Vienna and Budapest

The last portion of my vacation was in Vienna for 2 days, Budapest for 3, and then Vienna again for the last.

In Vienna, my favorite site was the State Library - it was like the library out of Beauty and the Beast. I want one one day. We also saw the royal burial vault. It was really cool to see the coffins holding people I learned about in AP Euro. Also in Vienna, saw Schoneberg Palace - the Hapsburgs summer home. It was beautiful of course, accompanied by gardens that led to a beautiful view atop a hill. And on our first night in Vienna, we took the train to a village named Modling for dinner. It was picturesque and we could actually see stars outside of an old church lit up against the night.

In Budapest, our hotel was on the Danube and our room had a river view - we could see the palace, several bridges, and several monuments atop a hill from our window (amazing!) Budapest is beautiful at night. In fact, I like Budapest at night more than I do during the day. Our first night there was one of my favorites of the whole trip. We walked to the other side of the river to go exploring and ended up climbing the winding paths leading to the monuments on the big hill that we saw. Despite being in a city, the air felt fresh and calm. As an added bonus, we saw several cats chilling out along the path on our ascent. There were also a bunch of perfect look-outs on the way up. It was so beautiful, the city lights, the air, I could have stayed there all night.

The next day we toured the Hungarian Parliament building and then went to a really cool bar in the evening. The following day we walked around some more, exploring the palace area, and went to a night club called Alcatraz (it was in fact decorated like a prison). All in all, Budapest was fun. There food was too deep-fried (worse than American food!), but it was the cheapest so far.

So from Budapest we returned to Vienna. We toured the largest underground lake in Europe, which used to be a mine and then was used by the Nazis to build jet planes in 1944. We spent the night in a village staying with Taylor's "Aunt" (who was an exchange student living with his mother when they were in high school) and her twenty-something son and daughter. They cooked us a traditional Austrian dinner (red cabbage, dumplings, yumminess in general) finished off with ice cream covered in freshly whipped cream and raspberries. And they had a cat and a wood-burning stove (a god-send after standing in freezing cold snow waiting for a bus) - it was one of the best night's sleep I had in two weeks. They also gave us the traditional Austrian breakfast - breads, toast, rolls, ham, and cheese. It was WONDERFUL.

Then it was onto the train for what became a 16 hour trip home. We had a layover in Frankfurt because the earlier train had sold out. Frankfurt didn't seem to have very much and only had free wifi if you had a T-mobil phone, even at Starbucks! And then we started freaking out a little because the sign said that our train was cancelled. Turns out they just had to put us on a different train and then transfer at a station along the way. So we made it back to Paris and then back to Cergy around 12:30. Safe and Sound. And Tired.

I'm really glad I went on the trip - I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Prague

1 March 2010

Just got to Wien. Praha was BEAUTIFUL. One of the most beautiful cities I have seen yet, second only to Paris. The food was good too. There were food vendors in a town square and I got potatoes mixed with cheese and ham and a big sausage in a baguette and a frieddough/soft pretzel thing that looked like a big bracelet with cinnamon sugar coating it. I also got fresh hot candied almonds. Very good.

The buildings in Praha are just so beautiful, and they all have yellow lights at night and gold accents that make it all the more wonderful.

And the weather was good. The weather keeps getting progressively better with each city.

Saturday night we went to an awesome night club – Golden Tree I think is the English translation of the name. There were about 5 levels underground and a whole bunch of different rooms and bars, plus one room with the dance floor and lasers and smoke machine and European techno. Needless to say, it was a fun place.

My 3 Favorite Cities thus Far:

1. Paris

2. Toronto

3. Praha

Berlin

23 February 2010

In Berlin today. German food is AWESOME. So good! So hearty, so filling. I had a “meatball” with potatoes that were just too good. All this with a beer, because it’s cheaper than water. Haha, I’m getting in touch with my heritage! I should learn some German recipes, ‘cause god the food was tres enorme.

And as for French, I can kind of read, forget about reading German. Luckily, a bunch of places have English menus. And I already have my eye on some apple strudel and a doughy sugary chocolately almondy pretzel thing that I am eating before I leave here.

