Berlin, Poland, Budapest, and Home... The End

Berlin:

Abbie and I flew out to Berlin to meet Asha. We spent abour four days in Berlin but needed many more! I really enjoyed Berlin. Obviously it has so much history and character, so I really enjoyed learning more about that. Abbie and I arrived in Berlin a day before Asha. Our first day was so beautiful! It was kind of weird going from chilly Scotland to warm Germany. We really just visited Reichstag, or parliament. We actually just noticed the building from a far and decided we wanted to check it out. Little did we know it was the Reichstag. We thought it was cool because it was a pretty older building with this huge modern glass dome on the top. The glass dome was the coolest part because you could see people walking around it on the ramp. Turns out Parliament modeled it after the fact that they want to be a transparent government. You can actually see right through the building. It was really neat. I learned that Berlin has a lot of neat and meaningful architecture. So many monuments or even just buildings are so symbolic in their structure.For example, one of the WWII monuments is made up of four walls with a whole in the ceiling. The whole in the ceiling can be interpretted in any way one wishes, but our tour guide said the architecture was wanting it to be an open place where all elements (wind, rain, snow) can come in. I like that.

Berlin seemed to go by really fast. We went on the free walking tour, which was once again really informative. They just really give you a feel for the city. I bought some Birkenstocks! I think that was exciting for only me. But they were half the price they are in the states! I think one of the coolest things about Berlin for me was running into a friend of mine! Maryville is not a huge school, in fact it is not even a big school. Only 7 people studied abroad this past semester. Out of the 7 people abroad, I managaed to run into one! Sam Howell, who studied abroad in Milan, Italy was in Berlin too! We were even in the same hostel! I thought I was seeing things at first. I always see people on the street who I think I know. I just seem to see everyone's look a like around. I thought this was the same thing at first. Nope! It was Sam! How crazy and insane is that!! Brad and Amanda (who I travelled with the first couple of weeks) were also there. It was a huge reunion, at least for me. AND there was another guy from Maryville, TN in the hostel! He didn't go to MC, but that just means that three people in Berlin at this huge hostel were from good ol' Maryville, TN! I thought that was so neat.

Since I am writing these after my travels, I will try to just sum everything up and not go into too much detail (but sometimes I like details!). Another cool thing about Berlin was the traffic light. The green was this sweet communist farmer happily walking to work and the red light was a I assume a happy communist farmer not walking. They were so cute! Berlin also has a lot of graffiti. But instead of looking trashy it looks really artistic and gives the city so much character. The Berlin wall, or what is left of it, is of course covered with graffiti. Berlin also has a lot of parks, so naturally we took advantage of that.

Berlin was really neat and I really enjoyed the city. It is a city full of life and character, and you can definately feel it.

Poland:

After Berlin we went to Wroclaw, Poland. Although it looks like it spells out Wro-claw, it is more pronounced like Ratslav, or something like that. We were only in Wroclaw for one night to break up the long journey from Berlin to Krakow. It was such a sweet town though! One of the unique parts of the city is the 50 or so dwarf statues randomly placed throughout the city. That is right, you can do a scavanger hunt for cute little dwarfs! But they are much harder to find than you think! Each little gnome has its own story. We have not figured out the meaning behind them, but they were still so cute. I mean how could gnome hunting not make you happy? My favorite was the dwarf holding the sunflower! We didn't get to see all 50 sadly, but the 15 or so we did see were too cute. I know there is so much more to Wroclaw than dwarf statues, but that was basically my experience since we spent such little time there.

Next we went to Krakow where we stayed with a Polish family! My grandfather, who is Polish, has family living in Krakow. I had been talking with Agnieszka, the daughter for a couple months now on Facebook getting to know her. They were so kind and opened up their home to basically three total stangers. It was so lovely to stay with family and really get the polish experince. Plus, I think it helped that they were so sweet about everything. They cooked every meal for us in the three days we were there, lent us the brother's room to sleep in, and Agnieszka even showed us around the city! It was Abbie's 22nd birthday while we were in Krakow, and Mrs. Bohdan made her a cake!!! They were so generous and we were overwhelmed by their hostpitality. It was also neat for me on a personal level because they are my family, even if not blood related.

We went to Krakow's castle/palace that is really beautiful. It kind of makes me upset when cities call palaces "castles". It is so misleading. But this one was literally half and half. Krakow also had the largest town square in Europe!! That was neat. We also went to Aushwitz our last day in Krakow. I was not exactly looking forward to it, but I knew I needed to go. It was really intense and heavy to digest. I think the hardest thing for me was seeing all of the hair they shaved off of the women after the gas chambers and all of the shoes. There were so many shoes. Very hard to digest. I am glad I went, but as I keep saying, it was very intense.

