I just arrived in the States a few days ago, and it feels so great to be back! I was overwhelmed with excitement and adrenaline rushing through me as my two best friends Brett and Natalie surprised me at the airport! I did not sleep for even a minute on the airplane and had spent the previous day walking all over Paris and pulled two all nighters in a row before I came to Paris, however, even that couldn't stop me from the excitement I felt when I saw all my family and best friends waiting for me outside of baggage claim! After I got back, my agenda was already full as I had to look for a new job, unpack, start looking for a new car, and move things up to my new house! I went to a Shiny Toy Gun concert with Brett, which was amazing as always, and even a little better than the last time we saw them! We also went to this really great Mexican Restaraunt called the Velevet Margarita, which I highly recommend!
Yesterday I finally got to see my new house which I will be living in with my friends Avery and Faith in August. It is so adorable! I have my own room and attic, and we have a really nice size backyard too! I can't wait to start moving more of my stuff up!! Everybody better come visit me! If anybody has any unwanted furniture or house decor let me know!
For the past 5 months, the school we are going to in Bonn has been taking us on all these really cool excursions in Germany. Our last one on Thursday was probably my favorite! We went to this cute German city right on the Rhine River, where we saw this sweet castle and took a cruise on the river. The Castle dated back to the Middle Ages, and had all of these awesome secret passages and underground tunnels we got to go through. This was quite a challenge as most of us totally forget to bring our flashlights. We had to literally crawl for a good 500 feet in these pitch black tightly enclosed tunnels that ran beneath the grounds of the castle. Almost all of us hit our heads pretty badly as there was not nearly enough light for all 16 of us. lol I took a little video so you can see how dark it was!!! Check it out!
After the Castle we took a cruise on the River and saw a lot of really neat looking houses on the Rhine. The boat was really fun as it had a playground on the top of it, so we got to go down slides and play on little kids equipment as we enjoyed the view from the river! We took the boat to the base of this hilltop so we could take a chair lift to the very top. The top had an amazing view and a really fun park as well! There were ropes to swing from, ice cream to eat, and a panoramic view to enjoy!
After our excursion we went back to Bonn for the Art show and Farewell Party. The Art show went really well, and I was very surprised to see how much everyone truly enjoyed my artwork. I did a painting, and 5 photo montages that were inspired by the famous German Dada Artist Hannah Hoch. Take a look at the pics! Afterward we had an amazing meal, and our host families all came for our last big group dinner!
Today I experienced one of the quirkiest German Holidays. The festivities started last night, as all the clubs stay open all night long. It is called Tanz in den Mai, which means "Dance into May", the idea is that you dance all night until it becomes May.
As we all walked back to our houses at like 5 in the morning, we saw a number of guys carrying these huge trees on their shoulders with ribbons attached to the branches. Then a little later we saw some guys planting these trees in the front yards of these random houses in the earliest hours of the morning. We soon learned that this is a common tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years in Germany. On the first of May, it is customary for a guy to plant a tree in the front yard of a girl he likes. The tree must be exactly as tall as whatever floor of the house she lives in. This way, when the girl wakes up she simply peers outside her window to see if her crush has paid her a visit. We saw some guys planting trees for girls who lived on like the 3rd floor, in which case they had to have a ton of people helping them!
Some of the guys told us that if there is a girl you really don't like, because you think she is a slut, then you plant a tree in her yard and hang sausages on it. Each sausage represents a guy the girl has had sex with, so you hang as many sausages as guys you think she did. Grossss!!
Luckily we saw no hanging sausages anywhere, so Germany is keeping classy as far as we know! lol
My host sister told me that since last year was leap year, girls had to plant trees with ribbons for the guys they liked, so every 4 years the tradition switches!
I got a few pics of some decorated trees, unfortunately none from last night though since I did not have my camera on me, but take a look!
You will never believe it in a million years, but I jogged 13 miles today for the Bonn Marathon, and I even have a medal to prove it! My friends and I all heard about the marathon and were told that we could be sponsored for running to benefit the children of Sudan, and the building of new schools. We were under the impression that there would only be a few people running with us, but man were we wrong. 11,500 people joined us for this cause. There were also thousands of people on the sidelines cheering us on. I was planning on walking most of it, but it is pretty hard to walk when you have tons of people cheering for you and getting you all hyped up. The best part was when we got toward the finish line, they set out a red velvet carpet for us, threw out confetti, and then rewarded us with a medal and an endless supply of food.
Afterward we went back to our school field, and the staff barbecued steak and sausage for us! We spent the rest of the day laying out and enjoying the nice warm sun!
