It snows in London?

I know it has been a while since I have posted a new blog. Consumer Behavior just ended and we had a final project and essay last week. The time seems to fly by when I am here and I feel like free time escapes me. Posting a blog for a week of travel is also very daunting....so sorry if it is really long. Feel free to skim:-)

We were supposed to have our final essay last week, before we left for our week long break, but David was in South Africa and could not get us the prompt in time due to his bad Internet connection. We ended up having the evening off and a few of us celebrating by going to Karaoke at a local bar in Lugano.

The next morning we had to prepare and pack for the whole week before we had to be on the train to the Bergamo Airport in Milan. It was a little hectic to try to make sure we had all of the information we would need for our travels the next week, and the lack of decent internet in the Montarina posed a small problem.

We hopped on the train at about 3 and arrived in Bergamo at 5. I was surprised to see the scenery as we left our little resort-town bubble of Lugano and passed by the graffiti covered lower income areas of Italy. It was too early to eat dinner at any of the local restaurants because they were all closed and the only place open to spend our 2 hour lay over was McDonald's. I think the woman behind the counter was a little overwhelmed with the onslaught of 11 hungry Americans and was blatantly flustered at our paying with the large bills we get from the ATMs.

Katie and I each got a “Piccoli Piacere” (a small spicy/herby chicken sandwich) and split a medium curly fries (yes curly fries from McDonald's!) We hung out on the top floor of the three story McDonald's until it was time for us to board the city bus to the Airport. We arrived 2 hours early and proceeded to the check in desk for Ryanair.

Ryanair is one of the cheapest airlines you can ride in Europe, but there are reasons for it which would become obvious throughout the rest of our travels. They are extremely strict about their checked/carry-on baggage size/weight and you can get screwed paying a bunch of money to check a bag that you thought you would be able to carry on if you don't indicate it prior to arriving at the airport. Their terminal is always the furthest possible from the check in desk and there are no assigned seats. You board the plane in a first come first served fashion so as soon as they announce boarding everyone mobs the door so they will have prime choice of seats when they get on the plane. Our group did pretty well and we were among the first people to board the flight.

A thick fog had rolled into Bergamo and our flight was delayed by 30 mins and then an hour. We were nervous that we would get to London Stanstead to late to catch the last (1AM) bus into the city. When we landed we ran to the luggage claim, grabbed our bags and booked it to the Terravision bus. Luckily they had advance warning of our late flight and were running a later bus. Katie, Alexis, Cheryl and I were dropped off in the city center where we split from Brittany, Amanda and Sarah who were staying in a separate hostel. We grabbed a cab to what we thought would be a close location to the other girls...but oh were we wrong.

We arrived at Journey's Smoking Barrels hostel, whose only claim to fame is that it was a location for the movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. We laughed as we turned down the street at 3 in the morning. It was in the middle of nowhere and the neighborhood did not look very friendly We asked the cab driver if we were in a good part of town. He laughed and said we “weren't in the worst part of town”....oh goody.

We were greeted by a moldy stench and a receptionist who obviously didn't enjoy his job at a run-down hostel with 24 hour reception. We were informed that our booking had been changed and that 2 of us would be staying in a 8 bed mixed dorm room and the other 2 would be staying in an 6 bed mixed dorm room, both of which were full of other guests who would not be excited about our 3am arrival time.

Cheryl and I tiredly lugged our things upstairs where we found a girl sleeping in one of the beds assigned to us. We didn't think it was a problem until we realized that she had also been sleeping in the bed assigned to her. After informing her of her mistake and getting new sheets for the bed we climbed into bed without changing or washing up...we just wanted to attempt to get some sleep...which did not happen.

The group of Aussies we were sharing a room with had just returned from a wild night and the girl who had been passed out in Cheryl's bed woke up several times to throw up. Her friends would start asking how she was doing and then start complaining about the heat (and the smell) in the room. After getting 3 hours of sleep in 30 minute intervals, I got up and met Cheryl, Katie and Alexis to figure out what we were going to do about our situation. The guys who were passed out in their beds had no idea that new roommates had joined them late night and started to stare and ask us confusing questions about the night before.

Luckily the hostel had an Internet connection. We did some research and decided that for slightly more than we were going to pay for another 3 nights at Journey's, we could move somewhere more appealing. We gathered our things and had to argue with the receptionist to give us the proper rate for our one night, we ended up losing money on the deposit we had put down for the night (but Alexis argued with the credit card company and things are worked out now)

We had to catch the Underground to meet up with the other girls at their hostel according to our plan the night before. We were running late due to the confusion and feared we would miss them entirely, but we ran into them on their return from grabbing breakfast. We found out that the hostel they were staying at had two sister hostels in two blocks walking distance. St. Christopher's had availability for the last two nights we would be spending in London (which would turn out to be a life saver) and after finding a place to stay that night we were ready to start our first day of sightseeing in London.