To get to Aushwitz you have to take a bus of some kind since it is about an hour and a half drive. On the way there Asha and I (Abbie did not go because she is coming back...conclusion:it was just Asha and I) luckily had seats. There were a lot of people standing in the aisles. I think in most cases that is normal. However, this was a little mini bus that did not have much room at all. Although all the seats were full the driver kept letting people on! The way there wasn't that bad since Asha and I were not reallly effected by it. Well, on the way back we got screwed over! We were squinched up against eachother right by the windshield for over an hour! That s not safe! At first we just didn't have seats so we sat on the floor. But the driver kept letting people come on, even when there really was no room. That has to be illegal!

Budapest:
We took a night train from Krakow to Budapest. Luckily there was only one other person in the 6 cabin, so we had a lot of extra room. We were in Budapest for about 4 days. It was so amazing! We thought we were going to Prague, but the tickets were a lot more than we had budgeted for. The only problem with Budapest was that we had so much time. Since we thought we had so much time, we kind put off a lot of things until the end. The first couple of days we really just relaxed, I mean we were pretty exhausted from everything. Budapest is known for their thermal baths, so we definetly hit that up. We spent five hours at the baths! They were so cool and relaxing though. It was really just a bunch of pools, both inside and outside, that had different temperatures and purposes. For instance, one was really hot, another was realy cold, one was medinal, one had a current, one was for laps, and then they had a bunch of other ones with ranging temperatures. So there would be one really cold one and then one really really cold one. They also had saunas, but to be honest, I was not too impressed. It was nice to be back in a sauna though. I had missed the sauna smell. Another day we all went and had massages.

One day I spent alone walking around Castle Hill, which was on a hill over looking the city. It was so beautiful walking around! Asha and Abbie went to a museum I wasn't interested in, so it was kind of relaxing hanging out by myself all day. Another day we took a tour by boat, which mixed up our normal walking yours. Budapest was just so beautiful. It had a lot of green hills around the city, with a river seperating Buda and Pest.

Home:

Finally I flew back to Finland for less than about 10 hours. It was weird to fly back around midnight and it still be light outside in Finland. I was really excited to fly back in to Helsinki. Part of me felt like I was coming home. Hearing the Finnish accent and langauage again just made me smile. I was able to hang out with a couple friends and say some more goodbyes. The sun didn't set until 3ish, then rose again around 4ish, which was about the time I had to leave for the airport. But it was so weird because it was so much warmer and the trees actually had leaves on them! It was such a bittersweet feeling going back.

Then, I was finally on my flight home. I flew Helsinki to Vienna, Vienna to Toronto, Toronto, to Atlanta (I missed my flight from Toronto to Detriot, but luckily they were able to help me out), and then finally Atlanta to Memphis, where my family and Bean greeted me with American flags and a lovely sign. I also ran into someone I knew on the flight from Atlanta to Memphis, which was really weird. I do have to say it was weird being back into the States. But boy did I have a huge smile on my face. It was weird not having to have my adapter inorder to charge my computer, things like that. It was good to be back though. Bittersweet for sure. I just feel so lucky that I was able to spend 6 months of my life on such an incredible and life changing experience.

UK: London and Edinburgh

I finally made it to the UK! I went to London for only about one night, and then now I have been in Edinburgh, Scotland for about three days. I went to London by myself and this was the first time I have ever travelled alone. I was a little nervous, especially about meeting people.

When I first got there, naturally I had trouble finding my hostel. I always seem to have trouble with this. Although I had a bit of trouble, I found it quicker than I would have say I was in a non-English speaking country. I was actually able to talk to anyone for the first time! I cannot tell you how weird and exciting that was. This was the first English speaking country I have been in since January. Yes, Finland was not difficult to get around, but I still did not speak the first language. For the first time I was really able to hear what others where talking about, read the newspaper, understand advertisements, and speak as quickly as I wanted to. I didn't think I missed it that much, but it felt so great and weird at the same time. It took a couple days to get used to to be honest.

So my first night I ended up meeting some people who I hung out with my entire stay in London. I was looking for an ATM around my hostel and I thought they were as well. I heard them speaking English in an American accent, so I just assumed they were staying at my hostel as well. Turns out they had nothing to do my hostel nor were they looking for an ATM. But it was three guys who has all studied together at Oxford University a couple years ago and were having a reunion back in England. Two were from New York and then one was English. They were very nice and even gave me a grand tour of the city the next day.

