Krakow/Auschwitz

This past weekend I took a trip to Poland. My friends and I took this trip to see the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was very sad and even morbid at times, but also super interesting, and I'm very glad I had the chance to go. We had a late flight back to Germany on Sunday so we were able to do some sightseeing as well. Planning this trip was really easy, and also relatively cheap compared to other trips I've been on so far. Airfare, the hostel, and a guided tour around Auschwitz only cost $154 per person. The food is also really cheap in Poland, which was a plus (: My friends and I walked into this buffet style restaurant that had authentic Polish food, and it was easily one of the best meals I've had in Europe yet.

My friends and I arrived in Krakow on Friday evening, and since we had to get up early for our tour, we just went to dinner, and then went back to the hostel to get some sleep. The next morning we were up and ready at 9:30am for our tour. The company we booked with was SeeKrakow, and I would definitely recommend them. Our guides picked us up right from our hostel, and they were very informative. We got to Auschwitz in little under an hour, and it wasn't really what I expected. The camp was relatively small. It was then that our guide told us there was more than one camp. We were in Auschwitz I, and would be going to Auschwitz-Birkenau later in the day.

We spent about two hours in the first camp. We walked through one building that was dedicated to explaining the selection process, and then the extermination process of the prisoners. People would arrive by train directly into the camp. The people were asked to leave their luggage on the platform, and were told they would receive it later. They were then placed into lines by gender, and doctors would determine whether or not a person was fit to work. If they weren't fit to work they were sent to the line that would go to gas chambers. Almost all the children were exterminated as well. Our guide told us that the gassing process took around 15-20 minutes, so the prisoners suffered. We had the opportunity to walk into the crematorium, and it was truly awful, because there were scratches on the walls from the prisoners' fingernails.

After, we went into a building that held personal items of the prisoners. There was a long corridor I walked through, and on each side of me there were thousands of shoes piled to the ceiling. Another room had an abundant amount of luggage, some with names on them, because the people had intended to get their suitcases back. Another room had the hair of the prisoners, since their heads would be shaved when they arrived to Auschwitz. That room was probably the hardest to see. It contained about 15,000 pounds of hair, and our guide told us the hair was sold to textile industries in Germany. There was also a room dedicated solely to children shoes and clothing. While we were going through all the rooms, it was really hard for me not to cry. I had talked with people that had visited Auschwitz so I knew what to expect, but it really is different once you are there witnessing everything.

After seeing Auschwitz I, we headed to Auschwitz-Birkenau. This camp was massive. I felt like it kept going on forever, because I couldn't even see the end of the camp. We walked along the train tracks where the prisoners arrived, and also walked into the barracks that were still standing. I couldn't even fathom how people could have slept in them. Our guide said during the winter the people on the top bunks would wake up with frost and snow on themselves.

 I don't really know how to say how I felt about visiting Auschwitz. I can't say it was a "great" experience, because how can seeing such horrible things be classified as great? It was really interesting, and I'm glad I went, but it was also very depressing. My friends and I got back to our hostel, and none of us even talked to one another. I think we were all still processing what we had just seen.

Sunday was a lot better. We did some sightseeing and saw the Wawel Royal Castle. It was a very different dynamic than Saturday, which was nice. Krakow is actually a really pretty city. It had a lot of cute restaurants and bars, which we hadn't expected. There was this really cool main square as well. We also got to see a 5k taking place throughout the city. My friends and I enjoyed our time in Krakow, but as always, we were very happy to travel back to Lüneburg.

Wawel Royal Castle

Main Market Square in Krakow

Market Square

"Arbeit Macht Frei"

Barracks where the prisoners slept

This was outside the Block 11, which was the prison in Auschwitz I. This is where thousands of
executions took place. 

This was the starvation cell within the prison

Barracks

Hayley, me, Susan, Kelsey, and Stefy in front of the Cathedral at Wawel Castle

Weekend in Dublin

So my weekend in Dublin was fantastic! I had so much fun, and I hope to go back there again someday. My friends and I arrived Thursday night, and we stayed at the Spire hostel. If anyone ever visits Dublin I would recommend staying here. It was super close to O'Connell Street, which was one of the main shopping districts. The staff was also super friendly, and breakfast was included, which was nice.

One of the things we did was walk along some foothills outside the city. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. We saw this really old concentration camp on the hill, but unfortunately couldn't go inside because the gates were all locked shut, and there was barbed wire around the perimeter. As we were walking along the hill the building was on, we turned the corner to see a herd of deer. We got really close to them, and it turns out that they really like bananas. It was probably one of the coolest experiences I've had on my trip by far. Even after we ran out of bananas, the deer continued to follow us.

