Reutlingen

Category: Reutlingen (page 9 of 20)

Gearing Up for Berlin and Travel Season

Waiting for the bus.

This last week was a little on the quiet side. Went to class, ate more chocolate croissants, attempted to say more than “Ein. Brelzen.” to the very nice bakery ladies, and polished off my third jar of Nutella. (It actually is better in Europe. The chocolate to hazelnut ratio is perfection, and the smoothness is reminiscent of Wynton Marsalis’ patter at the BBC proms. I feel for you who have never experienced the wonderfulness of European Nutella.) But a nice, calm week is probably the best kind of week to have right now, as Friday begins our whirlwind of class traveling on a train headed for Berlin.

Yes, I color-code my travel maps. Although not entirely consistently.

In honor of our season of traveling, Brittany and I began our travel map, pinned with places we’re going and hope to go. The list is long, but between the map and the realization that Italy is a lot closer that we thought, our plans are coming along quite nicely. In addition to Berlin, we’re headed to Hamburg and Köln (Cologne) in the next couple of weeks. Don’t worry, I will post pictures of it all. I will also figure out how the post works again so I can send all the people I said I would send stuff a postcard. I promise.

We found this walking to the train in Reutlingen. I think it’s a coffee table. I also think it’s for sale.

Oh, I forgot something for my summary of the week’s events… Tübingen! This university town is 10 minutes west of Reutlingen, is home to one of Germany’s oldest museums, and sits on the Neckar River. It’s a very pretty and very vertical town. We briefly toured the downtown and the castle with our Art History professor, who’s lived in Tübingen for at least thirty years. We also got to go on a boat ride on the Neckar. It’s not that big, as rivers go- compared to the Mississippi, Illinois, or Mackanac, it’s a mild-mannered stream- but that made it an even better choice for punting, in which the boat is moved by digging a long stick into the bed of the river and pushing the boat forward. Our punter (the guy that makes the boat move) was also a member of one of the university teams for the annual punting race up and down the Neckar. According to our professor, the winners throw a huge party, and the losers have to drink castor oil. Our boatman’s team got 5th out of 30-ish last year.

The beautiful Neckar, and the punter.

While we were there, we enjoyed a dinner at the Neckarmüller, a microbrewery right on the river. We ate with everybody associated with the Valpo program in Germany, even including the retired language professor from the start of the Valpo program here, almost 50 years ago.

Kaitlyn and Katie, two non-Reutlingen Valpo students in Germany, enjoying the sunshine on the Neckar

That was Sunday, and it was delightful. But what will Berlin bring? You have to check back next week to see…

The Narrowest Street in the World and a Prussian Prince

September 7, 2014 / Katie Rinda / 0 Comments

Week Two in Reutlingen

Berg Hohenzollern, sitting above the Swabian Alps

After the exciting jet lag recovery, soccer game watching, and chocolate croissant eating events of the first week, I spent most of week two familiarizing myself with my new hometown. We found the real grocery store, which was exciting. More exciting was our tour of the Stadtmitte with a native Reutlingener, including a visit to the narrowest street in the world: Spreuerhofstraße!

Me at the end of the narrowest street in the world

To further aquaint ourselves with Reutlingen, we also went to the Heimat Museum, which is devoted to the city and some of the surrounding area. It has artifacts from the Middle Ages through WWII, including everything from original stonework from the Marienkirche (local cathedral) to a complete room from a traditional guild hall. The sword used for executing thieves was intimidating, but the little textile shop room from the early 20th century was really charming.

The most important thing I have learned from the tour and the museum: Reutlingen was an imperial city. This meant, back in the days of the Holy Roman Empire, that Reutlingen had market privileges, trade privileges, and self-governance. You can see evidence of this everywhere in the town. The manhole covers in the Stadmitte feature the imperial eagle, as does the facade of every major building built before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire by Napolean (that cad). The Marienkirche even has the imperial eagle in some of its tile work. To this day, the mayor of Reutlingen still has to swear every year in a formal ceremony to serve the citizens of the city, which is cool. (I would also like to take this moment to point out the history I’m learning- Look mom, education!)

