Last Post from Overseas

Renee and I leave Roma for home in the morning. This has been an amazing trip. I’ve seen and learned so much as you can tell from the photos! I just wanted to write one last time from Europe to say that I miss you all and I’ll see you soon. Thanks for reading and taking this trip with us. It’s been great to know that friends and family have been with us the entire time. If you have any questions about something I’ve said or a picture you’ve seen, please don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll be sure to fill you in. Look for another post or two as a trip wrap up within the next day or two. Ciao!

Breathtaking - The best for last

Our train from Florence was a bit delayed for whatever reason trains are delayed so we didn’t arrive in the ancient city of Rome until around 2pm instead of the intended 12pm. Needless to say, we were anxious to get going since we’d missed 2 hours of prime sightseeing time. Side note, our hotel room has a beautiful terrace!




Not sure how we swung that but who’s complaining.

We’ve completed a whirlwind first day here in Rome and I must say, the things we’ve seen are truly blowing my mind to bits! We walked around the Colosseum (not intentionally… we plan to really take some time with it tomorrow morning), visited the Pantheon, strolled through squares and plazas, took a breather by the unbelievable Trevi Fountain, and finally made it to the Spanish Steps.

The Colosseum has an amazing ability to draw people to it. Its got a soul (if you can imagine a building having a soul) that is so powerful its hard to explain.



We haven’t been inside yet but I am really looking forward to being up-close and personal. I don’t know if I just missed out on the history class, but I didn’t realize that Rome is literally littered with ruins! Its amazing and beautiful… So much history. Not the kind of history that we are used… but thousands of years of history. The structures that we saw today were 2000 years old… still standing!

The Pantheon (for Pan = all and Theos = the gods, originally a temple for worshiping your god of choice) is said to be the best preserved ancient structure among the many that are found here. You can tell from the pictures, it’s just lovely. So perfectly structured…original granite columns in the front and a dome that others have tried to imitate for millennia are just a couple of the features. It was saved from ruin status because of the Christian church’s decision to turn the building into a church thus making it acceptable for the faith. It’s the only ancient structure that has been in use since inception. The pictures cant really do it full justice. You have to go there and just sit within the ancient walls to truly feel the presence and absord the magnitude of the structure. The dome is huge, the columns are magnificent… its truly a site.











I wish you all could see this. Everyone Should see this.

Birthplace of the Renaissance

I’m sure you can tell I’ve been slowing down lately with the writing… I’m losing steam as we get closer to the end of the trip… but we are still doing just as much and I am taking just as many pictures so don’t worry… things are being recorded in one way or another. Just expect more bullet point lists and photo only posts. :)

As Renée let on, we spent much of yesterday climbing the steps of the Duomo, a cathedral in the city center. The building is beautiful and the view from the top is even more magnificent.









Today we had the opportunity to see Michelangelo’s sculpture of David currently located in The Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti (Accademia Gallery). The sculpture was beautiful and the thought that he sculpted the figure from a huge block of marble at the age of 26 is even more amazing. It was a truly breath taking experience. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take pictures in the museum but If you click here you’ll be able to see a picture of the sculpture: David

We’ve also taken a bus tour of the city,



visited the Boboli Gardens (Giardino di Boboli) , and Walked around a lot to truly gain a real perspective of this City of the Renaissance. The city is beautiful. The art is magnificent. The food isn’t that great from what we’ve had but you can’t win them all. Take a look at some of the pictures below. We’ll see you in Rome tomorrow. Good Night.

Gerrae

Florence

-Gerrae

Live from FLORENCE!

Salve!

This is Skinny Brown Girl Checking in! (Gerrae's Sis) :)

I've made it to Italy! I truly would love to write a long post however trekking accross Florence and walking up the 463 steps within the Duomo... Either way, to save time and hold on to the little energy I still have I will list the top 5 most notworthy things that Gerrae and I did/viewed today...(in no particular order!)