The Borough St. Market was right across from St. Christoper's Orient Espresso so we started our day walking through the maze of vendors and tasting free samples of everything from chocolate covered almonds, to jellies to bread and pesto. It was even better than “eating dinner” at Costco.

After filling our tummies with enough free samples, we made our way across the London Bridge to the Tower of London. It was a clear day but the wind was biting and we were cold to the core. We took a few pictures along the way, but hurried to get inside the Tower walls where we could at least get away from the wind. We jumped on a tour with a witty Beefeater who mixed the gruesome history of the Tower of London with a very English sense of humor. We walked through the museum of the Crown Jewels and the bloody tower before deciding to make our way across the Tower Bridge.

We took pictures as we walked across the Tower Bridge when we found it bearable enough to remove our hands from our warm pockets. We all were getting tired due to the lack of sleep and decided to wake up and warm up with some tea at a modern cafe. We stopped in at the Orient Espresso, where we decided to leave our big suitcases and pack overnight bags for the hostel we had booked in Kensington.

Katie's “Europe on a Shoestring” book suggested a famous true London pub and we decided to head that way for dinner and relaxation after the crazy ordeal we had faced the night before. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub is located near Fleet Street and near St. Paul's Cathedral so we passed by the barbershop where Sweeney Todd took place, snapped some pictures of St. Paul's and the Christopher Wren church at night, and found our way off the beaten path to the famous pub. I ordered a pint of beer and a Steak and Ale pie. We talked with some people who were on a Bachelor Night Pub Crawl and decided to call it a night in order to make it to Globetrotter's Inn in Kensington to catch some much needed ZZZs. The four of us were split into 2 rooms again, but we had decent roommates and the beds had curtains that blocked some light and noise from the room...it was kind of cool to have our own little cubby to sleep in.

We woke up the next morning and had a breakfast of underdone toast and Museli at the Hostel before jumping on the Underground to meet up with the rest of the group at the British Museum. We were running a little late for our If-we-don't-get-there-by-this-time-leave-us-behind time so we had to book it from the station to the front of the Museum, but luckily they were in a similar boat and had arrived only a few minutes earlier. We split up to conquer the museum at our own pace.

The British Museum had so many items from art and archeology that I have heard about in my studies so it was really cool to be there and see them up close. We walked through a huge exhibit about Egypt where we saw the Rosetta stone and a bunch of Mummies. We also saw sculptures that were gathered from the Parthenon in Athens by British Archaeologists...the same artifacts and sculptures my tour guide in Athens this summer spoke about trying to get back from the Brits.

My favorite exhibit detailed the celebration of life and death from various cultures around the room. It displayed modern and ancient ceremonial decoration in addition to describing funeral practices of the many cultures. I was especially moved by a modern art piece by a textile artist who wove the lives of a man and a woman in the number of pills they took over their lifetime. It was crazy to see how much medicine went into their bodies over a 70 year period and made me think twice about popping the Sudafed every time I get the sniffles.

Although we felt like we could spend the entire day in the British Museum, we knew we had other things to accomplish that day, so we decided to grab soup at the Cafe Pret right outside the Museum and move on. The Photographer's Museum was recommended to us by a very nice Londoner when we were in line for Ryanair. We hopped on the Underground (minding the gap!) and made our way to the Chinatown stop where we thought the gallery was located. Little did we know...it was the middle of Chinese New Year and we were headed right to the middle of the hubbub. The streets were lined with red lanterns and a dragon was parading through the packed streets. We found out the gallery had recently moved a couple of blocks from it's original location and walking through Chinatown was the only way to get there. We jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the festivities for a while, blocked our bags from potential pickpockets and made our way through the streets, passing by vendors of yummy Chinese foods and colorful toys.

The Photographer's Museum was only four floors, and contained some interesting and also some disturbing pieces, but it was nice to get out of the crowds and cold for a while. We spent some time admiring art that wasn't in the form of sculpture or a painting. It started to snow while we were in the museum and we passed it off as normal mid-winter flurries as we made our way to check in to our third hostel in London...oh were we wrong.

We checked into the main hostel of the three St. Christopher's in London where we met our roommate Sam Banks who was doing an internship in London. He was from two hours south of the city and didn't really know anyone so we invited him to join us in our plans for the evening.

