Berlin

Berlin is a cool city from what I've seen so far which if I'm being honest isn't much. I've been working on class related items. We start our finals tomorrow and have to turn them in Thursday before we get on the plane. The computers in the lobby of this hotel are pay by the hour so I in all likelihood will not be posting again on this trip. Looking forward to seeing everyone back home.

Buchenwald

Today we visited the concentration camp Buchenwald. It is like nothing I have ever seen or felt before.

Germany

   Yesterday we left Luxembourg for Koblenz, Germany. On our way to Koblenz we stopped to get lunch at this little resturant that sold bratworst. When the three other girls who I was sitting with decided to walk around to get before we had to get back on the bus. I decided to stay and do journals. A man came up and asked if the rest of the table was free and I answered yes. Him and his companions sat done or stood around the table. When I got up I realized I had been surounded by German Police officers, five or six of them. Everyone joked that while we ate lunch I was the safest person in the entire country. After we left they chased us down, one of the girls I was sitting with had left her purse behind and they were returning it. I guess I made quite an impression.
   We stayed one night at the Hotel Hohenstaufen. It was a relativly old building. The bathroom floor was higher than the room because of the plumbing that was added. Originally the building didn´t have indoor plumbing. There was only one key per room and it was an actual key not a card. When you left the hotel you gave the front desk your key. It was unique. We did a river boat cruise on the Rhine and had dinner at a resturant serving authentic German food. I tried spattzle. This morning we packed up and moved onto Weimar Germany. It´s a very cute city. Tomorrow is their market day. I´m going to get up early and go to it. We had more authentic German food for dinner. I´m finding I rather like a lot of types of food that I would never have tried in the US. I had roast pork (i think, roast meat at the very least), potato dumplings the size of tennis balls, cooked red cabage, and an apple struddle for desert which was wonderful. I´m going to start running again when I get back. Also stop spending money. Buying two meals a day for three weeks really adds up. Still loving every minute of the trip though.

Battle at the Ardennes

Today we went to Belgium and focused on the Battle at the Ardennes / Battle of the Bulge. We got food from Aldi's for lunch and stopped at suppermarket on our way back to the hotel. I got some Amazing Belgium and German chocolate. Went and got Chinese food with about half of our study abroad group. It was very good. On the way back I walked down into the Vally that the city of Luxembourg is built around. It is a goregous park.

Luxembourg

We left Paris this morning a little after 9. Stopped for a long lunch at Eperneigh in Champaign France and arrived at our hotel in Luxembourg around 4pm. Our jornals were due today. I just barely finished them. I guess ignoring them in favor of site seing in London wasn't the best idea. Saturday [Paris] I went to the Louvre, saw the mona lisa and some other amazing art work before making it back to the hotel to work on journals. For dinner me and three others took a short walk to Bercy Village and had dinner at a pub called the Frog. I got the Chicken tikka marsala and it was absolutly delcious. Afterward we went to Pigalle and walked past all the sex shops to the Moulin Rouge and took pictures. Then we went in search of this hole in the wall place others from our group had been to. The draw was the moitos. They have a bunch of different flavors under the categories: Sweet, Spicy, and Minty. We had to ask several people and stopped at a place across the street before we found it. So worth it. They put dry ice into it and it covers the bar in smoke. Sunday I decided to join Dr. Charnley, 202 students, and a few others for a service at Notre Dame. It was long and in another language but I enjoyed having the chance to look around and study the architecture. They let you take pictures inside unlike the cathedrals in London that we visited. After the service we visited a few WWII related sites. Morgan, Allison, and I split off to look at paintings being sold on the streets before returning to do journals. We went Montmartre, Paris for dinner. I had the world best [French] Onion soup for dinner. It was a meal in itself with loads of real chease. Dr. Charnley bought several apetizers and water for the table. Note to anyone traveling to Europe: Water is not always free, you have to ask for it, and often it'll cost you just as much to get a coke or a glass of the hosue wine as it would be to get a glass of water. I still can't believe how much the drinks are here. 3.50 euros for a cheap drink wich is like $4.75 American dollars. After dinner the group I was with (including Dr. Charnely) went to Moulin Rouge to take a group photo. I didn't make it to the top of the Eiffle Tower, I figured the view from Montmartre was absolutly stunning - a 180 degree view of the Paris sky line - and I didn't have to pay to go up. Montmarte has an artist corner. The work these artists do is wonderful. I'll just have to go to the top of the Eiffle tower the next time I'm in Paris and I will most definitly be returning to Montmartre.
   Moving on to Luxembourg... Luxembourg (the name of the city we're staying in and the country's name) is beautiful. The scnery is stunning. If you have a second check out this picture http://www.orangesmile.com/common/img_final_large/luxembourg_sightseeing.jpg. We walked past this view on our way to the city center for dinner. I was with a group who ate at an Italian resturant. I ordered the Onion Soup again. It was good but doesn't compare to Montmartre's. We sat outside and got to listen to a street performer band who were quite good. Afterward we went to get jalato. It is more epensive here than in Bayeux but not as bad as Paris. However, make no mistake it is pricy especially once you do the conversion. I can't wait to get to see more of the country side tomorrow. I was too preoccupied writting today to get to look out the window.
   Hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be able to get my photos onto my flash drive in which case I could post one or two here or buy a new SD card. Dr. Charnley knew of my predicament so he has lent me a 2GB SD card and taken pictures with his camera for me.

Is this real?

   We got to Paris around 1pm. Our rooms wern't ready so we went on a short walking tour and got aquanted to the Metro. For dinner we ate at an Italian place across the street from our hotel. We ended the night on a grassy area right by the Eiffel Tower, drinking wine or champeigne and watching the light show. The light show makes the Effile tower twinkle like a sparkler. Mike and Brenden bought and shared a 30 euro bottle of champaigne that would have costed around 150 dollars in the States.
   This morning we went to the Louvre. I got my picture taken with Leonardo Divinche's Mona Lisa in the background. I also got to see some of his other work and a few paintings by Raphael Santi who was known for his use of the color blue.  I can not believe Im actually here. It seems unreal. Tomorrow is our second and last full day in Paris. Next is Luxembourg.

Last Day in Bayeux

We visited Omaha beach and the American WWII cemetary today. Filled up my 8gb memory card this afternoon. Hopefully will be able to buy a new one tomorrow morning before I leave for Paris.