I'm back! In Zilina that is.... it was actually surprisingly nice to come back to Slovakia. It really did feel like coming home which was nice. We drove back through Poland and the Czech Republic on Monday and then Karin and Horst stayed two nights in Slovakia. It was really fun to show them around Slovakia and share everything I've experienced and seen and learned about with someone who knows me and appreciates all that I've been through. On Tuesday we did a tour around pretty much half of Slovakia where we saw Oravsky Hrad, Terchova, and Liptovsky Mikulas. Both Karin and Horst seemed to enjoy themselves and I know I did. To finish the day we went to Slovak Pub for Halusky! and sausage and Gulash! Yum!
Leaving Slovakia for a while and then coming back with people who didn't really know it made me realize just how much I've learned about this little country and helped me to 're appreciate' the beauty of it! It really is a lovely little country, especially the countryside. And now everything is green and blooming, so pretty!
And that ended my 20 day long excursion to Germany (and Austria and Denmark and Sweden!). It was really really really sad to see karin and Horst go. I will miss them! I think we learned alot about eachother and now have some really great memories to think back on. AND I WILL come back to Germany in the near future I'm sure. There, now it's documented, so I have to.
Now I've had a day or two just hanging out in Zilina. I went back to school today which was boring as usual. It hasn't changed one bit (not that I expected it to) but it was nice to see some of my classmates again. But really what I"m doing is killing time until Italy and Greece! Have I mentioned I'm excited about that trip?!I don't think so..... :P
I went shopping today for some summer clothes as I currently have nothing. Partly because I didn't bring that much and partly because all the things I did bring don't fit anymore. That's a great feeling, putting on the capris that fit you 8 months ago and realizing they won't even do up anymore. Oh how wonderful. But it does mean I get to go shopping which is alright for me. I found some really cute things today and got my haircut and a new pair of sunglasses so I should be looking mighty fine. I'm all set for the sun in Italy so it better greet me there otherwise I'm going to be very dissapointed.
So there's the update. Unfortunately I won't be writing again for about 12 or 15 days as you know where I'll be! But when all that craziness is through I will tell you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE
p
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The North Sea
Well, I'm running a little behind on my blog posts here. Last week I went to the North Sea (among many other places)! It was soo soo sooo cool! We had to take a train for about 2 and a half hours before we arrived at the end of this long little island. You can only get there by train! The only unfortunate thing (which turned out to be alright in the end) was that the one day we decided to go to the sea mother nature decided not to cooperate. I woke up that morning to a torrential downpour. But, we decided to go anyways and it was well worth it because the rain eventually cleared, and although it was terribly windy, the sea was beautiful. I had had the chance to walk all along the coast line and it was majestical. It is such a powerful thing the sea. With the waves crashing up against the shore and the wind whipping around you, it kind of felt like I was in a dream or something. I collected some sea shells and some sand too which was fun and with any luck they'll make it home in one piece. So the day was wonderful and I now realize why everyone things the sea (or ocean) is so marvelous: because it really is!
Now I am in Berlin staying with one of my second cousins. It has been fantastic here as well. I've only been here two nights (and sadly I only have one left) but it has been so nice. I feel so at home and I love the family. I'm sharing a room with my little second cousin Mili who is 12. She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met and I absolutely love hanging out with her. We've had a lot of fun the past few days reading magazines, playing with the camera and computer, and just talking. Her English is amazing too so that makes things a whole lot easier. It will be sad to leave this place but I'm sure I'll be back (and hopefully sooner than later). Berlin is an interesting city. I've seen quite a bit of it when you combine this time with the time I was here three years ago but I still couldn't really tell you what I've seen and what I haven't. It is a huge city and a little overwhelming. I know for one thing I would never really want to live here forever. Too big and too much construction, too many people, and so much happening. I'll stick to my nice little Tofield of about 1800 people thank you. But that aside it is a very cool place. There is ALOT to see and do and it has so much history it could make your brain exlode. Perhaps one day I'll be able to get everything about the wars straight in my head.
Today I we have taken the morning easy which is alright with me! I rolled out of bed at 11 to have breakfast with the family downstairs which is always nice. This afternoon I think we are going to go to a big Flea Market in the city and then My other cousin (there are three of them) is coming over with her son and husband for a bbq. The weather is fabulous so it should be a really nice afternoon. I'm looking forward to it.
Tomorrow is Monday and that means I'll be heading back to my second home, Slovakia, with Karin and Horst. Which is sad but it will also be nice to be back I think. Then Karin and Horst will stay for two nights and I'm going to show them around Slovakia for a day before they head back to Germany. It should be fun and I'm really delighted to have the chance to share all that I've seen and learned over the past 8 months with someone close to me.
So that's the update! Talk to you soon!
p
Now I am in Berlin staying with one of my second cousins. It has been fantastic here as well. I've only been here two nights (and sadly I only have one left) but it has been so nice. I feel so at home and I love the family. I'm sharing a room with my little second cousin Mili who is 12. She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met and I absolutely love hanging out with her. We've had a lot of fun the past few days reading magazines, playing with the camera and computer, and just talking. Her English is amazing too so that makes things a whole lot easier. It will be sad to leave this place but I'm sure I'll be back (and hopefully sooner than later). Berlin is an interesting city. I've seen quite a bit of it when you combine this time with the time I was here three years ago but I still couldn't really tell you what I've seen and what I haven't. It is a huge city and a little overwhelming. I know for one thing I would never really want to live here forever. Too big and too much construction, too many people, and so much happening. I'll stick to my nice little Tofield of about 1800 people thank you. But that aside it is a very cool place. There is ALOT to see and do and it has so much history it could make your brain exlode. Perhaps one day I'll be able to get everything about the wars straight in my head.