This past week was the first week I did not travel outside of Germany since the beginning of the semester. We did however, go on some exciting class excursions. On Thursday we went to Vogelsang & Monschau, which lie directly on the border of Germany and Belgium.... I even got a picture of the border sign! we went to Vogelsang to see one of the Nazi's training bases prior to WWII, which was interesting, but to be honest it was really nothing more than a few abandoned buildings and a nice field. We then went to this awesome Mustard Mill, where they make mustard and honey from scratch. We got to try all sorts of flavors and I even bought myself some Marzipan Honey which you can all try when I get home.
We were suppose to go bobsledding in Monschau, but unfortunately luck was not on our side. It literally started raining the moment we got there. We did however find this awesome park near by that had all sorts of fun things that would totally be outlawed in the U.S.. Germany has few safety laws for children it appears, which made for more fun for us. Check out my first horribly sad attempt at running in the hamster wheel! haha (By the end of the day I almost did a 360 in it, but you will never believe me after watching this first part on film hahaha)
Another major thing that took place last week was a presentation that I had to give to the Innovation Project Manager at Bayer. I presented along with two other friends on the best market for Bayer to expand into within China, the pros and cons of doing so, and critical success factors for conducting business within China. The presentation came close to two hours, by far the most intense and stressful presentation I have ever had to give. It turned out great though, and the Project Leaders of Bayer said they were extremely impressed. I feel very fortunate to have had this amazing internship, it will be a great thing to have on my resume.
On Saturday, we traveled to the city of Mainz, where we got to see the original Gutenberg Press, the same one that printed the first Bible, which we also got to see! We even got to use one of the presses to make some artwork and Prints! I printed a page of the Bible in Latin, and also made some designs for myself and some friends. After visiting the Gutenberg Press, we went to a famous Cathedral and saw the tombs of many famous Catholic Bishops from the 16th and 17th Century.
For the next week, I will be studying hard core for finals, so this may be the last blog update for a week or so!
Only a few more weeks until I come home! May 8th, Save The Date!!!! I cannot wait to see everyone!!! : )
Vienna was a pretty amazing city, we did all sorts of amazing things, including going to the Hofburg Palace, the Schonbrun Palace, the Vienna Zoo, and much more! Check out my slideshow!
Yesterday was incredible! Our day started with a hike up to the top of a fortress where we had a view of the entire city of Salzburg. Soon enough I had a sky view of the entire city by parachute. We had to hike up the Austrian alps to find a cliff that would give us enough wind to carry us through the sky. We waited for a while on the cliff as I had to get all suited up and my guide had to make sure that the winds were safe enough, by using a nifty little machine they had. Once everything was set to go, I had to literally sprint off of a 1,000 foot cliff. I had to be in charge of running since I was in the front, and my guide was responsible for pulling the parachute over us. Jumping off the alps was the most insane experience I have ever had. Before I knew it I just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the view!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter! My Easter break has been absolutely incredible.... I couldn't imagine things being any better. I am currently in the city of Salzburg, and just got back from a full day of exploring the city. We went on the most hilarious Sound of Music tour, where a quirky British Woman took us to all the famous spots where the movie was filmed, while playing the music from the movie. Tonight we had an amazing dinner and went to the top of this crazy tower that was inside a cave, to get a good view of the city at night. We have one more day in Salzburg, and I plan to go hang gliding off the Alps tomorrow!
Vienna was also a wonderful city, there were Easter Markets everywhere, which sell mass amounts of decorated eggs and easter decor. The Europeans are in love with the festivity of Easter, we even saw multiple people dressed as Easter bunnies, who would just roam town and hand out eggs! The highlights of Vienna for me included the Schonbrun Palace, and the zoo. I look forward to sharing my crazy zoo stories with everyone!! I best be off to bed to prepare for a fun day up in the air!!
This week has been the first week where I can actually where a t-shirt without wanting to hang myself before doing so! It is finally sunny and warm in Germany! woohoo!
Today was a good day, we got to visit the United Nations building and listen to a presentation from one of the communications directors. It was really interesting to get an inside look at the UN operations, and learn some of the intricate details. The building has an incredible view of the entire rhine river and city of Bonn.
After visiting the UN we went to the Beer Garden on the river and got some yummy cheap pizza and awesome salads, and of course a little Beer just for the sake of it. Germany is one of the only places where it is not only normal but 100% expected to drink beer in the middle of the day! haha We then just laid out in the park for about an hour, completely excited for the nice weather. After the park I went to the super cheap market to stock up on food for my 9 hour train ride to VIENNA!! I leave in a few hours, and can't wait!! : )
I had an amazing past 10 days of traveling! I went to Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, and Croatia!! Check out the two videos I posted and the slideshow up above!
