B In Europe

More Greece

2010-05-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

Greece

2010-05-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

It would have been almost too poetic to get stuck in London on our way back to the United States. Iceland sure gave us a run for our money, as its infamous volcano spewed threats of airport closures and teased us for the days of travel it had already stolen.

I jump ahead, let me rewind to the final week of my European adventures.

For almost 20 years Miami students have taken part in a sailing trip around Greece after their program ended, sometimes with as many as forty students. This year, I planned the trip and went with 10 other Miami kids and a high school friend who was studying in Liverpool. The sailing trip was through GreekSails, where we were able to charter three sail boats and travel each day through the sea to various islands and towns in Greece. Each morning we began sailing, led by our fearless skipper Graham, in a fleet of the three boats. During the day, we laid around the deck and viewed the pristine waters and took in the strong Mediterranean sun. In the afternoon we docked at various small harbor towns, took in the adorable colored houses and overcrowded docks, and did more damage to our bank accounts via shopping. At night we seized the moments of our last nights in Europe (including the drinking age) and made (or lost) memories galore.

We traveled for over 24 hours to get to Greece after a long bus ride from Athens to Poros, a nightmare with checking luggage and weight restrictions (let’s put it this way, we each wore layers upon layers of one another’s clothing to bring the weight down a few kilos) and a complete language barrier with the people picking us up. However, we eventually made it to the beautiful town of Poros where we would begin our trip.

We were divided into three boats, one for the boys and two for the girls. I was on a boat with four of my sorority sisters. We were surprised to see the small space we were to live in, but I don’t know what we expected! We had large backpacks (which I am happy to say I will never use again now that I’m home) and two small bunkrooms. We made it work though, and got to know each other on a whole other level!

The trip focused on the ?, and we visited a few of the cities along the main coast as well as the island of Hydra. Honestly, it was such an authentic trip. The towns we visited were unspoiled by tourists and the crystal clear water demonstrated the dedication to the beauty of the country, untouched by our human destruction. The Greek people were so friendly, ushering us into restaurants where they would pick the lemons right off the trees and “Mother” would be cooking in the back to give us a “real” Greek meal. They really do eat Greek salads for every meal. Often they would even give us free food or drinks to make us feel welcome to their home.

I think one of my favorite destinations was Hydra. It was more on the touristy side, but still seemed relatively untouched by the rest of the world. It was a smaller island and the town was full of shops (mostly jewelry, which may be a reason I liked it so much). There were no cars or anything, only donkeys, which were actually labeled with miniature license plates. We were able to climb up onto some rocks and cliff dive into the crystal clear water, a turquoise color that seemed painted onto the scenery, before enjoying cocktails and a fine seafood dinner overlooking the sunset. It was a pretty perfect vacation.

Other highlights included:
Seeing a professional gold digger (no older than 20) working her way onto a yacht full of 60 year olds
Seeing a school of dolphins swimming past our boats
Listening to our skippers stories about the pirates that still haunt the seas
Getting towed behind the back of our sailboat while our skipper dragged us along with buoys
Lindsey falling into the water off the back of the boat
Learning that sailing is really hard
Putting 75 SPF my face every half hour and still getting a little too pink
Trying to see inside the large yachts docked in the many ports
Seeing the 8 billion stray cats that are everywhere in Greece, be warned
Taking showers off the back of the boat with ice cold water
Eating really, really fresh calamari
Seeing and smelling the beautiful flowers that were everywhere, I probably took at least 200 pictures of just plants

Honestly it was the perfect end to a pretty perfect semester.

The last day we headed to Athens, where we actually drove past the bank that had been fire-bombed during the Greek riots over the economy. Besides that, however, we were relatively untouched by the discontent haunting the island-country. We were able to visit the Acropolis, which really is in the middle of the city on a huge plateau. We then headed outside of Athens and stayed in apartments before waking up early the next morning to catch our flights out.

I flew back with my sorority sister Cary who is also from Connecticut. She and I made our way to Europe together, and back in January (if you remember) got stuck in London due to snowstorms. Apparently, London has something against us for no sooner have we started our voyage that airports in Ireland, Scotland, and the UK started to close. These closures worked south, haunting London Heathrow, where we connecting to our flight to New York’s beloved JFK. We watched the news on our blackberries with worried eyes and couldn’t help but laugh at the inevitability of repeating our stressful trip to Europe on our way home. Luckily, all of our knocking on wood and crossed fingers paid off. We were one of the last flights out of London before the airport closed due to ash. And soon enough we were on our way back to the land of jumbo-sized coffees and cable television. Ah, home sweet home.

Beer Olympics

2010-05-29T20:01:00.001-07:00

Prom

2010-05-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

MUDEC Farewells

2010-05-29T19:55:00.001-07:00

It’s our last week in the chateau (some people today is the last day!) and I have a sense of foreboding mixed with excitement, as our eagerness to see our families, friends, Starbucks, and car keys is thwarted by the nostalgia of how great our semester has been. I cannot believe how fast everything has gone. It was only yesterday that I was stuck in blizzarding London, and here I am in the sun of Differndage saying goodbye to my 129 new friends. How do you sum up everything from this experience in one blog entry?

I guess there’s just the things I am going to miss:
1. Drinking beer out of a boot.
2. Asking people where they are going for the weekend, and hearing things from Paris to Turkey to Ireland. And it being completely acceptable.
3. Going to high school. Aka, our chateau, complete with the lockers, a common room, and a lunch hour and cafeteria. Not to mention the amazing, small world group of friends.
4. Packing my stupid hiking backpack every weekend and attempting to see if it’ll fit in Ryanair storage bins.
5. Drinking our way to cities and sleeping our way home.
6. Going to places I am learning about in history class.
7. Skype. JOKE. Can’t wait to see everyone’s faces for real!
8. Those little old delinquents that we’ve grown so fond of on the playground.
9. Acting like the Euro is monopoly money. (And believing it)
10. Those amazing places I have been to.
11. The people. Honestly, I can’t believe how many amazing people I have met.
12. Going to school in a castle.
13. Pretending to be at Hogwarts. Every day.
14. Being about two months behind on the popular music scene.
15. Bofferding.
16. Getting a café et croissant in the morning.
17. The word Moien.
18. From ash clouds to Polish presidents, I really feel like I’ve been where the news is, and little, old Oxford won’t seem the same.
19. Taking 10,000 photos a week. And uploading them all to Facebook and CVS.
20. Being in EUROPE and getting to see it up close and personal

Honestly, this list could go on and on and on. I just can’t believe it’s ending. I know everyone’s been caught up in this whole idea of making it last and remembering every detail. But, it was the best time of my life, and I will always remember that.

Things that dominated our last week at MUDEC included the school-sponsored “prom.” A final gala, the evening included a cruise down a river before being bussed to a restaurant for awards and dinner and a grand finale of a dance floor and bar. The entire program decked ourselves out in our top-notch clothing, actually did our hair and make-up, and headed to our favorite park to enjoy a few glasses of wine and some prom-themed photos. The night was everything a prom should be… wayyyyy too much fun! I had such a blast with everyone and felt a tad nostalgic for the high school days of old as I relished in the company of the 120 or so students I have become incredibly close with and the teachers who know us all by name. We all danced our booties off, laughed at inside jokes, and relished in our last days of Europe.

Another highlight included a Saturday Fun Day of Beer Olympics. Students divided themselves into teams of four, picked a country, decked themselves out in costume, and got ready to compete in the ultimate challenges. Teams included Vatican City (myself, dressed as a nun), Somalia (dressed as pirates), Italy (mustaches and flags and jerseys) and the Confederacy (they were actually able to find Confederate flags with monster trucks on them.) Each team made up chants, our’s: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, the power of Christ compels you! The Confederacy’s: I take my wife and hit her, in the South we’re still bitter. As you can imagine, not the most serious chants. Overall, everyone enjoyed the beautiful Luxembourg spring weather and our last sips of beloved Bofferding.

Finals dominated the last few days, as did packing. Neither overly exciting. Kate and I were upset on our last day to have a major falling out with our host mom. It was unfortunate to have such sour relations with someone we had lived with for so long, but it seemed that our differences were irreconcilable. I know that both of us were glad to quit her house and hope to never hear from her again. I do wish that my amazing experience in Luxembourg had been rounded out by a wonderful experience with a host family, but I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it to.

After packing and saying tearful goodbyes to our classmates, people made there way to all parts of the globe, from Germany to Chicago, France, Spain, China, Ohio, New York, and for me and 13 friends…. GREECE.

Barcelona

2010-04-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

When I packed for Barcelona I was anticipating a nice three-day weekend away with the girls. It was going to be perfect, just a long weekend away and my first visit to Spain. I was actually even a little disappointed I would only be in Spain for three days, as though I was really depriving myself of the full Spanish experience.

Our flight times worked out that we would have three full days in the land of sun before getting home before noon on Sunday. I left at 2 AM Thursday morning (basically the middle of the night on Wednesday) and we arrived in Barcelona to a shining sun, a sketchy hospital, but high hopes for a great weekend. Then we got the message from Sarah, who was supposed to meet us later that day. Her flight (which was to leave only hours after ours) was cancelled due to something really weird. I don’t think we even understood what the cancellation was. Only later were we to learn that our lives would soon be ruled by Icelandic volcanic ash.

But we weren’t even going to start thinking about that until Friday night, so we still had a few days to become exposed to this Spanish city that would soon capture all of our hearts. Barcelona is such a vibrant city. Vibrant was the word that echoed in my head as I became acquainted with the small streets, the open markets, the beaches, and the hippie taste that permeates every aspect of the city. Even the colors just popped, from the glow of a bright orange sun to the fresh apples and bananas and pomegranates that bordered every store window to the golden sand to the Gaudi architecture. I was blown away by the free spirit of the people, as they just meandered through the town and you could tell time meant little. Even the idea of a siesta illustrates their lifestyle, and one that we would soon adopt. I ate fresh fruit, listened to live music, was drawn in by street performers, enjoyed sangria on the sandy beaches, and had the time of my life with seven beautiful women who I will always associate with my trip to Spain.

The first few days in Spain we decided it would be a good idea to indulge. Why not? It was one of our last weekends traveling and it was just us girls. So Friday night we partook in our self-proclaimed Booze Cruise. We signed up for an hour and half ride along the Barcelona coast, bought a few boxes (classy, right?) of sangria, got nice and dressed up and boarded our ferry. We were pleased to see we were not alone. We were amongst a 10th grade Spanish field trip to Barcelona. Hello, good times. We proceeded to indulge in our sangria and made great friends with the sixteen year olds, only one of whom spoke enough English to communicate. Apparently Kiyo’s and Taylor’s Spanish is very different than Catalan Spanish. And, apparently the drinking age in Spain is 18 not 16 so these kids should not have been allowed to drink our sangria. Overall, I don’t think I have laughed so hard in a long time. Amazing memories.

Then, to further our indulgence of a great weekend, we decided to take my friend’s advice and go on a bike tour of the city through Flat Tire Bike Tours. After a little bit of a rough time finding the meeting place, we took off on a great way to see Barcelon. They say riding a bike comes back to you really quickly. They (whoever they are) were right. I don’t think I’ve been on a bike in years, and it was so much fun. I think we all channeled our inner five-year-old selves and enjoyed biking up the hills and gliding down. Though, we did have to bike on busy car roads and through throngs of crowds. That was a little more of a challenge. However, through the tour we got to see all the sights of Barcelona! One of our favorites was the Parc de la Ciutadella and the Cascada Fountain, where we took a nice little photo shoot.
The tour included the Gaudi church, the Arc de Triomf, the pier, and the Olympic village. We also got to spend some time at the beach drinking sangria and enjoying the sunset. Also, during our tour we had a mishap when one family (who apparently had never learned to ride bikes) had the dad knock his daughter off. After a screaming fit from the 13 year old girl, the family decided to take her to the hospital. Later, our guides told us nothing was wrong with her except a “spoilt childhood.” After the tour our guides were kind enough to take us to the local bar, where we enjoyed an evening with the Barcelona locals. I know we’ll never forget Buddah or Pete, our gracious guides. So many laughs.

After a weekend of exciting things and beautiful weather, we heard that our flight on Sunday was cancelled. Thus began a frantic search for forms of transportation. Days later we had:

1. Called our dean, who suggested we get a bus to come get us for 400 euro a person. No thanks.
2. Had our flight rescheduled to Monday.
3. Had our Monday flight rescheduled to Wednesday.
4. Had our Wednesday flight rescheduled to never.
5. Attempted to get train tickets, that were sold out.
6. Told there were no rental cars in Barcelona left.
7. There were no rental cars in Spain that we could take over the border.
8. There were no flights anywhere.
9. Attempted to bribe other MUDEC students to come pick us up.
10. Decided to rent segways and ride them to Luxembourg.
11. Realized segways would die before they got to France.
12. Discussed going back to the bike tour place to see if they would drive us home.
13. Finally bought a 14 hour bus ride ticket to Paris.
14. Tried to buy train tickets from Paris to Luxembourg.
15. Some of us bought flights for Friday.
16. Found out our flight on Thursday was a go ahead.
17. Got home from Barcelona over a week after we had left.
18. Wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.

During this time of rapid search for ways of getting home, we decided to embrace our time in Barcelona. We enjoyed too much shopping on Las Ramblas, fresh fruit from the main market, too much sun bathing and sangria, a trip to the beautiful Park Guell (where we saw street vendors run from the cops), and a day trip to a small beach town called Stiges.

Overall, although we ended up being stuck in Barcelona and seeing our bank accounts rapidly decreasing and our teachers’ emails getting less sympathetic after a week of missing class, I have to say it was one of the funniest and best things that has happened to me. Hey, you’re only young once, and, hopefully, only stuck in Barcelona once.

Cracow

2010-04-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

You can only imagine that after our visit to Auschwitz, it was a much-subdued trip to our second destination in Poland, Cracow. I never thought I would be in Poland. Honestly, it’s just not a country I thought much of visiting and I was a little confused when I got the Verizon text message, “Welcome to Poland. For roaming support, call yada yada yada.” However, soon we would embrace more about the Poles than we ever would have expected.

We arrived to Cracow shortly before seven, checked into our hotel, got dressed and sped off to a traditional Jewish dinner complete with live music. It was a pretty great meal, and comforting to be around friends and to see Jewish culture being appreciated after our visit before. The dinner went well and we all inhaled the delicious food in front of us before heading home for an early night to sleep. We had another long day on Saturday for a tour of traditional Cracow.

Cracow is the second largest city in Poland and probably the most popular for tourists. From early 7th century Wawel Hill and medieval castles to the center of the General Government for the Nazis to a site of communism, Cracow is a city of history. And, we were lucky to be able to spend two days seeing the history of the city and the unprecedented future.

We had a special tour guide for the city, who accompanied from site to site. The first stop was the old Gestapo prison and an exhibit about Cracow’s role in the war. The prison was interesting and sad, with some of the cells having writing on them in all languages, some of the inscriptions the last thing prisoners would ever say. However, while we there we got shocking news. On his way to honor the anniversary of the massacre of Poles in the Soviet Union, the president of Poland was killed in a plane accident, along with his wife and other top government officials. We were shocked to hear the news, but not as shocked as the people of Poland.

Obviously, it was weird being in the country of Poland while in underwent such a shocking part in its history. Poland is rarely front line news, but while we were there it was all over the major news stations. It was weird. We saw a country while it got the news and the reaction of the people.

At first we were surprised because it seemed like no one really cared. Our tour guide told us how he was not a very popular president, and was very conservative and not well liked amongst the young people. While we continued our tour of the city, we saw the sites of mourning for the anniversary of Pope Benedict’s death (six years ealier) and there were flowers everywhere and people mourning. At the same time, there did not seem to be this type of mourning for the president who had died that day. However, as we toured churches, we saw more people in mourning, with large portraits of the president on display surrounded by flowers and candles. It was interesting to see the reaction of the general population and the conservative Catholic population.

Despite the depression set in by the death of the president, we attempted to continue our tour of the city. Cracow was beautiful, despite wet and cold weather. We saw it’s old university where there was an old globe that attempted to show where America was (it was south of Africa and only South America existed). We also saw the city square filled with horse drawn carriages and decorated cathedrals. The park around the Cracow circles the entire city and was beautiful as well. We were not, however, able to go into a lot places due to the national tragedy.

One of the more important places we saw was the site of the old Jewish ghetto, the Jewish ghetto used by the Nazi’s, and Oskar Schindler’s factory. The ghetto in Cracow was created to house all of the Jews from the city, where they were forced to move and then walled in. Part of the wall was still remaining, with the top of it resembling the tops of gravestones. In the Cracow ghetto, the Nazi’s divided those who were able to work from those who were unable. 15,000 Jews were forced to live in a place that would normally hold about 3,000. The Nazi’s eventually liquidated the ghetto, systematically sending the residents to death and concentration camps, many being sent to Auschwitz. Now, at the site there is one chair statue representing one thousand Jews deported. Also at this center square where the memorial is is the site of a pharmacy where a pharmacist did what he could do to save as many Jews as possible, helping provide medicine and aid to those who’s lives were in jeopardy. It was lightening to see the site of such a hero.

From the Cracow ghetto, we went to see where Oskar Schindler’s factory had been where he had saved Jews by putting them on a list to provide them work at a factory and save them from the death camp. We had watched Schindler’s List (highly recommended) on our way to Auschwitz, and it was fascinating and relieving to see that such a place was real. While in Cracow we also saw a lot of the places where the movie was filmed, again making it feel more real.

We also saw old synagogues in the old Jewish district, which the Nazis used as stables or dumping grounds. We viewed cemeteries where the Nazis had knocked down the gravestones and used them to pave roads. As I mentioned in my previous entry, it was shocking to see how in every way the Nazi’s attempted to destroy the Jewish people.

