Bad fashion, great ice cream, beautiful scenery

It's been almost three weeks since my travel break ended and I still haven't gotten around to writing about the second week of my break. I don't even have the excuse of having to do a lot of work because I've had a pretty mellow last three weeks with minimal to no work load and maximum hanging out, drinking Sommersby in the sun, and obsessing over the Madonna Glee episode. But for the sake of documentation, I'll back track.

Geneva: beautiful scenery
After I got back from Russia, I left the next day for Geneva, Switzerland where Cherin is studying abroad! She actually doesn't technically study or live in Geneva, but for sake of reference, I just say I went to Geneva. Erin lives in a town called Rolle that's about 20 minutes outside of Geneva by train, and her school is in Nyon, closer in towards Geneva. She picked me up at the airport and we headed back to her house for amazing lasagna that her host-mom had made. This was the view I saw walking from the train station to her house. It was my first glimpse at how amazingly beautiful Switzerland is.



The fresh, crisp air and breathtaking landscape were exhilerating and rejuvenating. We also lucked out with great, sunny weather the whole week. I've never realized more than this semester how much the weather affects your mood, or at least my mood. That first night we spent at home, catching up. The next day, we woke up to sun shining through the window and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. Erin and I made our way to Nyon, where her school classrooms are located and she showed me around. Our first stop was a castle that overlooks Lake Geneva and serves as a frequent pre-gaming location for her and her friends. We ended up just sitting there for what seemed like two hours because it was so warm and pleasant and the view was spectacular. Here's what we saw:



We eventually made our way down to the water and ate lunch at a cafe along the boardwalk. This was a standard lunch other than the fact that it was Easter Monday (the Monday after Easter is almost a bigger deal in Europe than Easter actually is) and there was a woman at the bar who was absolutely smashed at about 2 p.m. Not to mention she looked the epitome of a fashion faux pas in pleather leggings that revealed every piece of fat on her body, a bright blue racer-back tank top that further emphasized the rolls spilling over her waist band, and black heels that were probably bought at a porn shop. She kept going up to all the men at the bar and rubbing their heads and kissing them on the cheek. I was surprised the restaurant didn't kick her out. But it made for some interesting entertainment.

After lunch, Erin and I wandered down the boardwalk, bought some ice cream, and enjoyed it while sitting with our feet over the water. We sat and people watched...saw several adorable puppies and even more adorable small children running around. Other than to eat, our entire Monday was spent basking in the sun. That night we met up with some of Erin's friends and made Mexican food. It was fun to be able to meet the people she goes to school with and just hang out.

On Tuesday Erin needed to do work for her independent study project so we headed to the United Nations library. Did you know you can get a personal desk at the UN library? So cool. While Erin studied, I wandered around, tried to go to the Red Cross museum which is right across the street, but of course it's closed on Tuesdays. I stumbled upon a museum of glass and ceramics and helped an Irish couple find the entrance to the UN tours (I felt pretty cool being able to tell them where to go even though I had just been there myself for the first time two hours earlier). Unfortunately, there isn't too much to do in Geneva, and I resorted to lying in the sun in some grass in front of the Red Cross and listening to John Mayer. This is the view from the top of the Red Cross building:


The building in the picture is the United Nations

Later that day, Erin and I went on a walk around Rolle by her house, along Lake Geneva. The beauty of the mountains and the water in Switzerland never ceased to amaze me. It's so serene and relaxing. I could actually feel my mood get happier because the sun was shining and I was surrounded by so much natural beauty.



This was our view along the water.

Budapest: Bad fashion
Wednesday morning we left for Budapest together. We arrived to warmth that would stay with us the rest of the week. Budapest marked my first real hostel experience in Europe, and I have to say, it wasn't that bad. We stayed in a place called Leanback in the Erzsebet neighborhood on the Pest side of Budapest. I didn't know this before I went, but Budapest is actually divided by a river into the Buda side and the Pest side. The owner of the hostel was always around and extremely helpful. He pointed out numerous places on the map to go see. Probably the highlight of our hostel experience was getting to eat the cocoa puffs that were put out for breakfast in the morning. I'm lucky that I still get cereal to eat in Copenhagen, but Erin has been waking up to yogurt and muesli every morning since January, so this was a welcome and familiar change. We spent the first afternoon site seeing near Hero's Square. We tried to get into the zoo but couldn't find the entrance and ended up walking an hour in the wrong direction, contemplated going to museums but decided against it because we didn't want to pay, and found one of the open-air baths Budapest is famous for and really wished we had brought our swim suits so we could go in. The baths are a huge complex of open-air pools that all have different temperatures. They looked very inviting, but we were unprepared.

