Top 100 in Europe

"Life is all about taking risks. If you never take risks, then you'll never know what you're capable of." This has been the theme of my sojourn into Europe these last few months. I'm working on a final wrap-up blog post, since my last few posts have been written very quickly and I wanted to make sure I wrote down everything that I did. I obviously didn't include every picture (I kept over 2,000), but wanted to make sure I highlighted my faves! While I was gone, Nikki challenged me to compile a list of my top 100 moments in Europe. The list is made up of everything from feelings I had, places I visited, quotes I heard, experiences I lived, etc...meaning...there are no rules here. Some of the items will only make sense to me and to my new friends, so if you have a question, just ask! Here is my list in no particular order:

1. Auschwitz I
2. Renting bikes in Berlin
3. Almost getting attacked by a bum in Kiel during our class outing, only to have all the guys in our class jump to my aid
4. Laughing with Leisl as we watched the tourists grope The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen
5. The 1st stamp in my passport: Prague
6. Discovering a Döner at Garip's
7. Leisl's fart app on the ride back from Copenhagen because "Solitaire is SO overrated!"
8. Singing "Phantom of the Opera" from Phantom with Alex at karaoke night in the Irish Pub on our last Tuesday night in Kiel
9. Auschwitz II - Birkenau
10. Waiting out a rainstorm with 2 Irish families after our bike tour in a pub in Krakow, Poland
11. Witnessing (and recording with 2 cameras) my friends get engaged on the bridge overlooking the Neuschwanstein Castle
12. Frankfurt Temple with Wendy
13. Being in Germany when Germany won the World Cup
14. My 1st overnight train (even though my bunk-mates kept waking me up and offering me alcohol)
15. The smell of sugary-dough as I walked through the town of Oswiecim, Poland
16. Seeing the Texas flag in Kiel
17. Watching the sunset over the Baltic Sea
18. Being serenaded with Dr. Zhivago and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by an accordionist while eating curry pickled herring in Nyhavn
19. Pepsi bracelets in Tivoli 
20. Purple flowers "magically" showing up in my hair (dang it, Andrew!)
21. Breakfast in Schweden!
22. Photo bombs and photo-bombing
23. Sitting for hours in the Copenhagen Castle gardens, just talking with Leisl, Tom and Andrew...cigarettes, tattoos and tickling... 
24. Orange juice in champagne flutes?
25. Straddling a cannon in Lübeck
26. Sitting in a Strandkorb
27. "She touched the butt..." in Laboe
28. Äpfel zu Äpfeln
29. Bearing my testimony in German
30. Random Claremont connection in the Freiberg Temple
31. Swinging in the giant swing with Megan in the Molfsee Museum
32. The goat
33. Almost getting "pushed" into the fjord inlet in Nyhavn by Andrew, only to be told "saved your life!"
34. "So süß"
35. Finding the drinking fountain in Hamburg and taking pictures of it as we all fill up our water bottles
36. Eating a hamburger in Hamburg
37. Singing songs from Cinderella inside Neuschwanstein Castle
38. Discovering Kofola, then finding it on tap
39. Anthony Bourdain and the hunt for Andrew's fried cheese sandwich
40. "Das ist Kunst!"
41. Andrew singing "Beauty and the Beast" at the Strahov Monastery Library
42. Copenhagen Castle
43. Stained glass everywhere
44. Beautiful organs
45. Rubbing the lucky mouse (Lübeck), dog (Prague), and lion's head (Munich)
46. Wandering down the side streets in Olomouc, Czech Republic
47. The 74-second escalator ride in Prague
48. Double-helix staircase to the roof of St. Maurice's church in Olomouc
49. The homeless piano player
50. Searching for the mission home in Frankfurt
51. The beds at St. Christopher's Inn in Prague
52. Getting caught in the torrential downpour on the way to the Germany vs. Brazil World Cup Semi-Final game
53. Using the German Rail Pass successfully and having it save my life
54. Gelato
55. Watching Tom get so excited to feed the fish in Tivoli
56. Finding my 1st Dr. Pepper in Germany
57. Having class twice sitting under a tree in the Botanical Gardens
58. Goulash...REAL Goulash
59. Bike tour with Mike's Bike Tours in Munich
60. Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap
61. My neon green bike in Krakow
62. Train ride from Dresden to Prague
63. Watching the drunk across the street from my streetcar stop in Prague
64. Attending the little branch in Copenhagen and attempting to sing in Danish...attempting...
65. Poland
66. Kielbaska z cebula Lay's chips
67. My pretzel necklace in Krakow
68. Almost getting swung out of the hammock in Malmö, Sweden (again...thanks Andrew)
69. Street performers everywhere...some creepy, but mostly awesome
70. Hot chocolate in "Schindler's List" alley in Krakow
71. Hearing the trumpet player atop St. Mary's Basilica 
72. "American Dream Boy!"
73. So many new German friends: the Labahns, Haaks, Cooks, Anna, and Tina to name a few...so many more!
74. Laundry day with Leisl
75. Ordering breakfast for the first time completely in German, then being responded to in German instead of English
76. Copenhagen Temple
77. Walking along the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery
78. Getting mooned by a bunch of drunk guys on our cruise in Copenhagen
79. The street party in Kiel after Germany won the World Cup
80. Eating a delicious red velvet cupcake in Krakow
81. Watching an old man in full liederhosen smoking a huge pipe in front of a beer house in Munich
82. Eating chocolate pie and drinking homemade lavender mint lemonade in Cafe 87 in Olomouc
83. Watching the sun set and an even bigger red moon rise over the fields and hills of southern Germany on my way from Prague to Munich
84. Waking up on the train and just staring out of the window
85. Rocking out to Van Halen and Led Zeppelin while driving through Denmark
86. "That looks like Quidditch!"
87. Realizing that I could find my way in whichever city I landed in
88. "Viva la Denmark"
89. Andrew and I holding our breath during the tunnel that goes under the water into Sweden
90. Driving the wrong way down a one-way street in Copenhagen
91. Feeling rich when I would pull money out of the ATM: Zloty and Kronor
92. Hanging out under the Brandenburg Gate
93. Taking a nap in the Tiergarten in Berlin
94. "It's dangerous to go Solo: take a Wookie with you" sign in Frankfurt
95. Whales and leaves on the TP in Kiel
96. Briefly visiting the Ritter Sport factory store in Berlin
97. Hanging out in the Labahn's backyard
98. Institute/FHE/church in Kiel
99. Eating a hot dog in the Krakow Castle
100. #honeymustardeyeball