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Old concentration camp

Kelsey and Duarte feeding the deer.

walking along the foothill. 

Another thing my friends and I did was visit the Guinness Museum. This museum was way better than the Heineken Museum we went to in Amsterdam. We got to see what ingredients are used to make the Guinness beer, and how it is produced. The museum was huge with seven floors, and something different on each one. Because it was close to St. Patrick's day, one floor had a stage with a bland playing traditional Irish music. There were also dancers showing people how to do the traditional Irish dances, which was really cool to watch. Another floor had old props that were used for advertising the beer, which I thought was really interesting. The museum also had a room where they played old Guinness commercials. The top floor, called the Gravity room, was a huge room made entirely of glass so we could see the entire city of Dublin. There were so many things to see inside the museum that we spent almost three hours there.

The touristy areas of Dublin were obviously a little more expensive, so we found a restaurant in a little shopping center on the outskirts of the city called the Pepper Pot that had really good food. I had a tuna sandwich with avocado and sea salt, which my waitress told me came straight from the east side of Ireland. My friends had bagels with smoked salmon on it, which also looked really good. They also had fresh blackberry apple and sage lemonade, which was easily the best kind of lemonade I've ever had.

Our food from the Pepper Pot

I had a lot of fun in Dublin, and I'm sure I'll go back again. I'm very excited for this weekend though, because my friends and I are heading to Krakow, Poland. We are going to see the Auschwitz concentration camp, which should be super interesting. I know it will be sad, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Most of the buildings were lit up green at night

Kelsey, Stefy, Hayley, and I

Reflection

Well the weather is finally getting a little nicer here! Hopefully I'll be able to pack away my winter jacket for good in a couple weeks. However, I haven't really been able to enjoy the nice weather, because I've been sick. My german friend, Julian, was kind enough to go to the Apotheke for me, and grab some medicine, and now I'm feeling a lot better.

Classes have been getting increasingly difficult. I find myself studying a lot more than I did the first month and a half.  I just finished the second course of my four course program, and I received an A, so I'm really happy about that. If I keep it up, hopefully I can get a 4.0 for this semester. I already have a unit exam tomorrow morning, so I've been studying for that most of the afternoon.

After my exam though, I have a four day weekend. (: I'll be going to Dublin, Ireland with some friends. I'm really excited, because it's the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, and a lot of people in Ireland have Thursday-Tuesday off of work, and there are festivals everywhere. I also want to visit the Dublin Zoo, and hopefully venture outside of the city to see all the pretty scenery. I'm not totally positive about what to expect, but I think it will be a fun weekend.

It still hasn't hit me that I'm living in a foreign country. I feel completely comfortable with daily life here 98% of the time. There are things that are different from the US, but nothing I can't handle. My German is getting well enough to the point where I can hear conversations, and understand what the people are talking about. My instructor also only speaks German during class, and the first couple of weeks I had a hard time understanding what he was saying, but now I understand everything he says. My speaking is still a bit rough sometimes, but I try to speak as much as I can. It is going to be very strange going back to the US where everyone speaks English, and not hearing German anymore.

Although I am used to a lot of things about Germany, there are still some things that are taking time. I really miss the food from back home. I haven't had Mac and Cheese in months, or Taco Bell. I've eaten a lot healthier since being here, so I suppose it's a good thing, but sometimes I just crave a quesadilla. Sometimes I wonder if German people even like Mexican style food, because I have yet to find a decent Mexican restaurant that serves spicy food. I'm not giving up hope yet though, I'm sure I'll find one eventually.

Another thing I'll never get used to is the check out lines at grocery stores. It stresses me out big time. The cashiers are so quick scanning all your items, and since they don't bag the groceries for you (you have to bring your own bags) you have to do it yourself, and I never can get my groceries in my backpack fast enough. Sometimes people in line behind you look visibly irritated while they are waiting for you to put everything in your bag. It's also a bit frustrating sometimes walking into a grocery store, and not being able to understand all the labels, although when I ask workers, they are pretty helpful most of the time. These are obviously just tiny things that take time to get used to, but it's manageable.

I haven't gotten super homesick since being here either until this week. My family cat died, which I was sad about, because I've had her since I was four. However, thankfully it wasn't a family member or something. If my cat dying is the worst thing that happens while I'm away, I think I'm okay with that. I also miss my parents a lot, but I talked to them for awhile on the phone, and it was nice hearing from them. With the time difference, our schedules don't always correlate, so we mainly stick to texting through WhatsApp.