The most scenic event of the week however was our visit to Burg Hohenzollern, an honest-to-goodness castle that is still owned by actual royals. The journey there was nice, but the footpath up to the castle was steep. And long.

Brittany and Kaitlyn taking a brief respite from climbing the near vertical stairs.

Once you’ve made it up the stairs, you’re rewarded with a castle, and some really gorgeous views.

The view from the top.

This castle was part of the ancestral lands owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II, also known as the guy who was technically in charge of Germany during the first world war. The castle itself is fairly new, only dating back to the 1800’s. (Insert comment about the lack of years of American history here!) They have some excellent artifacts from the family on display, who became the rulers of much of the lands we now call Germany in the Middle Ages and hung on through WWI.

No members of the Hohenzollern family have really lived there since the early 1900’s. But, they do occasionally visit. We just happened to be there at the same time as Georg Friedrich, who is the current Prince of Prussia. I was unaware that any German noble titles still existed to be granted, especially the ones belonging to the now-defunct monarchy, but my ignorance has now been remedied.

The Prince very kindly offered to take a picture with us- that is, the group of around 70 international students from Reutlingen University. I do not have access to this picture, but somewhere there exists actual photographic evidence that I was within ten feet of royalty. Maybe Georg Friedrich has an Istagram? I shall investigate, and leave you with another beautiful view of the Schwabian Alps.

From one of the guardposts on the outerwall.

September 4, 2014 / katherineackerman / 0 Comments

Because I was not able to move into my Stuendentwohnheim until September, I was able to spend a weekend at the Valpo center in Reutlingen. It was lovely to get to see another city and just do some exploring during the first few days.

The first day I was pretty jetlagged, but I did manage to say up until 10:00, which helped immensely in getting used to the time change. The director of the Valpo center also invited me to join the group for lunch and dinner which was very lovely. I was surprised to be able to stay up until a normal hour (ten), which greatly diminished the effects of jetlag the next couple of days.

The second day was the Stadtrundgang (tour) of Reutlingen. Reutlingen is home to almost all major german manufacturing companies that have headquarters in nearby Stuttgart, notably a large Bosch plant. It has 100,000 residents spread out between the Stadtmitte (city center) and the surrounding areas that actually used to be indepedent Dörfer (villages). This makes it a Großstadt (large city), which is the largest municipal division that German has. It actually makes sense, but it seems to be a little small to me considering that that is the population of Naperville, IL, but in Germany the proportions for large cities are a bit smaller than back home. The tour ended in lunch at a traditional German Kneipe (a mix between a restaurant and a pub) where we had traditonal Spätzle, a dumpling made with flour and water that is usually served with cheese and browned onions. A few of the other students and I also went to the wine festival that was going on downtown, which was very charming and provided me with my first piece of kitchenware. German festivals like to sell cheap souvenir glasses, something that will help in eventually filling out my dishware collection.

On Saturday, I went with the Valpo Intern Kaitlyn to the Markt, a giant farmer’s market in the townsquare of Reutlingen. It was great to see a lot of the vegetables that I hadn’t eaten in a while like Wirsing (Savoy cabbage), Kohlrabi (another type of cabbage), and Pfifferlinge, a type of woodland mushroom that is a sign of the impending autumn. I didn’t end up buying anything because I didn’t want it to go bad before I get to my WG (how I shall henceforth refer to my dwelling it stands for Wohngemeinschaft, or living community). In the afternoon, I joined the Valpo group to go to a game of the local football team SSV Reutlingen. I know that I am not British, but I personally prefer the term football to soccer not only because of its more accurate descriptive qualities, but also because it is the term that is used by the rest of the world to describe a sport that is of much higher importance to many other countries that it is in the U.S. The game ended in a tie with the other team scoring a goal in the final minute. It was a lovely day for a game and to sit outside. Later, I had the first of what I predict will be many bakery sandwiches. Germany has a great tradition of bread which (to me) can only be topped by its great tradition of putting things on bread. I had a tomato and cheese sandwich, but because of the high quality ingredients on it, it was honestly the best meal I’ve eaten so far in Germany.