Today I we have taken the morning easy which is alright with me! I rolled out of bed at 11 to have breakfast with the family downstairs which is always nice. This afternoon I think we are going to go to a big Flea Market in the city and then My other cousin (there are three of them) is coming over with her son and husband for a bbq. The weather is fabulous so it should be a really nice afternoon. I'm looking forward to it.
Tomorrow is Monday and that means I'll be heading back to my second home, Slovakia, with Karin and Horst. Which is sad but it will also be nice to be back I think. Then Karin and Horst will stay for two nights and I'm going to show them around Slovakia for a day before they head back to Germany. It should be fun and I'm really delighted to have the chance to share all that I've seen and learned over the past 8 months with someone close to me.
So that's the update! Talk to you soon!
p
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Countdowns
And I just wanted to do a post of my countdowns I have going. I have ALOT of things to look forward to!
DAYS UNTIL>>>>
I spend a week in Berlin with more family: 5
Italy and Greece:13
I Switch to my last host home:24
Home to Canada:78
DAYS UNTIL>>>>
I spend a week in Berlin with more family: 5
Italy and Greece:13
I Switch to my last host home:24
Home to Canada:78
Denmark and Sweden
I've been up to a lot here in Germany and boy have I seen a lot! Earlier in the week I went to this Vikings Museum which was really cool (plus it was like I had my own personal guide because Horst knows so much about that stuff). It was just outside of Hamburg and was set up something like Fort Edmonton Park. They had created these straw and mud huts just like what the vikings who had a trading post there would have lived in. You got to walk around inside them and look at all the things they would have used. They also had some of their traditional boats on display which were beautiful. There was video which explained everything that happened historically in English but I thought it was kind of funny how the story went. These people (the vikings) worked and worked and the village expanded and grew and grew and then hundreds of years after it was established, after years of hard work and development, an army came in and burned it all down. And it never got going again. So all that work went into it and it was finished in a matter of hours. Sad really. But interesting as well.
The after the museum we went to a smaller town called Schleswig which was across the bay from the museum. This little town was absolutely adorable! I can't even properly express how cute it was in words. I LOVED it! First of all everything was really really old. Some of the houses dated back to the 1600's and so they were these beautiful small buildings painted in bright colors. Stunning in itself but on top of that they were all lined up along water! Many of their yards literally backed onto the bay and they had all these old fishing boats and docks. It really was picture perfect. There was also a main dock set up as well where there were sail boats and some bigger ships docked. But with the sweet houses, cobble stone streets, narrow, windy ways, and the water ooooohhh! it was wonderful.
Now I'm just getting started. Later in the week we went on our real adventure. A roadtrip to Denmark and then up to Sweden! It was so cool! All these countries are so close together and yet they are all so different. It was really neat seeing all that I did and now I have a real idea of what those Scandinavian countries are like (although I did only spend a day and half there.... so I'm sure there's much more to see and learn). It was quite the journey. We went up to Kopenhagen and stayed there for one night and then over to Sweden the following day and then right on down to Hamburg again. Along the way we went across two BIG bridges (one was 15 km long and went both under and over the water) and took two ferry boats. It was so so so cool. And I loved seeing the water everywhere! Growing up in Alberta I realize now I've never really been to the ocean before and definitely not to the sea. So this was very nice. And I regress, back to the beginning. Kopenhagen. What a nice city it is! We weren't there for very long and unfortunately it wasn't particularly warm but it was still absolutely beautiful. There was so much to see and so many magnificent buildings I can't even begin to describe how it was but you can look at my photos and get a little bit of an idea. We were there in the evening and so many of the shops were closed but we did some window shopping. But both Karin and I decided that the shops being closed was probably a good thing because there were so many cute things! Karin said the Scandinavian countries really do a nice job of making unique things and she was right! There were adorable shoes with bows and sparkles and the kids things were to die for cute. They had the sweetest little knit sweaters and small booties, and sleepers, and anything else you can think of. Later on we stopped for dinner in random restaurant which wasn't typical Danish food or anything but was still delicious. And I was happy because I got to eat.....wait for it....NACHOS! I haven't had them or anything with that much flavor for a very long time now and let me tell you, they were DEL-i-cious! And I had a nice cold glass of water with ice. Did you know Europeans don't put ice in anything? Nope. Most houses don't even have an ice cube tray. So that was a nice treat as well. Simple pleasures I guess. Then it was back to the bed and breakfast for the night.
Now this bed and breakfast deserves a paragraph all to itself it was so special. I loved it too! It was a traditional Danish farmhouse. Built in a square with a courtyard in the middle. Traditionally the people would have lived in one side of the house and the animals in the other but now they had it all refurnished into little apartments for people to stay in. It was white and had a straw roof and everything. When you walked in you found yourself in the middle of a beautiful little kitchen and dining area painted a sunny yellow and then you made your way up these little steps to the rooms. Ours was a double room with a single off to the side. And I was lucky enough to have a window which overlooked the fields. It was a very quaint little farm wiht chickens running around and horses in the back and a beautiful little garden in the front. Almost like a little paradise. The only drawback would have been it being right next to the airport but lucky for us (and terrible for the rest of the world) no flights were running because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Which by the way is causing quite a bit of headache over here. There are tons of people stranded at the airports and the trains and other modes of transportation are overflowing as people are trying to get to their destinations. And the flights still aren't running yet!
