Switzerland: Home of Extreme Sports

I’ve always wanted to go skydiving.  I figured it would probably happen sometime in my life, but I don’t think I could’ve dreamt up the magnificent atmosphere in which I got to check this adventure off my bucket list any better than the one present in Interlaken, Switzerland this past weekend. 

We arrived in Switzerland via the most gorgeous train ride I’ve ever experienced.  We came in around lakes that were surrounded by the breathtaking Swiss Alps.  Interlaken is located between two massive lakes, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, hence the name Interlaken (between lakes).  The sun was shining and the air was warm as we made our way to our hostel Friday evening, and as soon as I arrived I could feel the positive atmosphere that Balmer’s hostel possessed.  We walked into the lobby and after being greeted with free Swiss chocolate and warm smiles of the staff, we were led on a tour of the amazing hostel where we spent the next few nights.  The hostel had a restaurant, full kitchen, game room, common room with a TV and fire place, and even a club in the basement!  This place was amazing.  Once we settled into our rooms, we sat at the restaurant to enjoy a burger and a local brew.  After that as well as a short stint in the club downstairs, I decided to hit the sack early because I knew I wanted to be in great shape for the adventure I had ahead of me the next morning. 

That night I had some trouble sleeping, but NO trouble at all waking up in time to be ready for my 8:30am pickup time.  Anxiously waiting in the lobby for the skydiving company to pick my friend, also named Chris, and I was one of the longest 15 minutes of my life.  Once they got there we piled in the van, and embarked on a twenty minute journey along the edge of Lake Thun headed toward the air field where we would soon take off.  The ride was filled with pump up jams and gorgeous views all around us.  We finally arrived at the airfield, and we get suited up and wait as the skydiving instructors are preparing the equipment to jump.  During this time we had our elaborate skydiving school instruction.  This basically consisted of us lying on the ground for five minutes while one instructor told us to lift our head and feet up as if we were flying through the air.  Once we felt fully prepared to jump out of a plane, we got our harnesses on and I met my skydive instructor, Mick.  Mick went over a couple things we me like simulating how it is going to feel right before we jump out of the plane as he counts to three and pushes me out. 

After that it was a waiting game.  I was in the second plane so I had the pleasure to see the first group head out.  After their plane took off, they disappeared behind a mountain and the next time I saw the plane it was a tiny black dot in the sky directly above me.  Once the plane was directly above me, I saw the first people jump out of the plane, and they seemed to be falling forever.  Finally the brightly colored parachute opened and they flew to the ground safely.  Once they were all on the ground again, my excitement hit a new level as I knew I would be in the next plane to go up to jump. 

A couple people start heading toward the plane, eventually Mick comes to get me, and we head to the plane.  He lets me know we will be the last ones in, first ones out.  So I knew when I got up there I would be the first person to jump out of the airplane.  I climb into the airplane, which is tiny and now packed with about twelve people.  I am sitting in Mick’s lap basically, and my legs are intertwined with a couple other people on the plane.  Then, the plane begins to head towards the runway as I take my last glimpse of the ground and the door right next to me slides shut. 

The next fifteen minutes was a beautiful plane ride over the lakes and the Swiss Alps.  Mick pointed out a couple things to me on the way up, and showed me a top of a mountain where he said that he was going to pull the parachute when we are coming down.  At this point we were only about a third of the way up.  As the houses become smaller and smaller, and we have even risen above the massive mountains surrounding us, Mick hooks me up to his harness, tightens the straps, gives me my goggles, and then slides open the door right next to me to see how it looks.  When he slid the door open, I looked to my left and look down to the ground 13,000 ft below me.  That was an INSANE sight.  I knew that in a matter of seconds I would be flying toward the ground that was so far below me at an exhilarating speed of 120 miles per hour. 

At that moment the camera man weaved his way out onto the wing and Mick told me to swing my legs outside.  I looked down and put my feet on the tiny platform separating me from the 13,000 ft below me.  As soon as I stood up Mick said “put your head back and smile.”  The next moment we jumped out of the plane, barrel rolled and began free falling to the ground.  The moment when I saw the ground below me again, and threw my arms out to the side to get into free fall position, was probably one of the most surreal and exhilarating moments of my life.  At that point fear was gone, and instead absolute elation was the only emotion I could feel.  I yelled in excitement and smiled ear to ear enjoying every second of the spectacular fifty second free fall.  The views around me were beautiful.  The Swiss Alps are even more gorgeous from above.  The camera man was flying next to me and he was so close that at one point he was falling with his back to the ground, and I grabbed his foot that was right next to me.  Fifty seconds later, Mick pulled the parachute and after it opened I got to enjoy the rest of the glide back to earth.  We were spinning through the air and I just held my arms out like wings to feel the air flying beneath them and the sensation of flying.  Eventually we flew down to the field where our flight began, I picked up my legs, and we slid in smoothly on our butts.  It was phenomenal.  Easily the highlight of the trip, and one of the highlights of my life.  Definitely recommend it to everyone. 

The rest of the day, after the rest of the group got back from paragliding which is what they did instead of skydiving, we headed on a bus to a cave nearby.  The hike up to the entrance of the cave was gorgeous especially since there was a beautiful waterfall running along the cliff we were hiking up.  We took a tour of the caves and ended the day by eating at a restaurant in the middle of town.  There we enjoyed Swiss cheese fondue, Rosti (a Swiss dish with potatoes, Swiss cheese, and bacon), and the views of the Swiss Alps in the background.  Skydiving, paragliding, caves, and Swiss fondue….it was a great day.

