A few of us were discussing the insanity that is Belgium on our way back from Belgium class today. How things are so random if you're a visitor, but once you live here, it all becomes part of the charm. And to that end, I want to offer that it is 2:58 Beligum time, and I finished a beer about 10 minutes ago. And I have class in an hour. AND, this beer was given to me, and the rest of the class, as a prize, by a teacher. Something that would never happen in the states. And I drank my beer in the hallway and no one thought it was weird.
I'm also looking down the barrel of a four day weekend, courtesy of Ascension Thursday, and my class trip to Normandy, which I'm pretty psyched about.
So on that slightly buzzed note, I'm off!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Alsace--a little France, a little Germany
This weekend marks our last big group excursion; this means it was paid for by our program (bottomless wine bottle included!) and was most of our group of study abroads. In fact, this was the end of my travel for the most part; next weekend, I have a class trip to Normandy for four days (really exciting, actually), and after the program, I have a few day trips in and around Belgium
I’m still not exactly sure what we were going to see—we ambled around the
Excursions mean an early start, and our “space bus” left
Anyway,
Our day in
Dinner was quite an affair—we went to this traditional Alsatian restaurant, built into the basement of an old house. There, we drank wine from the region, had an appetizer of tart flambé (which is kind of like a pizza), and had these tremendous main courses. There was, of course, the ice cream and dessert, by which point everyone is either half asleep or half drunk (including our resident director, who was at our table). A large group of us (again, program directors included) decided to go out for a drink, since it was only 10 pm, which led to 20 Americans winding their way through the streets in search of a bar large enough.
When we found one, we didn’t know what to do—
Upon boarding the bus the next morning, most of our group was hungover; a few exceptions were still drunk. This was really promising for the day we had ahead of us. By now, with my hangover and stomach thing, I felt like death. We visited a medieval castle that had been refurbished by Wilhelm in the 19th century, back when that territory was German. It was fully furnished from the time and meant to serve as a museum. The best part was not realizing how high in the mountains we were until we got to the castle. The view was incredible, as the fog rolled off the mountains.
As we departed the mountain on a sickening roller coaster ride in our space bus, we took in the view; there was a nearby monkey preserve (
After this, we crossed into
We got back to
By the next day, everyone’s spirits were much higher. It was kind of a pointless day, spent exploring the German town of
My cousin Alysssa’s confirmation party was Sunday—I was supposed to be her sponsor and couldn’t, so my mom stepped in. Figuring out the time difference, I decided to call her for her day and talk to whoever else was there. Little did I know that this was apparently an event of Thanksgiving-like proportions, and I was on the phone for 90 minutes talking to family I barely even talk to when I’m in
This week has been a lot of work—I was originally supposed to have a ton of papers in the next 7 days, but some rescheduling was led to the same amount of work spread out much better. So I haven’t completely pulled my hair out yet. I have, though, reached that point in the semester where I just want to be done with school—which is sad, because that’ll mean I’m done with
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Bruges
Bruges is a small picturesque town in Belgium, close to the North Sea. Sometimes known as the Venice of the North, thanks to an abundance of canals, it was also recently the setting of Colin Farrell's movie "In Bruges." In case that wasn't obvious. It was also the site of our recent one-day excursion.
Bruges had been hyped to me for a while, even before I got to Belgium, so I went in with pretty high hopes. I'm not sure they were quite met; we didn't really spend too long in the town itself and while our tour was good, I don't feel like I saw a lot of what it had to offer. It was very Ghent-ian, if I may. The weather also didn't help; it was supposed to be fifty, but was instead close to freezing, with intermittent rain storms.
But here's the big deal of the day: the 12 mile bike ride through the Flemish countryside. I was pretty nervous about this; sure, the area is pretty, and flat, but can I ride a bike?? See, I didn't get a bike until I was 9 or 10, and didn't spend much time learning to ride it. There was an embarrassing period involving training meals, and then I only had maybe a summer on it as a normal bike before I outgrew it. So I never really comfortably rode a bike. During my driver's license ordeal, my dad would frequently tell me driving was like riding a bike--you never forgot how to do it. And then he would remember that this was a meaningless metaphor for me.
But the important thing here is not childhood regrets, but rather that I successfully did this entire bike ride without falling! There were some touchy moments: in the populated town square on the wet cobblestone; down the street as a bus silently crept up on me; on the rocky path when I jumped off in time to avoid a fall, mostly out of fear of ending up in the canal. But all in all, things went very well. This was a four hour ride, with over 30 of us in our group, and people were so supportive and kept cheering me on! We did stop for a break and had a beer, which is perhaps a strange choice while out biking. Let me tell you, though, that by the end of this, we all desperately wanted to get back to Bruges for our multi-course program-paid dinner. We were all horrifically sore afterwards, and the bathroom being on the second floor didn't help things!
After dinner, most of the group hoped on the train home, but a dozen of us, our tour guides, and our program directors stayed in town to grab a local beer. It was a pretty low key thing, and we couldn't stay long since the last train left at like 10:30 back to Brussels, but it was a nice night out. I'd like to go back to Bruges to spend some more time exploring, but I don't think that's going to happen this trip. I'd also love to see the countryside when it was actually nice out (though the weather did eventually clear up for us!); however, it'd be nice to see trees blooming again finally!
This weekend: two night program trip to Alsace and the black forest region of Germany. Finally, I can see Alsace for myself and understand why it has been such a hot spot in European territory disputes! I'll come back with a full report.
Bruges had been hyped to me for a while, even before I got to Belgium, so I went in with pretty high hopes. I'm not sure they were quite met; we didn't really spend too long in the town itself and while our tour was good, I don't feel like I saw a lot of what it had to offer. It was very Ghent-ian, if I may. The weather also didn't help; it was supposed to be fifty, but was instead close to freezing, with intermittent rain storms.
But here's the big deal of the day: the 12 mile bike ride through the Flemish countryside. I was pretty nervous about this; sure, the area is pretty, and flat, but can I ride a bike?? See, I didn't get a bike until I was 9 or 10, and didn't spend much time learning to ride it. There was an embarrassing period involving training meals, and then I only had maybe a summer on it as a normal bike before I outgrew it. So I never really comfortably rode a bike. During my driver's license ordeal, my dad would frequently tell me driving was like riding a bike--you never forgot how to do it. And then he would remember that this was a meaningless metaphor for me.
But the important thing here is not childhood regrets, but rather that I successfully did this entire bike ride without falling! There were some touchy moments: in the populated town square on the wet cobblestone; down the street as a bus silently crept up on me; on the rocky path when I jumped off in time to avoid a fall, mostly out of fear of ending up in the canal. But all in all, things went very well. This was a four hour ride, with over 30 of us in our group, and people were so supportive and kept cheering me on! We did stop for a break and had a beer, which is perhaps a strange choice while out biking. Let me tell you, though, that by the end of this, we all desperately wanted to get back to Bruges for our multi-course program-paid dinner. We were all horrifically sore afterwards, and the bathroom being on the second floor didn't help things!
After dinner, most of the group hoped on the train home, but a dozen of us, our tour guides, and our program directors stayed in town to grab a local beer. It was a pretty low key thing, and we couldn't stay long since the last train left at like 10:30 back to Brussels, but it was a nice night out. I'd like to go back to Bruges to spend some more time exploring, but I don't think that's going to happen this trip. I'd also love to see the countryside when it was actually nice out (though the weather did eventually clear up for us!); however, it'd be nice to see trees blooming again finally!
This weekend: two night program trip to Alsace and the black forest region of Germany. Finally, I can see Alsace for myself and understand why it has been such a hot spot in European territory disputes! I'll come back with a full report.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Self-Improvement Scorecard
Pretty much as long as I've known people who had studied abroad, I've been hearing about how much it changes you. Characteristically, I figured that wouldn't affect me; I've changed a lot during the course of college, it's something you can't avoid, and I kind of figured I'd reached the end of that. It's always hard to see the changes in yourself, but being in this new environment has given me a much better backdrop against which to examine this. It's been almost exactly three months since I first landed at Brussels National Airport and I think it might be about time to examine some of the things that have changed about me, and to think a little bit about the things I'm still eager to get back to.
Food: I eat a much greater variety of things since I've got here. Fun new foods have included goat cheese and rabbit, as well as the raw herring episode, which will never be repeated. I can't afford to cook like a gourmet and certainly not to go out to eat like one, so when we have program-paid dinners, I've learned to appreciate whatever comes with my meal, regardless. I figure, these people make food for a living--I can probably trust what they come up with.
