Monday, April 27, 2009
just fyi
Hello all. Just so you know, I have a 20 page paper due on Friday. As such, it is unlikely that I will be updating this before then. Not to worry, I have hand-written accounts of the trips to the NATO Youth Summit, Nice, and Copenhagen. So those should be pretty full entries. Munich's might be short, but that's ok. Vienna (where I went this weekend) will also be coming eventually. Enjoy the awesome weather in Baltimore! It's cold here again.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
summary of what is to come
So, family, friends, distant acquaintances... it has become abundantly clear that I have fallen terribly behind on this blog. I will be (hopefully) be giving this blog a major update this afternoon. Allow me to give a brief description of my month of April (so far) so you know what you're getting into.
April 2-3: NATO Youth Summit in Strasbourg and Town Hall Meeting with President Obama
April 4-5: Weekend Trip to Munich
April 10-13: Easter Weekend/Spring Break in Nice, France
April 17: Field Trip to EuroCorps and Hochkönigsburg
April 17-19: Solo trip to Copenhagen (via overnight train!)
April 2-3: NATO Youth Summit in Strasbourg and Town Hall Meeting with President Obama
April 4-5: Weekend Trip to Munich
April 10-13: Easter Weekend/Spring Break in Nice, France
April 17: Field Trip to EuroCorps and Hochkönigsburg
April 17-19: Solo trip to Copenhagen (via overnight train!)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Classes and Life in Freiburg
I think it's pretty important to at least briefly explain life here (again, with updated opinions of classes and people.) I'm in five classes. The first is Foreign Policy Analysis. In this class, we learn about the foreign policy of the EU, which doesn't really exist. I like the professor (he's Arndt, the one who went with us to Western Europe) and even if the class isn't hard, he's still a good professor. There is, however, one student who keeps flirting with him. This is Dena, the Egyptian girl who has a bad habit of comparing the Israel-Palestine conflict to the Holocaust. Honestly, she's not that smart, and she often doesn't understand what's appropriate. Around Arndt's birthday, she kept asking him how old he was, even though the rest of the class knew it was inappropriate and rude. She's always, literally, always late to class. And the flirting is just not ok anymore. The entire class is pretty much always at each other's throats, because we're all getting sick of each other. Luckily, Arndt is an easy grader (I got a 94 on a TERRIBLE essay, and it would have been around a 99 if it hadn't had such atrocious colloquialisms. I also got full points on an exam essay and an A on the exam. I studied for about 30 minutes.) We also only have two classes left.
The next class is German 101. I love the class itself, the teacher, and the people in the class with me. It's a good dynamic of people and the professor, Corinna, is great. We've all learned a ton of German, and she helps it to be fun too. It's definitely the best language class I've ever taken, and it's certainly my favorite class over here. It just happens to be a great bunch of people with a great professor. (So I can remember later, it includes Jon, Kyle, Soroosh, Zach, Evan, Danny, me, Kris, Shanna, Ruth, Allison, and Laurel.)
Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Professor Dr. Rainer Hoffmann. He talks at his hands for an hour and a half. The class is Culture and Politics: A Quest for Civilizational Identities in a Post-National World. It ends up being the following: Hamas and Hezbollah have great social programs, Israelis bombed a mosque, Iran isn't that bad, and, most importantly, Western modernity isn't necessarily right for all nations. Basically, it's very pro-Middle East and rather anti-US and anti-West. However, it has no homework at all and it's fun to look across the table at John Forneris and just mouth stuff like "What is he talking about?"It's a ridiculous class. I've learned to stay awake through the worst class possible, sans laptop. It's a useful skill. (Also, Hoffmann cannot pronounce his r's. They come out as w's. It's really funny sometimes.)
Then I have German again, and after that is Regions of the EU with Hubertus. Hubie is the hardest grader, which basically means that he has some standards for papers. I'm currently avoiding writing his term paper (about the dissolution of Belgium) by writing these blog entries. The class as a whole is pretty interesting, even if completely irrelevant for my future. Oh well, I chose this over another class with Hoffmann. It was a good choice.
My final class is PO 350, the seminar that ties everything together. It's a joke. We love the professor, Gert, but we don't do any homework and we rarely learn anything in class. Gert always seems to make snide comments about the pope (who is from Regensburg, just like Gert) which always secretly angers Matt Shoemaker, who is the most conservative Catholic I have ever met in my life. Including Nana. Including priests and nuns. It's pretty funny to watch. One thing that we tend to do is impersonate Gert's explanation of how to pronounce Angela Merkel's name. Ahn'-gehlah Mehh(r)-kl. His name is Gehh(r)t. (I can do this for each of you. It's pretty fun to say.)
Conclusion: I'm not learning anything, except for German. But in exchange, I get to see nearly all of Europe. I call it a win.
The next class is German 101. I love the class itself, the teacher, and the people in the class with me. It's a good dynamic of people and the professor, Corinna, is great. We've all learned a ton of German, and she helps it to be fun too. It's definitely the best language class I've ever taken, and it's certainly my favorite class over here. It just happens to be a great bunch of people with a great professor. (So I can remember later, it includes Jon, Kyle, Soroosh, Zach, Evan, Danny, me, Kris, Shanna, Ruth, Allison, and Laurel.)
Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Professor Dr. Rainer Hoffmann. He talks at his hands for an hour and a half. The class is Culture and Politics: A Quest for Civilizational Identities in a Post-National World. It ends up being the following: Hamas and Hezbollah have great social programs, Israelis bombed a mosque, Iran isn't that bad, and, most importantly, Western modernity isn't necessarily right for all nations. Basically, it's very pro-Middle East and rather anti-US and anti-West. However, it has no homework at all and it's fun to look across the table at John Forneris and just mouth stuff like "What is he talking about?"It's a ridiculous class. I've learned to stay awake through the worst class possible, sans laptop. It's a useful skill. (Also, Hoffmann cannot pronounce his r's. They come out as w's. It's really funny sometimes.)
Then I have German again, and after that is Regions of the EU with Hubertus. Hubie is the hardest grader, which basically means that he has some standards for papers. I'm currently avoiding writing his term paper (about the dissolution of Belgium) by writing these blog entries. The class as a whole is pretty interesting, even if completely irrelevant for my future. Oh well, I chose this over another class with Hoffmann. It was a good choice.
My final class is PO 350, the seminar that ties everything together. It's a joke. We love the professor, Gert, but we don't do any homework and we rarely learn anything in class. Gert always seems to make snide comments about the pope (who is from Regensburg, just like Gert) which always secretly angers Matt Shoemaker, who is the most conservative Catholic I have ever met in my life. Including Nana. Including priests and nuns. It's pretty funny to watch. One thing that we tend to do is impersonate Gert's explanation of how to pronounce Angela Merkel's name. Ahn'-gehlah Mehh(r)-kl. His name is Gehh(r)t. (I can do this for each of you. It's pretty fun to say.)
Conclusion: I'm not learning anything, except for German. But in exchange, I get to see nearly all of Europe. I call it a win.
update about eastern europe trip
Leaving Krakow
As we left Krakow on the Eastern Europe trip, we made a scheduled stop at Auschwitz. Now, I'm pretty sure that most of the people reading this blog have known me for a while, but just as a reminder, there was that period of my life where I was obsessed with the Holocaust. To be able to visit a concentration camp was an opportunity that I am really glad that the program gave me. Auschwitz was really an intense experience. I think it most hit me first when we were in a room about children and there was someone who looked like someone I had gone to high school with, and then it especially hit me when we went through the only remaining crematorium. It was really sad. I don't think I'll ever go to another concentration camp unless it is the difference between someone going and not going. It's not something I want to experience again, but it's something you need to do.
And then after leaving Auschwitz for the 7 hour drive to Prague, the program leaders decided to put on a movie, but the only movie that the academic leader deemed "appropriate" was The Kite Runner. Just a hint, a movie that is a killer emotionally is not a good choice after visiting a concentration camp. I cried 8 times during this movie, a girl behind me was sobbing for a good five minutes after the movie and had to call her mom, and I'm pretty sure the guy in front of me cried too. Ugh, it was the most emotionally draining day of my life.
After we finally arrived in Prague, I decided that I pretty much had to go out or else I might be in a funk for the rest of the trip. I join a group of about 8 people and we go to a place called Beer Factory. You might think that this would be classy, a brewery maybe. It's not. There are taps on the tables, you get a mug and keep refilling it, and you race among tables to see who can drink the most. We also played speed quarters, a drinking game where you try to bounce a coin into the small cup in front of you. There's about one cup/coin pair for every other person, and you try to catch up to the person in front of you. Turns out, I'm pretty good at this game, so I don't have to drink much. Still, I probably have a beer or two.
The next day are our academic sessions in Prague, which I don't really remember anymore. During one of the breaks, we went to our academic lunch with our professor Gert (it was me, Gert, my friend Alison, Daria, and the guy Jon, who I've mentioned before and is really not as bad one-on-one, Alison and he get along well). We somehow go to this really trippy restaurant with pastel spray-painted walls, mermaid paintings, and stalactites growing from the ceiling. I have pictures, which you will all see when I have a working computer again.
That evening, I met a girl from WM for dinner!! It was awesome to see someone that I've known for more than 3 months. We went to a cafe that she frequents, which was cool. It was a pretty chill dinner. After she dropped me back off at the hotel, our academic leader (the man in charge of academics for all of IES Freiburg) takes us all out for a beer on him so he can watch a soccer match between SC Freiburg and another team, which he really wants to see. (If he doesn't have enough people with him, they won't play it, and he realizes he can only bribe us with alcohol.) Freiburg loses, and I spend a relatively quiet night at home after the game. It is when I return that I realize that my computer isn't working. I don't worry about it and go to bed.
The next day is our free day in Prague, and of course, it's raining. It even snowed in Krakow. We have our city tour in the morning (for which I forget my camera. Go me. I'm stealing pictures.) It's a cool city, we see the clock in the center of town that has dancing figurines every hour. We also see the main squares of Prague--there are three, I think. We also cross over the famous bridge, the Charles Bridge, and see all the shopping on it. After the tour ends, I decide to eat at the same place at which we ate our academic lunch the day before. It's pretty crucial to introduce this place to as many people as possible.
After lunch, we go souvenir shopping, both on the bridge and in the stores around it. Crystal is a big thing here; I bought something small for one of you. I also got a bottle opener that just says "Praha," which seems appropriate, as this city seems to be all about the beer. I also got a tshirt that says "Czech me out," which I'm only a little bit ashamed of.
We're planning to go out that night, so I take a shower first. As it turns out, I flood not only the bathroom, but also the entire room AND a little bit of the hallway. Nothing of mine is ruined, but Rachel (my roommate) somehow thought it was a good idea to bring with her an autographed book, and that got wet. Sorry. Autographed books belong safely on shelves, not in the bottoms of backpacks in hotel rooms in the Czech Republic. We are moved to another room.
That night, we go back to Beer Factory in a huge contingent. A bunch of the guys have already been there a while, but our table wins the drinking contest, and that's all that matters. I drink some, but don't dance and make a fool out of myself, unlike a few people. One guy left his jacket there, which was really sad because I'm pretty sure it had his wallet in it.
(While we were in Prague, the Czech government received a vote of no confidence and dissolved. Who can say they were in a country while their government collapsed?)
The next morning we leave for Bratislava. This is the capital of Slovakia, and it is just across the border from Vienna. When we finally arrive, we have about one hour to explore and eat before our meeting. I eat McDonald's (it's fast and cheap, don't judge) and explore a bit. I find this cool church, even if it isn't the one I'm actually looking for. The two stores I go to are a strange combination. The first was an African store, which seemed quite out of place in this small city. I bought a keychain there. The second one was this designer-looking shop; here I bought two buttons.
After this quick break, we had our sessions, uneventful as usual. Afterwards we had a short break for dinner where we were late for the bus out of Bratislava, but luckily the professors and staff were later than we were so it wasn't a big deal. There was definitely getting lost and running involved. I'm still not sure how it happened. Then we took the bus to Budapest.
While all of the hotels that we've stayed at so far have had free computers in the lobby, the one in Budapest doesn't, which doesn't make me a happy camper. In Budapest, we have a few sessions, as we need excuses to go to all of these cities. Again, I don't remember them, except for the fact that they were at the Hungarian Parliament, which is gorgeous. Absolutely amazing. Now, it's especially cool that we're at the Hungarian Parliament today (Thursday March 26) because this is the last day that the parliament can set the agenda to include a potential vote of no confidence. This means that we could be there the day they set it in motion for the government to collapse. Sadly, it remained off the agenda and the government survived.
The first day that we're there, after the sessions, I go with Andrew, Matthew, and this girl Sarah to lunch, the cathedral, and then to explore the castle. We get lunch at California Coffee Company, where I eat a tuna bagel, which turns out to be a poor choice later. Oh well. And then we go to the cathedral. It's gorgeous, as cathedrals tend to be, and they're selling really cheap rosaries out front. I buy a few. After this, we quickly go back to the hotel to change and we head to the castle. You can get a great view of the city from the castle (pictures are coming once I return to the US). We went to both the Royal Palace and the Fisherman's Bastion. We also stopped at a market, which was also cool. For Buschie and Pappy, it was sort of like a Christkindlmarkt, except it's warmer out. Sarah bought an approximately 5 euro pashmina scarf and we continued on.
That night, we cruised along the Danube, which is pretty sweet. It's gorgeous, we get champagne, and we get to see the city at night. Jon decided at the end of the cruise to try to jump over a railing, during which he sprained his wrist, and, as we later learned, fractured his elbow. It's then referred to as "Groves-ing" for the rest of the trip. (his last name) We didn't realize how injured he was for a while.
The next day we have a short history lesson on Hungary (they used to have a lot more power and they always seem to be or to ally with the bad guys) and then a trip to the House of Terror, about the time of the Nazis and the Soviets. I speed through the museum, as it was sprung on us as mandatory that morning and I don't want to go. After the museum, I get lunch with Rachel, Alison, and Ray at this amazing pizza place. It was so good. And it was really cheap. It was a Friday, so it's good to eat good cheap meatless food.
