Well, here I am 5 weeks into classes and I'm just starting to comprehend a good portion of what the professors are saying. Progress!
Let me start by explaining how the Italians organize (for lack of a better word) their university system. First of all, I haven't signed up for classes yet. That's right, that happens sometime in November. But I've been attending classes since the end of September. Somehow, before arriving in Bologna, no one thought it relevant to mention this to us UC students, where signing up for classes requires you to sit in front of your computer, watching the clock tick toward the time of your first sign-up period, ready to pounce with the course numbers of what classes you want to take ready in front of you with 1st choice, 2nd choice, and 3rd choice. Knowing that we don't sign up until much later might have saved me a bit of stress this summer when I was worrying that all the classes I would want to take would fill up.
So, how DOES it work? Basically, in September we found what classes we would want to take/sounded appealing and then went to the lectures to see if we liked the style of the professor. On the first days, all the professors laid out for us the format of the class and what was required. (Quick side note: there are students here who are "attendees" and "non attendees." "Non attendees" have a heavier work load with the readings, so all of us exchange students are encouraged to be "attendees" and even go talk to the professor about the material because they can cut it down for us more or allow us to focus on what we're interested in.) If you like the sound of the class, you keep taking it. If you don't, you just don't go anymore. Whenever we actually "sign up for classes" in November, isn't so much as signing up for the "classes we have been taking", but more for "which classes we want the option of taking the exam". For example, I'm currently taking 3 classes. If suddenly I realize that one of them won't count for my major and I REALLY need this other class (that I haven't been attending), I can "sign up" for it in November, take the final exam for that class, potentially pass, and I'll get full credit for it. If I don't have a class on my "sign up" list, I'm not allowed to take the final exam for it.
The final exams sound oh-so fun. They are all oral exams (and the only part of class that is graded). So I'll get to sit down with the professor (possibly with the rest of the class sitting in the classroom studying themselves or watching me), and the professor will ask me some questions about the material (the exams usually take about 15 minutes). Most of the "material" is from the readings, and very little will be about the lecture. This is why professors can tailor the final exam to the student: if I had previously asked a professor if I can focus on a few chapters of the book and skip the rest, he/she will just ask me questions about those chapters. If I demonstrate that I know the material assigned to me, I'll get a passing grade. If I don't like the grade the professor gives me, I have 2 choices: 1) I can tell him/her to ask me something else so I can demonstrate that I actually know what I'm talking about. If I pull it off, the prof. can offer me a higher grade. Or 2) I can tell the prof. that I will be back for the 2nd round of exams after I study a bit more to try to improve my grade. The student has to accept the grade for the grade to count. If the student never accepts it, then they can keep trying to retake the exam (to the annoyance of the professor), or just never get credit for it.
Here are the 3 classes I'm currently taking (all in Italian):
1. Sociology of Visual Communication (about 15 students; the professor strings all her words together...)
2. Gender, Citizenship, and International Politics (about 30 students, 3/4 erasmus, 1/2 of those who speak Spanish)
3. Literature and Critical Analysis of Dante (about 150 students; energetic, amusing professor who tries to help us erasmus students since there's about 20 of us in that class)
I'm apparently also going to learn a bit of Spanish in my Gender, Citizenship, and International Politics class because there are about 7 women in the class who all speak Spanish (from Spain and Chile). So they understand the Italian quite well, and therefore are able to intelligently contribute to class discussions (unlike myself who is barely following along, much less forming my own thoughts). However, their Italian isn't good enough that they can speak it, so they speak in Spanish and our professor and other classmates "translate" into Italian...which usually doesn't help me very much because I've lost the context. Too bad I've never taken a single Spanish class.... The saving grace in this class is that the professor knows English, so the 15-page paper I have to write to get the max number of credits for the class can be in English. Whew!
All in all, it has been a very interesting experience. The first few weeks I was exhausted after every class (which are all 2-hours long--I can barely concentrate for that long at UCLA!), but now I'm starting to get the hang of it and my notes are now mostly in Italian rather than mostly in English with a few Italian words thrown in there for fun. Now that I'm understanding what's happening in lecture, I should probably get around to understanding the reading material...since that is what the final exams will be on.
