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http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
On the way to Liechtenstein, we stopped in Seren Del Grappa, a small Italian village that housed Toine’s ancestry. We even saw some statues with his last name on it. The rest of day 21 was spent traveling to a campground outside the micro country Liechtenstein. This trip included a train ride through a mountain: we actually had to drive the car on a train. Cool, but I wish they would have just let us drive it, as it cost 20 euro.
Liechtenstein is the second largest of the 5 micro-countries, but still would fit 2 and a half times into the largest of the 5, Andorra. It is the largest producer of dentures in the world, the only country named after the people who purchased it, and ruled by a Prince. Its main attraction is in Valduz, the capital, which holds the Prince’s gothic castle on the hilltop. While there’s not much too see, the country is aesthetically pleasing, as it is surrounded by mountains on all sides.
We made it later that day to Lucerne, one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t entirely cooperate. Despite the rain, we were able to tour the city, which is surrounded by mountains and centered with a lake. The Chapel Bridge is the cities best-known landmark, a wooden bridge dating 1333. But the best part of Switzerland was the stunning drive complete with scenic lakes, mountains, winding roads and tiny villages.
Our campsite turned out to be our best one so far. At first glance, it was far from: it was on a farm, complete with pigs, goats, cows, and a peacock. But it had everything we needed: free WIFI, an outdoor grill pit, and a 24-hour store based on the honor system (mark what you take and pay later).
(Day 23 was spent all driving to Germany while avoiding Austria because we couldn’t have the rental car there…)
Day 24: Driving to Neu…Neu…The Cinderella Castle
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Neuschwanstein is a German castle outside Munich built by King Ludwig II, and supposedly inspired Disney’s fairytale castle. This King went down in history as eccentric and a little insane, and his castle shows it. The castle is totally over-the-top, and includes a indoor cave, carved oak bed that took 4 men 4 years to create, and concert hall. The King only got to spend only 172 days in it before his death, which was mysterious as he was found dead in a lake. There is also a reoccurring motif of the King’s two obsessions: Swans and Wagner operas.
(Rest of the day was spent on the way to Berlin)
Day 25: Berlin-“Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Jelly Doughnut.)” –JFK
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Berlin is an extraordinary city. Despite its volatile past, it continues to persevere into the 21st century with the intensity it has always retained. You know how cities have a feel? I liked the feel of Berlin immediately. It’s a night owl city, its full of history, but the skyline is full of cranes and scaffolding covered in wishful-thinking posters scream, “Come see me when I’m done!” Berlin is 2.5 times the size of Paris but only holds 3.5 million people, due to the wall and less-than-ideal weather. While our day provided rainy weather as well, that didn’t stop us from taking a “Fat Tire” bike tour (which I would recommend to anyone going to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, or London, which are their locations).
We started our tour at the TV tower. Built by a Swedish architect in 1969, and is the tallest building in Berlin at 207m. It was actually hated by the communist party when first erected, because when the sun hits it, it forms a giant cross. Efforts were made to reduce the glare, but the cross still appears, and the tower is sometimes called “The Pope’s Revenge.” Next we saw Humboldt University, where Marx graduated and Einstein taught. Next was the Bebelplatz library where Hitler burned over 30,000 books on May 10th 1933, books by prominent Jewish authors or that were critical of the Nazi regime. There is a pane of glass on the ground that looks into an empty white room filled with empty bookshelves to commemorate the tragic loss of knowledge. Across from the library is Saint Hedwigis church, built in similarity to the Pantheon. Next we saw a church commemorating the French’s ability to produce romance and consequently babies for Germany after the 30-Year-War, and another church across the street because the Germans were jealous they didn’t have a church.
Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall Story: I’m going to try to summarize the Berlin Wall in as brief English as possible. The reason Hitler came to power was because Germany was so ravished by hyperinflation and economic depression after WWI, it gave the Nazi party room to manipulate its way into power. To make sure this didn’t happen again after WWII, Germany was split into 4 sections. The Soviets received about half (because they suffered the most from the war) and France, the UK, and the US split the other half into 3. West Germany was much better off because it had the resources of the US, UK, and France, and therefore East Germans started going to the west to seek employment. The Soviets then placed mines along the border between the east and west in what was called “The Iron Curtain” in order to keep Germans in the East. The city of Berlin was also split in a similar fashion between the Soviets and Allies, that is, Soviets has the east while France, America, and the UK had the west. This one done because Berlin was in such a strategic location that Stalin said, “Whoever controls Berlin controls Germany, and whoever controls Germany controls Europe.” Then, literally overnight in 1961, the Soviets constructed a fence, and in several days a wall, between East and West Berlin to further prevent integration. It was said that people who had happened to wander to the opposite side in that night were simply stuck there. There were actually 2 or 3 walls, and in between the walls were guards, towers, and dogs, instructed to shoot on sight. This in between area was known as “The Death Strip,” and 191 people were killed trying to cross. There were checkpoints along the Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie was the third checkpoint in the American sector (1=Alpha 2=Bravo 3=Charlie). Then, in 1989, Austria opened its doors to Hungry, which was a big step in international relations and encouraged openness. Berlin decided to allow limited visas for people to cross the Wall. But their PR man missed the meetings, and when he read it on the evening news, he was immediately grilled with questions from the press that he didn’t know the answers to. So like any good politician, he then proceeded to simply make stuff up and tell the press what they wanted to hear. “Who can get these visa’s? Anyone. When can this happen? As far as I know, immediately.” By that 10PM that evening, thousands upon thousands had lined at the checkpoints demanding entry to the West. Then, Easterners heard the commotion, and came to the other said screaming, “Let them in!” The government then faced the choice of riots and potentially firing on their own people, or letting them through. Consequently, on November 9th 1989, the gates were opened, celebrations poured in the streets, Germany united less than a year later, and David Hasselhoff’s current hit single “Searching for Freedom” became the theme of the fall.
After checkpoint Charlie, we went to what looked like an apartment complex. But feet below us, their lied a 12ft thick bunker where Hitler spent his last days. It was here that Hitler was married, and the next day took poison with his wife and then shot himself in the head. Quite a honeymoon. It was instructed that his body be burned beyond recognition, but gas is a hot commodity at the end of a war. Therefore, the task couldn’t be completed fully and dental records could eventually identify him. However, the Axis Powers kept his death a secret for years, which is why there are rumors that Hitler escaped. Next, we went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which is 2,711 unique stone blocks that make a maze, representing a feeling of being lost and trapped. Because there is so much graffiti in Berlin, they needed to be coated with a protective layer to protect them. But the company that was hired to put the layer was found to have produced Zyklon-B, the gas used in concentration camps. Therefore, the company made a very swift PR move and donated the service. Next was to Brandenburg Gate, where countless armies marched since 1791. Napoleon had once stolen its Quadriga statue on top, but it has since been returned and now faces west, in defiance of the French (as if to say “you will never get this!”). Right near here is the US embassy, where us Americans had the audacity to ask the gate to be moved so we could have more room, to which the Germans responded that we should look at moving some of our McDonalds to make room. Also here is Hotel Adlon, where the late King of Pop dangled his child from the window. Next we went to the victory tower, where the Germans essentially mock their defeated enemies. Next was the parliament building, where Hitler used a fire as an excuse to blame the communists for it and seize power. Across the street are the current administration buildings, mostly glass to show the transparency of the new government. Finally was the museum island, where many of Berlins 170 museums lie. Before heading out, we had dinner at a traditional German beer garden. Cheers!
(Day 26 was spent traveling to Copenhagen)
Day 27-28: Copenhagen, Pär’s, and Home!
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The last city of our trip was Copenhagen. Denmark was interesting, but seemed almost like a slightly less clean Sweden. There’s a couple main sights in Copenhagen, but the big one is the statue of The Little Mermaid. To be honest, its kind of a weird sight for the most famous sight of the city…its just a relatively small statue. We also got to stop at the Carlsburg factory for a drink. We then drove to our Atlantis friend Pär’s place near Gothenburg. His family graciously took us in for one last night. The next day, we saw Pär’s hometown near Gothenburg and some of the oldest locks in the country. It was then finally time to say goodbye and head back to Linköping, which couldn’t have come sooner. We had a fantastic trip, but it was time to get back home!
Superlatives
We spent some time reviewing the trip and came up with some bests and worst!
Toine Top 3: Rome Normandy Berlin
Mark Top 3: Rome Normandy Provence
Vince Top 3: Berlin Normandy Amsterdam
(We don’t include Nice because we’ve all already been there, but its our overall favorite)
Biggest Letdown: Hamburg and Marseille
Biggest Surprise: Brugge and Provence
Most Unexpected Problems: No Ice, no Grill (you cant find ice ANYWHERE! And most our campsites didn’t have a grill…)
Most Unexpected Smoothness: No border problems, no theft
Cultural Surprises: Swiss movie intermission (that’s right, there’s an intermission during movies), German and Italian are incredibly friendly, the entire country of Switzerland smelled like farm, music festival in Tours (we happened to get lucky and hit the fest), Italian driving (is crazy!)
Best Campground: Luzern (it was on a farm, but it was all we needed, a grill, showers, electicity, and free internet)
Worst Campground: Amsterdam (nothing was free…not even showers…and we almost couldn’t get in…and our car swipe didn’t work so we had to walk the stuff from the car to the tent)
Best Drive/Scenery: France
Worst Drive/Scenery: Germany (but theres the Autobahn!)
Ranking of Micro Countries (best first): Vatican City, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein
Day 8: Bordeaux cont.- Wine Country
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Tuesday morning we set off to St. Emillion, a region in Bordeaux known for its superb wine (as if the rest of region isn’t). A bottle of the St. Emillion Petrus can cost up to 5,000 euro (about $7,000). The region of St. Emillion has a city in the center that contains abbey that was carved in the 11th century by Benedictine monks. It was the miracle of St. Emillion that spurred the church in his honor. The legend goes that St. Emillion was stealing bread to feed the poor. When he was caught shoving bread under his shirt, he was told he would have to pay for all the bread he stole. He responded that he was only taking wood, and when he took the bread out of his shirt, it indeed had turned into wood. The cool part is that the church in his honor is underground, and carved, not built. We also had a chance to stop by some of the local wine shops and do some tasting as well.
From the city of St. Emillion, we went to the sand dunes and Atlantic Ocean. The sands dunes are most closely described as mountains of sand. If you didn’t know they were surrounded by forest and ocean, you could picture yourself in Egypt. A few hours at the beach, and we headed back to Céciles for a dinner with friends and fantastic wine.
Days 9-11: Provence-The Used-to-be Province
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Next, Our travels took us to the Provence region. Provence boasts the best Roman ruins in France, the hangout of Vincent van Gogh and Picasso, 7 popes, and stable weather complementing rolling hilltops and vineyards. Tony’s cousins Phillip and Laurence from the small city of Manosque in took us in for three nights. Day-9 was all driving; we didn’t arrive till about 10 at night.
On Day-10, we realized the benefits in having a car. We were able to explore the Provence region the way it is meant to be seen. The beauty of Provence is not the big cities, but the tiny little villages and winding narrow roads. We stopped by the Roussillon, where all the buildings and rocks are red due to ochre deposits. Next, we went to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, what is known as the “Venice of the Provence”. It’s a tiny little town with clear water canals, waterwheels from as far back as the 1200’s, and antique shops on every corner. Next, we drove to Domaine de Durban, a road less traveled winery where we were able to taste some Provence wine and pick up some good rosé. We actually have way too much wine at this point in the trip, and I know I’m going to want some Italian wine as well. Anyway, next we went to Suzette, which offered a clear view of the white topped mountain, Mont Ventoux. While it looks like its capped in snow, the top is actually white stone. On our way up to climb the mountain, we stopped at Le Crestet, a city made right after the fall of the Roman empire, when there were no laws and people sought high ground for shelter from chaos. It now has a population of only 35. The remains of a castle stand at the top, while the rest of the city is preserved in thin alleys, uneven cobblestone streets, and arched doorways. On the way home, we climbed up Mont Ventoux, which stands at over 6000 feet. We saw lightning from the mountaintop, which was awesomely beautiful: you can see the entire bolt from top to bottom light up the sky around it.
