Benches and balconies

I woke up in the morning with what seemed to be the beginnings of a plan.  I knew that I wanted to get to Verona, but honestly I am not even sure why. I just really wanted to see Verona!! So I hopped on a train with a girl I met at the picnic last night, marni, and we headed east together.  

Now... This is where the story gets a little sketchy... See, I had done my research on Verona only to find that there were no hostels in the city. All I could find were very Vexpensive b&bs, and even those were impossible to get to without a car.  This didn't make any sense at all in my mind. Verona is a big tourist city!! There MUST  be a place for backpackers to go... Right? To be on the safe side I checked out a hostel in the city of bologna that I could take a train to if there was nowhere to stay in Verona. 

So I bravely hopped off the train, and said goodbye to marni and made my way to the old city. On the way, I met a young Ecuadorean girl who was studying in Germany and visiting italy.  Anna and I decided to stick together and see the sights for the day. We eventually found a tourist office, that explained that there are two hostels in the city (yes!)... But the one i needed was about a 30 minute walk away.  No problem!  So we started our hike up to the hostel on the other side of the city.  Of course what we didn't factor in was all of our picture taking, sight seeing time.  So by the time we were actually headed to the hostel, it was quite late. The woman at the tourist center had warned us that one hostel was full already, but she didn't know about the other.  This meant, unfortunately that if this hostel had no rooms left, I would not be able to make the train to bologna, and had no other prospects of a room...

While we were in Latvia, Aunt Silvya and Valerie teased me a little about my lack on planning... And I told them that if worse came to worst I could always sleep on a park bench!! Of course, that notion is much funnier when you aren't actually faced with not knowing where you will be sleeping that night... 

Needless to say, my stress level was high.

To get to the hostel we had to cross the river and practically climb a mountain. Oh, and did I mention that it's hot here?? I went from rainy and cold to melt-you-like-butter heat.  So we were dripping and winded when we finally made it to the hostel.  

I have been blessed with what we call "wiersema luck"... And things usually work out for us! Luckily the hostel had plenty of space, AND it was by far one of the coolest hostels I have stayed in yet.  It used to be a monastery, and it's atop a hill that overlooks the entire city.  There is a beautiful garden with ruins and statues, and even a chapel on the grounds.  I nearly started to cry, from relief of having a bed, and the absolute beauty from out my window.  

That evening I met a wonderful woman from Canada who was probably in her early 70's also staying at the hostel.  Her name was Irene, and I could barely understand her her Russian accent was so thick. (we never got around to finding out how she got to Canada...). But anyway she was feeling a bit lonely so I invited her to switch to our room.  She had so many stories to tell, of where she'd been, and who she'd met... And she told me that she still stays in hostels just because that is the best place to meet people.  Isn't that cool?? Anyway, she was staying in Verona until the opera started (I'll talk about that later) and then also planning on heading to croatia, so we briefly discussed traveling together.  I don't think the timing will work out, but she's a really wonderful woman!  

Although right now she is snoring in the bunk below me...

Anyway, i have fallen in love with Verona!  I am so excited to explore this beautiful city...

Milan madness

So in an epic jump across Europe, I took a plane from Riga Latvia all the way to Milan Italy.  Now, unfortunately, this isn't one that the cheap airlines do, or at least it wasn't any cheaper than a normal airline, so for the first time since coming to Europe, I flew a normal airline.  And it was heaven.  I'd forgotten just how much you give up when you fly cheap... It didn't help that I was given the exit row window seat... It was like a sign from the universe that I was to make the most of every moment of this extraordinarily comfortable flight.  Ah... Bliss!  So I stretched out my legs, and ate my complimentary sandwich and cookie and even had the audacity to ask for a second one.  Yesssss!

When we landed in Milan my first impression was just the noise and smell. I was once again back in a great big city.  I took the metro to my hostel outside the city center, and realized quickly that it was much farther than the advertisements had suggested... But thankfully the Milan public transportation system is reasonably easy to follow, and cheap.  

I made it to the hostel without getting lost even once (seriously this must be a record). The reception area and common room all looked very clean and friendly, which I expected considering the price I payed... Unfortunately all the hostels in Milan were overpriced and not highly rated.  But all seemed fine, until I got upstairs to my bed... I have never seen a mattress so dirty... Iiiick!!  AND the place had the audacity to charge extra for linens! Grr. 

Anyway, I really didn't have any sort of a plan past Milan... So I wasn't sure how long I'd stay there.  I decided to go into the city to check it out, and see how I felt.  So I started with what milan is most famous for, shopping.  Now, since I am incredibly short on space, there's really nothing I can buy.. So this got boring pretty fast.  So I went to where I am a little more passionate... The history stuff.  

Milan's duomo is by far it's most famous structure, and I have no trouble seeing why.  It's built in the center of the city in a huge white stone square.  When you come up out of the metro you are absolutely blinded by the reflection of light off of everything. Whenyour eyes adjust, your breath is taken away by the shear size and majesty of then church in front of you.  Tall, very thin spires each up everywhere, all intricately carved. 

 It's almost so beautiful that you don't notice the fifty or so guys looking for gawking tourists to sell stuff to... Or aka pickpocket. (oh yeah, these guys have us tourists ALL figured out!) 

Anyway, upon entering the church, I had my breathe sucked away from me again!  Now remember... I have been in A LOT of churches on this trip. Most of them gothic and pretty and old... Just like this one.  They get old fast.  However, this one struck me by surprise.  The dome was SO high and huge, that I felt as tiny as an ant.  It seemed like the roof was defying physics itself... Nothing should be able to stand this tall with so little support!  But here it is, hundreds of years later, still standing strong.  I felt so awe struck in this church, I didn't want to leave!  My neck ached from looking up for so long.., but it didn't matter.  It was so worth the vertigo.

After leaving the duomo, i wandered the center of Milan for a while.  Other than some pretty awesome street performers, I realized quickly that this city wasn't where I wanted to stay.  It was much too industrial and fashion centered... So I headed back to the hostel to make a plan.

At the hostel, I started talking to a young woman, and quickly found one of the best friends I have made on this trip. Elisa is a Brazilian living in Portugal, trying to make it as an opera singer.  She was in Milan auditioning for the conservatory there!! We hit it off right away, but as soon as we were able to start talking music, we were two peas in a pod! Elisa is one of the most high spirited people I have ever met. She says what she thinks, and often says it loudly :). 

As we were chatting, we found out that the receptionist was from Spain, and started talking to her as well. Seriously, thank goodness for English!  She invited us along to a picnic that some of her friends were hosting in a local park, so of course we agreed.  This ended up being more of a gigantic park party than a picnic!! Everyone brought tons of food, and more and mor people started showing up.  I don't think I have heard that many languages being spoken in one place anywhere else on my trip.  It was so cool! Plus the park was absolutely gorgeous... Fountains and monuments... A few Roman ruins... No biggy. 

Pretty soon, the guitars came out, and we had an absolute jam fest.  People were singing and dancing, and just having a wonderful time!  When I finally left, I'm pretty sure there was about to be a dance off between a guy from Italy and a girl from Spain. Oh man.

It was a perfect way to end my stay in milan.  I decided to keep moving forward... Although I still didn't really know where... But that's for the next blog!

Latvia: now, and in ten years

We started the day with the MOST fabulous breakfast!  We had these amazingly light Latvian pancakes with maple syrup... Mmm. I absolutely must get that recipe!  They were similar to German palatshinken, but even more tasty.  

Then we got back on the train to Riga!  Of course now that we knew where we were going, it seemed to take no time at all and we were back to our home away from home, the Metropoli hotel.  We took the day to do some last minute souvenir shopping and sight seeing. But when we were all shopped out, we decided to take a cruise of the canal system.  

The boat pickup we found was under a shopping mall in a concrete stairwell that screamed "drug deal gone wrong" to me... And I was feeling a little skeptical.  But after not much time at all, a very jolly looking wooden boat came to pick us up.  There was an informational tour going on in the back, but it was in a language other than English or German... So we were out of luck!  But the boat ride itself was really very entertaining all on its own. We knew enough of the city by then to be able to figure out where we were and what we were seeing.  For much of the ride we were out in a much larger river, which meant much larger waves. The driver seemed very unconcerned as he ate his lunch and drove us through some fairly large swells... All i can say is thank goodness none of us were prone to sea-sickness!!