The adventure continues...!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Cose che Mi Mancano
Things that I miss (in no particular order):
1. Brownies (ok, well this one is pretty high on my list of things I miss)
2. Family, friends, and home
3. Microwaves (my toaster oven keeps heating up only the plate and my food is still cold...)
4. Banana bread/pumpkin bread (and any other bready-baked goods. Italians are really good at pastries, but need a little work in the cakes/sweet breads/brownies area.)
5. Baking supplies (it's hard to bake myself when I still can't find brown sugar in my grocery store)
6. A working oven (oh yeah, that might help with the whole baking thing, too. Once that's fixed, the first thing I'm going to make is brownies!)
7. Driving
8. Understanding the language spoken around and to me
9. Target (cheap things all in one place)
10. CVS
11. Trader Joe's
12. Iced Chai Tea Lattes from Bruin Cafe (my morning ritual at UCLA)
13. Bagel Sandwiches (dining hall brunch--are you noticing the food pattern here?)
14. "Free" gym (that my parents pay for as part of school fees/tuition)
15. Pick-up soccer (guys don't really want girls to play with them here)
16. AC in the summer (the heat for fall/winter has been good so far)
17. Stores being open at "normal" hours
18. My comfy pad for my bed
19. My massage pillow (this one is also pretty high in terms of how much I miss things)
20. UCLA (and all the people that come with it)
21. Places for students to sit/chill between classes and to study (I haven't found any convenient cafes or library study rooms near my classes yet. And there are no places to sit outside, either)
22. Macy's/Forever 21 (easy shopping)
23. Online shopping (even easier shopping)
24. Advil (5 euros for 6 doses...a little steep)
25. Jamba Juice/smoothies in general
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. And while I miss all this, there are so many new things here that I love. I think I'll appreciate the things here more when I leave because I'll miss them...just like how I've taken all the things on this list for granted until now. Since I don't have easy access to them or I have no possible way of getting them/having it, then I start realizing how much I miss a simple thing like a place to sit in between classes to study or people-watch or grab a cup of coffee to go (which is almost nonexistent here). I've realized that things are just a lot easier in the US. Grocery stores, CVS, Target, etc. all have everything you need in one place. Here, you have to find one or two things you need at a store and then go to another one to find something else. You have specialty stores (in terms of meats, pastas, pastries, cheeses, veggies, etc. and in terms of the grocery store and pharmacy being completely separate), but that makes it hard to do one shopping trip to get everything. So everything here just seems that much more complicated and difficult, which adds to the stress of already being in a different country where a foreign language is spoken, taking classes in that foreign language, having to pay rent for the first time in my life, and navigating a new city and way of life.
So when things get stressful, all I want to do is bake brownies...but I can't. Actually, it's probably good I can't, because I would weigh sooooo much by now if I made brownies every time I was stressed! Oh well, it would probably be worth it... :)
Baci e abbracci to everyone!
1. Brownies (ok, well this one is pretty high on my list of things I miss)
2. Family, friends, and home
3. Microwaves (my toaster oven keeps heating up only the plate and my food is still cold...)
4. Banana bread/pumpkin bread (and any other bready-baked goods. Italians are really good at pastries, but need a little work in the cakes/sweet breads/brownies area.)
5. Baking supplies (it's hard to bake myself when I still can't find brown sugar in my grocery store)
6. A working oven (oh yeah, that might help with the whole baking thing, too. Once that's fixed, the first thing I'm going to make is brownies!)
