Vienna: best we ever had

Vienna: the best I ever had.

I dont even know how to describe our trip to Vienna.  I guess it was like a torrid love affair.  It lasted a few days, wore us out, and left us satisfied and smiling from ear to ear.  And that is not easy for a woman to experience.  Oh Vienna, you are simply the best I have ever had.  For now.

We saw quite a few landmark areas such as the: national library, Vienna dom, Votive Kirche, Beethoven Park, St. Charles Kirche, and the Schlossbürn.  We also visited a few museums such as the: Haus der Meer, museum quarter, torture museum, Freud museum, and Haus der Musik.  I also had to snap a picture and actually see Mahlerstrasse, it’s a must for a classical music junky.

The national library of Vienna:
The national library is such a grand and spectacular building.  When we were first looking at the map we just thought it would be an older library that you could walk through and look at the vast collection of books.  However, the library is actually in use for people that want to study and for local college students.  When we approached the library, we were at the back of the building and we just assumed that was the entrance.  When we walked to the front, we were pleasantly surprised by the grandeur of the building.  We walked in and looked around for a bit.  Would we visit again? probably not, one time was enough.

Vienna Dom:

The Vienna Dom was beautiful.  It was in the heart of the city center and it is definitely something worth seeing.  When we were approaching the dom I couldn't help but feel like the Vienna dom looked a lot like the Köln dom.  Regardless, the dom was beautiful and you must see it when you visit Vienna!  Would we go and see it again?  Probably, its one of those buildings where you can just stand and stare at the detailing of the architecture and always find something new.

Votive Kirche:

The Votive kirche was interesting.  We didn't plan on seeing this church, but we got lost on our way to find the Freud museum and ended up running into it.  The Votive kirche is like a smaller version of the Vienna dom, at least thats what I think.  We did not go into the Votive kirche.  Would we go again?  Probably not, its out of the way and is a less awesome version of the Dom.

Beethoven Park:

We went to see the Beethoven park.  It was pretty small, but situated in the middle of the park is a large statue of Beethoven.  I liked the park; however, I would rather visit the park in the summer to see just how beautiful it could be!  Would we go back?  Yes, I have got to see it in the summer!

St. Charles Kirche:

The St. Charles Kirche is beautiful.  Its not quite as ornate and detailed as the Dom, but its not suppose to be super detailed.  The pillars on the front of the church are completely carved, and the detail put into the pillars is amazing.  I really enjoyed this church.  It doesn't look like the typical church you expect to see when sight-seeing.  It was a pleasant surprise.  Would we go again?  Probably.

Schlossbürn Palace:

We saw the palace and it was incredible.  It was gigantic.  A friend of mine told me that you need an entire day to see the entire palace and grounds.  He was sooo right.  If you really want to see the palace you need to dedicate a full day of your trip to the palace.  Unfortunately, we were running out of time so we were only there for a few hours.  However, we did manage to snap some pictures and marvel at the beauty of the palace!  Would we go again? Yes, we still have so much of it to experience.

Haus der Meer:

For those of you that know me, you know I do not like fish that much.  They just creep me out and they look slimy.  I cant deal with it.  This place was like a giant aquarium...sounds like a nightmare for me right?  Well to make it worse, there was also a floor dedicated to giant spiders and scorpions and a whole separate floor for snakes.  Yeah, I had to conquer my fear of spiders for a few hours.  Actually, the aquarium/museum wasn't bad at all!  I kind of liked it and Kortnie really liked it!  There were also some monkeys and birds too!  I think Kortnies favorite part of the aquarium/museum is when i had my head against some glass looking at a creature, and behind the glass directly in front of my forehead was a large poisonous spider.  When she told me, and I looked up, I backed up so fast.  I no longer put my head on glass now.  We also managed to see a monkey making holes in a hand rail, we thought it was cute until he started humping the holes.  Then it was just weird.  Would we go back? ehh. not really sure.

Museum Quarter:
The museum quarter is awesome if you want to see a bunch of museums without having to go far.  Kortnie and I walked to it and around it.  However, we did not go into one of the museums.  Would we go back? yeah, so we could actually go to one of the museums.

                                                                                                 Torture Museum:

I was super excited to see this museum.  The museum is actually situated right behind the aquarium/museum.  It is underground in a WWII bunker.  Just walking through the bunker was pretty cool.  They still had rooms done up like they used to be in case of an emergency.  The actual museum experience was awesome.  There were these wax mannequins dressed up and portraying the different torture experiences and we had a book explaining the origin, history, and procedure of all the different ways to torture people.  Its not very surprising that most of the torture procedures originated in Germany and were carried out in Germany.  Would we go again?  Hell yes.  It was awesome, and surprisingly fun.