1. As I said before, today we visited one of the most important sites Florence offers to its tourists and natives alike... The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, which is the cathedral church "Duomo" of Florence. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.
Today we waited for a good hour to get the chance to walk up all 463 steps to the top of the dome, to view the UNBELIEVABLE paintings on the ceiling as well as the AMAZING view of all Florence which we viewed at upon reaching the top. Pictures to come, when Im not so ready to say Buonanotte (hhehe). p.s. I know I typed those adjectives in all caps, but seriously...everything was really that 'cap-worthy' :)

2. I'm actually picking up on the language pretty well! My only mix up thus far has been asking for my check at a restaurant and saying, "il contE, per favore" instead of, "il contO, per favore" ...I dont know what I actually said, but the waitor looked at me so oddly, I prob. said something crazy like, "chicken please."

ok...i wanted to write 5 but im so tired im only writing 2 for now...I know, geez, sorry...im in ITALY!!! what do you want me to do? lol..... GRAZIE! BUONANOTTE!.... Thank you! Goodnight!!!

To Florence

Im in the Prague airport waiting for my flight. I have over 3 hours to wait but I figured it was better to travel with people that had earlier flights than to try to get to the airport on my own.

Renee has landed in Rome. This Czech keyboard is VERY strange so I cant really show my excitement.

If I were to try to type normally, that sentence would look like this

This Cyech Kezboard is verz strange so I cant reallz show mz excitement.z is a y and y is a z on here... all the symbols are all over the place.

Anyway, as always, I will try to get some final thoughts about Prauge together as soon as possible.

See you in Florence with Renee. Yaay

Prague is... Interesting

We’ve been spending most of our time in lectures for the past two days. We did an evening tour of the city last night and a tour of the Prague Castle today so I do have some pictures.

The lectures have proven to be interesting. Some random facts learned include the fact that the Czech Republic has the highest about of Beer Consumption per capita of any country in the world (including Ireland.) The country also has the lowest level of poverty of any country. This statistic doesn’t mean that the country is rich however. Its just means that basic needs (healthcare, University, etc.) are subsidized or completely paid for by the government. School is comletely paid for and Insurance is paid for if need be. Children have free insurance as do all students up to the age of 26.

My favorite was a presentation by a Johnson and Johnson representative from the Czech Republic branch. He spoke a lot about health care in the Czech Republic which I know is of interest to you, mom. So I took some notes. So the current look of the healthcare system is quite different from the one proposed by folks looking toward healthcare reform within the country. Currently, people don’t pay for health insurance, however ALL people are required to have it and if they cant afford it then the government provides it for them. There are only 10 “sickness funds” or insurance companies in the country. Some are privately owned and some are state owned but there is virtually no difference in the health care provided by either. There are also privately and publicly owned hospitals of which there is also no difference between the two. Hospitals see virtually no one-day or same-day surgery patients. Most people feel that in-house patient care is extended far to long in most cases. 50% of insurance funds go toward inpatient care. Women who have babies stay in the hospital for at least a week. Reform suggestions would increase out of pocket payments, decrease emergency room visits, and increase same-day surgeries and patient’s requirement to pay for some prescriptions. Currently only Generic drugs exist and there are no drug manufacturers in Prague. If you go to a drug store, EVERYTHING is behind counters and it is expected that you ask the pharmacist questions before choosing your medicine. (even “over-the-counter” type meds). Pricing of medication is done in clusters so there is no competition between pharmacies. Reform would also bring a decrease in reimbursement for drugs, standardization of healthcare practices (currently there are none) and out of pocket payments for any portion of drug prices about cluster determined rates. Oh last thing about healthcare… Nurses and Doctors make very little money. To put it into perspective, Bankers make 3 times as much as Doctors in the Czech Republic.

Here are a few pictures from today’s trip to the castle.

























I also checked out another vegetarian restaurant (Radost). It was definitely very different from the restaurants in Munich. This one was a bar/club/vegetarian restaurant. It was a very strange mix that seemed to work well for the people there though I don’t know if outsiders would really dig it. The crowed was kinda punkish and bohemian (weird I’m actually in Bohemia right now…) but they were happy among themselves. I enjoyed the experience and the food was excellent. The part of town was a bit grimy though. I think it was because it was nighttime, but Prague certainly doesn’t have the same feel of comfort in the evenings that Munich has. I took the train to the restaurant (it was only one stop away) but the experience didn’t flow as nicely. I found myself clutching my bad tighter than in Munich and watching my back the entire time. (Rhodney’s voice was in my head… “you gotta pay attention to EVERYTHING so you don’t get disoriented and lost!”)Nevertheless, no problems at all.