7. Driving
8. Understanding the language spoken around and to me
9. Target (cheap things all in one place)
10. CVS
11. Trader Joe's
12. Iced Chai Tea Lattes from Bruin Cafe (my morning ritual at UCLA)
13. Bagel Sandwiches (dining hall brunch--are you noticing the food pattern here?)
14. "Free" gym (that my parents pay for as part of school fees/tuition)
15. Pick-up soccer (guys don't really want girls to play with them here)
16. AC in the summer (the heat for fall/winter has been good so far)
17. Stores being open at "normal" hours
18. My comfy pad for my bed
19. My massage pillow (this one is also pretty high in terms of how much I miss things)
20. UCLA (and all the people that come with it)
21. Places for students to sit/chill between classes and to study (I haven't found any convenient cafes or library study rooms near my classes yet. And there are no places to sit outside, either)
22. Macy's/Forever 21 (easy shopping)
23. Online shopping (even easier shopping)
24. Advil (5 euros for 6 doses...a little steep)
25. Jamba Juice/smoothies in general
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. And while I miss all this, there are so many new things here that I love. I think I'll appreciate the things here more when I leave because I'll miss them...just like how I've taken all the things on this list for granted until now. Since I don't have easy access to them or I have no possible way of getting them/having it, then I start realizing how much I miss a simple thing like a place to sit in between classes to study or people-watch or grab a cup of coffee to go (which is almost nonexistent here). I've realized that things are just a lot easier in the US. Grocery stores, CVS, Target, etc. all have everything you need in one place. Here, you have to find one or two things you need at a store and then go to another one to find something else. You have specialty stores (in terms of meats, pastas, pastries, cheeses, veggies, etc. and in terms of the grocery store and pharmacy being completely separate), but that makes it hard to do one shopping trip to get everything. So everything here just seems that much more complicated and difficult, which adds to the stress of already being in a different country where a foreign language is spoken, taking classes in that foreign language, having to pay rent for the first time in my life, and navigating a new city and way of life.
So when things get stressful, all I want to do is bake brownies...but I can't. Actually, it's probably good I can't, because I would weigh sooooo much by now if I made brownies every time I was stressed! Oh well, it would probably be worth it... :)
Baci e abbracci to everyone!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Napoli, Pompeii, e Capri
- What: a 4-day trip by big, private buses (2 buses, 100 students)
- Where: Naples, Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, and the island of Capri
- When: left on Wednesday, Oct 12th at midnight; returned Sunday, Oct 16th at 10pm
- Who: the organization ESN (Erasmus Student Network, which sets up bar nights and trips for erasmus/foreign students here in Bologna). I shared a room and spent most of my time with 3 of my friends from the UC program: Allison, Maia, and Alejandra.
- Why: why not?!
* Fun fact of the day: according to Wikipedia, "Pompei" is the modern Italian city built around/near the Roman ruins of "Pompeii."
Words to sum up the 4-day trip: Social, exhausting, fun, uncomfortable, windy, cold, wet, sunny, beautiful. Let's see how we managed to fit all those things into one trip:
Day #1: We left Bologna at midnight on Wednesday and arrived in Naples Thursday morning at 8am after getting a couple hours of dozing on the bus (sleeping while sitting upright and having loud, drunk people in the back of the bus for 8 hours proved difficult). Our initial welcome to the city was traffic. Keep in mind, we've got 2 big buses trying to get through a city that no one should ever try to drive in. But we arrived safe and sound at our hostel, we quickly changed our clothes, grabbed a cappuccino (or two) from the vending machine, and headed out to see Naples. Our massive tour group played a role in the traffic hold-ups that day, as we had 100 people trying to cross the street all at once. We wandered along the sidewalk that overlooks the Gulf of Naples, stopped to take touristy pictures of a fish market (live octopus, anyone?), went to a castle, ate lunch in the center (had some damn good pasta), and then took a tour of some other sites in Naples (various churches and shopping markets). After a day of walking without much sleep to start with, we returned to the hostel just before dinner to shower and rest.
Night #1: For dinner, we went out to pizza with the ESN group. For 5 euros, we got an appetizer (fried veggies and fried bread balls--sooooo good, and soo dangerous!), a real Neapolitan pizza (a-m-a-z-i-n-g), drinks, and dessert (which looked like brownies, was supposed to be cake, and was too dry to be either). After this satisfying dinner, my friends and I went back to the hostel and hung out with some Portugese guys who made us a very tasty drink: red wine, coke, and a bit of lemon juice. They had the proportions perfectly balanced. But we went to bed relatively early since we were exhausted and we had to get up early again the next morning.