Freud Museum:

The Freud museum was interesting.  I learned more about his private life in this museum than I did about his actual work.  This museum is situated in the apartment that Freud used to live in while he lived in Vienna.  The museum was filled with original pictures, furniture, and books.  It was really informative, but it was also really short.  I wish there would of been more information about his work.  But I guess thats what all the other Freud Museums are for.  Anyways, would we go again?  Probably not,  Its worth seeing once.

Haus der Musik:

The haus der musik was awesome.  It was filled with all things music related and it was well kept.  We didn't have a lot of time to look around inside but its definitely something I would want to check out on my next trip to Vienna.

I loved Vienna.  I could see myself staying there for a long time, if not living there.  There is so much to see.  I would highly recommend visiting Vienna.

the bus.

Leaving Greece

Greece was so much fun.  Lots of sun, lots of warm air, and lots of sightseeing and shopping!  We loved Greece so much, and apparently that feeling was mutual because Greece would not let us leave.

When we first attempted to leave, we left an hour early and went to the train station to catch our bus that was leaving from there.  We arrived at the train station and they told us there were no trains or buses leaving the station for 24 hours due to a protest.  FACK.  After that, we booked it to a bus station in the hopes of catching a bus to our desired location of Thessaloniki.  We did manage to catch the last bus, at a cost of 39 euro a piece.  ouch.

Let me tell you ‘bout this bus ride.  This bus ride was the smelliest and most uncomfortable bus ride Kortnie and I have ever been on.  There was a large group of drunken men behind us.  They tried speaking German, but it was a combination of German and Greek that was slurred.  The lady sitting in front of us decided it would be alright to feel up our feet and then just look at us like we did something wrong.  As much as I love a random feel up, I am going to leave it to the men for that one, and they better not be touching my feet.  To make matters worse, the bus kept changing in temperature.  It would be freezing cold and then we would feel like we were sweating.  Every time the heater came on, it smelt like an old man had just finished a workout.

We arrived in Thessaloniki and we were going to wait out the strike.  We were told the strike was only for 24 hours.  So we got a hostel for the night, and took a good nap and slept that night.  The next morning we woke up super early, packed up our things, and started walking to the train station.  The train station was still under strike.  At this point, we gave up, and there was a bus leaving for Sofia, Bulgaria.  We bought our ticket for that bus, 23 euro to be exact, and we were on our way.

The bus to Sofia wasn't horrible, but the stop at the border was.  To save myself from raging again, and to not talk about what actually happened, I am just going to say that we are never going back to Greece...at least for a very long time.

Once we finally arrived in Sofia, we had to wait until the next day to take the train to Bucharest.  We ended up staying in a hostel.  The hostel was pretty decent and ended up giving us a moment of calmness and clarity.  It was much needed.  However, the shower didn't work...and we needed a shower realllll bad too.

The actual train to Bucharest was one of the scariest experiences of my life.  The train was constantly swaying and making these ridiculous noises.  Kortnie and I were in the same car, the train was an overnight train so we had our own beds and such, and the car we were in was ridiculously warm.  The car was even too warm for Kortnie, and that is saying something.  Needless to say, I managed to sleep through most of the sketchy train ride; however, the five times officials knocked on our door, I managed to wake up.

All in all, getting out of Greece was an experience Kortnie and I will never forget.  It was horrible while it was happening.  Looking back, even now, leaving Greece is probably one of the funniest and most aggravating situations we have been in.

Greece!

Time in Greece

Kortnie and I spent a while in Greece.  We were visiting for a full five days!  We did a lot of shopping, a little sightseeing, and a lot of eating! :)  I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of Greece and I also really enjoyed all the history in the sights.  Its a very strange feeling to be walking by artifacts that you have seen only in books in your past years of history class.  I wish I could describe this feeling.  The feeling itself is a mix of emotions.  Something along the lines of humbling, exciting, and nervous.  

