A Taste of Home!

        Last week I was lucky enough to have some visitors!! After a very busy travel sesh I was back in Leuven to start classes for the week just before James and my mom arrived! I was so excited to share my home here, with them. We had a big trip planned with lots of places to travel (are you surprised?!). Along with James and my Mom, there were some other great guests: Sue, Marianne, Gerry, Trish, Joan, Sarah, Dotty, and Deirdre (as a later arrival)!

First stop: LEUVEN

Marianne, Mom & Gerry at dinner.

Everyone else at dinner (minus mom, the photographer!) at the brew house.

Starting our trek to Amsterdam bright and early!

Ah train travel, how i've missed you...
actually, no it hasn't been long enough since we parted...

Mom & I in Amsterdam.

James outside the Anne Frank Huis.

     We only stayed in Amsterdam for one night, but we saw a lot nonetheless. We went to the Anne Frank Huis, on a boat ride in the canals, and even made a pit stop in the red light district...because it is something you can't believe unelss you see. James had never been here, so I was so glad he got to see this city. Aside from the crazy things that go on here, Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful places I have been.

Note to self: We're not in America anymore...

Yes, you are really seeing this. In Amsterdam there are public urinals along the public streets.
There aren't too many things that surprise me now-a-days, but this still seems unreal...

James and I before hopping on the train to Paris.

#strugglecity
I guess our little (actually huge) world traveler is a little tired!

PARIS

          Once we arrived in France we had to make our way to our hotel with just enough time to drop or bags and climb the eiffel tower (and by "climb," I mean take a huge elevator). It was great because last time I was in Paris I did not go in the tower, I was so happy to experience it for the first time with some people I love! Paris is really such a beautiful place and I still have to pinch myself whenever I think that I have been there...twice! 

Mom, James and Sue at the Eiffel Tower.

Atop the Tour de Eiffel! 

French fries in France? THAT SHIT CRAYYY!

       We did a lot during our short time in Paris as well. We went to the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and more... The weather was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a better day to be exploring the city. 

James and the ladies.

France Fact: The lock bridge in Paris is really quite lovely. The idea behind it is that couples in love come and put a lock on the bridge together. They throw the key into the Seine as a testament to their never ending love. CUTE. 

Frog's leg anyone?

I obviously had to give it a try...
Tastes like chicken!

         After hitting all the tourist spots and searching the city for Longchamp bags, I was content with our stay. We were headed to Brussels for a few nights of "rest," from all the traveling. I had to go to class (yes, I actually have class..sometimes...) and everyone else went on a day trip to Brugge and Gent. I joined the crew the following day to visit Antwerp. 

Gerry & Marianne with the "not so amazing," Mannequin Pis. 

Mom & I in Antwerp!

After a few bumps in the road (AKA 3 of 10 of us being slammed with a stomach virus...), we bounced back and were ready for Germany!

Fun times on the train!
Hey Dee Heyyyy!

         So we arrived in Munich and got ready for our Foor & Beer tour...obviously. It was a lot of fun, we had a great guide and got to go to the Oktoberfest Museum, as well as learn some history of the city, and of course sample so of Munich's famous brews!

Mom & James

Germany can't even handle him right now...

At the Oktoberfest Museum.

We had an authentic German dinner, it was quite a spread!

We ended the night at the famous Hofbrauhaus!

        For our last day in Munich we decided to go to Dachau, where the first concentration camp was opened. Since I have already been to Aushwitz and Birkenau, I knew what to expect, and I knew how powerful the experience would be. It was a really eye opening day, and once again it makes you realize how lucky you are. 

At the Dachau Memorial.

         After an extremely interesting day, we started to make our way back to Belgium. We decided to stay a night in Frankfurt, Germany to split up the journey. 

Rosie lookin' fresh as usual!

Just hanging with the bulls...

Prost!
Enjoying some schnitzel in Germany!

Back to Belgium we go!

Thank goodness he is strong...we had some baggage troubles to say the least!

Brussels, Belgium

That's my huis! HOLLA!

        I suppose all good things must come to an end....early Sunday everyone had to head back to the good 'ole US of A. They made it safely back to New York and I was ready to get back to reality! (even though my life still feels like a dream...) We saw so much in such a short period of time, and luckily everything went smoothly! It was a fabulous trip and I will never forget it! See you all back in America!

Soooooo Many Cities, Sooooooo Little Time. EUROTRIP 2012

           After a dragged out two weeks of studying, I was more than ready to get moving! Nora and I were setting out on a 17 day journey, interrail passes in hand. We ended up hitting 20 + cities within 11 different countries. Looking back I can't believe all that we saw, it truly was AMAZING.

All packed and ready to go!

         Now since there was just sooo much that went on during these 2 1/2 weeks, I am going to try and highlight the major moments to keep it interesting...

