Partycipate im Sand

May 22










Just another party off of Sandstrasse. Entritt 4 Euros = night of fun in any club or bar off of Sandstrasse!

Regensburg Half-Marathon

May 20

Today I went to my first half-marthon...I didn't participate, but I was there.
Joined by other exchange students, I cheered on the runners Craig, Katie, Molly, and Theresa.














Katrina and I made these fabolous signs to support the runners, but unfortunately Katie was the only runner to see the sign while running, and that was only after I shoved it in front of her.


Being my first race, I didn't really know what to expect, but it was actually fun to attend and see people finish the half-marathon, which is 13 miles! It is such an accomplishment for these runners and you can see it on their faces as they crossed the finish line.
Some people crossed the finish line single, while others held hands with their significant other or a group of friends. Some children even ran with their parents through the finish line. It was so cute!

I am so glad that I went to experience the half-marthon with the participants!

Chao

May 8-14
Italy was amazing! I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. The cities were beautiful and ancient, the gelatin was delightful and the guys were gorgeous. The Italian boys fulfilled every girl's dream guy: tall, dark and handsome!

May8
The excursion began in Nuerenberg where Beverly (Penn.), Katrina (Clemson) and I took a train to Nue. Because we were running so late, we were not able to buy a train ticket before we got onto the train. This is typically not a good decision to make because the fees are ridiculously high. As predicted, a lady came through the train checking for tickets. After explaining that we needed to get on the train because of our flight to Rome, she decided to let us off our fines and pay nothing at all. We were in so much luck! I have to say, it was so much nicer to fly to Rome then spend over 10 hrs on the train. We arrived around 8pm and headed straight to our headquarter...which was a campsite. I know what you are probably thinking now...'Priscilla stayed at a campsite?!' Yes I did! Well, I guess a typical camper would not consider this an actual camping adventure since we had our private room with bunk beds, but it didn't start off that way. When we first arrived at Camp Tiber, which was 20 minutes from the main city centre, we were placed in a complex that always had the overhead light on, had 4 beds in each room that what was closed off by a curtain, and there were bugs crawling on the walls and beds from the windows being open. Beverly headed back to the reception area and questioned about the safety of this type of environment. Way to go BEV! After little discussion, Camp Tiber put us into our own four bunk room with a lock! We were so happy!
That night, we went to the bar/restaurant and got us some beers. We were in need of something after our day. We headed back to our room and played cars the rest of the night. I know...we are so cool!

May 9
We had an early start after walking to our showers and peeling kiwis with our fingernails for breakfast. We headed straight to Rome's main information center, which was a load of crap. Basically, you don't walk into any tourists' information place unless you know exactly what information you want. We had no idea what there was really to see in Italy besides the common knowledge things such as the Colosseum, Vatican, and the Roman ruins. Eventually we got the information necessary to continue with our scavenger hunt through Rome. Our first stop though was good old McDonald's. All I have to say is that we were on a budget and were so hungry. After our lunch, we headed to the main Archaeological area. There we saw the Colosseum and the Forums. As we were walking in the Colosseum, Katrina broke her flip flop so we needed to find a store to buy new ones. After spending 15 minutes walking around, Katrina walked into a store and the lady offered to staple them...that was the best solution we had found and it worked! As we made our way from Capital Hill, we walked to the Pantheon which is Rome's only intact architecturally monument from classical times. It contains the tombs of many famous people including Raphael and kings and queens of Italy. The Pantheon is an open dome where when it rains, little wholes in the floor drain the water. It is pretty amazing to see!
Our next stop was the Fontana Di Trevi, where the three of us three coins into the fountain because supposedly this means that one day we shall return to Rome...which I hope to do! As we were eating our Gelatin, we wandered towards the Spanish Steps. Here many people sit and enjoy the scenery and company of others. At the time, there was some modelling thing going on, where Asian girls were posing with their flag. I wonder if it was for a Next Top Model show!
Anyways, by this time we were all pretty worn out from walking around all day in the heat, so we headed back to Tiber Campsite where we ate dinner, drank really bad beer, and played cards.

