Czech us out!

Okay, okay... so that's been the inside joke all day long, and I'm proud to have snagged the computer first so I could use the phrase. Whenever anyone says, "I don't know, we'll have to check," one by one we all start laughing at the irony.

I'm in Prague, the capitol city of the Czech Republic and I'm loving it. I don't know why that comes as any surprise, as I'm loving every city we've been to, but I really am! Grandma reminded me that my great-great-grandparents are from the Czech Republic, so it's been fun to see the city through more appreciative eyes!

We left Maastricht last night (Monday) around 8:00, had a few stops along the way, and then got on an overnight train to Prague in Wuppertal, Germany. Since the ride was going to be 11+ hours, we decided to get a "couchette," which is one of those sleeping cabins with the fold down beds. There were 8 of us, so we had to split up 6 and 2. We boarded the train, tried to open our cabin door and laughed at our failed attempts, wondering why we couldn't get it open! Finally the conductor came down the hall and unlocked it for us... we felt like fools.

The other couchette for our extra 2 already had people in it who smelled of alcohol and body odor, so guess who bunked with the other six of us? That's right, we fit 8 people in a cabin that was 6 feet by 7 feet. It was quite hilarious and have no fear, we did take plenty of photos to document the feat! There were 3 bunks on either side of the cabin; two girls shared a bed and Chris, the only boy on the trip, slept on the floor. Most people had a hard time falling asleep, but I only woke up once during the night.

We arrived in Prague a little after 9:00 this morning. One thing I love about Prague is the simple transportation system. One 24 hour pass gets you on to the buses, trams, and metro and there are only 3 metro lines. Finding our hostel was a breeze, and we are all loving it! We're staying at Hostel Elf, this eclectic place with "self-inflicted" graffiti, free tea and coffee all day long, free internet, and a 10 person dorm room we were able to have all to ourselves! After settling in, we went to an authentic Czech restaurant nearby called Sklep where I enjoyed potato dumplings with sweet ham and gravy - delicious!

After lunch we went to see the Prague Castle, which to our dismay was closed for renovations. We were able to see St. Vitus Cathedral (Roman Catholic) near the castle and saw the outside of St. George's Basillica. Then, we walked a little further and were all delighed to see the BEST view of Prague we could have ever imagined!! We could see the entire city, and I kept thinking "wow, this is exactly how I always pictured it."

Tonight was amazing, to say the least. I saw a brochure at our hostel about a restaurant called Red, Hot & Blues with live music every night. Being Fat Tuesday, they had Mardi Gras specials and a hillbilly blues band called "The Lazy Pigs," so we decided to check it out. Best experience ever!

It was a reminder that God is so big, but sometimes this world can feel so small when you meet people with whom you find common ground. The restaurant is owned by a woman from Houston, our waitress was from California, and the lead singer of the band was from Lake Charles, LA! We all ordered Mexican food, which was actually quite spicy!! Dad, I put it to your test - my sinuses were definitely cleared, haha! The chicken enchiladas were excellent and we were all on cloud nine when we ordered "American" Iced Tea with FREE REFILLS! For dessert I had all-American apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and then we all sat for another 45 minutes enjoying the live music and lots of laughs!

My favorite story of the night is about the people sitting at the table next to us. Earlier in the night, I smiled when I saw them pray over their meal, and I praised God for little reminders of brothers and sisters around the world. The lead singer of the band was wearing a Longhorn t-shirt, so being from Austin I asked where he was from. That led to the Louisiana conversation, when the girl next to us chimed in "I'm from Houston!" Come to find out, she graduated from Mary-Hardin Baylor with a degree in Journalism and PR! She was there with a big group of students, and after chatting for a few minutes I learned that they were all living in Prague with a mission team. I gave her my e-mail address so we could stay in contact, and I told them that I'd keep them in my prayers for all the work they're doing in this city.

We left the restaurant feeling so comforted and at home. It was definitely the perfect way to celebrate the "one month" anniversary of being foreigners, with little bits and pieces of home!!

Love you and miss you all! Czech ya' later!

Carnival Chaos

I may have lost my camera, but reverting back to my old digital has given me the opportunity to capture memories through video. With the help of my film-savvy roommate, I've put together this little video montage of everything Carnival.

Carnival is definitely not my kind of holiday, but the weekend was entertaining nonetheless! What the video doesn't show is the endless street party that goes on from sunup until after midnight. The entire city is out at the pubs, both the young and the old, dancing to horrendous sounding music and drinking more beer than I could ever imagine seeing. No thank you, I'll pass.

Festivities began Saturday morning with the arrival of the Prince of Carnival at the main train station. A parade led him from there to City Hall downtown, and then men in kilts proceeded to stand around a fountain as a band played nearby. The Prince then climbed a ladder to put a wreath of vegetables around the statue's neck, and then kissed the stone face... a little odd, but I'm sure there's some sort of symbolism there.

On Saturday night, Kaitlyn and I decided to get brave it by dressing up in our crazy costumes and going out with everyone. I was a little apprehensive to say the least but I'm glad I went out to experience how a different culture celebrates. The locals were dancing and drinking in the streets, and each pub was playing different music that was not "dance-able" by any means. I had to hold my breath to avoid inhaling smoke and at one point I was standing in a puddle of beer. I kept thinking to myself, "do people really think this is fun?" I began to miss the so-called "Baylor bubble" and the innocent parties and get-togethers I enjoy. We all decided to get a chocolate covered waffle, continued people watching, and then called it a night.

This morning we went to see the traditional Carnival parade down at the Vrithof Square. Everyone was in costume which was fun to see. Families were dressed alike, there were sequins and glitter everywhere, and people were already drinking - no surprise there. The floats were very tacky and seemed to have been put together overnight. They wouldn't have stood a chance among the Baylor homecoming floats! It was a fun spectacle to watch, but after about an hour of standing on the streets, we decided we'd had enough.

I feel like the whole holiday was a little overrated. We were told by one of our professors that going to the pubs was a family occasion and that we'd see young kids with their parents. She even said that being drunk was not socially accepted, which made me feel comfortable to think I could go out without seeing any of that. But I suppose this was just one more eye-opening experience, and I'll come home a little wiser because of it.

As Carnival celebration continues, we have the rest of the week off to travel. Tomorrow we'll take an overnight train to Prague and spend two days there. Wednesday we'll go to Vienna and Thursday night we'll go to Budapest for the rest of the weekend. I'll be back in Maastricht next Monday morning, but I hope to have Internet access during the week to update you on my travels.

To everyone at Baylor - good luck with Sing this weekend!!

PARIS!

Oh my goodness.

That seemed to be the quote of the weekend. Every corner we turned, our jaws dropped as we saw something we recognized. I just kept saying "ohhh my goodness!" First it was the Lourve and the Jardin de Tuilleries. Then it was a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance and the Arc de Triomphe on the horizon. I think a smile was permanently plastered on my face all weekend, just in awe of being in Paris and seeing everything I've always dreamed of!

This weekend I traveled with a big group which was really fun. The trains to Paris are a little trickier than most; you have to reserve your spot ahead of time and the tickets cost a pretty penny. With the way reservations worked out, we weren't able to leave Maastricht until Friday morning but it was nice to have a relaxing Thursday night, not rushing to the train station right after class. We left Maastricht Friday at 10:00 and went to Brussels where we changed trains and many of us indulged in authentic Belgium waffles. Two hours later we arrived in Paris!

Things were pretty booked because of Valentine's Day, so our group was split off into smaller groups for hostels. Lexi, Rachel, Kaitlyn and I found a really great deal at a two-star hotel called Hotel de la Cite Rougemont and it was a convenient walk from the metro station. Despite the renovations going on and the tacky floral fabrics that clashed, we LOVED our room! We had three twin beds and a queen, a private bathroom, and the best part - TWO authentic Parisian balconies overlooking the street below! It was just like you see in the movies!

We walked from our hotel to the Louvre where we met up with Caroline, Joanna, and Brittany. By this time it was after 5:00 so we decided to grab some dinner. Now, we all came to Paris with the realization that it was going to be an expensive weekend, but we were still frustrated as we tried to find a reasonably priced menu. We sucked it up, I shoveled out 16 euros for spaghetti and iced tea, and then found out after the fact that we were on the most expensive street in all of Europe. Or at least that's what our tour guide told us. All sources say that Champs Elysees is the most expensive, but Rue Saint Honore is definitely up there! Overall, dinner was great - Kaitlyn and I even lightened the mood by changing the phrase in Proud to be an American to "where at least the water is free."

The Louvre is free to students on Friday night, so we did not pass up that opportunity. First order of business, find the Mona Lisa! It was anticlimactic, to say the least. There were signs pointing left and right and we navigated ourselves through the crowds. They have her pretty well hidden. We finally reached the room containing the famous painting and were a bit disappointed. You imagine her as a giant portrait with an elaborate frame, when in reality it was smaller than a movie poster. They have it heavily guarded and it sits behind thick plexiglass. We were surprisingly allowed to take pictures of it, which was quite a feat with the crowd gathered around.

The Louvre was impressive but overwhelming; we were all exhausted by the end of the night. If you were to look at each piece of art for 30 seconds, it would take you three months to see everything!! It was exciting to see the statues "Winged Victory," "Venus de Milo," and "Cupid and Psyche," and it was neat to also see the Code of Hammurabi, the first written code of law in human history. We were eager to see the Netherlands and Holland exhibits for our Dutch Art History class, but they were unfortunately closed.

