Castle

Hello Family and Friends,

April 16 to 20 CASTLE weekend

So you know how there is one place in the world that you really want to see before you die.

Well my one place that I want to see before I died was this castle that is in the movie "Ever After." This castle is in France, about 2 and half hours from the city of Bordeaux.

The castle is called Chateau de Hautefortin in Hautefortin, France.

The move "Ever After" is my favorite movie, I know all of the lines, and I can tell you any scene in the movie. I could tell you what happened before that scene and what will happen next. There are a total of for castles in this movie, if I know how to get to the other 3 I would have gone to them as well. But I did not know how to get to them.

So I took my friend David there with me to find this castle.

On Friday morning we got up and went to find the tourism office so we could find out how to get to the castle. Then they told us that the bus that goes out there is not running because it is school holiday in France. When I heard this my heart sunk, and I wanted to go BACK to Switzerland immediately. Then the lady told us that the only way out there is by car.

David know that if I did not see this castle that I would go home the most disappointed person in the world. He also knew he had to keep me calm too.

SO what does David do, he prices out a taxi there, and then prices out a rental car. The rental car was cheaper, so we rented the car. The drive out there was really nice, it was all in the country side.

This was the best day ever.

On Thursday we went into the city of Bordeaux. This was David’s tour day of our weeke

nd. He tried to take me on a walking of the city but it did not work out that well. He managed to find the shopping street. We walked up and down that street for like 2 hours before I said “I don’t want to shop anymore.”

Opera house

Then on Sunday we walked around the city Perigueux this was the city that we were staying in. There is not much to do in this city but the big church, and this square.

The big church in the center of town

This was a good weekend.

Till next time,

Travel54s

The cheese factroy and Burn City tour

Hello family and friends,

So on April 29 we took a class field trip to the the Emmentaler Cheese Factory. We know this cheese in America as Swiss Cheese.



This was a really nice little tour of how this cheese is made. Now with all of the standers for milk. They now have to put an acid in the cheese to make the air bubbles, so there is holes in the cheese. Before this was a natural posses in making this type of cheese.




Each wheel of cheese is 100kg to 150kg can you big. the also get taller too because of making the air bubbles in side.



We also learned how to make cheese over all. how they heat it and separate it out the way and the curds. How they press all of the water out, and wash the rein with salt water. They will let a cheese age for about 4 months before the even test it to see if it passes standers.

To sell Emmentaler cheese as a first class cheese it has to pass a test that is based on a 20 point scale. If the cheese is between a 17 1/2 and 20 it is a first class cheese.

Then after leaning about this cheese, we got to taste it. The first one we tried was 4 months old. It was very mild and still a young cheese. The next one we tried was a year old, it tasted just like the Swiss cheese that we get back in the states. The last one we tried was 2 years old, it had a really strong taste, and I could really taste the salt in this one. I did not like the last one we tasted.


After that we went on a nice walking tour of the city of Burn. This is also the capital of Switzerland, if you did not know. We leaned all about the history of the city. Our tour guide did not like us very much because she only showed us about half of the city.



We saw the big clock, and the major church, and the old city gates and then the new old city gates. We saw the capital building. Then she is like I will tell you how to get back to the shopping street.




I did not shop but I did get STARBUCKS. It was really good, to get good coffee.

so that was my class field trip.

Till next time

Travel54s

Sorry I am sooo far behind on my weekend travel up-dates

Hello family and Friends,

So i know i have not in formed you of how many of my weekends have been going. that is because i have bee really busy with class and projects.

but the weekend and class day trips that you should be look for are as followed.
April 16-20 Castle (in France)
April 22-25 Geneva
April 29 the cheese factory and Burn city tour
April 30-May 3 Prague
May 6 the Zurich airport tour (can you say KOOL)

they are all coming soon i just want to let you know that i have not for gotten my flowers.

the day trips might come up before the weekend trips just because they are day tips with the class and we spend more time getting there then we do spend there.

till next time

Travel54s

Easter Weekend with the Fam

Hello Family and Friends,

Easter weekend with the family

I always find it find it interesting when you ask Americans what is their Heritage, and they roll off 4 or 5 different European countries. When people ask me what I am, I say German. The reason I only say one country is because I still have lot of German relatives that my family talks to on a regular
basis and we they come to the US on business we make sure they stop by and see us.

So now that you have my back ground you can see that, since I am in Europe for three months, that I had to do the same. However, I wanted to visit on a holiday weekend because this way I would be able to see a good portion of the family at one time.

