The beginning... part two.

First off, I must apologize for how long it has been. It has been very crazy around here, and I've been trying to focus on transfer applications, as well as balancing my school work with maintaining my social life and just living a Swiss life. It's been really great thus far, but like everything in life, there have definitely been a few snags here and there. Nothing too bad, and I've been able to keep my spirits high these last few weeks in Switzerland. It seems like everything is going by in a blur. I have just over 40 days left in this country, a country that has truly been home for these past seven months. I'm not going to make this some solemn "good bye to Switzerland" post, because I'm sure that will come in the coming weeks, and maybe even once I'm back in the states (assuming I can get up-to-date a lot faster than last Academic Travel...) That being said.. would you like to go on an adventure? Muy bien! 

I don't know why Spanish was my go-to language there... oh well. European Problems..

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Academic Travel: TVL-285 Hamburg, Copenhagen and the Baltic Sea

This travel was one of great interest to me. I did not have any major interest in the subject (Urban Sustainability and Development) but I decided it was interesting enough to hold my attention, and it had some great perks. I mean, three countries in two weeks? Who would turn that down?!

I started writing a blog while I was on travel, and only managed to get the first three days done before I was overwhelmed with the culture. So I'm sort of "cheating" these first three posts, because it's already written out for me! I just have to go through and add some pictures!

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March 11, 2012. Day one.

Today was full of emotion. I was up until 6am cleaning, packing, and writing a piece for Aunt Sharon to read at Grandpa’s funeral on Saturday. I still feel a bit guilty being here while my entire family is over there for his funeral. I would love to be there more than anything, but I know he would want me to be here - doing what I love. I’m in Germany, so I can at least try to learn something about my culture, his culture, and do him proud. It’s the least I can do since I won’t physically be there for him. At least my words will be. I hope that means something to him and to Grandma.

I slept from 6 am until about 11, but didn’t get out of bed until noon. My cab was schedule to pick Natalya and I up from Girasole at 1, and I had a few last minute things to pack and tidy up, such as unplugging all of my appliances. I swifter-ed my place to try and make the place look tidy for inspection - I should be fine. 

The cab came and took Natalya and I to the Agno-Lugano airport. We passed the entire group of my travel that had taken the FLP train and walked the rest of the way. They all live up the hill, so it was easier for them to do that (and cheaper, too). It worked out to be about CHF 14 each, so it wasn’t bad. We got there around 1:15 and our flight wasn’t until 3:30. Professor Prisner, our leader, wanted us to get there early, just in case something happened, such as forgetting a passport; to be honest, though, no one checked my passport at all.

The flight from Lugano to Zurich was smooth - about 35 minutes over the snow-capped Alps. It was beautiful, as always, and soon we were above the clouds. Zurich was cloudy and dreary - kind of like the New York of Europe, but a lot less concrete and more cows right beyond the fences...

We had an hour and a half layover in Zurich and I got a sandwich (ham, cheese, and a pickle) and some chips that tasted like the flavor packets from ramen noodles. I met Amanda on the flight over, and found out that she’s form Buffalo, NY, but if actually going to Quinnipiac! I think we started to have a bond just because it was something to talk about. 

CT Represent!

When we boarded our flight from Zurich to Hamburg at 17.35 I found out that I was sitting next to none other than.... Amanda! More time to talk and just get to know each other. The sun set while we were above the clouds and there were brilliant shades of pinks, purples, and oranges. Landing in Hamburg was incredible. This is my first time ever being in Germany, and I’m ecstatic. It was bittersweet, though, because it was dark and you couldn't really get a feel for the city. We took a bus to our hotel (Hotel Panorama) and got our roommates. I’m with Ahto from Estonia. He seems nice, and is a sophomore studying International Business, if I remember correctly.

We were only in our rooms for a short time before we headed out to the Einstein for dinner. I sat with Amanda, Natalya, and Will. I knew Will from a Computer Graphics class that I had taken last semester. We had a lot of fun and clicked instantly. I ordered a cocktail (a Hemingway) which had gin, vodka (or wodka, in German!), pineapple juice, orange juice, triple sec, and something red. It was delicious. 

When I ordered it the waiter asked if I wanted to do the two-for-one, and I was like “sure?” I was under the impression that I could get one and then another cocktail from the list, so I asked if anyone else wanted any. Natalya ordered a Tropic Margarita. When they brought them out, they had 2 Hemingways and 2 Tropic Margaritas. The deal was that if you ordered one you got two cocktails. So Natalya and I naturally shared our drinks with Will and Amanda. We talked about where we were from, what we’re studying, and just stories about ourselves, and what we were looking forward to most on travel.

I had a Creole pizza, which had tomatoes, jalepeños, shrimp, green peppers, and dried coconut. It was pretty amazing, if I do say so my self. :]

After dinner we went back to Will’s room for a little bit before walking around the hotel area a little bit. We’re RIGHT NEXT to the Audubon. It’s crazy to walk on a bridge over this road where cars are flying by. We found a path along a river and sat on a bench and talked some more. It’s nice not having the quiet hour restrictions of Switzerland for the next two weeks! 

