Fulbrighting in Germany!: Kenny Kropa's European Adventures!

Sorry for not posting recently, but I have been in a whirlwind of traveling, seeing friends, hosting Kenny, and ending my semester - I have been in 7 different cities in the last 2 weeks! And I getting ready to jet off again next week to Brussels for and EU/NATO Conference with Fulbright. I am becoming a regular jet setter : )

Kenny arrived on February 14th - a cliched Valentine's Day reunion, but honestly so exciting! I haven't seen Kenny in 6 months, so I was estactic picking him up at the airport Saturday morning. When he stepped off the plane I was able to greet him with a huge smile and jumping up and down - but a huge glass window and a woman in a security uniform guarding the no entry area prevented me from rushing over to see him. I patiently waited with all of the other family and friends in my situation until Kenny walked through the security gate with all of his luggage.

After our reunion and 2 large cups of coffee later, we ventured onto the cold streets of Berlin. Kenny locked up his luggage at the train station, and we set off to explore the city by foot. This was Kenny's first time to Europe, and I know he enjoyed seeing all of the main sites lining Unter den Linden and Alexanderplatz.

It should be noted here that Kenny forgot his jacket - a critical mistake for a Berlin February. We were blasted by wintery weather, and spent our first few moments in Berlin together hunting for a warm, not-too-expensive, but oh so cool European jacket. We struck gold at the Galeria in Alexanderplatz, and Kenny's new hat, scarf, and gloves for Valentine's Day completed his look for the rest of our adventures.

After a full day of site seeing, we made our way back to the apartment where I made a delicious Valentine's dinner that included a goat cheese salad, knodels, pork steaks, and sauer kraut. I must say that it turned out really well, and I was glad we didn't have to resort to my plan B of the Greek restaurant down the street if all turned out horrible : )

The rest of the week flew by, with the 2 of us on the go non-stop. I'll hit a few highlights and then let the pictures posted tell the rest of the story.

On Sunday we woke up and headed to the train station to buy a Schones Wochende Ticket and make our way to Dresden. The city was beautiful, and it was fun for Kenny to experience a town that had a quaint, German feel. The train ride was fun through the countryside, and we saw all of the major sites. It was an exciting day trip!

Snow settled in for the remainder of Kenny's trip. We saw all of the Berlin sites that we had missed on Monday against a snowy backdrop, and the snow followed us to Vienna, a small trip we took by plane for 2 nights. Vienna in the snow was gorgeous!! We had a mini vacation amongst the castles, churches, and concert halls, with great food and tons of site seeing. We made it home in time to grab a burger at The Bird with some of my friends on Thursday night (Kenny said the burger was the best he's had in a long time, winning over all of my friends who are in love with the Bird's hamburgers as a taste of home). Friday brought a Berlin night, with meeting my friends and getting some drinks out and about. Saturday finished with a trip to KaDeWe, the Reichstag Dome, and the fantastic Greek restaurant for dinner by my apartment. The week flew by so fast, and it was bitter sweet saying goodbye to Kenny at the airport on Sunday morning, as I prepared to head toward Cologne for Karneval the very same day. I know that Kenny had an incredible time for his first visit to Europe, and I am so glad he was able to take some time off and come see me! I really miss him!

So now some pictures to illustrate Kenny's European Adventures: