I just got back from Distrikt 1940 Eurotour 2010 yesterday! It was a trip of a lifetime. I had the most fun I have ever had, and was able to explore a ton of beautiful European cities. Today I am staying home from school because I am insanely tired, and I am a little sick from the trip (basically all of the exchange students are sick). So I'm not going to go into extreme detail about what we did everyday, but I'll try to sum it all up without boring all of you! Los gehts...
Day One: Berlin - Dresden
All of the students gather at Berlin Ostbahnhof and make our way to the historical city of Dresden, Germany. I got to share the "Holiday House"with 5 other exchange students and it came complete with a living room and kitchen. Pretty cool. That night we all went out and explored the city nightlife.
Day Two: Dresden
We receive a City Bus/walking Tour of Dresden see many famous landmarks and learn about the history . We are given many hours of free time to roam around the city and do whatever we want.
Day Three: Dresden - Prague
We make our way to the river Elbe that runs through the center of Dresden and enter a large boat. We spend the majority of the afternoon driving down the river and enjoying the rolling hills speckled with german communities. After the boatride, the bus picks us up and we drive to Prague, Czech Republic. After settling in our hotel, we are given free time and we explore Prague by night. The city was very beautiful. I liked all of the buildings with slanted roofs on them. In Berlin there are hardly any slanted roofs in the city. It was a definite shock to go from German to Czech! But luckily most of the residence knew German or English so we got around fine.
Day Four: Prague
A woman gives the group a verrrrry LONG tour of Prague and the old castles, bridges, and monuments of the downtown city. The tour guide talked WAY to much and it was super boring because she repeated everything 2ce- once in German and the next in English. But after the Tour we were given free time to go and explore the city and shop. we met back at the hotel for dinner and then all went out to see the weirdest show I have ever seen in my life. It was a "dark light show." The whole theatre was pitch black and people in black costumes moved objects that were laced with black lights to give the illusion that they were floating. It was really cool, but super super super komisch. That night we were given the opportunity to either go to the biggest club in Europe or go somewhere we wanted to go. I decided to go out with a group of friends to the most famous pub in Prague because we needed to be back by 1, it was a Wednesday, and I really don't like clubbing all that much. The Pub turned out to be a FANTASTIC decision. They all played traditional Czech music and we met a bunch of Germans on a classtrip.
Day Five: Prague - Vienna
The next day we drove a suprisingly short way to the city of Vienna, Austria. During the drive we stopped at a medival-themed mini amusement park and spent a few hours chatting and walking around. Once in Vienna I went with a few friends to check out a few Indian stores. We bought a bunch of traditional Indian food and ate it later that night. It was delicious. It was raining that night (the only day it rained the entire trip... besides Berlin... but it always rains here) so I just stayed in the Hostel that night with friends.
Day Six: Vienna
During our day in Vienna we had a tour of the beautiful Austrian city by Bus as well as by walking. That night we went to a Mozart and Schumann concert complete with singing, and dancing. After the concert we were given freetime and had a great night on the town!
Day Seven: Vienna - Venice
We spent the majority of this day driving about 8 hours to Lido de Jesolo, Italy (a town right outside of Venice). It was amazing to see beach, something I have not seen in a very long time. Though the weather was considerably cold, that night a bunch of us exchange students decided to plunge into the freezing water! It was such a great rush!
Day Eight: Venice
We woke up early in the morning to travel to the beach and take a boat to the city of Venice. Right as we were leaving we realized that someone was missing- the exchange student out of Japan. The Rotarians got all worked up about missing our boat and we thought we were never going to be able to see Venice, but once we found Koki (japanese exchange student), we made it to the docks right in time. After 30 minutes of driving with the boat we got our first glimpses of the BEAUTIFUL city of Venice. It was by far the most gorgeous city we saw. We were given the whole morning and early afternoon of freetime where we spent our time eating, shopping, and walking through the winding maze of skinny allyways. At around 2 O'clock we all met up and took watertaxies to another part of the city. A resident there gave us a tour of the city and we had some of the best ice-cream I have ever had. After the tour we drove back to Lido de Jesolo and had a crazy night which included singing at the top of our lungs to songs on a dock, and swimming in the freezing water until it nummed our body and felt warm. What an amazing city!
Day Nine: Venice - Rome
we spent the majority of this day driving to the famous city of Rome, Italy. We didnt go directly to our hotel right when we got there because it was very central, so we all unpacked on the outskirts of the city, and made our way with the underground to our hotel. I would like to say that I think Rome has the WORST Underground line i have ever been on. It was even worse than PARIS! You have to walk like a kilometer to get down there, and you have have to follow different colored lines and it was just horrible. Im very thankful for Berlins Underground! So much easier! Anyways, we arrived at our hotel.. and found it to be extremely OLD and DIRTY! It was pretty disgusting. After getting situated we went to eat a very unsatisfactory meal- I was expecting the meals to be good in Rome, but almost all of them were pretty gross :P I must say my first impression of rome was pretty bad. It was dirty, busy, loud, and the food was bad. But that changed when me and some friends walked to the Colleseum that night! It was so pretty :)
Day Ten: Rome
We visted the Vatikin City and had a guided tour of the city. It was really cool seeing the Sistine Chapel and al the other historical monuments. During the day we had free-time and we walked all over Rome and saw a bunch of ruins and other famous monuments. What I found very cool was that it was Historical Week so we were able to get into many things for free!
Day Eleven: Rome
We woke up very early on this day to get in line for the Pope Audience. I have no idea how our group managed to get invited seeing that we have no religious affiliation, but I'm glad we did because it was a great experience. We arrived at around 8 in the morning and got seats 3rd from the front. We waited there until 10.30, and the ceremony started. It was cool to see such a governmental figure like the Pope! For the rest of the day we wandered aimlessly around the HUGE city. We ate a lot and shopped. We also visted inside of the colleseum (for free). By the end of the day we were all BEAT. Me and a few others fell asleep in a field right next to colleseum! That night we all met at the hotel and drove to eat dinner. Once at dinner we realized we had lost someone while underway! The rotary FREAKED out because we could not reach him, so they went off looking for him and eventually found him at the Underground station. That night we had our overnight drive to Insbruck, Austria. It was pretty terrible. Rotary had bad moods and it was difficult to sleep, But we made it! All and all, Rome was a cool city, but was way under my expectations. I was expecting it to be a lot more... live-able. But it was just like a really dirty, busy, LOUD city with tons of tourists and random famous monuments placed in the weirdest places. Yet again, I was only there 2 days. I'm sure if I was placed there for my exchange I would grow used to it and love it after a few weeks.
Day 12: Insbruck - Nesselwang
After riding the bus the entire night we all were EXHAUSTED! Rotary booked two hotels for the sole purpose of showering. We all were alotted 3 minutes to shower... it was quite hectik- but very nice to be surrounded by a familiar language, and be able to eat a descent brötchen breakfast. We needed to spend 9 hours in Insbruck so the bus driver could get some sleep, so we first had a very short guide of the city, and then went to the Swarovski Crystal World! The Crystal Welt was quite strange- I didn't really understand what it was supposed to be... you can just look at the pictures and be confused as well. After Swarovski we we given the day to wander the city! It was so nice to be out of the loudness and dirtiness of Rome and into a small town surrounded by mountains. That evening we drove 100 km or so to the small ort of Nesselwang. This small town in Bayern was so welcoming and pretty. The food was great and the hotel was the best in the whole trip.
