"Roam, if you want to"....

 So, my first adventure for 2013 was to check two large 'checks' off of my long bucket list: take a trip alone, and go to Auschwitz. This was the perfect opportunity to do this because I still had two weeks of winter vacation before school started. So, I packed my bags, booked the stuff and set off for Poland for 4 nights and 5 days!

I started in Warsaw, which was a suprisingly AWESOME city. I have to admit, I was a little nervous walking out of the airport and into a foreign city alone, having no clue where my hotel was (and not seeing a word of English or German ANYWHERE), but I made it through :). My 2nd day was full of sightseeing and just doing whatever the heck I wanted to do, because it was totally MY trip. It was the greatest feeling, and I totally recommend it. The only weird part is eating in restaurants by yourself, cause I felt like everyone around me was giving me funny looks. But, if you just get over the fact that you are alone, you can start thinking about how you are totally independent and just HAPPEN to be hungry, so those people staring at you can just get over it too! As a result of this attitude, I had the best week ever, and came across some funny situations along the way....
<-- The Old City




The holiday decorations were still up!  

After walking through what seemed like the whole city, I found this palace that I was looking for. I was the only person in this area for what seemed like miles, so that was eerie in itself, but it got weirder when I approached the castle and saw 5 WILD peacocks! I could not believe my eyes! I totally thought they were statues...but they were real! I was a little scared at first, but then they were just chillin there, minding their own business! It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and they are now my new favorite animals. One even opened his wings for me!



 Another incident occured when I was looking for this war museum that I wanted to see. I found the uprising memorial (to the left <--) so I just figured that the building behind it was the Uprising Museum....
wrong-o. I walked in to the only door (which didnt even really look like a true entrance) and found myself looking at a dozen security machines and about 10 Polish police men. After they explained that this was not a museum, I headed out and laughed to myself for a good couple of minutes. I HAD to find out what I had walked into! Later that night, I looked up the building, and came to find that it was the Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland! I cracked up, thinking to myself how EASY it seems to be to get into their country's Supreme Court, and how stupid it was to have the memorial of the museum right outside of it! I wonder if anyone else has made that mistake before...

Next stop was Krakow. I took the train in, about 3 hours, and I seriously felt like I was on the Hogwarts Express. There were tons of seating compartments, and a trolley lady even came by with coffee and snacks! It was heaven, haha. Finding my hotel was too easy once I got to Krakow (I had some serious luck on this trip, for real). I was sad that I only got to see the city when it was dark outside, but it was still beautiful. It was snowing when I arrived, and did not stop until I left. The right photo was the view from my hotel room!

I went to the old town square for dinner, and it really reminded me of the large square in Venice. Huge buildings and a vast amount of space. Honestly, the only reason I came to Krakow was because it was the easiest middle point to get to Auschwitz, but next time, I definitely want to spend more than just two nights there.

Then, Thursday came- the day I was waiting for. I woke up super early, found the bus station and purchased my ticket to Auschwitz. It was about a two hour ride from Krakow, and it seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere. I decided to take the group tour, because I was alone and would not know what I was looking at. It was the most eerie, sad, and unbelievable experience that I have ever had in my life. My guide was awesome, and there were only 9 others in my group. (I was the only American). Going in the winter was amazing because it just felt really real. The emptiness of the museum, the snow, the cold...the feeling is extremely hard to describe. The famous sign in the picture above, 'Arbeit Macht Frei', was where we began and ended our tour. It means 'work will set you free'. We started here, according to our guide, because it was were a lot of the prisoners started their Auschwitz experience, too, and it was the biggest lie they were told during their time at this camp. 

The whole thing was honestly just indescribable. The second camp was even more emotionally impacting than the first because it was the actual Death Camp, not the Concentration Camp, like the first one. This second camp is 360 acres, and a lot of the buildings were blown up by the Nazis while they were fleeing the scene. A lot still reamin, though, and seeing them was unbelievable.  The most impacting thing that our guide said, was that he wishes everyone in the world would come see this. Everyone needs to not only know, but actually see what went down here. The sadest part of all of this, is that we, as a world, have still not learned anything. These things are continuing today, and after seeing a place like this- which is not even up and running now- it puts a lot more in perspective for me. My whole trip was 100% worth it, just for this. It's by no means an easy place to get to, but go see it, if you get the chance.

Honestly, taking vacations within vacations is the best feeling ever. I don't even feel sad that school is starting Tuesday, because it is still going to be another awesome vacation week in Deutschland! Bring it onnnnn. Bis dann! xoxo

Frohes Neues Jahr!

