Munich

I just got done visiting Munich, which was really an incredible city. I drank lots of good beer and met a few cool people in my hostel, so that was a lot of fun!

The first afternoon, I went to Dachau Concentration Camp, which was one of the most difficult, as well as one of  the most worthwhile experiences of my life. The Holocaust is one point in history that I find very interesting and I love studying about it and reading about it. Getting to see a real concentration camp was something I have always wanted to do, and I feel so lucky to finally have gotten that opportunity! I got a chance to see the horrific sleeping, eating and bathing quarters, as well as a museum which described the daily lives of prisoners in the concentration camp. I will never get over just how horrific the lives of holocaust victims were, and I will never stop being shocked by all the events.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp

The second day, I got a late start, and went to the Haufbrauhaus, a beer hall that seats about  a million people. The atmosphere was fantastic, and I got a beer the size of my face. There were people from all around the world in the space, and some spent hours upon hours there. I got a traditional German meal of a potato dumpling, roasted pork and gravy. While eating, drinking and taking it all in, I met a guy from Canada, who I ended up talking to and spending the rest of the day with. We went to the English Garden, the Christmas market, and just walked around downtown. It was a really lovely day!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofbr%C3%A4uhaus

Interlaken

I'm officially on Christmas break, and started out my Eurotrip in Interlaken, Switzerland. Let me just tell you that this city literally makes a person feel like they have stepped into a postcard or a snow globe. You are literally surrounded by 360 degrees of Swiss Alps and it's absolutely amazing. This is the first time I've seen snow since I've been in Europe, and there was a ton of it! It was snowing at some point each day I was there for at least a few hours, and it was just beautiful.

The first morning, I met a girl at breakfast who invited me to go with her and some of her friends to a few ski towns. I took her up on the offer and had an amazing day hiking around and exploring the villages of Murren, Switzerland and Gimmelwald (Links of which are posted below).
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCrren

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmelwald

Both places were just quaint, gorgeous villages with the most amazing views of the Swiss Alps you could ever imagine. Everything was so unspoiled and untouched, and when we were there, there was hardly anybody around, and we didn't run into any other tourists. It was just perfect! The second village were were in, Gimmelwald, was even smaller than Murren, and we were the only people walking around outside.

While in Gimmelwald, we saw a house that had a sign on the door which read "Ring Bell For Service", so we did, and a woman answered the door and let us into her little shop in her house. After about 20 minutes of talking to her, she invited us up into her home for tea and traditional Swiss coffee cake. It was really cool, and something none of us could have planned! We ended up talking to her for about 2 hours, and learned all about her life and job, and even found out she runs a bed and breakfast in her home. Later, she invited us to watch a Christmas pageant that was being put on by kids from the school she works at, so we got to see the Nativity story in German! It was a really excellent and completely unexpected day.

Later the first night, I met a bunch of people in the t.v. room of the hostel, and we just sat by the fire and exchanged travel adventures.
The next day, I explored the actual town of Interlaken, as well as walked on a trail along the lake. It was snowing all day, so I couldn't see the mountains at all, but it was a nice hike nonetheless. That night, I hung out with the same people from the night before.

Interlaken was a really beautiful town, and I would absolutely recommend going there if you get a chance.

12.21.2011

The semester is officially over, and I finally finished my first 8-page French paper. Besides that, my last week was not particularly academic. I went out to coffee almost every day, a bar almost every night, and got fondue with a few friends one night! :)

I cannot fathom how quickly these first 4 months have gone by, and that they are now done. I'm sad to see this semester come to an end because within the last week,  I've had to say goodbye to some of the best people I've ever met in my life. Luckily, most of them live in Minneapolis and I guess I'll have to take a roadtrip to see the others.

I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten this experience, and cannot wait to live in Montpellier for another semester. It would be far too early to leave right now. I've come so far and I've learned so much, and I want to continue improving my French and expanding my horizons as much as possible.