After our lovely stay in Denmark it was onto Sweden! We took big bridge number one across to Sweden. This one was the biggest and was the one that went both over and under the water. I will put up a picture of it for you to see because it was just so cool. I can't even imagine how they went about building something so ginormous! Once you made it across to Sweden things changed again. The architecture of the buildings was a little different and the landscape was too. We stopped in Landskrona and Helsingborg in Sweden and both were nice cities. I saw Ikea there to! In it's homeland and in case you were wondering, it looks exactly the same as the one in Edmonton and Bratislava and Hamburg. We also stopped in a marvelous little sweets shop. The walls were covered in bins and bins of candies from fudge to sugar coated goodness to gummies to hard candies, really anything you could imagine. You took a bag and could fill it with whichever combination you wanted and then in the end they just weigh it and charge you one price for it all so I got my fill of sugar at that stop. Then we climbed to the top of a fortification and looked out over the city. You could see the harbour and the ships and the ferry we took soon after. It was yet another beautiful place.
And after all those adventures, today was a day at home. Which was lovely as well. I slept in, in the morning and played with Jannes and Piet (my two little second cousins). We made pizza together and baked cookies with maple syrup in the afternoon. Much of the day was spent outside as it was a beautiful day of 16 degrees! And tomorrow there is yet another adventure awaiting me. We will go to the Seaside for the day which I am very excited about!
P
The after the museum we went to a smaller town called Schleswig which was across the bay from the museum. This little town was absolutely adorable! I can't even properly express how cute it was in words. I LOVED it! First of all everything was really really old. Some of the houses dated back to the 1600's and so they were these beautiful small buildings painted in bright colors. Stunning in itself but on top of that they were all lined up along water! Many of their yards literally backed onto the bay and they had all these old fishing boats and docks. It really was picture perfect. There was also a main dock set up as well where there were sail boats and some bigger ships docked. But with the sweet houses, cobble stone streets, narrow, windy ways, and the water ooooohhh! it was wonderful.
Now I'm just getting started. Later in the week we went on our real adventure. A roadtrip to Denmark and then up to Sweden! It was so cool! All these countries are so close together and yet they are all so different. It was really neat seeing all that I did and now I have a real idea of what those Scandinavian countries are like (although I did only spend a day and half there.... so I'm sure there's much more to see and learn). It was quite the journey. We went up to Kopenhagen and stayed there for one night and then over to Sweden the following day and then right on down to Hamburg again. Along the way we went across two BIG bridges (one was 15 km long and went both under and over the water) and took two ferry boats. It was so so so cool. And I loved seeing the water everywhere! Growing up in Alberta I realize now I've never really been to the ocean before and definitely not to the sea. So this was very nice. And I regress, back to the beginning. Kopenhagen. What a nice city it is! We weren't there for very long and unfortunately it wasn't particularly warm but it was still absolutely beautiful. There was so much to see and so many magnificent buildings I can't even begin to describe how it was but you can look at my photos and get a little bit of an idea. We were there in the evening and so many of the shops were closed but we did some window shopping. But both Karin and I decided that the shops being closed was probably a good thing because there were so many cute things! Karin said the Scandinavian countries really do a nice job of making unique things and she was right! There were adorable shoes with bows and sparkles and the kids things were to die for cute. They had the sweetest little knit sweaters and small booties, and sleepers, and anything else you can think of. Later on we stopped for dinner in random restaurant which wasn't typical Danish food or anything but was still delicious. And I was happy because I got to eat.....wait for it....NACHOS! I haven't had them or anything with that much flavor for a very long time now and let me tell you, they were DEL-i-cious! And I had a nice cold glass of water with ice. Did you know Europeans don't put ice in anything? Nope. Most houses don't even have an ice cube tray. So that was a nice treat as well. Simple pleasures I guess. Then it was back to the bed and breakfast for the night.
Now this bed and breakfast deserves a paragraph all to itself it was so special. I loved it too! It was a traditional Danish farmhouse. Built in a square with a courtyard in the middle. Traditionally the people would have lived in one side of the house and the animals in the other but now they had it all refurnished into little apartments for people to stay in. It was white and had a straw roof and everything. When you walked in you found yourself in the middle of a beautiful little kitchen and dining area painted a sunny yellow and then you made your way up these little steps to the rooms. Ours was a double room with a single off to the side. And I was lucky enough to have a window which overlooked the fields. It was a very quaint little farm wiht chickens running around and horses in the back and a beautiful little garden in the front. Almost like a little paradise. The only drawback would have been it being right next to the airport but lucky for us (and terrible for the rest of the world) no flights were running because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Which by the way is causing quite a bit of headache over here. There are tons of people stranded at the airports and the trains and other modes of transportation are overflowing as people are trying to get to their destinations. And the flights still aren't running yet!
After our lovely stay in Denmark it was onto Sweden! We took big bridge number one across to Sweden. This one was the biggest and was the one that went both over and under the water. I will put up a picture of it for you to see because it was just so cool. I can't even imagine how they went about building something so ginormous! Once you made it across to Sweden things changed again. The architecture of the buildings was a little different and the landscape was too. We stopped in Landskrona and Helsingborg in Sweden and both were nice cities. I saw Ikea there to! In it's homeland and in case you were wondering, it looks exactly the same as the one in Edmonton and Bratislava and Hamburg. We also stopped in a marvelous little sweets shop. The walls were covered in bins and bins of candies from fudge to sugar coated goodness to gummies to hard candies, really anything you could imagine. You took a bag and could fill it with whichever combination you wanted and then in the end they just weigh it and charge you one price for it all so I got my fill of sugar at that stop. Then we climbed to the top of a fortification and looked out over the city. You could see the harbour and the ships and the ferry we took soon after. It was yet another beautiful place.
And after all those adventures, today was a day at home. Which was lovely as well. I slept in, in the morning and played with Jannes and Piet (my two little second cousins). We made pizza together and baked cookies with maple syrup in the afternoon. Much of the day was spent outside as it was a beautiful day of 16 degrees! And tomorrow there is yet another adventure awaiting me. We will go to the Seaside for the day which I am very excited about!