On Day-11, we went to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. While Aix-en-Provence is a large city, its more a business center, without many sights. It’s also a big fashion city. Marseille competes for Lyon for the title of second largest city in France (it differs if you take into account suburban population or not). Mainly a port city, we found Marseille to be a little scummy, which is consistent with what our French friends had told us. There was a basilica worth seeing, but besides that, the city seemed rather sightless. We had some time that evening to enjoy a swim and a French dinner with our hosts.
Day 12: Mussel Through Car Trouble
As we drove back the night before, our car jerked and Mark had stated, “I hope that was a pebble.” It wasn’t. We woke up Day-12 morning to a flat tire caused by a screw. Our conversation with our car rental company can be summarized as follows: “So you guys are American students studying in Sweden currently in France?” Right. We were able to put on the donut, take the wheel to get patched, and get on the road about 5 hours late. We decided to add a day to our trip, as the 5 hours had been taken from our favorite city in Europe, Nice. On the way to Nice, we got to see the biggest canyon in Europe, Gorges du Verdon. We got into Nice that night just in time to get a dinner I had been looking forward for weeks: unlimited mussels and fries, complete with 14 different sauce options. My first time in Nice I ate 3 buckets; the time with mom I ate 4; so my goals was 5. Mark and I had 5 each, and were pretty proud until we were told the record was dix-sept: 17.
Day 13: Nice is Nice
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Nice is still my favorite European city. The food, the rock beach, the promenade, the old town, the cliffs, the Italian influence, its all wonderful. It’s touristy enough to keep you occupied, but cultured enough to let you feel authentic. Its border cities include Cannes, Antibes, and Monaco (well, that’s a country). We had all been to Nice once, so after a quick morning in Monaco, we simply relaxed on the beach and enjoyed rather than sightsee. We actually were in Nice on the day of Ironman, so the beach was pretty busy with the competition. Either way, we still agree that we haven’t found a city nicer than Nice.
Day 14: A Piece of Pisa
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As we drove into the Italy, 3 Americans in a Swedish car entering Italy, we of course got checked at the Italian border. But we did make it to Pisa, and were able to get that famous picture in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the campanile. Construction of this tower began in 1173. But was halted when the soil began to shift. Falling at a rate of about 1mm a year, the tower reached 5.5 degrees in the 90’s, and had to be stabilized using weighting and drilling. Its fun to go around and see everyone getting their favorite shots with the tower, and of course, we got some as well.
(We got into Florence late that night)
Day 15: Florence-Not Hat Friendly
Sure, I saw some stuff in Florence. We’ll get to that. But I lost my hat. And anyone who knows me knows what hat I’m talking about. You ever have the one item that is like you favorite item of clothing, the one that’s irreplaceable, even if you got the exact same one? This was it. I wouldn’t allow myself to buy it until I reached a personal goal of mine and played an acoustic show. When I finally got it, it just brought me luck, and I became identified with it. It was MY hat. And now it’s gone. I left it on top of the car, and when I came back 20 minutes later, I talked to a shop vendor and he saw some guy on a scooter pick it up and keep going. I hope he appreciates it.
That said, Florence was a surprisingly worthwhile stop. We had seen it briefly the night before, but did our primary sightseeing in the morning and afternoon. Known for its wine (Chianti to be exact), fashion, and Michelangelo’s David. While touristy, the city has enough charm to keep one occupied, including the 4th largest Cathedral in the world, the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. The streets are riddled with vendors selling fake merchandise such as purses, sunglasses, paintings, camera stands, and watches. All the fake vendors have their stuff ready to go, and when a cop goes by, they all can scatter like antelope in about 7 seconds.
(Later that day, we drove to our Rome campsite.)
Day 16 and 17: Rome- “It’s very important to me that I be viewed as a professional.” “Right. When in Rome.” “That expression doesn’t really apply to what I’m talking about.” “…Oh. I still don’t quite understand what it means.” “You’ll find it.” –from the 2004 film, Anchorman
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We had two full days in one of the highlights of our trip, Rome. Just mentioning the eternal city conjures so many expressions and images regarding 2700 years of western civilization: when in Rome, do as the Romans do, Rome wasn’t built in a day, Rome, a lifetime is not enough, just to name a few. Founded in 752BC, the Roman Empire ruling from 27BC to 467, its contributions and influence makes the US feel like a fly on the spectrum, at less than 300 years old. While we barley scratched the surface of this relatively small yet enormously important city, we got a pretty good overview in the two days we had.
First thing we noticed in the city was once again the shops selling fake merchandise: except this time most were legal. We then went to Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, which has wood from baby Jesus’ cradle. Next, we went to Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in chains), which holds Michelangelo’s Moses and the chains reputedly worn by St. Peter during his imprisonment before execution. We made our way to the famous Spanish Steps, named because of the Spanish embassy nearby, which lead to the Holy See church and are next to Keats’ old apartment. Next was the Fontana di Trevi, a massive fountain that depicts Neptune’s chariot being led by Tritons, made famous from the movie “La Dolce Vida.” It is said that if you throw a coin into the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder, it ensures your return to Rome. However, my favorite was the Pantheon, the most complete building of its time (27BC), which has a massive oculus in the center of the ceiling. We grabbed pizza the first night at Pizzeria da Baffetto, which contained the pizza equivalent to the soup Nazi. The owner spent his time yelling in Italian, screaming out orders and seating the mob of people waiting for seats. It’s the kinda place where the owner had pictures on the wall of the famous people who ate there. It was definitely a highlight of our culinary experience in Europe.
The next morning, we made it to the smallest country in the world, Vatican City. The first thing you see when you enter through the fortress-like wall and Swiss guards that enclose the city is St. Peter’s square. The massive piazza is centered with an Egyptian obelisk from Heliopolis, and of course, St. Peter’s Basilica. Largely designed by Michelangelo and completed in 1590, it holds the remains of the first Pope, St. Peter. It is where conclave is held and the new Pope is decided upon, and the inside is massive and too beautiful for words. I have now seen many churches in Europe, and St. Peter’s is hands down my favorite.
The Sistine Chapel Story: We spent the rest of the morning in the Vatican museum, which is the largest in Europe at over 14km long. While it contains thousands of works, its highlight is the Sistine Chapel. Let’s start at the beginning. Pope Julius II, aka Julius the Terrible, was Pope and King (you used to get both) in the day of Michelangelo. He wanted Mike to make him several hundred statues to his greatness. Well, Mike began, but after 3 years, Julius decided he wanted more than just statues: an entire chapel. He then decided that Mike was fired, and by the way, the 3 years of work on the statues was to be unpaid. Mike then vowed never to return to the Vatican, and fled to Florence. But Julius had other plans and requested Mike back to paint the ceiling of his chapel. Mike ignored the requests until the Pope’s guards finally kidnapped him brought him to Vatican. Mike still refused, claiming he couldn’t paint, until the Pope threatened his family. Mike then spent 4 years working 18 hours a day painting Creation. But Mike got revenge. He painted God’s buttocks exposed, right above the place he knew the Pope would sit. Another interesting fact is that the background of God in the Creation of Adam is not just a red cloud, but the inside of a human brain (Michelangelo and da Vinci studied bodies in order to better understand them) which represents God’s ideas (Eve is still in the brain). In the next panel, Adam is passed out, because Mike felt that if a rib were taken from you, you would indeed pass out. Also, all landscapes are very bare because Mike was no good at painting landscapes. Anyway, Mike left and again swore to never return. Finally, a later Pope called on Mike when he was in his 60’s to paint The Last Judgment. Mike was old and did not feel like protesting, but demanded that he work under better conditions. Mike spent 6 years on the fresco depicting the final judgment of man. Jesus’ face is the face of the Greek God Appolo, and Jesus is very muscular, like all the other men as well. This is because Mike only used muscular male models because he didn’t feel right having a naked women stand in front of him. There is one woman in the portrait, and she indeed has an incredibly manly body. In addition, the Pope’s assistant Baggio had commented on how he did not like the painting, so Mike painted him in the corner with horns, a tail, and a snake biting his genitals. It is amazing that one of the most amazing works of all time was done against the artists will.
Next was the great Colosseum, the symbol of Rome, completed in 80AD. It has a capacity of 50,000, and included toilettes, a giant sail roof, and even refreshment stands. It was a marvel in its time, and its ruins remain today. Gladiators would fight anything from panthers, hippopotami, crocodiles, or other people. The area around it was the center of ancient Rome, the Roman Forum, which included the Senate building, temples, and social centers of the city.
Day 18: Looking for Sand in San Marino, On the Rim in Rimini
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I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but Italians are the most insane drivers we have ever seen. Scooters fill in every gap possible at insane speeds, speed limits seem to be more suggestions than rules, cars make up lanes, and no one seems to know how to merge. Toine did very well however; I’m still blogging today. Anyway, we arrived in San Marino from Rome in the morning. San Marino is a tiny landlocked country in Italy and one of the 5 European micro-countries. Like most small countries, it gets by on its low taxes and by piggybacking off a neighbor country. Next, we made it to Rimini in early evening. Rimini is a city in east central Italy known for its port, resorts, and nightlife. Our campground was right on the beach. We checked out the beach, which was complete with 100’s of little crabs, and then Mark and I got ready for a night out. We spent the evening exploring downtown, which definitely reached our expectations. The entire city, including clothes shops, supermarkets, and restaurants, is open until midnight. Then, everyone heads to the bars. We got a chance to hit the main bar strip for a while, and go to a club that was right on the water.
Day 19 and 20: Venice-3 Men, a Car, and the Most Romantic City in the World
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After seeing all the fake-Venice, we finally made it to the real one. Day 19 was spent driving and enjoying our campsite, which included a pool. We spent the next day exploring the city on water. Venice was founded in the 5th century when Veneto’s residents were forced seek refuge from Barbarians on the islands off the coast. Now, the city sees over 2 million tourists a year on its over 117 islands, 150 canals, and 400 bridges. The big square is Piazza San Marco, with Basilica di San Marco (and the remains of St. Mark), the 15th century clock tower, and the famous pigeons. We got a chance to feed them, and they will simply jump all over you. There’s also the Ponte di Rialto, which is one of three bridges (by far the most ornate) that crosses the Grand Canal. The city has many churches and museums, which is a whole other trip in itself. Unfortunately, Venice is also one of the Europe’s most expensive cities, from eating and shopping, to the famous gondola rides (which start at 73 euro, about $100). Nevertheless, Venice still remains a fabricated must see city.
Part III coming soon!
Welcome! This is Vince’s special EuroTrip edition blog! For those who don’t know, my two friends Mark and Anthony (who will hence forth be referred to as “Toine”) and myself have embarked on a 25-day road trip across much of Western Europe. We’ve rented a car, and would love for you to come along!
Day 1: Driving, Driving, and More Driving
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Day 1 was rather hectic and moderately exhausting. We began at 8AM by putting last minute touches on our month’s worth of luggage. This was quite an ordeal, because in addition to our personal luggage, we needed camping equipment. We decided to camp most of this trip due to the cost advantages and for the experience of camping in general. If you’re following along with the pictures (link below), you can see the monumental task of fitting all our luggage and bodies in our rental car. Tetris level expert. However, by noon we were on the road. After a brief stop at Ikea (for some last minute equipment and 50 cent hotdogs; 4 to be precise), we were off!