After the pizza I go shopping all day. It's a lot of fun, as stuff is really cheap. We revisit the market that I went to yesterday, and then Alison, Ray, and I go to the big, indoor market. This is where I find the best souvenirs of all. I found a secret box. Some of you might not understand the gravity of that statement. The summer before (maybe after, my dad remembers) fifth grade, my best friend, Antonette Amato, went to Germany for a vacation. While she was there, she got this "secret box" and it was the coolest thing ever. It had a secret order of steps to complete in order to open it, and it was soooo cooooool. (Only excessive vowels can truly tell how cool it was.) Christmas 1998, I gave Antonette a Furby (the 'it' toy of the year) and she gave me her secret box. It was the best Christmas ever. Think Gift of the Magi, but no one cuts their hair. And I found a secret box all of my own!!! When I saw it, I immediately knew what it was and let our a really loud gasp. I ended up buying it and several other nice souvenirs at the same stand for what ended up being a really good deal, overall. And then I bought myself a cheap pashmina scarf. It was burgundy/maroon.
(The next week, I wore the burgundy/maroon scarf with my grey jacket. I realized around dinner that I was wearing maroon and grey together and I was happy about it. I almost got sick. I hated those colors SO MUCH in grade school. I thought they were so ugly. They're some of my favorite colors now.)
That night we have a nice dinner out on IES's tab, but of course, it's a Friday, so my dinner is like rice in a cream sauce, salad, dessert, and two glasses of wine. It's certainly not as cool as our dinner in Paris but it's still pretty nice. Afterwards, we go out (and discuss going to private schools, as many of us have) and then we go back to watch Idiocracy. I manage to leave before I fall asleep (a real accomplishment for me).
The next day, we fly home to Stuttgart, where our beloved bus driver picks us up, even though it's the middle of a Saturday and he'd much rather be at home (which he told us flat out, lol.) I promptly do nothing for the rest of the weekend except go to church.
As we left Krakow on the Eastern Europe trip, we made a scheduled stop at Auschwitz. Now, I'm pretty sure that most of the people reading this blog have known me for a while, but just as a reminder, there was that period of my life where I was obsessed with the Holocaust. To be able to visit a concentration camp was an opportunity that I am really glad that the program gave me. Auschwitz was really an intense experience. I think it most hit me first when we were in a room about children and there was someone who looked like someone I had gone to high school with, and then it especially hit me when we went through the only remaining crematorium. It was really sad. I don't think I'll ever go to another concentration camp unless it is the difference between someone going and not going. It's not something I want to experience again, but it's something you need to do.
And then after leaving Auschwitz for the 7 hour drive to Prague, the program leaders decided to put on a movie, but the only movie that the academic leader deemed "appropriate" was The Kite Runner. Just a hint, a movie that is a killer emotionally is not a good choice after visiting a concentration camp. I cried 8 times during this movie, a girl behind me was sobbing for a good five minutes after the movie and had to call her mom, and I'm pretty sure the guy in front of me cried too. Ugh, it was the most emotionally draining day of my life.
After we finally arrived in Prague, I decided that I pretty much had to go out or else I might be in a funk for the rest of the trip. I join a group of about 8 people and we go to a place called Beer Factory. You might think that this would be classy, a brewery maybe. It's not. There are taps on the tables, you get a mug and keep refilling it, and you race among tables to see who can drink the most. We also played speed quarters, a drinking game where you try to bounce a coin into the small cup in front of you. There's about one cup/coin pair for every other person, and you try to catch up to the person in front of you. Turns out, I'm pretty good at this game, so I don't have to drink much. Still, I probably have a beer or two.
The next day are our academic sessions in Prague, which I don't really remember anymore. During one of the breaks, we went to our academic lunch with our professor Gert (it was me, Gert, my friend Alison, Daria, and the guy Jon, who I've mentioned before and is really not as bad one-on-one, Alison and he get along well). We somehow go to this really trippy restaurant with pastel spray-painted walls, mermaid paintings, and stalactites growing from the ceiling. I have pictures, which you will all see when I have a working computer again.
That evening, I met a girl from WM for dinner!! It was awesome to see someone that I've known for more than 3 months. We went to a cafe that she frequents, which was cool. It was a pretty chill dinner. After she dropped me back off at the hotel, our academic leader (the man in charge of academics for all of IES Freiburg) takes us all out for a beer on him so he can watch a soccer match between SC Freiburg and another team, which he really wants to see. (If he doesn't have enough people with him, they won't play it, and he realizes he can only bribe us with alcohol.) Freiburg loses, and I spend a relatively quiet night at home after the game. It is when I return that I realize that my computer isn't working. I don't worry about it and go to bed.
The next day is our free day in Prague, and of course, it's raining. It even snowed in Krakow. We have our city tour in the morning (for which I forget my camera. Go me. I'm stealing pictures.) It's a cool city, we see the clock in the center of town that has dancing figurines every hour. We also see the main squares of Prague--there are three, I think. We also cross over the famous bridge, the Charles Bridge, and see all the shopping on it. After the tour ends, I decide to eat at the same place at which we ate our academic lunch the day before. It's pretty crucial to introduce this place to as many people as possible.
After lunch, we go souvenir shopping, both on the bridge and in the stores around it. Crystal is a big thing here; I bought something small for one of you. I also got a bottle opener that just says "Praha," which seems appropriate, as this city seems to be all about the beer. I also got a tshirt that says "Czech me out," which I'm only a little bit ashamed of.
We're planning to go out that night, so I take a shower first. As it turns out, I flood not only the bathroom, but also the entire room AND a little bit of the hallway. Nothing of mine is ruined, but Rachel (my roommate) somehow thought it was a good idea to bring with her an autographed book, and that got wet. Sorry. Autographed books belong safely on shelves, not in the bottoms of backpacks in hotel rooms in the Czech Republic. We are moved to another room.
That night, we go back to Beer Factory in a huge contingent. A bunch of the guys have already been there a while, but our table wins the drinking contest, and that's all that matters. I drink some, but don't dance and make a fool out of myself, unlike a few people. One guy left his jacket there, which was really sad because I'm pretty sure it had his wallet in it.
(While we were in Prague, the Czech government received a vote of no confidence and dissolved. Who can say they were in a country while their government collapsed?)
The next morning we leave for Bratislava. This is the capital of Slovakia, and it is just across the border from Vienna. When we finally arrive, we have about one hour to explore and eat before our meeting. I eat McDonald's (it's fast and cheap, don't judge) and explore a bit. I find this cool church, even if it isn't the one I'm actually looking for. The two stores I go to are a strange combination. The first was an African store, which seemed quite out of place in this small city. I bought a keychain there. The second one was this designer-looking shop; here I bought two buttons.
After this quick break, we had our sessions, uneventful as usual. Afterwards we had a short break for dinner where we were late for the bus out of Bratislava, but luckily the professors and staff were later than we were so it wasn't a big deal. There was definitely getting lost and running involved. I'm still not sure how it happened. Then we took the bus to Budapest.
While all of the hotels that we've stayed at so far have had free computers in the lobby, the one in Budapest doesn't, which doesn't make me a happy camper. In Budapest, we have a few sessions, as we need excuses to go to all of these cities. Again, I don't remember them, except for the fact that they were at the Hungarian Parliament, which is gorgeous. Absolutely amazing. Now, it's especially cool that we're at the Hungarian Parliament today (Thursday March 26) because this is the last day that the parliament can set the agenda to include a potential vote of no confidence. This means that we could be there the day they set it in motion for the government to collapse. Sadly, it remained off the agenda and the government survived.
The first day that we're there, after the sessions, I go with Andrew, Matthew, and this girl Sarah to lunch, the cathedral, and then to explore the castle. We get lunch at California Coffee Company, where I eat a tuna bagel, which turns out to be a poor choice later. Oh well. And then we go to the cathedral. It's gorgeous, as cathedrals tend to be, and they're selling really cheap rosaries out front. I buy a few. After this, we quickly go back to the hotel to change and we head to the castle. You can get a great view of the city from the castle (pictures are coming once I return to the US). We went to both the Royal Palace and the Fisherman's Bastion. We also stopped at a market, which was also cool. For Buschie and Pappy, it was sort of like a Christkindlmarkt, except it's warmer out. Sarah bought an approximately 5 euro pashmina scarf and we continued on.
That night, we cruised along the Danube, which is pretty sweet. It's gorgeous, we get champagne, and we get to see the city at night. Jon decided at the end of the cruise to try to jump over a railing, during which he sprained his wrist, and, as we later learned, fractured his elbow. It's then referred to as "Groves-ing" for the rest of the trip. (his last name) We didn't realize how injured he was for a while.
The next day we have a short history lesson on Hungary (they used to have a lot more power and they always seem to be or to ally with the bad guys) and then a trip to the House of Terror, about the time of the Nazis and the Soviets. I speed through the museum, as it was sprung on us as mandatory that morning and I don't want to go. After the museum, I get lunch with Rachel, Alison, and Ray at this amazing pizza place. It was so good. And it was really cheap. It was a Friday, so it's good to eat good cheap meatless food.
After the pizza I go shopping all day. It's a lot of fun, as stuff is really cheap. We revisit the market that I went to yesterday, and then Alison, Ray, and I go to the big, indoor market. This is where I find the best souvenirs of all. I found a secret box. Some of you might not understand the gravity of that statement. The summer before (maybe after, my dad remembers) fifth grade, my best friend, Antonette Amato, went to Germany for a vacation. While she was there, she got this "secret box" and it was the coolest thing ever. It had a secret order of steps to complete in order to open it, and it was soooo cooooool. (Only excessive vowels can truly tell how cool it was.) Christmas 1998, I gave Antonette a Furby (the 'it' toy of the year) and she gave me her secret box. It was the best Christmas ever. Think Gift of the Magi, but no one cuts their hair. And I found a secret box all of my own!!! When I saw it, I immediately knew what it was and let our a really loud gasp. I ended up buying it and several other nice souvenirs at the same stand for what ended up being a really good deal, overall. And then I bought myself a cheap pashmina scarf. It was burgundy/maroon.
(The next week, I wore the burgundy/maroon scarf with my grey jacket. I realized around dinner that I was wearing maroon and grey together and I was happy about it. I almost got sick. I hated those colors SO MUCH in grade school. I thought they were so ugly. They're some of my favorite colors now.)
That night we have a nice dinner out on IES's tab, but of course, it's a Friday, so my dinner is like rice in a cream sauce, salad, dessert, and two glasses of wine. It's certainly not as cool as our dinner in Paris but it's still pretty nice. Afterwards, we go out (and discuss going to private schools, as many of us have) and then we go back to watch Idiocracy. I manage to leave before I fall asleep (a real accomplishment for me).
The next day, we fly home to Stuttgart, where our beloved bus driver picks us up, even though it's the middle of a Saturday and he'd much rather be at home (which he told us flat out, lol.) I promptly do nothing for the rest of the weekend except go to church.
Monday, April 6, 2009
this is what happens when computers break
Hello, all blog followers. I realize I've been especially terrible about posting updates recently. My laptop broke while I was in the Prague. I tried to take it to Basel to get it fixed, but the repair center was in fact non-existent. So, I will attempt to give a brief run-down of my trip to Central Europe (Krakow, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic; Bratislava, Slovakia; and Budapest, Hungary).
So we flew out for Krakow on Friday, March 20. We took a bus (as we generally do) to Stuttgart and then flew out of the tiny airport there to Katowice. In case anyone ever tries to tell you that Katowice is the same as Krakow, or is German for Krakow, they're lying to you. It's a town an hour away from Krakow. When we arrived, it was grey and cold, which felt strangely appropriate for a former member of the Warsaw Pact.
The first night that we were there we went downtown to eat dinner, since none of us had eaten in a while. We went in a group including Daria, Alison, Matt Shoemaker, Kyle, Ray, me, Brett, and Rachel (that's more for my benefit than for yours). We were starving, so we decided to go to a tacky tacky restaurant called Sioux, themed after the American Midwest during the 19th century. I ate fried cheese and cheese bread, since it was a Friday. The waiters wore costumes and the walls had saddles on them, among other things.
The only full day we were in Krakow, we went to several sessions, from which all I remember is the presenter arguing fervently for the proposed missile defense shield. (I'm actually writing a paper on that right now, if you want to know more about it, I can post the document. I'm putting actual effort into it, a big change.) Then we bought souvenirs, including a cane that I bought for Buschie or Pappy (whomever can use it, I bought it to replace the carved cane that Pappy lost). Since I had bought the cane during the beginning of the day, I had to carry it around with me for the entire tour. I got a lot of flak for it.
The tour was awesome. (Although, for the record, it's still cold in Krakow in late March.) I got to see the Basilica (where I attended Mass that evening... more on that later), where Pope John Paul II said Mass and lived while he was the archbishop of Krakow, and the castle. Seeing where JPII lived and preached was awesome. There was definitely a lot of pride in him, even after his death. The castle, too, was cool, as castles often are. There's a metal sculpture of the dragon that Krak had to defeat to defend the city: it has seven heads and breathes fire every five minutes.
While I was there, I ate traditional Polish food twice. I got pierogies once, and they were delicious. Grr... I forget the second meal. But the subject of food should be covered, because it relates to the subject of money. Even though not all countries are eligible to use the euro, it's certainly a pain in the butt to exchange money and remember exchange rates. Poland uses the zloty, and the exchange rate is 1 euro to 4.4 zloty, which doesn't make for simple math. The exchange rate, the question of tipping, and the fact that ATMs only dispense big bills continued to plague us throughout our trip.
Mass in Polish is much, much worse than Mass in German. I can pick up some German, and I'm becoming familiar with some German words and prayers. Polish is another world. Without my missal, I would be completely out of luck. The church we went to was gorgeous though. If freezing.
