Hi all! Im usıng a computer ın our hostel here ın Istanbul rıght now! Its amazıng here! I apologıze ın advance for the typos...theır computers are weırd here! haha. Im wıth my frıends Ghazal and Rochelle and we arrıved here thıs mornıng after travelıng from Copenhagen to London Gatwıck yesterday, and then from London to Istanbul thıs mornıng. EasyJet flıght took just over 3 hours.
Our hostel ıs rıght by the world famous Blue Mosque and Hagıa Sofıa cathedral. Today we went ınsıde the Mosque whıch was beautıful. We had to remove our shoes and there were some people prayıng at the tıme, but we were allowed to take pıctures and all so ıt was great! We also heard the calls to prayer about 3 tımes today...ıts custom for Muslıms to pray 5 tımes a day.
Tomorrow (actual later today...ıts just past mıdnıght rıght now, 10 hrs later than CA tıme) were goıng to go ınsıde the Hagıa Sofıa and walk around the surroundıng areas. It was once the bıggest cathedral ın the world untıl one ın Spaın (ı thınk) overtook ıt. We'll also check out the Grand Bazzar (spellıng mıght be off) whıch ıs numerous streets wıth HUNDREDS of outdoor stores and booths wıth a lot of tradıtıonal Turkısh ıtems...ıts goıng to take some self restraınt!
It ıs so neat how much hıstory ıs here, datıng back to the Roman and Ottoman empıres and the Byzantıne perıod. So much of the stuff here I learned about ın my art hıstory class a few years ago. Its also great to be explorıng such a dıfferent place. My bank actually told me ıts consıdered (at least for them) a Mıddle Eastern country! So cool! Everyones been so nıce and have spoken better Englısh than I had ımagıned. Goıng to head to bed now...busy day tomorrow! G'nıght!
Oh! PS...there are cats EVERYWHERE here. ıts ıncredıble! theyre walkıng the streets. clımbıng on top of buıldıngs. comıng up to your table as you eat outdoors...everywhere! and theyre pretty much all kıttens! ıts so though because most of them ım sure are wıthout owners and dont get proper food. also, havent really seen any people walkıng dogs here but there are a lot of stray dogs ın the street whıch ıs sad. today we were on top of our hostels buıldıng for a bıt and a kıtten came up to us so we played wıth ıt for a bıt =)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Kristianstad & Today!
Darn, I'm really bad at this whole "blogging" thing. Last time I wrote was 10 days ago...Anyways, I'm up early this morning (its 8:10AM right now) all ready to go present a group seminar in about an hour- our topic is the democratization of Portugal and my part is to give a brief comparative view of Portugal's democratic process with that of neighboring Spain. I'm a bit nervous...hope they don't ask us any questions!
But while I'm nervous about that, I'm also very excited because tonight two other friends and myself leave for Istanbul, Turkey & London for a few days. Very excited! Turkey should be the most interesting and unique so far. Also heard its pretty cheap so that should be nice. And of course, London...just as excited because I feel like I'm going to visit my roots. And the accents! Love the British accents.
Yesterday I went on a mini one day trip to Kristianstad, a small town of around 30,000 or so about an hour away from Lund. Had a nice day there...got some work done and did some exploring. They had a real nice park with lots of beautiful scenery. Spent some time walking around there. They had a town square, church, train station, lots of nice shops...a typical nice town here!
That's it for now...I'll try to blog while I'm away. And right when I get back pictures will be posted! I've been bad at putting them up here so definitely next time pictures from Finland, Poland, Kristianstad, and then my latest adventures will be up. Have a good day everyone!
But while I'm nervous about that, I'm also very excited because tonight two other friends and myself leave for Istanbul, Turkey & London for a few days. Very excited! Turkey should be the most interesting and unique so far. Also heard its pretty cheap so that should be nice. And of course, London...just as excited because I feel like I'm going to visit my roots. And the accents! Love the British accents.
Yesterday I went on a mini one day trip to Kristianstad, a small town of around 30,000 or so about an hour away from Lund. Had a nice day there...got some work done and did some exploring. They had a real nice park with lots of beautiful scenery. Spent some time walking around there. They had a town square, church, train station, lots of nice shops...a typical nice town here!