Day 1 was the most driving intense day of the trip (11 hours). It took us from Linköping, Sweden, through Denmark, and into Germany, to our first campsite outside Hamburg. Some notables during the ride were the giant 5-mile 2005 bridge from Sweden to Denmark (complete with railway below the highway), and the autobahn on the German highway. We eventually made it to our first campsite, 20 minutes after closing. Consequently, our first night of camping was off a dirt road in the first secluded area we found. Making lemonade!
Day 2: Hamburg- Meat the Hamburgers (Hamburgians? Hamburgites?)
Day two marked our first day of sightseeing, in Hamburg, Germany. Germany has a population of around 83 million, with Hamburg being the second largest city in Germany, at 1.7 million. However, because of its port, it is the richest. It also has the largest red light district in Europe. Let’s cut straight to the point: we were disappointed in Hamburg. It might be partly due to the fact that we had to see the city during the day on a Wednesday, and this city is more known for its nightlife. However, to me, that just means that the city really doesn’t have much to offer besides its bars and clubs. The port was no more special than any boat-parking garage, and many of the city’s landmarks were destroyed during WWII. The most interesting sight was the remains of a church where you could picture how massive and beautiful it must have been. The red light district was dead when we were there mid afternoon; we assumed most red light districts would be at 2PM. Wow, were we wrong. Next stop, Amsterdam.
(The last 6 hours of our day consisted of driving to our Amsterdam campsite.)
Day 3: Amsterdam- “But you know what they put on French fires in Holland instead of ketchup? Mayonnaise. I seen ‘em do it. And I don’t mean a little bit on the side of the plate, they f*#kin’ drown ‘em in it.” –John Travolta, Pulp Fiction
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The Netherlands has a population of 16.4 million, Amsterdam with 743,000. The city is one of the European cities trying to claim the title of “Venice of the North” (along with Stockholm and Bruges) because of its many canals. The famous forward leaning buildings are slanted because when people move into their homes the stairs are too thin to cart things up. Therefore, there are hooks on all the buildings used to hoist things up through windows, and if the buildings lean forward, the objects are less likely to bump into the wall. In addition, Amsterdam is home to the Ann Frank house, where Ann Frank hid with 12 others for 2 years from the Nazis.
The city is obviously known for its liberal attitude, but some of the statistics may surprise you. Of the red-light prostitutes, only 30% are Dutch (many are from Eastern Europe), STD rates among prostitutes are equivalent to the average population, teenage pregnancy is lower than most countries (UK and US are much higher), and the top marijuana using countries are New Zealand, the US, followed by France, Spain, and the UK; The Netherlands isn’t even close to the top 5 per capita. Oh, and everyone bikes.
That being said, Amsterdam doesn’t disappoint the tourist cliché it’s expected to be. The city gets its prostitution heritage from the days where Amsterdam served as a large port, and the seamen would leave the ships after long periods of time and get paid. Seems logical. And while marijuana is tolerated, it actually isn’t technically legal; its decriminalized. This means that since it’s a victimless crime, the police focus their energies elsewhere and turn a blind eye to the drug use. “Coffee shops” are actually not allowed to advertise that they sell marijuana, nor have any reference to the drug in their shop title. This way, police can say, “Look, they’re just selling coffee.” There are actually coffee shops that don’t allow tobacco, but allow marijuana.
There are several theories why the red light district is associated with the red lights:
· When Napoleon invaded the Netherlands, he required the prostitutes to receive checkups for STD’s. If they passed, they got a red card.
· Bible story of Rahab: An informant in Jericho was a prostitute, and she used a red light to mark her house.
· People simply look better in red light.
There’s actually a church right in the heart of the red light, for good reason. Before the old sailors got back on the treacherous ships, they wanted to make sure they could repeal their sins in case they died at sea. The church sold “indulgences” the repealed sins, and it was even rumored you could pre-purchase these even before you sinned.
Speaking of sins, we were able to get some of the “rates” for the district. While there is no set price, competition puts the average at around 30 euro ($40) for “oral favors” and 50 euro ($70) for 15 minutes of one position intercourse. However, apparently, there’s a fee for almost ANYTHING else (switching positions, acting like its fun, etc.) so by the time the experience is ideal, it’s much more than 50 euro. Prostitution is a recognized profession, and the “girls” pay taxes and even have a union. There are around 400 windows and 1000-1200 girls who rent them, and there’s plenty of action at all hours of the day. In the next few years, the number of windows is going to be reduced by half, as Amsterdam tries to promote itself as a city of culture and history. However, I see this as similar to the attempt Las Vegas made several years ago promote itself as fun-for-the-whole-family: it was abandoned quickly. People know why they go to Vegas, and they know why they go to Amsterdam...
(The next morning, we left bright and early for…)
Day 4: Bruges- “If I grew up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn’t, so it doesn’t.” -from the 2009 film, ‘In Bruges’
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Don’t let the quote fool you; Burges is a beautiful city frozen in time. Located in northwest of Belgium (10.2 million people), Burges has 117,000 people and is Belgium’s most popular destination, even over Brussels. The north of the country speaks Flemish, the south French, and a small section the east, German. Bruges was a huge influence in Europe in 14th and 15th centuries due to its port and revolutionary stock exchange, but in 1500, the main canal to the sea dried up and the city fell asleep for 1600 and 1700 and 1800. Finally, in the late 1800’s, people discovered a city that was left in the same state it had been when its economy recessed 300 years ago.
There are a few big sights to see in the city. The holy blood church (supposedly-it can’t be proven) contains a vile of Christ’s blood, and the Church of Our Lady holds Michelangelo’s “Madonna with Child.” However, the city is more a feeling, not a sight. Bruges is equipped with canals, bridges, boats, flowers, parks, and an overall feeling of serenity. Other than Venice, it is the most beautiful city I’ve seen in Europe thus far.
The most interesting aspect of Bruges is the Belgium culture. Chocolates are made fresh daily like pastries, homemade fries are thick and double fried, Belgium waffles come complete with powder, chocolate or ice cream, and beer variety is enormous. We had a chance to try it all.
So if Belgium invented fries, why do we call them French fries? It’s because during WWI, the Belgian commanders spoke French. So when they baked their fries, their Allied colleagues (ie. Americans and French) associated the fries with France. And the big thing is fries and lots of mayonnaise, although all fry places offer around 10 sauces.
We got a chance to try some of the local brew at the most famous beer pub in Bruges, ‘t Brugs Beertje. This place had 300 types of Belgium beer. The impressive part was that every one came equipped with a matching glass. Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves. And the local favorite, Bruges Zot, was our favorite as well.
Day 5: Normandy- “The eyes of the world are upon you…” -Dwight D. Eisenhower
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A 4-hour trip from Bruges brought us to our most powerful destination yet: the beaches of Normandy. It was here, on June 6th 1944, that the Allied forces orchestrated the largest fleet led offense in history (over 3 million Allies), and took foothold in occupied Europe. Soldiers were not told where they were headed for “Operation Overlord”, or D-Day, until they departed, and many were young and had never seen battle. All carried a note from General Eisenhower: “The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory.” While the story of Jour-J (as called by the French) was a collaboration of Allied forces (primarily British, Canadian, and American) on several beaches, Americans encountered the bloodiest fighting, on code name Omaha Beach, because of its heavy fortification and steep cliffs. Our trip began at the American cemetery, which lines Omaha.
The experience of the American Cemetery begins as overwhelming. The sheer magnitude of the almost 10,000 white crosses is a sight that we could only begin to appreciate. As you walk down row after row, it’s almost easy to fall into a trap of numbness, forgetting that every single grave represents a person. The symmetry is flawless, the rows lined like soldiers marching into combat. The north side of the cemetery lines Omaha, which is a juxtaposition of the serene beach and its bloody past.
Several miles east of the cemetery lies Arromanches, the site of a massive artificial harbor build by the Allies in less than a week as battles raged around, and allowed the Allies to transport 54,00 vehicles and 326,000 into France in its first week of operation alone. First, 17 Allied ships were sunk by their crews to create the first line of protection. Next 115 football-field-sized cement blocks were dragged to the site and formed a 4-mile long breakwater a mile and a half offshore. Finally, 7 pier heads, links to the shore, and anti-air were set around the port. This port was critical to the success of the Allied forces, and the massive remains of the port are still visible today.
Next, we made our way to Longues-sur-Mer gun battery, which was critical to Hitler’s defense of the Omaha and Gold beaches. Four massive turrets, covered on all sides by thick concrete, are arranged in a semi circle slightly inland from the cliff, in order to overview the beaches. The turrets had an accurate range of 13 miles, and were directed by a bunker on the edge of the cliff that had clear views of the sea. The first of the four guns is completely destroyed, which means one of the Allied ships or planes had a real nice shot. The others remain intact, with holes in the cement surrounding the gun, but none actually hitting the money shot for the kill. Several things came to mind while looking the turrets. The first is how the slightest miscalculation in the aiming of the gun could send the mortar off by miles, and how smart the man in the bunker had to be. Next is that the massive cannons must have been ungodly loud as the fired, shaking the earth, echoing in their cement enclosure. Lastly was that the bunkers the Germans held up in were so thick, covered with incredibly small firing holes, riddled with bullet and grenade holes.
Our last stops brought us back to the heart of Omaha beach, first to Vierville-sur-Mer. Here, it was easier to see why the Americans had the toughest job; it cost over 1,200 lives to take Omaha Beach alone. High cliffs, rough cold waters, and scraps of metal line this section, all reminders of the American soldiers who stormed out of their flat boats, pounds of heavy gear on their backs, to take back Europe.
Our final stop might have been the most terrifyingly beautiful of the trip. The Point du Hoc Ranger Monument. The story of the Rangers goes as follows. The Point du Hoc is a cliff that juts out and gave the Germans a clear view of Utah and Omaha beach. Therefore, the Germans had this point as the most heavily guarded on the beaches. The Allies knew to win, they needed the point. 225 rangers were hand picked to use grapples and ladders to climb the cliffs in attempt to take the point, right after an extensive Allied bombing raid left the German soldiers weakened and confused. However, the Rangers got lost and ended up showing up late, losing their element of surprise and giving the Germans a chance to recuperate. As they climbed the ladders up the cliffs and soldiers fell, another took their place, as they literally fought an uphill battle. When they finally reached the top, they found out that the Germans had moved the guns they needed to destroy. But they didn’t stop there. The found the guns, took them out one by one, and held their position 2 more days until reinforcements arrived. In the end, there were only 90 of the 225 left alive. The site is a massive field of giant craters left by the air raids. Giant car sized chunks of cement lie 50 feet away from their starting position, and for once, I wonder how scared the German soldiers must have been as the field around them was hit with over 10,000 tons of bombs.
We were so entranced with the beaches, we ended up leaving Normandy several hours late. This was problematic, because we needed gas, and it was midnight. First, a cat ran out in front of the car, too late for Toine to stop. That was the first clue the night was going to be tough. Our GPS took us down one-lane dirt roads for about a half hour to a “gas station”. Apparently, gas station is also synonymous with “empty field” to the GPS. Now dangerously low on gas and in the middle of nowhere, we decided to head to the freeway and just pray we hit a gas station before we ran out. We finally got to a nearby city, Caen, with a 24 hour self service pump. But it only took European cards. We were lucky enough to have another older French couple pull into the station. Through our broken French and their broken English, we were able to pay them to use their card. We ended up finally making it to our next destination, Mont Saint Michel, around 2AM. Rather than camp, we pulled right up the parking lot of one of the most visited sites in France, and slept in the car, knowing that as soon as the light hit, we’d be able to see the magnificent castle on the water.
