London

After our week in Germany and Brussels, I went to London with Meghan, Shelby, Garrett and Ben.  We left thursday afternoon on the Eurostar and were set to arrive around 9:30 via the Chunnel.  Well right before we were set to go under the water, the train stopped and the conductor declared that there was a security breech and we were all to remain in our cars.  After about an hour they made the back of the train get off and go through security again.  It took 3 hours before we got moving again, and we were all getting really antsy.  So Garrett decided to turn the orange he took from lunch and turn it into a super hero.  Thus Orange Man is born.  He has since deteriorated, but kept us entertained through the 6 hour journey.  When we finally arrived in London, the Eurostar people payed for our taxi, since we were so delayed.  We decided to stay at an apartment just outside of Hyde Park, and it was very nice.  A little small but super nice.  We ended up getting there around 1:00 and crashed right away.


The next morning we got up and had some breakfast, and headed to the free tour in London.  They met just outside of Buckingham Palace, and took us through Trafalgar Square, Parliament and Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey.  It was great and we really got a good feel for the city.  Then our tour group went out to lunch and got tickets for the pub crawl we were going to do later in the night.  It was already pretty late, so we headed back to the apartment and dried off and got ready for the night.  The pub crawl consisted of 4 bars and one club, and would last about 4 or 5 hours.  It was a great time and we got to know a really cool married couple.  The next day once we were up and recovered, we grabbed Starbucks and the girls decided to do some shopping at Portobello Market.  It was so much fun and they had a lot of unique items.  Then we met up with the boys around 3 for a tour of "Old London".  This tour took us by the Court of Justice, the bridges of London, old churches and expensive shopping areas,    and the Tower of London.  Then we were able to meet up with my friend from high school, Caroline, who is studying in London.  We got dinner at an Italian restaurant and headed to a small pub for some drinks and card games.  It was a lot of fun and I am so glad I got to see her!

Sadly, we had to head home early on Sunday and so we packed up all of our belongings to take the Chunnel back. It was a very uneventful journey home, but good to be back after a 10 day trip.

Berlin and our Chocolate Tour

Sorry I have been so behind! On September 24th, my friends Shelby, Meghan and I went to Berlin for a three day weekend.  It was an 8 hour train ride, and we tiredly arrived to our hostel, "All In" at 10 PM.  We slept in the next morning and joined the 11 AM free walking tour around Berlin.  It was excellent, and provided a lot of history during its 4 hour duration.  We saw amazing sights such at the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Holocost Memorial, the ground above Hitler's Bunker, the remaining portion of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, many museums, and the Berlin Cathedral.  We also stopped into Starbucks and did some shopping to get our fill of "America" for the day.  I was really impressed by Berlin, and amazed at how much history this capital city had.  We headed home and went to bed early to get ready for the next day.


On Sunday, we decided to go visit a concentration camp on the outside of Berlin.  Sachsenhausen was a work camp, and saw the training of many Nazi soldiers.  It was a really humbling experience and a much more realistic view of the Holocaust then you get from reading a text book.  It was sad to see all of the suffering people went through, and the truly cruel ways that prisoners were tortured and murdered.  All in all it was a sobering day, and we headed home grabbed dinner and a drink and went to bed to get ready for our next adventure!


The next morning we met up with our "Chocolate Business" class to begin our study tour.  A study tour at MUDEC is a week long break where travel and have exposure to the topics we discuss in class.  Our tour was supposed to begin in Koblenz, Germany, but Meghan, Shelby and I missed the boat ride.  Our insructor, instead of giving us an address, gave us a street to meet them on, and no number to call.  They ducked into a building and we could,'t fin them until it was to late and they were on a boat sailing away. Luckily the bus driver was still around and he drove us to the next city so we could get on the next dock.  Once our blood pressure went down and we were seated, the crew served our class dinner and we enjoyed our meal and we coasted down the Rhine.  We arrived in Cologne, Germany late monday night.  We checked into our Hotel, and then headed out to a local pub.  It was a fun night and Miami definitely took over that club.




Tuesday we had a jam packed day of sightseeing.  It began with a tour of the Lindt Chocolate Museum, where we learned some history (or taught them history in some cases) and tasted some chocolate.  Later on we headed to the Cologne Cathedral, which was absolutely stunning.  It houses the remains of the Three wise men, and has towers with 509 steps.  And yes we went up them.  It was a stunning view from the top, but we were all so tired by the time we got down.  After we regrouped, we headed back to the bus and and began the second half of our trip to Brussels.  We arrived at the Hotel Du Congress and were immediately whisked off to a sit down dinner at Pizza Hut. No joke. And it was delicious. Later that night the group headed out to Delirium, the bar we had previous visited our first weekend away and which we love!