Also on the food note, I find myself cooking better and healthier than before. Not having a microwave has required I learn to cook, for real--I'm using fresh ingredients and new recipes, including trying some combinations of my own. I'm learning that oil can be used for so much more than just cooking, and that measuring cups are in fact for chumps. I've also cut meat out of my diet almost completely for financial reasons; this has led to me searching a lot of vegetarian sites for recipes and to make sure I'm staying healthy. While I'm not swayed enough to make the jump to vegetarianism, it has me thinking a lot more about what I put into my body. Hopefully the healthy trend will keep going at home. I've also remembered to take my vitamin the whole time I've been here.
All this talk about healthy eating brings me to health in general. I've lost about 6 pounds since I got here, but that may be a bit off since I can only estimate based on kilogram conversion. I walk a lot more, including the four flights up to my apartment every day. Since it's gotten warmer here in Brussels, I'm trying to walk more; my 30 minute c-wayommute to school everyday translates to a 45 minute walk, and the walk is often less frustrating. I'm going to try to walk it at least one-way on these nice spring days. It's exercise that has really been lacking from my routine since I graduated high school. It's not very intense, but I feel how tired I am afterwards and know I have to overcome this. Ideally, I'd like to be able to start running again; thanks to my knee and being out of shape, running is incredibly unenjoyable for me. I'd like to overcome at least one of these hurdles.
Also on this note, I'm thinking about yoga. I've tried a yoga class before and didn't love it--perhaps because it WAS so much more taxing on my body than I'd like to admit--but I'm thinking that incorporating a little bit into my day couldn't hurt. At the very least, stretching before and after bed couple really help me sleep. I know when I get home, all the resources I have available will pale in comparison to working and class, but I have to get into the habit now and hope that I can just follow the routine when I get home. I read recently that 50% of skinny people are still considered unhealthy based on their BMI, and I have no doubt that is the case with me. I'm young--there's no reason I shouldn't be healthier.
I think I've also gotten smarter in my time here, if we can look past how egotistical that sounds. I'm more savy in terms of how I act--living in a city will do that for you--but I've also been reading a variety of things I hadn't had time for in my busy life back home. I've really found my passion in women's studies and politics and can often talk circles around people in those areas; I'm learning that focusing on those passions can take me pretty far. I'm also surrounded here by a lot of smart people who LIKE being smart; I have this back home, too, but here we all have the luxury to sit over coffee and actually spend time trying to be intellectuals. It's nice. All of this has led to me being more devoted to my beliefs.
Making friends from a variety of new places has also been good for me; it's no surprise for anyone that Fairfield is lacking in all sorts of diversities. I think it's interesting to look at all the American kids over here and try to figure out how we could all have wound up in Brussels considering what different lives we all come from. It's funny, when you have a familiar group and a familiar environment, you forget what it's like to start all over. I was really pleased it was as hard as I was afraid it would be.
So, I'm feeling better than I have in a while. I've got a great new group of friends here, and hopefully that can hold true when I get home. My relationship has only been improved by being here together. All in all, I've feeling comfortable and confident.
Being here isn't without its pitfalls, of course. To review:
-Money! Not making it, and spending a lot of it, sucks. Not to mention the exchange rate (I initially type that as rape, which may be a more accurate depiction at this point) of $1.60 to a Euro. My last few weeks here have the added pressure of living on a crazy limited budget. Also, I don't yet have a summer job lined up, a fact which is causing no short supply of anxiety.
-Coffee! European coffee still pales in my comparison to what I'm used to back home. I miss coffee being my go to staple: a $2 bottomless cup would have me set for the night! By that token, I miss diners and all our adventures in them. I miss Dunkin, and I miss my tiny little coffee maker all to myself.
-Friends and family. I've been really homesick since spring break; I wish I could see everyone for like a week and then come back to my life over here. Missing Alyssa's confirmation, when I was supposed to be her sponsor, along with Kevin's college choice and other family things, has made me really want to be home. I miss Fairfield friends and New Jersey kids alike. However, I'm so psyched to come home in six weeks and see everyone! I expect to see some tears of gladness, people!
-My wardrobe. This sounds superficial, but I can't afford to buy new over here, and I'm really sick of everything I have here. This especially applies to shoes. Also, with the weather changing, I'm wishing I had more in terms of warm-weather wear.
-Nice weather. Brussels has gotten better lately, but Rome gave me a taste of forbidden fruit. I'm excited to go home, wear skirts and sandals, work on my tan, go to the beach. In short, European adventure or no, it's almost the end of the semester and I'm ready for some summer vacation.
-Language! An Oxfam rep tried to get me to sign up for something the other day; I had headphones on, and though he probably asked me in French, I thought it might be Dutch, especially since I was at the Dutch-speaking campus. Since I didn't know what language he used, I didn't know how to explain that I couldn't speak it. For I mumbled awkwardly and then said Sorry in English, and left. Cause saying "no thanks" in any language would have been so hard...
That's a brief review of how my thoughts have been bouncing around lately. I've loved the travelling, but I think come the end of May, I will be more appreciative of home than ever before!
I've got an appreciation for John Mayer right now--he has a lot of songs about the glamour of something new wearing off. And I've always liked Why Georgie, but here's a snippet of why:
I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul
...
Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask yourself
If you are living right
Are you living right?
Food: I eat a much greater variety of things since I've got here. Fun new foods have included goat cheese and rabbit, as well as the raw herring episode, which will never be repeated. I can't afford to cook like a gourmet and certainly not to go out to eat like one, so when we have program-paid dinners, I've learned to appreciate whatever comes with my meal, regardless. I figure, these people make food for a living--I can probably trust what they come up with.
Also on the food note, I find myself cooking better and healthier than before. Not having a microwave has required I learn to cook, for real--I'm using fresh ingredients and new recipes, including trying some combinations of my own. I'm learning that oil can be used for so much more than just cooking, and that measuring cups are in fact for chumps. I've also cut meat out of my diet almost completely for financial reasons; this has led to me searching a lot of vegetarian sites for recipes and to make sure I'm staying healthy. While I'm not swayed enough to make the jump to vegetarianism, it has me thinking a lot more about what I put into my body. Hopefully the healthy trend will keep going at home. I've also remembered to take my vitamin the whole time I've been here.
All this talk about healthy eating brings me to health in general. I've lost about 6 pounds since I got here, but that may be a bit off since I can only estimate based on kilogram conversion. I walk a lot more, including the four flights up to my apartment every day. Since it's gotten warmer here in Brussels, I'm trying to walk more; my 30 minute c-wayommute to school everyday translates to a 45 minute walk, and the walk is often less frustrating. I'm going to try to walk it at least one-way on these nice spring days. It's exercise that has really been lacking from my routine since I graduated high school. It's not very intense, but I feel how tired I am afterwards and know I have to overcome this. Ideally, I'd like to be able to start running again; thanks to my knee and being out of shape, running is incredibly unenjoyable for me. I'd like to overcome at least one of these hurdles.
Also on this note, I'm thinking about yoga. I've tried a yoga class before and didn't love it--perhaps because it WAS so much more taxing on my body than I'd like to admit--but I'm thinking that incorporating a little bit into my day couldn't hurt. At the very least, stretching before and after bed couple really help me sleep. I know when I get home, all the resources I have available will pale in comparison to working and class, but I have to get into the habit now and hope that I can just follow the routine when I get home. I read recently that 50% of skinny people are still considered unhealthy based on their BMI, and I have no doubt that is the case with me. I'm young--there's no reason I shouldn't be healthier.
I think I've also gotten smarter in my time here, if we can look past how egotistical that sounds. I'm more savy in terms of how I act--living in a city will do that for you--but I've also been reading a variety of things I hadn't had time for in my busy life back home. I've really found my passion in women's studies and politics and can often talk circles around people in those areas; I'm learning that focusing on those passions can take me pretty far. I'm also surrounded here by a lot of smart people who LIKE being smart; I have this back home, too, but here we all have the luxury to sit over coffee and actually spend time trying to be intellectuals. It's nice. All of this has led to me being more devoted to my beliefs.
Making friends from a variety of new places has also been good for me; it's no surprise for anyone that Fairfield is lacking in all sorts of diversities. I think it's interesting to look at all the American kids over here and try to figure out how we could all have wound up in Brussels considering what different lives we all come from. It's funny, when you have a familiar group and a familiar environment, you forget what it's like to start all over. I was really pleased it was as hard as I was afraid it would be.
