Thursday, November 22, 2012

Poland: Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Krakow


town square
clock tower
As we said goodbye to Prague and the Czech Republic, we said hello to Poland! We were slightly confused as to why we were boarding an 11 hour train when Prague and Krakow were only separated by a 5 hour drive, but we found out soon enough.  After being almost scared to death when our train stopped for 3 hours and we realized we were no longer connected to the conductor train, we finally got back on track to Krakow and arrived at 7am when it was about 30 degrees! From there, we took a bus to Auschwitz where we joined a walking tour. The tour lasted for 3 hours and included both Auschwitz and Birkenau on the tour. It was a really moving experience, with a lot of exhibits, but for the most part, many of the buildings had been burnt down before the camp were discovered. To keep this post moving in a happy direction, im gonna skip over to when we arrived in Krakow! Know, let me highlight once again how cold it was, 27 degrees! Which was really tough as it has been around 60 degrees here in Rome. In Krakow it was pretty foggy so it was hard to see a lot of the buildings, but it was still a very cool town to see with a lively center. After grabbing some pierogies for dinner, we walked over to the Krakow Castle and got to see the famed dragon statue. Then we hung back at our hostel for the night since we had to get up early to fly home. Luckily, in the morning, the fog had lifted and we were able to see some of the buildings and take some pictures! It was a really nice day and although we didnt get to see a lot of Krakow, it was still interesting to see the different buildings.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

High ho, High ho, its off to Prague we go!


Old Town Square
The Church of the Prague Castle
Prague Skyline
So after spending the morning in budapest, Remy and I got on a bus to Prague! Although it was a 8 hour bus ride, it was actually pretty nice as they played movies and even showed a few episodes of Big Bang Theory! Once we got to Prague, we got to walk through part of New Town (not that we knew that) on our way to our hostel. At our hostel, we shared a room with 26 girls which seemed intimidating but was actually pretty manageable, especially since the beds were super comfy and they had rainfall showers! The next morning we woke up early to grab some bagels for breakfast (delicious) and then we walked over to Old Town to join a walking tour.  The tour was actually fantastic as over the course of the 3 hour tour we saw all different parts of the town. Prague is definitely one of the coolest cities I have ever seen, as it was full of history and beautiful architecture. It is also a great blend of old and new, as they have two towns dedicated to both. We also got a chance to see the Jewish quarters, which were very interesting and full of even more history.  What makes Prague unique is that it was one of Hitler's favorite cities, so almost all of it was left untouched during WWII, so there is a ton of stuff that dates back to the middle ages. My favorite part of the city was just walking around as literally every seat had buildings with beautiful architecture and something unique! After the tour, we walked across the river to the Prague Castle, which was absolutely beautiful. The castle was up on a hill so it provided us with a great view of the city, truly fit for a king. After walking around inside the castle walls, we walked over to the John Lennon wall to take some pictures and attempt to carve our names into the wall with coins since we forgot to bring a pen. Then, as the sunset, we walked across the Charles Bridge, which was built in the early 15th century, and then we did some souvenir shopping before heading over to the train station to set of for Krakow, Poland.  It was really an awesome day, and I wish I had some more time in the city, but I am happy with everything we got to do!  Prague was really, really, amazing and I hope that one day I can maybe go back.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

a morning in budapest


after landing in budapest and getting to the hostel just before midnight, my friend remy and i went to sleep so that we could get an early start on exploring budapest! budapest is actually composed of two different towns, buda and pest, so we took sometime to explore both. since we didnt have much time, we did a lot of walking to see the main buildings and we spent some time in the market place. we got to see the castle, parliament building, and some pretty cool churches. shopping in the market place was also a lot of fun as we got to see a ton of the different souvenirs they had. overall, budapest was a pretty modern city for the most part, as they had a lot of brand-name stores and everywhere took credit cards (which is rare in most parts of europe but really useful as budapest does not use the euro).  although we didnt have much time there, i really enjoyed what i did get to see and really enjoyed my day! at 3pm we walked over to the bus station and got on our bus to prague! more on that soon :)
market place
inside the castle walls