...but I probably wouldn’t venture out there alone in the evening again. This city isn’t an “alone in the evening” type of city… despite what the locals tell you. Its more real and raw… more like back home actually…


Good night all.

Prague - Walking Tour

Prague is Different

Its taken the better part of the day for me to get use to Prauge. I’m starting to feel comfortable now. Our Hotel is much better than the last as you can see from the pictures.



Yes there is Air-conditioning though Its not to hot here so we would probably survive well without it. Right now I have my window opening and I’m listening to the cars drive by below. The picture from my last post was taken from my hotel window.

Prague has a bit more edge and spunk to it than Munich. It’s a very old city and almost all of the buildings are original. The people are harder in spirit and the energy is less friendly that that of Munich. These things aren’t negative though… I’m learning that they are just characteristics of an Eastern European City that has come a long way.



We haven’t taken the city tour yet so I still have much to learn, but I do know that the Czech Republic used to be a part of Czechoslovakia until the early 90s. Communism was done away with and subsequently, the Country broke into two parts… The Czech Republic and Slovakia. Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. Though both countries have since joined the European Union, neither one has yet to adopt usage of the Euro. We had to convert our currency to koruny (singular, koruna) aka crowns. Currently the exchange rate is around 17.5 Crowns per US dollar. Its confusing to try to calculate how much money I have and how much I’m spending… I’m carrying around a calculator. I probably look silly but at least I know what I’m spending!

Our first activity was a trip to Ruckl Crystal which is about an hour outside of the city.










This crystal plant has gone from private owner ship to state ownership (under communist law) and back to its current state of private ownership. The Glass is absolutely beautiful and is completely hand made. Even the designs are hand cut. Unfortunately the company struggles to keep up with rising energy costs and larger (machine made) competition. It exports to various countries all over the world and though its business seems to be healthy, its workers make the equivalent of 700 Euro/month.

Its time for our evening walking tour of Prague and our dinner cruise on the river. In the mean time, check out the newest pictures of Prague on the Flickr Page.

P.S. I'm in Prague

It was raining when we arrived.
Its much nicer outside now though. So nice that we were able to have dinner outside in Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske namesti).

Here's a glimpse of the city...



Much more to come.
The Hotel is Lovely!

Good Night All.

Munich - Last Thoughts

Going to back track a bit since I didn’t have time to post yesterday.

Yesterday Morning we went to a Munich bank (UniCredit). The first portion of this visit was spent speaking with corporate leaders and executives about their jobs/rolls within the bank. We spoke to people in Economics Research, Investment, Strategic planning. It was interesting to note that in supporting their larger corporate clients, they need to be very aware of world news, economic happenings, and financial events. They read a lot and write even more. I expect that It’s like that for analysts in the states.

After the company visit, we had lunch at did a great tour of the BMW Welt and the BMW Plant.





A traditional Bavarian Dinner at the famous Hofbrauhaus (a beer hall that is supposedly a place Hitler liked to frequent) completed the trip.



So in conclusion, Munich was an awesome city. Its an 850 year old city that has a lot of the traditional elements and feel even though so much of it was destroyed and rebuilt. By European Standards, the city is fairly young. (Prague, the next city on the trip is over 1000 years old). The streets don’t always make sense because they aren’t situated in a grid like our cities in the states. There are also no number streets and as I think I mentioned before, the streets change names frequently. You need a good map and some guts to navigate it. In forcing myself to try, I learned quickly that its not so bad. Munich is friendly, safe, and clean. It’s inviting and warm, and I truly enjoyed my visit there. Though I didn’t visit all of Germany or Bavaria even for that matter, I learned a lot about the German culture. Most things are very well made. Everything from drinking glasses to public bathroom door handles are sturdy and well made. Nothing Cheap. Another main characteristic is that Germans are not wasteful of energy and resources. Escalators don’t run without a need, there isn’t unnecessary air-conditioning in buildings (which was difficult to get used to) and all in all you get the sense that the people think twice about over consumption (of all things except meat and beer that is!) and wastefulness. Apparently, we can learn a lot from the Germans.

There are a few people that are a little perturbed by non-German speaking visitors, but for the most part people were patient and kind. I appreciated that very much.