Wow, the big 20 is here!! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and enjoy the video I made for you! I had to make it last week because I knew I was going to be traveling for the past 10 days. I am currently in Croatia, getting ready to head to those lakes and waterfalls! It is a beautiful day here and I am absolutely in love with Croatia, it is a very cute and quaint little country. I feel like I have turned back in time as all of the buildings are really old and there is a super cute little villagewith people who make their own clothes, and sell fish, fruit, and handmade lace! I will try to give you a call later, I can't wait to hear about how your day is going with all of your weekend extravaganzas! Dressed as any neon ninjas lately? haha
So far Spain has been an amazing experience! We just spent the past few days in Madrid, which was incredibly beautiful. We saw all the major sights including the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the downtown areas. We even went to Toledo for a day to try some of their famous Marzipan and check out the shopping. Yesterday was a big shopping day for me, I bought all sorts of accessories and clothing. Seeing the Guernica in person was quite the experience, it is much larger than I had envisioned! Today is our first day in Barcelona, which has so far been a little depressing, because the rain has been coming down really hard. We did however, manage to see the Cathedral designed by Gaudi, which has been under construction for over 130 years! They say it won´t be completed until 2030 at the earliest! Gaudi´s house was my favorite thing we have seen so far.... there were cascading pillars with beautiful mosaics and a tropical garden paradise surrounding his Mediterranean house. There were even life size artsy gingerbread houses, which were used as the guest houses! Tonight we are going to go search for some Paella and check out Barcelona´s famous nightlife.
So tomorrow morning I will be on a plane to one of the most exciting destinations of the semester. We will be spending 3 full days in Madrid, and 3 days in Barcelona. This is a trip that was incorporated into the study abroad program, so the entire group will be going. In addition we will have guided tours through the famous Reina Sofia, Picasso Museum, The Prado, and a day excursion through Toledo! Should be Awesome!
After Spain, one of my friends and I will be going to Croatia to visit the capital and the Jezera Lakes (most beautiful in the world.... see pic!)
So unfortunately there will be very little updates for the next week since I will be without a computer... but I look forward to sharing everything with everyone when I return!
Concert and Bavaria from Brittany Sobel on Vimeo. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.... we kicked it off with a concert in Cologne, featuring the Sounds and Fall Out Boy. It was packed, and the fans were crazy! The Germans were not too familiar with The Sounds, but they knew every word to every Fall Out Boy song, and hearing them sing the songs with their German accents was an experience with in itself!
After the concert we stayed up all night to catch our 3:30am train to Bavaria. Our first stop was Munich, which was much more beautiful city than I had imagined. We started off with a stroll to the Olympic stadium, where the Olympics were held in the 1970's. We also walked through the BMW Museum and saw some pretty sweet cars and motorcycles. After the stadium we found a flier for a free bike tour of the city, so we took advantage of this amazing offer and toured the entire city on bike in a 3 hour tour. We saw everything from river surfers to Nudist Gardens and the famous grounds where Hitler battled Bavarian Armies. We celebrated our completion of the bike tour at the world's most famous Beer hall, where Germany's most exported Beer is brewed. Here we feasted on Weiss Sausage, Bratwurst, giant prezels, and of course beer! It was a massive place, and said to hold over 1,500 people! Munich has so much to see, and is by far my favorite city of Germany!
Sunday we woke up early to go to the most southern tip of Bavaria, where the Neuschwanstein Castle is. This is the infamous castle Walt Disney based his castle off of and belongs to the famous King Ludwig, who unfortunately only got to enjoy it for less than a year due to a mental illness he suffered from. The castle was filled with beautiful murals of King Ludwig's famous legends and crazy gold chandeliers that weighed over 2,000 lbs! Walking through the castle was truly like
being on a Disneyland ride, there was even a cave room! The hike was an uphill 45 minute walk and was incredibly scenic, as Bavaria lies right along the border of Switzerland, with the Swiss alps surrounding ev
erything. This castle was awesome and definitely a must see in Germany!!
Yesterday we all went on a class excursion to Frankfurt, which is large city just 2 hours away from Bonn. They called it the Manhattan of Germany, as most of it is very industrial, however, the town center still maintains some of the old German charm as seen in the pic. While we were there we took a 2 hour walking tour and learned about the reconstruction process of Frankfurt as it was heavily bombed during WWII. After the tour we had an awesome lunch and went to a modern art museum which displayed a lot of Andy Warhol's work. Frankfurt is also where the European Central Bank is located, so we got to take a tour through there as well. This is the central bank for the European Union, and is where all the monetary policies are determined and the money is distributed. Being a finance major, I found this really fascinating!