Being in Budapest marked my second visit to a post-communist country in two weeks, and I can tell you that the one thing Russia and Hungary definitely have in common is the worst fashion sense of anyone in the world. I've never seen so much jean on jean, tan pantyhose with open-toed heels, or just straight up hideous outfits in my whole life. I know it sounds like I'm being critical, but seriously, it was bad. I really wish I had taken more pictures of peoples' clothes and less of buildings I don't know the names of. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Vienna: great ice cream
Since we had so much time in Budapest, we decided to take a day to visit Vienna, which is only three hours away by train. Plus it was only $40 round trip. We got there around noon and immediately found a place to eat lunch. Then we tried to find our bearings and ended up going into an office to ask someone to point out to us where we were on a map. We were having difficulty figuring it out. Turned out we were right by the largest shopping street in Vienna, which we definitely proceeded to walk down. It wasn't long before we spotted an ice cream store that was very crowded and had to stop. Despite the fact that I had just eaten a custard pastry five minutes earlier, I indulged in another treat, and it was the best decision I made all day. That ice cream was probably the most amazing ice cream cone I had ever had. I got Nutella flavor sandwiched on either end with mango and raspberry in between. It was to die for. I don't even remember what Erin got but it was just as mind blowing. We continued happily down the street with our out of this world ice cream cones, the sun on our faces, and the feel of a bustling city all around us.

We basically spent the whole afternoon walking EVERYWEHRE around the city. The Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History, National Library, a beautiful park, the Belvedere, and everything in between. The architecture was beautiful and impressive. And the National Library was spectacular, in addition to the fact that I eyed several extremely attractive guys walking in and out to study. I don't have pictures of them, but here's the outside of the library:





This is the Belvedere Palace. Now it's a museum with Austrian paintings. Though, of course, we didn't pay to go in and see them...students traveling on a budget...food wins over museums.

On our way back to Budapest on the train, we were exhausted, but felt a sense of accomplishment in having conquered so much of the city in just a few hours. The sun was setting as we sped back, and we sprawled out on the seats and listened to music together. The train is such a pleasant experience. This was our view:



Back in Budapest: more great ice cream
Friday was spent doing major site seeing on the Buda side. We crossed the bridge and made our way from the Fisherman's Bastion to the Buda Castle (now a history museum) to the Citadel which sits at the very top of a huge hill and overlooks the entire city. It was warm enough that I wasn't even wearing my jacket most of the time and we were rewarded at the end with the massive view of the city at the Citadel and then a nap in a sprawling green park at the top of the hill.


Fisherman's Bastion


Buda castle, looking at it from the Pest side before we crossed the bridge


View from the Citadel

After relaxing in the grass for the rest of the afternoon, we made our way back to the hostel, and along the way, happened to find one of the most famous confectionaries in Europe. It's called Gerbeaud's and sits in a main square near the shopping streets on the Pest side. This was the ice cream sundae we splurged on:



We spent a very pleasant couple of hours sitting outside with our sundae and people watching in the square. For dinner, we ventured to a hummus bar near our hostel and it did not disappoint. It was exactly the kind of cheap, but amazing meal we needed. We even met some other American students who were studying abroad in Italy but on spring break in Budapest.

By the time Saturday rolled around, we were exhausted from a week of walking around three different cities and let ourselves indulge in back-to-back movies at the humongous theater inside the mall. We saw An Education and Dear John. Seeing movies in a foreign country is actually a really interesting experience. There are assigned seats as if you were going to see an actual theatrical performance and the commercials played before the movie starts are, obviously, all in a different language and for products that we don't necessarily have at home. The movies themselves are almost always in English with subtitles, but being Americans watching American movies in a different country, you're bound to laugh at parts that no one else thinks are funny, and then you start laughing harder because no one is joining you. Anyways, it was a relaxing afternoon. The next day we had to say goodbye and head home to our separate cities.

