adventureswithoutkyla

Dinner with Chris!

2009-10-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer..

2009-10-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone --
Anna here... I would just like to point out that Kate has been the main blogger over the past few days and things are going to change around here.. AKA: PAYBACK. No one needs to see pictures of me waking up -- because we all know that I am not a morning person! Everyone stay tuned for some quality pictures to come.

GUESS WHO?

2009-10-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Can you guess who this is??

Still not sure? Here's another clue...

Still don't know?
This might help:

PEEK-A-BOO!
That's right!
IT'S ANNNNNNNNNNNNA!

Zille Jazz

2009-10-23T02:38:00.001-07:00

Anna and I started off our day meeting Chris for a coffee and later lunch. After doing a little stressful German grocery shopping,

we came back home and relaxed until the evening when we met up with Anita and Chris again for dinner and to visit a cute (but smokey) little bar where there was a band playing jazz.

Ready to hit the town....

But first....

The FLASHER!

This is why you can't wear high heels in Neustadt.

Experimenting with the night mode on Dad's camera.

I FINALLY get Anna to be in a picture :)

Ahhh...the choices.

With Anna and Anita. Here I am warning off predators* by showing my ownership over the two.

*Predators like this.

Anita was trying to convince somebody more fun than us to come in. She was successful in getting them in, but what she soon found out is that there is NOBODY more fun than us! Lesson learned...

The Residence Palace on Alaunstrasse

2009-10-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never been to visit me (shame on you!) here are some pictures of the apartment.

A view of the upper level.

From the north balcony.

The dinky little guest bathroom!

Looking down from the upper level.

Another view from the north balcony.

From the south balcony.

Slaving in the kitchen.

The only plants I can keep alive....for about 3 days.

Who needs London when you have Dresden?

2009-10-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

Anna and I originally planned on going to London this week, but after looking at our bank accounts we both decided it would be wise to stay in Dresden and save a bit of cash...

So instead of going to Big Ben, Soho, Westend...(YAWN), we woke up late, didn't shower, and went for a walk through the streets of Dresden.

Lunch.

Anna's lunch.

She is clearly enjoying her lunch more than I did mine.

I feel asleep at the tram stop.

Just kidding. I would never fall asleep with all these thieves around.

When paparazzi turns on you....The diaries of DD celebrities.

2009-10-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

We didn't realize when we first called the photographer from Total Exposure Ltd to take some pics of us looking hot that things would turn so quickly. It all seemed fine in the elevator. But immediatly when we got out, we were met by the hoards.

Paparzzi: "Kate, Kate! Tell us! Who's the new guy??? Are you guys an item??"

Kate: "Hey fellas! No comment, thank you!"
Kate (aside): I told you just to make us look hot. Now get lost.

Kate: Didn't you hear me??? I said GET LOST!

Chris: EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

BUSTED!

Kate to Chris: It's no use, Chris. And now your chances of dating are ruined in DD. Let's go back to teaching.

Schoooooool's out for the summer!!!!!! Well at least for two weeks in October.

2009-10-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

Right away after school on Friday, Anna and I boarded the Berlin Linien Bus for a groupie adventure that could only be considered blog-worthy. We made it to Berlin around 7pm and then had to find our hotel in Kreuzberg, a vibrant quarter of the city where our hostel was and where the band we were going to watch was playing.
(Navigating through the city...My inner compass was not working so well after a bottle of champagne...)

By the time we got to our hostel we only had about 20 minutes to find the concert venue and be there. So we downed a mini champange (I had to celebrate the fact that I was on vacation!!!) and changed our clothes and ran out the door. We ended up only staying a few blocks away from the club, so we made it in plenty of time. The band was great--it was so much fun to see them again---SUCH nice guys! and we ended up hanging around the club until the early hours. We finally made it back to our hostel and got a few hours of sleep before we needed to check out again.
(In the club)

(WOW!)
We met the boys for breakfast and coffee that afternoon before they needed to leave for their next concert in Magdeburg. Anna and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around near the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin.

While enjoying a classy meal at McDonalds, Anna and I discussed our plans for the rest of the weekend. Then Anna mentioned how instead of getting a job for next year and doing something respectable for a living, she really just wanted to be a band groupie for the rest of her 20s.

Well, how could I let her dream die? We immediatly threw our burgers aside grabbed our sodas and ran to the ticket machine to buy a ticket on the next train to Magdeburg to follow the boys.