This weekend will be filled with lots of exciting events.... Friday I am going to see Fall Out Boy and The Sounds in concert, and then off to Munich in Bavaria!! : )
I wish I could be there to celebrate with you right now Mom! Unfortunately I have no Molly Cake for you, but I did send my favorite German Chocolate for you to enjoy! I hope you have a wonderful day and keep smiling! Lots of love from Germany! <3
I spent this weekend in 3 beautiful cities in Switzerland. We stayed in Zurich for two nights, which was plenty, as Zurich is actually a relatively small city. It is a major Western European Metropolis with upscale shopping, beautiful lakes and scenery, and yummy chocolate shops! We went to a few churches, strolled along the streets, went to a huge botanical garden, where we saw Purana fish from the amazon, the largest flower in the world, and some other really exotic flowers. We also found an awesome lake with the Swiss Alps as the backdrop; this was the perfect spot to chill on the edge of the docks and indulge in the swiss chocolates we bought!
On Sunday we left Zurich and visited Lucerne and Basel on our way back to Bonn. Lucerne was an incredibly beautiful city, and my favorite of the 3 that we visited. The whole town is adorned in medieval architecture and traditional Swiss homes. There are castle fortresses that surround the whole outer section of the town and even some monuments carved out of Glaciers! We walked the entire city including some of the outskirts, and treated ourselves to some Swiss pastries and Mochas afterward! : )
Arriving into Basel was quite the experience. Apparently in Basel, there is a parade of Fifers who play their fifens (kind of like a flute) all throughout the city every Sunday after Karnival, for 3 weeks, or until Easter. When we got there, we only saw a few small groups playing. This however suddenly spawned into over 10,000 fifers who dominated the city streets. We still managed to see a few major monuments here, including the Munster Church and the famous Medieval Guard Tower. So, incase you ever stroll into Basel on a Winter Sunday you know what you are getting yourself into!
These past few days have been pretty fun and relaxing....it was our first weekend with no international travel! On Thursday we went to Trier, which lies just barely east of the country Luxembourg. While we were there we saw some ancient Roman ruins, shopped and ate in the downtown area, and even got to go to Karl Marx house! Karl Marx's house was a very typical german home from the exterior, the interior however was filled with all sorts of communist memorabilia. After visiting his house we went took a bus more to the country side to the region of Auhrweiler and did some wine tasting!
Friday we had class for half of the day and then later that night we went out to an Italian Restaurant and a Tapas Bar with some nice German people we met!
Saturday was a girls day and turned out to be one of the most unexpected days ever. A few of the girls on the trip and I went to an adorable tea house in Bonn and we lounged for a few hours with our tea and crumpets! After tea we took the train to the Monte Mare Spas, which had saunas, a wave pool, jacuzzis, slides, and lap pools. When we entered the sauna area we found ourselves in a quite interesting yet extremely awkward position. The workers told us that we had to be naked to use the saunas and steam rooms! We had already paid to use the saunas so we decided that the experience would hopefully override the awkwardness... so we all stripped! YES I Brittany Sobel got naked in public.... you may not believe it...it may take a while to soak in but I can assure you it is 100% true! haha. Getting naked I think cursed me because the day only got worse from there... later that night we got lost on the trains, I almost got into a fight with a group of horribly belligerent ignorant men, and did not get home until after 5am!
Today was a delicious and relaxing day... my host sister took my friends and I to this awesome gelateria where I had an amazing Tiramisu Ice cream Sunday, and a great Italian Cappuccino. My friend Gina came over afterward and we watched "What Happens In Vegas" on my computer! : )
p.s. Click on the pictures to make them larger!! : )
Tonight we saw the musical The Starlight Express in German. It was absolutely hilarious! It was all performed in roller skates by actors dressed in the most outrageous costumes. The choreography was incredible as there would as many as 15 people on stage at a time flipping, jumping, and coordinating dances. We sat in the left pit of the stage, so we were in the midst of all the action with actors wizzing right by us in their skates! Since it was in German we couldn't understand a lot of the songs, but the story was based around a young boy who has a dream in which his toy train set comes to life. Tomorrow we are going to Trier for some sight-seeing and wine tasting!! : )
I just got home from a very eventful weekend in Budapest! This was a perfectly planned trip, considering we just bought the plane tickets last week (and for only 50 Euro might I add ! ). We stayed at a nice hostel for only $8 a night on the main street, and managed to fit in all the major sights, such as the Budapest Parliament, Heroe's Square, 2 castles, 2 cathedrals, and the largest Synagogue in Europe! The best of all was our 3 hours of relaxation and spa treatment at the Rudas Hot Springs! We treated ourselves to a Aroma Massage and a day pass to the hot springs with all natural hot mineral water that comes out from the ground! It is definitely something you must experience when in Budapest!! Another great experience was the food... I ate all traditional Hungarian food the entire time, which is both very unique and delicious! We had everything from Spatzle, to Chicken Pancakes, and Veal Stew, followed by some yummy Hungarian pastries! There was even a Pizza place called Marxim run by communists with all sorts of Communist symbols inside that we ate at haha! We went out to the clubs every night, which is something I will have to tell you all about in person, because I have some crazy stories for you! The best club was Dokk, which is on a small island and is one of the top techno/house clubs in Eastern Europe. We scored a free bottle of Champagne there from the DJ who was handing them out all night, and even managed to gain access in the VIP area where we could people watch from 30 feet above! The clubs were filled with some of the wierdest and craziest party goers I have ever met, as all of the clubs don't end until 5am and all have included entry to the "after party" which is typically at a venue across the street that starts at 5am and goes until 9am. We weren't crazy enough to make it to the after party and stood out like sore thumbs leaving the clubs at 3:30am, since taxis don't even start coming by until around 4. Overall, this was an excellent trip, and I highly recommend Budapest! I feel like I truly lived the life this weekend, and I did it all on under $100 including the flight!
