I’m not going to lie, there are only a limited number of things that one can write about from abroad. Things are different here – well, duh. Doing stuff is fun – this should go without saying. And then I happened to be in Paris during the terrorist attacks last Friday.
Instead of sharing writings, I recorded a few videos to express my thoughts on the matter. While these may also be found on my YouTube Channel, they are embedded below in the order in which they should be viewed.
How Friday unfolded for the four of us Valpo students:
In-the-moment thoughts from Saturday, brought to you from under the Eiffel Tower:
These thoughts about Saturday and Sunday were compiled on Monday and Tuesday:
Extra footage from Paris:
Finally, to help lift your spirits after this rather depressing subject, a video of my cat from last year. Just in case it’s needed.
This is not an experience anybody should have to go through. Even so, I never experienced firsthand stress or danger, and was fortunate enough to be able to inform my family of my safety and of the attacks before they heard about them on their own. The four of us, along with all of our friends, families, and communities, are truly blessed in far more ways than we can count. May we not forget those ways, and not take the gifts of life and experience for granted. Amen.
This past weekend, my parents came to visit me in Costa Rica. It was a great experience, but also a strange one. It was like my two worlds collided, but luckily they got along well.
First, I showed them around San Jose and Heredia, the cities where I have spent most of my time here. They enjoyed getting to see my university and meeting my host parents and coworkers.
Over the weekend, we went to La Fortuna, a place known for its cataratas (waterfalls) and aguas termales (hot springs). The waterfall was absolutely beautiful!
Just to show the size of the waterfall, here is a photo of my mom and I enjoying the mist. My dad didn’t want to get wet, so he took the picture from a safe distance. Can you find us?
The hike to the falls wasn’t that far, but we had to go over bridges and climb up 502 steps on the way back. Talk about a good workout! And there’s my dad representing the Crusaders!
While we were in La Fortuna, we visited an ecological center to learn more about the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. The butterfly in the photo above is a master of camouflage. On the inside, this giant insect is purple and yellow, but from the outside, all you can see is brown. Can you find the owl and the snake head?
One of my personal favorite sights was this red-eyed tree frog. We were lucky to see this one; they are nocturnal so normally they are up in the tops of the trees during the day.
I know I already posted a photo of cacao, but here’s another one in honor of my mom, who loves chocolate. I still find it hard to believe that it grows like this!
The variety of plant and animal life in the rainforest is simply astounding. Above is a gorgeous photo of an orchid, and below is a beautiful bird who posed nicely as he stopped for a snack.
Of course, we also took some time to relax in the hot springs. Below, Sarah and I are in a hot tub the size of a pool; it had a water slide and everything!
My parents’ trip to Costa Rica was brief, but I think they enjoyed it. Maybe when I come back to visit my host family we can get a photo of all four of my parents together!
This week started out as pretty low-key compared to the two when I was on vacation. On Tuesday we went on a class trip to the Mercedes Benz factory in Sindelfingen. I like cars quite a bit so enjoyed it a lot! They have 35,000 employees at the complex that has its own fire department, five restaurants, and a daycare. They assemble the S-Class, E-Class, Maybach, and GT sports coupe, as well as some bullet-proof cars. On Friday Reid and I went to Strasbourg, France for the day. Luckily we got back to Reutlingen before the attacks in Paris, and it was also lucky that other Valpo students who were in Paris were safe during that time. Yesterday a few of us went to the Hohenzollern Castle for a few hours. It’s only a half hour train ride away from Reutlingen!
A racing game they had setup at the Mercedes tour.
Talking about cars with Professor Veit and a few others. (Notice Professor Hanson getting fingerprints all over the car!)
Reid and I stopped for a few minutes to hear this band in Strasbourg.
Hiking on the trails around the Hohenzollern Castle.
The Reutlingen Opera House was lit up like this Saturday night after the Paris Attacks.
Reid, Ryan, and I attended a small student-led vigil for the Paris attacks on Saturday night.
