“Einfach Deutsch”–Frankfurt, Germany (Pt.2–Old Frankfurt and Riverboat Ride)

One of our free nights in Frankfurt, we got to ride on the Riverboat with the entire group. To be honest, I think that this was the best experience for our little group. We bonded more on the boat than any other time… probably because we were all stuck on the boat for an hour… but beyond that, we all chose to interact and bond with everyone in the group. This was one of my all time favorite evenings and cities. Old Frankfurt is beautiful and totally looks like my mom’s German cuckoo clock!

                   

                   

              After the riverboat, me and a few guys (who dubbed me an honorary ‘lion’ for the night) went and found some AMAZING food. We came across this really cool little bratwurst stand with the cutest German girls serving people left and right. Greg and I are convinced that one of them HAD to be named Heidi… or Helga. Anyways, the sausages they sold us were outstanding. Homemade sauerkraut, crusty bun and a sausage that had been soaked in white wine for 3 days. Possibly one of my favorite meals while in Europe and a perfect end to a perfect day!

                                                                  

“Einfach Deutsch”–Frankfurt, Germany (Pt.1–Stock Exchange, ECB & Frankfurt Stadium)

 

                          

         In Frankfurt we were able go to the Stock Exchange as well as the European Central Bank. I was really interested in both presentations, except that the woman at ECB got a little long-winded about communications for my taste. This trip has been absolutely awesome in terms of education for me. I have learned more about the Euro than I ever could have dreamed and I am loving it! (the education… not necessarily the euro idea.) The interesting picture in the middle kind of amused me when we saw it coming out of the Euro bank. (By the way, the quality of the photo is due to the fact that I didn’t want to upset the protesters, sorry it’s not better!) The reason I’m amused about the Frankfurt occupiers is because the unemployment rate in Germany right now is at a crazy low of around 5%. That basically tells me that these particular individuals just don’t want to find jobs and would prefer the government do it all for them. Kinda ridiculous when other countries have almost 25% unemployment. Anyways, that’s just my opinion. Bottom-line, I am LOVING the topic of Economics.

 

                 

           Pretty much everyone that knows me is very aware of how much I love playing soccer. (Though I might not follow the teams and clubs that close!) Nothing really makes me happier than playing pick up soccer. The tour of the Frankfurt Stadium was one of the coolest touristy things we did! We got to see every part of the stadium and it was kind of like a dream to go down to the actually field! The girl in the first pic with me is Britta and we both really love soccer. The second and third are examples of how carefully the grass is taken care of. On the left they are going through to every single yellow spot on the field and replacing it with a green patch. On the right, they are using artificial lighting to help the grass grow better than it has naturally. Soccer really is that important in Europe! :o)

                       

           The next photo is the view of the Frankfurt skyline from the top of the stadium, with the practice fields in the foreground. (Beautiful!) Then we went to see the boxes that they have, which are SO pretty! And the seats are pretty much the best that you could ever hope or dream to have. The picture is of most of my group at the stadium. The last picture is me just loving the experience! Man, if only I could have played at that level! THEN life would be complete!

Step one – Walk on the field in a professional soccer stadium - CHECK. Step two – Watch a game in a stadium like this. Impossible step three – Play in a stadium like this. Step four – Die Happy!

It’s simple: Prague…Praha….Prahue….? (Pt. 3–St. Charles Bridge)

 

           Even though this post will be a tad shorter than the others, it definitely deserves a post all its own. The Sunday we were in Prague, Greg, Ryan and I left the hotel at 6:30 to go see the sunrise at the St. Charles Bridge before church. Even though I woke up right at 6:30 and had to rush like made to get ready, it was totally worth it! The story of this bridge is that St. Charles opposed the King and the religious laws that he had been creating. Because of his open opposition, Charles was shackled and thrown from this bridge. Now, of course it is named after him.

            The whole river was super foggy that morning which made the bridge super eerie, but also beautiful. Along the banks of the river the fall colors were also gorgeous with deep reds and bright yellows. It totally reminded me of New England in the fall. (Which I miss terribly!)

