For my spring break Prague or Praha was my first destination. To get there I took a bus for 17 hours.....one of the most miserable experiences of my life. After arriving in Prague around nine in the morning we checked into our hostel and immediately went on the New Europe walking touring of Prague and I can honestly say I learned more about this history of Prague than I know about the States. After a full day of exploring the city we decided to find some real czech food and ended up getting completely ripped off spending over 20 dollars on a meal that was worth five. To explain Czech is the only country in the EU that doesn't use the euro, they use the Crown. One euro is equal to 26 crown, so it is extremely difficult at first when you are use to using euro and then you have to use Crown. Imagine taking out 2000 crown for the weekend and spending 500 crown for a dinner, it gets pretty confusing at times and thats how we got so ripped off on our lunch because we honestly had no idea how much we were spending.
After touring the city and getting ripped off on a midocre lunch me and a few friends did a beer challenge. And let me tell you Praha beer is pretty awesome, no preservatives, no added chemicals= No hangover. After that we experienced the crazy night life in prague, they have a club that is five stories and on each floor its a different genre of music and it gets absolutely crazy. They also have a 80 clubs that strictly plays American 80's music, which was extremely wild.
After spending two wonderful days in Prague which is extremly modern compared to Roma we headed off on a seven hour bus ride to the amazing city of Berlin. We arrived in Berlin in the afternoon and we had a walking tour the next day so we decided to walk around the city and see what was up. And I soon discovered Berlin is nothing what I expected, I expected beer halls and a semi modern city not near as old as Roma but not as modern as the states. I was completely wrong, walking the streets of Berlin reminded me of being back at home except everyone speaks German. After walking around for awhile we decided to go up on the TV tower which is the highest point in Berlin and I think germany, its around 200 meters tall. From there we could see the entire city which is enourmous and breathtaking.
After experiencing Berlins crazy night life we woke up and did another New Europe walking tour around Berlin. By the way these tours are great the people that do them are all pretty young and they absolutely love there job, plus is free and they only take tips. My tour guide in Berlin was amazing and makes you want to learn about the city. After learning about all of the history of germany and berlin it really made me want to see old berlin instead of the super modern city that it is. We went and saw all of the main attractions like checkpoint charlie, hitlers bombshelter, and the berlin wall which has an amazing history to it and I'd advise anybody reading my blog to do some more research becasue its pretty remarkable I mean you build a wall to keep people out not to keep people in. After that I went with my bus2alps group and we experienced a traditional germany dinner with brats and a porkroast which was amazing. Plus the beer is amazing over there but I really want to go experience Munich and go to all the beer halls there isn't alot of that in Berlin.
After spending 2 days and 1 night in Berlin our crew left for Amsterdam. I honestly didnt know what to expect when going to Amsterdam except for what I had heard about the red light district. But Amsterdam blew my mind, the city is so beatuiful and reminds me a lot of Venice but Amsterdam is much prettier and a lot less water. The most amazing thing about Amsterdam is the amount of bikes that are there, you really have to see it there are more bikes than people. And the people are freaking fraking insane they are so freaking dangerous and I know from experience because we rented bikes for the day and I'm surprised im still alive.
After riding bikes all day and doing another free walking to we stopped by the Anne Frank house, which is a lot bigger than I expected. Its also really emotional when you go in the house and is really really heavy. While we were the the weather was extremely beautiful so we just hung out in the park all day and chill and it was an amazing and beautiful city to just relax in. One fun fact to know about Amsterdam is how they inforce laws.....So for example the red light district- if what you are doing brings in business, is descrete, and doesn't harm anybody than the police turn the other way and let things happen and that pretty much sums up the city.
Then I made my way to Paris for my last 3 days of spring break and your gonna have to wait for that because I'm done typing
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris
Hope my blog is back up, the rest of my spring break will be posted by tonight. Cheers
Monday, March 14, 2011
ROMA! ROMA! ROMA!!!!
Roma Vs. Lazio
To start off I will let you know that Roma is in the area of Lazio and also that Italia doesn't exactly see themselves as a whole Country, they are actually split up into regions all over Italia which they believe are their own countries. For example, most of the upper half of Italia is Tuscany region, and the middle region is the Lazio region and so on and so forth.