Prague here we come!

Leaving Munich for Prague in the morning.
This has been an amazing trip thus far.

I´ll post my recap for Today (Tuesday) as well as my final thoughts for Munich as soon as I can.

Miss you all!

Another Beautiful Day.

So I’m very tired today and since we spent much of the day visiting German Companies and listening to Presentations, I have a little bit less to talk about. That’s a good thing since I really need some sleep!

This morning, we had the privilege of being spoken to by representatives of the following German / German located companies:

U.S. Commercial Service
Deloitte Consulting
Ketchum
Interbrand

Presentations were thorough and informative. I learned a lot about German people and the German culture. I’ll share more about that in my final thoughts on Munich.

Lunch was at an Italian place… I had a salad with fried fish. I know what your thinking… why go to an Italian restaurant in Germany? Ha ha… just did. That’s were the group went so that’s where I went.

The afternoon as spent at TUV SUV which is a company that specializes in inspecting all kinds of things from motor vehicles to elevators. They’re apparently very big all over the world including the states.



After we returned from the company visit, I went to Saf for Dinner.
To save time and bring sleep more quickly I will just say that I am IN LOVE with this place. The atmosphere was lovely, the music was a very mellow American house mix, and the food was amazing. I found the restaurant on this site: Happy Cow.

I also met a really great Italian (Milano) woman who gave me her contact information and told me to look her up if I’m ever in Milan. It amazed me that she spoke so many languages and knew more about US politics than I did (or at least as much which is still fascinating to me). I shared with her my restaurant find from last night since she mentioned that she too is having trouble finding vegetarian food. We had a lovely conversation about everything under the sun from Politics to the recent news of the US governments decision to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and how that decision will affect American taxpayers… I plan to e-mail her soon to stay in touch.

My waiter and waitress were really great. Especially about the fact that I don’t know many German words. The menu was completely vegan and mostly raw so I had no problem picking anything on the menu, however they still explained things to me very well. I had the fettuccini Alfredo which was really some kind of vegetable cut into “noodles” with fettuccini sauce. It was fabulous. Also had a house salad and the house dressing was superb! Very pleased.






My waiter had locs so I asked him why I don’t see many people with locs in Munich. He told me that apparently people in Munich aren’t very “colorful” or unique… He’s originally from Berlin. Apparently Berlin and Hamburg are the places to be.

I probably wont be able to post pictures or write much tomorrow because our schedule is packed until at least 11:30 tomorrow evening. I will be posting my final thoughts on Munich at some point though. If not tomorrow then as soon as I get to Prague.

Good night all.

A Rainy Day in Munich

I woke to the sound of soft rain this morning. The rain carried through much of the day. It was very chilly but manageable… I was glad for my umbrella.

We were to meet at 9:50 am for our bus tour of the city so I got up around 8am so that I could have time for breakfast. Breakfast consisted of cheeses, cereals, fruit, eggs and coffee. There were also various breads and toast. A light yet satisfying breakfast. I thought that I’d go for the boiled egg since I guess that one can’t really go wrong in boiling an egg. Right? Well this is what my egg looked like this morning when I slammed it against the table to try to crack it open.



Hmmm… that’s not hard boiled is it? Got duped. Its soft boiled. Surely this must be some mistake…

Anyway, the bus tour was very good. Our tour guide Peter was very knowledgeable about the city so I felt that I really got a good understanding of the history of Munich.



Munich was once part of the Holy Roman Empire among other things. It’s history is full of stories of kings and queens, family and scandal… its very full. 60% of the city was destroyed during world war II (told you I’d get more details about that) so much of what you see has either been rebuilt completely, or at least resurfaced. Some of the building have been left to look “half” damaged and half “new” so that one can remember the history. We drove past museums, through gardens and palaces. We saw the chamber of commerce, churches, high end-shopping districts, and neighborhoods. I found it interesting that Munich is a city of neighborhoods much like Philadelphia. Munich’s American sister city is Cincinnati though I don’t know how that relationship came about.
I also learned that there is only one skyscraper in Munich. It’s currently rented by the cellphone company O2. Apparently Munich folks don’t appreciate the skyscraper.



The tour ended with a stop in one of the city’s best known squares Marienplatz.

