48 hours (part 1 and 2)

It’s hard to get a taste for a city, let alone a culture, when you are only living in it for 48 hours.

That being said, I have spent (and will spend) about 48 hours in every city starting from Galway to Dublin, Ireland, then into Italy for free travel. Quite a lot of moving every 2 days!

Thankfully though, I got as good a taste as anyone ever could have with that short amount of time. I spent really the only full day I had in Galway, Ireland, by seeing as much of Ireland as I could. That meant hopping on a touristy bus trip throughout the countryside – always a gamble for worthiness. This one paid off. We had some of the best weather in months, according to the tour guide. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and you could see for miles. Our destination today was the Cliffs of Moher and the Barren region of Ireland; it was to be an all day affair.

Once we got to the cliffs and I could look all around for miles and see the ocean, the sheer faces of the edges of the green cliffs and the countryside around us, I knew I was in Ireland. Top it off with a bowl of Irish stew for lunch, then a huge full rainbow on the way home, and a visit to a pub later to make it a complete experience. What was so special about my pub visit was the people. My two friends from Bethel studying in Galway, Johan and Annie, picked me up at my hostel and took me to a local pub they had found a week ago with live music. Tonight though, it was all about a soccer match on the TV. After the game though, the giant TV was wheeled away, tables were cleared, and all of a sudden, the room is full of couples doing Irish jigs. Traditional music, courtesy of a live band, set everyone’s toes a tapping. We all sat for nearly an hour watching the athleticism and community shown by these Irish men and women. Dancing seemed to be such an integral part of their culture. It was a reason to get together and have fun.

The second 48 hour installment: Milan, Italy. This is the gateway city for our Free Travel week. Note: It is anything but “Free” as we actually have to pay for some of it on our own, but we received a little money to cover modest meals and hotels. Milan is also anything but modest. It is most definitely the fashion capital of the world. Nowhere else are you able to purchase items that literally come right off the runway and into a store. Not just Penney’s or Target, but the designers themselves. Gucci, Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabanna, just to name a few. These stores let you browse for free, but is a t-shirt really worth 300 Euros? (roughly $450 US) It wasn’t in my ballpark. But, we still had fun being astonished by prices and I ended up getting a pretty cool sweater and jacket.

I also saw the third largest cathedral in the world: The Duomo. It is visible for several blocks as it towers in the center of the city as a giant white stone structure. Inside is even more lavish, with giant canvas paintings hanging from the ceiling and marvelous stained glass windows depicting biblical stories. Google the Duomo in Milan to get an idea of its size and beauty. The rest of the day was spent wandering the city, before going out to get a taste at the American Embassy, aka McDonalds. McDonalds is great because 1) it’s cheap, in comparison to everything else, 2) it tastes the same everywhere and 3) you can get by with little or no local language skills because “Cheeseburger” is universal. We had burgers and fries and milkshakes for a little taste of home.

I have had a few brief—but friendly— encounters from the local Italians. First, our hotel manager is a saint. Not only did he personally come to our room and welcome us, he got us maps and showed us how to get around and he told us about daylight savings time (which we totally forgot). Second, I washed my clothes in a nearby self service Laundromat and there was an older Italian man there ( I assume he was the owner). A man was getting his load out of the dryer, mostly collared shirts and dress slacks. He began to hastily stuff and roll them into his small bag. The Italian owner came over, slapped his wrist away and began neatly and methodically folding the dress shirts and pants to prevent them from wrinkling. It was obvious that clothes were his work, his passion. He cared for them more than anything.

Almost forgot. I had heard from a friend I had met at the Goethe Institut from Italy that all the small bars and restaurants have this thing called “Apertivo”. Basically, during the early evening, massive and varied amounts of food are put on a buffet table for a fixed price. A buffet in Europe, unheard of! They sell it this way: You order one beverage at a fixed price (8 or 9 Euro) and then you may have unlimited trips to the buffet to take food. For us, this was a very inexpensive way to eat dinner, as the name ‘’apertivo” is semi deceiving. Last night, I sampled pasta, fresh mozzarella and tomato, bruscetta , pizza, meatballs and sausages, French fries, chicken and cucumber, and shish kabobs. We filled up and watched the soccer game for a while. No hidden service charge, no swindling and plenty of pretty good food. Definitely “on code” for us Americans.