And finally came my favorite day of the week in Germany: Sunday. Sunday in Germany is great because they are truly a day for resting. Most shops are closed and because of this, there is an attitude of relaxation on Sundays that just is not possible on any other day of the week. I know people who do not like this aspect of German culture, but I really enjoy having a single day of the week in which I cannot be running around all of the time. I think that it is good to have a day to rest and recharge before continuing on with the rest of the week. For dinner, I had a veggie Döner. Döner are the quintessential German fast food. They are essentially like a gyro (although, debatably much better) and the veggie Döner are basically a large flatbread stuffed with vegetables, a large slice of sheep’s cheese, cucumber sauce, and hot chili flakes. You can also order a Turkisch tea alongside them and it makes a great meal.

As for now, I am headed off to Tübingen to move into my WG and register for the intensive German class that I will be taking for the next month. I can not wait to see what Tübingen has in store.

Bis Bald!

Every Day I Shall Have a Chocolate Croissant

August 31, 2014 / Katie Rinda / 0 Comments

Katie Ackerman (Right) and I at the Reutlingen SSV match on Saturday

Week One in Reutlingen

Five Valpo students arrived at the Stuttgart airport Thursday noon, hauling our lives around in suitcases, energy sapped, but enthusiasm mostly intact. Four of us: Brittany, Alan, P.J., and I, were bound for Reutlingen and the Valpo Study Center there. The fifth, Katie Ackerman was tagging along until she could move into her apartment in Tübingen. Of the five, I think I’m the only one to have never visited Europe before. I apparently was not as nervous about this as I could have been.

The Reutlingen students and I are all living in Wurmhaus, a mostly international student dormitory with a longer name which I currently cannot recall. Theophil-Wurmhaus perhaps? It’s on the edge of campus, and a short walk from the city soccer stadium, where we went to watch the Reutlingen SSV get Portugaled yesterday. (For those who don’t recall, this is where a scoreless game is finally broken by your team, only to be crushed by the other team a few moments before the game ends. See also: USA v. Portual, 2014 FIFA World Cup.)

Wurmhaus, Home Sweet Home

It’s a longer walk to downtown- about 25 minutes- but the bus runs pretty frequently. Like many cities that are hundreds and hundreds of years old, Reutlingen’s center is filled with historic and beautiful buildings. The Tübinger Tur and Garden Tur are gates from the original castle walls that are still standing imposingly around the city center, or Stadtmitte.

We’ve been exploring our new home the past few days, learning mostly the practical things like where the grocery and train and buses are, but also getting into the beat of the rhythm of life here. We wandered through the Reutlingen Wine Festival Friday. The vendors’ tents were circled all around the Marienkirche, Reutlingen’s cathedral, completed in the 15th century. By nighttime the tables and the paths were full. We stood and chatted over glasses of local Riesling, along with about everybody else in the city. Today we walked through the massive park next to the soccer stadium. The morning rain had pushed slugs and snails onto the asphalt path, which grossed me out. (Brittany found them quite adorable, and asked that I tell you so.)

But perhaps the most important place we have been introduced to is the bakery down the hill from Wurmhaus. It’s open every day. It serves delicious coffee and baked goods. It’s less than a minute walk from our dorm. The best part, however, would have to be the Nutella filled croissants they make EVERY DAY. This is possibly the greatest thing mankind has ever invented. I now have breakfast plans for the entire semester. Done.

Introduction: Katie Rinda in Reutlingen, Germany!