We loved the food in Greece.  All the veggies were super fresh and delicious!  My favorite part of Greek food was the Gyros and the baked feta.  So delicious!  Also, the wine is very cheap.  In some restaurants we got half a litter of wine for 4-5 euro.  We also tried some desserts too!  Kortnie was in love with the gelato and I was in love with the baklava.  There were a few instances where we got free drinks and food!  At one restaurant we got a free “shot” of Ouzo.  Ouzo is the alcohol that goes into making wine.  Our “shot” was half a glass.  I would describe Ouzo as being similar to Vodka but with a black licorice taste.  Ouzo is a very strong beverage and should be consumed with food!  We also managed to get a free plate of Greek yogurt with greek honey and cinnamon! Greek honey is delicious, I would recommend others to try it!  My final recommendation would be to try the Greek coffee.  Now, the Greek coffee is served in a little shot glass like mug.  Its very thick, strong, and black.  It was pretty good; however, Kortnie learned that you only have one glass of Greek coffee a day.  Having more than one, causes twitchiness, hallucinations, rapid heartbeat, and a general fear of others and surroundings.  One cup/shot of Greek coffee is enough to jump start your day.

Some of my favorite things we saw were: the ancient agora, prison of Socrates, Dionysus Theater, Acropolis, acropolis museum, and the temple of olympian Zeus!

Ancient Agora:

The ancient agora used to be the city center of Athens back in the day.  Entry to the ancient agora is free to students from all around the globe!  I would highly recommend taking either a guided tour or walking by yourself through the ancient agora.  There is a path that has you wander between the ruins of some of the most influential buildings in ancient Greece.  By each ruin is a description of either what the building or statue was used for or what it represented.  In a lot of cases, these descriptions were assumptions because no one really knew what they were for.  Its very humbling and beautiful to walk through an ancient ruined city center.  In the middle of the ancient agora is the remains of the alter dedicated to the 12 Olympic gods.  Would I visit the ancient agora again? yes, no doubt.

Prison of Socrates:

By now we should all know who Socrates is.  If you don't know who he is, do a quick google search or something.  Anyways, I am not huge into philosophy so when I saw this, I was much more interested in the architecture of the prison rather than the actual history behind it.  I do have a few friends who would love to see the prison of Socrates though!  If your into philosophy and love history too, this is the perfect spot for you!  Even if you don't like philosophy or history, I would still recommend that you check it out.  The view at the top of the hill is amazing!  Would I visit it again?  Probably not, depends on who I am traveling with.

Dionysus Theater:

The Dionysus Theater is directly to the side of the acropolis.  As you are heading up to the acropolis, you will run into this theater.  Also, as you leave the acropolis, you will run into the ruins of the rest of the theater.  I really enjoyed the Dionysus theater, then again, I love Greek history.  If your not big into Greek history, you will more than likely want to snap a few pictures and then leave.  This is one of those spots where you can sit and stare at the theater for a good hour or more.  I was just picturing everything that used to happen in the theater and how incredible it is that I am able to see it still.  I would definitely recommend that you take the time from seeing the acropolis to be amazed by the theater.  Would I visit it again? Most def.

Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum:

I am lumping these to together because they cover the same ground and are directly across the street from each other.  There is a slight hike up to the acropolis.  We visited Greece in the off season, so there was also construction being done on the acropolis.  The view from the top is outstanding.  You can look down and see all of Athens, and I am told that on a clear day you can even see the ocean.  Kortnie and I went and it was super windy and rainy.  We still managed to take in the beauty of the acropolis and the temple dedicated to Athena.  Everyone will recommend going to the acropolis, but I think you should visit the acropolis after you spend a few hours wandering the acropolis museum.  In the museum, you can see everything that was found in the acropolis area.  The things that were found, and the remarkable state they were preserved in is outstanding.  Also, the museum is slightly divided so that everything of one category is all lumped together.  There are also large signs that give a little bit of history to each artifact.  I recommend you take the time to actually read the signs too.  I really enjoyed the museum.  Would I go to these places again?  Yes, especially since there is a new museum being made as we are speaking!

Temple of Olympian Zeus:
This temple is amazing.  You can see the temple from the top of the acropolis.  I would highly recommend taking the very sort walk to go see it!  You can also walk along the track!  I went and saw this solo.  When I went to visit the gates were closed, so naturally i shoved my camera through the fence, snapped a few pics, and then put my head through the fence and just stared for a while.  It truly is a beautiful sight.  Would I visit again? yes, but next time, I would like to actually walk around through the area rather than sticking my head through a fence.

Kortnie and I also did quite a bit of shopping!  We really shouldn't have, considering we have the rest of the trip ahead of us!  Anyways, I ended up buying a shirt, some earrings, a hair weave, and some postcards!  Kortnie walked away with some postcards, a bag, and a hat!  Oh, and Sephora was also having a half off sale so we bought a bunch of makeup! :D  Anyways, the shopping in Greece was pretty tame for us.  We spent most of our time shopping through the flea market district in Greece!  It was nice just being able to walk from table to table looking at random things people were trying to sell.  