If you’re living in a foreign country for any extended period of time, you’re bound to run into things that just happen differently than what you’re used to. It is unrealistic to expect things to be the same, but with just a little flexibility on your part, you can find yourself adapting pretty well to these things.
In case this post is too long for you to want to read the whole thing, some of the big points are covered in this video:
Electrical outlets are different. This will not affect your life in any way whatsoever, as long as you’ve made sure you have dual voltage plugs.
“Input: 100-240V~ 50/60Hz 0.15A” This is a magical symbol. If it’s on your charger, then it will work (with a plug adapter) in Europe.
Light switches are different too. Many tend to be reversed from the US, with a [down] = [ON] scheme. However, they’re huge, so you really just have to hit the thing somewhere and you’re good to go.
At one time, I judged Germans for their obsession with mineral water. I had tried it before, but didn’t particularly enjoy it. It’s carbonated, and has a distinct taste from the ions dissolved in it. My opinion of Mineralwasser did a sharp about-face in the past few weeks, and I now quite enjoy the stuff. However, beverages is one of those areas over which one should (rightly) have complete control. If you don’t like Mineralwasser, have a Hefeweizen.
Speaking of Hefeweizen, the beer in Germany is decidedly better here than similarly-priced beer in the US. This is a very easy adjustment to make upon your arrival, but I have a feeling that the adjustment will be far more difficult when I come home. That’ll be fun. I can’t remember who first remarked to me that American beer is essentially rental beer. Beer goes in, you have fun with it for a few hours, and then you excrete an eerily similar product once your lease expires. Not the most pleasant analogy, but people who are still sober enough to follow the logic really enjoy it.
I’ve taken quite a few showers here, and I have yet to find one that is not sufficiently tall. As a taller-than-average person, I’ve grown accustomed to stooping in the shower – even in my own home! As far as I can tell, this problem does not exist in Germany. Unfortunately, the same is not true for doorways. Older buildings (several centuries old) might have shorter doorways, but people weren’t as tall, so that’s excusable. You know that you’re in an old place, so it’s your duty to watch your own head. However, I’ve also bonked my head walking out the front door of the dorm, which is never a good way to begin one’s day.
FOOD AND SHOPPING
Maultaschen (kind of like ravioli, but BETTER!) and Hefeweizen from Barfüsser in Reutlingen.
Everything that I’ve purchased has tax included in the price tag. This makes calculation so much easier, and helps somewhat with budgeting. I can go to the grocery store and pay with exact change (assuming that I have exact change). The calculation isn’t a bunch of adding, then multiplying (or multiplying multiple times for different tax rates – alcohol for example) – it’s straight adding. If you were super curious, the receipt gives a rundown of the taxes applied for your different items, but I can’t think of any reason why I would need to look at this.
Tipping is also considerably different. Not leaving a tip is generally not seen as rude. Usually, I round up to whatever is easiest to make change. Far easier in the calculations than I’m used to. Sure, mentally calculating a tip is never a problem, but it’s so very nice not to have to!
BACK TO OTHER STUFF
Half of the time, showers don’t have curtains. My friend Dominic posited that this was due to the German appreciation for things that look good. Why block a well-designed shower by covering it with a curtain or a door? This argument may have been true for the shower in his apartment, but I’m not convinced that it applies everywhere (see video). Not having the curtain means more careful planning when you’re bathing. Don’t set your clothes somewhere that will become or already is wet.
Light switches are sometimes located outside of the room in which the lights are located. This isn’t a problem necessarily, but if you forget about it, you may find yourself looking around in a room for a switch that isn’t there. This has some potential for asinine pranks, particularly with showers. Fortunately, this has yet to occur.
One very nice difference: Donald Trump (or insert the name of whatever presidential hopeful you want) can say the stupidest, most racist thing ever, and it still wouldn’t show up in the evening news here. Instead, we have substantive, worthwhile stories. There’s a refugee crisis going on, and the response from the US has been disappointing at best. This is a global problem – people are dying because of the inaction of countries that should be helping. I only wish that my politicians answered to their constituents.