At the end of the ride, things calmed down and we wound our way through some beautiful parks that surround the canal.  Really, Riga is a phenomenal city.  Aunt Silvya brought up the point that this city really hasn't been out from under occupation for that long... It is really just beginning to recover what it once was and to define itself as an independent city.  I would love to come back in maybe 10 years to see what kind of progress it has made!! I have a feeling that Latvia is going to become one of those destination spots, just like France or Italy.  

So we had one more night together, before heading to the airport the next morning.  We had a very long and silent ride back with a very surly and large Latvian man... But he gave us a smile as we left! So I think we got to him :)

I have to finish by saying thank you to Silvya and Valerie for allowing me to join them on this amazing adventure!! I probably never would have had the opportunity or the guts to go to latvia on my own.  They listened to all of my stories, and allowed me to be a total chatty cathy!! It was so wonderful to spend some quality time with people I love, when I am so far away from home.  What a blessing!!  We had tons of laughs and made wonderful memories... I'll miss them as I continue my trip!! But I am so glad I was able to meet up with them :). 

Jūrmala

Our third day we took a train to Jūrmala, which is a long stretch of beach not too far outside of Riga.  Once there, we found our hotel, which was a small and cozy bed and breakfast sort of place, we dropped off our stuff, and headed straight to the beach!  Now, the Baltic sea was beautiful, but certainly not warm enough for swimming! I can say that I stuck my toes in, but thats about it.  We had a lovey afternoon of relaxing in the sand and sun.  Later we had a nice lunch on the beach of calamari... Yum!!! 

We took some time to walk around the town we were staying in, and guess what?! We saw even more knitted socks, linen, and of course, amber. But it was such a beautiful afternoon that the walk was lovely.  

After the walk we went back to the hotel to check into our room... Mama's hotel was very quaint and cozy, but also a little weird... There was puffy padding all over the walls, mixed with zebra print furniture, and even a fake garden growing upside down out of the bathroom ceiling.  But our actual bedroom was the strangest of all.  Because we were on the top floor we were directly under the roof, which angled down into the floor directly above the bed... That means that everything you tried to get in or out of bed you got a nice WACK to the head!  Also, the same puffy, princess padding was used all over the doors... It made me feel like I was in one of those solitary confinement rooms, but made for a girly girl.  But despite the strange aspects it had a lot of charm, and was certainly unique.  There was even a lovely roof terrace to spend time on, which we all did before dinner.

Dinner was delicious but simple, although it was dampened by the news of the terrible fires back at home... As the evening progressed we heard more and more about the largest fire Colorado has seen in years... And it's been almost impossible to control! Here's to praying that some of this wet weather that has been following me goes in that direction, and that everyone stays safe!!

Rain rain go away, you're ruining our shopping day!

Second day in Riga and we were woken up by the rain!! It seems to be following me everywhere I go... But we are troopers and couldn't let a little water ruin our fun.  So we got up for breakfast...

Breakfast was a little more unusual here than I have been coming across.  Of course they have the typical toast and jam or cheese and meat, musli, and yogurt, but here they also included a variety of pickled herrings and some very runny eggs, which is apparently how they are preferred here.  I personally found it much too early in the morning for pickled fish, and I was hesitant about the eggs. However, there were brownies served as well, which was unusual, but delicious!!

Most of the day was spent trying to get out of the rain by going into shops.  Latvia is famous for a few things, mostly knitted goods, linen, and of course amber. I have never seen so much amber in my life... Every single shop had rows and rows of it.  Everything from necklaces to earrings to decorations, chess boards... All made of amber.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think that amber is a beautiful stone, however there is only so much of it a person can handle... I was getting to the point that if I saw another piece of amber I was just going to go off of my rocker...  I wouldnt be surprised if I dreamed of being eaten alive by some sort of amber monster or something, oy!!

But the upside of these shopping excursions was my renewed passion for knitting and crocheting! It's so amazing all of the wonderful things you can do. Watch out friends, Christmas presents may be my attempts at knitting things... 

Riga

This morning I was woken by a nice sharp kick to the shin by a security guard at about 4am.  Thanks SOOOO much for that, really! I needed to be up anyway.  So I was up and ready to roll and got on my early flight to Latvia to meet aunt Silvya!! 

Have I explained my Ryanair flight process already? Well... I'll explain again. Ryanair is an extremely cheap airline, as long as you follow all their rules. One toe out of line and it's fines out the wazoo. So they charge an extra 15€ to check a bag, but it's free to carry on... If you can fit it into the dreaded measuring box... And well... Mine doesnt. At least, not when it's full. So, I have developed a system. I wear my jeans and sweater... As well as my pajamas, and a few other shirts. Then I stick my toiletries in the pockets of my rain jacket and wear that too. That way, when my pack goes in it fits quite nicely! I may look a little funny... But hey! You don't know me :) And I always get a chuckle or two out of the staff. So anyway, once on board i strip all the extra layers and they go back into the bag. Take that, Ryanair!!

Alright, so I made it to Riga and had no trouble getting into the city. Man am I getting good at bus systems, I'll tell you what! ;) So I got there much earlier than I was expecting to, and had some time to explore the city after I found the hotel. (I just want to note the irony that I went directly from my worst sleeping place to the nicest overnight... You've got to love traveling!). I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting Riga to look like... But it certainly wasn't this! Riga is a beautiful old city that was obviously a real jewel at one point in time.  You can definitely still see some marks of the war and occupation in the city, but they are starting to rebuild and recover, and it's absolutely wonderful!!

A few hours later I met up with aunt Silvya and her sister Valerie at the hotel. Our hotel is the oldest in Riga called the metropoli hotel, and it's beautiful!  It's right in the old city, and a perfect location next to the opera house and the freedom statue.  It was so wonderful to see familiar faces!!! I honestly have loved traveling alone, you meet so many wonderful people, but it sure is nice and refreshing to meet up with people you love.  

Anyways, so first things first, went to an open air museum outside the city center. These three brave souls traveled WAY outside the city on very unfamiliar public transportation... Oh my... But we made it alright!! The museum itself was spectacular. The idea was to show different styles of housing and living in Latvia through history, and it's set in a picture perfect forested park. You can walk through the buildings which are all time period furnished, as well as watch people working and crafting things as they would have.  And of course, for those shopping inclined folks like my two companions, you can buy all of these hand made crafts. 

Aunt Silvya bought one item in particular that has a story I want to remember, which was a little wooden woven Easter egg.  In Latvia, these are given to children as "rabbit eggs" and they are told that if they sit very still and quietly with the egg, that it will hatch a real rabbit! :) I love learning about the little cultural details like that, maybe it's something I'll teach to the children in my life! :)

Planes, Trains, and... Charleroi

So today felt unbelievably eventful... Although now that I think about it I really didn't DO much of anything.  I started the day in Amsterdam, and left a little later than planned... (surprise surprise...) So I missed the train I was planning on taking, and had to grab one an hour later.  Other than that it all went smoothly.  The train conductor kind of took pity on me I think, and actually wrote out directions for getting to the bus station from Brussels to Charleroi airport (yet another itty bitty Ryanair airport to find..)

I wandered around Brussels for a few hours, although I found there wasn't too much to see, although I'd love to explore more of Belgium someday.

My biggest problem, right off the bat, was the language. I took like 5 years of french in high school, so you'd think I would be able to communicate, right? Wrong. German has entirely taken over my brain. And because German was much more helpful to me than English in the Dutch speaking countries, I just felt all sorts of language confused!! It took about 15 minutes of hard thinking for me to stop thinking"Sprechen Sie Englisch?"and switch to "Parlais-vous Anglais?" I almost jumped for joy when I remembered that simple phrase.. Uh oh. 

