Home Sweet Home
Hello out there!
Well, I've not been so good about updating this thing during the past couple of weeks. I've been home (as in Clarkston, MI) for over a week now and I still can hardly believe it! My program wrapped up in the end of January - I had exams and papers galore, plus 5 and a half months of my life to pack up into two suitcases! Fortunately for me, it all got finished (well, mostly) before heading off on 3 weeks of European travel. I cried and all that stuff while saying goodbye to my host family, to my friends I'd made, and to Clermont-Ferrand itself.
A couple days after my program ended, I flew to Florence to meet up with my family, who just happened to be vacationing in Italy...coincidence? I think not. It has always been a dream of my mom's to see Tuscany, so they planned a trip that coincided with the end of my program. I stayed with them for a few days in an apartment next to the Duomo...like literally, in the apartment building directly next to the Duomo. We rented a car and drove all over Tuscany, including a stop in Assisi. We had many an adventure with our GPS friend whom my mother nicknamed "Wilma" and whom my father so lovingly nicknamed "that little bitch", among other things which are not suitable for my blog. It was so great to see them. No, seriously! The hugs and kisses came at a much needed time!
After a few days with the fam, I took an overnight train to Interlaken, Switzerland, where I met up with my friend Sarah. Interlaken is amazing! The mountains and the lakes are so beautiful. Sarah and I decided to go to the top of the Schilthorn, a nice sized peak at 9,744ft. Halfway up, we got off of the gondola and took a trail along a ridge which provided an amazing panoramic view of the Jungfrau (13,642ft and the tallest peak in Europe), Monch, and Eiger. We then continued up and found ourselves suddenly on top of Europe! We could see Lyon, Paris, and London, which was pretty sweet. We then got an ice cream sundae and a chai latte in the rotating restaurant up on the summit, which happens to be a filming spot for one of the James Bond films! Before leaving Interlaken, we had cheese fondu and some very delicious Swiss chocolate. We then took the train to Basel, where we caught our plane later that night to Istanbul.
In Istanbul, we were greeted by our friend from K, Levent, who is studying abroad in Turkey. We stayed for 4 days or so with him and his grandma in her apartment. We had a great time! We saw the Ayasofya as well as the Blue Mosque, the cisterne, the Grand Bazaar, the Topkapi and Dolmabahce palaces (talk about extravagence!), as well as sipped turkish coffee and played backgammon on the Bosphorous. Istanbul was amazing - unlike anything I've ever seen! I think one of the highlights was the call to prayer - different prayers would sound from towers of mosques all over the city at the same time. So cool. Istanbul was a great cultural experience, and the food was delicious!! Plus, Levent's grandma is my new best friend.
From Istanbul, we flew to Berlin. We hadn't really planned on spending any real time in Berlin, we were more or less just passing through on our way to Prague. We did manage, however, to see the East Side Gallery - a chunk of the wall that still stands and was covered in murals in the 90s by artists all over the world. The original artists restored the paintings in 2000. It was really neat to see and I'm glad we made time for it.
Prague was fabulous. The architecture is so different! Pink, orange, and yellow stucco exteriors with fun rooflines and green steeples all over the place. We did a really neat tour of the Jewish section which has a horrendous history. We toured Prague castle, saw Franz Kafka's birthplace, saw some beautiful churches and ate some delicious goulash! The biggest highlight from Prague, other than meeting some French guys on the King Charles Bridge and talking to them in the rain for an hour and a half, was listening to Smetana's Moldau on my iPod while standing on the bank of the Moldau itslef. "Moldau" is the German name for the Vltava River, which runs through Prague. How cool to hear a piece of music that has always meant so much to me while standing on the bank of the river that it was written about. I never in a million years thought that would happen. Prague gets an A+.
Onto Vienna. Vienna was fabulous. We had decided to focus on the composers, and I'm glad we did! We visited the homes of Mozart and Beethoven, the Haus der Musik, which is a music museum, the Vienna opera house, as well as the cemetary where Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Strauss, and Schubert are all burried together. We payed homage by listening to some Beethoven on our iPods. Weird, I know, but you know what, those guys have put me through hell! We saw an opera at the Vienna opera house for 3.50 euro... which I still haven't decided whether or not it was a mistake. It was standing room only and we had a really smelly man in front of us and two teenaged Austrian boys behind us who were getting a little too close for comfort. Oh, and did I mention we were standing for 3 hrs??? The Opera was Manon Lescaut by Puccini - the music was fabulous but I wasn't feeling the storyline. Oh well, at least I can say I saw an opera in the Vienna opera house. While in Vienna, we ate some wienerschnitzel and some delicious desserts. We really got into the coffeehouse culture and found ourselves in deep conversation in several famous coffeehouses around town. Fun!
