So it has been awhile-nearly a semester!

Yes, my fantastic euro-trip has ended. Yes, I am back in Boston (actually, the more glamorous Allston). But wait, where has all my travel logs gone? I will be honest here...I got lazy and consumed with drinking a few too many Radlers and Jagerbombs. I also had to go through the most stressful semester to date. Who ever said culture shock was worse than reverse culture shock? Let me explain- upon returning to the oh so wonderful U.S. of A I experienced a lovely feeling the Boston University International Programs like to call reverse culture shock. I decidedly liked (loved) my European experience more than being an American. I became (still am) obsessive over anything Euro, really hated coming home to the incredibly intelligent members of fraternities, scantily dressed freshman "biddies" in playboy bunny outfits, and the strenuous curriculum of being a science student. In other words I longed to be back on my euro-vacation. They told me the feeling would fade, but I find myself 5 months later still having the same feelings.

This post is not dedicated to complaining about sharing a full sized bed with my roommate to cut costs, whine over not being in Europe, or cry about being jobless and slowly draining my bank account. No, it is to document my most recent travel experience. Travel makes me happy and writing about travel/finding really cheap deals is a hobby of mine.

My lovely friend Erika happens to live in a nearby suburb of Chicago, IL, a city I have never been to. Of course she generously offered her home, so I decided to take her up on her offer and crash for 5 days at her house while viewing life in the midwest from a liberal yankees perspective. Wheaton Illinois fascinated me mostly because of the incredibly conservative small Wheaton College that is known for producing teachers and pastors. The main part of Wheaton is quite nice and quaint.

Chicago is the main attraction for being in Illinois though (duh). The most expensive part about Chicago was accommodations, and I was fortunate to cut the costs. We spent the first day, which we were fortunate enough to have lovely 70 degree weather, at the bean (note the below pic), millennium park, the chicago art institute, the beach, and navy pier. The second day I was able to eat a real chicago "dog" (again, see below) and stroll on down navy pier again, where I ate at Bubba Gumps- a chain known for its great shrimp, though doubtfully overpriced. I was in Chicago when the end of the world was supposed to happen according to that looney radio talk show host who looks like a corpse. I waited until 6pm and nothing happened except a strange cloud that overtook the city of Chicago and dropped the temperature to like 50 degrees with no sun. It sure seemed like the apocalypse was coming, but yet here I am...still alive and kicking.

Typical Bean Picture

A real chicago "dog"-Pickle, relish, tomatoes, onions, mustard, peppers, NO KETCHUP

I really enjoyed my short visit to Chicago. We went on a water taxi which was a very convenient way (cheap too) to get to Michigan Ave., better known as the Magnificent Mile. Loads of shopping-it hosts stores like Forever 21, Nordstroms, and Coach. The last day I was in Chicago I got away with drinking some malibu on one of the canals on a veteran memorial with gorgeous views of the city near the original House of Blues.

The famous "Chicago" sign

Navy Pier

 Tips to have a fun but cheap trip to Chicago:
1. Find a friend and stay with them!!!!
2. Eat hotdogs
3. Try the Chicago popcorn- 1/2 carmel 1/2 cheese flavor ITS DELICIOUS
4. Take a water taxi
5. Navy Pier
6. Ignore the homeless
7. Water Tower
8. Michigan Ave
9. House of Blues
10. Alcohol (but really, what isn't fun with it?)

I'm 20 Years Old?!

Happy Birthday to me...

I'm no longer a teenager? When did this happen?!

I was lucky enough to spend my big 2-0 in Denmark, more specifically, COPENHAGEN!

It was awesome. Went with 8 good friends. Tried to spend as little as possible, but that is impossible considering the Danish economy is not only better than the dollar, but it kicks the Euro's ass. Well, that being said, Copenhagen is beautiful. We stayed at a HOTEL actually, because there are barely any cheap accommodations, including hostels in the city. What we didn't know when booking is although it is close to the train station, it is also conveniently located in the heart of the red light district with strip clubs, prostitutes, and drug dealers. (Sorry mom, not to scare you). However, it was a 5 minute walk from the center of the city, and about a refreshing 20 minute stroll from Nyhavn, which is the gorgeous canal system. We took a tour of the famous Carlsberg brewery! It was a fantastic deal, and they gave us 2 inclusive beers on tap with the tour. All in all, like 7 euros!

We also took a boat tour departing from Nyhavn, probably the most gorgeous boat ride I have ever been on. Pictures below.

Everyone was right about stereotyping the Danish. They are not only some of the most supermodel worthy people I've seen (leggy blonde hair blue eyed gods and goddesses), but they are also the nicest! Always willing to help out, interested in where we come from, what we were doing etc. We ended up talking to a bunch of Swedish people at a bar in the heart of Copenhagen one night and they were also incredibly friendly, although it could have been the alcohol talking. All in all, street performers on Copenhagen's largest pedestrian street were worth seeing. They are fantastic, and at night the pubs are filled with local artists and bands who play recognizable music that was great to listen to. I should also mention Copenhagen has like 100 something free bikes all around the city. Some statistic said like over 50% of the population bikes to their jobs. That is one eco-friendly city!