Tomorrow we’re going to hit up museums. There’s so much to see here, Taylor and I wish we spent one less day in Amsterdam and came here instead.

26 February 2010

Berlin was a really good experience. Yes, the food, and the museums. There is just so much history there. On Wednesday I went to the Pergamom, saw Nefertiti, Berlin City Hall, the Brandenberg Gate, the Bundestag, and the Berlin Synagogue. The Bundestag is an awesome capitol building. It is a shining example of a beautiful hybrid of classical and modern architecture, not to been green building.

Yesterday I went to the Holocaust memorial. There is an entire museum underneath it. Both memorial and museum were beautiful in how moving they were.

I also went to Checkpoint Charlie, where they had walls with historical information. At this wall a Scottish tourist, who turned 70 that day, told us about his experience during WWII. He was still a kid at the time but remembered how scarce everything was in Britain because of the U Boat blockade. And he remembers listening to Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech on the radio and his dad telling him that it was going to be a very important speech. His older brother was 17 when he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He survived the war physically, but drank a lot because of it. It was amazing to hear a firsthand account from some who lived through the time in Europe, and I am grateful he shared his story with us.

After checkpoint Charlie we went to a technology museum. It had so many train engines!!! And they’re so huge!

But in the farthest part of the train section there was a boxcar that carried deported Jews. That was…haunting. I was almost surprised to not sense the scent of death from it. Right near the museum was a park with the remains of the train station that first deported Jews from Berlin. We stood on one of the old platforms.

We then went to the Jewish museum. It was huge, and in a very modern and architecturally significant building. It was a very well put together museum.

This morning we walked down to the Victory Tower on Unter den Liden before heading to the train station. Now I’m on my way to Prague

Amsterdam

21 February 2010

Why does Europe fail at public Wifi?!?!

So I’m in Amsterdam right now. No internet…I was really looking forward to having some internet…but no, I am denied.

Anyways.

So we arrived in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon. It was very odd weather – not quite hail yet not quite snow. It was like Dip-in-Dots Ice Cream, or bits of packaging foam, except it hurt when it hit your face.

We walked around a bunch. Had dinner at an Indian Restaurant – the food was tres bon. At night we walked around the Red Light district, then stopped for ice cream/waffles with chocolate syrup at a place called Australia before heading back to the hotel for bed.

Today we went to the Van Gogh Museum and the Nemo science museum. At the Nemo museum Erin and I played DanceStage (aka DDR). They also had a exhibits on puberty and sex, in a children’s museum – only in Europe. We learned some very interesting facts.

The Van Gogh museum was alright. I found out I didn’t like his art until he went to Paris – it was very dark and devoid of color before then.

Then it started to rain. And it was very cold. So, cold and wet, we walked around. Ate at a restaurant where I had Sate – a traditional dutch dish of chicken in peanut sauce – similar to the Thai dish, except not deep fried. It was really good and the bread we got had really good garlic butter spread. Oh, and I had a bagel for lunch today! (Haven’t found a bagel in France yet)

After dinner we walked around the red light district a little more and went to the sex museum.

Hahaha, Taylor is making the argument that the Netherlands and France should give us free wifi because we liberated them in WWII. It’s the least they could do.

Tomorrow we’re going to the Anne Frank House, the Reijjsomething museum, the Resistance museum, and maybe the Heineken Plant tour. Then we head on out to Berlin Tuesday morning.

I hope there’s better weather tomorrow. And maybe free wifi in my future…

And Amsterdam is kind of cool because most everyone speaks English. So it makes things easy to get around. There are also a ton of Americans here. A lot of them sound/look like Long Island girls *shiver*

It’s also neat here because so many people ride bikes instead of cars. There are bikes EVERYWHERE. Bikes, bikes, and more bikes.

So, Amsterdam is good enough, but Paris is still my favorite city by far. Followed in second by Toronto.

22 February 2010

Still in Amsterdam. Today we went to the Rijk Museum, the Dutch Resistance Museum, and the Anne Frank House.