As you probably noticed, most of these differences are superficial. You’ll notice them, but likely would not be annoyed by anything here. I’ll talk about the especially gear-grindy stuff in a later post. For now, dinner time. Tchuss!
1. Visit El Pilar, the biggest and most famous Basilica in Zaragoza. El Pilar and its plaza are one of the best spots in the city and I try to visit the Basilica and look at its beauty often (it’s free so why not). Cost: Entrance –Free
To go up the tower to get a great view of the city, 3€
2. No matter where you are in Spain, getting tapas and cerveza is a must. Tapas are basically appetizers that can either be just a snack or your whole meal. Spaniards usually accompany tapas with beer (cerveza). It’s fairly easy to find tapas for under 5 euros. Prices vary, but for reference, I recently went to a place where they have 5 tapas for 3€ total. Food in Spain is generally pretty cheap. Cost: Prices vary, but no more than 5€.
3. Visit La Aljafería. This gorgeous Palace has a lot of history and sights to offer and is a definite must when visiting Zaragoza. Cost: General- 5€. Student discount- 1€. Sundays- free.
La Aljafería
4. Visit La Catedral de San Salvador (La Seo). This cathedral is significantly smaller than El Pilar but it rivals El Pilar’s beauty. Personally, I think La Seo is more beautiful on the inside than El Pilar. There is also a tapestry museum upstairs which is really beautiful. Cost: 4€
La Seo
5. Have a picnic at Parque Grande. This park is definitely one of my most favorite spots in the city. There are fountains everywhere and it’s so huge! It has a great overlook area where you can see the city and the mountains. If you come at night, you can watch the colored lights make the fountains even more mesmerizing than in the daytime. For a picnic, it’s easy to buy some freshly baked bread, ham (Spain’s ham has a reputation for being fantastic and it surely lives up to that reputation), and fruit for well under 5 euros. This is what a typical picnic would consist of here in Spain, and it’s really all you need. Cost: No more than 5 € for the picnic
Parque Grande
Parque Grande
Parque Grande
6. Visit the rastro. The rastro is a huge flea market in Zaragoza (as well as many other Spanish cities). In Zaragoza, the rastro is on Sunday and Wednesday mornings and vendors sell loads of stuff including clothing, flowers, shoes, coats, and much more. Anyone could find a treasure here for under 5€. And if anything, walking through the rastro is an experience in itself and that’s free! Cost: No more than 5€
El Rastro is pretty popular on Sunday and Wednesday mornings!
7. Visit El Foro. This museum is part of a set of museums called Ruta de Caesaraugusta which explores the ancient Roman city named after Caesar Augustus with ruins and tunnels underground. El Foro is right next to La Seo. It’s a really interesting place to visit and to see a glimpse of life from so long ago. Cost: General- 3€. Student discount- 2€.
8. Taste the heavenliness that is Churros and Chocolate. Seriously, it doesn’t get better than enjoying some churros con chocolate on the streets of Zaragoza. You can either get your chocolate cold (great for the summer) which is like pudding, or you can get your chocolate hot (great for the winter) which is like very very very thick hot chocolate. This chocolate is so sweet and rich and oh so good. Cost: 2-4€
Churros con Chocolate
9. Walk along the Rio Ebro, visit the Expo, and see the bridges. There is a really cool area of the city that was built up for the World Expo in 2008 which is pretty neat to explore. Additionally, the bridges that cross the river are all unique. While you’re there, you can get a stunning view of El Pilar with the water’s reflection. Cost: Free
Pedestrian Bridge over the Ebro River
10. Visit el Mercado Central. This market has any food you want including fresh fruit for cheap, meats, cheeses, fish, nuts, and so much more.