So, I'm feeling better than I have in a while. I've got a great new group of friends here, and hopefully that can hold true when I get home. My relationship has only been improved by being here together. All in all, I've feeling comfortable and confident.
Being here isn't without its pitfalls, of course. To review:
-Money! Not making it, and spending a lot of it, sucks. Not to mention the exchange rate (I initially type that as rape, which may be a more accurate depiction at this point) of $1.60 to a Euro. My last few weeks here have the added pressure of living on a crazy limited budget. Also, I don't yet have a summer job lined up, a fact which is causing no short supply of anxiety.
-Coffee! European coffee still pales in my comparison to what I'm used to back home. I miss coffee being my go to staple: a $2 bottomless cup would have me set for the night! By that token, I miss diners and all our adventures in them. I miss Dunkin, and I miss my tiny little coffee maker all to myself.
-Friends and family. I've been really homesick since spring break; I wish I could see everyone for like a week and then come back to my life over here. Missing Alyssa's confirmation, when I was supposed to be her sponsor, along with Kevin's college choice and other family things, has made me really want to be home. I miss Fairfield friends and New Jersey kids alike. However, I'm so psyched to come home in six weeks and see everyone! I expect to see some tears of gladness, people!
-My wardrobe. This sounds superficial, but I can't afford to buy new over here, and I'm really sick of everything I have here. This especially applies to shoes. Also, with the weather changing, I'm wishing I had more in terms of warm-weather wear.
-Nice weather. Brussels has gotten better lately, but Rome gave me a taste of forbidden fruit. I'm excited to go home, wear skirts and sandals, work on my tan, go to the beach. In short, European adventure or no, it's almost the end of the semester and I'm ready for some summer vacation.
-Language! An Oxfam rep tried to get me to sign up for something the other day; I had headphones on, and though he probably asked me in French, I thought it might be Dutch, especially since I was at the Dutch-speaking campus. Since I didn't know what language he used, I didn't know how to explain that I couldn't speak it. For I mumbled awkwardly and then said Sorry in English, and left. Cause saying "no thanks" in any language would have been so hard...
That's a brief review of how my thoughts have been bouncing around lately. I've loved the travelling, but I think come the end of May, I will be more appreciative of home than ever before!
I've got an appreciation for John Mayer right now--he has a lot of songs about the glamour of something new wearing off. And I've always liked Why Georgie, but here's a snippet of why:
I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul
...
Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask yourself
If you are living right
Are you living right?
Munchen
Munich, for those of you who just thought it was a funny sounding word I made up. I'm pretty sure my last entry left off with the train ride--the all-night sweat box followed by the journey through the alps I slept through? Excellent, so that brings us to Tuesday, round noon. We had to take the S-bahn to get to our hostel, but had no freakin' clue what this was--we'd heard of the U-Bahn, was I sure the website hadn't said that? Knowing these are very different letters, I assert that what's we needed; the S-bahn is like an above-ground subway (the u-bahn is, of course, Underground), and once we learned this, bought tickets for the week from an agent whose "little bit" of English puts some native speakers to shame.
I was glad we could check into our hostel at that time, because I desperately needed a shower and to stretch my legs before we started our explorations and got some food. We were staying in a 14 person room--intense I know, but cheap!--but it was a former suite, and really was more like two rooms, which helped with the privacy a bit. We all shared one bathroom, which was an issue for me--anytime I had to pee, there was ALWAYS someone in there. But over the few days there, we met an interesting cast of characters and even took the tour with a few of our rommates. It was nice to get in at night and compare notes, where to get a cheap beer, etc.
to th
After settling in and getting cleaned up, Eric and I wandered into the downtown area. We had no bearings of the city, or a map, so we just wandered and got sandwiches from a little deli type place. I also engaged in some window shopping--most of the stores were the same as we have in Brussels, but I hadn't been in so long! My Converse are still holding out, though after spring break, there are noticeable holes and scuffs; my ballet flats have long outlived their $7 lifespan, but I will continue wearing them (and coloring in scuff marks with a black marker) until their end. Regardless, I thought I'd look into a new pair of "everyday" shoes, and sadly fell in love with a pair. I won't get into details, since they were haunting my dreams and I've only now gotten the image out of my head, but I was almost suckered in by the exchange rate! 19 euros? Sounds like a bargain! Until realizing that means more like 30 USD, and they're not even built to last...this was a sore spot of my trip to Munich, and my financial situation means I cannot possibly by new shoes while I'm here. So if anyone starts calling my Joe Jackson, I shan't be surprised...
Anyway, we wandered around this area, looking at what we thought were important buildings (and they were, we just didn't know WHAT they were). We cooked dinner at the hostel to keep things cheap, after a long strange voyage in search of the elusive ALDI. That evening, we went across the street (literally, though it was quite a bitch since there were tram tracks and you had to walk allll the way down the block to the crosswalk...) to the brewery and bar there. It was a pretty sweet place--nothing like a half liter of beer and homemade pretzel served by a surly own in traditional beer wench attire--to make you really FEEL like you're in Germany. We were there until last call, and this was quite enough for me.
Tuesday was the free tour through the freezing cold and occasional driving rain. It was probably the best way we could have spent the day, though--we did a free tour with this company in Paris too, and they just know such great little facts about the city. We saw the glockenspiel, the hofbrauhaus, and lots of historic places in Munich, especially as it related to the Third Reich. As you might imagine, Hitler is a sensitive subject there, especially since he got his start in Munich. The general opinion is that people are getting more open about it, as everyone who lived through the horrors are getting older and out of the public discourse. So it was interesting, and I'm glad we did it.
Eric and I then got some coffee, to get feeling back in our fingers, and I "read" German-language Glamour. Oh, how I wish someone had english magazines I could thumb through! After this, we went to the city museum and were informed it was free admission. Sweet, why? Oh, because it's under construction and all the good stuff wasn't available. After going through a really freaky exhibit on puppets and amusement park things, which was mostly in German, we wandered across the way to the Third Reich Museum. Here, the item descriptions were also in German, but enough was in English that I could understand. They had a lot of artifacts and reproductions of propaganda, etc, so it was really interesting.
I didn't feel well, so I went back to the hostel to sleep, apparently for two hours. I'd been sick the whole trip, and I think travelling had caught up with me. For dinner, we went to this super trendy young professional restaurant called Gast; it's all rice and pasta, and they make it in front of you; we had a pretty friendly chef, and some delicious food. It was relatively cheap, and so nice to do something different both in terms of the food and where we were. We stayed and had a half liter of beer there; I didn't realize that at our next stop, Hofbrauhaus, you could only order by the liter. So it was big night for me. At Hofbrauhaus, we got see pricey pretzels, chatted a bit with the international group next to us, and then spent a while talking with this mom and her son from Toronto who were travelling Europe for her 50th birthday. By the end (and I mean the end, we closed the place downn), I was a little bit tipsy--like being loud and silly on the S-bhan--but amazingly, not drunk. Thanks, Belgium, for the iron liver.
Thursday was an emotionally draining day. Eric and I took the train to Dachau, which is a charming small city outside of Munich. It also houses the Dachau Concentration Camp, the only one functional during all 12 years of the Third Reich. It was not an extermination camp, though thousands died there; it was built within months of Hitler's move to power as a place for his political opponents. I didn't know what to expect there; most of our day was spent in the incredible museum there, which highlights the story of Dachua and some of its particular prisoners, as well as tells the whole story of the Holocaust. We didn't even get to see it all, because by the end, you just couldn't take in any more information. After this, we spent an hour or two exploring the grounds--the rebuilt bunkers, the administrative buildings, the crematoriums, and the various religious memorials now built there. An additionally level of horro was there, because the camp was used for things AFTER its liberation--Nazi officials awaiting trial were held there; it served as a prisoner for US soldiers convicted of crimes in the area; and in the 1960s, was used to house refugees. All of this played through my mind during our visit, and the sentiment of "never again" was never resounded more strongly in my head. What was most striking for me, and why I think everyone should visit a concentration camp, is understand how it all started, and how there were so many chances to stop it. The violation of civil rights in the beginning of the Third Reich was like nothing ever seen before--no one envisioned it could possibly get worse, so they just dealt with it and hoped it would be over. We all known 12 million were killed in the Holocaust; this is part of the total of 55 million killed as a result of World War II. Think about how different the world would be with those 55 million, all the promise that was lost. It's made me more aware to the current political climate and revived by dedication to the idea that nothing like this can ever be allowed again. We can never allow people's rights to be trampled, assuming it will end there.