Greece was an amazing experience.  We did get to experience more culture rather than sights.  However, there were a few things I would of loved to see before we had left.  Maybe if I am ever able to go back to Greece, I will be able to see these things!

Rome!

Rome is for lovers.

Rome was a great experience.  The city as a whole has litter everywhere and has a strange smell of body odor and pee.  Kortnie and I were lucky enough to be staying in a hostel right in the center of Rome.  We did a ton of walking around, and climbed a shit ton of stairs.  Our glutes will be lookin mighty fine. 

We saw the typical tourist attractions and ate the typical Italian food and we even drank a bottle of Italian wine!  For the small amount of time we were in Rome, we saw everything we wanted to see.  If we were to stay a few more days we would probably check out some museums and possibly go back to some of the monuments at night to get some night photos.

Another noteworthy comment before I explain some of the major things we did, if you end up traveling by train to and from Rome expect your ears to pop every ten minutes!  I highly suggest traveling by train through Italy.  There is so much to see in Italy, and most other countries, that no one really thinks about seeing what the countryside looks like!  If you take the train, you can see the beautiful countryside and all the mountains and little villages and cities!

With Katy Perry on blast, I will be able to tell you all about some of my favorite things in Rome!!

Vatican City-

Vatican city was less than a 10 minute walk from our hostel.  The lines were pretty short when we went too.  I love the amount of detail that the entire city had as a whole.  There was not a place that was void of ornate details.  My favorite part of visiting Vatican City would be climbing to the top of the Basilica.  Before you go up to the top, they tell you that it is 360 steps and you can pay 5 euro to just take the steps to the top, or you could pay 7 euro to take the elevator and then some steps.  Kortnie and I are much more frugal than we are lazy.  We counted all the steps it took to get to the top, and the total was 720 steps.  They lied.  The steps were narrow and mostly fixed on a spiral staircase.  However, once you get to the top of the Basilica, you can see the entire city of Rome.  All the stairs were most definitely worth it.  Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat.

Popolo Plaza-

I was kind of disappointed when we went to see this plaza.  Its suppose to be one of the most beautiful ones in Rome.  However, almost the entire plaza was under construction while we were in Rome.  What we did see of the plaza was beautiful.  Would I do it again? Possibly, so I can see it in its entirety.

Spanish Steps-

Yet another disappointment.  I am starting to think that the only way to actually see some of these landmarks is to go during the height of their tourism season.  Anyways, we kept seeing these beautiful pictures of the Spanish Steps, and Kortnie was super excited to see them.  When we got there, they were empty.  Every picture we had ever seen of the spanish steps included thousands of flowers also.  The steps were still beautiful; however, I would of liked to see them with the flowers on them too.  Would I do it again? Probably, if I ever find myself in Rome again, I will stop by.

Trevi Fountain-

We went to the trevi fountain on our first day in Rome.  It was just as beautiful as it is in pictures.  The water in the fountain almost looked fake, it was such a bright blue color.  We were at the fountain for a good hour just taking pictures and talking about how in awe we were of the fountain.  My favorite part of the fountain is when a tourist actually climbed into the fountain to get his bracelet that fell in, once he got in the fountain, the police were after him!  Poor guy, he just wanted his bracelet back.

Pantheon-

I am not sure what I expected when we were going to visit the Pantheon.  As soon as we walked in, we were able to see all the beautiful artwork that had gone into the Pantheon.  It was beautiful inside, and the Pantheon looks gigantic from the outside.  While at the Pantheon, I managed to run into a couple of friends I knew from back home in Sioux Falls, SD who had just moved to Norway!  Imagine to coincidence of running into someone you know in a city the size of Rome!  Crazy.  Anyways, would I go back?  I don't think so, seeing it once was enough for me.

Colosseum-

The Colosseum is just as grand and breath taking in person as it is in pictures.  Just standing in front of the Colosseum looking at it, I was in awe at the craftsman ship that was used to build it wayyyy back in the day.  It truly is a sight to see.  On our last day in Rome, Kortnie and I went inside and looked at the art and artifacts that where inside the Colosseum that gave insight on Roman history.  My favorite part of being inside the colosseum was just looking into the center of it from the top where the seats used to be!  It was a humbling and delightful experience.  However, be warned that when climbing these stairs its like doing lunges up steep, thick steps.  Would I go back? Heck yes.