Day #2: Friday morning we were on the bus by 9am and headed to Mt. Vesuvius for the morning and Pompeii for the afternoon. I was so excited to see the crater and to wander around Pompeii (I have been with my parents once before, but I really wanted to revisit and appreciate it this time). Unfortunately, the day turned out to be nothing like I had hoped. On our drive up to the top of Vesuvius, it started sprinkling (we had been told it was definitely not going to rain that day, so Allison and Maia were wearing shorts and I just brought a light sweater). And I don't mind a little rain and a little wind, but while we were walking along the top of Vesuvius, we had to lean sideways to counteract the wind pushing us. Fortunately, it wasn't raining too much until we were ready to leave the mountain...which was mainly due to the lightning and thunder that was rapidly approaching (it's ok Mom and Dad, we made it back without getting too singed). On the bus to Pompeii we un-numbed our fingers and noses. Once in Pompeii, we had a fairly miserable experience. It started pouring as we were eating lunch in a cafe, so we bought over-priced umbrellas and ponchos, it was cold, windy, and we had to wait for at least 2 hours for our guides to get the tickets so we could enter Pompeii. Of course, getting tickets in Italy is never a simple, quick process. For our huge tour group and about 2 or 3 other groups waiting, there was only one ticket booth open AND all of us students had to show our student ID cards so we could get the student discount (of course there are no lines--imagine a huge mob of people trying to squeeze under the protection of one tent while pushing each other to try to buy tickets and have all of us students show our ID cards individually). This is why Italy is not known for its efficiency. We finally get into Pompeii and split into 2 tour groups (I of course choose the one in English), and we take a 45 minute tour down a few streets in the pouring rain, trying to maneuver around each other with wet ponchos and troublesome umbrellas to see what the tour guide is talking about. After the tour was over, none of us felt like wandering around the streets of Pompeii (which is the part I was most looking forward to for this trip) since we were soaking wet because the ponchos and umbrellas all were in the process of breaking or had already ripped/broke.
Night #2: That night, we ate dinner in the hostel (no way were we going to brave any more weather or traffic that day) and ESN provided us with some sangria. It's still a bit strange to have people providing us with alcohol and being able to carry open bottles around on the street. We turned in fairly early that night, too, since the next morning would be yet another early morning.
Day #3: Saturday was nice and sunny--the perfect day to visit the island of Capri (a 50-minute boat ride off the coast of Naples) and what would have been a perfect day for Pompeii.... Capri was gorgeous: blue water, green vegetation, and white houses dotting the hillsides. As a group, we took a walk to some view points on the island and then walked down a LOT of stairs to a "beach" where we'd be eating our picnic lunches. After walking down all those stairs, I was excited to put my feet in the water. This desire quickly dissipated when we got to the "beach" of man-made cement, jagged rocks, and strong wind. But we ate our lunches and then curled up to take naps. Fortunately, there was a shorter way back to the main part of the island without walking back up all those stairs. After another long waiting period (in the cold wind) for our guides to get tickets for the boat-ride back, we arrive back at our hostel just in time to change for dinner.
Night #3: Dinner was at a restaurant with the ESN group again, but this time we had pasta with fresh seafood. After being assured we'd have at least 30 minutes back at the hostel before heading out to a club, we rushed back to the hostel after dinner to change in 5 minutes (Italians always seem to underestimate the time it takes to eat dinner in Italy). Then we took our large tour buses to a piazza where we were served limoncello by the ESN guides and socialized with students from our group and students from Siena and Naples. Once the alcohol-blanket started wearing off, we went into the club where we danced to semi-decent music for 2-3 hours. Around 3:30am, we grabbed a taxi back to our hostel, showered, and went to bed. We got 2.5-3 hours of sleep before we had to wake up early AGAIN to pack up and get on our bus to drive home.
Day #4: Before leaving Naples fully, however, we stopped at Parco della Reggia di Caserta. Yeah, I don't know what that is, either. Apparently, it's the Italian equivalent of Versailles. Some important, royal people lived in this huge mansion decades ago. We took a walk around the gardens, which was a huuuuuge lawn area with ponds and fountains and bridges and horse carriages, grabbed a bit of lunch, and then took a nice nap in the sun on the grass. Then we all piled into the buses for one last ride, and we got back to Bologna at 10pm Sunday night. And then I went to bed. The end.
...And just to add, I had to wake up early yet again on Monday morning to get my fingerprints done for my residency permit. So needless to say, Monday night I slept for 11 hours straight.
More entries on classes and whatnot soon!
xoxo
- Where: Naples, Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, and the island of Capri
- When: left on Wednesday, Oct 12th at midnight; returned Sunday, Oct 16th at 10pm
- Who: the organization ESN (Erasmus Student Network, which sets up bar nights and trips for erasmus/foreign students here in Bologna). I shared a room and spent most of my time with 3 of my friends from the UC program: Allison, Maia, and Alejandra.
- Why: why not?!
* Fun fact of the day: according to Wikipedia, "Pompei" is the modern Italian city built around/near the Roman ruins of "Pompeii."