Overall, Cracow was a wonderful city, although surrounded by so many depressing events. The base course really allowed me to see the places we had been studying and apply what I had learned to reality, something really special to my education.

Auschwitz

2010-04-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Human kindness is one of the most pure and beautiful things in the world. It demonstrates the point of life, what makes one hope for a perfected world. Human destruction is the worst.

I don’t know what I expected on my visit to Auschwitz. What can you possibly expect from one of the most horrendous places in the history of humanity? Especially when this history is younger than my grandparents. When I think of the Holocaust, I think of those survival stories. It all stems from my first exposure to the Holocaust, the children’s’ novel, Number the Stars. I remember reading it in fourth grade, having a vague idea of the mass murder of the Jewish. It was all just a story. A scary story at that. But more importantly, it was the story of survivals. Number the Stars was about a family hiding a little girl amongst them, before she was saved by fleeing in a boat. (Over a decade later, I see that this children’s story was based on the heroic efforts of the Danes, but, back when I was ten, it seemed logical that everyone would save who they could.) The stories I heard, the stories I associated with this horrendous history were those of survival. I guess ten is still too young to broach the subject of extermination. And, maybe, ten is when that foundation is built and twenty is when that foundation is shaken.

Extermination is a word associated with rats, termites, even dandelions. Not people. So, I guess it is no surprise that I needed to be older, more educated, more mature to understand how this word applied to people. And, even at twenty, I cannot wrap my head around the horrors, nor do I think I ever will be able to. My Rise of Hitler class is the first time I was really forced to come face to face with the realities of what my species had done. Normally, you can almost avoid this reality, hiding behind the survival stories, staying you would have done differently if you were there, being loss the heroics of some people. But visiting Auschwitz shows you that it happened. Those cattle cars were real. Those barracks were real. Those stolen possessions were real. Those family photographs were of real people. And those gas chambers killed those real people. It is a crushing realization, but a necessary one.

At Auschwitz, it was interesting to see what different things affected different people. Everyone had that one image that struck them and pulled on their heartstrings. Most of the time, it’s something real that they would never have thought they would see. For one of my friends, it was the room full of human hair. How could people steal someone’s hair? Another friend, it was the toothbrushes. These people did not know that even if they survived the selection process they would still not be thinking of their teeth. Another friend, it was the end of the train tracks. Auschwitz was a final destination, not one stop. Another friend, it was the pictures of a two year old after being liberated after use for medical experimentation. For my mom, I knew it would be the piles of baby shoes. None of these children would have made it; there was no hope from the minute they got aboard the transports.

For me, it was not something from the 1940’s. It was a modern exhibit. It was the replica of the gas chambers. The replica was about the size of a large dollhouse, demonstrating the crowded process of pushing people through the lines to their death. It showed the line of people above ground, waiting to descend a staircase. At the bottom of the staircase were little figurines shown undressing and folding their clothes. It was crowded with figurines of all different sizes. The next room showed the packed gas chamber, where people were pushed up one against one another, gasping for air before that air turned poisonous. Above them was the crematorium, where Jewish prisoners were forced to take away even these people’s right to a final resting ground. The model was behind a glass case and was made entirely of white. It was no taller than my hips and only showed the bare essentials of the process. When the Nazis fled the camp from invading Soviets, they attempted to destroy the evidence of the mass crime they committed, destroying the gas chambers and crematorium behind them. This model showed what it would have looked like, and showed the number of people it was to destroy in that frozen time. And in that model, one thing stuck with me. It was one little figurine in the undressing room. None of the figurines had especially distinct facial figures, but this one had the curve of a woman and in her arms was a small lump, resembling a baby. The figure could have been no larger than a few inches, but to me it just represented something entirely different. It was this mother walking to her death, holding a child who had barely experienced life. At this point, she must have known death was imminent. Or was she still unsure of what lay ahead? Soon, these figures, who were at one point real people, would be led to extermination. Looking at this I thought back to the movie Schindler’s List we had watched on our way to Poland. There is a scene in the movie when you see people lining up to go down the staircase. I thought of these people when I looked at this model. It was so real. These were not just figurines, these were people, with fears, hopes, and it was unearthing to see the model. It made the remains of the gas chambers that we were to view later in the day more real.

The thing with Auschwitz was that it did not feel real. Viewing the camp, just the enormity of it, you feel as if you are on a stage set, reenacting a horror movie. The camps was much larger than I had anticipated, but beyond that, it was the epitome of horror that I had expected. I could place the survival stories I had heard, from movies to books to lectures, into this horrific camp. The bunks, built to hold 40 horses but would eventually hold up to a thousand people, were just as horrifying as they had been described. Even while we were visiting in April we could feel the cold wind that lashed at you on the flat fields. But how could such a place be real? How you could you even fathom the amount of people whose lives were destroyed here? We were walking on the same ground that millions before us had treaded, being led obliviously to their systematic death. We were walking on a mass grave.

It was hard to remember that this was a mass grave. When the Nazi’s attempted to destroy the Jewish people, they did not stop at just murder. As explained during our tour, the Jewish religion deems human remains a sacred part of the religion, and states that they should not be touched after death. The Nazi’s defaced even this sacred belief, depriving millions of Jews the right to a burial and billions of people places to mourn their loved ones. It was at Auschwitz that these people’s remains were forced into ash that would disappear into the clouds or ponds around the camp. This death camp was the final resting place for millions of people. And the Nazi’s not only killed them, but destroyed parts of their identity. Never before had I thought on the fact that each body had been burned and identity destroyed. The extermination was not only an attempt to destroy the lives of the Jewish people, but also their individuality and respect. These were concepts that before I did not understand before visiting Auschwitz.

As I lagged behind on the tour I began to talk with Professor Backes, one of the teachers accompanying us on the trip. As we strolled behind the tour group, Professor Backes said, “Auschwitz is somewhere everyone should go. It’s important each person understand.” I let the thought sink it, still not agreeing or disagreeing. Auschwitz was definitely educational. It was at this place that women, men, children, elderly, babies, were led to their quiet death or to years of suffering. This was the actual land they walked on and the shacks they were forced to live in. But, at the same time, it was almost too much to really comprehend. It was huge. It was scary. It looked fake. The shoes, hair, clothing, combs, suitcases piled up in showcases reminded me of museum exhibits. The manicured lawns in the first part of the camp reminded me of the front yards of government buildings. The tour groups taking photos in matching tee-shirts reminded me of a surreal experience. It just didn’t seem to be the place of nightmares. However, when I stepped back, when I let all the other people there go from my mind, and concentrated on one thing, on that one bunk bed in that one cabin, or that one stair to the gas chambers, or to that small white model holding the baby in its arms, I remembered and mourned the reality of such a place.

Prague

2010-04-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

I never intended to take so much time between writing blog posts, so, dear readers (if there are any) I deeply apologize. For those of you who follow the news, or can’t escape it, you understand when I say that I was legitimately stranded in Spain and unable to flee home to lovely Luxembourg.

However, before I got into THAT story, I can work to update you on my previous trip to Prague, Cracow, and Auschwitz with my class. After saying goodbye to my mom and a wonderful week in Italy, I spent five days traveling through Eastern Europe with forty other MUDEC students and four teachers. As I may have explained in a previous entry, every MUDEC student is enrolled in a “base course.” There are four options for base courses, and I am enrolled in a history (of course), the Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler. The class is taught by Emile Haag, one of the most amazing, knowledgeable, and respected teachers I have ever. Dr. Haag has been teaching Luxembourgish students for forty years and knows his material like the back of his own hand. (Side note, that’s an awful expression, I have a hard time explaining the back of my hand, you have a better chance of me explaining every detail of the Facebook homepage.) Haag began teaching at MUDEC before he even spoke English, writing out his lectures and translating them and then reading them aloud. Apparently he was fluent in a year’s time. Now, he needs no help, and sits in the front of our class and tells us the story of World War Two. For him, and for his students, it is not about learning history or lecturing, but rather a true story, horrific and spectacular, that has shaped our current world. He is a Britannica Encyclopedia. If I am ever on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, he will absolutely be my phone call.

The first stop on our trip is Prague, where all forty students were to meet for two nights and to explore the city that everyone loves. Praha is a students’ dream, famous for its beauty and pub-crawls, as well as not being on the Euro. A blessing in and off itself. And, I was one more student won over by its charm and lack of EU monetary value. Prague is a beauty because, unlike most European, cities, it was not bombed out and completely decimated. Compared to Munich, where ever plague states “after being destroyed in 1944, so and so was rebuilt…” Prague still has old world charm, complete with bridges, monuments, castles, cobblestone roads, and red roofs.

We met in Prague on the Tuesday after Easter and were treated right away to a traditional dinner, complete with pork knuckle, duck, and cured cheese. It was an experience, but I have to say, the good thing with broke students, is that they’re usually starving and up to trying anything! Tuesday night was a low key one for everyone after a day of traveling, and most people headed to bed at our hotel.

Wednesday, on the other hand, was a long day. We started the day bright and early and headed out on an all-day walking tour of the city. The class was divided into two groups, but luckily I was with most of my friends so it worked out. Our tour guide was young and interesting and did a great job of keeping us entertained. The tour was definitely long, but Prague has a fascinating history, from being part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire to Nazi invasion to a more recent history of communism. We learned how each part of their history has affected the city, and the Czech Republic as a whole. We spent the morning in the main part of the city, where I became quickly enamored with the main market square. Since it was Easter season, there were open markets swarming the open square. Each booth sold everything, from chocolate covered fruit (Taylor’s and my favorite) to decorated steins to a traditional Czech pastry. My favorite thing sold in the markets accompanied a not so pleasant tradition. According to years past, on the Monday after Easter guys will go around with decorated whips and beat girls up. In return, girls must present them with a painted egg. Apparently this will bring good luck. The market had millions of painted eggs for sale (I indulged) but I have to say I wasn’t too appreciative of the tradition. As our tour dragged on, (it was nine hours after all) Taylor, Jordan, and I took the liberty off getting separated from the group and meandered back to the center square, where we ate fresh kebabs, fruit, bought eggs, and listened to live music amongst the swarming crowd.

Before ditching, I hesitate to call it ditching, we’re good students, I swear, the group went across the river that separates Prague into two parts and up a large hill to the old Prague castle. It was so cool to see something so old, and we got to see the old quarter where royal and important people used to live. However, we were unable to go into a lot of the important sites due to a visit by our very own President Obama. Barack ole boy was in Prague signing a nuclear arms treaty, so we had to force our way through swarms of media trucks and keep out of roadblocks. However, it was cool to know our president was right there. We all got a little nostalgic for home. The trip up the hill also offered some spectacular views of Prague!

Another important site on our tour was the old Jewish ghetto. This has one of the oldest still functioning synogogues in Europe and was also the site of what Hitler hoped would be a museum to “an extinct race.” The ghetto was located in an unwanted part of the city, lower than the rest of the city and considered swamp land. Our tour guide told us how the Nazi’s did not invent the idea of labeling the Jewish people with the star of David, but rather that this system of marking the Jewish was prevalent in early history. We also saw the old Jewish cemetery. The Jews were only given a certain of land to bury their dead. Because they do not believe in cremation, they were forced to start burying bodies in layers. Some layers were seven deep. Taylor had been on a previous tour of Prague and told us how her tour guide had related the design of the Prague Jewish cemetery to the design of the Berlin Holocaust memorial, with all the different layers and sizes. It was definitely an interesting comparison. It was eye opening to see how the persecution of the Jewish people really predated the Nazi’s.

One highlight of the two-day stay in Prague was the infamous pub-crawl. Our class is made up of about 40 people, so we decided to do a little group bonding and head out on a different kind of tour of the city. We all met up at the clock tower (not as cool as the Glockenspiel in Munich, but pretty awesome nonetheless) It was an awesome night as our group got closer, had inside jokes that most of us will never forget, and had a great time.

I think we were all really sad to see our trip in Prague end, as most of believed it would be the highlight of our base course tour. We were to hop on a bus and drive to Auschwitz, Poland. We all wished we’d had more time to explore such a cool and different city. We lucked out, the bus ended up being hours late and we were told by our teacher’s to again go explore the city. Taylor and I took the opportunity to have some coffee by Charles Bridge and watch the sights and listen to the sounds of the city before running into more people in our group and heading again to our favorite location, the city square. I was really going to be sad saying goodbye to this!

Tuscany

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Under the Tuscan Sun has nothing on real Tuscany. Yeah, you still have those sweeping views, those adorable towns, those friendly Italians, but there is no way to capture the beauty or the charm of such a place.

My mom and I rented a car and my mom was quite the trooper. She drove stick shift in a foreign country where the drivers are absolutely insane. No, seriously, drivers in Italy have nothing on any other country, they do not believe in speed limits or blinkers, among other things. We rented the car so we could tour through the Tuscan countryside unabridged. However, I cannot read maps, and that didn’t always work. On our way from Florence to Volterra, the town in Tuscany we were staying in, we went at least two hours out of our way. Despite that, we loved seeing the countryside and made it to Volterra safely.

Volterra is actually the real town that Stephanie Meyer based parts of her book Twilight on. When I learned we were going there, I started preparing myself to meet the Volturri or Edward Cullen, and was very disappointed to not find either. However, Volterra is the prime medieval town, and I could easily see it being the home of violent vampire. It is one of the walled towns that speckles Tuscany, completely surrounded by solid stone walls and housing cobble stone roads and small shops and apartments, all quite un-navigable.

From Volterra we were able to drive to other Tuscan towns and really get to see the countryside, including San Giminano, Monteriggione, Siena. All the towns were adorable, but we were hindered by two big problems. One, pouring down rain. It was just awful weather the entire time we were in Tuscany, with only small respites in the torrential downpours to take a few photos. However, I was able to break in my new umbrella that I love and my mom got to wear her new rain boots. The second thing was that it was Easter. While it sounds nice to be in Italy for such a holiday, it was actually pretty close to a nightmare. We have to remember that Easter to the Italian Catholics owns every other American holidays put together. The crowds were impossible to navigate and the parking was.. yikes. But! We got lucky, were able to squeeze into some restaurants that were not completely booked and see entire Italian families celebrating a great holiday.

Overall, I loved Tuscany but I just wish the weather had been better. The views are just breathtaking, and really reminded me of Ireland and the Ring of Beara. If we had had more sun, I would have frolicked in the fields for hours.

We left Tuscany and headed south to Rome, where we had booked a hotel for the night in a beach town outside the city before catching our different flights the next day. It was hard to get in a car again and the drive was a little long, but we made it and saw a beautiful Italian beach at sunset and checked into our hotel. At this point we were exhausted and very, very sick of pasta and pizza. So we indulged and went to a Wild West themed restaurant and ate nachos. It was heavenly.

Another funny aspect of this trip was getting directions to the airport. Our receptionist had it all summarized, “NOTHING is easy in Italy! Before we had Michelangelo, now we have no idea.” Against all odds, we made it to the airport safely and on time and said a tearful goodbye, from the movies. It was so great to see my mom, only a month and half til the Mulligan girls are reunited again!

Cinque Terre

2010-04-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

Cinque Terre is heaven on earth. I am not kidding. It is the most beautiful place in the world and I am the luckiest person ever for getting to go there. I am going back at least one more time in my life. I have never been so happy and content or in love with one place as I was with the five coastal towns in Italy.

Cinque Terre is composed of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, all small towns that line the mountains and beaches of the coast of the Italian Riviera. The towns are connected via a small train and, more importantly, a hiking path of the mountains that offers stunning views of both the Mediterranean blue water and the adorable, colorful villages alive with light. I was in looooove.

The day we got in, despite a not so great car ride on the windy roads after a night out with the Banisters and Lisa, the weather was amazing the view from our hotel balcony was breathtaking. We dropped our bags, put on our flip flops, and headed out to explore this paradise. We wandered the European version of a boardwalk, full of cafes and people dining and wining with the spectacular views. We stayed in Monterosso, the first town on the strip and the one with the largest beach. We were lucky the weather was so beautiful, as people sunbathed and strolled the sand. The town has beautiful buildings, all painted bright beach colors, and packed together on the mountainous terrain. Ah, words cannot even begin to describe to you how beautiful.

One of the famous walking paths in Cinque Terre is “Lovers Lane,” a romantic walk along one of the high bluffs that has been thronged with lovers, young and old, for generations. The entire path is carved up with initials of those enamored with one another, whether it is on the fence, the rocks, the benches, or even the plants and trees, hearts and words of love adorn the pathway. There is also a plethora of locks chained on to everything and anything. Two people will be locked in love by placing a lock on the rope or fencing or even old fishing net on the mountain, and taking the key. Some keys are engraved, some say Cinque Terre, and some are every day locks. The couples everywhere was adorable, as you saw young teenagers and older grandparents.

The dining was amazing, the people were friendly, the weather was beautiful, the sights were breathtaking… I never wanted to leave. Ah, I still sigh thinking back on my little piece of paradise.

Florence

2010-04-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

Ah, Firenze.

I was anxious to get to Florence after hearing stories of the city from Olly and Suzie who had studied there last semester and Kiyo who had visited a few weeks before. It is one of those European cities you always hear with a sigh and picture as the epitome of Italy.

My mom and I took a train from Venice to Florence, which was very easy, although we misunderstood that seats are assigned and looked quite goofy with all our luggage. We got into Florence and grabbed a cheap cab to our hotel, ooing and ahing out the windows at the spectacular views of the famous Duomo and the streets crowded with markets, mopeds, and tourists. The hotel in Florence was by far our favorite of the week, very modern and funky art themed. The elevator went through a glass roof to the higher floors and the lobby was the home of statues that reminded me of the talking stone face from Legends of the Hidden Temple. We dropped our bags and headed out to take advantage of the sunshine!