Next installment: Part 3 will be from Bologna, Part 4 from Florence, and Part 5 from Rome (from our free travel week)

travel, travel, travel

It's been a whirlwind over these past couple days. London for 4. Edinburgh, Scotland for 4. Now going on to Dublin and Galway Ireland for 4. Then 4 cities in Italy for 10 days. It hardly leaves time for catching up with the world, let alone school work! I had my first test in Consumer Behavior on Friday. It's been hard to balance the demands of a full semester of schoolwork when you have a really cool city outside your door ready to be explored.

Highlights from Edinburgh:

Went down to the shore of the North Sea.

Saw my first semi-pro Rugby match. Edinburgh won! Rugby, if you have a chance to see it at any level, is a must. It is one of the most physical games out there. It is similar to American football, except it is a running clock, like soccer. That means that even if you're tackled, the play still continues and possession can change at any time. It makes for very exciting twists and turns.

Hearing the various bagpipers who play on the street. It's a step above the other amateur musicians on the street corners (guitars, etc.) They are in full traditional Scottish dress (KILTS!) and you can hear them from several hundred feet away, like it is beckoning you toward them.

I heard today that lots of friends of family are reading these updates, and they want to hear the rest of the story! So I will work on sending something from every country/city I visit. The next time you hear from me will be in Ireland.

All the best,

Spencer

mind the gap.

I have wanted to visit London since I was in 8^th grade. There was something about this being in a foreign culture, that is totally unique on its own, but still having the common ground of English language. The history, museums, shows are all something that I thought would make a great trip. I suggested it for family vacations during the summer a few different occasions. And now, I am writing this after seeing London for the very first time. In fact, I spent my whole day taking in as many different parts of London as I could.

The first thing many of us were looking forward to was church services in English again. Some of the girls found directions online to the London Hillsong church, which was only a few blocks from our hotel. We packed into the auditorium (basically a Broadway-esque theater rented out on Sundays for church) and it was like nothing I’d experienced. There was a guest speaker that day and although charismatically had a few good points, I personally failed to connect with his message. He seemed to overemphasize money and how God can give us that kind of success if we ask Him for it. Aside from that though, the worship and music was spectacular. It was like Vespers on steroids. 7 Singers, full band, lights, fog, video screens, light beams—it was set up like a rock concert. Very cool.

After church, I realized how small of a world we live in. All of a sudden, I see Megan H. and Casey K. from Bethel, who are studying abroad in Spain for the fall and traveled to London for their fall break. We caught up for a bit and headed off as a big group to Camden Town—home of a large street market. It was uber-crowded there, almost to the point of uncomfortable. After browsing for a bit, we found a great food market and had chicken fajitas by Regents Canal.

Pretty soon, I realized what I really wanted. I really wanted to go explore London by myself. For a day, I didn’t want to be with 20 other Americans. I just wanted to be me and blend in. It was the most relaxing and rewarding time I’ve spent recently. I said goodbye to my friends until 7 PM that night, and began my London adventure.

I headed back to the Underground (subway) tube station and took it south, heading back toward the river Thames and Westminster Abbey. I chose to get off at Charing Cross station, and start walking around a bit. I stopped at the fountains and statues in Trafalgar Square and people watched for a while. My sense of direction—usually pretty spot on—seemed to throw me and I ended up walking east when I thought I was walking north. Life is not as simple when you don’t have your iPhone with Google GPS. But, getting lost was half the fun. If I didn’t head in the wrong direction, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon this movie shoot. I literally was asked to wait a moment as they were shooting a scene crossing the street (in front of the House of Justice on the Strand, I Think…) I didn’t recognize any stars, but I’ll have to get on IMDB to see if I can pinpoint which one it might be. And just as the scene finished, it started to mist. I looked at a map and realized I had been walking east at this point and that a different line of the Tube was just 2 blocks away. I walked and found myself right on the banks of the Thames.

I’d heard that Kensington was a cool neighborhood and I knew Harrod’s (the giant department store) was close, in Knightsbridge. But my eyes drifted up to Notting Hill (I have seen the movie) and I’d remembered reading about a bakery there that was supposed to have the best desserts in London. So, off I went.