The next day some people went mountain biking, but a few of us went on a journey to a town called Lauterbrunnen where we wanted to look at a waterfall inside a cave.  The cave wasn’t open, however, we did take a nice walk through town and managed to see another waterfall, a small avalanche, and people base jumping off the cliffs right next to us.  When we were on the walk all of the sudden we heard a loud sound similar to a kite blowing hard in the wind.  I look right above me and there are people flying at my head with suits on that look like flying squirrels.  Just before the tree line, they pull parachutes and glide safely down to the field next to us. 

When we got back in the evening we headed to a chocolate show where we got to make our own chocolate and eat as much free Swiss chocolate as we wanted.  Another successful day in Switzerland. 

Our final day in Interlaken we decided to check out a high ropes course that was walking distance from our hostel.  We find it after strolling through the woods a bit, there we get suited up and head with one of the employees to learn about the course.  Now, I don’t know how many of you have been to ropes courses in the US, but if you have you probably know the normal routine of helmets and instructors at just about every tree you come to on the course.  This wasn’t quite the same.  We basically got a short explanation on how to use our carabineers and zip line device and then we were set free to explore the tree tops on our own.  We spent the next couple hours navigating through obstacles, zipping from tree to tree, and checking out the sights of the Swiss Alps in the background, all while suspended about 60 ft in the air.  At one point, I was doing the hardest level course, and I had to get from one tree to the other only using ropes with metal rings on the bottom of them similar to stirrups on a horse.  I had already completed the course one level of difficulty below this and my hands were starting to lose grip.  So I was hanging, both feet inside one stirrup hovering 60 ft in the air which was pretty wild.  A few trees later I had to get from tree to tree by swinging on a rope and grabbing a rope ladder on the other side.  It felt like I was in the middle of an epic battle on a pirate ship.  Then once my arms were exhausted and my hands were out of grip I hooked into a zip line and flew across the treetops to complete the Black Eagle (the hard course).  It was a fantastic way to finish our visit in Interlaken.

After that we had a beautiful train ride from Interlaken, Switzerland to Milan, Italy followed by a bus ride to the airport, a flight to Belgium, and a taxi ride back to the Monty.  The taxi ride was ridiculously fast (he was pretty much going 90 mph and above the whole time).  It was so funny when we would hit a spot that must normally be a speed trap because he would slow down an incredible amount to the point where I thought the car may be malfunctioning.  Anyway, we made it back safely, and ten and a half hours after leaving Interlaken, we were back home in Antwerp.  

March Madness

I know it has been a REALLLLLLYYY long time since I’ve updated the blog, but the last month of my life has been one of the most insane months of my life. In the past month I’ve been to fifteen cities in eight different countries, finished four of my five classes, taken a midterm in a class I’ve been in for only ONE week, and come to the realization that this dreamlike adventure known as “study abroad” is just a few short weeks from coming to a close.

I feel like there is no way to contain all the insane things that have happened in the past month within this one blog, but let me give you my favorite part of each trip.

Ardennes
Our trip to Ardennes entailed visits to cities in Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg, but my favorite part of the trip definitely took place in Trier, Germany. We took an excursion out to a little winery where we enjoyed a fantastic four course dinner accompanying four FANTASTIC wines. My favorite of which was an excellent Riesling we had with a cinnamon dessert pizza. It was great to hang out and have the owner of the winery taste wines with us and tell each wine's little story as well as how he came to own a vineyard (not a bad eighteenth birthday present if you ask me).

Ireland
Immediately after Ardennes we headed to Ireland for the weekend. Starting in Dublin, the highlight for me was the visit we took to the Jameson distillery. It was just me and a couple other guys that ended up going, but it was a really nice, relaxing day. We started our visit with an Irish coffee which was AMAZING. From there we took the tour, learning about how the whiskey is made, using barrels bought from other counties (Port barrels from Portugal, and Bourbon barrels from the US), and how Jameson is triple distilled for a smoother taste. After the tour my friend Drew and I got to taste the whiskey and compare it with American Jack Daniels as well as Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch. It was really interesting trying the different liquors, knowing what flavors to look for in them and actually noticing the differences (scotch has quite a smoky flavor, where the Jack Daniels had a sweeter flavor). However, the Jameson was definitely the smoothest, and best overall flavor.