Cost: Free to walk around, 0-5€ depending on what you want to buy
Honestly, this break was absolutely incredible! We started off with a long but easy trip to Gatwick with plenty of time to kill before our flight. Soon enough we were landed in Venice, walking to our Air BnB. The next morning we set off into the city with a list of things we wanted to do but with only one main objective: to explore & get lost. From the moment we crossed over the main bridge I was in love. I loved everything about Venice. Mostly I loved that instead of roads there was water. the way the light reflected off the buildings and water was so incredible I was in heaven. We wandered around the streets, following the crowds sometimes then veering off the main roads, heading into little shops and boutiques. Eventually we stumbled upon Saint Mark’s Square, one of the places on our list we knew we needed to visit. I thought it was so incredible that one moment we were just walking around, admiring the city, then the next we were in this huge plaza filled with restaurants and music and people. It also helped that we had a whole entire week of beyond gorgeous weather. I found the whole day to be so relaxing yet extremely productive. We were able to see so much of the city without any real plan or idea where we were going.
Burano, Italy
The next day we headed out to the water taxi station where we got on a boat for Burano, a small island about 30 minutes from Venice. It was just as perfect as Venice but in a completely different way. It was so colorful with so many small shops and restaurants I loved that it was so quaint and peaceful even though it was somewhat touristy. We spent the day eating delicious pizza and finding the perfect souvenirs for our friends. It was so beautiful on the boat ride back because we got to watch the sunset as we rode into Venice. We only spent about 2 ½ days in Venice but it was a perfect amount of time to get to know a lot of the city by just wandering and exploring on our own. It was a perfect start to the break, and made me fall in love with Italy.
Myself, Niki Day, and Izzy Gonzalez in Rome
Then we headed by train to Rome, which was more incredible than I ever could’ve imagined. In all honesty, I was very nervous for Rome. All my experiences in the bigger cities involve a lot more stress than in cities like Venice that are smaller and easier to navigate. However, that was not the case in Rome. After about 5 minutes of being there, I was absolutely in love. We spent our first night relaxing and watching movies after unpacking then started out early the next morning. Our first stop was Palatine Hill, which is part of the huge complex that also includes the Colosseum and the Roman forum. From the moment we started walking around I loved it so much, all through out the city you can still imagine everything that has happened in the centuries before. I loved being able to see out into the city, it was a perfect view of the skyline. After getting lunch we headed to the Colusseum, which was just unreal. It was incredible I still can’t even believe I’ve been there. That’s how I felt about the whole city, was that everything was so historical and beautiful it was so cool how it’s such a modern city with this amazing history behind it.
I climbed a mountain… A FREAKING MOUNTAIN! What the heck?! Never in my life did I think I would hike through the mountains in the Lake District! It was absolutely incredible, I’m still in shock that it actually happened. That’s something I really like about our class trips is that we get to see different parts of England that I never thought would be in the UK.
The day of the hike started out with the large paved hill, at which point I already thought I was going to die. How was I supposed to hike a mountain if going up a paved road was too much to handle? Luckily it got easier and we were soon walking through fields that were leading us to the mountains. I love these kinds of days because everyone goes at their own pace but we also are looking out for one another. I loved being able to look up and down the trail, whether I was with people or not and being able to see where everyone was. I also loved that everyone decided to take the harder route. I think it says a lot about how far our group has come and how much we’ve grown this semester. I think if we would’ve done this in the beginning there would be more hesitation, or negativity but even at the hardest points we all kept our heads up and enjoyed the view.
As the trail carried on, I was taking in all the sights around me, while also pushing myself physically. I had never hiked 9 miles up and down mountains but there I was doing it. There were so many times I would just stop, look out and realize how absolutely spectacular it was to see all the way around the Lake District. The physically pushing myself was another factor that made it all the more rewarding. My legs ached as I trudged up each hill but I tried to push a little further each time and take less breaks to see how much my body could handle. It was both exhausting and exhilarating to be pushing myself harder but of course during every break it was insanely rewarding.