Eventually I stopped and had some delicious hot chocolate ice cream thing... And a waffle of course, before I headed out to the bus station.  The first bus was jam packed full, so i kinda held back to see if another one would come. As I waited, more people started to show up for the bus. A bunch of taxi drivers started coming up to folks saying "sorry, no bus today, it is broken. Only taxi" and I thought... Well that's strange, I just saw the bus not ten minutes ago! Me being blonde, it took a minute for me to get what was going on and to start warning folks that it was a scam.  Sure enough, when the bus came those guys were no where to be seen!

Eventually I made it out to the airport. Now... This is the part where those of you who are a little nervous about my traveling style might want to stop reading.  See my flight wasn't until early the next morning, so I decided to sleep in the airport rather than book a hostel or hotel in Brussels and get up SUPER early the next morning.  So I got myself comfortable and scoped out the best place for sleeping... Then got reeeeaaal bored. I think I sat in one spot for like 5 hours... Oy. I read, and talked to folks, and people watched. But it was dull.  I did however meet one girl about my age from Lithuania who was also sleeping in the airport. So we found a nice corner together and set up camp for the night... But seriously, no worries!! This is a totally legitimate thing to do... There's a website and everything! 

Beds are overrated.  There's nothing like good ol' concrete and artificial lighting to give you some beauty sleep... I'm sure it'll be an interesting night!

Anne Frank House

My last day was spent seeing the last bits of the city that I had missed, as well as visiting the Anne Frank house.  This was something I had heard mixed reviews about... But finally decided that it was worth the time.  I spent probably two hours in line... In the pouring rain... To get in.   And it really was worth it. The way the museum is set up, you enter from the warehouse where Otto Frank's business was run... And you watch videos and read quotes and see artifacts that tell their story.   The most amazing part though is as you work your way up into the house... You actually crawl through the hidden passage way that kept this group of people safe for so long...you see the tiny spaces that were available, and you hear every creak that would have given the family away if they dared move during the day.  

The end of the museum is an interview with Anne's father, about his reactions when reading her diary, as well as the loss of his children... It's very moving. I just wanted to call my folks to tell them I love them.  As you exit the main exhibition there is a huge interactive exhibit on present day anti semitism movements as well as current issues of free speech.  I loved that they were able to use Anne's passion for free speech in a more modern day setting... Showing how many issues we still must overcome.  Overall a really great day.

In the evening, I met some great gals who all wanted a chill night in, so we consumed massive amounts of chocolate and watched a chick flick.  It was nice to have a rejuvenating night  :)

Amsterdam day 2

I was definitely feeling a little lonely this morning... As I haven't had a lot of luck finding someone to buddy up with here.  There are a lot of great people, no doubt, it just seems like everyone has their own agenda.   I am loving the independence of traveling on my own, but also missing having the stability of someone I know along with me. But it's certainly forcing me to be more outgoing! The hostel settings make it easy to strike up conversations with other travelers... It's just taking some getting used to!

Anyway, this morning I decided to go the more "touristy" route and go on a canal tour.  It was so much fun! :) The entire city is accessible by canal, so we basically got to see the whole city from the water. It was soooo beautiful! And it gave me a much better feel for the layout of the city as a whole.  

So after a few hours on the water I decided to walk the city.  There was a hop on hop off bus tour that you could take on the back of my map, so I decided to just walk it... And take detours as needed. The city has these beautiful cobblestone streets that are super narrow, and the houses follow suite. They are tall and skinny and smushed together.  Some of them look like they would be falling down if it wasn't for the houses next to them holding them up.  And you can't go more than a block or two without running into a canal.  But once I got the basic idea of the city it wasn't hard to navigate at all.

The bike system in Amsterdam is incredible!  Rows and rows of mountains of bikes are parked everywhere... And that doesn't include the tons of people in the streets riding them.  Everyone, rain or shine rides those bikes everywhere!  In fact, I discovered that it was often much more difficult to find walking paths than bike paths as I wandered.  

Somewhere along the way I dropped my map... And after a moment of panic, I realized that this was something I should have been doing all along... And I allowed myself to get a little lost. That's when i really started to look at the roses... Oh! They were so so so spectacular. All different colors and sizes... And they were EVERYWHERE.  They call Amsterdam the tulip city... But from what I saw that should be changed to roses.  So amazingly beautiful.  I got to entirely redefine the phrase "stop and smell the roses".

I walked that city to death... Saw museums and churches and monuments galore. My favorite find however, was vondel park.  This HUGE park had statues and ponds and biking/walking paths, and trees, and birds.... It was an absolute paradise. The city sounds seem to melt away as soon as you go in... In fact, it felt a little like central park, but even more peaceful.  

When my feet wouldn't carry me anymore, I stopped for a gelato and just people watched.  I got the energy to get back to central station and take the metro back to the hostel.  When I got back it was still light out... But after 10pm!! I had forgotten how late it has to be to be dark here in the summer time... What a weird feeling.

Exhausting day. My feet hurt, and my shoes are falling apart already... But so worth it! 

Red light district

I wasn't sure what to do with my evening... Since I hadn't met anyone and wasn't feeling particularly comfortable with going out on my own.  Just when I was ready to curl up with a book and go to bed, a mother and two daughters from Canada started to chat with me. Soon, another girl from malaysia joined the conversation and we all decided that we would go check out the Amsterdam night life together. Now... I can be very awkward in situations like this... And was not sure what to expect... But it was weird. That's pretty much the best way to describe it.

This was another place where signs are posted everywhere to prevent picture taking... And we watched a guy's camera get tossed in the canal by a Danish giant for trying to sneak one.  These people mean business.

The girls stand behind glass doors with red lights (duh)  in their bikinis or sexy outfits. Some of them get really into it and will beckon to the people on the streets, while others just look bored. They text, or knit, or... Whatever. There were women of all shapes, and sizes, colors, and fantasies. And there are hundreds of people walking by like this is the most normal thing in the world. So. Weird. Oy. 

Night train nightmares

So... I don't think I am a fan of night trains. I mean, I like trains... And I like sleep... So you'd really think they would go well together, but they don't. This time going from Copenhagen to Amsterdam was a full 16 hours, and I didn't book a couchette.  Instead, I went with the reclining chair... Which in itself really wouldn't have been too bad. The problem was, that the compartment started out reasonably empty... Just me and another guy. But as the night continued all the seats filled up which meant you actually couldn't recline or put your feet up at all. Sad day!! 

The last train was so hot I thought I might die... Well this one was so cold I thought I would freeze to death! I spent most of the night with my feet pulled up to my chest in this chair just trying to retain as much of my own body heat as possible.  A rain jacket doesn't make much of a blanket... ;) 

Anyway, I was able to stretch out from about 2am on, and got some good sleep in.  And we pulled into Amsterdam with me wide awake and ready for the day!

The first thing I noticed about Amsterdam was the color.  It was even more green than Copenhagen had been and had tons of graffiti everywhere! But it was cool, funky graffiti that added a lot of spice to the station. 

Next thing I noticed, I have to give my father credit for.  There are so many types of birds here!! There were herons and storks and grouse and hawks and swans and geese and a huge assortment of ducks... It was so fun to be able to recognize at least a few!  Ok dad- here's my test to see if you are reading these blogs... (just kidding) I fell in love with these duck-like birds that were all over the canals that were totally black except for white beaks and white that continued up their foreheads. Anyone know what they are? 

Ok enough of my bird rant...  I got to my hostel which was quite a good distance outside the city center.  This was a last minute hostel choice and I wasn't sure how I was feeling about it... It was an all girls hostel called "hostelle".  And oh MY was it girly!! I'm talking... Cheetah print pillows, hello kitty bathrooms, chandeliers,  and chick flicks in massive piles. And no offense guys... But it was the cleanest hostel I have ever seen ;)

After settling in for a bit, I headed back into town.  The public transportation system in Amsterdam is really great. Everything goes through the central station, so no matter where you are, you know that you can get back to a home base.  (Really convenient when you're lost...) So I made it to the Van Gogh museum in plenty of time.  This was the most fabulous art exhibit ever!! They have some of the most famous of his works, something like 200 total paintings from him...which doesn't begin to cover his drawings as well as art from his inspirations and contemporaries.  My favorite section was a detail of his life through his paintings.  They started with his first painting and early years and went through his entire life up to his suicide and the painting said to be his last.   You don't usually get to see that much of one artist's work, and even if you do, they aren't usually chronological.  This was so cool!  You could really see his styles and techniques change as well as the influences of time periods. So awesome. I seriously could have stayed in there forever.  

