Blogs from Europe - page 11920

Sophomore year I signed up for a May term in Europe and what an experience it was! I spent almost three weeks traveling to four different countries and being a total tourist, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. My professor took us around going to many museums, churches and a handful of other extremely interesting places. We prepared ourselves for a few months and then in May it was time to head out. From New Jersey the flight was nearly seven hours long and not very enjoyable, but besides that the trip is certainly worth it. We landed in Frankfurt and then took another hour long flight to Venice. Since there are no streets in Venice, the Grand Canal takes you throughout the city. It is the major water traffic corridor in the city ... read more

Sleeping in was getting up at 7am for our morning city tour of Berlin with Benny, a local guide. We went past CHARLOTTENBURG GATE, VICTORY STATUE, Parliament, a canal, Berliner Dom, a massive train station and lots of graffiti. Our first stop was Brandenburg Gate. It just seemed massive against everything else around it. There was a man and woman in military dress posing in front of the gate which did make for a nice picture. We also rode by the TV Tower, town hall, Opera house, Parliament, and embassies of Saudi Arabia, India, Africa, Netherlands and Italy. We also saw a building with numerous bullet holes that was the Traffic Ministry Building and Hitler's old bunkers are underground near here. I have an aunt that was born and raised in Berlin. She was shot in ... read more

Tallinn - Estonia , the city of all things old, trendy & tourists. We arrived in Tallinn, Estonia after travelling across the Baltic Sea from Finland (Evonne - I didn't see any whales :( ). Our first feeling of Tallinn was that we were moving further away from home. Once we moved away from the docks into the old town, we were pleasently surprised by how well preserved the medieval city is (even if it was full of tourists, like us). We arrived at our guest house (located in the old town) a bit tired from our nights of drinking in Finland, and although the room was small (and once again two single beds), it was nice. Far cry from some of the hostels we had been staying at. Our first order was a late lunch ... read more

Wow the whole jigsaw seems to be falling into place now, i had been double checking and triple checking the Aussie visa site every day for what seems like forever...............but was only 16 days. Well you can imagine my surprise when i did my usual routine of checking my Visa application this morning at work and normal it says application lodged being processed...blah blah Well this morning i noticed the was an extra thing below it and i readjusted my eyes and it said application approved and i read the accompanying letter..............those crazy Aussies are letting me in there marvelous country and i can work there aswell................well i nearly fell off the back of my chair. The visa is a hinge to all my plans, i could have worked around it.............but it is amazing now ive ... read more

Well just one day to go until we leave the country. Everything is packed and ready to go. We have had a busy few weeks saying goodbyes and getting last minute things (including injections!!) and are now itching to get going. We have just had a weekend in London practicing how to be tourists as you will see from a few photos attatched. Well our next entry will be from abroad although god knows where so until then goodbye to everyone!!... read more