Monday, November 25, 2013

Amsterdam, Netherlands!!


Hallo!! (Hello in Dutch!)

From November 16th to the 19th, my two friends, Alejandra and Daniela, and I went to Amsterdam in the Netherlands!!  We had an awesome time!  The city is spectacular and so beautiful.  It is built on a bunch of canals and water ways.  The picture above is literally what it looked like wherever you went!  There were cute bridges all over, and swans were always swimming in the water.  It was very picturesque.  Also, as many of you may know, Amsterdam is a very...well, uh...open place.  A lot of things are shown if you catch my drift, so it was definitely an experience.  

On Saturday, we met at the airport in Bordeaux.  Once there, we were told that our flight, on RyanAir, was delayed four hours due to the heavy fog in Eindhoven!  When we finally got on the plane and were flying, they still didn't know where we were going to land.  The pilot said we would probably land close by in Germany, and get bused to Holland.  At the last minute, they announced that we would be able to land in Eindhoven (the original plan.)  We were one of only two flights that were able to land there that day!  

Since our flight was delayed so long, we didn't get into Eindhoven until around 9:00 pm.  Then we took about a twenty minute bus ride to the train station, and an hour and a half train ride to Amsterdam.  Finally we arrived!!  It was a good thing we decided to wait to buy transportation tickets until we arrived, otherwise we would have lost all of our tickets and money from being late!  From the train station, we walked for about twenty minutes in search of our hostel.  That was the first time I had ever stayed in a hostel, and it was better than I was anticipating, which was a relief!  Also, our hostel was located directly on the Red Light District.  I was not aware of this until we arrived!  Talk about a surprise. hahaha If you are not completely sure what it is, Google it, but at your own risk. Seriously.  It isn't appropriate for me to write about. ; ) We dropped our stuff off and headed out in search of a bar! 


The next day we went in search of breakfast and got incredibly lost.  It is an old European city built on water, so of course it doesn't make sense.  We had a map, asked multiple people where we were, and we still couldn't tell you which way was north.  Being my father's daughter, I have an excellent sense of direction, but this city was kicking my butt.  After a few hours, we gave up.  We walked until we found a tram, made our way back to the Central Station, and just started completely over.  *A tip that I have learned in Europe: as soon as (or even before) you arrive in a new city, become good friends with the city's public transportation.  It really does make everything a whole lot easier!  For just 12€, we were able to buy a ticket to have complete access to the metro, trams, and buses for 48 hours.  

*Side note: every single person we talked to spoke perfect English.  I loved that!  It made it so easy to get around, and for the first time in months, I heard people speak English regularly!  What a change! : )
*Second side note: for the places that we visited, we bought our tickets online before we left for the trip.  This was very nice!  We could carry less money on us, and we didn't have to worry about getting in, or waiting in the long lines.  We just walked in like we owned the place. ; )

After finally finding where we were, we got something to eat.  I had a muffin, the other two had a bagel.  We ate that on our way to the Vincent van Gogh museum.  This was very cool.  The museum was quite large, 4 stories.  We saw most of his artwork, old paint brushes, materials, everything!  We spent hours there.  My favorite piece by Van Gogh is "A Starry Night," but it wasn't there.  I believe it is in New York City at the moment.  

From there we made a quick stop at the famous "I amsterdam" sign for a nice photo opportunity!  It was very crowded, but we anticipated that!





Next it was off to the original Heineken Brewery, now called the Heineken Experience.  This was easily one of the coolest museum type experiences I have ever had!  It starts off as a normal museum with all of the interesting facts and history.  We got to see the old parts of the factory and the old tanks.  We walked past the Heineken Horses, which are still a part of the brewing process today!  Then it turns into a more modern and interactive experience.  We went into a theater that explains the brewing process, but from the beer's point of view.  We became the beer!  We stood on a platform that moves (freaked us out because we didn't know it moved.)  As we were poured from place to place, the platform dropped and moved so we felt like we were in the movie.  When anything splashed, water and bubbles came out of the ceiling.  When we were being cooked, giant heat lamps turned on.  It was quite fun and we got a good laugh out of it.  Next we were off to our beer tasting.  As we drank, we played a game where we could win more beer.  Ale won two additional glasses of beer, so her and I gulped down two glasses each.  Let me just say, probably the best tasting beer ever! We don't know if it was just the environment, or the thought of being there, but the beer was fantastic!

