A random side note post here.
What is with the French and their ham? I guess I was unaware of this before I ventured here to the land of Strasbourg and HAM apparently. I find it very interesting how my host mother, (Madame, as I refer to her), seems to incorporate it into EVERYTHING somehow. You think, no way its in today's dish and then, BAM, it shows up.
Side note: I don't care for ham too much...
mercredi 18 novembre 2009
samedi 14 novembre 2009
A Random List
Here is a list I have been compiling in my head since I've been living in France.
A list of all the awkward things living with a host family:
1. Laundry
2. Disappearing toilet paper
3. Should I answer the doorbell?
4. My garbage in my room needs emptying...
5. Apparently I can't close windows/doors properly
More to come...trust me.
A list of all the awkward things living with a host family:
1. Laundry
2. Disappearing toilet paper
3. Should I answer the doorbell?
4. My garbage in my room needs emptying...
5. Apparently I can't close windows/doors properly
More to come...trust me.
jeudi 12 novembre 2009
October 26th-Nov 1st: HEY AUSTRIA!
The next part of my Eastern European journey would take me to Vienna, Austria. Whoa. Just to inform you all, they speak German there, in case you didn't know. I guess I wasn't sure what to expect after I was already tagged as an American there on the train ride over from Budapest (thanks Megan) hahaa.
We arrived into Vienna Sunday night, where we took a quick walk to our hostel. The Wombat Hostel. Yes, an exciting name for an exciting place! As soon as we walked in, it seemed like a cool place, bustling with young people and many languages. The place had a neat set up, with fun lights, many tour books, Internet, a bar and free breakfast! Our room seemed clean and fine, with four of us with our own room and the other three sharing with a few strangers. EEK! Oh hostel life. We asked the desk for a recommendation for some local cuisine nearby, and they recommended Mozart Gauge. (Funny how it seems like everything in Vienna somehow incorporates Mozart's name. Yes, he was from Vienna). Totally feeling the Austrian vibe of the restaurant and the feel of the local specialties, it was great! Austrians sure like their fried food...not quite my favorite. So I settled for something I wasn't sure what it was and it turned out pretty huge, and great. Reasonable prices and good food was a good start.
Waking up early the next day, where we took advantage of our free breakfast at the hostel while also meeting some fellow hostel stayers-a kid names Melvin from Amsterdam, who asked many questions about us Americans. Haha. We left to see the main cathedral, Stephensdome, located right in the center of Vienna. The huge, famous cathedral is from the 12th century! Being super motivated, the 7 of us climbed to the top, 323 steps exactly. Slightly claustrophobic/dizzying, the climb was well worth and we were welcomed with a fantastic view of the city! On the way down (super dizzying), Emily, Megan and I sang Sound of Music tunes. Quite loud apparently, oops.
Our next stop was the famous Hapsburg Palace, the seat of the Austria-Hungary empire, where Empress Elizabeth lived. Just approaching the building is amazing. As you walk down Kahtner Street, the street leading to it, you are hit with this huge, encroaching turquoise dome with gold at the end of the street. You can't miss it. The Palace is quite large with two courtyards between it and many museums now located right there. We decided to take the audio tour through the famous Imperial Apartments (the main part of the palace.) How could we miss out on where the world known Hapsburg royal family lived?!! The tour started out with a museum type exhibition on the life of Empress Elizabeth, apparently known as Sisi. Then we went on to explore the apartments where the family lived. It was rooms and rooms of intricate designs where they cover everything with gold from pillows, to wallpaper, to a napkin holder. After our tour, when walking through the palace outside, we stumbled right upon, a huge celebration.
Apparently it was the Day of Neutrality, basically independence day. So right in the center of the palace, there was a huge festival with tons of Austrian food, beer, music, a German loud speaker and a zipline going across the palace. Sweet! We just fall into great situations it seemed. So each of us ventured out to pick up random foods, planning to take bites of everyone's choices. We were left with potatoes, huge sausage hot dogs (no thank you), fried random things, pretzels larger than my head and beer. It was so much fun! I felt like I was helping the Austrians celebrate their great holiday! As we left, Megan insisted on trying the chestnuts, we first stared at them trying to decide. The man decided to give me one to try. Of course, I was forced to try it right there in front of him. Apparently giving a bad face because it was really hot, the guy hated me. Megan buys some, asking how do you eat this to the guy. It was hysterical. I think you had to be there. One of our moments.