Roman Forum/Palatino-

The Roman Forum and Palatino are a must to see after some of the trademark Rome tourist spots.  I loved the Roman Forum and Palatino.  The Roman Forum is an area filled with the ruins from ancient Rome and has parts of buildings and structures standing still.  As I was walking by these ruins, I was able to see them up close and imagine how it used to be in Rome!  The Palatino was right next to the Roman Forum and it was a bunch of very old structures built into hills.  These structures where arches that I think may have been openings to homes.  Don't quote me on that.  If you love history or if you love Roman mythology you HAVE to visit the Roman Forum and Palatino.  It’s a must.  Would I go again? duh.

Food-

Oh my god.  The food.  The pizza Kortnie and I had was so fresh and refreshing.  Normally when we eat pizza we feel gross after, but after eating pizza in Rome, we felt more active and ready to go and do something new!  We both agree that when in Rome, eat pizza at least once, and make sure there is mozzarella on it!  We also had some pasta!  We both had this pasta that was filled with spinach (yum) and various cheeses with parmesan on the top.  It was so delicious and it was the perfect amount.  The spinach and cheese was super fresh and the pasta itself was so tender.  It was perfect.  We had gelato almost every day.  Gelato is so addicting.  I tried: tiramassu, chocolate, vanilla bean, melon, mango, and hazelnut gelato.  My favorites were the mango and hazelnut flavors.  Kortnie had: apple, vanilla, kiwi, pistachio, cream, and coconut.  I tried the coconut and it was amazing.  The pistachio tasted just like eating pistachio nuts! It was amazing.  We both also had a bottle of real Italian wine.  We liked it!  The wine is much stronger here than the wine I have had before.  It was delicious!

That pretty much sums up my major moments in Rome!  We both had a shit ton of fun, and it was worth going to!  Would we go again? Probably!

The longest day in the history of traveling:

Today marks day one of the travels.  I am currently writing this on a train from Verona to Rome.  This train is only slightly sketchy...I don't know which makes me more nervous: the deteriorating exterior, the obnoxious sounds, or the fact that the train is uncontrollably shaking.  This train makes me super nervous, and I am exhausted and my ears keep popping every other minute.  Beyond these small details, I am having a pretty good day so far. :)

The day started off shaky.  Kortnie and I had a six hour layover in Hannover.  We spent the entirety of the six hours awake reading magazines, enjoying one hour of complimentary wifi, and generally wandering the hauptbahnhof.  When it was finally time to get on the train and leave for Munich, we were ecstatic.  All we wanted to do was sleep.  We boarded our train, which was an ICE train, and we felt like we were in heaven.  The chairs were comfy and we fell asleep pretty quickly.  The one thing I don't like about sleeping in public is that I make noises in my sleep.  I don't know why I do it, but every once in a while, I will be peacefully sleeping and suddenly I will be startled awake by myself making my sleeping noise.  For those of you that don’t know what my sleeping noise is, its like a medium pitched ‘huh.’  I find it sounds like I am saying it in a questioning manner.  Well anyways, I made this sound on the train and I looked around, slightly embarrassed, and no one had heard it.  This is pretty much the most eventful and exciting point of my day.

Once Kortnie and I arrived in Munich, we were late thanks to the train, we ran to our next train and just barely made it on in time.  In this train we were assigned certain seats within a little car box.  We were with four grown German adults and a baby that was less than a year.  Babies push my limits.  Yes, babies are adorable; however, when a child is screaming please don’t decide to breast feed your baby in front of me without asking.  And please, dont talk about the pains of breastfeeding in German because you dont think we dont understand.  Babies, they can ruin a train ride, real quick.  Seven hours later we arrived in Verona, Italy.  The ride to Verona was so beautiful.  The train took us through the Alps, and through the countryside of Italy.  Once the train hit Italy's’ countryside, Kortnie and I passed the fuck out.  Out cold for a good 45 minutes.  I even fell asleep with my sunglasses on.  Italy is quite sunny, if you did not know!

After the seven hour ride to Verona, Kortnie and I went and walked around and had some Italian pizza and then boarded our last train for the day!  This train is only a mere three and a half hours!  

Total train riding time: 17.5 hours

Total hours of sleep: <4 hours

Best quote of the day: “dude, that river looks like a special edition kool-aid.”

What am I most looking forward to: a bed, a shower, and less people.

Kortnie & Cassie VS. Europe.

Its almost that time to start some serious traveling!  In two weeks, Kortnie and I will begin our big trip through Europe and Germany!!  We are going to be all over the place experiencing new things and seeing what kind of trouble we can get into! :)

Below is a list, in order of the places we are going to be going to.  Its not completely final, we are still tweeking some certain cities in countries, but for the most part, this is where we will be!