Alright, I need to get back to work on my paper, as I'll need to leave the computer lab in an hour. I'll try to post more tomorrow with stories of Prague.
So we flew out for Krakow on Friday, March 20. We took a bus (as we generally do) to Stuttgart and then flew out of the tiny airport there to Katowice. In case anyone ever tries to tell you that Katowice is the same as Krakow, or is German for Krakow, they're lying to you. It's a town an hour away from Krakow. When we arrived, it was grey and cold, which felt strangely appropriate for a former member of the Warsaw Pact.
The first night that we were there we went downtown to eat dinner, since none of us had eaten in a while. We went in a group including Daria, Alison, Matt Shoemaker, Kyle, Ray, me, Brett, and Rachel (that's more for my benefit than for yours). We were starving, so we decided to go to a tacky tacky restaurant called Sioux, themed after the American Midwest during the 19th century. I ate fried cheese and cheese bread, since it was a Friday. The waiters wore costumes and the walls had saddles on them, among other things.
The only full day we were in Krakow, we went to several sessions, from which all I remember is the presenter arguing fervently for the proposed missile defense shield. (I'm actually writing a paper on that right now, if you want to know more about it, I can post the document. I'm putting actual effort into it, a big change.) Then we bought souvenirs, including a cane that I bought for Buschie or Pappy (whomever can use it, I bought it to replace the carved cane that Pappy lost). Since I had bought the cane during the beginning of the day, I had to carry it around with me for the entire tour. I got a lot of flak for it.
The tour was awesome. (Although, for the record, it's still cold in Krakow in late March.) I got to see the Basilica (where I attended Mass that evening... more on that later), where Pope John Paul II said Mass and lived while he was the archbishop of Krakow, and the castle. Seeing where JPII lived and preached was awesome. There was definitely a lot of pride in him, even after his death. The castle, too, was cool, as castles often are. There's a metal sculpture of the dragon that Krak had to defeat to defend the city: it has seven heads and breathes fire every five minutes.
While I was there, I ate traditional Polish food twice. I got pierogies once, and they were delicious. Grr... I forget the second meal. But the subject of food should be covered, because it relates to the subject of money. Even though not all countries are eligible to use the euro, it's certainly a pain in the butt to exchange money and remember exchange rates. Poland uses the zloty, and the exchange rate is 1 euro to 4.4 zloty, which doesn't make for simple math. The exchange rate, the question of tipping, and the fact that ATMs only dispense big bills continued to plague us throughout our trip.
Mass in Polish is much, much worse than Mass in German. I can pick up some German, and I'm becoming familiar with some German words and prayers. Polish is another world. Without my missal, I would be completely out of luck. The church we went to was gorgeous though. If freezing.
Alright, I need to get back to work on my paper, as I'll need to leave the computer lab in an hour. I'll try to post more tomorrow with stories of Prague.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Meg's visit and the beginning of the pictures
The wine-tasting was pretty cool--for whatever reason, I didn't like any of the red wine. At first I thought maybe I just wasn't a red wine person, but then I recalled one night at WM where I tried about 7 different red wines and liked them all. Maybe it was just the mood I was in. I certainly liked the white wines. We also tried ice wine, which you can look up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_wine. It was super, super sweet. It was good to try but I don't think I'd like to drink it in any large quantity.
And when I got back from the wineyard, Meg was here!! To sum up what we did, we went to Staufen (and the castle there, which I didn't climb up to when we hiked here the first time), another soccer game in Freiburg (which Freiburg won in the 87th minute!), Basel twice (where I found a store that sells brownie mix, mac & cheese, and frosting, as well as a Domino's!!), and otherwise just chilled around Freiburg. On Thursday, we had a class field trip to Strasbourg, France. For whatever reason, I was just not that excited, but it was a cool little city. Had I been in a better mood, I think I would have really liked it. We got to watch part of a session of the European Parliament, which I really enjoyed as well.
Now I'm working on uploading pictures to facebook. I'm about a month and a half behind. It's taking forever and a day, so I'm afraid that for now you'll have to make do with the first soccer match and part of the trip to Tallinn.
Soccer match #1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010124&id=1222890044&l=6384a175dc
Tallinn, Estonia: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010127&id=1222890044&l=6e04ec246f
And when I got back from the wineyard, Meg was here!! To sum up what we did, we went to Staufen (and the castle there, which I didn't climb up to when we hiked here the first time), another soccer game in Freiburg (which Freiburg won in the 87th minute!), Basel twice (where I found a store that sells brownie mix, mac & cheese, and frosting, as well as a Domino's!!), and otherwise just chilled around Freiburg. On Thursday, we had a class field trip to Strasbourg, France. For whatever reason, I was just not that excited, but it was a cool little city. Had I been in a better mood, I think I would have really liked it. We got to watch part of a session of the European Parliament, which I really enjoyed as well.
Now I'm working on uploading pictures to facebook. I'm about a month and a half behind. It's taking forever and a day, so I'm afraid that for now you'll have to make do with the first soccer match and part of the trip to Tallinn.
Soccer match #1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010124&id=1222890044&l=6384a175dc
Tallinn, Estonia: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010127&id=1222890044&l=6e04ec246f
Thursday, March 5, 2009
classes, brief update
I'm trying to get into the habit of updating this regularly, since I've been so bad about it for the past two months. Let's just talk about how worthless today's classes were. The first class, culture and politics, Hoffmann, the crazy professor, talked at us for an hour and a half, which is standard. In German we had SOAR, where we talk about how we're adjusting to the program. We went to a cafe and talked for an hour. In Regions of the EU, we watched Goodbye, Lenin. It took me about halfway through the movie to realize that I'd seen it before. It was certainly good, though. Not altogether academic. And in PO350, the joke class, the professor asked us to get into groups of four and discuss the reading for the day, then he left the room. The class then realized that no one had done the reading. We confessed when he returned, and he was ok with it. Oh, study abroad.
Tomorrow I'm going to a vineyard/wine tasting for a field trip. I'm pretty excited about it. AND MEG'S COMING IN!!! I hope she gets here ok.
Tomorrow I'm going to a vineyard/wine tasting for a field trip. I'm pretty excited about it. AND MEG'S COMING IN!!! I hope she gets here ok.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris
Wow, I really don't want to write another entry. This will not be nearly as detailed as the previous entry.
Monday morning we leave via bus for Luxembourg. I briefly thought I forgot my ipod, but it turns out I did have it. Along the ride, we stop at the largest WWII cemetery in Europe, St. Avold Cemetery in France. It's really pretty. It's also quite peaceful. I look for Big Nick, as I don't know whatever happened to him, but no success. The unknown tombs are the worst to look at.
After some more driving we arrive in Luxembourg. It's adorable. I love it. It's quite small, 37% the size of Freiburg. I visit the cathedral and feel really bad about not going to Mass since the first week. I resolve to go on Wednesday. There's also a Chi Chi's here, but we only have one free hour, not leaving enough time to explore and sit and eat. I save the Mexican food for a later date.
After our free hour, we get a quick city tour in our bus. We learn about the architecture of each of the 167 banks in Brussels as well as about how much our tour guide hates modern art. IT's a terrible tour and we make fun of the tour guide for the rest of the trip. After the tour we leave for Brussels. Several hours in a bus later, we arrive. Turns out I really like Brussels too. It's absolutely gorgeous downtown. We try to get a Belgian waffle that night, but by the time we find one, I'm not hungry, so I steal a bite of someone else's. I don't really like it. [No worries. I have one later and it's REALLY GOOD.] My friend Aparna and I go out for ice cream later and gossip and complain about people in our program. It's wonderful to vent.
Other highlights of Brussels include our city tour, including the statue of the little boy peeing, which is the national symbol of Belgium. Go figure. I have an "academic lunch" with a group of students and one of my professors, Arndt. I eat rabbit. It's not bad but I don't think it's something I'd order again. This is also the day that I have the wonderful Belgian waffle. SO DELICIOUS. Thursday night I get mussels in Brussels for dinner. Both funny and delicious. (We go out to a bar afterwards. It's a good time.) I've decided that Brussels is my favorite legitimate city so far.
And then we go to Paris. No lies, I didn't expect to like Paris. I don't love cities, and Paris is big in close to the same way that New York and Istanbul are big. But I really like it. The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, the day we arrive, so I decide to try to take the Metro to the museum on my own. It's still light out and they say it's safe enough. I end up going in the wrong direction, but I eventually find a metro stop and make it to the museum. On my way from the Metro stop to the museum, I see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It's so cool. It was definitely worth going on my own. There's something about discovering these things on your own. At the museum I run into a bunch of people from my program but continue to explore the museum on my own. It's awesome. The highlight for me downstairs was the genie lift I see in the corner, but I think that Emily and others might be able to understand the homesickness that might stir. But once you get up to the fifth floor, it's one masterpiece after another. As soon as you enter, you see Whistler's Mother. The next room is Degas [and you better believe there's a picture of me posing in front of it], the room after that is Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro, then more Degas and Renoir, then a room just of Monet, then VAN GOGH, and the last room was Cezanne. It's amazing, especially because it's such a manageable size. I really liked it.
Afterwards we go out to eat (expensive!) and we walk over the Eiffel Tower. We don't go up, and we're searching for a metro stop when Kris goes to ask some drunk high schoolers directions. Always a poor decision. Living in a tourist town, I can spot BS directions from a mile away. We ask a passing Parisian and go the correct way.
The next day I walk to Notre Dame on my lunch break. It's a real disappointment, honestly. After being so amazed at the Hagia Sophia, I was looking forward to architectural wonder WITH religious significance. But Notre Dame is a tourist trap to the max. It's really sad. I don't spend much time there and I head back via the regional train. When I ask a Parisian if he speaks English so I can confirm I'm going the right way, he replies that he speaks Spanish. Using my high school Spanish skills I navigate my way back in time. Go me.
That evening I go to the Louvre. It's free because it's a Friday night. Paris rocks. This museum is not as enjoyable as the Musee d'Orsay because it's so big, but it's still amazing. After I get a map, it's a lot better. The highlights of the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. It's just so cool to see these famous works. It's a lot of work, though, traipsing through the Louvre. I also fall down the stairs. Well done, Christy. That night we go to Moulin Rouge (weird. and touristy.) and Sacre Coeur.
The next day we have free (Go IES!!) I head to Versailles with John. This is a John you haven't yet been introduced to. He's a UVA student, so we chat about that on the train. It's awesome. We get the audio guide, which really talks about rooms for the perfect amount of time, and then we wander the gardens on our own. After we return I chill out in my room until dinner.
Dinner, which is AWESOME. IES pays for a really nice dinner for us in Paris, and I order the asparagus with crab dip for appetizer (which I split with Andrew for his escargot), the duck for entree, and the sorbet for dessert. I also try other people's food, so I try raw salmon, escargot, foie gras, and steak tartare. I enjoyed all of them, especially the escargot and the foie gras. I haven't found a seafood I don't like. I count snails as seafood. It makes it easier to stomach. But seriously. I love seafood. So much. And Mexican food. But that's another story.
That night we go up to the second story of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty awesome, even if we couldn't make it to the top. The next day we embark upon our epicly long bus ride back to Freiburg.
The end.
Monday morning we leave via bus for Luxembourg. I briefly thought I forgot my ipod, but it turns out I did have it. Along the ride, we stop at the largest WWII cemetery in Europe, St. Avold Cemetery in France. It's really pretty. It's also quite peaceful. I look for Big Nick, as I don't know whatever happened to him, but no success. The unknown tombs are the worst to look at.
After some more driving we arrive in Luxembourg. It's adorable. I love it. It's quite small, 37% the size of Freiburg. I visit the cathedral and feel really bad about not going to Mass since the first week. I resolve to go on Wednesday. There's also a Chi Chi's here, but we only have one free hour, not leaving enough time to explore and sit and eat. I save the Mexican food for a later date.
After our free hour, we get a quick city tour in our bus. We learn about the architecture of each of the 167 banks in Brussels as well as about how much our tour guide hates modern art. IT's a terrible tour and we make fun of the tour guide for the rest of the trip. After the tour we leave for Brussels. Several hours in a bus later, we arrive. Turns out I really like Brussels too. It's absolutely gorgeous downtown. We try to get a Belgian waffle that night, but by the time we find one, I'm not hungry, so I steal a bite of someone else's. I don't really like it. [No worries. I have one later and it's REALLY GOOD.] My friend Aparna and I go out for ice cream later and gossip and complain about people in our program. It's wonderful to vent.
Other highlights of Brussels include our city tour, including the statue of the little boy peeing, which is the national symbol of Belgium. Go figure. I have an "academic lunch" with a group of students and one of my professors, Arndt. I eat rabbit. It's not bad but I don't think it's something I'd order again. This is also the day that I have the wonderful Belgian waffle. SO DELICIOUS. Thursday night I get mussels in Brussels for dinner. Both funny and delicious. (We go out to a bar afterwards. It's a good time.) I've decided that Brussels is my favorite legitimate city so far.
And then we go to Paris. No lies, I didn't expect to like Paris. I don't love cities, and Paris is big in close to the same way that New York and Istanbul are big. But I really like it. The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, the day we arrive, so I decide to try to take the Metro to the museum on my own. It's still light out and they say it's safe enough. I end up going in the wrong direction, but I eventually find a metro stop and make it to the museum. On my way from the Metro stop to the museum, I see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It's so cool. It was definitely worth going on my own. There's something about discovering these things on your own. At the museum I run into a bunch of people from my program but continue to explore the museum on my own. It's awesome. The highlight for me downstairs was the genie lift I see in the corner, but I think that Emily and others might be able to understand the homesickness that might stir. But once you get up to the fifth floor, it's one masterpiece after another. As soon as you enter, you see Whistler's Mother. The next room is Degas [and you better believe there's a picture of me posing in front of it], the room after that is Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro, then more Degas and Renoir, then a room just of Monet, then VAN GOGH, and the last room was Cezanne. It's amazing, especially because it's such a manageable size. I really liked it.