The museum closed at 10 and we met back up with the rest of our group. With it being our first night in Paris we really wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower, but no one looked at a map before we started walking. It was MUCH farther than we anticipated, so we didn't make it! Not wanting to be stranded on the opposite side of the river, we hopped on the metro before they shut down at midnight and returned to our hotel.

Valentine's Day in Paris, the city of love. We woke up on Saturday to beautiful blue skies and sunshine!! I was beyond ecstatic! Breakfast was served downstairs, which ended up being a croissant and a baguette with coffee and orange juice. Simple, but delicious. We went to the Latin Quarter and met up with ten other girls from our group and then our free tour departed from the St. Michel fountain. It was the same tour company that we were with in Berlin, and our tour guide was Crazy James from Season 9 of Big Brother! With that pink mohawk he's hard to miss, so when we stopped to to take photos throughout the tour it was easy to catch up with the rest of the group.

We saw the outside of Notre Dame and walked along the Seine River, hearing all about France's history and important individuals like Napoleon, Attila the Hun, and St. Genevieve. Next we saw the Institut de France, walked through the courtyard of the Louvre, and stopped to take pictures in front of the Invisible Pyramid. The glass pyramid serves as the entrance to the museum and is lovingly referred to as the "zit on Paris' face." It was supposed to be invisible, but the glass began to crack and the architect had no choice but to use supportive metal rods to finish his design. We then walked through Palais Royal which was originally the home of Cardinal Richelieu and a few other French monarchs. It was here that the French Revolution began. Today it houses the Constitutional Council and the Ministry of Culture.

We stopped for lunch at a cute Parisian cafe, where we enjoyed traditional baguette sandwiches and I had my first genuine pan au chocolat - much better than those at La Madeleine! From there we saw Cathedral St. Roch, dedicated to the patron saint of contagious diseases. During the Black Plague, many came to the cathedral seeking healing. After the church, we walked down Rue St. Honore (the most expensive street in all of Paris) where you can purchase a piece of chocolate for 250 euros, or 315 U.S. dollars! We walked through the Jardin de Tuileries which sits between the Louvre and the Champs Elysees. It was such a gorgeous day, and people were sitting in chairs all around the fountain and eating at the park's many outdoor cafes.

The Place de la Concorde was next, one of the major squares in Paris. Concorde means harmony or peace, which is ironic since the guillotine was here during the French Revolution. Queen Marie Antoinette was even beheaded here. During the Revolution, there was so much blood shed that the water tasted of iron and other minerals - and you thought Waco water was bad, yuck! In the square is the Obelisk, a huge monument decorated with hieroglyphics, given to the French by the Egyptian government in the nineteenth century. We also saw the hotel where the winner of the Tour de France stays every year, which is the most expensive hotel in all of Paris. We continued to walk up the Champs Elysees, then crossed the busy street and saw the Arc de Triomphe. Not to bring up Waco again, but if you think surviving the traffic circle at is a challenge, you should see the circle at the Arc! James told us that on average, one car accident happens every 30 minutes. We walked to the Grand Palais where our tour concluded, giving us plenty of time to see the rest of the city!

The Eiffel Tower was next on our agenda, and we walked all the way there! Ohhhhh my goodness, was it amazing!!!! Everything you imagine and more! Since it was Valentine's Day, it was super crowded and couples were everywhere which was cute to see. I definitely want to spend another Valentine's Day here! Some girls in our group wanted to take the elevator to the top, but the rest of us opted to save money and time by just taking photos on the lawn. We probably spent an hour, basking in the sun and taking countless pictures! Thomas was so thoughtful and gave Kaitlyn a Valentine's Day card to give me at the tower, so that was really special!

From the tower, we went to get crepes! I was so excited and got the lemon sugar one, thinking it might be like the lemon frosting on coffee cake but it was definitely a disappointment. We then went back to the Latin Quarter, spent some time browsing through souvenir shops, and then met up with the rest of our group to get dinner. Most restaurants were crowded, but we stumbled upon a place called Symposium, a cute Parisian restaurant. The owner came out to the street when he saw as glancing at their menu and invited us in, and we felt like he was waiting just for us! Our table was right at the entrance, set perfectly for the number in our group, and had red table cloths and red candles. It was so warm and cozy! But that's not the best part - we had a three course meal for only 10 euros! I had the best French onion soup of my life, roasted chicken, and creme de caramel for dessert! It was so wonderful!

Our tour guide had told us about a bookstore we needed to go to, and I'm so glad we listened to his advice. It was called Shakespeare & Co. and was where Ernest Hemingway hung out and had many book readings. It reminded me of the library in Beauty and the Beast, with floor to ceiling shelves and ladders leading up the very top. All the books were in English and if I had a bigger suitcase I might have made a few purchases!