          I was super confused by this lock chain found on several bridges in Europe and at the time of the photo I just thought it was really cool looking. Since then I have found out that it is either a European tradition or it has to do with a legend about love. Apparently if a couple goes to a bridge and attached a lock together, their love is supposed to last forever. There are bridges all over with these locks and it’s really kinda fun to see.

         When we got there, we saw all of these photographers setting up their cameras and tri-pods for something major and we didn’t really understand it. Then, moments later the sun came up… and man oh man did it come up in style!

                                                                                    

          Prague, you really are a beauty.

It’s simple: Prague…Praha….Prahue….? (Pt. 2–Prague Castle & The Opera)

 

                                                                                            

         After Terezin we were dropped off at the Prague castle in the middle of Prague. In its walls there is a massive cathedral that was super intense. We went inside for a little bit, and as all European cathedrals, it was very impressive. The palace itself wasn’t all that easy to get into, so my group actually just walked around the outside and enjoyed the views.

                                                                       

 

 

             After seeing some beautiful aspects of Prague, we went home to get ready for the Opera that evening.It was Sleeping Beauty with some weird twists towards the end. All in all it was really neat to see it and to be in the magnificent opera house. In the picture is my group from that fantastic day of adventure. Left to right: Me, Greg, Lydia, Kyle, Johnathan and in front, Jessie.

               

          The night ended with some amazing street sausage with onions, peppers and mustard. It was fantastic and I loved being with such amazing people.

It’s simple: Prague…Praha….Prahue….? (Pt. 1–Terezin)

        To explain my title this time, Prague can be said three different ways: 1) Prague, as most everyone pronounces it. 2) As those who live in The Czech say it – Pra-ha. 3) The way our bus driver from Holland says it – Pra(insert flemmy back of throat sound). Take your pick… as for me, I’ll stick with the normal “Prague”.

         First off, the hotel we stayed at in Prague was pretty sketch! Walking there from the bus kinda made everyone a little hesitant and nervous. Unlike every hotel I have ever stayed in, there was one door to our ‘room’ then a hallway that had a toilet room and then a sink and shower room. Then next to those are the two rooms that use that bathroom. Thankfully our numbers were high enough that our group didn’t share with any strangers, but it was still so weird! The good thing about our ‘neighborhood’ was that there was a metro right outside the hotel so we didn’t need to walk far. 

         Unlike many of my classmates, Prague was not my favorite city. Despite that, some of my favorite tourist attractions were found here. Most people know that WWII is my favorite time in history and every detail I learn about it is absolutely fascinating to me. That being said, visiting a concentration camp in Czech Republic was pretty much one of the highlights of my trip.

        Outside the walls of Terezin is found a cemetery to the victims that died at Terezin. There was a Christian section as well as a Jewish section, marked by a cross and star of David. What I found interesting is that many of the headstones here don’t have names, instead they have jail numbers and a general death date. Seeing this definitely set the somber mood right before our tour of the camp.

           Although Terezin was not a work camp, the same words from Auschwitz can be found here, “Work will set you free.” According to our guide, the man in charge of Terezin wanted his camp to rival Auschwitz and to have the same notoriety. For a little backgroung, Terezin was not defined as a work or execution camp. It was basically a holding place for people of interest that needed to be interrogated for information. As soon as the prisoners served their purpose here (or just waited here to be moved) they were moved to work camps like Auschwitz for more permanent placement. The heartbreaking thing about this camp is that it was advertised to the Jews as a vacation spot or resort in order to more quietly move them.

          I know this picture is kinda blurry but I wanted to give some perspective of some of the living conditions. All 50 of us on the tour were shuffled into this room to experience the claustrophobic feeling of so many people in a small area. After standing there for a bit our guide informed us that typically 100 people would be squished into this room. The only ventilation is in the right wall in the photo and in order to help everyone they would shuffle in a circular motion to get air to everyone. Besides this, it was difficult for people to sit or lay down all at once, so they would also rotate who was able to stand or sit, to hopefully relieve everyone just a little bit.