I’ve come to find that I love the trips that are least touristy. Of course, seeing London and Barcelona were incredible, and soon Rome will be amazing. But being able to be in the countryside and the quieter cities allows me to see more of the culture and the everyday life in England. Of course walking up to the hostel with our huge backpacks, was kind of a give away that we were Americans but when we were out on the hike, none of that mattered. We were just all people, following the trail, enjoying the amazing life put in front of us. Its days like this that I’ll cherish in a different way than my days as a tourist. When I think about my favorite days so far, I know I’ll never forget going up in the London eye, or riding around on a Segway in Barcelona but they’re so different from my experiences wandering around Ambleside or riding bikes in Valencia. And that’s what I’m coming to love about traveling, that each different place holds something completely different but equally important. I have loved every place I’ve went in vastly different ways but there are certain places that I know will always have my heart. Those places will be my ultimate favorites and I can definitely say that the Lake District is one of them. Getting to the top and just looking out for miles and miles was a site I will never forget not only because it was something so beautiful but because of what it took to make it up there. I did it all on my own, of course with some encouragement from my friends. But it was something that I accomplished without help from any bus or Segway or anything else. I will never forget the pride I felt when I finally reached the top.
Over the summer we had decided we wanted to go to the Florence and the Machine concert in London. We had looked into tickets for the show and even train tickets before buying them to make sure we would be able to get back to Cambridge on a Tuesday night. And so last night after Ely cathedral, we set off on our journey to Alexandra Palace. Since I don’t have a data plan I looked up all the directions the night before, printed them out and was prepared to get us there in one piece.
From our train from Ely to Cambridge, we had to make a connection for a train towards King’s Cross. After we got to our stop at Finsbury Park, we then got on another train for Alexandra Palace, our last stop. I was shocked and surprised when we actually made it with no issues! It was amazing! We got off the train at Alexandra Palace with the rest of the train, all heading to the concert, and walked up to the venue, which sat on top of a hill overlooking all of London. It was spectacular. Tiph and I couldn’t believe we were actually in London, seeing Florence, all by ourselves.
As we wandered around after getting food we wandered into a large hall with all different food carts and a large fake lawn for everyone to sit around and eat. It looked like a giant carnival (without the rides) but it was incredible! Since it was already 7:00, we were shocked at how everyone was so chill. Why weren’t people already packed in so tightly, getting as close as they could to the main stage? It was so much more relaxing. Again to our surprise, the opening act didn’t come out until about 7:45, finishing up at 8:30. At this point, I was getting a bit antsy. When was Florence going to come on? Would we be able to make it back to our train?
At 9:00 Florence came on and all my worries went away. The show was phenomenal. I don’t even have the words to explain how amazing it was. By 10:45 the show was coming to an end and while I wish it wouldn’t have ended, Tiph and I went into traveling mode. We found our way onto an earlier train, extremely happy to be getting home faster than we had anticipated. Again we had started on the right track, figuring out our next moves, determined not to get lost. But as fate would have it, of course getting home wouldn’t be that simple. After getting off at Finsbury Park, we discovered that the trains to Hitchin and Cambridge stopped at 10:30 and we had to get on a bus to get to Cambridge. We wandered outside, looking for a bus or any workers to help us but for some reason, it seemed that every employee of the station had already gone home. At this point the nerves started setting in. We found ourselves getting back on a train to King’s Cross to find a way back to Cambridge. There, panic still very much present, we found some workers who we hoped would tell us there was still a way to get back home. They told us to get back on a train to Hitchin, where we will find the bus to get us to Cambridge. Reluctantly, Tiph and I obeyed, found our way to the train, convinced we would be sleeping in the Hitchin train station. Luckily we ended up on a bus to Cambridge and by 2:00 am, we were finally back home.