We went across the street to Notre Dame, which we were told as open until 11:00. Not so. We had to settle for pictures in front, and then went to get our second round of crepes. This crepe was to-die-for, filled with butter, sugar, and coconut! We then hopped on the metro to the Eiffel Tower. We got there just in time to see the hourly show, a crazy spectacle of sparking lights! It was the perfect ending to a beautiful Valentine's Day!!

Our last day in Paris, we woke up early to go see the Chateau de Versailles. Versailles is about 30 minutes outside of Paris, so we hopped on a train and got there a little bit after they opened so the crowds weren't too bad. The palace was breathtaking and each room was even more beautiful than the one before it. It was neat to walk through it and learn all about Marie Antoinette, and all the King Louis (XIV, XV, and XIV) who lived there. Our ticket came with audio headset guides and we all felt a tad bit nerdy, but it was so helpful in learning all about the palace! After the guided tour, we exited to the surrounding gardens which were beautiful and continued for what seemed like forever!

Well, you've already heard the story of our return to Paris and the camera disaster. We had planned on going to see Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and the Musee de Orsay once we got back, but that didn't work out. We spent all afternoon in the train station trying to find my camera, and by the time we left it was too late.

That night, we returned to the Latin Quarter to get dinner and were pleased to find another wonderful deal! The people in this little alleyway haggle people to come into their restaurants, fighting with other restaurant owners over customers. It was comical to watch, as many offered as free drinks or dessert if we dined with them. We decided on a little italian place which offered a three course meal for 9 euros, one euro less than the night before. I had vegetable soup, a rather large personal pizza, and the dessert I'd been craving since arriving in Paris - creme brulee!! Oh my goodness, the meal was delicious, the atmosphere was fun, and it was good to laugh with all of the girls after the awful afternoon I'd had. The owner of the restaurant was quite the charmer, saying as we left "ohh you're breaking my heart! Come back and visit!" Such a fun, fun night!

I wouldn't go to bed without seeing the Eiffel Tower one last time, so we ventured out to a bridge overlooking the Seine to see the sparkling lights! After that, we headed back to get some sleep for our early departure the next morning.

I would go back to Paris in a heartbeat. It has definitely made my list of favorite cities!

[all photos courtesy of Kaitlyn Cathey, Lexi Carter, and Rachel Rutledge]

CAMERA UPDATE

After many days of waiting anxiously, I think we're finally on the right track to see if anyone found my camera!

Severine, our program director here at the university, is from France and she's been gracious enough to call the phone number they gave me since they'll understand her better. The phone number doesn't work for some reason, so I figured I'd do a little research of my own. Yesterday I called the U.S. Embassy in Paris to see if they could be of any help. They gave me the phone number for the city Lost and Found who didn't have a camera in their database. The man I spoke with gave me the phone number to the Found Items Desk at the RER Main Station, but they only do inventory on Friday. Sev said she'd call them tomorrow and we should know whether or not someone found it!

I have my point-and-shoot digital camera with me, but I mistakenly left my charger in Waco. Thankfully, someone in our group has the same camera as I do and let me borrow his charger. That means I'll be able to capture the beauty of Prague, Vienna, and Budapest next week when we go for Carnival break!

An Unforgettable Weekend

Paris was absolutely amazing! Friday was our travel day and the weather was rainy, but Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous! We really got lucky with two sunny days.

Being there felt like a dream. Paris is one of those iconic cities that you hear about and see in pictures, but when I got there I had to keep pinching myself to remember that it was real. The city is beautiful and all the typical tourist attractions are just as impressive as you'd imagine!

There was, however, one catastrophe for the weekend. Yesterday we were on our way back to Paris from Versailles and Kaitlyn and I decided to sit on the lower level of the train to get some reading done for class, thinking it would be quieter. Rachel and Lexi went upstairs, but pretty soon the entire train was full and our plan of quiet reading failed. We were up early that morning to get to Versailles so we were justifiably exhausted and both of us dozed off while reading. We woke up just in time to see that we had arrived at our stop, frantically gathered our stuff, and hurried to make sure the other two girls knew to get off. It wasn't until we were on the metro to our hostel that I realized... I didn't have my camera. My beautiful Nikon D50 SLR camera. Gone.

I freaked out, we hopped off the metro line, and I ran to the nearest information counter at the subway station. I tried to communicate my dilemma to the lady behind the counter while hyperventilating all the while. She must have thought I was crazy because she looked at me with big eyes and shook her head like she didn't know what I was saying. Yes, I was speaking English, but even if I was fluent in French I'm not sure she would have understood me. The four of us sprinted back to the train station, where I again tried to explain to the woman how I left my camera on the train. Kaitlyn stepped in to take over since by this point I'm crying like a baby. I paced back and forth, trying to hide my tears from the crowd that has stopped to see what all the commotion is about. The woman at the ticket counter tried calling all the other other stations and no one had seen it, so after about an hour of waiting around she sent us on our way with a phone number to call on Monday (today). We also gave her all of our information and a description of the camera so they can contact me if anyone turns it in.

