Spring Break in February???

It's true, I just returned from the best Spring Break of my life. Although it was not very "Spring-like," it was most definitely a break, and an awesome one at that! For break, I traveled to Munich and the surrounding areas as well as to Maria Alm, a village in the Austria Alps, which was beautiful! Anyways...let me start at the beginning...

I arrived in Munich on Saturday afternoon and although I had never met my wonderful hosts, Rudy and Ingrid, we found each other almost immediately in the crowd of people (thanks to a short description from my grandma).  After my first ride on the Autobahn (not as scary as I thought it would be considering there is no speed limit), we arrived at my temporary home in Munich.  Rudy showed me to my room and I spent a couple of hours relaxing and unpacking before dinner. For dinner, Rudy and Ingrid's son, Christian, his wife, Christine, and their adorable son, Paul, came over and we enjoyed weiner schnitzel, beans, carrots, potatoes, and a delicious chocolate/cherry dessert.

The next two days were spent in Munich, visiting various areas around the city. I got to see the Olympic Park where the 1972 Summer Olympics were held, the BMW headquarters, more churches than I can count, the Town Hall of Munich, Nymphenburg Castle, and some other (not-so-memorable) things. I ate lots of delicious food and found the only English-speaking channel on TV (CNN).

On Tuesday morning we left for Maria Alm, a village in the Austrian Alps where Rudy and Ingrid have a flat. The three days in Austria were awesome! The beautiful mountains, the gorgeous weather, the fresh-fallen snow and the amazing skiing made my time truly unforgettable! I wish I could describe how beautiful these mountains are, but I think you have to see them for yourself in order to truly appreciate their beauty. I also had the privilege of hearing an Alp Horn (think "Riiiiiicolaaaaaa!"). Apparently it is only played in the Alps, so it was a real treat.  While in Maria Alm I also had the most delicious meal ever--a sort of Austrian macaroni and cheese, served in my very own pan!

On Friday we visited Neuschwanstein Castle, also known as "Cinderella Castle". Unfortunately it was the worst weather day, and it was really foggy, so my pictures are quite disappointing (but I did buy some postcards!). The castle has a fascinating history. Building of the castle began in 1869 by King Ludwig II who was apparently a bit crazy. He spent money on pointless things and many people did not like him because of his frivolous spending habits. Anyways...Ludwig "mysteriously" drowned in a lake while on a trip with his "friends" and building of the castle ended following his death. Only two of the floors were fully completed, so our tour took us to all of the finished rooms of the castle. It was incredible. My favorite room was his bedroom which was made almost completely of carved wood. Basically Ludwig was a spoiled brat, but I'm glad I got to enjoy his castle. After the castle we went to Garmisch which is the town where the World Ski Championships were held just last week (Rudy and I watched the final day on TV the Sunday before!). It was neat to see the place where so many famous athletes had just been. 


On Saturday Rudy and I went back into central Munich and visited the Modern Art Museum. It was much different than the museums I've been visiting in Florence, and I must say I like modern art much more than Renaissance art. I then did a little bit of souvenir shopping and then we headed back home where I packed up my stuff and enjoyed my last dinner with Rudy and Ingrid. During the week we also played a lot of cards, and on the last night I finally beat them both for the first time all week! :)


I had such an awesome time in Munich and I definitely want to go back again one day! Now it's back to the daily grind of school and homework (although I can't complain...it's not nearly as bad as it would be back in Harrisonburg!). This weekend I am planning on doing some day trips to towns near Florence. Stay tuned for more updates!

 

London, papers, and tests...

First of all, on Thursday morning I started my volunteering at a local middle school here in Florence. It was awesome! Me and four other girls from my group went to the school at around 9:30 and we met the kids. All of the kids in the particular class where we were are learning English (and have been for many years) and most of them are pretty good at it. The focus of the class where we were is music, so all of the kids in the class play some sort of instrument. After basic introductions, we were split up into smaller groups where we got to talk and get to know a few of the kids a little better. I was in a group with 1 boy, Andrea, and 2 girls, Dana and Alessia. All of the children were very confused about my name because in their English textbook there is someone named Jamie but it is a boy. Andrea also told me that in the textbook there is a girl named Andrea, so we had a nice laugh about how our names were mixed up. The style schooling here is very different and I'm not sure if I like it more or less than the American way. Here, the kids have much more freedom than in the States and during breaks they go out in the hallway and yell and play and run around. It seemed a little crazy to me, but so far it seems that there aren't too many behavior problems. I am going back this Thursday and I can't wait to get to know the kids better and learn more about schools in Italy and Europe!