So, what did I learn?

Traveling on your own is EXHAUSTING. From the logistics of booking planes and hostels, to figuring out where to go once you're there and the cheapest way possible to enjoy a new city, your brain and feet hurt afterwards. That one week of traveling made me gain much more respect for a friend of mine who spent an entire year after high school traveling by himself in Africa and Europe. It's physically and mentally taxing, but an extremely rewarding experience. And there's something to be said for figuring it all out on your own. Erin and I were pretty proud of ourselves for trekking all over Vienna and Budapest, getting to all the major sites, happening to find two amazing places to eat ice cream, getting ourselves to and from the airport, and not running out of money. Plus now I can add three more cities to my list of exciting places I've visited.

I apologize for this post being so long, and completely understand if you don't even get far enough to read this apology. But there was a lot of ground to cover! Hopefully I'll be able to write about my last three weeks back in Copenhagen some time soon.

hej hej

Time Warp...continued

Finally getting around to the rest of the week!

Novgorod
Wednesday morning we boarded a bus to Novgorod, the medieval capital of northern Russia. When we got there, we toured the Kremlin and St. Sophia's cathedral. One thing I definitely didn't realize about Russia beforing going there is that there is more than one Kremlin (though the one in Moscow is THE Kremlin I think)...and that the Kremlin isn't one building. It's more like a fortress with several buildings meant for government use and then churches. Here's the outside wall of Novgorod's Kremlin and St. Sophia's church:





In the afternoon we visited a monastery where Jon's friend Father Dimitry is a monk. This was the most fascinating part of our visit. Jon translated for him because he speaks little English, but he was still so articulate and had great metaphors. He said that at the end of all our lives, we have to pass an exam- an exam with God I think. And the exam consists of one question that is different for every person. Father Dimitry was trained as a mechanical engineer before he became a monk, so there's an extremely interesting combination of science and religion in his life. The monastery is situated around a lake that looked icy and crisp. It was a pretty setting and very peaceful.





Wednesday night marked my first experience on an overnight train. We took one from Novgorod to Moscow. The compartments we slept in are probably the size of a walk in closet, with four beds and a tiny table. There isn't a lot to do on an overnight train, especially with our limited space. We did make an excursion to the restaurant car, where we encountered the Russian "Shrek" hooker waitress I talked about in my previous post. After that, we'd seen enough, and went to get ready for bed. Going to sleep was actually a pretty pleasant experience because we had the window open, which allowed for fresh air and created nice white noise with the sound of the wind against the moving train. You could see all the stars since we were in the countryside. I popped in my headphones and listened to Midnight Train to Georgia and everything felt great...until we had to wake up at 5:15.

Moscow
When we arrived in Moscow, we went straight to our hotel and back to bed for a couple hours. When we awoke, it was time for a bus tour around the city. It took us an hour to get to Red Square because Moscow traffic is so bad. Red Square is a large open space surrounded by the Kremlin, a huge department store, St. Basil's cathedral, a museum, and the mausoleum where Lenin's body is on display. Even though most people (or most Americans) probably think of Red Scare when they hear Red Square, Red in old Russian actually means beautiful.



Straight ahead you see St. Basil's, on the left is the department store, and on the right is the Kremlin.

Once we were in the square, we went into the mausoleum to see Lenin's body. It was awesome. We were told not to speak at all as we descended down these really dark marble steps with (really cute) Russian guards every five feet motioning you which way to go...even though there was only one way to go. I found the perceived seriousness of the situation, along with the dark lighting, attractive but completely devoid of emotion guards, and the fact that we were going to see the preserved body of the dictator who first ruled the Soviet Union all very funny, and had to try very hard not to laugh as I walked through the mausoleum. We weren't allowed to actually stop and look at his body, we had to keep moving. So I only got a glimpse of Lenin, but he's not that big of a guy. Kind of short. Plus he's behind a glass box and you can really only see from his chest up.

Afterwards, we got back on the bus and went to a lookout point by Moscow State University where you can see the whole city. The view was a little hazy, but here it is at night:



Can't see a lot but the lights look cool.