Budapest was our next stop. Buda and Pest couldn't be more different! Buda is hilly and Pest is completely flat. In Budapest, we saw more churches and synagogues, parliament (from the outside), Buda castle, fisherman's bastion (a really neat neighborhood in Buda Hills), the castle labrynth, and the central market. We did manage to reserve an afternoon at a famous spa where we enjoyed the thermal baths and got a massage. Haha, what an experience. Afterwards, we headed to the opera house where we took in a great orchestra concert. What a day that was. We spoiled ourselves! Oh, and the food was fabulous, if you like paprika, which I do!
Our last stop before home was Geneva. It was basically just a pit stop, but we managed to tour old town and see the lake, and all that good stuff. We then took the train home to Clermont, picking up our buddy Arnaud in Lyon. We stayed with Arnaud that night and then headed back to our host families the following day. I finished up packing and ran all my last minute errands and then headed home to the U.S. the next day! The morning of our departure, we were lucky enough to see the most beautiful sunrise ever from the plane window. What a gift that was.
So, I got into Detroit Metro at about 1:30 on feb. 17th WITHOUT MY LUGGAGE!! I didn't think it was possible! I arrived without my luggage on the way OVER, so I thought certainly I'd have it on the way back! WRONG! It's okay, it showed up a few days later. Anyway, I'm home now, and it's good to be here. I can't believe how fast time really does fly. What a great experience. It really was the experience of a lifetime! Too bad its over...now what!?
Well, now that the fun is over, I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. Once I'm healed, I'll be heading over to Kalamazoo to find an apartment for Senior year. Back to business! Then, I'm gonna take a weekend and head over to Chicago to see my brother. I head back to K at the end of March for Spring Quarter.
And there you have it ladies and gentlemen! Thanks for joining me on my journey. I hope these postings have provided at least a little entertainment! Take care!
Vanessa
Well, I've not been so good about updating this thing during the past couple of weeks. I've been home (as in Clarkston, MI) for over a week now and I still can hardly believe it! My program wrapped up in the end of January - I had exams and papers galore, plus 5 and a half months of my life to pack up into two suitcases! Fortunately for me, it all got finished (well, mostly) before heading off on 3 weeks of European travel. I cried and all that stuff while saying goodbye to my host family, to my friends I'd made, and to Clermont-Ferrand itself.
A couple days after my program ended, I flew to Florence to meet up with my family, who just happened to be vacationing in Italy...coincidence? I think not. It has always been a dream of my mom's to see Tuscany, so they planned a trip that coincided with the end of my program. I stayed with them for a few days in an apartment next to the Duomo...like literally, in the apartment building directly next to the Duomo. We rented a car and drove all over Tuscany, including a stop in Assisi. We had many an adventure with our GPS friend whom my mother nicknamed "Wilma" and whom my father so lovingly nicknamed "that little bitch", among other things which are not suitable for my blog. It was so great to see them. No, seriously! The hugs and kisses came at a much needed time!
After a few days with the fam, I took an overnight train to Interlaken, Switzerland, where I met up with my friend Sarah. Interlaken is amazing! The mountains and the lakes are so beautiful. Sarah and I decided to go to the top of the Schilthorn, a nice sized peak at 9,744ft. Halfway up, we got off of the gondola and took a trail along a ridge which provided an amazing panoramic view of the Jungfrau (13,642ft and the tallest peak in Europe), Monch, and Eiger. We then continued up and found ourselves suddenly on top of Europe! We could see Lyon, Paris, and London, which was pretty sweet. We then got an ice cream sundae and a chai latte in the rotating restaurant up on the summit, which happens to be a filming spot for one of the James Bond films! Before leaving Interlaken, we had cheese fondu and some very delicious Swiss chocolate. We then took the train to Basel, where we caught our plane later that night to Istanbul.