When I finally did leave, the sun was shining and I had a lovely stroll around that area before heading back to the hostel for the evening.

Goodbye Copenhagen, hello Amsterdam!

On my final morning I took time to go see the National Museum located right around the corner from the hostel.  It was extremely thorough and extremely well done, and totally free!! There was an entire floor documenting Danish history from the 16 hundreds to present and free tours of each wing. I could have stayed in there forever! However, I realized that outside th sun was shining (finally) and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the sun. 

So I walked to Christianhavn, which is the southern part of the city.  Now, this is something very unique to Copenhagen and I'm glad I took the time to see it.  Christiania is a very small section in the southern part of christianhavn that is an independent colony.  I think it was some time in the 70s that a group of people (hippies) wanted to start a community outside the government of Denmark- mostly because of welfare issues I think. But anyway, these people were very successful and it is now an extremely colorful section of town, with lots of hand crafted things, cool designed houses, and of course, it is most famous for "pusher street" and the large quantities of pot.  To be totally honest it reminded me just a little bit of boulder... 

I was a little nervous going in, simply because I wasn't sure what to expect, and didn't have anyone with me. And the signs covering the entrance didn't help ease my concern... There are signs everywhere telling you that photos are strictly forbidden of all people, places, and things within Christiania. Sketchy!! But once inside everything is actually very nice. People leave you alone unless you ask to buy things, or try to take pictures.  It was a very interesting experience for sure... And I'm not sure I would personally choose to live there... But I think it's cool that this group of people really took government into their own hands when they were unhappy, and got major results!

After an afternoon of more wandering, I made it back to the train station to catch my night train to amsterdam... But that's for another blog.

Copenhagen day 2

The newness of this trip is giving me tons of adrenaline, and I was easily up and ready to go before 8.  The rest of the city, it seems, was not quite so enthusiastic. When I realized that nothing was open, and not a soul was out, I went back to the hostel and people watched for a while until the city came to life.  

The hostel had given me a city map with a self guided city walking tour, and I thought I would make a day out of it! So I set off, and before I knew it, I had given up on following the exact route, and instead went to all the buildings that looked interesting.  It turns out that this is a quality that practically every building in Copenhagen possesses, and i found it tough to choose which direction to turn.  This also means that I was paying hardly any attention to where I was going, and got lost quite frequently. 

I saw tons of churches as well as palaces, and made a special trip to Amalienburg to where the current queen lives, and watched the changing of the guards.  I made it all the way out to the port where the famous little mermaid statue lives... And decided I am not quite sure why she is so famous... Especially when I found other Hans C Andersen statues that I though were much more impressive. But still, it was a very nice walk :). Eventually i made it back to the center of the city and saw the city hall and the famous Tiroli amusement park. Tons of fun!  Seriously, the only thing that could have made this city any more beautiful would be a nice dose of sunshine!  Everything is so green and lush, and the flowers are beautiful. It's just an absolutely lovely city!

That evening, I met some girls traveling through Scandinavia together who had just arrived. We were all suffering from cold fingers and toes, so we took the opportunity to find some hot cocoa. Possibly the best choice I made all day!! We found this little coffee shop that sold steamed milk with bars of chocolate on sticks, milk, dark, and white, that you stir into your hot milk to get cocoa... Oh so delicious! Mmm...

That night we all just stayed and hung out at the hostel, and ended up meeting up with a bunch of guys who were also staying in our room.  A few hours later, we had all become fast friends and were playing one of the most competitive games of spoons I have ever been a part of.  It was deadly. We had to eventually switch to rummy just to keep everyone from injury! 

Copenhagen!

I finally made it to my hostel in Copenhagen, after a few unexpected delays... Ryanair outsmarted me and sent me to an airport that was significantly farther from copenhagen than I realized... And being Sunday, the normal bus system didn't run, so I found myself taking a few different trains and busses, but it gave me a chance to see a lot more of the Denmark countryside, and i made it eventually! 

The hostel was really quite cool... With beanbags and comfy couches, neon walls with random decorations all over. You know...jackalope skulls, packman displays, and classic oldies blasting over the radio. It was just a great place to take a breather from traveling and the cold.  

I got there late enough in the evening that there wasn't a whole lot of time to explore, so I just got a recommendation for a dinner place. I quickly discovered that no one, even the Dutch, like Danish food! So, I instead went to an all vegetarian place and had an awesome dinner of all sorts of salads, veggie, pasta, beet, carrot, potato... And delicious hot stuff, like eggplant parm, and falafel and tons of sauces. It was a huge buffet, and I took my time making sure I had enough room to try a little of everything.

Lovely evening... Although I want more than anything to be dry and warm... It seems like no matter how long I let things sit out, it is just damp.  Forever. I am so ready for sunshine! But it's still looking like a beautiful city, even in the rain.

Say what?!?

After a long and tiring day I wasn't feeling too in the mood for company... And in fact I was feeling a little bit like just curling up in bed.  But something compelled me to start up a conversation with two polish women in the room with me. It was Kate and Kate, one of them my age and the other a little older.  The younger woman spoke polish, and a little English.  The other, i found out, spoke polish and a little German.  So with a little translation help we all decided to get dinner together.  We went to an itty bitty place out of the eyes of the tourists that was completely in polish.  (you'd be surprised how hard that was to find!) I couldn't understand the menu so I asked the Kates to order for me... And ended up with 4 huge dishes all for me. Oy! The amazing thing was that this feast was only 15 zlotty, or about 5 Euro! I had a spicy goulash soup, and a pork roast with peaches and cheese (sounds weird but it was delicious!), a salad that was somewhere in between a lettuce, potato, and pasta salad, and pierogi again, but this time they were filled with a strawberry dessert!! The adventure though was trying to communicate with each other.  We would try to ask each other questions just like in a normal meal... But we had to wait for someone else to translate, and hope that person actually knew the words in one language or another! Amazingly, this worked out really well.  I discovered that young Kate is the same age as I am and also an only child. She is currently studying cosmetology in her home town (that took some pantomiming to understand...) Older Kate was living in krakow to study polish language and literature.  This whole experience was really uplifting to me. It made me feel like humanity does have a fighting chance to communicate :)

Later that night, the older kate left us and young kate and I were stuck trying to translate... Which was much more difficult.  We ended up using google translate on the iPad to get most of what we were saying across. Eventually, I understood that she wanted to go to a fireworks show on the river! As we were about to leave, a few canadians i had met earlier walked in... And low and behold, the guy spoke fluent Polski! Phew! So they came with us down to the river... And I had one of the strangest experiences of my life. Not only was this a fireworks display, it was a celebration of their nation's symbol, the dragon.  They did a huge boat display with gigantic fighting balloon dragons... There were giant jelly fish, and all sorts of nasty looking creatures of the deep.  They had the most epic music playing in the background, like we were watching a fight to the death. And occasionally they would shoot off a big bunch of fireworks.   Kate was absolutely enthralled, and she explained that this type of very dramatic show is very stylistically polish, and was a night she will always remember.  I certainly can't argue with her there... But it was really a lot of fun, and kind of cool to see this very polish celebration without the influence of tourists.  

A successful end to a very long day.

Auschwitz and Birkenau death camps

One of the main reasons that I chose to go to Poland was because of the strong historical connections to WWII. For some reason, this point of history is very important to me. I have learned about a lot of horrific things
done by the human race, but the systematic killing of over six million people has always, and will always stab at my heart more than the rest. So I chose to visit the places that are now most famous for these "war crimes".  It is not something I would recommend... however it is something I wish I could insist that everyone go to once in their lives.

