Tuesday, May 26, 2009

In Prague

Hi everyone -

On my last jaunt of The Tour, Prague.

I really enjoyed the last few days in Berlin. It is a very special city! Everything was great - I think celebrating the the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) on Saturday at the Brandenburg Gate was the highlight. I saw Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor (forgot to mention that in the last post!).

I went to Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and KaDeWe (the biggest department store on the European continent) yesterday, and did a few other things that are now slipping my mind.

I had a nice train ride from Berlin, about 4 1/2 hours, this afternoon and found my beautiful hostel very easily. I am so surprise at how closely the Czech and Croatian languages are - I can read signs with almost no problem!

Enjoying the free internet and a quiet evening in before touring Prague tomorrow...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

In Berlin

I love, love, love Berlin. I love Germany. I love speaking German. I love hearing German. I love directional signs. I love S- and U-Bahn maps. I love German efficiency.

It is such a relief to be in a city that is well ordered and doesn't make my life as a foreign tourist impossible. After Istanbul and Athens, I needed a break. We were both worried about getting lost on the way to our hostel late Friday night and then were like, "Oh wait... this is Germany... there are signs..."

Yesterday was great. It feels cold here, even though its not, but it's chillier here than in the last few places we've been. I took a (free!!) 4-hour walking tour of the city to get my bearings. It was led by a great Aussie and it was a good time.

Today I went back to the Checkpoint Charlie/Berlin Wall Museum and the exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial. Then I went up in the dome of the Reichstag building!! It was so cool, but hot as a greenhouse in the glass dome.

I'm waiting for Rachel to meet me at the hostel (we're staying at "The Generator" - a huge 900-bed/EUR 8 per night place in East Berlin. It's so much fun!)... then, hopefully, dinner!!

Home at the end of the week!!!!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

It's all Greek to me (wonk wonk)

I'm heading to Berlin later today, so I thought I should write a quick post about the end of Istanbul and Athens.

We met up with 3 girls from our SIT program on Sunday and Monday in Istanbul - I was so happy that it worked out that way. It was great to see them again, plus easier to get around in Istanbul as a bigger group, instead of a two American girls. Athens is so peaceful compared to Old Istanbul. I was getting so tired of the "hey lady... hey lady... lady, where you from?" on the street. It's hard to ignore people!!

Hostel Pagration in Athens is great. There are a ton of other American students who have just finished their study-abroad programs here and we had a blast with them. It was much friendler than our rather grim guesthouse in Istanbul, even if it was quite a hike from the sights in Athens.

On Wednesday I found myself at the Acropolis, which was amazing (although it looks a lot bigger in pictures). Crowded with hoards of tourists, even at 9am. From there, I explored the ancient Agora (my favorite!!!!!), the Athenian flea market, and some notable buildings like the Greek Parliament and Presidential Residence. I had some yummy spanakopita (I think that is how you spell it?? The only Greek I know comes from APO) and then went to Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of the Olympian Zeus (also very cool), and the Olympic stadium.

Yesterday I sort of retraced my steps again and went to the Kerameikos, the ancient area where many potters had their workshops and also where a large cemetery was. It was incredible to see a archaeological site that has been under nearly constant excavation for almost 100 years. The site of Kerameikos (and Classical age Athens), is 8 to 9 meters below the surface of present day Athens and one can easily see that change in elevation.

I took the Metro up to the National Archaeological Museum after that. The Metro is so neat. So many remains were discovered during the construction of the Metro, that some stops have curated exhibits of the artifacts found there, so taking the Metro is a museum in and of itself.

The National Museum is overwhelming, I only spent a few hours, but it could take days. It was great to see assemblages of artifacts found at, say, the Acropolis. It is easier to imagine what the temples looked like once I saw all the statues, ceramics, etc. that belonged there.

That's about it... sure there is much more to say, but I have limited time. More from Berlin!!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Easy Days in Istanbul

Yesterday we got up early and took a ferryboat to one of the Prince's Islands (Adalar), which are off the Asian coast of the city. It was a nice excursion from the hubbub of the city & those intense travel days. There are no private cars on the islands, so people get around with horses & bicycles. It was very quiet! We went to a public beach and tanned... the water (Mamara Sea), was super cold and had a film of oil on top from the many barges and boats going by - no thanks, I'd rather not swim in polluted water. The sun was very strong though, so we decided to leave after a few hours. The town center was very crowded with tourists by the time we left.

Today, we went to the Grand Bazaar again, to find some souvenirs. Prices are not displayed, so much haggling is required. It's quite an experience. We tried not to let any one find out we are American, because that makes the price double - today, I have been from Australia, Canada, and Croatia. Rachel and I usually pretend to speak Croatian when we're on the street - it usually throws off the many guys who are trying to get us to come sit at their cafes, eat at their restaurants, or buy their souvenirs. Usually, they just assume we are Russian and give up.

Our Serbian/Croatian disguises backfired on us today, when Rachel managed to interact with the only Bosnian shopkeeper in the Bazaar. We went up and did our "Ohh, ne govorimo engleski!' (We don't speak English!) spiel and then the guy goes, "Ah! Dobrodoshli!" (welcome!). It took Rachel nearly everything she had to continue a conversation in the language and me nearly everything I had to keep from laughing!

We rounded out the afteroon with a tour of the Dolmabahce Palace and an early dinner. Tomorrow, our classmates Alex & Emma join us here - looking forward to seeing them again!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Whirling Dervishes, I'm in Turkey!

Filling out a health certificate on the plane from London, I realized that I have been to 5 countries in the last two weeks. Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Britain. Now, Turkey.

We had our going-away dinner with our host families and professors on Sunday night in Zagreb and I flew to Vienna early on Monday morning. Most of the group continued on to JFK, but me, Fiona & Emily met up with Rachel (who took a train from Zagreb) in Vienna for the night. Vienna, at face value, is one of the most beautiful cities I have been in. It was a bit of culture shock, seeing my first Starbucks after 3.5 months, no graffiti for blocks, and being able to overhear conversations in a language I could understand. We went the Hofburg Palace complex, which is great. I saw various churches, the government buildings, national theater, university, etc. I also saw the Spanish Riding School & the Lippizaner stables.

Tuesday morning I went to the Belvedere palace (now an art museum), where I saw my most favorite painting in the whole wide world = Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" as well as some of his other works. From there, we headed to the airport and boarded our 3pm flight to London!

Got to Gatwick with no problem and took a transfer to the city. I was mesmerized by the traffic oncoming from the opposite side!! We hit the ground running, taking the Underground (mind the gap!!) to Westminster - saw the River Thames, the Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey & Big Ben. Westminster Abbey is SO cool. We walked to Trafalgar Square and then took the U to the Tower of London (which actually isn't a tower, its a fortress... silly me). Then on to Buckingham Palace around nightfall, where we met Rachel's friend Joy - we crashed in her LSE dorm for the night. I would like to note that we ran around with giant backpacks all day... my shoulders are never going to forgive me.

Yesterday was an intense travel day. We took a bus to London-Luton airport and flew to Sabiha Gocken, on the east side of Istanbul, on the Asian continent. Met by Turkish health officials wearing masks as we were getting off the plane - they take this swine flu thing very seriously. We had quite the run-around when trying to buy our visas into Turkey, but now I have a cool sticker and stamp in my passport! Using public transportation from the airport, it took us 3 buses, a tram, a whole lotta walking and about 3 hours to get to our hostel, located in the heart of the Old City - luckily, we are flying out of the more convienent airport next week!!

We were dead tired last night and collapsed around 10pm, even with the 2 hour time difference from London. I was awoken by the call of prayer at 5am from the mosque next door - but slept in until after 8! We went to the Topkapi Palace this morning and then headed up to the Spice Market & Grand Bazaar this afternoon. It's cooler today (in the 70s), but supposed to be in the 90s over the weekend. Many locals are still wearing overcoats and of course, many women are covered from head to toe. I barely made it in jeans & a t-shirt today! We're planning a cruise on the Bosphorus or a trip up to the beaches on the Black Sea tomorrow... will update again soon!

Reporting live from Istanbul,
Liz

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Final Seminar on Island Krk!

Krk is so beautiful and it is so great to be done with all of my work. The 16 of us did our final presentations, handed everything in and we are so glad to be relieved of the work, but sad that the semester is coming to a close.

We are staying in a small pension just outside the old town of Krk, on Krk island in the north Adriatic Sea. It's a stone's throw from the water and we have a beautiful patio where we've all hanging out and sharing meals together. Our program director, program assistant and our language professor are all here with us.