The next morning was some serious chocolate tasting. It was serious stuff and by about the fifth store I never wanted to taste chocolate again! It was a great experience though and chocolate from the US will never seem the same again! We even got to make our own chocolate at one place, which was really awesome.  I had to wear a white apron and a white bakers hat (super stylish).  After that we went to visit someone I would call a real life Willy Wonka.  Not only did he have great sweets, he could do magic tricks and looked a little mid like a mad scientist.  It was a great experience but we were so tired it was hard to really appreciate it.  We rounded the night off with a fancy dinner in the city and drinks in the Grand Place while we watched the light show.  Thursday was the last day of our study tour, and we headed to Brugge for the day.  We got a historical overview and a personal tour of the sights.  We also visited a place called the Chocolate Line where we all snorted chocolate! It was so bizarre, but really cool and we were able to taste the chocolate for about 15 minutes.  After that we headed back to Brussels to start our next trip, which was to London!

Oktoberfest: 200th Anniversary

On September 17th, 60 Miami students embarked on what should have been a 7 hour bus ride to Munich.  10 hours and 1 speeding ticket later, and we were finally at the opening day of the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest.  We got in line for the tents at 8:00 AM, and finally were able to grab a table at 9:00.  We had to wait until 12 for the first keg to be tapped.  Our tent, Augustiner-Brau Muchen, alone held about 8,000 people.  It was absolutely crazy.  We all decided to order some food, and you can see my giant pretzel below.  Some people also ordered chicken, and were literally served a whole chicken.  Everything was delicious! When it was finally time for the kegs to be tapped and the beer to flow people went nuts.  It was the best thing I've ever been a part of.  Everyone is cheersing, saying "Prost!" and people from all over the world all mingling.  A few hours and steins later, and we decided to walk around and find a bathroom.  That proved to be the most difficult task of the day.  The lines were so long!  Later that night we decided to have one more pint before we left, and settled into the Löwenbräu for a drink.

It was such a fun day, and truly a bonding experience for us all.  I walked away with a sore arm (those steins are heavy) and some great memories.  But wait, the biggest drama of the night was about to happen.  We were told that the bus was going to leave at 12, and when it pulled away at 11:45 we realized to late someone got left behind.  The simple solution would be to call his cell phone.  Except that was sitting in my pocket.  So the bus driver took us back to the train station (where he was last seen) and we started running through the train station.  No one could help us and we ended up admitting defeat.  The one left behind eventually made it home, after sleeping in the train station for 3 hours and buying a 90 Euro train ticket.  

So there was some drama, but it was an unbelievable night! I will definitely be making a trip back in future!

The Netherlands: Den Haag and Amsterdam

The weekend of September 10th, we took a trip up to the Netherlands. There were eight of us, and we decided to share one hostel room. We arrived in Den Haag around 8:30 pm and checked into StayOkay Hostel. It was actually really nice and located on the river. After we made our beds, we headed out to a Mexican restaurant the hostel worker recommended. They had the BEST margaritas ever, and even brought us tap water! We headed to bed early and got up at 8 to head to Amsterdam for the day.

We walked around the streets for a while, searching for the I AMSTERDAM letters. Once we found those and took some pictures, we headed to the Heineken Brewery to for the Heineken Experience. It was so much, and we even got 3 beers out of it. It was much more then just a tour, with interactive tastings and "rides" it made for a great afternoon. After that, our group split up and we headed to the Anne Frank House. It was incredible to go to a place that I had read about previously. it was a heart breaking place, but served to promote justice throughout the world. Our next stop was to find the worlds narrowest house, only 6 feet wide! We got lost on the way an ended up in the red light district. It was...interesting. And completely surreal. We did finally find the tiny house and proudly took a picture in front of it.

We headed back to Den Haag later that night and wanted to walk around sunday morning before we headed home. We should have known that our luck with the weather would only last so long. After seeing that there was no stopping the rain, we admitted defeat and started our 6 hour trip home.

Belgium: Ardennes, Brussels, and Bruges

We covered some serious ground this weekend.  Our trip started on friday afternoon as we loaded buses to head to the Belgium region Ardennes.  There, we went on a two hour tour of the caves.  They were amazing (and a little creepy).  That was the second time in a week I has gone underground, and I think I'm done for a while.  After that we headed to the train station to go to Brussels.  We arrived around 9:00 PM, and immediately headed to The Hotel Queen Ann to change for a night out.  Our hotel, even though inexpensive, was super nice and clean.  Our group consisted of Meghan and Lauren (my roommates), Shelby, and I.  However, about 30 other Miami kids were touring the same cities, and so we met up with them later.  We grabbed dinner at Subway (I know) and then went to a pub called Delirium where 90% of the beers has an alcohol content of 10%.  It was a really fun night, and we got to know a group of people from Canada.