Words to sum up the 4-day trip: Social, exhausting, fun, uncomfortable, windy, cold, wet, sunny, beautiful. Let's see how we managed to fit all those things into one trip:
Day #1: We left Bologna at midnight on Wednesday and arrived in Naples Thursday morning at 8am after getting a couple hours of dozing on the bus (sleeping while sitting upright and having loud, drunk people in the back of the bus for 8 hours proved difficult). Our initial welcome to the city was traffic. Keep in mind, we've got 2 big buses trying to get through a city that no one should ever try to drive in. But we arrived safe and sound at our hostel, we quickly changed our clothes, grabbed a cappuccino (or two) from the vending machine, and headed out to see Naples. Our massive tour group played a role in the traffic hold-ups that day, as we had 100 people trying to cross the street all at once. We wandered along the sidewalk that overlooks the Gulf of Naples, stopped to take touristy pictures of a fish market (live octopus, anyone?), went to a castle, ate lunch in the center (had some damn good pasta), and then took a tour of some other sites in Naples (various churches and shopping markets). After a day of walking without much sleep to start with, we returned to the hostel just before dinner to shower and rest.
 |
| Allison, Alejandra, Maia, and I next to the sea. |
 |
| The fishermen and fish at the fish market. |
Night #1: For dinner, we went out to pizza with the ESN group. For 5 euros, we got an appetizer (fried veggies and fried bread balls--sooooo good, and soo dangerous!), a real Neapolitan pizza (a-m-a-z-i-n-g), drinks, and dessert (which looked like brownies, was supposed to be cake, and was too dry to be either). After this satisfying dinner, my friends and I went back to the hostel and hung out with some Portugese guys who made us a very tasty drink: red wine, coke, and a bit of lemon juice. They had the proportions perfectly balanced. But we went to bed relatively early since we were exhausted and we had to get up early again the next morning.
 |
| Neapolitan pizza! Yum |
Day #2: Friday morning we were on the bus by 9am and headed to Mt. Vesuvius for the morning and Pompeii for the afternoon. I was so excited to see the crater and to wander around Pompeii (I have been with my parents once before, but I really wanted to revisit and appreciate it this time). Unfortunately, the day turned out to be nothing like I had hoped. On our drive up to the top of Vesuvius, it started sprinkling (we had been told it was definitely not going to rain that day, so Allison and Maia were wearing shorts and I just brought a light sweater). And I don't mind a little rain and a little wind, but while we were walking along the top of Vesuvius, we had to lean sideways to counteract the wind pushing us. Fortunately, it wasn't raining too much until we were ready to leave the mountain...which was mainly due to the lightning and thunder that was rapidly approaching (it's ok Mom and Dad, we made it back without getting too singed). On the bus to Pompeii we un-numbed our fingers and noses. Once in Pompeii, we had a fairly miserable experience. It started pouring as we were eating lunch in a cafe, so we bought over-priced umbrellas and ponchos, it was cold, windy, and we had to wait for at least 2 hours for our guides to get the tickets so we could enter Pompeii. Of course, getting tickets in Italy is never a simple, quick process. For our huge tour group and about 2 or 3 other groups waiting, there was only one ticket booth open AND all of us students had to show our student ID cards so we could get the student discount (of course there are no lines--imagine a huge mob of people trying to squeeze under the protection of one tent while pushing each other to try to buy tickets and have all of us students show our ID cards individually). This is why Italy is not known for its efficiency. We finally get into Pompeii and split into 2 tour groups (I of course choose the one in English), and we take a 45 minute tour down a few streets in the pouring rain, trying to maneuver around each other with wet ponchos and troublesome umbrellas to see what the tour guide is talking about. After the tour was over, none of us felt like wandering around the streets of Pompeii (which is the part I was most looking forward to for this trip) since we were soaking wet because the ponchos and umbrellas all were in the process of breaking or had already ripped/broke.
 |
| Me (with Alejandra's extra sweatshirt, thank god), Maia, and Allison at the top of Vesuvius...it's only a bit windy. |
 |
| Allison, Maia, and Alejandra when we're waiting to get into Pompeii...the poor girls' legs! But a very innovative way to use the ponchos... Oh, and this is how wet we were before the ponchos and my umbrella started breaking. |
Night #2: That night, we ate dinner in the hostel (no way were we going to brave any more weather or traffic that day) and ESN provided us with some sangria. It's still a bit strange to have people providing us with alcohol and being able to carry open bottles around on the street. We turned in fairly early that night, too, since the next morning would be yet another early morning.