August 18, 2014 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

I have basically three months until I climb on board a plane for Stuttgart. I don’t know how you feel about change, but I’m pretty much freaking out about it. (The added stress from the end of the semester isn’t really helping.) Living in a foreign country is pretty scary as is, but it’s even scarier when you’re supposed to be working there as well.

Every time I’ve started working at a new place, I’ve had to learn a whole new vocabulary. Every industry and company has their own jargon, and the differences amplify when you add technical vocabulary to the list. It generally takes me a month to fully understand the lingo. And, in general, going to Germany will mean I have to learn a whole new set of words and procedures for just regular life. Hopefully, those years of studying German will pay off.

What I’m worried about is transitioning to my internship. Will I have developed enough German skills to sort through conversations to find what’s technical and what’s not? There’s always a jump between engineering at school, and engineering in the workplace. Sometimes, they seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. When I get comfortable with jargon, I can generally connect it back to what I’ve previously learned. Will the language barrier keep me from making those connections?

I really can’t answer that until I’ve spend time abroad. However, in anticipation of this problem, I’ve developed a few strategies to combat my ignorance of technical German:

Focus on language for industries I’m already knowledgeable about. I’ve already had one engineering internship, and will finish a different one this summer before I go abroad. Since those experiences will shape my resume, I’m starting to develop a list of words for industry specific terms. (Eg. I worked with aluminium rolling mills last summer: Aluminium Vorgerüste in German.) Thanks to my time at Alcoa, I know German companies who make mill products, and can learn vocab, just by reading the German version of their sites. General dictionary searches rarely can translate the jargon as well as the industry themselves.
Find Technical Articles. Similarly to industry jargon, technical articles will be full of official vocabulary from the field itself. Reading these articles not only teaches me more German, but also adds to my knowledge of engineering.
Speaking with native speakers in a casual environment. I’ve attended the weekly Kaffestunde at the German house frequently since I came to Valpo, and it has definitely improved my comprehension of German. Listening to native speakers rapid fire discuss politics or baking or their travels using words I didn’t learn in class, and actually beginning to understand them is really cool. It also tells me that if I can start to understand half the words, I should be able to understand the gist of the conversation.

That’s what I’ve put together so far. I’ll check back in on this after I’ve been over for a bit and report on the success/fail rate, or if I find anymore brilliant prep tips.

So nervous. So excited!

Saying (a Temporary) Goodbye

May 13, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

Today I have to find a way to summarize what the last four months have meant to me, and honestly, I have no idea where to start. I feel like everything I could possibly say has been said a million times before, and yet I feel compelled to say it again because I really wish that more people would take that leap of faith and go study abroad. No words can completely describe how amazing an experience it is or how profoundly it changes you. It really would be a shame to miss out on this opportunity, so here is my final attempt to convince the masses.

First there are the tangible things–all the travel, events, and adventures you get to have. In addition to the two 10-day class trips that are jam-packed with activities, we had over 25 other events, including many free meals, concerts, and excursions. During the semester, they keep you busy. And of course that doesn’t even count the long weekends and spring break, when you can just go anywhere and everywhere.

Like Prague:

and Paris:

What’s arguably even more important are the intangible things you gain from this experience. You can meet people from all over the world. You’ll get completely comfortable hearing multiple languages, often spoken in the same room. You’ll learn that there is more than one good way to do pretty much anything. You’ll become a better problem-solver. You’ll get over all of your dumb little fears. You’ll learn how to do laundry, shop for groceries, and cook. (But hopefully you already do those things.)

But what has by far meant the most to me is getting to wake up every single day and be really excited about life. I’ve become much more independent and confident. After you successfully navigate Europe pretty much on your own, you’ll feel like you can do anything. Because you can. If you think about it, there aren’t a whole lot of things that are harder than packing up your life and moving to another country, so once you’ve done that, suddenly, the things that used to scare you just don’t anymore. And more importantly, you come to the realization that it’s the scary things in life that end up being most worthwhile.