May 10
The next day we woke up a little earlier to visit the Vatican Museum. As we approached, we realized that the line was very long. However, the Vatican was a must see and the line seemed to move pretty quickly, so we waited. Later I found out that the Pope blessed the crowd ever Thursday...so the crowd must have just come from being blessed! Schade I wasn't there. Inside the Vatican was nothing that I expected. It was huge with so many different pieces of artwork. You could have been there the entire day and just see a quarter of the artwork! The highlights of the Vatican included seeing the 'Last Judgment' by Michaelangelo, the Sistine Chapel, and many painting by Michaelangelo and Raphael. It was amazing to see such fine artwork dedicated to preaching the word of God.
Next to the Vatican Museum is St. Peter's Basilica, which claims to house the remains of the apostle St. Peter. Besides a statue of St. Peter where one rubs the feet, the superb baldaquin catches visitors' eyes. It was very beautiful. We climbed the Dome of St. Peter's, which was painted and made by Michaelangelo. Going up was quite difficult. The steps were narrow as well as the walls. The walls ever curved inward the farther up one went. It was definitely worth climbing to the top though because one was able to see picturesque views of Rome.
Our next stop was Piazza Navona or Circus Agonale which traced the shape of the Stadium of Domitian. Here was once were naval battles were staged, but now is a place where many artists paint and sell their pieces of work. We then headed back towards the Archaeological ruins to see Circo Massimo, where the chariot races were held. Currently, there is not many remains besides a few stones, but the shape of the area remains. Our final visit in Rome was to the Roman Baths of Caracalla. The remains we saw were hard to really picture what they once looked like, but it was still a sight! Being our last night in Rome, we decided to actually buy a meal. We went to a pizza place and each bought pizza and a dessert. The Tiramissu was delicious, however I think I still like Chicago pizza the best!


May 11
Today we were traveling to Florence, the heart of art and culture in my eyes. As soon as we arrived, I had to make a few stops. First thing was first, I had no more room on my camera to take pictures so I needed to upload all my Rome pictures to a CD. I also needed to buy new sandals, because like Katrina, I broke my sandals that day in Florence. The sandals I bought were the most uncomfortable shoes I ever worn...but they lasted me through the day. Our first must see was the Academy Gallery which houses the famous 'David' statue by Michaelangelo. He was beautiful! Pictures do not do him justice! The rest of the gallery housed busts, painting, and old artifacts, but the David...o the David.



We then saw the Cathedral of Florence, which was amazing both in the inside and outside. Right next to the Cathedral was Baptistery of St. Giovanni with the famous 'Gate of Paradise' doors. While Katrina waited in line for the Museum of the Uffizi Gallery, Beverly and I wandered around. As we left Katrina, Beverly began to haggle with a guy for a copy purse of Chanel. She brought the price down to 15 euros, but we still walked away because we had no money on us. This was probably a good decision because after returning from Italy, we found out that the replica purses that our friends bought were already falling apart. As we saw the Ponte Vecchio, the city's oldest bridge, the next interesting thing happened. I wanted this girl to take a picture of Beverly and I in front of the bridge, but she bluntly refused and this random guy came up and wanted to grab my camera to take a picture. Of course I didn't give it to him...he was so sketchy!

Beverly and I walked around a little more across the Bridge and realized that shopping is amazing in Italy. We had to get ourselves out of there otherwise we were going to be dirt poor. We headed back to where Katrina was waiting in line so we could enter the Uffizi Gallery. The gallery was really nice to see with millions of well-known paintings. There were so many rooms that my feet were actually starting to hurt so I had to take breaks with Beverly. After we finished walking through the gallery, we headed to the Church of San Lorenzo, where the internal facade was done by Micahelangelo. Unfortunately it was already closed so we could not go inside. The outside was plain for Michaelangelo was not able to finish it.
After our long day in Florence we headed to Venice, where once again we would be staying at a campsite called Della Serenissima. This time it was actually a trailer, but it was not that bad besides being really hot!

May 12
This was our first day in Venice and our last full day in Italy. Venice was definitely my favorite city from all the cities we saw in Italy. We took a boat taxi to the main Lagoon. As we wandered around, we came to the main tourist sight, Piazza San Marco. I knew coming to St. Mark's square that I wanted to feed the pigeons like you see in the movies. As I bought the seeds, I immediately was being attacked by pigeons. It seriously freaked me out! I basically threw the bag to Katrina and let her start feeding the pigeons as I prepared myself. Katrina was being swarmed with pigeons so I decided it was my turn to grab the bag of seeds. I attempted three times to feed the birds and each time I was screaming. It was just so weird to have birds sitting on you and eating from your hand. I believe I attracted many onlookers because I just couldn't keep myself from screaming as the pigeons were on me. Once we finished the bag, the three of us headed to St. Mark's Basilica. It was the most beautiful basilicas that I have seen. It was very medieval looking inside.