That's it for now...I'll try to blog while I'm away. And right when I get back pictures will be posted! I've been bad at putting them up here so definitely next time pictures from Finland, Poland, Kristianstad, and then my latest adventures will be up. Have a good day everyone!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Krakow, Poland!
Hello from Poland! Right now its 245AM and the other friends I am with have gone to bed but I'm using the free internet here in the hostel. It's been an adventurous day. It began with a few of us heading to the Auschwitz concentration camp this morning which was quite an experience. It was definitely a surreal experience. After going there we came back and met up with our other two friends and went to dinner @ a vegetarian restaurant. Then we wandered the city and supposedly went to the "Jewish Ghetto" where we hung out at a club/bar/lounge. After getting some late night Chinese food, we picked up a taxi and headed back.
Tomorrow some of us may be checking out the salt mines nearby or just exploring the city...nearby are sites related to former Pope John Paul II as well as sites that were scenes in the movie Schindler's List. We arrived late Thursday night and went straight to our hostel. Today has been busy and tomorrow will be too, until we leave around 4PM back to Malmo. Things so far have been super cheap, its so nice! I have yet to find an authentic Polish sausage! Perhaps tomorrow will be the day...goodnight!
Tomorrow some of us may be checking out the salt mines nearby or just exploring the city...nearby are sites related to former Pope John Paul II as well as sites that were scenes in the movie Schindler's List. We arrived late Thursday night and went straight to our hostel. Today has been busy and tomorrow will be too, until we leave around 4PM back to Malmo. Things so far have been super cheap, its so nice! I have yet to find an authentic Polish sausage! Perhaps tomorrow will be the day...goodnight!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Helsinki, Finland & Stockholm!
Just got back from making Mexican food for dinner with some friends & watching the season premiere of Desperate Housewives! They show the big shows on Tuesday here. I thought it'd be a good time to blog about my rather crazy weekend in Finland and Stockholm (Oct. 3-5)...
Ghazal, Jasmine, & I got on the train early Saturday morning bound for Stockholm. The station wasn't open in the morning for some reason so we got on the train without making seat reservations but luckily they had room left...in the area where they allow pets! So we got to sit by a lot of cool dogs which was fun. Met and had a nice talk with a Swedish lady who offered to show us around her small town which is just a bit north of us. I think we're going to accept her offer and she said there are lots of moose there! Got into Stockholm around 3PM and headed to the area where the ferries depart and got on the Mariella which is part of the Viking Line. The ship departed for Helsinki, Finland at 5PM. After getting settled we went down to the dinning room for a buffet dinner and ate up! The food was terrific and drinks & wine were even included!
The trip across the Baltic started off great and it was Ghazal's 21st birthday so we had a fun night ahead and planned to go to the Disco later that night. Before leaving our room, Jasmine and I got Ghazal a couple desserts for her birthday and sang to her! And that is when the rocking began, and not the rocking we had hoped for in the club. The weather has gotten a lot worse in the past month and once the ship got out on the Baltic it was quite noticeable. Instead of going to the disco we sat in the lobby for hours as people lined up to get motion sickness pills, etc. We all felt the affect of the ship's movement, but other people clearly felt it more...At one point some guy came up to us and asked if he could "ask us a couple questions". He was beyond intoxicated and didn't seem to get the hint that it wasn't the time. There were so many drunk & crazy Finns on board! Another one walked towards me and tried to poke my head. We were all getting pretty annoyed. Guess the only good thing for them is they didn't remember the ferry ride...it was definitely one to forget and they probably just thought it was them rocking side to side! After trying to sleep for awhile in one of the lobby's, we went back to our room at about 6AM when the motion subsided. We got 4 hours of rest in before getting off in Helsinki!
Helsinki was a lot of fun. It was the opening day of a herring festival. The weather wasn't so good as it rained a large part of the day and HARD. It would start without warning, though the sun shined through at times which was nice. We visited a Roman Orthodox Church and saw a baptism taking place! (It was Sunday...) We also visited another Church and watched an orchestra and opera singer practicing. It was a nice few minutes. We walked around the town a lot and along a harbor where there were TONS of ships and sails. For lunch we ate at an Asian restaurant which was quite good! Scandinavia seems to have their Asian food down. I enjoyed the capital a lot and took many pictures, though I think 1 day is about all we needed. Ghazal and Jasmine wanted to look into flights back to Stockholm to avoid the dreaded ferry back, but finding no affordable ones as I anticipated, we re-boarded the Mariella at around 5PM.