The major contact member of the German family is Christoph Krohmer. He is the family member that comes to the United States a lot for business, so he was the one that I had met before and kind of knew. So as soon as I was accepted into the Switzerland study abroad program I emailed him and said “I’m coming to Europe for 3 months! I will have to come and visit.” We emailed back and forth for about a year off and on. In that time I was thinking what would be a good weekend to come and visit. I picked Easter weekend because it was a longer weekend for me and it gives us a nice visit
with everyone.

Friday Good Friday April 10, 2009

So I got up early and caught the 6:25am bus from my little town of Vitznau, then the train into Luzern. There I had some time to kill before my train to Zürich. So what does any college student go and find? Of course, that is cheap COFFEE and something to eat on the next train.

I get on my train to Zürich, they check my ticket, and then the person sitting in the seat on the other side of the isle starts talking to me. Of course, all I want to do is eat and drink my coffee in peace and listen to my music. But this guy was very creepy and said I was very pretty and wanted to meet me again for coffee. He asked for my phone number and my email address. What I was doing in Switzerland. I talked to him for a little bit but I am a person that will never give out my phone number unless I know the person or I am working with them. But it is also good now because I don’t
have a phone number to be reached at right now. I also lied through my teeth about my email address, and how I can only use it for school items. So I said there was no way of ever reaching me again. So the trip started our a little rocky but it got better.

The train to Germany was uneventful. It was a nice little 2 1/2 hour train ride to the small town of Horb. This is the closest transition to were Christoph lives. This station is very small and a great place to meet up with family. It was funny because I had emailed and told Christoph that I
would be wearing a green coat but last minute I got a new coat. Christoph was worried when he did not see anyone wearing a green coat get off the train, and he asked one of the conductors if there was an American still on the train wearing a green coat. But of course by that time I saw him and was
making a bee line for him. About 4 feet out I said “Hello Christoph” and then he realized it was me. Christoph game me the biggest welcome hug I have ever gotten.

Christoph had his son Julius with him and he was very quiet. On the way home, we dropped off Easter gifts for a Godchild, then we headed to his house, where I met his wife Tatjana, and his 2 daughters Luise and Karoline.

me and Luise



me and Julius


me and Karoline

Then I got a tour of the house, and Luise showed me were I would be sleeping. Christoph started to make lunch and I was standing in the kitchen talking to him. Christoph told me that in Germany that it is tradition not to eat meat on Good Friday, so we eat fish. So for lunch He made a pepper
fish and I helped. I made the pepper butter, and made the salad dressing. I had never made salad dressing before so he taught me how to do it, and it turned out really well. So for lunch we had pepper fish, salad, potatoes, and wine to drink. Then for dessert we had this cream yogurt dish, and the Swiss chocolate I brought with Espresso.

About an hour later we went out for a walk in the village. This is a cute little village, very walk able and the weather was beautiful. After our walk we came back and died Easter eggs. I leaned a new way to die Easter eggs too. First you boil them and then take them out and put a leaf or a flower on them in a nylon and tie it off and put it in the color. Then you pull them out and the die is all over the egg except were the leaf or flower was. I was so fascinated with that, I think I died more eggs than Christoph and Tatjana’s kids.

After the walk I played hide and seek with the kids and then they saw my computer and asked in English if I had any games on it. So I let them play one of the games I have on it. The really won over Julius. Then I showed Luise the horse photos I have on my computer and that won her over. Luise really loves horses and she has been riding for about a year.

Then around 18:30 or 19:00 hour we had dinner. Dinner in Germany is not like dinner in America. Dinner is a lot of different types of cheeses and things stuffed with cheese and some meat and butter. I am not really sure how to describe it but it is very good. I tried just about all of the cheeses, and put some on bread and mixed with other things. It was a great dinner. To drink I had a local German Beer. Dinner lasted for about 2 hours. There was great conversation, and was a great beginning to Easter weekend.


Saturday April 11, 2009

We started out slow with breakfast at about 8am. Breakfast is a verity of bread and cheese and meat and butter. I learned the Germans eat butter on their pretzels that makes them really good. And of course we had coffee to drink, with steamed milk. I have come to love COFFEE in EUROPE; I’m not sure how I am going to go back to American coffee. (hint Mom and Dad; I want an
Espresso machine for Christmas!).