We stopped and had a café on the Duomo square, which was a little touristy but you just couldn’t defeat the views. We took our time and enjoyed the strong Italian coffee (at the beginning of the week I couldn’t believe they drank expresso’s so religiously, now I’ve joined the cult following) before heading to one of the city’s most famous sites, Michelangelo’s David. We took our time in the museum that houses the masterpiece, but we when we turned the corner to the main exhibit, you are almost immediately overwhelmed by the brilliance, and size, of the statue. David is housed beneath a glass dome at the end of the corridor, high on a pedestal. It is absolutely breathtaking. I was shocked by the massive size of the statue; I guess I was picturing something smaller. I am not one to go on and on about art, but David was amazing. The beauty and detail shown on him was remarkable, from the Adams apple to the veins on his hand. You can tell how close attention Michelangelo paid to the human body. I was amazed and even snuck a photo before getting yelled at by the scary female guard.

Another famous museum we visited during our two day stay was Florence’s Uffizi, home of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Titian’s Venus of Urbino, and Raphael’s self portrait. The artwork in the museum highlighted the Renaissance and pre-modern art. My mom and I got a real lesson in artwork and loved every second of it. Again, we relied heavily on Rick Steves, who did not disappoint. I saw art students throughout the museum re-sketching the famous masterpieces, and thought of my art friends who had been here last semester, wishing they were still there for a visit.

Also while in Florence, my mom and I were able to meet up with Taylor and her mom, who were also traveling Italy for the week, and Lisa, my roommate from last semester and Taylor’s sorority sister. It was great to see Lisa and so nice for Taylor and I have our mom’s meet. We all grabbed a long, long dinner and five plates of pasta and more than that number of wine bottles later, we had an amazing time to recount when we all reunite again. It made me homesick to all be together again in Florence, but couldn’t believe our luck at being where we were!

Overall, I loved Florence, as I have loved every European city. However, I did feel as though I was in an American city plopped down in Italy. We heard more English than any other language, and I have to admit we did not hear a ton of Italian. There were American students swarming the square, restaurants, and even museums. I loved how beautiful the city was, but I just don’t think I got the real European experience there. Just means I’ll have to go back and see it again!

Venice

2010-04-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

Who ever decided to build Venice amongst an array of canals and islands was either seriously deranged or brilliant. It is a city of difficulties, from no known reliable map to an array of bridges that block wheelchairs, strollers, and luggage. However, amongst the chaos is one of the most charming and intriguing cities in Europe.

After waking up at 5 am, standing in the pouring down rain for a 5:30 Luxembourg City busy, sneaking onto a 5:45 Frankfurt-Hahn bound less-than-luxurious bus, seven cups of coffee at a “traditional” German aiport café, adult line-cutters flying on Ryanair, a bumpy ride over the Swiss mountains, a hectic search for my luggage amongst 70 other suitcases that all looked similar, and a too-long bus ride to the city, I arrived in sunny Venice! Alas, my adventure was not over. I hopped (illegally) a water taxi, used the Italian I knew (namely my one vocabulary word: bonjourno!) and enjoyed the beautiful sites as I rode triumphantly into the city where my mother awaited!

The views were just outstanding on the water taxi. Despite a belief I was well-traveled, I don’t think I could get beyond the concept that all of Venice is connected by a series of canals with absolutely no roads or cars. After finding my mom for a tearful reunion, we made our way to our adorable hotel, dropped off our bags and set out on an exploration mission! We had a lunch of delicious pasta (it was still novice then) and became acquainted with our two-day home.

Our hotel was pretty adorable, with a beautiful view of the city and a bathtub the staff lovingly referred to as the swimming pool. Baths are a rare commodity in Europe, so I can image they were quite proud of it.

The hotel was also near St. Peter’s Square, the largest city-square and home of some of the more famous Venice sites, which I promise I loved but cannot remember their names. One of my favorite things was the swarms of pigeons, which my mom and I channeled our inner five-year old and chased around the square. The square is the heart of the city, as you can tell by the swarms of people, markets, and gelato vendors. At night, as we meandered through the cobblestone square and took photos of the buildings reflecting in puddles, we heard a saxophone player playing old songs. It was the perfect Italian evening as a welcome into such a beautiful country.

We also explored the Ponte Vechio, the bridge over the main canal that is bordered by little shops. Although we skimmed the little shops and didn’t get sucked into the high-priced shopping (for once in our mother-daughter relationship) we did enjoy the beautiful views of the city. The gondolas swarm the canals, filled with young lovers and families looking for a different perspective of the city. We enjoyed some wine at the nearby bistros and people watched.

We also enjoyed going to the Academia in Venice so see some of the more famous Venice art. The Accadamia is the home of some of the oldest paintings in Venice, from the Middle Ages to after the Renaissance. We used our trusty companion Rick Steves to guide us through the museum. I think both of us really loved a painting of the Virgin Mary as a young girl in a busy street, lovingly referred to as Little Mary.

Venice is definitely a city of tourists, but for good reason. Who wouldn’t want to go there? We heard languages from everywhere, as well as a good portion Italian. We explored Venice and really got to know the city… well, as well as you can with a city that doesn’t even have a map to explain the array of pedestrian only roads and bridges and canals. We ate our fill of pasta and drank our fill of red wine in two days, although this will continue for the rest of our trip. It was the perfect introduction into Italy! And made me even more excited as we made our way to Florence.

Bruges Photos

2010-04-14T04:36:00.001-07:00

Bruges

2010-04-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe it’s almost been three weeks since my trip to Bruges! That’s what I get for heading on a small over night trip before a 16 day travel through Europe.

Because our sprint classes (mine was the history of witch-hunts) are over, most students no longer have class on Thursdays (which most of the time does not help since MUDEC insists on making us have class on Fridays). However, Jordan, Cary, and I decided to take advantage of our free time and hope a train to Belgium Wednesday night.

It was the most last minute of plans. Literally, we booked the hostel Wednesday morning and caught a Wednesday afternoon train. But, we made our train for a measly 20 euros and had a great time talking and enjoying a few bottles of wine on our three hour venture. It’s the first time I’ve traveled with three people, which is normally a number to avoid in life, but honestly, it was such a great time. It was more than just two but not enough to be a group. We arrived in Bruges pretty late Wednesday night, checking into our hostel which we lovingly referred to as Snuffleupagus, and decided to begin a quest for food. We didn’t make it far and stopped into the first restaurant we saw, hardly three blocks away.

It was all three of our’s first trips to Belgium, and despite are adamant insistence that we speak French to them, the waiters had to continue telling us they speak Flemish and English. We were also fed these teeny versions of shrimp, which the waiter sat down and taught us to eat. After a few too many bottles of wine and a long debate about health care, we went home and enjoyed the luxurious hostel.

The next morning we began our real exploration of Bruges. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect of the small city in Belgium. I was so impressed. It was absolutely adorable and the dream little European city. All the buildings are old and cobble stone streets are broken up by a series of canals that weave in and out of the city. The main square was great, a little touristy, but perfect for me. All outdoor cafés and large government and church buildings. We really just spent the day wandering in and out of shops (Jordan has sisters and girlfriend so he’s learned how to just let us shop) and eating and stopping for coffees. (I really have become an addict.)

In the afternnon we even took a romantic canal ride and saw the city and heard some of the history. I won’t bore you with the gory details of the sites of Bruges, but the highlight of the ride was absolutely the swan pond at the end of one canal. There is one area of the canals that is full of swans. Just full of them! And they are brave and come right up to the boat. I’ve never seen so many swans or seen such a beautiful setting before. I loved it.

We were really lucky with the weather the whole day, in the sunshine almost the entire time and discarding our jackets early in the morning. And, our luck continued, as we hopped onto our train home it started to rain… right as we entered the station. The Belgian luck, obviously.

Lux pictures

2010-03-27T04:29:00.002-07:00

Home away from home

2010-03-27T04:29:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I decided to take it easy (after a mishap with a booking for a flight to Oslo and the realization that my bank account does indeed have a limit) and stay in Luxembourg for the weekend. It was actually a pretty popular weekend for people to stay in, as most people wanted to save energy for the impending spring break and field study tour. And, spring weather had finally decided to grace us with her presence and the sun was shining and people were throwing off their coats. (We actually do have other clothes, despite how you have only seen the same four coats in every picture we’ve taken)

On Friday, a group of us went on a tour the local brewery for the Luxembourgish beer called Bofferding. Owned by a Miami alumnus, the company is located about 20 minutes away from the chateau and is a cheap and popular beer for the population. We took a bus there then went on a pretty intense and interactive tour of how “the secret of Luxembourg” is made. This is the third brewery tour I’ve gone on (I feel like I’m becoming an expert on hops…) and even though it is a much smaller company, I felt Bofferding did a great job! The tour ended with a “taste test” in which our group of Miami students sat in a little tavern themed bar and drank our fill of Bofferdings. Ahh, sighs of content were rampant.

That night we all met up for dinner in the city center and to explore the local night life. We were pretty impressed! There were great dining options, the weather held out, and I came to the realization that Luxembourg is absolutely adorable. The cobble streets here are populated with high line shopping and local boutiques, as well as ample out door restaurants and bars. And you can’t forget the beautiful sights of the Grund, the little area of Luxembourg located in the ravine. Standing above it you can look down on the city lights and canal, and it’s pretty breathtaking. We enjoyed a great dinner and hit up some of the local bars and dance clubs, really taking in what Luxembourg has to offer.

Saturday represented spring’s evil sister as it poured all day. To battle the miserable conditions, a group of us went to the movie theater and saw Shutter Island and Alice and Wonderland. I was a little disappointed in Alice in Wonderland, but Shutter Island was definitely good. Although I have to admit I’ve been having nightmares… keep in mind I had nightmares about Hocus Pocus. But, the Luxembourgish movie theater is impressive! It’s huge, with restaurants (including much sought after sushi) and the screens put the Darien Playhouse and the Oxford Princess to shame. We again grabbed dinner Saturday and enjoyed a few pints during a rugby tournament. We had taken after Alice and gone on a rabbit chase for a bar playing the basketball games, but to no avail.

Overall, the weekend was pretty great! I had an awesome time really seeing Luxembourg, using my French, and getting to know some of the kids on the program who I hadn’t traveled with yet. That really is the hardest thing about Luxembourg… people don’t get to know this country. And, I think traveling fatigue was starting to get us down. It was definitely a great decision and I’m glad I took a weekend off to enjoy where I’m living!

Paris Photos 2

2010-03-22T05:55:00.001-07:00

Paris Photos 1

2010-03-22T05:46:00.002-07:00

Paris

2010-03-22T05:46:00.001-07:00

I’m sorry my entry titles are slowly getting more boring.

Paris: the city of my dreams. Ever since I was in middle school I fanaticized of living in this city of love, where I could finally use that French I’ve been harnessing since sixth grade. In high school, I was lucky enough to visit with my aunt and cousin, and I couldn’t be more excited to return. And Paris didn’t let me down.

It was a quick three hour train ride from Luxembourg City, and Jordan, Casey, and I had no problem finding our hostel and checking in quickly. The rest of our group was not getting in until later, so the three of us decided to explore le Quartier Latin. Taking a gander and veering left then right then going straight for a little and maybe the river’s this way… we found ourselves engrossed in giant crepes, berets, and in front of Notre Dame. A very pleasant surprise! We took a few photos and stoically wandered the inside of the massive church. Then, we walked along the Seine towards the Louvre, which has free admissions for students on Friday nights after 6 pm.

The Louvre is a city in and of itself. You could probably spend two weeks just vacationing there, in awe of all the beautiful art and artifacts. (Maybe I’m finally turning into an art junkie, Olly and Suzie would be so proud) I mentioned how in the Vatican you are around so many marvelous things you start to lose interest. I can’t help but contradict myself. I could have stayed in the Louvre much longer, seeing more paintings, and being blown away by each one. I’ve also come to the realization that I love stories. I’ve always loved stories (that may have affected my choices of journalism and history as my majors), but artwork brings out a different kind of story. Who are the people in the painting, the sculpture, the print? What are they doing? Why are they there? I wish every painting had a little novel right next to it about the people in it. I’d go through those real quick.

Friday night Jordan, Casey, and I found a cozy little French restaurant, enjoyed soup de l’oignon, escargot, pate, and some local wine. Delicious. One of my favorite nights since I’ve been abroad!

Saturday morning we woke up a little late and missed the free breakfast, but decided to head straight to the center of the Latin Quarter to start a free walking tour. As well as deciding I’m a light art junkie and that I love stories, I’ve decided I’m not a huge fan of walking tours. Yeah, I love knowing about the places I’m going to, but I would much rather read a tour book than stand in front of it and get lectured. It takes away from my time to wander around, look at it closely, and have my own thoughts about what I’m looking at. Also, walking tours prevent you from going up things, in things, around things. You only get to see them. So after four sites or so, we ditched the tour, grabbed some lunch and headed to the catacombs to meet up with the rest of our MUDEC group.

I had not gone to the catacombs when I was in Paris before so I was interested to see what they were like. Never again. Yikes! We spent over an hour meandering around the underground canals and rooms looking at over six million skeletons. SIX MILLION! That’s a lot. It was a cool experience, but more than a little eerie to see one of the largest mass graves ever.

Afterwards, three of the girls and I decided it was time for some shopping and meandered along the river and Latin Quarter looking at street vendors and buying unique paintings and note cards to decorate our blatantly American rooms at home. It was quintessentially French, and pretty perfect! We also took this time to do some “real” shopping and wandered down Champs Elysee, where Taylor indulged us all in her purchase of a Louis Vuitton wallet for her 21st birthday. It was great to go from the paintbrush side of the river to the poodle side, and enjoy both!

I really think that is what I love about Paris. You really have everything there. From a Bohemian lifestyle of street artists to small dogs and cafes. You have ancient sculptures and architecture and modern industry and sky scrapers. You have wide open boulevards and small winding cobblestone streets. It’s a real city, and opens its arms wide to say “explore!”

Saturday night we indulged in the most French thing of all, getting dressed up and enjoying la Tour Eiffel. We spent a large amount of time taking pictures and watching the sparkling light show, then went and sat down at a nearby restaurant for our last dinner. From there we moved onto Moulin Rouge and Montmartre to see the Parisian Red Light District. To our dismay, it was a rather pricey district and none of us lasted long before heading home.

Sunday was a little overcast and everyone was worn out from the eventful weekend, but Jordan, Casey, and I made our way back to Montmartre and Sacre Couer. In high school Sacre Couer had been my favorite place. And, again, I was not disappointed. We spent time climbing to the top for the stunning view of the city. It was definitely overcast, but we were still able to see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. We then took time to wander the streets and squares surrounding the church and see the painters in their work.

Overall, I’m in love with Paris. It is now a life goal to move there. No big deal.

Strasbourg

2010-03-10T03:03:00.000-08:00

After the disastrous train ride home from Berlin and a steady decline in my bank account, I decided this past weekend was a weekend to take it a little bit slower.

While our friends scattered to Munich, Ireland, and a road trip to Vienna, Taylor and I decided a one-night stay in Strasbourg might be what the doctor ordered. After weeks of packing our backpacks and running to catch a train, Taylor and I packed a few essentials’ into our over-sized purses and hopped a quick train to the French city across the border. It was so nice to take a short 2 to 3 hour train as opposed to one in the double digits. Since it was only the two of us, we splurged and got a hotel room instead of settling for a hostel. Great choice. Added to the relaxation for sure.

Strasbourg is absolutely adorable; a picturesque French village with a touch of German ancestry. The houses line adorable canals and call on the architecture of days long gone. But nothing compares to the striking cathedral, which tours over the rest of the miniature village. Every little detail about the cathedral, located in the middle of a dramatic square, demands respect and awe. The inside was a little bit darker than I had expected and the translation boxes didn’t demonstrate such an expertise of English. However, the astronomical clock on the inside was very impressive.

Taylor and I basically spent the entirety of the time there shopping and eating (very unlike us). Strasbourg, keeping in character with my description of the town, had some adorable little shops of French home accents and higher fashion. Taylor and I were in “girls’ weekend away” shopping utopia. Despite our attempts to save money by staying closer to home, we ended up dishing out more than a few euros on some timeless keepsakes.

We also greatly, greatly, greatly enjoyed our first tarte flambee. Not knowing what to expect, we ordered a chocolate and banana one to split for a dessert. Little did we know it was heaven on a plate. It’s a giant pizza type pastry dough thing with your food of choice gracing the top. YUM! We basically inhaled the entire thing in a five minute span.

After spending Friday night and all day Saturday, we felt rejuvenated and headed home on a Saturday evening train. We were right, the whole weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Say Green Beer!

2010-03-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

Going Green

2010-03-09T02:00:00.000-08:00

There is a special holy day in Oxford that is unique to that beloved school of mine. It is a day when everyone drops their differences and come together to celebrate, not just a lost St. Patrick's day, but the beginning of spring. They embrace one another and cheer tradition and the college spirit. Green Beer Day. (Hear the sighs of content in the soundtrack to this blog)

For those unfamiliar with the holiday, it traditionally takes place on the Thursday before spring break. In the past, Miami has often placed spring break during St. Patrick's Day. To make up for this loss day of celebration, Miami adopted their own version. Students partake in a day of festivities, most beginning at 5 am. Green eggs and keggs (literally, the beer is dyed) are staples of the day.

In Luxembourg, we felt it was our moral responsibility, as it has been for those who came before us, to bring the holiday to Europe. Therefore, we were all up at 5 am and catching a 5:20 to the local bar in Differdange which opened up for us. Everyone was decked out in green gear and drank Bofferding (the Luxembourgish beer) with a mint dye. Keeping in theme with the holiday, the sun cooperated. This is rare in Luxembourg, but yet the sun was shining, the weather was great, and people enjoyed the outdoors with sunglasses and a pint. It was an amazing day, and a little bit of a taste of home. I couldn't help but think of all those people I missed at Miami and knowing they would be up soon to join in our day-long festivities.

Don't worry though, everyone (or, at least most) made it to their classes and our lecture that night.

Happy Holidays!