First thing we did was pick up motion sickness pills to help ease the ride back. We hung out in our rooms for a bit and then had some Princess cake (a Swedish must!) and tea before heading in to play Bingo! Ghazal won 12 Euros! Woo Hoo. Jasmine and I walked around a bit after and then went to bed...early...it was only 9:30PM! Had a good night's sleep and woke up the next morning ready to explore Stockholm.
Jasmine and I had been but not Ghazal so we walked around the city, explored old town, visited the shops along Drottingatan, saw the Royal Palace, walked through the middle of town, and eventually back to the train station by the end of the day. We left at just after 6 in the evening and again found ourselves in the company of some of man's best friends, including a German Shepperd. It was a fun and eventful couple of days.
Ghazal, Jasmine, & I got on the train early Saturday morning bound for Stockholm. The station wasn't open in the morning for some reason so we got on the train without making seat reservations but luckily they had room left...in the area where they allow pets! So we got to sit by a lot of cool dogs which was fun. Met and had a nice talk with a Swedish lady who offered to show us around her small town which is just a bit north of us. I think we're going to accept her offer and she said there are lots of moose there! Got into Stockholm around 3PM and headed to the area where the ferries depart and got on the Mariella which is part of the Viking Line. The ship departed for Helsinki, Finland at 5PM. After getting settled we went down to the dinning room for a buffet dinner and ate up! The food was terrific and drinks & wine were even included!
The trip across the Baltic started off great and it was Ghazal's 21st birthday so we had a fun night ahead and planned to go to the Disco later that night. Before leaving our room, Jasmine and I got Ghazal a couple desserts for her birthday and sang to her! And that is when the rocking began, and not the rocking we had hoped for in the club. The weather has gotten a lot worse in the past month and once the ship got out on the Baltic it was quite noticeable. Instead of going to the disco we sat in the lobby for hours as people lined up to get motion sickness pills, etc. We all felt the affect of the ship's movement, but other people clearly felt it more...At one point some guy came up to us and asked if he could "ask us a couple questions". He was beyond intoxicated and didn't seem to get the hint that it wasn't the time. There were so many drunk & crazy Finns on board! Another one walked towards me and tried to poke my head. We were all getting pretty annoyed. Guess the only good thing for them is they didn't remember the ferry ride...it was definitely one to forget and they probably just thought it was them rocking side to side! After trying to sleep for awhile in one of the lobby's, we went back to our room at about 6AM when the motion subsided. We got 4 hours of rest in before getting off in Helsinki!
Helsinki was a lot of fun. It was the opening day of a herring festival. The weather wasn't so good as it rained a large part of the day and HARD. It would start without warning, though the sun shined through at times which was nice. We visited a Roman Orthodox Church and saw a baptism taking place! (It was Sunday...) We also visited another Church and watched an orchestra and opera singer practicing. It was a nice few minutes. We walked around the town a lot and along a harbor where there were TONS of ships and sails. For lunch we ate at an Asian restaurant which was quite good! Scandinavia seems to have their Asian food down. I enjoyed the capital a lot and took many pictures, though I think 1 day is about all we needed. Ghazal and Jasmine wanted to look into flights back to Stockholm to avoid the dreaded ferry back, but finding no affordable ones as I anticipated, we re-boarded the Mariella at around 5PM.
First thing we did was pick up motion sickness pills to help ease the ride back. We hung out in our rooms for a bit and then had some Princess cake (a Swedish must!) and tea before heading in to play Bingo! Ghazal won 12 Euros! Woo Hoo. Jasmine and I walked around a bit after and then went to bed...early...it was only 9:30PM! Had a good night's sleep and woke up the next morning ready to explore Stockholm.
Jasmine and I had been but not Ghazal so we walked around the city, explored old town, visited the shops along Drottingatan, saw the Royal Palace, walked through the middle of town, and eventually back to the train station by the end of the day. We left at just after 6 in the evening and again found ourselves in the company of some of man's best friends, including a German Shepperd. It was a fun and eventful couple of days.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Random Things on My Mind @ 3AM
I was originally going to make this post about the awesome home cooked meals my friends & I have been makin here but I'll save that for next time. Though, right now I'm eating the leftovers of the last one I made...pasta with a tomato basil sauce, oregano, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, & tomatoes!