Today is the day I became a tourist in Germany. Christoph, Julius, Luise and me, along with Christoph’s sister Eva and her two sons Noah and Jonas when to visit a castle (or a fortress, it just depends on how you look at it). I loved it, and I called it a castle. We went on a tour and it was in German, but there was a book of English translation of the tour. That was really
nice because then I did not have to rely on Christoph to translate the important parts for me. We spent a good 2 hours there.








Our next touristy spot was the town of Tubingen. We had lunch at a restaurant that was also a small micro brewery. The food was really good, and I am not sure what I really eat but it was really good. This was also like a small beer garden, so I got my beer garden in Germany and I had a beer there as well. Then we walked around the city and went in the church and had ice cream.




LUNCH ymmm!!!!!













Then we headed out to Christoph’s parents house. I got a tour of the house, and the garden. Manfred, Christoph’s father, raises honey bees. So they have some hives in the garden and many more all over the village. Dinner was good, it was pizza or knishes. I had this really good beer, it is a wheat beer and it is mixed with sparking water and is called a Russian. I also played some games with Luise and I got a lesson in how to say the
colors in German.


Sunday Easter, April 12, 2009

This was also a slow start we had breakfast about 8am again. Then me, Christoph, Regiswinde, Karoline and Luise all went to church. This was really nice for me, even though I do not really know German. The church was nice and little. There was a brass band playing all of the music. However, I did not know any of the songs, which was the one thing that Christoph and I were thinking that I would know.

When we got back from church, we waited for Eva and her boys to come. Not too long after they came we had an Easter hunt for our baskets. Christoph laid down the rules to the children, while I talked to Eva and Tatinia about the rules as well.

And the rules are:
1) No fighting
2) No hitting or biting
3) There are only so many gets and you each get this many
4) No breaking the egg in someone else's hand, if that was the one that you
wanted.

Eva told Christoph the last rule and he must of told it to the children, then they all came running out into the Garden to look, and Christoph was right be hind them and told me that if I wanted to hunt as well I could. I was like, Yes!, and was a little kid a again.

I was definitely not expecting to have an Easter basket at all. But there were gifts for me. I got a book of the county were Manfred and Regiswinde live, and a small box with some eggs it. I was so excited to have gifts as well, I felt like a little kid again.




me with my easter finds (thank you Christoph)

Then we made Easter dinner, and I helped. I learned how to make Spätzle. Spätzle is the Shwaben pasta, which is made fresh. This is really good pasta and I felt really German eating it. We had pork shanks, cooked really nicely in this butter and wine and tomato paste sauce, with onions, and mushrooms. We also had a vegetable casserole and salad with wine. Then for dessert we
had a raspberry cream dish made by Eva; it was amazing.

At school in Switzerland, we always wonder were the dessert is; Now I see it has all gone to Germany. Then Eva and her boys and I went to visit a castle. Germans call this castle
a Fairytale castle. Because of how it looks and it is sitting on the rocks. We also took a tour of this castle it is much smaller and would fit in my suitcase. So I was really thinking about taking it home with me.

Then we all went to Eva’s husband's family for about an hour, then we came back and had dinner at Eva’s parents house. We also made sure we got new family photos.

Then Christoph and his family went back home, while Eva, her sons, and I stayed as well. I played a game called make and break with Regiswinde and Jonas. It was all about building with blocks against a timer and to see how many you could make before the buzzer went off. This was a lot of fun and we did not have to speak so much, which was good because Regiswinde does not speak a lot of English and I don’t speak a lot of German. It was good on how they explained the rules to me in German, and I under stood what they were saying. We did this for about an hour.

Then Eva and I had more COFFEE and dessert and talked till about 22:30 hours. Then we went to bed. I also asked Manfred if I could have some of his honey to take back with me.


Sunday was a great day.

Easter Monday April 13, 2009,

Another slow start to the day, 8am breakfast, then Eva and headed out to Stuttgart where my train was leaving from at 11:53 back to Zürich. We met up with her husband in Stuttgart, and went up the tower at the train station. Then we went and got something to drink at a beer garden (it was not beer;
at 11am that is a little too early for me to start drinking.) Then they made sure that I got on my train.

And this is where I leave you. This train ride was very uneventful.

Till next time,

Travel54s

Going to the Doctor

Hello family and friends,

Tuesday April 7 2009

Being sick in a forghen country,

So in Venice I started to get sick with a little head cold. I was thinking it was nothing. I was wrong. By Tuesday came I wake up in the middle of the night with a hard time breathing and could not sleep. With that I decided that I need to get real help.