Since I only had one day in London I had to speed see. So I ate egg's Benedict, saw the London Towers, The Globe, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben, a ton of double decker buses, rode the tube, and I even went to platform 9 and 3 quarters (for the Harry Potter fans out there) all in one day! I was very tired by the end. Everything was so amazing and I wish I had had more time to spend. I will have to go back to London. Big Ben was so huge and beautiful as well as the entire Westminster Abbey. The London Eye was really neat, but too expensive and long of a wait for me to ride. I tried to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe that night, but sadly it was sold out. How cool would that have been though? Buckingham palace was really pretty, but sadly I did not see any guards with the red outfits and funny hats. There were guards outside the Palace, but not the typical uniform. The tube, or metro as everyone else calls it was interesting. It was a lot skinnier than other metros, and an English voice speaks to you a lot. Mind the Gap is said over and over in some parts. I loved it. One of the main highlights though was going to platform 9 and 3 quarters at Kingscross. I don't know if that is sad or not.

That night I took a night bus from London to Edinburgh. Night buses suck, far more than night trains. This may be too much information, but my feet were actually really swollen the entire ride. I think my body had finally had enough after about two straight weeks of going non-stop. I think I half way slept through the 9 hour ride, but it was not a comfortable sleep. When I woke up and couldn't sleep anymore, I looked out the window to see the sun rising, rolling green hills, and sheep everywhere! Yep, we were in Scotland. Oh I was so excited!

I have been wanting to come to Scotland for a long time! I was a little nervous that my high expectations would just let me down. However, not only have I been impressed with everything I thought I would, but so many other things have impressed me too! I am not sure if that made sense.

Abbie and her mom picked me up from the train station in Edinburgh around 5:30am. We went back and had a cup of tea and a scone. It was so nice and so British, I loved it! Once I was able to shower and prop my feet up the swelling finally went down, which was really nice. Then we took a drive around the town so I could see a little bit of Edinburgh. It was so lovely! Most of the buildings are original and so beautiful. The entire city is also very green, with a beautiful garden in the middle of the city. There is also a castle!! We even drove up Arthur's Seat, which is a huge "hill" that over looks the city. It was so lovely.

The next day I took the free walking tour that I have taken in both Amsterdam and Paris. It was so great here! I went by myself, but ended up meeting two other American girls who had studied abroad in Europe this past semester as well. It was neat because we all were kind of going through the same thing.

On the tour we saw J.K. Rowling's inspiration for Hogwarts, which also turned out to be the school her kids attended. They called it the original Hogwarts! It was right next to a graveyard and is rumored to have been the source of her names for the book. Sadly I did not have enough time to check and see if it was true. We also went by the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first book!! They claimed it to be the original birth place of Harry Potter. So, in about three days I saw three Harry Potter things that I just found so fascinating and really neat(which makes me a dork...)

The Scots are known for their fried foods, so I had a fried Mars bar. Although it is something they are "known" for, everyone asked me what I was eating when I walked out of the chip shop. Plus, not one Scot I have talked to has ever eaten one. I guess they usually just get fish and chips.

Sunday we took a drive to the country to visit her parent's house in Perth. It was so nice and beautiful! It was only about an hours drive away, but the whole ride was just amazing. This country is so beautiful, I think I am in love. I saw more sheep, more rolling hills, a lot of farm land, cows, and those beautiful yellow flower fields for the oil I saw all over Holland. I was taking pictures left and right, which of course Abbie and her boyfriend seemed to find a bit funny.

Her parent's cottage in Perth was so nice and I really had a great time. We all drank tea and ate desserts together, and then took a walk around the country side. Once again everything was just so beautiful and green! Her grandparents were there as well. I think I did pretty well understanding the Scottish accent.

I am so sorry these posts are so long. Tonight is my last night in Scotland. I cannot tell you how nice it was to have a home to stay in and not a hostel. I feel so much more energized and relaxed at the same time. I don't think I realized how tired I really was. This stay at Abbie's came at the perfect time in my trip by being in the middle. I have had proper home cooked meals for the past three days, including a huge Scottish breakfast and steak.

Now I am off to Berlin where Abbie and I will meet Asha in a couple days. Back to hostels, cold showers, and limited internet time (which I think I am finding as a good thing since I didn't come to Europe to be on Facebook). I am not complaining though, I am actually really excited for the second half of my travels.

Italy

Italy has always been a country I have wanted to visit. Italian food has always held a special place in my heart and tummy. Last week (I am writing these in order of the days I visited, but I am not posting them until a couple days later or whenever I have internet access) I finally was able to go. I wished I could have spent longer than roughly 4 days in Italy, but I guess I should take what I can get. Italy was amazing and everything I thought it would be.

The night train we took from Paris to Milan, Italy was bad but not miserable. It actually could have been a lot worse. The cabin was tiny with six beds (3 on each side like a triple bunk bed). Surprisingly I slept pretty well considering I was on the very top bunk. We arrived in Milan around 5am, meaning we were not able to actually see the city. Although I saw the outskirts on the train ride away, I wished we could have had longer to see the city. We took a four hour train ride from Milan to Pisa.