Day #3: Saturday was nice and sunny--the perfect day to visit the island of Capri (a 50-minute boat ride off the coast of Naples) and what would have been a perfect day for Pompeii.... Capri was gorgeous: blue water, green vegetation, and white houses dotting the hillsides. As a group, we took a walk to some view points on the island and then walked down a LOT of stairs to a "beach" where we'd be eating our picnic lunches. After walking down all those stairs, I was excited to put my feet in the water. This desire quickly dissipated when we got to the "beach" of man-made cement, jagged rocks, and strong wind. But we ate our lunches and then curled up to take naps. Fortunately, there was a shorter way back to the main part of the island without walking back up all those stairs. After another long waiting period (in the cold wind) for our guides to get tickets for the boat-ride back, we arrive back at our hostel just in time to change for dinner.
 |
| Capri! |
 |
| Beautiful view from the main shopping part of the island. |
 |
| Snuggling up on the "beach" for a nap (this would be a 4-person spooning). |
Night #3: Dinner was at a restaurant with the ESN group again, but this time we had pasta with fresh seafood. After being assured we'd have at least 30 minutes back at the hostel before heading out to a club, we rushed back to the hostel after dinner to change in 5 minutes (Italians always seem to underestimate the time it takes to eat dinner in Italy). Then we took our large tour buses to a piazza where we were served limoncello by the ESN guides and socialized with students from our group and students from Siena and Naples. Once the alcohol-blanket started wearing off, we went into the club where we danced to semi-decent music for 2-3 hours. Around 3:30am, we grabbed a taxi back to our hostel, showered, and went to bed. We got 2.5-3 hours of sleep before we had to wake up early AGAIN to pack up and get on our bus to drive home.
Day #4: Before leaving Naples fully, however, we stopped at Parco della Reggia di Caserta. Yeah, I don't know what that is, either. Apparently, it's the Italian equivalent of Versailles. Some important, royal people lived in this huge mansion decades ago. We took a walk around the gardens, which was a huuuuuge lawn area with ponds and fountains and bridges and horse carriages, grabbed a bit of lunch, and then took a nice nap in the sun on the grass. Then we all piled into the buses for one last ride, and we got back to Bologna at 10pm Sunday night. And then I went to bed. The end.
 |
| The gorgeous gardens at the mansion. |
...And just to add, I had to wake up early yet again on Monday morning to get my fingerprints done for my residency permit. So needless to say, Monday night I slept for 11 hours straight.
More entries on classes and whatnot soon!
xoxo
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Oktoberfest Photos
 |
| Entrance to the Oktoberfest grounds. |
 |
| At 8:30am before there were thousands of people... |
 |
| ...and in the afternoon with thousands of people. |
 |
| The first beer tent (more like a permanent structure) Allison and I went to on Friday. |
 |
| Inside the beer tent once it got crowded. |
 |
| Our first steins of beer! (At 10:30am) |
 |
| A pretty building in Munich (I think it's a government building, but I wasn't really giving the tour my full attention). |
 |
| On our bike tour Saturday morning with our Australian guide. |
 |
| Our bike tour through the English Gardens. This lawn is the nudist meadow...I didn't take any close-up pictures. |
 |
| People surfing on the river! This one spot draws surfers from all over--they have to be pretty good because the sides are lined with concrete and there's a concrete wall under the water to create the single wave. |
 |
| As we walked through the English Gardens on Sunday, we saw a breast cancer run with women of all ages and sizes. Good for them! |
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
OKTOBERFEST!
This past weekend I went to Oktoberfest (a beer festival) in Munich with Allison. We took a train down to Florence Thursday evening, got on a bus we had reserved through an organization called EuroAdventure, and bused all night to Munich (we arrived at 7am). Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning we were free to explore Munich, go to the beer tents, and enjoy people watching and at night we stayed in a hostel the organization had booked for everyone. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had, and here's why:
Peace: Once our bus left Florence, we had an 8 hour drive to Munich. During that time Allison and I slept (although it was intermittent), listened to music, and chatted with each other and the other Americans around us (some of whom were fairly annoying girls who didn't know any Italian, despite the fact that they are studying in Florence, so whenever Allison and I wanted to talk about them we spoke in Italian to each other). At one moment, I was in my own world looking out the window at the sky full of stars over the countryside and listening to some Tracy Chapman on my iPod, and I felt completely peaceful and content. I had Allison sitting next to me, I had a bus taking me where I needed to go, the hostel would be there waiting for us, we knew we would be well taken care of by the guides, and I could finally let my brain relax for the first time since being in Europe. I knew it would be a good weekend.
