Telling the World I've Come home

After the 8 hour flight from London to Minneapolis, I finally made it home!

Studying abroad in London was such a great experience for me.  I really became comfortable in the city.  I knew how to navigate the underground system and loved when people would ask me for directions!  Being in London, I grew to love the city and its unique culture.

Having the opportunity to travel around Europe is something I may never have the chance to do ever again.  I was able to do and see everything I wanted to and am grateful for that.

I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, saw the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, stood at the Prime Meridian Line in Greenwich, skied and parasailed in the Swiss Alps, and drank a liter of beer at a beer hall in Munich.  Those memories and stories I will never forget.

Some things I am looking forward to in the U.S:
1. Hot and cold water coming out of the same spout
2. Being able to do my hair in the bathroom - England doesn't allow outlets in the bathroom
3. Home-cooked meals (that depends on my Mom hint hint)

Some things I am going to miss about London
1. Always something new to do
2. London Skyline - I can find my way home by looking for The Shard in the sky
3. The Tube and the red busses - I love using the Oyster Card
4. THE MARKETS! - My favorite being Borough Market
5. The West End - All the theatres lit up

Last Weekend in London

On Friday, during a break in the rain, Eric and I ventured to Borough Market for one last time to buy grilled cheese for lunch and carmel fudge!  Even on a rainy day, the market is still packed.  Most of the market is covered anyways so when it started to drizzle us along with our food stayed dry.

As we were leaving the market, something weird happened.  The clouds opened up and the sun was shining!  I was not about to go underground to the tube and miss this small opportunity of sun.  So Eric and I decided to just walk and enjoy the weather.  We crossed London Bridge and went to The Monument.  I had been here before on my first walking tour in my Historic London class.  Except then it was freezing outside and I wasn't paying attention to my teacher's stories, I was only worrying about getting the feeling back in my toes and fingers.

The monument was built by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666 as a memorial.  It measures 202 ft tall and if it were to fall westward it would land in the starting location of the fire on Pudding Lane. We decided to walk the 311 steps to the top of the tower.  It was a verrrry long and windy staircase but we eventually made it to the top.  At the top you get a 360 view of the city.  I saw the Tower of London, City Hall, The Shard, The London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Razor, and The Gherkin.  All of buildings that define the London skyline.  It was a very pretty view and a nice way to end my travel here in London.  As we were leaving the tower we received a certificate for climbing to the top of the monument.  We thought it was well deserved.  We were completely exhausted.

{The Monument to the Great Fire of 1666}

{View of the Gherkin (circular building)}

{View of the Shard (pointy building)}

{Tower Bridge}

As we were exiting the tube station near Eric's flat it started to rain again.  I was so happy that we were able to enjoy the sunshine while it was here and that we did something fun!

Saturday was another highlight of my week.  Eric and I had purchased tickets to the football match between Fulham and Wigan.  They are both apart of the Premier League in London.  It was a much smaller stadium than I had expected.  As we entered, I felt like I was at a high school football game because everyone was hanging out under the stands.  We got to our seats and they were so close.  We were row 10!!

The first half of the game was uneventful.  The real game started at the end of the second half.  Wigan scored the first goal and immediately Fulham scored as well.  Then with 2 minutes left in the game, Fulham scored again to win the game 2-1.  It was a exciting game to watch!  Although the forecast said it would rain all day again, it held out for the game and didn't start raining until we made it back to Eric's flat.  Another win for me!

{After Wigan scored}

{After Fulham scored}

One more day left to enjoy London!

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Thursday was the day I was looking forward to most.  We went to the Harry Potter Studio!  Our tickets were for 4:30 and we didn’t want to miss this.  I had planned everything out. We had to take a train to Watford Junction than a bus from there to the studio.  The latest bus we could take was at 3:50 so we had to get on a train by 3:30.  In the morning I was even more anxious so I made us leave 30 minutes earlier than planned.  I thought better to be really early than late.  We were able to get on a 3:00 train so I expected to get the bus stop around 3:20 and be early.  But of course something has to go wrong!  Immediately after getting on the train I had a feeling something was not right.  There were 18 stops until Watford Junction and I knew that would take longer than 20 minutes.  We didn’t get on a direct train.  This train took 40 minutes.  My heart raced the entire train ride but we still made it to the bus on time.  I’m glad we left very early.

The tour started with an introductory video by Harry, Ron, and Hermoine.  The video ended with them walking into Hogwarts and as I expected the video screen lifted, a curtain opened, and now we were walking through the doors to Hogwarts.  At the studio you could see everything involved in the filming of the movies.  From the set, to the make-up, the wigs, the costumes, the horcruxes, the staircases, the pictures, and so much more.  The first stage consisted of all the sets.  My favorites were the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, and the Burrow.

{Professor's table in the Great Hall}

{Gryffindor Commons and the gang's costumes from HP3}

{The gang's costumes from HP7 and the invisibility cloak}

{Professor Dumbledore's office and costume.  In the background is the first Dumbledore's costume from HP1 and 2}

{Hagrid's Hut}

{Portraits on the wall that were of the crew}

{Eric and I in front of the Secrets door from HP2}

Then there was an outside section where we enjoyed some butterbeer.  It was cream soda with a butterscotch foam on top.  It was very good but gave me the worst after taste that I could not get rid of the rest of the night.  Also outside was 4 Pivet Drive (Harry Potter’s Home) and the Hogwarts Bridge.