Day 13: Füssen
The reason why we slept in the middle of nowhere was to be able to visit the Schloss Neuschwanstein- the most famous castle in Germany. (the Disney Land castle is built after it). We had a guided tour of the castle and enjoyed the beautiful landscape. It was great to be in Germany again. After the Castle, we took a lift to the top of a small mountain and got a great view of our surroundings. After that we all rode little luge-type carts through a track, and it made a lot of FUN! That night we all went swimming in a Swim-House next to the hotel. It was very large and we all bonded a lot.
Day 14: Nesselwang - Linderhof - Munich
We drove to a very small private castle in Linderhof, Germany this day. The grounds were gorgeous, and the castle was very different from other castles I have already seen. There was also this very cool man-made Grotto that was used for Operas a feww hundred years ago. The man who made it was crazy. For the rest of the day we enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather and layed out in the sun. We were all family by then and just enjoyed eachother's company. The bus ride to Munich was quite short- we arrived there, ate dinner, then a few of us went to a Spring Fest. We went on rides, and bumper cars, and it was a lot of fun!
Day 15: Munich
On this day we drove throughout the city and recieved a tour. We visited a famous castle and suprised all of the other tourists by breaking out in Macarina. After our tour we went to the most famous Beer Garden in Munich, and enjoyed delicious White Würstchen, and Pretzels. We roamed the city for a few hours, soaked up the sun in grassy parks, and that night went to Hard Rock Café for dinner. It was my first REAL Hamburger in a long time! That night the exchange students had a night on the town and visited some famous Bayerish places. Bayern sure knows how to have fun ;)
Day 16: Munich - Berlin
We spent a good 8 hours driving back up to Berlin on our second to last day. It was a good last busride- everyone was content, everyone realizing that our trip was coming to an end, a little bit sad actually. It was a bit strange being back home in Berlin and staying at a hostel, but a fun experience. The Hostel was verrry nice. I enjoyed being able to be a tourist and buy Souvenirs and things.
Day 17: Berlin
On our last full day of Eurotour we were given a tour of Berlin's most famous places. The guide told about the history and architecture behind the buildings and it was quite interesting to hear about. We also visted the Jewish Museum under the Jewish memorial. The highlight of our day was visiting the German Parliment buidling- the Reichstag. I had never been inside so it was pretty cool to see. Most tourists are only allowed to go to the dome on the top, but we were given a special tour inside the offices of the people of parliment. As luck would have it, I was chosen to be the translator of the tour because the person who was supposed to lead the English guide didn't show up. I really did not want to be the translator because I am have no experience translating... but it went prettty well. But translating is wayyy harder than it looks- It's one thing to understand what people say in german, but it is another thing to translate instantainiously. It's really hard to remember all of the details they say! So it was kind of embarassing some times because he would say something, I would remember the first part, but totally forget the second part of what he said. Even though it was a little embarassing, I'm glad I got to translate- it was good practice. After the tour we all went to have our LAST dinner together in the near from the city central station. We all had a great time laughing and eating and reminiscing on the amazing trip. Towards the end of the night it got really sad. There are many exchange students who are flying home in May and June, and I will never see them again. Tears were shed, and speeches were given... it was so amazing to hear everyone talk about how exchange has changed them. All of us were completely different since the first conference and that in itself made me cry. At that momentthough we were 50 exchange students speaking different languages, from different lands, and with different traditions- we were only one family that night. After dinner rotary told us all to meet in the central station of Berlin. We met there, they told us breakfast was at 8.30 the next morning, and then they left. It was QUITE a night :D
Day 18: Berlin
I missed breakfast the next morning because I didnt hear my alarm going off. I had only 10 minutes to get dressed and pack all of my things that I had accumulated. Once downstairs we all said our goodbyes in the central station over a cup of coffee, and I made my way back home. It was sad saying goodbye to the people I know I won't see anymore- but we do have a last goodbye-party at the end of July with the majority of exchange students. Hopefully some of the exchange students will be able to visit Berlin in the next months. That would be great.