Walking around in Venice, we knew that it would be impossible to follow a map, so we basically got ourselves lost. We did see many things including the Clock Tower, St. Mark's Basin, The Sigh Bridge, and the theatre. Mostly, we spent money on souvenirs for us and our families. We also witnessed four weddings...but no funerals. It's a joke...Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Anyways, we came back to our campsite and hung out on our porch area eating dinner and looking at our purchasers. Yes, I gave in a bought a mask with Beverly. It's my first piece of really art that I bought!

May 13
After packing up and storing our bags, we went on a boat taxi that taxied around the Grand Canal. Our destination was the island of Murano. Here we went to a glass factory and witnessed the creation of glass products. We also gave in and bought some jewelry. We then headed to a little cafe and ate spaghetti. It was good but nothing special. I honestly do not understand why people make such a big deal about the pizza and pasta in Italy. The best food we ate there was the Galeto...ice cream! Our next stop was the supposedly one of the world's best known beaches in Lido. Too bad I didn't bring my bathing suit, because the beach was beautiful.
After finishing up our time in Venice, we headed to the airport where we flew to Munich...which took about 30 minutes. It had to be the shortest plane ride I ever was on! Unfortunately we missed our last train to Bamberg, so we stayed in the airport until 4am and then took the first train back to Bamberg.
Overall, Italy was amazing and I would return in a heartbeat!



MORE ITALY PICS

Lotte's Visit

April 12-19
Lieselotte visited




























April 17
Partycipate semester start-up



















































April 20
Usi macht Musi

May 2
Today was a very eventful evening. It began with Romina, Katrina, Wes, Jon, and myself seeing Spiderman 3. It was sooooo good even though it was in German! When the film ended, Katrina and I were suppose to be four German students that will be studying in Clemson for the next school year. Since we still had time to spare, we went with the rest of the group to stand outside of the Atrium and talk. We were also waiting for Omar and Katie to join us. For those of you who don't know, Omar, Katrina, Katie and I all study at Clemson. As we were just minding our own business, a brawl broke out between some youngsters and the police officers!
*First of all, this would never happen in the U.S.
*There would be back up!
Anyways, I guess that there was a big group of young people standing between the Atrium and the bahnhof just drinking. This is kind of strange as it is...and probably not the best place to be drinking. All of a sudden, a policeman supposedly came and took their pictures. I have no idea why they would do this, but eventually he asked to see ids. They do have a drinking age in German ladies and gentleman...16! Instead of just giving the officer their ids, the youngsters decide to cause excitement between the group and the officers by asking for the film and why they need ids...etc. After calling in backup and a lot of wrestling, a police van came and took 6 people away to jail. 5 minutes later there was another uproar and more backup was called in. In the next police vehicle, 3 more people were taken to jail.
Katrina, Romina, Jon, Wes and myself were not the only people standing and watching all this excitement. People came from every direction with their curious minds. There was even a tour bus that passed through. As everyone began to thing the excitement was over, another uproar started but this time with one guy. He eventually got mase sprayed in his face and was taken to jail. What a night!
When Omar and Katie finally met with us, we all headed up to the Dolphin's Diner to meet the four German students. I am happy to say they were all very nice. Talking about Clemson and the U.S. really made me miss home. I am so excited to come back!!

PICTURE ALBUMS ARE FINALLY POSTED!

April 29, 2007

Katie Tuten and I woke up early in the morning to catch the 6:20 train to Trier. Trier is one of Germany's oldest cities as well as a Roman City. Some of the remains are dated back to the A.D. period!

After spending about 7 hours on the train, we arrived in Trier around almost 2p.m. There we met Katrina McDavid, who arrived the previous day. The three of us had 5 hours to scurry around the city and see as much as we could before the last train left back to Bamberg.
Trier was beautiful with the old structures and modernized buildings. There were many street performers and sellers on the streets. You could buy anything from wired souvenirs to jewelry and paintings! As we walked through a green park with the old palace a short distance away, we arrived at our destination of the old Amphitheater. It was huge! We were able to go underneath the theatre and see the structure of how it was built!
We continued our fast pace walk to the Roman Baths. Supposedly the baths were never used but the structure was beautiful!
With our short time schedule, we were only able to pass by the Basilica and Dom, but just the outside was beautiful to see like always!
Our next stop was the Porta Nigra built around 180 A.D. This building was the entrance to the city during the Roman and medieval times. The entire complex is built out of stone.
We also passed by:
~Franco's tower which exhibited a typical building style during the Roman era.
~The three King's house built during the medieval time. The entrance to the house was through a window which was reached by means of a wooden staircase or ladder that could be pulled up.
After walking around for so long on the hot, gorgeous day, we decided to indulge ourselves in some ice cream. It was delicious! By the time we were finished, all the shops and museums were closed, so we just walked around Trier back to the train station and sat on the train for 7 hours.
The train ride was very interesting. We were all very tired, so we would fall asleep and then wake up. At one of our stops, the train that we were suppose to transfer on got derailed, so we had to wait almost an hour for the train to come! We were so worried because we were getting on the last train out of NUE which left at 1.15AM. Fortunately, the train in NUE waited for us and we made it back to Bamberg around 2.30AM. It was worth to see even though I was so exhausted the next day.

For additional information: TRIER

TRIER PICTURES

Portugal

April 3-12

I was waiting all of my 2 month break from school for this trip and it finally came! Shawn, Katrina, Molly, Angela and myself left for Portugal on April 3 for a 10 day trip. The trip started off with a bang with Katrina and I running to catch our flight from Nue to Amsterdam. We had thought that the s-bahn would take less time then it actually had to get to the airport so we left later from Bamberg. After running around the airport, we finally were able to check in and get on our flight!! Because Katrina and I were able to make the earlier flight from Nue, we spent about four hours walking around in Amsterdam. I can actually say I was there now!
Let me tell you about Amsterdam:
I have heard just about everything about Amsterdam. I have heard that it is a hippy town with the red light district; I have heard that it is nothing special to see but the Anne Frank house; and of course I have heard that it is one of the few places where marijuana usage is legal. Now being in Amsterdam, I have different ideas about the place. I did not see the red light district, but I thought the small boutiques and shopping areas were very nice. There were many canals with thousands of bikes parked everywhere. Unfortunately I wasn't able to actually go into Ann Frank's house because the line was so huge, but I did see the outside. I found the prices in Amsterdam to be outrageously high. For example, the cheapest postcard I found was 1 euro...usually you can buy postcards around 45 cents.
After walking around Amsterdam for so long, Katrina and I worked up an appetite. After having many locals trying to persuade us to eat in their restaurants, Katrina and I picked a nice casual place to eat...what a story this brings. I decided to splurge a little bit and get a salad. There was one salad that caught my eye which had mozzarella, tomatoes, and pecans in it. Long did I know that my salad would only consist of mozzarella and tomatoes!! Oh well...it's done now! I was curious to visit a coffee shop or a.k.a. a brownie cafe. I assumed that they would have a special section for products made with the plant product. To my surprise, the cafes that we entered had no special brownies or cookies. There was only one 'store' we passed that had advertisements for herbs and other such stuff. After walking around Amsterdam, Katrina and I made our way back to the airport to meet up with the rest of the gang.

We finally made our way to Lisboa, Portugal where we would spend the next 3 nights. Lisboa is located on a river, that definitely reminds me of Lake Michigan. All the small houses are built up a hill and they are really close together. It was beautiful with all the plants in bloom and the statues filling the parks and streets. Lisboa was a clean capital with little graffiti. Many of Portugal's building are covered with beautiful tile paintings. The main sights for us was the fortress and churches.
For a small snack on Wednesday, we stopped at a fish market eating area which was right on the river. It was really neat to see the big fishing boats docked along the river. At the fish market, I tried the classic chips which reminded me of fries. They were good! We basically walked around all day Wednesday and called it an early night because the next day was my birthday!!

I was so excited to celebrate my birthday in Portugal. I knew turning 21 in Europe would not have the same extent of excitement as it would have in the U.S. The day started off with me deleting all of my pictures from my break...it was so sad. But I didn't let that get me down because I was in Portugal! Since we saw most of Lisboa the day before, we decided to check out Sintra, which is a small town where supposedly the rich and famous vacation/live. The town was pretty small with many hills. It was very beautiful with the large houses; some of the houses even resembled castles. Molly, Katrina and I wandered up a hill in order to reach our destination of the castle. The way up was beautiful! It was like walking through a secret garden! There were plants everywhere with a stone wall that led the way. We were more interested in seeing the view from the top then the actual castle, but we couldn't even see the view without paying so we headed back down the hill. On our way down, I stepped upon a water drain and happened to twist my left ankle! That's right...I sprained my ankle again! I have to be one of the clumsiest people in the world!! Luckily I was still able to put some pressure on my foot and after finding a brace I was able to walk a little more rapidly. So now I deleted pictures from my camera and I am limping around. As the day continued, my mother called me to wish me a happy birthday. Unlucky me, as I was talking to her my phone went dead and that was the end of that convo. I seriously could not believe the events of this day. We consented as a group that we would just go to dinner for my birthday and drink so wine while playing cards in the hostile.
(OOOO I totally forgot to tell you about the hostile! The hostile was in Lisboa on a hill, so there were many steps to climb to get there. Then once you were in the building, one had to climb really steep steps up to the 2 floor where our room was. Our room was a standard hostile with bunk beds, but unlike the other rooms where they had a door to close, we had a curtain! On top of that, there was only three bathrooms in the entire hostile with one toilet and shower. You could only imagine how difficult it was to get ready in the mornings with so many people wanting to shower and stuff.)
The night turned out be fun as we played our routine game of Rumi and Uno.