Notting Hill area (specifically Portobello Road) is a completely different place than downtown London. Each house is a pastel color with a bold door (blues, grays, reds) to match. Shops adorn the left side of the street with antiques, specialty boutiques and eateries. I got to the bakery (Hummingbird, 133 Portobello Road) and the line literally stretched down the street. No dessert is good for waiting that long, and my time was limited. I walked briskly back to the station and worked my way to Knightsbridge.

I recognized several name brand stores, but you know they only set up shop on the street because of Harrod’s. This is a behemoth. They sell EVERYTHING: appliances, TV’s, clothes, perfume, FOOD (like groceries even) and I wandered around for an hour or two before realizing that the only thing I could likely afford was some specialty tea.

One of the great things about being in London is to hear English on the street again. Walking down the street in Freiburg, or even Austria, you could only understand bits and pieces of conversations, so my brain just naturally tuned it all out. Now though, it’s great to just hear how people talk on the street. I had an interesting observation on the Tube on the way home. I was standing right by the door and on my left were a group of 4 college guys from Britain and a group of 3 younger teenaged Britains got on. They were dressed in a lot of name brands (Quiksilver, New Era caps, bright colors) and looked like typical gangster or snowboarder type guys. The interesting thing was a comment made quietly by one of the college guys: “Why do so many Europeans want to look like Americans?”

I think that comment is especially interesting because a few of us Americans actually strive to look “European” be it clothes, hats, whatever. It’s like both cultures are striving to have what the other has. Maybe it’s because it rocks the traditional norms, but it is fascinating to watch how others behave.

It’s been a full day and I’m absolutely dead tired. The one thing about being in a new city is there is always so much to see and do. But, you do a lot of walking, and that has worn me right out. That’s all for now, the rest of the week I am off to see shows and explore more of this city.

living in a castle

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself how beautiful your surroundings are? I know that at home I enjoy the fall colors, the beautiful blue waters of the lake. I have never lived in a place where I can not only see mountains, but I am surrounded by them. I am living in a valley of the Austrian Alps in a castle over 1,000 years old. We just finished our first class of the week and I trek through the hallways and up and down stairs until I come to my favorite place of all – the East Wing. Here there is a large community room with big leather couches and a massive fireplace – perfect for homework and talking with others after dinner. Then we step on a balcony and on the other side is a small glassed in cottage. There is glass on all four sides and from each one, you are looking at mountains. Even writing this now I can see for miles the tall peaks and forest covered mountainsides that seem to stretch forever along the sides of the valley we are living in.

We are living in a castle called Schloss Mitersill – which over the years has turned into a Christian supported retreat center for travelers or groups. It feels more like a very large house with so many rooms and places to sit and relax. But where you can tell it is the castle is from where I am sitting. I see the exposed rock and stone on the balcony. The inside is full of wood and sitting in class makes you feel like you are still in college somewhere. But outside, with the mountains, the castle makes you feel like you are living hundreds of years prior.

The other night, we found a stairway to the top of the castle and a large deck. There was a ladder going up to a small platform on the roof and we just gazed at the stars. Myself, Waller, Jesse, Stefanie and Erik tried to find some constellations, saw shooting stars and had many laughs.

We had our own church service in the Schloss on Sunday morning. Dan and I played and sang a few songs and Jake introduced an audio sermon we all listened to. Later that day, we took a 45 minute bus ride to nearby Krimml, home of the tallest waterfall in Europe. The falls are in stages, so you can’t really see the grandiose scale of it, but there was a beautiful trail that led up to the different stages. We stopped along the rocky shores of the river to eat, between the upper and lower parts of the falls. I dunked my head in the cold water and we sat out on the big boulders in the middle of the river.

The IT Crowd (information technology) is a show on BBC that Ben Waller turned us onto. We watched 2 episodes last night and I have never laughed out loud as hard at a show. It reminds me of The Office, but a little more zanier.

So the Schloss is up a few hundred feet from the town, which makes going into town quite the adventure. It takes a good 15-20 minutes depending on your speed and going up is fairly strenuous. We are talking about going down the hill today to get some more snacks and to explore a bit, but that climb sort of forces us to stay and relax here at the castle. That is totally fine by me, as this place truly is amazing.

This coming weekend, we are heading into Slovenia, a former communist country. I’ll write about Slovenia when I get back home next week.