Classes began again the Tuesday after Easter, and to call to crunch time was an understatement. I had a 16 page term paper due the Wednesday after Easter break, and we left for our next field study trip on Thursday. For anyone wondering “when do you do schoolwork?”, the answer is between the hours of 7:30 pm and 5:30 am on Tuesday into Wednesday. Yes, the reigning Queen of procrastination was coronated once more when I researched, outlined and wrote an entire term paper in one night. Many thanks go to Lindee and Josh who brought down chips and guacamole that they made, instant coffee, my favorite German cereal ‘Crunchy Nut’ and my favorite Haribo candy, ‘Schnecken’ for getting me through those 10 hours. With my term paper submitted and suitcase hastily packed, I headed to get the bus to Zürich with the rest of my classmates in our group for 9 days in Latvia, Stockholm and London.

For this IES field study, we were split into four groups, with two going to the North and two to the Southwest (Rome, Madrid, Barcelona) and Southeast (Athens, Budapest, Bucharest), respectively. This was a odd experience for all of us, since up to now we have gone on every IES trip together. We have quite literally been together 22/7 since we arrived in January. It was nice to see how many close friendships that I’ve made since coming abroad, because we all really felt the absence of our friends who were on the other trips.

We flew from Zürich to Riga, Latvia on the prettiest ascent I have ever seen. Taking off above the alps on a clear and sunny day was absolutely spectacular, and part of me wanted to just circle Zürich in the plane for a few hours. But alas, we were off to Riga! I never in my life thought that I would be going to Latvia, land of the Letts, but if my time abroad has taught me anything, it’s that you should always expect the unexpected!

Riga was interesting because it still very much bore a resemblance to it’s Soviet Bloc self. The tram cars that we saw looked like they could have been in operation 30 years ago, and it seemed like the Riga police station would still have a portrait of Josef Stalin on the wall. This was the first city where you could see the remnants of their past throughout the whole city; whereas in Berlin they were more isolated to older areas that have not been rebuilt. During our course discussions in Riga, we focused a lot on the threat of Russian aggression, which is actually very real formats Latvians, since Riga has a large Russian minority who retain their Russian citizenship. We were only in Riga for 2 days, however it was enough to see the small city and hear about their future within the EU.

Next, we headed off on a dubious-looking propeller plane to fly to Stockholm, Sweden! Stockholm was a gorgeous city: clean, beautiful people, beautiful stores, but expensive. It was like a city of Fifth Avenue in New York. In Stockholm our course-related discussions became a bit more interesting, as we discussed the infamous ‘Swedish model’ and the fate of Sweden in light of the refugee crisis. Due to their highly advanced social welfare system, Sweden is a popular destination for migrants, but there is still a huge lingual, cultural, and skill divide between the Swedish and the migrants. Stockholm was a gorgeous city with plenty of museums, but I would not go back until I had a six figure salary. As a college student abroad, I would suggest that you skip Stockholm. Especially since our next stop (and favorite city in the world…) was London!

As we descended into Heathrow airport on Tuesday afternoon, I could clearly see Big Ben, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament out the airplane window. This was my third time visiting London, but the whole scene was just so Parent Trap-esque that I burst into tears. If you’ve been following my blog since it’s first entry, you know my struggle that went into chasing my abroad destination. Going back to London was wonderful for me, and also made me appreciate my time spent in Freiburg a bit more. It was great to be back, but I am definitely glad that I took the plunge and experienced a completely different culture, language and city that I was definitely not used to before.

On Friday when some of our classmates went back to Freiburg or other places across Europe, some friends and I decided to stay and explore the English countryside for the weekend. My friend Jeff had studied abroad at Cambridge previously, so on Friday we spent the day at the historic and adorable university town. We went for a “punt” on the river Cam, which is sort of like a gondola ride, and I really contemplated transferring. Cambridge was gorgeous, and we really lucked out with the weather as well. On Saturday we went on an all-day bus tour of Kent, where we visited Leeds Castle, Canterbury, and got a glimpse of the White Cliffs of Dover. I would highly recommend seeing Leeds Castle, it was built in Norman times for a conqueror who was friends with William the Conqueror, and has housed its fair share of English Queens from medieval times to the Renaissance. Leeds Castle actually became a queen’s residence, because it was gifted to the queen on her wedding day, in case the king died she could go and live safely and peacefully in the castle. Our guide told us that it was known as the “loveliest castle in the world”, and it was easy to see why. Leeds castle has a real life moat, black swans, and a cozy library that I could’ve stayed in for days.

Canterbury was also an exciting destination for me, as a lover of British literature. For those who snoozed through Brit Lit, the Canterbury Tales are an illuminated manuscript written about various medieval pilgrims and the tales they tell on their pilgrimage to Canterbury. Why Canterbury? It was a popular religious site in medieval times because it is the spot of the martyrdom of Thomas Abeckett, the Catholic priest who died because the king misspoke about his distaste for him. While we were inside the cathedral, the choir was practicing, and it was stunning to hear the music and walk the same path that pilgrims would have centuries ago. On our way back to London, we stopped at the White Cliffs of Dover for a photo, however the stellar English weather hampered much of the view.

Sunday morning we woke up early and headed to the airport, as we were catching a 7am flight back to Basel (the closest airport to Freiburg). I was sad to leave London after so short a time, and coming back to Freiburg was difficult because I knew all about the amount of work that awaited me there. The past week has been chock full of papers and projects, really putting the “study” in study abroad. However the week flew by, as by Friday afternoon I was off to another country where the hills are alive: Salzburg, Austria!