Afterwards we go out to eat (expensive!) and we walk over the Eiffel Tower. We don't go up, and we're searching for a metro stop when Kris goes to ask some drunk high schoolers directions. Always a poor decision. Living in a tourist town, I can spot BS directions from a mile away. We ask a passing Parisian and go the correct way.
The next day I walk to Notre Dame on my lunch break. It's a real disappointment, honestly. After being so amazed at the Hagia Sophia, I was looking forward to architectural wonder WITH religious significance. But Notre Dame is a tourist trap to the max. It's really sad. I don't spend much time there and I head back via the regional train. When I ask a Parisian if he speaks English so I can confirm I'm going the right way, he replies that he speaks Spanish. Using my high school Spanish skills I navigate my way back in time. Go me.
That evening I go to the Louvre. It's free because it's a Friday night. Paris rocks. This museum is not as enjoyable as the Musee d'Orsay because it's so big, but it's still amazing. After I get a map, it's a lot better. The highlights of the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. It's just so cool to see these famous works. It's a lot of work, though, traipsing through the Louvre. I also fall down the stairs. Well done, Christy. That night we go to Moulin Rouge (weird. and touristy.) and Sacre Coeur.
The next day we have free (Go IES!!) I head to Versailles with John. This is a John you haven't yet been introduced to. He's a UVA student, so we chat about that on the train. It's awesome. We get the audio guide, which really talks about rooms for the perfect amount of time, and then we wander the gardens on our own. After we return I chill out in my room until dinner.
Dinner, which is AWESOME. IES pays for a really nice dinner for us in Paris, and I order the asparagus with crab dip for appetizer (which I split with Andrew for his escargot), the duck for entree, and the sorbet for dessert. I also try other people's food, so I try raw salmon, escargot, foie gras, and steak tartare. I enjoyed all of them, especially the escargot and the foie gras. I haven't found a seafood I don't like. I count snails as seafood. It makes it easier to stomach. But seriously. I love seafood. So much. And Mexican food. But that's another story.
That night we go up to the second story of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty awesome, even if we couldn't make it to the top. The next day we embark upon our epicly long bus ride back to Freiburg.
The end.
Istanbul
Istanbul was exhausting. And a little bit terrifying. It's the fourth largest city proper in the world, and considering that I'm not ever planning to make it to Mumbai, Shanghai, or Karachi, it's pretty safe to say that it's the largest city I'll ever go to.
For background, there was a group of six of us who discovered a cheap flight to Istanbul and so we were going to go there for the weekend. What actually ended up happening was that the price got raised at the last minute, and my friend Andrew accidentally booked anyway, and he was going to be stuck going to Istanbul alone, so I decided to join him. We thoughtfully decided to make a list of everything we did in Istanbul, so this might be the longest entry ever. And you should realize that that's saying something. Prepare yourselves.
This trip took place from Thursday February 19 until Sunday February 22, for the record.
Our flight to Istanbul was set to leave at 7:45 am on Friday from the Basel airport, a short train ride away. Our problem was that the earliest train didn't leave until around 5 am, which wouldn't have given us enough time to get to the airport from the train station and check in. So we decided to take the last train to Basel on Thursday night and just spend the night in the airport. Our train left at 11:11, we got into Basel about an hour later, we took a really expensive cab to the airport, and we waited. We stayed up until about 3 in this deserted airport (really, it was tiny and there were maybe 20 people in it) but we decided to nap until we could check in at 5:45.
Our flight was filled with small children. They were all adorable. It was really interesting to see the little boys dressed in Western clothing and then their mothers in full-on burqas. (Well, really, niqabs. I just googled them. You can google too if you're really interested in the difference.) The flight wasn't bad; it was the first time I've flown EasyJet, one of the discount airlines, and it wasn't that bad. No free food on the flight, though. I slept through most of it.
The descent was so cool! It was the first time I got to see the Mediterranean. (and Asia!) It was a really, really long descent. Seriously, it felt like we were descending for half an hour. It was really cool though.
We get to Istanbul's airport on the Asian side and we have to buy our visas! Something we realize after standing in line to get our passports stamped. The visas were $20 (yes, dollars) and they're actual stamps in our passports. They stamp on top (with a rubber stamp) when you enter and exit. I can now go into Turkey whenever I want for the next three months. The visa was really exciting, and it certainly gives my passport some "street cred."
In order to get to the center of Istanbul, we need to take a bus to the edge of the Bosphorus (the strait separating the two sides of Istanbul) and then a ferry across to the European side. The bus ride was really long, and the bus driver had a habit of driving while the rear door was still open. It was certainly an adventure.
When we finally make it to the Bosphorus (after about an hour of standing on the bus) we try to buy ferry tokens, but it takes us a little bit of time as no one really speaks English. It takes us a while, and the Turks are constantly in a hurry. It turns out they were rushing to try to make the ferry across. We wait for a while and finally take a ferry ride across the Bosphorus! As we cross, we see the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. This trip looks like it's going to be awesome.
As we arrive on the European side of Istanbul, we are immediately overwhelmed by the noise, the angry (and TERRIBLE) drivers, and the sheer quantity of people. We see a doner place, and decide it would be really cool to eat doner in Turkey. It's a Turkish food that's quite popular in Germany as well. As we cross the street to the doner place, the little man in the cross/do no cross sign walks! It's pretty exciting. This is a feature that's pretty different in each country. It's pretty cool that it looks like he's walking. And he speeds up when you're running out of time to cross the street! It's the little things that are so exciting.
After the doner, we walk to the Topkapi Palace. It's gorgeous and a really cool example of architecture we've never seen before. There's also a museum in the palace. In this museum, we see the purported staff of Moses, sword of David, sword of Mohammad, skull and arm of John (the Baptist. Check out the legend on wikipedia), and the footprint and beard of Mohammad. We also see enough emeralds to save the global economy. It's awesome.
After the palace, we're pretty tired, so we decide to head over to our hotel after we check out the Grand Bazaar. We actually get lost on our way to the bazaar. Andrew has made it his mission to buy a flag in every country we visit, so he figures he can get one here. IT'S INSANE. SO MANY PEOPLE. It's completely overwhelming. You can't walk five feet without being accosted by another salesman. Andrew asks one man for a flag, and after much searching, the man finds one. The initial price is 70 lira, which is definitely too much. (At this point we're not sure of the exchange rate but think it's about 1:1 with the dollar. It turns out it's around 2:1 with the euro. So 2 lira=1 euro.) After about 10 minutes of haggling, Andrew is about to walk away, when the guy finally shoves the flag in a bag and shoves the bag into Andrew's arms, telling him to give 30 lira and just take it. It's a really high-quality flag, so Andrew agrees and ends up with the flag for a pretty good deal after all.
Trying to leave the bazaar is an adventure. It's huge. Every store we pass has another salesman trying to sell us something. We're also pretty obviously Americans: we're both wearing backpacks. I learn that keeping my head down, avoiding eye contact at all costs, and never responding to what they say helps to get through the bazaar relatively smoothly.
We try to walk to the hotel, but end up getting lost. We hail a cab and he makes it to the hotel. Google Maps had failed us. At the hotel, we discover our salmon/pink room, and the tv inside. We find Frasier IN ENGLISH, which is incredibly exciting, and when that ends, we watch Home Alone II on mute, since it's been dubbed. You can still follow it, though. We both end up falling asleep before 9. It's wonderful. We don't wake up until the alarm at 8.
The next morning, it's raining and a little colder, but this means there are no street vendors. This is a major improvement over the previous day. We walk over to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. They're both gorgeous from the outside. When it hits 9, we go into the Hagia Sophia. It's pretty amazing. Did you know that they completed the third rebuilding in six years? That's insanely quick. There's so much history there. Also, my camera is dying, so I have to buy a disposable camera for the rest of the trip.
The Blue Mosque is still a functioning mosque, so we have to take off our shoes as we enter. It's also gorgeous; there's a lot more light inside. After the Blue Mosque, we go to the Hippodrome (it used to be a sports venue, like in the beginning of the first millenium AD.) It's pretty awesome.
Then comes the best part of the trip. Prepare yourself. We have DOMINO'S for lunch. I've been craving Domino's since we got to Germany. It's the copious quantities we had last semester with Theresa's extra FlexPoints. It's not quite the same, but it's still wonderful.
After this we head back to our hotel, but not until we stop at a gift shop with fixed prices. It's a real blessing. I get gifts there for a lot of people, which I'm probably going to send back to the US with Meg when she visits.
[SIDEBAR: My best friend is visiting for WM's spring break!! She'll be here from Friday until the next Sunday. I'm sooooo excited.]
After a short rest at the hotel, we go on an expedition to find the old city walls. We can't find them, but we do see ancient aqueducts, which is pretty awesome. We also get weird Turkish pretzel-type things from a street vendor. They're pretty terrible but it was worth a try.
After this expedition we take another break and watch Chuck (which neither of us has ever watched before, but at least it's not dubbed!) and then Tom and Jerry. Terrible, new, Tom and Jerry, but at least there aren't any words, really.
That night, we go to a McDonald's for dinner and then to a Whirling Dervish ceremony at the same train station at the end of the Orient Express. It's really cool. The Dervishes seem crazy though. Their entire religion is based on love. We think the hippies who live in Vauban (our neighborhood) would enjoy the Dervishes.
The next morning, we walk to the ferry, ferry to the bus, bus to the airport, fly to the Basel airport, take a cab to the train station, train to the tram stop, and tram to our dorm. Thus taking every form of transportation possible in a span of 8 hours.
And then I pack for Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris. We leave in 15 hours.
For background, there was a group of six of us who discovered a cheap flight to Istanbul and so we were going to go there for the weekend. What actually ended up happening was that the price got raised at the last minute, and my friend Andrew accidentally booked anyway, and he was going to be stuck going to Istanbul alone, so I decided to join him. We thoughtfully decided to make a list of everything we did in Istanbul, so this might be the longest entry ever. And you should realize that that's saying something. Prepare yourselves.
This trip took place from Thursday February 19 until Sunday February 22, for the record.
Our flight to Istanbul was set to leave at 7:45 am on Friday from the Basel airport, a short train ride away. Our problem was that the earliest train didn't leave until around 5 am, which wouldn't have given us enough time to get to the airport from the train station and check in. So we decided to take the last train to Basel on Thursday night and just spend the night in the airport. Our train left at 11:11, we got into Basel about an hour later, we took a really expensive cab to the airport, and we waited. We stayed up until about 3 in this deserted airport (really, it was tiny and there were maybe 20 people in it) but we decided to nap until we could check in at 5:45.
Our flight was filled with small children. They were all adorable. It was really interesting to see the little boys dressed in Western clothing and then their mothers in full-on burqas. (Well, really, niqabs. I just googled them. You can google too if you're really interested in the difference.) The flight wasn't bad; it was the first time I've flown EasyJet, one of the discount airlines, and it wasn't that bad. No free food on the flight, though. I slept through most of it.
The descent was so cool! It was the first time I got to see the Mediterranean. (and Asia!) It was a really, really long descent. Seriously, it felt like we were descending for half an hour. It was really cool though.
We get to Istanbul's airport on the Asian side and we have to buy our visas! Something we realize after standing in line to get our passports stamped. The visas were $20 (yes, dollars) and they're actual stamps in our passports. They stamp on top (with a rubber stamp) when you enter and exit. I can now go into Turkey whenever I want for the next three months. The visa was really exciting, and it certainly gives my passport some "street cred."
In order to get to the center of Istanbul, we need to take a bus to the edge of the Bosphorus (the strait separating the two sides of Istanbul) and then a ferry across to the European side. The bus ride was really long, and the bus driver had a habit of driving while the rear door was still open. It was certainly an adventure.
When we finally make it to the Bosphorus (after about an hour of standing on the bus) we try to buy ferry tokens, but it takes us a little bit of time as no one really speaks English. It takes us a while, and the Turks are constantly in a hurry. It turns out they were rushing to try to make the ferry across. We wait for a while and finally take a ferry ride across the Bosphorus! As we cross, we see the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. This trip looks like it's going to be awesome.
As we arrive on the European side of Istanbul, we are immediately overwhelmed by the noise, the angry (and TERRIBLE) drivers, and the sheer quantity of people. We see a doner place, and decide it would be really cool to eat doner in Turkey. It's a Turkish food that's quite popular in Germany as well. As we cross the street to the doner place, the little man in the cross/do no cross sign walks! It's pretty exciting. This is a feature that's pretty different in each country. It's pretty cool that it looks like he's walking. And he speeds up when you're running out of time to cross the street! It's the little things that are so exciting.
After the doner, we walk to the Topkapi Palace. It's gorgeous and a really cool example of architecture we've never seen before. There's also a museum in the palace. In this museum, we see the purported staff of Moses, sword of David, sword of Mohammad, skull and arm of John (the Baptist. Check out the legend on wikipedia), and the footprint and beard of Mohammad. We also see enough emeralds to save the global economy. It's awesome.
After the palace, we're pretty tired, so we decide to head over to our hotel after we check out the Grand Bazaar. We actually get lost on our way to the bazaar. Andrew has made it his mission to buy a flag in every country we visit, so he figures he can get one here. IT'S INSANE. SO MANY PEOPLE. It's completely overwhelming. You can't walk five feet without being accosted by another salesman. Andrew asks one man for a flag, and after much searching, the man finds one. The initial price is 70 lira, which is definitely too much. (At this point we're not sure of the exchange rate but think it's about 1:1 with the dollar. It turns out it's around 2:1 with the euro. So 2 lira=1 euro.) After about 10 minutes of haggling, Andrew is about to walk away, when the guy finally shoves the flag in a bag and shoves the bag into Andrew's arms, telling him to give 30 lira and just take it. It's a really high-quality flag, so Andrew agrees and ends up with the flag for a pretty good deal after all.