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

γεια! (thats hi in greek... i think)


sunset
gyros
this weekend, i got to go with one of my friends here in rome, kealy, to visit one of my best friends from BC in thessaloniki, greece! my first feeling in greece was pure confusion as all of the signs were literally written with greek letters on them and i quickly wished i had a sorority level education of the greek alphabet. we eventually made it to trisha's appartment and grabbed some gyros for lunch... which were delicious! i had tzatiki sauce on mine which was basically a cucumber dressing, and then i also had pork, onions, tomatoes, and french fries all on a pita (which is apparently what everyone gets). then we spent some time catching up, and getting to know some of the other people in trisha's program before we had greek salad and little spinach pita-like things for dinner. that night, we spent some time exploring the town and "living like the locals." the next day, we woke up and had τοστ for lunch (which is pronounced like toast) which were basically ham and cheese paninis on white bread, along with some bbq chips. after that, we walked around by the pier and saw spent some time enjoying the views on the coast line and seeing the "white tower" which is the most famous thessaloniki landmark. overall, the city had a lot of grafiti and did not really look like a safe place, but it actually was very safe and the people were very friendly... minus the fact that i had no idea what they were saying.  because there was not really a lot to see in the city itself, as it is not known to be touristy, we checked out some of the main squares and did some shopping. luckily, we got to catch the sunset, which was very beautiful and picturesque as it set over the water with the mountains in the distance. that night, we celebrated trisha's birthday which was actually sunday, but we went to a traditional greek restaurant!  i apologize if everyones mouths are watering after this post, but like i said there wasnt necessarily a lot to see, so kealy and i got our tourism fill from trying all of the different traditional food... which was honestly a much needed and healthier break from pasta, pizza, and gelato! During dinner we had greek salad, grilled fetta, different types of meat, chicken, and pork, then there were cheese balls, and french fries! that night, we went to a few different bars to celebrate trisha's 21st birthday! the next day, we had gyros (again) before we grabbed a flight home. it was a really great weekend and i was happy to spend some time with trisha for her birthday :) this weekend/today i am going to budapest, prague, and krakow!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

roman day trip: tivoli!


as a part of my last full weekend in rome two of my friends and i took a day trip to a small town outside of rome called tivoli! this small mountain side town at first seemed very empty, but we soon realized it was full of life! we went into a renaissance village called villa d'este which was filled with beautiful frescas (paintings) inside and more importantly, a huge garden outside. within the garden there were two huge waterfalls and multiple smaller water fountains with statues dedicated to different gods and goddesses. it was a lot of fun to frolic around for the day and take pictures and we even got to see an ancient organ for a small concert! after spending about two hours in the garden, we explored the center of the town for a little bit before we headed back to rome! i was happy to see a more scenic view of italy, which is something i will really remember!!

iviva barcelona!

parc guell

inside sagrada familia
so last weekend we went to barcelona for a weekend of fun! the first night we got there we got some traditional tapas (enchiladas for me) and then went out and explored the town and some of the areas by the beach. the next morning we got up and headed to the sagrada familia church designed by gaudi, which was a very very beautiful church filled with stained glass, mosaics, and intricate sculptures. it was honestly the prettiest church i have ever seen and i really enjoyed all of the time we spent there. after spending an hour or two in the church we hiked up the mountainside to gaudi's house and to parc guell. there we found more mosaics and the lizard statue which was really cool, and then after our photo shoot at the parc we grabbed some traditional paella! it was very tasty and very unique! then we took a short nap at the hostel before we grabbed some burgers for dinner and prepared for another night of fun. the next day, we walked down the most popular street in barcelona, las ramblas. we did a lot of shopping, hit up a local market, and then we checked out the waterfront/harbor area for some more beautiful views. we had a tappa sampler that night for dinner along with more paella and black rice, which was a nice ending to our weekend! unfortunately, we had a 5:55 am flight sunday morning so it was an early night for us but nonetheless a great weekend!! it was really nice to see a different culture, especially one where i spoke the language (even though barcelona is technically part of a region where they speak catalan). i am so glad we got to go there for the weekend and hopefully one day i can go back and enjoy the beach!