I'm still loving Germany more and more all the time, and I'm thankful that I have this opportunity. Hopefully I'll be able to come back in the near future. I'm hear until May, but I feel like time is going by so fast, and I wish it would slow down.

Only Two Months Left!

I've reached the the halfway mark of my study abroad trip. I have two months left. I continue to love Germany more every single day, and I haven't gotten super homesick yet, or in a "slump" like some people said I would. I could definitely see myself living in Germany someday. I think my speaking has gotten a lot better as well. Sometimes I think in German, or accidentally say German words even when I'm speaking English to someone.

Although I am loving my time here, I did have my first difficult experience today trying to send a package to my family. I was at the post office, and I asked one of the workers where the boxes were without a problem, but once I had the box to send my package, I had no idea how to put it together, and the directions were in German. I can't even put a box together when the directions are in English so it took me about fifteen minutes to put the box together, and there were about thirty people in the line next to me just watching. I was embarrassed, and a little too afraid to ask for help. After I finally got my package put together, I got in line to send it. I waited about ten minutes, just for a man to tell me irritably that I was in the wrong line. After figuring out which line to get into, I finally sent my package, but the man that helped me also rolled his eyes, because apparently my package was overweight. I don't know why that was a huge issue, but I didn't want to ask. After I finally got the package taken care of I needed a stamp for a postcard. I forgot what the word for stamp was (it's die Briefmarke) so after struggling to ask, I finally asked if he knew english, and all he said was "Nein" and waved me away. I left without any stamp, and was feeling a bit defeated. I honestly wanted to cry, but I refrained. I guess it was just a learning experience, and hopefully the next time I send a package, it won't be as bad. 

Other than that little moment, everyone has been more than friendly here. As long as my friends and I attempt to speak German they try to help us out as best they can. If some people start right out with English, a lot of people aren't so friendly and eager to help, which is understandable. I have made a good group of friends here, Kelsey, Stefy, Hayley, Susan, and me. We travel together on the weekends and they are all super nice. We went to München together last weekend, and we will be going to Dublin, Ireland next weekend, which should be a lot of fun.

Other than traveling on the weekends, I'm a bit of a hermit during the week. My classes have gotten a little more difficult, and I have a final exam Friday so I'm trying to prepare for that as well. Every week I have an essay due and a quiz along with an exam every Thursday or Friday. It is a bit intense, but the language courses are my only classes so it isn't too awful.

I'll be posting a couple of photos below of my trip to München this past weekend.
Tschüss (:

Behind us is the München Rathaus-Glockenspiel. Every hour it plays music, and it's really cool to see. 

While in München we also visited the Residenz Museum, which used to be a huge palace. It was massive, and had over 150 rooms to see. This is a picture of one of the rooms, and it was unimaginable how huge it was. 

Trying not to be stand out as tourists, but failing miserably

Susan, Kelsey, Stefy, Me, and Hayley, taking a break, and also trying to figure out where we were at

All of us went to the top of St. Petersburg, and we could see the entire city. This is a picture
of the Rathaus from the church.

Weekend in Amsterdam

This past weekend some friends and I traveled to Amsterdam, and it was a lot of fun. We stayed in the Stayokay Hostel Zeeburg, and it was really nice, with breakfast included. If anyone plans on staying in Amsterdam, I would stay there. The only downside about the hostel was that it wasn't centrally located. The first night we were in Amsterdam my friends and I walked to the city center, and it took about an hour to walk there, and an hour back. The next morning, we decided we were never going to take that walk again, and asked the front desk for tram tickets. A 48 ticket only cost us 12 euro each, and we could take any tram, bus, or night bus, so I thought that was a pretty good deal.

The first thing we wanted to do in Amsterdam was see the Anne Frank House. This is where Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazi Persecution for nearly two years until they were caught. Anne's father made the house into a museum in 1960. I was unable to take photos while in the museum, which is completely understandable. As I was walking through the Secret Annex, it was hard to imagine how eight people could have lived in such a tiny space for so long. There were workers below the Annex during the weekday, so the family also always had to be extremely quiet. I think anyone visiting Amsterdam should visit the Anne Frank House. I would suggest going right at opening time, or purchasing tickets online. My friends and I waited in line for two hours, which wouldn't have been that bad, but the weather wasn't particularly good.

Another thing we did was visit the Heineken Museum. It was actually really cool, because we got to learn about the history of the beer, and saw how it was produced. There was also a very tiny amusement park ride, which was a little cheesy, but creative. The museum also has a very big gift store, so I was able to buy a lot of souvenirs for friends and family.

The Heineken Museum

After we went to the Heineken Museum, we walked to the I Amsterdam sign. There were a ton of people there so I didn't get very good photos, but my friend Kelsey managed to get a really cool one with Susan in it. 