Trying to leave the bazaar is an adventure. It's huge. Every store we pass has another salesman trying to sell us something. We're also pretty obviously Americans: we're both wearing backpacks. I learn that keeping my head down, avoiding eye contact at all costs, and never responding to what they say helps to get through the bazaar relatively smoothly.
We try to walk to the hotel, but end up getting lost. We hail a cab and he makes it to the hotel. Google Maps had failed us. At the hotel, we discover our salmon/pink room, and the tv inside. We find Frasier IN ENGLISH, which is incredibly exciting, and when that ends, we watch Home Alone II on mute, since it's been dubbed. You can still follow it, though. We both end up falling asleep before 9. It's wonderful. We don't wake up until the alarm at 8.
The next morning, it's raining and a little colder, but this means there are no street vendors. This is a major improvement over the previous day. We walk over to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. They're both gorgeous from the outside. When it hits 9, we go into the Hagia Sophia. It's pretty amazing. Did you know that they completed the third rebuilding in six years? That's insanely quick. There's so much history there. Also, my camera is dying, so I have to buy a disposable camera for the rest of the trip.
The Blue Mosque is still a functioning mosque, so we have to take off our shoes as we enter. It's also gorgeous; there's a lot more light inside. After the Blue Mosque, we go to the Hippodrome (it used to be a sports venue, like in the beginning of the first millenium AD.) It's pretty awesome.
Then comes the best part of the trip. Prepare yourself. We have DOMINO'S for lunch. I've been craving Domino's since we got to Germany. It's the copious quantities we had last semester with Theresa's extra FlexPoints. It's not quite the same, but it's still wonderful.
After this we head back to our hotel, but not until we stop at a gift shop with fixed prices. It's a real blessing. I get gifts there for a lot of people, which I'm probably going to send back to the US with Meg when she visits.
[SIDEBAR: My best friend is visiting for WM's spring break!! She'll be here from Friday until the next Sunday. I'm sooooo excited.]
After a short rest at the hotel, we go on an expedition to find the old city walls. We can't find them, but we do see ancient aqueducts, which is pretty awesome. We also get weird Turkish pretzel-type things from a street vendor. They're pretty terrible but it was worth a try.
After this expedition we take another break and watch Chuck (which neither of us has ever watched before, but at least it's not dubbed!) and then Tom and Jerry. Terrible, new, Tom and Jerry, but at least there aren't any words, really.
That night, we go to a McDonald's for dinner and then to a Whirling Dervish ceremony at the same train station at the end of the Orient Express. It's really cool. The Dervishes seem crazy though. Their entire religion is based on love. We think the hippies who live in Vauban (our neighborhood) would enjoy the Dervishes.
The next morning, we walk to the ferry, ferry to the bus, bus to the airport, fly to the Basel airport, take a cab to the train station, train to the tram stop, and tram to our dorm. Thus taking every form of transportation possible in a span of 8 hours.
And then I pack for Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris. We leave in 15 hours.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
wow... quick summary and maybe I'll catch up later
Wow, I'm really behind on this. To sum up the past couple of weeks: two Fridays ago we went to the Alps to go skiing/sledding/hiking. I chose sledding; I almost sledded off an edge, but instead I ran into a wall. I thought I might have sprained my wrist but I just hyperextended it.
We had more classes, they've been going ok. I had two tests, one in German and one in my seminar. I got a 97 on the German test and a 100 on the seminar test. And I got an A- on the reflection essay (which is basically me "reflecting" on the trip while keeping a certain theme in mind--I could choose the theme. It was terribly written. To Emily Inglis and Hope Wright: it had as much thought put into it as an Alexander Technique paper. For an academic class. And it got an A-.)
Thursday and Friday we were in Geneva. We went to 5 different presentations, including four by various UN offices and one by the WTO (World Trade Organization). Conclusion drawn from this: the UN still doesn't have much power.
This week of classes has been going well--I have two tests tomorrow, one in German and one in my Regions of the EU class. Should go well, I studied today. I also have to give a presentation on Baden-Wurttemberg, the Land that I live in (like a US state, sort of). I had to bake a cake to go with it because we're supposed to bring something in and I though Black Forest Cake would be good. It's actually some sort of Danube Waves cake, but oh well. We're near the Danube.
I've got to run because my friend is dragging me out tonight. And in case anyone is worried about my test grades suffering, please don't. My first class is at 10:45 and I have a whole lunch break to review. Besides, what's the point of being able ot drink legally if you don't do it?
PS: I'm going to Istanbul, Turkey this weekend with my friend Andrew. It should be an adventure. I'm going to Asia!!!
We had more classes, they've been going ok. I had two tests, one in German and one in my seminar. I got a 97 on the German test and a 100 on the seminar test. And I got an A- on the reflection essay (which is basically me "reflecting" on the trip while keeping a certain theme in mind--I could choose the theme. It was terribly written. To Emily Inglis and Hope Wright: it had as much thought put into it as an Alexander Technique paper. For an academic class. And it got an A-.)
Thursday and Friday we were in Geneva. We went to 5 different presentations, including four by various UN offices and one by the WTO (World Trade Organization). Conclusion drawn from this: the UN still doesn't have much power.
This week of classes has been going well--I have two tests tomorrow, one in German and one in my Regions of the EU class. Should go well, I studied today. I also have to give a presentation on Baden-Wurttemberg, the Land that I live in (like a US state, sort of). I had to bake a cake to go with it because we're supposed to bring something in and I though Black Forest Cake would be good. It's actually some sort of Danube Waves cake, but oh well. We're near the Danube.
I've got to run because my friend is dragging me out tonight. And in case anyone is worried about my test grades suffering, please don't. My first class is at 10:45 and I have a whole lunch break to review. Besides, what's the point of being able ot drink legally if you don't do it?
PS: I'm going to Istanbul, Turkey this weekend with my friend Andrew. It should be an adventure. I'm going to Asia!!!
Monday, February 9, 2009
the start of classes
So we arrived back from Berlin at around 11:30. Classes start at 9 am. Again, well planned. My first class is Foreign Policy Analysis. There are a lot of people in the class that I know, and the professor is really cool. It looks like you'll actually have to put a fair amount of effort into the class because he'll call you out on not knowing stuff. Even though it's pretty early, I decided I was going to keep it (and pegged myself at a B, B+ for the semester.)
After that was Dynamics of Integration: From the Marshall Plan to the Eastern Enlargement of the EU. I'm in two classes with this professor, this and Culture and Politics: A Quest for Civilizational Identities in a Post-National World. We had an academic advising meeting, and I was warned that this professor basically lectures for an hour and a half straight, but he's a genius and you'll learn a ton from him. For those of you from WM, the advising meeting basically leaves me expecting Jerry Bledsoe to come in and teach the class.
AND WHAT I GET IS EVEN BETTER. The man's hair clearly has not changed since the 1970s. He says his R's as W's (American W's, not German W's) and he talks for an hour straight. It's epic. However, I almost fall asleep. I decide to wait until tomorrow to see how is next class is going to be, because I'm not sure if I can handle two classes with him.
And then I have German. Same as always, but now it's only an hour long everyday.
The next day starts with Culture and Politics: A Quest for Civilizational Identities in a Post-National World. Instead of falling asleep, I pay attention for the whole class because it seems really interesting and I think I'll really like it. I do decide to drop the other class because I just can't handle two classes with this man (along with two 20-page term papers.)
After this, German again. Then I go to check out a class to replace the one I've dropped. I go to Regions of the EU. It's one of the only ones left that is upper-level government. The professor seems great (and full of sass for "the Jon," who walked in late) so I decide to switch to this. Luckily, Clay Clemens (the government department chair at WM) has my back and he decides they'll give me credit for this new class.
And then I have seminar again. I actually felt like I got stupider during the class. I'll be honest. That class is a waste of my time. I don't do the reading because I don't need to, and there's not that much to pay attention to in class.
BUT, I did do all of my homework for my classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday already (with the exception of the two reflection essays I have to write) so I'm more on top of my stuff than I am at WM.
After that was Dynamics of Integration: From the Marshall Plan to the Eastern Enlargement of the EU. I'm in two classes with this professor, this and Culture and Politics: A Quest for Civilizational Identities in a Post-National World. We had an academic advising meeting, and I was warned that this professor basically lectures for an hour and a half straight, but he's a genius and you'll learn a ton from him. For those of you from WM, the advising meeting basically leaves me expecting Jerry Bledsoe to come in and teach the class.
AND WHAT I GET IS EVEN BETTER. The man's hair clearly has not changed since the 1970s. He says his R's as W's (American W's, not German W's) and he talks for an hour straight. It's epic. However, I almost fall asleep. I decide to wait until tomorrow to see how is next class is going to be, because I'm not sure if I can handle two classes with him.
And then I have German. Same as always, but now it's only an hour long everyday.
The next day starts with Culture and Politics: A Quest for Civilizational Identities in a Post-National World. Instead of falling asleep, I pay attention for the whole class because it seems really interesting and I think I'll really like it. I do decide to drop the other class because I just can't handle two classes with this man (along with two 20-page term papers.)
After this, German again. Then I go to check out a class to replace the one I've dropped. I go to Regions of the EU. It's one of the only ones left that is upper-level government. The professor seems great (and full of sass for "the Jon," who walked in late) so I decide to switch to this. Luckily, Clay Clemens (the government department chair at WM) has my back and he decides they'll give me credit for this new class.
And then I have seminar again. I actually felt like I got stupider during the class. I'll be honest. That class is a waste of my time. I don't do the reading because I don't need to, and there's not that much to pay attention to in class.
BUT, I did do all of my homework for my classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday already (with the exception of the two reflection essays I have to write) so I'm more on top of my stuff than I am at WM.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
the estonia and berlin trip
Oh my goodness I have a lot to post.
ESTONIA
We left on a bus for the Frankfurt airport at around 7 am. Daria had to stay behind because she was experiencing some major pain. (Turns out it was her kidney, and she didn't come on this trip at all.) We quickly check in and discover that there is surprisingly little food in the Frankfurt airport. I have an overpriced panini at some sort of cafe. We board a rather large plane (three seats, aisle, three seats) and take off for Estonia.
The Estonian airport is rather small. For those of you who will get this reference, it's about as big as the Williamsburg airport, maybe a little bigger. It's like the first building at Dulles that houses security. So we get in and have a charter bus take us through Tallinn to our hotel.
Estonia is very clearly formerly Soviet. It's drab with big blocky buildings. Before we go out to eat that night, we go to the ATM to get kroons, the Estonian currency. It exchanges at about a rate of one dollar equals 12 kroons and one euro equals 15 kroons. It's very funny getting 1000 kroons for a two-day stay.
After getting money from the ATM, we go out to eat at what is essentially an expensive tourist trap in the center of "Old Tallinn." It's faux-medieval and included with it is a staged swordfight. I get the curry chicken salad (and, btw, I think there's more curry dried into the spatula in my house at school) and the cream cheese soup. For the record, the cream cheese soup does not taste at all like cream cheese but it is in fact both creamy and cheesy.
We return to our hotel and I have a room (and bathroom) to myself. This is because Daria was going to be my roommate and she had to stay in Freiburg. It turns out that I have a really big room compared to other people: I have two single beds and a couch all to myself. This was also the only time all semester (and honestly, the first time in my life) that I have had or will have my own bathroom.
The next morning, we wake up and have an early breakfast downstairs. There is the standard lunchmeat, cheese, and bread, but there is also potato wedges, scrambled egg casserole, sausages, and porridge. The porridge basically tastes like cream of wheat, so I eat that and the potato wedges. The Estonian cheese is also not bad.
We then take public transportation to the university. Our IES leader puts us on the wrong bus so we have to walk a couple of blocks to reach the other group, and then we have to run so that all of us can make it on the tram. Oh, the organization of IES.
We get to the university and go up three flights of stairs, through a corridor to another building, down a flight of stairs, through another corridor to another building, and then down one more flight of stairs until we reach our final destination of the lecture hall. We then listen to a pretty boring lecture about the domestic politics of Estonia, during which I almost fall asleep. The highlight of the talk is that the lecturer's name is Leif.
We break for coffee and pastries. After this we return for our assignments for "Tallinn as Text." This is basically an exercise for us to explore the city and learn about all different aspects of it. I go with Andrew, Matt, Rachel, Aparna, and Alison to go to Kadriorg Palace, which was one of the palaces of Peter the Great. Following the directions that IES gives us, we turn right out of the university and end up on the other side of town. We get to see the Old Town gate and buy souvenirs, but we're completely lost. Between asking 3 different Estonians and calling a staff member, we figure out where to go and end up on the right side of town.
We visit the palace (which was pretty underwhelming, honestly), ice sculptures of the 12 Chinese zodiac symbols, the KUMU art museum (we don't go inside but at least we see it), the presidential palace, and we touch the Baltic sea! That was pretty cool.
After we return to the university to learn about the adventures of all the other groups, we set out into Tallinn once more to explore the city. Andrew has made it his quest to find a ushanka hat (search for it on Google images and you'll see what I mean) and Matt's getting a soccer scarf from each country we visit, so we set off on a quest to find these items. Matt finds his scarf, but no luck with the hat. We end up at a restaurant where we get a nacho plate to start, three of us get burgers, and Andrew gets tacos. Conclusion: No, really, there's no good Mexican food in all of Europe.
The next morning we pack up our stuff and leave it in the hotel's luggage room for the day. We go to a conference room in the hotel and listen to another Estonian speaker. Conclusion: Estonia loves the US. It's really cute, because Estonia has a force of like 50 in Iraq (which is like 1% of their total army) and so Estonia hopes that if they ever need help, the US will reciprocate proportionately. Good luck with that.
Afterwards Andrew, Rachel, and I go to the Occupation Museum and learn about the period that Estonia was occupied by the Germans and the Soviets. I have to post those pictures on facebook and I'll be sure to link to them. After that we basically walk around and return to the hotel.