Tomorrow, I have to say goodbye to Reutlingen, but I’m in a different position than most of my classmates. This goodbye will be easier for me because it is only a temporary one. Because I get to come back in three months, I’m mostly just excited to go home right now. But come August, it’ll be time to put everything I learned to good use again. I guess more than anything else, today I feel grateful, for the transformative experience this semester has been, for the relaxing summer ahead, and for the opportunity to spend another year right here where I belong.

The Best Things I Ate: The European Tour

May 9, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

It’s time for the last installment of “The best things I ate.” Check out parts 1 and 2 if you haven’t yet. This time, instead of dishes from Germany, I’ve collected all of my favorite meals from various countries I visited over spring break. Since this post required extensive research, it will be rather long, but I have to share these things because they are such an important part of why I love travel, and they are what inspire me to create new recipes of my own. Whether I’m at home or halfway around the world, I try to branch out and try new things, as well as authentic classics, and here, you’ll see a good mix of both, organized by city.

Prague:

This was the first dinner I had in the first city of break, and it was a great way to kick it all off! It was roast pork with horseradish mashed potatoes and a gorgeous gravy. It was classic Czech food with a little added elegance. Another reason to love Prague is that even fancy restaurants are ridiculously cheap because of the exchange rate!

This little treat is something I grew up eating at home. Kolacky are little Bohemian cookies filled with jelly or cream cheese that come in all shapes and sizes. I saw these at a bakery stand at a local festival and just had to have a real one!

Budapest:

For even cheaper fancy food, this is the place for you! This was my birthday dinner, chicken with beetroot risotto. I’m not really a fan of beets, but I am a huge fan of risotto, so I decided to take a risk and order it. And not only does it look beautiful, it tasted perfect too!

Vienna:

A long time ago, I did an entire post about my favorite foods in Vienna, but one thing I regretted missing out on the first time was some real Wiener Schnitzel. So this time, I found a restaurant that was really popular with the locals and finally had some. Some of my friends got the giant version that was bigger than the plate, but I opted for this one to get the sides. That way, it didn’t look entirely like a heart attack on a plate. At least there was some lettuce.

Venice:

Unlike Prague and Budapest, food in Venice can get pretty expensive. But one thing that’s always a deal is pizza. Honestly, my favorite pizza in the world is still Chicago style deep-dish, but for authenticity’s sake, this one was pretty good too. But it was a struggle to eat with a knife and fork.

Rome:

It was here that I first learned how to eat like an Italian. Apparently, the giant bowl of pasta is only the first course, and you’re supposed to have room for a meat course after that. I usually just picked one or the other, but this pesto was my favorite pasta course, mostly because I believe you can never have too much basil.

Cinque Terre:

As a general rule, whenever I’m lucky enough to go to a restaurant where I can see the ocean from my table, I order fish. And that’s almost the only time I order fish. This was the first time that I ever got one with the head still attached, but after respectfully laying a piece of lettuce over the face, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.
So far, I haven’t mentioned any restaurants by name, but I feel compelled to for this next one. Based on rave reviews from Rick Steves and Tripadvisor, I had to try Il Pirata in the tiny town of Vernazza. I’m sure all their food is great, but I specifically wanted to go for breakfast.

First, there’s this little cup of wonderful. The owner gave us a little free sample, describing the mix of fresh strawberry slush and whipped cream as “the Italian yoghurt.” That little taste was not enough. And just the fact that this is considered just like yoghurt here is just another reason why I love this country.

Finally, yes, I did order a cannoli for breakfast. I had to do it, and it was the best one I’ve ever had. And now I know better than to order a pre-filled one. These are filled only after you order them so that they stay delightfully fresh and crunchy.

So that’s how I ate my way across Europe. Next week, I’ll write my last post as I prepare to go home for the summer. I’m sure it’ll be bittersweet and super cliché, but hopefully it’s a good final chapter.