The next day, we took a bus to Lagos where we would be staying for the remaining of our trip. I have to say, Lagos is my favorite place now! I would go back in a heart beat! Even though we arrived there on a good Friday, many of the shops were still open because it it such a tourists' area. We immediately went to our hostile which was more like a condo. We had two bedrooms, our own bathroom for each rooms, a kitchen and a patio! It was so nice!
Now for a little information on Lagos:
It is a hot spot for British people to travel. Everyone there is so friendly! One day Shawn, Katrina, and myself were walking around as well as trying to find Shawn sunglasses since he broke his. As he was trying on different sunglasses, some British residents decided to chat with us. They were really funny to talk to and very welcoming! Another interesting fact to know...people consider Lagos to be the California of Europe. Now I have never been to California but I can tell you that Lagos is amazing!
The Friday we arrived we basically walked around. I couldn't do too much walking because my I was still in pain with my ankle; however, since we were so close to the ocean, we decided to check out the beaches. By the end of the day we decided that the Potato beach was our beach because there wasn't too many people laying out there.

On Saturday Katrina and I once again tried to register for classes with our university at home. I didn't mention this earlier, but we were trying for about three days already but had no luck. After another disappointing attempt, we headed to the beach were our two friends Shawn and Angela were baking in the sun. We all layed out for hours, which we continued to do for the next days we were there. It was sooo nice! I love the beach! Molly and I went swimming many of times in the ocean. Yes it was cold at first, but after the initial shock of coldness, it is quite warm. Later Saturday night we all went out for drinks, which were ridiculously cheap! It seemed like every bar had happy hour. The particular place we went to had the deal: 2 cocktails for the price of 1 which was 2.50 euros!! In Germany we pay around 7 euros for a cocktail! Molly, who hardly drinks, could not even resist the amazing offer.

Easter Sunday came around and Katrina and I went to church for a little bit. We didn't stay too long because it was in Portuguese and there were so many people there that they couldn't even shut the doors! Later we headed to the beach of course, where we spend the rest of the day.
Monday we took a boat trip to the caves which were beautiful! Shawn and Angela decided to take a dip in the middle of the ocean. I, on the other hand, found it to be too cold for me so I took a rain check. After our hour long boat trip, we headed to the beach once again. For dinner we decided to try this restaurant that is known for their fish. I ordered some type of fish that still had it's head on! Normally my parents cut the fish up for me and remove the bones so this was quite an experience for me! It was delicious!
Tuesday was our last full day in Lagos...so sad. Of course we went to the beach again and we also shopped around. We didn't stay in the sun too long though because all of us were feeling a bit burnt from the previous sun bathing days. I was pink for awhile but I am proud to say that it started turning brownish!

On Wednesday we were heading back to Lisboa by bus and then to the airport. We still had some time to waste in Lagos, but unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't go to the beach. Instead we headed to the Pizza Hut and shopped around a little more. We finally arrived in Lisboa around 11 p.m. We made a group decision not to stay in a hostile because our flight was leaving 7 in the morning. As we were hanging out in the airport, some strange man decided to hang out with Katrina and Shawn as they were playing cards. Soon everyone was aware of his presence and couldn't nap anymore. He was drunk, smelly, and who knows what else. Until around 4a.m when we could finally check in, this man would get up, leave, and come back. WEIRD!
Overall Portugal was the best!!

*Random thought: If you ever go, bring toilet paper or tissues...I swear they don't believe in toilet paper there. Every bathroom I went to had nichts!


PORTUGAL PICTURES

Mo's Visit

March 21-27

My friend Monique came to visit me!! My first visitor from the states! It was unfortunate that Monique was only here for a week because there was so much to see and do. While I was waiting I thought I was about to cry waiting for her arrival. It was like a little piece of home was arriving in Deutschland!
After the flight of about 8 hours, it was obvious that she would have terrible jet lag…but being such a super friend, I made sure that she did not nap until at least 9 p.m. After all, that is the only way to get over jet lag. We did nothing terribly exciting except see some of good old Bamberg. The next day we went to Nuerenberg to do some touristy stuff there. It was a bit cold outside, but we still managed to get around. Among the touristy stuff in Nuerenberg, we tried the famous Nuerenbergers, saw the grounds of the party rallies during WWII, and visited a castle and many churches. Of course we did a little shopping but I managed to only window shop…schade.