Then we went to the cemetery where Yeltsin and Kruschev are buried. Then dinner, which was a very interesting experience. We split into groups and were paired with other Russian students who took us around the city and cooked us dinner. I was with another American and three Russians: Nadia, Max, and Vadim. We walked around for two hours before we made dinner, which was a little annoying only because we had been up since 5:15 and had already been touring all day. I was tired and hungry. But we eventually made our way to Nadia's house where we made dinner. We had vodka and chased it with pickles and salted/pickled tomatoes. Sounds weird, but it's actually not that bad. The salt kind of negates the liquor's taste. We talked throughout dinner and played charades. Then we got in Nadia's car and drove to the lookout point by the university again (which is why I have a picture of it at night) and then a monastery with a park and walking path around it. At this point though, I was really ready to get back to the hotel and go to bed. We finally did get back around 1 in the morning.

Funny anecdote: When we were getting lunch on Thursday, a kid on my trip was trying to go to the bathroom but he needed a code or something to unlock the door. Some people who spoke English were trying to help him figure it out and one of them said "Everything in Russia is under control, even the bathrooms." He said it as a joke, but it's so true! Russia is such a backwards country from what most people are used to, and it's based on obedience and control. I can't remember if I said this already, but before we got on the train to Moscow, or before we would enter a big building as a group, Jon would tell us to look serious and not talk so that our behavior wouldn't overwhelm the Russians and be more like what they're used to. So bizarre.

Friday was our last day in Moscow and it was very relaxing and fun. In the morning we toured the Kremlin, which isn't as cool as you'd expect it to be. Just a bunch of buildings you can't go into because they're for government use, and some churches. But at this point in the trip we'd seen about a million churches. We had the rest of the day off though and a group of us headed back towards the hotel to go to the outdoor market nearby it. From the outside it almost looked like a Russian Disneyland or something because it's a cluster of colorful castle-like houses and cottages. Here's a picture:



We wandered around, got kabobs, bought souvenirs. The weather was great- nice and sunny. We even met an American family visiting their son who is studying abroad in Moscow. Then we got ice cream and parted ways to relax before the farewell dinner in the city.

The dinner was so much fun. Wine and vodka were abundant and a bunch of the Russians people had met the night before showed up later in the night, which called for even more vodka and wine. The next morning I woke up an hour late and a little dizzy, but otherwise felt fine. The Moscow airport was definitely an experience to remember. You have to go through security just to enter the airport at all. Then you have to go through security again with all your luggage. THEN you check in to your flight, drop off your luggage, and get your boarding pass. On to passport control, and finally regular security where you walk through the metal detectators and only have your carry on items. It was a process. Plus the bathrooms were foul. And Russia hasn't outlawed smoking inside. So airports, restaurants, you name it, are fair game. GROSS. The airport was also very poorly laid out-very small and narrow. Needless to say, it felt so good to touch back down in civilization and be welcomed by the hard-wood floors and Hugo Boss of Copenhagen airport. Going to Russia was an amazing experience that I'll probably won't get again, so I'm really glad I took advantage of it. But it is a country still tainted by its communist and Soviet history, and has a lot of catching up to do in terms of modernization.

I spent the next 24 hours relaxing, doing laundry, and re-packing for my flight to Geneva on Sunday. Next blog installment: my week with Cherin!

Lets Do The Time Warp, Yeahhhh

WOW. All I have to say right now is two weeks is a really long time. My last post was the week before our travel week began, when I was swamped with papers and tests. But Friday finally came and all was well. It actually felt weird that we were all about to embark on a two-week break because (that week aside) I didn't really feel like I needed one. At school, I can't wait for spring break to come, but being here is almost like a constant spring break. But hey, I'll take the two weeks off.

St. Petersburg
I left on Sunday, March 28 for Russia with my Russia Past and Present class. It was a DIS organized trip with a corresponding one-credit class I've been taking on Russian history. Our first stop was St. Petersburg. Ironically, we stayed in a hotel called Moscow. It was more like a huge convention center. Here's what it looked like:



My first impressions of St. Petersburg were that it was cold and rainy. There was still ice on the ground in most places. Our teacher said Russia was going through it's annual thaw. My view of the city on that first day was that it was old and run down. All the buildings looked like they were deserted leftovers of another time. There were street trolleys operating that looked so cold and uncomfortable- old, rusting, and completely metal. No cushioned seats or anything. All the posters in the metro stations looked like they were from the 80s and never got taken down. The whole landscape of the city makes you realize how much more recently Russia became modernized, and it's still working on it. The country was literally stuck during the Soviet Union, and you can tell. Here's pictures of a trolley and a metro poster:



I took this photo from our moving bus but hopefully you get the idea.