Spring Break Part 2: La Dolce Vita

May 6, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

After the first week of break, the first three cities, I already felt like I had seen a lot, done, a lot, and walked a lot. But the Odyssey continued. After one of the longest train rides I have ever been on, we arrived in Venice to start our full week of exploring Italy. Now, Italy was one of the specific places we were “strongly advised”not to go, mainly because of pickpocketing and other issues that past groups have dealt with there. But I’ve always wanted to go to Italy. I know at least a dozen people who have spent extended time there and have never had a problem. And the truth is, there are a lot of more dangerous places to go in the world, places that I actually do want to see someday. So I respectfully ignored the warnings, and guess what! I had a great time with no problems at all, and never once felt unsafe. So my advice is to go to Italy. Be a nerdy tourist and strap your valuables to your body, research good places to stay, don’t talk to strangers, and just go! During the week, we went to Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, and Florence. Once again, I’ll try my best to sum up all the fun.

Venice:
I loved Venice. In fact, it’s one of my favorite cities. However, this place gets a lot of mixed reviews. People either love it or hate it. I love it because it is exactly as beautiful as I pictured it. It’s just a beautiful city that looks like it hasn’t changed much in centuries. The main thing to do there is just to walk around and get lost in the narrow streets. And you will get lost. There’s really not much point in looking at maps, and it will take you about four times longer to find things than you would expect. Some people don’t have the patience for this, but I found it fun. Instead of rushing around to a million tourist attractions, you can just wander, take your time, and enjoy the views. The public transport system here is the water bus, which is especially fun to ride at night, to see the city light up. One thing I regret missing out on was a gondola ride. People seem to think they are a tourist trap, but in reality, they actually aren’t that expensive. If you get a full group of 6 people, the cost would divide to 13 euros per person. If I had realized this sooner, I would have done it, so I’ll have to come back someday.

Rome:

I wanted to love it, I really did. I liked it, but in the end, I think it fell a little short of my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of things in Rome that everyone should see in their lifetime, but now that I have seen them, I feel like I can just check this place off the list. Experienced travelers recommend that if Rome is “too much for you” you shouldn’t go further south, implying that it is one of the more intense tourist destinations. While I do think that it was a little much for me, this wasn’t because it was somehow too intensely Italian. It was because of the hoards of crazed tourists. There were just too many people in town. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the fact that we were there right after Easter, but still, I’ve never had a stronger urge to shove people in my life. It’s a shame because the museums, the ruins, and the Vatican are beautiful. I probably would have loved it if it were February. Go to Rome, but book museum tickets in advance, and remember to bring extra patience.

Cinque Terre:
This area is a slice of heaven. Formerly known as “Italy’s Hidden Riviera,” it has now been discovered and become a top destination (Thanks, Rick Steves.) It’s five tiny, quaint towns along Italy’s western coast, linked together by hiking trails and trains. Unfortunately, the trials were closed when we were there, and the train system could use a lot of help. But if someday, they can fix it, so that it doesn’t take 2 hours to go 5 minutes up the road, this place would be absolutely perfect. I may seriously consider learning Italian, moving here, and opening up a bed and breakfast. It would be a good life.

Florence:
I really enjoyed Florence, the birthplace of the renaissance. Some people I know may take offense to this, but I thought of it as a more manageable, mini version of Rome. There are plenty of museums and attractions to see, but it maintains a somewhat relaxed atmosphere. And it’s walkable, which is always a plus. Aside from admiring all the renaissance art, my favorite part of the day here was walking up to Piazza Michelangelo, where I took this photo:

So that’s Italy. I loved it, and am so glad I decided to go after all. I’m proud of myself for getting through over two weeks of intense travel. Each of these places challenged me. I clearly wasn’t in Germany anymore, but I learned a lot. I learned how to read a map and not get lost, how to get lost and be okay with it, how to get by in places where I didn’t speak the languages, and how to get up every day and look for adventure. But as much as I loved all the places we went over break, the most important thing I learned is that Germany is my home, and I can’t ever take it for granted. I now have a greater appreciation for the fact that I know how things work here, that I can speak German, and that this is also a very unique and beautiful country. It’s good to be home!