12.11.2011

Well, it's finally hitting me that the semester is coming to an end. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I've truly had some of the most amazing experiences of my life here in Montpellier. I've been lucky enough to meet some of the best people I've ever known here as well, and I feel lucky that I have gotten to share these experiences with them. I've learned so much throughout the semester, and I don't mean in school. The experiences I've had so far in France will never be able to be replicated, and my ability to understand and speak this beautiful language has improved so much. I am so grateful that I am staying here one more semester, because leaving right now would be an extremely difficult and sad thing to do. I don't have to face the reality of leaving quite yet. Unfortunately, a lot of good friends I've made here are facing that reality during this upcoming week, and I will be sad to see them go.

During this past week, I took three finals, all of which I think went fine, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be done with most of my classes. The only thing I have left is an 8-page essay, and then I will be free of schoolwork until next semester! I cannot wait to travel to Switzerland, Germany and Paris on my own! I think it's going to be a fantastic experience to travel alone for a few days. I am most excited to see my amazing boyfriend Sam in Dublin and London, and cannot wait to spend 10 days with him in Europe! It should be really amazing :) :).

I've been spending the entire week with friends, and enjoying every minute of it. We've walked around this amazing city, going to cafes, watching movies, going out to bars, and just spending time enjoying each others company. This includes making and eating cheese fondue on Tuesday, going to the Vert Anglais for the French-English conversation exchange on Wednesday, going to a cocktail/ appetizer party with my host parents and other host families and students in the program on Thursday night, going to my friend Bastien's apartment to watch a Celine Dion concert and dance to Glee music on Friday, and going on a beautiful excursion to Avignon on Saturday.

Avignon was simply amazing. It's one of the most beautiful and charming towns I've ever been to, and included a Christmas market, street performers performing jazz-style Christmas music, artists, and of course beautiful architecture. We visited the Palais de Papes (palace of popes), where we took a guided tour, and it was really breathtaking. The palace is absolutely huge, and has a rich and interesting history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon

Today I plan to do a little writing for this paper, and to skype with my parents and Sam. Hopefully I'm productive enough this afternoon, so I can watch a Christmas movie tonight. One week from today, Christmas vacation will have just started for me, and I will be on my way to Interlaken, Switzerland!

12.04.2011

Well, I took my final for my integrated class on Monday, and I think it went okay. It was a 4-hour essay final, and we had 3 prompts to choose from. I chose to read a short text and analyze it, as opposed to trying to remember everything I had learned throughout the semester. At least that class is over, as it was by far the most stressful. I have 3 finals left, 2 of which should be easy, and the other of which I will have to study quite a bit for. Luckily I have all week to study for it. I also have an 8-page paper for my Medieval Literature class due for Wednesday, December 14th, and after that, this semester will officially be over! I can't believe how fast this semester has gone! I'm sad to see it come to an end. Not the classes, but I will be sad to see some of my friends I've made over the course of the semester leave.
On Wednesday night, I went to the French-English conversation exchange as usual, and I met a couple new French students, so that was a lot of fun! On Thursday, some friends and I went out early in the evening to try out a Karaoke place. We rented a private room for an hour, and it was a lot of fun! Of course, most of the songs were French, but there was plenty of American music too. Unfortunately, they didn't have the classics such as Summer Lovin' from Grease, or Ain't No Mountain High Enough. We had to resort to songs like "Stacy's mom" and "Beautiful Soul", but it was a blast anyway. Later, some friends and I went bar hopping, where we discovered some pretty delicious Mojitos.
Friday night was the first official night of the Christmas festival in Montpellier. All the streets were lit up, and there were tons of marching bands playing Christmas music. The market is adorable, and there are a lot of artisan gifts, original art, and handmade food and drinks. I tried some hot spiced wine, which did not disappoint, and some orange-spiced bread. After that, I went to my friend Bastien's new apartment, where we just hung out, and of course celebrated Britney Spears' 30th birthday by watching her newest concert DVD.
On Saturday, I went out to coffee with Michael, one of the French students I met on Wednesdsay night. We had a really great conversation, and spoke in English for half the time, and French for the other half. (He's an English major, so we both like to practice our other languages). That night, I went to "Intouchables" again with some friends who had not yet seen it. After, we went to Fitzpatricks, an authentic Irish Bar for some Bailey's and Guinness. The bartenders were all Irish, and there was an Irish band playing traditional music in the background.
Today, I finally finished booking everything for my trips for Christmas break, and feel very relieved. Tonight, a friend is cooking a bunch of us an Indian meal, so that should be a lot of fun! :)