We changed into nicer clothes and left to meet Cheryl (who had spent the day with her mom's cousin in Hampstead) at Big Ben. It was still flurrying and very cold, so we quickly took pictures of Parliament at night and moved on to find the Masala House Indian restaurant. We had trouble finding our way through the snow that was now providing a slippery layer on the sidewalks. We finally found it and the “Homestyle” Indian food warmed my tummy. I have never really eaten a lot of traditional Indian food, so it was fun to try something new in a city that is well known for their Indian population.

We made our way back along the snowy streets to the Absolut Icebar. Little did we know there would be snow in London when we made our reservations a week prior, but it was a fun concept anyway. The entire bar was made of blocks of Ice and the drinks were served in Ice Goblets. We were provided with very stylish Eskimo ponchos to keep us warm and were only allowed to be in the Icebar for 45 mins in case we got too cold. We didn't stzy long anyway because we wanted to get back to our hostel to watch the Superbowl in the bar downstairs.

American football is not very well known in Europe, and is actually a difficult thing to explain to someone who is used to watching soccer and rugby, but there were still some locals who had spent time in the states and a bunch of Americans (like us) who were excited to find a place to watch the Superbowl and munch on “Traditional American Bar Food” of Nachos and Buffalo wings. I stayed downstairs through halftime before I was tired and decided to get some sleep for more touring the next day.

Alas, the snowstorm hit hard overnight and London became a mess the next day. Alexis, Brittany and I woke up around 9 to hear about the effects of the snow on the city—busses weren't running and most of the Undergrounds were delayed or canceled. The other girls were going to tea at the Ritz, but we had a less expensive low key day planned. We hoped to go to St. Paul's Cathedral to see the view of snow covered London from the top of the basilica. We got to the Underground and jumped on the wrong train...the worst part is that it sat in the station for several minutes after we realized we were mistaken, but the car was so packed we couldn't make our way out. We turned around at the next station and eventually made it to the Cathedral. The terraces were closed but we still got to see the gorgeous golden mosaics and intricate designs of the alter. There were some people making a snowman on the steps.

We were hungry and decided to eat at a sushi restaurant nearby called Itsu Sushi. I ate spicy crab rolls and miso soup to warm me up. We drudged through the snow to Oxford Circus, a famous shopping area and the location of the famous London Top Shop. We did some window shopping, but didn't really have the money or the room in our luggage to get anything serious. I bought a wallet to carry all the cash in various currencies I was carrying around (it broke 3 days later unfortunately)

Our plans of riding the London Eye and seeing a London Theater show were squashed in the snowstorm as most of the tourist attractions, shops and restaurants were closing early. We went back to the hostel where we warmed up, waited in a 45 minute line at the grocery store across the way and spent the night singing Karaoke and dancing in the bar downstairs.

Luckily we woke up the next morning to sunlight peeking through our curtains. Our flight was scheduled to leaved on time so we packed our things and ate a “Traditional English Breakfast” of ham, beans, eggs and baked beans at a cafe next door. We hopped on a train to Luten airport and were off to Ireland!

Prost Muncih!

So this trip just gets better and better. I have just returned from Munich where I got a little taste of German culture...mostly in the form of local food and drink.

We got on a train Friday afternoon after classes and arrived in Zurich after about 2.5 hours. We had a 2 hour layover at the train station before we had to be on our train to Munich. I haven't ridden many trains in the states, but I can imagine the stations are very different at home than they are in Europe. Because the train station is located in the center of most of these cities, and are used more regularly than trains at home, they tend to be an entire city center. The Zurich station had several grocery stores, a bunch of shoe stores, some chocolate shops and a really cool beer/liquor store that had beverages from all around the world.

We jumped on the 4 hour train to Munich, and got in around Midnight. The hostel was located about a block from the station, and after figuring out which direction we had to walk in, it was pretty easy to find. Wombat's Hostel owns several youth hostels in Europe. They are voted number one in cleanliness and atmosphere and it was immediately evident why. The rooms had 6 beds and a bathroom ensuite. The doors had automatic key cards that also controlled the provided lockers. There were big windows and a large shower/bathroom. Downstairs, the bar was hoppin with a live band and there were hammocks and swings in the atrium. We used our free beer passes that we received at check-in, watched a little Karaoke and hung out downstairs for an hour or two. We wanted to get up early the next morning to see the city.

