by Christina Wagner
November 29, 2005
I returned to Linz Sunday afternoon after a crazy ten days of traveling. I decided at the last minute to join friends for a trip to Berlin a couple weekends ago. I'm so glad I went! Berlin isn't the prettiest city, but there is so much history there. We took an overnight train to get there, which I think everyone should experience at some point in their life. At first it's kind of fun and exciting, but that wears off very quickly. There are cabins that have six seats (three on each side), which can fold down so it kind of looks like a giant mattress. Well let's just say it's not the best sleep I've ever had. When we got to Berlin, we wandered around....found the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Holocaust Museum. Where the wall used to be, there are cobble stones in the road that mark the spot.
And it's just strange to walk back and forth between the old east and west sides and realize how much has changed in just 15 or 16 years. We did lots of walking tours this trip. Although it was so so cold, it was still worthwhile. The first one was a tour of the city, which explained the general history of Berlin. That city has been at the center of so many events in the past century that have completely changed history...WWI, WWII, Cold War. Then we went on a Third Reich tour, which was really fascinating.
I could easily devote an entire page to what I learned, but I don't want to go into an entire history lesson here. Anyway, Berlin was amazing and there is so much still changing today. It's definitely a city that I will be anxious to visit in another 10 or 15 years.
After another night train back to Linz, I took a three hour nap and hopped on another train to Vienna where I met my aunt and her friend. There's so much to see in Vienna! We spent a while in the Christmas markets. They were so neat and beautiful. Taking a picture doesn't do it justice either because it smells like heaven with all the pastries....yum! So I did some of my Christmas shopping there. Then we went to the Opera one night. They have standing room only tickets for 2 euro, so we just stayed for about an hour to be able to say we'd been to a Viennese opera. We also went to Schonbrunn palace, which was absolutely beautiful. And we went to the Hofburg palace, and visited their Treasury. It was pretty cool....they had tons of jewels and religious relics. I'm always a little skeptical of that sort of thing, but they claimed to have one of the nails from Jesus' cross.
For Thanksgiving, we spent the day in Bratislava, Slovakia. I was presently surprised by how much I liked that city. When we got into the train station, I was a little skeptical because it still had a very run-down eastern European feel. But the actual town was really cute. There isn't a lot to do there....just walk around and visit the castle for a nice view of the city. We had dinner at this traditional Slovakian pub, which was so cool! I can't really explain it, but it was this huge place that has this homey, unique, charming feel. And for lunch we found a place that had turkey....I did miss having a real Thanksgiving dinner though. But it was great to be able to have my aunt there.
Then we went to Budapest, Hungary, which was also amazing! It actually used to be two cities, Buda and Pest, which are separated by the Danube. Buda is very hilly, and has more of a small town feel to it....cute buildings, cobble stone, castle, churches. Pest is completely flat, and is more modern and busy. I think we were all museumed out, but we did visit the House of Terror which is where the Nazi and Communist headquarters used to be.
Budapest also had Christmas markets and cute shops, so I did more Christmas shopping. I love eastern Europe so much! I think it still has this old world, charming feel. Oh...it snowed everywhere we went, so everything was even more beautiful.
Now I'm back in Linz and have been busy catching up. I know it sounds like I've completely been skipping all my classes, but I only skipped one day....I love this block scheduling!
Having snow everywhere and Christmas markets is really getting me in the holiday spirit!
-- Christina
November 14, 2005
My trip to Prague was so great! We went with about 60 international students from JKU. REFI (the international student group) really does a great job with planning events and trips. On the way to Prague, we stopped at the Budweiser brewery. Yes, that's right. Apparently the American Budweiser company stole the name from the Czech company. I have to admit that the Czech beer is about a million times better. I'm not going to be able to drink Budweiser or Miller beer when I get back home....I've been spoiled over here. :) Anyway, Prague is absolutely amazing. It's definitely one of my favorite cities in Europe. The old town square is beautiful. Growing up when I would hear about Europe, I had this mental image of all these old colorful buildings and statues, churches everywhere, cafes and shops lining the cobble-stone streets. For me, the old town square in Prague is exactly what I always imagined Europe to be like. In Prague, we ate at a traditional Czech restaurant, went on a tour of the city (as usual), walked across the Charles Bridge, visited the Jewish quarter, walked up the clock tower to get a great view of the city, went shopping, and went dancing at a couple discos (the reason I didn't get enough sleep).
On the way back to Linz, we stopped at this adorable little town called Cesky Krumlov that has an amazing medieval castle.
Life in Linz has been good. My classes are picking up. We did a group presentation about globalization in India last week. And now we're working on our research paper for it. Also, I've been trying to branch out from the North Americans a bit. So I've been hanging out with some kids from Sweden, Finland and Taiwan. On a semi-sad note, I think homesickness is starting to set in a little bit. It's funny because a couple weeks ago, I was saying how I wish I could stay for the whole year. And now I keep thinking about how I miss my mom and my backyard. But we made Cincinnati-style chili the other night, which helped. And we found a theater showing Elizabethtown (which is about the city in Kentucky), and it was in English and didn't even have German subtitles!