1. Italy.
    We are going to start our trip in Italy!  We are going to take a train from Munich, Germany into Rome, Italy!  We will be staying in Rome for most of our time in Italy.  However, we do plan on visiting Vatican City!

2. Greece.
    We will be taking a ferry from Italy to Greece and we will arive in a major port (which port still has to be decided).  From the port we will head to Athens where we will be sleeping and staying for the majority of our trip!  We also plan on visiting the city of Olympia and the islands of: Rhodes, Delphi, and Santorini!  On our way out of Greece, we plan on visiting Mt. Olympous!

3. Romania
    From Greece, we will travel north and head to Romania!  We will spend all of our time in Bucharest!

4. Austria
    From Romania, we will head a little more north to visit Austria.  While in Austria we will be visiting the capital of Vienna!  There will be so much culture to see and experience while we are in Austria!

5. Czech Republic
    From Austria, we will travel a little farther north to the Czech Republic!  We will spend all of our time in Prague.  Hopefully while we are there we can check out some of the night life too!

6. Sweden
    From the Czech Republic we travel even farther north to Sweden!  We will be staying in Stockholm for the entire duration we are in Sweden.  Maybe we will see a polar bear or some adorable winter creatures.

7. France
    From Sweden we head down south to visit France!  In France we will be staying in Paris.

8. Portugal
    From France we head to Portugal!  In Portugal we will be staying in Lisbon!  We will once again be in the sun, and I will hopefully loose my pale complexion!

9. Germany/Norway
   After Portugal, Kortnie and I part ways for about 10 days.  She will be heading back to Germany to be with her family that has come to visit her!  I will be heading to Norway to stay with a group of friends!

10. "Dirty South"
     Once we are reunited, we will head down to southern Germany!  We will be staying in: Munich, Nurnburg, and Frankfurt.  We want to see the black forest, Salzburg, Dachau, Triberg, and the castle that inspired the Cinderella castle!

11. Denmark?
      After our time in southern Germany, we are thinking about possibly traveling to Denmark.  Our minds are not made up on this yet!


Sooo!  I will try to update with daily activities from each day during out trip!  Keep your eyes out looking! :)

List of things I would rather do than homework.

My top ten list of things I would rather do then start my Political Psychology project.

1. Troll people in the library.
     Calling people out by name while sitting off a balcony and watching their reactions...priceless.

2. Imgur/Stumbleupon
    Self explanatory.  I would rather dedicate my time to the random knowledge and general         awesomeness that awaits me on the Internet.

3. Open a beer.
    Once again, self explanatory...Studying drives me to day drinking.

4. Speak perfect denglish.
    "Wir haben drei dingos in my backyard."  I like dingos, they are kind of cute.

5. Talk about how angry Germans get when you speak incorrect German with them.
    Saying things like "Danks" and "Bitts"don't seem to be socially acceptable.

6. Creep on people walking by.
    I like to watch  people do their activities and be intrigued, puzzled, and mortified at what people do in public.

7. Listen to emily talk about her "emotions"
    I kid you not, this came from her mouth "I want to be a young woman, and an old man at the same time."  Everything is possible in America.

8. Buy a puppy.
    Puppies are adorable.  They are the ultimate time sucking machine.  You can just buy a puppy and play for it with an hour, you have to play with it for the whole 15-20 years it is alive.

9. Stare at hot men that walk by and wish they were shirtless.
   Hot men.  Blonde men.  Blue eyed men. Tall men. These are my preferences...this is what I am seeing.

10. Learn a new language.
      Tried learning Spanish.  Not my thing, but learning Spanish with a British accent?  Challenge accepted.

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.

I have been wanting to do this post for a while.  However, I did not know how to start it, and I was unsure of what all I would say.  I still do not know what all I am going to write, but once I start writing, I will know exactly what to say.

This post is about the various people I have come to know quite well while living in Germany.  This post will also share with what I have learned from these people too.  Every person you interact with in life will leave an impression on yourself and your character; however, it is up to you to decide if its a negative thing or a positive thing.  I choose these interactions to be positive interactions that help me grow as a person.

Ashley:  Oh the fun and good memories I have with ashley.  I met ashley during international orientation week, and right away we hit it off...must be a midwestern thing.  She took me to my first bar--legally.  We bonded over various beers and the ever popular so-co.  Through the time spent here I have become closer and more comfortable around ashley.  We went to a concert and got super drunk and had a shit ton of fun. :)  One of the most important things I have learned from ashley is pride.  She is very proud of where she comes from and likes to share her fun stories.  I have never really been a real proud person, but the more time I spend with ashley the more sense of pride I have in myself and where I come from.  Having pride in myself opens up more of my personality and forces me to have more self confidence and self love.  I will be forever grateful for having ashley teach me to have pride in myself.