I have to start out by saying that this blog was particularly difficult for me to write. Taking the time to really reflect on this experience was probably harder than the tour itself.

We first started at Auschwitz, the more famous of the two, but surprisingly not the one in most of the documentaries and movies.  My first thought, one that was echoed throughout the entire day, was simply how beautiful it was. Poland countryside was spacious and green with  beautiful trees and flowers, it was not the desolate god-forsaken land that my mind pictured- this kind of a place is not where murders happen. I still don't know if that beauty made it easier or more difficult to digest what I was seeing... It certainly made it less intense, however I felt like it was almost unfair to the memory of these people, as if their tragedy was somehow less valid in this pretty place.

The tour led us through block upon block, each having been renovated to teach about a different aspect of the camps. Some were more focused on life of workers in the concentration camps, while others were more focused on numbers and geography. But every building started out with a hallway lined with the photographs of men and women who had died working in Auschwitz.  Rows upon rows of eyes watching you... It had the effect of making me feel almost guilty to be alive.  All of the exhibits were very well done, but some were just factual, and others more emotional.  One room that I will never be able to forget was simply a huge mountain of human hair.  It was probably twice my height and stretched all the way across a very large room.  You could see individual people's hair... In braids, in clumps, blonde, brown... You see, the Nazis were not wasteful with anything but life.  Anything that could be used would be, and the camps were instructed to shave all the hair off of prisoners, both women and men, as well as off of the bodies of dead Jews. It was then cleaned and stored for later use.

See that is how this regime became so efficient.  Everything was done with extremely cold calculations.  They knew approximately how many slaves would  die each day, and so how many more workers would need to be deported to take their places. They knew how many bodies they could burn in a day, and exactly how much poison to use in the gas chambers as to not be wasteful.  The only time emotion was involved was when it was used to terrify the prisoners into submission...

It absolutely makes me sick. I cannot tell you how many times I had to fight back to urge to be physically sick as we saw these places. 

I walked through the original death chambers, and through the cremitorium... And my next thought was, "we are tourists being led through this like sheep, just like those people were herded here with no idea what was to come." .

Burkinau was much much more difficult for me to cope with.  Auschwitz was originally a polish military base, so the bunkers there were made of brick and quite sturdy.  Auschwitz II- Berkinau was constructed by prisoners when no more of them could fit in the first camp,  so it was constructed quickly and with very few materials... Which meant much worse living conditions and quicker death.  

My breaking point was in that bunker, where visitors have graffitied the walls almost everywhere. One particularly large marking was a very obvious swastika.  A part of me just wanted to die right there.  We have not come far as a society when you realize there are still people out there who will honor that sign, even in a place where the fear and horror of its meaning is still palpable.  

The worst part though, was walking the road toward the crematoriums.  We have all seen the pictures, and heard the talks, but it is something entirely different when you are standing there where these innocent lives were sorted for death and life like cattle.  Then we walked the same road that they did towards the forests, behind which was death.  Now, weeping willow trees spread their leaves through what was once a high voltage electric fence, sort of pacifying the long stretch of road. Of course, the nazis destroyed all three crematoriums and the gas chamber at Berkinau when they realized they were about to lose the war.  Now, all that stands there are the ruins and a memorial in all different languages honoring the lives that were lost, and praying that their lives not be lost in vain- that we remember.  

When I look around our world today, I see a lot of beautiful things... But I also see that we are beginning to forget.  Look at the middle east for example, or north Korea!  How many people must die before we are forced to turn  more than a blind eye? Now... I am not saying that as a 19 year old, white, privileged female that I know how to fix a very complicated world issue.  I have never studied politics and I know little about world affairs. But I AM claiming that as a member of the human race, we need to start
learning from our mistakes, and watching out for each other as fellow man kind

Pigeons, or rats with wings?

Yesterday was so eventful that it has to be broken up into multiple blogs, and here comes number 1! The hostel I have been staying at in here is called Cracow hostel. It's in the historical main square right above a cafe,so you really can't ask for a better location! However, this also means that it was reasonably noisy. On top of the expected night life noises, we also had a snorer and a snoozer. The snorer came in at about 1am and passed out in the wrong bed... Which just so happened to be right above mine. That battle ended with a pillow over my head and an iPod to fall asleep. The snoozer...oh this just erked me! The snoozer had an alarm that started going off at about 2am... And rather than turning it off, she chose to hit the snooze button ever 10 minutes for HOURS. When I left the room at about 8 that stupid thing went off for about the hundredth time... But I am getting ahead of myself! Sometime in the morning I was able to fall into a nice deep sleep that was undisturbed by the two noisy offenders. When I suddenly wake up to the sound of rustling and clicking... All I can think is, what NOW? So I do the best I can to fall back asleep. I don't know how long I was asleep, but the next thing I know, the clicking has gotten louder and seems to be coming from under my head... I wake up fast and look around. The window has been thrown wide open in the night by someone, and a flock of pigeons has now made my hostel room their home. Now... I don't think of myself as too cowardly about most things... But there is just something about pigeons that just freaks me out!! When they are outside I can walk around them or just give them a nice spook to maintain my sense of control... But there is always a "healthy" level of fear. But this, inside, with me, OH MY GOSH THERE IS ONE UNDER MY BED!!!! So, I didthe only logical thing I could think of... I threw a sock at one of them. Bad choice. The whole group went up in flight and panick... So I now have freaked out flying pigeons trying to escape out of the only closed window in the room. Thwack! Now everyone else is awake too. In an act of bravery, I jumped out of bed to tried to herd these rats with wings to the window that they could actually get out of. When the last one flew out the window with a coo, I shut the window tight and turned around. I don't know if the speechlessness was because of language barriers or the scenario, but the 10 or so of us just looked at each other and laughed. At that moment my alarm went off and I got ready to actually start this wild day...

Every journey starts with a step...