P
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Germany - Windows Live
Germany - Windows Live
Here is my album of my stay in Germany. I will add more photos as I take them!
Here is my album of my stay in Germany. I will add more photos as I take them!
My first four days in Hamburg have been fantastic. I have loved every minute of it. First and foremost it is fantastic to be with family again. It's funny how even though I've only met Karin and Horst for a grand total of four weeks out of my entire life, I can still feel so at home with them. More so at home than with my host families even though I've spent four months with them. I guess that is the wonder of family and boy am I happy to be a part of this one. I have been up to something each day and have seen a lot of the city of Hamburg now and what a magnificent city it is. With the extravagant brick buildings trimmed in white, canals winding through many parts, grand church towers seen in the distance, and the stunning harbor with the great ships and sailboats, it really is a sight to be seen. It is the beginnings of spring here too so each day it seems everything gets a bit greener. I think by the time I leave there will be leaves on the trees.
So what have I been up to these past four days? Well the first night, when I arrived, it was quite late but we stayed up until midnight to celebrate Horst's (my uncle) birthday which was the following day. So when the clock struck twelve we bellowed out a happy b-day tune in both German and English and then dived into the homemade cake. Mareike (Karin and Horst's daughter) and Mili (Mareike's daughter) were staying here as well as it was Easter Break for Mili. So it was really nice to have a chance to get to know them a little more. Mili is twelve and a very sweet little girl with astonishing English skills. She told me lots of stories and one day went with me to the centre of the city to show me some shops. We shared ice cream and curry wurst (German sausage with a sweet and sour sauce sprinkled with curry) which were both delightful. On Friday they had to return to Berlin but I will see them (and Toni, Mili's big brother) again in just over a week when we go to Berlin. One day I went shopping with Zoe, a grand-daughter of one of Karin's friends which was really fun. We toured all of the centre of Hamburg and she showed me the 'hip' shops in the city and the hot shopping spots. We went to Starbucks for coffee (which I haven't had for over seven months now so I was very appreciative) and explored all kinds of places. I've been for a couple of walks with Karin as well, showing me around the neighborhood. There is a beautiful park with a creek flowing through it just behind the house and a busy little street with a few shops just ten minutes away by foot. All of it is very nice! And I now know how to take the underground into the city. The transportation is pretty spectacular here with the Underground having three levels I think and a fourth one under construction and buses running everywhere. You virtually don't have to drive anywhere. Today we went with Jannes (a VERY cute little boy of 3) to the centre and went up the tower of the St. Michel Lutheran Church. And once you got up there you could see pretty much all of Hamburg I think on a clear day. It was really cool and I took some pictures of course. Then we took a double decker tour bus around town which was really nice especially considering it was quite cold here today!
I am looking forward to Tuesday when we will go by car to Denmark which is only a couple of hours away by car. We will stay there one night and then perhaps even take a little boat over to Sweden for the day! So I can't wait for this trip and I think it should be really good! AND Karin and Horst will take me to the sea too! Which will be really nice! So those are things you can look forward too!
LOVE like always!
p
So what have I been up to these past four days? Well the first night, when I arrived, it was quite late but we stayed up until midnight to celebrate Horst's (my uncle) birthday which was the following day. So when the clock struck twelve we bellowed out a happy b-day tune in both German and English and then dived into the homemade cake. Mareike (Karin and Horst's daughter) and Mili (Mareike's daughter) were staying here as well as it was Easter Break for Mili. So it was really nice to have a chance to get to know them a little more. Mili is twelve and a very sweet little girl with astonishing English skills. She told me lots of stories and one day went with me to the centre of the city to show me some shops. We shared ice cream and curry wurst (German sausage with a sweet and sour sauce sprinkled with curry) which were both delightful. On Friday they had to return to Berlin but I will see them (and Toni, Mili's big brother) again in just over a week when we go to Berlin. One day I went shopping with Zoe, a grand-daughter of one of Karin's friends which was really fun. We toured all of the centre of Hamburg and she showed me the 'hip' shops in the city and the hot shopping spots. We went to Starbucks for coffee (which I haven't had for over seven months now so I was very appreciative) and explored all kinds of places. I've been for a couple of walks with Karin as well, showing me around the neighborhood. There is a beautiful park with a creek flowing through it just behind the house and a busy little street with a few shops just ten minutes away by foot. All of it is very nice! And I now know how to take the underground into the city. The transportation is pretty spectacular here with the Underground having three levels I think and a fourth one under construction and buses running everywhere. You virtually don't have to drive anywhere. Today we went with Jannes (a VERY cute little boy of 3) to the centre and went up the tower of the St. Michel Lutheran Church. And once you got up there you could see pretty much all of Hamburg I think on a clear day. It was really cool and I took some pictures of course. Then we took a double decker tour bus around town which was really nice especially considering it was quite cold here today!
I am looking forward to Tuesday when we will go by car to Denmark which is only a couple of hours away by car. We will stay there one night and then perhaps even take a little boat over to Sweden for the day! So I can't wait for this trip and I think it should be really good! AND Karin and Horst will take me to the sea too! Which will be really nice! So those are things you can look forward too!
LOVE like always!
p
Friday, April 9, 2010
Germany in the beginning
ahhhhhhh! There is just so much for me to write about! I guess I'll just dive right in and see what comes out.....
