Spring Break

Wow, is all I really got to stay. Our three week break was great. We started off with a one week study tour with the program to various areas in Germany and the Netherlands. We saw a lot of architecture and it was very informative, though it was nice at the end of the week to go off on our own. Kelly, Emilie and I after the study tour stayed in Amsterdam for an extra day. The city was beautiful so it was nice to enjoy the non-architectural side. We went to the Anne Frank house and that was very moving. The next stop along our trip was Brussels. We didn't get much time in Brussels due to train line construction and thus a longer trip to Brussels.
Next we went to Paris. Amazing can't even describe it. The city is huge, beautiful and full of life. Of course we did all the touristy things like climb the Eiffel Tower, see the Mona Lisa, go to Versailles and walk the Champs Elysees, but we also saw some interesting parts of the city because both Kelly and her friend we were staying with have been there before, so they know all the little spots. One of the best spots was on a hill called monmart which has a huge church on top of it. It overlooks the city in all its splendor. We also got to see one of my favorite buildings that I've studied- Ste. Genevieve designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot. Ok, I'm a little obsessed with it. The bad thing though was that the workers for the church were on strike so we didn't get to go in. I guess I'll just have to do that the next time in Paris. We also went to probably the best museum I've ever been to in my life. It is called Musee D'Orsay and is an old train station renovated to be a museum. It houses all kinds of art, but the best works are the impressionist. The likes of Da Vinci, Michealangelo, Monet and many others are present here. It was amazing considering it was my first time seeing any of there works. The combination of the great architecture and the great art had Kelly's friend (who's not an architecture major) thinking we were nuts. We all loved it though. We spent most of the time oohing and aahing about how a certain stairs were placed or how the lighting worked. It was quite interesting to see people stair at us as we took pictures of the silliest things such as sound walls that lined the windows.
From Paris we headed to Venice and the first of our long train rides. It was 14 hours total and included three connections. We of course went through the Alps on the way and that was absolutely amazing. We caught a snow storm outside of Geneva and beautiful sun on the way down to Venice. The Alps are quite the site. Venice itself was quite amazing as well. There are no cars whatsoever on the island which is awesome. We didn't do much touristy stuff in Venice except for shop. They have a lot of glassware type stuff that is really neat and the girls loved it. They are also famous for Casanova so there is a mask shop everywhere we turn. And yes I do now have a Halloween costume for next year. You'll have to wait and see it though. We also visited St. Marks cathedral which is in the Eastern style of churches. It was the first of the type that I've seen in person so that was pretty cool. On Sunday Kelly and I got up to go to Easter mass (surprising I know) at the church close to the hostel. There was hardly anyone there, but it was nice none the less. It was a little difficult following since it was in Italian, but we still go the gist of it.
That morning then we got on a train to Florence. This one included a trip through the Tuscan countryside which is all that people say it is. Beauty like none other is captured in the hills. We got into Florence in the afternoon so took a little stroll around town. We stumbled on the Piazza de Loggia which is where one of our history professors studied as a student. That was pretty cool. The next day we headed out to the museum that houses Michelangelo's famous statue of David. Again more amazing art. His statue of David is talked as the best ever for the reason that David does appear as a macho warrior, rather his cunning and intellect is depicted as the result of his victory. He is not standing on Goliaths head as usual but rather striking a pose with the sling over his back and the rock in his hand. Michelangelo never seizes to amaze me. When then headed back to the hostel to pack and head to Rome and another amazing ride through the Tuscan landscape.
While in Rome, the first day we saw the Pantheon, a couple of plazas the Spanish steps and Trevi fountain. Again all were as good as I hoped. On Wednesday we got up early and headed to the Vatican. We had heard that the pope was going to making an appearance so we decided to catch that. We waited for almost two hours before seeing him, but it was well worth it. There were people from all over the world and even a group from Milwaukee. The pope read something and then proceeded to welcome everyone to the Vatican in like 8 different languages. One for the major groups that we were there. So yes he spoke in English, it was really cool. Then at the end we all sang the Our Father in Italian(ok I just listened because me singing let alone in
Italian wasn't going to happen). He than blessed us all and was on his way. We got some really good pictures of him which was nice. We then went to the Vatican Museum to see the sis tine chapel. Yet again Michelangelo amazed me. We also got into St. Peters which was pretty cool as well. On Thursday we spent the day around the ruins starting with the Colosseum, which was really cool. I much rather enjoyed the ruins of the Roman Forum though. I got to see the columns where a lot of things I've learned have come from. It was amazing. That night we ate at the restaurant affiliated with the hostel and it was amazing. We got our first authentic Italian meal. The other nights we stumbled on bad places to eat. Oh well, that just made Thursday's supper that much better. Friday we went to the bone chapel which is a church over a sanctuary that uses the bones of monks to make little chapels. It is hard to explain, but I got an information booklet about it though. We than spent the rest of the day shopping. I got an Italian tie and that was about it. I surprisingly made it until like 3:00 before I told the girls that was enough for me. Who knew that shopping required so much thinking. I always thought it was just pick the first thing you see that looks good. The girls sure loved it so I wandered back to the hostel and took a nap. It was nice to have a little me time though after spending almost three straight weeks with them.
Saturday found us back on a train headed back to Copenhagen. It left at 7:42 in the morning and was non-stop to Munich. From Munich we took an over night to Copenhagen. We got back at about 10:00 this morning. It was a long 26 hours, but it saved us a lot of money and we got to the see the mountains really well.
All in all it was a great three weeks. We had our bumps along the road, but who doesn't. It is nice to be back in Copenhagen which is really starting to fell like home away from home. It will be tough to leave this place come May. Anyways its been one long journey and its back to school tomorrow so take care everyone and keep an eye out for some pictures on flickr.

study break

So, I finished up my last class today before break. It was quite a nice relief after the many hours of studying for midterms and working late nights on my project. We are headed for the rest of Europe on Sunday as well. We will be traveling with the program here for a week through Germany and the Netherlands. And then we are off on our own to France and Italy for two weeks. I can't believe that it is already here. Time has flown since arriving in Denmark. It is exciting and sad all at the same time. Exciting to be going to experience the rest of Europe, sad that once we get back there is only a month and a half left of time spent here. It should be a fun couple of months though.