We've heard all about the phases of culture shock we will go through during our time abroad, and yesterday was the first time I really felt homesick or outwardly emotional - the hostility stage. Being away from home is hard when I'm feeling helpless and upset. I feel so ridiculously stupid for forgetting it and I keep wishing I could go back and be smarter about things. It's hard being back in Maastricht, thinking of my camera floating around Paris, wondering if the people at the trains are actually looking for it.

But God is really using this time to grow me! It's one of those humbling experiences, to remember that I can't put my faith or my trust in material possessions. More than I'm sad for the loss of my nice camera, I'm devastated to have lost more than 600 photos from our 3 days in Paris. A camera is replaceable, and while I'll forever have the memories of this weekend I'm still really bummed to know that I don't have those pictures.

I'm praying that someone had the heart to turn it in, and that our Maastricht Program Director who speaks French can help me correspond with the train station in Paris to try and find it. But when it's all said and done, I'm still here in Europe having the absolute time of my life, with or without my camera. I suppose I'll just have to become a better writer since I don't have any pictures to share. :)

More on Paris to come!

Cologne

We woke up to rain and fog on Saturday morning so we decided to catch an earlier train to Cologne from Berlin. There were a few other things we wanted to see in Berlin, but the weather was cold and miserable... the perfect day to travel! Once we got there at 5:30, we tried to figure out the subway system and failed at getting tickets from the ticket machine. We took a step back, watched as other people did it, and still couldn't figure it out. A German girl even stopped to ask us how it worked, which was reassuring to know it wasn't just foreigner-proof.

Our hostel was just as difficult to find as in Berlin, but the sun was just setting and there were plenty of people around to ask for directions. We must have walked up and down the same street five times before we finally found the one we were looking for. Kaitlyn laughed, thinking of God looking down on us saying "yes, keep going... NOOOOO, you almost had it!"

We stayed with the same hostel company as we did in Berlin (The Meininger), but this room was MUCH nicer than the last! The walls were painted fun colors, we had a lamp and a bedside table, desk with chair, a television, and the best part, our own bathroom! After freshening up, we went to explore the city and find a place to eat dinner. There were a ton of pubs and authentic German restaurants near our hostel, but they all looked pretty crowded since it was a Saturday. We decided on a trendy Italian restaurant called Demani, and it was delicious! I had cheese tortellini in a creamy alfredo sauce and Kaitlyn and Rachel both had lasagna. Dessert looked amazing but rather expensive, so we stopped at the grocery store and bought a tub of chocolate ice cream! Back at the hostel, we ate it as we watched German Idol and a Michael Jackson music video marathon, the only things we could understand on the German TV.

The next day we woke up, checked out of the hostel and hopped on the tramway towards the Rhine River. It was the weirdest thing; we didn't see anywhere to purchase a day pass and nobody checked for a ticket, so we felt so sneaky while riding. We only went a few stops though, and then walked along the river until we got to our destination... the Lindt Chocolate Factory and Museum! The museum opened at 11:00 a.m. and we got there at 10:30, so we had to wait around for a little bit. As students, we got in for 5 euros and even got free chocolate with our ticket! Then we paid 1 euro for the coat/bag check so we didn't have to haul our backpacks around. We got to see the famous Lindor truffles being made, got to eat many different samples, and saw a bunch of exhibits about chocolate, it's history and production. There was even a chocolate fountain, pumping 440 pounds of chocolate through it! One of the factory workers was passing out vanilla wafers dipped into the fountain... oh it was delicious!

When then walked around town in search of the Dom Cathedral and thought this might be it.

But no no, we were wrong. That church paled in comparison to the actual Dom Cathedral!! See how tiny we look?!

Construction of the Dom Cathedral was begun in the early 13th century and took over 600 years to complete! To this day it is the largest Gothic-style cathedral in Northern Europe, and was the tallest structure in the world until the Washington Monument was built. We're learning all about Gothic-style architecture in our Dutch Art History class, so seeing it in real life was so neat.

Before going inside the cathedral, we decided to climb to the top of the spire... all 509 steps of the winding staircase, carrying our backpacks! The view was certainly worth the climb!!

The inside of the church was stunning. We had just missed mass, but there were still candles everywhere. Rachel and I had fun pointing things out that we've learned about in class, like the beautiful altarpieces, the large windows, and pointed arches. We couldn't wait to tell our professor what we'd seen.

After seeing the cathedral, we literally walked down theses steps and into the train station - it was right next door! We were a little tired and anxious to get back to Maastricht, so we went ahead and hopped on the two-hour train ride home, but not before enjoying one last brat and pretzel!

All things considered, our first weekend adventure was a huge success and we all loved Germany! We're hoping to go back and see Munich and maybe Rothenberg or Bitberg (Jennica and Megan's old hometown) before our semester abroad is through.