It was here that we were given the chance to see the famous Glockenspiel (carillon) , a 43 bell tower which puts on a show of dancing and jousting a few times each day.



After the tour and the Glockenspiel, I spent the day wandering the city alone. Much of the group went to see Dachau Concentration Camp which I believe was the first or one of the first concentration camps. I chose to explore the city since today was our only completely full day free of classes and academic seminars. All of the stores and shopping areas are closed on Sundays by law, however museums and some galleries as well as restaurants and cafes are all open. I spent A LOT of time just walking around the city.











It’s very manageable except for the fact that street names are written in a foreign language so it’s difficult to keep the straight.

I was pretty hungry at first so I went into a few places. One of the first places that I visited pretty much ignored me. Probably because I was obviously an American tourist. (map and bright white sneakers are a pretty good clue.)

I finally found a little café that looked nice.




( Café Ludwig) I had NO IDEA what the menu said. Luckily the waitress spoke about 2 (almost literally) words of English so I was able to get something to eat. I somehow got her to understand that I wanted “no beef, no pork, etc”. She said “ya ya!” and pointed to something that I couldn’t understand on the menu. She said, “Only Cheese!” so I shrugged and said ok.

This is what I got.



It was very good. But definitely just a plate of cheese… I had some bread and butter, kiwi fruit, and a cup of coffee as well though so it ended up being enough. Oh. And yes. Another trickery. A soft boiled egg.



I’m done with German Boiled eggs. They are raw.

After lunch and finally getting my bearings (ha ha mom), I spent some time in the Alte Pinakotek.



This is one of Europe’s best Art Museums. The museum consists of the city’s “older collection”. The famous royal family the Wittelsbachs started the collection at the beginning of the 16th century.

I also spent some time in the English Garden… a beautiful park with running paths, lakes and streams, a Japanese tea house, and lots of other interesting finds. This was the one time during the day that I was very glad for the rainy day since the English Garden is very well known for its nude sunbathers. Thank Goodness they stayed home today!







After coming back to the hotel to rest, and feeling the need for a good meal, I googled “Munich Vegetarian Restaurant” and came up with Prinz Myshkin. I was tired from walking all day so I opted for the U-Baun or the Subway as a means of transport to dinner. My hotel is directly across the street from the Haptbahnhof (The Central Train Station) so I thought it would be no big deal. It really did go smoothly too… After I figured out how to buy my ticked. That took a while since almost all of the signs in the train station are in German.

FYI, in Munich, when you buy your ticket, there is nothing that “swipes” it to ensure that you’ve paid your fare. The public transportation goes on the “honor” system, meaning you validate your ticked with a stamp just before you use it and are expected to stamp it again at the end of your trip to invalidate it. It’s very trusting of passengers and so different from the states. I took the U-baun from Haptbahnhof to Sendlinger Tor, to Marienplatz and walked to Hackenstr.





Oh. Also FYI, The escalators at the train stations don’t move unless there is someone on there. That freaked me out a little bit. I thought it was broken so I took the steps quite a few times before I saw some little kid run and jump on one as it magically started up.

I was smart to dress more “European” for dinner. I took off my hoody, put a scarf around my neck and chose some flats instead of tennis shoes. I received far less “oh she must be American” looks which was definitely a good thing.

At Prinz Myshkin I was pleased to find that my waiter Mike (a guitarist from Hamburg) spoke English and had an English menu! I ordered the Spinach Gnocchi. Again it ended up tasting very cheesy so I also added a plate of zucchini to break up the cheesiness, and also had a glass of Merlot. (I needed a break from all the German beer that the serve you here in Munich.)

Dinner was good. I think I’ll order something else if I ever visit again though.
I planned to go to a jazz club but was tired after dinner so decided to rest instead.

Either way, the night was beautiful, though chillier than last night. A street musician was still out entertaining and the walk from the train station to the restaurant was lovely. I was alone (sorry mom) but I felt very safe. The streets are well lit and I had no problems at all.

Time to sleep. The Academic portion starts tomorrow.

Don’t forget to comment so that I know you’ve stopped in to visit.


Oh Yeah, The books my dad helped me pick out have been a God send. I absolutely would not have survived today without them!




Miss you all!

Auf Wiedersehen