Everything was fine about the train...Except...My seat. I noticed my hair was sticking to something after about an hour and then. I. saw. this...:

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWw.

We finally made it to Magdeburg and the only information we had was where they band was playing. We had no hotel room, no directions, and no understanding of these strange people living in Magdeburg....If you have ever been there, you know what I mean.

We took a taxi to a hotel we thought might be close to the club. When we got there we found that they were totally booked and then we also found out that every other decent hotel in the city seemed to be booked. SOOOOO we ended up here:

Amazing. Look how happy that kitty looks.

We had a few hours to hang around the pension before we got a taxi to the club which was totally expensive, because not only were we staying in a pension that didn't get the memo that the wall fell, but we were also halfway across the city...
I am starting to understand the boyscouts better.

We finally made it to the club. An oasis in the abandoned industry park of Magdeburg! It helped restore our faith in M-town.

The cute boys

Super fan.

Why is there always something on MY seat?

Make-shift fan t-shirt.

After the concert and talking for a while, we took the eternal taxi ride back to the pension. We slept in late (because clearly no one else was staying there!), took our time getting ready, and finally made our slow way back home to Dresden.

We arrived in Dresden around 7 and then went straight over to Tom's place for a delicious dinner of lamb and mashed potatoes.

When we got home at around midnight, we were thoroughly exhausted from our fun, crazy weekend.

Let the adventures continue.............

ISTA Festival!

2009-10-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family!
We have not forgotten about our blog...Just have been very busy the past week with the ISTA Festival! ISTA stands for International Schools Theatre Association...an organization that brings together international schools from around the world for a weekend of theatre fun. Last year I volunteered for our school to host a theatre festival, and this past weekend was the festival! We hosted students from schools from Moscow, Rome, Brussels, Izmir, and Berlin. The weekend was a great success (apart from spending Saturday in the emergency room with a girl whose braces got caught on her lip...). It was an exhausting weekend, but filled with laughs and new friendships. Here are pics from the festival!

Let the adventures begin........

2009-10-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Now that Anna has been here for a week, we are going to give a quick recap of the week past with some special highlights that we think you all will enjoy. SOOOOO here goes:

Friday, Sept. 25th: Anna arrived in Berlin and we took the bus back to Dresden where we went to sleep straight away. I was exhausted after a late night of wine and gossip with a work friend of mine, and Anna, needless to say, was tired after her flight.....(Tired, that is, until 6 am when she woke me up saying that she had just eaten breakfast and was ready for the day....UMMM. For anybody who knows Anna, this is a VERY strange thing.)

Saturday, Sept. 26th: It was a beautiful day and Anna and I hit the town for some shopping and fun. We met George Costanza's German twin on our way downtown.That evening we went out to eat to celebrate Anna's birthday!

Sunday, Sept 27th: I made brunch for Anna and friends and then we spent the entire day enjoying the last of the warm weather in Dresden in the park. Then we went on a rendezvous with Beelzebub at the restaurant called "Devil's Kitchen." Is was damned good. Pardon the pun. Then we came home and Anna forced me to finally clean and organize my apartment and it now looks soooooo good! (pics to come.)

Monday, Sept 28th: While I had to wake up early and earn money for the two of us to have fun, Anna slept in. Then I came home from a hard day's work and slaved in the kitchen to feed hungry mouths....

Tuesday, Sept 29th: Anna continued to clean my apartment, came to meet me at school, and then we went out to dinner with Chris and Skye at our new favorite Italian restaurant.

Wednesday, Sept 30th: We colored Anna's hair. She looks hot. Then that evening we went to a concert where a friend of mine was playing. Tequila+MOFA=DEBAUCHERY.

Thursday, Oct 1st: Anna and I made breakfast for our cute little band member friends and then we ran errands for my birthday party all day. That night we made tacos and Christian came over where he proceeded to eat about 10 tacos.

Friday, Oct 2nd: Girl's Night Out with SARAH!!!!

Our new jewelry line!

Saturday, Oct 3rd: BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, Oct 4th: Woke up, CLEANED up! Because yesterday was a German holiday (Reunification Day) and the stores were all closed, they decided to keep the stores open on a Sunday. YAY! So, Anna and I went shopping and out to Pizza Hut :)

Then after a day of shopping, we had a nightcap of cocktails with Ellen! Lots of good laughs and girl talk :)

Disclaimer by Anna:
This whole thing was written by Kate, and while she may make it look like all I do is sleep in (which is mostly true), I also run errands, clean clean clean, do dishes and do the laundry.. I feel like a housewife already! Anywho, it really has been a great first week and I love love love visiting Katie.. we have a lot of fun. So far this week I have met lots of good people and had lots of memorable moments. We miss you all (aka: Mom/Dad, Laura, Kristen, Kyla) :)

Did you think we FORGOT!?!?!?!??!!