And this past Sunday Roma played Lazio, they play at the same stadium and they absolutely hate eachother. The last game my program director went and got tear gas.....WINNING!!! When me and my friends went to buy tickets they were sold out of the Roma section so we had to buy Lazio tickets, which we were all kinda scared of because we only have Roma gear. We all decided on wearing neutral colos to the game so we wouldnt get murdered and what not.
The opening to the game was like nothing I have ever seen before, it was absolutely amazing and I think my buddy got a video so hopefully I'll be able to put it on. But to explain what happened on the Lazio section, well the stadium was split in half and the Lazio fans were in four different sections. Right after the opening songs the entire crowd was passed flags with the color of white and blue depending on which section you were on (obviously Lazio's colors). And once they finished our section went absolutely crazy, Ive never seen so many flags being waved it looked like one of those beer commercials when they spell out budwieser in the stands!
Roma ended up winning 2-0 and Tutti went off who is their star playing scoring both of the goals and one on a penalty kick. I was glad about but it sucks to be on the side of the losing team because soccer fans get pissed like no other. There ending chants were Vafancullo Vafancullo Vafancullo-look up with your own disgression. But once we exited the stadium we knew it would be madness so we exited with caution...not really. Once we got out we saw tear gas being flung at the Roma fans and hundreds of cops wearing gas mask holding batons and bearing riot shields destroying the not so innocent civilians. Luckily we got out of there alive with no injuries but let me tell you we were right next to this madness and it was the most wild sporting event I have ever seen, talk about a rivalry.
As I said I'll be leaving for spring break on thursday and bad news the weather is going to absolutely suck!!! But o well cant complain to much about prague, berlin, amsterdam, and o ya pari
Ciao Ciao Belle
To start off I will let you know that Roma is in the area of Lazio and also that Italia doesn't exactly see themselves as a whole Country, they are actually split up into regions all over Italia which they believe are their own countries. For example, most of the upper half of Italia is Tuscany region, and the middle region is the Lazio region and so on and so forth.
And this past Sunday Roma played Lazio, they play at the same stadium and they absolutely hate eachother. The last game my program director went and got tear gas.....WINNING!!! When me and my friends went to buy tickets they were sold out of the Roma section so we had to buy Lazio tickets, which we were all kinda scared of because we only have Roma gear. We all decided on wearing neutral colos to the game so we wouldnt get murdered and what not.
The opening to the game was like nothing I have ever seen before, it was absolutely amazing and I think my buddy got a video so hopefully I'll be able to put it on. But to explain what happened on the Lazio section, well the stadium was split in half and the Lazio fans were in four different sections. Right after the opening songs the entire crowd was passed flags with the color of white and blue depending on which section you were on (obviously Lazio's colors). And once they finished our section went absolutely crazy, Ive never seen so many flags being waved it looked like one of those beer commercials when they spell out budwieser in the stands!
Roma ended up winning 2-0 and Tutti went off who is their star playing scoring both of the goals and one on a penalty kick. I was glad about but it sucks to be on the side of the losing team because soccer fans get pissed like no other. There ending chants were Vafancullo Vafancullo Vafancullo-look up with your own disgression. But once we exited the stadium we knew it would be madness so we exited with caution...not really. Once we got out we saw tear gas being flung at the Roma fans and hundreds of cops wearing gas mask holding batons and bearing riot shields destroying the not so innocent civilians. Luckily we got out of there alive with no injuries but let me tell you we were right next to this madness and it was the most wild sporting event I have ever seen, talk about a rivalry.
As I said I'll be leaving for spring break on thursday and bad news the weather is going to absolutely suck!!! But o well cant complain to much about prague, berlin, amsterdam, and o ya pari
Ciao Ciao Belle
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Whats up winery
Friday morning I woke up bright and early around 8 am to meet SAI which is my program to depart for a wine tasting they offer. We took a bus about an hour and a half south to some small town with an amazing vineyard. Got to the winery around 11 and starting trying wine that was still in the fermenting process that hadn't even been bottled yet. So it was really strong and some were realy really acidic and not so good.