Another week of class is completed, and tomorrow morning I'm headed to Paris with a bunch of girls from our group; what a perfect way to spend Valentine's Day! Happy birthday Sarah boo, I love you sister! And happy Valentine's Day Thomas! :)

Miss you all!

Au revoir!

Berlin

Today was the perfect day to stay indoors and get stuff accomplished - after braving the elements on the way to and from class this morning! Now rain I don't mind so much, but when the temperature drops, the rain turns to sleet, and my umbrella flips inside-out five times, it is really not enjoyable. It snowed on and off for the rest of the day and we enjoyed watching it from the comfort of our warm dorm room.

Oh, Germany... where to begin?! Kaitlyn, Rachel and I left Maastricht on Thursday afternoon and made our first two connections beautifully. Our third stop was in a little German town called Herzogenrath which was in the middle of nowhere. We ended up missing our train, so we sat in this silent, practically uninhabited town for 2 hours. Ironically, Kaitlyn had just taken a video of us waiting for the first train and we were saying, "hopefully we won't hit any bumps in our travels this weekend." That was only the beginning...

We finally got on the train from Herzogenrath to Dusseldorf, grabbed a bite to eat at the station, and then caught our last train from there to Berlin. We met a nice German man, whose name we didn't catch but we lovingly refer to as "Hans our helper." When he found out we were American students studying in Europe, he got really excited and told us how much we'd love Berlin! He also translated the conductors announcements, which was especially helpful in explaining why at one point the train was inching along. As the conductor game on the PA, Hans started chuckling to himself and I asked him what was said. "Every day," he said, "it never fails." Apparently someone had thrown themselves in front of a train ahead of us, and we needed to slow down for things to get cleared up... yikes! That delayed us just a little more, and with those minor setbacks we finally made it to Berlin around 11:30 p.m.

The directions to our hostel seemed simple enough, but the bus driver let us off at the wrong stop. We were already feeling uneasy about being in a foreign country, late at night, just three girls, so when we realized how lost we were we all freaked out a little bit. Everything was closed, only a few people were walking around, and even if we wanted to go back to the train station until morning, the buses stopped running at midnight. After 45 minutes of walking for blocks, we finally found the Meininger Hostel, one of the hostels recommended by former Baylor students. We had booked a 3 person private room (instead of the typical dorm style) and were very pleased to find that the beds were incredibly comfortable. A down comforter was provided, we had a sink, closet, and full length mirror in our room, and the water closets (toilets) and showers were just down the hall. After an eventful evening, we had no trouble falling asleep.

The next morning, we woke up and ventured out to see the city! We had decided that we'd just buy a day pass for the bus and hop on and off at our leisure, but after about an hour we realized just how difficult that would be. We popped into a Starbucks and as I ordered my delicious White Cafe Mocha, Kaitlyn picked up a map of the city that advertised a FREE walking tour. That's right, I said free. The company is called Sandeman's New Europe and their philosophy is that everyone should have the same traveling experience, regardless of budget. The tour guides work on a tips-only basis, and our guide was amazing; her name was Lucy and she was from Australia. "I'm addicted to Berlin, and I'm hoping after this tour you will see why," she said. Her passion for the city was contagious, and she had so many stories to tell about the sights that we saw. Taking the tour was the best decision we made this weekend! We saw everything we wanted to see and more, plus we learned so much about the city and its history.

First we saw Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz, which is the gate Napoleon and Hitler walked through when they each took control of Berlin. Atop the gate sits a statue named Victoria, which was stolen by the French, put in the Louvre, and then stolen back by the Germans. In the square was also the U.S. and French Embassies as well as the Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled his baby from his balcony! On the other side of the Gate, Lucy pointed out bricks laid in the street to show where the Berlin Wall once stood. From that point on, we spent the remainder of the day in East Berlin, the part of Berlin that was once blocked off from the rest of the western world. To think that it has only been 20 years from the fall of the Berlin Wall just blows my mind. So much restoration has taken place, and you can really sense the unity of the people living there.

Next we went to a Holocaust Memorial which was really neat. The memorial itself is huge, causing you to really stop and observe. More than 6,400 stone slabs make up the monument, each of them standing at different heights. The designer wanted to leave it open for interpretation, but some speculate that it is a bar graph for anti-semitism. Walking among the maze of tall structures, I tried to imagine what life was like for victims of the Holocaust. Seeing this memorial was definitely moving.