The rest of the Experience we went from room to room where we could take fun pictures, sing karaoke, make videos, play games, become a DJ in a club, sit in a theater and watch Heineken commercials, and watch bottles be filled and capped.  The last room is a cool bar where each person gets two additional free glasses of beer.  May I remind you that we had very little to eat, about eight hours prior to this, and then drank 4 glasses in a very short amount of time.  Let's just say we were having some fun.  Then we toured the gift shop, bought some fun things, and went in search of food, lots of food!  What a great business tactic though.  Give the tourists free beer, just enough to the point of "fun tipsy," and then lead them straight into a fun gift shop where everything now looks "super cool" and "must have" because hey, "when will I ever be able to come back?!" *Gold mine*


Above picture: Our fourth round of delicious beer!
Below picture: my very own customized Heineken beer bottle, made at the original brewery, with my name on the label! Yeah, I am a little proud of it!


The next morning we found a Starbucks for some breakfast and did a little sightseeing again.  We then went to the Sex Museum.  I don't have pictures of that for obvious reasons.  It was interesting, only cost 4€, and hey, when in Amsterdam...

Then it was the fun task of searching for our next location, which we only had to stop and ask directions for four times.  We were getting better!  But we finally arrived at the Anne Frank House and Museum!


We opted for an introduction to the museum, for just a few euros more.  The introduction was a half hour, and in English.  We sat in a room that had pictures and stories all over the walls.  The presenter followed a timeline of pictures and explained Anne Frank's story, as well as events that were affecting the world.  On a table was a book of names of all of the Holocaust victims from the Netherlands.  This book is very large and is read out loud every four years.  They don't do it every year because it takes four days and four nights to read it.  This is only for one country.  There was also an original yellow star that the Jews were forced to sew onto their clothes, laying on the table.

Once in the actual museum, we could no longer take pictures, but I will never forget it.  The building in which her family hid was her father's business building.  We walked through the whole building, where all of the storage rooms and old offices were.  On all of the walls were quotes from Anne Frank's diaries.  There were pictures to show what the building used to look like, and videos that you could stop and watch.  One video was of a friend of Anne's.  This friend was not Jewish, therefor she was not in the camps.  She did manage to find Anne through the fence when Anne was later put in Auschwitz.  The friend threw a small package of necessities over the fence to Anne, and that was the last time she ever saw her.  

The hiding place of the family was located in the back house of the building.  The entrance was covered up by a movable bookcase which is still there today.  We passed through this secret opening, and were in the actual hiding place of Anne Frank.  When the family was discovered, the Nazis took all of the belongings from the family. Anne's dad Oscar, the only survivor, wanted the rooms to stay empty.  He wanted  to show how they were empty of belongings, empty of life.  Everything had been ripped away from them.  When the museum first opened, Oscar set the rooms back up to the best of his memory for the sake of taking pictures, but everything was removed again.  On the walls of these rooms were the pictures of what the rooms once looked like.  In the room that Anne and her sister stayed in, there were still the drawings and magazine clippings that they put up to make the place more cheerful. 

We got to look around the entire living quarters, and then we entered another part of the museum.  Here were interviews of her dad, Oscar, as well as others.  The final room had the actual diaries of Anne Frank on display.  The room was very dim so the light wouldn't damage the books, and they are kept in very thick glass cases with high security.  The book has been translated into over 70 languages! (Who even knew the world had that many) A lot of these different versions were also on display.  

In 1959, there was a movie made, called The Diary of Anne Frank.  That year, the actress Shelley Winters won The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this movie.  This Academy Award is on display and is the last thing you see before leaving the museum.  As a major movie buff, and an avid viewer of the Academy Awards, seeing one in person was absolutely awesome.  But it was a complete honor to have seen one for a movie such as this.

It is hard to properly express what it was like to have an experience like this.  It was a humbling, amazing, truly once in a lifetime experience.  For that, I am deeply grateful.
  