So here i am back in Berlin and tomorrow I go back to School. It will be quite a change going back and learning, but I think I'm ready. I am kind of in awe at how fast April went by- At this rate, I'm going to be back in America before I know it. I have roughly TWO months left. thats Insane! I'm really looking forward to enjoying the summer weather during these last months.
Day One: Berlin - Dresden
All of the students gather at Berlin Ostbahnhof and make our way to the historical city of Dresden, Germany. I got to share the "Holiday House"with 5 other exchange students and it came complete with a living room and kitchen. Pretty cool. That night we all went out and explored the city nightlife.
Day Two: Dresden
We receive a City Bus/walking Tour of Dresden see many famous landmarks and learn about the history . We are given many hours of free time to roam around the city and do whatever we want.
Day Three: Dresden - Prague
We make our way to the river Elbe that runs through the center of Dresden and enter a large boat. We spend the majority of the afternoon driving down the river and enjoying the rolling hills speckled with german communities. After the boatride, the bus picks us up and we drive to Prague, Czech Republic. After settling in our hotel, we are given free time and we explore Prague by night. The city was very beautiful. I liked all of the buildings with slanted roofs on them. In Berlin there are hardly any slanted roofs in the city. It was a definite shock to go from German to Czech! But luckily most of the residence knew German or English so we got around fine.
Day Four: Prague
A woman gives the group a verrrrry LONG tour of Prague and the old castles, bridges, and monuments of the downtown city. The tour guide talked WAY to much and it was super boring because she repeated everything 2ce- once in German and the next in English. But after the Tour we were given free time to go and explore the city and shop. we met back at the hotel for dinner and then all went out to see the weirdest show I have ever seen in my life. It was a "dark light show." The whole theatre was pitch black and people in black costumes moved objects that were laced with black lights to give the illusion that they were floating. It was really cool, but super super super komisch. That night we were given the opportunity to either go to the biggest club in Europe or go somewhere we wanted to go. I decided to go out with a group of friends to the most famous pub in Prague because we needed to be back by 1, it was a Wednesday, and I really don't like clubbing all that much. The Pub turned out to be a FANTASTIC decision. They all played traditional Czech music and we met a bunch of Germans on a classtrip.
Day Five: Prague - Vienna
The next day we drove a suprisingly short way to the city of Vienna, Austria. During the drive we stopped at a medival-themed mini amusement park and spent a few hours chatting and walking around. Once in Vienna I went with a few friends to check out a few Indian stores. We bought a bunch of traditional Indian food and ate it later that night. It was delicious. It was raining that night (the only day it rained the entire trip... besides Berlin... but it always rains here) so I just stayed in the Hostel that night with friends.
Day Six: Vienna
During our day in Vienna we had a tour of the beautiful Austrian city by Bus as well as by walking. That night we went to a Mozart and Schumann concert complete with singing, and dancing. After the concert we were given freetime and had a great night on the town!
Day Seven: Vienna - Venice
We spent the majority of this day driving about 8 hours to Lido de Jesolo, Italy (a town right outside of Venice). It was amazing to see beach, something I have not seen in a very long time. Though the weather was considerably cold, that night a bunch of us exchange students decided to plunge into the freezing water! It was such a great rush!
Day Eight: Venice
We woke up early in the morning to travel to the beach and take a boat to the city of Venice. Right as we were leaving we realized that someone was missing- the exchange student out of Japan. The Rotarians got all worked up about missing our boat and we thought we were never going to be able to see Venice, but once we found Koki (japanese exchange student), we made it to the docks right in time. After 30 minutes of driving with the boat we got our first glimpses of the BEAUTIFUL city of Venice. It was by far the most gorgeous city we saw. We were given the whole morning and early afternoon of freetime where we spent our time eating, shopping, and walking through the winding maze of skinny allyways. At around 2 O'clock we all met up and took watertaxies to another part of the city. A resident there gave us a tour of the city and we had some of the best ice-cream I have ever had. After the tour we drove back to Lido de Jesolo and had a crazy night which included singing at the top of our lungs to songs on a dock, and swimming in the freezing water until it nummed our body and felt warm. What an amazing city!