So I have proven myself to be a most unreliable blogger... And I apologize! I really do hope that one day I'll have time to go through and document some of the amazing experiences I had in Vienna. It absolutely baffles my mind that I am now talking about this semester in the past tense... Is there any way time flew that fast?!? And now here I am starting a whole new adventure on my own. I can't begin to find the words to explain what an overwhelming myriad of emotions are flowing through me right now! I am about to explore practically an entire continent, and I am doing it mostly alone. There is no use in pretending that I am not a little terrified... But I am also so filled with this sense of curiosity and adventure. Everything I am discovering feels so new and full of wonder! Whoo- sorry I let my cheesy side get the best of me there for a minute... Anyway, I think I will start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start...) Man I just can't help myself tonight! Something in this polish air... Oh yeah, did I mention I'm in krakow? ;) but I will get to that in a bit... Let's start with last night. I left my parents after a wonderful week of traveling with them around most of western Austria. Hopefully more blogs will come on that topic. I was feeling a little rushed because I had plans to meet up with some friends before officially heading out... So as per usual I was running late. In some ways I am glad I had a little distraction from saying goodbye to my folks... Even with the rushed goodbye I couldn't help but get a little choked up. It may be a little Corny, but I really do feel like this semester and this trip has been a major turning point in my life. Saying goodbye to my mom and dad last night felt like I was really taking the responsibility on to my shoulders of being a real independent adult. Whoa. So I shouldered my pack and went on my way! I met Abby and Luke in the ubahn station and we got smoothies and shared some last laughs. I have been so blessed by the amazing people that have come into my life, even if it is only for a short time. At 22:30 I boarded my night train and found my sleeper and waved to my dear friends until they were out of sight, just like the movies ;). Now... This is where the story really gets started. I found my car and discovered itty bitty bunk beds, 3 high, and I took my pick. Well there was mistake number one. See they are apparently very concerned that you sleep in the correct bunk... So when they came around collecting tickets at about 1am, I was the source of many tisks tuts and sighs. My second mistake was not requesting a cabin with females. (which apparently you can do). I ended up with all guys... Who snored and farted all night long. No joke. I thought I was going to kill someone. Also, adrenaline from my trip, very uncomfortable beds, nervousness about waking up in time, and extreme heat kept me from sleeping much anyway. BUT, on the plus side I was able to make a friend almost the instant I set foot on the train. Stefan is from Canada taking a year off to travel, and he is about my age! We ended up grabbing breakfast together when we made it to krakow since it was too early for either of us to actually check in to our hostels. The reason I mention this is because I find the idea of traveling alone both scary and a little lonely... But I have already been making friends left and right. I think we may be going on the same tour to Auschwitz together tomorrow as well... My other new friend is a slightly strange story... He is probably 40 something and a Russian documentary film director named Vlad. He had the entire hostel in absolute hysterics this morning with his sunshiny attitude... Oh so many steriotypes broken... He is here to pitch a movie idea about these doctors in Serbia who work on a boat and move from village to village... Or something like that! :P I love meeting people and hearing their stories. It's amazing what the simple question "so where are you from?" can start! And all of this before 11 o' clock! So anyway! It was pouring rain when we arrived and hasn't stopped since really... Blegh! But I decided to disregard the wet and go on a free walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was a lot of fun and I feel like I actually got a really good feel of the town- plus a lot of great history and folklore. I also met a girl named Tammi from Australia (she may also be going on the tour tomorrow). AND, talk about a small world, I met an older couple visiting here to hike and bird watch, and they are from Colorado! Honestly that was the last demograpc I expected to see in Poland of all places. After the walking tour I was cold and soaked to the bone, so I headed back to the hostel. I got all checked inand then went for a late lunch/early dinner. I found a little place that served Pierogi, which are little polish dumplings filled with all sorts of deliciousness! Some are meat, some veggies, and then there are Russian ones (Ruskie) which are filled with a potatoe and cheese mixture... SO GOOD. It warmed me right up and made my tummy super happy. I know this post is getting super long so I will try to wrap it up... Krakow as a city is not really what I imagined it would be... Much of the old town is in need of restoration, which in some ways gives it a very REAL feeling, if that makes any sense. I think one of my biggest culture shift issues so far is feeling so completely useless at the language. And it's not like I will be here long enough to learn much other than maybe hello. Dzien dobry (jen do-bri) for those of you who were wondering :) So I keep reverting back to German... But in this case I think English may actually be more helpful. Oy! Tomorrow I visit two different concentration camps and get to see a little of the countryside. I'm trying to prepare myself for a pretty intense day. I'm taking the night to just get my life organized and get ready for the insanity of the next six weeks! Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit!

Change

Will you hold my hand?
The world is spinning too fast to stand
Without a rock to cling to.

Will you hold my heart?
I'm worried if someone won't help I'll start
Losing pieces along the way. 

Hold me close and hold me tight,
Being safe and warm feels so right,
Except... I still need room to breath.

If you hold my heart so tight in your hand
The pieces will sift through your fingers like sand
And you'll lose it forever.

Will you let me go?
I see now that a rock can never move or grow
with me, so I've changed my mind. 

Even if that means a free fall.

Who knows, maybe I'll fly?

Learning by Teaching

Once again, I'm sorry for the delay in blogging!  I'm a week from the end of the program and haven't blogged since what... March?  Whoops.  Anyway, I'm starting to change dates of previous blogs as well as blogs I'm writing now, so that they at least sort of fit with where they happened chronologically.  So you may have to go back in time to read the blogs that I'll start posting now. 

Anyway,  here goes!

This semester I have been given the opportunity to be in an Education Internship here in Vienna.  I taught at an elementary school (Volksschule Knarlgasse) in the 17th district.  I taught 6 to 10 year olds once a week in each of my four classes.  I had a 1st, two 2nd, and a 4 grade class!  This was one of the most incredible and mind blowing experiences I have ever had in my life, especially as a future educator. 

So four times a week I was able to come teach classes at this school.  The 17th district is about as far away as you can get from my 5th district apartment, so I had lots of time for self-reflection, napping and music listening on the hour Strassenbahn rides there and back!  But it was worth it.  I taught English, but learned everything else.  I became aware of what religion in a public school system can look like.  I discovered that American teachers are very hard on their students when dealing with behavioural issues (in comparison with Austrian teachers).

It was an amazing experience... but I did have one big issue.  I struggled the entire semester to please my main internship teacher.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that nothing in the world would have been good enough for this woman!  Eventually, I realized that culturally, this is actually pretty common in Austria.  They don't give compliments, instead they tell you what you can do better.  FRUSTRATING!  I mean I'm not saying that there wasn't room for improvement, because there was tons, but it took me a really long time to not take this personally. 

There were a few things in this internship that really stood out for me.  One, was how quickly I learned to think on my feet.  I am a 19 year old American with very limited German skills, thrown into a classroom of 6 year old Austrians who can't say more than "My name is..." in English.  You'd be amazed by how much you can actually communicate with each other once those language barriers are overcome!  By my last class, I was able to understand almost every child's rapid jabber in my direction, and kept all of my classes entertained and engaged for the entire class period!  I'd call that a success.  I was able to use a lot of music to teach my lessons, which helped me in connecting with my students. This way I was able to find some common ground between the two cultures that I was balancing.

Another point that is really sticking with me, is just how much I actually got to know the students I was working with!  Especially my main teacher's second grade class.  I not only knew names, but who were the teacher's pets, and the class clowns, and the artists, and the popular girls... I could go on forever but you get my point.  These kids actually connected with me and I was able to be a part of their lives, even if it was only for a little bit! 

This is Frau Mueller's 2nd grade at the Leopold Museum field trip looking at the Klimt exhibit.



I wrote a reflection/research paper on the differences of disciplinary systems in America vs Austria with an emphasis on the role of religion in the classroom as my final project for the class, and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.  It's super long so I wasn't going to post the whole thing, but I feel like the conclusion fits.

Conclusion/Reflection:

This education internship was a one of a kind experience for me.  It was extremely challenging, and pushed me in directions that I never thought existed!  I feel like I gained an appreciation for the education system that I grew up in, but also insight about the other possibilities that exist when teaching.  This was a fabulous way for me to really immerse myself in the culture of Vienna, for what better way to see a society for what it is than through its children?  I was made very aware of my own fears, including speaking in a foreign language, and was able to overcome those fears by learning to communicate in new ways.  In general, I feel like I developed the confidence to know that no matter what is thrown at me in a teaching situation I will be able to handle it.  I acquired skills of flexibility, courage, and patience (both with myself and others).  I learned how to balance an existence in two cultures and use what I know of both worlds to my advantage.  As I am writing this, I can hardly believe just how much that I have learned in such a short amount of time.  The opportunities and experiences I have felt this semester have drastically changed my perspectives of life, and I love the things that I am discovering! 

Buda... oder Pest? Budapest!

The very first weekend I traveled away from Vienna I went with a group of guy friends to Budapest.  This was a memorable trip for a lot of reasons.  One, this was our first weekend outside of Vienna on our own.  Two, this was the warmest weather we'd seen since coming to Europe.  Three, we stayed in the most epic and awesome hostel possible.  And four, because Budapest Hungary is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to! 

So, the first two are pretty self explanatory so I'll start with the hostel.  Tiger Tim's was as I said earlier, great, but you have to understand that there's a little back-story to this.  I am with a group of boys.  Wonderful friends... but they are still college boys who don't always think everything through... And I'd let them plan this trip.  Smart right?  Anyway, we make it safely by train to the city, before realizing we don't actually know where the hostel is.  After a little scrambling, we were able to find the hostel and find our way through the public transportation system.  (That should really be a whole other post... European public transportation system nightmares...oy)  However, here we are, a large group of loud Americans, with all our stuff and not really much clue of where we are going.  Budapest has one of the highest theft rates in this part of Europe... So... Bad combination?  I think so.  Our group lost a camera and a wallet in the chaos before we'd even gotten back on the street. 
But anyway, I'm getting off track.  We made it to the hostel... and what do my wandering eyes see but the largest and most brightly lit sex shop I've ever seen.  Jaw dropped, and face red I looked at the guys in horror.  Where on EARTH did they book this hostel??? I knew I should have suspected something when the hostel was only 8 Euro...
Luckily, we discovered that the real hostel was just right next door in a very sketchy courtyard... with some very scantily dressed women and questionable looking men. 