Happy 2013! Crazy that 2012 has already come and gone....the ending was such a blur....and so was the beginning of 2013, as a matter of fact. I'm very lucky to say that I got to spend my last month of 2012 in both Germany and America. Going home for Christmas was a great decision, and also a good 're-coop' for this next, busy semester.

        At the end of November, the weather was really starting to get on my nerves. It had rained and rained this whole semester, but now that it was actually cold enough to snow, there was no more rain. It was so frustrating!! But then came December 1st, and finally the first snow of the year appeared, (December 1st is always a lucky day for me for some reason). My friend Hendrik was visiting me in Lüneburg that night- and we got to chill in the snowwww :).





The last two weeks of school were filled with more birthdays, Christmas markets, Christmas cookie baking and the Spanish New Year, (still don't know if that one is still true, but it was a fun night just the same). Seeing everything decorated in my town and covered in snow was grat motivation to get up and go to class in the morning. December in Lüneburg flew by!

 

Flying back to America was bittersweet....I was excited to be home for a little, but being home also meant that my time in Germany was already half way over. I still cannot wrap my mind around that. Staying for a year was the best decision I have ever made; I could not imagine how I would feel after only a semester! I'm already missing the semester-long friends that I've made, but I know we will stay in touch. *Seriously missing you guys so much!!! :(*

  

Ron was able to fly back to America for Christmas as well, and we had a great time just chillin with some friends, my parents and Freddie, of course :). 10 days seemed like enough time, but coming back and leaving America was harder this time than it was before! But now that I'm back and settled, it all feels ok again. I think 10 days was just a tease, if you ask me. 

The year ended with a New Year's party, (or 'Silvester', as Germans call it) at Celly's house. All of us got together for Raclette, (this AMAZING German winter-time dinner) and then partied all night. We brought the new year in with no snow, so that was a bummer, but it feels like it will start up again really soon!

So, Frohes Neues Jahr! Happy New Year! And make this one count :). Ready for Deutschalnd, Round 2!

Prost! Serefe! Viva! Cheers!

Wow- what a crazy month November was! I have never been so busy in one month in my entire life! Haha, but it was great- and went by way too fast. This was most definitely my travel, new experiences and "splurge" month. Not to mention, becoming TOTALLY comfortable in Lueneburg! I seriously do not feel nervous at all when interacting with Germans on a daily basis, and because of this, my Deutsch has gotten better and better. I'm getting closer to my overall goal of knowing another language! Man, it's not easy at all...I still get so frustrated with my German class every single day, haha. But it's coming along! :)

November started out with attending my first German play! Ron's mom and others from his town were in it, and it was a lot of fun! Such a cool experience. I also got to go to some cool towns within my region of Germany, such as Bremerhaven (to see this immigration museum) and Luebeck (just on my own to check it out- cool town!) As students, we have this train ticket that lets us go anywhere in this region for free- whenever we want! I've started taking advantage of it by going on solo-adventure days on Tuesdays, and they are awesome. :)

Then my most different and fascinating experience occurred- going to Antalya, Turkey. Antalya is in the way south of Turkey and right on the water. I went with a new good friend of mine, Crews, and we spent 2 nights and 3 days there. WOW. I completely recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing a whole different side of the world (WAY different from the rest of Europe) as well as not spending a lot of money. Everything was so cheap there! It was unbelievable. Also, hearing the Mosques' prayer calls 5 times a day (no matter where you are!) was wild. Such a culture shock, but in an awesome way.

The wild dogs and cats just walking around both day and night were scary at first, but then you realize that they are just living their lives- and honestly want nothing to do with you (except share your shade on the beach!) ---->

But we did find an overly-friendly one<--,and we named him Buddy!

Overall, Turkey exceeded my expectations tremendously. It was also nice to get away from this 'blah' German weather for a while and chill in the sun! Definitely hope I go back there again someday...

My next adventure began 2 days after my return from Turkey to Venice with Ron! (it was an exhausting week...) When we got there on Thursday night, we planned to meet up with one of my friends from Lueneburg, Adam, because he was there visiting his sister. He asked us over to her house for a Thanksgiving dinner- so Ron and I assumed it would be pasta or something Italian like that. Unexpectedly, we showed up to a HUGE turkey, mashed potatoes, cinnamon apples, peas and pumpkin waiting for us! His sister is seriously the best, haha. So we had a real Thanksgiving dinner :) What a great surprise! Thanksgiving dinner in Venice...

Look at these streets! (People don't even have cars here...they just have boats, no big deal). Apparently a motor boat is like driving a car, and then a paddle boat is like riding a bicycle, haha. Awesome. We got lost in these streets and found surprises around every corner...I could have done that all day long.