Now that I'm off my soap box, the rest of the day: it was pretty sobering and powerful, and its hard to transfer to other things after that. We were, though, pretty hungry, so we grabbed an early dinner at this very authentic place in Dachau. Back at the hostel, we spent the night in, planning the rest of the trip, taking care of registration stuff, etc. Which was okay after that day.
Friday, our last day, we went to Neuschwanstein Castle, which is near Fussen; it's a two hour train ride from Munich, and Fussen is the last stop before you get in Austria. After this, it was a bus ride to the village, then a 40 minute walk up to this fairytale castle. It was built by crazy, crazy Ludwig II who bankrupted his kingdom of Bavaria to build it. He died suspiciously shortly after he moved into it, and it was never finished. The whole thing is an homage to Wagner's operas, and really creepy in that way. However, it WAS gorgeous, especially with the snow. We tried to go to the really scary bridge nearby to check out the view, but it was closed because of the snow, and, already terrified of this bridge, I wasn't about to circumvent that. We stayed in Fussen a bit, having dinner there, and then took the ride back with some American kids studying in Denmark. We meant to go have a drink, but we wound up downtown seeing the sights and enjoying a great street performer.
Back at the hostel, we packed; our flight was at 8:30 the next morning, and we had to leave by 5 am to make it there on time. Since we no longer had a working alarm, I slept (terribly!) for four hours while Eric stayed awake and watched the time. Munich's airport sucked, and we both slept soundly through the flight. We got back to Brussels by 9:30, and home by noon. Since then, I've caught up on my sleep, bought myself food for the apartment again, done a ton of work, and am now looking down the barrel of a Belgian weekend! Going to a friend's house for dinner and a girl's night tonight; tomorrow, program trip to Bruges, which is supposed to be amazing, but will include a 4 hour bike tour. I'm not quite sure I CAN ride a bike, so a full report and an injury update will be sure to follow this week!
I was glad we could check into our hostel at that time, because I desperately needed a shower and to stretch my legs before we started our explorations and got some food. We were staying in a 14 person room--intense I know, but cheap!--but it was a former suite, and really was more like two rooms, which helped with the privacy a bit. We all shared one bathroom, which was an issue for me--anytime I had to pee, there was ALWAYS someone in there. But over the few days there, we met an interesting cast of characters and even took the tour with a few of our rommates. It was nice to get in at night and compare notes, where to get a cheap beer, etc.
to th
After settling in and getting cleaned up, Eric and I wandered into the downtown area. We had no bearings of the city, or a map, so we just wandered and got sandwiches from a little deli type place. I also engaged in some window shopping--most of the stores were the same as we have in Brussels, but I hadn't been in so long! My Converse are still holding out, though after spring break, there are noticeable holes and scuffs; my ballet flats have long outlived their $7 lifespan, but I will continue wearing them (and coloring in scuff marks with a black marker) until their end. Regardless, I thought I'd look into a new pair of "everyday" shoes, and sadly fell in love with a pair. I won't get into details, since they were haunting my dreams and I've only now gotten the image out of my head, but I was almost suckered in by the exchange rate! 19 euros? Sounds like a bargain! Until realizing that means more like 30 USD, and they're not even built to last...this was a sore spot of my trip to Munich, and my financial situation means I cannot possibly by new shoes while I'm here. So if anyone starts calling my Joe Jackson, I shan't be surprised...
Anyway, we wandered around this area, looking at what we thought were important buildings (and they were, we just didn't know WHAT they were). We cooked dinner at the hostel to keep things cheap, after a long strange voyage in search of the elusive ALDI. That evening, we went across the street (literally, though it was quite a bitch since there were tram tracks and you had to walk allll the way down the block to the crosswalk...) to the brewery and bar there. It was a pretty sweet place--nothing like a half liter of beer and homemade pretzel served by a surly own in traditional beer wench attire--to make you really FEEL like you're in Germany. We were there until last call, and this was quite enough for me.
Tuesday was the free tour through the freezing cold and occasional driving rain. It was probably the best way we could have spent the day, though--we did a free tour with this company in Paris too, and they just know such great little facts about the city. We saw the glockenspiel, the hofbrauhaus, and lots of historic places in Munich, especially as it related to the Third Reich. As you might imagine, Hitler is a sensitive subject there, especially since he got his start in Munich. The general opinion is that people are getting more open about it, as everyone who lived through the horrors are getting older and out of the public discourse. So it was interesting, and I'm glad we did it.
Eric and I then got some coffee, to get feeling back in our fingers, and I "read" German-language Glamour. Oh, how I wish someone had english magazines I could thumb through! After this, we went to the city museum and were informed it was free admission. Sweet, why? Oh, because it's under construction and all the good stuff wasn't available. After going through a really freaky exhibit on puppets and amusement park things, which was mostly in German, we wandered across the way to the Third Reich Museum. Here, the item descriptions were also in German, but enough was in English that I could understand. They had a lot of artifacts and reproductions of propaganda, etc, so it was really interesting.
I didn't feel well, so I went back to the hostel to sleep, apparently for two hours. I'd been sick the whole trip, and I think travelling had caught up with me. For dinner, we went to this super trendy young professional restaurant called Gast; it's all rice and pasta, and they make it in front of you; we had a pretty friendly chef, and some delicious food. It was relatively cheap, and so nice to do something different both in terms of the food and where we were. We stayed and had a half liter of beer there; I didn't realize that at our next stop, Hofbrauhaus, you could only order by the liter. So it was big night for me. At Hofbrauhaus, we got see pricey pretzels, chatted a bit with the international group next to us, and then spent a while talking with this mom and her son from Toronto who were travelling Europe for her 50th birthday. By the end (and I mean the end, we closed the place downn), I was a little bit tipsy--like being loud and silly on the S-bhan--but amazingly, not drunk. Thanks, Belgium, for the iron liver.
Thursday was an emotionally draining day. Eric and I took the train to Dachau, which is a charming small city outside of Munich. It also houses the Dachau Concentration Camp, the only one functional during all 12 years of the Third Reich. It was not an extermination camp, though thousands died there; it was built within months of Hitler's move to power as a place for his political opponents. I didn't know what to expect there; most of our day was spent in the incredible museum there, which highlights the story of Dachua and some of its particular prisoners, as well as tells the whole story of the Holocaust. We didn't even get to see it all, because by the end, you just couldn't take in any more information. After this, we spent an hour or two exploring the grounds--the rebuilt bunkers, the administrative buildings, the crematoriums, and the various religious memorials now built there. An additionally level of horro was there, because the camp was used for things AFTER its liberation--Nazi officials awaiting trial were held there; it served as a prisoner for US soldiers convicted of crimes in the area; and in the 1960s, was used to house refugees. All of this played through my mind during our visit, and the sentiment of "never again" was never resounded more strongly in my head. What was most striking for me, and why I think everyone should visit a concentration camp, is understand how it all started, and how there were so many chances to stop it. The violation of civil rights in the beginning of the Third Reich was like nothing ever seen before--no one envisioned it could possibly get worse, so they just dealt with it and hoped it would be over. We all known 12 million were killed in the Holocaust; this is part of the total of 55 million killed as a result of World War II. Think about how different the world would be with those 55 million, all the promise that was lost. It's made me more aware to the current political climate and revived by dedication to the idea that nothing like this can ever be allowed again. We can never allow people's rights to be trampled, assuming it will end there.
Now that I'm off my soap box, the rest of the day: it was pretty sobering and powerful, and its hard to transfer to other things after that. We were, though, pretty hungry, so we grabbed an early dinner at this very authentic place in Dachau. Back at the hostel, we spent the night in, planning the rest of the trip, taking care of registration stuff, etc. Which was okay after that day.
Friday, our last day, we went to Neuschwanstein Castle, which is near Fussen; it's a two hour train ride from Munich, and Fussen is the last stop before you get in Austria. After this, it was a bus ride to the village, then a 40 minute walk up to this fairytale castle. It was built by crazy, crazy Ludwig II who bankrupted his kingdom of Bavaria to build it. He died suspiciously shortly after he moved into it, and it was never finished. The whole thing is an homage to Wagner's operas, and really creepy in that way. However, it WAS gorgeous, especially with the snow. We tried to go to the really scary bridge nearby to check out the view, but it was closed because of the snow, and, already terrified of this bridge, I wasn't about to circumvent that. We stayed in Fussen a bit, having dinner there, and then took the ride back with some American kids studying in Denmark. We meant to go have a drink, but we wound up downtown seeing the sights and enjoying a great street performer.