Tomorrow (actually later today) a few of us are going to Stockholm and then hopefully taking the ferry over to Helsinki, Finland! We'll be going for a couple of days and then come back Monday. Its Ghazal's 21st birthday so we're going to celebrate it on the Baltic Sea!
Tonight I had a nice, low-key Friday night. Hung out @ a friend's place and played monopoly with a few of her friends. Met an American from Atlanta (still gotta visit there sometime)! It was a good break from the crazy clubbing nights yesterday & Wednesday. Though, they were fun! Wednesday we went to Västgöta Nation (aka "VG's") and last night we hit up Östgöta Nation (aka "OG's"). Both were fun, though not very crowded! It was the first time I had been to either. For those reading that haven't heard yet, Lund University has 13 student nations which are basically social clubs that serve lunch and dinner most days for discounted prices and have club nights during the weekend. Every student @ Lund is required to join one. Last week I finally, after much procrastination, joined Sydskånska nationen. I've been there a couple times and really like it...plus, its close & a lot of other friends joined it, too. It is known as the music nation since they have a variety of club nights all with different music (reggae, hip hop, electro...my favorite!).
Another thing I've been keepin up pretty well with here is the gym! I have a pass for the classes and weight room portion of it and so far have been using both...which is a very good thing considering some of the food I've been eating (lots of sweets). The gym here is called Gerdahallen and is super nice. I've been to two classes: the first was a mix of cardio, stretching, different movements, and weight training using a bar. The second was yoga! I think trying out the one yoga class is all I need for a looooooong time. It was more difficult than I had imagined and at the end of the class we took like a 5 minute nap with blankets! haha
Back on September 19 there was a Culture Night in Lund which was awesome! The UC students had originally thought we'd be in Copenhagen for our mixer with the students there but it was canceled and a few of us found ourselves amongst the most people we've seen yet around the city on a Saturday night. It was a fun night with bands performing all around the small city, with all kinds of food, entertainment, vendors, etc. Fun night!
That's it for now...Stockholm & Finland tomorrow! Better start packing!
Tomorrow (actually later today) a few of us are going to Stockholm and then hopefully taking the ferry over to Helsinki, Finland! We'll be going for a couple of days and then come back Monday. Its Ghazal's 21st birthday so we're going to celebrate it on the Baltic Sea!
Tonight I had a nice, low-key Friday night. Hung out @ a friend's place and played monopoly with a few of her friends. Met an American from Atlanta (still gotta visit there sometime)! It was a good break from the crazy clubbing nights yesterday & Wednesday. Though, they were fun! Wednesday we went to Västgöta Nation (aka "VG's") and last night we hit up Östgöta Nation (aka "OG's"). Both were fun, though not very crowded! It was the first time I had been to either. For those reading that haven't heard yet, Lund University has 13 student nations which are basically social clubs that serve lunch and dinner most days for discounted prices and have club nights during the weekend. Every student @ Lund is required to join one. Last week I finally, after much procrastination, joined Sydskånska nationen. I've been there a couple times and really like it...plus, its close & a lot of other friends joined it, too. It is known as the music nation since they have a variety of club nights all with different music (reggae, hip hop, electro...my favorite!).
Another thing I've been keepin up pretty well with here is the gym! I have a pass for the classes and weight room portion of it and so far have been using both...which is a very good thing considering some of the food I've been eating (lots of sweets). The gym here is called Gerdahallen and is super nice. I've been to two classes: the first was a mix of cardio, stretching, different movements, and weight training using a bar. The second was yoga! I think trying out the one yoga class is all I need for a looooooong time. It was more difficult than I had imagined and at the end of the class we took like a 5 minute nap with blankets! haha
Back on September 19 there was a Culture Night in Lund which was awesome! The UC students had originally thought we'd be in Copenhagen for our mixer with the students there but it was canceled and a few of us found ourselves amongst the most people we've seen yet around the city on a Saturday night. It was a fun night with bands performing all around the small city, with all kinds of food, entertainment, vendors, etc. Fun night!
That's it for now...Stockholm & Finland tomorrow! Better start packing!
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