From Karneval to the Alps and Back Again from Brittany Sobel on Vimeo. These past 5 days have been a combination of mayhem, relaxation, and adventure. Thursday was the first official day of Karneval, and included a smaller parade in Beul (the town right outside of my house), and a larger celebration in the city of Cologne. Most everybody dressed up in full body furry suits to stay warm. I loved the costumes, as most of them were homemade and highly original! We saw dressed up Broccoli, Kangaroo, and many Smurfs. The Karneval celebration typically starts off with an hour long parade each day for 5 days, where the people on the floats will throw out lots of candy, and people in the crowds yell out "Camela!" to attract the candy toward them. After the parades, people hit up the pubs and party literally all night! The celebration goes on for a week, however, I knew that it was going to be a little too much for me, so a few of my friends and I decided to escape to the alps for a few days! We took a train down to Kitzbuhel, Austria and skiied for 3 days. We found an incredible hotel package that included 2 nights stay in a 4 star hotel right on the slopes, access to the sauna, steam room, pool, tanning salon, 2 gourmet breakfasts, and 2 outstanding dinners, and a lift pass for the mountain for each day!!! We really lucked out and had an absolute blast! The alps were quite challenging for me to ski as they mostly consisted of huge open meadows of moguls, and more powder than you can possibly imagine. Every night the Alps get over 4 feet of fresh snow, and during the day the conditions are great! I skied in just a simple cotton long sleeve shirt and my jacket and was perfectly warm! We packed in 3 long days of skiing and completed our days with some relaxation in the spa center, a nice meal, and "apres skiing" which is after skiing. After skiing is very famous in Austria, and basically just consists of going to the pubs and meeting new people. We went to an awesome one where we met a group of 20 Netherlanders. The group bought us drinks all night long until I did the running man dance on stage to Vanilla Ice. LOL Sorry but I don't have that on video...perhaps some other time! Today was the last day of Karneval.... I dressed in fun colors and went to Cologne for the big finale parade along with 800,000 other people and managed to score 3 roses and another bag full of Candy otherwise known as Camela!
Today was the first parade of Carnival in Bonn, which will continue on for the next week and a half. The streets were crowded with people of every age dressed as penguins, clowns, jokers, lions, tigers, bugs, bears, and my all time favorite, a baby dinosaur who you will see in the video! When I got on the train to get to the parade, I sat next to two furry circus animals named Thomas and Peter who were only 2 years old! Their parents were dressed as a ring leader and a lion, and their friends were all dressed as jokers! It was quite the experience! haha I did not know what I was getting myself into when I got off the train... herds of people rushed off to make it to the street parties which included an everlasting supply of bratwurst and beer. There was also a parade with many floats of carnival people throwing candy out to the crowds. Everyone including myself held bags up in the air to snatch the yummy German treats. This is truly a unique cultural experience with the German music, food, and handmade costumes. It was basically like a pre-Mardi Gras celebration German style!
I just walked in the door from a really fun past week I spent in Berlin and Prague. If I were to write everything I did this past week you would be reading forever, so here are some of the highlights!...
1) Celebrating my 21st Birthday in Berlin- It didn't start off so great, because the club I wanted to go to for my midnight celebration was closed, and then I had to wake up early to go to a concentration camp (yes I actually went to a Concentration Camp on my birthday). Luckily the day turned around, all my friends and I went out to a nice Mediterranean restaurant, where I had my first legal drink (a glass of Cabernet). After dinner we went to two of the most amazing clubs I have ever experienced! One was a four story club with 8 different rooms, each playing a different genre of music. The second was a skyscraper club called The Weekend that was on the 15th floor of a building! I got into all the clubs for free and managed to squeeze in 7 free shots of (legal) alcohol haha. I could not have asked for a better birthday!