I KNOW I HAVE BEEN SO BAD...

Okay. So I pretty much haven't updated since I went to Prague. Let me update.

The weeks have been going by SO QUICKLY. That attributes partially to midterms (gahhh, 1 more to go!) but I have been to 2 significant places.

I'll start with the beginning, Munich for Oktoberfest. Many of you will wonder, was it everything it seemed like?

Yes. Yes it was everything I imagined, but better.

Let me start by saying, the amount of lederhosen I witnessed was NOT okay, almost overwhelming. Oktoberfest was a massive drunken sing-a-long. These beer halls have the capacity for like 400+ people EACH and there are like 7 or 8 of them. There is an actual band, playing actual stereotypical German music, with women selling larger than life pretzels and LITERS OF BEER. And no, you can't just stop at 1, or 2. Well, you can or else you'll throw up in the back. Oktoberfest is a massive party. And the party never stops. It sure starts at 8am when they have parades, and it doesn't end until the last man in lederhosen leaves.

Who ever thought it was a good idea to have an AMUSEMENT PARK IN THE MIDDLE OF A DRUNKFEST?!

WHY DID I NOT SEE ANY POLICE PRESENCE? Questions, questions.

Yes, you read correctly. There were crazy rides, rollercoasters, swing things, things that will flip you upside down and over and back again. My friend and I went on a horror ride scary thing, and let me also say that EUROPE HAS NO RULES ON HOW THRILL (HORROR) RIDES ARE RUN. THE PEOPLE DRESSED UP ARE ALLOWED TO TOUCH YOU.

It was the most horrifying ride I have ever been on. We were this close to getting into a cart with a man dressed up like a killer and possibly a sadist. We lucked out and pretended to NOT BE AMERICAN because you kNOW he would have just loved to come sit right in-between the scared foreign girls.

I'm Blogging Instead of Doing My Homework.

I'm pretty sure the title of this post explains exactly what I'm doing. Let's then cut right into the juicy part of the steak I would like to call memories of this weekend. Does that make sense? It does to me, because if I were to compare the city of Prague to a physical item, it would be a piece of raw meat.

You see, a raw piece of steak has potential to be oh so delectable, melt-in-your mouth juicy, but it just falls short of being great. It's a little...well...raw. Bloody, cold, dark in all the wrong places. Undercooked.

The people who went with me to Prague would probably agree with my metaphor. Or just be really confused.

I see Prague as a city that was once the most beautiful city in eastern Europe. The buildings are majestic, beautiful coral, gold, stone platings with intricate details of Roman gods and gargoyles. When the sun is shining, and you look up to the light blue sky, cloudless...you can imagine yourself in a fairy-tale. I saw this when I went to the old castle, where a couple was getting married, greeted by the royal guards, surrounded by metal gates with gold tops and a large catholic cathedral in the background, with a view of the river and the other side of Prague. The second and third days, the city poured. It was cold. The streets began to look a little dirtier, the beggars, gypsies, and eurotrash replaced the bride and groom. Instead of majestic buildings, there were remnants of communism and the russian invasion. The economy has not recovered, and it is plain to see as men and women, drugged up holding a single cigarette between their filth incrusted fingers as they open their palms for money or food. Strip clubs, sex shops, weird eastern european fetish stores...everywhere.

Our friend was pickpocketed on the train on the last day. It kind of put a negative light on Prague. Nobody heard that Prague was the pick-pocketing capital of eastern Europe. We found out the hard way.
We went to that famous club, Karlovy lazne. It was pretty fun, pretty sketchy and filled with eurotrash from latvia other underdeveloped countries. Or slimy Italian dudes looking for "nice american girl".

I feel like I'm really putting down Prague. Not everything was strip clubs and shadiness. The food was fantastic, the buildings were beautiful, and I must admit that the 5 story club was impressive despite the Eurotrash. The beers are fantastic (and cheap!). I went to Lucerna, a smaller club that had 80's and 90's dance night when we were there...it was fantastic and so much fun. I really enjoyed dancing to "Dancing Queen".  We went to a cool underground bar called U Sudu, definitely worth it.

Now pictures from when it was sunny outside. Hence, the beautiful buildings.

Take My Breath Away Berlin

I decided I cannot afford to have a bad day in Europe. Because, well, f*** everyone else, I am in Europe, living my life, existing with little money but somehow traveling to the greatest and most famous places on earth. And not to mention, everything is beautiful. Even the ugly are beautiful. Berlin is an example of beauty with a terrible history, and the city is plagued by what was left behind by the Hitler regime. 