Tropical Koblenz

2010-03-09T01:45:00.000-08:00

The train ride home from Berlin was one of the most miserable so far. Everyone was uncomfortable, dirty, and exhausted from a late-night pub crawl. I heard more than once people complaining that they just wanted to be home. No one was looking forward to a 10 hour train ride.

I should have known then. We were all too desperate to get home. Too exhausted to stay awake. Too grumpy to be with one another.

Of course our train would get cancelled.

Of course a storm would tear up Europe and cause massive power outages, floods, travel cancellations.

Of course we would be stuck in a beautiful tourist destination like Koblenz, Germany.

Our train came to a halt, and thank goodness we had German speaker Emily among our group of 38. She was able to tell us some storm was coming and we had to get off the train. Despite this clear translation, there was instant chaos among our group as people searched frantically for a new train, tried to stay on the one we were one, or headed to McDonalds. (Those golden arches are seducing) However, once in the station, we realized it was bigger deal than expected. No trains were leaving until the next morning at 5 am.

Time to find somewhere to sleep. Being the brat I am, along with five others, we decided to book an incredibly cheap hotel so we could spend the night in a bed. The rest of the group decided to channel their inner homelessness and sleep on the streets, under a bridge, in McDonalds, at a 24-hour bar... where ever they could go.

Honestly, being in Europe has just taught me how to handle these issues. There's not point in rushing around like a chicken with your head cut off or looking back on what could be changed or even getting angry with someone for not helping. It's, "Okay, what can we do now to fix this." It really has me a much more laid back travel. Maybe I can channel this to my mom in April...

Our stay in Koblenz was... well, it just was. We were up and at 'em the next morning at 5 am. It was a full day (and night) of traveling, but we eventually made it back safe!

Berlin Wall

2010-03-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

Berlin By Night

2010-03-09T00:57:00.000-08:00

After some amazing daylight hours, we decided it was time to see the one and only, main attraction of the city, and a reason to visit in and of itself, ladies and gentlemen I present: THE BERLIN WALL.

Sophie, Taylor, Ally, and I went to the East Berlin Gallery, so the part of the Berlin Wall that is painted and decorated every ten years to demonstrate humans rights and peace and other progressive messages. My mother would have loved it. Never before had I really thought too seriously about the Berlin Wall. Most of the history classes I have enjoyed only go up to around the World War Two. I just never really addressed the seriousness of the Berlin Wall. Actually seeing this physical barrier that had divided a city in half, I cannot help but feel a more emotional attachment to such an influential time in history. The artwork that adorned the walls was breathtaking and very moving, although I have to admit I didn't always understand it... My German is still developing... slowly. But I had a few favorite. One was the wall painted on the wall, but there were little holes in which you could see the sky. Above the painting was "You can see infinity." Another one was a comic strip type painting with super hero type characters. The caption said, "Save the world. Get human." Overall, the wall was very moving and I loved seeing the painted part.

After the wall, the four of us decided a dinner celebration of our day in Berlin was in order. After getting nice and dressed up, we went and enjoyed a very German ethnic meal.. of Japanese noodles. But seriously, again it was so delicious and we had an amazing time. Then, we met up with the other 34 Miamians haunting Berlin and decided to partake in our first pub crawl! Honestly, I'm always under the impression that we should do a pub crawl in every city. It's such a great way to see the night life and have a great time. This one, called the 666 tour, was very interesting and brought us to some places we never would have gone to. The first was a bumble bee theme, which of course, I LOVED this. Then, because there were so many of us, we had to be divided. To our amusement, we could not help but yell that one half was East Berlin, the other West. Our group went to a bar that really defined our night, The Last Cathedral. Turns out it is a gothic themed bar, but more towards the Medieval ages. The lights were made of fake skulls, fake blood (hopefully all this was fake) adorned the walls, and the costumes were a little out of our sphere. One guy had on horns and most of the women had one long dresses reminiscent of Lord of the Rings. These Miamians were their pink polos and Ugg boots were a little bit out of place, as can be imagined. We went to a few more bars and had an amazing time. Honestly, it was great to get to know other people on the program! And Berlin really is one odd city, but so fun.

The night ended late and the morning started early as we began our long trip back to Berlin... but that's another story.

Reichstag

2010-03-09T00:54:00.000-08:00

Jewish Memorial and Brandenburg Gate

2010-03-09T00:51:00.000-08:00

Berlin by Day

2010-03-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

Oh wow, I'm just hyped up on blog entries lately.

Now that I have Carnivale entries under my belt, it's time to resort back to my little weekly updates on the beautiful cities I get to visit!

The weekend after Egypt and Rome, I was very undecisive about where I wanted to go. A large group of students were heading to Berlin and another group were staying home, and I was very divided. For some reason, the images of Berlin I had concocted in my mind were composed mostly of a stern society, gray, cold, and haunted by a violent Nazi past. However, I felt rejuvenated after our Carnivale and felt that traveling with a new group of people would be a lot of fun. I was right.

Berlin was totally different than I expected. It is a city with one of the most dramatic histories in the world, from a German state capital to World War 2 to the Berlin Wall, it is impossible to ignore the past that has created such a dynamic city. But, beyond this often traumatic past, Berlin has risen up as an economic and cultural capital. It is completely immersed in an open and Bohemian atmosphere. It is full of life and expressive people, with one of the most lively night lifes we have seen thus far.

We got into Berlin pretty late on Friday night after a long train ride. I had a phone interview that night at 9:30 pm so I was unable to take part in the "festivities" on the train ride there. I was, however, able to capture memorable moments on camera and enjoy with a sing-a-long of Dankeshein.

We all arrived to our hostel and proceeded to take advantage of the wild night life that Berlin has to offer. The first bar we haunted was called "White Trash, Fast Food." Talk about homesick... When we walked in I was awed almost right away. It was not a trashy bar, but rather a more of a goth style. Head banger music, barbed wire around the bar, glow lamps in the shape of skulls and, of course, Christmas lights. The topper of the night was a woman wearing a bright red belt around her torso and matching red heels. Oh, yup, that was it. She was nude except that. Walking around the bar. I've never seen the boys' eyes pop out of their heads so much. The bar was much worth it though for the delicious late night nachos (two plates) that the group inhaled.

Berlin was one of the largest groups I had traveled with, with almost 40 MUDEC students making the trek to the historical city. It was quite the show trying to usher the group to the hostel and have us all check in at once. Knowing that this group was a taddddd bit too big to tour the city with, my three roommates for the weekend, Ally, Sophie, and Taylor, and I, decided to venture out on our own. We went hunting for a good breakfast and found the most amazing place. We each had eggs and bacon and yogurt for the first time in months. And inhaled it. Ah, I'm getting hungry thinking about it! You don't realize how much you miss certain things when you're abroad. After inhaling such a meal, we made our way to start our day tour of Berlin!

Our first stop was by the Monument to Murdered Jews located by the Brandenburg Gate. The monument is composed of a series of steal blocks, reminiscent of large coffins, placed in a square park. They vary in height and the sidewalk criss crossing through them rise up and down, with the center of the monument having the tallest blocks and lowest sidewalk. It is very erie to walk through, almost as if there is no way out but you always think this path will have a close end. They large blocks tend to tower above you and you can't escape the cold since the sun doesn't shine on all the path. The four of us meandered the monument deep in thought.

We also visited the museum that was located beneath the memorial. I was awed by the amount of security that was enacted for us to entertain the museum. Each one of us had to enter at a time and only 10 were allowed in the room at a time. All metals had to be removed, bags scanned, and people had to go through metal detectors and scanned by those wand things. I think it was honestly more intense than the airport security I've been going through. The museum was much more modern and dark. It focused on individual stories instead of just the number, with rooms dedicated to letters and postcards that had been recovered, entire families that had been wiped out, and the oral telling of individuals who were killed. It was a very solemn experience and touching. I think we were each deeply affected. I was surprised it wasn't much larger, however. We also learned, in line with the security, that all the blocks located above ground were made so all graffiti could be washed off.

After the museum, we wandered the Brandenburg Gate then to the Reichstag. We decided to wait in line for the chance to climb to the top of the parliament building for a view of the city. Despite the long wait, it was totally well worth it. The top of the Reichstag, after being completely destroyed in World War Two like most of the city, was rebuilt with incredible modern architecture of all glass, steel, and mirrors. You round your way up the dome and see a stunning view of the German sunset. There was also a large mirrored figure in the center that climbed to the top, which added an entirely new dimension. We took a break at the cafe at the top as well before figuring out our next move.

I'll keep the night hours for my next entry!

Rome Pictures 2

2010-03-08T23:54:00.000-08:00

Rome Pictures 1

2010-03-08T23:49:00.000-08:00

when in rome!

2010-03-08T23:48:00.001-08:00

Rome.

Oh, Roma. I’ve learned it’s possible to fall in love with a city at first sight. It is a city of cobblestone streets, overflowing fountains, a history unparalleled, and spaghetti that makes me drool to think about. It was love.
Despite spending the night on the cement floor of the airport and catching a 5 am flight, we felt relatively rejuvenated when we arrived to find the sun shining and the weather at a temperature none of us had experienced since October in Oxford. Thanks to Spencer Kubin’s meticulous planning, we knew exactly where to drop our luggage and how to navigate the metro system to our first stop: the coliseum.
It was one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen (soon to be challenged by the Egyptian pyramids, but at this point in my life I couldn’t help keep repeating to Brooke that this was the coolest thing I’ve ever done.) The sheer size and magnitude of the coliseum is impressive, let alone when it was built and what it was used for in the ancient days of glory. We spent hours wandering through the ruins, snapping about a thousand pictures, and enjoying the sun on our face.
Afterwards, we meandered through the city and hit up some of the most famous sites in the world: the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. I was a little disappointed by the Spanish Steps. I don’t really know what I expected, but they were much smaller than I had imagined. The Lizzie McGuire Movie made them look just so cool, I was doomed for disappointment. The Trevi Fountain, on the other hand, was absolutely stunning. We all made our wishes as we threw our coins over our shoulders and enjoyed the vast amounts of tourists milling around the square.
After a lunch of delicious spaghetti dipped in a variety of Italian sauces from blue cheese to Alfredo to tomato, we made our way to the Pantheon. Again, just surreal and out of a movie. (This time I was thinking more Da Vinci Code than my idol Hilary Duff) It’s amazing to think of the sheer history of such buildings is enough to make you feel small. We then made our way to an old church that Spencer had read about. In the basement of the church was a church composed of monk bones. The bones and skeletons adorn the ceilings, walls, and floors, making patterns of flowers and Biblical symbols. It was one of the eeriest things I have ever done, with real people’s remains being placed directly in front of me. The last chamber of the chapel had an engraved sign stating, “What you are, we were once were. What we are now, you will be.” (That may not be the exact wording, but you understand the jist.) Incredibly scary, and surrounded by a city of such history it really made us all think.
We then caught train to the airport in Rome to catch our flight to Cairo! It was an incredibly long day, starting traveling at 7 pm and getting into Cairo at around 4 am…. But well worth the day in such a city.
On our way back we were able to stop in Rome for a night and another day. We went straight from our flight from Cairo to our hostel, located conveniently near the train station, and then straight to the Vatican. I hear that lines get ridiculous for the country within a city in the summer months, but we were lucky we were visiting in the off-season and were able to have a relatively easy experience. We first went to St. Peter’s Basilica. It was one of the largest, most fabulous and stunning things ever. Again, Rome’s site are impressive almost on their own by their sheer size. But within the chapel, you saw works of geniuses I had only seen before in art textbooks. A highlight was Michelangelo’s The Pieta. It was just a true piece of brilliance, with the human qualities of Jesus and his defeat contrasted by the divine peace of the Madonna. We also went into the Vatican museum, something I was hesitant about in my ignorance and but was ultimately blown away. The only problem with the exhibit is there is so much to see, you could spend an entire week vacation just in the Vatican, not a morning. The Sistine Chapel is everything you expect, although I was bothered you couldn’t take pictures. Everyone knows how I am with my pictures. I thought another interesting aspect was the modern art that was on exhibit. I couldn’t help but take pictures of art pieces’ names to Google later. After the Vatican we all ate another large lunch of pasta (we were getting off our rice and lamb diet of Egypt) and took one of the longest most beautiful naps I have ever experienced. Who knew you could sleep so heavily in the middle of the day?
That night we got to see the vibrant city even more vibrant. Night time in Rome is like a masterpiece on steroids. Everything is illuminated. From fountains to ruins to street lights to the people themselves. It is a bustling city, with cafes busting with people and good wine. We went to a few squares and enjoyed the sites, then settled on a restaurant where we could sit outside by a heater and enjoyed a fabulous pasta dinner complete with some great jugs of wine.
What a way to cap off an amazing carnival break!

Egypt Photos 3

2010-03-08T23:44:00.001-08:00

Egypt Photos 2

2010-03-08T23:42:00.001-08:00

Egypt Photos 1

2010-03-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

Final Egypt

2010-03-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

Things I learned and loved in Egypt:

1. Egyptian Museum has more things in it than you would ever think possible.
2. The pyramids are huge!
3. Camels spit.
4. Nothing is free in Egypt. They will tell you that to get on the camel is free, you get on the camel, and then charge you 20 dollars to get down.
5. Don't be offended if people ask you if you're married. They really get married young.
6. Felluca rides are romantic. Especially with friends.
7. Egyptian airways are strict. They will confiscate your fork and cork screw.
8. Favorite quote was when Sam was offered cocaine by a passerby. He declined, saying he didn't want to be hanged. The Egyptian responds, "You're American right? Egyptians not stupid. We would never hang AMERICAN tourists!"
9. Egyptians love John Trovalta and Obama.
10. Even SPF 75 doesn't protect this skin.
11. The Nile is not only the river of life for Egypt, it is absolutely stunning.
12. The pyramids are absolutely ridiculous impressive. I have no clue how they built them back then.
13. Egyptians aren't scary. They're just really friendly.
14. Egyptian wall carvings really look like the walk like an Egyptian dance move.
15. A man offered to buy me for camels. I'm proud of Kubin for not selling me.
16. The Nubians are people who are not Sudanese or Egyptian and have their own language that no one else knows. They also have really weird tribal dances. Brooke and I were part of one.
17. Egyptian food is rice and lamb. And DELICIOUS.
18. They hustle you hard to buy their stuff. It makes Canal Street look like the ultimate joke.
19. The cab drivers drive like they are drunk, high on shrooms, blind, and in a race. All rolled into one.
20. One of the best experiences of my life!

Mahmoud

2010-03-05T02:03:00.001-08:00

Now, there are some people you come across on vacation which can soon be termed the epitome of getting to know the area. Nothing comes close to our tour guide Mahmoud. When the boys on our trip talk about him, their tone of voice changes and you can see the man-crush in their eyes. Although Brooke and I weren't as infatuated with him as the others, Mahmoud was a great tour guide. He gave us a history lesson in Egypt, which we decided is much needed in the Miami Plan curriculum. He was very exasperated when we didn't know who any of the gods were, yet he took the time to tell us the stories he knew better than how to spell his own name. Mahmoud was the door into a culture that we would otherwise not have experienced. Instead of just going through rabbit hole, Mahmoud showed us daily life in Egypt. And, it was pretty cool. The highlight of the trip (at least for the boys) was our last night when Mahmoud invited us back to his sister's apartment to have her cook us a traditional meal and to see the other side of Luxor. We took a cab there and enjoyed a meal sitting on the floor and learned that animals in Egypt are not pets and you cannot say no to second helpings. It was the best meal I've had since I've been abroad and it was overall just an amazing experience to talk to the Egyptians and learn about their modern culture after spending a week immersed in ancient history.

cruisin'

2010-03-05T00:59:00.000-08:00

There is just too much to write about each temple that we visited. To spare you the gory details, I'm going to post a ton of pictures. The temples are all dedicated to gods of ancient Egypt, which we learned a lot about. It was interesting to see an entire religion and culture and how it functioned before it has completely disappeared. The drawings on temple walls reminded me of childhood cartoons of Egyptian characters, it was crazy to see where such inspiration stems from. All the drawings and carvings were very flat and prolific, with the eyes outlined as you can imagine and tall thin women and men making a variety of offerings. My favorite temple was the Philae Temple on Agilika Island. It was moved when the Egyptians built the damn and reconstructed on the island. It was absolutely huge and the surroundings were just stunning. We spent an evening exploring the ruins and being explained the ancient deities. The sun setting on such an old and incredible place was one of the highlights of my trip. Other temples we visited include Komombo Temple (which we saw at night and was lit up) the Edfu Temple, and Hatshesput Temple.

At Hatshesput's Temple I had one of those "it's such a small world" experiences. While leaving the temple I spotted kid wearing a familiar looking tee-shirt. Upon close (not creepy) examination I realized it was a Darien High School vs. New Canaan High School Turkey Bowl shirt, my hometown's rivalry Thanksgiving game! I was so freaked out and I just grabbed the kid and asked if he was from Connecticut. Turns out they were from Darien (the whole family) and were on spring break in Egypt! What are the chances? One of the daughters was a senior at the high school and recognized me from high school cheerleading. It was such a small piece of home in such a distant world. Despite the three-digit temperature I had goosebumps.

Besides visiting the temples we really got to explore some of the cities we visited. My personal favorite was Luxor. It is a little bit more of a touristy town than the others, with the entire town center running along the Nile River and cruise boats pulling in and out on an hourly basis. Right along the river was also a large temple and an even larger bazaar. Our tour guide took us to the bazaar one night to try our hand at Egyptian shopping.

Shop keeper: Welcome to Egypt! Where are you from? Sweden (to me because I am blonde) Arabian (to Brooke because she's not)? I love the United States! I have someone there. Obama! He's my cousin! What do you want? 500 hundred Egyptian for that. Okay, 405. 300. 200. 100. 50. 17. Come back, come back, give me fair price! (Continuing to follow you down the road) Okay, okay fine, 5. Ok good.