Day 6: Mont Saint Michel- The Mirage on the Water
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Mont Saint Michel was built in 708, when the bishop of Avranches heard the voice of Archangel Michael say “Build here and build high,” and later, “If you build it…they will come.” The current Mont St. Michel evolved for years and years to island with abbey it is today. A two-mile causeway links the island to the mainland. During high tide, the causeway is almost covered and un-drivable, and parking lots are underwater. We caught island on low tide, surrounded by vast expanses of mud flats. We arrived nice and early and were able to head to the abbey and tour the ancient monk’s church.
We stopped for lunch at the French grocery Carrefour, and picnicked in the parking lot. We arrived at our Atlantis companion Marie’s house in Tours. Marie and her family took awesome care of us, including making us a fantastic meal. We took the next evening to regroup, laundry, Internet, and enjoy the company of friends. We had a chance to go to downtown Tours for the Fete de la Musique, a countrywide party where hundreds of musicians simply play in the street. As we watched the public simply enjoy the presence of music, it made me want to perform again.
Day 7: Bordeaux
Another heavy travel day, the morning led us to a castle slightly outside Tours. After a 4 hour trip, we made it Bordeaux, where out friend Cécile was kind enough to take us in! After an awesome dinner, we toured downtown Bordeaux quickly. Tomorrow, we plan on seeing more of the city. Hopefully, I’ll be able to blog soon and keep you posted on the trip. Hope you enjoyed this first edition of the EuroTrip blog!
I’ll start where the last blog left off: the Sea Battle. The Sea Battle was a 2-day school sponsored excursion on a cruise ship to Estonia. The cruise ship was brand new, and had a lot of activities and bars to keep my friends and I happy. After a night of sailing, we made it to Tallin, Estonia. A small town, Tallin is still the largest (approx. 200,000) in the tiny country of Estonia (pop. 1 million).
I also got to participate in SOF, which I can only describe as a Swedish Oktoberfest. Bands and rock orchestras from all over Sweden convened in Linköping for a 3-day festival.
My last few weeks of Sweden were dominated by thesis. Twelve of us had a rough last week, including my partner Marie and myself, as we had to strip our thesis down to the core ideas and rewrite much of it. However, we all passed and on Monday, June 8th, we all graduated and received our Bachelor of Science of Business Administration. 1 degree down, 1 to go.
Mom was able to come up for the graduation, and we got a week to spend a week touring, Stockholm, Linköping, Nice, and Paris. As I’ve blogged about all these places, I’m going to have a guest blog and post mom’s experiences when she’s done writing about them, because I’m sure she has a lot to say!
As always, the link below has pictures from this blog. In the meantime, the next bog has the first days of our road trip, so if you have the energy, keep going!
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Hej all!
Been a while, I know. There’s been a lot and a little happening at the same time. Easter took me to Västervik, a small town that my friend Mikolaj lives in. While a small town, it was very pretty, on the water, and I got to experience some good old fashioned nature walks. Sweden actually takes Easter as seriously as we do, but a little different. Swedish don't hide baskets, but instead put colorful feathers in tress and the little girls dress like witches and knock door to door for candy in exchange for homemade cards. It's the small things that are the most interesting. I am in the heart of my thesis, writing about the difference between French and American labor unions, with a focus on IBM’s management of their unions. While I’m a little nervous, I believe everyone is, and its amazing how quickly my paper, and consequently time here, will be over. Linköping has really given me an opportunity to do some soul searching, and a chance to see what my life would have been like if I hadn’t chosen a city slicking school. Life here is about the student life: student bars, student sponsored events, being involved in the organization of such events, etc. And if you’re not involved in it, life isn’t too exciting. So I’ve really tried to take the most advantage of the student activities here. The other day, I was “queuing” for a student sponsored cruise ship that will head from Sweden, to Estonia and Finland. I also queued last week for a giant Greek style toga party/team competition, where my team is provided their own personal slave, but that’s a story for later. Either way, the queuing process in Sweden is one of the Swedes favorite pastimes. The type of queues for these big student sponsored events range anywhere from 12-24 hour sessions in the student center, Kårallen. The one I was at for the ship began at 8:00PM and ended at 8:00AM. Anyway, you sign up, and everyone brings their laptops with movies, shows, board games, cards, and you stay up and queue all night. And you can’t sleep, that’s the rule.
Anyway, I spent the whole weekend doing the event I queued for, ELINpaiden, which was the big toga fest I talked about earlier. It was incredibly Swedish, I might have been one of the only non native, or at least non Swedish speaking, students there. But that’s also a good thing. I feel a little exclusive, like I’ve gotten to the point where I can infiltrate the Swedish culture at its base. It was a whole weekend event, so I’ll summarize as briefly as I can. Friday night was a giant toga party, which started with a giant dinner. The dinner was crazy. It was in a tiny room in the bottom of the student center, and as soon as I walked in, I knew it was going to be a little crazy. As soon as people sat down, people starting banging on tables and doing Swedish chants. The entire dinner consisted of constant interruptions where everyone burst into song, pounding on the table and, of course, every song ends with a “cheers” (“skål” in Swedish). And, as you might have guessed, there was eventually food thrown. After the toga party that night, my team of 4 (including me) woke up early for our day of Olympic like games. Every team had a theme, and ours was Marie Antoinette. Pictures attached. Some other notables were the al qaeda, Kiss, and WWF wrestlers. The games included fake sumo wresting, bull riding, and an obstacle course. The semifinals was a game where two people sit on a log, slap each other in the face with fish, and try to knock each other off. No joke. Oh, and did I mention my team had a slave? Two actually. The “players” (student leaders of the business section) have to pay their dues, and the first two teams to buy tickets (one of them being my team) got slaves for the games. While I was content with having them fetch me drinks and hot dogs, my female team members thoroughly enjoyed the concept of slavery. Our slaves were sent to “feed fish” that didn’t exist, wrestle half naked with the WWF wrestling team (compete with a drenching in canola oil), take off his shirt and lay it on the ground so that Josephine didn’t have to step in gravel, feed Marika grapes, and dance on command for our entertainment. That evening, there was a formal dinner with the graduating “players”, which included a pretty famous Swedish comedian (unfortunately I didn’t understand too much), and another after party. Overall a long weekend, but a fantastic time.
What I was reminded of with the Swedish comedian was how English is so integrated into the Swedish culture. Many expressions will be thrown into casual Swedish talk. Such as “Swedish…Swedish…Swedish…as we speak…Swedish…Swedish…What the F*#k…Swedish…Swedish….” A McDonalds poster right now reads “Ingen Big Deal” as it points to a cheeseburger, which means “not a big deal”. McDonalds is also currently doing “cities of America” sandwiches, and right now you can buy “The Chicago”.
I don’t think I have mentioned the Swedish recycle ethic, but I think I should. Swedish recycle to an incredible degree. And my theory why? There is a decent cash incentive to recycle. Every grocery store has a section where you can deposit cans for money. And while 1 can won’t get you much, you could clean up after a party and get $20. Or maybe they simply care more than we do, or allocate more funding towards recycling organization. It’s probably a combination of all three. Even toilets have two flush settings, one that uses less water. I’ll let you guess when to use each one. The US should pay attention. Speaking of the US following suit, Obama has introduced a plan to implement a “French High Speed TGV style” railway in sections of the states. (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/1
Annnnnnd a little more, in particular order. I’ve played a few acoustic shows at the restaurant I work at, NH. It was a big deal to me because getting a solid acoustic set show ready has been a big goal of mine for a while. And there’s nothing I like better than playing for friends. All my friends came to the show, which means a ton. It amazes me how close I’ve become to everyone here, I don’t what I’m gonna do next year when half of them leave, and the following year when everyone does. But I am missing home. I miss American sports, especially with the Cavs closing in on a Championship. And while I miss home, mom is coming in about a month and a half, which is going to be amazing, especially for her. I know she’s always wanted to travel, and I’m glad she finally has an excuse to. And after her visit, I am lucky enough to end with a bang. I will be taking a 3 week road trip with two of my friends across much of Europe, including the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. While I had worried about the finances, I’ve been shopping smart while here, saved the previous summer, and realized that the chance to take the time to travel Europe like this might never happen in my lifetime again. What are savings for, if not this? And while I can hardly contain my excitement regarding my trip, I’ll save the itinerary for another blog. As always pictures below. Hope this finds everyone well.
Hey då!
Vince
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Have a talked about the microwave situation here? I don’t think I have…So here in Sweden, when you make dinner, the standard is to make a double portion. (Just a side note: as far as cooking ingredients go, beef is horribly expensive, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. I don’t think the weather here is very conducive to growing them. But the days are getting longer and the weather warmer with every day…) Anyway, all the students all make twice as much and put the rest in Tupperware. The next day at lunch, (another side note: lunch is ALWAYS 12-1. Its not like America where people eat at all different times, almost every student eats from 12-1 without question) people all bring there Tupperware and go to these rooms that have anywhere from 8-25 microwaves. At lunch, the line to use microwaves is out the door. And everyone has his or her microwave lunch. It’s awesome because it’s so cost efficient, but it’s just so different for me to see the entire student body with microwave lunches! Just some more Swedish culture for ya:
-Sweden consumes the second most coffee in the world (per capita), second only to Norway
Speaking of states, I attended a “kravall” last night that was American spring break themed. First I should explain the kravall. The standard kravall is just a giant party in one of the schools buildings where everyone wears what they call overalls, but are essentially jumpsuits. Every major has a different color jumpsuit and you collect patches for your overalls, and people write on them as well. The amazing part is that the school building is turned into a giant club, with two dance floors, a live band, about 6 bars, and the first one I went to even included an ice bar outside. Anyway, the one I attended last night was spring break themed, and it was funny to see what all the Swedish think Americans wear. Girls were just in summery outfits, although a few were wearing an American flag (which I think is illegal in the states), but the guys all had on either beaters (including myself) or basketball jerseys and sunglasses. It is very fun to be an American here; people tend to enjoy talking to you. The first question I always get is “Out of all the places you could go, why are you in Sweden?” but I always tell them that I love everything about their country already and they should be proud. I'm glad I got to study somewhere non cliché like Sweden, its more exciting this way. As always, the pictures are below, mostly from Kravalls! Enjoy, hej då!
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Hope this finds everyone well. Life here is as normal, class as usual, big project this week. Next week I will be near the completion of Project Management which is a good feeling. Besides this, I got to go to see “The Venice of the Nordic” this weekend and head over to Stockholm. They call it this because, similar to Venice, the city is composed of several large islands.
The first you notice when you walk through Stockholm is its similarity to a medium sized American city (there’s about 2 million). It was just a feeling, perhaps encouraged 7Elevens every few feet and an abundance of American cars on the road. Since it is slightly north of Linköping, its slightly colder, and most the water was icy, which was a little creepy at times.
We arrived late Friday night, dropped our gear, and went out for a late dinner. We arrived at a recommended restaurant that was authentically Swedish, which was exactly what we were looking for. Even though we didn’t arrive until 9:30, the restaurant was still packed so we had a drink before getting our table and, by the time we got our food it was11:30. For me, that’s not a problem, I eat real late all the time, I think I’m a little weird. I got to try pickled herring for my appetizer, a delicacy in the Nordic. My main meat dish of course, came with potatoes; you can pretty much count on potatoes coming with any meal you might get.