Back at the hostel, we packed; our flight was at 8:30 the next morning, and we had to leave by 5 am to make it there on time. Since we no longer had a working alarm, I slept (terribly!) for four hours while Eric stayed awake and watched the time. Munich's airport sucked, and we both slept soundly through the flight. We got back to Brussels by 9:30, and home by noon. Since then, I've caught up on my sleep, bought myself food for the apartment again, done a ton of work, and am now looking down the barrel of a Belgian weekend! Going to a friend's house for dinner and a girl's night tonight; tomorrow, program trip to Bruges, which is supposed to be amazing, but will include a 4 hour bike tour. I'm not quite sure I CAN ride a bike, so a full report and an injury update will be sure to follow this week!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Roman Holiday
I can't tell you much about our flight to Rome, since I was completely asleep for it--we took a lot of early morning flights on this trip, and the best thing to do it just sleep from take off to touch down. I do know that when we arrived at the Rome airport and they informed us of the weather, it wasn't much warmer than Prague had been and it was raining--I was pretty upset that I was not going to get a reprieve from the gross weather. Also, Rome doesn't have enough gates, so small planes like ours have you disembark via staircase, get into a bus, and drive you to the terminal. We had to wait a long time for our luggage, which must really have confused since Joseph since I had already failed to give him any details about our flight besides arrival time. But when we emerged from the terminal (after some odd questions from customs which I still don't understand), he was waiting there. A touching Carolan reunion ensued. We boarded a train to his house (and then transferred to another train--I didn't realize that he lives in a village on the sea about 40 minutes outside of Rome), and by the time we arrived, it was absolutely gorgeous out. I mean I was walking around without a jacket, which I haven't done since, oh, September? It was a great start and kind of cancelled out the fact that we hadn't slept.
We got to Joseph's and ate, showered, etc. We also got to meet his girlfriend Alethea who we saw a lot more of during our visit. Maybe an hourish later, Joseph, Alethea, Eric and I got back on to the train (we only bought one ticket, by the way. The entire 4 days, we lived off of one ticket each. It was fabulous) and set off for Rome. We did a lot of the basic tourist things that day--of course stopped by St. Peter's, though we decided to tour it the next day when it might be less crowded; we got gelato from an amaaaaazing gelato place. Maybe because it was our first taste of it, but no other gelato in the city compared to that place. It was Rome heritage week, so a lot of sites were free admission--we went to Castel Sant'Angelo that day, where we had a great view of the city. We also stopped by Joseph's office to use his internet connection--I feel like we got to know the people there pretty well thanks to our stops. I think we mostly just wandered the city that day; I know we definetly went to the Spanish steps and gawked at all the stores lining the way--Gucci, Louis Vitton. I don't know where Europeans get all this disposable income from, but I want in! We went to dinner at this outdoor place where Joseph knew the owner, and he gave us two rounds of free strawberry wine--delicious. He was an old Italian man, and everything that conveys--flirting with us girls, joking with the guys. We called it quits after this, since Eric and I were exhausted.
The next day Joseph took us back in and we did St. Peter's. First we climbed to the top of the cupola, stopping on the way to view the inside of St. Peter's from above, which was incredible enough. From outside the dome, you could literally see the entire city and even mountains in the distance. It was such a long climb, and the stairs are obviously very old--sometimes they're not quite uniform in size, and other times they start tilting so the wall is no longer at a 90 degree angle with the floor. The view and the weather were both amazing, though, so it was worth the walk. We wandered through a few of the bigger plazas, obtaining more gelato and pizza and avoiding the awful street vendors--they're pretty horrible. We also went to the Colosseum; saw a beautiful Italian family taking wedding pictures; visited the forum from above; and saw a number of other ruinous things. This was also our first visit to the Trevi Fountain, with which I am pretty much in love. We went for drinks at this bar owned by Joseph and Alethea's friend, which was a really good time.
Sunday saw me and Eric touring on our own, since Joseph had to study for a test. We did make it to the Pantenon, which was one of the major spots we wanted to hit--it was previously a Roman temple and has since been turned into a really remarkable church. There was a choir singing chamber music, but the church was otherwise hard to enjoy--it was too full of tourists. Now, I mean, I'm a tourist here, but you're in a church--keep your voice down, remove your hat, and turn off your phone. A little respect wouldn't kill anyone. We also found some ruins which they were having a hard time dating, and saw a lot of cats running around there. Oh, right, because in Rome, ruins can be used as a cat sanctuary! Of course! It was a very strange place. We met up with Joseph for mass in English--where he hobnobbed with the American ambassador to Vatican City, who he apparently already knows. Then we went to dinner and got some truly outstanding pasta. Joseph had to take the early train home, so Eric and I went back to the Trevi fountain to enjoy it at night--still very beautiful.
Monday was our final day there, and we had to meet Joseph after he took his test, and bring our luggage to store at his office. Eric and I planned on relaxing, taking our books to this coffeeshop on the beach, and enjoying the morning. It was not to be! Joseph's apartment lost power, so we went searching for the circuit breaker; then Eric got a power converter stuck in an outlet. By the time we were done with all this, we just sat at the cafe for a little while to regain our composure; we saw Alethea who was babysitting this absolutely adorable little girl. When we met up with Joseph and dumped our luggage, we went to the ruins of the forum for most of the day. It was so nice to explore--especially since it was free--and the weather was still beautiful. A lot of people were picnicing there, and I feel like if I ever go back there, I'd like to do that too. It was a great way to spend our last day, and I had the chance to take a ton of pictures. We met Alethea and attempted to find a wine bar, but after traipsing across town, we were running a bit late; we scrapped the wine search and instead went to this awesome Chinese restaurant where they fed us until my seams were about to burst.
After our leisurely dinner, there was the scramble for the train. We had plenty of time to make it--Eric and I were taking an overnight train until Verona, then transferring to a regular train for the rest of the ride to Munich--but only after we picked up the tickets did we learn we were at the wrong station. We had half an hour but no idea how far the station was; Joseph talked to a cab driver, but he tried to rip us off. In the end, we learned the subway went there, so Eric and I said our goodbyes and hauled our stuff there. We had extra time at the station, which was unfortunate since it was pretty much a shithole. A really shady place; I wouldn't even go to the bathroom, because of the characters I had to pass on my way there.
The night train was an experience I don't need to have again soon. We had couchettes, pretty much bunch beds with two others, who were very nice guys who didn't speak english. The room was so hot and didn't ventilate well; the train was also not a smooth ride at all. We had to transfer at 6 am, and we tried to sleep, but thanks to Eric's alarm not being consistent lately, I woke up every hour in a panic. Eventually, the alarm did go off and we waited in the vestibule, only to find out the train was at least 30 minutes late. We only had 50 minutes between trains, so we were pretty much resigned to missing our transfer when we pulled into Verona. On the plus side, the ride to Verona I saw in the sunrise was gorgeous.
We did in fact make our train, and it left right on time. It's a six hour ride to Munich and though I tried to stay awake and enjoy the view, I soon passed out in the seat. It wasn't very comfortable either, but better than my sleep the night before; I got to see some of the alps, but according to Eric, I missed the best stuff. We had our tickets checked three times, and our passports twice--once in Austria, once in Germany. They gave ours right back even though they looked at others more closely, and I felt that odd privilege that being an American sometimes gets you. I'm glad I slept though, because the 6 hours may have been intolerable if I'd been awake the whole time. We arrived in Munich right on time, which will take me to my next post!
We got to Joseph's and ate, showered, etc. We also got to meet his girlfriend Alethea who we saw a lot more of during our visit. Maybe an hourish later, Joseph, Alethea, Eric and I got back on to the train (we only bought one ticket, by the way. The entire 4 days, we lived off of one ticket each. It was fabulous) and set off for Rome. We did a lot of the basic tourist things that day--of course stopped by St. Peter's, though we decided to tour it the next day when it might be less crowded; we got gelato from an amaaaaazing gelato place. Maybe because it was our first taste of it, but no other gelato in the city compared to that place. It was Rome heritage week, so a lot of sites were free admission--we went to Castel Sant'Angelo that day, where we had a great view of the city. We also stopped by Joseph's office to use his internet connection--I feel like we got to know the people there pretty well thanks to our stops. I think we mostly just wandered the city that day; I know we definetly went to the Spanish steps and gawked at all the stores lining the way--Gucci, Louis Vitton. I don't know where Europeans get all this disposable income from, but I want in! We went to dinner at this outdoor place where Joseph knew the owner, and he gave us two rounds of free strawberry wine--delicious. He was an old Italian man, and everything that conveys--flirting with us girls, joking with the guys. We called it quits after this, since Eric and I were exhausted.