As you should know I am now in Germany (I think I informed you of that almost every post for the past month or so....sorry about that but I was really rather excited)! I am getting to be quite the expert little traveler. Sometimes it kind of feels as though all I ever do is pack up my things. So I did manage to get all the way from Slovakia to Germany in one piece glitch free. I took a train from Zilina to Bratislava and then got onto another train which took me to Vienna. The whole trip totaled 3 and half hours and so was not bad at all considering I went all the way through Slovakia and into another country! My cousin, Katherina, met me in Vienna at the train station and took me out for the day. And boy what a day it was! She took me all around Vienna so I really got a good look at it. It is truly an amazing city with stunningly beautiful architecture. I just love how much history and beauty Europe seems to have packed away over here, it's almost like it is never ending. Vienna is full of these really big, old, apartment style buildings. They line the streets and are truly magnificent. The centre of the city is FULL of people from ALL over the place. You can hear so many different languages being spoken at any given time. It was actually really cool. But confusing for my poor brain. You see I have now been programmed to speak Slovak in response to another language I hear and so when people were talking to me I would automatically answer in my very broken, heavy accented Slovak and then they would just look at me like huhhhh? And then I remember that I can speak English again..... So I'm having to work to turn my Slovak off because no one here understands it! But that was, what I would say, the only draw back of Vienna, that it was swarming with tourists. And for me that kind of takes away from the magic of the whole city but it was still gull darn magnificent. I saw the Stephen's Cathedral again which is stunning, Schonbron Palace and the even more fantastic garden behind it, The university, town hall, and a whole lot of other important buildings I can't quite remember. We went for lunch in a little cafe in one of the back streets and were able to sit out in the sunshine which was wonderful. I had schnitzel which was delicious! and a green salad for the first time in seven months! Then after a day of sight seeing, we went back to katherina's house to see her father, and younger brother and sister. With them I went out for dinner to a winery just down from their house and we had a really nice chat. It was so good to see them again after almost three years! Then it was off again to the airport for my 920 pm flight to Hamburg. And so here I am in Germany which really is only a hop, skip, and a jump from Slovakia.
It's actually really quite interesting being in yet another country after you have become accustomed to a home away from home. Now I find myself comparing everything to not only Canada but Slovakia as well. It really is like I have two homes. And the more I talk to people about things the more I realize how unreal these past seven months have been to me. It's almost as if this past year didn't happen. It feels like I paused everything in canada and my life beforehand and then came and kept on living in Slovakia and then I will go back and unpause it again. But I do know that isn't how it actually happened, and I'm sure lots of things have changed, but that's how it feels. strange. but cool.
I hate to say it but I have been terribly deprived for the past seven months. Deprived of fashion trends, of fresh vegetables, of big houses, shiny fast cars, brand names, good shopping, and the one most worth noting; beautiful dark boys! I had no idea how much I have gone without while in Slovakia until now. If anyone tries to tell you there isn't a difference between East and Western Europe they are so so SO wrong. There most definitely is and I am seeing it. NOW I understand why people say Slovakia is a hard country to go to. Because it really IS. So yes, Slovakia is a developed nation and it has all the comforts of home that we have in Canada but it is still missing a lot of what the "western world" has. It's kind of hard to put into words but it is kind of like Slovakia is under a rock. Now I see just how closed Slovakia is to the rest of the world and although it is changing it isn't changing at near the rate other countries are. Really when it comes down to it, everything in the "west" is bigger, shinier, and newer and I don't know if that is necessarily a good thing but I do know that it makes me very very happy. I didn't realize just how much I miss having access to all of those things. Being able to go shopping in a huge mall, with H&M and Tommy Hilfiger and, seeing big cars again, and oggling at beautiful chocolate boys on the street, eating fresh vegetables and seeing substantial sized houses, standing up in a real shower; all of it is a nice reminder of home. And you may think this would make me wish I hadn't ended up in Slovakia but in fact it doesn't. It's quite the opposite really. I'm very pleased I had the chance to experience and really get to know something so different. That I was pushed to adapt to something so far from my comforts of home and I got (and will continue to) spend ten months in a country I would have never otherwise discovered. And all of that is awesome.
So it's been really cool comparing and sharing what I know about Slovakia and Canada with my family here in Germany. I'm really getting a feel for yet another part of the world and think it's really eye opening to have seen how much a way of life can differ from one country to the next even if they are only a couple hundred kms apart.
Up until now I haven't done anything too exciting. I have done a LOT of walking and am thinking I should invest in a pair of decent walking shoes as my feet are killing me at the moment. I have blisters and don't even want to think about putting my shoes on again tomorrow but we'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have taken quite a few pictures of the centre of Hamburg which I will post here as well as the pictures of Vienna. I hope to be able to take more pictures and as I do I will add them to my online album for you to look at. I did some wonderful shopping today with a girl my age I met through my Aunt Karin and bought two very cute colored cardigans for summer. Not too sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow but we shall see. I am just going to go with the flow as I'm very very good at that now....
night night! or shall I say Guten nacht!