-- Christina
October 11, 2005
I am back in Linz after a wonderful week in Greece! We (me, girl from UK, and 2 Canadians....as usual) stayed on the island of Kos at an all inclusive resort. It was pretty simple, but still really nice. And it was right on the beach! Kos isn't what I expected Greece to look like. I imagined little houses built into the hillside painted white with bright blue roofs. We didn't see much of that, but it was still beautiful. We stayed pretty busy the whole time. We took the bus into Kos Town a few days and toured the castle and some ruins from 2 B.C. I think it's neat when I find a book that's older than me, so seeing something that old was pretty awesome. We went into this beautiful Greek Orthodox church, which looked like a combination of a Catholic church and Jewish synagogue. Then we went to another beach that was near a volcano which made bubbles come out of the ground in the sea. We took a ferry to Kalymnos, a.k.a. Sponge Island, which is known for the sponges in the surrounding sea and looked much more Greek. Still not a lot of white and blue, but the houses were all built close together on the hill. We shopped and walked around the city all day. The highlight of our trip was our excursion to Turkey! Kos is actually closer to the mainland of Turkey than it is to Greece, so we knew taking a 45 minute ferry to Turkey was a possibility. I was initially pretty dead set against it because I didn't think that being an American, woman and Christian would be the most welcomed combination in Turkey. But we met a couple from Boston who convinced us that it was safe and we should go, so I took the chance. It turned out to be wonderful! The best thing we did was go to a Turkish Haman, where you experience a Turkish bath. Basically you go into big, round, marble sauna. There are ledges on the side for you to sit, water basins, and a huge marble slab where the heat comes from in the middle. It is 110 degrees inside with 90% humidity! You stay in there for about 20 minutes and then they take you to a jacuzzi for another 20 minutes to cool off. Then it's back to the sauna to sweat some more. By the time you're about ready to pass out from heat exhaustion, all these people come in for the fun part. They have exfoliating gloves on, and pretty much scrub off a layer of skin. Then you lay down on the marble slab in the middle. They have these cheese clothe bag type thing that they soak in soapy water. Then it fills with air so it sort of looks like a balloon, and they ring it out over you so you're covered in suds. At that point, they massage/bathe you, wash your hair, and rinse you off. When it's all finished you go to the lounge and have fresh squeezed orange juice and sit around talking about how you've never felt so clean or relaxed in your whole entire life. We found the guest book, and someone wrote that the Turkish bath was 'Bloody Amazing!' That's exactly how I would describe it too! And in case you're wondering (like my mom was) you do wear a bathing suit. Afterwards, we went into town and shopped at the markets for a while. On our last full day, I refused to do anything but sit on the beach and get tan all day. So we had a great trip overall! Our only complaint was the bugs. You can't escape them.....at one point I counted over 50 on my legs, hands and face!
It's kind of nice to be back in Linz though. Some of the leaves are starting to change, but it's nothing like back home. I have a roommate now. It was kind of funny because we were talking about how it would be bad if I got a messy roommate because I'm such a neat freak. And I walk into my room and half of it is just covered in stuff. I don't know how it was possible to pack that much stuff, but she seriously has at least five times as much stuff as me. But anyway, her name is Jun and she's from Shanghai....unfortuantely that's about all I know so far. She's not in the room much. So hopefully next time I can tell you what she's studying and all that fun stuff. And I start class on Wednesday, so my updates should start to have an academic aspect to them at some point. Have a great day!