We aren't flying directly to Berlin--we have to stop over in Frankfurt first. For those of you without a rather detailed map of Europe in your head, that's really out of the way. At least we've flown Lufthansa for all of our flights. Our flights are uneventful, except for that our plane from Frankfurt to Berlin is huge. It's a 2-4-2 arrangement, which was even bigger than the plane I flew over in. It's also almost empty. It's a little weird.
BERLIN
We arrive in Berlin and take a public bus to Alexanderplatz where we catch the tram to our hotel. The hotel is cheerfully located in East Berlin and looks like a converted townhouse, basically. I'm in an apartment with Shanna and Ranjani, and they share the larger room and I get the smaller room to myself since Daria's in Freiburg. I basically haul my stuff upstairs and collapse into bed, since by this point it's midnight. PS: no elevators. There are hardly any elevators anywhere.
The next day is Sunday, the day of the Super Bowl. We leave rather early that morning to begin our tour of the city. We see lots of stuff, including the outside of the Bundestag (Parliament building), the Brandenberg Gate, and a remnant of the wall. After the tour we have time for lunch and then we have to do a project with our German class. I go with several members of my German class to a faux-American place, where I eat a cheeseburger and have a .5 L beverage. This is important because I'm so used to TINY BEVERAGES that I finish my meal before I finish my drink. This is only like 16 ounces of liquid. Those of you who have ever gone out to eat with me (ie, all of you) know I get like five free refills normally.
Anyway, we somehow meet up with our entire German class (except Danny) in this restaurant, so we set out together to find our project. We are supposed to go to the Berlin Wall museum and then to a large stretch of the wall that was left up. It's an adventure in public transportation. Long story short, we get on a total of six different trams/trains, including running from the correct tram to the wrong tram. Go figure. AND, go figure, I forgot my camera battery that day. I plan to steal people's pictures.
That evening I plan to get a light dinner and then stay up late watching the Super Bowl at a pub. As it turns out, I get crepes from the train station (which also has fish and chips, McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC) and fall asleep by 11:30. I think I'm glad that the Steelers won but I'm also glad I didn't have to watch it, because I couldn't have been cheering for them. For those of you about to disown me for being glad the Steelers won, let me explain. Mike Tomlin went to William and Mary, and it's very rare that we do anything of note in sports. So a Super Bowl win for him is a Super Bowl win for WM.
Monday is another rather busy day. We start by going to the German Department of Defense. It's pretty interesting, except Dena (as she ALWAYS DOES) basically attacks the speaker to find out his view on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Basically, she's always really inappropriate and embarassing. She's great one-on-one, but she doesn't really get boundaries for that issue. It was so bad that IES might not be invited back to a lecture there in the future. (Dena's Egyptian and the president of her school's Muslim Student Association.)
After that, we get a (boring) tour of the Bundestag. Not much to report there--there are pictures. Finally, that evening I go to the Pergamon with Kris (a girl), Shanna, and Caleb? I can't remember who the third person was. The Pergamon is a museum of Greek history and Islamic art. It's really cool--no pictures allowed, really, but I have a few that I'll upload.
Tuesday is free unless you have a class meeting, which only two classes do, so Matt, Alison, Dena, and I walk through Berlin on a quest to find the New Synagogue and the English-language bookstore. The synagogue is actually a museum, so we pay the two euros and check it out. It's actually the first time I've ever been in a synagogue. Alison is Jewish, so I get everything explained to me. Dena is surprisingly ok in the synagogue.
After that we find the bookstore (or, rather, the section of the really big bookstore) that we were looking for and I buy two books (one I think I actually own at home but have never read.) After this we walk back to the hotel with our purchases in tow. As we walk back I almost get pickpocketed but luckily I am not. At this point I'm ready to be back in a smaller city.
We take the train back to Freiburg. It's a really long train ride, but it's manageable. I read a book I brought with me from home and we play cards pretty much the whole way there.
ESTONIA
We left on a bus for the Frankfurt airport at around 7 am. Daria had to stay behind because she was experiencing some major pain. (Turns out it was her kidney, and she didn't come on this trip at all.) We quickly check in and discover that there is surprisingly little food in the Frankfurt airport. I have an overpriced panini at some sort of cafe. We board a rather large plane (three seats, aisle, three seats) and take off for Estonia.
The Estonian airport is rather small. For those of you who will get this reference, it's about as big as the Williamsburg airport, maybe a little bigger. It's like the first building at Dulles that houses security. So we get in and have a charter bus take us through Tallinn to our hotel.
Estonia is very clearly formerly Soviet. It's drab with big blocky buildings. Before we go out to eat that night, we go to the ATM to get kroons, the Estonian currency. It exchanges at about a rate of one dollar equals 12 kroons and one euro equals 15 kroons. It's very funny getting 1000 kroons for a two-day stay.
After getting money from the ATM, we go out to eat at what is essentially an expensive tourist trap in the center of "Old Tallinn." It's faux-medieval and included with it is a staged swordfight. I get the curry chicken salad (and, btw, I think there's more curry dried into the spatula in my house at school) and the cream cheese soup. For the record, the cream cheese soup does not taste at all like cream cheese but it is in fact both creamy and cheesy.
We return to our hotel and I have a room (and bathroom) to myself. This is because Daria was going to be my roommate and she had to stay in Freiburg. It turns out that I have a really big room compared to other people: I have two single beds and a couch all to myself. This was also the only time all semester (and honestly, the first time in my life) that I have had or will have my own bathroom.
The next morning, we wake up and have an early breakfast downstairs. There is the standard lunchmeat, cheese, and bread, but there is also potato wedges, scrambled egg casserole, sausages, and porridge. The porridge basically tastes like cream of wheat, so I eat that and the potato wedges. The Estonian cheese is also not bad.
We then take public transportation to the university. Our IES leader puts us on the wrong bus so we have to walk a couple of blocks to reach the other group, and then we have to run so that all of us can make it on the tram. Oh, the organization of IES.
We get to the university and go up three flights of stairs, through a corridor to another building, down a flight of stairs, through another corridor to another building, and then down one more flight of stairs until we reach our final destination of the lecture hall. We then listen to a pretty boring lecture about the domestic politics of Estonia, during which I almost fall asleep. The highlight of the talk is that the lecturer's name is Leif.
We break for coffee and pastries. After this we return for our assignments for "Tallinn as Text." This is basically an exercise for us to explore the city and learn about all different aspects of it. I go with Andrew, Matt, Rachel, Aparna, and Alison to go to Kadriorg Palace, which was one of the palaces of Peter the Great. Following the directions that IES gives us, we turn right out of the university and end up on the other side of town. We get to see the Old Town gate and buy souvenirs, but we're completely lost. Between asking 3 different Estonians and calling a staff member, we figure out where to go and end up on the right side of town.
We visit the palace (which was pretty underwhelming, honestly), ice sculptures of the 12 Chinese zodiac symbols, the KUMU art museum (we don't go inside but at least we see it), the presidential palace, and we touch the Baltic sea! That was pretty cool.
After we return to the university to learn about the adventures of all the other groups, we set out into Tallinn once more to explore the city. Andrew has made it his quest to find a ushanka hat (search for it on Google images and you'll see what I mean) and Matt's getting a soccer scarf from each country we visit, so we set off on a quest to find these items. Matt finds his scarf, but no luck with the hat. We end up at a restaurant where we get a nacho plate to start, three of us get burgers, and Andrew gets tacos. Conclusion: No, really, there's no good Mexican food in all of Europe.
The next morning we pack up our stuff and leave it in the hotel's luggage room for the day. We go to a conference room in the hotel and listen to another Estonian speaker. Conclusion: Estonia loves the US. It's really cute, because Estonia has a force of like 50 in Iraq (which is like 1% of their total army) and so Estonia hopes that if they ever need help, the US will reciprocate proportionately. Good luck with that.
Afterwards Andrew, Rachel, and I go to the Occupation Museum and learn about the period that Estonia was occupied by the Germans and the Soviets. I have to post those pictures on facebook and I'll be sure to link to them. After that we basically walk around and return to the hotel.
We aren't flying directly to Berlin--we have to stop over in Frankfurt first. For those of you without a rather detailed map of Europe in your head, that's really out of the way. At least we've flown Lufthansa for all of our flights. Our flights are uneventful, except for that our plane from Frankfurt to Berlin is huge. It's a 2-4-2 arrangement, which was even bigger than the plane I flew over in. It's also almost empty. It's a little weird.
BERLIN
We arrive in Berlin and take a public bus to Alexanderplatz where we catch the tram to our hotel. The hotel is cheerfully located in East Berlin and looks like a converted townhouse, basically. I'm in an apartment with Shanna and Ranjani, and they share the larger room and I get the smaller room to myself since Daria's in Freiburg. I basically haul my stuff upstairs and collapse into bed, since by this point it's midnight. PS: no elevators. There are hardly any elevators anywhere.
The next day is Sunday, the day of the Super Bowl. We leave rather early that morning to begin our tour of the city. We see lots of stuff, including the outside of the Bundestag (Parliament building), the Brandenberg Gate, and a remnant of the wall. After the tour we have time for lunch and then we have to do a project with our German class. I go with several members of my German class to a faux-American place, where I eat a cheeseburger and have a .5 L beverage. This is important because I'm so used to TINY BEVERAGES that I finish my meal before I finish my drink. This is only like 16 ounces of liquid. Those of you who have ever gone out to eat with me (ie, all of you) know I get like five free refills normally.
Anyway, we somehow meet up with our entire German class (except Danny) in this restaurant, so we set out together to find our project. We are supposed to go to the Berlin Wall museum and then to a large stretch of the wall that was left up. It's an adventure in public transportation. Long story short, we get on a total of six different trams/trains, including running from the correct tram to the wrong tram. Go figure. AND, go figure, I forgot my camera battery that day. I plan to steal people's pictures.
That evening I plan to get a light dinner and then stay up late watching the Super Bowl at a pub. As it turns out, I get crepes from the train station (which also has fish and chips, McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC) and fall asleep by 11:30. I think I'm glad that the Steelers won but I'm also glad I didn't have to watch it, because I couldn't have been cheering for them. For those of you about to disown me for being glad the Steelers won, let me explain. Mike Tomlin went to William and Mary, and it's very rare that we do anything of note in sports. So a Super Bowl win for him is a Super Bowl win for WM.
Monday is another rather busy day. We start by going to the German Department of Defense. It's pretty interesting, except Dena (as she ALWAYS DOES) basically attacks the speaker to find out his view on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Basically, she's always really inappropriate and embarassing. She's great one-on-one, but she doesn't really get boundaries for that issue. It was so bad that IES might not be invited back to a lecture there in the future. (Dena's Egyptian and the president of her school's Muslim Student Association.)
After that, we get a (boring) tour of the Bundestag. Not much to report there--there are pictures. Finally, that evening I go to the Pergamon with Kris (a girl), Shanna, and Caleb? I can't remember who the third person was. The Pergamon is a museum of Greek history and Islamic art. It's really cool--no pictures allowed, really, but I have a few that I'll upload.
Tuesday is free unless you have a class meeting, which only two classes do, so Matt, Alison, Dena, and I walk through Berlin on a quest to find the New Synagogue and the English-language bookstore. The synagogue is actually a museum, so we pay the two euros and check it out. It's actually the first time I've ever been in a synagogue. Alison is Jewish, so I get everything explained to me. Dena is surprisingly ok in the synagogue.
After that we find the bookstore (or, rather, the section of the really big bookstore) that we were looking for and I buy two books (one I think I actually own at home but have never read.) After this we walk back to the hotel with our purchases in tow. As we walk back I almost get pickpocketed but luckily I am not. At this point I'm ready to be back in a smaller city.
We take the train back to Freiburg. It's a really long train ride, but it's manageable. I read a book I brought with me from home and we play cards pretty much the whole way there.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Estonia
Tomorrow morning my group leaves for Frankfurt so we can fly to Tallinn (the capital of Estonia). Several days later, we fly to Berlin for a few days. We will finally return around the 3rd of February. During this time, my laptop will be in Freiburg and I will have limited internet access.
We're hoping that my two alarms (plus friend backup) will be sufficient to awaken me in time to catch the bus with plenty of time to spare. I've already packed and even have a list of stuff to grab and take with me this time. Hopefully I'll actually be able to use transportation successfully.
We're hoping that my two alarms (plus friend backup) will be sufficient to awaken me in time to catch the bus with plenty of time to spare. I've already packed and even have a list of stuff to grab and take with me this time. Hopefully I'll actually be able to use transportation successfully.
Monday, January 26, 2009
This past weekend.
SATURDAY
One day, I will learn to work well with public transportation. Saturday was not that day. We had to be at the train station at 7:45, so my friends and I made plans to be at the tram station at 7:15. I set my alarm for 6:15. Plently of time. So when I'm awakened at 7:10 by my friend calling me to ask me to bring batteries for her camera, I panicked a bit. When she calls me in three minutes to tell me to run because the tram is leaving in five minutes and the next one doesn't come until 7:48, I really panic. I basically throw on enough clothes to leave the apartment respectably, grab the rest, grab my backpack and coat, and sprint to the tram. I made it with like one minute to spare. And when we get to the place where we're catching the bus to Heidelberg we wait for the later tram because so many people have missed the first one. Somehow I managed to bring with me my wallet, camera, cell phone, iPod, and pretty much everything I would have brought with me anyway. I was only lacking a book to read on the bus (and I even grabbed the batteries for Daria).
So we get to Heidelberg and head for the castle. It's gorgeous. You have great views of the city (proven with countless pictures that I'll link to) and the castle itself was really cool. We go into the wine cellar of the castle where we see this enormous wine keg. It's about 2.5 times my height. We all exclaim about how large it is, and then we go into the next room. And there we see a wine keg we can stand on. It's about as tall as a standard house. Don't worry, there are pictures.