p
As you should know I am now in Germany (I think I informed you of that almost every post for the past month or so....sorry about that but I was really rather excited)! I am getting to be quite the expert little traveler. Sometimes it kind of feels as though all I ever do is pack up my things. So I did manage to get all the way from Slovakia to Germany in one piece glitch free. I took a train from Zilina to Bratislava and then got onto another train which took me to Vienna. The whole trip totaled 3 and half hours and so was not bad at all considering I went all the way through Slovakia and into another country! My cousin, Katherina, met me in Vienna at the train station and took me out for the day. And boy what a day it was! She took me all around Vienna so I really got a good look at it. It is truly an amazing city with stunningly beautiful architecture. I just love how much history and beauty Europe seems to have packed away over here, it's almost like it is never ending. Vienna is full of these really big, old, apartment style buildings. They line the streets and are truly magnificent. The centre of the city is FULL of people from ALL over the place. You can hear so many different languages being spoken at any given time. It was actually really cool. But confusing for my poor brain. You see I have now been programmed to speak Slovak in response to another language I hear and so when people were talking to me I would automatically answer in my very broken, heavy accented Slovak and then they would just look at me like huhhhh? And then I remember that I can speak English again..... So I'm having to work to turn my Slovak off because no one here understands it! But that was, what I would say, the only draw back of Vienna, that it was swarming with tourists. And for me that kind of takes away from the magic of the whole city but it was still gull darn magnificent. I saw the Stephen's Cathedral again which is stunning, Schonbron Palace and the even more fantastic garden behind it, The university, town hall, and a whole lot of other important buildings I can't quite remember. We went for lunch in a little cafe in one of the back streets and were able to sit out in the sunshine which was wonderful. I had schnitzel which was delicious! and a green salad for the first time in seven months! Then after a day of sight seeing, we went back to katherina's house to see her father, and younger brother and sister. With them I went out for dinner to a winery just down from their house and we had a really nice chat. It was so good to see them again after almost three years! Then it was off again to the airport for my 920 pm flight to Hamburg. And so here I am in Germany which really is only a hop, skip, and a jump from Slovakia.
It's actually really quite interesting being in yet another country after you have become accustomed to a home away from home. Now I find myself comparing everything to not only Canada but Slovakia as well. It really is like I have two homes. And the more I talk to people about things the more I realize how unreal these past seven months have been to me. It's almost as if this past year didn't happen. It feels like I paused everything in canada and my life beforehand and then came and kept on living in Slovakia and then I will go back and unpause it again. But I do know that isn't how it actually happened, and I'm sure lots of things have changed, but that's how it feels. strange. but cool.
I hate to say it but I have been terribly deprived for the past seven months. Deprived of fashion trends, of fresh vegetables, of big houses, shiny fast cars, brand names, good shopping, and the one most worth noting; beautiful dark boys! I had no idea how much I have gone without while in Slovakia until now. If anyone tries to tell you there isn't a difference between East and Western Europe they are so so SO wrong. There most definitely is and I am seeing it. NOW I understand why people say Slovakia is a hard country to go to. Because it really IS. So yes, Slovakia is a developed nation and it has all the comforts of home that we have in Canada but it is still missing a lot of what the "western world" has. It's kind of hard to put into words but it is kind of like Slovakia is under a rock. Now I see just how closed Slovakia is to the rest of the world and although it is changing it isn't changing at near the rate other countries are. Really when it comes down to it, everything in the "west" is bigger, shinier, and newer and I don't know if that is necessarily a good thing but I do know that it makes me very very happy. I didn't realize just how much I miss having access to all of those things. Being able to go shopping in a huge mall, with H&M and Tommy Hilfiger and, seeing big cars again, and oggling at beautiful chocolate boys on the street, eating fresh vegetables and seeing substantial sized houses, standing up in a real shower; all of it is a nice reminder of home. And you may think this would make me wish I hadn't ended up in Slovakia but in fact it doesn't. It's quite the opposite really. I'm very pleased I had the chance to experience and really get to know something so different. That I was pushed to adapt to something so far from my comforts of home and I got (and will continue to) spend ten months in a country I would have never otherwise discovered. And all of that is awesome.
So it's been really cool comparing and sharing what I know about Slovakia and Canada with my family here in Germany. I'm really getting a feel for yet another part of the world and think it's really eye opening to have seen how much a way of life can differ from one country to the next even if they are only a couple hundred kms apart.
Up until now I haven't done anything too exciting. I have done a LOT of walking and am thinking I should invest in a pair of decent walking shoes as my feet are killing me at the moment. I have blisters and don't even want to think about putting my shoes on again tomorrow but we'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have taken quite a few pictures of the centre of Hamburg which I will post here as well as the pictures of Vienna. I hope to be able to take more pictures and as I do I will add them to my online album for you to look at. I did some wonderful shopping today with a girl my age I met through my Aunt Karin and bought two very cute colored cardigans for summer. Not too sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow but we shall see. I am just going to go with the flow as I'm very very good at that now....
night night! or shall I say Guten nacht!
p
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Velkanocny - Windows Live
Velkanocny - Windows Live
So here are my pics of easter and some pretty ones I took on Easter morning when I went for a walk in the woods (my new favorite activity)
So here are my pics of easter and some pretty ones I took on Easter morning when I went for a walk in the woods (my new favorite activity)
Easter/Velka Noc
What an original way of celebrating the Slovak's have. I really couldn't have imagined anything much stranger. First they get a lot of school off for Easter which I'm not complaining about. No school thurs all the way until wed the next week and it's not even the spring break! So that was nice. I did a lot of trips with my host family visiting friends and family but the real thing went down Sunday and Monday morning. We went out to the apartment on the ski hill again, as is usual for the weekend, but this time we didn't ski. The weather wasn't great and there's almost no snow left on the hill (and there is no snow anywhere else) but they have lots of friends there from the ski club and things so that's where they seem to go for every holiday. Since it was nice outside we had a sort of outdoor barbeque going. There was a shelter with a big stone fire thing and lots of wooden and benches and things. Very typical Slovak. Sunday afternoon was when the celebrating took place and boy was it great. There was egg decorating with the kids (which of course I participated in) and a chocolate cake (which I also participated in) and lots of socializing. The kids were free to do as they wished and the adults did a lot of talking and of course drinking. There was also a LOT of food. And so I was happy. We had a late lunch as the main meal. It consisted of hunks of meat roasted over the open fire which we ate with our hands, bread, and fresh veggies. It was delightful. And I was soon very full. Then there were cookies and sweets and cheese too! After lunch I got to make my very own beating stick too which is as strange as it sounds. There these traditional sticks woven from twigs that the boys use to hit the girls on Monday morning, but more of that later. One of the men showed me how to make it (even though only the boys are supposed to) and so that was really cool. You pretty much weave eight sticks together to form the main shaft and then it spits into two at the top. Then you are supposed to tie ribbons to the end to make it look festive.