Some of us get up and go swimming every morning around 8, which is wonderful. It is very hot here, but the water is still ICY. It's only in the 50s. So, we can only swim for 30 minutes or so, before getting out to warm up. We had a free morning on Friday and we spend it exploring some of the other beaches near our hotel. The water is clear - you can see straight to the bottom, even where it is 20 feet deep. And perfect salinity! The only drawback is that there are no sandy beaches - just pebbly and rocky beaches. There are also sea urchins everywhere! I cut my foot on one, before I realized that all the little black things on the bottom were spiny little buggers and not rocks. On the rocks on the island, little green lizards are sunning themselves.

Friday night we had a blowing-off-steam party on the dock. It was a lot of fun! We had food & drinks, music (& karaoke), and a slideshow of all the pictures from the semester.

Last night, we all went to a neighboring town for the Crna Ovca (Black Sheep) Festival. Lots of lambs roasting on spits and other local festivities. We had one last big group dinner together with lots of food (lamb) at the festival and came back late last night. I'm getting ready to pack, eat lunch outside again and then get on the bus back to Zagreb (can't I just reschedule everything and stay here????)

It's been a very relaxed end to what was, at times, a very stressful semester.

Photos:

Island Krk

Crna Ovca Festival

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Quite an Adventure!

Well, I am almost done with my semester here! I finished my 30-page ISP on Monday and travelled back to Zagreb yesterday. I made it back from Kosovo in one piece - I would have written earlier, but I couldn't stand the thought of typing on my laptop anymore!

Getting to Kosovo was an adventure in and of itself. Because of all the politics and whatnot, there is no regular bus that runs between Belgrade and Prishtina. Instead, two Serbian brothers run a private coach between the two capitals daily. Gaby called this private number and got the info - we needed to meet them at the minibus outside of the main train station at 6:00am Friday morning. This bus was crazy. It was like the Knight Bus from the Harry Potter books - it would randomly pull over on the side of the road and people would jump on. Once, we stopped under an overpass and some woman came out of the ditch. At the toll plaza, some guy just opened the door and sat down upfront. It was so random!

We got to Gračenica, a small village near Prishtina, around 12:00. It's also a Serb enclave (Serbs are a minority in Kosovo and mostly live together in these small towns). We were the last people on the bus and expressed to the driver that we needed him to take us into the city, which he did. Then he called his friend, who was a taxi driver, who met us, translated for us, and took us to our hotel. He told Gaby "don't speak so much Serbian! Use English here!" So, from then on, we spoke English with everyone on the street.

We got there during the middle of jumu'ah (Friday prayer), so the mosques were full and the streets were empty. It was also International Labor Day, so only the cafes were open. After jumu'ah was over, the streets were full of men - we didn't see any other women on the street! We think it was because the kids were home from school for the holiday. When the guys heard us speaking English to each other, they would stop us and ask to buy us coffee (I think there was a marriage proposal or two, as well).
Prishtina was a small city. We walked around for a little while and Gaby did her interview while I sat in a cafe and worked on transcribing my interviews. Most of the buildings (as you can see from the pictures) are alphabet soup - UN, EU, OSCE, etc. There was some very interesting graffiti too, such as "EU-LEX, Made in Serbia."

Saturday saw a much more general population on the street. We had breakfast at the hotel and explored a little bit more, then got lunch and headed back to the hotel, where our taxi driver from the day before said he would meet us at 2:45 to take us out to the edge of the city where the bus was picking us up. He was there waiting for us! How nice it is to be chauffered around :-)

Our bus driver on the way back drove like an idiot, there is no other way to put it. Probably 80 miles an hour, which is about 40 miles too fast in a minibus, on roads that haven't had much maintenance. He got pulled over and got a ticket, but it didn't slow him down at all. The return trip was supposed to take about 7 hours and he did it in five.

Despite getting carsick on the way home, the trip was well worth it. It really put things in perspective - to think that Kosovo is the world's newest country and struggles with transition, governance, etc. It made me think of what Bosnia and other countries here were like 10 or 15 years ago.

I head to island Krk tomorrow for our final seminar & presentations! Back in Zagreb on Sunday night for our sending-off dinner, then flying to Vienna on Monday morning.