So to go to the doctor here in the DCT school in Switzerland, this is what you do. Go to the front desk and tell them you want to go to the doctor, and they will call an make an appointment for you. Then they call you and tell what time it is at and give you a map to his office. His office is just up the street and then up a hill.

The hill was the hard part for me because I could not breath. But I walk into this house and I’m like what is going on. There is no nuerice and they the lady that deals with the payment is like you are from DCT right, and I’m like yes. She take my insurens card and puts me in this waiting room.

This is the first time I have ever felt like what is going to happen to me in a doctors office. The reason being because I can not read any of the magazines because they are all in German; and the doctor is the one that pulls you back into his office. So there are a few ladies there before me and the doctor comes in and says something in German and I’m like HOLEY CRAPE I’m going to die. But one other ladies got up.

Then when it was my turn to come back to the office he askes me what is wrong. I told him that I started out with a head cold but in the middle of the night I wake up with a hard time breathing. Of corse I was thinking I had Bronckides but I was wrong. He said in his broken English that the longs are fine but your glands are all swollen. He leaves in a worle wind and comes back with 3 boxes in his hand. He sits down in front of me and tells how to take them and how many times a day to take them and then writes that on the boxes to.

Everything I am taking has to go into water. So I drink 3 big glasses of water every morning. But I am almost done with it now. But that was quite an expriens to go to the doctor in Switzerland.


Till next time,
Travel54s

Venice

Hello Family and Friends,

That follow even thought I am really bad at staying up to date on what is going on in my life. But look here I am doing this past weekend before I Leave for EASTER BREAK!!

VENICE, Italy

Thursday April 2 through Sunday April 5 2009

Thursday was an early morning day for the whole group all 35 JWU students and the professor. Our wake up call was at 5AM. We got on a the bus witch we filled with our suite cases. Then even more people got on the bus and the bus was over crowded. Then we go to the train station it was still DARK. Then we got on our 10min train raid to wait 45min for our first 3hour train ride that took us to Milan then on to Venice.

When we got into Venice it was like 3pm and raining. This was the first city that when you walked out of the train station that you really fell like you are in the city that you planed on traveling too.

Then we got on the water bus or the vesbies to go to our hotel. Our hotels were on the main board walk of Venice. Once my Professor checked us in it was like 16:00hour, and we had the rest of the night to our salves. So my friend David and I went out and explored the city. We did this till about 21:30hour. By the time I got back to my room I was EXOSTED, a half a day of traveling and then 5hours walking around a city, can you say I sleped like a baby.

Friday April 3, 2009

This day started out a lot later at 8:45am when the group meet up for our 9am walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was great she was Venicine and have grown up and lived in Venice all of her life. She gave lots of history about they city, and what were see. She also told us about the government system that they had in the 14 century.

Then she took us into the Famous church of the government that took over 200 years to build (I don’t remember if that number is right but it took along time).

Then she took us into where all of the locals lives and told us about how many islands are in Venice 117. Every time you walk over a bridge you leave one island and enter into a new one. Each island has its own town square and church.

The cool thing about the city is that there is no slums the rich and the poor live right next to each other.

This went on for two hours, we learned about Marko Polo, and saw his house. That was really cool. The tour ended at 11am and it ended at the Rialto Bridge. This is the major bridge in Venice. It is lined with shops on both sides, and on the other side are all of the little Wine bars when millions of young people hang out.

When the tour was over we had free time till 15:00hour when we had a guided tour of Hotel Daneli. This was one of the first hotels in Venice. It is also one of the most Expensive Hotels in the world as well.

So in our free time I got lunch with some of girl friends and did some shopping. What I bought this day was a really nice leather hand bag. This bag is really nice it is bad of ITALIAN leather and feels like BUTTER. The color is a light brown, no crazy leather colors for me. The best part about buying this bag was that it was ON SALE FOR 30% OFF. My friend Michelle would be very PROUD parent.

15:00h –Hotel tour of the Daneli

This hotel is beautiful. The size of it and the rooms are all decorated in silk wall coverings. The wall sconses are all made of Merono Glass. The tour guide was the one of the mangers. He gave us the whole history of the hotel. He also gave us the major love stories that happened there. He told us who the major long term residents of years past were. This is quite a hotel.

After our hotel tour our day was fee again.