Spring Break

We spent spring break in Spain, visiting Madrid, Barcelona, and Toledo. The day that we visited Toledo was probably one of, if not my favorite day on the trip so far. We started the day by catching a train through the gorgeous Spanish countryside from Madrid to Toledo. After getting off the train in the amazingly sunny and gorgeous city of Toledo, we jumped on a double-decker bus that led us to a lookout point over the city which was absolutely breathtaking. We eventually got dropped off in town, and wandered down an ally where we found an older gentleman that my friend began talking to in Spanish. They were having quite the conversation as we followed them through the alleyways of Toledo until suddenly the man led us to one of his favorite restaurants. It was a fantastic little hidden gem, and we got a couple of bottles of wine, and a three course meal there for only 10 Euros! The wine was great, and I got paella, as well as the restaurants famous dish for lunch which was delicious. After that we hung around the city a bit longer until we decided to catch a cab to a great lookout spot to enjoy the sunset and more amazing views of the city. Once we reached the restaurant where this fantastic lookout was, we sat, enjoyed a pitcher of Sangria, and watched Toledo light up as the sun went down. After that we caught the last train back to Madrid because we had reservations to go to a flamenco show that evening. We got to the flamenco show just in time, and immediately after it started, I became entranced by the beautiful dancing and guitar playing that was taking place in front of my eyes. For those of you not familiar with flamenco dancing, it involves some fantastic Spanish guitar playing, some singing, and the fastest feet you’ve ever seen, or in the case of flamenco, heard, on a dancer before. Definitely YouTube it if you’ve never seen flamenco before.

Brussels
Daytripping to Brussels was a lot of fun. In particular the restaurant where a few of us had lunch. The place was called “Chez Leon” and we went there in search of one of Belgium’s specialty dishes….mussels. Now I had never had mussels before so I had no idea what to expect, but the meal we had at Chez Leon was delicious! We got a huge pot of mussels marinated in an incredible white wine sauce, a tomato filled with tiny shrimp, a bowl of Belgian fries, and a glass of Chez Leon beer. The entire meal was scrumptious and the beer was a great wheat beer that went great with the mussels.

Strasbourg

While in Strasbourg, one day we spent the entirety of the day on a tour on the Alsace wine region of France. The region was absolutely gorgeous. Winding our way through little villages, while stopping along the way to tour a few villages and trying wine that you can’t buy anywhere else in the world was amazing. Beyond that, I have to say the group dinner we had the first night in Strasbourg was fantastic. We were led to the heart of the city where we all piled into the basement area of a restaurant called “Bierstub” and sat down on picnic tables awaiting our arrival. Not more than five minutes after arriving, we were brought a bunch of pitchers of beer that had been brewed at the restaurant. After passing the pitchers down the table once, we passed the empty containers back to the servers and minutes later they brought more beer. Yep….unlimited beer the entire night. But wait! It gets better. Once we had the beer, our waitress came to the table with an arm full of tart flambé (basically pizza without sauce). This is a dish they are famous for in Strasbourg, and the tart flambé was also unlimited the entire night. Needless to say we had a GREAT night at Bierstub that included many toasts….and games of flip cup.

Prague Blog

So, our blitz trip this past weekend was to Prague, Czech Republic.  To start the trip off, Ryan and I had to find our way to our hotel, and in order to get there we decided we were gonna take the metro and walk to our hotel.  First, however, we had to get to the metro, which took some work itself.  We asked around at the airport to find out where the bus stop was located to take us into the city.  Once we found that, we waited for a few minutes until a bus pulled up next to us.  Not sure of where exactly it would take us, we tried to ask the bus driver if this bus went to metro center, and without understanding a word we said, he said “Metro. Yes.”  Ryan and I took this as a great opportunity to play some “guess and check” in Prague, so we jumped on.  We sat on the bus riding to who knows where, and I decided to take in the sights.  Not outside, but rather the people on the bus.  A couple ridiculous situations presented themselves.  First off, two people, a man and a woman, sitting across from us were speaking English.  Normally, other than grabbing my ear because I actually understand this language, this wouldn’t be an out of the ordinary situation, but what I couldn’t figure out was what was this couple’s relationship?  It seemed like neither of them spoke the others native tongue so they were forced to attempt to speak English to one another.  Not only were they speaking a language that neither of them seemed entirely comfortable with, but the guy had his arm around the girl and the conversation they were having seemed like an awkward first date.  I’m still not entirely sure what their relationship is….really friendly long lost siblings, long lost ex-boyfriend/girlfriends igniting a foreign flame once again, or was the girl just some obscure mail order bride attempting to de-awkwardize the situation.  When I lost attention in the odd couple, my eyes strayed to a man standing on the bus that seemed to be having an entire conversation with himself in his reflection on the window, and let me tell you….he was PISSED.  After my thirty minute episode of the Czech Bachelor meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Ryan and I got off the bus at the final stop, decided to follow everyone else who seemed to know where they were walking, and ended up at the end of a metro line that we could take into the city.  We made it into Prague and leaving the metro station we went up the fastest and tallest escalator I have ever been on in my life.  From there we started to navigate the street by playing “Which way is my hotel?” After a turn in the wrong direction we stopped in and asked a man in a bank shop, where the street was our hotel was on.  Thankfully he spoke English and we were close to the street we needed to go to, but when we started to leave he goes “How’d did you get in here?  I didn’t even hear you.  You are like ghosts.”  Hearing that in a thick Czech accent was pretty hilarious, or at least we thought so, after six hours of traveling. 