Alex:  Oh alex...I love alex.  Alex is kind, thoughtful, fun, and generous.  He is also very responsible.  I cannot count the amount of times alex has walked me home when I have been completely drunk.  I had the chance to see alex shit-faced last night and I was so happy that he was having fun.  I was even more happy at the fact that I would finally be able to repay all the favors he has done for me.  Alex has taught me to be more of a responsible individual.  Not responsible in a strict way, more of in a way to where I can still have fun but I don't become so drunk I fall all over the place and fall when trying to get up from the last fall.  I love that alex has taught me to be responsible...I just turned 21 roughly three months ago and normally people my age are at the bars getting shit faced with no real care and sense of self responsibility.  In general, I have seen that it takes quite a while for someone to develop their sense of self responsibility.  I am glad that I have met an awesome guy that has taught me a huge life lesson in such a short period of time!

Emily:  I don't even know where to begin with my emily journey.  We have done some stupid shit together.  We tried learning spanish in the library, we made alcoholic cupcakes, and we tend to be drunk around each other a lot.  Emily is quite like me in personality.  We both just kind of say what is on our mind and we don't give two fucks about it.  However, with emily I have learned that I need to speak up more when something is bothering me and, while I do voice my opinion quite a bit, I need to voice my opinion more around friends rather than being quiet.  If I do this, I will be much happier and my communication skills will be bomb.

Kortnie:  Oh where to start with my kor-kor.  We do a lot of dumb shit together that always seems like a good idea until creepy people show up.  We are always followed on buses and trains by some of the strangest characters.  Together kortnie and I have created some sort of a dysfunctional pseudo family.  We love each other to death, but there are times we both catch ourselves thinking about beating the other person up.  With kortnie, it is very obvious that I have learned to be more patient. :)  We are both so different and unique from each other that we have to be patient.  For instance, kortnie doesn't like germs at all.  I don't really care about germs at all.  However, I find myself being more patient around her anti-germ acts than I would with anyone else.  Another example is that I very much like to prove that I know where we are going when we are walking around and I hate it when people question my directions or my overall plan.  Kortnie has called me out on my directions, once.  But that one time I learned the value of being patient rather than becoming flustered.  We both have our little tiffs from time to time, but we cant really go more than 5 minutes without talking to each other.  Kortnie will always be considered a little part of my family, and I will forever be thankful that she has taught me to be much more patient.

Joanna & Joleen:  Joanna and Joleen are my roommates!  Joanna is from Poland and Joleen is from the Netherlands.  These two ladies have been amazing roommates and have put up with my late night drunken antics.  They both teach me about their cultures and it broadens my view and expands my cultural diversity.  I will forever be thankful that I had these two wonderful roommates!


Eduardo:  Edu.  I love having our little side chats when we smoke and I love how no matter what mood I am in, you always lift my spirits. :) We have had a lot of fun together getting drunk.  I think my favorite memory so far is when we went to a club that was having a night centered around the gay community.  We were there for less than five minutes and I managed to get one of the few straight mens phone numbers.  When I told him what had happened, he replied "WE HAVE BEEN HERE LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES."  I love this memory because that night I was able to see him have a really good time and meet some new guys.  Eduardo has taught me to be a better listener when people are talking.  I have never really been much of a good listener, but know when someone needs to vent I am more willing to communicate with them and help them through their issues by listening and responding.

Faye & Tara:  I love you two because you guys saved my life on my first day in Oldenburg.  I have learned from you two, to always help someone in need when they need it.  I used to just brush people off and be think that its not my problem to help them.  However, these two wonderful ladies were complete strangers to me and they did not have to help me.  I now realize how big of an impact just helping a person in need is.

Classical music

I don't know if it's a sign of all the chaos that is happening out there or not, but I've lately craved the structure and order of classical music, the balance and symmetry.

