Where in the World is SJ Arnio?: Europe in the Springtime Part 1

So I never really gave a proper update of my time in Europe. By the time it was over I had more great things to write about! And before I'm off to San Francisco for two weeks for my cousin's wedding I figured I would describe my travels across the pond, mainly so I can come back to this blog in one year's time when I've forgotten everything.

So let's see, I made a little list here of observations along my way (I had a lot of time to think, more than I've had all year!). First things first, the whole purpose of my 2-week vacation was to go to a wedding in England. An English friend who I had met in Mexico took it upon herself to use organize her wedding nicely so we could have a 5 year reunion for our 14-person Girl City group (one night when we were all hanging out someone walked into the room and saw 9 girls + 5 guys, all of whom except 1 were gay, and exclaimed "It's like girl city in here!" and the name just stuck). Instead of flying to England for the weekend and then back to Miami, I decided to take advantage of Europe's compact countries and my having friends in various cities in those countries.

So the journey started in Zurich, Switzerland where a college friend who I met while studying abroad in Argentina (I guess I can't really meet internationally-minded people in the US can I?) was living. I hadn't seen Cait in 2+ years and so it was really nice to reconnect with her. She's from Connecticut too and had just moved to Zurich a month before so she was happy to explore the place with me. Observations included:

There are a lot of bicycles, I mean a LOT of bicycles in Europe
The bike parking lots are even covered, whereas the car parking lots aren't necessarily
Swiss people mind each other's business, which when taken to the extreme can mean they don't seem as friendly. Example: at an outdoor pasta place when Cait and I asked for tap water the waitress looked at as confused, and then after our mediocre hand gestures brought back 2 half-filled glasses of water and brusquely placed them on the table, water spilling all over my menu.
The Swiss don't offer tap water in restaurants
Zurich's expensive! ($20+ for any meal, not even at a fancy place)
Geographically-speaking I found it similar to Colombia, hills, lakes and valleys.
No chocolate tours (and the Lindt factory is located in Zurich)!
There are lots of Audis and European cars, I rarely saw a Ford
The guidebook says you get organization and order but unfriendly people. I would trade any day.

I was only in Zurich for 4 days, 2 of which I spent jetlagged and hungover, but I still felt I had seen most of Zurich, though not much of Switzerland. But then it was on to Munich! I took the train through the Swiss countryside, and am pretty sure I passed through Liechtenstein on the way, but alas the rolling European hills all look the same after a few minutes.

In Munich I stayed with a couchsurfer. Since I was only going to be there for 2 nights I figured why pay for a hostel when I can soak up some of that couchsurfing love. I met Stef at her office after I got off the train. She handed me the key to her place along with directions, and I was on my way. When I've told people that story some find it very bizarre that a stranger would give me the keys to her house with no one home, while others just quip "Oh isn't couchsurfing amazing?!" Her place was clean and well located, so I was happy. The first day I just walked around, had some Turkish donner and somewhat followed the NYT's "36 hours in Munich" guide. The next day I went on a free walking tour to see the historic stuff and then met up with the Hungarian boyfriend of a friend, who had been living in Munich for 4 years. The friend was more like someone who I work with at another company, but is from Munich and gave me great tips. And here we have Munich observations:

People are friendly, but still mind their own business
You should never flag down a waiter - it's rude!
They serve pretzels at the table like we do bread, but then charge you a euro per pretzel if you eat them
You never cross the street until the pedestrian sign is green - no J walking!!
You can surf on a river in Munich (and use a handy attachable surfboard carrier on your bike)
I cannot wait for the Olympics! (I visited the site of the 1972 Munich Olympics, still very much intact, and hosting the Special Olympics)

Ok, Part 2 of the saga, which includes Berlin, Prague, and Shropshire, England, to come soon!