"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!