Day 40 & 41: London!

Hallo everyone! And greetings from London, England! And what a jolly good day it is! Well, I have some downtime, so I thought that I would catch up on me blog! We are currently at a hostel in the second ring of London. But let me first recap yesterday. We had meetings with Professor Nelson and then our Goethe classes. I was counting down the minutes until I could get out of there, so that I could get ready to leave for London!

I spent the early evening at the Mueller's apartment and then made my way to one of Berlin's small airports. Although I had given myself plenty of time to get to there, I kept having to wait for the next train and I started to get worried that I was going to miss my flight! I ran from the train station to the airport because I was worried that I would be sending Andrea off by herself to the UK, it all ended up working out. I breezed through security (it's a tiny airport!) and still had plenty of time before the plane boarded. I am glad that I kept calm and that it all worked out! I definitely would recommend taking the subway and the bus over the train in the future!

But anyway, we boarded our RyanAir flight nach London!! It was a very humorous hour and a half, actually. The whole flight, we were barraged by advertisements and service announcements. And the stewardesses were basically putting on an act the whole time. It was very funny! So, we arrived in London, got some British Pounds and bought our bus tickets. We had to wait a little bit, but eventually got on a bus to central London. It ended up that the Tube was closed and we didn't have exact change so we couldn't by a bus pass. Instead, we made the trek by foot. It wouldn't have been too bad except that I hurt my foot earlier in the week and it hasn't properly healed. But we were fine, the night was nice, and we were in a safe area of town. We found the hostel reception, but it took a bit to find our actual lodgings. Once we did, the first thing we saw as we walked into the room was a certain type of bug (a coach roach) you really would prefer not to see. So, I was a bit worried that the room would suddenly be invade by a family of these brown insects, but it all turned out alright. We were disturbed by a bunch of loud roommates at 5 am (who slept like bears and wouldn't turn off their never-ending alarms). It really wasn't a horrible night, but rather more of a story to tell and a new experience.

After a breakfast of cereal at the hostel, Andrea and I have been touring London all day. We've seen Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc., etc., etc. Certainly a day of "touristry," but also a lot of fun. Currently, we are staying at an AWESOME hostel outside of the city-center. It is absolutely amazing; free breakfast, free internet, everything! We don't have plans for tonight or tomorrow other than my mission to eat some Fish and Chips for Zach and our hopes of seeing the changing of the guards tomorrow at the palace. It's definitely been different to travel on our own and figure out plans for ourselves. And I am very glad for the experience! But right about now, I am definitely missing the comforts of home. I am looking forward to a good shower and the opportunity to wash my clothes properly...But these last three weeks I plan to enjoy and get the most out of! I am not sure if I will have the chance to write tomorrow, so ahead of time I will say: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 39: Long Day

Hallo all! What a day, what a day!! What a very long day! I woke this morning fairly early and headed to another section of the city to a small cafe where Professor Nelson held our class. The journey took about 40 minutes and involved two subway lines, a street car, and some good ol' fashion walking. Not too bad at all, but definitely a lot different than traveling in the small city Freiburg!

The class went well, but it was a dreary day here in Berlin, so everyone was not in the best of moods. It was just so darn cold this morning! One of my classmates did not show up for class today, so I hope that everything is okay with her...After a.m. class, we basically headed right to the Goethe Institute for another 5 hours of fun, fun, fun. We stopped at a used English bookstore along the way. Professor Nelson had spotted some Kurt Vonnegut books along the way and knew I'd be interested, thanks to my friend Zach, I have now found my new favorite author!. Classes at Goethe went fine, although they were pretty long. And I was the only one present from Union in my specific class, which was a bit frustrating.

After class, I sat in on a 1.5 hour lecture on Weimar Germany just because I had nothing better to do...and I thought it would be a good use of my time, too! I really didn't want to go back to the house and just sit there all night long, so I hung out with Paula and Anna for the evening. We planned to go back to their apartment, make some dinner, and watch a movie, but it got too late, so we're moving movie night to tomorrow evening before I leave for London. Speaking of London, all is set for our trip! We are flying via RyanAir tomorrow night and coming back early Monday morning. We also got some nice rooms in cheap hostels, so the initial cost of the trip will be under 100 Euro! Pretty sweet! Thanks, Union Stipend! It's nice to budget one's money well and have some saved up! So, that's about it for now. 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 38: Tour

Hallo everyone! Wie geht's? Hope all is well! It was a beautiful day here in Berlin, absolutely the perfect temperature! Today, we had a three hour tour of the city before class. Let's just say that my feet were still tired from yesterday, but it was enjoyable anyway!