Pisa was actually amazing. There really isn’t much to do expect see the leaning Tower of Pisa, but I thoroughly enjoyed just the walk to find the Tower. The sun was bright, the grass was green, beautiful mountains were in the horizon (which I freaked out about. Man I miss mountains), and my favourite (I am on a British computer, so sadly it makes me spell things the British way. I apologize now in advance. Not that the British spelling is bad, it is just not how I spell it) part was the fact that clothes lines were hanging outside the window. It gave it such a neat feel. Pisa is pretty small, but we actually didn’t find the Tower as quickly as we should of.

On the way to the Tower we stopped at this sweet Pizzeria that had a terrace in the back. I was actually not too impressed with the pizza. I ordered olive and cheese pizza, but the olives had the seeds still in them. I know this sounds picky, but it is actually pretty hard to eat pizza with seeds in it. The meal was redeemed by the fresh pineapple I ordered that was delicious.

Finally we made it to the Tower. And you better believe it is leaning, it is leaning a lot. The pictures really don’t show it leaning as much as it was. It was really funny when we walked up because everyone had the same idea, to hold up or push down the Tower. I’m sure from their camera it looked legit, but from my perspective they just looked silly. Naturally we all did the same thing. I held up the Tower and even booty bumped it. It was cool to see what different poses you get. After about 30 minutes or so of just sitting doing different poses with the Tower, we were finally off to Venice.

After another four hour train ride of watching the beautiful mountains pass by and the sunset behind them, we were in Venice. And of course, once again, we had problems getting to the hostel. The blame should not be placed on us, but instead the non-reliable Italian bus system. After the bus came in between its said times while I was getting us dinner, we walked to the second bus station. There were these sweet guys at the bus station that could tell we needed help. They didn’t speak much English, but you could tell they wanted to help. They even offered me a bench seat when I sat on the ground!

Luckily we ended up on the right bus (only because we hopped on everyone that came by before they told us to get off and try ___, saying a different one each time). Again while we were asking he bus driver if he was going towards our street, this Italian guy came up speaking English. Turns out our hostel was right by his house, so he kindly showed us when to get off and exactly where to go! How nice!

We stayed at a camping site that also had cabins and tents. It was actually really nice. We had three beds with our own bathroom. The only downside was how far away it was from the main islands. We had to pay 2 € a person each time we wanted ride the camping shuttle to the islands. Yes it wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it not to deal with Italian public transportation.

Venice was absolutely gorgeous. No cars are allowed in the city, so all movement is done by either foot or boat. The canals run all throughout the city. The canals, bridges, and streets were all so cute, narrow, and small. Gondolas were riding all throughout the canal! Venice is known for its blown glass, which is just beautiful. There were tons of shops of just the glass. They made everything too. You could get clocks, watches, any kind of jewellery, and even a paper weight all with an original blown art design.

The great thing about Venice was the fact that we could relax. Unlike Paris, there are not a bunch of different sights you HAD to see. Yes there were a couple things you HAD to do, but one of the main things is to relax and enjoy the city. We sat by the canal a couple times to just soak up the sun and enjoy the atmosphere.

They claim that it is inevitable to get lost in Venice. We brought a map our first day, but ended up not bothering to bring it the second day. You could never find the streets on the map, and even if you found one street, you could never find the following one. After eating gelato (yummy!) we started to look for a good gondola ride. We knew it was going to be expensive, but we wanted to get the best one possible. We thought it would be best if we found one away from the crowd. Naturally we found them before we started looking and the moment we wanted one, no one was in site. We ended up getting lost more in the local area of the town. Venice is quite touristy (one of its few downfalls), and it gets a little too quiet when you go away from the crowd. Parts of it were actually quite nice though. I saw so many beautiful flowers on the window seal and a lot of laundry on the clothes line. I felt like I was able to see more of the local life in real life.

Finally we found our way and rode on the best gondola ride ever! We talked him down to 70 euros and not 80 (I know its not cheap, but it was split between 3 people). Our guy was pretty cool. He of course had his blue stripped shirt on with his straw hat and blue band coming down. The ride was so nice! The water was just a pretty sea foam green. We rode on the gondola for about 30 minutes. The last couple minutes we ran into some gondola traffic. One of the guys in the next boat has out his accordion singing “That’s Amore”. It was so cliché and cheesy that I just loved it! Who doesn’t want to hear about a pizza pie hitting your eye while in Italy?

To try and make this long story less long, Venice was perfect. It came at the perfect time on the trip. After tiring Paris, it was nice to relax. I love being in the sun and wearing a dress! The gelato, pizza, and pasta were all delicious! I loved Italy! I wished I could have stayed longer, but I guess that means I have to go back. That seems to be my theory for everything.