Day Nine: Venice - Rome
we spent the majority of this day driving to the famous city of Rome, Italy. We didnt go directly to our hotel right when we got there because it was very central, so we all unpacked on the outskirts of the city, and made our way with the underground to our hotel. I would like to say that I think Rome has the WORST Underground line i have ever been on. It was even worse than PARIS! You have to walk like a kilometer to get down there, and you have have to follow different colored lines and it was just horrible. Im very thankful for Berlins Underground! So much easier! Anyways, we arrived at our hotel.. and found it to be extremely OLD and DIRTY! It was pretty disgusting. After getting situated we went to eat a very unsatisfactory meal- I was expecting the meals to be good in Rome, but almost all of them were pretty gross :P I must say my first impression of rome was pretty bad. It was dirty, busy, loud, and the food was bad. But that changed when me and some friends walked to the Colleseum that night! It was so pretty :)
Day Ten: Rome
We visted the Vatikin City and had a guided tour of the city. It was really cool seeing the Sistine Chapel and al the other historical monuments. During the day we had free-time and we walked all over Rome and saw a bunch of ruins and other famous monuments. What I found very cool was that it was Historical Week so we were able to get into many things for free!
Day Eleven: Rome
We woke up very early on this day to get in line for the Pope Audience. I have no idea how our group managed to get invited seeing that we have no religious affiliation, but I'm glad we did because it was a great experience. We arrived at around 8 in the morning and got seats 3rd from the front. We waited there until 10.30, and the ceremony started. It was cool to see such a governmental figure like the Pope! For the rest of the day we wandered aimlessly around the HUGE city. We ate a lot and shopped. We also visted inside of the colleseum (for free). By the end of the day we were all BEAT. Me and a few others fell asleep in a field right next to colleseum! That night we all met at the hotel and drove to eat dinner. Once at dinner we realized we had lost someone while underway! The rotary FREAKED out because we could not reach him, so they went off looking for him and eventually found him at the Underground station. That night we had our overnight drive to Insbruck, Austria. It was pretty terrible. Rotary had bad moods and it was difficult to sleep, But we made it! All and all, Rome was a cool city, but was way under my expectations. I was expecting it to be a lot more... live-able. But it was just like a really dirty, busy, LOUD city with tons of tourists and random famous monuments placed in the weirdest places. Yet again, I was only there 2 days. I'm sure if I was placed there for my exchange I would grow used to it and love it after a few weeks.
Day 12: Insbruck - Nesselwang
After riding the bus the entire night we all were EXHAUSTED! Rotary booked two hotels for the sole purpose of showering. We all were alotted 3 minutes to shower... it was quite hectik- but very nice to be surrounded by a familiar language, and be able to eat a descent brötchen breakfast. We needed to spend 9 hours in Insbruck so the bus driver could get some sleep, so we first had a very short guide of the city, and then went to the Swarovski Crystal World! The Crystal Welt was quite strange- I didn't really understand what it was supposed to be... you can just look at the pictures and be confused as well. After Swarovski we we given the day to wander the city! It was so nice to be out of the loudness and dirtiness of Rome and into a small town surrounded by mountains. That evening we drove 100 km or so to the small ort of Nesselwang. This small town in Bayern was so welcoming and pretty. The food was great and the hotel was the best in the whole trip.
Day 13: Füssen
The reason why we slept in the middle of nowhere was to be able to visit the Schloss Neuschwanstein- the most famous castle in Germany. (the Disney Land castle is built after it). We had a guided tour of the castle and enjoyed the beautiful landscape. It was great to be in Germany again. After the Castle, we took a lift to the top of a small mountain and got a great view of our surroundings. After that we all rode little luge-type carts through a track, and it made a lot of FUN! That night we all went swimming in a Swim-House next to the hotel. It was very large and we all bonded a lot.