It started to get cold outside, so we walked back to the hotel and went back to Will’s room since he doesn’t have a roommate yet. We watched some horror movie that was dubbed over in German (The Uninvited). Amanda had seen it so she was able to tell us what was happening. It was terrifying and hilarious because we spent most of the time subtitling it ourselves. The movie ended around 12:10 in the morning, and now I’m back in my room with Ahto. We’re both on our laptops, but there’s no internet.. He’s watching a movie and I’m recapping my day so it makes it easier to update my blog once I find internet. 

I still don't have a charger for my camera, but I’m going to have my iPhone with me at all times! I’m even going to bring a memory card around with me in case some of my friends let me borrow their cameras! I’m feeling so much better about this travel already. I think it’s going to be great, and I think Amanda, Natalya, and Will are going to be great friends. It’s going to make it a lot harder to leave. I’m down to 67 days until the end of the semester. It’s such a tough decision, but I have to do what’s best for me, and the Creative Writing program here is lacking...

That’s it for today! We have a tour of the inner city tomorrow, and a presentation at 15:00-16:00. Then free time. This travel has so much free time - I love it. Lots of time to just explore the city on our own. I think that’s the best way to learn a place. Just get lost and see how long it takes to get back. Best feeling in the world. Europe is beautiful. Germany is beautiful. Hamburg is beautiful. I can only hope Rostock, Copenhagen, and Malmö are the same!

ciao!

The history, the castles, the scavenger hunt

Ciao! I apologize for the lapse in updates. It was recently brought to my attention just how much work I have to do and how little time I have left! It seems like this first semester has been going by... slowly is not the correct term here, because it's been incredibly fast-paced and busy.. it just seems like the first three months have gone by quickly.. and now all of a sudden I have over 50 pages in essays and projects and finals to prepare (excluding all of the draft work that needs to be done) and I have a month to get all of that done.

However, a silver lining in that dismal abyss of paper-writing is.....

I RETURN TO THE STATES ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!

That's right, folks. Thirty days from today I will be somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean on my way to the grey and dreary JFK International Airport! 

I cannot wait to see each and every one of you, and am working on some sort of a surprise for y'all... assuming I have enough time to get it done by the time I'm home!!! :]

ANYWAY! BACK TO TRAVEL UPDATES!!! [the point of this blog, after all!]

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I left off in St-Luc after the bread making, so that takes us to Day 4, when we departed from St-Luc in route to Lausanne!

I have to say that my favorite overall location, in terms of personal experience, was Lausanne. It wasn't just the city itself, or the sites we saw, it was just a collective experience that left me feeling incredibly satisfied with the city. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

On our way to Lausanne, we headed over to the Gianadda Foundation in Martigny. This was an interesting stop because the museum was hosting an exhibit on Claude Monet! There were over 70 pieces on loan to the Foundation, and it was incredible to see some of the works by Monet in person!
We weren't allowed to take photos, but I tried to sneak a few, but they didn't work!

(shh don't tell anyone, though!)
(that last one looks pretty artsy, huh? no pun intended..... :p )

From the Gianadda Foundation, we made a stop at the Château de Chillon.

The Château de Chillon is Switzerland's most visited historic monument, and it was very interested to see the history of a single building, and how various eras of Swiss history affected the building.

There were three main influences on the castle that we learned about; the Savoy's, the Bernese, and the Vaudois (people of the Swiss canton of Vaud). 

One interesting fact about the castle is that it consists of over 100 rooms that have been added onto each other one after the other throughout history.
One of the sites we saw in the castle was the dungeon/prison chambers. We learned of Lord Byron, the English writer/poet who made the castle infamous with his long narrative poem "The Prisoner of Chillon." There is a myth that Byron carved his name into one of the prison pillars while there, though there is no supporting evidence and is more than likely a gimmick to attract tourists. It's still fun to think of someone with such standing, like Lord Byron, and how he may have left his mark on the castle, both figuratively through his poem, and literally through a carving!

The Château de Chillon is located right on Lake Geneva, a strategic advantage that made it easier to defend / more difficult to attack. It also allowed the royalty within to escape through the dungeons onto the lake and sail quickly to France without detection.

I also learned that if you are in Lausanne, or practically anywhere in Switzerland/France that isn't Geneva? You are actually on Lake/Lac Léman! 

From Château de Chillon, we finally headed over to Lausanne where I was (finally) able to reunite with my one true love.....

a venti white chocolate mocha with whipped cream in a mug that you could probably use to knock someone out with.... beautiful, beautiful way to end the night...

Oh! and Kaitlin and I got kebabs, which are great! (check out the post about Bellinzona to see a kebab!)

The next day started off with a SCAVENGER HUNT throughout the entire city! SSB (my Travel Leader; Sara Steinert-Borella) split us into groups and gave us clues to various sites around the city, and things that we had to find out about them that were interesting, and not necessarily related to travel writing, but still very interesting things to know.

I was with my RA, Dani, which was a HUGE advantage because she is fluent in French! We were able to communicate with locals and find out where we were going and had so much fun!
One stop we had to make was to a cathedral, and the interesting fact about it was that it had actually be converted to a Protestant church, there is no saint buried or remains there, and it was not even dedicated to anyone as it was no longer Catholic.

We had to take a photo of our favorite window in the church to prove we were there: 

The city is just so vibrant and beautiful and I recommend that anyone in Switzerland should visit Lausanne!

(Part of a panorama of Lausanne. I edited the two parts different and didn't splice them together, though)

(Dani reading a French newspaper about Occupy Wall Street / Zurich)

(The Lausanne Harbor)

(Mimi, SSB's daughter who was in our scavenger hunt group, chasing the pigeons!)

(Lake Léman/Geneva. Beautiful.)

(at the Olympic museum.)

(Another view of Lake Geneva. The mountains in the background (very faded) is Evian, France! (Like the water bottles!))

(A beautiful shot of the lake.)

(I like this one because of the seagull in the center!)

Well, that sums up Lausanne, very briefly. My group won the scavenger hunt, which had a little added bonus that I'll talk about in the update about Geneva! I think going on a scavenger hunt is a great way to explore a new city. It was great way to adjust to the culture and figure things out on your own. 

Have a great rest of the week! Can't wait to see everyone back home in a month! :]

The French, the Alps, the food, the travel.

Well, I've been slacking with this blog, but the fact that I'm back says something, I feel.

I've been home from travel for a week, and I miss it more than I can explain.

It's a very strange feeling, to take two weeks off from "college" to travel around to different places in the world, but still have it be academic in some sense...

Coming back last week was very strange, walking around campus and having this weird feeling of "oh, I still have classes.. I'm here for.. for an education?! What is this nonsense!"

However! When I did return I was privileged to have this waiting for me:

Five packages were waiting for me when I got home! I'm sure reception loved me.....

Thanks to Mommah, Aunt Ellen, Hannah/Aunt Rani, and Kelly for the gifts, even though it did make me miss you all terribly! (44 days until I come home for winter holiday!)

For my travel, I was on TVL-297 Lausanne, Geneva, and the Alps with (Dean) Sara Steinert-Borella.

It was truly an incredible experience and if you haven't been to Romandy (the French-speaking sector of Switzerland) I highly recommend it. Even if you have, I suggest going back (and bring me with you!) I feel that this trip was very beneficial to me for two broad reasons: 1. I got to experience more of the country that I am living in, and will be living in for the next four years of my life. I think it's crucial to see as much of where you are, to get a better understanding of it and appreciate everything that the place has to offer. That being said, 2: French-speaking Switzerland is drastically different from Italian-speaking Switzerland. The Swiss-French are friendly, they are interested in having a conversation with you, whether it be French or English, and they seem like they enjoy social interaction, to be frank. The Swiss-Italians (or Swi-ties, as we unaffectionately call them here in Lugano) are not so friendly. They are very focused on what they are doing and don't really want you to bother them. So, if you have only been to Ticino, that is not a very reliable impression of the Swiss.

Moving onward, to the actual trip!!

We left Monday, 17 October for St-Luc, which is in the canton of Valais. The bus ride was breath-taking as we climbed into the mountains. We took a route through Northern Italy, as the Swiss pass was already closed because of snow.

(Swiss Alps and the Moon)

(the Simplon-Pass into French-speaking Switzerland)

(you see these kinds of roads in the movies)

(but we actually drove on them in a coach tour bus.)

St-Luc is a beautiful place. Rather than going right to the hotel (La Gîte de Prilet) we took the tour bus up to Chandolin, which is a tiny village with about 100 permanent residents. We then hiked down the mountain to St-Luc, where we were staying for the first three nights.

(chalets in Chandolin)

(a view while hiking down the mountain)

(a view of Chandolin)

The food in French-speaking Switzerland is PHENOMENAL. The place we stayed at gave us amazing food and the portions were huge! Each meal was served with a salad, the main entre (with a glass of wine, of course!), and then dessert. My favorite was probably the lasagne (go figure - more pasta.) but some other notables were: cheese / tomato fondue, pork, pumpkin soup (delicious!), and lamb stew.

The next day, we hiked up to the Hotel Weisshorn, which is in the Swiss Alps! We were 7,667 ft above sea level at the end of our hike, and it was incredible. I'll let the pictures speak, because it's impossible to describe the beauty of being atop the Swiss Alps.

(tvl-297 group photo)

(my RA, Dani, and I)

(Kaitlin and I)

(Kencho and I)

The third day, to wrap up St-Luc was spent with travel Anne Deriaz, who took care of Ella Maillart, another travel writer, up until her death in 1997. It was a very interesting day to spend with an author and learn new techniques for writing, as well as her own experiences as a traveller and a writer.

After our six hour workshop with Anne, we headed over to a local bread-making shop and made wheat break just like they did hundreds of years ago!

That's all for St-Luc. 

I figured I would break travel up into a few different posts, 

since the updates tend to be rather photo-heavy!

Hopefully I'll have time to update about Lausanne, Geneva, and Neuchâtel 

later tonight after my computer graphics class!