If we made it out of there alive, I was going to kill those boys.

However, the tides quickly changed when we met Tim, the owner of the hostel and an extremely friendly Irishman.  He showed us how to get in to the hostel, and we hiked up the stairs into a very small and cozy floor of apartments that was our home for the next few days.  The people there were all some of the most friendly and generous people I've met! 

Our first night out... The boys ordered beer... a LOT of beer...
The next day we went on the city free walking tour.  Have I explained free walking tours yet?  I don't think so... ok.  The "free" walking tours are done by hostels around the city, and usually take you to the most touristy spots as well as some of the more local stuff.  The quality of the tour can vary a lot... but they're usually pretty good!  At the end of the tour you pay what you thought the tour was worth.  Anyway, it's a great way to see a city pretty quickly and cheaply. 
The walking tour took us to both sides of the city, Buda and Pest.  The Buda side is covered with hills and castles, while the Pest side is absolutely flat directly across the river.  We saw the most gorgeous St. Stephens Basilica (even though it's not actually a Basilica haha)  and the Parliament building- which was spectacular.

St. Stephan's Basilica



Hungarian Parliament Building on the Danube



 We ended up on the other side of the Danube, where we decided to take a hike to the tallest point, where there is a beautiful statue, somewhat similar to the symbolism of our Lady Liberty.  It was so spectacular!!  Ever corner I came to caught my breath with new amazing sights.

After a full day of hiking we went to a special restaurant that had been suggested to us by a friend.  The idea is, you have 3 hours from the time you sit down, and you pay a fixed price, but you can eat and drink anything and everything you want!  I tried all sorts of weird foods... including some that I'm not entirely sure what it was... but it was delicious!  All sorts of fresh fish and vegetables... ice creams and cakes... ugh.  I thought I was going to die from over eating.

The next day we went to the famous Hungarian Bath Houses.  Oh My Goodness.  Best choice ever.  There are indoor and outdoor pools, all the way from unbearably hot to unbearably cold and everything inbetween!  Plus sanas that could melt your face off... it was a perfect relaxing way to spend our last day in the city... I found myself a perfect hot spring in the sun to just soak and enjoy life for a while.

 "Hero's Square" on our way to the Baths

We took the train back to Vienna that same evening...  and scrambled to get the homework we had all put off done.  But it was such a fabulous little weekend getaway!

Voice Lessons

I've been taking voice lessons from two people in my time here. One is an American living in Wien that IES appointed me. Her name is Donna Robin, and she has spent almost all of her singing career here in Vienna singing at both the Volksoper and the Staatsoper! She is a lot more focused on the body and how I use it as a tool than the musicality of what I'm doing, or at least that's how it seems to be so far. It's always a challenge getting used to a new teacher! Everyone has slightly different perspectives and ideas, and even terminology that takes time to get used to. But so far it seems like I like her style. Unfortunately I've been too sick to sing for the last few weeks and she got sick as well. So between the two of us, there hasn't been much time for lessons...

My other teacher is a friend of my Professor from home. His name is Benjamin Bruns, and he is currently singing as one of the leads at the Staatsoper!!! Pretty amazing :) So for my lesson with him I got to go into the depths of the backstage of the Wien Staatsoper... I got to sing my lesson in the same warm up rooms as some of the MOST famous opera singers in the world. WOW. Benjamin is an Austrian, so our communication was a little rocky, but not too bad considering the language barrier. As a performer, he is mostly focused on the presentation aspect of my singing, in contrast with Donna's style. I think this is a really interesting pair for the semester, just because it will allow me to get coaching on pieces from both a technical side and performance side. Awesome :)

Back to Blogging...

Alrighty... so now that I'm extraordinarily behind on blogging, I'm going to try and catch up! I am sick in bed, so it's the perfect opportunity for me to blog and blog and blog... oh my... So I'm terribly sorry that all of these are going to come at once! Some of them might be out of order, and some of them may be pretty short, but I'm giving it my best shot! If anyone has specific things that they'd like to hear about, please leave a comment! It's not always easy to remember everything that I want to write down :)

Valentine's Day

Ahh.... Love is in the air! Ok... well... whatever. For Valentine's Day we were all in this awkward situation of wanting to do something, but not in a "date" sense. So I planned a dinner party for our apartment and the one above us ("the guys upstairs" as they are lovingly known) as well as a few other friends.

My partner in crime, Abby, came over to help cook. We cooked most of the afternoon and schemed some fabulous Valentine's flirting techniques. Now... for those of you who know me well, you know I'm not particularly comfortable with my cooking abilities. So this dinner was a great feat for me! We marinated chicken breasts in a homemade italian dressing, and then stuffed it with a sundried-tomato, feta, garlic, breadcrumb and spices deliciousness. Of course... we ended up with a lot more stuffing than intended so we just decided to smother the whole thing with more. It was a good choice.

The company was fabulous too! While waiting for food the men even offered back rubs :) We had a great evening, and the food was actually really good! I wish I'd made more though. Mmm.... nummy.

If you want the recipe let me know! You'll have to convert everything from the metric system... and possibly translate some German... but it's not hard and very yummy!

May the Classes begin...

So upon returning from the "post-intensive" break, we started classes bright and early Monday morning. It's amazing how quickly you get into vacation mode, and how SLOWLY you get back out of it... ;) But anyways, I thought I'd give a little info on the classes I get to take over here and all that jazz. So here goes.

I'm taking Austrian Art and Architecture (AA&A) really just for fun. It doesn't fulfill a requirment or anything... but heck! I'm in Vienna. The least I can do is learn about the art and buildings I'm seeing every day. I LOVE this class. Dr. O is our professor and she is probably one of my favorite people on this planet. She's a smiley faced, frizzy-white haired woman who seems to know everything about everything in Vienna. Her teaching style is literally that she just shows slides and tells stories about experiences she's had with the artifact or building. Oh, yes, she'll throw in some dates and names and context as well... but what you really remember are her stories. I haven't ever known so much about art history in my life! We meet twice a week. The first class is a lecture (slides and stories) and the second class is a field trip. Every week we go to a different museum or church or some other site. It's fabulous! We get to go see and touch and experience the things we are learning about first hand.

I'm also doing an Education Internship while here. This has been one of my favorite experiences... and also one of the most challenging. I won't write too much about it here, because it needs at least one of it's own blogs. But as a basic overview, the class has two parts. The first my lecture (although it's so interactive you can hardly call it a lecture...) which is taught by a wonderfully crazy and extremely enthusiastic woman named Heidi. I have never in my life met someone with so much passion and enthusiasm. I can't lie, she scares me a little! But in these classes she uses techniques to try and give us ideas for how to teach our own classes, as well as to open our eyes to the differences in education systems internationally. The second part is the internship part, where we actually teach. I teach at an elementary school in the 17th district. I teach a 1st grade, two 2nd grades, and a 4th grade class every week. Mostly I am their English teacher, but occasionally I get to teach them songs or dances and chants. Oy, I've already talked too much about this class. I'll have to say more next blog, but I will end by saying that I have learned more about myself and my own teaching abilities and my beliefs within education systems then I have ever learned before. It's been difficult at times, but I've learned tons.

Alrighty, I am also still taking German I (we call it baby German)... but really I am shocked at how much I've learned! I mean, I'm no native speaker, but I can understand and speak well enough to communicate in most situations... if I don't get too nervous hehe. Ich verstehe viele Deutsch, aber ich spreche nicht sehr gut... haha. It's going to be hard to come back to the states and not say "Bitte" everywhere I go...

I'm also taking a Performance Workshop class that is basically a class on how to perform in an ensemble setting. I get to perform 3 pieces total, one of which I performed last week. This one was a Bach piece with 2 voices, a cello, a basoon, and a harpichord. FUNKY mix of instruments. What's great about this class is that they take whatever they have to work with and find the random pieces that have actually been composed for that instrumentation! It means that I get to be working on pieces that I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to do otherwise. Fun. Anyway the concerts are all recorded, so I'll try to post the recordings on here at some point for all to hear!