{Drinking Butterbeer}

The second sound stage had a lot of the behind the scenes work.  At first you walk through Diagon Alley, which has changed throughout the movies.  This was one of my favorite things to see because there are so many little shops with so much detail that probably goes unnoticed in the movies.  Then you walk through the special effects room.  You see Dobby, Aragog, Buckbeak, Basilisk, and many other characters that were created by special effects. 

{Diagon Alley}

The last room is the sketching area.  Every set had to be sketched out then built as a model to figure out where the camera would shoot and what angle.  I saw a model of the staircases, the burrow, Hogwarts, and the Lovegood house.  Then to end the tour you walked around a mini version of the outside of Hogwarts.  This was used when they needed an outside shot of the school.  It was placed in a dark room with blue lights and was the prettiest castle I have seen in all of Europe!  As we left the tour we walked by all of Ollivander’s wands.  Each box had a written label, which shows all the details that went into making the movies. 

{Individually labeled wands for Ollivander's Wand shop}

The tour was very interesting because it focused on making the movies not just showing you the sets.  At each room you could see hidden secrets that are overseen when watching the movie.  For instance, some of the portraits on the walls were paintings of the crew.  And the beds in the boys’ dormitory never changed so when they grew up their feet would hang off the edge but that was never shown on film.  I can’t wait to watch all 8 movies again and know where everything was filmed!

The weather report says for more rain but cross your fingers for me that it will stop so we can bike through Hyde Park and go to the zoo!

Museums, Beatles, and M&M's in London

Unfortunately for my last week in London I got stuck with typical London weather aka rain.  That means my plans of going to a park everyday to bike, picnic, or read had to be changed.

On Sunday, Eric and I went to the Museum of London.  He went to this museum with his class but I hadn’t seen it yet.  It was about the history of life in London and it’s people.  I thought it was very interesting.  It showed the first elevator that was installed in Selfridges department store.  There was a prison that had engravings from the prisoners.  Also, there was an interactive station where you could take a poll on changes in London, such as should the red phone booths stay?  Most of the time I agreed with the majority.

On Monday, another rainy day activity was going to the British Museum.  This time I had gone to this museum with my class but Eric hadn’t.  I saw the Rosetta Stone.  It was used to decipher hieroglyphics.  It is first written in heiroglyphs (the language of the Egyptian monuments that were 3,000 years old), then demotic (the language of everyday Egyptains), and lastly in Greek (the language of the government). 

Also at the British Museum is part of the Parthenon from Greece.  Many of the sculptures that were once part of the structure are on display at the museum. 

{Metopes - Lapiths fighting Centaurs}

{Pediment Structures - Represents the birth of Athena}

{Frieze}

{Explains how they were part of the Parthenon}

Then what I found interesting was the Olympic exhibit.  It showed the Olympic medals for the 2012 games!

{Front of gold medal}

{Back of gold medal - supposed to be the River Thames running through the 2012}

On Tuesday, before the rain hit we went to Abbey Road.  We saw the Abbey Road studios but they don’t allow tours.  Then I crossed Abbey Road like the Beatles, only I was awkwardly alone.  I felt very stupid but I did it and got it over with.

{Abbey Road Studios}

Right as the rain began to fall we made to our inside activity of the day at M&M’s World!  This is the biggest candy store in London.  I know there are M&M’s World in LA and Las Vegas but give me a break it was raining out!  The store was very cool and very big!  There were 4 floors.  The top floor was the expensive stuff with a 2,300 pound Swarovski M&M Leather Jacket!  Then on each floor had loads of loads of M&M souvenirs and candies.  It took a lot of will power but I did leave empty handed!

On Wednesday we went to the Science Museum.  Let’s just say the Minnesota Science Museum is better. 

At this point I think we have gone to every museum and have done all of indoor London there is.  I wish it would stop raining!

Kilts, Bagpipes, and the Highlands

My last trip for the semester was to Scotland for two days.  Wednesday night I packed all my bags and moved out of my flat since I wouldn’t be back on time on Saturday when we needed to check out. 

It was a very short plane ride to Edinburgh.  From there we hopped on a bus and made it to the city center.  Our hostel was right by Edinburgh Castle, which we could see out of our window.  When we landed it was raining and the sky looked very grey.  I was really disappointed because I had hoped for very nice weather this time of year but I predicted wrong.

{Edinburgh Castle}

By the time we adventured out the city the sky had cleared.  It was sunny out so I was very happy.  Also looking at the weather report it said the weekend would be sunny so it ended up turning out to be decent weather.  Lucky us!