It wasn't until later in the evening though, that the party really got started. You see, the Slovaks are smart people I think. They start drinking early in the afternoon so that by the time 8 rolls around everyone is already enjoying themselves. This is when the music started. You can't have a celebration without the accordion blaring and some good old fashioned folk songs being bellowed out by the men. There was some dancing and some more talking and just an all around good time. I had some really delicious ginger tea which is a specialty at this time of the year AND some raw beef. Yup sounds wonderful doesn't it? Well it really wasn't that bad. They brought it out as snack later on and all the men were very excited. It's a special treat here because it's made from the backside of the cow which is high quality meat as I'm told. Pretty much what it was though, was mashed meat, not cooked, with some spices. They toasted some bread over the fire, doused it in butter, then rubbed it with a garlic clove, and smeared on some meaty goodness. It wasn't all that bad though, as horrific as it sounds. I realize it goes against all we've ever been taught in America, and it didn't help that they then told me that children can't eat it because it's not good for their stomachs, but they assured me it wouldn't make me sick. And I might add, it tasted pretty darn good. I would actually eat again if the opportunity arose.
Now onto the good stuff, Monday morning. First you must know that we are staying in a place which is laid out something like a hotel so there are several rooms on one floor. But what happens is, first thing in the morning, all the boys get out of bed, fetch their beating sticks, and buckets of water and douse and hit the girls. I know I couldn't believe it either but it's true! The boys all went door to door spraying the girls with water and perfume while dancing around them hitting them and singing this crazy little song. And then get this! The girls are expected to give chocolate, eggs, and money to the boys who hit them! It really doesn't make sense to me but it was still fun. Kind of like a giant water fight. I guess way back in the day they believed that beating the girls with the sticks from spring would give them health and long life and the water was to act as a sort of blessing. And it just kind of evolved from there I guess.
And I have to add while I was writing this, my first host fam (where paul is currently living) came for a visit and so I was soaked once again. But it was in good fun and I hit Paul back. Then they stayed for a short visit which was really nice. It was so good to see them again! I haven't seen them for so long! I never really realized how much I miss them until I saw them again! Even though this family is great, I went through so much with my first fam so it was really great to get to catch up.
And that is Easter Slovak style. Strange but fantastic all the same!
It wasn't until later in the evening though, that the party really got started. You see, the Slovaks are smart people I think. They start drinking early in the afternoon so that by the time 8 rolls around everyone is already enjoying themselves. This is when the music started. You can't have a celebration without the accordion blaring and some good old fashioned folk songs being bellowed out by the men. There was some dancing and some more talking and just an all around good time. I had some really delicious ginger tea which is a specialty at this time of the year AND some raw beef. Yup sounds wonderful doesn't it? Well it really wasn't that bad. They brought it out as snack later on and all the men were very excited. It's a special treat here because it's made from the backside of the cow which is high quality meat as I'm told. Pretty much what it was though, was mashed meat, not cooked, with some spices. They toasted some bread over the fire, doused it in butter, then rubbed it with a garlic clove, and smeared on some meaty goodness. It wasn't all that bad though, as horrific as it sounds. I realize it goes against all we've ever been taught in America, and it didn't help that they then told me that children can't eat it because it's not good for their stomachs, but they assured me it wouldn't make me sick. And I might add, it tasted pretty darn good. I would actually eat again if the opportunity arose.
Now onto the good stuff, Monday morning. First you must know that we are staying in a place which is laid out something like a hotel so there are several rooms on one floor. But what happens is, first thing in the morning, all the boys get out of bed, fetch their beating sticks, and buckets of water and douse and hit the girls. I know I couldn't believe it either but it's true! The boys all went door to door spraying the girls with water and perfume while dancing around them hitting them and singing this crazy little song. And then get this! The girls are expected to give chocolate, eggs, and money to the boys who hit them! It really doesn't make sense to me but it was still fun. Kind of like a giant water fight. I guess way back in the day they believed that beating the girls with the sticks from spring would give them health and long life and the water was to act as a sort of blessing. And it just kind of evolved from there I guess.
And I have to add while I was writing this, my first host fam (where paul is currently living) came for a visit and so I was soaked once again. But it was in good fun and I hit Paul back. Then they stayed for a short visit which was really nice. It was so good to see them again! I haven't seen them for so long! I never really realized how much I miss them until I saw them again! Even though this family is great, I went through so much with my first fam so it was really great to get to catch up.
And that is Easter Slovak style. Strange but fantastic all the same!
Salt Mines
And I'm back again with more stories to tell! I don't know if they will ever end.