We got up, showered and ate breakfast at the Hostel bar. For 3.50 Euro we got a full breakfast with fruit, yogurt, meat, cheese, nutella and panini sandwiches. I ate more than I normally would for breakfast, because I knew I wasn't going to want to pay for any food until dinner. A few of us walked around the hostel surroundings. I got a black and white scarf at a street vendor down the street. We met up in the Hostel lobby to go on a FREE walking tour of Munich.

A young man who grew up in Munich met up with about 11 girls from Virgina Tech and a group from Miami of Ohio to show us around the city. We walked through the city center and went to the Frauenkirche church. It boasts the tallest towers in the city, but an old folk story says that it is haunted by the Devil, who makes the wind blow really hard on the outside. We continued walking through the city and made it to the New Town Hall in time to see the Glockenspiel play at 12:00. The life size figures re-enacated a famous wedding scene and tournament as the music from the Carillion played.

We continued to the Viktualienmarkt, an open air market that sells local goods and groceries. We had some time to grab a snack. Some of my friends got a glass of honey wine and we split a pretzel. We met at the Maypole in the middle and learned about the tradition of stealing maypoles from neighboring towns. We ended our tour by walking through the royal palaces and residences and stopped at the Bavarian Memorial. We rubbed the noses of the lucky lions near the palace, and hopefully will have good luck the rest of the time we are here. Bavaria is represented by the Lion and known for their beer. The Monks of Munich were the first to brew beer, and drank it during religious fasting as a way to recieve calories...that is where the image of a fat monk came from.

We lucked out with clear skies and sunshine, but after spending the morning walking around the city, we needed a place to warm up. We found a coffee shop that sold regular American drip coffee in large mugs and indulged. It is very difficult to find coffee in Switzerland that is bigger than a shot of espresso, and every drink is much smaller and more expensive than we are used to.

Some of our group decided to go back to the hostel to take a nap, but Katie, Cheryl and I continued to walk around Munich. We climbed the top of the tower at the Alter Peter and took in the amazing views of the city against the clear background. We walked down the shopping streets and picked up a few souvenirs. We ran into a peaceful march protesting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in front of the New Town Hall.

We met up with the rest of our group at the Hofbrauhaus to eat dinner and drink up the German culture. I had a sausage platter, a liter of Beer, a liter of Radler (which is a mix of beer and lemonade) and a pretzel. We stayed for a few hours listening to the German band and talking with some people who were visiting from Berlin.

We went back to Wombat's, who was hosting a ska/reggae band and spent the rest of the night at the front of the stage. We went to bed around 2 because we knew we had a big day ahead of us.

We met our Dacahu tour guide, Jamie, at the train station at 10 the next morning. He was an Irishman who has been living in Munich for several years. He guided our group of 12 to the Dachau concentration camp and gave us a fantastic introduction to the history of the concentration camp. He told us about how the Nazis gained power in Europe and their methods revolving around the prisoner work camps throughout Europe. I never realized the intensity of everything until I looked at a map with the numbers from each area who were slaughtered in the Holocaust.

Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp to open and the last to be liberated, so Jamie explained the various transitions that it went through and how it has been memorialized since it was liberated. The entire experience was very moving and I am very glad we decided to hire a tour guide for only 4 Euro more than an audio guide. We were able to ask questions and receive information that pertained to the thoughts we were having.

We had a quick break in the train station on the way home to grab a bite to eat, then it was 6 hours back to Lugano. We arrived pretty late, unpacked and went to bed.

We had Italian class Monday morning and were told that our exam that was scheduled for Thursday would be moved for Tuesday, so we only had one night to prepare! There was a written portion and a few minutes of one-on-one conversation with Magda. I think I did pretty well on the written part, but I was pretty nervous for the speaking portion and I definitely think that showed.

The next day we had a lecture with Julian, a USI student who does research with David. He told us about Swiss culture and some of the history of Switzerland. At the end of the lecture we had a Wine tasting where we sampled wine from the German, Italian and French provinces of Switzerland. I took down the names of the wines we tasted and am planning to bring some bottles home.

Today a man from the non-profit organization NoWomanNoLife spoke to us about social entrepreneurship and how their organization functions. Afterwards, Katherine gave a lecture about the history and culture of Ireland. She live there for a year and many of us are heading to Ireland and England next week.

We have a big research project and presentation the week after we return, so we are working on gathering information for that. Six of my friends and I are going to London and Dublin next week, so look out for some great information about that. I am so excited!

Ski Heaven

I just returned from a weekend trip that will be very difficult to top in the next few months that I am here. I don't know if any sights or activities will compare to the amazing majesty of the Swiss Alps and my opportunity to ski the fresh powder and wide open slopes.