Pressing onward, we stopped in a random "car park," or parking lot. Our guide told us that we were standing above where Hitler's military bunker once was. It was here that he and his mistress Eva Braun committed suicide, and afterwards the bunker was destroyed. It was neat to see on our tour, especially because there is not a plaque describing its location and not many people know about it. Germans did not want to draw attention to the location of such inhumane, evil plotting, so instead a parking lot was created. From there we came across a rundown part of town where much of the fighting took place during World War II and Hitler's regime. We saw one of the last buildings in Berlin with actual bullet holes and shrapnel pieces. Nearby we saw part of the Berlin Wall left standing, near the area called the "Death Strip." It was eerie being so close to it, reflecting on the reality of people's lives during that time. The wall literally went up overnight. Families were separated, and the saddest story we heard was of a mother living in East Berlin whose son was in the hospital in West Berlin. The night she left him to go home and sleep was the night the wall was built, and she went two and half years without seeing him.

The wall was pretty worn away from people taking pieces of it for mementos. The souvenir shops sell pieces of it, but Lucy warned that not all are genuine. Someone researched, took sale records from every shop in Berlin, calculated their average weight, and came to the conclusion that if all the pieces were real, then there would be 2.5 Berlin Walls!! Good thing I didn't make that investment. Instead, I captured it in photos.

We saw Checkpoint Charlie, which was the single crossing point at the wall for foreigners and U.S. troops. Around the area were countless posters of successful escape stories, spy information, and other pieces of the Berlin Wall. It was really neat to walk around the city and come across one of the pieces. Street art and graffiti is a big thing in Berlin, and many of the sections have been painted.

After a quick lunch break at Cafe Aroma, the clouds finally cleared and we had beautiful, blue skies for the remainder of our tour! Lucy took us by a famous chocolate shop called Fassbender & Rausch and then to Gendarmenmarkt Square which is the "most beautiful square in Berlin." I definitely agree!

Next we went to Bebelplatz, the square that sits on the Humboldt University Campus (where Albert Einstein studied!!). This square was the site of Hitler's book burning, where 20,000 different books were burned because they contained ideas or beliefs against the Nazi Party. In the ground, a plexiglass pane looks down on a memorial to the book burning - a stark white, enclosed room with white empty bookshelves on each wall. There is no way to get into the room, serving as a reminder that you can't go back and change history. What's done is done, and if we don't learn from the mistakes of the past, history will certainly repeat itself.

Beside the university is another memorial, this one to victims of "war and tyranny." Inside there was a statue of a mother holding her dying son, and underneath is buried the unidentified remains of a Holocaust victim, a Nazi soldier, and dirt from various concentration camps. I tell you, all these memorials were so significant and so impressive. Berlin's history is fascinating!

The last stop on our tour was to Museum Island where we sat on the steps of Berlin Cathedral and listened as Lucy told us the story of how Gunter Shabowski brought an end to the Cold War with a minor slip of the tongue. Her storytelling was so animated and really brought to life everything we had seen that day. Oh my goodness, we walked back to the bus after the tour, just so excited about the way our day had turned out!

The night ended with dinner at a cute German pub called the Berliner Biersalon where I had the BEST bratwurst of my entire life. We returned to our hostel after dinner, took time to journal about everything we had seen, and got to sleep early for another day of travel.

Cologne will just have to wait until tomorrow!

Still Loving It,

Amanda

I think I'm going to love these train rides.

I'm back from Germany!

With the amount of traveling we'll do on the weekends, I am pretty much guaranteed a few hours for reading and journaling which is something I'm very excited about. On the train from Berlin to Cologne on Saturday, I took some time to journal everything I've been feeling over the past few weeks. I came to some really groundbreaking realizations about my life and my purpose, as cliche as that may sound. People aren't kidding when they say you'll change as a person just by being on this trip... I'm starting to feel God at work already.

On this specific leg of our journey, I was listening to "In You" by MercyMe on my iPod. I love when I can listen to a song I've heard a hundred times, and for some reason a certain lyric just pops out at me. The second verse starts with "it's no secret that we don't belong here, we're set apart by the grace of you." Hearing that made me think of how alienated and uncomfortable traveling can be.

I absolutely love seeing new places and experiencing new cultures, but there are undoubtedly times when I feel like I don't belong. Like the song says, we are "set apart" by the grace of God. As a student galavanting through Europe, what sets me apart from the crowd? Is it the massive backpack I carry, or the Nikon D50 hanging around my neck? Or is it my obvious American accent and my enthusiasm for finding the nearest Starbucks? When we met as a group before coming to Europe, Maxey gave us tips on how to blend in and not stand out as a tourist. Well, I'm finding it difficult to be something I'm not. Try as I may, there is no hiding my differences.

I have my moments where I think, "this is totally me, I could move here tomorrow," but I still start to miss everything about home. It's easy to feel awkward and uncomfortable. During this time abroad, this once in a lifetime opportunity, I'm getting to see the world. There are so many beautiful sights and fascinating cultures. But as amazing as this experience is, a little part of me anticipates returning to Texas.