Anyway, we continued on our journey and made it to the Sheraton.  I had no idea what to expect with this hotel, because Ryan’s dad had booked it for us with his points.  We walk in the front door and I was blown away by how amazing it was inside.  Spacious, comfy couches everywhere, classy, and most importantly…warm.  We check in and find out that we got upgraded to a club size room.  Bummer, a bigger room, with more amenities.  I was clearly heartbroken.  We headed up to our room, and opened the door to a b-e-a-utiful sight.  Two big, comfy beds, with warm sheets, neatly made with chocolates on our pillows, 42” flat screen TV, a couch, chair, desk, and a fantastic, spacious bathroom.  The bathroom had a nice sink, a clean toilet, a shower with a 12” rain like shower head, we even had a heated towel rack.  I know this sounds ridiculous to be so excited about, but, if you were used to sleeping on shady hostel cots, where you throw the rag like sheet or two on the cot yourself, and wearing shoes in the shower constantly, this room would seem like an oasis to you too.  Once we had soaked up the beauty of the room for a bit, we headed out for a bite to eat and ended up at a great little place called “The Green Tomato” where I got delicious pasta with cheese and mushrooms and a beer for just over 8 Euros.  Pretty good deal.  Also, in Prague, the beer is cheaper than water, so just about everyone has a Pilsner Urquell with dinner. 

The night finished up with a visit to an epic five story club right by the Charles Bridge.  For those of you that have seen “EuroTrip,” this club is where they filmed the brother/sister kissing scene, and it was a great time.  We spent most of our time on a level of the club that played 90s songs and had a light up floor where we met someone dressed as someone from KISS and another person who was dressed as Ali G.  It was pretty fun hanging out and dancing it up on the light up floor all night.

When we got up the next morning, I read a pamphlet about complimentary breakfast in the club lounge in our hotel.  We headed down that way, but when our cards didn’t work to get us into the club, we decided to explore downstairs, and found a sign saying “breakfast this way” when we found the breakfast room it was one of the most glorious sights I could’ve imagined at that moment.  They had EVERYTHING.  I mean fresh fish, breads, jelly, cheese, made to order omelets, fresh fruit, mimosas, the list goes on.  After I got past the utter amazement of how beautiful this breakfast was, I loaded my plate up with a little of everything, and sat down in a classy dining area.  A waiter approached our table and I ordered some hot chocolate to top this meal off, to which he brought an entire mini-tea kettle size container of hot chocolate for me.  This was a heavenly way to start the day.  Just as I am thinking “this is almost too good to be true,” we start to walk out and with the simple words of someone from the staff “Wait, your check!”  I realize…. “Almost?.....nope.  This IS too good to be true.”  Ryan and I are handed a check for this breakfast that makes both of our jaws fly to the floor as we are now in utter shock of the ABSURD amount of money that we had to pay for this meal.  I mean this breakfast was phenomenal, but I didn’t realize it was THAT good.  I think it’s better left unsaid how much it was, but let’s just say I never wanna pay that much for breakfast again in my life. 

Once we sopped up our tears, and realized that we just ate breakfast, lunch, and breakfast for the next day we got ready for our first full day in Prague, and started it off with a free three hour walking tour of the city.  We took a similar tour in Berlin and really enjoyed it, so we tried the Prague version out and it was great.  It started out by going through what is known as Old Town, seeing some beautiful buildings such as the famous astrological clock.  Then we explored the Jewish section of town which is an area Hitler purposely kept intact because he planned on using it as a memorial to a dead religion.  Really disturbing thought, but the buildings were well preserved there.  We saw the Prague castle, which is the biggest medieval castle in Europe, and let me tell you…it was HUGE.  Wish we could have explored it more but we only had a day and a half in the city and we were all frozen after three hours out in the snow and sub-freezing temperatures.  Prague is a popular place to film movies, so we saw the building where they filmed the poker scene of “Casino Royale” and we saw the restaurant where Vin Diesel is sitting when a sniper attempts to take him out in “XXX.”  All in all, it was a great way to spend our Saturday morning. 

Eventually we decided we wanted to get an authentic Czech meal for dinner.  At the recommendation of our tour guide, we found a place off the beaten path where we were the ONLY tourists in the whole joint and we ordered an authentic Czech dish called “Old Prague.”  The description was “A little bit of everything.”  Just to give you an idea of how massive this dish was, three of the guys split this dish and there were still leftovers.  I know...leftovers.  Hard to believe.  This meal was soooo heavy.  We got duck, ham, pork, sauerkraut, potatoes, dumplings, sausage, cabbage, and some sort of bread.  Imagine the density of Thanksgiving stuffing, double it, and you know how dense half this food was.  The duck, ham, and pork were delicious, but I wasn’t really into the dumplings or bread.  I was really glad we went there though.  It was cool to find a local place serving local food.

We didn’t have much time Sunday, but what time we did have we used to go up in the tower that the astrological clock is attached too.  What a gorgeous view.  I am so glad we went up there, because of the all the views we saw this past weekend, the views from above the city in that tower were by far my favorite.  It was a great way to spend a refreshingly sunny Sunday morning.

When we headed home we decided a cab may be a less stressful and simpler way to get to the airport, so we snagged one going back which still was a bit of an adventure (we learned on our tour that Prague is home to Europe’s worst drivers, and if the accident we witnessed firsthand minutes after the tour didn’t confirm that fact for us, then the cab ride sure did).  We did make it to the airport in one piece thankfully, and we headed toward our gate to head home.  It was funny to me how at home I felt inside of the airport.  I think the fact that this was a much bigger airport than we have been traveling in recently, made me think of Dulles and I got a slice of home in the form of duty free shops and oversized hallways.  I’m starting to feel like George Clooney in “Up in the Air.” 