The beer tent: We arrived in Munich around 7am on Friday, checked into our hostel, and left at 8:30am to get in line at one of the beer tents. The tents (which are actually fairly permanent structures) don't open until 10am, but people start lining up in front of the good ones much earlier. They let us in around 9:30 and I was sitting with my first beer (a huge 1-liter stein) by 10:15am. To give you a sense of the size the steins hold about 3-4 bottles of beer, it has a slightly higher alcohol content than beers at home, and it's made of glass that is REALLY heavy (awesome bicep workout). Now, I'm not a big beer fan. So I wasn't sure how much beer I would actually be drinking on this trip, but that German beer was SO good, and I didn't have any problems drinking a stein...or two.... We stayed at this first beer tent until 4:30pm drinking beer, eating a half-chicken (they should really advertise the chicken in addition to the beer), meeting very friendly Germans (even before the alcohol, but especially after), and generally having a grand ol' time. Once back at our hostel around 5pm, Allison and I showered and took a refreshing nap. We shared the clean room with 2 other American girls and we had a private bathroom (which was very exciting after the shared bathroom down the hall in our hostel in Milan). That evening, after grabbing a little dinner, Allison and I decided to wander aimlessly around the center of Munich. We found a main pedestrian strip with shops, musicians playing violin or guitar, and Germans and tourist alike out and about.
Bike tour: Saturday morning, we "slept in" a bit, ate breakfast provided at the hostel (scrambled eggs, rolls, jam, cheese, deli meats, orange juice, coffee--the Germans know how to do breakfast!), and then headed out around 10:30am on a bike tour we had signed up for with EuroAdventures. The bike tour was amazing! Our Australian guide (with wonderful accent to listen to...) took us to various historical buildings and the English Gardens where there was a river people could surf on, a nude meadow, a beer garden in the center, and walking/bike paths through the grass and the trees. We stopped for lunch at the beer garden in the center and we had a beer (a.k.a. a stein of beer) and a pretzel (which was gigantic). Fortunately, after having beer, people were still mostly able to ride their bikes. After the tour, we did a little souvenir shopping and headed back to the hostel for a shower and what ended up to be a nap once we had lied down on our beds.
Beer tent #2: Around 7pm Saturday night, we met up with some people we had met on the bike tour (all of us being Americans studying abroad) and some of our guides from EuroAdventures and we went to a beer tent just outside the Oktoberfest grounds. The first stein of beer hit pretty hard alcohol-wise because I only had a beer and a pretzel for lunch. But I paired this beer with another pretzel to make it my dinner. We hung out at the outside tables with everyone for several hours talking, laughing, and drinking before we went inside around 11pm to the club where we danced for several more hours. Finally, we went back to our hostel and slept.
Stroll through the gardens: Sunday morning we got up around 9am, ate breakfast, met with one of Allison's friends, and we walked back to the English Gardens. We practically retraced our steps from the bike tour, but it was nice to get out, take a stroll in the 75 degrees weather, and enjoy the cool foliage of the gardens (which we greatly miss in Bologna). On our way back, we stopped at a Starbucks (they were everywhere in Munich and none are to be found in Bologna) and enjoyed coffees, pastries, and each other's company for a while. Then, it was time to get back on the bus (around 3pm) and we headed back to Florence.
Florence for 7 hours: In Florence, Allison and I had each set up a place to crash for the night with a friend. Our bus arrived at 1am, we walked to our friends' houses, went to sleep, and met up again at 8am to take the train back to Bologna in time for class at 1pm.
It was a weekend filled with sleep deprivation, beer, pretzels, half-chickens, good-looking tall Germans, drunken tourists, and general merriment! I had a blast and would go back to Munich (especially during Oktoberfest) in a heartbeat. Before this weekend, Germany wasn't too high on my list of places to travel, but now I really want to go back to visit any city in Germany (maybe Berlin...).
Photos will be coming soon!