2) Roaming the streets of Prague- Prague is the most beautiful city I have ever visited. It is one of the few major European cities that was not affected by any of the World Wars, so most of its old historical buildings are still in excellent shape. We walked across the famous Charles Bridge which has a breath taking view of the city, we saw a castle, and a famous Cathedral.
3) Indulging in Czeck Cuisine- The Czeck Republic has really interesting food... there national dish is called Goulash and is basically a really zesty beef stew. I had that served with a baked apple that was topped with cowberries (similar to cranberries).
4) Berlin Nightlife- Berlin is the true city that does not sleep, and there are countless clubs and bars to experience. We went to some pretty interesting places including a Vampire Bar that was super dark and had viles of blood hanging from the wall. That place was actually really freaky so we jetted out of there. I have never had a fear of being bit until I went to the Vampire Bar lol. We also went to an awesome Indie Music club that spun the Ting Tings, MGMT, and the Cold War Kids.
5) Balsak Coffee- I finally got to experience a world famous cup of Balsak coffee (yes that is really what it is called and it is pronounced just how it looks!) It was excellent, except my friends were cracking so many jokes and making so many puns that I actually choked on it and even had some come through my nose lol ( only at a place called Balsak would this happen.... it was on my birthday too! haha )
6) Taking a blue flame shot of Absinth in Prague (as seen in the Video)- Prague is the only place you can get real absinth. It is illegal in the U.S. because it has a hallucinogen in it. I didn't actually feel much from except for an excessive fuzzy feeling running through my finger-tips.
7) Obtaining a first hand experience of Germany's horrendous history- I already mentioned most of the details from this in my last blog, but one thing that took me by surprise that I didn't mention was finding my last name in the Holocaust Book of the Dead. I have a few ancestors who suffered from this treacherous time in history, and being able to commemorate them was a crazy experience.
8) Going to an Opera in Prague- We got to see La Traviata! The story was not so riveting, but the voices were phenomenal!
9) Shopping in the local's flee markets in Berlin- I picked up some cool bandanas and some good arabic food!
10) Coming home to watch the Video Brett made and open my package from my Parents- Thank you SO much everyone, that was a wonderful surprise! Brett your video was so much fun to watch and special thanks to Cindy, Kristin, Danny, Alison, and my Mom for making an appearance! I love your scarves mom, and Sees and blueberry coffee were the PERFECT gift! I miss you all so much!!
These are the famous words of John F. Kennedy from his speech in 1963 which are highly commemorated in Berlin. It means ''I am a Berliner'' and it is such a famous line, because it demonstrates the United States support for Western Germany, which escaped from the Soviet Control.
Today has been a really intense day comprised of a long train ride and a guided tour through the entire city which presented some of the most interesting history I have ever heard. I have always been well aware of the horrendous damage that hit Germany during World War II, however, it did not occur to me nearly as much until I actually physically walked the streets where so many killings and bombings took place. The hardest thing for me to see was the graveyard of 2000 Jewish Holocaust victims. This was a graveyard like no other, not a single name printed on the grave and not a single grave went beneath the ground. They were all abstract blocks which were of varied heights. The graveyard interestingly enough is right next to the exact spot where Adolf Hitler and his wife committed suicide.
Our tour guide was really awesome, he was born and raised in Berlin and was one of the 50,000 people who jumped through the gates of the Berlin wall in 1989 when it was finally legal to go from East Germany to West Germany.
Now we are off to get some dinner then check out one of Berlin's famous clubs !
Tomorrow morning we will be taking a high speed train to Berlin, and it is suppose to be snowing and cold there (thus the title of the blog) I will officially be spending my 21st Birthday there, which should be a lot of fun. I am planning on going to this alternative Fusion restaurant that has a sweet setup and even a dj, then we will probably hit up a club or two. During our stay we will also be visiting the Jewish History museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, Berlin Cathedral, Bundestag (the German Parliament), a concentration camp, and the Potsdamer Platz. Sunday we will be leaving for Prague, which should be even more amazing! It has been my dream to go there for many years, so expect lots of pictures!!
Today was fun, I found a girl on the trip
who is just obsessed with chocolate and coffee as I am, so we meet up once a week to go to an amazing place called Schokolade in Bonn. They make their own chocolate and melt it down for the most amazing hot chocolates and Mochas in the world! They always include a signature cocoa powder heart on top with lots of froth and foam which makes it appear even more appetizing!