Saturday morning, our whole group finally arrived, 13 in all, and we braved the fog and went to the Vasa museum. The Vasa is a 17th century ship commissioned by the King of Sweden, lavishly ornamented with detailed carvings and two gun decks, a first for the time. Unfortunately, its maiden voyage lasted only 20 minutes. After leaving the harbor, the ship sunk due to it being way too tall and way too narrow, water flooding into the bottom gun deck, and rocks stabilizing the base of boat being round and rolling when ship started to tip. The ship was forgotten for about 700 years until a man taking an ocean floor sample stumbled upon it and the Swedish government decided to bring it back up. Because of the salty Baltic, worms that would normally eat the wood didn’t, and the ship happened to sink in an area with low currents. Therefore, it is one of the best-preserved ships from this time ever found. Now we get to see it in the museum and you should definitely look at the pictures if you have the chance!
We took a walk through the city, through old town, which I’ve determined is the coolest part of any city, and had dinner at a medieval restaurant. The staff was all completely dressed in medieval garb, and the dishes made only with ingredients found at the time, the way they would have really been prepared. There were no spoons (cuz they didn’t have them at the time) and no lights, only candles. And we got mead. We spent the rest of that night out at one of the cities clubs.
The next day we woke and went at 1:00 to see the changing of the guards at the Kings Palace. Did I mention Sweden has a King? He lives in Stockholm, in a large but conservative palace. The changing of the guards was complete with a small band and drumline, and worth seeing. After a tour of the Palace and a quick stop to the Stockholm mall for the shopping, we took the train back to Linköping.
Its now 3AM and I’d have to say I’m a little sleepy. As always, pictures below. Enjoy!
Hej då!
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How is everyone? I miss you all. Cuz anyone who’s reading is someone who cares about me enough to take interest in my affairs, and that means something. So, if you’re reading, I miss you. Life has its ups and downs, but things that are flat and always provide the most stability are the things you don’t see until you need. I shipped my guitar from France, and somewhere between France and Sweden it got delayed, to the tune of 4 weeks. I’ve never been so stressed in my life. I never realized how much I turn to playing music as my rock, the thing that’s always there. Now I have it, and I’m happy again. Cept that it got all cracked on the here. And I’m a little ticked, but just having it makes me so happy that I don’t care.
The Swedish are crazy fun. I love them. There’s so much culture and traditions in all of Europe that we lack. I realized that the US doesn’t even have one solid, national drinking song. Every other country in the world seems to. Sweden’s is Helan Går. They also have crazy songs and festivals where they eat crawfish and dance around trees and crazy parties where they wear overalls. It’s so much more exciting than our country. And no shoes inside is like a social norm, not just a formality. And although I have not seen a single Swedish fish since I’ve entered this country, its about the only candy that Sweden doesn’t have. Every store has like a massive candy section, including like 50 bins of the candy that’s by the kilo and you scoop out. And sooo many EXTRA products. Like more gum varieties and mediums than I’ve ever seen, from pellets to sticks to round ones. AND potatoes, Jesus, they like potatoes. The standard is just straight up potatoes, peeled and boiled, served whole. Usually with sauce on it. But at my restaurant I work at, I’ve learned like 50 ways to cook potatoes.
Did I mention I got a job in the kitchen at a restaurant? Its awesome, I’m learning so much. I feel honored, I’m the first international student they have, my friend Mattias got me the job. I’m also the only one who doesn’t speak Swedish. But I’m trying to learn.
Class is really intense here. Its only one class at a time, and you have it for 5 weeks. But you devote a lot of time to it, and it’s a lot of work outside of class. The class is called project management, and is literally about the managing, coordination, and methodology behind projects, which is an increasingly prevalent way business are accomplishing tasks. And our teacher is really smart, he went to Harvard. And while there can be an arrogance among intellectuals, I just don’t see in him, he’s a genuinely nice guy. And while the Swedish schooling is tough, its also easier, because there is a capstone every Friday. You work real hard Mon-Fri, but the weekend is usually yours. And during class, 15 minute break every 45 minutes. Its good, you retain so much more. And they like to have “fika” which is a word for coffee break. I like that there’s a word for it, we should bring it to the states.
And that’s the update. I’ll be heading to Stockholm this weekend so yo’ull be hearing from me soon! As always pictures below, enjoy!
Hej då!
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Hope this finds everyone well. This begins my first Swedish blog! I’ve been getting settled in Sweden for the last week or so, after a long trip here. I got delayed in the airport for 27 hours before my flight finally left from Paris to Stockholm. After Stockholm, I met Marie and took a train to Linköping (pronounced “lynch-o-ping”).
Linköping is a fun town. It’s small and basically divided into three parts. The University, the downtown, and the shopping area, which includes IKEA. Downtown is quaint, but usually pretty busy. The campus area is pretty big, with about half a mile of buildings devoted strictly to the University. About 15 minutes biking distance from the campus is Ryd, where the student housing is. I can pretty much describe everything in Ryd fairly quickly: grocery, Thai, pizza, bike, tobacco, bar, housing. There are two restaurants, a grocery, a student bar, and a bike shop. Did I mention that everyone bikes here? And I mean everyone. It may be winter, but that doesn’t not stop the Linköping population from rocking their bikes to get around. So I got my bike, which I’m pretty sure is a women’s bike, and have been riding on that for the last week. It’s nice; it feels a little like before I had a car again. Anyway, there are some aspects of Sweden I’ve noticed which definitely require a mention:
-They use a system of currency called krona. Take a price, divide it by 10, and that’s your price in euros. Divide by 7 and that’s your price in dollars. Needless to say, I convert to euros because it’s easier to move a decimal point that it is to do long division in the grocery store. I.e. if something is 10 kroner, it’s about 1 euro or about $1.40. It is scary when your total is 550 kroner, but then I remember that’s only 55 euro.
-I’ve started my Swedish language training, which is much easier than French. However, there are 9 vowels. A e I o u y ä å ö
-It dark here for about 18 hours a day. From like 10-4 its light, and then the sun goes down. The weird thing is that the sun never gets high; it’s always a glare off to the side. But in the summer I hear it’s always light!
-So America does the date MM/DD/YYYY, France does DD/MM/YYYY (which to me makes the most sense), and Sweden does YYYY/MM/DD. It’s messing with my brain.
-They love fish here. They have like 50 types of caviar in tubes. They like tubes in general. Tomato paste in tubes, jam in tubes, anything jellylike in consistency can be in tube form.
-Words can be much bigger here. But they also jam words together. I.e. the word for street just goes with the street. So it’ll be like järnvägsgaten where gaten means street. It’s like going Chicagostreet as opposed to Chicago Street.
-The word for hello is hej, pronounced “hey”. So everyone is walking around going “hey” or “hey hey”. And goodbye is hey då, pronounced “hey doe” so when people say goodbye it sounds like hello.
-Alcohol is controlled by the government. Therefore, you have to buy your booze in one of two government stores in Linköping. Grocery stores only sell beer with up to 3.5% alcohol.
Anyway, I’m still getting acclimated here, but it’s been fun already. It’s a different campus atmosphere than I am used to. Its comparable to a state school located far from a city than the city school I am used to. Campus activities seem a vital part to the school environment. I’m excited to keep you all informed about my happenings. Pictures below, enjoy!
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Hej då!
Vince
First, I had to finish up in ECE. We had a final get together before everyone took off to his or her respective origins. Most the Americans went home for the break, but Emmett and I stayed here in France. Myself, I got to spend a French Christmas in the Pynrenees Mountains with Marie and her family. It was fantastic. The family lives in Tours, and we stopped there Sunday after a car ride with Calle and Sandrine, who were also spending some of the holidays together as well. Sandrine’s parents picked them up from Maries house after we all had lunch. Monday morning we left early for the mountains and arrived Monday afternoon. Their house in the mountains, though not a cabin, has a woodsy appeal. Its been passed down for several generations, and a privilege to stay in such a quaint area of the world. We used the fire for heat, hot water, and cooking, we didn’t watch TV, the whole works. In actuality, we didn’t spend too much time in the house except to eat and sleep. Every morning we woke around 7:30, ate breakfast and hit the ski slopes. If you arrive at opening, the slopes are practically empty. The Pyrenees are different than the Alps. Not as big or difficult, but less crowded and cheaper. The best plan is to arrive early, ski through lunch (while everyone else is at lunch) and then eat. The whole Marnay family skis or snowboards, and I got to spend some good time with them. I hope I can return the favor when Marie comes to the US. Dinners were all great. I cooked one evening, and contributed a salad one meal. Christmas Eve dinner consisted of Foie Gras and venison roasted over the fire, which was probably some of the best venison I’ve ever had. In Europe, the big evening is Christmas Eve, not Christmas day. They open presents on Christmas Eve as well. And the French Christmas is different. It’s not a shopping extravaganza to the tune of 2 months, its much more relaxed focused on family rather than gifts. At first I didn’t know what to get Marie’s family for Christmas. I knew that I wanted to get them something American, but 1, I wasn’t in America, and 2, I had no ideas anyway. However I eventually found out that stockings are American, and that almost none of Europe does them. So I found some stockings and stuffed them for the family. I think they enjoyed them, and I hope they can add it to their traditions from “that year the American came”. They even included me in the gift giving, with some homemade gifts from her mother and some other French themed items that will be great to remember the country with. After almost a week, I realized that after a few months with a French speaking family, I could have been much more fluent than I am now. In stores and restaurants, you are afraid to make mistakes, but around a family they can help you grow and not laugh too hard when you mess up. Anyway, I thank the Marnay family for their hospitality, I truly had a uniquely special Christmas, and I wont forget it.
The day after Christmas, I left around 5AM for the first of several early flights. This one was to Paris to pick up Lisa. Coordinating international pick ups is pretty difficult, because there are usually no phones involved. If someone gets lost, they are on their own. So I got nervous when Lisa didn’t emerge from her gate an hour and a half after her plane landed. I gave up and began walking to meeting point number 2 (the train station) when I spotted Lisa on the other side of customs behind the glass. Turns out she had been waiting for her luggage the whole time. So there we were, having not seen each other for 4 months, with a giant glass wall between us. I missed her much and she was so close but so far! When I finally got into customs (something your not really supposed to be able to do), we had our reunion and spent an hour in the lost baggage line. We then missed our train to Lyon because of the baggage fiasco. Overall, much more stressful day than planned. We did gain the sympathy of the ticket woman and caught the next train to Lyon. The next few days were spent touring Lyon, preparing for my permanent departure from Lyon, and most importantly, reuniting with Lisa after 4 months. It also consisted of several calls to AirFrance baggage per day. I did some things in Lyon I had always wanted to do, like trying all the crazy fruits and sausages from the French grocery store. Finally, when the AirFrance baggage center was good and sick of me, I got a phone call saying that Lisa’s luggage had arrived in the Lyon airport, which we were flying out of the next day anyway. The next morning I checked out of my apartment, got Lisa’s bags, and we took a flight to Venice.
Venice is amazing. The whole city is on the water, and its exactly how you might picture it. There are no cars, even the cops use boats. The streets are narrow, unorganized, unpaved, and its easy to get lost. But as Lisa put it “its ok to get lost here, cuz it’s all pretty”. The gondolas go up and down the rivers, but be ready to drop about 100euro to ride one. Pizzerias fill the streets, and lots of seafood (it is on water). There are a ton of mask shops as well. The main square is Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). It is the giant basilica, the bell tower, and a giant square where the New Years bash was held. And there are lots of pigeons, which is actually a famous part of the square. Instead of fighting the tremendous New Years crowd for dinner, we ate appetizers at a local bar and went to the party after that. The square was packed, had to be a couple thousand people, and they put on a giant concert. Right after midnight, there were fireworks over the Adriatic Sea. After one more day exploring Venice, going out to a nice dinner and some homemade gelato, we got ready to leave at 4AM the next morning. Next stop Paris.