Peace: Once our bus left Florence, we had an 8 hour drive to Munich. During that time Allison and I slept (although it was intermittent), listened to music, and chatted with each other and the other Americans around us (some of whom were fairly annoying girls who didn't know any Italian, despite the fact that they are studying in Florence, so whenever Allison and I wanted to talk about them we spoke in Italian to each other). At one moment, I was in my own world looking out the window at the sky full of stars over the countryside and listening to some Tracy Chapman on my iPod, and I felt completely peaceful and content. I had Allison sitting next to me, I had a bus taking me where I needed to go, the hostel would be there waiting for us, we knew we would be well taken care of by the guides, and I could finally let my brain relax for the first time since being in Europe. I knew it would be a good weekend.
The beer tent: We arrived in Munich around 7am on Friday, checked into our hostel, and left at 8:30am to get in line at one of the beer tents. The tents (which are actually fairly permanent structures) don't open until 10am, but people start lining up in front of the good ones much earlier. They let us in around 9:30 and I was sitting with my first beer (a huge 1-liter stein) by 10:15am. To give you a sense of the size the steins hold about 3-4 bottles of beer, it has a slightly higher alcohol content than beers at home, and it's made of glass that is REALLY heavy (awesome bicep workout). Now, I'm not a big beer fan. So I wasn't sure how much beer I would actually be drinking on this trip, but that German beer was SO good, and I didn't have any problems drinking a stein...or two.... We stayed at this first beer tent until 4:30pm drinking beer, eating a half-chicken (they should really advertise the chicken in addition to the beer), meeting very friendly Germans (even before the alcohol, but especially after), and generally having a grand ol' time. Once back at our hostel around 5pm, Allison and I showered and took a refreshing nap. We shared the clean room with 2 other American girls and we had a private bathroom (which was very exciting after the shared bathroom down the hall in our hostel in Milan). That evening, after grabbing a little dinner, Allison and I decided to wander aimlessly around the center of Munich. We found a main pedestrian strip with shops, musicians playing violin or guitar, and Germans and tourist alike out and about.
Bike tour: Saturday morning, we "slept in" a bit, ate breakfast provided at the hostel (scrambled eggs, rolls, jam, cheese, deli meats, orange juice, coffee--the Germans know how to do breakfast!), and then headed out around 10:30am on a bike tour we had signed up for with EuroAdventures. The bike tour was amazing! Our Australian guide (with wonderful accent to listen to...) took us to various historical buildings and the English Gardens where there was a river people could surf on, a nude meadow, a beer garden in the center, and walking/bike paths through the grass and the trees. We stopped for lunch at the beer garden in the center and we had a beer (a.k.a. a stein of beer) and a pretzel (which was gigantic). Fortunately, after having beer, people were still mostly able to ride their bikes. After the tour, we did a little souvenir shopping and headed back to the hostel for a shower and what ended up to be a nap once we had lied down on our beds.
Beer tent #2: Around 7pm Saturday night, we met up with some people we had met on the bike tour (all of us being Americans studying abroad) and some of our guides from EuroAdventures and we went to a beer tent just outside the Oktoberfest grounds. The first stein of beer hit pretty hard alcohol-wise because I only had a beer and a pretzel for lunch. But I paired this beer with another pretzel to make it my dinner. We hung out at the outside tables with everyone for several hours talking, laughing, and drinking before we went inside around 11pm to the club where we danced for several more hours. Finally, we went back to our hostel and slept.
Stroll through the gardens: Sunday morning we got up around 9am, ate breakfast, met with one of Allison's friends, and we walked back to the English Gardens. We practically retraced our steps from the bike tour, but it was nice to get out, take a stroll in the 75 degrees weather, and enjoy the cool foliage of the gardens (which we greatly miss in Bologna). On our way back, we stopped at a Starbucks (they were everywhere in Munich and none are to be found in Bologna) and enjoyed coffees, pastries, and each other's company for a while. Then, it was time to get back on the bus (around 3pm) and we headed back to Florence.
Florence for 7 hours: In Florence, Allison and I had each set up a place to crash for the night with a friend. Our bus arrived at 1am, we walked to our friends' houses, went to sleep, and met up again at 8am to take the train back to Bologna in time for class at 1pm.
It was a weekend filled with sleep deprivation, beer, pretzels, half-chickens, good-looking tall Germans, drunken tourists, and general merriment! I had a blast and would go back to Munich (especially during Oktoberfest) in a heartbeat. Before this weekend, Germany wasn't too high on my list of places to travel, but now I really want to go back to visit any city in Germany (maybe Berlin...).
Photos will be coming soon!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)