We proceeded to go check out the Viennese Opera, one of the most famous in the world! By this time it was getting a bit dim, and the opera was lit up. Beautiful. To our surprise, outside the cathedral, a huge television screen was built up on the side of the building, and right when we arrived, the ballet was being streamed live! Chairs were set up and everyone gathered to watch the ballet, perfect quality, it was like we were at an outdoor show! My friends and I grabbed a spot on the ground and watched in amazement.
After a bit, feeling very inspired, we trotted and jumped and spun and leaped, literally, over to our next destination. We headed to the Museum Quartier, which holds 4 museums. From Megan's recommendation, we made a stop at the Leopold Museum, which held the Edward Munch exhibit and some Klimt art. On our way back to the hostel, we walked by Parliament, beautifully lit up at night, where we tried about 4595896830 attempts to do a jumping picture and were finally successful! YES! We also saw Town Hall at night. AMAZING! After our long, long day, we settled for a late dinner nearby and stop at the "WomBar," for our free drink included with our stay there. Hahaah.
The next day was a busy one as well. We headed over to Belvedere Palace, one of the summer homes of the empress and emperor. Really? Is is a palace necessary for a summer home? Anyway, the place was large, of course, and the gardens were beautiful!! We didn't take the tour inside, the gardens were really satisfying enough. We stopped by at the other famous church, Karlzkirche and the Secession Building, an art museum displaying art from the all the artists of the Vienna Secession Movement. Right across the street was the Noschmarket. A fabulous outdoor market we read about that has a huge line of vendors selling everything from pastries, dried fruit, falafels, candy, stuffed peppers to other local specialities. I felt like I was back home in New York, hanging out in Chinatown, with all the hagglers that were there. They gave out samples and lowered prices to intice you to buy more food. Great stuff. Next we made our way to the Schonnbrunn Palace, another summer home of the emperor and empress, where we saw the room where Mozart played his first concert at the age of six and the grand ballroom where the Vienna Summit was held. WHOA. The gardens here were just acres and acres of perfectly trimmed hedges. The hedges were awesome. And the view at the top of the gardens was sweet. Exhausted, we headed back and then headed to dinner at a brewery type restaurant with some authentic Viennese food and the biggest beer glass I have ever seen.
We started Wednesday with a metro ride over to Danube Island, right where you can see the Danube River. Then walked to the large carnival, which is apparently a Viennese institution. My friends ventured on a few rides while I was too chicken to give it a go. We then headed to experience the famous cafe culture of Vienna, where they have many, many types of coffee and endless types of cakes. Something they're famous for. We stopped in at Cafe Demel, from 1786, the oldest in Vienna, where Empress Sisi used to come by for her violet sorbet. The place is old, beautiful and so cute! You literally walk up to a glass case where the lady explains what type of cake each one is and then you choose. Complete with a chocolate almond slice and a hot chocolate, it was perfect. Gosh, how do these people stay fit!!!?
That evening my Syracuse crowd headed onto Prague, while I awaited the arrival of my Strasbourg buds an hour later. The next four days were spent exploring more of Vienna, a less intense crowd, where we gallivanted through the city at a slower pace. We stayed in a sick apartment and scurried through the fantastic Viennese streets, checked out the coolest House of Music museum, took a tour of the famous Spanish Riding School, checked out the club scene and "cooked" our foods at home. With a flight back to Baden Baden Sunday night, we were all exhausted. 10 days. Success. Love Eastern Europe.
We arrived into Vienna Sunday night, where we took a quick walk to our hostel. The Wombat Hostel. Yes, an exciting name for an exciting place! As soon as we walked in, it seemed like a cool place, bustling with young people and many languages. The place had a neat set up, with fun lights, many tour books, Internet, a bar and free breakfast! Our room seemed clean and fine, with four of us with our own room and the other three sharing with a few strangers. EEK! Oh hostel life. We asked the desk for a recommendation for some local cuisine nearby, and they recommended Mozart Gauge. (Funny how it seems like everything in Vienna somehow incorporates Mozart's name. Yes, he was from Vienna). Totally feeling the Austrian vibe of the restaurant and the feel of the local specialties, it was great! Austrians sure like their fried food...not quite my favorite. So I settled for something I wasn't sure what it was and it turned out pretty huge, and great. Reasonable prices and good food was a good start.
Waking up early the next day, where we took advantage of our free breakfast at the hostel while also meeting some fellow hostel stayers-a kid names Melvin from Amsterdam, who asked many questions about us Americans. Haha. We left to see the main cathedral, Stephensdome, located right in the center of Vienna. The huge, famous cathedral is from the 12th century! Being super motivated, the 7 of us climbed to the top, 323 steps exactly. Slightly claustrophobic/dizzying, the climb was well worth and we were welcomed with a fantastic view of the city! On the way down (super dizzying), Emily, Megan and I sang Sound of Music tunes. Quite loud apparently, oops.