A large group of our students caught a 2:00 train to Interlaken after class on Friday. We booked rooms at the Balmer's Hostel, a pretty famous spot for backpackers in Interlaken, a city located in the German speaking part of Switzerland. Cheryl and I were sharing an 8 person room with a group of girls from South Korea. We didn't spend much time in the room, but It definitely made me appreciate the clean and well kept facilities at the Montarina, our home in Lugano. The beds were steel poles, particle board and a thin foam mattress. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was fairly cheap..and that mattered more this weekend.

I grabbed a bite to eat at the gyro/pizza place next door, then went to the club below the hostel for happy hour. The hostel was crowded because the World Cup downhill ski race was at the mountain we were going the next day, and a bunch of fans were using the inexpensive rooms for a place to stay. We met a bunch of different people at the bar downstairs, many of them were American.

I had a long conversation with a group who are nurses in the US Army and stationed in Germany. One girl went to UVA and she introduced me to her favorite drink. It is called Strongbrau and is a cider that looks like beer but tastes somewhere between champagne and apple juice. It was very interesting and not that expensive.

We went to bed early so that we could wake up and hit the slopes. Cheryl and I were awoken at 7:00 by the people sharing our room (thats hostel life for ya!)...but we had planned to get up by 7:30 anyway. Katie, Alexis, Brittany,Whitney, Sarah, Katherine and I grabbed breakfast (it was included!) and walked next door to rent our gear. We caught the bus at 10 and after finally getting situated on the correct train were were on the slopes by 11:30. The choices fro slopes seemed innumerable, but we decided to go the the Grindlewald area to avoid the crowds.

I have been going on yearly ski trips to various resorts in Virginia since I was very young, but I have never experienced ANYthing as amazing as the slopes in Switzerland. I literally teared up at the beauty of the Alps as we rode our first ski lift. I could not believe that I was actually seeing what I was with my own eyes...it felt like it should have been in an IMAX movie. We could not have asked for better weather: Blue Skies and sunshine the whole day--We even got hot after skiing the longer runs.

I was nervous at first because Kathleen fell and broke her knee while skiing last weekend and I was afraid of incurring the same fate. Once I got up there I decided I that skiing the Alps is in some ways easier than other slopes I have been on. We took the gondola to the very top of the mountain where there were no trees. The whole mountain was covered in ski slopes of varying difficulty. They were wide and there were so many options that any one slope was not very crowded. The snow was powdery and there was hardly any ice. I felt safer skiing these slopes because I never was afraid of being run into from behind or running into a tree off the side.

We skied for a few hours before taking a break at a restaurant the overlooked the slopes. There was a band playing a variety of om papa music and American marching band type music. We ate some bratwurst and enjoyed the music and the view before heading back to the slopes. The whole experience was amazing and I am promising myself I will come back and ski the Alps again.

We grabbed the train back to Interlaken when the slopes closed and got ready for night sledding. About 30 people from our group took vans to a local ski area where we took a gondola in the pitch dark night to the top of a mountain. A guide lead us down the mountain on toboggans and we weaved back and forth on paths for 4 miles. We each tied a glowstick to our back to prevent running into each other, but beyond that the only light was provided by the moon and stars. It was so clear!

The guide lead us to a restaurant at the bottom of the hill where we had a traditional Swiss cheese fondue dinner. Afterwards, we went back to Balmer's. I showered up, grabbed a drink with some of the group, and went to bed.

We left Balmer's the next day and grabbed a train home to Lugano. We stopped halfway in the town of Luzern, which is famous for its wooden bridges and Weeping Lion statue. We grabbed lunch, ran around the town to see the sites and headed back to the Montarina.

We are continuing Consumer Behavior and Italian this week. I think I will be ging to either Milan or Munich next weekend, and will be touring Dublin, London and Paris the first week of February.

A group of South African students came to speak to our class today. They are working for a nonprofit organization to promote social responsibilities in South Africa. Their stories were fascinating and I am excited to learn more about their lives and their work when we have dinner with them tonight. David will be taking a group of students Jun 24- Aug 8 from our Virginia Tech program and students from the University of Lugano to work with students from Nelson Mandella Univerity to South Africa this summer. This group would have an internship and create programs to assist South African youth in making positive life choices and creating opportunity for themselves. They would also get some school credit. I am very interested in participating, but it will cost $5,000. I am trying to figure out all the details now, but it is a once in a lifetime experience that I know would be difficult to turn down.