The owner of the Vineyard is Sergio Mottura, and the only way I can describe this guy is by being the biggest badass ever. He is the man, he drinks wine all day and just kicks it with his family and gives locals tours of his vineyard and teaches people about wine.
After tasting a few wines they were still being processed he showed us his actually vineyard. Then we went to have an amazing lunch, were he would show us different types of wine and explained all about them while we casually had lunch. It was a very unusual wine tasting and was not like the last one I did but was much more fun. Cant say I learned a whole lot cause I couldnt really understand Sergio and its hard to teach 30 kids about wine who are obviously more interested in the drinking part. But I would still consider myself an absolute expert on vino.
The owner of the Vineyard is Sergio Mottura, and the only way I can describe this guy is by being the biggest badass ever. He is the man, he drinks wine all day and just kicks it with his family and gives locals tours of his vineyard and teaches people about wine.
After tasting a few wines they were still being processed he showed us his actually vineyard. Then we went to have an amazing lunch, were he would show us different types of wine and explained all about them while we casually had lunch. It was a very unusual wine tasting and was not like the last one I did but was much more fun. Cant say I learned a whole lot cause I couldnt really understand Sergio and its hard to teach 30 kids about wine who are obviously more interested in the drinking part. But I would still consider myself an absolute expert on vino.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Boring weekend
Wow a boring weekend in Rome can sure turn exciting in a second. This weekend was suppose to be a very chill weekend for me because spring break starts next week so my original plan was to take it is....That changed fast, my program offers an all day wine tasting this saturday and a 4 course meal out in the countryside. Also Roma plays Latzio in soccer on Sunday, which is a huge deal because they are the two teams in Rome that play at the same stadium. I am a Roma fan but tickets on the Roma side were sold out so I had to buy the latzio side, things are sure to get crazy.
Another thing, Amanda Knox's to best friends came and spoke to my business communication class today for an hour and a half, and all I can say is Wow. I don't know if they convinced me that she is innocent but they sure convinced me that the Italian legal system is F'ed up. They have a lot of important rules set up that sound good but they sure as hell don't follow any of them. Really makes you think. Basically if you get in trouble over here and the police make a mistake, they can screw you over and get you to sign something in Italian that says one thing when you believe it says the other thing. Its scary!
Ciao
Rob
Another thing, Amanda Knox's to best friends came and spoke to my business communication class today for an hour and a half, and all I can say is Wow. I don't know if they convinced me that she is innocent but they sure convinced me that the Italian legal system is F'ed up. They have a lot of important rules set up that sound good but they sure as hell don't follow any of them. Really makes you think. Basically if you get in trouble over here and the police make a mistake, they can screw you over and get you to sign something in Italian that says one thing when you believe it says the other thing. Its scary!
Ciao
Rob
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Two months
So I have been here for two months and just finished all my mid-terms this week. School is going well and life over here is absolutely incredible. But it is so upsetting that I will be leaving for the states in less then 2 months. I don't know how I will be able to handle driving a car, or be use to having everything so accessible to me. Public transportation is awesome and I think we should have more in the states and especially Austin.
Spring break starts in exactly a week from now, and once that begins my real traveling begins. I will be headed to Prauge, which is the Czech republic for a couple of days to see the amazing castles the city offers. Then from Prauge I will be heading to Berlin, to see the Berlin wall and drink some amazing dark German beer. From there I make my way to Amsterdam to just hang out for a couple days and relax. Then for my last country I head to Paris, France for the last weekend of my spring break. That is total of 11 days travel and stay, then the weekend after I will be heading to Espana!
Not to brag or anything
Obviously I will update after my trip but I don't think that I will be bringing my computer with me so just thought i'd give everybody my itiniary.
Spring break starts in exactly a week from now, and once that begins my real traveling begins. I will be headed to Prauge, which is the Czech republic for a couple of days to see the amazing castles the city offers. Then from Prauge I will be heading to Berlin, to see the Berlin wall and drink some amazing dark German beer. From there I make my way to Amsterdam to just hang out for a couple days and relax. Then for my last country I head to Paris, France for the last weekend of my spring break. That is total of 11 days travel and stay, then the weekend after I will be heading to Espana!