Later Thursday night, I took Monique to stammtisch to meet some of the other new foreign exchange students, many who I have not even met yet. However, we did not stay out too late because we had much more touristy stuff to do.
Friday and Saturday we stayed with Monique’s family in Frankfurt. It was her expecting Polish cousin and her German husband who we visited. They were a really fun couple to be around, even though there was slight communication awkwardness at first. Even though I have been to Frankfurt so many times, it was nice to actually see the city and the shopping areas. We left late Saturday night and arrived back in Bamberg around 1am. We didn’t have much time to sleep though because Sunday was going to be a BIG day.
If you know Germany, you know that not much is open on Sunday. However, one of the main attractions in Germany is…NEUSCHWANSTEIN. We were on a mission to see the castle and managed to take the train 630 am. Yes I have already visited it once before, but it was just as beautiful if not more the second time. Monique and I were fortunate enough to see the alps surrounding the castle covered in snow. It was one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen. We also visited Hochschawnstein, which is the castle that King Ludwig II had grown up in. It was also very nice, but not as breathtaking of course as Neuschwanstein. After a long day, we came back to Bamberg and passed out!

Even though there was so much more that I wanted to show Monique, she had an early flight Tuesday so we had to take an easy on Monday. Therefore, we just walked around Bamberg so more and visited the main sights in the town. Later that night, we celebrated my birthday with tequila and live club! We had quite a night let me tell you. First we went to Shawn’s to pregame, where Mo and I managed to break Shawn’s light! Then we went dancing where Mo managed to repeatedly tell Kyle that his cologne was amazing!! HAHA Love it! I don’t remember what time we came back home but we got up the next morning around 630 to catch the train to Frankfurt airport.

What a rush! The train we were on ended up having technical difficulties so we had to take another train to NUE and then to Frankfurt. Monique just made her flight by the time we made it to Frankfurt! We are so lucky! Thank you Mo for visiting…I needed a piece of home! MISS YOU ALL!

I know that all my faithful readers are wondering what I have been up to during my break. Yes, I am still in Bamberg. Fortunately, us few Bambergers that remain have found fun things to do to preoccupy our time!
Last week Shawn, Lauren, Angela, Christoph, Phillip, Katrina...I think that's her name...and myself went bowling. In the first game, I didn't feel like a complete novice at bowling with my score in the 80s. I have bowled before, but let's face the facts: You won't be seeing me on any professional bowling league anytime soon! Phillip did the best with scoring a strike or spare every time...amazing! Angela and Phillip followed with their bowling skills. The next game we split up into two lanes. In one lane was Shawn, Lauren, and myself. Everyone else was in the other. I am so glad that I played in my lane, because once again, my score was not so hot in the 70s. I just couldn't break 100. After the last game, Shawn has been declared the worst bowler...we still love ya! On the other lane, everyone exceeded the 100s.
Thursday, we pregamed in Shawn's room while playing UNO. I don't know what was going on that day, but I just could not hold a cup without spilling. We then stopped in to see some new exchange student faces at stammtisch. There were not too many, but the ones we met were great! The seen was a little slow for us, so we ended up heading to Calamiros. What a seen! People were dancing everywhere including the counters and the bar. I feel so privileged to have seen Shawn show off his dance moves on the bar joined by Christoph and the new guy Ted. We hung around to closing and then headed back. Lauren and I attempted to ride together on my bike. We made it down the street but that is as far as we got.
I have to say, since the new people has arrived I definitely have been going out a lot more. It has been a long, nice break, but classes are now beginning again. Hopefully all goes well!

Bamberg

Lately I have been keeping myself busy by hanging out with the remaining students in Bamberg, hiking, going out at night, and Desperate Housewives season 1! That's right...I have given in and rented the first season. It is very good, but the movie store only gives you 3 days to watch 24 episodes!! CRAZY!!

I am also having a blast just hanging out with people. We have done everything from playing our American drinking games, to listening to 2gether and Otown, to playing Uno! It is so weird being in Bamberg right now with so many foreign exchange students going home or vacationing. Bamberg is expecting 25 new American students for next semester and I believe around 70 exchange students! We are really excited to meet new people!

Besides mingling, I am beginning to work on some procrastinated hausarbeit for Bamberg as well as take care of some minor details for my last year at Clemson!

Here are some miscellaneous pictures including one of my current wohnheim.