Nonetheless, I did some great shopping! Lots of gifts and a new addict to sugarcane juice, and I felt fully emerged in the culture.

walk like an egyptian

2010-03-01T07:26:00.000-08:00

OK as promised! An Egypt update.

It's very intimidating to write a blog entry on such an incredible, and incredibly busy, week. I feel like I was trying to put aside hours upon hours (as would be needed) to give you guys a full glimpse of such an intricate and amazing country, and the incredible trip we took. So, apparently, if I had to pick one word to describe it, it would be incredible.

I decided since there is so much to write and I'm so stressed about it, I'm going to just list my highlights.

So, we flew into Rome (Yikes, I'll probably have to write another blog entry for that one...) connected, and caught a late night flight to Cairo, getting in around 3 am. For the first time in my life I saw a woman with a full burkah. I like to think I'm a well-read person (BBC as my home-page and NYTimes.com always following Facebook) but actually seeing the culture is different than just reading about it.

Anyway, we were met by our tour guide at the airport, who escorted us to our hotel. After a miscommunication about payment and driving down a dark alley- Brooke and I were clutching one another's hands and Spencer and Sam were giving each other looks of confusion- we made our way to a hotel and passed out quickly before a 10 am wake up call.

On first impression Egypt reminded me a lot of what Mexico's inland looked like. We had arrived at about 3 am from our flight and were driving (insanely) through the streets and the amount of people out in the dead of night was almost scary. Groups of people meandered through the roads, with children and stray animals strewing. It was loud, crowded, and WARM. The next morning as we were driving, it was as if nothing had changed. Everyone was honking horns, playing Egyptian music, and dodging cars as they crossed the streets. Peddlers littered the sidewalks as children ran around barefoot. It was crazy.

Our first stop: PYRAMIDS! Can you believe the pyramids actually exist? So to spare you the description, as you can imagine, they're big traingular stone/clay/dirt things in the shape of pyramids. Ta da! We spent a few hours walking about them, taking a million pictures, and awing at their huge size, talking about how they must have used magic. We even went into one (I had to be hunched over in two... you can imagine how Kubin hardly fitted in the narrow tunnels) However, it was crazy to imagine how real people actually did this milleniums ago. It really blew our minds, not to sound totally cliche.

Another site that day was the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Absolutely crazy. I have never seen so many things in one museum before. There's hardly room for walking. We even indulged in seeing the mummy room, so real live mummies. Totally creeping, but on a scientific not amazing. They still had teeth, hair, and nails. But, promise me that if I die don't put me in a glass box like that and let millions of people stare at me. That was kind of weird.

The tour company we went on was a little weird about how they organized things, and Brooke and Scotty ended up taking an overnight train to Aswan in the south whereas Sam, Kubin, and I flew. Well, TIA (this is Africa, a reference from Blood Diamond) and we went with it. We arrived in Aswan and boarded our cruise down the Nile!

Everything is different in Egypt. From the food to the people to the dress to (obviously) the religion. And we were thrown right in. The call to prayer was absolutely amazing, as the Muslim prayer comes over the loudspeaker you see an entire culture come to a pause. Seeing the women with covered hair was also fascinating. Brooke and I were blown away about how every woman covered her hair, but we realized that they would feel the same weirdness in the United States, seeing so much opposed hair.

We boarded our cruise boat in Aswan. It was really cute, like a giant ferry boat but nicer. It had a pool and deck on the top where we spent most of our time. We were by far the youngest people on the trip as most traveling were older couples or families. They were also a majority of Germans, and almost everyone else was at least European. We spent the first day lounging by the pool (I was sunburnt in two seconds) and enjoying the sun that has been deprived of us so long in Luxembourg.

Ok, I don't want these entries to get too long, so I'll talk about our cruise in the next entry!

yikes

2010-02-24T05:13:00.001-08:00

I promise, promise, promise I am going to write an entry about Egypt. Between getting back from ten days in Africa and Rome and these midterms that teachers are insisting on giving us, I'm feeling a tad bit overwhelmed.

Good news, I just booked Berlin for the weekend!

ready, set, go!

2010-02-12T00:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a tough week for everyone. I think people are finally buckling down with school work, as it's sort of our version of midterms. We got back from our mini-field, had five days of cramming in as much school work as possible, and then are off on our carnival excursions! I have had a cold all week, there has been a lot of snow, the laundry machines have been full every day, and teachers have enjoyed making sure all our exams and projects are on the same day. Overall, I think everyone is ready for this week long break!

Tonight we leave for the airport to spend the night in Frankfurt Hahn, Germany before our early flight to Rome via Ryanair. We then have a full day in Rome before departing to Cairo, Egypt Saturday night. Here's a little list of our itinerary, feel free to skim!

3/02: Meet at airport upon arrival by a tour guide and then overnight in a hotel in Cairo.

14/02: After Breakfast, we have a guided tour of Cairo. Then, a transfer to Giza Plateau where rise the three Pyramids of Cheops, chephren & Mycrenos which is considered one of the seven wonders of the world, and the Sphinx before heading to Sakkara , the first capital of ancient Egypt where we see the step Pyramid.That night we have a Fellucca ride on the majestic Nile Complementary before spending the night on an overnight train to Aswan.

15/02: Arrive Aswan and go to our cruise boat!We see the High Dam before a transfer to Philae Temple and the Oblisque. That night we sail to Komombo.

16/02: We visit the Komombo Temple the Right Hand Temple, and the Left Hand Temple.Then we sail to Edfu to see the Edfu temple before sailing to Luxor that night.

17/02: After breakfast, we visit the east bank and see the Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak. That night we have a a Galbia (whatever that is) party and an oriental dinner.

18/02: We see the valley of the kings, the Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. We spend that night on an overnight train back to Cairo.

19/02: Arrive Cairo and visit the Egyptian museum and the Citadel of Saladin, then off to Old Cairo where we visit the Hunging Church and Sinagogue ( Ben Ezra Temple ). That night we go to Khan el Khalili markets for shopping before heading to a hotel for the night.

20/02: Transfer to the airport for final departure back to Rome!

21/02: Spend the day in Rome before heading back to Luxembourg!

Yikes, I cannot wait. I am ready to see the sites and see a culture. It's a once in a lifetime type of trip!

Rothenburg

2010-02-09T02:39:00.000-08:00

Speyer

2010-02-09T02:35:00.001-08:00

Nancy

2010-02-09T02:32:00.001-08:00

Trier

2010-02-09T02:30:00.001-08:00

France and Germany

2010-02-09T02:25:00.001-08:00

Oh, I am just overwhelmed by the thought of all that I have to write, so I promise to keep it as short as possible.

As I have explained before, every student at MUDEC is enrolled in a sprint mini-field tour class. This means we take a class three times a week until mid-March and spend five/six days traveling around with the class to points of interest. Classes include architecture, history, art, and music. I am enrolled in the history of witch-hunts in medieval Europe. You can only imagine the amount of Harry Potter references we make. For our class, we left last Wednesday for a cruise through the French and German countryside, stopping in Trier, Speyer, and Rothenburg, Germany and Nancy, France. We spent time in each city getting to know the major tourist attractions and how they applied to our newly acquired historical knowledge of the witch-hunts.

Our first stop was Trier, Germany, which is about 45 minutes away from Luxembourg and a popular day trip for MUDEC students. Right off the bat we were a little disappointed this was our first city, with other classes heading to Florence and Amsterdam. We could do Trier one day after class, no need to take time out of our trip to do it in now. However, we were all pleasantly surprised! Despite some dreary weather and a not-so-exciting lecture about Trier witch-hunts, Trier is an adorable town, with little cottages lining cobblestone roads and shopping galore. We also took time to see the local cathedral, one of the largest I’ve seen, and to see the Black Gate, a Roman ruin. It was also fascinating to be in a city where so much happened in terms of witch-hunts. Trier was one of the major areas where the witch-hunts were rampant, where entire villages were whipped out.

We then moved on to Nancy, France, my favorite city we visited. It was a picturesque and quaint French town, complete with outdoor cafes and fountains. The city centre was breathtaking, a large cobblestone square with golden fountains at each corner and four iron and gold gates to allow entrance. We were on our own for lunch before heading to a visit of the local archives, and Taylor and I had the most delicious meal I have had since I’ve been here. I have NO idea what I ordered, but it was amazing. The restaurant had old birdcages and silver wear glued to the ceiling, as well as old French advertisements glued to the walls and coffee mugs with fleur de lis patterns. PERFECT. We also were blessed with SUNSHINE. It was one of our first extremely sunny days since I’ve travelled. I actually think Nancy was the first time I’ve seen grown not covered by snow since I left Ohio in December. Ah, how spring taunts the horizon. Oh, and we did some educational stuff… But the pretty fountains blew that out of the wind.

Nonetheless, on a dorky historian side-note, we did get to see a document signed by Charlemagne. It was overwhelming to be in the presence of such an old piece of paper by someone who is so historically significant and changed the world as we know it today. The woman who gave the lecture was an expert on the witch hunts and arrived specifically in Nancy to explain the hunts to us. She read aloud a few of the cases, which I found fascinating. Once you get beyond the fact that this is not just a story from the past, but REAL people, it’s shocking to see how such things happened. Despite everyone being a little drowsy after delcious meals and being in a warm room, the lecture was pretty cool.

Our next city was Speyer, a small German town…. Somewhere? We didn’t do a very good job of examining a map before. Speyer (pronounced SHPY-ER in a scary German accent) seemed a little out of the way, but, again, we were all pleasantly surprised! There was some amazing shopping (sales are huge in Europe in late January and early February), a stunning cathedral, and an adorable main road. (Sensing a pattern here? Apparently those are three things I go for.) After a morning full of shopping, we met as a group for a traditional German lunch! Amelie, you’d be so proud. We all ate pretzals and sausage and good German beer. There was a funny miscommunication where some of the girls ordered a pepper dish. Expecting bell peppers, they were more than a little surprised when they were served massive portions of jalapeño peppers! It was great to sit with some of the girls on my trip and compare what we had bought and really get to know one another! After another delicious meal (us broke college students LOVE our meals) we headed to our main purpose of the trip to Speyer- a museum exhibit based solely on hexen, or witchcraft and the hunts. We were all pretty excited for the museum, only to be relatively shocked to find the entire exhibit was in German. I wished hard for Amelie to appear, but to no avail, and had to use my French and English comprehension to translate some of the captions… again, to no avail. It was pretty cool though. There was some really old examples of witch craft proof (mandrake being one, thank you JK Rowling.) The most interesting thing I saw in the museum was a stack of wood that would have been required to burn a person alive and a looped video that shows how towns people would watch the burnings and react. There is a lot of wood that is needed, and seeing how some of the “peasants” would start the execution by cheering, but be disgusted by the end, really demonstrated the reality of the hunts and the horrors that accompanied it.

Our final destination was Rothenburg, Germany. Taylor had looked up all our cities in a tour book beforehand, but couldn’t remember if anything was mentioned about Rothenburg. Alas, it ended up being the most adorable city by far! A true medieval village, Rothenburg looks like a giant gingerbread metropolis surrounded by town walls and draw bridges, with a stone town hall presiding on the hill. The houses and buildings looked as if they were made of gingerbread, with white icing trim adorning the A-frames and windows highlighting shopping deals and local delights. One of the most attractive aspects of the windows, they showcased schneeballen, a giant pastry ball of fried dough covered in various toppings, from marzipan to dark almond chocolate. Oh dear goodness, God blessed such a place!

We got into the city on Friday night and the entire group decided to do a little exploration of the night scene. I entered a hotel to ask a receptionist where to go in town or what clubs and bars she recommended. She looked at me shocked and goes “somewhere for young people in Rothenburg?” I nodded and she laughed and goes, “…well, there’s one place?” Despite this initial negative outlook, the whole group found a pleasant little bar with cheap drinks and enjoyed on another’s company and getting to know the group! Saturday we got up and met up with another witch historian from England, who flew in to explain the trials and medieval crime and punishment to us. It was really interesting and it was fascinating to see the different between the trials in Trier and Rothenburg- everything was relatively low-key in Rothenburg in comparison. After a tour of the medieval town hall, a group of girls and I decided to grab lunch at a traditional restaurant and warmed up with some delicious soups and sandwiches. We then headed to the museum.

I have mixed feelings on the museum. It was a Medieval crim and punishement exhibit, highlighting both methods of torture and punishment. I had a difficult time looking at the torture devices and quickly skipped ahead to other areas of the museum. The most interesting part was the non-violent punishment showcase. This included:
-Chastity belts for women who couldn’t remain faithful
-Masks that had large tongues and ears that would be locked onto a persons head if they were caught gossiping (Taylor and I confessed we’d have to be in those a lot…)
-Shoes made of metal they clamped on you that had bells on them so that everyone would know you were a fool
-An empty beer barrel that they fashioned into an outfit that they made men or women wear if they drank too much
-A wooden plank with two head holes, they would make a quarrelling couple be locked in it facing each other until they got along
While these were entertaining to see and funny to make fun of and threaten one another with, it really took away from the seriousness of the punishment. These didn’t just happen in movies but to real people in our past. Nonetheless, it was a fascinating exhibit just to see how far law has come!

That night we had a few bottles of wine with a group of girls and really got to know one another and had a blast before leaving the next day for the six hour trip home!

Overall, it was a great trip. I was very hesitant at first, but was so happy that everything turned out great. The cities were gorgeous, the shopping was fabulous, the girls were tons of fun, and the educational aspect was interesting! What more can I ask for?

Now, only one more week of class before I’m off to Rome and Egypt for Carnivale Break! Can you say “blessed existence”?

photolove

2010-02-02T00:31:00.001-08:00

Amsterdam

2010-02-02T00:26:00.000-08:00

Oh, Amsterdam, where to begin?

It’s a city of the imagination, college students desiring to experience the “red-er” side of the city, while art enthusiasts clamor to such exhibits as Van Gogh. From Amstel to Heineken to relics of a Third Reich past, Amsterdam is a city for all generations and all tastes- soon demonstrated by our random collection of activities throughout the weekend.

After a hurried run and a frantic search for the train to Brussels, Belgium on Friday, Taylor, Sarah, Brooke, Casey and I began our voyage to the mythical land of the Netherlands. Then, after a quick stop in the capital of waffles and chocolates, we caught the train to Amsterdam, arriving in the city at around 10 pm.

I was breath taken. This was my first canal-based city in Europe, and I can’t even begin to describe my obsession with the small rivers creeping around the city, the quaint houseboats, and the gorgeous townhouses lining the cobble stone roads. I snapped pictures (yes, even more than usual) of everything in the city that had so quickly stolen my heart.

However, there is another side of Amsterdam, as we soon discovered as we made our way to the Bulldog, our hostel located in the heart of the red light district. When they call it the red light district, they aren’t exaggerating. Red lights line the windows of special cubbies, occupied by scantily clad women. And, the smell of marijuana is never far. Despite the questionable location, our hostel was nice, a very populated and happening place, centrally located and comfortable (despite a snoring 35 or older man living in our room…)

Saturday morning, we all rolled out of bed to fresh fallen snow and a shining sun- nothing better for a day of site seeing in January! It as just beautiful, the canals looking even more like a Christmas Wonderland of old times. Our first stop was the Van Gogh exhibit. We figured out the tram system and made our way to a classier museum district, awed by the views of the city through the windows of the train. The Van Gogh exhibit was cool- it was fascinating to see real paintings done by such an acclaimed artist. Overall, what I took away most, was the supportive and inspiring relationship between the sick Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. A photograph in the museum showed their two gravestones, side by side. Most of what we know about Van Gogh is from his correspondences with his brother, who supported him financially and emotionally. We were a little disappointed with the museum however as we were all dying to see Starry Nights. After leaving, I Googled the location of the painting, having expected it to be in the Amsterdam exhibit. Turns out, the painting is located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Serves me right for heading to Amsterdam to see the painting, when all along its in my own backyard.

We then heading to the famous I AMsterdam letters. They are really just a site for tourist photographs, with the I and the AM in red and the rest in white. The letters are large enough for you to climb through and take some cutesy photos. I set my paparazzi photographer (Spencer Kubin) up and modeled with the girls for a wonderful photoshoot that’s made for the photo albums!

Then we headed to the truly educational part of the trip- the Heineken Experience at the Heineken Brewery. I was a little hesitant for this, after having done the Guinness tour in Dublin, I felt that I had done every brewery tour. I am thankful my friends were desperate to try their first sip of beer and for persuading me to join them. It was AMAZING. I had so much fun going through the exhibit/interactive museum. After ignoring the tedious process of how to actually make the beer, I learned about the marketing history and the plans for Heineken’s future, as well as a delightful visit to the Heinken bar at the end. We also took part in a 4-Dimmensional ride where the museum “brews you” by having you go through the process. Great laughs, great beer, and great friends. What an amazing last event for the day!

After a really healthy dinner Saturday- I have never seen more delicious baked goods or cheese dipped French fries than I did in Asterdam- we enjoyed the night life and headed to bed early. It’s difficult traveling so much, we’re starting to get tired! (God forbid)

Sunday we decided to split up, with half our group heading to the Amsterdam Zoo (which I heard was pretty incredible) and the rest of us (Kubin, Casey, and myself) going to the Anne Frank House. As most know, Anne Frank was a 13 year old German/Dutch Jew who went into hiding in the back of her father’s business building with her mother, father, and sister, and four other Jews, during Hitlers occupation of the Netherlands. After two years in hiding, their location was betrayed and the group of 8 were sent to concentration camps, all of them being killed except for Anne’s father, Otto, who had her diary published. We felt it was important to see the house, despite the depressing content, as an educational experience and understanding the personal side of the mass genocide that cursed Europe in the mid-century.