So, I left the house with about 40 minutes before the tour, plenty of time. But then it ended up that there wasn't a train going to the exact stop that I was looking for! I tried to walk there, but ended up going in the opposite direction accidentally! Oh well. It all worked out in the end. I was a little over 15 minutes late for our meeting time, but I was only the third person there out of six, so it was fine. Unfortunately, Anna and Paula thought we were meeting at a different Starbucks, so they didn't go with us on the tour. But even though we were worried about them, it was still a very fun walk around the city and history lesson, anyway!

We saw so much: from the Brandenburger Tor to the Reichstag, from the site of Hitler's Bunker to Checkpoint Charlie. Sehr toll! Our tour guide was a really neat guy. He's from Maine, but he's been living in Berlin for three years. It was neat to have another perspective on everything and since he is so young, he definitely knew what kind of attractions would appeal to students our age. I thought that it was very interesting to see the different ways that history is skewed. Although there are some very correct representations of reality, Checkpoint Charlie itself has just become a tourist trap for foreigners seeking Stazi hats. Our tour guide really knows his history, in some ways it made me interested in living abroad and seeing the past first-hand. But I still enjoy living in the States, too! I guess we will see what the future brings!

Another interesting but sad thing about Berlin is that 1 in every 7 buildings is abandoned. It's been really striking to see a city that is built bigger than the size of its population. They definitely have rebuilt Berlin from the time of WWII and also since the twenty years of reunification, but there is still a ways to go. Unfortunately, renovation costs money and no one seems to have much of that these days! There is also a very interesting Holocaust remembrance site which is basically a city-block full of concrete blocks serving as a reminder to all who pass by. But its meaning is also "open to interpretation," which was very interesting.

So, after the three hour tour and much sight seeing, we made our way to the Goethe Institut. Classes were tiring, but I am happy that I am making a good first impression in this new one! I hope my teacher picks up the pace a bit, though! So, I called it a day right after class and made it home in time to prepare a dinner at a normal time. It was nice to have the apartment to myself and I enjoyed cooking a decent meal. This morning, I left the get well card and the tea I bought for my host mother on the kitchen table (I hadn't seen her directly this morning). When I came home, I had received a very sweet hand-written noting thanking me for the well-wishes. I guess a little bit of kindness goes a long way after all! I am glad that now I might be a bit more on my host's good side and hopefully I brightened her day a bit!

So, I've just been hanging out for the evening and catching up on things. It was nice to have some time to relax after a long day. Everyone is pretty exhausted, but hopefully the weekend will be a lot of fun! It looks like the new volcano ash won't be disrupting our travel plans, which is a good thing! Well, that's about it for now. Hope all is well! Gute Nacht! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 37: Exploring

Hallo all! It is Day 2 here in Berlin and what a busy day it was! But first, I will recap last night. We went to the Three Penny Opera and it was quite a show. I made it to the theater fine, it looks like I am able to figure out the subway system after all! I feel very comfortable using it after only being here since yesterday! So, the show itself was very well done. It reminded me a bit of the way Hitchcock's The 39 Steps was put on as a modern show in that both productions sort of made fun of the we ways plays are dramatized. The singing was wonderful and the body language of the actors was just so awesome to watch. They really exaggerated every move and made the whole thing interesting even to us who are not fluent in German. I followed the play pretty well, but it probably helped that we read up on the overview ahead of time. It was interesting how the plot came together on a critique of money and greediness and how so much was what was said echoes in today's world. I thoroughly enjoyed the opera, but I was definitely quite tired by the end of the whole thing, as was the rest of the group. So, afterward I made my way back to the apartment alone. Unfortunately, it turns out that no one is at the exact same subway stop as I am, although there are other Union students in my section of the city. I ended up taking the way back to the house that I was familiar with, but I have since found a better way. I had to walk down a dark and deserted street which made me a bit nervous. But there's definitely a better sense of safety here than what I have experienced in my short visits to other big cities, which is a good thing. Alles ist gut!