A water taxi, plane, bus, and train later (in that order), we arrived at our hotel in Paris, Grand Hotel Leveque. Our street in Paris was called rue Cler, and it’s a street only minutes from the Eiffel tower. It’s filled with open air stands, a mini market in the hustle of the big city. Our first stop was the basilica on the hill, Scare Coeur (sacred heart). If any of you ever have the chance to visit DO NOT give anyone your hand if they ask. Luckily, I was warned about this before I went. The people tie a bracelet on your finger and you cannot get it off, then they demand 10 euro for it. You would think it would be easy to avoid, but you have to be forceful-they stand in your way and physically grab you. Anyway, if you make it through the traps, the view from the top of the hill is wonderful. We then went two train stops over and saw the famous Moulin Rouge (red mill) and red light district. We ended our evening by climbing the Eiffel Tower and seeing the nighttime landscape of the city. It’s amazing that the structure made for the 1889 World Fair became the icon it is today. After a classic French dinner of mussels and fries, it was off to bed after a 20 hour day. The next day we saw Notre Dame (our lady), the graves of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison at Pere Lachaise cemetery, and the Arc de Triomphe. The last day started with St. Chapelle church, a gothic church full of stained glass, and an adjacent building called the Conciergerie. The Conciergerie was a prison during the French Revelution where people waited before execution, and it also held Marie Antoinette. If you were a prisoner there, your future was either innocence or death, no in-between. The last hours of the day were spent in the Louvre. I finally got to see the Mona Lisa, and others including Winged Victory, Madonna on the Rocks, the Dying Slave, and Venus de Milo. That night for dinner Lisa and I got to try frog legs (which do in fact taste like chicken) and escargot.
Things have changed since I began this blog. I am now in Linkoping, Sweden. My flight was not merely delayed for 5 hours as I said earlier, but about 27 hours. I spent the night in the airport. I was lucky-Lisa’s flight was cancelled too, so although we had to spend it in the airport, we had one more night together before our 5 month hiatus. It was great to see her again. It was nice to share some of my experience with her, because since she can’t be here with me, I wanted to at least show her everything. I’m definitely lucky. I know it. They aren’t many 20 years olds spending Christmas in the French mountains, Venice, and Paris. I think we all here realize that we’ve been lead to a fantastic program.
So France is over. I hope you all have enjoyed my blog posts over the last four months as much as I have enjoyed writing them. After my experience in the most visited country in the world, I can say that there is a reason it claims the title. It is a fantastic place to visit, filled with wonderful, cultured people and a deep history. Life is slower which is part of its charm. However, for me, I would miss the pace of life and way of living I am used to. Either way, I hope to visit it again, although when I will get the chance is certainly unknown.
In the next week, I will post Sweden blog number 1. Pictures are below, 3 albums. Until then, enjoy!
Vince
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
Last weekend was the Fete de Lumieres, a giant light festival in dedication to Mary in Lyon. The culmination happens on December 8th where everyone in Lyon puts candles in their window. Did I mention it attracts over 4 million people? The whole weekend, all the major sights, and even roads and non-major sights, are lit up with all kinds of colors. The highlight of the festival is a giant light show in the center of town (Place de Terreaux). A giant light show is projected onto the buildings, but it’s like no light show you have ever seen. The buildings are not merely canvases for the lights, but rather part of the spectacle. This years theme was a little boy who’s imagination keeps him up at night. Giant bears, robots, fire trucks sailing across ledges, parachuting men climbing on walls, and floating bubbles. I can’t do it justice, so you’ll have to see the youtube video and check it out yourself. My friend Tony took this video, you can actually hear me at the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NljcGsVa
I’ve got pictures from the fete de lumieres at the bottom as well.
The last two weeks were the end of traditional classes and exams. Exams went well enough, my French test was surprisingly easy. I’m not really sure of any of my grades because the French system is grades out of 20. But I was told that no one can attain 20, 19 is God, 18 is the professor, and 17 is the best you could hope to do. Which really doesn’t translate to my A-F excluding E system. And Swedish simplify it even more: Pass well, pass, and fail. We’ll see how it turns out. In the meantime, the French and Swedish are stressing about grades because it in part determines if they can attend where they would like next year, either Western Illinois University or DePaul University. Whoever comes, I’m excited to show them the city.
On Friday, 7 of us went to Tommy’s apartment in the French Alps for a weekend of skiing. The Alps make Boston Mills/Brandywine look like a park of Bunny Hills. Giant slopes, 10-15 minutes up, and the same time down. Saturday was perfect: sunny, not windy, not snowing, a full day of boarding from 9-5. Since it’s early in the season, the resort was empty, and we were literally the only ones on some slopes. Plus, we got brand new rental equipment. Sunday proved slightly more challenging: windy, snowing, cold, zero visibility. We didn’t last very long, skiers from beginner to advanced, easy slopes to hard slopes, were dropping a hard as the snow was falling. Plus, most lifts were closed due to the wind so there was a huge backup. Only 1 truly nasty fall, which involved me falling, DJ not being able to stop and running into my back with his board. There’s gonna be a bruise tomorrow. Poor Emmett had to learn from scratch, a commendable feat in the French Alps. Never thought those years of boarding in Ohio would serve me in the French Alps 5 years later. I’m lucky enough to hopefully ski in the Pyrenees Mountains next week with Marie and her family, pending the weather. In the meantime, I have a business game this week and then its Christmas plans. I’ll keep in touch, but I might not be until after an incredibly busy Holidays, that I’m sure everyone will share in. In case we don’t talk, Happy Holidays everyone! Pictures below. A bientot!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
Vince
Adam arrived in Lyon on Wednesday. I’m quite amazed he made it. He had to get from Charles de Gaulle airport to downtown Paris, get to Gare de Lyon, and then take a train from Paris to Lyon. He doesn’t speak French by the way. Good job Adam. Anyway, he got here and we started with some exploring of Lyon. I took him to Place de Bellcour and the basilica and all the important sights. We spent the evening in Wallace, a bar in Lyon, and he got to meet a bunch of people from my program. Besides Adam complaining about 5 euro beers, we had an awesome time.
The next day revolved around Thanksgiving. I had arranged a giant Thanksgiving dinner (30 people), which was no small undertaking. The French don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, so a lot of the food was hard to come by. My first challenge was the turkey. Here, you cant just buy a whole turkey, so I had to order it from the butcher. For 23 pounds of turkey or so, it was 200 euro. And to think in America they practically gives them away free for marketing. Anyway, the other foreign concept was sweet potatoes. The French thought I was a little crazy. Throughout the day, I got many a phone call from people going through Thanksgiving crisis. I had my own with the gravy, I barely got it done in time, and then the taxi didn’t want to let me in the cab with it, it was a little nuts. I pleased to say that it was pulled off phenomenally. There was enough food, everyone pitched in, we had no freeloaders, and I’m pretty sure everyone had a great time. After words, we spent one last night in old Lyon at our favorite pub, St. James.
Early Friday we left for Paris. We went to our hotel and checked in. We later learned that this hotel just gives out keys if you say a number. For instance, we had a new person at the desk, but all we had to do was say our room number, and we get the key, no ID check or anything. O well. Anyway, we spent the first day checking our Notre Dame and the Lourve. Got to go into Notre Dame and tour it, and we saw the outside of the Louvre. Later that night we went out to dinner with my friend Jenny from the program who also happened to be in Paris with her friend. The next morning we got to see the Arc de Triomphe and later the Eiffel Tower. That was awesome because we got to go in the tower and see the city at night from above. Lots of stairs though. We went out that evening to the bar district near Notre Dame, close to where we lived with my other friend from my program who was also in Paris, Flo. The last day we took a train to the Château de Versaille. It was so cool to see the giant castle and realize that someone had once lived there. That night we ended up having an unexpected great time meeting some people in a bar from Boston and a really drunk French man who bought us drinks. The next morning proved very hectic, as I had to make my way all over the city to get my Swedish visa while Adam left for the airport. He left early Monday, and from what I hear is back alive.
All in all, it was a great weekend, and as always, there are plenty of picture to go along with it. The links are below. A bientot!
Vince
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
I've been getting messages from many of you asking what the French perspective on the US election was. I figured I would make a quick post explaining what I've found!
I feel I can speak relatively intelligently about this subject, as I've already been here for two months. I've also had a French student read this, I wanted to make sure I got my facts right before I relayed it several thousand miles. I have my opinions, but I pride myself on being able to be moderate as possible. The first thing to know is that the French love politics. They also speak more freely about politics than in the US. In the US, many (except for my overwhelmingly strong spoken generation) keep votes to themselves, and see it as a personal preference rather than a conversation starter. Here, politics are part of the culture.
In addition, the interest in American politics is much larger than say, Americans interest in politics anywhere else in the world. Newspapers here have had the front page consumed with American election news for several weeks. Can you imagine a American newspaper with the French election consistently on the front page? We are a world power and, as evident from the crisis that has trickled over to Europe, we affect everyone with out actions. I have spoken to many of the Swedish students and they say that in Sweden, the American election is of more interest than their own election.
That said, France is Liberal. I don’t think I have spoken to one Frenchman who is pro McCain. However, you have to look at the French government to understand why this is. The first factor is that the French Government votes between the Democratic party (its called Union for a popular movement, or UMP, but is essentially right leaning democrat) and the Socialist party. There is no Republican party except as a minority, the way the Green Party or Socialist Party is in the US. Therefore, the idea of a Republican is so far right, it is very extreme for the French. I put a scale below.
|Democrat|------------US----------|Repu
The second factor is the French malcontent with the Iraq war. The French government opposed the US entering Iraq since it was first voted upon in the UN. I don’t know if you remember the whole “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” movement, but it was after the French did not support us in the Iraq war.
The last factor is that the US economic crisis that is now affecting the French. Very similar to the US, the incumbent party is blamed for current economic woes. After further investigation, its clear that other factors like the extended business cycle from the .com boom and mortgage crisis profoundly influenced it as well. However, the perception is that the Republican party is responsible, and so it simply confirms their beliefs.
I hope this helps explain some of the French views on the US election. Similar to the US, Obama is perceived as progress and change. The perception is that the French are rude and despise the US (not true), and yet they are excited about Obama. Regardless of my vote, I see Obama inspiring excitement everywhere, where as the Republicans are voting for more of an anti-vote. Although, you could just as easily say that the Liberals are simply voting for change from president Bush in any form, regardless of how it is packaged. Either way, I stayed up all night (litterally, results didnt even come in here until 6AM), and I'm sure I wasn't alone. And as always, the most important is the act of voting itself, whoever wins. Happy future voting!
Marie, Emmett, Anthony, Mark, and I picked up our Alamo rental car and left around 1:00 Friday. While the trip should have been 5-7 hours at most, our GPS sabotaged us and it took us about 11 hours to arrive. Damn technology. We arrived at out hostel, which was a true hostel. People from Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, the US, were all there, many simply traveling for the sake of traveling. I got to try Vegamite, the Australian peanut butter! Awful. I hate it as much as they hate peanut butter, which is quite a lot. When I tell Europeans bout Reese’s, they think I’m crazy. And small world, one of the Australians knew Anthony from the Atlantis program last year! Anyway, after some socializing, we went to sleep and work up the next morning hungry.
We went to a tapas bar, and got a few plates. Tapas are small appetizers that cost 2-6 euro. The point is to be able to try several dishes at once. They are fun, but a little overpriced. We took a walk to one of the most monumental European sites I’ve seen so far: The Sagrada Familia, a massive Roman Catholic Church in downtown Barcelona. The kicker: its not done yet. It has been under construction since 1882, and remains to this day. I didn’t know this at first, so as we walked in, I was a little angry that I was just charged 10 euro to see construction. But after some explaining, you realize that it is like seeing the construction of Notre Dame. Its completion will be in 2025. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to return and say I was there when. There are many churches in Barcelona, as Spain is such a religious country. That evening, we visited the Park Guell, designed by the same architect, Antoni Gaudi, who designed the Sangrada Familia. Although I wish we could have visited during the day, its monumental pillars and fantastic location was worth the visit. That evening, we participated in the famous Spain party scene. Mark and I stayed out relatively late, hitting a bar and later a club with several of our hostel friends.