Day 14: Nesselwang - Linderhof - Munich
We drove to a very small private castle in Linderhof, Germany this day. The grounds were gorgeous, and the castle was very different from other castles I have already seen. There was also this very cool man-made Grotto that was used for Operas a feww hundred years ago. The man who made it was crazy. For the rest of the day we enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather and layed out in the sun. We were all family by then and just enjoyed eachother's company. The bus ride to Munich was quite short- we arrived there, ate dinner, then a few of us went to a Spring Fest. We went on rides, and bumper cars, and it was a lot of fun!
Day 15: Munich
On this day we drove throughout the city and recieved a tour. We visited a famous castle and suprised all of the other tourists by breaking out in Macarina. After our tour we went to the most famous Beer Garden in Munich, and enjoyed delicious White Würstchen, and Pretzels. We roamed the city for a few hours, soaked up the sun in grassy parks, and that night went to Hard Rock Café for dinner. It was my first REAL Hamburger in a long time! That night the exchange students had a night on the town and visited some famous Bayerish places. Bayern sure knows how to have fun ;)
Day 16: Munich - Berlin
We spent a good 8 hours driving back up to Berlin on our second to last day. It was a good last busride- everyone was content, everyone realizing that our trip was coming to an end, a little bit sad actually. It was a bit strange being back home in Berlin and staying at a hostel, but a fun experience. The Hostel was verrry nice. I enjoyed being able to be a tourist and buy Souvenirs and things.
Day 17: Berlin
On our last full day of Eurotour we were given a tour of Berlin's most famous places. The guide told about the history and architecture behind the buildings and it was quite interesting to hear about. We also visted the Jewish Museum under the Jewish memorial. The highlight of our day was visiting the German Parliment buidling- the Reichstag. I had never been inside so it was pretty cool to see. Most tourists are only allowed to go to the dome on the top, but we were given a special tour inside the offices of the people of parliment. As luck would have it, I was chosen to be the translator of the tour because the person who was supposed to lead the English guide didn't show up. I really did not want to be the translator because I am have no experience translating... but it went prettty well. But translating is wayyy harder than it looks- It's one thing to understand what people say in german, but it is another thing to translate instantainiously. It's really hard to remember all of the details they say! So it was kind of embarassing some times because he would say something, I would remember the first part, but totally forget the second part of what he said. Even though it was a little embarassing, I'm glad I got to translate- it was good practice. After the tour we all went to have our LAST dinner together in the near from the city central station. We all had a great time laughing and eating and reminiscing on the amazing trip. Towards the end of the night it got really sad. There are many exchange students who are flying home in May and June, and I will never see them again. Tears were shed, and speeches were given... it was so amazing to hear everyone talk about how exchange has changed them. All of us were completely different since the first conference and that in itself made me cry. At that momentthough we were 50 exchange students speaking different languages, from different lands, and with different traditions- we were only one family that night. After dinner rotary told us all to meet in the central station of Berlin. We met there, they told us breakfast was at 8.30 the next morning, and then they left. It was QUITE a night :D
Day 18: Berlin
I missed breakfast the next morning because I didnt hear my alarm going off. I had only 10 minutes to get dressed and pack all of my things that I had accumulated. Once downstairs we all said our goodbyes in the central station over a cup of coffee, and I made my way back home. It was sad saying goodbye to the people I know I won't see anymore- but we do have a last goodbye-party at the end of July with the majority of exchange students. Hopefully some of the exchange students will be able to visit Berlin in the next months. That would be great.
So here i am back in Berlin and tomorrow I go back to School. It will be quite a change going back and learning, but I think I'm ready. I am kind of in awe at how fast April went by- At this rate, I'm going to be back in America before I know it. I have roughly TWO months left. thats Insane! I'm really looking forward to enjoying the summer weather during these last months.