Our next stop was the famous Hapsburg Palace, the seat of the Austria-Hungary empire, where Empress Elizabeth lived. Just approaching the building is amazing. As you walk down Kahtner Street, the street leading to it, you are hit with this huge, encroaching turquoise dome with gold at the end of the street. You can't miss it. The Palace is quite large with two courtyards between it and many museums now located right there. We decided to take the audio tour through the famous Imperial Apartments (the main part of the palace.) How could we miss out on where the world known Hapsburg royal family lived?!! The tour started out with a museum type exhibition on the life of Empress Elizabeth, apparently known as Sisi. Then we went on to explore the apartments where the family lived. It was rooms and rooms of intricate designs where they cover everything with gold from pillows, to wallpaper, to a napkin holder. After our tour, when walking through the palace outside, we stumbled right upon, a huge celebration.
Apparently it was the Day of Neutrality, basically independence day. So right in the center of the palace, there was a huge festival with tons of Austrian food, beer, music, a German loud speaker and a zipline going across the palace. Sweet! We just fall into great situations it seemed. So each of us ventured out to pick up random foods, planning to take bites of everyone's choices. We were left with potatoes, huge sausage hot dogs (no thank you), fried random things, pretzels larger than my head and beer. It was so much fun! I felt like I was helping the Austrians celebrate their great holiday! As we left, Megan insisted on trying the chestnuts, we first stared at them trying to decide. The man decided to give me one to try. Of course, I was forced to try it right there in front of him. Apparently giving a bad face because it was really hot, the guy hated me. Megan buys some, asking how do you eat this to the guy. It was hysterical. I think you had to be there. One of our moments.
We proceeded to go check out the Viennese Opera, one of the most famous in the world! By this time it was getting a bit dim, and the opera was lit up. Beautiful. To our surprise, outside the cathedral, a huge television screen was built up on the side of the building, and right when we arrived, the ballet was being streamed live! Chairs were set up and everyone gathered to watch the ballet, perfect quality, it was like we were at an outdoor show! My friends and I grabbed a spot on the ground and watched in amazement.
After a bit, feeling very inspired, we trotted and jumped and spun and leaped, literally, over to our next destination. We headed to the Museum Quartier, which holds 4 museums. From Megan's recommendation, we made a stop at the Leopold Museum, which held the Edward Munch exhibit and some Klimt art. On our way back to the hostel, we walked by Parliament, beautifully lit up at night, where we tried about 4595896830 attempts to do a jumping picture and were finally successful! YES! We also saw Town Hall at night. AMAZING! After our long, long day, we settled for a late dinner nearby and stop at the "WomBar," for our free drink included with our stay there. Hahaah.
The next day was a busy one as well. We headed over to Belvedere Palace, one of the summer homes of the empress and emperor. Really? Is is a palace necessary for a summer home? Anyway, the place was large, of course, and the gardens were beautiful!! We didn't take the tour inside, the gardens were really satisfying enough. We stopped by at the other famous church, Karlzkirche and the Secession Building, an art museum displaying art from the all the artists of the Vienna Secession Movement. Right across the street was the Noschmarket. A fabulous outdoor market we read about that has a huge line of vendors selling everything from pastries, dried fruit, falafels, candy, stuffed peppers to other local specialities. I felt like I was back home in New York, hanging out in Chinatown, with all the hagglers that were there. They gave out samples and lowered prices to intice you to buy more food. Great stuff. Next we made our way to the Schonnbrunn Palace, another summer home of the emperor and empress, where we saw the room where Mozart played his first concert at the age of six and the grand ballroom where the Vienna Summit was held. WHOA. The gardens here were just acres and acres of perfectly trimmed hedges. The hedges were awesome. And the view at the top of the gardens was sweet. Exhausted, we headed back and then headed to dinner at a brewery type restaurant with some authentic Viennese food and the biggest beer glass I have ever seen.
We started Wednesday with a metro ride over to Danube Island, right where you can see the Danube River. Then walked to the large carnival, which is apparently a Viennese institution. My friends ventured on a few rides while I was too chicken to give it a go. We then headed to experience the famous cafe culture of Vienna, where they have many, many types of coffee and endless types of cakes. Something they're famous for. We stopped in at Cafe Demel, from 1786, the oldest in Vienna, where Empress Sisi used to come by for her violet sorbet. The place is old, beautiful and so cute! You literally walk up to a glass case where the lady explains what type of cake each one is and then you choose. Complete with a chocolate almond slice and a hot chocolate, it was perfect. Gosh, how do these people stay fit!!!?