The next day Joseph took us back in and we did St. Peter's. First we climbed to the top of the cupola, stopping on the way to view the inside of St. Peter's from above, which was incredible enough. From outside the dome, you could literally see the entire city and even mountains in the distance. It was such a long climb, and the stairs are obviously very old--sometimes they're not quite uniform in size, and other times they start tilting so the wall is no longer at a 90 degree angle with the floor. The view and the weather were both amazing, though, so it was worth the walk. We wandered through a few of the bigger plazas, obtaining more gelato and pizza and avoiding the awful street vendors--they're pretty horrible. We also went to the Colosseum; saw a beautiful Italian family taking wedding pictures; visited the forum from above; and saw a number of other ruinous things. This was also our first visit to the Trevi Fountain, with which I am pretty much in love. We went for drinks at this bar owned by Joseph and Alethea's friend, which was a really good time.
Sunday saw me and Eric touring on our own, since Joseph had to study for a test. We did make it to the Pantenon, which was one of the major spots we wanted to hit--it was previously a Roman temple and has since been turned into a really remarkable church. There was a choir singing chamber music, but the church was otherwise hard to enjoy--it was too full of tourists. Now, I mean, I'm a tourist here, but you're in a church--keep your voice down, remove your hat, and turn off your phone. A little respect wouldn't kill anyone. We also found some ruins which they were having a hard time dating, and saw a lot of cats running around there. Oh, right, because in Rome, ruins can be used as a cat sanctuary! Of course! It was a very strange place. We met up with Joseph for mass in English--where he hobnobbed with the American ambassador to Vatican City, who he apparently already knows. Then we went to dinner and got some truly outstanding pasta. Joseph had to take the early train home, so Eric and I went back to the Trevi fountain to enjoy it at night--still very beautiful.
Monday was our final day there, and we had to meet Joseph after he took his test, and bring our luggage to store at his office. Eric and I planned on relaxing, taking our books to this coffeeshop on the beach, and enjoying the morning. It was not to be! Joseph's apartment lost power, so we went searching for the circuit breaker; then Eric got a power converter stuck in an outlet. By the time we were done with all this, we just sat at the cafe for a little while to regain our composure; we saw Alethea who was babysitting this absolutely adorable little girl. When we met up with Joseph and dumped our luggage, we went to the ruins of the forum for most of the day. It was so nice to explore--especially since it was free--and the weather was still beautiful. A lot of people were picnicing there, and I feel like if I ever go back there, I'd like to do that too. It was a great way to spend our last day, and I had the chance to take a ton of pictures. We met Alethea and attempted to find a wine bar, but after traipsing across town, we were running a bit late; we scrapped the wine search and instead went to this awesome Chinese restaurant where they fed us until my seams were about to burst.
After our leisurely dinner, there was the scramble for the train. We had plenty of time to make it--Eric and I were taking an overnight train until Verona, then transferring to a regular train for the rest of the ride to Munich--but only after we picked up the tickets did we learn we were at the wrong station. We had half an hour but no idea how far the station was; Joseph talked to a cab driver, but he tried to rip us off. In the end, we learned the subway went there, so Eric and I said our goodbyes and hauled our stuff there. We had extra time at the station, which was unfortunate since it was pretty much a shithole. A really shady place; I wouldn't even go to the bathroom, because of the characters I had to pass on my way there.
The night train was an experience I don't need to have again soon. We had couchettes, pretty much bunch beds with two others, who were very nice guys who didn't speak english. The room was so hot and didn't ventilate well; the train was also not a smooth ride at all. We had to transfer at 6 am, and we tried to sleep, but thanks to Eric's alarm not being consistent lately, I woke up every hour in a panic. Eventually, the alarm did go off and we waited in the vestibule, only to find out the train was at least 30 minutes late. We only had 50 minutes between trains, so we were pretty much resigned to missing our transfer when we pulled into Verona. On the plus side, the ride to Verona I saw in the sunrise was gorgeous.
We did in fact make our train, and it left right on time. It's a six hour ride to Munich and though I tried to stay awake and enjoy the view, I soon passed out in the seat. It wasn't very comfortable either, but better than my sleep the night before; I got to see some of the alps, but according to Eric, I missed the best stuff. We had our tickets checked three times, and our passports twice--once in Austria, once in Germany. They gave ours right back even though they looked at others more closely, and I felt that odd privilege that being an American sometimes gets you. I'm glad I slept though, because the 6 hours may have been intolerable if I'd been awake the whole time. We arrived in Munich right on time, which will take me to my next post!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Prague!
So the Monday after Easter, at about 6 pm, Eric and I departed for
We came to
The first night there was figuring out a bit of a game plan and enjoying the cheap
Tuesday, after a delicious free breakfast at the hotel, we set out exploring—we thought we could pack a whole lot of stuff into one day, but one stop led to another and so our day was spent just meandering around the main tourist area—we saw the Jewish Quarter and the “new town” (not new by any measure!) and Wenceslaus Square, which was a major site in Prague history, including the Communist takeover and the Velvet Revolution. We also went to two separate street fairs in between the sudden snow storms that would blast us. That night was spent holed up in the hostel checking out
The next day we set off to the castle! The castle isn’t just one building, it’s the entire early settlement of
Thursday was our last day in
The Hague and Easter Sunday
It was a pretty crazy trial—the man on the other side of the class from us was on trial for, among other things, genocide. He was also his own defense, and could pop in and make responses to anything the prosecution said. The trial has been going for a long time, and it’s all a bit dry, but it was a very strange thing to witness there. He actually made a good defense too—it’s not that he denied what he did, he just pointed out that the prosecution made a lot of assumptions that shouldn’t be taken at face value.
After this and a great lunch, we stopped by a museum there—it houses “The Girl with the Pearl Earring,” which is a simply beautiful painting. I really enjoyed the museum and our American tour guide—I unfortunately lost the postcards I bought there, but the paintings were gorgeous. Dutch painters are really impressive, even if sometimes their work in mundane. They’re not a catholic country, so there’s no incessant focus on religious figures like the art in many other countries around here.
So, we went to
Dinner was at an Indonesian restaurant, which was quite enjoyable until I forgot my blazer there. I’m still in the process of getting it back—that was going to be my trendy European piece to bring back with me! The movie Girl with the Pearl Earring played on the way back, but after a few bottles of wine, we all had a really interesting pow-wow on the bus instead of paying attention. I love the other folks in this program.
The worst part of this week was the next day, when I had a take home midterm due the next day that I hadn’t started. In the end, it turns out I wouldn’t have done any better work on it had I started early, as it was simply a question I couldn’t have cared less about. It’s the same class I had to present in that week as well, so I felt a little bit of overload.
Also, before I moved on to the spring break entries, let’s talk about Easter: I did in fact go to the English language mass downtown at this beautiful church that was originally built in the 12th century—it was a pretty impressive mass. Then me and some of the girls got together to make Easter dinner. I love having the family together for Easter and was pretty homesick, so our adventures in the kitchen were enough to distract me from that. We couldn’t get ham, so we made pork in pineapple juice (bought for the ham glaze!) and potatoes and some veggies—mostly without using the stove, as we were terrified of burning Kate’s house down while her family was gone. I’ve got a good group of girlfriends here, and it was nice to sit there over wine and dinner (and then chocolate!) and get to know them better. It was also the biggest meal I’ve ever been involved in executing, and planning, so I was pretty proud.
The next day began our Prague-Rome-Munich adventures, which only ended this morning, so stay tuned for all my exciting adventures there!
Carolans in Europe--St. Patty's Day, Cologne, and Cars
So my older brother Mike arrived on March 16th. Some of my readers don't know my brother well--is a 24 year old engineering grad student who works lives outside Boston now. We don't see each other too much even when I'm in the states, so the visit was exciting just for that. For those who do know him, you may know Mike has never been to Europe before, and also took German in high school--hence, our visit to Germany.