And last but not least I'm taking voice lessons which I've talked about in a previous blog. So, certainly not a heavy load, but the Internship and Performance Workshop eat up an enormous amount of time.

Plus, seeing the sights of Vienna is sort of a class of it's own. There is just SO MUCH here. And never ever enough time to see it all.

Alas... Berlin comes to a close

Now friends... about 2 months late, I am finally moving on to blog on another subject. Huzzah!! There were sketchy holes in the walls and Ballroom Dancing clubs that will forever be remembered but never blogged... but it's time to move forward. We drove back from Berlin through Prague once again, and I ordered something by pointing and hoping. The Czech language isn't kind to foreigners... I don't think I'll ever actually know what I ate that day. But it was delicious. Ahhh good times.

Maybe some day I'll actually catch up enough to blog in the present... who knows?

Berlin Museum Montage

I'm getting tired of being this far behind in blogging... so these ones are going to be pretty speedy, sorry! But at least the events will be jotted down.

We went to Check Point Charlie first. This museum is in the same spot that the most well known crossing existed between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. Today, this museum serves as not only a preservation of a historical spot, but also a reminder of the Soviet regime. The exhibit was extremely extensive, with countless personal stories and accounts of life behind the "Wall". My favorite part of the museum dealt with various incredible escape methods that people used to get across the border. Hot air balloons, hiding in suitcases, one family even found a "look-a-like" family accross the border and stole their identities in order to escape. The inventions got even crazier and more risky as the wall got thicker, both literally and in a political sense. The museum gave a good idea of what it had to have been like to live in such constant fear. The secret police had access to all of your information, as well as a practically unlimited supply of weaponry and unrestricted violence. A failed attempt at escape was almost certain death, or if you were lucky, you might just be beaten in prison. One story told of a woman whose children were taken away from her after their capture and given new names, and their records were erased. The woman was told that her children were taken to new homes, however these "invisible children" were never again found. This was only one of many horror stories.

I feel like this section of history is sort of skipped over in America. Between WWII and The Cold War we just like to brush through. There are so many awful, gritty details that we ignore because it's not fun to think about... I think I've said this before, but I learned more in this one week long trip about this time in history than I learned in years of history classes. Puts the education system under a harsh light in my eyes... anyway, back to museums!

We also went to the Reichstag which is sort of like the equivalent of the White House for Germany. We didn't get to see much... too much security (go figure). But we did get to go to the top and see some amazing sights. Here are some pics...

Moving right along... We also saw the Perganon museum that is a gigantic Roman Antiquity collection. This museum was huge! They had entire Roman buildings re-constructed within the building. Cool. It also had a lot of Ancient Egyptian ruins as well as some Middle Eastern Art.

Next was the Egyptian Museum. Now... I know what you're thinking... "Susan, you are in Berlin. Why oh WHY did you go to an Egyptian Museum??" Well you see, they have one of the most extensive collections in the world (besides Egypt of course) and I had a free pass. Anyway it was super cool and very beautiful, however by this point I was very over-museum-ed... and don't really remember all that much. The main thing worth noting is that this is the home for the famous "Bust of Nefertiti". Now the art historian in all of you should be jumping for joy... if not, no worries. But it's pretty much like the Mona Lisa of this style of art. Pretty sweet!

The last museum really deserves its own blog... but I'm on a roll. This was by far the best and most important visit of the trip for me. We went to the Holocaust Museum that is built underneath the Holocaust memorial that I put pictures of earlier. It was so powerful to be in the same city that Hitler stood and convinced so many people that it would be a GOOD idea to commit a genocide, and to so humbly stand and listen to the stories of all those lives it affected. Part of the exhibit was a very dark room where you could literally just sit and listen. A voice read out the names and ages as well as a small history of literally EVERY victim they have on record. To listen to them all would take something like 6 or 7 YEARS. There were places where desparate letters were sent to loved ones, saying goodbye, the writers often knowing that their deaths would come quickly and horribly. I couldn't stay very long in the museum. I was so emotionally overwhelmed by the horrors that the human race could cause. It was jarring to go from the quiet museum full of dark stories and memories to the light and noise of the outside where there was so much beauty and life.

For me, the most important lesson is that we always remember what we are capable of, even when being led by just one influencial man.

Life on the Red Carpet

We had the good fortune of being in Berlin while the Berlin Film Festival was happening. This is one of the biggest international film festivals in the world and draws in celebrities and their crazy fans from all over! So we had a free night, and happened to be downtown... where there happened to be a movie premier going on... so we thought we'd just check it out.

Now... I've never been one to fawn over celebrities. As a matter of fact, I usually have no idea who they are. However, we didn't really have any plans for the evening so we stood outside a movie theatre in the freeeeeezing cold for about an hour and a half before the premier started. DUMB. But totally worth it!! We met some absolutely crazy fans who were absolutely obessed with these people. They knew exactly which hotels they were staying at... and when exactly their press conferences are... I mean REALLY people!

But really I suppose I can't judge... the three of us were in the front row of the masses waiting for the starst to arrive in their cars. Many many people walked down that red carpet... and I can say that I only knew.

Diane Kruger (I know her from National Treasure... hee hee)

And... drum roll please.... Jake Gyllenhaal! Ok so I know I said I am not gushy about celebs... but really. He is very good looking. Anyway he left the paparazzi to come across the driveway and talk to the fans, and well... we had a moment. I'm pretty sure if he'd had stayed longer we would have become best friends for life. But alas, he had to leave for his own, very suave stroll down the red carpet.

Oh by the way, while we were there we DID go see a French film. It was called "A moi seule" and it was very well done! Definitely on the suggest list if your in the mood for a dark foreign film...

Gates and Walls of epic proportions

Alrighty, so one more time we went on a guided bus tour of the city. At this point in the trip they were getting a little old I can't lie... but it really is a good way to see the city and get your bearings. But anyway, we were once again on the good ol' tour bus. I honestly didn't know too much about the history of Berlin before I got there... so you'll have to forgive me if I make this blog a little bit of a history lesson. I learned more about European history from this 5 day trip than I did in all my years of history in school.

So we started off by seeing some of the more famous museums in the city. Most of them are all in a few block radius of each other (super convenient for those of us traveling by foot or bus metro...), but I'll show some pictures of those museums later. The first real place we stopped was a monument called Neue Wache. It is placed in a building that used to be used as a guard tower. In the 1960's it was turned into a monument for victims of fascism and Militarism. Under the statue of a mother an child in an empty room are the ashes of two unknown victims, one from a soldier and another from a World War II concentration camp victim. It's all in a very cold, concrete, empty room with one sky light in the ceiling. Very eery and very powerful.

Our next stop was the Holocaust Monument. It is a mix of different sized blocks of smooth concrete that are placed in a semi-orderly fashion. You can walk among the pillars and the rows match up so that you can just barely see the outside. It's sort of disorienting and I found myself getting nervous if I didn't have sight of other people... it felt like a maze. The effect was perfect for the meaning of the monument.

We then got to go see the Brandenburg gate, and the brick path that dictates where the Berlin wall stood not so long ago. We walked through the gate that for so long separated this great city so violently.

My absolute favorite part of the day was seeing the Eastside gallery. This is a mile long section of the Berlin wall that is still standing. Chunks of the wall have been given to artists to make statements of Peace and reminders of the horrors that occured during this opressive time. This was by far the most powerful thing we saw in my opinion. I actually got to touch a piece of history that affected the lives of most of the people in Germany, and probably a lot of the lives in Europe, and I'd even say changed some perspectives of the world.

Some of my friends wanted to "Reenact" an escape from East Berlin... I think they look pretty sneaky...

This was one of my favorite paintings... so powerful.

This gives you an idea of just how huge these paintings are:

One of the most famous pictures taken at this time... The text below says "My God, help me survive this deadly love." It is the two communist leaders at the time. At a meeting the leaders went in to kiss cheeks as is customary and... well... whoops. A fortunate camera man took the shot at just the right moment, and we now have one of the most famous paintings on the Berlin wall.