First Poland. It was quite a lengthy road trip to get to where we were going, which was "Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka" or The Salt Mines and some crazy polish name. It was only one hour to the Polish border and then another three once we were in Poland. Now I realize four hours of driving is like nothing in Canada, heck that doesn't even get you to the next province, but you must remember now I am in Europe. And in Europe they think two hours is FOREVER to drive and I've been spoiled now for seven months, and feel like 30 minutes in the car is a long time. To think I used to drive that each and every day. Anyhow. Poland was really beautiful! At least what I saw of it. We didn't stop or anything and I might have slept the majority of the way (due to my tendency to get carsick) BUT what I did see was wonderful. There were big rolling hills falling into deep valleys with the mountains fading into the distance. And the snow is freshly melted here so there was color too! The architecture and lay out of the country was very similar to Slovakia. Pockets of villages tucked in the valleys, tons of small cabin like homes scattered on the hillsides, and the oldschool roofing and siding styles. I don't really know how to describe it but once you've been here for as long as I've been you really get a feel for what it's like. All in all beautiful. Then we got to our destination and I was blown away by how cool it was (although it was very touristy)! Pretty much it's this giant salt mine that was started way back in the thirteenth century or something ridiculous like that and somewhere along the way the miners decided to make a carving out of the salt stone. And I guess the idea caught on and throughout the centuries more and more creations started turning up until eventually it was full of them. It was a functioning salt mine until sometime in the 1900's I think and then it's operation was seized and it was deemed a UNESCO site. Now over a million tourists visit it each year and it really is a site to be seen. When we got there we had to descend down 384 steps which took us 100 and some meters below the surface (the mine itself goes all the way down to 360m below I think) needless to say it was a long way down. Once we were down there there were countless tunnels and passages leading to all kinds of displays. It was really neat and I tried to take as many pictures as possible but many didn't turn out well because of the lack of lighting. But I did post the ones that seemed to be ok. Everything you see is made of rock salt! The floor, walls, and all the statues. There was a huge hall too where even the chandelier stones were carved from salt. People actually had weddings down there! Now you may be having a hard time believing me that all of it was salt and I did too in the beginning but I assure it is. I actually, might have, licked the wall, and boy was it salty! So there you have it....it's made of salt! After a two hour tour of the place you all pile into the giant elevator which is just a little scary. Especially to me, the one with a small fear of them in the first place. 36 people can fit on this thing and it gets you back up to the surface in 30 seconds which, in case you were wondering, is incredibly fast considering how far down you are. And to add to the fear it didn't actually have walls, it was a sheet of metal with a billion little holes in it so as you went up you could feel the air swooshing all around you. So not fun. But a WHOLE lot easier than taking the 384 steps back up!
After the mines we stopped for lunch and then it was back in the car and homeward bound. So really it was just a short trip but a memorable one. And I just love the fact that I can say "I went to Poland today". It's funny because now that just seems so normal but I know before I would have been amazed if someone told me they were visiting another country for the day. Sometimes I realize just how lucky I am to have been able to see all that I have. Thanks Rotary!
So above this I'll post a link to the pictures if you want to take a look and then I'm going to do another post on Easter. I think it deserves to be all on it's own, it was that special!
First Poland. It was quite a lengthy road trip to get to where we were going, which was "Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka" or The Salt Mines and some crazy polish name. It was only one hour to the Polish border and then another three once we were in Poland. Now I realize four hours of driving is like nothing in Canada, heck that doesn't even get you to the next province, but you must remember now I am in Europe. And in Europe they think two hours is FOREVER to drive and I've been spoiled now for seven months, and feel like 30 minutes in the car is a long time. To think I used to drive that each and every day. Anyhow. Poland was really beautiful! At least what I saw of it. We didn't stop or anything and I might have slept the majority of the way (due to my tendency to get carsick) BUT what I did see was wonderful. There were big rolling hills falling into deep valleys with the mountains fading into the distance. And the snow is freshly melted here so there was color too! The architecture and lay out of the country was very similar to Slovakia. Pockets of villages tucked in the valleys, tons of small cabin like homes scattered on the hillsides, and the oldschool roofing and siding styles. I don't really know how to describe it but once you've been here for as long as I've been you really get a feel for what it's like. All in all beautiful. Then we got to our destination and I was blown away by how cool it was (although it was very touristy)! Pretty much it's this giant salt mine that was started way back in the thirteenth century or something ridiculous like that and somewhere along the way the miners decided to make a carving out of the salt stone. And I guess the idea caught on and throughout the centuries more and more creations started turning up until eventually it was full of them. It was a functioning salt mine until sometime in the 1900's I think and then it's operation was seized and it was deemed a UNESCO site. Now over a million tourists visit it each year and it really is a site to be seen. When we got there we had to descend down 384 steps which took us 100 and some meters below the surface (the mine itself goes all the way down to 360m below I think) needless to say it was a long way down. Once we were down there there were countless tunnels and passages leading to all kinds of displays. It was really neat and I tried to take as many pictures as possible but many didn't turn out well because of the lack of lighting. But I did post the ones that seemed to be ok. Everything you see is made of rock salt! The floor, walls, and all the statues. There was a huge hall too where even the chandelier stones were carved from salt. People actually had weddings down there! Now you may be having a hard time believing me that all of it was salt and I did too in the beginning but I assure it is. I actually, might have, licked the wall, and boy was it salty! So there you have it....it's made of salt! After a two hour tour of the place you all pile into the giant elevator which is just a little scary. Especially to me, the one with a small fear of them in the first place. 36 people can fit on this thing and it gets you back up to the surface in 30 seconds which, in case you were wondering, is incredibly fast considering how far down you are. And to add to the fear it didn't actually have walls, it was a sheet of metal with a billion little holes in it so as you went up you could feel the air swooshing all around you. So not fun. But a WHOLE lot easier than taking the 384 steps back up!
After the mines we stopped for lunch and then it was back in the car and homeward bound. So really it was just a short trip but a memorable one. And I just love the fact that I can say "I went to Poland today". It's funny because now that just seems so normal but I know before I would have been amazed if someone told me they were visiting another country for the day. Sometimes I realize just how lucky I am to have been able to see all that I have. Thanks Rotary!
So above this I'll post a link to the pictures if you want to take a look and then I'm going to do another post on Easter. I think it deserves to be all on it's own, it was that special!
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