In Istanbul, we were greeted by our friend from K, Levent, who is studying abroad in Turkey. We stayed for 4 days or so with him and his grandma in her apartment. We had a great time! We saw the Ayasofya as well as the Blue Mosque, the cisterne, the Grand Bazaar, the Topkapi and Dolmabahce palaces (talk about extravagence!), as well as sipped turkish coffee and played backgammon on the Bosphorous. Istanbul was amazing - unlike anything I've ever seen! I think one of the highlights was the call to prayer - different prayers would sound from towers of mosques all over the city at the same time. So cool. Istanbul was a great cultural experience, and the food was delicious!! Plus, Levent's grandma is my new best friend.
From Istanbul, we flew to Berlin. We hadn't really planned on spending any real time in Berlin, we were more or less just passing through on our way to Prague. We did manage, however, to see the East Side Gallery - a chunk of the wall that still stands and was covered in murals in the 90s by artists all over the world. The original artists restored the paintings in 2000. It was really neat to see and I'm glad we made time for it.
Prague was fabulous. The architecture is so different! Pink, orange, and yellow stucco exteriors with fun rooflines and green steeples all over the place. We did a really neat tour of the Jewish section which has a horrendous history. We toured Prague castle, saw Franz Kafka's birthplace, saw some beautiful churches and ate some delicious goulash! The biggest highlight from Prague, other than meeting some French guys on the King Charles Bridge and talking to them in the rain for an hour and a half, was listening to Smetana's Moldau on my iPod while standing on the bank of the Moldau itslef. "Moldau" is the German name for the Vltava River, which runs through Prague. How cool to hear a piece of music that has always meant so much to me while standing on the bank of the river that it was written about. I never in a million years thought that would happen. Prague gets an A+.
Onto Vienna. Vienna was fabulous. We had decided to focus on the composers, and I'm glad we did! We visited the homes of Mozart and Beethoven, the Haus der Musik, which is a music museum, the Vienna opera house, as well as the cemetary where Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Strauss, and Schubert are all burried together. We payed homage by listening to some Beethoven on our iPods. Weird, I know, but you know what, those guys have put me through hell! We saw an opera at the Vienna opera house for 3.50 euro... which I still haven't decided whether or not it was a mistake. It was standing room only and we had a really smelly man in front of us and two teenaged Austrian boys behind us who were getting a little too close for comfort. Oh, and did I mention we were standing for 3 hrs??? The Opera was Manon Lescaut by Puccini - the music was fabulous but I wasn't feeling the storyline. Oh well, at least I can say I saw an opera in the Vienna opera house. While in Vienna, we ate some wienerschnitzel and some delicious desserts. We really got into the coffeehouse culture and found ourselves in deep conversation in several famous coffeehouses around town. Fun!
Budapest was our next stop. Buda and Pest couldn't be more different! Buda is hilly and Pest is completely flat. In Budapest, we saw more churches and synagogues, parliament (from the outside), Buda castle, fisherman's bastion (a really neat neighborhood in Buda Hills), the castle labrynth, and the central market. We did manage to reserve an afternoon at a famous spa where we enjoyed the thermal baths and got a massage. Haha, what an experience. Afterwards, we headed to the opera house where we took in a great orchestra concert. What a day that was. We spoiled ourselves! Oh, and the food was fabulous, if you like paprika, which I do!
Our last stop before home was Geneva. It was basically just a pit stop, but we managed to tour old town and see the lake, and all that good stuff. We then took the train home to Clermont, picking up our buddy Arnaud in Lyon. We stayed with Arnaud that night and then headed back to our host families the following day. I finished up packing and ran all my last minute errands and then headed home to the U.S. the next day! The morning of our departure, we were lucky enough to see the most beautiful sunrise ever from the plane window. What a gift that was.
So, I got into Detroit Metro at about 1:30 on feb. 17th WITHOUT MY LUGGAGE!! I didn't think it was possible! I arrived without my luggage on the way OVER, so I thought certainly I'd have it on the way back! WRONG! It's okay, it showed up a few days later. Anyway, I'm home now, and it's good to be here. I can't believe how fast time really does fly. What a great experience. It really was the experience of a lifetime! Too bad its over...now what!?
Well, now that the fun is over, I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. Once I'm healed, I'll be heading over to Kalamazoo to find an apartment for Senior year. Back to business! Then, I'm gonna take a weekend and head over to Chicago to see my brother. I head back to K at the end of March for Spring Quarter.
And there you have it ladies and gentlemen! Thanks for joining me on my journey. I hope these postings have provided at least a little entertainment! Take care!
Vanessa
posted by Seoulcially Akward Nessie at 12:50 PM
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