2009-10-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

The blog is back and better than ever!!!! Adventures without Kyla part deux...zwei...TWOOOOOOOOOO!

teacher from the black lagoon...

2008-03-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

27 March 2008.
(Anna)

We woke up to a sunny(!) day and bummed around in our jammies, just relaxing. After singing "No Air" 30 times and me dancing to "Low" (again) for about 2 hours, we took the tram to a part of town we hadn't been, and Kate showed me her school! Here are some pictures!:

What a scary teacher!

After a nice day around different parts of Dresden, we stopped by the store so I could stalk the fish boy (not there today! sad..) then walked back to Kate's apartment. We chilled and sang "No Air" some more and watched "Extras" (hilarious show!). Kate made us a tasty dinner. We are going to bed a little earlier tonight because Kate has a hair appointment in the morning!!! Tomorrow we will take pictures of Kate's new hair and our fun-filled day. We are going to be walking all around town tomorrow, so we will take some good ones! Good night! :)

A white wine spritzer makes you do that?!?!?!

2008-03-27T02:41:00.000-07:00

Just for the record...I wasn't snoring. And I never do...AND it's 11am and Anna is still SOUND ASLEEP. so lazy.
So,
Yesterday Anna and I woke up and the weather looked so nice we decided to go for a walk and do some sight-seeing. We walked from my apartment to the Golden Rider:

Then we walked over the bridge to the Altstadt:

We made our way over to the Frauenkirche and to Martin Luther! St. Olaf would be proud...

Then, after walking about a bit more, Anna and I came back home, did our nails, got ready and decided to go to the English movie that was playing. However, when we got there we realized the movie was called "Hitman" some lame-o flick about a futuristic robot who falls in love with some Russian chick. No thanks. So we decided to go out to eat instead...

1) How the night began:

2) Anna's white wine spritzer:

3) Uh oh...

4) The dance...

Oh dang, I just tried to upload Anna's crazy dance onto the Blog, but it's too big of a file!!! Well, I guess I will have to send it upon request. I have seriously never seen anything funnier.

Today we are probably going to walk over to the school and maybe meet up with some of my friends here. But who knows! Maybe we will just elope with the Bagel Boy and Fish Guy! More to come....

Oh my God, that Britney's Shameless....

2008-03-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

If anyone is wondering where our fabulous name came from, it is in honor of our dear friend Kyla's blog of her trip to visit Kate last week.

www.adventureswithkyla.blogspot.com

Visit it to see O'Taylor and O'Olson in all of their glory.

Lions and tigers and Kevin...oh my!!!

2008-03-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

March 24th.
(Kate.)
Anna and I woke up and I shared my dream from the night with Anna. Something about Chris Martin from Coldplay being my hairdresser and the receptionist at the salon didn't want me to see him any more, but I came in anyway and everybody ignored me there, so I tried to beat them all up, but they just laughed at me and then stole my purse.
After sharing it with Anna, I felt MUCH better. Cathartic release.
We checked out of the hotel, grabbed some breakfast and what next? Hop-on/Hop-off, of course!

It's us!

Fernseherturm. TV Tower.

Shhh! Don't tell Annabelle!

Brandenburger Tor. Brandenburg Gate.

The Berliner ZOO!!!!!

Anna and I still needed to burn a few hours before our train left at 7pm, so we decided it would be fun to go to the zoo...and it was AWESOME! I actually can't remember the last time I was at a zoo, and it awoke all those old feelings of wanting to become a veterinarian or a giraffe stablehand.

We also made a special friend....reminded us of Kyla.

He's a great listener.

Knut??? Ahh. Who knows. Who cares.

Pick up Giraffe poop? Yes. Feed the lions? No.

After a great day of Berlin touring and zoo visiting, it was finally time for us to catch the train back to Dresden.
And now we sit here in my cozy little apartment and ponder what we should do for the following days in Dresden. Much more to come....

(Anna.)
...What she said.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday March 23rd.
(Kate.)
We had a healthy start to the day at Dunkin' Doughnuts. (Well, afterall, we DIDN'T get Easter baskets...)