Nothing in the house was unexpected, as we viewed the 6 or so rooms the family lived in for two years. It was smaller than expected and unfurnished since the Nazi’s ripped it apart. However, it was eerie being the exact same room in which such an innocent victim lived and wrote her timeless words of growing up. I’m really happy we visited such a historic location, even with, if not especially because, the heavy weight it left on us as we left.

We caught a 3 pm train home from Amsterdam and were safe back in Luxembourg no later than 8:30.

What an amazing weekend though. I realized I was not a fan of some of the things Amsterdam is infamous for, but overall the canals stole my heart and the fresh fallen snow put me in a refreshed and obsessed mood!

After the quick turn around, we leave tomorrow for our Mini-Field tours! I’ll write more about that later, but wish me luck!

you are my sunshine

2010-01-27T06:05:00.001-08:00

We saw our first rays of sunshine in Luxembourg today. I woke up and looked out my window and couldn't figure out why everything looked so weird. SUN! It felt wonderful against my face this morning, despite the frigid temperatures as I waited for the bus. I even appreciated the train ride, as I saw the gorgeous Luxembourg landscape from an entirely different perspective. Oh, the changes good weather can make!

explanation

2010-01-26T02:57:00.000-08:00

Read down for Munich and Salzburg! The first post is pictures from Salzburg, the second post is pictures from Munich, the third post is getting to Munich, the fourth post is being in Munich, and the fifth post is Salzburg and back to Luxembourg!

cheese!

2010-01-26T02:55:00.000-08:00

Salzburg

snap, snap

2010-01-26T02:51:00.002-08:00

1. The Residence. 2. The Old Town Hall. 3. The Glockenspeil. 4. Our new Japanese friends! 5. The station we were stuck at.

Munich and Salzburg!

2010-01-26T02:51:00.001-08:00

I’ve been lazy. I can’t help but let the hours pass me by and discover at least one more thing to do to procrastinate my readings, emails, and blog.

But, I’ve finally settled down, caught up on some sleep and, reluctantly, homework, and am ready to talk about my weekend in Munich and Salzburg! You know it’s a great weekend when you not only hit up two cities in two days, but two countries. Phew.

SO. Friday was basically a day of trains and traveling. And, in my opinion, one of the best times I have had so far. We ran from the chateau to the Differdange train station, then the train in Luxembourg to our first train to Trier. It is very difficult living in a country where most announcements are either in German or Luxembourgish. However, we have all adjusted very well and have learned to just tune out all announcements and wing it. A great strategy, honestly. So, despite Ally’s desperate cries to try to listen to the announcement we all continued with our card games and Sound of Music viewings. That was, until the conductor came down the rows and explained, in broken English, that a train in front of us had broken down so we had to get out at an earlier stop and find a bus to Trier. Which would take as an extra hour. And our connection was in around a half hour. Uh oh.

So, our large group, backpacks on, water bottles in hand, and an unbroken spirit, found a German bus across the border, and slowly but surely made it to Trier station. To our unshocked dismay, we had missed our connection. After a few minutes of lost in translation directions, we hopped on another train, and had instructions to get of in Schweic, Germany.

Now, a lot of Europe is gorgeous. Stunning, really. Quaint old towns or impressive sky scrapers or star striking nature. Schweic is not on that list. Let’s just say we were a little nervous with graffiti lined walls, boarded windows, and stray Rottweilers. After thirty minutes of agonizing worry that we would be stuck in Schweic for the night, our train came. Thus began our long winded trip to Munich.

The train ride was amazing fun. The girls took a car to themselves for a little while and enjoyed conversation and a few glasses of wine. On our second connection train, we started to make friends. We sat in a car with two Japanese tourists who spoke very little, hardly any, English. Good news: they knew Lady Gaga and Backstreet Boys. Thus began our blasting music, screaming song lyrics, and laughing hysterically leg of the trip. The boys said they could hear us all singing all the way down the train. My abs hurt from the laughing workout.

Eventually, after four connections, including a bus, we made it successfully to Munich, Germany and checked into our hostel, the Wombats.

beerfest

2010-01-26T02:50:00.003-08:00

Despite a late night out for some, as a whole our group rallied and left our hostel to attend a free tour of the city from the city center. My mom has continuously told me how much she loved Munich and was not able to spend enough time visiting, so I was anxious to see such a beautiful and popular city. Munich is about the exact size I expected, but the old city center is small and wonderfully charming. It is interesting to see how in these old European cities there are center sections that are pedestrian only, filled with cobble stone roads and old monuments. We don’t get that kind of charm in New York City or Oxford, Ohio.

The center of Munich was very cute, and there is no comparison to the New Town Hall. Built in a gothic style, its overwhelming magnitude and decorations is enough to make your neck ache as you continue to look up at the looming clock tower. And there is nothing like this clock tower. The Glockenspiel, a major tourist attraction, goes off every morning at 11 am and is accompanied by 15 minutes of life-sized mannequins dancing and jousting and bells and music. And, in my tourist fashion, it is not overrated whatsoever and I could have watched the hypnotic and entertaining show for an hour.

Despite enjoying the Glockenspiel, I have to say, the winter weather and gray clouds dampened my Munich experience. The city center was gray and empty and it was hard to take your time and look around with cold wind nipping at your fingers and nose. I couldn’t help but imagine how adorable the city would be with Christmas Markets in December or cafes being open and people enjoying the sun in the spring and summer.

To battle the weather, we decided to apply a pub crawl method to beer halls in the city of Munich. First stop, the Hofbrauhaus. Historically the royal brewery of the kingdom of Bavaira, the Hofbrauhaus is a prime example of continued Bavarian heritage, complete with lederhosens, live music, and weiner shnitzel. We tried out first white veal sausage and sauerkraut. Not bad! And of course, our first liter of fresh beer. A full-blown glimpse into German culture in my mind. We then moved on to a few more beer halls, tasted a few more beers, and loaded up on pretzals.

We also visited the Residence, the home of the German elector and a palace in its own right. Reminiscent of Versailles, the walls were decorated in gold, statues littered the hallways, and I couldn’t help but hope that when I got back from Europe my room would look similar to the red velvet room in the palace, complete with an over-sized canopy bed. It was really cool, and I’m really glad we did it! I really think it has rivaled any other palace I’ve been in.

That night we returned to the Hofbrauhaus with the entire group. Before finding an Italian bachelor party and having Scotty be virtually adopted by a German family, we enjoyed a low key night of good conversation and good food and booze.

the hills are alive

2010-01-26T02:50:00.001-08:00

The Hills are Alive

Sunday morning was rough. There is no other word to describe it. A shrilling 6:30 alarm, a flustered gathering of belongings, and a frantic rush to a train ensued. We hopped on a 7:15 am train towards Salzburg, the home of the Von Trapp family!

Two in our group had signed up to attend the Sound of Music tour, while the rest of us opted to explore on our own. We’re traveling! We rented out lockers at the train station to store our fully-packed bags (a very nice feature of the Salzburg train station) and made out way to the historic city center.

Situated right along a river and surrounded by the mountains, it is no wonder Salzburg is considered one of the most beautiful European cities. The little shops are sideby side, lining cobble stone streets and decorated by intricate signs portraying what was inside. These ornate signs were hung directly above the shops and were adorned with black iron or gold coverings or bright colors, labeling a butcher, a patisserie, or even McDonalds. Not to kill the HP reference, but I was feeling a little like Diagon Alley.

We decided to climb to the top of the hill overlooking the city to the 900 year old fortress that guarded the Austiran kingdom. The fortress, Honensalzburg, was also the castle that housed the royal family and acted as a defense and watch tower. It was massive! And very, very old. My history major self was loving it, as I have noticed I am really drawn to pre-modern history, specifically the Dark and Middle Ages. We saw princely rooms, the torture chamber, and the watchtower, which gave a breathtaking view of the city. Too bad we had a cloudy day, or we would probably have been able to see the mountains and had a more beautiful view of the gardens below.

After an accidental split in the group, Kate, Spencer, Jordan and I went for lunch at a small café we found down an alley. It was adorable, I was so in my element. It had heaters outside and flannel blankets on the chair to cover your laps. There were evergreen decorations and old Christmas lights, as well as a never ending supply of lates and croissants. Heavenly. It was by far my favorite place I saw all week. I love those cozy, European cafes.

We caught a train from Salzburg to (eventually) Luxembourg, arriving home about 10 hours later. Despite the long trip, I enjoyed the train rides, as it gives us time to relax, catch up on some sleep, and maybe attempt some homework, but more lately play card games.

Overall, what a weekend! It felt nice to sleep in my bed Sunday night (though it was only for four hours before my alarm went off for Monday class) but I’ll never forget such beautiful cities and am trying to suppress my strong desire to go back in the spring! There are still so many other cities to see!

and we're off!

2010-01-22T02:19:00.000-08:00

Just a slight hello before we continue our jet-set across the European continent.

Luxembourg has continued to be great. I know we are all running a little ragged, barely functioning on no sleep and in cold weather. But, classes have been interesting, homework has been mostly minimal (besides history of witch hunts, which is kicking my booty) and the food has increased its edibility and eligibility.

Overall, I think everyone is ready for the weekend. We are starting our trip at exactly noon, heading to Munich for Friday and Saturday nights and then Salzburg for Sunday. Here we go!

Interlacken photography

2010-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

Lux love.

2010-01-20T04:58:00.001-08:00

where I spend my time!

2010-01-20T04:54:00.000-08:00

The castle where I take classes and my room in my host family's house!

walk this way

2010-01-20T04:40:00.001-08:00

In New York City, jay-walking is an integral part of life. In Oxford, people don't even know there's a name for the crime. In Luxembourg, they actually wait for the little man to turn green before stepping foot on the perilous road. It blows my mind how they all wait so patiently on the sidewalk, as no cars approach. My just don't have that kind of will power and am forced to restrain myself from bolting across the road just to cause a scandal.

Interlacken: Friday Travels

2010-01-18T03:32:00.001-08:00

Oh, goodness. What a weekend. I have divided these entries up into Friday, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday, so just keep reading down!

If you want to skip the bajillion word essay that is to follow, the summary of my time in Interlaken is: I want to move to Switzerland, adopt a Burmese Mountain dog, and live on Swiss chocolates.

I have never been more excited for a weekend. Phi Delt’s formal in Gatlinberg was close, but God knows Switzerland trumps the Tennessee card. We caught a 4:00 train from Luxembourg City to Basel. Now, I know I take class in a castle and already want to run around screaming “Expalliraumus” and waving my wand, being on the train just magnified it. We were on the Hogwarts Express in our little cars with a little trolley truck serenading us every hour. We had made reservations beforehand, which was clutch. If not, we would have been stuck sitting the aisles or standing as the train got so crowded.

One of the American studies classes offered in Luxembourg is the study of European tourism. According to the students in the class, the teacher goes into depth about the difference between traveling and touring. Our transfer to our second train in Basel was a fresh breath of traveling. We had about 15 minutes to gather all our large backpacks (those darn American tourists) sprint across the train station, and in that sprinting from France to Switzerland, and hop on another train to Interlaken. Scary, but so much fun, and a lesson in traveling! We safely made it to the train, thanks to kind instructions from a 15 year old in our train cart.

Accepting we were the obnoxious Americans on the train, we continued to have a great time getting more and more excited as our ears popped and the train climbed higher into the Alpine altitude. We made it to Interlaken by 10 pm, not too bad!

We had made reservations at Balmer’s in Interlaken, one of the highest-ranking hostels in Europe. Our consensus at the end of the weekend was that it deserved such applause. Imagine a wooden cabin, attached to taller wooden cabins, built by the Swiss Family Robinson (hah, didn’t even realize they were Swiss, how ironic) with hammock hang outs, bonfires, a distoteque downstairs, a mirror room for card playing, a beer garden, and staircases and hallways popping out of all directions in the most discombobulated manner. It was beautiful.

After dropping our large backpacks we headed down to the discoteque (no one saw that coming) and bought our first Swiss beer. However, to my shock and disappointment, I was carded at the bar. Upon asking the age to drinking in Switzerland and finding out it was 16, I was more than a little embarrassed to tell him that it had been half a decade since I’d been under the drinking age. His answer, “but you look so young!” Despite the small bump in the road, we jammed and boogied and got down that night to some American old school music.

Welcome to Switzerland!

Saturday Morning Mania

2010-01-18T03:30:00.000-08:00

Spencer Kubin is synonymous with an alarm clock. At various times this weekend he acted as the wake up call to everyone. And, as kind as it was, I swear to goodness I shut my eyes and he was shaking me to get up at 6:30 to make sure we got to the mountain nice and early. Groggily and dehardratedly, we layered on everything we owned, from tank tops to Under Armor to those three new sweaters grandma got us for Christmas. With arms stuck straight out and a slight waddle, we grabbed a free breakfast, rented another layer of snow pants, and headed, cluelessly, to a train station to find our way to Grindelwald.

The boys had gone ahead, so we just hopped onto a train that looked like it was heading towards the mountains. Little to our knowledge was it the annual snow festival or something in the Alps and the world cup version of skiing was going on. Painted faces and people wearing flags squashed together in the trains, chanting and day drinking and excitement everywhere. We joined them and headed at a 90-degree angle up the side of the most beautiful mountains in the world. The half-hour train ride composed of gazing out the windows in awe, spotting yaks, and wondering if we wore too many layers.

Grindelwald was the most adorable and beautiful place I have ever been in my life. The hilltop town was spotted with wooden cottages, store fronts full of homemade chocolates, ski rentals owned by the friendliest people, and St. Bernard’s and Burmese mountain dogs everywhere. The backdrop to such an amazing place was the most astounding and awe-inspiring views, the Alps. These mountains just dwarfed everything around them and stuck straight into the sky. Can you say Christmas heaven? I could have walked around with my camera for four months.

After renting skis, we trudged to the gondola, and began our epic ascent of the mountains. Packed into the enclosed lift, we snapped photos and looked far below at the skiers beneath us. To my astonishment, the entire mountain was peppered with little log cabins, isolated from much of civilization but surrounded by such a view. It was my dad’s dream house.

Saturday Afternoon and Attempted Survival

2010-01-18T03:28:00.002-08:00

After allllll this, we began our day of skiing. Despite waking up at 6:30, we probably did not hit the slopes until close to 11:30. My first run was just amazing. I couldn’t help but stop and just say to Brooke, “my life is a joke.” How is it that I am here, skiing the Swiss Alps? My life is a giant vacation and I am beyond blessed. We slowly made our way down the mountain, stopping numerous times to shoot more pictures than our cameras can handle. (Don’t worry, I will post them all to Facebook even though they’re all of the same thing.)

Brooke and I were a little more confident in our skiing than the other girls, so when the boys miraculously spotted us from a chairlift, we decided it would be a good time to switch around our travel companions, Brooke and I heading of with Scotty and Sam, while Kubin joined the rest of our original group. Worst decision of our weekend, no offense to the boys. Brooke and I were doing just great, confident in our skiing, owning the greens and blues, and feeling high on life and light air. Oh no. Don’t worry, with these boys, survival was questionable.

We handled the beginning well. I tried to keep up, Brooke wiped out three or four times, but we were okay. Then, we got to a fork in the road and Sam decided to screw the fork, let’s make our own path down some fresh powder. About 10 feet deep. I followed hesitantly and made it down without incident. Scotty follwed. Brooke, however, had an epic wipe out. Just sliding down, losing a pole, laying in 10 feet of snow, and laughing at herself the whole time. We made it to the bottom, when to our dismay Brooke, terror in her eyes, informed us that she was missing her phone.

Goodbye, Blackberry. Hope you enjoy the Alps!

After a quick meeting to chastise Brooke for keeping her pockets open and to decide it was pretty hopeless, we made motions to try just once to retrace our steps. The boys would go back up the mountain and come back down, while we used my phone to call hers to see if someone would pick up. After the boys parted ways on their own search and rescue mission, I told Brooke it could be worse.

Me: Hey, it could be way worse.

Brooke: How??

Me: It could be your passport?
Brooke: silence.

Me: Right?

Brooke: Uh oh, that may have been in the same pocket.

Phone: gone. Passport: gone. Good time in Switzerland: well on its way out.

With a slight panic attack we weighed our options as we waited for the boys. We saw them on the top of the hill, beginning to work their way down to us, when Scotty wiped out. Sam pulled up to him. And as we watched, we heard the most miraculous sound.

“WE FOUND IT. Wait, AND your passport!”

Alas, both had been about 50 feet above us, right at the location where Scotty wiped out. Someone was looking down on us and laughing, teaching us all a lesson about keeping track of our stuff. Just a straight up miracle.

The situation went from enjoyable skiing, moment of terror, to utter joy. Thank goodness.

The rest of the afternoon was relatively uneventful: besides me getting stuck on a black run, losing both my poles and skis in the process, calling for help, having a German man ski my stuff down the hill for me, his 5 year old daughter skiing circles around me, and sliding down the rest of the mountain on my butt (thank goodness I rented snow pants.) But, beyond that, a great time!

We were exhausted by the time we made it back to the hostel. After grabbing a traditional Swiss dish of American pizza, we took a small nap, and rallied for the evening, celebrating our successful visit to our first European country as a group! What an amazing time, despite Kubin again acting as an alarm clock at 2 AM, but I’ll skip that memory for now.

Sunday Funday

2010-01-18T03:28:00.001-08:00

The title of this entry is in dedication to Katie Jo.

Although our phone alarms were set for 7 am, we didn’t have Kubin up and rallying everyone until around 9, when we booked it out of the hostel to avoid a late check out fee and made cautious plans to spend the day in Basel by catching an earlier train. After a confusing trip to the train station, we grabbed a noon train to the border town.

The train to Basel was just unfair. As we passed picturesque mountains to lakes that put Maine to shame, I felt that I was watching an episode of Planet Earth right outside my window. It’s just not fair that such beautiful things exist and people to get to live right there. The rivers were even the color of Ice Gatorade. You can’t make this stuff up.