Next we go to lunch (we pass a Hard Rock Cafe but decide on our trusty Turkish favorite, doner.) It's good, and then we go on our city tour. The guide is from Richmond and Georgia (the state). Her sister went to William and Mary, as it turns out. Small world. (Also in the realm of it being a small world, I was eating dinner at a friend's flat, and I was talking with his flatmate. His girlfriend went to UVa and she actually grew up and went to high school in Williamsburg. That's crazy.)
On the city tour, the coolest thing we see is the University of Heidelberg Studentenkarzer, the student jail. This was considered a right of passage for students at the university. They would be sent here for disturbing the neighbors, and after three days of bread and water only, they would be given regular meals, they could go to class, all of the normal things. There was graffiti all over the walls. These guys apparently had the time of their collective life here.
We then get pastries and hot chocolate and return home via bus.
SUNDAY: Perhaps even more epic than Saturday was.
I decided that since I can barely follow Mass without a missal (which is currently on its way to me) I was going to sleep in today. I woke up first at 7:45 (it figures), but I went back to sleep and rewoke at 9:30. I was going to "do homework" and then decide if I wanted to go to the festival in Umkirch later that day. I, shockingly, got very little homework done and decided to go to the festival anyway. We get on the tram and then wait for the bus. There are many curiously dressed people at the bus stop, and we clearly look like a bunch of Americans. We arrive at the festival and there are people in all sorts of strange costumes. This festival was originally to scare away the winter spirits so that spring could start. Kids were dressed up in Halloween costumes and they would get candy from the people parading down the street. The people parading down the street would also occasionally dump confetti on a person's head (and I mean a LOT of confetti). I also decided to try heisswein (hot wine). It's exactly as delicious as it sounds. It was pretty terrible. After watching the parade for about an hour and a half, we decided we were FREEZING and headed home.
I returned to my apartment to my Australian flatmate setting up for her Australia Day party. She was having the party for the approximately 10 Australians in Freiburg. I left for Daria's room to work on my study guide. I returned at around 10 pm to a party. It's really funny what music they love over here. They were all drunkenly screaming along to "Locomotion" as if it were the new pop hit. They would also do this to classic rock. I joined them for a bit before heading to bed. When I reawoke today around 7:30 they were still in her room listening to music. In college, that's what you call a champion. I had slept surprisingly well (better than the guys who live in our flat did, apparently.)
Heidelberg 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005266&l=b8b87&id=1222890044
Heidelberg 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005267&l=89a9d&id=1222890044
Heidelberg 3: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005269&l=e10a5&id=1222890044
the student jail: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005270&l=83fe9&id=1222890044
the festival: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005308&l=b888d&id=1222890044
One day, I will learn to work well with public transportation. Saturday was not that day. We had to be at the train station at 7:45, so my friends and I made plans to be at the tram station at 7:15. I set my alarm for 6:15. Plently of time. So when I'm awakened at 7:10 by my friend calling me to ask me to bring batteries for her camera, I panicked a bit. When she calls me in three minutes to tell me to run because the tram is leaving in five minutes and the next one doesn't come until 7:48, I really panic. I basically throw on enough clothes to leave the apartment respectably, grab the rest, grab my backpack and coat, and sprint to the tram. I made it with like one minute to spare. And when we get to the place where we're catching the bus to Heidelberg we wait for the later tram because so many people have missed the first one. Somehow I managed to bring with me my wallet, camera, cell phone, iPod, and pretty much everything I would have brought with me anyway. I was only lacking a book to read on the bus (and I even grabbed the batteries for Daria).
So we get to Heidelberg and head for the castle. It's gorgeous. You have great views of the city (proven with countless pictures that I'll link to) and the castle itself was really cool. We go into the wine cellar of the castle where we see this enormous wine keg. It's about 2.5 times my height. We all exclaim about how large it is, and then we go into the next room. And there we see a wine keg we can stand on. It's about as tall as a standard house. Don't worry, there are pictures.
Next we go to lunch (we pass a Hard Rock Cafe but decide on our trusty Turkish favorite, doner.) It's good, and then we go on our city tour. The guide is from Richmond and Georgia (the state). Her sister went to William and Mary, as it turns out. Small world. (Also in the realm of it being a small world, I was eating dinner at a friend's flat, and I was talking with his flatmate. His girlfriend went to UVa and she actually grew up and went to high school in Williamsburg. That's crazy.)
On the city tour, the coolest thing we see is the University of Heidelberg Studentenkarzer, the student jail. This was considered a right of passage for students at the university. They would be sent here for disturbing the neighbors, and after three days of bread and water only, they would be given regular meals, they could go to class, all of the normal things. There was graffiti all over the walls. These guys apparently had the time of their collective life here.
We then get pastries and hot chocolate and return home via bus.
SUNDAY: Perhaps even more epic than Saturday was.
I decided that since I can barely follow Mass without a missal (which is currently on its way to me) I was going to sleep in today. I woke up first at 7:45 (it figures), but I went back to sleep and rewoke at 9:30. I was going to "do homework" and then decide if I wanted to go to the festival in Umkirch later that day. I, shockingly, got very little homework done and decided to go to the festival anyway. We get on the tram and then wait for the bus. There are many curiously dressed people at the bus stop, and we clearly look like a bunch of Americans. We arrive at the festival and there are people in all sorts of strange costumes. This festival was originally to scare away the winter spirits so that spring could start. Kids were dressed up in Halloween costumes and they would get candy from the people parading down the street. The people parading down the street would also occasionally dump confetti on a person's head (and I mean a LOT of confetti). I also decided to try heisswein (hot wine). It's exactly as delicious as it sounds. It was pretty terrible. After watching the parade for about an hour and a half, we decided we were FREEZING and headed home.
I returned to my apartment to my Australian flatmate setting up for her Australia Day party. She was having the party for the approximately 10 Australians in Freiburg. I left for Daria's room to work on my study guide. I returned at around 10 pm to a party. It's really funny what music they love over here. They were all drunkenly screaming along to "Locomotion" as if it were the new pop hit. They would also do this to classic rock. I joined them for a bit before heading to bed. When I reawoke today around 7:30 they were still in her room listening to music. In college, that's what you call a champion. I had slept surprisingly well (better than the guys who live in our flat did, apparently.)
Heidelberg 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005266&l=b8b87&id=1222890044
Heidelberg 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005267&l=89a9d&id=1222890044
Heidelberg 3: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005269&l=e10a5&id=1222890044
the student jail: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005270&l=83fe9&id=1222890044
the festival: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005308&l=b888d&id=1222890044
Sunday, January 25, 2009
i'll update soon
I have approximately 196 pictures waiting to be linked from facebook. Saturday, our German class took a field trip to Heidelberg. Sunday, we went to a carnival in a small town that was designed to "scare away winter" which was a little crazy. And last night, the Australian girl in my flat had a huge party for Australia Day. In short, there is a very long entry coming. I'm just not sure when it's coming.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
middle schoolers
Middle schoolers in Germany? Just as annoying as middle schoolers in the US. You can't understand what they're saying here, which can be either good or bad.
Things have been relatively boring here, since classes have started. German should be good--we took a field trip to several different grocery stores today so we could learn German words for food (and learn that baking soda doesn't exist here). The seminar will be enjoyable, if not entirely worthwhile. Yesterday we talked about nothing for an hour and THEN got started, and today it was only 20 minutes. Maybe it'll keep getting better.
Last night we tried to find our way to a bar near one of the other dorms. After an hour of wandering the streets of Freiburg, we made our way back to the tram stop and went home. It was quite disappointing. But an adventure nonetheless. The directions that Dave tried to give us included "go through the tunnel" and "when you see the mountain, turn left." Needless to say, they weren't very helpful.
We're going to Nice for spring break (which is Easter Weekend)! We're flying from Basel to Nice on Friday and returning on Monday evening. Now we have to look at hostels and that business. There are five of us going so far, me, Daria, Matt, Andrew, and Rachel. (I don't know that I had any pictures of her.) If we can find a sixth person it will make it much easier to book a hostel room. We'll see.
Things have been relatively boring here, since classes have started. German should be good--we took a field trip to several different grocery stores today so we could learn German words for food (and learn that baking soda doesn't exist here). The seminar will be enjoyable, if not entirely worthwhile. Yesterday we talked about nothing for an hour and THEN got started, and today it was only 20 minutes. Maybe it'll keep getting better.
Last night we tried to find our way to a bar near one of the other dorms. After an hour of wandering the streets of Freiburg, we made our way back to the tram stop and went home. It was quite disappointing. But an adventure nonetheless. The directions that Dave tried to give us included "go through the tunnel" and "when you see the mountain, turn left." Needless to say, they weren't very helpful.
We're going to Nice for spring break (which is Easter Weekend)! We're flying from Basel to Nice on Friday and returning on Monday evening. Now we have to look at hostels and that business. There are five of us going so far, me, Daria, Matt, Andrew, and Rachel. (I don't know that I had any pictures of her.) If we can find a sixth person it will make it much easier to book a hostel room. We'll see.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
wallet
I'd just like to take a short entry to gush about how perfect my wallet that I got from Buschie is. With both zippered pockets, I can separate my francs from my euros (including change), I have a pocket for my ID, and best of all, my cell phone that I got for over here fits in with my euros. It's awesome. I thought I should share it with the world.
Monday, January 19, 2009
picture
This is a picture of everyone who was on the train that had to stop in Schliengen. From left to right:
John (goes to Loyola Chicago, not "The John"), Andrew (a WM student too, who I hadn't met before this trip), Matt (generally the Matt I'll be talking about, other Matt is Matt Shoemaker), Daria (pronounced "Dair-ee-a"), me, Dave (goes to Penn State like a fifth of the group).
John (goes to Loyola Chicago, not "The John"), Andrew (a WM student too, who I hadn't met before this trip), Matt (generally the Matt I'll be talking about, other Matt is Matt Shoemaker), Daria (pronounced "Dair-ee-a"), me, Dave (goes to Penn State like a fifth of the group).
homework
So, we had our first classes today. They gave us the option of taking a slightly harder German 101, which I elected to take. I figure I'm not getting credit for the German anyway, and even if I were, I'd just be getting transfer credits, not credits towards my GPA. And I know a tiny bit of German (more than a bunch of people). So I'm in German 101 Section B, which is harder than A and C.
Then we had our seminar. The three people I've spent most of my time hanging out with (Andrew, Matt, and Daria) are all in B and I'm in A. When the director described how the groups (A-D) were divided up, B had the most IR experience, D was business people, C is those without IR experience, and B was a little less IR experience or the leftovers. I'm a little nervous about the people in my class. I was the only one who, when we were asked, knew who went to EU Summits (head of government and foreign minister from each member country). So I'm nervous that it won't be as hard or interesting as B would have been. I feel like it's arbitrary, because Andrew and I are both in the same department at the same school, and we're in different groups.
I'm also a little worried about who's in the class with me. There's "The Tom," the obnoxious guy who was in Freiburg last semester for the other Freiburg program who seems to get drunk a lot. There's also "The John," who just seems obnoxious. Luckily, though, "The John" seems to know his stuff. I'll take smart and obnoxious over obnoxious and a "funny guy" anyday. There just seem like there are a lot of personalities in the class that I don't feel like dealing with. We'll see how it goes. I have homework tonight for both classes, so that should be fun (not). Maybe I'll be better about doing homework this semester than I was last semester.
Then we had our seminar. The three people I've spent most of my time hanging out with (Andrew, Matt, and Daria) are all in B and I'm in A. When the director described how the groups (A-D) were divided up, B had the most IR experience, D was business people, C is those without IR experience, and B was a little less IR experience or the leftovers. I'm a little nervous about the people in my class. I was the only one who, when we were asked, knew who went to EU Summits (head of government and foreign minister from each member country). So I'm nervous that it won't be as hard or interesting as B would have been. I feel like it's arbitrary, because Andrew and I are both in the same department at the same school, and we're in different groups.
I'm also a little worried about who's in the class with me. There's "The Tom," the obnoxious guy who was in Freiburg last semester for the other Freiburg program who seems to get drunk a lot. There's also "The John," who just seems obnoxious. Luckily, though, "The John" seems to know his stuff. I'll take smart and obnoxious over obnoxious and a "funny guy" anyday. There just seem like there are a lot of personalities in the class that I don't feel like dealing with. We'll see how it goes. I have homework tonight for both classes, so that should be fun (not). Maybe I'll be better about doing homework this semester than I was last semester.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
dreary
I'm a little sad the Ravens lost. Joe Flacco still did something this season that no other rookie quarterback has done, ever, in winning two postseason games. So I guess I'll take it. I just hope we don't let Ray leave.
And it's supposed to rain today, just like it has either rained or snowed everyday since we've gotten here. I appreciate the sentiment, but at the same time, I'd love a dry day.
(PS: I'm totally wearing my Ravens sweatshirt today even though we lost.)
And it's supposed to rain today, just like it has either rained or snowed everyday since we've gotten here. I appreciate the sentiment, but at the same time, I'd love a dry day.
(PS: I'm totally wearing my Ravens sweatshirt today even though we lost.)
pictures
Pics from going to the bars our first Friday night
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004888&l=0edd5&id=1222890044
Pics from the Basel trip today
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004884&l=5b0a2&id=1222890044
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004888&l=0edd5&id=1222890044
Pics from the Basel trip today
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004884&l=5b0a2&id=1222890044
dodging bullets
Oh man. I had a hard time waking up today. I guess that's what happens when you go to bed at 2 am (after watching NCIS via skype!!) and expect to get up a little before 8. So I left my room a little after 8 and had to wait for the 8:17 tram to the center of town so I could go to Mass at the Münster, but I didn't know exactly where to go. I thought we passed it on the tram, so I got off when we passed what looked like a cathedral. It wasn't a cathedral, so I walked to the stop that the German woman had told me to get off at. I get there at like 8:45, and I follow an old woman into the Church. It turns out I don't know Mass as well as I thought I did. I'm looking for an English missal.