At Dunkin' Doughnuts.

Afterward, we just had to waste a bit of time until Kyla's flight left. :(

Kyla and I in front of the Erotik Musuem outside our hotel. God bless Europe.

We brought Kyla to the airport at around 2pm and after sharing some Burger King french fries (see Anna's comments.) shared our goodbyes. :( :( :(

Outside Kyla's gate.

Before going through security.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Gone but not forgotten.

(Anna.)
After sleeping BETWEEN two mattresses with a sweater for a pillow, I was surprisingly spry to start out the day. The same goes for Kate and Kyla who had slept on pillowy soft mattresses with really soft pillows. We made it to Dunkin' Doughnuts for some bagels (not doughnuts?!) and Kyla needed to check over her flight itinerary, so she didn't miss her flight (which Kate and I were hoping for) We then checked the latest celebrity news (vital) and other important things like that. We walked around all afternoon while Kyla (aka Britney) and I sang "Piece of Me" (ALL DAY) and Kate was not having that. After browsing and singing Britney, we brought Kyla to the airport and stopped at Burger King, where the cashier stared a little too often at us. He wasn't really my type. Then we sadly escorted Kyla to her flight and watched her leave us. After Kyla's departure, Kate and I bought tickets and "hopped on" the hop-on/hop-off bus tour with our fabulous tour guide Felix!!

On our tour, we caught a glimpse of one of Berlin's most famous landmarks.......

SNACK POINT CHARLIE!!!!....which then led us to a surprisingly interesting lesser-known landmark...Check Point Charlie (clearly stealing the name from S.P.C.)

In more seriousness, I acutally learned a lot and really loved the historical tour!

After our time with Felix, Kate and I hit up the Bavarian restaurant where I learned some more trivia!: Bavaria is a part of Germany...NOT a country! Who knew!!!

Yummy. Isn't Kate lady-like? After eating, Katie and I hopped on the underground to the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz to catch a movie! We saw "Dan in Real Life" (in English for my sake!) and it was a great movie. Recommended! After the movie, we headed back to our red carpet hotel and called it a night. Another fabulous day complete.

Anna's first day in Berlin....Almost Kyla's last.

2008-03-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 22nd.
(Kate.)
Kyla and I woke up early (after a somewhat late night) to get the train to Berlin to welcome Anna and also to see Kyla off. We met Robbie, the Englishman, (on his way to Mallorca) at the train station and hopped on. Unfortunately, Kyla and I were in 1st class, separated from the riff-raff of the world and Robbie, well, he didn't quite make the cut. So we had to meet in the middle at the BordBistro. Kyla slept soundly the ENTIRE train trip while I challenged myself with fun little mathmatical equations, pondered the meaning of life, and read a little Nietzsche.
We arrived in Berlin and checked into our hotel, Hotel Bellmondo, a lovely hotel right between Bahnhof Zoo and Ku-Damm. We wasted our time until Anna arrived with coffee, shoe browsing, and napping.

Then we got on the X9 to Tegel and waited at the airport until Anna arrived.
She came right on time and we got right back on the bus back to Bahnhof Zoo. We dropped Anna's bags off at the hotel and went out for pizza on Kurfuerstendamm. After pizza we went to the IrishPub in the Europacenter for a drink.

I ENJOYED a few drinks.

(Anna.)
I arrived safely to my final destination, after two airplane rides and not many problems, albeit one couple deciding to get a divorce on that Minneapolis-Amsterdam flight. It is rather long, so I can understand problems arising.
I came out of my gate in Berlin to see two smiling faces that I was so happy to see! Kate and Kyla were there waiting for me, and made me feel so excited to be here finally. I waited for my luggage and we made it out of the airport with ease. After a short bus ride we were at the super cute hotel and we dropped my stuff of, all the while Kate was flirting with boys. All that while, Kyla and I just rolled our eyes. We went to dinner at pizza, and I learned the common practice of Germans everwhere: Stare at everyone possible and make all Americans feel really awkward. There was a family sitting about 25 inches from us and the dad stared the entire time. So weird. After pizza we went to the bar where Kate decided to demolish Kyla and me in drinking her "Snake Bite" and then she got bored with us so we finished (and by that, I mean Kate finished my drink) and went back to the hotel to crash. But first of course, we stopped at the grocery store so I could get my favorite thing ever: chocolate. All in all, a great first night.