I only spent two nights in Venice. I left Brad and Amanda on the 13th to ride on a plane to London by myself (Don’t worry family. I am already back safe and sound from London and I will write all about the UK soon). Although on the plane ride over we flew over the Alps. I know I say this a lot, but they were simply amazing and so beautiful. I thought that was pretty neat.

My photos really don't capture the beauty, but I tried.

Paris

Let me just start out by saying that I think French is one of the most beautiful languages, and I could just listen to it all day. Luckily I have been listening to it for the past three or four days. After Brussels we had some complications with out train tickets. I have a Eurail pass, which is a train pass for traveling in Europe. We had planned on going from Brussels to Luxembourg, a sweet fairy-tale country below Belgium and next to France. But we missed our first train to Luxembourg, which turned out to be a really good thing because they were sold out on tickets from Luxembourg to Paris. So we would have been stuck in sweet fairy-tale town with nothing to do. Instead, we went to Lille, which was also seen as Lille Europe (yep, little Europe). We were actually pretty excited about our trip to Lille, even if we were only spending an hour there. We repeatedly said Lille over and over in a French accent. You really just say a bunch of Ls. So it sounds more like “lull” with a lot more L than U.

Lille was nice, but you only needed about an hour to see everything. They had a really pretty town square with pretty churches. They were having come kind of display or contest of some sort with the theme XXL Europe. I thought that was a little ironic since it was being hosted in Lille. One of the first things we saw as we walked out of the train station was a bunch of giant babies that were half dinosaur… interesting right? It was actually really funny to see a beautiful older street lined with 10-12 feet baby human dinosaurs.

Finally we arrived in Paris, the city of love and lights. Paris was amazing. We only spent three days, but I wish I had do much more time to just soak everything in. Because we were a little rushed we went from one thing to the next a lot, not really having time to digest Paris.

The first day we had lunch on the lawn of the Louvre. We had French style hot dogs and some fries, which were both amazingly good! Then afterwards we walked to the Eiffel Tower. The walk was actually pretty long and the whole time I was nervous! We were trying to make the sunset, so I just felt like I was racing the sun the whole time. Finally, we got there. Wow. That is all I could say. It is so beautiful and large and amazing and… okay you get the point. So we sat on the lawn in front of it and watched the sun go down. It was so pretty in the day and even really pretty at sunset, but nothing beats the night time. It was all lit up with a perfect dark blue sky. Yes we had a baguette too as we watched the sun go down. Some people on the lawn had guitars, which gave it this really peaceful feeling. Right as we were leaving the whole thing began to sparkle! It happens on the hour every 5-10 minutes they say. It was so pretty!!! Then, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen happened. The full moon had been hidden behind some clouds. But when it came out, I was speechless. It was a perfect moment. I love the moon, especially the full moon. So to see it lit up all bright behind the lit up Eiffel Tower was perfect. We all just stood there speechless for a bit. It was simply surreal.

The next day we did a free walking tour with same company that we used in Amsterdam. Since Paris is so different and a lot bigger than Amsterdam, this tour was not as informative. It was nice once again to see another part of the city that is not as famous or cliché, but we did not get up close to a lot of the famous sites. After the tour we went to the Louvre where we saw the famous Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. To be honest, I was not as impressed with the Mona Lisa. It was behind this think glass surrounded by guards and a huge crowd. I personally enjoyed the Van Gogh museum much more, but that is just me. It was neat to see the Mona Lisa, don’t get me wrong. We walked around the Louvre for a couple hours and of course still only saw a blip of all the amazing art it holds.

After being worn out from the Louvre, we went up to the Montmarte, a famous church in Paris that has an incredible view of the city. Then we ventured over to Moulin Rouge. The street it was on was all about sex! It was way worse than Amsterdam. However, the actually Moulin Rouge was pretty cool. I actually met some Tennesseans who went to UT! That was pretty random and really cool. We ate out to treat ourselves while in Paris. We even were brave and ordered escargot. I really liked it, except when I realized I was eating snail! I think my favorite part was my Brie for dessert, yep, Brie was on the desert menu. So I ate straight up Brie… delicious!

The third day, our last day, we had to fit everything else in. We didn’t mean to wait until the last day to do everything, but by the end of the day we were just so exhausted we didn’t want to do anything else. Paris has so much! We first went to the Eiffel Tower so we could go up it. It only took about 45 minutes or so from the line to reach the top. It was pretty crowded, but I expected worse. The view from the Tower was incredible. This was also one of those surreal moments where I could not believe I was actually on the Eiffel freakin Tower! Amazing. Naturally we had a baguette on the tower as well.