Susan and the I Amsterdam sign

After we went to all the typical touristy areas for more souvenirs, we all just walked around a lot. We found our way to the Red Light District, and there were weird museums and gift shops to see there as well. Amsterdam is also really pretty with all the canals. I really enjoyed this trip, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to go, and I will definitely be going back in the future. However, the main language in the Netherlands is Dutch, and I couldn't understand a single word. It was comforting to be back in Germany, and understand at least half of what people are saying.

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Berlin/Köln

Guten Tag meine Freunde (:

A lot has gone on since my last post. This past week I was preparing for my final exam of my first course, and it turned out very well. I received an A as my final grade, so hopefully I can keep it up with the other three courses as well. (:

However, before I took my final exam, Susan and I went to Berlin for the weekend. It was ridiculously cheap. We went by bus for only 16 euro, and our hostel was only 25 euro for each of us. We stayed at the City Stay Hostel in Berlin, and I would definitely recommend it. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and I felt extremely safe. It was also a great location, because the Brandenburger Tor was less than a 15 minute walk to get to.

I really enjoyed walking around Berlin. It is a super pretty city, and has so much history. The Brandenburger Tor was super interesting, and I'm glad I got to see it. It is massive, and pictures don't do it justice. After seeing the Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag Building, which is the huge building for parliament, Susan and I ventured to try and find the East side Gallery. We're not really good with directions, so we just walked in one direction hoping we would come upon it. We didn't end up finding the Berlin Wall, but we did happen to walk by the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, which is a memorial that covers a vast area, and there are concrete slabs arranged in a grid like pattern, and the the ground slopes downward. As you walk into the memorial, the concrete slabs get taller. I thought it was really cool.

After walking through the memorial, we again tried to find the Berlin Wall. We ended up giving up and taking a taxi. I'm glad we did, because it was was a bit further away than we anticipated. Seeing the East side Gallery is an absolute must while visiting Berlin, so I was super happy to be able to walk along the part of the wall that still remained. The art work was absolutely fascinating. I'll post a couple pictures below. The only thing that wasn't too spectacular was the walk back. We walked from the East side Gallery back to our hostel, and it was about 30-40 minutes. By the time we got to our room Susan and I were exhausted. It was a great trip though, and I cannot wait till I have the opportunity to go back.

This past weekend, a few of my friends and I decided to take a day trip to Köln for Karneval. Karneval is pretty much like a week long street festival, and takes place between Fat Thursday and ends on Ash Wednesday. There is normally a huge parade on Rose Monday, but unfortunately I won't be able to go to it, because of classes. It was still a lot of fun, and I met a lot of nice people. My friends and I didn't really know where to go, and some people helped us figure out how to get to the main streets where the festival was taking place. There were so many people sometimes it was hard to walk. Everyone is also dressed up in costumes, so it made the entire day even more fun. I was a hippie, and my friends dressed in animal onesies. When I return to Germany, going to Köln for Karneval will definitely be on my to-do list.

Karneval

Karneval

Susan and me in front of the Brandenburger Tor

Reichstag Building

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

A Saturday in Hamburg

Hello Everyone! I ventured to Hamburg this past weekend, and finally got my laptop fixed at the Apple Store. No more texting posts, and I can finally upload some pictures. (:

While in Hamburg, Susan and I witnessed something super interesting. We were walking around the Rathaus, and noticed a huge mass of people, and the Polizei lined up along the streets. Turns out we walked right in the middle of a demonstration without realizing it. Since my German isn't spectacular yet, I wasn't sure what the demonstration was for exactly. People were holding signs that said "Fight Racism" and "Refugees Welcome" so I figured it had to do with the African refugees coming to Germany for a better and more secure life. I eventually got handed a flyer (written in English) and found my assumptions were correct. The demonstration was supporting the Lampedusa Group in Hamburg coming from Africa in search of better living conditions. It was super interesting to watch the demonstration take place. There were easily 5,000 people in the vicinity marching. Below are a couple photos that I took of the demonstration.

Susan and I also moved into our new apartment. We are very grateful, because we finally have a kitchen and our own rooms. We are also extremely close to the city center, and campus. We share an apartment with two other german students, Mereika and Cedric. They are super nice, and I'm glad we got placed to live with them. They have really helped us out since moving in, and they try to speak German with us all the time. It is still kind of hard forming complex sentences, but I'm sure it will get easier. Below is a picture of last week when Susan and I visited the Wasserturm. We will also be heading to Berlin this weekend, so I will be sure to write and post a lot of pictures after. Tschüss (: