Going Solo

T-minus one month until I am back in the States!

This is the last leg of my study abroad journey.  My program for the semester has officially ended and instead I'll be researching and conducting interviews for my senior thesis in Geneva.  And for this last month, I'm on my own: although I'll still be living with my host family, the rest of the students have left for America.

It was really tough saying goodbye - I got close with everyone in my program (there were only 22 of us to begin with) and it's been a such sad week. We'll all stay in touch via Facebook and other means, but transitions are always difficult. We certainly made the most out of last week together though: there was bowling, brunches, shopping, and lots of bonding time!

Anyways, I'm trying to stay positive (because hey, I'm living in Europe!) There is one girl from my program staying in Geneva for an internship, so I'll be hanging out with her plenty. We're also looking to travel more - so far Portugal and Belgium are on the agenda! I would like to get around Switzerland a little bit more as well, possibly to Zurich or Zermatt or Interlakken or Lucern. So much planning to do and the clock is ticking!

I've also been getting more immersed in the Swiss culture now that there aren't so many Americans around. In fact, I recently tried escargot with my host family - it was surprisingly delicious! My only recommendation is to take my host dad's advice and not look too closely at what you're eating...

I don't have much other exciting news to offer right now though... So here's a couple pretty pictures of Switzerland in spring to tide you over until my next post! A tout.

Cows on cows on cows

Vineyards galore

Why yes, those are the snow-capped Alps in the distance

Hung(a)ry for Adventure!

Bonjour! Sorry for the hiatus, everyone.
I just finished my final project for the program this past week (WAHOO!) and I've been running around, trying to say goodbye to all my friends leaving for the USA. It's been a hectic time, so let me backtrack to catch you up:

The past few weeks, I have been working hard at my internship and on my final paper. My topic was access to healthcare for undocumented migrants in Geneva, so I interviewed several experts in the field at HUG (Hôpitaux Universitaire de Genève) and some NGOs in the city. It's been quite a workload, so to reward ourselves, my friends and I booked a special trip for the day after our projects were due: Budapest!

So last weekend, after emailing in my 40 page paper, I packed my bags and hopped on a plane to Hungary!

We spent three days in the city since it was a long weekend (thanks to the holiday Pentecôte). But even then, it wasn't nearly enough time! The city is rich with history, and I had never been to an Eastern European/former communist country before. We tried to cram as many activities as possible into our short time there.

We started off the first day with a free walking tour (which we heard about through our hostel) of both Buda and Pest. It was a lot of walking, but very informative. I came away with lots of fun facts too. For example: did you know Hungarian is the fifth most difficult language in the world? Hollywood sometimes uses it as the "alien language" in sci-fi movies, like Blade Runner. Our tour guide even told us that Yoda, the Star Wars character, has Hungarian roots - his lines were translated from English to Hungarian and then back again, which is why they sound so disjointed! I've yet to corroborate this fact (my little brother would probably know the truth), but it makes for a good tour guide story.

There is also a horde of Hungarian celebrities that I never knew about. The inventor of the Rubiks cube, Bela Lugosi (the original Dracula), and Harry Houdini were all Hungarian. And many current Hollywood actors are of Hungarian descent: Drew Barrymore, Paul Newman, Adrian Brody, and Jamie Lee Curtis. just to name a few.

Anyways, here are some of the major sites we visited on the walking tour:

St. Stephen's Basilica
(St. Stephen was the first king of Hungary in about 1000 AD)

The chain bridge between Buda and Pest (which are two separate cities)

Buda Palace, former royal residence of Hapsburg monarch Maria Therese

 View of the Pest side from the citadel

Matthias Church

View of the Parliament building

During the tour, it was funny to hear our Hungarian tour guide describe history from the Hungarian perspective. She told us that, in short, Hungary has been a "loser" throughout history. It was conquered by the Mongols, the Turkish, the Hapsburgs, Germany in WWII and occupied by the USSR afterwards. One of Hungary's few shining victories was the Revolution of 1956, when the nation revolted against the USSR's restrictive rule. Although it ended in a loss and terrible punishment for the agitators, it was also a triumph because the USSR granted Hungary liberties that few Soviet countries had - Hungarians could wear jeans and watch MTV! It's amazing to think so much has changed in just 25 years since the fall of communism.

After all that walking, we were craving for some real Hungarian food. My friends and I ate at a restaurant by the Danube River, where I tried goulash (which is just really excellent beef stew) and paprika chicken (Hungary is very well-known for its heavy use of paprika). Everything was delicious. I hadn't come to Budapest expecting to be impressed by the food, but I guess that's one of the joys of travel!

Goulash

Paprika chicken and dumplings

Our second day started off a bit more somber: we decided to visit the newly opened House of Terror. This museum contains exhibits on the fascist and communist regimes that once ruled Hungary, as well as memorials to the victims. The building itself was the former headquarters of both the Nazis and the Hungarian secret police (AVH) under Soviet rule. The basement dungeons that we toured, as well as the offices of the head officials, were all genuine. Men and women were detained, interrogated, tortured, and killed within those walls. It was quite a harrowing experience.

House of Terror

Photographs of the victims of terror

To lighten up after such a dark visit, we then took the subway to Margaret Island, which is located in the middle of the Danube River between Buda and Pest. We rented a multi-person bike and rode through all the beautiful parks. I should mention that we really lucked out with the weather this trip too - after coming from dreary Switzerland, it was a treat have three days of 80 degree weather and sun! I've never been so happy to get a sunburn.

Biking around Margaret Island (Margitszizget)

On the way back to our hostel, I also stopped to visit the Dohany Street synagogue. It's the largest synagogue in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. The architecture was gorgeous, just as all the architecture in the city was (minus some of the communist era leftovers).

But it was very powerful to visit, especially after touring the House of Terror earlier that day. Hungarian Jews were hit hard during the Holocaust - it's estimated that less than 30% survived. But this building was a testament to resilience. In fact, it was originally built on the site where Theodore Herzl - the father of zionism - was born. The current Jewish community is alive and thriving.

Because Budapest is so well-known for its nightlife, we also made sure to get out and about every night! One of my favorite experiences was actually the hostel bar crawl. We went to a bunch of "ruin bars" in the seventh district (the former Jewish quarter) of Budapest. They're abandoned buildings filled with relics from the communist era - old cars, posters, graffiti and much more.

I also loved the tourist-friendly culture of the city in general. Staying at hostels, with people from around the world, is the most amazing experience. You meet all kinds of travelers who are open and excited to make friends and share their own stories + recommendations. Our big group befriended so many people - Brits, Australians, Canadians, Hungarians, you name it. I even found a few New Englanders traveling around and we had some great Bruins talk. Guess it's a small world after all!

All in all, it was an amazing weekend and I was sorry to go back to Switzerland to give our final presentation reports. There's still so many things I didn't get to do - one day, Budapest, I'll be back!

Pourquoi Pas Paris?

As mentioned previously, this week I took an impromptu trip to France! Thursday was a holiday in Europe - called Ascension - so students were free to travel. In fact, my host parents took off for the week as well: they're in Mont Saint-Michel, France checking out the Normandy beaches.

So, on Tuesday night, I boarded a train to Paris with two friends from my program, OJ and Ana. Apparently I'm cursed when it comes to Parisian travel though: in high school, I took a train to Paris and wound up delayed 12 hours. This time, we were delayed for about three.... a slight improvement, but still a drag.

Instead of arriving at 10pm as expected, we arrived close to 1am, just after all of the métros had shut down. The station was a mess - there was an hour-long line for taxis and the TGV employees gave us little lunchbox survival kits with food and coloring books (which I of course put to good use). Fortunately though, the delay had affected all of the trains citywide and the authorities decided to extend métro hours. So, exhausted and hungry, we took the subway to our hostel at 2am and immediately crashed.

But the next morning, somehow, we managed to drag ourselves out of bed by 9am and hurry off to fit in as many Parisian activities as possible! First off was the Cathédrale Notre Dame. It's as beautiful as you'd imagine and it is free to go inside - perfect for cheapskate students. The stained glass was amazing and we showed up just in time to see some of the morning mass take place. Although, since I know my dad will ask, I have to say that Quasimoto was nowhere in sight.

After our Notre Dame visit, we took the métro out to Versailles, the royal palace and former residence of French kings and queens. I had always wanted to visit, but it is about 45 minutes out of the way on by train. But I have to say, even though there are many things to do within the city of Paris, this excursion is worth it!

It was drizzling a little bit when we first arrived to tour the château, but that didn't take away from the effect. The palace was magnificent. I had never seen so many ornate rooms! Every wall was embossed with carvings in gold, every room had multiple crystal chandeliers glinting in the light. It was rich, luxurious, and utterly over-the-top. My pictures can't even do it justice.

The famous Hall of Mirrors

Marie Antoinette's bedroom 

After touring the building in all of its glory, we went outside into the famous gardens. The grounds were enormous and the sun came out just in time for us. We meandered through acre after acre of carefully trimmed hedges, colorful flowers, and trickling fountains. Honestly, we could have spent an entire day wandering the gardens at Versailles - it's too bad we had only 48 hours in Paris and a lot of other things to do!

We stayed in Versailles until about 5pm, then left to meet up with my friend from college, Amelia, who is studying abroad in Paris. By sheer luck, we had planned this trip on her birthday so we decided to meet up for a picnic dinner by the Eiffel Tower! We bought bread, cheese, chocolate and wine (since it was her 21st birthday after all) and ate as the sunset over the Champs de Mars.

We stayed there until the tower lit up at 10pm - so beautiful

The next morning, we were up early again and ready with a loaded schedule! Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe, which stands at the end of the Champs-Elysées (Paris' most famous street). Beneath it lies the Tomb of the Unknown Solider from World War I. It's a quick pit stop, but an important one nonetheless.

"Tombe du Soldat Inconnu" 

After checking out the monument, we strolled down the Champs-Elysées. It's a beautiful street with cafés, luxury shops, cinémas, and more (I was whistling this song the entire time, of course). We saved enough time to pop into La Durée, a shop known for its French macarons and treats. It was wildly expensive, as expected, but everything looked so adorable and delicious!

La Durée macarons

From there, we hustled over to the Louvre museum for a little photoshoot. The museums itself is fairly expensive and we didn't have much time, so we decided not to go inside. Unfortunately we had learned the hard way at Versailles that museum tickets are free for students studying abroad in Europe, but only if they're studying within the European Union. Switzerland, although within the continent, does not fall under that criteria :(

Just a block over from the Louvre, there is a bridge known as the Pont des Arts. It's very popular among tourists and in recent years, many couples have taken to attaching padlocks with their first names written on them to the side of the bridge (they throw the key into the river below as a romantic gesture). The city of Paris has yet to develop a protocol for dealing with this new phenomenon, but it does make for a nice photo spot!

Then, in front of the Louvre, are the extensive Tuileries Garden. This public garden, first created by Catherine de Medici in the 1500s, is another pretty (and free!) attraction. Since we luckily had some sun, and all of the flowers were in bloom, it was especially beautiful.

After all this running around, we were more than ready for lunch. But we weren't about to eat just anywhere. We had a very specific mission: to find the one and only Chipotle in Europe. This may sound like a ridiculous thing to do when you're visiting a culinary capital like Paris, but you have to understand - we eat plenty of French food in Switzerland. In fact, my host family is planning on cooking escargot for me this week. What we don't have, however, is Mexican food or American food (besides McDonalds). Finding Chipotle would be a major coup.

Success! First burrito in THREE months! 

After getting our fill of Chipotle goodness, we then embarked on one more mission before catching our train home: Montmartre. This hill to the north of Paris is a little bit out of the way, like Versailles, but also well worth the trip. It's an artsy neighborhood full of thrift shops and street vendors, and it is home to the gorgeous white-domed Basilica of Sacre-Coeur.

Visiting Sacre-Coeur was a big deal to me especially - that church and I go a long ways back. In the 9th grade, I had to make a model of the building for French class, and to this day it is probably the best school project I have ever completed (mostly because I was paired with my artistic friend Mikayla). Regardless, I had always wanted to visit the real place after that assignment.

Having finally accomplished my 9th grade dream, we then left for the train station. However, we did make one small pit stop on the way: the Moulin Rouge for a quick photo op. And since the trip would not have been complete without it, we stopped at a shop next door to buy some authentic (and cheesy) French berets :)

Paris was a whirlwind adventure, but an incredible experience. We crammed a lot into our short time there and even lucked out with the weather! (The forecast had been all rain). But Paris is one of those cities you could spend weeks in. Every visit is just a teaser - before you even leave, you're already planning the sites you want to go back to the next time. So for now I'll just say this: Paris, see you again soon