I also did some shopping today and bought a leather jacket and a scarf! Woohoo! We had no class today, just a mandatory excursion to visit the headquarters of the Paralympics (Olympics for the disabled), which was really interesting! I must go pack now for Berlin! Ill be filling you all in again soon!
This weekend was quite possibly the most jam packed and awe-inspiring weekend I have ever experienced! So far, Rome has been my favorite city I have yet to travel to. I am lying in my bed feeling practically crippled as I have never walked so much in my life! Everything worked out so well time wise, as we managed to fit in every major Roman monument in a single day. Thursday night when we arrived, we treated ourselves to a delicious 5 course Italian meal at a restaurant near the hostel. We decided to get to bed early, because we knew that Friday was going to be an intense day! Friday morning we woke up at 7 to make sure we could make it to the Vatican before the lines got too crazy. The Vatican City is truly magnificent and really deserves at least a few days of visitation to get the full experience. We however, managed to squeeze all the highlights in about 3 hours. This included the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican Museum. My favorite was the Sistine Chapel, we spent about 30 minutes just staring at Michaelangelo's amazing artistry that was completed in less than two years! In my mind I have personally crowned him the King of Art. From the Vatican city we proceeded to walk to the other side of Rome, where the Colosseum and the ancient Roman Ruins were. Along our walk there were more historical monuments every which way we looked! I can't even describe to you the feeling that came upon me when seeing so much history literally within footsteps of eachother! I was in a trance while walking and even ran into a few benches along the way because I could not help but stare at everything! haha Although, I would like to say for those who know me well, you should be very proud, because I took charge with the map and led us from the Vatican to the Colosseum..... and I did it successfully! (minus the 3 bruises I have from running into the benches) On the way to the Colosseum we saw the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, Piazza de Popolo, the Campdiologio, and many of the ancient Roman Ruins which included the Arch of Titus. The Colosseum was surrounded by tons of awe-struck bystanders! It was amazing, however, to be honest, not quite as large as I had imagined it to be. 8 hours of non-stop walking later we finally decided to take a break and get some gelato before we ended our amazing day with a crazy night. We then proceeded to walk all the way to the other side of the city back to our hostel to get ready for a pub crawl at the Spanish Steps. The Pub crawl included a tour to two bars and a club. This crazy night started at 9pm and didn't get us home until 4 in the morning! After 8 hours of non-stop walking and 4 hours of non-stop dancing, you can imagine how much pain my feet must be in! Our last day was fun and a little more relaxing, I met up with my friend Dale who happens to be studying abroad in Rome, and we got some gelato and sat near the Trevi Fountain to catch up on all of our crazy experiences. Getting home was a big hassle, I think we were not meant to leave Rome, because it took us 3 trains, 2 buses, and a plane to finally get back to Bonn! It was however, more than worth it, and I don't think I could have possibly had a better time! : )
This week has flown by way to quickly, on one hand it feels like I have become established quite well in Germany, but on the other hand it feels like I literally just got here! I am loving every single moment of my travels, every pastry I have consumed, every city I have visited, and every new person I have met! This week we got to meet the Mayor or Bonn and go to a little reception at his mini palace in the center of the city! (see picture) He is a very nice man and is very excited for our new President! Today was also quite exciting, being the bargain shopper that I am I managed to find an awesome pair of boots for only 5 euro! This week we also visited a modern art museum in Wuppertal and spent quite a bit of time lounging in the cafes.
Tomorrow I will be visiting the headquarters of Bayer, a company I will be working with for the next few months. I have to pitch a new idea to the company that will further strengthen their international relations and increase profits. I will be meeting with a big time executive of the company to be interviewed and receive s
This weekend was exciting, fun, spontaneous, and not very well planned! haha We decided literally at the last minute to take a bus to Amsterdam and see if the city is really as crazy as we have heard it to be. I am now fully convinced that there is no city crazier than Amsterdam! Our bus dropped us off right in the notorious red light district at only 1 in the afternoon. Who would have thought that the streets would have been completely filled with prostitutes at such an early hour!? There were women of ever age and ethnicity dancing in their red lit boxes (more like cages), which I was not quite well prepared for. We had not planned to get a hostel because our bus left somewhat early the next day and we figured the city would be filled crazy things to occupy us for an all nighter. However, after getting our first glimpse of the city, finding a hostel suddenly became our first objective. We luckily found a nice one for super cheap that slept all 15 of us very comfortably. Afterward, most everyone wanted to go to a cafe to smoke, but I found a few people willing to go venture the city to find the Anne Frank's house with me! We walked across the canals and through the historic parts of the city, and got to her house just in time! I found her house to be fascinating, yet really eerie and depressing to walk through at the same time. They most depressing thing to see was a real taping of her father discussing the holocaust and the effect her diary had him and the rest of the world. Amsterdam is even crazier at night....the streets were literally packed and there were bars, clubs, and "coffee shops" on every block. I got really excited when I saw so many places titles "Coffee Shop", however when I walked in I realized right away that you don't go to those places to get coffee. haha Most of the coffee shops don't even sell any coffee, just joints and every think you can think of to make weed with. The students traveling with me were not slow to realize how naive and I am. We decided not to stay out real late and go to any clubs since we were all so sketched out by the people and places. Instead we got into our bunk beds (all 15 of us in one huge room lol) at around 1am and woke up early for a nice breakfast and left some time for sightseeing and shopping! Overall, Amsterdam was fun and unique, but just a littIle too crazy and expensive for my liking. Tomorrow we have lunch with the Mayor of Bonn! I will fill you in!