We quickly rushed off to see the Statue of Liberty, which was tiny compared to New York’s. It was also unguarded and completely open for anyone to walk up. Next we went to the Arc de Triomphe, was also beautiful and amazing. I seem to be saying that about everything, but it seems to apply to everything. We wanted to see the Arc at night, but we ran out of time. I guess that just gives me another reason to come back. Finally we went to the Notre-Dam. This was the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen, and I have been to a lot in Europe. Usually all churches are more or less the same on the inside. But the Notre-Dam was breathe taking on the outside and the inside, as well as huge!

Paris was wonderful and I would even say magical. I really enjoyed it. We ate croissants, baguettes, crepes, escargot, brie, fries, quiche, French hot dogs, and more croissants.

I took so many pictures of the Eiffel Tower, so there are just a couple above.

Bremen,Amsterdam, Brussels

Well I can now officially cross a couple things off my To Do List in life. I can now cross off waffles and chocolate in Belgium, riding a bike in Amsterdam, seeing the Sunflower by Van Gogh, riding on a train through France, and eating a Bratwurst in Germany. I have only been traveling for four days, but they have been a fantastic and full four days.

Monday morning around 5am we left on a train from Helsinki to Tampere, Finland to catch our flight to Bremen, Germany. We were only in Bremen for about 3 hours, but I loved every hour of it. I saw spring officially for the first time all year. Yes, I saw a little blip of it in Stockholm, but Bremen was full on! I saw trees with full green leaves on them, I saw real green grass, and I smelled spring! I also wished upon my first dandelion, if you know me at all you now how much I love wishing on dandelions. Spring is so beautiful to me now since I was deprived of it for a while. I mean the smell of pollen was so amazing!! I’m sure all of you in the States are annoyed at those yellow things that fall on your car, but right now I could just lay in a pile of those and be so happy. The little things mean so much when those little things are absent for a while.

In Bremen we walked around a park for a while that led to this beautiful windmill surrounded by flowers in the shape of the city seal. It was so pretty!! Bikes were everywhere in Bremen (although not nearly as many people rode bikes compared to Amsterdam). Then we went to the city center where we ate Bratwurst with mustard in this tiny bun.

On the train ride to Amsterdam we saw some beautiful landscapes. It was full of fields and crops. My favorite was the yellow flower field. I am not sure what the flower is exactly, but they are everywhere, so bright and pretty. We (Amanda, Brad, and I…. that is who I am traveling with at the moment. They are an American couple from West Virginia. Brad studied in Helsinki and Amanda in Stockholm this past semester) also saw a lot of cows, some more windmills, cute houses, and then some more fields. I have really enjoyed riding on the trains from country to country. You really get to see some beautiful parts of the country.

Amsterdam was amazing. I loved it. So far it has been my favorite, but I still have many more to go. I completely misjudged it thinking it was all about sex and drugs. Yes, prostitution and pot are present in the city, but they are also present in any other city. We took a tour of the city and learned that it is all about tolerance. So while most cities try to hide the fact that prostitution and drugs exist, Amsterdam makes it legal to a certain extent. There are still many rules to them, and the city is slowly trying to make them illegal again. Nothing went away when they made it illegal a long time ago. It just went underground. So they made it legal so that they could regulate it and control it.

Anyways, there was so much more to the city than sex and drugs, also known as the Red Light District. Canals run throughout the city, lined with trees, house boats, and then long narrow streets. The houses are all compacted together and a lot are leaning slightly forward. While Bremen felt like spring, Amsterdam felt like fall. These leaves or flowers were falling off the trees everywhere, making it feel like fall. Plus, the weather was a little cool and windy with some rain. I felt like spring and summer was completely taken away and that I had gone through this time machine.

We ate a lot of food in Amsterdam. We ate their pancakes, which can have cheese and bacon cooked in them (amazing!!), Belgian fries in a cone with mayonnaise (we ate them in Brussels too), and these snacks called Stroopwaffels. They are these crispy waffles that have this syrup stuff inside. They are amazing.

The first day we just walked around the city and fell in love with the canals! The second day we took out free city tour where we learned so much about the city! I won’t put it all in here, but just know it is a city full of history and amazing stories. During the tour we were walking by the Red Light District. The guide kept telling us NOT to take pictures of the girls in the windows (the prostitutes) when we get there. He really stressed this, which stressed me out because I thought I was surely going be the one to take the picture. The girls get really mad and have been known to throw things at you. So, I told myself over and over again not to take a picture! Well sure enough I took a picture, but I did not mean to! Here is the story. I had no idea we were in the Red Light District. It looked just the same and we were on the side, so we didn’t see any actual red lights. So there was this sign in a window up high that read “You are Beautiful”. I really liked it. I thought it was sweet. So I zoomed in and took a picture…. But it was right above some girls in the window… yep…. They knocked really hard and kind of got mad. I was lucky to not get anything thrown at me. I really felt bad. I didn’t know they were there! I felt bad for the guide because he is the one who gets in trouble for it. Oh I felt so stupid. I knew I was going to be the one to do it!