The best part of this trip was taking the Vaporetto (water taxi system) to a small little island that no one really goes to. It's called Burano, and every single house is a different color!! It was unbelievable. I would totally live somewhere like that haha, it was my kind of place! As if Venice were not cool enough already...

The whole trip was awesome- eating pasta and pizza and drinking Aperol spritz..and of course we had go on a Gondola ride. I mean we couldn't pass that up, right?! Here we are with our new buddy,Marco!

So many more stories to tell about these two great experiences! Both so unique!

Other than that, I've been going to class everyday- almost- and going to winter markets, international university dinners and seeing my friends in good ole Winzlar. :) Lovin' life! Now finals time...

Until next month! 

Ich bin eine Lüneburgerin!

Hey Eveyone!

I haven't been keeping up with this blog as much as I would like- so I will try to change that now! I'm going on month 3 of my stay here in Germany, and I still have no regrets. School started right after I posted my last blog, and that has been a blast. Some of the people I have met through Leuphana (my university) are definitely going to be life long friends, I can already tell. Been having a blast, living it up as much as I can, and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes my way!

      
At the end of September, 19 of us Americans took a weekend trip to Amsterdam! This was my first hostel experience, and it actually turned out pretty well. We were up way early both mornings and just went around the city spotting things we wanted to do. The best part, in my opinion, was the canal boat ride which took us around the whole city. It was such beautiful weather, and all of the architechture there was amazing!

I could not believe how touristy the city was though...Every menu at most outside cafe's was in English unless you asked for the Dutch version. You definitely did not forget you were in Europe though, between all the thousands of bikes and cool random castle-looking buildings places in between office buildings.






That next weekend, my parents came to visit me! All of the pictures, unfortunately, are on my mom's camera...but it was a blast! I loved showing them around my town and just having a relaxing week in Lüneburg. We spent my mom's birthday in Hamburg, which was really fun. It was great being the tour guide for THEM for once!

Pumpking carving was a must on my October To-Do List. For some reason, Halloween is just not a big deal over here! You don't really know how much you miss all the decorations and hype until it's not around you anymore! We will see how Halloween night goes. :)

Other than that, I have just been celebrating friends' birthdays and learning A LOT of German. They weren't kidding when they named my class "Intensive". It is definitely paying off...my confidence and skills (hopefully) have totally been increasing. It's such a good feeling! 

Other fun activities have been seeing how many people I can fit in my small kitchen...or how many I can have a sleepover with :D

German Autumn so far has been so beautiful. Every morning for the past week I have woken up and seen new colors of leaves while walking to school. The weather is starting to get a little bone-chilling...but at least I saw it coming. That just means the Christmas Market season is getting closer and closer. :)











That's all for now! Next month is planned to be filled with lots of adventures...can't wait to share them! xoxo

"Oh baby, we'll be old, think of all the stories that we could have told" August 2012

Hey friends and family from all over the world!

I've been over here in Germany for almost a month now, and I've decided that I need to start documenting my adventures abroad- so, here's my blog! This is just for anyone who is interested to keep up with what's going on with me on this side of the globe (and hopefully to persuade some people to come visit me :D). I hope whoever stops by to read these posts will enjoy! :)

This first month has been just vacation time, so I have been hanging around good ole Winzlar and catching up with some really good friends. The weather has actually been nice and warm (WEIRD), and I have definitely not gotten sick of the almost-daily German BBQ's on the grill yet. Summer vacation in Winzlar was the best way to ease my way into the upcoming school year (starting next Monday!). And it's been nice to practice some Deutsch before my German classes begin ;).

 So, I've ridden a bike more this month than I have in my entire life....seriously, these people ride bikes everywhere! I am starting to enjoy it, though! We will see if I feel the same way a couple of months from now...

 

Earlier this month I completed a check on my bucketlist: visitng a concentration camp! The name of this one is called Bergen-Belsen, and it is about an hour and a half away from where I've been staying. This is where Anne Frank and her sister died, and there are several other memorials there as well. Very cool, but very emotional! Some of the videos and artifacts collected here are unbelievable...

 Bremen is a large city in Lower Saxony with tons of cool buildings! This is a picture of the city hall...nothing too fancy or anything...Some of the Grimm Brothers' stroies take place here- it's a city full of old history.

And this is my apartment for the next school year! I move in tomorrow and will be there until the end of April. It is on a one-way street and is about a 10 minute walk from the city center. My room is on the top floor, the second window from the left. :)

Other than that I've just been having fun with old and new friends. :)  A couple of great birthdays and weekend trips!

Well, that's all for now! Many more pictures to come. Missing home, but loving it here! xoxo