Basel is located right on the border of France and Switzerland, with half the train station in one country and half in the other. Luckily, on the train there, we met an American couple from Wisconsin who recognized Yuker (a mid-West card game) the others were playing and struck up a conversation. Turns out they lived in Basel for a year and gave us the locations of some good places to eat and pointed us in the direction of the city centre.

We ventured into Basel, backpacks in tow, hopped on the trolleys of this wired town, and made our way to a quaint city centre and scavengered for somewhere to eat. This was the epitome of doing it live. We made a plan basically on the train, hopped off in an interesting looking town, and went with it. We had all we needed on our backs and each other to laugh about all the memories.

Basel was very adorable, with cobblestone roads and cafes lining the streets. We saw their stunning town hall draped in frescos and our mouths-watered outside the bakery and chocolatier windows. We have decided everything is cuter in Europe, from the towns to the shops to even the dogs and children. It’s just not fair.

Eventually, we caught the train to Luxembourg city, all of us finding time to nap or play cards. Ahh, down time at last!

We had such an amazing weekend it just wasn’t fair. I can’t help but think we had the best weekend first, because nothing can be as much fun as what we just did. However, I am holding my hopes high for Munich and Salzberg next weekend. I’ve got a great group of friends, a backpack full of clothes, and a semester to see it all!

Bonjour

2010-01-13T03:48:00.001-08:00

Everyone knows the stereotype about the French. Their thoughts on Americans overall, “les incompetent,” as Kevin MacCallistar’s older sister would say. It is enough to frighten any young college student with stammering French away. However, Luxembourg is different. The Luxembourgish people, as a whole, are very familiar with English. However, French is more in their comfort zone. As I stutter my way through directions and… well, basically directions is the sole thing I ask for… I can tell the Luxembourgish people are waiting patiently to understand and respond slowly so I can comprehend. Let’s just say, Madame Shmidt of Darien High School French would be proud- I’m finally utilizing the language and finding people who are helping me do so. Overall, I’m surprised at my ability to communicate. I have to say I have gotten the basics of “take a right” and “turn at the roundabout” down.

Saved by the Bell

2010-01-12T04:15:00.002-08:00

And with the end of orientation came the beginning of class. It sounds like the ultimate doomsday. Us young students, on our semester-long vacation, dreams dashed by the distinct memory of readings, homework, and exams. Ah, to rain on our parade.

However, despite this mentality, I was excited for class to start. I am a creature of habit, and class meant a schedule and a way for me to organize the fast-paced life I am now living. I am enrolled in the history of European witch hunts, the history of the Renaissance, the history of the rise and fall of Hitler, political science and the European Union, and a French text in context class. As nightmarish as these may sound to an outsider, I cannot help but say I’m pretty fascinated with the material.

Every student is required to take at least five classes, or 16 credit hours. Amongst these, they must take a language (German or French), a base course study, and a mini-field tour study. The base course study is a four credit hour class in history, music, art, American Studies, etc that will be one of your main classes for the semester. This class will meet during the week, and also in April will go on a weeklong tour of the places you may be study. The rise and fall of Hitler is my base course, and I will be visiting Cracow, Auschwitz, and Prague. Other classes go to Amsterdam, Rome, etc. The mini-field tour class is similar. It is a sprint class, meaning it only meets until March. In February, you go on a five-day trip with your class. My mini-field class is the history of the witch-hunts, and I will be travelling to towns in France and Germany, including Trier, where the hunts were the most active.

I only had one change to my schedule. Everyone has his/her mini-field tour class on Thursdays. However, most students only have this class. Therefore, when this class ends in March, people have the day off to do day trips around Luxembourg, France, and Germany. I was stuck in a 400 level class Thursday afternoons. I decided it would be in my best interests, and that of my travel itinerary, to switch to the political science and take a French class back in Oxford next semester. For anyone going to Lux in the future, this is definitely something to look for.

Overall, my classes are good. It’s difficult having class start at 8:45 after an hour commute. I also go straight from 8:45 to 4:00 with only a half hour break for lunch. At least the rest of my week will be easy. My witch-hunt teacher is a little intense with a lot of reading, but the material is interesting. Political science will be a three hour long class once a week, and the material is difficult since I have never taken a political science class before, but I think it will be very useful. French is what I am most excited for. I actually feel as though I am beginning to understand the language living here.

Okay, these blog entries get so long and I’m sure no one wants to read to the end, but I’ll be sure to keep posting!

Home Sweet Home

2010-01-12T04:15:00.001-08:00

We got to Gatwick the next morning by getting up at 3 am London time, God knows what time my body thought it was… but our flight ended up getting delayed anyway so we were at the airport for a good amount of time. EVENTUALLY we took off, got to Lux, and went straight to the chateau.

By now, our host mom is like our favorite person, is so nice, and is letting us use her Internet and is cooking us food. She’s 51 and divorced and her 24-year-old son lives with us. He is really nice and is trying to find a job, something we all know is hard to do in this economy. We each have our own bedroom and share a bathroom. Our house is in a nice little neighborhood, but is still only a 15 to 20 minute walk from the train and only a 5 minute bus ride. The good news is the bus is right outside our door.

We’re about 45 minutes from the campus, so we have to commute but omigoodness Lux City is GORGEOUS. I think it is more beautiful than any town I saw in Ireland. It is very old and all the buildings are stunning. It’s build over a ravine, so you can see everything. The city center is all cobblestone and small thin roads and cafes. It’s so adorable all dressed up in Christmas decorations, like a scene from Love Actually or something equally cheesy that I would totally cave to. The Gund is the bar district at the bottom of one of the ravines and built around a river, very old-European. I have been attempting to take pictures, but the near Artic temperatures are threatening to take my fingers if they are out of my gloves for too long.

Orientation was difficult. You really do hit the ground running from the second you get here. It’s three days long and composed of various activities, meaning you are up at 6:45 am and going until at least 7 pm. We catch a 7:50 am train with about a bajillion (maybe an over exaggeration) other Miami students and walk from the train station to the chateau in Differdange. Differdange is much larger than I expected, and very adorable. The chateau is actually smaller than I would have thought. It’s very classic looking, almost like a fairy princess’ home. The mornings of orientation are composed of some of the single most boring lectures I have ever sat through. I know the professors are doing their best, but there is only so many ways you can say “don’t be rude to your host family and don’t travel alone.” Despite some dreadful mornings, the afternoons have been much more interesting. The first day we did a walking tour of Luxembourg City, visited the Battle of the Bulge field sites and graveyards, and a wine tasting at a Luxembourg vineyard. The frigid temperatures made it a little difficult to enjoy the tour of the city, but it was beautiful. The graveyards were very cool for a history junkie like myself. The difference between the German and American grave sites was extraordinary. The German graves had four names per cross, you entered through a small iron gate, and it was all gray with no flags. The Americans, on the other hand, screamed patriotism with huge marble memorials and flags draping everything. We even saw George Patton’s grave. The wine tasting was by far everyone’s favorite (no one saw that coming.) The second day we visited a high school, listed to some lectures on something no one can remember, went to a military museum, and then a Catholic church to see the monks perform a chanting ceremony. This would have been much cooler if we all hadn’t been dead on our feet and unable to concentrate to the rythmatic lullaby. Overall, decent days!

Last night was our first night out, since jet lag was finally beyond us and orientation was over. Biggest reason to celebrate by far! We went with a large group of Miami students to two of the bars located in the Gund: Fire and Ice and Scotts. The amount of Americans at each bar can be demonstrated by the first song played: Welcome to Miami by Will Smith. Do you think they knew where we were from? Alcohol was more expensive than healthcare (okay, impossible, but it felt like it) and the music was 90’s retro, as well as throwbacks to Grease and Celine Dion- who can go wrong with those. It was about time we all had fun, and my happiness meter went from about 10 to 110.

Overall, the cultural change has been difficult. The Luxembourgish people do not believe in lights, heaters, long showers, closets, and Internet. Most of these being requirements in my life, I am slowly adjusting. However, I am adjusting! I’m excited to begin traveling and class starts tomorrow! I’ll be in touch when everything is more in pattern mode

off to a great start!

2010-01-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a little shaky.

Saying goodbye to everyone was hard, but that was eclipsed by my excitement to begin my life in Europe! My mom dropped me off at Newark, leaving our house at around 1:30 pm. (I did tear up a little saying goodbye to the dogs) I met my friend Cary at the airport to begin our long trek to our new home. We took a red eye from Newark to London Heathrow. Not too bad. We arrived at Heathrow at around 6 am local time then took a shuttle bus (only 20 pounds) to London Gatwick. Actually, it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought. And, the views of the British countryside covered in fresh snow were breathtaking. We were immediately enamored with London and the idea of the United Kingdom, referencing Jane Austin, Shakespeare, and Harry Potter (another classic) in almost every statement. However, the beautiful snow soon turned into a nightmare. All flights out of London Gatwick were canceled and Cary and I were thrown into a whirlwind of lines, non-working cell phones, an awful currency exchange, and trollies that made us want to look for Platform 9 and 3/4. Who knew that snowfall in London is the apocalypse and completely catastrophic as the entire city comes to a stand still. After hours and hours in the airport and about a billion dollars worth of long distance phone calls, we finally booked a sketchy hotel in Crawley, took a taxi, and arrived in a little inn connected to a pub. I felt like Carrie Bradshaw dropped in Ohio during a blizzard as I attempted to get all my luggage up the unshoveled path. However, we were too excited to see a bed with sheets after over 24 hours of traveling and passed out before our heads hit our pillows or our cell phones made it into the charger adapters. Now, we're waiting for our 7 am flight out of Gatwick before heading to straight to the campus in Luxembourg for orientation. Sigh. Welcome to Europe!

At least it's been entertaining.

here we go again...

2010-01-05T09:06:00.001-08:00

I'm off to Europe again this afternoon for four and a half months in Luxembourg! I will be studying at the Miami University Dolibois European Campus in Differdange, Luxembourg. There will be around 130 other Miami students with me on the program, and we’ll be dispersed into three Luxembourg cities, attending class five days a week at the university center. I will be living in Luxembourg City, a forty-minute commute from my classes, with a host family and rooming with my best friend Kate Kiyosaki. I am taking classes in history, art, and French while traveling all over Europe and northern Africa on the weekends.

For more information, visit http://www.units.muohio.edu/luxembourg/

Leave comments and email me! I love to hear from everyone.

the end

2009-08-24T09:12:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to write a final message about my trip to Dublin. I know it's been months, and I've started about thirteen entries to wrap up my travels. It's hard to put into words, and now so much time has passed. However, I feel like I've had words at the tip of my tongue since August about my final thoughts.

After some upsetting family news, I had to pull out of our presentation last minute. My group really stepped it up though, and the presentation went off without a hitch. I know the entire team of students felt great once everything was over. It was an amazing opportunity to work with the Digital Hub, but it was a ton of work, and I think everyone was a little eager to finish everything.

I was a little down for my last night in Ireland, but was eager to get back home and to my family to celebrate the life of my grandfather. I spent the last night figuring out travel plans to get to Maryland for my Pop's funeral and packing up everything sprawled around our apartment.

My flight out was not until later in the day when most of my roommates (and by most I mean all) were gone by 7:30 am. It gave me an entire day to my thoughts, on the past month and the difficult moments to come. It is needless to say I was anxious for my flight from Dublin Airport to Laguardia, New York. I was at the airport about four hours before my flight... woops. I was able to buy Twilight and (re)read the whole thing on the flight. Not too bad to pass the time.

I have never been so happy to see my mom, I felt like I was in a movie as we slow motion ran to one another and burst into tears. It was a difficult time, but being back with the family made me feel about a million times better.

Overall, my trip to Dublin was life altering. I had experiences that I will remember forever and the chance to share them with you. I made amazing friends, had an opportunity to work with dedicated and intelligent students on a great project, and saw a beautiful country with a fascinating past and an equally fascinating future.

I gotta say, I can't wait to head back to Europe in January!

2009-08-14T05:24:00.001-07:00

There are sometimes you just really want to be with your family.

website

2009-08-14T02:13:00.001-07:00

Also, our entire project is available on http://web.me.com/kirankripakaran/Home_Page/Interactive_Dublin.html. Kiran put the website together, I think he did a pretty great job, we're really proud of all the work we've done.

last day!

2009-08-14T01:41:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I have one last day here! It's absolutely ridiculous. It was nice to think it was my last day to wake up at 7:30 though, I am not going to lie. Today is our final presentation in which the sixteen of us will present to Digital Hub clientele our proposal and research. I'm a little nervous, I never am a big fan of public speaking. I feel pretty confident about our work however, so hopefully it all works out. We also finished our paper- 72 pages, baby! Woot woot. Feels good to check that of the list.

i just wanna dance with somebody

2009-08-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

1. the fiddle player 2. you can see how they open the screen so you can see the musicians 3. the dancers! 4. before hand, look how great out seats were

dance, dance

2009-08-13T14:31:00.001-07:00

Last night I went and saw Riverdance with three of the other girls on the trip. We were a little skeptical, but excited nonetheless. The show takes place in the Gaiety Theater by Grafton Street and were only 25 euros, so we decided to do a slight splurge and get acquainted with one of the biggest tourist attractions. The cheap tickets, however, gave us some pretty interesting seats. We were in the last row possible of the highest balcony. Thankfully it wasn’t a very large theater and we could stand since there was no behind us. The view wasn’t as bad as you would think. Irish dance is crazy. You always hear about how intense it is and how their legs don’t look like their attached their bodies. For some reason I was expecting a robotic performance after that explanation. But, it’s really a combination of tap dance and ballet, a much more flowing dance than I expected. They had a series of numbers, with all women, all men, solos and combinations in the first half. My favorite by far was an a capella type dance with all the men. There was no music but the stomping of their feet and it was so cool. Another dance was a partner dance that was like half acrobatic, the guys were lifting the women all over the place and spinning them like tops… it’s really hard to explain but it was so sick. We were a little confused as to whether there was a plot enough, but that did not take away from enjoying the dance sequences. There were also a series of musical pieces, with just singers. One of the female singers had one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard, it was super high soprano and you just got goosebumps listening to her. But, the real talent was the fiddle player. It was a young woman, and throughout the show the curtain blocking the music would rise and we could see them playing live. And, during a few scenes, she walked down and played in the center of the stage, all while playing intense fiddling. Overall, it was a really cool show and I’m really glad we went.

oy vey

2009-08-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Things have gotten a little tense for a lot of the groups working on this proposal for Digital Hub. We're all feeling very stressed right now, with a 50 page paper, a huge presentation on Friday, a website, and personal reflection essays all haunting our To Do lists. It's frustrating having so much work to do the last week when all we want to be doing is enjoying our dwindling time in Dublin. However, I am always one to love intense, pressure-filled situations, especially when writing and time crunches are involved. (Thank you, Miami Student.) It is interesting to see what people step up to do work, how people handle stress, and what skills and assets really come into play in the final days. I feel bad for the groups who work and live together- makes me pretty thankful for my awesome group! We have not had any drama whatsoever amongst ourselves and are so far ahead of the game- a pretty great feeling.

Overall, all this work is getting me a little less depressed about heading home in a few days (ah, so soon!) Mary Marshall and I were talking about how all the work here is helping us get ready for classes to begin again. And I, for one, know that I cannot wait to get back to Miami to see all the people I've been missing for so long! In the meantime though, I know how much I am going to miss Dublin. It's hard to think about leaving such a different and fun place.

omigoodness

2009-08-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I will be home in less than a week! Today was our last day off before we head home, and I am going to miss this place and these people a lot.

pub crawlin

2009-08-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had a lazy morning followed by a dead-end quest for tickets to Riverdance. Seven of us headed to the theater by Grafton Street to see the matinee of the Irish musical/dance show. However, the cheapest tickets were already sold out, so we decided against it. Instead, we bought tickets for Wednesday night, so we'll go then! Mary Marshall and I wandered around for a little, going in and out of a few stores and shops. After some quick dinner and a little rest up, a giant group of us reported to a pub crawl starting by Trinity College. . It was called the Backpacker Pub Crawl, designed so travelers could meet other travelers, a pretty nice deal! For ten Euros, a group of around 40 people were led by two tour guides to four pubs and a night clubs. We started at 8 and the crawl officially went until 12:30 with about an hour at each site. We got free cover and a bunch of drink specials, which was pretty ideal for us broke college kids. We just had so much fun. All the pubs were off the beaten path, so we got to go to a few places we had not been yet, which was really nice to branch out. I don't think I've laughed so hard or enjoyed the company of the people I am with so much as I did last night, it was just so much fun. The nightclub was packed and right in Temple Bar, so that worked out well, and we busted some moves on the dance floor and all that jazz before everyone heading home at around 3 am. I definitely would recommend doing a pub crawl, although I do wish we had done it earlier in our visit to find a few of the other pubs and maybe met some new people. Overall though, probably my favorite night out!

Today we slept in, did some grocery shopping, worked on a little of our stuff for our class project. Then, Mary Marshall and I went with Jena to get her tattoo! I was tempted to tell my mom I was getting one too, but decided against it. Jena got a butterfly/heart symbol on her foot, it was so fun to see it done, although I can't see myself getting one after having it described "a lot of bee stings."