The next morning, the rain made our trip more difficult. After checking out a few more churches, we hit the beach to see the Barcelona coast and an apparent massive portrait of Obama produced in the sand. After about an hour of walking, we found a beach employee who said that it was not completed. Darn. We then went to the Olympic Park where the 1992 Olympics were held. That was very cool, we got to see the torch and stadiums. The evening we went to old Barcelona and went to a completely authentic Spanish tapas bar, with the best sangria I’ve ever had. There was even a Spanish Magician.
We left real early Monday and arrived in Andorra around 2:00. Andorra is a small, mountain surrounded country, between Spain and France. Only 181 sq. miles, its economy revolves around tourism. It is duty free, and consists of many tobacco, alcohol, jewelry, and electronic stores. After a quick tour and a small town diner, we hoped back in the car to France. One more stop to go- Carcassonne. However, the drive was part of the trip. The drive through the Pyrenees Mountains in Southwest France was fantastic; wait until you see the pictures. Carcassonne is a castle town, with a long history, but really fortified beginning in 100BC. It is a completely protected town, with walls around the city and the main castle inside walls. Rumor has it that once, while under siege, the queen waited until almost all the food was gone, and gave instructions to thrown the last pig over the wall. The invading army assumed that they must have tons of food if they are throwing it over walls, and left. We ate some Cassolet, a traditional South West France dish that is basically a lot of white beans and sausage. Finally, we arrived home in Lyon at around 2:00 AM.
Other than the trip, class is going well. We had a seminar the other day from an incredibly smart economist who was able to explain the financial crisis from the beginning, being specific while understandable. This week I start Information System Management. As always, pictures below, and some are a must see! A Bientót!
Vince
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
Bonjour! I am on a train on my way to the “French Florida”, Nice. Nice is in Southeast France, very close to the Italian border. We hope that the beaches are warm enough (supposed to be 75’, can you pull a beach off with that?) and we are going to try to also visit Monoco, the second smallest country in the world (next to Vatican City). The population is only around 30,000. There is no income tax, which is why everything is so expensive, as the sales tax is huge. A lot of famous people have “houses” in Nice, including Elton John, Sean Conery, and Mick Jagger. I’m excited for the seafood, I really want to get some bouillabaisse, which is like a micro ocean: it has muscles, clams, shrimp, scallops, and other fish in a broth. If any of you have heard of a nicoise salad, this is where it’s from. Accompanying me on my trip is Anthony, who we have renamed Antwon, and Mark. We are staying in a hostel, which is exciting because I have yet to do that. My lodging was actually cheaper than my train fare. And I’m finally putting my Rick Steves “France” book to use. Up until now, I’ve brought a French person everywhere.
We decided the way to learn French is to wean ourselves from French company. When I have no one to translate, I’m forced to speak myself. Today at the grocery, where normally I would have gone without a bag because it’s to hard to express, I asked for a bag. The other day I asked for just pita bread from the kebab shop. It’s little steps, but it matters. I have definitely learned that to learn, you have to be willing to look a little foolish. Hopefully one day Ill be able to look back and say, remember when I couldn’t even ask for a bag? I will say that this language is incredibly difficult. The worst is I never know when an object is masculine or feminine. Many times I’ve asked for a male baguette (un baguette), when it’s a female baguette (une baguette). But people just giggle and proceed to give me a baguette anyway, so I guess that’s what really matters.
I am constantly amazed by the Swedish culture, particularly in their ability to speak fluent English. At first I thought, well possibly only the people in our program speak this well, but I’ve met several outside the program and they all speak the same. Imagine if EVERYONE (well, everyone under 50 or so: I hear older Swedish know German) in the US spoke fluent English and Spanish. The Swedish work ethic seems more intense as well. They are always the people with the project or paper completed first, while the Americans prefer to stay up till 4 or 5 AM the night before. Did you know all Swedish males are required to serve in their military after high school? There are ways around it I hear, but Par described it as a sort of “rite of passage“ for Swedish males.
Anyway, I had to get away this weekend. I know I’ve been traveling a lot, but the number 1 advice before I left was to travel as much as you can. Last weekend we had a four-day a weekend and I was pretty bored by the end of it. Although I did get to go bowling and have some French Tex-Mex. Since this weekend was a four-day weekend again, I couldn’t pass it up, even if plans were a little rushed. My personality hates cramming in last minute plans, but I’m already glad I went and I’m only on the train: the scenery here is gorgeous. Everywhere. Period.
I thank everyone and everything that gave me the opportunity to come here, my luck is bottomless. I miss Chicago, I miss my friends and family, I miss Lisa, but it’s them who gave me the strength to risk this journey. “Everybody is just a stranger, but that’s the danger in going my own way.” Thanks to everyone who reads and enjoys this blog. I have one hour until Nice. On Sunday, I’ll be writing again.
_______________________________________
It’s Sunday! I’m sitting in the laundry mat after my Nice trip, and it was fantastic! We arrived Thursday around 2, and arrived at our hostel. The man working at the time spoke little English, and I managed to say, hello, how are you, we have a reservation for three under Anter, all in French. It was exciting. We got lunch at a Chinese place (I know its Chinese and I’m in France, but we have no Chinese places near us and I really missed it). We began our walk through Nice, down to the coast, and to the old castle. The coast is different as it is all rocks, but they have patches where they bring in sand. The old castle up on the hill was beautiful and gave a wonderful view of the city. We proceeded to have dinner at an all you can eat mussel and fry place for only 13 euro. Mussels and fries are very common here, especially by the coast. We then proceeded to grab a case of beer and hit the beach, a ritual we continued every night. Just sitting, drinking a few beers, talking, and enjoying the Mediterranean Sea. It’s apparently quite popular, the beach was always still rocking past midnight.
The next morning we went and saw the Russian Cathedral, said to be the best outside Russia. After a late lunch, Mark and I went to the beach to actually go in the sea. It was a bit cold, but nothing you didn’t get used to. We then rented bikes and biked along the coast, my favorite way to see any city if you can manage. Dinner was classic Nicoise/Italian (we are so close to the Italian border that Nice is heavily influenced by Italy). After dinner, we chilled on the beach a while, and proceeded to hit some of the bars in Old Nice, meeting plenty of people along the way- Columbian, British, Canadian, you name it.
The next day took the bus (only 1 euro) to Monaco, the second smallest country in the world, and the highest income per capita. It was evident; the place was swarming with maseratis, bentleys, ferraris, rolls royce. We got to see the exotic garden, which was really just cacti from every place imaginable, a real cool cave, Old Monaco, and Monaco’s claim to fame, their Casino. The Monte Carlo is one of the most popular casinos in Europe, and much classier than Vegas, not as much gaud. There was also a soccer game going on, and the city was crazy, there was a huge motorcycle brigade with flares, smoke, and screaming. Eventually, we took a train back to Nice and hit the beach for one last evening.
As always, plenty of pictures below, first album is Nice and second is Monaco. Hope you enjoy! A bientot!
Vince
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
So this weekend I spent 16 hours driving in a car to and from Munich, Germany to attend the one and only Oktoberfest. First the week: Classes are going as well as expected. French has gotten more difficult, but its good to be challenged. We had a speaker present on supply chain management and it was definitely worth the price of admission. And I've learned that money transfer is difficult here. Anyway, classes went by quick this week, and the weekend came fast.
Oktoberfest. We had no hotel, just 14 friends, 3 cars, and I brought some carrots for good measure (they don’t need refrigeration and are a source of vitamin A :-) ). We left at 5PM Friday night, traveling east to Switzerland, though Switzerland to Austria (briefly), and north to Munich. It's important to note the Switzerland is not part of the European Union, but that comes into play later. We also got to take the Autobahn, which was awesome. We arrived in Munich around 4AM, glanced at the Oktoberfest main entrance, and looked for somewhere to park the car to sleep. We nestled our car with a group of RV's and slept until 8AM. At 8, a loud-speaker told us in German "you cannot park here!". So a caravan of RV's and a few of us cars left in a line like big and small elephants in the circus. It was ok, because we were told to be at the fest by 8AM anyway.
We set out, and the amount of people awake at 8:30 to drink beer was astonishing. There are 6 main beer tents, and the lines built up for them by 8:30. When the doors opened at 9:00, it was like if The Beatles could hold a reunion tour. I think I could have lifted my feet off the ground and still been carried inside the tent. There was a mad dash for tables, because you can only get beer if you have a seat. Unfortunately my group was only able to get 4 seats, which meant we had to switch off to order. Turns out that doesn’t really matter when beer comes in liters. Literal liters. Around 8E ($12) a liter. The cups are incredibly heavy, and even heavier when you fill them with beer. The servers took 10 at a time. Ten! Five on each hand!
Anyway, as you can imagine, things were pretty crazy by noon. Every once in a while all the Germans in the place would start screaming and then sing the intro to "7 Nation Army" by the White Stripes, which I still don’t understand. There were people all over in the traditional lederhosen and German garb. The fairgrounds are absolutely huge, and by evening the place is packed and out of control. I think the idea for Oktoberfest was a couple guys thinking, "Hey, how many people do you think we can get drunk at the same time?" After a morning of festivities, my car passengers took a nap, spent the evening simply observing and touring the fair. We decided we were going to go early as to make for an easier drive. We swapped for one passenger from another car in the process (this is important).
After 2 hours heading back, we arrived at the Swiss boarder. Since Switzerland is not part of the European Union, it’s not like traveling from state to state, and there is boarder patrol. Apparently, the Swiss and French have some kind of rivalry, (said Tommy, our French driver) and love to nail the French as much as Ohioans love to nail Michiganians (Michiganese? Michigan-ans?). The guard stopped us and asked for passports. Our new passenger (you know who you are) proceeded to tell us his passport was in the other car. Our boarder guard told us to turn around. Without remorse. Doesn’t matter where you come from or how long you've traveled, no passport, no entry. We now had five options:
1: Go back and get the passport (2 hours each way)
We went with option one. Added 4 hours to the trip, but wait it gets better. This time on the way back, we got stopped in Austria (this is our 4th time through, we unknowingly avoided this 3 times) and were told that Austria, like Switzerland, requires a sticker, only 7E. Since we were already in Austria by about 4km, the sticker drastically jumps price to a fine of 120E. Thats $180. And of course, we are not even checked our second time going through the Swiss boarder. The moral of the story? Always have your passport, and what does Switzerland have against the EU? I now see why most choose public transportation here.
I am now home. I've showered, unpacked, and prepared for the week. Despite the some misfortune, I would do it all again. It at least gives me a story to tell and a slightly more entertaining blog for you. As always, pictures below. Hope this finds everyone in good health, and have a good week!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
A bientot!
