I’m writing this blog sitting at Gate B11 at the Brussels International Airport about to board my United Airlines flight to Washington. I cannot believe that my time in Europe is over . It’s shocking how fast the past 5 months have passed. It feels like just yesterday that I was trying to manage around this airport with 2 giant (& heavy) bags incredibly jet-lagged & overwhelmed by the fact that I still had a 2-hour train ride to Maastricht. Funny how much easier traveling gets the more you do it… While I’m still feeling a little bit sick, I’m so happy that it’s not as severe as it was the other day. I have been taking some antibiotics that my doctor gave me as a precautionary measure (because I usually get sick in February). It ... read more

Today, I woke up & felt like death. I literally didn’t sleep last night due to fever/chills/headache/throat ache, the whole 9 yards. Truly awful. I was supposed to meet Adnan & Carolina for lunch at 11:30 because it’s Carolina’s last day in Maastricht; however, I had to cancel. It’s really awful. I laid around for a while, & Dad came over & we packed up most of my stuff & cleaned my room a little bit. By about 1:30 I started feeling a little better, so hoping to salvage what remained of the day, Dad & I decided to take the boat down to the St. Pietersburg caves. The St. Pietersburg caves are located on the highest point in Maastricht close to the Belgian border. The caves were initially used by the Romans to mine limestone. ... read more

My dad made it to Europe safely! It's so nice to have him here again. I'm glad that he caught the "Europe bug" because now that means that family vacations will be trips through the Old Country... Today was a beautiful day. It was sunny, 72 degrees with a slight breeze & no clouds in the sky. Needless to say, we decided to spend today outdoors! Dad, Carolina, & I decided to rent Vespas, which has been a dream of mine for quite some time now. I've always joked that I wanted a Vespa at home so I could take it to Thunder in the Valley (a festival that our town holds where bikers come from all over the US to show off their motorcycles). I also want a green helmet that says "sustainable development," since ... read more

Last week at this time I was blogging about Northern Europe. This week, I get to talk about Southern Europe. After many years of wanting to visit, I finally made it to Barcelona, Spain, to spend a few days relaxing with my Swedish friends before the finals period begins. I had never been to the Mediterranean before so I was really looking forward to it. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. Barcelona is an amazing city situated between the mountains & the sea. It's perfect for people with many different interests - the city center itself has great cultural sites, shopping, & food, whereas the immediate surroundings offer outdoor activities to suit many different tastes. Culturally, Barcelona is really fascinating. It is the capital of Catalonia - an autonomous region of Spain. That being said, the ... read more

Since I was still on my "World War II-kick," today I decided to visit the Nationaal Bevrijdingsmuseum (National Liberation Museum) in Groesbeek. I had originally thought it was an easy train ride an hour north of Maastricht; however, I was wayyyyyy off. It took me 2 hours to get to Nijmegen by train, & then I had to take a 20 minute bus to Groesbeek. Since it took me forever to get there, I decided I had better make the most of my experience there. The museum itself is pretty cool. It looks like an old bunker & one part of the building looks like a parachute. While it was a nice museum, it certainly wasn't what I had expected. The informational movies that were playing in some rooms were only in Dutch (without English subtitles) ... read more