It was a pretty packed week. His first day, Mike pushed through the jet lag as we took a never ending tour through Brussels. We managed to catch up on all manner of family gossip over coffee and croissants (which I order flawlessly in French). We saw plenty of things I hadn't seen since orientation, so it was a nice refresher for me on Brussels. After we both slept for a while (I'd been out late dancing at Le Corbeau for a friend's birthday--it's quite a tourist spot, but everyone also dances on the tables, so it's worth it), we went for some traditional Belgian food for dinner. I rarely go out to eat here, so it was a nice experience, especially since the place is right by my house. We unknowingly order 12% alcohol beers with our meal, so the night was already off to a good start. After this, we went to Delirium--a world-famous Brussels bar which serves over 100 beers on tap. It holds the Guinness World Record for most beers on tap in one day--I think it was 400 when they won. Again, a pretty touristy spot, but a must-see; as a result, everyone we knew who had friends in town stopped by, and it was pretty nice to get to meet people's friends from back home. We stopped by Frietland after a few beers, which is the quintessential frite stand in Brussels. We both enjoyed them immensely, so much so that we smuggled them on to the bus home. You haven't lived until you've toted frites around in your purse.
The next day, I skipped class, oddly with my professor's blessing, as Mike and I explored the EU area. Don't get excited, this wasn't an intellectual trip--we were on our way to Autoworld, a classic car museum built into these beautiful buildings up near these historic parks. It was pretty entertaining, even for me who isn't a big car fan. It focused a lot of European companies that may have fizzled out by now, and also let us see some cars from the war as well as the Belgian Royal Family's car from the 60s--it was almost exactly the same as the one in which JFK shot. We came back to my house and cooked together, which is not something we'd ever done before--I think the results were ultimately positive, though. After this, we went to De Valera's, the Irish bar on my square--after all, it's St. Patty's! Eric met us there, and since it was his 21st birthday that night, celebrating was of course in order. My friend Kate met up with us there, and we eventually walked up the road toward Eric's to go to Michael Collins, another Irish bar owned by the same guy. Michael Collins has a reputation for being rowdy, and it was more crowded (and fun, I think) than the earlier one. Eventually, though, we ran out of drinking money and headed home to prep for our early departure to Cologne the next day.
We were only in Cologne for a few hours, but that is in fact all the time you need there. It has a pretty epic cathedral, and we spent most of our day there. The weather was bitter cold, so that put a damper on exploring the city on foot. Mike found us the chocolate museum, which is on a little time island in the river, and also has a legitimate chocolate plant inside it you can watch. There was also a rainforest greenhouse so you can understand where chocolate grows--for me, it was just a welcome reprieve from the cold! Mike also continued his search for a chocolate squirrel and though we found one, it was only for display. We also had sausage from a street vendor and I had both Burger King and Dunkin Donuts. Brussels is not very Americanized at all, so these fast food places I thought I'd never miss have become pretty important in my travels. It's just so nice to have a touch of home. Mike remembered an impressive amount of his German too, and Eric also took it, so I was pretty lost that whole trip. When we got in, Mike and I just chilled at my apartment.
Wednesday, Mike's final day, I had a mandatory class trip to a museum in Brussels, so Mike and I spent a few hours learning about Belgian art--for example, there is such a thing! The bus strike that day complicated things, but I got to school on time to give my presentation for a class, while I unleashed Mike on Colruyt--it's like wholesale club, but you can buy only one if you want, and it has the oddest selection of European goods. After this, it was durum time! Durum is a middle eastern food like gyro, but better and with frites in it. I had to ensure Mike had one of these tasty treats while here. After enjoying our meal, we went to a bar right on beautiful Grand Place, where our program had rented a room so we could all enjoy a (free!) beer before heading to a local soccer match. The room was in this beautiful old building, and not a place I'd have found on my own, but worth the visit. Then it was on to the metro to head over to the Anderlecht (a Brussels team) vs. Antwerp game. They were actually playing a cup match, and had tied the previous one, so this was an important game. I've never been to a legit soccer match before, and the game itself along with the hooliganism was a very good time.
The next morning, Mike and I were up and out the door at 5 am, taking a tram and then getting him on a train back to the airport. It was a bit tense, as ticket sales don't really exist at that time, but we got home without incident (and if there was one, MY blog certainly isn't the place for it...). It was a really great visit, if brief, and made me miss so many other things and people from back home. I'm loving my time here, but I'm also SO excited I get to see everyone again in 6 weeks.
From the train station, I made my way to school at 6 am for a trip to the Hague--read the next post for that summary.
It was a pretty packed week. His first day, Mike pushed through the jet lag as we took a never ending tour through Brussels. We managed to catch up on all manner of family gossip over coffee and croissants (which I order flawlessly in French). We saw plenty of things I hadn't seen since orientation, so it was a nice refresher for me on Brussels. After we both slept for a while (I'd been out late dancing at Le Corbeau for a friend's birthday--it's quite a tourist spot, but everyone also dances on the tables, so it's worth it), we went for some traditional Belgian food for dinner. I rarely go out to eat here, so it was a nice experience, especially since the place is right by my house. We unknowingly order 12% alcohol beers with our meal, so the night was already off to a good start. After this, we went to Delirium--a world-famous Brussels bar which serves over 100 beers on tap. It holds the Guinness World Record for most beers on tap in one day--I think it was 400 when they won. Again, a pretty touristy spot, but a must-see; as a result, everyone we knew who had friends in town stopped by, and it was pretty nice to get to meet people's friends from back home. We stopped by Frietland after a few beers, which is the quintessential frite stand in Brussels. We both enjoyed them immensely, so much so that we smuggled them on to the bus home. You haven't lived until you've toted frites around in your purse.
The next day, I skipped class, oddly with my professor's blessing, as Mike and I explored the EU area. Don't get excited, this wasn't an intellectual trip--we were on our way to Autoworld, a classic car museum built into these beautiful buildings up near these historic parks. It was pretty entertaining, even for me who isn't a big car fan. It focused a lot of European companies that may have fizzled out by now, and also let us see some cars from the war as well as the Belgian Royal Family's car from the 60s--it was almost exactly the same as the one in which JFK shot. We came back to my house and cooked together, which is not something we'd ever done before--I think the results were ultimately positive, though. After this, we went to De Valera's, the Irish bar on my square--after all, it's St. Patty's! Eric met us there, and since it was his 21st birthday that night, celebrating was of course in order. My friend Kate met up with us there, and we eventually walked up the road toward Eric's to go to Michael Collins, another Irish bar owned by the same guy. Michael Collins has a reputation for being rowdy, and it was more crowded (and fun, I think) than the earlier one. Eventually, though, we ran out of drinking money and headed home to prep for our early departure to Cologne the next day.
We were only in Cologne for a few hours, but that is in fact all the time you need there. It has a pretty epic cathedral, and we spent most of our day there. The weather was bitter cold, so that put a damper on exploring the city on foot. Mike found us the chocolate museum, which is on a little time island in the river, and also has a legitimate chocolate plant inside it you can watch. There was also a rainforest greenhouse so you can understand where chocolate grows--for me, it was just a welcome reprieve from the cold! Mike also continued his search for a chocolate squirrel and though we found one, it was only for display. We also had sausage from a street vendor and I had both Burger King and Dunkin Donuts. Brussels is not very Americanized at all, so these fast food places I thought I'd never miss have become pretty important in my travels. It's just so nice to have a touch of home. Mike remembered an impressive amount of his German too, and Eric also took it, so I was pretty lost that whole trip. When we got in, Mike and I just chilled at my apartment.
Wednesday, Mike's final day, I had a mandatory class trip to a museum in Brussels, so Mike and I spent a few hours learning about Belgian art--for example, there is such a thing! The bus strike that day complicated things, but I got to school on time to give my presentation for a class, while I unleashed Mike on Colruyt--it's like wholesale club, but you can buy only one if you want, and it has the oddest selection of European goods. After this, it was durum time! Durum is a middle eastern food like gyro, but better and with frites in it. I had to ensure Mike had one of these tasty treats while here. After enjoying our meal, we went to a bar right on beautiful Grand Place, where our program had rented a room so we could all enjoy a (free!) beer before heading to a local soccer match. The room was in this beautiful old building, and not a place I'd have found on my own, but worth the visit. Then it was on to the metro to head over to the Anderlecht (a Brussels team) vs. Antwerp game. They were actually playing a cup match, and had tied the previous one, so this was an important game. I've never been to a legit soccer match before, and the game itself along with the hooliganism was a very good time.
The next morning, Mike and I were up and out the door at 5 am, taking a tram and then getting him on a train back to the airport. It was a bit tense, as ticket sales don't really exist at that time, but we got home without incident (and if there was one, MY blog certainly isn't the place for it...). It was a really great visit, if brief, and made me miss so many other things and people from back home. I'm loving my time here, but I'm also SO excited I get to see everyone again in 6 weeks.