The next morning, we got up bright and early and ate the continental breakfast provided by our hotel.  Then we headed out to tour the city, and headed to the Grand Place first.  The buildings are stunning and there is so much history there.  It was actually Belgium Beer week while we were there, so there were dozens of white tents in the center.  We kept walking through the streets and found Manneken Pis (the little peeing boy).  The first time we saw him, he was wearing a military outfit, but then had a wardrobe change into a navy suit.  Our little group covered the entire city in three hours, all the while toting our huge hiking backpacks.  After we tired ourselves out, we decided to try a belgium waffle.  I got mine with whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate.  It may have been the best thing I've ever had (next to my mom's cooking :)) Once we were full, we headed to the train station to go to our next destination.

In Bruges, we checked into our hostel Charlie Rockets.  And it was definitely a hostel.   Although it was clean, the beds were precarious and the rooms super loud (it's above a bar).  We got what we paid for though, so it wasn't too bad.  Once we were settled, we headed to grab some dinner.  Lauren and I got a glass of wine and some fajitas.  They were delicious! After that, we met up with some other Miami kids to bar hop for the evening (one happy hour to the next!)

We got up early again the next morning, and headed out to breakfast where we got waffles again.  This time with powdered sugar.  And again, they were AMAZING! Our feet were hurting from the day before and we still has a lot of ground to cover, so we rented bikes.  I forgot how long it had been since I had been on one, and they were high off the ground so getting on and off was quite an experience.  But we were able to ride to the outskirts of the city along the canals where we found a flock of swans.  It was  beautiful.  We made a point to walk up the 366 steps of the Belfry Tower for a panoramic view of Bruges.   After that we decided to stop into some of the churches; my favorite was Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Dutch).  Inside, is Michelangelo's sculpture Madonna and Child which was exciting to see. Sadly, we had to head home and decided to grab some frites (fries) on the way.  


It was a great weekend and we covered a lot of ground.  Somehow, we had no major mishaps and I am so excited to go back to Bruges and Brussels with my Chocolate class!

Welcome to Luxembourg!

I have finally arrived in Luxembourg! We landed on Wednesday and were immediately taken to the Chateau in Differdange where were greeted by our host family.  Andre (the dad), Lucie (the mom), and their sons Jim and Jo are all very welcoming and helpful.  Andre took my roommates (Meghan and Lauren) and I into the city for a tour of Luxembourg’s history.  The entire city is built around an ancient fort, with most parts remaining today.  There are great shops, cafes and pubs in the city. 

Thursday was our first day of scheduled events, which included lectures at the Chateau and a scavenger hunt, which we all ditched in favor of headeding to the local pub called Das Boot.  It is the place where you will find most Miami students after classes.  They serve their beer in huge glass boots.  But don’t let the name confuse you, “Das Boot” actually means the boat.  On Friday we had more lectures and then headed to the American and German cemeteries for WWII.  It was really interesting to see the differences between the two cemeteries.  The bus then dropped us off in Luxembourg City where we had to complete another scavenger hunt.  We ditched that too when it suddenly started pouring! That night all of the students and their host families met at the Chateau and enjoyed a BBQ prepared by our chef. 

On Saturday all of the Miami students met up for three separate field trips.  Our group went to three countries over the course of the day.  It started with a picnic on the Moselle River in Luxembourg where the Schengen Agreement was signed (on a boat).  It created a borderless zone of 25 countries covering 400 million people that makes travelling from Luxembourg to France as easy as crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky.  From there, we went to Chateau de Malbrouck in Manderen France.  They were housing art from Niki de Saint Phalle.  The art was not really my thing, but the castle was gorgeous and the views amazing.  After that, we headed to the Wellenstein Winery in Germany.  We got a tour of the winery and then went on to wine tasting.  They taught us proper tasting technique and allowed us to sample three of their Riesling wines and one sparkling wine.  All of them were delicious! After that, the bus took us back to Luxembourg City where we had a traditional meal of sausage and fries at the Schueberfouer  (the Luxembourg city fair).  This is no normal fair! They sell everything from candy to pots and pans.  And their rides are better suited for somewhere like six flags.  After that we walked to the city and went to a pub called Fire and Ice.

Sunday is a traditional family day in Luxembourg, and so we spent the day with our new host family.  Andre took Lauren, Meghan and I out to the European center and we say all of the governmental buildings.  We also took a stroll through the old Luxembourg fortress.  We then went back to the house for lunch (which is as big as our dinners), and took a quick break.  Then Andre whisked us off to the old steel mines.  I was a little apprehensive about going down into the mines, but it was so much fun(if not a little cold). 

It was a great first week in Luxembourg! Our host family is great and I am so excited about the other trips in my future. Next weekend I am headed to Brussels and Bruges!