First stop, Berlin!

         We left Leuven Friday January 27th en route to Berlin. We headed to Brussels, than Cologne, Germany, and finally arriving in Berlin by evening. We got up bright and early on Saturday to take a tour of the city. I learned so much walking around the historic city because there is just so much that went on there. Berlin was my favorite stop in terms of "history." It is hard to choose a favorite city, so I will just list 'favorites' according to different categories. Some of the top sights were Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, and the Brandenburg Gate just to name a few. There were also a great deal of memorials in memory of all the lives lost over the course of the many conflicts that took place in Europe in the 20th century.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

WARNING: Many European cities have statues with men on horses,
and I have many pictures to defend this claim.

Dresdin, Germany

         Prague was such a beautiful place, everywhere you looked there was wonderful architecture. We went on a walking tour of the city and saw most of the old town, as well as making our way across the bridge to get a glimpse of the John Lennon Love Wall. This city was one of my top picks!

Love Wall


Next Stop: Krakow, Poland!

This was our longest train ride, just over 11 hours. Luckily it was an overnight train,
and we had the luxury of curling up in our own car over three seats...

                  Poland was by far the coldest place I have ever been. I never really put much though into the idea that going to Poland in January may not be the best idea, but YOLO. We layered as much as we could and took a tour of the city.

This is the Cloth Hall near the city center. There is a market inside that sells a lot of nice things.
I picked up a pair of amber earrings, as amber is very popular in Krakow.

     The following day we decided to go to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum.We knew it would be a somber day, but thought that it was such an important part of history that it could not be overlooked. We went on a 3-hour tour of the site and learned so much about those horrible times. It was -20 degrees Celsius and I have never felt so cold. It really put into perspective how horrid
those days were when people were at the camp. I had four layers of leggings under my jeans, plus underarmor, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, etc. and the people who were held at this camp had nothing. It was truly a moving experience and it was something that I will never forget.

The famous gate at Auschwitz that translates to say that 'hard work will set you free.'
 It was something that really gave my the chills.

To put into perspective how cold it really was,
my nalgene actually froze while it was in my bag during the tour...

        After a frigid visit in Poland, I headed to Slovakia to meet up with Pavla and Oliver! I got to stay at Pavla's home in Banska Stiavanka. It was a beautiful village about 3 hours outside of the capital, Bratislava. I was welcomed so warmly into her home and I was lucky enough to meet her family and spend the day where she grew up. We went to church and a quaint tea house that was so cozy! I loved every minute!

Banska Stiavnka

            The next day myself, Nora, Pavla, & Oliver headed to Bratislava. Pavla and Oliver had to finish taking exams and we stayed in their flat in the city. We had personal tour guides and we were able to see the beautiful country they call home! We had some delicious traditional food to really get a taste of Slovakia!

Pavla and I in Bratislava, Slovakia.

In Vienna we went on another walking tour. Everything was so beautiful!

Our next stop was Budapest, Hungary. This is a picture of Budapest Castle. We walked over the famous chain bridge that crosses from the Buda to the Pest side of the city. It was fabulous. 

Snow was falling when we arrived in Zagreb, Croatia. It was really nice to see in the winter, but I'm sure it would be even more wonderful in the warmth!
(Note: Another statue with a man on a horse.)

Who's excited to be in Slovenia?! THIS GIRL!
We spent a few hours exploring Ljubljana. 

Nora and I were very excited to head back to Austria to Salzburg. We were heading on a Sound of Music tour to see some of the beautiful sights featured in the film!

This is the fountain the Von Trapp children danced around in the movie.
We are standing in Mirabell Gardens, a site where quite a few scenes were filmed. 

The hills are alive in the Lake District!
Salzburg, Austria

Next, we headed back to Germany. Munich it is!

We went on a tour of the city and ended up in the famous
 Hofbrauhaus to taste was Germany is known for!
Cheers!

I had an authentic German meal: jagerschnitzel and semmelknodel!

Liechtenstein was our next goal, it may only be a micronation, but we had some big dreams to stop by! We had to take a bus because no trains actually went straight there...

Liechtenstein wasn't exactly a tourist "hotspot," which was sort of expected.
But throughout the city of Vaduz there were plenty of car dealerships and banks! 

And regardless, how many people could actually say they have been to Liechtenstein!?!?

Zurich, Switzerland was next! Switzerand was really a wonderful place to visit,
it was really expensive (as expected), but that's the beauty of spending just a day everywhere!

Can I even get any more Swiss?! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA! Spending her 21st on a train heading back towards Belgium!
#winning!

Now for our last stop before Belgium, Luxembourg! 

Due to some train problems our day in Luxembourg was cut short,
but we still got to walk around a bit and soak up the country!

THAT'S A WRAP!
I know this was an excessively long post, but that parallels this trip.
 It was an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life!