It has been pouring rain for the better part of the day, so I gave in and bought an umbrella at an outdoor market (I forgot mine in Cergy).

The Rijk Museum was pretty cool. They had a bunch of Dutch paintings and artifacts from the 17^th/18^th centuries.

The Resistance Museum was really put together well. It was actually interesting to read all of the little plaques.

The Anne Frank House was not worth the 8.50 Euros. Granted, I have never read the book, maybe if I had it would have been cooler, but it was pretty much just a bunch of empty rooms with quotes from her diary splashed on the walls every now and then.

Haha, I sort of miss France :P

Berlin tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be better, and free wifi will be more available. And they will serve tap water and won’t charge extra for ketchup.

Angry Angry Hippos

I have now heard several French people say that they are "angry" when they meant to say "hungry." This is my favorite mistranslation.

I went to the Louvre this weekend. The building itself is almost cooler than the art. I can't believe people lived in it. The one bed chamber was massive -_-

It was soo cold that night, so we didn't hang around Paris much but came back home after getting Greek food near Saint Michel.

I had today off, so I did some more necessary AuChan shopping (it never ends!) and finally wrote my Udall Scholarship application essay and had some circuits hw to do.

Thibault and Jerome were selling asian food at ENSEA today for Chinese New Year so I went there for lunch. Jerome made sushi-style crepe + banana+ nutella + coconut rolls. Tres bien! And Erin and I got an extra fruit drink for free while none of the guys did...yay being a girl engineer?

I leave for my first Euro trip on Saturday. It's so soon! Amsterdam --> Berlin --> Prague --> Vienna --> Budapest. I'm excited. And hopefully I won't be broke when I get back.

Gah, I'm sick of people smoking in my hallway -__-; It gets all over my apartment.

I haven't eaten yet 'cause I've been working all night. I'm pretty angry, time for a tuna sandwich.

New Friends

Thibaut, Tim’s room mate, has the same Stargate taste as me. He only likes SG-1 and stopped watching it after Richard Dean Anderson left. He is also an excellent artist – pen, charcoal. De drew me an Angel and a clown that is actually attractive and not frightening.

Sylvain, I met at O’Sullivan’s Put on International Night. He is French and studying Computer Science. Erin and I hung out with him and his roommates Lala and Antoine Wednesday night. We played cards (a game that Zac taught me how to play!) and they made us crepes – even teaching us how to flip them in the air. I kept overflipping mine so that it landed on the same side it was on originally. Sylvain has been helpful by speaking to me in French on Facebook. I use Google Translate to have our conversations. He is looking for an internship in the U.S. for this spring/summer.

Lala, I also met at O’Sullivan’s along with Sylvain. He is studying management/project consulting and is from Toulouse. He wants to be a pilot, but the training is too expensive. He is also looking for an internship in the U.S.

Antoine is studying business intelligence and also from Toulouse. He once spent five months in Miami, so his English is very good and he knows a lot about the U.S. He has Sing Star (Karaoke) for the Wii and has challenged me to a competition. I will win ;)

Antoine, Lala, and Sylvain have a HUGE apartment. They have an entire house-sized living room, and a balcony. They have a nice TV too and invited our group over to watch the Olympics. Everyone is so nice and friendly and hospitable here! France is a very welcoming place.

Last night was an ENSEA student party. At a nightclub. They had a DJ and open bar. I liked the music a lot because it was mostly Techno, which American clubs don’t play. But there were also the usual American songs: Holiday Inn, Tic Tok, and even Heartbreaker by MSTRKRFT which I have never heard out anywhere before! I’m always so happy when I hear a more obscure song that I love. And it made me think of you Jackie!

It was a special party because it was when they announced which group of students would run the next year’s student government, basically like SA (Student Association) at UB, except SA doesn’t throw massive parties at night clubs. Even Sylvain, Lala, and Antoine were there, even though they don’t go to ENSEA. ENSEA is known for throwing some of the best parties in town. Go Electrical Engineers! Thibaut was in one of the two competing groups and they lost. He said it was okay though because he could drink more (the winning group serves the alcohol), and the other group doesn’t have enough people in it for all of the positions so he could still be chosen. Oh, and yeah, French students drink A LOT. It didn’t even phase them that the party was on a school night. I’m really surprised that alcoholism is more common in America than in Europe.