Yesterday we went to the beautiful city of Cologne, which is luckily only a 20 minute train ride from my school. The Cathedral is the highlight of the city as it is rated as one of the most exquisite in the entire world! It is one of the few landmarks that survived the second world war, and has some of the most intense architectural features I have ever seen! My first reaction when seeing this work of art was priceless.... I swear my jaw dropped to an abnormal length! There were statues of saints and prophets and gargoyles, and glowing windows with scenes from both the new and old testament. Our professor hooked us up with a sweet tour that allowed us to go on the side railings near the top of the Cathedral (as seen in the video) and then we also got to up an extra few hundred stairs to the very top of the Dome where you can see the entire city! This tour also let us go into the workshops where we learned how these structures were created. We were very lucky, because most tourists cannot see such things, however, my professor knew somebody that worked at the Cathedral so we got lucky! Today we had class and watched President Obama's Inauguration with some students from the University of Bonn. It was very interesting discussing politics with German people, they seem to be fascinated by the American Ways, and are more enthusiastic about Obama then a great deal of people in our own country!
Tomorrow we will be going to an art museum and getting everything all sorted out for our weekend trip to Amsterdam! Woohoo!!!
p.s. That pic is really a pic I took.... the lighting was perfect that day!!!!!
It is 10 in the morning and I just walked in the door from one of the most amazing/indescribable nights of my entire life. Tonight 4 of my friends and I joined a crowd of 30,000 to see DJ Tiesto and about 6 other DJ's. I am still in reverence over Tiesto's performance, his talent is truly a music phenomenon which leaves you in nothing less than a complete euphoric state. If you have not yet seen him, YOU MUST! Another big surprise tonight was Tommy Lee and DJ Aero, they came on stage right after Tiesto and had the crowds going crazy with their incredible sounding remixes! DJ Armand and Felix the Housecat were also some big names that came on stage and were also very good. The only group I would probably never want to see on stage again was G-unit... horrible performance! Tonight was far from what we had all expected in many aspects. We were all a little nervous that we were going to be stepping into a bad rave scene, however, this was far from anything like a typical techno/ dance trance concert that would take place in the US. Most Germans have a great deal of respect for techno and it is actually a big part of their culture. We were surprised to see people of all ages there, from 18 all the way to 50! There were absolutely no people giving "light shows", no girls dressed in next to nothing, and more importantly, no major drug usage to speak of! It was so exciting, yet refreshing to see a sober crowd go absolutely haywire for 9 hours straight! We were also very entertained by the crazy circusy people that danced on stage, the overload of pyro-technics, and intense usage of every type of light imaginable! The bottom line is Tiesto is nothing less than extraordinary, and don't miss him on his world tour! Promise me!
My name is Brittany and I am currently attending Loyola Marymount University (Go Lions!) to attain a Bachelors in Business. I am a collegiate member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. I work very hard, but I also play hard. I love my friends, family, and I can't live without coffee.
be going. In addition we will have guided tours through the famous Reina Sofia, Picasso Museum, The Prado, and a day excursion through Toledo! Should be Awesome! 
exotic flowers. We also found an awesome lake with the Swiss Alps as the backdrop; this was the perfect spot to chill on the edge of the docks and indulge in the swiss chocolates we bought! 
ver, this was far from anything like a typical techno/ dance trance concert that would take place in the US. Most Germans have a great deal of respect for techno and it is actually a big part of their culture. We were surprised to see people of all ages there, from 18 all the way to 50! There were absolutely no people giving "light shows", no girls dressed in next to nothing, and more importantly, no major drug usage to speak of! It was so exciting, yet refreshing to see a sober crowd go absolutely haywire for 9 hours straight! We were also very entertained by the crazy circusy people that danced on stage, the overload of pyro-technics, and intense usage of every type of light imaginable!