The third day we rented bikes!! It was so much fun! The Dutch bikes have a back brake, so that was a little hard to get used to. We rode our bikes to a windmill on the edge of town, but we were too early for their open hours. So instead of taking a tour inside, we ate our lunch in a park by the canal. Then we rode our bikes to the Van Gogh Museum. Now, if you know me and my love for dandelions, then you must also know of my love for sunflowers. I love sunflowers a whole lot. So I was pretty pumped to see Van Gogh’s Sunflower painting. They also had a night exhibit that showed his Starry Night. Usually the Starry Night is in NYC, so the fact that we were able to see it was a big treat. We also saw all of his other paintings. I am not much of a museum person, but seeing Van Gogh’s original paintings of windmills and peasants and nature was so fascinating and amazing. Obviously the Sunflower was my favorite part and I even snuck a picture! I don’t know how long I stood in front of that beautiful painting, but I took my time. In all, Amsterdam was simply amazing. I even tried on a pair of wooden shoes. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it!

Thursday was spent in Brussels. We took the train which again had a beautiful view the whole way. We only spent one night in Brussels. But we saw the EU Parliament which handed a whole bunch of free pamphlets, maps, and information books. Then we went to the town square, which claims to be one of the best preserved in Europe. I think I can agree with that. The Cathedral alone was beautiful. I find it fascinating how intricate and detailed some of those building are. It was also weird to see such medieval buildings on one street and then a high rise on the other. I hadn’t seen a sky scrapper in a long time. There is a famous statue of a little boy peeing in Brussels. After searching for a while, we were a little disappointed when the boy was tiny. We were expecting a giant little kid. It was still cool and funny because it was a fountain where the water came out his pee pee!!! Yes I just said pee pee. We ate Belgian Waffles and a lot of chocolate!! I even got my waffle with bananas and chocolate on it. It was amazing. I am eating really well over here, but I justify it by saying I am embracing the culture.

I’m sure there is a lot I am leaving out. However, it is late, I am in Paris (I will write about that soon…. A couple countries at a time here), and I have already written way too much. So if you have gotten this far, thank you for staying with me this long. I am having a blast, being safe, staying away from Swine Flu, and soaking up every moment I can.

The pictures above should be described in the post.

Goodbye Finland

This is it. My time in Finland is over. Wow did it fly by. I feel like I just got here! I mean wasn't it just yesterday that I went on the longest plane ride over here to this retirement center room??? How I am going to miss this silly room, and this cold windy city, and these awesome friends I have made. I am so excited about the journey ahead of me, but sad to be leaving this behind. I hate goodbyes! Today I have said too many. Luckily Facebook can bring us all together again. I just feel like it is the end of high school all over again. You know, when you know you are never going to see these people again? I'll admit that I cried today. Abbie, Asha, and I watched Grey's Anatomy (Like we do about everyday) for the last time tonight... the last time! We even bought 6 euro Ben and Jerry's to make it memorable. Luckily I am going to see them in Berlin in two weeks. But we will never be back in Domus (my building) eating chocolate and watching Grey's again.

Ok, so enough about my bittersweet feelings and emotions going on inside me. Let's talk about Vappu! Vappu is May Day. This is a huge event for the Finns! To put in a non-Finnish way, its when all the Finns come out of hibernation, wear bright colors, fill the city with HUGE balloons, and enjoy the outdoors! It was so much fun. It starts on Thursday(30th) and ends technically on Friday (1st).

The Finns get this sailor hat when they graduate high school, so this is the day they wear that hat. Also, university students usually wear these overall things that are really ugly actually but very practical. They wear them for special events. They also fill them with patches, kind of like the girl scouts vests. So, most people were walking around in their overalls and hats, but there were also cute old ladies with their cute husbands walking around in their hats too! Sailors were everywhere!

Vappu is a just a huge party on the streets of Finland. On Thursday there is this ceremony where about 7 or so people get hoisted up on crane in the air so that they can place a huge sailor hat on Havis Amanda, a statue of a naked girl in a park in the city. It was really cool. Then, after they party in the streets for the rest of the night, they wake up early to cookout in the park. The park was so crowded! We went with this disposable grill, which is the neatest and coolest thing ever!!!! Anyways, the Finns were much more prepared than we were. Some had actual tables, others had DJ's and mini dance parties, and then a lot brought their own grills. The park was so crowded, full of balloons and people in sailor hats and bright colors. Vappu is a huge deal for Finland, so it was neat to experience it here.