Well, now onto today, then! I woke up fairly early (although not as early as I was planned, I forgot to hit the "on" button for my alarm!) in order to explore the city a little bit. I first went grocery shopping and found that there are so many more stores in the area than I originally thought! When I came back to the house, my arms were full of groceries. So, I sort of swung the door shut with my foot and it shut pretty loudly. I thought I was alone in the apartment since there was evidence that my host mother had already been up that morning and I assumed that she had gone to work. Well, she came out of her room and asked me to close the door more quietly next time. Although she wasn't trying to be mean about it, of course I was mortified! I would have shut the door more carefully if I knew she was still in bed. I just don't want to "get off on the wrong foot" with her. I talked a bit with my fellow Union students and they think that she was just trying to "lay down the law" (so many cliqués!) because she may have had some not so great tenants in the past. I definitely think that this might be the reason why she may have acted this way because she kept mentioning yesterday how the last tenant broke the window, broke the toaster, etc. I just feel badly because if she's home on recovery this week, I didn't mean to disturb her! I bought her a get well card and some tee. Maybe that will brighten her day and let her know that I won't be too much of a trouble maker!

So, after that incident, I fled the scene of the crime! Just kidding. But was out of the house all day long, from about 10 am to 10 pm! I ended up explore Kreuzberg (my section of the city) and finding some neat things. I was trying to walk down to Viktoria Park to see if it was suitable for running, but I instead walked the other way and made it to an even bigger park. From there, I took the metro to Viktoria and came across a beautiful waterfall. The park is situated on a hill and I literally had to hike to the top to see the church squire (no church, just a squire) and in front of it was the waterfall. Kind of a neat thing to see in the middle of a city! It was a little bit strange, while I was up there a man was loitering and it made me a little nervous. He approached me and I think he asked me if I had any change, but I couldn't quite tell because he spoke very quickly even after I asked him to repeat what he said. I just said no and walked away, although I always feel badly about doing that. I walked around a bit at the top and headed back down the other side of the park in what I thought was another way to the metro station. And it was! By then, my feet were pretty darn tired, so it was nice to have a break as I waited for the train to reach Friedrichstrasse. I then took the S-Bahn (another form of public train transportation) to a stop closer to the Goethe Institut. I first had trouble finding the building (the street name wasn't on my map) and was going to ask for directions, but I came across it after all!

Then, classes started and we all made it there safely! It was interesting being in such a different environment than Frieburg. But I like my class and my teacher is very energetic. I am trying to be very interactive and outgoing so the teacher does not get another impression of me right away. Our classes are later here in Berlin, but I think I like having the mornings free. Although it's sometimes difficult to sit through so much class, I generally do my best work in the afternoon anyway! So, after classes, Andrea and I booked our cheap plane tickets to London! We're headed there this weekend to see the sights and eat some Fish and Chips for Zach (yes, it's true!). I am very much looking forward to going there, we're planning on staying in a youth hostel and just touring the city a bit. RyanAir/EasyJet has awesome prices, so I would definitely recommend either of them to anyone planning on traveling within Europe!

After class, Andrea and I headed to Alexanderplatz in hopes of finding a new shopping center called "Alexa." There, we walked around a bit and ended up running into Anna and Paula, our fellow Unionites!! What are the chances of that?! So, we hung out with them for a bit (and I ate my second Doener Kabap of Berlin, a Turkish delicacy that comes from a huge rotating chunk of meat). And they joined me on the subway ride home. I walked back on a much more heavily trafficked and well-lit street tonight, so I felt a lot more comfortable.