Vince
Last week was business as usual as far as class was concerned. The weekend was where the fun started. Friday was a freshman initiation ceremony/party. Basically, the ECE upperclassmen get to haze the freshman. As in throw eggs at them and have them do pushups and anything else they want. It’s in good taste, but nevertheless definitely not something you could get away with in the US. Friday night I had an excellent kebab. It’s hard to find a good kebab because there are so many shops and it’s overwhelming. Downtown we have what we call Kebab Street, with over 7 or 8 kebab shops within 200 feet. Then there’s second Kebab Street around the corner, which is where I found my awesome kebab. Saturday night we went to what is called a Bouchon. The word literally means “cork” “traffic jam” or the type of Lyonnais restaurant we went too. It is traditional Lyonnais cuisine that was originally a restaurant for the working class characterized by using the parts of the animal that no one wanted to use. I tried things I have definitely never tried:
-cow snout and pigs hooves
-my appetizer, foir gras ravioli wit truffles (foir gras is the goose liver where the stuff food down the gooses throat so the liver swells: it was illegal in Chicago for 2 years)
-my entrée, which was baby cow head
-tripe (cow intestines)
Don’t worry, it’s all on camera. Sunday, the city was open to the public. I got to go inside the Opera house, city hall, and the museum of contemporary art. The Opera house was very disappointing. From the outside it looks beautiful, but it was very modern inside which is not what I was expecting. Hotel de Ville (city hall) was nice to see as well, but the best was the museum of contemporary art. Pictures were not permitted so I’ll have to describe as best I can. It was three floors, the first with an assortment of art and the top two devoted to artist expositions. The second floor was a tribute/criticism of the US for losing God and its values and embracing corruption, sex, drugs and alcohol, and forgetting our place in the world. It was one of the most powerful things I have ever seen. One room had a flaming demolished car on a platform of broken beer bottles, and in an adjacent case were drinking glasses with fingerprints and signatures on them, giving them identities. The room that followed was simply a hallway of body bags. Another room was completely dark with large black lights of the seven deadly sins. As you walk in you are astonished, and as you linger in the room it becomes overwhelming, piercing and borderline blinding, which I believe was the artist’s intention.
Early in the week I had the privilege of having some authentic Swedish meatballs. I claim they are authentic because I’ve decided that authentic is determined by the nationality of the chef, not country in which you reside. And the three Swedish guys (actually mostly Mattias) made the meal. They actually don’t call them Swedish meatballs, just meatballs. And the French call French fries just fries. But, they call our pancakes American pancakes.
Here are the pictures of the this part of the blog…
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?ai
I am near my arrival in Tours, so I will write again on the way home!
Hello again! I am listening to “Stop This Train” (which is now a train riding ritual) and am on my way back to Lyon after a fantastic weekend. After arriving late Friday we left early Saturday morning to head off to a vineyard named Saumur-Champigny in the Vallee de la Loire. We began with a wine tasting, which was awesome. I ended up purchasing a couple 2005 old vine reds (a good year for reds) and a 2006 white was probably one of the best whites I’ve had. We were then given a tour of the vineyard; saw the bottling area, the vines, the production area, and the best part, the underground cellar. This particular one has over a quarter million bottles in it. On the way home we stopped at the Castle of Langleais, which is a medieval castle in the town of Langleais. Dinner that night was put on by Marie’s parents and was foir gras, duck wing and tenderloin, and homemade tiramisu. All was so spectacular. Early the next morning, we went to the largest castle of the area, Chambord. It was built by King Francis, has 282 fireplaces (falsely paraded as 365: one for every day), and 426 rooms. The pictures say more than I can. The weekend also consisted of bike rides, basketball, ping-pong, frisbee, and soccer with Marie’s two younger brothers and the 6 of us.
One thing that is definitely noticeable about the French culture is their ability to enjoy and simplify life. It is no wonder so many Americans dream of a French retirement. Life is slower here. People cherish experiences more than objects. When I was in Chamonix, there was a group of 20 something seniors who were on the train up the mountain with us, laughing and enjoying their time together, in a manner I have never seen from people over 60 in the US. Marie’s house is surrounded by farm, her mother practices and teachers bookbinding, and they ski as a family every year. I do hope that my generation gets the opportunity to embrace and understand more than their own culture.
Pictures below, two more albums, and there are a lot of them! Enjoy!
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?ai
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?ai
Vince
Hello again! I'm writing to you late on a Sunday night after returning from a weekend trip the French Alps. But first the week-
I was finally able to head to Ikea and get some necessities such as a blanket, sheets, wine glasses, and a cutting board. You'd be amazed how difficult it is to find somewhere you can chop if you don’t have a cutting board. I also hit the Le Marche St. Antoine which the largest outdoor market here in Lyon. I will definitely be making the trip again. My roommate and I stocked up on fresh food for a week on 30E (E=euros, or about $43 dollars), and that was with a slice of 9E cheese. We were not aware the cheese was going to be 9E. I then proceeded to stop at the store and buy shampoo when I intended to buy body wash. Darn. Now I have too much shampoo and no body wash. You should see the bottle though; you would think it was body wash too. And it was with all the other body wash. Anyway, the week consisted of light classes with French almost every day. Although I can't tell the difference between shampoo and body wash, I'm swear I'm improving. I think I'm going to take Spanish too, since I would like to brush up in case I go to Spain. On the trip this weekend I thought I heard people speaking Spanish because they said "si" and they asked me to take a picture for them. I counted to three/asked if they wanted one more shot IN SPANISH, at which point Mark informed me they were speaking Italian. Oops. Anyway, Thursday night the Swedish gents and me went down to the bar that’s right next to our building. They had a live Spanish guitar player who was awesome to listen to. Since we had to be up to leave early Saturday, I decided to cook for everyone Friday night, and I have to say I was pretty proud. I'm good at cooking for two, but six gets challenging. The menu:
-tossed salad with market fresh peppers, tomato, red onion, and a home made spicy vinegar mustard dressin
-baked potatoes with green onions
Best part? It only cost everyone like 2E a person.
All 25 of us met at the bus around 7:45AM Saturday to head to the Alps. Well all but one. Mark missed and had to take the train later that day. We first arrived in Annecy, which is a town directly east of Lyon. It's a mountain town that was just gorgeous. There is a river that runs right through the town. Unfortunately, it rained ALL day. Even with an umbrella, we all got soaked (you'll be able to see in some of the pictures. Either way, we decided to make lemonade and tough it out. We got a coffee, saw a lot of the city, and then grabbed some lunch. I got a pizza (but French style...with fancy cheese on it and such), but traded some to Aaron who thought he was ordering a fish fillet but actually got a bunch of little baby minnow looking fish that were breaded and fried, heads on them and everything. They weren’t bad, but I dunno if I'll be ordering them again. Next came a bus ride to Chamois, which is a little farther east and north. Chamonix (pronounced sham-o-knee) is a ski town, full of lodges, lifts, and such. It's really pretty because you are enclosed in mountains. The pictures describe it better. The town is relaxed right now since it is not ski season yet. Mont Blanc is the highest, which is highest of the Alps and Western Europe. We couldn’t really see the tops of the mountains because it was still rainy and overcast, but it cleared up a little the next day. After exploring the city and dinner, we all ended up going to a dance club for the evening. This morning we rode a train to the middle of one of the mountains. The lift (which actually descended-is that still a lift?) to the Ice Grotto was closed, so a hike it was. It took about 30 minutes to hike down, and let me tell you it was a hike. There were no stairs or sidewalks, simply a rocky path. However, I was grateful the lift was closed, as the hike was the best part of my trip. At the bottom came the glacier, which was unreal. We actually got to go inside the glacier and see the surrounding crevasse from all angles. After an hour hike back up and lunch (some sausage famous to the region and pasta) we took the trip home. This is definitely a week to look at the pictures, there are some cool ones!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
Thanks for reading,
A Bientot!
Vince
I wish I could say I am sitting in a coffee shop have a "cafè" (which is the word for coffee but really means you want an espresso; standard is the espresso with sugar and a shot glass of water on the side) while writing to you. That was the original plan, but unfortunately everything is closed on Sunday. And I mean near EVERYTHING. Your choices are pizza and kebab shops. Lucky for me, I live above a kebab shop. Either way, its 2AM regardless. Truth is I'm sitting in my room listening to James Taylor after watching The Dark Knight for a second time, as well as several episodes of 6 Feet Under with my roommate. Good news is I'm a little more oriented since I wrote last. My fridge is not empty any more, just near barren. There’s a guitar sitting on my bed, I went out and got one. I can’t be guitarless for 9 months, I'd feel naked. Still don't have sheets though. You'd think I'd make that a higher priority than guitar, but that’s a musician for you. Did first load of laundry, which is another thing that’s difficult if you don't read French. It makes me want to conserve, because it was a 4.50 euro (or $6.30) affair. Ouch.
Speaking of ouch, I had the opportunity to attend a rugby game this week. It's similar to football, less the pads. I don’t know how they do it. Flo (Florian, one of the French students) wants us to join the ECE Rugby team with him. Not sure I could handle it, anyone who knows me knows I'm a minimalist when it comes to athleticism. Went on a run today though, along the Rhone river. It's very pretty, but no lake Michigan. Friday the school we are attending took all the international students (that included some from other programs as well; Lithuania, Spain, Mexico, Czech Republic, etc.) out to a Brazilian restaurant. It was like a real life Brazza grill and it was fantastic. Fried plantains, all kinds of meats brought out on swords and the school even paid for drinks at wine! To a point, anyway. And I fit in some class! One class of French, History of Lyon, Intercultural Communication, and French Political Institution. You know that if the public is unhappy and the President sees fit he can "dissolve” congress? As in clean house and just get rid of everyone. It's happened too. Got to go on a bus tour of Lyon as well. It was a double decker and it rained, but we manned up and stayed on top anyway. And, some other observations:
-coke comes in 1.5 liters, not 2
Once again, below is the link to pictures! Thanks for reading!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
Until next time,
Vince
The advice given to me before my trip varied, from
1-Take in everything you can. (I got a lot in the genre)
to
2- Dude, you don’t know French? You should really learn French.
to
3-Heinkens are not twist off. (That’s older advice, but it still applies)
I've been in Lyon for 5 days now, and there has been no lack of things to do, nor expenses to be had. Moving to another country, even temporarily, is incredibly expensive, especially with a weak dollar. We are jealous of the French and Swedish students who will live like kings when they come to America. The ride was relatively painless, except that overseas a night of sleep is lost. I arrived at 1AM US time, but in France it was 8AM and time to start a new day. My first night was spent getting settled and sleeping. I have a roommate named Emmett, and our building has lots of American students in it. The French students have been INCREDIBLY helpful, and us stupid, loud, monolingual Americans would have been lost without them. Even though the perception is the "rude" French, it’s really an outdated stereotype. If you stick to some basic rules, don’t ACT stupid, loud, and monolingual, they have no problem with you.
1-Say hello, goodbye, and thank you all the time and SAY IT IN FRENCH. Do we not get angry when Mexicans or any other nationality refuse to learn the basics of our language?
2- Repeat step 1
It's really that simple. It's no substitute for actually learning French, but until that time comes, it works. That time is tomorrow...my first day of French class. After a weekend of meeting, greeting, settling, seeing, buying cell phones, buying internet, buying groceries, buying train passes, buying sheets (actually that one is still on the list-I'm still sleeping under a towel), buying and eating kebabs and frozen pizzas (made on stove top-they don’t do ovens here), I am finally starting some actual class tomorrow. Just some more fun facts:
-they don’t wear undershirts
-middle easterners are the Mexicans of France. theres a kebab stand every 2 feet
-they sell whole skinned rabbits in the grocery store
-the wine is cheap and fantastic
-there’s no chipotle. I knew that, I'm just still mourning.
-the shower isn’t really a shower. its a faucet at waist level that you have to hold
-everything is closed on Sunday
-phone numbers are like this: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
-they don’t do kool-aid, but a syrup that you add to water
-I still don’t really know how I'm going to function without an oven. I still don’t really know how THEY function without an oven.
-they party way harder than us like its nothing
-it’s hard to tell the difference between sour cream and yogurt when you cant read the labels
I'm going to keep blogging as much as I can, for everyone to read and for my own posterity. The best way to reach me is to comment on this blog or by email: vanter@students.depaul.edu. Below is the link the first set of pictures and below that is a link to my St. Louis trip I took a few weeks ago, if anyone was interested.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21
Thanks for reading, a bientôt!
- Location:Lyon
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