So in the process of rushing to church I forget to grab my passport to bring with me to Basel (just across the Swiss border). No big deal, Switzerland has open borders. I get to the train station after Mass and my friends aren't there yet--they missed the first train (none of us are ever on time to meet) and so it was looking like they were gonna be cutting it close and might not make the train. I went to buy a ticket from Auggen to Basel from the machine on Track 4, where the train leaves from, but it was broken, so I went to Track 3, thinking to maybe get the ticket from the machine there. I was over there for a while, and around 10:13, I decide to head back to Track 4 to wait for my friends. I get to the track and my friend Matt is shouting at me to get on the train. Apparently they had been calling my cell phone and shouting for me and knocking on the glass of the train and all sorts of things to get my attention on the next track. So I barely make the train and we head for Basel.
We can't actually get past Auggen without tickets to Basel (our tram pass covers the rest) and they clearly didn't buy tickets because the machine was broken on that track. So we get to Auggen and I look out the window and don't see hardly anything at all. I sorta freak out and think there won't be anything there. Meanwhile, we continue past Auggen, now riding illegally without tickets. Some of the guys with us get nervous and go to find a conductor so we can purchase tickets. The conductor tells us we'll have to get off at the next stop and buy tickets there.
We stop in Schliengen, a TINY town in the middle of nowhere. There's really like houses and nothing else there, and of COURSE nothing is open there, because it's Sunday. We start to wander the town (we have an hour until the next train) and then it starts to rain a bit. So we head back to the corrugated hut that is next to the train tracks and wait out the rain. There is graffiti on the tunnel to the other side of the tracks, including Garfield in Egypt. Picture links follow.
We finally get back on the train and head to Basel. We're all hungry and looking for a place to eat. Everything is really expensive, so they see a McDonald's and go to see how cheap it is. I've made it my personal vow not to eat McDonald's or drink Coke or Starbucks, but I go along because I've brought a croissant with me. Burgers are like 11 francs (comparable to a dollar) so we go back to this restaurant attached to a window vendor. The window isn't that expensive, so we go inside. It turns out to be an "American" restaurant, and sells pizza and hamburgers. We all get one or the other, and everything is at least 14 francs. It's absurdly priced. We complain to each other, we eat, we head out to explore the city.
We explore, we see the Münster, we see another church. It starts to rain and we keep walking. Daria and I consider stopping and just visiting this Egyptian museum, but decide against it, saying we can always come back. We end up walking in circles around this city and it starts pouring. We're on the other side of the city and we start our trek back to the train station. By the time we get there, we're all soaked through. Luckily I wore my rain jacket, but it was close to soaked through.
We get on the train, just glad to be heading home to watch the football game at the Irish pub (Eagles game for sure and maybe the Ravens game). I fall asleep listening to Secret Garden, and Daria wakes me up, the train stopped, and there are the politzei randomly checking for passports. I start silently freaking out a bit as everyone pulls out their passports and I figure to get my Uni. Freiburg ID and my MD driver's license (it's the best I can do). They guys were sitting in a group of four in front of me and Daria and they all pull theirs out to be inspected. The politzei spends a while looking at them, and he asks where they're from. Andrew says "America". the politzei replies "No, where you're coming from now." One of them then says "Freiburg," which I correct to "Basel" and the guy corrects himself. The politzei gives them back their passports and moves towards our row and Daria pulls out her passport and I pull out my only two IDs, and he just waves his hand and moves on. WHEW. Now I'm about to leave for football.
So in the process of rushing to church I forget to grab my passport to bring with me to Basel (just across the Swiss border). No big deal, Switzerland has open borders. I get to the train station after Mass and my friends aren't there yet--they missed the first train (none of us are ever on time to meet) and so it was looking like they were gonna be cutting it close and might not make the train. I went to buy a ticket from Auggen to Basel from the machine on Track 4, where the train leaves from, but it was broken, so I went to Track 3, thinking to maybe get the ticket from the machine there. I was over there for a while, and around 10:13, I decide to head back to Track 4 to wait for my friends. I get to the track and my friend Matt is shouting at me to get on the train. Apparently they had been calling my cell phone and shouting for me and knocking on the glass of the train and all sorts of things to get my attention on the next track. So I barely make the train and we head for Basel.
We can't actually get past Auggen without tickets to Basel (our tram pass covers the rest) and they clearly didn't buy tickets because the machine was broken on that track. So we get to Auggen and I look out the window and don't see hardly anything at all. I sorta freak out and think there won't be anything there. Meanwhile, we continue past Auggen, now riding illegally without tickets. Some of the guys with us get nervous and go to find a conductor so we can purchase tickets. The conductor tells us we'll have to get off at the next stop and buy tickets there.
We stop in Schliengen, a TINY town in the middle of nowhere. There's really like houses and nothing else there, and of COURSE nothing is open there, because it's Sunday. We start to wander the town (we have an hour until the next train) and then it starts to rain a bit. So we head back to the corrugated hut that is next to the train tracks and wait out the rain. There is graffiti on the tunnel to the other side of the tracks, including Garfield in Egypt. Picture links follow.
We finally get back on the train and head to Basel. We're all hungry and looking for a place to eat. Everything is really expensive, so they see a McDonald's and go to see how cheap it is. I've made it my personal vow not to eat McDonald's or drink Coke or Starbucks, but I go along because I've brought a croissant with me. Burgers are like 11 francs (comparable to a dollar) so we go back to this restaurant attached to a window vendor. The window isn't that expensive, so we go inside. It turns out to be an "American" restaurant, and sells pizza and hamburgers. We all get one or the other, and everything is at least 14 francs. It's absurdly priced. We complain to each other, we eat, we head out to explore the city.
We explore, we see the Münster, we see another church. It starts to rain and we keep walking. Daria and I consider stopping and just visiting this Egyptian museum, but decide against it, saying we can always come back. We end up walking in circles around this city and it starts pouring. We're on the other side of the city and we start our trek back to the train station. By the time we get there, we're all soaked through. Luckily I wore my rain jacket, but it was close to soaked through.
We get on the train, just glad to be heading home to watch the football game at the Irish pub (Eagles game for sure and maybe the Ravens game). I fall asleep listening to Secret Garden, and Daria wakes me up, the train stopped, and there are the politzei randomly checking for passports. I start silently freaking out a bit as everyone pulls out their passports and I figure to get my Uni. Freiburg ID and my MD driver's license (it's the best I can do). They guys were sitting in a group of four in front of me and Daria and they all pull theirs out to be inspected. The politzei spends a while looking at them, and he asks where they're from. Andrew says "America". the politzei replies "No, where you're coming from now." One of them then says "Freiburg," which I correct to "Basel" and the guy corrects himself. The politzei gives them back their passports and moves towards our row and Daria pulls out her passport and I pull out my only two IDs, and he just waves his hand and moves on. WHEW. Now I'm about to leave for football.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
:-D
I just watched an episode of NCIS via skype. TV in English=amazing. Plus, this means I can watch the football game tomorrow!! I'm so happy.
PS: what are the tv sites, Hope? because a lot of them don't work outside of the US
PS: what are the tv sites, Hope? because a lot of them don't work outside of the US
hiking
So I'm not a hiker. Who could have guessed?
We hiked the Black Forest today. I have pictures on facebook. They're viewable below (you don't need a facebook.)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004837&l=3aa3d&id=1222890044
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004838&l=b4687&id=1222890044
Basically, it's good, I'm sore, I'm running through money (Ikea, phone, power strip, etc). Oh, and I don't like beer, even in Germany. But I tried it!
We hiked the Black Forest today. I have pictures on facebook. They're viewable below (you don't need a facebook.)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004837&l=3aa3d&id=1222890044
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2004838&l=b4687&id=1222890044
Basically, it's good, I'm sore, I'm running through money (Ikea, phone, power strip, etc). Oh, and I don't like beer, even in Germany. But I tried it!
Friday, January 16, 2009
quick update
Have made friends, including the one other WM kid. It's hard learning names. I spoke two German sentences today (on my own!!) They were: Do you have more of this? and Do you have fat-free milk? It was so cool. More later.
what i wrote on the plane
7:14 pm
plane is supposed to take off
8:45 pm
We're sitting int he plane while they work to fix a starter valve on one of the plane's engines. Odds are, we'll change planes or the flight will be cancelled. Yippee. I have a splitting headache (no thanks to the crying babies and shouting two-year-old) and I need to be Alexandered like woah. I wonder if I can get some motrin from the flight crew. I'm also tired--> I'm ready for the jet lag but as a result I'm exhausted. I'm also hot (probably for the lats time in a while). Conclusion: I'm grumpy.
9:00 pm
It's going to be at least another hour. We're probably going to have to get off the plane.
10:15 pm
Well, we deplaned and then replaned about 10 minutes later. Three hours late. I found a seat away from the kids.
11:25 am
Just landed. Snow! -10 degrees Celsius. Snow!
plane is supposed to take off
8:45 pm
We're sitting int he plane while they work to fix a starter valve on one of the plane's engines. Odds are, we'll change planes or the flight will be cancelled. Yippee. I have a splitting headache (no thanks to the crying babies and shouting two-year-old) and I need to be Alexandered like woah. I wonder if I can get some motrin from the flight crew. I'm also tired--> I'm ready for the jet lag but as a result I'm exhausted. I'm also hot (probably for the lats time in a while). Conclusion: I'm grumpy.
9:00 pm
It's going to be at least another hour. We're probably going to have to get off the plane.
10:15 pm
Well, we deplaned and then replaned about 10 minutes later. Three hours late. I found a seat away from the kids.
11:25 am
Just landed. Snow! -10 degrees Celsius. Snow!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
I will write an entry soon
Sorry guys, I've been busy with orientation and buying things like towels and power strips. I'm here, I'm safe, it's warmer here than it is in Williamsburg and Baltimore, I've met people, I've spoken a bit of German, I just saw a smart car, and to those of you who understand what this means: my dorm is like Fauquier, except no roommate and a bigger closet.
Friday, January 9, 2009
packing
I started packing today... and by packing, I do mean sorting stuff I intend to pack later. Conclusion reached: I have a lot of stuff. And a ton of medicine. I also have a lot of stuff that I don't use that just sits in my room in 406 that I'd like to take with me so that it's familiar. I doubt I'll have room, though. How in the world will everything I want to take fit in my suitcases.
In related news, my new backpack came in today!! I got one from Swiss Gear, the kind with the little Red Cross emblem on them. It has so many compartments; it's awesome. I decided that while I do love having a teal backpack with hibiscus flowers all over it, it wasn't so appropriate for Europe (or college in general, for that matter.) And it has so many compartments!
Since I decided I really shouldn't go down to Williamsburg today, I decided to watch TV all day while pretending to pack and then later do some real packing. I've swiftly come to love House. If I catch the beginning of the show, I can't stop watching it. I don't think it's the kind of show I would actively seek out, though.
I wonder if I could convince my family to buy me some iTunes episodes of TV shows while I'm gone. Because I love me some NCIS and some SVU, but I somehow don't think they'd be the same in German.
I picked out some new glasses today! I got them from that Doctor's VisionWorks place that's on the Avenue. (For those of you WM kids, the Avenue's like New Town, but less expensive.) They're pretty cool--if I ever have pictures, I'll upload them.
In related news, my new backpack came in today!! I got one from Swiss Gear, the kind with the little Red Cross emblem on them. It has so many compartments; it's awesome. I decided that while I do love having a teal backpack with hibiscus flowers all over it, it wasn't so appropriate for Europe (or college in general, for that matter.) And it has so many compartments!
Since I decided I really shouldn't go down to Williamsburg today, I decided to watch TV all day while pretending to pack and then later do some real packing. I've swiftly come to love House. If I catch the beginning of the show, I can't stop watching it. I don't think it's the kind of show I would actively seek out, though.
I wonder if I could convince my family to buy me some iTunes episodes of TV shows while I'm gone. Because I love me some NCIS and some SVU, but I somehow don't think they'd be the same in German.
I picked out some new glasses today! I got them from that Doctor's VisionWorks place that's on the Avenue. (For those of you WM kids, the Avenue's like New Town, but less expensive.) They're pretty cool--if I ever have pictures, I'll upload them.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Eurail Pass
I'm trying to figure out which Eurail pass I should buy. And I should buy it soon so I can get free shipping. So what I'm looking at is a limited pass, like 8 or 10 trips over a certain period. Countries I'm interested in include: Germany (obviously), France, Italy, "Benelux" (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg all count as one). Those are the main ones, and I can get a pass that gets me those four countries. I'd also like to see the rest of Europe, but I don't think I can afford to just whirl around the continent. I'm also looking into cheap flights around Europe. Mainly, I'm thinking about where I want to go and why. Like, I want to go to Italy so I can visit the Vatican (!!!), I want to go to France so I can go to Paris and then perhaps on to London. I'd also like to Amsterdam, and to Denmark (another country, mainly to go to Copenhagen).
If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it. Basically, how big of a pass should I get? What countries should I include?
If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it. Basically, how big of a pass should I get? What countries should I include?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
First post!
Hey everyone!! I figured I ought to start this blog since I leave in nine days. And besides, since everyone's at Sinfonicron, it's not like you all have anything better to do with your time. To give you all an update, I haven't started packing, planning what to pack, or buying stuff I'm going to need. I did get 100 euro for Christmas. I figure it's a start.
So you all know how awkward I am in real life, right? Don't expect this to be any better. Minimal improvements, maybe.
Current saga: Will I be able to watch the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl? They certainly will both start at or after midnight, but it's even the matter of finding television coverage. I will keep you posted.
PS: Sinfoni-love!! And 406 love!!
So you all know how awkward I am in real life, right? Don't expect this to be any better. Minimal improvements, maybe.
Current saga: Will I be able to watch the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl? They certainly will both start at or after midnight, but it's even the matter of finding television coverage. I will keep you posted.
PS: Sinfoni-love!! And 406 love!!
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