If there is one thing in this world I will never get tired of, it is classical music.  I have performed in many symphonies since I first started playing viola in the fourth grade.  In my sophomore year of High School I switched instruments and started playing the double bass.  I don't really know what made me switch.  I just decided one day to do something new.  I loved playing the bass.  Bass is the most important part to any musical works, it is the most relied on instrument in an orchestra, and it is one of the hardest instruments to master.  The notes on the bass are the lowest notes played by a string instrument, because of the low sound, it is often hard to get the correct tuning when playing or just simply tuning your own instrument before playing.  The bass also has some of the thickest strings too. It is exceptionally hard to move your bow in the precise way to produce the desired note in the desired tone.  It takes an exceptional amount of arm strength to play most bass parts in a symphony.  While it is hard to play the bass, its quite rewarding when comparing the bass to other instruments in the orchestra.  The bass can not only reach the lowest notes, but the bass can also play notes in the same range of a violin.  The tone of playing these notes is much deeper, robust, and darker.  The bass, while a large and in charge instrument, is beautiful and I cannot wait to be home to play mine again.

I love listening to classical music while I study.  I am not interrupted by lyrics, and in many cases, listening to classical music allows me to think more in depth about a certain topic (I have no scientific evidence of this, I am not a scientist.  Its just a personal opinion; however, it has been proven that listening to Mozart while studying not only increases your I.Q. while listening but for 10 minutes after too.  It has also been proven that listening to Mozart while trying to memorize words, ideas, and thoughts, will increase your memory recall making it easier to memorize your subject matter.).  When I am not studying I still find myself listening to classical music too, one of my favorite times to listen to classical music is right before bed.  :)

Some of my favorite works of all time are:

Dmitri Shostakovich: string quartet number 8 in c minor

Smetana: Ma Vlast Moldau

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet suite

Mahler: symphony 1 "Titan" Movement 3

Schubert: Unfinished Symphony

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in b minor

Mozart: Requiem

Antonin Dvorak: Requiem

And there are so many more that I have played that I cannot remember at the moment to type them here. :P  While most of the pieces are fun to play, the history behind the pieces is just as entertaining.

decisions.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I needed to be"

I am an impulsive decision maker.  I make my decision within a few brief minutes and stick to the plan until the end.  Being an impulsive decision maker has always helped me in all situations.  I am able to think on my feet and act quickly and rationally without dealing with the stress of a situation.  My impulsive decision making has no doubt, caused others to question my decisions and attempt to destroy the validity of my decisions.  


One of my more infamous impulsive decisions was my decision to come to Germany.  I was just starting my second semester of my sophmore year of college in Vermillion, SD.  I was so sick of South Dakota and being suffocated by my family.  I decided that I needed a break of some sort.  I did not want to take an official break from college, if I took an official break I would have to start the never ending cycle of repaying my student loans.  So, as I was sitting in my German class, tired and delusional from a lack of sleep, I decided that I should go to Germany.  Right after that class, I went down to see the Global Learning department of my school and received all the "necessary" paperwork for studying abroad.  I filled it out and turned the paperwork in on time.  I never really thought that my trip to Germany was going to be real.  When I told my friends they were all excited and I was passive the whole time explaining it.  For a while after I told my family and friends, whenever I was asked about my trip I just brushed it off and gave a mediocre answer with little to no enthusiasm.  I didn't think it was actually going to happen.  I had an emotional breakdown the week before I left.  I had finally realized that I was going to be leaving for a full year and that this trip was real.  I cried, smiled, and yelled at anyone that didn't do their job correctly (sorry call center operators at verizon, my health insurance company, aerie, and many other people in real life.  It should also be noted that during this time I was also helping my mother and step father move to a new house while working two jobs.).  I was stressed and excited.  Not the best combination for me.

Long Plane rides blow.  Not sleeping on long plane rides blows even more.

Getting lost trying to find the Hannover train station made me cry.  But it was kind of funny.

Not having my buddy pick me up or meet me at the train station in Oldenburg, pissed me off.

So I arrived in Oldenburg: tired, emotionally upset, pissed off, and lost.

However, I did manage to find my way with the help of two wonderful women.  I was a hot mess, and they didn't care.  I have never been as happy as I was when someone was helping me find my way to my new home.  After the whole traveling fiasco I thought this trip would be alright.  I was still pissed off, I like to hold grudges when people cant do the job they sign up for.  Anyways, with every passing day, my trip to Germany got better and I started getting happier.

I cant pinpoint the exact day I realized that coming to Germany was probably one of the best decisions I have made.  But there is no doubt that I definitely needed to come to Germany to get away from everything and focus on improving myself.  My mindset has changed.  I find myself more curious about the people around me and I find the culture around me fascinating.  I even find the culture of the United States to be decent.  I have yet to think anything new on South Dakotas' culture.  Words cannot describe the immense changes I have gone through as an individual since travelling to Germany.  I do know one thing though, "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I needed to be."

*Cassandra