Before coming to Venice most of us had heard about Vineo founts where you can fill up a 2 litter bottle with WINE for about 3euros. So what do a group of 20 and 21 years do. We make the treick to fill up our 2litter plastic bottles with WINE. Of cores we got lost going there. The cool thing is our professor also went with us, she is a really cool Lady. She also bought us all GELTO that was really nice of her. That happed because one of the Eleanor was jocking around and said she should and she did.

Then we get to the vineo fountain, this is just the KOOLEST place ever, it is a hole in the wall place with just hug kegs of wine.

After our little wine trip, a group of 10 of us when on a goundla rides. You can only fit 6 people in a golinda so we got two 5 in one and 5 in the other. That was really nice. That lasted for about 45minets. That we did a little after 18:00h.

DINNER TIME the best time of the day. We went back to the same place we got lunch, and this time we had to many people for one table we had to get 2 tables. After that we were going to go to a jazz club/bar but they did not play live jazz so we just ended up walking around with our bottles of wine and our Plastic cups from the bath room. We were such lushes. We walked around till about 23:30h.

Saturday April 4th 2009

My tour day, so what did we do. We spent about an hour in Dodger’s places, and saw 2 church. They were cool but you could not take photos on the in side but I was ok with that. We saw many street performers today as well there was an opera singer and a guy playing the water glasses.

Then that was the end of planed items for my tour day. So then there was about 6 of us that went out to Merono Island to see the glass factory and of course buy glass. I saw them make a horse and blow a Vase. I would tell you what I got there but that would be giving gifts away. When after that we got lunch, and window shopped for about another hour or so.

Then I went back and walked around the city buy my self and got some art work, and then did more gift shopping. Then it was time to dinner and I met up with some friends. And of cores what did we get PIZZA and GELTO. Then it was time for our 20:00h ghost tour.

This tour was great, our tour guide’s family had been in Venice since the 1400’s. She told us all tour ghost stories. She also told us history about the city that we did not learn on our walking tour.

The city is very well know for their masks, and that is because before street lamps the laies had no light and people would kill the nobles and the used the masks to not show noblelity. The ones with the long noeses were wearn by the doctors with herbs so that they could not smell the dead bodies.

The City of Venice is one of the most hunted cities because every building has at least one ghost. People have seen the ghost when it is foggy out and here voices all over the city.

Then this tour was over it was about 21:30 or a little after. And some of us went back to the hotels. I went back to pack because I was not sure how I was going to bring everything back, in my book bag.

This was a great weekend in Venice.

So the whole time in Venice the whole group of students lived off of PIZZA and GELTO because they are really cheep and you could find them every where and they were filling too.

Sunday April 5th 2009

Traveling back to Switzerland, was an early morning. But this was do so that we could have 4 hours to do what ever we wanted to in the City of Milano, the fashion capital of the world. I did not do any shopping here because I spent way to much money in Venice. But I did see the 3rd larches church in the world.

And was it amazing, world can not describe it. Even the photos I took of don’t even do it just it ether.

We also saw that mall there as well, it is nice but I could not afford to buy anything there because it is all name brand everything.

Then we got back to school around 22:30h. long day of traveling.
Till next time, travel54s

Photos to come soon

Mt. Titles

Hello family and Friend,

Monday March 30 2009

I get to play in the snow for class. Yes I played in the snow for a whole day for class on the top of Mt. Titles.





I did everything from hike up to the top.





the start of going to the top


AT THE TOP I MAD IT IN THE THIN AIR



The view from the top

I went sledding in the clouds were I could not see anything that was more then like 10 feet in front of you. That was so cool because you got lost all of the time,but you were able to here voices so that is what you fallowed.




my friends sledding

my friend David and I had a SNOW fight, and he thought he won till I got him back. I was the real winner of the SNOW fight. let me know u who u think own buy the last photos of us us.

Me at the end



David at the end



The whole time I was on the mountain all I wanted to do was go SKIING.


Then when we were done with sledding we went over to the ice hotel and had some drinks at like 3 in the after noon.

Then the group of us that went to the bar got lost trying to go back down the mountain. Then we found our way.




Got on the train to came back to school and have dinner. Of course I did not pack long under were or winter boots so I did all of that in sneakers. So by the time I got on the train my feet were so wet. I was really lucky that I did not get sick form that day.

Till next time,
Travel54s


i will get the photos up on this one tomorrow but it is now 10:45 and i have been up since 4am so im really sleepy