           This picture gives away some of the history of its bulding. Before if became a concentration camp, Terezin was a small town in a province that was continuously being attacked. In order to prevent attacks, the government of the town basically turned the entire thing into a fortress. This is one of the tunnels underneath the main structures. The way it was set up was in a way so that any that stormed the gates of the city ended up in several bad situations. First, they were walking through marshy wetlands that surrounded the building which prevented them from reloading their guns. And second, they had busted the gates to end up as fish in a barrel. Surrounding the marshy areas are tunnels like this with shooting window like the one in the right of the picture. Super smart!

           This doorway was nicknamed the Gate of Death because once Jews exited through this area, they rarely ever returned to Terezin. Definitely chilling to walk the gate that had seen so many victims of concentration camps. Very humbling to say the least.

          The gate in previous photos depicted the area of Terezin that was part of the original architecture from the stronghold. This area is part of the add-on after Hitler approved Terezin as a camp location. They’re very plain barracks with a yard and watch tower as is typically shown in movies. Unlike some barracks, these had a toilet which must have been an incredible comfort. They also had these tables to sit at, as well as the tiny stove in the back to heat it. What is astounding is that 180 people lived here for months and months at a time.

         To end the concentration camp on a happy note, this is a picture of me, Jessie Anderson and Greg Malone on the bus after Terezin. It was an awesome experience but also heartbreaking and awe-inspiring at the death and destruction that devastated millions.

Quick Day-Trip to Vienna

 

            Our last morning in Budapest we all grabbed a quick breakfast from the hotel and then headed out to catch some more sleep on the bus.

             On our way to the Czech Republic, we made a quick day-stop in Vienna. Since I’m SO far behind on this blog, I’ll just quickly caption what each picture is. (Basically the pictures will tell the story much better than I can this time.)

             This is a famous museum in Vienna that I believe used to be a palace. The library in it is still used for study and research today. We didn’t go on the tour because it cost more money than any of us cared to spend, but we got some nice photos!

             Outside of the Museum, this gentleman was playing the accordion. He was really good, so one guy on the trip dropped some money in his little container. I snapped a picture and then as he got upset about people in our group taking pictures of him without dropping money, I kinda bailed.

              I can’t quite remember the name of this church, but apparently it was one of the ‘must-see’s’ in Vienna. It’s named after one of the saints… but I’ve never really known any of them… possibly St. Peter but I’m not positive. Anyways, inside it’s very pretty and there is gold literally everywhere. Inside there are 2-3 shrines on each side for specific saints or important people, one of which was an important cardinal (I think that’s right…) who’s body was ‘preserved’ – meaning basically nasty bones wearing robes and a little crown thing – and is now on display in a glass case in his little shrine section. I can honestly say, that may have been one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen in a church. The interesting thing about this church and finding it, was that it’s practically smooshed into the street next to all of the buildings that have been built around it. It’s really hidden and I would bet that anyone who tries to find it will stumble upon it almost accidentally.

         Minus the person taking the picture and a couple of others, this is the group that went gallivanting through Vienna for the couple of hours that we were there. Super fun, and I loved seeing it with them! :o)

             Throughout the tiny streets, there are artists who sketch out Vienna and do beautiful watercolors of them. We didn’t stop and talk to this lady, but some people in my group bought paintings from another girl who works with her father to make money on them.

                   Kind of a fun reflection picture of a really cool building in the background. We went there, and took a million pictures of it, before we realized that it is now used as an office building. We think it may have been a cathedral or a mini-palace before. (Fun fact – the reflection is from the side of a WC – aka – bathroom)

                  As our time got low, we decided to grab something quick for lunch and I ended up buying the BIGGEST slice of pizza of my life. Believe it or not, I had to have it cut down to three ‘smaller’ pieces in order to eat it. Super good though! (Fun fact – typically in Europe, it’s super rude and really weird to use your hands when eating things like pizza and fries.)