From the train station, I made my way to school at 6 am for a trip to the Hague--read the next post for that summary.
Luxembourg & European Court of Justice
I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here--since Luxembourg, I've also gone to the Hague and my crazy recent spring break adventures. I'm going to try to make a separate post for each location, so bare with me if they're a bit brief or slow in appearing. Oh, and my older brother visited, so there is LOTS to tell.
In other news, this month is when things get busy--papers, etc. So again, if this isn't updated regularly (1 post in March!? Sorry!) forgive me.
And finally, I'd like to let you know that ads are going to be appearing on this blog. In the next few days, they're going to switch to "content relevant," which means google scans my text and gives ads related to that--based on what I write about, I bet it will be about air fare, travel destinations, etc. I do get a kick-back from these ads per click, so if you have any interest in the ads they post--which may be useful to anyone who is abroad now, or is looking to be--go crazy.
Okay, so, to business:
Shamefully, Luxembourg was March 11-12, which is actually in the middle of the week. I am a big fan of the fact that our program gets us excused from classes to galavant around Europe. We didn't leave until about 4 pm, which means we got to Luxembourg in time to head to our hostel and then go out for dinner. Keep in mind in all these descriptions that we travel in a pack of at least 20, up to 60, 20-something Americans, in a double-decker bus. We took up the entire hostel, and in fact, they needed to get us more buses.
For those who are not up on their obscure European geography, Luxembourg is a tiny country (a Grand Duchy, meaning its ruled by a Grand Duke) next to Belgium--in fact, it's territory was originally part of the same land as Belgium. It has the highest per capita income in the world, which means Luxembourg City was chock full of Louis Vitton and Coach stores--in short, enough to make any poor college student sigh a little with jealousy.
I absolutely loved our time in Luxembourg. Our hostel was outside the capital city, in a tiny little village that fulfilled every stereotype I had of the European countryside. Dinner that night was at an Italian sort of restaurant--I had the pork, because I never get that here--and featured our program's signature bottomless wine bottle. The bottomless wine bottle is important to understanding why these trips are so much fun--we all drink good wine, for free, with no objections from our chaperones.
Think about any overnight trip your high school ever had, and their concerns about the bad things that could happen. Then imagine them all coming true--this was pretty much our hostel. Between the wine, and a few other bottles of (allowed!) alcohol in the hostel, and a number of students going to a bar, getting soaked in the pouring rain,and finding the bar closed, things were crazy. A few guys had no pants--their only pair had gotten soaked in the store and were left to dry in the dining room. There was an all girl's arm wrestling tournament. There was debauchery as far as the eye could see; I sat on the spiral staircase between floors with a few others, nursing the last of some Bacardi, and oversaw the whole thing like a strange sort of lifeguard. Drunk people are hilarious when you're not one of them.
The next day, though, was a bit more serious--it started with a visit to the European Court of Justice. I've learned recently that the EU has the Court of Justice for taking its own members to task--if a country isn't complying with a ruling, the European Parliament or even an individual from that country can sue the country--class actions cases will soon be available too. The trial is overseen by up to a dozen judges and is very formal, and very different from the American legal system. The case we saw was against France for not complying with restrictions on genetically modified food. France is a frequent flyer in the court, often needing to be tried and fined before they'll give in. The Czech Republic was also there, as they had a vested interest in the case.
The trial was available in several languages via headphones, with live translation, so if you got bored by the legalese, a quick foray to the Greek language channel could wake you up. The trial was dry, some of it was lost in translation, and we missed the briefing before hand, so it was hard to follow, but we had a good session with a British employee there afterwards explaining how the court works. The ECJ is one of my favorite components of the EU, as it makes countries accountable not only to the Union but also to their citizens.
After this, there was a walking tour of Luxembourg City, which is up there with Prague and Paris in my favorite cities. It was so beautiful, such a great blend of modern and historic. There's not too much to do there, but it seems like the perfect place to visit for a weekend and just relax.
Then we visited a castle in the Namur province of Belgium. By now, I've seen a fair few castles--this one was unique in that some nobility still live there today. The Namur area is also really beautiful, so it was time well spent. Dinner followed at a traditional restaurant there--we had apertifs, individual appetizers, shared appetizers, bread, wine, the main course, dessert and coffee--in short, a veritable feast! The food was amazing, and so was the company at my table.
I really enjoyed Luxembourg City, and our visit to the ECJ is just one more example of a cool experience I never would have had on my own. And it was already paid for! Good times.
In other news, this month is when things get busy--papers, etc. So again, if this isn't updated regularly (1 post in March!? Sorry!) forgive me.
And finally, I'd like to let you know that ads are going to be appearing on this blog. In the next few days, they're going to switch to "content relevant," which means google scans my text and gives ads related to that--based on what I write about, I bet it will be about air fare, travel destinations, etc. I do get a kick-back from these ads per click, so if you have any interest in the ads they post--which may be useful to anyone who is abroad now, or is looking to be--go crazy.
Okay, so, to business:
Shamefully, Luxembourg was March 11-12, which is actually in the middle of the week. I am a big fan of the fact that our program gets us excused from classes to galavant around Europe. We didn't leave until about 4 pm, which means we got to Luxembourg in time to head to our hostel and then go out for dinner. Keep in mind in all these descriptions that we travel in a pack of at least 20, up to 60, 20-something Americans, in a double-decker bus. We took up the entire hostel, and in fact, they needed to get us more buses.
For those who are not up on their obscure European geography, Luxembourg is a tiny country (a Grand Duchy, meaning its ruled by a Grand Duke) next to Belgium--in fact, it's territory was originally part of the same land as Belgium. It has the highest per capita income in the world, which means Luxembourg City was chock full of Louis Vitton and Coach stores--in short, enough to make any poor college student sigh a little with jealousy.
I absolutely loved our time in Luxembourg. Our hostel was outside the capital city, in a tiny little village that fulfilled every stereotype I had of the European countryside. Dinner that night was at an Italian sort of restaurant--I had the pork, because I never get that here--and featured our program's signature bottomless wine bottle. The bottomless wine bottle is important to understanding why these trips are so much fun--we all drink good wine, for free, with no objections from our chaperones.
Think about any overnight trip your high school ever had, and their concerns about the bad things that could happen. Then imagine them all coming true--this was pretty much our hostel. Between the wine, and a few other bottles of (allowed!) alcohol in the hostel, and a number of students going to a bar, getting soaked in the pouring rain,and finding the bar closed, things were crazy. A few guys had no pants--their only pair had gotten soaked in the store and were left to dry in the dining room. There was an all girl's arm wrestling tournament. There was debauchery as far as the eye could see; I sat on the spiral staircase between floors with a few others, nursing the last of some Bacardi, and oversaw the whole thing like a strange sort of lifeguard. Drunk people are hilarious when you're not one of them.
The next day, though, was a bit more serious--it started with a visit to the European Court of Justice. I've learned recently that the EU has the Court of Justice for taking its own members to task--if a country isn't complying with a ruling, the European Parliament or even an individual from that country can sue the country--class actions cases will soon be available too. The trial is overseen by up to a dozen judges and is very formal, and very different from the American legal system. The case we saw was against France for not complying with restrictions on genetically modified food. France is a frequent flyer in the court, often needing to be tried and fined before they'll give in. The Czech Republic was also there, as they had a vested interest in the case.
The trial was available in several languages via headphones, with live translation, so if you got bored by the legalese, a quick foray to the Greek language channel could wake you up. The trial was dry, some of it was lost in translation, and we missed the briefing before hand, so it was hard to follow, but we had a good session with a British employee there afterwards explaining how the court works. The ECJ is one of my favorite components of the EU, as it makes countries accountable not only to the Union but also to their citizens.
After this, there was a walking tour of Luxembourg City, which is up there with Prague and Paris in my favorite cities. It was so beautiful, such a great blend of modern and historic. There's not too much to do there, but it seems like the perfect place to visit for a weekend and just relax.
Then we visited a castle in the Namur province of Belgium. By now, I've seen a fair few castles--this one was unique in that some nobility still live there today. The Namur area is also really beautiful, so it was time well spent. Dinner followed at a traditional restaurant there--we had apertifs, individual appetizers, shared appetizers, bread, wine, the main course, dessert and coffee--in short, a veritable feast! The food was amazing, and so was the company at my table.
I really enjoyed Luxembourg City, and our visit to the ECJ is just one more example of a cool experience I never would have had on my own. And it was already paid for! Good times.
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