That evening my Syracuse crowd headed onto Prague, while I awaited the arrival of my Strasbourg buds an hour later. The next four days were spent exploring more of Vienna, a less intense crowd, where we gallivanted through the city at a slower pace. We stayed in a sick apartment and scurried through the fantastic Viennese streets, checked out the coolest House of Music museum, took a tour of the famous Spanish Riding School, checked out the club scene and "cooked" our foods at home. With a flight back to Baden Baden Sunday night, we were all exhausted. 10 days. Success. Love Eastern Europe.
mardi 10 novembre 2009
October 23- Off to Budapest, 1st stop, for Fall Break!
So I am way overdue keeping up with this blog, but yes, its been so busy! I cannot forget about my fantastic Fall Break. It was a week off where I really wanted to go somewhere completely different, so when my friends in London told me they were going to Budapest and Vienna, I was sold.
I was beyond excited to begin my Eastern Europe journey.
Lets start with Budapest. On Friday, October 23rd, I flew alone from Paris to meet up with five of my friends from Syracuse, 4 studying in London and one in Florence. After following the directions my friends had given me once I arrived in the airport, we can say that I was a bit freaked out when I saw the Hungarian subway system. The subway car I entered seriously looked straight out of a horror film. Old, creaky, yellowish, old and leather swinging hooks. Oh communism.
After that little adventure, I found our hostel, Domino Hostel, a not too shabby looking joint where all 7 of us had our own room thankfully! It was such a great relief to see Megan, Carolyn, Rachel, Dana and Emily who I haven't seen in so long!! After a bit of catching, all pretty tired, we headed out for a chill evening at a local restaurant ready to indulge in true Hungarian food! I was all out for the local specialties! When will I be back in Hungary? Going for the goulash soup and chicken paprika, totally delicious and cheap with the ridiculous currency they have there. The Florent is about 270 to 1 euro. When I bought a water bottle for 570 Florents with my 10000 Florent bill, the lady gave me the worst look. Whoops...
We then took a walk around the city. We were staying right by the Danube which apparently divides Buda and Pest, formerly two separate cities. Who knew!? The buildings along the rivier were beautiful along with the Parliament which was lit up with the Hungarian colors of red, green and white. Already amazing.
The next day was planned to be a packed day, making sure we see everything. We started with a visit to this huge indoor market we heard about right near our hostel, packed with everything. There was tons of fruits and vegetables, bread, meats, cheese and pastries. Along with floods of hungry Hungarians. Hahaha, had to.
I settled on a small apple and cinnamon strudel, totally Hungarian of course. We then made our way to the Buda side of the city to take the hike up to Castle Point, a long hike up to the top where there is a fantastic view of the city. It was great walk up where we stopped to take looks of the fantastic views we constantly came across. Finally at the top, it was quite a sight!! Despite the foggy day, the view of Budapest from overhead was totally worth it. Then we ventured down to take the funicular up the Buda Castle, also located up on the hill. Up there, we saw the huge ornamental gate, which I was amazed by. It was so intricate!!! We visited the Hungarian National Gallery, also located in the Castle. We then took a nice walk across the Danube, along the Chain/Lion Bridge to head to Parliament. It is the largest building in Hungary! I was extremely impressed by it, probably one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen. We then headed over to the river to take a tour boat ride. It definitely had the oddest narrative I have ever heard, which included one voice as Buda and the other Pest. It just made want to keep doing the impressions for the rest of the trip. Hhaha, oh man. We saw great sites and nice views and enjoyed the free wine. We then took a tour of Margaret Island led by a sweet 20 year old Hungarian girl, an island located in the middle of the river, which according to the tour, "Pesch, You know Margaret Island belongs to me." Oh my goodness. We spend that night eating dinner at this boat/restaurant/club that our tour guide recommended.
Sunday, our last day in Budapest, we headed out early, searching for somewhere to eat a quick breakfast, everything closed. But ventured across a Coffee Heaven, pretty much like Starbucks. Oh Americanization. Our next stop was the House of Terror Museum, so using my great map skills, I assumed the metro stop Hosok Tere, was the correct stop. Fail. But we did get to see the Millennium Monument. We made it to the House of Terror Museum, which is located on the exact side where the Red Cross Party (Nazis) and then the Communist Party headquarters were. We learned all about Hungarian history in this period and saw where they killed prisoners. It was intense. On a lighter note, we traveled over to the St. Stephens Basilica and then the opera house. Of course, made a stop at the synagogue, the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world! It was beautiful with great pillars on top! We trekked through the small Jewish Quarter, where we stopped for some good matzoh ball soup.