Last night I learned a lot. I learned, like I do every weekend, that traveling will never go 100% smoothly no matter how well you plan and that’s okay. In fact, it makes for an even better story. I also learned how lucky I am to be here. Sure, traveling is expensive and stressful. But last night I got to see Florence and the Machine, in London, her hometown, in one of the most beautiful arena’s I’ve ever been in. I’m not going to lie, I have a lot to do before I leave for Spain on Thursday but taking time out to enjoy where I am is what’s important. Spending the day at a beautiful place like Ely, then the night in one of the greatest cities in the world, is unbelievable and I need to remember that while I’m here it’s important to make new adventures and experiences that are all my own, not just going along with what everyone else is doing.
Micah is currently studying in Reutlingen, Germany, but in his picture, he is standing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris!
Micah’s tip, for those of you going to Reutlingen is this, “One tip for someone studying here would be to see as much as you can while here, not necessarily just around Europe but also places that are in or near Reutlingen. There are several miles of hiking/biking/running trails within a few minutes of campus. A Eurail pass is also a must, it makes traveling so much easier and the cost will be made up very quickly if you travel a lot!”
Micah’s favorite class has been his German 101, and also wanted to let everyone know that, close to Reutlingen, Mercedes Benz and Bosch both have headquarters!
I was with Jordan and Mackenzie for most of my two-week break. We started out in Barcelona, where we rented bikes for a day, saw the Magic Fountain (a fountain that “dances” and changes lights to music), went to the beach, to Park Güell, and even to a Barcelona Football/Soccer game!
The bike lanes in Barcelona are the best I’ve ever seen in a city!
The Valpo Pin on the bike lane. I can’t say I didn’t get some funny looks from people in cars when I was on the ground taking this!
Skipping rocks in Barcelona (Valpo Pin in foreground)
After Barcelona we flew to London where we saw all the classic sites like Big Ben (actually the bell inside of the tower), the red payphone booths, double-decker buses, taxis, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Abbey Road (where The Beatles famously crossed), Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station, went up the Tower Bridge, and rode on the Tube. We also got to meet up with a friend from our freshman year at Valpo, Jen Ehr! It was great to see her again and to have her show us around Oxford University where we also got to see the dining hall they modeled the one in the Harry Potter movies after.
One of the many stereotypical London things we saw while there.
It was nice to meet up with a friend from Valpo, who now goes to Oxford. Jen gave us a great tour!
Crossing Abbey Road, complete with a London taxi waiting for us!
Rome was our next stop, where we went to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (both under construction unfortunately), and also got to see Pope Francis give a blessing on Sunday at noon! It was really cool seeing what humans were possible of doing 2,000 years ago. I could have personally spent a whole day at just the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.
One of the many times we got gelato over the two-week break.
The Roman Colosseum as well as the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill were absolutely amazing! Crazy what people could do 2,000 years ago.
The Valpo Pin overlooking the Colosseum.
On our way to Venice we stopped in Florence for the day where we found this awesome market area! I picked up some dried fruit and Mackenzie and Jordan got some uniquely shaped pasta and a couple random things for Christmas gifts. Upstairs they had a large piece of truffle that was listed at 330,000 euro!
A friendly old Italian man started talking to us (in Italian) while in Florence. It was hard to understand but cool nonetheless!
Next stop, Venice! We did a lot of just walking around there, going over bridges and getting lost on the side streets. What would normally be a questionable alleyway in the U.S. was a perfectly normal place to walk there, just had to be careful for the random dead-ends that only led to water!
Venice was a beautiful city. We spent hours just walking around getting lost in the maze of roads and canals; there’s nothing quite like it in the world!
Mackenzie scaring Jordan next to the water!
The end of my trip was spent with Nick in a small town called Wengen in the Swiss Alps. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to end the two weeks! We went on a 2-hour hike when we first got there and that night our Airbnb host made cheese fondue and had wine for us. Although Switzerland is very expensive, it was well worth it!
The Swiss Alps in Wengen, Switzerland were breathtaking!
Nick trying his hand at chopping some wood at a little campsite area on top of a mountain.
Micah is currently studying in Reutlingen, Germany, but in his picture, he is standing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris!
