(no subject)
It used to be that when I missed just one day of writing in my LiveJournal, I was lost. I never really said anything, but I just wanted to recount my day, talk about whatever band I liked at that moment, complain, vent, etc. But for some reason I just completely lose interest every time I've tried to write an entry in probably the last year. I'm still reading everything though...I check every day, and I'm fascinated by reading old entries from High School (I was such a little piece of shit!). But now that I just had one of the craziest weeks of my life, I think I really do need to write an entry, just to keep track of what the hell I actually did.
Four cities. Four currencies. Four languages. Five unassuming American students. Nine days.
This was our spring break...no Pina Coladas or Cancun sunshine here. While the rest of the Ithaca College London Center program was jetting off to Italy for gelato, spaghetti, and wine, we following in the footsteps of the Nazis and Communists. We probably learned more on this trip than I've learned in my ICLC classes so far. I actually started writing a "first we did this, then we did this, then we did this" entry, but as usual, I completely lost interest. Instead, I think a +/- list will have to suffice, just so I can see how much shit we actually did.
Budapest, Hungary. 2/29-3/2
-Aboriginal Hostel, located in a sketchy apartment building
-Bed Bug bites
-Spider bites
-Being "fresh meat"
-Downpours
-Hail
-Lighting
-Using Hungarian Forints (they're on a 1000 scale...a meal costs like 1200 Forints)
+the Forint exchange rate ($1 = 173 forints)
+/-eating in a submarine
+Hungarian TGI Friday's
-Marzipan
Places we saw:
Grand Market Hall
Buda Castle
Buda Castle Labyrinths
Hungarian National Gallery
Matthias Church
Heroes Square
Vajdahunyad Castle
Gellerthegy (Enormous Hill with a billion steps)
Szabadsag Szobor (Statue at the top of the hill)
Fisherman's Bastian
Hungarian Parliament
House of Terror (Nazi and Communist occupation museum)
Vienna, Austria. 3/2-3/5
+Wombat's Hostel
+Mario
+Gelato
-Prater's refurbishment
-Centimeter II
+Shnitzel
-Audio guides
+/-Radetsky March
-Eddie the fat man eating chicken
-the Euro exchange rate
+Simplicity of Euros
Things we saw:
Hofburg (Imperial Palace)
Sisi Museum
1,000 table settings for the Hapsburgs
Parlament
Nachmarkt
Stephensplatz
Mozart Hauz
Hauz der Musik
Schonbrunn Palace
Prater
Karlskirche
Prague, Czech Republic 3/5-3/6
-Snow
-Wind
+Goulash and bread dumplings
+Noodle house
-Almost dropping my camera into the river
-Italian teenage tour groups
+Defenestration of Prague
Things we saw:
Prague Castle
St. Vitus's Cathedral
Charles Bridge
Old Town Square
Astronomical Clock
Museum of Communism
Tyn Church (Tycho Brahe!)
Wenceslas square
Josefov Jewish Quarter
Old-New Synogogue
Old Jewish Cemetery
Krakow, Poland 3/7-3/8
+Pierogies
+/-Victorian mansion restaurants
+the Homeland
+Goodbye Lenin's thorough receptionist
+Tacky souvenirs
-/+Overnight trains
+the dog that only barked at men
Things we saw:
Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp
Wieliczka Salt Mines
Kazimierz Jewish Quarter
Cloth Hall
Stare Mistro
Wawel Castle
Wawel Cathedral (Where Pope JP II was archbishop!)
Quotes of the week:
"Scratch your bites"
"Bite your bites"
"That's Paul's Grandfather, he's very clean"
"Can I just remind you that I'm _______ in my jeans?"
"I hate Hungary"
Four cities. Four currencies. Four languages. Five unassuming American students. Nine days.
This was our spring break...no Pina Coladas or Cancun sunshine here. While the rest of the Ithaca College London Center program was jetting off to Italy for gelato, spaghetti, and wine, we following in the footsteps of the Nazis and Communists. We probably learned more on this trip than I've learned in my ICLC classes so far. I actually started writing a "first we did this, then we did this, then we did this" entry, but as usual, I completely lost interest. Instead, I think a +/- list will have to suffice, just so I can see how much shit we actually did.
Budapest, Hungary. 2/29-3/2
-Aboriginal Hostel, located in a sketchy apartment building
-Bed Bug bites
-Spider bites
-Being "fresh meat"
-Downpours
-Hail
-Lighting
-Using Hungarian Forints (they're on a 1000 scale...a meal costs like 1200 Forints)
+the Forint exchange rate ($1 = 173 forints)
+/-eating in a submarine
+Hungarian TGI Friday's
-Marzipan
Places we saw:
Grand Market Hall
Buda Castle
Buda Castle Labyrinths
Hungarian National Gallery
Matthias Church
Heroes Square
Vajdahunyad Castle
Gellerthegy (Enormous Hill with a billion steps)
Szabadsag Szobor (Statue at the top of the hill)
Fisherman's Bastian
Hungarian Parliament
House of Terror (Nazi and Communist occupation museum)
Vienna, Austria. 3/2-3/5
+Wombat's Hostel
+Mario
+Gelato
-Prater's refurbishment
-Centimeter II
+Shnitzel
-Audio guides
+/-Radetsky March
-Eddie the fat man eating chicken
-the Euro exchange rate
+Simplicity of Euros
Things we saw:
Hofburg (Imperial Palace)
Sisi Museum
1,000 table settings for the Hapsburgs
Parlament
Nachmarkt
Stephensplatz
Mozart Hauz
Hauz der Musik
Schonbrunn Palace
Prater
Karlskirche
Prague, Czech Republic 3/5-3/6
-Snow
-Wind
+Goulash and bread dumplings
+Noodle house
-Almost dropping my camera into the river
-Italian teenage tour groups
+Defenestration of Prague
Things we saw:
Prague Castle
St. Vitus's Cathedral
Charles Bridge
Old Town Square
Astronomical Clock
Museum of Communism
Tyn Church (Tycho Brahe!)
Wenceslas square
Josefov Jewish Quarter
Old-New Synogogue
Old Jewish Cemetery
Krakow, Poland 3/7-3/8
+Pierogies
+/-Victorian mansion restaurants
+the Homeland
+Goodbye Lenin's thorough receptionist
+Tacky souvenirs
-/+Overnight trains
+the dog that only barked at men
Things we saw:
Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp
Wieliczka Salt Mines
Kazimierz Jewish Quarter
Cloth Hall
Stare Mistro
Wawel Castle
Wawel Cathedral (Where Pope JP II was archbishop!)
Quotes of the week:
"Scratch your bites"
"Bite your bites"
"That's Paul's Grandfather, he's very clean"
"Can I just remind you that I'm _______ in my jeans?"
"I hate Hungary"