Not to brag or anything
Obviously I will update after my trip but I don't think that I will be bringing my computer with me so just thought i'd give everybody my itiniary.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Veneniza
Wow Venice Wow!
This weekend went on an adventure to Venice to experience Carnivale. Carnivale is pretty much what Mardi Gras is based off except for all of the exessive drinking and flashing. It is an eight day long festivile of customes, confetti, and pure madness. For those who didn't know Venice is a city on water...COMPLETELY ON WATER. To get to it we had to take a water taxi to the main piazza and then if you want to get anywhere else you have to take a water taxi. Its pretty remarkable that a city can function being entirely surrounded on water. It's so bizzare to think people take speed boats to work everyday of their life.
But back to Carnivale, it was one of the wildest times of my life. People come from all of the world and dress up like crazy, its like halloween and mardi gras mixed. The first thing we did when we got this was buy awesome masks and confetti. Once you reach the main piazza there is a huge confetti fight and there are no rules and nobody knows who anyboyd else is because the whole city is wearing masks so it is just complete madness. After that we went to Murano and Burano which are parts of Venice. I don't exactly know which one is which but one of them is famous for all of the glass that is blown there, like huge chandileers and amazing cups and such. And Murano is famous for all of there historical colored houses, that are once again on water and is just insane to see hundreds of houses right on water. It is honestly the coolest thing I have ever seen.
After we saw the main attractions we went to the main piazza once again to find something to eat for dinner and heard of all tons of loud music, so we decided to check it out instead of grabbing dinner. We stumbled on an outside rave/ all kinds of music and people juggling fire.
Overall Venice was amazing except for the horrible bus rides. We left at 7 am on saturday from Rome (so I saw the sun rise) then we left at 11 from venice (saw the sun set in venice) then we got back to roma at 530 (saw the sun rise again in rome). And these buses are so cramped you can't sleep at all and each way was a litte over 7 hours. But despite the bus rides the trip was amazing and venice is molto bello.
Pictures are up on facebook, blog again soon. Spring break in 7 more days of scuola and then off to Prauge, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Pari!!!
This weekend went on an adventure to Venice to experience Carnivale. Carnivale is pretty much what Mardi Gras is based off except for all of the exessive drinking and flashing. It is an eight day long festivile of customes, confetti, and pure madness. For those who didn't know Venice is a city on water...COMPLETELY ON WATER. To get to it we had to take a water taxi to the main piazza and then if you want to get anywhere else you have to take a water taxi. Its pretty remarkable that a city can function being entirely surrounded on water. It's so bizzare to think people take speed boats to work everyday of their life.
But back to Carnivale, it was one of the wildest times of my life. People come from all of the world and dress up like crazy, its like halloween and mardi gras mixed. The first thing we did when we got this was buy awesome masks and confetti. Once you reach the main piazza there is a huge confetti fight and there are no rules and nobody knows who anyboyd else is because the whole city is wearing masks so it is just complete madness. After that we went to Murano and Burano which are parts of Venice. I don't exactly know which one is which but one of them is famous for all of the glass that is blown there, like huge chandileers and amazing cups and such. And Murano is famous for all of there historical colored houses, that are once again on water and is just insane to see hundreds of houses right on water. It is honestly the coolest thing I have ever seen.
After we saw the main attractions we went to the main piazza once again to find something to eat for dinner and heard of all tons of loud music, so we decided to check it out instead of grabbing dinner. We stumbled on an outside rave/ all kinds of music and people juggling fire.
Overall Venice was amazing except for the horrible bus rides. We left at 7 am on saturday from Rome (so I saw the sun rise) then we left at 11 from venice (saw the sun set in venice) then we got back to roma at 530 (saw the sun rise again in rome). And these buses are so cramped you can't sleep at all and each way was a litte over 7 hours. But despite the bus rides the trip was amazing and venice is molto bello.
Pictures are up on facebook, blog again soon. Spring break in 7 more days of scuola and then off to Prauge, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Pari!!!
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