The rest of our night was more sightseeing.  We went to a cute park for some pictures.  We got a traditional Dutch pastry from a street vendor and stopped by the "I amsterdam" sign one last time.  We went back to the hostel, had more beer and had some "girl time."  Then we were up bright and early to make our way back to France.  On the journey back, I took control of the group and showed them what it was like to be on "Krysta Time."  Krysta, being one of the most punctual, over prepared people you will ever meet!  The two people I was with are almost always late to everything!  I made sure that we were not only on time to everything, but early with time to spare!  They laughed when we finally arrived at the airport and said "I will have to say, Krysta, this is nice.  Being here on time, not having to stress, and actually being able to stop and get food and coffee is nice!!"  It is a lot less stressful on "Krysta Time." : )


Amsterdam, you treated us well! Thank you for a fantastic time!!

Thank you to everyone for reading, hope you enjoyed my stories!

-Krysta

"Those who have courage and faith, shall never perish in misery."
-Anne Frank

Monday, November 11, 2013

Two Down, Seven To Go!


Bonjour everyone!

This past Thursday I took my final for my second sequence, Air Transportation and Tourism Economics!!  I really enjoyed the material of the class, but had to give my first presentation.  I was in a group with 3 French girls and we had to give a half hour presentation followed by a Q&A session.  Not my favorite thing to do, and the whole process was a lot different from what I am used to in Green Bay, so I am glad that it is over! Whew! It did go quite well though, so that is good! : )  Two sequences down, seven to go.  Time is flying by.  This week I will be starting Business to Business and Industrial Marketing. oy...

As I was going to school last week, I saw something that was awesome!!! ...well, a "Krysta" type of awesomeness!  I was getting off the bus to go to my final when I noticed a man wearing a rather remarkable hat.  It was a Green Bay Packers hat!!!! That was the first time I saw NFL apparel in Bordeaux, and what better team to be represented than the Packers?!  I took it as a sign!  I was so excited to watch the Packers vs. Eagles game this weekend because it was the first time that Clay Matthews and his brother Casey played against each other in the NFL! The excitement that I speak of was quickly shot, due to obviously reasons on Sunday.  Reasons that I would rather not repeat.  Despite all that has happened to the team this season, keep faith guys!  The last time we looked like this we won the Super Bowl!!  Not to mention, I was a year away from being in high school when our school went to state for football, a year away from going to college in Green Bay when the Packers won the Super Bowl, so it only seems fitting that they will win while I am in a different country! ; )




This is something totally random, but I would like to talk about bathrooms!  In the U.S., if you are ever in public, you will find a bathroom.  Also, you will usually find a bubbler (a water fountain for the rest of the world.)  In Europe, that is not the case.  Bubblers are really hard to find, there is not a single one at my school!!  Bathrooms are also really hard to find, and quite often, you have to pay to use them.  I was in the train station last week and really needed to use the bathroom.  We searched for a good ten minutes before finding the only bathroom in the building, and then I had to pay to use it!  I find that interesting.  Also, not all of them offer toilet paper.  So here is some advice while abroad: Always carry some sort of tissue, and go to the bathroom if you get the opportunity, even if you don't think you have to.  You never know when you will find one next. 

These past few days have been very quiet and relaxing!  I am in the middle of another little break, and I don't have any school work because I am in between two sequences!  This has given me some time to catch up with people at home! I was able to Skype with my good friend Kari again!  She will be visiting me with a group of people in February, and we are both very excited!!  I also got to talk to my little brother Ryan, and our friends Bridget and Liam down in Madison!  I know Ryan struggles with communication, so I would like to say he is doing great with school and life!  He is really enjoying Madison, and I am so proud of him!  Also, while I was talking to  my parents, my uncle Chipper stopped by!  It was educational as usual, but amusing!

Next weekend I will be traveling to Amsterdam!!  My friends and I have been planning our trip over the last few days, and it is looking very exciting!!

Thank you everyone for reading!

-Krysta

"Don't worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try." 
-Jack Canfield

Monday, November 4, 2013

Amy Comes to Visit!


Hello Everyone!