That evening it was off to Vienna. We traveled by train, Hogwarts style for sure. Great moment...Megan and I in our car with two Austrian sets on both sides of us. As we approach Vienna, the couple starts talking to us. Megan: "We're American." Austrian man: "I could tell." Rough.
Next stop...Vienna.
I was beyond excited to begin my Eastern Europe journey.
Lets start with Budapest. On Friday, October 23rd, I flew alone from Paris to meet up with five of my friends from Syracuse, 4 studying in London and one in Florence. After following the directions my friends had given me once I arrived in the airport, we can say that I was a bit freaked out when I saw the Hungarian subway system. The subway car I entered seriously looked straight out of a horror film. Old, creaky, yellowish, old and leather swinging hooks. Oh communism.
After that little adventure, I found our hostel, Domino Hostel, a not too shabby looking joint where all 7 of us had our own room thankfully! It was such a great relief to see Megan, Carolyn, Rachel, Dana and Emily who I haven't seen in so long!! After a bit of catching, all pretty tired, we headed out for a chill evening at a local restaurant ready to indulge in true Hungarian food! I was all out for the local specialties! When will I be back in Hungary? Going for the goulash soup and chicken paprika, totally delicious and cheap with the ridiculous currency they have there. The Florent is about 270 to 1 euro. When I bought a water bottle for 570 Florents with my 10000 Florent bill, the lady gave me the worst look. Whoops...
We then took a walk around the city. We were staying right by the Danube which apparently divides Buda and Pest, formerly two separate cities. Who knew!? The buildings along the rivier were beautiful along with the Parliament which was lit up with the Hungarian colors of red, green and white. Already amazing.
The next day was planned to be a packed day, making sure we see everything. We started with a visit to this huge indoor market we heard about right near our hostel, packed with everything. There was tons of fruits and vegetables, bread, meats, cheese and pastries. Along with floods of hungry Hungarians. Hahaha, had to.
I settled on a small apple and cinnamon strudel, totally Hungarian of course. We then made our way to the Buda side of the city to take the hike up to Castle Point, a long hike up to the top where there is a fantastic view of the city. It was great walk up where we stopped to take looks of the fantastic views we constantly came across. Finally at the top, it was quite a sight!! Despite the foggy day, the view of Budapest from overhead was totally worth it. Then we ventured down to take the funicular up the Buda Castle, also located up on the hill. Up there, we saw the huge ornamental gate, which I was amazed by. It was so intricate!!! We visited the Hungarian National Gallery, also located in the Castle. We then took a nice walk across the Danube, along the Chain/Lion Bridge to head to Parliament. It is the largest building in Hungary! I was extremely impressed by it, probably one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen. We then headed over to the river to take a tour boat ride. It definitely had the oddest narrative I have ever heard, which included one voice as Buda and the other Pest. It just made want to keep doing the impressions for the rest of the trip. Hhaha, oh man. We saw great sites and nice views and enjoyed the free wine. We then took a tour of Margaret Island led by a sweet 20 year old Hungarian girl, an island located in the middle of the river, which according to the tour, "Pesch, You know Margaret Island belongs to me." Oh my goodness. We spend that night eating dinner at this boat/restaurant/club that our tour guide recommended.
Sunday, our last day in Budapest, we headed out early, searching for somewhere to eat a quick breakfast, everything closed. But ventured across a Coffee Heaven, pretty much like Starbucks. Oh Americanization. Our next stop was the House of Terror Museum, so using my great map skills, I assumed the metro stop Hosok Tere, was the correct stop. Fail. But we did get to see the Millennium Monument. We made it to the House of Terror Museum, which is located on the exact side where the Red Cross Party (Nazis) and then the Communist Party headquarters were. We learned all about Hungarian history in this period and saw where they killed prisoners. It was intense. On a lighter note, we traveled over to the St. Stephens Basilica and then the opera house. Of course, made a stop at the synagogue, the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world! It was beautiful with great pillars on top! We trekked through the small Jewish Quarter, where we stopped for some good matzoh ball soup.
That evening it was off to Vienna. We traveled by train, Hogwarts style for sure. Great moment...Megan and I in our car with two Austrian sets on both sides of us. As we approach Vienna, the couple starts talking to us. Megan: "We're American." Austrian man: "I could tell." Rough.
Next stop...Vienna.
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