I’m heading out to Tour early tomorrow morning (the place) and will return Monday night (yay three day weekends!). For 40 Euros we get to tour a bunch of castles and have wine tastings from 9am-6pm on Sunday. I will have my camera fully charged this time!

I’m amused; I’m starting to think in a French accent and broken English -_- Sacre Bleu -_- And I’m still getting used to the French greeting customs. My French guy friends (basically all of my friends minus Erin - there aren’t any more female engineers in France than there are back home) lean in to my face and I’m thrown off before remembering: oh yeah, we’re supposed to do the air kiss on the side of the cheeks thing.

2 February 201

Today was my second day of class. The way it works is that we only have one class per day, but each class is 3 or 4 hours long. We also only have each class once per week.

Today I had Microelectronic Circuits II lecture. It was easy. So far everything we covered has pretty much been review, except for a BJT power dissipation equation I don’t recall seeing before. (A BJT is a bipolar junction transistor. Transistors are in pretty much everything electronic. I’ve been instructed in their use as amplifiers thus far– making a signal bigger, smaller, inverted, etc.) I like my professor, she seems very nice.
Today I enjoyed coffee for the first time. After fighting sleep for the first hour and a half of class, I decided to try coffee during our 20 minute break. A girl was already at the machine in front of me. She said something to me in French, to which I replied “Parles vous anglais?” and then in English she asked if I wanted a drink. I said yes and she proceeded to press a special button on the machine with a special key bob and so I got my Café Lait for free :) People here are so friendly, really. The “French people think Americans are assholes” stereotype simply isn’t true. (The staff member in charge of international students has a Barack Obama pen holder on her desk) Most people are happy to get a chance to try their English, just as I want to try French. And the coffee was actually good. Erin tasted it an informed me it was full of sugar, and it had a frothy milk layer, so that’s probably why <_<>

Last night we all went to Auchan (the super walmart type store) again. Erin and I bought groceries and tissues and such and it only cost us 55 Euros for the two of us (we decided to share food and cook together – what fun!); we were pleasantly surprised. For dinner we ate pasta with Bolognaise sauce. The sauce was pretty much like Chef Boyrdee (sp?) sauce. So eh, we’ll try another one next time. And we got a bag of croissants –mmm!!! I’ve eaten so many… - a couple long baguettes, jam (they have the bonne mamon that I like to get at Wegmans from France), cheddar cheese that tastes more like a mix of cheddar and American, a brick of margarine that was the cheapest we could find, green beans, clementines (a deeper orange than the ones we get in the states, these are form Moracco), lettuce, and milk (we were looking for skim but I don’t think it exists here. There were three different types and we chose the one with the least amount of fat and calories, and it still tastes creamier than 2%). I also bought a small bread pan that I can make banana bread with. Oh, and travesty! Bananas cost 1.70 Euros per Kilo! What happened to $0.40 per pound? :( I need to find a new cheap fruit… Hey Central/South America, thank you for being in the same hemisphere as the US and making bananas cheap!

Tonight Erin and I had grilled cheese, clementines, and green beans. We realized we need more food. Preferrably something that isn’t a carb… So we have to go back to Auchan again…

One thing I learned: In America, you know how all nutrition labels list things in Calories? Turns out, 1 American Calorie is actually 1,000 Calories. Europe has everything listed in kCal. So a 100Cal snack bar in America is 100kCal in Europe. There’s marketing for ya.

This evening I think I’m going to O’Sullivans, a British pub, for Foreigner Night with the other US students and Thibau, Tim’s French room mate.

Last night we all played cards in my room around my desk – which is big enough to be a dinner table.

More for my list of things different in France:

• They have plain Doritos!!! So they’re basically tortilla chips. Awesome.