This past week was great!  My friend, Amy, came to visit me for a few days!  We went to junior high and high school together.  Then I went off to UWGB and she went off to Missouri.  Currently, she is studying in Manchester, England for the year.  It had been a year and a half since we last saw each other.  I still remember her phone call back in March when we both figured out we would be studying abroad in Europe at the same time.  We made plans back then to see each other, and now we made it happen! 

As Amy made her way south to Bordeaux, she ran into some bumps on the journey here.  She had problems with her flight, with her train, communicating, it just wasn't pleasant.  A few hours later then planned, I went to the train station to pick her up.  It was quite exciting!  We made our way back to my apartment, went grocery shopping for the week, and then talked all night.  We had a lot to catch up on!  We had a lot of fun talking about the new and exciting things we have experienced, but we also had a nice vent session on the difficulties and fears of being here.  We had some good laughs from that!  We stayed in, cooked a yummy supper, and drank a bottle of wine!


The next day, I gave her the grand tour of Bordeaux.  It is such a beautiful city, so it was still exciting for me also!  We tried different treats and French food.  For lunch we got sandwiches from a little shop, and they were delicious!  The French are really good at making sandwiches!  We went back, relaxed for a while, and ventured out again to see the city at night!  And of course, we made our way to my favorite "The Cock and Bull" for some drinks!  When we got in for the night, we Skyped our friend Nanna and had a very entertaining conversation at 3 in the morning.

On Thursday (Halloween!!!!), we kept it easy and relaxed.  We got more sandwiches from a different shop by Hotel de Ville.  Then I took her to see my school.  After that we were off to the Bordeaux Wine and Trade Museum, which was very cool!  After we went through the museum, we had a wine tasting!! Amy was super excited, it was her first wine tasting! And what better place to have one than the wine capital of the world?!  We bought a bottle of wine and were off to find a place to eat for dinner.  French don't really celebrate Halloween, so we didn't have many options for entertainment, but we loved seeing some decorations.  We settled on a Mexican restaurant.  The food was delicious, the Margarita was amazing, but the Pina Colada was horrible!  I shivered just at the smell!  Horrible drink makes for a sad dinner! haha But we still loved the rest.  That night we got to talk to our friend Sara for a while! Then we opened a bottle of wine and watched Hocus Pocus for Halloween!! One of my absolute favorite movies!! (We also had a bucket full of candy to complete Halloween! haha)


Friday we were off to the ocean!! We went to this very pretty town called Arcachon.  It looked a lot like Florida!  It was a really good day, and there were so many pretty views!  We played on the beach and walked in the water for a while.  The water was a bit cold, but nothing a Wisconsin girl couldn't handle!  I was really tempted to jump in, but I didn't have extra clothes!  To get to the ocean, we had to take a train.  That was my first train in Europe!  All of the announcements were in French, but we made it there and back just fine!  Watch out, I am becoming an experienced traveler! ; )  When we got back we went to the city center, watched a puppet sing opera, and bought some Macarons!  I love them.  We had to get up early the next morning to get to the train station, so we stayed in that night and watched another one of my favorite movies!  Ever After, it takes place in France!!


Amy's journey back to Manchester started out rough again, she missed her train!  We got everything cleared up though and she made it back safe and sound!  We also started planning my trip to England!  I don't know when and I don't know how, but I will be going there!

At this point, I was all alone in Bordeaux.  Everyone I knew had gone somewhere or gone home for our week break and weren't returning until the next day, on Sunday.  So I had some "Krysta" time and mostly worked on a project that I have to present tomorrow.  I am very nervous for that!!  I was able to take some breaks from school work for Skype though!  I got to talk to my parents again.  I had a lovely conversation with my younger cousin Courtney.  Also, I was able to talk to my little cousins that I babysit, Taylor and Peyton!  We talked for 45 whole minutes!  They had so much to show me, Taylor told me a bedtime story, and then we played in their fort for a while!  It was very cool!  My little brother, Tyler, was babysitting them, so I got to talk to him for a while also!

It was a very nice and relaxing week!  Now it is back to classes!

Thank you for reading! Love everyone and miss everyone!

-Krysta

"If you hear music, dance."
-Disney