                  After lunch we left Vienna and headed into The Czech Republic. Here’s a view of the countryside from our bus. And now onto Prague…

Simply Amazing (Budapest Day 2)

              I think that Thursday was my favorite day in Budapest. We went to the Budapest business school and got to meet with some of their students. They put together a whole tour, presentation and lectures for us and provided us with an amazing lunch. It was amazing to learn about the average life of students in Hungary and how hard they have to work in order to get their education. During our tour of the university, I had a pretty in depth conversation one guy (in the pictures he has long hair pulled back and a checker button-up shirt.) who totally impressed me. He told me a little bit about the economic transition that Hungary is going through and his thoughts and opinions about it. He explained how the government was finally trying to get control of their financial crisis in the 90s and it was causing major discomfort for the people. In his opinion, at this point Hungary as a country saw the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of economic stress. Because of the difficulty that the people were having, they demanded a change in government action. Then the money was spread amongst the people and life got easier for a time. This only lasted a small amount of time until the country became indebted to foreign powers and started to have problems again. Now the people don’t understand why things aren’t better. This guy explained to me that because of his studies in economics he understands that it would be better for them to suffer in the short-term in order to make things better for everyone in the long-term. We discussed the fact that there are not enough resources to help the general public understand this and to embrace it. I then told him that in America we have the resources and yet people still don’t understand that bigger picture. Anyways, it was a positively fascinating conversation and I was extremely impressed by how much he knew and how well he answered all of my questions.

               After our tour of the school we had a lecture about Hungary’s economic history from the dean of the school. It was extremely enlightening and it is amazing how political motives so intensely effect the economy of a country. For example, Hungary was excluded from the European Union for an extremely long time because of their association with the Soviet Union in the past. It was a great presentation that really allowed one to understand the situation of the Hungarian people.

               As soon as our visit to the school was done, we went to an amazing museum called the House of Terror. I would quite seriously return to Budapest, Hungary only to see this museum again. It’s the best one I have ever been in and it really is more of a full-building monument and symbolic art piece to the heroes and victims of the Soviet Union and German occupation during the WWII time period than it is a museum. This was particularly interesting to me because I have always loved the history of this war, but the stories that have the lime-light are the German Nazis. Not many realize the incredible dictatorships and horrors that occurred in Hungary as well. Long of the short, they basically had a similar time period as we did in the US when the red scare affected us. The major difference between them was the sick torture and executions that occurred in Hungary. (and the fact that the communist party was the entity killing people rather than people being scared of others being communist.) We were only allowed to take pictures of the tank but none of the actual exhibits. I actually liked it because it helped to maintain the respectful and reverent atmosphere that is needed when discussing such a delicate topic.

               The reason that these experiences this day were my all time favorite is simply because of the fact that they help one to understand the background and genuine culture of the Hungarian people. Through these experiences we were truly able to begin understanding who they are, how they struggle now and in the past and how these things have shaped who they have become as people. I love having this sort of understanding of a culture the people there. If you ever go to Hungary you will find the people to be very reserved and quiet. They don’t do anything that makes them different or that keeps them from blending into the crowd. The obvious reason being that in the past they were killed for being individualistic and the culture-wide effect has made the trait of anonymity a part of them. What is interesting is that once you engage someone in a conversation, they are typically extremely nice and very interested in learning about you. Until you cross that boundary, they usually come off a little rude and rough.

           After our educational experiences we were let loose on the city of Budapest to do whatever we wanted. My roommate, Jessi, a girl Sheila and I went off to brave the subway system and to try to find a church and marketplace to buy things. We successfully managed the metro (which I actually thoroughly enjoy!) and ended up at a cathedral where they display the saint’s (who the church is named after…. even though I can’t remember it at the moment…) mummified arm. Forgive me, but I find it super weird. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see the hand, because it was closed before we got there, but the church was beautiful. After this we went to find a market which took the rest of the evening because of the confusing directions we received. Either way, it turned out to be an eventful and super fun evening.

          We ended our night at an Italian restaurant 2 blocks from the hotel that was super tasty! Their pasta, pizza and gelato was super good! Then we went back to the hotel and my roommate and I tried to wash our clothes. I say try because it turns out that they take a LOT longer to dry than either of us realized. Kinda ridiculous! By the time we’re done with this trip we’ll both be pros though. :o)