So, that's about it! Tomorrow, we are waking up fairly early in order to go on a three hour tour (luckily, it's not the five hour one that was previously planned!). I am looking forward to seeing more of Berlin and having the opportunity to hear more its history. Even though I am not the best museum-goer around, there is so much history here and I can't wait to see it all first-hand! Well, I must get some more work done and head to bed soon. I hope that all is well with everyone back home! I have only 25 more days until I take that flight back to New York! Wow! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 35 & 36: From Dresden to Berlin

Hallo! And greetings from the capital of Germany: Berlin! I have safely made it to my host mother's apartment and am currently sitting in my very own room! Wahoo! I finally have some peace and quiet!

So, let me first give a bit of an overview of the past couple of days so you can get a feel for our travels. Well, yesterday we drove from Prague to Dresden. Dresden or "Dre's Den," was absolutely amazing! I loved the city's character, it's architecture, and the spring festival that was going on (across the street from the anarchist's rally, of course). To give a little background on Dresden, it was (basically) completely destroyed by the Allies at the very end of WWII. The bombing of Dresden is viewed by many as completely unnecessary because it was evident that a Nazi loss was preeminent and it appeared as if the Allies just wanted to get rid of the last of their weapons supplies/seek revenge on Germany. So, since the 1945, Dresden has seen a complete transformation. It is now a modern city with historical personality. It was sad, yet interesting to see how the main church in the city was rebuilt and how it's weathered foundations serve as a reminder of the past. I very much enjoyed our own little "Springfest," although the weather was a bit more overcast in Dresden than in Schenectady!

After visiting the festival, we made our way to a currywurst stand. Currywurst is a type of sausage that is very popular in Germany, the sauce it is dipped in is favored with the spice, curry! So, this currywurst stand is very well known for its extremely spicy sausages. And so, a contest ensued amongst our group. Almost all of us decided to try the hottest possible wurst (it burned like no other food I have had in my life!). But since our van driver was paying, we could not refuse to finish the wurst. So, it ended up that it became a contest between Paula and Professor Nelson to see who could eat the most currywust. They both had 5 pieces (not 5 full wursts!) and tied. After our explorations of the city, we headed back to the hotel to rest up a bit before dinner. We then walked along the other side of the river and found an interesting "Tex-Mex" restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the conversation! After dinner, some of the group headed out to other adventures, while the rest of us rested up at the hotel. And that was that!

So, this morning we woke up pretty early and got ready for our journey to Berlin. WE drove for a bit and came to the capital of Germany: Berlin! It was sad to say goodbye to our driver, Andy, but it was nice also to finally be here in the city. We toured the Goethe Institut and they contacted my host mother, so I was able to go to her apartment. And that is where I am now! I actually have reliable internet for once! And it's nice! So, tonight we are headed to the "Three Penny Opera" to see a supposedly interesting musical number. Hopefully, I will be able to make my way there on the subway without any problems! Well, I hope that all is well at home! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 33 & 34: Prague

Hallo everyone! And greetings from Prague/Praha! Hopefully, I will be able to post this blog, our internet has only been working off and on for the past few days. So, since the last post, we have seen Munich and Prague! And what a busy couple of days it has been. Yesterday (and today), we began our day with an amazing German breakfast complete with every possible bakery item (yes, pretzels, pretzel rolls, and pretzel sticks!), so many different types of fruit, etc. It was amazing! So, in Munich, we headed to Marienplatz and had a little bit of time to walk around before our bicycle tour of the city! The tour itself was very neat. We saw a lot of Munich that I hadn't seen on our trip to Germany five years ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet up with the family we have here because the day was so busy. But it was really neat to ride through Munich and to hear the tour in German. We were all able to pick up on the basics of what was being said, which is a good thing! One neat thing in Muenchen's Central Park (other than the gorgeous landscape) were the surfers at the foot of a tunnel. Very cool!

So, after the bike tour, we drove to Dachau, past the outskirts of Munich. Dachau was the first concentration camp to be established by the Nazis, so the experience was very poingnant and heart-wrenching. Two days ago marked the 65th anniversary of the camp's liberation, so it was definitely a very important time to commemorate the event. It was difficult and emotional to see all of the history textbooks and films come to life. In some ways, I see myself as calloused to the pictures of the atrocities since I have spent so much time studying the Second World War. But as soon as I stepped foot on the premises I knew that no amount of reading could have prepared me for witnessing the where it all happened first-hand. I know that the other people in my group were influenced by the trip, also. I am very glad (although also saddened) that we were given the opportunity to visit Dachau.