-- Christina
October 24, 2005
Sorry it has been a while since my last update! As promised last time, I have a more academic update now. The classes here are set up a little differently than at UC. I have Global Accounting and German every Wednesday. I have Current Issues in Global Business on random days, and my International Finance class is an intensive class in November. So there are days I have 9 hours worth of class and days where I don't have class at all. I'm also doing an independent study in Accounting Information Systems. So far, my classes have been mostly reading with some group work. It's interesting doing group projects with other international students because they really rely on me since I am a native English speaker. We've had some really good discussions on issues like globalization, child labor, subsidies and government controlled businesses. I love having discussions on these topics because you can get 15 different perspectives. When I first came, I thought I would always be on the defensive about being an American. But everyone I've met has been really respectful. People here seem more interested in discussing than arguing, which is nice. So it's been a great learning experience so far. We've slowed down our traveling a little bit. Last weekend we went to Graz, Austria. It reminded me a lot of Linz. About 50 students went on the trip, which was organized by the international student group, so it was a good opportunity to meet more students. The highlight was going to an Austrian vineyard. It was a beautiful day, and we were out in the middle of nowhere, but I love places like that. We sat outside on picnic benches and tried different wines, meats and cheeses. There was an accordion player and people were dancing on tables, so it was really fun! On Saturday, a few of us took a day trip to Passau, Germany. We didn't want to go away for the weekend because we were kind of tired from all the traveling. Passau is only about an hour away, and it's a quaint and charming town....my kind of place. We did some shopping, had lattes at an outdoor cafe, and went into the cathedral that had an organ with 17,000 pipes! The interesting fact about Passau is that it is the city where three rivers (Inn, Liz, Danube) meet, so that was neat to see. Tomorrow night there is a Stammtische party, where different countries make snacks from their home. We're making M&M cookies (we couldn't find chocolate chips) and PB&J sandwiches. I know that sounds simple, but finding the right ingredients was tricky. We couldn't find baking soda anywhere, so we had to use baking powder and it miraculously worked out okay. And we don't have ovens in our dorms, so I had to go to another dorm and use theirs'. Being here has definitely made me realize the things we take for granted, like having all the proper cooking utensils sitting in the pantry. Also, I promised more information on my roommate. Her name is Jun and she is studying here for 3 years! She is getting her masters in computer science. I was asking her about her travel plans. She wants to go to London, but she said she needs to go to Vienna first and get permission to go to England since she is Chinese. I thought that was really interesting.....I never would have thought of that. Next weekend we're taking another bus trip with the international student group. We're going to Prague! That was one of the cities I visited last summer, and I LOVED it, so I'm excited to go back! I'll update you when I return! I hope you're enjoying fall back home!
-- Christina
September 28, 2005
I'm still having a great time in Europe! This past weekend was awesome. On Saturday, we went to this little Austrian village called Hallstatt. It sits right on the lake and the houses are built into the side of the mountain. It's probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I went there last summer on the Honors-PLUS trip and loved it, so I was really excited to go back. We also went to a town called Gmunden, which is also on a lake. We rented boats and walked around the town. Once we got back to Linz, we had about 15 minutes to pack up our stuff and head to the train station. Then we went to Munich for Oktoberfest! I stayed in a hostel for the first time, which wasn't all that bad actually. We had to get up at 6am and head right to Oktoberfest so we could be sure to get a seat. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was definitely different than what I thought it would be. There are 15 HUGE tents set up, and each brewery has its own tent. So there is one for the Hofbrauhaus, Lowenbrau etc. And then there are vendors and rides all around, so it feels like a huge festival or carnival. We went to the Hofbrauhaus tent (of course), which was so much fun. I went to Munich with my Kentucky and Canadian friends, and we met up with the other Americans. The Hofbrahaus was definitely the most touristy tent, but you could still see Germans walking around in their traditional lederhosen. I'm really glad we went because you hear of people going to NYC for New Year's Eve or Mardi Gras for New Orleans, so it's neat to be able to say I went to Oktoberfest in Munich. After Oktoberfest, we spent the night and next day sightseeing. I think Munich is a great city. We saw the glockenspiel at the city hall, walked up a church steeple to get a great view of the city, went to the market, had a picnic in the English Garden, and did some shopping.
We have our first German exam on Thursday, which we're all slightly nervous about. German is definitely a challenging language. After this week, we have a week off before our regular classes start. So next week, we're going to Greece!!! I have always wanted to go there, so I'm super excited. I need to go shopping though because I wasn't planning on going to a beach during my quarter abroad in Austria.
-- Christina
September 15, 2005
As many of you know, I am in Linz, Austria studying abroad for the quarter. After successfully navigating my way through the airports in Detroit, Paris, and Munich, I arrived in Linz on Monday night. I have been pretty busy the entire time. There are lots of little things I have to take care of like getting Austrian insurance, paying rent, buying groceries, and registering for classes. It's not that big of a deal, but it is a challenge because everything is a little different than what I'm used to. Yesterday, I went on a tour of the city. Austria is so beautiful and Linz is a really good fit for me. Although it is a very industrial city, it still has a lot of charming areas. And it's not too crowded and busy. Linz is right on the Danube River and has the neatest town square with really old colorful buildings. I'm studying at Johannes Kepler University, which is only about 40 years old and has a fairly modern campus. Being surrounded by green hills is quite a change from what I'm used to, but the random sculptures on JKU's campus do remind me of UC a little bit.
We started German lessons yesterday. There are two Wagner's in the class and my professor's last name is also Wagner. So about a tenth of the people in the room have the same last name. I know German is going to be a difficult language, but I'm actually really excited about it. We have three weeks of intensive German lessons, and then I start my business classes (which are taught in English). I've already met lots of other international students, which I'm most excited about. There are people from all over…Canada, France, China, Taiwan, Poland, Botswana, Spain, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Peru, and even another girl from Kentucky! We're going on an excursion to a monastery in upper Austria this weekend, which should be fun. And the next weekend we are going to Oktoberfest in Munich! I'll be sure to keep you updated.
-- Christina
