imagine. The Abbey itself was simply a piece of beauty and is something I'm so glad I got to see in person.

As you can seem to tell I got a chance to be a bit of a tourist after living here in England for about 4 months almost, and it was nice to be that with my Grandparents. But we finished off our day was a way across the bridge to see the Parliament Building across the River Thames, and of course the London Eye which I hope I get to go on later this week. But we ended up walking along the Thames and through a Christmas market to make our way over to Waterloo station to get the tubes back to Greenwich.

   

The next day after a slow start we ended up braving the rain and seeing what Greenwich had to offer. All three of us journeyed out to see what we could, but one of the first things we had to do was eat, and so as pictured above is the Greenwich Tavern where we all had lunch Christmas eve day. Myself and Mama Liz had the Classic meat pie, and Ed had Fish'n'Chips which is an instant classic here in Britain. From there we walked up step hill seeing nothing but the London skyline, and the old naval college, and of course Greenwich University. All thought the Greenwich observatory was closed we went on a hunt to find the Prime Meridian, which we found and got a chance to stand at zero degrees longitude. After standing on a line I only know because of Mr. Nekton's Geography classes, we managed to walk into the downtown part of the city. After seeing the Cutty Sark, I wandered off into the University. I know great minds were molded here, far more sophisticated than mine, but I know if I pushed myself I could sure past the those minds as I stood on the middle of the University.

 
We finished that day after our tour of Greenwich we head back to the hotel, and we got ready for the holiday today. We managed to get to fine a fine wine shop before they closed Christmas eve day, and I got a 2011 French Malbec from Chateau Croze De Pys and to be honest it was so good my uncle Daryl would be proud. But we had our Christmas dinner accompanied by our Christmas crackers, (Flatmates: Thanks for showing me these I made sure to pass on the tradition!) and it was great.

But being away from home though it is tough it makes me a better person seeing how another culture celebrates a holiday, and England surely did that. But I want to thank again everyone who helped me get here, and pushed me to get here otherwise I wouldn't have gotten here. So from the Moss's here in London, Tucker, Liz, and Ed, we all wish you a Happy Christmas, and a great Holiday season!

    Merry Christmas!

-Tucker