After everyone got burnt by the sun in the park, we grilled out again on the roof of our building. What we thought would just be a couple people turned out to be a huge gathering! It was great though just to hang out with everyone. I miss cooking out.

The weather is not warm, but its not cold either. Its about 50 F. So, Sunday a couple of us went to the beach and had a little picnic. The sand was actually out and not covered in ice! It was weird to be at the beach! I hate that I am leaving right when the warm weather is coming.

In about two hours I am off on a train to the airport where I will fly to Bremen, Germany. I am about to start my travels around the rest of Europe. Let me just say it is so bittersweet. I am so excited to see the rest of the world!! But, I am so sad to leave everyone. Also, I am sad to be leaving Europe all together in less than a month and to go back to the "real world".... but I am so excited to see everyone and to be back in TN with sweet tea and BBQ. A little side note: the Europeans/Australians call grilling out a BBQ, which is really confusing. I keep trying to tell them that you can have BBQ and have a cook out, but not every cook out has BBQ...confusing.

All day I have been packing and cleaning and saying goodbye. I guess this is real now. I am really leaving...

Above are pictures of my Vappu weekend.

Sunshine in Sweden

This past weekend I went with ESN, the organization for exchange students, to Stockholm, Sweden! We rode on a huge ferry (almost like a cruise, but not exactly)from 4:30 pm to 9:55 am when we arrived in Sweden. The ferry was fun but very crazy. We were in the worst rooms, you know the ones underneath the water! Yea, I felt like Jack from Titanic. I actually ended up in a room with three guys (which would never happen in the US! Guys and girls just aren't separated like they are at home). It was actually an accident that I ended up in that room. Anyways, The ferry was filled with live music, a lady with a mullet, amazing older couples who just wanted to dance, and me to watch it all! The live act consisted of three women in sparkly dresses and two men in matching tuxes. The older generation on the boat just wanted to get down and boogie with the sparkly people, and so they did. They would not let you get in their way either! The songs ranged from Finnish to Cher to Garth Brooks (which the Brit and Aussie claimed someone else sang. I think they were in denial of Garth).

As soon as we arrived in Stockholm, the jackets and socks went off and the sunglasses went on! It was amazing. I'm sure those of you back home don't think much of that. But after spending four months in a jacket and living in a city with wind and some sunshine, yea, I was very excited to not wear socks. Oh the little things in life. Asha, Abbie, and I just walked around the city. We found a park with green grass!! After lying in it for a while, we found another park! We also found a lot of cool playgrounds. I think each one we found had a castle and some crazy see-saw or spinning object in it. The second park we went to had the biggest and thickest blade of grass I think I have seen in a long time. Once again, oh how the little things make you so happy.

Our first day we really just walked around, saw the older city, ate a lot of ice cream, bought fruit from the outside stands, and sat by the water a lot to eat whatever we were eating at the time. Stockholm and Helsinki are very similar, but oh so different too! Both are on the water and both have little islands everywhere. But, Stockholm's city center was more surrounded by the water than Helsinki's. There are just so many bridges to connect the islands, meaning there are a lot places to walk along the water. It was so pretty! There were boats everywhere!

I am not trying to dis Helsinki. Its just that Stockholm was warm! Plus, everyone was out and about. The Finns claim this happens in the summer, but sadly I will not be here to witness that. Stockholm also had really beautiful architecture! Everyone who went came back with pink and red faces from the sun. Our poor skin hasn't seen the real sun in a long time. Okay, the sun comes out in Helsinki, but it just doesn't seem as warm as it did in Stockholm.

On our second day in Stockholm, we only had until 4:30 pm. Since we spent our first day in parks and walking around the city, we spent the second day going to the market and a museum. We went to the Nobel Museum. Sadly, we had to leave pretty Stockholm and get back on the ferry. On the way back we all stayed at the top of the ferry to be in the warmth and sun as long as possible.

It was such a nice break to be in Stockholm, especially not having to wear a jacket! I hate how pictures and blogs just don't do tt justice though. Now I am back in Helsinki, and it is actually getting a little warmer. Today I only wore a light jacket.

As for classes, I took a test today and I have an essay due at the end of the week. Other than that, I am through with classes! Once I finish this essay, I just have to clean my room and pack for my trip to Europe! I officially have all my plane tickets bought and my Eurail pass ready to go! It is so insane to me that this time next week I will be in Germany on my way to the Netherlands!

A lot will happen until that moment though. April 30th-May 2nd is Vappu, or May Day. It is a huge celebration for Finland. Someone once told me it was the St. Patty's Day of Finland... so I will let you know about that.

I have just put up pictures of lovely Stockholm.