Now, onto a little productive work for class again tonight and getting ready for our final week!

st. patrick's

2009-08-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

cathedral day

2009-08-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a little bit slower today. I was completely exhausted from the amount of work we've been doing. A lot of others went on various day trips to places across Ireland and Europe, but I stayed in Dublin and did a little bit of exploring. One of the guys on the trip, Kyle, and I decided to look at two of the cathedrals in Dublin. First, we went to St. Patrick's, one of the best known churches in Ireland. It is now a Protestant church, but was built as homage to St. Patrick, who converted pagan Irish to Christianity. It was a little bit of a tourist zoo, but beautiful nonetheless. I realized I'm obsessed with stained glass as I took countless pictures. There were also a ton of monuments all along the walls, including statues, busts, plaques, and even some of the windows. There was also this beautiful park right next to the church that we wandered around. There was a beautiful view of the buttresses and some colorful flowers. We then went to St. Auden. Not nearly as striking as St. Patrick's, it was still a pretty cool church. It's from the medieval ages, so you can see the original walls of Dublin and some pretty old grave sites. Overall, it was an interesting day, and I realized I'm really interested in old churches!

workin' that 9 to 5

2009-08-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

It's really crunch time for work right now! We have five more days after today to finish our project. Today we did our development presentations to explain to Digital Hub what exactly we have been focusing on. My group presented seven different visualization technologies that we think would be extremely beneficial to the company, as well as its clients. Now, we have to cipher down which ones of those technologies we really want to push and focus on the economic benefits and costs before our final presentation next Friday. We are also working on putting together our entire research and brainstorming history in a final paper, which I have been working on. Finally my interest in writing is getting a chance to flourish! I know that we will all be busy working next week, but for now, thank goodness the week is over. We have to celebrate our last weekend in Dublin!

2009-08-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

1 and 2. gardents in hyde park 3. on the serpentine

London 3

2009-08-03T12:01:00.001-07:00

1-3 at the ice bar! the third picture is my glow in the dark drink in my ice glass 4. our indulging dinner 5. cappachinos by the globe

London 2

2009-08-03T11:51:00.001-07:00

1. me, jena, mary marshall in front of tower bridge 2. tower of london 3. trafalgar square 4. buckingham palace gardens 5. our hostel

London 1

2009-08-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

1 big ben. 2. jena and i by london eye 3. london eye, big ben, and parliament building 4. parliament 5. changing of the guards

more dublin

2009-08-03T11:30:00.002-07:00

us all at the guinness factory and the land of leprechauns!

and a finale!

2009-08-03T11:30:00.001-07:00

Sunday was our last day in the city, but our flight wasn’t until 10:30 at night, so we were still able to enjoy the whole day.

We decided to take the time to have some breakfast in Hyde Park, visiting a little café right on the Serpentine called Lido. It was beautiful and very cute, with our little lattes and pastries. We then continued to wander around the park, enjoying the magnificent gardens that I know my Aunt Cindy would have loved. It was just so pretty, right out of a storybook.

We then headed back to the Covent Garden area, going to the market in the middle of the cobble stone square. It was packed, with a ton of street performers and a lot of boutiques to shop in. I loved the little sidewalk vendors with homemade arts and crafts, including hand painted views of London and black and white photography. We wandered around for a while, stopping to have lunch smack in the middle of the market place, enjoying an opera singer in the courtyard. Pretty amazing. Then, Jena and Mary Marshall decided to continue some shopping, so I headed to the National Opera House, Sommerset House, and St. Mary de la Strand. Just a few sights and photographs, all absolutely stunning, before we met up again to head back to our hostel to get our bags, catch a bus, and head to the airport.

We flew in and our of Gatwick airport, which was very easy to get to and from the city center. After flying in, we took the train, which was about 12 pounds, but really easy and quick. To get out of the city on Sunday, we took the bus, which was 7 pounds, but took a lot longer of time and was a little nauseating. I would definitely take the train if I were to go back. Gatwick was insane. I’ve never seen such a crowded airport. The lines were going out the doors and there were people missing their flights left and right. A lot of angry passengers to say the least. We were lucky since we didn’t have any bags to pack, but still we spent a lot of time waiting. The security was also super intense, with a ton of check points and about half the people going through getting patted down. But, we made it in time for our flight and got home right on time!

Overall, I just loved London. It’s a beautiful city and so much fun. We were exhausted from constantly being on the go, but it was so worth it. I really can’t wait to go back there while I am in Luxembourg next spring!

part deux

2009-08-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

The second day we woke up early again to get a jump-start on everything we wanted to do. We took the tube to the Tower of London. Now, little old dorky me was so excited. Part of the reason I’m a history major is because of all the stories associated with the tower, from Anne Boleyn to the two princes. So, needless to say, I was super excited. We got there, paid admission, and thought about taking a tour, but it was crazy crowded. There were like 50 people for each tour, so it seemed pretty pointless. Instead we wandered on our own through the entire fortress. I felt like a kid at a candy store, I was loving it. We went through what used to be the medieval castle part, then the defensive towers, then the crown jewels (amazing), then to the Bloody Tower where the princes were last seen. The weather was a little crummy though, which was the biggest bummer.

After being tourists, the three of us crossed the Tower Bridge. We legitimately thought it was London Bridge until we were half way across, and were dismayed to learn it was not the bridge in which the nursery rhyme was based. However, it was beautiful, and we loved the view. To get in the spirit, we also bought some roasted nuts (Mary Marshall’s favorite) and meandered through the tourists. After a quick stop for lunch and a dead-end search for a fashion museum, we continued down the Southbank until we reached Shakespeare’s The Globe. Admission was a little pricy, so instead we enjoyed a cappuccino in the Swan Café overlooking the famous theater.

We were dead tired from walking and it was pouring rain, but we ventured on for a little boutique shopping before heading back to the hostel to meet up with Taylor. The shopping was fun, except a little pricy when we took into consideration that one American dollar is worth like 50 pence.

We all passed out at the hostel for a little, then got dressed up and decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. We took my mom’s advice and headed to Covent Gardens. We wandered down a few roads and came across a pretty happening corner of the city. It was already pretty late, but the first restaurant we went into was perfect and serving until 11:30. We split a bottle of wine, ordered some delicious bread and oils, and enjoyed some refreshing salads we had been craving. It was such a great time, I had a blast with my awesome roommates and a little splurge.

Afterwards we booked it to Absolut Zero, an ice bar located in Picadilly Circus. We had reservations at 12:30 with Taylor. The bar is made entirely of ice. You get 40 minutes inside and they give you a cape and gloves to wear. The actually serving bar is ice, the walls are ice, the chairs and tables are ice, even the glasses they serve your drinks in are made of ice. It was so cool. I feel like everyone I know who has gone abroad has visited this bar, so we thought it may be overdone. But, it was just one of the coolest things I have ever done. We laughed a lot, took a ton of pictures, and enjoyed a pretty legit cocktail in an ice cub- can’t get much better than that!

just dropped down in london-town

2009-08-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend! For ever my mom has been telling me how much I would love London, and for ever I told her I didn't think I would. Well she was right. Again. What else is new?

Jena, Mary Marshall, and I landed in London right as it was getting dark, but were able to find out hostel without incidence. We stayed at Astor Quest right near Hyde Park. We stayed in an 8-person co-ed room. Our hostel was located just north of the park, but an easy distance from Bayswater tube station. It was our first visit to a hostel, and at first I think we were all out of comfort zone, not really knowing what to expect and being relatively paranoid about theft. However, taking into account cost and how little time we actually spent there, it worked out really well! Our roommates were also pretty nice. We had one empty bed, two guys from Holland, a girl from Brazil, and another man from France, who had actually been there for quite some time.

The first night we wandered around the neighborhood a little, ducking into a few bars and enjoying our first London cocktail. However, it was really late and we were exhausted from travelling, so we headed home early.

Friday was our first full day in the city and we tried to make the most of it. We walked through Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. The park was gorgeous, and much larger than we expected. There were so many dogs everywhere, I know it made Mary Marshall and I a little bit homesick for our pups. But the Serpentine River was just stunning and we enjoyed walking at a somewhat leisurely pace. We got lost a few times, but finally made it to the palace.

Buckingham was legitimately like Disney World. It was just a mob of people all speaking different languages trying to get a glimpse of the guards. We didn’t really get a good look at anything, but it was quite an experience.

From there, we wandered through James Park, took pictures with the guards who don’t smile, stopped for a drink, and headed to Parliament and Big Ben. It was beautiful, way more beautiful than I had expected. I feel like you see pictures of these things all the time, but in real life it was even more than picturesque. We each probably took about 500 photos, and wandered around the entire building and Westminster Abbey. The parliament building wasn’t open for tours, which was a little bit of a bummer. We also crossed the bridge to see it from the other side, and got quite a view of the London Eye. We contemplated doing the entire Ferris wheel ride, but ultimately decided against it. We stopped at an adorable little place on the Southbank for lunch, not spending too much money but having some good food.

After lunch we did another leisurely walk (a theme in our vacation) back to Buckingham Palace. Since it’s summertime and the queen is on vacation (Jena was bummed, she really wanted to try to meet the queen…) the palace was open for tours! Just the staterooms, but one of the most amazing things I have ever done. The sheer magnitude of the rooms, as well as the intricacy of the decorations that adorn every corner of the palace, was overwhelming. We went through ballrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, as well as were able to view the entrance of a secret passage and some of the gifts the queen has received from other nations as part of a special exhibit. No photos were allowed, which was a huge bummer, but I don’t think I’ll forget those sights. I think my favorite part was the portrait galleries where we got to see original paintings of Queen Victoria and her family, as well as older paintings dating back to Queen Charlotte and King James I.

We headed back to the hostel to meet Taylor, one of the guys from our Dublin trip who was also staying with us at the hostel. After quick relaxation, we headed to a cheep pizza and pasta joint (yay for attempting to save money) and then headed to Picadilly Circus. We found a bar my friend Amelie had recommended, enjoyed a few drinks, and wandered around the area of a little bit.

Overall, I feel like I really got a grasp of the tube system in London. I thank the heavens I understood New York City better after this summer, I really feel like it helped me navigate London; especially since I feel that the tube system is easy than the New York subway.

oh goodness, my guinness

2009-08-03T04:29:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on!

First thing's first. Last week was relatively calm. A lot of working on our project for the Digital Hub, sprinkled with a few visits to The Pale pub down the street. We have made a lot of progress on what we are going to present to the company, and now we are in our final stretch. My only real complaint about work is that they are very long hours. We work 8:30 to 5:30, which makes it very difficult to explore Dublin at all during the week. Most tourist sites close at 5 or 6 and we can't really go out too late since we have to be up relatively early. However, since we don't work on Fridays, we have found time to explore.

Anyway, on Thursday before we left for London, our class did a group trip to the Guinness factory for a tour during our lunch break. Digital Hub hooked us up, so we didn't have to pay for the tickets which was clutch (especially since I'd just been there a few weeks before with the family!) It was pretty cool, again. We took a guided tour which was different. I am a bigger fan of leading yourself through the factory after doing both, you get more time to explore. We were a little rushed with the tour. Then again, it was completely packed when we went through. However, I had a great time at the Gravity Bar (glass bar with 360 degree view of Dublin) with the roommates, and really enjoyed seeing the whole place again!

After work we raced to get ready to leave for the airport. Our flight was at 7:45, so it was difficult, but luckily we made it! I'm going to split up these blog entries just because there is so much to say about Londontown!

'arry potter

2009-07-30T03:01:00.000-07:00

Last night, Kyle, Kiran, and I decided to venture to the north of side of the Liffey to find a movie theater. After about twenty minutes of wandering (we didn't get very good directions before we left, apparently) we finally found this movie theater to find Harry Potter 6. A lot of things in Dublin are smaller than things in the United States, such as small specialized butchers and bakeries instead of supermarkets. However, I have never in my life seen such a movie theater. You have to pick out seats when you buy your tickets (but reduced prices for students!) and then we were in theater 10. Out of around 30-some screens. It was about 5 floors, and you went down long hallways that reminded me of airport terminals to find where you were going. There were even waiting room areas, just like a loading area for a plane. There was also an ice cream parlor, a diner, the traditional movie concession stand, and a bar. Yup, a bar. Too Irish. But, we had a great time, made it right as the movie was starting, and got to enjoy HP in the European atmosphere it was created. Afterwards, however, we found a way to get lost again. We wandered O'Connell street before finding the Liffey. Walking along the river we saw an interesting collection of people, as the streets were crowded and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The city is gorgeous at night by the river, with the Ha'Penny bridge all lit up and the colorful storefronts illuminating reflections along the water.

lost my heart to a galway girl

2009-07-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, most of the kids in the program headed to The Pale (pub down the road) from some live traditional Irish music. We all ordered our pint of Guinness and gathered around a makeshift band, composed of around six older men, each playing a different instrument. With a guitar, a banjo, a traditional Irish drum, and many other unnamed apparatuses, the group sang ballad after ballad. It was so much fun to listen to how the regulars in the pub joined along, sometimes even going and sitting down with them and leading them in song. We saw a few local drunks as well, but all in good Irish fun. Can't wait for next Tuesday night! I think we've found a favorite weekly pastime.

photography overload

2009-07-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

1. spire 2. north of the liffey 3. ha'penny bridge 4. molly malone 5. me, jena, and mary-marshall in the temple bar district

christ church crypt

2009-07-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

christ church

2009-07-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

viking life

2009-07-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

1. dublina, viking museum

exploring!

2009-07-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

1. st. stephen's green 2 and 3. grafton street. 4 and 5. dublin castle

2009-07-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

This morning was ridiculous as none of us could get out of the bed. We loved being so lazy (as we dread another week of waking up early for work) and just bonded in our rooms, laughing about the night before, and procrastinating being the first to hop in a cold shower.

At around 3:30, Jena, Mary Marshall, and I finally rolled out of bed, got our lives together, and headed to O’Connell Street. The street is north of the Liffey and a long, tree-lined boulevard that used to be the center of the town. During the Easter Rising a lot of the old buildings were destroyed, but there is still a ton of shopping and in the middle of the road is a sidewalk decorated with monuments of important people in Irish history. There is also the Spire, a hugely tall monument-thing that is about a bajillion feet high (slight exaggeration) but is really modern and cool looking. We walked up and down and did some more shopping (the bug bit us this last few week).
We also walked along the River Liffey for a while, enjoying a beautiful view of the colorful buildings lining the water. We also crossed the Ha’Penny Bridge, one of the most photographed places in Dublin. It was pretty cool.

Now we’re home, gathering our thoughts, uploading photos, and in my case, uploading the blog!

TGIF

2009-07-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

It has been quite an exhausting weekend!

Friday night we headed to a few of the bars in the Temple Bar District. It’s so crazy busy there at night, I can’t even explain. It’s also been an extreme mad house here because U2 is performing in Dublin this weekend. As you can imagine, they have quite an Irish following, and the amount of people milling around in U2 tee shirts is ridiculous and there are a ton of cover bands performing at every bar. We came home a little bit on the earlier side after hitting up a few nightclubs and a pub, but overall, great night!

We’ve been having a series of late-starts this weekend, because Saturday morning again we didn’t get up and get out until around 1 or 2. My three roommates, a girl from the room next to us, and I headed straight to Dublina, a Viking museum located in Christ Church Cathedral just a block from our apartment. It was pretty cool (dorky history major part of me kicking in right now.) Did you know the word slave comes from Slavic people because so many of them were captured and sold into slavery by the Vikings? Or that the swastika is based off of a Viking symbol because Hitler idolized the blond-haired blue-eyed Viking people. The museum was also a little scary, kind of more like a haunted house. It was composed of all these wax figures acting out daily Viking life. Pretty scary when you’re actually near them.

From there we went and toured Christ Church Cathedral. It was absolutely stunning. I was partial to the intricate floor tiles and the colorful stained glass. There were at least fifty windows highlighting chapters of the bible, and the rose window was, ah I can’t even describe it! I’m such a dork. But everyone really enjoyed it. It was much larger than I had expected. We also went down into the church crypt. Another creepy aspect of our day. It was so cool though. All underground, it had a ton of memorials where people were buried. Also, there was all this old stuff the church used to use or hide during dangerous times, including jewels and gold coffers. Pretty legit. Oh, and the best part was a mummified cat and rat that got stuck in the organ pipes. You can tell how it looks like one was chasing the other.

After the church we headed to Temple Bar District to have lunch at Quays, a traditional Irish restaurant. A little more on the expensive side, but a nice treat. Then Jena, Mary Marshall, and I headed back to Grafton Street to explore a little more vigorously, stopping by the beloved Molly Malone statue.

After a ton of walking, we headed home and made a classy dinner of white wine and pasta. Everyone goes out really late here, so we didn’t even head to the bars until after midnight. But we went to this super intense dance club that I had seen when my parents and brother were here. It was four floors with a roof top terrace. We met up with the guys in our program and got our groove on the dance floor. It was a late night, but I have never laughed so hard with my awesome roommates.

sightseeing galore

2009-07-24T16:33:00.001-07:00

Today was crazy busy!

It was our first day to sleep in, and we took advantage of it for sure. None of us set our alarms or anything, so the first one of us to wake up was Krista who rolled out of bed at 12:30. Might have had something to do with all of us going to bed at around 3 AM, but still…

We then proceeded to go find a café for breakfast, and settled for an adorable little one in the Temple Bar District.

After a late breakfast (closer to a lunch, let’s be honest) we got our acts together and headed out for some old Dublin sightseeing.

First stop was the Dublin Castle (take 2 for me). We got tickets for a 4:45 tour, and it was already 4. So we went to an Asian art exhibit in Chester Beatty library. It was pretty incredible A lot about the religions in China, India, and Japan- so I was fascinated. Then we went on the tour of the castle (my second one in less than a week)- but it’s such a cool place, I loved even my second tour. And got some great photo opportunities in the throne room.

We then headed to Grafton Street. This is a closed-off, pedestrian-only road with shops galore. We tooled around for oven an hour, just wandering in and out of the shops. It was such an awesome place, with live music every ten steps and more crowded than Times Square. At the end of Grafton Street we found St. Steven’s Green. It is one of the most picturesque parks I have ever seen. It has ponds, gazebos, wild flowers, and swans. Basically, Narnia. Just so magical.

At this time it was already around 8 PM, and we were dead on our feet from the miles of walking. We grabbed some McDonalds (how American of us) and went home for some naps and Skype dates. Now, time to explore Temple Bars on a Friday night!