Don't get me wrong. Berlin is, by far, my favorite city so far on my European adventure. Well, I still have Prague, Munich (Oktoberfest), Copenhagen for my birthday, Paris, London, and Barcelona. So....well see how the rankings change after the trip.

Anyway, back to Berlin. I was there 3 days, didn't sleep or shower. Surprisingly the hostel we stayed at was relatively clean and the reception spoke English. Unlike Dresden, everyone in Berlin speaks English, which is disappointing when you really want to practice German but they insist on answering in English to practice THEIR English...unfair. I also kind of caught a head cold from staying out until 5 am and then getting up the next morning to site-see. 

My favorite highlights of the trip, was seeing Checkpoint Charlie, the "Terror" Museum, the Berlin Wall looking into "No-Mans-Land" and the memorial for the European Jews. The history is fascinating, and we all know how much the Germans LOVE to give you TOO MUCH INFORMATION on everything, so I really know my WWI, WWII, and Cold War history after that trip. I had really cheap food, great drinks, and we went on a 12 euro pub crawl that ended up being a ton of fun...I recommend doing one of those for anyone traveling wanting to meet people. It's cheap and you make new friends!

My Schedule...

Well Hello, blog! I just made a calendar of all my classes, tests, and trips I will be taking these next few months...I am quivering with excitement. Last week we went to Konigstein, and then earlier this week some of my friends and I went on a train ride to the Czech border. It's insane how close we are to eastern Europe and the Czech Republic. We kind of got off a stop too late, so we ended up on the Elbe river at a river stop where the boat to cross the river wasn't running until October, soooooooooo we had to walk a mile back to the other train stop where a working boat was to cross the pathetic Elbe river. We saw a bunch of random sheep, many bikers (you're favorite, Mom!) and lot's of beautiful mountainous scenery. Once we cross the Elbe, we go through border patrol which is a deserted building with no officers present. To make things better, I didn't have my passport soooooo it was a little bit exciting/dangerous/very illegal crossing the border. We ended up in a small town called Hrensko (accent on the r), where there was this really lovely little vietnamese village. And by lovely, I mean they were selling homemade bombs, knives imported from China, and machine guns. I'm not kidding. Trying to haggle with us in broken German, because they speak Vietnamese, less Czech, much much much less German, and no English. I did buy a fake German soccer jersey for 6 euro after bargaining with them for 10 minutes.

Then we ate the best meal of our lives, a massive schnitzel with melted cheese sauce and mashed potatoes, then a massive ice cream sunday for like 8 euros. I swear I gained 15 pounds, then lost the poundage when I had to walk back a mile and a half to the train stop on the opposite side of the river.

Then, after all that, Friday we had a group excursion to the famous city of Meissen, known for it's beautiful porcelain! I vaguely considered buying a small trinket to show off to friends and family, or for my mom to give her or possibly an aunt, but then I realized even the smallest little itty bitty trinket was 50 freaking euros. I understand that this is genuine, beautiful porcelain, but no offense mom I am not spending 50 euros on that. Not to mention the most expensive piece of porcelain they were selling was going for 50,000.00 Euro. The factory was beautiful though, and I learned a ton about the history of porcelain.

Sorry it's sideways, but this is the piece worth 50,000.00 Euro

Why Must I Have 5 Hour Intensive German Classes?

But...really...is it really necessary for me to sit through 5 hours of German for 4 days a week? Isn't that pushing it? Well up until Monday which was the day we started intensive German, our group enjoyed the wonders of something called Stadtfest. There is a ton of amazing AMAZING food such as some kind of chili brotwurst dish with some Brotchen (aka fresh baked bread rolls), of course some Bier that was brewed a few miles away in a local brewery, and likewise wine from local vineyards.

Historic Buildings at Stadtfest (Altstadt)

Stadtfest at it's finest

As you can see, Stadtfest is fantastic, lively, and within beautiful scenery. After the first week of intensive German, we went on an excursion to a place in middle Germany called Weimar. The United States and the allied powers kind of bombed the entire place, which was home to Goethe and Schiller among many quite quaint homes and beautiful gardens. History is embedded in this town, and you can see this from the leftover soviet memorial sites (which actually gave me the chills) and the negatively Hitler left on the town. For example a concentration camp is quite nearby, although we did not visit it. I enjoyed the Weinfest they had there, among the open-air-markets and beautiful small cobblestone streets.

Open Market in the heart of Weimar

Creepy Soviet Memorial Site. Weimar signed an agreement that didn't allow for the town to destroy this mark of history and communism.


On to this week...I finished my intensive German courses and my two finals for sociology and German (I know! finals already ewwwwwwwwww). But yes, and this weekend I will be going to Konigstein, which is only like 45 minutes away and there is a beautiful castle there, so more pictures to come!

Oh also, I got my semester schedule, and I barely have any class. Ever. Never on Fridays and scattered like 2 hour classes other days. Best schedule yet! Thanks BU International Programs!