Buda-Pest

February 14-18
It was valentine's day, and I was on my way to Budapest along with Lieselotte and Shawn. Unfortunately it happened to be one of the two sunniest days (the other being the day we were coming back to Bamberg) and the train ride was 8 hours long. We busied ourselves with many games of Uno and Rummi. When we finally arrived in Budapest, I instantly became scared of the streets. I wasn't sure exactly how safe it was there and we were already being begged by people for money. There were also a lot of homeless people at the train station, in phone booths, boxes, etc. We even had a hard time getting around at first since everything was written in the Hungarian language and a new type of currency was used.

After finally finding the metro, we realized how fast the transportation was getting around. I seriously felt like I was going to fall off the escalator...it was going so fast! The metro itself wasn't entirely bad but the trams were also quite fast and very unstable. I think we were all happy to step on stable ground after the tram ride! Shawn booked our hostile, which he was very excited about since it received high recommendations. After finally finding the entrance, I was thinking, "What the hell did Shawn book?!" We were instantly asked to go to the main room which wasn't very big and about 10 people were hanging out watching a movie. As I was sitting in my little corner on the couch, I saw a room with the door wide open and eight beds situated. I was praying that that was not our room. It was so close to the tv room and so open. I felt like anyone could go in and out as they pleased. After finally being situated, my fear became reality; that room was in fact the room where I would be spending my next four nights sleeping in...WONDERFUL!

The first night sleeping there wasn't bad for me, but unfortunately Lieselotte's bed was very uncomfortable, so she didn't sleep very well. We started our day around 10ish on the Buda side. For those who do not know, Buda and Pest were once separate cities separated by the Danube River. Walking around from 10am until about 8pm, you can imagine how much we accomplished. We climbed up a mountain side to visit the citadel. The citadel has a cave chapel, many symbolic statues, a bunker museum, and many twisting walking paths. The view was amazing, and we took many beautiful pictures even with the gray skies. On our way down the mountain, it started to sprinkle. After making our way down the mountain, we visited: the royal palace, which one goes see for the view and not the interior since it had been destroyed, the the Buda Castle Labyrinth, which was more like mazes in a cave with mimicked cave drawings, the castle district, a medieval district where many of the buildings have been restored from WWII, the Fisherman's Bastion which has amazing picturesque sights of the Danube, and the outside of Matthias Church.

After walking around most of the day, you could only imagine how wet we really were. Shawn, Lieselotte, and myself decided that it was time to sit down and get a drink. We tried the Hungarian beer which was good for me but not as strong as Lieselotte's liking. We also grabbed something to eat at the all American Pizza Hut. It was delicious especially since we hadn't eaten since 11ish. On our way back to our amazing hostile, we passed through the small hall where the two showers and toilet were into the tv room to get to our room. In the tv room was basically everyone staying at the hostile watching a movie. It was a little awkward since we were all soaking wet and they were sitting around drinking. We decided not to be outcasts and sit out and join them. The movie was Sin City which Lieselotte and I have already seen so we were trying to explain the movie to Shawn in German. It was pretty funny to learn that everyone there thought we were really Germans. When we finally got around to introductions, I learned that all the people staying there were backpackers! I was shocked!! Where do they get the money to travel Europe? They have been travelling anywhere from 1 to 10 months! The backpackers included one guy from England, one from Wales, a guy and girl not travelling together from Australia, two French girls, 2 guys and a girl from VA traveling together, one guy from Canada, and then us.

They ended going out to learn some Hungarian dance moves, but we were not feeling it after walking around all day, so while they were at the club we played Uno and watched Chicago with our Hostel supervisors. They really weren't our supervisors, but I don't really know what else to call them. There were three of them that would take shifts and they were all so nice. They seriously waited on us for all our needs; they even brought out popcorn, coffee, and tea even when you didn't ask for it, and they would clean your dishes after using the kitchen. They also bought us wine and food items!

That night was terrible for sleeping! I woke up to loud talking in the tv room, which let me remind you was right next to our sleeping quarters. I finally decided to look at my clock after it seemed like hours went by and realized that it was already 5am and I was going to wake up in the next few hours! I heard Lieselotte shift around in the bed next to me and realized that she probably couldn't sleep either. I actually sat up in bed and Lieselotte saw me awake and we just started laughing. We couldn't believe this was happening! She decided to go to the bathroom and when she got out they asked if they were being to loud and later if she wanted some wine! After about another ten minutes they went to their individual rooms, where one of the guys came into our room. He fell asleep when the next thing happened!!

LOUD SNORING! I was like you have to be kidding. I laughed to myself and later found out that Lieselotte heard it and it finally woke up the other 3 people in our room. I was like...one more night of this and I am going to book a hotel room!