On Thursday night I left Florence and headed to London.  After a bit of confusion at the bus station and almost missing the bus to the airport, I made it safely to London where there was no confusion thanks to the fact that I can speak the same language as people in London! I arrived at Gatwick airport and then took the Gatwick Express (train) to Victoria Station where I then hopped on the tube (subway) and went to the station where I met my friend (and sort of relative) Ellen! It was so great to see her! Last time I saw Ellen was 5 years ago when her and her mom and sister came to the States for a visit. We have been keeping in touch online and when she found out that I was going to be in Europe there was no way I wasn't going to see her, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to visit her as well as see the wonderful city of London. Anyways...on Thursday night I was pretty exhausted from traveling, so we just decided to go back to Ellen's apartment and catch up a bit and get rested for the weekend. Then on Friday Ellen had to go to work so I got on the train to Hartley Wintney where I met Jane (Ellen's mom) and I spent the day with her and Jess (their dog). Hartley Wintney was such a cute little town and I loved it! We spent the day catching up, taking Jess on a walk, eating lunch at the Waggon (a local pub), and visiting the WI where I met some of the locals. Everyone was so friendly and the town was just adorable. I have officially decided that I like little towns and the country much more than I like cities. After spending the day in Hartley Wintney, Jane drove me back to London (it was so strange to ride in a car there because they drive on the opposite side of the road!) where we went to visit Ellen's work. She works at a private school that has not yet opened yet, but will be opening in September for children ages 8-18. She showed us around the building which is in the middle of renovations and I got to meet the guy that is basically running the school (maybe I can get a job in London one day!). It was very interesting to hear about schooling in the UK because it is a little different than in the States. Quite a lot of students go to private schools and almost all of the kids that I saw walking around wore uniforms. Ellen said that is very typical and almost all schools require students to wear uniforms. After visiting the school we drove around London for a bit and then had some hot chocolate and dinner before bed. On Saturday Ellen had dance rehearsal (she is very busy!) so I met up with her sister, Mari, and Mari's boyfriend, Peter. They took me around London and showed me many of the sites that are must sees when you visit London. I saw Buckingham Palace (unfortunately we missed the changing of the guard), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and much more. After the "tour" we met Ellen for dinner and then walked around a bit more before bed. On Sunday I decided I had to take the most touristy pictures possible, so Ellen took me walking around a bit more and she took pictures of me in a phone box, by a double-decker bus, and a few others. After taking lots of pictures it was time for me to get back on the train to the airport. We said our good-byes and decided that I need to come back to London for a longer visit sometime soon. There is so much to see in such a big city and I feel like I didn't even hit half of it! Overall it was a great weekend and I had a lot of fun!

This week is full of papers, tests, and work. It's midterm week and there is so much to get done before spring break next week. I have already written 3 papers and taken 1 exam and it's only Tuesday! Luckily this time next week I will be in Munich, relaxing and enjoying time away from schoolwork :) Oh, and tomorrow I am going to a Fiorentina vs. Inter Milan soccer game and I can't wait! Unfortunately the weather is calling for "heavy rain" which will make my first European soccer game quite an experience! I will be sure to update my blog before leaving for Munich on Saturday. I hope everyone back home is doing well! :)

Assisi

On Saturday our group took a trip to Assisi which is about 2.5 hours away from Florence by bus.  Assisi is located up on a hill and even though it was almost 60 degrees back in Florence, Assisi was much more chilly and there was even snow on the mountaintops a little higher up.  To say the least, I did not dress warmly enough (more on that later).  Regardless of the cold weather, Assisi was beautiful! Like most other towns, it is surrounded by walls all the way around.  This city, however, has 3 layers of walls, sort of like belts.  As the city grew, they had to build new walls to surround the growing town (like you have to buy a new belt to surround your growing body).  As we walked around, you could tell when you were passing through one of the walls and getting closer and closer to the oldest part of town in the middle.  While in Assisi we visited two basilicas--Basilica di Santa Chiara and Basilica di San Francesco.  We learned a lot about the saints that these basilicas were dedicated to--St. Clare of Assisi and St. Francis of Assisi.  There was also a ton of beautiful art by artists such as Giotto and Cimabue.  We also learned that while the main stone in Florence and Siena is marble, the main stone in Assisi is limestone and that is shown by the white and pink colors of the town.  Like everywhere in Europe, Assisi has a very deep and rich history, and these are just some of the things I learned while I was there!

As I said before, I did not dress warmly enough for the mountain-air of Assisi, and I now regret that.  A couple of days before the trip, I had started to feel a cold coming on, and now it's a full-blown cold.  I have been sneezing, coughing, and just about everything else.  On Sunday I just rested, did homework, and relaxed.  I have also been loading up on cough medicine in hopes to get better by Thursday when I leave for London! I will be in London for the weekend visiting some family and I am very excited.  I have heard that London is absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait!

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers this week as I attempt to feel better, travel to London, and prepare for my midterm exams which I have next week (I can't believe it's almost halfway through the semester already!). I hope you are all doing well back home! Miss you all!!!

Cioccolato!

A few days ago, I noticed some big white tents being set up near Santa Croce which is right down the street from my house. After some research I learned that the tents were being set up for a chocolate festival! Even better...the chocolate festival is going to be here for the next TEN days! So, of course, today I went and walked around the festival for about an hour, sampling and purchasing some chocolate. I will probably need to restrain myself from going back every day and doing the same thing! Here is a picture of the festival with Santa Croce in the background :)


After exploring the chocolate festival for awhile, a large group of people from my group decided to walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo, an area outside the city walls where the view is absolutely amazing. Today was the perfect day to go--58 degrees and sunny! During medieval times, almost all cities were surrounded by walls, and Florence was no exception. When leaving the city, you have to walk through a gate in the wall and from the Piazzale you can see the wall going up the hill and surrounding the city. Here are just a few pictures I took of the city from outside the walls.

I would also like to welcome my newest blog followers, Mrs. Driver's kindergarten class! If you guys have anything you would like to know from my trip feel free to ask and I will be sure to answer all of your questions :) I miss you all and I can't wait to see you all again in April!