Spring Break Part 1: Exploring Eastern Europe

May 4, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

It’s been a while since my last travel post. Where have I been all April? Well, it feels to me, like almost everywhere. I just returned from two and a half weeks traveling around Europe. It was an Odyssey. It was like the Amazing Race, only without the actual race and the million dollars at the end. I feel like I just walked across half of this continent. But it was unforgettable, a true once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’ll cherish forever. Since there’s no way to cover the entire trip in one post, I’m going to split it into three. First, there were the eastern cities of Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. Then, there was Italy. Finally, I’m going to have one more installment of “The Best Things I Ate,” a spring break edition.

Prague:
We kicked off our break in Prague, a place I’ve wanted to visit for years. It was one of the cities on our itinerary that I was most excited for, and in the end, it still was one of my favorites. Everyone says it’s ridiculously beautiful, and everyone is right. It’s more similar to Germany than even I had expected, and that made me feel at home, despite the language barrier and confusing currency. My favorite things we did there were the very thorough free walking tour, seeing the castle (and the whole city) light up at night, and most of all, learning about my Bohemian heritage. All weekend, I just kept eating everything I could find that my grandma and mom make at home.

Budapest:

The language barrier I had experienced in Prague was even worse in Hungary. Still, it helps that in these smaller countries, no one expects you to speak the language, and it’s not too difficult to get by. This was definitely the city that felt most foreign to me. It’s the farthest east, it’s not super touristy, but the good side of that is that it’s even cheaper than prague. Despite the challenges, I found the history of this city really fascinating, and found a bunch of fun things to do. Here, we went to the third best bar in the world, and we spent our entire second day in one of the famous bath houses, which I highly recommend.

Vienna:

This was my second time in Vienna, so I had mixed feeling about coming back. It is one of my favorite cities in the world because of its imperial elegance and long list of cultural attractions. I did really enjoy coming back because I got to do all different things than the first time. Last time, I really wanted to have Wiener Schnitzel in Wien, but I ran out of time, so I always told myself I’d come back someday just for that. Besides the Schnitzel, my favorite things were the grand tour of the Hapsburg’s Schönbrunn Palace and the view at night from the oldest Ferris wheel.

These three cities made up the first week of my break. Each has its own distinct character, and I love them all almost equally for different reasons. For the second week of break, we went south to explore some of Italy’s greatest cities, but that’s another story for another post.

Field Trips and Travel Tips

April 1, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted an update on my life here. That’s mostly because I haven’t had the opportunity to travel for the past two weekends, but in that time, I’ve still had a few little adventures, and I’ve made a point of taking the time to enjoy the simple pleasures of European life. The sunny and 75 degree weather we’ve had here has really helped with that! So I’ll share a few of those little things, and then I want to switch gears and offer some practical tips for travel and hosteling. Not that I’m an expert or anything, but I’ve learned a few things I wish I had known before.
In addition to all the free time we have for international travel, there are a handful of shorter field trips organized by the program, as well as several independent day trips we can do for fun. Last month, we went to Rottweil for the Fasching, or mardi gras parade. This is a very strange, but wildly popular phenomenon here, that’s hard to compare with anything in the US. Then, there’s something the whole world can understand: The chocolate factory.

Ritter Sport, my second favorite chocolate brand, conveniently has a factory very close to Reutlingen. It has two small museums, but the real attraction is the back room of the factory store, where they sell broken chocolate, discontinued flavors, and experimental test flavors for less than half-price. I came home with about 5lbs of chocolate.

Last week, we took another field trip with our econ class to the Daimler (Mercedes) Factory. Cars aren’t really my thing, but it was interesting to learn about how they are built.