For the day we moseyed around the city.  We really had no idea what to do or see in Scotland so I quickly googled Edinburgh and found Calton Hill.  I remembered seeing pictures from my friends going there so we decided to check it out.  It was a short walk from our hostel and was a very pretty park.  The biggest attraction is the National Monument.  It is Scotland’s national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.  The building was modeled after the Parthenon in Athens but funds ran out and they never finished the building.  As we walked along the park you could see the coast along the Firth of Forth, which is where the River Forth runs into the North Sea.  You could also see the Holyrood Palace and Arthur’s seat.  Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.  Queen Elizabeth II spends one week at the beginning of each summer in this palace.  Arthur’s seat is the number one thing to do in Edinburgh according to Tripadvisor but it looks like huge mountain to climb and I was very happy seeing it from afar rather than hiking.  It was very fun walking around the park and taking pictures. 

{Scotland's National Monument}

{Holyrood Palace and Arthur's seat in the background}

For Friday we pre-booked a bus tour to Loch Ness, Glencoe, and the Highlands.  I was very nervous because it was a 12-hour bus ride starting at 8 am and returning at 8 pm but I really wanted to see the highlands and the Loch Ness monster.  I took Advil before boarding the bus and hoped for a pleasant journey.  It turned out to be an excellent trip.  We stopped probably every 2 hours for a small break, which made the trip feel shorter. 

The trip started in the lowlands and after an hour we had crossed into the highlands.  15% of Scotland is lowlands where 90% of the population lives while 85% of Scotland is the highlands where only 10% of the population lives.  We first passed Stirling castle while we drove on the highway.  It is one of the largest castles in Scotland.  Then as we drove through the highlands we passed many mountains and beautiful scenic shots.  Unfortunately I had picked the wrong side of the bus to be sitting on.  Then we stopped in Glencoe to take a picture of the mountains called the Three Sisters.  It is three mountains all in a row except I could only fit two of the mountains in my pictures.  Then we got back in the bus and our next stop was at the Ben Nevis Mountain.  This is the highest mountain in the British Alps.  It measures 4,400 ft. tall.  Finally at around 2:00 we had made it to Loch Ness.  Here we took a 2-hour break to explore the Urquhart Castle and take a boat ride on the Loch Ness. 

The castle was frequently fought over and in the 17^th century the Urquhart castle was blown up by William Troops to make it useless to the enemy.  In the gift shop there was a model of what the castle would have looked like.  Now all that remains is some of the outer walls.  Then we went on a 30-minute boat cruise on the Loch Ness but we weren’t lucky enough to see Nessie.  We hopped back on the bus, drove through Inverness, the capital of the highlands, and then made our way back to Edinburgh.  It took about 4 hours to get back to Edinburgh but I, along with most of the bus, slept. 

The bus driver/tour guide was very entertaining.  He threw in lots of little jokes here and there and filled us in on popular culture in Scotland, including where many movies where filmed.  My favorite part was that he would play Scottish music as we drove along the highlands.  He has been doing this for 18 years and has worked very hard getting the music to match perfectly with the scenery, which it did.

We were very lucky with weather.  It was a clear sky while driving through the highlands.  When we made it to Loch Ness it looked like it was going to rain but it waited until we made it on the bus.  There were a few moments when it rained but we were asleep on the bus so it didn’t matter. 

{Highland Cattle- His name is Hamish}

{Eric and I at the mountains called the Three Sisters- only two made it in the photo}

{Ben Nevis in the background- Tallest mountain in the British Alps}

{Urquhart Castle}

{Urquhart Castle viewed from Loch Ness}

Now I have one last week in London where I have planned to fit in everything I haven’t done yet.  Stay tuned to hear about The London Zoo, Abbey Road, Harry Potter Studio Tour, and a football game!

The Kaminsky's Take on Amsterdam

Our visit in Venice was short but we did everything we wanted.  Sunday morning we headed to the airport to go to Amsterdam.  There is no direct flight from Venice to Minneapolis so my family had to fly through Amsterdam in order to get home.  They had decided to make it an overnight layover and I joined them.

In Amsterdam we went to the Anne Frank house.  I obviously know the story but it was very interesting to see the places they hid.  We walked through the actual building and saw the bookcase that hid the door leading to the annex.  We saw Anne Frank's bedroom, which was decorated with the magazine pictures.  Then we saw the attic that her and Peter would hang out in.  None of the rooms are furnished because after they were taken to the concentration camps all the furniture was removed.  Otto Frank wanted to keep it that way to show the void he felt.  It was truly amazing seeing the annex and reading entries from her diary along the way.

{Location where Anne Frank hid during WWII for 25 months.  263 Prinsengracht Amsterdam}

That night we went to an oyster bar for dinner except no one in my family even likes oysters!  Justin still ordered a few for himself.  Although I was very hesitant about dinner, it ended up being very good.

{My appetizer - Lobster Bisque}

{Justin's Oysters}

{My Entree - Shrimp Croquettes}

{My Mom's Entree- Expensive Fish but the waiter filet-ed it in front of us and did a very good job}

The next day I headed back to London for two more weeks and my family boarded a very long flight back to the states.  I hope they have a safe flight and will talk with them in 8 hours.  Yikes, long flight!

{Pictures at the I AMsterdam sign- stopped on our way to the airport}