So I got to thinking - how much more should I feel not of this world? The Bible tells us that this world is not our home and that we should live for the day when we finally meet Jesus face to face, but how many times do I read that and think, "but I love my life here!" I love my family and friends, Baylor, Austin, photography, dancing, music, movies, good food, shopping... so many things in the world have my heart.

What a beautiful reminder! This world is not my home! I live for the day of the ultimate homecoming, the day when Heaven is finally a reality. I want to stand out, I don't want to get lost in the monotony of life or the ways of this world. I can't get too comfortable, and this living-on-the-edge experience is definitely the chance to learn infinitely more about myself, my faith, and my God.

This weekend was amazing and I have so much to write about. I'll take on the task in the morning, for tonight this little traveler needs her sleep!

"I put my hope in you, I lay my life in the palm of your hand. I'm constantly drawn to you, Lord, in ways I cannot comprehend."

In You, by MercyMe

First Week of Class

It's easy to forget that while the majority of this trip is spent traveling and experiencing new cultures, we are also taking classes!

Monday was an easy day, which is what we all needed after our trip to London. Kaitlyn and I started the day off on the right foot... sleeping through breakfast. Oops! Contrary to what you may think given my track record, it was not due to my inability to wake up to an alarm! Our alarm clocks were still set on London time, so breakfast was over by the time we got out of bed. We both showered and spent the morning uploading pictures, journaling, and getting organized for our new academic endeavors.

Afternoon found us at the local shopping center, getting groceries for our mini-kitchen. Did I mention they DO have Dr. Pepper here?! Our newest staple in the pantry is Nutella. I haven't had it since elementary school when mom put it on my sandwiches and apple slices, but it's all the rage at the Guesthouse! We also indulged and bought nice comforters for our beds in the dorm. The linens provided were adequate enough, but after being spoiled in London with down comforters, we were desperate for a little something more. At the mall we also had our first Maastricht lunch on our own and struggled a bit with the menu. My eyes searched the page and looking for something that sounded remotely familiar, I chose the ham sandwich.

My only class on Mondays, Writing for Media Markets, is from 7-9 p.m. It is taught in a lecture hall in the Guesthouse by Maxey Parrish, the Baylor professor on the trip. He has been my academic advisor since I started at Baylor and it is so neat to now have the opportunity to learn from him! Starting in the journalism department, all you hear is how amazing this guy is. He is everyone's favorite! The class is going to be very enjoyable. It's basically an in-depth writing course in which we'll write memos, press releases, news articles, and feature stories.

Moving on... Tuesday I did make it to breakfast, and then had a few hours to devote to my epically long London entry. Class started at 11, which meant that we had to leave the Guesthouse at 10:30 to get there on time. It is an enjoyable walk, however, and by the time you get to the CES building you already feel accomplished!

The class, Modernism and Beyond, will count for my British Literature credit at Baylor and I think I'm really going to love it! I've always loved reading - just ask Mom. And it's a good thing, since we were given 8 books to read in a matter of 8 weeks. The professor's name is Karl and he's an adorable German man. "How odd, to think that I'm from Germany and I'm teaching American students at a Dutch university," he said in his introduction. He made me smile when he assigned our ten page paper and said, "I look forward to reading your analysis of this class and the given texts. It will truly be my reward." Wow. If only we were to think like that more often, how much more fulfilling learning would be! This guy is so passionate about European literature, and his genuine excitement makes me feel so willing to do my dead-level best. Already I'm learning important life lessons and I've only been to one week of classes!

Prof. Karl also told us that the CES building where our classes are held is actually an old convent and orphanage. The street it sits on, Bonnefantenstraat, means the street of the "well-behaved children." That's another thing I love about Maastricht. The city is so rich in history! Learning is so much more fun when you're surrounded by fascinating sights.

After class a few of us hit up Somethin' Good, a sandwich shop that past Baylor students have raved about. Jessie and Audrey, you were so right! Amaaaazing food! Walking back to the dorm, I paused and thought to myself, "this is absolutely perfect." And then I lost feeling in my hands from the cold. But it was worth it, as the chilly temperatures brought snow!

My class today was Dutch Art History and yet again, I think I'll love it! We're learning about Gothic architecture right now, and it makes me excited to go see Notre Dame and all the other beautiful cathedrals in France! The rest of the day was spent making plans for our weekend adventures, which is more exhausting than I ever thought!

Kaitlyn, Rachel and I are leaving Maastricht tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon to spend the weekend in Berlin and Cologne. I don't know what it is about traveling that makes me too excited to sleep, but I'm going to try and go to bed. Be back Sunday night!

As promised...

Our hotel, Harrington Hall in South Kensington

Ready to see Wicked!

In front of the Tower Bridge

Stonehenge

Rachel and me in front of Bath Abbey

Girls in front of Big Ben!

Buckingham Palace from St. James Park

Wellington Arch

We loved loved loved the undergrounds!

The wall at Abbey Road