That day, we toured mostly the Pest side. There we saw: the Hungarian National Gallery with items and pictures from the 12th century and on, St. Stephen's Basilica, which is said to be the second largest in size (the first being in Rome)...it was amazingly beautiful, the Hungarian State Opera House, which was beautiful but I personally preferred the one in Venice, the Great Synagogue and Parliament. We walked around just as much as we did the previous day, mostly because we were trying to find food! We finally found a Burger King around 3pm, our first meal of the day. We then made our way back to the Buda side trying to find the Budapest History Museum, which we finally found behind the castle, but it was closed! So we sat around on the mountain taking amazing pictures wishing we had a beer. On our way down the mountain...it started raining and then the covered markets were closed, which is like the only grocery type place in Budapest, so we went to our 24 hour store and got dinner and drinks. When we arrived back at the hostile...what do you know...everyone was in the tv room watching another movie! So we ate a little bit in our room and then joined everyone in the tv room. When we arrived they were watching Meet the Fockers, and we have no idea how many other movies they had watched before. We found out later that the backpackers have been staying in Budapest for almost a week now since it was so cheap, so they have seen everything that they wanted to. Anyways, they were picking out another movie and I began to talk to a lot of them about traveling as Lieselotte and Shawn were making dinner. I really liked talking to the Canadian guy, and received a lot of good tips. After eating dinner, Lieselotte, Shawn, and myself went to the Irish pub next to

the hostile where I could only consume one beer while Shawn enjoyed 3 and Lotte 2. I don't know what it is about beer, but I can't drink fast unless playing a game! Anyways it was almost midnight and I was becoming more and more tired. So we decided to head back to the hostile. When we made it to our room, the others came in and were begging us to come out with them. Lotte and I did not give in for we were so tired, but Shawn was persuaded. Lotte and I fell asleep around 1am...that night was the best sleep of my stay there...no SNORING and no talking! Lotte, on the other hand, couldn't find a comfortable position in her so comfy bed so she once again had a crappy sleep.

Today was our last day, so we wanted to see everything that was left to see! We made our way further on the Pest side and visited the city park, the statue park which actually had a statue of George Washington to recognize USA's help, the outside of the famous baths, and the Vajdahunyad Castle. This day was more of walking around and enjoying the parks. Since we were so far away and we still wanted to visit the famous covered markets, we decided to take the tram. None of us were really sure of how the ticket system worked but I figured mine worked more then once since it had 8 numbers. Lieselotte and Shawn just decided to buy another ticket to be on the safer side. The tram checker guy came around to check tickets and of course mine was not valid and I had to pay a fine. He was speaking English with me and I was speaking in German hoping that would help me get out of it, but unfortunately another German speaker was on the train and she was translating the English speaking guy for me into German...ugh. The fine was only 10 Euros but that is sucky when I only had to be about 2 Euros for a ticket. Shawn said, "I am so glad that I bought the ticket." As we were walking off the tram, there were another set of ticket checkers standing by the exit. Lieslotte and Shawn showed them their tickets...which ended up not being valid for the tram ride since we had 5 stops and not 3, so both of them ended up paying the 10 Euro fee as well. Now that we all had paid the fee, none of us were in a really good mood. We made our way to the covered markets and found out that they closed an hour ago!Can the day get any better? We made our way to the 24 hour store again and once again bought food and drinks. As we returned back to the hostile, what do you know...most of the backpackers were watching another movie! We ate our dinner, and after the other people left, started watching the first Kill Bill movie. The Australian girl first joined us and let me try her famous Australian food Vegemite! Let me just say...it is like eating soy sauce straight...not my liking. We started drinking our cheap plastic wine, and then other people joined us and started drinking as well. Pretty soon everyone was in the tv room drinking and listening to music. We started playing the card game 'circle of death.' It didn't last too long and some of the guys made their way to the bar across the street. We drank a little more when I decided a shower would be a good idea. When I was finished and came back with my towel wrapped around my head and in my amazingly hott pjs, everyone decided to come back to the tv room and drink. A little embarrassing for me I must say! I went to bed around 3ish and later Shawn did. Lieselotte never came back to bed for she was having to much fun in the tv room.
It was now Sunday and we were back on our way to Bamberg...on a beautiful sunny day of course! Overall the trip was amazing. Budapest is quite beautiful when one has nice weather. My favorite part of the trip was definitely our hostile. Even though I wasn't quite liking it at first, the people were great and made the trip more worthwhile. They had such a great influence on me that I hope to backpack through Europe once in my life!

Budapest Album