Afterward, we headed back into Munich. Andrea and I decided that all we wanted was to grab a bite to eat, so we parted ways with the rest of the company. We stumbled upon a neat little Vietnamese restaurant and just in time. As soon as we sat down, it started pouring outside! It was a nice dinner and quite an interesting way to end an interesting day.

So, this morning, we headed to Prague! And it sure is a good thing that we ended up getting to come here because our other plans could have been a bit more worrisome. We almost went to Leipzig and not Prague because the Czech Republic has recently passed some travel insurance requirements that complicated the matter a bit. But it all worked out and we ended up here anyway. The scary thing is that today in Leipzig, two pipe bombs went off. Today is the "Tag der Arbeit" or the "Day of Work/Labor Day/Day of Struggle" in Germany. This day can be both a peaceful commemoration, but it also can serve as a means of violent demonstration. I guess Leipzig has often been a popular meeting ground for rioters and the likes, so we are happy that we made it to Prague and were not present for the bombs in Leipzig today.

It was a nice and peaceful day here in the Czech Republic (as far as I know at least). We took a walking tour of the city and saw some very beautiful sights. I did a little bit of practical shopping for clothing, so I was glad to have some new walking shoes, etc. Tonight, I definitely did not want to go out anywhere and stay out until 3 am. So, it ended up that Andrea, Professor Nelson, and I hopped the nearest streetcar and headed to a random restaurant somewhere in Prague. It was an interesting experience to see an area less populated by tourists and to have to figure out the car schedules in a country whose language none of us knew. It ended up that the people of Prague are actually very knowledgeable when it comes to English! Who knew?!

The dinner and conversations were very nice. It has been a neat experience to get to know a professor on a more personal level. Wow, it has been a busy couple of days! We have just one more stop along the way before Berlin: Dresden (or Dre's Den, Andrea's nickname, as I like to call it). I am definitely looking forward to Berlin, although I still haven't heard back from my host family about arrival times! Hopefully tomorrow...Well, enjoy the afternoon. Hope to write again soon! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 31 & 32: Munich!

Hallo all! And greetings from Munich! Wow, it's been an interesting couple of days! I wasn't sure if I would have internet while we travel, but it ended up that our hotel has free wireless.

So, it almost seems like longer since we departed Freiburg, but we left just yesterday, right after class. It was a bittersweet departure, there were many hugs and farewells to be had by all. It was nice to have the opportunity to get to know a little city like that one and I would definitely like to go back there some day!

After our departure from the Gaestehaus, we made our way to what I like to call "Neuschwansteintown" because it is the home to the beautiful castle of King Ludwig II. The scenic ride through Bavaria was beautiful, I am so glad that I did not sleep much during the bus ride. On the way, we stopped on the Boden See (a lake) and saw some more gorgeous examples of nature's wonders. Once we arrived in our hotel for the night (just a little ways from "Cinderella's Castle"), we found a nice restaurant-hotel and sat and ate traditional Bavarian food. It was neat to get to know our van driver. He looks like Bruce Willis! So, we resided last night in a cute little Victorian-style hotel, one of the nicest ones I have ever stayed in!

Well, we woke up this morning fairly bright and early, and headed to Neuschwanstein. It was a gorgeous day and we really lucked out that we had such a nice hike up the mountain to the castle. It was very neat to be back in Bavaria, I even recognized some of the sights we had seen on our family trip five years ago (we have relatives in the area and I had visited for two weeks with my family). We took a tour of the castle, walked to the nearby bridge, and saw many paragliders in the area. We even looked into going paragliding, but it was a bit too expensive for us students.

After a bit of a bus ride, we made our way into Munich! Tonight, we spent the evening in the Hofbraeuhaus! It was a lot of fun and we really lucked out in getting a table! The food was good and the atmosphere was really neat! That's about it for now, I'm headed to bed! Tomorrow, we are going to be doing a bike tour and visiting the remains of a nearby concentration camp. More news to come shortly. Hope all is well! 'Til next time...Tschuess!