Facades of Riga, Latvia

Freedom Statue in Riga

Tulips for sale in Stockholm

Stockholm harbor

Stockholm, Sweden

Good to be back in my favorite city!

Trinity College, the most prestigious of the colleges at Cambridge

Bridge of Sighs from the punt

Leeds Castle

My favorite room in Leeds Castle- the library

Canterbury Cathedral

Site of the martyrdom of Thomas Abeckett

Cliffs of Dover, featuring stellar English weather

Good night, Ben!

Location: London, England

When you think of spring break, one tends to think of sun, sand and beaches. Never one for going with the crowd, two friends (who are also Penn Staters!) and I decided to head over to Ireland for the few days we had off over Easter weekend. That’s right, we headed to a place where, as the Irish say, you can experience all four seasons in five minutes.

We flew into Dublin on Wednesday morning, and were soon exposed to our first dose of Irish culture shock: when the attendant selling bus tickets into the city asked us if we knew what stop to get off at, and where we were going. Seems like a pretty normal thing to ask, but after spending two months in Germany, where everyone assumes that you know what you’re doing and where you’re going and glares at you if you are unsure, this was a welcome change. I really didn’t realize how unfriendly the Germans can be until we got to Ireland!

We had enough time on Wednesday to walk around the city and find our bearings, as well as formulate a plan for the next few days as to what we wanted to do and see. High on my list was the Trinity College Library, and the Cliffs of Moher. We decided to sign up for a Paddywagon Tour, which was recommended to me by my friend who visited Ireland last spring. We settled on  a trip to Northern Ireland, and early Thursday morning met a giant green bus on O’Connell Street, which took us north of Dublin on a beautifully scenic ride through the Irish countryside, as we made our way up to Northern Ireland. We made several stops on the Paddywagon tour, the first was at a road called the “Dark Hedges” which was also the spot of filming for the Kings Road in Game of Thrones! Next up was the coast and Carick-a-Rede rope bridge! On a clear day, you would have been able to see Scotland, but the cloud cover only allowed us a glimpse of the land of Scotch and kilts. Being at the coast was stunning, and also the windiest place I have ever been! It was near impossible to take pictures of the three of us since we all looked like Cousin It. The rope bridge, Carick-a-Rede was the most impressive; at one point it was only single rope that fishermen eased themselves across on in order to check on their nets of wild Atlantic salmon. Walking across the “fortified” bridge which still swayed in the wind was an experience enough- I couldn’t imagine doing it without handrails! Afterwards, we headed to Giants Causeway, a volcanic rock formation of hexagonal, pillar-like rocks that descend into the sea, and reappear on the other side in Scotland. Celtic legend said that the giant Finn McCool built the rock ’causeway’ to Scotland in order to steal away the prettiest girls in the Scottish highlands! The ‘giant’ part of the name originated because locals believed that giants were the only ones strong enough and large enough to move the massive stones into formation. On the way back to Dublin we stopped in Belfast, home of the Titanic! Sadly, the museum was closed for the day by the time we arrived, but we were able to sit in a cafe and relax, while reading about the surprisingly tenuous political situation that exists in Belfast today. For anyone unfamiliar with Irish history, in 1916 the Easter Rising occurred, where Ireland declared itself free of the British crown and began a long and bloody fight for independence. Although the Republic of Ireland exists now as an independent nation, Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom, and therefore under British rule. I did not realize that so many tensions still existed between federalists and loyalists in Belfast; the schools, for example, are still segregated  between those favoring an independent Ireland and those loyal to British governance. Additionally, there continues to be a lot of gang violence in Belfast that is related to the Irish Revolutionary Army, or IRA. Our guide told us that coming to Northern Ireland even 20 years ago would have been extremely dangerous, and the border between the Republic and the north would have been heavily patrolled and guarded.

Good Friday in Dublin did not pan out exactly as we had expected, since they do not serve any alcohol on this day! So our plans to see the Guinness and Jameson factories fell through, however we did get to see Trinity College Library, which was a dream come true for me. In true Hermione form, I was absolutely spellbound by the massive “Long Room” with arching ceilings, dusty alcoves, and thousands upon thousands of books. I could have stayed in that room forever.

Friday night we got on a bus and headed to Galway, where we would spend the weekend. Galway is known as the cultural heart of Ireland, and that was evident with our visit. A small, coastal town with a big personality, Galway delivered good food and plenty of good Irish entertainment. One night we went on a pub crawl with some people from our hostel, and another night we joined the other people staying in our hostel for live Irish entertainment. The highlight of our stay in Galway, however, was the tour to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren on Easter Sunday. The majesty and beauty of the cliffs was gorgeous, and the fact that we were standing at the very edge of Ireland was awesome. The weather cleared up perfectly for our visit, and the blue skies and blue sea were striking against the grass and the rock. Being away from home was tough on Easter, since I received many pictures of my family eating pierogis and kielbasa back in New Jersey. But seeing the natural beauty of the cliffs was so humbling, and it made me feel especially blessed to have such an amazing opportunity and to share it with some incredible new friends.

Next destination: Riga, Latvia!

The Dark Hedges or the King’s Road- you decide

Coast off Northern Ireland

Falling for Ireland

At Giant’s Causeway

Temple Bar at night- Dublin’s best known pub!

Long Room at Trinity College Library

Galway harbor

The Burren- stone field with stone age monuments

Gorgeous views at the cliffs

Location: Dublin, Ireland