Finally, tomorrow we are going to a nearby castle and then a wine tasting event, so I’m excited, and I will report on that later.
The other way I’ve been occupying my time lately is with planning my spring break. In our 17 days, we will go to Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, and Florence. I’m extremely excited about all of those places. Dozens of people have told me that Prague and Budapest are amazing, before I ever went to Paris, Vienna was my favorite city in the world, and Italy as a whole has been on my bucket list for years. It’s an amazing blessing to be able to go to all of these places, but the planning process is not easy. Here are 10 things for future study abroaders to keep in mind when planning budget travel:

1. Be realistic about distances in Europe.
Before I got here, I said I wanted to go to about 15 different countries, including Greece, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, and more. But those places are really farther away than they look on a map. Now, many people studying here in previous years have gone to these places, either by plane or overnight train. But overnight trains are just not for me, and I’d rather use my rail pass than fly, so I had to scale back my plans a little. I decided to stay closer so that I didn’t end up spending half of my trip on a train, but of course, this is a personal preference that is different for everyone.

2. Don’t be too picky about accommodations.
This one is really hard for me. Most hostels are not as nice as most hotels, and there’s no good way around that. Read reviews before you book, but try not to let one or two bad ones cancel out 100 good ones. My paranoia has taught me that if you look hard enough, you will inevitably find at least one horrifying review of every place, but odds are, your experience there will be at least ok.

3. You get what you pay for.
It’s not always best to pick the absolute cheapest hostels. In some cities, I have seen them for less than 5 euros, but something seems off about that to me. There must be a reason. Usually it has to do with the location. While it may seem convenient to stay right next to the train station, in most cities, this is generally not the best neighborhood. The hostels I have stayed in have all been between 15 and 30 euros, which is still a steal compared to hotels.

4. Don’t settle and listen to your gut.
I don’t expect luxury at any of these places, but if I have any rational reason to believe that a hostel is not clean and safe, I won’t settle. Of course you don’t really know until you get there, but odds are, if your gut is telling you no, theres a better option out there. Be patient and keep looking.

5. Have a city map before you go.
Hostels will give you city maps for free, but that doesn’t help you when you just got off the train at midnight and need to find the place. And don’t rely on cellphone GPS.

6. Know the difference between hostels and hotels.
In most hostels, the beds are bunked. You can usually get sheets at check-in, but you have to make the bed yourself. You may or may not be sharing a bathroom. Some hostels have lockouts in the middle of the day for cleaning. Some offer free breakfast, some make you pay for it, and some don’t have it. Free wifi is rare. There is usually no furniture besides beds. None of these things are really a problem, but I’m always amazed at the reviewers who whine about these things like they didn’t expect them.

7. Bring a towel, pillow liner, combination lock, and flip-flops.
Hostels can charge over 5 euros just for a towel. Some have lockers without locks. Some of the pillows could be cleaner. Be prepared, and you’ll be fine.

8. Always get the cancellation insurance.
ALWAYS. It’s about 2 extra euros.

9. Don’t wait until the last minute.
Most of the time, we haven’t had problems booking about 5 days ahead, but the earlier, the better. Especially in the bigger cities (i.e. Paris and Rome), the best places sell out faster than you’d expect.

10. Look for alternative accommodation.
Most of the time we pick hostels from popular sites like hostelworld.com, but there are other options. Some people suggest looking for “budget hotels.” In my experience, this hasn’t been a very viable option. However, with a little research, you can find some other gems. For example, we found the only hostel in the 1st district of Paris directly through their website, but it wasn’t listed on booking sites. In Rome, it’s apparently very popular to stay cheaply in convents and monasteries. Since those were booked up, we emailed the most popular hostel in the city, and even though they were full too, they directed us to their blog of recommended accommodations, where we found an affordable B&B in a great location. Sometimes you have to hunt a little or send a few emails, but it’s worth the extra effort.

So that’s my two cents about hosteling. It’s definitely a learning experience, but it can be very rewarding. I’m off to Paris again this weekend, and then break starts the week after that!

Valpo Voyager

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