Sugar Rush

Yesterday we had our first midterm exam which was a three hour essay test on management. So, to celebrate being done our first exam, today we didn’t have class, but we DID have a tour of the chocolate shop, Bastin, across the street from the Monty. As tough as it was to give up class to learn about chocolate, I forced myself into it.

When I heard we were getting a tour of the chocolate shop I figured it would be 15-20mins max, because the “shop” part of Bastin is pretty small. Little did I know, Willy Wonka’s factory is actually hidden in the basement of Bastin.

We stepped behind the counter, and into a room with a couple of slate tables, which I figured would probably be where the entire tour took place. Really we just watched a quick video about where the cocoa beans that the chocolate shop uses come from, and then we entered into a tiny elevator that took us into the secret basement where they make some amazing Belgian chocolates.

They showed us how they make chocolates by hand and with machine, and they even let us help design the chocolates and write our names using the warm chocolate. Then they finished making chocolates right in front of us, put them on a sheet, and let us try them as soon as they cooled which was pretty fantastic. After that they had drinks and more chocolates for us to try, and as we left they handed us a bag with a box of chocolates in it for us to try. I have to say…..not a bad alternative to 3 hrs of Finance.

Hotdogs + Mashed Potatoes= Sweden

A couple weekends ago, seventeen of us took a trip to Stockholm, Sweden. It was quite the adventure. We left the Monty at 4:30pm on Friday, and after walking, taking the train, a bus, a plane, another bus, walking again, the subway, and walking even more we made it to the apartment we were staying at 3:10am.

The plane ride itself is definitely worth touching on. We flew Ryanair which is a REALLY cheap airline that flies into and out of tiny airports outside of major cities. We got to the airport in Charleroi, south of Brussels, and as we headed through security I took all the stuff out of my pockets, took my belt off, and threw my bag on the conveyor belt. I knew I had liquids in my bag, but I had decided that this was a cheap flight, small airport, and they wouldn’t really care……wrong. I step through the metal detector which goes off, because I didn’t take my wallet out of my pocket. Then the security guard pats me down and gets a little too close for comfort a little too quickly as he slides his hands inside the waistband of my pants to check for concealed weapons. Following my body cavity search, I was wanded down and then asked to step to the side as another security person literally emptied everything out of my bag. Let me tell you, she was pretty close to not letting my deodorant on the plane which would have been a catastrophe for anyone on the trip. Thankfully…my Old Spice convinced her to let him through.

Once I was through security we had about 30 minutes to kill before we boarded the plane. I had packed some PB & J’s for dinner, but no drink due to the liquids policy (I wasn’t about to push it THAT far). So, I had to willing let the airport rob me in order to get some sort of liquids in my system. I looked at the menu from the one snack stand open in the airport and decided to buy the cheapest drink possible, which was a tiny juice box sized container of milk that cost me 1.60 Euro (about $2.40)! Not only was it tiny and incredibly expensive, but it also tasted like I was drinking warm buttermilk, not the delicious ice cold skim milk I was craving.

After my wallet and I suffered through the milk box incident, I made my way into line to board the plane. Now, Ryanair isn’t like your average plane ride where you have assigned seats. Instead, with Ryanair you have a ticket and it’s a free for all to see where you sit. So we trek onto the runway, up the stairs, and into the plane where the seats looked like a cross between an elementary school bus, and an arcade racing game. As we ascended into the air you couldn’t hear a word the captain was saying and in order to talk to one another we had to scream because it was so loud on the plane. A few min into the flight, instead of the usual continuing ascension, the plane suddenly dropped down and we felt our stomachs drop like we just went over the hill on Apollo’s Chariot. The rest of the airtime we didn’t have much to deal with other than the live QVC we had in front of us as flight attendants strolled up and down the aisles selling everything from cigarettes to perfume to plastic baggies filled with shots of liquor.

About two hours later, we descended upon Stockholm and as we neared the ground someone says “look at all the snow out there!” So I decided to look out my window and I see about two feet of snow on the ground, and as I search out the runway I continue to see white. We were getting closer and closer and although it wasn’t two feet of snow, there was still snow on the runway. The wheels touch the ground as the plane begins to land and suddenly we are jerking from side to side as the pilot attempts to land us on the icy runway. Just when I am SURE we are going to spin out and hit something, the plane comes to a stop and I realize we’ve made it safely. We burst into applause and laughter as victorious music comes over the loud speaker to celebrate us landing safely.

From there we got on a bus to head into the city. I was expecting the bus ride to be about 15mins or so, more of a shuttle into the city than anything else. An hour and a half later we were in Stockholm, I was exhausted, there was snow everywhere, and the seventeen of us began to wander the city in search of an ATM and the subway. Over an hour later, we FINALLY made it to the apartment and I just about passed out on the floor, which now seemed comfortable after trekking the snow in frigid temperatures for an hour or so.

The next day was fairly uneventful as we attempted to stay indoors and warm most of the day and do some group bonding. At night we headed out to find a place to eat, and ended up finding a couple of restaurants that were amazing and had delicious food. I had a salmon that was as thick as a filet mignon and with the salmon I had a grilled potato, some tomato salad, rice, and a warm Swedish tea (on the house) to finish it off. Probably one of the top three meals I have had abroad so far.

After dinner we all ended up going out to the Absolut Ice Bar. Absolut Vodka is made in Sweden, and the ice bar we went to was pretty awesome. We got there, threw on cloak like coats over our other coats and headed into the ice bar where literally EVERYTHING was made of ice. The benches, the bar, the walls, even the glasses were all made of ice. We ended up hanging there for a bit and grabbing a drink, but eventually headed back towards the apartment.

On the way back we grabbed a snack at a hotdog stand off the main road called “Sybilla.” These hotdogs were unlike any other hotdog I have ever had. They were not in a bun, but instead they were in wraps, and the wraps had mashed potatoes, lettuce, onions, ketchup, spicy mustard, and oh yeah….a hotdog in them. I know what you’re thinking…GROSS! But I’m here to tell you it was pretty good. Definitely an interesting combo.
Sunday was our day to explore Old Town Stockholm. It was a pretty neat little town and we stopped off in an all you can eat buffet for lunch which ended up being some more AMAZING food. Everything from Swedish meatballs to tons of different types of fish, and of course, mashed potatoes. It was delicious.

Sunday night was quite the interesting end to our journey in Stockholm. We had booked flights back to Belgium for 6:30am Monday morning because we didn’t have class until 4pm. This was a great idea except for one small detail…we hadn’t really planned what we would do from 12am ‘till 4am when we had to catch the bus back to the airport. We took the subway from the apartment to the area where the bus would pick us up, but at this time of night on a Sunday, just about EVERYTHING was closed. We started off hanging in a McDonald’s where I grabbed a late night McFlurry with Daim bar in it. After a while hanging in there and seeing a police officer searching a man’s bag while questioning him at the table next to us, a couple of us decided to find out if anything else was open. We found the ONE bar that was open, went inside, and started watching the super bowl. We figured this was the perfect option, except for the fact that the bar was pretty full, we still had a couple hours to kill, and the rest of the group was inside McDonald’s amidst the interrogation. After quite the ordeal of phone calls and text messages to try to figure the situation out, the group had been kicked out of McDonalds as well as 7-11 and they were headed our way. We didn’t think they would get into the bar seeing how full it was, and began to assess the other options. The alternatives weren’t good. We could wander the streets of Stockholm in the freezing cold or cycle in small groups through the bar, which we were pretty sure wouldn’t work. Seeing as this was literally our only feasible option left we were on the edge of our seats to see if the group would get in. We saw the rest of the group approaching expecting them to be immediately rejected, but much to our pleasant surprise, the bouncer let them pass into the bar. At that moment we felt like WE just won the Super Bowl. We had done it. All 17 of us hanging out in the ONLY place open at 2am on a Sunday night, and on top of all that…we were watching the Super Bowl. Pretty good deal.

The way home wasn’t much shorter than the way there…in fact in was longer. Our door to door time was 11:30pm to 12:00pm the next day. Basically the trip to Stockholm….was an adventure.

Limp Bizkit and 50 cents a Day

A couple weekends ago I took a trip to Amsterdam with the rest of the JMU group here. Here are the highlights:

Best Touristy thing we did on the trip: Visiting the Anne Frank House. I’m normally not a big museum guy, but this was amazing. The museum started off with many videos featuring people who were actually living in the house (Miep, Anne’s dad, etc.) It was really amazing to hear them tell stories about those years during the war when the house was a hiding spot for the Frank family. As we continued through the museum there were models of how the hideaway looked during the war, but I was really confused as to whether or not we were in the rooms where the family had hid or not. Then, as we turned the corner and I saw the bookshelf hiding the door to get up into the hideaway, and as I stepped up into the actual room where Anne Frank and her family hid over all those years it hit me. It was extremely powerful to be in the same rooms that the family had been silently surviving in for those years. Then I looked on the wall and saw the original markings that they had made showing the height of the children as they grew up in the secret hideaway, which was absolutely surreal. The entire house was incredible and definitely worthwhile for us to check out. So glad we saw it.

Worst food I had on the trip: It’s gotta be a tie between ANY beer I had there, and this nasty bread stuff I had at a local restaurant for lunch one day. Let me elaborate…One day a few of us went to a small local restaurant (see picture below) to experience some authentic food from Amsterdam. I decided to go with the soup of the day which was pea soup and it was served with a small plate of ham and this bread. The soup and ham was fantastic, but the bread was disturbingly gross. It tasted like cardboard mixed with the smell you get when you walk over by Memorial in Harrisonburg (no, not the dog food smell, the NASTIER one). Anyway, it was disgusting.

As for the beer, one night I went into a local grocery store to try and get a local beer to check out how Amsterdam’s beer was. I walk into this nice looking grocery store where they sell fresh fruit, cheese, etc and as I walk in I notice the music they are playing inside the store. No, not the usual smooth jazz that graces the aisles at your local Safeway, but instead they were playing the soothing sounds of the metal band Limp Bizkit. I am listening in as I am shopping and the lyrics are screaming “Burn this MOTHA F***ER DOWN! Burn this MOTHA F***ER DOWN!” hahaha it was hilarious. Then I go up to the counter and ask the guy working the register (who was this big bald guy looking all intense wearing a skull t shirt and wristbands) how he’s doing and he goes “ehh…a little hungover.” Then he proceeds to tell me about his night last night where he got a call from a friend that wanted him to come hang out so he cleared out all the beers from the fridge (drank ‘em) and then long story short he’s hung over today. It was pretty hysterical. Quite the change from the standard “good” we normally get in America. Oh and the beer…..was so gross I couldn’t even finish one. I can’t even describe it…just disgusting.

Best Food on the Trip: I got a really good spicy pasta dish at one of the 3 billion Italian restaurants they had there. It was a great bargain though, and right nearby the hostel. I’m pretty sure Italian restaurants are the Starbucks of Europe. There are like three on each block.

Most Impressive Statistic: Me only spending 50 cent euros on the last day we were there. I took advantage of the free breakfast at the hostel we stayed in and decided to make myself a couple PB & J’s for the road. Such a good decision. Then, instead of spending money on museums, a couple of friends and I decided to spend the day exploring the rest of the city. We explored all over Amsterdam. We walked all the way to Central Station where we decided to stay in Starbucks for thirty minutes to warm up and relax because it was freezing outside and had been snowing on and off all weekend. Then we walked back down through the city and ended up in this musical theater where we found an awesome statue of a guy busting through the door playing violin (see right). Then instead of taking a tram to the bus station like we had done on the way there, we instead decided to walk there. It was a hike, but we made it, and saved a couple Euros that way too.

One of the best feelings all week: Coming back to the Monty and showering. After two nights and three days in an Amsterdam hostel wearing the same exact pair of pants for three days straight, you’d be surprised how phenomenal a shower feels. Or maybe you wouldn’t be surprised.

On another note, it was nice to come back to the Monty and actually have it feel like home for once. Definitely a nice feeling I wasn’t used to. First trip on our own….successful.

In Bruges

For our last “orientation day” we took a bus from the Monty and headed to Bruges. I really wasn’t sure what to expect at Bruges, but it was a fantastic trip! We left fairly early (about 9am) and about one and a half hours later we were outside meeting our tour guides in Bruges for a two hour walking tour.

The morning was freezing and there were clouds of fog hovering above the buildings in Bruges, but that didn’t take away from the gorgeous architecture and picturesque buildings we were about to see. The tour was nice, and our tour guide was fine, but I was barely paying attention to what he was saying because I was so blown away by how gorgeous my surroundings were. I was snapping pictures left and right trying to capture every alleyway, cathedral, and canal I could see. Right after we got into town there were all these huge swans swimming and walking near a gorgeous canal. As we continued through town there were chocolate shops on every corner (Bruges is the capital of chocolate), gothic cathedrals, and renaissance style buildings lining the streets. The tour concluded in front of the Belfry, which is a huge bell tower in the center of town (you can see the Belfry in the picture below).

The rest of the afternoon was ours to explore the city and do whatever we want. I started my Bruges adventure in the chocolate museum taking advantage of every free chocolate sample available. The museum finished with a woman giving a demo of how they make Belgian Chocolates. It was impressive. Especially the fact that the woman giving the demo was making chocolate, passing out free samples, and translating the entire presentation into Dutch, French, and English simultaneously. After our chocoholic fix had subsided, we moved on to explore a couple of gorgeous cathedrals. In both of the cathedrals the architecture was amazing and the ceilings were incredibly high, lined with beautiful designs.

After a while, we wanted to pick up a quick snack, but not a real lunch because we’ve been warned we are having a massive steak dinner that is included with the trip. We find a cheap shop that sells Belgian fries (French fries did not actually originate in France, but actually Belgium), and we got some fries to snack on with mayonnaise to dip them in. Like I said before, Belgians are way into their condiments and especially mayonnaise. However, just before I enjoyed these fries, I decided I needed to use the bathroom. So, I wander towards the back of the shop assuming there is a bathroom back there, but an employee tells me there is not one in the shop, but there is one across the street. Seeing a small building I think that he is pointing at, I head out in the direction of “bathroom.” I walk into what I think is the bathroom but really it is just a staircase leading to a parking lot. Confused and eager to find the closest urinal, tree, or fire hydrant in the vicinity, I get back outside to look for a sign pointing me in the right direction. On the outside of the building there is a sign that says “WC” and points to the right. So, using my highly effective detective skills I head in the direction of this illusive water closet. Seeing a number of similar shaped buildings down the line I quickly inspect each one hoping it holds some precious porcelain. The third one down is a bit bigger and has a sign pointing inside that is labeled “WC.” So I hurry inside, down two flights of stairs, around a bend and down a hallway when I see an automatic glass door that seems to lead to the bathroom. Just when I think I’ve hit the jackpot I walk up to the door, only it doesn’t open. No, it just has a red sign on it that I can’t read, but I now know it read “closed.” Frustrated I sprint up the steps still in search of a closet to unload my water. I ask a gentleman upstairs who seems to work there where the bathroom is and he tells me the bathroom is CLOSED on Sundays. Who closes a bathroom on SUNDAYS!? This guy does, that’s who. He tells me to ask around at one of the pubs, so I run across the street to the closest building to see if they would let me use the bathroom. I realize I choose a rather nice restaurant as I come in all frantic wearing my jeans and big orange coat asking for the bathroom. At first the waiter tells me to go across the street to the same place I just came from but once I told him the whole “closed” situation he led me to the back of the restaurant and shows me to a door and says “go downstairs.” At this point I’m wondering if I’m headed to some sort of dungeon where they throw underdressed patrons, but due to my other pressing issue, I push that thought aside, fly down the steps, whip open the door, and witness one of the most beautiful sights I had seen all day…..the toilet. Relieved and breathing easy again, I went back to the shop, greeted my friends who wondered if I had abandoned them or fallen in, and continued on enjoying Bruges.

The next, and final thing we did before dinner, was climb the Belfry. All 360+ steps of it. It was task climbing up the narrow, winding steps to the top of the tour, but the view was great so it made it all worth it. You could see over the entire city, and apparently on a clear day you can see the ocean from there. It was gorgeous.

At five we met up for dinner and headed to a small restaurant to enjoy this epic steak dinner that has been all built up for us. Let me tell you, it lived up to and exceeded every expectation I had in my mind. The dinner started off with some version of tomato soup that was delicious. Then came the main event, steak with mushroom sauce, baked potato with garlic butter, salad, and Belgian fries. It was scrumtrilescent. So delicious! As we savored every bite of this phenomenal meal in great company, we were hit with a slice of knowledge no one even saw coming….dessert was on the way! Everyone’s face lit up in anticipation of the icing on this cake of an amazing day. Then the goods floated our way. Two scoops of smooth, creamy, vanilla ice cream topped with a cookie straw, and melted Belgian chocolate (see left). The dessert was so amazing! Really enjoyed the food and conversation at dinner and had a great time in Bruges.

This weekend is Amsterdam.

Dreamcatchers and Samurai Mayo

The trip started out in a state of total exhaustion. In order to get our bodies on Belgium time, we all stayed up the entire first day of being here resulting in a 31 hour day with maybe 1 hour of sleep on the plane. I was beat. On top of that they expected us to sit through an orientation lecture that I kept pulling the old ‘head bob’ maneuver in. However, despite my extreme exhaustion on the first day, my body adjusted to Belgium time pretty much overnight and I have been able to continue to enjoy the city ever since.

The building we are staying at is called The Monty and is a set of apartment style suites where many of us have one roommate and two other suitemates with whom we share a bathroom and a kitchen. The Monty’s location is pretty amazing. Literally across the street is a chocolate shop where they make and sell their own Belgian Chocolates. I went in a few days ago and tried a couple of chocolates that were very good, and I hear we are going to take a tour there before too long. Around the corner and across the street is an enormous and beautiful Cathedral (see right.) The University of Antwerp (where we will be studying) is just a couple doors down from where we live, so walking to class is very convenient.

We took a practical tour of Antwerp the first day and one of the most beautiful things we saw was Central Station, an enormous building that looks like a cross between a Medieval Cathedral, The Taj Mahal, and something from Hogwarts. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and inside there is a beautiful grand staircase as well as an amazing clock and an extremely tall, beautiful ceiling. (see left)

The first night we ate dinner in a nice Italian restaurant where I had delicious pasta with shrimp and a fantastic spicy cream sauce. I also tried my first Belgian Beer! I had a beer called Duvel (pronounced Duvul) which was served in a really cool glass shaped similar to a vase for flowers. The beer is a bit stronger here but it’s really good. The coolest thing about drinking in Belgium (besides the delicious beer) is that every beer has its own glass that it is served in, and most of them are quite different from one another. Everything from a glass that looks like a big orange juice glass to a goblet style glass harboring delicious De Koninck, a beer with an interesting fruit/cherry flavor.

On the second day we were given some free time to explore and in our explorations we stumbled upon a gorgeous little square where we were approached by a homeless man who heard we were American by the way we were talking. He told us of his travels to America and then proceeded to try and sell us dream catchers that the Native Americans “taught him to make.” He was selling them in exchange for a small donation of Euros or if we could give him some weed, he’d be fine with that too. As appealing as his third grade art project was, we respectfully declined and continued our adventures to a great pasta shop called “Spirelli’s.” One of the employees was nice enough to come explain the entire menu to us, give her recommendations, and wait on us even though it seemed the other people in the restaurant were serving themselves. Great pasta, and a really nice lady. We will definitely go there again. Somehow, mostly due to the amazing sense of direction on of the people in our group had, we basically were in a perfect spot to get back to the Monty which was now right down the street.

What followed in the afternoon has been my biggest bit of culture shock yet—the grocery store. It was wild to be in a place that normally is so familiar and feel completely lost. Just about NOTHING is in English, and many of the foods were unfamiliar to me. After navigating as much as we could on our own, Ryan (my roommate), and I had a bag of groceries ready to go consisting of everything from frozen pizza to samurai mayo. Yeah, they’re really into flavored condiments here. The Samurai Mayo is a spicy Mayonnaise that is pretty delicious. They have tons of different types of mayonnaise and ketchups that I’m excited to try out. Fun fact about the grocery store: you know when you’re at the grocery store and you’re looking at that pack of 6 milks packaged together that aren’t refrigerated and thinking “man I really just want one milk, not 6?” Yep…me neither. But Belgians will just open up packages of stuff and take as many as they want. For instance, if you see a six pack of cans of soup, but you just want one can, you break open the plastic and just take one can. They also don’t sell milk that is refrigerated.

So far operation Study Abroad: Europe has been a success, more stories coming soon!