Check this out:



Even the people are lagging behind on the times. I saw one too many mullets in my one week in Russia and definitely too many fashion violations. Not only were we pretty sure that the woman who worked in the restaurant car of our overnight train from St. Petersburg to Moscow was working a second job as a hooker, she also looked like an ogre. Literally. Her face was green. It was like she had put on foundation, but it was green instead of tan. Needless to say we were a little taken aback and didn't order anything. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Probably the most notable moment of our first night was our experience with Russian vodka. We ate dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Jam (actually owned by Danish people!) and our teacher got each of us a shot of vodka and proceeded to explain to us the right way to drink it. I'm sure you can guess that it doesn't involve mixing it with Fanta or chasing it with cranberry juice. The Russians mean business when it comes to vodka. They usually give a speech leading up to the initial drinking of the shot about how great it is that everybody has come together, etc, etc. Jon's (our teacher, a Dane who used to live in St. Petersburg and speaks fluent Russian)speech lasted about ten minutes, making it the most build-up shot of vodka I'd ever had. When we finally took it, it burned and made us all feel extremely warm. It was so strong. Russians always chase vodka with food. Usually pickles or something pickled. Sounds weird but is actually kind of good. The salt mixes well with the liquor flavor. We actually chased with bread that night, but I encountered the pickle habit later in the week.

Tuesday we took a bus sight seeing tour of the city, which wasn't a huge success for me because it was cold and windy outside, making me not pay attention to any of the information Jon was giving us, but it was really warm on the bus, which made me drowsy and tired and prompted a 20-minute nap between each excursion. We saw the Peter and Paul fortress and cathedral, where all the leaders and royals are buried. Nicholas II's family has an entire room to themselves, and they are actually considered saints in Russia. I couldn't help but take a picture of Anastasia's plaque...so funny that probably every American child's first point of reference when it comes to Russia is that animated movie.



She's on the right!

Tuesday afternoon was a little better just because the sun came out. We went on a walking tour and saw Dostoevsky's apartment and a TON of churches. If there's one thing Russia does right, it's churches. They are beautiful and ornate and covered in gold. Amazingly intricate and have the slightest smell of wax from all the candles burning. We actually got to see a service in progress on Sunday night, which was pretty cool since it was Palm Sunday. Inside a Russian church, women must cover their heads, while men must uncover theirs. You're also not allowed to lean on anything or put your hands in your pockets. All of the churches (and most of the buildings in Russia) are painted in pastel colors on the outside- blue, yellow, green- and are known for their "onion" shaped domes. Here are some pictures:



I can't remember the name of this one, but it's where we saw the service on Palm Sunday



This is inside the Peter and Paul cathedral



We saw this one on the way to the Mariinsky theater. Sorry, don't remember the name. There were so many churches it was hard to keep track!



I think this is called the Church of Spilled Blood. Notice the "onion" domes.

Monday evening we went to the Mariinsky theater and saw Swan Lake performed. The theater was beautiful inside...completely pastel green and gold. And I always love going to the ballet, so seeing a Russian ballet performed in Russia was amazing.

Ok I'm not even on to Tuesday and this is already too long. Russia was just such an interesting place! There's so much to say. I'll try to do Tuesday quickly and save the rest for another post.

Tuesday morning was filled with the kind of touring I prefer. It wasn't about sight seeing, but about meeting Russians, seeing how and where they live, what their culture and every day lives are like. We split into small groups and had a young Russian take us around the city. My group's guide was Maria, who was super cute and really nice and willing to talk to us. Russians don't usually like tourists, so Maria was great. We visited a typical food market, a communal apartment building, stopped for tea, took our time, chatted. It was great. In the afternoon we had a tour of the winter palace, which is massive and spectacular. Jon said everything was so built so large to remind visitors to the city of Russia's size and power. Take a look:





We had the rest of the night to ourselves and nothing too noteworthy happened. I'm off to bed! Installments for the rest of the week will come soon!